Amenemhat I and the

E ar l y
T w el f th
D y nas ty
at T heb es
D OROT HE A ARNOLD
Lil a Aches on Wal l ace
Cur ator ,
E gy ptian
Ar t,
T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum
of
Ar t
AN UNFI NI SHE D ROYAL FUNE RARY MONU-
ME NT AT WE ST E RN T HE BE S
E T WE E N T HE HI LLS of Sheikh Ab d el -
Qur na
and
Qur net
Mar ai in the T heb an
necr opol is
r uns a
val l ey
that meets the f l ood -
pl ain
at the s ite of the
mor tuar y templ e
of Rames es
I I ,
the Rames s eum
(Figur es
i, 2).
T he
val l ey
is a
counter par t
to the
val l ey
of D eir
el -Bahr i,
w her e the
templ es
of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
and Hat-
s heps ut
ar e s ituated . But unl ike the D eir el -Bahr i
val l ey ,
this
val l ey
d oes not contain f amous
s tand ing
monuments .
T od ay ,
the
val l ey pr es ents
a
w il d ,
al -
mos t
d es ol ate,
appear ance (Figur es 3,
5, 21).
A
cl os er
l ook, how ever ,
r eveal s f eatur es that ind icate
major l and s caping
ef f or ts w er e und er taken in an-
cient times .
Figur es
2 and
3
s how tw o
s epar ate
pl aces
w her e
quar r y men
cut tr enches into the r ock
pr epar ator y
to
r emoving
the entir e r ock f ace at the
s outhw es ter n s id e of the val l ey .2 And at the w es ter n
end of the
val l ey
w her e the l imes tone r ock s ur -
r ound s a natur al
b ay ,
a cons id er ab l e
par t
of the
gr ound
w as l evel ed to f or m an even
pl ateau (Fig-
ur e
3).
Her b er t E . Winl ock in
1914
w as the f ir s t to r ec-
ognize
that the
pl ateau
and tr enches w er e tr aces of
b uil d ing
activities .3 T he
d is cover y
w as
impor tant
enough
f or him to r ecor d it in the
opening par a-
gr aphs
of T he Ris e and Fal l
of
the Mid d l e
Kingd om
in
T heb es
(1947).
I t is a memor ab l e
d es cr iption
of ar -
chaeol ogical
intuition:
One
d ay jus t
b ef or e the outb r eak of the Fir s t Wor l d
War in
1914,
the
gr oom
and I w er e
exer cis ing my
hor s es b ehind Sheikh Ab d el Kur neh Hil l . T he
l ight
w as
exactl y r ight,
and as I came to the
highes t
b it of
path,
w ith the
tow er ing
cl if f s to the
r ight
and the l ow er
hil l to the
l ef t,
I noticed b el ow me f or the f ir s t time a
? T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of Ar t
1991
Metr opol itan
Mus eum
Jour nal
26
f l at
pl atf or m
and the
upper par t
of a
s l oping caus ew ay
as cend ing
f r om the cul tivation. I n a f l as h I w as
s pur -
r ing
d ow n the hil l and
up
onto the l evel
pl ace
to l ook
d ow n the l ine of the ancient
r oad w ay
to the
point
w her e it
d is appear ed
b ehind the Rames s eum. I r eal -
ized that in the f l at ter r ace und er the cl if f s w e had the
gr ad ing
f or a
templ e
l ike the one b uil t in the E l eventh
D y nas ty
at D eir
el -Bahr ijus t
to the nor th.
I n
1920-21
Winl ock cl ear ed the
pl atf or m
und er
the cl if f s of l ater d eb r is .4 I n the cour s e of this
w or k,
he r ecl ear ed an
und er gr ound pas s age
and b ur ial
chamb er
(Figur e 4)
that had f ir s t b een excavated
b y
Rob er t Mond in the w inter of
1903-4.5
Winl ock
r ightl y
connected this b ur ial chamb er of
r oy al pr o-
por tions
w ith the
l and s caping
ef f or ts d es cr ib ed
ab ove, and he id entif ied the ens emb l e as an unf in-
is hed
r oy al f uner ar y
monument.
At
f ir s t,
it s eemed a
s impl e
matter to
id entif y
the
ind ivid ual f or w hom this monument had b een in-
tend ed . T he s imil ar ities in the
pl an
of the b ur ial
chamb er -as w el l as in the
gener al s hape
of the
caus ew ay
and
f uner ar y templ e-to
the
gr eat
f u-
ner al monument of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
in
the
neighb or ing val l ey
of D eir el -Bahr i6 pointed to
a s ucces s or of that
king
as the ow ner
(Figur e
1,
nos .
1 and
5).
Fur ther ind ications of a l ate E l eventh
D y -
nas ty
d ate f or the s tr uctur e w er e
thought
to exis t
b ecaus e of the
l ar ge
tomb of the chancel l or Meket-
r a,
s ituated at the nor ther n s id e of the
val l ey (Figur e
5).
T his of f icial w as know n to have s er ved Mentu-
hotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
as "over s eer of the s ix
gr eat
l aw -cour ts " ar ound
y ear 39
of that
king's r eign.7
D ur ing
the l as t
y ear s
of
Neb hepetr a's r eign,
Meket-
r a w as "chancel l or "
(imy -r ' htmt)
and w as
d epicted
or
mentioned in this
capacity
s ever al times in the r el ief
d ecor ation of
Neb hepetr a's f uner ar y templ e
at D eir
el -Bahr i.8 T he f act that Meketr a's tomb w as not s it-
T he notes f or this ar ticl e
b egin
on
page
41.
5
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Figur e
i. T he T heb an nec-
r opol is
in the Mid d l e
King-
d om
(Bar r y
Gir s h, af ter
Winl ock,
AJSL
[1915] pp.
8-9, f ig. i)
300
I
400
Figur e
2. T he
val l ey
nor thw es t of the Rames s eum
(Wil l iam Schenck,
af ter Wal ter Haus er and
Lind s l ey
F.
Hal l )
6
0
.. m...I
50 100 200
s
I "1' "1 1 1 I I I I I I I I
I , I I I I I
Figur e 3. T he
val l ey
nor thw es t of the Rames s eum af ter exca-
vation, Jan. i, 1922, l ooking
eas t
(photo: E gy ptian E xped i-
tion, neg.
.
n.M3C 36)
uated
among
the tomb s of the other of f icial s of Neb -
hepetr a's
cour t,
on the
s l opes
ar ound the
val l ey
of
D eir el -Bahr i
(Figur e
i,
nos . 6 and
7),9
s ugges ted
to
Winl ock and other s that Meketr a outl ived Neb he-
petr a
and w ent on to s er ve his
s ucces s or ,
Mentuho-
tep
I I I Seankhkar a. I t w as ther ef or e
l ogical
to as -
s ume that the unf inis hed
r oy al
tomb in the
val l ey ,
s ituated b el ow the tomb of
Meketr a,
b el onged
to
King Mentuhotep
I I I Seankhkar a.
(See Appen-
d ix
I .)
A
gr oup
of
ins cr iptions
on
near b y
r ocks s eemed
to cor r ob or ate the id entif ication of the unf inis hed
monument as the
mor tuar y templ e
of
Mentuhotep
I I I . Betw een the
val l ey ,
or r ock
b ay ,
of D eir el -Bahr i
and the
b ay
in w hich the unf inis hed
r oy al f uner ar y
monument is s ituated l ies
y et
another ,
s mal l er
b ay
s ur r ound ed
b y
l imes tone cl if f s
(Figur e
i,
no.
4).1'
I n
this s mal l er
b ay
numer ous
gr af f iti
of Mid d l e
King-
d om d ate ar e incis ed in the r ock cl if f s
high
ab ove
the
val l ey
f l oor . Winl ock
r ecognized
that var ious
gr oups
of
pr ies ts
had incis ed their names her e."
Among
thes e
names ,
the
gr eates t
numb er w er e
Figur e 4.
Pl an and s ection of the
und er gr ound
chamb er of
the unf inis hed
r oy al
monument as f ound
b y
Rob er t Mond
(Bar r y
Gir s h,
af ter Mond , ASAE 6
[1905]
p.
79, f ig. 15)
thos e of
pr ies ts
w ho s er ved in the f uner al cul t of
King Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
or of
pr ies ts
w ho
s er ved his d eceas ed
s ucces s or ,
Mentuhotep
I I I
Seankhkar a. Some
pr ies ts
of the
god
Amun and
f unctionar ies of the
necr opol is
had al s o l ef t
gr af f iti.
Winl ock
inter pr eted
the
gr af f iti
on the cl if f as evi-
d ence of a l ookout s ite us ed
b y
the
pr ies ts
w ho w er e
s tationed her e to announce the ar r ival of the b ar k
of Amun w hen it cr os s ed the Nil e
d ur ing
the annual
f es tival cal l ed "the b eautif ul f eas t of the d es er t val -
l ey ." D ur ing
that f eas t the b ar k w ith the
image
of
the
god
w oul d vis it the
templ e
of
Neb hepetr a
and
r emain ther e
over night.
I nd eed ,
one
gr af f ito
ex-
pr es s l y
mentions the f eas t.12 Winl ock's
as s umption
that the tw o
pr ies thood s
of
Neb hepetr a
and
Seankhkar a w aited
together
at the l ookout s eemed
again
to f it the id entif ication of the unf inis hed mon-
ument as the
f uner ar y templ e
of Seankhkar a.
T he his tor ical
pictur e
r econs tr ucted
b y
Winl ock
is , how ever ,
l es s w el l f ound ed than is
gener al l y
b e-
l ieved . No
templ e
w as ever
actual l y
er ected on the
pl ateau
in the
val l ey
nor thw es t of the Rames s eum.
7
Aa,
.- _ -
.
*
*- -
*- -.
-
Figur e 5.
View f r om the
val l ey
onto the
cour ty ar d
of the tomb of Meketr a, 1920-21
(photo: E gy ptian E xped ition, neg.
no. MCC 4)
?~~.f ~ .:-~.,_,~~,_ ."......,,'
T he
b uil d ing
activities
onl y
r eached the
s tages
of
l evel ing
the
pl atf or m, s tar ting
to r emove r ock f or a
caus ew ay ,
and
cutting
and
cas ing
an
und er gr ound
chamb er .
T her ef or e,
if this
r eal l y
w as the s ite of
Seankhkar a's
mor tuar y
monument,
the
pr ies ts
of
Seankhkar a,
w ho
accor d ing
to their
gr af f iti
of f ici-
ated
d ur ing
the entir e T w el f th
D y nas ty ,
never actu-
al l y
had a
pl ace
in w hich to
per f or m
the cer emonies
as s ociated w ith the
f uner ar y
cul t f or the
king.
T he ar chitectur al r emains f ound on the
pl ateau
cons is t of a
s er pentine
w al l nor th of the entr ance to
the
und er gr ound pas s age,
w hich the excavator s r e-
cons tr ucted as
having
s ur r ound ed this
entr ance,
and a s mal l hous e s til l f ar ther nor th
(Figur es
2,
3).
Ser pentine
w al l s occur
f r equentl y
at Mid d l e
King-
d om
cemeter y
s ites . I n s ome cas es
s er pentine
w al l s
encl os ed ar eas in a
necr opol is
w her e d eb r is coul d b e
d umped .
I n other
ins tances ,
the
s er pentine
w al l s
s er ved to s ecur e the mouth of a s haf t w hos e und er -
gr ound
chamb er s had b een
d ug
out w hil e the
ab ovegr ound
ar chitectur e had not
y et
b een f in-
is hed .'3
T he l atter w as
cer tainl y
the cas e at the un-
f inis hed monument s ite. I f
any thing,
the
pr es ence
of a
s er pentine
w al l accentuates the unf inis hed s ta-
tus of the monument.
A b r ick
b uil d ing cons is ting
of thr ee r ooms exis ts
on the nor ther n
par t
of the
pl atf or m (Figur e 6),
b ut
it w as
cer tainl y
a hous e r ather than a
templ e,
and its
d ate is much l ater than the E l eventh
D y nas ty .
Hous es
having
this s ame
pl an,
w ith a
l ar ger
r oom in
f r ont and tw o s mal l er r ooms at the
b ack,
w er e f ound
b oth at Amar na and in the
vil l age
at
Lis ht,
w her e
they
d ate f r om the l ater New
Kingd om
to T hir d I n-
ter med iate Per iod .14
Some r itual
ob jects
w er e f ound in the d eb r is cov-
er ing
the
pl atf or m. Among
thes e
ob jects
ar e a f ew
that
might
have b een us ed in a
r oy al
cul t;
they
con-
s is t of a l imes tone
al tar ,
r oughl y 58
centimeter s
s quar e,
and s ome
potter y .
None of thes e
ob jects
is
of a char acter or
qual ity
that
outw eighs
the ab s ence
8
'''
iY.:?:
,: x
?p
?r r
-'uOc .?-?--
.- -- -r c*
.. : .m
- .
.
.I .. .-
.1
Figur e
6. T he r emains of the New
Kingd om
hous e
s een in
Figur e 3,
l ef t
f or egr ound (Wil l iam Schenck,
af ter
pencil pl an
AM
1651)
of a f uner al
templ e b ef itting
a
king
l ike
Mentuhotep
I I I
Seankhkar a,
w ho er ected
many
f ine monuments
thr oughout Upper E gy pt d ur ing
his
r eign
of tw el ve
y ear s .
T her e
is , mor eover ,
a
chr onol ogical d is cr epancy
b etw een the d ate of the
ob jects
f ound on the
pl at-
f or m and the time of the d eath of Seankhkar a. T he
al tar
(Figur e 7)15
is of a
pecul iar ty pe
that s how s tw o
s mal l b as ins f or
l iquid of f er ings
connected to a
l ar ger
b as in
b y
cur ved channel s . Numer ous ex-
ampl es
of this
ty pe
of al tar w er e f ound at
Lis ht,
al l
d ating
w el l into the T w el f th
D y nas ty .16
A var iant of
this
ty pe
of al tar has
s tr aight
channel s
connecting
the thr ee b as ins ,
w hich
may
have had anteced ents in
the l ate E l eventh
D y nas ty .17
T he
onl y s ecur el y
d ated
exampl e (Figur e
8)
b ear s the name of Amenemhat
I ,
the f ir s t
king
of
D y nas ty
12.18 A T w el f th
D y nas ty
d ate
is , ther ef or e,
pr ob ab l e
f or the al tar f ound on
the
pl atf or m.'9
Some of the
potter y
f ound in the ar ea of the un-
Figur e 7.
Limes tone al tar f ound at the mouth of the un-
d er gr ound pas s age
to the
r oy al
b ur ial chamb er of the
unf inis hed monument
(Bar r y
Gir s h, af ter Mond , ASAE
6
[1905] p. 77, f ig. 1)
Figur e
8. Al tar f r om
Seb enny tos ,
Al exand r ia Mus eum
460 (Bar r y
Gir s h,
af ter Kuentz, BI FAO
Suppl ement
[1981]
p.
255, f ig. 13)
f inis hed monument mus t have
b el onged
to f ound a-
tion
d epos its
b ecaus e the
s hapes
ar e know n f r om
other
f ound ation-d epos it pots
of the
per iod .
Pits
s uitab l e f or
r eceiving
f ound ation
of f er ings
w er e
uncover ed
d ur ing
the excavation
(s ee
the
s mal l ,
r ound hol es w es t of the main s haf t in
Figur e 3).
Found ation-d epos it potter y
is
thought
to b e d if f icul t
to d ate b ecaus e of its
tend ency
to ad her e to tr ad i-
tional
s hapes
r ather than f ol l ow
contempor ar y
d e-
vel opment.
Never thel es s ,
the
pots
f ound on the
pl atf or m
ar e
s tr ikingl y
cl os e in
s hape
to
exampl es
of
the
ear l y
T w el f th
D y nas ty
f ound in the
f uner ar y
pr ecincts
of Amenemhat I and his s on and s ucces -
s or ,
Senw os r et
I ,
at Lis ht.20
Some s her d s of
Upper E gy ptian l ight-col or ed
w ar e,
d ecor ated w ith incis ed
patter ns ,
r es emb l e
pot-
ter y
f ound in tomb s and
templ es
of b oth
D y nas ties
11
and 12
(Figur e
9).21
A numb er of r ound -
s houl d er ed hs .t vas es and
hemis pher ical cups (Fig-
ur es
o, l )
w er e al s o f ound on the
pl ateau.22
T hes e
9
Figur e 9.
Ritual ves s el w ith
appl ied cups
and incis ed d ecor a-
tion, f ound in the d eb r is
cover ing
the unf inis hed
r oy al
mon-
ument. H.
29.5
cm
(Wil l iam Schenck, af ter tomb car d
T heb es
3234)
Figur e
io. Lib ation
(hs .t)
vas es . Center :
Cair o,
E gy ptian
Mu-
s eum
Jour nal
d 'E ntr ee
47331-6.
Other s : T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund and E d w ar d S. Har knes s
Gif t,
1922, 22.3.16,17,
H. 26 cm, 28 cm
(photo: E gy ptian E xped i-
tion,
neg.
no. MCC
179)
Figur e
i 1.
D r inking cups .
Cair o,
E gy ptian
Mus eum
Jour nal
d 'E ntr 6e
4733 -6,
and
Chicago,
Or iental I ns titute. H.
(l ef t
to
r ight): 9.5 cm, 10.5
cm,
9.5
cm
(photo: E gy ptian E xped ition
neg.
no. MCC
181)
l atter ves s el s ar e
d ecid ed l y
not of l ate E l eventh b ut
of
ear l y
T w el f th
D y nas ty
d ate. A cl os e
par al l el
to the
r ound -s houl d er ed hs .t vas es w as f ound in the tomb
of
Senet,
mother of
I ntef iker ,
the vizier of Senw os -
r et I .23 E l eventh
D y nas ty
vas es of this
ty pe
tend to
have
angul ar
r ather than r ound s houl d er s .24 Like-
w is e,
the
hemis pher ical cups ,
w ith their
extr emel y
thin
w al l s ,
r ed ocher
coating,
and r ather s hal l ow
s hape,
ar e cl os e to
cups
of the
ear l y
T w el f th
D y nas ty
f r om the
py r amid compl ex
at Lis ht South. E l eventh
D y nas ty cups
ar e thick-w al l ed and
onl y par tl y
coated on the outs id e.25
Both Rob er t Mond and Winl ock's
Metr opol itan
Mus eum
E xped ition
f ound
f r agments
of w ood en
mod el s and b oats in the d eb r is
cover ing
the
pl at-
f or m.26
Unf or tunatel y ,
ther e is
onl y
one
photogr aph
pr es er ved
of thes e mod el s
(Figur e
12).27 I t s how s a
numb er of
oar s ,
tiny
mod el
pots
and
b as kets ,
and
f our human
f igur es .
Becaus e of their
pr opor tions ,
thes e
f igur es
can b e d ated to the T w el f th
D y nas ty .28
T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum cr ew al s o uncover ed
f r agments
of a
f ine,
nonr oy al of f er ing
tab l e d ed i-
cated to a
per s on
named
Beb jankh,29
a name r e-
peated l y
us ed f or w omen.30 I n view of the f act that
not a
s ingl e f r agment
of w ood en mod el s w as
r epor t-
ed l y
f ound in the
r oy al
b ur ial
chamb er ,
or the
pas -
s age l ead ing
to
it,
it s eems mor e
l ikel y
that the
w ood en mod el s
or iginal l y b el onged
to the
nonr oy al
b ur ial of
Beb jankh.
Other f emal e b ur ial s w er e l aid
d ow n in the
ar ea,
as d is cus s ed b el ow .
Since no
ob ject
f ound on the
pl atf or m
of the un-
f inis hed monument
s ugges ts
w ith
cer tainty
a d ate
b ef or e the
ear l y
T w el f th
D y nas ty ,
and no evid ence
points
to a
r oy al f uner ar y
cul t
commencing
w ith the
d eath of
King Mentuhotep
I I I
Seankhkar a,
gr ave
d oub ts ar e r ais ed
concer ning
the
val id ity
of the at-
tr ib ution of the unf inis hed monument to Mentuho-
tep
I I I Seankhkar a. Fur ther
ques tions
ar is e w hen
one l ooks mor e
cl os el y
at the
und er gr ound pas s age
and chamb er of the unf inis hed monument
(Figur e
4).3'
Coul d this chamb er have b een us ed f or a
b ur ial ? T he
cas ing
of the r oom w ith l imes tone s l ab s
w as
evid entl y
f inis hed ,
b ut no
s ar cophagus
w as
f ound . Al l tr aces of an actual b ur ial -s uch as cof -
f ins ,
car tonnage,
l inen,
and other f uner al
equip-
ment-might
have
d is appear ed compl etel y ,
thanks
to
r epeated
r ob b er ies ,
b ut a
s ar cophagus
of
s tone,
or a s tone s hr ine l ike that f ound in the b ur ial cham-
b er of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
at D eir
el -Bahr i,32
coul d not have
d is appear ed
w ithout a tr ace. T his is
s uppor ted b y
the f act that the chamb er w as f ound
b l ocked
b y
f our l imes tone s l ab s . Rob er t Mond d e-
s cr ib es this
b l ocking
as f ol l ow s : "I f ound the en-
10
Figur e
12.
Fr agments
of w ood en mod el s
f r om the ar ea of the
unf inis hed
r oy al
monument, 1920-21
(photo: E gy ptian
E x-
ped ition neg.
no.
MCC
174-7623)
I j
I
I d
*.
i;
,.,
-
14,*
A
k
I -
L-MZ
I
- I
-L_i
I
I . .
1
-.I
-d '.:~
t:7
I
*
I :
..
;' ?,. .. .
..a- f .
Figur e 13. View f r om
top
of the cl if f s on the b ack of the Sheikh Ab d
el -Qur na hil l , s how ing
entr ances of unf inis hed tomb s ,
1920-21 (photo: E gy ptian E xped ition neg.
no. MCC ioi)
11
I
I
I
I
I
q
I
.
I
11
i
i
'Pl .
Fig.
14 Fig. 15
Figur e 14.
Sher d f r om
cl ay
ves s el ins cr ib ed in ink: "the
l ad y -
in-w aiting
Hw ." H.
5.5
cm. T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund and E d w ar d S. Har knes s Gif t, 1922,
22.3.358
Figur e 15.
Fr ont of
f r agment
of s l ate b ow l ,
s how ing
name of
Metuhotep
I V
Neb taw y r a.
T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund , 1909, 09.180.543
Figur e
16. Back of s l ate b ow l in
Figur e 15, s how ing
name of
Amenemhat I and d ed ication to Hathor of D end ar a
Figur e
17. Recons tr uction of s l ate b ow l in
Figur e 15.
H. 16
cm
(Wil l iam Schenck)
tr ance b l ocked w ith thick s l ab s of
car ef ul l y
cut l ime-
s tone;
the
f ir s t,
ab out 1 m
50
cent.
s quar e
and o m
60 cent. thick,
w as s o
car ef ul l y
ins er ted in the f our
huge
incl ined s l ab s w ith w hich the
pas s age
w as l ined
that it w as d if f icul t to intr od uce the b l ad e of a
pen-
knif e in the
joints .
T hr ee other b l ocks of o m
40
cent. thicknes s each f ol l ow ed ."33 T he r ob b er s ' chan-
nel vis ib l e in
Figur e 4 (mar ked b y
an
ar r ow )
is too
nar r ow to
per mit
the extr action of a
s ar cophagus .
Mond d es cr ib es this channel as "a
ver y
s mal l
pas -
s age al ong
the
r oof ,
l ar ge enough
to ad mit a
per s on
l y ing
d ow n."34 Mond l is ts the
ob jects
f ound in the
chamb er as : "a s mal l
pot
s imil ar to thos e
al r ead y
f ound ;
another w as f ound b el ow the d oor s l ab . A
r ock
cr y s tal
b ead b r oken,
s ome
f r agments
of b ones
(oxen?),
and a human tooth."35 Al l this is either d e-
b r is
or ,
at
mos t,
s ome s or t of
f ound ation-d epos it
ma-
ter ial ;
it is not the r emains of a
r oy al
b ur ial . We mus t
ther ef or e concl ud e that a b ur ial w as never
d epos -
ited in this chamb er .
T he mos t
l ogical expl anation
of the evid ence
f ound w oul d b e that w hen w or k
ab ovegr ound
s topped ,
f or s ome r eas on or
other ,
the b uil d er s w er e
l ef t w ith a
r oy al
b ur ial chamb er ,
f inis hed and cas ed
w ith l imes tone b ut as
y et
d evoid of
any
b ur ial . Since
the chamb er had b een intend ed f or a
r oy al
b ur ial ,
and had mos t
pr ob ab l y
b een
r itual l y
cons ecr ated
(vid e
the f ound ation
d epos its ),
it b ecame
neces s ar y
to cl os e it in a
pr oper
f as hion, i.e.,
to b l ock it as if a
b ur ial had b een
b r ought
in. T he
pr es ence
of an al -
tar
(Figur e 7)
and
potter y (Figur es 9-11) s ugges ts
that r itual
pr oced ur es
w er e
per f or med d ur ing
the
b l ocking.
T he s cenar io f its the evid ence as
f ound ,
b ut the
as s umption
that this w as the b ur ial
pl ace
of
King Mentuhotep
I I I Seankhkar a has to b e d is -
car d ed .
D oub ts ab out Seankhkar a's
b eing
the ow ner of
the unf inis hed
r oy al
tomb ar e r einf or ced
b y
cons id -
er ation of the
gr oup
of unf inis hed
pr ivate
tomb s
that
pier ce
the w es ter n and s outher n
s l opes
of the
Sheikh Ab d
el -Qur na
hil l
(Figur e
i,
no.
8,
and
Fig-
ur es
2,
13)
and the nor ther n f ace of the hil l s s outh
of the unf inis hed monument. None of thes e tomb s
w as
compl eted ,
and no of f icial of the
ear l y
Mid d l e
12
Fig. 17
Fig.
16
Figur e
18. T he
py r amid
of Amenemhat I at Lis ht s een f r om the s ite of the Mid d l e
Kingd om capital I tj-taw y , 1906-7 (photo:
E gy ptian E xped ition neg.
no. L
6-7 379)
Kingd om
w as b ur ied her e.36 T he s ituation is en-
tir el y
d if f er ent f r om that in the
val l ey
of D eir el -
Bahr i,
w her e al l tomb s w er e f inis hed and us ed -if
not at the time of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a,
then
l ater und er the
r eign
of one of his s ucces s or s . I t is
al s o
impos s ib l e
to account f or the unf inis hed s tate
of the tomb s in the
val l ey
b ehind the Rames s eum as
ow ing
to the s hor t
r eign
of
Mentuhotep
I I I Seankh-
kar a. Senw os r et
I I ,
the f our th
king
of
D y nas ty
12,
r ul ed
onl y
nine
y ear s ,
b ut ther e w er e no tomb s l ef t
unf inis hed ar ound his
py r amid
at I l l ahun.37
I t is ins tr uctive to examine the natur e of the f ew
b ur ial s that w er e
actual l y
l aid d ow n in the
val l ey
of
the unf inis hed monument
d ur ing
the
ear l y
Mid d l e
Kingd om. T hey
ar e: the b ur ial s in the tomb of the
chancel l or
Meketr a,
w ith its
d epend ent
chamb er s ,
and an unknow n numb er of
b ur ial s ,
mos tl y
of
w omen,
at the
ed ge
of the
pl atf or m.
T he b ur ial s of Meketr a's
d epend ants 38
w er e,
of
cour s e,
center ed ar ound this nob l eman's inter ment
(s ee Figur es
21, 22);
ther e w as no need f or them to
b e attached to a
r oy al
tomb . T he r econs tr uction of
the
ear l y
Mid d l e
Kingd om
b ur ial s in the ar ea of the
unf inis hed monument is d if f icul t b ecaus e mos t of
the tomb s haf ts
exis ting
on and near the
pl atf or m
w er e r eus ed f r om the Second I nter med iate Per iod
to the
ear l y E ighteenth D y nas ty ,
at w hich time a
s mal l
cemeter y
w as in us e f ar ther eas t at the s outh-
eas ter n
ed ge
of the
b ay (Figur e
2,
nos .
1013-1020).
Al s o at the
b eginning
of the New
Kingd om,
a num-
b er of s haf ts w er e cut into the d eb r is
cover ing
the
pl atf or m.
T hes e s haf ts
penetr ated
the
r ocky
s ur f ace
of the
pl atf or m (Figur e
2,
nos .
1004-1006,
ioo8-
101
1).
One s haf t w as
again
r eus ed in the T hir d I n-
ter med iate Per iod .39 T he b es t cand id ates f or
ear l y
Mid d l e
Kingd om
b ur ial
pl aces
ar e the f our s haf ts
that l ie in a r ow at the s outheas ter n cor ner of the
pl atf or m (Figur e
2,
nos .
1001-1003, 1007).
