THE

BRITISH

M USEUM

DICTIONARY OF
ANCIENT EGYPT
IAN SHAW AND PAUL NICHOLSON

THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO PRESS

This pocket edition first published by EgypL in 2002 by

The Americ.:an Uni"crsiry in Cairo Press
113 Kasr d Aini Strect, Cairo. Egypl
www.aucpn..SS.com

1995 The Trustees orThl' Brilish Museum

Published by armngemenl withThe British 1\'luscum Press

First published 1995

FirSL published in paperback IlJ97
All rights fl.'scrnd
Designed by I larry Grecn

Dar cI Kutub no. 10-153/02

ISBN

9774247620

Primed and bound in Spain by Graros 5.A.,

Barcelona

FRONTISI'IECE

Detail (j/wedjaL-LTt's almvl' aitlse door

with deCflrafioll imilafi/lg lexliles. From lhe wooden

il/ner coJ]i" offhe (omlluwder Sepy. Middle Kingdom,
c. 2000 nC,ji'o1l1 Deirel-Herslra.

1',\UES

4-5

7;"0

I..

2.13 Ill. (15S315)

male Ituesls (1Illtejil1lcmlfiasl oftlte

vizier Ramose ill his lomb {II Tlrebes. 1811t D)'l1{1SI)'.

c. 1.190-1336 BC.

(cR,m., III1.1RRISOV)

CONTENTS

Maps

6
Preface

8
Acknowledgements

9
EntriesA-Z

10
Chronology

310
Appendix 1

313
Appendix 2

313
Index

316
List of bibliographical
abbreviations

328
Note on the illustrations

328

Lower Egyptian nome signs

N

Dl

Hi

10

=)f;iJ

14

;rtf

11

O~

15

~.

12

I~

13

",,5R;l

J1?Jj;

~~

16

~M

<1J

~C>

17

=@

18

JniQTh

19

jJ.~

20

f9

ANTINOOPOUS
al-Sheikh'lbada

Shutb

9 PANAPOLIS UPPER EGYPT

Red
Sea

scale 1: 2 BOO 000

Akhmim

Upper Egyptian nome signs

.. ,

nome boundary
10 nome number
Luxor modern name
THEBES classical name
MEN'AT-KHUFU ancient name
Pithom biblical name

nome capitals are underlined where known

scale 1: 3 800 000
I

100km

C--..?

J~

10

~~

11

6~

12

13
14

~marn

19

Ul

O~

20

Ooorn

"--

C1O~=

15

21

Ou~

16

22

17

~
~

"=-

18

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Cyrene

Mersa Matruh

Siwa Oasis
LIBYA

Bahariya Oasis'" ,.'

Faratra Oasis

Dakhla Oasis

ARABIA

5DD km

FACING PAGE .Map of Egypt, showing the main

sites mentioned in the text. The Egyptians
themselves made a clear geographical
distinction between Upper Egypt, consisting of
the Nile Valley from Memphis to Aswan, and
Lower Egypt (or the Delta), where the Nile fails
Out into several tributaries in its final descent to
the l\ilediterranean. The twenty-two names
(provinces) of Upper Egypt and the twenty
names of Lower Egypt arc also indkated, and
the nome capitals, where known, are
underlined. Each nome had its own symbol or
standard, often incorporating animals, birds or
fetishes sacred to the local deities.

ABOVE Map of the Ancient Near East, showing

Egypt's neighbours in western Asia and the
Nlediterranean region. For most of the
Pharaonic period Egypt was well protected by
its natural geographical sunoundings1
consisting of the Sinai peninsula and the Red
Sea to the east, the Sahara Desert to the west,
and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. In the
New Kingdom the Egyptians' 'cmpin'
extended well beyond these traditional borders,
as they vied with l\llitanni and the Hittites for
hegemony over the city~states of Syria~
Palestine. It was only in the Late Period
(c. 747-332 Be) that Egypt itself finally
succumbed to the invading armies of Nubia,
Assyria and Persia.

PREFACE

When this book was first produced, no reliable

general dictionary of ancient Egypt was available in
English, and the task of deciding what to include
here and what to leave out was not easy. Many of
the headings in this dictionary are derived from
discussions with students and colleagues, but
responsibility for the final list is ours. The book
largely results from the need to find concise and
accurate definitions of key terms in Egyptology,
some of which have become obscure and archaic
over the years. The principal aim has been to provide a reference work accessible to anyone with an
interest in ancient Egypt, as well as to the academic
community. The short bibliographies which accompany most entries are given in chronological, rather
than alphabetical, order so that the list moves from
early sources to more recent studies.
The spelling of ancient Egyptian personal names
is a continual source of difficulty. Thus the kings
cited here as 'Amenhotep' may be found elsewhere
as 'Amenhotpe', or in the Greek form 'Amenophis'.
We have chosen spellings that are as far as possible
consistent with the transliteration of the original
Egyptian, which has the added benefit of being
consistent with those used by Stephen Qlirke and
Jeffrey Spencer. in the British Museum book of
ancient Egypt (London, 1992) and other BMP publications. In the headings of entries describing
ancient sites, on the other hand, we have opted for
the most commonly used name. Alternative forms
of names are given in the text and index. We have
endeavoured to make the index as comprehensive
as possible in the hope that readers will find it helpful in researching topics or individuals not covered
by specific headings in the text.
8

The chronological table provided here is that

preferred by the Department of Ancient Egypt and
Sudan in the British Museum. Because of the difficulties in establishing a single absolute chronology
for ancient Egypt, both dates and lists of individual
rulers tend to differ from one book to another, but
most current chronological schemes will be found
to be broadly similar to the one used here. Since
Egyptologists tend to refer to 'dynasties' and 'kingdoms' in a way which can be confusing to the nonspecialist, we have tried to give absolute dates Be
and AD wherever possible.
The entries are supplemented by two appendices. The first of these lists the names and dates of
Egyptologists mentioned in the text (some of
whom have individual entries and bibliographies in
the main text). The second appendix lists the recognized numbers ofTheban Tombs (designated TT)
and those in the Valley of the Kings (designated
KV), along with their occupants and dynasties.
Throughout the dictionary there are frequent references to these tomb-numbers, as well as occasional mention of tomb-numbers at other sites, such
as el-Amarna (EA), Beni Hasan (B1-1) , Elkab (EK),
Giza (G) and Saqqara.
Should readers require further detail on certain
topics they are advised to consult both the bibliographies at the end of each entry and the following
more specialized reference works: M. Lurker, The
gods and symbols of ancient Egypt (London, 1974);
W. Heick, E. Otto and W. Westendorf (eds),
Lexikon der Agyptologie, 7 vols (Wiesbaden,
1975-1988); G. Hart, A dictionary of Egyptian gods
and goddesses (London, 1986); R. and A. David, A
biographical dictionary of ancient Egypt (London,

1992); J. Baines and J. Malek, Atlas ofancient Egypt

(Phaidon, 1984); and W. R. Dawson, E. P. Uphill
and M. L. Bierbrier, Who lvas mho in Egyptology,
3rd ed. (London, 1995). G. Posener's A dictional]!
of Egyptian civilization (London, 1962), although
now somewhat in need of updating and out of print
in English, provides a good range of information on
many general Egyptological topics.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank a number of individuals and

institutions for their help during the course of this
project. Firstly we would like to thank the staff of
the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan at the
British Museum, who have not stinted in sharing
their scholarship with us. We are also grateful to
many friends and colleagues with whom we have
discussed subjects relevant to this book, including
Dr W. Z. Wendrich, who wrote part of the entry on
basketry and cordage, Joann Fletcher, who provided valuable information for the entry on hair
and wigs, Dr Delwen Samuel, who supplied information on ancient brewing techniques, and
Margaret Serpico, who kindly provided information on oils and incense. We would also like to
thank Janine Bourriau, Sarah Buckingham, Barry
Kemp, Professor Harry Smith and the staff of the
various expeditions to Egypt with which we are
involved. We should emphasize, however, that the
final responsibility for the opinions expressed
remains our own. In addition, we would like to

acknowledge the support we have received from

University College London and CardifIUniversity.
For assistance with various aspects of the production of the typescript and photographs we
would like to thank Geoff Boden, Dr Caitlin Buck
and John Morgan of Cardiff University and Dr
Nick Fieller of the University of Sheffield.
Joanna Champness, Celia Clear, Emma Way and
Julie Young of British Museum Press gave much
useful help and advice concerning the production
of the original book, and Carolyn Jones and
Christine King on the present edition.
For illustrations we are grateful to the staff of the
British Museum Photographic Service; to Graham
Harrison; the Egyptian Museum Cairo (in particular Dr Mohammed Saleh); the Griffith Institute,
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York (in particular Dr
Dorothea Arnold) and the Musee du Louvre.
Unless otherwise stated the line drawings are by
William Schenck, to whom we are also indebted.
Finally, we would like to thank Kate Trott, Ann
Jones and Nia Shaw, who have helped in numerous
ways.
IAN SHAW
PAUL NICHOLSON

ABU GURAB

A
Abu Gurab (Abu Ghurob)
Sire on the west bank of the Tile between GiZ.1
and S'lqqara, originally known to travellers as
the 'Pyramid of Righa" although actually
dominated by the remains of a sun temple
erected by the 5th-Dynasty King Nyuscrra
(2445-2421 Be) whose pyramid stands a shan
distance ro the south at ABUSIIL lr became cus~
tamar)' in the 5th Dynasty for the rulers to
express their devotion to the Heliopolitan sungod RA by building sun temples in addition to
their own pyramid complexes. Abu Gurab is
the best preserved of the two surviving examples (the other being that of Userkaf at
Abusir), :llthough at' least six arc known to

ABU GURAB

50

100m

1 valley building
2 causeway
3 vestibule
4 magazines

5 altar
6 and 7 slaughterhouses
8 corridor
9 'room of the seasons'
10 chapel
11 obelisk
12 model of solar bark

have been built.

The central feature of the temple was a
large, squat monument, the proportions of
which were midway between a BNBEN STO.'\TE
Jnd a true OBELISK. Both the (obelisk' and the
tapering platform on which it stood were
masonry constructions rather than monolithic. Tn front of the monument" (of which only
the corc of the plinth remains) is a large open
court, and in the centre of this open area is a
massive travertinc ALTAR comprising a disc

PIIIIIII!Abll Climb.

General viem ofthe slI111emple ofIhe 5thDY11as(j' Ki11g Nyustrra flt Abu Curab. The m01l11(1
10 Ihe leji is tlu' base ofthe large sqUill obelisk; lhe
lraverlille Ililar 10 ils right is obsCllretl by the
enclosure wlIlI. 711t: GiZiI pymmitls lire t:isihle 011l1It,
skJllille il1lhejilr disllInce. (r. .,: \ IC/IOISO.V)
BELOW

10

-+N

ABU ROASH

surrounded on each side by four carved examples of the hieroglvphic sign hetep ('offering'),
giving the whole an unusual cruciform shape.
The altar is nanked on the north by a slaughter area and by temple magazines. The
entrance to the temple is linked with a 'valley
building' by a covered e;.lUseway, like those
connecting pyramids with their valley temples. On reaching the remple proper, the
causeway becomes a corridor running down
the east side of the courtyard and along the
south side. This corridor, which contained
reliefs of the SED FESTIVAL (ruyal jubilee), led
to the 'room of the seasons' (containing painted reliefs depicting the seasons of the
Egyptian year) and ended in a chapel decorated with scenes of the dedication of the temple.
Although these arc c\"idcntly important
scenes, they were carved on poor stone
enhanced with a coating of lime plaster - such
economies perhaps illustrate the strain on the
finances of the Egyptian elite because of the
need to build both pyramids and temples. To
the south of the temple was a brick-built imiration of the BARK of the sun~god.
The site was excavated at the turn of the
century by the German scholars Ludwig
Borchardt, Heinrich Schafer and Friedrich
von Bissing, who sent many of the reliefs to
museums in Germany, where a number of
them were destroyed during the Second "Vodd
War.
E. WINTER, 'Zur Deutung der
Sonnenheiligtiimer <Ier 5. Dynastic" IVZK1H S-f
(1957),222-33.
E. EDEL and S. \,VENIG, Die ]ahreJ::.eitenreliejs (illS
dem SO."l1el1heiligtuJU des Kiilligs Ne-mer-re,
Nlineilungen aus der iigyptischen Sammlung 8
(Berlio, 1974).
\v. STEVF...'liSON SMITH, The art ami (JTc!JitecllIre of
al1cie11l Egypt, 2nd cd. (Harmondsworth, 1981),
128--32, figs 12+-5.
D. "'ILDUNG, Ni-UJer-RE: SOl1l1mkouigSomlengoll (J'vlunich, 1985).

ABU SIMBEL

both excavated by Emile Chassinat in 1901.

The boat pit contained many fragments of red
quartzite statuary, including three painted
h"Jds from statues of Djedefra, one of \yhich
was probably from the earliest known royal
SPIll"'X (Louvre 1'12626), as well as the lower
section of a statue of the king accompanied by
Q!Jeen Khentetka. Because of the nature of
the local topography, the causeway (linking the
mortuary temple with the ,alley temple)
approaches from the northeast rather than the
cast.
To the north of the pyramid is Wadi QIrun,
site of the still unexcavated valley templc~ as
wcll as a number of remains of a much later
date, including part of a statue of Queen
Arsinoe II, sister and wife of PTOLE.:-'IY II
Philadclphus (285-246 BC). Objects bearing
thc names of the 1st-Dynasty pharaohs iUM
(r..1100 Be) and D"N (c.2950 BC) have also been
found at' Abu Roash, indicating a strong Early
Dynastic presence at the site.
To the east of the pyramid complex is an
Old Kingdom cemetery, which was also excavated by Chassinal'. About two kilometres to
the south are the remains of a brick-built
pyramid, comprising a knoll of rod and a burial chamber. This pyramid, the date of which
is unknown, was still relatively well preserved
when it was recorded in the early nineteenth

century by the German scholar Karl Richard

Lepsius.
F: BISSON DE LA ROQUE, Rapport sur lesJouilles
d'Abu Roast"h, 3 vols (Cairo, 1924-5).
C. DE.'iR<Xl-lf.5-NoBU:COURT (cd.), Ul1 Slide de
fouillesfr(lIIfaises ell Egypte, 188{}-1980 (Paris,
1981), {+-53.
M. VALLOGIA, 'Le complex funerairc de Radjedef
aAbu Roash', BSFE 130 (1994),5-17.

Abu Simbel
Site of two rock.. -cut temples of RJ\MESI::5 "
(1279-1213 BC), located about 250 km southeast of Aswan. The temples were discO\'ercd
by the traveller Jean-Louis Burckhardt in 1813
and cleared by Giovanni DELZONI four years
later. The largesl temple is dedicated to
Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty, Ftah and the deified
Rameses II. The fa,ade is dominated by four
colossal seated figures of Rameses II wC<lring
the d01Jhle ero,vn and lIemes headc1oth.
Between the two pairs of figures is the
Thejafade oIlhe 'greG/temple' o/Ralllcses 11 al
AIm SimIJel. The /our seated colossi oIthe king are
eat:h 20 mhigh; the rla.magedjigure was leJi
ulIrestored when the temple was /lIoved to higher
grollnd as part ofthe UNESCO operatiolllO
preserve itfrom the lPaters ofLItke Nasser.
(/~ 7: NICHO/.SON)

Abu Roash (Abu Ra,,ash)

Site of the unfinished funerary complex of the
4th-Dynasty ruler Djedefra (2566-2558 BC),
the ancient name for which was 'Djedefra is a
sehedu star'. The pyramid, situated to the
north of GIZt\ on the west bank of the Nile, was
evidently in better condition in 1839, when it
W~IS first' examined by Richard Howard Vyse
and John PClTing. Sincc then, the site has suffered heavily, having been used as a quarry in
the 18805, but enough stone blocks remain to
show that it was intended to be partly encased
in red granite.
The mortuary tcmple on the east side of the
pyramid and a large boat pit to the south were
11

ABU SIMBEL

A
1
2
3
4
5

temple of Rameses II
court for sun worship
seated colossi of Rameses II
large pillared hall
side chambers
small pillared hall

ABUSIR

6
7
8
9
10

sanctuary
Hittite marriage stele
south rock-cut chapel
north rock-cut chapel

~:n~~~~: ;o~:m

";"'''11111'', "III1I",UIHurl,

"''''')

""'~"'.

F~'
N

/~

/2...
',;;;

.......

,,,,1/1111'''''''111;';.\

"",,'"

.",."",
,'-

.,.,....,....,,::: .",~'
~

..i / ....".:

1
Btemple of Nefertari and Hathor
1 standing colossi
2 pillared hall
3 vestibule
4 sanctuary
5 extent of modern concrete dome

50

The temples (}f(A) Rl1l11tSeS /I ami (B) /tis queen,

Neji:r/ari, ant! the goddess Hal/lOr at Abu Simbel.

entrance to the cavernous interior of the monument, and flanking it, beneath the feet ilnd
throne of the king, arc the ~INE BOWS, the traditional enemies of Egypt. The monument
thus symbolized Raml.'Scs II'S domination of
NUBIA, as well as his piety to the gods.
The 'great temple' is precisely aligned so
that twice a year (during February and
October) the rising sun illuminates the sanctuary and seated statues of the gods at the rearmost point of the temple. The temple is conventional in its overall layout, with a large pillared hall immediately beyond the entrance
leading to a smaller pillared hall, followed by a
vestibule and sanctuary. The standard of
workmanship on the wall carvings is not high,
though they are vigorous and remin their
p'linted colour. The temple was decorated in
thc 34th year of Rameses' reign, and there is a
discernible decline in artistic standard compared with the decoration of the earlier temples at ABYDOS. AI the southern end of the
external terrace a stele records the marriage of
Ramescs to a daughter of the IlIrrrrE king
Hattusilis III, valuable cvidence of diplomatic
relations at the time.
A little to the north of the great temple ties
a smaller rock-cut temple dedicated to Queen
NEFERHRJ and the goddess ""THOR of Abshek.
This fa~ade features two standing figures of
12

the king, flanking those of his queen, on each

side of the entrancc. A passage leads to a sixpillared hall with SISTRUM-capital columns,
followed by a vestibule, and finally the sanctuary, where a statue of the goddess Hathor protects Rameses n.
In the 1960s these temples were threatened
by the rising waters of Lake 1 asser resulting
from the construction of the Aswan High
Dam and were dismantled, moved and
reassembled on higher ground, through the
co-operation of archaeologists ilnd engineers
working under a UNESCO initiative.
\V. NL\CQuITry, /11m Simbel(London l 1965).
C. DESROCIII:S- NOBtECOURT and C. KUE.'\:TI.,
Le pe!illemple d'Abolf Simbel, 2 \"DIs (Cairo, 1968).
T S':\\'E-SODERBERGII (cd.), Temples lind lomhs of
ancief/! Nubia (London, 1987).

Abusir
Part of the necropolis of .mcienr J\lEi\IPI US,
consisting of sevcral pyramids of the 5th
Dynasty (2-I9+-23{5 BC), a sun temple (see
ABI,.; GUR!\B), and a number of ,\IASIi\IH tombs
and Late Period (747-332 BC) shart tombs.
Userkaf: founder of the 5th Dynasty, built his
pyramid at Saqqara and a sun temple at
Abusir, a short distancc to thc north. At least
four of his successors (Sahura, Neferirkara,
Ranefcref and Nyuserra) therefore chose
Abusir as the location for their funerary monumenLs, the ancient names of which were 'The
btl of Sahura gleams" 'Neferirkara has become

100 m

a b(J" 'The fillS of Raneferef are divine' and

'The places of Nyuserra arC enduring'. The
finest of the mastaba tombs at Abusir is that of
the 5th-Dynasty vizier Pmhshepses, a relative
of Nyuserra, which incorporates two boatshaped rooms presumably meant to hold fullsized boats, an unusual feature of a private
tomb.
The funerary monument of Sahura
(2487-2{75 BC), the most complete of the four
royal burials at Abusir, is the quintessential
5th-Dynasty pyramid complex, consisting of
valley temple, causeway, mortuary temple and
pyramid. The imposing portico of the mortuary temple gave access to a large courtyard
with a well-preserved basalt-paved noor and a
colonnade consisting of sixteen red granite
palm columns (the latter now largely
destroyed). The remains of the original limestone walls, with their finc painted decoration,
have been transferred to the Egyptian
!vluseum in Cairo and the Bodemuscum in
Berlin. Beyond the colonnade were a series of
store rooms surrounding the 'statue chamber',
where the king's statues stood in niches, and
immediately adjacent to the pyramid was the
sanctuary with its alabaster altar. In the southeastern corner of the complex stood a small
subsidiary pyramid.
\OVhen Ludwig Borchardt excavated
Sahura's complex in 1902-8, he discovered the
earliest temple relief of the king smiting his
enemies, as well as reliefs depicting the cat-

ABYDOS

ABUSIR

goddess BASTET in a corridor surrounding the

palm-columned court. In the New Kingdom
this corridor seems to have been fe-roofed and

used as a sanctuary for a local form of the

Ijoness-goddess SEKlI~IET.
The complexes of Neferirkara (2475-2455
BC) and I yuscrra (2445-2421 BC) are both
unfinished and poorly preserved. The complex
of Neferirkara, although clearly intended to be
larger thall that of Sahura, is now best known
for the large quantity of papyri frnm the mor-

tuary templc, providing valuable evidence on

the ofg-Jnizarion of royal funerary cults in the
Old Kingdom. The papyri date from the reign
of Isesi to that of PE.I)Y II, and mainly consist of

rotas for temple personnel, inventories of cult

objects, and letters. Neferirkara's causeway

mortuary temple of Raneferef (2448-2445 uc),

whose unfinished pyramid was actually transformed into a l\l:\$TAB:\ tomb. Their fmds have
included a second papyrus archive, ;) group of
seals, a collection of cult objects, and the most
important surviving group of 5th-Dynasty
royal sculpture, including an unusual painted
limestone statue of Raneferef himself with a
Horus-falcon embracing the back of his head,
as well as wooden statuettes of bound captives.
The Czech archaeologists have also uncovered the original pyramid complex and temples of Queen Khentkawes (mother of Sahura
and Nererirkara), which was probably a cenotaph, since she also had a ffiasmba tomb
between the C<.luseways of Khufu .md Khafra
at GIZA. In 1988-9 they exc;\vated the shart-

100 200 300 400 500

1000 m

t
\".
1
2
3
4
5

pyramid complex 01 Sahura

mastaba of Ptahshepses
pyramid of Nyuserra
pyramid complex 01 Nelerirkara Kakai
pyramid of Raneleref

Pltm ofthe 5th-Dyutlsty pyramid complexes tit

Abusir.
was evidently lIsurped by Nyuserra, who
diverted it to his O\vn mortuary temple. The
poor quality of the rubble core used in these
pymmids has left them in poor condition,
especially since the fine blocks of outer casing
have been plundered. To the northwest of the
pyramid of Sahura are the remains ot" another
unfinished pyramid complex, which probably
belonged to Shepseska,.a (2455-2448 ec), the
ephemeral successor of Net"erirkara.
Since the 1970s the work of a team or Czech
archaeologists, under the direction ot"
Miroslav Verner, has revealed the mud-brick

tomb ot" the Persian-period 'chief physici<.ln\

Udjahorresnet, who served as chancellor to
Cambyses and Darius I (see l'rRsIA).
L. BORCIIARDT, Das Crabdellkma! des Kiiuigs Neuser-Re (Leipzig, 1907).
- , Das Cmbrlellkmal des Kiiuigs Neftr-ir-ka-Re
(Leipzig, 1909).
- , Das Crabdellkllla! des Kh"lligs Sallll-Re
(Leipzig, 1910-13).
p. POSENEI~-KRlI~GEI{ and J-L. DE CI-:NIVAL,
Hieratic papyri ill the British N[lIse!lm: 'he Jlbusir
p"fiyri (London, 1968).
H. RICKE, Das SO//llellheiligtlllll des Kiinigs
Userk,,/, 2 vols (Cairo, 1965; Wiesbaden, 1969).
P. KAPLONY, 'Das Papyrus Archiv von Ahusir',
Or;ellllll;" 41 (1972), 180-244.

P. POSEN~){-KRIE.GER, Les archives du temple

[umfraire de Neferirkare (Les papyrus d'JlbOflsir),
2 vols (Cairo, 1976).
!vI. VERNER, 'Excavations at Abusir, season
1978--9, preliminary excavation report: the
pyramid or Quccn Kheotka\yes ("1\")', Z/iS \07
(1980),158-64.
- , 'Remarques prelimin:J.ires: sur les nouveaux
papyrus d'Abousir', ~gJ'Plen: Dauer llIu/l.J1ulldel
(!"lainz, 1986), 35--43.

Abydos (anc. Abdjw)

Sacrcd site located on the west bank of the
Nile, 50 km south of modern Sohag. "fhe site
of Abydos, centre of the cult of the god OSIRIS,
nourished from the Predynastic period umil
Christian time.> (c.4000 BC-AD 641). The earliest signifie;.mt remains are the tombs of named
rulers of the Protodynastic and Early Dynastic
periods (c.31 00-2686 BC). The earliest temple
at the site is that of the canine god OsirisKhcnrimentiu (Kom el-Sulran). An extensive
settlement of the Pharaonic period and
numerous graves and cenotaphs of humans
and animals have also been excavated.
The site is still dominated by the temples of
Sety 1 (1294-1279 BC) and his son Rameses II
(1279-1213 BC), although an earlier chapel,
constructed in the reign of Rameses I
(1295-1294 BC), has survived in the form of a
number or blocks of relief The cult temple or
Sety I is an I.-shaped limestone building, and
the iconography of its exquisite painted reliefs
has been used to interpret the procedures of
the religious rituals that were enacted there.
In one scene Rameses u is shown reading out
the names of previous kings from a papyrus
roll in the presence of his father. The contents
of the document are carved on the adjacent
wall; this KING LIST (along with a similar list
from the temple of Rameses II) has made an
important contribution to studies of Egyptian
chronology.
Behind the temple of Sety 1 is the Osireion,
<1 building constructed of huge granite blocks
which has been interpreted as a kind of cenotaph of the god Osiris. The structu re is
entered via a long descending gallery and decorated with excerpts from the BOOK of Gates
and the Book of the Dead, as weU as cosmological and dramatic texts. Tt was once thought
to be an Old Kingdom building, because of the
grandiose scale of the masonry, but it has now
been dated to the reigns of Sety I and
]\Ilercnptah and the style is generally presumed to have been an attempt at archaizing
by New Kingdom architects.
The Abydos cemeteries, including the Early
Dynastic necropolis now known as Umm clC@'ab, were excavated in the late nineteenth and

13

ABYDOS

ABYDOS

carly twentieth centuries by the French archaeologists Auguste Mariette and Emile
Amelineau, and the British archaeologists
Flinders Petrie and Eric Peet. In the 1960s
Barry Kemp reanalysed the results of the excavations conducted by Petrie and Peet, and suggested that the Early Dynastic royal tombs wcre
complemented by a row of 'funerary enclosures' to the east, which may well hayc been the
prototypes of the mortuary temples in Old

Kingdom

4 temple of Rameses II
5 temple of Sety I and Osireion
6 modem village of
el-Araba el-Madluna
7 temple of Senusret III
8 Middle and New Kingdom
settlement

1 Umm el-Qa'ab: Early Dynastic

royal tombs
2 Shunet el-Zebib and other Early Dynastic

'funerary enclosures'
3 Kom el-Sultan: temple of
OsirisKhentimentiu
and surrounding settlement
I

400

800

9 pyramid of Ahmose and temple of

Ahmose Nefertari
10 cenotaph otTetisheri
11 and 12 cenotaph and
temple of Ahmose
13 cenotaph of Senusret III

1200 1600
/$

(sec also GIZ,,\ and

SA(l9!\RA). In 1991 thc excavations of David
O'Connor rcvealed further support for this theory in the form of a number of Early Dynastic
wooden

PYRAJ\UD complexes

BCM.T GRAVES

near the Shunct el-Zebib,

the best presen"cd of the 'funerary enclosures'.

A team of German excavators, who have
010

'lIvo dolomite vases ,pith gold covers.j;om

!he lomb oIKing Khasekheml1~Y Ilf Abydos. 211d
DylUlSIy. c.2690 BC, 11. of/aller vase 5.7 em.
(EA33567-8)
IlELOW

go

('

r--

70\JIIJf/l'.,,/I1,,.. "'I\\"~

ABOVE

PIau ~rAk)ltlas.

entrance corridor

~N

chapels
second hyposlyle hall
first hypostyle hatl
4 portico (destroyed)
Osireion
5 wells
6 pylon (destroyoO)
8 mudbrick magazines
7 king list

been working in the vicinity of the Early

Dynastic royal cemetery since 1973, have
obtained evidence to suggest that there arc
strong cultural links between Petrie's royal
graves at Ulllm cl-Q'l'ab (traditionally dated to

Dynasty I, the "cry beginning of thc Early

Dynastic phase at Abydos) and the adjacent
late Predynastic Cemetery u. They therefore
.trguc that the line of powerful historical rulers
buried at Abydos may now be pushed further
back into what was previously considered to be
'prehistory'.

The tomb of the 1st-D"nasty ruler Djer at

Umm e1-Q/ab became identified with the
tomb of Osiris from at least the late Middle
Kingdom onwards, and during the 12th
Dynasty (1985-1795 Be) it became common
for indiyiduals from elsewhere in Egypt to be
buried at Abydos. It also appears to 113\'e
become increasingly common for pri,"ate individuals to make 'pilgrimages' to Abydos so
that they could participate posthumously in
the festivals of Osiris; large numbers of tombs

14

and cenotaphs (or (offering chapels') were

therefore constructed at the northern end of
the site, in the ,~icinity of Korn e1-Sultan.
About two thousand stelae and numerous
offering tables and statues have been plundered and excavated from these funerary monuments. The stelae have prm-idee! 01 great deal
of information concerning the cult of Osiris,
the literary structllre of funerary autobiographies, and a wealth of details concerning the
middle-ranking officials of the Middle
Kingdom and their families.
The southern end of the site incorporates
both Middle and ew Kingdom archaeological
remains; a pyramid temple, cenotaph and terraced temple of AHA'IOSE I (1550-1525 Be) and
AH.MOSI~ l\!FEKli\Rl were excavated by Charles
Currelly in 1901. In 1993 Stephen Harvey
undertook new excavations in this area, revealing fragments of painted reliefs of Ahmose I,

Pla,1l o/the temple of Se~)1 / and the

Os/re/on at Abydos.

RIGHT

.,rr"!""~;~~L

..

~I-----,",.----II

_______ill
S

[
~.

~~
~

30

ADMINISTRATION

ADMINISTRATION

which perhaps depict his campaigns against the

at the beginning of the 18th Dynasty.
A. j\IIARIE"ITE, Abydos: dC$criptioll desfouilles
exCel/tees sur l'emp!Memelll de celie vi/Ie, 2 vols
(Paris, 1869-80).
\"l M. F. PETRIE) The "'~Jlall()mbs o/the ear/ies!
dYNtlsties, 2 vols (London, 1900-1).
A. M. C\LVERLEY and 1',,1. F BROO!'\'IE, The lemple
oIking Set/lOs I til A/~)'doS, 4 \'ols (London and
Chicago, 1933-58).
H. FRAl\JKFORT, The cenotaph o/Sell I (If Abydos
(London, 1933).
B. J. KEMP, 'The Egyptian 1st Dynasty royal
cemctety', AI/tiquity 41 (1967),22-32.
W. K. SIJ\'WSOI\", Terrace oIfhe Creal God a{
Abydos: file ofTering chapels 0/ Dynasties /2 and /3
(New Haven and Philadelphia, 1974).
A. R. DAVID, A guide 10 religious ritl/al at A/~)Idos
I-IYKSOS

(Warminster, 1981).
D. O'CONNOR, 'The cenoraphs of the J\lliddlc
Kingdom at Abydos', Miltlnges Gamal eddill
MokiJ/IIr II (Cairo, 1985), 161-77.
- , 'Boat graves and pyramid origins: new
discoveries at Abydos, Egypt', Expeditio" 33/3
(1991), .\-17.
G. DREYER, 'Umm c1-Qt'ab:
Naehuntersuchungen im friihzeitlichen
Konigsfi'iedhof 5./6. Vorbcricht', IvlDA1K 49
(1993),23-62 [preliminary repons on earlier
seasons published in MDAIK 35,38 and 46].
S. HARVEY, '1\!lonumcnts of Ahmose at Abydos',
Egyptian Archaeology 4 (1994), 3-5.

administration
The process of social and economic control of
the population was an area of life in which the
Egyptians excelled. Many of the surviving
artefacts and documents of the EARI.Y DYNASTIC PERIOD (d 100-2686 BC), such as ivory
labels and wine~jar sealings, were clearly elements of an emerging administrative infrastructure. The evidence for Egyptian administration consists of two basic elements: prosopography (i.e. textual records of the names,
titles .md professions of individuals) and the
archaeological remains relating to supply and
demand of commodities such as grain, beer
and wine. The granaries surrounding the mortuary temple of Rameses II (the RAI'.'IESSEUj\,\),
for instance, arc tangible remains of the
increasingly elaborate system of storage and
distribution that sustained those employed by
the temple and state in Egypt.
The key factor in the administration of
Early Dynastic Egypt, as in the early citystates of Nlesopotamia, appears to have been
the usc of writing as a means of political control. The SCRIBE was therefore the most important element of the administration, a fact
which is recognized both in '"pro-scribal' Iiter-

ary works such as the 12th-Dynasty Satire 011

lite Trades and in the popularity of statuary
representing high officials in the scribal pose.
It was the scribal profession that was responsible for assessing individuals' agricultural produce and collecting taxes on behalf of the king,
provincial governor or temple official.

since fewer administrative documents have

survived for this period in Lower Egypt. The
walls of the Theban tomb of Rekhmira, who
was southern vizier in the reigns ofThutmosc
III (1479-142.\
Ge) and Amenhotcp
II
(1427-1400 BC), arc decorated witb his funerary biography as well as an inscription known

In the Old Kingdom (2686--2181 BC) there

were two principal state offices apart from that
of KING: the VlZIER (!jayt)' sub Ijttt)!) and the
overseer of royal works (illly-r kat nesnJ). The
title vizier is first attested on inscribed stone
vessels beneath the Step Pyramid at Saqqara,
suggesting that the office ,vas introduced
at least as early as the 2nd Dynasty. After the
unification of the country in the late fourth
millennium BC, the various regions retained a
degree of independence in their role as
provinces (or J'\OMES) ruled by local governors
(nomarchs). "VVhenever the central administration was weakened, whether through invasion or economic decline, power tended to
devolve back to the names, as in the first and
second so-called <intermediate periods' (see

Fragment oIa IJ)(tlL-paiJlliJlgji-oJJ1 the tomb 0/

Nebamllil at Thebes, shOlving geese beiJlg counled
/or alax asse.wllenl 0/agritultural produce. 18th
Dynasty, c./400 Be, 11. 11 CIIl. (,",/31918)

CIIRONOLOGY).

By the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) the

Egyptian administration had considerably
diversified; because it was no longer possible
for the king to control all aspects of government, the role of the vizier had grown more
important". The authority of both the king and
his vizier had also been strengthened since the
12th Dynasty, apparently as a result of a policy of reduction in the power of the nomarchs.
In the 18th Dynasty there were two viziers,
northern and southern, but most of the surviving evidence concerns the southern vizier,

as 'the duties of the vizier" which outline.s the

responsibilities of the post.
The New Kingdom national administration
was divided into three sections: the dynasty,
the internal administration and external
affairs. The 'dynasty' consisted of royal relatives, most of whom held little political or economic power, perhaps because it was they who
might have posed the greatest threat to the
king. The internal administration comprised
four sections: the 'royal domain" the army and
navy, the religious hier'lrchy and the sccular
(or civil) officials.
The royal domain included such posts as
chancellor, chamberlain and chief steward,
while the army and navy were led by a commander-in-chief with chief deputies of north
and south belmv him. The religious administration was controlled by an 'overseer of
prophets of all the gods of Upper and Lower
Egypt', a post which was actually held at various times by the vizier or the chief priest of
AMUN. The secular part of the internal administration was headed by thc northern and
southern viziers, with overseers of the trea15

AEGIS

suries and granaries below them; it was these

officials who controlled the national bureaucracy, judiciary and police. At a local level
there were also 'town mayors' (haty-') and
councils (kenbel) in charge of the judiciary.
The New Kingdom external administration
was divided into two sectors: (1) the governors
of the three northern lands (i.e. the provinces
of Syria-Palestine) and (2) the governor of the
southern lands, who was also known as the
VICEROY OF KUSII (or King's Soo of Kush).
Below the governors of the northern lands
were local princes and garrison commanders,
and below the Viceroy of Kush were the
deputies of vVawar and Kush (the two regions
of Egyptian-dominated Nubia), the mayors of
Egyptian colonies and the local chicf<; of the
Nubians.
N. KAN/\\VATI, The EgyptiaJl adminislrcttioll ill the
Old Kingdom: evidence ofits ecolJOllli( dei"hllt!
(Warminster, 1977).
T G. H.Ji\O\ws, Pltamoh 's people: sccnesJrollllifi:
ill illlpcrial Egypt (London, 1984),51-72, 154-80.
N. STRUDWICK, The arlmillistratioll of Egypt in Ihe
Old Kingdom (LondoTl, 1985).
B.]. KEMP, (Large Middle Kingdom granary
buildings (and the archaeology of
administration)', z/is 113 (1986),120-36.
S. QUIRKE, Tlte administration of Egypt in lite Late
Middle Killgdolll (New Malden, 1990).

AGRICULTURE

Aegyptiaca
Term usually applied to Egyptian objects
found outside the horders of Egypt itself; particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean.

afterlife see

[o'UNERARY BELIEFS

aegis

agriculture

Greek word ror 'shield', osed by Egyptologists

to describe a representation of a broad necklace surmounted with the head of a deity.
Depictions of sacred BARKS show that they had
an aegis attached to the prow.
H. BONNET, Rea./lexikon del' Agyplischell
Religiollsge.~chidlle (Berlin, 1952),8-9.

The fundamental importance of agriculture in

Egypt is attested from early times, with the
development of land surveying as a means of
re-determining land boundaries after the
annual INUi'HJATlON had deposited its load of
silt on the fields, and also the measuring of
areas of land for TAXATION purposes. Scenes of
government surveyors measuring agricultural
land are known from the decoration of many
tomb chapels such as that of l\1enna, an

AI10VEJasper aegis incorporating

a. ram's head mearing SUI/-disc amI

,""bra, H. 3.5 CIIl. (1:"3360)
Silver tlegi.~ wilh lio/l's
head, H. 4.8 CIII. (",,57903)

RIGHT

16

Detail ofthe Book ulthe Dead papyrus ofKerlJU1~JI,

sltowing the deceased ploughing and sowing.
PlolclIloicperiod, e.2So-ISO lie. (A9911. SIIEU 2)
18th-Dynasty Theban official (n69).
'The development of the CALENDAR itself
was linked to careful observ.ltion of the agricultural year, the seasons being named in
accordance with stages of the annual Nile
cycle. Flooding began in mid-June, the time of
the New Year, and maximum depth waS usually reached by mid-August, although the exact
timing varied from north to south. The reach
of the Nile was extended by the digging of
irrigation canals which could also be used for
moving water at times of low flood. Canals are
first attested in the Early Dynastic period and
it is likely that the reliefs on the macehcad of
King SCORJ)[ON show the use of irrigation in
the late I'RlmYNASTIC PERIOD. As soon as the
inundation began to subside the farmers
blocked canals in order to retain the water,
which was not released for a further month
and a half In October or November the seed
was broadcast by hand and then trampled in
by sheep and goats (as well as pigs, according
to Herodotus).
The principal crop was grain, including
barley (Hordeum; particularly the six-rowed
variety) and three types of wheat: emmer
(Triliw//l (hcoC{mn), einkorn (IiiliCllJ1l. mOl/OcocCl/m) and spelt (Triticum spella). These were
used to make bread and beer, the two great
staples of Egyptian life. The rich soil could
support at least two crops a year, but if a second \vas desired, during the summer, then it

AGRICULTURE

had to be irrigated manually. In the Old and

Middle Kingdoms, a simple yoke <lnd vessels
were used to move the water, but the introduction of the SI lADUF in the New Kingdom and
the sakkitt (an animal~pQ\."ered water wheel) in
the Ptolemaic period not only made irrigation
easier but also extended the area of cultivable
land. Usually pulses rather than cereals were
grown as a second crop, and although these
'fix' nitrogen and so enrich the soil, the envi~
romncntal effect was probably relatively trivial
compared with that of the Nile nood.
Numerous tomb-paintings depict grain
being harvested with sickles, threshed using
oxen, then winnowed and stored, while the
quantities were carefully measured and
recorded by scribes. Vegetables (including
onions, garlic, peas, lentils, beans, radishes,
cabbage, cucumbers and a type of lettuce)
were usually grown in small square plots,
attested both in tomb-paintings and in the
archaeological record, as in the case of the vegetable plots outside the 'workmen's village' at

AHA

Egypt: the transition from hunting and

gathering to honiculUlre in the Nile valley\ The
ltrc!weology olAFica, ed. T Shaw et al. (London,
1993),165-226.

A Group (A Horizon)
Term first used by the American archaeologist
George Reisner to refer to a scmi-nomadic
Nubian Neolithic culture of the mid-fourth to
early third millennium Be. More recently,
W. Y. Adams has suggested that the A Group
and their successors the C GROUP should be
referred to as the A and C 'horizons', since the
usc of thc term 'group' can give the misleading impression that they were two separate

EL-Al\lIARNA.

OILS

made pottery, have been excavated at such sites

as Sayala and Qustul (see BALLANA AND QUSTDL). The grave goods sometimes include
stone vessels, amulets and copper artefacts
imported from Egypt, which not only help to
date these graves but also demonstrate that the
A Group were engaged in regular trade with
the Egyptians of the Predynastic and Early
Dynastic periods. The wcalth and quantity of
imported items appears to increase in later AGroup graves, suggesting a steady growth in
contact between the two cultures. The A
Group was eventually replaced by the C GROUP
at some time during the OJ..D KINGDOM. See
also B GROUP.
H. A. NORDSTROM, Neo!ilhil" amlA-group sites
(Stockholm, 1972), 17-32.
W. Y. ADt\MS, Nubia: conidor to Ajl-im, 2nd ed.
(London and Princeton, 1984), 118-32.
1-1. S. SMITH, 'The development of the A-Group
"culture' in northern Lower Nubia', Egypi and
Ajl-ica., ed. W.V Davies (London, 199]),92-1]].
]. H. TAYLOR, Egypt /llld Nllbi" (London, 1991),
9-13.

were extracted from sesame, castor and

flax (Lil1U1ll usitatissi11luw), the latter also sup-

plying the principal fibre f<')r the making of

linen textiles. Grapes were grown for wine,
particularly in the Delta region and oases, and
there arc numerous scenes showing wine
presses in use. Many OSTRACA have also survived from wine-jars, usually recording the
contents, date and origins of wine-jars. Wine
and beer (see ALCOHOLIC BEVERt\GES) were
often flavoured with dates, and the fibres of
the date palm were used in the makjng of
cordage and BASKETR\'.
Most of the agricultural land belonged to
the king or the temples, and both kept copious
records of its productivity. Officials often
inflicted severe punishments on those who
failed to meet grain quotas, and in many
tombs, such as that of MERERVKA in the Old
Kingdom, there are scenes of peasants being
beaten for this reasOn.
L. KLIMER, 'Agriculture in ancient Egypt',
American Journal (~r Semilic Lallglutges (Uul
Literature 42 (1926), 283-8.
K. BAER, 'An eleventh dynasty farmer's letters to
his family',JAOS 83 (1963),1-19
J VANDlER, Manuel d'a,rchevlvgie egyptielllle VI:
Scenes de la, vie agricole d l'allciel1 e/. au moycn
empire (Paris, 1978).
T. G. H. JAJ\'II~S, Pharaoh:, people: sUlIcsjimllliji:
ill imperilll EgYPI (Oxford, 1984), 100-31.
H. 'WILSON, Egyptial/lood llud drink (Princes
Risborough, 1988).
E. STROUJ-IAL, Lile ill ancient Egypl (Cambridge,
1992),91-107.
W. \VE'ITERSTROM, 'Foraging and farming in

Seleclir)fJ. oIobjeclsji-nm (UI A-Group grave,

including Imo Egypli(U/ imports (the tal/jaral/d
paillted pot), c.350/}-300/} /JC, II. of tal/jar 45 ,.",.
(EA51 193,51187,51188,51191,51192)
ethnic groups rather than ~imply two phases
in the material culture of the Nubians.
Traces of the A Group, which probably
evolved gradually out of the preceding Abkan
culture, have survived throughout Lower
Nubia. The archaeological remains at sites
such as Afyeh (ncar Aswan) suggest that they
lived mainly in temporary reed-built encampments or rock shelters, usually in the immediate area of the Nile, surviving through a
diverse combination of hunting, gathering,
fishing, the cultivation of wheat and barley,
and the herding of sheep, goats and cattle.
Extensive A-Group cemeteries, typically
including black-polished and 'eggshell' hand-

Aha (c.3100 Be)

One of the earliest 1st-Dynasty rulers of a unified Egypt, whose name means 'the fighter'.
His reign is attested primarily by funerary
remains at ABYDOS, SAQ.QARA and NAQ..ADA.
When Flinders Petrie excavated at Umm c1Q;t'ab (the Early Dynastic cemetery at
Abydos) in 1899-1900, he discovered Tomb
BI9/IS, which contained objects bcaring the
name of Aha. H.owever, the earliest of the Istand 2nd-Dynasty dite tombs at north Sl\QQ!\RA
(no. 3357), excavated in the 1930s, was also
dated by jar-sealings to the reign of Aha.
Although it was once thought that the Saqqara
tomb was the burial-place of Aha (and the
Abydos tomb only a cenotaph), scholarly opinion has shifted since thc material from thc two
sites was re-examined in the 1960s, leading
to the suggestion that Aha was buried in
Tomb B 19115 at Abydos and that the Saqqara
tomb belonged to a Memphite high official.
New research conducted in theUmm
e1-Q;t'ab cemetery during the 1980s and 1990s
(including the re-excavation of Tomb BI9/15)
also suggests that Aha was preceded by a relatively long sequence of earlier rulers of a
united Egypt.
There is still considerable debate surrounding the possible links between Aha, NARMER
and MENI':$ (the semi-mythical founder of
MEMPI liS), although two discovcrics arc particuh\r1y relevant to this problem. First, an ivory
label, found in the tomb of Ncithhotep (probably Aha's wife) in the late Predynastic cemetery at NAQ>\Di\, appears to givc one of Aha's
17

AHHOTEP [

names as 'Men') which has led some scholars

to suggest that he and Menes were the same
person, or at least closely related. \iVith rCg'Jrd
to the place of Narmer in the chronological
sequence, a seal impression discovered at
Umm el-Q;1'ab in 1985 appears to put him
securely at the beginning of the 1st Dynasty,
since it lists the first six rulers in the following
order: Narmer, Aha) DJER, DJET, DEi": and
Merneith (the latter being a female ruler who
may have been a regent). On the basis of these
two pieces of evidence it is therefore possible
that Narmer :lnd Aha were father and son and
that one of the two was also called ,Mcnes.
A. H. GARDINER, EgYPI of/he Pharaohs (Oxford,
1961),405-H
B. J KE~IP, 'The Egyptian 1st Dynasty royal
cemetery', Antiquity 41 (1967),22-32.

Ahhotep I (t.1590-1530 uc)

New Kingdom QlJEEt' whose lifetime spanned
the crucial transition from the Second
Intermediate Period to the New Kingdom,
when the HYK$OS rulers were expelled from
Lower Egypt, ushering in a new era of stability
and indigenous Egyptian rule. As the daughter
of the 17th-Dynasty ruler Senakhtenra Taa I,
the wife of SEQ!'j'JENlll\ TAA II and mother of
AHMOSE I (and arguably also of KAMOSE), she
appears to have played an import.1nt part in
these wars of liberation. A stele erected by
Ahmose I (1550-1525 BC) in the temple of
Amuo-Ra at KARNAK praises his mother's
heroism: 'she is one who h,1S accomplished the
rites and cared for Egypt; she has looked after
Egypt's troops and she has guarded them; she
has brought back the fugitives and collected
together the deserters; she has pacified Upper
Egypt and expelled her rebels'. It has been
suggested that this unusually active military
role played by a royal wife (see QL:JK) might
actually have been necessitated by the comparatively young age at which Ahmosc I came to
the throne -Ahhotep I might thus have served
as regem for a few years until he reached
maturity. An inscription on a doorway at the
Nubian fortress of IltJ1lEN links the names of
Ahmosc I and his mother in such <l way as to
imply a COR.EGENCY.
It has also been suggested thatAhhotep may
ha,e looked after the internal rule of Upper
Egypt while her son was engaged in military
campaigns. Certainly the titles given to
Ahhotep in the Karnak stele include nebel /11
('mistress of the land'), showing that she probably wielded some power over a geographical
area. The coffin of Ahhotep I was found in the
royal cache at DF.lR EL-BAI-IRI.
The intact burial of another Ahhotep (who
was perhaps the wife of KAi\IOSE) was discov18

AHMOSE I

cred at Ora Abu el-_ Taga in western TIIEln::s in

1859 by agents working for Auguste Mariette.
Inside the tomb the excavators found a gilded
wooden rish-COFFIN containing the quccn's
mummy. There were also numerous items of
funerary equipment, including several elaborate ceremonial weapons of Ahmose I, a necklacc consisting of large golden FLIES, which
was traditionally awarded for valour in battle,
twO model gold and silver BARKS (one placed
on a bronze and wooden cart), and various
items of jewellery.
E 'vv. "ON BISSING, fill 71le/Jal1ischer Grabjimd tlUS
dcm Aldrll/g des NCilen Reich.~ (Berlin, 1900).
A. MAO' ROTH, 'Ahhorep I and Ahhotep II',
Serapis 4 (l977-S), 31-40.
C. VAi'.'DERSLEYEN, 'Les deux Ahhotcps" SA K 8
(1980),233-42.
rvi. SALEII and H. SOUROUZIAN, The Egyptian
Museum, Cairo: official catalogue (iVlainz, 1987),
cat. nos 120-6.
. GRJ,\\;\L, A history oftll/cielll 1:.gJlpt (Oxford,
1992),199-201.

Ahmose I (Amosis) (1550-1525

BC)

First ruler of the 18th Dynasty, who was the

son of the Thehan 17th-Dynasty ruler SEQ),NENRA TAA JI. He came to the throne of a
reunited Egypt after he and his predecessor
KAMas" had expelled the HYKsaS rulers from
the Delta region. Recently excavated reliefs
from ARn){)S apparemly depict Ahmose's C'Jmpaigns against the HYKSOS, which dominated
his reign. The tombs of the soldiers Ahmose
son oflbana and Ahmose Pennekhbet at ELKAB
are decorated with autobiographical inscriptions describing the role that they played in
the campaigns of Ahmosc I and his immediate
successors. In western Asia he extended
Egyptian influence deep into Syria-Palestine,
<lnd by the twenty-second year of his reign he
may even have reached as far north as the
Euphrates. He also undertook at leasl two
campaigns into Nubia, establishing a new
settlement at BUI-IE:'\l as his administrative
centre, under the command of a man called
'1uri who was to become the first known
VICEROY OF KUSII in the reign of AME:'\lI-IOTEP I
(1525-1504 uc).
In his reorganization of Lhc national and
local government, which had probably
remained relatively unchanged since the
N[iddle Kingdom (sec !\D,\oIlNISTR1\TION),
Ahmosc I appears to have rewarded those local
princes who had supported the Theban cause
during the Second Intermediate Period
(1650-1550 BC). Although he is known to have
reopened the Tura limestone quarries, little
has survived of the construction of religious
buildings during his reign, apart from a few

Earliest knowlI r~},," shabti and one oflheftw

sculptures ofAhmose I to be securely ide'lll{{ied as
mdl by its inscription. The king is POrlrt9,ed mearing
a nemes headclolh alfd a uracus. 181h pY1lasIY,
c.1550 Be. IillleS/Olle, H. 30 CIII. (E.432191)
additions to the temples of Amun and !'''[omu
at KAR~!'K and mud-brick cenotaphs for
lEIISI-JERI nod himself at ABYDOS.
The examination of his mummified body,
which was among those transferred into the
DEIR EL-IJ!\IIRI cache in the 21st Dynasty, suggests that he was about thirty-five when he
died. The location of his tomb is still not definitely known, but he was probably buried at

AHMOSE II

Ora Abu cl-Naga in western TIIEBES, where the

pyramidal tombs of his 17th-Dynasty pretlecessors were located.
C. VANDERSLEYEN l Les g/lerres d'Amosis,flmdaleur
de La XVII l' dynnstie (Brussels, 1971).
C. DESROCHES-NoBLECOURT, 'Le "bcstiairc"
symbolique du liberateur Ahmosis', Feslsdlrijll
Westendolf(Giittingen, 1984),883-92.
A. M. DODSON, 'The tombs of the kings of the
early Eighteenth Dynasty at Thebes', zAs, 115
(1988),110-23.
N. GRH\'IAL, A histolY ojantient Egypt (Oxford,
1992), 193-202.

Ahmose II (Amasis, Amosis II) (570-526 BC)

Pharaoh of the late 26th Dynasty, who was
originally a general in Nubia during the reign
of PSAMTEK II (595~589 Be). He came to the
throne following his defeat of AI'IUES (589-570
DC) at the 'Battle of Momcmphis', which according to a badly damaged stele - may actually have taken place near Terana on the
Canopic branch of the Nile.
Ahmose 11 was proclaimed pharaoh by popular demand when Aprics W<lS blamed for the
defeat of his troops at the hands of Dorian
GREEK settlers. According to the Greek historian HERODOTUS, Ahmose II captured Apries and
initially held him ar the palace in SAIS; he is
later said to have allowed him to be strangled,
although eventually he appears to have accorded him a full royal burial.
Although Ahmose II found it necessary to
continue to employ Greek mercenaries, he was

A HORIZON

more politically shrewd than his predecessor,

presenting himself as nationalistic by limiting
the activities of Greek merchants to the city of
NAUKRATIS in the Delta, where they were
granted special economic and commercial
privileges (sec TRADE). Later legend also has it
that he married the daughter of Apries to the
PERSIAN king in order to forestall Persian
designs on Egypt, although this seems unlikely. By conquering parts of Cyprlls he gained
control of the Cypriot fleet, which he used to
assist his allies in their struggles against the
Persians. His friendly policy toward Greece
included the financing of the rebuilding of the
temple of Apollo at Delphi after its destruction in 548 Be, an act that earned him the epithet 'Philhellene'.
!-Ie is described by Herodotus as a popular
ruler of humble origins, who is said to have
had such a strong inclination for drink that he
delayed affairs of state in order to indulge in a
drinking bout. At the end of his long and prosperous reign he was succeeded by his son
I'SA1VlTEK UI (526--525 Be), whose rule was to be
abruptly ended some six months later by the
invasion of the new Persian ruler, Cambyses.
Only a small number of sculptures representing Ahmose II have survived, and his name
was apparently removed from many of his
monuments by Cambyses. The buildings he
constructed at SAIS, I3UTO, MEMPIIIS and
ABYDOS have also been poorly preserved;
although his tomb, located within the temple
precincts at Sais, was ransacked in ancient
times, a number of his SI-IABTIS have been
preserved.
HERODOTUS, The histories, trans. A. de Selincourt
(Harmondsworth, 1972), II, 169-74.
A. B. Ll.OYD, 'The Late Period', Ancient Egypt: (l
social lIistOlT, B. G. Trigger ct al. (Cambridge,
1985),285-6,294.
N. GRH,IAL, A his!OI:V oj a.m:ie11l igYPI (Oxford,
1992), 363-4.

Ahmose Nefertari (e.1570-1505

Green schist headfrom a statue ofa Late Period

king, possib~)I Ahmose II. 26th Dynasty, c.5S0 BC,
H. 38 e11l. (//497)

BC)

Perhaps the most influential of the New

Kingdom royal women, \vhose political and
religious titles, like those of her grandmother
TETTSHERI and mother AHI-JOTEI' I, have helped
to illuminate the various new political roles
adopted by women in the early 18th Dynasty
(see QUEENS). Born in the early sixteenth century Be, she was described as mmt ne~'m ('king's
mother') in relation to her son AMENI-IOTEP I
and hemet llesm meret ('king's principal wife')
in relation to her brother and husband
AHMOSE I. She was also the first royal woman to
have the title hemet netje,. (see GOD'S WIrE OF
AMUN) bestowed upon her, an act which was
described in Ahmose I'S Stele of Donations in

the temple of Amun at Karnak. This title was

the one most frequently used by Ahmose
Nefertari, and it was later passed on to several
of her female descendants, including her own
daughter Meritamun and Q!leen Ilt\TSHtI'SUT
(1473~1458 Be). It was once interpreted as an
'heiress' epithet, marking out the woman
whom the king must marry to legitimize his
claim to the throne, but it is now considered to
have been simply a priestly office relating to
the cult of Amun (carrying with it entitlement
to an agricultural estate and personnel), which
was to acq uire greater political importance
during the Late Period.
There is considerable textual evidence for
Ahmose Nefertari's involvement in the cult of
Amun as well as her participation in the quarrying and building projects undertaken by her
husband. One stele even documents the fact
that Ahmose I sought her approval before
erecting 2 cenotaph for TETISHERI at Abydos.
She seems to have outlived him by a considerable period, apparently serving as regent during the early years of Amenhotep ,'s reign. An
inscription of the first year of the reign of his
successor, TlIUTMOSE T, suggests that she was
probably still alive even after the death of her
son. She became the object of a posthumous
religious cult, sometimes linked with that of
Amenhotep r, particularly in connection with
the workmen's village at DEIR EL-MEDINA,
which they were considered to have jointly
founded. More than fifty of the Theban tombs
of private individuals include inscriptions
mentioning her name.
1\1. GnToN, L'ipouse dlt dieu Alm/es N~{erla.rJ',
2nd ed. (Paris, 1981).
- , Les divine.l ipouses de la I~ dynastie (Paris,
1984).
G. ROBINS, l1!omclI i11 am:ieul EgJlpt (London,
1993),43-5.

A Horizon see A GROUP

Aker
Earth-god whose cult can be traced back to the
Early Dynastic period. He was most often represented as a form of 'double-sphinx', consisting of two lions seated back to back, but he was
also occasionally portrayed simply as a tract of
land with lions' heads or human heads at
either side. The symbolism of Aker was closely associated with the junction of the eastern
and western horizons in the underworld.
Because the lions faced towards both sunrise
and sunset, the god was closely associated with
the journey of the SUII through the underworld each night. The socket which holds the
mast of the SOLAR BARK was therefore usually
identified with Aker.
19

AKHENATEN

AKH

ABOVE Deillilfrom lire Book oflhe Deat! olAui,

shoming hom rtpresenting the god Aker. /91h
Dynl/sty, c./250 BC, pl/inted pl/pyrus. (A/0470)

M. F BISSON DE I~"- ROQ.UE, INotes sur Aker"

BJ&IO 30 (1930), 575--<'l0.
C. m: Wrr, Le role elle seIlS du lio" (Leiden, 1951).
E. HORNUNG, 'Aker') Lexikol1 tier A"gypJolog;e I,
cd. W. Heick, E. Otto and W. Westendorf
(Wiesbadcn, 1975), 114--15.
J. R. OGDEN, 'Some notes on the name and the
iconography of the god 'kr', VA 2 (1986),
127-35.

akh
One of the five principal elements which the
Egyptians considered necessary to make up a
complete personality, the other four being the
KA, HA, NAi\'!E and SHADOW. The akh was
believed to be the fnrm in which the blessed
dead inhabited the underworld, and also the
result of the successful reunion of the ba with
its kl/. Once Ihe a.M had been created by this
reunion, it was regarded as enduring and
unchanging for eternity. Although the physical
form of the (lith was usually portrayed as a'
SI-IAllTI-like mummiform figure, the word akh
was written with the sign of the so-called
crested IBIS (Gerot1licus eremi/a).

20

De/ail ofthe coJJill ofSeni, shomillg a hieroglyph

representing the ere.Hed akh-bird. Middle Kingdom,
c.2000 IiC, pI/iI/led //Jood, I/. /5 em. (A3084/)
G. ENGLUND, Akh --' line notioll religieuse dallS
I'hgYPle phl/mol/il/lle (Uppsala, 1978).
J. P. ALLEN, 'Funerary texts and their meaning"
JlIlummies (l.1Id magic, cd. P. Lacovara, S. D'Auria,
and C. H. Roehrig (Boston, 1988),38-49.

Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) (1352-1336 BC)

The infamous 'heretic' pharaoh, during whose
reign the art and religion of Egypt were
marked by rapid change. Born in the early

fourteenth century Be, he was the son of

AMENHOTE" "' (1390-1352 BC) and Queen TIl'.
When he initially succeeded to the throne,
probably some years before the death of his
father (although there is still considerable
debate as to whether there was any COREGENCY
between the two), he was known as
Amenhotep IV. However, in the first year of his
reign, he set the tonc for a new era by establishing a temple at KARNAK dedicated not to
AMUN but to the god ATEN, the literal meaning
of which was 'the (sun) disc'.
In his firth regnal year Amenhotep 'v made
two crucial and iconoclastic decisions: he
changed his name from Amenhotep ('Amun is
content') to Akhenaten ('glory of the sundisc') and he began to construct a new capital
city called Akhetaten ('horizon of the Aten') at
the site now known as EL-AMARJ'IA in Middle
Egypt. This newly founded settlement was
evidently intended to replace both THEBES and
MEMPHIS as the religious and secular focus of
the country. The ensuing phase in Egyptian
history, consisting of Akhenaten's reign and
that of his ephemeral successor Smenkhkara,
is therefore described as the Amarna period.
The major religious innovation of
Akhcnatcn's reign was the vigorous promotion
of the worship of the ATE:'\! to the exclusion of

AKHETATEN

AKHENATEN

attribute the introduction of monotheism to

Akhenaten mistakenly.
Ie has also been asserted, primarily on the
basis of the evidence of the A~lI\RNA LETTERS
(diplomatic correspondence between the
Amarna pharaohs and their vassals in
SYRIA-I'ALESTIi\'E), that Akhenatcn neglected
forcign policy and allowed the Egyptian
'empire' in western Asia.to be severely eroded.
There is, however} a certain amount of evidence for Asiatic campaigning during his
reign, and it is also possible that the iconography of the period was deliberately underplaying the view of the king as warrior. It should
also be borne in mind that the view of foreign
policy in other reigns during the New
Kingdom tends to be automatically distorted
in that it derives principally from Egyptian
temple reliefs and papyri rather than from
genuine diplomatic documents such as the
Amarna Letters.
After a sole reign of only about eighteen
years} Akhenatcn was succeeded first by an
ephemcral figure called Smenkhkara (which
may even have been a pseudonym for
Nefcrtiti)
and
soon
afterwards
by
Tutankhaten, who may have been a younger
son of Amenhotep III or a son of Akhenaten.
\\lithin a few years the city at eI-Amarna had
been abandoned in favour of the traditional
administrative centre at Memphis} and the
new king had changed his name to
Tmankhamun, effectively signalling the end of
the supremacy of the Aten.
The final mystery of the 'Amarna period' is
the disappearance of the bodies of Akhenaten
and his immediate family. The royal tomb
which Akhcnaten had begun to build for him-

self in a secluded wadi to thc east of e1Amarna appears never to have been completed
and there is little evidence to suggest that anyone other than Mekeraten (one of Akhenaten}s
daughters) was actually buried there. In 1907
Theodore Davis discovered the body of a
young male member of the royal family in
Tomb 55 in the VALLEY OF THE K.1l'1GS} apparently reinterred with a sct of funerary equipment mainly belonging to Queen Tiy. This
mummy was once identified as that of
Akhenaren (a view still accepted by some
Egyptologists) but most scholars now hypothesize that it may have been Smenkhkara.
G. T .MARTIN} The TOJ'altomb at ei-Amanw}
2 vols (London, 1974-89).
D. B. REDFORD} Al.:heuateuthe heret;,; king
(Princeton, I98{).
J. D. RAy, 'Review of Redford, D. B.} Al.:lwulfeu
the heretic kil/g', GA186 (1985), 81-3.
C. AI.Dlu:n, Akhenalen: kiuK of Egypt (London,
1988).

Akhetaten see (TELL)

EL-AMARNA

Akhmim (ane. Ipu, Khent-Mim)

Town-site on thc east bank of the Nile opposite modern Sohag, which was the capital of
the ninth NOME of Upper Egypt during the
Pharaonic period (c.3100-332 BC). Thc carlicst
surviving remains are Old and Middle
Kingdom rock-tombs, which were severcly
plundered during the 1880s, much of the
Coffin of/he TPoma" Tamin wearing dllil)' dress.
from the Roman-period cemetery III Aklzmim. 2nd
(m/liry A/), gilded allll painted car/o1ll1llge and
SI//CCO, II. 1.5111. (0429586)

Colossal sla/ue ofAkhenllleufro111 Karnak.

18th Dynasty, c./3-'0 Be, sandstone, II. 3.96111.

ABOVE

(CAIRO J55938)

the rest of the Egyptian gods, including even

the state god AJ\'IUN. The reliefs and stelae in
the temples and tombs of Akhenaten's reign
repeatedly show thc royal family (Akhenaten,
his wife NEFERTITI and the royal princesses)
worshipping and making offerings to the Aten,
which was depicted as a disc with anns outstretched downwards, often proferring WAS
SCEP1'RES and ANKII signs, symbolizing power
and life respcctively. The names of other
deities - especially that of Amun - were
excised from temple walls in an apparent
attempt to cstablish the Aten as a single
Supreme deity, which has led many scholars to

21

AKKADIAN

funerary equipment subsequently being dispersed among various collections. At around

this time a large number of Late Period burials were unearthed. The tombs were first excavated by Percy Newbcrry in 1912 and morc
recently fe-examined by Naguib Kanawati.
The city originally included a number oftempIes dedicatcd to MIN, the god of fertility, but
few stone buildings have survived from the
Dynastic period, owing to the widespread
plundering of the site in the fourteenth century AD. Recent excavations by Egyptian archaeologists, however, have uncovered colossal
statues of RA,IIESES II (1279-1213 BC) and

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

and Hebrew. The Sumerian language, on the

other hand, has no close relatives.
Akkadian quickly became established as the
lingua franca of the ancient Near East, and
remained so over a long period, so that for
example most of the AMARN.\ LETTERS (diplomatic corre..c;;pondence between Egypt and the
Levant in the mid-fourteenth century Be) are
written in the Babylonian langl;lagc, which is a
late form of Akkadian.
J. OATES, Bahy/olI, 2nd ed. (London, 1986),
22-59.
G. Raux, Allcle1lt Iraq, 3rd cd. (Harmondsworth,
1992), 146--60.

Meriramun. The cemeteries of the Christian

period (AD 395-641), which were excavated in
the late nineteenth century, have yielded many
examples of wool, linen and silk fabrics which
have formed part of the basis for a chronological framework for the study of textiles
between the Hellenistic and Islamic periods
(c.300 BC-AD 700).
P. E. NEWBERRY, 'The inscribed tombs of
Ekhmim', LAAA 4 (1912),101-20
K. P KUIILMANN 1 'Dcr Felstempel des Ejc bei
Akhmim',MDAIK35 (1979), 165-88.
N. KANAW:\T1 1 Rock tombs ofe1-Hama.mish: the
cemclery oj'Aklmliw, 6 vols (Sydney, 1980-).
S. McNALLY, 'Survival of a city: excavations at
Akhmim', NARCE 116 (1981-2), 26-30.
K.P. KUlILMANN, Malerialeu :.:ur Archiiologie /l1ul
Cescllichte des Raumes von Achmim (Mainz,
1983).
E. J. BROVARSKI, 'Akhmim in the Old Kingdom
and First Intermediate Period', Mi/twges Camal
Eddill Mothlar, I (Cairo, 1985).

alabaster. Egyptian alabaster

The terms 'alabaster' Or 'Egyptian alabaster'
have often been used by Egyptologists to refer

Akkadian
Term used to denote a group of Semitic languages that first appeared in northern
MESOPOTAMIA, in the third millennium Be,
when the south of the country was still dominated by non-Semitic Sumerian speakers. By
extension, the term is also used to refer to the
material culture of northern Mesopotamia,
particularly that of the dynasty founded by
Sargon the Great (Sharrukin; 2334-2279 BC).
The Akkadians adopted the Sumerians'
CUNE1FORI\lt writing system in order to write
down their own language. They began gradually to infiltrate SUMER during its Early
Dynastic period (<".3 100-2686 BC). Such infiltration can be seen from the Semitic names of
scribes at the southern site of Abu Salabikh
who wrote in Sumerian; it is likely that many
people were bilingual even before the unification of Sumer with Akkad. Akkadian is divided into Old Akkadian used in the third millennium and Assyrian and Babylonian in the second and first millennia and is related to Arabic

22

Stone vesse/from the tomb ofTutankhamull,

inscn'bed mitlt tlte (arlollche ofTltulmose lJl and
details ofits capacity (14.5 hill or6.67/itres), c./450
BC, travertille, II. 4/.S em. (elf/RO, NO. 410,
REPRODUCED COURT')Y OF l1/CR/FfTI1IINSTlTUTE)

to a type of white or translucent stone used in

Egyptian statuary and architecture, which is a
form of limestone (calcium carbonate) more
accuf<\te1y described as travertine. From the
Early Dynastic period on wards travertine was
increasingly used for the production of funerary vessels, as well as statuary and altars; it
occurs principally in the area of Middle
Egypt, the main Pharaonic source being 1-11\'1'NUB, about 18 km southeast of the New
Kingdom city at el-Amarna.
The use of the term alabaster is further
complicated by the fact that the material often
described by Egyptologists as 'gypsum', a

form of calcium sulphate quarried principally

at Umm el-Sawwan in the Fayum region, may
be legitimately described as 'alabaster'.
J. A. HARRELL, 'l\1isuse of the term "alabaster" in
Egyptology', GM 119 (1990), 37-42.
D. and R. KLEMM, 'Calcit-Alabaster oder
Travertin? Bcmcrkungen zu Sinn und Unsinn
petrographischen Bezeichnungen in der
Agyptologie', GM 122 (1991), 57-70.

alcoholic beverages
Beer (hCllket), the most common of the
alcoholic beverages, formed an important part
of the Egyptian diet. This would be prepared
in the household, or by brewers if it was for
use in rations of state employees. The
Egyptian process for making beer began with
the preparation of partially baked cakes of barIcy bread. They were placed on a screen over a
vat or jar, and water was poured over them
until they dissolved and drained into the \'at,
whereupon the resulting mixture was left in a
warm place to ferment. It has been suggested
that stale bread may have been used as a substitute. Research by Delwen Samuel has challenged rhis traditional view by suggesting that
bread was not used. However barley, emmer,
or a mixture of both, arc evident in beer
residues. Often a variety of flavourings were
added to the brew, including dates) honey and
spices. The sugar from dates or honeyed
bread wou.ld also have speeded up the fermentation. The brew was not necessarily very alcoholic, but had a high nutritional value, and was
therefore an important part of the Egyptian
diet (see FOOD). In the first century BC
Diodorus Siculus praised the quality of
Egyptian beer, describing it as barely inferior
to wine.
Both red and white wine (irep) were regularly drunk and there are many tomb-paintings showing grapes being harvested and
pressed, notably those in the tomb nf Nakht at
Thebes (Tr52). The juice was collected in vats
for fermentation) and when part-fermented
was decantcd into amphorae and left to
mature, sometimes for several years. It thcn
might bc filtered again and have spices or
honey added before finally being transported
in amphorae. These vessels are frequently
inscribcd on the shoulder or have stamps
impressed on the mud sealings. Often the
inscription lists the king)s regnal year, the variety of wine, its vineyard 1 its owner and the
person responsible for production. In effect
this served the same purpose as modern wine
labels and as a result the locations of certain
vincyards arc known. The Delta, the western
part of the coast, the Oases of KJ IARGA and
D.\KHFJ\ and the Kynopolis area of Middle

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

ABOVE Copy oI a mine-making scene in Ihe Theball

tomb ofKhaeml1JtlSel (1'726/). Nem Kingdom.

Ritual vase jor 'IIVine of LomeI' Egypt/or the

deceased lady Noth'met' 18th l~)lllas~J!, H. 79 Oil.
(&-159774)

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

Egypt seem to have been especially fill'oured.

Wines might also be imported from
SYRIA-PALESTINE and, later, GREECE, and there
were a number of fruit wines made from dates,
figs and pomegranates.
Alcohol was often taken in excess, and a
number of private tombs, such as that of
Djeserkarascncb (lT38), are decorated with
scenes showing guests exhibiting signs of
nausea during banquets. In the depiction of a
banquet in the tomb of Paheri at ELKAB, a
female guest says, 'Give me eighteen cups of
winc, for I wish to drink until drunkenness,
my inside is like straw'. Such drunkenness was
regarded as indicative of the abundance of the
feast and therefore to be encouraged.
The best-known mythical instance of
drunkenness was the intoxication of SEKJ-IMET
the lioness-goddess in The DestructioN of
iVlaukintl, while the Greek historian
Herodotus recorded that the festival of
BASTET the cat-goddess was renowned for its
drunkenness.
H. WILSON, Egyptian/hod aud drink (Aylesbury,
1988).
J. GELLER, 'From prehistory to history: beer in
Egypt', Thefollomers 0/ Horus, cd. F Friedman
and B. Adams (Oxford, 1992), 19-26.
E. STROUIIAL, Life ill fl.lIfieml.'gypt (Cambridge,
1992),104--5,127-8,225.

Alexander the Great (352-323 BC)

Tn 332 nC the second Persian occupation of
Egypt ended with the arrival of the armies of
Alexander the Great. Born in Macedonia in
352 BC, Alexander had already conquered
much of western Asia and the Levant before
his arrival in Egypt, \vhich appears to have
been closer to a triumphal procession than an
invasion. It was in keeping with this sense of

renewal rather than invasion that Alexander

immediately made sacrifices to the gods at
Memphis and visited srWA OASIS in the Libyan
Desert, where the oracle of MvIUN-RA officially
recognized him as the god's son, thus appar-

Silver min bearing the head o./Ale.\,({uder the

Crea.l, e.330 Be, I). 2.7 WI. (c".,3971E)
ently restoring the true pharaonic line. In a
later attempt to bolster his claims to the royal
succession, it was suggested, somewhat
implausibly, in the Alexander Romallce, that he
\vas not the son of Philip II of Nlacedonia but
the result of a liaison between his mother
Olympias and NECTANrno " (360--343 BC), the
last native Egyptian pharaoh.
In 331 BC, having founded the city of
ALEXANDRIA, Alexander left Egypt to continue
his conquest of the Achaemenid empire (see
PERSIA), leaving the country in the control or
two Greek officials:Kleomenes of Naukratis,
who was empowered to collect taxes from the
newly appointed local governors, and fYrOLE!\J1Y, son of Lagos, one of his generals, commander of the Egyptian army. Although certain monuments, such as the inner chapel of
the temple of Amun at LUXOR, bear depictions
of Alexander firmly establishing him as

23

ALEXANDRIA

ALEXANDRIA

pharaoh, he must have had little opportunity to

make any personal impact on the Egyptian
political and economic structure, and it'
appears that) for a decade or so nfter his departure, the country suffered from a lack of strong
leadership. In 323 Ile, hOWC\'CT, he died of a
fever and although attempts were made on
behalf of his half~brother Philip Arrhidaeus
(323-317 IIC) and his son Alexander IV (317310 DC) to hold the newly aeqoired empire
together, it eventually dissolved into a number
of separate kingdoms ruled by his generals
and their descendants. [n Egypt Ptolemy al
first functioned as a general alongside the
viceroy Klcomencs, but eventually he became
the first Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt after the
death of Alexander II', in 305 DC. It was
Ptolemy I (305-285 DC) who was said to have
placed the body of Alexander the Great in a
golden coffin at Alexandria. His tomb was
probably in the Soma (royal mausoleum), traditionally located under the Mosque of 'ebi
Daniel in central Alexandria, but so far it has
not been found.
\V \V. TARN, Alexander the Creat, 2 vols
(Cambridge, 1948).
A. BVRN, Alexander the Creat amI the A/liddle
East, 2nd cd. (Harmondsworth, 1973).
N. G. L. HA~H..loND,Alexal1der fhe Creat: King,
Commander and SltIfesmall, 3rd cd. (Bristol. 1989).

Alexandria (anc. Raqote)

Greco-Roman city situated on <1 narrow peninsula at the western end of the l'vlcditerranean
coast of Egypt. It was founded by Alexander
the Great on the site of an earlier Egypti,m
settlement called R;'lqore, archaeological traces
of which have so far been found only in the
form of the pre-Ptolemaic seawalls to the
north and west of the island of Pharos.
Alexander is said to have entrusted the design
of the city to the architect Dcinokrates and the
official KJeomenes, but the principal buJdings
were not completed until the reign of Ptolemy
II Philaclelphlls (285-246 BC).
During the Ptolemaic and Roman periods
(c.332 LlC-Al) 395) Alexandria was a thriving
cosmopolitan city; by 320 BC it had replaced
Memphis as the capital of Egypt and by the
mid-first century Be it had a population of
about half a million, including substantial numbers of Greeks and Jews. With its gridded street
plan, it was essentially a Greek rather than an
Egyptian city, and its identity was so strong that
it was known as Alexandretl tid Aegypfum:
Alexandria 'beside' Egypt rather than within it,
as if it were a separate country in its own right.
In the late first century AD the Roman orator
Dio of Prusa even went so far as to describe
Egypt as a mere appendage to Alexandria.

24

ABOVE VielP ofthe ll1ulergroll1ul chambers of Kom

el-Shugaja, Ale.ranrlria. 1s1-2/1d centuries AD.

(GRAI/AM l/ARRISON)
I.EfT Schist headjrom a stafUe oia youllg mall,
shoming n combination oj CreeR find EgJlptiall
sculpwrllltJ'llilx,jrom Alexandria, C.IsI ceulll1)'
DC, II.

The most famous ancient buildings at

Alexandria were the Library and Museum,
which are supposed to have been burned
down, along with an irreplaceable collection of
papyri , in the third cemury AD. The major
monuments of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods were the SERAPHiM (a temple dedicated to

24.5 CIII. (EASS2S3)

the god SERA PIS, which may have housed part

of the library collection), the CaesariuITI, a
Roman stadium and Kom el-Shugafa (a
labyrinth of rock-cut tombs dating to the first
two centuries AD). The Alexandrian 'pharos',
constructed in the early Ptolemaic period on
the islet of Pharos about 1.5 km off the coast,
was probably the earliest known lighthouse,
but unfortunately ,irtually nothing has survived. Excavations at Kom el-Dikka, near the
Mosque of Nebi Daniel, have revealed the
remains of the central city during the Roman
period, including a small theatre, baths, a
gymnasium complex and a possible schoolroom. Apart from the fortress of Qait Bey on
the Pharos peninsula, which may incorporate a
few stray blocks from the ancient lighthouse,
there are few surviving Islamic monuments at
Alexandria.
The archacologiClI exploration of the city has

AMARA

ALTAR

been complicated by the f:lCt that antiquities

from all over Egypt wcre gathered together in
Alcxi.mdria either LO adorn new temples or in
preparation for their transportation to other
parts of the Roman and Byzi.mtinc empires. Both
Cleopatra's Needle (now 011 the Embankment in
London) and the Central Park obelisk in New
York once stood in t.he Clcsarium, haying been
brought there from '1lICT\IOSE Ill's temple to RaAwOl at lIEI.I01'OUS.

Little cxcaration has laken place in the

ancient town itself, \\ hich lies directly below

the modern city cenrre, but parts of the road

known to hil\'c included" large central altar

approached by a ramp, as well as courty..t rds
full of hundreds of stone offering tahles.
From the Late Period (7-17-332 tIC:)
onwards, Egypt began ro be more influcm:ed
b~ IIellcnistic and Syrian forms of worship

..:..i,.

.::!

.#'

ing sun"j"ing monuments is Pompey's Pilbu, a

granite column which was actually erected by
the Roman emperor Dioclctian in e.-\IJ 297,
c10sc to the site of Ihe SerapeulTI.
E. BRFJ.CU, Ale.ralldrea ad Aeg)'pllllll, Eng. trans.
(Ber!f.1l11o, 1922).

E. M.

FORSTER,

-If

4- : . . . . . . . . .

_.;~~~ \:~~~ ~."7!-. :J.~.:.""

leading from the firer pon ro the sea-harbour

wcre examined in 1874. One oCthe most strik-

....

Amara \Vest, perhaps initially set lip as a

base for gold-mining and trading expeditions
furthcr to the somh, appears to ha\'c taken
O\'er from the town of SOI.En as the scat uf the
Deput)' or Kush (Upper Nnbia). The site
included a stone-built temple of the time of

: .. ,.j \

0:-.

_."I'I~
-"..~..

(. ...

.:

.~

~:

-,..~.~~

Aft.ralldria: (/ hislOIy tlllll gllic!t

(London, 1922).
P.]\/1. FRASFI{, Pia/eli/air .-I/e.wllt/ria, 3 \'ols
(Oxford, I ~72).
H. KourrAJ, 'Rct.:hcrches :lrchilectoniqucs dans
les thermes et Ie thearrc dc Kom cl-Dikb:1
Alexandric', Das /'fi'lIIi,l"dJ-/~)I:::'(/litillisdl{, .rj"gYPICII,
ed. G. Grimm ct ,,\. ('l'ricr, 1983), 187-94.
A. K. Bo\\ \I.'\~, Egypi ajier tht' plwrf/o"s
(London, 1986),20+-33.
L. C"-'FOR\, '"IIU: 1.:aJ/imed library, trans. J'd. Ryle
(London, I ~8~).

altar
In the temples of ancient Egypt, the alLar
(kltal) was used to carr~t offerings intended to
propitiatc deitics or the dece..lsed. The tra\'ertinc ('Egyptian alabaster') altar in the sun temple of 'ruserra (2++5-2421 Be) at Abu Gurab
is one of the most imprcssi,c sUITi,ing examples. It consists of a huge monolithic circular
slab surrounded b~ four other pieces of trayertine, cach carred in the form of a Itelep ('offering') sign. In the Icmple of.\ \IL;-. at '" \R" \K a
pink granitc altar in the form of a /'c/l'p sign
(now in the Eg~ plian .\ll1scum, Cairo) ,\"as
erected bvThutmose tit (H7~-H25 Re) in the
'iVliddle Kingdom COLIrt'. Relicf scenes can"cd
On the iiont of this altar show I\\'0 kneeling
figures of the king prescnting offerings t~
Amlln-Ra.
In the New J..:ingdom (1550-1069 11(:) Illany
large-scale s!'Onc temple altars were prmoide<.!
Wil"11 ramps or sets of' steps. A milssiye limeStone altar dedicated to Ra-HorakhtYl still ill
Silu On the upper terracc of the temple of
Hatshcpsur at DeiI' c1-Bahri , was furnished
with a flight of ten sleps on its western side.
The GrcatTcmple of theA.ten at el-Amarna is

Tlte gret/l/rarerlinc ullar III/Itc SJlIllemplc of

King 1\~)IUSC,nJ til Aim Cumb. Around 11ll' (;rm/ar
ten/ra/ parI of/he allur are "rrf/Ilgedjuur herep
((JjJ~riug.J s(!!IIJ. (,~ '1 ..\/CIIULSO.\)

and the 'horned altar', consisting of a stone or

brick-huilt hlock with r..lised corncrs, W<1S
introduced from Syria-Palestine. Such an
altar was erected in front of thc early
PlOlcmaic 10mb of I'l::TOSIRIS, a chief priest of
Thoth, <It Tuna e1-Gcbel. See also OFFERL'G

1 governor's
residence
2 temple
3 resideRtial
areas
4 extra-mural
settJement

T\B1.E.

G.JEQLtER, 'Autc!', 811',-10 19 (1922), 236-49.

1.511 \\\, l.hluslf:ldes, stairs and altars in the cult
or the. Iten at c!-Amarna',]EA 80 (1994), 109-27.

100m

50

P/au Q/I/U: silt, a/Amara

rve~I.

Amara
T'hc rcmains of two Nubian tO\\"llS (Amara \Vcst
and E~tsr) arc located about 180 kill south of
Wadi llalfa on either side nfthe Nile. The ,,alled
sctt.!cmcnt" of Am:\ra \Vest, occupying an area or
ahoUl 60,000 sq. 111, ,\"as;l colonial establishment
t()lll1dcll by the Eg~ pli:U1s in the Ramessidc period ((.1295-1069 uc), when most of:\ubi:1 was
effectin;I~ regarded as IXIJ"t or Egypr. 1\1" Amara
East Iherc was once a town and temple dating to
the J\ leroitie (sec \tEROI-:) period ({..lOO ItC.\1) 350), but onl.'" the depleted remains or the
enclosure mtll arc srill "isible al the site.

R,1I11CSeS IJ, as ,yell as cemeteries, some contemporary wiLh the tOwn and others dating 10
the t"'t.t .. \~.\ period (c. In +00-.143).
L. Kiln"", 'Notes :ll1d ncws',.7f:'.11 22 (19.16),
101-2.
II. W. F\IR\l,\l\., 'Preliminary excavation reporrs
011 Amara \Vcst".7...12+, 2~, 3+ (1938, 19J9,
19+8).
B. J. KEtlll', 'Fonifilxi towns in Nubi:\', lll](ln,
JI.'II/clIIl'1I1 (lnd urbanislIl, cd. P. Ucko et a!.
(London, 1972),651-6.
P. A. 5PE:"cER,Amal"ll lI'1:sl (London, 1997).
2.1

AMARNA, (TELL) EL-

Amarna. rrell) el- (anc. Akhctatcn)

Sitc of a ci", located about 280 km south of
C.'iro, founded by the pharaoh Akhenaten
(1352-1336 BC). Abruptly abandoned follo"iog Akhenatcn's death, after an occupation of
only about twenty-five to thirty years, clAmarna is the best-preserved example of an
Egyptian settlement of the New Kingdom,
including temples, palaces and large areas of
mud-brick private housing. There arc also two
groups of rock-tombs (largely unfinished) at
the northern and sOllthern ends of the semicircular bay of clifflO; to the east of the city;
these were built for the high officials of the
city, such as the priest Panchsy and chief of
pulice Mahu. The plundered and vandalized
remains of the royal tombs of Akhcnatcn and
his family, sc'"cral kilometres to the cast of the
cliffs, were red.iscovered in the late 1880s.
Unfortunately, because of the peculiarities
of the site's historical background, the cit)" of
Akhetaten is unlikcly to have bcen typical of
Egyptian cities; nevertheless it presents an
invaluable opportunity to study the patterning
of urban life in Egypt during the fourteenth
century Be. It was founded in about 1350 Be
and abandoned about twenty years later; the
dearth of subsequent settlement has ensured
remarkable preservation of the city plan. The
site as a whole is contained within a semicircular bay of cliffs approximately 10 km long
and a maximum of 5 km wide; the city itself
stretches for about 7 km along the eastern
bank of the Nile. The total population of the
main city at e1-Amarna has been estimated at
between twenty thousand ilnd fifty thousand .
.Nluch of the western side of the city,
including houses, harbours and the main
palace of the king, has now vanished under the
modern cultivation. However, a large number
of structures have been preserved in the desert
to the cast, along with the wells, grain-silos,
bakeries and refuse dumps that comprise the
basic framework of production and consumption throughout the community. The nucleus
of the city. the main components of which are
described in contemporary inscriptions at the
site, was a set of official buildings - principally temples, palaces and magazines - called the
'Island of Atcn Distinguished in Jubilees'.
The three main residential zones of thc city
(the so-called north suburb, south suburb and
north city) are characterized by a much more
haphazard layout than the carefully planned
ccntral city; the manner in which they developed, with the spaces between the earliest
large houses gradually being filled up with
smaller clusters of houses, is usually described
as 'organic'. "rhere are also three small areas of
planned settlement at cl-Amarna: a block of
26

AMARNA, (TELL) EL-

modern
cultivation

Korn el-Nana:
/ \ Amama-period
~ temple and late
Roman settlement

modem el-Amariya
modem cultivation
rnaru-Aten

\]
2km

palace
hwt Aten (small
Aten temple)
south suburb
river temple

PIlm of/he (i~)1 oIAkhe/lI/eu lI/ e/~A1l1l1mll.

terraced buildings in the centre of the city

(known as the 'clerks' hOllses'), a rcctangular
walled settlement located in relative isolation,
more than a kilometre to the east of the main
city (the 'workmen's village') and an arc:.1 of
drystone temporary accommodation situated
about halfway betwcen the latter and the cliff,
(the 'stone village').
Over the last hundred years the site has
been examined by a succession of excavators,
including Flinders Petrie, Howard Carter and
Leonard Woolley. Since the latc 1970s an
expedition from the Egypt Exploration

Societ)' has produced the first dctailed surve,'

plan of the entire site, as well as excavating and
re-examining a number of parts of the city,
including the workmen's village, the small
Aten temple and the newly identified Amarnaperiod temple of Kom c1-Nana.
W. M. E PETRIE, /CII eI-AIIIIIl"lla (London, 1894).
N. DI~ G. DtWIES, The rock tombs olEI AlI1anltl,
6 vois (London, i903-8).
T E. PEET ct aI., The city oj'Akhellatell, 3 vols
(London, 1923-51).
G. T !\t(ARTIN, The nom! tomb at e!-Al1Ial'/w,
2 I"ols (London, 1974-89).
L. BORCIIARDT and I I. RiCKE, Die I ViHmlui'ust>T ill
Tell el-Alllllmll (Berlin, 1980).

AMARNA LETTERS

AMASIS

of the relationship between Egypt and these

states, although there are very few letters from
the Egyptian ruler. The state of the empire
under Akhenaten is poignantl) documented
in thc increasingly desperate pIcas for assistance from Syro-Palestinian cities under
siege. As well as giying insights into the political conditions of the timc, the letters also
shed light on TR.4.DE relations, diplomatic
\Li\RRIAGE and the yalues of particular com-

HIMel from el-Amarlla, inscribed wilh a cmfeijorm

/t'llerfrom nl.~hralla of_Milllnni 10 Amenlwlep III.
1811i Dyllf/'I)', c./35. BC, elf/Y, 1/. 9 ClII. (w,29793)

Fragmmt ofpainted pm:emelll from II building

called the flilaru-Atell (/1 el-Amamll, shoming dud's
flying oul ofa papyrus thickel. 18th DYlltlsO'.

c./350 HC, pllil/ted plll,/er,

1/.

93 (111. (455617)

B. J. KE;\11' (cd.), A"IIlr1lll reports I-\") (London,

1984-95).
B. J. KDII', Al1ciel1/ Egypt: 1I11aIOll~)1 oIa
civili;:,(ilioll (London, 1989),261-317.

Amarna Letters
Important cache of documents from EJ.discovered in 1887 by a village
woman digging ancient mud-brick for use
as fertilizer (Arabic -'ebllkli). This discovery
led to further illicit diggings and the
appearance of a number of clay CU~ElFORj\1
tablets on the antiquities m~rkct. Their
importance was nor immediately recognized, and many passed into private hands,
but Wallis Budge of the British Museum
believed the tablets to be genuine and purchased a number of thcm; his vlew was confirmed by A. I-I. Sayce. The tablets are held
by the British Nluseum, the Bodemllscum
AJ\IARNA,

in Berlin, the LOll'TC, and the Egyptian

. 'luseum in Cairo.
There are 382 known tablets, most of which
derive from the 'Place of the Letters of
Pharaoh" a building identified as the official
'records office' in the central city at clAmarna. Their exact chronology is still deb,Hed, but they span a fiftecn-to---thirty-year period (depending upon interpretations of coregencies at this time), beginning around year
thirty of M1Ej\1I0TI~P III (1390-1352 Be) and
extending no later than the first year of
TUTA~Kllf\\IU:"i'S reign (1336-1327 Be), with
the majority dating to the time of t\KIIENt\TE:\'
(1352-1336 Be). Most arc written in a dialect
of the \KKADIAN language, which was the lingua francn of the time, although the languages
of the ASSYRIANS, IIlTTITES and Hurrians
(Mrli\NNI) nre also represented.
A11 but thirty-two of the documents in the
archive are items of diplomatic correspondence between Egypt and either the great
powers in wcstern Asia, such as Babylonia
:md Assyria, or the vassal states of SYRIA and
I'ALESTI?'-lE. They provide a fascinating picture

modities such as GLASS, GOI.D and the newly

introduced IRO', while the various forms of
address employed in the letters indicate the
standing of the writers vi.fi-ti-vis the Egyptian
court.
e. ALDRED, Aldu:lIlltell, King of Eg}lpJ (London,
1988), 183-94E. E C\"'lPIJELL, The chronology oflhe Amanltl
Lellers (Baltimore, 196-1).
B.]. KJ:..,\p,A"dcul Egypt: flllll/()1IU'Qfa
t:ivili:::.tIIion (London, 1989),223-5.
\~'. L. MORJ\'\, Tlu'AI111lnm ulIers(London, 1992).

Amasis see 1\1 !.\I0SE II

Amenemhat (!\mmenemes)
rour of the 12th-Dynasty pharaohs held the
'birth name' Amenemhat ('AmLin is at the
head'), while the rest, apart from Queen
SOIlEKNEFEI{U, took the name of SEl\'USI{ET.
Alllellelllllll/ I Selietepibra (1985-1955 IlC)
was the son of a priest called Senus ret and a
woman called Nofrer. He was the first ruler of
the 12th Dynasty, but he is prohably already
attested at the end of the 11 th Dynasty, when,

27

AMENEMIIAT

as I he vizier of \ \I'SrUIlOTEI' 1\ (1992-1lJSS

Be), he led an expedition along the \Vadi
Hammamat to the Red Sea.
Ilis Horus name, \,Vchcl11-l11cSU( ('he ,dlO
repeats births'), \\"<IS no doubt chosen to celebrate the innuguration of the nc\\' dynasty. It is
possible that the literary work known as The

Dis(l)lIrs(' o/lVejerty, in which the emergence

of a ruler called .:.\mcny is supposed to h,1\"C
been roretold by a prophet in the Old
Kingdom, was composed parLly in order to
legitimize his accession. lie moved the royal
residence to rhe ncwl~ established LO\\ n of
A.mcncmhatitjmwy, in lhe \jcinity af Er.-I.LSI IT,
thus shifting the locus of the country north"ards. lie also reorganized the .\IJ.\IL'lsnUTIO,\, ensuring that provilll:ial power was in
the hands of his supporters, appointing ne\\
g-oycrnors <"It ASYUI, Cusae and Eleph.mtine
and reintroducing conscription into the army.
lie founded a new fOrLrcss aL Semna in the
region of" the second Nile caLaracL, thus Creating the first of a string of 12th-Dynasty
fortresses which probably gave the Egyptians a
slTanglcholci over economic COntacts with
Upper Nubia and the counrries furlher smuh
in Africa.
He may also have inLroduced the practice of
CORE(jEi\.C\ hy allowing his successor to rule
alongside him for the last fe\\ years of his
reign, thus helping LO ensure a smooth transi~
tion from one ruler to the next. Since he himself appears to hare been assassinated as a
result of a 11.\RI.\1 conspirat:y, this precaution
proved 10 be fully justified, and he was sut:ccedcd hy his son Senusret I (1965-1920 Be),
who had alread~ been effecti,c1y in t:harge of
foreign policy. The political and SOci'll repercussions of this traumatic end to his reign
wcre reflected in two new literary works: TIlt:
Tall' of Siuul1e and TI1(' Instructioll oI
l1//l'lIl'1//hal J (the laner heing the source of the
.Issassination slOr~). AmenemhaL's funerary
complex at I.I.-I.ISII'I" reintroduced rhe Old
Kingdom pyramid-style royal tomb.
_-lmeuellfllfll JJ NubJ..>(JJ(1";'1 (1922-1878 Be)
succeedcd 10 the thronc after a two-year coregency with his r~lrher Scnusret I, who had
'llrcadj consolidated Egyptian control over
I'\ ubi a with the esmblishmcnt of scyeral rurthcr forlresses. Amenemhat II'S reign was
thercftm,: relatively peaceful, and it is to his
reign that lhc TOI1 'Lreasure' dates: the ".Hicty
of rr;Hlc items or 'tribute' represented in
this hoard suggests Lbat contacts with wcstern Asia and the 1\1editel'ranean world were
nourishing. The discovery or statuary of
Amcnemhnt's daughters and officials at a
number of si[Cs in Syria-Palestine .1150 indi~
caLes Lhat Egyptian inllucnce in the Leyant

28

AMENHOTEP

waS continuing to grow. The pyramid complex of Amcncmhat II at IH11SIIUR includcd a

mortuary temple and c'llIse,,ay, excayatcd by
de ~Irorgan in 189-1-5, but the ,'alley temple
has nOL ~et been dist:m-cred.
.-11II"""1III1al JJJ Ninwalra (1855-1808 Be)
was the son of Seousret III anti the sixth ruler
of the 12th Dynasty, His reibm e,-idcntly representee! dIe most prosperous. phase of the
dynasty, with the miliL;'lr~ achievements of his
predecessors allowing him to exploiL the eco-

Granite !reat! lJ/AlIJcnl'1IIIw/ JJJ, bearing a lHllrpillg

imaipJifJl/ n/IIII: 221111 DY"ffSO'. Lulc 12/h PJIIUlSO',
c.18201lc,./iml1!JlIbm/is, JJ. 79011. (1:..11063)

nomic resources of Nubia and Syria-Palestinc

as well as the mineral deposits of the Sinai and
E.lsLern lJesert. l-Ie is particularly associated
with the cconomic and politic;'11 risc of the
L~~IYllm region, where he completed a largescalc irrigation project inaugurated by his
father. His sllnj,-ing monuments in the area
include two coloss:ll graniLe statues of himself
at Biahmu, Lcmples to SOBEk and KE'\F.:'\LTI:-r at
Kiman Pares (J\ledinel c1-Fayum) and
\\EDI'I-:T \\ \.\DI rcspecti,-cly, and two pyramid
complexes. I.ike his Either und grandfather, he
was buried in a pyramid complex at Dahshur,
,,here the mud-brick pyramid has bcen
strippcd of its limestone outer casing, but the
black granite pyramidion, inscribed with his
name, has sun'i"ed. His second complex, ill
II \\\ \R \, included lhe multi-roomed mortuary
lemple known 10 Classical authors as the
'Labyrinth' .
-IIIft:/It:/Idwl /I I\I!{/(fl,:},('rul"tl (lS08-l7lJl) Be)
was the son ofAmcncmhat III and the last male
rulcr of , he 12th Dynast~. He completed his
fathcr's tcmpks at !\'ledinet i\llaadi and probably also builr the unusual temple at Qlsr eISagh'l in the nonhc;,lstern (---'ayum, bUl his
reign was otherwise short and comparati"cly

unc,cntful, perhaps representing the beginning of the decline of the .Middle Kingdom.
I [is pyramid complcx was possibly the southcm mOlll1l11ent :It l\1azghuna, ahout S km to
the south or Lhose a' Dahshur.
G. POSE'EK, /...i/h;rttJurf fJ poliJiqlll' dff/ls I'Egyplt'
,h-Iff XIII: th'l/lIslie (Paris, 1969).
!\. GKI\I \1., ,-I l1is/llry oIlIlItim/.t.'gYPJ (Oxford,
1992),158-81.

Amenhotep (i\menophis)
'Birth name' (or nomen), me.ming 'Amun is
con Lent', which was included in the ROnL TITL I. \RY of four 18th-Dynasty rulers.
.IWt'11holl'p J Dje~lTk{frtl (lS25~1504- Be) was
the son of \I1\10SE I and \II\lOSE XI.FEKI:\RI,
anti the sct:onu pharaoh or the 18th DynasLy.
lie appc~lrs to ha,-e pacif.ied l'\ubia, established
a Lemple at the Nubian town of S:fi and
appoimed Turi as nCEKOY OF "-USI J. He was
probably srill ,"cry young when he came to the
throne, so it" is likely that his mother scrved ;\s
regent for rhe firsr part of his reign. They arc
joimly credited wilh the foundation uf the
royal tomb-workers' village at IJI':I I{ 1':1.-1\11':1111'\1\,
where Lhcy cOllsequently enjoyed personal
religious cults until the I<lte Ramesside period.
llis burial-place remains unidentified,
although his 10mb is mentioned in an official
inspection list of the sixteenth year orRamcses
I\'S reign (el111 Be)_ He is known to have
been the first pharaoh lO build'l separate mortuary temple (or 'mansion of millions of
years') :It DEIR I:J.-IHIIRI, some distance away
from the tomb itself HmYc,-er, his mortuar~
l:hapcl was later obliterated by the temple of
II \TSIIEI'SL"I', .Ind ir is not clear whet her he was
buried at Ora Ahu el<'\aga (see THEBES),
alongside his 17th-Dynasty ancestors, or in an
unrecognized 10mb in the \.\1.1.1:\ OF Till'.
''''(is (perhaps the uninscribcd Tomb ,,\39,
although "ork in the 1990s suggests otherwise). His hody, on the other h;md, has sur,i,cd, having been reburied in a cache at IJUR
EI.-Il\IlKI. It still has an excellenL G\RTO' '\01-:
face-mask :lnd had been rc\\'r~ppcd by rhe
priests who mm'cd it in the 21st Dynast)'; it is
Ihe onl~ royal mummy th~t has Ilot heen
unwrapped in modern times.
IlIIell!lo/<,p /I A"/'!f<,p<'l"lIrrt (H27-140lJ Be)
W<1S rhe seventh ruler of the 181"h [)ynasty and
coregcnt <lnd succeSSor to his father, TIILT\10SI': III (1479-1-+25 IIC). He was born at j\II':I\IPlIIS, his mOl her being Q!lecn J\ilerirraI-Iatshepsut. 'I'he suniving reliefs and texLs
give the impression that he prided himself on
his physical prowess, 'llthough it is equally
possible Ihal a new heroic image of the KI1'.GSIIIP was simply being adopted. EmulaLing the
military successes of his father, he undertook

AMENI-IOTEP

three campaigns into SYRIA, but no militar~

<lcriviry seems to have been considered necessary in Nubia, where he appointed Uscrs.uct
as ~'ICEROY OF KUSII and ordered variolls projects of temple construction and deconllion at
Amada and .....\L\BSII.\. I-Ie built a number of
shrines and temples in the region of TILEB[.';,
including structures ilt ""'t"Ah:, .\IED:UILD and
TOD. Little has SUTyi\'cd of his mOrlU;lry temple at Thebes, but he was buried in Tomb h:y35

Sielefrom (I !Iol/se/mld ,I}/I'/II( til 1.'1-.4mama,

shomillg Amw/IO/ep III mith hi.~ priu(ipa/miji' 11)/
beside It Itlble 0/ ~l1erillgs lIIula tlu' nqls of/hi' All'lI.
/81h DJlI1{/.~O', c.13.>O IJe, II. 30.5 an. (".-63799)
in the Valley of the Kings. The decoration of
lhis tomb, although unfinished, included a
complcte version of the book of Amduat (sec
FUNERAR\ TEXTS). \Vhcn it was excayatcd hy
Victor Lorer in 1898 it was found to cont'lin
not only Amenhotcp II'S mummy (still in his
s.1rcophagus) but the hodies of eight other
pharaohs (T'hutmosc 1\, Amenhotep III,
\1ERENfYli\ll, SEn II, Saptah, R \ \I ESI::." 1\", \ and
\1), three women (one ufwhummay be Q!.lecn
T1Y) and a young hoy. These mummies were all
brought to Amenhotep II'S tomb, on the orders
of Pinudjcm (one of the chief priests of Amun
at Thebes in the 21 st Dynasty), in order to
preserve them from the depredations of tomb~
robbers.
Al1Ienhotep III Neh11lfffllrr/ (1390-1352 Be)
was the son and successor of Thutmosc 1\'
(1400-1390
lie),
his
mOlher
bcing
IVlutcrnwiya. He seems to have taken little
interest in military affairs and, apart from
quelling an uprising i.n Nubia in his fifth regnal year, he was content to maintain rhe order
established by his prede<.:essors. This policy
was not altogether su<.:cessful and during hjs
long reign it is possible that some of the vassal

AMENHOTEP SON OF HAPU

stares of Syria-Palestine beg'1I1 to brcak away

from Egypt, paving the way for thc IIiTITn:s'
expansion into the Leyant during the last
reigns of the 18th Dynasty. Some of his foreign correspondence has sur..ived in the form
of the .l,\I.l,R~\ L1~I~rE.RS.
The time of Amcnhotep III is marked by the
apparent opulence of the royal court and the
high standard of artistic and architectural
achie\'cl1lel1ts, earning him the modern epithet
'the magnificent'. The high artistic skill of the
time is exhibited in the tombs of such high
officials as "\\IOSE (rr55) and Khacmhct
(nS7). His principal ~lrehitect, .\.\IE.'\.IIOTEI'
SOl\" OF I LWU, was responsible for the construction of the processional colonnade at LUXOR
temple, Ihe third pylon at k...\R.'\.AI\:, the mOrtuary temple (the sile of which is marked by the
COI.OSSI OF \IE,\It\O=') and his palace at
\IALh-AI'!\ on the Theban west bank.
Some of the art of his reign shows the naturalistic, informal anitudes characteristic or thc
Amarna period, and it secms likely that he
chosc the IHI,:N as his personal god, whilst still
honouring the other gods, thus anticipating
(and presllmably cultivating) the eventual religious rc\olutioll of his SOil, Amenhotep 1\
(M":IIEKATI:'i; U52-1J36 Be), whom he may
have appointed as coregent towards the end of
his reign, although this remains controversial.
His eldest son, and the original heir to the
throne, was 'rhullnose, who died young. It has
been suggested that Amenhotep IU may also
havc been the father of Smenkhkara,
TL~II\.'\.h-11 \.\IL.'\. ilnd Princess BaketateI1, bur
the evidence for these links is tenuous. 1t has
been suggested th~1t his body may hayc heen
onc of those reburied among a cache of royal
mummies in t..he LOmb of Amcnhotep II (sec
above), although this identification has been
disputed by some authorities. The body in
queslion is that of a man who suffered from ill
health and obcsit~ tow~lrds the end of his life.
Amenophis HI'S tomh (1\:\"22) ,,as located in the
\alley to the Wc.sl of thc main V'llley of the
Kinhrs. .It was decorated \yith scenes from the
hook of Allldullt and when exc1Yated by
Iloward C~rter it still contained about fifty
small fragments of Llle lid of the red granite
sarcophagus in the burial chamber.
AllleJllwtep I/' see i\KIIE~,\'Il:~.
I-I. E. WINI.OCX, 'A restoration of the relief.... from
the mortuary temple ofi\menhofcp 1',.7J::/14
(1917), 11-15.
A. L,\\sl1'\(i: 'Excavations at lhe p'llace of'
Amcnhotcp 111 ~lt Thebes" B;\IIJltIA ] 3 O"brch
1926),8-14.
j. CERNY, 'Le cultr d'Amenophis ler chez les
ollvriers dc b nceropolc thebaine" HI FAG 27
(1927),159-203.

B. VAN DE \o\'.'\l.U:, 'Les rois sporri(<; de l'ancicnne

EgYPlC', edt: 13 (1938), 23'1-57.
\N C. H.WES, 'Egypt: internal affairs from
Tuthmosis I to the de:.lth of Amenophis III"
Cawbr;dge Ancient History, eo. 1. E. S. Edwards
er aI., 3rd cd. (Cambridge, 1973), 3l3-H6.
A. J(OZI.OFF and B. BR\'AN, Egypt 5da::;::.IiJlg slln:
AIIICIlIrO/('P III and his world, exh. cat.
(Bloomington and Clcvehmd, 1992).

Amenhotep son of Hapu (c.H30-1350 ne)

Born in the DcJt.llown of Athribis (TEI.J.ATRIII),
about 40 kill north of Cairo, in c.I430 ne,
Amenhotep son of Hapu ~also known as Buyrose to a position of influence during the reih'll
nf \.\11-:'"0'1'1-:1' ttl (1.190-1352 "C.). [n abOUI 1390
lie he ll1o\'Cd from A thribis to the royal courl at
'fhcbcs, where he is one of the guests portrayed
in a banquet scene in the relief decoration of the
tomb of his contemporary, the vlzier H,l\I'lOSE
(r1"55). I-h; W~IS subsequently promoted to the
offices of 'scribe of recruits' and 'director of <111
I he king's works', which might be loosely translated as 'chief royal architect'. In this capacity
he would have been in charge of the entire
process of temple construction, from the
extraction of the stone to the sculpting of
rclief"i, as well as the commissioning of such
royal Stalues as the COl.OSSI OF 1\IE]\l-"'O~.
Grey granite scribe statue ofA1J1l'1lhOIl'p SOil 0/
I/apu as {/ young 1ll1I1l.Fum tlte 1f:lltli Pylon of
Karnak temple. /8th Dyullsty, c.1365 /lC,
11.1.28/11. (c.IIRo]N861)

29

AMMUT

He is known to hayc supervised the construction of the huge temple at SOLEI] in Lower
Nubia, where he is depicted .tlongsidc the king
in several of the reliefs showing the ritual C011sccf<1tion of the temple. He also built (wo
tombs for himself, and in the thirry-first year
of Amcnhorcp Ill'S reign he began to build his
own cult temple on rhe west bank at Thebes.
Amcnhotep's importance during his own lifetime is indicated not only by the unusual size
of hi, cult temple but by the fact that it was the
only pri\'3tc monument situated among the
royal mortuary temples on rhe west bank at
Thebes (see I\lEI)INET HABU).
In the precincts of the temple of Anum .It
Karn.lk he was permitted w set up several
S(.ltucS of himself His career has been largely reconstructed from the texts carved on
these statues - one limestone block statue
bears inscriptions on all four sides. Although
one text expresses his desire to reach the age
of a hundred and ten, it is likely that he died
in his eighties. He was buried in a rock-tomb
al the southern end of the Q!trnet Murai, on
the 'rheban west bank, and a sur\"iving 215tDynasty copy of a royal decree relating to his
mortu:uy temple suggcsts that his cult continucd to be celcbrated at least three centuries after his death. Evcntually, like the
3rd-Dynasty architect I\IHOTEP (c.2650 11(;),
Amcnhotep was deified posthumously in
recognition of his wisdom and, from the
LATE PERIOD, for his healing powers. Tn the
Ptolemaic tcmple of Hathor at DeiI' elMedina and the temple of Hatshepsut at
Deir c1-Bahri, chapels were dedicated to the
worship nf both Imhotcp and Amenhotep
,on of Hapu.
C. ROOlClJON and A. VARIJ.LE, Le lell/ple till saibe
rOJ!al Ameuholepfils tit' Hilpof/ (Cairo, 1936).
A. VARlLI.E, IlISrr;pliollS cOl1cenulIIll'arrhilecle
A11/t!1IllOlepjilsde HIlPOIl (C1iro, 1968)
D. \VII.DU:,\"G, Egyptiall .willls: deification ill
plUll"{follir Egypt (New York, 19i7).
A. P. KOZI.OFFand B. M. BR"A~, Egypt'sda:::.::Jiug
sun: Aml'nhotep III anti his 1I'0riti (Bloomington
and Cbcland, 1992), 4S--Jl.

Ammut
Creature in the netherworld, usually depicted
with the head of a crocodile, the foreparts of a
lion (or panther) and the rear of a hippopotamus, whose principal epithets were 'devourcr
of the dead' and 'gre'lt of death'. She is portrayed in vignettes illustrating Chapter 125 of
the Book of the Dead (see F "'ERARY TEXTS).
The scenes show her waiting beside the scales
in the Hall of the Two Truths, where the hearts
of the dead were weighed against the feather of
.\I:\:H. It was Ammur who consumed the hearts
30

AMULET

DetailjiwlIlhe BOOk' oI111i.! Dead off/uncje,.,

romisling o.fthe viguel/(, aJSOCialed TlJith Chapler
J25. //11111/llt is slwJ1JU beside the scales on mhieh the
hell/'I Ofthe deceased is meighed. 19th DyUflsO/,
c./280 IJC, pail/led papY,l/s. (IU??O/. SllfliTJ)
of those whose evil deeds made them unfit to
proceed into the afterlife.
C. S"]':BER, UlIlerslfdul1Igeu ::;,ur Danlellung des
Toteugeridl1s i11l Allell Agypteu (Munich, 1976).
R.o. FAULKNEIt, The (wdt'1ft J::'gyptiall !look vIlhe
Dead, ed. C. Andrew, (London, 1985), 29-3{.

Amratian see PRF.m1'\t\STIC PERIOD

amulet
Term used to describe the small prophylactic
charms favoured bv the Egyptians and other
ancient peoples. The Egyptians called these
items mel'ct, "eltef or s:\ (all words deriving
ii'om verbs meaning 'to protect'), although ,he
term medja ('well-being') was also used. As
well as affording protection, they may h;'l\'e
been intended to imbue the wearer with particular qualities; thus, for instance, the bull
and the lion may have been intended to provide strength and ferocity respectively. During
thc First Intermediate Period (2181-2055 Hr.),
parts of the human body were used as amulet
shapes, perhaps serving as replaccments tor
actual lost or damaged anatomical clements.
Howevcr, only the heart amulet became essen-

tial. Amulets frequently depicted ,acred

objects and animals, and, from the New
Kingdom (1550-1069 Hr.) onward" the)' portrayed gods and goddesses, not just st.lte and
powerful local deities but also 'household'
deities such as IlES and Tt\WERET. The range of
funerary amulets increased greatly from the
Saite period (664--525 Hr.) onwards.
Amulets could be made from stone, metal,
glass or, more commonly, FAIENCE, and the
materials were selected for their supposed
magical properties. Specific combinations of
material, colour and Sh~lPC were prescribed for
particular amulets in FU:'1ER..;\RY TEXTS from as
early as the 5th Dynasty (see PYRMvll1J TEXTS),
although recognizable types of amulets ,vcre
being made from the Badarian period
(c.5500.....J000 Hr.) onwards. The names
ascribed to different shapes of amulet are
known from a number of textual sources,
notably the Papyrus rVlacGregor.
A broad distinction can be made betwcen
those amulets that were worn in daily life, in
order to protect thc be.Irer magically from the
dangers and crises that might threaten him or
her, and those made expressly to adorn the
mummified body of the decea,ed. The second
category can include funerary deities such as
A:,\'UBlS, SER..K.ET, SO\lS OF I JORCS, but rarely
(strangel~r enough) figures of OSIRIS, the god of
the underworld. The BOOK OF TI-II': DEAD
includes several formulae with illustrative

AMUN, AMUN-RA

AMULET

Many amulets represented abstract concepts in the form of hieroglyphs, as in the case
of U1e .'\NKH ('life') and the DJEIJ PILI.!\K ('stability'). Among amulctic forms were the -rYET
('knot of Isis'), the WAS SCEPTRE, the tlkhel
('1I0RIZON') and the ",edjtll-eye (sec 1I0R[;S).
Sec also SC.\K1\1J and CO\\'ROID.
G. A. REISNER, Allltl/els, 2 I'Dls (Cairo, \907-58).
W. M. F. PETRIE,AlIIll/elS(London, 19H}.
C. A."'OKEWS, Amulets of'l1/cient Egypt (London,
199{).

Amun, Amun-Ra
One of the most important gods in the
Egyptian pantheon, whose temple at K:\R.:'\:\K
is the best survi\"ing religious complex of the
New Kingdom. He is first mentioned (along
with his wife Amaunet) in the 5th-Dynasty
PYRA;\IID TEXTS, but the earliest temples dedicated solely to Amun appear to have been in
the Theban region, where he was worshipped
as a local deity at least as carll' as the 11th
Dynasty. Amun's rise to pre-eminence was a
direct result of the ascendancy of the Theban
pharaohs from Mentuhotep " (2055-2004 Be)
onwards, since politics and religion were very
closely connected in ancient Egypt. In the
jubilee chapel of Senusret J (1965-1920 Be) at
Karnak he is described as 'the king of the
gods', and by the time of the Prolemies he was
regarded as the Egyptian equivalent of Zeus.
His name probably means 'the hidden one'
(although it may also be connected with the

Selection ofamule/s: ji/iena halld, L 3./ on,

IwelJItilite "eadrest, If". 3 c11I,fi,ieuce papyrus,
L. 5.6 t:m, camelillll.Hiake's head, L. ../ A em.

is ({[rved belmee" I"/!

plummet. II. al base 1.8 011, !t{[I!11111liu

carpenlers s'I1wre. /I. /.5 ell/.ll/fence slair(({se,
I~. J.9 em. carnelilll1/eg, II. 2.1011. glass heart,
/I. 5.3 cm, obsidiall pair oflingers. fl. 8.5 em, red
jasper tyet or '1.'1101 ofIsis', /-I. 6.5 flJl. Old
Kingdom /0 P/ole1ltair period, 1.:,.2300-100 /Ie.
(10/2299/.8309, 7-135,8327,8332.3/23,23/23.
/4622,8088. 59.iOO, 2(639)

paUlS. 2St" DJ',ws~)I.

c.690-664I1c.
from t"e
lel/lpleoI
Ul"arljO
at Kama,
II. /.061/1.
(".1/779)

IlllelJllltite

Cre)1 grllnite silltlle ofAmllJJ illt!IejiJrm ofa

ram pmtecting King Talwrljo, m!Iosefiglm:

vignettes tholt endow prescribed amulets with

magic;:" powers; parriculnr amulets were
placed at specific points within the wrappings
of a mummy, and Late Period funerary papyri
sometimes end with representations of the
aPPropriate position of each amulet on the
body.

31

ANAT

ANCESTOR BUSTS

J. it PR[TCHARD, Palt!slillillujigurilles ill rela/ioll/o

ancient Libyan word for water, ({mun) and he

was usually represented as a human figure
wearing a double-plumed crown, sometimes
with a ram's head. Tt is implied, through such

l."crlllill goddesses kl/ol1Jlllhruligh li/emllire (New

HI\"CIl, 1943),76-80.
R. SII\I)l':I.I\\ANN, ~~J!risdl-palti's/i!!l~~(ht'GM/heile"
ill AgJlPIe11 (Leiden 1 1967),91-6.
A. S. K,\I'ELRUD, 1111: vio/ellt goddess Allat illihe
Ras SIU/Illm le.rls (Oslo, 1969).

epithets as 'mysterious of form', that Amun's

true identity and appearance could never be
revealed. As well as being part of a divine triad
at Thebes (with I\IUT and KIIOi\:S), he was also
Amun KClllatcf~ a member of the UGDOA]), a
group of eight primeval deities who were worshipped in the region of Hcrmopolis lVlagna.

ancestor busts

Anum Kematcf (meaning 'he who has completed his moment') was a creator-god able to
resurrect himscICby taking the form of a snake
shedding his skin. Another aspect
Amlin
was an 1["lIYI'llt\I.I.IC (arm, closely relalcd to
the fertility god Mli'\ and described as Amun
Kamute[ (literaJly 'bull of his mother').
Part or the success of Amun's influence on
Egyptian religion for mosl' or the Dynastic
period lay in his combination with other powerful deities, such as KA, the sun-god, who had
been the dominant l"igure in the Old Kingdom
pantheon. It was Amun-Ra, theTheban manifestation of the sun-god, who presided over
the expanding Egyptian empire in Africa and
the Levant". Eventually the Thebal1 priesthood
of Amun-Ra used the prestige of the cull' of
Amun in order to legitimize their rivalry with
the pharaohs at the end of t"he New Kingdom
(sec I WRIIIOR).
The rise oC the Kushite pharaohs of the
25th Dynasty led to a renaissance in the worship of Amun, since the Nubians believed that
the true home of Amull was the sacred site of
Gebel Barkal i..n northern Sudan (sec :-.JAI'ATA).
Kushitc kings such as I'[Y, S[ 1:\IIAQ..o and "1":\[ IARQP therefore associated themselves with the
cult of Amun and thus sought to renew and
reinvigorate his centres of worship.
K. SETI 11":, AI/II/1l I/Ild die (ldlf lhgcilfer (Leipzig,
1929).
J. ZA \"IWI'~ De f~)'lIIl/ell {/fill Allum vall Paj!J!rllJ
Leidell 13.m (Leiden 1 1948).
P. BARGULT, Le temple d'.Alllol/-l"e d KlIl"1lt1k: essfli
d'e.reghe (Cairo, 1962).
E. Ono, Egyptiall art find /he wl/s {~rOsin~~ alfd
A/lllm (London, 19(8).
- , 'Anlllll" Lexikoll der .'igYPlologic [, cd. W.
Heick, E. Otto and 'vv. Westendorf (\Viesbaden,
197J),237-4R
j. ASSi\\l\NN, t'gyjJlirlI/ sola}" l"ell~!Jioll in the Nem
Kingdom: Rfl Anlllll aud the a/sis o/polytheislII,
trans. A. Alcock (Lontlon. 1995).

or

Anat
One of a number of deities introduced inro
Egypt from Syria-Palest.ine. The cult of Anat
is first attested in Egypt in the late j\'Iiddle
Kingdom (c.1800 Be) anti one or the IIYKSOS

32

Stele (~(lhl' rhie/royal cr(~/i.\II1f111 f2J'k III Iile

lower register Qeh (flld his.f{lJlli(y arc show"
mors/lIlJpillg Ihe goddess Anal. 1nlhl' upper register
C/i'Ollllcji 10 right) Ihe dei/ie., JHi/l, Qpleshel alld
Res/u:/are depi(;led; the indllsiul/ vf;\1in all/ong tI
grollp of rIfles/ali Asia/it: deities i.~ presl"!ltlb~)'
exp/ailled /~}I hi.,' associaiio/l milll Ihe Eastern
DesaI. 19/h DY!las/y, c.1250 l1e, /ill/cs/ollc,Fv1!l
Deir el-}\!fedilltl, II. 72011. (h.1191)
kings or the 16th Dynasty (.1560 Br.) included the name An~lt:-her in his titulary. In the
'Third [ntermediate Period her cliit was celebrated in the temple of l\t{ut at L'\NIS.
Although she held the beneficent epithets
'mother of all the gods' and 'mistress of the
sk yl, she was primarily a goddess of war and
was often depicted with shield, axe and lance.
The myths surrounding Anat were concerned
primarily with her savage exploits, and the
Egyptians regarded her as protectress of the
king in battle, a role sometimes shared with
ASTi\RTE. Although Egyptian texts often used
the names of the goddesses Anal' and Astarte
virtually interchangeably, their cults were in
practice distinct.
The Syrian g'ods RESIlEF and Baal were both
regarded at various times as Anat's consorts,
and she was said to have given bin-h to a wild
bull by Baal. At times she is also portrayed as
the wire or SET\ [ (another god with Asiatic
links), whiJe private monuments sometimes
depicted her alongside j\IIN, when rhe strong
sexual aspect of her cult was being stressed. As
with many other goddesses, her cult waS sometimes syncretized with that of [1'\TlI0R.

Term used to refer to small painted anlhropoid busts serving as a focus tor ancestor WOrship in the New Kingdom. i\tlost were of
limestone Or sandstone, but a few smaller
examples were made of wood and clay. They
were rarely inscribed (the bust of
J\1utel1lonct, shown below, being one or the
few exceptions), but the predominance or red
paint (the typical male skin-colour in
Egyplian art) suggests rhat most of them represent men. There arc about 150 surviving
examples, about half of which derive Ii'om rhe
houscs and funerary chapels of the tombworkers at the village of DEIR EL-.\U:DIl'\A. The
cult of the ancestors} eilch of which was
known as (/k" il:a en R(/, 'exccllcnr spirit of
Ra', was an important aspcct of popular religion among the villagers. These 'excellent
spirits' wcre also represented on about fiftylive surviving painted stelae, which, like the
busts, could evidently be petitioned by relatives secki..ng divinc aid.

Lilllcs/o/le {{/lGD'/or Imsl O//VllllclIlolle/. 19th

c.1250 IX. If. -19 Ofl. (/~..J 1198)

P)IIl{/S~)I,

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

ANEDJIB

J. KElTll-I3ENNI'Tr, 'AnLhropoid busts lJ: nOt

from DeiI' cl Mcdint:h alone', BES J (]lJSl),

43-71.
R. J. DEi\'1ARI~E, The "I! ih /I R" slc/ac: 1)11 a/h'eS/UJ"
Tl)orship ill (llujell! Egypt (Leiden, 1983).
ED. fRII::D.\'IAN, 'AspcCI"S or domestic life <lnd
religion', PlJaraoh:, morl'as: IIIe villagers o/Deir
ellVledilUl, cd. L. H. Lesko (Tthaca, ]994),
95-117

Anedjib (Adjib, Andjycb, Enczib) ((.2925 lle)

Ruler of the late 1st Dynasty who is thought to
have been buried in "!<nnb ~ at AllYIJOS, the
smallest of the Early Dynastic royal tombs in
the cemetery
Umm el-Q.l'ab. Part
the
wooden tlooring waS preserved in the burial
chJmber. Tomb 303~ at S:\(lQARA has also been
dated to his reign by means of seal impressions
which also mention the name of an official
called Nebitb who was presumably buried
thert. This tomb cont,lined ,1 mud-brick
stepped structure inside t"he 1\1 \ST>\IM-like
superstructure which is considered to be a
possible precursor of step pyramids, and similar 'intcl"lul tUl1luli' have been identified in thc
recent rc-e.,xcavations of the 1st-Dynasty royal
tombs at Abydos.
Anedjib was the first to have rhe IIcbl.J'
("1\\'0 Ladies') t.itle and the lIcs/1J-bil ('I-Te of
the sedge and bee') name in his ROY,\L TITULAin', although the nesm-bil title (without a
name) had already been introduced in the
reign of his predecessor DEN. A number of
Stone vessels carved with references to his
SED FESTIVAL (ro~'al jubilee) were excavated at
Abydos. On mosl of these vases his name had
been erased and replaced with that of his successor SE1\\I;:Rk.III:T, IcadiJ1g to suggestions
that there may have been some kind of dynastic feud.
VV.1V1. I': PETRII':, The no,al IUlI/b,I' oIlhe/irsl
(()ll1t1Sl)' I (London, 19(0).
vV. B. El\IERY, Creal IOlllbs o/Ihe/irsl (()llIaS~)l1
(Cairo, 1949).
- , Arrhaif r.~!J.l'jll (Londun, 1(61),80-4.

or

or

Anhur xee ONURIS

Aniba (ane. Miam)

Site of a settlement and ce111Ctl:ry in Lower
Nubia, f()undcd as an Egyptian IOI~lress in the
1\1idclle Kingdom (2055-1650 B<:). During the
18th Dynasty (1550-12 1)5 IIC) flniba became
the administrative centre of \~rawat, the area
between the first and second Nile cat;lracl.~.
The reception of tribute from the Nubian
Prince of .Miam is portrayed in tbe Theball
tomb of Turankhamull \ viceroy, HlI~i ("1"1"40).
The site was partially excavated during the
19305, but after the completion of the Aswan

Cupy (!(a mal/-painlillg ill 1111: lomb f}IHf~l', shuwi"g

Prilltl' rdA1i(/lll r-,.lm"ba) (/nd (}llter
dli4.~, /Jo/11ing !JtjiJrc TIII(IIl/.:halll/lll. ISllf o.J'Jl{/S~J',
c.1330 IJC'. (co!'\ nr N',\' I /)}, (; /IUS D II'//:s)
I!l'qall(/~/;

IIigh Dam in 1971 it was submerged by Lake

Nasser.
G. STEINDORFF, Allilw, 2 vols (GILickst~tdl,
1935-7).

animal husbandry
The keeping and breeding of" animals is aUcst.cd as carly as the Prcclynastic period at Lower
Egyptian sites such as j\IERIMDA lW;\I1 SALAMA
(r.4900-4300 DC). Even ill ,l1e Old Kingdom,
there was still an clement of experimentation
domestication of more
in the process
unusual breeds, judging from such evidence as
scenes of" the force-feeding
cranes in the
5th-Dynasty tomb of Sopduhotcp at Saqqara,
and the depiction of the force-feeding of
hyenas in the 6th-Dynasty tomb of ,\'11':RERUh.I\
at the same site. For most of the Dynastic period the most common domesticated animals
were cattlc, sheep, pigs, goats, asses and poulITy. Ducks, geese and pigeons were the principal domesticated fin"l; hens deriving fro111 rhe
African Jungle Fowl may have been introduced
in the )Jew Kingdom, but the earliest published skcleLll evidence dates to the l;lte fifth ()r
early sixth celltury AI).
Cau:le were important for their Illeat and
miJk hut were also kept as draught animals.
From the Prcdynastic period to the Old
Kingdom, cattlc were mainly of rhc long-horned type, but. thinner short-horned varieties werc gradually introduced from the Old
Kingdom on\vards, eventually becoming the
norm. In the 18th Dynasty humped Zebu
callie were introduced ;"IS draught animals, but
they never seem to have become C01111110n,

or

or

Cattle were tended by herdsmen whu, as in

pans of Africa today, stayed with the herd and
moved them to new pastures as necessary. L1
the winter the herds grazed in the Nile valley,
although milny were moved to the Delta during the suml11er months. Identification 01"
hcrds was facilitated by marking them, and a
number of branding tools have survived.
lr was the meat of oxen which was the most
prized for offerings at temples ilnd tombs, and
which frequently figures in reliefs there.
\Vealthy landowners boast of eTlOrmous herds
of cattle, and uther animals, in their tomb
inscriptions, and as a sig'n of ,ye<llth they werc
also a source of raxab1c revenuc,
The J IOI{SI':, introduced around the time of
the IIYK.sO.s occupation in the Second
Intermediate Period, did not become common
until the New Kingdom, and was then used
primarily fi:n military purposes. Donkeys were
extensively used as pack nnimals and, like
cattlc, fiJI' threshing. The C1\,\II], W,lS not used
until IaLc in the Pharaonic period, and
although there is some possible pictorial evidence from the hne New Kingdom, the usc of
domesticated camels is not attested until the
ninth century Hr:.
Sheep and goats were kepI for me,H, wool,
hide and probably milk, althoug'h wool was
ncyer as important as linen in terms of textile
manufacture. The Egyptians described both
sheep and goats as 'small cattle', thus implying
lhal all three animals were regarded as being of
roughly the same type. Goats, however, were
more common lhan sheep, and better suited to
grazing on poor land.
Pigs were regarded as animals of SETII, thc
god of chaos, and fi:)r this reason enjoyed
somewhat ambiguous st<ltuS. According to the
Greek historian Herodotus, those who kept
("hem formed a kind of undcrclass who could

33

ANKH

only marry the daughters of other swineherds.

However, it is not clC'lf whether this was the
case in more ancient times, and a scene from
the 6th-DynaslY tomb of Kagcmni at Saqqara
shows a swineherd giving milk to a piglet from
his own tongue, perhaps implying mar the
herders of pigs were not held in any particularly low esteem relative to other farmers.
Exca,ations during the 1980s at the site of the
EL-,\M1\R\.r\ workmen's village ha\"c rC"caled
surprisingly extensive evidence of pig rearing,
and similar c\'idcnce has emerged from cxca"ations at Memphis, Elephantine and 1ell elDab'a, indicating that pork must have formed
an importanl part of the diet of at least some
classes of society. Although pork was neyer
L1sed in temple offerings. pigs are ncycrtheless
included in lists of temple assets. Amenhotcp,
chief steward of Amenhotep "' (1390-1352
Be), states that he donated a thousand pigs to a
statue of his master ;u i\/Iemphis.
R. JANSSEN and J. J. JANSSEN, Egypt;alllwlI.w:ho!d
allimals (Aylesbury, 1989).
E. 5"['ROUIl:\I., Ldi- ill llllfil.'lIJ EgypJ (Clmbridge,
1992),109-18,
K. C. MAcDo~ALI) and D. N. EDII'''"OS,
'Chickens in Africa: the importance of Qasr
Ibrim',All/iqllil)' 67/256 (1993), 584-90.
D.]. BREWER, D. B. REDFORD and S. REDFORD,
Domestic plallts tlwl fluiwals: the Egyptiall origim
(Warminster, 199-1-).

ankh
Hieroglyphic sign denoting 'lifc', which takes
the form of .1 T-shape surmoumed by a loop.
The pictogram has been yariously interpreted
as a sandal strap (the loop at the top forming

Ankh, djed alld WilS-SL'eplrl.' amulel. Late Period,

c.700-500 JJ(.',]i/l"II[(, /I. 23.1 1"111. (HiN 12)

3-l

ANUBIS

the ankle strap) and a penis sheath. Temple

reliefs frequently included scenes in which the
king \\,;IS offered the ankh sign by the gods,
thus symbolizing the divine conferntl of eternal life. In the Amarna period it was depicted
being offered to Akhenaten and Neferriti b,'
the hands at the end of the rays descending
from the sun disc (see .\TEi'"). The llukh sib'il
seems to haye been one of -the few hjeroglyphs that was comprehensible e'-en to the
illiterate; thercfore it is commonly found as
a maker's mark on ponery ycsscls. The sign
was eventually adopted by the COlrnc church
as their unique form of cross, known .IS the

Anubis (lnpw)
Canine god nf the dead, closely associated
with embalming and mummification. He is
usually represented in the form of a seated
black dog 01';1 man with a dog's head, bur it is
not clear whether the dog in question - often
identified by the Egyptian word sab - was a
jackal. The connection between jacbls and
the god of mummifit."ation probably derived

tTUXaIlSIlItt.

j. R. B:\I:'\ES, 'Ankh sign, belt and penis sheath'.

S/iK 3 (1975), 1-2-1.
C. Ai'\I)RE\\ S, Amulets u!al1(ienl Egypt (London,
199-1),86.

antelope
Desert-dwelling horned bm-id, which sen-cd
as the symhul of the 16th Upper Egyptian
nome (province). Three species of antclope arc
known from ancient Egypt (~lIt.:t'plwl/ls bme!aphus, O,:),,\' .!fazel/a and Adrlax lla.W/1law/alo).
The goddess S,''I'/'.'I' of Elephantine was originally worshipped in the form of an antelope,
and her headdress during the Pharaonic period consisted of a combination of antelope
horns and the Upper Egyptian r.ROWl\. Satet
was responsible for the water of the first Nile
cataract at Aswan, and a connection seems to
have been made by the ancient Egyptians
between water and antelopes, so that the goddess "\'LiJ.;:ET could also be represented by
another type of antelope, the gazelle, although
she was morc commonly depicted as a woman.
The gazelle may also ha"e symbolized grace
and elegance, and paintings in the 18thDynasty tomb of .\1>::\'" (Tr69) at Thebes
show that it \\'.IS sometimes used in place of a
umeus (sec \\.\OJ"T) for minor queens and
princesses.
The desert links of the antelope and gazelle
also led to their association wirh the god SETII,
and, correspondingly, the antelope was occasionally shown as the prey of the god IIOKUS in
later times. One of rhe earliest forms of amulet
took the form of a g'lzelle head, possibly in
order 1"0 w:m.1 orf the evil that such desert animals represented.
G. J. Bm:ss~EcK, Dic Hallstiere ill Altiigyptcl1
(Munich, 1953).
L. 5'1'''1::111':1.11'', 'Anrilopc', Lexil:ol/ ria >igypl(j/ogie
I, ed. VV. I leIck, E. Orto and \i\f. Westendorf
(Wiesbadcn, 1975), 319-23,
E. BRU';1"EK-TR \UT, IGazelle" Lexikoll da
/igyplologie II, cd. \AI. Heick, E. Otto and \V_
Westendorf (Wiesbaden, 1977), -126-7.

Limt'Slone stllluelle offll1l1bis. Ptolemaic period.

e.300-100 /lC,

II.

5/ (III. (E.,J7991)

from the desire to ward off the possibility of

corpses being dismembered and consumed
by such dogs. The black colouring of Anubis,
however, is not characteristic of jackals; it
relates instead to the colour of putrefying
corpses and the fenile black soil of the Nile
valley (which was closely associated with the
concept of rebirth). The seated Anubis dog
usually worc a ceremonial tic or collar around
his neck and held a flail or s,kl/l'/11 sceptre like
those held by SJ811iIs, the other principal god
of the dead.l'he cult of Anubis himself was
eventually assimilated with that of Osiris.
According: to myth, the jackal-goel was said to
h~lVC wrapped the body of the deceased
Osiris, thus cst.lblishing his particular association with the mummification process.
Anubis was also linked with the IMIUT fetish,
apparently consisting of a decapitated anim.l1
skin hanging at the top of a pole, images of
which were included among royal funerary

APEPI

ANUKET

equipment in the New Kingdom. Both

Anubis and the i'llfiliI fetish were known as
'sons of the liesa/-cow'.
Anubis' role as the guardi,lTI of the necropolis is reflected in two of his most common
epithets: ueb-ta.-djeser ('lord of the sacred
land') and kltwly-se!l-uetjer ('foremost of the
divine booth'), the former showing his control
over the cemetery itself and the latter indicating his association with the embalming tent or
the burial chamber. An image of Anubis also
figured prominently in the seal with which the
entrances to the tombs in the VALLEY OF TilE
K1NGS were stamped. This consisted of an
image of a jackal above a set of nine bound
CAI'TIVES, showing that Anubis would protect
the [Qmb against evildoers.
Perhaps the most yivid of Anubis' titles was
tepv-djl/-ef ('he who is upon his mountain'),
which presents the visual image of a god continually keeping a watch on the necropolis
from his vantage point in the high desert. In a
similar vein, both he and Osiris arc regularly
described as khenl;menlill ('foremost of the
westerners'), which indic<1ted their dominance
over the necropolis, usually situated in the
wcst. Khentimentiu was originally the name of
an earlier canine deity at :\BYDOS whom Anubis
superseded.
H. K.EES, 'Anubis "Herr von Sepal) und der
18. oberagyptiscbe Gall', zAs 58 (1923),
79-101
- , 'Kulttopographische und mythologische
Beitragc,ZAS71 (1935), 15()--5.
- , 'Der Gall von Kynopolis und seine Gottcit',
MID 6 (1958),157-75.

Anuket (Anquet, Anukis)

Goddess of the first Nile cataract region
around ASWAN, who is g'enerally represented as
a woman holding a papyrus sceptre and wearing a tall plumed crown. Her cult is recorded
as early as the Old Kingdom, when, like many
goddesses, she was regarded as a daughter of
the sun-god RA, but in the New Kingdom she
became part of the triad of Elephantine along
with KJ INUM and SATET. A temple was dedicated to her on the island of Sehel, a short distance to the south of Aswan, and she was also
worshipped in Nubia.
E. Orro) 'Anuket', Le,rikvlI der.Agyp/ologie I, cd.
W. Heick, E. Otto and W. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1975), 333---!.

were also 'lion temples' at MEROE and probably

Basa ..IVlany aspects of religion and ritual in
the Meroitie period (.300 BC-AD 300) derived
from Egyptian practices, AMU>J in particular
being as pre-eminent in Ivleroe as he had been
in Pharaonic Egypt. But there were also i1 few
important Nubian deities, such ,1S the anthropomorphic ARENSNVPIIIS and the creator-god
Sebiumcker, foremost .among whom waS the
war-god Apedemak.
In the lion temple at lVlusawwarat e1-Sufra
there were long inscriptions consisting of
prayers to the god, inexplicably written in
Egyptian HIEROGLYPHS rather th,m the
j\1[eroitic script, describing him as (splendid
god at the head of Nubia, lion of the south,
strong of arm', possibly indicating that he was
the tlltelary god of the southern half of the
.Meroitic kingdom, where lions were still relatively common until the nineteenth century
I\D (few references to the god have survived in
Lower Nubi<l). The lion temple at Naqa,
founded by Natakamani and his queen
Amanitere, consists of a PYLO)\. followed by a
pillared court (narrower than the front
fa~ade). The walls are decorated with reliefs in
which Apedemak is depicted alongside
Egyptian deities such as I-lAn-lOR and Amun,
even forming a divine triad with ISIS and
lIORUS as his consort and child.
]. \v. CROWFOOT and F W. GR1FFITJ-I, TIll: ;slul/{l
o/lV!eroe: lHeroitit ;Ilstnp/;olls (London, 1911),
54-61 [temple of Apedcmak at Naqa].
F I-IIt\TZE el i\l., AI!lIsaIPmaral e.I'Sufra 112
(Berlin, 1971).
L. V. Z.-\I:I"-:\R, J1pcde/l/aJ:: lirl/l god olA1eroe
(Warminster, 1975).
\V. Y. ADf\!\IS, NuNa: condor to Ajl-ic(f, 2nd cd.
(London and Princeton, 1984),325-7.

Apepi (Apophis)
The name Apepi (or Apophis), which occurs
in MANETHO, was adopted by at least one of the
I-lYKSQS pharaohs who ruled a substantial area
of Egypt in the Second Intermediate Period
(1650-1550 BC). Inscriptions in the temple at
Bubastis (TELL BASTA) preserve the name of
Aqcnenra Apepi. A quasi-historical literary
work known as the Quarrel of Apophis and
Seqenenra describes the Wilr between a Hyksos
king called Apepi and his Theban rival,
SEQENENRJ\ TAl' II, beginning with a letter sent"
by Apepi complaining that he is being kept
awake by the sound of hippopotami in Upper
Egypt. A more reliable version of the Theban
military campaign against Aauserra Apcpi is
provided by two fragmentary stelae dating to
the reign of the Theban king KAMOSE, and a
lat.er I-IIERI\TIC copy of the same text (known as
the Carnarvon Tablet).
T. SA\'E~S6DERHERGI-I, 'The Hyksos rule in
Egypt', JE.ll 37 (1951), 53-71.
R. S'I:O\IJI::LJ\lANN, 'Ein Beitrag zum Brief des
H l'ksos Apopbis', MD""IK 36 (1965), 62-9.
J. VAN SETERS, The f~}lks()s: a lIellJ illvestigal1ol1
(New Haven, 1966), 153-8.
Apis
Sacred bull who served as the BA (physical
manifestation) or 'herald' of the god PTAII. His
principal sanctuary was therefore located near
the temple of Ptah at iVIE.VII'HIS, in the vicinity
of which the 'embalming hOllse' of the Apis

BrollZt: vVI;ve group stalueUe nIan u/lluul1ed ruler

knee/iug be/ore aJ/ Ap;s bull, 1/1~~ IUlllds held o//t ;1/
offering. II mas dediwted by Pe.fijaJ1)e1JlaJl~)Ill()/;
mho ;s Ilamed Oil/he bul/\ pedestal. 26th Dy17asO',
c.600 lIe, J1. o(bIlII12..J 011. ("'/22920)

Apedemak
lVleroitic leonine and anthropomorphic lionheaded god, whose principal cult-centres were
at the sites ofi\!lusawwarat el-Sufra and Naqa,
both located in the desert to the east of the
sixth Nile cataract in Sudan, although there
35

APIS

APRIES

bulls has been unearthed. Unlike many other

sacred animals the Apis bull was always 11 sin-

gle individual animal, selected lor his particular markings. According to the Greek historian
Herodotus, the Apis bull, conceived from a

bolt of lightning, was black with a white

c1ia~

montl on the forehead, the image of a vulture

on its back, double hairs on its tail, and a
scarab-shaped mark under its tonguc.
The cult of the Apis probably dates back
to the beginning of Egyptian history,

although Nlanetho) the Ptolemaic historian,

claims lhat it originated in the 2nd Dynasty.
The bull was closely linked with the
pharaoh, both being divine manircstarions of
a god who were crowned at the time of their
installation. Like the king, the Apis bull
had his Own 'window or appearances' (see
P:\!.MYS) and, at least ("rom the Late Period)
he was thought to provide ORI\CU:S. Prom the
2211(\ Dynasty onwards, the bull was represented on private coffins, as if accompanying
the deceased westwards 10 the tomb or eastwards (presumably towards a new life) and
serving as a protector of the dead.
At the death or each of the Apis bulls, there
was national mourning, ..md the embalmed
corpse \\as taken along the sacred way from
1\ilemphis to Saqqara, ror burial in a granite
sarcophagus in the underground c<ltacombs
known as the SER.\pr:Uj\l, which were in lise
li'om at least as early as the New Kingdom.
According to Herodotus, the Persian ruler
Cambyses (525-522 IJc) mocked the cult and
caused the death of the Apis bull of the time,
allhough il has been suggested lhal this story
may simply have been an attempt to discredit
the Persians) since it appears to be contradicted by a textual record of an Apis burial actually conducted by Cambyses.
Because of the divine nature of his birth,
the mothers of the Apis bulls were venerated
as manifestations of the goddess ISIS; the}
were accorded similar burials to their olTspring, in the 'Iseul11' (or 'mothers of Apis'
cHacomb), ;J sel of galleries rurther to the
north in Saqqara which were excavated in
1970 by Bryan Emery. The 'calves of lhe Apis'
were also buried ceremonially, but their cHacombs, like the early Pharaonic Apis galleries,
remain undiscovered.
After his death, the Apis bull became identified with OSIRIS, being described as the syncretic deily Osiris~Apis or Osorapis. Tn the
early Ptolemai(; period the cult of SERAI'IS was
introduced, combining the traits of the Greek
gods Zeus, I-lelins, I-lades, Dionysos and
Asklepios with dUlse of Osorapis.
A. M;\[~IETTE, I.e Serajlh/II! tie /vTclllphis (Paris,
ISS2).

36

E. BI{UGSCIl, 'Der Apis-J...::reis olus den Zeitt'11 der

Pro\emiier nach den hieroglyphischen und
demotischen vVcihinschriften des Serolpeul11s
von Memphis', zAs' 22 (IS8f), 110-.10.
J. VERCOUTTER, 'Une epitaphc royalc incdire du
Serapeum', i111D.>/!K 16 (] 9jR), 333-4.;.
N1. lVIAuNI:"-'E, G. POSL'\ER, J. VERCOUTTER, Les
.\Iefes dll Serapeltlll de .Mt'lI/phis {{II/Husee dll
Louvre (Paris, 1961J).
VV. B. E,\IEIH, 'Preliminary report on the
excavations at -:'\forth Saqq~ra ] 969-70',]E~ 57
(1971),3-13.

Apophis

(IIYI'SOS

rubs) sec

.11'1:1'1

Apophis
Snake-god of the underworld, who symbolized Lhe forces or chaos ,mel eyiJ. Apophis is
usually represented on New Kingdom funerary papyri and on the walls of the royal tombs
in the VALl.EY OF TilE KP,GS as the eternal
adversary of the sun-god R:\. It was the serpent
Apophis who posed the principal threat to the
bark of the sun-god as it passed through the
underworld. Although in some circulllstances
Apophis was equated \vith the god SET' I (and
both had Asiatic connections), there arc also
vignettes showing Selh comriburing to Ihe
defeat of Apophis. The evil 'eye of Apophis'
was an importanf mythological and ritualistic
Illotif-: which could be thwarted only by Seth
or by the eye of the sun-god. There arc about
twenry surviving temple reliefs showing the
king striking a ball before a goddess (<11' Deir

lJelailFo/lllhe Book (~(Ih(' Dead ~/I-JII/I:!l";

showillg Ihe sllll-god il/ Ihe form 0/(/ ((II
.qI/11b(jli((ff~)' decapitalillg _Ilp{)phi.~. 191h DYllasly.
c.1280 1Jc. (H 19901, slnnS)
e1-Bahri, Luxor, Edfu, Dendcra and Philae),
apparently in simulation of the removal of
Apophjs' eye.
The so-called Buuk o/Apuphis was" collection of spells and rites intended to thwart the
snake--god, t'he best" surviving reXl being
Papyrus Bremncr-Rhind, which dates to the
hHe fourth century Be. Other frag'mcntary
examples of the Book oj'//pophis date at least as
early as the reign or Ramcses III (118+-1153
Br.), and the text was probably originally composed during the New Kingdolll, somewhere
in the vicinity of Hcliopolis. Likc the EXECRATION TE'\TS, the various spells were connected
with elaborate cursing rituals.
I-I. J3()'\'\il~T, Nl'alle.riko/l da (i~!fyjllis(hell
Refig/owgesrhirhle (J3erlin, 1952), jl-3.
B. STIHCKER, De grote ::.cesf{/Ilg (LeidCIl,.1953))
J. F BORGllOUTS, 'The c,il eye ofApopis'.]E
59 (1973), IIf-f9.
G. fl\RT, Egypl/allll~l'fh. . (London, ]9(0),

58 -61.

Apries (l-Iaaibra/Wahibra) (589-570 Be)

f"ourth king of the S.'\lTfo: 26th Dynasty and son
ofps,p.lTEI( II (595-589I3C), he ,,".,s the Biblical
Hophra. Although III':RO[)OTUS claims that the
wife or Apries was called Niretis, there arC nO
contemporary references naming her. He was

APULEIUS, LUCIUS

ARMY

an acth'c builder, constructing additions to the

temples at Athribis ('mLi. \TRIB), IHll.\RI\.\
0;\SI5, :\IDII'IIiS and S.\IS. In the fourth year of
his reign he h.td Ankhncsnefcribra adopted as
~itiqret's

successor as Gon's \rTFI: OF

.'\).IC'.

His foreign policy concentrated primarily on

the defence of the northeastern frontier, with

campaigns against Cyprus, Palestine and
1'1 [OI::'11CI1\. It was shortly after <l defeat by
cbuchadnczzar JJ of 1:\i\BYJ.O'J that he was
deposed by the l(lrmcr general Ahmosc II in
570 Ile. He fled [he COlin tn and probabh died
in b,.nrle in 567 Be, \\hen he attempted lO
regain his throne by force with the help of a
1J.\nYI.O'\d.A~ :Jrmy (ahhough Herodotlls suggests that he was caprurcd and bter stTanglcd).
His body is S<lid to hayc been carried to Sais

and buried there with full royal honours by

Ahmose II. Only one sun iving statuc has been
identificd as Apries by his namc and tilles
(otlthough se\~cral others h'l\c been assigned to
him on stylistic grounds), and only a fc\y figures of private individu,lls bear his cartouchcs.
W. M. F. PETRIE andj. H. 'vV\I.KI-:R, The palace ~r
Apries (.Memphis II) (London, 19(9).
B. GUl\N, 'The stela of Apric~ at Nlitrahina\
ASAE27 (1927), 211-:17.
H. DI~ MI~L:U:~AER[, Jlaor!olus fJi:a til' 26xft,
DY1/lISlie (Louyain, 1951).
13. V. BoTII\lI~R, Egypliall.mdpllm: oftht' LlIte
Period, 700 Hr.-IOO./I) (Brook1m, 1%9), ,8-9.

ing with the former in the syncretic form Shuf\rensnuphis. The Egypti.ms interpreted his
name as iIJl-lteml'S-11lfer Cthe good companion'), although the origins of borh the god :lnd
his name probably la) much further somh in
Africa. His Jbsorption into the Egyptian pantheon is alsu indicated b: the f~lCt that he is
depicted in the relier,;; of the Egyptian temple
of Dendur, which originally stood about 75
kl11 to the south
Aswan (now IT-erected in
the J\1ctropolitan l\,llISCUI11, ::"ew York). There
\,"as e\Tn a I-.:IOSI-.: dedicatcd to Arensnuphis in
the tcmple of the goddcss Isis at 1'1111.:\1-:,
which-most unusually-was jointly built :lnd
decorated by lhe .\Ieroitil..: king Arkamani
(218-200 Be) and the Egyptian ruler IYI"OI.E.\H
II Philopator (221-205 Be).
E. \r1'\TER, 'Arcnsnuphis: seine :'\ame und seine
r-lcrkonfl', RdJ:: 25 (1973), 23,-,0.

or

Arman! (ane. 11Inll-.'Ilontll)

Upper Egyptian site on the west bank of the
Nile, 9 km southwcst orLuxor. The excav:lted
features
Armanl indllde extensive cemeteries and many areas of Predynaslic set:tlement.
The Predynastic nccropolis at Armant, exc:!\";lted by Robert t\lond and Oliycr J\ Iycrs

or

Apuleius. Lucius (C..ID 123-after 161)

Classical writer, born at l\ladaura in Africa
and educated in Carthage, who traycllcd
widely, \isiting Rome and Athens. He was the
author of sc\eral literary works, including
A1etfil/wrpllO.I"cs or TIll: Colden /1.1'.1', the only
L.ltin novell"O have slInived in its emirety. fr
desl..:ribcs the exploits of a man called Lucius,
who is said to h:lYC been redeemed by the
'mysteries' of the goddess ISIS. Apllieills' \\Titings hm"e thus prm'ided insights into the cults
of Isis and OSIRIS in the Roman period.
R. GR nT_C;;, TIll' go/d/'ll flSJ (Ilarmondsworth,
1950)
archaeology see IlI'I.Z0~1,

EGnyrUI.OG\;

LEI'SIL,S; \IJ\RIF.Trr~; \\'\SJlI:R(); I'EJRIE; REIS,ER;

ROSEI.I.I~I and W11.J..:J'SO'.

Archaic period sa L\RLY

In '\STIC PERIO])

Arensnuphis (Arsnuphis, l-[arensnllphis)

Meroitic god, usually reprcsented as a human
figufe wearing a feathered crown, whose cult is
first attested ,ll: the Upper :\ubian site or
1\1US<l\vwarat c1-Sufra during the reign of
Arnakamani (235-218 Be). He was associated
with the Egyptian gods SIlL: and O,CRIS, merg-

Salltlsft)11l' stt'It.'.Iiwl1llre Bl/rheum 0/.111"/1/(1111,0/1

lPhich lire J?(JIlUI11 t!lIIperor Diodetia11 is depicted ill
till' art oImf/rshippillg a 11111111111i}ied Buchis bul/.
Roman period, I/) 288. 11.67 WI. (r 1/696)

during the early 1930s, is probably the bestdOl..:umenlcd site of its date to have bcen exca~
\',lted in the first few decades of the twentieth
century. There is also a stonebllilt temple of
the war-god \I0YI'L - dating from the 11 th
Dyn:lsty [Q the Roman period (f.20..1-0 BC-\D
200) - which W:lS largely destroyed in the late
nineteenth century. To the north of the main
site are the remains of the Bllcheum, the
necropolis of the sacred BUCI liS IlUI.LS ((.1350
Be-I\!) 305), as well as the burial-place of the
'Mother of Buchis' cows. J\1yers al~o excavated an _\-GKOUI' cemetery at the site.
R. .\10:-.'D :lnd 0. H. .\IYERs, Tht' BlIdll:ulI1, 3 \ols
(London, 193-1).
- , Ct'mClt'ril'J oI_lrl11a1/11 (London. 1(37).
- , -n.'1IIplt.'J ol_lmul11t: (J pn,limil1f11:)' Jllrn:y
(London, 19-10).
" .. !-.:..--\ISER, -Zur inncren Chronologie der
l\aqadakulrur', Ardull'ologill Gcographim 6
(19,7),69-77.
"K. 13.'\RIJ, 'A quantirati\"C analysis of" the
predynastic burials in Arman!" ccmerery
1-100-1 ,OU',;f:./ 74 (1988), :19-55.

army
There was no permanent national army in
Egypt during the Old Kingdom (2686-2181
Be), although a small royal bodyguard probably alread: existcd. Groups of young men
were e\idently conscripted specifically for
particular cxpedit ions, ranging from quarrying, mining and trading \'enlllres w purely
military C<.lInpaigns. The inscriptions in the
funerary chapel of Weni at i\bydos (.2:100
Be) describe ,1 campaign in Palestine undertaken by an army of 'tens of thousands of
conscripts', whom the king had requisitioned from I he v<Hious nOl1larchs (prm'ineial governors).
During the First Intcrmediate Period
(2181-2055 Be) increasing numbers of
nomarchs seem to h,lye recruitcd their own
private armies, and it seems likely that the
early 12th-Dynasty campaigns in :\ubia
inyolycd combinations of these local corps
rathcr than a single national force. By the time
of Senllsrel lit (187+-1855 Be). howe\er, the
reduction in the powcr of the prminces and
the construction of perm,tnel1l FORTRESSES
and garrisons in ,um \ all seem to havc contribured to thc creation of" a large national
army. The development of military organization ilnd hicmrchy is indicatcd in the latc
Middle Kingdom by the emergence of such
specific titles as 'soldier of the city corps' and
'chief of Ihe leaders of dog patrols'. Olher testual sources, such as the 'Semna dispatches'
(see I.ETrERs), show that there waS a considerable military infrastructure, m~1I1ncd by

37

ARMY

ART

Egyptian craftsmen, from faience A.\IUI.ETS to

royal funerary reliefs, were regarded as essentialh the same. The level of aesthetic achiel"emcnt may have "aried considerably, but all of
these works had the same purpose: to represent, influence and manipulate the real world.
Nothing expresses the nature of Egyptian
art mOre succinctly than the fact that the
same religious ritual of 'the OI'EJ\ING OF TilE
ro.'IOUTII' was performed by Egyptian funerary
priests both on the mummy of the deceased
and on his or her statuary. The ritual involved
touching the face of the statue 01' mummy
with a set of special implements in order to
bring it to life and allow the K.~ (life-force or
essence) of the deceased to takc up residence
there. Tn the time of the PLOlemies a similar
rite was performed each day in lhe temple
of the god Horus at EDFU; its objective was LO
bring LO life cvery divine figure 011 the decorated walls, as if the whole temple were a living organism.
Soldier.~ ill lite ,.el~r;fl o/Ha/shep.wl. l",por/tllll
evident/! Cflllctl'lling miljlmy 1!(/lIipIIICJII is daived
}i'OIll I'I:/it/s SlId! as Ihi~'frOIll !-/ats!Jepslt! \ temple
al DeiI' e1-Bahri. (1J. 1'. NICI/OISON)

scribes and other bureaucrats, by the end of

the 12th Dynastv.
It was in the 18th Dynasty (155Cl--1295 BC),
howc\'cr, that the military profession came
into its own, and it is significant that men with
military backgrounds, such as !lOREi'IIIEIl
(1323-1295 Be) and ItJIMESES I (1295-129+ Be),
began to rise to the throne, which had previollsly been dominated by a 1110rc scribal and
priestly elite. The New Kingdom army was
often led by one of the king-'s sons; it consisted of a northern and southern corps, each
commanded by a 'chief deputy'. \Vhen campaigns were launched into western Asia, Libya
or Nubia, there were usually four or five large
divisions, each comprising .1bout five thousand professional soldiers and conscripts.
These di,isions were each named after a god,
such as AmlUl Or Ptah, perhaps with reference
to the deity of the "mlF. (pt",ince) from which
the conscripts were drawn. The smallest tactical unit of the army was the 4platoon' of fifty
soldiers, generally groupcd into 2S0-strong
companies_
From the beginning of the Pharaonic period,
mercenaries were used in Egyptian armies: the
1\1l,:n)A\', for instance, were increasingly used as
scouts during desert campaigns. From lhe
Ramesside period onwards, the relief,; dcpicting military confrontations show that the
Egyptian troops had begun to incorporate
marc and more foreigncrs, often as branded

38

who were able to gain their freedom by

enrolling in the Egyptian army. In the Saitc
period (664-525 IIC) the Egyptians hccame
particularly dependent on GREEK and PIIOE~I
CIAt'\ mercenaries, who helped to man a fleet of
Greco-Phoenician-style war-galleys, enabling
Egypt to maintain some control oyer maritime
lrade with the Levant. See also C,\IYnn:s;

SLAVES

OI.,\RIOT; SIIJPS A!':D IlO:\TS;

~nt\1'\o.\RDS.

Y. YIG_-\EL, The art ofl1Jtlrfilre ill Biblical lands

(London, 1963).

A. R. SCIIUUIAN, Militla:)1 milk. title alld

orga1fi::.atirlJ/ in/he Egyptial/ Nem Kingdom
(Berlin, 196+).
A. J. SI'.-\L1NGER, Aspects nft/u' ",ili/rll)' dOWlIIcnlJ
oft/u: a1/(;iellt g)/ptialls (N~w Haven, 1982).
J. 511.'\\\", Egyptiall /luI/jim! alld weapons
(Avlesburv, 1991),25-30.

Arsaphes see HERYSIIEF

art
Just as the works of lhe Impressionists or lhe
Cubists can be properly understood only in
terms of the particular lime and place in which
they were made, so the style and purposes of
Egyptian art make Iirtle rca I sense witham a
detailed underslanding of ancient Egyptian
culture. Egyptian art was essentially functional, in that funerary paintings and sculptures,
for instance, were concerned primarily with
the continuance of life - the works of art were
intended not merely to imitate or reflect reality but to replace and perpetuatc it.
\rVhereas in the modern western world a
reasonably clear distinction is usually made
between art and craft, the products of ancient

Prft(jmastit pQllery liessel bearing red paiuted

decoration comprising boats. animals allli human
jigureJ, inc/udillg a dauting wQmtlu/goddess mith
raised arms. Ear()/i"laqada /I period. c.3500 ne,
fimu e1-Amm. II. 29.2 e111. (.135502)
Egyptian art was concerned abm-e all with
ensuring the continuity of the uni,crse, the
gods, the king and the people - the artists
therefore depicted things not as they saw
them but as idealized symbols intended to be
more signific.mt and enduring than the real
day-to-day world. T'hey portrayed each individual element of the subject from the most
represent'lti,c angle: the human torso and
eye \yere clearly both best viewed from lhe
front, whereas the arms, leg and face were

ART

ART

best seen from the side. This concern with

separate components, at the expense of the
overall effect, often causes Egyptian depictions of human figures to appear distorted
and internally inconsistent to modem eyes.
Even when the figures on the walls of
Egypti.m tombs and temples arc acting our
myths, rituals and hisrorical events they afC
still carved and paimed with the stiffness and
formulaic appearance of 11IEROGLYPl [So In an
extreme example of this connection between
writing and art, the burial chamber of the
10mb of Thutmose III (1+79-H25 Be; "v3{)
has the shape of a eWllluclIE, thus enabling
the body of the king to take the place of the
writing of his own name. The Egyptian writing system was based on the precise visual
and phonetic meanings of pictures, and in the
same way the works of art werc intended to
be 'read' like an elaboriltc code. In some
rombs, howe\"er, hieroglyphs representing
animals that might prove dangerous - such as
snakes - werc sometimes shown mutilmed,
or with a knife sticking into them, dispelling
their power so that they could serve only
as symbols.
1n most recent western art the artists themselves tend to be as well known as their works:
their individual styles - and, in the last resort,
their signatures - mark out a body of work as
their own. The situation in ancient Egypt,
however, was almost the reverse - it was
essential for the subject of the art to be identified by name in order that the sculpture or
painting could servc its religious purpose; the
artists, on the other hand, are only rarely
mentioned. Egyptian artists themselves wcre
regularly regarded as anonymous craftsmen,
working in teams and according to strict
guidelines, although their works might be
highly regarded. Surprisingly perhaps, this
simation rarelv scems to h~l\'c resulted in
inhibited or u~jnspired art, indeed the most
recent studies of tomb-paintings at T'hcbcs
have begun to producc c"idcnce for the distinctive styles and approaches of particular
groups of craftsmen.
The earliest Egyptian art is quite different
from that of the pyramids and temples of Ihe
Pharaonic period. As early as the eighth millennium Be the first inhabitants of the Nile
valley began to make engraved drawings on
the cliffs, particularly in Upper Egypt and
Nubia. They depicted the fundamentals of
their lives, from wild game <lnd hunting scenes
in the earlier times to river-boats and herds of
cattle in the early Neolithic period. 'fhe art of
the Predynastie period (,.5500-3100 Be) has
survived mainly in rhe form of small can"ed
stone and ivory grave goods and painted pot-

tery vessels, placed ~llongsidc the deceased in

simple pit-burials. The small yoti,'e figures of
people and animals include many female statuettes made of pottery amI i,ory, whose exaggerated sexual characteristics suggest that they
probahly related to early fertility cults (see
sExt.:ALrrr).
Some of the painted scenes on pottery vessels still reflect the pre~istoric rock-carvings,
while others foreshadow the styles and preoccupations of the Dynastic period. A painting

Fragment oImall-pllil1Jillg/rom the lOmb of

Kyuelm aJ Dei,. el-Jl1letlil1l1, shomillg the deified
ruler A11Ie1Iho!l'p I. 20,h J)YllllS~)I. c.1 J29-1/26
/Ie, pail/ted plaster, II. NOli. (f; 137993)
in the late Predynastic Tomb 100 at
Hierakonpolis (the first Egyptian example of ~l
decorated [Ql11b chamber), consisting of
groups of people, animals and boalS, is the
only surviving instance of the transfcrntl of
the Predynastic ponery paintings on to the
plastered wall of a tomb. In addition, a p~tint
cd linen shroud, preserved in a late
Predynastic lOmb at GEUELEIi'\ (now in the
J\1useo Egizio, Turin), bears depictions of
human figures and a boat, all strongly reminiscent of the scenes on contemporary painted

pottery. This suggests that there were prob-ably many other works of art executed on
organic materials, such as linen and leather,
which havc rarely suryived from such early
periods.
10. the final stages of the Predynastic period
a range of unusual ceremonial artefacts ,\Ii\CES, I'AI.ETTES and ivory-handled flint
knives - began to play an important role in the
emerging religious ritu.tl and social hieran.:hy.
IVlany of the more elaborate maceheads and
palettes, such as those of the kings named
SCORJ)IO;,\ and '\lAR\IER, were discovered in the
so-called ~main deposit' of the temple at
Hierakonpolis. Although the archaeological
circumSTances of the discovery are poorly
recorded, they were e,-idently deposited as
,otiye offerings, and their caned decoration
appears to summarize the importimt e,ems of
the year in which they were offered to the god.
It is nor elear whether any of the sccnes are
depictions of real historical e\"cnts or simply
generalized representations of myth and ritual.'T'he distinction between myth, ritual and
history in Egyptian art is it problem [hat persists throughout the Pharaonic period.
The essential elements of the art of the Old
Kingdom (2686-2181 BC) were the funera,,'
sculpture and painted reliefs of the royal fam~
ily and [he provincial C1ite, along with the
rem.tins of the earliest sun temples (sec ABC
Gt;RAB and IlELlOI'OLlS) and the shrines oflocal
deities. One of the most imprt"Ssive statues of
the Old Kingdom is the diorite statue of a
seated figurer of f\:IIAFRA, builder of the second
pymmid at Giza, which was found in [he valley temple of his funerary complex. On the
simplest level the statue is a portrait of a powerful individual, but it is also made up of symhols that relate to the general role of the
pharaoh. His head and neck are physically
embraced by lhe wings of a hawk representing
IIORL:S, the di,ine counterpart of the mortal
ruler. His throne is decorated on either side
with a complex design consisting of the hieroglyph meaning ~union' tied up with the tendrils of the plams representing Upper and
Lower Egypt, the whole symbolizing the unified state o\,er which he rules. 10 the same way,
all alabaster statue of the 6th-Dynasty ruler
I'EPY I (2321-2287 Be) has the rear of the
throne carved to imitate a SEREKII with Horus
perched on the top; viewed from [he front, on
the other hand, Horus stands protectively
behind the king, himself the living god. The
best Egyptian art achieves a synthesis of the
real and the ideal.
At the end of the Old Kingdom the provin~
cial governors' tombs became more richly decorated and the royal tombs grew corrcspond39

ART

ART

ingly smaller. This decline in the pmyer of the

pharaohs resulted in the so-called First

Intermediate Period (2181-2055 IlC), when no
single ruler was strong enough to dominate
the whole country. During this compar:niycly
unstable and dccentr'llizcd period, the pn)yinciJI workshops at siles such rlS EI.-I\IO'.\1.1. \ and
GEBEI.EIN hegan to create distil1(.:tivc funerary
decoration and equipment father than being

inl1ucnccd by the artisls al the royal COllrt, as

they were in the Old Kingdom and the late

lVt idd Ie Kingdom.

