“Many items from Kha and Merit’s daily lives were buried with them as well. The collection includes the beds they slept on, the chairs they sat in, the board games they played, and even Merit’s box of cosmetics. One jar, for example, still has Merit’s black eyeliner and application wand inside, while another still smells of her favorite perfume.” – William Newton

Lidded glass vase decorated with wave patterns and two duck heads. Found alongside several other items in the beauty case of Merit, buried in the same tomb as her husband, Kha. Egypt (Deir el-Medina), 18th Dynasty, 1425 to 1353 BC.

The vase alongside other items found in the same box

The deceased Kha and his wife Merit worship Osiris, lord of the afterlife. Papyrus from Book of the Dead, from the funerary chamber of architect Kha. New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty

Kha and Merit lived around 1400 B.C., in a village near the Valley of the Kings which later became known as Deir el-Medina. Kha was an architect and oversaw the work on the royal tombs being constructed nearby, while Merit was his wife and the mother of his four children. Because of his position, Kha provided his family with a good living, and the family enjoyed a more comfortable lifestyle than most. Their tomb in the hills overlooking the village had somehow been missed by grave robbers, so when it was discovered in 1906, everything was still in place, exactly as it had been left when it was sealed.