I n the
w es ter nmos t of thes e s haf ts
(no. 1003), l ar ge
mar l
cl ay jar s
w er e
f ound ,
of a
ty pe
us ed in the tomb s of
the vizier
I py
in the D eir el -Bahr i
val l ey
and in the
tomb of Meketr a f or the
d epos ition
of
emb al ming
mater ial .40 Fur ther evid ence f or
ear l y
Mid d l e
King-
d om b ur ial s in the ar ea ar e the ab ove-mentioned r e-
13
mains of w ood en mod el s
(Figur e 12)
and the non-
r oy al of f er ing
tab l e d ed icated to
Beb jankh
f ound in
the d eb r is
cover ing
the
pl atf or m.41
T hes e f ind s at-
tes t that one or mor e
nonr oy al
b ur ial s of the
ear l y
Mid d l e
Kingd om
took
pl ace
in the
vicinity
of the
pl atf or m.
T he
pr es ence
in the d eb r is
cover ing
the
pl atf or m
of a numb er of s her d s w ith ink
ins cr iptions pr ovid e
f ur ther cl ues as to the
id entity
of the
per s ons
b ur -
ied . T he
ins cr iptions
mention "the
l ad y -in-w aiting
Hw "
(Figur e 14).42
T he b ur ial of a
high-r anking
w oman in cl os e
pr oximity
to a
r oy al
tomb r ecal l s the
s ix
pr ies tes s es
of Hathor and
r oy al
w ives b ur ied b e-
l ow their
magnif icent
s hr ines ins id e the
f uner ar y
templ e
of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
at D eir el -
Bahr i.43 I t is know n that s ome of thes e w omen d ied
and w er e b ur ied b ef or e the
compl etion
of the
templ e,
w el l b ef or e
Neb hepetr a's
ow n d eath. T he
b ur ial of another w oman ins id e the
r oy al py r amid
compl ex
of Senw os r et I at Lis ht comes to
mind ;
it
took
pl ace
w hen
b uil d ing
activities w er e s til l und er
w ay
in the
py r amid compl ex.44
I t is ther ef or e con-
s is tent w ith
contempor ar y pr actices
that the
l ad y -in-
w aiting
Hw w as b ur ied in the ar ea of the unf inis hed
r oy al
monument w hil e w or k on the
r oy al
tomb w as
s til l in
pr ogr es s .
T his al s o
appl ies
to the other
ear l y
Mid d l e
Kingd om nonr oy al
b ur ial s on the
pl atf or m.
T he evid ence
concer ning nonr oy al
tomb s in the
val l ey
b ehind the Rames s eum can b e s ummed
up
as
f ol l ow s : Whil e
b uil d ing
activities w er e s til l in
pr o-
gr es s ,
a numb er of f emal e b ur ial s w er e l aid d ow n
ar ound the
pl atf or m.
Of al l cl if f
tomb s ,
onl y
the
tomb of Meketr a and his
d epend ents
and r el atives
w as ever f inis hed and us ed .
Cl ear l y ,
an event oc-
cur r ed ,
af ter w hich the
val l ey
ceas ed to b e a d es ir -
ab l e b ur ial
pl ace.
T his event mus t have b een the d e-
cis ion not to us e the monument in the
val l ey
f or a
r oy al
b ur ial . Without a
r oy al
b ur ial at the
center ,
the
val l ey
b ehind the Rames s eum w as no
l onger
an at-
tr active l ocation f or inter ment in the
ey es
of Mid d l e
Kingd om
of f icial s . I t is
s ignif icant
that the
val l ey
d id
b ecome a b ur ial
gr ound
in the Second I nter med iate
Per iod and the
ear l y E ighteenth D y nas ty ,
w hen
pr i-
vate b ur ial s no
l onger s ought
the
neighb or hood
of
r oy al
monuments .45
T he
f ol l ow ing his tor y
of the
val l ey
b ehind the Ra-
mes s eum thus
emer ges .
An unknow n
king pl anned
to have his
f uner ar y
monument er ected in the val -
l ey ,
and
b uil d ing
activities w er e
b egun
on b oth the
monument its el f and tomb s f or the of f icial s of his
cour t.
D ur ing
the
b uil d ing per iod
a numb er of l a-
d ies of cour t r ank d ied and w er e b ur ied on the
pl at-
f or m. T he chancel l or Meketr a w as the
onl y
of f icial
to have his tomb
f inis hed ,
and w hen he-and s ome
of his
d epend ents
and
f amil y -d ied , they
w er e b ur -
ied in the tomb . But the main tomb of the
king
and
the r es t of the tomb s of of f icial s w er e never f inis hed
or us ed . T he
onl y
r itual activities that have l ef t
tr aces on the
pl atf or m
w er e
ephemer al
r ites
per -
f or med not at the end of
D y nas ty
1 b ut at the b e-
ginning
of
D y nas ty
12.
I t is evid ent that Winl ock's id entif ication of the
ow ner of the unf inis hed
f uner ar y
monument as
Mentuhotep
I I I Seankhkar a d oes not f it the f acts .
But w ho w as the ow ner of the unf inis hed monu-
ment? T her e can b e no
ques tion
ab out the
r oy al
s ta-
tus of the
per s on;
the
s imil ar ity
of the
pl an
to that
of the
Neb hepetr a pr ecinct
at D eir el -Bahr i is evi-
d ence
enough
(s ee Figur e
i,
nos . 1 and
5).
T he
s ame
s imil ar ity
l ead s to the
as s umption
that the d ate
of the unf inis hed monument cannot b e f ar r emoved
f r om the
r eign
of
Neb hepetr a,
b ut al l
ob jects
f ound
s eem to
point
to a d ate in the
ear l y
T w el f th
D y nas ty .
T he s ear ch
mus t, ther ef or e,
f ocus on a
king
of the
ear l y
T w el f th
D y nas ty
w ho had connections w ith
T heb es b ut w as
ul timatel y
not b ur ied ther e. T he
onl y king
to f it this
d es cr iption
is Amenemhat I .
T HE D AT E OF T HE PYRAMI D OF AME NE MHAT I
AT LI SHT
D es cr iptions
of the
r eign
of Amenemhat I
us ual l y
b egin
w ith the s tatement
that,
immed iatel y
af ter as -
s uming
the
thr one,
the
king
moved his r es id ence
and cour t f r om T heb es to the
new l y
f ound ed
city
of
I tj-taw y ,
near
pr es ent-d ay
Lis ht,
r oughl y thir ty
mil es
s outh of Cair o.46 T her e
is , how ever ,
no evid ence to
cor r ob or ate the view that this event
r eal l y
took
pl ace
"immed iatel y "
af ter Amenemhat as cend ed the
thr one. T he ear l ies t d ate
actual l y
r ecor d ed f or the
exis tence of
I tj-taw y
is that of
y ear 30
of Amenem-
hat's
r eign-w hich
is the s ame as
y ear
l o of the
r eign
of Senw os r et I ,
if the
cor egency
of the tw o
kings
is
accepted .47
T r ue,
a
f r agment
of a s l ate b ow l f ound at Lis ht
Nor th
(Figur es i5-17)48
is ins cr ib ed on the outs id e
w ith the of f icial
titul ar y
of
King
Mentuhotep
Neb -
taw y r a
and on the ins id e w ith that of
King
Ame-
nemhat I .
Mentuhotep
I V
Neb taw y r a
is a
king
oth-
er w is e know n f r om
ins cr iptions
in the
amethy s t
quar r ies
of Wad i el -Hud i and f r om f our
l ar ge
r ock
ins cr iptions
in the Wad i Hammamat in w hich a vi-
zier ,
Ameny , pl ay s
a
pr ominent
r ol e.49 I t is
us ual l y
as s umed that
Neb taw y r a
s ucceed ed
Mentuhotep
I I I
14
Seankhkar a and r ul ed f or a
f air l y
s hor t
per iod .
Vi-
zier
Ameny
is
thought
to have l ater b ecome
king
und er the name of Amenemhat I .50
T he connection of the tw o
r oy al
titul ar ies on the
s l ate b ow l f r om Lis ht has b een as s umed to ind icate
that the
city
of
I tj-taw y
and the nor ther n
py r amid
of Lis ht w er e f ound ed at a time w hen r ecol l ections
of the l as t
king
w ith the name of
Mentuhotep
w er e
s til l
f r es h, i.e.,
"immed iatel y "
af ter Amenemhat I
s eized the thr one. But the exis tence of a s tone ves s el
that l inks the name of one
king
w ith that of a
pr ed e-
ces s or d oes not f ur nis h
enough
evid ence to d ate the
s ite w her e the ves s el is f ound .
T he
excavator s ,
and s ome commentator s on the
s l ate
ves s el ,
have noted that the tw o
ins cr iptions
ar e
incis ed in a d if f er ent
s ty l e
of
w r iting (Figur es 15,
16).51
I t is
cl ear l y neces s ar y
to as s ume that Amenem-
hat had his name ad d ed to an ol d er ves s el that al -
r ead y
b or e the name of
Mentuhotep
I V
Neb taw y r a.
T he ad d ition of
r oy al
names to monuments or ob -
jects
of an ear l ier d ate and ins cr ib ed w ith ear l ier
r oy al
names occur s at var ious times
d ur ing E gy ptian
his tor y , al though
a cons id er ab l e amount of time
us ual l y s epar ates
the
ins cr iptions .52
T her e
is ,
ther e-
f or e,
no r eas on to as s ume that the ad d ition of
Amenemhat's name to the b ow l w as mad e at the
ver y b eginning
of his
r eign. Str ictl y s peaking,
the
b ow l d oes not even
pr ove
that
Neb taw y r a
immed i-
atel y pr eced ed
Amenemhat I . T he
onl y
f act to b e
gl eaned
f r om the b ow l is that Amenemhat d ed i-
cated to a
s anctuar y
at Lis ht a ves s el that had
pr evi-
ous l y
b een the votive
gif t
of
Neb taw y r a
to the
Hathor of D end ar a.
Pr es umab l y
the ves s el came
or iginal l y
f r om a
s anctuar y
in
Upper E gy pt.
I t
s houl d b e r ememb er ed that the tr ans f er of cul ts
f r om
Upper E gy pt
to the new r es id ence at Lis ht is
attes ted in another
w ay .
An al tar f ound in the canal
that now r uns
thr ough
the
r egion
of
I tj-taw y
is in-
s cr ib ed w ith the names of Senw os r et I "b el oved of "
b oth Amun of Kar nak and
Montu,
the l or d of
T heb es .53
I f the b ow l
f r agment
cannot b e us ed as evid ence
of the
f ound ing
of
I tj-taw y ear l y
in the
r eign
of
Amenemhat
I ,
w hat evid ence is ther e f or
d ating
this
event b ef or e the ear l ies t
l iter ar y
s our ce of
r egnal
y ear 30?
I n the ab s ence of
any
f ur ther r emains f r om
the tow ns ite
its el f ,
w e mus t tur n to the
py r amid
that
w as er ected on the d es er t
pl ateau
w es t of the
tow n,
the
py r amid
of Lis ht Nor th
(Figur e 18).
T w o s our ces exis t
among
the excavated r emains of
the Lis ht Nor th
py r amid
that can b e us ed f or a
chr onol ogical
eval uation. One is an ink
ins cr iption
on a
b uil d ing
s tone f ound on the w es t s id e of the
py r amid ;54
the other is a
gr oup
of r el ief s that w er e
r eus ed as f ound ation b l ocks in the s ub s tr uctur e of
the
py r amid templ e.
T he ink
ins cr iption
is d ated to
"y ear i" of an unnamed
king.
At f ir s t
gl ance,
this
d ate w oul d s eem to cor r ob or ate the
f ound ing
of the
new r es id ence s oon af ter Amenemhat's as cens ion to
the
thr one,
f ol l ow ed
quickl y b y
the s tar t of cons tr uc-
tion on his
py r amid . Oppos ing
this
inter pr etation
is
the evid ence of the r el ief s that w er e us ed as f oun-
d ation s tones in the
py r amid templ e.
Rel ief -d ecor ated l imes tone b l ocks r eus ed in the
f ound ations of the
py r amid templ e
of Amenemhat
I
(Figur e 19)
w er e f ound
b y
the Fr ench I ns titute ex-
cavations und er Gus tave
Jequier
and
Jos eph
E .
Gautier 55 and
b y
that of the
Metr opol itan
Mu-
s eum.56 I t is not the
pur pos e
of this
es s ay
to d is cus s
the
ty pe
of
b uil d ing
to w hich thes e b l ocks
or iginal l y
b el onged .57
I t is
enough
to s tate that the
py r amid
templ e
of Amenemhat I at Lis ht w as b uil t on f oun-
d ations that
incor por ated
s tones d atab l e to a
per iod
l ate in his
r eign.
T he l ate d ate of the r eus ed b l ocks is attes ted to
pr imar il y b y
tw o ob s er vations . T he f ir s t concer ns
the
pr ominent
r ol e
pl ay ed b y
the Sed -f es tival in the
r el ief s cenes to w hich Wil l iam
Kel l y Simps on
has
r ightl y
d r aw n attention.58 Amenemhat's Sed -f es tival
is
thought
to have b een in
pr epar ation
w hen he
d ied . T he s econd ob s er vation concer ns the f act that
the r el ief s w er e
ob vious l y
executed
d ur ing
the co-
r egency
of Amenemhat I and his s on Senw os r et I .
On a b l ock in the
Metr opol itan
Mus eum,
f or in-
s tance,59
the name of Amenemhat I
(Figur e
19,
r ight) appear s conf r onting
that of his s on
(Figur e
19, l ef t),
and the l atter is
apos tr ophized
as "ns w t
d s .f "
"the
king
hims el f "
(Figur e
21, center ).60
T hes e
s cenes have
al w ay s
b een taken as evid ence f or the
exis tence of a
cor egency
of the tw o
kings ,
w hich is
other w is e attes ted
b y
a numb er of
ins cr iptions
jointl y
d ated to b oth
r eigns .61
T he f act that the
r eus ed b l ocks
emphas ize
the
cor egency
is cl ear evi-
d ence that the
b uil d ing
to w hich the b l ocks
or igi-
nal l y b el onged
w as er ected
d ur ing
the l as t ten
y ear s
of Amenemhat's
r eign.
T he
cor egency
mus t have
b een es tab l is hed
b y
the time the
or iginal b uil d ing
to
w hich the r eus ed b l ocks
b el onged
w as d ecor ated .62
T he concl us ion to b e d r aw n f r om the d ate of the
r eus ed b l ocks l ate in the
r eign
of Amenemhat I is
that his
py r amid templ e,
in w hich the b l ocks w er e
us ed as f ound ation
s tones ,
cannot have b een
er ected b ef or e that time.
I nd eed ,
it
may
b e that the
py r amid templ e
in its f inal
s hape
w as b uil t af ter the
15
d eath of the
king,
w hen Senw os r et I r ul ed al one. I n
this
context,
the d ate on the
b uil d ing
s tone f r om the
py r amid -"y ear i"-cl ear l y
r ef er s not to
y ear
i of
Amenemhat b ut
y ear
i of his s on Senw os r et
I ,
and
this al s o s eems to b e ind icated
b y
the
s ty l e
of the
w r iting.63
I f a
cor egency
is
accepted , y ear
1 of Sen-
w os r et I is id entical w ith
y ear
20 of Amenemhat I .
Al though
the ink
ins cr iption
ther ef or e r emains the
ear l ies t evid ence avail ab l e f or
any b uil d ing activity
at Lis ht
Nor th,4
f or the
f ound ing
of
I tj-taw y
w e
may
now as s ume a d ate ar ound
y ear
20 of Amenemhat's
r eign
at the
ear l ies t,
b ecaus e it s eems r eas onab l e to
s uppos e
that the initial w or k on the
py r amid
of the
f ound er coincid ed w ith the
f ound ing
of the tow n.
T his view is cor r ob or ated
b y
the f act that the name
of the tow n is f ir s t attes ted to in
y ear
o1 of Senw os -
r et I
(y ear 30
of Amenemhat
I ),65
that
is ,
ten
y ear s
af ter its
f ound ing.
I t can thus b e s tated that the avail ab l e
chr onol og-
ical evid ence f or the
f ound ing
of
I tj-taw y
and the
b eginning
of
b uil d ing
activities at the
py r amid
of
Lis ht Nor th d o not contr ad ict the
pos s ib il ity
that in
the
ear l y y ear s
of his
r eign
Amenemhat I
gover ned
E gy pt
f r om T heb es in the
s outh,
and that a f uner -
ar y
monument w as l aid out f or him in the T heb an
necr opol is .
T HE BURI AL PLACE S OF T HE LAST T w o
KI NGS OF T HE E LE VE NT H D YNAST Y
I f the unf inis hed
r oy al
tomb in the
val l ey
nor thw es t
of the Rames s eum w as er ected f or Amenemhat I ,
w her e w as
Mentuhotep
I I I Seankhkar a b ur ied ? I t
s houl d b e noted that a f ail ur e to l ocal ize this
king's
f uner ar y
monument need not in
any w ay
af f ect the
attr ib ution of the unf inis hed tomb to Amenemhat I .
Not to know w her e one
king
is b ur ied d oes not
per
s e inval id ate the attr ib ution of a monument to one
of his s ucces s or s .
Fur ther mor e,
even w ith the attr i-
b ution of the unf inis hed tomb to
Seankhkar a,
his -
tor y
w as s til l s hor t one
r oy al
tomb f r om the end of
the E l eventh
D y nas ty ,
f or w e al s o d o not know
w her e
Mentuhotep
I V
Neb taw y r a
w as b ur ied .66
Notw iths tand ing
thes e
cons id er ations ,
w her e is the
b ur ial
pl ace
of Seankhkar a if the unf inis hed tomb
d oes not
b el ong
to him?
T w o l ocal ities
may
b e cons id er ed . Seankhkar a
(and
Neb taw y r a)
coul d have b een b ur ied either in-
s id e the
f uner ar y
monument of
Neb hepetr a
at D eir
el -Bahr i
(Figur e
i,
no.
5)
or b ack in the ol d b ur ial
gr ound
of their
f amil y
in the ar ea now cal l ed E l -
T ar if
(Figur e
i,
no. i
1).67
An
ob ject ind icating
that
.1/
4%;~~
I i-
I ..
r '" w
?-
-
!I
4 C ?
C?? i
--
I ..~~
c-41
'1
/
I
/f f -
MY
H i
r 4
Jj.
/1 A
Figur e
19. Limes tone r el ief b l ock f ound r eus ed in the f ound ations of the
py r amid templ e
of Amenemhat I at Lis ht. 37
x 88
cm. T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund ,
1909, 09.180.
1
13
16
-
mp--~~~ -w - - -
-
-+
I
L
k
i
t
the s econd of thes e
pos s ib il ities
is the mor e
l ikel y
r ecentl y
has come to
l ight.
Wil l iam Fl ind er s
Petr ie,
in his His tor ical
Scar ab s ,68
pub l is hed
an al ab as ter
pl aque
w ith the name of
King
Seankhkar a
(Figur e 20).
On this
pl aque,
w hich
is
9.3
b y
5.2
centimeter s in
s ize,
the
king
is cal l ed
"b el oved of
Montu-Ra,
l or d of T heb es "-a f or mul a
exactl y par al l el
to the one f ound on the s mal l er
f ound ation-d epos it
tab l ets f r om the f uner al monu-
ment of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb heptr a.69
I t is
highl y s ig-
nif icant that ther e is a tr ad ition
giving
D ir a Ab u 'n-
Naga (Figur e
i,
no.
12)
as the
f ind s pot
of the
Seankhkar a al ab as ter f ound ation
pl aque.70
T he d es -
ignation
"f r om D ir a Ab u
'n-Naga"
in d eal er s ' s tate-
ments ab out the
pr ovenance
of cer tain
ob jects
can
w el l mean either the hil l of D ir a Ab u
'n-Naga
pr oper
or the ar ea of E l -T ar if
(Figur e
i,
no. 1
).71
No
pr ovenance
is
r epor ted
f or a
r ecentl y pub l is hed
cy l ind er
s eal w ith an al mos t id entical
ins cr iption.72
T his s eal is mad e of
pr ecious
car nel ian and
may
w el l
come f r om the
f uner ar y templ e
of the
king.
A monument connected w ith
Mentuhotep
I I I
Seankhkar a in the ar ea of the nor ther n
par t
of the
T heb an
necr opol is
is the b r ick
chapel
on
top
of the
highes t
mountain
peak
w es t of E l -T ar if and the en-
tr ance of the
Val l ey
of the
Kings (Figur e
i,
no.
1o).73
Figur e
20. I ncis ed
ins cr iption
on al ab as ter
pl aque, s how ing
the name of
Mentuhotep
I I I Seankhkar a and a d ed ication to Montu.
Lond on,
Br itis h Mus eum
(Bar r y
Gir s h, af ter
W. F.
Petr ie, His tor ical
Scar ab s , no.
165)
A
l ar ge
hal l -l ike b r ick s tr uctur e w es t of the
chapel 74
has al l the
as pects
of
s l eeping quar ter s
f or
l ar ge
gr oups
of
peopl e.
T he
s anctuar y may
ther ef or e b e
und er s tood to b e a
hol y pl ace
at the
b eginning
of a
d es er t r oad w her e car avans r es ted over
night
b ef or e
s etting
out f or a
l ong
tr ek.
T empl es
or s anctuar ies at
s uch l ocations ar e w el l know n
d ur ing
the New
King-
d om.75
A
f uner ar y
f unction f or the mountain
chapel
it-
s el f is
impr ob ab l e.
But the
b uil d ing
is a
s tr ong
r e-
mind er of the f act that the
pl ain
of E l -T ar if
(Figur e
1,
no.
1)
had b een the b ur ial
pl ace
of the
kings
of
the
ear l y
E l eventh
D y nas ty .
Bur ial s of
nonr oy al per -
s ons w er e continued in this ar ea
d ur ing
the l ate
E l eventh, T w el f th,
and T hir teenth
d y nas ties .76
I t
w oul d b e w or thw hil e to s ear ch f or the r emains of
one-or tw o-mor e
r oy al f uner ar y
monuments in
this
neighb or hood .
HI ST ORI CAL E VE NT S E ARLY I N T HE RE I GN OF
AME NE MHAT I
His tor ical l y ,
the
pr ob ab il ity
that a
f uner ar y
monu-
ment w as
b egun
f or Amenemhat I at T heb es r es ul ts
in a s cenar io s omew hat d if f er ent f r om the one
gen-
er al l y
envis ioned f or the
ear l y y ear s
of this
king's
Figur e 2i.
View f r om
pl atf or m
of the unf inis hed monument tow ar d the tomb
of Meketr a,
s how ing
the mouth of the
r oy al
tomb
(r ight f or egr ound ),
f ound a-
--w ;j,, X ,~~~~~~~~~~~ a--~~~~~~ '~ w ~,.,.e
''',B
",-
_. ;,#0 -.?
* ?
.
no. MCC 91) -
*
":v
-
..-.
,a
-
; . .
Figur e
21. View f r om
pl atf or m
of the unf inis hed monument tow ar d the tomb
of Meketr a, s how ing
the mouth of the
r oy al
tomb
(r ight f or egr ound ),
f ound a-
tion
pits ,
and tomb s haf ts
1005
and
1006. Cof f ins , T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum
of Ar t,
Roger s
Fund , 1926, 26.3.1-3, 1921 (photo: E gy ptian E xped ition neg.
no. MCC
91)
17
r eign.
I n accor d ance w ith the
pr actice
of the E l ev-
enth
D y nas ty ,
Amenemhat I mus t
initial l y
have tr ied
to
gover n
the
countr y
f r om the s outher n
capital .
T he
s tage
r eached in the
b uil d ing
of the unf inis hed
f uner ar y
monument s eems to ind icate a
per iod
of
thr ee to f ive
y ear s
f or the T heb an
phas e
of his
r eign.
T her e ar e var ious ind ications
that,
d ur ing
thes e
ear l y y ear s ,
the
king
und er s tood his r ul e to b e a d i-
r ect continuation of the E l eventh
D y nas ty ,
w hich
may expl ain w hy
s ome ancient his tor ians l is ted
Amenemhat I w ith the E l eventh not the T w el f th
D y -
nas ty kings .77
E vid ence f or cl os e l inks b etw een Ame-
nemhat I and the E l eventh
D y nas ty may
b e s een in
the ear l ier f or m of Amenemhat's
r oy al titul ar y ,
w hich
accor d ing
to the al tar f r om
Seb enny tos (Fig-
ur e
8;
ins cr iption
not
s how n)
w as as f ol l ow s : Hor us
Sehetepib taw y ;
the T w o Lad ies
Sehetepib taw y ;
Gol d
Hor us
Sema;
King
of
Upper
and Low er
E gy pt
Seh-
etepib r a;
Son of Ra Amenemhat.78 I n this
titul ar y
the Hor us name
Sehetepib taw y
is cl os e to the name
of
(Mentuhotep I V) Neb taw y r a,
w hil e the Gol d Ho-
r us name Sema r es emb l es the Hor us name "Sema-
taw y "
b or ne
b y Mentuhotep Neb hepetr a.79
I t is not know n w hen Amenemhat I
changed
the
ear l y
f or m of his
titul ar y
to the w el l -know n l ater one
(Hor us Wehem-mes ut;
the T w o Lad ies Wehem-
mes ut;
Gol d Hor us
Wehem-mes ut;
King
of
Upper
and Low er
E gy pt Sehetepib r a;
Son of Ra Amenem-
hat),80
b ecaus e no monument of the
king
has b een
f ound that b ear s a d ate b ef or e
y ear
20 of his
r eign,81
at w hich time the l ater f or m of the
titul ar y
s eems to
have b een w el l es tab l is hed . Since the d ecis ion to
move the
r oy al
r es id ence
aw ay
f r om T heb es mus t
b e cons id er ed the d ecis ive event
d ur ing
the ear l ier
par t
of the
r eign,
it s eems r eas onab l e to
s ugges t
that
the
change
of the
titul ar y
occur r ed in
conjunction
w ith that move. T he
s ignif icance
of the main new
el ement in the
changed titul ar y (Figur e
19,
r ight)-
Wehem-mes ut, i.e.,
"Renew al of b ir ths "
or ,
al mos t
l iter al l y ,
"Renais s ance"-has
r epeated l y
b een
pointed
out.82 I f the new
titul ar y
w as
ad opted
in
conjunction
w ith the move of the r es id ence into the
Memphite
ar ea,
the ter m
might
ind eed b e meant to
expr es s
the
king's
d eter mination to r enew the Ol d
Kingd om
s tate w ith its centr al s eat of
gover nment
at
Memphis .
I n
s pite
of the l ack of d ated monuments f r om the
ear l y y ear s
of Amenemhat
I ,
s ome r ef er ences in
l ater
ins cr iptions
s hed
l ight
on his tor ical events d ur -
ing
this
per iod .
T hes e s our ces attes t to
(a)
a s outh-
er n
or igin
f or Amenemhat
I ; (b ) mil itar y
activities
ins id e
E gy pt,
w ith T heb es as a center of
pow er ;
and
(c)
s er ious d if f icul ties in the D el ta
pr ovinces
and at
the D el ta
b or d er s ,
w hich r es ul ted in a numb er of
mil itar y campaigns
in thes e ar eas . Amenemhat's
cons ol id ation of
pow er
mus t have r es ted on victor ies
achieved b oth
inter nal l y
and on a
f or eign
f r ont.
I n a
l iter ar y
s our ce,
T he
Pr ophecy of Nef er ty ,
the or i-
gin
of the
king
f r om the common
peopl e
of
Upper
E gy pt
w ith a mother f r om the
ver y
s outh of
E gy pt
is s tated :83 "A
king
w il l come f r om the
s outh,
Ameny ,
the
vind icated ,
his
name;
he is the s on of a
w oman of
T a-Sety ,
he is a chil d of Khen-nekhen."84
T he text
s peaks
of the tw o s outher nmos t nomes of
E gy pt
or Low er Nub ia
(T a-Sety ,
the
pl ace
of
or igin
of Amenemhat's
mother )
and
Upper E gy pt (Khen-
nekhen,
his
gener al r egion
of
or igin),
b ut d oes not
mention T heb es . I f this can b e taken as a his tor ical
s tatement,
it s eems that
Amenemhat,
al though
an
Upper E gy ptian,
w as not
neces s ar il y
T heb an
b y
b ir th and ther ef or e
may
not at f ir s t have b een a
memb er of the T heb an cour t and ad minis tr ation of
the E l eventh
D y nas ty .
How ever ,
b y y ear
2 of Men-
tuhotep
I V
Neb taw y r a,
Amenemhat w as in
pos s es -
s ion of
pow er onl y
s econd to the
king,
as can b e s een
in his
impr es s ive ar r ay
of titl es and of f ices l is ted in
the
ins cr iptions
in the Hammamat
quar r y .85
T he main s our ce of inf or mation ab out inner
E gy ptian s tr uggl es d ur ing
the
ear l y y ear s
of the
r eign
is the s tel a er ected
b y
Nes u-Montu at
Ab y d os
and
pr es entl y
in the Louvr e.86 I t is
gener al l y agr eed
that the
par tl y
er as ed d ate on this s tel a is
y ear 24
of
Amenemhat I .87 T he
ins cr iption
is head ed not
onl y
b y
the name of Amenemhat I b ut al s o
b y
that of
Senw os r et
I ,
his s on
and ,
b y
this
time,
cor egent.