The aTl of the .M iddlc Kingdom
(2055-1650 Ile) is exemplified both by the
fragmcnrs of relief li'om the royal pyramid
complexes at D\IISIILR, EI.-I.lSII"I~ ':I.-I._\IIL'
and 11\\\ \K.\ and by the spaciolls tombs of the
go\"crnors buried at IIE'I II \S \, in 1\ Liddle
E.gypt. In the latter, the traditional scenes of
the deceased recei"ing oflcrings or hunting
and IIshing in the marshes are joined by largescale depictions of wrestling and warfare (perhaps copied from Old Kingdolll royal prototypes). The history of the Middle Kingdom is
very Illuch characterized by ,I t"ension between
the artistic styles of the v,trious provincial sites
(principally funerary art ar Beni Hasan, OEm
EL-HERSII.\, .\\I:IR and \SYCT) and the styles of
the royal workshops at It;mwy, a new capihll
established in the "icinity of c1-Lisht. By the
late nLiddle Kingdom the distincti"e prm-incia1 styles had been eclipsed hy the art of the
royal Residence, a process which can be traced
both in the de,'e1opment of funerary cquipment (from coffins to ceramics) and in the
qualit~ and locations of provincial gm'ernors'
tombs.
In the late seventeenth cCl1lury Be Asiatic
rulers (the IIYI,SUS) gained control of a considerable area of Egypt, which they governed
from rheir strongholds in the Delta. The
works of art sun-i,-ing fi'om the temples ami
cities or this phase show that they simply reused and copied traditional Egyptian sculptures ~1I1d reliefs in order to strcngthen lhcir
claims lO the throne. There were, howc,-cr,
incre~lsing links with the f\lediterrancan
world, and cxcayations at the Ilyksos capital of
A"aris (TELl. Et.- I)\B' \) hayc rC"calcd j\ 1ino~1I1
style paintings suggesting close contacts with
the people of Crele.
After the npulsion of the Ilyksos, Egypt
became tirlllly established as a major power in
Ihe Near East; the fruits of conqucst and
international commerce, fl'Om
foreign
princesses 10 exotic spices, flowed irresistibly
into the :'J"ile "~llley. Thc scale and opulence of"
the temples and tombs of this period could nor
fail to reflect such an influx of people, commodities and ideas.

40

Slallle (dKlwcllfllJllscl.

l/ .1'/111 ~/Ramcscs

II,

Iwlding Iwo slal/dtlrrls. 'I"lu Sculplor ftas ftad (lIJf)1

pUl'lial suut'ss ill mn.:iug U rlij]imll bal/d (~rpebhfJ'
slone across Ifte dft'sl. 191ft DYllusly, c./2-10 m:,
sa1fd.~/(JlIe {ollglomcrall'.jhnl1 Ktll'1ltlk. If.

(r

1.-16""

19~7)

The art of imperial Eg~'pr ranged from the

funcrary temples of Queen IIATSltEtSLT
(1473-1458 Be) and R \\ItC'ES /I (1279-1213 Ile)
to the more intimalC details of the artisans'
painted tombs at J)Em EI.-\IEI1I:\:\, The tombs
in the \,,\I.I.I-:Y OF '1'1 II': "1~GS and the temples oC
f\:J\R:'JAk., I.U.\OR, 1\\I':D1'\JE'I' Ilt\BL and m:m 1':1.Il\IIRI have done mueh to establish Ihc city of
Thebes as the ccntre of thc !'Jew KingcJom
cmpirc. The scat of power, howcvcr, was actu:llIy the northern cit~ of l\lemphis, ne~lr modern Cairo, where the royal Residence was
located. E:xc;,n-ations during the IlJ70s and
19805 at I he New Kingdom necropolis of
1\ lcmphis (particuhtrl~ the tombs of the milifar~ commander 1I0RI.\1IIEB. fhe tre.lsurer
l\1aya and the "izier !\pcr-c1) and epigraphic
work in the remains
thc magnificent tcmple
of Ptah h,wc begun to redress the balance in
(;nour of .\Iemphis.
'L'lle style of art thaI. emcrged during the socalled '\1\1 \I{'\J,\ period, which roughly curresponded to the reign of .\"III:'\J/HEi\.
(1352-1 :l36 Il<:), deserves special mention. 'I'he
painting, rclief and statuary of this period
"'ere all characterized by ~lJ1 obsessi\'c emphasis on the god HE' and the royal family, with
rhe king <Ind his family sometimes being

or

shown in unusu,llly intimate scenes. Both the

king and his subjccts ,ycrc represented with
unusual Eu.:ial and bodily features, and a new
canon of proportions serYed to exaggerate
these physical extremes.
After the end of the New Kingclom, the
rapidly changing artistic styles of the first millennium Be demonstrate, ah{)\'e all, Ihal
Egyplian art could assimilate new possibilities
while retaining' its essential character and
integrity. 'l'he Egyptians of the Late.: Period
(7-+7-332 Be), under attack from all sides,
attempted to l'e\'i,'C thc classic ill1~lges of the
Old and J\liddle Kingdoms, which must h,we
symbolizcd a lost sense of stability and ccrtaint~ amid the political turmoiL The green
basalt smtue of the 11,1\'411 officer LjdjaholTcsnet
uemonstrates th'lt the nativc Egyptian officials
were as adaptable as their works of art; it bears
a det~lilcd description of his activities both in
rhe reib'llS of the native Egyptian kings.\I I,\IUSI.
/I (570-526 Be) and I'S.\,IITE' /II (526-525 Be)
and in the cnsuing period of Persian rule,
when he servcd under Darius I (522--+86 lie)
(see Ill:RSlt\).
After the conquest of Egypt by '\1.1':'\ \ "'DEI{
'1'1 IE GREAT (332-323 Be), thc nature or
Pharaonic art was ~H.lapted to create a compromise between the needs of the native
Egyptians ~lIld the preferences of the new
Ptolemaic (and later Roman) rulers. Some of
the largest survi, ing religious buildings - the
temple of Isis at 1'1 II 1..\ E and that of Horus at
Edfu - were constructed during this period of
over seven hundrcd years, but the rclie.:f... "'ere
beginning to appear mass-produced and
repetitive. Although such Greco-Roman
relief') were incrc;lsillgly poorly formulated
and executed, suggesting an Egyptian priesthood thaI was descending into obscurantism
and uncertainty, there afC ncve.:rthclcss indications of a skilful patterning or tcxt and iconography which helps to compe.:nsate l()l' lhe
apparent aesthctic decline. .'\l the samc time,
howe"cr, there were new cultural c1cments
absorbed into Egypt from the j\ [editerr,lIle~1I1
world, from the F\Yl \I mummy painrings
(wooden funerary portraits painted in a mixturc of W;IX and pigment kno"'n as enL'<1Ustit:)
to rhe civic architccture of cities such as
Alcxandri.t and Antinoopolis.
prom the rvliddlc Ages on,,ards, after l:cnturies in thc shadows, Egyptian art was gradually rediscovcred by Arab and European travellers, After thc sixtcenth century there werc
European revi"als of Egyptian artistic and
architectural styles. Specific e'cellts produced
waves of public reaction and interest: the
influence of Howard C.lrter's discovcry of the
tomb ofTutankhamun on the art and design of

ASHMUNEIN, EL-

ASSYRIANS

Europe in the 19205 is well known, but comparable levels of interest were also proYokcd by
the fe-erection of the Vatican obelisk at St
Peter's in 1586. Similarly, the f\apolconic
campaigns in Egypt and the publication of the
work of his s:tyants (see H.iYl'TOI.OGY) ga\'C risc
to Egyptianizing decorariyc art. The arri'-01I in
London of rhe 'Younger 1\ lemnon' (rne upper
section of a colossal St.l[UC of R-\\IE$E.."i II) in
1818 and the opening of the Egyptian Court at
Crystal Palace in IS5-t \\"cre also important
C\'Cl1ts in terms of the western reaction to
Egyptian art'. For discussion of Egyptian
architecture sec P\I..\CES; P' K.\.\llDS; TE.\tI'I.ES;
TO;\IBS; TO\\''\S.

K.

LAl'.GE

and .\ 1.

IIIR.\IER, l:.~!{YPf: architcl:IUrt'.

smlplure (fllfl pailJlillg illillree Ihoust/llt/years

(London, 1968).
1--1. SClt~FER, Prilltiples oj"T:gYPliall arl, trans.
J. Rtines (Oxford, 1974).
C. A.LDI~ED, F.gYPliall arl (London, 1980).
VI. STE\ ENSO:\ St-I1Tl1, 71/1.' (Iff a lid archifalllrc of
l/.1/l:iml Egypl, 2nd cd. (I-hrmondsworth, 19SI).
T. G. H. j:\,\II:s and \~i. V. DA\ II':S, Egl'Plial/
s{UlplUre (T .0I1don, 1083).
T. G. H. JA,\lI:S, I:.'gypliall jJailllillg (London,
1985).
G. ROBlNS, Proportio/l alld slyle in ancienl
J:.gypliall al'l (London, 1994).

Ashmunein, el- Set! 11EIt.\IOPOLlS ,\I!\GNA

Asia, western
Geographical area [Q the east of the SI:'\"AI
peninsula and the Red SC;l, comprising
1\Ilcsopotamia, Arabi,l, Anawlia and thc
Levant. At Icast as early as the Predynastic
period, Egypt was alrcady trading with lhese
areas in order to obtain such raw materials as
wood , copper, sih'cr and certain semj-precious
stones that were nol available in Egypt. The
Egyptians' principal export to western Asia
appears to h,wc been gold, obtained from
mines in thc Eastcrn Desert 'Ul(.1 Nubia.
Thc relationship betwecn the two regions
was not always an amicable one, and the fertility of the Nile \"alley made Egypt constantly
attracti\"c to settlers fi"om the less prosperous
lands of western Asi,l. Thc Egyptians' generally contemptuous view of the Asiatics is exemplified by the Im/flItlion plr Ki//g Allerikara
dating to the First. [nrcrmcdiatc Period: "Lo,
the miscrable Asiatic, he is wretched because
of the place he is in; short of water) bare of
wood) its pnths arc 111:1ny and painful because
of mountains.' The 'miserable Asiatics' comprised not merch the nomadic BEDOlil"l
(Shasu) hut also ;he mnre settled peoples
of Syria-Palestine, and although Egyptian
paintings and sculptures generally portrayed

FragmcllI o/mall-pahlling./imllille lomb 0/

So!Jcklwlep (II Thebes, silO/ping flsialir em'(~}'s
bringi1lg gfjis 10 'lImlllm:,e II: 18/h DYl1fH/Y, e.I-IOO
HC, pllil/led plll.'Ie" H I./J III. (",]79910)
the Asiatic as a tribute-bearcr or bound captivc, the real rclalionship must h,we been a
more complex amalgam of diplomatic and economic links.
'rhc 18th-Dynasty pharaohs extended the
Egyprian 'empire' (perhaps better described as
'sphere of inOuence') in western ,l\sia as Ell" ,IS
the Euphrates, le;llling to the inOux of many
ftJrcign m:lt"erials, goods and ideas, from the
inrroduction of glass to the usc of thc
CL.'EIFOK\l script in diplomatic corrcspondcnce (see \\1 \K' \ J.ETrEKs). Gradually, howcycr, the Asiatic territories broke away from
EgYPI and new powers arose such as thc 111"1"TITES, .\SSYKI.\'\;S ,tntl PEKSII\"S, thc two laucr
powcrs C\cIHually conqucring not only the
Lcv;lnt but E.gypt itself
~ I. Ro.\F, Cultural illlas f1IA1esopolalJlia {Iud ,lit'
{Iudellf Near Eas/ (Oxford, 1990).

Assyrians
People inhabiting the north-eastern arca or
\U:SOI'OT\.\lIA, centred on the;: city or Assur
ovcrlooking the Tig-ris. They embarked on a
period of imperial expansion between the carly
second and early first mjllennia 1If:, most
notably from 883 to 612 Be. In 671 UC, during
the reign of Esarhaddon (681-669 Be), the)'

invaded Egypt, having been stung by the

Egyptians' repcated incitcment of trouble
among the Assyrian vassal-towns in the
Le\'l11t. On this occasion, however, thcy soon
withdrew, allowing the 25th-Dynasty Kushitc
pharaoh Taharqo (690-66-1- Be) 10 reg-.lin power
tcmporarily. In 669 Be the new Assyrian ruler,
Ashurbanipal, launched a ncw campaign into
Egypt, culminating in the execution of the
rulcrs of the \'arious sm.lll Delta kingdoms,
Ica\"ing only :'\'EK...\U I of Sais 10 rule thc country (or Lo\\cr Egypt at le.lst) on Assyria's
behalf. 1n 664 Be 'HmutJm,mi, the successor of
'nlharqo, succeeded to the throne of Kush and
immediately bid claim to Egypt. Proceeding
north, he was actively welcomed at Aswan and
Thebes, and thcn marched on \lemphis
which he lOok, slaying l'\ekau I in the process.
Ashurlxmipal retaliatcd in 66-4-/3 Be, recapturing j\ lemphis and finally sackingThcbes and
looting its temples, although 'Thnutam<lni managed to escape to Nubia. PS!\\ITEK I (66+-610
Be), son ofNekau I, was placed in chargc of the
country, purporledly as an Assyrian vassal, but
actually as an independent ruler. He cominucd
his ("alher's uelicate policy of cncouraging
n.llive Egyptian reviyal whilc avoiding (,;011flicl. with his nominal overlords. This period of
revitalization endcd with the invasion of the
I'ERSI,\N king Cambyscs in 525 BC. Thc Assyrian
policy of appointing local vassal kings seems to
havc minimized their impact on thc society and
economy of thc Egyptians, particularly when

-II

ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY

ASTARTE

compared with the effects of the Persian,

Ptolemaic and Roman regimes.
D. OATES, Sflulies ill/he IIneiem histOly o/uu,.thern
Iraq (London, 1968), 19-41 [the early
development of Assyria].
A. J Sl'f\L1NGI~R, 'Assurbanipal and Egypt: a
soorcc study',JAOS 94 (1974), .116-28.
- , 'Esarhaddon and Egypt: ~m analysis of the
first invasiun of Egypt', OriCllIa!ia 43 (1974),
295-326.

N. GRIt\L\I., A his/oJ)' oIaf/ciell/l.gypt (Oxford,

1992), .1+1-5
A rclit:/blnd.:/i(}/J/ lilt' palace o/As!lIIrbauipa/
(c.6-/-S !J(./, s!1011Jing lire As.~yrian amql allad.!ing
(Ill Egyptiall tom1/.. II. I. J.I J/l. (n:,Jf24928)

Astarte
'War-goddess of Syrian origin, probably introduced into Egypt in the 18th Dynasty
(1550-1295 BC), usually portraved as a naked
woman on horseback wearing a headdress
consisting of the alt/crown or bull horns. She
was adopted infO the Egyptian pantheon as a
daughter of RA (or sometimes of P'l!\! I) and one
of the consorts of SETIl, and she was p'lrticularly linked with equestrian and chariotry
skills; like '\Nt\T (another Syrian goddess worshipped in Egypt) she was considered to protect the pharaoh's chariot in battle. A stele of
Amenhotep 11 ncar the Great Sphinx at Giza,
recording her delight in rhe young king's riding skills} is probably the earliest surviving
Egyptian textual reference to Astartc.
J. LECI.i\NT, 'Astarte acheval d'apres Ics
representations cgypticnnes', Syria J7 (1960),
1-67.
R. STADELI\lf\NI\, Syrisc:h-paliis/inisd/c Cot/liei/ell
ill Agltp/en (Leiden, 19(7), IOI-lO.

astronomy and astrology

The Egyptians often decorated thc ceilings of
their temples, tombs and coffins with depictions of the heavens, since most funerary and

42

religious entities were regarded as microcosms

of the universe itself Just as rhe sky-goddess
l'{UT was thought to spread ber star-studded
body OVCr the earth, so she was also considered
to stretch herself protectively over mummies
and the houses of the gods. In the Old
Kingdom, [rom the reign of the 5th-Dynasty
pharaoh Vnas (2375-2345 Be) onwards, the
belief that mortals could be rcbo.rn in the form
of the circumpolar stars led to the depiction of
large numbers of stars on the ceilings of the
corridors and chambers of pymmids. Indeed,
one of the utterances in the PYRAMlD TEXTS was
a request for Nut to spread herself over the
deceased so that he might be 'placed among the
imperishable stars' and have eternal life.

The astronomical knowledge of the

Egyptian priests and architects at this time is
indicated by early examples of the ceremony
ofpedj shes ('stretching the cord'), first attested on a granite block of the reign of the 2ndDynasty king Khasckhemwy ((.2686 BC).
1'his method relied on sightings of the Grear
Bear and Orion (sce SMI) constellations,
using an {instrument of knowing' (merkhet),
which was similar in function to an aSITolabe,
and a sighting tool made from the central rib
of a palm leaf, thus aligning the foundations
of the pyramids and sun temples with the
cardinal points, usually achieving an error of
less than half a degree. Although the tcxts
and rclicfli in temples of later periods continued to describc the enactment of this proccdure (as in the temple of [-'orus at EDFU), it
appears to have become a mcrc ceremony and
in practice the temples were simply aligncd
in relation to the river.
The earliest dctailed texts relating to
astronomy are the 'diagonal calendars' or 'star
clocks' painted on wooden coffin lids of the
early Middle Kingdom and also of the Late
Period. These calendars consisted of thirty-six
columns, listing the thirty-six groups of stars
('dec<ms') into which the night sky was divid-

cd. Each specific dCGlIl rase above the horizon

at dawn for an annual period of tcn days. The
brightest of thesc was the dog star Sirius
(known to the Egyptians as the goddess
SOPDET), whose 'hcliacal rising' on about 19
July coincided with the annual Nile inundation and therefore appears to have been
regarded as an astronomical event of some
importance. The god SAil, the mythical consort of Sopdet l was the personification of
another decan, the constellation of Orion.
The c.llcndrical systcm based on deC~lIlS was
flawed by its failure to take into account the
fact that the Egyptian year was always about
six hours shan, adding up to a slippage of ten
days every fony ycars. It is therefore unlikely
that the J\lliddlc Kingdom 'star clocks' wcre
ever regarded as a practical means of measuring time. Ncvertheless, rhe decans were later
depictcd on the ceilings of tombs and temples)
stan-jng with the tomb of S!'::\IE;\IMUT in western Thehes (rr353; c.1460 Be:). The 'astronomical ceilings' in the Osireion of Set)' I at
AI3YDOS ((.1290 RC), and the tomb of RAMESES
IV (K\'2) (1:.1 ISO Be) in the Valley of the Kings.
include cosmological texts describing the period of scventy days spent in the underworld by
each dCGIn.

In/erior oI/he lid n.{/lte mooden adlill (~rSl)lel;

slw/J}ing NU1.flaliked I~y sigm of/fte zodiac (flld
per.wlI!lica/iolls oIthe 24 hours oI/he day. RO/1/un
period, 2nd cenllll:JI A{),.f/"011! Abd e1-Qllrna,
Thebes, L. 2.13 iii. (LA6705)

ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY

From at least as early as the Middle

Kingdom the Egyptians recognized five of the
planets, portraying them as deities sailing
across the heavens in barks. 'rhcse 'stars that
know no rest' were Jupiter (Horus who limits
the two lands), lVlars (Horus of the horizon or
Horus the red), ~1crcL1ry (Scbcgu, a god associated with SETH), Saturn (Horus, bull of the
sky) and Venus ('the onc who crosses' or 'god
of the morning').
The ceilings of many roy;.tl tombs in the
Valley of the Kings were decorated with
depictions of the heavens. In the tombs of
Ramescs \"I, VII and IX (K\'9, K:d and Kv6
respectively), dating to the second half
the
twelfth century He, a set of twenty-foul' seated
figures representing sLars were transccrcd by
grids of horizontal and \-crtieallines, allowing
the passage of time LO be measured in terms of
the transits of stars through the sky.
The concept of the horoscope (the belief
that the stars could innucncc human destiny)
does not seem to have reached Egypt until
the Ptolemaic period, Dy the first century AI)
the Babylonian zodiac, represented on the
ceiling of the chapel of Osiris on the roof of
the temple of Hathor at DE~DERA, had been
adopted. "fhe sun-iving lists of lucky and
unlucky days appear to ha,'c had no connection with astrolog~, deri"ing instead from the
intricacies of religious festi,'als and mythological events.

ASWAN

- , Egyptill1l astronomical texts, 3 ,'ols

(Pro\'idenee, 1969).
R. P'\RKER, IAnciclU Egyptian astronomy',
Philosophical TraJl.wcliol1S oj'the RI~J'/ll SociNy oj'
LOlldoll276 (197{), 51-65.

or

Z. ZABA, L'orieltfflfiOIl flsfl'OlIollliquetiam

prc(:e,l',I'ioll de /'axe till IIlOude

(Prague, 1953).
0. NEUGI':BAUER and R. PARKER, 'Two demotic
horoscopes',]EA 5{ (1968),231-5.

I'mu.:iClIlIC Egyptc, ella

Stele oISellllSret Iff Fom Elep!uUltiue, describing

Ihe built/iug oIlljiJrfress allhe sile. 121h Dynasty,
c./87+-/855I1c, II. 37 CIII. (To /852)

RIGJlT

PllIn ofthe ASJVan region.

RELO\\" At Asmall till: Qpbbel el-HaJ1JlI (the D011!l'

oflhe ltVillds) is lIt'IlUl/~)"he islamic lomb seen 011
lOp ()/II/I~'i hill on Ihe me,\'t b(fll~', but is wide6' med
10 refer 10 tire ({re({ of Old Kingdom lombs {/It illio
Ihe hil/side. The elffmllCCS fO seural o/Ihese ((III be
sef11111idmay up llu' slopt'. (I'. T. tV/Cf/O/SO\)

4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

modern Aswan
Qubbet el-Hawa
rock tombs
rock tombs
island of Elephantine
temple of Satis
Nilometer
temple of Khnum
Roman temple
ptolemaic temple
unfinished obelisk
northern Quarries
island of Sehel

13 temple
14 famine stele
15 Rrst Aswan Dam
16 southern quarries
17 island of Aqilqiyya
(current site of Philae
temple)
18 island of Philae
19 temple on the
island of Biga
20 island of el-Hesa
21 High Oam
22 New Kalabsha

G. R, HUGIIES, 'An astrologer's handbook in

demotic Egyptian', gYPfOlflgi((l1 sllldies ill hOllor
"fR. A. Parka, cd. L. H. Lesko (Hano\'er and
London, 1986), 53-69.
I-I. BEIXUCII, 'Stern', Lexikou der /fgypfologie \'I,
cd. W. Heick, E. OltO and W. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1986), 11-14.

Aswan (ane. Swenet, Syene)

Site in Upper Egypt, situated immediately to
the north or the first Nile cataract, now at the
northern tip of Lake Nasser. It consists of
three basic components: the town, temples
and granite quarries of Aswan proper on the

43

ASWAN lIIGH DM,,'

e.1stcrn bank of the Nile; the rock-cuI tombs of

~Ibbcl cl-Hawa on the western hank; ,md the
town, temples and '\ILO.\IETI:R of Elephamine,

AT EN

12th-Dynasty nomarch Djefahapy contains

uniquely dctailcd legal texts of endowmcnt
and was later re-uscd as a cult cenrre of

an island in the centre of the river. Apart from

WEP\\,\\\,[T.

two small Greco-Roman temples there are few

E 1.. GRlFFrlll, Tlli' iuscripliow ofSill/ aud Du

Rife" (London, 18R9).
G. A. RI:IS'E.R, 4Thc tomb ofT-lepzefa, nom arch
orSillt',;T:A 5 (1919), 79-98.
II. TIIOI\1PSON, A ji//lli~)1 ar(hh1t!./i"ollf Silll
(Ox/ord,1934).

surviving remains of Asw:m itself since the

,uca h;ls continued 1"0 be occupied lip to modern limes. The tombs of the governors of
Aswan 1 at ~Ihhct cl-Hawa, which date mainly
to the Old and Middle KingdoJ1ls (26R6-1650
Be), contain important biographical reliefs alllI

inscriptions. 'fhe island of Elephantine has

been cxclYated by a German learn since the
1970s; their results show the steady expansion
of the settlement from a small E'lr1y Dynastic
yillagc and temple to the much larger town of

Aten
Deity rcpresented in the form of the disc or
orb of the sun, the l:ulr of which was parlil:uhtrly promoted during the reigns of
Amenhotep IV 11\t':IIE:'\..\TE:'\ (1352-1336 Be)

the Roman period.

.E. EllEI., Dil' f't:lsi>f1gniher da Qllbbe/ d-j-Jal1Jt1 bci

.1SS/uUl (\Vieshadcn, 1967-).
E. BIH:SCI \~I :md S. PER'IGOTrI,. ismail: il
/'/Ilpio /olcll/ai((j di hi. I Morelli "ccowli e iserilli
(Pisa, 1978).

Aswan High Dam

An ext.ensive artificial reservoir was created in
Lower Nubia, when the first Asw.1I1 dam was
constnu.:tcd (and height.ened in three phases)
between 1902 and 1933, necessitating a ClmP'1ib111 to surrey Nubian sites before they were
submcrged. \Vhcn work bcgan on the new
Aswan High Dam in 1960, the crem ion of Lake
lasscr, one of the largest resernlirs in the
world, was initiated. A UNESCO-co-ordinated
oper.llion was therefore 1:llInched, not only to
record the Nubi'1I1 monuments threatened by
this much more extensive nooding but also to
dislll<ll1lle ~md move cerl<lin monumcnts
(including 1'1I11.t\I~, r\BU SIJ\WEJ. ;md Kt\LABSIIA)
to higher ground-h~the completion of the
clam in 1971.
A. E. WEIU/\J.I., Rl'por/ Oil /hi' anliquilies (~rLt!1J)er
Nllbill (Cairn, 19(7).
T S \\ E-S6nt"WERGII (cd.), Temples alld /ombs of
""rielll Nubia (Lundun, 1987).

Asyut (anc. Ojaw"'; T.) kopolis)

Capital of the thirtcenth
pper Egyptian
nome (prmincc), located roughly midway
he[wccn Cairo and Asw.1Jl. Despite IlUlllerous
textual references to lhc importance of the
Pharaonic fown of Asyu[ and its Icmple of the
jackal-god \\ EI'\\i\\\ 1':"1", the cxcm-ated remains
arc restricted primarily to rhl' rock-tombs of
the local elite, dating from the 9th Dynasty [0
the Ramesside period (c.2160-1069 Ilc). The
biographical texts on the walls of the Firsl
LnlCrmedi:ltc Period and l\Jliddle Kingdom
rod:-lOmbs provide historical information on
lhe struggle between the rulers of IIF.Rl\KI.EOI~)l.1S \l.\(i,"", and TIIEBES. The LOmb of the

++

AJ..,lll'twlt'll ("-1i) tllld Nejer/i/i (rig/II) J1)Qrship Ihc

A/m (/fJP leli), mlu1Jl' raJ's clld ill hlllld.~, .~()ml' of
/hnll exlt'lll/iug 10 Ihe oj]erillg.( piled il/fro11/ of
_'Nlenll/ell. Thi!jigltre~' lIrt! ht!lIi'i~J' damllged.
parl()' due 10 dift'C/J il1ll1(~ slom' {md par/~)I {H a
resull (~rlllr /"L'lIclirm agaim//hr so-called herc.ry of
ANlma/i'lI. From/he lomb oITu/ll (F...J8) ill /hi'
.wII/hall grnup o./Amal"llll. (/~ 'f: \/CIfOU'OX)
and Smenkhkar.l (IJJR-1336 Be). The close
links bCl"wcen thc disc and the sUIl-god have
led to some uncerlainty as to whet hcr the Atcn
was treated as a divine being in its own rig-hI.
Therc is also a certain amount of evidence to
suggesl that Akhenatcn may evcn have equilted the Aten with his own father} .HIEi"\1I0TEP III
(1390-1352 lie). Earlier pharaohs had been
<lssociated with the Aten, as in the case of

(150-1-1+92 IIC), who was portrayed in his temple at Tombos in ubia WC.lring the sun-disc and followed by the hieroglyphic sign for (goo'.

TIIUTMOSF. I

Thc popularity of the Aten slowly gTC\\

throughout Lhe f\'ew Kingdom and the ch.1racteristic iconography of the disc with rays in
the form of outstrctched arms had alrcild~
appeared in the time of Amenhotep [I
(1427-1400 Ilc). The Aten was panicularl)
favoured by Amenhotep "' (1]90-1352 lie),
during whose reign there is evidence of the
presence of priests of Atcn at IIEI.IOI'OJ.lS (the
traditional centre of the worship of the
sun-god I{ \). Hc also incorporated referenccs
to the Aten in the names he ga\T ro his p~lli1ce
at .\lAU':..t\l...\, a di\-ision of his army and a
pleasure boat.
Howeycr, it was under Amenhotcp l\ that
the cult of the Atcn rc:.u.:hed its pcak. On his
accession as sole ruler, the Aten becamc the
'sole' god, and ;l tcmple, the Pcr-Aten, \\as
built on the pcrimct'cr of the templc of Amlin
at K!\RNAK. This included at least threc sanctuaries, onc uf which was called the Hwt-benbcn
Cmansion of rhe UE:-"BEI' '). 'Vithin a short time
the cult of Am un appears to have been seyerely cunailed and eventually proscribed, and the
Atcn began to be promoted ~lS the sale, exdusiyc deity.
Around the fifth year of his reign,
Amcnhotep 1\ took the next logical step, whil:h
was ro create a new capiml cir-y with its 0\\ n
tcmples dedicated 1"0 the cult of the ALen. J Ie
called this new u)undation Akhetaren ('the
horizon of the disc') and located it in a virgin
site in !\1iddle Egypr Ihat was untainted by the
\\"{)rship of olher gods (sec EI.--\'\IJ\Rf\,,\). The
king changed his name and ritles from
.!\menhotep to Akhcnatcn, although demenls
of his titles which already concerned the sungod (rathcr than Anum) were left unchanged.
I-Tis acknowledgemenl of thc cults of the sungod included the prmision of a burial place
for a \Ii'.""[\ IS bull (lhe physical m.mifeslatioll
of Ra) at el-Amarna, although this tomh
remains undis(;O\-ered and was perhaps ne\-cr
completed. Although Akhenaten is sometimes
regarded .1S the firsf proponent of monotheism, his relationship to the cnlt of the Aten
and the rest of the EgYPI ian pantheon must he
regarded firmly in lhe l:ontext of his time. Erik
Hornung's view of the cult of the Atcn as a
(orm of henothcisl1l, in which one god W<lS
effectively elevated above many others, is
probably closer to the mark.
Two major tcmples to Ihe Aten wcre huill
at el-Arnarna, although, unlike major Theban
tcmples, they were huilt largely of mudbrick, perhaps with the intcntion of 1<1[er

ATUM

rebuilding them in Slone, "fhe Per-Aten,

described by its CXC~lVaLOrs ;IS the Great
Temple, was an open, unroofed structure
covcring an ;lrca of about 800 X 300 m at the
northern end of the ceJ1lral city. The HwtAten (literally 'mansion of the Arcn' but usually described by the c.xC;I\ators as the Small
Aten Temple) was a smaller building but of
similar design; both were strewn with offering tables, ami the firsl coun of the small
temple contained a massive mud-brick altar,
which may have been one of rhe fir~a monumcnts to be erected in the ne\\' city.
LVlany of the rock-rombs of the elite at dAmama, which were l:.xc.wmcd at rhe nort hern
and southern ends of the b'ly of ditls to the Cast
of the city, have prayers to the Aten inscribed
on the jambs of their dool"\\ays. ~\lost of these
prayers appear to be CXlracts from a longer
composition, the I~)IIIIJI 10 11u: ..l1l:1I which
some scholars believc to ha\'e been composed
by Akhenaten himselr. The most complete
surviving version of this hymn was inscribed
in the wmb of A', 'superintendent of the royal
horses', who waS probably the brother of'
Qj.leen TlY (Akhenaten's lTIOlher) and later
succeeded TU'li\i'KII.\ \IL \1 on lhe throne. This
hymn, which has sc,'cral antecedents in e'lrlicr
18th-Dynasty hymns ro the sun-god, has been
compared with the Biblical Psalm IlH,
although the distinct parallels between lhe n\o
arc usually interpreted simpl~ as indications of
the common literary heritage of Egypt and
ISK.\EI.. The hymn also stresses Akhenaten's
role as intermcdi:uy between the Aten and the
populace, by which means he perhaps hoped
to avoid the creation of ;I srrong priesthood
such as that of Amun. There was rigid official
adherence to the cult of Ihe Aten alllong thL:
elite at cl-Amarna, 111 aIl\' of wh0111 built
shrines dedicated to the ne"\\' roral family and
the Aten in the g.lrdens of th~ir \'ll1as. h is
clear, howe"er, that traditional religious cults
continued to be obser\"ed, perhaps co"crtl~,
e\'en among the inhabitants of the city at c1Amarna itself Tn lhe 'workmen's yillage" on
the eastern edge of the cit~, numerous amulets
of traditional gods h,1\'e been found, .IS \\'ell as
small pri\'ate chapels prob~lbly dedicated to
anceSI-or worship and showing no traccS of the
official religion.
On Akhenatcn's death there was a re\'ersion
to the worship of Amun, and att'e111pts were
made to rel11o\'e ;III traces of the cull of the
Aten. The citv at c1-AJ11:1rna was abandoned
and, perhaps ;;s early as the reign of IIORE\II wn
(1323-1295 Be), it begom to be demolished,
often lea\'ing onl) the plaster foundations of
the Ceremonial buildings. The sLOnc 'I:\I..\'I:\T
blocks from the templcs of the Aten were then

re-used, primarily as rubble filling the pylons

of new temples dedicated to the traditional
official cults. Tn the reliefs at el-Amarna and
other sites. the n.llllCS and faces of Akhcnaten,
his qucen 'I':FERTITI and all those associated
with this 'hcresy' wcre defaced in the aftermath of the Amarna period.
l\. PI:\i\"I\:Ol-'l'"l 'T .es grandes compositiuns
rcligicuscs du :\i u lI"c1 Empire CI Ia rd'urmc
d'!\m"rn,,', BI/o;.10 62 (196+), 207-1~.
D. B. RE.OFOlm, 'The sun-disc in Akhcnmcn's
prog-ram: its worship and its antccedents l I',
J-IIICE 13 (1976), +7-61.
- , 'The sun-disc in Akhcnatcn's program: its
worship and its antcccdems. II'.J -IRei:.' 17
(1982), 21-3~.
- , .1J.../WItlft.'l1 lilt, herdic hug (Princeton, 198-1-),
157-8+.
C. ALDItED, _IHU!lItIICU, i.'iug of Egyp/ (London,
19~~), 237---18.

Athribis see TEl.l. IITIII\I

Atrib, Tell (:me. HlVt-Hervib, Athrihis)
'l<)\vn site in the central Delta region neilr rhe
modern town of Bcnha, about 40 km norrh of
Cairo. 11 has been greatly reduced over the
years through 10c:11 farmers' large-scalc
rCIllO\'al of scbllkh (ancient mud-brick re-used
as fenilizer), although in 1924, in the course of
such plundering, a large cache of je\\eller~
dating to the Latc Period (747-332 Be) \\"as
discO\'ered. A Polish archaeologic.11 expedition
under the direction of Pascal VermIs eXC;,l\";lted
p~~~f the post-Pharaonic town during the
I~~~and 19905.
According to survi\'ing texts, 1<::11 Atrih was
occupied at Icast as early as the 4th Dynasly
(2fJI3-2494 Be), but" no remains earlier than
the 12th DvnaSl)' (1985-1795 Be) have been
found. The principal god worshipped in t"he
Athribis rcgion was Ilorus Khenry-khety, represented sometimes as a f~llcon-he:lded man
and sometimes aS;I c.:rocodile. The major monuments at the sitc were a temple dating to thc
time of .\II\IOSE It (570-526 Be), the 10mb of
Queen Takhut ".590 Be) and a large settlement and ccmctery of the Ptolemaic and
Roman periods (.132 Be-I\) 395).
The tcxts indicatc that therc was once also
an important tcmple of Amenhmcp III
(I3YO-U52 lie) al rhe site, perhaps hecause
this was the home-town Of"dlC innucntial chief
architect, \L\IE'iII<JTEI' SOi\ OF IlAI'L.. Alrhough
nOlhing remains of the rel11ple in 5;/11, it would
probably have incurporated the statue of;\ lion
now in the collection of the British l\luseul11,
which is insc.:rihed with the name of Ramescs II
(1279~1213 Be), ~Ilthollgh it origin~llIy bore the
cartouche of Amenhotcp III. This sculpture is

similar in appcarance to ~l pair of lions of the

reign of Amcllholcp III from SOI.EIl.
A. Rm\"E, 'Short rcport on the eXL'J\"~ltions of the
Institute of Archaeology Liverpool;'lt Athribis
(TeHAtTib)',. IS.-IE 38 (1938), 52.1-32.
P. VEK'\"L'S, Alhrif,;s: Il'xles '1 do(Umculs n:lalif. ,i /a
geugraph;,', allx (lilies el Ii I'ltisloirc d'l/IIl! ril/e till
DC/lrt ~~YPli(,1/ tf /";POI//l1: phartlol/;I/m' (C,irol
1978).
K. MVSl.IWIEC ~lIld T I IERIIIU I, 'Polish
archaeolog-ieal activities ~It Tell Atrib in 19R5',
Tht' ardlllf:tdogy (d/lte Nile Del/a: problems ifllll
priuri/ii's. cd. E. C. 1\1. \';ill den Brink
(Amsterdam, 1988), 177-203.

Atum
Creator-god and solar deity of 11I':UOI-'OLlS,
where he was gradually syncretized \\ ilJl lhe
sun-god R\, to form the gud Ra-Atul11.
According to the Hcliopoliran theology, Atum
came into heing hef()re he;l\'cn and c.lrlh were
separated, rising up from 1\liN, the waters of
chaos, to form the I'RIW'~\"l\L _\IOL:2\ltJ. His name
means 'the al1', signifying his CREATI01\ and
summarion of all that exists.
Atum's creation of the universe WilS conceptualized in terllls of <l family of ninc gods known
as the Hcliopolitan E:\"~EAtJ. Thus the two offspring of Atum, Silt; (air) and TEF'LT (moisture), bCc.lnle the parents of (jEn (elrth) and
:\L'T (sky), and the grandparents of OSIRIS, ISIS,
SETII and .'EPllTllrs. Atum W~IS said to ha\'C produced Shu and Tefnut by copulaling with his
hand or, according to olher sourccs, spirting
them into being. There h;L'i been some debate as
to whether Atum's act of procrcation constilllt.cd masturb:uion or copulation, in thai his hand
seems to have represented the fl:male principle.
Roth Atum and his hand were therc!i.)lL: portrayed as a divinc couple on coff.ins orthe First
TntermcdialL: Period. Similarly, the title 'god's
hand' was adopted by Theban priestesses supposedly married to the god \\11;'.
Arum was regarded as a protecti\'c deity,
parriculariy :lssociateu with the rituals of kingship. It was Atum who lifted the dead king
from his pyramid to the heavens in order to
transform hirn into a st~lr-gud. and in later
times he protected the deceased during the
journey through lhe underworld.
He is usually depicted as an anthropomorphic deity orten wearing the double crown.
The animals particularly sacred to him were
the lion, thc bull, the IClJi'.EL\ION and [he
lizard 1 while he was also believed to be manifested in the S<>\R \H, which emerged frol11 irs
ball of dung just as XJ'U1\1 appeared from the
primeyal mound. Sometimes he was portrayed
in the essentially primordial form of a snake,
which was the appc~1fance th~lt he was expcet-

+5

AUTOBIOGRAPHIES

De/ail (~(lhl!jjl//cr(IIY slele oI

Pedi(f/lleJl1/c1J11esll"(fJl~l', ",llOm/lIg

lire deceased (011

flit' jil,. right) mo/'slJippillg lite sill/-god ill three
SepaJ'{flc.!nnm: Nfl-Homldl/y, A//Im (third./iwll
Ihe righl. wearing fhe dOl/ble t'fo1/Ju) tlnd K/lI:pri
(with {{ Jell/'ll/! beetle ollltis hcadj./ollomed by the
/imlTflry deifies Osiris, lsi,l', Nephll~J's (llld lite

jad.:al-hl!adl'{1 Anubis. 30th DYUlfsly or fm'6'

Ptolemaic period, --lIlt-3rt! (full/ries BC, palmed
plas/er Oil 1,'fJOtI,Fnll/ Tlu'bes, II. 74 (111. (E /8-162)
cd to adopt when [he cosmos finaJly collapsed,
returning everything to its original primenl
state.
K. SETIIE, "AWOl als Ichneumon'. z.,IS 63
(1928),5(}-3.
E. BRl,;"NER-TRAl.:T, 'Arum :1ls Bogenschiitzc',
MDAIK 14 (1956), 2(}-8.
P. DERClIi\I~, ILc demiurge et la balance"
Religions (11 Egyp/( hellrfl1islique el romaine:
{QIIQque de Slrtisbourg (paris, 1969),31-----4.
E. HOR:'\L~G, Idell illlo image, trans. E. Bredeck
(New York, 1992), -13-7.

autobiographies see

I.ITER 'TURE

Avaris .\"eI' TELl. EI.-n:\n~(\

Ay (1327-1323 Be)
Late 18th-Dynasty ruler who came ro the
throne after the short reign of TUTi\KK..IIA.\iUN
(1336-1327 Be). In his earlier career he was
an important official during the reign of
:\KI-IENATE'\I (1352-1336 Be). Like YUYA, the
father of Queen TIY, he came from AKJlMI~1
and held the tirles 'superintendent of the royal
horses' and 'god's f~lthcr'; it has therefore been

46

AY

argued that he may well have been Tiy's

brother, Akhcnarcn's uncle and perhaps uncle
or great-unde of Tutankhamun. It has even
been suggested that the unusual office of
'god's father' could be held only by the king's
f~lther-in-law, which might have made Ay the
father of M.I'ERTI"'!.
\Vhatcycr the truth behind these theories,
there is good evidence to show that he was
closely involved in the events of the Amarna
period, and had begun La construct one of the
largest tombs at EI.-A:\I.\Rt'A, containing the
longer of the two surviving yersions of the
f~)'mll 10 Ill/! AUII (sec .\:n::'\'). The last decoration in Ay's el-Amarna tomb secms to hayc
taken place in thc ninth year of Akhenatcn's
reign. The progress of his career between then
and the end of Akhenaten's reign is known
from a number of inscribed funerary items,
showing that he rose to the position of VIZIER
and rOy;11 chancclJor, as well as acquiring the
unusual epithet, 'doer of right'.
A fter the reigns of Akhenatcn and
Smenkhkara both Tutankhamun and Ay began
to reform the religious heresies of the Amarna
period but, bccausc of Ay's close connections
with his predecessors, his reign of f(IUr or five
years is usually rcgarded as a continuation of
the same grip on the throne. On the wall of
the burial chamber of the illustrious smallcr
tomb in which Tutankhamun was actually
buried, Ay is depicted as the loyal heir administering the final rilllals to the royal mummy.
The real break was to come with the reign of
his successor, the generalIIOREJ\lIIEB, who had
no family links with the Thutmosid royal
family (except possibly through his wife
MUlnedjmet).

Abandoning his unfinished tomb at c1Amarna, Ay usurped a second tomb in a western branch of the Vt\LLEY OF TilE KI~GS (1-::\ 23),
which had probably been intended lilt
TUlankhamun (and was perhaps originally Ihe
tomb of Prince Thurmose, who prcdece;1sed
his father Amenhotep '"). The scenes in the
romb portray him with his first wif'C Tty rather
thail nkhesenpaaten, one of the daughters of
Akh' atcn, whom he is thought to ha\c m;lrric in order [Q consolidate his claim to the
throne. One unique feature of this tomb is the
presence of a scene of hunting in the marshes,
which was usually found in nobles' tombs
rather than the burial place of a pharaoh.
T, DE GAfUS D.\.\ lES, The rock lombs ofe1-flmllnm
\'1 (London, 1908), 16-2-1,28-35.
P. E. 1 E\\/JEKR\, ~King Ay, the successor of
Tumnkhamun',JEA 18 (1932), 5(}-2.
~. C. SEI-:u:, 'King Ay and the dose of the
Amarna period',}NES 1-1 (1955),168-80.
0.]. S(]L\DE:,\, 'Clearance of the tomb of King
Ay (\\'\'23)',}ARCE21 (198-1), 39-fJ-I.
C. AI.IJREIJ, AkhclIlIlell: killg ofl:.gypi (London,
1988), 298-30 l.

~~

--=B,-=A~D.::A:.:.R:.:I,-,=.EL=---

B
ba
The Egyptians considered that each indiyidual person was made up of five distinct parts:
the physical body, the /10, the K:\, the X\.\IE

The 1m has similarities with

our concept of 'personality' I in that it com-

and the

SIIAJ)Q\\.

prised all those non-physical attributes which

made onc human being unique. Howc,"cr, the

concept of the btl also referred to power, and

could be extended w god!\ as well as inanimate
objects. Btl was therefore also the term used

for what might be described as the physical

manifestations of ccrr:lin gods, so that the
.M emphitc :\PIS bull was the!Ja of OSIRJS; similarly the four sons of IIOHUS were his ba.

the ba, flying freely between tomb and underworld. Howe\'er, it was also belie\'ed that the
ba could ndopt any form it wished, ~lI1d there
were numerous runerary spells to assist this
process of transformation.
In order for the physical bodies of the
deceased to suni\e in the afterlife, they had to
be reunited with the ba e\'ery night, and Spell
89 of the BOOt..:. OF TilE I>I':AI) recommended that
a golden btl-bird should be placed on the chest
of the mummy in order to facilitate this
reunion. The btl-bird was also incorpormed
into the decoration of private collins from the
21st Dynasty onwards. Far [rom corresponding to the modern western concept of a ~spirir'
(as it is somelimes [mnslated), the btl was
closely linked to the physical body, to Lhe
extenl that iL too was considered to h,1\'e physical needs for such pleasures as food, drink ;lnd
sexual acti\ity.
E. "VoJ.r-BRIN~\I.\N:\, Versl/ch riller Del/Jung de.\
Begl"dfi~s 'ba' rmhond der Ubalielenlllg del'
Fni'h:::.eitlllld des AI"~n Reirhes (Freiburg, 1968).
L. V. Z..\ llK:\l{,.11 .I'll/dy (~r(he ba (()1Icepl in al/denl
Egyptian (exls (Chicago, 1968).
H. Gm:oICKE, 'rhe I"eporl about Ihe displlle (~ra 11/(//1
milh his ba (P. Balin302.J) (Baltimore, 1970).
J. P. AJJ.E~, 'Funerary rexts and their meaning\
.MulI/lllil's alld magic, ed, P. Lacovara, S. D'Auria,
and C. 1-1. Roehrig (Boston, 1988),38-49.
E. I10RXU:'\G, idea il1JO image, trans. E. Bredeck
(New York, 1992), 179-8-1.

Babylonia
Name

gh'cn

to the southern part of

from the time of Hammurabi
(1792-1750 IIC) until the Christian era. Its
capital was the city of Babylon, the site of
which is located about 80 km south or modern
Baghdad. The country cO\'ered those areas
described as SC~IER and .'\K..K.!\D during the
third millennium BC, and like them its language (Babylonian) \Y;IS written in the
CU'I'EIFORAI script.
In the late se\'cnrh century BC, the expansion of Babylonian power into Srria-P~11estine
clashed with Egyptian interests there. The
Saitc pharaoh Nekau II (610-595 BC) opposed
the Babylonian advance, but in the battle of
Carchemish, the armies of N abopolassar, led
by his son Nebuchadnezzar fl, defeated the
Egyptian army, thus effectiyely ending Nekau
[['S hold on Syria. In 601 DC, however, the
armies of Ncbuchadnezzar wcre driven back
fi'om the borders of the Delta by an Egyptian
army including GIU::B':. mercenaries. In the
reign of MIMOSE 11 (570-526 lie) an alliance was
established between Egypt and Babylonia but
by then the Egyptians were threatened by the
growth of PER5H.

.\l1-:501'0T.\.\IIA

De/ai/from the Book ofthe Dead of HUlleJer.

consisting oftire t:iguelle associated mirlr Chapter
J7, mhich shoms (I ba-bird 011 a shrine-shaped
pli11lh. 19Jh D)'U(lS~ll. c.1285 IJC, paiuJed papyrus.
1'011/ Thebes. (".,9901)

Ir was necessary for the deceased to journey

from the tomb to rejoin his ka if he was to
become transformed into an M':H, and since
the physical body could not do this it was the
duty of the btl. The Egyptian nameS of the
Jabiru stork and the ram both had the same
phonetic value as ba, therefore the hieroglyphic signs for these creatures were used to refer
to it in writing. It is possible that this accidental association with the stork led to the depiction of the btl as a bird with a human head and
Often also with human arms. The Egyptians
regarded migratory birds as incarnations of

R. KOLDF.wEY, 711' c.\'C{f7.:aJiOl1S aJ Bakl,lou

(Londnn, 1914).
I-I. FIGULLA and 'vV. J. 1\1.ARTIN, LeJJers alJ(l
dOfl{mellJS ofJhe Old Bak}!lolliol1 period (London
and Philadelphia. 1953).
J. O.Hle" BII/~),lolI, 2nd ed. (London, 1986).
D. B. RO)FORD, Eg},pJ. Cauaau (llJ(llsmcl i1l
allci!'uJ limes (Princeton, 1992), +30-69.

Badari. elA rca of .pper Egypt betwcen .\ILtr-mar and

Q1U, including numerous Prcdynastic cemeteries (notahly !\losragedda, DeiI' ihsa and the
cemctcry of cl-Badari itself), as well as at least
one early
Predynastic settlement at
Hammami:l. The finds from c1-Badari form
the original basis for the Badarian period
(r.5500--!000 lie), the earliest phase or the
Upper Egyptian PREDYi\:>\STIC PEHIOD. Thc e)Badari region, strerching for 30 km along the
cast bank of the Nile, \\"as first investigated by
Guy Brunton and
Gertrude CatonThompson between 1922 and 1931. !Vlnst of
the cemeteries in the Badarian region have
yielded distinctive pottery vessels (particubrly red-polished ware with blackenccl tops), as
well as terraCot'ta and ivory anthropomorphic
figures, slate palettes, stone vases and flint
tools. 'I'he contents of the Predynastic cemeteries at el-Badari haye been subjected to a
number of sFatistical analyses attempting to
clarify the c1r-0nology and social history of the
Badanan penod.
G. BRU~""'O~ ct a1., Q!'ulIlld Badari, 3 vols
(London, 1927-30).
G. BRUNTOX and G. Grro~- TIIO.\II'SON, The
BIUlllri'l1/ ciz:i/islIliol1l1llll prelll~~Jorir remllillS lIelir
Bodor; (London, 1928).
G. BRUNTON, A10sllIgetlda 1I1J(1 Jhe 7ilSilll1 mfJun:
(London, 1937).
-, A'lrl1mllr (London, 19-18).
\V. KAISER, 'Zur Siidausdchnung der
"orgeschichtlichcn Deltakulturen und zur
friihen Entwicklung Oberagyptens', A/1DAIK-lI
(1985),61-87.
D. L. HOI..\IES, 'Archaeological cultural resources
and modern land-usc actiyities: some
observations made during a recent survey in the
Badari region, Egypt'.lARCE 29 (1992), 67-80.

Bahariya Oasis
Fenile depression in the northeastern Libyan
Desert 200 km west of the Nile. The archaeological remains date primarily from the early
New Kingdom to the Roman period (c.1550
Be-I\D 395). Ncar the modern town of Bawit
are the tombs of several 26th-Dynasty
Egyptian governors of the oasis, the 19thDynasty tom b of the provincial governor
Amenhotep Huy and a necropolis of sacred

47

BALAT

BALLANA CUl.TURE/PERIOD

.r(lli.:alio/lS belmeell.-lIm Simbelulld

SlIlltm}imllier I: 71Jt' A-Cmup royal cemetery
ut Qmllll: feme/a]' L, Oriental Institutc Nubia
Expedition III (Chicago, 1986).
- , E.rcUHlIio11S hel1J)l'CII AIm SimbelulIll Ihl'
SlUluuji-Qll/ier 1\: NuuIN/lliau.Y-Group rel1laim
{rom r0.J'al Cl'1I1eleril-s, Oriental Institute Nubia
Expedition 1\ (Chicago, ]991).
B.

'VIl.I.I-\\IS,

Ihe

Ballana culture/period see BAI.Lo''',' A~I)

<!..USTUL

bark. bark shrine

birds

associated

'1'1 rOTl [

and

with

IIORUS,

the

worship

of

dating' to the 26th Dynasty

and Greco-Roman period. Also ncar Bawir ;lrc

the remains of a Roman triumphal arch and
t\\'o temples, one dating to the reign of Apries
(589-570 Be) and the other to the time of
ILl'..\ "DER TilE GRUT (332-323 Ilc). At the

southern lip of the oasis is c1-Hayz, where a

Roman g-Jrrison, a basilica and a small scrtlcmel'll dating to the Roman and Christian periods (c30 BC-II) M 1) hale been nealated.
-\.. F \K..IIRY, Baltrill ulIJis, 2 "ols (C"1iro, 19-1-2-50).
- , Tl1l' o{{ses oIEgypl1i (Cairo, 197-1-).
L. GIDDY, .t.~(YPli{//1 O/lSl'.C Bal/(fr~)I{/, Dakh/a,
FfI,.{~/ia (Iliff Klltlrgll dlll'hlg p!Ull"{/{Juh"11II/CS
(Warminster, 1987).

Balat see IJMd II.A

OASIS

Ballana and Oustul

Pair of Nubi.m elite m:cropolcis on either side
of the ~ile some 15 km south of \IlL SL\IBEL
and now submerged beneath Lake :'\asser. ,\n
\-GROLl' cemetery of elite tull1ulus gr~n-es dating to the early third millennium He was excavated at Q.lstul hy an expedition from the
Chicago Orientallnst"itute.
Bal1ana is the type-site of the BaHana period
(or 'X-Group phase', c. ,\1) 350-700), which
lasted frolll the decline of the ;\Ieroitic empire
to the arrival of Christianity, Many of the distinctive tUll1ulus burials, nearly two hundred
of which ha\"c been excavated, contained evidence of IIU.\IAK SACRIFICE in the form of the
bodies of retainers buried alongside the prcChrislim rulers of Lower Nubia. The drift
sand and low scrub co\'ering the rumuu at

+8

POllelT.fi"Ol1l &,SI" fbrilll. iud/ldil/g C.\"(/11lpll~S oIfhe

lall/holcd goblcts ,!luI (/I't: t!le II/ost typh'{// vessel
janus of/he BullalUl pl.'l'iod. 5111-6111 {('II/urics ./1),
If. o(liI/h' 1'e.<.l" /2.2 Oil. (u66560. 67980.
7/82/.7/822)
Ballana have helped to prescnT the gnl\ es
from the \yidespread plundering that affectcd
the earlier elite Kushite ccmeteries of \II~ROE
and '\I'\T\.
\V, B. E:l.IERyand L. P. "'11m \'. The roya/loJ11bso!
Bollana aud Q!,S/UI(C:.liro, 19]8).
B. G. TRIGGER, 'The royal rombs at Q!.lstul and
Ballana and their !\ leroitic :tntecedents',Jf:A 55
(1969), 117~2H.
- , "rhe Balian" culture and the comin~ of
Christianity', ,,~ji-ica ill AIII/quily Ihl' arts (~r
allCil'1l1 Nubia {{lid the Sill/all I, cd. S. \V('nig (New
York, 1978), 107-11.
\V.Y. An:\ \IS, Xubia: (/lrridol" to .~/iica, 2nd cel.
(London and Princcton, 1984), 40+-1J.

Par/ oIa gnmill!

rl'prl'5ClIlalioll ofa $0(1"1'{1
Iwrl,ji-oll/ Ilif SOl/flltal]'
oIAml/lIlI/A"url/aA-.
TII(' i:arifillsl'Il'I1ICIIIS
(~rlhl' .Imlplllre

lilah, lip {f tllrecdimewifllla/

mrilil/j!uI
IIJ/ltl'/III1'J)I{l,

Ihe IUlJ11f!Oj"
Amt.'IJlwteplll:\
mol/lei: 181h DYllllSly.
c./360 Be. L. 2.13 III. (un)

Since the principal artery of communication

in ancient Egypt was the Nile, and the boat
was the most oh\ious form of transport, it "~\:-i
perhaps ine\imble that the 'bark' should ha\<.'
been the accepled \"chiclc in which Egyptian
gods wcre transported from one shrine to
another. These divine barks wcre similar in
shape to Nile boats, except that their prow~
ilnd sterns wcre :Idorned with thc '\HiIS of the
god in question, and thc cabin was replaced h~
a 'AOS containing rhe cult image of the deil~.
Thus thc bark of i\1\IU'\I, for instancc, was decorated with the head of a rilm at either end.
These barks were llsually kept in the inner
s,lIlcLuary of the temple, either resting on a
plinth before the /UUjS, as in the remple of
Horus at EDFtJ, or inside a bark shrin~'l1
(he temples ofh. \R:'\.\K and I.c-\OR. "rhere were
often three such shrines in ~l row, one for each
member of a divine TRI:\D (group of duel'
deities). The barks thcmseh-es were sC<llc
models of genuine boars, and arc often depicted in lhe acL of being carried aloft on poles b~
priests, during FFsrl\\I.S and processions. As
well as the principal shrines in the temples,
there were also S111,111 bark shrines along the
routes of ritual processions, usually described
as 'resting places', or <way stations'.

~SKETRY AND CORDAGE

In the case of the festi"als of Amun at

Thebes, particularly the Yalley Festi,"al and
the Opet FcstiY;II, these model barks wcre
placed on orJ1:lt"c river-going barks to make
their journey to the Thcban wcst himk and to
Luxor l'cmple rcspccti\c1y. Similarly the bark
of II.\TIIOR traycllcd from her temple at
DI'.~D1,"\ to tha, of 1Jorus at EMu for the cele-

bration of the 'feast of the he'1Utiful meeting"

a diyine union.
A more specialized funerary f(JrI11 of ritual
boat, with origins strelching back at Icast <1S
carlv ;1S the 1st Dynasty at \In DOS anti
S,\m'\R!\, is the SOl. 'I{ II \I{", which may h:1\c
been intended to (,IITy rhe deceased through
the netherworld. The best suni"ing example
is that of Khufu at G!Z \, \\hich \\as discO\'ercd
in a pit beside the pyramid and has no\\" been
rcconSITucteu ill .. i/f{.
G LEGH..\I', 'Le log'cmcllf Ct transport des
OiUqUCS sacrces er des statues des diet\.\: dans
quelqucs temples cgypticns', HI f-IO 1J (1917),
1-76.
G. fOUCt\lfr, 'Un tcmplc flurr~ll1t: Ie \'aisseau d'or
cPAmon-Ra', FUI/dt/tio/l EI/gl;/le Piof: .'\1!O/IlfIllCllf.'
cf 1IIt'II/()ircs pu/JIi/. pt/r 1'. Jmd';/Ilic dl'S
JuscriPfiol/S ef Belle.l LI:"I"c.'i 25 (]I)21-2), 1-1-3-69.
K. A. KrrCl IE" 'Rarkc', !,nil'lIlI del" Agyplologie
I, cd. \1',/. Heick, E. Otto and \V. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1975),619-25.

basketry and cordage

A class of artefacts that have li-cqucnrly been
O\'erlooked by archacologists in the past, panIy because, e,-en in the ..l rid conditions of most
Egyptian sircs, the~ are nor presened in the
same quantities as pottery and stone ,esscls.
Although such Orb'"3nie materials as basketry,
matting (both for (loor cm-erings and roofing)
and rope clearly played a significant role in the
daily lives of the al1l:icm Eg~ ptians, only a
small percenrage has slIrYi,-ed in the archaeological record, perhaps beG1USe disC<lrded baskets would often h;1\ e been burned, \yhereas
stone <Incl ceramics arc difficult to destroy
complctell'.
The Egypti:1I1s' uses of baskets ranged from
smalJ disposable bags to large decorated storage baskets fi)r clothes, rhe ~1l1cient Egyprian
equivalent of the \\ ardrobe or linen closet.
The wide varicty of uscs is partly due to the
scarcity of wood in Egypl, whereas the materials lIsed to make baskets ~1l1d rope were readily
available in the Nilc valley. Rope was made
from tall strong grasses (e.g. DeslI/os/(/I;hya bi-

Tmo (oiled basA'cls tllIIl a r('tlal/gulal" papYfllS-jihre

baskel. (f /63-16..;918..;39.;)

BASTA, TELL

pinnala and IlJIpaa/a (Jllindrittl) or from the

rind of the papyrus stem (L)'petlls papYJ"w").
Baskets were made from the leaves of the dom
palm (If)'phal'IUI Ihebaim), . I nd, incre"lsingly
from the Late Period on\\-ards, the date palm
(Plwl'fIi.r dat"/yldera). In modern Egypt, "irtually all haskets are made from date-palm
kayes, while rope and Jl1..1(S are made fi'om the
coarse fibres at the bases of the lc;I,-e5. From
the Ptolemaic period onwards, rushes UUlltll.'"
spl!(il!s) wcrc used lor making baskets and mats.
The basket-making techniques employed
from the .\ lcsolithic period onwards \\"Cre coiling, t\\ining and, to a lesser extent, weaying. In
the Prolemaic and Roman periods, a number of
other Illethods and styles emerged, including
plaiting and stake-and-st r..m d basketry. J\ bny of
these techniqucs ;Ire stiJluscd in modern times,
thereforc the c"idcncc prm'ided by sur\"iying
am:icnt b;Iskcrry can often be supplemcnled

and bencr understood through the ethnoarchaeological study of modern basket-makers.

\V Z. \VE,oRlnl, ""I1Q I~~ aFait! ofbash'I/]'? J
guidl'lo raording !Jaskl'IIY aut! ((mltlgl~fiJr
tlrdu{l'ologisls /lnd IIlIlhropologists (Leidcn, 1991).

Basta, Tell (ane. Per-Baslel, Bubaslis)

Sire of;l rem pie and town in the eastern Nile
Delta, about 80 km to the northeasl of Cairo.
It flourished from the -Ith Dynast' 10 the end
of lhe Roman period (.2613 Be-I[) 395), blll
the tn.lin monument at the site is the red granitc tcmple of the cat-goddess B.\STl:T, ,,-hich
",as documenred by the Greek historian
Herodotus in the fifth centul'Y Be. "-rhc rcsults
of Edouard Na\"illc's cxc;.l\"<.uions in 1887-Y
IHO\'ided arch"lcologieal e,'idence confirming
many of the del ails of this description. The

modern Zagazig

modern Zagazig
cat cemetery
cat c)'metery
Protodynastlc -l
tomb
ka-temple
edge of modern ---/
cultivation

ka-temple
of Pepy I
location of
19th-Dynasty
hoard
I
100

I
200

I
300

I
400

I
500

-Old
Kingdom
cemetery

60fTeti
tomb of HO~i I
tomb of Hori II
( / - temple of Mihos

temple of Bastet

1000m

New Kingdom
cemetery

BASTA, TELL

BAT

Bastet
Cat-goddess and local deity of the town of
Bubastis (TELL BAS'I:>\), whose name means
'she of the bast [ointment jar]'. She was
regarded not only as the daughter of the sungod but also <1S the more protective aspect of
the mother-goddess, in contrast to the aggressive image of the lioness-headed SEKlI.\tET. In
her earliest known form, carved on stone vessels of the 2nd-Dynasty Tuier Hetepsekhemwy
(,..2890 BC) at Saqqara, Bastet was represented
as a woman with the head of a lioness, frequcntly holding both the {[nkh si6'11 and a sceptre (as well as, occasionally, a 71U!lWI necklace).
By the first millennium Be, howcver, she was
widely portrayed as a cilt-headed woman,
often carrying a SISTRU~1 (<1 form of rattle) and
somctimes accompanied by a small group of

festival of Bastet is described by HerodotBs.

E. Scon, 'The cal of Bastet', BMMA 17/1
(1958),1-7.
z. EL-KoRDY, La deesse Bastel (Cairo, 1968).
J. i\tiloU:K, 1''lle cal ill tlncient Egypt (London,
1993).
! .

Bat
Goddess of the se\enth Upper Egyptian
nome, usually represented by a cow's head
with curling horns, perhaps the earliest depiction being the pair of heads at the top of the
:-/AO.\I[R palette (d 100 Be). The iconography
of Bat was almost completely absorbed inw
the cult of the more important cow-goddess
llATHOR by the Middle Kingdom.
H. G. FISClIER, 'The cult and nome of the
goddess Bat',lARGE 1 (1962), 7-24.
- , 'Varia Aegyptiaca: II. B3.t in the :'\Tew
Kingdom',]ARCE 2 (1963), Sl}-1.

batter
Architectural term denoting the sloping face
of a wall in which the foundation courses are
wider than the LIpper courses1 thus adding St:lbility. This functional and decorative technique was regularly employed for the walls of
MAST:\BA tombs as well as the enclosure walls
of Egyptian temples, where it was associated
with I'A~ BEDDIXG and sectional construction.

ParI oj'a granite /empl/! gatcmay };"O/1/ Bllba.ws,

showing Osurkon /llIud KlIrol11a, c.87+-8S0 }je,
II. 1.7511I. (le,IOll)

site also includes the ka-temples of the 6thDvnasty pharaohs Teti (2HS~2323 BC) and
Pepy 1 (2321-2287 BC) and a pair of 'jubilee
chapels' built by Amenemhat 111 (1855-1808
BC) and Amenhotep B1 (1390-1352 BC) respectively, as well as temples dedicated to the gods
t\TUJ\\ and lvlihos. 'To the north of the city aTC a
series of vaulted mud-brick cat cemeteries and
adjacent ateliers. A 19th-Dynasty hoard of
gold and sil\'cr \'cssels and jewellery was dis-

Bawit see BAII.>\RIY-\ OASIS

beard

covered at the site in 1906 (now in the

Egyptian Museum, Cairo).
The city reached its peak when its rulers
eslablished the 22nd Dynasty (c.945-7IS BC).
Although the capital during this period was
probably still T!\;'\IIS (.md to some extent MEMPHIS), Bubasris must have taken on greater significance as the home city of the new kings of
Egypt. OSOOKO" 1 (924--889 BC), for instance,
appears to ha\e built a hypostyle han in the
temple of Bastet, as well as decorating existing
walls with a number of new relief" and constructing a small temple to Atum outside the
main precincts. Osorkon 11 (874-850 BC) added
a new court to the main temple in celebration
of his SED FESTIVAL.
E. NAVll.1.E, Bub"slis (/881-1889) (London,
1891).
L. H-\B.u:III, Tell Basla (Cairo, 1957).
C. C. VA '\ Sla~E!' III, 'The city of Basta: an
interim report', NARGE 128 (198~), 28-39.
50

Broll:::J.' slalueUe oflhe cal-goddess Bmlrl holding

lin aegis ill her left htlnd tlnd tI sislrum in her righl;
allu:rfieJ Ihere are.four small /.:iJlem. LMe Period
or PJQ!wwir period, c.661--30 /le. II. 26 (111.
(DI2.l.l6.i)
kittcns. Her name was commonly inscribed on
blue glazed ceremonial 'New Year' flasks, perhaps because, like other lioness-goddesses, she
would have been linked with the five epagomenal days in the Egyptian CALEND:\R. The

Facial hair in Egypt has an uneven history, It is

clear from certain PredYllastic figurines, as
well as from the figures depicted on (he
~\R\I"ER palette, that full beards were favoured
in the formative stages of Egyptian history. B~
the beginning of the Dynastic period, however, shaving had become fashionable among
the nobility, later spreading throughout the
rest of the population. The earliest shaving
implements appear to have been sharp stonl:
blades, but in later periods copper or bronze
razors were used. The work of the village barber is known from Egyptian literal ure as well
as from tomb scenes such as that of Userher
(rrS6) at Thebes, and il seems to have been a
mark of poor social status not to sha\"c, except
when in mourning or about to depart on ,111
expedition abroad.
None the less, officials and rulers of I-he
Old Kingdom, such as Prince Rahotep, are
depicted with moustaches, and full beards
.1re widely shown on mummy masks of the
First Intermediate Period and the Middle
Kingdom, such as that of a 12th-Dynasty individual named Ankhef. Despite the low statu!!
apparently attached to facial hair in life, it

BEER

BEDOUIN

\Vas considered to be a divine attribute of the

gods, whose closely plaited beards were (like

lapis lazuli'. Accordingly, the pharaoh lI"ould
express his status as a living god by wearing a
'false beard' secured by cord. Such beards
were usuaJly wider toward the bottom (i.e. the
end furthest away from the chin), as in the
case of the triad Statues of :\lEi'\l.:..'\L:RA.. It was
usuaUy after their death that kings "'ere por-

trayed wearing the divine Osirid form of

beard with upturned end, as on the gold
mask of Tumnkhamun. Deceased non-royal
individuals arc often shown with short, tuftlike beards.
S. QUIRKE and A.]. SPE~CER, The British .W/W'1I111
book o/II/Ir;"/II Eg)'pt (London, 1992),71-2.
E. STROUHAL, Lifi: ill 1l11c;ell1 Egypt (Cambridge,
1992),83-4.

bedouin
Nomadic pastoralist's of northern and central
Arabia and Egypt's Eastern Desert, where
their descendants still live today. The ancient
bedouin of the Arabian peninsula arc thought
to havc been responsible for domesticating the
single-humped Arabian CAM I':!. at the end
the second millennium Be, but the earliest evidence for the domesticated camel in the Nile
valley dates LO the ninth century BC.
Organized smtes have alwi.1Ys felt threatened
by nomadic peoples, and the Egyptians were
no exception. They knew the bedouin as
Shasu, or hel]lm-sh ('sand dwellers'), and battles against them are recorded as carly as the
time of Un as (2375-2345 Be), who depicted
them on the causeway of his funerary complex
at SAQQ;\RA. [11 the First intermediate Period
they im'aded parts of the Delta, and although
they were eventually expelled they continued
to be a source of difficulty. During the reign of
the 12th-Dynasty pharaoh Amenemhal I

or

Painted cast (jIll painted r"'iii in the templi' of

RameseJ JI (c./2.:;0 /1(:) at Beil el-Hidi. showing
the king tramp/iug bt'douiu.

(1985-1955 lie) thcy threatened the TCRQCOISE

mines at Scrabit cl-Khadim in the SI1\AI;
although defeated, they remained a sufficient
threat for defences to be built around the site
in the time of ""c'lE\II-IT 11J (1855-1808 BC).
The military might of the New Kingdom
did not deter the bedouin, and Thurmose II
(1492-1479 Be) \\'as obliged to campaign
against them well beyond. Egypt's borders. As
before, however, this was not a long-term solution to the problem, and his successors, the
warrior pharaohs Thutmose III
and
Amenhotep II, are also kno"'n to ha"e dispat<:hed military expeditions ag-ainst them.
The bedouin's way of life made them almost
impossible to eradicate, since thcy were always
on the move and ready to Oee into the desert
where a com'cntional army was not able to folIo\\'. Occasionally, as under Sety I (1294--1279
Be), they had to be dri"cn fi'om the weUs along
the Egyptian desert rOllte across Sinai.
Their knowledgc of the desert and their
ability to move easily across difficult terrain
made them valuable military scouts, although
their skills were not generally plied on behalf
or the Egyptians. When RA.'IESES II (1279-1213
Be) captured two bedouin before his battle
with the IU'ITITES at ct"UESII they are said ro
have misled him into believing that" his enemy
was still distant, with near-fatal consequences.
Similarly, it was the bedouin who guided
Cambyscs and his PERSI:\:,\T army across the
wastes of Sinai in their successful invasion of
Egypt in 525 BC.
R. GI\'EO:\", LeJ bMouim 51105011 des t!ommcuts
(;gJlpliem (Leiden, 19/1).

bee
According to one Egyptian myth, bees were
the leal'S of the sun-god RA. T'hey were
undoubtedly of great importance in prm'iding
honey, which was used both as the principal
sweetener in the Egyptian diet and as a base
for medicinal unguent'; thus employing its
nar-ural
anti-bacterial
properties
(see

The Egyptians also collected

beeswax for use in metallurgy (i.e. in the
moulding of wax images for metal casting by
the lost-wax method) as well as in the 'nrnishing' of pigments.
Bee-keepers are represented on a relief of
Nyuserra (2H5-242I BC) from his sun temple
at ABU (jURAB, as early as the 5th Dynasty. This
record indicates that apiculture, already attcstcd as early as the Neolithic period, was well
organized by the middle of the Old Kingdom,
and that honc,' was probably being distributed
over large distances. As well as trading honey
it is likely that many communities throughout Egypt kept their own bee colonies. Beekeeping is also shown in the 18th-Dynasty
tomb of Rekhmira ('1''1'100). The 26thDynas~' tomb of Pabasa (rr279) at Thcbe'S
clearly shows bees kept in pottefY hives,
although hives made of mud and other material
were probably also used. Honey from wild bees
was gathered by professional collectors, known
as biZ)lJ1), working along the desert fringes.
The religious significance of the bee also
extended to an association with the goddess
l\'EI'J'II , whose temple at" Sais was known as perlJil Crhc housc of the bee'). One of the king's
names, from the I st Dynast)' on wards, \Vas
nl!sm-bil: 'He of the scdge and the bee', which
is conventionally translated as 'king of Upper
and Lower Egypt' (see K]i\"GSIIIP and ROrAI.
MEDICINE).

nTULr\R").

G. Kw->... ~', 'Scenes apicoles dans I'ancicnne

Egypte',JNES9 (1950), 84--93.
J. LECI .." 'T, 'L'abeille et Ie miel dans l'Egyptc
pharaoniquc" Traite de biologic de I'llbcille (WIlS
III direction dc RbllJl Clwm:il1) " (Paris, 1968),
51-60.
E. CR.\:\"E, The llrchlleology ofbeekeepillg
(London, 198-1),3+---13.
R. 0.\\'10, The pyrtl1l1id builden ofa11riel1l Egypt
(London, 1986), 155-57.

beer set' l\LeOIlOUC BE\rRo\GES and

FOOD

Begrawiya see MEROE

Behbeit el-Hagar (anc. Per-hebyt, Iseum)
'lcmple town situated in the northern central
area of the Nile Delta, which flourished in the
30th Dynasty (380-343 BC) and the Ptolemaic
periud (332-30 Be). The site is dominated by
the remains of a large granite temple of ISIS)
the importance of which is indicated by the
fact that onc of its relief blocks was later
incorporated into the temple of Isis in Rome.
The plan of the original temple at Bchhcit elHagar has proved difficult to reconstruct
owing to damage caused by quarrying and
seismic activity.
51

BEIT EL-WALI

BENl

A. LF7.I'\I., 'F.tar present till temple de Bchbcit

10 (I9~9), ~9-57.
c1-H"g:lr',
B. PORTER and R. L. B. Moss, TOjlo/!,raphim!
bi"li()gmp/~l' 1\ (Oxford, 196H), -to-2.
r'_W-\]{l>-IVIf.:t:KS, Lc fell/pI,,: de Rehbeif '1I/aguf"{/ (llamburg:, 1991).

,,,'m;

c.

Beit el-Wali
Rock-cut temple on the west bank of the Nile
in Lower ~ubji1, which was dedicated to
Amun-Ril and founded in the reign of K \ \IESES
II (1279-1213 BC). The reliefs were copied by
the German Egyptologist Glinrhcr Roeder in
1907, although casts were made hy Robert
llay jJl the 1820s. The sire was nor comprehensively studied until the work of a joint
expedition of the Uniycrsity of Chicago and
the Swiss Institute in Cairo during thl' 19605.
Soon ~lfrcr\\'ards, the temples ~H Beir c1-\Vali
mel ncnrby ,,\1. \BSII.\ wcre moyed to New
K,llabsha, ....5 km fo the norrh, in order lO SolVC
them from the rising "~llers of Lake Nasser
(see .\S\\t\ '\! f IIUII IJA.\I). The reliefs include
depictiolls of the siege of a Syrian city, the
C<lpturc of OJ Nubian vllbgc ilnd the bringing of
Nubian tribute into the presellce of the king,
painted plaster C,Ists of which arc displayed in
the collection of the British !\[useum (sec
illustrations accompanying the entries on
HEDOLl\ and \ ICEROY OF .... LSII).
G. ROt:m:K, Va Fe!stempel'l:()1f Brit cI-ll'iJli
(Cliro,193H).
H. RICK", G. R.llcl;lll-""nd E. F W"';>:'I"I':, 'he
lJeit cl-lVali /emple 1!(Rl/lIIcsses II (Chicago, 11.)67),

Belzoni. Giovanni (I 77H-1 823)

lt~llian ,Hh'cnturer, explorer and exc,walor, who
procu.red large quantities of Eg~vtian antiquities for European collectors nnd museu illS.
The scm of a barber, Belzoni was horn in
Padua and ::It first pursued a career as i1 circus
strong man, travelling throughout Europe. In
181 .... he went to Egypt, where his attempts to
seH a new type of water wheel proved unsuccessful, leading him 10 pursue ::l1110re lucrative
trade in thc exc;l\,;ttion and IT,l11sport,ttion of
,meicnt mOnU111enLs. In 1816 he heg,lI1 to work
for Henry Salt, the British Consul-Gencral in
Egypt, inilially helping him with the transportation of the 'young J\lemnon', pan of;l
colossal st,Huc of Rameses ll, which W~IS to
become one of the first miljor Egyptian antiquities in t.he collection
thc I3ritish Muscu111,
Ilis discovcric." wcre numerous, ranging
from the lOmb of King sEn I at western
Thebes to thc Greco-Roman cily of Berenice
on thc Red Sea CO::lsl. Although his mcthods
were somcwhat unorthouox (and occasionally
unnecessarily dcstrueti\'c), judged by modern

or

52

archaeological st~lfl(hrds, he W::lS neyertheless

an important pioneer in Egyptology. I Jc did
much to encouragc European enthusiasm for
Egyptian antiquities, not only through his
exhibition ill the Egyptian Hall ill Piccadilly

(London) in 1821 but also through the pubLished accounts of his disco\cries. In the Great
Temple al '\IlL' SL\IBEI., for instance, he and
James .\ Lmglcs (a British n~l\'al officer) compiled a phm un "hieh they marked the original
positions of the items of statuary.
Arter more uun eight years of e:\ploration
along the Nile yalley, he embarked on an expedition to find the source of the Niger, but dicd
of dysentery at Benin in December 1823.
G. BI:I.ZCl\J, Narra/in' oftht' operalil/lIS 1/11d facut
di.\'(()jail's withilltlft: p.l'r(/lJfid.~. tell/pIt'S. tombs amI
t'x(a1.'fi/iolls ill Egypt (//1(/ Nubia (London, 1820).
C. 0. \IR, StHlllg mllll fgyptlllagist (London,
1957).
S..\1.\) ES, The gn'l/t Bt:/::'fJlli (T .olltlon, 11.).19),

benben stone
Sacrcd stone at J IEI.IOI'OI ,IS that symbolized
the 1'1H\lE\.\J. \I0L '\'11 and perhaps also thc petrified semen of the sun-god R;l-Atl1m (sec
ATUd). It sen'ed as the earliest prototype for
the OllEI.IS .... ::lnd possibly e\-en the 1'\ R \,\UD. In
recognition of these connections, lhe gilded
C~lp-stonc placed at the \Try top of cach pyramid or obelisk was known ::lS a IH:lf!J('llcl. The
original stone at Hcliopolis was believed to
have been the poinl al which rhe rays of the
rising sun lirst feH, and its cult appears to date
back at \cast as f~lr as the 1st Dynasty. There
arc strong links between the beu!Jelf and the

HAS.~

(the Egyptian phoenix), and hoth

Icrms secm to deri\T from the ,,'ord J1lehi'1l
meaning 'to rise'.
J R. BAINES, 'Bnbn: mytholog'ieal lind linguistir.:
notes', Oricll/alia 39 (1970), 38lJ-+04.
L, Hi\BACI II, Tht' ohelisJ,:s o/EgYPI (Cairo, 1984).
llF...' \L-IURD

5, 10.

BeniHasan
Necropolis located on thc e;lst bank of the ::\ile
some 23 km north of el~l\linya, dating princi-

pol""

to

the

II th

and

12th

DYLlilSlics

(2125-1795 Ile) although there ;\rc somc small

lOmbs elating back to the 6th DYI1ast~
(2345-2181 Be), There arc thirty-nine rockem rombs at Beni Ilasan, se\'cral of Ihcm
belonging to the pro\Cinci;ll gO\'crnors of the
'oryx' nome (province). A number of the II thand 12th-Dynasty tombs arc decor::lted with
wal1-p<1intin~s of funerary rituals and d:lil~
life, including depictions of Asiatic rradcrs,
battle scenes and rows of wrestlers. There is
also an extensive Ceml;[ery of l\liddle
Kingdom shaft tombs cxcav~Hcd by John
Garstang in the C;lrly 1900s. The equipmcnt
frorn these undet.:orated tombs, includin~
painted coffins and models, forms an important corpus with regard to the funerary beliefs
of the 1\lidtllc Kingdom. At the sOllthern end
of the site is a New Kingdom rock-<:ut Icmple,
the SIJEOS \KTE\lIDOS.

Copy (~((f

stt:/Ie.fi"fJIlllhe 10/llb (llKllIlllllfhole!' III

Belli Hasal/, s/wlPing men pirkil/gjigs 1l,llIlt,

b(/Imons sit in thc Il't't' ('aling Ihcji-uit. Efllh' 12th
f).I'JlflSO'. c./9.)0 tJ{:.

BES

BENU-BIRD

P. E.

NEW1WRRY ct aI., Bfu! Hassall, 4 vols

(London, 1893-1900).
S. BICKEL and J.-L. CIIAPI'AZ, '.!\tlissions
cpigraphiqucs du fonds de l'EgyptOlogie de
Genevc all SpcosAnemidos', BSEG 12 (1988),

9-24.

J. D. BOURRIAU , Pharaohs (lnd mortals

(Cambridge, 1988),85-109.

benu-bird
The sacred I-leliopolitan bird, closely associated with the BE!\"BEN STO~E, the OBI'J.JSJ-- and the
cult of the sun-gods ATU.\\ and itA. Its name
prohably derived from the Egyptian verb mebcJ/
('to rise') and it was the prototype for the
Greek phoenix. There may ,veil be an erymological connection between the two birds'
names, ~tnd ccnainJy there arc distinct similarities in their respective links with the sun and
rcbinh, although a number of the other aspects
of the phoenix legend are quite distinct,

the desire for transformation might refer to

the changing phases of Vellus.
R. VAI\- DE:'\" BROEK, 711t: II~)'/h (~(/ht: phuenix
a((()rdillg If) d{/ssic(// (/1/(1 erl"'~l! chris/iull Iradilioll
(Leiden, 1972).
L. KAKosr, 'Phonix', Le.rikoll der/i"g.l'P/ologie Ir,
ed. W. Heick, E. Otto <lnd W. Westendorf
(Wiesh<lden, 1982), 1030-9.
G. HART, t'gYPli((/IIl~J'fhs(London, 1990), 16-17.
R. KR.:\uss, 'lvI-mjtt hnw (pAnastasi 14.5)',JE.rJ
79 (1993),266-7.

Bes
Dwarf god with grotesque mask-like facial
features and a protruding tOnguc. He is often
shown with the cars amI mane of <1 lion,
although some scholars hare suggested lhal he
is simply wearing a lion-skin cape rather than
possessing these physici,l characteristics. He is
commonly portrayed with a plumed headdress
and carrying musical instruments, knives or

Pain/ed lIJoodelijigllre {~rBcs Oil alolll.ijlol1JeI:

NClIJ Kingdom, 1-1. 28 OIl, (/~'A20865)

reh4jigllrcs (~rBes alfd a llaked

lIJOII1{lI/ or goddc.I'.I' ill the 'Bes Chambers' a!
SfllJfJa{"a. (R!:'!'ROnUCIW COUR1'ESl'OF 1'1-11:'
BELO\\' Pain!ed

c/UFFITIIINSTl1'UTE)

Detail of/lte Book (~rllte Dead of/lte saib{'

Naklt/; i1/ Ihe bOt/Dill register Nakhl I~~ "homn
adoring !/ie bCllu-bird. Ear~)l1911i D.)III{/.I'~ll,
e.1280 Be. (I:AIO-l7/)

The be"u-bird appears in the I'YRA.VIllJ

as a yellow wagtail serving as a manifestation of (he Hcliopolitan sun-god Atum; in
Utterance 600, Atum is said to have 'riscn up,
as thc benbcfl in the mansion of the /Jellll in
Hcliopolis' Later, hmycycr, in thc 13001( or TilE
DEAD, the belill-bird was represcnted as a kind
of grey heron (Ardell I:i/l('fa) with a long
straight beak and a two-feathercd crest, the llJ\
(physical manifestation) of both Ra and OSIRIS.
Because of its connections with Osiris, it is
sometimes represented wearing the aIel' crown
(sec CROWNS).
.

TEXTS

Chapter 83 of the Book of the Dead, the

'spell for bcing transform cd into a helw-bird',
Was usually accompanied by a depiction of the
beut/-bird, 1.n all analysis of the desire to be
transformed (like th~ hel/ll-bird' ill Papyrus
Anastasi I, Rolf Krauss suggests [hat the bird
Symbolized the planet Venus from at least the
beginning of the New Kingdom, in which C,lse

53

B GROUP

the SA hieroglyph representing protection.

The name Bes is used to describe a number of
similar deities and demons, including the liondemons known from the Middle Kingdom
town of Kahun (see EL-LAIIUN and !\'iASKS) and
the shaft tombs behind the RAMESSEUM, which
arc of a similar date. Bcs was considered to be
capable of warding of[ snakes from the house,
and was sometimes portrayed in the form of
the demon Aha strangling two serpents with
his bare hands.
Despite his apparent ferocity, he was a
beneficent deity, much Ewourcd as a protector
of the family, and associated with sexuality
and childbirth. [-lis image is therefore found
on all of the MAMMISI (birrh~hollses) associated
with Late Period temples, as well as being
carved On such everyday objects as cosmetic
items. Along with TAWERET he was one of the
most popular deities represented in amulets.
His image was painted on a frieze in a room of
Amcnhotep w's palace at tVIAI.KATA, as well as
on some of the walls of the workmen's villages
at EL-AM:\Rl\:A and OEIR EL-MEDIN:\, perhaps
indicating rooms connected with women and
childbirth.
The sexual aspect of the god seems to have
becomc particularly prominent during the
Ptolemaic period, when (incubation' or Bes
chambers were built' at Si\CLQI\Rl\. J\ilud-plaster
figures of Bes and a naked goddess lined their
walls, and it has been suggested that pilgrims
probably spent the night there in the hope of
experiencing healing DREA.MS, perhaps in connection with the renewal of their sexual pow~
ers. In the Roman period he was perhaps
adopted as a military god since he was often
portrayed in the costume of a legionary brandishing a sword.
J. E ROi\'IANo, 'The origin of' the Bes image',
8ES 2 (1980), 39-56.
J. D. BOURRIAU, PlwrllollJ a.nd II/orlals
(Cambridge, 1988), 110-13.
B Group (B Horizon)
Nmv-discredited cultural term invented by
George Reisner to describe the final stages of
the Neolithic A GROllI' in NLlIl'A (c.2800-2300
BC), leading up to the beginning of the cGROUP phase. Two principal reasons have
emerged for rejecting the existence of the B
Group, at least as Reisner envisaged it. First,
there appears to have been great continuity in
material culture, settlement patterns and
cemetery locations between the A and C
Groups and, second, the chronological gap
between the two might actually have been no
more than three centuries roughly contemporary with the Egyptian 3rd and 4th Dynasties
(c.2686-2494 Be). It is therefore possible that

54

BIBLICAL CONNECTIONS

the assemblages usually designated "B Group'

might actually have resulted from the relative
impoverishment of Lower Nubia or the depredations of early Egyptian imperialism. It has
been suggested that there might have been an
enforced reversion to pastoralism or t.he local
Nubian population might even have temporarily abandoned the region, eventually rChirning
in the form of the C Group.
G. REISNER, Arclweu/flgiwl survey (~(NlIbi(l:
repor,ji,r/907-8 [(Cairo, 1910), 18-52.
H. S. SMITIJ, (The Nubian B-group', Kush 14
(1966),69-124.
\v. Y ADM!S, Nubia: corridor IV Africo, 2nd cd.
(London and Princeton, 1(84), 132-5.
H. S. SMITH, 'The development of the A~Group
"culture" in northern Lower Nubia', EgyPI {Iud
/lFiw, cd. W. V. Davies (London, 1991),92-111.

Biblical connections
'I'he links between ancient Egypt and the
events described in the Old Testament arc
generally problemat.ic and beset. by cont.rover~
sy_ There are a number of critical problems
with the attempt to correlate Biblical narratives with the Pharaonic teXt"l1al and archaeological record. Given that most of the events
described in the Bible had taken placc many
centuries prior to the time that they were wrir~
ten down, it is extremely difficult to know
when they arc factual historical acCounts and
when they are purely allegorical or rhetorical
in nature.
Because of the vagueness of the Biblical
chronological fi'amcwork, it is usually also difficult to assign events to particular historical
periods with any precision. Another major
problem is posed by the possibility that those
events that \vere of great significance to the
people of Tsrael cannot be assumed to have had
the same importance for the ancient"
Egyptians, therefore there is no guarantee of
any independent Egyptian record having been
made (let alone having survived among the
small fraction of preserved texts). A great deal
of research has therefore tended to concentrate on attempting to date the Biblical stories
by means of chance historical clues incorporated in the narratives, although even then
there is the danger of encountering anachronisms introduced at the time that the texts
were written down.
Most interest has focused on the stories of
Joseph and J\lfoses, both of which contain
many literary and historical details that Sllg~
gest at least a knowledge of ancienr Egypt on
the part of the writers. 'The episode in the
story ofJoseph involving his attempted seduction by Potiphar's wife is closely paralleled in
an Egyptian story known as the 7h1e oIllIe Two

Brothers, while several of the personal names

of characters appear to be authentically
Egyptian Late Period forms, such as Asenet
Cbelonging to the goddess Neith'). However,
these literary and linguistic connections with
Egypt are of little help in terms of dating the
story, \vhich is usually assumed to have taken
place during the Egyptian New Kingdom
(1550-1069 nc, equivalent to the Late Bronze
Age in the Levant), although certain details tie
in much more with the political situation of
the Saitc period (664-525 Be).
The emergence of iVfoses and the events of
the Exodus arc thought to have taken place
in the early Ramesside period, with RA.\1ES1;S
II (1279-1213 BC) being considered the most
likely to have been the pharaoh featuring in
the narrative. No texts from his reign make
any mention of lVloses or the children of
Israel, although the name ISR1\I~L first Occurs
on the so-calIco Israel Stele of the time of his
successor, MERENI'TAI-I. Attempts have Occasionally been made to equate .Moses with the
pharaoh l\J...:.IIENATEl\-, on the grounds that the
latter introduced a peculiarly Egyptian form
of monotheism, but there are no other
aspects of this pharaoh's life, or indeed his
cult of the Aten, that remotely resemble the
Biblical account of l\1oses. Akhenaten's
Hyml/ 10 lhe Alen has been shown to ha\'(:
strong similarities with Psalm 104, but this is
probably only an indication that the two
compositions belong to a common literar)
heritnge or perhaps even derive from a common Near Eastern original. The same reason
is usually givcn for the very close parallels
that have been observed between a Late
Period wisdom text known as the [,w ruel iOI1
of /Imel/ell/ipel SOil of Krwakhi and the
Biblical book of Proverbs, although it has
been suggested by some scholars that the
writers of Proverbs may even have been
influenced by a text of the IllSlrlIoio1f (~r
AlIlclIcl/Iipel itself.
From the Third Intermediate Period
(1069-747 Be) onwards, there are more verifi~
able references to Egypt in the Bible, particularly in terms of the politici:ll events involving
conl1ict \vith the ASSYRIANS and PERSIM,'S. The
22nd-Dynasty ruler Sheshonq [ (945-924 BC),
the BibliGll Shishak, sacked Jerusalem and the
tcmple of Solomon in 925 BC Hosea, the ruler
of Samaria, is said to have requested military
aid from the Egyptian Prince Tefnakht of SAIS,
in his attempt to fend off the Assyrians in the
late eighth century nCo
P. J\iloNTET, Egypi filld Ihe Bible (Philadelphia,
19(8).
D. B. REDFORD, A stll{(J! (~(Ihe Bib/jml story of
Joseph (Ceuesis 37-50) (Leidcn, 1970).

~TH-HOUSE

S. GROLL (ed.), Pharaollic Egypl. ,he Bible

lI"d Chris/jim;/y Uerusalem, 1985).
A. F. RA""EY (ed.), EgYPI. Israel. Sillaiarchaeological lIlld "istoriml relotiomhips ill the
BibliCi,[ period (Tel Aviv, 1987).
D. B. REDFORD, Egypt, Ctulllllli lIm/Israel;l1
lUiciel1/ times (princeton, 1992).

birth-house see MAMMIS,

Blemmyes
Nomads active in Lower NUBIA during the X-

Group phase (LAD 350-700). The Blemmyes

are usually identified as the ancestors of the
modern Beja peuple. Both the Blemmyes and
the Nobatae (another group of nomads in

BORDERS, FRONTIERS AND LIMITS

borders, frontiers and limits

board-games see G""'CS

boats see SI-UPS AND

BOATS

Book of the Dead

Egyptological term used to refer to the funerary text known to the Egyptians as the 'spell
for coming forth by day'. It was introduced at
the end of the Second Intermediate Period
and consisted of about t;vo hundred spells (or
'chapters'), over half of which were derived
directly from the earlier PYRAA'IID TEXTS or
COFFIN Tfxrs.

Such 'netherworld' texts as the Book of the

Dead were usually inscribed on papyri,
although cerrain small extracts were inscribed
on AAtULETS. Chapter 301\, for example, was

Lower 1 ubia) are mentioned in Classical

texts, but there is no definite archaeological
evidence to connect either of these peoples
with the royal cemetery at B:\LLANi\ dating to
the same period. The situation is summarized
by W. Y. Adams: 'We may ... epitomize lhe
riddle of post-Meroitic Nubia by observing
that historians tell us of two peoples, the
Blemmyes and the Nobatac, where archaeology discloses only onc culture, the Ballana;
moreover, both history and archaeology leave
us in ignorance of the fate of the earlier
Meroitic population and culturc.'
A. PAUL, A history ofthe Bejatribes ofthe Sudtw,
2nd ed. (London, 1971).
W. Y. ADAMS, Nubia: corridor 10 A]nca, 2nd cd.
(London and Princ'Cton, 1984),382-429.

order'). The judgement took the form of the

weighing of the heart of the deceased against
the feather of Maat. An important element of
the ritual was the calling of each judge by

block statue

name, while giving the relevant 'neg-ative confession', such as: '0 Far Strider who came

Type of sculpture introduced in the Middle

Kingdom (2055-1650 BC), representing private

known as the 'spell for nol letting the

The Egyptians used two principal terms to

describe a border or Limit: lash, which refers to
a real geographical limit set by people or
deities, and djer, which appears to describe a
fixed and unchanging universal limit. The
lash, whether field boundary or national border, was therefore essentially an clastic frontier, and, in times of strength and prosperity,

such rulers as Senusret I (1965-1920 DC) and

Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC) could state an
intention to 'extend the borders' (stlVesekh
IlIsltW) of Egypt.
The traditional borders of Egypt comprised the Western Desert, the Sinai Desert,

the Mediterranean coast and the Nile

CATARAcrs south of Aswan. These geographical barriers were sufficient to protect the

deceased's heart create opposition against him

in the realm of the dead' and was commonly

inscribed on HEART scanlbs, while a version of
Chapter 6 was inscribed on SIIAOTI figures so

that they might perfnrm eorvee work on behalf

of the deceased.
Chapter 125, the section of the Book of the
Dead that was most commonly illustrated by a
vignette, shows the last judgement of the

deceased before

OSIR'S

and the forty-two

'judges' representing aspects of MAAT ('divine

forth from Heliopolis, I have done no false-

Pari ala hieratic pa.pyrus inscribed mith mililary

dispatches scm/rom the Egyptian garrison tit
Sem1UI, ontlte !Jorder miLh Upper Nubia. Middle
Kingdom, c./84/ BC, from Thebes, II. 16 cm.
(EA10752 S"UT 3)

hood; 0 Fire-embracer who came forth from

Kherarha, I have not robbed;
Nosey who
came forth from Hermopolis, I have not been
rapacious.' The desired outcomc of these negative confessions was that the deceased was
declared 'true of voice' and introduced into

Egypt's independence during periods of rela-

the realm of the deceased. Although vignettes

tivc weakness. Since) however, the pharaoh's

desire to represcnt an individual in the form of

a guardian seated in the gateway of a temple.

always optimistically depict a successful outcome, the demon AMMUT ('the devourer of the
dead') was usually shown awaiting those who

entire known world, the political boundaries

One of the practical advantages of the block

statue, which became particularly popular during the Late Period (747-332 BC), was the fact

might fail the test.

The Book of the Dead was often simply
placed in the coffin, but it could also be rolled

that it provided a very large surface area for

inscriptions relating to the funerary cult and
the identification of the individual concerned.

up and inserted into a statuette of Sokar-Osiris

or even incorporated into the mummy bandaging. The texts could be written in the
HiEROGLYPHIC, IIIERATIC or DEMOTIC scripts.
Since most wealthy individuals wcrc provided
with Books of the Dead, numerous copies have
survived.
R.o. FAULKNER, The ancient Egyptian BOOA' olthe

individuals in a very compressed squatting

position, with the knees drawn up to the chin.
In some examples the effect is almost to reduce

the human body to a schematic block-like

shape, while in others some of the modelling of
the limbs is still retained. New Kingdom texts
suggest that the origin of the style was the

C. ALDRED, Egyptia""!"t (London, 1980), 133-5.

W. STEVENSON SMITll, The arl (/11(/ af(:hilcctllrl! of
ancient EgJlpt, rev. W. K. Simpson
(Harmondsworth, 1981), 181-2.
R. SCHULZ, Die E1/tmicklul1g und Bedeutung des
kuboideu StatuelllJlPUS (Hildeshicm, 1992).

blue crown see CROWNS !\ND ROYAL REGALIA

Dead, ed. C. Andrews (London, 1985).

E. HOR1\'UNG, idea illtO image, trans. E. Bredeck
(New York, 1992),95-113.

Egyptians from outside interference for many

centuries. Later on, in thc Pharaonic period,
these natural borders helped to maintain

titulary described him as the ruler of the

of Egypt were theoretically infinite. In practice thc greatest cxtent of the Egyptian
empire - achicved during the reign of

Thutmos III in the 18th Dynasty - was

marked by the Euphrates in the northeast and
the KURGUS boundary stele (between the
fourth and fifth Nile cataracts) in the south.
The border with Lower Nubia was traditionally marked by the town of Elephantine
(.'SWAN), naturally defended by its island location and surrounded by a thick defensive wall.
The original name of the settlement around
the first cataract was Swenet ('trade'), from
which the modern name Aswan derivcs; this
place name rcflects the more commercial

55

BORDERS, FRONTIERS AND LIMITS

nature of the southern border, representing

opportunities for profitable economic activities
rather than the threat of invasion. Because the
first cati.lract represented an obstacle to shipping - despite an attempt by the Old Kingdom
ruler Merema (2287-2278 BC) to cut a canal all trade goods had to be transported along the
bank. This crucial land route to the cast of the
~iile, between Aswan and the region of Philac,
was protected by a huge mud-brick wall,
almost 7.5 km long, probably built principally
in the 12th Dynasty.
The northeastern, northwestern and southern borders of Egypt were more or less fortified from the l\1iddle Kingdom onwards.
From at least the reign of Amcncmhat I
(1985-1955 Be) the eastern Delta was protected by a sITing of fortresses, known as the "Valls
of the Prince (il/dllv !lek"). These were intended to prc\'ent im'asion along the coastal route
from thc Levant, which was known as the 'Va)'
or Horus during the Middle Kingdom. At
about the same time a fortress seems to have
been established in the Wadi Natlun, defending the \yestern Ddta from the Libyans. The
western and castern Delta dcfences were well
maintained throughout the second millennium BC. The New Kingdom fortresses and
garrisons of the Delta borders - including e1Alamein and Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham in

BUHEi\

the west and Tell Abu Safa (Sile), Tell elFarama (Pelusium), Tell el-Heir (Migdol) and
Tell el-Maskhuta (Pithom) in the east - were
intended to prevent any recurrencc of the
HYKSOS invnsion.
S. SCI IOSKE .md H. BRUNNER, 'Die Grcnzen \'on
Zeit und Raum bei den Agyptern',Archirjiir
Orientjorsdlllug 17 (195+-5), 141~5.
D. O'CoNXOR, 'Demarcating the boundaries: an
inrerpremrion of a scene in the tomb of Mahu,
e'--'\marna" BES9 (1987-8), 41-51.
S. QUIRKE, 'Frontier or border? The northeast
Delta in Middle Kingdom texts', The
archaeology, geogl"llp/~JI flUrl his/OI]' oftIl/' Deltfl,
od. A. Nibbi (Oxford, 1989),261-74.
E. HORNU~(j, idea into ill/age, trans. E. Bredeck
(New York, 1992), 73-92.
bread see

FOOD

and

OFFERING UIlLE

bronze see COPPER AND

Bubastis see TELL

BRO;.rZE

BASTA

Buchis
Sacred bull of MONTU at Hermonthis
(Armant) south of Luxor. Just as his northern
counterpart, thc APIS, was considcred to be the
di\-ine incarnation of the god Ptah, so the
Buehis ,,"as belie,'ed to be the principal ph)'si-

cal manifestation (or BA) of R.' and OSIRIS. Like

the Apis bulls, each Buchis was chosen on the
basis of special markings, consisting of a white
body and blaek race, and the Roman writer
Maerobius (c.AD -tOO) described the bulls as
changing colour with every hour and haying
hair which grew back\yards.
After death, each successive Buchis bull was
interred in a great underground catacomb
known as the Bucheum (sec SER.\PEUM), which
was discO\"cred in 1927 by Robert Nlond and
W. B. Emen. As in the case of the Apis, the
mothers of the bulls were also interred, and
their catacomb at AI'manr is known as the
Baqariyyah. The Buehis bulls' sarcophagi
were of sandstone rather them granite, but, as
in the case of the Saqqara Scrapeum, the sire
was much plundered. Burials were made from
the lime of Keetanebo ,,(360-343 BC) until lhe
reign of Dioeletian (AD 28+-305). There is e,idenee fur the use of the sile from the 18th
Dynasty onwards, but burials dating to that
time or earlier remain undiscmcred.
R. L. NloNO and 0. H.l\1YERS, The Buchellm
(London, 1934).
Buhen
Egyptian site in Lower Nubia, located on the
west bank of the Nile, near the second
cataract, and about 260 km upstream from

