Harwa was
an enigmatic person in ancient Egyptian history. He lived at the
beginning of the 7th century BC, when the Nile Valley
was in the hands of the Nubian Pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty. He
held the position of Great Steward of the Divine Votaress, a position that
allowed him to manage the huge resources of the state of Amun-Re of Karnak
This position was held for three centuries by the members of the clergy
and embraced the whole
southern Egypt. The importance of Harwa is mainly demonstrated by the
eight statues portraying him in various attitudes which are now kept in
the major
Egyptian collections all over the world (Cairo, Asswan, Paris, London and
Leipzig).

The excavations in the Tomb of
Harwa have been carried out since 1995 by the Italian Archaeological Mission to Luxor.
These excavations have
yielded useful data to improve the knowledge of Harwa and the historical
period in which he lived. The data from the excavation indicates that Harwa was, not only a dignitary
holding huge powers, but the actual ruler of the whole of southern Egypt,
ruling on
behalf of the pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty. This conclusion is
supported by a limestone
shabty
(funerary statuette), discovered in 1997 into the tomb, showing Harwa
holding in his hands the crook and the flail, that is to say, the regalia, the characteristic
emblems of the pharaonic royalty.
Another shabty is kept in the Egyptian collection of the MFA, Boston.