T he
text
initial l y
r ef er s to b oth
kings
w ith the
per s onal
pr onoun
s n,
"their ." Far ther on in the text
onl y
one
king
is r ef er r ed
to,
in the
s ingul ar .
As Law r ence M.
Ber man has
r ecentl y pointed
out,
this ind icates that
events d es cr ib ed und er the
head ing
of the s ol e men-
tion of one
king
mus t have occur r ed
d ur ing
the
pe-
r iod of Amenemhat's
s ingl e
r ul e b ef or e the cor e-
gency .
Ber man concl ud es that thus "the nar r ative
takes on
par ticul ar s ignif icance
as
d eal ing
w ith
events
ear l y
in the
r eign
of Amenemhat
I ,
per haps
ear l ier than the move to
I tj-taw y ."88
T his then is w hat
happened , accor d ing
to the
Nes u-Montu s tel a: "I
[Nes u-Montu]
tr ained the
tr oops
in
amb us h,
and at
d ay b r eak
the
l and ing s tage
s ur r end er ed . When I
gr as ped
the
tip
of the
b ow ,
I
l ed the b attl e f or the tw o l and s . I w as
victor ious ,
my
ar ms
taking [s o
much
s poil ]
that I had to l eave
[s ome]
on the
gr ound .
I
d es tr oy ed
the
f oes ,
I over -
thr ew the enemies of
my
l or d ,
ther e
b eing
none
other w ho w il l
s ay
the l ike."89
Cl ear l y ,
a r iver -b as ed
mil itar y
action is
b eing
d es cr ib ed
her e,
b ecaus e the
18
CAUSE WAY
T omb
PLAN
Figur e
22. Pl an of the tomb of Meketr a
(Winl ock, E xcavations , p. 18, f ig. 2)
d ecis ive
victor y
w as the
s tor ming
of a
"l and ing
s tage."90
T he w hol e
d es cr iption
is
s tr ikingl y
r eminis -
cent of s imil ar events that took
pl ace
in the conf l icts
b etw een the var ious
Upper E gy ptian
chief tains b e-
f or e
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
took matter s in
hand .91
Fur ther mor e,
the s tel a text s eems to ind icate that
T heb es w as the b as e of
pow er
f or the nautical vic-
tor y .
T hr ee l ines ab ove the account of the r iver
b attl e,
the s tel a text r ecites one of the tr ad itional
s el f -l aud ator y pas s ages
us ual in s uch texts . T he s el f -
pr ais e appear s
in tw o
par agr aphs
each
b eginning
w ith "I am .. ."92 T he f ir s t
par agr aph
r ef er s to Nes u-
Montu's
w id es pr ead popul ar ity
w ith his
tr oops
of
"T heb an
cons cr ipts ,"93
his
col l eagues
in
of f ice,
and
the common
popul ation.
T he s econd
par agr aph,
w hich
immed iatel y pr eced es
the account of the r iver
action,
pr ais es
Nes u-Montu f or
f ul f il l ing impor tant
ethical r ul es : its
end ing
is
quite
r emar kab l e. Nes u-
Montu,
accor d ing
to the
text,
pr otected
the
aged ,
the
y oung,
and the
or phans ,
and w as "a w ar m s hel -
ter f or the
f r eezing
in
T heb es ,
that is l and of
cap-
tains ,
the l ike of w hich d oes not exis t in
Upper
E gy pt,
the mis tr es s of the nine b ow s ."
Why
s houl d
T heb es b e mentioned her e as the
pl ace
of Nes u-
Montu's
good
d eed s ? T he
onl y pos s ib l e expl anation
is that the s cr ib e
thought
this w as a cl ever
b r id ge
to
the account of the
mil itar y
action that he w anted to
d is cus s next. T he
b r id ge
is
onl y
cl ever , how ever ,
if
T heb es w as in s ome
w ay
connected w ith the r iver -
b as ed
b attl e,
either b ecaus e the b attl e took
pl ace
in
T heb an
ter r itor y
or b ecaus e T heb es w as the b as e of
the r iver
tr oops
that
f ought
the b attl e. T he s tel a text
thus
per mits
a s mal l
gl imps e
of the
s tr uggl es
that
w er e
f ought
in the
pr oces s
of
cons ol id ating
the r ul e
of Amenemhat I in
Upper E gy pt.94
T her e ar e a numb er of s our ces
attes ting
to the
d if f icul ties Amenemhat f aced in the
r egion
of the
Nil e d el ta. A
l iter ar y
s our ce,
again
T he
Pr ophecy of
Nef er ty , s ay s
in its
d es cr iption
of the chaos b ef or e the
coming
of the new
king:
"Foes have r is en in the
E as t,
As iatics have come d ow n to
E gy pt."95
Later ,
in
d es cr ib ing
the r es ul ts of Amenemhat's
takeover ,
the
text r ef er s at
l ength
to his cons ol id ation of the eas t-
er n and w es ter n D el ta f r ontier s . T he
b uil d ing
of an
eas ter n "Wal l of the Rul er " is mentioned
s pecif ical l y .
T his eas t D el ta f or tif ication w al l
r eappear s
in the
"Stor y
of Sinuhe" and mus t ther ef or e have
actual l y
exis ted .96
Ar chaeol ogical l y ,
a f or tr es s b uil t
b y
Ame-
nemhat I at the w es ter n
f r ontier ,
in the Wad i Na-
tr un,97
has b een l ocated and thus cor r ob or ates the
cl aim of
new l y
es tab l is hed f r ontier
f or tif ications ,
w hil e s ub s tantial
b uil d ing
activities in the eas ter n
D el ta,
incl ud ing
the er ection of a
pal ace,
s how the
impor tance
that the
king as s igned
to this ar ea.98 Fi-
nal l y ,
the
ab ove-quoted
s tel a of Nes u-Montu and an
impor tant b iogr aphical
text in the tomb of the no-
mar ch
Khnumhol tep
I at Beni Has an d es cr ib e ac-
tual
mil itar y
activities
al ong
the eas ter n b or d er of
the D el ta.99
T he
f ol l ow ing
chain of
events , then,
is ind icated
b y
avail ab l e s our ces f or the
ear l y y ear s
of Amenem-
19
T omb
BURI AL
. CHAMBE R
a
Figur e 23. Fr agment
of l imes tone
pol y gonal pil l ar
f r om
Meketr a's
por tico.
H.
8.5
cm. T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund and E d w ar d S. Har knes s
Gif t,
1920,
20.3.162 gr oup
hat I .
Amenemhat,
w ith the
hel p
of
Nes u-Montu,
among
other s ,
s ub d ued r es is tance to his r ul e. A
T heb an
tr oop
of
s pecial l y
tr ained r iver ar cher s
pl ay ed
a d ecis ive r ol e in this ef f or t. T he victor s d id
not d is d ain to take r ich
b ooty
f r om their
countr y -
men.
Fol l ow ing
this Amenemhat s et
up
his r ul e at
T heb es ,
w her e his
pol icy
w as to f ol l ow the
f oots teps
of the
kings
of the
Mentuhotep
l ine. We w il l s ee b e-
l ow that s ome of f icial s of the E l eventh
D y nas ty
cour t
may actual l y
have
s uppor ted
him al l
al ong.
Whil e ther e
eventual l y
w as
peace
in
Upper E gy pt,
Low er
E gy pt
continued to caus e
tr oub l e,
not
onl y
b ecaus e ther e
may
have b een s ome r es is tance to the
new r ul er
among
the chief tains of Low er
E gy pt
b ut
al s o b ecaus e the D el ta nomes w er e har as s ed
b y
in-
vad ing neighb or s
f r om the eas t and w es t. T his s itu-
ation neces s itated
pr ol onged oper ations
in the ar ea.
T he cour s e of action that
f inal l y
l ed to s ucces s
w as ,
appar entl y ,
a comb ination of
punitive campaigns
and the es tab l is hment of
E gy ptian
b or d er f or ts .
D ur ing
the
oper ations
in Low er
E gy pt
the
Upper
E gy ptian
Amenemhat l ear ned to
appr eciate
the im-
por tance
of the nor ther n
par t
of the
countr y .
His
f ir s t
s tep
in
r eor ganizing
the
countr y
af ter the D el ta
and its
neighb or s
w er e
s ub jugated
w as ther ef or e the
tr ans f er al of his r es id ence f r om T heb es to the
nor th.
I t is d if f icul t to
s ay w hy
the ar ea b etw een D ahs hur
and Meid um w as chos en as the s ite f or a new r es i-
d ence. One cons id er ation
may
have b een that Mem-
phis ,
the
capital d ur ing
the Ol d
Kingd om,
w as too
f ar f r om the
Fay um,
w hich had
al r ead y
s tar ted to b e
a new economic center .
(T he Fay um
oas is can b e
r eached f r om Lis ht
b y
a
r el ativel y
s hor t d es er t r oute
that avoid s a cl imb of the
heights
f ar ther
nor th.)?00
At the s ame
time,
the new r es id ence w as s til l cl os er
to the Ol d
Kingd om capital
at
Memphis
than the
city
of
Her akl eopol is ,
the b as e of the r ul er s w ho f ol -
l ow ed the d ow nf al l of the Ol d
Kingd om.
T he ar ea
ar ound Lis ht had
pl ay ed
a
s ignif icant
r ol e in Pr e-
d y nas tic
to
E ar l y D y nas tic his tor y .10'
T he ab ove r econs tr uction of events
ad mitted l y
in-
cl ud es a cer tain
chr onol ogical d is cr epancy .
As
s how n
ab ove,
the
city
of
I tj-taw y
w as mos t
pr ob ab l y
f ound ed ab out
y ear
20 of Amenemhat's
r eign.
T he
s tate of the unf inis hed
f uner ar y
monument at
T heb es ,
on the other
hand ,
ind icates a
per iod
of
onl y
f ive
y ear s
of w or k at the s ite.
Wher e, then,
d id
Amenemhat I
expect
to b e b ur ied b etw een
y ear 5
and
y ear
20? I t is
pos s ib l e
that,
af ter
r emoving
the
r es id ence f r om
T heb es ,
Amenemhat f ir s t
pl anned
to r ees tab l is h
Memphis
as the
capital ,
in w hich cas e
he w oul d have
b egun
a s econd
f uner ar y
monument
in the
Memphite necr opol is .'02 Onl y
l ater ,
w hen the
economic
impor tance
of the
Fay um
ar ea
pr evail ed ,
w as the
r oy al
r es id ence
f inal l y
es tab l is hed near
Lis ht.
T he T heb an
y ear s ear l y
in the
r eign
of Amenem-
hat I can b e und er s tood as a
per iod
w hen the
king
tr ied to cons ol id ate his r ul e
accor d ing
to the tr ad i-
tions s et
up b y
the r ul er s of the E l eventh
D y nas ty .
T he
attempt
f ail ed b ecaus e of a
major
f l aw in the
pol itics
of E l eventh
D y nas ty
r ul er s .
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a (once
the center of
pow er
of the Her -
akl eopol itan kings
in the nor th had b een
ab ol is hed )
l ar gel y ignor ed
Low er
E gy pt.
Shor t r aid s
agains t
As iatics and
Lib y ans
at the eas ter n and w es ter n
f r ontier s of Low er
E gy pt may
have b een und er -
taken
b y
the
king
or
b y
his over s eer s of
tr oops ,'03
b ut s uch
per f unctor y
activities had not much
impact
on the
economy
and
or ganization
of the E l eventh
D y nas ty gover nment.
T her e
is ,
f or
ins tance,
no
b uil d ing
nor th of
Ab y d os
that commemor ates the
name of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a.
Und er Men-
tuhotep
I I I
Seankhkar a,
the D el ta s eems to have b e-
gun
to r eas s er t its
impor tance.
T her e
may
b e evi-
d ence that a cul t of that
king
w as maintained
d ur ing
D y nas ty
12 at Khatana in the eas ter n
D el ta.'04 But
the numer ous
b uil d ing
activities of
Mentuhotep
I I I
Seankhkar a w er e s til l center ed in
Upper E gy pt.
I t is
onl y
w ith Amenemhat I that af f air s in the D el ta
20
nomes and at the D el ta b or d er s r eceive the attention
of the
king.
Amenemhat I
evid entl y
l ear ned a l es s on
that l ed him to
change f und amental l y
the
w ay
he
r ul ed the
countr y .
ME KE T RA AND AME NE MHAT I
E vid ence of
nonr oy al
activities and
per s ons
active
d ur ing
the T heb an
y ear s
of Amenemhat I exis ts in
the other w el l -know n monument in the
val l ey
nor thw es t of the
Rames s eum,
the tomb of Meketr a
(Figur e
i,
no.
3; Figur es 5,
21, 22).105
T he tomb
pl ay s
s uch a
cons picuous
r ol e
among
the monu-
ments in this
par ticul ar
cl if f
b ay
that its
pl anning
mus t b e
intimatel y
l inked w ith the
pl an
f or the un-
f inis hed
monument,
the
val l ey 's major
f eatur e. I f
the unf inis hed monument w as intend ed f or Ame-
nemhat I r ather than
Seankhkar a,
the d ate of the
tomb of Meketr a and the f ind s ther e mus t al s o b e
ad vanced to the
ear l y y ear s
of Amenemhat I .
Meketr a f ir s t
appear s
in the Shatt
er -Rigal
r ock
ins cr iptions .
He is l is ted ther e as "Over s eer of the
Six Gr eat T r ib unal s ," a
jud icial
titl e of
high
r ank.'06
T he d ate of the
ins cr iption
is mos t
pr ob ab l y y ear 39
of
Neb hepetr a.'17
At that time
Khety ,
the ow ner of
T heb an tomb
311,
w as chancel l or .'08 I n
y ear 46
of
Neb hepetr a,
a man named Mer u hel d the of f ice
of
chancel l or ,
as is know n f r om his
s tel a,
now in
T ur in.'09 Meketr a
f inal l y appear s
w ith the titl e of
chancel l or in the l imes tone r el ief s of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a's mor tuar y templ e
at D eir el -Bahr i."0
He mus t have f ol l ow ed Mer u in of f ice af ter
y ear 46.
At the mos t that l eaves
y ear s 47
to
51
f or Meketr a's
ter m of of f ice as chancel l or und er
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a.
"'
As s uming
Meketr a to have b een ab out
tw enty -f ive
y ear s
ol d at the time of the Shatt
er -Rigal ins cr ip-
tions ,
he w as in his mid -thir ties w hen he b ecame
chancel l or and ar ound
f or ty
w hen
Neb hepetr a
d ied ."2 Af ter
Neb hepetr a,
Seankhkar a
r eigned
f or
tw el ve
y ear s .
I n the l is t of
kings
on the T ur in
papy -
r us the
entr y
"s even
y ear s mis s ing"
f ol l ow s af ter
Seankhkar a's name."3 I t is
gener al l y
as s umed that
the
r eign
of
Mentuhotep
I V
Neb taw y r a,
of tw o d ef -
inite and s ome unknow n
y ear s ,
took
pl ace d ur ing
this
per iod
of s even
y ear s .
14
At the as cens ion of
Amenemhat I af ter thes e s even
y ear s ,
Meketr a w as
ther ef or e in his mid -f if ties . He w oul d have b een
ar ound
s ixty
if he d ied w hil e the
f uner ar y
monu-
ment in the
val l ey
nor thw es t of the Rames s eum w as
s til l und er cons tr uction. Fr om a
chr onol ogical point
tomb of Meketr a. H.
13.5
cm. T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund and E d w ar d S. Har knes s
Gif t,
1920,
20.3.162 gr oup
r .:,
Figur e 25. Fr agments
of
painted
l imes tone r el ief f r om the
tomb of Meketr a. H.
14
cm. T he
Metr opol itan Mus eum of
Ar t, Roger s
Fund and E d w ar d S. Har knes s Gif t, 1920,
20.3.162
i ,
?- . .
-.
Figur e 26. Fr agments of painted l imes tone r el ief f r om the
tomb of
Meketr a,
1920-2
.
Cair o,
E gy ptian
Mus eum
(photo: E gy ptian E xped ition neg.
no. MCC
2) (photo: E gy ptian E xped ition neg. no. MCC 2)
21
i
Figur e 27.
T hr ee
f igur es
f r om mod el s of Meketr a. Man w ith cor n
meas ur e:
Metr opol itan
Mus euml of Ar t.
Roger s Functi
and E id w ar d S.
Har knes s Gif t. ('20). 2.0. 1:
car penl ter
and iman
w s 'ith
ib l ow >
pipe.
Cair o.
E gy ptian
Mus eum
J)l or nal l l
d 'E 1ntr ee
465722 (l )photo
:
E g- ptti;an
E xped ition neg.
no.
NI CC: 11
S. 12-)J
of
view ,
ther e
is , ther ef or e,
no
ob jection
to
d ating
the tomb and the b ur ial of Meketr a into the
ear l y
y ear s
of Amenemhat I .
T o move the d ate of the tomb and
f uner ar y
equipment
of Meketr a f r om the
r eign
of Seankh-
kar a in
D y nas ty
1 i into the
b eginning
of the T w el f th
D y nas ty
d oes not r es ul t in a
gr eat change
ins of ar as
the numb er of
y ear s
is concer ned . But the
change
has cons id er ab l e
cons equences
f or our und er s tand -
ing
of the tomb and its
ob jects
in an ar t-his tor ical
context. Cl os e
s cr utiny
of the ar chitectur e of the
tomb and the
s ty l e
of the
ob jects
l ead s to the concl u-
s ion that in r el ation to other
ob jects
and monuments
an
ear l y
T w el f th
D y nas ty
d ate is mor e
convincing
than the hither to
per ceived pl acement
in the E l ev-
enth
D y nas ty .
T he mos t
s tr iking
ar chitectur al f eatur e of the
Meketr a tomb is the
por tico
of nine
pol y gonal s up-
por ts
of l imes tone
painted
in imitation of
gr anite
(Figur e 23).
Fr om
f r agments
f ound in the
d eb r is ,
the
Metr opol itan
Mus eum
E xped ition
r econs tr ucted
the
s uppor ts
as
eight-s id ed pil l ar s
s imil ar to thos e
that
s uppor ted
the
hy pos ty l e
hal l and
amub ul ator y
of the
templ e
of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
at D eir
el -Bahr i."5
I n a
nonr oy al
tomb the
por tico
of s l en-
d er
pol y gonal s uppor ts
is a f eatur e other w is e not
attes ted in the T heb an
necr opol is .
E l eventh
D y nas ty
tomb s in E l -T ar if
(Figur e
i,
no. 1
)
and in the l ow er
r anges
of the D eir el -Bahr i
val l ey
have b r oad r ec-
tangul ar pil l ar s
that ar e cut out of the r ock in the
s ame
w ay
as the inter ior r ooms of the tomb s ."6
T omb s
high up
on the cl if f of D eir el -Bahr i
(Figur e
i,
no.
14)
have no
por ticos ;
their entr ances ar e
s haped
as f l at f acad es ."7 T he tomb of
Meketr a,
ow -
ing
to its
pos ition high
on the cl if f ab ove the
val l ey
of the unf inis hed
monument,
s houl d
l ogical l y
have
f ol l ow ed the D eir el -Bahr i cl if f tomb s in
b eing
f itted
w ith a f l at f acad e. Such a f acad e w oul d al s o have
b een eas ies t to achieve in the s hal e f or mation cho-
s en f or the Meketr a tomb . Becaus e the s of t s hal e
that f or ms the cl if f in this
par ticul ar pl ace
w as il l
s uited f or
pil l ar s ,
monol ithic
pil l ar s
of l imes tone
f r om the T heb an
quar r ies
w er e intr od uced . But
w hy
have a
por tico
at al l ? One can
onl y
as s ume that
the ar chitect w hom Meketr a
empl oy ed
w as not r e-
l y ing d ir ectl y
on the tr ad ition
d evel oped d ur ing
the
E l eventh
D y nas ty
at
T heb es ,
and that he intr od uced
his ow n new
concept.
T his
concept
of a
por tico
of
pol y gonal pil l ar s
w as d es tined to have an
impr es s ive
his tor y
in l ater
y ear s .
T he cl os es t
par al l el s
to the
Meketr a
por tico,
al b eit w ith f l uted
col umns ,
ar e
pr e-
s er ved in tomb s 2 and
3
at Beni
Has an;"8
b oth ar e
tomb s of the T w el f th
D y nas ty
that w er e conceived
und er
s tr ong
inf l uence f r om the
capital
at Lis ht."9
T he w al l d ecor ation of Meketr a's tomb is
onl y
pr es er ved
in s mal l
f r agments ,
b ut ther e ar e
enough
22
Figur e
28. Wood en mod el
f igur es
of r ow er s and
s uper vi-
s or s (?)
f r om the tomb of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a,
ar b i-
tr ar il y ar r anged
af ter excavation
(photo:
D ieter
Ar nol d )
of them to s how that the r el ief w as the f ines t
y et
f ound in Mid d l e
Kingd om
T heb es
(Figur es
24-
26).'20
T he r el ief s ar e
w af er -thin,
and the d etail s ar e
enhanced
b y ver y
d el icate
painting.12'
T he col or
pal ette
is r ather
l ight,
and mixed col or s of ten occur .
A r emar kab l e
pr actice
of the Meketr a
painting
is
the us e of the s ame
pigment
in
var y ing d ens ity
to
achieve thr ee-d imens ional ef f ects . T he
w ing
of the
eagl e
in
Figur e 24,
f or
ins tance,
is d ivid ed f r om the
b od y
of the
b ir d ,
not
b y
the us ual d ar k contour l ine
b ut
b y
an ar ea in a
l ighter
s had e of the s ame
pig-
ment that is us ed to col or the main
par t
of
b od y
and
w ing.
T he
ey es
of the ow l in the s ame r el ief
f r ag-
ment ar e
topped b y
b l ack
tr iangl es ,
w hich ar e in
tur n
topped b y
ar eas in a
l ighter
s had e of the s ur -
r ound ing y el l ow .
Another method us ed
b y
the
painter s
of the Meketr a r el ief s makes us e of
f ine,
ver y
thin b l ack l ines to cr eate
s pecial
s ur f ace
ef f ects ,
s uch as the textur e of the r aw hid e s ad d l e the b ul l in
f igur e 25
is
w ear ing.
Such
techniques
ar e not f ound
in
any
other E l eventh
D y nas ty painted
r el ief at
T heb es . Col or s ar e
us ual l y appl ied unif or ml y
to
each
par ticul ar
ar ea of r el ief .
Onl y
in T w el f th
D y -
nas ty painted
r el ief s d oes one f ind the d el icate s had -
ing
and nuances of the Meketr a d ecor ation.'22
A f air numb er of r el ief
f r agments
f r om the Me-
ketr a tomb come f r om
l ar ge-s cal e ins cr iptions .
Some of thes e
pr ovid e
ad d itional evid ence on the
"^ ''':
1-~* ti)
Figur e 29.
Wood en mod el
f igur es
of cr af ts men f r om the
tomb of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a, ar b itr ar il y ar r anged
af ter excavation
(photo:
D ieter
Ar nol d )
titl es of Meketr a. A s mal l
gr oup
of
f r agments
w as
f ound
b y Geor ges D ar es s y
in
1895 d ur ing
the initial
cl ear ing
of the tomb
(Figur e 26).123
T he
ins cr iptions
on thes e
f r agments pr ovid e
unmis takab l e
pr oof
that
Meketr a
had ,
among
his other
d uties ,
the f unction
of "chief
s tew ar d ,"
an of f ice
that,
accor d ing
to r ecent
inves tigations ,
w as initiated at the
b eginning
of
D y -
nas ty
12.124
Fr agments
of a f ine cof f in w er e d is cover ed
b y
Winl ock in Meketr a's b ur ial chamb er
(s ee Figur e
62).125
T he cof f in had b een d ecor ated tw ice.
I nitial l y ,
hier ogl y phs
w er e
s impl y
tr aced into the
w ood ; l ater ,
this f ir s t
ins cr iption
w as cover ed
b y pl as ter ,
w hich
w as
gil d ed ,
and a s econd ver s ion of
ins cr iptions
and
d ecor ation w as then tr aced into the
gil d ed pl as ter .
As
pointed
out
b y James
Al l en,
the s econd
ins cr ip-
tion incl ud ed
pal aeogr aphic
el ements that
s tr ongl y
point
to a d ate not b ef or e the
r eign
of Amenemhat
I
(s ee Append ix I I ).
One
might
as k
w hy
this cof f in
w as d ecor ated
tw ice,
and w hether the s econd us er
coul d not have b een a
per s on
other than Meketr a.
Meketr a's name is
pr es er ved onl y
in the initial text
f r agments .
Reus e of the cof f in
b y
s omeone other
than Meketr a is
excl ud ed ,
b ecaus e no one b ut him
coul d have us ed the chamb er s o s oon af ter his ow n
b ur ial . T o
expl ain
the
d upl ication
of the cof f in d ec-
or ation,
one s houl d cons id er the tw o
pr evious kings
und er w hom Meketr a hel d of f ice. T he
gr eat
of f icial
23
Figur e 30.
T he
s l aughter hous e
mod el of Meketr a.
T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund and
E d w ar d S. Har knes s Gif t, 1920, 20.3.10
Figur e 31.
T he
b aker y
and
b r ew er y
mod el of Meketr a. T he Met-
r opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund and E d w ar d S. Har knes s
Gif t,
1920, 20.3.12
Figur e 32.
T he
s l aughter hous e
mod el of Ge-
Figur e
33.
T he comb ined
s l aughter hous e, b aker y ,
and
b r ew er y
mod el s of
meniemhat.
Copenhagen, Ny Car l s b er g Gl y pto-
Gemeniemhat.
Copenhagen, Ny Car l s b er g Gl y ptothek,
inv. AE .I .N.
1631
thek, inv. AE .I .N.
1632 (photo: Ny Car l s b er g (photo: Ny Car l s b er g Gl y ptothek)
Gl y ptothek)
24
may
w el l have chos en
initial l y
to b e b ur ied near the
templ e
of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
at D eir el -
Bahr i.'26 T he cof f in he had mad e f or that b ur ial
pl ace may
have b een of f ine
enough
w ood to b e
d eemed d es ir ab l e f or l ater r eus e in the Rames s eum
val l ey .
Final l y ,
w e come to the mod el s -the mos t f amous
of the f ind s f r om the tomb of Meketr a
(Figur es 27,
30, 31).127 Jud gment
as to their d ate is mad e d if f icul t
b y
the
extr aor d inar y
s tate of
pr es er vation
and the
high qual ity
of the
car ving
and
painting.
One coul d
ar gue
that s uch r ar e
exampl es
of tr ue ar t in the
genr e
of miniatur e
f igur es
w er e
pos s ib l e
at
any
time,
given
the
pr es ence
of
s uf f icientl y gif ted
ar tis ts .
How ever ,
a
compar is on
w ith the mod el s f r om the
b ur ial of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
ind icates un-
equivocal l y
that at the time of his d eath the
r oy al
cour t at T heb es d id not have w ood car ver s of s uch
ab il ity
at its
d is pos al .
T he w ood en mod el s f ound in the
und er gr ound
pas s age
and s id e chamb er s of the tomb of Mentu-
hotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
at D eir el -Bahr i
(Figur es 30,
31)128
ar e
car ef ul l y
car ved and
painted exampl es
of
the
ty pical
Fir s t I nter med iate Per iod mod el
genr e.
A
f ew ,
among
the hund r ed s of
f igur es pr es er ved ,
come s omew hat cl os er to the Meketr a
mod el s , b ut,
compar ed
w ith the
over w hel ming
numb er of
f ig-
ur es f r om D eir
el -Bahr i,
the Meketr a mod el s l ook as
if
they
w er e mad e in another
age.
I s it conceivab l e
that ther e w er e
onl y
ab out ten
y ear s
b etw een the tw o
gr oups ?
A
s ur vey
of al l extant w ood en mod el s of the l ate
Fir s t I nter med iate Per iod to the
ear l y
T w el f th
D y -
nas ty
r eveal s that ther e ar e
pr imar il y
tw o
gr oups
of
mod el s mos t
cl os el y
r el ated to the Meketr a
gr oup
in
the el ab or ate ar chitectur al
d etail s ,
the
intr icacy
and
l ivel ines s of the
s cenes ,
and the f ul l -b od ied r ound -
nes s and natur al char acter of the
f igur es
and their
ges tur es .