50

1 the 'barbiean'
2 residential areas
3 temple
4 the two rivetside gales
5 quays

~~~!5~~!n_~E;~;~rnl
:'

::::

"

"""

,,
,:

::=:~~==::.c::.:=~
,

i~

56

3~

blockA: residence of
the fort commander

100

150m

~I-IEN

BURIAL

as the 5th Dynastv (2494--2.145 BC) and in Lhe

PYR \ \IID TE\TS, and the cult of the _\I_'\'E\'IS hull
of F-1c1iopolis was specifically encouraged by
Akhenaten (1352-1336 Ilc) because of its solar
associations. There wcre, howcver, also strong
links with the mOOn and the conslelhuion of
Ursa t\ lajor. A number of bulls enjoyed special
smrus as S.\C:RED .\XL\I..U .5, nombly the \PIS and
BLClIIS bulls which were interred in catacombs
at S.\QQ:\R \ and \R\\ \'\,""1' respecti\-cly.
E. O"ITO, Beitri(e.e ::;ur Ccschidl1t' da StierI'IIIIt, ill
.-Jegypt(" (l1erlin, 1938).
P. BEIIRE'\,s, 'Stierbmpf', LexiI'()11 d('l"
. ;:~.J'Ptolf}gi(' \ I, eel. \r. llelck, E. Otto and W.
lI'esrendorf(\\iesbaden, 1986), 16-17.
\V. IIELC!\:, 'Stiergottcr', l.e.ra'OIl tin Agypwlogie
\ I, cd. \v. Heick, E. Duo and \V. \VesLCndorf
(Wiesbaden, 1986), 14-16.
R. WII."'I'\,S01\, R('(u!illg t.gypli(J1/ art (London,
1992), 56-7.

burial

SCi' Ct\NOI'IC J,\RS; COFFl.'\,lS !\ND

St\RCOI'I IAGl; IlL, '\,!EK'\K~' BELIEFS; 1\lt\STI\BI\;

t\lU~'I\IIFIC:t\'I'IOl\" and PYlUMIDS

Viem of/he J211t-DYl/asty mmparls al Buhell.

(RHPROIJUCL'f) COUNTI:.~I Of<' Tilli 1:'(;1'1''1'

EXPLORATION SOC/fn)

Aswan. The remains were first studied in 1819

but mainly excavated between 1957 and 1964.
The settlement .11 Buhen was founded in the
Old Kingdom (2686-2181 Ilc) as a centre for
Egyptian mining expeditions. An imprcssi'"c
array of mud-brick fortifications waS constructed around the settlement in the 12th
Dynasty (1985-1795 Be), thus transforming it
into a military garrison controlling the area to
the north of the second Kile cataract. The
12th-Dynasty settlement consisted of sc\'cral
regular, rectangular blocks of housing separated by six major streets. The subsequent New
Kingdom town was undoubtedly much more
of a civilian scttlcmCIU, as the fromier of
Egypt was pushed further south than the
fourth Nile cataract, thus considerably reducing Buhen's military importance.
The methods employed by W. B. Emery at
Buhen were closer to those of the CXGIyators of
EL-/\j\\ARNA, A~\AIt!\ \~'est and SESEBI-SAL:I.A
during the 1930s and 19405 than those
employed by archaeologists working on settlement sites elsewherc in the world during the
19605, However, Emery's approach was necessarily ad hot: owing to the imminence of the
Site's noDding by Lake Nasser (see AS\VAi'\' IJIGII
D:\M), and the excavations wefe hampered by
considerable post-depositional disturbance

or

PIau oflhe lvlit/dle Killgt/oll1jorlress lil

Buheu.

tEF1"

rhe 5trarigraphy of the Pharaonic remains

the site.
R. A. CAWNOS, The Nelli Killgdo1/l I"/IIpll's (~r
Bulll:lI, 2 yols (London, 1974).
\~'. B. E,\IEln et al. , Tllejurlrt:ss oIBullell, 2 \'ols
(London, 1979).

,If

bull
Symbol of strength, masculinity and fertilily
which, from the earliesl hisrorical times,
seems to have been regarded as an embodiment of royal might (see ],\:\R..\IEIt). The heads
of hulls, perhaps representing sacrificed animals, were sOllletirnes used in Predynastic
and Early Dynastic architecture, as in
~ lasmb'l 350~ at Saqqara, dating to lhe reign
of the Ist-Dyn'lsty ruler DJET, ,,-here clay
heads furnished with real bulls' horns wcre
set in front of the palace-fac;ade-style walls of
the lOmb.
'rhe epithet 'mighty bull' or 'bull of Horus'
was held by several pharaohs of I he New
Kingdom (1550-1069 BC). The king might
also be described ;IS the kll /llII/~r('buli of his
mother'), and the royal mother might herself
take the form of a C:O\\. Similarly, it was the
wild bull which waS often depicted as the prey
of the king in hunting scenes. 'fhe Kile INL.'\,DATtO,'\,! was sometimes depicted as a bull, since
both were strongly associated with the renewal of fertility. 'l'his connection between fertility, water and bulls probably also explains the
occasional representations of the primordial
lake NUN with the head of a bull.
Bulls were also associated wilh solar
imagery; the 'bull of R!\' is mentioned as early

Bulo see TELL 1::J.-l'i\KA 'J.'J

Byblos (Gubla, ]ubeiJ)
Ancient coast.al tOWl1, the site of which is locatcd in modern Lebanon (formerly C.\~.\.\.'J),
.tbout ..J.O kill north of Beirut. The principal
seltiemcl1t, known in the Akkadi.1l1 language as
Gubla, has a long history extending from the
:\eolithic to the Late Bronze Age when the
population appears to ha\c mmed to a nearby
site now covcred by a modern ,-illage.
The importance of Byblos lay in it'i function
as a port, and from around the time of Egypt's
unific.ttion it was a source of timber. The
famous cedars of I.ebanon, and other goods,
passed through it, and Egyplian objects arc
found there from as early as the 2nd Dyn<1S1 y
(2890-2686 BC). Eg\ptian cui LUre of the
j\ liddlc Kingdom had an especially strong
innuencc on the court of its l\liddle Bronze
Age rulers, and among the objects found from
the royal tombs of this period ,Ire sevcral bearing the names of Amenemhat tit (1855-1808
tic) and II (1808-1799 Ilc) of the 12t h Dvnast'-.
Egyptian objects included i\"or~-, ehony and
gold while local imitations llsed other materials
and were exccuted in a less accomplished style.
'The site had several religious buildings
including the so-called 'Obelisk Temple" dediCilted to lla'ahlt Gcbal, the 'Lady of Byblos" a
local form of t\STAJ~TE. One of the obelisks
erected to her was inscribed with hieroglyphs.
She was identified \\"ith I-IATIJOR, ..1 connection
which may have helped establish Astarte as a
goddess in Egypt.
57

BYBLOS

CALENDAR

In the New Kingdom the city features

prominently in the M1AR.'M LETrERS, since its
ruler, Rihaddi, sought military assistance from
the Egyptian pharaoh. On this occasion Byblos
fell into enemy hands, but was later regained. A
sarcophagus found with objects of Rameses II
(1279-1213 Be) and showing Egyptian innucoee is important for its later (tenth century
DC) inscription for AhinuTI, a local ruler, which
is in early alphabetic characters. However, by
the time of Rameses Xl (1099-1069 Ile), last
king of the New Kingdom, Egypt had become
so weak and impoverished that it no longer
commanded the respect of cities such as
Byblos, and the Report of JIVeIl(l1111111l tells how
an Egyptian official was shabbily treated by a
high-handed prince of Byblos, something
which would previously have been unthinkable.
The import,mce of Byblos itself gradually
declined in favour of the neighbouring ports of
Tyre and Sidon.
P. MONTET, BJiblos etl'EgYPle. 2 vols (Paris,

1928).
!vt. DUN,\ND, Fouilles de Byblos (Paris, 1939-58).
N. JIDEJIAN, llyblos through fhe ages (Beirut,

1968).
].-F.

SALI..S,

1980).

c
calendar
The earliest Egyptian calendars were based on
lunar observations combined with the annual
cycle of the Nile INUNDATION, measured with
NILOMETERS. On this basis the Egyptians
divided the year into twelve months and three
seasons: akhel (the inundation itself), peret
(spring time, when the crops began to emerge)
and she1111J (harvest time). Each season consisted of four thirty-day momhs, and each month
comprised three ten-day weeks. This was an
admirably simple system, compared with the
modern European calendar of unequal
months, and it was briefly revived in France at
the time of the Revolution.
The division of the day and night into
twelve hours each appears to have been initiated by the Egyptians, probably bv simple analogy with the twelve months of the year, but
the division of the hOllr into sixty minutes was

introduced by the Babylonians. The smallest

unit of time recognized in ancient Egypt \Vas
the ai, usually translated as 'moment' and having no definite length.
The Egyptian year was considered to begin
on 19 July (according to the later Julian calendar), which was the date of the heliaeal rising
of the dog star Sirius (see :\STROr\o~n' A!\'D
j\STROLOGY and SOPDET). Surviving textual
accounts of the observation of this event form
the linchpin of the traditional chronology of
Egypt. However, even with the addition of five
intercalary 'epagomenar days (corresponding
to the birthdays of the deities Osiris, Isis,
Horus, Seth and Nephthys), a discrepancy
gradually developed between the lunar YC"Jr of
365 days and the real solar year, which was
about six hours longer. This effectively meant
that the civil year and the genuine seasonal
year wcre synchronized only once every 1-4-60
years, although this does not seem to hare
been regarded as a fatal naw until the
Ptolemaic period, when the concept of the
'leap year' was introduced in the Alexandrian
c.tlendar, later forming the basis for the Julian
and Gregorian calendars.

La necropole 'k' de Byblos (Paris,

LEvr Flask for maier[rom Ihe rising Nile al the
beginning oftheflood, marking the start ofthe
New l'ear. This Iype of 'New Year flask' appears
in the Late Period, 110 earlier than the 7th celltury
Be. palwps inspired by foreign vessel shapes. Lale
Period, after 600 /Je, green jaiellCf ofullknown
pr01.:t:11anCf, II. J3 cm. (F-A2465/. DRAW."" /JY
CUR/STINE I1ARRAn)
OELOW Calendar ill which the lUCk)! ami tmlucklf
days oflhe year are marked il1 black and red
respectivehl. Third I"Ier111ediate Period 10 Late
Period, papyrus (lnd pigment, 11. 24 e11/. (/:/JI047-1,
SHEET 2)

58

CANOPIC JARS

0MBYSES

As well as the civil calendar there were also

separate religious calendars consisting of FESTIVALS and ceremonies associated with particular deities and temples (e.g. the Feast of
Opet at Thebes, celebrated in the second
month of a.khet). The priests often calculated
the dates of these according to the lunar
month of about 29.5 days rather than according to the civil calendar, since it was essential
that many of them shuuld coincide with pardcular phases of the agricultural or astronomical cycle.
R. A. PARKER, The Cllle"dllrs (~r (lucienl Egypt
(Chicago, 1950).
_, '5mhic dates and calendar "adjustments" "
RdE9(1952),101-8.
_, 'The beginning of the lunar month in
ancient Egypr',JNES 29 (1970), 217-20.
R. KRAuss, Sothis-lI1ltl Jl1omltlll/eI1 (Hildesheim,
1985).

Canaan, Canaanites
The region that was occupied by the
C,naanite people in the Middle and Late
Bronze Ages (part of the area described by
the ancient Egyptians as Retenu) roughly
corresponds to modern Lebanon, on the
northern coast of the Levant. This territory
essentially consisted of a number of citystates, including UYBLOS, Lachish, MEGIDDO
and Ugarit.

canopic jars

E. HORi'lUKG,/dea into image, trans. E. Bredeck

(New York, 1992),57-71.

Cambyses see PERSIA,

PERSIANS

camel
Although the single-humped Arabian camel
(Came/us dromedllrius, more accurately
described as a dromedary) figures prominently in the modern popular image of Egypt, it
was very much a late arrival among the
domesticated animals of the 1 ilc valley.
Remains of the double-humped Bactrian
camel have been found at sites such as Shahr-i
Sokhta in eastern Iran dating to the third millennium He, but the earliest evidence for the
domestication of the single-humped species
in the Near East dates to the ninth century Ile.
When the ASSYRIAN king Esarhaddon invaded
Egypt in 671 BC, he is said to have been aided
by camel-using BEDOUIN from the Arabian
desert.
It used to be thought that domesticated
camels did not appear in the Nile valley until
the Ptolemaic pcriod~ but the earliest date is
now considered to be the late ninth cenrury Be,
in the light of the discovery of a camcPs
mandible and a pellet of camel dung at the
Lower Nubian site of Q!\SR IBRL\1. The two
finds were excavated during the 1980s from
separate archaeological contexts dating to the
carly Napatan period, ilnd both dates were
later confirmed by radiocarbon analysis.
I. Kca-ILER , Zur DO~lJeSlik{{tioll des K{{m~/s
(Hanover, 1981).
I. L. MASON, 'Camels" Evolution o.fdomeSlicated
al1imals, cd.!. L. Mason (London, 1984).
P. ROWLEY-CoNWY, 'The camel in the Nile
valley: new radiocarbon accelerator dates from
Q>sr Ibrim',JEA 74 (1988), 245-8.

as the appearance of alphabetic inscriptions at

Serabit el-Khadim in SlJ~AI. These arc known
as the Proto-Sinaitic or Proto-Canaanite
scripts (sec BmLOs).
K. KE:,\'YO:"l, Amorius lind CtI1ltuwites (Oxford,
1966).
A. R. Mn.LARD, 'The Canaanites', Peoples ofOItl
Testament times, cd. D.]. Wiseman (Oxford,
1973), 29-52.
]. F. HEALY, 'The early alphabet', Reading fIJe past
(London, 1990), 197-257.
D. B. REDFORD, Egypl, CmltltUl ami Israel ill
ancie1lt times (Princeton, 1992), 167-8, 192-213.

A Z),pi(fll 'Canaanite amphora' from el-Amama.

11. 58.8 em. Just tiS the territorial ami ethnic
C01111otatiom oftIlt: name 'Canaan' are somemhat
ambiguous, so the term 'Canaanite amphora' is
cOllVellti0l1a/~)1 applied to this type ofBronze Age
poLter]! vessel, although It mas tlsedjOr
trtlnsportil1g commodities 110t Qn6' ill Canna" but
IhroughoUllhe Aegean, Eastem Medilerrtwefw
fwd Egypt. The name reJleclslhefliCtlhat the fOrm
c1ear()/ origiuated in Syria-Palestine, although
loml copies mere made el~e1Phere.
The Canaanites were a Semitic people
related to the llYKSOS, who had invaded Egypt
in the Second Intermediate Period. They
occupied this part of the Levant during the
Late Bronze Age from around 2000 to 1200 BC,
after which they were displaced by the
Israelites and Philistines from the south and
PI-IOE1"IClA~S from the north. Several of their
cities, such as Byblos, remained important
under their new masters, and much of
C1naanite culture is renected in that of the
Phoenicians.
Canaan acted as a kind of 'clearing house'
for the trade not only of itself but of its neighhours, the Egyptians, the HITTITES, and the
states of !\'lESOPOTAMIA, and was much influenced by them. It may have been the need to
develop sophisticated record-keeping or to
deal with traders of many nationalities which
led to the development here of an alphabetic
script around 1700 BC, roughly the same date

Stone and ceramic vessels used for the burial

of the viscera removed during .\1UMMIFlCATIOi\". The term 'canopic' derives from the
misconception that they were connected with
[he human-headed jars which were worshipped as personifications of the god OSIRIS
by the inhabitants of the ancient Egyptian port
of Gmopus (named after the Homeric character who was Menelaus' pilot). The 'Canopus
of Osiris' image appeared on some Roman
coins from the Alexandrian mint, and the
name was therefore chosen by early
Egyptologists to refer to any iar with a stopper
in the form of a human head.
The practice of preserving eviscerated
organs during mummification is first attested
in the burial of HHEPIIERES, mother of the 4thDynasty ruler Khufu (2589-2566 BC), at GIZA.
Her viscera were stored in a travertine
('Egyptian alabaster') chest divided into four
compartments, three of which contained the
remains of her organs in NATRON, while the
fourth held a dry organic material. In later
burials, specific clements of the viscera were
placed under the protection of four anthropomorphic genii known as the SONS OF HORUS,
who were themselves protected by tutelary
deities guarding the four cardinal points. The
human-headed Imsety (linked with tSIS and
the south) protected the liver; the ape-headed
Hapy (linked with NEPHTHYS and the north)
cared for the lungs; the jackal-headed
Duamutef (linked with Nf.lTH and the east)
guarded the stomach; and the falcon-headed
Qebehsenuef (linked with SERKET and the
west) looked after the intestines.
During the First Intermediate Period
(2181-2055 BC) the jars began to be provided
with stoppers in the form of human heads, and
at this time the canopic bundles were sometimes also decorated with human-faced masks.
By the late Middle Kingdom a set of canopic
equipment could comprise two chests (a
stone---earved outer container and a wooden
inner one) holding four jars furnished with

59

CAPTIVES

CAPTIVES

Ashmolean j\luseum. Oxford), a depicLion of

an E:lrl~' Dynaslic royal ritual shows three
hound captives running bet"'een nyO sets of
three cairns (pcrh<.lps symbolizing Egypt's
BOItOERS).

If/ondcll dlllllll~)I

t'tflwpirjars/nr tIll

perso/l. 21st DYlfasty. <:./000 /JC.

header/jar 3 J Oil. (,; /9S62-5)

II.

/11llhlllll'd

oll/llJl/{/1/-

stoppers in the form of human heads. In the

carly 18th Dynast)' the stoppers were still

hUl11<1n-hC<ldcd, as in the case of the c.mopie

cquipmcIH of TL'T\~K'I\.\IUi'\, hut from the

later 18[h Dynasty onwards it became more

common fill' the stoppers to take I he form of

the characteristic heads of each of the four
genii, and hy the 19th Dynasty these had completely replaced the human-headed type.
[n the Third Intermediale Period
(1069-7-4-] Be) mummified ,-iscera were usual-

ly rerurncd to the body, sometimes accompanied by models of the rcle\-ant genii, but
empty or dummy canopic jars were occasionally still included in rich burials. Canopic
equipment is found in Ptolemaic tombs but
had l:e.lsed lO be used by the Roman pcriod.
The lasr known royal canopic jars belonged to
\PRIES (589-570 Be), and one of thesc suniycd
lhrough its reusc as a ,'esscl containing rhe
body of a mummified hawk at Saqqara.
Vl. C. IInEs, SapIa flj'E:f~'yPI [(NcwYork,

1953), 321}-6.
G. RI'JS,I':H, Cauopies (Cairo, 1967).
C. DOLZ 'Nl, IlrlJi ({/llopi (Milan, 1982).
13. L0sClIEI{, Ulilermdlllllgell zU.4gYPfischell
Kaliopellkiisll'II (Hildcshcim, 1990).
A. DOI)SON, TIl' calwpic CiJllI/}//It!lIf o/Ihe l'illgs nI
EgYPI (London, 1994).

captives
The motif of the bound foreign capti"e is one
of the most fre<lucnt ilnd potent dements in
ancient" Egyplian iconography. The "'.\RJ\tER

60

palette and many other decorated royal artt'[lels of the late Prcdynastic and Early
Dynastic periods fcature scenes of the king
inflicting humiliation on foreign captives. The
earliest example of the archetypal scene of the
pharaoh striking a bound captive was found on
the painted wall of Tomb 100 at H1ERAKO:"\lPOLIS in lhc late fourth millennium Be, and the
same (smiting scene' was still being depictcd
thousands of years later, on the pylons of
Egyptian tcmples of the Greco--Roman period,
On the Narmer macehead (now in the

Limestone and wooden statues of foreign

caplircs h.we been found in the 5th- and 6rhDynasty pyramid complexes of Ranefcrcf,
l\yuserra, Djedkara-Isesi. nas, Teti, Pep~ I
and Pcpy II at Saqqara and ABCSIR. The French
'1rchaeologist Jean-Philippe Lauer has suggcsted thal there may have been as many as a
hundred S(;ltucs of capti"es in each pyramitl
complex. perh.lps placed in lincs along either
side of the C.1Useway linking the "alley and
mortuary temples. Later in lhe Ph.lraOJ1lC
period, schematic representations of bound
capti,'cs were used in cursing rituals, as in the
CaSC of fi,'c early 12th-Dynasty alabaster C<11)ti"e figures (now in the Egyptian i\tlusCUIll,
Cairo) inscribed with hieratic EXJ-:C1~-\TIO\
TEXTS comprising list.s of the names of Nubian
princes accompanied by insults.
Throughollt the Pharaonic and GrecoRoman periods the depiction of the bound
captive continued to be a popular theme of
temple and palace decoration. The inclusion
of bound c.lptives in the decoration of aspens
of the fittings and furniture of royal palaces particularly contexts where the king mighr
Dflllil oflhi' relieldl'Cortiliol1 nlllhe bllse oia slallll'
ol Rall1l'.~t!.~ 11111 Luoror /l'11Iple, shomiug IhreejiJ1"l'/~!!;l1

raplh.:cs, 191h DYlIlIJly. c./250 oe. (um.III)

CARTONNAGE

0Jl-TER, HOWARD

place his feel, such as painted pavements and

footstools - ser\'ed to reinforce the pharaoh \
total suppression of foreigners and probabl~
also symbolized the dements of 'unrulc' that
the gods required the king to control. There
,Ire therefore a number of depictions in GrccoRoman temples shmying lines of gods capturing birds, wild animals and foreigners in clapnets (sec HL.\Tlj'';C;). nH(llYT birds were also
sometimes lIsed as symbols of foreign captives
:lod subject peoples.
The captives' role as metaphors for the containment of the fCI)"CCS of chaos is also to be
seell in the necropolis scalusccl in the Valley of
the Kings, which consists or a depiction of
L\NUms surmounting nine foreign captives representing thc dangers threatening royal tombs.
i\llany of thc relicf.1i in New Kingdom tcmples
list the foreign peoplcs and citics whom the
Egyptians had conquered (or would havc liked
1"0 conquer), ottcn writing the names of the
politics inside schemalic depictions of bound
captives.
].-p L:\UER and]. LI':CL\I,T, 'Decouverte de
statues de prisonniers ;ILl temple de b pyramidc
de Pepi ler', RdE 21 (1969),55-62 .
.M. VERNER, 'Lcs statuettes de prisonniers en bois
d'Abousir', RdE 36 (1985), H5~52.
G. POSENER, Cinqjigllrcs d'cllv01llemelll (Cairo,
1987).
R. I-I. VVILKINSOi'\, Reading Egypliall (/1'1
(London, 1992), 18-19.

Carter. Howard (1874--1939)

Dorn in Kensington) the son of SamLlel John
Carter (an animal painter), it was his talent as
a draughtsman that enabled Cartcr to join the
Archaeological Survey of Egypt in 1891,
when he was only seventeen. I-Ie receivcd his
training as an excavator and epigTapher from
Somc of the most important Egyptologists or
the late njnetccnth century, including Gaston
~.Ji\SPERO and Flinders PETRIE, with whom he
worked at EL-AMARNA in 1892. Between 1893
and 1899 he worked as a draug'hrsman for
Edouard Navillc <It DEII{ I,~r.-BAI-IIU, and in 1899
he W.lS appointed Inspcctor Gencral of the
monuments of Upper Egypt, in which capacity he installed the first electric lights in the
VALLEY OF TJ IE KL'\lGS and the temples at ABU
SIMBEL. In 1903 he resigned from the
Egyptian Antiquities Service after a dispute
with French tourists at Saqqara. He then
~vorked for four years as a painter and dealer
In antiquities, until the offer of finance from
Lord Carnarvon enabled him to return to
excavation in the Valley of the Kings.
Although he discovered six roval tombs at
Thebcs, his most famous achi~vement was
undoubtedly the unearthing of the virtually

undisturbed tomb of TUTA'\JKI-JAMUN I in

November 1922, finally rewanling Carnarvon
for his support over the preceding tifteen
years. Carter spent the rcmaining seventeen
years of his life recording and analysing the
funerary equipment from the tomb, a task
which is still incomplete,
H. CARTER and P. E. NEWBERRY, The lUlIlb of
TllOlllmosis "'(London, 190+).
r-r. C.'\lfI'ER , Till: lomb OJ'TlII.Allkh.AlIlell, 3 \'ols
(London, 1923-33).
T. G. H. ]MI'IES, Howard Carler: Ihe palh 10
lillaukhalllllll (London) 1992).
N. REEVES and J. T:WIDR, Homanl CarieI' bc./ore
'lItlaul)W1I/ulI (London, ]992).

Gilded carlO/lllage 1I1l11lmql/llask {~rall l/llllallfCd

mlwsc vullure headdrcss almOsl cCJ"I{fill~)1
illdi({{leS lhal . . Ile mas a pl'illuss. Jl1idrlle
Kingdom. c.19UO IJC. /-I. 61 e/fl. (fA29770)
I1JOllum,

cartonnage
Nlatcrial consisting of layers of linen or
papyrus stiffened with GESSQ (plaster) and
often decorated with painr or gilding. It was
most commonly used fix making mummy
Ml\SKS, mummy cases, anthropoid coffins and
othcr funerary items. The earliest cartonnage
mummy masks date to the First Intermediate
Period, although a few surviving examples of
Old Kingdom mummies have thin layers of

61

--

CARTOUCHE

plaster oyer the linen wrappings covering the

facc, perhaps representing an earlier stage in
the development of the material.

J. H. TtWLOR, 'The development of cartonnage

cases', 1\'I1I1II111ies {lilt! magic, ed. S. D'Auria, P.
beovara and C. Roehrig (Boston, 1988), 166-8.
- , Egyptian coffim (Princes Risborough, 1989),
23-4,47-53.

CATARACTS, NILE

mummy, like his name, to be physil-alJy surrounded by the cartouehe.

V\T. BAIrB., 'Der Konigsring als Symbol
zykliseher Widerkehr', ZAS 98 (1970), 5-16.
P. KArlO"Y, 'Konigsring" LexiJ:on del'
Agyptologie Ill, cd. \\~ Heick, E. Otto and \v.
Westendorf (Wiesbaden, 1980), 610-26.
R. H. WILKJNSON, Readillg EgypliaN art
(London, 1992), 194-5.

cartouche (Egyptian slJe1ll1)

Elliptical outline representing a length of
knotted rope with which cerrain clements of
the Egyptian ROYAl. TITUI..ARY were surrounded. The French word carlOm:he, meaning 'gun
cartridge', was originally given to the royal
frame by Napoleon's soldiers and savants,

cat
Important both as a domestic pet and as a
symbol of deities such as ""STET and RA (the
19reat cat of Heliopolis'). There were two
indigenous feline species in ancient Egypt: the
jungle cat (Felis tim us) and the African wild cat

Detail oftheftrade of/he 'great temple' al Aim

Simbel, cOllSistillg o/a carlom:he cOl1taining the
preuomell ofRameses If (User-A'll1l1t-Ra). 191h
D)'IIIlS!)', 1279-1213 BC. (I. SJJ.i If')
because of its cartridge-like shape. From the
4th Dynasty (2613-2494 BC) onwards the line
was drawn around the king's 'throne name'
(prenomcn or lIesrIJ-bil) and 'birth name'
(nomen or '" RIl). It proved invaluable to early
scholars such as ]e;ln-Fran~ois Champollion
who were attempting to decipher the hieroglyphic script, in that it was presumed to indicate which groups of signs were the royal
names.
The cartouche was essentially an elongated
form of the SHE" hieroglyph, and both signs
signified the concept of 'encircling protection'
denoted by a coil of rope folded and tied at the
end. The physical extension of the original shell
sign into a cartouche was evidently necessitated by the increasing length of royal names. The
symbolic protection afforded by a cartouche,
which may have been a diagram of the universe
being encircled by the sun, is graphically illustrated by the choice of this sign for the shape of
some 18th-and 19th-Dynasty sarcophagi, such
as that of Merenptah (1213-1203 BC). Some of
the early 18th-Dynasty burial chambers in the
Valley of the Kings, as in the tomb of n'UTMOSE '" (1479-1425 BC) (Kv34), were also eartouche-shaped, thus allowing the king's

62

(Fe/is silvestris li!JyCll), the former being found

only in Egypt and southeastern Asia. The carliest Egyptian remains of a cat were found in a
tomb at the Predynastie site of Mostagedda,
near modern Asyut, suggesring that the
Egyptians were already keeping cats as pets in
the late fourth millennium Be.
The Egyptian word for 'cat' was the onomatopoeic term mim, which, although not
mentioned in the PYRAMID TEXTS, found its
way inro various personal names from the Old
Kingdom onwards, including the 22ndDynasty pharaoh known as Pamiu or Pimay,
literally 'the tomcat' (773-767 Be). The earliest
Egyptian depiction of the cat took the form of
rhree hieroglyphic symbols, each representing
seated <-ats. These formed part of the phrase
'Lord of the Cit)' of Cats' inscribed on a stone
block from EL-L1SIIT, which may dare as early
as the reign of PEPY " (2278-2184 BC). From
the 12th Dynasty onwards, cats were increasingly depicted in the painted decoration of
private tombs, either participating in rhe
scenes of HUNTING and fowling in the marshes
or seated beneath the chair of the owner.
It was in the funerary texts of the New
Kingdom that the cat achieved full apotheosis:
in the Amtlull/ (see FLil'\ERARY TEXTS) ir is portrayed as a demon decapitating bound CAI'TIVES and in the Li/any ofRa it appears to be a
personification of the sun-god himself, battling with the evil serpent-god . \J>OPIIiS. As a
result of irs connection with the sun-god, the
cat was depicted on a number of Ramesside
stelae found in the Theban region. From the
Late Period onwards, large numbers of sacred
cats were mummified and deposired in underground galleries at such sites as Bubastis (TELL
BASTA) and SPEOS ARTEMJDOS (see also SACRED
ANIMALS), and numerous bronze votive statuettes have also survived, including the
'Gayer-Anderson cat' in rhe collection of the
British Museum.
L. STORK, 'Karze', Lexikol1 de,. iigyptologie III,
ed. W. HElLK, E. Otto and W. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1980),367-70.
P. L. ARMITAGE and j. Cu..rn-ox-BROCK,
'A radiological and histological in\"es6garion inro
the mummification of cats from ancient Egypt',
Journal oJArchaeological Science 8 (1981),
185-96.
j. J\1ALEK, The cM inlll1cienl Egypl (London,
1993).

cataracts, Nile

Figure o/a cal sacred 10 the goddess Baslet, wearing

protecliu wedjat-tye tmllllel. Late Pen"od, after 600
BC, brol/ze ,villi gold ril/gs, H. 38 CIll. (A64391)

Rocky areas of rapids in the middle Nile valley,

caused by abrupt geological changes. There
are six cataracts in the section of the Nile rhat
passes through the area of ancient
ubia,
between Aswan and Khartoum.

TTLE

CHANTRESS

cattle see AN1MAL HUSBANDRY

cavetto cornice
Distinctive form of concave moulding, projecting from the tops of many Egyptian STELAE, PYLONS, ALTARS or walls. The characteristic hollow, quarter-circle shape perhaps
derives from the appearance of the tops of
fronds of vegetation used in Predynastic huts,
before the emergence of mud-brick or stone
archi tecture.
S. CLARKE and R. ENGELHACII, Ancient EgVPliall
mtl.wnry: the building craji (London, 1930), 5-6.
[reprinted as Aucicnt Egyptiall fOllstruelioll (Iud
architecture (New York, 1990)]

cemeteries see rvlASTAflA and

PYRMvUDS

CGroup (C Horizon)
Nubian cultural entity roughly synchronous
with the period in Egyptian history between
the Old and New Kingdoms (c.2494-1550
BC). The indigenous C-Group people of
NUBIA were subjected to varying degrees of
social and economic influence from their
powerful northern neighbours. Their princi-

C-Croup bom! ofpolished incised ware.Fom Paras,

e.2340--/550 BC, H. 8./ ClII. (EAS/230)

pal archaeological characteristics included

handmade black-topped pottery vessels bearing incised decoration filled with white pigment, as well as artefacts imported from
Egypt.
Their subsistence paltern was dominated
by cattle-herding, and their social system was
essentially tribal. In the early 12th Dynasty the
C-Group territory in Lower Nubia was taken
Over by the Egyptians, who established a string
of FORTRESSES between the 2nd and 3rd Nile
cataracts. It has been suggested that one of the
effects of the Egyptian occupation in the
Middle Kingdom may have been to prevent
the C Group from developing contacts with
the more sophisticated KER..MA culture that was
developing in Upper Nubia.

B. TRIGGER, Nubia. under Ihe pharaohs (London,

1978).
J. H. TAYLOR, Egyplllllr! Nllbill (London, 1991).

Champollion. Jean-Fran~ois (1790--1832)

French linguist and Egyptologist who \V.1S
responsible for the most important achievement in the history of the study of ancient
Egypt: the decipherment of '"EROGLYPIIS. He
is sometimes described as Champollion 'Ie
jeune', because his brother, Jacques-Joseph
Champollion-Figeac, was also a scholar. Born
at Figcac, he was sent to the Lyceum at
Grenoble at the age of eleven and had already
delivered a paper on the ancient Egypti.m
LANGUAGE by the time he left in 1807. He subsequently studied under the pioneering
Egyptologist Silvestre de Sa~y at the College
de France in Paris.
Equipped with an excellent knowledge of
Hebrew, Coptic, Arabic, Syriac and
Chaldaean, he embarked on the task of deciphering hieroglyphs, using the ROSETTA STONE
(a Ptolemaic inscription consisting of the same
decree written in Greek, OEi\IIOTlC and hiero~
glyphics) as his principal guide. After examining Egyptian antiquities in various European
collections, Champollion lmdertook a detailed
survey of Egypt, along with IppoLito ROSELLJNI in 1828-9. Although his Leltre d M. Dacier
of 1822 is usually regarded as the turning
point in his studies, he did not achieve a satisfactory understanding of the language until
the completion of his grammar and dictionary
shortly before his death from a stroke in 1832.
].-F. CHAMPOLI..lON, Lettre d ;\1. Dat:ier rtflalive ti
I'a/phabet des hitirog(vphes pJumiliques (Paris,
1822).
- , MOlluwe1l1S de I'EgYPle et de!a. Nubie, 4 vols
(Paris, 1835-47).

Fragmenl of11Jall-pail1lingjroJJlthe lomb-chapel of

Nebalfll/1/ al ThebeJ, s/lOming two chariols. The
upper one is pulled !~}1tmo horses, mhereas Ihe lomer
onc appears to be dramll J~y mules. /81h Dynasly,
e. /400 BC, pailller! plaster, It. 43 ClII. (EA37982)
F. LI. GRIJ'FITl-I, 'The decipherment of the
hieroglyphs',lEA37 (1951), 38-46.
IVl. POURPOINT. C!ta111pollion et l'elligme
egYPliC11ne (Paris, 1963).

chantress see CUL'T SlNGERS AND TI~MPLl~

i\'IU$lC1AN$

chariot
Although the origins of the horse~dra\Vn chariot have proved difficult to ascertain, its arrival
in Egypt can be fairly reliably dated to the
Second Intermediate Period (1650--1550 BC).
The surviving textual and pictorial evidence
suggests that the chariot (merael or merkebet)
arrived in Egypt at roughly the same time as
the IrYKSOS. It consisted of a light wooden
semicircular, open-backed framework, furnished with an axle and a pair of four- or sixspoked wheels. A long pole attached to the axle
enabled the chariot to be drawn by a pair of
horses. Its importance as an innovative item of
mjjjtary technology was based on its use as a
mobile platform for archers, allowing the
enemy to be bombarded by arrows from many
different directions. Although the chariot is
often portrayed in temple and tomb decoration from the New )(jngdom (1550--1069 BC)
onwards, only cleven examples have survived,
four of which are from the tomb of
TUTANKIIAMUN. A Ramesside papyrus in the
British Museum (P. Anastasi I) provides an
insight into the maintenance of chariou'y with
a description of an Egyptian charioteer's visit

63

CHEOPS

CHRONOLOGY

to a repair shop in the Levantinc coastal city of

Joppa.

The chariot was not only used in battle by

the 1/J{f/:J!allllll, an elite corps of the Egyptian
army in the New Kingdom, it was also
regarded as <1n essential part of the royal
regalia. Depictions of the king charging
enemies in his chariot became a cOmmon feature of the exterior walls of temples as symbols of 'the containment of unrule', roughly
comparable with the more ancient theme of
the king smiting foreigners with a mace (sec
I(Ji'<c..;SI up).

M. A. LnT,\UER and]. H. CROUWEL, Wheelcd

l:ehides ({lid riddell tlllilllals ill/he Allcielll Near
East (Lei den and Cologne, 1979).
A. R. SCllULtI'l:\N, 'Chariots, charimfY and the
l-lyksos',.7SSEA to (1980),105-53.
M. A. LnTt\UER and J. H. CROUWEI., Clwrio!s alld
relaled equipmellt FOIll/lie tomb 4'TII/ ifllk/J(IIIIl1/l
(Oxford, 1985).
P. R. S. l\lloOREY, 'The emergence of the light,
horse-drawn charior in the Near East
r.2000-1500B.c.', HA 1812(1986), 196-215.

Cheops SCl' KIIUFU

Chephren SCI'
C Horizon

KllAJ<RA

SCI' C GROUP

similar purpose may have been served by the

ceramic vessels depicting nursing mothers,
which have survived from the lVliddle
Kingdom (2055-1650 lJe) onwards. As I:\r as
the elite were concerned, wet~nurses were
often employed, especially by the women of
the royal family; the position of (royal wetnurse' was evidently a prestigious office, often
entitling the individual to be depicted in the
tomb of the royal individual whom she had
nursed.
From at least the Old Kingdom onwards
(2686-2181 lJr.), bntb boys and girls often wore
a SIDELOCK OF YOUTII, marking them out as
pre-pubescent. The sidelock, essentially a
tress of hail' hanging over the car, was worn
until about the age of ten or 1110re. Both
inf~lllts and child-gods such as Harpocrat'es
(sec IIORUS) were reg'ulady c1epicLcd wiLh one
fing'er in their mouths as a symbol of their
childishness. Nakedness was also particularly
coml11on among children, judging from the
surviving paintings and reliefs of the
Pharaonic period. It is also clear from such
funerary art that children, as in all ages, played
many GAr-dES and sports, ranging from dancing and wrestling to ball games and races. A
number of balls have survived, but the identification of TOYS has proved mOre controversial, given the tendency for [hem to be

R. M. and l lJ\NSSEN, Crom;lIg IIjJ;1I al/timt

Egypt (London, 1990).
E. STROUIIO\I., [4e;1I al/c;el// Egypt (Cambridge.
1992), 11-29
G. R()Bl~S, I Vinllell ;11 al/ciclll Egypt (London,
1993),75-91

chronology
J\llodern Egyptologists' cluonologies of
ancient Egypt combine three basic appro;lchcs. First, there are 'relative' dating methods,
such as srratigraphic excavation, or Lhe
'sequence dining' of artefacts, which was
invented by I'linders PI':TRll': in 1899. Second,
there arc so-called '"absolute' chronologies,
based on calendrical and astronomical records
obtained from ancient texts (see ASTI~01\O\n
Ai\"D ;\ST[HJI.OGY and Ct\I.E:'\'Di\R). Finall~\ there
are 'radiometric' methods (principally radiocarbon dating and thermoluminescence), by
means of which particular types of artefacts or
organic remains can be assigned dates ill tenns
of the measurement of radioactive decay or
accumulation. The ancient Egyptians dated
important poLitical and religious events not
according to the number of years that had
elpased since a single fixed point in history
(such as the birth of Christ in the modern
western calendar) but in terms of the years
since the accession of each current king (rcg:-

children
A great deal of evidence has survived from
Egyptian medical and magical documents
concerning precautions taken by WOMEN to
ensure rapid conception, safe pregnancy and
successful childbirth. The graves of children
have survived in varia LIS cemeteries from the
Predynastic period onwards, and attempts
have been made to assess the rate of infant
mortality on the basis of the ratios of adult to
child burials, as well as rhe study of rhe human
remains themselves. Undoubtedly infant mortality was high, but families were nevertheless
fairly large, averaging perhaps at about five
children who would actually have reached
adolescence (assuming the early death of three
or four offspring).

M.any surviving reliefs, paintings and sculptures depict women suckling their babies,
including the famous depiction of TIIUTMOSE
III being suckled by the goddess ISIS (in the
form of a tree) in his tomb in the Valley of the
Kings (1-:\'34). The motif of the king being
suckled by his mother Isis or 111\'1'1 [OR was an
archetypal clement of Egyptian religion, perhaps providing some of the inspiration for the
image of Madonna and Child in the Christian
era, A number of magical spells were evidently intended to restore mother's milk, and a

64

confused with religious and magical paraphernalia~ a 'doll' for instance might equally
well have erotic or ritualistic signilicance (see
SE:XU.'\[TI"Y).

See also

Killg hI/FolJI/lte lemple of Rallle:;es fI a/ Abydns.

lite lower reg;sla (~rwlticlt repealS the birth alld
tlll"f)//e nallles r~rRa'/Jleses II. /9/h Dyllasty, c.1250
Be. pa;lI/ed lilllcs/one, (f. 1.38/lf. (/:."A117)

ClRCU_\,\CISION; CLOTI liNG; EDUCt\-

TION; .\\/\.\1"115[; :\IEDICl1\'I:.

E. FEUCHT, IKind', Lt'xi/..:oll del' .AgYPlolog;e [[I,

cd. 'IN. Heick, E. Otto and '\.I, Westendorf
(Wiesbadcn, 1980), +24-37.
G. PINClI , 'Childbirth and female figurines at
DeiI' el-Medina and c1-Amarna', Or;eJl/aha 52
(1983), +05-1+
S. \VIIM,E, 1111' filll/;f)! ill lite Eigltteel/llt DYllas/y of
Egypt: (l s/lIr()' of/lte represell/al;oll o/llte.f{lIlI;(J! ill
private tombs (Sydney, 1989).

nal years). Dates were therefore recorded in

the following typical format: \lay three of the
second month of perel in the third year of
1\1enkheperra (Thutmose [II)'. The situation,
however, is slightly confused by the fact that
Lhe dates cited in the 5th-Dynasty KING LIST
known as the P1\LERLV10 51'01\'E appear to refer to
the number of biennial cattle censuses (hesbe!)
rather than to the number of years that the
king had reigned, therefore the number of

~ONOLOGY

CIRCUMCISION

R. KRAUSS, So/his-lIl1d ,Houdda/en: Stlldim ::..ur

IWrollom;sc!1t:lI flUt! tethui~'(hell Chronologie
/lllIi'gyp/ellS (Iliidesheim, 1985),
1. ~L E. SHAW, 'Egyptian chronology and the
lrish Oak calibration',JNES 44N (1985),
295-317.
K. A, Knu IE:'\, 'The chronology of ancient
Eg\"pt', I/t1 23 (1991), 201-8.

'years' in the date has to be doubled to find out

the actual number of regnal years.
The names and relatiyc dates of the yarious
rulers and m I\:\~TIES hil\-C been obtained from
a number of tc.xtual sources. These range from
the ~egJ'PliIlCll, ;:1 history compiled by an
Egyptian priest called \I"'~ETII() in the early
third century Be, [Q the much earlier h:.ll\G
LJSTS, mainly recorded on ("he walls of tombs
and temples but also in the form of papni (as
with the T Rll\ RQnL C\ "o~) or remote desert
rock-carvings (as with the \\fadi Hammamat
list). It is usually presumed lhal .\lanetho
himself used king lists of these types as his
sources.
The 'traditional' absolute chronologies tend
to rely on complex webs of textual references,
combining such elements as namcs1 dates and
genealogical information into an oyerall historical framework which is more reliable in some
periods than in others, The 'intermediate periods' have proved to be particularly awkward,
partly because there W.IS often more than one
ruler or dynasty reigning simultaneously in
different parts of the country. The surviving
records of observations of the heliacal rising of
the dog star Sirius (SOPDET) serve both as the
linchpin of the reconstruction of the Egyptian
calendar and as its essential link with the
chronology as a whole.
The relationship between the calendrical
and radiometric chronological systems has
been relatively ambiyalent oyer the years,
Since the late 1940s, ,yhen a series of Egyptian
artefacts were used as a bench-mark in order
to assess the reliability of the newly invented
radiocarbon dating technique, a consensus has
emerged that the two svstems arc broadh- in
line. The major problcn~, howcYer, is that- the
traditional calendrical system of dating, whatever its failings, "irtually always has a smaller
margin of error than radiocarbon dates, which
are necessarily quoted in terms of a broad
band of dates (i,e, one or two standard deviations), never capable of pinpointing the construerion of a building or the making of an
artefact to a specific year (or even a specific
decade), The prehistory of Egypt, on the other
hand, has benefited greatll' from the application of radiometric dating, since it was previously reliant on relative dating methods. The
radiometric techniques h,we made it possible
~ot only to place Petrie's sequence dates with~n a framework of absolute dates (however
Imprecise) but also to push the chronology
back into the earlier Neolithic and Palaeolithic
periods.

Dc/ailoIll relief/iom the mas/aba 10mb of

R. PARKER, 'The calendars and chronology', Th"

Legacy ofl:.gyp/, ed.). R. Harris (Oxford, 1971),
13-26.

/lnkh",a/wr fII Saqqara, ~'hOl1Jillg a priest

pc/forming tin {fct ()/l;i"cllmc/~'iol1 011 ({ boy. 6th
DYlla.<ly. c.2300 (ie.

chthonic
Term lIsed to describe phenomena relating to
the underworld and the earth, including
deities such as GEB, ,\KER and OSIRIS,

cippus see flORUS

circumcision
The Greek historian Herodorus mentions that
the Egyptians practised circumcision 'for
cleanliness' sake, preferring to be clean rather
than comely'; and the practice may well have
been inaugurated purely for reasons of
hygiene. Nevertheless, depictions of certain
uncircumcised individuals in the decoration of
Old Kingdom mastaba tombs suggest that rhe
operation wns not universal.
The act of circumcision may have been performed as pan of a ceremony akin to the rites
of passage in the 'age-grade systems' of many
band and tribal societies, A stele of the First
Intermediate Period (2181-2055 Be) mentions
the circumcision of 120 boys at one time,

which pcrhJps implies a group of indi"iduals

of "arying ages. It has been suggestcd, howe\'cr, that boys would usually haye been abOlu
f(Hlrteen years old when they '''ere circumciscd. The mummy of a young prince aged
about c!e\'cn, which was found in the tomb of
Amenhotep II, is uncircumcised and retains
the SIDF.LOCK OF yor.;'n I hairstyle, which waS
therefore perhaps worn by young boys only in
the years before circumcision.
The ceremony itself, for which the
Egyptian rerm was ubi, waS carried our using
;l cun'ed flint knife similar to those employed
by embalmers. On the basis of this archaizing
equipmenr, iL has been argued that circumcision waS essenrially a religious act for the
Egyptians. On the other hand, it may h3\'e
simply been a practical expedient, gi\'en the
fact thal metal knives would hardly hil\'e surpnssed a newly-knapped flint in terms of
sharpness. Moreover, considering the lack of
anriscptics, if the cut was as clean and rapid ns
possible, the healing process would probably
have been more likely to be successful.
The 6th-Dynasty mastaba of the vizier
Ankhmahor at Saqqara contains a circumcision scene, which appcars to show bOLh Lhe
cutting and the application of some sort of
ointment, although the latter is unclear, From
at least the Late Period onwards (747-332 lie)
it became compulsory for priests to be circumcised, as part of the purification necessary for
the performance of their temple duties, ;,tnd
Ihis further illustrates that it was not compulsory for children to be circumcised at adolescence. In the Roman period, a ban on circumcision (from which only priests were exempt)
appears to have been introduced.
The Egyptians themsclycs may have regarded circumcision as an ethnic 'identificr', judging from depictions of foreigners in battle
scenes of the New Kingdom, such as those
depicted in the mortuary temple of Ramescs III
at I\lEIJI:'\ET II-\B(;. In enumerating enemy dead,
the Egyptians diffcrentiated belween the circumcised Semites, whose hands were cut off,
and the uncircumcised foes - notably Libyans"'hose penises were remoyed for the counting.
Although Strouhal suggests tlut some
ancient Egyptian texts refer to 'uncircumcised' virgins and the Roman wriL'er Strabo
mentions that female circumcision was practised by the Egyptians, no physical evidence of
the operation has yet been found 011 surviving
female mummies,
[\ JO"'CKI11~E1{Jo:, 'T.a circonclsion des nnciens
Egypt-iens" Cel1/flurus I (1951), 212-34,
0. B:\RDIS, 'Circumcision in ancient Egypt\
flldiflllaJollJ'Jlal/or the Hist01J' o/,Het!io'uc 12/1
(1967),22-.1.
65

CLOTHI~

CLEOPATRA

E. STROUlI:\L, Life il1 al/cient Egypt (C1mbridge,

1992),28-9.

Cleopatra
Name given to seven Ptolemaic queens of
Egypt. The last of these, Cleopatra I'll (51-30
Be), was the most illustrious. Clearly intelligent and politically astute, she was reputedly
the only Ptolemaic ruler to have learnt the
Egyptian language. Surprisingly, however, in
view of the later eulogies of poets and playwrights such as Shakespeare, her surviving
portraits suggest that the historical Cleopatra
was not especially beautiful.
Cleopatra VII first shared a COREGEJ,CY with
her father Ptolemy XII (80-51 BC) and then
with her brother Ptolemy XIII (51-'17 BC) who
ousted her from power for a time in 48 BC. Her
links with Rome were first forged through
Pompey, who had been appointed as her
guardian on the death of her father, when he
had become involved in the financial affairs of
the Ptolemaic court. Defeated by Caesar at
Pharsalia in 48 BC, Pompey fled to Egypt,
where he was assassinated. Tn the same year
Caesar eOlered Egypt and restored Cleopatra
to the throne as coregent with her second
brother, Ptolemy XII' (47-44 HC), whom she
married.
In 47 Be she bore a son, Ptolemy Caesarion,
who she claimed had been fathered b)' Caesar.
She visited Caesar in Rome in 46 BC, returning
after his assassination, whereupon she
bestowed a similar fate on her brother, replacing him with the young Caesarion; her various
political manoeuvres then led to her being
summoned to meet with lvlark Antony at
Tarsus. He spent the winter at Alexandria,
after which Cleopatra bore him twins; shortly
afterwards they were officially married, and
subsequently set about the business of using
one another for their own political ends.
In 34 Be, in the so-called 'Donations of
Alexandria', Mark Antony divided various
parts of the eastern Roman empire between
Cleopatra and her children, legitimating this
action to the Senate by informing them that he
was simply installing client rulers. However,
Octavian (later Augustus), who was the broth~
er of ~1ark Antony's Roman wifc, led a propaganda campaign against his brother~in-la\V and
Cleopatra, dwelling on their supposed licentious behaviour in Alexandria, and in 32 Be
Rome declared war on Cleopatra. The following year Octavian defeated Mark Antony at the
naval battle of Actium, partly because
Cleopatra's fleet unexpectedly withdrew from
the engagement. Octavian pursued them both
into Egypt, but Antony committed suicide
and, on 10 August 30 BC, Cleopatra followed

66

F(ssures oJ Cleopatra. VII (Ie/i) and her sou kJ'

Julius Caesar, Caesarian (right), making
o.fTerillgs. Fro/1/the south (rear) mll,1I ofthe temple
o/Hat!wr at Dendera. (J~ 7: NICHOLSON)

suit, preferring death to the humiliation of a

Roman triumph. Oetavian then had her eldest
son, Ptolemy Caesarion, killed. He appointed
himself pharaoh on 30 August, theoceforth
treating Egypt as his own private estate.
J. QUAEGEBEUR, 'Cleopatra \"I] and the cults of the
Ptolemaic queens" Cleopatra ~f Eg)lpt: Age oflhe
Plolem;es, cd. R. S. Bianchi (New York, 1988),
41-54.
L. HUGHFS-I-lALlLIT, Cleopatra (London, 1990).
j. W'IITEHORNE, Cleopalra, (London, 1994).

clepsydra ('water clock')

Device for ffiC'JSuring tinle, consisting of a
water-filled vessel (usually of stone, copper or
pottery) with a hole in the base through which
the water gradually drained away. The earliest
surviving examples date to the 18th Dynasty
(1550-1295 BC). There are a variety of fragments of stone clepsydrae in the collection of
the British Museum, including part of a basalt
vessel dating to the reign of Philip Arrhidaeus
(c.320 BC), which is marked with vertical lines
of small holes relatiog to the twelve hours of
the night. Part of a cubit rod in the
Metropolitan Museum, New York, bears the
words 'The hour according to the cubit: a
jar(?) of copper filled with water ... ', thus
implying that the rod was dipped into a copper
vessel in order to read the time as the water
level fell.

B. CUn-ERELL, F P. DICKSON and]. KAMMINGA,

'Ancient Egyptian water-clocks: a reappraisal',
JouI"I/(I1 oIArcJuu:ological Scie1/ce 13 (1986),
31-50.
G. HC)lJlL, 'Eine agyptische Wasseruhr aus
Ephesus', AI/like Well 17/1 (1986),59-60.
S. CoUCI-IOUD, 'Calcul d'un horloge it cau"
OSEe 12 (1988), 25-34.

clothing
Despite the fact that arid conditions have
facilitated the survival of a number of items of
clothing, primarily from tombs of the New
Kingdom, textiles have so far not been studied
in sufficient detail. Modern studies of ancient
Egyptian clothing are therefore still largely
based on the srudy of wall-paintiogs, reliefs
and sculptures.
In general Egyptian clothing was very simple: men working in the fields or involved in
craftwork often wore little more than a loincloth or short kilt, although shirt-like garments have survived from the Early Dynastic
period onwards, the earliest example being a
linen dress/shirt from Tarkhan in Lower
Egypt (c.2800 BC). Clothing can often be used
as a reliable chronological guide in thaI the
Egyptian Clite of most periods were generally
subject to changes io fashion. The dress of
courtiers of Ramesside times, for instance,
could be extremely elaborate and the men
often wore pleated kilts with unusual apronlike arrangements at the front.
During the Old Kingdom, womeo (and
goddesses) arc usually portrayed wearing a
kind of sheath-dress with broad shoulder
straps, but b)' the New Kingdom this had

COBRA

~THING

evolved into a type of dress with only one

strap, and by the reign of Amcnhotep III

(1390-1352 Be) more diaphanous garments
were being worn. Fine clothing became one of
the specialist products for which Egypt was
known in Roman times. The colourful nature
of the fabrics used in daily life (or perhaps the
use of bead netting Over dresses) is illustrated
by the figures of offering bearers from the
tomb of Meketra (rr280) datiog to the early
Middle Kingdom.
The excavation of the Theban tomb of the
architect Kha (rr8) led to the discovery of
twenty-six knee-length shirts ancl about fifty
loincloths, including shorr triangular pieces

of material that would have been worn in the

context of agricultural or building work.
Seventeen heavier linen tunics were provided
for winter we'lf, while two items described as

'tablecloths' were among Kha's wife's

clothes. He and his wife each had their own
individuallaundrymarks, and it is known that
there were professional launderers attached
to the workmen's village at JJEIR EI.-MEDINA
where Kha and his family lived. A few loincloths made of leather rather than linen have
also survived, some particularly fine examples having been excavated from the wellpreserved tomb of MAIl IERPRI in the Valley of
the Kings (Kv36).
The tomb of TUTt\;\IKl-!t\MUN (Kv62) contained a large selection of textiles, including
children's clothing. So far linlc of his
wardrobe has been scientifically examined, but
sOme of the linen contains gold thread, and
one kilt was made up of colourful beadwork.
Decorated textiles became more common in
the New Kingdom, but 'were still not common, some of the best examples deriving fi'om

LEVI' Earlie:.! surviving Egyptiflngarme1lf: linen

sltirt 01" dress, comprising ({ plea/et/yoke and
sleeves flffflclted to fI skin lIJi,h mcJi/ringe,
c.\"(;avaled in 19/2fro1l/ mos/aba 2050 al
Thrklutll. Is/Dynasty, reign o/Djc/, c.2980 fie,
r.. I~!"s/cf"/,le (nak edge 10 IIJrist) 58 em. (!'t:Tll/1:"
AIUSUW, 286148i)

Triangular /jnenloindo/ltsj;"lJlJI/he lomb of

c./330 IlG, (GAl/tO,
Nu.SOb)
IJELOW

TlI!allkhallllll1. /81h PJ'/WSZ)',

the tomb of Thuulluse IV (1400-1390 Be,

Kv43) and include crowned urrt,ei (sec WADJYT).
Howard Carter believed these to be ceremonial garments, but mOre recently it has been sllg~
gcsted that they may havc been lIsed as vessel
covers.
Priests, viziers and certain other types of
officials all marked their status with particular
items or styles of dress. The vizier, for
instance, was usually depicted wearing a long
robe which came up to his armpits, while the
scm-priest was usually shown wearing a leopard-skin.
R. HALL, Egyp/ian lex/iles (Princes Risborough,
1986).

G. VOGELSANG-EASTWOOD, P/Ull"afJlIlt Egyptiall

do/hillg (Lcidcll, 1993).

cobra
Type of snake that served as the sacred image
of WAOJYT, patron deiry of the town of Buto
(TI~LL 1:I.-I,'ARl\ 'IN) in the Delta, who came to
represent Lower Egypt, in contrast to the
Upper Egyptian vulture-goddess NEKJ-IBEI. As
the ruler of the two lands, the king included
the cobra (iarel) and the vulture among his
titles and insignia (see C[~OWNS ..\ ND ROYAl.
REGALf,\ and ROYAL ITI'ULARY). The limen.' was
sometimes described as '"the great enchantress'
(merel !leRam) and could be depicted as a cobra
with a human head (as on the golden shrine of
Tutankhamun). Even before its identification
with the king, the cobra's protective attributes
were recognized, and it was identified as the
EYE OF (v\, sometimes shown protecting his
solar disc by spitting fire and venol11. Pairs of
cobras also guarded the gates that divided the
individual hours of the underworld in the
Book (~r Gales (see FUNERARY TEXTS); this is
presumed to have been the function of the
gilded wooden cobra found in the tomb of
Tut.ankhamun.
I-I.-\V. FISC,JrER-ELI'ERT, <Uto', I.A!.rikoll dcr
Agy/ojJ%gie VI, cd. \Y. Heick, E. Otto and W.
Westendorl'(Wiesoaden, 1986),906-11.
S. JOIINSO,\" The cobra goddess (!!"al1(ieul Eg)/IJ/
(London, 1990).

coffins and sarcophagi

The term 'coffin' is usually applied to the
rectangular or anthropoid container in which
the Egyptians placed the mummified boely,
where.Is the word 'sarcophagus' (Greek:
'flesh-cating') is used to refer only to t.he stone
aliter container, invariably encasing one or
more coffins. The dist.inction made between
these two itcms of Egyptian funerary equipment is theref()re essentially an artificial one,
since both shared the same role of protecting
the corpse. In terms of decoration and shape,

67

COFFINS AND SARCOPHA~.!

COFFINS AND SARCOPHAGI

coffins and sarcophagi drew on roughly the

same iconographic and styListic repertoire.
The earliest burials in Egypt contain no
coffins and are naturally desiccated by the hot
sand. The separation of the corpse from the
surrounding sand by the lise of a coffin or sarcophagus ironically led to the deterioration of
the body, perhaps stimulating developments in
.\IUt'\'II\IlF1CATION. The religious purpose of the
coffin was to ensure the well-being of the
dl:ccascd in the afterlife, literally providing a
'house' for the KA.
The earliest coffins were baskets or simple
plank constructions in which the body was
placed in ,I Ilcxed position. From these developed the vaulted house-shaped coffins that
remained in lise into the 4th Dynasty
(26l3-2494 lie). At around this time the
Egyptians began to bury the corpse in an
extended position, perhaps because the
increasingly common practice of e,'isceratioTl
(sec CA"mPIC JARS) nude such an arrangement
more suitable. By the end of the Old
Kingdom (2181 BC) food offerings were being
painted on the inside of cottins as an extra
means of pnwiding sustenance for the
deceased in the event of the tomb chapel being
destroyed or neglected. In the Old and Nliddk
Kingdoms, a pair or eyes was often painted on
the side or the coffin that liKed east when itwas placed in the tomb; it was evidently
believed thal the deceased could therefore look
out of the coffin to sce his or her offerings and
the world from which he Or she had passed, as
well as to view the rising SUIl.
Decorated collins becamc still more
important in the First fntcrmediate Period

68

(2181~2055 Be), when many tombs contained

little mural decoration (sec 13E.NI HASAN). It
waS thus essential that coffins themselves
should incorporate the basic elements of the
tomb, and by the rvliddle Kingdom
(2055-1650 Ilc) they often incorporated
revised extracts of the PYRAMID TE:\TS, known
as the COF]T\' TE\TS. This change reflects the
increased identificarion of the afterlife with
OSIRIS, rather than the sun-god R!\ (sec Flji\!o:R}\R\ TEXTS).

Anthropoid coffins first appc<lred in the

12tb Dynasty (1985-1795 Be), apparent1v
serving as substitute bodies lest the original be
destroyed.
'\lith
the New Kingdom
(1550-1069 IIC), this form of coffin became
morc popular and thc shape becamc identified
with Osiris himsclf~ his BEARD and crossed
arms somerjmes being added. The feathered,
rislii coffins of the 17th and early J8th Dynasty
were once thought to depict the wings of the
goddess ISIS, embracing her husband Osiris,
but are now considered by some scholars to
refer to the n:\ bird. Rectangular coflins were
effectively rcplaced by anthropoid types in the
lRth Dynasty, but some of their decorative clements were rerained.
In the Third Intermediate Period (1069747 [Ie), coffins, papyri and stelae became the
main vehicles for funerary scenes that had previollsly been carved and painted on the walls
of tomb chapels. 'rhe principal feawre of most
of the new scenes depicted on coffins was the
Osirian and solar mythology surrounding the
concept of rcbirth (sec OSIRIS and RA), including the judgcment of the deceased bcJore
Osiris and the journey into the underworld,

thc voyage or the SOL\R BARK and parts of the

LittlllY (~r RlI. Among the new scenes intro_
duced in the decoration of coffins and On
funerary papyri was the depiction of the separation of the earth-god Geb from the skygoddess NUT.
The excavation of the 21st- and 22ndDynasty royal tombs at TANIS has proyided a
number of examples or the royal coffins of the
period (althollgh the sarcophagi were sometimes rC-lIsed from the .:'\i ew Kingdom). 'fhe
cache of mummies of high priests of Amun <lI
DEIR EL-U'\I lR] has also yielded a large number
of private cofiins of the 21st Dyn<lst~
(1069-945 BC). It lVas also from the end of the
New Kingdom onwards that the interiors of
coffins began to be decorated again; beneath
the lid - especiall~- in the 22nd Dyni1sl~
(945-715 Be) - there was often " reprcsel1ta~
tion of Nut, while the 'goddess of the \ycst'
(HKrHoR) or the [)JI:n 1'11.1..'\1{ began 1"0 be
portrayed on the coffin floor. During the
Late Period exlT<\cts from the BOOI-: OF TIlE
DL\D werc sometimes also inscribed inside
the coffin.
In the 25th Dynasty <\ new repertoire of cof...
fin types, usually consisting of sets of two or
three (including an inner case with pedestal,
an intermediate anthropoid case and a 'fourposter' or anthropoid outer coffin), was introduced, becoming cstablished practice by the
26th Dynasty. Late Period coffins were also
characterized by archaism, inyolving the rcPail/led moot/ell C(~!l;1l and lIIl!11l/l~JI o/al/ lIlI/WllIed
Tlteball pricsless. 2lsI DYlfflSZJI. c.IOOO fJe,
II.

/.83 III. ("/-1879/-2)

fQFFIN TEXTS

COLOSSI OF MEMNON

introduction of c'lrlicr styles of coffin deeOl'arion, such as the proyision of the eye panel.
There arc comparatiycly few exc;wated
burials dating from c.S2S to 350 Be, bur more
coffLns have slIrYi"cd frol11 the succeeding
phase (30th Dynast)' and ear" Ptolemaic period), when they typically ha\'c disproportionatel" large heads and wigs. During the early
Proiem;lic period many mummies were pro\"ided with canonnagc \1.\5":S .md plaques,
fixed on to the body by strips of linen.
A. Nl\nNs}.:!. 'ZUf D.tticrung lind Hcrkunft der
:I!ragyprischcn Siirgc', Bibliolhem Orimlli/ia-rz

(1985), .\9+-508.
I-l. \VII.LDtS, Cln/sls (~rlije: {/ JllIl~)1 (~(lhe /Jlp%gy
{lml r0l1apllliI1 del'c/opwell! oIIl/itftlle J....iugt/ul/1
suwdllrd rltm ro}]im (T .eiden, 1988).
A. NIWINSt.::I, 2 hI Dyuasty (o.flinsji"u1I1 nll'hi'S
(Mainz, 1988).
J. 1-1. TAYLOR, E:!{)lpliall CI!llills (Aylesbury, 1989).
N. A. SlI..BER.\\:\N, 'Coflins in human shape: ~l
history of anthropoid sarcophagi', H Ii? 16/+
(1990),52--1.
G. LAPP, ~)lp(lllJgic del' 5/ti'lgc /llId Sargl'fllllIl/cl'II
(llcidclbcrg, 1993).

Coffin Texts
Tcrm referring to

;I group of O\Tr .1 thousand

spells, selections from wh ich were inscribed
on coffins during the Middle Kingdom, particularly the 11th and 12th Dynasties

(2055-1795 Be). Man\' or the Coffin Texts

were derivcd from the 1'\ ]{\\\ID TEXTS, ;l
sequence of oftcn-obscure spells clnTd (In the
internal walls of rhe Old Kingdom pyramids.
During the Old Kingdom the afterlife had
been the prerogali\ c of (he king, who in death
was identified with OSIRIS and transformed
into a god. For Lhis reason Old J..:..ingdolll
courticrs sought hurial close to the king, hoping for inclusion in his funerary cult so that
they Loo mighl be gr~1I1ted some 'form of aftcrlife, although rhe best Lh.lt they could hope for
Was a continuation of lheir carthh status.
However, with the collapse of ~hc Old
Kingdom camc grcaLer self-reliance ~lnd with
it a proccss which is somctimcs described lw
Egyptologists as thc DE\\OCR,\TIZ\TIO\l OF TIl~~
,\I'TERJ.lFE. This mcant that eYCr\'onc could
have access to the afterlife, Wilhout'hcing associated directly with the royal culL These new
aspirations of the deceased arc set out in a collection of spells painted in cursiyc hierogl\']Jhs
inside l"he wooden corrin.
The Coffin 'Texts were intcnded to provide
a guarantee of survival in the art-crworld and
~ol11e of them are the ancestors of spells found
In the New Kingdom 1l00J-: OF TilE IlEI\IJ. They
have titles such as the sc!t:'explanatory '~ot to
rot and not to do work in the kingdom of the

dead', and 'Spell for not dying a second

death', whil:h was designed to preycnr the
deceased from being judgcd unfit to enter the
kingdom of Osiris .md so condcmned to
oblivion.
Both the Pyr;lmid Text.s and the Coffin
TexIs present more than one \-crsion of the
destination of the deceased: they mig-ht traYe:1
the sl.y with thc sun-god IU or, ahernal-i\c1~,
mighr pass do" n into the underworld of
Osiris. Th is latter \iew became increasingly
common from the time of the Coffin 'Jcxts
onwards, setting the scene for the funerary
helic'!.; of rhe Ncw Kingdom.
R.o. F\LI.""':R, The [gyp!ia/l CoHill Tc.rls.
J rols (\Varminster, 1973-8).
A.

J. SI'E'\C1:1{, Death ill (II/rim!

F.gyP!

(1Iarll1tlnds\\'{)rrh. 1982), 1..f.1-2.

H. \VII.I.El\IS, C!Jests (~rld(': {/ SII/{~)I flllI/e Iypoll//!..JI
lIlId (Ol!ct'plfllll dt'rt,lopmelll !d'/l1itltlle Kingdo/ll
s!fuu/ard class O!l!i1lS (Lcidcn, 1988), 2+t--9.

Tht illlantl! t!('mmlioll oj'lhe mjlill t~rGf{{f.

i1/Jtribttl milh rXIrt1(ISj;m1lIfte Co/lin 'Iexts. 121ft
PJ/lUlJly, c./98.;-179.) HC, pai1lutl mwc!,j'mlll
Dl'ird-limi/ll. L 0(1'00;112.6/11. (.1308-10)

Colossi of Memnon
'I\\'()

colossal scated sratues of

\.\II:,\1I0TI:I 1 III

(1390-1]52 Be), can'ed from quartzite sandstone, which ;lre located .It the eastern end uf
thc silc of his much-plundered mortuary temple in wCS:rTl Thebes; e.lch of the figures is
flanked by a rcprescnt<1tion of TIY.
In 27 Be;1n earthquakc damaged rhe nonhern staLUc, and perhaps created somc flaw in
thc stonc, causing it to producc a characteristic whistling sound each morning. This has
been \',lI'iously ascribed to the effect of' the
brecze or thc expansion of the Slone, although
the precise reason remains uncertain_ Ancient
Greek visitors knew the statue as Lhc '\'OCil1
Mcmnon', suggesting thaI the figure was Ihe
Homeric character .Memnon, singing 1'0 his
mother Eos, the goddess of the dawn. The
Greek writer STR..:\BO at first speculated, SOIl1C-

69

COLOSSI OF MEMNON

Tlu: Colossi of/'rlemuoll 011 lite J1J(sl bauk (1/ Tlll'bl's

tlrf: n:pn:seu/tll;OIlS ill quartzite sauds/olll' of
Alllfn/Wlep /11. The lIorthern sla/ut (right) is thtll
J..1Uwm to tludell! Creel' visitors tiS tlte 'weill

COLUMN

?\kmnon: new slants', ArclweomellJ' 26/2

(198-1),218-29.

1\1e1ll1l01l', (P.LWCIIOViO,Il,-j

D. KI.I:,\I~I, R. KI.E:\L\l and L. STECI.:\C1, 'Die

pharnonischcn Stcinbriichc des silifizierten
Sandsteins und die Herkunft del' ?\ lemnon-

wh.lt sceptically, that the sound might have

been crcated by Egyptians standing nearby,
although he claims to ha,'c been e\'entually

Kolosse', MD.UK -10 (198-1), 207-20.

and B. BNY,", EgypI S tll1;::)illg
.HlII: AmenhoJcp HI tIIlll his nJl1rltl (Bloomington,
1992), 138-9.
A. P. KOZI.OFF

convinced of irs supernatural origins. [11 the

third century the Roman emperor Scptirnius

column

Sever us (In 193-21 J) repaired the damaged

Like much of Egyptian religious architecture,

the shapes of stone columns drew inspiration
from Egyptian native flora and from
Predynastie religious structures made of
reeds, branches and logs. "rhe sh;'lft and C<.lpiral
were carved in the form of four basic noral
types: P\PYRUS, LOTUS, palm and 'composite'.
In the Greco-Roman period, the composite
capital provided an opportunity for many
more elaborate variations and combinations,
Thc shafts of columns were also frequently
decorated with scenes and inscriptions in
paintcd relier.
\Vooden columns were used in Egyptian
houscs and occasionally also in religious buildings, such as Old Kingdom mortuary chapels,
as decorative supports for the roofs and upper

colossus, and in doing so seems to ha,-c rendered it dumb.

As a rC:iult of the identification of the colos-

si with Memnon, the area of western Thebes

itself became known as i\rlcmnonia, and the
R\,\IESSEU~' as the J\1cmnoniul11. The term
1\1cmnoniu111 was even applied to the Osircion
at ,'Iwnos. 'T'hcsc nan1es were stiLI fashion:'lblc
in the ~arly nineteenth century, when
Giovanni m:I.Z0i\"1 applied the phrase 'young
J\1cmnon' to a colossal head of Rameses 11
which he transported from rheR:'lmesseum to
the British JVluseum.
A. I-I. G.'Wl>li\d:R, 'The Egyptian Memnon"Jl:.~,tJ

47 (1961),91-9.
II.

70

BO".\I.<\i\

et aI., 'The northern colossus of

storeys. But the srone pillars and columns in

Egyptian religious and funerary buildings
served symbolic as weB as functional purposes, forming an essential part of the cosmulogical nature of Egyptian temples.
The e~lrliest stone columns were engaged
papyrus, ribbed and fluted columns in the
cntrance and jubilee court" of the Step
Pyramid complex at SAQQ,lR,\. By the ~th
Dynasty (2613-2-194 Be), freestanding
columns of many different stones were being
used in the mortuary and valley temples of
pyramid complexes. In the relief decoration
the c:.lUseway of L"'HS (2375-23~5 Be), granite
palm columns (some examples of which ha\C
survi\'cd in Unas' ,'alley temple) ,1re depicted
in the prOl:ess of being transported by bo.ll
from the Aswan quarries to Saqqara.
Fluted 'proto-Doric' columns were first
carved in the entrance to the 12th-Dynast)
tombs of Khnumhotep (Blt3) and Amenemhat
(BIl2) at BEN1 HASI\'\i, and this unusual form W;lS
used again in the north colonnade ()f
Hatshcpsut's chapel of Anubis at Dr.m ElBt\ll!?.l, where the columns arc made {Q appear
more elegant by tapering them LOw.trds the top.
On thc most universal level, papyruS
columns represented the reeds growing on the

or

~UMN

COPTIC PERIOD

PRlJ\{EVAL l'vIOUND at the beginning of time,

although on a more practical level the forests
of columns that make lip IIYPOSTYLE HALLS
were probably also considered essential to
avoid the collapse of the roof, especially in the
sandstone temples constructed during the
New Kingdom. There wcre two types of
papyrus column: the dosed form, in which the
capital was a papyrus bud, and the 'campaniform' type, in which the flower was shown in
full bloom at the top of the column. The lotus
column (a relatively rare form except:.It ABUSIR
and BEN! HASAN) was also sometimes represented with the capital in flower. Since the
PAPYRUS and LOTUS were the plants associated
with Upper and Lower Egypt respectively,
they could be used as clements of the architectur;\ symbolism surrounding the union of the
'twO lands'. An unusual type is the 'tent-pole'
column found in the Festival Hall of
Thurrnose IlJ at KARNAK.
There were also a number of columns pro-

Red grfll/i!l' palm colu11ln

ji-Oll/ Ihe valley lemple oI

U1!a.\' al Saqqara. Laic
51h Dynasty, c.2345 lJe,
Ii. 3.58/11. (.-11385)

vided with capitals that had iconographic

associations with the particular religious context in which thcy stood. Thus, I-If\TlIORheaded (or SISTRUivl) columns were erected in
religious buildings associated with the goddess
Hathor, such as the temple of ]-Iatshepsut at

Deir c1-Bahri and the temple of Hathor at

DENl)CRA. Finally, the DJED I'rLL!\R, with four
horizontal bars across its capital, is an iconographic motif rather than a physical architectural clement, although the meaning of the
word djed ('stability, duration') was closely
linked with the concept of support, and in
some instances columns were decorated with
djed signs, presumably ip order to give thcm
greater strength.
S. CLARKE and R. Et'\GET.BACH, ~1It:ien' EgYPlion
ma.wul1:J': Ihe buildillg (I"(~{I (London, 1930),
136-50.
JVl.lsLER, 'The technique of monolithic carving',
MDAIK 48 (1992), 45-55.
D. ARNOlD, Building i11 Egypl: pharaonic slOllc
/}/{{SOl/l)! (New York and Oxford, 1991),46--7.

concubine of the dead see SEXUALITY

copper and bronze
The first metal to be exploited in Egypt, as
elsewhere in the ancient world, was copper,
the earliest surviving examples of which are
small artefacts such as beads and borers of the
Badarian period ((.5500-4000 BC). By the late
I'REDY:-.JASTIC PERIOD, however, large items,
such as axe- and adze-heads, were being produced, and the knowledge of copper-smelting
and working was already highly developed. It
has been suggested that the important late
Predynastic settlement of M.'\AIJI, in Lower
Egypt, may have prospered on the basis o[ its
role as intermediary between the sources of
copper in Sinai and the Levant and the Upper
Egyptian 'proto~states' whose growth and
competition produced a demand for metal
tools and weapons.
Copper was mined at various localities in
the Eastern Desert, Nubia and the Sinai
peninsula (such as vVadi Maghara) from at
least the early Old Kingdom. The excavation
of the Early Dynastic phase of the Egyptian
fortress at nUl IEt'\, near the third Nile cat;uac!:,
revealed traces of copper-smelting, indicating
that mining was one of the earliest reasons for
the Egyptian presence in Nubia.
The technology of copper-smelting in the
Old and Middle Kingdoms (2686-1650 Be)
involved the use of crucibles and reed blowpipes. The P;\J.ERjvIO STONE states that copper
sLatues were already being created in the 2nd
Dynasty (2890-2686 BC), and the most spectacular surviving examples of copper-working
fiom the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 Be) are the
l.ife-size statue of the 6th-Dynasty pharaoh
I'I':I'Y I and another smaller figure possibly representing his son Nlerenra, both in the Cairo
l\1useum. These were probably produced by
hammering the metal over a wooden core.

The production of bronze, an alloy combining copper and tin, appears to have
spread from Western Asia. Among the first
known bronze artefacts in Egypt are a pair of
ritual vessels from the tomb of the 2ndDynasty ruler KIIASEKHEMWY at AIn'DOS. It
was not until the J\tliddle Kingdom that
bronze began to be imported regularly from
Syria, gradually replacing the use of copper
hardened with arsenic. However, the percentage of tin varied considerably, from
about 2 to 16 per cent. Tin lowers the melting point of copper, thus increasing its liquidity for casting. Additions of up to 4 per
cent make the artefact stronger and harder,
but higher levels of tin impair these qualitie~,
unless the artefact is frequently annealed (reheated and allowed to cool).
In the New Kingdom a form of bellows,
con~isting of a leather-covered day vessel with
a protruding tube, was introduced, making the
smelting of copper and bronze easier. From
the Saite period (664--525 He) onwards, large
numbers of votive statucttes of deities were
cast in bronze using the lost-wax (eire perdlle)
process, which had been known since at least
the Old Kingdom. Larger objects could be
cast around a core, rather than being made
from solid bronzc, thus saving valuable mctal.
A. LUCAS, Allriolt EgJI/Jtiau materials alit!
industries, 4th cd., rev.]. R. Harris (London,
1962), 199-2z:l.
A. RADWA~, Die Kup.fcr- lind Bl"Ouzegefiisse
'-:igyptC1lS: VOII dell ~1~/dllgell his ZUlli BegilllJ der
Spiilzeit (IVlunich, 1983).
M. COWEI.L, 'The composition of Egyptian
copper-based metalwork', SciCJla i'll Egyptology,
cd. A. R. D,w1O (Manchester, 1986),463-8.
.M. A. LEAHY, 'Egypt as a bronzeworking centre
(1000-539 lie)', Bronze-morking t:ellll'es oIllVeslem
Asia, cd. J Curtis (London, 1988),297-310.

Coptic period
Chronological phase in Egypt lasting from the
cnd of the Roman period (c f\1J 395) until the
Islamic conquest (c. AD 641). [t is now more
accurately described as the 'Christian' period
and is roughly equivalent to the Byzantine
period elsewhere in the Ncar East. The
archaeological and historical definition of
'Coptic' is extremely imprccise, since the term
is often applied nOL only to the art and architecture of the Christian period but also to the
culture of the third and fourth centuries AD
('proto-Coptic') and the early medieval period
(c. AD 700-1200).
The Coptic language and writing system
(combining Greek letters with six furrher
signs taken from the DEMOTIC script) were
widely llscd throughout the Christian period

71

COREGENCY

COSMETiCS

R. T."M:Jt, 'Bclllerkungcn zur Sukzcssion del'

Pharaonen in del' 12., 17. lind 18. Dynastic',
Zj5; 101 (197~), 121~9.

"'. J. _\ IlR.\:_\:--:E, AUrfl'utEgyptiall aJr('gt'l1rirs

(Chicago. 1977).
D. LORTON, "1erms of coregency in the Middle
Kingdom', 1:12 (1986).113-20.

corn mummy

Os/raw" bearing cighlt'l'lIlincs oIp.wlms mrilll'l1 il1

lite Coptic stripl. Ear(}1 Islmllir pc:riod. 7111-8/11
o:J1!l/l'ies .w, polle':)1 mill! piglllCIII, pro!J(/!J(JI./i"UII/
nebcs. II. /3.2 {III. (EII-I030)

in Egypt and arc still employed in modem

times in the liturgics ilnd Biblical texlS of the

Coptic church. The earliest suryjying Coptic

religious establishments include the monasteries of St Anthony, 51 Catherine and St Samuel.
R. FI':DD"Z:,\, '1\ study of the!\ lon~lstcry of S"int
Anthony\ Ulliursi/.l' ofEgJ'pt Fuculty of--Iris
Blllle/l'" 5 (1937),1--61.
C. C. Wa;n:RS, JI/()I/(f.~,i( archaeology illl:.:Jtypl
(\Varminsrcr. 197..1.,.
J. l(,\\llL. CfJptic Egypt (Cairo, 1987).

G.

G.\B1C\

and A. ALC:cx..J..:, Caim, Ihe Coplie

old dlllrthes (Cairo, 1993).

_\JJlJl'lI1l1 :111t!

coregency
IVlodcrn tcrlll applied

10 the periods during

which 1\\'0 rulers werc simultaneously i.n
po\\'er, usually consisting of an O\Trhtp of
sC\'cral years bet ween the end of one sole
reign and the beginning of the next. 'rhis
system waS uscd, from at least as early as the
JVliddlc Kingdom, ill order to ensure that the
transfer of po\\'er took place \\'ith the minimum of disruption and instability. It would
also h,1\"c enabled the chosen successor to
gain experience in the administration before
his predceessor dict!. The discovery that
coregclH:ics existed waS;ln important stage in
the darificat ion of the traditional C1IRO'OLOG' of Egypt.
\Y. K. SL\lJ>SO', 'The single-dated monuments of
Scsostris I: an aspect of the instilution of
coreg:ency in theT\yelfth Dynasry',}NES 1)
(1956),214-19.

72

Term generally employed 10 describe a type of

:lIlthropomorphic funerary objecl made of
soil mixed wirh grains of corn, which was
lIsually wrapped lip in linen bandages <lnd
furnished with;l wax face-mask. ~lost examples measure berween 35 and 50 <':111 in Icngdl
and were usually placed in slllall woodell falcon-headed sarcophagi. Thc~ arc lllul11miform in shape, and some were provided with a
royal sceptre, an crect phallus, .111 Ule/crown
or a white cro\\'n; it is therefore usually
assumed that they were intended to refer to
the god OSIRIS.
Although a few miniature corn mummies
have been found encased in Ptah-Sokar-Osiris
statues in Llte Period burials, most of thc fifty
or so suni\'ing full-size corn mummies dcri\-e
from simple pits (rather than rombs) and dare
to the Ptolemaic or Roman periods. ~\1aartcn
Raycil has pointed out that all those with
archaeological provenances appc'lr to derivc
from only four sites: \;lcli Q.lbhancl c1-Qirud
(in Thebes), Til1lla e1-Gchc1, e1-Sheikh Fadl
and the region ofTl.ll1;I e1-Gcbel.
The origins of rhe corn mummy (as well as
the OSIRIS BED, an item of New Kingdom royal
funerary equipment that probably functioned
in a similar W:1Y to the corn mummy) can be
traced back at le.1st as far .1S the l\liddlc
Kingdom} since it is at this period that links
began to be established between the cult of
Osiris, fcrtilily and the gro\\th of corn. The
COFFI"J TEXTS, f(w instance, include certain
spells equating the resurrection of the
deceased with the sproutingofbarley frol11 the
hod~ of Osiris (equatcd with the corn-god
Nepe!').
Since tht' corn mummies were not placed in
the tombs of individuals, t.hey clearly had a
slightly different function from 'Osiris heds'
and other sw.:h funerary equipment. which
were intended simply to aid the resurrection
of one dcce'lscd indi\ idual. Inslcad, Ihe corn
mummies appear to ha\'c been connected wilh
rhe mysreries of the cult of Osiris itsel[ An
inscription in a roof chapel a1 IJE:'\I)F.R\
deslTibcs rituals rchuing to Osiris, including
the annual ceremonial burinl of a corn
mummy,
1\1. J. R"" EN, 'Corn-l11ummies', OlvIRO 63
(1982).7-.18.

cosmetics
From the earliest times Egyptian men and
women included yarious cosmetic items
among their funerary equipment, suggesting
thal oils, perfumes and cye-painls wen.'
regarded as yirtual necessities. In the ear"
Predynastic period, stone cosmetic P\I.J:n I'~,
used for grillliing eye-painl pigments, were
already common. The surfaces of som('
these arc still stained with traces of blad, g-.llena or grcen malachite. The gTeen mahtl'hitebased form of paint (/l{(ju) seems to havc becn
uscd only until the middle of the Old
Kingdom, "'hen it \y.1S replaced by the bhJd
galenn-hased form of kohl (11It'sdt'11ll't). These
ground pigmcms appear to haye been mi.:\cd
with water to form a paste and ,,-ere probahh
applied with the fingers until rhe introducti()~
of the 'kohl pencil' in the i\1iddle Kingdom.
The types of \'csscls in which kohl \\-;l!oo
stored \<tried from one period to ~morhcr; in
the ~Iiddle Kingdom and the 181h Dlnas" "
small nat-bottomed stone \'essel was u::ocd
whereas in the late New Kill~dom a tubuhlr
form of yesse! (ori~inally a reed) bccamc more
common. The purpose or eye-paint "a:-. no
doubt partly the same as in modern til1les (i.e:.
the enhancement and <tpparelll enlargement uf
eyes), hut il prob~lbly also had religious and
symbolic resonances, as well as being a naLUra1 disinfeclant and a means of protecling the
eyes from bright sunlight. The Egyptians used
ochre as.t form or 'rouge' on their checks (and
perhaps also as lipslick) and employed h<:llilil
1'0 colour their hair. There arc many sun i\ ing
depictions
women applying cosmctics lIsing
;I I\IIRROR, \\'hich \\'015 itself regarded ;.IS :m
important item of funerary equipment.
Throughout Egyptian history, OilS and fats
were considercd essential both for the preparalion of perfumes and L'r:E/'\SE cones ;lnd for
thc protection of the skin. 'lltttoos \YC1T also
used as carly .IS the Predynastic period to decorale the skin, judging from the presence of
patterns on somc fcm,,1c figurines and rhc
prcsenation of geometric designs on the
Illummies of certain dancers, musician" ;l1ld
concubines (as well as in depictions of SOll1l'
\\'omen in tOIllb-paintings); onc mUIllI1l.\ of a
singer had a small tattoo of l3es presenctl all
the thigh, See also II \1H. for discussion ofluirst~ les and hairdressing.
A, L. LL C\S, 'Cosmci ics, perfumes and inccllsc
in 'lllcicnr Egypt'.]HA If) (1930), ~]-53,
I~ JO.'\CKIIEERI., '1....1 "I11<:S(\C111('1": cosmcliquc cI
Illcdicarnems cg~ ptiens', I-Jistoin' de la I/j:clt'lfJ/i'
2/7 (1952), 1-12.
J. '-\\:I)IEI{ and D. AHll \DIE, Catalogut' des a/~/t'1J tit'
!oilcllt' igyplims (Paris, )972).
NL STE.\O, !:gl'!;li(/I! I~{i! (Londun. 1986), ~C)-5~,

ur

or

CREATION

fQ?MOGONY

E.

STROUJ-IAI., L~j{: ill (/.11(/elll

EgyjJt (Cambridge,

1992),84-9.

cosmogony see CREATION;

E\JNEAD

and

OGDOAD

COW

Animal which served as the archetypal

Egyptian symbol of motherly and domestic
qu<tlitics. The two goddesses J IA1'IIOR and ISIS
wcre often depicted with the horns of the cow,
but only Harhor and BAT were depicted with
cow's ears. The image of the cow could also
symbolize the mother of the Egyptian king;
rj1c bovine image of Harhor was therefore
depicted suckling King Amenhorep 11
(1427-1400 Be) at DElI< EI.-IMHRI. An association with the sky and the underworld ,vas
characteristic of the bovine deities, so that NUT
could he depicted as a cow who bore the SUllgod R,\ on her back each morning. Since the
sacred APlS bull represented OSIIUS, it was natural that the cow which gave birth to him
should be identified with Isis. Thus, from at
least the thirty~seventh regnal year of Ahmose
II (570-526 Be) onwards, the so-called
Mothers of Apis were mummified and had
their own catacombs in the S/\CRHJ f\NIM ..\ L
necropolis at Saqqara.
On a more prosaic level the cow was also
an important domestic animal, providing
milk, meat and hides. The first domestic cattle in Egypt, introduced during the
Predynastic period, were probably longhorned, bur a short-horned species appeared
in the Old Kingdom, and humped Zebu cattle were llsed from the 18th Dynasty
onwards. 'Vall reliefs depicting scenes of
'cattle counting', for the purpose of TAXJ\T10N, are common in lambs fr0111 the Old
Kingdom (2686-2181 Be) onwards, and
numerous funerary models of the IViiddle
Kingdom (2055-1650 lie) depict the same
activity. Cattle were regarded as status sym~
bois and, as in many other societies, the possession of it large herd was an indication of
considerable wcalth. The funerarv reliefs
also indicate that techniques of' ANi?I-lt\L
1IU$IJANDRY were well developed, much attention being paid to the depiction of the
branding of srock and human assistance in
the birth 01" calves. Becf" was evidently the
food of the \-,,'calthy elite, and was often" portrayed Ul religious and funerary offering
Scenes.

E. HOR.I\lUNG, Dcr iigYP/l~~(he NlytllOs von der

Hilll111elsklllt (Freiburg and Gottingen, 1982).
L STOR.K, 'Rind', Le.rikoll der Agyp/ologie ", cd.
W. Heick, E. Otto and W. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1984), 257--<i3.

R. JA1\SSEN and j. J.

jA:\:SSEN, .Egyptial/ drlll/extie

anima.ls (Aylesbury, 1989),27-35.
D. J. BREWER, D. B. REDFORD and S. REDFORD,
DOlI!cstic pIal/IS {lilt.! {lnimals: tlte EgyJ)/iall origill.l
(Warminster, 1994),77-93.

cowroid
Name given to a cowrie~shell~shaped amulet,
frequently inscribed and serving a purpose
similar to that of a SCARAB. The cowrie shell
amulet is known ;.IS early as Predynastic times.
Its shape was believed to mimic the female
genitalia and girdles made from it were used to
symbolically protect this area
the body.
From the 6th Dynasty (234.\-2181 Be) actual
shells were imitated in faience ancllarer in carnelian and quartz.

or

creation
During the Pharaonic period 1 a great deal of
Egyptian thought regarding creation was simply embedded in their iconography, language
and ritual. It was only in the Ptolemaic and
Roman periods that the process of cosmogony
began to be regularly described in explicit narrative accounts. There are, however, three
principal surviving Egyptian creation myths,
each rooted in the cults of deities associated
with particular localities. At HEKi\'lOPOUS

Nakl{l(l' aJ1!sistillg oicomroids and beads il1l1/(:

!2111
DYl/asZ)/ {Iud New Killgdom, L. 46.3 (11/. (../3077)

Jorm o/fitlse beards or sidelod's oI}/uf/th.

the myth centred on four pairs of

primeval deities (the OGDn\o); at IJELIOPOLIS
there was a myth involving four generations of
deities (the E::"!::"!EAD); and at MEMP1US the
account centred on the attributes of the god
MAGNA

PTAI!.

The myth of the Ogdoad dealt primarily

with the first mystery of creation: how did
'bei.ng' appear out of 'non-being'? According
to the Hermopolitan account, the earliest text
of which dates to the Middle Kingdom, the
sun~god emerged from a group of four pairs of
male and female deities whose names simply
describe aspects of the primordial chaos pre~
ceding creation: darkness, formlessness, eternity and hiddenness (or1 in the earliest version,
twilight). The myth of the Ennead, on the
other hand, was concerned with the next stage
in the process of cosmogony: the question of
division and mu.ltiplication. How did the creator transform the one into the many? The references to the Ennead in the PYRA.MlD TEXTS
show that, at least as early as the Old
Kingdom, the progressive fission and proliferarion of life were both seen in terms of divine
73

CREATION

procreation, resulting in ;l succession of symmetrical pairs.

In the beginning, according LO the myth of
1he Ennead, there was a mysterious ;let of crcariviLy or fertility by the cn:Mor - the sun-god
\TL~I. fill" instance, was considered LO h;l\'c
crcmed hjmsclf with the aid of such forces as
Heka (the Eg~ ptian term fiJI' \\ \Gre), Sia (a
personification of 'perception') and I1t1 ('the
diyine \\onl'). Ha\ ing engendered himself,
:\.tum (" hose name mc:mt 'completeness')
then unde-nook me first act of di\ision or separation, ,\ hich he achie, cd through a comhination of 'm~lstllrhating" spilling and sneez-

ing, thus producing new life and splitting il

into twO upposites: air (the god Shu) and
moisture (the goddess 'I<:fnur), Shu and
Tcfnut then procreated to produce '\LT and
GEU, the hea\ en and the earth, and a l:ommOIl
\ igncnc in the BOOk 01" TilE 1)1:.\1) shows Shu

Till! 'SlfIll,aqo S/O}/(' ': (f basalt sla/J bearilfg (( le,rl

be {{ mfl.l' '!(fl/l all(iml ({Jlllpositio/l
describing the eTea/ioll oItlre lIuh:erse kI,/lte gllli
Plall. 2.1/ft DY/ltls~J', c.7/0 IJ(:. 1.. 1.37/1/. (I:" 1-/98)
plIrpol'li/fg '0

literally separating the personific.ltion of Ihe

sh- from thar of the earth,
The myth orthe Ennead not only deals wilh
lhe question of creation but also Ie-lds on to
the emergence ofhul1lan society in the form of
the myths surrounding the sons and c1aug'htcrs
or Gcb and Nut: OSIRIS and SETII and their
consorts ISIS and 'JEPIITIJYS. These legends,
relating principally to Osiris, went beyond
cosmogony to deal \\'ith such issues as kl'\G5111.1' and human suffering.
The so-called .\ lemphite Theology presents an alternative, but ncvertheless compatible, \'iew of creation by means of the spoken
word. The text was probably composed in Ihe
late New Kingdom and survives in the form uf
the 25th-Dynasty \Shabaqo SLOne\ a basalt
slab now in the British I\luseum bearing a
hieroglyphic inscription in which lhe
i\lemphitc god Ptah creates all things by pronouncing their names.
Each local deity - from SOUI::K to BASTET-

74

CROWNS AND RO\'AL REGALJ.\

was, to .111 intents and purposes, also.1 creatorgod, bur their specific ch.lracteristics often led
to rariations on the general theme of cremi\'it~. 'The ram-god hJl'L\l , who was connected
with the fertile Nile sill and the porrery vessels
that m.~re formed from it, was considered to
h.1\ e modelled the first humans on a porter's
\\'heel. The fertility god \ II:'\. , on the other
hand, "-as portrayed as an icon of m.llc fcrrilit~ "hose creel ph.lllus, combined ,,'ith an
upraised hand thrusting into the \-shape
formed by Lhe flail o\er his shoulder (in apparem simulation of intercourse), sencd as an
unmistakable metaphor for the sexual act
itself In the larc ~ew Kingdom the theme of
the mound rising out of the watcrs of Nun was
transformed into the myth of lhe child-Iikc
god ,,:rERTE\I, who "'as thought to ha\T
emerged from a lotus noaLing on the face of
the rleep. The Book of. he Dead describes the
sun-god as a 'golden youth who emergcd from
the lot LIS'. It was in order to identify himself
\yith Nefertem and the act of creation and
rebirth that TUT\'\ihIlAI\lUN (l.B6-1327 He)
included among his rllncrar~ equipment a
painted wooden representation of his own
youthful head emerging from a lotus.
The Egyptian concepts of cre.ltion wcre
closel~ interlinked" ith their yiews concerning
rebirth , renewal and life after death, and their
religious and funerary imagery is full of
metaphors for the first act of creation, from
the PRI\lr.\,\L 'lOUl\!) and the BEl\BE' stone 10
the SC!\I{!\B heetle emerging fi'om a dunghill.
The tc.xts make it clear that they regarded creation not only ;IS .1 single event at the beginning of Lhe uni\"crsc bUI as a phenomcnon
which const;tntl~ recurred with e;lch new day
or season and which was intinutcly connected
with the prolonging of life beyond death. The
dcity most regularly associated ,,ith creation
was thereforc the sun-god, whose appearance
at dawn, voyage through the sky during the
day and disappearance at the sunset sen'cd to
epitomize lhe cyclical nature of the creator,
./. R. AI.I.E:\, Gellfs;s ;1Il:.:~)lpt: the ph;!o.WJp!U ' ,~r
IIl1t';l'}/t 1~f{YPI;all cn'at;oll accoJints C\Jc\\' l-la\TIl,
1988).
B. t\lJ'.,v, 'Lcs cosmogonies de I'anciennc Egypre"
Ut crC"f;fJ11 dam rOr;ent (mciel/ (paris, 1987).
G. 1f\ltT, E:t:ypt;all myths (I,ondon, 1990),9-28,
E. HORNU:\G. Idea ill'o image, trans. E. Bredeck
(New York, 1992),39-5+,

crime .~ee

l.AW; ,\IF.IJJA'

and

RHi/\L1o\

or

Jl

POLlCE

Crocodilopolis see .\IEDII'ET EL-EIYt;\1

crook and flail

crowns and royal regalia

The king can be depicted wC.lring it number l)f
different head covcrings, c.lCh corrl'sp()ndin~
to particular ceremonial situ;ltions. The ei1rli~
cst these to be depicted is a IOI'Jl1 of tall conical headpiece ending in a bulb. This is lhe
crown of Uppn F.g~ pt or while Cl'Own (Jut/jet),
,,'hich is seen .IS C.lrI~ as the time of the _"l(.f ,,{_
PIO' maeeheau and the :,\\R\II:R palette (c.300(l
Be). It is sometimes referred to as the 'I:rUt or
'\rhire Z\efer'. The 1\"arl11er palette also shims
the (TO\yn of 1...o,,'cr Eg~ pt, or red (.'1'0\\ 11
(t!esltrl'/), \,"hich comprises a tall 'thair-sh.lped'
,lITangement frolll which protrudes a coil.
'Vith unificariun these nyu tTO\\'IlS were combined LO become rhe 'Two _r-..light~ Ones', thl'
double ero" n (psdll:lIt).
The king might also wcar the 1Il'lIft$ hCJdclolh. This was a piece nf s.riped cloth pulled
tight across the forehead and lied into a kind
uf mil <11 the b~lCk "hill' <It each side of the face
t\n) !->trands or hlppets hung down. The hnm
was decorated \\ ilh the Ul'{{tl/.l (sec \r--\DJ'T)
and [he \"UL'TLlH:. This is the head-dress rcprl'sen ted in the famous gold mask of
TLT\\ihll \ \Ie,. A plain \'crsion of this \\as Ihe
J:lfl/I. From the 18th Dynas~ onwards km~rs
also worc the \blue crown' (J:ltt'presh), sometimes erroneollsly dcscribcd as the '\\;11'

see CRO"'''S

"'0 ROUI.

tI'ondell S!lflbl; oITlIlllllklwJ1JUII mellrillg Ihe red

anum lIlId holdillg tlte crQuk (lIIdflai!, /81h Dj/Ilt/sl)',
c./330 lJC.~ 1I, 52 C1I1. (CIlRO. .\'0. 330c: REPRODLU'I)
CUURTES~ OF

11/ CR1FFlTltt\ST/11Tf)

qOWNS AND ROYAL REGALIA

CULT SJ:'-IGERS A:"JD TEMPLE MUSICIANS

I.EFT SIll/lit' o/Thlllll/Ml' //I

J1'ean'l1g Ihi' ncmcs

Itt'ddd"th. the uractls 1I11d the rcft'lIIouia! 'jitlse

bell I'd'. 18th I~J'l/(lSt.)'. eliSD BC, gr(II1J'lId.:t'. It.
90..1 (111. (u \OR I/t sn 1/. }2. GR 11111111 IRRI.WJ\)

cult singers and temple musicians

Prom thL' Old Kinguom uO\\"<uds, 'music.11
troupes' (Idfl'llcr) as well as dancers ;Ire attested as clements or the staff of temple cults,
'They comprised both men and women, the
latter somctimcs indi\"idually named, and
c1carl~ of greater importance than their
,mon~ mOllS male counterparts. Femalc musicians wcre employcd in the culls of bOlh male
.md female deities.
By the beginning of the New I'.ingllom the
priesthood had become ex:dusiycly male, but
wumen of high rank, somc of whom \\cre married to the priests, werC a110\\ cd to sen'C as
musici.ms (sht'11I11J'd). The role of Ihcsc women
was to play the SISTRL \1, as accompaniment to
the ritual chants or cult I [\\\\.s, amI sometimes
cyen LO prO\'idc thc chants thcmselyes.
Usually, howc\'er, the chant.s were performed
by male singers or musicians, although these
individuals never used the title 'musician' and
were probably of a lower status th.m their ditc
fcmale colleagues.
G. PI~C1I, 1 OIh't' oj}c'ringJ 10 Hal/III" (Oxford,
1993),212-1:1.
G. Rom's, IIoJJ/t'1I ill (lurit'1l1 Eg)lpI (London,
1993),1{5-9.

cuneiform

crown', which is shaped like <1 kind or tall,

nanged helmet: and I11<ldL: of" cloth adorned

end orthcAmarna period" S.-IK 5 (1977),

21-39.

with golden discs. The I(/Icl crown' is effectivelya 'white crown' with a plume on either
side and a small disc at the top, which was
worn in certain religious rituals.
The most prominent items in the ro~al
regalia were the so-called 'crook' (licka), actually a sceptre symbolizing 'go\'crnrncnt', ;tnd

A. LEAHY, 'Royal iconography <lnd dynastic

I.:hal1ge,750-525 IJ(:: rhe blue and cap crowns',

]E-/78 (1992),223--\0.
IIEI.O\\

111e major ()'Pt.'s oj"rl'fJfPll.

the 'nail' or 'Oabellum' (lIddlllk!ut), ,,"hich may

have derived orilrinall\' frolll a flY whisk.
Before it became
oi- royal regalia: the nail

;I1'r

was associated primarily with the gods OSIIUS

and ~w, as well as with s'lf.:rcd animals.
G. A. VV:\Ii\'\\RIGI-IT, 'The red crown in early
prehistoric timcs',JFA ~ (1923), 25-33.

white crown
of Upper Egypt

red crown
of Lower Egypt

double crown
of Upper and
Lower Egpyt

A/lJ)EL MONEI!'.l AnUIHKR, Uutt:rSlldl//lIgell /ibcr

die altti'gyplischell KrollCII (GlUckst"adt, 1937),

E. L. ERTl\II\K, 'The elp crown of Nefertiti: its
function and probable origin',]ARCE 13 (1976),
63-7.
M. EATON-KR-\CSS, 'The kh(ll headdress to the

atefcrown

blue crown

Type of script, the name of which deri\'es from

the Latin word amc/IS ('wedgc'), referring to
the wedge-shaped lincs making lip dle pictographic characters used in the earliest writing.
This developed in j\IESOPOli\,\llr\ during the
fourth millennium, .md was initially used to
record qUolnritics, hence the characters were
numerals al:companied by ol picture of the
thing being quantified. Oyer time, lhcse pictures became stylized into a series of wcdge
shapes \\ hieh could readily be impressed into
tablet') of wet da~ Llsing a cut reed or other
stylus. The script cou.ld be lIsed for pictographic., logographic and syllabic writing .md
m'er time came to incorporate all three.
It was lIsed to write down lhe SU\II',RL" and
.\K~\I1I\'\ languages, hut also a hOSI of other
western Asiatic tongues, and despite the dcvelopment: of IlIr~ROGr ,) PI lie writing in Egypt
around 3100 BC il was cuneiform \vhich
became the hlJ1guagc of diplomatic correspolldence throughout the Near East. The
Egyptian court would have supported scribes
fluent in the usc or this system. The bcsrknown examples of cunciform script in Egypt
arc the .\~l\R..:' \ LElTERS. The script is last

75

CYNOPHELUS

lIsed in the first century ,\D: interestingly these

latest texts lise Sumerian logograms (word
signs) even though the language had long since
cei:lsed to be in general lISC.
The decipherment of cuneiform began with
the recognition rhM a series of brief inscriptions at Persepolis (in PERSIA) were each written out in three forms of the script. By 1802 a
German, G. F: Grotefend, had achieved some
success with the simplest of these, Old
Persian, discovering the names of two kings.
This work was carried much further by Henry
Rawlinson who, in 1835, deciphered a long
inscription of Darius from Bchistul1 in Iran.
This sire (DO had three versions of the texL and
Rawlinson copied all three. Of these the
Elamite waS deciphered by Edwin Norris in
1855, and Rawlinson himself deciphered the
OABYLO)JIAN text in 1851. This waS of great significance since it could be linked to already
discovered Babylonian and . \ SSYR1A,\, texts
from l\1esopotamia.
C. WALKER, CUflt'ijimJl (London, 1987).
J. N. POSTG!\TE, Ear()I A1e.wpolam;a: sociely a1/(/
('{onomy at the damn oIltisfOlY (London and New
York, 1992),51-70.

cynocephalus
Term meaning 'dog-headed', commonly used
to refer to a species of baboon CPt/pio iynocep!tallls), which was one of the principal
manifestations of the gods 1'1 lOTI 1 and KlIO:\lS.
Typically portrayed in a squatting position,
the earliest votive figurines of the cynocephalus baboon have been excavated in the
Early Dynastic settlement at AUYDOS, although
among the mOsl- impressive surviving statues
ofThoth are a pair of 18th-Dynasty quartzite
colossal figures still standing /1/ sillf at HEI~
MOI'OLlS :o.'it\GN!\, the main cult-centre of
Thoth. The enrhusiasm with which wild
baboons greeted the rising sun reinfixced the
association between the baboon for111 ofThoth
and the sun- and moon-gods. The bases of a
number of OBELlS"-S are carved with figures of
baboons with their arms raised in characteristic worshipping posture, ilnd il frieze of
baboons along the from of the Great Temple
at I\RU SlivlBEL also have their arms raised in
adoration of the rising SUIl.
R. H. \V'LKINSON, Reading Egyptiall al'!
(London, 1992),72-3.

D1\B'1\, TELL EL-

D
Dab'a, Tell el- (anc. Avaris)
Setrlement sire in the eastern Delta, covering
an area of some two square kilometres on a
natural mound p,lrtly surrounded by a large
lake. The town of Avaris, which has been under
excavation since 1966, consists of several strata of occupation dating from the First
Imcrmcdiate Period
to
the Second
Intermediate Period (2181-1550 Be). There
are also considerable remains of a later phase
of settlement in the Ramesside period
(c.1295-1069 Be) when the city of Piramesse
spread across Tellcl-Dab'a) although its nucleus was at Q;'\!',TIR, further to the north.
During the Second Intermediate Period the
Hyksos capital of Avaris was effectively an
Asiatic colony within Egypt, and l\tlanfrcd
Bietak's excav.ttions suggest that the colonist's
were allocated rectangular areas of land, the
patterning and oricntation of which were still
oceasionaUy influcnced by the preceding
l\tliddlc Kingdom town plan. Both houses and
ccmeteries were laid out within thc allocated
areas, sometimes in close proximity. The deep
stratigraphy at Tell cl-Dab'a allows the changing settlement pattcrns of a large Bronze Age
community to be observed over a period of
many generations.

In the early 1990s thc main focus of exe;l\ ation at Tcll cI-Dab'a was the substructure of a
large palace building of the H yksos period at
Ezbet Hclmi on the wcstern edge of dle site. In
1991 many fragments of Nlinoan wall-paint_
ings were discovered al110ng debris coyering
the ancient gardens adjoining the palace.
Several of these derive frol11 compositions
depicting 'bull~leapers', like those in the
rvliddle Bronze Age palace at Knossos.
\Vhere<ls the iVlinoan and l'vlvcennean potten'
vessels previously found' at many l\e,~
Kingdom sites in Egypt are usually interprer~
cd as evidence of trade with the Aegean (sec
GREEKS), the prcsence of l\1inoan wall-paintings at Tell e1-Dab'a suggests that the popuhnion of Avaris may actually han~
included Aegean families. It has been suggested that the ficqucnt usc of a red painted background may even mean that the T'cll c1-Dah' a
Nlill0.1l1 paintings predate those or Crete and
Thera (Santorini). The existence of Nlinoal1
paintings (and thercf{)re presumably l\ilinoan
artists) at a site within Egypt itself may help lO
explain rhe appe'lrance in early 18th-Dynasty
Egyptian tomb-paintings of such Aegean
moti(o;; as the 'flying gallop' (i.e. the depiction
of animals' fore- and hindlegs outstretched in
full flight). Similar fragmcnts of rvlinoan
paintings have been found at two sites in the
Levant (Kabri and i\.lalakh), where the)' also

Plall of Tell d-Dab'({ and Q!mlil:

13

12

10

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
I

500

1000

1500 m

13
14

Tell el-Oab'a
19th-Dynasty temple of Seth
modern flooded area
Ezbet Rushdi el-Saghira
12th/13th-Dynasty palace
12th-Dynasty temple
19th-Dynasty palace
possible area of palace lake
New Kingdom settlement
remains
Tell Abu el-Rlus and Ezbet
Rusdi el-Kebira
and 12 Ezbet Yasergi and
Ezbet Silmy
Qantir
Ezbet Helm;

76

....

VAHSHUR

DAHSHUR

appear to be associated with the ruling elite, as

at Avaris.

500

In onc of the early 18th-Dynasty strata at

Ezbet Helmi immediately above those containing the painting fi'agments Bietak also discovered many lumps of pumice-smne, which
may derive fi'om the volcanic explosion on the
island of Thera.
M. BIETAK, Tell {'I-Dab'a II-\'[ (Vienna l 1975-91).
_, .A7.taris alld Piramcm:: ardlllco!og;{(/!
exploratiol/ illlltc cas/em Nile ,lflla (London and
Oxford,1981).
_, 'Tell c1-Dab'a', Arcltivjiir Oricllljorsclllwg 32
(1985), 13~5.

2000 m

pyramid of
Senusret III

~""""'!II1\"'~

Dahshur
Group of pyramid complexes making up the
southern end
the i\!lemphite necropolis, the
nucleus ohvhich is SM:tQ>\RA. The 1110St prominent of the surviving monuments at Dahshur
afC the two pyramids of the first 4th-Dynasty
pharaoh, SNEFERU (2613-2589 Be). The three
other major pyramid complexes at Dahshur
belong to rulers of the Middle Kingdom,
namely AMENE!\H1Kr II (1922-1878 BC), SENJ.;SRET III (1874-1855 Be) and Amcnemhat TIl
(1855-1808 Be). The site also includes the
remains of one of only three surviving 13thDynasty pyramid complexes, containing the
sarcophagus and CANOI'IC.L'\RS of Amenyqemau
(formerly read as Amenyaamu).
The two pyramids of Sneferu were possibly
the first such tombs to be designed from the
outset as true pyramids rather than step pyramids. The southernmost of the two is the
'bent' or 'rhomboidal' pyramid, so-called
because of its marked change of angle from 54
27' in the lower part to 43 22' in the upper
part. The reason for this was probably structural, although the pyramid has other unusual
features, notably a western eorrance in addi~
tion to the usual northern one. It waS first
investigated by the Egyprian archaeologist
Ahmed Fakhry inI951-5.
Sncferu's other monument at Dahshur is
the (northern' or Ired' pyramid, built fi"om the
Outset with ;111 ,mgle of 43 22', which stands
about two kilometres north of the earlier monument. lts base area is second ani" to the
Great Pvramid of his son Khufu 'at GIZA.
Sneferu'~ construction of two pyramids at
Dahshur (as well as his completion of his
father's pyramid at i\'\EIDUM) would have
necessitated an amount of materials and labour
Outstripping even the efforts involved in the
construction of the Great Pyramid.
Although eaeh of the three 12th~Dvnastv
Pyramids at Dahshur have stone casing~, onl;'
the 'white pyramid' of Amenemhat II has a
Stone core, the others being of brick.

1000

... ",

or

.,,,1"

~..r~

""""""'''''1''''''1",$

edge of
cultivation

....,."...""""'... '''''''...... '''''''''---~

pyramid of ..,,'I'IIII/II"""'!'!"'/I,~
Amenemhat II

."",,,,)

, ","
...1,,,'\110 .. " """', ..,,",,."'''1,,,....

south (bent)
pyramid of Sneferu

Plan oIDahsh/l/:

Amenemhat II'S pyramid is so ruinous that

even its exact size is uncertain. The complex
was excavated by Jacques de lVlorgan, who dis~
covered a plundered burial chamber containing a sandstone sarcophagus that is bcljeved to
have been part. of the original funerary equipment. Nearby are the burials of princesses of
the late 12th or earl v 13th Dynasty.
Dc Morgan also tunnelled into the pyramid
of Senusret m, where he discovered the magnificent granite burial chamber containing a
sarcophagus of the same material. This pyramid, the superstructure of which was badly
damaged by rVlaspero's work of ] 882-3, ,vas
re-examined by Dieter Arnold in the 1980s,
revealing that the burial-chamber was painted
to resemble limestone, perhaps in order to

""'"

~.

pyramidOf~
Amenemhat III

allow the sarcophagus to stand out in contrast

to its background. The king's remains, how~
ever, have not been found in this pyramid,
which may have been simply a cenotaph. The
nearby j\IASTAUA tombs contained the rich
funerary equipment of the daughters of
Senusret III and Amencmhat II, including
items of jewellery discovered by de lvlorgan in
1894.
The 'black pyramid' of Amenemhat Tn also
seems to have served as a cenotaph (the actual
tomb probably being the pyramid at IIA\\"ARA),
and work during the 19805 revealed a FOUNDATIOi\ DEPOSIT which included pottery, ritual
bricks and bull crania. This complex also
incorporated the burial of the 13th-Dynasty
ruler Awibra HoI', including a fine K,\-statlle.
J. DE MORGAN, Fouillcs d J)ahcholll", 2 vols (Paris
and Vienna, 1895-1903).

77

....

DAKHLA OASIS

DA:-iCE

IlC- \1) 39j) include a necropolis .md templc of

Thoth ,H cl-Qlsr, a temple dedicated [() Ihe
'Theban triad ,tt DeiI' c1~I-lagilr, Roman tomhs
at Qlrct el-i\luz;lwwaqa and a Roman settlemcnt and temple at lsm<lnr el-.I'Jlarab.
11. E. \\'L'LOC:, (cd.), DoNi/eli OaJ;.' (New Yor~.
19.16).
L. L. GlDm and D. G.JnTKI.\S, 'Bahn: rappurt
prcliminain: des fouillcs:1 '-\yn Asil,1979-NO',

BII' 10 SO (I9XII),l.i7~9.
Blllf(lr~)J(I. DaJ.:M"
FamFa (1m! Klwrgll during plu,r(umir limes
(\\'arl11inSlCr, 19R7).
C. r I(wl., 'Excayariun:-. at 15111,1111 d-J...:.harab ill Iht:
DaJ..hlch Oasis'l fgYP/itill /rrhal'ologJI 5 (19 t J..l.),

L. L GlDm, g.l'Plttff/ ouscs:

17-IS.

dance

lilla/or (Illhe !){If/a/ rlwml)(:r 4'.-!IJ/CllClIllltfl I/f at

Dahshlf/: (RfPIWDl CFJ)C01WfL.'1I OFfJ-I/, CIIIW)
1\. F \KIIK\. 71ft, IJ/(Jl/UJllt'l1h' a/Slle.fem til
Dllhshllr, 2 \'ols (C1iro. 19S9-61).
\'. ..\l.\R.\GIOGLIO :md C. A. Rl'.\LDI. 'Note sulh\
piramidt: eli Amcny 'Aan1u', Orie1J/llli1l37 (1968),
325~38.

R.

5nOEI.\I:\:'\:-",

'Snofru und die Pyramiden \'on

J\ Icidum und Dahschur', ,VIDA I K.16 (19S0),

+.17-49.
D. AR'OI.D. Da Py/"{/lIIiticlI/){'::..irl' des K(j'III~~S
.rll11l'lIcmllCllII ill DlIhscllllr r (!dainz, 1987).

Dakhla Oasis
One of a chain of oases lac-ncd in the Libyan
Desert, 300 km west of the Egyptian city of

Luxor. The main phar:.lOl1ic sites in Dakhla

include a tOW11 site of the Old Kingdom
(2686-2181 Be) Jnd its associated cemetery of
6th-Dynasty 1\IAS'mBf\ tombs, nCar the modern
rillage of Balat; anothcr ccmetcry dating LO thc

Deir
el-Hagar

\..

el-Qasr

t
N

....

Balal:

){I::::;:;:~;~~~ll::gdo,~::.:te~

Qaret e!- \,' MU.t

0
Muzawwaqa '~" ""',..,

"'''''''''''(''

Old Kingdom
settlement
Azbat Bashindi

10

20

30

40

Pltll1 oJDakhia Oasis.

78

50 60 /0 80 00 km

First IIHcrmediatc Period (2181-2055 HC),

ncar modern Amhada; and a temple
the
goddess J\lut oaring LO the latc Ramcsside
period (t. J 1.10 ve), ncar Ezbet Bashindi. The
Old Kingdom town and cemetery .H Babt
show th,n the Egyptians' control extendcd
hundreds of mjles into the Libyan Desert
from .1 "ery early period. The sun'iring
remains of thc Greek and Roman periods (332

or

.\s early as the Prcdynaslic period there "ere

depictions on p()[(cr~ \esscls sho"ing fenule
figures (pcrhilps goddesses or priestesses)
dancing with lheir arms raised ahoyc their
heads. The ,lct of dancing was undouhtcdly all
import,1l11 component of both l'illJal <Ind cl:khration in ancient Egypt. In normal dail~ lill:
musicians and clanccrs ,,ere a common fc,1turc
of banquels, hut ccrhlin riTUal dances could
also be crucial 10 the successful outcome of
Q!wrl::ile rcliefb/ocA'f;'mlll!It Ret! CIUlpd (II
A-aniak. shfJlI'ing IIl/lsirju1/S 111/(/ t!allraJ. 181h
Dynlfsly, c.1-I60

/1(.'. (I. 51/ /11)

DEIFICATION

Q.1\NCE

Pragmenl (~(II lJ1a1!-paiJlli/lg./imnlhe T/l/:ball

tomb olNebalJ/lIl/, shumi/lgji!/I/{/Ie //IlIsiciallS alld
t!rlJlars at (f htll1f/uel. 18th Dynasty, c. J.lOO BC,
11.6/ (111. (/:'.13198i-)

Darius sa
death see

PERSL\, PERSIA:\S

FU,\WRAUY lWLlEI'S

decans see ;\STRO;\O,\n- .'\ND ASTROLOGY

religious and funerary ceremonies) as in the
Case of the l)fllll-dancers, who worc kilts and
reed crowns and performed alongside fUlleral
processions.
The aCL of dancing appears to have been

inseparable from music, therefore the depictions or dancing in pharaonic tombs and temples invariably show the dancers either
accompanied by groups or Illusici:ms or themselves playing castanets or clappers to keep
the rhythm. Little distinction appears to have
been made bel WCCIl dancing and what would
now be described as acrobatics, with man"
dancers being depicted in such athletic posc's
as cartwheels, handstands and back-bends.
Detailed study of the depictions of danccrs
has revealed that the artists were often depicti.ng a series of different steps in particular
dances, some of which can thercf(lrc be reconstructed. )\I{en and women are never shown
dancing together, and the most common
scenes depicr groups or female dancers, often
performing in pairs.
E. BRUNNER-Tlv\LT, Dcr 711//::' im allell /i"gypteJl
(Gluckstadl, 1058).
H. WU.IJ, Les dansc sacrces de PEgyptc
ancienne', Les daflscs sanies, Sources Oricnlalcs
6 (Paris, 1963),33-117.

J.

VANDIER, kIt/II/Ie/ d'ardd%gle eg)/pllwllc [Y

(Paris, 19M), 391--486.

E. STROUIIAL, Llje ill (lncien! Egypt (Cambridge,

1992),41-3

deification
Ancient Egyptian gods were generally 'born'
rather than made. As a result it is relatively
unusual to find mortals cle\'ared to the status
of gods. The pharaoh himself was not deified,
but was born as the living IIOIWS , becoming
OSIRIS a[ death. From the 18th Dynasty, however, kings may hayc been seeking to diminish
the power of certain priesthoods, notably that
of ,\i\lUi\, perhaps fcaring that they would
threaten the position of monarchy. Stress was
lherefore laid upon the cults of IU and PT'\II
instead, and in Nubia rhe reigning king was
linked with the official gaels, aspects of the
ruler's kjngship being worshipped in the temples. A similar change took place in Egypt
itself: where deified aspecrs of kingship were
worshipped in the form of royal colossaJ statues ill temples. It is possible that, with his
promulgation of the worship of the !\TEi'\,
the 18th-Dynasty pharaoh AKJ IEi'\ATE'i may
have taken this process a stage further by
effectively declaring himself to be the god
incarnate.
Rameses II (1279-1213 Be) identified himself with a local form of Amlin at his Theban
mortuary temple, the R1"\t\[ESSEU,\\. Ir \\"as his
imag'c which replaced that of the god in the
portable BARK. Likewise his bark probably
rested in fronr of the statues of Ptah, Amun,
Ra and Rameses II in the Great Temple at ADC

where he stressed his identity as a

manifestation of the sun-god 10\. There were
also cerra in king's who received posthumous
culrs among the populace, as opposed to their
offlcial cliits centred on the mortuary temple.
Thus Amcnhotcp ] (1525-1504 DC) and his
mother Ahmose 1\efertari were \vorshipped by
the royal tomb-workers at DElR EL-i\tEDIKA, in
recognition of their supposed role in founding
the village.
Private individuals - not.lbly rhose with a
reputation for great wisdom - were also, in a
few rare cases, deified. The earliest of these
was IMllOTI'.P, the vizier of the 3rd-Dynasty
ruler Djllscr (2667-2648 fie) and the archi,eC]
the Step Pvramid a] SAQQ!\RA. I-Ie was deilied about twO thousand years after his death,
and revered as a god or wisdom and medicine
\"hom the Greeks were quick to identify wilh
their own Asklepios. I-lis connection with
learning also Icd to a culric link with TI lOTI I
and hence an association with the cults of
SAClUJ) .\.'\HMALS. A number of other Old
Kingdom viziers werc deified soon after their
deaths...\.\,I1::\IIIOTEI' SON OF IIAPU, the architect
who buiJr the 'ThebJI1 mortuary temple of
1\,\II':"'Jll0TEP [II (1390-1352 Br.) at Kom c1l-Ieitan, was similarly honoured as a god of
healing. He was uniquely allowed to build his
own mortuary temple among those of the New
Kingdom pharaohs, as weU as having statues
of himself in the temple of Amun at Karnak
and a personal shrine at DE[R EL-IlAl-lRl.
'rhe idea that the drowned also became deified was established by the New Kingdom,
and features in the Book oIGMe:; and Amdll{fl,
as portrayed in the tomb of Ramcses VI (Kv9).
SIi\l1RI.,

or

79

OUR EL-BAHRl

OElR EL-BAH~

By the Lltc Period, cults began to be estab-

ABon: TIn: lemple ulf/alshe/wII al DI..ir e1-Bl/hri

is huilt il/lu (f nalural embaymeJ11 ill Iht' rhL# J1,/,jrh
border Ihe I itlley I~rlhe Kings. ft is beller
pn'sulxd Ihall lIfe earlier 1l'lJ1pk of. l1CIIIUlllJll'p II.
Ihe s~)'le o/mhjrh ilemulales. (R 7: \XIIOJ.SlJ\)

lished for some of those \\"ho drowned in the

Nile, as in the case of Pehar ilnd Petiesis at
Dcndur in ubia. In the early second century
.\D the city of Antinoopolis became the cultcentre for the Emperor Hadrian's 'fayouritc\
Anrinolls, il[ the spot where he drowned in
.\ liddle Egypt.
L. H.\IHUII, Fea/ures oIlhe (!l'diwliflll 0/ Ral1u:sscs
II (Gluekstadt, 1969).

LH-r

painletl limeslolle. II. 53.3011. (//397)

D. \VILOL",\G, ImhfllL'p /lilt! _-lmeuhotep:

C0I1/perduug;111 a/tell. igyplt"1 (Berlin, 1977).
- , EgYP//tl1J Juiuls: deijiration;l1 pIWfmJ/l;[ Egypt
C'\ew York, 1977).

Deir el-Bahri (Deir c1-Bahari)

lmponilnt Thehan religious and funerary site
on the wcst bank of the i'\ile, opposite Luxor,
comprising temples and tombs dating from
the carly 1\liddle Kingdom to the Ptolemaic
period. The site consists of n deep bny in the
cliff.'i containing lhe remains of the temples of
Nebhepetra .\I""TeIIOTEI' II (2055-2004 ec),
JlA'I'SIIEPSUT (1-f.73-1f58 Be) and THUT,\\OSE 111
(1479-1425 IIC), as well as private tombs contemporary with each of these pharaohs, The
temple of Hatshepsut is the best-preserved
of the three, consisting of three colonnaded
terraces imitating the architectural style of
IUenwhotcp's much earlier funerary complex
immediately to the south of it. As well as incorponning chapels {Q Harl-lOr, Anubis and Amun,

80

Fragmenl uf rdie/fromlhe adl-Iemple (~r

.l1t'lIluhfJll'P 1/ al Deir el-Baltri, s/1QJ1Jillg Iltt' l..'illg

nWlrillg Ihe red fromll. 11th DYllasly, c.2030 nr,

cd at Deir c1-Bahri arc those of .\1ekelra

(which contained many ~liddlc Kingdom
painted wooden funerary models) and SI.'\f":'\leT. An 11 th-Dmasty shaft tomh at the
southern end of Deir el-Bahri (disco\ ered and
robbed in 1871 and finally ncol\ated hy
Gaston .Vlaspero in J881) contained i1 cache of
some fony royal mummies from the \ \1.1.1:"
OFTlI Kl:'\GS reinterred there by 21 st-D~ nil'ity
priests. The kings ,dlOse mummies were
fiHlnd in the 'Deir el-Bahri cache' were SJ:QE,"E:-.lR.\

T:\1\

TIIUTj\\OSE I, II

;Ind

the temple is decorated with relief.,; depicting

the divine birth of the queen and the exploits
of her soldiers on a trading mission to the
African land of rU~T.
The most important private tombs excavat-

II,

and

.\II~\OSE

I,

.\.\IE;.iIlOTU' I.

III, SET)' I and R..'\~IESI:S II, III

I'X , PiJ1udjem I and 11 and Siamun. Another

'cachc'consisting or 153 reburied mummies af
the 21 st-Dynasty priests themselves "';l~ 'llsa
found in a tomb at DeiI' c1-Bahri in 1891
E. Nt\nI.I.E, The fl'/1/ple (~(Deir e1-Ba//lIri, 7 mls
(London, 189+-1908).
I-f. E. \VI'LOC", Ex((n:alions (/1 Dei,. e!-B(/ha"''
/9//-31 (New York, 1942).

~IR EL-BAHRI

DEIR EL-BALLAS

LEFT

\"",,,,,,,....
"
temple of"''''''
Hatshepsut
-",""

1 temple of Nebhepetra
Mentuhotep II
2 shrine
3 entrance to royal tomb
.....""".....
of Mentuhotep II
4 peristyle court
5 mastabastyle building
6 ramp
."

....."""''\,,

PIau olDeir cl-Balm".

- , 11,l' slain snldiers o/,Yebltl'pelre .Ml'1Itlllmlep

(:-lew York, 19~5),
J. LIP!:\,sK.,.\. Deir "/-Ballar; II: The lCmple IJI
'1hllw/flsis III (\farsaw, 197-1-).
D. .'\R.'OLD, The lemplt of_1leulfllwlep ill Dr;,. clBIII""i (:-lew York, 1979).

Deir el-Ballas

..

,~~.

10

second court

ramp

forecourt

first court

. _........,.1-1-:.:J~:::~--1110

Bab el-Husan:
entrance to royal
cenotaph
causeway of
Mentuhotep II
causeway of
Thutmose III

kiosk of Thutmose JII

11 shrine of Hathor

..

~; ~~~eC~~~~~~~~e

Ul..o_...-

14 lower colonnade
15 shrine of Anubis

16 north colonnade
17 causeway of

Hatshepsut

SClllemcnr site on the west bank of the Nile

some 45 km nonh of TIIEBES, exca\arcd by
Geurge Reisner m the turn of rhe cemury .md
subscquently sun eyed .md re-examined by an
expedition from Boston concentrating on the
residential areas. Ballas was probably originally a sraging post in the rcconqucst of northern
Egypt by I\..\.\\OSE (t.1555-1550 Be) and
\Il\IOSE I (1550-1525 Be). Pctcr Lacovar.l
interprels the early New Kingdom phase of
Ballas as a prototypc of the 'royaJ city" foreshadowing: such later settlements as Gl,IROIl,
1\\ \U"::ArA and EL-:\l\IAR.."....r\.
A ll1<ljor contribution of Lacoy,ua's survey
of Ballas is the discussion of the fUllctions of
various structures originally excayated by
Reisner. I\vo large ceremonial buildings, the
so-called ~orth and South Palaces, lie at eithcr
end of;l long bay of desert". The South Palace
waS in f~lcr probably <1 fortress, while the North
Palace may ha\c bcen a royal residence during
thc wars agclinst the II,",,"SOS. The area hetween
these twO 'palaces' is occupied by rhe city
itself, j large Pjrt of which was exccwatcd by
Reisner. LacO\,.lra suggests that a group of
Kew J-.:.ingdom houses to the west of the
BELO"

PIau oIDt>;rd-Bul/as.

cemetery
houses ,
houses

500

north

;.',\"'.,''''\,~~

hill ",f

north wadi

[ north
, palace

modern Village ~

modern village

i
modern
cultivation

modern cultivation

100

200

300

400

500 m

8\

DEIR EL-BERSHA

DEIR EL-MED~

North Palacl: were occupied by palace officials,

while a huge building interpreted b~' Reisner
as a typical c1-Amarna-stylc '"iIb' is now
thought to have been a set of palace kitchens.
\~r. STE\D\'SON S,\lITII) The {lrl tlllt! IIrchi/eclllre oI
{{l/ciCIII .t'gypl (I IarmondswOrlh, 1958, rev. 1981),
278-81.
P. L.\COUIL\, SUrl'lfj' at Deil" el-Bal/as (J\blibll,
1985).

Deir el-Bersha
I?uncrary site 011 t"he cast bank of the Nile, 40
km south of modern el-iVlinya. The major
components of the site arc a row of tombs in
the cliff.'i at the mouth of dlC \,Vadi c1-Nakhb ,
mostly belonging to the J\!liddle Kingdom
governors
the fifreenth Upper Egyptian
nome. The 12th-Dynasry !"omb chapel of
Thuthotcp contains particularly interesting
relief." and wall-paintings, including a dcpic-

or

IWI.O\\ rhfj!,moll (~rp(fiJ1led limnlone relieJji"VIl/

Ihe ((jllff; /~rThlllh(llcp til DeiI' cl-lJash{[, sh/}wiJlg
a processiol/ olsen.alllS bearillg IJle{[po/ls alld, (II
Ihe rigIJl~//{flftl side, (/ ((/l"Iyillg [hair. 121h
D)'III/sly. c./870 lie, II. 33 ("/11. (ii,l/ /-/7)

tion or the tTansportatioll of a colossal statue

of the deceascd from the f-1t\TNUI3 tr~lvertinc
qUilrries, somc 30 km to the southeast. Closer
to the river is a group of Christian monuments, including a church and monastery
(DeiI' Anba Bishuy) which nourished during
the sixth and seventh centuries AD.
P E. Nnvm:Rlo' and F. L. GRIFFITII, 1-B('I'sl/(:II,
2 vols (London, 1892).

\yell ;lS a temple dedicated to various goels,

which was founded in the reign
Amenhotep
"' (1390-1352 lie) and almost completely
rebuilt in the reign of Ptolemy I\" (221~205 l3e).
Deir d-lVlcdina was cxcavated by Ernesto
Schiaparelli iiom 1905 to 1909 and by Bernard
BrU\~cre betwecn 1917 and 1947.
'rhe importance of the site to Egyptian
archaeolugy as a whole lies in its. unusual com~
bination of extensive settlement remains with
large numbers of OSTIL\CA (used for rough
notes and records), providing important evidence of the socia-economic system of Egypt
in the 18th to 20th Dynasties. Unfortunately
this unrivalled opportunify to synthesize contemporaneous textual and archac()logicll data
from a single site has not been fully realized,
primarily because of inadequate standards of
e:\cav;Hion.
B, BIWYI':RF, Rappol'! sur lesjouilles de Drir el
.MMinch, 17 \'ols (Cairo, 192+-53).
E. SCIIIAPt\RE.LLI, Rela.':.;ollc sui I"vur; della
missifille ardlarologica ilaliflJlfl i1l ~!{itlri 11 (Turin,
1927)
Nl. L. BIERBRIER, 'Tlie lomb-builtlers oIllie
pha/'{/ohs (London, 1982).

or

.''f
lombs of the Villagers

A130\ E Sfele u/NejerhOll'p, /Il0/'klllfll! III Dn'r dA1edilla. /9111 DYl1asly, c.12.)O JJc, limeslout',
II. -1(, ("/11. (HI1S/(,)

Hathor

the great pit

,;;;":;,.~~
P10lemy IV

~''''\\..

V""'II'jl""'"

",. . ",.",. . ,.,..,.

lemple of Amun

Deir el-Medina

or

Settlement site on the west bank

the Nile
opposite Luxor, situated in a bay in the c1iff.'i
midway bctween the Ramesseum anu i\rlediner
Habll. The village of Deir c1-Medina was
inhabitcd hy the workmcn who built the royal
tombs in the Vf\LLEY Of TilE KtNGS betwecn the
early 18th Dynasty and the late Ramesside
period (c. 1550-1069 Be). The site also incorporated the tombs of many of the workmen as

t
I

50

PIal!

82

oIDcil' e1-Jliledilla.

""""111

100

150

200

250 m

"'If"

~~1c':'A,---

~D~E",,:~~1~O~I~"l:.'::C

0. V!\LlJELI.Y, Le.\ fllI7.Til'l'S de f(/ lomhe. Dei,. dMMim:h d I'CpOfjllt: mmesside (Cairo, 1()85).
L. H. LESKO (cd.), P/w/'(/oh:~ JPod'crs: flll~ ril/agas
ofDeirel-J\!Iedil/({ (lrhacl and London, 199+).

Delta
Term used to uescribe Lower Egypt, i.e. the
region north of ancient "'E.\IP] liS. The name
derives from the fclet' that the Nile l~lI1s out
into several triburaTies as it appro.Khcs the
iVlcditcrranean, creating a ITiangular area of
fertile land shapcd hke the Greek letter dellil.
It was this contrast between rhe 1l,1ITU\Y :\ilc
valley of Upper Egypt .mel the broad Delta in
the nonh th'H perhaps led to thl.: concept of
there having originally been 'two lands', united into a single state by the first pharaoh. The
modern Delta is intersected by only two
branches of the Nile (the Damietta and
Rosetta). In the Pharaonic period there were
five tributaries, but three of them, the
Canopic, Sebennytic and Pclusiac branches,
had dried up by the Islamic period, probably
because of a combin:ltion
canal-digging and
;\ small rise in the ground surbce of the eastern Delta.
A. NlBm (cd.), Tht! ardlllcolog)I. geography alld
histolY Ii/the l."gYPlirlJl Delta dl/ring tht' p!/{/J"{/olli(
period (Oxford, 1986).
E. C. I've VAN DE:\" BRI"K (ee1.), The Nile Delta ill
tnlllsitio/l: -Ith-3rd JIIi1/mlliullI 11(; (Tel Avi,', 1992).

or

democratization of the afterlife

Phrase used to describe the process of usurping of the pharaoh's funcrary prerogatives by
private individuals, panicularly in tcrms of the
identification of the deceased with the god
OSIIUS. The term 'democratization' is, however,
to some extent a misnomer, and it has been
argued that the usurping of royal formulae and
rituals docs not necessclrily suggest an erosion
of belief in the kingship. lnstead, it is suggested that the act of imitation might eyen imply a
strcngtheni_ng belief iJl the elfectiveness of" the
institution of J-.:1NGSlllP.
S. QUIRKE, E~!.:.YPti({IlI"t:II~f{iQI/(London, 19(2),
155-8.

demons
In Egyptian religion and mythology, the
demons who affected the living were of two
main types: the 'J\ilessengers of SEKJll\\F.T' and
those associated with the netherworld.
The first- type of demon represents the goddess Sckhmet in her e\'ll aspect, and this category also includes various other spirits, such as
the discontented dead, evil spirits and even
sleepwalkers. ""fhis type was I-hought 1'0 be
especially prevalent at the end of each vear and
had to be warded off by the be~evolel1t

Rcsill-((J(iC/wlmouden stall/cite (~/{/ demo/l (which

placed by ils 19th-reI/tillY dis{ovCJ"n Ul1 ({ Laic
Pa;od plimh). 19/h Dynasty, e/225 lJe',FolJllhe
11dley (!(the Kings, It. oIligun' --/-2.) WI, II. ~/
J/}a.~

plilllllS.2 (III. (I!AoI283)

demons of OSIiUS and his followers. This host

of demons lived at lhe edge of the created

world, where they formed the f()rces of chaos
which from time to time affected the lives and
afterlives of humans.
The demons of the netherworld werc still
more terrif~'ing, and the best known of these
was AJ\Ii\\Ur, devourer of the hearts of the
unrighteous, who features prominently beside
the weighing scale in the vignettes illustrating
Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead. The
walls of some tombs, norably those ofRameses
VI (;:\'9; 1143-1136 Be) and IX (I<v6; 112(>-1108
BC:), show numerous painted demons ti'OIll
lhese FLNERARY TEXTS. Like the carthly
demons, these too could be warded ofI by their
benevolent counterparts who guarded the
tomb and its contcllls. The 'household gods\
such as BES and Aha, are sometimes described
as benevolent demons, ililhough this is probably only <l reflection of the generally unfocused
lise of the term 'demon' in Egyptology.
D. l\IIEEKS, 'Gcnie;;s, anges el demons en Egypte',
C/:Jlies, III1l!l'S t:I dill/OilS, Sources orientales \ III
(Paris, 1971).
G. P'SClI, .Magic ill tllIl"It.'1I1 f~!.J.YP/ (l ,omlon,
1994),33-46.

demotic (Greek demOlit,,: 'popular Iscript]'

or '[script] in common use'; also known as
cnchorial, 'of the cOllntry')
Cursive script known to the Egyptians as sekh

s1l01 ('writing for documents'), which, except

in religious and funerary matters, h'ld replaced

the HIERATIC script - from which it was deriycd
- by the 26th Dynasty (66+-525 Be). It was at
Erst lIsed only in commercial anti bureaucratic
documents but by the Pto1c.maic period
(332-30 IK:) it was also being Llsed for religious, scientific and literary texts, including
the pseudo-history of the Dt'lllO/i(; Chroniclc,
the technical Api.\" EmbalmiNg RiullIl and the
Khaemw<lset cycle of stories, <lnd the Sayings
0./ Allk!fs!fcsluJllf]j! (sec \rISDOI\1 LITERATURE).
Unlike [IlEHOGI.YPIIS and HIERATIC:, which were
intended for mutually exclusive media, dcmotic could be used as a monumental script, hcnce
its appearance on STEl.AE and as one of the
three texts on the ROSETT.., STOi\E.
Demotic continued in usc alongside Greek
throughout the Ptolemaic period, its survival
being ensured by such features of the administration as the provision of separate Greek
and Egyptian lawcourts. The latest surviving
business documents wriuen entirely in
demotic c1ate to 1\1) 130 and 175-6, and
Napthal.i Lewis has suggested that the demise
of demotic stemmed principally fi'om the
nature of the new regime imposed ;.ll the
beginning of the Roman period (c.30 Be),
whereby legal and administrative documents
began to be written solely in Greek. Nonliterary demotic O~"TH.ACA are found as late as
I'D 232/3, but" thereafter the script survived
only in the production of literary, religious and
scientific texts and in monumental inscriptions
(the latest demotic graffito at 1'11Il...AE being
dated t"O AD 452). One of the earliest texts containing traces of the COPTIC alphabet (a combination of Greek and demotic) is the demotic
83

DE:'>iDE~

DEN

Papyrlls./i"fJlII Thebes bearing {/ dl'llw/ir imtriplioll

dest:ribi/lg (/ I(J(III filmlf/:allll/d barley. Plolel/lllir

period. 19-1l1c. II. 23 oll.(r..' 10831)

London-Leidcn ~lagic'll Papyrus, dated w

the third ccnrur~ \D.
P. \v. PEsnu;..., Rneuil de (cortes demoliqucs el
bihlJglll'S (T~cidcll, 1977).
VLEE..\IIKG, 'La phase initialc e1u dcmoriquc
ancien'. Chmllitjll' d'g)'Ph' 56 (1981),31--48.
- (ee1.), .i.-PUls ~rdt:l"uli[" le.\'in)grap/~)I (Louvaill,
1987).
:"1. LE\HS. 'The demise of the demotic
documcm: when and ,,-hy',JEA 79 (1993),

S.

27(~1.

Den (Dewen, Cdimu) .2950 oe)

Ruler of the mid 1st Dynasry who probably

succeeded his mother

\lI:I~'F.ITII 011

sure wall exhibiting the technique of P.\' nr-.D_

DIl'\G. The main entrance is a comparati,-ch
small propylon-style gateway rather than ~
large pylon as in most other Upper Egypti:lIt
temples from the Nc\\" Kingdom onwards.
The c.lrliest surviving building is a .\l\\l\llSI
(hirth-house) dating to the reign of Necrancbo
I (380-362 Be), on the western side of the fiJrccourt. The main temple, of Prolemait and
Roman date, is dedit.....u cd to a local form of
l-Iathor who waS closely identified with 'LT, :Is
sky-goddess and daughter of R \, as \'t.'11 as
being associated with the west and therefore
with the dead. Although the present tonslruetion is late, a temple has stood on the site from
~1t least the early ~e\\- Kingdom and texts ill
the crypt mention a building from the time of
Pepy I (2321-2287 oe) ufthe 6th D,nast;.
A number of unfilled Glrtouches reflect the
uncertain political conditions of (he first century Be, whjle the south exrerior wall bears a
colossal carving of CLEoprrR-\ \'11 and her son
Caes:lrion before Lhe gods. This \yall also h:ls a
lj\f.St DOOR, in the form uf'1 Hathor SISTRL \1

the thronc

(since she may have ,Icted ilS regent while he

was too young to rule in his own right). He was
Lhe first to add the nesm-bil name ('he of the
sedge <Ind the bee') to his ROYAL TITLL\I{r.
King Den is associated with tombs :U .\U\DOS and S-\.QQ,\K.\, both of which were constructed with the earliest examples of st'lirways leading down into them, an architectural
refinement th<.1t would h'1\"c allowed the tombs,
if necessary, to h'1\"e been filled up \\-ith grave
goods during the king's own lifetime (thus
perhaps acting ns storehouscs for surplus produce). The burial chamber of the tomb at
Abydos dating to the reign of Den was also
paved with granite slabs and some of the
wooden roof supports were placed on granitc
blocks; this is the earliest sun-h-ing instance of

84

stolle-built architecture in an Egyptian fUllerary contcxt.

Twcnty i\"ory .mel ebony labels were eXC-;Ivaretl fro111 the Abydos tomb, eighteen of them
having bcen found by Flinders Petrie in 1900
amung the spoil-heaps leCt by the earlier excavator, Emile AmCiincau, One of the ebony
tablets shows a scene from the ritual of the
'appearances of the king of Upper Egypt and
the king of Lower Egypt', a ceremony which
was probably simihlf to the sEn FESTI\ \L
(inclu<.ling the earliesl depictions of the king
wearing the 'double crown' and .llso running
between ritual boundary markcrs). An i\'()ry
label for a pair uf sandals (now in the British
t\lUSClll1l) shows the king smiting an Asiatic
and bears the inscription: 'first time of striking
the c~lstcrners'; this Seems to indicate at least.1
ritu.ll interest in the control of southern
Palestine.
One of the Early Dyn~lstic burials cxc-.l'<.1ted
by \v. B. Emery in his first season at Saqqara
in 19:15 was Tomb 3035, which contained jarsealings referring W ;1 mnn called Tlemaka,
,yho evidently liycd in the reign of Den.
Emery's first report on 'Tomb 3035 uesc..:ribed
it as the tomb of King Den's chancellor in the
north, but Inter, on the basis of the size and
wealth of this nnd other tombs at Sal}qara,
Emery argued that it must haye been the actual buri<ll place of f.:.ing Den, relegating the
tomb of Den at Abydos to the role of a mere
cenomph. However, many Egyptologists now
believe that his first theory may have been correct, making Tomb 3015 the burial place of
Hemab, Den's chancellor of Lower Egypt.
W,.\1. F. PETRII~, TIlt' royal IOlI1bs oflhefirsl
dJ"ulSI)' I (London, 1900).
\V. B, E.\IER', .Irrhaic Egypi (HarmondsworLh.
1961),73-80.
A.j. Sf'I."",", Earl). Egypt (London, 1993).
(>+-1i.

Dendera (:lI1c. Junet, lhntcrc, Tentyris)

Site of' the ancient capital of the sixth Upper
Egyptian .'iO\IE, located ncar modern ~na,
close to the mouth of the \Vadi Hammamat
route to the Red Sea, making it an important
centre in Dynastic times. The Dcndera
necropolis rnnges in date from the Enrl~
Dynastic period to the First Intermediate
Period, including \I'\ST\J.~:\ tombs. There arc
also burials of s;lCred animals, especially the
cows associated with the cult of Ilathor, the
local goddess, whose temple dominates the
site,
The ,'arious surviying buildings making up
the temple of Hathor date from the 30th
Dynasty [Q the Roman period and are surrounded by a well-preserved mud-brick cnclo-

Tllf:Jinl/~J!pfJSlyle hall o/lhe tell/pIe off/alhor (II

Del1dera, built ill Ih('firsl Cet/lllly./1) 1~)1111l'
I::mperor Tiberius, The (ollil1llI base sllOms dU1Il1t!!(
where grains OfSI01U! 1/(l7..:e been groulld oul lor lISt'
in}Oll: medicine il1 posl-Pharaollic limes,
(R 7: \-IC1l0150.\)

DESERT

~RT

PIau oI/he fell/pIe oj1/aJl/(Jr al Dendera,

with wooden canopy (now defaced), where
well

those not able to enter the temple might petition the goddess.

----l

The columns of the fa(,:3.c1e and outer

hypostyle hall of thl: temple have capitals in

t1~c form of tJ1C he'1(1 of I-bthor surmounted by
:I J'Aos-shapcd sistrum. Although most of
these columns have been damaged, possibl)
during the Christian period, some arc well
preserved. The crypts depict various cult
objects stored in them, the most important of
which was a Bf\ statue of l-bthor. During New

I
I

I
I
I
I

I I

Year processions this would visit various pans

of the temple including the ."JUT chapel and
the roof chapel where the ba was united wirh
the solar disc. The roof also has symbolic mortuary chapels (or Osiris, olle of which contained a zodiac (now in the Lounc and
replaced by a copy), as well as fig'ures of N lit
and scenes relating to the rebirth of Osiris.
Outside the main temple, along with the
two !//(UIlJl/;S;S, were a small temple to Isis and
a sanatOrium for the accommodation :lI1d healing of pilgrims. This may have served as an
(incubation chamber' (where pilgrims slept in
order to receive hC:lling I)ln:Mvls) but it perh'lps
principally functioned as a centre for {i/J/JI/.I"
healing (see IIORUS). Belween the two //WlllllliS/~' are the remains ofa basilica of the Christian
period.
A. NIARIETrE, Delldaa!J, +vols (Paris, 1870-3).
\\( 1\11. F PI~Tt{ll~, Delldcre!J (London, 19(0).
E. Ct IA$SIN!\T and F DAUJ\li\."i, Le lelll/Jlt' de
Dem/al'((, 6 \'ols (Cairo, 1934--52).
I-I. G. FISCHER, Dmdc}"(/ ;Il Ihe 3rd millml!;/I1l1 IJC

(New York, 1968).

F. DAUJ\IAS, DClldera clle (eli/pIe d'J-!(/(!Jor (Cairo,
1969).

desert
The Egyptians sometimes referred to the
desert as tleshrel ('red land') in order to distinguish it from the fertile kemel ('black land'), so
called because of the black soil that was
deposited along rhe banks of the Nile by the
annuaIINUNDATIO:-.J. The epithet 'red god' was
therefore often applied lo SETH, the traditional god of chaos, since he was said to rule over
the deserts and the general disorder that they
represented, as opposed to the vegetation and
fertility associated with his mythical counterp'lrt, USIRIS. A variety of deities, such as ,\\I~
and H1\THOR, were considered to watch over
the desert routes affordinlT protection to tr,1\'ellers. The descr~s were es:cntially considered
to be places
dearh: first, in the sense of
wildernesses in which wrongdoers might be
sent to perish (either ;\s exiles or as forced

or

sacred lake

I
I

..
... I
well

====:J

sanatorium

courtyard

mammisiof
Nectanebo I

1 outer hyposlyle hall

2 Inner hyposlyle hall (surrounded by
ancillary rooms, e.g. 3 and 4)
3 'Iaboratory'torpertumes

i :~~~s::;tibule:
6
7
8
9

Christian
basilica

enclosure wall

workers in mines or quarries); and, second, as

the locations of cemeteries. The vVestern
Desert was regarded as the entrance to the
underworld where the sun disappeared each
night. Various FUN"tRARY TEXTS describe the
peri lOlls deserts surrounding the kingdom of
the dead itself.
The hicroglyph for desert consists of a dia-

~~

( [

hall of offerings
second vestibule: hall of Ihe Ennead
sanctuary surrounded by chapels
corridor
stairs to roof

I;'~:

10

20

30

Roman mammisi

40

5010

grammatic "ie\,' of a range of three hills separ:lted by valleys) since the deserts were also
mountains, in that they lay at a higher level
than the inrervening' Nile valley. The 'desert'
hieroglyph was also used as a 'determinative'
sign with reference to any foreign country.
Although not impassable, the deserts formed a
barrier around Egypt protecting it from its

85

O~J.!'!

.=O-='.=O-=A",C,-,'I,-,'I",C,-'::;L-=I'-,-I':::.El:..:t.:..:A-=T--=U",R",E=-'

neighbours and probably hdping to promote

the sometimes introspccti,-c tendencies of the
Egyprians.
I I. Ku:s. rl''''icnl Egypt: u (I//tllm/top(lg1"{fp/~)1
(London, 1961).
I. SII\\\, 'The blaek land, Ihe red hllld', Egypt:
tlllcieni m/Ilm'. IIwtlali/alltl, ed. J. :\lalek
(S,dn<\, 1993), 12-27.

didactic literature see II ISDOII

LlTER,ITLRE

Diodorus Siculus (fl. dO lie)

H..istorian born in the Sil.:ilian town of
Agyrium, who is \\ ell known for the description of Egypt included in the first book of his
Bibliulhem /JiSloriCll, .1 history of the world
from the earliest timcs until Julius Caesar's
conquest of Gaul. Although his O'yn 'York is
considcred by scholars to be undistinguished,
his writings are often ".tluable for the fragments reproduced from more importalH
works. His account of the prol.:ess of \IU.\1J\IIF1C\TIOi'., for instance) gives details not recorded
by IWROJ)O']'US, induding rhe fact that the
embalmer's incision was made on the left
flank. He also records that the Yiscera were
washed after their removal, and he claims that
the man responsible t()r opening the corpse
was usu<lll~ dri\len away by his colleagues (an
act which is now gcnemlly presumed to hayc
been ritual). Few details h,we sun'h'ed concerning the life of Diodorus, but he is knO\\'n
to h,1\-c li"ed until at least 21 Be.

cross-bars. Its origins seem to be among the

fetish symbols of the Predynastjc period, and
it has been suggested th,u it mjght represent a
pole around which grain Wi.1S tied. O\'er the
course of time it came to represem the more
.tbstract concept of slabili(~~ and! like the _\2\.KII
amI \US sr:EIyrRI: hieroglyphs, was commonly
used in this sense in decor;:ui\'e friezes.
Although the djed pillar wns ori.ginJlly <lssol.:i.ned with the god SOK \R, I'T\H, the patron
deity of .\ lemphis, is sometimes described <IS
Ithe noble Djtd'. [t '''as because of the association ofPtah with Sobrand theref()rc also with
OSIRIS, god of the dead, that the djed pillar

E R. \\"\1.':1"0'\, Dim/orm oISiri(JI (London and

Cambridge, -'lA, 196i).
A. BeRTo" Diot!nrm Simlus J: {f rnmmelllfll}'
(Leiden, 1972).

Diospolis Parva Sl'<' IIIII-SE.'''III>.'

diplomacy see
diseases set'

REGIO'

\II'IR" LE'ITERS

\U:D1CI'E

divine adoratrice (Eg\'ptian tllI)(/I-lle!ja)

Religious title held by women, the precise
connotations of which arc not fully unclersLOod. It was originally adopted by the daughter of the chief priest of the god .\'IL"\l in the
reign of l-Ialshepsur (1473-H58 Be). During
the time of the sole reign of Thutmose 111
(ID9-142.i IIC) it was held bv Ihe mother of
his principal wife. By the Third Intermediate
Period it was held together with lhe title GOD'S
WIFE OF t\i\IU".

G. R..oBlNS, J:.~'{yptiallll}()lJIt'1l (London, 1994), 1+9.

153.

djedpillar
Roughly cruciform symbol with at least three

86

AII/u/e! illthi'PJfllI ofa djed pillar. Saitc paind.

ji,iclI({'. II. //./ C1l1. (E//223.1)
c\'entually became a symbol of Osiris. Tn the
Book of the Dead it is said to represent his
backbone, and certain depictions of Ihe pillnr
portray it with human arms holding the royal
regalia.
It was probably at Memphis that kings first
performed the ceremony of 'raising the r/jerl
pillar', the best-known depiction of which is in
the Osiris Hall at AB\'IJOS, although the ritual
was also incorporated into one of the SED FESTmll,S or Amenhotep III (1390-1352 He) n<
Thebes. This act not only sen'ed as a

metaphor for tht stahility of (he monarchy but

also symbolized the resurrection of Osiri~.
J. \ \, IlER VUET, 'Raising the djed: a rite de
marge, .-Iklm "/iil/dlell 1985 JlI, ed. S. Schoskc
(llomburg, 1989), {OS-II.
R. I-I. \VII ..... "SO', Rr(/{/illg EgJ'pliali uri
(Lon dun, 1992), 16+-S.

Djer (1".3000

He)

Early king of rhe 1st Dynasty, who \\ as prohably third in the sequence of rulers beginning
with' \R\lER (as listed on a recently ext.-ar'lIl'd
clay seal impression from the royal ceml'tcry iU
\uroos). He may 'llso be the same king as hi,
\\ ho is mcntioned in the "''\G LIST in the temple of SCI y I at \UrDOS. A rock-can-ing al
Gebel Sheikh Suleim<ln W.IS onCl' interpn'ted
as cyidencc of a military c;:lmpaign launched
into Nubia at this time, but 'Villiam l\lurnane
has now shown that it dated earlier than the
reign of Dje!".
The bll1'ial chamber of his tomb at Abydos
(which some scholars st.ill interpret as a Cenotaph rather than an actual burial-place) \\as
floored with wooden planks. From the reign of
Djer onwanls, each royal t"Omb at Ahydos I.:onrained ,I number of chambers in which different types of grave goods were placed, ranging
from stone 'ases sealed with golden Ijds, copper bowls, gold bracelets, food? weapons, tools
and furniture made from i\-ory and chol1~.
Iliddcn in the northern wall of Djer's ttlmb
was a linen-wnlpped human arm adorned \\ iIh
bracelets of gold and gemstones, pl'rhaps left
behind by tomb-robbers. On arri\'a! al C.1iro
_\Iuseum rhe .1rm was discarded and onl~ the
jewellery was kept, therefore it is still not c1tar
whether the limb was that of Djer himsdf.'\t
least as early as the ~ Eddie Kjngdom, his
tomb was cOll\'erled into a cenotaph of the gud
OSIRIS, and when it was first eXGl\",Ileti by
Emile Amclineau, the hurial chamber contained :I stone image of Osiris on a funer.try
couch.
\V. .i\l. F PETRIE, The roya/tombs oflhe i'i"rst
D)'"I/SI)' I (Londun, 1900).
\V. 13. E.\IER\, Greta lombs o.(lhe n'nl Dy,/{/s~)'. J
\"ols (C1iro and London, 1949-58).
\V. J .i\llR' \'\E, 'The Gebel Sheikh SuJeiman
monument: epigraphic remarks',]NES-1-6
(19X7),282-5.

Djet (Wodj, 'Serpent') (1".2980 BC)

Rulcr of rhe 1st Dynasty who was probahly
buried in Tomb z at Abydos, which W<lS t::\{;;lv<ltcd by Emile Amclincau and Flinders Pel ric
at the end of the nineteenth century and reexcavated in 1988 bv \;Vcrnel' K,;iser ,lI1d
Gunther Dreyer. His -rectangular wood-lined
burial chamber is now known to have heen

QlOSER

DRESS

surmounted by a brick-cased mound or sand

or rubble hidden beneath the main rectangular

superstructure. Probably the finest of the 1stDynasty funerary stelae (now in the Louvre)

w,~s found by AmelinCilli in the vicinity of the

tomb; carved from finc limestone, it bears the
serpent hicroglyph (the phonetic \"a Illl: of
which is ((jel) framed by a royal SEREKII and
surmounted by a IIORUS falcoll. Both the
impressive Tomb 3504 at Saqqara (probably

belonging to Sekhcmka, ~U1 official during

Djet's reign) and a large i\lI\STAB:\ LOmb at Giza
have been dated to DjcL's reign by the presence of seal impressions bearing his n'lmc.
W. M. F. PETRIE, Thl! royal tOllltH oII!Il:/irsl
t()I/I({S(j1 J (London, ]900).
8. E,\u::I{Y, Grc(/llfllll!Js f!!,/licjirsl {()II/t/sty II
(London, 1954).
-, Ard/llil" .f:!J.)'PI (London, 19(1),69-71.
G. DREYER, 'Umm cl-Qlab:
Nachuntcrsllchungen im fri-illi'.citlichcll
Konigsfricdhof 5./6. Vorbericht" kID.'liK +lJ
(1993),57.

'V.

Ojoser (Zoser; Netjerikhet) (2667-2648 Be)

Second ruler of the 3rd Dynast~T, whose architect, I !'I II 10TEP, constructed the Step Pyramid
at St\QQt\R:\, which was not only the first
pyramidal funerary complex but also the earliest example of large-scale stone masonry in
Egypt (see I'YRM\lIns). Despite the fame of his
tomb, few facts arc known concerning Djoser
himself or the cvenl"s of his reign, and most of
the 'historical' information concerning his
reign takes the form
hIte sources, such as the
Fmnine SteIl' at Sehel (sec FA.\II!"!': and KJ-INUi\l).
Only the I-Torus Ilame Nctjcrikhct was found
in 3rd-Dynasty inscriptions associated with
lhe pyramid, am] it is only through New
Kingdom graffiti that an association has
been made between this name and Djoser. A
number of fragments of statuary rcpresenl ing
Nctjerikher were recovered from the pyramid
complex, including an almosl life-size sealed
statue from the SERlJAB (now in Cainl), <lIld
on the waUs of one of the subterranean galleries to the east of the burial chamber were
three reliefs depicting I'he king enacting
various rituals.
C. M. FJRTH, J. E. QLJrBl~LL and J-P. L:\L'ER, '11ft:
Sfep I~Jlramidl 2 vols (Cairo, 1935-6).
1. E. S. EDWARDS, Thl' pYI"llJllids '!f'(!f,JljJf, 5th cd.
(Harmonchworrh, 199.1), ~4----S8.

or

fhe identifil:ation of specific breeds from such

representations is difficult, since modern
breed definitions allow little flexibilitv. Suffice
it to say that breeds closely related to the
ba~enji, saluki and greyhound Can be identified, while there is a 1110re general category of
dogs apparently rehned t"O mastiffs <lnd dachshunds.
As well as ha\'ing a rple in the hunt, S0111C
dogs served as domestic pets or gUilrd dogs
and even polict.: dugs. Their qualities of fairhfulness and bravery .1IT sometimes referred to
in the names they were given; these names are
known from inscriptions on leather l:ollars as
wcll as from depictions on stelae and reliefs.
Thus we know of 'Brave One', 'Reliable' and
'Good Herdsman" as well as simpler names
referring to their colour. There were, however,
sometimes more negative aspel:ts of the
Egyptians' attitude to dogs: their air of domestic subservience could be used as an insult, <lnd
some texts include references to prisoners as
'the king's dogs'.
Since the jackal and the dog were not well
separated Ln the Egyptian mind they were
both regarded as sacred to tU\UBlS, sometimes
being buried as SACRED tH\JJ\lt\I.S in the
nubieion catacombs a1 Saqqara, although
unfortunately there is little information available l:oncerning the particular species of dog at
this site. The term 'Anubis animal'. rather
than jal:kal, is sometimes used, since its identification is a matter of debate. Domestic dogs
might also receive special burial, either along
with their owners - a practil:e known from the
earliest dynasties - or in their own coffins.
..\11. Ll"RKR, '1-1 unci unci ~folr in ihrer Beziehung
zum 'Tade'. /111111;0.' 10 (1969),199-216.
II. G. FJsr:JlEl{, 'I-lunde, Hundestele', Le.rikoll
der Agyplologie Ill, cd. W. l.--tclck, E. Otto and
W Westendorf (Wiesbaclen, 1980),77-82.
W. B'\RTA, 'Schabl', Ll.'xil'lJlI dcr AgYPf%gic v,
ed. \v. Heick, E. Otto and W. 'Westendorf
(Wiesbadcn. 198-1), 5U}-8.
R. JANSSEN and J..J. JANSSEN, [g)lpli{/}/ dOIlll.'Slit:
{///il//{/Is (Aylesbury, 1989),9-13.
D. J. BREWER, D. B. REDFORD and S. REI>FORD,
DOIIIC.Ilit jJ/{/lIfS ({lid (///im(/Is: 11ll' l::.~!tyjJli({1! ol'igills
(Warminster, 1994), 110--18.

donkeys see

I\NIi\IAI. HUSBAl\'!Jln

Ora Abu el-Naga see THEBES

dog

dreams

One ancient Egyptian word for dog is the Onomatopoeil: imi11J, refcrring to its barking noisc.
A number of differeot types of dogs can be
reCognized from depictions in tombs, many of
them tall sleek breeds suiublc for hunting.

Dreams played an important role in

Eg) ptian culture, principally because they
were thought to serve as a means of communicating the will of the gods and serving as
clues to future events. Papyrus Chester

Beatty III in the British Museum, an early

Ramcssidc document found al DIER EJ.-l\lFDI'J,\, describes a number of dreams, each of
which is followed by an interpretation and an
evaluation as to whcther it was good or bad.
It is suggested, for instance, that if a man
dreamed of drinking warm beer, this was bad
and he would inevitably undergo suflering.
Although the papyrus itself elates to the early
thirteenth century IlCo, the language of the
rext suggests that this dream-list was originally compiled in the Ivliddlc Kingdom
(2055-1650 He).
In royal propaganda (see U\JGSlllP), stelae
sometimes recount the pseudo-prophetic
dreams of pharaohs as a lllC.lI1S of justifying
their sllccession to the thrune. The classic
eXilmple of the royal dream stele \yas erencd
by TIIUUIOSE I\~ (1400-1390 Be) in front of the
Great SPHIi'X ilt Giza, describing' how, as <l
young prince, he fell asleep in the shade of the
sphinx and was then mid in a dream that if he
cleared the sand away from its nanks he would
become king' of Egypt. Centuries later, the
Kushite pharaoh 1".>\i'.LT.'\.\'l!\NJ (664-656 Be) ser
up a similar stele in the temple of Amun at the
~ap<ltan capital city Gebel Barbl (see l""-I'ATA), describing a dream in \yhich the throne of
Egypt and Nubia was offered to him hy t\H)
serpents, who presumably symbolized the 'two
ladies', rhe goddesses of Upper and Lower
Egypt". TanUla111<lni's stele thus provides a
mythical explanation for the unusual Kushite
crowns, which are adorned wirh double IIraei:
when the king awoke from his dream he was
told, 'the two goddesses shine on your brow,
the land is given to you in its leng'lh and
breadth'.
From the Late Period (747-332 Be)
onwards it became relatively common for imliyiduals to sleep within temple enclosures so
that ORj\CLES could be communicated to them
through divinely inspired dreams (sec BES).
The Greek rerm (Jlfiroaifes was used La
describe the priests whose role \yas to interpret
these dreams.
J. H. 13RE>\STED, Alldt'lI! retords (~/ E'gy/JI n'
(Chicago, 19(6). -169.
S. S,\UNI::RON, Les S(JIlgcs t:/ /CI/r i/llcrpre/afioll
(PaTis,1959).
J. D. R.w, The tll'thh:1' (~/H(Jr (London, 1976),
130-6
C. ZI"JE, Gi::,a (II/ tlellxiJlI/e lI/iI/(!Jwirc (Cai.ro,
1976),130-1.
J D. RAY, 'An agricultural dream: ostr:tcon Ii,\!
5671 " Pyramid .III/dies and olha essays presell/ed (f)
I. 1:.". S. Edmartls. cd. J. Baines eL ;11. (London
1988), 176-83.

dress see n .OTI-JING

87

....

DUALITY

DYAD

duality

H. KEI::s, .~llIdelll Egypl:

The Egyptians bclic,"cd that unity waS emphasized by the complementarity of its parts.
Thus [)lC king of a united Egypt still bore the
title 'lord of the two lands' (lleb I(f/I~l') and 'he
of the sedge and the bee' (l1esm-bil). Similarly,
the country was diyidcd into the black land
(kemel) and the red hmd (tll's"rel), and split
berween the east (the land of the living) and
the west (the realm of the dead). The earth was
distinct from the hcowens but the two together
wcre the complemelltary halycs of the created
universe, while beyond the DORnERS of the
universe waS the 'ullereated" the chaos from

ed. T G. H.Iames (London, 19(1).

The perH111ifiratiol1S ofLOJver Egypt (Ie/i) lind

Upper Eg:JlPt (righl) cromll the pharaoh Pto!enql
'f Philomela nJ;th Iht' doubll' cr(mm. DUlllil)' mas
(/1/ ill/porla"t part nIEgyptit/1/ tho/lght. Temple oj'
!lows (if Et(/il. (/1, 'I: .vfCf-IULSQ\)
which mall and the gods had emerged (see
and 'L').
This duality is prescnt at many lcycls of
thought and symbolism, so that there arc
gods of Uppcr and Lmycr Egypt, and gods of
thc living and thc dead. The mythical struggle between I 'ORU~ and SETH was esscntially
regardcd as the universal struggle betwecn
good and evil, thc triumph of light over
darkness and the prevailing of order over
chaos. In more pragamatic terms the Kl~G
SIIIP (personified by the god Horus) and thc
ordered bure'1Ucracy which it encouraged
were seen to be strongcr than the powers of
anarchy.
CRE,HIO::\

88

(l

(il/Ilim/lopography,

B. J Kt::.\II', .llIl'ieul EgYPI: tII/(/lo"~Jt o/a

1989).

ril:ilizalioJl (London,

dwarfs and pygmies (Egyptian tlelleg, 1/'111)

Although the same EgYPlian term (deneg)
appcars to ha\'c been used for both dwarfs and
pygmies, the Egyptians' auitud.es to each of
these categories differed considerably.
Cascs of dwarfism seem to h~l\-e been fairly
common; the condition results from the t~1il
ure of thc boncs to ossify properly, resulting
in srunred growth (achondroplasia), and sevcral such skdclons have survived, as well as
numerous dcpictions in reliefs and staruary.
One particularly striking late 4-th- or carly
5th-Dynasty 'group statue' depicts the dwarf
Seneb and his t:1mily. Seneb held sereral oflicial positions: he was OYCrseer of the palace
dwarf..... chicf of the royal wardrobe, and priest
of the funerary colts ofl'.hofu (2589-2566 BC)
and Djedefra (2566-2558 BC). His statue
shows him seated cross-legged besidc his \rife
Scnctites, who was of normal staturc, while
his children stand immediately in front of
him, apparently com-cnicntly masking the
area where his legs would hayc been if his
limbs had been of normal proportions. The
wealth and prestige eyidenlly enjoyed by
Scncb, LO judge from his titlcs, tomb and
funerary equipment, was not unusual for
Egyptian dwarfs in general, many of whom
appear to have had skilled or responsible
occupations. They arc depicted as jewellerymakers in the Old Kingdom tumb of \IERERL)"-..\ at Saqqara, and they arc also shown tendi.ng anim.tls, undertaking agricultural work,
and sometimes prO\-iding entertainment for
high officials. Seneb's m.uriagc Lo a woman
who \\"as a lady of the <.:ourl and a priestess is
onc of many indications th.tt male clwarf.~ were
not ohliged to marry women with similar
deformirics. The apparent lack of prejudice
against dw.trfs is perhaps also indic:lted by the
tilet lhat a number of gods, notably BES, show
signs of dwarfism.
Pygmies, howc\'cr, seem to have received
rather less beneficent treatment than dwarfs,
no doubt bec<.1llse they were essemially foreigners. They were gencf<llly imported infO
Egypt from tropical Africa, often sen-ing as
'dancers before the god', temple dam:ers or
acrobat's in the service of Rt\. The decon1tion of
the Old Kingdom tomb of Harkhuf (A8) at
Qubbet el-Hawa (see \SlrA,') includes a copy
of a Icner from the young 6th-Dynasty ruler
PEP" II (2278-218{ He), urging I-Jarkhuf, who
was on his way back from an expedition to the
south of Sudan, to take great care of the danc-

Paill1/'d 1i11lt'sIfJ1I'grf)Up sl(l/l/t' nIi/I(' dmfll/St.'tlcb

milh his miji:: Sellelill's {/mllfteir

-/Ih

ur l'arly 51ft

I~)I/III.I"/y.

I/pO

L'hiltl,.m. I.Alll'

e2500 lu:..f;mll Ciza,

11. .if fill. (CIIRO,}fSI2IiO)

ing pygmy he has acquired. The king is quoted '1S saying, 'my majesty desires 10 see this
pygmy more th;)n the gifrs of the mine-land
[Sinai I and of Pont'.
K. R. \VEEKS, The fllllllo11limll'lIomlt'dge II/Iht'
IIUCh'llI l:.gYPlial1s lIud Ihe represeultlliul1l1./lhc

hlll1lalljigurt' ill EgYPlitifl art (Ann Arbor, 1981).

0.

EI.-AGUIZY, 'Dwar(') and pygmics in ancient

EgY]lt', AS.../E71 (1987), 53-60
V. D,\sl':", Dmll1:f.~ /11 fll1c/clll E~~yp/ ((1ft1 Grl'at'
(Oxford, 1993).

dyad (pair-statue)
Pair of statucs, oftcn can-cd from the same
block of material, either representing a man
and his wife or depicting two versions of Ihe
same person. Sometimes the m.m and wife arc
accompanied by their children, usually can'cd
next to their legs. There arc also occasional
groups of two or three identical funerary Sto1tlies portraying .1 single individual, one
the
earliest cxamples being the dyad of the 5thDynasty priest of R \, Nimaatsed, from \1 \ST\U,\ tomb 1)56 at Saqqara (now in C1iro). It hilS
been suggested that the intention of such
'pseudo-groups' m.ty ha\-c been to reprc~ent
the body .md the spiritual manifcstatiuns of
the deceased (sec 10\). It is possible that royal
dyads, such as the L1nusu.tl granitc double Sl;ttlIC of Amenemhar III from "Etnis (also in
Cairo), may portray both the mortal and deified aspects of the pharaoh.
,\1. SALEIl and H. SOLl{QUZIA..~, The EgypJiufI
JtIliselll1l. Cairo: official ((I/lt/ogue (!\lainz, 19S7),
LOlt. nos {8 and I().I.

or

~ASTY

dynasty
The division of the Pharaonic period into
(h-nasnes was a chronological system introd~ced hy the priest \I.\"ETIIO in the early third
century Be, when he composed his hisrory of
Egypt (the AegyptillclI). The thir,,'--one dynasties consisted of groups of rulers stretching
from the rime of the scmi-mythiGll first
pharaoh 1\tE.:\:ES to :\LEX.\.'DER "1"1 [E GREtH. In
general IVianetho1s dynasties appear to correspond quire closely to the grouping of kings
Suggested by yariolls earlier Klt--G LISTS, such ;15
the TL:RI~ RQ) .\1. C \ \lU\I, ancl in modern
chronologies the dynasties afC usually grouped
into 'kingdoms' and 'intermediate periods' ,
The distinction bc[\yccn one dynasty .10<1
another occasionall~ seems rather arbitrary but
tWO of the most importi.Jn1 determining factors
appear to hayc been changes in royal kinship
links and the location of the capital.
Bccause of the tendency to regard the kingship as a unique and indi,isihlc phenomenon,
Manetho's dynasties, like the groups of rulers
in Pharaonic king li5ts, rend La be neated as if
the)' occurred in a linear sequence1 one after
the other, whereas it is now known dlat some
of them (such as the 13th to 17th Dvnastics)
represented roughly contemporaneous and
overlapping sequences of rulers who COlltrolled only certain parts of the country. See
also C1IRO:"OWGY.
W. G. \VADDEI.L,. \lll1ll'1/W (Cambridge .\lA, and
London, 19~0).
\V. r-IELCK, UllterSltdumgeu ::'{I.lIlIl/clho IlIId der
iigYPlisclten Kiiuiglistell (Berlin, 1956).
D. REDFOR.I), P/lll/'(ffJlJic A'illg-li.m. lIlIl/als alld daybooks: {{ conlribuliolllO tlte SI/I(~)I ollltt' Egypliall
S('1/se olltistoJJI (1\t1ississauga, 1(86),
S, QUIRK~, 'IVlto men' l!Ie p!la}"(/o!ls? (London,
1990).

ECONOMICS

E
Early Dynastic period (3100-2686 nr.)
Chronological phase, often described as thc
Archaic period, comprising rhe first two
dynasties of the Pharaonic period, during
which many of thc major aspects of the culturc
and society of the Pharaonic period emergcd.
Some scholars include the 3rd Dynast~
(2686-2613 Br.) in the Earll" Dmastic period,
but most chronologies trcal the 3rd to 6th
Dyn..1sties as the 01.1) hl::'\GI.>O\1.
The transition li'om the PRU)Y'\\STIC PERIOD to the 1st Dyn;lst~ was once regarded as a
sudden politic~ll e\'elll, such .1S an ilwasion.
The material culture of the period, huwc\cr,
suggesrs that the cmergence of the Early
Dynastic monarch~ was a ycry gradual
process.
f\ cerrain dcgrec of conlTovcrsy still surrounds the question of thc loc1tion of the royal
tombs of the 1Sf and 2nd Dynastics, givcn thar
there are Clite cemereries of the period at both
ABYD<)S and Si\Q.Q\IU, both of which include
inscriptions bearing lst- and 2nd-Dyn,lst~
royal names. Current opinion, howcYcr, tends
more towards Abydos as the royal cemetcry
and Saqqara as the burial ground of the high
officials of the time.
The tombs at Ab"dos and Saqqara ha, e
yielded some of the earliest Egyptian textual
c,idence, primarily in the form of stone slclac,
wooden and i,ory labels, inscribed pottery jars
and chIy seal impressions. On the basis of
these documents, together with the evidence
of radiocarbon elating, the rough chronological
structure of thc pcriod has been reconstructed. The sequence of 1st-Dynasty kings, all of
whom wcre probably buried at Abydos, is now
widely accepted as ::'\.\R.\IER, -\1-1-\, OJER, DJE1',
DE.", _\:'\UJIB, SE'IERf'IIET and Q\';\, with
Queen \IER'\EITII sen-ing as a regent, probabl~
either before or after the reib'11 of Den. The
chronology of the L'arly 2nd-Dynasty kings,
who wcrc probably buried at S.\QQ-\R_\, is more
nebulous,
perhaps raking the form:
l-!ctcpsckhclllwy, Raneb, ~ynetjcr, \\lcneg and
Sened. The last two rulers of the 2nd Dynasty
wcre PERlBSE-,,- and h:IIASEf'J IE\I\\'\, both buried
at Abydos.
B. G. TRIGGER, 'The rise of Egyptian
ci,ilization',AIIl'it'II( l:.:I!,ypl: a soria I ltisIM:JI, eel.
8. G. Trigger et al. (Cambridge, 1983), l-iO.
1. $11-\\\", 'The Egyptian Archaic period:;)
reappraisal of the C-H dates', GM 78 (198~),
79-86.

J...:. BARD, 'Tow;lrd an interpretation of the role of

ideology in the c\'oluLion of complcx sociery in
EgYPl',]ollnwl of,Jl1lhropological.~rch{feologyII

(1992),1-24A. J. SI'E:'\CER,

E(lr~J' Egypl: Ihe risl' oft:h'ili::.atiolJ

ill Ihe _Vill' nt/ley (London, 1993).
B. G. TRIGGER, Eflr~)I civilization: tI/Il'iml I:.gypt
ill cOI/It'xl

(Cairo, 1993).

economics St'/1

'\D"lINISTR.\TIO:\l;

I\GRICLI:rURE; COI'I'ER; GOLD; IRO:'\; SI1,\ERj

STO'\Ej T'\XATIO::'\; TRADE

and

WOOD.

Edfu (anc. Djeh, :\pollonopolis ~lagna)

Upper Egyptian site dominated by a large,
well-preseryed temple dedicated to the hawkgod !lORCS. The earliest securely dated historical e\"idcncc in the region of Edfu is n mckcaning of the name of the I st-Dyn~lsty king
DJET (1".2980 Be), in the desert to the east of the
main sitc.IS ,,-ell as <1 necropolis of the Early
Dmastic period (3100-2686 Be).
The main sire includes sCll1ement and
funerary remains covering the cntire Dynastic

50m

1
2
3
4
5

pylon gateway
ambulatory
firsthyp<lstyle halt
second hypostyle hall
'laboratory' (inscribed with
recipes for incense, etc)

6 offering hall
7 vestibule
8 sanctuary (surrounded
by chapels)
9 'Nilometer'
10 'library'

PIau of the lemplt of Horus III EdJiJ.

89

EDUCATION

EGYPTOJ~

vVrinen education was rcry clearly addressed

boys, and many of the so-callcd '\\ i~d(l1TI
1
texts are presented in thc fiJrm of Sets of
instructions spoken by fathers to Sons (sec
1':TIlleS and WIsnO:-'1 LlTEHATUHE). The Sons of
the elite seem to have been given a broader
education involving reading, writing' ;md
\1!\Tl-lI:.\L'\"IICS. Such boys would probahl y
hare been taught in a scribal school attached t~
some particular diyision of thc administration
such as lhe IIOl;SE OF LIFE in a temple Dr, il~
the most pri\'iJeged cases, at the roY'll COUrt
itself For most of the Pharaonic period the
l-lII':It'\TIC script would have been the first to be
h:arned, with only a few selectecl indi\-iduals
thcn being instructed in the more elahorale
and artistic I HEHOGUPIIS. '1'he subject of mathematics was evidently taught by means of
numerous examples rather than by the liSe
of abstract formulae, su that problems \\cre
usually brokcn clown into a repetitive scrics of
smaller calculations.
Learning was by rote, in that most lessons
.tppcar to ha\'c taken the form of copying out
exercises and commining long passages of [ext
to memory. The exercises took the form of
model LETI'ERS 1 reports and selections from
'instructions) such as the Book !~r KCIIO'I.
Frequently such instructions presented a distinctly biased vlcw of society, praising the
scribal profession and sometimes satirizing
othcr ways of life (see JIUMOUR). School discipline was strict, .md one text includes lhe
memorable phrase: 'A hoy's car is on his back
- he listens when he is beaten'.
T. G. I L JAW~S, Pharaoh :\. people: S(Cllcsjj'l)lllliji;
iI/ OllciCI/I .EgYPI (Oxford, 198+), 136-51.
E. STROLl L\I., L~/e in Il//(:icnl EgYPI (Cambridge,
1992),31-7.
G. ROBI:-\S, HlOlI/el/ ill alleiclil EgypI (Lundon,
1993),111-14.
D. SWEENEY, 1\\10I11cn's correspondence from
DeiI' cl-tVlcdinch', Scs/o COllgresS(} llllcl"I/u::.iIJ111J!e
tli Egi//ologia, Alii II (Turin, ]993), 523-l.J.
to

E{!/il. 'lilt: sou/It

()/I/if PY/OII is decorated mill! relit:l~ .I'tumling
PtolelllY \'/1 SllfilillgIfm:iglln"s. 011 ci/!l{'J' sid" ({
the galemay (lrc s/al//t".\ uI/he hawk-god [-forus.
Plolell/flit pi'riod, i J Be, /f.(~reaslt'l"lll(Jl1?a -1-1 l/l.
PY/OII oIII/1f lemple o/Horus a/

./f/ti'

(/~ 'I: .VlCllOtSOS)

period, bur a substantial proportion of the

buildings remain unexcavared. 'The French

and Polish excavators of the 19205 and 1930s

examined the temple as well as the GrccoRoman and Byzantine levels of the surround-

ing settlement. The construction of the

Ptolemaic temple of Horus, which was founded on the site of a much earlier Pharaonic temple, dates to the period between the reigns of
Ptolemy [lJ and Xil (246-51 13C). The reliefs and
inscriptions on lhe walls include the myth of
the contendings of Horus and SI':Tl-I (probabl~'
performed annually as :l religious drama) and
an imponant' account of the ritual founcLttion
of the temple.
N!. DE ROr.IlEI\IONTEJ.\' and E. CtIASSI'\i\T, Lt
lelllfi/crI'Mfil/l(Paris, 1892; Cairo, 1918-).
K. i\'[JCJ-JALOWSKJ et 011., Tell EdJilll, -+ HJ1s (Cairo,
1937-50).
I I. W. FMR.\lAN, '\Vorship and festiv'l1s in an
Egyptian temple', lJulll:lill uJlheJohn 8)111I1Ids
Libral)', Alallrllt;sler J7 (195+), 165-203.
~, Thl' Iriulllph oIHorus: ({II ({lIcIelll Egypliall
sand drallu! (London, 1974).
S. C\Urll.l.I:, I,a IhJologie tI'Osiris ri EI({o1l (Cairo,
1983)
- , Erljil/l (Cairo, 1984).

education
Few ancient Egyptians were given any formal
education, and the majority of the people were
illiterate. For the latter, training was essentially vocational: practical trades and crafts were

90

passed on from one generation to anot-her, ilnd

boys often appear to have served apprenticeships under their fathers. Usually a son would
be expected to take over his father's trade or
post and eventually to provide the principal
means of support for the family. There is little
surviving evidence concerning the training or
education of women, although daughters generally seem to have acquired domestic skills,
such as weaving and cooking, from their
mothers.
For the elite members of Egyptian society,
education \Y<1S essentially a matter of scribal
training) since the use of writing was thc key
to Egyptian administration and economic
organization) and the sphere of the trained
scribe extended beyond writing to the roles of
manager and bureaucrat. A document from
the fourteenth regnal year of Psamtek 1
(664-610 J3C) contains the individual signatures of fifty high officials, ranging from
PIUESTS to VIZIERS, thus indicating the widcspread literacy of the members of the ruling
elite in thc 26th Dynasty at least. l\tlany of the
surviving texts fro111 the Pharaonic period
were intended to flUlction not only as literary
works but also as cclUCaI"ional textbooks, such
as the f\Jlixre/fauie:;, and often the very sun-ivai
of these documents is owed largely to constanl
copying as a means of acquiring writing skills.
The question of the extent of female literacy is
still a mattcr of considerable debate; it is possible that a small proportion of women could
read and write, since there arc surviving Icttcrs
to and fi'om women at the New Kingdom
workmen's village of Deir cl-1\tlcdina
((.1500-1100 Be), although it is equally possible that such documents might have been
written and read by male SCRIBES on behal f of
female patrons.

Egyptology
Some scholars date the beginning of lhe discipline of Egyptology to 22 September 1822. the
day on which jc:.m-Franyois (] IAI\lI'OL1.J()".:
wrote his Lellre d Ai. Datier rda/hx d /'a/pltt/bel des hiirog()'phcs p//I}!ll;/iqlles, in which he
demonstrated that he had deciphered the
IIIEHOGLYPIIIC script. Chaillpollion, hO\\ t\-er,
was undoubtedly already drawing on the \\'ork
of earlier writers, such as J IOR.\POLln, ,mel
Thomas YOUNG, and his work was actuall~ the
culminadon of hundreds of years of earlier
'redisc{)\"cry' of ancient Egypt.
The Egyptian civilization was already
regarded as a venerable and ,l11cient onc by the

EGYPTOLOGY

~PTOLOGY

These scientific expeditions lInfortlinarcl~

took place against a background of looting
and collecting by such pioneers as Bernardino
Dro\'etti and Gio'";lI1ni IWI.ZO'L The <llttiquitics
acquired by such men e,-entually formed the
nuclei of important national collections, such as
the British :\Iuse.:um, the Lou\Tc, the.: Berlin
museUlllS and the :\luseo Egiziu in Turin. In
1858 the Pasha appointed a Frenchman,
Auguste \L\RIETIl~, to O\ersee all future e\(....I';1tion in Egypt. :\ot onI: did this mark the beginning of more ordtrl~ study but it also reOccred
an increasing im cmcnt in the conscnmion
and detailed ;.Jnalysis of thc monuments.
Gradu;tll~ the subjcct gained rcspe.:ctabilil~,
parrly through the c-'it;.Jblishmcnt
it number
of important academic posts in Egyptology,
and schuhlrs such ;IS folinders I'J.TRII. and
George RCIS,I:I~ were ahle to de.:,clop il1(.Te;ts-

0"

or

Photograph shomillg 'Cleopatra \- lll'cdlt" inlhi'

protess o/bl'illg f!rcpal"edjlir 1/"(/llspl)rl(//if}II/~}llhe
British eligilll!a}al/ll!s f)/~rf)lf. 7'l,c o[,eh,"k m(/s platcd
ill (/ speria/()'-II/w!t' lm'fal (I,/iI/del: IOJ1Jed 1~)1 bnat /11
El1g/al/d. alld l't'('JIIl/a!(JI era/cd /III/he Tlulllles
EI/IIJ(IJI~'lIlelll ill /8i8. 01l(V (f.l'ear ((/h,. Di.rolf fwd
been (oillrar/ed 10 bring ilji-O/J/I:gypl. (RF:PIWDU:I.'l)

COl"RTES') OP Tllt:(;JUIT'I1I/\SnnT/)

time thal the Greek historian

IIEROJ)OTL:S

(c.48+--120 lie) compiled the firs! general

accOunt or the culture .IS a whole. Pharaonic
Egypt was also a source of considerable interest
to Ihabie scholars of the .\ I iddle Ages. :\ [any of
these carly accounts mixed obSCITation ,,-ith
fantasy, and more than a lillIe interest in
treasure hunting, but some show a genuine
cllriosi~' about the names and histories of
the builders of the great monuments. It was
obvious to Arabic scholars .md carl: tra,'ellcrs
that the tombs and temples wcre coycred in
carvings, the mysterious hieroglyphs, and it
w.tS this aspect of Egyptian ci"ilization that
attracted the attention of European scholars
such as the German priest Athanasius Kircher,
who undertook important research into Coptic
and Arabic m.muscripts before turning his
attention to the hieroglyphs. Unfortunately, he
mistakenly believed these signs to be purely
symbolic and non-phonetic, which led him to
the fantastic interpretations of texts that in
later times have earned him a somewhat unjustified notoriety,
The found,;tions of Egyptological knowledge
were laid by such European 'travellers' as
Richard Pocockc, Claude Sicard and Frederick
Ludwig Norden, whose pioneering accowlts of
the Pharaonic sites the," visited are jn some cases
the only record of m~nllments that have long
since fallen victim to plundering or natural

deterioration. Howe\'er, the first systematic

e.:xploration of Egypt waS undertaken .tt the end
or the cighteenlh century by a small team or
French scholars accompanying ?\apoleon's military expedition through the Nile \';llley. '1'he
task of these 'sa\'anls' was to rccord all aspe.:cts or
Egypt's nora, ElUna and history, and their
resolrs \Yere published be! ween 1809 and 1822
as the t\\"cnl~ -four-,'olumc DesaiplioJl de
I'Eg)lftlt!o :'\";tpoleon's c.''\pedition was brought to
;1I1 end by the Brilish, but- the scholars were
allowed to continue their ,york LUltill802. \Vhen
Alexandria ,yas surrendered to the British, the
colkclions made b: the sa,"anL'i wcre also handed o,er, induding certain objects, such ,tS the
ROSETn STO'\E, that wefe to prmc crucial to the
de, elopmem of Egyptology.
Large.: numbers of indiyidual European
tra,ellers and collectors began to ,isit Egypt
in the nine.:tee.:nth century, along with seyeral
further htrge-scalc scientific expeditions,
most nOlably the work of Jean-Franc,:ois
Champollion and lppolito ROSELLI~I between
1828 and 1829, as well as the amhitious
and "ide-ranging researches uf the German
scholar Karl Richard I.EPSIcS between 1842
and 1845. Lepsills' expedition undenook
extensive mapping and a cert.tin amount of
excavation, recording some sites nOt visited
by the Fre.:nch as well as adding further
de.:tails to the ;.JCCOlInts of known sites; his
work "as published under the title of
Denk1!l(fe!er rI/I.I' AegyptClf lIud Aelhiopiel/. In
the English-speaking world, the first comprehensive and reliable description of Egyptian
antiquities and culture was Sir John Gardner
WILKI"'l'SO'\j'S
monumental JlIlaJ/l1ers flild
CffsIOJII.~ oflhe allcielft Egypliafls, publishcd in
three volumes in 1837, after twelve years
of continuous fieldwork in Egypt and Nubia.

Portrait ill oils oflJo11'f1rd Carter. paintcd I~l,ltis

elder brother IVillialll il1 /92J. (REPRUOf. Ct./)
(,'{)L"Rn.\') Of 'tl1E CRlff17111\.,,.T1TL n)

ingly mcticulous techniques of field recording

and cxca\";ltion. As a result, from the 18905
onwards the subject became increasingly professional in naturc. Mariette's oyersccing of
excavations developed into the Egyptian
Antiquities Service (the modern incarnation
of which is the Supreme Council for
Antiquities), which is now re.:sponsible for
gmnting excavation permits to foreign missions, as well 'lS co-ordinating their work in the
best interests of the Egyptim people. This
increasingly involves thc rescue of sites and
monuments endangered by construction
works, such as the A5\\1.\1'\ lUGl1 Of\'\! in the
19605, the Cairo 'waste-water project' in the
91

E<::I' ,=,"~

.::E..::L_-

19805, and the el-Salaam canal in northern

Sinai during the 1990s. In terms of the popular conception of Egyptology, however, these
rescue projects have been disrincrly overshadowed by Howard CARTER'S discovery of the

tomb ofTutankhamun in 1922, which was the

first great 'media event' in the history of
Egyptology, capturing the imagination of sub-

sequent generations of scholars.

lVlodcrn Egyptologists draw on a huge
diversity of techniques and disciplines,
including sophisticated geophysical survey,
meticulous CXCilVation and recording in plans
and photographs, complltcr-g'cneratcd 1'CCOl1sf-ructions, as well as the more traditional
fields of epigraphy (copying of inscriptions,
paintings and reliefs) and papyrology.
See Appendix 1 for a list of the names and
dates of the m:.ljor early travellers and
Egyptologists mentioned in the text.
K. R. LEI'SIUS, Denhllaeler ails AcgypICIllllld
AelhioJJ;ell, 12 vols (Berlin, 18-1-9-59).
B. "M. P'\GAN, The rapt o/the Nile: lomb robbers.
tOl/rists alld arefUte%gists in Egypt (London, 1977).
J. VERCOliTI"ER., The scardlfbr (lUcient EgyPI
(London, 1992).
D. O'CONi\.OR, 'Egyptology and archaeology: an
African perspective', A !IiSloly oI/~/iit-all
archaeology, cd. P. Robcrtshaw (London, 1990),

23(}--51.
DAWSON, E. P. UPI-L1LL and 1\11. BIERBRIER,
'IVI/O mas mho in EgyplOlogy, 3rd cd. (London,
1995).

V\'. R.

el- All site names beginning with 'el-' (Arabic

'rhe') are alphabetized under the second part
of the namc, e.g. KUlTu, cl-.

Elephantine Iec ASWAN

Elkab (anc.

Nekheb)
Upper Egyptian site on the east bank of the
Nile at the mouth of V\iadi Hillal, about 801m
south of Luxor, consisring of prehistoric and
Pharaonic settlements, rock-cut tombs of the
early 18th Dynasty (1550-1295 Be), remains of
temples dating from the Early Dynastic period
(3100-2686 Be) to the Ptolemaic period
(332-30 Be), as well as part of the walls of ;l
COPTIC monastery. I?irst scientifically excavated by James Q;libell at the end of the
nineteenth century, the site has been investigated primarily by Belgian archaeologists
since 1937.
The walled Ph,uaonic settlement of
Nekheb was one of the first urban centres of
the Early Dynastic period, and for a short time

Selau and h~ mifi seated before a 'aMt (~r n.flcrings.

TOJJ1boISelaual Elkab. (P. T. NICHOLSON)

92

modem village
of el-Hillal

River
Nile

1 part of the town

2 temple of Nekhbet
3 temple ofThoth
4 sacred lake
5 rock-cut sanctuary
of Shesmetet
6 el-Hamman:
chapel of Setau
7 'vulture rock': rock
carvings and inscriptions
(prehistoric - Old Kingdom)
B chapel of AmeBhotep III
9 rock tombs of
New Kingdom nomarchs

P/1I11 orE/cab.
in the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) it
eclipsed the city of Nekhen (IlJER!\KONPOLlS)
on the opposite bank, becoming the capital of
the third nome of Upper Egypt. Its massive
mud-brick walls, dating to the Late Period
(747-332 Be) and still largely preserved,
enclosed an area of abollt 250,000 sq. m. Ncar
the centre of ..he town are the remains of sandstone tcmples dedicated to the deities i\EKI-IBET
and 1'1101'11, which date primarily to the 18th
to 30th Dynasties (1550-343 BC), but the original foundation of the temple of Nckhbet

500

1000 m

almost certainly dates back to tJ1C latc fom-th

millennium Be
The rock-tombs of the provincial governors
ofElkab in the New Kingdom include those of
Ahmose son of lbana (EK5), an admiral in Lhe
wars of liberation against the l-lyksos rulers
(.1550 BC)l and Setau (1'~K4), a priest during
the reign of Rameses tIt (1184--1153 BC). The
style of the early 18th-Dynast" wall-paimings
anticipates that of the first New Kingdom
nobles' tombs at Thebes.
In 1967 Paul Vermcersch discovcred a series
of well-stratified EPJPALAEOLITlIIC campsites.
Radiocarbon-dated to c.6400-5980 BC, these

~CAUSTIC

ESNA

,1fC

the type-sites of the Elkabian microlirhic

industry, filling;l gap in the prehistoric cultural sequence of Egypt, between the Upper
Palaeolithic period (c. I0,000 BC) and the earliest eolithie phase (<:.5500 BC).
l E. QUIIlELL, EI-Kllv (London, 1898).
_, <L'Elkabicn. Unc nOllyc1lc industrie

Eg)!ftl: Ihe olle allll til(' I1Ul1/.l' (London, 1983).

N. GKI\I,I,I., A hislory oialleieul EgypI (Oxford,
1992),41-5.
E. IloKsu'G, {dM illio iwage, trans. E. Bredeck
(New York, 1992),39-54.

epipa!coliLhi<!uc:i Elkab en Haute Egyprc, sa

slr3tigraphic, sa typologie" CdE ~5 (1970),

Poorly defined chronological phase between

the Palaeolithic and i'\eolithic periods, characterized in Egypt by a subsistence pattern midway between TIt.::'\TI!'\G and ,\GRICU'TURI~. Tn
cultural terms, it was roughly cquiyalent to the
European ~lesolithic period.

45-68.
P. DEROIAIN and P. VF.Rl\lEERSCJI, ElkalJ, 2 ,"ols
(Brussels and Louvain, 1971-8).

Epipalaeolithic

encaustic
Painting technique, employing a heated mixture of wax and pigmcnL, which was particularly used for the Fayum mummy~portr<1its of
Roman Egypt (sec .\RT and HA\\r\R\).

enchorial see DE,\I0TtC

ennead (Egyptian pmdjel)

erotica
Since the definition of 'erotica' or 'pornography', as opposed to the honest portraY"ll of
SEXUALITY, is a culturally biased exercise,
much of rhe possible erotic significance of
Egyptian art and literature may well be in the
eye of the beholder. The line between erotic
art and religion is not easily drawn, particular-

Term used to describe a group of nine gods.

The earliest and mosl- significant instance of
such a grouping was rhe Great Ennead
HELlOPOLlS, consisting of ATUj\\ (the so-called

or

So-tailed 'Ntlukralicfigure'.frol1ltlte Greek

set/lement al Naukmlis. Ptolel1laic period. c.300
Be. II..,.7 fill. (<5-/893)

Vigllet/eji-01llthe Bool..' ofthe Delfd papyru.'i(~r

Nesilanebtashru. shoming Ilm:t' oflhe 1I/l~1II"erS of
lire Hehopulitf/1l El1l1ead: Ceb, 1V1I1 aud Slru.
symbolizil1g hC{lven alld earlh separaled by tIlt' sky.
21s1 DYIIIIS(J'. c./025 JJC. (1:.//05.,4, SHEET8?)
'bull of the Ennead') and three generations of
his progeny: his children SHU and TEFNUT, his
grandchildren GEB :lnd NUT, and his fouf grcatgrandchildren OSIRIS, ISIS, SI':TI-I and NI~I'HTJ-lYS.
These nine deities participated in the
Heliopolitan CREATI01\ myth, whereby the sungod emerged from the primeval waters of ;"'JUN.
E. HOR.i~UNG, COllcepliom olGod /11 tlllcieni

Iy in the case of the ancient Egyptian culture,

in which sexuality and fertility were often
important elements of di\,ine cults, such as
Those of m:.5, II;\TIIOR and ;\11-". The so-called
'incubation chambers' of Bes at Saqqara
appear to have been rooms in which 'pilgrims'
hoped to receive erotic dreams leading lO
greater fertility. The walls of the chambers
were lined with figures of the dwarf-god Bes
accompanied by nude females. Simihlrly, symplegU1lflfl (pottery artefacts depicting entangled groups of indi,idllals engaged in sexual
acts) were clearly depicting sexual intercourse,
but it is not clear whether they were purely
erotica or votive in function. A relatively
1I1lcontentious example of erotica has survived
liom the 19th Dynasty (1295-1186 Be), in the
form of the celebrated Turin erotic papyrus
(Turin, .Musco Egizio), which appears to
portray rhe adventures of a comic character
during a visit to a brothel. A number of ostraca also depict men and women engaged in
sexual acts.
The genre of love poetry appears to ha\"e

flourished in the marc cosmopolitan atmosphere of the .:\lew Kingdom, ,\"hen Egypt was
exposed to new peoples and exotic ideas from
abroad. The poems, written on papyri or
ostfi.1ca ;md d;:uing primarily to the 19th to
20th Dynasties, seem to h;:l\"e been read ollt
loud with musical accompaniment frOTn
harpists, and so might be regarded as a form of
song. Thc, would perhaps ha,e prmided part
of the entertainment at the laY1sh banquets of
the nobility, and were unlikely to have been
spontaneous compositions. In such poems it
was usual for the couple to refer to one another as 'brother' and 'sister', sometimes taking
turns to describe rheir feelings of joy or loss at
their particular romantic situation, or deli\ering monologues addressed to their own he:llrs.
Feasts and banquets in the 18th Dynasty
often appear to have included elements of
erotica, and both men ;.1I1d women are depicted wearing diaphanous clothing at such OCCasions, when they arc depicted on the walls of
tomb chapels. Their entertainment often consisted of naked or semi-naked dancing girls,
some of whom may have been prostitutes. It is
possible, however, thar the erotic O\'crtones in
these tomb-paintings may have been deliberarely intended to emphasize sexuality and fertility in order to enhance the potency of the
funerary culr. Naked women, sometimes associated with C;:I[S and ducks, were often used as
decoratiyc clements on toilet objects, particularly during the reign of AME:'\HOTEP III
(1390-1352 BC). See SI:XLi.,I.ITY for a discussion of the possible relationships between
erotit.'a and fertility, including the production
of so-called 'fertility figurines'.
J. 01\11.1:'\, 'Oer papyrus 5500] und seine
s.tririsch-crorischen Zeichnungen und
lnschrifren" Cnllllogo tid ;\[useo Egizio tli Toriu"
/11 (Turin, 1973).
P. OERCJ 1.,1,1:'\, 'La pcrruque et Ie cristaI', SA K 2
(1975).55-14.
1\1. LICIITIIEI\I, ..-II/cielll EgYflli(ll1litemture II
(Berkeley, 1976), 181-93.
L. ~l.-\:'\:'\ICIIE, Sexunllift ill (llfl:iC1f1 I:.gyflt
(London, 1987).
E. STItOUlli\l., Life ill (llIcieul Egypt (Cambridge.
1992),11-19,39-49.

Esna (anc. lunyt, Ttl-sellet, Latopolis)

Site on the west bank of the Nile in Upper
EgYPI, 50 km somh of Luxor. The main surviving arducological remains are the sacred
necropolis of thc Nilc perch (Lates nilo/iellS)
and the Greco-Roman temple dedicated to the
ram-god KIINUM as well as the goddesses
NEITII and Heka (see MAGIC), which was built
on the site of a temple mentioned by texts at
least as early as the reign of Thutmose III

93

ETHICS

EXECRATION 1 ~

'I~~r;mPle
2

.....

3 5

\-

-.-~ ~
10

20 m

1 texts of Marcus Aurelius

4 cartouches of Claudius
2 cartouc~les of Ptolemy VI
5 scene of king and gods
netting fowl and demons
Philometer
3 cartouches of Antoninus Pius

PIau O/Iltc Ti.'lIIplc fJ/KlnlllJll a! ESI/fl.

(H79-l-l25 uc). Onh the III I'OSTYI.I.ILILL \Yas

excavated h~ Auguste 1\ laricLtc, and the rest o(

to ancient Egyptian ethics, representing the

original state of tranquillity at thc mument of
the CRDTI(J:, of the universe. It waS the rcath~
er 01" the g'Oddess ~laat that WilS weighed
against the hean of the deceased to determine
\,"hether he or she was worthy of resurrecrion
in the afterlife. The so~(alled 'negalive confes~
sian' -.1 list of sins that had not been committed by the deceased - was intended l"O be recited in this 'hall of judgemcnf in order to
ensure a successful outcome.
A number or practical statements of
Egyptian ethits have sun ived in the form of
the .lcba)'t (see \r1SDO\1 L1TElUTuln:), main I)
wrinen on pap) rus and dating I"rom the Old
~ingdom to the Roman pcriod ((.2686 BC- \1)
395). '1'he earliest of these documents destrihe
the qualities required uf a person in order to
ensure success both in his or her lifetime and
in the afterlife. Individuals wcre expected both
to satist\ their superiors and to protect those
who were poorer. From the second millcnni~

icaJ defenccs
fortifications.

to

back lip the physical military

.

The execration
texts have helped
Eg)'ptologists to identif'~' those who \\'lT~ Con_
sidered to be cncmir:s of Egypt at different
periods in their history, although the histllrical
\iilue or such lists is reduced by the rClldclln
to repeat stock lists of names, which are oftc~
olwiously <lI1<lchronistic. Sometimes the 1l.11llCS

the temple remains buried uncler the surrounding buildings of the modern town. The
building' was probabl~' connected originally

with the Nile by a processional way leading to

a quay, traces of which, bearing cutulIchcs of
the Roman CllllRTOl" NLtrclls Aurelius (.\1)

16]-180), have been preserved in sillt.

According to some of the inscriptions in the
temple, there were originally four other temples in the region (one of which was recorded
by Napoleon's savants), but none of these has
surrivcd into modern times.
Important late Palaeolithic remains have
also been found in the vicinity of Esna.
Togethcr with contemporaneous matcrial at
"J\QAD!\, Dishna and Toshb, they make up rhe
main sources of eridencc for the 'Esnan' lithic
industry which nourished ,liongside the
(~ldan, Afian and Scbilian industries during
rhe Sahaha-Darau period ((.13,000-10,000
Be:). 'The remains at Esnan sites include grinding stones and sickle bbdes associated with the
cultivation of domesticated plants, as well as
the stone points and scrapers associated with
hunting and gathering.
S. Sr\UNI':RO,\" ESlla, 5 \'ols (Cairo, 1959-67).
D. DOWNES, Thr exct/Z'alifills fit Emo 1905-1906
(Warmi n sterl I974).
F \tVENOORf and R. 50-111.0 (cd.) PI'l'h~t(}/y (~rtlll:
Nile valley (New York, 1976),289-91.

ethics
The accepted code of social behaviour and the
distinction between right and wrong during
the Pharaonic period both tend to be closely
intcrnvincd with I'U1\ER!\RY BEr .II:FS and cultic
requirements. The concept of MAAT (often
translated as 'truth' or 'harmony') was central

94

TJ11(}jii1glllellts uIII papyrus hHtribed IPilh sl'uiollS

Instruction ofPtahhotep. /21h D.)'I/(/.I'~)!,

(~rlhe

c.1900JJc./I.I.'oll. (1:,10371. 10-135)

lll11 Be, the code of ethics described in fhe
Seb{fJ'1 was less worldly, tending to measlll'e
virtue more in terms of piery to the gods rhan
in terms of material succcss. Sec also LAW.
T G. I-I.
P!i"rlloli.1 people (OxlorJ, 198-1),
73-99.
E. STROUl [/\[., Lde ill (l!/l:iclfl EgyjJ/ (Cambridgc,
1992),31--4.

j""",,,

execration texts
'Type of document listing places, groups of
peoplc or individuals regarded as hostile or
inherently evil. These texts OCClll' from the late
Old Kingdom onwards and were inscribed on
stalUettes of prisoners or poner)' j,lrs, which
were often broken and buried as part of:l magical process of tTiumphing over the persons or
places listed ..Most of the surviving examples
were found in the vicinity of tombs at Thebes
and Saqqant, but a large numbcr were also
excilvated at the .wliddle Kingdom FORTRESS of
Mirgissa in Nubia (including texts inscribed
on a human skull), no doubt comprising mag-

Lillc~drallJiJlg I!(all 'e.\'aratitilljiKlIre' ((msisllll.~

(I/a sdu;/l/ati( staluelle (~({( b(Jl(lld (tlptii'e
inscribed 11,ith {/ hii'rtI/ie mrsil1g ritual. 011(' '~/Fi'1'
similarjigllres thaI arr Ihl/ughtto lun:c ht!t'ujill/l/(/
(lille/mllif. The text lists variolls jVlf/JitlffS (Iud
I,i/~)'alfs (/S me/I as tm(! EgYPlialf re/Jels. 12i1f
Dynasty, c./920 !Jr:, trtll'cl'tilU:, II. 15 (IIf. (r "NO.
.Jl~6J95.1. ON /In fO tUCIIIN/) I' INA It\'.WJ,\)

of the hostile forces are listed in great detail,

while in other instanccs thc enemies ;Irc the
stereotypical i\'1!':E BOWS, rhe figure 'nine' rep~
rescnting three times threc, which W;lS the
'pluralilY of pluralities" thus designating the
entirety of all enemies. A related example of
the magic involved in the execration textS is
the ceremony of 'breaking red jars' as pan of
temple ritual designed to ward orf evil, the j'lrs
being the colour of blood.
G. l'OSJ':NER l 'Achtungstcxtc', LC.ril.'Oll der
.-igyptologic II ed. \tv. IIelck, E. Otto and
W. Wcstcndorf(Wicsbadcn, 1975),67-9.
~, Cill'J/igurcs d'cllvuiitclI/eIlt (Cairo, 1987).
D. B. REDFORD, Egypt, Canaoll alld lsmc/ ill
{IudCIIllimes (Princeton, 1992),87-93.

R. K. RIT'i'ER, The lIIechanics oIuui'ielll Egyp/if/ II

magical praUia (Chicago 199J).
l

eye of Ra
Term used to describe the eye of the sLln~god,

~OFRA

which waS considered to exist as il separate

entity, independent of the god himself: The
symbolism of the eye of R-\, associated with a
;umbcr of g'oddesses, was complex and

diverse.ln the myth identifying; 1[HI lOR as" the

eye, she was regarded as hil\-;ng rr,wcllcd to
~ubia, whence she had to be lured back. The
SEKI h\lET \Trsion or the eye, on the other hand,
rook the form of a s<\\"agc goddess \\'ho rcycllcd
in the shlLlghrer of humans as the instrument
of the sun-gad's \\Tath. These two \TTSions of
the eye were essentially the two sides of the
personality of the goddess. The eye waS also
closely idenrificd with the cobra-goddess \r\D.1 fT , the divine personification of the IIrtltl/S
(ittrel or Jlesfcl in Egyptian) which \\'ilS worn on
the brow of the king in order to spit \TnOm at
his enemies (sec COlm \).
I I. TE VELDE, '1\ lut, the eye ofRe', _lilell
Mli"lldJell 1985111, cd. S. Schoske (l-htmburg,
1989),395--403

eye-paint see COSI\\E'I'ICS

FAIENCE

F
faience
Ccr.lmic material composed of crushed
quartz, or quartz sand, wi.th small amountS of"
lime and plant ash or natron. T'his body material is usually coaled with a bright blue or
green glaze of" soda-lime~silic;\ type. ft \\"<1S
used from the Predynastic period to the
fslamic period; typical products include small
figurines and amukrs, architectural ornaments
and inlays, vessels, and such runerar~ artefacts
as SI IMJTI figures.
The material waS known to the Egyptians
as ~jl!"elll!l, the literal meaning of which \\"as
'brilliant' or 'dazzling' Like GI..\SS, which was
introduced in the Ne,,' Kingdom (1550-1069
Be), irs main purpose WaS probably to imitate
gem-stones such as TLH<tUOISI': and L.\PIS
L-VI11.1. Although blue and green are the
most common colours, many others could
also be achieved, and polychrome pieces
were very popular at certain periods, not least

during the Nc\y King;dom when elabor;;ltc

inlays and pieces of jcwellery were being
pnlduced. 13lack decoration \\'as sometimes
added to monochrome pieces by painting; in
Ilunganese.
The technology for producing faience J11a~
hi1\'e devcloped from the process
glazing
quartz and steatite slOncs. The material is
more properly called 'Egyptian Elicnce', in
order to distinguish it fi'om the tin-gbzc<'
carthcl1\yare originally made at Facnze in lti1l~
h'om late mcdieyal times. llecause the bright
colours of the Egyptian material reminded
early Egyptologists European 'f"aienee' (now
mOre currectly called I/ltIjolim), they used this
somewhat misleading name.
The body material of faience \\"as mixed
with water and thell moulded or hand~
IlHltlellec1 to the required shape. Difficult
shapes were sometimes abraded from l"Oughouts when partJy dried, thus allowing very
delicate pieces to be prod llced ir necessary.
!\'lan~ hundreds of" cla~' moulds tor producing
rings, amulets ,l1ld other items of bicncc have

or

or

Egypliflllji/ic/ltt' lJoJ11lji-fJlll 7hebes. Nem Kingdulll.

(EIJ790)

95

1,-,'t:.:c:\"'.t.I.!:Y

=-F,-=A~Lc=C=-:O=-:N-,---

survived, particularly [rom urban sites such as

EL-AM../\R\f,\ and Q;\2'JTIR.
Glazing' was achieved in three ways. The
fiJ'st of these was 'emorcscence', whereby the

glazing material was mixed with the quartz

body and effloresced on to its surFace as the
piece dried~ when fired, this coaring melted to
become a ghize. The second method WJ5
'cementation" in which the artcf:lCt to be
glazed was surrounded by glazing powder,
which bonded with its surf:1CC during firing.
The finished piece was then removed from the
unused glazing powder, which could be easily
cfumbled away. In the third meL hod, known as
"application glazing" the object was coated in
slurry (or in powder of glazing material) and
then fIred.
A. K.K.Z.\\ARCZYI{ and R. E. J'v1. I-lEDGES, Anc/clll
J:.:~)lpliall.Jflielli:e (\,Varminster, 1983).
P. VANDI\'ER and W. D. KIi\'OERY I 'Egyptian
faience: the first high-tech ceramic', Ceramics
lind ch.. :i!i;:,aliol/ flI, ed. VV. D. Kingery (Coltnnbus l
Ohio, 1987), 19-34.
P.. T NICHOLSO" Egyp/ialljiliel/t"l' alld glass
(Princes Risborough, ]993).

or prey. T'hus, the Horus-falcon image may

have been regarded as interch'1I1geable with a
whole range of other birds of prey.
L. STORK and H. ALT~NiI\OLLER, 'Falke', Le.\'il'oll
der Agyptologie II, cd. vv. Heick, E. Ono and Vol
Westendorf (Wiesbaden, 1977),93-7.
R. 'VI1YINSO" Rcading Egyptiall art (London,
1992),82-3

false door
Elaborate stone or wooden architectural element inside Egyptian tombs and mortuary
temples, in front of which funerary offerings
were usually placed. The false door, westorientated and serving as a link between the
living and the dead, was a rectangular imitation doorway which first appeared in tombs
of the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 Be). The
t}'pical form of the false door evolved out of
the 'p;'llace-fa<;:ade' external architecture of
the _\I'\STABA tombs of the elite in the EarJy
Dynastic period (3100-2686 He), the external
sides of which consisted of a series of alternate panels and recessed niches. The false
door was effectively a narrow stepped niche
surmounted by a rectangular stone slab-stele,

falcon
One of a number of birds which figured
among the SACRED :\:'-JIMALS of ancient Egypt.
The falcon (Egvptian bik) or hawk was frequently regarded as the BA of IIORUS, the hawkheaded god and son of OSIRIS (to whom the
bird was also sacred). Excavations at IIIEI{;\KONPOLIS ('city of the falcon'), the ancienr
Egyptian Nekhen, revealed a fine gold Ellcon
head with two plumes and "I"aellS (Cairo,
Egyptian Museum), which was once part of a
composite statue. The Horus-falcon was the
guardian deity of the ruler and is frequently
depic.ted with its wings outstretched protectively behind the head of the king, as on the
famous statue of the 4th-Dynasty ruler
I(IIAFRA. It was also the falcon that surmounted the royal SF.HEKJ I, where it served a similar
protective function, an extension of the role it
seems to have adopted as early as the beginning of the Pharaonic period, when it was
depicted on the palette of NARivIER. The bird
was also sacred to the gods j\lO;.JTU and SOK}\]{,
and occasionally also associated wit'h the goddess ]-[,\TI-IOR. A falcon on a plumed staff was
one of the symbols of the west and the necropoleis, and the BA was sometimes represented as
a human-headed falcon.
At least as early as the Late Period (747-332
Be) at S,IIQQt\RA there was a catacomb constructed specifically for mummified hawks
sacred to Horus. Recent examination of a
number of these mummies has shown them to
comprise a number of djfferent types of birds

96

Lillll!strme/itlsl! door 0/ P/ahslu:pses/rOIll his lomb

(1/

Saqqaru ..)/h DYll(l.\OJ. c.2450 Be,

(,1682)

H.

3.66"1/1.

usualJy carved with a figure of the deceased

seared before an OFFEIUJ\G "IABI.F. and
inscribed with the traditional OFFERIt\G FOI{_
1\IUl.l\ and the name and titles of the lomb_
owner. Some surviving false doors incorpo_
rate a life-size relief figure of the /.:(1 (spiritu_
al 'double') of the deceased stepping om of
the niche.
S. VVIEBACH, Die iigJljJtisrhe Scheill/iil" (Hamburg,
1981).
N . STRUDWICK, The odlllinistralioll o/EgJIP/llllhl'
Old KillgdulII (London, 1985).
M. SALEII and H. SOulmuzl:\N, Thc Egyp/it/II
;VIl/scuIII. Cairo: oj}itial WIl/logl/{' (Mainz, 1YS7),
CIt. nos. 57~S.
G. HAENY I 'Schcinriir', Lexikoll derAgYPIolo!!.lf "",
cd. \.v. I-kkk, E. Otto and vv. \Vestcndorl"
(Wiesbaden, 198{), .163-71.

familv see CltILDRE.~

famine
Egypt's agricultural prosperity depended On
the annual INUNDtHIO;\l of the Nile. For crops
to nourish it was desirable that the !'\ile should
rise about eight metres above a zero point at
the first cataract near Aswan. A rise of only
seven metres would produce a lean year, \\ hile
six metres would lead to a famine. Thai such
famines actually occurred in ancient Eg~ pt is

~MINE

FARAFRA OASIS

a11cie1l1 f'gYIJI, 2nd cd. (Harmondsworth, 1981),

133-+.

Farafra Oasis (anc. Ta-iht)

Fertile depression in tIle "'estern Desert,

about 300 km west of the modern w\\"n of

The Fall/illc Sle/e oJ//lle is/tlnd (~r Sehel. .Ifill/ii (~r

A.mJ(I/I, 'J'lll' rod..' hears 1/ mrn:d inscripliun /ph/eli
refers If) (f sei'l'lf-.l'I'urjr/lllil1c lI1/{1 Plfl'/J0/,U In dale
10 Ihe lilllc oIfll(' 3rd-DYll(/.I'I)' ruler Djo.'it'l: Iml
(/cllllll~)' belongs 10 the PIn/elf/air paiod.
(p. 'f: NJC/IOI_~'O\)
well documented from ~l number of sources,
both literary and artistic.
On the island of Schel, immediately south

of Aswan, is lhe Famine Stele. This purports

to be a decree of Djoscr (2667-26+8 BC) of the
3rd Dynasty recording his concern O\"er a
scycn-ycar famine, which is supposed to have
been c\'cntually ended by the ram-god "'-I L'L..\I,
who controlled the rising of the waters. In faer
the text dates to Ptolemaic times, and may
simply be designed to reinforce the claims of
the temple of Khnum on Elephantine to tax
local produce (although some scholars belie\'e
that it is a copy of an authentic document)"
That famines LOok place during me Old
Kingdom is not in doubt, and the suryiying
visual evidencc includes scycf:.11 fragmcnts of
relief from the walls of the 5th-Dynasty causeway of the pyramid complex of U'\:\S
(2375-23+5 BC) at Saqqara. These reliefs
depict numerous emaciated figures, their ribcages clearly visible, scated on the ground and
apparelltly weak from hunger. It has been
argued by some scholars, partly on the basis of
these relieE~, that the Old Kingdom
(2686-2181 Be) ended largely beeause of prolonged drought and increasing desertificarion.
The 'autobiographical' inscriptions in the
tomb of the provincial governor Ankhtifi
(c.2100 BC)1 at I~L-~IO'AI.I.'\, describe how hc
saved his people from 'dying on the sandbank

of hell'; lhe phrase 'on the sandbank' (em ~ies)

pcrh;lps refers to a low inundat"ion and hence
to famine. The inscriptions in the tomb of
Hetcpi at Elkab also describe a ElIl1ine during
the reign OI"INTEE 11 (2112-2063 BC).
Prolonged periods of famine, caused by
poor inundation, may indeed sometimes have
led 10 politic'.ll turmoil and helped to bring
abour a tempor;lry end to the establishcd
order. The Riblical ston' of Joscph mal' ilself
h~\e taken
place during the Second
Intcrmediale Period (1650-1550 BC), and il
has becn suggested that it was a IIYKSOS
king of Egypt whom Joseph sayed frum the
effects of famine (but see also BIBLICAL

CO, 'Ecno~s).
"rhe building of canals and irrigation
ditches did much to alle\"iate the suffering
caused by low floods, but such sLramgems
\yere not illways sufficient. At lean times people appe;,tr to ha\"c turned to the black market
or to theft in order to feed themsclyes, and
l:crtain papyri indil:atc that the roY'11 lOmbrobberies of the 20th Dynasn (1186-1069
Be) may have been prompted by the need for
gold to buy food during the so-called 'year of
the hyenas ' .
J. V.\'\DJER , La Jall/iuc dallS I Egyplc flUn"CJ/IIC
(Cairo, 1936).
S. SCllorr, 'Auf'nahmen yom Houngersnotrclief
aus clem Aufweg del' Unaspyramide', RdE 17
(1965),7-1.3.
D. B. Rt-:IWORIJ, A S(IIf(Y f~r tht' Bib/hal SIOI)I of
Joscpll (Leiden, 1970),91-9.
B. BEI.I., 'The dark ages in ancient history. I: The
first dark agc in Egypt', AII/cri,l/II .7(Wl"IItl! of
Ardwt!ology i5 (1971),1-26.
STE\E,\SON 5\11"1"1 I, The arl tlnd a,.,hillYlure oJ

"v.

ASYUL The slllaliest of the major Egyptian

oases, it is first mentioned in texts dating to
the Old J(ingdolll (2686-2181 BC), and IJI' the
19th Dynasn (1295-1186 Be) it was said to
hm-e been inhabited by Libyans. Howc\"er. no
archaeological traces of the Pharaonic phase of
ol:cup.nion have yet been discm"cred, the earliest known sites being the settlements and
cemeteries at Ain cl-\Vadi and \Vadi Abu
Hinnis in the northern pan of the oasis, which
date to the Roman period (30 BC-\n 395) ..'\t
Ain Dallal", on the northwestcro cdge of the
Elnlfra depression, arc the remains of ,1 town
of" the early Christian period (I". AD +50).
11.]. L. BEAD"ELL, Fam/ia Oasis (Cliro, 1901).
L. GlI1D\', fgyptiall O({Sf~", Balum)ltl, DaNdo.
nll(~/i(f alld Klrarga durillg pharaonic limes
(Warminstcr, 1987).

Fara'in. Tell el- (ane. Pc and Del', Per\iVadjyt, Bum)

Cluster of three mounds (comprising two
fowns and a temple complex) in the northwestern Delta, which was occupied from l;lte
Prcdynaslic times until the Roman period
(.3300 11C-.\D 395). In 1888 the sile was ideorifted as ancient Buto by Flinders Petric, and
in 190+ C. T. Currelly undenook trial exc,,,",\ions. The site waS subsequently not properly
examined until the 19605 when the survey and
exc:IYiltions of Veronica Seron-\Villiams and
Dorolhy Charles\yorth rcyealed Late Period,
Ptolemaic and Roman remains, including
cemctcries, houses, haths and temples. Textual
sources h;l\e identified Buto with 'Pe amI
Oep', I he semi-mythical Predyn~stic r-win C~lP
imls of Lower Egypt. The Predynastic stratil at
the site were first located in the 1980s by
Thomas \"on der \\lay, whose excil\,.ltions
appear to h;n-c rc\"calcd a stT<ltigraphic level in
\yhich Lower Egyptian Predynastic pottery
types wcre gradually being replaced by Upper
Egyptian Early Dynastic wares (see Plu":m,.\STIC PERIOD).
\~l. )\'1. F. PETRIE and C. T CURREJ.I.Y I Eh1/a.~)I(f
(Cliro, 190+).
T \'0:\ I)ER \VIW, 'Tell d-rara'in 83-85:
Problcl11c - Ergebnisse ~ Perspcktivcn" PrfJh!c/IIs
alld priorilics ill E'gYPlitlll ardwl!()logll, cd.
J. Assmann e1" al. (London, 1987),299-30+.
- , 'Excavations at Tell c1-Fara'in/Buto in
1987-1989'. The Nile Delfa in Iftll1Siliol/: -Ilh-3rd
millenllium /Jr;, cd. E. C. M" \Can den Brink (Tel
A\'iv, 1992), I-HI.

97

PARAS

FECUNDITY F1GU~

YlIsse[ channel. The e;ulicst inhabitants of the

Fayum werc thc EPU'.\L\EOUTIIlC 'Fa~ urn B'
culture, which was succecded by the '\eolithic
'Fayum N culturc in (.5500 Be. Traces of hnth
groups were first found by Gertrude GUonThompson ilnd Elinor Gardner in the northern Fayum.
Thc region flourished from the \Iiddlc
Kingdom (2055-16:')0 Be) onwards, when the
Egyptian l:ilpital W<IS relocated at Itjla,,}.
somewhere in the region of 1':I.~I.ISII"l', bUL most
of the slIITiying archaeological remains d;lIe to
the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, when such
towns as Karanis (Kolll Allshim)) TcblUnis
(Tell Umm cI-Breigat) and Bacchias (!..:"m cIAtl) were at thcir height.
K. S. S.\:\.IJFOKI) and \V. J. _-\Rl\:EI.I., PrdliJlflril
slIri'()'ofE..'{),ptulIl/lfi'stefll_lsia:Palto!ithIc1l1tfll

Faras (ane. Pachoras)

Smtlhf(jll/? bI(jcR (j/rll'("()rtlfil't.' jiie;;,..ji"Ol1l f/it/int

Sculcmcnt on rhe border between modern

Egypt and Sudan, which was first established
as a small Egyptian f()rtrcss in the l\1iddle
Kingdom (2055-1650 Be) and continued in
use in the 18th to 19th Dynasties (1550-1186
w:) with the construction of five Egyptian
temples. \:V. Y Adams argues thal the importance of Faras owed more to indigenous
Nubian traditions than to any military significance that it might hm"c had for Ihe Egyptian
colon iSIS. 1r continucd to [unction as a religious cenrre after the departure of the
Egyptians, and during the Christian period
(c..\1) 600-1500) it wns one of the most importanl bishoprics in Kubia.
The episcopal eathedral (founded 1"..11) 650)
mel the bishop's palace were discoycred in
exceptionally good condition when Polish
eXC;l\,;llQrS examined a large mound in the centre of the modern village th.u had previously
been erroneously interprcted as a typical stratified TELL-site. Although thc site is now submerged under the waters of Lake Nasser the
Polish archacologists were able to transfer 169
painted murals from the cathedr.ll LO the
museums :11 \Varsaw and Khartoum. The
stratified ponery from Lhe site, as well as the
paint-layers and stylistic c1c\'c1opment of dlC
cathcdral murals] ha\'ccontributcd significantly ro thc deyelopmcnt of a chronological
framcwork for Christian Nubia.
K. ,\lIClI.\I.O\\SI(I, /;ilrtlS I-II (\Varsaw, 1962-5).
- , Faras: teutre arti.\fiqllc dc /(1 Nllbie t:/irltiollll'
(Leiden, 1%6).
J. Vt\NTr'lJ, "I'lle e.Hai.YlliollS af l(mH (Bolngna,
1970).
S. j.\....OIlII:I~':II(I, Fams III (\Varsaw, 1972).
j. KCIlJ'\'sK.\. FartH 1\ (\,V3rS;\\\, 197~).
\V. Y. .1\]).\.\15, Nubia: corridor to /lfriCti (London
and Princeton, 198{), 226, {72-8{.

((It/il'rlmlaf/~/ras. 7th ce11IUlJ!

98

/I).

1f.].1 CIII. (L/606)

farm animals sa .\GRICLI:rUIU: and

i\~L\Ii\1.

IIUSI.li\~LJR\

Fayum region (anc. '];I-shc, She-Ie,,,

~loeris)

Large fcrtile depression covering 12,000 sq,

kill in the J .ibyan Desert about 60 km to the
southwcst of Cairo. Thc region incorporatcs
an.:hacological sites dating from the late
Palaeolithic to the late Roman and Christian
periods (.8000 IlC- II) 6{ I). Gntil the
Palacolithic period a \'ast s3lt-w3ter lake lay at
thc heilrt of the depression) but this was gradually transformed into the smaller, fresh-w.lter
Lake !Vlocris, linked to the Nile by the Bahr

(llfd lhe Xi/('--Ni.l'lIf11 di'1.'idl' (Chicago, 1929).

G. C.\To:\-TIIU\1PSO,\: nnd E. 0. G.\Rn"I{, The
J)e~'('f"f Fayu11I (T .olldon. 19.1-1-).
F \V":'I)OHF and R. SOIlI.l) (cds), Prt'hi.~/(JJ:l'
the Nile 1~/1Ie.)! (New York, ]976), 15S-fII.
E. HCSSEUUN, Karanis: ('.ran.'tllilJlIs t~(t/i(
Ulliuersi~)1 (!(A t lidligtlll ill E:!{.VPI, 1928-35
(l\lichigan, 1(79).
A. h. EO\\I" " . (!!,ypf alit:!" fhl' plU/rt/ohs
(Lundun, 1986), H2-55.

or

fecundity figures see I LII'\

fertility figurines see SE~L\\,ITY
festivals
The Egyptiall religious calendar was pllncruPlall oIlhe Fayulll rt'gi(il!.

o Qasr el-Sagha
", "'1111111"'1""

Karanis

o Bacchias

"IIII'"~"",,,,,,.

o Biahmu

..",,"'"
."".

t
10

20

30

40 km

~STIVALS

ated by numerous festivals, often consisting of

procession in which the cult image of a deity
was morcd li'om one temple to another (usually providing opportunities for OR_\CLE..'i along
the route). In the Festiyal HallufThutmose 111
(H79-1425 Ilc) at K \R'" there is a list of
fifty-fouf fC;'lsl-days in one year. _-\ similar text
in rhe mortuary temple of Ramcses III
(118+-1153 Ilc) at \IEIJI"ET IIAIll: lists six,, fes-

~1

tirals. Some of the most imponanl n;.uional

e\'cnts of this type \Yen: the :\cw Year Fesri,'al,
the Fesli\al of SOk \R, the Raising of the Sh
and the Festi\al of the POller's \Yhecl, bur
there would also have been many purely local

fcsti,"als assoc.:iatcd with the smaller prm-incial

temples.
Two of the best-known annual religious
events were the Fcsrh"al of Opet and the
BC:luriful Festi\al nf the Valle\, both of ,,bieb
took place at Thebes from the early 18th
Dynasty onwards. The Beautiful Festival of
the Valley in\"lJln:d an annual procession t.lking thc cult statues of" the Theban triad
(Amun, JVlut and Khons) from Karnak to [JEIR
EL-BAIIlU 1 which arc located almost exactly
opposite one another, on either side of thc
Nile. A later version of this festiyal inyolved a
more complex processional route via onc of
the morru.u~- temples that" lined the edge of
the cultiviltion on the \ycst hank. A similar
festival linked T,uxor temple with the temple
of Thutmose III at \lEI1I"!':T II\BL (immediately La lhe northeast of R,llllescs Ill'S mortuary temple).
The Festiral of Opet also took place annually (in the second month of lhe season of
{(kltel), lasting for a period that \"aried from

FJELD OF REEDS

two to four weeks. The main event in this festival was the ritui.ll procession of the divine
images from K.arnak to LU\:OI{, which is
depicled on the walls of the colonnade .If
Luxor, built bv Amenhotep III (1390-1352 Ile)
and dcconIfcd by Tutankhamun (U36-nZ7
Be). The temple at Luxor was in fact conslTlIcled largely as a suitable architectural setling for the Festi,al of Opel.
The di,ine images in lheir sacred R\RKS
were initially carried to Luxor overland, along
a sphinx-lined roUle broken al inrer\"<lls b~
"bark-shrines' or wily-stations, within which
the barl..s would be temporarily phlCed en
route. By the lale 18th Dynasty, howcycr, the
di,inc imagcs werc raken to and from Lu.\or in
<1 series of cercmonial boals. The religious purpose of this fe~ti\'al \\,.IS to celebrate the sexual
intercourse between Amun and the mother of
the reigning king, thus allowing her to givc
birth t:o the royal "-.\ (spiritual cssence or
double). At' the culmination of the fcsti,'aI 1 the
king himself cl1t'ercd the inner sanctum,
enabling his physical form to coalesce with lhc
crernal fi)rm of the I:a, so that he could emerge
hom the temple as .1 god.
According ro the 'calendar of feasl and
offcrings' at .M.edinCl Habu, such festivals
required I he provision of amounts of loan,,'$ varying from eighty-fcJUr in a standard monthly
festival to nearly four thousand in dle Festh-al
of Sokar. Each festi,-al therefore incorporated
a ceremony known :IS lhc 're,ersion of offerings', in which the extra f()()d offerings
brough! to thc temple wcre redislributed to
the masses.
See also SED FE.""I'I\.\L.

G. FOUC."RT, 'Etudes thebaincs: la Belle FeLe de

laVallee', Bff/IO H (1924), 1~209.
\V \Vou;, Vas Jl"hijl1t' Fesl ("Oil OPt'1 (Leipzig,
1931).
S. SUIUIT, D(O' s(hiilll! Fesl 1'QI1I 'ViislCIllllle
(Wiesbaden, 1952).
11. W. F \IR.\LL'1 '\\'orship and fcsti,als in an
Egypti;m temple', Bullt'li" of/hI' JOhl1 RyltilltlS
LiIJrary, .\lalldit'sla 37 (195{), 165-203.
c.J. BU:I"."ER, Egyplitlllje.aic:ills: eJltlf/melllso!
religiolls n'm'mal (Leiden, 19(7).
B. J. l'.E\II',_"'nflml Egypl: (111t11011~)' ofu
rlvili:::,l1liol1 (London, 1989), 205-17, fig. 71.

Field of Reeds (Fields of Offerings, Fields

orbru)
'Tb L pass through the field of reeds' WaS an
Egyptian met'lphor for dearh, since I-he 'field
of reeds' was a term used to describe the
dOl11ain of OSIRIS. According to Chapter 1-1-5 of
the IK>O" OF TilE DEAD it was here Lhal the
dcccilscd would galher the abundant crops
el11l11cr and baricy; Chapter 109 me'1I1whilc,
describes the gigantic sizes of these crops.
The field was so synonymous Wilh fert-ility
and abundance that: the hicroglyph t()I' field
(sc/..:Il/!/) sometimes replaced the hett:p-sign thaI
was usually employed to denote the act of
offering. SimilarlYl reed-shaped loa,"e5 of
bread depiccd on offering tables were occasionally portrayed .IS actual reeds, thus
j

or

Delllil o/milll-pai11ling inlhe lomb (~rSI'l11le(lj"em ill

!Jeir d-Aledilla, meSII'1"1l Tht'bes, depicling Ihe
tleu(fs{'(1 il1ll11' Field ofReed.1". 191h /)YI/{O'OI.
c./2oo 11<:' (GR.IlI./,l/ IURR/SO.\)

99

FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD

symbolizing not only the offcrinb'"S of bread

but a general abundance of other offerings.
Sec also FUl\'ERt\Rr BEI.J1::I,'S.
L. LESKO. 'The field of I-Jetep in Egyptian
coflin texts',jARCE9 (1971-2), 89-101.
R. H. \VU.KI\.SO"i, Reading EgYPI;(11I ttrl
(London, f992), 12+-5.

First Intermediate Period (2181-2055

Be)

Chronologil:al phase between the OLD KI"U00.11 (2686--2181 Be) and the ,111I1Il1.E KI"GIlOII
(2055-1650 BC), which appears to have been a
lime of rehni\'c politic~ll disunity ~lnd instabil-

ity. The period corresponds to \\ \,I~TIIO'S 7th

to 10lh Dynasties and the early pari of the

11th Dynastl. It begins wilh Ihe death of

Queen Nitiqrcr, the last ruler of the 6rh
Dynasty. ,lJ1d ends in lhc reign of Ncbhcpctra
\IE'\'TLIIOTEI' II.

.~ccording to Manetho, the 7th and 81h

Dynasties still gO\"crncd Egypt from the Old

Kingdom capital, .\IE\II'IIIS, but the apparently

rapid sllccession of rulers .md thc eomparatiye
lack of major building works are both likely
indications of a decline in royal authority. The
general lack of information concerning the
political dc,c1opments during this pcriod also
highlights the extent LO which the knowledgc
of other pcriods in Egyptian history is founded on the evidence provided by the suryinl of
elite funerary monumcnts. The prescnce of
the pyramid complex of the 8th-Dynasty ruler
Qlkara Iby at S,\QQAR" suggests that l\Jlemphis
at le.lst lay within the control of the 7[h- and
8th-Dynasty kings_ Although most of the
rulers of the First Intermediatc Period used
the KOY;\!. TITVL\KY, il seems likely that they
actually gm-crned only a small part of thc
c()untry.
W. C. Hayes suggested that Ihe pharaohs of
the 8th Dyn~lsty, perhaps lasting about thirty
years, were: the successurs of the 6[h- .1I1d 7thDynasty pharaohs through the female line;
hence the frcqucnl use of the name Neferkara,
which was the throne namc, or prenomcn, of
PEPY II. If there were, as the KING I.JSTS suggest, about l\\'enty-five kings in thirty years,
they must either h'.I\'e reigned simultaneously
or some of Lhem must ha, e been impostors (or
perhaps both). This hypothesis, howc\"er, is at
odds with lhe listing of sc\cnteen names in
(:nrtouches in the -'BYDOS king list, since this
lisl was parr of the celebration of the royal
cult; therefore theoreticaLly only legitimarc
rulers would have been considered eligible.
The 9th and 10th Dynasties may have lasted for as long as a hundred years. They comprised a series of rulers originating from HER.\Kl.EOPOUS _\l.\G"\.-\, the first of these probably
being Meribra Khet)' I (r.2160 Be). It is nOI

100

clear where the scat of power lay during this

period) and it is e'cn possible thar i\ lemphis
still continued to be the principal administrative centre, bur the territory was largely
restricted
to
northern
Egypt.
The
Hcmkleopolitan rulers C<lmc intu conniet with
the early Theban 11 th Dynasf!~ beginning
Iyith Seherrawy I"TEF I (2125-2112 BC).
During this period rhe artistic production of
provincial sites such as liEBELEIi', EI.-j\lO'ALLA
and ASYLT was flourishing, and the funerary
inscriptions of the governors of Ulese .1fe.1S
describe both their own ilChie\cments and
their a.llegi:.mce to either the Ilerakleopolitan
Or Theban rulers. E\-entually the Theban king
Menlohotep II (2055-20M Be) succeeded in
gaining conh-ol of rhe entire country, although
the lack of textual sources for the middle of his
reign means that it is not clear whether he did
so by the military conquest of Heraklcopolis
or by somc f()rm of diplomatic arrangement. It
is noticeable, for instance, that relations
hetween Thebes and Herakleopolis in the
early ?diddle Kingdom do not seem to be
characterized by any lingering reSentmenl or
hostility.
H. E. WI?\1.0r:"" The rise alldfidl olthe A'fit/rl/e
Kingdom;l1 Thebes (i"\ew York, 19-47)_
B. G. TRIGGER, B. J. K.L\lF, D. O'Co"'.'\OK and
:\. B. LJ.Ol D, Anrient Egypt: a Sf/ria! history
(C1mbridge, 1983), 112-16.
S. SEIUI ..\I..\YER, 'Wirtschaftlichc und
gesdlschaftlichc f.ntwicklung im Obergang: vom
Alrcn zlIm!\ littlcrcn Reich'. Prohl/jllls ((lid
priorities il/ Egypti((11 ardllle%gy, cd. J. Assmann,
G. Borkard and I'. Day;es (London, 1987),
175-218.
N. GRI\I:\L .-l hislfII]' o/allcielll hgypt (Oxford,
1992), 137-51.

fish
Fish enjoyed a somewhat ambiguous position
in ancient Egypt: sometimes sacred, sometimes scorned~ e,llen by some, denied 10 others. According to the Greek writer Plutarch
ell) +6--126), when the body of Ihe god OSIRIS

.1 plj~)'rhmml' glllSsjish i:l'sst,l, mhirh l1'tJu/tllwt"c'

beell med as fI L"fJII/a;JIl'rjiJf (Mille/its. 18th
!~)II/{/S~}I, c.!3.iO Ilc,JjOlll f'I-AJ11or!la, t.. N ..1 till.
Ou.i.1193)
was cut into pieces by SETII his phallus \\:15
tHen by three species of ~iIc fish - the "'\ikcarp (LepidoIIfS), the Oxyrynchus ((\Jom~}IT/I.~)
and the PlllIgrus. Despite this <lpparentl~
inauspicious action, the Oxyrynchus fish was
regarded as sacred at the town of that name in
the fayum rcgion) since one tradition held
that this fish camc forth from the wouIllls of
Osiris himsclf. [n the tomb of Kabekhnet at
Deir el-~ ledina (Tr2) a fish is depicted in Ihe
position whcre lhe mummy of thc decei.1sco
would usually be shown, '1pparently being
embalmed by the god 'NCB IS.
Various provinces of Egypt regarded pa.rticular fish as sacred (sec S.\CRElJ \'\I\L\LS). '-IU
that a. fish which W~1S T.\BOO in one area could
be eaten in another, something \\ hieh is
said Lo havc led to occ.1sional conflict. The
Delta city of ~I[~IJE~ was the principal cult
centre or the goddess I IAT-j\lEI IIT, the 'chief of"
the fishes', who was worshipped in the form
of either a fish or a woman wearing a fish
emblem (sometimes identified itS a dolphin
but probably a LepidfJlIIS fish). The Tilapia (or
Cltromis) fish, with its colourful fins, and the
a!J(!i1l (i.e. Abydos) fish, with its lapis blue
colour, hoth acted as pilots for the boal ofthc
sun-god RA , warning of the approach of the
snake APOI'IIIS during the voyage through the
netherworld.
The Nile, lhe marshy Delta, the Red Sea ilnd
lhe 1\ lediterrancan coast are all rich in cdihle
fish, and for the poor people of ancient Eg~ pl
lhese would have sened as a substitute tor the
more costly meat. vVea1thier people frequent!)
kept fish in ponds both fiJl- ornament and as a
source uf food. It is known [rom records CXC:l\"ated at DEIR EL-;\If.DI.i'.' that fishermen were
employed to provide some of the rations felf the
royal tomb-workers, and that temples al~o
employed them to proyidc food for lesser olli-

FOOD

FLAIL

cials. However, the king, priests and the 'blessed

dead' (see

A~ I)

were not allowed to cat fish,

since it was identified particularly with the evil

god SETII. Tn the tc.xt of the Victory Stele of PlY
(747-716 BC) the Kushite leader describes his
unwillingness to meet all but onc of the defeated Lower Egyptian princes, on the gTouods
that they wcre fish-eaters.
Fish were usually caught in traps or nets,
some of ,yhich might be dragged along the
river channel either by teams of men or
between two boats; Chapter 153 of the BOOK
OF "1'1-11': DEAD, for instance, is concerned ,yith
helping the deceased to <1yoid being captured
in a kind
trawling nct. Fishing using hooks

or

on a line is <1lso recorded, as is harpooning

from papyrus skiffs, although rhis was presumably rcg,lrdcd more as a sporr than as ,1
means of subsistence.
I. GMd.\'IER-VVALLERT, j'/sr!lt' /ll/d Fisr!lkllil im
(/JII:1l A~!!;YPh'1/ (Berlin. ] 9iO).
1. DA~NESh[OI.D-S~L\ISOE, (The abomination of
the fish in Egyptian religion" Karl Rid/{/I"d
LepsillS: Ak/ell del" tt/KlIllg (lIlliis.I'lith seilles 100.
Todeslag, cd, E, l'reicr ,111<1 \V, r. Reinecke
(Berlin, ] 988), 185-90.
D. J. BREWER and R. F. FRII~D-'tAi'\, Fish (flu/fishillg
ill audelll [gYPI (\,Varminstcr, ] 989).

flail see CROWl\"S _\1\"0

RO'r~i\L REG:\L1:\

flies
The fly was considered ro have apotropaic <lnd
prophylactic properties, and stone amulets
were being created as early as the Naqada [I
period ((.]500-3100 IIC), already depicting it
in the form that lhc hieroglyphic \Ieterminative' sign denoting the tly ((~/J) was later to
aSSume. The image of the fly was also depicted on various riwal arteElcts during the Old
and Middle Kingdoms (2686-]650 BC),

A pair oIgolden 'flies oI I.'a/olll" '. a .I(m/1 oI

hollorilic amant. JVem Kingdolll, c.l 500-1250 nc,
L

2 CIII. (Ji.'i59416-7)

Coltlfllllnk/u(l' oj'AhllUlep Imilll three pmdtlu/.I' ill

thejill'lll n/:/lics ~rralo{{1' '. JVelP Killgdom. c.IS50
lie, I .. (rhaia) 59 fill, (flJ') 9 ClII. (celil/fI, .7C-/69-/)
including the so-called ''.It\GIC 'wands'
Although the precise symbolism of fly amulets
remains obscure, the iconographic significance of nies is best known during the New
King'dam (1550-1069 8e), when the military
decor.uion known as the 'order of the golden
fly' (or (fly of valour') was introduced, perhaps
because of flies' apparent qualities of persistence in the face of opposition. Ahmose
Pennekhbet, a military official in the reign of
ThutlllOSC I (],O4--1492 Be), records that he
was awarded six of these honorific flies. The
best-known example is a gold chain and three
fly pendants fiom the Theban tomb of Q!.lecn
1\IIlIOTEP [ (L1550 Be). in addition, the tomb
ascribed to three of the wiycs of Thutmosc [1.1
(1479-1425 Be) contained a necklace adorned
",it'h thirt.y-three small flies.
A. !-IER.\IAI':'\, (Flicge" Rca/Ic.rikoll.liir AII/II.'e IIlId
Chris/el//lIlI! \'[1 (Stuttf{art, 1968-9), ] 110----2+.
J\1. '\lEBER, 'Fliege', LcxibOIl rler.'{l.J,llplo!ugie II,
cd. W. Heick, E. Otto and W. 'i\Testendorf
(Wicshadcn, 1917),264--5.
IVl. SALElI and H. SOL;ROU/'.[I\;\', The Egyptitlll
kl/lsetlm. Cairo: o.lJiti{// ca/il/oguc (Mainz, ] 98i),
120.
C. ANDRl:WS,fJJltien/ f~{{J!Pli(11! (1I1/1l1e1S (Lonuon,
]994),62-3

food
A great deal of information has surviycd con-

cerning the diet of the ancient Egyptians, both

through depictions of food processing and
consumption in thcir funerary art, amI in the
form of food remains from funerary, religious
and domestic contexts. The poorest peoplc in
anciclll Egypt seem [Q have subsisted on
bread, beer (see \I.COHOI.JC IWVI'J~..'\GES) and a
few vegetables, notably onions; according to
the Greek writer Herodotus it was with these
,'cry commodities that the builders of the
Great Pyramid were paid. Similarly, the
OFFERING FOrO\L;LA, inscribed in Egyptian
tombs from the Old Kingdom onwards, usually included a request fiJI' '<I thousand of bread,
<1 lhoLisand 01" beer.
Bread ,vas made from emmer-,vheat
(TrilicullI dic()c(:UIII, see t\GRICLTruRE), which
was laboriously ground on an arrangement of
stones known as a s~lddle quern, replaced in
Ptolemaic and Roman times (332 nC-l\D 395)
by rhe more efficient rotar~T quem. Stoneground flour ine"itably contained fragmcnts
of stone and occasional sand grains, which,
judging from SlilTiving human skelctal material, inflicted consider,Jble we,lr on the teeth.
Numerous types of 10'lf were produced, .md
some of these were made in moulds, especially if thc~ werc intended for ritu,ll usc rather
than everyday consumption. It was bread that
formed the centrepiece
offering' sccnes in
tombs, where it was usually portrayed in rows
of long sikes on the table. Similarly it was the
loaf of bread on a slab that the hieroglyphic
sign I,clep ('alTering') was actually depicting.
Beer was lLsually made from harlcy

or

101

FORTRE~

FOOD

(Hordeul1l vulgtlre), and seems

to hayc been a
thick, soupy liquid, which, although not
alwavs strongly alcoholic, was nutritious. In a
scen~ in the New Kingdom tomb of Inrefiqcr
(,.,.60) a child is shown holding a bowl and
the accompanying lines of speech rC~l(I:
'Gi,"c me some ale) for I am hungry', thus
emphasizing the natllrc of beer as food rather
than simply .1 drink. Beer w.1s also somelimes sweetened with dares or fla,'oured with
other fruits.

most Egypthms, something to be c.lt"en primarily at FI::STl\.\LS or on other special occasions.

. The weahhy \ymild have eaten oxen, and the
c,"idencc from the i\lliddle Kingdom
(2055-1650 Be) p'Tamid-lOwn of Kahun (ELI. \lIe,) as well as the I\cw "-.ingdom 'workmen's village' at EL--\).l\IU'\ shows that pigs
were raised f()l' thcir mcaL Hares, gazelle and
other wild ;.mimals would h;l\"~ pn)\"ided a supplcmcm [0 the diet of poorer people, as well as
providing IlL~TI"\'G quarry for the elite.

employed to prepare honey-<.....tkes for the g'Jng

of \yorkmen,
\V. B. E\IERY, A/imcralY repasl ill (Ill fgYPfi(/l1
IfJlI1b OJ'I/'(' .'lrd/(/i( period (Leiden, 1t)()2).
\V. D_-\Rln, Food: lite giji o/Osiris (Lundun,
I97i).
D. J. CR.\\\ FORD, 'Food: tradition anti change in
lIelicnisl ie Egypt, J,"" II (1979-80), 136-46.
B. J. I(DIP,. -Juril'lII EgypI: (l/ltIlo/1~}1 f~l/l
ririli::-tllioll (I.ondon. 1989), 117-28.
P. T )JICIIOI.SO,\ ;ll1d I. 511-\\\ (eeL)," ll1tim!
Egypt iI/II lIla/eria!.\ {/lItlledlJ/%gy (Calllhridg:c,
2000). ehaplers by S. Ikram, D. Samuel and

~l. .~. ~lur"l\1

fortresses
The firsl rcpresent.llions of funres~cs in
ancient [gypl- take the form of latc
PredYll:1stic schcmatic depictions of circular
and rectangular fortified towns) but the earliest sun'iring archacological remains of fonifications arc the roughly circular walls at two
Early Dynastic settlement sires in l ppcr
Egypt: KOIll el-Ahmar (111I]UKO,t)()Us) and
EI.J..:\U.

FJlIlCnllY o17erings l"OJ/SiJlillg o/bread (lndlOwl

placed 011 a reed offering-sllIwl. /8111 J)YIIllS~)"
c. 1-1.)0 /lc.ji-Oll/ Thein's. 11. (~rslalld 2/.8 011.
(EI.iHOj

The [ens on ostmca cXGIyated at the workmen's ,'illage of DEIK EL-.\IEDI:'\.\ indicate that
the workers' paymeI1t:s took the form of food
rations. Although these men and their f;t111ilies
were clearly more nffluem than agricultural
labourers, the lists of rations gi'"c some ide;'1 of
the foodstuffs commonly a\"ailablc in the :"ew
Kingdom (1550-1069 ne). Emmer and barley
were the most prized items, since thcy were
part of the staple dicl. Beans, onions, garljc,
lettuces and cucumbers were among thc mosl
rcgular supplies of vegetables) but saltcd FISII
also formed an important clement of the
rillagers' diet. .\leat was usually proyided in
the form of complete catlle from the temple
s[Ock~yards, or simply as indh'idual portions.
Outside DeiI' el-lvlcdina, meat would have
been regarded as a considerable luxury for

102

Animals wcre also used <IS a sourcc of fat, and

in order to proyide milk for cheese making.
Ducks and, from thc New Nngdom oO\yards,
hens werc kept fl.)r eggs <Ind meat, and wildfowl wcrc huntcd for sport and food.
\"arious fruits (such as datcs, figs) grapes,
pomegranates, dom-palm nuts and, more
rarely, almonds) were ;wi.lilablc both to the
inhabitants of the workmcn's vil1nge al Deir
el-?\lcdina and to the population ilt large.
Grapes were also used in the making of winc,
and there arc numerous tomb scenes of vintncrs at work. \Vine, however, appears to ha\'c
been gencrall~ consumcd by the ""calthier
groups in Egyptian society, and thc jars in
whidl it \yas kept frequcntly state its place
of origin and year of Yintagc (see .\1.(:01 rOLlC
BE\'EIUGES).

Honey was obtained both from \yild and

domesticated BEES, and, in the ;:tbsencc of
sug;tr, it \yas uscd to transform brcad into
cakcs and to swccten beer. At DeiI' cl-I\lledina
it is recorded that confectioners were

Egyptian TOwns were apparently only fonified at times of politiC;tl inst~lbilir:., such as (he
Early Dynastic phase (3100-2686 lie) and the
three 'intermediate periods'. l\tlilitary fortresses and garrisons, as opposcd 10 fortified sealements, were essential to the defence of Egypt's
frontiers (sec BORDERS, FRO,TIER!'; .\'..[) U\IIT~).
Inl:hc reign ofAmcnemhat I (1985-1955 Be), a
row of forts, known as thc \Valls of thc Prince
(iucbm lJl'ka), was established across the northeastern Delta in order to protect Egypt against
invasion from the LC\"<\llt. The same border
was later protectcd by a number of fortresses
set up b, Rameses 11 (1279~1213 lie).
During the f\liddle Kingdom (2055-1650
Be) rhe area of T.owcr l'\ubia from the first 10
thc third catanu.:t, "'hich had probabl~ heen
pe;}cefull~ exploited by Egyptian mineral
prospectors during the Old Kingdom, became
part of the Egyptian empire. A group of" at
!e;.tst seventcen fortresses were built, 1llainl~
bcn\ cen the reigns of SenUsfct I and 1II
((.1965-1855 Be), apparently sening hoLiI
practical and symbolic purpo!'iCs. On the tine
hand they wcrc intended to control and protecl lhe king's monopoly on the ,"aluable trade
route from the lands to the south, On [he
other hand their largc sC;'lle - perhaps disproportionate to the task - Illllst ha\'c sen'cd as
physical propaganda in an increasingly militaristic age,
The designs of these fonrcsses, stretchlllg
from Aswan to Dongola, incurporare many
ingeniolls architectural de\'ices which \\ oLlld
be more re.Idily associatcd with medi\.'-,tl

FOUNDATION DEPOSITS

FROG

architecture. Ten of the fi:>rtn.'sscs (SO lith to

north: Scmna South, Kumma, Scmna,
Uronarti, Shalfak, Askut, lVlirgissil, Dabenarti, Kor and Buhen) were constructed in

the area of the second cltaract \V-here the Nile

valley is at its narrowest. Although they share

many common architectural features (such as

bastions, walls, ditches, internal grid-pi<lns
and walled stairways connecting with the
Nile)) their ,"ariolls shapes and sizes were each
designed to conform to differing local topographical and strategic requirements.
In the New Kingdom (1550-1069 HC), thc

marked with larger pits containing food offerings, including parts of a sacrificed ox and
miniature vessels for wine or beer. The tops of
these deposits were marked by four mud
bricks, three of which contained tablets of
stone bearing the ROYAL TITL'L\RY of
Nlentuhorep. The tablets were made from
stone, wooel ~1I1d metal, thus symboEzing,
along with the mud bricks themselves, the
four principal materials lIsed in building the
temple, Other foundation deposits, such as
those of Amcnemhat I (1985-1Y55 Ilc) at 1::1_-

Apart fi'om their ritual significance, these

deposits have proved invaluable to archaeologists fr0111 a chronological point of view, since
they often include large numbers of plaques
inscribed with the name of the ruler responsible ti)I' the construction of the building in
question. T'he foundation deposits associated
\\"ith a temple of Rameses IV (1153-1147 Be),
ncar DeiI' el-Bahri, for instance, contained
several hundred inscribed plaques. Many
Late Period foundation deposits, such as
those excavated at Tell Balamun in the Delta.

Ret:Ol/stfllrlt:d/olllldatioll deposit/roJlltlre temple 0/

Ql/een Hiltslrep.l'llt at DeiI' cl-B(/IIJ"i. D. c. 1111.

have proved essential to the dating of temple

comple.xes,
G. A. REISNER, 'The Barbl temples in 191(J',
]>1 +(]917), 213-27. [comparison of
founcbtion deposits li'om Gebel Barbl with
those from Egyptian sites]
C. I lArES. The seep/a ({Eg}'jJt II (New York,
19.19),8+--8.
B. LETELLIER, 'Gri.indungsbeigabe', Ll'xil'oll der
..Jg.l'P/ologic 11, ed.
Heick, E. Otto and ,\1.
\Vestendorf" ('Viesb,lden, 1977), 906-12.

Nubian fortresses were substantially rebuilt,

but the role of the fortifications appears to
have become much more symbolic. Temples
began to be built outside the foru'ess walls and
new towns were esrablished \yith relatively
perfunctory defences. Essential fortresses and
garrisons continucd to be huilt on the wCstern
<lnd eastern borders of the Delta during the
New King'dom (such as the Ramesside fortifications at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham in the
west and Tdl cl-I-Ieir in the caSt), and the
Victory Stele of the 25th-Dynasty ruler PI'
(747-716 Ae) menrions nineteen fortified settlements in l'vliddlc Egypt. However, onl~r a
small number of fortified structures of the
Third Intermediate Period (1069-7+7 Be) and
Late Period (747-3J211C) ha\-e been preserved,
such as the 'palace' of' Apries (589-570 1](:) at
MEMPHIS and the fortress of Dorginarti in
Lower Nubia. See also \Y/\IW'\RE.
D. DL.-'\IIA.\I and.J. M. A. J"'!'':SSEt\, Sccolld
c(l/aral"l.!fJrfS, 2 yols (Boston, 1961-7).
y. YADIN. 7'll/: arf oImlll:f(lrc in Biblieal/ands ill
flie liglrt (~rard/(/elJlogi(.'(d dis(01.'l'IT (London.
19(3).
A. \"-i. L.-\WRE-'CE, 'Anciel1l Eg~vtian
fortifications',]EA 51 (]965), 69-n
W. B. Ei\IER.r eLl!., Tlre/hrtress (lfill/hl'/l, 2 \'Ols
(London, ]977-9).

foundation deposits
Buried caches of ritual objects, lIsuaJly placed
at crucial points in important buildings such
as pyramjds, temples and tombs, [rom the Old
Kingdom to the Ptolemaic period (2686-30
Ile). It was belieyed that the offering of model
rools and materials would magically seryc to
maintain the building for demity. The pits in
which the deposits were buried, sometimes
brick-lined and occasionally in excess of two
metres in \yidth, were generally located in the
vicinity of the corners, axes or gateways,
In the mortuary temple of the lIth-

D)'nast' ruler Kcbhcpetra Mentuholep

11

(2055-2004 BC) at [)E1R EL-B.\llltl, a series of

pits marked the a:\is of the building, Each contained a loaf of bread, \"hile the corners were

(RO(;/~'RS Fe\'/)
}'O/?A-,

/925,

11l:TI?OI'OI./TI\ 11[/.'11\.'11 '111\".

2.:;.3.39)

incorporated more bricks and a wider

range ofbuilcling materials, including E\!Fi\CE.
Probably the best-known foundation deposits
are those from rhe temple of Hatshepsut:
(1473-1+58 Be) at DElI{ EL-IlAIII{I. Fourtecn
brick-lined pits, measuring c.l m in diameter
and lo5-loS m in depth, were e.lch pbced at a
crucial juncrure in the plan of the temple. The
contcnts of the pits included food offerings and
materials used in I:he construction of the tcmple,
as well as SC..ARABS, cO\moros, .\\\CLETS. travertine j'lrs and model tools (such as cruciblcs and
thc copper ore. lead are and charcoal for smelting). The particular selections of model tools
and yessels in f()Lll1dation deposits can sometimes pro\ide insights into the technology ofthc
Pharaonic period, while t.he. swdy of the food
offerings has contributed to the knowledge of
ancient agriculture and diet.
I.lSIIT,

,v.

"T.

frog
The Egyptians referred to fi'ogs by severa]
names, the most cOmmon being the onOmatopoeic Rerer. This attention to the fi'og's
call was extended to familiarity with its habits,
including aspects of its life-c~:cle, As a result,
it became a symbol of fertility, creation and
regeneration. The image of the tadpole (h4iler) became the hicroglyph for 100,000 and is
commonly found decorating the SI-ll'::-...r ring or
the notched staff rcprcsenring: years, thus
\yishing the king a reign of 100,000 years.
103

FUNERARY BELIEFS

The deity most commonly associated with

the frog was lIEKI':T, the consort of the creator

god

KII:"JUi\1.

J List

as he created the human

race On his porter's wheel, so she often served

as ;.1 personification of childbirth, particularh the final stages of labour. In the .\liddle
Kingdom (2055-1650 Be) Heket was often
shown on magical objects which wcre probably used in the rituals surrounding concep-

tion and birth.

The connection of" the frog with creation is
also demonstrated by the fact that IIEI-I, K[K.

~U?\

four of the eight members of

associated with the Hcrmopolitan
CRE:\TIO, myth, were silid to be frog-headed.
Frog amulets were sometimes included in the
\\Tappings of mummies, or cilrried as talismans. E,'cn in the reign of H':J IE:'\.\TE\:
(Ll52-1336 Be), when most traditional religious bcliefs were discouraged, frog amulets
were still c'IITicd, many being milnuEIctured ilt
Akhenaten's new capital (e1-Amarna). \ith
the official arri"al of Christianity in Egypi in
the fourth ccmury .\0, the frog was retained as
a Coptic symbol of rebirth,
I.. SnJRK, 'Frosch', Lexihlll dlT .igyp/ologi( II,
eel. V'I. Heick, E. Otto and W. \"Vcstcndorl"
(Wicsbaden, 1977),33-1-6.
the

and

i\.t\IUi'\,

OODO.\I)

funerary beliefs
During the Pharaonic period, the Egyptians'
iIttitudes to life and death wcre influenced by
two fundamental beliefs: first, thai death was
simply a temporary interruption rilther th.m a
complete cessiltion of life; and, second, thal
etcrnal life could be ensured by vilrious
means, including piery to the gods, the
presen'ation of the body through .\IL 'I\IIFIC.\'1'10'\', and the proyision of statuary and other
funerary equipment. The sUfri"al of numerous TO.\IIJS and FL:-l"EIUR\ TE_'\TS has enabled

104

FUNERARY CON~

Egyptologists w explore the complexity and

grndual elaboration of this belief system,
although far morc research is required before
the full nature of Egypti,1n views on tJ1C afterlife C:In be understood, particuhuly during the
formative period of the Prcdynastic, before
the cmcrgcm:c of writing.
The Egypti'1I1s beliered that each human
individual comprised not only a 'physical body
but also three other crucial clements, known as
[he h..\, B \ and .\KI-I, each of which was essential to human 5urri"ill both before and after

in both royal and pri"afe funerary texts and

rituals.
Just i1S the royal mortuary cult inw>lrccl the
tnmsformation of the dead king into Osiris, so
the funerary equipment of pri";ue indiriduills
was designed to suhstitute the deceased for
Osiris, so that they could re-enact the myth of
resurrection and obtain eternal life for themselves (see DEJ\10CRATli.:.\TtOi\ OF TilE \1' l'LRJ.JFE). In order to be assimilated "'ilh Osiris,
however, the deceased first had to prO\~e th.lt
his or her ei1rrhly deeds had been \\"orlh~ and

death. They also considered that the ~A,\lE and

were liying entities, crucial to human
existence, rather than simply linguistic and
natural phenomena. l'he essence of each individual was contained in the sum of all these
parts, none of \\ hich could be neglected. The
process of ensuring any indi,'idual's enjoyment of the afrerliCe was thcreti:>re a delicate
business whereby all of these separate clements (the body, ka. btl, ok", shadow and
name) were sustained .md prolected from
harm. At the most basic level this could be
ilchieycd by burying the body wilh a set of
funeri1r~ equipment, and in its most elaborate
form lhe royal Cliit could include a number of
temples complete with priests <lnd a st'cady
110\,- of offerings. usually financed by gifts of
agricultural land and other economic
resources.
The suni,ing funerary texts present an
often conflicting set of descriptions of the
afterlife, r'111ging from the transformation of
humalls into circumpolar stars to the continuation of normal life in i111 ilfrerworld sometimes described as the FIEI.D OF REEDS. The
identificiltion of the deceased with OSIRIS, the
god of Abydos who W.1S murdered by his
brother SETII and brought back to life through
the efforts of his wife ISIS, played i1 C1"lIl:iaI part

In/erior t/('ff/il o//he C(~/.lill oIGI/f/, dl!Comled Illiflt

I1l1lap Jltomil/g /mo dijJi:rel1/ /'{Iu/es /0 /ltt
lUulemJorld (part ofthe Book ofTwo \\"ays), l1/h
Dyuasty. c./985-/795 IIC. paiu/ed mond.jhull
Deir el-Bl'fJIUI, I.. oIodlill 2.6 IJ/. (1:'..,30839)

SI-IAD(J\\,

,irtuous. Since the individual's IIE,\RT was

regarded as the physic:lllllilnif-cslation of their
intelligence ilnd personality, the judgement
scene depicted on many BOO'" OF TilE III \I)
papyri shows the he.ut being weighed ag-,lin.;l
the feather of the goddess .\1.\.\"1", symbol of the
universal harmony and ethical conduct 10
which all Egyptians aspired (see ETIlIC,)).
A. 11. GAHD!i\I':R, The (lffiflldl! (~rflll' {/liciell/
l:'gyplillf/S 10 dell/h (/wllhe delld (Cambridgc,
19]5).

A. .J.

SI'E'XO:R. Dell/h i/l 11llrim/ Egyp/

(Ilarmonds\\orth, 1982), 139-M.

E. l-lOR:\l ,ti, Idell in/o imllge, lTans. E, Bredcck
C'1ew York, 1992), 167-8-1.

funerary cones
Clay COnes of 1~15 cm in length whjch were
placed at the entrances of tombs, particul:lrl~
those in thc Theban area. They are first
recorded rrolll the 11th DYnast' (2 J 25-1985
m:) and continue into the J.;He Period
(747-332 Be), although most belong to the

FUNERARY CONES

FUNERARY TEXTS

Fill/amy (Olle uf
lvlelylllusc, c.l LiD BC,
pOllc/y,ji"Ullf 7'lll:bcs,
/-f.

16.7 {:IIl,

D,

7.1 all.

(1'./96-19)

New Kingdom and the bulk of them to the

18th Dynasty (1550-1295 Be).
The broadest end of the cone is usually
stamped with hieroglyphs bearing a name, title
,mel sometimes a shorl inscription Or gellealogy, The earliest, however, afe uninscribed.
They were once thought to represent loaves of
bread, roofing poles, MUi\lj\\Y LAJ3Io:I.S or boundary stones bUI current opinion suggests a more
likely explanation. The pointed cnd allowed
them to be sel in plaster as <l frieze above the
tomb entrance, while the broad end \vould be
clearly visible. It m.l,Y be thaI this broad circular end represented the sun's disc, and \yas
part of the solar iconography of rebirth.

Each tomb-owner had about three hundred

identical cones, amI the owners of many decorated tombs of the New Kingdom have been
readily matched with surviving cones.
However, there is no evidence of cones from
over three hundred other known tombs. lVlore
significant, on the other hand, is the [let that
no tombs are known for a fmthcr four hundred or so cones, suggesting that the tombs to
which they belonged have been destroyed or
rc-used, or else await discovery.
N. DE G. DA\ WS and F. L. M . ' CJ\LHM,.rJ corjJlIS (~/
illsaibedjimCl"fIlY (()/Ies I (Oxford, 1957).
H. Nl. STEw.. . lrr, l111uIJ/IIDI cases alld ills/:ribcd
fUIf(j/'{I/:J' fOJ/es ill/he Pel ric ("ullcrlioll (Warminster,
1986).
J. KONDO, 'Inscribed funerary cOnes from the
Theban necropolis', OriOI/ 23 (1987),

D. P. RUN, 'The archaeological analysis of

inscribed funerary cones', 1'-:44/2 (1988),

165-70.

funerary texts
The Egyptians' composition of texts relating
to death and the afterlife probably stretched
back to an original prelitcratc oral tradition,
traces of which have survived only in the form
of poorly understood funerary artef~1Cts and
sculptures. The earliest such writings arc
known as the PYRAMID TEXTS, the first examples of which were inscribed in the. 5tl1Dynasty pyramid of UNAS (2375-2345 Be) at
Saqqara. These texts, versions of which are

also found in eight pyramids dating from the

6th to 8th Dynasties (2345-2125 Be), comprise some eight hundred spells or (utterances' written in columns on the walls of the
pyramid chambers, but apparently not
arranged in any specific order. No single pyramid contains the whole collection of spells,
the maximum number being the 675 utterances inscribed in the pyramid of I'EI'Y ]J
(2268-218{ Be). The words spoken at the ceremony of Ol'E:'-ili\G 01' THE i\'IOUTII ;Ire first
ParI (~rllll' Boo!.: oIllIe Dead jJapvrus ~(tllc roya!
saibe _,,'111i, rollsisling o.(llie i.:igllclle asso(."ia!cd milh
Chapta /2.), ill wllirh Illl~ hl~art oIlhe deceased i,l'
IJlciglled agaills/lhe ji'alhcr oIlhe godde.I)' iHaal.
/911! Dynasly, c./2.:;O IJC, painted pap)lrIIs. (/;".01-170,
sllt't:'1'3)

recorded in these funerary texts, along with

offering lists.
In the pol.itical and social turmoil of the
First: Intermediate Period (2181-2055 Be) the
practice of inscribing funerary writings on
privilte colTms developed. Thesc private funerary documcnts, which were effect ively compressed and edited versions of the Pyramid
Texts, have become known as the COFFIN
TEXTS, althoug'j, they wcre sometimes also
inscribed on papyri or the walls of private
tombs. They are often said to reflect a IJI::MOCR.ATJZATI()~ OF 'I'IIE AI'TERI.lFF, whereby individuals were no longer dependent On the ruler
[or their afterlife, perhaps as a direct result: of
105

FUNERARY TEXTS

FURNITURE

the gradual decline in the ambitions of royal

funerary complexes. Howc\cr. it might Jlso be
argued that, in their dcri\'ation from the

Pyramid Texts, they simply

rc-emph~lsize

the

crucial role still played hy the philraoh in pri"ate funerary rituals.

T'he Coffin Texts often included utterances

forming ~guidc-hooks' La the netherworld,
known as the Boo/.: I{Tmo ',i,yS. The 'guiding'

function of the fUller,try texts became increasingly important from the Second intermediate
Period (1650-1550

BC)

onwards, e\Tntual1y

culminating in the appearance of the so-called

BOOt..: or TilE DE.\1l (or "spell for cuming fonh
by day'), made up of around two hundred
spells (or 'chapters'), over h'llf of which "'cre
deri,'cd direcLl} from either the Pyramid Texts
or the Catlin Tens. Such 'netherwurkl texts'
were usually written on papyri, although cer~
tain sections were inscribed on f\\IL'LETS.
The netherworld texts comprise a number
of relat"ed funerary writings, which together
were known to the Egyptians as Amdual or
'that which is in the netherworld!. They
included lhe {Juo~' {~r Caverl/s. Book of Cales
and the ,rrflil/g ~r Ihe lJiddeu Challlber. The
theme of all of these works is the journey of
the sun-god Ihrough the realms of darkncss
during the twelve hours of the night! leading
up to his triumphant re-binh with the dawn
each morning..Many copies of these books
have been discO\crcd, olien with elaborate
"ibrnelteS illustrilting [hc [cxt. During the New
Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) 'hey were virtually
confined LO royal burials, although from the
Third Intermediate Period (1069-747 RC)
onwards the: began LO appear in pri,"ate hurials. They were frequently pOftrayed on the
walls of the royal tombs in the \ \1.L1~Y OF TIll:
""GS, just as the Pyramid Texts had decoratcd thc funcmr: complexes of thc Old
Kingdom. Their placing is significant: fOf
example in the 10mb of Rameses ,t (K\ 9;
1143-1136 Be) the Book of Cates is at the
entrance 10 the upper level, the Bon!.: of
Cat'ullS follm~'s, ~nd in the lower level, fur~
lhest from the cnrr~lIlCC, is the Bnok I~r ,!tal
mhidl is in till: Nt,t/termor/d.
During the Ptolcm.lic pcriod (332-30 Be)
these 'netherworld books' continued to be produced l including such rel11arkable tcxts as the
BOIJI.~ I~r Spew/ill/!, Ftemily ;lnd the Book (~r
Bl'efl/Mug! which wcrc apparently designed to
protect the deccased and facilitate safe passage
to the underworld. These later texts reflect the
cssential continuity of belief I'hroughout
ancient Egyptian history. The differenccs
between the texts of differcnt pcriods tend to
result fi'OIll changes in funerary practice, such
as the shift fi'om regarding the afterlife as being

106

achie\ablc only \"ia the king to a situation in

which individuals incre~lsingly made their o,,n
provisions. There was also a gradual mme
to\\arus thc concept of righteous liying as a
qualification for the enjoyment of an aftcrlife.
R. 0. F.\U."1'\ER, TIr,' fll/til'lIl EgYPli(f11/~l'ra1Jlid
Tcx/.< (Oxford, 1969).
- , The (fl1C;el1ll:.g)lplifl11 ('(Jjli11 Texts,3 ,'ols
(Oxford, 1973-8).
- , The lIJlC;e11l Egypli(f1/ BQu/.: uflhe Dead, cd.
C. Andrews (London, 1985).
J. P. AI.I.I~', 'Funerary texts and their me-.ming',
,\1f1l11mil'J aud Alagh. cd. S. D'Auria, P. Lm:m"ara
and C. 11. Roehrig (Boston, 1988),38-+9.
E. 1-I0R'\t.:~G, Idea illlo il1ll1ge. trans. E. Bn:dcck
(New York, 1992),95-113.

furniture
The best <lm:ient Egyptian furniture was heautifully made nnd elegantly proportioned, ilnd
it is not surprising thai some of their designs
were adopted It)!" Europe~tn furniture 01" the
carly ninetccl1lh century (often \yith less success than their prototypcs). By modern staIld'lIds, howc\'er, Egyptian houscs, particularly
those of the poor, would have had little furniturc. The l110st C0l111110n itcms wcre beds,
chairs, stools and boxes (which served the purpose of the modern sideboard or wardrobe).
Low tables were ;\Iso used, two wooden examples being known from TarkhaIl as early as thc
tst DYI1asty (3100-2890 BC).

1!inioll.\" ilelm uldolllesl;r'/itmilllre: a box of

rosmclio, linCII, a bed. II head"('.~/. ajar liud ajtlrslant!..Nem Kingdom. c.llOU IlCFOIll Thebes, II. I{
r!,,'st 6/ (III. (ti.IH70. 6,;26. 6639. /8/96. HillS)
The ,'ast l11ajority of the sun"jying furniture
is made of wood, although ilt sites such as u.\ \1 \R'\" \ numerous limestone stools ~re founo.
Beds ;;Ire recorded from the 1st Dynasty. ;;I1ll1
comprised a wooden frame, jointed at the corners! ~nd upholstered with matting or IC'"Jther.
Chairs ~,ere used only by the most wC;llth:
people, and could be yery elaborate. The
Icngth of the back support \"aried greatl), as
did the st~ndard of workmanship: the mo~1
elaborate could h.1\'c elegant 1.10:\. 's paw fel:l
and might he inlaid. l\loSl ch~lirs <Ire of a simple t: pc "ith no arms, but tluone-Like n~r
sions arc known, including the famous example li'om TUT\'''II/\\\l,,''S tomb (K\'62), whidl
is gilded and inlaid.
j\ lost- people would ha\"e uscd low sttJub,
and by thc ..l\1iddle Kingdom ;I folding sLOol
had been dc,eloped. Somc of these arc fincJ:
crafted, ;\s in the example from the lomb of
Tumnkhal11ull, the legs of which end in ducks'
heads, c;lch grasping a rail in ,heir bills. The
Egyprians had a grcat facility for mnking such
light" or prcElbricared furniture for usc when
travelling or on military expeditions. As early
as the -Ith Dynasty a complete travelling bedroom set, including a tent and carrying chair,

FURNITURE

GARDENS

has survived among the funerary equipment

IJETI':I'III':/U:S, mother of J..::IIL:FL
(2589-2566 Be). A series of poles and rails
make lip a frame which could be fitted inside a
rent or room to add extra warmth or privacy,
serving .lS a sort of portable boudoir.
The Thchan tomb of the architect Kha
(TT8) contains a representative range of New
Kingdom furniture (now in the l\'lusco Egizio,
of (hlccn

Wooden (11tI;,: ISth DYllasty.

11.

G
games
The most popular board game known to the
Egyptians was SeNc!, the game
'passing',
whi<.:h was played either on elaborate inlaid
hoards or simply on grids of squares
scratched on the surf-lee of a stone. The two
players each had an equal number of pieces,
usually seven, distinguished by shape or
colour, and they played on a grid of thirty
squares knmnl as paw ('houses') and

or

squares', which is thought to have been introduced fi'OIll western Asia. Although several
boards have survived and it is known to have
been played by two players using five pieces,
the rules of the game, as with SI!J1el, have not
been preserved.
J. VANDlER, J\!Jillllli:/ d'urdlco/ugic egypliellll/! IV
(Paris, 1964), +86-527.
E. B. PLTSCI r, Das Send Brcl!Spiel /11/ AI/clI
,:ig)'lJlell 1 (Berlin, ](79).
T. KI::--IHI.I., 'Games', Eg.J'P/:~go/dl'll age,
cd. E. Brovarski, S. K. Doll and R. E. Freed
(Boston, 1982),26.1-72.
,~r. J TAIT, Call1l' bo.\'t'J (1//11 auessoriesji'ulII Ihe
lomb (j/il//{lI/khalllllll (Oxford, ]1)82).

73 OIl. (EI2-1-79)

Turin), including a toilet box, a chair and a

smnd for a pottery vessel.
C. AI.DRED, 'Fine woo<.hv-ork',..,.J IJis/o/y of
fCt,.'!llIfJ/OjjY I, ed. C. Singer, E. J I-lolmyard, and
A. R. Hall (Oxford, 195+),684-703.
E. \VANS(:! fER, ",,'ella Ofru/iS, IhejiJ!ding s/oo/: til!
{(ufie1l1 ~VIIIIl(J1 (~rdigllil.J' (Copenhagell, 1980).
G. Kll.LE;,\" EgJlptianjiml/fllrc, 2 vob
(Warm;nster, 1980-9+).
- , Eg),plialll1}(){ldworhllg lIudjimlillire (Princes
Risborough,199+).

.,\,now: h:o/J,-w'i,'I.'/wl gall/e Iwx/rOIll/he lomb of

l;,I(/Ilklf{/.lI1l1l1. milh ivtlly playing picas alld
klll/rlde-bolles. ISII! DYllasly c./330 W;, I.. o//;o.r
27.5 on. (C-IINO, NO. 593, NEPROJ)CCEIJ (.'OURTES)
UF TIll;' G'NIFFlTlf li\Sn'nTL)

Hili I I"!" Delail (~tlhe Sa/iriwl Papvms, ill mhit:h

allilllals ill/ila/e figl/re,l' injilllC/'(lIy SCelleS. A !iOIl
tlllt! al/ alllelopl' are shoml/ playing (/ gallic ~tsenct.
Lall' Nfl}) Kingdolll, c.IISO Be, pail/led pam/fIlS,
II. 9 Oil. (u/UO/6)

arranged in three rOws or reno lVloves were

determincd by 'throw-sticks' or 'astragals'
(knuckle-bones). The object was to convey
the pieces around a snaking track to the finish,
via a number or specially marked squares represcIlting good or had fortUIlC. Sometimes the
w;lll-paintings in private tomb chapels depict
the deceased playing a hoard-game, but it is
nOI clear whether this activity, when portrayed in a funerary context, was regarded
simply as entertainmem or as a symbolic conttst intended to replicate the journey through
the netherworld.
A less popular board game was 'twenty

gardens
In an essentially arid land such ,15 Egypt, the
cultivated strip or the Nile vaHey represented
an area of fertile green fields and watery irrigation channels. This same lush vegetation,
often accompanied by a pool, W;lS a highly
desirable asset for houses and temples too.
Secubr gardens were mainly cultiYated for
vegetables, and were set close to the riYcr Or
canal, but by the New Kingdom (1550- 1069
ne) they had developed into more luxurious
areas, orten or a semi-formal plan, and sometimes surrounded by high walls.
AHached to temples there were often gar-

107

GARDENS

SCe/fC};"(J/J/ lilt Buok (~/lhe D('(u! papyrus of

NaHI/. shuwilfg t!le dc(('({sed {fud his mUe Tjll//{
approaching Osiris flud kIllal ill/heir gardell. /9111
Djll/aSly,

c,1.100 /)(,', (IeJiM?I, .\'/l/ie7'21)

den plots for the cultivation of specific kinds

of vegetable; the growing of 'cos lettllces'
(sacred to 1'111 "i) is frequently portrayed in
reliefs and paintings. Similar small plots, made
up or squares or earth divided by walls of mud,
arc known from the 'workmen's village at ELA.l\L\Ri\.\, where \'cgcrablcs m'1)" h;n'c been
grown for use in the rituals performed at the
chapels there. Ornamental trees were sometimes planted in pits in front of temples, such
as that of I LlTSIIEI'SUT (1473-1458 Be) at DeiI'
c1-Bahri, where pits for two lrees were found,
unlike the whole grove of sycamore and
mmarisk which stood in front of thc 11 thDynasty tcmple of ~ebhcpetra \IEyrt;1-I0TEP n
(2055-2004 Be),
The houses of thc wealthy often hild large
and elaborate gardens cel1lred on ~l pool,
which in the New h..ingdom was sometimes Tshaped. Pools of this sh~lpe arc known also
from Hatshcpsut's tcmple at Deir cl-Bahri,
and the shape may therefore ha,'c had religious
connoralions. Such pools wcre stocked with
ornamental fish, and served as havens [or
waLerfowl. Flowers, such as white and blue
lotuses (a kind of "ater lily), grew in some of
these pools, and papyrus is attested in the
pools at Deir cl-Bahri.
The provision of shade was an important
clement of the Egyptian garden, and from the
paintings in the Theban tomb chapel of
Kenamun (Tr93) it is known that wooden
columns were sometimes used to support a
pergo1:J armngement of \incs. As well as providing shady arbours, trees were used as a

108

GAZEI:.!:..'::

source of fruil, such as dates, figs and dompalm nuts. Gmpcs might be used for the production of raisins or even home-made wine.
The sacred persea tree was grown in both
religious and secular gardens. Nineteen
species of tree were reprcsented in the garden
of Tneni, architect to Thutmose [ (1504-1492
Be), and among the most popular species were
the pink-flowered tamarisk, the acacia and the
willow.
Cornl1owers, mandrakes, poppies, daisies
~lI1d other small flowers were grown ;,lIllOng
the trees and, like the lows flowers and some
of the tree foliage, could he used in the making of garlands for banquets or other occasions. The pomegranate, introduced in the
New Kingdom, became il popular shrub, and
its flowers added to the colour of the garden.
Thc over,,11 effecl would be one of cool
shade, heavy with the fragrance of the 110wers and trees; g~1rdens are therefore one of
the most frequent settings of Egyptian
romalHic tilles.
Unfortunately, gi,en the aridity of the
Egyptian climate, g<lrdens required constant
attention, not lC.1Sl irrigation, and representations such as that from the tomb of Ipuy
(Yr217) sho\\' a SIIADL;F in lise. The gardeners
cmployed hy temples ~1I1c1 wealthy households
had several responsibilities, including the
watl:ring and weeding of plants, as \vell as the
artificial propagation of clate palms, a proccss
that evidently required considerable skill.
G. Goon and P. L,\COVM.,\, 'The garden" Egypt's
goldclI ((gl'. cd. E. Brovarski, S. K. Doll :Ind R. E.
Freed (Boston, 1982),37-9,
J-c. HUjONOT, Lej((rdil/ d((m I'Egyptc (lII(iclllle
(Frankfurt, 1989),
A. WILKI:"iSUN, CardC11.\ ill (("dent Egypt: lltcir
IO(lItioll tllld .\]IIJ1bolism(LondoD, 1990).

gazelle Sl!e ANTElOPE

Geb
God of" the earth, whose sister and wire \\as
:-"UT the sky-goddess. Tn the doctrine o!"
Hcliopolis he was the son of SHU (god of the
air) and TI':Fl\'UT (goddess of moisture), \\ho
were thelllsel\cs the children of YfL \1 (see
CREATIO:\,),

Thc offspring of Geb and NUl were nSt.lS,

and ~EPIITIIYS, and these nine gods
made lip the Heliopolitan E=':"E\1). In the myth
of 1I0.US and Seth, Geb acted as judge
between them. Since Osiris was the rightful
ruler of the world, and had been murdered h)
his brother Seth, Geb automatically fa\"oured
Horus, son of Osiris and ~lVengcr of his f;tther,
making him ruler of the li,'ing. The phar'lOh
was therefore sometimes described as lht-ir of
Geb', in recognition of Gcb's protective role.
ISIS, SETII

Stclleji'()Jll lire Book o./llre Dead paflYl"lIs oI

Ttl/l/l. lliu, ,l'homing all it/~)!plllllli(.figllre(!/Ilrl'
earth-god Gl'/J bmel/lli the sky-goddess NI/I. Tltird
111leflllediale Period, c.950 IJ(;, pail/ud papwllS
.FolII Thebe.~, 11. (1I.'i ({(I all(Ifm1l11!tI lor/ay) 9.5011.
t

(",10008)

~BEL

EL-ARAK KNIFE-HANDLE

Geb is usually depicted as reclining on his

side with one arm bent. As a god of the earth,
responsible {tl!' ,"cgemtion, he was sometimes

coloured green, .md might actually be portrayed with ,"cgetation springing from him. He
was also sometimes shown with the whircfrontcd goose, his emblem, on his head,
although in some other inst.mces he wOre the
Lower Egyptian crown. Jsis, as his daughter,
might be described as the ~cgg of the goose'. In
funerary contexts he was a malc"olent force,
imprisoning the buried dead within his body,
and it was in I his context that he was often
mentioned in the I'YR \ 'lID TEXTS. Earthquakes
wcre bclic\'ed to be the 'laughter of Gcb'. In
his benevolent <.lSPCcr he was a god of fertility,
sometimes cmph.u.;ized by his crect ph'lllus
pointing skyward towards his wife. In the
Ptolemaic period (332-30 Be) he became idcntified with the Greek god Kronos.
W. HELCK, 'Rp't .lllr dem Thrun dcs Geb',
Orielllillill 19(1950), -116-.1+.
I I. TE VELm:, 'Gcb', Ll',ril'ol/ der '{!iy///%gie lI,
cd. W. \-leick, E. Ouo and W. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 19i7), -127-9.
C. TRAUNECKER, CuP/os: !W/J/lIlCS eI dim.\" sur /e
parvis de Ceb (Lcu"cn, 19(2).

Gebel el-Arak knife-handle

Decorated inlry handle or a ripple-flaked nint
knife dating to the late Predynastic period
(c.3200 BC), ",hieh was purchased in 189-+ hy
the French archaeologist Georges Renedite at
Gebel c1-Arak in I\liddle Egypt, and is now in
the collection of the Lou'Te. Like the
Protodynastic palettes and maCehei.lds from
.\l1y005 and IIIER.\KO'!>flI.lS, it provides important evidence relating to thc early devclopment
of the Egypthm stare.
Both sides of the hippopotamus-tusk handle are engraved in a style which is thought to
be Lev~1I1tinc or 1\!csoputamian rather than
Egyptian. The decoration on one side consists
or a depiction of sC"cral wild beasts, including
the Mesopotamian or Elamite rnotif of two
lions separatcd bv a man. The othcr side of
the handle bear~ scenes of hand-lo-hand
lighting betwecn foot-soldiers as well as a
naval connict between thrce crescent-shaped
papyrus skiffs and two unusual verticalProwcd bO~lts possibly representing foreig'ners. The stylc or the Gebel cl-Arak knifehandle constit.utes part of the growing body of
evidence for the influcnce of \Vestern Asia on
late PredYI1i1stic Egypt.
G. n~NI~f)l"rr.:, 'Lc courcau de Gebel el Arak',
Fondfl/ioll Ellgellt' Pio/, ll'!oll1lllle11lS e/ Atlhlloires 22
(1916),1-3-1.

J VANDIER, ;'Vlflllue/ d'ardllf%gie (5gyp/ielllle 1/1

(Paris, 1952),533-9.

GERZEAN

I-I. ASSELBERGI [Sl Chao., ill beheersillg (Leidcl1)

1961), pis xxxviii-ixi.
A. T.. KELI.EY 'A rcview of the c"idencc
concerning early Egyptian ivory knife h:lI1cJ.lcs'}
Tlrc.~n(i,nl 1I~r1d 6(1983),95-102.
1

Gebel Barkal set' :<.IP,I'[\

Gebelein (ane. Per-Hathor, Path\Tis,
Aphroditopolis)
The distinctivc topography of this site} about
30 km south of Thebes. is indicated b) its
Arabic namc which means 'two hills'. The
eastern hill is dominated by the remains of ..1
tcmple of Bathol', the decoration of which
dates primarily from l"he lith to 15th
Dynasties (2055-1550 BC), although the survi"al of a number of Gerzean artefacts suggests that the much-plundered cemeteries
were already in use by the late Predynastic
period. The temple of Hathor was ccrtainly
established by the end of the Early Dynastic
period (2686 Be) and waS still in existem:e during the Roman period (30 Be-AD 395). 1\Ilany
demotic and Greek papyri have been found at
the site, providing a detailed picture of daily
life at Gebclcin in the Ptolcmaic period. On
Gebclcin's western hill arc a number of tombs,
some or which, although much plundered,
ha\'C been ahle to he dated to the late
Prcdynastic. 1\Ilost date to the First
Intermediate Period (2l81-2055 BC), including the tomb of Iti, ,,,hose Willi-paintings arc
now in the I\Iuseo Egizio, Turin. The remains
of the ullexca"ared town-site arc located at the
foot of the eastern hill.
G. \V. F .,s>:., 'EI Kab and Gebclcn', PSBA 15
(1893), -196-500.
G. STEI:'\I.>ORFF, Cra!Jjillule des '\lli/l/erm Reidles II
(Berlin, 1901), 11-3-1.
E. SCJIL-\I'-\REI.I.I, 'La missionc italiana a
Ghebclein',.lSAE21 (1921), 12W.
B. PORTER and R. L. B. 1\10ss} Topagmphiml
I>iblivgmpl>J' I' (Oxrord, 1937), 162-3.
I L G. Fisci n.R, 'The 1'\ ubian mcrcenaries of
Gebclein during the First Intermediate Period"
A:uslr 9 (1961), -1+-80.
P. W. PE~T\l \", 'Lcs archi"es pri"ees de Pathyris
:i 11cpoque ptolcma"iquc' S/udia Papwo/igic(J
11"'io (Pap. Lugd. B;lt :\1\'), ed. E. Boswinkel et
al.(Leiden,I965).-I7-105.
1

Gebel el-Silsila (anc. Khenw, Kheny)

Pharaonic and Greco-Roman sandstone quarries, rock-cut shrincs and stelae on both sidcs
or the f'\ilc about 65 km north of Aswan. 'The
quarries, primarily on tilC C.lSl bank, were in
lise fi'OJll the 18th Dynasty onwards, but there
arc also petroglyphs and graffiti in [he cliffs
dating back to the latc Predynastic period

Vil'l1J I~rl//(' Gt'be/l'/-Silsila saflds/mll' quarries.

(I. .1'/1./1/)
(c.3-100-3100 Be). Most of the shrines, including the Great SPEOS of Horemheb, are located
along the wcst bank and date primarily t:o the
New Kingdom (1550-1069 DC).
E. PORTER and R. L. B. ,Moss, TnpflgrapIJi({f/
I>iMiogmph)' \' (Oxford, 1937).208-18,220-1.
It A. C".,\I,OS and T G. \-I. jA,'UCS, C,I>d ,/
Si/,i/alr I (London. 1963).

Gerzean Si'':

I'REDY~ \STIC PI~Rlon

gesso
1\ I.atcrial consisting of a layer of fine plaster to
which gilding was offen attached using an
adhesi"e, particularly in the decoration of C:\RTO:'\1\..\GI':. The term deri"es from the Italian
word for a chalky substance used in preparing
panels for painting during the Renaissance}
although it can also be traced back to a term
used for gypsum in ancient ;Vtcsopotamia.

Giza
Necropolis located in the immediatc "icinit)
of the southwestern suburbs of modern Cairo,
where a group of pyramid complexes of the
4th Dynasty (2613~2494 Be)} comprising
those or I{IIL"fU, f..:..Il.\FIt.\ and \\I':';KAL:R-\, are
located. The Giza plateau c.lIlnOi be regarded
;.\s fully explored, but the earliest known mOI1ulllent is )\l1\.SI-'\B/\ \', which probably dates to
the reign of ('he 1st-Dynasty nl1cr DJET (c,2980
Be). The namc of the owner of the tomb is
unknown, although the presence of the graves
of fifty-six retainers suggests that he or she
was an important member of the Early
Dynastic elite. Jar-scalings bearing the nallle
of the 2nd-D~-nasty ruler Nynctjer ((.2800 Be)

109

....

G~~

-=G:..:I-=Z.:.:A'-----

100

200

400

300

500m

16

18

17

I:8l

10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

26
27

pyramid of Menkaura
queens' pyramids
rock-cut tombs
mortuary temple of Menkaura
valley temple of Menkaura
tomb 01 Queen Khentkawes
rock-cut tombs
maslaba tombs
tomb of Queen Khamerernebty II
(wile of Khafra)
valley temple of Khafra
sphinx temple
Great Sphinx
mo~uary temple ot Khafra
pyramid of Khafra
subsidiary pyramid
storerooms (?)
tomb of Hemiunu
weslern mastaba field
pyramid of Khufu
boat-pits
mas!aba-tombs
queens' pyramids
easfern mastaba field
rock-cut tombs
New Kingdom temple
of Horemakhet
modern village 01
Nazlet el-Simman
tomb of Hetepheres I

PllIU of/lw Gi::ll llermpoh.,.

howe also been found in a tomh to the south of
the main necropolis.

Khufu (2589-2566 Be) - whose father S"E(2613-2589 Be) had erected the first

FERL

true pyramid - built the largest suryj"ing

pyramid, now usually described as the Great
Pyramid but originally called 'Khufu is the
one belonging to the horizon'. It: was con-

structed from some 3,200,000 blocks of limestone, each weighing an average of 2.5 I"Ons,

and it differs from most P: ram ids in h;n"ing

two burial chambers \\"irhin the built slrUl:[lire and a third unfinished ch'lmber below

110

15

18

18

20,
-,

21
22

,20
,-

[x]l2Jl~\~O
0\\
27 \\

9.1-

""

23

\\
"I'

""
"

"~'~Il'"''''''

\\, .,\,\\,.:::'~

'1"'11'"'' "'"'''''''''lItl''''' "'\\

11

26

growld_ From each of the two upper chambers, narrow sloping tunnels were constTlIt.:tcd; these so-called 'air sharts' probahly had
linle to do with \'entihuion, and for some
time it has been accepted that they may hayc
some astronomical functioLl. ]11 1993 a
German team led by Rudolf Ganrenhrink
and Rainer Stadelmann, using a robol camCril, discovered a scaled door in one of the
shafts from the Queen's chamber, which has
ted to specuhnion that a fourth chamber
might he located there.
It has been suggested that in the original
design of the Great Pyramid there was to h;1\ e
been a subterranean burial chamber, but that

this must haye been ah.mdoned at all early

stage of the \\orl.., since it is only partl~ hc\\n.
"'hen first recorded the chambers were found
empty, perhaps h'.l\-ing been robbed a~ carl~ <1S
the Firs' In'ennedi,,te Period (2181-21155 lie)
\yhen the cenrral aUlhorin-, which had heen
responsible for their consll~uclion, collapsed.
Like all pyramids, that of KJ1llfu \\jl:-i p.lrt
of a complex, of \,"hich the Lhree subsidiary
pyramids (the so-called queens' p~ ramids)
.lre the most obviolls part. The temple 011 the
cast side is ruined, .1l1d the l:~lIsc\\"a~ leading
to the \ alley temple has been robbed out .1IlL!
lost bene~1th the modern settlement of 'azler
cI-Simman. Se\'eral boat-pits surrounded [he

GIZA

0-ZA

1 descending passage

2 burial chamber of lhelstplan

3 ascending passage
4 level passage
5 burial chamber of the 2nd plan ('Queen's Chamber')
6 great gallery
7 burial chamber of the 3rd plan ('King's Chamber')
B weight-relieving rooms
9 'airshatts' (perhaps of religious significance)
Khalfa:

subterranean burial chamber. On the nonh

and west sides it shows clear evidence of the
quarrying necessary to level the site, the
removed stone being used for the construction
itself.
Thc smallest of the thrce pyramid complexes at Giza is that ofI\lenkaura (2532-2503 lie).
Unlike its predecessor, the valley temple w~s
not of granite but finished in mud brick.
[-!owe\er, it was here that a series of superb

nU! pyramids (~j"Gi:::.a. The Creal Pyralllid oI

Kllldil (/40 appears slI/aller Ihall Ihal {~r KI/{/fra
(aI/Ire). sillte Ihis lauer is buill (1/1 {{ slight
ollillC1lce. The slI/ollesl I~\' Ihul (JIAJlenkfl/(ra.

schist triad stat"Ues were discovered by thc

Harvard/Boston expedition in 1908. 'rhey
represent the king with IIATHOR, goddess of
i\IEi\\PI-II.':i , and i\.O\'IE dcities. Like the pyramid
of Khafia, rhat" of l\Ilenbura had its lowest
courses cased in red granitc, and like its predecessor had the ch'lmbers below the built
structure. Unlike the other pyramids at Giza,
howeycr, 'Nlenkaura is Divine' had pahicef<t<;acle carving on its interior walls, This pyramid was the suhje<.:t of S]\ITE interest in the
26th Dvnast\ (664-525 HC), when a new
wooden coffin was inserted. In 1838 the original granite sarcophagus was lost at sea while
being transported to England, although the
wooden coffin lid is in the British Museum.
The pyramid complexes arc surrounded by
groups of M..\ ST..\IH tombs, in \yhich members
of the royal bmily and high officials were
buried, The most extensive nustaba cemeteries are arranged in regular ~strects' to the west,
50mh and east of the pyramid of Khufu, each
tomb being of a similar size. The earliest private tombs at Giza are cur into the quarry
E1CCS surrounding the pyramids of Khafra and
iVlenkaura.
During the New Kingdom there \\"as
renewed activity ill Giza. 1n the 18th Dynasty
Amenhotep II (1427-1+00 uc) built a temple to
T-Toremakhet ('Horus of the Horizon') ncar the
Great Sphinx, and this was bter enlarged by

l~qom

Above Sections of the pyramids tooking west:

Khufu:

Pyramid would not original1y have been

uneven but c()\"ered by a layer of smooth white
Tura limestone, probably crowned by gold
sheet at the apex. 'This covering was stripped
awa~' in mcdieval and Iatcr times. The hurial of
IIETEPIIERES, the mother of Khufu, lies just to
the cast of the pyramid and givcs some indication of the richcs which might have accompanied a pharaoh of this pcriod.
Although Khufu's immediate successor,

1 upperen\rance
210werenlrance
3 burial chamber of Ihe 1st plan

4 burial chamber of Ihe 2nd plan

Menkaura: 1
2
3
4

abandoned descending passageollhe 1st plan

burial chamber of Ihe 1st plan
descending passage
burial chamber of the 3rd plan

Sec/;on dramiJ/gs f~rlhe I!lree Giza /~l'rall/ids.

pyramid, and boats have been found ill t\VO of
these. One has been reconstructed and is currently displayed close to thc sitc of its discovery. It has been argued Iha' these boats were
used in the funerary ceremonies, and thar
perhaps one of them bore the king's body to
the valley tcmple. Howcver, it is equally likely that they performed a more symbolic role,
as part of the funerary cquipmcnt provided
fOr the travels of the deceased king with the
Sun-god.
Like the other true pyramids, al this site
and elsewhere, the superstructure or the Great

(I'. .,: VIr:JH)I..'W\")

Djedefra (2566---2558 Be), began to construct a

pyramid complex at .\BU ROt\SI r 8 kill north of
Giza, he may have been responsible for some
quarrying at Giza, and some scholars h~l\'c
attributed work on the Great SPI-IiNX to him,
although this sculpture is usually assig'ncd to
the reign of Khafra (2558-2532 He), builder of
the second of the Giza pyramids. The sphinx
is carved from a knoll of rock in a quarry
beside Khafi-a's causeway, which leads from
hil'i well-preserved granite valley temple to the
mortuary temple on the eastcrn side of his
pyramid. Stawcs of the king, his head symbolically protected by I JORUS (now in the
Egyptian Nluseu11l, Cairo), were discovered
by Auguste lViariette's workmen in 1860, during the excavation of the valley tcmple (see
KI-lr\FR.'\ iUustration).
The site of the pyramid itself" is on a slight
eminence; and f()r this reaSOIl, and by yirtlle of
its still preserving some of its limestone casing
at the apex, it appears larger than that- of
Khufu. In ancient times the monument was
known as {Great is Khafra', ~nd is morc typical of Old Kingdom pyramid design, \yith its

III

----:G'=-'c~

.:::G-"Lc.:A"'S"'S

SCly I (1294--1279 Be) in the 19th Dynasty.

During the Third Intermediate Period
(1069-747 Be) the southernmost of the subsidiary queens' pyramids in the Khufu complex was converted into a temple of Isis. In the
26th Dynasty the pyramid
1\!lenkaura was
restored, the temple of Isis was enlarged and a
number
tombs were constructed along the
causeway of Khafra, an area which continued
to be lIsed ;IS a cemetery as late as the Persian
period.
'vv. 1\ l. F PI~TlUE, ]he lnl1'fll/lids alld ICIII/J/es (~r
Ci~c;' (London, ISS).
H.JUNKER) Giza, 12 vols (Vienna, 1929~55).
G. A. REISNER and 'vv. STEVEi\"SON S\lITI I, A
liistolT of/he Gi:::,(/ necropolis, 2 \'ols (Cambridge,
MA,19-12-5.\)
N. 8\1{ \KAr ct a1. , ElaftIJlIIrtgud;c sounder
experiments tit fhe pyralllid (!I'Giza (Berkeley,
197.\).
J\'I. LEII"'ER, 'A contextual approach to the Giza
pyramids', Archil: tla Orit:Il~(iJrsdlllllg32 (1985),
136-58.
I. E. S. Emv.-\RDs, Tht' pyramids oIf.'gy/)/, 5th cd.
(l-lannondsworlh,199.1),98-151.

or

or

glass
Although the glazing of stones such as quartz
and steatite, as well as the making of FAIE:-.JCE,
had been known since Predynastic times
(t.5500-3100 fie), glass is extremely rare
before c.1500 Be, and not certainly attested in
Egypt before the late l\lliddle Kingdom.

It is possible that the craft: of glass-making

was first introduced into Egypt following the
campaigns of Thutmose III (1479-1425 He),
when captive glass-makers may have been
brought to Egypt from MIT:\NN1, where the
technology was alrC<ldy available. Glass is certainly one of t'he materials mentioned in lists
of tribute in the Allna/s of Till/III/OS(' If! at
Karnak, and even by the time of Akhen<1ten
(1352-1336 Be) glass was still of sufficient
importance to merit inclusion in diplomatic
correspondence. In the r\:'IIARNA LI':TITRS the
Hurrian and Akkadian terms ehlipakku and
IIfckkl/ were used, and these loan-words perhaps point [Q 1he eastern origins of the earliest
glass.
A distinction should be made between
glass-makillg from its raw m.ltcrials (siLica,
alkali and lime) and glass-J1)ot,hllg from read)prepared ingots or scrap glass (cullct). The
first of these is considerably more difficult
than the second, and recent 3nalyses suggest
that some of the earliest glass in Egypt was
made using materiab from ahroad, so that
either finished items or raw glass were imported for use by workers (c.lptive or otherwise) in
Egypt. It is likely that, even when the industry
became bener esmblished, there were workshops which worked only glass, obtaining their
supplies in the form of ingots from more
sophistjcatcd installations.
Perhaps bec.lUse of an import.ltion of
craftsmen from abroad, there arc no surviving

Glass COll!ailll:rs'/or /llIguents and cosmetirs, till

corejormed apart/ro/IJ the gold-rimmed solid tl/sl

CHilI/pIe Oil/he le.fi. Thejug, which bean tlll'1/ame
ufT/IIIllI/ose til, is oJ/e oflhe earliest dalable
Egypliall glass "i'f..'ssels. 18th DYllasty, c.1-I50 /336
1Jc, L ollisll 14.5 WI. (L/24J9/, -/7620. 2.'>8'1,
55/93, -/7-1/)
instances of trial stages in the making of glass
in Egypt, which instead appears as 3 fully
fledged industry. Conscquently, technologically difficult pieces, such as clcar dccolorizcd
glass, arc known from as earl~i as the rci6'1l of
Hatshepsut (1473-14.\8 Be) and colourless
glass inlays occur 1I1 the throne of
Tutankhamun (1336-1327 Be).
As well as bcing used for inlays, beads and
amulets, glass was used also in attempts at
more ambitious pieces, including vessels. The
latter were not made by blowing, which was
introduced only in Roman times, but by corcforming. A core of mud and sand in the shape
of the vessel interior was formed around a
handling rod. This core would thcn be dipped
into the viscous molten glass (or the glass be
trailed ovcr it) and evened out by rolling the
whole on a nat stone (marvcr). The rims and
feet of the vessels could be shaped using pincers, but the process was usually more complicated than this. Coloured threads were added
to rhe base colour of the vessel (commonly
blue or blue-green) so that strands of )cUow,
white, red etc. decorated the piece. These were

112

.....

GLASS

sometimes pulled with a needle to make swag

or feather patterns, and then rolled on rhe
marver to impress them into the still soft body

glass.
The finished vcssd was then allowed to cool
slo\-...ly in an oven in a process known as annealing, which allowed the stresses dc\'cloped in
the glass to be released gradually. Once cold
the core could bt: broken up and removed
through the vessel opening. It was frequently
difficult to remove the core entirely, especially
in the shoulders of narrow-necked vessels, and
the remains of the core often added to the
opacity of these pieces, while those with
broader necks appear more translucent.
Glass might also be moulded. At its simplest this involved the making of plain glass
forms, but it could also be much more complex, with seclions of glass cane of different
colours fused together in <l mould to l11;lke
multicoloured vessels, such as those with yellow eyes on a green background, or the conglomerate glass pieces with angular fragments
of many colours fused into bowls.
It was also possible to work glass by cold
cutting. In this process, lumps of glass, sometimes moulded to roughly the shape desired,
were worked as though they were pieces of
stone and so carved to shape. This is an
extremely difficult process requiring great
skill. None the less some fine pieces, including
two he;ldrests made for 'l'utankhamun, were
produced in this way.
Glass seems to have been regarded as an
artificial precious stone, and like such stones is
sometimes imitated in painted wooel. Perhaps
because of this connection il- never developed
forms of its own hut rather copied those traditionally made in stone, faience or other materials. It seems that for much of the Ne,,
Kingdom it was a costly novelty material,
probably under royal control, and given as
gifts to favoured officials. Until recently the
production of glass was thought to have
declined af'ter the 21 sl Dynasty (1069-945 BC),
nOt to be revived on any scale until the 26th
Dynastv (664-525 BC), i,ut J. D. Conne) has
suggested that it persisted on a much reduced
scale. In Ptolemaic times, Alexandria became a
centre for glass craftsmanship, with the pro~
dUction of core-formed vessels and, in Roman
times, items of cameo glass, probably including the t~InlOUS Pan-land Vase (now in thc
British Muscum).
The best evidence for glass production
comes from Flinders Petrie's excavations at
CL-Al\IARNA, where he found a great deal of
glass waste, but there arc still enormous areas
of technology that are not properly underStood, and excavations at that site during the

GOD'S WIFE OF AMUN

1990s havc produced new evidence based primarily on the detailed study of kilns. It seems
increasingly likely that glass-making was cafried on alongside faience production, and possibly orher pyrotechnical crafts. As well as the
remains at el-Amarna, there are glass-working
sites at EL-LlSI IT and ~IALK1\"I!\.
B. NOl;rE, Die Clusge/iisse im alh'Il.---igypren
(Berlin, 1968).
J D. COONEY, Ca!alogue oIEgyptian.dlll/qll/!ics in
!/{e Bri!is/{ l\llwCIIIII [\"; Class (London, 1976).
C. LIIJ'QCIST and R. J-T. BrUl.L, Sludics iJll'aru'
Egyplial/ glass (New York, 1993).
1>. 'T NICl-IOLSON, EgYPliulljiticllcc al/(I glass
(Avlesburv, 1993),

claimants to the throne. The god's wife was in

fact the most prominent member ofa group of
'Amun's concubines" all virgins and all \\"ith
adopted successors.
In the 25th and 26th Dynasties (747-525
Be), thc god's wife and her adopted successor

goats sce :\:\111\\1\1. IIUSB.'L'rnRY

god's wife of Amun (lielllel Ile!jer III [lIlell)
The title of 'god's wife of Am un' is first attesfed in the early New Kingdom in the form of a
temple post endowed by AI-h\10SE 1 (1550-1525
Be) for his wife .\I-I.\IOSE '\EFE1~T"RI. It hHer
became closely associated with the title of
l)[YIi'\E '\1)ORf\TRICE (dmal-Ilclja) which was
held by the daughter or the chier priest or
Anum under Hatshepsut (1473-1458 Be)l ;md
by rhe mother of the 'great royal wife' (see
QUEI':;\'S) in the sale reign of Thurmose III
(l-t-79-1425 BC), although its importance ;.\t
this time was much reduced. From the time of
Amenhotep III (1390-1352 Be) until the end of
the 18th Dynasty there appears to have been
no royal holder of the office of god's wife of
Amun.
The function of the god's wife was to play
the part of the consort of MIUN in religious
ceremonies, thus stressing the belief that" kings
were conceived from the union between Amlin
ilnd the great roY_II wife. The title 'god's hanlf
was also sometimes used, referring to the act
of masturbation by ATli!ll by which he produccd SIIU and TEFNUT Atum's hand was thus
regarded as remale, In the 19th Dynastv
(1295-1186 Be), the title \Va.<.; reintroduced, but
its importance was slighI' compared with earli~
cr periods. In the late 20th Dynasty, however,
Rameses \'1 (1143-1136 BC) conrcrred on his
daughter Isis a combined title of both god\
wife of Amlin and divine adoratrice, thus creating what was largely a political post. This
office was from then on bestowed on the king's
daughter \"ho, as a priestess, would have held
great religious and political power in the city
of Thebes. She was barred fi'om marriage 1
remaining a virgin; therefore she had to adopl
the daughter of the next king as heiress to her
office. In this way the king sought to ensure
that he always held power in Thebes and also
prevented elder daughters from aiding rival

Grallite staluelll' (lflhc g(j(t:~ 111{fi: Amellirdis t,

dal/gll/('/" I)/Ihe Kwhile mlcr Kashttl. Latc 8!1t
celltlllY IJC. N. 28.3 WI. (/:'.'1-J.6699)

played an important role in the transference of

rOY_II power. This office was sometimes combined with that of chief of the priestesses of
AmLIn. Some measure of the wealth and influence of these women is seen by the building of
a 'tomb with chapel' by Ameninlis I, sister of
King Shahaqo (716-702 BC) or the 25th
Dynasty, within the temple enclosure at
j\lEDL,\TET lIABU.

U. HOl.SOlER, Thce.rwvalioll r~r/Vlcd/}[ct HallJl v:

Posl-Rfnnc.';sid remai"s (Chicago, 195+).
M. GrITO'\', L 'epOl!Sl~ dll dim. Ahmcs N4er!alT
(Paris, 1975),
E. GRAEFE, UlIlcr.wdl1lllgCll ::'II/" f/,'rllJ{/lllIlIg

lIltd

Ccschidllc der Instill/liO/l der GOllcsgemah/i1l des

113

---'~

-"G:..:O'-'L"'D"---

brown

AlIIlflll'/llJI Begin des Nmen Re/rhcs 11I~~ zur

Spdt"eit (vVicsbadcn, 1981).

i\1. Grn-o:\', Lcs divines ipowcs tie fa /& {~J'lltlSlie
(Paris, 198{).
G. ROUL\S, II~Jlllel! ill
1993), H9-56.

(II/timl

.f:!!,ypi (London,

gold
'I'hat gold was a precious commodity in Eg'ypt
is undoubted, although it was outranked by
Sll..\ ER \yhcn this was first introduced. By the
lVliddlc Kingdom (2055-16.10 He), however,
gold had become the most precious material,
and was eagerly sought. It is no surprise that
the oidesl known geological map is a diagram
of the g'old mines and beJdlf:l/-stone (siltstone)
quarries in the \iVadi T-bmmamat. The late
Predynastic town at !\'.\(!{\JJ:\, ncar the mouth of
vVadi Ha111J11amat, was known as Nub! ('gold
town '), perhaps indicating that it grew rich
fi'om the gold trade.
Gold W:1S mined hath from the Eastern
Desert and from Nubia, where there arc
Egyptian inscriptions from Early Dynastic
and Old J(jngdom times (3100-2181 Ilc). Ne\\'
Kingclom priv,ltc tombs, such as that of
Sobekhotep ("I"T63), sometimes include depictions of Nubians bringing gold as tribute.
During the New Kingdom (1550--1069 DC) it
was obtained also from Syri'1~Palestine by way
of tribute, despite the fact that Egypt was
,lll'eady much richer in gold than the
Levantine city-states. The Egyptians' prodigious \\'eahh in gold made them the envy of
their neighbours in the )Jcar East, and finds
frequent 111enl ion in the A.\I1\IC"Ji\ LETI'ERS. For
example letter EA 19 from Tushratta of :Mit<lnni
reads: 'May my brother send me in ,"cry great
quantities gold that has not been worked, and
may my brother send me much more gold than
he did to my father. In my brother's country
gold is as plentiful as dirt.
Nlining and quarrying expeditions were
carried out Linder military control, and lllany
of the labolln:rs were COllYicts (sec STOi'\E \ND
<tUARRYI"iG). The laborious and dangerous
work may have ensured that t<lr many it was ,1
death sentence. The gold-bearing rock had to
be laboriollsly crushed and washed to extract
the metal which was then carried off" for refining and working.
Gold was regarded as the Oesh OfR'\ and the
other gods, ~l di"inc metal that never tarnished. As such it was used in the making of

1 sle)e01 Sety I
2 cistern (orwater-resef\loir)
3 shrine of 'Amun of the
puremounlain'

unpainted

')E;n
~
4 workers' huts

CIIPY ~(part olthe "ntr;1/ 1IIill;ng !)({PYl"lts'.

the earl;est surl';r;llg geol()gltal !!lap, mhidl
rlomlllcllts (/ qual"ly;llg t'.l'pl'ilitioll ill the "i..'Il"Ir!;Z)1 of
a gold-mill;ng seltlellll'lll illlhe "'{uli Ilal/ll/lfllJlflf.
R('/~f!,n o!Ra!!lcses /I, c. I 1.)3-1 /17 /lC. (n HI\,
IIL"SNO rcwo, e 1"1: 11179)
LEI'T

IlELOW ParI v/a !1Jall-pailltillgji'O/l! 1111: tom/!d{{fpl!! (~(Subekl{()t('p (rr63), slwIPillg iYuhilllH
presellting gold as tri!Jute 10 the L~f!,.YPti(fll hllg. Thl'
gold has beell ({1st illto rings/ur ease (~rfI'(lIlSpf!"f.
18th DYllasty, c:.. f.-IOO Bc.ji'fllll Y'ltcbcs. (I:' ,(21)

5 slreaksolbrown,perhaps
indicating geological variation
6 wadi Iloor, idenlifiedas the
'road thai leads 10 Ihe sea'

images of the god, or as gilt for di\'ine statues;

it also adorncd temples and the pyramidions
surmounting obelisks and pyramids. The
ROY:\L TITUL..\RY included the 'Golden Horus'
name, associating the king with the sun, while
the goddess Hathor was sometimes described
as '1'he golden one
This connection with the gods made it the
ideal mctal in funerary contexts, as spectacularly witnessed by the mask and coffins of
Tutankhamuil (1336-1327 J3c), although lesser
individuals aspired to gilded or yellow-painted
masks. The sarcophagus chamber in the royal
tomb was known as the 'house of gold', while
,It the ends of sarcophagi or coffins '.sIS and
~VI'J-1TIIY.s were orten shown kneeling On the
hieroglyphic sign for gold (Ilcbm). In the SthDynasty tomb of ly-Ivlerv at Giza (G6020) an

inscription points out that the shape of the

Ifebm sign was being imit<lt'ed by pairs of

dancers in the funerary dance knO\\'n <IS the

f(here}:
In times of unrest the golden funerary
equipment' acred as ,1 lure for tomb-robhers,
as recorded in Papyrus Abbot' which deals with
the desecration of the tomb of King Sobkcmsaf II of the 17tb Dmasty (1650-15511 lJe):

Part ~rajloral {"f}lIarjr)l"IIfI:rlji'n/ll gold,

comeli({n (flld bl//e glass inlaid elell1t'11t.I, mhith
illustrates Ihe we ({the C/(JI:WJIIIU/ technique vI
gf/!d/1Jorkillg. Nem Kingdom, c.137{}--1300 IJG,
II. (as st/'llllg) 12.2 ClI1. (1.::.-13071)
RIGHT

114

....

GOLD

4,~rc opened their sarcophagi and their

coffins ... and found the noble mummy of this
King equipped with a falchion [cun-ed sword]
'" amulets and jewels of gold were upon his
neck, :lnd his headpiece of gold was upon him.
The noble Illummy of this King "'as C0111pletely bedecked with t:'old, and his coffins
were adorned with gold, . 'vVc collected the
gold we found On the mummy of this god.
and we set fire to their conins .
Gold could also serve the li\ iog, ancl the
material melted down b~ the robhers would
have been used in exchanges. since there was
no .letu.l) coinage. The high \'~duc of gold made
it ;,1 suitable reward for emincnt indi"iduals,
and there arc represenlJtions of faHlUred !'\C\\
Kingdom officials such as .\ Iaya and
!I0RE,\IIIEn being rc\\'ardcd with golden collars
by the pharaoh. There arc many sun-i,-ing
examples of the 'FIX of \'alour', a military honOur uSll:llly nude of gold.
The gold of ancient Egypt became legendary ancl c,'cntllally passed into medieval
folklore_ With the discOlen- of the tomb of
Tlitankhamun, I-he im;tgination of the twentieth-century press became particularl~
obsessed \\'ith rhe 'gold of the pharaohs', often
at the expense of discm'crics that arc archaeologiL"ally more signific'lnt.

GREEKS

j. CEIC\T, 'Prices and wages in Egypt in the

Ramcssidc period', G'ahiers d'I-!islfJire -'lOll/fill It' I
(1~5-1), ~03-21.

R. KLE:\L\I and D. D. KI.E\I\I, 'Chronologischcr

Abriss dc.-:r antiken Goldgewinnung in del'
Ostwiisre .:\gyprens', /vlDAJ K SO (199-l), 29-]5.

great green (Egyptian madj ma)

fecunclit~ tig'ure (sec
who appe'lrs to have personified either
the lakes within the Nile Delt.1 or the
1\ lcditcrranean se,\. The Ianer interpretation is
a matter of considerable debale; il h.1s been
pointed out, for instance, that ccrtain texts
(such as Papyrus Ramcsscu111 n) describe the
crossing of the 'great grcen' by foot, and olher
documents USe a determin.ui,e sign for the
ter111 that suggests dry land rather than water.
J. B\I'I:$, Ft.'(li1l1filyjiguns: EgYPlian
P('I"s(Jl/~li({fli(J1/ lIw/lhl! i(011ld0JJ.Y ofa genn:
(\Varminstcr, 1986).
C. \-\NDERSI.EYF.', (I ,c sens de Ouadj-Our (W'd\~ir)', ,Ai'lm IIII/i/l(III.''' /9851\, cd. S. Schoske
(Hamburg, ]991), 3-4-5-S2.

CoPJ' OflllJ'1l1l-plli1lIillgji'0111Ihe /rimb of

JImkheperrascneb 01 TlJ('bes, shomillgjim!ig1l rulers
from IIII.' Aegeall 1Illlllhi' Yellr Elisl bringing Irilmlc
10 lilt, phllraoh. The proslrale/igllrc o1llhe It:'ji is
described liS Ihe 'c!n't{ofJl/(' K(/iim' (usf(({/~)1
(lSSII/11cd 10 be 0 n:fi!l'l!llL'e 10 Crete) alld IIIefigllre fill
IIIe/i/l' righlmcars rleg,'11I1 t!olhiug ({lfd curries (/
Illfilluall-slJ'le bull:\' head. l!Jlh PVlltISly, c. !-ISU 11(:.

'T'crm llsed to refer to a

I If\!'\ )

great royal wife s<'<' (l.LEE~S

Greeks
Egypt did not dc\"c1op dose conl.1Cts with

Greece until well into the Pharaonic period,

"ariolls economic and polil'ic:i1 links
gradually dc\"c1opeu m'er the centuries. By rhe
12th D,-nast\ (1985-1795 Be) the TOO (reasure
shows Greek influence, blll il was in the ~C\\
Kingdom (1550-1069 Be) that contacts bccome
mosl clear_ [n Eg'-ptian lombs of 1500-I-HO Be
there arc rcprcscnlalions of cups of the type
found at \"aphcio in m~linlilnd Greece, which
wcre brought to Thebes as tribute by Cretans.
Paintings in the tomb of Senenmut (-r1'71) show
not only il gianl Vapheio Clip but 'llso .1 bullheaded rhyron, while Cret'ans arc also shown in
the tomb of iV[cnkhcpcrrascneb ("nS6). It may
be that Cretans and other Greeks visited Egypt
during this time and rook away with them
notions or Egyptian architecture, since some
l\linoan frescos portray papyrus columns. The
goddess Tc\WERET was modified to become the
so-called Cretan 'genius" losing her hippopota~llthough

[ [5

GREEKS

mus form until she more closely resembled a

donkey. "I'hoth, in his baboon manifestati on,
\yas also imported into Crete. Similarly,
LVI yccnaean ponery reached Egypt in the New
Kingdom, perhaps .1S containers for a particular valued commodity, and has been found in
large quantities ill sites such as EI.-:\:\\ \R.':\.
Cyprus W;.1$ ;,1lso important as a source of copper, imported as ox-hide ingots. Certain resins

shatt tombs

50

100

150

200 m

shatt tombs

may also h<l\"c been imported frol11 Cyprus (and

elsewhere in Greece) and Cypriot paltCry is
also atresred in Eg\'pt.
Psamtek I (66-1-610 lie) allowed Greeks
from 1\ lilctus to found a commercia l cclHrc at
:'\AuhR.\TIS, and under Ahmosc II (j70--526 Be:)
[heir trade was limited to this city. The
Egyptians levied a duty on commerce there,
and this \YaS sent to the tcmple or Neirh at
S_\IS. The cir~ struck its own coinage, the only
type of coin known from Pharaonic Egypt.
lVlercenary soldiers, including some fi'om
the l\lediterr;m can, had been used increasingly from the l'\ew Kingdom, but by rhe S:\IT!:
period (664-525 Be) Egypr had come to
depend eyer more heavily on Greek mercenary
troops, who were settled in j\/lcmphis. The rising powcr of PERSIA inc\'it;tbly Icd to the conqucst of Egypt in 525 Be, making Egypt;1 n;1tural ally of the Greek city-slates. In 465 BC,
following rhe death of Xerxes I (486-l65 Be),
there waS;.l revoIr by Psamtek of Sais, and with
Athenian help hc besieged lhe Persi:lI1s at
1\ lcmphis, allhough he was e,-cnrually killed in
454 Be. Through the lasl decades of the fifth
century Be, his supporters sun-ived in the
Delta marshcs, retaining their contacts with
Athens. It was at some time during this period
that lhe Greek hisrorian IIElmnOTL:S m;tdc his
visit ro Egypt, recording recent political
events and 10L';.11 curiosities.
1n .J05 Be Darius II of Persia (42+-405 BC)
died and in the following year Amyrtaios
(-+0+-399 Be) seized power in Egypt, becoming
the only ruler of the 28th Dynasty. Egypt had
been drawn cver more into the Greek wodd,
and Nepheritcs I (399-393 BC) supporled the
Cypriots against the Persians. Later, rerolts in
Persia led lcos (362-360 Be) to attempt to
rcg;.lin those prm-inccs that had been lost; in this
c1mpaign he depended hca"il~ on the Greek
mercenarie s prorided by the Sparf:lI1 king
Agcsilaus ~lI1d the .l\thcni;m admiral Chabrias.
'rhe power of the Greek mercenaries at this time
is indicclled by the fact that a subsequent re\'olt
in favouf of Neetanebo II (360-343 BC), nephe,,
ofTcos, succeeded primarily because of the suppOTt of Agesilaus. In 3-4-3 IJC thc Persians
attacked again, but the Greek merccmlri<.."S were
once more disloy<11, and Egypt fell.
It W;.lS (he coming of .l\tlacedonian Greeks

116

N+- -

under \L.' \;{D!:R TilE GREXI' (332-323 Be),

ousting the Persians in 332 BC, that brought
Egypt rully into the J-lcllenistic world. New
cities such <1S \LE,\-\'IlDRt, ' and Ptolcmais were
cstablished and scttled by Greeks, while the
F\YL \1 JU:GIO:'\. became an important agricultur.l1 Centre. Greek was adopted as the official
language, .md numerous papyri or the period
ha, e been discoycred ;\1 0.\ YRY~ClILS and else"'here. This mixing of Greeks and Egyptians
led to new artistic dcrelopme nts, with traditional subjects depicted in inno,ati"e ways, as
in the scenes from the tomb of PETo.SIRIS at
Tuna el-Gebel.
The Greeks, and through thcm the
Romans, held Eg~ pt in high regard as;.l fom of
ancient ,dsdom, and in this way Egyptian civilization exerted a strong innuence on the
Classical world. The ancien1 Greek kOllrosfigures, ror cxJmple, derived their characteris tic appearance from the Greeks' observation of

Plaa "(Camb.
Egyptian st;Hues. The roots of \\CSlern ci,jlization owe considerab ly morc to Eg~ pt than
is commonly realized.
1-1.-]. TIiISSE,\" 'Griechcn in Agyptcn', 1,t'nJ:(1II
tier .lgyplologic III, cd. \Y. I-Iekk, E. QLlO ;11111
W, Wcsrendorf(Wiesbaden, 1977), 898-'1Il.1.
B. J. KE~IP and R. :\ICRRI1.EES, .llilltJ(/J/ potlt'lT
from second mil/(,1I11iu111 t.'gYP' C\1:tin.z, 1(81).

A. K, B(l" \1 \'\, /:''gypl (({ia fhe plwl'flo!t.\

(London, 1986).
N. LE" IS, Grech iu Ptolemaic Egyp, (Oxford,

1986).
D. j. TIIO\II'SO~, Afi'lI/phis fluder ,hl' P'lIk//lIi'S

(Princeton, 1988).

Gurob (Medinet el-Ghurob ; anc. >\li-\ler)

Settlement site at thc southeaster n end of the
Fayum region, occupied fr0111 the e'lrl~ 18rh
Dynasty until at least the time of Ramcses r

GUROB

(I IP-I 143 BC). Excavated between 1888 and

]920, Gurob has been identified with the rown
of NIi-weT, which was established by
Thutmuse III (1479-1425 BC) as a ruyaIIlAl",\I,
3.nd appears to have flourished in the reign of
Amenhutep III (1390-1352 BC). Flinders Petrie
excavated part of the Nc\\- Kingdom town, as
well as a building identified as it temple, and
cemeteries d~lring to the Kc\\ Kingdom and
the Prolemaic period (332-30 BC). The 'mrk of
subsequent British archaeologists conccntriltcd primarily 011 the cemeteries and temple,
although \,V. L. S. Lo~lt mentions the remains
of a small 18th-Dynasty village close to a fiJrdfied buiJding, which may have been an carly
New Kingdom scnlcment similar ro lhat
beside the South Palace at DElI{ F.1.-1I.\l.l-AS.
In 1905 the LOwn was examined by the
German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt,
who suggested that thc main enclosure-wall
contained not a temple ~ ~IS Petrie had argued
- but a late 18th-Dynasty palacc and harim as
well as the town itself J\'lore recently, Barry
Kemp has synthesized the results of the various excavations to construe! an impression of
the New Kingdom Iwrim-town which must
have superseded the earlier \ilI:1ge. 'rhe main
town, contained within an enclosure wall and
divldcd into three blocks (each with its own
enclosure walls and gateways), appears to foclis
on a centr;]l limestone building, doning to the
reign of Thutmose III, which was C\Tlltually
dismantled by Rameses II (1279-1213 BC).
,Many of the finds from the town are in the
collection of the Petrie iVluseu111, London,
and havc bcen c~Halogued in the course of a
reassessment of the site as a whole. It might be
argued that the combination of artefilCtual
material from town, temple and cemeteries
constitutcs a morc reprcsentati\c set of cvidence than the material at the betterdocumented and better-preserved urban site
of EL-Ai\I/\R"t\, which includes very few artefacts from funerarY contexts.
W. Ivl. E PETRIE, K(;hUII, Gurub alld Ilamart{
(London, 1890).
- , II/ahl/II, Kahlln alld Gurob (London, 1891).
W. L. S. LOAT, Climb (London. 1905).
L. BoRCIIARDT, Der POrJriillmp[du Kiillig;u Trje:
AIIsgrabrmgen der DClltscheu Or;ent-Gt'srl/srlurji;11
Tell e1-Amarl1al (Leipzig, 1911).
G. BRli:'XTOX and R. E,\'GELfHCII, Cum" (London,
1927).
13. 1. KEI\lP, 'The harilll-palace ar Nledinet el~
Ghurab', zis IS (1978),122-33.
A. P. TIIOi\IAS, ClIrn": (l NelP Killgdom IOITJIl,
2 vols (Warminster, 1981).

HAIR

sexuali~'.

!Vlen generally worC shoner wigs

than women, although their styles were sometimes even more ehlborate. \Vigs were worn On
public occasions and at banquets, and, like

hair
The style, presence or absence of hair were all
of great importance to the Egyptians, nOl only
as a ma((cr of personal appearance but also as
symbols or indicalions of st.llUS. The act of
ritual humiliation and subjection was demonsnated by thc king's action of scizing his
enemics by the hair before smiting them.
The Egyptians wok great care of their hair,
and wcre concerned to .woid greying and baldness, judging from the survival of texts including remedies for Ihese conditions, none of
which seems likely to ha\ e been \"ery cfTccti\-c.
Nc\-crthclcss, hair ,,-as usually washed and
scentcd, and wcalthy individuals emplo~ed
hairdressers. The 11 th-Dynasty sarcophagus
ofC&eell Kawit from Deir el-Bahri (r.20-l0 lie;
now in the Egyptian i\!(USCU111, Cairo) shows
such a hairdresser at work. Children wore
\UO\ E Elaborale m;g 1/ulf!t'jiwl1 about 120,000
ltuma1! ha;rs. II l"OI1SL~/S ofa lIIas., of":!(hl-mloured
mrl~ 0" toP ofplails. designed 10 aI/om t:elJ/;latiol1.
amI mould proI1l1b(j, hare been 11J(In! 011 ajestin'
()("C(H;OU. Nem Kingdom.jiom Dcirel-Aledil1a.
fl. 5U..; 011. (, ,256U)

LEJoT Dclail fi"()lll Ihc relic/decoratio/l ({the

sarcophagus oIQpet:1l Kawil ((1 m{/e oj"Nt,b!tepelra
!\IlelllultOlcp II, ~-JIOI1'I1It(/t"illg heT IUtir llrrf1l1ged kJ'
(/ sert'flu/. I lIlt D.JlIlaso'. c.20.)5-200-/oc. I.. of
mlin' sarmpltagm 2.62 111 (C.UROJE-/7J97)

their hair at the sidc of lhe hcad sometimcs as

one or two {TeSSCS or a plait, and \ycre otherwise shaven. This characteristic SIDELOCK OF
YOl'Tll W.1S regularly depicted, even in the portrayals of deities such as the infant" llORUS
(Ilarpocrates).
Hair-pieces in the form of false phlits and
curls were someLi.mes added to the existing
hair, e\cn in the Clse of rclatiycly poor indi,jd"als. One of the slain soldiers of
~ [entuholep II (2055-200-1 Be) buried at Deir
c1-Bahri was found to be wearing a hair-piece
of this type. J\ lore common, hmyc\"cr, wcre fu II
wigs, which were not confined to those who
had lost their hair but served as a regular item
of dress for the elite, as in eighreenrh-cenrur~
Europe.
i\lany Egyptian wigs were extremely complex and arranged into careful plaits and
strands. \Vomen often wore ,ery long, hc.ny
wigs and these were considered to add [0 their

hair, "ould often have been scented (see

1,\ICl~'\lSE). in 1974 a team of Polish archacolo~
gists discovered the rcmains of a wig-maker's
workshop dating to the lVliddlc and New
Kingdoms in a rocky clen at Dcir c1-Bahri.
The objects included a sack and jars containing hair, ~IS well as a model head with lhe outlinc of the wig's attachments.
\\figs \yere usually 1ll,lde of genuine human
hair, although ycgetable fibres were sometimes
used for padding bene.lIh the surf<.lce. Date
palm is knO\\"n to hayc been used for this purpose in the 21st DI'nast)' (1069-9-15 IIC). Twu
Roman wigs made entirely of grass have also
survived, hut Lhe use of t.his material scems to
have been wholly exceptional. Contrary [Q
persistcnt references in the archaeological literature, therc is no c\idencc for the lise of
\\"001 or other animal hair in wigs.
From .It least as carly as the :\"ew Kingdom,
the heads of rRIEsrs were completely shaven
117

-'-l~I~

'-I-I'-'-A'-'P_Y'----

during their period of office, to signify their

subscn'ience to the deity, and 10 reinforce
their cleanliness, ;lccording to the Greek historian Herodotus. Times of mourning were
oficll marked by throwing ashes or dirt over
Lhc head, and sOlllcrimcs c-Ycn J'cI11o\"ing locks
of hair. The hieroglyphic detcrminati,c sign
for mourning consists of three locks of hair,
perhaps alJuding to the myth of Isis CUlling off
onc of her locks as a symbol of her grief for
Osiris, an .lct hinted at in Papyrus RamessclIll1
\1 and described in derail by the Greek writer
Plutarch (c.\I) ~6-126).
E. L \S"-o\\'S"-!\-KL"SZT\I., 'Un atelicr de
flerruqucrier ,I DeiI' el-Baluri', ET 10 (1978),
83-12U.
G. P()SE1\'I~R, 'La leg-ende de Ia ITcsse d'Hathor',
L'gYPI/Ilogiml sIJUli('.~ inllfmor ofR.. 1. ParI'a, cd.
L. H. I.esko (llanOler and London, 1986),
111-17.
J. FI.ETClII~R, '.\ rale of hair, wigs .md lice',
EgYPlian tlrdwcolllgy 5 (1994),31-3.
- , 'Hair and wigs', ,-ll/cil'1ll .t.~~J'Pli{{1/ IIllIlerials
(/llilla/lImloK)', cd. P. T Nicholson and 1. Sh<l\\
(Cambridge, 2000).

fusing both because it had none of the erotic

connot.ttions of the Ottoman hanm and
because dle texts and arch.leological remains
are difficult to reconcile.
On the one hand, the surviving texts
describe an important cconomic institution
supported from t'IXatlOn, and recci, ing rcgu_
1.11' supplies of rations, and on the other hand
the archaeological remains at GLHOH are clearly identified as the remains of <In independent
establishment relating to rOY'll women (a
'lllfrilll-pabce'), founded in rhe reign of
Thutlllose III (l-t79-1~25 1Jr.) and oeelJpied
throughout the rest of the 18th Dynast~. The
inscriptions on stelac, papyri and variollS other
inscribed artefacts from the main buildings ill
the sire repeatedly include t.he tides of officills
connectcd with the royalllllrim (or pl'r-l.:hL'lft'T)
of ~ Ii-weI'. There was e,"identl~ a ",imilar
establishment in ~IE\IPI liS, but th'1I site hilS nOi
suni,cd.
Alrhough orher !tarims h.n e in Lhe P;lSI been
identified among the remains at such sites as
~II\I."-:\'li\ and 1:J.-'\.\li\R\J/\, which incorporated
the palaces of Amenhotep III (1390-1.152 Be)
and Akhcnaten (]]52-1J36 Be) rcspct.:li\'c1Yl
they arc unlikely to have had any conncction
with the !tarim descrihed in the leXlS <Inti usu'llly in fact deri"e more from the imaginJtions
of the cxc;,l\-ators than from any hard CYidcnce
(although the so~called 1\orth Palace al e1~
Amarna, which ironically was not idenlified as
a !tarim by its eXC;l'awrs, bears some l.:ompari-

Hapv (baboon-god) sec "'''OI'IC J IKS

Hapv (god of the inundation)
The Egyptians m'lde an impormnt distinction
between the Nile itself - which was simply
known as iler,?', 'the riyer' - and the Nile I,IT'\IH'I'I01\, which th~y deified in the form of
lli1py. He was usually represented ilS a potbellied bearded man with pendulous breasts
and a headdress formcd of aquatic plants.
These atlributes were designed to stress his
fertility and fecundity, and in this sense he was
inrerehangeable ,yith a number of other
'fecundity figures' whose depictions draw on
the same reservoir of characteristics. It has
also been suggestcd that the androgynous features of the phar~lOh '\"'I-IE'\,ATI':~ (1352-1336
Be) - and, 1"0 some extent, 1....\IF.'\!IIOTEI' III
(LWO-1352 Be) - may reflet.:f a similar desire
LO present an image of the body that drew on
both male and female aspects of fertility.
1-l::lpy's major cult centres \\ere at GElJEI. EI.SII$II..:\ and \s\\ \~, \\ here he was thought to
dwell in the c.lyernS among the rocks of the
first cataract. The lower registers of many temple walls, from the 5th-Dynasty mortuary
temple of Sahura (2~S7-2475 lJe) al ,'BUSI. to
the Greco~Roman temple of Horus and Sobek
al "':0\1 oJ\IIJO, were decorated wit h depictions
of processional fecundity figurcs hearing tr..iys
of offcrinbJ"S. From the 19th Dynasty
(1295-1186 Be) onwards there wcrc occasionally reliefs ponraying two fecundity figures,
one wearing the papyrus of Lower Egypt and
118

Qjfarl:zill' slalUt' o.l"l{,,, iJIIl1ldaliulI-god I-Iapy,

sIUJ/1J11l1'il{, l!t"j{u:ialjcalllres (~rOsor/,;OIl I, I1I{,OS('
SOil, S{,c.~//(IlIfJ fl. is depitll'd ill rclie.{ (}II l!te Icji side
oflheslallle. 2211lIDy,ltlS~)I. c.910oc./I. 2.2111.
(1:/8)

the uther wearing the Upper Egyptian 10tllS,

in the act uf binding togethcr the ',"ind-pipe
hieroglyph (scilla) signifying the unity of the
southern and northern halves or Egypt.
D. BO.N:'\E:\L, 1,(( tTlIl' till Ni/. dirillile eK.l'!llieflut' if
Irm.:'rs mille fms d'/u"sloirt, (332lfi.'.-6-1-1 ap. ].c)
(Paris, 1964).

J. 13\1'1':''), Feamdi~l'.figllrls: (!{Y/Jfian

pl'1"s(JII~limliom lIIulllrt'

irtJllolog)/IJ.{lI genre

(\Varminstcr, 1985).
D. 'A:"\ DER Pl. \5, L '/q'11I11e (i /" alll'tllI.\ iI, 2 "ols
(Leiden, 1986).

harim (Egvptian ipel, pcr~t"ellcr)

Term used by Egyptologists to describe an
administraLi\"c institution connected with
royal women ;)nd probably attached to
Pharaonic palaces and yillas during the New
Kingdom. However, the usc of this e\'ocativc
term in the ancient Egyptian contcxt is con-

Copy lila rclieIslwII'illg Rallleses III /IIi/!t Iliff ,{111I'

prillteJses ill !tis harim. fliSIt'1"1I CalC, .llfd1llft
Habll.

son with the buildings al Gurob). As 1:11" .IS thc

texlual "ersiOllofl"hc institution is c011l:crned,
the women arc said to have undertakcn such
tasks;IS the weaving of linen (an acti"ity th,lt is
well attested at Gurub). The !tarim was adl11iniSLered h," such male officials as tJx-collectors
and scribes. 'Yhose titles hayc been prescn"cd
on numerous surviving documents.
\Vhen the pharaoh took a ne\\
or

"ire

HAT-M EI-I IT

HARI'OCRATES

concubine she was added to the !tarim, along

with her entourage of maidscryants, so that, as

rime wenl by, literally dozens of \,"omen might

be attached to it. Children, including occasional young foreign captives. \ycn.' brought up
in the royal Ilflrilll. a practice that may hayc
fostered the Biblical story of ~loscs. Giycn the
details of the 1\ loses narrati,"c, it is perhaps not
surprising LO find that the women of the /wrim
occasionally became in\'oln::d in political
intrigue. From the 'Turin Judicial Papyrus it is
known that Tiy, <l wife of Rameses III
(118+-1153 Ill:), plorred \\ ilh other women
and some of the male oflicials lO O\"enhrow
him in bnlur of her son. In the e,"cnt the plOI
waS discO\'crcd and lhe prince W:lS fi)l"Ccd to
commit suicide, along with several of the other
conspirators, although the fale ofTiy and the
other women is not known.
A. DE Du:h., 'The judicial p;lpyrus of Turin"
]EA 23 (1937),152-(,+.
E. RI~ISE]{, Dcr 1.'(i'II/~rdirhc /larilJl /11/ allclI.}!{)'PICII
/ll1d seilte I ('rma/fllng (Vienna, 1972) [reviewed b~'
B.]. Kemp,]E/62 (1976),191-21
B. J. KI':1\ll', 'The harim-pa!ace al 1\ lediner elGhurab', zAs 15 (1978),122-33.
D. NORD, <The tcrm/lllr. "harem" or "musical
performers"r, SII/(lics ill (ll/ticlIl L'gypl. Ihe
Aegea1l (lw/lhe SudalJ, cd. \~T.K. Simpson and
IV. M. Davis (BoSlon, 1981), 137--45.
G. Row,s, lI'tnllclI in autienl J:.:rJ.I'pl (London l
1993),38--40.

Harpocrates

or

was 'son
Hathor'. Her role as royal mother
is well illustrated by a statue of Hathor in the
form of a cow suckling the pharaoh
Amenholep II (1+27-1+00 BC) from a chapel al
DEIR EI.-B\lIRI (no,, in the Egyptian .\luseum,
Cairo). The king, howeYer, was also rcgularl~
described as the son of ISIS, who appears to
ha\'c usurped Ilathor's role whcn tllC legend of
Isis, SETII ~lI1d OSIRIS was conOated with that of
the birth of I-Iorus.
.
In one myth Harhor was said to h:t\e been
scnt to destroy humanity (sec EYE OF R\), but

Ii'e 1I0HLS

Harsomtus see

lIOHl'S

ting sun, ,,hich she then protected until

morning. The dying therefore desired [() bc 'in
the following of Hathor' so that the) would
enjoy similar protection in the netherworld.
I huhor W'1S also one of tile deities who waS
thought to be able to detcrmine the destinies
of newborn children.
She was the goddess mOSt often ~lssociated
with the desert and foreign countries, and as
such was worshipped as (lady of B\l.lLOS'. At
the TLHQLOISI. mines of Serabit e1-~hadim in
Sinai a temple was built [Q her in her role as
'lady of turquoise'. By extension she \yas also
known as 'htdy of F\IE:'\CE' (thc latter being an
artificial sllbsL~1I1ce designed to imitate certain
precious stones).
The city of 1\ lemphis was an important
centre of Hathor \yorship, and she was
described there as 'lady of the sycamore', but
from as early as ,he Old Kingdom (2686-2181
lie) her principal cult centre waS at I1E'\I1EHA,
where a tcmple of the Ptolemait and Roman
periods dedicated to the triad of' Harhor,
Horus and Ihy is still preserved (on the sitt: of
an earlier f()undation). The sanatorium associated wilh this temple probably relates to the
healing properties thM were associalcd with
the goddess oec;llIse of the mytil in which she
restored the sight of llorus "fter llis eye had
been put out by Seth.
S. Au. \ \I, 8cilni~l!,e ZlIm HalllOr!.:,,11 (hix ::.um End/!
des MR) (Berlin, 1963).
P. lJERCl1 \1:'\, Hallwr Q!uulrijimx (Istanbul, 1(72).
S. QL..IRh.E, .-Indt/JI f:'gyplial/ rdigiol1 (London,
1992), 12(,-30.
G. PI'O I, TlIlire oJ}i:rillgs 10 Hallwr (Oxford,
1993).

Hathor
[mp0rlant bminc goddess worshipped in
three filrms: as a woman wiLh the ears of a
cow, as a cow, and as a woman wcaring a headdress consisting of a wig, horns and sun disc.
Her associations and cult centres were among
the most numerous and diverse of any of the
Egyptian deities. In her \'Cngeful aspect she
sometimes also shared the leonine form of the
goddess SE"J1\1ET, and in this guise she \yas
regarded as one of' the <eyes' of the sun-god It\.
She was also describcd as 'lady of the sky', and
her role as the daughtcr of I( \ was reinforccd
in the temple of IIORLS at 1':llFU by references to
her marriage to Horus of Edf'u , a falcon-god
associated with the heavens.
The literal meaning ofhcr namc waS (house
of Horus" and was written ill the fix111 of a EllCOn contained within a hieroglyph representing a rcctangular building. Since the pharaoh
was identified with Horus, H,lthor was correspondingly rcgarded as the divine mother of
each reigning king, and one of the royal titles

Hat-Mehit

Fuience sislrum derortlfct! milh Ihl,p,ce oflhe

godde.u 11m/un: milh ((J/11~( l'ur." (II/(I disliuClii:l'
mrlillg /pig. 261h f)YIUIS~lt. ajia 600 /lC. (E.IJ-I190j
she was more usually associated with such
pleasurable aspccts of life as SE:\L.\l.rn, joy
and \IU!'iIC. Her connection with music was
particularly represented by the SISTKL,\I, ceremonial eXilmples of which wcre often cndowed
wilh I hllhor hcads, sometimes surmounted by
a \J\()S, and fi'cquenrJy shaken by the pricstesses of d,c cult of Hathor. Shc was also regularly portrayed on the lilli/wI counterpoise
attached to necklaces.
In her funcrary aspect, 1110SI' notably at
western Thebes, she was known as <lady of the
\Vest' or 'lady of the western mountain l . Each
evening she was considcred to recei\'e the set-

Fish-goddess of the Delm, who sened as the

symbol uf the sixteenth nome of Lower Eg) pt,
the capiml of which was the city of \IE:'\DL"i,
her principal cult centrc. Her worship aL
j\ lClldes bcc~lmc less important with the rise of
the ram-god Bancbdjcdet, who came to be
reg-.1rded as her consort. She was usually represented either as a I\"ile carp (I...-t'piduIIIS) or as
a woman wilh a FISII emblem (once misidentificd ;15 a dolphin) on her hcad.

Hatnub
"Egypfi~1I1

alabaster' (tr~wertinc) quarries and

:lssocial'ed seasonally occupied workcrs' settlement in the Eastern Desert, aboul 65 km
sOutheaSI or modern el-J\ilinya. The pottery,
hieroglyphic inscriptions ancl hieratic graffiti
al the site show that it \Y:lS in use intermittently from at least as early as rhe reign of Khufu
lIntil the Roman period (1'.2589 IlC-,\J) 3(0).
The I-Iarnuh quarry settlements, associated

119

HATSHEPSUT

I-IATSHEI~

, 1em of/ht' 0'" Killgdom/rarer/lnt' fj/larlY lit

Ha/lIuh. (1.511./11)

with three principal quarries) like those associated with gold mines in the \Vadi f-htmmamal

and elsewhere, arc ch.tractcrized by drystone

windbreaks, roads, causc\yays, cairns and
stone alignments.
G. W. F'tlSI'R, 'Hal-Nub', I'SBA 16 (189+),

73-82.
R. A'\Tllf-S, Die Ft'lsenillSchrijim i'OIl Hawub
(Leipzig, 1928).
1.1\1. E. SII\\\, \}\
J"cpurls Ill, cd. B.

SUfYCy:lt

union between Amun and her mother Q!.lecn

Ahmose. She ,yas probably ncyer the chosen
heir of her father ThUt"I11oSC I, although she
claimed to h,lVe been ghen thc kingship during her Euhcr's lifetimc. It is likely, howe,cr,
that these reliefs and inscriptions concerning
her legitimacy were simply part of the usual
paraphernalia of f,:!:\'GSI-IIP rather than selfconsciolls propag'anda on her part".
Dllring her reign there was renewed build-

I-Jamub\Amanlll

J. Kemp (London, 198Cl).

189-212.
Hatshepsut (1+73-1+58

BC)

Daughter O[TllcT.\[OSI-:' (150+-1+92 Be:) and

Queen .\1 "lOSE 'EFEK[\KI, who was married to
her half-brother Thlltmose 11 (1+92-1+79 BC),
the son of a secondary wife, perhaps in order
to strengthen his claim to the thronc. She had
a d;wghrcr, :'\cfcfura. by Thutmosc II, but the
heir to rhe thronc, the future Thutmose III was
the son of one of Thutlnose Il'S concubines.
Since Thllm10se "' (1+79-1425 I1c), "'as the
only male <.:hilcl, he \Vas married to his half..
sister Ncferura in order to reinfi:Jrce his position. Because Thunnosc III was still young
when his father <.lied, Hatshepsut was appointed regem, and she took the funher step of
having herself crowned king, allowing her to
continue to enjoy a long COIU:(.iE'JCY with the
young 'Thulmose, thus effectiycly blocking
him from full power. Tn this she appears to
ha,c had the support of the pricsts of A.mun,
and some of the reliefs in her mori uary temple
at DEIR EL-IlAIIRI reinforced her claim by
emphasizing her divine birth, the result of a

120

Reliefblock.fiolll Ihe Red Chapel OJHltlShepSIII III

Karnak, shomillg the {flll'en pCljormillg a religious
(crt'mmq' msoriated mith the kingship. 18tft D.)I1lOJO',
c.I-/lO He, quart.dte. (CRAII.-/,l/ IIIIWfSON)

ing activity at Thebes and elsewhere, in

which she was assisted by SESU\ \ILT. archi_
tect, chief courtier and tutor to :\cfcrura. it
is possible lhar his political skills had alreadv
helped to gain Hatshcpsut her e!t:-yatcd posi~
tion. Her temple at Deir el-Bahri, influcnted
by the earlier temple of Ncbhepetra \IE'\_
TLIIOTEP II (2055-2004 BC), was the Iinest of
her buildings. Here she recorded lither
aspects of her reign, most notably her trading
expeditions to I'L:'\T, Il\ BLOS and SI'\ \1 ,IS "ell
as the transport of two cnormous granite
obelisks from the quarries at Aswan tn the
temple of Allllln-R,l at "-.\R'\.\h.. It h,lS, in the
P~lst, bccn suggested that the rcign of
Hatshepsut was an unusually peaceful pcriod
in Egyptian history, hur e, idencc has gradually emerged for the continucd dispatch of
milimry expeditions during her reign, despite
the ,lpparem cmphasis on trade in the n:licfs
at Deir cl-Bahri.
Her monuments at Deir c1-Bahri and elsewhere frequenl"ly show her in kingl~ costume,
including the royal beard, and they orten refer
to her with masculine pronouns and adjcctires
as though she were male (ahhough, once
ag:lin, it is likely th'lt this was simply a case of
ailllering to the accepted decorum of kingship
rather than deliberatc deception). In pnu.:ticc,
there must have been some sensc of conflict
between her sex <lnd the masculine role of the
pharaoh, but only the occasional gramm.nical
slips in the texIS (and, more importantl), lhe
posthumous attempts to remove her name
from monulllents) have suryived as indic1tions
of sueh feelings of inappropriateness.
\Vhen Thutmose III reached maturit), he
e,cntually became sole ruler, but il is by no
rne~lIlS c1e~lr whether Iiatshepsul simpl~ died
or was forcibly removcd from power. 11 has
been argued that the apparcnt disappear.mee
both of Neferura and Senenmut (who is not
attestcd after Thutmose Ill'S nineteenth rcgnal
ye~lr) m.lY perhaps h,nc eased rhe transfcr of
power. It used to be thought that Thutmosc
immcdiately set about remming his "ICPmother's namc from her monuments, ,IS retribution for her seizure of pmYer, but it is nnw
known that these defacements did not take
place until much later in his reign. Thl.~ redating perhaps calls illlo question the mllrirc
of pure ,-engeance or anger, as opposed 10 a
feeling that her reign had simply been contraf\' to tradition. On the other hand her tWO
mas~i"e obelisks at Karnak appear to h.l\'('
heen deliberateh conel'aled behind masonry,
~md her name w~s among those omitted fro Ol
subsequcnt KI'\G LISTS.
She had prepared ;l tomb for herself in the
Valley or the Kings (Kv20)1 which ,,"as discu v-

HAWARA

HAWARA

ered b~' Howard Carter in 190J. There is no

evidence that" \'20 was eyer used for her burial, although it contained an empty quartzite
sarcophagus originally intended for Thlllmose
I (nO\y in the lVIUSCUITI of Fine Arts, Boston).
She may hayc been laid to rest in an earlier
tomb} the so-called 'SO Lith tomb' in the Wadi
Sikket 'Cl(F cl-Zcid in the dirfs to the south or
Deir cl-Bahri, which had been constructed
before her rise to the throne.
H. CAlflTR and T. M. Om,s, TiJe IMlib
HfllslwpsillJ (London, 1906).
H. CARTER, 'A tomb prepared for Queen
Hatshcpsuir and other recent discoycrics at
Thebes',]F.A 4 (1917),107-18.
F EJ)(~ElnO.'\l, The l'l/ll!/l/osid SIIUC.uIOI1
(Chicago, 1933).
P. DOR.\L\:'\, The 11I01lllJIIC1lls vI SeJlCJlIIlII/
(London, 1988).
P. DER IVI,\i\'UI':I.II\'\ and C. E. LOElJE:---, '":'\l ew
light on the rccarycd sarcophagus or
Hatshcpsut and Thutlllose I in the iVI useum of
Fine Arts, Boslon',.lEA 79 (1994),121-56.
J. Tn.DESI.EY, _Halcl/l:psIII: lite .fi'lIwle pl/{/rtloh
(I-Iarmonclsworth, 1996).

or

vv.

.'\1l()\T

ViCJ/l (!llhe pyra/llid ttl

J1({/1)({/"{/.

(I. SII./IV)

N/ulIImy (ase o.fArll'lllidoflls, illrorporatillg

C/lull/slit pOflrail o.ll!Je dact/sed. Romalf
period, ettrf)' 2nd relllllJY -W, pail/led (flld gilded
slllcco.Fo/// Ht/mara, 11.1.67/11. (L/21810)
IUGIIT

till

Hawara
Royal necropolis in the sOlltheastern Fayum
region, the mOSL important element of which
was the pyramid complex of A~IE~E~lIIAT III

(1855-1808 Be). The mortuary temple constructed immediately to the south orthe pyramid was known to Classical authors as the
'Labyrinth'. It was visited by the Greek historian Herodotus, who described a complex of
three thousand rooms connected by winding
passages. The site subsequently became parr
of the itinerary of Greek and Roman tn.1\"eIlers. Although only a few traces of the mortuary temple havc survivcd, it has been sug'gcstcd that it may originally have had some
similarities to the complex surrounding the
Step Pyramid of Dioser (2667-2648 Be) at
S..\ Q..Q..\RA. Hawara was first identified by
Lepsius in 184-3 Jnd later cxcavatcd by
Flinders Peuie in ]889-9 and 1910-11. In the
yicinity or Hawar;] Petrie also discoyercd a
cemetery incorporating a number or Fayum
mummy-portraits executed in E:-"'(.AUSTIC or
tempera and datillg to the Romal1 period
(30 13e-.\]) 395).
\V.Jv1. F. PETIUE 1 Ha/IJara. Biahlllll and .-lrsilloc
(Lonclon, 1889).
- , Kahlill. Gum/! awl HalJlal'{f (London, 1890).
W. NI. E Pt':Tlm:, G. A. 'WAINWRIGHT and
E. lVlo\Cl-.::AY, TIl{.' L(f/~vrillfh, Gcrzt:h aud

Plall oIlhe pyramid toll/plc.r o/Alllcncmlllli III al

Ha/IJartl.

Ma::::g/{/l('h (London, 1912).

A. B. LLOYD l 'The Egyptian Labyrinth',]EA 56
(1970),81-100.
D. AR:'\OLD, 'Das Labyrinth und seine Vorbilder"
MnilK 35 (1979),1-9.

]21

_H_A_\_VA_\'_'I~S_I-~I,_E_,L~-

H~[~

Hawawish, el- sec 1\".1 b\II,\1

hawk see

FAI.CO,

headdresses

or

The insigni,l ~lI1d regalia

Egyptian rulers
and deities included a wide variety of headdresses. The pharaoh in\ariably wore headgear
of some kind, ranging' from the double crown
to the simple IICllh'S heaclcloth (see (RO\\ '\,IS \'\1)
IUJ)'\I.

In:G\u.--\),

The

Jeities' headdresses \\"tTe often

JistincriH:,
and
from
an
Egyptological point of view often serve as the
principal clue [0 the identity of the deity concernec!. Occasionally such artributes as the
headdress arc transferred from olle deity to
another in order to reflect the adoption of particular characteristics. 'I'he COmmonest headdresses ,Ire listed belm\:
Amcnn.:t (pnsonification of the \VesT): standard
surmounted by a leather and bird.
cxtremcJ~

, t
MT 1

An1lm: crown with two tall plumes, also combined

\\-ith;t sun disc.
J\nuket: crown or cap or feathers.
Atum: double crown or upper and Lower Egypl.
Gcb: either a goose or the crown of Lowcr Eg~ pl
combined with thc tilt/crown,
I-b (god or the \Vestern Desert): the hicroglyph
for desert or hills.
Harhor: cO\r's horns ;lnd sular disc.
I-Jeh: norchcd palm frond.
Hurus: douhle crown or triple alelcro\\l1.
label (personificltiol1 of the East): spear stal1cbnl.
Isis: the hieroglyphic sign for tillone, <l pair of'
co\\ 's horns ;mel ,1 sO[:lr elise, 01':1 \'tJlture
headdress.
~hons: lunar disc ;lnd crescent.
Abat: feather.
IVlin: double-plumed crown with ribbon or
strcamer hanging fi'OI11 thc back.
,Vlut: \'ulturc hc.:<Iddrcss sometimes surmounted
by double crowl1.
Nefertem: lotus flc)\\cr.

Amentet

labet

Isis

Nephthys

Ha

Neith

Neith, Hemsut

Meskhent

Wadjyt

Nut

Heh

Lower Egypt, Hapy

Upper Egypt, Hapy

Maat,Sllu

Atum, Horus

Osiris

Seshat

Ncith: shield \\-irh t\W crossed arrows and l:nl\\ n

of Lo\ycr Egypt.
~Tekhhct: ndture headdress or crown of Upper
Egypt.
"\ephth~ s: hieroglyphs denoting 'mistres~ of tilt:
hOllse', consisting uf a rectangle surmolllllt.:d h\ a
basket shape.
.
.:\"tll: ceramic \ esse!.
Osiris: ({hi crown.
Ptah: skull-clp.
S;ltet: \\hitt c!"U\yn with :lllTelupt horns
Serket: scorpion.
Scshat: star of 1\(: or seven points,
Shu: ostrich fcather.
\faset/Wosrct (goddess ofrhe Theban I1llllll'): \\
SCEPTRE with a rihbon, placed abO\c the
hierog:lyphic sig:n f(JI nome (:1 field 1ll,lrked IJlll
with irrigation channels).

heart
To the Egyptill1s the heart (//((1.1' Or iM, rathl'r
than the brain, Wits regilrdcd as the Source of
human wisdom and the centre or the emotions
anclll1cmory. Its function in the circulation of
the blood was not understood, although one
religious treatise states that the mon;mcnt of
all parts of the bod~- was determined by the
hearl. Beclusc of its supposed links with intellect_, persollality <mel melllory, il was l.:ul1sidcrcd to be the most important of tl1l: imcrnal
organs.
Since it ,,as felt that the heart could rncal
a person's (Tue character, even after death, it
\yas left in the hody during \IL\L\IIFJ< HIU'\,
~tnd if acciclcntall) removed would be sewn
back into place, There \vas some concern that
the heart might testify against its O\\l1er ilntl:->o
condemn him or her at the judgement; in
order to pre\Tnt this, a heart SC,\I{ \Jl \\ as i,:(JIll1l1only wrapped within the bal1dagc~, The
inscription 011 this scarab lIsuall~ consiSlCd or
Chapter ]fl ii'om the HelO"- 01" TJ Il~ 1JIo~ \D: '0
my hean which 1 had frum my morhcr; () my
hC<lrt which I had upon earth, do not rise up
agai_nst me as a witness in the presence or the
lord of things; do not speak against me concerning' wh'11 I h'1\e dOlle, do not bring up ,ln~
thing against 111e in the presence
the weat
god of the wcst.
In the portrayal of the tinal judgement - a
popular vignette in copies of the Booh.
Ihe
Dead - the heart of the dcceased was :-,ho\\'n
being weighed against the !Cather of \1 \Xl (rhe
symhol of uninTsal truth and harmony), nut!
the god Anubis \\,.\5 sometimes to bt seen
adjll~ting the balance slightly in EI\our of the
deceased to ensure a salC entry into the underworld, The heart was thullg'h; to be gi\cn hack
to the deceased in the afterlife; Chaptcr~ 16-9
uf the Book of rhe Dead were therefore

or

Khnum

Khans

122

Sobek

Satet

Nekhbet, Mut, Isis

Reshef

Amun, Horus

Hathor, Isis

On uris

Ra-HorakhtY,Sekllmet

Anuket

\:-,

or

HE 1-1

HEIRESS THEORY

A sdt!rlioll "flu'Ilrt ,(((Imbs uud m1lu!t'ls: TOP l.Irr

grecu}iliCJ1l'l' .\"raraIJ iUJrTibet/mil" Clmplt!r 3011 (!!'

the Book oI'h" J)t'm!, 3rd /Ulr:rull'dillie Period. L

6.7 nil. (r: /1)68/7) Tal' RIG!JT stealile. iX/T//al,
hflllJ{/l1-lwaded hell 1"/ s((fr{/b illscrihed fllllhl.'

Ulldcrside /17'-111 Chapler 30n ull/Il' ilook {~rlhi'

Dl'ad.fur ,hi' mUJ1/a" Isis. .VOIl f.:ingdlJlII, I.. 6.8 OJJ.
(EI38073) BOTlU\IIJ]T gn'fm-gla;:;,et! slcalile
smrab in/aid mith ({Jmeliall (lwl bllIl' glass. The
mu/asitle bt'liTS Clwpll'I" JOB offill' /JOllA' of/hi'
Dl'ad. Sl'JI' A-ingdollf. I . -1.3 tJl1. (I.' /668/-1)
nO'ITO\1 U:"'''\TRE po()'ClmJ1IIl' glass hcarl ({mldi'/
mith sliglf/()' (OII1:/!.\'jilt'l!s. 18th Dynasty.
/I. 2./ Ofl. (I.' 12926.1) mrrTO'I I<IGII'I' It'gll/
IlIrfjlloisc-b1ul' g!ass.jlaf-/!o(A't'fI. (mli'c.r--.!t/tt'1!
hearl. NCIJl Kil/gdo/ll. II. 2.6 (/1/. (1:'./8/28)

intended to ensure thaI lhe heart W~IS restored

and could nor bc rcmO\"cd.
From the ~e\\ ~ingdom (1550-1069 11<')
on\yards, 'heart amulets', r~lkil1g the fiJrlll
a
vase with lug handles (perhaps representing the
blood \Tcsscls), were inrroduccd into the fum:r"ry equipmenl. The heading
Chapter 29h in
the Book of the Dead stated that such :lmulet'i
should be made of s'llerct stone (cornekm), hur
there are man) sUITi,-ing examples \yhich are
made from 01 her materials, such :lS glass.
R.o. F-\LI.... '.I.K, TIlt' tll/rieuf Eg,ypfiall BooI' oI
/he Dead, cd. C. Andrews (London, IlJ72), 52-6.
C. A'Dlu:\\ S, "ll/ll/lct.~ (!(fllltiem L~f!.)'p/ (London,

or

or

ed. \Y. [[clck, E. Orro and \Y. Weslendorf

(\Yiesbadell, 1977), lO82---1.
J. F BOKliIlOLTS, '(-Jeh. Oarreichen des', l,exiI'l)lI
tier .lgypllI/ogil' II, ed. ,Y. Ilelcl.., E. Orro and
W Wesrendorf(Wiesbadell, 1977), [08-1-6.

199-1),72-3.

Heh

heiress lheory .ICC

God of infiniry, usually represented as a kneeling man either holding a notched palm-rib
(hieroglyphic s) mool for ')C'Jr') in each h:lnd or
wcaring a palm-rib on his head. Occasionally
he is .llso sho\\11 carrying'1I1 \''''11 sign o\er
his .lrIn. The primary meaning of the term
heIJ was 'millions', but he \\ as transformed
into the god of etcrnal life by such s~'mbolic
associations with the conccpts of 'yell"' and
'life'. His image "as consequently incorporated into royal iconography as ~I means of
ensuring the king's longc,ity. \\'ith typical
Egyptian .mcntion to DL \1.1'1", the alternati\'c
word for etcrnit), dje/. was represcnted as a
female deit).
f\ lung "'ith his consort l-!auhet 1 Heh was
also one of 1he OGlJo.\I1, a group or tight
primcval deities whose main cult centre was at
IlER~\()I>()I.IS \l.\('i'..\. The motif of J-leh was
often incorporatcd into tbe decoration of royal
regal.ia as ;1 means of ensuring longnit). I-lch
was also connected with the mnh of the
'celestial eO\\ " who was said to h;l\'~ been supported by a group of eight Heh deities; in the

CiU':E'S

111\10Sr ~rFrl(T.II(I and

Heka Ji!t' _\!-\Gte

Hekel (Heqal)
Goddess represented in lhe form of it frog, a
typical primordial creature which, at certain
times
rhe year, was obscrved to emerge from
the Nile, apparently reborn and thus perhaps
emphasizing the coming of new life. She is
first ;1tlested in the 1" I~ \ \lIn TE.\TS where she is
said lo ha\ e assisted in lhe journey of the de.leI
king to the sk~. 'rhe remains of a temple of
Hekel h;l\"c bcen eXGI\'3ted at Qus, and in the
lOmb of PETOSII(1S (r.300 Be) at Tuoa el-Gebel
there is'l text dealing with <l procession in her
honour, in which she requests that her temple
at J ler-wcr (a still-unlocated site) he restored
and protected from rhe inundation.
Ilekct)s strongest association was with
childhirth, panicularly the final stages of
labour. During lhe .\liddlc Kingdom
(2055-1650 Be), she W<lS dcpiclcd or Ilamed
on such magical ~lrlefacts as ,,"ory daggers

or

Lid ofa mirror-ftls.'fmm /ltt' /0111/1 of

TI//aul.:/UII//f(II. bl'tlriug a./igllre (!{tltt' god JIt,/"
1/.270Jl. (C/lfm \0. l7te-f), RI.'f'R{)DLCU)
COL RrrSl OJ' 7m: GN{FFfTII (\S'/TJ'L '1'1)
same W<lY, Ileh is often reprcsented as holding
up the SOl. \1{ U.\I{h: and finally l.ifting it hack
into the heavens at the end of its \'0) age
through the netherworld.
I I. _'\.Ln~'\ \lL.I.LEK, 'I leh', LexiI'oll tla --igyp/%gie II,

[23

HERIIl~

HELIACAL RISING

and chipper"" in her role

;IS

protector of the

household and guardian of pregnant women:

The term 'sen-ant of Hekel' may ha,"c been
applied to midwi,cs. Just as the ram-god
Kll"L~1 was considered to hayc been responsible for fashioning the first humans on a POl-

ter's wheel. so Heket was porrrayed as his

Diorite-gllt'iss amulel inlhe/or", oIt/uFoggoddess lIl'l:t:I. St'IP Kingdom-3rt! 111ll'rm('ditJl~

Period. II. I.J (III. (E.,1J758)
female complement in that she \yas credited
with fashioning the child in the womb and

giving iL life.
Although amulels of Hekel were less popu-

lar than those of m:s or

""\\\,ERI::T,

they arc not

uncommon, c'"en during the reign of .\"-1 IE~

.\TE' (1352-1336 Be), when many other tradilional cults were proscribed. Her life-giving
powers associated her with the myths surrounding OSIRIS, the god of the dead, and in
this capacity she was depicred as rcceiying
otlcrings from SelY l (129+-1279 IIC) in his
temple at .\b\dos.
C. A'DRE\\S, .-lIllI/INS ofuf/r;e11l J:.:!{yPI (London,
199+).63.

thm ha,c been mt)Yed elsewhere, including the

obelisks re-erectcd in :"\ew York and London,
which both datc to rhe reign of Thutmose JII
(I+79-H25 BC).
The site also incorponHcs a Prcdynastic
cemetery and the tombs of the chief priests of
l-lcliopolis during the 6th Dynasty (23+5-2181
ur.). In ,In are,l now known as A.rab cl-Tawil
there \Yas <l necropolis of sacred :\H\EVIS bulls
ur the Ramesside period (1295-1069 Be).
w. 1\1. F PETRIE and E. ~IK"o\', Tleliopolis, K(~/i'
."11111/1//1" aud Sh/lrt~{tl (Lon dOll, 1915).
r.. H \I.I\ClII, 'Akhcnilrcn in Ileliopolis', Ft'~'Hdmll
Rick/!: B/!itrtige :::,ur. (!f.)'plisdleJI BliujorulwlIg l1ud
.1/1L'TlIllIIsklllule 12 (C1iro, 1971),35-45.
r. Dwo'\o, The pret~)IJI(Hf;( (t!mt'It'f.1' al Ht'!i"polis
(C.1iru,1988).

Heqat sa 1WUT
Herakleopolis Magna (Ihnasya el-IIJedina;
am:. Hcnen~nesw)
Site located 15 km to the wesl of modern Beni
Suef, which reached its peak as the capiml of
the 9th and 10th DYllast"ics during the Pirsl
Intermediate Period (2181-2055 BC). It was
renamed Hcraklcopolis Magna in the
Prolemaic period (332-30 Be), when the
Greeks identif.ied the local deit:, a ram-god
called IIE.RYSIIEF, with their own god Herakles.
The suryiying remains includc two Pharaonic
tcmples, one of which was dedicated to
Herysher, and thc nearby necropolis of

Herihor (fl. 1080-1070 BC)

heliacal rising see CII.I':"'"'' and SOTIlIC

cn:l.I:

Heliopolis (Tell Hisn; ane. hUllI, On)

One of the most important cull-centres of the
Pharaonic period and the site of the first
known sun temple, dedic~1ted to thc god RaHorakhty (sec R'\), which was probably first
constructed in the 1I"1y Old "-ingdom ((.2600
Be). :\Ithough little remains of the site now, its
imporlance in the Pharaonic period was such
that \R\I\'\T was sometimes described ;lS the
4 sout hern Hcliopolis'.
The 5th-Dynasty sun temple of Nyuserra
(2++5-2-121 BC) at .\BL GL" III is thought to
ha\'c been modelled on the prototypical
Hcliopolitan sun-temple complex. Because a
great deal of the original telnplc at Hcliopolis
is now buried beneath the northwestern suburb of Cairo, the only significant monument
still standing in silu is a pink gr~lIlite OHF.US"
dating to the time of Sen us ret 1 (1965-1920
Be). There are a number of sun'iying monuments and fragments of rclief from Heliopolis

12+

Sedment el-Gebel, ,yhich incorponues a

cemetery of thc First lntermedi~lle Period o.nd
rock-tombs of the Ptolemaic and Roman pc:riods (332 IIC-\n 395). The main temple of
Hcryshef was founded ill least as earl~ as the
.\Iidcllc "-ingdom (2055-1650 BC) and si!,'llIficantly enlarged during the reign of Ram~ses 11
(l279-12Llllc), when ;I]l\l)osnl.l: 11\1.1 \\as
constructed.
The site also flourished during the Third
Inl"ermediale Period (1069-747 BC). and the
sun'l\-ing remains or this date include a ccm~
tery, a large temple and part of thc settlement.
\,"hen the tcmplc \\ as exc~l\"ated by i1 Spanic,;h
team during the 1980s, the finds included a
libation altar and a pair of inlaid C:l.:S lhought
to dcri,-e from a cult ~tatue. The same tl';lm
has also cxc;lv:ncd parts of rhe First
Intermediate Period ,md Third l.ntermct.l.i:ue
Period cemetcries.
E. )Jo\\ IJ.U:, -lImtis cl J1t'tliudl (Hemdl'()polu
.Ilagua) (London, 189-1-).
IV..\ I. F PI:TIOE.l:.'II1I1I.'l'1I 190J (London, I')I);).
]. LOl-'I:Z, 'Rapport prclil11inilire sur les fuuilles
cI'l Ierakleopolis (1968)', O,.i'lls ./ill/iql/lI.i 13
(197+).299-316.
J. P'\l)RO and .\ L PF.REz-Du:, 'Tra'ilLLX r~ccl1lS til:
lit mission archeologique cspagnolc:1
Herakleopolis l\l;tgna', A1,1t'11 .1 [iiudlell 198.' II,
ed. S. Sehoske (Hamburg, 1989),229-37.
\l. PEREZ-DIE, 'Discmcries at Herad('opoli~
\lah'1la" Egypl;fll1.lrrluu'"llJgy j I (1995), 23-~.

Granile roluJJm milh tl

pal/ll-Ielllmpilllllmm
till' h.'mph' ofHl'1yslll{1I1
HUlIk/cop()lis A'agllli.
Reign ofR II mcs('J II
c.1250 IJC. fJ.5.28/11.
(1"1/23)

High priest of Amun at Thebes during the

reign of thc last 20th-Dynasty ruler It \\II'.SLS
XI (1099-1069 IIC). Inseriplions in the last
decade of the Dynasty refer to a 'renaissance
era', during which, alrhough Ramescs W;lS stil1
nominally rhe only legitimate rulcr, lhe
administration of Egypt W~lS effectivcl~ dh-ided between three l11en: the pharaoh himsdf,
whose power-base Wi1S in t\.lemphis and
J\ Iiddle Egypt, S\IE:'\l)ES (his cycntual SUCl:CSsor) who controlled most of Lower Eg~ pi fnllll
the Delta city of 1'\'\:"15, and Herihor, \\ho
dominated pper Egypt and 1'\ubia.
The origins of Ilerihor arc poorly knO\\ n,
but it is thought likely that his parents \\ efe
LilH"an. Thc lextual studics of lanscn\Vi~keln increasingly suggest that PianJ..hi,
once thought to be l-Ierihor's son and suc.::CC"isor, was the father-in-law of Herihor (set,;
i\E\\' Kli\GDOI\I). By the last c.h.:c.::ade of
Ramcses XI'S reign, Herihor had acquired the
ritles of high priesr of Amun at Thcbes, gcneralissimo and nO:Rm OF Kl:SI-I, a combination of offices that must hayc brought him to
the brink of ruling as a pharaoh in his own
right. Indeed, in one relicf in the temple of

HERIHOR

HERMOPOLIS MAGNA

modern town of Nlallawi. The site was badly

plundered during the early Islamic period
but. there are still surviring traces of tcmples
dating to the i\fiddle and New King'doms,
including a pylon constructed by Ramcses Il
(1279-1213 Be) which contained stone
blocks quarried from the temples of
Akhenatcn (1352-1336 Be) at EL-,I,\\.'RSA, a
fe,v kilometres to the sourheast. There arc
also substantial remains of a r.OI'TIC basilica
consrrucled from the remains of a Ptolemaic
temple built enrirely in <l Greek architectural style. The nearby cemetery of Tl::-':.\ ELGEBEl. includes nyO of the rock~cur 'boundary stelae' of Akhenatcn, the tomb~chapel or
PETOSIRIS (1'. 300 13C),;t temple ofThoth and
extcnsi,'c catacombs dating mainly from the
27th Dynasty to the Roman period (t:.52j
IlC-.ID 395).
G. ROEDER, HCI"/l/opolis 1929-39 (lliidesheim,
1959).

J. D. COOl"EY, AIJ/(IrJ}a J"eliep FOil!

Hall/opolis ill
(ollertioll.' (Brooklyn, 1965).
G, ROEmJ{ and R. H:\:"u, AI/l(/nUl-rt'li(:f.~ {illS
Hall/opolis, 2 vols (Hildesheim, 1969-78),
A. J. SPE:-JCER and D. Tv1. RUI.Er, E.ran.:aliolls (II
el-flsllllllflll'ill, -l- \'ols (London, 1983-93).
A.J SPE"CER, 'Ashmun<io 1980-1985: a
practical approach to townsite excavation',
Problems {I lid priorilies ill Egypt jail (lrdlacolofY,
ed . .J. Assmann et al. (London, 1987),255-60.

AIIIl!I"lr(l1l

De/ai! ~r{he B{)(j~' of/he Dmd papyrus of HerihOl;

shnmillg the d{'(eased {/lid his IIJ?/i:. Lalt Nem
Kingdo/ll. c.J07D He. (,; ,105-11)
Khans at

I(.\R'J:\I',

his name is wrinen in

<l

M,

LIC! 1'1'111-:1.\1, Auri'lll

Reporl (~j"fI~'I/({lIIlfIlJ
j\ L-A. I301'\III'.\lE, 'Hcrihor, fur-il cffccrivcmcl1t
roi", BIFA079 (1979), 267-8+

cartotlchc and he is explicitly portrayed as

K. A.

equal in status to the king, while in another

relief c1sc\yhcre in the temple he is shown
wearing the double crown.
Both Herihor and his wife Nodjmet were
given carrollchcs in the inscriptions on their
funerary equipment, but this 'kingship'
seems to have heen limited to a few relatively
restricted conrexts within the confines of

Egypl

Thebes, .md it was Ramcscs

Xl'S

name that

appeared in administratiyc documents

throughout the country. Apart from the

EgY!lfi(/ll hUI'(lI!lI"' II

(Berkeley, 1976),224-30 [translation of the

The Third il/lerlllcdiale Per/od in

(1100-650 UC), 2nd ed. (\Varminster,

KrrCllEN,

1986), 16-23,2+8-52,535-+ I
'Das Enue des !'\eul'11
Reiches', Z<J5 Il9 (l992), 22-37.

K. JA.:\SEN-\\iIN"-EI .:-OJ

Hermopolis Magna (c1-AshlUuncin; ane.

Khmun)
Ancient Pharaonic capital of the 15th Upper
Egyptian '\'OI\IE and cult_~centre of Thoth,
located to the west of the Nile, close to the

reljcfs at Karnak, the only signific<1nt sun'i,,ing monuments of Hcrihor arc a statue
(Egyptian lVluseum, Cairo) and a stele
(RijksJ1111SClIJ11 van Oudhedcn. Lcidcn), and
no traces of his tomb have been found in
western Thebes.
His rule over the Theban region was the
chronological setting' for the Report (~r
JII/eIl{flll/fJl (the text of which is preserved on a
single papyrus 110W in the Pushkin lVluSCUI11,
lVloscow). This literary classic, which may
possibly be based 011 a true account, narrates
the difficulties encountered by an Egyptian
diplomat sent by l-lerihor to bring back timber
from SYRIA at a time ,,,hen Egyptian influence
in the Levant" was on the wanc.
G. LITtOYRE, His/oire des grallt!.;; plifres d>JIIIOIl
de Kamakjllsqll'd la \'V/C r()llIaSfie (Paris, ] 929),

100 200 300 400 500 m

..
seated colossi of Rameses II

modern settlement

AB()\"E Qne (!j"l/'e wlossalslutlles oItlle god Tholll

as a baboou. at HaJJ/opolis _'\tIl/gila. Reign 0./
AIIlCllIlOlep III, c.I370 ne. (I. S/-I,lJr)

LEFT Piau (~rHermopolis

/V!aglla,

125

HERODOTUS

HES~

Herodotus (<.48+-(.-120 Be)

Greek tra'-cllcr and historian born at
Halicarnassus in Asia \ linor, whose ,,"orks arc
a particularly ,"alliable source for rhe latcr history of Egypl. Some schohlfS h;wc described
him as the 'father of history" i.lhhough others
h;wc called him >father of lies', bee.luse of his
supposedly fanmsril: mles. :'\e,-ertheless, a
number uf his srories h,we subsequently been
,"indicated by archaeology (sec TI:l.1. B\ST\).
The nine books of Herodotus' llislo!"i!'s
were \HiLLen between
and
Be, and
principall~ describe the struggles between the
GKITt-.S and the Persians. ahhough the second
hook is dC"orcd to F.g~ pi, apP;lrenll~ drawing
he;wily 011 personal experiences.
His lr<1,"cI5 in EgYPl, which took place in
about -4-50 Be, ma~ h:l\ c extended as far south
as As\yan, although he gi\"es no dctailed
account of Thebes, conccntr~lling instead on
the Delta. I-Lis information was largely proyided by Egypti:lI1 priesls, many of ,yhom
probably held only minor offices and would
perhaps ha,'c becn anxious to rake <1ch"ant;lge
of an ~tpP;lrcntly gullible yisitor in ordcr to
sho\\' off their ~lssllmed knowledge.
.:\eycnhelcss, his account of Egypt in the
fifth century RC has been largely suhstantiatcd, and his .Istllte obscn'arions included the
identification of the pyramids as royal burial
places. :\ m~ljor source of information on
.\IL.\I.\IIIIL\TIO' and other .1I1cient Egypti'ln
religious and funerary customs, he attracted
numerous ancicnt imitators, including
STR",BO (\\ ho \'isired Egypt in c.JO IX:) and

-no

-ns

taking all Egyptian pun at face ,"aluc. Hcryshcf

was at \'arious times associated \,"ith the SUIlgod Ra .mel the god of lhe dc-.ul OSIRIS: he is
therefore sometimes portrayed with either rhe
sun-disc hcaddress or the {fIef crown (see
OW\\ 's

"I) Rm \1. REGH.I \).

G. l-L\lrr, . J dinjolllflj' of EgypliaN gods {flit!

godt!esst'S (London, 1986), 85~7.
Hesyra (l-les\-) (1".2660 Ilc)
Oflici<ll of the lime of the 3rd-Dyn"lsty ruler
"JOS"O (2667-26+8 Be). whose titles indllded
the posts of 'o\'crseer of the royal scribes,
greatest of physici'1T1s and dentists'. His
.\I:\STlil \ tomb (s2+05 [.\3]), located ro the
north of the Step Pyramid at S-\{&-\R"" was
discmered b~ :\ugllste .\laricttc in the 1880s,
and fl'-cxc;l\'alcd, about thirty years later, hy
Junes Qrihdl.
The lOmb has an cia borate corridor chapel
with pahlce-fa~adl: decoration (sec SI':RI:I"::II)
along; its west Willi consisting of cle"en niches,
cach of which would originally h.wc been
brightly painted in matting patterns. At the
bad of" each nidlc stood a carved ,yooden
p~lJ1cl, only six of which had sun iyed ilt the
time of discOH'ry (nmy in the Egypti"ln
l\luseul11, Cairo). The panels arc sculpted

fila moot!ell .':'Ieft' ji-fJllllhc lomb 'd

Slu///ara, 3,.t! /)ynllsty. c.26.iU fJC, fl. I{
(IImplt'1' .Ilel,' 11-/011. (I.' IIRO]f185U-!. I. SIIIfI)
-\HO\ E /)('10;1

Hl'.~)lra III

with the figure of Hesyra in \-arious costumes.

while thc bcall!ifull~ caned !licrogl~ph.s present his name and titles. The eastern wall of
[his corridor \\<IS decorated with delit':lld~
painted coIn"ings of furniture and offcnn~s,
c~lrefl1lly set OUI as if arranged in .1 shell\.:r of
matting. In an ourer corridor "";IS th,' earliesl
representation of a crocodile awaiting un"ilr~
cattle as Ihe~ crossed a strcam, a theme tll.\(
was to be repeated man~ times in 1;ller
mast.lbas. The burial itself was locatcd in ;1
subtcrn1l1can chamber connected "ith thl:
supcrstruclUre by a shaft. The tomb \n1S tine
of the firs! ro incorponnc <1 SERD\B (st;Htle
chamber).
.\. :\ t \IUErn:, [,('5 III/ullflws dc 1'. Incil'lI F.II/pm
(P"ris. 1882-9).
J. E. Q!_IHEI.I., The tfJlII!J ()II-It,~)': excm."f/fi"II.1 tit

OIOO(lRLS SICLI.LS.

\\'. G. \\. mDEIJ., fluodfllm. SMA' II (London,

19.19).

J. II"ILSO'. I1md"llIs ill (~)'pi (Leiden.

A. B. LLOYD, f1erodfJ/1I.\ Bon/.:

(I.eiden. 1975).
- , HemdrJlllJ BmlA' 11.2:
(Leiden, 1976).

1/./:

(JI/

(lJJIIIIIClllary

1970).

illlrodll(lin1l

1-98

- , HemdfJIlIS BooAII.1: ((JI1I1JI'lIll1ry 99--182

(Leiden, 1988).

Heryshef (:\rsaphes)
Fertility god lIslIally represented in the form
of a ram or ram-headed man, who was worshipped in the region of 1I1:!{\I\:I.EOPOJ.lS
\I.\G' \. ncar modern Belli Sucf, from at least
as earll, as the 1st [)\'r1;\sty (.1100-2890 Be).
according to the l'\LF.R\lU STO"JI';. 'rhe etymology of' Hcryshef's nalllt.', which literally means
'he who is upon his lake', suggests that he was
considered to be a creator-god who emerged
from the primc"al \\"arcrs of rhe sacred lake.
The first-cenrury Greek historian Plutarch
rendered the name as Arsaphcs and translated
it as 'manliness" bur he was probabl~ simpl~

126

S(f(/'Iam (Cairo, 1913).

,r.

10m

stairs
shaft
hidden niches
painted corridor
outer corridor
serdab (statue chamber)

'VOOI}, 'A reconstruction of rhe reliefs of

l-ksy-re ..J.-IIIG 15 (1978).9-24.
1\1. SH.E!I and 11. SOL ROUZI'\" Thl' E~,{YPli(1II
.l'IIISt:III1l. Cairo: oj]itial ((lia/oglll' (.\lainz. 19~7),
no. 21.
LEFT

Tht' l1/{/sla!Ja 10m;' oIHe.~J'ra (S

2-105).

/QQ If{ /

I-IETEl'HERES I

HIERAKO:\,POLIS

Hetepheres I (c,2600 lie)

Early -J.th-DynasIY queen, who was the principal wife ofs'EFERu (2613-2589 lie), the mother of "IIL'FL (2589-2566 IIC) and probabll' also
the daughter of Huni, last ruler of the 3rd
Dynasty. Little is kno\\-n of her life, but her
well-preselwd burial at <.itZ\ (<.i7000x) was discOI'ered in 1925 bl' the staff photographer of
the I-Ian'ard-Bosron expedition, led b~'
George Reisner.
The exc;lyation of an area of unexplained
white plasler on the eastern side of the Great
Pyramid I'C\ c<tlcd a lOmb shaft leading fo <1
smail empty room, dcep below which was a
concealed burial chamber. This l:ontaincd a

CaIlOPY, !It,d ((//(/ rlwir./i'fJ/// 1I11' 10/l/b ofQpcm

Heleplrcres. -1I1f D.l'llasly.

c.2600 uc.

(EG}'!''!'I/\

MUSEL'lI, r; /lNO)

sealed sarcophagus, a mass of gilded wood in a

very poor st.lte of prL'SclTatioll, and a number of
items of melalwork. Inscriptions on some of the
objects indicaled that the mmb belonged to
Hetcphercs, the mOlhcr of Khufu, whose
funerary clJuipment had apparcntly been hastily rcburied. Although the sarcophagus was
empt~~ a concealed niche was found to contain
an alabaster C.\MlI'IC box, with residucs bclie"ed
to deri,"C from Ihe .\lL \I"IFIC\TIO~ of her body.
Reisner bclie,-ed that the remains of
Hetepheres' funcrary equipment had been
reburicd by Khufu after her origini1l tomb,
perhaps located ncar that of Sneferu at
DAIISIIL"R, W;15 robbed. However nu tomb of
Hctcphercs has yct been found at Dahshur,
and indeed the only e\"idence for her existence
deril'CS from Tomb c.7000x. This has led .\lark
Lehner to suggest thai the Giza shaft tomb
Was in fact the qucen's original place of burial
but that her body and the 111'1jority of the
equipment were reburied under GH1, the first
of the 's:l.Icllite pyramids' to lhe east of
Khufu's main pyranlid. This theory might also
explain the damage innicrcd on the sarcophagus, ponery and furniture of the original
tomb. It is srill not clear, howe\"cr. why rhc

canopic chcst was not removed, although it is

possible [hat Ci7000x was felt to be so close to
the satellite pyramid as not to require the
transfer of callopic equipment. Ironically. it
was probably the lack of a superstrucrure that
helped to presen"c the original burial, whereas
pyramid liHl W;15 robbed in ancient times.
The careful rcsroration of rhe fmJs (no\\- in
the Egyptian l\,luseul11, Cairo) has yielded
somc of the best c\-idence for funerary equipment during lhe Old Kingdom. pnniding
insights into the likely "e~llth of;I full royal
burial of the period_ The items of gilded
,n)oclen Fl-IC\ITCR.E included ;l carrying chair, a
bed and an elaborale canopy that would probably ha\T been erected mcr the bed.
G. A. REIS:\t-:R and \V. S. 5.'IITI1 1 _.J IIisIOI:)1 (!(tJIt:
Gi::.(/ necropolis II: Tile lomb o/l1t'1epllerl's. lilt'
lllolht'ro/Ch/'()ps(Cambridge, \t'\.. 1955).
)1. LEII'ER, 71Il' pYrtll1lid lomb o/Helep-hert'J tlml
Iht' sall!/Iilt' pyramid o/A."llldi, (J\lainz, 1985).

Hiba. el- (anc. Teudjoi; .-\.nh'ronpolis)

Settlement site incorporating a poorly preserved temple of 'A.I11UI1 of the crag' (or '.'\mun
great of roarings '), constructed by Sheshonq I
(9~5-92+ BC). From the late 20th to the 22ml
Omastl' (1100-715 IIC), Ihe town of'1cudjoi
functioned as an important frontier fortrcss
between lhe zoncs controlled by the cities of
Heraklcopolis i\llagna and Hcrmopolis j\'lagna.
Largc numbers of bricks from thc enclosure
wall wcre stamped with the names of
Pinudjel11 I and ~lenkheperra. \yho wcre
powcrful Theban chief priests of Amun-Ra
in the early 21 Sl Omast)' (1'.1050 IIC) who
presumably esmblished a residence at cI-l-liba.

750

1500m

After a period of declinc during: rhe Late

Period (7-1-7-332 Be) the rown regained its
importance under the name of Ankyronpolis
in the Greco-Rolllan period (c.30~ IlC-,ID 395),
when it once more dc,cloped into a miljmry
settlement. The earliest exca\"ations at eI~Hiba
concentr.lled either on thc cemeteries, where
there were caches of Greek and demotic
papyri. or on the Greco-Roman areas of lhc
town. In 1980. howc"cr, lhc American archaeologist Roben \Vcnte conductcd a surface sur\-cy of the enrire sire, including rcst eXG1\"ations within the settlcmenr, which indicate
that Teudjoi \\,;lS founded at least as early as
the ~ew Kingdom.
B. GHE:\FEJ.1. and A. III '"1", n,c Hibclt papyri I
(London, 1906).
I I. R~""'E. Koplisrltt' F'ril'dIJldi? bi'i Kamra 1/1111 tier
.llluJIlIt'lIIpt'l Sdfl'HllOllks I. bi'i elilib/' (Berlin,
1926).
E. G. TCR.'\ER, TI,,' Hihi'lt papyri II (London.
1955).
R. J. \\"1-::\,,1-:, .lrdw/,ologi(tlI il/restiguliol/., alrlIlihell 1980: PrdillliJlifly repol"l (1\Ltlibu, 198..1).

Hierakonpolis (Kolll ei-.'\hmar; anc.

Nekhen)
Settlement and necropolis, 80 km south of
Luxor, which ,,as panicularly associated with
the hawk-god 110RCS. the Greek namc of thc
rown meaning 'city of the hawk/falcon'. 1t
nourished during the hue l)j"cdynastic and
Earll' Dynastic periods (.4000-2686 BC). One

PIau slwJ1l/'ng !hi' I()rali(Jul~(tITe priucipal

sCII/efl/cu! al1d reme/t"]' areas oIflierakoflpolis.

"",,,,,,:.,:;~~"';'"
..,",.....,.\:~~\\\I1I.,".

/<a9c~;;'~'~~ffron

1 Predynastic settlement
2 Predynastic cemeteries
3 2nd-Dynasty 'tori'

historic town with temple ot Horus

and 'Main Deposil', overlying
Predynastic settlement

127

HIERATIC

HIEROGLYPHS

of the most import~nt discoveries in the

Prcdynastic cemetery is Tomb 100, <1 late
Gcrzc.m brick-lined burial which was the first
Egyptian tomb to be decorated with ,nll-

paintings (sec

\ltT),

but the location of this 50-

called Painted Tomb is no longer knO'yn. The

poorly rccorllcd cxc3nuion of the town of
Hierakonpolis undertaken hy James Quihdl
and F. \\'. Green included the diseO\TfY of the

