Senet was one of the most popular board games in ancient Egypt, played on a grid of thirty squares with gaming pieces moved according to throws of sticks or knucklebones. Over time the game took on religious meaning, as a symbol of the journey of the soul through the underworld, and chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead shows the deceased playing senet.
The tomb of Kha and Merit (TT8) at Deir el-Medina was found intact by Ernesto Schiaparelli's Italian mission in 1906. Kha was an architect and overseer of works in the royal necropolis during the 18th Dynasty, serving under Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III, and his tomb's complete furnishings are now one of the highlights of the Museo Egizio.