Both
compar ative gr oups
have b een f ound
in the nor ther n
Memphite r egion,
at
Saqqar a
in the
ear l y
Mid d l e
Kingd om cemeter y
next to the
py r a-
mid of T eti. T he f ir s t
gr oup
comes f r om the b ur ial
of Gemeniemhat.'29 T his b ur ial w as f ound intact. I n
ad d ition to the mod el s
(Figur es 32, 33), jew el r y ,
a
car tonnage
mas k,
and an inner and outer cof f in
w er e uncover ed . A s tel a of
high-qual ity
w or kman-
s hip or iginal l y
s tood
ab ovegr ound
over the tomb .
T he s econd
gr oup
of mod el s that
cl os el y
r es emb l es
the ones mad e f or Meketr a w as f ound w ith the cof -
f ins of tw o men named Wes er mut and
I npuemhat.
T his d oub l e b ur ial w as al s o f ound intact.'30
Gemeniemhat s er ved as
f uner ar y pr ies t
f or b oth
the Sixth
D y nas ty King
T eti and
King
Mer ikar a of
the T enth
D y nas ty .'3'
Since
f uner ar y
s er vices f or d e-
ceas ed
kings
w er e
continued ,
in mos t
cas es ,
f or
many gener ations ,
Gemeniemhat's of f ice d oes not
hel p
in
pl acing
him
chr onol ogical l y .
How ever ,
a d ate
f or b oth
Saqqar a
b ur ial s is
pr ovid ed b y
the
s ty l e
of
the
potter y
ves s el s f ound w ith them. As d emon-
s tr ated
el s ew her e,
thes e ves s el s d ate f r om the
r eign
of Amenemhat I .132
I n or d er to und er s tand w hat the tw o
Saqqar a
gr oups
of mod el s s har e w ith the mod el s of
Meketr a,
and w hat s ets of f al l thr ee
gr oups
f r om the mod el s
of
King Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a,
it is
neces s ar y
to
r ecapitul ate b r ief l y
the
his tor y
of w ood en mod el s
f r om the l ate Ol d
Kingd om
to the
ear l y
T w el f th
D y -
nas ty . By
w ood en mod el s w e mean s mal l -s cal e
gr oups
of w ood en
f igur es
in the
r ound ,
w hich
r ep-
r es ent hous ehol d s er vants and cr af ts men
pr epar ing
pr ovis ions
f or the d eceas ed . When thes e
f igur es
f ir s t
appear ed
in the l ate Ol d
Kingd om, they
cons is ted
of
s ingl e f igur es or ,
at the
mos t,
gr oups
of tw o
f ig-
ur es that w er e f itted onto a s mal l f l at
b oar d ,
and no
ar chitectur al el ements w er e
pr es ent.'33
T he l ates t
exampl es
of s er vant
f igur e
mod el s d ate
to the mid -T w el f th
D y nas ty .
T hes e l ate mod el s of ten
comb ine var ious tr ad es in one mod el unit and ar e
15%
35%
50%
24%
26%
47%
4
Figur e 34. Pr opor tions
of mod el
f igur es
f r om the tomb of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a (l ef t)
and Meketr a
(r ight) (Bar r y
Gir s h)
25
ol
ol
ol
v
ol I -
.j
w .
..
Figur e 35.
T he tw o s tatues of
of f er ing
b ear er s f r om the
tomb of Meketr a, 1920.
Painted w ood . Lef t: H.
85.5
cm.
Cair o,
E gy ptian
Mus eum
Jour nal
d 'E ntr ee
46725. Right:
86
cm. T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund and
E d w ar d S. Har knes s Gif t, 1920, 20.3.7 (photo: E gy ptian
E x-
ped ition neg.
no. MC
86)
hous ed in el ab or ate and d etail ed
r epr es entations
of ar chitectur e. We s ee
cour ty ar d s
w ith
ad jacent
r ooms ,
s tair cas es that l ead
up
to s econd
s tor ies ,
and
r ooms that have r oof s and
s uppor ting
col umns .'34
Fir s t I nter med iate Per iod mod el s take an inter -
med iar y pos ition
b etw een the
s impl e
mod el s of the
Ol d
Kingd om
and el ab or ate ones of the mid d l e of
D y nas ty
12. Fir s t I nter med iate Per iod
f igur es
ar e
26
us ual l y
encl os ed in b oxl ike s tr uctur es that
r epr es ent
the ar chitectur e of
gr anar ies
or
cour ty ar d s
f or
cr af ts men. But
many gr oups
of Fir s t I nter med iate
Per iod w ood en
f igur es
s til l
onl y
have a f l at b oar d as
a b as e.'35
Not
many
of the container s of the mod el s of Men-
tuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
w er e
pr es er ved .
Mos t
f ig-
ur es
s ugges t f air l y s impl e
ar chitectur al
ar r ange-
ments ,
al though
a numb er of mor e el ab or ate d etail s
ar e
pr es ent.'36
Both the Meketr a mod el s and the
mod el s f r om the tw o
Saqqar a
tomb s of Gemeniem-
hat, Wes er mut,
and
I npuemhat
ar e
d ef initel y
cl os er
to the l ates t T w el f th
D y nas ty
ver s ions of
mod el s ,
as
they
s har e
ver y
el ab or ate ar chitectur al d etail s . I n
the
Wes er mut-I npuemhat gr oup
is a
car pentr y s hop
that has
w al l s ,
a
d oor ,
and a r oof over
par t
of the
r oom. T he Gemeneimhat
car penter s
w or k in a tw o-
r oom hous e w ith
potter s thr ow ing pots
on a w heel
in the f r ont
y ar d .'37
Gemeniemhat's
b eer making
takes
pl ace
in the cour t of a
tw o-s tor y b uil d ing;
the
s econd
s tor y opens
over the cour t. Meat is
hung
in
the
upper
r oom to
d r y (Figur e 32).138
Al l thes e f ea-
tur es ar e
ver y
s imil ar to d etail s of the Meketr a mod -
el s ,
s uch as the
car pentr y s hop
w ith the r oof cover -
ing par t
of the
r oom;'39
or the col umned
upper
s tor y
w her e the meat is d r ied .'40 A comb ination of
activities s een in a
tr ipar tite
mod el in the Geme-
niemhat
gr oup (Figur e 33),
in w hich
s l aughter ing
goes
on
together
w ith
b aking
and
b r ew ing,'4'
par al -
l el s another Meketr a mod el
(Figur e 29).142
Another s et of f eatur es common to the
Saqqar a
and Meketr a mod el s is f ound in the
pr opor tions
of
the ind ivid ual w ood en
f igur es .
T he
major ity
of the
f igur es
in the mod el s of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
(Figur e 30),
and
pr actical l y
al l mod el
f igur es d ating
f r om the Fir s t I nter med iate
Per iod ,143
have
ver y
s l end er b od ies ,
s mal l
head s ,
and
pr actical l y
no
w ais ts
(Figur e 34, l ef t).
I n
contr as t,
mos t of the Mek-
etr a
f igur es (Figur e 34, r ight)
and thos e of the
Saqqar a gr oups , al though they
s har e w ith the Fir s t
I nter med iate Per iod
f igur es
the
high pl acement
of
the s mal l of the
b ack,'44
have w ais ts
d ef initel y
nar -
r ow er than the s houl d er s and head s
d ecid ed l y
l ar ger
in
pr opor tion
to the b od ies
(Figur e 27).
T hes e
pr opor tions
ar e s een in al l mod el s
d ating
to
D y nas ty
12
(Figur e 14).145
Final l y ,
ther e is a
s tr iking
d if f er ence b etw een al l
d ated Fir s t I nter med iate Per iod
mod el s ,
incl ud ing
thos e f r om the b ur ial of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
on one s id e and the
Saqqar a
and Meketr a mod el s
on the
other ,
in the
pos tur es
and
ges tur es
of the in-
d ivid ual
f igur es .
T he s tickl ike ar ms of the Mentu-
hotep f igur es
ar e either not b ent at al l or b ent
onl y
.s . .
7Jl Aiiob mi
f r f .r ,l l
. ]s Sna
at the
el b ow ,
and b oth ar ms
us ual l y per f or m
id enti-
cal
ges tur es (Figur es 30, 31).
I n the Meketr a
f igur es
the ar ms ar e
d el icatel y
b ent at a
var iety
of
angl es ,
the
upper
and l ow er ar ms and the hand s of ten
cur ve in a natur al
w ay (Figur e 27).
I n
many
in-
s tances ,
each ar m or
l eg
of a Meketr a
f igur e
makes
a d if f er ent
ges tur e
f r om the other .
Of ten,
w hen one
ar m or
l eg
is
angl ed ,
the other is
onl y s l ightl y
cur ved ,
and s o on.
Again,
mod el s w ith s uch natur al
ges tur es
ar e of T w el f th
D y nas ty
d ate.'46
Wel l s uited to a
s ty l is tic appr ais al
ar e the tw o
l ar ge
f emal e
of f er ing
b ear er s f r om the tomb of Meketr a
(Figur e 35).147
T hes e
f igur es
ar e not
r eal l y
mod el s
b ut
l ar ge
w ood en
s cul ptur es , b y
vir tue of their s ize
and ar tis tic
qual ity .
I t w oul d b e
inter es ting
to d is cus s
the
ques tion
of
w hy
thes e tw o
f igur es
ar e s o much
l ar ger
than the other mod el s and
w hy
mor e ar tis tic
car e has b een b es tow ed on them. For
pr es ent pur -
pos es ,
it
may
b e
enough
to r ecal l that
f igur es
of
r ichl y
cl othed and ad or ned
w omen,
w ho
car r y
b as -
kets on their head s
s tead y ing
them w ith their l ef t
hand s w hil e l ow er ed
r ight
hand s hol d d ucks or
other
of f er ings ,
evoked f or ancient
E gy ptians
the
per s onif ication
of a
r oy al
d omain or
l ar ge
es tate en-
tr us ted w ith
maintaining
the
f uner ar y
cul t of a
r oy al
or
high-s tatus per s on.
I n the
r oy al f uner ar y
templ es ,
r el ief
r epr es entations
of s uch d omain
per -
s onif ications w er e s tand ar d w al l d ecor ations .'48 As
in s uch
r el ief s ,
the tw o w omen w ith
of f er ings
f r om
the tomb of Meketr a
r epr es ent
and ,
accor d ing
to
ancient
E gy ptian
b el ief ,
guar antee
the economic b a-
s is f or al l
f uner ar y pr ovis ions
in the tomb . No w on-
d er the
pl anner
of the tomb
equipment
of Meketr a
envis aged
the d omain
per s onif ications
as al mos t
l if e-s ize s tatues of tw o
ver y
b eautif ul w omen in
gar -
ments
us ual l y
w or n
b y
d eities .
Figur es 36-47 pl ace
the head s of the tw o w omen
in a s er ies of w or ks of the l ate E l eventh to the
ear l y
T w el f th
D y nas ty .
49
T he ear l ies t
piece
in the s er ies is
the w ood en s tatuette of
Aas hit,
queen
of Mentuho-
tep
I I
Neb hepetr a (Figur e 36).
T his s tatuette w as
f ound
b y
the
E gy ptian E xped ition
of the
Metr opol -
itan Mus eum at the s id e of Aas hit's
mummy
ins id e
her cof f in.150 As w ith the tw o Meketr a
w omen,
Aas h-
it's f ace is cir cums cr ib ed
b y
a
w ig
w hos e tw o
s tr aight-
s id ed f r ont
pieces
f al l f r om b ehind the ear s and al -
mos t r each the b r eas ts . T he metal -b or d er ed
ey es
of
al ab as ter w ith their
s hining
b l ack ob s id ian
pupil s
ar e
ver y l ar ge.
T he
ey eb r ow s ,
inl aid w ith
eb ony
ac-
cor d ing
to the
d es cr iption
of the
excavator s ,
ar e
s tr aight
and w el l d is tanced f r om the
ey es .
As in the
Meketr a w omen's
f aces ,
ther e is no cos metic l ine at
the cor ner of the
ey es .
Aas hit's
f ul l -l ipped
mouth is
A
.i_
h
Figur e 36.
Statuette of
Queen
Aas hit, 1920.
Painted w ood
w ith inl aid al ab as ter and ob s id ian,
H.
40
cm.
Cair o,
E gy ptian
Mus eum
(photo: E gy ptian E xped ition neg.
no. MCC
117)
pus hed
f or w ar d . T he
impr es s ion
of a w oman of
s tr ong per s onal ity
is
f or cef ul l y convey ed b y
the
pouting
mouth and the tens e ind entations b es id e
the nos tr il s .
T he d is tance b etw een
ey eb r ow s
and
ey es ,
the in-
d entations b es id e the
nos tr il s ,
and the f ul l
l ips
of
Aas hit ar e al s o f amil iar f r om
many images
of
King
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a (Figur e 37).
T he
queen
27
~3J- -S
Figur e 37.
Head of Os ir id e s tatue of
Mentuhotep
I I Neb he-
petr a.
Sand s tone,
H.
40
cm. T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund ,
1926, 26.3.29
mus t have b een b ur ied ar ound the mid d l e of his
r eign.'5'
T he s eated s and s tone s tatute of the over -
s eer of
tr oops
I ntef ,
f r om T heb an tomb
386,
is a
w or k that d ates
per haps
ten to
tw enty y ear s
l ater .'52
I ts head
(Figur e 38),
of the
highes t qual ity ,
has
many
tr aits in common w ith the
r oy al por tr aits
in
s and s tone,
noticeab l y
the d is tance b etw een the
r ather
f l at,
inw ar d -s l anting ey es ,
the
s tr aight ey e-
b r ow s ,
the ind entations b es id e the
nos tr il s ,
and the
mar ked
ed ge
ar ound the
l ips .
T he f ul l f l es h ar ound
the l ow er
jaw
and chin of the head of Aas hit r ecur s
in the head of I ntef . T he I ntef head d if f er s f r om
Aas hit and the s and s tone
king,
how ever ,
in a s of t-
ening
of al l f eatur es . T he s tar k
intens ity
of the f ea-
tur es that
gives
the
king
and the Aas hit f aces a
s omew hat mas kl ike char acter has b een
r epl aced b y
natur al l y
r ound contour s in the head of I ntef . T he
s ur f ace of the over s eer 's f ace is r end er ed w ith
s pe-
cial
s ens itivity .
T he
b ones , mus cul atur e,
and s kin
appear
as
or ganical l y s epar ate l ay er s ,
each
over l y ing
the other
accor d ing
to their natur al f unction.
Figur e 38.
Head of s eated s tatue of the over s eer of
tr oops
I ntef . Sand s tone,
H. 18 cm. Cair o,
E gy ptian
Mus eum
Jour -
nal d 'E ntr ee
89858 (photo:
D ieter
Ar nol d )
T he
s l ightl y
l ater f emal e
counter par t
of the I ntef
head is
r epr es ented
in a s mal l w ood en head f ound
in the tomb of the chancel l or
Khety (Figur es 39-
41).153
I ts excavator s b el ieved it
b el onged
to a s tatu-
ette
r epr es enting
the tomb ow ner . Statuettes of the
per iod
w ith s imil ar
cl os e-f itting
hair , how ever ,
s ug-
ges t
that the s tatuette to w hich the head
b el onged
w as f emal e.'54 Femal e
f igur es
of this
ty pe
ar e r e-
peated l y
f ound w ith mal e b ur ial s ;
they
w er e b e-
l ieved ,
mos t
pr ob ab l y ,
to
guar antee r ejuvenation
in
af ter l if e
thr ough
their
pow er s
of
f er til ity .155 Khety
w as s til l al ive in
y ear 41
of
King Mentuhotep
I I Neb -
hepetr a,
and his b ur ial mus t have taken
pl ace
in the
l as t d ecad e of the
king's r eign.'56
T her ef or e,
this is
al s o the d ate of the s tatuette.
T he w ood en head is a s mal l
mas ter piece,
and not
even the l ack of the
ey e inl ay s
d iminis hes its
impact.
T he f ul l cheeks and
s mal l ,
d eter mined chin of
Aas hit and I ntef
r ecur ,
and the ind entations b es id e
the nos tr il s ar e
again pr es ent. Al though
s omew hat
d es tr oy ed ,
the r ather
l ar ge
mouth s til l s how s tr aces
28
of the f ine
ed ge
that encir cl ed the
l ips .
Cer tain d if -
f er ences f r om the I ntef and Aas hit head s can b e ob -
s er ved in the
s hape
of the
ey es
and
ey eb r ow s .
T he
ey eb r ow s
of the
Khety
head s tar t of f w ith a
s l ight
cur ve ab ove the nos e and
d ip
d ow n tow ar d the
outer cor ner s of the
ey es , achieving
a new coher -
ence b etw een
ey es
and
ey eb r ow s .
As in mos t s mal l -
s ized
head s ,
es pecial l y
w hen the
ey es
ar e
inl aid ,
the
ey es
of the
Khety
head
appear
to b e r ather
l ar ge.
But s o w er e Aas hit's
ey es ,
and s o ar e the
ey es
of the
Meketr a
of f er ing
b ear er s . What is r emar kab l e in the
Khety
head is the
w ay
the
ey es
ar e r ound ed b ack-
w ar d until
they
al mos t meet the
templ es .
T he
s hape
of the
ey es
is thus ins tr umental in
comb ining
the
f r ont and s id e
pl anes
of the f ace in a new
w ay .
T he Meketr a w omen
(s ee Figur es 43, 45, 49)
s har e the
Khety
head 's
new l y gained s cul ptur al
r ound nes s ;
b ut ther e ar e
impor tant
d if f er ences to
b e ob s er ved b etw een the tw o w omen and the
Khety
head . T hes e d if f er ences ar e as
gr eat
as thos e that
d is tinguis hed
the Meketr a mod el s f r om the mod el s
of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a (Figur es 30, 31).
Fir s t,
ther e is a d if f er ence of
pr opor tion.
T he
mouths of the Meketr a w omen ar e
noticeab l y
s mal l er in
pr opor tion
to the other f eatur es than is
the mouth of the
Khety
w oman
(Figur es 39-41),
and the cheeks take
up
mor e
s pace
b etw een
ey es
and mouth. T her e is an
aus ter ity ,
even a cer tain
cool nes s ,
in the Meketr a w omen's
f aces ,
w hich con-
tr as ts
mar ked l y
w ith the f r es hnes s and
s ens itivity
in
the f aces of
Aas hit, I ntef ,
and the
Khety
head . One
r eas on f or the mor e al oof
expr es s ion
of the Meketr a
w omen's f aces is the ab s ence of the ind entations b e-
s id e the nos tr il s . As a
r es ul t,
the cheeks of the Me-
ketr a w omen
appear
s mooth and f l at r ather than
tens el y
r ound ed . Round ed cheeks and ind entations
b es id e the nos tr il s contr ib uted
cons id er ab l y
to the
f or cef ul nes s of the
expr es s ions
in al l f aces of the
E l eventh
D y nas ty
f r om T heb es
(Figur es 36-42).
Both Aas hit and the
Khety
w omen ar e f or cef ul
per -
s onal ities ,
and this is
convey ed b y
the
ind ivid ual l y
s cul ptur ed
d etail s of the f aces . T he ar tis t w ho mad e
the Meketr a
f igur es
s tr ove ab ove al l to cr eate the
pictur e
of
el egant
and ur b ane
w omen,
and the
pl acid expr es s ion
in their f aces is b as ed on a car e-
f ul l y
b al anced
har mony
b etw een the
evenl y
out-
l ined
par ts .
Unf or tunatel y ,
ther e ar e not
many
head s in the
r ound -and none at al l of w omen-that can b e s e-
cur el y
d ated to the
r eign
of
Mentuhotep
I I I
Seankhkar a.
John
D .
Cooney ,'57 May a
Muel l er ,'58
and ,
tentativel y , Cy r il
Al d r ed
59
have
as s igned
to the
Figur es 39-41.
Head of f emal e s tatuette f r om the tomb of
Khety .
Wood ,
H. 6 cm. T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund , 1926, 26.3.l o4a (photos :
Bil l
Bar r ette)
29
per iod
a head in the
Metr opol itan
Mus eum
(Figur e
42),160
and another in the Mus eum f ur Vol ker -
kund e,
Bas el .'6' E ach of thes e head s
pos s es s es
s ome
d etail s that ar e cl os e to thos e in the Meketr a w omen
(Figur e 43).
T he
pr of il e
of the
Metr opol itan
head ,
w hos e
f ine-gr ained
l imes tone mater ial
s tr ongl y s ug-
ges ts
a
T heb an,
or at l eas t
Upper E gy ptian, pr ove-
nance,
s how s the s ame
s l ight
ind entation b el ow the
chin as the w ood en
f igur es (cf . Figur e 45).
T he
Bas el head s har es w ith them the
s hape
of the
mouth. But b oth
r oy al
head s l ack the evennes s and
har mony
of the w omen's f aces . T he
ey es
of the tw o
kings
ar e
pos itioned pr ed ominantl y
in the f r ontal
Figur e 42.
Head of l ate E l eventh
D y nas ty king, pos s ib l y
Mentuhotep
I I I Seankhkar a. Limes tone,
H. 18 cm. T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of Ar t, Fl etcher Fund and T he Guid e
Found ation,
I nc. Gif t,
1966, 66.99.3
pl ane,
and b oth s how the
b y -now
tr ad itional ind en-
tations at the nos tr il s .162
I n
s ear ching
f or
par al l el s
to the even f eatur es and
har monious
pr opor tions
of the f aces of the Meketr a
w omen one has to
go
to head s of s tatues of Ame-
nemhat I to f ind
any thing compar ab l e.
Of the tw o
s eated
gr anite
s tatues of
Amenemhat,
the one
f ound at T anis
may or iginal l y
have s tood at Mem-
phis .'63
I t is the mor e tr ad itional
image
of the
tw o,
and its f eatur es s til l r etain
many
E l eventh
D y nas ty
tr aits . Chins and cheeks ar e
r ound ed ,
the ind enta-
tions at the nos tr il s ar e
cl ear l y
mar ked ,
and the
mouth is
f air l y l ar ge.
One s houl d al s o note how
cl os el y
the var ious f eatur es ar e cr ow d ed
together
on
the f ace. T he other s eated
s tatue,
f ound at Khatana
(Figur es 44, 46),
mentions the Sed -f es tival of the
king.'64
I t is of
high
ar tis tic
qual ity
and f r ee of the
id ios y ncr as ies
of the
pr evious per iod .
T he
b od y
is
r end er ed w ith s ub tl e
f eel ing
f or the
or ganic
l if e of
the
mus cl es ,
and the f ace s how s the mixtur e of har -
mony
and active al er tnes s that w as to b ecome char -
acter is tic f or al l
ear l y
T w el f th
D y nas ty s cul ptur e.'65
T he s imil ar ities of the f ace to the tw o Meketr a
w omen is
s tr iking.
I n al l thr ee
head s ,
ey es
and
mouth ar e w el l d is tanced f r om each other and the
s mooth cheeks
occupy
a f air amount of
s pace
b e-
tw een them.'66
Among
s tatues of
nonr oy al per s ons ,
the
gr anite
s tatue of Nakht f ound in his tomb at Lis ht
Nor th,
and now in Cair o
(Figur es 47, 48),'67
is
s ur el y
one of
the mos t
impor tant
w or ks of the time. T he chief
s tew ar d Nakht is know n to have f unctioned und er
Senw os r et
I ;
Nakht mus t have d ied in ab out that
king's
f our teenth or f if teenth
y ear .'68
But the
s ty l e
of the s tatue
points
to an
or igin
in the
r eign
of Ame-
nemhat I b ecaus e of its cl os e
r el ations hip
to the tw o
s tatues of that
king
and it is cons is tent w ith the l o-
cation of Nakht's tomb near the
py r amid
of Ame-
nemhat I at Lis ht Nor th.'69 Nakht's l if e
may
w el l
have
s panned par t
of the
r eigns
of Amenemhat I
and Senw os r et
I ;
the s tatue f or his tomb w as
pr ob -
ab l y
cr eated w hen Nakht w as s til l
s er ving
the ol d er
king.
Cl os e f acial s imil ar ities can
again
b e ob s er ved b e-
tw een Nakht and the Meketr a w omen
(Figur e 35,
r ight
and
l ef t).
Al l thr ee f aces ar e r ather
s quar e
in
outl ine;
the mouths ar e s mal l and the
ey es
w el l d is -
tanced f r om the mouth. T he chins ar e
angul ar ,
w ith
the
tip
of the chin
f ir ml y
s et of f f r om the f l es h
ar ound the l ow er
jaw s .
T he Meketr a w omen and
Nakht f ur ther s har e a f l atnes s of the cheeks at the
s id es ,
w hil e in the f r ontal view Nakht's cheeks s til l
s how s ome of the tens enes s that w as char acter is tic
f or the T heb an head s of the l ate E l eventh
D y nas ty .
A s mal l d etail
concer ning
the
s hape
of the
ey e-
b r ow s of the Meketr a w omen is ind icative of the ar -
tis tic tend encies of the time. T he
painter
of the
Meketr a
f igur e
in the
Metr opol itan
Mus eum d r ew
the l ef t
ey eb r ow
in a mor e d ow nw ar d cur ve than
had b een
pr epar ed b y
the w ood car ver . With this d e-
30
viation,
w hich can al s o b e ob s er ved in the T heb an
r el ief s f r om the tomb of
D agi,'70
the
painter
s how ed
he w as aw ar e of
contempor ar y s ty l e
in
aiming
f or a
cl os er
r el ations hip
b etw een the
ey es
and
ey eb r ow s .
I n the head s of Amenemhat I and Nakht this cl os er
r el ations hip
has b een es tab l is hed
b y having
the
ey e-
b r ow s r un
par al l el
w ith the
upper ed ge
of the
ey e
and the cos metic l ine
(Figur es 46, 48).
Al l s tatues of the
r eign
of Amenemhat I w er e of
Memphite
or Low er
E gy ptian or igin.
I n ad d ition to
cor r ob or ating
the
d ating
of the Meketr a
f igur es ,
thes e
compar is ons
r ais e the
ques tion
of the
r egional
or igin
of the
ar tis t,
or
ar tis ts ,
w ho car ved the
f ig-
ur es . Was
he,
or w er e
they , r eal l y
T heb an? T he
Figur e 43.
Head of
of f er ing
b ear er f r om the tomb of
Meketr a in
Figur e 35 (r ight)
Figur e 45.
Pr of il e view of head
in
Figur e 43
w ood en
of f er ing
b ear er in Bos ton
(Figur e 50),
f ound in a
s ub s id iar y
tomb in the
templ e
of Mentu-
hotep
I I
Neb hepetr a
at D eir
el -Bahr i,'7'
s how s w hat
a T heb an f emal e
f igur e
of this
ty pe,
al b eit of aver -
age qual ity ,
l ooked l ike in the
ear l y
T w el f th
D y nas ty .
T he
piece
is
mar ked l y
d if f er ent f r om the Meketr a
w omen. We s hal l not d is cus s the d if f er ences of the
f aces b ecaus e the D eir el -Bahr i
f igur es
cannot b e
compar ed
w ith the Meketr a
f igur es
in
s cul ptur al
qual ity .
T he
b od y
of the T heb an
f igur e,
how ever ,
is
w el l conceived and
executed ,
and can b e us ed as an
exampl e
of a f emal e
f igur e
of T heb an
s ty l e
at the
time. She d oes not s tr id e f or w ar d as
vigor ous l y
as
the Meketr a
w omen,
and her
b od y
l acks the r emar k-
'
'" '
.
"
'
:
'"
.
''. -
I .
\,x,'.-'.,
.-*
/
,
3
.-.
~
.
@: . '!'
'H.
(of s tatue) 1.74 m. Cair o,
P-~
~'
'
?
'
E gy ptian
Mus eum
60520
":"~,~l l i J
^ ~Figur e
46. Pr of il e view of head
~.
~-.~
~-,~.~L~,
-.
- ....: in
Figur e 44
31
Figur e 47. Upper par t
of s tatue of
high
s tew ar d Nakht f r om
Lis ht.
Gr anite, H.(of s tatue) 1.45
m.
Cair o,
E gy ptian
Mus eum
CG
409
ab l e b one s tr uctur e of the Meketr a w omen's b od ies .
With a
s l ight nar r ow ing
at the w ais t and w ith
hips
accentuated
b y
a
s l ight angl e
in the
outl ine,
s he cer -
tainl y
r eveal s a mor e natur al is tic
appr oach
to the f e-
mal e
b od y
than the Aas hit s tatuette
(Figur e 36),
w hich,
al though s ens uous l y
r ound ed at the
hips ,
pr es ents b as ical l y
an ab s tr act
image
of the
b od y .
But
the T heb an
f igur e
d oes not attain the
or ganic
mo-
b il ity
of the Meketr a w omen.
T o f ind a
piece
s imil ar to the Meketr a w omen in
the
w ay
the b ones of the
hips
ar e
emphas ized
and
the movement of the
l egs
is
r egul ated
f r om this cen-
ter of the
b od y ,
one has to tur n to w ood en
s cul p-
tur es of the l ate Ol d
Kingd om
executed in the
Memphite
ar ea. T he mal e s tatue of
Mer y r ahay s he-
tef in the Br itis h Mus eum
(Figur e 51)172
w as f ound
w ith tw o other s tatues and other mod el s in the s haf t
of the man's tomb at Sid mant near the
Fay um
en-
tr ance;
this
gr oup
w as mad e
d ur ing
the Sixth
D y -
nas ty .