~~~J,:h:i*:-~'~~Y,t:\:a.:-dki'i\UtEt.-t~~';\'J....o.::.
_~~...a:;'~~~~~~1::'::i-l';.t.!t~~~f,t~~:<t

~'3c.:."u.~'1II\-':;.'1'l:!:-.J1\~~-1I\it"N/r.::~f'o\-...,..!;i~

~---.:.uo\";,\\o1:l1\.\'1l1'..~::.':lll ..... :kJ\tSl..~~"t:';..'lS.~,",<~1

:..':it\:J1\'"u.:.~t<\~.).I~~...!rJ~"':.k';j::..~'.:..S.'-.fQ,~_l~llU

...q~~.~'In~-:::O: ......t.~;""":!.';j.~-1';;"~

.~'d.-~*-'::':':'::d'1

':\[ain Deposit', a stratum between two walls

relating to .111 Old Kingdom temple complex
within the settlement. The .\lain Deposit
seems to h~l\'e consisted primarily of ceremonial objects dating ro rhe Prorodynasric period
(f.3000 IK:), including the '-.\R\IER palette and
SCORPIO'.; macchcad. Howe\'er, because of a

lack of accurate published plans and strmigraphic sections, rhe rrue date and significance
of this crucial Prorodynastic assemblage
remain unclear, Further surycy and cxcaY<lrions at Hierakonpolis rook place in the 1970,
and 19S0s, nor ol1l~" idenrif~'ing a range of
Predynastic sites in the dcsert surrounding the
1"0Wl1 but also shedding further light 011 socioeconomic patterning of the Early Dynastic
town and idcnrifYing the only known example
of a Prcdyn<lstic shrine, The so-called 'fort' of
1\:1-[ \51':1.:.111':\1\\ \' has now been idenlified as a
'funeraTy enclosure' like the Shunct c1-Zcbib
at -\J3ynos.
j. E. (:luBEI.I. and F. \\" GR1:I-:', f1if1'tlA-rmpolis, 2
"ols (London, 1900-2).
13. 1- }(I:.\II', 'Photographs of rhe decorated tomb
ar Hierakonpolis',]EJ 59 (1973), .16-43.
B. ADnIS, _1I1ciclIllliaal'ollpfJ!is (\Varminsrer,
197~).