T he s tatue f r om Sid mant is ther ef or e
r oughl y
170
to 200
y ear s
ear l ier than the Meketr a
of f er ing
b ear er s . Al l the mor e
as tonis hing
is the
s imil ar ity
b etw een the tw o s tatues
(Figur es 51, 52).
One can
onl y
as s ume that the ar tis t w ho car ved the Meketr a
w omen had
intens ivel y
s tud ied extant
pieces ,
l ike
the s tatue f r om Sid mant. I nf l uences f r om Mem-
phite
ar t and ar chitectur e ar e noticeab l e in T heb es
f r om the time of unif ication und er
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a,'73
b ut w hat is s een in the mod el s and
of f er ing
b ear er s f r om the Meketr a tomb
cl ear l y goes
b ey ond
mer e inf l uence. T he Meketr a w ood car ver s
mus t have b een natives of the
Memphite r egion.
T he
f ol l ow ing s ugges tion may
b e
put
f or w ar d
ab out Meketr a's r ol e
d ur ing
the
ear l y y ear s
of
Amenemhat I and the cir cums tances of his b ur ial .
Meketr a,
having
b een head of the
tr eas ur y
of the
king ("chancel l or ")
und er
Mentuhotep
I I Neb he-
petr a d ur ing
that
gr eat king's
l as t
y ear s ,
s er ved
thr ough
the
r eign
of
Mentuhotep's
s ucces s or Men-
tuhotep
I I I Seankhkar a in the s ame
capacity .
D ur -
ing
the s even
y ear s f ol l ow ing
Seankhkar a's
r eign,
Meketr a
r ecognized
the
s ingul ar
ab il ities of the man
w ho w as to b ecome Amenemhat I and
hel ped
to
b r ing
him to the thr one. When the
king pl anned
his
f uner ar y
monument in the
val l ey
b ehind the Ra-
mes s eum,
he al l otted a
pr imar y pos ition
on the cl if f
to the ol d
d ignitar y
w ho had b een at his s id e f or s o
l ong.
Whil e Amenemhat w as
b eginning
to move his
center of
gover nment
to the
nor th, Meketr a,
now an
ol d
man,
d ied . T o honor a f aithf ul
f ol l ow er ,
the
king
or d er ed cr af ts men f r om his new cour t in the Mem-
phite r egion
to
pr epar e
the b ur ial
equipment
f or
Meketr a.
T HE BE S I N T HE E ARLY T WE LFT H D YNAST Y
"T he
his tor y
of Amenemhat I and of his s ucces s or s
of the T w el f th and of the T hir teenth
d y nas ties
...
is not
r eal l y par t
of the tal e of
T heb es ,"
w r ote Her -
b er t Winl ock in T he Ris e and Fal l
of
the Mid d l e
King-
d om in
T heb es ,
and he
pr oceed ed
to r ecount
onl y
32
events that took
pl ace
outs id e of T heb es in the
chapter
of the b ook that d eal s w ith the
per iod
b e-
tw een the end of
D y nas ty
1 1 and the
Hy ks os
time.174
I t has
r epeated l y
b een
ob s er ved , how ever ,
that the
extens ive
b uil d ing
activities of the
kings
of the
T w el f th
D y nas ty
in the
templ e
of
Kar nak,
and
neighb or ing
s anctuar ies ,
ind icate that the
impor -
tance of T heb es and its
hol y pl aces
w as und imin-
is hed
thr oughout
the Mid d l e
Kingd om.'75
I t s houl d
al s o b e r ememb er ed that the r el ief s and
s cul ptur es
cr eated f or thes e
templ es d ur ing
the T w el f th
D y -
nas ty
w er e of the
highes t
ar tis tic
qual ity .
Ar t
cl ear l y
f l our is hed in the
s outh,
even af ter the center of
gov-
er nment had moved to the nor th.
On the w es t b ank of T heb es mor e tomb s and
b ur ial s of
D y nas ties
12 and
13
have
actual l y
b een
uncover ed than is
commonl y
r eal ized . T he ceme-
ter ies of
E l -T ar if ,
D eir
el -Bahr i,
and the As as if w er e
continuous l y
us ed f or b ur ial
d ur ing
the w hol e
Figur e 48.
Sid e view of s tatue in
Figur e 47
Mid d l e
Kingd om.'76
I n
ad d ition,
s ome
l ar ge
r ock-
cut tomb s w er e cut out of the r ock on the
s l ope
of
the Sheikh Ab d
el -Qur na
hil l . Mos t notab l e is the
tomb of Senet
(the
mother of the vizier of Senw os r et
I , I ntef iker )
w ith its b eautif ul
paintings .'77
T hes e
Sheikh Ab d
el -Qur na
tomb s over l ook w hat mus t
have b een the s ite of the
pr opos ed val l ey templ e
f or
the unf inis hed
f uner ar y
monument of Amenemhat
I ,
in the ar ea w her e the Rames s eum w as l ater
er ected
(Figur e
i,
no.
9).178
I t is s til l an
open ques -
tion w hether
I ntef iker ,
w ho
cer tainl y
s er ved Sen-
w os r et I as vizier
thr ough
the f ir s t
par t
of that
king's
r eign, al r ead y
hel d the of f ice und er Amenemhat
I .179 T he cl os e
r el ations hip
of the tomb of his
mother to the
val l ey templ e
of Amenemhat I s eems
to
point
to a
l ongs tand ing
connection b etw een I n-
tef iker 's
f amil y
and that
king,
even if Senet's tomb
w as not d ecor ated and s he w as not b ur ied b ef or e
Senw os r et I came to the thr one.
Figur e 49.
Head of s tatue in
Figur e 47
33
9 I
Figur e 50.
Statuette of
of f er ing
b ear er f r om tomb
5,
D eir el -
Bahr i. Wood ,
H.
84
cm. Bos ton, Mus eum of Fine
Ar ts ,
05.231 (photo:
Mus eum of Fine
Ar ts )
I n the
val l ey
b ehind the Rames s eum the b ur ial s
of the chancel l or
I ntef ,
w ho
may
have b een the
b r other or s on of
Meketr a,'80
and Meketr a's "over -
s eer of the
s tor ehous e," Wah,
w er e l aid d ow n
d ur ing
the
y ear s f ol l ow ing
Meketr a's d eath. T he tomb ar -
chitectur e w as al ter ed f or I ntef and ad d itional r el ief
d ecor ations
may
have b een executed .'18 T he Wah
b ur ial w as f ound intact
b y
the
Metr opol itan
Mu-
s eum
E xped ition
in the
1919-20
s eas on.'82 I f w e ar e
r ight
in
d ating
Meketr a's tomb
d ur ing
the
r eign
of
Amenemhat
I ,
I ntef and Wah mus t al s o have b een
b ur ied
ear l y
in
D y nas ty
12.
Jud ging
f r om his
mummy ,
Wah w as in his thir ties
w hen he d ied .'83 T he l inen s heets us ed f or the
Figur e 51.
Statue of
Mer y r ahay s hetef
f r om Sid mant.
Wood ,
H.
51
cm. Lond on, Br itis h Mus eum,
55722 (photo:
T r us tees
of the Br itis h
Mus eum)
mummy 's w r apping
w er e mar ked in ink w ith the
d ates
"y ear 2,"
"y ear 5,"
and
"y ear
6,"
each
coupl ed
w ith Wah's name. A
"y ear 15"
s eems to b e f ol l ow ed
b y
another
per s on's
name.'84 I f the
"y ear 15"
mar k
d ates f r om the
r eign
of Amenemhat
I ,
and Wah w as
b ur ied af ter
y ear 15
of Amenemhat
I ,
he w as in his
ear l y
tw enties w hen Meketr a d ied . T he
pal eogr aphy
of Wah's
cof f in, how ever ,
is
f air l y
tr ad itional
(s ee Ap-
pend ix I I ),
and the s tatuette f ound w ith his
mummy
(Figur e 53)185 cl os el y
r es emb l es in
s ty l e
the mod el s
in the
Saqqar a gr oup
of Gemeniemhat
(Figur es 32,
33, 54),
w hich w e have
compar ed
w ith Meketr a's
mod el s ab ove.'86 I t thus s eems mor e
appr opr iate
to
as cr ib e the "y ear
15"
d ate to
Mentuhotep
I I Neb -
34
11
Figur e 52. Of f er ing
b ear er f r om
tomb of Meketr a f r om
Figur e 35
(r ight)
Figur e 53.
Statuette of Wah f r om his
tomb at T heb es . Wood ,
H.
32
cm.
T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund and E d w ar d S. Har knes s
Gif t,
1920, 20.3.210
Figur e 54-
Statuette of Gemeniemhat
f r om his tomb at
Saqqar a.
Wood ,
H.
32
cm.
Copenhagen, Ny Car l s b er g
Gl y ptothek
inv. AE I .N. 1626
(photo: Ny Car l s b er g Gl y ptothek)
hepetr a.
T he l inen that car r ied the mar k w oul d
then have
b el onged
to ol d s tock.187 Wah's b ur ial
d ates mos t
convincingl y
to the
ear l y y ear s
of Ame-
nemhat I . Wah mus t have d ied either
s hor tl y
b ef or e
or
s hor tl y
af ter Meketr a. T he
"y ear 5"
and
"y ear
6"
mar ks comb ined w ith Wah's name on mos t of the
l inen s hr oud s f it w el l w ith our
d ating
of Meketr a's
inter ment to the time
jus t
af ter the move of the
king's
s eat of
gover nment
to the
nor th,
ar ound
y ear
5
of Amenemhat I . T he f amous s car ab s of Wah'88
can now
f ir ml y
b e d ated to the
ear l y
T w el f th
D y -
nas ty .
I t has b een
r ightl y pointed
out that the s cr ol l
pat-
ter ns on the s car ab s of Wah
cl os el y
r es emb l e the d e-
s ign
f ound on a s eal
impr es s ion
on one of the Hek-
anakht
papy r i (Figur e 55).
T he d ate of this
gr oup
of
ear l y
Mid d l e
Kingd om
l etter s and accounts w r it-
ten
b y
a
"f uner ar y pr ies t"
named Hekanakht'89 has
r ecentl y
come und er d is cus s ion
again.
T hes e
impor -
tant d ocuments have
al w ay s
b een d ated
b y
inf er ence
b as ed on their
f ind s pot.
T he
papy r i
w er e f ound
b y
Her b er t Winl ock in a s id e chamb er in one of the
l ar ge
cor r id or tomb s in the cl if f s ab ove the
templ e
of D eir
el -Bahr i,
that of the vizier
I py .190 T hey
w er e
d is cover ed b ehind an intact
b l ocking
w al l of b r ick
on or
among
d eb r is that f or med a
s l id ing r amp
f or
the cof f in of the
ow ner ,
a man named Mes eh.'9'
Winl ock,
w ho as s umed that
I py
w as an of f icial of
35
;?r
, t . 'il
..
?n?c :i?.. i. .? r r r
1,
Figur e 55.
Letter f r om Hekanakht to the over s eer of Low er
E gy pt
Her unef er , f ol d ed , s eal ed ,
and ad d r es s ed . T he Metr o-
pol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund and E d w ar d S. Har k-
nes s
Gif t, 1922, 22.3.518
(photo: E gy ptian E xped ition neg.
no.
M3C 234)
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a,
s aw Mes eh as a
d epen-
d ent of
I py .
I n
anal ogy
w ith
Khety ,
Mer u,
and the
other know n of f icial s w ho had tomb s on the cl if f s
ab ove D eir
el -Bahr i,
Winl ock
pl aced I py
and Mes eh
into the l ater
y ear s
of
Neb hepetr a.
Since the d ates
mentioned in the Hekanakht
paper s
ar e
"y ear 5"
and
"y ear
8,"
thes e
y ear s
had to b e as cr ib ed to Neb -
hepetr a's
s ucces s or ,
Mentuhotep
I I I Seankhkar a.'92
Winl ock's
chr onol ogical inter pr etation
of the
Hekanakht d ocuments w as not
unanimous l y
ac-
cepted b y
l ater s chol ar s . T homas G. H.
James ,'93
w ho w r ote the d ef initive
pub l ication
on the
papy r i,
tentativel y
cons id er ed the
pos s ib il ity
that
they
w er e
w r itten und er Amenemhat
I ,
onl y
to d is mis s the
thought again
b ecaus e of Mes eh's near connection
to
I py ,
in w hom
James
al s o s aw a cour tier of Neb -
hepetr a.
Mor e
r ecentl y ,
Hans Goed icke has
again
ad d r es s ed the
ques tion
of the d ate of the Hekan-
akht
papy r i.'94
Goed icke concl ud ed that a d ate in
d q t .w P;F#--tz --ps O-' .*. . -
Figur e 56.
Cof f in of Mes eh in his chamb er , as f ound in
1921-22 (photo: E gy ptian E xped ition neg.
no.
M3C 204)
the
r eign
of Amenemhat I s eemed mos t
pr ob ab l e.
T he vizier
I py
is ,
contr ar y
to common
opinion,
not f ixed in time. Unl ike
Meketr a,
I py
d oes not
ap-
pear
in the r el ief s of the
templ e
of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a.'95
Winl ock's
as s umption
that he w as a
memb er of this
king's
cour t is b as ed
s ol el y
on the
topogr aphic pos ition
of the tomb . Cl os e
s cr utiny
of
the r ow of cl if f -tomb s ab ove the
Mentuhotep templ e
r eveal s that not al l tomb s ar e
actual l y contempor ar y
w ith
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a.
A numb er of them
w er e cons tr ucted und er
Mentuhotep
I I I Seankh-
kar a and other s ar e of T w el f th or even T hir teenth
d y nas ty
d ate.'96
T he b ur ial of Mes eh can b e d ated to the
r eign
of
Senw os r et I on the b as is of the
potter y
ves s el s f ound
w ith the b ur ial
(Figur es 57, 58).
Bes id e the cof f in of
Mes eh,
tw o
gl ob ul ar jar s
w er e f ound
(Figur e 56).
Mor e
jar s
of the s ame
ty pe
and a numb er of s mal l
pl ates ,
at l eas t f ive
ver y
thin w al l ed
d r inking cups ,
a
36
I ; *
.
!
i
:
I L
:
.
:.. I 8
r '
.
s mal l
pointed
b eaker ,
a s mal l
gl ob ul ar jar ,
and tw o
r ound -s houl d er ed hs .t-vas es came to
l ight
in the
outer cul t chamb er of the
tomb .'97
T he
jar s (Figur es
57, 58)
ar e of a
s hape
al mos t id entical w ith a
gr oup
of
jar s
f ound in a b ur ial at Lis ht South: the b ur ial of
Ankhet
(Figur es 59, 6o).'98
T his b ur ial is
s ecur el y
d ated to the ear l ier
y ear s
of Senw os r et I b ecaus e the
w al l
encl os ing s econd ar y py r amid
no.
5-one
of the
queens '
or
r oy al f amil y
memb er s ' tomb s s ur r ound -
ing
the
king's py r amid -r uns
over the mouth of the
s haf t
l ead ing
d ow n to the chamb er in w hich Ankhet
w as b ur ied . One
might ar gue
that the
jar ty pe
in
ques tion
coul d have had a
l ong
l if e,
that
is ,
f r om the
l ate E l eventh
D y nas ty thr ough
the time of Senw os -
r et I .
Agains t
s uch an
ar gument
s tand s the know l -
ed ge
w e have ab out the
ty pe
of
jar
in us e
d ur ing
the
time of Amenemhat I . A
good exampl e
of a
s impl e
s hor t-necked
jar
of that time
is ,
f or
ins tance,
the
b eer
jar
f ound w ith the b ur ial of Wah
(Figur e 61).199
I n the Wah
jar ,
the maximum d iameter is s ituated
b el ow the mid d l e of the
b od y
and the tr ans ition b e-
tw een s houl d er and neck is
angul ar .
T her e can b e
no d oub t that the Mes eh
pots
have to b e
pl aced
cl os e
to the Ankhet
pots ,
and not to the Wah
jar .
A d ate
f or the b ur ial of Mes eh in the ear l ier
y ear s
of Sen-
w os r et I can ther ef or e b e es tab l is hed .
Figur e 57. T y pe
of
l ar ge jar s
f ound in the
upper
chamb er of
the tomb of Mes eh. H.
32
cm
(Wil l iam
Schenck af ter tomb
car d T heb es
1820)
Figur e 58. T y pe
of med ium-s ized
jar ,
tw o
exampl es
of w hich
w er e f ound und is tur b ed b es id e the cof f in of Mes eh
(now
in
the
Chicago
Or iental
I ns titute).
H.
18.5
cm
(Wil l iam
Schenck af ter tomb car d T heb es
1820)
I f Mes eh w as b ur ied
d ur ing
the
ear l y r eign
of
Senw os r et
I ,
the d ate of the Hekanakht
papy r i
can-
not f al l into the
r eign
of
Seankhkar a, b ecaus e it is
not conceivab l e that thes e
f r agil e papy r i
w er e
l y ing
ar ound f or mor e than
thir ty y ear s
b ef or e
they
f ound their
w ay
into the d eb r is of Mes eh's
r amp
in
pr is tine
cond ition. I t is al s o not
ver y pr ob ab l e
that
y ear s 5
and 8 mentioned in the d ocuments r ef er to
the
r eign
of Amenemhat
I , b ecaus e even a
per iod
of
tw enty y ear s
s eems too
l ong
f or the
papy r i
to have
b een
ab ovegr ound
b ef or e
they
w er e
f inal l y d epos -
ited or d is car d ed . T he mos t
l ikel y as s umption
is that
the l etter s and accounts w er e w r itten in
y ear s 5
and
8 of Senw os r et I and w er e d is car d ed
s hor tl y
af ter in
the tomb of Mes eh.
T he Hekanakht
paper s
ther ef or e
pr ovid e
us w ith
a
gl imps e
into
ever y d ay
l if e at T heb es
d ur ing
the
ear l y y ear s
of Senw os r et
I , w hen he w as s til l cor e-
gent
w ith his
f ather -y ear s 5
and 8
b eing y ear s
25
and 28 of Amenemhat I -a time w hen the r es i-
d ence at Lis ht had
r ecentl y
b een f ound ed .
E ver y
r ead er of the Hekanakht l etter s mus t b e s tr uck
b y
the
s er enity
and
s ecur ity
of l if e in r ur al
Upper
E gy pt
that is
pictur ed
in the d ocuments .
Peopl e
d o
not
appear
to b e at al l concer ned ab out
pol itics ,
w ho
is in
pow er ,
or the s tate of af f air s w ith
neighb or s
in
Figur e 59. Lar ge jar
f r om the b ur ial of
Ankhet,
Lis ht. H.
33.5
cm.
Chicago,
Or iental I ns titute
(Wil l iam Schenck)
Figur e
60. Med ium-s ized
jar
f r om the b ur ial of Ankhet
Lis ht. H.
20.5
cm.
Chicago,
Or iental I ns titute
(Wil l iam
Schenck)
37
Figur e
61. Beer
jar
of Wah f r om his b ur ial at T heb es . H.
30
cm. T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
Roger s
Fund and
E d w ar d S. Har knes s
Gif t, 1920, 20.3.256
the
eas t, w es t,
and s outh.
T hey go
ab out their
pr i-
vate
b us ines s ,
and w hat
they
car e mos t f or is their
f amil y 's
w el f ar e. Mos t
inter es ting
is
that,
economi-
cal l y ,
the T heb ans
appear
to b e
cons id er ab l y
b etter
of f than
peopl e
el s ew her e in
E gy pt.
Hekanakht ex-
pr es s l y
tel l s his
f amil y
s o. Letter
I I ,
l ine
27,
r ead s :
"See! One
s ay s 'hunger '
ab out
hunger .
See!
T hey
ar e
b eginning
to eat men her e. See! T her e ar e no
peopl e
to w hom thos e r ations ar e
given any w her e
[as
y ou
ar e
getting]."200
E ven if one has to d is count
par t
of this as a f ew
exagger ated phr as es hab itual l y
us ed in exhor tations to his
f amil y b y
this
"quar r el -
s ome,
inter f er ing
head of hous ehol d ,"201 the
impl i-
cation of the
pas s ages ,
as w el l as the context in
w hich
they appear ,
is that Hekanakht's
f amil y
in the
T heb an d is tr ict w as w el l
pr ovid ed
f or at a time
w hen
peopl e
in other
pl aces may
have b een
hungr y .
I t is s til l an
open ques tion
w her e Hekanakht
w r ote his l etter s f r om. One w oul d l ike to b el ieve202
that he w as in the
new l y
f ound ed
capital
near
Lis ht,
b ut ther e is not
enough
evid ence to
s uppor t
this as -
s umption.203
We have to b e content w ith the know l -
ed ge
that l if e in the T heb an ar ea w as
cons id er ab l y
mor e s ecur e at the end of the
r eign
of Amenemhat
I than at its
b eginning.
I t is
quite pos s ib l e
that the
r el ative w eal th and
peace
in the T heb an ar ea-cer -
tainl y
an achievement of the
gr eat
r ul er s of the
E l eventh
D y nas ty
b ut al s o of the
ear l y y ear s
of
D y -
nas ty
12-f or med the b as is f or the
high qual ity
of
T heb an ar t
d ur ing
the w hol e Mid d l e
Kingd om.
Figur e
62. Remains of
ins cr iptions
on a
f r agment
f r om the cof f in of Meketr a.
Wood ,
pl as ter ed
and
gil d ed .
T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t, Roger s
Fund and E d w ar d S. Har knes s
Gif t, 1920, 20.3.122
38
APPE ND I X I : CHRONOLOGY
D y nas ty
I
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a,
r ul ed
51 y ear s
Unif ication of
Upper
and
Low er
E gy pt
Mentuhotep
I I I
Seankhkar a,
r ul ed 12
y ear s
Seven
y ear s '
inter val ,
incl ud ing
r ul e
(of
at l eas t tw o
y ear s )
of
Mentuhotep
I V
Neb taw y r a
D y nas ty
12
Amenemhat I ,
r ul ed
29 y ear s
Senw os r et I ,
r ul ed
45 y ear s
Year s B.C.
ca. 2061-2010
B.C.
ca.
2040
B.C.
ca.
2010-1998
B.C.
ca.
1998-1991
B.C.
ca.
1991-1962
B.C.
ca.
1971-1926
B.C.
APPE ND I X I I : T HE COFFI N
FRAGME NT S OF ME KE T RA
James
Al l en
As s ociate Cur ator ,
E gy ptian
Ar t
T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum
of
Ar t
T he MMA
E xped ition
r ecover ed
tw enty -tw o f r ag-
ments of the w ood en cof f in of Meketr a
s how ing
in-
ter ior d ecor ation that cons is ts of a f al s e d oor and
ver tical col umns of
hier ogl y phs (MMA 20.3.101-
122).
A numb er of thes e
f r agments
ind icate that the
cof f in's inter ior w as ins cr ib ed in tw o
phas es .
Phas e I cons is ts of
s impl e
(b ut
not
cur s ive)
hier o-
gl y phs
inked
d ir ectl y
onto the b ar e
w ood ,
then
l ightl y
incis ed in outl ine. Col umns
aver age
1 cm
w id e;
hier ogl y phic gr oups ,
1 cm tal l . E ach col umn
w as head ed d d -md w . Col umn l ines w er e inked b ut
not incis ed .
I n Phas e
I I ,
a thin
(2 mm) coating
of
ges s o
w as
appl ied d ir ectl y
over Phas e I and cover ed w ith a
gol d
l eaf . For mal
hier ogl y phs
(w ith
inter ior
d etail s )
w er e incis ed into the
gol d
l eaf and
und er l y ing ges s o
of this
phas e.
Col umns
aver age
1.6 cm
w id e;
hier o-
gl y phic gr oups , 1.5
cm tal l . T he f al s e-d oor d ecor a-
tion,
al ter nating paint
and
gol d
l eaf ,
is vis ib l e
onl y
in this
phas e.
T he name of Meketr a is
pr es er ved onl y
in Phas e
I ,
incompl etel y
on s even
f r agments ,
as f ol l ow s :
(
20.3.102
A
20.3.112
20.3.114 (tw ice)
20.3.114
I I I
Uw #.
20.3.111
20.3.102
i
20.3.110
I I I
T he
pr es er ved
texts of b oth
phas es
cons is t of
Py r -
amid T exts and
(pr ob ab l y )
Cof f in T exts . T he f ol l ow -
ing
have b een id entif ied :
PT
23
PT
25
PT
93
PT
94-96
PT 108-112
PT
135-145
20.3.101
Phas e I
1-4;
Phas e I I 1-2
20.3.101
Phas e I
5-6
20.3.117
Phas e I
1-4
20.3.117
Phas e
I 5-7
20.3.117
Phas e I 8-12
20.3.120
Phas e I 1-11.
T hes e ar e s uf f icient to s how that the cof f in had
the s tand ar d Ol d
Kingd om Of f er ing
Ritual in b oth
ver s ions ,
on the inter ior f r ont. T he l ocation is ind i-
cated b oth
b y
the or ientation of the
s igns
and
b y
the
pr es ence
of the f al s e-d oor d ecor ation on
f r agment
20.3.101.
On this
f r agment,
PT
23,
the f ir s t
s pel l
of
the r itual
b egins
in the f ir s t col umn to the
r ight
of
the f al s e-d oor d ecor ation,
in b oth
phas es .
T he s ame
ar r angement
occur s al s o (and
onl y )
in the Beni
Has an cof f ins
BHiC, BH3C,
and XiBas .a
D ating
cr iter ia ar e
pr ovid ed b y pal eogr aphy ,
con-
tents ,
and
epigr aphic technique.
Al l of thes e
s ugges t
a d ate l ate in
D y nas ty
11 or in the
r eign
of Amenem-
hat I .
Pal eogr aphy .
T he b ookr ol l s how s b oth ties
(20.3.122
Phas e I I
4),
a f eatur e that s eems to
appear
f ir s t in the
r eign
of Amenemhat I .b T his ind icates
that Phas e I I
(gol d
l eaf and
ges s o)
is
pr ob ab l y
not
ear l ier than the
b eginning
of
D y nas ty
12,
w ith Phas e
I s omew hat ear l ier .
Contents . T he
ar r angement
of PT
23
immed i-
atel y f ol l ow ing
the f al s e d oor is
par al l el ed onl y
on
the cof f ins
BHiC,
BH3C,
and
XiBas ,
as noted
ab ove. T hes e
appear
to
b el ong
to the
per iod
f r om
the end of
D y nas ty
11 to the
r eign
of Amenemhat
I .c T he us e of f ul l
of f er ing s pel l s
(PT 93-96,
108
f f .)
in
pl ace
of the s hor ter
of f er ing
l is t is r ar e outs id e
the Ol d
Kingd om py r amid s .
T he
onl y
other in-
s tances on cof f ins
appear
to b e
XiBas , B2Bo,
and
M NY. Of
thes e,
the f ir s t tw o ar e
pr ob ab l y
contem-
por ar y
(end
of
D y nas ty
11 to the
r eign
of Amenem-
het
I ),
the thir d
per haps
s omew hat l ater
(Amenem-
het I I or
ear l ier ).d
T echnique.
T he near es t
par al l el
to the
epigr aphic
technique
of Phas e I
(hier ogl y phs
inked
d ir ectl y
on
b ar e
w ood ,
then
l ightl y
incis ed in
outl ine)
occur s in
BiBo,
the outer cof f in to B2Bo and ther ef or e con-
tempor ar y
w ith it (end of
D y nas ty
11 to the
r eign
of
Amenemhet I ).e
I n
s um,
the avail ab l e evid ence
s ugges ts
that the
inter ior of Meketr a's cof f in w as
initial l y
d ecor ated in
a
s ty l e ver y
s imil ar to that f ound on the cof f ins of
39
the Ber s heh nomar ch
D hw tj-nht (B 1-2Bo).
T his ini-
tial
d ecor ation,
w hich
appear s
to have b een com-
pl ete,
w as
s ub s equentl y
cover ed w ith
ges s o
and
gol d
l eaf , into w hich the s ame or s imil ar texts w er e in-
cis ed mor e
el ab or atel y
and at a
s l ightl y l ar ger
s cal e,
pr es umab l y
f or Meketr a as w el l . T he f inal
phas e
of
d ecor ation s eems to have b een car r ied out und er
Amenemhat
I ;
the
or iginal phas e
either in the s ame
r eign
or not much ear l ier .
a. BHiC
(cof f in
of Zkr -m-h3t cal l ed
T 3w j, CJ 37564a):
P.
Lacau,
ASAE
5 (1904) pp. 230-233
and
pl s . 4/6. BH3C (outer cof f in of
Nf r j, CJ 37563b ):
P.
Lacau, ASAE
5 (1904) pp. 237-245.
XiBas
(cof f in
of
Hnnjt
cal l ed
K3jj):
G.
Lapp, "Sar ge
d es Mittl er en
Reiches aus d er
ehemal igen Samml ung Khas hab a," AA
43 (Wies -
b ad en,
1985) pp. 5-7, pl s . 5-11, 35-37.
b . W.
Schenkel ,
Fr iihmittel d gy ptis che Stud ien, Bonner Or iental -
is che
Stud ien, n.s .
13:(Bonn, 1962) p. 2d . T he T heb an cof f in of
W3h
(MMA 20.3.202),
a
contempor ar y
of
Meketr a, s how s a f or m
w ithout ties as d eter minative of the w or d
qr s t (b ur ial ),
an unus ual
if not
unique
var iant of the
r egul ar
cof f in d eter minative
(Q6).
c. For the
d ating,
s ee H.
Wil l ems , "Ches ts of
Lif e," MVOL
25
(1988) pp. 65,
68.
d . B2Bo
(inner
cof f in of
D hw tj-nht,
MFA
21.962-63)
and
MiNY
(cof f in
of
Wh-htp,
MMA
i2.182.132ab )
ar e
unpub l is hed
except
f or their Cof f in T exts . For the
d ating,
s ee
Wil l ems , "Ches ts
of Lif e,"
pp. 70-72, 98-99;
and
(f or B2Bo)
E .
Br ovar s ki, in Stud -
ies in Ancient
E gy pt,
the
Aegean,
and the Sud an:
E s s ay s
in Honor
of
D ow s
D unham, W. K.
Simps on
and W. M.
D avis , ed s .
(Bos ton,
1981) pp. 23-30.
e. E . M.
T er r ace,
E gy ptian Paintings of
the Mid d l e
Kingd om (Lon-
d on, 1968).
For the
d ating,
s ee
Wil l ems , "Ches ts of
Lif e," pp. 70-
72;
and
Br ovar s ki,
in "Stud ies in Ancient
E gy pt," pp. 23-30.
ABBRE VI AT I ONS
AA-Agy ptol ogis che Ab hand l ungen
AJSL-T he
Amer ican
Jour nal of
Semitic
Languages
and Liter atur es
Ar nol d ,
Mentuhotep,
I : Ar chitektur und
D eutung-
D ieter
Ar nol d ,
D er
T empel
d es
KBnigs Mentuhotep
von
D eir el
Bahar i,
I : Ar chitektur und
D eutung,
Ar chaol o-
gis che Ver of f entl ichungen
8
(Mainz, 1974)
Ar nol d ,
Mentuhotep,
I I I : D ie
konigl ichen Beigab en-
D ieter
Ar nol d ,
D er
T empel
d es
Konigs Mentuhotep,
I I I :
D ie
konigl ichen Beigab en, Ar chaol ogis che
Ver of f ent-
l ichungen 23 (Mainz, 1981)
Ar nol d ,
Senw os r et I
Py r amid -D ieter Ar nol d ,
w ith
contr ib utions
b y
D or othea Ar nol d and an
append ix
b y
Peter F.
D or man,
T he South Cemeter ies
of
Lis ht,
I :
T he
Py r amid
of
Senw os r et
I , Pub l ications of T he Met-
r opol itan
Mus eum of Ar t
E gy ptian E xped ition,
XXI I
(New Yor k,
1988)
Ar nol d and
Winl ock,
T empl e of Mentuhotep-D ie-
ter Ar nol d f r om the notes of Her b er t E . Winl ock,
T he
T empl e of Mentuhotep
at D eir el -Bahar i, Pub l ica-
tions of T he
Metr opol itan
Mus eum of Ar t
E gy ptian
E xped ition,
XXI
(New Yor k,
1979)
ASAE -Annal es d u Ser vice d es
Antiquites
d e
l 'E gy pte
BE S-Bul l etin
of
the
E gy ptol ogical
Seminar
BI FAO-Bul l etin d e 'I ns titut
Fr anCais
d 'Ar cheol ogie
Or iental e
CAH-I . E . S.
E d w ar d s , C.
J.
Gad d , and N. G. L.
Hammond , ed s ., T he
Camb r id ge
Ancient
His tor y ,3
I ,
Par t 2:
E ar l y His tor y of
the Mid d l e E as t
(Camb r id ge,
1971)
CG-Catal ogue
Gener al d es
Antiquites E gy ptiennes
d u
Mus ee d u Cair e
GM-Gottinger
Mis zel l en
Hay es , Scepter
i-Wil l iam C.
Hay es ,
T he
Scepter of
E gy pt:
A
Backgr ound f or
the
Stud y of
the
E gy ptian
An-
tiquities
in the
Metr opol itan
Mus eum
of
Ar t, Par t I : Fr om
the E ar l ies t T imes to the E nd
of
the Mid d l e
Kingd om
(New Yor k,
1953; 5th r epr . 1990)
JARCE -Jour nal of
the Amer ican Res ear ch Center in
E gy pt
JE A-Jour nal of E gy ptian Ar chaeol ogy
JNE S-Jour nal of
Near E as ter n Stud ies
LA-Wol f gang Hel ck, E b er har d
Otto,
and
Wol f har t
Wes tend or f , ed s ., Lexikon d er
Agy ptol ogie
(Wies b ad en,
1975)
6 vol s .
MD AI K-Mitteil ungen
d es d euts chen
Ar chiol ogis chen
I ns tituts ,
Ab teil ung
Kair o
MD OG-Mitteil ungen
d er D euts chen
Or ientges el l -
s chaf t
MI FAO-Memoir es d e l 'I ns titut
Fr anf ais d 'Ar cheol -
ogie
Or iental e
MVOL-Med ed eel ingen
en
Ver hand el ingen
van het
Voor aziatis ch-egy ptis che Genoots chap
"E x Or iente Lux"
Navil l e, XI th
D y nas ty T empl e-E d ouar d Navil l e,
T he XI th
D y nas ty T empl e
at D eir
el -Bahar i, Par t I ,
T w enty -eighth
Memoir of the
E gy pt E xpl or ation
Fund
(Lond on,
1907);
Par t
2, T hir tieth Memoir of
the
E gy pt E xpl or ation
Fund
(Lond on, 1910);
Par t
3, T hir ty -s econd
Memoir of the
E gy pt E xpl or ation
Fund
(Lond on,
1913)
40
PM3-Ber tha Por ter and Ros al ind
Mos s ,
T opo-
gr aphical Bib l iogr aphy of
Ancient
E gy ptian Hier ogl y phic
T exts ,
Rel ief s ,
and
Paintings ,
I : T he T heb an
Necr opol is ,
Par t i: Pr ivate T omb s
(Oxf or d , 1960);
Par t
2,
Roy al
T omb s and Smal l er Cemeter ies
(Oxf or d , 1964);
I I : T he-
b an
T empl es (Oxf or d , 1972)
T omb car d s -Fil e car d s on w hich the MMA ex-
cavator s d r ew
pl ans
and
ob jects ,
d es cr ib ed f ind -
s pots ,
and noted ob s er vations mad e
d ur ing
the ex-
cavations . T he car d s w er e numb er ed
s epar atel y
in
the "Lis ht" and "T heb es " s er ies in
1980
and
1985-
86.
T hey
ar e
kept
in the
D epar tment
of
E gy ptian
Ar t.
Winl ock,
E xcavations -Her b er t E .
Winl ock,
E xca-
vations at D eir el -Bahr i
191-193
I
(New Yor k,
1942)
Winl ock,
Ris e and Fal l -Her b er t E .
Winl ock,
T he
Ris e and Fal l
of
the Mid d l e
Kingd om
in T heb es
(New
Yor k, 1947)
ZAS-Zeits chr if t
f iir Agy ptis che Spr ache
und Al ter -
tums kund e
ACKNOWLE D GME NT S
T he author w is hes to thank
James
Al l en,
Cathar ine
Roehr ig,
Ad el a
Oppenheim,
and
es pecial l y
Mar s ha
Hil l of the
D epar tment
of
E gy ptian
Ar t,
T he Met-
r opol itan
Mus eum of
Ar t,
f or
r ead ing
the manu-
s cr ipt
of this
ar ticl e,
d is cus s ing
its content and
f or m,
and
s ugges ting
id eas . I am
extr emel y gr atef ul
to
Law r ence M. Ber man f or
l etting
me us e his d is s er -
tation on Amenemhat I .
NOT E S
1. T her e is no
gener al l y accepted
name f or this
val l ey .
I ts eas t-
er n end b etw een Sheikh Ab d
el -Qur na
and the
Qur net
Mar ai
hil l s w as at s ome time cal l ed "Souther n As as if ." Cf . Ber tha Por ter
and Ros al ind Mos s ,
T opogr aphical Bib l iogr aphy of
Ancient
E gy ptian
Hier ogl y phic
T exts ,
Rel ief s ,
and
Paintings ,
I : T he T heb an
Necr opol is
(Oxf or d , 1927)
p.
157,
no.
223.
T he s econd ed ition of this w or k,
PM2, I , p. 324,
no
l onger
us es this ter m. T he
b ay
at the b ack
end ,
w her e the unf inis hed monument l ies , is d es cr ib ed in
Por ter -Mos s ,
T opogr aphical Bib l iogr aphy ,
I I : T heb an
T empl es (Oxf or d , 1929)
p.
135,
as
"Val l ey
Behind E l w et Sheikh Ab d
el -Qur neh."
2. Her b er t E . Winl ock,
"T he T heb an
Necr opol is
in the Mid d l e
Kingd om," AJSL 32,
1
(Oct. 1915)
p.
30, f igs .
6, 7,
and
p. 33, f ig.
9; id em, "T he E l eventh
E gy ptian D y nas ty ," JNE S
2
(Oct. 1943)
pl . 32.
3.
I d em, "T heb an
Necr opol is ," pp. 29-35; id em, "E l eventh
E gy ptian D y nas ty ," pp.
280-281; id em, Ris e and Fal l , pp. 51-53.
T he
quoted pas s age
is f r om
ib id .,
p.
v
(pr ef ace).
4.
H. E .
Winl ock, "E xcavations at T heb es ," MMAB 16
(Nov.
1921) pp. 29-34;
id em, E xcavations , pp.
31-34.
5.
Rob er t
Mond ,
"Repor t
of Wor k in the
Necr opol is
of T heb es
d ur ing
the Winter of
1903-1904,"
ASAE 6
(1905) pp.
78-80.
6.
Navil l e,
XI th
D y nas ty T empl e, pts . 1-3; Ar nol d ,
Mentuhotep,
I :
Ar chitektur und
D eutung;
Ar nol d and
Winl ock,
T empl e of
Mentuho-
tep.
7. Winl ock, Ris e and
Fal l , p. 53; id em,
"T he Cour t of
King
Neb -
Hepet-Re Mentu-Hotpe
at the Shatt er
Rigal ," AJSL 57 (Apr .
1940)
p.
149, f ig.
10; id em, E xcavations ,
p.
118. For the d ate of
the Shatt
er -Rigal ins cr iptions ,
cf .
Winl ock, "Cour t of
King
Neb -
Hepet-Re Mentu-Hotpe," p. 153.
8. Navil l e, XI th
D y nas ty T empl e, pt.
2,
pl .
gD . I n
ad d ition, Me-
ketr a's name and titl e
appear
on tw o r el ief
f r agments
in the Br it-
is h Mus eum and on thr ee mor e
f r agments
s til l at the
templ e
s ite.
Al l thes e
f r agments
w il l b e
pub l is hed b y Br igitte
Jar os ch-D ecker t
as vol . I V to
Ar nol d ,
Mentuhotep.
9. Winl ock, "T heb an
Necr opol is ," pp. 27-28; id em, E xcava-
tions , pp. 54-55, 68-72.
I t w as D ieter Ar nol d 's id ea that the
l ar ge,
unf inis hed tomb
310 (PM2, I ,
pt.
1, p. 386, pl . 3), jus t
ab ove the
cour t of the
Mentuhotep templ e,
w as
per haps or iginal l y
meant to
b e Meketr a's tomb
(per s onal communication).
T he b l ock men-
tioned
b y
Winl ock, as f ound in this tomb ,
b el ongs
to
Nes peka-
s huty
tomb r el ief s
(ib id ., pp. 387-388).
1o. PM2,
pt.
I I ,
p. 669, pl s . 5,
l o.
1 1. Her b er t E .
Winl ock, "Gr af f iti of the Pr ies thood of the E l ev-
enth
D y nas ty T empl es
at T heb es ,"
AJSL 58 (Apr . 1941) pp. 146-
162, pl s . 1-6; id em, Ris e and
Fal l , pp. 77-90, f igs . 40-45.
12. Winl ock, "Gr af f iti of the Pr ies thood ,"
pp. 154-155, pl . 1,
no. 1; id em,
Ris e and
Fal l ,
f ig. 40,
no. i.
13.
For
s er pentine
w al l s as encl os ur es of
d umping
ar eas , cf .
Ar nol d , Senw os r et I
Py r amid , p. 31, pl s . 74-75.
For
s er pentine
w al l s as tomb encl os ur es
d ur ing ongoing b uil d ing activities ,
s ee
D ieter
Ar nol d ,
T he South Cemeter ies
of
Lis ht,
I I I : T he
Py r amid
Com-
pl ex of
Senw os r et I , Pub l ications of the MMA
E gy ptian E xped ition,
XXV,
f or thcoming.
14. For
Amar na,
s ee Chr is tian T ietze, "Amar na:
Anal y s e
d er
Wohnhaus er und s ozial e Str uktur d er
Stad tb ew ohner ," ZAS 112
(1985) p. 64, f ig. 5a: T y pe
l a; Fel ix Ar nol d , "A
Stud y
of
E gy ptian
D omes tic
Buil d ings ,"
Var ia
Aegy ptiaca 5 (1989) p. 80 w ith
f ig. 5
on
p. 89.
For Lis ht, s ee Ar thur C.
Mace, "E xcavations at Lis ht,"
MMAB 16
(1921)
p.
5, f ig.
2.
15. Mond ,
"Repor t
of Wor k,"
p. 65, f ig.
1,
p.
80.
16. Ahmed
Bey Kamal ,
T ab l es
d 'of f r and es ,
Catal ogue
Genir al d es
Antiquites E gy ptiennes
d u Mus ee d u
Cair e, nos .
23001-23256 (Cair o,
1909)
pp.
44-50,
nos .
23049-56; Jos eph
E . Gautier and Gus tave
Jequier ,
Les Fouil l es d e
Licht,
MI FAO 6
(Cair o, 1902) pp. 50-59,
f igs . 51-63.
17.
Cf .
Henr y
G. Fis cher , "Some
E ar l y
Monuments f r om Bu-
s ir is ,
in the
E gy ptian
D el ta,"
MMJ
11
(1976) pp.
13-14, f igs 5-7.
18.
Jiir gen
von
Becker ath,
"Zur
Begr und ung
d er 12.
D y nas tie
d ur ch Ammenemes I .," ZAS
92 (1966) pp. 4-10, pl . 3.
Char l es
Kuentz, "Bas s ins et tab l e
d 'of f r and es ,"
Suppl ement
BI FAO
81,
"Bul l etin d u Centenair e"
(1981)
p.
225, f ig. 13.
19.
For E l eventh
D y nas ty
T heb an
exampl es
of
quite
d if f er ent
ty pes ,
s ee
Ar nol d ,
Mentuhotep,
I : Ar chitektur und
D eutung, pi. 25
b ,d .
41
20. Pots f ound on the
pl atf or m,
T omb car d s T heb es
3231-40;
3469-72.
Par al l el s f r om
Lis ht, Ar nol d , Senw os r et I
Py r amid , pp.
106-108,
f igs . 52-54. Potter y
f r om f ound ation
d epos its
f ound
und er the
py r amid templ e
of Amenemhat I at Lis ht aw ait
pub l i-
cation.
21. T omb car d s T heb es
3231; 3234-38.
For
par al l el s
f r om
templ es ,
s ee D ieter Ar nol d , Gr ab er d es Al ten und Mittl er en Reiches
E l -T ar if , Ar chaol ogis che Ver of f entl ichungen 17 (Mainz, 1976) pl .
40f ; Navil l e, Xl th
D y nas ty T empl e, pt.
1,
pl . o1
b ottom
r ight.
For the
f ind s pot
of this s her d b el ow the
templ e thr es hol d ,
cf .
ib id .,
p.
27.
22.
Hs .t vas es , MMA acc. nos .
22.3.16-17;
cups , f or mer l y
MMA acc. nos .
[22.3.18,19]
ar e now in the Or iental
I ns titute,
Chicago.
23.
Nor man d e Gar is D avies , T he T omb
of Antef oker ,
Vizier
of
Se-
s os tr is I and
of
his
Wif e,
Senet
(No. 6o),
T he T heb an T omb Ser ies
Second Memoir
(Lond on, 1920) pl . 39.
Senet is now know n to
have b een I ntef iker 's mother .
24. Guy
Br unton, Qau
and Bad ar i, I I , Br itis h School of Ar chae-
ol ogy
in
E gy pt, T w enty -ninth Year , 1923 (Lond on, 1928) pl . 92,
nos .
95 K, L,
Q,
R, w hich ar e of Fir s t I nter med iate Per iod
d ate,
w hil e ib id ., nos .
95 B, C, F, H, ar e of
D y nas ty
12; cf . the
pr es ence
of the T w el f th
D y nas ty gl ob ul ar jar s
in
ib id .,
pl . go,
nos .
51 G,
H
in tomb s
301, 321.
25.
D or othea
Ar nol d ,
in
Ar nol d , Senw os r et I
Py r amid , pp.
140-141.
26. Mond ,
"Repor t
of Wor k," p. 77;
T omb car d s T heb es
3227-28.
27.
MMA
neg.
no. MCC
174;
s ee
Figur e 14.
28. See
p.
26.
29.
T omb car d s T heb es
3229-30.
For the
name, s ee Her mann
Ranke, D ie
Agy ptis chen Per s onennamen, I : Ver zeichnis d er Namen
(Gl iicks tad t, 1935)
p.
95,
nos .
14,
21.
30.
Femal e
per s ons
ar e,
f or
ins tance, in
Ranke,
Agy ptis chen
Per -
s onennamen
p. 95,
nos .
14, 21, CG
20208, and E r nes to
Schiapa-
r el l i, Mus eo
Ar cheol ogico
d i Fir enze: Antichitd
E gizio, pt.
I
(Rome,
1887) pp. 268-272,
no.
1552.
31. Mond ,
"Repor t
of Wor k," pp. 78-80; Ar nol d ,
Mentuhotep,
I : Ar chitektur und
D eutung,
pl . 43.
32. Ar nol d ,
Mentuhotep,
I : Ar chitektur und
D eutung, pp.
44-49,
pl s . 34-40.
I f the
pit
in the f l oor of the chamb er
(cf . Mond , "Re-
por t
of
Wor ks ," p. 79, f ig. 15)
is
or iginal ,
and not a r ob b er s ' tr ial
s haf t, ther e s houl d al s o have b een r emains of a s tone
canopic
ches t f or the
per s on
b ur ied in the chamb er .
33. Mond ,
"Repor t
of Wor ks ," p. 78.
Mond al s o
r epor ts
he
f ound a b eam "notched at b oth end s f or
attaching
a
r ope."
Was it
f or
l ow er ing
the
b l ocking
s tones ?
34.
I b id .
35. I b id ., p. 78,
d es cr ib es f ind s he mad e in the chancel l or Mek-
etr a's
cour ty ar d
tomb s : "... I
got
... numer ous
pots
and
cups
of
a votive
char acter ; in the
cour ty ar d its el f , a
l ar ge
numb er of
thes e, s ever al
hund r ed s , w er e
l y ing." Photogr aphs
in the MMA
E gy ptian
Ar t
d epar tment
ar chives
(MC 73, 74)
s how
heaps
of
s uch
pots
in
1920
s til l
l y ing
b es id e the entr ance of the tomb of
Wah
(s ee Figur e 22). T hey
ar e
unmis takab l y
of the f ound ation
d epos it ty pe.
I n the s ame
par agr aph,
Mond mentions the f ind of
"a s and s tone
f r agment
w ith
painted
head of a
king
in b as -r el ief ."
T her e is a
photogr aph
in the
E gy ptian d epar tment
ar chives that
Mond s ent to Winl ock in
1932.
Bes id e it Winl ock noted , "T his
l ooks to me 18th
D y nas ty ."
I nd eed , the
pr of il e
is
cl ear l y
that of an
ear l y
18th
D y nas ty king (Amenhotep I ?).
T he r el ief mus t have
b een
tr ans por ted
to the Meketr a tomb f r om D eir el -Bahr i.
36. Unpub l is hed pl ans
of thes e tomb s ar e in the ar chives of
the
E gy ptian
Ar t
d epar tment.
I n mos t tomb s
pl anned ,
the w or k
had
s topped
either in the
pas s age
b ef or e a chamb er w as r eached
or w ith the
cutting
of s uch a chamb er .
37.
Wil l iam Fl ind er s Petr ie,
Guy Br unton, and
Mar gar et
A.
Mur r ay ,
Lahun, I I , Br itis h School of
Ar chaeol ogy
in
E gy pt,
T w enty -s ixth Year , 1920 (Lond on, 1923) pp. 26-34, pl s . 3, 27,
36a.
For the
l ength
of the
r eign
of Senw os r et
I I , cf . Wil l iam K.
Simps on,
"Ses os tr is I I ," in LA V
(1984) pp. 899-903.
38.
Bes id es the b ur ial s of I ntef and
Wah, ther e w er e thr ee
tomb s of
d epend ents
at the s id es of the b r ick-w al l ed
cour ty ar d
of
Meketr a, cf .
pl an
in
Figur e
22.
39.
Shaf ts 1001-1020 excavated
b y
the MMA
E gy ptian E xpe-
d ition and as
y et unpub l is hed .
I n s haf t 1008 the b ur ial of the
"char ioteer " of the T hir d I nter med iate Per iod w as f ound her e
af ter
pr evious
b ur ial s had b een r ob b ed ; Winl ock, E xcavations ,
P 34.
40, I b id ., pp. 55-56, pl .
18.
41.
T omb car d s T heb es
3229-30.
42.
MMA acc. nos .
22.3.358-361.
For the titl e, cf . Wil l iam
War d , I nd ex
of E gy ptian
Ad minis tr ative and
Rel igious
T itl es
of
the
Mid d l e
Kingd om (Beir ut, 1982)
p.
143,
no.
1233.
43. Navil l e, XI th
D y nas ty T empl e,
pt. 2, pl s . 11-20.
Winl ock, E x-
cavations ,
pp. 35-46; Ar nol d ,
Mentuhotep,
I : Ar chitektur und D eu-
tung, map
at the b ack.
44.
T he b ur ial of Ankhet
(cf .
note
198 b el ow )
w il l b e
f ul l y pub -
l is hed in D ieter
Ar nol d , T he
Py r amid Compl ex of
Senw os r et I .
45.
A
pr ef er ence
f or is ol ated b ur ial s ites b ecomes noticeab l e at
the
b eginning
of the New
Kingd om.
Cf . Wil l iam Fl ind er s
Petr ie,
Qur eh,
Br itis h School of
Ar chaeol ogy
in
E gy pt,
Fif teenth
Year ,
1909 (Lond on, 1909) pl s . 22-29.
46.
Wil l iam C.
Hay es ,
"T he Mid d l e
Kingd om
in
E gy pt,"
CAH
2, p. 496,
even
s ugges ts
a
f ound ing
of
I tj-taw y s hor tl y
b ef or e
Amenemhat's acces s ion. I n
Scepter
i,
p. 172, Hay es
w r ites of a
move to the nor th
"ear l y
in his
r eign."
47.
Stel a in Cair o CG
20516:
Hans 0.
Lange
and Heinr ich
Schaf er , Gr ab - und D enks teine d es Mittl er en
Reiche,
Catal ogue
Gener al
d es
Antiquites E gy ptiennes
d u Mus ee d u
Cair e, nos .
20001-2078011
(Ber l in, 1908) pp.
108-111; ib id ., I V
(Ber l in, 1902) pl . 35.
On
I tj-
taw y ,
Wil l iam K.
Simps on,
"Stud ies in the T w el f th
E gy ptian D y -
nas ty : I -I I , I . T he Res id ence of
I tj-tow y ," JARCE
2
(1963) pp.
53-59.
A
ten-y ear cor egency
of Amenemhat I and Senw os r et I at
the end of Amenemhat's r ul e has
r ecentl y again
b een
s tr ongl y
d ef end ed
b y
Law r ence M. Ber man in "Amenemhat I "
(Ph.D .
d is s .,
Yal e
Univer s ity , 1985) pp. 173-213.
Pr evious d is cus s ion on
the
s ub ject
is f ound in Wil l iam
J. Mur nane, Ancient
E gy ptian
Co-
r egencies ,
Stud ies in Ancient Or iental Civil ization
40(Chicago, 1977)
pp. 242-246; id em,
"I n D ef ens e of the Mid d l e
Kingd om
D oub l e
D ates ," BE S
3 (1981)
pp.
73-82;
Rob er t
D el ia, "A New Look at
42
Some Ol d D ates : A Reexamination of T w el f th
D y nas ty
D oub l e
D ated
I ns cr iptions ,"
BE S 1
(1979) pp. 15-28; id em, r eview of
Mur nane, Ancient
E gy ptian Cor egencies ,
in
Ser apis 5 (1980) pp. 51-
54; id em, "D oub ts ab out D oub l e D ates and
Cor egencies ,"
BE S
4
(1982) pp. 55-69; Wol f gang
Hel ck,
"Mitr egents chaf t,"
LA I V
(1982) pp. 155-161; id em, "Schw achs tel l en d er
Chr onol ogie-D is -
kus s ion," GM
67 (1983) pp. 43-49;
E r har t
Gr aef e,
paper
r ead at
Stand ige Agy ptol ogen
Konf er enz, Bas el , 1982;
E l ke
Bl umenthal ,
"D ie er s te
Kor egenz
d er 12.
D y nas tie,"
ZAS 110
(1983) pp. 104-
121. D el ia, Hel ck,
and Gr aef e w er e
agains t
a
cor egency ,
w hil e
Bl umenthal , Ber man, and al s o W K.
Simps on,
"Ses os tr is I "
(LA
V
[1984] p. 890)
ad vocated a
cor egency .
Mos t
r ecentl y ,
D etl ef
Fr anke, "Zur
Chr onol ogie
d es Mittl er en Reiches
(12.-18. D y nas -
tie) pt.
1: D ie 12.
D y nas tie,"
Or iental ia
57 (1988) pp. 115-1
16,
ad vocated a
cor egency
of Amenemhat I - Senw os r et
I ,
citing
as
ad d itional evid ence the thr ee
appar entl y contempor aneous
in-
s cr iptions
at
Wad y el -Gir gaw i,
tw o of w hich
give
a d ate of
y ear 29,
w hil e the thir d is d ated to
y ear 9.
Mor e evid ence is
pr ovid ed
in
Fel ix Ar nol d , et al ., T he South Cemeter ies
of
Lis ht, I I : T he Contr ol
Notes and T eam Mar ks , Pub l ications of the MMA
E gy ptian E xpe-
d ition, XXI I I , pp. 30-31.
48.
MMA acc. no.
09.180.543.
H. E . Winl ock,
"Neb -Hepet-Re
Mentu-hotpe
of the E l eventh
D y nas ty ," JE A
26
(1940)
pp. 116-
1
19,
pl .
21.
49.
Ahmed
Fakhr y ,
T he
E gy ptian
D es er ts : T he
I ns cr iptions of
the
Amethy s t Quar r ies
at Wad i E l Hud i
(Cair o, 1952) pp. 19-23;
Kar l -
Joachim Sey f r ied , Beitr ige
zu d en
E xped itionen
d es Mittl er en Reiches
in d ie
Os t-w iis te, Hil d es heimer
Agy ptol ogis che Beitr age 15 (1981) pp.
7-10;
Jean
Couy at
and Pier r e Montet, Les
I ns cr iptions Hier ogl y -
phiques
et
Hier atiques
d u Ouad i Hammamat, MI FAO
34 (1912) pp.
77-78,
no.
o10; pp. 79-81,
no.
113; pp. 97-98,
no.
191;
pp. 98-
1oo,
no.
192.
50. Couy at
and Montet, Les
I ns cr iptions , p. 103,
no.
205.
51. Winl ock,
"Neb -Hepet-Re Mentu-hotpe," p. 117.
T he r e-
cons tr uction
(s ee Figur e 17) r epr es ents
a
ty pe
of s tone ves s el that
is r ar e in the Mid d l e
Kingd om r eper toir e, al though many
ex-
ampl es
ar e,
of
cour s e,
know n f r om
E ar l y D y nas tic
times : Wil l iam
Fl ind er s Petr ie, Stone and Metal Vas es , Br itis h School of Ar chaeol -
ogy
in
E gy pt
(Lond on, 1937) pl . 22, no.