:\1. A,. H()FF\I-\' er 011., '.-\ model of urban

development for the llierakonpolis region from
plTdynastic through Old Kingdom times',

JJRCE2.1(1986),175-87.
B. AIH \IS, Theftrl (ell/eu'IY til Ilieral'ol1polis
(extm.:lI1ed 1~)'J(l11I1 Ctlrsltlllg) (London, 1988).

hieratic (Greek iJi<'l""lik,,: 'sacred')

Script dating from the end of the Early
Dynastic period (t'.2686 Be) onwards. The
esscntially cursi\'c hicratic script was based on
the hierogl) phic symbols that had cmcrged
somc ti,c cenrurics carlier, but if should not be
confused with 'cursive hieroglyphs'. which
,vcre used lor most of [he Pharaonic period in
such religious writings as the COFFI~ TE:\TS
and the BOOK OFTIII': DEr\U. Hieratic was a]w;lYs
written from right 1"0 Iert, whereas the oricntation of cursiye hieroglyphs varied. Until the
11th Omasty (2055-1 'i85 Be) hieraric documents were arrangcd mainly in columns, but
most tens li'om the 12th Dynasty (1985-1795
[Ie) onwards consisted of horizontal lincs. It
"as also in the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650
128

Om' sheel oflht' Cn'ell 1Iarri.\' Papyrus. (( hitrlliit

dotl/melll riJlISisliug I)fa lisl ,~r/l'lIIph' elldml'lm'II1S
lIlId II shOl'l SIIIII1IIlIJ:)' oflhe re(f!;l1 ofRllfJU'ses III.
11 is Ihl' In/lgl'.~1 sJln...irillg papyrus roll, 111l'ffJuriug
-11111. Ri'/gn ,d'R1l11leSt!s II. c.//50 llc.jiml/
Thebes. II. -12.5011. (1;.1')<)<)9. SIIHT 7.::;)
Be) that hieratic began to be 'Hitten in different styles, r,lI1ging: from the rapid 'businc!:is'
hand to the morc aesrhetically pleasing' 'literary' hand.
\Vith the dcvclopment of hieratic, scribes
\,"cre able to write more rapidly on papyri and
ostraca, and this script - rather [hall the more
cumbersome hieroglyphs - became the prefen'cd medium for scribal tuition (see EDCC.\T10~). Therc was also an e,'CI1 more cursive
form of the scripl known as 'abnormal hicratic', which was used tor business texts in
Upper Egypt during the Third Intermediatc
Period (I069-7~7 Be). By lhe 261h Dynasty
(664-525 DC) thc IJE,\I0TlC script had cmcrged
out of the so-called 'business hieratic' of
Lower Egypt.

G. l\lOl.Lr,R, Hit,rtllisdu' [l'sesliid'e. 3 yols

(Leipzig, 1909-10).
- . Hialilischc Pu/(i"f1gmpltil'. 3 ,'ols (Leipzig,
1909-12).
R. J. \VILLI \ \IS, 'Scribal training in ancicnr
Egypt',J'/OS 92 (1972), 2I+-2J.
Y. D-n 11-:5, EgYPliil1l hiemg(l'plu (London,
1987),21-.1.

,r.

hieroglyphs (Greek: 'sacred caned [lellersJ")

The Eg\-pLian hierogh-phic script, consistin1!
of thrc~ basic types - of sign (phonogram:,
logograms and \Icterminatircs') arrangcli In
horizonml and ,ertical lines, was in USc from
the lone Gerzean period (c.320() Be) ro the laic
fourth century .\1). The last known dat3hle
hieroglyphic inscription, on the gare uf
Hadrian at Philae, was cancd On 24 August \l)
394. Thc apparently low leyel of literacy 111
Pharaonic Egypt (estimated at perhaps as 1(1\\
as 0.4 per cent or the population) has led to the
suggestion thal hieroglyphic texts w~rL:
employed by rhe elite as;\ means of restrit,ting
knowl~dgc and powcr.
The decipherment or hieroglyphs by JcanFran~ois 01'\ \ll'()LJ.IO~, prinurily tluough his
examination of the tribngual decree inscrihed
on the ROSE'IT" STO):E, was undoubtcdly lhe
single greatest e\"em in the development of
Egrptolog~, prmiding thc key to an unLlcrstanding of the names, history and intcUeclual
achie\-emcnts of the ancient Egyptian!'!.
Painled Itiemg(l'phs on lite inlerior Qflhe OilIer
mj}ill oflhe p/~)'Jirilill Sl'IIi. J\liddle Kingdolll.
c.2000 IH:. !Jainlt'tI 11l()otl,ji-ollllJeir el-Bersl/tl.
II. /5011. rIO 1308-11)

HIEROGLYPHS

HIPPOPOTMvlUS

Hieroglyphs were primarily used as descriptive components of the can"cd reliefs dcconuing temples and funerary monuments. It

W.1S

feil that the hieroglyphic names of gods,

people and animals were as c'lpable of posing
a ducal as the liring entity itself - for this
reason many of the signs in the P' R \ \110 TEXTS
and some CQFF1"\.l TEXTS were deliberately
abbre"iated and mutihttcd in order to neutral-

ize any potential dangers within the royal

tomb.
Alrhough a total of more than six thousand

hieroglyphic signs ha,'c been identified, thl'

majority of these were introduced during the

Ptolemaic and Roman periods. In the

Pharaonic period fewer than a thalls.mel symbols 'lfe attested, and an e\en smaller number
were in regular usc. There was a nucleus of
frequenr basic signs, and others were eyidcntIy im'cnted and introduced as the~ became
necessary, sometimes proyiding an indic.nion
of changes in material culture. The signs wcre
written in continuous lines withoUl any pun<.:tuation or spaces to show where words or sentences began or ended. The orientation of the
letters W:15 usually towards the right, so that
the text was read from right to lefL and top {()
bonom, although in certain instances (such i1S
the engnn'ing of two symmetrical inscriptions
on either side of a stele or relief) the orientation was from left to right.
As in Egyptian art, the indi,'idual signs of
the hieroglyphic script arc essentially diagrams or the phcnomenon or entity in question; whether the sign is representing a loaf of
bread, an owl or a hum;lll figure, it was intended that the ideogram should consist of the
most characteristic and \ isually familiar clements of its physical appearance ~ thus lllost
birds are shown completcly in profile, but one
exception is the owl, which, oecllIse of its distinctive eyes, has its face shown frontally.
The logograms and dererminati\'es in
hieroglyphic script were both essentiall~
depictions of the thinbrs th'1t the~ represented:
thus logograms were indi\ idual signs whosc
meaning \\as broadly cquiyalent to their
appe;nance (i.e. ~1 shorthand diagram of the
sky meant 'sky'). Determinilthes wcre pictures or types of things, ph1ccd at the ends of
words made up of phonograms in order to
indicate what types of words they were (i.c.
the verb ml!slfcb, meaning 'to answer', was followed by a sign consisting of :1 111.111 holding
his h<lnd to his mouth). The phonograms consist of three types: twcIHy-six uniconsonilntal
signs (each representing a single consonant,
e.g. the quail~chick sign, pronounced m),
about a hundred biconsonantal signs (pairs of
consonams, such as the diagram of it house-

phm, which Wi.1S pronounced pr), and forty to

fifty triconsonanral signs (e.g. the logogram
representing the adjccti,'c "good', which was
pronounced IIIr).
The main problem encountered in pronouncing a section of hieroglyphic text is lhat
there were no nlwels in the written form of
ancient Egyptian, only consonants. The study
uf the COPTIC language (which c\olyed OUI of
the ancient Egyptian bnguage), as well as rarious slIITiving transliterations of Egyptian
words into other ancicIH scripts (SUd1 ilS
\SS\ Rl\_', Hf\ BYLO:,\ I " and Greek), has enabled
the 'rocalization' or many Egyptian \\ords to
be at least partiall~ reconstructed, Howe"er,
the conycmional method of making the consonants pronounceable is to read the signs ' ~lIld
3 as if they were lhe letter ", and to insert the
lencr e \yhcrc\'er necessary: thus the words l,
pI' and 11ft are cOT1\'entionally pronounced as
SII, per and mfi'r.
There \\"ere three basic stages in the dc\'elopmcnt of the hieroglyphic script: early, middle ilnd late; it was highly cOllsclTiltivc and
continually hlgg'cl1 hehind l"he spoken 1..\'\GL.\GE in both VOCilbllhuy and syntax. A crucial distinction therefore needs to be made
oet\yeen the stages in the developmem uf the
language and the various phases of its wrillen
form. The language has onc distinct break, in
the .\liddle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC), when
'synthetic' Old and i\liddlc Egyptian, characterized by inflected yerb endings, W.1S
replaced, in the spoken language at least, b~
the 'analytical' form of Late Egyptian, with a
verbal structure consisting of articulated elements. Egyptian is the only 'language of
ilSpCCe for which the change from the 'synt"hetic' slag'e to (analytical' can actually be
stlluied in its wrillen rorm.
'T'he hieroglyphic systcm was uscu for
funerary and religious texts whjlc the cursive

IIIER.:HIC script \\ as used primarily for administrati,"e and literary texts. By the 26th
Omast, (664-525 Be) DE\lOTIC had replaced
hieratic, and for i1 number of centuries the
Greek and demotic scripts were lIscd side by
side, cyenlually being superseded by COPTIC:.
Sec L...-\'\GL'.\GE for charr of hieroglyphs.
See also fL.'\EH \KY TE\TS; LIBIURII':S; I.ITEH..\Tun:; I'WYRUS and SCKlBES.
A. I I. GAIWI'\ER, J:.'gyplitll/ gmlllJ/((f/; being all
inlrot!urlifJl/ 10 '/'e sl/u()r (JIlricrogh'flu, -'I'd cel.
(Oxford, I YSi).
C. A. it'\'DRE\\ S, Tlri' !?o.I"(:II" SliJl/(' (Lund on, 19S I).
J. R. B \1",1:""i, 'Liler;,lcy and ancient Egyprian
society', ,1111/1 18 (1983), 5i2-Y9.
J. D. R-\\. 'The emergcnce of writing in EgYPI',
Wllil3 (1986), 3YO-8.
"'.\'. D.WIES, Egyplitll/ lri(rog()IPh.~ (London,
lY8i).
II. G. FISClICR and R. A. C-\\II'\os._-I1fcil'lll
t.~!fypli"1/ epigmp/~)llllf(l palaeQgraf/~)I, 3rd cd.
(New York, 198i).

hippopotamus
Riverine mammal thaI nourished in Egypt
until weJl into Dynastic times. The date of its
disappear~lI1ce in Egypt is debauble, bUl it was
certainly still present during the 1'\ew
Kingdom (1550--1069 BC). Like the crocodile,
the male hippopotamus was regarded as a nuisance and a doer of e,il, becJuse it often trampled and de\"oured crops; a ! e\\ Kingdom
school text makes this clear: 'Do you not recall
the fine of the farmer when the han'esl is regiSI"ered? The \\"orm has taken half the grain,
the hippopotalllus has dc\"oured the rest...' It
was probably for this reason that hippoporaIllUS hunts were org-anized as early as the prehistorjc period. iVLmy oCthe masraha tombs of
the Old Kingdom, such as thar or the 5thDynaslY official TY ar Saqqara (no. 60), included depictions of the spearing or hippopotami.

Faienf" :ilalnelle o/a

lrippopfJltllIfllS,

/2t"-/311r DYf/aSlies,
9.2011. (Ii IJ50H)

I/.

129

HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY

Such hunts might have given rise to a royal

ceremony in which the king-'s ritual killing of a
hippopotamus was symbolic of the overthrow
of evil, as in the myth of J lOR-US and SETI!. In
this myth, Horus ,yas oftell portrayed in the

act of harpooning Seth as a hippopotamus

(although in other contexts Seth was depicted
as it crocodilc 1 an ass Or a typhonian animal).
This scene was fi"cqucntly repeated on the
walls or temples, most notably that ofI-lorus at
EUJlL, as well as in tomb scenes and in the form
of royal funerary statuettes such as those
showing Tutankhamun with his harpoon ,mel
coils of rope.

However, the female hippopotamus had a

beneficent aspect, in the form OfT!\\\'ERET ('the
great [female] one'), the pregn.lIll hippopotamus-goddess \yho was among the most popular of the household gods, and particularly
associated with women in childhirth. In
I'I,l;TI\RUI'S \'ersion of the myth of Horus and
Seth, Taweret \yas the consort of Seth, who
deserted him for Horus.
During the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650
Be), large numbers of blue faience figurines or
hippopotami were created, probably for
funerary use, allhough their popularity with
art collectors is such that few h,n-e been
obtained from archaeological cxcavation,
therefore their provenances are poorly
known. It is usually assumed, however, that
these staluenes. whose bodies are frequently
decorated with depictions of Yegetation, were
associated with rertility and the regenerative
effect of the Nile.
T Si\n:-S0nt~RIlEIU..lll, all t'gVPIIlI1l r('fln'sCl/lalio//s
(f rC/(l!,loIIS mUlive
(Uppsaia,1953).
H. KEES, (D;lS "Fest del' \Vcissen" und die Stadt
S"', ZAS83 (1958), 127-9,
A. BI] IR!\IANI\, Das Nilpji:rd in der losleI/u/lgslIJt'1t
dt'/' A/lell AgYPll.'1l1 (Frankfurt, 1989).

'!l"hlPPOpoll/ll/lls hU//ling tIS

history and historiography

Defining Egyptjan history is as difficult a task
as defining f.gyptian (lit"crature'; in bOlh cases,
modern scholars arc inevitably attempting to
impose upon the Egyptian sources modern
concepts and categories that would often have
had no real meaning or relev~ll1ce to the
ancient writers. The types of ancient Egyptian
texts that are usually described as 'historical'
would have had a very different function when
they were originally composed (see, for
instance, KJl\G LISTS); they therefore have to he
carefuUy interpreted if genuinely 'historical'
data are to be extracted from them.
The Canadian Egyptologist Donald
Redford defines true history as (rhe telling of
events involving or affecting human beings

130

HLTTIT~

(not necessarily, though usuallYl in narrative

form), which took place prior to the time of
composition, Ihe chief aim of which is to
explain t"hose evems for the benefit, predilection and satisraction of contemporarics, and
not for the enhancement of" fhe writer's personal reputation'. In f"act \Villiaml-Iayes suggests, in the Call1bridgc .<llIc/eIll Hislmy, Ihat
there ;lIT onl~' four sur\"iving Egyptian historical texts that would conform to a definition
such as th,lt given by Redford: these arc the
stelae of r-.:.,\A1nSE (t.1555-1550 ue), describing
his bartles against the Hyksos; the AIlIWI.\' ~r
Tl/lIlmuse III (1-1-79-1-1-25 Be), describing his
campaigns in Syria-Palesfine; and the
Victon" Stele of 1'1\' (7+7-716 lie), describing
his conquest of Egypt. RedfiJrd adds to these
Halshepsul's speech inscribed in the SPf':OS
'\lrI"E\IIDOS rock-temple. a possibly fictional
speech made by 1{,\\lESI':S III (] 18+--1153 BC) arthe end of the Gn~at Harris Papyrus and
Osorkon's description of rhe Theban rebellions in the Third Tnfermediatc Period
(1069-7-1-7 Be). A further text which may now
be added to this list is il fragment of the
annals of \I\IF.NEl\Uli\T II (1922-]878 BC), disco\'cred at l\llcmphis in the mid-] 9505 but not
published until 1980, which shows that something approximating to the modern concepl
of ;l historical record (although lacking any
analytical component) was already being
compiled in the .!\Jliddle Kingdom (20551650 BC), in the form of derailed records of
the political and religious c\'ents from each
year of a king's reign.
However, notwithstanding the few exceptions listed above, the vast majority of such
narrative-structured and ceremonial texIs
surviving rrom Egypt" were concerned much
more with preserving and transmitting
national traditions or with performing a particular religious or funerary role, rather than
being attempts to present objective accounts
of the past. Even the supposedly hisrorical
fragments or Egyptian texts such as the
Kamose stelae, the Speos Artcmidos 'speech'
and the /IJlJJ(//s oIThllllllf)se If! arc effectively
componcnts of the temples in which they
were found: they therefore differ considcr~
ably from the truc historical tr.ldition in;lugurated by the Greek historian I rRoDOTUS
(C.-l-8-1--i'.-I-20 Be) in that they incorporate a
high degree or symbolism and pure ritual. In
I"heir cull of the king's personality they arc
closer to the Res geslae glorifying the deeds
or the Roman emperor Augustus than the
more 'journalistic' histories written by
Thucydides or Tacitus, in which the stated
aim at least is to present the objective truth
about past events.

The contents of most of the m0l1umellt;11

texts and reliefs on the walls of Egyptian
tombs and temples are much closer to the
symbolic and static world of myth than 10 history. There is <1 common tendency to rcg;lrd
myth as a form of 'primitive history'. bllt~this
is rarc1~r the case. Redford makes il good distinction hetween myth and llistory: (The
meaning of myths has nothing to do with Iheir
having occurred in the past, but rllthcr \\ ith
their present significance ... Horus's Ch;llllpioning of his father, Ihe upliftings or Shu, the
murder of Osiris - these are all primordial
events, timeless and ever-present; and neither
king' nOr priest who re-enacts them can be s.lid
to fuHil an histOric role, or to be commemorating "history"'.
L. Bul.I., 'Ancicnr Eg-ypt', TIll' idl:" o.{IJislrJlY lit
Ih(' _'l//ril!1ll Nellr fllsl, eel. J Obcrl1lann (Nc\\
Howen and London, 1955).
D. B, Ruwol{J), Phfl/"{/O/lIC ki/lg-lisl.\". IIIl/wls /llld
day-bonA'S:

(f cfllllrlblllifJIIIO Iht: SIIII()' n.Flhc

(!!;,V/llil/ll Sl://se (!{ltisl()}:J' Uvlississ<luga, 1986).

E. FloRi'\U,'(j, idea 11/10 l//lage, trans. E. Breded-.

(New York, 1992), 1+7-H
J -,lbLH,:. 'The ~mn~lls ofAmenemhar 1I',/::!{)'fJllilll
Ardlflc%g.l' 2 (1992),18.

Hittites
People of somewhat obscure origins, described
by the Egyptians as Kheta, \\"ho settled in
Anatolia in the third millennium Be. Although
they themselves were speakers of an IndoEuropean l:tnguage, in time their empire
absorbed the Hurrian-speaking people
\\IT..\ :\INI, and the J\K"-t\DJAN language was frequently used for diplomatic and comlllercial
correspondence.
During the Hittite Old Kingdom
((,1750-1450 BC), the nucleus
the state was
established in central Anatolia, with its capiwl
initially .1( Kussara and later at the bcllcrknown site of Boghazkoy (ancient ]-LllIUSilS).
By the sixteenth century Be: they had conquered Syria, and at one stage the empire
stretched as 1~1I' south as IHBYLON,
During this period of imperial cxpansion
(c, 1450-1200 BC) the Hittites appear to h'l\ C
concentrated on reinforcing their grip O'er
northern
Syria,
thus
displacing the
l\llitannians and bringing them into direct
conflicr wil h .\SSYRIA and Egypt.
The most famous of their military confrontations with Egypt took pl:tce during fhe
early reign of Rameses JJ (1279-1213 nc), culminating in the IMTTLE OF (t'\DESII in 127-1- Be,
which was commemorated on mam of
Rameses' temples. The stalemate dut res~J1ted
from this battle, in which both Rameses and
the Hittite king ,Muwatallis appear to have

or

or

HIW-SEMAINA REGIOr\

HOREMAKHET

claimeu ,-ic.:tory, c,"cntually led to the signing

or a PCilCC u"eaf)' in the twenty-first year of
Ramcscs' reign. This document is preserrcd
both on Egyptian monuments .1I1d on
Akkadian cuneiform tablets from Boghazk(l)'.
Ramcscs cemented the alliance by marrying: a
Hittite princess, an acl that \\";15 celebrated by
the I-finite marriage stele ilt Abu Simbel. This
was nOl, hO\\T\-er, the first attempT to link the
twO great POWlTS. A lellrr discmTred in the
Hittite archives is beliered to hare been sent
by it ro~ al womaJl of the hue Amarna period
(perhaps
Ankhcscn<lllluJ1,
withm
TL"T\'''11 \\Il':.,), requesting the llittitc king
Suppiluliumas I to send one of his sons to he
her husband. The prince in questiun, hO\\c\cr,
was murdered l'lI routt' to Egypt and the proposcd marriagc seems nc, cr to h:wc raken
place.
It was :llso during the Hittite imperi:ll phase
that a closely guarded lcchniquc for smelling
IRQ\! was discoycred, and iron is certainly one
of the commodities mentioned in the .\R,\L\R' \
I.ETI'1':I{S as being imported into Egypt in small
quantitics. ,'\n iron dagger in the tomb of
Tutankhamun nO doubt dcriycd from the same
source. Even among the Hirtires themsches,
iron seems to h,1\ e been regarded as an
cxtremel~ precious metal, suit:lblc only for
prestige goods.
'rhe Anatolian he:lrtland of the Hittile
empire fin:ll1y beg;.m to disimegnlle in the late
lhin-eenth century Be, perhaps as a result of
the appearance of the 5E \ I)EOPLES whose
migrations also threatened Egypt. This left
only the rump of their empire in Syri"l, consisting of a group of 'Nco-Hittite' Cily-slares
which werc finally absorbed by \SSYIUA in the
eighth century He:.

7 Predynastic Village of Halfia Gibi (site HG)

8 Predynastic Cemetery C
9 and 10 areas of Predynastic settlement

(Petrie's site F)

or

.J. VERGOTI:, '1i1ll/Il/lklWllIflll da/ls fC.I arrhivcs

hil/iles (Istanbul, 1(61),

K. A, KITClIE:", SlIppiflllillJl/a alld ,he _11lwrJ/a

pharaohs (Li,crpool, 1962).
- , Plumwh /riumpflll1l/: 11ll' I!/i: {lmllimi's of
R(",u's,~(',~ /I (\\"arminstcr. 1982),74-95.
J G.;\l \CQL:EI~'\, Tlu: HiJfilt's {llItlllll'ir
cOlllcmp()mrit's il1.-lsi(J ,11illfJr, 2nd cd. (London,
1986).
0. R. GLR'E\, The HifJilt's, 2nd cd,
(1-I:1rmondsworth, 1990).

Hiw-Semaina region (Diospolis Paml)

Group of I'RI':!)YN'\STIC, Pharaonic and
Roman-period sites 011 the east bank of the
Nile in Upper Egypt. 'T'he I-liw-Sem<lin:I
region l which was surveyed and exc;lyatcd by
Flinders Petrie in 1898-9, stretches for about
15 km along either side of the modern e1Ranan cal1:11, from the village of I-Iiw in the
southwcst to Semaina in the northeast. It was

11 Predynastic Cemetery Hand Predynastic

settlement (site SH)

12 modern village of Semaina
13 modern village of Abadiya

);----,~~.---~----7-+---!.6km

aluminium factory

'/'lll' f1im--Sl'IIwill{l region,

the exca"ation report on [J1C Predyn<lslic

cemcteries of Ab~H.liya and [-liw that formed
the basis 1-01' Petrie's compilation of the first
relativc chronology of the bte Plu:nY,\(\STIC
PERlon (Naqada I-II), which is still largely
,",llid.
In 1989 J..::athryn Bani conducted a nc,,'
sun'cy of the area, reloc1tlng some of these
cemeteries and finding that the Predynastic
Cemeleries Land Rand lhe Old Kingdom
_\I.\ST.\IH at Cemetery .\ h'ld been destroyed.
She also re-examined a few suryiying palches
of PredYl1<.lstic settlement rhat Pel ric had mentioncd only briefly in his reporr. At site ~Sll"
<1n arca of bte Prcdynastic setllemcnt which
Bard discoycrcd ncar Scmaina and beside
Petrie's Cemctery II, another surface survey
revealed widespread lraces of stonc-working,
suggesting that the Hiw-Se01aina region may
h:n'c been a Predynastic ccntre for stone vcsscl
manuf'lcrure.
\\-. \ l. E Pt:TRIE, Diosp()/is Parra: Ihi' <elllc/aiL'S of
_If)(uh:l'eh find I-/II (Londun, 1901).
K. B \RD, 'Predynasric scltlemcl11 patterns in rhe
Iliw-Semainch region, ppcr Egypt', Nl'ame
./kulllu 32 (1989), 2--1.

Horapollo (fourth centur\' .\D)

Supposedly a nativc of Upper Egypt, whose
work, the lIicrog)l'phiro, claimed to be an
explanation of the symbolic meaning of various hieroglyphic signs, dcrivcd directly from
ancient Egyptian sources, The original was
probably written in COPTIC, although the work
is known only [rom Greek translations.
AI.-JlOugh the meanings of many signs were
correctly identified by HorapoHo, the allegorical reasons that he gi,-es for their me-Jnings arc

often fantastic. The llieroglyphica was rediscovered in the fourteenth century \1) amI
cxerted great influcnce on the scholars of
Renaissance Europe, J()rming the basis of G. P.
Valeriano Dolzoni's l-Jierog~)lphi((I, which first
appeared in 1556 and was reprinted and
enlarged on several oc<.:asions. Unfortunarely
it was the allegorical and symholic aspects of
Horapollo's work thm led scholars such as
Athan:lsius Kirchcr (1602-80) to regard
hierogl~ phs as a symbolic language, a "iew
which retarded the decipherment of the script
for many years. E"en in the nineteenth century a number of scholars, such as Gardner
\\"IU,:J::'\SO:'\,
were still hcing misled by
Horapollo and thus frustrated in their attcmpts
at decipherment.
IT. R. H\Lt. 'Letters to Sir 'vVilliam Gell from
Henry S,llt, (Sir).J. G. Wilkinson, and B~lron von
Bunscn',]h>/2 (19I.i), 133-67.

Horemakhet ,ee

II0l<'ZO"

and

IIDI<US

Horemheb (1323-1295 Be)

General and I Sth-Dynas~ pharaoh, whose
rule represented a return to companuh-c normality after the" \1 \RX \ period. His military
career prob~lbly began during the reign of
.\I..:IIE:\"ATE:'\ (1352-1336 Be), when he was perhaps known by the earlier n.1J11C of
Paarenemhcb, although this is disputed by
many Egypwlogists. Little is known of his
background apart from the fact that his family
camc from
I-Ieraklcopolis.
His
wife
lVlutnedjmet may possibly have been NEFERTITI'5 sistcr, in which case she may have bolstered his claims to the Ihrone. By the reign of
TUT;\"\KIIJ\_\IUi"\ (1 336-l.127 Be) he had risen to
a position of grear power as generalissimo and
hegan work on his tomb at Si\~\R.\, the

131

HOREMH EB
HORSE

LEVI' Door--jalllb jimNlhe lomb ~r l/orc1I1hl'b, /11i/1I

(arred reliefshoming Ihe king;11 ({II allilude 0/
(It/omliol1. 18/h DJ'1I(1S~)I. c./300 /le, II. (int:
J"l'slomlhm) 1.83 Ill. (1:" 650)

131::1.0\' Saibc ;ilallle Q/Horel/lhl'b. nJih D.l'"asly,

c.13001Jc.1I. 1.lim. (\EII }ONJ.., H/:TROf'f)UT /\
'I[ SEt II. 23./0./)

horizon was also considered to be protected

by ","-Ell.., a god personified by a pair of L10'"
sometimes replacing the mOllntains in
amulets depicting the horizon. h was perh,lps
this link between thc lions and the horizon
which led [0 the Great Sphinx at Giza bein~
regarded as the principal manifestation oj,
Horemakh el.
The appC;lrance of the horizon "as often

.r/I//ulel illlltt'jiu11l a/tlte {fA,ltet Itierog~)'ph

rl'prt'Je1lting Iht' lrori::,ol1. (1::.18300)

or

imitated in the iconography and form~

Egyptian art and architecl,ure, from the guddess of the horizon, whose two breasts somr.:limes replaced the mountains on either sick of
the sun, to the twin towers of 1'\ LO'S, which
formed parr. of the transforma tion of temples
into metaphors for thc cosmos.
R_ H. \\'II.f(I'\SO:---. J?mdillg Egyplilill uri
(London, 1992),13+-5.
1\1cmphilC necropolis. 'rhis wmb was first
located by the German archaeologist Richard
Lepsius in the nineteenth century and cxcaY,Hed by an Anglo-Dllf ch expedition during
the late 1970s. Its painted relief scenes, fragments of which arc sp,"cad through the coUcclions of many different museums, depict
scenes uf his triumphan t return from l11iliti1r~
c3mpaigns, as he attempted to restore the
Egyptian empire in Nubia and the Lenll1t.
When he succeeded .\Y (1327-1323 Be) on the
throne he undertook numerous constructio n
works at lhe temples of "0\R'.\K amI LLXOR,
and .It GEBEL 1~I.-SII.SIL\ he created a SPEOS
(rock-temple).
On an administrati,"c leye! he introduced
numerous reforms designed primarily to
decentraliz e the go\-crnmcn t, and he erected a
stele in the temple of l\lul i.1t Karnak bearing
an inscription outlining his plans for the
restoration of order after the depredatio ns of
the Amarna period. It was during Horemheb 's
reign that the dismantlin g of Akhcnatcn 's temples lO the ATE\. began, although it is possible
that the destruction of the royal romb at clAmarna LOok place slightly later, in the early
Ramessidc period.
He usurped Ay's mortuary templc in the
yicinity of "'EDIKET 1-1"IlL in western Thebes
and constructed a new roY'11 tomb fill' himselfin

132

the Valley of the Kings, abandon.ing his yirtu:1lIy completed private LOmo at Saqqar'1. The
Theban tomb (","57) was innmative both in its
decoration (sunk relief scenes from the Book. r~r
Clites) and in its architectural style, consisting of
a single straight corridor wilh side-chambers,
rather lhan the bent-axis style of the previous
18d1-Dynast)' royal tombs. In the burial chamber his red granitc S<lfcophagus remains ill Jilll,
but the mummy has not sllITivcd.
R. I-I-\Rl, Horelllheb ella reill' i1/1oll/lfedjmd, 011 la
}in (1',l11i' (6 r1UHlil' (Gcnc"a. 1965).
E. HOR~L":-'G and F T":ICII,\1 '''~, /Jus Grab de:;
Hurcmhab ill/ 7;,1 d/!r Kiifligt' (Berne, 1971).
J.-- \l. KRL:C1 nT'-, Lt' rleerel "'Horemheb:
fradlle/ioll, (ommel//aire ipl~~raphilfl/l'. phiJologiqlte
cf ill.ltilu/iol/ll d (Brussels, 1981).
G. T. .\l-\RTI.N. 71,l' AI/!11lphi/1' lomb ofHrm:mlu'h
(London, 1989).

horizon
The Egyptian hieroglyph denoting the horizon (akltet) was essentially a schematic depiction of the two mountains between which the
sun rose, indicating that the horizon was
regarded as the home of the sun-god. One
aspect of the god 1I0Rl"S, who was closely associated with the sun cult) was therefore
described as Horemakh cl ('Horus in the horizon), As the place of sunrise and sunset the

horse
The domestic.lIed horse was inrroduced into
Eg~ pt from western Asia in the Second
Intermedia te Period (1650-1550 Be) ~It roughly the same time as thc C!HIUOT, although a
horse skeleton excavated at !JUliE:' may date as
early as the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 Be).
Scycral horsc burials have been e..xc~natcd at
TEI.L EI.-I).'B'" the site of the IIH.. SOS caplt,ll
Avaris.
Unlike donkeys, which were used for agricultural work from at IC.1st the bcginninl!' of
the Pharaonic period ((.3100 BC), horses were
essentially status symbols, used for sut.:h acti,-ities as IIL":'\TI'\G, "'Rr\RE and ceremonial processions, They were almosl always uscd to pull
cluriots rather than being ridden, although
banle scenes in the r\ew l-.:-ingdom (1 S50-1ll6<)
Be) occ;.lsionally show indi\'iduilJ soldier<.;
mounted on them. On the basis of surviving
chariot yokes it has been calculated thaI the
aycragc "heigh'- ,,-ould ha,e been around 1.35
m, although some sur\'iving examples "c:rc
e,ic1cntly taller, such o1S the 1.5-m-high skeleton found in front of the tomb of SE"~' \ll'I
(rr71). By the end of the 18th Dynast)~
(1550~1295 Be), horses were firmly established
as prestige gifts between rulers in north .I\fril::t
and the ~car Easl, blll" they seem to ha\c becn
particularly prized by the Kushitc kings oflhe

HORUS

HORUS

RIGHT ReliefMockji'OJ11l'1-.1II/uma bearillg (l

depj(lioll a/a pair o/llfIrses, mh;c!J probllb~l'
origil/a/()'Jimned pafl oIII depictio!1 (jIll royal
chariot professioll. 181h DyIlIlSO', c./350 LJC.
H. 23011. (I/L7RO/ JOI./7'J\ HLW:L II, '''''" lORA.
I.

/979.8. /9)

25th DynasC\ (7-17-656 BC), whn had se"eral

horses interred beside their pyramidal tombs

and 'l;RI.
A. R. SnILI.\I-\'. 'Egyptian representations of
horsemen and riding in the New K..ingdom'.
JNES 10 (1957),267-70.
~l. A. L,.,T\LER and j. II. CROLII EL, 1171ee/cd
r..:e!Jir!t'S (lilt! riddt'll (/1/i1l/(I/s il1 [he Allciefll Sear
East (Leiden <\nd Cologne. 1979).
L. SToRe", 'Pfcrd', uxikull tier _Tgyplologie J\,
cd. II'. Heick, E. Otto and W. Westendorf
(Wicsbaden, 1982), 1009-13.
R. and J..l "SSE:", E~~.JIPli{/IIIt(JlIseh(J1dtluill/u/s
(Aylesbury, 1989),38-13.
C. ROi\L\lEI.\EIH:, !.ex (hn.'lll/x till NOlIl't'1 Empire
EgYPfieu (Brussds l 1091),
ilt EL-kLRI{L

Horus (Harocris l I-Tarpocratl:s, Harsomtus,

Horemakhet, Ra-Horakhty)

F:\LCO,\;-god whose name is attcsted from al

least as carly as the beginning of thc Dynastic
period (".3100 Ile). Although not actuallY

cd with other deities. The purpose of the cippm seems to haye been to prm'ide healing po\\'ers to combat such problems as snake bites or
scorpion stings,
As a son of Isis and OSIRIS, Horus \\as also
worshipped under the name of Harsicse, the
god who performed the rite of OI'I':;\fI'JG OF Tl IE
,\IGLTll on his dead fathcr, thus legitimizing
his succession to the thronc as earthly ruler. in
a simibr vein, as ilorus Iun-mutcf~ priests or
e]ckst sons wearing p"lI1t'hcr~skin costumes
would

ritually

purify

the

path

of the

deceased's coflln.

named as such, it is probably the Horus-f~lIeon

who mlS depicted on the 'Bau]cficld' and
'i'\.lrmcr' ceremoni'll P,\I.ETI'ES l apparently
subjugating his enemies in the battles IC<.lding
to the unif.ication of Egypt. Tn addition, the
TLRI:'\ Ron!. C.\:'\o:'\ (a 19th-Dynasty king list)
describes the Prcdynastic rulers of Egypt as
'followers ofllol'us l
Usually depicted as a hawk or as a man
with the head of a hawk, Horus was not only
a god of the sky but the embodiment of
di\,inc ""GSIIII' and protector of the reigning

Chester Beatty

(Chester Beart\ Libran,

Dublin), which details the Yaried. sometimes

ludicrous, ri\'alry of Horus and Seth, including a race in boats of stone. In this \'crsion it is
the sun-god R.\ who adjudicates at the end or
an eighry-year contest, although as usual it is
Ilorus who rmally becomes king ofEg~..,t:. ft is
possible thal these mythological cuntendings,
an e\'en later account of \yhich is gi\'cn by the
Greek writer PJ.LT\RClI, may renect a distant
mcmory of the struggles of the 'nro lands'
bcf(we unillcarion, although few prehistorians
would now attempt to usc such comlxlral-i\'c1~
reCent documents to interpret the late
Predyn<1stic archaeological material ((.3200-

pharaoh. Gradually the cults of other hawk-

gods merged \\ ith lhat of Horus, and a complex array of myths becilme associated with
him. According 10 one of the most common
myths, hc was the child of the goddess ISIS,
and in this role (lalcr known as Harpocratcs)
he waS usually depicted in human form with
the SIIJEI.OC" OF YOLTII and a finger to his
mouth l often being seated on his mother's lap
(particularly in amulets and bronze yoti\,e
statuet tes).
From the T~al c Period to the Roman period
(747 m.:-t\!) 395) a new vehicle for the image or
Horus l the dppus, bccame popular. This was a
form of protective stele or amulet showing the
naked child-god Horus sian ding on a CrOcodile and holding snakes, scorpions, lions or
othcr animals in his oUfstrerchcd arms. On
such dppi Horus was also somctimes associat-

The mythology of the Osirian Ilorus

(r"lther than any or the other aspect~ of Horus)
was principally concerned with his struggles
to avenge the murder of his f"llhcr Osiris and
to claim his rightful inheritance, the throne of
Egypt, by defeating the c\-il god SETH. The latest narratives of the myth tend to combinc
scveral different traditions, Tn the first version, Seth was Horus l unclt.: l \yhcrcas in the
second \t.:rsion he was his brother, There arc
also difTering accounts of their struggles or
'eolHendings\ which wcrc associated with the
myth of Horus c\'cn before the cOlltcndings
becamc linked with the Osiris myth. The
Shabaqo Stone (c.705 Be, now in the British
l\luseum), a 25th-Dynasty inscription purporting to be a copy of an Old K.ingclom text.
describes thc story of the earth-god lil:n judging berwcen the t\\'o and cyentuaUy :marding
the throne to Horus. Howe\'cr, a more li\cl~
\'ersion is pro\'ided by the RamessidL" Papyrus

Cippm /)1' '[['Ims sfele', sl/filllillg Horus as u dlild

//Jith t/ie pnmer to Oi..'t!I'{IJIIiC htlrJI?/jd.lilras. Li/..'c
Nem Kingdom exalllples, this ifem is oImood, hilt
tlu.' prolllilll!lIf Bes heud alltl fhree~dimeJlsinl1t11
represclltatio/l oIthl' (hiM Homs poinllo l/ic I.ttle
Paiod. mImi mosl e.\'{fwples mere oIs/(lI/c, Ltt/(,
Paiod. ajh:r600 He. J1lood.Fmll A,1empI11~~ (?).
/1.1901/. (/60958)

.l10D IlC).
During his contendings with Seth, Horus is
s:lid to have lost his left eye (which represented the moon), although t(lrtunatcly the goddess I L\'I'IIOI{ was able to rcsrorc it. The IIt(jator medjal-eye (thc 'eye of Horus l ) thercf()re
came to symbolize the gener"ll process of
'making whole l and healing, the term IIdjal

133

HOUSE OF LIFE

literally meaning 'sound'. It also represented

the waxing and ,,,aIling of the moon, and
served as a metaphor for protection, strength
and perfection; ]/ledja/-eye i1I11ulcts arc
extremely common.
Since Horus was a sky-god and ;l cosmogunie deity, h.is eyes wcre interpreted as the sun
and moon, and he was frequently described in
the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 Be) as a god of
the cast, and hence
the sunrise. Tn this guise
he became ~nowl1 as Horemakhct ('Horus in
the I I(JRII.U'. I) and he was also merged \YIth Ra,
to bCCOIlH.: Ra-Horakhty. There wcre numerous forms of Horus throughOllt Egypt, hut he
is particularly associated with EIWL, the site or
the ancient city of1"le5cn. There was a temple
of Horus at Edfu fi'om al least as early as the
Nc\y Kingdom, and in the wcll-preserved
Ptolemaic temple he was ""orshippcd ,1S part
or a triad with I-Lllhor and Lheir child
HarSOl11tus. Prom at least .lS early as the -hh
Dynasty Horus Khenty-Irty was worshipped
aL Letopolis (Kom Ausim) in the western
Della.
Horus W~L" also closely associated with 11mRt\K01\POI.IS (Iitcnilly 'town of the h~nyk') which
was known as Nekhcn during the Phar~lOnjc
period. From the temple at this site Was excavated the golden falcon head (nmY in the
Egyptian ?vluseum, Cairo) which probably
formed part of a cult image. In his role as
Horus of Behdel, a town in the Delra, he was
also portrayed as a winged sun-disc, an image
that constantly recurred in the decoration of
many other remples, harking back to his originall11anifestarion as a god of the sky.
See also KD.\L (}\LIJO and SOi\S Oi' 110RUS.
G. D \In:sSY, 7i:.r/('.~ el dessills /IwgiljllcS (Cairo,
]9(3), ]-2.
A. H. G"tRJJ1NI']{, Till' CIles/a lJe{/lIy I)(//~)'I"i I
(London, 1931).
- , 'HonlS the 13ehdetite',]DI 30 (19+1), 23-60.
J. G. GRlFF1TIIS, The (fII~/li(t ,!/11urt/s alld SCIIt
FO/lf hg,ypliall alld Classi(al SOlfrt!!S (Li\Trpool,
lW,O).
H. VI!. r'\IRi\II\N, The Iriumph oII-lurl/s: (II! (lIIde1//
L~~.J!Pli{/1I s(lcral drama (London, 1974).
S. QUlIU':I':, Al/tiClI1 Hgyp/itlll re!tiiull (London,
1992),61-7.
C. AN1JRI,:ws,AlIIlIleH o!al/tielll Egypi (London,
1994),43--4.

or

House of Life (Egvptian per ankh)

Templc institution somctimes compared wifh
a medieval scriptorium. Although usuall~
associated with a religious institution, the
I-louse of Life differed from its monastic
counterpart in that it was not simply a place
where PRIESTS were trained in the reading and
copying of sacred texts but apparently also a

134

HUMO~

school for SCRIBES and the children of the elite

(sec EIlLCITIO'). Tl is also likely that copies of
such funerary fexts as the noot\: OF TILE DE..\D
wcre produced feu' sale to pri\"ate individuals.
'\STRO'\O\I', geography, .\1 \"1"1 IL\L\TICS and
L'\\\, as 'Yell .1S the interpretation
DIU~'\\lS,
would h;n-c been taught in the House of Life,
while priests would haye had ample theological material to study. They ,,"o~Ild probabl~
also h,lVC lltilized the tcmpk I.JHRARY, or
House of Books (per JIIcdjal), which would 110
doubt have been the principal source of the
original documents copied by rhe pupils. The
personnel of the House of J .ife also appear 1"0
haye been concerned with \lI':f)LCI\T, and it
may be thar the sanatoria associated with a
number
later temples were connected in
some way widl ,he Houses of Life.
The priests of the House of Life Illay also
haye been concerned with oyerseeing the work
of temple craftsmen, and ',"CrC perhaps
involved in the design of new pieces for manufacture. Houses of Life are recorded at
iVLemphis, Akhmim, Abydos, Koptos, Esna
and Edfu and rhere lllust certainly have been
examples at Thebes and elsewhere, The House
of Life at EL-.\.\\.\Rl'A 1 a complex of mud-brick
buildings in the centre of the eily or
Akhetatcn, midway between the main temple
and pabce, was c1carly indcntifiable when
excavated in the 1930s because the bricks were
stamped with the words pn (Ilft.-h. In most
other respects, however, these buildings were
undistinctive, although significantly it ,yas in
these rooms fhat one of the rare fragments of
papyrus at cl-Amarna (part of a funerary text)
was founel.
A. II. GARDI.'1Et{, 'The House of Life' ,]EA 24
(]938), ]57-79.
A. VOLTEN, DI'IIIf)//~fdll' TrallllldclIl//lIg
(Copenhagen, ]942), 17---14.

or

or

J. D. S. PE:,\DLEBL"RY, Cily (~r--l/.:l1Cl/{/I(,1/ 111/1

(London, ]951), 115, 150,
E. STROL:lif\I., Lije ill al/rielll Egypt (Cambridge,
1992),235-41.

houses see TOWNS

Hu see IlI\r-SEI\IAlj'\"\

IU~GIO;'\

human sacrifice
There is no certain evidencc of the practice of
human sacrifice in Egypt from the Old
Kingdom (2686-ZlSJ Be) onwards, although
the practice is known from KEILVIA in Nubia at
a time roughly contemporary with the Second
Intermediate Period (l 650-1550 BC).
Tn the Protodynastic and Early Dynastic
period (d200-2686 Be), there may be archaeological indications of the funerary sacrifice of

servants. It has becn argued that the apparent

shared roof coycring many 'subsidiar~, burials'
sUITuunding the tombs of certain lst-D~ nasty
rulers at Abldos and Saqqara (3]OI)-28YI) IlC:)
is an indication that large numbers of royal
retaincrs were killed simultaneoLlsl~ in anler
to accompany the pharaoh into the aftcrlik
This practke would no doubt later have been
superseded by the more widespread usc of
representations of senants at \york (in thl'
form of wall decoration and rhree-dimcn:-'ion_
al models), and the e\,cntual pro\'isioll of
SIIABTI figures, \rhose role appears 10 haH;
been to undermke agricultural work on hehalf
or the deceased,
Prom the late Predynasric period oO',;\rus,
rotiye objects ;lnd temple walls were ti'equclltIy decorated ,Yith scenes of the king smiting
his enemies while gripping them by their hair,
hut rhese ;lcts of ritual execution arc usuall~
depicted in the context of wart~lre. The actual
sacrifice of prisoners at temples - as opposed
1"0 the depiction
foreigners as bound eapti'Ts - is attestcd by t.extual evidence from 'he
reign 01' Amenhotep " (1427-1400 l1e). He
claims to have executed seven S~Tian princcs
in dle temple of AmLin at Karnak, displaying
the bodies of six of thL:m On its walls, ;lIld
hanging {he body 01" the seventh on the walls

or

of l'\AJ'AJi\.
rhe tale of the +th-Dynasry rukr Khufu
He) and rhe magician Djedi, COIllposed in the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 Be)
and preserved on Papyrus "iestcar (Berlin),
provides a good illustration of the Egypti,lIls'
apparent abhorrence of human sacrifice.
Khufu is portrayed as a stereotypical t~ rant
who asks for a prisoner 1"0 be decapitated so
that Djedi can demonstr;He his magical abilit~
to restore severed heads, bUl, according to the
story, the magician insists that the lkmonstration be made on a goose rather than a hum,lll.
It is ,llso worth noting that the PrR \ \lID
'n:yrs include possible references to cannibalism in the form of the so-called 'cannihal
hymn' (Utterances 273--1-), which describes
the king 'eating the magic' and 'swallowing I hI.:
spirits' of the gods. However, it is difficult to
know in rhis instance whether the cuncept of
the king eating the gods was purely metaphorical or based on some early s,lcrificial aCL
!vI. LIClITIIEI.\l, .-1I1t"i':lIl [gyptif/II lileraillre I
(Berkeley, 1975),36-8, 2J7-20.l'cannibalism
hymn' and Papyrus Westcar]
A.]. SPENC1~R, E([I'~)I L:'.!,yPI (London, 1993),
61-97.

(2589-2566

humour
Since humour and satire are both concerned
with the subversion and undermining of the

HUMOUR

HUNTING

nl)rl1l~1 decorum of society, they arc notoriously

diflil:ult to analyse or dissect in modern times,
let '11onc in an anciem culture such as Pharaonic
Egypt, when cyell the most bOlSic framework of
the system of decorum (or social mores) is not

t!f IYr.rerly, in which the disintegration of society is described in terms of deliberate re\-crsals

fully undcr:->tood. ~ot withstanding this basic

prohlem, there are'l few relatively unambiguOliS sUI"\'i,"ing examples of visual humour, such
as the scene, among the relicfs in the temple of

13. \:\'- DE 'V\J.I,E, L '!If/mImI' dum III lilleralllft' t'I

dl/IIS I'arl de I'{/I/rit:lluc 1:.~!.{l'Plc (Leiden, 1969),

l-blshepslIl (1+73-H5~ He) al DEli{ I'I.-H.\II"',

that portrays the orcrwcight figure of the
queen of Pl:;\"T followed by a small donley,
whose caption rcads 'the donkey that had to

carry the queen'. The comic impacl or this

scene on anciem Egyptians is perhaps indicated hy rhe SUf\"j'",ll of an mtrK..\C();\. bc.uing a
rough sketch of the queen c1e~uly copied from
the original.
Such rilles ;]s Salin: UII I!lt' lratlt's and Be (f
srribt' are used by Egyptologists to describe
parricular ~'pes of text from the ..:\ liddle and
New K.ingdoms thar poured scorn on all
trades and professions other than that of the
scribe, Although the Egyptian scribe's superiority complex was so highly developed tlut
parts of the \atircs' nuy eren have been
regarded as factual rather than ironic, there is
undoubtedly a considcr~lble clement of comical exaggeration and Guicature in the descriptions of the rarious trades, prO\'iding a liten.Jr~
counterpart fC)f the gentle visual mockery of
some of the labourers depicted in prh-,He
tomb-p'lintings,
On the wholc. there seem to h<1\ e been relath-c1y fc\\' outlets for humour within the confines of official funerary ,md religious arr and
literature; therefore most of the more lighthearted aspects of Egyptian culture tend to be
restricted ro rhe arena of rough sketches and
OSTRAC..\, depicting such T'\BOO subjects as a
pharaoh with unsecmly stubble on his chin. A
large number of such sketches, howeycr, E11I
into the cltegory of 'animal fahles', in which
animals - particularly cats ~1I1d mice - are
depicted engaged in typical hum.m activities
such as beating capti,'cs, dri,'ing chariots or
making obeisance to a ruler, ln a few instances
these scenes arc portrayed on pjpyrus, ,1S in the
case of rhe so-called Satirical Papyrus (now in
the British l\luscum), which dates to the late
New Kingdom and includes scencs of;'l lion
and antelope playing a board-game (see Gt\..\IES
for illustration) and a c.lt herding geese, It has
becn suggested that these images of animals
may be all th,u- survive of 'beast fablcs',
although no Iitcrary coulHcrparts have survived, and there is currently no sure way of
determining whether the pictures were either
intended to be humorous or connected in some
way with such didactic writings as the Discourse

and inyersions of the narur,ll world,

S. CL'RTO, La stllira IId(ulllirn EgillQ (Turin,

19(5).

Huni see ,\I!':rl)L;\\

and

S:'\EFERL

hunting
Although hunting in the Pharaonic period was
rehnively unimpormnr as a means of subsistence, ir still retained a great de,ll of ritualistic
,md religious significance, T,yo basic types of
hunting were regularly represented on the
walls of tombs and temples throughout the
Pharaonic period: 'fowling and fishing' and
'big-game', the former consisting prim,lrily of
small-scale fishing and bird-snaring on the
hanks of the :\"ilc, :md the latter consisting of
the hunting of wild deer :.l11d lions in deserr
terrain, and bulls, crocodiles and IIIPPOI'OT.\.\ll
in the marshes. These two categories also correspond roughly to the private and royal
domains, with scenes of 'fowling and lishing: in
the marshes' being ,I common component of
pri,;.ttc tomb decorillion but only in one case
appelring in a roynl tomb (thaL of King \\,
h.\23 in theYalley of the Kings).
By the )Jew Kingdom (1550-1069 Be),
descriptions of [he pharaoh's exploits as a
hunter of such beasts as wild bulls, L10:,\S, elephanrs and rhinoceroses formed an essential
part of the characteristic Egyptian sryle of
KI'\TGSllIP, 1:\\'0 series of commemorativc
SC\IL\US of \\IE,\IIOTEP III (l390-13S2 Be) were

inscribed with detailed descriptions of his

hunting of wild bulls nnd lion.">, and the decoration of the first pylon of the morrtli.lr~ temple or Rameses BI (I 18+--1 153 Be) at \II'DI'ET
I1'\BC includes ,1 demiled depicrion of the king
and his soldiers hunting bulls, Such royal
hunts appear to hn,"C taken place within deliberately enclosed areas, so that the animals
would have no escape, and the exc,lYat"ion of
the \Jew J..:..ingdol11 settlement at SOLEB in
~ubia has yielded traces of post-holes which
may well indic,ue the presence of an enclosure
surrounding a large hunring park cu,-cring an
area or 600 m x 300 m. There arc also a fell'
pri,-ate tombs that shmy the deceased Imming
wild game in the desert. thus pro,'iding the
artists \\-ith;\ rare opportunity to depict rhe distinct1,'e Sa,'anna and desert landscapes in \\'hich
the hunt occurred,
Com'crsel~, the simple netting of birds
became an important parr of tern pic decOI'arion, with the king and v,lrious gods often
being depicted hauling clap-nets containing
both birds and beasts, \-Vhcreas tht.: depictions
of fowling in private tombs no doubt reflected
the aCIll,,1 actiyitics of the elite, the temple
scenes arc usually interpreted as allegories of
the presenation of harmony by hunting down
and suppressing cyil and unstable phenomena
(symbolized by the birds and animals struggling in nets),
In the Old Kingdom, the pyramid com-

I t'all-pailllil1gfmm IItl' lomb-dltlpl'l ofNd){I11lfI11,

sltoming lite dcreased millt Iti,~fil1l1ihll/lf1l1;"g binls
in lite marsltes, 1811t Dyuasl.l'. c.1-100 /lC, pail/led
plaster.ji'fllII TItebi.'s, 11,81 fll1, (F.1379ii)

135

HUSBANDRY

HYKSOS

easy to cross the horder and senle in LO\\er

Egypt".
Ha\-ing persuaded oneself of thi~,
the Hyksos assumption of power rcycals itself
as a peaceful takeoycr from within b~ a racial
c1cment already in the majority.'
The Semitic nameS of such 15th-and 1()[hDynasty l-Iyksos rulers as Khyan, Joam and
.Iakbaal (c. J650-1.>50 BC) dearly indicate their
non-Egyptian origins, A number
1\e\\
Kingdom texts, including the Ramcssidc
Papyrus Sallier I (c 1220 Be), suggest that the
llyksos interlude was essentially the rUlhb,1"
imposition of Asiatic culture on thaI of tht:
n.lti\'c Egyptians, but these were unduuhtcdl~
biased accounts. and the archaeological c\ i(knee is considerably morc ambiguous,
The ccmeteries, temples and stratified sett1cmcnt remains at such e.lstern Delta sitcs as
TELL EI.-O\11'\, TEI.I. EL-\\ \S,,"IIL"T\ and TiLl
EL-nIlLIJIU include considerable quantities
of Syro-Palestiniau material dating to lhe
~ riddle Bronze Age II period (c.2000-700 lie),
but the Hyksos kinl:!s thcmseh'es ha\-e left fc\\
distinctively 'Asiatic' remains. The sJllall
number of royal sculptures of the H~ ksos
period largely adhere to the iconographic Jnt!
stylistic traditions of the l\lidlllc t..:.ingdol11.
There is some e\-idcl1l:c 10 suggest that Ihe
rulers supported the traditional forms of
gm"crnment ilnd adopted an Egyp[ian-Sl~ Ie
ROYo\!. TITLL.\Rr, alrhough j\lh\nfrcd Bit.:ta"
has discU\'cred a door jamb al Tell d-Dah'a
bearing the name of Ihe T-Iyksos king
Sokarher with the title ht/Nt khllsm/, Their
major deity was SET!I but thcy also \'01'shipped other Egyptian gods as well as \, n
and AST-\RTE, two closely related goddesses (If
S)To-Palcstini~lI1 origin. Con\'cntional forms

or

RdieldarJr(lIiOIl on thl' fwel: oIIII/:jinl py!rJ11 of

Ihe mortuary Jemple ofRmut'seslll (118-1-1153)
at J/Il'dillt'! J-!a!JlI, s!lomillg llu' killg IlllI/lillg mild

bulls.

is portrayed slul/diug in his dlllrio/

olt/u:
hulk TIlt' larding grnup (~(.mldiers ill t!le !fJII'CI"
regis/a are slIfWi/l firing arrows. appa/'m/()I
R([1I1eSl'5

tlud thrusling 1I !oug IUl11fmg sptllr at Dill'

engaged ou(p illlhe more 1II1111t/(/l1(' pursuit of/ht'

birds ant/Jish (~rlhr marsh-lauds. (I. SIIIII)

plexes of Sahura (2487-2+75 Be) and Pcp,' "
(2278-2184 BC) contained depictions of thc
king hunting a hjppopotamus rendered at a
larger-than-life scale; the allegorical nature of
these scenes, in [crms of the king's containment of chaos, is demonstrated by the rcliefs in
the temple of IIORes :1l ElJrL, which transform
the aCI of hinding and spearing a hippopotamus into a dramatic re-enactment of the mythical conniet between the gods Horus anu SETII.
T. S \\ E-SOl)EIWEIHjll, 01/ Egypl;a}/ ft'presl'l!ftlliollS
/{hippuPIJIUIIIIIS hUl/ling (IS

tI

RaJ'l1/olltl.lI(fI/1~J'

(Paris, 1981), 727-3-L

\V. DEC,,"ER, SpOrlJ (fill! games fJIllncienl 1~:f{)IPI,
trans, A. Guttmann (i'\'ew Haven. 1992),
147-67.
E, STROLl 1.0\1.. Lije ill oJ/ciml EgypI (Cambridge,

1992), 118-22

IIUSB.\.'DR\

136

foreign lands')
Term used to refer to a Palestinian group (or
perhaps only their rulcrs) who migr~llcd inlO
EgYPI during Ihe late i\liddle Kingdom
(c.1800-1650 BC) and rose to power in Lowcr
Egypt during the Second lntcrmediate
Period (1650-1550 DC). [t used to be assumed
that the Hyksos conqucred Egypt at the cnd
of the 13th Dynasty, bUI it is now recognized
that the process was prohably En more gradual and peaceful; according to Donald
Redford, 'it is not unreasonable to assume
that with the gradual weakening of royal
authority, lhe Delta defenses were allowed 1"0
lapse, and groups of transhumants found it

.~I

St,!et:lioll ofscllrabs tlll/illg 10 ,hl'

(\/;11 )'ORI\, l/ETROIOI.lI 1\ lILSEI

r~J'hos pai(lt!,

II)

rcligio/lS mOlh'"

(Uppsala, 1953).
J. LELJ.-\'\T. 'Un pan.: de chasse de 13 ~ubic
phar:lOnique\ Li'SO!. !u pam!t' cll'eail. 2000 lIW
tI'hisloire aFimilll'; mi/lmgl's etIllOlIIlI/agf' ,i

husbandry sec

Hyksos (Eg'~ptian Ireka Hili''''/: 'rulers of

'GKICGI:rcKE

and, "1'1.\1.

A~,

' .. =:;

HYKSOS

HYPAETHRAL

of Egyptian literature, such as the Rhinu

_\!athematical Papyrus (see \I \TIIE\I HIC~)
l:onrinucd to be composed or copied.
Ha,"ing established their capiml at AY:lris,
they appear to have gradually spread westward. establishing centres such as TEI.I. ELnIILmY.\, and taking control of the important
Egypti<ll1 cit~ of _~lcmphis. The discO\"cry of;1
small number of objects inscrihed with the
names of Hyksos kings at sires such as
Knossos, Baghdad and Boghazk(}'y (as well as
the remains of -'linoan frescos at l.;thD~ nasty A,"aris) suggest that the ncw rulers
maintained trading links with rhe Ncar East
and lhe Acgc~lIl.
Seals .It the :"Jubian site of .,.J:It\\ \ be.1r the
name Shcshi, appilrcntl~ a corrupted form of
Salitis, the earliest known Hyksos king. The
presence of these seals probably indicarcs that
thefe was ~lJ1 alliance between the I lyksos and
the kingdom of I':erma, which \\ould hu\'e
helped them both to counter opposition in
Uppcr Egypt, \yhere ;l ri\'nl group. the 17th
Thcban Dynasty, were \'iolcntly opposed to
foreign rule. The Second Stele of "".IIOSE,
describing onc of the Theb~m campaigns
agotinst the Hyksos, includes clear references
to a Kubian-Hyksos alliance by the end of the
17th Omas,y.
During the Hyksos period, greater use was
madc of IIOKSF"S, and their use in warfnre was
developed through the introduction of the
CIURIOT, which facilil.ltcd the de\'cIopment of
new military techniques and strategies. The
curyed sword (khepesh) was introduced, along
with body armour . mel helmct<i. Ironically, it
was probabl~ the adoption of such ne,,- military technology by the Thcbans that helped
their rulers to dcfcar the Hyksos, and tu l:smblish ,\II.\lOSE I (1550-1525 lie) as the first king
of the 18th Dynasty, and founder of the :\ell"
Kingdom (1550-1069 uc).
The gra\'e goods in Upper Egyptian pri\"iltc
ccmcteries of the Hyksos period (such as
Abydos and Qtu) sho\\" greilt continuity with
the prc-Hyksos period, suggesting that the
cultural impact of the Hyksos rulers may hiwe
been restrict cd to the Deltil region. E\Tn sites
in the j\rll:mphitc region and the western Delta
show few indications of Palestinian influence.
It has also heen suggested by Barry Kemp that
the appareJ1l Icultural hiatus' in thl: Fayum
region during the Second Intermediate Period
may simply be iln indication of political disruption in those areas which had pre\ iously
had a strong association with the _\liddle
Kingdom central administration.
]. \,0, BE(XER,rrJ-l, Ullfenllcllungell

;;:'1/1"

j. y\, SETERS, TIlt, /7yksos. a Jlem im:e.aiglltioll

(:\e\\" (-];"'en, 1966).
B. .f. KE..\II, 'Old f.:ingdorn, ~liddlc Kingdom
and Second Tntermediate P(,;riod'. AI/rimt Egypt:
II soria/ltistOlT, B. G. ~[j'iggcr ct al. (Cambridge.
1983),71-182.
D. B. RCDFORD, Eg)lpt. Ctll/lllllllllltllsrtlt'1 ill
lIucienllillles (Princt:ron, 1992),98--129.

hymns and litanies

One of the most l:ommon types of religious
text in ancient Egypt was the hymn, usually
consisting of .1 eulogy incorporating the
names, titles and epithets of a deity. The
mythological details indudcd in many hymns
help [Q compensate for the general dearth of
naffatiye-style myths in Egyprhm literature.
Hymns could be inscribed on the walls uf
both tombs and temples as well as on papyri;
although they were generally intended to be
recitl'd as part of the ritual of a cult - Papyrus
Chester Beatt~ 1'\ (recto) now in the British
~Iuseum), for instance, includes hymns to be
sung: by the worshippers in a temple- but they
were sometimes composed simply as 'lil"el'i1ry'
documents in their own right, as in the l ..lse of
the ff,'IWl It) the _Yilt: lUl/mlll/;ol/ (one \-crsion
of which is recorded on Pap~ rus Chester
Beatty \"). Ofll:1l the f"unction of the hYllln can
be difficult to ascertain: a cycle of five hymns
to SE"LSKn III (187+-1855 BC) were found in
the town associated with his pyramid at EL1.",IIL.', but it is not clear when thc~' would
have beell recited) whether as part of [he
regular cult at the pyramid complex or on a
special occasion such as the \'isit of the
reigning king.
Numerous funerary stelae were inscribed
\\ith hymns W OSIRIS, the god of thl: dead, and

the LilllllY of RlI, a hymn to the sun-god, was

inscribed in milny Ramessidc royal tombs in
the \.\I.I.EY OF TilE ""GS. .4.mong the most
poelic of the h~-111ns to the sun was the l!)lJJI1l
10 tht _lien, the longest \'ersion of which was
inscribed in the tomb of w at EL-;\ \HR:'\.\. Irs
description of the role of the rrE..." in the sustenancc of the world from dawn to sunset has
often been compared with Psalm 104)
although the uncloubred similarities between
the two compositions ~t1most certainly result
from a conmlon literary heritilge rather than as some scholars hiwe argued - frum any connection between the worship of the Aten ilnd
the origins of Jewish Illonothl:ism. In "lddition, it has oficn becn pointcd out that there is
link in the 1~)'mll 10 Ihl' _-lltll that docs not
already appear in e..trlier Egyprian hymns to
the sun-god.
A.. B-\ItLcQ.aJld r. D_-\l \1 \S, fflrll/llc'S i'l prieres de
I'E:!fl'pte ll1l(Jt'lIl1i' (Paris, 1980).
.\1. LICIITIIEI\I, _1110"ellt EgyptitlJllituliturr II
(Berkeley. 1976),81-118.
P. AUFI'Jn:T, f~}!1I11lt'S tIl:.~~YPI(' l'l d'lsral!/: etlfde.~ tic
sfm(/ures /ittertlires (Frcihurg, 1981).

hypaethral
Term Llsed to describe a building that has no
roof and is thcrefore open to the sky, as is the
case in the Kiosk ofTrajan at I'HIL.",E.

hypocephalus
Amuletic discs inscribl:d with extr.lcts from
Chapter 162 of the HOOF-.: 0]1 TilE: DUD and
oCC<.lsionally bearing \"ignettcs reprcsenting
certain deities. Thcy wcre intended to 'warm'
the head of the deceased. The earliest examples simply consisted of pieces of inscribed
papyrus, but: the hypocephali proper consist of
l~l'P{J(l'plt(l/us fJIXl'shorpllkht'rl'd.

{I

1l'1I1pll'1I1ItS;rill1l. deroratedl1Jitli
lilt' prr?/i/c figures o//;Jl/I"
l1'fll'shippilJg Ihe .HIII.
LlIft, Pc'riod or P/O/eJllll;t
period. -Ith~]rd re1Jtltric.~
11C. pillstued lil1CII 1I1ll1
p(~I/Ie1II,ji-o", Thebes.
fl. f.I (III. (c 136/88)

IwbU/IllS

polifl:~cllcll

Gesellidar tier :::..meileu Zmisdu'//:.:.ril ill /-i.~)lplt!n

(Gli.ickstadt and New York, 19(5),
137

HYI'OSTYLE HALL

HYI'OSTYLE HALL

p;tp~ rlls ShL'Ct':i mounted on small c.\RTO,";\:\GE

discs, which have been discoycred in il few
tombs from the 261h D~nast)" (66+--525 Be
onwards). There are also ;l few suryiving
examples madc from metal. 1n keeping with
their intended function, they were usually
placed betwcl:11 the head of the mummified
hody and the funcnlry headrest.

hypostyle hall
Large temple court filled ,,,it'h columns, forming an essential clement in Egyptian religiolls
architecture, the name dcri,-ing from the
Greek for 'resting on pillars'. There was a distincl lransition frol11 the PYLO:,\ into the open
courtyard and then into the hypostylc hall.
The hall was crowded with pillars and lit only
by clerestory windows in the uppermost pan
of the walls. The columns coulll be of ,"arying
diameter and height, 'llrhough those lining the
axis route of the temple \ycre usually the tallest
and broadest. 1r \\'<.1S not uncommon for a single temple to ha\'e two hYPos(~'le halls.
'T'he symbolism expressed by the hypostylc
hall is that of the reed swamp growing at the
fringes of the I'RI\IEnL 1\IOL\lD, since Lhe
entire IT\\PLE was regarded as a microcosm of
the prO<.:css of CRE.\TI()~ itself Beyond the h'll1,
the roof of the temple inyariably became lower
and the floor higher, while the dimensions of
Lhe rooms grew smaller, until the sanctuary
itself was reached. This cosmogonic symbolism is well illusrratcd in the temple of Amlin at
1-\'\Rl\Ah:, where;'\ dense fores\. of 134 columns
spring fi'om bases reminiscent of the earth
around the roots of papyrus plants. The great
columns along lhe axis route <.Ire each 23 m in
height, and end in massiye open papyrus flowers, while the rest of the columns han: closed
papyrus bud capitals.
In the temple of .J...:..hnuI11 .11 f:.S:\'.\, the
'swamp' symbolism is reinforced by the can'ing of insects on the column capitals. The
archilravcs above the columns, <.IS well as the
ceiling itself: arc representati\'c of the sky (see
\STRO,\,O\\Y '\ '.m \STROI.OGY), while the lowest
parts of the enclosing walls often be'lf scenes
of rows of offering bearers walking along the
ground surface.
P. A. SP":~CER, nil' I:.gyptialt temple: a
lexiwgmphiwl Jt/l(~)1 (London, 198.J.).
E. I IOR'LJ'\'G, Idcu into image, trans. E. Bredeck
(Nell'York, 1992), 115-29.

138

Pal't oIthe Creat J-Jypo5tyl' Hall (~Fthe temph' of

.4/1/1/" at Karnak. These afe the slJ/allel; doscd
flapyl'lls hud coll/II/m: tltc OpCII papyrus i'OIl/II/IIS
along the axial fOIl/e slalld 23111 high.
(p. 7: ,\ tG-IOI,SOX)

IBIS

ILLAHU~

I
ibis
The sacred ibis (Tltreskiomis tll'/hiopj(w) is
rhe best knO\\ n of the: principal species of
ihis in Egypt; its disrincti,"c fe.llurcs include
a white body, a dark cunul bill and a black
neck, wing-tips. hindquarters <.111<1 legs. Until
the nineteenth century it WilS rchnirdy common in Egypt but by 1850 it had almost dis<.lppcarcd. This bird W~lS regarded as an
incarnation of TIIOTIJ, and in the Lac Period
(7~7-332 Be) and Ptolemaic times (332-30
Be) sacred ibises were mummified in \';lst
numbers .1I1e1 buried in catacombs at TC\:i\
EL-(iEllI:l., S 'Qq. \R.' and elsewhere (see
S"-CREI> \'T\L\I.S).

The GrccJ.. historian

IIER0l10TLS

states that

in his time it waS an ofTence to kill an ibis.

Hmycrcl', it is known fi'om examination of rhe

A JIIllllfJII{jieti i/Jisjimlllhl' Sacred _'IIl/lIIal

Nampolis all/orlh Saqqtlnl. Plolt!lIIair period.

c. /.;0 HC (EI682/9)
mummified remains of these birds that some
must" hilYC been hastened to their death; in
addjtion it scems that they were being dclibcratcl~ hred for the purpose of "oriYc mummification. h has been suggested thai their eggs
were artificially incubated in m-cns; bULh
mummified eggs and the remains of other
species of ibises are knO\Yll from the cuacombs
.11 Saqqara.
Thc cult ofThoth led to the production of
numerous ihis amulets and statuettes, many of
which hayc sun'iyed at Tun.1 c1-Gcbcl and
Saqqara. The mummificarion of ibises and the
production of Y(Hi,'c items mllst han~ phtyed
.In important part in the economy, and a \.triety of fnlUdulent practices arc recorded in the
archi"e of a priest called HoI' at Saqqara.
The 'glossy ibis' (Pleg(fdi.~ jilkiut!/II1S) has a
characteristic curved bill, as well as long legs
and ,111 iridescent" bronze-colourcd gloss on ils

Lipper hack and wings. Like the sacred ibis, it

was frequently depicted in tomb reliels frum
the Old "-ingdum (2686-2181 Be), usualh"
being painted as if it ,,"cre eompletcl~ black.
_J\ct:ording to Herodorus it fought with winged
serpents ,Yhich flew to Egypt from Arabi~1.
The 'hermit ibis' (Geronliells t!rfJl/ila) has <1
long neck, long legs and a distim:ri"e ruff:
le'luing some scholars roo describe it as the
'crested ibis'. Its image sen'ed as the hieroglyph meaning 'to shine' (sec \"11). In modern
Egypt it is a rare :Iccidental migrant, but it
may ha,-c becn more common in ancient times.
Since it is not a w..ltel'sick bird, it features less
commonly in ancient scenes set on the banks
of the Kilc, which lIsuall~ include the sacred
ilnd gloss~ \"lrieties.
J. D. R.'\\, lYI, flrdu','c 4'Hor(London, 197(l)"
G. T l\hRTIi\, The sulTt'd flJlillltll /ll'{ropo!is III
Sorlh SlIljqara (London, 1981).
P. F. HOLl.III", 111t'''i,.tlSiJfllll(il'llll:.~!!;.,I'PI
(\\'arminstcr, 1986)126-32,1-+6-7.

ichneumon
Type or mongoosc common in Arrica, which is
larger than a domestic Glt, and thus higger
th;1I1 its Indian counterpart. The creature is
realistically ponntyed in .1 number of Old
Kingdom tombs such as that of the 5thDynasty noble .,., ((.2~00 Be; "lomb 60 at
Saqqara), and less rcalisLicall~' depicted in
some of the :\cw J-.:.ingdom rombs, such as that
of ~ lenna (rr69) at Thebes.
U," the ~liddle "-ingdom (2055-1650 Be)
the ichncumon was included among the
SAClH:n ''\I'I.\I.S and by Ramessicle times
(1295-l06Y Be) it sened as a symbol 01" the
spirits of the underworld. Its skill in
despatching snakcs led to the myth that the
sun-goo It, once lOok the form of an i<.:hneumon in order to fight \POPIIIS, the gre;ll serpent of the underworld. This sohlr identificat ion is rcsponsible lor the sun disc surmounting
some
ichneumon
ligures.
Sometimes this disc is accompanied by 0.1
uraCIIS, \\ hich sen es to identify the creature
",ith \\.\1))' '1', the goddess traditionally asSOciatcd with Lowcr Egypt. The mongoose
emblem of the goddess l\bfdet suggests that
she may ha"e originally adopted this manifeslation, \\hich would h,we been p'1rticularIy suitable gi,-cn her supposed PO\\ er oyer
snakes and scorpions.
i\ bny bronze figurines of ichncumons h~l\'e
SLllyj,"ed, although most time from the Late
Period (7-+7-332 oc) or Ptolemaic period
(.)32-30 DC), ",hen its depiction can be ditlicult to differentiate from that of the sluc\\.
E. BI{L:"KER-TI{-\L"T, 'Spitzmaus um! ichneumon
als Ticre des Sonncngortcs', NlldmdtlclI dcl'

.-U'adclllic tier' /i.\sellsdwjiell ill G',i""iJlp:CIl (1965),

123-63.
- , 'ichneumon', 1.l!xiI'lIl1 tier _lgyplolngil' III, cd.
I\". Heick, E. 0110 and " .. "estendorf
(Wicsbaden, 1980), 122-3.
J ;\ 1\LEI-.":, The wI in (fllrielll EgYPI (f .ondon,
1l)t)3), 32~9.

lIIahun $('(' EI.-I.\1tL"

Imhotep
Vizier and archirect of the first pyramid, the
Step PITamid of IlJOSER (2667-2M8 Be) of the
3rd Dynasty. \I.\.\.ITIIO credits him (under the
Grcck form of his name, Imouthcs) with the
im'cnrion of building in dressed stone, Jle is
also said to howe wriLten a number of 'instructions' (.I'eIJffyl, see \\ ISI){).\1 I.JTEIUTLIU:.),
although nonc has surYi"cd. It was tor his
great le.trning that he '\';1S most respcctcd and,
somc two thousand years after his death 1 the
first c"idcnce appcars of his deific.ttion, a gre.tt
rarir-,' for non-royal indi,-idu"lls in ancient
Egypt. He WilS considered ro be a god 01" wisdom, writing and ,\\EL>JCI'\E, and as ;l result
beeline linked ,\'ith the cults of the gods
'1'1 lOTI I

and

I'T\l1.

1olh:/! bnm:::'1! stalue11t' u/lhl' (Ie~rit'd archiltrl,

lmhotep" LaIc Paif)d, 61h-llh fl'''IIfric.l' IIC

(,,/6]800)
139

IMIUT

The Greeks identified him with their O\Y11

god of medicine, :\sklcpios. and his cult centre at Saqqara, the 'Asklcpion" became a
centre for pilgrimage by those seeking healing. ~ 1any worshippers left a mummified LBIS
as it \ Olive offering to him in the great underground cat.lcombs nearby. and some of these
birds bear appliques of lmhorep on their
\\Tappings. Pilgrims '1lso left clay models of
diseased limbs and organs in the hope of
being healed by lmhmcp. Bronze figurines of
the deified lmhorcp arc common from the
Late Period 011\\ .wds. J-Ie is usually represented as a seated scribe unrolling a papyrus
aCross his knees. The b;.lSC of lhe Staluclle
sometimes bears the names and titles of its
donor.
The Saqqanl cat;lcombs extend bcne~lth the
3rd-Dynasty \\ \ST\11 \ tombs, a Eltt which led
the British archacologisr~V. B. Emery to
search the area ror the tomb or Tmhotep himself, a process which ina(iYertcntly led to the
discovery of the s \eRED .\ ..... I.\I.\L necropolis.
The tomb of Imhotcp has still nOI been discovered, although some have argued that it
may be the large uninscrihed m<lstaba 3518 <It
Saqqara.
As well as haring a cult centre at Saqqara,
Imhol:cp was also worshipped al K..\RX.H:-. nEm
EI.-B.\lIRI, !IIlL.\E and in the Ptolemaic temple
to Hathor al DEm EI.-\II-:DI\..\. where he was
,"enerated alongside .\.\IE:'\lIOTrr so, OF 1+\PlJ.
another impOrlanl deified official.
D. \VIUJL '-:"G, lm!lfltcp lIIlt!. 1111('//llOtt:p:
GUl/lI'adtwg i/1/ a/tL'1f Agyptl'J/ (Berlin, 1977).
~, Egyptian SlliJlfs: deijiCfltioll ill pharaonic F.gypt
(~!<~\\ York. 1977).

imiut
Fetish symbol consisting or the stuffed, headless skin or <1n animal (often a fcline) tied to a
pole which was mounted in a pot. It is
recorded as early as the 1st Dyn~lst~
(311111-2890 BC), but is best known through its
nssimihnion with the worship of A.nubis,
being depicted in the Ch'lpcl of Anubis at DElI{
EI.-n\llRI and clscwhcre. As a resulr, lhe iminl
is sometimcs described as the ~Anubis fetish'
and selTes as one of the cpithcts of the god.
i'\lodcls of the emblem were sometimes
included among funerary equipment, 3S in
the case of the tomb of TUTAl\KllA.\IUJ'\
(1336-1327 BC).
C. N. RI]~\'I~S, Tlu> ((Imp/ell' T"lal/klll/lI/ulI

(London, 19911), 135.

incense
The most common Egyptian word for the
product used as incense is selle~ier (meaning ~to
make diyincl HmYc,-er, the term incense has

1-+0

INCE:--iSE

T'mo imilll}l'lishes (fir ~'JlIl1his}elJ~~hes') ji(jll/ lht:

lomb f~rTi/la1/ldftllflll1f. 1::Jlh D.)'lIflS~l" c. 133(J He,
11./67011. (CIIRO, .\OS

/9-1 /.\/)202,

IUPRODl elf)

COl R1E.\j} OF 1"1. Clur,..rrlf "STlTlT!.)

been somewhat ,'aguely used by Egyprologish

10 describe ;l range of aromatic substanCt..'S
used for burning in temples and for scenting
rhe person. 'lncense trees' were one of lh~'
commodiries brought to Egypt by Hatshcpsur

(1+73-1458 DC) as a result of the expedition

that she sent to the African land of pc, r, and
aromatics were also imported from thl
.\Icditerranean. Sellt'Uu. howe"er, is nO\\
known to come from ~l species of PiSI{uill.
The funer-ion of "incense cones' is a m.mer
of SOme debate. There are numerous representations of guests ar banquets and public func[ions, as in the tomb of Nebamun, wearing
their heil\y wigs, on top of which a cone of
incense mixed with Elt was placed.
Tradilionall~' it has bcen assumed that these
cones would gradually melt in lhe \yarm
atmosphere and run down the \yig and c10lhing
or the guest to lc~lVe them fragrant and (onl.
No stich cones have been discmered archaeoBELO\\ Fragmt!1I1 (~r11Jall~p{/illlillgFf)/Illht> ImnIJ

I{
s/f{)millg gflt'slS /1l('{ITing i1l(Cmf (Om's at
(f banquet. ISlh DY1lasty. c./-IOO BC. pail/It'd
p/a~If1:.li"(JfJl Thebes. II. 61 mI. (.J37Y8-1)
lVc!Ja/J1ff1l,

Il\STRUCTIONS

logically, however, ,md Joann Fk[(.:hcr has put

forward an argument that the depiction of the
conc is used simply as il hieroglyphic s~ mbol ro

depict the fact that the wigs \\-ere scented. It

seems unlikely that guests would h~we wished
to

have their

\'cr~'

elaborate and expensive wigs

matted with congealed fat or their fine linen

garments marked ,md smincd (although some

paintings perhaps suggest that this did happen). The yie\\ that the cone illustratcs something that would otherwise be impossible to
represent seems a plausible one.
A. ~I. BL \C~\l.\'\, 'The significance of" incense
and libations in funerary and temple rituals',
Z i~) 50 (1912), 69-75.
J. fLETCIIER . -If/rim' Egyptitl1/ hair: (I sfllt()' ill
Jo,le.]Orm (/l/djil11t/ioll (unpublished dissertation,
M:m<:hcster University, 1995).
1\IL SERPICO and R. VVIIlTE, 'The bot.mical identity
and transport of incense during the Egyptian
New Kingdom', _llItiq/li~lr 7{ (2000), 88+-97.

instructions Sl'l'

\rlSUO.\1 I.ITER..\TLRI:

Intel (I nyotc!)
Name taken by three rulers of the Theh.ln
J Ith Dynasty (2125--1985 BC), who were all
buried in rock-cut S.W, TO\lUS, in the cI-1i.trif
region of western Thches. They called themselves .lfter an 8th-Dynasty Theban nomarch
(provincial governor) and chief priest, listed as
a ruler in the so-ealled ']"ble of Karnak (an
18th-Dynasty Thehan "J,G Llsr), who was the
father of \lE"TcHOTEI' I (c.2125 BC), the
founder of the 11 th Dynasty.
ll/I~r, SeilerlllIP)! (2125-2 112 IJc), the son of
Mcntuhotcp I, initially rook the title 'supreme
chief of Upper Egypt', bur later in his reign he
conquered the ri\-al cities of ~()I"'OS, /)L,OERA
and IllER \~O"P()I.IS and adopted a Rm.\L
TITULAR) .

fl/I~rll WIIIIIII/kil (2112-2063 IJc), the son of

Intef I Sehertawy, succceded in consolidating
the military successes to achie\'e genuine control m'cr Cpper Egypt. The inscriptions in the
tomb of Hetepi at Elkab deseribe a F\\II'"
during his reign. In addition, the lo\yer portion of <1 stele (Egypti~ln J\luseulll, Cairo) was
found in 1860 by Auguste 1\ilarictte. outside
Inter II'S tomb at el-Tarit: describing his conquests and pOrlr~tying him \yith (i\'e namcd
dogs at his feet.
f""'l"l }\'{fkllll/eblepl/~(er(206"-2055 BC) is
thought to have restored the funerary chapel
or the deified
nomarch I-Ieqaib iH
Elephantine_ His reign is generally more
poorly documented than his two predecessors, although he is usually described as Inref
the Great. His son, Nebhcpetra ,\IE:"oiTUIIQTEP
II, was to becomc the first ruler of both Upper

INYOTEF

and Lower Egypt" since the enJ of the Old

Kingdom.
The name Inter was also taken by three
Theban rulers of the 17th Dynasty, who ruled
Upper Egypt during a period of instahiJity
immediately preceding the emergcnce of
rulers (in this case "'''lOSE and AII\IOSE I) who
reunited the two hah'es of the country.
P. E. NE\\llElun. 'On the parentage of the Tnter
kings of the Ele\CIlth D,nast'', z.~S 72 (1936),
118-20.

H. E_ \VI'l.OCI', Tht' fist' {flld.!;dll~rt!Je Hidtllt'

A"illgdoll/ i1l Thebes (Nc\\ York, 19{7).
\\~ SCIIE't>..EL, .IIt-mphis. Heral.:l(opolis. Thf/!ell:
tlil' t'p~l!.rtlphisdlel1 Zeugllisse tier 7.-1 J. Dyllmtie
.i!(l'ptel/S (lriesbaden, 1965).

D. .\R:'\OLl>, CHi-bel' de,\' .1ItCl1l1lfd .lfiflleri'll

R",id'l'S ill EI-1t/riICf\.1ainz, 19i6),

inundation
Tcrm used to describe the annllill nooding of
the i ilc in Egypt, which has nOt taken place
since lhe complction of the \s\r:\:'\ IIIGI' D.\.\\
in 1971. Such was the importance of the l'\ilc
inundation to the ancicnt Egyptians that
the~ worshipped 1/\1''", a personitic~ltion of
the noods .md the ensuing fertility. The
Egypti.lI1 seasons wcre based on the annual
1':ile cycle, and named accordingly: "ldlct thc
inundation, percl the growing se:lson, and
s11l'1//1/ the drought season. However, the
inundation only occasionally occurred in the
calendrical season of ilklu!!, since the ci\'il
C\LE'\D-\R itself became gradually more and
more out of step with the seasonal and lunar
measurements of time.
Each year between June and September the
Nile Jnd its tributaries, the Dlue :\ilc "nd the
Atbara, recci\'C the heaYy summer rains of the
Ethiopian highlands. These riYers greatl~
increase their yolume and nood along the
Nile's course. For thousands of years, prior to
the construction of the High Dam, the flood
would h~l\-e become noticeable at Aswan by the
laSl week of June. and would h~l\'e reached its
full height in the \-icinily of Cairo by
Scplember. The floods would begin to subsidc
about two weeks l:ner. The nooding of the land
led to thc dcposition of a nc\\- layer of fertile
silt eyery year, so that fertilizer was not generally necessary, the soil being replaced e~1Ch
year. The importancc of recording the le\'ei of
the inundation, in terms of predicting soil fertility and crop yields, led to the devising of
methods for the rccording of thc Nile's height,
using XII.Q\IETERS (although there is no c\-idcnce for them in the earliest periods).
Howcyer, there is no firm e\'idcncc that such
records were used to calcuhnc crop yields as a
basis for '[i\X \T10N.

The first crops could be planted in October

and ;\O\-embcr and would ripen in _\ brch or
April, at which rimc the rin:r had re~lChcd its
!O\\est Icyel (see -\GRJCLTrLltE). During this
time little watering would hil\ c bcen necessary.
The water could be ret.lined longer on the
land by the lise of basins and canals, .md it
could be raised from thc ri\'cr by irrigation
deYiccs such as the SII.\IJLF. Thc extensiye
nootling of the hmd aJso produced an un'l\'oidable 'slack period' in the agricultural year, during which certain corvec tasks could be undertaken. In the Old Kingdum (2686-2181 lie),
prR \\IIU building was one such task, and the
high water le\'cls could be used to ship stone
closer to construction sites than would otherwise hiwe been possible.
The inuncl~ltion was also a time of celcbra~
tion, and offerings wcre made to 11.\1'\, the god
who personified the ~ile nood. The 1/)rlJ111 to
/he _Yile [/lundatiou, prohabl~ composed in the
.\liddle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC), praises the
ri\-cr f(}r the renewed life it brings to Egypt
each year.
B. I-I. STR1C:/.,ER, De {/i:as/rowing rail de Nijl
(Leidcn, 1956).
D. 80' 'j'."-L', La lTlle till Sit (Paris, 196{).
f..:.. Bl.TZER, Ea"~)1 hydraulic tir:ilizatirJl/ in Rgypl
(Chicago, 1976).
VI/.

So IE:-\KI:I., Dil' Bemiiss('rtllIgsrn:llluIJIJJ! illl

allell_~gJ'Pten (Maillz. 1978).

]. j. J.\~SSE', 'The dny the inundation beg4.m',
].YES ~612 (1987), 129-"6.

Invotel see '''TEF

iron
Although iron \yas introduced into westcrn
Asia by the third millennium Be, the first e\idencc of iron smelting in Egypt, dating to the
sixth century Be, was exC<.watcd by Flinders
Per-ric at the Oelta dry of K:\Uk.RAT1S. 'rhere
are a number of earlier examples of iron artefacts in Egypt, stretching back to the e:lrly Old
Kingdom (,2600 uc), but muSI- of these are
assumed to have inYoh-ed naturally occurring
meteoric rather lhan smelted iron. A fragment
of iron f()lllld in the pyramid complex of
Khufu at GIZ,\ has bcen shown to be much huer
in date than the Old Kingdom.
Lmil the 22ml Dynast' (9~5-71 5 BC) iron
artefacts were primarily restricted to ritual
contexts. such as royal tombs, as in the casc of
the small iron dagger found in the tomb of
TcT\'IKIl\\lc:-- (KY62; 1336-J.127 BC). The
L\L\R,"\ LE'JTERS include references to gifts of
iron sent from western Asiatic rulers to
Amenhorep BI (1390-1352 BC) and .'\.khenaten
(1352-1336 Be), indicating the prestigious
nature of the mcral at this date (see lIlTTlTES).

141

IRRIGATION

ISIS

It ""as only during the Roman period (30 BC~

:\11 395) that iron rools ;Ind weapons beC~1l11C
rehlliycly common in Egypr. For rhe usc of
iron in r\"uhia, sec \\U{OI: .
-\. LLL\S . 1uc;cUI Egyptiall /JUlla/als aud
;m/us/rits. 4th eel., re\. J. R. I (arris (London,

1962).235--13.
iron metallurgy in the T\car
Iron (/ut! Stu/lustilUll'
ofJlIplIlI 15/2 (1975). 59-68.
R. \1 \l)DI'.

East"

IEarl~

Tralw!(I;oJ/J ({fhl'

R. F T\ I.FCOTF. 'The origin of iron smelting in

--'Jriea', II !'Sf _-I/r;((l1I JUlinttll (JI_lrdll/I'ulogy S

(1975). 1-9.
B. SClI[!:!., I:.'gyptitlJl1lll'fa!l, Jorlillg tlut! lOuIs
(Princes RisborcJugh. 1989), 17-18.

irrigation see

\(iIOCl"ITL"RE; l',r:--'DXno.'\;

Sl.()I{I'IO~ and Sfl \I>LF

ished tree SCt' TREES

Isis

or

Goddess who cnc;lpsularcd the yirrues

lhc
archl:[ypal Egypt ian \\ ire ilnd mother. She was
the sisrc.:r-witC to OSIRIS and mother to 110RLS,
and as such became the symbolic mother or
the Egypli'1J1 king, who mlS himself regarded
as a human manifcsmrion of Horus. The aSsOciarion bCI wcen Lsis and the physical rO~'<ll
throne itsclf is perhaps indicated by the f~lct
that hcr name may han; originally meant 'seat'.
and the emblem thill she wore on her head was
the hieroglyphic sign ror throne. From the
~ew Kingdom (1550-1069 Be) oInYards, she
was closely connected with 1I..I,1'IIOR .md so
sometimes "are a solar disc between CO"
horns. Her maternal role included that of the
'Isis-eow', mother to the ,\I'IS bull, and 'gre'l(
white sow of Hcliopolis', I LeI' origins are
uncertain, although she seems to haye been
first wurshipped in rhe Delta; in the
Hcliopolitan theolog-~ she was regarded as a
d"lughter of the deities (jEll ..lI1d '\.LT.
She is lx:st kno" n mythologically as the
dc'orcd wife of Osiris, "'hose bod~ she sought
after his murder b: SETII. She is said to hayc
made the first mummy from the dismembered
limbs of Osiris, using her wings to breathe life
into him and magicillly cOl1cci,'ing her son
Horus in the process, In the temple of Hathor
af nE~lJER \, there arc rdicfs depicting this
necrophiliac act of conception, showing Isis
hovering over thl.: mummy in the form of a kite.
In reference to this role, she is often depicted
in the form of a woman with long eleganr
wings, often emhracing rhe pharaoh or, in pri'ate funerary scenes, the deceased. According
to the myths, Osiris became ruler 01" the underworld, while Isis g;l\ e birth to her sOn at
f.:..hemmis in the Delta. :"Jul11erous bronzes and

1.f2

reliefs show her sud,ling Llorus in the f<JrI11 of

the ~ollng king seated on her lap.
As 'Isis greal in magic' she could he called
upon to protect the young, and would be
imoked at times of injur). She was also able to
combine her medicinal skills with great cunning. \Vhen the sun-god H \ '\"as birren hy a
snake (fashioned by Isis {iom earth mixed wilh
Ra's sali,a) she is said to have offered to CUlT
him in rerum for knowlcdgc of his secret'
n;\mc. I L;lving found out this name, she
beelIlle 'misrress of the gods who knows R.l by
his own name' and passed on her knowledge to
Horus, thus enabling him to acquire great
powers. Her great cunning W'1S also described
in thl' story of the contendings of Horus and

Gi!l. bmll::.t tI/l(! moot! sltI/1ft'lIe oIlsis Jud'liug

/-Iorus, TIll' /1l(lorlm dwir (fud pnlt'5w/ tire origllltf!
tI/u!I"t./iur (lj'I!1t' godrlt',(( i.( g/"IJ. l,tlII! Period,
(~/ier

600 l1e./im// I/on" Saqqal"{f,

(i /6i186)

If.

23 Oil.

Seth, in whidl she was instrulllental in 11:1, ingScth condemn himscll~ so lhal" her son" olJld
become the earthly ruler of Eg~"pt.
Her most famous and long-lived saI1ctU;Jr~
"as on Ihe island of PII1I.AE ncar As,,-an, bUI as
a uni"crsa! goddess she was widely '\01'shipped, with significant cults at Egyplian
sites such ;IS m:.'\I)ER.\ as well as at In III ,0,'" in
Syria-Palestine. The grc.1l importance atta(!1cd
to her Clilt by the )Jubians is demonsuarcd

ISRAEL

ITHYPI-IALLIC

by the sun"j,',,1 of her worship at Philac (Ull the

border between Egypt and :,\lubia) until the

sixth century

\D,

by which tim!.: virtually all or

Egypt had become Christianized.

In post-Pharaonic times her cult was adopted as one of rhe Classical 'mystery' culls, gradually spreading through the Hellenistic world
and the Roman empire. There wcre temples
crecfcd to her in Rome itself, including a subsranti<11 complex at the Campus 1\ lartius. The
Classical writer Apuleius (r. \I) I{O) described
a ceremony of i.nitiation inw rhe cult of [sis in
his .\1t'/(IIJ1(Jrphoses, ;llthough the filu! rile in
the ceremony \\:IS not disclosed. In
Greco-Roman times, her cult began to surpass
that of Osiris in popuhlriL~, seriousl: ri,"alling
both the traditional Roman ~ods ilnd early
Christianily.
I I. \r..\IU.I.ER, 'Isis mit dem Horllskinde', .11.71..:
I{ (1963). 7-38.
.\ L .\lL,sTER, CI/Jasud1llugen ::,ur Ciilliulsis i."ow
Allen Ri,jrh bis ;':11111 Emit' ties ,\ eut'll Reirhes
(Berlin. 19(8).
J. G. GRIFFlTI IS, PllIlart/':, Dc [side 1'1 Osiride
(Swansea, 1970).
R. F.. WrIT, lsis illlhe Cmem-!?lJIllall world
(London. 1971).
J. LUL\VI', IIIi"t'Illll;n' bibliographi'llll' ties lsitlw.
2 "ols (Leiden. 1972--{).
E DL:,-"n, L(' mIle d'his dllllS Ie bas.,ill orimlfllt:
tie la AUdili'rffl//{;e, J \'ols (Leidcn, llJi3).
R. A. "Vll.l), /lrl!n illlhe mlll'( !p1/1)'hip (d1sis IIlId
Sari/pix (T.eiden, 1981).

or

Israel
The Israelites ;HC .Ittcstcd in Syria-Palestine
from the late llronzt' I\ge onwards. Their cultural and ethnic origins are difficult to clarifY,
partly because the archaeological and Biblical
sources or c\'idencc are dil"ficult to reconcile.
The Biblical accoulllS of the origins of the
people of Israel, which .lrC priOl:ipally
described in the books of ::\umbers, Joshua
and Judges, .lre ortcn at odds both \\ iLh other
al1l:icnt te\:lUal sourccs and with the an.:hacological e\"idcncc for the settlement of C",\.\'
in the late Bronze Age and coldy lron Age
((.1600-750 lie).
Israel is first tcxtuall~ attested as a political
entil~ in the so-c'lllcd Israel Stele, an inscription of the fifth year of the reign of \IEKI':'1'T\11
(1213-1203 lie), \\hid, includes a list of
defeated peoples: \Their chiers prostrate
themsel\"cs <lnd beg for pe<lce, Canaan is ell'\"astated, Ashkclon is \"anquished, Gezr.:r is
t'lkcn, Ycnoam <lnnihilMed, Isri.1Cl is laid waste,
its seeu exists no more, Syria is made a widow
for Eg~ pi, and all lands h'l\"C been pacified.'
Donald Redford has suggested that the
[sraelites were probabl~ emerging as a distinct

slered by the fact that the hieroglyphic detcrminati\"e written in front of the name !snltl
on the Israel Stele indicates that it" \,"as regarded <IS a group 01" people rather lh,Jn a cit~.
f\Jthough, unlike Israel, the Shasu arc often
mentioned in Egyptian lextS, their pi.lstoral
Iifest~ Ic has left few traces in the i.lrchacological record. By rhe end uf the thirteenth ce11l1lry IIC the Shasu/lsr'll.:lires were beginning to
establish 5111;111 sctt1t:ments in the uplands, rhe
;In.:hitcet"ure of which closely rescmbled contemporary Canaanitc \'illages.
In the remh ccntur~ Be Solomon ruled 0\ er
an Israelite kingdom thai had 0\ crcome both
Canaanites and Philistines, emcrging as the
dominant stmc in lhc LC\";l11l. .'\r rhe capiml,
Solomun's
Jerusalem, only the barest ruins
tcmple .uHI palace 11,1\'(' sur\"i\'ed ..J.\frer his
reign, the territory \\'as split betwecn the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which sUITi\'ed unril
722 and 587 Ill. respel:ti\"cly. In the Eg~ pti'1I1
Third lmermediate Period (l069-7{7 Be) and
Late Period (747~JJ2 Be) there are a number
of references in F.btyptian te\:ts to Egyptian
political dealings with Israel, Judah and orher
Syro-Paicsr.illian politics, particul;jrl~ in the
f()q:6ng of alliances to hold back the threats
posed by the \SS\KI.\'S and I'EltSI \'s.
See also 1lIB1.JC \1.0" 'ITTIO:'\S.
\\". .\1. F. PETRIE, Six lempli's al TltdJt's (London,
1897), 1.1.
E. I [OJ{,'L '<I, 'Die Israclslelc des.\ ltrcnptah"
(r:ypJelllllltl.II",s TeJla/!/l.'III 5 (19SJ), 22+-..-3J.
G. \\". AIII.STRO\I, 111m Il'eri' Jhl' Israeliles?
(Irinona Lake, [",1986).
.\l. 5\1.1-:11 :lnd fl. SOLlU>LZI \', The 1:.:~YPli(l1l
.11//Sl'/Il1/. Cairo (.\lainz, 1987), no. 212.
D. J3. Rl:IlFC)l{IJ, h~f{)'PI, CaJ!({(l1/ alld IsrtfN ill
(1/II"iCllllilllt:.\' (Princcl:on, 1992), 25i-82.

'I'll(' so-mlled 'Israel SIl'1l" or 'i:itlory sit/Ie (d'

(f lisl /!t

.\l('n:u/llah, l1'ht'rh i.~ i1/S(n1Ji'd milh

d~/i:(fIt'd pt'oples. il/ellfdillg Ihe/irsl /"'ll///})II 1IIt'lIlioll

(~rlsmN ([)I~T\IL \Iln\ I~). Thl! .I'/f/l.' mas t'n'tled I~JI

.I lamplah ill his/i(1/('ruly le1l1pk aJ 1111'/)".1'. 191h
PI'flUSO', /21 J 1203 Be. grey grullile, fl. 3. 18m.
(c IIHOP.3 NOS)

c1emcnt of Canaanjte culture during the century or so prior to this. Some authorities h;1\'('
argued thar lhc early Israelites were an
oppressed rural group of Canaanites who
rebelled against the Call<1anite cities along the
coast, while others hmc hypothesized thai
thc~ were the sun in)rs of;1 dccwle in the fortunes of Ci.1nJan who established thcl11scl, es in
the highlands .11 the end 01" the Bronze .'\ge.
Redf()J"(.I, ho\\'c\"er, makes a good c:lse ror
equaling: the "cry earliest Israelites with the
semi-nomadic people in the highlands of central Palestine, known to the Egyptians as the
Sh.lsu (sec BEI>OLl'), who constantly disrupted rhe Ramesside phi.lraohs' sphere of influence in S~Tia-Palcstine. This theory is bol-

ithyphallic
~ot specifically an E~yptological term, but
gencrally used to refer 10 deities or human figUITS ha\ ing an erect penis, particularl~ Ihe
gods \.\IL_' and \11'.

;uwen (Egyptian ill''': \pillar')

Pilhtr-shaped fetish of the cil~ of I JEI.IOPOf.lS
which was .1 s~ mhol of the moon, in the samc
way that the ()BEI,IS" \Y:IS associated wilh the
sun-god. The name was also applied to the
moon-god manifcstalioll of OSJI{I~.
K. :\ 1\RTI:'\, fill Ctlrllul.q'lllhfll tle.( Lchcl/s
(Hildesheim, 1977), 16-18.
- , 'Iun-Plcikr', Ll'.l'iJ.'/l1l der.{'{.YPlulfJgit' [II, cd.
\\. Heick, E. Quo and \\'. \\"estcndorf
("-jesbaden, 1980), 213-H_

1-+3

JACKAL

jackal :;ce

JEWELLERY

'\NLHlS, DOG

and \H~P\\A\n:T

jewellery
From the carliest times in ancient Egypt, jewellery- was Llsed as a means of sdf-adornmc.:nt
and .1lso as an indication of social statliS. Thus,
it is not surprising to find that jewellery is
among the lirsl lypes of artefact known from
Egypt. During the Badarian period
(c.5500-l000 IIC) broad belts or 'girdles' of
green glazr.:d stone beads were made. Later in
the PREDYKASTIC I'ER..IOD neckh1ccs of faience
beads were \\ orn, along with bracelets and
amulets of shell and ivory.
In the 1st-Dynasty tomb ofoJ!::R at Abydos a
dismembered arm decorated with four
bracelets was discO\"ered by Flinders Petrie.
These early examples of jc\ycllcry show tonsidcrablc sophistication, and such precious
materials as GOLf), L:\J'lS L\ZL:l.l, TunCtCOISE and
amethyst were already being used. Although
the actual burial was nut preserved in the 3rdDynasty tomb of SEI-.:I-1F\\J..::IWT at Saqqara, the
excavations did reveal itcms of spectacular
jeweLlery, including a delicate bracelet of gold
hall-beads. The 4th-Dynasty tomh of Q.ICen
lIE'l'EPlIERES I at Giza contained numerous
pieces of royal jcwellcr~~ including silver bangles
inl<lid with butterfly desig'ns, In certain periods
the Egyptians seem to have regarded SII.\ ER as
more \'aJlIable than gold, and this find gi\'cs
some indication of the rich jeweUery that must
have accompanied the burials of the pharaohs
during the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 Be).
The peak of Egyptian jewellery-making was
undoubtedly the l\1iddle Kingdom (20551650 Be), when works of great elegance and
refinement were produced, as in the case of the
je\yellery of Princess Khnemel, who was buried
at IJAIlSIIUR during the reign of the 12thD)'nam ruler Amenemhat II (1922-1878 Be).
Her equipment included two beautifully made
openwork diadems inlaid with semi-precious
stones, and the famous Cretan-influenced
'bull mosaic' pendant, which, until recently,
was widely believed to be GL1\SS. "rhe Dahshur
treasure \\"lIS rivalled only by the late 12thDynasty jewellery or Sithathoriunet from a
shaft-tomb at EL-LAlllJ;\., which included a diadem, :1 gold collar and rwo pectorals, as well as
necklaces and bead-girdles (now in the
iVlet:ropolitan j\luseum, New York and I"he
Egyptian Nluseul11, CaiTo).
I'rom the royal necropolis at EI.-I.ISHT came

144

Egyptiall mYlllje/pclle!:JI (~(the AtJiddlc Kingdo/ll

{fml Scculf(/lnlcrlllcdia/e Period (c,/880-/590 Be).
TOP e/a/rulll !pingcd smmb. ililaid !pith (Orne/ian,
grcclljelr/sf!a/" (flld laf!/~,I(f:::'lIli. (F.A,ii-i-60j '\HOVE
C:E1\'TIU~ r~iollnf gold plaqllc shuming .-1/11e11cml/(/1 /I
rdli.>rillg 1lIlgIlCll//O ."1111111. (1:..6919i-) CE~Tl{Egold
jinger-rillg /pill/lapis lazuli be::..cl. (/;'.157698) I.EFT
.\.'\0 RIC.il-lT I/pO bl't/({!/el .1"/IifCCl'-bal'S C/"o/}Jued I~JI
reclining Cl/ls, wilh Imch.:e Ihre({ding II/bes; the
iI/slTiplifJn 011 the base ,~re(/{"h !Wllles l\'ubkhepel'rtI
JII"{lIl1r1 III~' mifi SobkclIlSlf{ (".157699. 57700)
BOrrO;\1 hUI1IIIIl-headed grcclljllsper heart st"tlf(f1J of
Sllb~'(,llIsaIII. (/ rollg!l~)I-ilf(:i.w!d rt!"s/! O/Chupler
30fJ/imnlhc Boo/..: (~(lhe Dead aroulld Ihi' gold
plin/h. (F.. 17876) I.. ulhl!arl s(aJ"({!J 3.6 011.
the fine jewellery of a 12th-Dynast: noblewoman named Senebtisy, whose 'broad collar'
incorporates faience, turquoise and gold leaf
However, the fact that this piece has no fasrcn-

ings suggests that it may have been made

specificaHy for funerary usc, The same tomb
contained gold hair ornaments in the. fi:,rm of
flowers, a bead belt with <1 gold buckle decorated with Senebtisy's name, and ~I further
broad colJar with [Ikoll terminals. T'he je\\ellery of [his period W<lS ro influence products
in neighbouring hinds, and excavations at the
Syro-Palcstinian city or Byblos have revealed
numerous Egyptianizing items, including a
gold 'breast-plate' bearing d,e pattern or an
Egyptian broad collar.
The earliest significlT1t finds of je\\'elh::r~ in
rhe New Kingdom derive from the tomb of
Q!.ICel1 ..\[IIiOTEI' [I, whose equipment indudcd
magnificent inlay work. and an extremely tinc
chain made from looped six-ply gold wire,
The jewellery of l\Ilenwi, J\!lcrri and .Menhet,
three foreign wives of Thutl110se III
(1479-1425 BC), was discovered in a much-

JUDGE~IENT

JEWELLERY

plundered rOl:k tomb at \radi Gabhancr c1Q!.lrud, about three kilometres to the ,,-cst
DeiI' c1-Bahri in m.:stcrn Thebes. The finds
(11m\" in the ~ IClropolitan !\ luSCUI11 orA-rtf New
York) include g'lass clements ;llllong the g'clllstones and gold. Although gbss \raS prCl:iOllS

or

a son of Ramoses " (1279-1213 BC) ,,-hose

rllnCr~try chapel was attached to the SH \PI:L \\
at Saqqara. T,,'o 01" the .\Pls-bull burials made
by the prince also comaincd jc;,Ycllcry,
although this is generally regarded as clumsy
and poorly made.

OF THE DEAD

hayc rC"calcd large quantities of fired clay

moulds used for the making of Eliencc
amulets, beads and finger rings. Blue faience
disc be.lds were evidelltly produced (and los()
in their thousands ill such It)th-n~n'lsly to'YIl
siles as cl-!\.marna and Nlalkata.
I-I. E. \\I'\J.(x:". The Irl'tlsure o/Ihn't' E:~)'p/il/lI
priflt"t'sseJ (,'\ic" York. 194-8).
C. .-\tDRt:n,.7cmds (~rlht' pJulftlflhJ (I,omlun.
1~71)_

C. A. R..-\'\nRE'\~, Calalugue ()Il<~)'pljal/

allli/lui/it'S ill IIIl' Brili.dl

JIIISOI1I1 \

I: .7('/111'1/('1]1

(Lonr/ol/./981).
]. OUUI':',}l'IPc/It'ly I~l(h{' (ll/riml

/llfI/-}d (London,
11)82)_
C. A. R. .'\ '\DRE\\S . ll/tj"1I1 fgrp/ialljl'Jl'elJeJY
(Londun. 1~90)_

judgement of the dead

sct' FL " " IRY

m:I.lEFS

F'mgmtmJ (~rm(/lI-p{lill1il1gJi'{)//II"l' 1//11/h

td'

SO!JCIdWli'P(1T63) ..(!wlJ1iugje/11dleql-l1lllk'l'rS amI

melfll-mOrRl'rS ilia king bead... (flld praiolls O/~it!f/.l'.
Sn'eral oj'fhe

bom drills

II/milt/! l/.I'illg

fjl/(ulruple

fllld

Il"lp/e

/ltIrd-sloJlf beads. 18111

1J.)llltlSlJ'. n:/:Jfn (!l71m/JIlost' II. C. 1395 He. pail//t'd
plusler,ji'(J1I/ 1111.'bcs. 11.66 CI11.(I. jCJ20)
II) P;C!'{I'

at this time, the \,"adi (blbbanet d-Qjrud

finds mark the beginning of a Irend wherehy
New Kingdom jeweller~ became increasingly
elahorate and garish, making: more use of
artificial stones, and gradu~lll~ becoming less
delicate.
The fabulous jewellery of TLj\'I...:Jr\\lU'
(1336--1327 Be) is sometimes described ;15
cxpcnsi\'c costume jewellery, lacking rhe
refinement of the .\Iiddle Kingdom ;.md early
~ew Kingdom work. The major find of the
19th Dyn,lsty is the jewellery of I-.:.haemwasct,

During rhe i\ew K.ingdom car ornamenlS

became relatiycly common, ;:'lI1d ;l \'ariety of
earrings were produced, particularly in stone
and glass. Pierre 1\ lonrCI"'5 ex-caY;}! ions ilt '1'\ '\!IS
in 193CJ-+O led to the discovery of ro~;\1 jewellery of the Third Inrermedii'ltc Period
(1069-747 m:), which, although less accomplished (han some of the e;.lrlier work, is clearly of a gcncrall~ similar type to the ~e\,
Kingdom matcrinL
The scientific and aesthetic stuJ~ of Ihe
sUITi\'ing items of jewellery has been sllpplcmenred by pictorial cyidcnce, from tombs
such as those
IU:KI1\\IR!\
('1''1'100),
Amenemopet (TT276) and Sobckhotep ('1"1'63),
as well ~lS the debris of F'\IE'\CE workshops
such as those at 1:1.-\\\ \K' \. The jewellcry
\Yorn by poorer people was mostly made from
Icss yalunhle gcmstoncs or faience. The c:xcayations of (he 18th-Dynasty city at c1-!\marna

or

145

KA

KALABSH.\

E. HORl\L:'G} Idea iuto illlage, trans, E. Breded

(NmYork, 1992), 167-{H.

Kalabsha (ane. Talmis)

Site of an unfinished, free-standing temple in
Lower Nubia. about 50 kill south of Aswan,
The complex was built in sandstone masonn
and consisted of a pylon, forecourt , hypostyl~
hall, twO vestibules and a sam:tu:lry. Il \\:1<.;
dedicated to thl: lo(;al god 1'vbndulis and dales
primarily to the early Roman period (.30 1lC),
but the colony at Ellmis evidently dares back
to at least the reign of !\menhorcp II
(1427-1+00 Be), II"ho is depic'ed in the painted wall reliefs or ,he h,pos,,-Ie hall. In
1962-3 the buildings were dismantled, in
order to save them from the waters of Lake
! asscr, and in 1970 they \,"ere reassembled at
:l new location 750 m to the south of the

ka
Almost untranslatable tcrm llsed by the
Egyptians to describe the l:reativc life-force of
each individual, whether human or divine.
The Ka, rcprescmcd by ;l hicroglyph consisting of a pair of arms, was considered to be the
essential ingredient thill' differentiated a li\'ing
person fi-om a dead one, and is therefore
somelimes (ranslated as 'sustenance'. It came
into existence at the same moment that the
indi,ojdual was born, subsr.:qucnrly sen-ing as
his or her ~double' :tnd sometimes being
depicted in funerary ilrt as a slightly smaller
figure slanding beside the li\'ing being (see
I]\,\D). Somelimes the crcilwr-god K.IL"Ci\1 was
shown modelling [he A'a on a potter's wheel at
the same time as he was forming the bodies of
humanity.
vVhcn any individual dicd, the /.:a continucd
to live, ,md so required rhe samc sustenance a5
the human being had enjoyed in life. For this
rC,lson it was proyide<.l either with genuine
food offerings or with representations of food
depie,ed on the wall of the tomb, all of ,,hieh
were i)l:tivatcd b~ thc orrERI"G FOR.\ICL.'\,
addressed diree,h~ the kfl. It appears ,hat ,he
J!a was thought not to cat thc offerings physically but simply to assimilate their lifepreser\'ing force. In gi\ing food or drink to
one another in normal daily lifc, the Egyptians
therefore sometimes used the formula "f{}r
your ka' in acknowledgement of this lifegiving force. Consequently the offerings
themselvcs came to be known as l'({/IJ and wcre
somctimes replaced in reprcsentations of thc
OFFERI'\'G T.'\Bl.E by the J!a sign - two OUlstretched arms that magically warded off the
forces of cvil. It was to the J!a that offerings
,,cre made before the E\L~E DooKS set up in
lambs.
Funerary statues were regarded as images
of ule ka of the deceased, and sometimes these
too incorporated the Jm symbol, as in the case
of the image of the 13th-Dynasty ruler --\wibra
Hor from D\lISIlI;R (.1750 Be; Egyptian
i\luscum, Cairo), which depi(;ls the deceased
\vith the Ra hieroglyph in the form of <1 headdrcss. It was thought that the reunion of the BA
and /..'a in the underworld effectively transformed the deceased into an f\J-.:.1l (one of the
'blessed dead')~
J. P. ALLE', 'Funerary texts and thcir meaning',
""tllllmie.laml J1fagil", eel. P. 1.<1<.:O\':U<1, S. D'Auria
and C. II. Roehrig (Boston, 1988),38--19.

-\s\n:"1I1GIIIJ.\\1.
Sll~GLEI(, Kalabsllll. Arrhitel,tur lmd
BlJugeschirhtc des l'c'mpcls (Berlin} 1970).

f..:.. G.

'0

H6

Ka-statlle (!lKing Ami/Jra 1-10/; disuJi;ered mithill

its IIlI()S iJla tomb /() the "ortlt oIthe pyramid oI
Amme111hatlll (1/ Dahsllllr. 13th Dynasty,
c./700 lJe, II. IIlIOS 2.07m, t-I. oIstatue 1.7 UI.
(c.IfHo;EJ09J8)

Kamose (1555-1550 Be)

Last ruler of rhe Thchan 17th Dynasty, Slll'cessor of SEQE"E~R,\ "'A IJ ((.1560 Be) and predecessor of AllJ\IOSE [(1550-1525 Be), the first
18th-Dynasty ruler. T'he principal doculllent;;;
relating to his reign are two large stelae at
f.:-arnak (both recounting his campaigns
against the IIrKSOS rulers). as well as thc
Carnarvon Tablet, which appears to be a hucr
scribal copy of the stelae. The rext dcrh'ed
fr0111 these three documents begins b~
describing the "ar between Seqencnra 1aa II
and the Hyksos king _'\..auserra \1'1:1'1
(1585-15+2 Be) and goes on to narrate
Kamose's cOlltil1ll<llion of the conflict after
his father's death ..He was buried in it pyramidal-style tomh at Ora Abo e1-Naga (see
"1'IIEm:s), where thc c:ulicr 17th-Dynasty royal
tombs are located, and it appears lhal his
tomb had still not been robbed O\er four hundred years later when the necropolis was
inspected during the reign of Rameses 1\
(1126-1108 He). His coffin was diseo' ered
at Dra Abu c1-:--Jaga in IR57, but his mummified body disimegnllcd as soon as it ,,,IS
opened.
A. H. G \RDL'ER, 'The dcfcat of lhe Hyksos by
Kamose',]L1.1 (1917), 9,-110.
H. \VINLOCh:., 'The tombs of the kings of rhe
Seventeenth D)nasty at Thebes',]L:>IIO (In4),
217-77.
I-l. G_-\.UTJ-IIJo:R, '1 .(;s deux rois Kamose (-"\"lie
dynastic)', Studies Grillith, cd. S. R. K. Gbl1\ille
(Oxford, 1932),3-8.
L. 1-1-\.II-'ClII, 7111: .~ecolld stele of Kal//{J.~e aud his
struggle agai1lstthe I-~),ks(}s ruler (Iud his (apital
(GluekSladt,1972).

KARNAK

KAMUTEF

Kamutef
Divine epithet meaning 'bull of his mother"
which \Y<1S Llsed from the New Kingdom
onwards to refer to the combined ithyphallic
form of "-1\IUI\" and !\Hi'\. Amun-lVlin-Kamutcf
is frequently depicted receiving offerings of
lettuces, or standing beside them <IS the~ grow.
H. R1C"F., Dm K{/lII/lleI-I-leilt~!{'/l11I HalSd'l'pSIlIS
wid 'l/llltll/OSeS III (Cairo, 1939).
H.Ji\RITZ l 'Kamutef', Le.ri/..:oll da AgYP/ldogie HI,
ce!. \\1. l-lelck, E. Otto and ,\1. \Vestendorf
(Wicsh,dcn, 1980),308-9.
G. H.-\F::-.!Y, 'Zum Kamutcf', CAll 90 (1986), 33-4.

PRECINCT
100

...ir_:::

OF MONTU

200 m

t,mpl,of Monlu

,~:::::::~

PRECINCT
OF AMUN-RA

__

~t':m~p~leOfThutmosel

temple of Plah

chapel of Osiris Hekadjet

8~

Karanog
Large town-site and necropolis located in
Lower Nubia abollt 60 \.:111 south of AswaIl,
which flourished in the rVIeroitic and postIVleroitic periods (c.100 m-:-AIJ 550). By at least
as carly as the third century Be, Kar<tnog had
developed into ;t major town; the unusually
scattered settlement was unique among
Nferoitic administrative centres (e.g. Ff\RAS,
Gebel Adela and Qo\SR IBRL\I) in being protected by a huge three-storey mud-brick 'castle'
rather than a surrounding enclosure wall.
\Vhereas j\lferoitie sites in Upper Nubia consist principally or temples and tombs, the
remains or Karanog and other suniving
Lower Nubian _IVlcroitic settlements are dominated by palaces and fortifications, and there
is a distinct lack of royal sculptures and
inscriptions. In view or Ihis discrepanc~' vv. Y.
Adams has proposed that Lower Nubian
towns sueh as Karanog may have been go\"erned by local feudal rulers rather than bei.ng
under the direct control of" the l\Ileroilic kings
in the south.
C. L. \VOOLl.EY and D. RA~n:\LL-J\ll:\ch EI~,
Kurtll/og, ,hl' I?olll(l/lo-Nub/all (C11le/elY
(Philadelphia, 1910).
e. L. \VOOI.1.E', KlIrflllOg. ,he !OWII (Philadelphia,
1911).
\V. Y. ADAMS, 'Meroitil' north and south, a study
in cultural contrasts', ;\111'1'0/,/((/2 (1976),11-26.
~,Nubia: (orridor loAF/ca, 2nd cd. (London
,nd Princeton, 198+),356-7,371-8.

I_a_v_en_u_,_of__ . . 2 f o r e c o u r:t T 5 1 : E107

East Karnak

ram-headed
sphinx.es

sacred lake

enclosure of sacred fowl

19

L..:-

.-.....__J
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

first pylon
triple shrine of Sety II
temple of Rameses III
second pylon
Great Hypostyl, Hall
third pylon
fourth pylon
fjfth and six.th pylons
Middle Kingdom court
festival hall of
Thutmose III

sanctuary of Amun Kamutef

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

first ('cachette') court

seventh pylon
second court
eighth pylon
ninth pylon
sed-festival temple of
Amenhotep II
temple of Khans
tenth pylon
temple olOpet
temple of
Khans Pa-Khered
temple of Mut
temple of Rameses HI

bark station of Thutmose III

and Hatshepsut

Karnak (ane. 1pct-isut)

Huge complex of religious huildings C(wcring
over a hundred hectares in the northeastern
area of modern Luxor) <.:onsisting: of three
major sa<':l'cd precincts dedicated to the deities
Ai\Wi\'-Rf', MUT and 1\\O.\lTU, e(1<.:h surrounded
by trapezoidal mud-brick enclosure walls. The
enclosures also cn<.:ompassed several smaller
temples dedical'ed t:o I'Tl\ 1-1 , Opet and Kl jO.'\ls
respectively. The main temples were continu-

temple of Nectanebo II

Pla/1 ofl/IC temple (Olllp/e.r 01 K(/rII{fl~.

147

KAW A
KENA~llJ.

ally exten ded and embel lished by

the rulers of
Egypt fi"OIll at least the .\Iidd
lc Kingd om
(2055 -1650 lie) u11Iil the Roma
n period (30

BC-\D

395), but most of the suryjy ing rem.ti

ns

date to the 'lew I-:ing dnm (1550

-1069 lie).
The princi pal templ e at Karna
k, ckdic ated
to :\.l11un-Ra, the pre-e minen t god
of the J\.cw

Kingdom, consiscd of two axes,

each COlllprisin g'l slIccession of jJ) Ions and
courty

H. K.EI'.S, ,-tnrim l ('{)'PI : (I mllllrall(jpfl

grt1pj~)I,\xl.
T G. H.J"tl les(Lo ndon, 1961).

ards
inters perse d \\ ith obelis ks, small
er templ es,
shrine s ilnd altilrs. The earliest axis
stretc hes
fi'om west to easr, incorp oratin
g the Great
l-hpos tylc llall of Rame ses II (1279
-1213 lie),
which is on:1" 0.5 hectar es in arca.
'The secon d

axis exlt:nds the templ e soutlnrards

to\rards
the nearby prCcinl:l of the godde
ss _\ lul. To

the south of rhe juncti on bel WCen

the two axes
S\CRI ]) I.\"E. The first
court on the nOrth-SQUlh axis is
also known as
'cache ne cOllrt " sil1Ce an impre ssin.:
collec tion
of thou~-ands of fragmenTs of ro~;ll
~lnd pririlt c
statua ry (most ly no\\' in
the Eg~ pt ian
J"luse um, Cairo ) was discov ered
here in 1902,
huried under the templ e noor.
Altho ugh Karnak has been
subje ct to
nume rous exc:l\";ltions since the
late nineteenth centur y, the \,ast major iry
of resou rces
ha\'c becn derot ed to the conse rvatio
n and reerecti on of the stand ing monu ments
. It is the
BnlJ/:::.e slolllClle uIa Kushile /.:ing
(perhaps
larges t and best-p reserv ed rem
pie comp lex of
7itlUlrqo)/jtJll1 Tt:mph' Tal KlI/l'lI . 2.11h
the :"Jew Kingd om, and its reliefs
D.II1UHQI.
and inscri pe.690 lie, II. /1.2 (//1. (>:/63595)
tions incor porat e \aluab le epigr
aphic data
conce rning the politic.}1 and religio
us 'lcti\-ities
regain ed its impo rtanc e ;lnd
of imper ial Egypt .
SII.\B. \Q..O
(716- 702 Be), Shabi tqo (702690 l1e) and
Karna k was surro unded b~ the growi
ng cit~
T\ll\R (l!) (690- 66f Be)
all comri huted new
of Thebe s (ane. ,"Vaset), which
was the relibuildi ngs, reliefs ;lnd statua ry.
'Elhar qo effecgious centre of Egypt for most of
I he Dynas tic
ti\'ely create d ;l new S;lnct uary
or \j\IU,\ COI11period . ln (.667 He the tcmpl e
and town wcre
p;lrab lc with that at Gebel 13arka
l, alter which
sacked by rhe \SS\ RL\' ruler Ashur
banip al and
thc Kush ite kings were oblige
d to carry out
from then on the city centre gradu
ally moved
impor tanl rituals at Kaw.1. Tahar
qo's work was
two kilom etres south\ \"ilrds to the
area aroun d
comm emora ted by a stele, stiJI in
Silll, dating to
1.\...\01{ tcmpl e. 1\IIuch of
the ancie nt Theba ll
the sixth year ufhis reign.
settle ment theref ore lies under
ne;lIh mode rn
.\1. r. L. ~i\l..\D\\I, Tht' Il!lJIplt's oI"'(l1I
J1I, 2 \'ols
Luxor , rende ring it largel y inacce
ssible 10
(Oxl(lI"(l, 19~9-.i.i).
afchac()!{lgislS.
G. LEC,R \1'\, Ll'S It'mph'.\" tI/i "~{/n1lf/.:
(Brussels.
Kernatef Sf<' I,IIL'
1929).

is a ,-ast rectan gular

C1:;\T1H: Fit -\ ,C .o-!::(j" PTlI:"

l>'f:TLl )I'. DI':S TE\lI'I. ES

IJI: .... \R'''k ,

Cahias de f.:al"1fal', 6 \'ols (19-4-3-82).

P. B \RCiL!i':T, Lc Il'lIJplt' tI~ fmoll-Nt' (i Kal"l/(

/l': I!ssai

"('.n~~esl'

(eliro , 1(62).

Kawa
Temp le sit,e loc:Hed oppos ite Dong
ola in the
he~lrtland of the Nubia n
kER.\! \ cultur e. The
templ e cOlllplex W;lS found ed by
\ \11':"1110'1'1':1' III
(1.190 -1352 Be) but it had been
\~irtuall\" abandoned hr the reih'll or Rame ses
\ll (1136 --1129
IIc). Event-uillly, with the emerg
ence of the
Kushi te 25th Dyna sty (7-4-7-656
Be), the sitc
148

surro unded , in stark contra st,

hy the dcscrt ,
known to the Egypt ians as Deshr
cl ('the red
land') . This sense of n~llllral
DL \LlT\ \\"i!S
deepl y ingrai ned in the Egypt ian
world -ric\\,
in lhat their land was that of the
LOTU ; and the
p.\I'\nL S, of the red CrQ\\"1
l and the \\hite, of
Uppe r and LO\\"cr Egypt .

Kernet
The name that the ancien t Egypt
ians used to
descri be Egyp t itself The literal
mean ing of
Kcmc t is 'bhH.:k land" a refere nce
to the fcrtile
Nile silt which was annuall~ sprea
d across the
l:lI1d by the "L'~Df\Ti()'\. The
Egyp tians
referr ed 1.0 thems elves as the rClflcJ
(h C11 Kellll'J
('the peopl e of" the hlad land')
. For the
Egypt ians, theref ore. bhlck was
essent ially the
colou r of rebirt h and rcgen crario
n, proba bly
ha\'in g none of the weste rn conno
tation s of
dcath and decay.
The fertile , black landsc ;lpe of
Kel11ct was

Kenarnun (Qcna mun) .1 ~51J--l ~Oillle

)
High ufoci,,1 of the 18th D\nas
ty, \\"hose \\"ellprcser \'ed Theh an tomh (rr93
) \\"3S ne\ cr
propcrI~ excl\".ltcd sinc(' it
was alread y kllo\\ n
to early tra"eU ers in the eighte
enth centur~
\D. He was chief stcwa
rd to \.\IE'1I 0T!'.P "
(1~27-HOO Be) and sUJler
intend enl or the
docky ard of Peru- nefcr ncar :\lemp
his. 'The
fact thai he was thc son of the
roY'11 nur~L:
Amcn emop et is perha ps an indica
tion that
high admin istrati ye posts could.
he gaine d during the New Kingd om e\ CI1
by indi\-i duals
with relath-ely indire er Ijnks to
thc royal family. A 51' \Il"n of J..-:.cnamun, proba
bly gi\ en to
him by the king, is the first known
picce or
three- dimen sion;l l Egypt ian sculp
turc to he
forme d from (jJ~\SS (altho ugh ;1
glass sculp ture
of the hc;ul of i\men hotep II,
now in the
Corni ng .\ luscu m of Glass . New
York, would
h~l\-c been roughl~ contc
mpor~lry). This
Kenal11un shoul d not be cunfust
.:c1 with bis
n;lmcs.lke, who was J\ layor of
the Sourh crn
City (Thch es) in lhe reign of
Amcn hotcp lit
(1390-1 ]52 liC), and owne r of anoth
er Theb an
tomb (rrI62 ).
N. de G . D\\'IES , The 10mb oIKo h
11111/11 01
TI1l'bt'sl 2 yols (Lond on, 1930).
J. D. Coo'! ':\, 'Glass SCUlprufC in JncicllI Eg)l)I
',
.7/1lfrl /f/j oIGlr w ~"l~//ldil's
2 (1960), l2-H.
Kerrna
Town -sitc of the early secon d millen
nium He,
ncar the third ~ile catara ct in
uppe r :"Juhi;l,
which was almos t cenJi nly thc
capita l of tht:
,,"ush itc Kingd om durin g thc
Egypt ian Old
and ~Iiddlc I-:ing doms (2686 -1650
lie) - il is
theref ore the type-s ite fi)r the
Kerm a cultur e
((.250 0-150 0 11(:), proba bly to
be identi r,cd
with the Egypt ians' 'land of Yam'.
The site of
Kerm a incorp orates a large scttle
ment of Ihe
Secon d lnlerm ediate Perio d (1650
-1550 lie), a
ccme tery of late Kcrm a-cul ture
tumu lusgravc s (inclu ding the IOmbs of
rulers ). 'fhesc
elite burial s also incorp orated
Iargc numb t'fS
of sacrif iced retain ers.
The sitc is domin ated by two
cnigm atic
mud- brick struct ures, known
;lS the dcJ]i(fil.
dating to the sc\'en recnth centu
ry Be. The Lshapc d weste rn deJJi(f{I, almos t certai
nly a te111pic, is in the centre of the town,
while the east-

KHAFRA

J!fllldlllllt/t, 'KalJla marl" "('(fl'cr/hllll 7/i/llulm "{II f{ul/la, C/assit A:afllif phase. c.1 1.10-/550 If(.',
II. 11.6 (III. (L6.;~2-/)

KHARGA OASIS

its synchronicit~ with the 4th-Dynasty pyramid complexes.

"hafra's gn.lnite-lined ,'aJley temple, exca'-,Hed by Auguste i\ larieuc in 1860, was found
to contain se\-eral roy,ll statues, including a
magnificenr monolithic scatcd statue of the
king "'ith a Horus falcon embracing the b'H.:k
of his head, which is onc of the masterpieces
of Old K-ingdom sculpture (now in the
Egypti'1I11\luseum, Cairo). The diorite-gneiss
from" hich the statue was caned was obt,lined
b~ an expedition sent to the so-called
'Chephrcn quarries' in Lower l\uhia. some
240 km soulh-\\eSl of modern ;\S""'1I1. The
hcall of a pink granitc SL~1tue of a similar type,
representing Khafra, h.1S also becn discO\'cred
more recently_
j\ I. S \LEII .mel 1-1. SOLTROLZI \.'\, 171C EgypJiall
Ilmcul1!. Cairo: oJIida/ taJa/ogut' (.\1ai.l1z, 19H7),
car. no. 31,

ern d([!;dil, a type offullcrary chapel, is part of

the cemetery at the southern end of the site.
Each of the d41i1;,.I" was originally illl almost
solid blot:k or mud bricks covering 0111 area uf
roughly 1500 sq. Ill.
G. R.EIS'\'ER, I::,rl"m.'oliol/S at Kallla ]-IY, 2 mls
(Cambridge, 1\ lA, 1923).
B. GR.\TIE:\. Lt's mIlan:.. Kenl/a: ('..sai tit:
c1assijiCfllirlll (I.ilk, 1978).
C. BO'\,i\ET. 'La dcffufa occidcnt~tlc '-1 Kcrma:
cssai d'inlcrprCl;ltion'. BII~ 10 81 Supp. (1981),

205-12.
- , "Excavations at the Nubian royallOwn of
Kcrma: 1975-91', Illliquil.l' 66 (1992), 61 1-25

granite rose'. RilE 38 (1987), 9+-.7.

1\. GU.I\I \1., ..J hisJ01]r oft/1Icil'IlJ EgYPI (Oxford,

1992).72--1.
I. E. S. ED\\ \lmS, TIll' PJ,rtll/lids of f..'gypl, 5lh ed.
(I-htrmondsworth, 1993), 121-37.

Kharga Oasis
Thc southernmost and, at around 100 sq. km,
lhe largest of rhe major Egyptian "estern
oases, which is Im':'ltcd in the Libyan Desert
~Ibout 175 km east of Luxor. There arc tr.1ces
of \Iiddle Palaeolithic (~\loustcrian) occupa-

Qasr elMustafa Khasif

Nadura, Roman temple
el-B?qawat, Christian
cemetery
Hibis, Persian and ptolemaic
temple of Amun
modern town of el-Kharga
Qasr el-Ghueida, temple
of Amun, Mut and Khans,
Late Period and ptolemaic
Qasr Zaiyan, Ptolemaic
and Roman temple and
town (Tchonemyris)
modem town of Bufaq
modern town of el-Maks
el-Qibla
10 Qasr Dush. Roman temple
of Isis and serapis

o 2

~,

030

04

06
07
08

\,
\\"

,\

~"')
t

/'

\.

'\..

10 ' ....- .........

o f"\.....:
\!;- ~-

'\,9

Khafra (Chcphrcn, Rakhaef; 2558-2532 oc)

Son of" 1l,I'L (2589-2566 BC), fourth ruler of
the ..h h Dynasty and builder of the second
pynunid ar GIZ \. He succeeded to the throne
after the death of his half-brother Djedefra
(2566-2558 Be), who had constructed his
pyramid al \Be RO\SII r~lIher than Giza (leading to suggestions from some schohtrs thai
Ihere was a tcmporar~ religious schism
between rhe younger and cider branches of
Khufu's successors). Khafrn's ROY:\LTITLL:\R\
included the new .HI RII ('son of Ra') epithet,
which Djcdefra had used for lhe first time.
His pyramid complex at Giza was similar to
that of' Khuf'u, allhough slighl1y smaller and
currently better preserved. It is usually
assumed that t he head or l"11e Great Sphin.x
was C<lrvcd into the appearam:c of Khafra,
sincc it is situated immediately nexl" to his
causeway and valley temple. There h,we been
suggestions thaI the geological condition of
the sphinx indicates that it was carved at a
somewhat earlier date, but the archaeological
and circumstantial evidence appear to support

c. V \1\DERSI.EH=', 'Unc tetc de ChHrcn en

P/lIII nI"'lwrga Oasis,

lion at Kharga and its material culture \\';15

clearly c1ose1~ connected with that of the Nile
yalley throughout the Pharaonic period.
l-Iowc\'cr, 1110S1 of the sur\"i\'ing architectural remains (including settlements, stone temples ~lJ1d cemeteries) dale from the Ptolemaic
period to Coptic times (.. 332 BC-\lJ 500).
G. C \TO'-TIIO\II'SO', J..:Jlflrga Oasis ill pn:hi.I'/(}I:J'
(London, 1952).
L GII)I>\. fgypli(t1I oases: 8ahrm:l1fl, O"kh/a.
Fara}TfI (J1lI1 K/ullga during p!tarf/onir Jimes
(\Varminster, 1987).

Khasekhemwy (Khasekhem) (".2686 Be)

T.ale 2nd-Dynasty ruler, whose reign is partic-

DioriJe-gm:iss scaJcd sJaJuc ofK/lllfra F011l his

Gi:::'lI. 41h PJIIUUO', c,2500
/Jr:, II. 1.6811I. (r:Allf(JJi:l0062)

pyramid (omp/ex lIJ

ularly important because he was the last

Abydcnc ruler (sec AUYDOS). The reign of
nJosER (perhaps his son) was marked by the
transfer of power to j\1Er\\PIJIS, the introduction
of large-scale stone masonry and the orficial
tmnsfer to a new royal cemetery at SM~\RA,

149

KHASEKI-IEM WY

One of Khasckhemwy's wives, NimaathcPI

was later worshipped as the ancestress of the

3rd Dynasty (2686--2613 Be).
The name Khasckhcn1wy was lIsually writ-

ten inside a SEREKI' frame surmounted by

depictions of a SETII animal alongside the
usuallloRLS falcon. Since the serekh of his predecessor PERIBSE' was surmounted by it Seth
animal ,lione, it has been suggested that
Khasekhemwy's reign represented J return to
religious (and perhaps also political) normality, after a period of turmoil under his predecessor. This, hOWC\'Cf, is probably an csccssiycIy historical explanation for what may essentially hu\"c been an iconographic phenomenon.

The debate about the political events at the

end of the 2nd Dynasty hinges partly on the
question of whethcr thc myth of the sU'ugglc
of Horus and Seth had any historical
antecedents. The picture was once bclieved ro
be fUrlher complicated by the existence of the
name Khasekhem, which was thought to refer
to another ruler reigning bet-ween Pcribscn
and Khasckhcmwy. However, the name is now
generally considered to be an alternative
spelling for Khasekhcmwy.
The principal surviving monuments from
Khasekhemwy's reign are Tomb v in the E.lr1y
Dynastic cemetery at" Umm eI-Q!t'ab and thc
Shunet cl-Zebih, both of which are at ABYDOS,
,IS well as the so-called 'fon' of Khasckhemwy
at IIJERAKO:'>.P()J.IS. Two statues of fhe king, as
well as an inscribed granite door jamb (bearing
his name and a depiction of the temple foundation ceremony), decorated stone "essels
(both bearing depictions of the goddess
'\I~KI mET) and a fragment of a stele, were all
exc:mlted from the E;.trly Dynastic temple at
Hierakonpolis. The depictions of slain enemies on the two statues ha\'c been inrerpretcd
as e"idence of military activities during his
reign.
His tomb. nearly 70 III in length, is nor only
the last royal tomb in cemetery B at Umm c1Q,'ab but also the largest and most unusual.
The suhstructure consists of a central corri~
dol', flanked by thirty-three store-rooms for
funerary offerings, leading fo a srone-lined
burial chamber which is then followed by a
continuation of the corri<.lor flanked by tcn
further magazines.
The Shunet e1-Zehih, a huge double-walled
Illud-brick enclosure located <It the desert
edge, is the best surviving example of a group
of 'funerary cnclosurcs\ probably the f()rerunners of the valley temples in pyramid
complexes, celch of which was erected by one
of the rulers buried in cemetery B. The
Hierakonpolis 'fj)rt\ a large mud-brick enclosure also located close to the floodplain, is now

150

KI-IEPRI

generally considered to have been a mortuary

monument comparable with the Shunet elZebib, although the poor standard of Emile
Amclineau's exc"l\'ation in 1897-9 and 1905
has hindered any more definite statement
regarding its function.
P. E. NF.\\ BERR' , 'The Ser rebellion of the second
dynasty" Ancient Egypt (1922),-f.0..-6.
R. El':GEI.IlACII, 'A foundation scene .of the
second dynasty,]./20 (193-1),183--4.
1\ l. Hon,\I.\:\, l:.g.l'Pt be./iJre the pharaohs
(London, 1980),3-18-5-1.

khekerfrieze
Decorative morif commonly employed in
ancient Egyptian architecture from at least as
early as rhe 3rd D\'nasty (2686--2613 Be). The
earliest shrines and temples were constructed
from reeds Lied into bundles or mattingJ and
sometimes the tops of these were clabor~tcly
knotted. As techniques of STOne architecture
developed, these rows of knots were u'anslated
into decorative carved or painted fi'iczes
around the upper edges of buildings, thus
constantly alluding to the idea of the first
shrines built on the PRJi\IEV!\1. J\lOLNIJ 3S it
arose from the waters of NU;\I.

Khenty-khety see TELL ATRlB

(c.JOO Be), he is depicted wearing the

ll/I!}

of the god Osiris.

Because the Egyptians observed that scarab
beetles emerged, apparently spontaneously,
from halls of dung, it was perhaps not surprising that they came to belie\'e that the scarab
was associated with the process of eRE \'I'to,
itself Rhepri is attested from at least as early
'15 the 5th Dynast) (2-19+-23-15 Be), when One
of the spells in the PYR.\.\IIIJ TE:\.TS illYoke<.l the
sun to appear in his name of Khepri (the literal meaning of which W.IS 'he who is coming:
into heing'). Because he was self-created, hl'
was identified with the creator-god .'\TL.\I, and
because the movement of the sun from easl to
west W.IS believed to be the result of being
physically pushed like a dung-ball, hc was also
idenrified with the sun-god R.-\. As a deit~
dosely <1ssociated with resurrection, Khepri
was also believed to be swallO\n~d by his mother '\IVT each evening, and passed through her
body to be reborn each morning. He appear~
in this guise in Chapter 83 of the BOOK OF Tl IJ
m:AD: 'T h,l\'C l"lown lip like rhe primeyal ones,
1 have become Khepri.
From the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 Be)
onwards, the scarab form of amulet was being
produced in very large quantities. On a more
monumental scalc, it is considered likely rhat
each temple originally incorporated a coloss3j
CRO\\':'>.

Khepri
Creator-god principally manifested in the
form of rhe sr.. .\H, \Il or dung beetle, although he
was sometimes depicred in tomb paintings and
funerary p'lpyri as a man with .1 scarab as a
head or as a scarab in a hoar held aloft by i\L:'>..
In the tomb of I'I'TO"015 at Tona e1-Gebel

GraJ1ilt, tolossal statue "fa sCflrab beetle. pmbab()1

rcpn:senling tire god Khepri. thejorm /aken k)' till!
sUI/-go" til the time o/his birth ill/he morning. 11
lI'lIsJinmd iI/ COllstantillople, wlrere it had probab(y
hew takw in Rowall/iwes. Dale {/llli prrn;emmce
Ifnlmfl11111. It. 89 on. (f:.,7-1j

KHNUM

stone scarab on a plinth, representing the temple <15 the PRL\lE\'t\l. ~IOL:l\.1) li'OIll which the
sun-god emerged to begin the process of cosmogony. Such a sc<trab is still prcscncd ill situ
beside the sacred lake in the temple of Amun
at Kt\]{j\"!\h':.

J ASSi\lAKN, 'Cheprc', Lex/koll del' .ri"gypla!ogit: I,

ed.W. Heick, E. Otto and IV. Westendorf
(Wicsbaden, 1975),93+--10.

Khnum
Ram-god whose principal cliit ccntTc was on
the island of Elephantine at ASWA '\!, where he
was worshipped, probably from the Early
Dynastic period (3100-2686 lie) onwards, as
paft of a triad with the goddesses SATET and
ANUKET. In his earliest" form he appears ro have

KHONS

principal creator-gods (sec C1{EAT10'\). This

creative role stemmed inevitably from the
combination of the crcati,'c symbolism of
moulding pottery, the traditional potency of
the ram and the fact that the Egyptian word
for ram, HA, also hacJ the meaning of 'spiritual
essence' (although the latter was usually written with the stork hieroglyph). Perhaps partl~r
because of this punnin'g connection with the
concept of the /Ja, Khnum was reg;.uded as the
quintessential /Ja of the sun-god R/\, who was
therefore depictcd with it ram's head as he
passed through the netherworld in the solar
bark.
The best-preserved temple of Khnum is Ihe
Greco-Roman construction at F_'i""!:\, where his
consort was ivlenhyt, a relativcly unknown

to Khnum at a time of famine caused by low

inundations.
A. lV\. B.\DAWI, Der Coil Chill/III (Gliicksladt,
1937).
L. IIAIIACIII, 'Was Anukis considered as the wife
of KIlIlum or as his daughter?', A5'A 50 (1950),
501-7.
P. Ro\RGL.t:T, La slele de III Jil1l1illi! ,i Sihel (Cairo,
1953).
P. BEJlRl~:-"S, '''Vidder', Lexi/wII der .rlgYPlologie n,
cd. W. Heick, E. Otto and W. Westendorf
(Wicsbadcn, 1986), 1243-5.

Khons
j\lloon-god, whose name means 'wanderer',
typically represented as a mummiform human
figure (occasionally hawk-headed) holding

VUlit:e .~/e1e, the upper register ofmhieh depil:/S a

sealedfigurt: of/he god Khom rccei"i;ing a liba/ioll
mltl ufferings. 18111 Dynasly, c./550-/295 He,
limes/one. II. 38.1 em. (1:..-1/297)

been portnlyed as the first type of ram domesticated in Egypt (O.i, Inllgipes), which had
corkscrew horns extcnding horizontally outwards from the head, as opposed to the later
specics (Ovis pla/ym), which had horns curving inwards rowards the face and was more
often associated with the god A;\IUi'\.
Khnum's strong association with both the
Nile INUi'\Dr\TIOi'\' and the fertile soil itself contributed to his role as a potter-god and therefore also to his cosmogonic role as one of the

Fmgme11l ()[slI11dsI01/e wlIlI-relieldewrtlletlmilh 1I

represlW/fIlion oflhe god Klmu111 ll.( 1I rtlm-helltled
mlln. 181h DYIJ(IS~)I, c. /300 lie, fl. -I.) em.
(",16.1.1"")
lioness-goddess, although the goddess ~Ern-I
also features prominently in rhe reliefs. The
tcxts on the walls of the Esna temple celebrate
his creation of rhe entire universe including
gods, humans, animals and plants. The socalled Ft\MINE Stelc ;,It Sehcl describes appeals

sceptre and flail and wearing the SIDELOC:K OF

YOUTII with a headdress consisting of a horizontal crescent moon surmounted by a full
moon. Like TIIOTII (another lunar deity), he
was also portrayed as a CYi\OCEI~IIAI.US baboon.
He appears to have originally been associated
with childbirth, and in the Thcban region he
was considered to be the son of Al\IUN and
"l!T. In the 20th Dynasty (1186-1069 lie) a
temple of Khons was built within the
precincts of the temple of Amun at KARNAK. At
"OM Ol\'lBO, however, he was regarded as the
son of the deities SOBEK and 11ATJ-IOR.

151

KHUFU

One manifestation or Khons, known as 'the

proyillcr" was credited with the ability to
dri,'c our cril spirits. 'rhe Bentrcsh Stele (ncm"
in the Luuuc) is <111 inscription composed in
the fuurth century Be bur purporring to date to
the reign uf Rameses 11 (I27Y-1213 BC). It
claims that the pharaoh senT a statue ofKhons
to a Syri.m ruler in on.lcr tu f~lcililare rhe cure
of an .tiling foreign princess calIco Rcmresh.
';\lythcs ct dicux lunairt"S en
Egyptc'. Sourus fJrimlalcs .): La Itllli'. /11yfhes el
rile.! (paris, 1962), 'Y-68.
G. POSl':.'\ER, 'Vne rcintcrprcurion tardi\'c ell!
nom du dieul\:honsuu', Z.-iS93 (1966),115-19.
H. BIU.":.'\i\I~R, 'ChOIlS', l.l'xil011 tla /(iJypJologil' I,
cd. Iv. Heick, L Olin and IV. Westendurf
(Wicsbadcn, 1975),960-3.
P. DERCII \1'\,

Khufu (Cheops) (258Y-2566 BC)

Second ruler of the 4th Dynasty, whose name
is an abbreviation of the phrase K/11I1111l-1..>IIC[ffi
CKIINLJ\l protects mc'). I Ic was the son of SNEFERU (261J-258Y Be) and the builder of the
Great Pyramid at (lIZI\. His own burial chamber was found to con lain ollly all empty sarcophagus, blll part of the funerary equipment
of his mother, IIETEI'IIEIH:S I) survivcd in a
,\IAST'\IJA tomb ncar his pyramid. Despite the
fame of his funerary complex, the only surviv-

fvm]! sltlllfclle oIKIIIIJil, mhosc J-!O/'IIS 1/fIIIIC is

imailJed 011 Ihe riglll side ofille Ihrnne: his
car/oud/(:, ill.I'aibed on llie olher side, is parlf)1
broken. "litis is Ihe onf)! surviving represenlaf./on oj'
Ihe builder oflhe Creal Pyramid af. Gi::.a. -1111
Dynasty. c.2570 IIc. ./iwn A!~)l(lo.~. II. 7..) on
(c.II"oJI36/43)
152

KING I.lSTS

ing completc representation of Khufu himself

is a small ivory statuette of a ruler wC<lring the
red crown of Lowcr Egypt and seated on .1
throne caned with Khufu's Horus-name,
which was cxc;1\,:Iled from the temple of
Khentimcilriu at \uroos by Flindcrs Petrie,
ilnd is now in the Egyptian .\luscum, Cliro.
Sncral rock-can ed texts at remote quarrying
sites such as II \T'\L"H and \Vadi ~\bghara suggest thm his reign} not une,<pectedly, W:lS
marked by considerable quarrying and mining
acti\'it~.

Tn later tradition he was repured to h,l\e

been a tyrannical ruler, although these traclitions cannot bc substantiated by contemporary c\"idencc and perhaps rehne simply to the
imposing scale of his pyramid.
'V. 1\1. E PeTRIE, .1I~}ldlJ.\1I (Londun, 1903), 3U,
pis IJ-J.!.
Z. I L\\\,.\ss. 'Thc Khufu S(;.ltuette: is it an Old
Kingdom SCUlpl Lire:', J11c:/allges Gall/a! A'loIlJ..ht({r
I (Cairu, 1985), .17Y-94.
1. E. S. EI)\\!\IH>S, '1'1/1: p)ll"(lIl1ids oI1:.'gYPI, 5Lh cd.
(Hal'l11onds\Vorlh. )1)93),98-121.

Khyan (Sellserenra, LI600

A 15th-Dynasty

Be)

ruler of Lower
EgYPl, whose 'lluone name' was Seuscrenr,l.
Unlike the other Ilyksos pharaohs, who commissioned ,'cry few architectural or sculptural monumcms} Khyan was responsible for the
decoration of religious slructures at GEUELEIl\.
(along with his successor Aauserra '\1'1:1'1) ilnd
llubastis (TEl.1. n"sT.\). The international
innuencc of Khyan is perhaps indicated by
the disco"cry of a number of objects bearing
his name at sites outside Egypt, including
scarabs and sC;,ll impressions in the Le":tnt, a
travertine \'asc lid at Knossos, part of an
obsidian "cssel ,ll the Iliuitc capital of
((altUS,lS (Bughazki)y). Although the two latter items wcrc presumably prestigc gifts or
trade goods, it is possible that the SC:lls indicatc a degrce of I-Iyksos conlrol O\'er southcrn
Palestine. The granite lion bearing Khyan's
namc that was found buill" into a housc wall at
Baghdad and is now in the collection of the
British I\luscum is usuall~ assumed to have
been removed from Egypt some time after U1C
Hyksos period.
R. GI\ 1':0,\, 'A scaling of Khyan from the
Shephcla or southern Palestine',JEA 51 (1965),
202-4.
W. C. 11 \YES, I EgYPL fi'om the death uf
AI11I11CI1CI11CS III to Seqel1cllrc II', Cflmbridgl'
Allcielll!-h+;tOly 11/1. cd. f. E. S. Edw~lrds et aI.,
.1rd cd. (Cambridge, 1973),42-76.
IIYKS(JS

king lists
Term used by Egyptologists to refer to sun'iv-

ing lists of the names and titlcs of rulers or

Egypt, somc
which also incorporate information concerning the length amI principal
C\'cnts of indi"idu:11 reigns. YirtLlally all of the
sunjying examples deri,'c from religious or
fun crary contexts and usually rehIle to the celebr.llion of thc cult of roy,ll anceSlOrs, "hcreb~ c:leh king established his own legitimac~
and place in the succession by making rcgular
offerings ro a list of the names of his predecessors. The lists arc often surprisingly accur.llC,
although they arc also noticeahly sc1ectiyc,
regularly omirting ccrt;,lin rulers, such a~
\KIIE;".\TE:'\ (1352-1336 Be who \\'ere considered to ha"c been in any W,ly illegitim<ltc or
inappnlpriatc.
Se"cral such lists exist, although onl~ thtl!
in the temple of Sery I (129+-1279 BC) at \Innos, listing sc\'cnty-six kings from \IE::'\ES 10
SCI-y himse1f~ remains in its original cOTHexl. .'\
second list, from the nearby temple of
Rameses II (I27Y-12IJ BC), is now in the
British l\ilusellm, and an earlier example fi'OI11
the templc of Amun at K:\ Rl'\!A t\:, listing sixtytwo kings from ~iJenes to ThutmosL: III
(1-1-79-1-1-25 lie), is now in the Louvre.
The Saqqara 'T:1blct. ,Ill cxample of a pri\'atc
funcrary clIlr of the royal ancestors. was fOllnd
in the 10mb of a scribc called Tenro)"; it lists
fifty-sc,'en rulers from the 1st Dynasty umit
Lhc reign of Rameses II. Another pri\'ate ex.lmpic of a king list W;,lS found in tllC tomb
Amcnmcssu at Thebes (IT373; (,1300 Be),
where rhc deccased is shown worshipping the
stalUl'S of thirteen pharaohs.
The hieralic papyrus known as the TLRI'\
KOY.\!. (",,\'\0'\. compiled in dle 19th Dynast).
and the basalt stele known as the I'\U:R \I()
STO'I':, daring from the end of thc 5th
Dynasty, are "aluable records. although both
.1re incompletc.much of the Turin C:lI1on h<l\ing been losl in modern times. There arc also a
few much briefer king lists1 such as .1 graffito
at the mining and quarrying sitc of 'Vadi
Ilammamat, dated palacographically to th\:
12th f)~nasty (1985-1795 BC), which consists
of the names of fiyc 4th-Dynasty rulers and
princcs.
'I'hc historian \1 \ '\1-:"1'110 must h:l\'c used
such king lists} prcsumably i.n the f<ll"m of"
papyrus cupies in temple LIBR \IUES, whcn he
was compiling his ;lCCouI1l of the history of
Egypt, which is known only hom the somctimes contradiclory fiagmcl1t"s preserved in
the works of other ancient authors.
'vV. B. EI\lt':RV, Ardlllic EgyjJt (I-1armondsworth.
19(1),21-+.
D. 13. REDFOIW. Pharaol/ic king-!isls, (lII1W/S (l1/(!
day-books: a ((illlrilm/ion lo Ihe .~/llIf)1 fllthe
E:!{)ljJlirlll selw'oIhi.+;tOly (Mississauga, 1986).

or

or

KINGSHIP

13. J.

KE.\II',

(h'i1i;::'lIli()//

.ll1clcl/l F.gy/JI: 1I11{/1(l1I~11

(London, 1989),21-3.

KIOSK

//Ia

kiosk
1\pe of small openwork temple with supporring pillars, the best known examples being that
of Senusrel I (1965-1920 lie) al "-IB' IK, and
thaL ofTrajan (.11> 98-117) at 1'1>11 ..11'. The term
is sometimcs also employed fo refer to a small
sun-shade or p~l\'ilion for the use of a king or
official.

kingship
The com:cpt of kingship and the di"inity of
the pharaoh wcre l:clllral (0 Egyptian society
and religion. At the vcry beginning of
Egyptian history, the e"idence from such sites
as \UH>OS, '\. \Q)IJ\ and S_\~t\R \ suggesls that
the basic l1al"urc of Eg~ pti~m \n.\IL\I~-nnTI02\.
and the strong associi.uion between the king
and the falcon-god IIORL'S had alreildy hecome
well established. A grc,u deal of the ideology
surrounding Egyptian kingship can be
deduced to some extent from the dc,c!opmcnl
of the RO) \1. T1TLL \R\. which fulfilled a number of roles, including the establishment
the
rcl;uionships between the king and the gods,
and rhe cxphtn<ltion of how e~H.;h reign rdated
to the kingship as .1 whole.
The title IIfJ1JJ..-bit (liter<lll~ 'he of the sedge
and the bee') is usually tnmslated <1S 'King of
Upper and Lower Egypt' but its true meaning
is quite diffen.;nt, and consider'lbly Illore COIllplex, in that neSJ1) appears to mean the
unchanging di\'ine king (.llmost (he kingship
itsell), while bil seems to be a more ephemeral
reference to the individual holder of the kingship. Each king was therefore it combination of
the divine and the mortal, the IICSJ1J and the bil,
in the Same way that the li,-ing king ,,as linked
with Horus and the dead kings, the royal
anccstors (sce t,:!'\'(i LISTS), were associatcd
with OSrKIS.
ldeally tht; kingship passed from Either to
SOil, and each king was usually keen to demonstrate his (ilial links with the IJrC,-ious ruler.
On a practical Ic,-c1, the ruler could demonstrate the continuity of the kingship b~ ensuring thm his predecessor's mortu;lry temple
and tomb were completed, and 011 a more
political level he ,Yould do his best to demonstrate thai he was the chosen heir whose right
to rule W.IS ensured by his own divinity.
SOl1letimt.'S the anempts of certain rulers to
demonstrate rheir unquestioncd right to thc
kingship h.we heen misinterpretcd as 'propagandist:' efforts to distort the truth by mcans
of thc various reliefs and inscriptions depicting such e,'cnts .IS thcir di"ine hirth .1l1d thc
bestowal of the kingship hy Ihe gods.
Although there may have heen a certajn
amount of political (rather than religious)
impctus behind the works of such unusual
rulers as Queen 1l.ITSIlEI'SLT (1473-1458 Be),
most of the sun i,ing references to the kingship belong much morc ,rithin the orcrall role
of the king in imposing order and prcrcnting
chaos. The f'unetjon of the king as the representative or the gods was to preserve and

or

kohl see COS\lETIC'i

koru
Dctail (~r(f .'iatioll (~rI11all-n.:lliliu the it'll/pic oI
HlltlfOr atlJl'IIdl'Ta, ~h()mil/g the mriting oftht'
mortl 'plulI"fwh' (pcr-'la) ill (l rarlOliche. The
in.HTlpti(JIl.\' illlc'I1IPk.~ (~rthc' Ptolemaic (lnd RuwlIn
pniod.l' tdicll indllde {(Jrfol/r!lcs imaif,ed 'Pith Ihis
gel/air 1i'1"II1./()/' l!Ii' king, rallter Iltall mith a

.l'jJl'(Uic' ruler:~ JIlllne. (I. SII 1/1)

restore the original harmony of rhe uni"ersc,

therefore a great deal of the il:onography in
Egyptian temples, tombs and palaces was cono:rncd much 1110re with this overaLl aim than
with the indi,idual cirl:ul1lslol1ll:es of the ruler
at any particular poim in time. Just as it was
esscntial to stress the king\ divinc hirth, so
the cclebratjon and depiction of each SED FESTI\-A1. (royal jubilee) was intcnded to ensure
that the king was still capable or performing
his ritual role.
The term per-llll Cgrcat housc') - whidl
,,-as c,cntually transformcd, ria Greek, into
the \\urd pharaoh - \\as initially used to
describe the royal court or indeed the stare
itsel r, in the sense that the 'grc.1t house' was
the ovcrarching cntity responsihle lor the
T\X\TIO' orthe lesser 'houses' (pam), such as
the temple lands and pri,-atc estates. B~
extension, from the latc I Sth Dynasty
omyards, the term hegan to be used to refer
to the king himself
H. FR'''''FORT, King.~hip aud the gods (ChiclgO,
19{8).
1-1. \V. F \IR_\"\="-, 'The kingship rituals of Eg~ pt',
.\~)Ith. riwa! lIIfd kingship, cd. S.ll. Hooker
(Oxlord, 1958), 7+-10{.
G. POSE\!':R, DI! 1(/ divinih; till plUlrtlll1l (Paris,
1960).
B. G. TRIGGER ct aJ.,Allcienl Egypl: II Slid,,!
hi.'iUny (Cambridge, 1983),52-61,71-(1, 20+-2S,
288-99.
N. GRI\l \1., Li'S lerllles de la pr"'pa.'!,lflldl' n~J'a!
i:gyplil'lIlIl! de la xixi' thflUlSlil' ti la {(Im/llile
tI>llexulU!n' (Paris, 1986).
I\L A. BO,III::\lE and A. FOGE \L, P/UlflU>1I, le.~
$l'(Tl'ts tlli pom:oir (Paris, 1988).
J. D. R-n, 'The pharaohs and their court', Egypl:
I/IIt:iell/ wltllre, lIIodem laud, cd. J. Malek
(Sydney, 1993),68-77.