353.
A Mid d l e
Kingd om
par al l el
of al ab as ter
(Wil l iam
Fl ind er s
Petr ie,
D ios pol is Par ua,
T he
Cemeter ies
of Ab ad iy eh
and Hu
i898-99, Special
E xtr a Pub l ication
of the
E gy pt E xpl or ation
Fund w ith
chaps . b y
Ar thur C. Mace
[Lond on, 1901]
pl . 29, gr ave
Y
51)
has a
pr onounced
f oot. T his
coul d w el l b e tr ue f or the Lis ht b ow l . I n the
ear l y
New
Kingd om,
the
ty pe
is mor e
f r equentl y attes ted ,
al though us ual l y
l es s
d eep
(Petr ie, Qur meh, pl .
22 nos .
9, 17, pl . 25).
A r econs tr uction as a
mor e s hal l ow b ow l is
impos s ib l e
f or MMA acc. no.
09.180.543
b ecaus e
onl y
a
s hape
as d r aw n f its the cur ve of the
f r agment.
52. Henr y
G.
Fis cher , "T he Mar k of a Second Hand on An-
cient
E gy ptian Antiquities ," MMJ 9 (1974)
pp.
5-34; Wol f gang
Hel ck,
"Us ur pier ung,"
in LA VI
(1986) pp. 905-906.
53. E l -Khoul y ,
"An
Of f er ing-T ab l e
of Ses os tr is I f r om E l -
Lis ht,"
JE A 64 (1978) p. 44, pl . 9.
T his al tar as w el l as a s econd
one
(b oth
now in the
I ns pector ate
at
Saqqar a)
w er e f ound -ac-
cor d ing
to l ocal inf or mation-in the
Leb eny canal , eas t of the
nor ther n
py r amid
of Lis ht. T he
or iginal
s ite of the al tar s mus t
have b een a
s anctuar y
in the
tow n, s ince the
s pot
is too f ar
aw ay
f r om the
py r amid
to have had
any
connection w ith the
f uner ar y
pr ecinct.
54. Ar nol d , Contr ol
Notes ,
p.
61, no. A 2.1.
55.
Gautier and
Jequier ,
Les Fouil l es d e
Licht, pp. 94-97, f igs .
108-1 14.
56.
Al b er t
Ly thgoe,
"T he
E gy ptian E xped ition
I I ," MMAB 2
(Jul y 1907)
pp.
115-1
16 and
f ig.
6; Ar thur C. Mace, "T he
E gy p-
tian
E xped ition
I I I ," MMAB
3 (Oct. 1908) p. 187
and
f ig.
i;
Hay es ,
in
Scepter
i,
172-173, f ig. 103.
57. Hay es , Scepter
1,
pp. 173-174,
r econs tr ucted tw o s ub s e-
quent py r amid templ es ,
b l ocks f r om the ear l ier
b eing
r eus ed in
the l ater .
Ber man, "Amenemhat I ,"
pp. 69, 71-72, ar gued
f or the
us ur pation
of the
py r amid b y
a l ater r ul er . For this
l ater , un-
named
per s on
the
b uil d ing
in w hich the r eus ed b l ocks w er e
f ound w oul d have b een er ected . Whil e it is f util e to
tr y
to s ol ve
the
pr ob l em
b ef or e the ar chitectur al r emains have b een thor -
oughl y s tud ied , a
point may
b e mad e that
s peaks s tr ongl y agains t
a
us ur pation
of the
py r amid
and
templ e b y
a l ater r ul er : it is
unhear d of that a
king taking
over an ol d er
b uil d ing
w oul d not
ad d his name w her ever
pos s ib l e.
58. Simps on,
"T he Res id ence of
I tj-tow y ," pp. 60-61,
pl .
8.
How ever , f or cautions
concer ning
the
chr onol ogical
val ue of al -
l us ions to the
Sed -f es tival , s ee E r ik
Hor nung
and E l is ab eth
Staehel in, "Stud ien zum Sed f es t,"
Aegy ptiaca
Hel vetica 1
(1974)
pp.
27, 78.
59.
MMA acc. no.
o9.18o.113.
Other b l ocks w ith b oth
kings '
names and /or
f igur es
ar e
Cair o,
E gy ptian
Mus eum
Jour nal
d 'E ntr ee no.
31878;
MMA acc. no.
o8.200.9;
Gautier and
Jequier ,
Les Fouil l es d e
Licht,
p. 96,
f igs .
11
1-113.
60. Mar ianne
E aton-Kr aus s , "Zur
Kor egenz
Amenemhets I
und Ses otr is I ," MD OG 112
(1980)
p.
44;
Wil l iam K.
Simps on,
"T he
Singl e-D ated
Monuments of Ses os tr is I : An
As pect
of the
I ns titution of
Cor egency
in the T w el f th
D y nas ty ,"JNE S 15 (1956)
pp. 214-219; Ber man, "Amenemhat
I ,"
pp. 182-190;
Wil l iam K.
Simps on,
"T he
Py r amid
of Lis ht
Nor th," (Ph.D . d is s ., Yal e Uni-
ver s ity , 1954) p. 68, mentions as a
par al l el
to the
phr as e:
Gus tave
Jequier ,
Le Monument Funer air e d e
Pepi
I I
(Cair o, 1938) I I ,
pl .
108;
I I I
(1940) pl .
20.
61. See note
47
ab ove.
62. Another
s ign
that the Sed -f es tival of Amenemhat I w as
b eing pr epar ed jus t
b ef or e his
d eath,
al though
he
may
in f act not
have l ived to ob s er ve
it, is the s tatue f r om Khatana: s ee H. Gau-
thier , "Une nouvel l e s tatue d 'Amenemhet
I ,"
Mtl anges Mas per o,
pt.
i: Or ient
Ancien, MI FAO 66
(1935-38) pp.
43-53, pl s . 1-2; al s o
Simps on,
"T he Res id ence of
I tj-tow y ," pp.
60-61.
63. Ar nol d , Contr ol Notes , p. 61.
64.
T he
py r amid compl ex
of Senw os r et I took ab out f if teen
y ear s
f r om the s tar t of the w or k on the
und er gr ound
chamb er s
b ef or e
y ear
o1 to the er ection of the
caus ew ay
af ter
y ear 24:
Ar -
nol d , Contr ol
Notes , p.
31.
T he er ection of the
py r amid
and its
compl ex
f or Amenemhat I w oul d have taken ten
y ear s ,
if this
compl ex
w as f inis hed b ef or e Senw os r et I s tar ted w or k on his ow n
py r amid .
T his
r el ativel y
s hor t
b uil d ing
time w oul d
expl ain
the
extens ive r eus e of ear l ier s tones .
65.
Stel a Cair o CG
20515:
Mohamed Sal eh and
Hour ig
Sour -
ouzian, T he
E gy ptian Mus eum, Cair o
(Mainz, 1987)
no.
91.
On an-
other s tel a in the
E gy ptian Mus eum, Cair o
(CG 20516,
cf . note
47),
the name of
I tj-taw y b el ongs
to the titl e of a
per s on
w hos e
name and titl e have b een
s econd ar il y
ins er ted on the f r ame. D oes
43
this ind icate that the
per s on
w as
appointed
to an of f ice in the new
capital jus t
af ter the s tel a w as f inis hed ? T he d ate of the s tel a is
y ear
l o of Senw os r et I . I f the new
capital
had
jus t
b een f ound ed
at this
time,
new
appointments
to its of f ices mus t have b een f r e-
quent.
66.
Accor d ing
to the Hammamat
ins cr iptions (cf .
note
49
ab ove)
the tomb of
Neb taw y r a
s houl d have a
l ar ge
har d -s tone
s ar cophagus .
67. Ar nol d ,
Gr ib er d es Al ten und Mittl er en Reiches in
E l -T ar if .
68. Wil l iam Fl ind er s
Petr ie,
His tor ical Scar ab s
(Lond on, 1889)
no.
165.
T he
piece
is in the Br itis h Mus eum.
69.
Ar nol d and Winl ock,
T empl e of Mentuhotep, p. 55, f ig.
12
and
pl . 31.
70. Winl ock, Ris e and Fal l , p. 51.
71.
For
ins tance,
the s tel a MMA acc. no.
13.182.3 (Hay es , Scep-
ter 1, p. 152, f ig. 9o),
w hich
cer tainl y
comes f r om T ar if , w as r e-
por ted
to b e f r om D ir a Ab u
'n-Naga.
72.
Hans Goed icke, "A
Roy al
Seal of
S'ankh-kar e'," Var ia Ae-
gy ptiaca 5 (1989) pp. 119-120.
73. Petr ie, Qur neh, pp. 4-6, pl s . 4-8; PM2, I I , p. 340.
74. Petr ie, Qur neh, pl .
8.
75.
A w el l -know n
exampl e
is the
templ e
of
Sety
I at Kanais .
See Rol f Gund l ach, "Kanais ," LA I I I
(1980)
p.
310.
76. Petr ie,
Qur neh, pl . 13,
is of l ate T w el f th to T hir teenth
D y -
nas ty
d ate. T he excavations of the D euts che
Ar chaol ogis chen
I n-
s titut unear thed a numb er of b ur ial s of the l ate T w el f th,
T hir -
teenth,
and Seventeenth
d y nas ty .
Cf . D .
Ar nol d , "Ber icht iib er
d ie vom D euts chen
Ar chaol ogis chen
I ns titut Kair o im
Mntw -htp-
T empel
und in E l -T ar if unter nommenen Ar b eiten," MD AI K 28
(1972) pp. 13-31, pl s . 1-16; id em, "Ber icht
iib er d ie vom
D euts chen
Ar chaol ogis chen
I ns titut Kair o im Winter
1971/72
in
E l -T ar if
d ur chgef iihr ten
Ar b eiten," MD AI K
29 (1973)
pp.
135-
162,
pl s . 62-70;
id em, "Ber icht
iib er
d ie vom D euts chen Ar chaol -
ogis chen
I ns titut Kair o im Winter
1972/73
in E l -T ar if
d ur chge-
f iihr ten
Ar b eiten,"
MD AI K
30 (1974)
pp.
155-164, pl s . 35-43.
77.
Wil l iam G. Wad d el l ,
Manetho
(Lond on, 1940) pp. 63-73;
Becker ath,
"Zur
Begr iind ung
d er 12.
D y nas tie," pp. 9-1o;
Wol f -
gang
Hel ck, Manetho,
Unter s uchungen
zu Manetho und d en
igy p-
tis chen
Kinigs l is ten, Unter s uchungen
zur Ges chichte und Al ter tums -
kund e
Agy ptens
18
(Leipzig/Ber l in, 1956) pp. 63-69; Fr anke,
"Zur
Chr onol ogie," p.
128.
78. Becker ath,
"Zur
Begr iind ung
d er 12.
D y nas tie," pp.
8-1o,
pl . 3.
79.
For the names of
Neb hepetr a,
s ee Lab ib
Hab achi,
"King
Neb hepetr e Menthuhotp:
His Monuments , Pl ace in
His tor y ,
D ei-
f ication and Unus ual
Repr es entations
in the For m of God s ,"
MD AI K
19 (1963)
pp.
16-52;
D .
Ar nol d ,
"Zur f r iihen Namens -
f or m d es
Konigs Mntw -htp Nb -hpt-R',"
MD AI K
24 (1969) pp.
38-42.
80.
Jiir gen
von
Becker ath,
Hand b uch d er
d igy ptis chen Kinigs na-
men,
Miinchner
Agy ptol ogis che
Stud ien 20
(Munich/Ber l in, 1984)
p.
197.
81. D ated monuments of Amenemhat I ar e: Stel a f r om E s b et
Rus hd i
(y ear 20),
Lab ib Hab achi, "Khata'na-Qantir :
I mpor -
tance,"
ASAE
52 (1954)
pp.
453-454;
Wil l iam K.
Simps on,
"T he
Stel a of
Amun-w os r e, Gover nor of
Upper E gy pt
in the
r eign
of
Ammenemes I or I I ,"
JE A 51 (1965)
p.
63
n. 2. Rock
ins cr iption
at As w an
(y ear 23), Jacques
d e
Mor gan
et al .,
Catal ogue
d es monu-
ments et
ins cr iptions
d e
l 'E gy pte antique,
I : Haute
E gy pte:
D e
l af r ontier e
d e Nub ie a Kom Omb os
(Vienna, 1894)
p.
34,
no. 81. Nes u-Montu
s tel a, Louvr e
(y ear 24),
s ee note 86 b el ow . Rock
ins cr iptions
of E l
Gir gaw i (y ear 29), Zb y nek
Zab a, T he Rock
I ns cr iptions
of
Low er Nu-
b ia
(Pr ague, 1974)
pp.
31-35, f igs . 7-12.
Stel a f r om
Ab y d os (y ear
30),
CG
20516,
Lange
and
Schaf er ,
Gr ab - und D enks teine I I ,
pp.
108-11 1; ib id ., I V, pl . 35.
For the mos t r ecent d is cus s ion of thes e
ins cr iptions ,
s ee Ber man,
"Amenemhat I ," pp.
99-147.
82. Rol f Gund l ach,
"Wied er hol ung
d er Geb ur t," LA VI
(1986)
pp. 1261-1264.
83.
Mir iam
Lichtheim, Ancient
E gy ptian
Liter atur e: A Book
of
Read ings ,
I : T he Ol d and Mid d l e
Kingd oms (Ber kel ey
/ Los
Angel es ,
1973)
pp.
139-145;
Hans
Goed icke,
T he Pr otocol
of Nef er y t (T he
Pr ophecy of Nef er ti) (Bal timor e
/
Lond on,
1982);
E l ke Bl umenthal ,
"D ie
Pr ophezeiung
d es
Nef er ti," ZAS
l o9 (1982) pp. 1-27.
84.
Ad ol f E r man and Her mann
Gr apow ,
Wor ter b uch d er
Aegy p-
tis chen
Spr ache
I I I
(Leipzig, 1929)
pp.
372, 488.
85.
Cf . note
49
ab ove.
86. Wil l iam K.
Simps on,
T he T er r ace
of
the Gr eat God at
Ab y d os :
T he
Of f er ing Chapel s of D y nas ties
12 and
13 (New
Haven / Phil ad el -
phia, 1974)
p.
17,
no.
6.2,
pl . 14.
T r ans . and
inter pr eted
in d etail
b y
Ber man in "Amenemhat I ,"
pp. 107-127.
87. Ber man, "Amenemhat I ,"
pp. 102-107.
88.
I b id .,
p.
115.
89.
T r ans .
accor d ing
to
ib id .,
p.
1o8.
90.
T he tr ans . of
d my
as
"l and ing s tage"
w as
s ugges ted b y
Wil -
l iam K.
Simps on, Papy r us
Reis ner I I : Accounts
of
the
D ocky ar d
Wor k-
s hop
at T his in the
Reign of
Ses os tr is I
(Bos ton, 1965)
p. 20
(h).
91. Hay es ,
"T he Mid d l e
Kingd om," pp. 466-479.
A r iver b oat
w ith ar cher s is
d epicted
in T heb an tomb
386
f r om the time of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a,
s ee
Br igitte
Jar os ch-D ecker t,
Gr a-
b ung
im
As as if 1963-1970,
V: D as Gr ab
d es Jnj-jtj.f ,
D ie Wand mal er -
eien d er XI .
D y nas tie. Ar chiol ogis che Ver of f entl ichungen
12
(Mainz,
1984)
p.
29,
Fal tkar te 2;
Jur gen Settgas t,
"Zu
ungew ohnl ichen
D ar s tel l ungen
von
Bogens chiitzen,"
MD AI K
25 (1969) pp. 136-
138.
92.
T he s tr uctur e of the text is
extens ivel y
d is cus s ed in Ber -
man, "Amenemhat I ,"
p.
116.
93. I b id .,
pp.
108, 119.
94. Another ,
unf or tunatel y ver y f r agmentar y ,
text
may
al s o r e-
f er to the
ear l y s tr uggl es
of Amenemhat
I ;
s ee Rob er t Mond and
Ol iver H.
My er s , T empl es of
Ar mant,
A
Pr el iminar y Sur vey (Lond on,
1940) pt. 1, p.
171; pt.
2,
pl . 99.
95.
See note
83
ab ove.
96. Geor ges
Pos ener , Litter atur e et
Pol itique
d ans
l 'gy pte
d e l a
XI I e
D y nas tie (Par is , 1956)
pp.
55-57.
For
Sinuhe, s ee Lichtheim,
Ancient
E gy ptian
Liter atur e, p. 223 (s our ces ),
p.
224 ("w al l
of the
r ul er ").
97.
Ahmed
Fakhr y ,
"Wad i-el -Natr un: VI I . T he For tr es s and
the XI I th
d y nas ty templ e,"
ASAE
40 (1941) pp. 845-848, pl s .
114-16.
98. Hab achi, "Khata'na-Qantir : I mpor tance," pp. 448-458.
I n
44
f act, a
huge d oor w ay
is
pr es er ved
and b ear s the
ins cr iption
that
s tates that it
b el onged
to a d d w . T his ter m
d es ignates
a "hal l ," s ee
E r man and
Gr apow ,
Wir ter b uch d er
Agy ptis chen Spr ache
V
(Leipzig,
1931)
pp.
527, 532;
M. Bietak, "Avar is and Pir ames s e: Ar chaeo-
l ogical E xpl or ation
in the E as ter n Nil e D el ta,"
Pr oceed ings of
the
Br itis h
Acad emy ,
Lond on
65 (1979)
p. 228.
99.
Wil l iam War d , "T he Nomar ch
Khnumhotep
at
Pel us ium,"
JE A 55(1969) pp. 215-216.
1oo. For the
Fay um
at the time of Amenemhat I , s ee the
f r ag-
ment of a s tatue f ound at Med inet
el -Fay um.
See al s o Richar d
Leps ius ,
D enkmal er aus
Agy pten
und
Aethiopien (Ber l in, 1849-59)
VI ,
pt.
2, pl .
1 i8e; Kur t Sethe
(E d ouar d
Navil l e and
Lud w ig
Bor -
char d t, ed s .), D enkmil er aus
Agy pten
und
Aethiopien
I I :
Mittel igy pten
mit d em Faium
(Leipzig,
1904) p. 30.
For the l ate Fir s t I nter med i-
ate Per iod to
ear l y
T w el f th
D y nas ty gr aves
at
Qas r Sagha,
s ee Ger -
tr ud e
Caton-T homps on
and E l inor W.
Gar d ner ,
T he D es er t
Fay um
(Lond on, 1934)
pp.
138-140.
T he d es er t f or mation nor th and
w es t of Lis ht is s een, f or ins tance, on the T PC
H-5a
Pil ot
map
pub l is hed b y
the Aer onautical Char t and I nf or mation
Center ,
U.S. Air For ce, St. Louis , Mo. T her e ar e
heights
b etw een
l ,ooo
and 800 m ab ove s ea l evel w es t of D ahs hur , and
250
m w es t of
T ahma (ca. 10 km nor th of
Lis ht).
South of
T ahma,
the d es er t
gr ound s l opes
d ow n and r eaches the l evel of the cul tivated l and
jus t
s outhw es t of Lis ht.
T od ay ,
the s hor tes t r oute to the
Fay um
thr ough
the d es er t l eaves the cul tivation at
Riqqa-Ger za
and
r eaches the oas is af ter
r oughl y 19
km.
l ol .
Ger za, T ar khan, and Kaf r Ammar ar e
impor tant Pr ed y -
nas tic
cemeter y
s ites , al l cl os e to Lis ht on the w es t s id e of the Nil e.
E I -Saf f is l ocated on the
oppos ite
eas ter n s id e of the r iver .
102. T he
onl y
evid ence that can b e ad vanced f or a
f uner ar y
monument f or Amenemhat I in the
Memphite necr opol is
(Saqqar a)
is
pr ovid ed b y
the r eus ed b l ocks f ound b uil t into the
Lis ht Nor th
py r amid ;
s ee Hans
Goed icke, Re-us ed Bl ocks
f r om
the
Py r amid
of
Amenemhet I at
Lis ht,
Pub l ications of the MMA
E gy ptian
E xped ition,
XX
(New Yor k,
1971).
But s ince the r eas ons f or
us ing
thes e b l ocks ar e s til l
l ar gel y
unknow n, the evid ence
they pr ovid e
r emains
ver y
f eeb l e.
103. Louis e
Ges ter mann,
Kontinuitit und Wand el in Pol itik und
Ver w al tung
d es Fr iihen Mittl er en Reiches in
Agy pten, Gottinger
Or -
ientf or s chungen,
Row
B,
no. 18
(Wies b ad en, 1987) pp. 114-118.
For the As iatic w ar s of
Neb hepetr a,
s ee
Geor ges
Pos ener , "A Pr o-
pos
d es Gr af f iti d 'Ab is ko," Ar chiv Or iental ni 20
(1952) pp. 163-
166. For the
s tr uggl es
of the
Her akl eopol itan kings agains t
the
As iatic
neighb or s ,
s ee
Wol f gang
Hel ck, "D ie
Beziehungen Agy p-
tens zu Vor d er as ien im
3.
und 2.
Jahr taus end
v.
Chr .," AA
5
(1962) pp. 43-44.
104.
T he
ins cr iption
on a s tatue of a man and his w if e men-
tions Seankhkar a as r ever ed in the
of f er ing
f or mul a: Wil l iam
Fl ind er s Petr ie, T anis
I I , 1886,
Fif th Memoir of the
E gy pt E xpl o-
r ation Fund
(Lond on, 1888) p. 45, pl . 42.
T he
d j.f
in the
of f er ing
f or mul a
s tr ongl y s ugges ts
a T w el f th
D y nas ty
d ate. Cf .
Jean Van-
d ier ,
Manuel
d 'Ar cheol ogie E gy ptienne
I I , Les Gr and es
tpoques ,
L'Ar -
chitectur e
Rel igieus e
et Civil e
(Par is , 1955)
p.
597.
105. Winl ock, E xcavations ,
pp. 17-30;
Her b er t E .
Winl ock,
Mod el s
of D ail y Lif e
in Ancient
E gy pt f r om
the T omb
of
Meket-Re' at
T heb es , Pub l ications of the MMA
E gy ptian E xped ition,
XVI I I
(Camb r id ge,
Mas s .,
1955).
106. Winl ock, "T he Cour t of
King Neb -Hepet-Re
Mentu-
hotpe," pp. 149-150.
For the titl e in the Ol d
Kingd om d ur ing
w hich it w as b or ne
b y
the vizier , s ee
Wol f gang
Hel ck,
Unter s uchung-
en zu d en Beamtentitel d es
Agy ptis chen
Al ten Reiches ,
Agy ptol ogis che
For s chungen
18
(Gl ucks tad t, 1954)
p.
73;
in the Mid d l e
Kingd om,
s ee Wil l iam War d , I nd ex
of E gy ptian
Ad minis tr ative and
Rel igious
T itl es
of
the Mid d l e
Kingd om (Beir ut, 1982) p. 34,
no.
248.
107. Winl ock, Ris e and Fal l ,
p.
62, pl . 37.
T he d ate is w r itten
on a
s epar ate
r ock f r om the one w ith the
l ar ge r epr es entation
s how ing (among other s ) Khety
in f r ont of the
king (ib id ., pl s .
12,
36).
I t is ther ef or e not
ab s ol utel y
cer tain w hether the d ate
appl ies
to the
l ar ge
r el ief .
108. T he
ins cr iption
at As w an of
y ear 41,
Wil l iam Fl ind er s
Petr ie,
A Seas on in
E gy pt i887 (Lond on, 1888) pl .
8, no.
213,
is
b y
another man named
Khety .
109. T ur in
1447.
Anna Mar ia D onad oni
Rover i, ed .,
E gy ptian
Mus eum
of
T ur in,
E gy ptian
Civil ization:
Rel igious Bel ief s (T ur in,
1988) pp. 104-105
w ith
f igs . Wol f gang
Schenkel , tr ans . "Mem-
phis , Her akl eopol is ,
T heb en," AA 12
(1965) pp. 240-241,
no.
387.
For the titl e of
"chancel l or ,"
s ee War d , I nd ex
of
T itl es , p.
47,
no.
364.
For a d if f er ent
tr ans l iter ation, as jmj
r ' htmt ins tead of the
pr evious jmj
r '
s d 3w t,
s ee D etl ef Fr anke, "Per s onend aten aus d em
Mittl er en Reich
(20.-16. Jahr hund er t
v.
Chr .)
D os s ier s
1-796,"
AA
41 (1984)
p. 18. For the
of f ice, s ee
Wol f gang
Hel ck, Zur Ver -
w al tung
d es Mittl er en und Neuen
Reichs , Pr ob l eme d er
Agy ptol ogie,
Her mann
Kees , ed .
(Leid en/Col ogne, 1958) I I I , pp. 77-79.
T he
of f ice w as
new l y
intr od uced
b y
the E l eventh
D y nas ty
T heb an
kings .
11o.
Navil l e,
XI th
D y nas ty T empl e, pt.
2,
pl . 9D , pieces
s econd
r ow
r ight.
We have to as s ume that the name and titl e of Meketr a
w er e car ved into the
compl eted
l imes tone
r el ief ,
b ecaus e the
templ e
r el ief s ar e
s uppos ed
to have b een
compl eted l ong
b ef or e
y ear 46
of the
king;
Ar nol d ,
Mentuhotep,
I : Ar chitektur und D eu-
tung, p.
66, and Ar nol d and
Winl ock,
T empl e of Mentuhotep, pp.
42-45.
On the
f r agment,
s ee Navil l e, XI th
D y nas ty T empl e,
pt.
2,
pl . 9D ,
l ef t of the ab ove-cited
piece,
the
ins cr iption
w ith the name
of
Khety cl ear l y appear s
to have b een
ins er ted ,
b ecaus e the b ack-
gr ound
ar ound the
hier ogl y phs
is l ow er than the ar eas f ar ther
ar ound it. Can one as s ume that the
or iginal
r el ief d ecor ation
pr o-
vid ed
f igur es
of
d ignitar ies
that w er e
onl y given
names l ater ?
111.
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a r eigned 51 y ear s accor d ing
to
the T ur in
papy r us :
Al an H.
Gar d iner ,
T he
Roy al
Canon
of
T ur in
(Oxf or d , 1959) pl . 2, col .
V, l ine 16.
112. A
new l y
d is cover ed text f r om the Wad i Hammamat
(A.
Gas s e,
"Ameny ,
un
por te-par ol e
s ous l e
r egne
d e Ses os tr is l er ,"
BI FAO 88
[1988] pp. 83-93) gives inter es ting ins ight
into the
time of l if e and of f ice und er
ear l y
Mid d l e
Kingd om kings .
T he
f ather of
Ameny ,
w ho d ed icated the
ins cr iption,
l ived to the
age
of
84 y ear s .
He s er ved the f ir s t tw o
kings
of
D y nas ty
12 f or
54
y ear s .
He ther ef or e mus t have s tar ted to hol d
r oy al
of f ices w hen
he w as
3o.
His s on
Ameny
w as
appointed
to an of f ice at the
age
of 18. But this is s een to have b een a
s pecial
f avor .
113. Gar d iner , Roy al
Canon
of
T ur in, w ith
p.
16 n. to col umn
V,
l ine 18.
114. Winl ock,
"Neb -Hepet-Re Mentu-hotpe," pp.
116-119.
115.
T he r econs tr uction of the
por tico
is b as ed on
(a)
l ime-
s tone
f r agments
of
pol y gonal pil l ar s
f ound in the
d eb r is ; cf .
Fig-
45
ur e
23; (b )
the f act that ther e w as
evid entl y
a r el ief d ecor ation on
the f acad e of the tomb that
d ef initel y r equir es
the
pr es ence
of a
r oof . Cf .
unpub l is hed
notes
(pr es umab l y b y Winl ock)
in the
MMA
E gy ptian D epar tment
ar chives und er the
head ing "Copy
of Notes of
1920."
T he r econs tr uction of the inter col umnia w as
b as ed on the
as s umption
that tw o
pil l ar s
w oul d have f l anked the
d oor w ay s .
No
pr oof
f or the
pl acement
of the
pil l ar s
w as f ound .
116. D ieter
Ar nol d ,
Gr ab ungen
im
As as if I 963-1970
I : D as Gr ab
d es Jnj-jtj.f , Ar chd ol ogis che Ver of f entl ichungen 4 (Mainz, 1971)
pl s .
3,
18, 19.
117. Winl ock, E xcavations ,
p. 69, f ig. 7, pl . 15.
118.
Per cy
E .
New b er r y ,
Beni Has an,
pt.
i,
Ar chaeol ogical
Sur -
vey
of
E gy pt,
F. L.
Gr if f ith,
ed .
(Lond on, 1893)
pl s . 2,
4, 20, 39.
For the d ates of the tomb s ,
s ee
ib id .,
pp. 2-3.
119. Ar nol d ,
Senw os r et I
Py r amid , p. 54, pl . 25a.
120. Winl ock, E xcavations ,
p.
19.