Term which has eJ1lcrcd Arabic from the

Coptic word xmp <,"illagc') and is generall~
used to refer 10 the. mounds made up of the
ruins of ancient settlements. Its mc'1l1ing is
therefore similar to the Arabic ,Yord lell,
although [Jle latter is 1110re commonly applied
to fhe higher settlement mounds of the Le,-anl
.llld .\lesopotamia.

Koru Abu Billo C1erenuLhis)

Site or a Pharaonic and Greco-Roman town
situated in the western Delta, which deri,'es
irs Greek name from th.u of the snakcgoddess RE\C'\""CTET, whose cult \\ as celebrated in the ~1I"C'1. 'The early Pwlemaic
temple remains, exc<wated hy F T.I. Griffith
in 1887-8, were dedicated to the goddess
l-I,rrllOI{ in her manifesmtion of 'mistress of
turquoise', and there arc nearby burials of'
sacred cows presumably rehuing to the cult
of I-Lllhor. The imporl..11lce of this temple
rests primarily 011 (he f;ttt that it is one of the
few monumenls l:onstructed during the
reign of' the. first 1''''01.1':.\1'' (Prolemy I Soter;
305-285 IlC). During the Roman period the
economic importance of Tcrcnuthis rested
on the role il played in the procurement ~lIld
trading of ',\TRO' and salt, owing to the
proximity of the road leading 10 \Vadi
Natrull.
The nearby cemetery spans a much broader
period) ranging from the Old Kingdom to the
late Roman period. Some of the Nc"
f..:ingdolll graycs contajnl:d 'slipper-coffins'
made of pottery and decorated with ugly facial
features, while many of the Roman-period
tombs were marked by unusual stelae l:onsisting of relief representations of the deceased
either standing or lying on a COUdl and
accompanied by all inscription in IJE.\\OTIC or
Greek.
A. 111'.1{,\1 \i\i\, 'Die Ddrasradt 'lCrClllllhis uno
ihre Giirrin', .HD.'IIK 5 (I 93{), 1119-72.
B. PORTEI{ and R. L. I3. l\lo!'ls, 7'opographiat!
IJ1Ni(Jgrap/~)II\, 1st ed. (Oxford, 1934),67-9.
J. G. GRJI"FITIIS, 'lc.rcnurhis" Le.ril..'011 da
AgyplfJlogii' \'1, ed. W. 1-1ckk, E. Otto and
W. Westendorf (Wieslmkn, 1986), 4H.
153

KOM EL-AI-IMAR

KOM aMBO

Dettlilofa sec/ion ofmil II-reliefill/he /l'Il1ph' of

/-fOrtH {f1U1 Sobel- al Kom Om"o. shom;ng P/ol('1l~},
/I Philopa/or l11ai'illg offirillgs In Ihe O'omtlill'-gotl
So"ek. Ptolemaic period. c.Z2/-20S IlC (I. SIIIII)

Piau ,~rthe doubl" 1i'll/flle (~tlJ()I"IIS III/d So/Jd,' {I/

KOII/Om!Jo.

10

20

30

40m

12

tln

~ [~I]
11

I-~_

J:....
j

..

~...::,:,:
Kom el-Ahmar see I UE~'KO"I'OI.IS
Kom el-Hisn (anc. Imu)
Site of the town of Tmll, located in the western Dclra, about 12 km south of "iAUKRATIS.
When it was first surveycd by E LL Griffith,
in 1885, <l large proportion of the mound was
still in existence, but it is now much reduced
by the work of sebaR!lin Cfan11crs quarrying
ancient mud-brick for use as fertilizer). The
principal mound is dominated by the ruins of
a temple dedicated to the local goddess,
S[KII~IET-II:\THOK, which was established by
SE"USRET I (1965-1920 Be) in the earlv 12th
Dynasty.
\:Vhen the large rectangular temple encloSUfe was exca\~ltcd in 19-+3-6 by the Egyptian
archaeologists A. Hamada and ~L e1-Amir, it
was found to contain yariolls items of Middle
and New Kingdom sculpture, including statues of Amencmhat [II (1855-1808 Be) aod
Rameses II (1279-1213 IIC).
In the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC), the
town of lOll! rephlCcd the c~rlicr (still undiscovered) [Own of Hwt-ihyt as the capital of the
third Lower Egyptian nome. The nearhy
cemetery contains hundreds of graves, most of
which date from the First intermediate Period
(2181-2055 BC) to the New Kingdom.
154

According to the brief report describing a

Cmadian sun'cy of the site in 1980, Ihe most
imprcssi\'c suniving archircctur;.ll feature al
Kom cl-Hisn is the painted, stone-built
Middle Kingdom tomb of KheslIwcf, 'O\'crseef of prophets'.
E. A. G'\IWi\'EK, N{/flkrlltis II (London, 1888),
77-80.
G. Dt\RESSY, 'Rapporr sur KOI11 cl-T lisn', ASAJ::
4 (1903), 281-3.
B. PORTER and R. L. B. ~I()ss. Topographiml
bibliography 11', 1st cd. (Oxford, 19.14),51-2A. H

\\1-\11-\

and S. F,-\RID, 'Exca\"ations aL KOIll

c1-1 Iisn, s",lson 1945', .ISA 46 (1947),

195-205.
- , 'Excavations at Kom c1-1 IisH, 1946', ASAE
+8 (1948), 299-325.
I~ BRODIE ct aI., 'Kom e1-llisn" Cities of/he Del/a
I: Nllllkl'llliJ(~lalibu, 1981),81-5.

Kom Medinet Ghurob see GUROB

Kom Ombo (ane. ambos)
Temple and assol:iatcd settlement site located
4-0 km north of Asw.m, with suryiving structural remains dating from at least as early as
the 18th Dynast\' (1550-1295 BC), although
there are also a number of Upper Palaeolithic
sites scattered oycr the surrounding region.

~ .. I:W,,., ,](J. ,

:N\,,2 :

1
2
3
4
5
6

.. III ......

inner vestibule
forecourt
altar
(northern) sanctuary of
first hypostyle hall
Horus (Haroeris)
second hypostyle hall 9 (southern) sanctuary of Sobek
outer vestibule
10 inner corridor
middle vestibule
11 outer corridor
12 position of false door stele

The su.niving temple buildings, first dcarcd

of debris by Jacques de I"lorgan in 1893, "ere
dedicated 10 the dcities Sobek and Haroeris
(see I-I()RUS) and date mainly to the Ptolemaic
and Roman periods (.132 UC-,\D 395), mOSl of
the relief decoration having been completed in
the first century IIC. The i1JThitcctural plan of
the temple is unusual in that it effecti,'c1~
combines two traditional cult temples into
one, each side having its own individual succession of gateways ilnd chapels.
]. DE ~\IORGA" cr aI., KOI1l Ombos, 2 "ols (Vienn;l,
1909).

KOM EL-SHUQAFA

Kom el-Shuqafa see ,ILEX,"".'A

Koptos (Qift, anc. Kcbel)
Temple ilnd (Own si[C located abollt 40 km
north of Luxor, at the entrance to the "Vadi
Hammamat. This ,"alley contained gold mines
and breccia quarries and also scrycd as the
principal trade-route between the Nile ,-alley
and the Red Sea. The benefits of the town's
loc'lrion, on the east bank of the NUc, arc considered LO h;1\"C been the primary reason for
the foundation and subsequent prosperity of
the Pharaonic settlement at Koptos. To the
cast of the main site there arc cemeteries dating to the late Prcdynastic period
(c.3300-3100 BC), when !,-,'o,'DA, situated
almost opposite Kopros on the west bank, was
the dominant town in the region.
The surviving settlement remains at Kaptos
date back to the beginning of the historical
period (c.3000 BC), including lhree eolussal

KUSH

B. J. KE.\\I', flneiem EgYPI: 1lIU11011~)' ola

ch:i/i::::fl1ioll (London, 1989),6+-91.
C. TRALSECKER and L. P:\;\T\L.\CCI, 'Le temple
eI'lsi a EI Q11'a pres de Copros', ./U'Jcll Ailiif/chell
1985111, eel. S. Sehoske (Hamburg, 1989),
201-10.

Kumma see 5[.\1:'\.\

Kurgus
Site in the fifth-cataract region of Nubia,
where Th utmose I (150-1-- H92 HC) and
Thutmose III (1479-H25 BC) both carved
inscriptions on boulders marking the southern
fionticr of Egypt. The choice of this spot for
the erection of the stelae, close to the southern
end of the so-called Korosko Road, suggests
that an importanL oyerlanc1 trade-route, passing through the gold-bearing region of the
Wadis Allaqi and Gabgaba, was pruhably
already being used in the early New Kingdom.

the royal tombs at c1-Kurru were built in the

style of miniature Egyptian pyramids, starting
with that of I'IY (747-716 BC), the founder of
Ihe 25th Dynasty. Undecorated rectangular
funerary chapels were located immediately
beside the east f~lces of each of the supersrrucHires. The subterranean burial chambers
could be entered clown long flights of steps
leading from shafts also siruatcd to the cast of
ei.1ch pyramid. Adjacent to the pyramidal
tombs, which include those of SIL\II:\QO
(716-702 IIC), Shabitqo (702-690 BC) and
TA~LT-\!\IAi\1 (66-1-656 Be), are twenty-four
roughly conrcmpor:lry horse burials. After the
mid seventh century Be, el-Kurru \\"<lS effectively abandoned and Nuri became the sire of
the new cemerery of rhe Naparan rulers.
D. DL"'llnl, TlteroJ!,lIce11lf/eriesoIKffslt,/:
EI-KIIITIl (Boston, 1950).

Kush see kER\P,;

~LIII.'\

and

\ICERQ) OF K.USII

Limes/olle sl/lIl' relic/depicting Senwrt:l J engaged

ill a sed-je.aival rilua/ in Ihe preSf11Cf o//lte
ftrJili~)'-god,\'lin. The killg is showII runlling
helmccu bOlUular.y slOIlCJ symho/i:::.illg lire limils Qf
his hngdom; illfronl nfhim arc his ,hroue name
and Horus mlJ}U!. The lille of vertical/ext belom
lite 1lames reatls '/uwellil1g k)/ b01l1 to A1in. Ihe
greal got/mho is ill Ihe mitisl of/us dO". /21h
D.J'nllJ~)" c./950 BC, 11. /.1/111. (N.TRlf IILS1:"U.II,
1J786)

limestone statues of the local fertility-god 1\IIN

and various other items of 'preforma!' sculpture, ,Yhich were cxc~l\'atec1 by rlinders Petrie
in an Eouly Dynastic context at the temple of
l\1in. The ,isible remains of the temple date
mainly from the New Kingdom onwards. The
Greek and Roman I11onUl1ll,;nts at Koptos,
including a small temple of ISIS at the nearby
site of el-Qtl'a, haye been studied by Claude
Traunecker and Laure Pantalacci.
W. M. l' PETRIF., Kop/o.< (London, 1896).
A.]. REINAClI, Rapports SlIr It'sjouilles tie KopI()J
(Paris, 1910).

\V. y. ADo\1'.lS, Nubia: corridor 10 /~fi"ica, 2nd cd.

(London and Princeton, 1984), fig. 33.

Kurru. elRoyal necropolis of the Napatan period

(.1000-300 He), situated in Upper Nubia on
the Dongola reach of the Nile. Thl,; sire was
first used from c.IOOO Be onwards for the
tumulus-burials of the rulers of the kingdom
of Kush, the political focus of which waS i\t\PIrn, which also includes the sites of Gebel
Barkal, ~URI and Sallam.
In the later ~apatan period (r.750--653 BC),
155

LA~IUN,

F.I.-

LANGUAGI::

L
Lahun, elNecropolis and town-sill', loc.1lcd .n the eastern edge of the F" L \1 IH:GIO', .lballt 100 km
southeast of Cliro. The principal monument is
the pyramid complex of Scnusret [I
(1880-187-1- He). The internal arrangement of
the superslfucIUfC consisted of a knoLl of rock,
surmounlcd by a network uf stone-buill
reraining walls smhilizing the mud-brick
matrix of" the building. One of the most
unusual features
SCllusrcr II'S 1ll0IUIIl1Cnt is
the fact that, unlike most other pyramids, lhe
entrance is frum the south rather than the
norrh, perhaps because he \\ as more concerned with the sc(urity of the tomb than irs
alignment \\ jlh the circlImpolar stars. The
burial chamber contains an exquisite red granire sarcophagus and a tr<lvcrt"inc offering table.
In onc of the four sh~lfi.-[()mbs on the south
side of the pyramid, Flinders Pc(]ic and Guy
Brunton discO\crcd the JE\\TI.I.I':ln of
Sithathoriuncl, illl:luding items bcaring the

or

The pyralllhl f~rSC/lligf/ /I {fl el-Lallllll is

OJllSlrlft;/!'d ,~rlllffd-br;(k arol/lld a ser;cs I!I'
limes/ulle malh. sOll/e I~rmh;rh {fiJI be set'll 1/1 Iht'
btl.lc oftht' pymll!id. The .1'/1"11(1/11"" has IIISI i,s (Jill{'/'
casillg {lIltl:iO hilS J1Il'tlllwwllfJ {/ roulfded projile.
(/~

cemelery
pyramid of
Senusret II

rock tombs

rock tombs

--

'V-\

cemetery

900
alley temple

~-ll

-,'Acropolis'

Kahun
town

7:

.\lCIIOI.SU\)

canouchcs of Scnusrci II and Amcnemhat III

(1855-1808 Ile).
Bcside Sellusret II'S Valley Temple arc the
remains of h:allll11, a rectangular, planncd
sClllemcnr, rncasuring about 384 m x 335 m,
which is thought to han~ originally housed
the officials responsible for SenusrCl's royal
mortuary cult but was later regardcd as a
to\\ n in its own right, h~l\"ing 'l/wly-'(mayor).
Small sunjving areas of such settlemcnts
h<.l\C been found at other siLcs in the immediatc yicillil~ of Old and .\Iiddle I-.:...ingdom
pyramids..1.\ large number of IllER \TIC papyri,
daring to the late .\fiddle Kingdom
(t.185U-1650 Be) and ranging from religious
dOl:lll11enLs to pri\ aLe COITcspondcllce, wcrc
discol ered hI Flinders Pe,rie in 188Y-YO
(now in Lhc Petrie i\lusculll, Uni\ersiL~
College London), Further documcnt<i wcrc
later disl:o\"ered as <1 result or illicit excaViltions; thcse papyri, the business letters or thc
templc scribe l-Iorclllsaf, arc now in Berlin
and have nor ycr becn fully published.
w. J\I. I': PI':TKIE, /(ahllll, G/lmh (l1lt/ HII/lI(f/"{1
(London, IR91J).
- . I//lfhlll/, Kal/ll1l alld Gumh (London, 1891).

F. 1..1.

GRIFFITH, j-/jt'I"{/(it p(lpyriJimll J.:(///Ifll (Iud

Gumh(l.ondon,IH98),

PIal! (~(JI/l' pyrllJlud (Oll/plex ofSel///Srel

c1-/..alwlIlIlld IlIe ass(J(ialed ,,,,-,"le1lle11l.

156

If

al

w. ~L E PETKW, G.
!\ILRRH, LahUl/II

B"uvro~ and \L A.
(London, 1923).

II. E,

Wli\1.0Cr-::, The lI"e(l.wl"c

York,

IY~+).

l!rO-fllll/lll (Ne\\'

13. GL '\ '\, "rhe name ot' the pyramid toWIl of

Sesos'risII ',.7E I ~I (19+5), 106-7.
U. Lun, 'l1lahul1srudicn', Oil'III1N'lll' j (1982),
101-56; + (IY8~), 121-79; 5 (1986), 117-5~.I,hc
p<.\p~ ril
B. .J. KI':\ll', .-ludelll Egyp/: {fllalol1qr '!I'a
(i6Ii::'(//;1I1I (London, 1989). 149-37.
U. LLvr, /)w ...Jrchii iOIl fllalllm (Hi('J"{/li.H-//I'
Papyri) (Berlin, 1992).
I. E. S. Em\ \RDS, 'lilt' p)'f"{/I//itls ofEgYPI, 5th cd.
(I-Iarmonds\\orth, 1993),212-13.

language
A.m:ient Egyptian is probably rhc sccond old
cst wriHcn language in the world, being preccded only by SL\I1:RI\' in western Asia. It
forms onc of the fiyc branches of a family of
languages spol..cn in north Africa anti thc
'lI1ciem Ne.tr East, known as Afro-Asiatic (or
HamilO-Scmitic). Bccause of \arious common
c1emcnts of yocabulary and grammar, these
liyc ling-uisLic branches arc thought to tIeri\L'
from an earlier 'proto-language'. .'1.ncicn!
Egyptian Lhcrefore includes certain words that
arc identicli to those in such langll~lgcs m,
Hehre\\, Berber <lnd Tuareg.
Egyptian is ~llso thc earliest written language in which \'crbs hayc different 'aSpCl:IS'
rathcr than tenscs, which mcans thaI thl'
cmphasis is plal:cd on \yhethcr an aCLion has
becn complcted or not, r<lLhcr than whether it
occurred in the past, prescnt or futurc, A crucial distinction needs LO be made bct\yecn Ihe
stages in lhc dc\'c)opment of the Egypti.m languagc and the \'arious pluscs of its writtcn

LANGUAGE

LAPIS LAZULI

glottal
stop

301";

~~

-e>

ru

y
\\
deep
guttural,
Semitic

11

II

~I

stronger

I;

as eh in
loch

softer ~,

as =

originally

originally

!12::ifJ

nv

'd

h'

lV

1\
Chllrl

III

~'Ilf1J1lillg ,11(' dij}i.'rml ~)IPt'...

-++-

r
=

as S5

(Jlhierog()'phir

dll/mtler....

form. The language has one distiner- break, in

the "tiddle Kingdom (2055-1650 Be), \I-hen
'synthetic' Old and .\liddlc Egyptian, charac.:. lcrizcd b~ inncc.:tcd ,"crb endings, \\as
replaced, in l"ilC spoken language at least, by
the morc complex 'nnalytical' form of Lltc
EgypLi;m, with a ,"crbal strucllIrc consisting of
~lrtict1hl1cd clements. Egyptian is the only 'language asprer' 1'01' which thc changc from the
'synthetic' stagc to 'analytical' can actually be
studied in its wriltcn form.
The wrillcn form of Egyptian, on the other
hand, passed through sC\'eral phases:. In the
first stage, I he slOnc-calTcd J 111]{()(il.Yl'lllC system was used f()r funerary and rclig'ious te.\ts
while thc cursiyc IllEIU'I'lC script ,ns used for
administrativc and litcrary texts. By the 25th
to 26th Dynaslies (jn-52:; BC) m:,\I()TIC
emcrged, and fill' a number of centuries lhc
Greek and demutic scripls wcrc uscd side by
side.
The demotil: and hieroglyphic "Titing systems beg~1Il to be replaced in the third centur~
I\D by COPTIC, which consisted of the Greek

or

as sit in

ship

asgin

good

tOyi11

SI1'

plants

111,-

copper or
bronze

->(j1

ss./m

sun, time

-"I;

I?

queen

as q in

as I in
tune

man,
occupation,

name

~J

people

senses

alphabet combined with six demotic signs.

This was ~lt.:'lually a Icss suitable means of rendering the Egyptian language, bur it W.IS introduced for purely religious and cultural rC'lsons: Egypt had become a Christian country
and the hieroglyphic system and its deri\ali\cs
were considered to be fundamcntally 'prcChristian' in their connotations. Ne\'erlheless,
the Egyptian language ilself, despitc being
,nillen in an adaptation of the Greek alph~l
bet. has sun-j\Td in a fossilized form in the
liturg~ of the Coptil: church cycn after I"he
emergence of A rabic as the spokcn language of
Egypt.
Sinl:e the pre-Coptic Egypti.lIl \\Tiling s~s
tems consistcd purely of consonants, Coptic
texts (as \Yell as occasional instances of Greek.
Akkadian and Babylonian documt;nts that
transcribe Egyptian \\'orlIs and namcs intu
ntlwr sl:ripts) havt; proyed extremdy useful in
terms 01" working oul the "ol:<llization of the
EgYPlian Ianguagc.
A. I-I. G \RIJI'\I':R. Egypliall gnlllll/u//; beillg {[II
IIII/w/llctloll 10 tIll' .~I/I{()llJlltil!rog()lpk~.3reI cd.
(O,lol"d, 1957).
T. C. [IOl>til':, ,-!lim/sialic: ({ SlI/T()' (The Haguc,
1971)_

f@

@ c==o
-<=>- I I I

motion
animal
(-skin)

book
(papyrus
roll),
abstracts

2=:J

III

as d in
dune

cloth

~~

=I:=r

/VVVV'.. '\:)

'lib

'to live'

sb rw

'plans,
condition'

I -ylII

'sea'

J and T Th,o'\: (cds), /-l1l1llilo-Si.'l1lilim:

pm(('ctlings filII ((JlloquilJllllleltl/~), Ilu: h~/ori(lIl
suluJI/ oI111I: l.illguisliCSjlssOl"ialifJl/ (Crt'al
Bntain). \lfudl l<JiO(Thc Hague, 1975).
C. C. \\' \1:n:RS 111 ell'lIwlllI1:J' Coptic grall/mar (If
'''l'Sallitlietliala/, 2nd cd. (Oxford, 198.l).

lapis lazuli (Egl"j)li"n khl'sl,,-d)

.:\lcnlmorphosed form ofljmcstone, rich in the
blue mincrallazuritc (a complex fddspathoid),
\\'hich is dark blue in colour and often necked
\\ ith impurities of cakitl', iron pyrites or gold.
The Egyptians considered that iL" appearance
imitated thar of the hea\"ens, therefore the~
considered il to be supl'l"ior to all m~lIcrials
other than gold and sih-cr. They used it extensively in JE\\'~I.LEI{\ until the Late PerioJ
(747-332 BC), when it was particularly popular
for amulcts. II was ticquentl~' dcsuibcd as
'rrue' Nles!J{!d, to distinguish it from imitations
madc in h\IE'\:CE or (fuss. Its primary use was
as inlay in jewellery, althoug'h small vessels are
also known, and il could also he used ~IS inlay
in the eyes of llgurines.
Unlike 1110sl- olher stones lIsed in Egyptian
jewellery, it docs not occur naturally in the
desens
Egypt but had to he imported

or

157

LAPWING

LATE PERIOD

De/ail of" bracelet consisting of a/a pis la:::-uli

scarab SCI ill gold. The beads (Ire o.{gold. come/iflll
({utlji/iel/ce. L ofscaralJ 2.8 011. (,/6.16/6)
either directly from Badakhsh<1J1 (in north-

eastern Afghanistan) or indirectly, as tribute

or trade goods from the Near East. Despite its
exotic origin it was already in usc as early as
the Prcdynasric period, showing that farreaching exchange networks between north
Africa and western Asia must have already
existed in the fourth millennium Be:. Ir is represented in temple scenes at \1EDI:'\IET I-IA-BU
and

aL J..::\JU,AK.

A. Luc-\s, AIlC/ilil E:.'gYPlia1//!/alerials (Iud

intlm/rit's, -J.th ed. (London, 1962), 3lJ8-400.
G. IIERR.\I:\N'\, (Lapis lazuli: the c;lrly phnses of
its trade', Irat{ 30 (1968), 21-57.
J C. P.w~t-:, 'Lapis lazuli in early Egypt', iraq 30

(1968),

E.

58~61.

'A lapis lazuli figurine from

Hicrakonpolis in Egypt', !rallica Allfiquu IS
(1980), 17.i~80.
POR.\IH,

lapwing see

RF.KIII'T BIR"

late Period (747-332 Be)

Phase of Egyptian hislOry comprising the 25th
to 31 st Dynasties, stretching from the end of
the TIIIRD I:>.TEIUIEDIHE PERIOD (1069-7D ue)
to the arri\"al of \I.EX.\NIJER TilE GRE.\T (332
Be). The Third lntermedi,tte Period was dominnted hy simultaneous dynasties of rulers in
the Delta and the Theban region, hut SIl:\[l:\QO
(716--702 liC), the second ruler of the Kushite
25th Dynasty, exerted Nubian inOuence over
the north hath by milit,uy conquest and by
mo\"ing rhe administrarive centre back from
Thebes to Memphis.
Despite the fact that the 25th-Dynasty
158

kings ruled over a larger territory than in the

preceding pcriod, thc state does not seem to
have been truly unified during this period,
wirh loc'11 princes apparently maintaining
considerable independence. Nevertheless,
rhe combined kingdom of Egypt and Nubia
was a formidable onc, ri\"alled only by the
rising empire of the -\SSYRI.\:\ rulers. The
Egyptian kings attempted to thwart the
spread of Assyria into the Levant by joining
forccs with somc of the Palestinian rulers.
Not only did they fail to overthrow thc
Assyrians, but in 67-1- Be thcy were themselves threatened, when Esarhaddon
(681 ~669 Be) mounted an invasion of
Egypt. This attack failed, and although his
second campaign, in 671 BC, was morc successful, he was still unable to suppress all
opposition. Thc Egyptian king TAII.\RQO
(690-664 BC), who had fled to Nubia, was
therefore able to reoccupy j\/lemphis.
l-lowcYer, the Assyrians attacked again, this
time under Ashurbanipal (669-627 uc), who
was aided by tWO local rulers from SAIS NJo:KAU I (672-66{ BC) and his son Psamtek <lnd was thus able finally LO establish
Assyrian rule O\'er Egypt. Nekau I was left
as governor, but was killed by the armies of
T.'NUH"" "I (66.f-656 BC), the son and successor ofTaharqo.
The constant breaking of Assyrian rule led
to seycre reprisals, and Ashurbanipal returned
to Egypt at some point" after 663 Be, laying
waste to great areas of the country and forcing
'I~lIlutamani to flee back to Nubia. However,
this by no means put paid to Egyptian independence: a rebellion in HABYLO:\I:\ caused
Ashurbanipal to withdraw, and, with
Tanutamani also gone, ::'\'ekau I'S son, PS:\\ITEK I
(66~1O BC), was able to appoint himself king

as the first full ruler of the 26th SAITE D"nasl\'

(66.f-525 BC).
Psamtek was an astute ruler and sought ro
establish a sense of national identity while at
the same time making usc of foreign mercenaries, nombly Greeks and Carians, to suppress those local rulers who might oppose
him. From this time onwards Egypt was
increasingly drawn into the Classical and
Hellenistic sphere. Later in the dynast~, a
trading colony of GREEKS was established; the
Greek writer Herodotus credits this act to
.'\I-I\IOSE II (570-526 Be), although it is morc
probable that Ahmose simply reorganized one
of a number of existing Greek settkments.
}()reign policy in the 26th Dynasty had largely been concerned with attempting to preserve
the bahmce of power, but by the time rh~lt
Ahmosc II'S son, Psamtek III (526-525 Be),
succeeded to the throne, PERSIA had become
the dominant power.
In 525 BC Cambyses (525~.i22 BC) invaded
Egypt, establishing the Persian 27th Dynasty
(525-404 BC). He appears ro have been 0111
unpopular ruler, but his successor Darius I
(522-486 uc) undertook major building works,
including the completion of projects that had
been initiated by Saitc rulers. The Egyptians,
howe"er, presumably inspired by Greek "ictorjc.'i oyer the Persians, embarked on a course of
rebellion, supported by military aid from the
Greeks.
In 404 Be Egyptian unrest reached a dimax
iJ1 the revolt by Amynaios of S~lis which
resulted in the expulsion of the Persians, first
from the Delta, and within four years from the
whole countn. But Amyrtaios (40.f-399 He)
prOl'cd to be the only king of the 28th
Dynasty: in 399 Be the throne was usurped by
Nefaarud (Nepherites) I (399~393 uc), ruling

LAW

LAW

from another Delta city, j\IE"n!::.s. He and his

successors of the 29th Dynasty (399-380 BC)
relied hea\"ily upon foreign merccn~U"ics for
their military power, nod in this way were able
to srave off further Persian incursions. Finally

they were themsehcs displaced bl' the .lOthDynasty rulers, beginning with

).'[CT\:'\EIIO I

(380-362 BC).
This new line continued the 'nationalistic'
air of the 25th and 26th Dynasties, particularly in terms of the renewal of building

activity and increased devotion to traditional

cults. The cults of SACRED .\.'lI.\l.\I.$ were parricuhlrly important ;.It this time, and it is possible that the Yari01l5 industries amI priesthoods associated with the sacred animal
necropoleis became an import,mt part of the
economy.

Persian attempts al re-conquest were

thwarted until 343 BC when Nectanebo II
(360-3..f.3 Be), the last native pharaoh, W~IS
defeated by Artaxerxcs III Ochus (343-338 BC)
who established the 31st Dynasty or Second
Persian Period (343-332 BC). This short second phase of Persian dOl11ill,nioll was particularly unwelcome; therefore the conquering:
armies of Alexander the Great (332-323 BC) in
332 BC appear to have encountered little opposition. 'Vith the IVlacedonian conquest, Egypt
became cstablished as part of the Hellenistic
and i\1edilernmean world, under the control
of Alexander's successors the Ptolemies (see

Egyptian law, like the codes of [TIIIC~, was

essentially based on the concept of ,\I HT
('decorum' or 'correctness'), in other words
the common-scnse vicw of right and wrong as
defined by the social norms of the day. Since
Lhe pharaoh \vas a living god, ruling by di\'inc
right, it was dearly he who was rhe supreme
judge and law-giver (see J..::L\JGSIIII'). However,
as with his priestly duti-cs, it was often found
necessary [Q dcleg:uc his authority.
The principles of the Pharaonic legal system are thought to have been codified [() some
extent, bur no such documents haye sun'in:d.
There arc, howcver, a number of f uncrary
texts outlining thc duties of such high officials
as the \'IZIER, which Cdn shed some indirect
light on the legal practices. In theory, anyone
with a grievance could take a case to the vizier,
although actually gaining an audience would

lyrOLDIAIC PERIOD).

E K. KIE:\ITZ, Die polilische Gesdlicll/(' .,{f{)lptem

7. his :::'U11I -I. .7ahrillmdert 1'01' du Zeitmellde
(Berlin, 19.i3).
E. R. RUSS\I:\.NN, The n~p,.esel/tatioll (~rthe hug.
xxvth Dynasty (Brussels, 1974).
A. J. SI'ALINGER, 'Esarhaddon and Egypt: an
analysis of the first invasion of Egypt', Orientalia
43 (1974), 295-326
A. LI.OYD, 'The L~lte Period, 66+-323 riC',
Ancient Eg)lpl: a social history, cel. B. G_ Trigger
et al. (Cambridge, 1983),279-348.
N. GRL\IAL, A historJ' o!(lncit:lIt Egypt (Oxford,
1992),3.14--82.
]. H. JOIINSO~ (cd.), Life ill (l millti-cultuml
$(JcieO': Eg:yptji'ol1l CamlD'ses In Cf)I/S/(lIItil1e mul
beyond (Chicago. 1992).
VQm

law
A Greek writer states that there was a
Pharaonic legal code set Ollt in eight hooks,
but this is known only from the Late Period
(747-332 lie); therefore the situation in earlier
times is more difficult to assess. The law is a
particularly difficult area of study because the
translation of ancient terms into modern legal
language tends to give them a misleading air of
precision.

Detailji'fl1l1lhe Sail Papyl'lls, mlticlt cO/ltains lite

petilioN QIthe !1Jorkmal/ AmenllaN,le del/fllIl/cing
tlte (fimes ultlrejoreIJ/r11l Pr11leh. Late 19th
DYI/as.()!, c./lOO 11C,ji-fIIJ1 Dl'irel-Medillu.
(f~IJOO.'S)

no doubt often have been difficult. Thal some

were clearly dealt with in this W~lY is
reflected in the popular Middle I\:.ingdom
(2055-1650 BC) narrative known as the Tide
tlte Elf/quelll Peasant.
Definitions of official roles probably existed
for all important offices, thus allocating them
placcs in the overall administrative hierarchy.
The Egyptians do not appear to have differentiated between administrativc and legal functions, so that any person in authority might, in
certain circumstances, make legal judgements.
However, the title 'overseer of the six great
mansions' seems to ha,-c been held by the
ancient equivalent of a 'm'lgistrate' and the
term (mansions' probably referred to the main
C~lses

or

hlw court in Thebes (although there must

surely h~l\-C been other such courts). Tr is
thought that a gold .\I.UT pcndant (nn\l' in the
British .i\lllselllll) may ha,'c been the official
'badge' held by legal officials. Some slIrvi,-ing
sratues of high officials from the Late Period
are shown wearing such a chain and pendant.
The cases that they examined would be
reported 10 the pharaoh, who may have been
responsible for deciding the punishment in
the most serious Cases.
Verdicts and punishments were probably
based loosely on precedent wilh v;;triations
being introduced where appropriate. Since the
records of C.lSCS were archived at the rem pie or
,-izierate offices, references to past cases were
nO doubt usually possible_ It was thanks to this
practice of ,1Utomatic~t1ly ;;trchi,-ing such documents that the famous trial of tomb-robbers,
recorded on Lhe Leopold II-Amherst Papyrus,
was prc!)crvccl.
nfortunately, this papyrus
docs not record rhe sentences of the accused.
I t seems, however, that Egyptian law issued
similar punishments to aU those who had committed similar offences, irrespective of variations in wealth or status (except in the case of
SI.AVES). Judgements and decisions were evidently recorded by official scribes.
Tn cases ,,-here indi\-idll'lls were sentenced
to exile, their children were automatically outlawed along with them. Simihtrly, families
could suffer imprisonment if a relative deserted from milimry service, or defaulted on the
cor\'(~e labour demanded by the state. Papyrus
Brooklyn 35.1446, dating to the 13lh Dynasty
(c.1795-1650 BC), records the punishment
duties imposed on labour defaulters.
IVlinor cases were tried by councils of
elders, each town having its own local J.>enbct in
charge of the judiciary. For eX<llllple, a number
of cases survive from the New Kingdom
(1550-1069 BC), in the form of thc records of
the workmen at I)EIR EL-.\IEIJI'-:I\, mostly dealing with small matters such as non-repayment
of loans. Individuals frequently kept their own
noles of such cases on OSTRAQ\, presumably so
that if repayments were not made in the
agreed lime they could remind those preselll
at the judgement and receive redress.
Cases were sometimes judged by divine
ORi\C..LES rather I han by human magistr~tcs. It
is known from DeiI' el-Nledina, for instance,
that the deified founder of the village,
Amenhotep I (1525-1504 BC), was oftcn asked
to decide on particular cases. It is unclear how
this divine judgement W~IS actually given, but
it seems that ostraca for and against the aCCllsation would be put at each side of the street
and the god's image would incline LOward
whichever verdi,t was deemed appropriate.

159

LEONTOI'OLIS

LETTERS TO THE DEAD

J\ national variant on ,-his was the gi\ ing of the

law through the oracle of Amlin, which
was pra<.:tiscd during the 21 st Dynasty
(I 069-9~5 Be).
Tn the Ptolemaic period (332-30 Be),
Eg.' ptian 1:1\\ existed alon~rsidc that of the
Greeks, although only certain cases could be
tried under it. Greeks \\cre fan>Urcd by the
law, and cases against them were generally
h(.;ard in the Slate cuurts. The Rumans introduced a system of law thaL \Y<lS common
throughout the empire, with unly sllmmar~

modifictlions.

WII50" 'Authority and ht" in anciC:1l1 Egypt',

JUI/rna/ of/he .lmeri{(/1/ On'mlal SQrieJy

Sljljll"III""117(195~), 1-7.

S. P. VLEDILV"i, 'The days on ,,"hich the f(lIb,

used to gather'. GleaullIgs.!ioJII Deird-.I1edi!lll.
eel. R. J. Demaree and j. J. Janseen (Lciden,
1982), 18.1-92.
J. S \RR_\F, La 1;o/I/Jf/ till tfmi/ tf'lfprcs It's tllIr;em
lx)'plims(\'atiC3n City, 19S~).
I. 11.\1{ \RI, 'Les decrcts royaux: source e1u droit"
IX 8 (1987),93-101.
J. TYLDEsl.n, The jutfgclIlI.'1/1 oIII1l' ph(/raoh: (rill/t'
(//1(1 plllfi:dl1111'111 ill (/JI(il'lll Egypl (London 20(0).

Keeper of the Egyptian collections in the

llcrlin l\ll1sClll1l, and thc following year he
returned to Egypt with an expcdition to
record the monuments of the eastern Delta
and Suez region, in the course of which he
discO\'crcd thc C1I10pUS Decree at T\'\'IS, a
bilingual doculllenl that providcd a uscful linguistic comparison \\ iLh the ROSErL\ STU'!:.
His career conrinued with l1UI'I1CroUS furLher publications as well <1S the editing of rhe
principal German EgypLological journal
(Zeilst/lrJ/i jlir t;gYPlisdlt Sprat/Ie /lilt!
_lIler/lIll/sl.:wu/t'), and in 1869 hc \'isired Egypt

for the last time in order to witness the inauguration of the Suez C._anal. Hc died in Berlin
in lR8~, h.wing Illaclc one of the greateST individual conrributions in the history of
Egyptology.
1(. R. LEI'SILS, Dellkmtlt'll!r tltIS. -/fgypleJ1Um/
.lethifJpie", 11 vols (Leipzig, 184-9-59).
- , DiscOi:t'ri('J in EgYPI (London, 1852).
- , f{/j",I1:~slJ1fdl dn tllleJ1.--{t'!I)'Plu, 2 pts (Leipzig,
18.18).

'.I.-\ILQD.\.\1

Lepsius, Karl Richard (18 I (}-8~)

German Egyptologist \yho led the Prussian
cxpedition 10 Egypt in 1842-5. He was born in
Naumburg-<lm-Saalc and educated at the uniycrsities of Leipzig, Gottingcn and Bcrlin,
completing ,I doctorate in 1833. It \'as aftcr
the completion of this disscrtation that he
began to study Egyptology in Paris, using
jcan-Franc;ois (J 1'\i\11'OLLlOi' 's ncwl~ publishcd
grammar to learn thc ancient Egyp! ian language. Like Champollion, he spent sC\'cral
years \-isiting European collcctions of
Egyptian .tntiquities befiJre making his first
\isit to Egypt in 18~2. He took with him a
tcam of Prussian scholars, including a skillcd
draughtsman, and his main aim was to rccurd
the major munuments and collect 'lIltiquitics,
in the samc Wil)' as the earlier Napoleonic
expedition (sec E(~"YI'UI.()GY). He also worked
in Suchm and Palestine, sending some firtecn
thousand antiquities and plaster casts back to
Prussia in the course of his tnI\cls.
In 18~9-59 he published the results of d,C
expedition in the form of an immensc rwelvevolume work, DI!/lkll/aclcr ({lIS /Iegyfl/en [{wi
.I1elhiupicn, which, like the Napoleonic
Descriplioll de I'E'gyple, still prO\idcs useful
information for modern archacologists (many
of the sitcs and monuments having severely
detcriorated since the mid nineLecnth century). tn 1865, Lepsius W,IS appoinlcd as
160

or

- , DtIS bi/il/glll' Dc/.:rel1-'oll A'-tll/f/p1lS ill tier

On:l.fil1algro:mlIIilli'lJ/.'rJCI:::,ulIg beida Tc.rlt,

j..I \~SSI':', I.ale RlIlI/f.'.uidl' 1('lIcn lIml

COIllI1lI1Il;alliollJ (ltilTlilir papyri illlltt' Brilislt
!\'IIIS('IIIIf) (Londun. 1991).
R. B. P'\RI..:I'SO~, f oin:sji-olll (luo"elll L:~}lpl

(Leipzig, 1886).

(London, 1991),89-95, H2-5.

G.

Leontopolis see TELL

numerous latc Ramesside pri\.uc letters, and

Lhe foyal diplomatic correspondcncc fjom c1Amarna (sec 1\,\I'\R'J \ I.CJTI:RS), which \\,:lS
written in cunciform on clay tablets. A large
numbcr or actual items of correspondem.:e
\Hitten on papyri hare survircd, such as the
t\\O lettcrs written by an oil-boiler at c1Amarna. One of the most importanl texts used
in scribal [caching during this period was lhc
satirical Ll'lIer I~r flo!"; in which one orficial
writcs lO .1 colleague, ridiculing his abilities
.1Ild setting tcsts of his nureaucnltic knowledge. This document would h'l\'c cduc'ltcd
scribes in the protocol of letter-writing.
G. ,\1 \SI'ERO, 0/1 gl'l1n' (;piSlolllin' rhe::.le.~ t:~J'Plil'1J.~
tfl' 1i.~p(Jqllc phartlolliqllc (Paris. 1872).
G. H. }\\1I'.s, Thc I/Ckffl/(/Nllc j)(fpas tilld ollter
t'ffr()' Alit/dll' KingdoJII d/J(lfll/clIls (Nc,,' York,
1962).
E. \\'t:.'\TE. LL'lIt!rS/rolllllllrielll E:~J'pt ( th1l1[a,
1990).

EBERS, Riduml

[,('psius, Eng. trans. (New

York, 1887).

letters
Therc arc two ways in which Egyptian ICltcrs
havc been preserved in the archacological
record: sometimes the originals theIllschTs
havc sUiTived (in the form of papyri, ostraca
and wooden boards), but in many other cases
such commemoratiye documents as stelac,
inscriptions or tcmple archi,-cs incurponlte
transcriptions or letters, whether real or imagined. The earliest known lettcrs belong to the
hltter category, being hieroglyphic copies of
letters sent
by
King
Djedkar<t-lsesi
(H 1+-2.175 IlC) to the officials Scnedjemib and
Shepsesra .It .\HLSIR. Only a fe\\ other letters
h.we sun'i\'cd from the Old Kingdom
(2686-2 I 81 BC), such as Ilark.huf's record or a
letter sent to him by thc )oung I'EI'\ II
(2278-218~ ilL). Most or those rrom thc
!\liddlc Kingdom (2055-1650 He) are madc up
of an archiye of eighty-six letters from Kahun
(see 1:1.-1..\1 tL ,) .mel a set of cle,'cn items of
corrcspondence betwecn Ilekanal..htc and his
family, ,tlthough all impOrlanL specializcd
form of letter from this period has survived in
the form or the so-callcd 'SE\\'\JI\ dispatches'
(12th-Dynasty military cOl1lmuniciltions
hetween'fhehes and the Nubian FORTIU:SSES).
j\ lany items of prhate and royal correspondence fi'OJn thc lew Kingdom harc sun-i,-ed,
including the simple hieratic notes on oslraca
sent by rhc workmen at DEI\{ EL-.\I EIJI'.-\ ,

letters to the dead

The Egyptians bc1ie\"Cd th,lt thc worlds of the
liring .md the dcad Q\crlapped (sec FL;\.ER-\R\
IlEI.1EFS), so Ihat it was possible for the c1ead to
C01ll.inue to take an interest in the aflairs or
their Elmilics and acquilintances, and perhaps
c,cn lO wreak ,engcancc on the Ih-ing. The
rclatiyes of the deceased thercfore often
sought to communicate wiLh thcm by \\TiLing
letters, invariably requcst.ing help or asking fiJI'
forgi\'eness. Fewer than twenty of these leltcr)o,

,-I lelia 10 Ihl' dmd mrillL'1I /If/lhe illltrior

(RIGI rr)

alld eXlcrior (I.En) oflhe ;Ca;m Boml'. (I rou7h

fed POllclY vessel mhich would pm;'(/h~)1 have hl'(,/!
ji/h'd IJli/hjootfojJi'rillgs t/Ild plt/ced i11 ({ IOIllb. The
Il'//l'r isj;o11llf f1)Q11ItIIl cal/ed Dedi 10 Iter delfd
IliIsl)(md, iufor11ling himlhal/heir serl"tlul-girl is ill
tlllt! appett/iug 10 hi11ljor help ill martling'drlht'
il/m'ss. Ear(), /21h D.Jf1/a.l'O', c.1900 HC, o. -100".
(ou III \ In R. Ill/ad \So.v)

LIBRARIES

have SUryi\Td, but it h~lS been paimed Out that

their cxtcnsiyc geographical distribution probably indicates a widespread sense of the need
to communicate with the <.lead because of the
magical powers lhat they "-ere thought to h;wc
acquired in the afterlife. The (cllers date from
the Old Kingdom to rhe l'\cw Kingdom
(2686-1069 BC), but they appear to have been
replaeeo in the Late Perioo (7-17-.1:>2 m:) by
leuers addressed directly to deities.
Some letters to the dead wcre simply written on papyrus but a number of shrewder individuals adopted the plo~ of inst:ribing the texts
011 the bowls in ,,-hich food was offered to the
deceased in the tomb-ehapcl. One of the bcs(known such letters was scm from .1 Ramcssidc
military officer to his dead wifc} whom he
addressed as 'the excellent spirit, l\nkhiry',
asking her why she had ;lbandoncd him and
thrcatcning to comphtin to Lhe gods ahout the
unhappiness that her untimely death had
caused.

A. II. G:\R])I~E]{ 31lU K. SETIIE, I:.gy/lliall fe/h'rs

the dcad (London ItJ2S).

/0

\V. K. SIJ\\I'SUX, 'The lettcr!u fhe dead from lhe

[()mb of .Menl (N3737) ill Nag' ed-Deir',}EA 52
(1966),39-52.
-, "A late Old Kingdom lei ter ro the dead from
Nag' ed-Deir ,3500',JEA 56 (1970), .18-64~ L Gl'IUIOT, 'Lettrc a une cpo use defuncte
(Pap. Leiden I, 371)', Z,L~99 (1973), 9-1-103.
R. PARK.I2\'SO~, 1oifesJi'01l1 (II/rim/ Egypt
(Lonoon, 1991), 142-5.

libraries
The gcncral queslion of the nature of ancient
Egyptian librarics is orcrshadowcd by thc loss
of the Great Library at AI.E\:\l\"DRI/\, which was
burned LO the ground in the Iarc rhird ccntury
1\D. The.: Alexandria library had prab;\bl)' bce.:n
established by IJTOI.EI\lr I Soter (305-285 Be),
who also founded the ~luseum ('shrine of the
Muses'), initially cre~lling both institutions as
an.nexes to his palace. L;tter in the Ptolemaic
period, another large librnry was created,
probably within the Alexandria SER \1'[\,;\1, but
this too was destroyed in \1) 391. Although the
papyri thcmseh'es ha,'c not survived, the legacy of the Alexandria libraries can be measured
also in terms of the scholarship underlakcn by
such writers as l\pollonius of Rhodes and
Aristophanes of Byzantium, who both served
ns directors of the Great Library.
As far as the libraries of the Plur.lOnic period arc concerned, there is certainly evidence
that the Alexandrian institutions stood at" the
end of a long tradition of EgYPlian archivism.
The I lOUSE OF LIFE (per lIukh), where Egyptian
SCRIBES generally worked ;md learned their
trade, has been identified at stich citic.o;; as

LIBYANS

\lE:\\PIIiS and EI.-\\I.\1C\.\, but temple libraries

and official archives ha,"e generally proved
more difficult to locate. The term pu 11/l'lIj(l1
('house of papyrus rolls') is used to describe
the repositories of papyri associated with go"ernmCnt buildings and tcmple complexes.
A numbcr of temples, such as those at ES'\ \
and PlllLAE, h.we lists of texts wriuen on ccrtain walls, hut the only. definitely identifie.:d
temple library is il niche-l.ikc room in lhe
southern wall of the.: otHer hypostylc hall of lhe
Greco-Roman temple of Horus at EIJFL (c.80
BC). An inscription Q"cr the entrance to this
room describes it as the 'library of Horus"
although it is pussiblc that it simpl~ cont~\incd
thc fcw rolls necessary It)!' the daily rituals.
The localion (or indeed the ,"ery existcnce) of
a library in the R \ \IESSEL,;\I (c.1250 Be) at
Thcbes has pro"ed a more comentiolls question, with most modern Egyptologists I~\iling
to identify any rOOI11 that equates "ith thc
'sacred library' mcntioned by the Greek hislOrian Diodorus (c.300 IIC), although archives of
lhe late New Kingdom administrarion were
found in the immecliate vicinity of the murtuary temple of Ramcscs III at ~lEDL\'ET liMn..
(r.1170 BC). The existence of I"Oval libraries is
indic<lted by the survi\'~tl of thrce faience
'bookplates' bearing the names of A:\II'::'\IIO"l'I]'
III, two of which ,Ire also inscribed with the
names of the literary works written on thc
papyrus rolls to ,,-hich they were anachcd.
A small temple library of the Roman period, exca,"ared from a room in the Fayum city of
'Tcbturlls, contained a number of literar~ ~1I1d
medic~ll works along with the purely religious
texts that had no doubt dominated mosl earlier temple libraries in the Pharaonic period. l\
list of the texts llse.:d by Egyptian priests was
compiled by Clement, bishop of Alexandria in
the late second ccnlury 1\IL
In 1896 James Quibell excavated shaft-tomb
no. 5 under the R.lI11csseuITI, discovering a
wooden chest containing a set of papyri
belonging to a lector-priest of the I Jth
Dynast' (c.1795-1650 lie). This collection of
lexts - the mosl valuable single find of.\ liddlc
f'.:.-ingdom papyri - is ofren referred to as ;l
'library', but in Ihis context the tcrm refers
more loosely to an assemblage of documcnts
rather than an .\clual institution or building.
Nevertheless, the texts prO\'ide a good idea of
lhe wide ,ariety of texts which might have
been included in a 1\1 iddle Kingdom library,
including literary narratives, military dispatches from SEj\INA fortress (see J.ETnJ{s)) an
O\:O.\IASTIC.O'\', medical remedies, magical
spells, a hymn to Sobek and fragments or a
dr:.\matic or ritualistic composition. The word
'library' is also used to describe the large col-

Icetion of papyri owned by a succession of

scribes at DElI{ 1-:l.-\lEI)I\:\, including lhe
ChC;.'Ster Be,Illy papyri.
J E. QLlBEI.I., 'till" RlIlIleSSClI11I (London, 18(8).
1-1. R. I hu., 'An Egyptian bookplate: the ex-libris
of Am enol' his III and"Ieie',JJ:"/12 (1926), 30-.1.
\ .. WESSETZ" \, 'Dic agyplischc
'lcmpelbibliothek', L.,iS 100 (1973),54-9.
- , 'Die Bi.icher1iste des Tempels "on Edfll lind
Imhotcp', G,H R.1 (1984), 85-90.
G. nUKK..\Kl), 'Bibliotheken in alLen Agypren',
Biblili/hd:: ForsdulIIg lI1fd Pm.rJ~~ -J. (1980),
78-115.
J D. BOuKKI \L, I'I1lIr(w!tJ tl1fd "'Orltll.~
(C1mbridge, 1988),79-80, 110.
L. C\'\,FOR \J '11,,: i:tlllislll'tllibrury, lrans. 1\ L Ryle
(Lonoon, 1989), 147-60.

Libyans (Tjehenu, Tjemehu, ~lesbllesb,

Libu)
In the Ohl and J\liddle Kingdoms, the
\"'estern Descrt, beyond Egypt's frontiers, was
home to the Tjchcnll, usually t.ranslated as
'Lib~;\l1s'. Thcy were regularly depicl'ed by
the Egyptians as bearded and light-skinned)
but they wcre also occasionally sho\\'n as fairhaired and bluc-eyed. They seem to have been
semi-nomadic pastoral.ists, and they m~lke
occ~\sional appearances in Egyprian art from
early times, although they ;\re often difficulr to
distinguish satisfactorily from the inhabitants
of the wcstern Delta of Egypt irself. h is
thought likely, however, thaI thc defeated
enemy depicred on the late Predynastic
Ilattlefield Palene (.3100 BC) were Lihyans.
King !)JEIl (cJOOO BC) of tbe 1st Dynasty is
said to have sent an expedition against the
Libyans, and other campaigns arc recorded
unoer S~E""':RU (261.1-2589 BC) or the 4th
Dynasty and Sahli,." (2487-2475 BC) orthe 5th
Dy-nasly. S;lhura's mortuary temple contained
relief... showing Lhe dispatching of;\ Libyan
chicf by lhe king, a scene repe;\ted in the mortuary temple or Pep) II (2278-2184 IIC:) of the
6th Dynasty, and still currcnt in hncr times.
Until tbe Nell Kingoom (1550-1069 lie),
action a~inst the Libyans was gcncr;\lIy little
more than plInith'e raiding. By the time of Scty 1
(129-1-1279 BC), a people knO\nl as the
i\ileshwcsh and T.ibu had settled in the territory
prc\"iollsly occupied by the Tjchellu and were
attempting to settle in rhe Delta. They were
held at hay by Set)' and his son R"meses II
(1279-1213 IIC)) but it was left to 1\ II:IH:/\,!'TA I I
(1213-1203 lie) to repulse them. I-Ie f"ceo a
force comprising not on.l)" l\Ileshwesh and
Libu but ;llso Ekwcsh, Shckelcsh, Tcresh,
Sherden and "arious Aege;tn groups. This
confederation became known as the SE.'
PEOPLES. They attacked Egypt in rvIerenptah)s

l6l

LIO

LIBYA'S

anarchy, and the motif of I"he smiting of a

Libyan ehier reappeared in the temple or
'Elharqo (690-6M Be) at ',III"A,
0. J3-rn:.<;, TIll! easlau Lik)'II1IJ (London, 1914).
G. \VAIX\rRIGlIT, 'The ~1cshwesh"J.EA48
(1962),89-99,
N. K. SANDi\RS, T'lle Sell Peoples: IVfI,.,.iflJ'S oIl/it:
easlern Medilerranean (London, 1978), 11+.--19.
A. SP-\UXliER, 'Some notes on the' Libyans of the
Old Kingdom and later hisroriClI reflexes',
.7SSEA 9 (1979),125-60.
J\'l. A. LEt\11Y, 'The Libyan period in Egypt: an
essay in imcrpretation\ LibYlllI Sludies 16 (198.1),
51-65.
-, LibYlIlIllIl Eg)lpl, ".1300-750 He (London,
1990),

lion
By the Pharaonic period the number of lions
Stele showing" Ljlm chielt~ni:rillg lite hierog6'plt
for

COlll1lr'y.~ide

IIlld He!..lI,

{i

10 lhe 1:':IfYPliall deities SekltmcJ

t/fl11f11ioll rill/cd ill lite hieratic lexl

be/om to ycar 7 (~lShesJ/{mq I' tllld speq/icd (II len

tlrouras (a/8JUI seven at"I"Cs). 221/{/ DY1llHJy.

c.760 IlC,limcstol1t:,

/I.

30.,) (111. (E._J73965)

fifth regnal year, and although the initial

response was slow the king eventually drove
them hack, supposedly killing six thousand
and taking nine thousand prisoners. But the
victory was not fin.11 and they returned under
Ramoses III (118+-1153 Be), onl" to be dereatcd in a bloody naval barrie.
Ironically, many of the prisoners taken in
such actions were forcibly settled in Egypt
and gradually became a powerful group, .It
first serving the generals rulingl'hebes in the
21st Dynasty (1069-945 Be), who were probably Ihemselves of Libyan ancestry.
Ultimately the Libyans came 10 power in
their own right, as the 22nd and 2Jrd
Dynasties (945-715 lie), ruling from nuhastis
(TELl. IHSTA) and T.\t'\IS respectively (see
OSORKO" and SIII:SIIO'Jq). This so-called
'Lihyan period' was heset by rivalries
between different claimants to the throne,
and some scholars argue thal the existence of
contemporaneous lines of rulers was characteristic of Liby.m society. The aggressive and
anarchic spirit of these times is perhaps
renected in the demotic Cycle nf Petlu!Jaslis
(see J.lTER:\TURE). Despite this politic:!1
unccrtainl"y, particularly during the 2Jrd
Dynasty, certain crafts such as bronze work
nourished, although there seems to have been
little monumental construction taking place.
The reunification of Egypt under the
Kushite 25th Dynasty and Saite 26th
Dynasty put an end to the period of Libyan

162

in Egypt had declined compared with prehistoric times, when their symbolic and religious
associations first became esmblishcd. Jr is possible that the connection between the king and
the lion stemmed from the hunting of these
animals by the tribal chiefs of the Predynastic
period. A Greek papyrus mentions lion burials
at S.lqqilra in the SACRED ANI"'!\!. necropolis,
but these have not yet been laconed.
Since lions characteristically lived on the
desert margins, they came to be considered as
the guardians of Ihe eastern and western
horizons, the places of sunrise and sunset. In
this connection they sometimes replaced the
eastern and western mountains, symbolic of
past and fmure, on either side of the IIDRIZON
hierogl.vph (akhe/). Headrests sometimes
took the form of this lIkhef hieroglyph, supported by two lions; on an example from

Tumnkhamun's tomb they flank SHU, god of

the air, who suppons the head of the king,
representing the sun. Since the sun itself
eould be represented as a lion, Chapter 62 or
the BOOK OF TilE DEAD st<Ucs: 1~1i1Y I be granted power over the wmers like rhe limbs of
Seth, for I am he who crosses the sky, 1 ~lm
the Lion or Ra, I am the Shll'et who eats the
roreleg, the leg or beer is extended to me,
The lion-god i\h.ER guarded thc gateway to
the underworld through which the sun came
and wCnt each day. Since the sun was horn
each morning and died each evening on the
horizons, so the lion was also connected with
death and rebirth and was thus portrayed on
funerary couches or biers, as well as embalming tables.
The beds ilnd chairs of the living wcre
sometimes also decorated with lions' paws or
heads, perhaps in order that the occupant roo
wou ld rise renewed after sleep or rest. The
g:!rgoyle rainspollts of lemplcs were often
made in the form oflions' heads because it W~lS
im'lgined that the lion stood on the temple
roof absorbing the evil rainstorms of SETII and
then spirting them out down the sides of the
building.
The Delta sire or Leontopolis (TELL ELj\lUQPM.I) in the Delta was sacred to Ihe lion
god IVlihos (Greek Mysis), ;jnd Shu and
TEF1'.UT were also venerated in leonine form at
S,alUl' oIa Ij(m, pmbab~), smlpletl inlhe reign of
Amen/lOlep III bUI bearing a dedicalory lexl of
TlIlallkhal1llln und a11 il/scriplion ~tl"e A1lcroilh
rn/cr AJJlunis!o. 181h D.)IIIU.l'~JI. c./3S0 He, gralli/i'.
/rom Gebel Barka!. original(),ji'om Soleb,
II, J, J7 111, (fel2)

LISHT, EL-

LITERATURE

the site, since they wcre sometimes regarded

as lion cubs created by ATUr-.1. .Most leonine
deities wcre female; the most important of
these was SEJ,J l\tI::T, whose cult was eventually
merged with those of 1l.'STET and .\I<;T. She
was regarded as one of the "EYES OF RA " and in
one myth she was almost responsible for the
annihilation of mankind.
Sec also SPIIINX.
U. SCI IWEITZER, U/J1)l' 1I1/t! sphillx illl (fltcn AgJlPlell
(Gliiekstadt, 19{5).
C. DE. \Vrr, Le role clle SCI/S tlllliOI/ dims 1'1:.gypIC
lll1c'ie1l111:(Leiden,1951).
U. R6SSI.EK-I-.:..()III.EK, 'Lowc-Kopfc;
Lowc-St;HlIcn" LexiI'oll tier Agyplologie Ill, cd.
W. I-leick, E. Otto and W. Westendorf"
(Wie,baden, 1980), 1080-90.
R. H. \VII.KIi\SON. Reudiug Egypliall art
(London. 1992),68-9.

Lisht. elNecropolis including the pyramid complexes

of the two earliest" ] 2th-DynaslY rulers, .\1\11':'1;:l\'UIAT J and SENL.SRET J ('.1985-1920 Be),
located on the west bank or rhe Nile, about 50
km south of Cairo. The est:lblishmcm of a
royal necropolis ar el-Lisht was a direcr result
of the found.ing of <1 new royal residence,
ltjtawy, which appears to hare temporarily
replaced .\IE,\IPIlIS as lhe scat of government.
ltjtawy is often mentioned in texts of the period and probably lay a short distance to the cast
of cl-Lisht. The actu.,1 town-site has not yet
been located, because, like many Egypti'lI1 settlements, it has probably been covered by cultivated land.
The pyramid of Amenemhat I,.H the northern end of the site, was origin:llly about 58 111
high; its core included limestone blocks taken
from Old Kingdom buildings at S!\(~l!\RA, lts
mortuary Lemple was loc'lted on its east side. A
stone causeway leads down from the mortuary
temple towards the \alley temple exc~l\atc<.l by
the Antiquities Inspectorate. The complex of
Senusret I is similar in basic plan to that of his
{':lther, comprising a limestone pyramid, originally 61 m high, surrounded by nine small
subsidiary pyramids. Just to the north of the
mortuary temple, tcn se,ncd life-size statues of
the king were found (now in thc Egyptian
Nluseum, Cairo).
Thc pyramids :lre surroundcd by I he
remains of numerous i\ll\~'l'.\BA rombs of

Slaluctlc o/a god or king (p{Jssib~)I SCllusrel I)

/rom 'he lomb oflm/wlep in Ihe sOlllh pyramid

cemelery (II e/-Lisht. /2111

DYII{1s~}I.

gessoal tlud pain/l'd mood,

fl.

c./950 ne,

58011.

(METROI'OI.n"v Ml'SELII. SEW) OHA.

N ..1.17)

courtiers, including that of Scnusrct-ankh,

chief priest of 1"Ii\ll, located :lbout 200 m LO the
east of the outer enclosure ",,111 of Senusret J.
Senusret-ankh's burial chamber contains
cxtncts from the PYJl,\..\lID TEXTS executed in
sunk hieroglyphs.
\\1. K. 51\II'SO:\', 'The residence of Ir-rowy"
lARCE 2 (1963), 53-M.
D. ARNOI.I), 7'l1t: S01l11l (ClIIl'leries ().rLl~\It/ I: TlU'
pyramid 1~I'Sel1/11o,\"'1!/ / (New York, 1985).
- , Till' ,Wllflt ame/uies oILislt/ II: Tlll'tontrol
liMes {lmllellm 111l1rh' (l'\ew York, 1990),
- , TIlt: .wlI/1l {('me/aiL's ofLiS/II Ill: Tllc pyrllmid
{/Implex ofSellfflOsre/ / (New York I 1992).

literature
The term 'Egyptian literature' is oftcn
employed to refer LO the enrire sUrYiving corpus oftcxLs fi'om the Pharaonic period (usually excluding such pfi1ctical documents as LETTERS or administrati\'e texts), rather than
being used in its much more restricted sense LO
describe overtly 'literary' ompul. However,
the individual documenrs cm, like othcr
ancient texts, be v:lriously grouped ilnd categorized on the basis of such diverse critcria as
physical media (e.g. OSTRACA, I'\I'YRI or STEI ..\E), script (1IiEROGL\ 'IIIC.ll, IIIERxnc. lJl-:),IO"'Ie, Greek or COPTIC) and the precise date in the
hisLOry of the language. Although many texts
have been ,Issigned to particular genTes (such
as WISUO\I J.ITElV\TUHI': or love pocms), they are
usually best understood in terms of the specific historical and social context in which rhey
were wrirren. Inscriptions listing the coments
of temple arcru\'cs and I.IBRARIE.";, as well as a
few surviving caches of papyri and ostraca
owned by individuals or institutions, proyide a
good sense of the range of texts that" were
deliberately collected and preserved during
the Pharaonic period, including technical
manuals such as medic-dl .1I1d mathematical
documents.
\Vithin particular periods of Egyptian history, there were many different genres of
texts. The Old Kingdom literary record was
dominated by religious I'Li"ER!\I{Y TEXTS, parLicularly the PYI{A \IID TEXTS, used in roY'11
tombs, and the 'funerary autobiography',
used in pri\-atc tombs to provide a poetic
description of the \'irtues of the dece'lsed.
There is also some evidence of the composition of such technical texts as medical treatises, although no actw11 documents have
sun-i"ed. Although a form of verse was used
for many 'non~practical' writings, there W.IS
no literature in ,-he narrowest sense of the
term. As far as IIISTORY :\"0 IIISTORIOGR.\PII\ is
concerned, a few fragments or annals have
sun;ived (see It.:11\'G LISTS).

163

LITERATURE

The Middle Kingdom \Y;lS particularly

characterized by the introduction of slIch fictional literature as rhe 7hle of fltt' S/tipIPral.!t1t!
Sailor, the Tale (~r Ihe E/flqJfl'11J PellSalll, the
Tides oj" l1imdn (PapHLls \\'cslear) and the Tide
ufSiullltC, all of which purport to be historicli
aCColints, ahhough m;.tny of the details of their
plots indic;l1c that they were fantasies designed
to cnrcrmin anti edify ntthcr than to record
.lCwal c\-cnrs. ~ lany of these fictional narratiycs

lVollf/m board, prt'/wn:d wilh gt'SSIJ {II pJ"(Jl'itle 1I

good /pri/jllg SIII:!{/tC. {, milS probab(y
suspended/i'ol!l II pe!!, f,y passing (f (ort! Ihmllgh
Ihe hole IJ// Ihl' righl. The lexl is Ilu: o!lh'
rc(/.w/l{/f,~)1

slfrrh,,';llg 7.'cr,\/rm (~rlh(' Discourse of

Khakhcpc1'1':ISCllCb, (/ li/'rmy dis{fIJlr.H'

(()/I({'ming sf/tial and pNsr}/fal (haos. !:'ar(l' 18th
D.l'l1l1..ty, t:.15UO IIC, pail1ted mood, prrn'l'J/lIl1((,
II1llmOmll, II. 30011. (I:' 156-15 I)
(somctimes described, rathcr mislcadingl~ and
anachronistically, as 'propaganda') prm'lde a
good counterpoint to oflicial texts, in that the~
prcsent a much more :lmbi"alent "icw of
ancicnt Eg~ pi, showing the subtle shades of
distinction hetwecn good and e,il. Tn the religious sphere. the COFFI' TE~TS, based on the
Pyramid T(;.,\(s, began to be used in priyate
tombs. i\1:muscripts hare surviyed more plentifully from the 12th and 13th Dynasties,
induding a much \\ ider range of types of te'\t.
from, Ir\I:'\S .\'1J 1.I'li\:'\IES TO O~O'I,\STIC.\.
III the l\ew Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) mam
of the existing ~enres were augmcnted and
cxpanded, including such Glteguries as annals,
offering lists, prayers, hymns, journals) 'funerary biographies', funerary texts (e.g. the B(){)"'OFTlIE DE\D), mathematical and diagrammatic
texts, king lists, onomastica, decrees and
treaties. It is noticeahk thal literary texts began
to be composed in Late Egyptian. whereas official inscriptions conl"inued to he written in
Middle Egyptian (sec !."'''GUAGE). The style of
New Kin~dom narratives, such as the Thle of
the Predestined Prince and the Title (~r the
Captllrc nfJoppa, is generally considered to be
more light-hearted and episodic. f\ ncw fc)rm
of text is the so-c:.llled \miscclJany\ consisring
of collections of prayers, hymns or didactic

J6.f

LIVESTOCK

text's, similar to the modern amhology. In addition, n1.my more 'personal' types of documenr
began to be composed, including loye poems,
wriTTen in hieratic fi'om the Ramesside period
onwards and usually consisting of dramatic
monologues spoken by one or both of the
100'ers. There arc also numerous suryi,'ing
records of economic transactions from the
::\cw K.ingdom (e.g. deeds of sale, tax documents, census lists, see "1"-\'\ \"1"10_'\ and TR_\DE).
as well as man~ ICg;.11 records (e.g. trials and
wills, see I. \\\), magical spells and medici.tl
remedies (sec \\ \Gle), 'd'1y-books' (dail~ scrib:11 accounts of royal acti,'iries) ,md u:rrERS.
Although the demotic script, introduced in
the Late Period, was initially lIsed only fl.)r
commercial and administratiye texts, it began
to be used for literary texts from at least Lhe
earl,' Ptolemaic period onwclrds. The rJnge of
demotic literary genres was jusr as wide JS in
hieroglyphs and hieratic, altl)()Ugh no love
poetry has yel been attested. The t"o outstanding examples of demotic narr.nive fiction
arc the '1i11f'S (~r Se/llel KI/(/elllnJaset and the
Cycle (~rJIf(/ros/ Pedulwsfis, each consisting of;j
set of slOries dealing with the exploilS of a
heroic indi,idual. 11 has been suggested that
some oflhe themes and motifs in these demotic tales were borrowed from, or at least influenced by, Greek works such as the Homeric
epics or Ilcllenislic noyc1s and poetry.
Throughout the Pharaonic period it is often
difficult 10 distinguish hel"ween fictional narn.1ri\"es and accounts uf actual e"ents, and part of
this problem stems from a gt'neral inabilil"~ to
recognize the aims and collfexls of particular
texts. '1\"0 hue Nc\\ ~ingdom documents, the
Ncporl of IIt:1I1l1lf1l1l and the LiJcrtllJ' [,cller oI
"ltu', excmplif~ this problem, in tllat we cannot
be sure whether they arc official accounts of
actual individuals or simply stories with comparatively accur.1te historical backgrounds,
1\lany such documents arc perhaps besl
regarded as semi-fictional \\orks and their
original function and intended audience may
nevcr he properly c1arificd.
The related question of the extent of Iileraey is also contro,'crsial. lViany scholars have
argued that thc percentage oflitcratc members
of Egyptian society may h.we been as low as
0.+ per cent of the population, although others
have suggested, on lhc basis of the copious
written records from IJEm EL-MEI>I2'JA (admittedly an atypical community), that the ability
to read and write was considerably more widespread. It is noticeable, howevcr, tl1at virtually
all of rhe surviving 'Literary' texts were primarily aimed at (~lI1d wrinen by) a small elite
group. Sec also EDUCATION; 1I0u~E OF LIFE;
L1~TI'EIlS TO

TilE DEAD; SCRIBES.

J. 11. BIU:ASTI':D,_JllrlCllt rcam!.l" l!rE:~)'pl, -t ,'ols

(Chicago. 190(,).
G. POSI.'I:I{, U,,';ralflre et pulitiljlle dullS fE,gypt'
de la \lte t()'l/(wit' (Paris, 19j6).

.J. Ass\I.\:"~,

'Ocr lirernrischc Tnre im Alten

.\gYPlcn: \'erslich cincr Bcgriffbcstimmung'.

au 69 (197-1).117-26.
- , 'Egypli,m Litcrarure', The Alldwr 8iMe
DittiOJulIY. "01. 2, cd. n ::\. Freedman (Nt"\\
York, 19n). 378-90.
1\ L

1.10 ITIIU'I, .-III(iCIII Egyptiall literuturt', 3 ,ob

(l.ondon. 1975-80).
J n 'I'\L~. 'Liter:lc~ and ancienr Egyptian
SOCiCI~', ,\lUll n.s. IS (1983), jTl.-99.
R. B. P \Rh:I'SO'. I iJiteslm11l aUfie1ll Eg)lpt: III/
IIntlllllo,'.!..)' of.lliddlt- F...:iugd/J11IIl'ritil1gs (London,

1991).

livestock see

\GR1Clxn':RE

and

\:'\'1\\ \1.

IJLSB\~I)RY

lotus
Botanical term used by Egyptologists to rcfer
lO the w:ltcr lily (S'SIIt.'I/), which served as the
emblem of Upper Egypt, in contrast to rhe
Lower Egyptian Pl\1'YRU~ plant. The lorus ilml
papyrus are exemplified by two types of granitc pillar in the 11all of Records at h:!\R,\l\".
During the Pharaonic period there were
essentially two kinds of 10lus: the white
1\~)'lIIpltllell lot liS, whose petJls are bluntly
poinled and which has ,'cry large flowcrs, and
the blue Nympllflert raulllac, which h,lS pointed petals .md a slightly smaller flO\ycr. In hllcr
limcs, howcver, probably afrer j25 BC, a third
typc, lVelulIIlJo lIf1q/era, was introduced from
India. It is the blue lurus which is most commonly dcpicted in art, frequently held to {he
noses of banqueters in tomb scenes, ahhough
the fragrance may not be 'Try strong. The
Greek historian Herodotus states lhJt p,lrtS of
the plant were somctimes eaten, and recent
researchers ha,'c suggcsted lh~1t the lotus had
hallucinogenic properties,
The lorus was symbolic of rebirth, since one
of the CIlE \'1'10'\ myths describcs how lhe newborn sun rose out of a lotus noating on the
waters of 'C~. The buds form under water ~md
gradually break the surface before opening
suddenly :l few days later, The centre of (he
nowers is yellow, and the blooms generally last
only a single day, ~1I1d cerrai.nly no more than
four, bcfllrc closing and sinking beneath the
water, fi-om which they do not rc-emerge.
Chapter g 1 of the BOOK OF TIlE m:"\1) is COllcerned with the act of being transfllrmed into
such a lotus: '] am the pure onc who issucd
from Ihe fCll
Oh Lotus belonging 10 the
scmblanee of Nefcnem, .. ' The bluc lotus was
also the emblcm of the god NEFERTL\I, 'lord of

L XOR

LOVE POEMS

perfumes'. A painted wooden sculpture fi'om

the tomb of Tutankhamull (l3J6-1327 Be)
appears to depict the head of the king in

dlC

....
"'l
::::5::::

: : peristyle court of : :
Amenholep III

\
The head oj"7illfluHwlIIlIlIl'11u:rgillg olJi nIlI/uIIIS.
from his /Q11Ib i1l tire I;'/'cy (~rlhe Killgs. /8111
DY1/(f.~/y. c.1330 11r:, paillted mood. II. ]0 till.
(c /fRO, '\0.8. NI,PROIJL Ch'l) em RTI:'S\ OF TIIH

(l }23-1295 BC.), is nanked Iw a

frieze depicting the celebration of the Fcstiyal
of Opet, which is one of the fcw surviying
examples of temple relief from the reign of
TLT\,~I"\IL' (]}36--1327 Be). The perislTle
court, the p~ Ion entrance and m'o OIlEI.IS"S
were added b~ Rall1eses 11. Thc pylon con mined
T\J..\T\T uux:"s deriving fi'om a now-destroyed
templc to the \TE'. Only onc of the obelisks
rcmains ill situ; the other, gi\cn to thc French in
1819, now stands in thc Place de 1a Concorde in
Paris. The main sanctuary
the tcmple, wh.ich
had perhaps 1"lIen into disrepair b) the Late
Period (747-.B2 Be), was reconstructed in the
late fourth ccnlLlry Be b~' :\lcxandcr the Grcat,
who claims to hayc restorcd it 1"0 its original
st.lIe 'in the time of Amcnhotcp'.
The temple was transformed into .1 shrine
of the imperial cult in the Roman period and
eventually partially overbuilt by the mosque or
Abu Haggag. In 1989 a c;.H:hcttc of exquisitely
can'ed stone statuary (similar to the "-.\K'\I\:
cachenc) \"as cxcavatcd from beneath the noor
of' the court of Amcnh()[ep Ill. The statues.
dating mainly to the 18th Dynasty (1550-1295
Be), had perhaps been buried there by d,C
pricsthood in order to protect them from the
pillaging of in\adcrs.
1I0RE.'II IEII

obelisk
seated colossi of
Rameses If
pylon of Rameses II
colonnade of
Amenhotep III
hyposlyle hall
first antechamber
('Roman sanctuary')
second antechamber
'birth room'
bark shrines of
Amenhotep III and
Alexander the Great
'0 transverse hall
, 1 sanctuary of
Amenhotep III

.4.

or

A. G\\ ET, L"/flllp/edt LOllxflr(Cairo, 189-1-).

Kt.:E'TI.. Lajira' Jud dll Iflassift's/ dll p.J'lrl1led,
Ralllses /I ti l.uuxor(Cliru, 1971).

C.

L. BEI,I., 'Luxor remple and rhc culr orLhe royal

//I'.]NfS H (1985), 251-94.
.\ l. ABIJEL-R-\ZIQ, Dus Saui:liwr .Jlllelloph~ /11 im
L/Ixor-Tclllpr/(Toho,1986).
t\ t. EI.-S \(II11R, The discorcly (~(thl' sla/mllY
eadli'lle oILuxur /1!I1lpft> (1\ lainz, 1991).

CRIFFl7'111.\5;/"lTlT/.-)

form of :\Tefcrtcm emerging from a lotus (sec

illusrrat ion).
\V. B. I-bREI{, 'Phannacologic:11 and hiological
properrics of the Eg~'ptian lo[us'.}.-l ReE 22
(1985),49-54.
A. NIHlll, 'The so-called plant of Upper Egypt',
DE 19 (It)91), 5.J--US.
C. OSSI ", 'The most bcttluiful ofnowcrs: w,ller
lilies and lotuses in ancient Egypt'. Kil/T 10 (1)
(1999),4S-59.

100m

love poems SIX EROTIC\ and SE\L \LlT'

Luxor
lVlodcrn name for a 'T'hcban religious site Lledicated to the cult of \ \IL~ K~lmlllef, consisting
of the ipel-re.ry/ Ctcmple of the southern private quarters' or 'southern !Jariw'), which W,lS
founded in the rcign of Ai\IENIlO'l'EP III
(1390-1352 m:) ~lIld augmented by sllccessi\'c
pharaohs, including R.\\IESES II (1279-12l3 Be)
and AI.E'\:\~DER TilE GRE.\T (332-323 Be). The
primary function of the original temple was as
a setting for the FESTlrl\L orOpet, in which lhe
cult statue of the god Anum was carried

Plan

f~(/IU'

1l'1Ifpl(' o./AlI1fflf-A"(fI/ll/lt.ia/

1..11,\'01:

annual1~ along: an avcnue of sphinxcs leading

from thc temple of Anum at "-..\R' \" to J.uxor.

Onc of the purposes of the Opel fcsti\'al was to
cnable thc human king to 'mcrgc' with his di\,inc
rOY~ll "'\ in the presence of Amun, and thcn to
rcappear with his royal and di\inc esscnec reju\'cnatcd. The inscriptions in the templc describc
him as 'Foremost of all the living bs' when he
emcrges from the inner s,11lctllar~~
The processional colonnadc at J.uxor, constructed by Amcnhotcp III ::Ind later usurped by

165

MAADI

M
Maadi
Late Prcdynaslic settlement-site of abollt 18
hectares, loc,Heei 5 km to the south of modern
C~iro. 'fhe settlement, consisting of W:1ttlc'lIH.I-daub oval and crescent-shaped huts, as

well as tugc subterranean houses, nourished

from K'lqada I to II; recent c.xc:wations suggest
that the eastern part was occupied earlier than

the western. At the northern edge of the settlement there were one-metre-high pottery
storage jars buried lip [Q their necks. There
were also large numbers of storage pits containing carbonized gl"Jin, carnelian be.lds and

other \'aillable items at the southern end of tbe

sileo The bodies of foetuses and children were
sometimes buried within the senlcmcllt, bur
there were als() three cemeteries nearby, that at
W'adi Digb being the richest.
There was less evidence of hunting and
gathering <It J\badi thiln at earlier Lower
Egyptian Predynastic sites. As well as agriculIliral remains, there was also extcnsiyc e\ idcnce of craft specialization, including the
processing and trading of copper, the 'lI1alysis
of which suggests lhat it probably derivcd
fiom mines atTimna and the \\iadi Arabah, in
sourhcastern Sinai. Over eighty per cent of the
pottery is of a local ware (nor known from
Upper Egyptian sites), but the presence of
Gerzean pottery and stone .lncfacts also
implics thm there was increasing contact with
Upper Egypt. It should be noted that Ihe
remains of cemeteries at el-San and I-Tarageh
(in tVliddle Egypl) contain ilems rhat are characteristic of the "!\1aadian' culture, suggesting
th~H lhere may also ha\'e been a cermin amount
of cultural expansion southwards in the late
Prcd~'lastic period.
The exca\'<1rion of J\'laadi has revealed large
quantities of imported poner} ii'om Palestine
dating to the Early Bronze Age I phase (including thirty-one complete jars); these mainly
consisted of a globular jar with a broad, flat
hase, high shoulders and long cylindrical neck.
The imported ceramics also included the socalled \Vare \' pottery, made with unusual
manufacturing techniques and, according 10
petrographic analysis, from Palestinian clay.
The combination or Palestinian products
found at .\Ilaadi (including copper pins, chisels,
fishhooks, basalt \-essels, tabuJar-like nint tools,
bitumen and cornelian beads) and the presence
of typical Nlaadian and Gerzean products at
such Paleslinian sites as \Vadj Ghazzeh (Sitc II)

166

MACE

~md

Tel c1-Eralli suggest that ~Ilaadi was functioning as an cntrepot in the late Predynastic
period. The mcans by which rhe trade goods
were transported has perhaps been confirmed
by the discO\ery of bodies of donkeys at
,Vlaadi.
1\ I. A \IER, 'Annual report of the l\ laadi
cxc;lyarions, 193.:;', Cdl:.' II (1936), 5+-7.
i\'l. A.I-IoFFJ\I'\'\, EgYPI belore Ihe /,!/(/"aohs (New
York, 1979), 200~1+.
I. RtZK \'\ \ and J. SHIlEH., 'New light on the
relation oL\laadi to the Upper Egyptian culrural
sequellce', AID. 11K +0 (19S+), 237-52.
J. C\RERA,.\1. FIU,\GII'\RE and A. P-\L\UERI,
'Prcdynastic Egypr: llew data fi()m t\badi"
Aji-i((llf Ardwcolllgicl/l Iki.'icm 5 (1987),105-14.
I. RIZK..\Rt\ and J. SI:EJ lEI{, iHtlat/i, 4 yols (jvbinz,

19Si-90).
j. SI~EIIER, .\badi - cine priidynasriche
Kulrurgruppc zwischen Obcragyplcn und
Palesun.l', Pmelti.'ilorisehe ZeiIJdmfl65 (1990),
123-56.

Maat
Goddess pcrsoni(ving truth, justice and the
essenlill harmony of the universc, who was
usually portrayed as a seared wOl11an wearing
an ostrich feather, although she could sometimes he represented simply by the fcarher
itself or by the plinth on \\hich she sat (probably a symbol of the I'JU\IEr:\1. \10L,'\I)), which
is also sOJ1lcl'1l1les shown beneath the thronc of
OSiRIS in judgement scenes. On a cosmic scale,
~[aar also represented the divine order of the
unjycrsc as originally brought into being at the
moment of CRE.\TIO', It was Ihe power of i\l:tat
that was belieyed to regulate the seasons, the
movement of the stars and the relations
between men and gods. The concept was

therefore central both to the Egypti:ms' idc<ls

abollr the universe and to their codc of ETJ fJ(:S.
Although the figure of 1\1aat is widely rcprescnted in the lcmples of othcr deities, only a
few temples dedicated to the goddess herself
have sun'ived, including a slllali structure in
the precinci of i\lontu at h:"-R'\.'\k. Her cult is
arrestcd from the Old Kingdom (26S(}-2ISI Be)
onwards and by the 18th Dynasty (1:;501295 Be) she was being described as the
'daughter of Ra', which was no doubt an
expression of the fact that the pharaohs were
considered to rule through her authority, The
imagc of ~\la~ll was the supreme utfering gi\en
by thc king to the gods, and many rulers held
the epithet 'helovcd of j\ bat'. Even ,u;:m::'\::\TE'\
(1J52-1336 lie), whosc dCl'lltion ro the cult of
thc tnEi\. was later reviled as the antithesis of
1\ bat, is described i.n the Theban tomb of the
vizier R.\_\IOSE (rr:;5) as 'Ii\'ing by .\Jaat'.
Since the goddess elecrivcly embodied the
concept of juslice, it is not surprising to find
rhat the nZIER, who com rolled the L\\\ courts
of Egypt, held the tirle 'priest of 1\ la~1t') and it
has been suggested that a gold chain incorporating a figure of the goddess may haye served
as the badge of office of a legal official. 1\ bat
was also present at the judgement of the de-Jd,
when the liE \RT of the deceased was weighed
against her feather or an image of thc goddess,
and somctimes her image surmounts rhe bJIante itself. 'rhe place in which the judgement
rook place was known as the 'hall of the two
truths' (llIfIllO'),
R. A'\"TIIES, Dil' ,\I{1ll1 dl's r:."dIlW/()11 rOJl,1111flnUl
(Baitilllore, 1952).
V. A. 'fOUl'\, '.:\la'at and Silm: some cOlllparatin:
considerations of Eg:yplian :llld Greek thought',
J,IIICJ::2+ (1987), J 13-21.
J. ASS\IA:'\'\", i\lla 'fl/: Gercdl/igl'eit lind
Um/erbliehkeil illl alleu A pll'lI (i\1unidl, 1990).
E. TEETER, 7//' pn'sclllalioll of,Halll: Ihc
f(lJ/Ulgrtlp/~)la11t/ Iheology {JIlI11 {111tie11l Egyp/ian
oiTaillg ri/ulIl (Chicago, 1990).
E. 11oRxu'\G, !tIt'll i11ln imagi', trans. E. Bredcck
(Ne,,' York, 1992), 1.11-16.

gy

mace

Guldell ehaillwi/h a goldfail /,t'llIltl111 i1/ Ilu'jnrm

of/he goddess Jl1(f(J/. mllieh 11U1)1 hm:l' serret/ liS 1I
judge S im(~lIill, 261h lJylllwy or fraer, {dier
e.600 /iC, II. 2.8011. (u-/8998)

Early weapon consisting of it SlOne he;,ld

attached to il shaft of wood (or sometimes of
i\'ory or horn), often tapcring towards the end
that was grippcd. r\'lany maceheads h;\\'c been
excavated from Predynastic and Earl~
Dynastic cemeteries. The earliest examples,
dating to the Taqada I period (.40003500 Be), wcre disc-shaped, although many of
these appear to ha\e been either roo lighl or
too small to h.1\e been actually used in hattIe,
The discO\cry of a clay model macehead at
l\/(osmgedda suggests that they may oftell h.l\c

MACE

MAGIC

trcatments (ses!ul1v), medicinal prescriptions

(pekltret) and religious texts (I'm).

A diorite dis(-s//(fped Pre{~)IIl(Hli( mtlcelwuljhllll

el-/lI/a/ltlSJ/a. dliling Iu the Ntlqlldll I period
(-I00G-3500 l1e), o. 8.8 Oil, aud a red brad"
pl'lIr-.~lltlpcdmafelu:at! n.{t!lI! Nal/ru/" II period
(c.3500-3100 lie), 1/. 6.9(11I. (,,+19003.Lvli
32089)
been intended as ritualistic or symbolic
objects.
[n the Naqada " period ((.3500-3 J00 BC),
the discoid form was superseded by the pearshaped head (as well as a narrow, pointed form
that may have been introduced from western
Asia). By the hue Prcdynastic period both ceremonial P.\I.E"ITES .mel macchcads had become
part of the regalia surrounding the emerging
KIi\GSI-IIP. Tn Thmb 100 at IIIEIUKO~I'OLIS the
painted decoration includes a scene in which a
warrior, who may c\-en be an early pharaoh,
threatens a row of C \PTI\ ES with a mace.
The im;:lgc of the triumphant king brandishing a mace had already become an
enduring im,lge of kingship by the time the
:-';A~\IER palette (Egyptian !\luscum, Cairo)
was canoed. This ceremonial mudstone
palene, showing King Narmcr (c.3]OO or:)
wearing the white CRu\r.:--. and preparing to
strike a foreigner with his mace, was found in
the '~Ilain Deposit' (probably incorporating a
cache of votive items) in tJ,e Old Kingdom
temple ;It Hierakonpolis. 'fhe same deposit
included nyo limeslOne maccheads c~lned
with elaborate reliefs, one belonging LO King
SCORPIOI\ and the other to ~larmer (Oxford,
Ashmolean [V1.uscum), showing: that the
macehead itself had become a \'chicle for
royal propaganda. The archetypal scene of
the mace-wielding pharaoh was of such
iconographic importance that it continued to
be depicted on templc walls until the Roman
period.

The mace WaS associated with the healthy

cye of the god IIURLS, whose epithcts included the phrase 'lord of the mace, smiting down
his foes\ and its importance in terms of the
kingship is re-emphasized by the presence of
two gilt wooden model maces among the
funcrary equipment of TLT.\,'f\:II"" \IL"
(1336-1327 HC).
vv. \VOLF, nit' BemajTllIl/Ig dt's a!liigypllsdlm
Ileeres (Leipzig, 1926).
B. ADA.\IS, /llldell/ HiemJ.'ol1po!is (\Varminster,
197.),5-13.
V"T. DECI-:ER, 'KcuJe, KClIlcnkopf', Le,rikrlll cia
Agyplo!og,e III, eel. W. [leick, E, anD and
\V. Wesrendorr (Wiesb"den, J980), .1-1-15.

magic
The Egypt ialls used the Lerm heka ro reter to
magical power, in the scnse of a di"ine force
(sometimes personified "s the god I-Ieka) that
could be invoked both by dcities and humans
to solve problems or crises. In modern timcs a
clear distinction is usually made betwcen the
lise of pmyers, \IEDICI,E or 'magic" but in
ancient Egypt (and many other cultures) these
three categories were regarded as overlapping
and complementilry. Thus, a singlc problem,
whether a disease or ~1 hated ri\-al, might be
soh'cd by a combination of magical rituals or

A somewhat artificial distinction is usually

made betwcen the religious texts in tombs and
temples and the 'magical texts' or lspelb;' that
were intended Lo soh'c the cYeryday problems
of individuals. These texts r~1I1gc from the
Book oICales in New Kingdom royal tombs to
curses inscribed on OSTR!\C'\, or e"cn spells to
cure nasal catarrh, but ~11l of them would have
been regarded by the Egyptians as roughly
comparable methods of gaining di"ine assistance. All employed heiNl, the prime,-al potency
that empowered the creillor-god at the beginning of rime. \\'hcreas magic, in the modcrn
sense of the word, has become relatively
peripheral to the esmblished religions, in
ancient Egypt it lay ;It the vcry heart of reli~
gious ritual ane! liturgy. JVlagic was the means
by which the restoration of ;111 forms of order
and harmuny could be ensured, Thc royal
uraeus (see COBR.' and \\ \DJYT), perhaps the
most Yi"id symbol of the pharaoh's powcr, \\a5
somelimes described as 11Jfrel htRum: 'great of
magic'.
Probably the best-known litcrary description of the practice of magic in Egypt is a fictional narrativc composed in the rVliddle
Kingdom (2055-1650 Be:) and preservcd on
the 18th-Dynasty Papyrus \Vestcar. This text
describes \'arious marvels performed by the
magicians Djadjacmankh and Djecli at Ihe
courts of S~EFERL' and t-J 11IFU in the 4th
Dmasty (2613-2{9{ BC).
.'\s in many other cultures the tcchniques
employed by Egyptian magicians werc based
largely on the concept of imitation - the belief
that thc replication of a name, image or mythical event could produce an effect in the real
world. The imitation of names mcant that \'erbal trickery, such as puns, metaphors and
acr05ti's, wcre regarded as powerful forms of
magic rather than simply litcrary skills. In the

('/In.-a! ;mag/(' JI1(/lfd. ill(;,I'ed m;lh.f/glll'l!,I' vfde/I/es

aud 1I~)llh/('(J! beusls, probably iUlmt/r:d II) prolCt'1
1!1t' 1)f1111erfrom harm. ,Hit/till' K/ngdom. c./800 11C,
hippopOlamu.\il'(I1]I, l.. 36cm. (1:'118/75)

167

MAGIC BRICKS

MALKATA

case of the E\ECR -\TIO", "l'1:\'1'S, the act of

sm:lshing osrraca or figurines hC;lring the
names of enemies "as cunsidered to be an
cffccri,'c way of th\\ arting them. Similar1~, the
creation of Sl..lIUCrrCS or figurines of gods Of
enemies, which could then he either propitiated or I11l1tihnetl, \\as regarded as an cffccri,"c
\\'a~ of gaining control over c,"il forces. Tn a
sophisticated combination of \ erbal, yisual
and physical imitation, it was bclic\'cd that
waleI' poured oyer tipp;
IIORLS (stelae
depicting Horus the child defeating snakes,
scorpions and other dangers) would confer
healing 011 those who drank it.

or

'1'hc shaft tomb of a priest of the hIll'

\Ii,klle Kingdom ((.1700 Be) c,ca"ared li'om
heneath the Ramesscum in "estern Thebes
contained a mixture of 'religious' and 'magiCOlI' artefacts, includin~ a sl~1tuCrrc of a woman
"cOlring a lion .\t\Sf... and holding two snakewands, an iyur~ clapper. a secLion of J magic
rod. a lcmalc fertility figurine, a bronze cobrawand, amI a box of pap~ ri inscribed with a
wide range of religious, literary and magical
reXlS (see 1.111I{'\RII':S). This single collection of
equipment clearly demonstrates the "ast specIrum of 5trategies which would hayc been
ill\"oh-cd in Egyptian magic, cnabling an indi"idual priest to draw un the power of the gods
with a wide Yariel~ of mc.111S and for a number
of differenl purposes.
1\1. r.IC1ITIJI.I.\I, ~ll1C;l'1If f.'gypfioulifUOfllrl
(Bcrkele,', 1973), 215-22.II'"""us Il"cSlc"r]
.J. E r10f{GItOLTS, ~ 11Io'l'1If fgypfi,," magia/lltxlS
(Leidcn,1978).
.\ I. R \ \\ 1:" ""a.\. in Egypri:lJl magic and
symbolism', O/ltl/(cid/..'III1t1J~!!.C JJl'tll!delillgcl/ fli! /(el
I?ij/"'SI/IIISWIII L'llll Ol/{I/wlcnle l,eidcII6+ (19R3),

7---11.

e..1 \UL F.gyplillll //lagit', tT;I11S. .J. j\ 1. Dayis

(\Varminslcr, 1985).
A..\1. Br. \C"- \1:\:'\, Tilt> slOlT 1~{A'illg A:llcrJps 111Id
flU' II/agirillw. Iral1Stribl>dFmu Papyrus Ilt'sua!'
(IJalill Papyrus 3(33), cd. \V. \. Da,ics
(Reading, 1988).
J F BORGIIOl. TS, ''\ bgical pnH:riccs among lhe
"ill:lgcrs', Plwn/fill:~ l1'(}rh-rs: IIlI' i:;l!agas of Dl'i,.
d- \ltdilltl, ed. L. I L LesJ-o (Irh;u..:a :lnd London,
1994), 119-30.
R. K. RIT'I.R, Tilt' I//alufllirs lif'l/Iln'l'1J1 Egypfiall
IIwgiml PI'IICf;f/' (Chicago, 199.1).
G. PI".lr, ,llagit ill al/timl Hgyp, (London,
199+).
magic bricks
SCl of f<JUr mud bricks dl~lI were often placed
on the four sides of the tomb during lhe :\e\Y
I'-ingdom (1550-1069 Be) in order to protecl
the deceased iom e,il. Survi"ing examples
dare from al least as early as the reign of

16S

!I'/(/gi{ brir/: l1,ilh shabti-Iih' IfII/lUIII jigl/re,ji'IJJJI

Iht' IIllrf/( IPollli/,hl' bl/rial dUlll/her ill I{,e ff)lIfl, f~j'
'1iIlllllk{,allllll/. 18,11 DYliusly, c.1330 fir;.
II.

1.1./

Oil.

(c 1I1U1,

\().

2.19,

NDJR()J)( CI.'J)

ern NTrS} or T"I:(,'RlrFrrll f\STlnTE)

Thurmose III (1479-1425 BC) umil the time of

Rameses II (1279-1213 nr.). A. socket in each
hrick supporred an \\ILlT, Ihe form of which
depended on the cOlrdinal point where the
hrick was placed: rhus thl' brick beside rhe
western wall included a faience DJI']) pillar.
that beside the e.ISlern wall incorporated all
unfired clay .\'\lIllS, .md those beside thl'
southern and northern w~l\ls contained <I reed
\yith a wick resembling a torch and a mummiform SI L\IlTJ-like figure respccti\'el~. The
amulcts Ihcl11selycs Llsually faccd tmrards the
opposite ,,,all. The bricks were inscribed "'ith
seClions of rhe hier:1tic te~t of Chapter 151 of
lhe uc)() .... OF Tt rE DE \1), describing the role they
played in protecting the deceascd from the
enemies of OSIRIS.
E. TIIO"-\S, 'The four nidll:s and allluictic
figures in 'fhc:ban royallolllbs',].-IRCr: 3 (1 96..J.),
71-8.
S. Q..L rR"1: and J. SI'E.'\CER, Tilt' BrilJ:~b .1 I IISt'lIm
IwoJ: n/oJ/l'il'lll 1~!!,,)'pI (London, 1992),9+-,).

Maiherpri (i\bhirpra) (.1450 BC)

f\lilitary official of lhe early 18th Dynasty,
whose small inlact romb (1':\ 36) was found in
western 'f'hebes b~ Victor T.orel in 1899. It was
the first unplundercd lomb to be discovered in
the \.\L1.E) OF TilE "J'\GS in modern times.
although the poor records of ilS exc<1yalion
mean rhat linle is known ,tbom the original

disposition ur the items within rhe hurial

chamber, ~1l1d lhere is not c,-en a ddinitiyc list
of the ObjcCls I hemscl Yes.
Because of the fine quality of the burial and
its loc~ltion among the royal tombs of the l\e\\
Kingdom. it has heen su~gesled that
~biherpri, who held the tilles 'ran bearer on
the right hand of the king' and 'child or thc
rroyall nursery', must hare enjoyed consider;lblc royal EI\"()lIr, perhaps being; a l-<)stefbrother or son of one of the early Nc\\
~ingdom rulers, while his physical features
(dark t:omple),ion and curl~' hair) indicate: thal
he was of ~llbian descent. There are fc\\ clues
as tu the ruler umkr whom he sen cd; possible
candidares arc I "'tshepsllt (1473-1458 1lC:).
whose name \\ as inscribed on a piece of linen
in rhe 10mb. ThuLmosc '" (1479-1425 lie),
Amcnholcp" (1427-1400 Be) and Thutl1loSC 1\
(1400-1390 lie).
The runer<1r~ equipment included a larg-e
black resin-co, cred wooden sart:ophaglls containing t\\'o smaller coffins, both or which were
empty. The hody itself lay in a second set of
coffins to onc sidc of" the sarcophag'us. 'rhe
funerary equipment included all imprcssi\c
nOOh: or Till: IJE.\J) papyrus, as well as Ic:lthcr
tJui,-crs full of ~lITO\\S (some tipped wilh flim)
which reinforce his identification ,IS a standard-bearer in the Eg~ pfian army (perhaps
c,-en <1 ro~al bodyguard). Other leather ilems
prcsened among his funer,lr~ equipment "ere
two clog collars, one of which W:IS inscribed
,,ith lhe animal's name (Talllanuel), as well as
a box containing learher loincloths. which
Hmrard Carler hucr discO\-cred buried under;t
rock outside thc tomb.
11. C\JrrER, 'Rcport on general work done in the
southern inspectorate I: Biban cl-!\lolouk',
.lSlE 4 (19113), +6.
\ I. S \1.EII and II. SOL:ROL-ZI \ '\, Tbi' 1:~t!,YI"iali
.11wt'lllll. Cairo: (dlidal w(alo}!:Jlc (,\ binz, 1987),
no. 142.
C r\. REE\ ES, Thl' f itllt:), ({til(' Kil1gs (London,
1990), 140-7.

Malkata
Settlement ,md palace site at the southern end
of western Thebes, upposite modern Luxor.
dating to Ihe carl~ f<llIrteenth ccnlllr~ Be.
Essentially rhe remains of a community that
grew tip around lhe Thehan residence of
Amcnhotep III (1390-1352 Be), it \Yas eXCilY~lI
ed hctwcen lR88 and 1918, but only ~l small
part or this work has been published, and the
more recenl re-examination of the site by
Da"id O'Connor and Barry Kemp in the earl~
1970s has only p;lrtially remedied this siwalion. The exc;watcd area of the sire comprises
seyeral large official buildings (including fOllr

MANETHO

MAMMISI

probable palaces), as mJI as kitchens, storerooms, residential areas and a tcmpk dulicatcd to the god Amllll.

10 the cast of 1\tblbt~l arc the remains of a

huge artificial lake (the Birkel Habu) c\-itlcntl~
created at rhc same time as Amcnhotcp Ill'S
palaces. probably in connr.;ctioll with his SED
FESTlr:\L. The southern end of the site (Kom
cJ-Samak) was surYl:ycd and cxc:lyatcd during
the 1970s and 19ROs I", a Japanese expedition

from \,Vascda Uni,-crsit-y, rcrealing an unusual

ceremonial pain led platform-kiosk approached
by a stair and ramp.
R. I)E P. Tn"us, .-f prelilll/Ill//T reporllJlI {he Pl"l~
extort/l/o1! (~r{hl' pa/acc oI.imcllho/l'jlllI (New
York, 1903).
\\t. H.WES, 'Inscriptions h'ml1 the pabee o(
Amenhu,ep 1I1',]NLS 10 (1951), 35---l0.
B. J. KE,\\l' and D. O'CU'\!'\()l{l 'An ancient Nile
h:lrbour: Uni'Trsity i\[useum cxc;l\-atiolls at thl:
Birkel Habu', Tl/teJ"llaf/olla!.7ol/l"IItll/!(Nal/l/(a!
Arrhalfulogy alltl L'ntlrrllJala EXIIII/ratioll 3/ I
(197+),101-36.
y, 'V:rm:"i \ Ill': and r...::. SJo:KI, The arch/fettilre I~(

Kom E! Sal/wR III .\'la!Rata SOl/lh: {/ stl1l(JI (!(

archi,c(/u/"{/I rest/mllioll (Tok~'Ol 1986).

mammisi (Coptic: 'birth-place'l 'birth-house')

Artificial Coplk term invented by the nineteenth-century Egyptologist ]can-f'ran<;ois
Champollion to describe a panieular type of
l'lu' mammisi (~(HorllS illl:'/((lI mas [OIlSlmOn!
by PlolclII)' I'll il/U! Yilt autl was Ihe SCllil/gjil1"
{{llIIlW! '1J~}'sl('lY plays' (ol/(allillg Ihe hirllt (!(lhe
god. (/~ 'r: \ tC/fOLS().\)

building attached to certain temples, such as

I':IWL, m:~m:R'\ and 1'1111.1\1':, fi'om the I.;He
Pcri()(l to the Roman period (7-P nC-.\lJ 395),
often placed at right angles to the main temple
axi::;. The Ptolemaic Il/aJJJlllisi usually consisted
of a small u.:mplc, surrounded by a colonnade
,,,ith intercolumnar screen walls, in which the
rituals of the marri,lge of the goddess (Isis or
Bathol') and the birth of the child-god were
celebrated. There appear La have been carlier
counterpans of the IIWllllllisi in the form of
18th-Dynasty reliefs describing the di\-inc
binh uf J-Iatshepsur (1+73-1+.18 "':) al I1E'"
F,I.~II\llIU and th,H of :\mcnhotep 111 (1390U52 1;(:) at r.LXOIL
The temple complex at Dcndcra includes
two Illtlllllllisis in front of Ihe main temple. One
of these dares 10 the Roman period, while lhe
other is a much earli.er construction of
Ncctancbo I (380-362 Be) in ,,,hich 'Illystcr~
plays' concerning; the births of both the god
[hy (see 111\"1"1 lOH) and the pharaoh are said fO
have been cnacted, comprising thirteen acts
and two interyals. rt is highly likd~' that similar dramas and rituals lOok place in other
birth-houses, with the i11lenrion of ensuring
agricultural success and the continuation of
the royal line.
E. 01 \SSI'\l\T, I.I! 1Ilt/l/llIlisi t!'Et(jOlf, 2 yols (eliro,
1939).
- , Lcs 1I/II11l111isi ties lell/ples (:y,ypticu.I' (Paris,
1958).
F D-\LT~I.\S, Lt'.I" II/al/Ill/isis de DL'Iltlill"{f (Cairo,
1959).
]. JL..'\.h:ER ,md E. \\lI\'TER, Dm Gebllrlshill/s des
'1;'lIIpl'!s til'/' h'is ill Phild (Vil:nna, 1t.J63),

Manetho (1.305-285 lie)

Egyptian priest and h.istorian. Little is known
his life, and it is disputed whether he was
born at \IENDES or lIEl.IOI'Ol.lS. It is clear, hm\"ever, that he was Egyptian and could read
Egyptian scripts, although he '\Tote in Greek.
His major work l a 111STOR\ of Egypt called the
.~legYPliac(/, was probably prepared during his
Lime at the temple of Schenn~'tos, which is
ne,lr the modern town of Samannud ill the
Delta. it has been tentatively sllg'~cstcd that
his priestly dlllies included a role in rhe establishmcI11 of the cult or SI':R'\l'lS under Prolemy
I Soter (305-21)5 He). As a priest he would have
had access to the archircs of Eg-ypt's temples
(see !.IBR:\RIES), and with his abilit~- to read
hieroglyphs he waS able to produce a valuable
sludy, which he dedicated to Ptolemy II
(285-2+6 IIC).
Unfc)J"tunatdy his history has not survived
intact", but is prescrn.:d ill a series of" some~
limes cOl1tradictor~' fragments in the works of
other writers, notably the Jewish historian
Josephus (first eentury .\1)), and the Christian
writers Julius f\rric,lIlus (to AD 220), Eusebius
((. '\1) 320) and George called Synccllus (c. .\1)
800). Nevertheless, his division of the earthly
rulers into thirty OY,\\STWS (with the later
addition of a thirty-first) has been a major
influenc!,; On modern perceptions of the outline of Egyptian history, and the system was
used by Jean-Fran~ois Champollion in ordering the sequence of C\RTOL:C1l1':S he discovered
from his decipherment of the hieroglyphs.
1\11<1netho is credited wilh a further seven
works: TIlt, S(/(I'ed BOOR, .dll Epitollle oj'

or

P!~)lsi(a!

Dorlrilles, 0" Festiva!s, 01/ Allt/clIl

Rill/a! alld Rell:rtirlll, 01/ fIJt: JlIfaRiJig r~F ~J'phi
(the latter being a typc of incense), Crilicisl/Is
(~r [-laodollfs and TIJe Bllok r!FSOIIJis. The last
of these was certainly not the work of
!vlanetho l and it is equally possible that some
of the other works were nC\Tr c\"cn written.
1\ 1'\'\.1':"1"110, /lcgJlPli(/({/, cd, and trans. \'\T. G.
Wadell, Loeb Classical Library (London, 19+0).
A. T.I.n, I), 'i\ l~lnctho and rhe Thirty-fiirst
D.'"nasl~", J~J!I"al/lid sll/dil's al/d fI/!Jcr essays
jm:sC1llctl In I. E. S. F:t!martls, l:d. OJ. rhines ct ,11.
(London, 198R), 15+-60.

maps and plans

The question of ancient" Egyptian usc of maps,
plans and diagrams is complicated by the differences between modern conceptions of" art
and representation and those that prevailed in
the Pharaonic period. There are therefore
Egyptian depictions of such phenomena as
landscapes and architectural features that
might. be described - in modern terms - as
'diagrammatic" in the sense rhat they combine

169

MAPS AND PLANS

several different perspectives. For instance, in

Ramcsc~ II'S depictions of the Battle of Q;\IWSII
(c.1274 Be), there is a bird's-eye view of the
immediate context of Qtdcsh (i.e. a tract of
land bounded by two branches of the R..i\TI"
Grames), but the city itself is depicted as if
seen from the side.
'There arc also, however, a small number of
surviving dr~l\vings on astraC<l and papyri that
differ from mainstream Egyptian works of an
in that they appear to have had various practical uses as diagrams, whether as the working
drawings of architects or, on a more metaphysicallevel, as a means of na\"ig,lting through tht:
afterlife. The earliest surviving Egyptian maps
arc of the Janer type, consisting of schematic
depictions ofthe route ro the netherworld (the
BOIJk (!( 1',PO I1l(lyS) painted on coffins of the
Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 Be).
The earliest surviving Egyptian map of an
actual geographical region is the so-called
Turin Mining Papyrus, an annotated pictori~
al record of an expedition to the beklrellstone (greywacke or siltstone) quarries of
'Vadi I-fammamat in the Eastern Desert. 'T'he
Turin 1\1ining Papyrus, now in lhe .Museo
Egizio, Turin, ch1l'es to the mid-twelfth century Be:; it was evidently a document eirher
created to assist in a beldu1I-srone quarr~-'ing
expedition in the reign of Ramcses J\
(1153-1147 l1e), or, at the very least, composed in order to commemorate the details of
the event. The map identifies the essential
elements of a group of gold mines (.It a site
now known as Bir Umm Fawakhir) as weB as
the principal quarries, which are located I"lIr~
ther to the east.
The textual and pictorial details 01" the
papyrus have recently been re-analysed J and
its meaning and archaeological context re~
assessed. It- incorporates colour-coded geological zones, the locations of the mines and
quarries, a miners' settlement, a cistern (or
'water-reservoir'), three ancient roads, two
locations associated with the processing and
transportation of minerals, a shrine dedical'ed
to 'Amun of the pure mountain' and a commemorative stele from the time of SETY [
(1294-1279I1c).
An ostracon of thL: Ramesside period in the
British j\lIuseum bears a rough architectural
plan annotated with measurements and
accompanied by a hieratic text describing the
orientation of the drawing in relation to .In
actual building, which remains unidentified.
'1\"0 other architectural drawings have been
recognized as plans of specific royal tombs in
the VALLEY OF TJ IE f\:INGS. A papyrus in Turin
bears part of a detailed ink plan of the tomb of
Rameses 1\', while a less detailed plan on an

170

MARRIAGE

Ostracon in the Egyptian NI useum, Cairo has

been identified as the tomb of Ramcses IY.(1126-1108 HC).
H. C\RTER and A. I L GARDINER, 'The tomb of
Ralllcsses JLmd theTl.lrin plan ofa royal lomb',
JE" 4 (1917),130-58.
E. I IORKUNG, 'ZUlll Turiner Grabplan', P)'/"{/lIIitl
studies tllld OIher essays prCSfJllt'd to 1. E. S
EfhlJ(lJ"{/s, ed. J Rlines et al. (London, 1988),
138--42.
.
R. B. P'\RKIN~();\, l.fuitt'.\./i"o/ll all(ielll Egypt
(London, 1'NI), 134-6. [plan of tbe
nethenyorld]
]. A. IL\IUU:J.1. andY 1'\'1. BRO\\':\I, 'The oldesl
sur\,i\'ing topographical map fi'olll ancient
Egypt: Turin Papyri 1879, 1899 and 1969',
]fIIlCE 29 (1992), 81-103.

Mariette, Auguste (1821-81)

french Egyptolog'ist who exclyated many of
the major Egyptian siles and monuments and
(oundcd the Egyptian Antiquities Service. He
was born and educated in Boulogne-sur-1\!lcr
and in 1839--40 he lived in England, teaching
Frcnch and drawing in Stratford and working
unsuccessfully as a designer in Coventry. In
1841 he returned to Boulogne to complete his
education, and the following year he developed an enthusiasm tor Egyptology when he
examined the papers bequeathed to his famjly
by his cousin Nestor L'J-T6te, who produced
huge numbers of drawings as a draughtsl11<1n
On C1IAJ\IPOLLJOi'\'S expedition lo Egypt in
1828-9
Between 1842 and 1849 1\tlarielre taught
himself hieroglyphics (using Champollion's
grammar <lnd dictionary) and studied
Coptic, eventually obtaining a post in the
Louvre, where he made an inventory or all 01"
the Egyptian inscriptions in the collection.
In 1850 he W<lS sent to Egypt to acquire
papyri 1'01' the Louvre, but instead embarked
on the excavation of the Saqqanl SER.f\PEU.\'l;
the ensuing four years were probably till'
most successful of his archaeological career.
Tn 1855 he became Assistant Conservator at
the Louvre and two years later he returncd to
Egypt. vVith the financial support of Said
Pasha, the viceroy 01" Egypt, he undertook
several simultaneous excavations, including
work at Giza, Thebes, Abydos and
Elephantine. In June 1858 he was appointed
as the first Director of the newly created
Egyptian Antiquities Service, which enabled
him to gather together sufficient antiquities
to establish a national museum at Bulaq, ncar
Cairo. His subsequent- excavations at thirtyfive different sites, regularly using large
numbers of relatively unsupervised workers,
were criticized by later, more scientific, exca-

vators such as Flinders PETIUE and George

REIS1'\ER, but he is nevertheless dcseryedh
honoured b~' modern archa~ologists as th~
creator of the Egyptian Antiquities Sl.:ITicc
and the Egyptian rV{useum, without \yhjch
the plundering of Egypt would h<lye carried
on ,Il a far greater pace in the late nineteenth
century. He died al Buhiq in IRSI and was
buried in a sarcophagus which was laler
moved to t.he forecollrl of the modern
Egyptjan j\lluseum in Cairo.
A. j\,IARWTTE, Lc Sh'ap';lIllI de JI1elllphis (Paris,
1857)
- , lVo/icc tics prillojwlfJ" /l/O/lll/lIl'1/'S exposes tI(/II~'
/es ga/cries pnnisoirt's till A1l/lsee... ti Bllulal, (Cairo.
1864).
- , Tht' 1I/01l1fll/iJIlIs (II Upper Egypf (London,
1877).
E. ]\il!\luETTE, _Marielfe Pac!w (Paris, 190-J.).
G. D:\NIEL, _f II/(/ldl'l't/yetlrs (!(arc!wc%,I.J..)', lSI
cd. (London, 1950), 160--4.

marriage
Although many current descriptions of
ancient Egypt tend to assume that marriage in
the Pharaonic period was similar to the modern institution, there is surprisingly little cyidence either for marriage ceremonies or for
the concept of the married couple (as opposed
to a man and woman simply living together).
The word helJlel, cOIl\Tntionally translated
as 'wife" is regularly used to identify a man'5
female partner, but it is not clear what the
social or legal implications of the term were.
In addition, ir has been pointed out that tile
equivalent lllale term hi ('husband') is onl~
rarely encountered. This is one of the lllOSt
obvious results of the fact that most of the survi\'ing sculptures and texts relate to male
funerary cults; then:fore womcn are prilllaril~
identified in terms 01" their relationships with
men (rather than the men being defincd by
their links with women).
The work hehslPf seems to have been used
to refer to another cat'egory of female partner,
which is occasionally translatcd as 'concubine', bUl the siwalion is confused by till;
existence of some texts of the New Kingdum
(1550-1069 DC) that describe a woman as
both hemel and hebslPf at the same time.
HebslPl is therefore sometimes taken to refer
to a man's second or third wife, if he remarried after the death or diyorce 01" an earlier
spouse.
Very few documents describing the act of
marriage have survived from the Pharaonic
period, although a number 01" legal texts, often
described as 'marriage contracts', haye survived from the period spanning' the Late and
Ptolemaic periods (747-30 Be). These texts,

MASKHUTA, TELL EL-

frequently incorporating the phrase sltep 1:11

schemel ('price for [marryingl a woman'),
appear to lay down the property rights of each
of the partners in .1 marriage, rather than
specifically documenting or endorsing the act

of marriage itself.
The actual ceremony of m'llTiage is poorly
documented, but there arc more frequent
records of dinJ[ces. Bmh rcm,trriage and multiple marriages were possible, bur it is not
clear how common it was for men to take

more than one wife. It has been pointed out

that the numbers of roOIllS in tht New
Kingdom tomb-,yorkcrs' cOllll1lunity of 1)1]1{
EL-MVDI'!\ appc;u" to conform with monoga-

MASKS

"..".,'. canal

On the basis of its ancient name, Pcr-Tcmu,

the site was identified with the Biblical city of
Pirhom, but more recent excavations by a tcam
from the University of Toromo have disprm'cd this theory, demonstrating that there

,0." .. ,0",,,,,,.,,,,.

,,,.,,, ..,,.. ,u'''''

1 enclosure wall
2 storehouses (?)
3 central buildings
4 temple (?)

was a In KSOS level helow the remains of the

cit\' founded b\' :\ckau " (610-595 BC) which
was still nourishing in the Roman period
BC~.'D 395). The lluctuaring importance of
the site appC<lTs LO ha,'c been closely linked [()
the fortunes of the \,"adi Tumilat. through
which an ancient canal connected the apex of

(30
modem
Villagel
modern
cultivation

mouS rather than polygamous arrangements.

Howc\'cr, from ;ll le.lst as early as the 11th

Dynast\' (1".1795-1650 Be), polygam,' '\;IS
certainl~ practised by the Egyptian kings,
with one consort

masks

Ill",'!

uSll:J.l1~

being cited as rhe

'great royal wife' (//('11/('1 m's", merel, sec

100

200

300

400m

QUEE~S).

The custom of brother-sisrer and

fathcr-cbughrcr marriage appears to have

been confined to the royal family, perhaps

partly hecause the dclibcratc praclice of

Plall (!FTcll td-j\!lmNlIIlll.

incest, commonly occurring in the myths of

Egyptian deities, ""as regarded as a royal prerogarj,"c, cffecti\-cly setting the king apart
from his subjects.
In the l\cw ~ingdom, many pharaohs also
took foreign wi,"cs in so-called 'diplomatic
marriages" which were lIsed either as a means
of consolidating alliances with the kingdoms of
d1C ancient Ncar East or as an indicuion of the
complete subjugation of a foreign prince, who
would have been obliged to send his daughter
to the king bOlh as an act of surrender and as a
means of ensuring his subsequent loyalty.

P.

PEST\lo\i\, IHarriagt' and I11mrimnnilll pr(Jpcr~)' ill

1I11ciml EgYPI (Leiden, 1961).

\V. K. SI,\II'SO'\, 'Polygamy in Egypt in the
tVliddleKingdom"]V/60(19N),100-i
A. R. SCIIUL,\I,", 'Diplomatic m~lrriage in the
Egyptian New Kingdom',JNES 38 (1979),
177-94.
S. ALl.A,\', 'Quelques aspects du mariage Jans
l'Egypte ancicnnc',jEA 67 (1981), II (>-35.
E. STROLJII \l., Life in (l11rie11l Egypt (Cambridge,
1992),51-8.
G. RomJ\s, Homen il1l1l/rie/ll f.:!{ypI (London,
1993),56-74.

Maskhuta. Tell el- (anc. Per-TemB, Tjeku)

lown-site and capital of the eighth nome of
Lower Egypt during the Late Period
(747-332 Be), located at" the eastern edge of the
Delta, 15 km west of modern [smailiva and the
Suez Canal. The site was first ex~a\"ilted b,

Edouard Navillc in 1883 on bchalf of th~

newly established Egypt Exploration Fund.

the Delta with the Red Sca.

1-1. E. NJ.\ ILLE, Th" sIOn'-l"it.l' ,~(Pi"lOlII and Ihe
rOllle (~(Ihl' Erodll.' (London, 18~5).
J. S. HULL \1)\\ ,Jr, Cilics oIlhl' Dt:!/a Iff: Ti.-/I 1.'1A111sHI/IIII (~lalihu, 1982).

Bldck gral1ile ('olire ji(/rol1 ofRa11leses 11. 19J1,

DYllusly. /279-/2/3 Bc.ii-lI111 Tell el-JlllsJdlllta.
1/95 CIII. (Ii 11006)

'T'hc question of the extem to which masks

'''ere used in Egyptian religious and funerary
rituals has not yel been satisfactorily resolved.
Paintings, reliefs and statuary throughout the
Pharaonic period regularly include depictions
of human figures with the heads of various
crcat"urcs, from jackals to falcons, It is unccrmin, however, whether these depictions are
always intended to represent physical manifestations of the gods themselves, or whether, as
seems possible in some instancc.", the figures
are masked pricsts representing the deity in
question. Some of the ceremonial P.\LE1TES of
the late Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods
(c.3300-2900 Ilc) arc carved with depictions or
bird- and animal-headed humilOs, sometimes
described as masked figures, although thc~
arc not necessarily any more likely to he
masked than equi,alent depictions of the
Ph~lraonic period.
Studies concerning priests' lise of masks are
h~lmpcred by the facI that only two examples
have survi\"cd. Tn the Romer-Pclizacus
M lIseum ill I-1ildesheim there is a painted
ceramic bust of Anubis of unknown provenance} nearly 50 em high and dated to the
fifth or sixth ccntury Be. A pair of holes were
bored through the ponery below the snoU[,
presumably in order to allow the priest to sec
OUl; the 'mask' also had nOlches on either side
of the base to fit o\'er the wL'arcr's shoulders. A
relief in the Ptolemaic temple of Harhor at
Dendera shows a priest apparently wearing :1
similar jackal-head mask} with his own head
visible inside the olltline of the jackal's head.
At One of the houses in the town of KahuJ1
(see EJ.-I.AI1UN), Flinders Petrie excavated a
C:\lrroJ\";\"AGE lion's head mask proyided with
eye-holes, which would probably have allowed
the wearer fO assume the identity of the magical demon Aha. This mask, dating to the

171

MASKS

l\liddle 1:...ingtlom (2055-1650 Be), is now in

the collection of" Lhe l\lam:hcsrcr J\luscum.
The unusual sci or hue 1\ liddle Kingdom
objccrs found in shaft-tomb :) under the
RilIlH;SSClIl11 included a wooden ligurinc representing either ;l lion-headed goddess Or a

\YOlllan wcaring a similar kind of mask, which

probably connected in some wa~ with the
performance of .\1 \GIL It is possible th.ll many
other mas}..s wcre m'ldc of organic m.Hcrials
such as cartonnagc, linen or le.Hher, which,
e\en in Egypt's climate, would not nccessaril~
have suryjycd in the archacologiGl1 record.
""'IS

MASTABA

painted plaster heads and the sO-C<llled Ipayull1

portraits' (depicting the face of the deceased
in E.'\f: \L:STIC or tempera 011 a \y()ouen board)
began to be used alongside the traditional car-

tonnage masks.
Thc forerunners of mummy-masks d:w.: to
the {th to 6th Dynasties (261.1-2181 He), taking the form of thin coatings of plaster moulded either directly oyer the f~\cl' or (~n fOp of the
linen wnlppings, perhaps fulfilling a similar
purpose to the -I-th-Uynasry RESER\ E liE \US. !\
plaster mould. ,lpparcntly mkcn directly from
the f,tec of il corpse, was excavated from the
6th-Dyn<1SIY mortuary temple of '1'1':'1'1
(23-+5-2323 Ile), but this is thought 10 be of
Greco-Roman date. 'l'he superficially similar
plaster 'masks' that were cxc~w~1tcd in the
house of the sculptor Thutlllose ,It EL-.\.\\ \R' \
were probably not death-masks al all hut
copics of sculptures, intended to aid the sculptors in making accurate rcprcsent,lriollS of Lhe
c1-Amarna elite.
W. j\L F: Pl':TR1E, KU/lIl11. Climb (lml f!a/1l((/'{f
(London) 18~O), 30, pI. \ 111.27.
.J. E. QUIIJE!.!., Exnli:alifills ill SaqquJ"{f
(NIJ7-/91J8) (Cairo, 1~09), 112, pl.1s.
C. L. J3I.EE"EI~, 'Die l\l;tskc: \erhiillung lind
Offcnbarung', The .~tl(fl!" bridgl' (Lt'idcn, 19(3),
2.16-49.

C. A. ~~'IJRI-:\\S,

1~,{.l'Plilln 1/111111111iCJ

(London,

198{),27-30.

A. \VOU'S"I, 'Ancient Egyptian ceremunial

Illasks', DE 6 (1986), {7-53.
ll. P:\'\1.\lli\<'jt-:I~, 'Anubis-j\ bske', /i"gyjlfCIIS
zur 'Vcllllllld/I, exh. Gil. r-lildcshcim, cd.
A. Eggcbrcdu (l\lainz, 1978),312-13.
W. D.wls, Jlll1Jl'illg Iht' bioII': Jlu: san.: (d'

.lld~'lieg

repn-JCllflllifJl/ illlllfe pn-hiJ/o1"l( 1:.:~.J'Plilfllllrl

Prrdilt i:iC/11 t~rJltlJil1ll'mr.J' mad, of

'1iIItI1lHItlIlll/lI..FolII his I(lmb ill lht' I ,,11(1' (~(il/l'
f:illgs. The dwt({tlaislir !Jc"rd haJ hem remm:erl
ill/hi.I' plw/ogrll{JlI. 18/11 DYffasty, c.I.130 11e, gold,
la(lis !a:;:II!i, ,omelial/. quart::::., ullsidial/, lurqlloise
IIl/d mlo/lred gillss, If. 5-/- (llf. (c //!?{) JI:60672,
Il/J J /UJI)( CFJJ(,'O/ JUrSl ()F'I'IIJ,(;UII'I'I'I"II

1\."'lIH n)

The lise of masks in funerary cOn!cxts is

much better documented, ranging from the
famous gulden masks of TLT\,"h.1l \\IL'
(1.1:>6-1:127 Be) and "SLSE~~rs I (10.19-991 Be)
to the humbler painted ca!"tonnage masks that
wen: introduced in the First Intermediate
Period (2181-2055 Be) to assist in the idelllilicalion of the linen-wrapped mUll1my. The (<11'tolln,lgc mummy mask W,IS llsed in Ihe First
lmcrmediatc Period, rhe _\Iiddlc ~ingJom,
the 18th and 26th Dynasties and the GrecoRoman period (32 IIC-\I) 395), \\ hen hollow

172

(Berkeley, 1992), 38--10, 72-82.

D. S\\ EE'E) , 'Eg~ ptian masks in motion', C \1
1.15 (199.1),101--1.
].11. T\YI.UK, 'I\lasks in nncient Egypt: the
image of divinity', Ala.,J.:s: Iltt' tlr! (~rt:.rprt'ssi(jll,
cd.). .\laek (London, 199{), 168-89.

as Dircl:tor of the Egyptian AntiquitiL'S Sen'icc

and the Bulaq i\luseum, he cXC<lyatcd at
numerous siles from Saqqara to the Valley of
the h:..ings. His distinguished career, which
included the first publication of the l'YIL\\lID
IEOS and the discovery of the cache of royal
mummies at DI:lR EI.-B\IIRI, W:lS c\'entuall~
broughl to an end through illness, which
forced him to return to france in IlJ14. He
died t\\O ~elrs later, just hefore he waS about to
address a mceting of thc ~L\cadcIllY in Paris.
G. .\ t \SI'I:IHJ, Lt's mOll/ie.' J"(~)'fIk.'i tic Deir ('I-Ballari
(Cairo, lX8~).
- , EllUl!!.\" de 110 ' lllologic el tI'urdu;ol/igie
~!!.l'PliL'IIIIC, R\'015 (p~lris, 1893-1(16).
- , I.cs iusnipliom dl'.' pyramitles (It Sa(j(jal'{//t
(Paris, IH9{).
- . Hi.'luirc (l1I(i(,111Il' til'S pel/pll'S tI,- I'Oriell/, J \ ols
(Paris, 1895-9).
G. \ 1 \SPI:RO and A. B \RS.\:'\TI, Fouillt's all1llllf til'
III {J)'J"tImitl" ,I'Om1ll.' (C1iro, 1900)
G. 1\1 \SI'UW, ;\'('/1) 1t~'.!;111 0/1 (/1I(inll1:.:!fJ'PI
(1,011<1011, 1~lJ8).

- , Guide'll/l risilell/"alllllll:it;" dll Gaire, -hh cd .

(Cairo, 1915).
\v. R. D\\\ so~, 'T .erters from i\ laspcro to Amelia
Edwards',]E/.1.1 (19n), 66-89.

mastaba (."-rabie:

'bench')

Arabic term applied 10 style of Egyptian tomh

in which [he superstructure resemhles the 10\\
mud-brick benches outside Egyptian houses.

l\1asmba tombs have sloping walls, so lhat the

roof arC.l is smaller th,111 that of the base.
The m;lslaba tomb WilS L1sed for both
royal ;111<.1 pri\'ate burials in the Early Dynastic
period (.1100-2686 lie) but onl\ lor pri,ate
burials in the Old Kingdom (268(}-2181 BC).1t
comprises ,1 substructure, lIsually consisting of
the burial chamber and magazines, surmounted hy a mud-brick or SLOne supcrstruclUre.
Ancillary buildings, notably ch'lpcls, wcre
originally attached to thc superstnu.:lure but
were gradually incurporated inlo it-. The best
cyidence for mastah.ls
the Earl~ Dynastic
period dcri\'cs from \11) 1l0S and S \Q.Q.\R \, supplcmel1led b~ those at ,"\Q,\I1\. For the Old
Kin~dolll, GIZ \, S \QQ.\K.\, .\HUSIK and \II':II)L \1
are all important maslaba ccmcterlcs.
Early Dynastic l11;1smhas comprise a pit cut
into the rock and di\-ided by brick partitions.
The central chamber, thnt for the burial, was
sometimes decorated. In the carliest examples,
the underground rooms did nol have connecting doors, ;)nd all were roofed over with timher. As a result the burial h'ld to he made
before the hrick superstructure \\-as completed.
From the mid 1st Dyn.lsty onw,1I'ds a stairwa~
was incorporated into the design allowing easier access to the tomb, and completion of the

or

Maspero. Gaston

(18{(}-j916)
French Egyptologist who succeeded Auguslc
\\ \IUI:Tn: as Dircctor of the I':gyptian..\ lusculll
,It BuhH.1 ,111<.1 cdited the first fift~ \'ulul11es of
the immense catalogue of the collection there.
lie was born in Paris and cducated at lhe Lycce
Louis Ie Grand and the Ecole Normalc, c\'cnwally becoming Professor of Egyptolog~ at" rhe
Ecole des Hautes Etudes in 186Y, at the agc of
only twcmy-thrcc, ha\ing studied with both
!\lariette and Oli\'ier de Rouge. Tn .1880 he
made his first trip to Egypt at the head of a
French archaeologiL"d1 mission that \yas C\'cnt ually to become the Inslitut Franc;ais
d'Archcologic Orientale. Prom 1881 onwards,

MATHEMATICS AND NUMBERS

MASTABA

1 burial shaft
2 burial chamber with sarcophagus
3 chapel where false door stele
and offering table are localed
4 serdab for stalue of tomb-owner

CIII-amay tlramilJg uIlllI Old KingdolJl pri7:(J!l'

!//(/s!a!Ja fUll/b.

superstructure before burial was made. This

smirway W~lS blocked by portcullises in an
attempt [Q prevent robbery of the burial and
magazines, some of which bcg-.1I1 to be incorpOnIted into the superstructure. By the Inrc
2nd Dynasty a series of rock-clIt chambers
sometimes led from a centra) corridor beneath
the superstructure. Tombs \\cre surrounded
by an enclosure wall, which, like the superstructure, took the f(H'm
a palacc-fa\=adc
design (sec SEREKII) during the 1st Dynasl).
Some of these tombs were ~lCcompanicd also
by boat pits. Superstructures of the 2nd
Dynasty were plainerl except for niches at the
north and south ends of the eastern wall.
During the ord Dynasry (2686-261] Be),
the PYRMdln complex developed as the royal
burial monument, but the maSI'<1ba continued
to be used by the rest of the elite, although the
number of subterranean rooms was gradually reduced until, by the ..f.th Oynast~
(2613-2494 BC), only a burial dumher
remained, connected lO the superstructure by
a vertical shaft which could be blocked with
rubble. This type of mastaba \yas built
throughout the rest of the Old Kingdom.
Panelled fa<;ades regained populari~- during
the 3rd Dynasty, although not ahvays on all
sides of the tomb, and by the 4th DynaslY
stone had become the preferred building
material. Similarly, the southern offering
niche, which had c\'oh'cd into a simple chapel,
became larger, de\'e1oping into a distinct room
within the superstnH.:ture, and by the 5th and
6th Dynasties (249+-2181 Ill:) a whole series of
rOoms had de\"c1opcd in the superstructure,

or

transfi:)rming it inlo ,1 funerary chapel. These

often bore elaborate decoration, including
scenes of daily lifc which are valuable for the
understanding or agricullural and craft activities (scc 1\IEIU~RU" \ and "1'\').
The chapel conmincd the Fc\l.SI". DOOR stele
and altar, usually loc.lIed in an oflcring ch"lmbel' abo\c the burial. Here the family would
come to make their ufferings to the dcccilscd.
An OFFI':RI:,\G FOR\ICI. \ can"Cd on thc \\alls
would also magic'1l1y ensure susten,mce for the
deccased. statues of whom were walled up in a
SERIJ.\B and \'isiblc only through small openings in the masonr~. During the Old
Kingdolll, the afterlife of officials depended
un royal EIYOUr, and their tombs, granted by
the king, c1uslcrcd around his monumClH, as
in the 'streets' of IOlllbs at (ilZI\ and SAQft'\lt\.
Mastaba tombs continued to be constructed
for pri\ate individuals ,II sites such as AJlLSm,
1':])10'1., ~lta and Quhaniya during the 1\liddlc
Kingdom, sometimes copying the pyramids of
the 12th Dynas.y (1985-1795 Be) in lheir lise
of elaborate open-exca\-ation corridors. At
most other siles, lhe rm..:).;.. .n tt tomb had essentially replaced the maslaba as the principal
form of pri\iltc funerary archilecllIrc. In the
2\ew Kingdom (1550-1069 Be), however, the
so-caHed '"chapel-tombs', particularly exemplificd by the l\ Icmphitc tomb of I IORE1\IlIEII at
Saqqara, have been likened by some scholars
10 Ihe mastaba form. The superstructure of
these chapc1-t"ombs usually had the appearance of a shriJlc or lemple consisting of a SCi of
rooms arranged along an axis, in contr,lst 1.0
the relati\-cly solid mass or the Old :Ind .Middle
Kingdom mast"abas. Sh,lfts led down 10 the
burial chamber from the courtyards of the
supcrstructure"

Chapel-tombs were also common after the

end of the ~ew "'-ingdom, as in the case of the
royal tombs of the 21st and 22nd Dynasties
(1069-715 Ile) in the precineLs of the temple
of Amun at 'C\~IS, which probably originally
had superstructures of this type (although
only the substructures have sun i\"cd). The
Late Period rombs of the Gon's wln:s OF 1\\IUl\
,It .\IEDINET ItABU were also in lhe same architectural tradition.
W.n. E.\\I:RY, .Ir(//(/i( E:fIypl (Ilarmondswonh,
1961).
J. BIUXKS, '1\lasfaba und Pyramidcl1lcmpel- cin
slrllklllrcilcrVergleieh', G.\'I 09 (1980), 45-60.
A. J. SPE'CEI{,IJNtlh ill {lllril~t1I J:.gypl
(Harmonds\\orlh, 1982),45-11 1.
p. \\'_-\'1'50'" l::!{}'plilill Pyrtlmids (JIltl Jllt/Sltl/w lumbs
(i\vlcsbllry, 1987).
s. O'ALRI-\, P. L\C.O\",\Iu and C. H. ROEIIRIG
(cds).. \fummies alld magic (l3051On, 1988).
I\". 0 IERI'[O', Jlll1swb(/s e/I~}lpngies d'.ll1dm
Empire: 1/, problc1/ll' de la dala/io/l (Brussels,
1989).

mathematics and numbers

'T'he Egyprian numcrical system was a combi~
nation of the decimal and the repetitive" ft
lacked a s~ mbol for zero, but scribes occasionally left ,1 g-.lp hetwcen numbers as though
such a sign existed. The f{)llowing signs wcre
lIsed 1O represent numbers:

10
100
1000
10,000
100,000
1,000,000 [often meaning
'more than -I C<1n count'l.
~ umbers were wrinen from the largest to the
sm<.llIest. so that 1,122 (re;'lding
q
fi-om right 10 feft) would he: II nn ~ ,I,
Unlikc the Greeks, the Egyptians did not
dc\"Clop abslrilct formulae, but proceeded by <1
series of smililer calculmions. The st.Ite of
mathen1<\tic,-ll knowledge in the Pharaonic
pcriod has been deduced from a sm<111 number
of mathcl11'llic'll texts, t'omprising four
papyri (the Moscow, Berlin) Kahun and} mOst
famously, Rhind), a leather scroll and two
wooden tablets. A number of l1la[hematical
papyri written in thc 1J1':1\IO'l'[C script h<lve also
survived from the PtOlemaic period
(302-00 He).
The modern surve~ s of monumcnts hayc
enabled much to be dcdm:cd conccrning the
Egyptians' practical use of mathematics, and-

173

MATHEMATICS AND NUMBERS

MEASUREMENT

However, the Egyptians' major achievement in geometry was the calculation of" the
area of a circle according to the (ength of irs
diameter. This was done by squaring eightninths of the diameter's length, which gives 3n
approximate value for pi of 3.16. \Vith their
knowledge of area, they were .llso able to <:<11culatc volume, including that for a cylinder
and pyramid, even when truncated. This again
was achieved by a series of smallcr calculations, which, although they lack rhe c!eg'l11cc
of formulae, are nevertheless COITeer.
Tn the absence of formulae, scribes learned
their mathematics by copying out ser examples, replacing the figures with their own.
Unlike the Nlesoporamian mathematicians the
Egyprians were more interested in praclica.liries than in theory. Neyertheless, certain calculations in the Rhino l'vlathematical Papyrus
end with the short phrase mill pm ('it is
equal'), which is used where calculations could
not be exactly matched to proofs.
C. E NL\lS, 'The bread and beer prohlems of" lhe
j\tloscow Nlathcmatical Papyrus\JE,t14+ (1958),
56-65.
SCtJ;OI1 f?FlIu' Rltilld ,Walltc1!luliw/ Papyrus,
written in lite Hyl.'sos period. but claiming 10 be (f
copy (JIll 121h-DYllilsly motk. This part o.(thc lexl
{OllsislS (?(a series (d"Prob/CIIH (ol/urning l/ie
'volullles oIrc(.'/{lJ/g!es, lriauglrs find pyramids. /5/h
PJI1lIl.\ZJI, c./550 11(;, papyrus,Jimll Tl1Cbcs,
11.32 {llf. (1:I100S7, SIII'I",,8)
.H

least since the rime of Flinders Petrie's sur-

vey of GIZA - it has been dear that the meth-

ods involved in setting out the pyramid COI11~

plcxcs (2686-1650 Be) were pragmatic rather
than mystical.
The Egyptians' calculation of whole numbers was relatively simple: La l11uhiply by tell,
for cxampl~ the appropriate hieroglyphs were
changed for the next highest, so that ITn, for
instance, could become one hundred. In other
calculations, a sum equal to the desired multiplier was reached by a process of doubling,
while the multiplicand was il'self doubled as
many timcs as Ilccessary for the multiplier.
Thus the sum 17 X 19 would be calculated by
tirst deriving the multiplier fi-oIll the table
below, in which 16 + 2 + I = 19:
i\'IUITIPI.II-:R

MUITII'I.ICM\!I)

l'

17"

2'
4
8

34'
68
136

16'

272'

Once a number was reached which was equal to

half or more of that desired, no further doubling
was needed. Thus, in the else cited above, 16
174

is morc than half of 19. All that was now

necessary was to read acrOSs the table and add
the relevant figures (marked above by an
asterisk), 272 + 34 + 17 = 323, which is the
product of 17 X 19.1-1ence there was no need
for multiplication t"lbles, simply tables of
duplication. Division was achieved by reversing this process.
The usc of fractions appears to have caused
more difficulties, particularly as the Egyptians
recognized only those in which the Ilumerator
was one, all of whieh were written by placing
Lhe hieroglyph 'I" above thc relevant number:
thus one-third wouJd have been rendered as
~ . There were, however, also some special signs for such commonly used liaetions as
two-thirds, three-quarters. four-fifths and
five-sixths, and the H..hind Papyrus is exceptional in presenting a table of fractions in
which the numcrator is two. Complicated fractions were written by reducing them to two or
three separate fractions, the first of which had
the smallest possible denominator. Thus twoftfths was written as one-third + one-fifteenth.
In calculations fi'actions were broken down
and thus treated as whole numbers.
The Egyptians lIsed rhe observation of
practical situations to develop geometrical
knowledge early in their history. They knew
a rectangle was equal to irs
that the area
length multiplied by its width. They had also
found that if a triangle was drawn inside the
rectangle, having the same length as its sides
and the same height as its width, then its area
would be half that of rhe rectangle.

or

R. J.

GII.J.li\!GS, AJ[alhl'}I/alif,i" ill the lilllC (~(lh('

pharaoh.\"

(Cambridge} ]\11A) 1972).

R. A. PARKER, DelllOli" I!wlhclII(tli(lt! papyri

(London, 1972).

J. SVI\ST!\L, 'Beitrag zur Erforschung del'

Gesehidu.e tkrVermcssungskunde im alren
Agypten', .lela PufJ1lcdllliw, Puin' C VUT
v Pm"" 13 (1983), 69-80.
G. ROBINS and C. SIIL;TE, The Rhim/
lIlalhemalim!paPJll.us (l.ondon, 1987).

measurement
Knowledge of weights and measures was fundamenral to rhe smooth running of rhe
Egyptian bureaucracy. This is evident fi'om
tomb scenes showing scribes recording the
amount of grain or counting cattle (sec '1)\.'\!\TION), and from the measured rations and
weights of copper issued at D!:m 1:I.-J\WD1NA, ;IS
well as vignettes of the weighing of the heart
in the BOOK OF THE DEAIJ.
The main unit of measurement" was the
royal cubit (52.4 em), approximately the
length of a man's forearm and represented by
the hieroglyph ~ . The royal cubit comprised 7 palm widths each of -f. digits of thumb
width (thus 28 digits to the cubit). Artists
generally used a grid to layout thciJ' drawi.ngs,
and until the end of the Third Intermediate
Period (1069-747 "c) they used the 'short
cubit' of 6 palms (44.9cm) which was roughly
the length from elbow to thumb tip, conventionally 45 cm. From the SAlTl:: PERIOD
(664-525 Be) onwards, however, the royal
cubit was lIsed by artists. During tile Persian

MEDICINE

MEASUREMENT

occupation, on the other hand, the royal

Persian cubit of 64.2 em was sometimes used,
although a reference cubit for this measure at
Abvdos is actually 63.85 em long.
The length of the double remel/ was equal to
that of the diagonal of a square with sides of
1 royal cubit (74.07 em). The double remC1I,
divided into fony smaller units of 1.85 em each,
was the measurement lIsed in land surveying,
long with the la (or mch-ta) of 100 royal cubits.
Area was measured by seljll/ (100 cubic square),
later c.1Ued the t/ronrtf.
A numher of measuring rods, including the
wooden examples lIsed by craftsma.ll and

surveyors, have survived.The most detailed

knowledge of the cubit derives not fi'om workaday measures, which could vary considerably,
but from ceremonial cubit-rods cut in stone
and deposited in temples, or occasionally
buried with officials. These were also inscribed

IIVoot/en mbil-rod. Lale paiod.

(EA23078)

ABOVE

f..

the l,;te measured silver or gold only, They

were used to describe the equivalent valuc of
a wide variNy of non-metallic goods, thus
forming a rudimentary price system in the
non-monetary economy of the Pharaonic
period (sec 'I'R;\DE).
j\lIeasures of capacity also cxisted, notably
thc hill (about 0.47 I): tcn lIil1m making one
lJekal of ahout 4.77 I, and one kIWI" making 160
lJillJ1l (75.2 I). The 11i11 could be subdivided into
units as small as Y;2' as well as into thirds,
known as kllllJ'. Scribcs measuring grain arc
depicted in the tomb or l\'lenna.
A. VV':lOAI.l., IYciglilS alld balill/ct.?s (Cairo, 1905).
J C!':RN", 'Prices and wag;es in Egypt in the
Raml:sside period', Cl/lliers tI'fJi.'iIOin' !\'Iol/(!ialc 1
(1954),903-21.
F G. St\.I:-.'NER, 'l\llcasures and weights',A hisfo/:ll
1~(Jedlllol()gy I, cd. C. Singer, E. J. I-Iolmyanl and
A. R. Hall (O,lord, 19.14), 77+-84.

the main tcmple, a much earlier phase, dated

by pOl:tery to the late Old Kingdom
(c.2300~2181 Be), was uncovered in 1939. This
consisted of a polygonal enclosure wall containing a grove of trees surrounding a small,
roughly rectangular mud-brick temple. At the
rear of the small temple there were two winding corridors, each leading to a small chambcr,
and each chamber being covered by an ovaJ
mound of soil, perhaps symbolizing the
I'KII\IEVt\L MOU.\'I). This carly 'shrine' appears
to lie outside the normaJ conventions of
Pharaonic temple design.
C. ROBlClIO.:'\ and A. V'\IULtE, cIVlcdamoud:
fouillc!-i tlu Musce tIu Louvre, 1938', CdE \-1-/27
(1939),82-7.
~! Dcs(ripfi()ll sflJ!lJllfIiri' tlllfempll' pr;lJ!if~rde
/vldtllfJ!l(Wt! (Cairo, 1940).
B. J. KEI\\I', Ana'elll E:!!,ypl: (//llll(l"~)ll~ra
(i"Hli:::.af;oll (London, 1tJS9), 66-9.

Medamud (ane. Madu)

medicine

_,3.3 Oil.

RIGIIT Pragmcllf (~rs{hiSf mbif-rod. Nl~m

Kingdom.

L.

/5.2 Oil. (H 136656)

with other useful informarion such as Ii'\U~n,\

TJo::'-J levels or references to names (provinces),
forming a kind of compendium of the sort once
found in school exercise books in Europe. A
knotted rope was used in surveying land, the
boundaries of which could he marked with
stones, as portrayed in the tomb or Menna at
Thebes ('1T69, (.i400 1)(:).
Weights were also commonly lIsed, and a
large number in stone, pottery and bronze
have survived; the c"lrliesl, excavated at
Naqada, date to the Predynastic period
(c.3S00-3100 Ge). Many weighls in the
Dynastic period arc inscribed, while others
are in the shape of bulls' heads, cattle or
other animals. \"eights were traditionally
made in units known as debem, weighing
about 93.3 g, but after the 12th Dynasty
(198.1-179.1 lle) this unit was supplemented
by the "ile of 9-1 0 g, and the dcbell itself was
increased to weigh 10 kile. The delnJl/ was a
measure of copper, silver or gold, whereas

or

Site
an ancielll rown localed 5 km northeast
of KARl'\:\K temple, at the northernmost edge of
Thebes. 'i'he modern site is dominated by ~l
temple of the falcon-god MONTU \"hich dates
back at least to the J\!liddle Kingdom
(2055-1650 m:), although the nucleus of the
complex is of the 18th Dvnasty (1.1.10--1295 ilL)
and the outer sections are Greco-Roman in date
(332 BC-ill) 395). The temple is dedicated to the
local triad comprising Montu, Ra'ttawy and
Harpocrates (the child-like form of r IORUS).
Nex! to the main Greco-Roman temple was a
SACRED LAKE and behind it was a smaller temple
dedicated to the bull manifestation of Montu,
similar to u1e Bucheum at .\RM.ANT.
The ground-plan of the ~1iddlc Kingdom
phase of the temple of Montu has been ohliterated by the later phases superimposed on it,
but numerous stone architectural clements
such as columns and royal statues have survived, re-used elsewhere on the site. Beneath

Egyptian medicine was a mixture or magical

and religious spells with remedies based on
keen observation of patients, and any attempt
to impose thc modern distinction between
vlt\GIC and medicine usually only confuses rhe
picture. The most common curc fiJI' maladies
was probably the /\MULET or the magic spell
rather than medical prescriptions alone., since
many illnesses tended to be regarded as the
result of malignant influences or incorrect
behaviour.
However, at least as early as the 3rd Dynasty
(2686-2613 Ilc), there were already individuals
corresponding roughly to the modern concept
of a doctor, for whom the term siul7J was used.
There were also surgeons (called 'priests of
Sekhmet') as well as the ancient equivalents of
dental and vetcrinary practitioners. The
Greek historian HERODOTUS, writing in the
fifth century Be, claimed that Egyptian doctors each had their own specializations, such as

175

MEDICINE

MEDINET

Detail (?{,he I.o/ldoll.\ledic(fl Papyrus. Sen)

d.WIJ-/21i1i /Ie. (u/IJIi.i9).

F:iugr/(lIII,

gynaccology or osteopathy} but there is no e, icicocc Lhal this WitS so in the Pharaonic period.
Egyptian doctors appear to have been m<linl~
men, given the f~lC[ that only one wom~m doc(or is definitely attested, although this c"i~
dcncc l11;IY well be hiased, in that the prim:ipal
sources arc inscriptions on runcrary monuments, most of which were created
men
rather than wOlllen.
A number of sun-j"ing mcdil:al papyri pro,'ide information com;crning dlC Egypti;.1ns'
knowledge of medicine and the composition of
the body. Such medical texts l11a~ ha\"c been
hOllsed in temple archives (sec L1BR.\RIES),
although thl' only e"idence for this is the
assertion of the Greek physician Galen
(t ..\)) 129-99) th,u rhe ancient temple archi\-es
at i\ femphis were being (onsulted by Greek
and Roman do(tors of his 0\\ n time.
The Edwin Smith i\ledical Papyrus
(c 1600 m:) was once thought to be the work
of a militar~ surgeon, but recent opinion
suggests that its aurhor may h;l\e been a doctor associated with ~t pyramid-building workforce. The text deals m'linl~ wilh such problems as broken bones, dislocations and
crushings, diyiding ils forty-eight cases into
three classes: 'an ailment which I will treal',
'an ailment with which I will contend' Jnd an
'ailment not to be treated'. The symptoms of
cach case an: described and where possible a
remedy prescribed. Although it cannot he
claimed that the writer fully undersrood the
conccpt of" Ihe cin':lliation of the blood, he
clearly recognized that the condition of the
heart could he judged by the pulse: 'The
counting of i11lything with the fingers lis
done] to recognize the way lhc heart goes.
There <lrc vessels in it leading to crery part
of the body
\,yhen a Sckhmet priest,
any sill/}) docror
. puts his fingers to the

ror

176

hcad
to the two lunds, to the place of the
heart
il speaks .. in every \"esse!, cyery
part of thc bod~.'
The Kahun ,\Iedieal Pap\Tus (r.2100~1901l
Be), \\ hich may also hc thc original source lor
the R,ll11CSSClim 1\-\ and Cill"lsberg \111
papyri, deals with thc ailmcnts of women and
is particularly conccrncd with the womb and
the determination of fertility. It also
dcscribes such methods of contraception as
the consumption of 'excremelll of crocodile
mixed with sour milk' or the injection of'l
mixture of honc) and n~1tron into the vagina.
The Berlin Papyrus (c. 1550 Ill:), on the other
hand, contains thc c:lrliest kno\yn pregnancy
tcst: ']Jadey and cmmer'. 'The ,,omen must
moistcn it with urine e\cry day .. _ if both
grow, she will gi\c birth. [f the barley grows,
it mcans .1 malc child. If the cmmcr gro,,s it
means .1 female child. If neither grows she
will not give birth.' .\lodern experiments
hase shown thai thc urine of a woman who is
not prcgnant ,,ill actually prc\ent the grO\\ th
of barle~, suggesting surprising scicntific
support for this test.
The Ehers :\ ledieal Papyrus (d555 Be)
was originally (H'el" 20 III long and consisted
simply of a list of some 876 prescriptions and
rcmedics for such ailments as \\ounds, stomach complaints, gynaecological problcms and
skin irritations. Prescriptions were made up in
proportions according 10 fractions based on
parts 01" the eye of IIORU~, each part symbolizing a fraction from I / (,~ to 1/1" Thc I-lcarst
Pap~ rus (r.1550 I~C) is inscrihcd with mcr
250 prescriptions, <1 numher of whieh deal
wilh brokcn boncs <lnd biles (including that or
the hippupotamus)
The Brooklyn Papyrus deals with
snakebitcs it( grcal lengt"h, while the Chester
Beatty \ J Papyrus (t.1200 BC:) is concerned
only with dise;.lses of the anus. Thc London
Papyrus is one of the best examples of the
Egyptian three-pronged approach to healing,

EL-FAYU~1

which might be described as holistic in modern terms. It consists of a combination of

magical spclls, ritu<lls and practical prescriptions, all of which would ha\c heen considered equally essent"ial to thc recO\cry of the
patient.
It is dc.lr from these \yorks that it would b~
incorreci to suppose th:1t the diss~ction
ilwol\'cd in mummification pro\'ided the
Egyptians \\ ith a good knowledge of the" 01'1..ings uf the h lIman body. The purpose of
numerous organs remained unknown; for
example., although il was known dl;1t brain
damage could cause paralysis, it was not re;llized t h.1t the hr:tin had :lI1ything to do " ith thl'
act of thinking, an actiyity ,,hich the
Egyptians ascribed to the heart. The purpose
of the kidneys was also unknown, and it "as
belic\ ed th,ll all bodily fluids, such as blood,
urinc, c:\crel1lcnL :lnd semen, ,,cre const'lnrl~
circuhning around the body.
III the Ptolemaic period (332~30 Be) Grcek
forms of mcdicine were combi.ned with those
of the Egyptians, just as the local deities wen;
assimilated with those of thc Greeks. Thus the
deified !i\111()"1'i':1' become idcntified with the
Greek god Asklepios, and the Asklcpiciol1 ,It
Saqqara became a centre lor medicine.
P.lticl1ts somclimes also stayed mcrnight in 50called incubaTion chambers al such temples, as
in the cult-place of IWS at Saqqara, in the hope
of rccei\'ing a cure through diyincly inspircd
ilKI': \.\I~. From the L;.Itc Period (7-t7~332 Be)
onwards, sanatoria were often attached to
major templcs such as the cult~centrc of
Hat hor at DE'DER.,\.
J. [I. BKI..\~-n:lJ. The T:t/mill Smith Papyrus, 2 \ol~
(Chicago. 1930).
A. G \lWI'EK, Tht' Ra1llt'Ht:II11/ Papyri (O.\.fon.l.
1955).
P. GJ t \L!OL 'GLI, The p/~)'sir;{f1fS /If p!f{{rlfflllit
(~)'PI (eliro, 1983)
A.-I'. LIL\, La mit/aim' igyptiflwe tl/II1!1IlPS t/t'.~
plwl"llo/ls (Paris, 1983).
J. l\L;\", .llltit!ll1 1':':~YPlitl/ll11{'{li(illt,(London,
1995)

Medinet el-Fayum (Kiman rares; anc,

Shedyet, Crocodilopolis)
Silc of the cult centrc of the crocodile-god
SOUl':", located in thc centre of the F." L \I
REG10'J. I t is not clear when the settlement of"
Shedyct was f{)lllldcd, but Ihe earliest knu\\ 11
archilccillral remains deriyc fiom a temple of
Sobek construcrcd in [he 12th Dynasty
(1985-1795 Be) and restored by Ramcses II
(1279-1213 lie). The settlement and the temple must harc particularly flourished during
the late 1\ liddle Kingdom, when scyeral rulers
of the 13th Dynasry (I795~1650 lie) tollk

MEDINET J-1ABU

MEDINET l-IAnU

names including references to Sobc1. !\lost of"

the sun"iving remains (including another temple, a sacred lake and some baths) d.uc to the
Greco-Roman period (3.12 BC-\D 31)5). \yhen
the town was rhe capital of the pro\'ince of
Arsinoc. In the carl~ l\\cnticlh century \1>

the sire still cU'"crcd an area of some three

courtyard of Antoninus Pius

Ptolemaic pylon
easlern (fortified or 'Migdol') gateway
tomb chapels of god's wives ot Amun
temple of Amun (of HalshepsuVfhutmose III)
sacred lake
first pylon

hundred acres, but it has 110\\ diminished considerably because of the nonhwestward
exp;'1Ilsion of thl' modern cit~.
L. K\hOS\, '"hroJ..odilskulre'. 1.e.rih)1l tla
AgypffI!ogil' Ill, cd. \\t. Heick, E. Quo and
\V. \\'cstendorf(\\'ieslmdcn, 1980),801-11.

8
9
10
11
12
13
14

first court
second pylon
second court
hyposlyle hall
first vestibule
second veslibule
sanctuary

15 Gale ot Rameses III

16 palace

17
18
19
20

western gateway
residential areas
magazines
indicates position of
the house of Bufehamun

15

Medinet Habu (ane. Djamct; Djeme)

Temple complex d.lling from tht.:' NI.:\\'
Kingdnm to the Late Period (c.l550-332 Itc)

at the southern end of the Thcball \ycst bank,

opposite modern Luxor. !\Lost of the archacologic'l! and epigraphic work at the site ""as
undertaken by the Chicago Epigraphic Sun'e~"
in the 1920s and 1~30s.
The earliest section of the complex "as a
small temple built by Hatshcpsul' (1-173-1-158
ue) and Thlltmosc III (1-179-1-125 Be), bur this
was later eclipsed by the construction of the
monuary temple of Ralllcscs III (1184-1153
1Ir:). The latter is aligned roughly southeast to
northwest, but convcnlionally the side facing:
the Nile is described as cast. The" hole complex is surrounded by massi\"c mud-brick
walls, with ;I cop: of a Syrian fortress, known
as a 11I~t!d"l, scn'ing as ils e.lSlern gateway
(sometimes called the 'p;lvilion gate'). T'he
heads of foreign capti\es .1re displayed below
windows in the eastern passage of the gone" a:.
In rooms aho\'c the gate arc scenes showing
Ramescs III at leisure, playing dr,mghts with
the women of his II'RI\L It is possible t1ut it
was in this pri\ate suile of rooms that an
unsuccessful ,lncmpt to assassinate Ramescs III
took place. i'\earb: "as a landing stage where
boats could moor, having re,lChed the site b: i1
canal from the Nile.
The exterior walls of the temple are decofmed with scenes from the rarious campaigns
of Ramcscs III, notably his w~lrs "ilh the
L1llY.\'\;S .111d the St"", PEOPI.ES, \rho arc also
depicted in the first court of the temple.
The first PYI.(),\ shown the king smiting his
enemies) while rows of' human-headed
'name rings' depict the conquered lands. The
second coun is devoted to sccneS of religious
processions) notably those or \11'\J and SOh: 'R.
Despite t"hc gcnerally good state of preservation of the temple, the llYPOS"]"' u: 11'1.1.
hilS suffcred greatly, the columns being
reduced to onl\ a few mctres Howcrer in
the southwest ~orncr is a tre~l~ury build'ing
with scenes depicting somc of the tcmple

18

n,l' WI/pic mll1plcx (~(R{/Illescs Ilf al A1edilfci !JaIJII"

equipment, Other temple \'aluables were
probably kept in i1 betler concealed building
immedionely in (ront of the north ,,"all of I he

18

sanc!.Uary, The focus of the main axis of the

temple is the sanctuary of Amun, bchind
which lies a false door for 'Amun-Ra united
"ilh eternity" namely the divine tC:Jrm of
Rilmescs Ill"

177

MEDINET I-IAllU

MEDJAY

Reiehes ill

~ledine[

J\ladi', IHDAIK 8 (1~39),

1~5-').

Medjav
NOll1,ulic group originally from the eastern
dcserts of Nubia, who were commonl~
employed as sc.:outs and light infamry from the
Second Intermediate Period (1650-1550 BL)
onwards. 'fhcy hayc been identified with the
archaeological remains of the sO-C"J.lled r\'\,GR'\\ E CL.I:IL"RE, although some scholars disagree with this association.
E. E,nESI'EI.DE (cd.), .i~)lpten l1ud Kusdf (Berlin,
1977), 227-8.
B. j. "-E.\II', 'Old "-ingdom. \ riddle "-ingdolll
and SCl:ond Lnrcrmedi;nc Period', .-l11cicl/l Egypt:
a so(illllJislfI1Y, B. G. Trigger ct al. (C1mbridgc,
19H3), 7J-I~2 (169-71).
11,e temple (~r"lcdilll'1 Habn, SClml,IIII11///lt/brick cllr!osure malls (Iefi (lilt! right) is f/ie
mortl/my It.'l/1p/e (~rR(/lIfeses III. the firs! pylol/ oI
mhirh is slw11Jn !Iere. tis mell m ()/Iu}' buildiugs. 111
Ihe.fi1l'lfgrlJ/lJld (It!ji) Ilu: rllapels I~rlhc /!.(J(rl' mires
(dAmllll WII bt SCCII. (f~ .,: "'fU!()f.SON)

On the southeastern side of the temple are

the rem.tins a royall'.\I.,\CE, which was probably much smaller than the king's main residence, scrying as a spiritual palace as well as
for occasional royal \'isits. lr \Y<lS originally
decorated with glazed liles, many of \\ hich .lre
now in the Cairo l\luscum. and its bathrooms
were lined with limestone (0 protect the n1udbrick. From the palace the king could enter the
first court, or peruse it from .1 "window of
appearaOl:es' on its southern side
Because of its strong fortificatjons,
~lcdinct Habu becamc a rcfuge in unsettled
times, and the residents of the workmen's yillage at IJEIR EI.-\IEDI' \ mO"cd there during the
late 20th Dynast) (.1100-1069 Be); the
remains of the housc of onc of the "illage
scribes, Butchamun, arc at the western end of
the tcmple. At some later time, howe"er, the
temple defences were oycrwhelmcd and the
west gate demolished, Ncar the e.lstern gate
are a group or ~chapel-lOmbs\ beneath which
several of the 25th- and 26th-Dynasty Gon's
Wl\'ES OF "IUN (Shepenwepct II, Amenirdis J,
Shepcnwepet III and iVLehitcnwesckhet) were
buried.
The route to the AnuJI1 temple of
Hatshepsut and Thutmosc [II underwent modifications in the 25th Dynasty (7-+7- 656 Be),
and in Ptolemaic allll Roman rimes. In the
Ptolemaic pcriod the town of Djclllc ,yas built
within thc main walled compound. It derived
its name from the ancient Egyptian term for
the site, Tjamcr or Djamet, and took advantage

or

178

of the protection offered by the site. During

this time the secund court of Ramescs Jll's
temple was uscd as a church. For a disclission
of the an.;hacologir.:al significance or New
Kingdom mortu;lry temples, see RA.\ILSSl':u,\t
(on which thc basic plan or Ramcses Ill's mortuary tcmple was modellcd).
EI'IUIUPlliC SLR\'E', CJ 1IC:\.(iO, _"ledillci Ha!Ju,
8 "Dis (Chil:agu, 1930-70).
U. IloIR'iClIER, The e.rcul'ulioll (!( lIedillcl !!alm,
:} "ols (Chic'lgO, I 93+-S-l).
\r. J. i\ ILR'-\i\E, Un/lnl milll elerniql: (f cmfcisl'
gu/rlt' 10 Ihe IIItnllllllClI1S (JIJledillef Habit (ChiclgO
and Cairo, 1980).

Medinet Maadi (,me. Dja; \!armouthix)

Site in the southwestcrn fayum region where
a temple or Ihe cobra-goddess RE...'E...'\,LTET (a
han'est deity) was founded during the reigns
or ""'.'1""1 IT III and II (1855-1799 Be). [t wax
later expanded and embellished during Ihe
Greco-Roman period. The dark sandstOne
inner part of the tcmplc consists of a small
papyrus-columned hall leading to a sanctuary
comprising threc chapels, each containing
sl;Hues of deities. The central chapel incorporared a large slatue of Rcnemllet, with
Amencmhat III and J\ standing on either side
of her. The Ptolemaic parts of the temple comprise a pa' ed processional way passing
through an eight-c.:olumncd KIOSK leading to a
ponico and transverse vestibule. It has been
suggested that thc unusually good preSery.ltion of this t.emple complex, excavated by ;l
team of arch;lcologisls from the University of
!vlilan in the 1930s, may have been due simply
to its rclati,'c seclusion.
A. VOGI.lAi'\O, Primo (l'setOlldo) rappfJrlfj degli
smt'/ coude"i del/If R. Ullh..cnila tli .Mila1/u III!//a
Zfj//a di i1ladilU:1 A'III(/(li, 1935-6 (~,lilan, 1936-7).
R. N'L \I.'\NN, 'DcrTclllpei des Mittleren

Megiddo. Battle of
Conflict bel wcen the armies of the I thDynasty ruler TllUT,\lOSE III (H79-1{25 Be)
and those of the princ.:e of the Syro-P.llestinian
city of Qldesh. 'The latter was no doubt
backed by the military might or the stilte of
j\IlT'\NNI, ,,hic.:h had created a network of vassal citY-Slates in Syria during the early 15th
century ur:. The 'annals' of the reign nf
Thutmose Ilt, c.:ompiled by the military scribe
Tjaneni and inscribed on the walls of the Hall
of Annals in the temple of Amun at I';:'\I{,\,,,",
h;1\'c pro,-idcd the details of the Battle of
_1\-1egiduo, as well as sixteen further campaigns
in the Levant.
Less than ;l year after assuming sole rule of
Egypl (i.e. aftcr the death of II rrsln:psLT),
Thurmosc embarked on a campaign to de.11
with .111 uprising of Syro-Palcstinian cit~
states. A council of war between the king and
his generals rC"caleu that there were three
possible strategies for 'lrtacking the prince of
Qlllcsh, whose armies wcre cnc.:amped near
the city of i\legiddo: lO take a southerly route
,i'l a town c.:allcd l:1;mach, which la~ abuut
eight kilometres southeast of .J:\lcgiddo; tu
march northwards to the town of Djefty,
emerging to rhe west of Nlegiddo; or to head
directly across the ridge, ,Yhich would allo'"
them to appear from the hills about nyO kilometres from Nlegiddo. 1n time-honoured
fashion, the pharaoh chose the direci
approach, against the advice of his generals
and despite the dangers involved in a rhrceday march single-file through :l narrow pass.
This route, however, W,lS ncgotiated successfully, allowing them to launch a surprise
frontal ,luack on the enemy. In the ensuing
slaughtcr, the Asiatics fled into the city, leaving
behind the kings or Qldesh and Nlegiddo, who
had to be hauled on to the battlcments by rheiJ

MEIR

MEIDUM

clothing. After a seven-month siege, Megiddo

\VaS captured, bringing the campaig'n to a successful conclusion.
H. H. NFLSO", 'lire Im"le l~rjHegiddfJ (Chjcago,
191.1)
H. GR!\I'O\\', Sludit'Il:::'1I tlm_ll/Nalell Tllllllllosis
des driflelllll/d:::'lI ihllm VCFIJJlllldlt'lI his/oristlll'll
Bt!ridrlell des NetiC/! Reichl's (Berlin, 1949).
A. J. SI','\L1.\GElt, 'Some notes on the Battle of
Megiddo and reflections on Egyptian military
writing', /vW1JK 30 (197~), 221-9.
_, 'Some .Idditional rtmarks on the batrle of
Megiddo', GM 33 (1979), ~7-54.

Meidum
Funerary site of an unusual early pyramid
complex ,lOtI ilssociated pri,;lte cemerery, situated close to the Fayum region. The pyramid

50

(although Sneferu's 'north' pyramid at

Dahshur may have been the earLiest to have
been designed as such from the outset). It was
once suggested that the outer casing of the
N.leidum pyramid collapsed early in the -I-th
Dynasty, and thus inspired the change of angle
in the final stages of Snefcru's 'bent"' pyramid
at Dahshur, assuming that both were being
built simultaneously. HQwever, the presence of
;1 well-established cemetery of early -I-thDynasty \IASTAJ3!\ tombs surrounding the
pyramid, as well as the New Kingdon) graffiti
in the mortuary temple, all make it more likely thal rhe collapse came much hner, and certainly no earlier than the Ne\\" Kingdom.
The corbelled burial chamber was built into
the superstructure of the pyramid at the level
of thl" old groll.nd surface, and, in its architcc-

reliefs and statuary. The internal walls of the

superstructure of the tomb of Ncfcrmaat and
his wife Atet were decorated with painted
scenes of daily life, including the celebrated
depiction of the 'jVlcidum Geese'. The same
tomb also includes an inno\'<ltive, but apparently short-lived, form of wall decoration
using coloured paste inlays. The painted limestone statlles of Rahotep and Nofret (Egyptian
lVluseum, Cairo), probably a son and daughter-in-law of Sneferu, were discovered by
Auguste iVbriettc in 1871 in a mastaba to the
north of the pyramid. The earliest surviving
mummy, oaring to the 5th Dynasty, was excavated by Flinders Petrie at ;'vleidum in 1891,
but it was btcr destroyed when the Royal
College of Surgeons was bombed during the
Second World War.

Tile pyramid of NTeidll1ll JlOW presellts a tOlJJcr-like

a]Jf!('{//'{/llcc tllle In till' loss {Jli/s origillal emillg. It
/1){/S probllb(v rOIlS/meted I~)I eitller III/ili (lr /lis SO/I.

vv. ]\11. F

100 m

Cross-sert;olllhrollgh ,!II' pJll"{{lIlid ((I .\!Ie/dulll,

shoming 110m lire on~f.(i1ltl/ slepfled prtdiles (1, 2)
lJ)ere iidilll'd to gii'C fhe SlllflO/1z pHdi/e (3). Thl!
burial dwmher is labclled-l.

is usually ascribed to Huni (2637-2613 Be),

last king of the 3rd Dynasty, although his
name docs not appear anywhere on the monument and it is perhaps more likely that his
fun crary monument \muld have been located
at S:\QQ\R:\ (possibly in an unexcavatcd enclosure to the wcst of the step pyramids of DJOSfR and SEKI-IE;\1t,J lET). The Mcidum pyramid
may have belonged to his son Si\EFERV. whose
name is mentioncd in graffiti dating to the
New Kingdom (1550-1069 DC) in the passag'e
and chamber of a small mortuary temple at the
Site. Alternatiyely it ma~' hayc been completcd
by Sneferu but begun by Huni, since Sneferu
himself appears to have had twO pyramid complexes at D:\I-IS1 fUR.
The modern appearance of thc .Nleidulll
pyramid is that of a stepped tower, but it was
originally constructed as a scven-stepped
pyramid, amended to eight steps, and finally
provided with a smooth outer casing to transform it into the earliest true pyramid

SI/{fcru.

(/~ 1: \tGtlO/..')'Ov)

tural sophistication, it is regarded as second

only to the 'grand gal1ery' in thc Great
Pyramid of Khufu (2589-2566 Be) at GIZA.
The building interpreted as a mortuary temple on the east side of the pyramid was found
to incorporate two enormous uninscribed
round-topped stone stelae probably f()rming
part of an offering chapel. An open causeway
led to the \'alley temple, which has not yet"
been eXG1Yiltcd.
The mast"ab<l cemeteries, located north and
cast of the pyramid, have provided some of the
best examples of early 4th-Dynasty paintings,

VV. M. F. PI':TRIE, J11eydlllll (London, 1892).

PETRIE, E.l\ll:\{x!\Y and G. A.

W O\INWIOUIIT, i\ifeydlllll alld J1!lemphis III

(London, 1910).
K. ME1'-DEI.SSOi\, 'A building disaster at the
Meidum pyramid',.7EA 59 (1973), 60-71.
1. E. S. EDWARDS, 'The collapse of the l\ileidum
pvramid',.7EA 60 (I97~), 251-2.
R. ST\OEI.\IAN1'" 'Snofru und die Pyramidcl1 von
Meidulll und Daschur', MDAIK 36 (1980),
~37-9.

N1. SAl.EII and 1-1. SOLJROUZII\N~ The Ej{Jlptiall

;t1mc/lm. Caim CMainzl J987), nos 25-7.
1. E. S. EDWARDS, The pyramids (~r Egypt. 5th cd.
(Harmonds\Vorrh, 1993),71----8.

Meir
Group of decorated rock-cut tombs in iVliddle

179

MEMNON

MEMPHIS

Egypt, about 5U km northwest of" modern

Asyut. The tombs, dating to the 6th and 12th
])\Ilasties (2345-218] and ]985-1795 I)l:
respectively), \\TIT badly pillaged during the
nineteenth ccntllr~' and c\'cntuall~ excavated
and n:cordnl by Aylward Blackman between
1912 and 1950. They contained the funerary
rcmain~ of the governors of Cusac and members o[ their families, while the shaft-tombs of
their Scn'.ll1ts were cut into the surrounding
clifTs. Among the most important tombs

,11T

those ofNiankhpcpykel11, a chancclJor ofPcpy I

(\1; 2321-2287 Be), and Scnbi, a nomarch
(provincial gQ\"crnor) during the reign of
Amcncmhat I (Ill; lYSS-1953 lIe). There ilre
few remaining traces of the town of' Cusac
(Qjs), tht.: clpital of the fourteenth prm"incc of
Upper Egypt, which was situiHcd about eigln
kilometres to the east.
A. ),1. 13LACh.\1 \'-, The rOlk

((JlIlhs

palace 01 Apries
nortllernenclosurewall
modern village of Mit Rahina
enclosure wall of the temple 01 Ptah
hyposlyle hall
west pylon
embalming hOllseofApis oulls
'alabaster' sphinx
colossi of Rameses II

10 temple of Rameses II
11 Korn Rabia
12 Kom Fakhry: area of First Intermediate
Period lombsand section of Middle
Kingdom settlement
13 templeofPtah
14 palace of Merenptatl
15 ruins of unidentified strucfure

\,

II

\\

\\

~:

oil
:[09

II

11

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Memnon SfC COLOSSI

OF ,\II':\F\O'\

P/(/II

(~(.'IleJlljJhis.

Memphis (Men-ncb)
Capilal cit)' of Egypl for most of the
Pharaonic period 1 thc site of which is centred
on the modern yiJbge of lViit Rahina, some
2-+ km south of modern Cairo. It W'1S capital or
the lirst Lower Egyptian ,'\o.\W and the adminiSlrarive capital during the Early Dynastic
period (3100-2686 Ile) anel Old Kiogdom
(2686-2181 Be). It is said to have been f()lInded by the 1st-Dynasty ruler j\lI':W:S.
The '1\1emphite necropolis', located to the
wcst of thc ciry, includes (north ro south) \IILT
Rt)J\SII, GIZA, Z!\\\ I~ 1':'1" I:I.-_\In.\:'.', .\BL'SIR,
St\(~~\R\ and D\IISIILR, co\ering ~l dist.ance of
approximately 15 km. Saqqara) hO\\'(::n.T, is
both dlC largest and nearest section or Ihe
nccropolis. Very ICw tombs arc actually located
at Nkmphis ifsclf~ although a few /i'om the
First Intermediate Period (2I8l-2()55 Be) havc
becn discovered close to iVlil Rahina, while at
KOI11 Fakhry therc arc tombs of22nd-Dynasty
high priests (9-1-5-7] 5 IlC).
The name r\Jlcmphis seems to derive from
the pyramid town associated wilh the pyramid
of' Pepy I (2321-2287 Be) at Saqqara, which
was called J\ifen-nder (meaning 'established
and bcautifuF). A more ancient name fix the
city was lncb-hedj ('''Vhite \'Valls' or '\\Thite
Forlress'), which probably rcferrcd to the
appearance of the fortified palace of onc of the
earliest kings. It has been suggested that this
original town may have bccn located ncar the
Illodern village or Abusir and that the settlement gradually shifted southwards toward
modern ivlit Rahina. The lOCH ion of lhc site al
the apex of' the Delta madc it well suited f()r

180

the COol 1'01 of both this and the Nile \'alley, sO

that it was sometimes also known as the 'balancc of the two lands'.
The remains of early l\\cmphis lie beneath
thick deposits of Nile allllYillIll, and much is
below the water table. 1-1O\\"c\-cr, a SlllTe~

directed by David Jeffre"s on behalf nf the

Egypt Exploration Socicty is attempting to
locate ,111 e<lrly seulement in an area of ancient
higher ground by means of a serics of drill
corings fonlling Lhe basis for a map of the subsud;lCe topography.
The 1110st obyious l11onul11cnts at the site
belong; to the I\"ew Kingdom, the timc \yhen
TIIEBES had become the religious and admil1istrati\T centre of Eg~'IH. Neverthclcss,
Memphis retained :1 great deal of" importance, and continued to seryc as the northern
capital. Indeed l11an~ scholars see it as the
'real' administrativr capital for most of
Pharaonic hislory. The visible New
I-.:.ingdom l110llllmCllts comprise the tcmple
of 1'"["-\11, patron or Ihe ci,-~, much or \\"hich
datcs
to
the time of Ramcses II
(]279-]2]3 Be). f-1owe\"er 1 Pt..lh, who at
.\'lcmphis formed a TKL\lJ with SI':"IL\IET and
'\!EFFltTI': \\, was one of the mOSI ancient
deities or Egypt, and earlier temples to him
c1earl~" existed. Part of the Ramessitle temple
rC-llses pyramid casing blocks, perhaps
brought fro111 Saqqara, and earlier elcments,
including a lintel of Amcllemhat JJI
(l855-1808Ilc), havc been found thcre, inclieating that older strUCl"Ures remain to be disco\'ered. A fallcn colossus of Rameses II and

or

an 'a1i.lbasler' sphinx
the )!cw Kingdom
arc thosc fcatures of the sire mOSI C0l11111on]~
\'isited in modern ti111(:s, since the tcmplc is
uften nooded O\\-ing to the high water table.
The Kom Qlla area of the site contains
the remains of a palacc of i\r[e.renptah (12131203 IK), successor 10 Ramcses Il, along with a
smallcr Ptah temple. ::\earby Petrie discovered
the remains of an industria] sitc of the Roman
period, where F'\fIo:'\Cr-: was bcing produced.
The Kom Rabia area \yas thc f()Cus of a British
cxclVatioll during the] 980s, yielding ;l "aluable ceramic chronological scquence fill thc
New Kingdom and pan of the J\liddle
Kingdom , as well as giving greater insights
into a small pan or Ihe ancient city.
An l.:mbalming housc fClr the .\I'IS buil, liying manirestation of Pfah, was built b~
Sheshonq I (945-924 lIe) of the 22ml Dynasty,
prob,1bly replacing an earlier structurc, and
traces of this, including cnormous travertine
cmbalming tables, are still visible. This too has
becn the subject of reccnt CXG1\ation. North of
rhe precinct of Plah is an enclosure of the Lire
Period, besr known f()[ thc imprc5siyc 26thD~'nasty palace mound of f\prics (5R9-570 IIC).
Perhaps intcntionally, this mound \Hmld ha\T
provided /-\pries wilh a clear \iew
the
Saqqara necropolis, which was a source of
inspirarion for artistic revi\"al during the
S.\ITI~ PERIOD.
In Ptolcmaic limes the ciry dwindled in
importance, losing out to the new sea-port at
\1.I':'\i':DIU \, while t.he founding of Fustat,
ultimately to become part of Cairo (aftcr the
Arab conquest in (41), dealt the final blow to
the city, Its remains were still clearly Yisible

or

MF.NKAURA

MENDES

in the twelfth century

.\1\

hut like the stone

buildings of its necropolis they have suffered

fro111 "quarrying' and the activities of
se!Ja/... hiJl (farmers using ancient mud-brick as
fertllizcr).
W. M. E P":'I'R,E, Ml'llIfi/II's I (London, 19119).
R. ANTIIES, JHilrahil/tI 1956 (Philadelphia, 196j).
B. PORTER and R. L. B. !\luss, 7i)p{J{!.Ttlphi(({/
bibliogl'llfi/IJ' Ili/2 (O,ford, 1978),8311-75.
D. G. JEFFREYS. The slIn:ey ,!(JI,fcmphis (London,
1985).
D. G. JEFFREYS and A. T-\\:\RJ-.s, 'The historic
landscape of Early Dynastic L\ lemphis', Jl[lJrJ fA
50 (1994),143-74

Mendes (ane. Per-banebdjedet)

Tell el-Rub'a is the site uf Per-banebdjedet,
the capital of the sixteenth T.O\yer Egyptian

also traces of minor Ramesside buildings at

the site. fresh fieldwork during the 1980s has
rcyealcd senlement remains of the late
Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods.
II. Ol-:.i\ II-:LI.E'\'\ERE and P. j\ L\CK_n-, .M mdcs II
(\Varminster, ] 976).
D..I. B]{E\\ ER ami R. .J. \~fl':',,"F, 'Transilion~l] tIle
Prcclynaslic-Early Dynasli(: oenlDations at
l\lcndes: ~l preliminar~ repon', Ti,e Nile Dclll! III
1f/lllSilioll: -I-/!I .inlmillcl/llil/1ll /fC, cd, E, C. l\1.
"an dell I3rillk ('lei '\\i", 1992), 191-7.

Menkaura (2532-250.1lJc)
Penultimate king of the +th Dynasty, and
builder of the third pyramid ill GIZ:\, He was
the son of K:11;\FR1\ (2558-2532 Be) and grandSOil or KJ ICFt.: (2589-2566 BC), the builders of
the lwO other p~Tamids at thc site. The sUl'\iving details of his life arc largely anccdotal and
(!l.:ri\"e principall~ from the Greek historian
lIFROI)OTLS, who describes him as a piolls and

Menes (dOlJO Ill:)

According 1"0 the EgYPlian historian
:\1.\,,,",,ETll0 ((.305-285 lH.:), j\[enes was the
founder of the Egyptian state, responsible for

'I'he chief deity here was originally the

goddess [11\'1'-,\11':1 lIT, but from the 2nd Dynasty

;'\IOi\lE.

(2890-2686 Be) onwards she was increasingly

replaced by her consort, the ram-god
Banebdjedet (!Ja ImanifcstationJ of the Lord of
Djedct). Their Son Harpocran.:s (sec JlORUS)
completed the rvlendesian triad. The earliest
surviving structures at the site arc _\I\ST\I{\
tombs of the late Old Kingdom, and a granite
NAOS or the time of Ahmosc " (570-526 Be) is
the carliest of the temple ITl1l;lins. The ass()ci~
ated city may have been the home-town, and
perhaps also the capital, of some 01" the rulers
of the 29th Dvnastv (399-380 Bt:). The Greek
historian Herodolus, who visited Egypt
around +50 ue, noted the sacrifice of goats at
Nlendcs, in COlllraSl to lhe usc of sheep elsewhere in Egypt. It is possible, however, th,lt he
mistook the sacred ram for a gont. There arc

IusaipII(}// Oil al! inNJ' lavcljin all oiljal; 11'111, {{

rcaml (d'('IYIl(S 1I/I11C relgl/ (~(KIllg .--IIf({. ,~IIIIf(:
rigill-lullul sidc /!!"lhc IUp rcglslcl' is Iltc hlt'mg~)lflh
men, mhirtl has hem ill!eljJrclcd as ,I,C IWIIiC 0/
.I;leues. Eal"~}1 DYllasllr Pa;()d, c.3/0() IlC, hfJI]'.
FIIII/ Ihe muslava IOlllb o/Neillt!wlcp al iVaI/ada,
II. -1.8 ClII. (el/NO .7f3/773)

Thc 'ram o/J\!loulc:i'. 26L!1 D.)'IIIISI.1', c.6UO

glas.~, l.. (~r/l{/s(' 9 WI. (E.16.1772)

the Lnificatiol1 of the Two Lands.

unfort"unately it is not c1car \vhclhcr l\ifcncs
is to he identified with the historical ligures
i\..'\R,\lI~l~ or ,\11A. An ivory plaque rroml,\i\(~.'\D.\
beaTS the name of both IvIenes (1Vlcn) and
Aha, although il has been argued that il probably records a yisit by the latter to a place
connccted with ~1enes. :Many scholars now
believc that Narmcr is the legcndary Nh.:nes,
since lhe two namcs arc linkcd on jar-scalings
fi'OIll .\13\ LJOS, Hmye\-er, the identification
remains uncertain. Tn either casc we know
,-irtually nothing' of the reign uf this ruler.
His great achic\'Clllcnt. the unification of
Egypt, nmy st;}nds as his only memori'll. The
Grcek "Titer Herodotus credits him with
draining the plain of ,\IE\\PllIS, but \yithout
,1l1y evidence, To the ancient Egyptians he
was the (-irst human ruler, whereas earlier
kings were regarded as demi-gods.
W, B. E/o,IEln', Arr!la/I" t."gypi (J-brmondsworth,
1961).

IlC,

I Nwdcl/ odJiIl/imlllltl! pyramid o/lllc -1111DYl1asly mIl!/" J\IICI//..'fl1lra al Giza. 26111 DYlIasly,

c.66f-,;2.) lie. (duM7)

just ruler. 'Vhell told by the oLKle or llUTO
that he had only six years to lin:, he is said to
have effectively doubled his remaining lifc by
banquet ing throug'h the hours of each night.
His pyramid complex was eXC;l\',\l"ed by
George REIS.\lE]{, although the pyramid itself
had been entered pIT\'iously by a numbcr of'
early nineteenth-century Egyptologists,
including Colonel Vyse, who removed a fine
sarcophagus (decorated in tht: palace-bpde
sl'ylc; sec SEREKll) and attempted to send it
baCK to England by boar. Unfi)l'wnatcly it was
lost when thc merchant ,'cssel Reauice sank in
October 1838. Ho\Ycycr) part of an anthropoid
coffin bearing the namc of the king was safely
ITmo\'ed to London along' \yith honcs fi'om the
burial chamber. It is now Known that the date
of the coffin cannot bc any earlier than SAITI':

IS]

MENTUEMHAT

MENNA

Gn:ymill;ke Ir/tul s/tl/ue fJI/\JImhllfra.

{/(((JlII[Jtll/ied by tile g(}ddes.~ flat/wI' (Ull !lis right)

{Iut! fhe per,Wl/ijical;rJ!l nI'he J7th !lO//ll' of Upper

Egypt ((II/Iris leji). 11/1)(/.1' exmv{/Ied by Iht'
J-JaITarr!-BoSlnJl e.rpedilioll jimn IIII' 7..'lIlllT tempI!'
oI/Vlenkaurri al Giza ill 190/'l, alrmg /Ilith 'lira
fJlher In'ads i/1 peJ.fl'C{ (Ourlilioll (Jilt! aji'agllli'lfl (~l
a/Uik -1-111 DJ!II{/S~JI, c.25(){} HC, If. 92.501/.
(<:lIlIu.7""0679)

rimes (664-525 Be), and was probably

<1 breI'
rcburi,ll of remains believed to be those of the
king, although the associated bones hayc' been
dated to the Coptic period.
The p~Talllid, which covers less lhan a
quarter of the area of the Great Pyramid,
underwent several changes of plan, and was
probably nC\Tr finished. Its lowest sixteen
courses are of red granite, and it is possible
that the whole was to be covered in this way;
SOme of the passages are also lined with granite, occasionally carved into palace-Eu;adc de<.:oration. from the complex Comes a statue or
thc king and his wife, Q.!. .Ieen Khamerernebty
II, while a number of fine 'I'RI,\1) statues have
also been discovered. These arc among the
finest examples of Old Kingdom sculpt"Ure
and are now in the Egyptian iVluSCUI11, Cairo.
i\tIenkaura was succeeded b~f Shcpseska[

(2503-2{98

I1C)

who chose to be buried in a

large mastaba-shaped fllmb (the A1lastabat

Fara'un) midway between S:\QQ!\R.\ and
D'\IISIIUIL

REIS.'\tER, Tlte temples (~rthl' third pyramid at

Giza (Cambridge, J\11A' l 1931).
I. E. S.. ED\U.RDS J TIll! pyramids f~rE:!ZJ,ftt, 5th cd.

G.. A.

(I-Iarmondsworth, 1993), 137-51.

Menna (t, HOO BC)

An 'estate inspector' in dle reign ofThutmosc
II' (HOO-1390 BC), whose Theban lOmb ('1'"1'
69) at Sheikh Abd cl-Qyrna included important scenes depicting land surycy. The w~lll
decorations also include the agricultural actiyities overseen by ~Ilenna, as well as religious
and funerary scenes, including the weighing of
the IIE1\RT.
B. PORTER and R. L. B. lVloss, Topogmphiral
/li/ilio/{rtfj;!Jv 1/1 (Oxford, 1960),13-+-9.

Mentuemhat (<'.700-650 Be)

'Prince of the city' and 'fourth prophet of
Amun', who rose Lo power in the Theban
region during the reign or rhe Kushire
pharaoh T/\!-!:\IUl!) (690-664 lie), on whose
behalfhc constructed various additions to the
temple af KARl\r\". His career spanned the
transition between the 25th and 26th
Dynasties l surviving the turmoil of the mid
seventh century Be, during which Egypt was
182

MERENPTAII

MENTUHOTEP

(wicc conquered by the \SSYRI \ ,s and

111harqo's successor, 'r;mu[i.lmani, struggled for
scver,t1 years against the Saitc pharaohs, "\Et..:.AC
I (672-66-+ BC) allll PS.I."TE' I (66+-610 BC).
Despite the f~ll:t that the first Assyrian invasion in\'olvcd the sacking of Thebes by
Esarhaddon's armies, ~lcntucmhat appCi.lfS

ahout JHenlulrolep I, who W<1S the father of

I~TEF I (2125-2112 Be), the first fully recognized ruler of the Theban region. 1\10st
chronologies therefore list Intef I, rather than
J\lentuhorcp I, '1S the earliest lith-Dynasty
ruler of the Thcban region. Tn the reign of
SenusrcL I, howc\"Cr, hoth !\Ientuhotep I and
Tntef I were giycn their own religious cults and
the fictitious llorus name Tepy-a'l ('ancestor')
was imcmed for i\lelltuhotcp I, since he and
I nref I were both rccob.'llizcd as the founders of
the :\Iiulile Kingdom.
The most important of Ihe four llth-

Grey gra.llile .I'la/llt: (~/AIIf'l/llffmlf(/I,.li()11l1Irc

Cachelle COllrl in/hl' It'll/pIe (~/AI!1I1I/ til Kawai'.

2.1,"-26,/' DYII/lsties, <:-.670 flC,

II.

1.37 III.

(e I/RO ee-l2236)
to have maintained a liglll grip over lhe
Thcban region, and a cylinder-seal of
Ashurbanipal dcsuibcd him as Iking of
'rhebes'. At the death of TanuLamani in
(.656 lie, he controlled a large area, sometimes described as a 'lcmplc SIi.UC', stretching
from Asw.m in the south to perhaps as far
north as Hermopolis l\lagna.
J\'lentucmhal"'s tomb in western Thebes
(rr34) consisted of a decorated subtcrranL-an
burial chamber and a huge stone and 111udbrick supersr-ructure with talJ papyrus
columns in its forccourt. The rclie(1) are typical of the archaizing tendencies of the 25th
and 26th Dynasties, drawing extensi\'ely on
the styles and subject-matter of scenes in Old
and ew Kingdom tombs.
j. LEO.AXT, Ml'lIloucmllfJl, fJlltilrieml' proplu;ll'
tI'Amoll, priucctie la i:illl'(Cairo, 1961).
D. EIG"IER, Die 1111J11I/1//cnlalen GmblmulclI tla
Spiil:::.eil in tier Iheballischell Nekropole (Vienna,
1984).

Mentuhotep
(Birth name' (meaning 't\IONTU is contcnt'),
held hy a ,eries of three Theban kings of the
11 th Dynasty (2055-1985 Be) and nne of their
ancestors. Their reigns (particularly that of
Mcntuhotcp II) heralded a return to political
stability after the comparative confusion and
decentralization of the First Intermediate
Period (2181-2055 Be). Very little is known

Paiult'd Jamlsloui' lIead nla s/tl/llf.' n.fAJenlulwlep

the Old Kingdom \\ \ST>\IH and lhe

symbolism of the PRI\IF.\'\1. \Iou,n. Six hundred years later its plan was copied and elaborated by II ITSlWI'SLT (1-f7J-1-f58 BC) in lhe
design of her mortuary temple, which is loc~1f
cd immediately to the north. _\lcntuhotep II'S
complex incorporated il cenotaph containing ~1
se.1tcd statue of the king as well as the tomhs of
six of his queens, including a mab'11ificellt set
of limestone sarcophagi. His successor,
.I'leuluhl/lcp III Suuk!lkllrl/ (200+-1992 Be), was
buried in another \"~1IlCY a short distance to the
somh of Deir el-B<.thri, but his funcnuy complex, consisting of a similar combination of
ramp anti podium, was unfinished and uninscribed. I Je rebuilt the fortresses along the
border of the eastern Delta, ,,-hcre a cult was
later dcclicolt.ed to himself and the
I-leraklcopoliran ruler KhelY III al rhe site of
el-Khatana. The name uf the fimll 11lhDynasty ruler, NICIIIIl!lOICP II NebttlW)lrtI
(1992-1985 Be), is recorded on a stone howl
from EI.-I,ISIIT, bur would otherwise be praclic:ll1y unknown if it were not tor the rockcarved records of his quarrying expeditions to
the \Vadi c1-Huui amethyst mines and the
\Vaeli I:lammamat siltstone quarries, the latter
venture being led by a \"IZIER named
Amcncmhat, who 01.1)" h.we later become
\\1I'."E\IIIrr I (1985-1955 Be), the lounder of
the 12th Dynast\' (1985-1795 Be).
E. N \\ ILLE, Tht' \-1/11 D'yl1l1S~)IIl'mple al Dl'i,. clBlIlwri,.1 \"ols (J ,ondoll, 1907-13).
H. E. \VI'\1.0<:...., nil' slain so/tlias nf.Ve/J/repelrt:
All'IIIUllOlep (New York, 19..J.5).
- , 'lI,C risc lI1ulfitil o/Iht' .1Iiddle A:illgtlom ill
Thebes (New York, 194-7).
D. .\R'\OI.D, Der 7i:mpd deJ Kiilligs. \leulflluJlep
t'OIl Deir el-IJalwri, 2 yols (-''!ainz, 1974).
N. GRL\\ \L, ...l hislnry nI1I11cieli/ Egypl (Oxford,
1992), l.i-l-8.
'1'0\111,

" Neblrepelrtl.Folll his ruillemple til Deir e1-

Rallri. Illh
rIC.,720)

f)YIllIS~)1. 1:._2055-200-1 BC, /I.

38 Oil.

Dynasty rulers of Egypt was lWe11lullf11ep /I

Nebl1t:pt:lra. lie assumed control of the country as a wholc, primarily by ovcrthrowing thc
Ilerakleopolitan 10th Dynasty, whu had been
thc principal rivals of the earl~r 11th-Dynasty
rulers. lie subsequently moved the capiral to
Thebes, rc-established the post of VIZIER,
launched military campaigns against thc
I.IBYANS and the Sinai 11I':1J0UI1'-., and regained a
cerrain degree of control over i'\UHlA. At IlEJR
U~-I3J\III{I, in western Thebes, he built an
unusual Icrraccd funerary complex, thc precise reconstruction of which is a m.ltter of
dcharc, although it: appears to have been an
ingenious combination of clements of the S,\FF

Merenptah (121.1~ 1203 Be)

'1'he cxtraordinary length of the reign OfR \ \11-:SES" (1279-12I.1Bc) meant that at Icasttwclve
of his sons died before him, including
Khacm\\'<lset, who was for sc\cral years the
appointed heir. J\1crenptah, rhe fourth
pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty, was therefi)re
probably already in his fifties by the time he
c:lITIe to the lhronc. Apart from an incident in
which he sent food supplies to the ailing ll1TTITE empire, the major event of his reign was
an attempted invasion by the I.1BYi\NS and SEt\
PI':OI'I.ES, which he managed to fend off in the
fifth year after his accession. Just as Rall1cses 11
had recorded the Battle of (1'\I)I':SII in both
prose olnd poetry, so _i\1erenptah described his
victory in prose f()rm on a wall beside the sixth
pylon at KARNAK and in poetic form on a large
183

MERF.RUKA

MERIMDA I3E-"II SALAMA

granite stele (Egyptian ~luscum, Cairo),

which was discon:rcd b~ Flinders Petrie in
1896 in the first COLIn of .i\ terenptilh 's mortuary temple at \ycslcrn '1'1 WBES. This monument
is usually described as the Israel Stele because
it is the earliest sun i\ ing Egyptian tc:Xl to
mention the people of lSI{ \10:1. (in a list of cities
and states defeated b) \ lerenptah). Little of
the l11ortuar~ temple 110\\ remains il1 siJIl and it
mosll~ consisted of fe-used stone blocks,
columns and slehle from the nearby mortuary
temple of \\IF.'\.lllrn:1' III.

Unusually, gi"cll the gcncr'lll~ poor prcscr'arion of I'\UCES, the best sun"j, ing structure
from .\lcrcnptah's reign is the royal residence
that he built nc~r LO the temple of Prah at _\le.\IPillS. It \\as cXC:I\;lfcd in 1915-19 b~ Clarence
m,lsonry arc
Fisher, and many fragments
now in thc collection of the Cnircrsity
!\luscllm Philadelphia. Tlis other major surriring monumenl is tOl"nb I.. \ S in the \.\LLEY
()FTIIE "I~GS, which still contains rragll1cnts of
his stone sarcophag;i, <Illhough the magnificent
granite lid
the oulcr san:ophag"us was CXGIrated from an intact royal burial at '1"'\ ~IS,
whcre it had been I'e-uscd to cover lhe conjns
and mummy I'SLSE~ ~ES (Pascbakhaelll1iut) I
(1039-991 Be). The body or ,\Ierenplah himself was found among the c.lche of" mummies
reinterred in the LOmb of .'\mcnhotcp II
("r35). Following the brier reign of a usurper
cllled Amcnmcssu, he \\as succeeded hy his
son SET\" " (1200-119+ Be).
\\1. ..\1. F. PETRU'., S;.r It'll/pies al Thebes (London,
1897).
G. E. S\IITII, 'Reporl on the unwrapping of the
momm) of J\lenephmh', .IS.IE 8 (1907),
108-12.
G. A. \\' \1'" kIGIIT, "" lerneptah's aid LO lhe
Hittires,JEt +(, (1%0), 2+-5.
.\1. LICIITIIEI\I . .~II/(I1'1If f:g.,l'PI;ul/ hleralure 11
(Ikrkcle\, 1976),73-8.
D. G.JEFFRE\!'i, 7'l1l' JfI1l.':l' oj',II"mph;J I
(London, 1%5), 19-20.

ur

or

or

or

Mereruka (,.2350 Be)

Vizier, chief justice and inspector of the
prophets and tcn:lI1ts of the p~ ramid of Tcti
(2.H5-2323 Be) of the early 6th Dynast\, I\lso
known h~- the nickname 'f\ lera', he was the son
of cdjelcmpcl, a royal ;H.:ql1aintam.:c. I lis wife
was the Princess 'vVatctkhethor (nick.named
Seshseshet) and, in keeping with the practice
of the Old Kingdom, it was due to his connections with the royal family that he held high
office.
His ,\1 \ST\It\ tomb at S.\Q.Q.\R\ is lhe largest
known at the site, with some thirty-two rooms,
;md incorporated thc burial or his wife and
son, _\lcri-TcLi, as well as himself The rDmb is

18+

c1cg:antl~- decorated with numerouS daily-life

scencs, including depictions of attempts to
domcsticatc gazelles ,md hyenas (see \"\"1\1 \1.
IILSU"DR\), and craft :H.:ti\"ilies which arc a
\";lluahlc source of information on tht' socicty
ami economy of the 6th Dynasty. The funcrary statuc of _\lcrcruka is situated at the northern side of his si),-columned hall. The mastaba ,tlso incorporated a number. of SERI"l\BS
(statuc chambers).
G. E. J. D \RF.,SS\, Lf IIllIslaha dc Ilao (Cairo.
18'18).
P. DLI.I.L, Tift' IIIlIslaha of Herem!.:a (Chicago,
1938).
B. PORTER and R.
B. .\los~. 7iJpograplJ;ntl
IJiNiogr{/p/~}' 111/2 (Oxford, 1978),525-37.

r..

meretchest
Cercmonial chesrs containing linen or clothing of four different colours, which symbolized the cloth that was used to wrap up thc
body of OSIRIS. Each of the fC)lIr chests \ras
bound up on the outside and decorated with
four upright ostrich l'eathers. From lhe 17th
Dmasry (1650-1550 IlC) fa the Roman period
a ritual called 'consecratjon of the llIl'rcl
chests' or 'dragging the llIatl chests' \\ as celebrated by the pharaoh and oftcn depicted in
tcmplc relicfs. 'The f"our chests symbolized the
four corners of the earth and therefore the
whole of Egypt. and thc ritual inrohTd the
presentation of each chest four times berore a
god. The symbolic link between Egypt and the
chesls appears to h,we deri\"cd at leas I partly
from the phonetic similariry between the term
la 1111'1''1 (mertl chest) and the phrase III mCI:>'
(bclm'ed land). Since the dismemberment,
reasscmhl~ and revival of the dead god was a
cruchtl clement in thc myth of Osiris, the presl'lltation of the chests also symbolized resurrection and renew.t!'
A. E<...liERTS, 'Consecrating the 1/lt'Tt'I-chests:
some rencetions on;lIl Egyptian ritc...J.INeu
.llii"(//I'//. /985, cd. S. Schosl..e (I Ltmburg. 1989).
241-7.
R. H. \VIl .... I'SO', .))I11I/{1i find l11ag;c ill l:.gypl;(/J!
(IfI (London, 1994). 175-6.

Meretseger
Theh;1J1 cohra-goddcss, thc literalmcaning of
whose namc is 'she who loves silence'. Her cult
is primarily attested during the New Kingdom
(1550-106911(:). She was thought to lire on the
mountain overlooking the Vt\l.u:r 01'" TIll:
I...II'GS) which in ancient times bore her nallle;
as;l result of this l"Opographic connection) she
was also sometimes known as 't he peak of Lhe
wcst'. Iler rC:l1111 encompassed the whole of
Lhe Thchan necropolis, and she was especiall~
re\Tred by the workmen of DEli{ El.-\IEDlI'.\

O~'lrtI{"(I// sltom;ug til(' ,porA'l//an K/IIIlIl////WSI'

JIlonlt;pping lite serpclIl jorm 0IIIII: gmlt/e.u
J tarlseger. 191IJ I~)I//(/.\ql. c.1200 Be. PlI;,l/tt!
li/lfI'S/"1/('./i'fJI/J D,'il'l'I-.I/i.'I/;l/Il. TI,,bcs.
1/. 16.., Oil. (uS51!!)

who dedicated nuny stelae to her. She W;lS

to punish by blindness or venom
those who committed crimes, and the stehle
frequcntly seek ro make aroncmelll lor such
wrongdoing;s in the hope or a cure. The cult of"
l\leretscgcr bcg;1I1 In decline fi-om the 21st
Dynasty (1069-945 Be) onwards, at rOllghl~
rhe samc pace as the abandonment of rile
Thebiln necropolis itsclf
B. BRL \ 1':10':, ,\lerl Sega ti Dt';r 'I.\lCd;'lelJ (Cairo,
1930).
1\ I. I.I(] rlIIEI.\I, Allc;I'lIl J:':!'(.l'PI;ulI hll'mlflft' II: Thl'
XfJl' A.-;l1gdll/lI (London, 1976), 107-9.
belien~Ll

Merimda Beni Salama

Pred~

nastic settlement site in the \\ estern

m,trgin of the Delta, about 60 kill northwest
of Cairo, where excayations b~ German
archaeologisl"s in 1928-.19 and the 1980s haH'
revealed the earliest cridencc for full~ sedentary ,-illage life in the :\ile ralley. The
'n lerimda' phasc of the Lower Eg~ pi ian PRID\ ~.\STIC I'I:RIOJ) appears to ha\T been roughI~ contemporary with the late Uadarian and
Amrarian phases in Upper Egypt- The tOl:.l1
e:'\tcnt of the site is estimated at 180.000
sq. m. and somc areas of debris arc up to 2 111
dcep. Radiocarbon dates suggest that it \\'a"i
inhabited hetwet'n about suno and 4500 B< .
Karl Butzer has estimated the population al
abollt sixteen thousand, but this mar bc iln
overestimate, since Barry Kcmp argucs th;\t
[he emirc sile may have been one small bur
gradually shifting community rathcr than a
large set of simultancously occupied villages.
The gr,,,'cs within the scnkmclll are largcl~
those of childrcn and are cntirely lacking in
grave goods.
The pOller) and lithics arc similar 1"0 thosl:

MERKHET

MEROE

of the Fayum A culture (sec 1;:WL'j\\ REGION),

but the shapes and decoration of the pottcr~
arc 1110re elaborate and varied at j'vlcrimda.
polished black pottery has been found in the
upper strata, .IS ",ell as pear-shaped stone

m<1cchcads possibly deri\'ing from Asiatic

examplt.:::s, which have been interpreled as prototypes for the Upper Egyptian GcrZC<111
macchcads (sec J\l:\CE). The presence of fish
bones, hooks, net weights and harpoons suggests that fishing was an important subsistence
activity.
The eartiest houses at 1'Vlcrimda Beni
S,llama wcre simple \\'ind-hrcaks and polcframed huts, while the later strata include th<:
remains of mud-brick huts (probably wilh

pitched roofs), measuring no morc dun 1111 in

diameter. The high Icyc1 of organization within the villages is indicated by the prcscm:e of
numerous 'granaries', taking' the t()J"Jl1 of jars
or baskets, and b) lhc [Itt thaI a number of the
mud huts were laid out in rough rows as if
arranged <llong streets.
H. JUNf..:J'o:I{, ViJr/ti"t!li..'r Ba;d/I /iber tlie Grt/bul/g tiel
.I1katlemic tier I VissclISc!udint ill IlficlI flld'tler
lIe,,/;I;Sthell S;edllllfg ('Oil ;Illcr;/Ildc-Bclli Sa//illle,
6 \'ols (Vienncl, IY29---!O).
B. J. K.E,\I1\ 'iVlcrimda alld the theory of house
burial in prehistoric Egypt', CdE 4."3 (19M)),
22-33.
1\11. A. I-IOI'Ft\I'\N, fgllJlI (If/a Ihe !IIUI/"({o!l.'i (Nc\\
York, 1979), 167-81
]. EnvJ\i\GER, lHa;/IIde-Bflli.'i(l!tillle, 2 vols (J\!lainz,
1984--8)

AllO\E Frt/glllcll/ (~rn:lie/rmll/ the sOl/lh m(/II (!Flhe

jilll('fflly dwpd ~(pY/,(/IIl;d NIl (/1 )\IIaot', mhieh

merkhet set' :\STR()i\'O.\IY ,\,1) ASTIU)IJK;Y

Merneptah sel!

pro!Jab(JI !Jdvi/Ked 10 QjleclI S/wkdakhetc (c. 2nd

CClltlll:JII1C). l!lejir.\lji!/IUt!C rula ,~rJlIIr:r{)c. Site i.1
Ilcre shOl1'1l enlhrollcd millt (f printc allr! prolcrlt'd
IJ)I Ihl' millgs (~rlhe godtll'.I"s hi.( /-1. 2..,2 III. (H../719)

j\ lI':RE"\'P"!"-\ I 1

Meroe
Type~sitc 01" the )\Ilcroitic period

(r.30n Be-

350), located on the Cilst bank of thc Nile in

the Butana region of Su(hl.J1, cxca\atcd by john

(({1I;1It'

AD

I.IY"I"

Gold fl1"/I1/11IC1I1 represenling sfllllcjbrlll ,~r

onillla!, perhaps {/ jadwl. A//hough ;1 is
G~llrelll'

i/l Libya_ il;s

is close()' puwlkled

Garstang, George Reisncr and Peter Shinnie,

said tolun;e hcelljilfllld IIcar

To the eaSI or the town of Nleroc. which

became the centre of the Kushite kingdom in

dC(/r(ll (~rJlllt'roili( mork (11ft!

the fifth century Be, and adjaccnr to the modern village of Begarawiya is it cemetery of
small pyramidal royal tomb chapels of the
Ivlcroitic period, the earliest
which were
locmed at the sOllthern end.
'The city iJlcludcs a number of palaces (possibly t\Vo-storc\'ed) <l tcmple
Isis datin o - to
thc NAIWll\i\'" l;erio~1 (c.l000-300 Be) an~1 a
temple 01" Amun which was established in the
seventh century He and elaborated in the first
century AI). To lhc east of the town there \Vas
also a temple of :\I'EI)E1\l.\"'-, the Nubian liollgod, founded in the third ccntun- ne. One of
the most striking features of th~ site is the

/}lIIf1llishal-!,elo. lsI cell/Illy JJC, II.

or

or

I~)I

olher exal/lp/esjiJIIlld ;11 Ihe pyrtill/;r! (~j"Qjlel'lI

3.1

O/!.

(c/68502)
presence of large slag heaps deriving fiom the
smelling of IHO.'\J , which may well have been
one of the mainsta)'s of the city's prosperity. II"
was once suggested that Ihe 1\ileroitic kingdom
supplied iron to the rest of Africa, but iron
artefacts do nol appear to have been unusually
prominent in l\lleroitic scttlcmenrs or graves
and it was nol until fhe jJost-Meroitic period
that iron became crucial to the economy of
Nubia.
New insights into the end of the Meroitic

period - suggesting that there was no dramatic collapse of the civilization but simply a
process of t:ultur~11 ch<lnge- have been provided b) the excavation of ;t 'post-l\lleroitic'
lllmllius burial at the site of el-I--lobagi, abollt
60 km southwest of lVleroe.
D. DU'."IIA1\\ and S. CJ IAI'\ll\i\, 7J1l: rO)ltl!
U:lIlc/eril's (!j"KlI.'ili, lIl-V (Bas lon, 1952-6~).
p. L. SIIIN,11E, l\lIl'rtll': (/ (h..';!iZf/I;O/l vlt/,c Stu/all
(London, 19(7).
P. L. SIIIN:\J1-: and F. J KE:\SI':, 'lVlcroitic.: iron

185

MEROITIC

MIDDLE KINGDOM

working\ lvIcroilic slutlies, ed. N. B. j\llilIcl <lnd

1\. L. Kellel' (Berlin, 1982), 17-28.
P. LENOlll.E and N. D. Nt SItARIF, 'Barbarians at
the gates? the royal mounds of d-Hobagi and the

end of IVlcroc', AIl/iqllily 66 (1992), 626-35.

L. TC)R()I\:, kIno' {;~)I:
(London, 1997).

(11/

UUC;CJ!l .-~fii((/II (({pllft!

Meroitic sec .\'lEI{()[

Mersa Matruh (anc. Paraetonium)
Harbour-site un the Egyptian lVleditcrrancan
coast, abOllt 200 km wcst of Alexandria, which
was the site of the Ptolemaic city of
Paractonium. 1n the late second millennium
Be colonists rrom the eastern lvlcditerranean
appear 1:0 have founded the first small scnlc-

Meskhent
Goddess of childbirth, who is represented in
the form of a female-headed hirth-hriek (on
which anclent Egyptian women delivered their
children) or as a woman with a brick on her
head. At the time of a child's birrh she ,llso
determined irs destiny. However, from the
New Kingdom (155lJ-.-I069 Be) onwards this
role could be taken by the male god SHAY.
Papyrus \Vcstcar describes how she told each
of the first three kings of the 5th Dynasty
(2494-2345 Be), all of whom were buried ill
ABLSIR, that they would erentually come to
rule Egypt. She was also .1 funerary goddess
and was present ,tt the judgement of the
deceased to aid in their rebirth into the afterlife, just as she had in life itself
Sec also BES; IIEKET; T\WERET.
G. PIN(] I, l\J!agit, ill (/!/{:ielll ,r.;jljJt (London,

1994),127-8
Mesopotamia
'IeI'm used to describe the area covered by
modern Iraq, encompassing at various times
the ancient Kingdoms of !\Kh:i\O, SUl\'IER, IJABY1.0;\11\ and AssrRI/\. The word derives from the
Greek term mcaning '[the IandJ between the
rivers', the rivers being the Tigris and
Euphrares.
M. ROM" CII/fural atlus (~rMl's{Jp()lfllIli{/ (New
York and Oxford, 1990).

metals and metalworking see

G01.f); mON

and

Middle Kingdom (2055-1650

Basa!J

1;C.~.q:! (~ra

Iype 1/wugll!

IIrI:f!.in: sill/i/ar slolle vessels

If) be o/LikV({J/
hare bel'li e.n:avalet!

gmres in/he i.'ll:ill;ly oj'J'lIel"sfI JHfltmh.

Ear()l3rd millellniulIl IJC, If. 27..1 (Ill. (I~' /6-135-1)

FOIll

ment at Mersa :Nlatruh on an island in the

lagoon. The excavated artefacts from the
island include large quantities of SyroPalestinian, Nlinoan, Cypriot and lVlycenaean
potrery vessels, indicating a wide r,lllge of
trade links between the Aegean region and the
north African COast during the New Kingdom
(1550-1069 BC). The earliest traces of
Egyprian occupat'ion in the area are the ruins
of a fortress of Rameses II (1279-1213 Be) at'
Z:1wiyal Umm el-Rakham, about 20 km to the
west of the site of Paraetonium.
D. 'VVllITE, 'Excavations at !vIersa i\tlatruh,
slimmer 1985', NAIICE 131 (1985),3-17.
- , 'The 1985 excavations on Bates' Island,
Marsa Matruh',j'IIICE 23 (1986), 51-84.
- , 'University of Pennsylvania expedition La
Marsa Man-uh, 1987', NAIICE 139 (1987), 8-12.

186

COPPER;

SI1.n:R

1lC:)

Chronological phase thilt began with the reign

of lhe Theban ruler t\H:i'\TUlIOTEI' II
Nebhepetra (2055-2004 BC) and ended with
Ihe demise of the 13th Dynasty (c 1650 BC); it
is usually divided into two phases, the carly
1\!liddle Kingdom (consisting of the late 11 th
and early 12th Dynasties) and the late Middle
Kingdom (from the reign of $I':NUSRET 111 to
the end of the 13th Dynasty). 'J'he divcrse literary output of the j\t1".iddle Kingdom, including the proliferation of WISDOM LlTERKruRE,
provides some insights into the social and
political concerns of the period, a.1Lhough
many of the classic texts, such as the Title oI
Si1flthl' and the Di.'WlIl"Sl' oI Ndl'l"ly, arc difficult to analyse because of uncertainty as to
their original functions, audience and inl'ent.
In the New Kingdom the KING LISTS suggest
thilt ,Mentuhotep II was regarded as the
founder of the i'Vliddle Kjngdom, and at this
period his funerary monument at DEIR
EL-BI\IIRI was cvidently considered to be one of
lhc fincst achievements of the period. Little
textual evidence has survived concerning

lvlentuhotep IV Ncbtawyra l the last .1 ItbDynasty ruler, but it is possible that his vizier,
Amenemhat, may be the same indjvidual as the
first king of the 12th Dynas!"y, i\.\'1I~:-'IE:\III.'\T I,
who established a new capital called
Amenemhatitjtawy ('Amcnemhat takes possession of the two lands'), often abbreviated to
Ttjtawy. The archaeological remains of this city,
where the Rcsidence (royaJ court) was situated
until the end of the J\!liddle Kingdom, have not
yet been located. It is usually assumed to h;]\"c
been on lhe west bank or the Nile in the vicinity of rhe pyramid complexes of Amenemhat I
and his successor Senusret I at EI.-I.IS11T, midway between !vlcmphis and Nlcidum.
The early 12th Dynasty was characterized
by the clarirication of rhe bouncbries or
nomes, the agricultural development of the
FAru\\ and the gradual annexation of LO\\L:I"
NUBI!\. The principal sources of evidence for
the royal court or the 12th Dynasty derive
from the pyr.nnid complexes located at elLisht, I':L-L\IIU~ (Senusret JI), JJ!\IISlllTR
(Amencmhat II, Senusret III and Amenemhnt
Ill) and III\W'\RA (l\menemhat Ill), but dite
prO\incial cemeteries at sites such as AS) l '1',
IW1R EL-HERSIIA, illEIR and BEi\'llli\SAN also continued to flourish during the early 12th
Dynasty at least. By the late 12th Dynasty the
royal pyramid complexes began 1.0 be surrounded by more substantial remains of the
tombs of courtiers, perhaps indicating
stronger links between the nomarchs (pnJYincial governors) and the Rcsidence.
As far as the non-funerary architecturc of
the period is concerned, a few examples of
religious buildings have survived, including
the earliest known phases of the tcmple of
Amlin at IV\R~f\J{ and the temple of Sobek and
Amencmhat III ar l\IEDb'ET M:\i\DI, but 111<ll1y
appear to have been dismantled and re-used in
the course of the foundation of thc temples of
the New Kingdom. \RYnos bcc.lme particularly important as a centre of pilgrimage as <.1
result- of the inere,lsing significance of the god
OSIRIS, whose burial place was identified with
that of DJER, in the Umm el-Ql'ab rcgion of
the site.
The reign of Senusret III secms to have constituted a watershed in the Nliddle Kingdom,
bmh in terms of the administrative system and
the nature of the surviving funenlry remains.
It was during his reign that the string of
FORT]{ESSES in Nubia were strengthened, thus
consolidating the Egyptian grip on the
resourceS of Nubia. At the same time, the
excavation of a channel through the first Nile
cataract at Aswan would have had the effect of
allowing boats to travel unhindered from the
second cataract to the lVledirerranean coast.

MIN

MIN

Although ~1anetho's 13th Dynasty evidently continued to rule fr0111 ltjrawy, there appear
t~ have been a large number of rulers with
,'crv shorr reigns. nonc of whom were in
pO\~ler for long enough to construct funerary
complexes on the same scale as their 12thDrnasrv predecessors. In other respects, howcv"er, the marcrhll culture and political .md
social "'stems of the late 12th and 13th
Dvnastics were relatively homogeneous. \v. C.
H;yes argued that the real central jJO\ycr during the 13th Dynasty resided largely with the
VIZIERS, bur it is now considered morc likely
that royal aU[horiL~ was maintained, despite a
general lack of political continuity. The fragmented nature of the 13th Dynasty undoubtedly h~ld a damaging effect on the control of
Egypt's borders, resulting in a relaxation of
the grip over Nubia and an influx oL'\siatics in
the Delta (particularly app.lrenl in the archaeological remains at TELl. EI.-IHB'..\ in the eastern Delta). The end of the Middle Kingdom
was marked by the abandonment of lrjtawy at
roughly the same time lhaL the minor rulers of
parts of the Delm were supplanted by the
lteka-khas1/Jt ('rulers of f(]reign lands'), rendered in Greek as the JlYKSOS.
See also BUIIEI"~ C (iRO!..:!'; COFrli': TEXTS;
MIRGISSt\ and SEM:".\.
H. E. WI'l.oo,::, 'Ihe riu {//III}it/I ufillt' A'litldh'
Kingdom ill Thelu's (New Yurk, 19-1-7).
\v C. H \YES, ."'1 papyrus oflht' lale AIIiddle
Kingdom inlhe Brookhm MlISt'lim (Brooklyn,
1955).
G. POSENER, [.il/iraillre el pu/iligUt' dans {,EgYPle
tie la XII f~J'lf(lSIit. (Paris, 1956).
I. E. S. E"'''KDS, C. J. G.\DD ,md N. G. L.
I lA.'l\lO"n (cd.), Cambridge Allclew !lisIUJ)1 1/2:
Ear6' hislory o/tht' A'liddll' Easl, 3rd ed.
(Cambridge, 1971),46-1-531.
j. BoURRll\U, Pharauhs alltl morlals: EgYPliall arl
ill lite Middle Kiugdom (C1.mbridge, 1988).
D. FRA.!'KE, 'Zur Chronologie des J\1illleren
Reiches: I & II', OriClI/alia 57 (1988),113-38,
245-74.
R. B. PARKINS()~, VOices/rom allrielll Egypl: au
11l1thology oIA'lifft/It, Kingdom mrilings (London,
1991).
S. QUIRKE (cd.), A1idd/c Kingtlom sludil's (New
Malden, 1991).

Min
fertilit), god and symbol of male
POtcncy, who served also as the protecLor or
mining arcas in the Eastern Desert. He was
associated first with the site or KOPTOS and
later with AKIIMIM, which became known as
Panopolis in the Ptolemaic period, because or
the Greeks' association of lVlin with the god
Pan. Characteristic Pharaonic depictions show
rn-IYPI\AI.I.IC

him <1$ a l1'lllmmjform human figure hulding

his erect phallus wiLh his left hand, while his
right ann is raised in <1 smiting gesture, with a
flail simultaneously poised above his hand. He

three limestone colossal statues exc.lvatell by

Flinders Petrie at the siLe of Koptos. If these
figures (now in the Ashmolean IVluseum,
Oxford) dale 10 the Earl\~ Dynastic periud
(3100-2686 BC), as many scholars have soggested on art-historit:al grounds, thc~ would
he the earliest suryiving three-dimensional
ycrsions of the anthropomorphic aspect of
l\1in. This was cyidently the form taken by a
st'atuc of ..he god which, according to the
1'\ LEI{ \10 STO'E, a "I,G LIST dating to the 5th
Dynasty (2-1-94-23-1-5 BC), was carved b~ royal
decree in the I st Dynasty.
I.n a 5Lh-Dynasty tomb at GiZ:l a 'procession
of l\ lin' is mentioned, and it has been suggested that he may h.n'e fealured in the P\ IUI\l11>
TE:\TS as 'the one who raises his arm in the
cast'. In lhe Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC)
the cult of Nlin-like that of SOI'l':I>, another
dcity of the Eastern Desert-was often assimilated with the myth of 1I0\U':S, and he was
ISiS. At
sometimes described as thc son
other times, howcvcr, he was considered to be
part of a TR!."!), with Isis as his consort and
Horus as their son.
By the New Kingdom (1550-1069 Be), Min

or

Cere/Jfouia/ palclll' ((f1"1.:ed in Ih".limn (~rsrhl'lJl(fli(

birds' hcads allht' top (fud bcaring lIlt' ~J'/llbol (~r
thcjertilitY-l!.od 1\11ill in raised rdief LaiC
Prc'()/J/(/stit~ c.3100 nc, srhisl.Irom e/-Amrtf.
fl. 29.5 (11/. (1:.,35.,OI)
usually wore.1 low crown surmounted by two
plumcs and with .1 long ribbon trailing do,,n
behind him. At least as early as the 61h
Dynasty (23~S-2181 Br.), he was particularly
associated with the long (or 'cos') lettuce (Ill"tum st/t/t:lI), probably because of a percci"cd
link between lhe milky sap of lettuces ~lI1d
human scmen, and the depictions of !\'lin
often show a set of letfuces placed on an offering lable beside him.
He was already being worshipped in the late
Predynastic period (c.3100 BC), whcll his
emblem - a slr:mge shape consisLing of a horizont::!1 line embellished with a central disc
flanked by LWO hemispheric'11 protrusions
("ariously interpreted as a door-bolt, barbed
arrow, lightning bolt or pair of fossil shells) \Vas depicted on pottery vessels, maceheads
and patcltes. This emblem, often placed on a
standard, later became part of the hieroglyphic
rcpresentation of the god's name and also that
of the ninth Upper Egyptian nome, of which
Akhmim was Ihe capital.
An ink drawing on a stone bowl from the
tomb of rhe late 2nd-Dynasty king
Khasekhemwy (c.2686 HC) is probahly the earliest examplc of the anthropomorphic, ithyphallic portrayal of Min, but there are also

Fmgmew oIIi basil II dt.'p.~l'dm ('miller dod' 'J

mn:ed mit!J sanes ofoJ]i:riu[!. im..:ohil1,f!. Iht'

J1111"etlollililf king, Philip Arrhidlll:ffS, anti (011 tlu'

le.fi) 1//1 it/~)Ip//ll/licjigflre oIA1in. J1111fedollial1

period, c.J20 BC, II. .1.1011. (1:../938)
had effectively become the primeval crcatorgod manifestation of ,",\IL;'./. The ceremonies
surrounding the coronations and jubilees of"
Egyptian kings (see SED FESTlVi\L) therefore
lIsually incorporated a festival of J\llin
designed to ensure the poreney of the
pharaoh. Senusret [ (1965-1920 Be) is portrayed in the act of performing certain jubilee
rituals in front of Min on a limestone relief
187

MINSI-IAT AUU OMAR

now in the Petrie .i\lusculll, J .ondon (sec "011for illusrration). A. ~,Iin fesrival is also
depicted among the reliefs in rhe second court
01' ,he temple or Ramcses III (118-!-J 153 IJ(:) at
1I.ll:nl\fET JlAIlL, where the king is shown scything <l sheaf of wheill in rCl:ognirion of l"lin's
role as;.lIl agricullllra! god.
\\'. \1. E PETRII'., KoplO' (London, 1896), pis
TOS

MIRROR

50

1,

B. J.

granary block
residential
area--unexcavated

111-1\

R. GEI(\lI~,{, 'Die Bedeutung des Lmichs als

pnanze des ,\lin', S.If,: 8 (1980),85-/.
J. R. OGI>O'\, 'Some notes on rhe iconography of
1\lin', BES / (1985-6),29---\1.

/N

100m

()

"-

Jl:steps leadmg
. .........,j

outer
gateway

,...

3 tCh

to Nile

1:...Ei\lP, _I",;m! .J:.~f!:YPI: {/I/lIIOII~J' f{1I

~""rili;:'{/Iioll (London,

1989),79-81,85, fig. 28.

R. H. WIl..KI\:SO:,\, 'Ancient Ncar Eastern raiscd-

arm figures and lhl' iconograph~ of the Egypri'\Il

god \[in', BES II (1991-2),109-18.

Minshat Abu Omar

Prcd~rnaslic ;.mel Early DYllilstic

cemeTer~ site
locaTed in the Cilstcrn Delta, about ISO km
northeast of Cairo, 'Yhich, like the roughly
COnlCmpOr~lry settlement at _\H.\DI, shows cvidencc of trade with southcrn Palestinc.
ExcaY<lt1ons in the late 19705 and 1980s
rcvcalcd a sequcnce or nearly four hundrcd
gr.wcs stretching from r\aqada II to the 1st
Dynas~. Our of a lOtal of ~lbour two thousand
potrery ycsscls, twenty were dcfinitely identified as Palestinian imports_ Thc dates of these
imported vessels (mainly wm-y-handled and
loop-handled jars) suggest that the l\1inshat
Abu Omar trade links with the T,evant bcgall
slightly later th;1Il those of iVlaadi but continlied until a slightly later date. Therc is ~llso a
larger proportion of Gerzean potter! at
f..linshat Abu Omar than at 1\ la~ldi, suggesting
much stronger links ,,-ilh Upper Egyptian hlle
Prcdynastic sites. An auger-oore sun-ey of the
surrounding region has indicatcd the presence
of late Predynastic and Early Dynastic serrlcIllcnt about 500 m fiom the ccmctery.
K. KHOEI'ER and D. \,Vll.J)L;Vi, Mill$lwl Abu
O/l/(/r: Afiil/t1mer ()s/dell(/~H.rpcdili(}11 llfJrbaidll
19/8-1984(~llInieh, 1985).
K. Kl(m:I'I:R, 'The cxcl\"ations of" (he ;\lunidl
1~;lsr-DclLa expedition in !\1inshaL Abu Omar',
Tht' an:haelJlugy III/he .Vile Della: problems tlml
priorilies, cd. e. ~1. ,an den Brink (Amsterdam,
1988),11-19.
I,. KRZYZA:-'-I-\t-., 'Rccent :lfchaeological cvidcnce
nn lhe earliest scltlcment in the t.:astcrn Nile
delta', Laic IJrehislWl' f~rlhe Nili' Hasill allillhe
Sahara. cd. T.. Krzyzaniak :.tIll! 1\1. Kobusiewiez
(Poznan, 1989), 26i-85.

immediately to dlC west of thc southern end of

the second Ni1c cataraCl, 350 km south of
modern r\SW~lIl. The site has been suhmerged
beneath L~lke KJsscr since the completion of
the .-\5\\ \ , 111(;11 D\ \1 in 1971, but the suni,'ing
remains consisted of a pair of 12th-Dyn~lsty
uJrtresscs (one on the deser! plateau and one
on the yalley floor) as well itS two ccmeteries.
The phltcau filrtress was surrounded by a
ditch and inner and outcr enclosure w~llls.
Covering ;\ rot~ll ~lre<l of some four hectares, it
was I he 1:1rgcst of eleven fortresses built in the
reign or Senllsret III (187-!-1855 Be) between
the seconu anuthird cataracts, protecting the
royal monopoly on trade from the south. The
site included granaries, an armoury (whcre
spears, jayclins and shields were manufactured
and stored), an e-xtcnsi,c quayside and a Illudlined slipway (so that boats could be dragg;ed
along the bank, thus avoiding the Kabub
rapids). Thcse factors suggest thaI Mirgissa
was not onlY:l garrison bUI also a depot for the
warehousing of trade goods.
On Ihc island of D:Iben~lrti, about a l..ilometre cast of _ Iirgissa, arc the remains of an
unfinished fortified mud-brick outpost, apparcmly uf similar date. The presence of only four
potsherds al this smaller sifC suggests rhat il
was never actually occupied; it nuy perhaps
haye been intended as a lemporary outpost fO
which lhc l.\lirgissa garrison could be transferred in an emergency.
S. CL \Rt(E, "Ancient Egyptian fromier
lonresses',JE /3 (1916), 155-/9.
J. \V. Rl:In, 'Preliminnry rcport of the Uni\ersit~
of California expedition 10 Dahcnani, 1963',
KII'</I 12 (1964), 54--6.
D. DUNI!.-\\I, Secolld ((/lat(frl/nrH II: Umllarli.
,Yllalfill'. Jl'firgis.w (BoslOn, 1967), 141-76.
J. VERcOli:rrER, !Y/irgiss(/, 3 \'ols (Paris and Lille,
19/0-6).

mirror
As might he c:xpccled of an implement which
reflects an image, the mirror had both runctional and symbolic uses. _J\!lirrors occur from
at leasl as early as the Old Kingdom
(2686---2181 Be). They consist or a nat disc,
usually of polished bronze or copper) ilttacheli
to a handle. From the ~liddle Kingdom
(2055---1650 Be) onll'ards they ,ake the form or
a sun-disc, and the handle is frequently rcprl'sen led as :.1 P.\PYRL-S stalk, or as the g()ddes~
II\TIIOR, to whol11 two mirrors might he
offercd as {hc~- were to the goddess \lll.
Handles could also take the rorm of tCmale flgurcs, probably carrying erohc overtones amI
scn'ing as an extension of the Hathor themt-:o \
greatcr di,-crsity of t~ pes of handle is known
li'om the :-;ew Kingdom (1550-1069 Be), I'ethaps hCL"':.1USC mctal was commonly used fflr
lhe handles of this Iimc., while wood and iYor~
were more cummon in earlier perjod~.
Occasional representations show mirrors in
Lise, such as a Iaely applying kohl in the Turin
Erol ic Papyrus (sec EI~OT[C\).
I I. SClI~FE.R, 'Die Ausd(;utllng dcr Spicgclplallt'
als Sonnenseheibc'. Z. is 68 (1932), 1---/.
e. EnURD--DERRIt-.S, 'A propos des miroirs
cgypliens ~i manche en forme de statlleltc
feminine', Rl'rlle til'S .lrdu!ologilfllt'S L'/ Hisloril'lIJ
tI'.-lrl dl' LUIfi.'aiu 5 (1972), 6-16.
1-1. SC.lI.\FER, 1~~YPli(/1I111irrorsFom Ihe earliesl
limes IlmwKh 11u.~ .l/ii/tlll' Kil/gdolll (13erlin, 1979).
C. LII.HlUIST, 'i\1irrors', Eg.l'Pt'sgoldi'1I age, cd.
E. Brovarski et:ll. (Boston, 1982), 18+-8.

Bronze lIJirror mill! tI

hamill' ill Ilrejbrlll (~/((
papyrus pIt/ill
slInJwlIllled I~}' 111'0

Mirgissa (ane. Iken')

jiJ!((1I/s. Nem

Fonified site of the ~Iiddlc Kingdom

(2055-1650 Be), located in Lower Nubia,

11.2'; CIII.

I8H

f.:illgdom. c.1300 BC.

(Lf32.i83)

~TANNJ

Mitanni
One of Egypt's most powerful riyals in "estern Asia, the .Mit3nni.m stale developed in the
area of the Tigris and Euphrates ri"crs some

time before 1500 Be, and was ovcrthro\\"ll by

the IIITITI'ES and ASS'Rt\'\1S around 1370 m:,
having formerly been their equal.
The capital of .\titanni was \V;lshshukanni,
which has [cntati\Tly been idcmificd with the
site ofTell cI-Fakhariych in 'Tllrkcy. The countn- was probably known to the Egyptians as
N'ahrin, while the Assyrians rclerred to it as
Hanigalbat", and the] !illites described it .IS
'the land of the Hurrians', The names of the
Miranniall rulers suggest that they were TndoEuropc'1I1s, although the mass of the popuhtfion were HUlTian, a people whose language is
unrelated to other main groups. This people
scem to have originalcd around r-he C1spi,m
Sea during the third millennium m:, and gmdually mmcd south into Syria.
The campaigns of TIlLT\lOSE 111 (J-I.791425 Be) took him be)ond the yassaI cities of
Syria (sec IlAnI.E OF \lEUlnno) and imo the
jVIitanni hC<1rLland itself In thc reign of
Thul1nose II' (1400-1390 Be) there were diplomatic marriages between the two countries, with
Mitannian princesses entering the Egyptian
HARL\\. Such allhmces probably sought to Om-ict
the threat from the Hittite empire. That friendl~
relations between Egypt and ~ii(<.mni foU{)\\"eo is
witnessed by the sending, on two occ<.lsions, of
the Ninevite goddess Ishtar (the Nlesopota111ian
namc for /\S'li\RTI':) LO Egypt, in order to help
cure Amenholcp III (1390-1352 ne) of an illness.
The AI\I/\I{N/\ J.ETI"EKS contain rererenees to
Nlitanni at this time and during the reign or
Akhenaten (1352-1336 BC).
G. CoXTE..."",\U, Ut ch:iliSll/ilJ1t dCJ I-fi//ites e/ dt:s
.\lIi/tt1l1tielll's (Paris, 193-J.).
M. LIVER" .... I, 'I-Iurri e ;\titanni', Oricm AUlifjllUS 1
(1962),253-7,
1-1. KI.J~NGEI., 'Mitanni: Problcme seiner
Expansion lind politischc Strllklur', Re-':lIc !Ji/lile
e/ flJian;fjllc 3(1 (197~), 94-5.
M. RO.'\F, Cui/ural at/as uj";\I!Csopolllmia (:'\Ie\\
Yorkand Oxlord, 1990), 132-10.
D. B. REDFORD, I:.gyP/, CfI1UUllI alltl hrad i1/
(Weiel1/ /imt:J (Princeton, 1992), 159-7-J..

MONTU

markings was appointed in its place. \Vhile the

Apis was usuall~ <1 blat:k bull selected because
of the diamond-shaped patch of whire hair on
its lorehcad, the Mnevis bull "',IS required to
be t'Otally black and \\',IS usually represented
with a sun-disc and IIrtft'llS (sec \\ \I)J\'T)
betwcen its horns.
The hisLOrian I'J.LT\RClI daimed that the
\lne\ is bull was second only to tht, Apis in
rank, and that, like the Apis, he gare OR.\CI.F_'j
to his worshippers. Just as the mothers of the
Apis ilnd Buchis hulls were gircn separate
cults, so also the mother of the i\lncvis bull
was rc\'ercd in the guise of the cow-goddess
Hcs.lt. Ramcsside burials of lVlncvis hulls are
known from Arab e1-Tawil, to the northeast of
the destroyed temple of Heliopolis. Eventually
lhe cult of the :.\ Incris bull bcclme subsumed
into that of the cre.ttur-god Ra-yrL\1.
Bec,lUsc of his close connections" ith the
sUIl-god, the Nlnc\'is was one of the fe\\ di\ inc
beings recognized by Akhenaten (1352-1336
Be), who stated 011 onc of the 'boundary stelae'
at 1:I.-,\\!\ltNt\: 'Let a ccmetery for thc Mnevis
bull be made in the eastern moun rain of
Akhetatcn that he Illay be buried in it'.
Howcvcr the location or this burial, possibly
close to Akhen.ttcn's tomb, is unknown.
\Y.j. .\lLR:'\.\l\ and C. C. UN SIO.I-:,III, The
"nwult"T s/lltlt' of_-lkhClltllt'" (London. 1Y93), -1-1,
169,
L K.\J.:os" '_\lnnis', IA'xil'lI1t tier fi"gYPlologic 1/,
cd. \~i. I leick, E. Guo ;lnd \V. \Vcstcndorr
(Wie,b"c1en, 19X2), 165-7.

Montu Uvlonth, !\lonthu)

F:.llcon-headed god of war, usually represented
with il headdress consisting of a sun-disc and
two plumes. His cult is lint attested at various
sites in the Theban rcgion, and major temples,
dating li'om the !\Iiddle Kingdom (205S-1650
Be) to the Roman period, "'ere constructed at
\R\\ \'\T, "--\R ..... \h.. \IEIH\II.:O and TO]). His two
consorts wcrc the goddcsses Tjcncnyet and
Ra'tt.lwy, both also associated with theThcban
district. The saned IIU:lllS (",kiI) bulls, huried
in the so-called Bucheum at .'\rmam, were
regarded <1S physical manifestations of1\lontll,
just. as rhe \['IS bulls were associated with PT'\II
(sec SER \1'1':U\I) and the \1'\E\'IS bulls linkcd
wilh Ra at llEI.lOl'lll.lS.
j\ lolltu played an important role in the 11 th

Mo'alla, elRock-cut cemetery of the First Intermediate

Period (2181-2055 BC), located on the cast
bank or lhe Nile, about 2-J. km south or Luxor.
The only two decoratcd tombs belong to the
gm'crnors
Ankhtifi
and
prO\incial
Sobckhotep; the biographical texiS on the
walls 01" Ankhtifi's tomb provide imporlOlnl
historical inf()rm<llion concerning the complicated political C\'cIHS in rhe iml11edia(e arl'crmath or the end of the OILl Kingdom (sec

/ll'ed gmlli/cjiJllr-sitlcd //lollllmenl (~tllllk1/()/l'l1

J. \' '",,"IER, .l/f)'ttlla. la /u11lbe tI~ 11lHt/~F i'/ Itt

pttrpfJsejimJlI!Je /cmpk ((IWp/i'x til A-amak. The

is (fIITetimi/!J six 11l~!(h-n'lidjigllrt:s.
m11lpfi~'ilfg I11J{) "fAlo1l/11-Ra (olleoj"IJ,!Jidt is slum",

lombt' tit: Sibd..hu/(p (Cliro, }950).

Ull /11t'}ttf

D. 51'\'\I-J.,

Mnevis (Mer-wer)

'The. date of Ankluifi of "to'alla',

GM7X (198{), 87-H

///. tlml/11'O olJln' gf)("k.(~ Ha/lun: 18/11 Dy1lasly.

n:(~1l (~r'l'11lI11ll(}Si' 1//. c.I-/50 fie. 1/. 1.78 Ill. (L~ 112)

Sacred bull regarded as the II.' ('power' or

physical manifestation) Qf the sun-god at
llEUOPOI.JS. \,Vhcreas many sacred birds and
animaJs, such as ibises, cats ~tnd baboons, were
slaughtered and mummified in large numbers
<IS votive offerings, therc W~IS only one \PIS,
nuclus or i\llnevis bull at anyone time. \\'hen
the sacred bull died it was u~lIall\' buried with
great ceremony and a new buU- with similar

modi us
Term for ,I tall cylindrical comainer, which is
usually el11ployed to refer to a Roman mcasure
or c'lpacity. Howc"er, in Classical ;lrt ,mel
Egyptology I hc term is used also to describe a
cylindrical headdress (of \"ariable height),
cOl11l11only worn b~ such deities <1S the hippopotamus-goddess T\\\'ERI:T.

Dyn"'ty (2125-19R5 Ile), when f<lur of the

kings held the 'hinh name' \11'::'orTLIlOTEl'
('Monlu is content'). But. fhe cmcrgence of the
12th Dynasll' (1985-1795 Ile), including a
number of rulers named "\11':'\''1-:.\111 \T ('Amun
is in the forefront'), cltlrly indicated that
J\lonru was being o\'ershadowed by another
Theban deity, \\IL;,\,. Nc\"erthelcss i\lontu

F\]\II .... I:).

11I01lf/1llCl//

leji ill Jln'il/us/ra/io,,).

/tlJfJ

nITlm/llU1st'

189

MOURNI:--IG

retained a considerable degree of importance

as a personification of the morc aggrcssi\c
aspects of the kingship, particularly in the
conquest of neighbouring lands during the
New Kingdom, and, like AmLIn, he evenlually
became fused with the sun-god as lVlol1IU-Ra.
G. LEGRAI1\., 'NUles sur Ie dicu \lomou" JJI f-lO
12 (1912), 7;-124E BIsso;", DE L \ R{xtu:, 'Notes sur Ie dicu
'Iunton', BIF-/040(1941), 1--49.
E. K. \rt-:R'ER, TlreXlJlli1'[oIl1lf:/rolll,heearlil'sl
alll'Sfflfio1lS /0 fht' t'/1I1 of/ht' OM Kil/gdollJ (Ann
Arbor, 19X6)
- , 'Monlll and the "f~llcon ships" ofthc
Eigllleelllh Dynasr)',]-/lICE23 (1986),107-23.

mourning see

FLi'\ER \RY BEI.lEFS

mummification
The prcsen'ation of the body was an essential
parr uf ancienr Egypti,,1n funerary pral:ticc,
since it ,,,as to the body that the" -\ ,Yould
return in order LO lind sustenance, If the bod~
had decayed or was unrecognizable the /at
would go hungry, and the afterlife be jeopardized. iVlummificatlon was therefore dedicated
1:0 the prevention of decay.
It has often been statcd thal the practice
grew from obscrving that thc hOf, dry sand
prescfYcd thosc bodies buried in it; and that,
having seen the effcct on Predynastic corpses,
lhe Egyptians sought to improve upon nature.
This seems an inadequate and flawed exphlOiltion, and it is probably best LO assullle th:ll the
pr;H.:tice evolved simply to prcserve the image
of the body, and as techniqucs became morc
sophistic'lrcd so more of Ihe actual body was
retained. Somc support for this is found in thc
fact that mummies from rhe Old Kingdom
(2686-2181 or.) seem tn have had their form
and features preservcd in plastcr and p'lint,
while the actual body decayed :I\\'ay beneath.
The Greek historian IIF.R()DOTLS (cASO Be)
provides the best-literary account of the mUIllmification process, although the techniquc
would ha,-c becn well past its peak by the time
he observed ir. He states:
There arc those who aTe established in Ihis
profession and who practise the eraf!. When a
corpse is brought to them they show Ihe bearers
wouden models of mummies, painled in imitation
of I he real thing. The best method of" embalming: is
said to be lhal which W<lS practised on one whose
l1amc I call1lot Illcnlion in this come;..:l !"i.e. OSIRIS].
The second method they demonSITatc is somewhat
inferior ami costs less. The third is cheapest of all.
I-laving indicated the differences, they ;lsk by
which method Ihe corpse is to be prepared. And
when the beu-ers have agreed a price and dcp:lrtcd,
the embalmers :lrc left to begin their work.

190

MUMMIFICATIO:\

or

In the best treatment, first

all they draw out
the hrains through the nostrils with"ln iron hook.

When the)' have removed what they can this way

they nush our the remainder with drugs. Nextlhe~
m;lkc all incisioll in the nank wirh a sh~lrp
Ethiopian sront:: [i.e. obsidi,1l1 bladel through which
they extraCt all the internal organs. They thell
dean OUl Ihe body ca,ity, rinsing it with palm wine
ami pounded spices, all except fra"kincensc, and
stitch it up ag;.lin. Ami \\ hen they han done this
they cover the corpse wilh natron for se\cnty days,
but for no longcr, and so mummify it. Alief Ihe
se,-cnry days are up, they wash Ihe corpse :1I1d wrap
it from head 1.0 10(' in bandages of the tlnt'st tint.:n
anointcd wilh gum, which lhe Egyptians

lISC

for

the mOst parr instead of glut.:. Finally they hand

over rhe body to the rehtrivl's who place it in ;t
\\ooden coOin in the shape 01':1 man bclore
shutting it up in:.l hurial chamber, propped upriglll
3gainst a wall. This is the most costly method of
preparing rhe dead.
Those for whom the second and less cxpensi\c
way has been chosen arc tre:Hcd as follows: rhe
embalmers lill their syringes with cedar oil which
they inject into the abdomen, neither cuning the
flesh nOr cxtTacting the internal organs bur
introducing I he oil through lhe anus which is lhen
Slopped up. Then Ihey mummify rhe bod~ for the
prescribed number of d:lys, at the end of which
they a 110\\ rhe nil which had been injected lO
escape. So great is its strengrh that il brings away

all the internal org-J.l1s in liquid form. 1\'10reo\'cr lhe

natron cats away the flesh, reducing the body to
skin and bone. After they h,I\'C done this the
embalmers give back the body withoul furrhcr ado.
The third mel hod of embalming, which is
pr:lctiscd on the bodies 01" the poor, is this: I he
embalmers wash OUI dle abdomen with OJ purge,
mummil~\ I-he corpse for seventy days then gi\'c it
back to be taken aW:Iy.

Embalmers e,idently took some pride in

their work, and wcre morc highly organized
than I--lerodotus implies. 'rhe overscers held
priestly tilles, stemming fi'om the distant" past
when only ro~'<1lty and the highest nobility
wcrc cmbalmcd. It should be remembered that
fur most of Egyptian history the poorest people must ha,'c been inlcrred in simple graves
in thc s.lIld and relied on natural presen;ttion.
Tn charge.: of mummification was the 'O\'crseer
of the mystcrics' (he,:J' seshtll) who lOok the
part of the jackal-god \ 'UBIS. His assistant

CojJin alld mrapped IIJll"IIII~jicd bO{~)1 (!/

lret/lOreru. The 1I1lJ1111J~J' is./ilmished mith (J gilt
1I1l1sk alld corered;1I (J beat! IIellillg decorated m;th
llfigure ofthe sky----goddess Nut ora the brc(lst.
26th DY1UlSty, c.600 BC (?}.fmmAkhmim.
1/. 1.65/11. (,u20N5).

MUMMIFICATION

M-UMMIFICATION

was the (seal-hearer of the god' (lteJl!m11J "dja), a tiLle formerly borne by priests of Osiris.
It was the 'Iecror priest' (hel]' lu:b) who rC;;ld
the magicli spells. Together these men O\"CI"saw the 'handagcrs' (me/JIm) who undertook
most of the actual evisceration and band3ging.
As these titles indicate, mummification was
110t only ,,1 technical process but also a ritualized one, the whole act seeking to repeat the
stages in the making of the original mummy,
that of Osiris. \Vc know from two papyri of the
first ccntur~ _\1) describing (the ritual of
embalming' (copied from carlier sources) that
"cry specific rituals accompanied c\'cry stage
of the \\ork.
Shord~ after death a body would be taken to
a tenl known as the ibm or 'Place or
Purificarion' where it ,,"auld be \\"ilshed in
'\TH01\. solution} before being taken to ~1I1oth
cr area enclosing a further tent and known as
the 'I-louse of Beauty' (pa lIt'ji'r), where rhe
actual mummific<ll ion took placc. In thc first"
method deseribed by Herodotus the body
would be eviscerated, except for the heart and
kidneys. This was achicved by making an incision in the left flank, which would hirer be covered by an cmbalming plate. Prior to the :'\l ew
Kingdom (1550-1069 Be), hO\\"evcr, c,"isceration was not always practised, and Ihe brain
was usually discarded.
\Vhen the viscera were rcmovcd, thcy wcre
dricd, rinsed, b..m daged and placed in C.j\~OPIC
J \RS or parcels, which wcre placed with the
budy or, in the Third Intermediate Period
(1069-7-17 BC), returned to the bo,h ca,;n,
dccorarcd on the exterior wilh the images of
the four so's OF IIORLS. \Vax figures of the latter were also frequently includcd in the visccral packages. atron would then be piled orcr
the corpse ro desicC<lte it. Until quite rccently
scholars belicved that the body was placcd in a
liquid natron solmion, but" experimental work
has shown that dry natron is morc cffectire.
From the discO\ery of a wooden embalming
lable at Thebes, and from the travenine
embalming rabIes of the :\PIS bulls ;.It
1\ lcmphis, it is dear that the natron was
moundcd ovcr the body. Packets of natron
might also be inserted into the body C<1Vil~
during this period, to assist in the dehydration
process. During this time up to 75 per cent of
[)lC body weight would be lost.
Aftcr some forty days the temporary stuffing would be removed (although it contained
pari of the deceased and was therefore retained
for the burial), and the body cavity was packed
with bags of clean natron, resin-soaked
bandages and various aromatics in such a way
as to give the body a more natural shape. In the
21st Dynasty (1069-945 BC), subcutaneous
+

191

MUMMIFICATION

MUSIC, MUSICAL Il\STRUME"ITS

p'lcking \Y;lS sometimes lIsed to model the

Illusculature or arms and legs and fill out the
facC'. This was attempted, somewhat m-crenthusiastically, on the mlll1ll11~ of the 215Dynasty priestess HClluttawy (wife of the chief"
priest of Anulll, Pinudjcm 1), whose checks
cracked as the skin shrank and dried. '1"hc
brain cayity was also filled with resin or linen,
the openings lO the skull wcre packed, and artificial eyes \\ere often added.
The whole body waS then coated in resin,
thus adding to the already darkened colour of
the skin. The Arabs mistook this bhtckening
for the effects
bitumen, and it is from their
word for this - Illlfllllll/)/{f - thaI I-he word
'mummy' derives. In [let bitumen is rarc1~
t<>und un mummies, 'llthough many hm"c lhc
appc,mmce of hein~ co.ucd with it, Cosmetics
were sometimes added, in ordcr to gi,'e the
body its final life-like appearance, and the
\\hole \\-as then bandaged, \\ILI.ETS being
wrapped among the layers in the appropriate
pl<lces dictated by their function, The type,
material, and placing of such amulets is
described in I he IIOOh. OF Till: I)!': \1 l. 'I'he bandaging fOOl. some fifteen days, and used many
metres of linen, Tlluch of it from old clothing.
In the cheaper methods cyisceration \\ as
undertakcn through the anus, much as
Herodotus states, and the bod~ desiccated.
The emire process ~ from death to burial usuall~ took sc\'cnl'y days, a pcriod of time
probably connected with the phases of the dog
star Sirius (sec SOTIIIC netJ':), In the Old
Kingdom, the deceased was belie,'cd to return
as a star, and the period of mummification
coincided with the time during which the star
was im isihle..'\. t the end of the process the
deceased was renewed, and one of the
embalming spells concludes with the assurance: 'You willli,'c again, you will lire for e,-er.
llehold, you arc young 'lgain for ever.'
T,ess is known about the mummification of
animals, although research into the mummification of cats :tnd ibises has recently been
undertaken. A demotic papyrus in Vienna
records the procedures thai accompanied
mummification of the Apis bull. See also

or

OPI:'1:-.G OF TilE \\OLTII CERE.\\U",

G. E.

S'IlTI

,.1 ((I1fJribllliou

10 llit' ""1Il()' II[

1II/1111mdimlifJlI ill {Jucit'lIl Egypl /IIi/it special

rt}iTel/t"l' 10 lite mel/Sf/res adopled during lite 21.1'1

0/1//1' hOl(J' (Cairo,
1906)
A, and E. COCKIILR'\, AluJl/llIil's. d/~"c/lSe {{lid
alltiell/ culiurt'S (Cambridge, 1980).
J Il\RRIS .1Ild E. F. \VE:-.~rE, .111 \-ray alllls of/ht'
rr~)'(l11I11/1I1mil's(Chic.1~w, 1980).
11 AD\\IS, [gyptiaJl mll11ll11il'S (Aylesbur~, 198-1)
C. A,OREWS, Egyptiaf/1I1I1mmil'J (London, 19M4)
1J.111/I/sl.v.(ol" /lIIIIIMiug Ihe.f{mlJ

192

:\. F. SIIORE, 'Human .1I1d diyine

l11ummificltion', S'lillit's il1 p/uJr(wllir rdigioll allli
.HI(il'ly pre~'ell/l'd 10] GI1~JIII CrUft/h, ed. A. B.
L101'd (London, 1992), n(l-s.
L. TROY, 'Creating a g:t)(]: the l11ummification
ritual', li"ICI:: 4 (1993), ,,-81.
E DLR"I) and R. Llclrn:,\IIERG, .1111I1Jllllt,s: /I
jourllq into ('/l'mi~)1 (London, I99..J.).
R. P\KTRII)G[, Fun's nlpharfwlts: n!)'oI1l11111111Iit's
lind ndTillsfmm fl1lfienJ nll'IIt'., (London, 199..J.).

mummy label (Grcek (lIbllI)

During the Greco-Roman period, when
corpses were regularly being transported from
the homc \'0 the cemetery (and somcfimcs, if
the de~th occuITcd away from homc, b~ck to
their village), they were usually idcntified by
tags made of wood, and occasionall~ stone.
..\ lummy labels were inscrihed with shon i.nk
texts in Grcd. or demotic (or occJsionally in
both languages), gi"ing such yital information
as the name, age, homc-to,,n and destination
of the dcceased, although some bear mOre
elaborate inscriptions ranging from thc cosr of
transport 1.0 shorr fUllerary pra~'crs. In the C,lSC
of poorer indi,idu<1ls, it appears rhat the labels
might cyen ha,-c sencd as cheap STEI. \I~ Or
tombstones in the graycs thcmseh-es.
W. 5Pll~G1:J.IlERG, AgypJisrht' flllt! griahiJdll'
E(!!,CIIIUl1lll'lI f/llf.llu1IImiflldikt'//t'lI tll'r riiIllJ:w'/u!n

Kaisa:::.ei/

(T.cipzig, 1901).

J. C. 51IEI:I'O',

t 1\ lumm~-Iags rrom the Ashmol~lIl

Museum, Oxford" GIE..J.5 (1970), 13+-'52,
I': B\I{\'ITE and B. 130'/\\'\1., 'Catalogw.. des
ttiqucucs dc l110mies dUl\luscc du LOLJ\Tc\
CRII'1::1.2 (1974),155-204.
.J. QL_UGEBELR, ':\lumm~ labels: an oriemation'.

Tl'XIt'S griYS. ,h;/III}/iqlle~'l't biliugllcJ (l~ L. /Jal. I')).

cd. E. Boswinkcl :.mJ P.

\r. Pesflllan (Leidell,

1978),232-59.

Muqdam, Tell el- (anc. lilrCI11U; Lconlopolis)

L;lrgc settlement site in the central Delta,
which was prubabl~ the power-base of the
23rd Dynast) (818-715 lie). T'hc eastern sector of the sire of the ancienr tOWI1 ofTafcmu is
still dominated by the remains of the temple of
the local I.lo,-god :\ I ihos. The htrge-scalc
remoyal and re-liSC of relief blocks from the
temple has made the building difficult to date
precisely, although surYi,-ing stelae and sL.1tuary indicale that- therc "-as alread~ il tcmple at
Tarclllu in thc 181h Drnasry (1550-1295 Ile).
'fhe site is usually assumed 1.0 have incorporated thc royal cemetery of the 2Jnll)ynas.. ~,
although it has recentl~ been argued Ihat the
capital at this rimc may actually h.n-e been at
Khclllenu (III:R.\10POI.IS \I.\G~.\)_ Only the
tomb of Queen "Kama(ma), mother of
OSORh:O:-' III (777-7-+9 Be), has so far been 10c.1t-

cd at I.eontopolis (to the west of the mJin

ruins). During the Ptolemaic period Taremu
becamc known as Leonlopolis Clion city') and
the c1e,'cnth Lowcr Egyptian
was capital
nomc (pro,-ince).

or

E. N\\ 1I,I.E._JlIIIIIS 1'1 ;Iletli"dl

(Ht'mde(/plJh~,

.I Jagl1a) (Londoll, 1894), 27~31.

1(. A. KrrclIE:'\, T/}(' Third 1IlII'nlll'ililllt, Paifltl U1
Egypt (1100-650 lJe), 2nd ed. (\\';trminstcr,
1986),128-30.
P. A. 51'1:.'\0:R and 1\, J. SI'E:'\C1~R, tNotes on late
Libyan F.g'pt',JE J 72 (1986), 198-201.
C..'\.lh:u'10L'\I';md R, PRIEI)\I-\,\, 'The 1993
field season of the BerkclcyTeU e1-.~luqdam
project: prcliminar~ report l , i\~ IRel...' 16'{
(win!'cr 1994), 1-10.

music, musical instruments

A great dcal of Egypt-ian religiuus and secular

or

celebration W.IS marked by the performance

both music .md IJ\'\\.I .. 'I'he depiction of mU"iicians on such late Predynastic artef:lcts as ceremonial palettes and stone 'csscls indicates
the importance accorded to music e"en in prehistoric times. A wide variety of instrulllenrs
wcre played, ranging fi'om pairs of simple
ivory clappers (probably already depictcd on
Prcd~11astic pottery ,'cssels of thc mid fourth
millennium Be) to the harps and lutes th.lt
\yere frequently played at b.111quets during the
:'\cw f..:ingdot11 (1550-1069 m:).
The importance of music in ancient Egypt i"i
attested b~ thc large number of instrllll1Cnl~ in
muscum collections, Anciellt Egyprian mllsical
instruments consisted of four basic types: idiophones, mCll1branophone~, acrophoncs anti
cordophones. The idiophones, including CL1Ppers, sistra, cymb'lls and bell.., were particubrIy associat-ed with religious worship, 'The I11CIllbranophones included the tambourine, uSllall~
played hy girls at banquel.s or in Oludonr
ceremonies, ~nd also the drum, a l11ilitar~
instrument that was sometimes used in religious processions. Thc earliest Egyptian aCrophone \\-as the flute, but there were also douhle
'clarinets', double 'oboes' and trumpets or
hugles (mostly connected ,,;111 the army). The
chordophones consisted of tluce types: rhc
harp (an indigenous Egyptian instrumcnl) allll
thc lute and lyre (both Asiatic imporr~).
Perhaps the beST indication of the ancient
Egyptians' sheer enjo~ ment of music is to he
f(>lInd in a 'satirical' papyrus (!\ I LISCO Fgizio.
Turin) depicting ,In ass \yith a large archcJ
harp, a lion with <l lyre, <l crocodile with ;l hlle
and a monkcy with a double tohoe'.
11. IIICK_\U"'\, 15 siidl'.( tit' IIIl1siqUt' dtllls I'Eg..l'pu
f1udt'//1/t' (Paris, 1956).

R. D. r\ ,OERSO" .l/miml imlnl1lU!1I1S (London.

1976).

MYCERINUS

~T

Mycerinus set'

\lE'kILR.1

mythology

Delail ofa[mgmelll nlmllll-pllilllil1gfm11l {/

TheblJllI0mb-dlllpd. s/wming./hl1a/t 11lllJitill1lS
singing ([1ll1 playing rarifJ/IS imlrummts (lUll'S, {/
double abot' rlud (/ !u/1/bourilll'). /81h 1J.)11U1S()"
c. NOD BC, painted p/as/n:.f/"olll 711('/10. 11. 6/ rill.
(E 13798/)
C. ZIEGI.EK, Les illS/rtllI/ellls til' mils/que eg.l'plit'JIS
(lJI "-fusii' till LU/lITt: (Paris. 1(79).
L..M \"''\ICIIE, ,\lusj( flllt/1I/tIJicillllS iUlIlIcit'Uf
Egypt (London, 1991).

Mut
Vulture-goddcl-is who lIsurped the role of
Amaunct in the Thchan Tnl\!) as consort of
!\1\'!U:"J ,mel 111ot"her of KJ IO:'\S.

She

W<1S

usually

Detail 0/11 .~(JI/(I.~/nlle side n:(ordiug rcpairedjlootl

damage, slwmillg 'ht' Rnwall flllpl'mr Tibaim
OJfirillg lIjigl/re of/he godde.u ,II(fUllo the deities
illlI/ flud KhouSli. RowuII puiu". IIJ 1+-.17.
11.66.3 ellJ. (IC 1398)

depicted as a woman wearing a long hrightly

Cololl.Ted (sometimes feather-patterned) dress
and a ,ulture hcaddress surmounted by rhe
'white crown' or 'douhle crown' (sec CRO\\ '\s).
She usually also held a long 1',\I'YRUS sceptre
symbolizing Upper Egypt. Like ISIS and
I IAn lOR she essenlially played I'he role of
di"lnc moL her to the reigning king; therefore
many amulcts representing f\lut show her as a
seated \\oman suckling a child, often only distinguishable as ~Iut rather than Isis becausc of
the prcscm:e of a crown or an inscription naming the figure, The royal women holding the
title of GOD'S \\11-"1': OF \\It,;, wCre aJi portrayed
,,ith iconogr'lphic features linking them with
j\llul. She also, howc,-er, had a more aggressive
asp(;ct as a feline goddess closely linked with
SE"II\U,T, and many of the Slatues in her tcmpic at .... \R'\ \1-: represent her in this lionessheaded form. Sekhmcl, ,\IUI .md TEF'\LT ,,cre
aU daughters of the sun-god, or 'UI:S OF In',
senlto terrorize thc peoples of the earth.
11. TE YI',l.m:, 'Towards i1111inimal definition of
the goddess ~\lul',.7EOL 8/26 (1979-80), 3-9.
I J. 1)1-,1\ II.L 1.1':'\ \I':R.E, 'lsi el 1\ lout des mamJllisi',
SI/uli" Nasla II, cd.]. Q!.tal:geheur (Leuvel1, 1(82).
11. TEVEI.IW, 'ThcC1L1S s:lCrcd animal orrhc
guddess 1\lur', SllIIhcJ ill/~r~.Yfllitlll n'ligioll
dedimud /(} ProJi:ssorJ(1ff Z(IIult'l:, cd, \1. I kenna
,"anYosscl al. (Leidcn, 1982), 127-37.
-,'..\Jut, the eye ofRc',.Il,!t,,/ \liilldfCI/ /98_11(1,
ed. S. Sehoske (Hamhurg, 1989),395-103.

The activities of the gods of the Pharaonil:

period, as well as their interactions with
humans, arc largely encapsulated in divine
\lltriburcs' (such :IS epithets and iconographic
fc:uurcs) or such genres as IIY\I,\S, spells and
rites, r.uher th.m being expressed in cOlwention:I1 narr;1ti,'c forms. On the basis of these
scattered fragments of inform:uion, hmrc,-cr,
it has praycd possible to reconstruct versions
of a ,-aricty of 'myths' of rhc Pharaonic period,
associated wilh such issues as CRI':ATlOl\, KI'\0SIIIP and life aftcr death (sec FL '\,1:RAln BEI,WFS
and OSIRIS). T'herc arc, hmre,cr, also a number
of SUr\'iring literary texts that morc c1oscl)
;lpproximatc to thc Classical concept of a narrati'T-stylc myth, such as the ~r;"e (~r l10rus
lIlId Sl',h and the 7fdt' (If J.~i.~ (/1/(/ ,ht' SnxIJ
S(()1'piollS. In addition, thc reliefs and inscriprions in the ambulatory of the Ptolemaic tempIc of IIORLS ..11 EUFU (as "'e11 as rhe 1\1idtlle
Kingdom 'Ramcsscum Dr<ll11:ltic Papyrus')
have been interpretcd by many scholars as the
texts of a mythological 'drama" consisting of
rhe enactment of lhc triumph of the god
Horus m-er his rh'al SETII.
Sec also .\ \IL '\; U<X1k OF TIlE DE \0; COFFI:\.
TE\TS; FLi\.ER.\R\ TE\TS; P\ R.\.\III) 1I-:\T5 and
REI.IGIO'_

FR:\~,,"FORT, Kir/g.~hip af/(/Ihi' gluts: (/ sI1U6, uf

Near Emf"rJ! religion liS Ihe iUfl'gmlioff oIsorielJ'

1-1,

alld Illflllre (Chil:ago, 19-+8).

II. W, F \llUl:\N, The Iriumph o/J-/rmlS (London,

197-1).
H, AI:rE~.'IUI.l.EI{, 'Dramarischcr
Ramc.'.iscumspapyrus" L,'xikul/ dcr /i.~),plo/(Jgi,' I,
cd, \\I, Held, E. Ono and W. \Veslcndorf
(Wiesbaden, 1975), 1132--40.
J. A":is\I \"\\, 'Die Ycrborg-cnhcil des!\ lythos in
Ag~ptcn" G 1125 (1977), 7----+t,
F., BRU'J,ER-TR \l T, 'l\lythos', Ll.ri~fJlf da
-i.~llfll(//()gil' 1\, cd, \,V, r Jdd, E, Ono and
W. WeS[endorf" (Wiesbaden, 1982),277-86.
J. It AI.l.E,\, Gmesis ill Egypi ~ Iht' fllrilo_WJp/~l,/~r
alltiml t':~..J'Plill" lTt'alifJlf lI((flllffls (r\cw H.lyen,
1988)
G, II \In, EgYPliaf} 110'llls (London, 191)0)_

193

NAG EL-DEIR

N
Nag el-Deir (Naga-el-Der)
Cemetery in northern Upper Egypt situated
on the cast bank of the Nile south of ..\ KI-IJ\llj\l
and spanning the Prcdynaslic period to the
Middle Kingdom (c.4000-16,O BC). Its excavation was begun in 1901 by the American
scholar George REISi'ER, whose tcam recorded
the excavation in meticulolls derail and excavated the cemetery as <1 whole, rather than
concentrating only on indiyidual, potenti311y
rich tombs, as had been the case with the work
of many late nineteenth-century eXCilyators. As
a result, it has proved possible to gain some
ide.} of rhe development of the cemetery and
to examine the buri'll practices closely. Reisner
made a full publication of c;Jeh Prcdynasric
tomb, radlcr than simply publishing those thai
he considered to be significant. \~rith this comprehensive style of publication, he surpassed
his predecessors (and indeed many later excavators of Egyptian sites). His c~1reful excavations revealed such details as lhe clothing and
position of the bodies, which would have
otherwise been lost information. Among the
finds from the Dynastic period is a 6thDynasry LfTrER TO '11 IE DE/\Il from the tomb of
~Ileru

li"cd during the reign of Thutmose IY

(I-fOO-1390 BC). He is bcsr known for his lI'ellpreserved tomb (rr,2) in the Theban cemetery of Sheikh 'Abd ci-Qurna, wbich is decorated with many paintings depicting scenes
from daily life, including agricultural actiritics, as well as the entert~linmcnt of guests at it
banquet. The name of the god AnulI1 was
excised from this tomb duri~g the time of
Akbenaten (1352-1336 Be) as pan of the nE~
'heresy'.
N. m: G. DAVIES, The 10ll1b oj'Nflkht lit ThebeJ
(New York, 1917).
B. PORTER and R. L. B. .\loss, Topogmphiml
bibliographJ' 1/1 (Oxford, 19(0),99-102.

names
Egyptians set great store by the naming of
people and objects, ~md the name was reg~lf(l
ed as an essential clement of every human
indi"idual, just as necessary for surviral as
the K:\, BA or AKII. Fashions in personal n~Hnes
often follow those of the rulers of the time,
:.wd often incorporate the name of il deity
chosen either because they were pre-eminent

(i'\3737).

The work condueled by Reisner and Alberl

Lythgoe at the N7000 Predynastic cemetery
was sufficiently detailed LO allow recent reanalysis of the remains. Their excavation
records included unusually detailed descriptions of the skeletons themselves, provided by
the anatomist Grafton Elliot Smith, thus supplying modern biological anthropologists with
a good database for further research.
G. A. Rf~IS:"iER and A. i\1"r.E, The Early DY1lflsti(
a:lIIl'teries oI1Vagfl-l'd-Dcr (Boston, 1908-9).
G. A. REIS'\ER, A prOi:incifll cemetery of the
pyramid flge: Nflgfl-ed-Dfr (Oxford, 1932).
A. LYTIIGOE, The Pre(61J1f1stir cemetery \'7000,
l"fI~!{fl-(d-Der, Part 1\', cd. D. Dunham (Berkeley,
1%5).
P. V. POIJZORSKI, Their b(}lIe.~ Jlwl/ /10/ perixh: (111
'.rfllllil1f1I;(}1/ f)f PredYllflstic hUfllflN Jkdetfll remaim
Fom Naga-ed-Der i1/ Egypt (New Malden, 1990).
-,'The correlation of skeletal remains and
burial goods: an example from Naga-ed-Der
'\17000', ilioingicfli fll1thmpnlogy tllld the s/lu()' of
(l//(i'1lt Egypt, cd. 'V. V, Da,-ics and R. \Valker
(London, 1993), 119-29.

Nakht
Scribe and astronomer of \ \IL~ who probably

194

NAOPHOROL:S

Limestmll' '1l(/IIll'-.wme' fJfllatshepsut from thl'

of her 1Iitlley Temple al Deir t'! Bahr;.
SUdl stQlIes arl' especia/~)1 (Om11101l at the temple
(Ind seem 11) hmo'e sen.:etlll (;Olit'e purpose, The
other side of this l'Xample bt'lirs (/II ill/.: illSrriptioll
mentioning Sl'1It'1Imllf rllld the date 'semnd month
(~(the SIiIl/11!er .~efl.W1/, day 9'. Thebes. II. 28 cm.
(r, 152882)
t'i(illi~)1

at that period or locally impOrl"anl in lhe

place \vhere the individual was born. The
name of an individual is therefore ofren <l clue
as to date or geographical origins. Although
some names ;Ire simply nouns or adjecti\'es,
such as I'\efcret ('be~lutiful woman'), others
rake the form of st<\tements such as Rahotep

('Ra is satisfied') or Khasekhemwy ('the n\O

powers appear').
The import.lOce of words and names, l10t
merely as abstract symbols but as physical
manifestations of the named phenomena
themselves, is re-emphasized by the so-called
l\1emphite "rheology, inscribed on the
SIIAB:\QO Stone, in which the god 1''1'-\11 creales
everything in the universe by pronouncing
each of the namcs (see CREATIO'\l). In rhe same
way, thc Egypti~1l1 reference works known ,IS
O~OMj\STIC.:\ simply consisted of lists of namc~
for such things as people, professions and
places, without any description or definition,
since it was presumably felt that the name or
word was in itself a perfect expression of lhe
phenomenon concerned.
Like the SII \ DO\\', the name was regarded
as ~l liring pan of each human being, which
had to be assigned immediately ~1t birth,
otherwise it was felt that the individual would
not properly come into existence. rn the case
of "-1;\10 I.ISTS inscribed on the walls of
temples and tombs, the cult of the royal
ancestors was celebrated by writing out the
C:ARTOUClIES of past rulers, and in a sense it
was the list of names on which the cuI ric rituals focused rather d,an the indi"idual rulers
themselves.
The symbolic importance of the name abo
meant that the remoral of personal or royal
names from monuments or staruary was
considered to be equivalent to the destruction
of the "ery memory and existence of the person to whom the n~lme referred. Conversely,
the addition of a new name to a relief or statue
(an act usually described by Egyptologists as
the 'usurping' of a work) was considered LO
imbue it with the essence and personalilY of
the new owner, regardless of its actual physical
appeamncc.
See also Ron I. TITUI..\R\.
P. L<\C;\u. 'Suppressions des noms divins dans Ics
textes de 1;1 chambrc funeraire', ASAE 26 (1926).
69-81.
11. R.-\NKE. Dil' iigyptische PlTJ(Jl/i:lIl/{mWI, 3 \'ols
(Hamburg, 1932-77).
G. POSL'\ER, 'Sur I'attribution d'un nOI11 a un
enfant', RdE 22 (1970), 20+--,.
S. QUIRKE, ''''lro mere tlrt' plrarflohs? (London,
1990),9-19.
E. !-!OILNl':-\G, Idea iI/to iwage, trans. E. Bredeck
(NC\\ York, 1992), 177-8.

naophorous see ".IOS

naos
Ancient Greek ter111 for the innermost part
of a temple or shrine, which is used by
Egyptologists to refer to a type of shrine <.:011-

~PATA

NAQADA

raining the cult-image or sacred BAR!\: of a deity

kept in the sanctuary. Generally taking the form
of a rectangular chest or box hewn ii'om a single block of wood or stone, the //(fOS could also
be used as <l container for a funerary statue or a
mummified animal. Egyptian 'naophorous'
statues portrayed the subject holding a shrine,
sometimes containing a divine image.
G. ROEDER, Naos, 2 vats (Leipzig, 191f).

S/{{Ildillg l1aophorOlis

(naos-bearing) statile

(JIa mani"
tradi/ional EgYPliall

posture; lite naOs

('{mlaius aJigure 0/
lite god A/lIlIl wearing
the double rromll.
R01/1a.u

period,

lSI

rcn!llI:JlAD, basal!,
If.

46 CIII. (E,65443)

Napata
District of NU1l1A on the Dongola reach of the
Nile, about 30 km southwest of the fourth
cataract, wh.ich has given its name to the
Napatan period. The area was settled in the
mid-fifteenth century BC as a southern outpost of the Egyptian empire. \Vhen I-he
empire declined, however, Napata emerged as
the political ccntre of the kingdom
Kush
(c. 1000-300 Be), whieh had previously been
dominated by the KI':Rlv!'\ culture. The location of Napata would have allowed the
Kushite kings of the Napatan period to control trade along two important desen routes:
the northern road to the town or f..:r\WA and
the SOuthern to j\IEI{()E (which gradually
replaced Napata as political centre from the
early sixth century Be onwards). It is clcar,
however, that Napata was still an area of

considerable importance throughout the

Mcroitic period (300 BC-AD 300).
'T'hc main site of Napata, located to the
south of the Nile (which at this point is flowing from cast to wcst), incorporates a cemetery, a possible palace building and a partially
excavated settlement. To the north o[ the ri'"cr
arc the remains of an unusual temple of {\,\I UJ'
at Gcbel Barkal ('pmc l1~ountain') and probably also another seulement, although the latter
has not yet been satisfactorily cxamined.
The district of Napata in its wider sense
includes the royal cemet"eries at EL-KURRU and
NtJRI and an extensive settlemem and cemetery
at Sana Ill, where F Llewellyn Griffith eXCavated about fifteen hundred non-royal graves.
Although the Naparan religiolls and funerary
rem<lins have been Llsed to COnStruct a derailed
chronology for the Nap~ltan period, there has
still heen very little excavation of Napatan sct~
dements, rhercfore little is known of the economic and social aspects of Kush in the urst
millennium BC.
ELl. GRIFFITH, 'Oxford exc;muions in Nubia"
Liverpool AIII/als oIArdult!olo!J.Y ali(I Allthropology
9 (1922), 67-124.
D. DL:XHMI, The I"(~l'al cemeteries (~rKlIsh, 4 vols
(Boston, 1950-7).
B. G. HAYCOCK, 'Towards a better understanding
of the Kingdom or Cush (Napata-_Meroe)',
Sudtl/1 Notes lind !?I!{ords 49 (1968), I-J 6.
D. DUNI IA~l, TIll: 8ar/..:al tell/pies (Boston, 1970).
1: KENDALL, Gebel BarRal elJip,'I"ilphic SUITt!)'
1986: prelimillury report to the Visitillg Committee
(~rthe Department ()If~fJ.yptian Ar' (Boston,
1986).

Naqada (anc. Nubt, Om bas)

One of the largest Prcdynastic sires in Egypt,
located about 26 km north of Luxor on the
west bank of the Nile. 'fhe Predynastie cemeteries of Tukh and el-Ballas, about 7 km
north of the modern yillage of Naqada, were

1 Predynastic settlement
2 south town
3 Predynastic cemetery

excavated by Flinders Petrie and James

Quibell in 1895. IJetrie initially misinterpreted the contenls of over two thousand
graves as the remains of foreigners dating to
the First Intermediate Period (2181-2055
Be), whom he described as the 'New Race'.
Eventually, primarily <IS a result ofJacques de
LVlorgan's identification of Prcdynastic
remains at AIWDOS, Petrie recognizcd that the
material he had excavated at Naqada and
J-11\\'-SE\\;\INA, including pottery, pressureflakcd flints and ivory combs, was prehistoric, forming the basis for the chronological
phases Naqada I and II, -'.4000-3100 Be, now
more commonly described as the Amratian and
Gerzean periods (see 1'1{1'~I)Y'.rASTIC PERIOD).
Cemetery T at Naqada is a collection of fiftyseven brick-built and richl~' equipped gravcs
which are lhought to have belonged to the
ruling elite of the late Naqada fI (Gerzean)
period.
The site also includes the remains of a
Predynastic walled town (the 'South 'Town')
founded at least as early as 3600 Be. The his~
torieal name for Naqada was Nubt, meaning
'Gold[-townr) suggesting that the inhabitanrs
may well have benefited from their location
opposite KOPTOS and the \;Vacli Hammamat,
through which they would have been able to
exploit the precious minerals of the Eastern
Desert. The South 'lawn at Naqada continued
to flourish lip to the beginning of the Early
Dynastic period, when it appears to have been
eclipsed by the growing political power of" the
settlements at I IIERAKO:\fPOLlS and AIlYDOS. The
sire also incorporates a town and temple of the
Dynastic period.
An Early Dynastic mud-brick MASTt\l3t\
tomb with palace-fac;ade ,,alls surrounding its
superstructure- which closely resembles those
at SAQ(l!\IU and Abydos-was discovered about

PIau 4Naf/ada

4 cemetery T: an elite Predynastic cemetery

5 to 7 Predynaslic cemeteries
8 temple at Seth

9 Pharaonic period settlement

10 step pyramid ofTukh
11 to 14 Predynaslic cemeteries

or

195

:-JAQ!\DA

NARl\IER

Red/l'rches Sill' les origiues tic

I'fgyptt,2 \'ols (Paris, 1896--7).
E. B-\L \IG\RTEl., Petrie s.Vtll/tlda l'xrlfi:aliOIl; 11
5l1ppleml'1I1 (London, 1970).
J. J. C-\STII.I.OS, '_-\.11 analysis of the tombs in lhe
Pred~'1:tstie cemeteries <It l'ag-Jlhl.JSSE J 10
(1981).97-106.
\\-. DAns, 'CemeterYT at 'Kaqada'. AfD_-IIK 39
(1983), 17-28.
C. B 'ROC\S, 'Fouilles de I'IstitulO Uniwrsirario
Oricn",lc (!'\aples)" Zawa,dah ("aqadah.
"South Town" de Petrie): c-.lmpagnc 198{', .-lkkll
.lliiudun 1985 II, cd. S. Schoskc (Hamburg,
1989),299-303.
1-.:. R\RD, 'The e"olurion of social cornpl('xit~ in
predyn'lstie Egypt: an analysis orthe !\agad'l
cC111crcrics',J.IL-/212 (1989). 223--18.
].1)10: 1\ IU1(0-\,'\':,

Narmer (t.3 JOO BC)

Early Egypti'lll ruler who is sometimes identified with J\J1':r"\ES, the semi-mythical rounder or
\IE\lPlllS. He is thought to ha,'e been buried in
'Hm1]) u17-IS in the Umm d-Q/ab roY'11
ccmetcry at r\B~ DOS. He is primarily known,
however, from ;t mudstone ceremonial palette
(Egyptian 1\l11Sellt11. Cairo) and a limestone
m:lcchcad (Ashmolean, o.xford), both or
which were cxc,l\-atcd at IIlER\KO:'\1POJ.lS in
Upper Egypt. The archaeological contexts of
the two an-efacts were poorly documented hUI

Thl' Nanna Palelle./i-rllll 11ll' .w-callC'd

'. \'lain Deposil' {II Hieral'oupolis. 011 one side
(ldi) Nanllcr. 11Jl'arillg the frfHPll oj' Uppa Egypt.
S1llilt'J ajfm'iglll'r. On Ihl' olhn sidl' (nihl) he
1pears the (rom" ofLoTPcr Egypt. PmlfJl()/IIlHlir.
c..3000 IIC. IIl11d.l'tf/l/c. "- 6-1011. (cIIH0.7J:321()l)j
BEI.O\\

\HO\ 1:.1 pm Offill' ,"af/mlll /I paint! (c.3.'OD lie).

pail1tetimiJll dl's,:!{"S o/IJlJaI$ lind IUlI1ll1ujigl/rl's.
7'ltis ~l'pe (~rdemrtllioll tli~'(lppears ill pharaonic

lil1ll'~. II.

30..) CIII.

(I:

136327)

three kilometres northwest of Naqada village

hy Jacques de l\lorgan in 1897. It contained
fragments or SlOne ,oases and ivory labels .lS
well as day scalings bearing the Ilames of Lhe
1SI-D) nas" ruler III I (1".3100 BC), and a
woman called NcilhholCP (perhaps his wife),
to whom the tomb may ha\c belongcd.

Another monUlllent in the vicinity is a small

stone-built step pyramid Ilcar I he village of
Tukh. This is one of" <11 kast seven slllall step
pyramids of unknown function erected at differellt siles from Scila down to Aswan, possibly in Ihe reign of the 3rd-D~rn'lsfy ruler Huni
(2637-2613 BC).
W. i'd. F. PkTH.IEilndJ E. QUlm:I.1 . Na(jadlllll/{l
Bal/as (I ,ondun, 1H96).

196

~RMER

NAUKRATIS

the macehcacl appears to

h,lYC

been one of a set

ofProrodynasric "mire items (described as the

')\,lain Deposit') buried beneath the flour of
the temple building of the Old Kingdom

(2686--2181 Be), while the palette was discoycred a few metres ~l\\'ay. Both hare been dated
sr,-listically ro (he Protodynastic period
(c:3100-2950 Be).

nalron
~atllrally

occurring compound largely consisling sodium carbonate and sodium bic~lr

bonate. h was important principally for ilS use
in purification rituals, not least during \IC.\L\lIFIC:\TIO:\", and was subject to a royal monopoly

or

Only fragments of the macchc.lll were

feco,-ered, whereas the palette has sun"j,"cd

intact and in rirrually perfect condition. Both
faces afC c.lITcd with reliefs showing an
Egyptian ruler who is identified as ':'\armer'

bv twO carly hieroglyphic characters canoed in

f;onl" of him. On one side he is shmYIl as;,1 king
wearing the white eRQ\r, of upper Egypt
smiting a foreigner (possibly a LlBr.~'\!) in the
presence of rhe ha""k-god, while on the

reverse he is depicted in the red crown 01"

Lower Egypt apparently taking part 111 a procession with standard-bearers, moying
towards rows of decapitated prisoners perhaps
suggesting a vie wry celebration.
Until the 1980s, the Narmcr palette waS
widely regarded ;IS il memorial relating to a set
of specific military successes over Libyans
and/or northern Egyptians, accomplished by
the king of Upper Egypt in the course of unifying Egypt, and there are still some adherents
to this view. J-[owc,-cr, it now seems less likely
that the decorations on rhe :'\armcr palette
and other contemporary yotiyc objects (such
as the Narmer macehead, Libyan palette and
SCORPIOi' macehead) are documems of specific
historical e'-cllts. :\icholas ~\lillet argucs that
the depictions ilre instead iconographic summarics of the parricular year in ,yhich the
object concerned "'as presented to the temple,
and warns ag~linst construing the e'-ents
shown on these objects as 'in themseh-es necessarily important and "historical"'_ \Yhitncy
Da"is interprets the images on the
Protodynastic palettes, including that of
Karmer, as "isual memphors for the process
by which the king/artist/hunter creeps up on
his prey and delivers the death-blow.
J E. QCIIlEI.L, Hiel'lllwllpllli, I (London, 19(0),
pI.

X;\IX.

\v. B. EMER', AI'rh"ir E~f{,J'pt (l-brmondsworth,

1961), {2-i.
l\L

S.-\LEII

and 11.

SOL'ROL:ZI.\:\, QlJirill1

catalogue: Ihe Egyptiall fl'lllselllll, Cairo (l\lainz ,

I98i), cat. no. 8.

E. \:V1U.IMIS, 'Narmer and the Coptos colossi',
J1RCE25 (1988), 93-101.
K MILLET, '"fhe Nanner maccht'ad and related
objccts',}>IRCE 2i (1990), 53-9.
W. A. F >\IRSERVIS II', '1\ revised "jew of the
Na'r01r palene',j'JIICF. 28 (1991), 1-20.
O,WIS, At/asking the blof1l (Berkeley, 1992).

,v.

!Jag u/l/{lfl'()lIji'o/IJ D~ir cl-Bahri. Noll'I.)// is ({

(()IIIIIWII

(lil/still/ellf o.{(({dles oIl'l/IhIlIJJlt'J's'

IIUlIt'ria/s,

ml'l/ A'Ufl/IJII/i'()1!f 7'llcbes. 18th DyllfHfy.

capilal of the 26th-Dynasty rulcrs. under

whom Naukratis was reorganized. The modern name of the site itself is K.om Gi'cif,
although the ancient name appears to h"\'e
sun ired in (he name of the nearby "illagc of
el-Niqrash.
According (Q the Greek historian
Herodotus, the site was gi,-en to the Greeks
by Ahmose II (570--526 Be), along with a
rnonopoly on seaborne TR.\IJE to Egypt,
although it is more likely that Ahmose II
simply reorganized an existing settlement of
foreigners, gi"ing them new tnlding privileges. It is clear from such finds as Corinthian
'transilional' pottery that the Greek settlement ;H the site dates back to c.630 Be. The
levy on trade was direCled to the temple of
:'\EITlJ ~lt Solis.

temple oj tile Dioscuri

temple of Apollo
temple of Hera
town with temple of Aphrodite
and so-called scarab factory
the 'Great Temenos' or
temple enclosure wall
south mound

modern settlements;
7 Tell Abu Mesh!a
8 Tell Gebril Abas
9 Tell Abas Kassem
10 Kom Hadid
11 Kom Gi'eil

rIC 1-17807)
100

in the Ptolemaic period (332-30 Be). It waS

often used in daily cleansing, serying those
purposes for which soap or toOthp~lste would
now be used. It had a Yaricty of 'industrial'
llses, the most important of which was the
making of GL.\SS and glazes, although it does
not seem to ha'"e been widely used as an alkali
source in glass-making before (he Ptolemaic
and Roman periods.
"fhe best-known source of natl'on is the
\\'adi ::\"atrun in Lower Egypt, although
deposits arc also known at ELI\:.\B in Cpper
Egypt, as ,,-ell as in the Beheira pr<)\-ince of
Lower Egypt. In all of tht'se regions. the substance has accumu);lled on the shores and
beds of ancient lakes. The deposits al Wadi
N"atrun ~1I1d Elkab are menlioned in tntual
sources from lhe Pharaonic period. and rhe
historiaos S"'abo (l'.M Be-Il) 21) and Plin,'
(.\1) 23-79) both mention the presence of
natron in Egypr.
A. LL"C \S, /11I(i('lIf IIllllerials allt! illdllstries, -hh cd.
(London, 1%2), 263-i.
A....r S,\'\'I)ISO'\, 'The lise Ofl1;1[1'On in
mummification in ancient Egypt', JIVES 22
(1963),2.19-67.

Naukralis (I':OIll Gi'eit)

Site of a Greek settlement on the C.'\'\OPIC
branch of the Nile in the western Dclt~1. It
was located only about 16 kill from 5"-IS, the

200 m

53

\"

l-

r
f":-.

........,

\ .....

;>,.r'

-;,.

.~

.,,,, ~..",,,,,.~

"-

10
\",.

The earliest Greeks at rJle site secm to

have bcen Corinthians, but it was the
J\ lilesians ancl a number of other groups who
were most influential in Saite times. The
Hellenion building served the communal
needs of these ,-arious Greek communities.

197

NAVY

NEFAARUD

There were temples to various deitics, including Chian Aphrodite and Samian Hera (whose
name is known from votive pottery) as well as
the Milesian Apollo.
The site was excavated by Flinders Petrie in
1884-5, when it was found to be in poor condition. It was also later im'cstigarcd by E LL
Griffith and D. G. Hog-arth, and, during the
19805, by an American tcam of archaeologists.
In the southern part of the town, Petrie discovered a fAIEXCE workshop which produced
such typically Egyptian items as 5CAIU135, as
well as various Greek and Egyptianizing products. Evidence for pottery production has also
been discovered at the site.
Silver and bronze coins, comprising the
only coinage known from Pharaonic Egypt,
were struck at Naukratis, and it is likely that
coins struck elsewhere in the Greek world
emered Egypt via this important settlement.
Under the Ptolemies thc importancc of
N:1Ukratis dcclined in favour of \U:XA:"WRlt\.
W. i\l. F. PI:TKIE and E. A. GAlm'ER, Nallkratis I
(London, 1886).
D. G. HOGARTH, 'Excavations at" Naueratis',
AI/null/ ofllie Brilt:~h School {/t.~tl/(:m j (1898-9),
2(>-97.
D. G. HOG.\RTII, H. L. LORIMER and C. C.
EDGAR, 'Naukratis 1903',]fwnwlofHellel/ir
SlIId;" 25 (1905), 105-36.
j. BO-\RD\IA:", Till' Greeks fH.;eneflS
(Ilarmondsworth, 196-1).
"V. 0/\\ IS, 'The Cypriotes at Naukratis', GA/141
(1980),7-19.
W. D. E. COl..iI.SO:\, ~lIld A. LEONARD Jr, Cities
oflhl'Delltl I: NlIukmlis: prclimil/{f/]' l"t!porl 011
Ihe 1977-1f)7811I/d 1980 scasom (1\1alibu,
1981).
- . 'The Kaukratis project 1983', "'lusl' 17
(1983),6+-71.

navy see ARfI,'lr;

SEA I'EOPLES

;lnd

SIIII'S :\:'\'1)

BO,\TS

Necho see ."EKAL:

Nectanebo
';lmc employed by the Egypti:m historian
to refer to two Egyptian rulers of the
30th Dynasry (380-3-13 oe), who actuaHy held
two diffcrent 'birth names': Nakhtnebef
(Nectanebo I) and Nakhthorheb (Neetanebo II).
Nee/llllcbll / Kheperkllrll (380-362 Be) of
Sebennytos seized the throne after the
deaths of the 29th-Dynasty rulers Hakor
(393-380 Be) and Nepherites II (]80 Be). Sis
years later the Persian satrap Pharnabazes
launched an invasion of Egypt, sending a
nect manned mainly by GREEK soldiers from
northern Palestine to the mouth of the
;\1,\ '-:ETIIO

198

)\ lendes;an tributary of the Nile. Although

the Persians \\-el"C initially vcry successful,
they were eventuaIJy delayed in their \'ictorious march south as a result of dissension
between Pharnabazes and the Greek general
Iphikratcs, thus allowing NcctJnebo to
reassemble his armies and expel the Persians
from the Delta. The rest of his reign was relatively peaceful, although the Egyptians
appe.u to ha\'c been \"irtually alone in their
defiance of the Persians. Towards the end of
the reign, his son Teas (362-360 Be) e\'cn led
a campaign into Syria-Palestine.
Nectanebo undertook programmes of
construction and decormion ;lt virtually ,Ill
of the major Egyptian temples, including the
building of the First Pylon in the temple of
Amun at KAR'-AK. He built the earliest suryiving section of the temple of Isis at PIIII.AI-:
(although blocks of the reign ofTaharqo have
been found beneath the temple floor) and
awarded new endowments and tax exemptions to a number of religious instirutions.
During his reign thcre was also a growth in
the popularity of the cults of S:\CRED ANIMALS, relleeted in new constructions at III':R,\lOPOI.IS .\IAGNA, \IE'\!DES and 5aft el-Hinna.
It has been suggested that the culti\'ation of
the animal cults by the 30th-Dynasty rulers
was pan of a concencd effort to emphasize
the native culture of Egypt, thus making a
stand against increasing foreign influences
and incursions. In 362 He Nectancbo was
succeeded by Teos.
NCdtlnc!J" IJ Sellcdjcmibra (360-343 Be) was
enthroned through the machinations of his
father Tjahepimu, who declared him king
\yhilc he WilS campaib",ing in Syria-Palcstinc
with his uncle Teos. Having the general support of the armies, Nectanebo II was ablc to
depose Teas, who then fled to the court of the
Persian king. The ensuing reign was to be the
last period of rule by a nativc Egyptian king
until modern times. As well as constructing ;l
huge temple to Isis at m:II8EIT EJ.-J li\G!\R, he
continued the support of the cults of sacrcd
animals by undertaking new works ,md
restoration ;It .\R.\IA'T, Bubastis (TELL B\ST\),
the Saqqara SERAPI-:U.\\ and the nearby complcx
associated with the ~Iothcr ofApis.
Aftcr an unsuccessful invasion in 351 Be
Arta.xerxes [II eventually reincorporated Egypt
into the Persian empire in 343 Be, reputedly
plundering many temples and slaughtering
,'\I'IS and BUCllIS bulls in the process.
Nectanebo II appears to have temporarily held
on to Upper Egypt (and was briefly succeeded
by an Egyptian or Nubian pharaoh named
Khababash). Egypt, however, had effectively
been absorbed into the Persian empire once

morc, and was to remain a satrapy until the

arrival of \U:X\'\!f)ER TilE GRI~-\T.
J.-J. CLi':RE, 'Vne sl;\lucttc du fils aine du rai
Necmncbo', EdE (1951), 135-56.
H. JI:N~I, Das D{'R()}"({ti()lIsprogralJlll/{/ dcs
SarA'opllflges Nektl/lu:b()s II (Gene\'~l. 1986).
N. GRI\\AL, .J1I/1~~/(Jry ofallcienl f~'.~.YPI (Oxford,
1992).375-81.

Nefaarud (:-\epherites) see LATE I'I'RIO"

nefer
Hieroglyphic sign with many meanings, the
most common being 'beautiful' and 'good"
although 'happy' CJon also be meant. These
positive associations made it <l popular c1emenr

litrqlloise-b/Ilt!.f{liellfejclIJc/leJJ' clemenl ill lite

}orll/ o.fa nefer sign. New Kingdo1l1, II. 2.3 (/11.
(F.. ,71390)
in personal names, perhaps the bcst knO\\-n in
modern times being "\EFERTITI Cthe beautiful
onc is come'), wife of Akhenatcn (13511336 lie).
The neli'/" sign is usually said to depict lhe
stomach and windpipe of an animal, althoug-h
it is more likely that the heart and windpipe
were intended. As an t\,\ILLET it occurs onl~ as
~m clement of bracelets or necklaces, ralher
than as an individual piecc. It was particularly
popular in jewellery of the 18th Dyna'ty
(1550-1295 oe), and is well represented
among pieces from the lOmb of the foreign
wi,es of Thutmose III (1-179-1425 Be) in the
Wadi Qubbanet e1-Qjrud at Thebes (sec )I.\rEL1.ERY). Occasionally the white CRO\r~ of
Upper Egypt was referred to as the 'Nel"cr',
and depicted in such a way as to emphasize
this association by making it resemble the ucla
sign.
R. H. \VII.KIi'\SO~, Rl'tulil1g EgYPlirm urI
(London, 1992),78-9.

~ERTARI

NEFERTITI

C. ANDREWS, Amulels oItllltieut Egypt (London,

1994),87-8.

Nefertari (c.1300-1250 Be)

Principal wife of RA~IESES " (1279-1213 BC),
often depicted at his side for at least the first
twenty years of his reign. Her unusual prominence is indicated by the fact that the smaller
temple at ABU SL\1BEL was dedicated both to
her and to the goddess Hathor. Nefcrtari was
thus probably the only royal wife, apart from
the 18th-Dynast" (1550-1295 Be) Queen TIY,
to be deified during her lifetime (see QUEE..'\'S).
.1\ CLiNEIFOR" tablet from the III"ITITE city of
Boghazkoy appears to be inscribed \yith a letrer from Ncfcnari to the Hittite king
Harwsilis, although the presen":uion of letters
from Ramcscs II to Harrusilis' wife Pudukhcpa
suggests that Nefcrtari's Hittite counterpart
mny have been cven more influential in the
politics of the time.
Ncfermri's elaborate rock~tomb was the
largest and most beautifully decorated tomb in
the VJ\LLEY OF TilE QL'EE:\IS (Qy66); its magnificent wall-paintings began to seriously dcterioroue in the mid-twentieth century, but they
have now been largely restorcd by the Getty
Conservation Institutc,
C. DESROCHES NOBl,ECOLIrr and C. KUI'::-':TZ, Le
petit templetl/lbou Simbel, 2 \'ols (Cairo, 1968).
W. HELCK, 'Nofrcrcrc', Lexikoll der /Tgyptologie
1\, ed. IV Heick, E. Otto and IV Westendorf
(Wicsbaden, 1982),518-19.
1\1. A. CoRZO (cd.), II~"I pflin/ings nftlIl! tomb of
iVeji!rltlri (C1iro and !\lalibu, 1987).
1\1. A. CoRZO and ;vl. A"'S\I-\R (cd.), .-Irt and
rUm;ty: /Ilt: Nejertar; 1IIf111 pfl;n/;/lgs (()11St'n:lIf;OIl
projerl (i\lalibu, 1993).
Nefertari. Ahmose (1570-1505
A11~IOSE

BC)

headed and occasionally it was suggested that

the cal-goddess IlASTET was his mother. At
BCTO in the Delta he was regarded as the son
of the Lower Egyptian cobra-goddess, \\ADJ'Cr.
His epithet kltener /(I11J]' ('protector of the two
lands') perhaps suggests a role as guardi.m of
the unified State of Egypt.
S. !\IOltE\TZ ;lndj. SOIl:BERT, Der Cot/llultier
Blume: (';11 ti'gyptischl' KosIl/8goJ/;e 11I111 ilm!
mel/1J1t:ill: 8ilt!1J1irkuug (Ascona, 1954-).
I L SClII.OGI., Der SOIllIl'l1gol1 {It/fda Bliill' (Basel.
1977).
- , 'Ncfcncm', 1.A.'xiJW1/ tier Ag)lptolog;e 1\, eel.
IV. Heick, 1::. Otto and IV Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1982),378-80.

Nefertiti (c.1380-J.HO Be)

Principal wife nf the 18th-Dynasty ruler
AKIIE:\I!\TE~ (1352~1336 Be) during the
'.l\.marn;'l period'. She may also h.we been the
daughter of -\Y (1327-1323 BC), one of
Akhcnatcn's important officials, who W;IS later
to succcct! TCTI""IlA.\IL" (1336--1327 Be) on
the tbrone; this blood link would probably
h;'l\'e made her Akhcnaren's cousin. She had
six daughters by Akhenaten, but therc is no
mention of any male heir, and the princcsses
arc gi\"cn an unusual degree of prominence in
lhe templc and palace reliefs at the new (:apital city of EL-:\.\L\R_'\"A, often being shown processing behind the king and queen as they
brought offerings to the .\TE~) Or playing on
(he laps of the royal pair in scenes of extraordinar) intimacy.
In AkhenaLcn's sixth year he built a new
tcmple to the f\ten which seems to have been
associated with his SED FESTI\'AL, and the
reliefs and statuary surrounding its walls are
surprisingly dominatcd by figures of Ncfcrriti.
She is rcgularly portrayed officiating in religious cercmonies alongside the king, oftcn

see

:\IEFERIi\RI

Nefertem
God of the prime,",ll 1.0Tl;S blossom, who is
represented by the blue lotus (llymphflefl
cau/efl)" He was lIslially depicted as a m.m
with a lotlls-flower IIEADDRESS, sometimes
with the addition of two plumes and lwo ncck~
lace counterpoises, which arc symbols of fertilit)' through their connection with I IATI lOR.
Since the sun was believed to have risen from
alottls, Nefertcm was linked with the stln~god,
and is therefore described in the I'YRAJ\11D
TEXTS (Utterance 266) as the 'Iotlls blossom
which is be{()re the nose of RA', probably an
allusion to the usc of this scented flower bv
guests at banquets.
.
At Memphis he was regarded as the son of
SEKl-Ir..'IET, the lioness-goddess, and PTA I-I. As a
result he was sometimes depicted as l.lON-

-\BO\"[ Columl1ji'agnwl/ bearing 1I re!;e/tlep;t/iol/

oINejert;/;. 1,le extellded arm mi/h hand touching
the llraeus 011 ireI' crown is (JlJe o.(,he rays oI/he
Aten /0 mhom she u.OersJlomers. Qlle oIlier
dallghters stands behi/1/! her with (I siStrulll, 18th
lJyllllSO', c, 1.150 I1C, /I. 36.2 WI, (GRfFFlTlI
tNS'I'ITUTf NO, 1893.1.41, REPRODUCE/) co U/n'/:'sV

OF T/lf G/?lrt,n'll /NS'I'ITU'I'I)

LEioT BrOllze s/lItuelJe u/Nejertem ;lIla;d m;th silver

tllld gold. Ltlle Period, fl. 37 CIIl. (A464880)

199

NEITI-J

wcaring

NEKAU

unique type of ern\yn. and on One

c1-Amarna temple, rellsed at IIER.'IOPOLlS:\\ \G'\ \, she is shown in the
traditional pose of the phamoh smiting a foreigner. E,"cn by the smndards of 18th-Dynasty
royal W0I11CI1, who included among their ranks
the powerful figures of \1 1I10TEP I (C. 1560 Be)
and I I.\TSIIEPSL"'r (H73-1-l-58 Be), she seems to
hayc achieved unusual power and innucncc. It
is possible thilt she was able to build on thl:
achic,"cments of her predecessor Queen '1'1\,
who li\'ed on after the de.Hh of -\1\11o:'1I0TEP 111
(1390-] 352 Be:) and even appears to h.we yisitcd lhe new court at el-Amarna.
In the workshop of the sculpror 1'1I1;1'\IOSI-:
at c1-.'\Jn'lrna, the Gcrmnn cXC"J\"alor Ludwig
Borchardt disCOYCITd the famous p'linted
limestone bust of Nefertiti. Thc circumstances of its subsequent export to the Berlin
museum. howeYer, were a source of some controyersy at the time.
In the twelfth year of Akhenatcn's reign.
~efcrtiti receded inw comparati,'c obscurity,
her place apparenlly being filled by another
queen, Kiya, and probably also by one of her
daughters. 1\leritaten. By the fourteenth year,
she appears to haye died, although it has been
suggested rhat she herself may ha,e assumed
the role of a eoregent in order to succeed her
husband on the throne, simply taking the
name Smenkhkara (whose second namc,
Keferneferuatcn, she shared). As with many
aspects of the Amarna period, there is insufficient c,idcnce either w prm'c or to discount
this theor~ completely. However, there is a reasonably good case for identifying as
Smenkhknra the body of a young man buried
with various items of Amarna-period royal
funerary equipment. (some of which were originally intended for the queens Tiy and Kiya)
in the enigm.nic romb ... \ 55 in the Valley of the
Kings.
Ql.leen Nefertiti w",s probably buried in the
royal tomb in ;l ,radi to the east of e1-Amarna,
<llong with her husband. although no traces of
royal mummies hayc suryircd at the site, and
the wall decoration proyidcs e,idence only of
the funeral of princcss t\ Ickct:1tcn.
R. fl,"TIIES. Die IJIis/{,' da A.iill(!!.ill J"ojrelf.'/t'
(Berlin, 1968).
D. REDFORD -/Huu(I!{'J/. the herdir l,illg
(Princeton. 198{).
<1

T\lsnT BLOCK: from all

]. S:\.\IS0,",

Nticrli/i (llId Cleopalra: rJlIel!lI-

IllOlwrdlS (~r(fJll;;elll t."gyPI

(T ,ondon, 1985).
C. ALDRED, AHwfOlell, l';llg f!l8g.l'PI (London,
1988),219-30.

Neith
Cre~ttor-goddess

centre was at

200

of great antiquity whose cult

in the Delta. Her most

S'\IS

:l11l::ient s~'mbol was a warlike motif consisting

of:l shield and crossed arrows which is attested as earh' as the 1st Dmast'- (3100-2890 BC),
in the form of inscribed funerary stelae and
labels ii'om the Early Dynastic grmes at -\11'DOS and an inhtid amulet from a romb ar '\, \G
EI.-I)I-:II{. Two of thc most important IstDynasty royal women, l'\eithhorep (see '\,'\Q\D.\) and lVIerneith, had names referring to
Ncirh, and a wooden label from Abydos
appears to depict :1 risit m'lde by King .\11:\
(c.3100 Be) to a sanct'tl:try of Keith (or possibly
the f(llLndation of her templc).
She was usually shown wearing the red
CHo\\;'" of Lower Egypt, thc region wi1l1 which
she was most closely associated. By the time of
the Old f.:ingdom (2686-2181 BC). hlm-el'er,
shc had also come to bc regarded as the conson of the god SETI I and the morher of the
crocodile-god SOBEk. This association with
crocodiles may hiwc stemmed from her connections ,vith the Delta region. The maternal
aspect of her cult led to a link with the sky,
under lhe epithet 'Great Cow', thus leading to
potential confusion wilh the sky-goddesses
~L:T antI IL\TIIOR. In Roman times, inscriptions in the temple of Khnum at ES"\l \ sought
to identify f\eith as an Upper Egyptian creator-goddess who had only bter settled at Sais.
In this cosmogonic role, Neith was sometimes
depicted as a sexless being, equated with the

Brrm::;('J/alllt'lIl'nf
]'+eilh. Lalt' Period.
.Ii-rl111/ht' Fayum. /I.

211.5 (III. (1,,//0//)

hlkc of :\.L:", the primordial waters of challs

that prcceded creatlon.
From the Old K.ingdom onwards i\cith was
associ:Hed with funerary rituals. utterance
606 in the PYlH \III) TE\.TS speaks of her \\i1H::hing oyer the deccased OSLRJS illongside 1.... 1S.
KEPI ITI IYS and SER"'ET. Each ofthesc four goddesses WilS depicted on one parricuhtr side uf
the COFF1'\,1 and took care of one of the I(JUI"
su,s OF 1I0RLS (the genii associated with the
C>\'OI'IC JARS), Ncilh being depicted on the
east side of conins and serying as protcCtre...s
of Duall1utef: As rhe mythical ilwcl1tor (II"
,yeaying, she was also linked with the mummy
bandages.
She became particularly important during
the 26th O"nasty (66+-525 BC), ,yhen Solis "a,
capital of Eg~ pt. From the reign of Ahmo!o,e II
(570-526 Be) onwards some of her temple rc,coue deri,cd from the Greek-dominated trading settlement at ~ \eKR\TIS. The Greeks identified her with Athena. probably because orhcr
warlike aspect.
D. l\ [\1.1.1-:"1', Lc wl/e tic Neil Cf Sai:\' (Paris, 1888).
Vi. C. Il.WEs, S(cplervIEgYPI J (New York,
1953).321.
R. EI.-5<\\ ED, La dt!e.(~t Nei/h de Sa;s (Cairo.
1982).

Nekau (Necho)
The 'birth name' held hy two rulers of the
26th Dmasty (66+-525 BC).
Xektltl 1 (672-66{ BC) ,,-as nominall) the
first of the S.\ITE pharaohs. \Yhen thc .\SSl RI \\
king Esarhaddon conquered Egypt in 671 Be
he appointed 'Ncbu of Solis and j\ iemphis"
one of the Delta princcs, as vassal ruler uf
Egypt. [t seems likely that Nebu was killed b~
rhe Kushite pharaoh Tt\ "JUTMIr\NI in 664 He.
leaving the rh1'ol1c of Lower Egypt to his son,
Psamtek I (66+-610 BC). "'hom Esarhaddon
had placed in charge of the city or Athrihis
(Tl:l.I. rl"KlB). Few monuments of Nck:lUI hi.lrc
slIni\"ed. although a glazed smtuctte of Horus
is inscribed with his full royal titulary.
_Vektlll II Weiit'll/ibm (610-595 BC) was the
third Saitc pharaoh and succcssor to 1'5 \ \ITI".'" I.
'Yithin a year of his accession he had capitalized on the decline of rhe Assyrian empire hy
seizing control o,"cr the kingdoms of ISR \1,1.
and Judah. He therefore rc-established lhl'
Egyptian empire in the Levant: for about fUllr
years, but by 60 I Be his own eastern bonJcrs
were threatened hv Balwlonian armies.
Nebu II cnco'uraged Greek traders and
sailors to establish colonies in the DClt~l .1I1e1
created the first full Egyptian n:wy. manned by
Greek mercenaries. He also ordered the eXC;l,"ation of a new canal along the \Vadi 'T'umiI<H.
thus linking the Pdusiac branch of the 'ik

~KHBET

NEPHTHYS

with the northern end of the Red Sea. It was

in connection with this nc\y activity in the
\Vadi Tumilat that Nckau founded the new
city of Per Temu Tjeku ('the house of Alum of
Tjeku ') at the site now known as TELL EL~1t\SKJ-IU'l!\.

J. YOYOTTE, 'Ncch;IO" SupplclI/eII/ fill Die/lolIl/aire

de I" Bible VI (Poris, 1960), 36.1-9+.
N. GRI.M!\L, A lzis!OlJ' o/fll/riCUl Egypl (Oxford.
1992),145-6, .159-61.

Nekhbet
Vulture-goddess whose iconographic significance was firmly rooted in the DUALrn of the
Egyptian kingship. She and the cobra-goddess
WADJYT represented dominion over Upper and
Lower Egypt respectively. In recognition of
this, the king's five names therefore included
the uc/JIy ('twO ladies') title from at least as

carlv as the reign of

'\;\IEDJIB

(:2925

Be)

in the

1st Dynasty; this name waS written with depictions of the vulture and cobra beside it.
Occasionally both goddesses were represented
as cobras, as in the two llrael worn on the headdresses of QUEE\iS from the 18th Dynasty
(1550-1295 fie) onwards, but the Nekhber
cobra is sometimes distinguished from \Vadjyt
by wearing the white CRO\\'\i of Upper Egypt.
lVlost commonly, however, Nekhbet took the
form of a vulture with wings outspread and
talons holding SllE~ signs (symbols of eternity), and it was this form that she usualI~T
assumed on royal pectorals and regalia, In
paintings and reliefs she was frequently depicted in a protective posture with one wing outstretched as she hovered oyer the scene below,
Nekhbet's cult was first" celebrated in the
ancient city of Nekheb (El.KAIl), which derived
its name from her. In the PYHA\IID TEXTS she is
described as the 'white crown' and associated
with the principal shrine of Upper Egypt, but
her maternal aspects arc also emphasized: she
is described as 'the great white CO\Y that dwells
in Nekheb' and is said to have pendulous
breasts. Because she was also considered to
serve as nurse to the pharaoh she "'as later
identified with Eileithyia l the Greek goddess
of childbirth.
l\~~. l-h:ERI\L-\ VAN Voss, 'Ncchbce, LexiRoll del'
AgYPIologie IV, ed, W, Heick, E, Ono and
\Ii. Westendorf (Wicsbadcn, 1982),366-7.

nemes see CROWNS 1\:\1])

RonL REGALlJ\

nerose! vesse I
Form of spouted vase or lustration vesselusually employed in ritual contexts such as the
OPEN1NG OF TiLE '\IOLTll CERE1\\O)JY, which was
a ritual intended to instil life into funerary
statues or mummies.

Nepherites see

UTE PERIOD

DClail./i"fi/ll a ((J/lin (~rpalmed ulrlOlll/llgl' {,clol/gll/g

10 a m01!lallll({lI/ct/ulllllllllengeIJliu. AIII,e lop

Nephthys
Goddess of the Hc1iopolitan EN'\E:\n, who
appears to have possessed no cult ccntre or
temple of her O\,"n, Her name me.ms 'Lad~- of
the i\!{ansion' and her emblem l worn On her
heael, comprised the hierogl~Tphs for this
phrase. She was usually said to have been the
wife of the cyil god SETl I and, in latcr tradition, she was regarded as the mother of ANUBIS
from a union with OSIRIS. l\ilore important,
however, was her role as sister of ISIS, and this
positive connection apparently freed her from
any of the negative associations that might
have been expected through her relationship
with Seth.
She was usually represented alongside Isis,

[sis
(Ieji) alit/ Nephfhys (right), both ({{/'lYing tll//.:/1
sigm'.jlaIlR Osiris illlhejhrm o/a djedpillm: 111 Ihe
1()Iller regl~'ilcr Hol'lls (Ieji) alld Thofh (1'l:~11I) pllr~J.jJ
the dead JlJulI/a//l/lifh wafer represellted by ankh and
was U'IIl/Jols. Third illfermediafc Pl'I'iot/, c. 900 lJe,

.limn Thebes. ('.122939)

and the twO could both take the form of kites
at either end of the bier of the deceased. She
was a protector of thc dead, and on New
Kingdom royal sarcophagi she was depicted
on the external northern wall (next to the head
of the deceased), while Isis was portrayed at
the southern end, by the feet. Although
Nephthys continued to be associated \yith the
head of the coffin throughout the Pharaonic

201

NEW KINGDOM

periud, tllcre arc a few pri,"atc coffins on which

she and Isis were both portrayed at the (head'.
The fWD goddesses often appeared in judgement scenes illustrating c.:apies of the BOOK OF
TIlE DEAl).

Ncphrh)s was also the protectress of the

baboon-headed Hapy, guardian of the lungs
(sec C,"OIICJ\RS). ~ll1mmy wrappings, rhemSChTS a gift: of '-:ITI1I in her mortuary aspect,
were likened to the tresses of her 11.\IR, from
which the deceased king had to free himself in
order to attain rhe afterlife. In rhe Late Period
(7~7-332 Be) she \,"as associated wiLh the goddess ,\'';C''ET, and worshipped alongside her at
Kom :\Ier, between F.S:'\:\ and ELl\. \Il, in Upper
Egypt.
B. Al:n~:\ \IL:I.LER, 5)ll1kreti.Hl1w;1/ tim SlIrgtextm
(Wiesbaden, 1975),92-1.
E. GIt.\EFI:, INcphrhys" Lexiko/l dl'/" ;igYP/fJlogit'
1\, cd. W. Heick, E. Ono and \v. \tVestendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1982), {57-60.

New Kingdom (1550-1069 Be)

\\lith the expulsion of the I Jn~s()s at the end of
the SECO:\'I) INTI]{illl~I)L'TE PEnIOD (1650-1550
BC), the Egyptian army pushed beyond the
traditional
frontiers
of Egypt
into
Syria-Palestine. The Thcban conquerors
established the 18th Dynast)' (1550-1295 BC),
creating a gre~1t empire under a succession of
rulers bearing the names TllliTl\IOSE and
H\E:'\1IUTEI'. l'hc newly reunificd land had a
stronger economy th:m prc\'iously, and this
was supplemented by the resources of the
empire in ,LIJI" and western Asia.
The cmpire was n source not only of foreign
tribute but of exotic innuenccs and ideas. It is
possible that the cosmopolitan atmosphere of
the court of Amenhotep [II (1390-1352 BC)
sened as part of the inspiration for lhe radical
religious changes instituted under his son
Amenophis 1\ 1.IKIIE,,,,rE" (1352-1336 BC).
The loosely defined period around Akhenatcn's
reign is sometimes referred to as the
'Amarn;l period" named after EL-.\,\L\R:\.-\, the
modern site of Akhenaten's new capital. After
this period of religious heresy the old order
was re-established under TUT.'" ,Kilt' \IC~
(1336-1327 BC), w (1327-1323 Br.) and
1I0RE\lIlEB (1323-1295 Be). The latter is \'ari~
ously regarded as the last ruler of the 18th
Dynasty, or, less commonly, the first of the
19th (1295-1186 BC).
The 19th Dynast)' was dominated by a slle~
cession of kings, mosliy called R.H'IESES or
SET"- Rameses II (1279-1213 Be) evidently
campaigned vigorollsly and his many battles
are depicted on temples throughOllt Upper
Egypt and Nubia. Notable among his exploits
was the lli\n'1.E OF Qj\DESIJ against the HIT202

NILE

TITES,

He also I11med thc capital from

TIIEI3ES

to Pinlmesse t\:'\!TIR), where it remained for

the rest of the New Kingdom. The succeeding

20th Dynast' (1186--1069 BC) comprised ten
reigns) nine of whose rulers also took the namc
R~lmescs. 'rhesc, howe\cr, were troubled
times, and Rameses [II (1184--1153 BC) had to
defend himself against the incursions of thc
SEA PEOPLES .md 1.1 BY.-\XS. Under subsequent
pharaohs the country became pre~ lO regular
raiding. The Theban region became so unsafe
that the inhabitants of the tomb-\yorkers' yillage at DEli{ [I.-\lED1'\..' were mm-ed into the
precinct of the temple of ),IEf)ISET II \BL, protected by its great enclosure walls,
Although the 20th-Dynast~ kings ruled
from the Delta, they wcre buried in the ULLEY
OF Till: KI\:US at Thebes. Thcir oyerall weakness and distance from Thebes, a traditional
scat of royal power, left rhe way open f()1" riYal
powers to emerge. Panchsy, \"feERor UF J..::L"SII,
attempted 1"0 scize Thebes but was defeated
and n;trcated inro Nubia. "fhe Libyan g-encral,
IIERIIIOR, however, came t.o power in ye.lr nineteen or Rameses.\I (1099-1069 IIC). He efree~
tively ruled Upper Egypt, establishing his OWI1
daring systcm and assuming the ROY.\L TITliI.ARY, and was cventually succeeded by
Pinudjem [ (who also held both the royal titu~
larv and the office of High Priest).
There is some debate, hmycycr, concerning
the figure of Piankhi, who was once thought to
have been Herihor's son and successor.
According to Jansen-\Vinkeln's study of
inscriprions and papyri of the late 20th ~lI1d
early 21st Dynasties, Piankhi ~ often descrihed
simply as 'the general' (imy-r mes/lll) and
apP~lfently never holding the royal titulary must ha,c actually preceded Herihor, who
would probably ha\'e been his son-in-law. If
Piankhi, rather than Herihor, was the immediate successor of Panehsy (the Viceroy of
Kush), it would therefore h,1\"e been Piankhi
who cflccLively established the new line of
Libyan generals who were to dominate eyents
in the 21st Dyn~lsty. Herihor himself should
probably thcrefore be seen simply as (-he first
of the Libyan generals to assume the royal
titulary,
C. NI.\IS, Thebes n.flhe pharaohs (London, 1965).
C. RF.lWURIJ, 1-/is/fJly {iud chronology oflhe
Eighleenth DYI/asly o/EgJlpt: sC'I.cn studies
(Toronro, 1967).
B. .J. KF.~11', 'Imperialism and empire ill New
Kingdom EgYPl (c.1575-1087 Be)', Impaialism
illill/! (fllcit:lI/ world, cd, P. D. A. Garnsey and
C. R. Whittaker (Cambridge, 1978),7-';7,
28+-97, .168-7.1.
D. o'eo, '01{, 'New Kingdom and Third
Intermediale Period, I SS2~66-t 11(:', Anciel/I

1:.:!!.J!Pf: a social his/u1:J', cd. B. G. Trigger eL al.

(C1mbridge, 1983), 183-278.
T G.lf. JU11::5, Pharaoh 5 pl'ople: SC"t'ncsfmmld~'
il1 imperial Eg}lp/ (Oxford, 198-1).
G. T.:\1 \RTL'\, .,1 bibliograpJ~), oflhe .--11I/unlll
!,('riot! find i/s aJIt'f11ll1/h (London, 1991).
N. GKI.\I-\J., A his/ol)' ofancien I t~!!.)IP/ (Oxford,
IY92),199-292.

Nile
The longest riyer in the world, stretching for
67{ 1 km rrom East Africa to the
l\lediterranean, which is unquestionably the:
single most important clement of the geography of both ancient and modern Egypt.
'itholll the waters and fertile flood-plain of
the Nile, it is highl)' unlike11' that Egypti'lI1
civiliz~1tion would have developed in the
deserts of north-eastern Africa.
The study of the topography and geology of
the Nile valley has revealed a complex
sequence of phases, whereby thc river gradually changed its location and size o\er tht:
course of millions of years. Eyen in recent millennia, thc course of the river has continucd to
shift, resulting in the destruction or submcr-

NINE BOWS

tEJ-WI' Vil'l1J of/he Nile ttdleJ'. looking lforthjfol/J

the d~/Js oflleni HaSlll1. (GRAH-l.l/ I-I.IRR/SOY)

Thi' sU'ps ofthe lVilo11/eta Oil the islaml of

EIt'plllllltillc lit ASIPlIlIl1u'asuredtlte height of the
Nile. This l.rampll: dalt's to thl! R011/an period.

BEI.O\\"

0' ."

~ of

\fC/fUISO\)

Nine Bows

-~. _--Jjii;;::!~;: . ~

sian of archacological remains, particularly of

the PREDYl':ASTIC PERIOD.
Three rivcrs flowed into the Nile from the
south: the Blue :'-Jile, the White Nile and the
Atbara. The southern section of the iile
proper, betwecn .\S\\.\'\ and Khartoum, was
interrupted by six 'cmaracts' each of which
consists of a series of rapids produced by
changes in the type of rock forming the riycr
bed. This seerion of the Nile yalley corresponds to the I::md of "lJlllA, convcmion'l11y
diyidcd into Lower Nubia (the northern half),
between the first and second cataracts, and
Upper Nubia, between the second and sixth
cataracts. The border between the modern
stmes of Egypt and Sudan is located just to the
north of the second cataract.
From the earliest times, the waters of the
Nile) swollen by monsoon rains in Ethiopia,
nooded over the surrounding valley every
year between June and September - an event
known as the INUNDATIOJ\' - and new layers of
fertile soil were thus annwJ1ly deposited on
the flood-plain. From the early nineteenth
~entury onwards, however, the Nile was subJcct to a series of dams and sluices, culminat-

D!\TIO~, as well as the generaJ level of the river,

could be measured. Records of the maximum
height of the inundation were kept) although
there is no firm c\-idence that thesc records
were used in any systematic way in the determination of 'r-\X_\TIO~ on the amount of agrieulturaliand flooded.
There arc sun'i\'lng lilometers associated
with the temples at Philae, EMu, Esna, r;:um
Ombo and Dendera, but one of the bestknown examples is located on the island of
Elephantine at .'SI\".\". The Elephantine
L\"ilometer was rebuilt in Roman times, .md
the markings still \'isible at the site date from
this later phase. It \\'as also repaired in 1870 by
the Khedive Ismail. .-\.t Geziret el-Rhoda in
Cairo there is an Islamic Nilometer dating
back to .\1) 70j~15} although it W;lS possibly
built on the site of an earlier Pharaonic example. The Islamic Nilometcr \\"orkcd on the
samc principles as its ancient counterparts,
except tor the use of an octagonal pillar (rather
than steps) as the measure.
W. POPI'E1~, 7'llt' Cairo Ni/Olllela (Los Angeles,
1951).
P. (-lEIJ.pOR\', 'Les nilometrcs d}Elcphantine ella
rlare de Ia erlle' edE ('.J/127-'iJ (1989),283-5.
V. SETO~-\\ 11.1.1:\ \IS and P. STOCKS, BIlle guide:
Egypt, 3rd cd. (London, 1993), 220} 635.

A ncienr term used to refer to the enemies of

ing in the completion of the '\sw"->\ IIIGII 0,\.\1

in 1971. A ftcr more than a dcc'lde of rescue
\york} Lower Nubiil was largely nooded by
Lake :\"asser. Since then, the Egyptian section of the Nile valley has ceased to be subject to the inundation, thus allowing thousands of acres of ne\v land to be culth'ated
through irrig~ltion schemes, as welJ as thc
production of electricity from a hydroelectric plant ;ltl<lched to the dam. Sec also .\GRICUI:rLRI':; D1':I:n;

I-I:\!'\';

1i'\t.:"D-\TIO~;

"ILO-

and SIIADL"F.
J. I-I. SPEKE,Jounwl oIthe dis(o"i.l'1]' o/tlte .WfIf"Ct'
oflhe Nih', 2nd cd. (London, 1906).
D. BO:--::'\'l~AL', La erue dll Nil: diril1i/e eg)'pticmfe, (/
/ra1:f!/",I' mille aus d'ltisloire (Paris, 196+).
K. VV. BUTZER} Ear6' hyt!ml/!ir (ivilizllt;ull in
I:.gypt: {/ Sll/(~)I in mlli/ral Nology (Chicago, 1976).
D. BONNE:\U, Lc regimt' adlllill/~ftmt~rde I'tl/ll dll
Nil dam' I'Egyp//! greqllt:. romaine et byzallli/l/:
(Lei den, 1993).
\!I'TER

Nilometer
Device for measuring the height of the Nile)
usually consisting of a series of steps against
which the increasing height of the IMJi'\-

Egypt, presumably both bec;luse of their use

of bows and arrows in warf~lJ'e and because of
the ritual of physically 'breaking the bows' as
~1 metaphor for miliury defeat and surrender.
The particular enemies desibrn<.ned by the
term were a matter of choice, but the selection
generally included Asiatics and :\ubians (sec
EXECR,\TIO~ TEXTS). The Nine Bows were usually represented in the form of rows of bows
(although the actual number varies), and they
were regularly used to decoratc such royal
furniture as footstools and throne b<.lscs, so
that the pharaoh could symbolically tread his
enemies underfoot. On monuments they
often appeared as a series of bound f:APTlrEs,
and were e\'en depicted on the inner soles of
the sandals of Turankhamun (1336-1327 Be).
The depiction of nine bound captives surmuunted by a jaekal, on the seal of the
necropolis of the VALLEY OF THE KINGS, was
evidently intended to protect the tomb from
the depredations of foreigners and other
sources of evil.
D. TO~lll\IUIL", 'A propos de I'originc du mot
cgypticn "Ncuf-Ares1l1 , Orief/IO, Bulle/ill oftIll:
Sot:ie~)I.for Nenr Emtern Studies in Japan 24
(1981),114-24.
D. VAI.BELLE, Les IIfllfi tires (Paris, 1990).
203

NUBI.\

NOMARCH

R. II.

\VII,k"SO~, Rl'(ulillg

Egyptia" ilfl (London

1992). 18-1-5.

nomarch Jf!r AD\IJ:'.ISTR \'1'10", and

:,\O).IE

nome, nome symbols

along which groups of personifications of

esm(es or names processed around the temple,
bearing food offerings to the cult. Sec map on
page 6 for nOllle symbols and boundaries.
G. STEI,OORFF, Die ligYPlisdml Galle IIlfd iltre
P(Jlili.~rhc ElflJlJirJ?!ullg (Leipzig, 1909).
P. \loyn:T, Giographil' dl'l'Egyplt lIlfrinll/e,
2 "015 (Paris, 1957).
11. KFFS, .-lllricIII Egypl: {/ (If/Illmi (opogl"(/p/~l'
(London. 1961).
W. HELCJ..::, Die tI/fi(fJYPliglu: Galli! (\Viesb;ldcll,

In the Ptolemaic period the Greek term 1I(JJlIt'

began to be L1sed to refer to the forty-two traditional provinces of Egypt) which the
ancient Egyptians called sepal. A system of
diyision into provinces had been in existence
since at least the beginning of the Pharaonic
period (,..3100 IIC). In the late 3rd Dvnasty,
probably during the reign of Huni
(2637-2613 DC), a set of sel'en non-sepulchral

1914)
-, 'Gall'. Le.rikoll dl'r ,-i'gyplologie II, ed.
\\'. Heick, E. Ouo and \Y. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1977).

step pyramids W~lS erected at certain sites

perhaps corresponding to proto-capitals of

Nubia (anc. Yam, !rem, '[.,-se,,, f-:ush)

names: Zawiyet el-\Iayitin, Abydos, ~aqada.

el-Kula. Edfu. Seila and the island of
Elcphaotine (\SII.\,,). 'rhe capitals of some
l10mes shifted o\'er time, while the locarion of
others remains uncertain.
For most of the Dynastic period, thcre were
twenty-two Upper Egyptian nomes, each governed by <1 nomarch and having its own symbol, usually represented in the form of a standard, thus le~lding to prodnces being
described by such names as the 'hare nome' or
the 'ibis nome'. The twenty Lower Egyptian
nome signs are much later in date, and did not
incorporate standards. The reliefs in many
temples and shrines include a lower register

In termS of modern political boundaries the

land of ~lIbia cncompasses both northern
Sudan and the southern end of Egypt,
although most of the Egyptian section of
:'\ ubia has been submerged under Lake :\asscr
since the completion of the AS\\':\i\- lUG! [ D:\:\I in
1971. Aptly defined b,' W. Y. Adams as the
'corridor to Africa', r\ubia has served as a crucial trading conduit, channelling the resources
of tropical Africa northwards to (he civilizations of the \'lediterranean and western Asia
from at least the fourth millennium uc until
the ~r[iddle Ages. This traditional image, howc,cr, has been challenged by John AJcxander
and ~Iark Horton, who argue instead that

Section o/relie/ill the secolld wllrt ofthe

temple nj"f1nrw (llld Sobek at Kn1l1 Ombo,
depictillK afemale personification of/he /8th nomt
oj" Lomer EgYPl (lhe mpital ofmhirlt lPas
BulHlSlis) bringing ojfirings to Halhor. Reign 0/
..-JuguslIlS. c.30 BC-AD /-1. (I. S/L'III)
ABO\'E

204

:\ubia ',",IS pril11~1rily controlled from the

sOlllh, with the periods of Egyptian inf1ucnce
being shon interludes compared with (he
many centuries during which it \,"as essential!."
an aUlOnomous African ci\"ilization.
The are:l occupied by 1\ubia is the narrm,
strip of culti\"3ted land surrounding the
!Vliddle :r<ilc bct\\"ccn -\$\\."'- and Khartoum,
which is punctuated b~r the six Nile C1t;lraC(~,
a series of rocky areas of rapids marking the
abrupt geological changes in this section of the
Nile ,alb. Although the climate or :"Jubia i,
more exO"cme than Lhat of Egypt, ranging
from (he dry arid nonh to (he tropical souLh,
the ancienL agricultural base of both countries was fairly similar (and remains so in
modern times), being characterized primariJ~
by cereal crops, cattle, sheep and goats.
The earliest Egyptian act.ivities in l'\ubia
date back aL least to the late Predynastic period (1'.3500-3100 BC) and a number of sUrI'i,ing rock-drm,ings from the Early Dynastic
period (3100-2686 IIC) probably indicate the
earliest incursions by the newly unified
Egyptian state into territories occupied by
the Nubian .\ GROUP -.3500--2800 Be). In the
Old Kingdom (2686-2181 Be) the inmh-e-

Fmgmenl ofa mall-pail1lillgjiwlllhe

Thebtm lomb-chapel ofSobekhotep. Jhomillg
.VubiaJis presenting exolic gijis 10 TlIIhmosl'lI.
11.80 CIII. (/922)
IlELO\\

NUBll\

~UBif\

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

ment of the Egyptians in Nubia was restrict-

ed primarily to trading and mining activities.