Fr agments
in
Cair o,
E gy ptian
Mus eum,
s ee Cl aud e
Vand er s l ey en,
D as Al te
Agy pten, Pr opy l aen
Kuns tges chichte
XV
(Ber l in, 1975)
col or
pl s . 26 a-d .
Fr agments
ar e in MMA acc. nos .
31.3.2-3
and
31.3.170-185,
and unacces -
s ioned
pieces .
Mos t of thes e
f r agments
ar e no
l ar ger
than the
pal m
of one's hand .
121. T he
s pecial
col or s cheme of the Meketr a r el ief s has b een
pointed
out
b y Br igitte
Jar os ch-D ecker t,
D as Gr ab d es
Jnj-jtj.f , p.
132;
R. Fr eed
("A
Pr ivate Stel a f r om
Naga
ed -D er and Rel ief
Sty l e
of the
Reign
of Amenemhet I ," Stud ies in Ancient
E gy pt,
the
Aegean,
and the Sud an in honor
of
D ow s D unham
[Bos ton, 1981] pp.
68-72)
has s how n that the
tend ency
to ind icate d etail s not in
r el ief b ut in the
over l ay ing painting
is
ty pical
f or the time of
Amenemhat I .
122. Good
exampl es
f or l ate E l eventh
D y nas ty painted
r el ief
ar e f ound in the tomb of
D agi
at T heb es ; s ee Nor man d e Gar is
D avies ,
Five T heb an
T omb s , Ar chaeol ogical Sur vey of E gy pt, T w enty -
f ir s t
Memoir
(Lond on, 1913) pl . 30,
nos . 1-2, 9-1 1;
MMA acc. nos .
12.180.243; 12.180.265.
T w el f th
D y nas ty painted
r el ief w ith d el -
icate
s had ing
is f ound in the tomb of
D jehuty hotep
at E l -Ber s ha;
s ee
Per cy
E .
New b er r y ,
E l Ber s heh,
pt.
i:
Ar chaeol ogical Sur vey of
E gy pt,
no numb er
(Lond on, n.d .) f r ontis piece.
I n
painting
on
w ood ,
f ine
s had ing
ef f ects have b een intr od uced ear l ier . T he
mos t
impor tant exampl e
is ,
of cour s e, the cof f in of
D jehuty nakht
f r om E l -Ber s ha,
now in the Mus eum of Fine Ar ts , Bos ton; E d -
w ar d L. B.
T er r ace,
E gy ptian Paintings of
the Mid d l e
Kingd om,
the
T omb
of D jehuty -Nekht (New Yor k, 1967)
pp.
42-52; es p. pl s .
6, 7.
123. Vand er s l ey en,
D as Al te
Agy pten,
col or
pl s .
26a-b .
124.
0. D . Ber l ev,
"T he d ate of the
'E l oquent
Peas ant,"'
in
J.
Os ing
and G.
D r ey er ,
ed s .,
For m und Mas s ,
Beitr d ge
zur Liter atur ,
Spr ache
und Kuns t d es Al ten
Agy pten, Agy pten
und Al tes T es tament
(Wies b ad en, 1987)
pp.
78-83.
125.
MMA acc. nos .
20.3.101-122.
A d ate "l ate in the
ear l y
Mid d l e
Kingd om"
f or this cof f in has b een
pr opos ed b y
Chr is tine
Lil y quis t,
Ancient
E gy ptian
Mir r or s
f r om
the E ar l ies t T imes
thr ough
the Mid d l e
Kingd om,
Miinchner
Agy ptol ogis che
Stud ien
27 (Munich,
1979) p. 27
nn.
309, 310.
126. Cf . note
9
ab ove.
127.
Winl ock, Mod el s .
128. Ar nol d , Mentuhotep,
I I I : D ie
konigl ichen Beigab en, pp.
1 1-
51, pl s . 3-75.
129.
Cecil M. Fir th and Battis comb e Gunn, E xcavations at
Saqqar a:
T eti
Py r amid
Cemeter ies
(Cair o, 1926) I , pp. 52-54;
I I , pl s .
22,
27-31;
Mar ia
Mogens en,
La
Gl y ptotheque Ny Car l s b er g:
La Col -
l ection
E gy ptienne (Copenhagen, 1930) pl s . 66-67.
130. John
Quib el l and And r ew G. K.
Hay ter ,
E xcavations at
Saqqar a:
T eti
Py r amid ,
Nor th Sid e
(Cair o, 1927)
pp.
11-15, pl s . 21-
26.
131.
Fir th and Gunn, T eti
Py r amid
Cemeter ies ,
pp. 187-188.
132. D or othea Ar nol d ,
"Potter y
at the T ime of Amenemhat I ,"
f or thcoming.
133.
Good
exampl es
ar e in Wil l iam Fl ind er s Petr ie and
Guy
Br unton,
Sed ment I ,
Br itis h School of
Ar chaeol ogy
in
E gy pt
and
E gy ptian
Res ear ch Account
T w enty -s eventh
Year , 1921 (Lond on,
1924) pl . 1, nos . 22,
23;
pl . 11,
nos .
4-6.
134.
A w el l -d ated
exampl e
of the mid -T w el f th
D y nas ty
is the
mod el f ound in the tomb of
D jehuty (Mas tab a B,
South
Ar ea)
at
Lis ht South
(Al b er t Ly thgoe,
MMAB
Suppl ement
28
[Apr . 1933]
pp.
18, 20, 21,
f igs .
16, 17; James
H.
Br eas ted ,
Jr ., E gy ptian
Ser -
vant Statues , T he
Bol l ingen
Ser ies
13 [New Yor k,
1948]
pp.
38,
54, pl . 38a).
T he mod el ,
f or mer l y
in the MMA (acc. no.
32.1.125)
is now at I nd iana
Univer s ity . Accor d ing
to Chr is tian Hoel zl ,
w hos e
pub l ication
of this tomb is
f or thcoming,
the cir cums tances
of the
f ind s pot
s how
cl ear l y
a mid -T w el f th
D y nas ty
d ate f or the
mod el .
135.
Petr ie and Br unton, Sed ment,
pl . 17,
no.
4; pl . 26,
no.
13.
John Gar s tang,
T he Bur ial Cus toms
of
Ancient
E gy pt
As I l l us tr ated
b y
T omb s
of
the Mid d l e
Kingd om Being
a
Repor t of
E xcavations mad e in
the
Necr opol is of
Beni Has an
d ur ing
I 902-3-4 (Lond on, 1907)
p.
64, f igs . 50, 51;
p.
75, f ig.
62; p. 94, f ig. 84;
p.
127, f ig.
124.
136.
Ar nol d ,
Mentuhotep,
I I I : D ie
kinigl ichen Beigab en, pl s .
62b ,
63a-b ;
w hil e the
par ts
of a
s l aughter ing
s cene and a
potter y
w or ks hop
s eem to
s ugges t
the
pr es ence
of mor e d etail ed ar chi-
tectur e; ib id ., pl s . 34, 36-37.
137.
For Wes er mut and
I npuemhat car pentr y ,
s ee Quib el l
and
Hay ter ,
T eti
Py r amid ,
Nor th Sid e,
pl . 24.
For Gemeniemhat
car pen-
tr y
and
potter s ' w or ks hop,
s ee Fir th and Gunn, T eti
Py r amid
Cem-
eter ies , I I , pl . 29.
138.
Fir th and Gunn, ib id ., pl s . 28A,B.
139.
Winl ock, Mod el s , pl s . 28-29.
A r emar kab l e ar chitectur al
f eatur e of the tw o
Saqqar a gr oups
is the vaul ted r oof over the
w eaving
s cenes in
Quib el l
and
Hay ter ,
T eti
Py r amid ,
Nor th Sid e,
p.
42;
Fir th and Gunn, T eti
Py r amid
Cemeter ies , I I , pl . 3iC.
T his has
no
par al l el
in the Meketr a
gr oup
of mod el s , w hich,
on the other
hand ,
incl ud es the el ab or ate
gar d en
mod el s
(Winl ock, Mod el s ,
pl s .
9-12)
and the
pavil ion
of the
cattl e-counting
s cene
(ib id ., pl s . 13-
15).
140.
Winl ock, Mod el s ,
pl .
18.
141.
Fir th and Gunn,
T eti
Py r amid
Cemeter ies , I I , pl . 31A,B.
142.
Winl ock, Mod el s , pl s . 22-23.
143.
Ar nol d ,
Mentuhotep,
I I I : D ie
kinigl ichen Beigab en, pl s .
11-
21.
Onl y
the
f igur es ,
pl s . 36e, 38a
-
f , 40
ar e cl os er to the Meketr a
f igur es
in their
pr opor tions .
T he mod el s f r om Sid mant s how
ver y
cl ear l y
the d if f er ence b etw een Fir s t I nter med iate Per iod
pr opor -
tions
(Petr ie
and Br unton, Sed ment, pl . 17,
nos .
4, 6)
and
ear l y
T w el f th
D y nas ty
ones
(ib id ., pl .
20,
nos .
i, 3, 5).
46
144.
For the
pr opor tions
of the human
f igur e
in r el ief s of the
Fir s t
I nter ned iate Per iod and E l eventh
D y nas ty ,
s ee
Gay
Rob ins ,
"T he
Reign
of
Neb hepetr e Montuhotep
I I and the Pr e-
unif ication T heb an
Sty l e
of Rel ief ," in
Gay Rob ins , ed .,
Bey ond
the
Py r amid s : E gy ptian Regional
Ar t
f r om
the Mus eo
E gizio,
T ur in, exh.
cat.,
E mor y Univer s ity
Mus eum of Ar t
(Atl anta, 1990) p. 42.
I n
r el ief and
s cul ptur e
in the
r ound ,
the
change
f r om Fir s t I nter -
med iate Per iod s l end er
pr opor tions
to the
s quar er pr opor tions
w ith
l ar ger
head s took
pl ace d ur ing
the l ater
y ear s
of Mentuho-
tep
I I
Neb hepetr a,
as s een in the r el ief s of the D eir el -Bahr i Sanc-
tuar y
and in s tatues l ike the one of I ntef (s ee note
152 b el ow ).
145. Seen, f or
ins tance, in the l ater Sid mant mod el s
(Petr ie
and
Br unton, Sed ment,
pl .
20, nos . 1, 3, 5)
or the mod el f r om Lis ht
(s ee
note
134 ab ove).
146. Br eas ted ,
E gy ptian
Ser vant
Statues ,
pl s .
2b ,
35, 48a.
147. Winl ock, Mod el s , pl . 30.
For r ecent d is cus s ions on the
s ty l e,
s ee
Cy r il Al d r ed ,
E gy ptian
Ar t in the
D ay s of
the Phar aohs
3 100-320 B.C.
(Lond on, 1980) p. 115;
D ietr ich
Wil d ung,
Ses os tr is
und
Amenemhet,
Agy pten
im Mittl er en Reich
(Munich, 1984) p.
1 16.
T he
pr evious inter pr etation
of the s tatues as "s er vant
gir l s "
w as
f ir s t r ever s ed
b y John
Baines and
Jar omir Mil ek, Atl as
of
Ancient
E gy pt (Oxf or d , 1980;
2nd
r epr . 1984)
p. 204. Baine's and Mal ek's
id entif ication as d omain
per s onif ications
has al s o b een
ad opted
b y
Mohamed Sal eh and
Hour ig Sour ouzian, T he
E gy ptian
Mu-
s eum, Cair o
(Mainz, 1987)
no.
74.
148.
Hel en
Jacquet-Gor d on,
Les noms d es d omaines
f uner air es
s ous l 'ancien
empir e
egy ptien,
I ns titut
f r ancais
d 'Ar cheol ogie
Or ien-
tal e,
Bib l iotheque
d 'etud e
34 (Cair o, 1962).
149. Any attempt
to f ol l ow the
d evel opment
of
ear l y
Mid d l e
Kingd om
head s mus t b e ind eb ted to
Cy r il Al d r ed , "Some
Roy al
Por tr aits of the Mid d l e
Kingd om
in Ancient
E gy pt," MMJ 3
(1970) pp. 27-41.
150. Winl ock, E xcavations , p. 39, pl . 10o.
151. Ar nol d ,
Mentuhotep,
I : Ar chitektur und
D eutung, p. 64;
Ar -
nol d and
Winl ock,
T empl e of Mentuhotep,
p. 45.
152.
D ieter Ar nol d and
Jur gen Settgas t,
"E r s ter Vor b er icht
ub er d ie vom D euts chen
Ar chaol ogis chen I ns titut, Kair o im As a-
s if unter nommenen
Ar b eiten," MD AI K 20
(1965) p.
60,
pl s . 18,
19a; id em, "Vier ter Vor b er icht ub er d ie vom D euts chen Ar chaol -
ogis chen I ns titut, Kair o im As as if unter nommenen Ar b eiten
(5.
und 6.
Kampagne),"
MD AI K
23 (1968) p. 19, pl .
l a
(b od y );
Mo-
hamed Sal eh and
Hour ig Sour ouzian, T he
E gy ptian Mus eum,
Cair o, no.
70.
153.
MMA acc. no.
26.3.104A. Winl ock, E xcavations , pl .
36;
Hay es , Scepter
1,
pp. 164,
210.
154.
A
good par al l el
is E mil e Chas s inat and Char l es
Pal anque,
Une
Campagne
d e Fouil l es d ans l a
Necr opol e d 'As s iout,
MI FAO
24
(Cair o, 1911) pl . 32.
A l ate Ol d
Kingd om par al l el
in the MMA is
acc. no.
58.125.3;
Peter F.
D or man, Pr ud ence 0.
Har per ,
and
Hol l y Pittman, T he
Metr opol itan Mus eum
of Ar t,
E gy pt
and the An-
cient Near E as t
(New Yor k, 1987)
p.
23, f ig. 12.
155. Janine Bour r iau, Phar aohs and Mor tal s :
E gy ptian Ar t in the
Mid d l e
Kingd om,
exh. cat.
(Camb r id ge, 1988) p. 125.
156.
See note 108 ab ove.
157. John Cooney , "E gy ptian
Ar t in the Col l ection of Al b er t
Gal l atin,"JNE S 12
(1953)
pp.
3-4,
no.
7.
158.
So l eb ten d ie
al ten Agy pter ,
exh. cat., Schw eizer is ches Mu-
s eum f ur Vol ks kund e
(Bas el , 1976) pp. 21-24,
w ith
f igs .
D ietr ich
Wil d ung,
Ses os tr is und Amenemhet,
p. 194, f ig. 169.
159. Al d r ed , "Some
Roy al Por tr aits ," pp. 33-34, f igs . 9-12.
16o.
MMA acc. no.
66.99.3.
161. See note
158
ab ove.
162. One
might
ad d her e a
compar is on
w ith the Os ir id e s tatue
head s f r om Ar mant. See Mond and
My er s , T empl es of Ar mant,
pt.
1, pp. 49-50; pt. 2, pl s . 16-17;James Romano, T he Luxor Mus eum
of
Ancient
E gy ptian
Ar t
(Cair o, 1979) pp. 19-22,
no.
19, f igs .
12-
13.
T he Ar mant head s
(s ome
of them r ew or ked in Rames s id e
times )
s har e mos t tr aits w ith the ear l ier
r oy al
s and s tone head s of
Mentuhotep
I I
Neb hepetr a,
and the
Khety head ; mos t notab l e
ar e the thick
l ips
and
s tr aight ey eb r ow s .
A l imes tone head f r om
T heb es that has b een d ated to the l ate E l eventh
D y nas ty
is the
one of I ker , MMA acc. no.
26.7.1393 (How ar d
Car ter and E ar l of
Car nar von, Five Year s '
E xpl or ations
at T heb es : A Recor d
of
Wor k d one
1907-I 911 [Oxf or d , 1912] p. 23, pl . 18, 1 and
2).
T his
s cul ptur e
b el ongs
to the T heb an tr ad ition of
pr ivate
l imes tone
s tatues ; ear -
l ier
exampl es
ar e in the Br itis h Mus eum
(Cy r il Al d r ed , Mid d l e
Kingd om
Ar t in Ancient
E gy pt 2300-1590
B.C.
[Lond on,
1956] pi.
4).
T he d ate of the I ker s tatue is
open
to d eb ate. T he
piece,
ther e-
f or e, cannot
hel p
us to
pl ace
the Meketr a w omen.
163. Cair o,
E gy ptian
Mus eum
Jour nal
d 'E ntr ee
37470.
Hans
G.
E ver s , Staat aus d em
Stein, D enkmil er ,
Ges chichte und
Bed eutung
d er
Agy ptis chen
Pl as tik w ahr end d es Mittl er en Reichs
(Munich, 1929)
pl s . 15-17. Vand ier , Manuel
d 'Ar cheol ogie E gy ptienne,
I I I : Les
Gr and es
E poques :
La Statuair e
(Par is , 1958) p.
171, pl .
58,
1.
164. Cair o,
E gy ptian
Mus eum
Jour nal d 'E ntr ee
60520.
Ha-
b achi,
"Khata'na-Qantir ," pp. 452-453; Al d r ed , "Some
Roy al
Por tr aits ," p. 35, f ig. 13.
For
Sed -f es tival , s ee note
58.
165.
T he
expr es s ion
of active al er tnes s is f ound in b oth head s
of Amenemhat I
(s ee
notes
163, 164 ab ove),
and it continues to
b e a char acter is tic tr ait of the
r epr es entations
of Senw os r et I
(E v-
er s , Staat aus d em Stein, pl s . 27-44).
T he
"b r ood ing" expr es s ion
that D ietr ich
Wil d ung (Ses os tr is
und
Amenemhet,
p. 194)
d etected
in the d ol omite mar b l e head in the MMA (acc. no.
66.99.4,
Al d r ed , "Some
Roy al Por tr aits ," pp. 36-37, f igs . 14-16)
is
mainl y
d ue to the d ar k col or of the s tone mater ial and to the f act that
the head
b el onged
to a
s phinx.
166. I n r el ief s , the tens e ind entations at the nos tr il s d o not d is -
appear
w ith Amenemhat I .
T hey
ar e s til l
pr ominent
in the
kings '
and d eities ' f aces on the Lis ht r el ief s :
Hay es , Scepter
1,
p. 172, f ig.
103.
167.
CG
409. Lud w ig Bor char d t, Statuen und Statuetten von
Konigen
und Pr ivatl euten im Mus eum von
Kair o, no.
1-1294,
I I : text
and tab l es f or nos .
381-653 (Ber l in, 1925) pp. 20-21, pl . 67.
E v-
er s , Staat aus d em Stein, pl . 22. T he
f ind s pot
at Lis ht Nor th: Gau-
tier and
Jequier ,
Les Fouil l es d e
Licht,
p. 0oo, f ig.
122.
168. Fel ix
Ar nol d , "T he
High
Stew ar d s of the
E ar l y
Mid d l e
Kingd om," GM,
f or thcoming.
169. No.
493:
A. C.
Mace, "E xcavations at the Nor th
Py r amid
of Lis ht," MMAB
9 (Oct. 1914) pp.
212-213, f ig. 4,
l ef t and
r ight.
Location in
py r amid compl ex, id em, "E xcavations at
Lis ht,"
MMAB
17 (D ec. 1922) p. 5, f ig.
1
(w r ongl y
numb er ed
463).
170.
MMA acc. nos .
12.180.243,265.
Gar is
D avies , Five T heb an
T omb s , pl . 30,
nos . 1 and o1.
Onl y
vis ib l e on the
or iginal s .
47
171.
Mus eum of Fine Ar ts , Bos ton,
acc. no.
05.231. Navil l e,
Xl th D y nas ty T empl e, pt.
1,
pl .
9 center
l ef t; Br eas ted ,
E gy ptian
Ser -
vant
Statues ,
p. 63,
pl . 56a.
For the d ate of s haf t
5
f r om w hich the
f igur e
comes , s ee Ar nol d ,
Mentuhotep,
I : Ar chitektur und
D eutung,
p.
19 w ith
f ig.
l o. Shaf t
5
is one of a r ow of s haf ts that w er e cut
w hen the
templ e
w as f inis hed . T her ef or e, the b ur ial of s haf t
5
can b e of
any
d ate af ter the
compl etion
of the
templ e.
172.
Petr ie and Br unton, Sed ment,
pp. 2-4, pl .
8.
173.
Wil l iam Stevens on Smith,
A
His tor y of E gy ptian Scul ptur e
and
Painting
in the Ol d
Kingd om (Lond on, 1946)
pp.
236-237;
Henr y
G.
Fis cher ,
"Fl achb il d kuns t d es Mittl er en Reiches ," in Van-
d er s l ey en,
D as Al te
Agy pten, pp. 293-294.
174.
Winl ock, Ris e and Fal l ,
p. 91.
175.
Rainer Stad el mann, "T heb en,"
LA VI
(1986) pp. 466-
467.
176.
See note
76
ab ove.
177.
Nor man d e Gar is D avies ,
Al an Gar d iner ,
and Nina d e
Gar is D avies ,
T he T omb
of Antef oker ,
Vizier
of
Ses os tr is I ,
and
of
his
Wif e,
Senet, 60,
T he T heb an T omb Ser ies ,
Nor man d e Gar is D a-
vies and Al an Gar d iner ,
ed s . Second Memoir
(Lond on, 1920).
T he ow ner of the T heb an tomb is now
thought
to b e I ntef iker 's
mother ;
s ee Fr anke,
Per s onend aten aus d em Mittl er en Reich,
pp.
119-120
w ith f ur ther r ef er ences to the vizier .
178.
I t s houl d b e r ememb er ed that in the ar ea w her e l ater the
Rames s eum w as er ected a numb er of l ater Mid d l e
Kingd om
tomb s w er e f ound
b y
Quib el l ;
s ee
James
E .
Quib el l
et al ., T he
Rames s eum and T he T omb
of Ptah-Hetep, E gy ptian
Res ear ch Account
I 896
(Lond on, 1898) pp. 3-5, pl . 3.,
179.
See note
177.
180. Winl ock, E xcavations , p.
20. Main evid ence f or I ntef is a
f r agment
of a b as e
(f or
a s tatue?) of l imes tone,
the
ins cr iption
on
w hich is
"of f er ings
to the honor ed b ef or e the
gr eat god ,
the chan-
cel l or I ntef ,
jus tif ied ."
MMA unacces s ioned ,
neg.
no. MC
203.
181.
Accor d ing
to the
captions
on
pr ints
of
neg.
nos . MC
235-
237,
Winl ock cons id er ed the
l ar ges t
r el ief
f r agments pr es er ved
f r om the tomb
(MMA
acc. nos .
31.3.2,3
and
other s )
as
coming
f r om the w es ter n cul t chamb er of the tomb that is
s uppos ed
to b e
I ntef 's . T he
painting
of thes e r el ief
f r agments
is l es s f ine than in
the
f r agments cer tainl y b el onging
to Meketr a. T he attr ib ution
w il l have to b e
thor oughl y
s tud ied b ef or e f inal
pub l ication.
182. Winl ock, E xcavations ,
pp. 29-30,
222-228, pl s . 30-32;
Hay es , Scepter
1, pp. 303-305, f igs . 196, 198.
183.
Winl ock, E xcavations , p.
228.
184.
Final
jud gment
on the l inen mar ks of Wah can
onl y
b e
given
af ter f ur ther
s tud y .
"Year 2,
Wah" is w r itten on MMA acc.
nos .
40.3.23,24.
"Year
5,
over s eer of the s tor ehous e Wah" is on
40.3.26-28.
"Year 6,
over s eer of the s tor ehous e Wah" is on
40.3.29.
"Year
15" (40.3.25)
is
coupl ed
w ith another name. T he
"y ear
31"
that Winl ock, E xcavations , p. 227,
mentions is
pr es um-
ab l y
a
"y ear
11" and has another name, not Wah's
(40.3.22).
185.
MMA acc. no.
20.3.210. Winl ock, E xcavations , pl . 30.
186. Fir th and Gunn,
T eti
Py r amid
Cemeter ies , I I ,
pl . 29B.
See
al s o
Quib el l
and
Hay ter ,
T eti
Py r amid ,
Nor th Sid e,
pl .
26.
187.
T o have l inen of one or tw o
gener ations
in a
d epos it
is not
unique.
See Ar nol d , Mentuhotep,
I I I : D ie
konigl ichen Beigab en, p.
59,
no.
25.
188. MMA acc. nos .
40.3.12
and .13. Winl ock, E xcavations , pp.
224-225, pl . 30.
T hes e f amous
pieces
have b een much d is cus s ed ,
mos t
r ecentl y b y Geof f r ey
T .
Mar tin,
E gy ptian
Ad minis tr ative and
Pr ivate-Name Seal s
(Oxf or d , 1971)
no.
390;
Wil l iam War d , Stud ies
on Scar ab Seal s
(Beir ut, 1978) I ,
nos .
272, 273.
For the mutil ation
of the head s of b oth s car ab s , s ee
Henr y
G. Fis cher , L'E cr itur e et
l 'Ar t d e
l 'E gy pte
Ancienne,
Col l ege
d e Fr ance, E s s ais et
Conf er ences
(Par is , 1986) p.
131.
189.
T homas G. H.
James ,
T he Hekanakhte
Paper s
and Other
E ar l y
Mid d l e
Kingd om
D ocuments , Pub l ications of the MMA
E gy p-
tian
E xped ition,
XI X
(New Yor k, 1962).
190.
T heb an T omb no.
315;
MMA
E gy ptian E xped ition
no.
516. PM2, I ,
pt.
1, p. 389-390;
Winl ock, E xcavations , pp. 54-55,
f ig.
6.
191. Winl ock, E xcavations , p. 55.
T he
d es cr iption
of the exact
cond itions of the f ind s of the Hekanakht
paper s
is not
compl etel y
cl ear in the r ecor d s . On a
pencil
s ection of the tomb of Mes eh
(AM 784),
the w or d
"papy r i"
is w r itten ins id e the mas s of the
r amp l ead ing
d ow n to the b ur ial chamb er . On an inked ver s ion
of the s ame s ection
(AM 783)
the w or d
"papy r i"
is w r itten ab ove
the s ur f ace of the
r amp.
T her e is al s o a
photogr aph
of the
r amp
s een f r om the entr ance
(neg.
no.
M3C 203)
the
caption
of w hich
(in Winl ock's
hand )
r ead s :
"Pas s age
to b ur ial chamb er .
Papy r i
w er e und er r ub b is h
jus t b ey ond
b r icks ." T his
cl ear l y impl ies
that
(a)
the
papy r i
w er e ins id e the
b l ocking
w al l ,
and
(b )
that
they
w er e
par t
of the
r amp
f il l .
192.
Winl ock, E xcavations ,
p.
60.
193. James ,
T he Hekanakhte
Paper s , pp.
2-6.
194.
Hans Goed icke, Stud ies in the Hekanakhte
Paper s (Bal ti-
mor e, 1984) pp. 8-9.
195. Br igitte
Jar os ch-D ecker t,
w ho is
cur r entl y w or king
on the
f r agments
f r om the
templ e
r el ief , conf ir ms that no
I py appear s .
Cf . al s o note o10 ab ove.
196.
For
Khety ,
s ee Winl ock, "Cour t of
King Neb -Hepet-Re
Mentu-Hotpe," pp. 142-143.
For Henenu, s ee Wil l iam C.
Hay es ,
"Car eer of the Gr eat Stew ar d Henenu und er
Neb hepetr e
Men-
tuhotpe," JE A 35 (1949) pp. 43-49.
For Mer u,
s ee Winl ock,
"Cour t," p.
150.
T he tomb of
Nef er hotep,
on the other hand
(Winl ock, E xcavations ,
pp. 71-72)
w as
cer tainl y
of
D y nas ty 13,
if
the s tatuettes
(ib id ., pl . 35) b el onged
to it.
197.
Winl ock, E xcavations ,
pl . 14
b ottom. T he
d r aw ings pub -
l is hed her e ar e taken f r om T omb car d T heb es 1820. One of the
s mal l er
pots
is in Cair o,
E gy ptian
Mus eum, Jour nal d 'E ntr 6e no.
49912.
T w o other s of s mal l s ize w er e in the MMA
(26.3.284,285)
together
w ith f ive mor e
pots
f r om the tomb
(26.3.286-290)
among
w hich is a hs .t vas e w ith r ound s houl d er s . Al l thes e l atter
pots
ar e now in the Or iental I ns titute, Chicago.
198.
T his b ur ial w il l b e
pub l is hed b y
D ieter Ar nol d in T he
Py r -
amid
Compl ex of
Senw os r et I .
199.
MMA acc. no.
20.3.256.
Winl ock, E xcavations ,
pp. 29-30.
200.
James ,
T he Hekanakhte
Paper s , p. 32.
201. I b id .,
p.
6.
202. Goed icke, Stud ies in the Hekanakhte
Paper s , pp.
11-12, 119.
203. James 's ar guments
f or a s outher n l ocation ar e s til l
s tr ong
(James ,
T he Hekanakhte
Paper s , pp. 8-9).
48