.Ar this period the term Yam seems to ha,"c
been used by the Egyptians to refer to Nubia.
Just to the north of the second cataract, at the

site which \Vas huer occupied by the ~\liddlc

Kingdom fortress of BU n-:" there appc~1rs to
have been a small \\.tlled settlement containing traces of copper smelting, dating to the

~th

and 5th DInasties (2613-23~5 BC). B, the

earlv 12th Dynast' (.1950 BC) the Egyptians
had- begun to cst~lblish <.l string of FORTRESSES

/ ....
/J.

-.~

\..j
BAHARIYA OASIS

between the second and third cataracts. The

purpose of these military establishments
1.1ppears to have been to g<tin :l stranglehold on

Memphis
Asyut
Moslagedda
Thebes (luxor)
Qubaniya
Elephantine
Aswan
Beit el~Wali
Oakka
Quban
11 Wadi es~Sebua
12 sayala

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

13 Amba
14 Toshka
15 Abu Simbel
16 Faras
17 Qustul
18 Buhen
19 Wadi Haifa
20 Mirgissa
21 Semna
22 Amara West
23 sa,
24 Soleb

EGYPT

the economic resources of LO\\"er :\ubi a and

rhe countries fUrLhcr to the south, (including

DAKHLA OASIS

CIIRO;\,OLOGIC.\LT\B1.1'.: i'.LBIA

700,000-100,000 BC
Lower Palaeolithic
100,000-26,000 BC
Middle Palaeolithic
26,000-10,000 BC
Upper Palaeolithic
10,000-6000 BC
Final Palaeolithic
(Arkinian)
6000-3500 Be
Kharwu1l1 lVlcsolithic
~000-3000 BC
Khanoum .\Ieolithic
Cataract Tradition
(Gemaian, Q1dan and
~~bkan industries)
3500-2800 uc
A Group (A Horizon)
C Group (A I-Iorizon)
2300-1500 BC
Kerma
2500-1500 BC
:\ew Kingdom (Eg"ptian
1550-1069 BC
occupation)
Naparan period
1000-300 BC
25th Dynasty (Nubian rule
N7--U56 BC
oler Egypt)
\lleroitic period
300 BC-.\D 350
X Group (X Group, Noba,
AD 350-550
Ballana)
Christian period
.ID 550-1500
Islamic period
~\D 1500such important commodities as GOLD) i,'orYI
ebony, animals and sla,es). The boundary
STELE erected by Senusret UI (1874-1855 BC) at
SE~L"I", ncar thc third cataract, clearly statcs
this policy: Isouthern boundary... in order to
prevent that any negro should cross it, by
Water or by land) with a ship or any herds or
the negroes; except a negro who shall come to
do trading in Ikcn [probably J\lIRGISSA] or
with a commission'. "fhe fortresses not only
served as important symbols of Egyptian military strength as far as the local C-GROUP
people were concerned but in the case or
Buhen, ]\1irgissa and Asku~ in particular,
acted as temporary depots for the imported
materials.

LOWER
NUBIA
BATN
EL~HAGAR

22
23

24

25
Third Cataract

25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35

Sedeinga
Sesebi
Kerma
New Dongola
Oebba
Napala
Gebel BarkaJ
Abu Hamed
Kurgus
Kadem
Khartoum

Egypt (Jlltl ""Ubill: JI,,: prindpal sitesfmll1 the

Neolithit 10 Ihe Neill Kingdom.

AI the end of the ,\Iiddle Kingdom -.1650

Be), ,.. . hen Lower Egypt tCil under the control
or the I IYKSOS, Lower Nubia bcc:une dominated instead by an indigenous Kushite culture
centred on the site of KER'\IA in the comparatively fertile terrain of the Dongola reach. The
Egyptians of the late Middle Kingdom had
already been aware of a rising power in Upper
Nubia which they still described as the land of
Yam. The Kerma culture reached its hcight
during the years of the Second Intermediate
Period (1650-1550 Be:) but was eventually
forced into retreat by the resurgence or a

300m

united Egypt at the beginning of the 18th

Dynasty (1550-1295 Be).
The arch.lcological remains clearly indicate
that the socio-economic strength or I he KerIna
culwrc was gmdually amI inexorably cdipscd
by the empire of New Kingdom Egypt
(1550-1069 BC). The Egyptians appear to have
consolidated their control over Nubia as fill'
south as the fOLlrth cataract, establishing such
new towns as AMAlu' \-Vcst and SESI]Il-SUDI.f',
where the emphasis moved away fi'0111 fortifications LOwards the building of temples) a clear
indication that Illost of Nubia had begun to be
considered as part or Egypt itself rather than
alien territory. By the beginning of the 18th
Dynasty the post of VICEROY OF I':L,S\I (or
205

UBIA

1 Alexandria
2 Sais
3 Memphis
4 Dahshur
5 el-Ashmunein
6 Thebes (Karnak)
7 Aswan
8 Philae
9 Kalabsha
10 Qasrlbrim
11 Ballana
12 Faras
13 Gebel Adda
140ustIJi
15 Gemai
16 Firka
17 Tabo

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

18 Kawa
19 Old Dongola
20 Gebel Barkal
21 Napata
22 elt<urru
23 Nun
24 Sanam
25 Tanqasi
26 Meroa
27 Wad Ban Naga
28 Musawwarat
es-Sufra
29 Naga
30 SOba
31 Khartoum
32 Sennar
33 Gebel Maya
34 Axum
35 Adulls

!\It\IIIERI'RI; .\IEDJAY; Nt.:RI; Pi\~-GRi\\'E CL'I:rURF.;

SEDEISGAj SL \n;~s; SOLEH.

A. J. ARKF.I.I.,.I histor)1 ofthe SUdilllji-011l the

eilrliesllimes to /82/, 2nd cd. (London, 1961).
\v. B. E:\lERY, Egypt ill Nuhia (London, 1965).
B. G. TRIGGER, f-listOlJ! aUf! s,'lIlcmcl// i1/ LO/}1er
Nubia (New I laven, 1965).
E \VE;\.[)ORf (ceL), nil' prehislory of.Vubia , 2 \ols
(Dallas, 1968).
B. G. TRIGGER, Subia under the plwTflohJ
(London, 1976).
F. }-It"TZE, 'The ~Vleroiric period"_'Uh((/ ill
(/Iltiqlli~)', ed. S. Wenig (Brooklyn, 1978), 89-10i
W. Y. AO_\.\IS, Nubia: {orridfJr to .-IJi-iw, 2nd ed.
(London and PrinccLOn , 1984).
D. O'CO"OR, "The locations of'r"am and Kush
and rheir histurical implicltions',.7ARCE 23

(1986),27-50.
J. Au::.: \ '-OER , 'The Saharan divide in lhe Nile
Y;l11cy: the c\'idcnce from Qasr Ibrim,,_,jji-i({/l1
.-J.rdweologiml Rt'~'il'm 6 (1988), 73-90.
1\1. I IoR'"ro~, 'AfriC'J in Egypt: new c\'idencc from
Qisr Ibrim" l:.:~YPlll1/{'--IFica, ed. \V.v. D~\';cs
(London, 1991), 26+-77.
16

Nun
Third Cataract

.~
"

God \"ho personified the original formless

Occ..11l of chaos from which the I'RI\IE\.\L
\IOU:'\D of the sun-god ATr.;:\t arose. The mass
of negatiye forces represented by Nun \r~S
considered to have conrinuccl to exist ~t lhc
edges of the uniycrse, cyen after the first ;let of
creation had taken place. ~ un was therefore
the dwelling place of all that lay outside the

35

.f./DlptllndlVulJia: Ihe prilltipal sitl!sfrom the

NapllllU/ to the Christian period.

King's son of Kush) had been cre.lred,

enabling Nubia 10 be go\'crned as <1 separate
region (consisling of the t\'iO pro\-inces of
\Vawat and Kush), just as the Egyptiandominated areas of Syria-Palestine were
transformed inro thrce administrative units
under Egypti'\I1 controL
By the elevcnth century BC, however, the
Egypthll1 grip ovcr Nubia had diminished, and
the local rulers at t'\.\.VATA were ablc to assume
control, just as their Kerma-culture predecesSOrs had. The Napamn rulers, however, capitalized on the divisions within Egypt during
206

the Third Intermediate Period (I069-7~7 ue)

to create a new kingdom that was c,"cnrually
able to absorb Egypt itsclf~ inaugurating the
reigns orthe 'Kushitc' 25th Dynasty (7-t.7-656
Be;

sec

PlY;

SII.\Il'\QO; SIIMllTQO; T'\IIARQO

and T' '-"L'I".\,\I:\ 'I). From the Late Period

(747-332 Be) onwards the l'\ubians were able
to continue to dc\'c)op separately from Egypt,
during the Nleroitic (sec 1\IEROE), BALl.AN:\
(X Group) and Christian periods, although
inc\'it'lbly there were continued religious)
political and social influences from their
northern neighbours.
Sec also :\~lIt"; ,WEDDIAK; ARE:\,SNUJlIIIS; B
GROlW; BElT EL-WAU; BLE,\\l\IYES; CAPTIVES;
FAR.'\S; Ki\Li\llSIIA; KAWA; KURGUS; EJ.-KURRU;

Detail oIthe Boo~ oIthe DerJd papyra, oIthe

pries/eJs Allhai Jhowiug NUl1, the god ofthe
primevlIllPtflers, !ijiiug lip the so!ar bark. 20,11
D)'lIasly, e.// 00 Be. (DI / 04 72)

NUT

~Rl

bounds of the uni,"crsc, such as stillborn

babies or condemned souls (sec T'UlOO).
Ie has been suggested rh;,lt the P.-\~ BEDDI~(j

(aJrcrnation of com"ex nnd canCJYC courses of

bricks) used in the enclosure walls of many
Egyptian TE\lPI.I::.'>, such as h:..-\R~:\h: and DE'\PER.:\, was intended to symbolize the undulations of the waters of ~un. The warcry chaos
was thus clfeetirc!,' being held back at thc
margins of the temple, which \".1S itself a

metaphor for the uniycrse. Since I\un also

s"mbolized the depths of the netherworld, he
\~'as oftcn portrayed as a bearded figure holding up the SOL\R B:\RK. Along with his ,onson
Naunet he was one of the eight crc.ttor deities
of the Hcrmopolitan OGDo.\D.
E. 1-IOI{j'\L'G, idea into image, trans. E. llrcded
(New York, 1992),95-113,

Nuri
Napatal1 funerary sire located in Upper
Nubia, aboLit 25 km soulhwest of the fourth
Nile cataract and a few kilometres to the
northeast of X.\IWI"\ (one of the principal

political centres of the kingdom of Kush). It

\BO\'E I~)I/,(f/llids fOVt'l'illg

was the burial site of the Kushitc royal family from the mid seventh to the carly third

Kwh

century Be (i.e. after the tombs at

and before those at southern

EL~t-:URRL

According to the site's principal

cxcaV~1l0r,

(It

the burials (~(iht' killgs f~/

Nur; ill Upper Nubia.

(IJl:'Ht:'f,.:

w/:'l..\'ln)

\IEIWE).

George Reisner, there were :H least nineteen

Napatan royal burials al i'\ uri, including that
of the 25th-Dynasty pharaoh TAII-\RQ.O
(690-6M BC), each of which ,,'as cm'ercel by
a small pyramidal superstructure built of rhe

local sandstone. In the substructure of the

kings' tombs. usually consisting of three
chambers, the mummified body of the
deceased was placed in a wooden coffin or
stone sarcophagus surrounded by funerary
offerings including many luxury items
imported from Egypt. The stylistic changes
in the N.1patan royal tombs were used by
Reisner as a basis for his relatiyc chronolog\'
of Kushitc kings. As at cl-Kurru, th~
Napatan queens were buried in a separate
section of the cemetery comprising more
than fifty tombs.
D. DUNII'\,\I, TIll: royal temclerics of Kush, II: Nllri
(Boston, 1955),
W. Y. ADM.IS, Nubia: corridor /() .I~j1-i((l (London
:md Princeton, 19S4), 278-85,

Nut
Sky-goddess, whose body symbolized the
vault of the sky, In the l-Ieliopolitan doctrine uf
the ENNE/\D, she was considered to be the
daughter of SIIU, sister-wife of GEB and mother of OSIRIS, ISIS, SETH and ~EPJITITYS. She was
usually shown in hum~n form, but more rarely

The skI/-goddess .VuI. her bOth' ardled tJi:er

S/Ill ellcltei:ming
tlml gh:illg "irlh 10 il Melt worning. TIlt' scene is
sluwm Oil/he ailiug {JIll kiosk-like dlllpel ill Ihi'
lemple o/Hallwr (II Dendera. Irent( Ilrt' image t~r
11"lllOr tJu1Jlhirlr lire .'1m ~( raJ's 1;111.
(/~ 1: Y/CJlUUiO\)
RIGIIT

Ihe carlh. is sl!I!n s11JllllfJmil1g lite

she was also portrayed as.1 cow) thus leading to

occasional confusion with the bm'ine images
of .mother sky-goddess, I-IATIIOR. The Greek
writer PltIlarch adds Apollo (the Greek equi,'alent of J IORes) to the list of her progeny, in a
story which relatcs how the sun-god Helios
(RA) cursed Rhea (Nut) pre,'enling her from
giving birth on any of the 360 days or (he calendar. The fivc children '''''cre able to be born
only through the intervention of l-fermcs
(TJ [0'1'(1) who provided five cxtra days of light.
This myth was therefore lIsed to explain the
existence of the five epagomenal days in the
Egyptian CALEI'\DAR.
Nut's body, e.1ch limb at a cardinal point,
w.tS thought to be arched over the earth.
[\'ery evening she swallowed the setting sun,
Ra, and every morning gave birth to him

again from her womb. Depictions of this :lct

arc commonly found on the ceilings of temples as well as in the royal tombs in the Valley
of the Kings, where they arc accompanied on
the walls by the nightly journey of the sun
through the underworld. The two versions of
the palh of the sun were not regarded as contradictory. Nut's body was also interpreted as
the course of the stars, which arc shown as
decorations on her dress, and it is thought
likely Ill.H she also personified one particuhlr
constellation, probably located ncar the celesti:ll equator.
As the renewer of the sun each day, she was
clearly regarded as a suitable funerary deity,
and several of the utterances in the PYRJ\i\\ID
TEXTS speak of her 'enfolding the body of the
king'. Another utterance asks: '0 my mother,

207

NUT

OBELISK

Nut, spread yourself over me, so (hat I may be

placed among rhe imperishable stars and nC\'lT
die', and il. ycrsion of this prayer was inscribed

on one of the golden shrines ofTurankhamun

(1336-1327 Be). Such imagery ga,"c rise to her
identification with the lid of the COFFl.\, and
texts during the Old Kingdom (2686-218111<:)
refer to the chest of rhe sarcophagus as ",wI

('mother').

From

the

I\c,,'

Kingdom

(1550-1069 I1c) onwards, she "as regular1,

depicted on the underside of Lhe lid of many

coffins and sarcophagi, arching her body over

that of the deceased. The dead person was

thus both back inside the body of the mother.
ready for rebirth, and fe-enacting the journey

of the sun-god between hem'en and earth.

NUL has also been idcmified as the inspiration behind the so-called 'swimming-girl' cosmetic spoons, which date to the Nc\,'
Kingdom and usually portray a nude woman
swimming, often holding a goose in outstretched arms. These artefacts are now
regarded as rebuses of the diyine pair NUL and
Gcb, whose roles in the funerary cquipmcnt
may therefore have been more complex and
ritualistic than prc,'iously thought.
J. BCRG\! \~, ')Jur - HimmclsgottinBaumgonin - Lebensgcbcrin', J-!Ul/umiltlS
re/igif/sa; FeslUh,.~(i jiir fl. Bie::,ais (Stockholm,
1979),53-69.

E. HUR;.IL:-"G, Der iigYPlische /VIJ'lhf).~ 1.'01/ dt:r

Hi111I11e/skuh: eiue .-iii(-'/ogie dt'S U/I.:ollk0111/1lt'JIt'1I
(Freiburg. 1982).
A,l\:.OZLOFF and B. BR'-\', E~S:J'pls da::,diug .m,,:
~-/I1f{'lI/lfJlI!P JfI and his world (Bloomington and
Cleyelal1d, 1992),331---+8.
D. .\lEE"s and C. r \URD-i\h:EI-.:S, I,ll tie
qU()lidieu/l{' des dieux egypliem (Paris, 19(3),
166-72,238-9.

208

o
obelisk (Egyptian tekhm)
Tapering, needle-like stone monument, rhe tip
of which was caned in the form of a pyr.lmidion (Egyptian bel/bwet). The shapes of both
obelisks and pyramidia were dcriycd ultimately from the ancient llE:'\IJE:'\ stone in the temple
of the sun-god at 111':1.I0POI.IS. T'his SLOne was
bclic,'ed to be that on ,,hich thc fays of the rising sun first fell, and \\'as sacred at least ,IS
earl\" as the 1st O,'"ast\ (3100-2890 IlC). The
Egyptian word for obelisk (lekhen) may be
related to the \nJrtl mebeu meaning 'to shine',
rurther emphasizing the connection with the
cult of the sun.
The role of the obelisk as a solar symbol was
often rc-emphasized by c.u\'etl figures of
baboons ilt the base, since wild baboons were
c\'idently known to greet the rising sun with
great chattering and excitement. The pyramidion at the apex of each obelisk was usually
gilded in ordcr to reflect the sun's f<lYS.
The masonry obelisk in the 5th-Dynasty
sun temple of ,YLSERR' (2-145-2+21 IlC) at "ilL
UUUB "'ould originally havc been onc of rhe
largest obelisks, although irs bro.ld, squat proportions would hm'c been more reminiscent of
the beubt!J1 stone than the elegant monolithic
obelisks of later periods. The use uf obelisks
was at first fairly limited, spreading gradually
from l-leliopolis. As early as the Old Kingdom,
small obelisks were sometimes erected outside
pri,',ue tombs, ,llthough it is with temples that
Lhey are most orten associated. The usc of
such small obelisks in front of tombs continued in the i'\ew Kingdom (1550-]069 Be), and
a pair of obelisks arc represented in the tomb
of the 18th-Omaslv vizier "E~II.'IIR,\ ("1"1100).
They also formed part of the decoration of
SII \BTI-boxes of the Third Intermediate
Period (l 069-747 IIC), and from the Late
Period (7+7-332 Be) onwards their importance
in funerary architecture Icd to t"11e crcation of
obelisk-shaped amulets.
In the New Kingdom large monolithic
obelisks were often erected in pairs in front of
temple pylons, Sadly, no such pairs remain ill
.~ill1 roda~-, the last two having been separated
when i'v[uhammcd Ali presented one of the
LL:\OR obelisks to the French gm-crnment in
I R19, Ie.wing only one in front of the temple,
while the other now srands in the Place dc la
Coneorcle in Paris.
An unf"inishcd granite obelisk, probably
daLing ro the New Kingdom, is still lying in

rhe northcrn quarries at '\S\\'.\i\. 'Vith a lengrh

01"41.75111 and a Iyeight of 1168 tons, it would
have been the largest monolithic obelisk crer
cut if it had not de"eloped a fatal naw during
rhe inirial quarrying. Experiments by Reginald
Engelbach showed that it took an hour to
rcmoyc 5 111m of stone from a strip 0.5 111 "ide
across the ohelisk, using basalt pounders. The
mO\'ing and raising of obelisks was a major feat
of organization in itself, presenring diffiCulties
cyen to those who hayc altemptcd it in thl'
twentieth century. Nc\-ertheless, man~
obelisks were obviollsly successfully cut in
ancient times, and the quarrying and transport
of two enormous granite obelisks for
l-latshepslll (1473-1458I1c) is recorded in her
temple at DEIR 1:I.-B;\IIRI, while the monuments
themselves ilre still loe<lfed in the temple of
Amunat I>..\JP\:\K.
The obelisk rapidh became popular with
other cultures outside Egypt. It was copied b~
the Canaanites (see BYBLOS), and thc \SS) RI."
ruler Ashurbanipal (669-627 BC) is said to
h,we remoyed two bronze-clad exam p1cs from
TIlEBES after his inrasion of 669 Be. in later
rimes, many obelisks wcrc remm'ed by the
Prolcmies .md [he Romans, with the result that
Rome now has thc greatest number of obclis1.s

Red grill/ile obdisl- (~r

}jatsllep$l/l.18111
Dynasty, c./-I73-/-I58
Ilc.lmfl1 Q!lsr !brim.
VII""a,lI. /.83 III.
(EIIS3-1)

OFFERING FORMULA

OFFERING TABLE

anvwhere in the world, including rhe tallest,

th~ so-called Lateran Obelisk. In modern
times obelisks hayc been re-crecrcd in many
major cities throughout the "'orld, for example
London, Paris and ~cw York.
R. E?'GELBACH, The .1.Ol'lllJ obdisl' (C1iro, 1922).
C. KUE~TZ, Ob/listjllt'J (Cairo. 1932). [part of the
c'lralogue of the Egyptian l\luSClIl11, Cairo.]
B. DIJl~ER, J1I!0i'i/lg the obelisl's (Cambridge. MA,
19iO).
E. IVF.RSE~'. Obelisl's ill e.\'Ik (Copenhagen, 1972).
L. 1-I,-\1IACI-II, The obelisKs (~( Cgypi (London.
19i8).

R. I-hyw-\RD.

Clt'flpnlrfl:< IIfl'flleJ

(BUXLOll, 1978).

offering formula
The helep-di-UfJ111 (':1 gift which rhe king
gi"es') or 'offering formula' was a prayer asking
for offerings to be brought to the deceased. It
first appears as lhe principal inscription On the
FILSE DOOR stclae of the Old lilllgdoJ11 (26862181 Be), which lormed the focus of f"ud
offerings in early private tombs, but it continued to be used on funerary stelae (and larcr
<1lso on COFFINS), throughout the Pharaonic
and Greco-Roman periods. On stelae the formula is often accompanicd by a depiction of
the deceased sitting in front of an OFFERI:'\G
"B.DLE heaped with food, and on coffins of the
Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 Be) it was often
written on the exterior (sec illustral:ion), while
a number of different offerings were depicted
in neat rows on the inrerior.
Typically the first line of the offering formula asks for the king to make gifts to The
gods QStRIS or '\_'UIlIS; the rest of the inscription then usually consists of a list of the various quantities of items of food and drink that
the I.:(~ of the deceased requires. The inscription sometimes <lIso asks visitors to the tomb
to recite the forlllula so that the necessary
offerings would appear. Jl is clear from rhe
nature of the formula that the sustenance of
rhe ka of the deceased \vas not simply the
responsibility of the sun-i\'ing relatives - it
was necessary for the king to intercede with
the gods on his or her behalf This illustrates
the essential role played by the king as di"inc
intermeclian' at the heart of each indi"idual's
funerary c~lt, establishing the crucial link
between the fatc of the indi"idual and the festi\'als of Osiris. It also reflect's the common
practice of di"iding up temple ufferings and
redistributing thcm among the funerary cults
of individuals.
A. 1-1. GARDLXER, Eg)Jpli((1I grammar, 3rc.l cd.
(Osford, 195i), I iO-3.
R. B. P:\Rf..:ISSO:\" /o;aJlrolll all(it'lIl Egypi
(Lundon, 1991), 136--12.

DellIiI oIlhi> oJJerillgjimllula (helep-c1i-ncsw). ({

praJ't'r aSk'iug Ihe king la proi'ir!e oJJeril1gs. 011 I!I('

eXlerior oflhe ollla l'(~nill OIlllc p/~)'si{ioll Seni.

J\lIiddle Killgdo/ll, c.2()()O JJC. poillled moor/.

11.1.'011. ("1.l0S"!)

offering table
One of the most important elements of the
Egyptian priv;lte tomb throughout the
Pharaonic and Greco-Roman periods, It was
usually placed in an accessible location such as
the chapel, so that oHcrings could actually be
brought to it by the funerary priests or rclatiycs of the deceased.

The hieroglyph represenTing the ancien!

Egyptian word hfleft (the most literal mc.111ing of which is 'offering') consists of a depiction of a wm'cn mat surmouJ1lcd by a loaf of
bread. doubtless reflecting the most basic
method of presenting an offering. This simple visual image not only sen'ed as a
metaphor for the act of offering itself but also
came to be rhe characteristic shape of the
physic.Ii surface on which offerings were
placed fro111 the beginning of the Pharaonic
period ol1\yards. The upper surfaces of offering tables were often can'ed \"ith the loa\'cs,
trussed ducks and yessds required by the
cult, so that the srone-can'ed images could
scr,'C as magical substitutes for the rcal food
offerings, usually \\'ith the additional back-up
of the hieroglyphic OI'FERL\lG FOR.\IUI.!\ .mel
lists of produce. Often there wcre cups,
groOYCS or channels cut into the surface so
thaI such liquids as water, beer or wine could
be poured on to the table.
The so-called 'soul houses' placed beside
the mouths of the shaft-burials of com paratiyely poor indiyiduals of the First
Intermcdiate Period and .:\liddle Kingdom
(2181-1650 lie) were essentiall, an elaborate
form of offering table. Flinders Petrie, who
excn-.lted large numbers of lhem ,ll the site of
Riteh, was able to trace the c"olution of soul
houses from simple potler.:- LntyS (imit.ning
stone offering lables) to later more elaborate
examples consisting of models of houses, the
forecourLs of which were strewn "'ith food
offerings. 1n this way the soul house neatly and
economically combined the concept of rhe burial place as rhe symbolic home of' the deceased
KIlt:f..'!il1g slttlUt: oIRoulI.'ses 1l1lOldillg '111/~Ol'ril1g
(1 hcs-i'ase. /9"1 DYl1aso', C./2.1() Ile.
limeslfllle.from .A/~)'dfJS. II. 98 em. (I:' 196)
lab/t' Oil

209

OGDOAD

with the expression of a desire for food offerings to sustain the 10\. Sec also t\1:li\R.
C. KUENTZ, 'Bnssins ct [abies d'offrandes',
IJII'40 81 (1981), suppl., 2n-82.
I-I. ALTEi\. \ILLLER, 'Opfer', Lexikoll de,.
.-lgypJo/Qgie 1\ I cd. \V Heick, E. Otto and
W. Westendorf (Wiesbaden, 1982), 5i9-84.
J. BOL"RRl<\L, Pht/molts {fllli morlals: EgYPliall arl
il/ 'he A1idtl/t Kingdom (Cambridge, 1988), 101-3.

Ogdoad (Egyptian khllJ/I/I)

The Hermopoliran Ogdoad were a group of
eight deities whom the priests ;1t IIER.\10POUS
\1 \G~.\) the principal cult-place of THOT! I,
identified as the primcral <.lctors in a CRExno,"
myth. During the Pharaonic period
Hcrmopolis even derived irs nilme (Khmun)
from the ;!Ocient Egyptian word t(lr 'eight',
and this ancient toponym has sUTri\-cd in the
modern pl:tce-namc of el-Ashmuncin_
The Ogduad comprised four frog-gods and
four snake-goddesses, each frog being paired
with one of the snakes_ The four p'lirs symbolized different aspects of the chaos before the
creation. 'fheir names were xu1\ and Nallnet
(water), A \1C"~ and f\mallnct (hiddenness), IJEII
and Hauhcl (infinity), and Kek and Kauket
(darkness). It was thuught that these deities
brought into being the original I'RIJ\IE\',\L
\10V,'O on which, according to one myth, the
egg of the sun-god was placed.
E. I-IORNU,\u, idea illl(J imoge, tmllS. E. Bredeck
(New York, 1992),41-2.

oil
Important material in lx)th funerary ritual and
daily life during the Ph'lraonie period. Oil and
fnt served ns the bases for many of the
Egyptians' unguents and scents (there were 110
true - distilled - perfumes). Various aromatic
herbs and spices were adeled to the oil in order
to imbue it with certain aromas_ At a more prosaic IcYcl, oil W.IS the fuel used in bmps, which
seryed as lighting in housl.'S as well as illuminating tombs and mines. It seems lhat salt was
added to the oil to reduce the amount of soot
produced when it was burnt. The idemifictltion
of the ancient names for oils with the actual
plants from which the oil was produced has
prO\'cd to be extrcmely difficult, and many early
atlempts Sl.'C111 to haye becn erroneous.
Jars ofoils or fats, possibly once scented, were
included in the burial equipment from
Prcdynasric times onwards. One group of
seemed oils of particular importance is known
today as the ~seven sacred oils', although the
Egyptians rcferred to them only .IS 'the oils'.
These formed an integral part of religious ritual and were used for anointing the deceased in
the OP.'HNG OF 'rlIE I\IOl;TII CERE~IONY_ They
210

OLD

werc also included in daily temple riulUl. Some

of the seven sacred oils are known fi'om lstDynasty wooden and ivory labels, but the group
appears not to have becn used collectively lIntil
the Old Kingdum (268(,-2181 Be), when they
were represented as part of the OFFERL'G FOR_\ILL:\ on the walls or Eo\LSE DOOR stelae of tombs.
The earliest' known actual set of the seven
sacred oils is from the tomb of Hetepheres, but
small stone tablets with depressions for these
oils were sometimes placed in burials throughout the Old Kingdom. Like the other known
sets of jars from 1\liddle Kingdom (2055-1650 Be:) burials, Hetepheres' set contained
eight jars, but the identity of the contents in the
eighth jar was never consislent. Based on tomb
and temple reliefs, iL would seem that the group
had been further extended to nine or ten oils
during the New Kingdom (1550-1069 Be).
They were gi\'en the following names, usually lisled in this order: sf/i-heb (odour of fesriyals), heltenm (oil of praising), seftt, llthclle11l,
Imam/ (these three untranslatable), halelnel :~!J
(first-quality oil of conifer?), !Jalel ltel Jjehenm
(fust-qualitv oil or Libva).
A. Luc.o\s, .-Infiem Eg)lPlilfll nltlll'l'ials aud
iudmlries, -fth cd. (London, 1962), 327~37.
.\1. SEKI'ICO and R. \VIIITE, 'Oil, fat and wax',
AuciCl/1 EgYPlian malerials (Iud lerlmology, cd.
P. T Nicholson and I. Shaw (Camhridge, 2000),
390-429.

Old Kingdom (2686-2181 Ile)

Chronological phase consisting of the 3rd to
6th Dynasties, during which most of the royal
PYR..UIIlJ complexes and private _\L\$T.o\BA
tombs of the 1\ Icmphite necropolis were built
(see .\1 1',\1 I'll IS and "(~~\R4 The first significant ruler of Ihe 3rd Dynasty was DJOSFH
Netjerikhet (2667-2648 Ile), whose Step
Pyramid still dominates the skyline of northern Saqqara. .:\ear the southwest corner of
Djoser's enclosure is the unfinished step pyramid of his successor SEKJIE.\l"III:T.
The -fth Dynasty bega,n with the reign of
SNEFERU, who is associated with no fewcr than
three pyramids (one at ,\IF.IDUi\I, which may
have belonged to his 3rd-Dynasty predecessor,
Huni, and two at D,\IISIlLR). Of the next fiye
rulers, three (KIILFL, "'HFR.\ and ME!':".\ RA)
built their pyramids at GIZA, while the burial
places ofoJEIJI':FR.\ and SI-IEPSESK.AF were located
at ABU ROASII and S!\Q.QARJ\ respectively. A sixth
unknown -fth-Dynasty rulcr seems to have had
a pyramid complex at Z:\\\,IYET H.-ARYAN. The
4th Dynasty not only represented a distinct
peak in terms of the resources devoted to
pyramid building but it was also the apogee of
the cult of the sun-god, with lhe adoption of
the royal title sa R" ('son of the sun-god').

KINGDO~I

The 5th-Dynasty rulers (Userkaf, Sahura,

Tcfcrirkara,
Shcpscskara,
Ranefcref
Nyuscrra, Nlcnkauhor, Ojedkara-Jsesi and
U;.;'AS) were buried either at ABC"sm or S'lqqara,
.mel sc,er'll of the earlier rulers of this dynas~
also built sun-temples, in whil:h the royal cult
seems to ha,-e been assimihucd with the WOrship of the sun (sec \IlU GL'RAB and I WLiOPOI.Js). Although the architectural and artistic
achievements of the 4th and 5th Dynasties arc
undoubtedly impressi\'c, the intellectual anti
social developments arc poorly known, sinn'
few documenrs ha\-e suniyed.
The pyramids and rombs of the 6th-Dynasl~
rulers and their COllrt were all constructed m
Saqqara. The increased number of surviving
texts fi'om lhis period (particularly the I'Y]{.\j\IlIJ
TEXTS and Abusir papyri) has ensured that the
religion, society and economy of Lhe late Old
Kingdom arc better documemed than in t.lr1ier
periods. r\ numher of 6th~Dynasty 'funerar~
autobiographies' (see I.ITER..\TLRE) h,n-e also
enabled aspects of thc politil:'.11 history of the
period to be tcnt,nivciy reconstructed, including the launching of camp,ligns and trading
missions to "l!BlA and western Asia. lL is unccrt'lin as to whether events and political situations
were typical of the Old Kingdom as a whole or
only of the 6th Dynasty, because of the patchiness of the textual record.
'I'he Old Kingdom effectively came to ;111
end wilh the death of PEPr II, who was perhaps
succeeded by a female ruler named l'\itiqrct.
Some scholars, howc\'cr, have argued lhat the
7th and 8th Dynasties continued to rule from
J\ iemphis and that the political struct'urc during this period remained relath-c1y intact
despite a rapid succession of kings with
extremely brief reigns (sec FInST INTER \IEDI '\'1'1'.
PERIOD). A variety of factors seem to have:
brought about the fall uf the Old Kingdom;
suggestions include climatic deterioration,
consisting of lower annual rainfall and/or
lower Nile Ii'\!.;'-:"nrno"s; a possible increasc in
power of Lhe provinci~ll rulers, whose offices
bec.lme hereditary; and a decline in the size
and quality of royal funerary monuments
which may have been a result or symptom of a
decrease in roy.II wealth and authority (perhaps partly due to the granting of too many ta:\
exemptions).
1-1. GOEDICKE, Kiilll:rtlichc Dokuwe11le (l1/J dem
Alten Reich (\Viesbadcn, 19(7).
l. E. S. EmvAIlns, C. J. GAI'!) and N. G. L.
H.'\~L\10:\1) (eel.), Call/bridge (lJ/cie11l hiS/ol)! 1/2:
Earljl history oj'lhe Jl1iddle ElISI, 3rd cd.
(Cambridge, 19i1), H5-20i.
E. MARTIN-P.-\RDEY I Ul1lersurllUllgcu Zlir
iigyptischcn Provil1:::.ialvermalllll1g bis zum Emle des
Altell Reiches (Hildesheim, 19i6).

OMARI, EL-

OPENING OF THE MOUTH CEREMONY

P. POSE:'-IF.R-Kf{II~GEn, Lex al"chh:es tlu temple

[iou/rain'de Ne/crirkarc-Kakai" (Ic:; papyrus
d'Abowir): fraductioll el CI)JlIlJlclI/.airc, 2 \"ols
(Cairo, ] 976).
N. KANAWATI, The Egyptiau admillislmliol/ ill the
Old Killgdom: evideuce VII ils ('(Ullmmc tied/lie
0VarminstcI", 1977).
B. J. KEMP, 'Old Kingdom, Nliddle Kingdom
and Second Tntermediate Period', Allcielli Egypl:
(/ social hi.IOl]!, B. G. Trigger ct 011. (Cambridge,
1983),71-182.
J. MALE 1(, 11/ fhe s!Jrlt!o/IJ oIlhe pyrtll/lids: l:'gypt
during ,he Old Kingdolll (London and Oklahoma,
1986).
G. HAR'f, Phol"{/ol!.\' (1I1d p)!ramids (London, 1991).
N. GRIl\'IAL, A his/OIY oIolfcicnl Egypt (Oxford,
1992),63-101.
J. VERCOU'lTER, 'Le fin de PAncien Empire: un
nouvel cxamen" Alii di Vi Ctmgn:.uu tli
Egittologia H (Turin, 1993),557-62.
Omari. elType-site of the el-Omari phase of the Lower
Egyptian PREDYNt\ST1C PERIOD, consisting of
several Predynastic settlements and cemeteries clustered around the \Vadi HoE) between
modern Cairo and Helwan. The two main settlements (el-Omari r\ and B) have provided
radiocarbon dates that suggest they were
roughly contemporary with the Amratian and
Gerzean phases of the Upper Egyptian
Prcdynastic. 'The pottery is predominantly red
or black, bearing very little decoration. The
cemeteries were mingled with the settlement
areas, as at Merimda, bur each body was laid
on the left side with its skull facing to the
south, as in Upper Egyptian Predynastic
cemeteries. A third area of settlement (elOmari c) appears to have still been occupied in
the Early Dynastic period.
r. DEI3QNO, 'La civilization prcdynastiquc d'EI
Omari (nord d'Helouan)', BJE 37 (1956),
329-39.
Nl. A. Horr.\]}\'\', Egypt ajier the pharaohs (New
York, 1979), 191-9.
K. A. Bt\RD, 'The Egyptian Predynastie: a review
of the cvidencc',}olll"l1a/ of field /lrdwc(j/(jgV21
(1994),265-88

onomasticon
Type of ancient text consisting of lists of various categories of NMW$, from plants and animals to cities or professions. The onomastica
were presumably intended to servc both as
repositories of knowledge and as training exercises for scribes (see I:DUCATION).
A. [-I. GARDINER, /l//('ielll Egyptian Ol!o/lltlStim
(London, 1947).
M. V. Fox, 'Egyptian onomastica and Biblical
Wisdom', Veills Testt/JIIcnlll1l/36 (1986), 302-10.

Shu) Onuris was often given the epithet 'son

ofRa'. Sec also LiO!\".
H. JUNKER, Die Ouuris/egende (llerlin l 1917).
J. [NDRODI, 'Statue de bronze d'Onouris et de
Nlckhit', Bu//etill dll/Husee HOllgrois des Beallx
/11'1.' 55 (1980), 9-16.

opening of the mouth ceremony

Cast si/ver.figure ({tile warrior god 01lul'i.~ armed

mith (/ /t/nce. Thirr/ illiermer/iale Period, II. 4.8011.

(E,/66629)

J E. OSING, 'Ein spiithicratischcs Onomaticon

aus Tebtunis" ARten !l1iiJldlCn 1985 JlI, ed.
S. Schoske (Hamburg, 1989), 183-7.

On uris (Anhur, Tnhert)

God associated with war and hunting, whose
name means 'he who brings back the distant
one'l referring to his principal mythical rolc in
which he returned from Nubia with his consort, the lioness-goddess lvIehit. This legend
parallels the Hcliopolitan myth of the god of
the air, SHU, who was also considered to have
brought back his consort (the goddess
TEFNUT) from Nubia. Onuris' cult is first
attested in thc Thinitc region surrounding
ABYDOS in Middle Egypt. By the Late Period
(747-332 Be), however, he was closely associatcd with the Dell:a site of Sebennytos, where
a tcmple was dedicated to Onuris-Shu by
:'\IECTANEBO 11 (360-343 Be). In the Ptolemaic
period (332-32 HC) he was identified with the
Greek war-god Ares.
He is usually portrayed as a bearded man
carrying a spear or rope (with which he pursued I'vlehit) and wearing a headdress consisting of four long plumes. He held the epithet
(lord of the lance'l and his association with the
spear and ropes provided an inevitable link
with the mythical struggle between HORUS and
SI':1'II, in which the hawk-god used the same
weapons to entrap and kill his foe, the 1111'POPOTt\.,\1US. Onuris was also portrayed as an
avenger defending Egypt on behalf of the SUll~
god Rl\. Just' as l\!fehit was identified with
;mother lioness-goddess, SI':KHMET, who was
the (EYE OF Rt\" so (in another parallel with

Ritual by which the deceased and his or her

funerary statuary were brought to life, the (full
version' of which is perhaps an assemblage of
different rituals. l\!lost of the surviving evidence derives from the New Kingdom
(1550-1069 BC), in the form of vignettes fi'om
the BOOK OF TilE m:l\o and tomb paintings. In
the Old Kingdom (2686--2181 Be), a virtually
identical ceremony was known as the 'offering
ritual' and incorporated into the PYRAMID
TI,:XTS (usually Uttcrances 20-2 inscribed in
the hurial chamber). At this date it is likely that
the ceremony was regularly carried Ollt on
statues of the king in the vallcy tcmple of his
pyramid complex.
During the New Kingdom the ceremony
\vas codified into seventy-five separate acts,
thc earlicst full copy of which is known from
scenes in the tomb of the vizier REKIII.\HRI\
(TI'100). The ritual was usually carried out by
the son and heir of the deceased as a final act
of piety. Thus, where royal succession is concerned, it was sometimes a way of legitimizing
succession. Such is the case with AY
(1327-1323 Be), represented in the robes of a
sem-pricst performing the ceremony on the
dead king in the tomb ofTutankhalllun (Kv62;
1336-1327 HC).
f\1ummies and statues that" underwent this
ritual were effectivcly transformed into vessels fur the KA of the deceased. The ritual
could be performed in a number of diffl:l"ent
locations, from the 'house of gold' itself" (i.e.
the burial chamber) to the workshops of the
sculptor or embalmer. New Kingdom papyri
frequently depict scenes from the ceremony,
showing the coffin standing upright in front
of the priest or heir. From the 25th Dynasty
(747-656 BC) onwards, an enlarged pedestal
base on the coHin may well have assisted in
keeping it in this position throughout the
ceremony.
The ritual was a very elaborate one involving purification, censing, anointing and incantations, as well as the touching of various parts
of the mummy with different objects so that
the senses were restored not only to the mouth,
so that it might cat and speak, but also to the
eyes, ears, nose and other pans of the body.
One of the most important object:--<.; used in the
ritual was the pe.\'esli-kef, probably originally a
flint knife with a bifurcated blade shaped like a

211

OPENING OF THE MOUTH CEREMO NY

\IJO"E S('( O[imlfll1Jlf!11IS dtllil/g/i-om tilt'

Old Kingdom mhirh lI'oltld hare In~l'I1 /I.Iwl

i11 tltt' opl'llin/!, ~{tlte 11/0JlIIt {eren1fJ'~)I.

II n/li11ll'stolU! lable il1 ,hi' centre 8.9 em.

(I' 68-/0-/)

fish tail, many finc examples of which hayc

been exc,Wilted fi'om Prcdynasti c grm'cs as
earh as the Naqada I period (cAOOO-3500 Be),
dllls probably indicating that a similar ceremony \\"as already being lIsed well before the
firsl cyidence for many other aspects of
Egyptian funerary ritual. Other implement s
used arc uescribed as nf(jt'ri-bladcs and were
principally made from mctcOl:ic IRO" although
occasionall y othc..T metals were used. In addition the right leg of a specially slaughtered ox
was sometimes extended (o\\";lrd lhe mummy
or statue, perhaps in an attempt to pass on the
intrinsic pmycr of the ox.
.-\. "I. BUCh:\L\:--, 'The rite of opening the
mouth in ancient Egyprantl Babylonia" ]E.lI0
(1924), -17-59.
E. Orm, Das (igyplist!u: J1I/IIuliJJ"'lfll/g.~rilllal
(Wieshaden, 1960).
R. \-\'\ \V\L<;jE\\, Thcp.~"-J.:r an im'esrigation of
an ancient I;:gyptian funerary instrument',
Oudheidh/lllll(!!;e ,IIedetli'!illgellllil hi'l RijkslllllSt'1I111
7:al1 Olldlu:ideu Ii' Ll'itlell59 (1978-9),193-2-1-9.
A. R. SCHL'U\'\:'\, "The iconographic theme,
"opening of the mouth" on stclae',.7ARCE 21
(1984),169 -96.
A. J\L ROTII, 'Tht, p.~.\=-kJand the "opening of the
momh" cercmon~: a ritual ofbirrh :lnd rebirth',
JE4 78 (1992),113 -17.
- , 'Fingers, stars and the "opening of the
mOllth'" ,J..J 79 (1993), 57-80.

ORACLE S

oracles
\~ihcn important decisions needed to be justified or endorsed, the Egyptians llIrned (()
the gods for oracles. \>\Then oracles first
gained prominenc e in the early ::\e\\
Kingdom (1550-1069 I3C), they were sought
c\'en by the pharaoh and the highest gm efnment offici;'lls, oftcn as a \"ery public means of
obtaining divine approval for their actions. In
bter periods the method was used more regularly to resoh'c local 'ldministr~ltive or legnl
disputes, although ~1 stelophoro us (STU.!bearing) statue of OSORW:,< 11 (87+-850 Be) :n
Tanis is inscribed with a prayer ro the god
Amun in which he asks for an oracle appro\"ing his regime.
At a purely local leYel, as in the \yorkmen \;
\'illagc at DEIR EL-\IELJIY\ , oracles were
cmployed - whether consciously or not - as a
mechanism for soothing pOtential fbshpuims
of social tension. There must often have hecn
situations in which the Kl'IIbi'l (local council)
might h~l\"C been accused of bias or t:wourirism
if they had not been ablc to call all SOI11C form
of objccti,e olilside guidance (although it IS
not clear to what extent the oracle could be
'fixed' by Ihe priests).
The consulting of the god for oracles rook
place \,hen the di\'ine image "as being carried
through the sn'cets ben\-cen temples, usually
on the occasion of a particular religious HSTI\:\L. This prm'ided the ordinary Egyptians
,,'irh their only real opportunit y to approach
the god, since his image was usually hidden
away in the darkest sanctuary of the temple.
\~lhcn individuals addressed questions to the
god (in either spoken or written form) the
priest.s carrying the fl,\Rt\: shrine "'cre able to
tilt il onc way or another in order to indicate a
simple yes or no. AI DeiI' el-f\ledina the image
used for the orJclc was usually that of the deified \\\E:\"I-IOTEP I, which was carried through
the streets of the village at festival limes. The
types of questions v..lried enormousl~ from
health problems LO disputes O\'er property 1:1\\.
If" the \'crdict gi\-cn by the or:lck of one god
was regarded as ullsatisfactory, petitioners
were evidelltly able to consult the oracles uf
one or morc other deities.

ParI oIIIIl' Book 1.J.{lhe Dead papJ'l'fIs n/llUII(:!i.'/:

il/lI.amling Spell 23, lite opmillg oflite 1IIOll1h
(er(,IIIf1I~)!. Priests mise Ilu: rill/fli implemeJlts 10 tlh'
mOlllh IJ.rIlfllle.{i'1":~ mlll11'I~)'. while behind Ih/'1II11
sem-prii-'.I'/ illleopard-shll robl's Irold.~ (/ amer.
Behind Ih(' mll/JlIl~I' slauds a priesl111t'aring all
Anubis l1lt1JI', whiM Ihe mUe Q.rllr~' dl'(l'ased II1mmlJ
IJl:(r,re Ih" coHill, 'If, Ihe righl i.l' Ihejill/el'{llT chllpel
milh its p.J'mlllitll1! roo/ami ajilllerury stell'.
(E,99016)

212

~ACLES

OSIRIS

C. LEBL\:'-C, 'Pilicrs et colosses de typc

'losiriquc" dans Ie contexte des temples dc cultc
royal', Brn080 (1980). 1>9-89.
LF.IlL-\:'-C. :1nd I. EL-SAYED, Le R{/11Jt'$.~t'1I1JI
Ix/2: Lt',~ piliers osiri{{{lllI!S (C"liro, 1988),

c.

Osiris

Copy oIlI f}J(fIl-paillfingji-o/ll DeiI' eI-. \kdiu(f

A, L,

s/w1J)illg ({II JJJ1age (JIJlll' dl'~jietl_~lJJll'ItlJ(Jlep IIJl'il1g

].111 (1925).

(arried inll proCt'ssioll so 'ha/ his !i(({(/fl' coult! be

tou.wlled tiS fill ora(/l'. (Go/,)"/))" S/YI DE G/HIS

- , 'Or:1des in a1ll.:icllt Egypt Il"JE112 (1926),

IJAfJES)

From the 21s1 Dynasty omnlrds. the 'festinl of the oracle' was celebrated in the courryard between the nimh and lemh pylons;u the
temple of K \R'\ \". In the Third Intermediate
Period (1069-7-+7 Be) a new rorm or oracle,
known as an oracular amulctic dccrcc\ was
also inlroduced. This lOok the [arm of a small
cylindrical amulet worn on a necklace and
containing a divine decree s.lid ro ha' e been

BL\C"'.\I,\:'-,

'Oracles in ancient Egypt

J',

2~9-55.

171>-85.
I. E. S, ED\\ \RDS, Ommlur amutt'lir deaees oflhe
lalt: Ae/1l l\-illgdoJ1/ (London, 1960).
G, Rm.llI:R, Kulll!, Oral'tllI/lfl Xalun:t'n'lmlllg illl
1111<"11. (UPI<II (Zurich. 1960).
J.CER", 'Egyptian oracles', .-1 Sailt: Made
papyr/IJj"r(}1II Thebes, eu. R. P-\R"'ER (Pro\"idem:c,
1962).
J. D. Rn, 'l71t'ar(hin!(~rH(Jr(Lonuon,1976),
130-6.
J. 1\1, J..:.RLCI lTC', Lt grtllltll('X{t' o1"llmlairt> til'
lJ.il;h()II~J'"I1HI' (Brusscls, 1986),

One of t he most important deities of :1ncient

Egypt, whose principal association is with
death, rcsurrection and fertility, I1e is usually
depictcd as a mummy ,yhose hands project
through his wrappings to hold the rOY;l)
insignia of crook and flail. He wcars the distinct'ire alef CRmr:'\", consisting of the tall
'white crown' flanked by two plumes, sometimes shown ,Yith the horns of a ram, His flcsh
W;'lS sometimes shO\\"Tl as white, like rhe
mUlllmy wrappings, black to signif~ the
fertile Nile allU\>ium, or green in allusion to
resurrection.
Osiris "-as one of thc earliest Egyptian gods,
probably originally regarded simply as il
ClITIIOi\"lC fertility-god overseeing the growth
of crops, and perhaps with some connection 1O
the I~Ui'D.'\'nOi'- as a source of fertile allm'iulll.
Tn later rimcs his connection with the rin.:r W,lS
still occasionall~- maintained. As his cult
spread through the country, he gradually rook
on the ;utributes of lhose gods on whose cult
centres he encroached. It seems likcl~, for
instance, th,lt his insignia wcre taken fi'01TI
,L\ndjety, <1 god of Rusiris (;mcient Djedu) in
the Delta. It is likely that the legend of Osiris
as the dead form of an e;lI'lhly ruler "-;1S :lIso

issued in the form of an oracle and effccti,-c1y

prOlcctinJ.!: the wcarer against (,"cn- concci,"able disas~cr. In the L;lt<.~ Period (7~7-332 IlCo)
anll Ptolcmaic period (332-30 Be), a large
number of so-c~lllcd 'dream-tcxts'. written in
Greek and I)E~10TIC, have been excaV,1ted
from such sites as the Sacred Animal
Necropolis at Si\(~t\I~A. 'These texts suggest
th;lt the interpretation of IJR,E,\.\IS had bccome
closely linkcd with the consulting or oracles.
Individuals requiring an answer to a partiClIJilr problem or dilemma appear 10 have deliberately slept on sacred ground so that the god
would send them dreams serving as somewhat
cryptic oracles.

Orion

set' S\1l

Osirid pillar
Square pillar with olle of its faccs carved into
the form of";\n cngaged colossal statuc depicting
the l11u111mifcml1 figurc uf the god OSIRIS or the
dead king. FroJ11 the Nc\\ Kingdom (1550-1069
Ilc) onwards, porticoes incorporating Osirid pillars were a COJ11mon I'eature of royal mortuary
tcmples. Examples arc to bc found 011 the upper
terrace or the temple or Halshcpsut (1-+73-1-+58
He) ;1t DElI{ EI.-B.\IIRI, in the second court or the
1{1\\lF,SSEU\l and on rhe eastern side of the first
court of' :\IEIJI'{ET I L\BU at Thebes.

Pari of/ht' Book of/he Dead J!llpY/"ll.~ Id'j-llIlIt!ji.'I;

;/Il1SII'fII;JJg .)'pe/I/2.i Osiris i.I' siw//JJ/ sculttl ill
judgl'II/l'//llIIula a ({/110J!.)'.
(flld J

Behiud hilll sfaud 1.1';.1'

ephtlq's. mll1"1c iu.fi-lml o/trim are Ihe/igllrt,s

o/llrl!jimrSo1/s o/f]nrm. s{audillgo/f a 101m

.fIom<l: (E/9901I3)

213

OSIRIS

OSIRiS

taken over fi'om Andjcty's cu.lt. Subsequently,

when various sites claimed to be associated
with the individual parts of Osiris' dismembered body, Busiris claimed his backbone, the
I)JI-:I) 1>1I.I.t\R, a symbol that had Illany other
connotations and was simply assimilated into
the cult of Osiris, perhaps losing' its original
meaning in the process.
His main southern cult centre was at /\BYDOS (ancient Ahdjw), which was said to be the
burial place of his head. In the ~ew Kingdom
(1550-10691](:), the tomb of the 1st Dynasty
ruler D.lER (c.3000 BC) was claimed to be his
burial place, and the site became a centre of
pilgrimage. As well as a chapel for Osiris in
the temple of Set)' t (1294-1279 Be) thete waS
also the so-called 'Osircion\ the masonry
which was evidently intended to resemble a
temple or the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 Ilc),
although it was actually the work of
Merenptah (1213-1203 BC).
Although his best~known epithet is
\ennefer, meaning 'eternally good' or 'eternally incorruptible' (i.e. not suffering the
decay of death), he also took on the title 'chief
of the westerners ' , which was the liferal
meaning of the name of the jackal-god
Khentimentiu, the earlier god of the dead at
Abydos. Osiris' epithets also included 'he who
dwells in HEUOI'OI.IS'1 whjch thus associated
him with the cult-centre of the slln~god RA,
ThcHeliopolitan priests attempted to provide
a genealogy for Osiris in the form of the
El'\1'\EAD, a group of nine deities whose relationships arc first described in the PYRMI'\II)
TEXTS. Other funentry associations may have
evolved as a result of his assimilation with the
hawk-headed SOKAR, another underworld god
associated with PTAH, patron of the city of
I'vlcmphis.
The combination of his fertility and funerary aspects naturally transformed Osiris into
lhe quintessential god of resurrection. By at
least the 5th Dynast)' (2494-2345 BC) t.he
dead king was identified with Osiris, while
the liying ruler was equated with his son
110RUS (see KINGSHIP). \~rith the so-called
'democratization of the afterlife' that took
place during the First Intermediate Period
(2181-2055 Be) it appears to have become
possible for any deceased person to be resur~
reeted in the guise of Osiris (see COFFIi\
TEXTS), Thc phrase (Osiris of X' is frcqllent~
Iy used to refer to the deceased, in order to
identify him or her with the god.
In order to gain eterm'll life, it \vas essential
for the mummified body to imitate the
appearance of Osiris as closely as possible.
The Greek writer IIERODOTLS therefore
described the most expensive tcchnique of

or

214

as being (in the manncr of

OsiJ'is', As the judge of the dead, Osiris is
shown in judgement scenes illustrating the
BOOK OF TlIE DE!'I1.
Ncvertheless, the
Egyptians had a somewhat ambivalent attitudc toward the underworld (dmat) and texts
sometimes refer to the negative aspect of
Osiris as a malevolent deily. Thus the
decreased might also request ~he protection of
Ra, so that they could journey in the light
rather than the darkness, It W.IS also perhaps
for this reason that the concept of the (double
soul' developed, wherehy Osiris \yas the I3A of
Ra, and therefore could be thought of as the
'night sun', sometimes equated with (-he
moon, By the same logic, Tsis and Nephthys,
previously both connected principally with
Osiris and Seth, were considered to wait each
morning to greet the newborn sun, the resur~
rection of the god. Between roughly lhe 18th
and 21st Dynasties there was a gradual progression towards the unification of solar and
Osirian concepts of resurrection.
As early as the Old Kingdom, many of the
main elements of the Osiris myth were in existencc, including his death by drowning, and
the discoverv of his bod v by Isis. That. Ser:h
w.'ls his murderer is explicit by the Middle
Kingdom (2055-1650 Br.), althoug'h there is no
mention lhat Osiris was dismembered by him.
By the New Kingdom, however, many of the
I'U\.ERARY TEXTS connected the deceased much
more closely with Osiris, and the descriptions
of the f~lte of the deceased effectively iUusn'ate
parts of the story of Osiris, The themes of
Osiris' impregnation of Isis and the conception of his son I-:Lorus ('avenger of his father')
had already developed in Pharaonic times and
certai.n aspects of the myths were illustrated
on the walls of the chapel of Sokar in the
tcmplc of Set)' I at Ab)'dos.
It was at Abydos that the annual f'ES'r(VAL of
Osiris took place. Thi.s involved the procession
of the god in his IIARk, known as neslllllel l pre~
ceded by his herald, the jacbl~god WEPWf\\\'ET
Scenes fi'olll Osiris) triumph over enemies
were enacred in the course of the journey
before the god returned to his sanctuary for
purificalion. The rites connected with the
'mysteries' of Osiris were enacted in the
temple, prob'lbly celebrating his original function as a fertility god, ah:hough little is knuwn
or these rituals.
The most coherent, although not neces~
sarily the most accurate, account of the
Osiris legend is that compiled by the Greek
historian PLUTARClI, Cenain of the elements
in Plutarch's version can be corroborated
from Egyptian sources, while others must
remain dubioLis. He states that Osiris was
.\\UJ\L\,11I'1C,:\T10N

once an earthly ruler who governed well, and

so aroused the jealoLlsy of his evil brother
Seth. Seth secretly discovered the meaSllre_
ments of his brother's body and had a magnificent casket" made to fit him. He next organized a banquet to which he invited seventr_
two accomplices as well as Osiris. During the
feast he brought forward the chest and
declared that whoe\"er fitted it exactly shtJuld
have it as a gift. Having stepped into the coffin, Osiris was locked inside and the lid \\'as
scaled with molten lead. The coffin was Cast
into the Nile and then drifted to the city of
I3YBLOS, where it became ent.angled in ;t cedar
trec, Although rhe reference to Byblos is
unsupported by Egyptian written account!\,
there is a depiction of Osiris in a coffin
among the branches of a tree in the temple uf
I-bthor at I1ENI1EIL-\.
Isis eventually rescued the casket and
returned it to Egypt, hiding it in the marshes
prior to giving it decent burial to her husband.
However, while she was engaged in looking for
her son Horus (already born in Plutarch's
story), Seth is said to have stumbled on the
casket and angrily dismembered the body of
his brother, ~cattcring the parts throughout
Egypt. The aCCOll.nt" of tile number of pieces
varies from fourteen to forty-two. Isis the11
searched till' the pieces and buried each at lhe
place where it was found. The phallus, howner,
had been eaten by the Nile carp (Lepido/lfs), the
PlJagrll.\ and the o.rJ!IJllldlllS FISI I, so t"har ,m
artificial penis had to be manufactured.
In the Egyptian accounts it" was at this slage
that t"he dismembered body was reasscmbled
into the form of the first mUlllln~i, from \\ ruch
Isis conceived the child Horus, Subsequenlly
Horus was said to have avenged his falher's
death in a series of contests with his uncle
Seth, the so-called Contendings of Horus and
Seth. According to these myths, the struggle
lasted for eighty years, until Osiris was finally
declared ruler of the underworld and his son
Horus was confirmed as ruler of the li\'ing,
leaving Seth to rule the deserts as the god of
chaos and evil, the archetypal outsider and the
antithesis of Osiris.
E. OTTO, Osiris 11Ilt! Alii/III. Kllltll1ld Hcih~t.:e
Stiil/cli (rVlunich, 1966).
E. CJ 1:\SSI>-AT, Lt' II~JlSICre t!'O.l"in~~ (III //lois dc
Kilo/at, 2 \'ols (Cairo, 1966-8).
J. G. GRlI"FITl IS, Plulard/:~ De hide el Osiridt'
(Swansea, 1970).
- , The origin;; o/Osiris alld Iris at/I (Leiden,
1980).
[vI. EATON-KIV\USS, 'The earliest represent..tlion
ofOsiris?\ 1~-I3 (1987), 233-6.
A. NIW!i\Sh.1 l 'The solar-Osirian unity as
principle of the theology of the "state of Amun"

OSORKON

~IRIS BED

in Thebes in the 21st Dynasty',JEOL 30

(1987-8), 89-106.
M. C. LAVIER , 'Les mystcrcs d'Osiris aAbydos
d'aprcs les steles du 1\110)"Cll Empire et elu Nouvel
Empirc',AktelllvliilldlCl/ /985 [II, cd. S. Schoske
(Hamburg, 1989),289-95.
S. QyJRKE, ""lIn';elll Egyptiall religioN (Londol\
1992).

Osiris bed
Item of New Kingdom royal funerary equipment consisting of a wooden frame in the

form of the god

OSIRIS,

which was filled with

alluvial silt and sown with seeds of barlcy.

The germination and gTowth of the grain
probably symbolized the aa of resurrection
.mcl the triumph of Osiris over his adversary
SETH. Only seven Osiris beds have been
found) including one from the tomb of
TUTANKJ-IAMUN

(Kv62; 1336-1327 ne), which

is a virtually life-size figure, measuring

190 em in height.
It has been suggested that the concept of
an Osiris bed (sometimes also described ,,\5 <l
'germinated Osiris figure') may possibly have
derived from the observation of pigs tralTI-

piing seed into the ground. Since the pig W<lS

associated with the cult of Seth, the sowing
of the seeds in the Osiris figure might have
symbolized Seth's initial defeat of Osiris,
while the Cycntual sprouting of the barley
would, in its turn, have symbolized the
rebirth of Osiris. Certainly the overall symbolism of the Osiris bed was concerned not
only with resurrection but also with the role
of Osiris <IS a god of fel:tility and harvest, in
which he was closely associated WIth the
grain-god Neper.
There are also a number of ceramic bricks
which may be later developments of the Osiris
bed; one in the collection of the i\1etropolimn
.M useum, New York, measuring 24 cm long
and about 10 cm wide, has a hollow figure of
Osiris carved into its upper surface, evidently
ser\'ing as a magical receptacle f()r soil and
grain.
See also CORi'\ MLj\I..MIES.
IV1. A. LEAHY, 'The "Osiris-bed" reconsidered',
Orlellllllill 46 (1977) 42+-34.
Ivf.]. RAVEN, 'Corn-mummies', OlvIRO 63
(1982), 7-38

Osorkon

Osiris bedIrom Ihe lomb ~rTlIlaJlkl{(lIl1lfli. JI has

beenp l{/.1Iled milh seed mrll, lhe remains oj"mhirh
are clearly visible. 181h PJ"wsly. c. 1330 He.
L. 190 (.:m. (CAIRO NU. 288.-/; REPRODUCED
COURT!:SY OP TIIF. GRIFF/Til INSTlTU'IF)

Libyan name held by five rulers orthe 21st to

23rd Dynasties as thei.r 'birth name' or nomen
(see ROYAL TITULARY).
Owrko1/ tlIe ddl:!; .f1aklu:perra Selepellra
(984-978 fie), listed in 1\1.\1\I-:TI-IO'S history as
Osochor, was the fifth of the 21st-Dynasty
rulers. Judging [rom a pair or inscriptions in
the temple ofKhons at Karnak, he was the son
of a wOman called .Nlehtenweskhet and therefore probably the uncle of the first 22ndDynasty ruler, SIIESIIOl'Q r (945-924 IIC).
'Osorkon the elder' is poorly attested in
inscriptions, but it may have been during his
six-year reign that the Biblical figure Hadad
the Edomite stayed in Egypt, having been initially offered protection by Amenemope
(993-984 lie), Osorknn's predecessor.
OsorRoll I Sekhelllkheperra Selepenrfl (924889 IJc) was the second ruler of the 22nd
Dynasty and successor to Sheshonq I. His
reign is much better documented than that of
Sheshonq I, and a fine inlaid bronze statuelte
bearing his clrtouches (Brooklyn J\tluseum,
New York) was found at Tl-:LL EL-yt\I-1UDfY-\.
The upper part of a statue presented to
Elibaal, the ruler of Byblos, has also sUITived.
Tn the Delta city of Bubastis (TELL Uf\ST.\),
which was the initial power-base of his father
Sheshonq, he constructed a small temple to
.\TUM and made numerous additions to the
principal temple of BASTET. He outlived his
son and coregent 1 Sheshonq II, who was probably also the chief priest of Amun at Thebes,

and was eventually succeeded by a second son!

T","'ELOT r (889-874 Be).
Osorkoll 1/ Usenll(ltltra Sell!pell{{lllllJl (87+850 BC) was Tlkclot I'S son and successor and
t.he fifth ruler of the 22nd Dynasty. During the
early part of his reign his innuence in Upper
Egypt was thwarted by the power of the chief
priest of" Amlin at Thebes, Harsiese. I-Io\vever,
when J-Iarsiese died, Osorkon 11 W;.\S able to
appoint one of his own sons, Nimlot, as the
new chief priest, thus regaining control of the
Thcball region. In the twenty-second year of
his reign Osorkon celebrated his SED FEST1\AL,
probably at Bubastis, where he constructed J
new coun ilnd gareway for the occasion .
He also constructed additions to the temple
of Anum at 'I)\:\IS (the 22nd-Dynasty capital)
and rebuilt an earlier tomb for himself within
the temple precincts, eventually sharing it
with his SOI1, T-Tornakht; this tomb was onc
of those excavated by Pierre l\ilontet in
1939-40.
Osorko}/ 1/1 USfrll/tl{/lr{f Setepe1ltl1ll1l1l (777749 BC) was one of the 23rd-Dynasty pharaohs
who ruled from the Theban region, controlling cities such as lIERj\10POUS MAG:"!:\ in
Nliddle Egypt, and perhaps Leontopolis (TELL
I:L-MLlQPA.\'l) in the Delta. It was the throne of
Leontopolis that Osorkon 111 inherited fiom
the short-lived Sheshonq IV. He appointed his
son 'rakclot as ruler of Herakleopolis and later
also as chief priest at Thebes, thus establishing
control over a great deal of Egypt, leaving his
contemporary Sheshonq v of Tanis \yith correspondingly diminished territories.
Osorkoll I" Aakhepcrra SelepCn01ll1l1l (730715 Be) succeeded Sheshonq V as the last of
the 22nd-Dynasty rulers, by which time the
geographical area over \vhich he reigned was
restricted to the region surrounding Bubastis
and Tanis. It was during his reign that rhe
Kushite pharaoh PI Y swept north wards to conquer Egypt.
o IlC.AGO ORIE:-';TJ\L L'!STITUTE, Reliefs ttlld
ill.\t.:n/Jliol/s ill KaJ'll(/~' Ill: The Bu!Jaslilc portttl
(Chicago,1954).
R. A. C/\I\IINOS, The chronicle o.(PriJlcc o.wr/..:oll
(Rome, 1958).
J YOYO'ITI':, '050rkon, fils de IVlchyrouskhe, un
phar"on oublie', BSFE77-8 (1977), 39-54.
\v. BARI/\, 'Dit, Scdfcst.-Darstcllullg Osorkons II.
im Tempel von Bubastis', SAK 6 (1978), 2.i--42.
K. A. KrrClIE:">.', The Third Illtermcdiate Period ill
Egypi (1100-650 uc), 2nd cd. (Warminster,
1986),273-4,287-354,542-5.
J. Ym'OTI'F et aI., 'nfl/is. 1'01' rlC.I plwraolls (Paris,
1987).
D. A. ASTO:\', 'Takcloth II - a king of the
"Theban 23rd Dvnasty"!',.7EA 75 (1989),
139-53.

215

---

OSTRACOI\

PADDLE DOY:

ostracon (Greek mIra/am; plural oSlmht:

'potsherd')
lerITI lIsed by archaeologists to refer LO shcrds
of potter~ or flakes of limestone hearing texts
<Inc! drawings. commonly consisting of per-

sonal jottings, letters, sketches or scribal exercises, but also often inscribed ,,-ith literary
texts, in the ItlEH \TIC, DDIOTIC, cOlync and

Greek scripts (sec

I.ITERXI'UU.).

The lise of

ostraca was ob,"iollsly much cheaper (h'111 writing or drawing on P\PYRCS. and many hun-

dreds of these documents have been recO\'crcd

from CXC<lY;l1 ions.
Thousands of ostrac<l, including more than
liftccn hundred literary CXCl:rpIS, such as the

j. CI:R"\Y, Cli/a/oglll' des OJ/mea "iira/if/lles fI(m

hltiraire.\" dc /)l,jrt'!-Alctlilll'!J, 7 "ols (C1iro,
19.15-70).
J VA'\IJIER U'!\IiI1-\lm:, Call1!ogllc dcs uSlra((/./igllr/~
de DeiI' ,,1-kIM/llch, +"ols (Cairo, 1937-+6).
J W. B,\I{\ES, The AS/lIIIOlct/1I IIslrt/(oJ/ filS/III/he
(Oxrord, 1952).
G. POSE,\t.R, Call1/fJglU'dcs flsI1"Ifmlriiralifjllt'.\'
Iillerain'S til' Dl'ir cl.lledillt:h (Cliro. 1972).
.:\ t. A ..'\.. -LR EI.-DI;"', The dCJII()/ic /lstft/til
(T.eiden, 197{).
\v. l-l. PeCK, Eg)'plitl1l dramiJlgs (London, 1978).

E. BRL~;"'ER-TR.\lT,

E:~J'Pli({JJ IIrtisH' .d.'l'/chcs:

.figured fJSfmkaji-ol/llhe Gayer _-IIIr/cr:wlI ('(II/celioll

iI/JIlt, Fi,:::,millitlJII J\t1wcUIII (Clmbridgl', J 979).

p
paddle dolls see SE\L II.lTY
palace
'j'he close association between the king and his
residence reached its logical conclusion in the
late i'\e\\ Kingdom (1550-1069 Be), when the
term ptr-{{{1 ('great hOllse'), which had pre,"iollsly referred only to lhe royal palace, \\ as
applied instead to the king hjmsclf~ e'Tnlualhbeing transformed into rhe familiar (Cn;l

'pharaoh' _

Tale

(~rSillll!ll'

(the largest survi\'ing ostracon.

now in Lhe collection of lhe Ashmolc:1ll

:\ IUSClllll, Oxford), were cxc..w;lrcd at the site
of the l'\ew Kingdom Theban workmen's \'il-

lage of DElI{ I.I.-\IEDI'-\, pnn'iding an ilwaluahle record of the daily Ii, es of the workmen,
while also supplying information concerning
Ihe naturc of Egyptian economy and society at
Ih;1I time. The so-called 'trial skelches', oftcn
{(wnd on limestone ostraca, arc among the
Ii, c1icst sUITiying products of Egyptian anists.
!\ hmy such skell.:hes proyide ,-i,-id glimpses
Eg~ ptian ilL \l(lL I{ and satire, which would
otherwise be poorly represented in the artistic.:
and literary record.
.'\t urban sites such as EI.-\'I \1{'\ , and Q\'\TJR, Ihe ,"ast majority of so-called ostraca
belong to thc r::lrher different categorics of 'jar
labels' ::lnd \Iockets" ,\"hic.:h usually simply
desc.:ribe I-he foodsruffs or liquid c.:o11l.ained in
the vessel, and, in the else of wine, pro,ide
clet::lils of the Yint;lge and origins (sec \1.f:0-

or

110l.le BEnJUGEs).

'J. DE G_ 0 ""IE..", 'Egyptian drawing~ on

limestone nakes',.7I:/1 { (1917), 2.H--lO.
216

LilJll'Slolle (hip bearing a SA'elth (jIll t()(kael../i"Ol1J

Ihe I it/ley (~(Jhe Kings. 191h f.)Y/f({S~)I. c.1200 IJe.
II_ 1.1_7 nil. (I: 1(8539)

The term pa/flt"(' tcnds to be ust.'d ralher

loosely 10 refer to any htrge building in which
Ihe king or his immcdiJLc famil~ rc.",idcd,
whereas the arch::lcological and teXTual t:"yidcncc suggests thallhe situation was not quite
so str::lightforward. There ,,"ere 111.111) diffl:n:nt
types ofhuilding associated with the r':gyplian
royal r~l1l1i1y, varying primarily in their specific
fUIlc.:tions and length of usc. There \\ crt'
almost riw::llistic or symbolic palaces .1ltac.:hcd
to f'\ew Kingdom mortu.uy temples suc.:h as
the 1{-\\IESSEL.\1 and \lCDI;...CT II \Be (the laner
being the best preser\'ed) and there were al~()
huge ceremonial buildings such as the Great
Palace at EL-:\.\I.\I{2' \ and the palace of Set: 1 at
Q\ '\'I'IR, ,yhich must h~ve had more to do \\ ith
the reception of f()reign ,-isirors and the Cl);\ctment of cercmonies than thc actual housing of
the pharaoh and his family_ Rchll i,"c1y few
Ihe SlllTi,-ing 'pal~ccs' h'l\'e the air of actual
residences, but a large ,-ilia opposite the Great
Palace at c1-Amarna was identified b~ rhe
cxcn-ators as the 'king's house'; this scems !O
hayc functioned ~s a sel of domestic apartments for the rO,':11 family in the yery ccntn' of
the cil-y. At the more ephemeral end of the
scale, a brick platf(Jrm at K01l1 el-Abd, in
southwestern Thehcs, has been intcrprclcu as
a royal 'rest-house" perh;lps for use during
charior c\"crcises.
Since palaces "cre constructed primariJ~ Ill'
mud-brick antI timber Lhey tend not (0 be as
well prescn'ed as SlOne-built TE\IPI.ES of similar d;llC. On the olher hand, the~ were oflcn
less prone to plundering and destruction than
the temples, which were frequentl~ deliberately dismantled, even in ;l11cient times, in order
to rc-usc their ,-alliable stone. t\ [though a
building from the reign of the ~liddk
K.ingdom ruler Amellcmhat III al l3ubastiS
(TELL U.\ST\) h..1S bcen identified as a palace,
most of the sun-i"ing Egyptian royal re~i
dences datc to the )Jew Kingdom, including

or

PALACE

~ACE

those of Amenhotep 111 (1390-1352 Be) at

Akhenaten (1352-1336 Be) at c1Amarna and Merenptah (1213-1203 Be) at
Memphis.
.i\1any palaces included a 'window of
appearances', consisting of a ceremonial window at which the king appeared in order to
undertake such activities as the reception of
visitors, the conducting of ceremonies or the
dispensing of rewards to his loyal courtiers. ]11
the case of the small palaces associated with
the mortuary temples of Ramcscs II
(1279-1213 Be) and 111 (1184-1153 Be), the
window represented a visible threshold
between the sacred and profane aspects of the
king's rule, a means of passing between palace
and temple, the two most important institutions in the central government of Pharaonic
Egypt.
MALKATA,

The architectural style and decoration of

the palaces varied to some extent, although
they tended to combine large-scalc domestic
apartments (sometimes including sets of
r~oms tentatively identified as the HARIM)
WIth reception halls, courtyards, pools and
ceremonial areas in which rituals might ha\-e

The lhrolleroom i11lhe palace of Rameses Ill, beside

his morlf/OIY lemple al "1edillel Habit. The palace
mas {oCaled il1 Ihe area imlllediale~)IIO Ihe sOUlh of
lhe prst COllrt o/Ihe temple (see enlly Oil A1edincI
Holm/ur pIau). Althollghlhe bllildiug mas large()'
WlIslruffed o/flllld-brick, Ihe vestibule, inner hall
fwd lhroneroom ,olllflilled slOlle colulIlm. This is Ihe
besl pn'served Ihroner()u/l/ /Q have mrl,ivedFom
PharaQllic /:.gYPI; lhal ofMerenplah {II j\'lemphis.
jOr eXlimple, is badly damaged. (I. SfLlII)
been enacted. A number of suniving fragments of painted plaster and faience tiles suggest that the walls and floors were frequently
painted both with rhe iconography of KIi\'GSHIP
(such as depictions of the "IKE BO\'S and foreign CAPTln:s) and with such pastoral scenes
as flocks of birds flying through papyrus
marshes.
Probably thc most complex surviving
groundplan of a New Kingdom palace is that
of the Great Palace in the central city at c1Amarna, which was connected by a bridge
with the smaller 'king's house' on the other
side of the main road_ The large courtyards
and hypost)'le halls of the central palace sug-

gest a building with a very different function

to the palaces attached to Ramesside mortuary
temples, and it has even been argued that the
Great Palace was actually a temple to the Atcn.
The much later (palace of Apries' at l\1emphis,
excavated by Flindcrs Petrie, is equally difficult to intcrpret and, with its massive casemate
mud-brick platform, may have functioned
more as a ciradel or fortress than a palace.
\V. Nl. E PETRIE, The palau ofApries, Memphis II
(London, 1909), 1-13.
E. P UPllILL, 'The concept of the Egyptian
palace as a "ruling machine"\ MilU, sellleme1l1
aud urbanism, ed. P.]. Ucko, R. Tringham and
G. W. Dimbleb\' (London, 1972),721-34.
R. STADEI.l\lANN, (Tempelpalast und
Erscheinungsfenstcr in def Thebanischcll
Totentempcln', MDAIK29 (1973), 221-42.
B. J. KEMP, (The window of appearance at clAmarna and the basic structure of this city' .lEA
62 (1976), 81-99.
\v. STErENSO:,\' S;\IITH, The ar/ ami MchileClUre of
(l1lcieut Egypl (Harmondsworrh, 1981),279-95,
314-38.
8. J. KEMP, Aucienl Eg:JlPI: flualomy ola
civiliuuioll (London, 1989),211-25,276-81.

217

PAN BEDDI~

PALERMO STONE

Palermo Stone
Broken fragments of a basalt stele dating to
the 5th Dynasty (2494--23-15 BC) and inscribed
on both sides with a set of royal annals
stretching back to the quasi-mythical rulers
before the beginning of Egyptian history. The
principal ti"agmcnt has been known since 1866
and is currently in the collection of the
Palermo ."-rchacological ~'[uscllm, Sicily,
although there arc further pieces in the
Egyptian .Nluscum, Cairo, and the Petrie
Museum, London.
The slab must originally have been about

2.1 m long and 0.6

III

pan bedding
Type of construction, usually in mud-hrick,
consisling of cunTd courses. It is mOst ofkn
seen in temple enclosure \\alls from the Late
Period (7-1-7-332 Jl(:) ol1\v<.lrds, which arc usually buill: in sections and with a pronoullct'd
B.\TTER. It has heen suggested that rhis: Scc.:tiona I building, along with pan betldina
allo\\cd the walls LO mO\-e without collaps~~
as the ground expanded and conlracted fiom
the inundation. Olhers hayc noted that the

wide, but most of it is

now missing, and dlcrc is 110 surviring informiltion about its provenance. ''I'he text enumerates the annals of the kings of Lower Egypt,
beginning with many thousands of years taken
up by mythologiC'JI rulers, until the time of the
god 1-I0RlJS, who is said to have given the throne
10 the mOrlal \IE~ES. Human rulcrs arC thcn
listed up to the 5th Dynasty. The texl is di,idcd into a series of horizontal registers divided
by vertical lines which curve in ill the top,
apparently in imitation of the hieroglyph for
regnal year (rellpl'/), thus indicating the memorable eventS of individual years in each king's
reign. T'he sorts of cycnts record cd included
religious FE..liTI\,\Ui, militar~- <..-ampaigns and the
crC"Jtion of particular royal and divine stanles.
The name of the ruler was inscribed above rhe
rele\;mt block of compartments.
The Palermo Stone - along with the 'daybooks', the annals and f...:ING LlSTS inscribed on
temple walls, and the papyri held in temple
and palace archives (see UBIV\RIES and TURI~
RorAI. C.\:\'ON) - was doubtless the kind of document rhal the historian ,\1 \"I':TIIO used TO
compile his list of dynasties.
H. SnL\FER, Eiu Bruehsllid' (flliigyfJlisdur AlItl/t"
(Berlin, 1902).
G. DAK.!':SSY, 'La pierre de Palennc etla
chronologie de l'alH.:icn empi.re', 81 FAO 12
(1916),161-214.
B.J. KE,\ll',AIlt:le1l1 Eg)lpl: ({IUlloIIO' oj"a
eh,:iliztllifJl1 (London, 1989),21-3.

Palestine, Palestinians see Bllll.l'clL

CO~~Ecno~s; C\l\" \ \ ,,; ISRAEL

and

S'RIA-P:\LE!,-rl'\!E

palette
Term used to refer to two distinct artefacts:
cosmetic and scribal palettes,
Cosmelidt.'crcmol1;al palel/e.I, usually of siltstone (greywackc), have been found in the
form of gra,-e goods in cemeteries as early as
the Badarian period (c.5500--l000 Be). They
werc used to grind pigments such as malachite
or galena~ from which eye-painr was made.
218

The e.lrliest examples were simply rectangular

in shape, bur by rhe NaeFJda I period
(c-lOOO-3500 BC) they ,,ere general" clI'ed
into more elabor;1te geometric forms - including a rhomboid which resembles the symbol of
the laler fertility-god ~II:\ - or the schcm;l{ic
silhoueltes of ~Ulimals such as hippopommi
and turtles (somctimes with inlaid eyes). By
this time cosmctic palelles had ,~lmost cerrainIy acquired ritu.llistic or magical connomrions,
Tn lhe "aqada " period (c.1500-3100 BC) the

Scribal palelle imuibed milh Ihe lilies oI.lhlllnse I

Ilitas dl'preJsionsftr Iwo l"llkt'J IJfpiglllt'fl/ utili (I
5101./or 111l' ret't! PC'IIS_ /8J1t J)Y'llIS0', mood.
1128011. (ul2i8J)
preferred sh;lpes tended to be the forms of fish
Or birds, rilthcr than animals, and many werc
shield-shaped, with two birds' heads ;lt the
top. By the lerminal Prcdynastic period the
r:.mgc of shapes of thc smaller cosmctic
palettes had become considerably reduced, but
simultaneously a ncw and more elaborale ceremonial form beg-dO ro be produced. Thesc
palettes (usually OIal or shield-shaped) were
employed as \'otiyc irerns in temples rather
than as gl"<lVC goods, and a hlrg'c number were
found in the form of a cache in the r.<1r1y
Dynastic templc al f-1IERAKOKPOLlS, They werc
carved with reliefs depicting rhe idcology and
rituals of the emerging elite, ;lnd the quintessential surviving example is the 'Narmer
paletle~ (now in the Egyptian l\luseum, Cairo;
see ;'\AR,\tER for illustration).
Strihal palellt's generally consisted of long
rectangular pieces of wood or stone (aycr:lging
30 cm long and 6 cm wide), each with <1 shallow ccntral groove or slot' to hold the reed
brushes or pens and onc or two circular
depressions at one end, to hold cakes of pigment. The hieroglyph used as the dClerminatiyc for the words 'SCRIBE' :.md 'writing' consisted of;1 set of scribe's equipment, including
a shorter ,'ersion of the palctte.
J. E. QLlBEI.J~, .rirdwit- objt'C/.I", 2 \'ols (Cairo,
1904--5).
A. EGGJ-:llln:C1 IT ct aI., Das "Ife ,A"gypllfll (Munich,
198-1),3-17-63.
1\-l. 5:\I.EI-I and I-I. 50UROUZI.\~, EgyfJlitlll
""[meum. Cairo: official Cfllalogue (!\hinz, 1987),
cat. nos 7-8, 233.
A.j. SI'E"CER. Early Egypt (London, 199-1),
29-31,51-8.

W<.l\"Y effect of the w;lll tops, resulting from the

hedding, eIn gi\-e the impression of \\,iter,
thus adding to the symbolism of the tcmple in
rerms of the PR!.\'!':\A!. _\IOU1\'1) surrounded by
i'\L~, the waters of chaos. Good examples of
pan bedding can be found in the cn<.:losurewall of the temple of" Hathor at DE;\I)ER \ and
t.he Willis of the town at ELJ-.:..-ill.
A. j. 5I'EKCER. Briel, IIrdll"JerlItJ"l' il1 (/lll"ielll Eg.J'pI
(\\'arminster, 1979).

pan-grave culture
_Vlaterial culturc of a group of semi-nomadic
Nubian cattlc herders who entered Egypt in
the late Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 ItC) and
during the Second Intermediatc Period
(1650-1550 nCo). Thel' arc particularly well
attested in the Easrern Descrt, and their characteristic shallow circular pit-graves, the socalled 'pan gf<1\es" ;lrc known throughout
pper Egypt as ,,-ell as Lower ::\iubia.
Thc gra\"Cs preservc thc typically ::\ubian
tradition of burying skulls and horn'i of
gazelles, oxen and sheep, sometimes painted.
An example from J\lost'lgedda in Upper Eg~-pt
depicts what is presumably a chieftain wilh his
weapons, His namc is written in hierugl~ phs,
showing that comacr with thc Egyptian population was \\ell established. Their I'OTfEln is of
a distinctiyc handmade tradition, bearing
inciscd decoration. The\ also used bhicktopped red warc. These ~eramics sho\\ links
with thc C GROL:I' and KER,\L\ culture as \\ell ;15
with nomads of the Eastern Desen and tht:
Gash Delta near the Red Sea (from IIhieh
shells must have been taken for some of their
distinctivc jewellery). Skeletal evidence suggests that they were a robust people, physically different from the C GrollI' and probJbly
also from the Kerma culture. Thc\ often
appear to ha\'c worn distinctive leath~r kilrs.
Some h;l\-c equated them with the .\IEDJ\'i who

~YRUS

were employed as military I11cn.:cnarics and as

kind of POLlC:E f()rcc, patrolling specific ,lre,IS
such as the \.\1.1.1'.\ OF TilE .... 1'\GS.
1\1. BIE"I'''''', AusgmlJllugt'lI iu.S'0.J'a!a-.Vubiell
/96/-/96.:;. f)('1!l'uui'/er t/a C-Gruppt' flIut dt'r
Pll1l-Crtiber-Kullur ("jenn:.!, I96fi).
E. STROL'l HI. and J JL '\G\\ urn l, '.-\nthropological
problems of the.!\ liddle Empire and T.Hc Roman
S;l\"aht', AIilleilllugell tla Alllhmpo!og,-sdll'lI
C;,ell,dlllji ill lIi<1I 101 (1971), H1--23.
S.J. Knll', 'Old Kingdom, .\liddle ~ingdum
;1

PASEBi\KHAENNIUT

provide material for the creation of tourist

papyri. Growing from the dense Nile mud, it
\\",IS thought of as the phmt Ihal nourished on
lhe I'I{I\IE\ \1. \IOL '\1) of creation and so was
chosen f()f the Lolumns of IIYI'OSTYU. II.\I.L"I,
which some scholars hil'"C suggested might
aCLually hmc become flooded during the I.\.L , D\TIO" adding to the symbolism. Such
columns had twu types, of capital: buds or
widc. open umbels. .'\s a symbol of yOlllh or
joy (and the hieroglyphic sign meaning

Ihatle aXi' 11'ilh IPfj(1(Il'l1lltflldle from a palf grm:l'

al A1oslagedda. The blade betlrs fhe mrullirhe oIII
kil/g IIl1l11ed NelJII/(/tlfl'tI mho is olht!l'/1lise llllkl/o/1lll.
Secolld inlerllledillle Period. I. -II OIl, (1:'16322-1)

and Second Inrcrmcdiare Period' ~ll1l"i('//1 l.:!(yPI:

social hislolY, B. G. Triggl:r et al. (Cambridge,
1983),71-182 (169-71).
JI-I, TAYLOR, (r~.YPllllld Nllbi" (LondOl\ 1991).
II

'green'), papyrus W.IS panicularly appropriate

for presentlltion to the goddess [1".T[IOR and
could serve as a mag;ical sceptre presented to a
,'ariety of deities including the cat-goddess
B:\STET.

papyrus (C)/p<I'IIS papyl'lls)

The heraldic pl;mt of Lower Egypt. The name
for Lower Egypt could be written as several
papyrus plants growing out of the sign for
'land'. This was a logic:'11 choice since the plant
must have grown particularly profusely in the
Delta marshes, although it also occurred elsewhere in Egypt. [n modern times it is limited
LO a few specially planted areas designed to

Papyrus roll/rolll Deirel-Bahri. 21s1 Dynasty,

11.33 0 /1. (IC"I0793)

The halTested papyrus stems could be used

f()r many purposes, such as the manufacture of
ropes (sec I.lt\S"-ETK\) and the caulking of boats,
although in this use they were gradually
replaced, in the post-Pharaonic period, by
esparto gr:.lss (Cur/lllIgo spar/aria). They could
also be lashed together to form boats or skifr.li
for hunting (sec SIIIPS .\.\.D Bo-rrs). Gradually,
howcYer, the srems became waterlogged and
the boats cycntually had to be discarded and
replaced.
This ability to absorb water also made the
planr suitable for transformation into a papcrlike writing material, which is also known as
papyrus. Egyptologists have often named indi\idua) papyri after the modern owner or finder; thus 'Papyrus Chester Beany' refers to a
document once in the collection of the
American-British industrialist and art collecror, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. It is not known
whcn papyrus was first used, although the c.trlicst surviving sheets (uninscribcd) were discovered in the ISf-Dynasty tomb of I-Iemaka at
Saqqara n(35).
In rhe production of papyrus sheets, the triangular stcms were cut and their exterior
stripped. They were then soaked in water ;md
cut into strips. The length of the page does not
usually exceed about one 'short cubit'
(c 45 cm). The strips would then be beaten
with ;.I hammer to break down and tlatten the

fibres. i\"exl indiyidual strips would be laid on

top of one another at right anglc.,; and beaten
so that the feltcd texturc of the pith meshed
together. Contrary to popular belief: the strips
"cre not wo\'en together. A weight would then
be placed on top of the sheet whilc the strips
dried together. The indiyidual squ:.tres of
papyrus could then be rn.ed together to make 11
roll, cOlwel1tionall~ consisting of twenty
squares, although sc\er.11 rolls might be joined
togcther to make a longer document.
The papyrus was usually unrolled in such a
wa~ th;ll the insidc, known as the recto, would
be "ritlcn on first. The other side, the \'erso,
was ofren left blank, and was sometimes the
surface used b~ poorer people who unly had
access ro used p'lpyrus, as in some households
in Lhc workmen's yillagc at DEIR EI.-\IEIJI"\.
Discarded papyri were sometimes used for the
production of w\RTO~:\".\GE, and "aluable texts
have somctimes been recO\'cred as a result of
this re-usc. The usc of papyrus continued
through the Greco-Roman period and infO the
lslamic caliphate, until the introduction of
cloth paper from the Far East in the eighLh to
ninth centuries AU.
J. CI':I~N', p"per /Iud h()flk~ illllllc/ml EgJlpl
(London, 19.;2).
E. G. TURNER, Gra/.: papyri: all inlmdul"liflll
(Oxrnrd, 19(8).
N. LEWIS, Papyrus iUl."lassiml anliquily (Oxford,
1974).
M. L. BIEKIlRIEK, cd., PaPJlflls: slnu:lure lImlllSilgi'
(London, 1986).
J. J. J \'551-:', 'The price of papyrus', DE 9
(1987),3.1-5.
R. P'\I~"I"50"1 and S. QL1RKE, Papl'I"lIS (London,
1995).

Pasebakhaenniut ,ee I'SLS"""".5

pataikos
j\ Linor amuletic deity whose modern name
derh'cs from the Greek writer Herodotus'
description of a form of Phoenician dwarfish
protectiyc image. The Egyptian pfllaikos, consisring of:1 small human figure (usuaUy with :1
bald human head or a falcon's head) standing
in a pose similar to that of the dwarf-god BES,
is identified wil"h 'Ptah the dwarf'. Rclati\'c1y
crude figures probably representing palaikns
first appear in the late Old Kingdom
(2686-2181 BC), but the earliest representations that can genuinely be described as
pa/ail'oi appear in the New Kingdom
(1550-1069 Be). lV!ost or the finest examplex
date to the Third Intermediate Period
(1069-747 BC) and later.
C. A. ANDREWS, A1IIulelS (J/Iluden' Egypl
(London, 1994),38--9.

219

PEPY

Pepy (Pepi)
The 'birth name' (nomen) held by L11"0 6thDynasty rulers.
Pepy I JHerjlrtl (2321-2287 BC) was the successor to the first 6th-Dynasty ruler, TETI,
with only the brief reign of Userkara (either a
usurper or a regent) intervening between
them; his mother, Queen Iput, probably acted
as regent when he first came to the throne. He
had an active reign, lasting at least forty years,
during which he constructed and decorated
various temples at AUYDOS 1 Bubastis (TELL
BASTA), DENDI':RA, ELEPIIi\NTINE and possibly
IIIERt\KOXPOU$. It was al Hierakonpolis thaL
Frederick Grecn and James Quibcll discovered
the e:trlicst examples of copper statuary, consisting of a life-size copper statue ofPepy, and
inside it a second smaller copper statue which
is usually assumed to represent his son and
successor, i\1crcnra. AILhough few substantial
monuments of Pep)' I have survived, there are
many surviving fragments of inscription
incorpor;lting his names and titles, both during and ,Jfter his lifetime.
i\ block from the funerary chapel of an official called \\leni at Abydos is decorated with a
long inscription recounting the part that he
played in the evenl.s of the reigns of Teti,
Pepy I and Merenra, the first three rulers of
the 6th Dynasty (2345-2181 BC), including"
reference to a possible HARlj\\ conspiracy in the
reign of Pep)' I. This was clearly thwarted, but
it has been suggested that it may) in some
obscure way, ha\'e been the reason behind the
late marriage he made LO two women called
Ankhenesmerira, both daughters of Khui, an
official at Abydos. '1'he enormous influence
that Khui must have wielded as a result of
these two marriages can be gauged from thc
fact that these two women gave birth to the
next two kings, lVlcrenra and Pep)' II respect.ively, and, in addition, Khui's son Djau
became Vlzn:R during both of their reigns.
There arc some grounds for arguing that
there was a COREGENCY with IVlerenra during
the last few years of Pep)" I'S reign, since this
would then make it more plausible that \Veni
could havc served under 1\1erenra as well as
Teti and Pep)" I, given the considerable lengths
of the two latter reigns. There is, however, no
definite proof of such an early coregency.
Pep)' I'S pyramid complex in south 5i\(~Q.ARA,
although not the first to include PYRAt\IID
TEXTS, was the first in which funerary texts of
this type were discovered, when it was excavatcd by Emile and Heinrich Brugsch in 1880-1.
Although his sarcophagus had been destroyed,
a metre-deep rectangular pit near the south
wall of the burial chamber contained a
CANOPIC chest still holding one of the bundles

220

PERIBSEN

in which his viscera had been placed, and a few

pieces of the stone jar in which it had originally been kept.
PepJlll Neferklll"lI (2278-2184 BC) was a son
of Pepy 1 who came to the throne after the premature death of his half-brother Merenra)
who had reigned for ahour nine years. He himself is thought to have been only about ten
years olel at the time of his accession, a fact
which may possibly be documentcd by the
inscriptions on the walls of the tomb of
Harkhuf~ a governor of Aswan who was buried
at Qubbct c1-I-lawa (Tomb A8). The Lexts
recount yarious missions that Harkhuf undertook 011 behalf of thc 6th-DynaslY kings,
including a journey into southern Sudan during which he acquircd a pygmy. The letter senL
to him by the young pharaoh has an air of
authenticity and perhaps c\"en historic;.tl fact)
with the king's expressions of eagerness to see
the pygmv and his solicitous pleas that guards
be set around him to see that he did not fall out
of the boat at night. It is also clear from the
texts in Harkhuf's LOmb that the Egyptians
were continuing to exert <1 certain amount of
economic influence over Lower Nubia.
It is thought possible that the very long
reign ofPepy II may have partly contributed to
the gradual demise of the Old Kingdom, both
by causing the central administration to stagnate and by producing a succession crisis as
his appointed heirs perhaps died too early,
leaving \'arious rivals in comention for the
throne.
Pcp)' II was buried in a pyramid at south
SAQQ.ARA, like his farher) but the plan of his
funerary complex has been preserved much
more clearly. It was excavated in 1926-36 by
Gustave Jcquier, who uncovered a number of
fragments of relief, including not only the
usual processions of subjects bearing offerings but also depictions of the king, in the
form of a SPIIlNX and <1 griffin, trampling his
enemies, and a scene showing the goddess
SE$HAT compiling a list of captives and spoils
of war. Much of the decoration is derivative of
that in the complex of Sahura (2487-247511<')
at ABUSIR, and the scene of the defeated
Libyan chieftain and his family in the central
transverse corridor seems to ha\'e been copied
faithfully in every detail (thos calling into
question the historicity of many scenes containing named individuals in Egyptian religious or funerary contexts). Like several other
pyramid complexes of this period (including
Pepy t's), the mortuary temple contained
fragments of a number of stone statues of
bound Cl\PTIVES, which may have played a role
in the celebration of the king's victories over
foreign lands.

G. JEQUIER) Le m011lW1C1lJ fiweraire de Pep'- II,

3 yols (Cliro, 1936-41).
E. DRIOTON,' Totes diverses 2: lInc corcgencc de
Pepy ler de Mereure (1)', ASAE 44 (1945), 55-6.
L. HARKIII, Tell Basla (Cliro, 1947).
j. LECU'\T, RecIJer(IJes dalls la pyrtlmide el {lU
temple haUl dll plll/filon Pep'- I ti. Sllqqllrah
(Leidcn, 1979).
- , 'A la quete des pyramides des reincs de Pcpi
'cr', BSFE 113 (1988), 20-31.
N. GRI,\IAL, A hiS101]1 ofllllcielli Eg)lpl (Oxford,
1992),81-9
I. E. S. EDWr\RDS) rhepyrami"x oftgypl, 5th cd.
(Harmondsworth, 1993), 179-94.

Peribsen (Sekhemib) (c.2700 IIC)

Ruler of the 2nd Dynasty (2890-2686 HC),
whose principal surviving monument is Tomb
P in the Umm c1-Q1'ab cemetery at AB\ DOS.
Jar-sealings found in the tomb bear two
names: Peribsen and Sekhemib. The name
Peribsen 1 which was also found on the two
gneiss stelae associated with I'he tomb, was
written in a SEREKII frame surmounted by a
SETH animal and sometimes accompanied by
the epithet" 'conqueror of foreign lands', \\hile
the sereklt surrounding the name Sekhemib
was surmounted by a HORUS falcon. \Vhile it
was initially suggested that these were two
consecutive rulers (just as KHASI~KIIEl\I\\'\ and
Khasekhem were once thought to refer to r\Vo
separate individuals), mosr Egyptologists now
consider that the two names were held b~ the
same ruler. According to the latter theory thc
name Sekhemil> would have been held br
the king in the first part of his reign, when the
cult of Horus was still dominant, whereas the
assumption of the name Peribsen is taken to
indicate a change in policy whereby the god
Seth was elev<1red to greater prominence in thc
cult of KINGSHIP. It has even been argued LilaI'
the apparent struggle between the cults of
Horus and Seth is indicarive of a resurgence of
the conflict between the southern and nonhern
halves of Egypt, which would eventually hayc
been resolved in the reign of Khasekhemwy.
Seal-impressions bearing Peribsen's name
were found at Elephantine (see AS\\A') in
1985, confirming that the kingdom cxtended
as far south as the first Nile cataract at this
date. It is also perhaps signjficant that a temple
of Seth is known to have existed at
Elephanline (although the surviving remains
are later than the 2nd Dynasty).
w. 1\1. F: PETRU:, The l"O.J!lIl/(jmbs oI/he earlil'.~1
{~)l/Il1slieJ II (London, 1901), 11~12, pIs 1.\'111, L\I
P. E. NEWIlERRY, 'The Set rebcllion of the second
dynasty', Allciell/ EgYPI (1922), 40-6.
A. GARDINER, EgYPI of/he pharaohs (Oxford,
1961),416-20.

PERIPTERAL

N. GRlM!\L, A
J992), 55-6.

lti~'/()rJ! oltt/ujeul

PETOSIRIS

Egypt (Oxford,

peripteral
Architectural term denoting a building surrounded by an external colonnade, such as
Mt\J\l1MISI (although the term is sometimes confused with PERlSTYI.E).

peristyle
Architectural term used to describe a type of
open COLIrt surrounded by an inrernal colonnade, as in the case of the second court of the
mortuary temple of Ramescs III at MEDI!'\ET
iH.BU. See also PERIPTEKAL.

Persia. Persians
The Persians, like their neighbours the l\1cdcs,
were an Indo-Iranian group whose heartland
lay in the region of modern lran during the
first millennium Be. The land of 'Parsun"
apparently situated next to Urartu and to the
south of Lake Urmia, is first mentioned in the
annals of the Assyrian kjng Shalmaneser III
(c.858-824 BC). The two principal cities uf the
Persian heartland in lhe fifth and siXlh centuries BC were Pas~lrgadae and Pcrsepolis
(T.1kht-i Shamshid), dIe lalter comprising a
succession of palaces built by Darius I and his
successors, cach of which incorporated clements derived fro111 Egyptian, Median,
Babylonian and Greek architecture. 'The
extent to which the Persians also drew on the
artistic resources of the various satrapies is
indicatcd by the discovery of an Egyptianstyle statue of Darius I (.\22-486 BC) at thc site
of Susa in western Iran.
At its height in c..500 He the Persian empire
extended from Libya to the Indus region and
from Babylonia to wcstern Turkey, comprising
about twenty 'satrapics't each contributing
regular tax and tribute to the Persian king. Tn
the late sixth century Be, when the
Achaernenjd empire was expanding inexorably,
the transformation of Egypt into a new satrapy
began to look inevitable, although it was
temporarily delayed by the death of Cyrus" in
529 lie. Eventually, however, in the spring of
525 BC, Cambyses (525-522 BC) dcfeated the
armies of PSAMTEK III (526-525 Be) at
Pclusium and went on to capture Memphis.
The most interesting surviving document
from the ensuing first Persian period (or 27th
Dynasty, 525--404 BC) is the text inscribed on a
Statue of Udjahorresnet, an Egyptian priest
and dOCtor who collaborated with the new
rCbrirne, although there is some evidence that
he looked after such local interests as the
~aintenancc of the cult of NEfTJ-I at his homeCity of Sais.

Egypt was subject lO a second period of

Persian domination, which some Egyptologists
would describe as the '31st Dynasty', covering
the decade between the end of the indigenous
30th Dynasty (343 BC) and dIe arriyal of
ALEXANDER THE GREAT in 332 BC. The stele of a
priest of lIERYSI-IEF called Somtutefnakht (now
in the laples Museum), which originally stood
in the temple of HCfyshef at Herakleopolis
iVlagna, was inscribed with an autobiographical
inscription generaJly interpreted as a description of a career stretching from the reign of
Ncctanebo 11 to that of Alexander the Great.
Like Udjahorrcsnet, Somtutefnakht seems to
have prospered by providing assistance to the
new regime. When Alexander defeated the
armies of Darius 111 (336-332 IIc) and took
Egypt, Somtutefnakht appears to have witnessed the battle from the Persian side.
G. POSE.NFR, La premiere domiuatioll Peru en
Egyple (Cairo, 1936).
J. YorDrr..:, 'Une statue de Darius decouverte a
Suse' ,Jolln/al AsialilJuc (1972), 235-66.
M. LIGlTm:l;\'I, Al1cie11ll:.gyp/itm Ii/em/ure III
(Berkeley, 1980),41--4. [Somwrefnakht]
r. HOFMANN, 'Kambysis in Agyptcn', SAK9
(1981),179-200.
A. B. LLOYD, 'The inscription ofUdjahorresnel:
a collaboraror's rcstamenr',lEA 68 (1982),
166-80.
N. GHIMAL, A hislOl:JI olancietll Egyp/ (Oxford,
1992),367-82.

Scene oIgmpe-pickillg in/he lomb-chapel ol

Pelosins. This i"f}/nbiues (llradiliotlaltheme mi,h
Ihe artislic s~Jlle (lud costume ofIhe Greek world.
(CRAHAM IJ.IRRISON)

Petosiris (c.300

BC)

High priest of THOTII in the late fourth century Be who is best known for the chapel he
built for himself and in honour of his father
5eshu and brother Djedthutefankh at TV'"
EL-GEHI:L, near Hermopolis Magna in Middle
Egypt. The tomb chapei is in the form of a
small rectangular temple of early Ptolemaic
style, in front of which stands a horned 'fire'
altar of Greek type, which is also known from
KARi\'AK. The temple is entered through a
half-columned portico with composite capitals, like those at EDFU or IJENDERA. Most of
the texts on the walls of the chapel concern
Petosiris and his titles. This chamber then
gives access to a sanctuary with four square
pillars, the walls of which arc decorated with
texts concerning his father and brother.
Towards the southern end of this sanctuary is
the shaft leading to the subterranean burial
chambers some 8 m below.
The tomb is best known for its carved and
painted decoration which combines traditional
Egyptian subjects, such as harvcsting, wine
pressing and furniture-making, with a distinctly Hellenistic style. For instance, the
Egyptian farmers arc depicted in Greek c1oth-

221

PETOSIRIS

PHARAOH

ing and in poses reminiscent of the Classical

rather than the Egyptian tradition. The scenes
in the porticocd prollaos arc the most stylistil.":1lly mixed, while those in the sanctuary tend
more 10 the traditional Egyptian style,
although some Greek influence can still be
detected.

The illlla {fjj]ill o/Petosiris is 111adc/ro111

blackened pine mood illlait! mith multi-coloured
glass hieroglyphs. Early PM/emait period,
c.350 1lf:,j;Of1! the lomb o/Pc/osiris al 'lima

e/-Gebel,

I..

1.95 III. (cAIJIO.7lc46592)

Although the burials of Petosiris, his wife

and one of his sons had been robbed in antiquity, the two wooden coffins and the stone sarcophagus of Pctosiris were discovered during
Gustave Lefebvre's excavation of the tomb in
1920. The inner coffin of blackened pine is
well preserved, with inlaid eyes and five
columns of inscription inlaid in multicoloured
GLASS hieroglyphs.
G.

1.1:FI~nvRE, P'losin~',

3 vols (Cairo, 1923-4).

E. SUYS, Vic de Pelosin~f (Paris, 1927).

222

C.

PICARD, 'Lcs influences ctrangercs au

tombcau de Petosiris: Greee au Persc?' 811': 10

30 (1931), 201-7.
1\1. LICIITIIEI\I, AI/cjcnt EgyptitlllliJcmture III
(Berkeley, 1980), +1--9.

Petrie. William Matthew Flinders

( 1853-1942)
\Videly recognized as the fir!\t scientific eXC<l\",Uor in the history of Egyptian arcluco!ogy,
Perrie was born in Charlton, Kent, the son of
\iVilliam Petrie, a civil engineer and surveyor,
and Anne Flinders, daughter of an explorer. In
i.l long and illustrious c,ncer, he cxc.I\-;Itcd
many of the most imponanr <lncicnI Egyptian
sites, from the Prcdynastic ccmeteries at SAQ\DA to the Early Dynastic royal tombs at /\BYDOS
and the city at EI.-Mvlf\R'\JA. Ilis energctic fieldwork was matchcd by his excellent publication
record, including many books dealing with
general topics, such as 7tH,Is lIml mellpo11S,
Ancient mt:ights autl measures and l:.g.l'Plillll
arfhilerlllre.
It was typical of his work as a whole that his
research began with an innovative metrological
analysis cncompa..l.;sing Stonehenge and the GII'~\
pyr~mllds. Nluch later in his CUCCI' he developed
the ingenious method of 'sequence dating"
whereby the PRED\-NJ\SI'If: I)ERIOD was di\"idcd
into a series of cultural stages that arc still
broadly recognized by modern archaeologists
(see ARMAYr). He was able to spend long periods
of time c-xcJ\'<lting in Egypt primarily because of
the financial support provided by the writer
Amelia Edwards) who was also the founder of
the Egypt Exploration Fund (Society) and who
endowed a chair in Egyptology for him at
University College London.
Petrie's techniques of excavation were \'astIy superior to those employed by most of his
contemporaries. Above all, he was determined
to preserve and record as much of the evidence
as possible, rather than concentrating purely
on the kinds of objccts that would command a
good price on the art markct. Perhaps the only
aspect of his work that is regretted by modern
scholars is his tendcncy to synthesize and
condense his published results, rather fhan
prescnting the dcmiled field notes in their
entirety_ Since few of the original records have
survived, much of his excwated material is
now difficult to re-analyse or reinterpret.
'tN. i\1. E PETRIE, IlIduClive metrology (London,

1877).
- , The pyramids (11/(1 temples o[Gizeh (London,
1883).
- , Tell e1-AIIWrtUI (London, 1894).
- , Diospolis Parva (London, 1901).
- , Nlethods and aims ill arclllleology (T .ondon,
1904).

Portrail oIFllmlen Petrie.

(Pf:TRII:: illl'SITII)

- , Seum)' years il/ ardlfleology (London, 1931).

- , Tht'lIIaki"go[f-gypt (London, 1939).
i\l. S. DROWI-:K, Flinders Petn-e: (I lift ill
ardulf.:ology (Lon cion, 1985).
B. G. TRIGGI':R, A histOly o/ard/(ll!ologiwl I!wuglll
(Cambridge, 1989),200-2.

pharaoh
Term used regularly by modcrn writers to
refer to the Egyptian king (see KINGSI liP). The
word is the Greek form of the ancicnt
Egyptian phrase per-(l(f ('great house') which
was originally used to refer to the royal P\ I \CE
rather than the king. The 'grc.1t house' was
responsible for the taxation of the lesser
<houses' (perm), such as the temple lands and
private estates. Prom thc New Kingdom
(1550-1069 Be) onwards, the term was often
used to refcr to the king himself.
H. PRANKJ'ORT, Kingship lIlld the gods: II J/II(~)' (II
Near Eastern rel('iil.m aJ the il1legmti'lf/ O]".WdL'Of
tlntl Iw/ure (Chicago, 1948).
J. D. RAY, 'The pharaohs and their court', l~~)pPI:
tll1t:iellt culture. mudem Ifllul, cd. J. Malek
(Sydne)', 1993),68-77.

Philae
The original island site of a temple of rhe goddess isis, located about eight kilometres south
of Asw~lIl. '"rhe surviving elements of the sandstone temple, dating from the 30th Dynasty to
the hue Roman period (380 HC-:\D 300), were
transferred to the nearby island of Agilqiyya
during the early 1970s in order to save it from
thc rising waters of Lake Nasser (sec t\S\\;\~

~ILAE

PI-IILAE

11I1I11 DAM). On the ;'ldjacent" island of Biga is a

'pure mound', which was regarded as a tomb

of OSIRIS, the mythical consort of Isis.
The worship or Isis at Phi lac can be dated
back as early as the reign or the 25th-Dynasty
pharaoh Taharqo (690-66-+ BC), since blocks
from his reign have been found at the site, bur

the earliest \-isible remains date to the reign of

Nectanebo t (380-362

BC).

Most or the temple

was constructed between the reigns of

Ptolemy II Philadclphus (285-H6 BC) and
Diocletian (AD 284-305). The complex incorporales a temple to the Nubian god .\RE.:~
S:\'UI'IIIS, built by Ptolemy 1\' Philopator
(221-205 Be) and the Meroitic ruler Arkamani
tEl-T

The temple oIlsis lit Philae, slwmillg lite firsJ

pylons lind/Ill' CO/U1I1I1S oldie mammisi

be/mew them. The temple J1)a.~ 111(rvedjrrJlll ifS
origiual sile 10 the 1~';/{{f1(1 ofAgi/ql)~)!{{ ill order (0
preSCfve il frOIll Ihe walers afLake Nasser.

Imo

(/~

J:

NleI/OI..s'ON)

BEI.OW

The island (~r Phi/at: prior 10 the re-sitillg 0/

Alllld-brid' sfnutures are omitted.

the 1/1Ollffmellls.

1 hall of Neclanebo
2 west colonnade
3 first east colonnade
4 temple of Imholep
5 gale of Ptolemy II Philadelphus

6 chapel
7 first Dylon
8 mammisi

50

100m

9 second east colonnade

10 chapel

223

PHOENICIANS

POLICE

(c.218-200 BC), in a rare instance of gyptoubian architectural colJaborarion. The cult

of Isis on Philac appears [0 have survived well
into the Christian era, and the latest surviving
hieroglyphic inscription occurs at the site. It
was nO{ until the reign of Justinian (C.AD 535)
that the temple was finally abandoned.
H. JUNKER, Der grosse Pyloll des Tempels tier lsis ill
PiJilii (Vienna, 1958).
H. ]UNKF.n and E. WINTER, Dtls Gebllr'shaus des
Tempels del' lsis iI/ Philii (Vienna, 1965).
E. VASSll.IKA, Ptolemait Philae (Leuvcn, 1989).

Phoenicians
Wcst-Semitic-speaking people who occupied
the coastal area of the northern Levant (the
western half of modern Lebanon) during Lhe
first millennium BC It was in this region that
the Phoenician cit.ies of BYIJI.OS, Sidon and Tyre
flourished, having displaced the settlements of
earlier CAi\AANITE people. A number of ancient
Egyptian texts (including the Middle Kingdom
Tale of Sinuhe) use the term FeJleklm\ apparently with reference to Canaanites living in the
region surrounding Byblos, who are presumably to be identified with the Phoenicians. It
was perhaps because they were successful
sailors and traders, gradually establishing
colonies across the Mediterranean region
(including the city of Carthage), that their
works of art largely consisted of iconography
and styles borrowed from Egypt, 1\1csopotamia
and the Aegean. The Phoenicians are also usually said to have been responsible for the invention of the alphabet.
w. \"'Alm (ed.), The role ofthe Phoellicjl/m" in/he
illlerac/ioll ofMeditermllctU/ dviliztltio1lS (Beirut,
1968).
D. Hr\lmEN, The Phoellidal1s (Harll10ndsworth,
1971)
D. R. AP 1'1 101\""5, 'The Phoenicians', Peoples of
Old 'li:sfOmell//imes, cd. D. J. \~'iseman (Oxford,
1973), 259-86.
P. r\ll. BII0\U, 'The late Phoenician pottery
complex and chronology" Bulle/i" oI/he
AmeriClI1t Sclwols afOrieu/al Researclt 229 (1978),
47-56.

Be). Ir is clear thaI his father, Kashta, had

already pushed as far north as ASWAN, where
he dedicated a stele to Khnum on Elephantine,
and it has even been suggested that he exened
some inOucnce in the Theban region_ Piy himself seized control of pper Egypt within the
first decade of his reign, and his sister
Amenirdis [ was adopted by Shcpcnwepet I as
the next GOD'S WIFE OF AM UN, thus acquiring
Theban territories previously controlled by
OSORKON III (777-749 lie). In 728 BC, when
Tcfnakht", the prince of Sais, created an
alliance of Delta rulers to counter the growing
Nubian threat, Piy swept northwards and
defeated the northern coalition, describing his
successful campaign on the so-called Victory
Stele, which he erected in the temple of Amun
at Gebel Barkal (sec ''''PATA), placing further
copies in the principal temples at Karnak and
Nlemphis, although only the original text has
survived. Piy's stele borrowed much of its
phraseology and style from earlier Egyptian
royal 'recitations'. He therefore effectively set
the tone of archaism and reverence for the past
which was to characterize most of the artistic
output of the 25th Dynasty, with the Kushitc
pharaohs constantly seeking to outdo their
Egyptian predecessors in theil" concern for
Egyptian religion and tradition.
In 716 HcI)iy died after a reign of over thirty years. He was buried in an Egyptian-style
pyramidal tomb at EL-KURRU, accompanied
by a number of horses, which were greatly
prized b)' the Nubians orlhe Napatan period.
(Ie was succeeded by his brother SIIAB;\QO
(716-702 BC), who reconquered Egypt and
took full pharaonic titles, establishing himself
as the first full ruler of the 25th Dynasty.
J. H. BREASTED, AI/delll retords oIEgypl IV
(Chicago, 1906),796-883.
N. GRI'\IAJ., La slele Iriomplutle de Pi('anldt)y till
Musee du CUlre, lie 8862 el -17086-47089 (Cairo,
1981).
K. A. KITCHEN, The Third intermediate Period i1/
E.~)'PI (1100-650 Be), 2nd cd. (Warminster,
1986),363-78.
N. GRI\lAI., A history of{l1l(;im/ Egyp/ (Oxford,
1992),335--13.

Phoenix see BEl'\t;-R1RD

Piankhy see PlY

Pigs see ANIMAl. HUSBANDRY
Piramesse see QANTllt and

TELL EL-])AH':\

Piy (Pi)'e, Piankhy) (747-716 BC)

Kushite ruler of the :"JAIWli\N period who was
the first Nubian to conquer Egypt, laying the
foundations for the 25th Dynasty (747-656

224

Plutarch (C.AD 46-126)

Greek writer of the Roman period who spent
most of his life in his home town of
Chaeronca, although he also visited Athens,
Italy and Egypl. He is important to
Egyptologists principally for his De hide cl
Osiride, an account of the myth of HORUS ,mel
SETII, hut ,"here is debate as to how accurate
this is. It is possible that much of what he
recorded was based on a late version of (he
story.

J. G. GRIFFI11-1S, Plutarch s De Iside eJ Osiride

(Swansea, 1970).
D. A. Rt.:sSELL, (Plutarch" Tlte Oxford CllISsjrtll
dictjouary, cd. N. G. L. I-Iammond and I I. H.
SeuJlard (Oxford, 1970), !U8-50.

police
For most of the Pharaonic period there is C\'jdcnce of a variety of officials whose roles
roughly approximated to certain aspects
a
modern police force. 'I'hey can be divided intu
two basic categories: those performing a
quasi-military role of guarding and parrolling
and those enforcing justice and inOicting
punishmenL.
Groups of men called 1/1VTP are described as
patrolling the desert with trained dOk'"S in
order to guard a!,rainsl BEIX)L'IN incursions,
while the UllJti11J tjesell1P are credited with the
protection of quarrying and mining expeditions in the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 Be).
By the New Kingdom (1550-1069 Br.), these
tasks seem to have been undertaken increasingly by groups of l\lElJJAY mercenary soldiers,
who also guarded temples, palaces and ccmeteries. A morc specialized title (s's/Ill.) was held
by the officials who kept order in pj!:H:e

or

IIARll\lS.

The tasks of arresting individuals for such

crimes as non-pJyment of tax (see T.o\X \TIO')
and the subsequent inflicting of bastinado as
punishment were both assigned to the holders
of the title sa-per in the Old Kingdom
(2686-2181 BC), although these same officials
are later also mentioned as the guards aCcompanying Middle Kingdom desert expeditions.
The continued use of this title in terms of the
maintenance of law and order, however, is
indicated by the Ptolemaic inscriptions at
KOMO,'vIBO, which elevate the term to a more
universal role, describing the crocodile-god
Sobek as a sa-per smiting rebels.
J. YOYOlTE, 'Un corps de police de I'Egyptc
pharaonique', RdE9 (1952),139-51.
J. CER-'"Y, A cOI1U1ltwi/Ji ofmorkmen a/ Thehes til
/lte Ramesside perind (Cairo, 1973), 261-8-t.
G. ANDREU, 'Sobek compare a un policier', l-i'.:rt'
dll Cm/maire, cd.]. Vercouner (Cairo, 1980).
3-7.
- , 'Polizei', Lexilto" der .iigyp/ologie 1\, ed.
W. Heick, E. Otto and W. Weslendorr
(Wiesbaden,1982).

pornography sec EROTIC,\

and

SEXU,\L!T\

pottery
From the Predl'nastic period (c.5500-31 00 Be)
onwards pottery was one of the most important of Egyptian artefacts, and is certainly the
one which survives most readily in the archae-

~TTERY

POTTERY

ological record. Because its broken fragments, or sherds, arc almost indestructible,
massi,"c quantities of pottery have been preserved at sites throughout Egypt. However, it
is only in relatively recent times thar
Egyptologists have come to value the importance of pottery in the Dynastic period,

LEFT

Badaritlll PO! mill! blackened r//II. IJ(!$pile

their fflrly dtlle flud simple talm%g)! pOlS SUdl as

,!ley,e art' {/mongst/liefines! erer produced il1

l~!5J1PI. Fijih mil/l'1lllium Rct/rom e1-Bar/ari,
11.22.8[111. (69691)
UELOW Afillc blue-pai"tt'd bironicaljarfr0111 elA111ama. j\'IoS( aucient g}/p/itlll pOllery of/he
Pharaonic period milS 1I11decoraud. the bill/!paimed UJafC being exceptional ill/his reJpecJ. /81h

DJ""lSfy. e.1350 He, II. 70 C/". (E.1568~ I)

having previously placed greater reliance on

inscriptional sources.
Egyptian pottery can be divided into two
broad groups according to the generalized
type of clay used. The first is 'Nile silt ware',
those pots made from the alluvial deposits of
the Nile valley, and which fire to a red-brown
colour. Tbis group makes up tbe great bulk of
Egyptian pottery, and is most commonly used
for the coarse, utilitarian wares, although it
may be decoJ"<ned as in the case of the 'blue
painted' pottery during the New Kingdom
(155f}-..1069 Be). Tbe second group is tbe 'marl
clay' vessels. These arc made from calcarcous
clays which have a limited occurrence in
Egypt, the best-known source being around
Qcna in ppcr Egypt. f\ lar! clays tend to be
the products of more specialized industries
and are usually emplo\'ed for tbe betterquality wares. Often their surfaces arc deliberately compacted, using a pebble or similar
smooth object) before they are fired in the kiln.
This process, known as burnishing, leaves
them with a shiny surface, which is not a glaze,
although it is sometimes mistakenly referred
to as such. In fact, the application of it glaze to
pottery (as opposed to F>\IENCE, which is a nonclay ceramjc) does not appear until Roman
times.
These two basic pottery fabrics have been
subdivided according to the materials added to
them, known as filler or temper, as well as natural impurities in the clay_ These subdivisions
are devised by each archaeological expedition,
but arc usually related to an internationally
recognized system for the classification of
Egyptian pouery known as the Vienna System.
'This has the benefit of allowing archacologists
working all over Egypt to understand one
another's pottery descriptions.
Predynastic ponery is often of extremely
high quality. From the Baclarian period corne
handmade vessels (i.e. those made without
Lhe use of the potter's wheel), burnished to a
lustrous finish and fired so that they have a
black top section witb tbe rest left red. Tbis
is a considcrable technical achievement, and
demanded great skill on tbe part of tbe POLtel', particularly ;.lS it is likely that thesc ycsscls
were open-fired (using a kind of bonfire) Or
produced in only the most rudimentary of
kilns. Baclarian vessels are among the most
beautiful ponery ever made in Egypt. Frccform painted decoration is known from
Naqada I times (1'.4000-3500 Be), with animals, patterns, boats and human figures all
being portrayed. This kind of representational art on ponery dies out in the Dynastic
period.
Tbe pottery of the Old Kingdom (2686-

225

POTTERY

2181 BC) "as formed bl hand and I,.ith the aid

of a turntable, although hy the late Old
K.ingdom the true paner's whed, which uses
ccnrrifubral force to 'throw' pottery, had developed. 'This latter device requires finer clay
preparation, which in turn ncccssit~ncs greater
control during firing. The chimney-like
updraughr kiln (with the fire placed beneath
rhe pots and separated from them by a griddcd
floor) was probably developed in the Dynastic
period, perhaps around the time [hat the
\,"heel came into general lise. The first wheels
were hand-turned and relied on a smooth
bearing to dC\Tlop centrifugal force. 'l'hey
were ,"cry simple, comprising onc stone set
illro another, :md highly polished to form the
hearing. The more familiar 'kick wheel\ with
its foot-operated ny-whcel. \\JS probably
introduced in Persian or _Ptolemaic rimes (i.e.
after <".500 1lC:).
The \Yheel allowed vessels to be made
more quickly, in <l simple form of mass production, but certain types of \'essel continued
to be handmade, alongside these thrown
rypes. nrc:ld~molilds) the formers for loaves
of bread, particularly for offering use, continucd to be shaped around a core known as a
plllri.\".

Pottery was used f(lI' many of those purposes for which we would now usc plastics,
and alongside B,\SJ..:ETRY proyided the main
form of conti-liner. The differing combination
of pottery fabric, technology and form allow
archaeologists ro use ponery as a chronological
indicator, particularly significant on sites
where there is no olher dear dming cridence,
It was the observation of lhis fact that first
allowed Flinders PETHII': to develop his
'sequcnce dates' f()!' the PREDY'\'.\STIC PERIOD,
building up a noating chronology, which, with
lhe adyent of radiocarbon dating, has been
tranSf(lfllled imo:t system of absolute dates.
Regional \'ariation and lrade can also be
traced duough pouer), since a famili.uily \\ irh
Egyptian clays allows imporlcd wares to he
identified relatively simply, particuhlrly with
the use of such scientific tcchniqucs as cer~lm
ic petrology (thin seclioning) <lnd neUiron
acri\"alion an<llysis. Recent dC\'elopments in
archacological science also f.lcilitate the study
of the contents of pOllcry, thus prO\'iding
infc)rmation on the usc ofpanicular vessels. In
'lddition, the study of the I'cchnological dcyclopmcnt of pouery, and its relationship to olher
crafts, is of \'aluc in itself.
The study of ancienr Egyptian pOllery is a
rapidly de\'c1oping area of recent E(iYI'T{)1.0G',
and one which has considerable potenli,,1 to
modify many of the exisling \'iews of Egyptian
society ilnd economy, prO\'iding inform,uion

226

PREDYNASTIC PERIQQ

on ,1specrs of Egyptian culture that ha\'c pre\'iously been undocumented.

\V. i\ 1. F. PI-Tim:, Diospolis Parra (London,

1901).

.J. 0. BOURIU.-\L,

lImm d-Qa'(lb: putJlTylmm Iltt'

Nile i.:allcy bejim' lite Arab (I)JU/IIl'S! (Cambridge.

19XI).
B. .J.

h.E.\IP

and R.

MERRII.EES,

!VIil/(I(lII

Fum StXo//t! mil/t'lIl/illlll t:gypI (.vlainz,

pOI/fiJI

\98\).

P. RICE, P/lll"':JII!III/~)lsis:1/ .HlUJ'CC bno!': (Chicago,

1987).
j. IJ. BOl... RRJ-\U and P. T 'ICIIOLSU'-. 'Marl day
portery fabrics of the New Kingdom from
1\lemphis, Saqqanl and Amarna.JEA 78 (1992),

29-91.
D. AR"OLD and J. D. l3oLRRI\l' (cd.), _-1"
inlrmluCliolll0 ll1lcil!lI1 Egyp/ilill pOffery (J\ lainz.

1993).

Predynastic period (1'.5500-3100 BC)

The late Neolithic period in Egypt. generally
described as the 'Predynastic', began in the
sixth millenniulll Be. The evidence from
Upper Egypt diffcrs significantly from the
Lower Egyptian data; not only is each of the
two regions apparently characterized by very
different sequcnccs of material culturc. but
the exca\l<lted sires in Upper Egypt arc mainly
cemeteries while those cxcayared in Lower
Egypt primarily consist of settlement rcmi-lins.
This situation makes direct comp~lrisons
between the prehistoric cultures of northern
and southern regions of Egypt extremely difficult. Exci-wiltions from the 1970s onwards
have sought to redress the balance by obtaining more senlemcl1t data from the south and
vice \'ersa. In addition, Ihe provision of radiocarbon dales on malCrial from both Upper and

Lower Egyptian sites has gmdu<1l1y facilitated

the construction of a tcnl"ti\'e absolute
chronology for the whole geographical and
chronological range of I he Predynastic.
relative dates for the midA framework
to late Prcdynastic period in Upper Egypt. i.e.
the Amratii-lI1 and Gerzean periods (see \ \(.t\1)'\), was first eSlablished by Flinders Petrie in
the carly 19005 (see also (:IlRO'i01.0m; 111\\SE_\lAJI'\A
In:(jIO'i and
POTTERY).
\\'hCll
Gertrude CatoJ1-Thompson excwatcd at
I-lammarnia in the EI.-BADARI region in the
19205, she flJllJ1d stratigraphic conlirl11<ltion of
Petrie's d.lting system and considerahle c\idence of the earliest Upper Egyplian phase,
the l3adariall period (c.5500-l000 Be). Perrie's
'sequcnce dares' sn}-su30, which he had allocated only in a preliminary fashion, were duly
assigned to the \arious ph'lses of Ihe Badarian.
Radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dates
from the c1-Radari region suggesr th,lI the
period stretched back at lei-1st as car" as

or

5500

Be.

Cemeteries of rhe Amriltian phase (,1Iso

known as Naqada ,; c.4000-:l500 l1e) hove survived al a number of sites in Upper Egypt,
from DeiI' 'nlSa in the north to the Lower
Nubian site of Khor Bahan. 1\ rectangular
Amnuim house has been excavated at IIILRAKO,I'()J.JS and small areas of late Gerzcan sel-dcment were eXC:l\-ated at :\BYIXlS and dBadari. Tn addition, a possible Gerzean religious structure h~IS been uncO\'ercll al

Pret(J '1UiSlit burial i11mhiell Ihe !m(()1 has !1ti.'11

sand.
Naqada 11 period, c.3200 IJf:, /.. (uJ/jlexl!tI)
1.63/11. (,,,327,,1)

1/{tlltrtll()1 deJicctlled 1~}lllte hOI. lby. t!t'.I'al

~EDYNi\STIC

I'REDYNASTIC PERIOD

PERIOD

1.t~TI' Sill'S a,UoG"ialed mil"

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Pret(Jll1l1stic ririliz(lfiull.

m~LOW h:or)' figurine. with inlaid t'ye5 of lapis

!a:::.uli. Fiji}, 11Ii/lewritllll nc, II, II cm. (EI321-11)

1 Buto
2 Mendes
3 Minshat Abu Omar
4 Samara
5 Tell Ibrahim Awad
6 Beda
7 Merimda Beni Salama
B Heliopolis
9 Maadi
10 el-Oman
11 Tarl<han
12 Gerza
13 Abusir el-Malaq
14 Harageh

<j

~itterLakes

19

20"1;,
21

23

22 25

24

26
KHARGA OASIS
27

+ Early PredynasUc Sites

o Middle Predynastic Sites
late Predynastic Sites

First Cataract

200km

Delta region itself, both sites showing c\'idence of cultural influences from Gerzean
Upper Egypt. The currcnt view of the late
Predyna~tic period in Egypt as a whole is that
the inhabitants of Lower Egypt gradually
assimilarcd various aspects of Upper Egypti<ln
material culture in the late fourth millennium
He (this 'transitional I phase being particularly

attested al Tell c1-Fara'in) and that the Delta

was eventually subsumed politically into a unified st;ttc dominated by Upper Egypt in about

Hicrakonpolis. The transition from the

Gerzean period to the E_\RI.Y DY, \Sl"IC I'EHIOD
Was considered by Petrie to have been a SCp3fatc cultural phase (the 'Scmaincan'), corresponding to 5D65 onwards, but this final phase
of the Prcc1vnastic is now described lw some

archaeologi~ts as the' Protocknastic'. .

The earliest Lower Eg;'ptian Neolithic

~cmains are the 'Fayum A' encampments, (brIng back to (.5000 Be, which were cffccti\'e1y
the first agricultural settlements in Egypt. The
next stage in the Prcdynastic sequence is represented by three periods of occupation at

the latest phase of

which seems to ha\c been contemporary with
lhe settlements and cemeteries of EL-Q:'.l\RI,
south of Cairo, The nexi phase of the Lower
Egyptian Prcdynastic is represented at the site
of ,\1 \:\DI, which seems LO h;l\'c flourished in
the c::l.rly to mid fourth millennium lie. 1\1ost
of the available information for tl1<.' Lower
Egyptian Predynastic deriYes from sites at thc
southern periphery of the region, but exeaYations during lhe 1980s at \1I~Sl-I.rr \ltL O;\L-\R
and TELL EL-F.\IU'I~ (BuLO) ha"c begun to pro"ide crucial new evidence in the heart of the
\IERL\\l)!\

BEKI

Sr\LA,\IA 1

.1100 "e.
The 2500-year period of the Predl'nastie
W,15 once widely considered to ha,'c been culturally distinct from rhe Pharaonic age that
succeeded it. !\hmy authorities ha,-c argued
Ihat the apparently abrupt change at t.he end of
the Predynastic - from tllC characteristic
skeletons and artefacts of the early Gerzcan
people ro those of t.he Early Dynastic clile
buried at Naqada, Hicrakonpolis and Abydoswas e,idcnce of a sudden inyasion from western Asia. Such ~diffllsion Ihcorics' for the origins of the Egyptian state have come to seem
less plausible, and most scholars now agree

227

PRENOMEN (THRONE NAME)

PRIESTS

th,lt there was a steady and relatively unbroken

progression in the Uppcr Egyptian material
culture from the Badarian to the Early
Dynastic: the archaeological case for social
continuity is currently far more convincing
than rhar for sudden invasion or migration.
Sec also AGRICULTURE; AR;\It\~T and EI.K:\B.
I-l. J. K.t\NTOR, 'The final phase of predynastic
culture: Gerzcan or Scmainc;\n?\JNES 3
(19H),110-36.
M. A. l!OFFI\IA:-\l EgJlpl before the pharaohs (New
York, 1979).
B. G. TRIGGER, 'The risc of Egyptian
ci"iliz<ltion\ Ancienl Egypt: tI sO(;;lIl history, cd.
R G. Trigger etal. (Cambridge, 1983), 1-70.
F. BASS",,', 'The Prcdynastic of Egypt' ,Jourl[(ll
oflVorid Pre";sto,), 2 (1988),135-85.
E. C. ~l. V.-\;.) J)E~ BRINK (cd.). Tlte Ni/~ De/Ill ill
11"{11I5;1;01l: 7/h-3rd millenllium He (Tel Ayiv, 1992).
B. MIOA.':T-REY.'\'ES, P,-ehisto;re de I'g),pte (Paris,
1992).
w. \VErrERSTROi\I, 'Foraging and farming in
Egypt: the transition from hunting and
garhering to horticulture in the Egyptian Nile
valley', The archat:olog)' oIAFiw: food, metals
and ffmms, ed. T. Shaw, B. Anchlh and P. Sinclair
(London, 1993), 165-226.
K. A. BARD, 'The Egyptian Predynastic: a review
of the evidence', Jour/wi 0/ Field Arclweology 21
(I 99~), 265-88.

prenomen (throne name) see ROr.'L

ITrUI.ARY

priests
The Egyptian priest should not be viewed in
the S,llne way as a modern religious leader,
such as a clergyman, mullah or rabbi. The
term 'priest' is simply a modern translation for
a number of religiolls offices connected with
the Egyptian TEl\tPLE. 'I'he Egyptian priest, literally described as a 'servant of god' (hem lletjer), was not necessarily well versed in religious doctrine (see I~I)UC[\TIO~), and, particularly in the Old and ,vliddlc Kingdoms, he did
not necessarily work full-time for the temple.
The common modern transhuion of hem "etjer
as 'prophet' has led to a certain amount of
misunderstanding reg-.uding the role of this
onida!' He \yas employed al the temple to look
after the cult statue of the deity. Like mortals,
lhe god or goddess was thought to have daily
needs for food and clothing.
l\tJost priests would not havc come into contact with the cult image, and, in theory, only
the pharaoh, the high priest of evcry cult, had
the privilege of attending the god. In practice,
however, his authority was delegated (Q the
chief priest. who was supported by lesser
priests who would have attended to offerings

228

A scm priest iff leopard-skill robe. 111 his lejl hallt!

he holds {f cellser. Detail[rom the Bnol: o/the Delld
papyrus o[A"i. 19th Dy"asty, c.1250 ne.
(EA10-l70. SIII:U 5)
and minor parts of the temple ritual. The 'second prophet' attended to much of the economic organiz;;ltion of the temple, wh.ile lower
ranks, known as mab priests ('purifiers')
attended to numerous other dunes. 'There \nlS
also a female ,crsion of the hem uetjer title
(hemet neljer) and many elite women of the Old
and j\ fiddle Kingdoms sen'ed as priestesses of
the goddess I-JXrI-IOR.
The chief priest, or (first prophet', could
wield significant po,,er, and this position
allowed him great innuence in what would
now be rcgarded as secular matters. During
the 18th Dynasty (1550-1295 BC) the priesthood of the god Al\\Ui\' became extremely powerful, and it is possible that they may have
been tempor,lrily suppressed in the reign of
AKIIENt\TE~ (1352-1336 Be). In the 21st
Dynasty (1069-9~5 BC), a succession of
Libyan generals took control of the Theban
region, using the tide High Priest of f\mun to
legitimate their power.

There were also groups of priests with specialist knowledge. including 'hour priests'
whom Serge Sauneron interprets as
astronomers; he suggests that these men
would have determined the time at which
FE.'iTlVAI.$ rook place. This \yas an import,lnt
duty, since the Egyptian CALEND!\I{ was rarel"
in step with the seasons. Astrologers somc~
times determined 'lucky and unlucky' d,lyS,
and books of these predictions have sun i\ cd
(see l\STRO~O!\IY AND ASTROLOGY). The J IOl SE
OF tlFE had its own priestly orfieials, who
attended to the teaching of writing :ll1d copied
out texts, while it waS the 'lector priests' (/lt1]'
Iteb) who would recite the words of the god.
Various CULT SI1\GERS .\ 'D TE:\IPLE :\IL.SJCI "S
were needed to accompany the rituals, and
women of noble birth, who sometimes hdd
titles such as 'chantress of Anum', were occasionally depicted in this role, sometimes holding a SISTRU:\1. III the cult of Amun the god was
also considered ro have an earthly wift, Lhe
GOD'S WIFE OF AI\lUJ'\, which also heC<llllc an
important political title, although the tille is
not attested before the 18th Dynasty.
During the New Kingdom, adminislralOrs,
in association with the 'second prophet', O\crsaw the provisioning of the temple from
estates and endowments. They ensured thaL
Lhe requisite numbers of offerings were
brought in each day, and that the labourers
wcnt about their msks properly. Onl~ the
essence of the offerings was thought to be I.:'onsumed by the god, but the physical substance
was consumed by the priests through a
process now known as 'reversion of offerings'.
Various foods were prohibited by particular
temples so thal" the priests' diet may often 11;1\'c
been atypical, bur sllch food Ti\BOOS afC common in many religions.
The Greek historian Herodotus states that
Egyptian priests were required to wash I wice
during the day and <I further twice durin~ the
night, as well as being entirely clean shann
and without body hair. He also says thin thc~
were obliged 10 be circurl1cised and l since
rhere was no prohibition on marriage. to
abstain from sexual intercourse during Iheir
period of office. He claims thal tJ1CY were prohibited from the wearing of wool or leilthl'r. in
favour of fine linen, and that" their sandals had
to be made from P,\PYRCS.
Particular ranks of officials also wore special
garments, such as the leopard skin worn by
se11l priests. tn addition, there were regulations
and prohibitions connected with particular
cults. However, although these rules ,\cre
strict, they applied to indi,idual priests only
during three months of the year. This waS
because thc priesrs were di,-ided into four

PRIMEVAL MOUND

groupS of identical composition. These arc

nOW known by the Greek word phyles,
although the Egyptians called them SlilP
('watches'). Each pltyle served for only one
month before returning to their usual professions for a further three months. Such offices

could be very lucrative, in that the prie..<irs were

granted a fixed portion of temple revenuc
while in the service of the temple.
Since religious knowledge was not <l prerequisite, it is not surprising to find that priests
often simply inherited their posts [rom rheir
fathers, although appointments wcrc also generally endorsed by the king. In cenain circumstances, priestly offices could eYCIl be purCh:lsed. a method that became common under
Roman rule. It should be remembered too that
in many of the small pro\'incial temples the
priests might often hm-e been less important,
and the full hierarchy may not have been represented. Despite the apparently prosaic
methods of entering the priesthood, there was
a definite code of ETIlIC.", including proscriptions against discussing tcmple rites or practising fraud. The extcnt ro which such codes
were actually obeyed is unknown, although
cases of malpractice are recorded.
I-I. KrES, Das Priester/11m ill iigyptischen Staat
vom Ilet/en Reirh "is ::.",. Spiifzeit, 2 vols (Leiden
and Cologne, 1953-8).
- , Die Hiihellpri('ster 1.:011 AI/11m 1;011 Kanwk VOIl
Herihor his ZllIlI Emle da .lthiopieu:::.eit (Lciden,
1964).
S. Sl\Ui\-ERON, The priests oj'lInciellt Egypt (:'\'ew
York, 1969).
E. BRESCIANI, 'Tempclperson:.lll (:\.R)', Lexikoll
der Agyplo!ogie \'1, cd. \V. I leIck, E. Otto and
W. Westendorf (Wiesbaden, 1986),387--401.
A..M. ROTIl, E'gypliall p/~J'/cs ill Ihe Old Killgdo/ll
(Chicago, 1991).
S. QUIRKE and A.j. SPE,r.ER, Tire Brilislr AIIlISeuJII
hook ofallt:ielll EgYPI (London, 1992), 7-J.-.-S,
E. STROUlIAL, L~fe ill IIl1c;e111 Egypi (Cambridge,
1992),223-34.

primeval mound
The hill that emerged from the primeval
Waters of :'\u:'\ was an important element in
Egyptian religious thought and imagery. The
potency of the image of fertile ground emerging from water must have owcd a great denl to
the cycle of the annualli\-UNDATIO:-"- of the Nile,
whereby fresh agriculmral land regularly
appeared au t of the flood WOlters.
The primeval mound was the principal symbol of the act of creation and the J\iIemphite
god TATJENEN (whose name mcans 'raising of
the land') was a personification of the hill itself
The sun-god ATU\I is sometimes described in
the PYRA.\IID TE..XTS as 'hill', and correspond-

PSUSENNES

ingly the Heliopolitan BENBE.'\' STO:'\TJ~, which

was closely asociatcd with Arum's cult, appears
to have been a physical manifestation of the
mound. The shape of the pyramids themselves
may have deri\-ed, like the bellben, from the
primeval mound. 'rhe power of the S(:AKAII as a
metaphor for the rebirth of the sun-god was
due partly to the observed fact that beetles
emerged from dung-hil.ls.
The concept of the original hill of virgin
land was maintained in the practice of building
the sanctuaries OfTE1\II'I.I':S over low mounds of
pure sand. Similarly tombs and cenotaphs,
such as the Osireion at \BYDOS, often incorporated a symbolic 'island' at their centres.
A. 01:: BUCK, De Egyp/isrhe l/oorstellingell
betrefJi:1It1l' dell Oerhelln! (Lcidcn, 1922).
I-I. R. I-h.LL, 'Rc\'iew of De Buck, Dt' Egyp/isrhe
... (1922)',JEA 10(19H), 185-7.
A. A. SALEII, 'The s(}-C'dlled "prime,'a! hill" and
other related elevations in ancient Egyptian
mythology', MDA1K25 (1969),110-20.
B. A. SUIL()GL, Der Cott TiJfellell (Freiburg,
1980).
K. iVl:\RTIN, 'Urhligel', Le.rikfJlI cia .rigYPfO/ogie
VI, ed. \V. Heick, E. Otto and lvY. \Vestendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1986),873-5.

Psammetichus see I'S' \ITEK

Psamtek (Psammetiehus)
'Birth namc' given to three kings of the 26th
(or SAlle) Dynasty (66-1-525 BC).
Pstlllliek I "Vtlhibrtl (66-1-610 "c) and his
father 2'lEK.AU , of SA'S (672--ti64 BC) were both
carried off to Nineveh by the ASSYRIAi'\S, following their invoh'cment in a plot led by the
Kushite ruler "lAI"'RQO (690-664 BC). While in
exile they were supposedly indoctrinated into
Assyrian ways (Psamtek being given the name
Nabu-shezibanlli), before being returned to
Egypt as vassals of Ashurbanipal.
At this time power was conccntrated in the
Delta, and the Assyri:lI1s placed Memphis and
S~lis tUlder Nekctu I and Athribis (TELl. ATKIB)
under Psamtek 1. In 664 He, however, Nekau
died and Psamtek I rook o\"cr his rule, becOlning the first true ruler of the new 26th
Dynasty. \Vith the help of urian and GREEk
mercenaries, he effectively took control of the
\d1Ole of the Delta. The increased numbers of
foreigners in Egypt led to me;lsurcs to control
them 1 and archaeological evidence suggests
that the site of i<\i\UKRKnS, among ot"hers 1 may
have been set up during his reign. Upper
Egypt was still in Kushite hands, perhaps
under nNUT,I.\IA'\' (66-1-656 BC), son of
'Taharqo. However, by his ninth regnal year
Psamtck I was recognized as ruler of both
Upper and Lower Egypt.

To cement his rule over Thebes, he obliged

the GOD'S WIFE or A.\n';N Shepenwepet Il and
her appointed successor, Amenirdis II, to
adopt his daughter Nitiqret (Niweris) as their
ultimate successor. Psamtek then gradually
replaced Theban officials, as each died,
purting his own proteges in their places and
thus tightening his grip on Upper Egypt. 'Nell
established as he now was, he ceased any prctence to be an Assyrian vassal.
The 26th Dynasty was to be characterized
by renewed natjonalism; Psamtek's artists
therefore carefully studied and copied the art
of the Old Kingdom. There was also a
renewed respect for old-established religious
practices, including rhe worship of Si\C.llED
.
,\i'\'lJ\lAI-S, whose cults grew dramatically, eventually becoming a significam part of the economy, Psamtek was succeeded by his son,
Nekau tt (610-595 BC).
P'"l11lek II NeJeribra (595-589 BC), son and
successor to Nekau u, is well known because
of the numerous surviving monuments bearing his n,l 111 e. He is also known to have
launched an expedition against the Kushites,
which penetrated deep imo NUIll/\. Like his
predecessors, he relied heavily on foreign
mercenary troops, and at ABU SL\IBEI. there are
graffiti left by his Carian, Greek and
Phoenician soldiers. Among his generals was
AHl\lOSE II (570-526 BC), who was e\'entually to
supplant his son AI'RJES in the succession to
the throne.
Pstlllliek 111 Allkhkllellrtl (526-525 BC), the
son of Ahmose II, was the h1st king of the 26th
Dynasty. His rule lasted for only some six
months, following which he was executed by
the Persian ruler Cambyses (525-522 BC) who
invaded Egypt in 525 HC
l Ym'OTrE, 'Le martclagc des noms royaux
ethiopiens par PS<lmmetique II', RdE 8 (1951),
215-39.
F K. KJE;\,ITZ, D;e pohtische Cesc!u'clJ/e. {gyp/em
\." (l3erlin, 1951).
R_ A. C:\~II~OS, 'The Nitocris adoption stela',
JEA 50(1964), 71-101.
E. CRl;Z- RillE, 'On the e:xistence of
Psammetichus" Suap;s 5 (1980), 35-9.

Psusennes (Pasebakhaennillt)
'Birth name' taken by two kings of the 21 st
Dynasty, who ruled from Tanis in the Delta at
the stal'l. of the Third Intermediate Period.
PSIISe1llleS I fJakheperra SClepClfalJllII1 (1039991 Be), successor of Smendes (1069-1043 BC),
the founder of thc 21st Dynasty, was perhaps
the most important ruler of the dynasty. I-lis
tomb was discovered at Tanis by Pierre
.Montet in 1940. The richness of the funerary
items (see TAl'IS) has been described as second

229

PTAH

PT'l!:!

only to those from the tomb OfTUT:\t\KII;\\lC:\!,

although the timing of the find led to their

being overahadowec1 by Howard C<lrtcr's earlier discovery. It is likely that Psuscnncs concentrated most of his activities at Tanis, where
he built an enclosure wall for the temple complex. During his reign Upper Egypt waS
under the control of the Libyan generals ruling from Thebes (sec 'EW KL"\IGDOI\l).
However, there docs not seem 1"0 have been
great rivalry between the Thcoan and '[mite
rulers; Psusenncs I himself was probably the
son of the Theban High Priest Pinudjem t and,
in addition, one of his daughters was married
to a Theban priest.
PSUSelllleS 1/ Till,,'heperura Sell'penta (959945 flC), the last king of the 21 st Dynasty,
may have been the son of the Thcban High
Priest Pinudjem " (990-969 BC). He might
therefore h.we reunited the rule of Upper
and Lower Egypt when he acceded to the
Tanitc throne on the death of Sial1lun
(978-959 BC). Aftcr Psusenncs' death, however, the crown passed into the hands of the
Libyan rulers of the 22nd Dynasty, and it has
been suggested that the 'Emite ruling family
may by then have been companniyely povcrrystricken. The 22nd-Dynasty pharaoh
OSORKOJ' I (92+-889 BC) subsequently seems
to have attempted to gain support for his
claim by marrying PSlIscnnes' daughter,
Maatkara, who g',wc birth to SHCSII01\Q II
.890 BC), thus estahlishing a blood link
between the two dynasties.
P. ;\II01\TET, LlIl/iaopole mYlI/e de '!illU'S I: Les
(OI1S1r/lrt;o11S el Ie lombell/l de PsollJseulIes li Jimis
(Paris, 1951).
K. A. KITClJEl", The TMrrl !lIlerma!iale Period ill
F:gl'PI (l!UI}-6.)O IJL), (Warminster, 1986),
283-6.
A. DODS()~, 'Psuscnnes II" Rtf' 38 (1987),
49-54.

Ptah
Creator-god of 1\lE\IPIIIS who was usually portrayed as a mummy, with his hands protruding from the wrappings, holding a staff that
combines the 0JEIJ pillar, .\NKII sign and wt\s
sceptre. His head was shaven and covered by
a tight-fitting skull-cap leaving his ears
exposed. Prom rhe ~liddlc Kingdom
(2055-1650 Be) onwards, he ,yas reprcsented
with a straight beard. The basic iconography
of his images remained virtually unchanged
throughout the Phar.lOnic period. In
Hellenistic times he was identified with the
Greek god Hephaistos.
Ptah himself was part of a TRL\D at
_\'lemphis, along with his consort (the
lioness-goddess SEKII,\IET) and the lotus-god

230

Raweses III before Ihe triad u.r"'Iell/pl/l:~ (jiw/f leji

to right): Nejertem. Sekl/lJlel (mil Ptalt. 20lh
Dyuasty, c.//50 BC, l!tird illustmtiou!rom lhe
Grrlll JIlIm,' PlIPYrI/S, 1/. 12.5 fill. (Ei9999f.13)
whose relationship with Ptah is
unclear. L\1I10TF.P, the deificd architect of the
Saqqara Step Pyramid, came to be rcgarded
as a son of Ptah, although he was not considered to be a member of the !v(emphite triad.
Ptah's original cultic association seems to
hm'c been with cr.lfrsmen, and the High Priest
of Ptah held the title mer kherep he111nJ
('supreme leader of craftsmen '). This connection with the production of artefacts probably
contributed to the elcyation of his culr into
that of a uni,rersal creator-god. He was
thought ro hayc brought the world into existence by the thoughts emanating from his
IIEART and the words cmerging from his
tongue. Although he was clearly already
rcgarded as a creator as early as the Old
Kingdom (2686-2181 BC), the references to
him in the P\ RI\ 'liD TEXTS arc minimal. It has
becn suggested that this "irlual omission from
the royal funerary cult may have resulted from
the reluctance of the Old Kingdom priesthood
of It"- at IIELlOPOLlS to allow a i\lemphite deity
to riyal the sun-goel. Ptah was, however, credited wilh having devised the OPENII'G OF TIlE
'IOLiTII CERE~\IO:"Y, and it was perhaps in a similar spirit of theological ri,'alry that rhe priests
of Ptah thcmsch'es dcyiscd a CIU::\TI01\ myth
(the ~ 1emphitc Theology) in which Prah ga,-c
birth to Ra and his E):~E.\D.
During the Old Kingdom the cult of Ptah
:":EFERTDI,

gradually impinged on that of another

Nlemphitc deity, thc hawk-god so" \R,
resulting in the emergence of a fUnCfilry
deit~
known as Ptah-Sokar (see also
twmms). By the Late Period (747-332 Be)
this combined deity had also taken on the
attributes of OSIRIS, the god of the dead,
resulting in the appearance of Ptah-Sol..arOsiris. 'Vooden images of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris
were regularly included among the funerary
equipment of printe indiyiduals during the
Late Period, usually taking thc form of :l
standing mummiform human-headed figure
on a hollow wooden pedestal, sometimes
with miniature falcons on the base. An earlicr version of Ihis type of funerary figure,
first attested in the 19th Dynast y (129 5~ 1186
lie), simply consisted of a mummiform image
of Osiris standing on a pedestal (sometimes
with a BOOK OF TilE DEr\D papyrus sccreted
inside).
The temples of Pmh at j\'lcmphis were
gradually expanded during the Pharaonic
period, and furthcr important cult centres
werc established at Karnak and the ~ubi;tn
sites of ."-BU SI~IBEL and Gerf Husein. It has
been suggested that thc name of one of his
Nlemphirc shrincs, Hwt-ka-Pmh, may hare
bcen corrupted by the Greeks into the word
A iguptos, from which the modern nllme
'Egypt' derives.
~1. STOLK,
(Berlin, 1911).
.\1. S:\~I)\IA~ 1 IOI._"UE.RG, TIlt' god Pta" (Lund.
19{6).
H. A. SClILOGL, Der GOII Tatem'lI (Freiburg.
1980),110-17.

P'li"

PTOLEMAIC PERIOD

H. TE VEL])J~, 'Ptah\ Le.rikull der figy!J(%gie

cd. W. Heick, E. Otto aod W. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1982), 1177-80.
C. iVL,\\,STRE, Les grallds prEJrt'S dt' PIal! tic
A1.emphis (Frciburg, 1992).

PUNT

1\,

perhaps to usc it as a unifying political force,

but in practice it was the cult of the goddess ISIS
that grew and spread from Egypt.
The lVbccdonians ancl other Greeks were
already l~lmiliar to the Egyptians long before the
arrival Alcx;lIldcr, since the Egyptian army in
the Late Period (747-332 llC) had invariably
included large numbers of" GREEKS as mercenaries. Ptolemaic rule, however, did not remain
popular, and there were revolts in the Thcban
area in 208-186 BC and 88-86 BC. As Ptolemaic

or

Ptolemaic period sa PTOLL\I\,

Ptolemv
Name held by a sllccession or firtecn
Hellenistic rulers or Egypt from 305 to 30 Be.

ing missions were sent frum at least the 5th

Dvnasty (249+-2.145 IIC) onwards. There is srill
some debate regarding the precisc location or
Punt. Although it was once identified with the
region of modern Somalia, a strong argumenr
has now been made for its location in southern
Sudan or the Eritrcan region of Ethiopia,
where the flora and fauna correspond best with
those depicted in Egyptian reliefs.
Punt (the 'land of lhe god') was the source
of many exotic produCI"s, such as GOI.D, arOmatic resins, African blackwood, ebony, jvory,
Sl.AVES and wild animals) including monkeys
and the sacred CYNOCEPHALUS baboons. The
Egyptians also appear to have brought pyg~
mies hom Punt (see DWARFS .\:'\1) P\ G.vm:s),
judg'ing from lhe funerary inscription of
I-Jarkhul~ illl expedition leader of the reign of
1'1:1'\'"

Limes/olle rdie/s/wmillg PIO/('JI~J' lolfi:ring.flo1JJl'J"s

to oue r~(the }/1fIJ/deSla/iollS oj"f/a/hor. Plo/ell/tlie
period, c.JOO IJc.FoII! Kom Abu Billo, II. 3301/.
(1~,M9)

In this dictionary the 'Ptolemaic period' is

taken to include the brief preceding
'Macedonian' phase (332-305 Be), encompassing thc reigns of t\LEX!\2'JDER TIIF. GRI~.'\'I
(332-323 He), his h"lt~brothcr Philip
Arrhidaells (323-317 lie) and his son
Alexander II' (317-310 BC).
The policy pursued by Alexander the
Great, in which he portrayed himself as an
Egyptian ruler and effectively grafted the new
administration on to the existing political and
religious structure, appears to have been followed by his Ptolemaic successors with varying degrees of enthusiasm and success. NIany
Egyptian temples, including those at IXi\:nERt\,
EDFU, ESNA and 1'01\1 Q,\lIJO, were either rebuilt,
repaired or ncwly founded. Such Pharaonic
administrative ;lI1d religious centres as
Thebes, :Memphis and Tanis were replaced by
ALEXANDRIA, a new capital city on the shores of
the lV1cditerranean, the very position of which
indicated the Ptolcmies' realignment of Egypt
towards the .IVleditcrr:mcan region rather than
Africa or western Asia.
Ptolemy I Soter I (305-285 Be), founder of
the Ptolemaic line, rose to the throne of Egypt
after the death of Alexander IV, having aclrninistercel Egypt as a general (then knO\vn as
Ptolemy of Lagos), since the death ofAlexander
the Great. Ptolemy I devised the cult of SI':RAPIS
from the existing cult of Osiris-A pis, hoping

rule weakened, so the Ptolemics relied ever

more heavily on Rome, and eventually the
actions of CLwmTI<A VII (51-30 lie), rhe daughter of Ptolemy XII (80-51 He) and sister-wife of
Ptolemy XIlJ (51--47 Be), provided" pretexr for
the Roman conquest- of Egypt under Octavian,
the future Emperor Augustus (30 Be-AD 14).
D. J. CIU\\vFORD, Kcrkcosiris, tlll1.:!J.)lpliall viI/age
ill Ihe Plolemaicpcriod (Cambridge, 1(71).
I I. _MAEl-ILER and V. 1vl. STROCKA (cds), Das
plulemiiische .r/egYPlel/ (Mainz, 1(78).
A. K. BOWi\IAN, Egypl ((Vcr Ihe pharaohs
(London, 1986).
N. LF,WIS, Gret'k.~ ill Plo/ell/uir EgJlpl (Oxford,

1986).
\:V. M.

EI.LlS,

Pffl!elJl,V

r~rEgypl

(London, 19(4).

Punt (Pwcnet)
Name llsed by the ancient Egyptians to
describe a region of east Ahica to which trad-

(2278-2184

IIC).

Some trading missions evidently travelled

overland to Punt, but the more common route
was by sea, usually departing from the pons of
Quseir or lVkrsa Gawasis on the west coast of
the Reel Sea. As a distant and distinctly nOllEgyptian land, Punt gradually acquired an air
of fantasy, like "hat of Eldorado or Athmtis.
For this reason it sometimes features in narrative tales such as rhe Title ~r Ihe Shipmra!..ed
Sailor in the j\l liddle Kingdom (20551650 Be), and is also mentioned in various love
poems in the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC;
see EROTIC!\).
The best-documented trading expedition to
Punt" waS rhaT of the reign of T-Iatshcpsut

LilllfslO1le re/iej"b/ocksFoJII Ihe lemple oj"

DeiI' el-Bahri. Part:l/ll, ruler oj"
PUIl/, I1Jttl/..:S ill FUIlI (~rM~ obi'si' miji: Ali, mllOse
tOlldilioll is Cf!llSidercd I~JI some scholars 10 be Ihe
r('slI/1 OfIJl:/"t:ll111 \ distaSi'. Behilfd Iho/l (ome men
tanying gUis/iJr JJalSllcpslIl 5expedilir)ll. 181h
l~}Ilf(H~l', /473-1-158 Be, max. II. (~r/JItld\'
"9.3 Oil. (r:,,"w.7IiU27f> .'NIJ.7J:896(,J)
}jalsl/l:pSIII al

231

PURIFIC ATION
PYLO\!

(1473-1458 BC), scenes from which are depicted on the second terrace of her f uocrary

temple at DEIR EL-UAHRl. These relief.., show the

process of trading, which may have raken the
particular form of barter known to anthropologists as 'silent trade\ by which the two parties in the transaction do not negotiate verbally
but set out exchange-g oods until both are satisfied that the respective amounts are sufficient. Only then does actual exchange take

place. The scenes also include depictions of

conical reeel-built huts built on poles above the
ground and entered via ladders. The surrounding vegetation includes palms and

'myrrh trees', some already in the process of

being hacked apart in order to extract the
myrrh.
\rVhcrcas the ruler of Punt was distinguished from the Egyptians prlmarily by his
he.trd and unusual costume, his wife was evidently much more memorable . She is depicted
as an obese woman, and the saddled donkey
that carried her is singled out for particular
attention, not only because of the Queen's
great weight but also because it was still relatively unusual for the Egyptians HI ride either
donkeys or horses at this time. The scenes also
show myrrh trees being loaded on to the ships
so that the Egyptians could produce their own
aromatics from them. Trees such as these
might eventually have been replanted in the
temple at Deir el-Bahri, judging from the surviving traces of tree-pits.
A stele in the mortuary temple of
Amenhote p III (1390-135 2 BC) records a
speech delivered by the god Amun, in which
the king is informed: 'Turning my face to sunrise T created a wonder for you, I made the
lands of Punt come here to you. with all the
fragrant flowers of their lands, to beg your
pe.lCC and breathe the air yOll give.'
vv. STEVENSON SI\IITII, 'The land of Punt',
lARCE 1 (1962), 59-60.
R. I IERZOG, I'nll/I/ (GliiekSladt, 1968).
D. M. DIXON, 'The transplantation of Punt
incense lrecs in Egypt',}A 55 (1969), 55-65.
K. A. Krrcm:N, 'Punt and how to get thert',
Oriell/alia 40 (1971),18+-207.
1\11. LIOrll-lT::l,\I,Am;iellt Egyptian literature II
(London, 1976),4/>--7.
R, Ft\"rrovl\.II, 'The problem or Pum in the light
of recent fieldwork in the eastern Sudan', Akten
Miillcheu 1985 IV, cd. S. Schoske (Hamburg,
1991),257-72.
K.A. KITun:x, 'The Land of Punt', The
archaeology ofAfrica, cd. T. Shaw ct :11. (London,
1993),587-608.

purification see I'RTESTS; SACRED LAKE; 'I:AROO

and
232

WATER

pylon (Greek: 'gate')

Nlassive cercmonia l gatcway (Egyptian
bekhenet) consisting of two tapering towers
linked by a bridge of masonry and surmounted by a cornice. Rituals relating to the sun-god
were evidently carried out on top of the gateway. The pylon was lIsed in temples from at
least the Middle Kingdom to the Roman period (c.205S BC-AD 395). It has been tentatively
suggested that the earliest known pylons Inay
have been constructe d in the pyramid complex
and sun temple of the 5th-Dynas ty ruler
Nyuserra (2445-2421 Be) at ",'USI. and ABU
GURAIJ, but the oldest intact examples are those
in Theban royal mortuary temples of the New
Kingdom (1550--1069 BC), such as \IED'''ET
HAUL" and the RA.\IESSEli\ l,
The pylon was usually filled with rubble
(often consisting of blocks plundered from
earlier temples) as in the case of TAI.ATAT
BLOCKS), but many also contained internal
stairs and rooms, the purpose of which is
uncertain. Ancient depictions of pylons show
that the deep vertical recesses visible along the
f:u;ades of surviving examples were intended
to hold flagsmffs; above each groove was a
small window through which the nag could be
attached. Such flags would have h'1d particular
sibrnificance in the context of the temple, in
that the Egyptian word for 'god' (netjer) rook
the form of a symbol usually interpreted as a
fluttering pennant.
Pylons were frequently decorated with
reliefs enhanced with bright paint and inlays,
in which the scenes tended to emphasize the
theme of royal power, since the outer pylon
would have been the most visible part of the

First pyloll of/ht temple oIiJis at Phil(le. Thl're/iris

on the outer Jaces ofthe pylon's tomeI'S are typical.
shoming the ki1lg (Ptolemy XII Nco.\' Di01~)ISO.\')
strikil1g}Oreigu captives /1Jith {{ 11Iace. The scenes
mould originally have been painted. (t, 511 m)
temple for the great mass of the population
who were forbidden to pass beyond the first
courtyard. The most common motif on the
pylon was that of the king smiting foreign
enemies or offering captives to a god.
Many temples had only one pylon, but d,e
morc important religious complexes consisted
of long successions of pylons and courtyards,
each added or embellished by different rulers;
the temple ofAmul1 at KAR.L\:AK, for i.nstancc, has
ten pylons. In the unusual temples dedic-ned to
the Aten in the city at EL-/\M;\Ri\A , the p.\lons
appear to havc been somewhat different, consisting of pairs of separme LOwers wir-hout any
bridging masonry between them.
It is likely Ihat the pylon represented the
two mountains of the IIQIUZO:-.l (llkltet) bet\\ccil
which the SUIl rose, thus contributin g to the
TF.:\II'LE'S role as a symbol of the cosmos and
the act of creation. The towers were each identified with the goddesses ISIS and NEIll ITI..n s.
F. \. \'ON 13ISSI'\IG et aI., Das Re-Heiligtll/1/ tit'S
KQl1igs Ne-IVoser-Re I (l.. cipzig, 1905),8-10 ,
19-24.
L. BORCI/.\RDT, Das Gmbdellkmal ties Kijlligs ",,lISer-Rt" (Leipzig, 1907), 97.
T DOMBARIH, 'Del' zwcitiirige Tempelpylon
altagyptiseher Baukunst und seine religiose
Symbolik', EgyptiallRd igioll 1 (1933), 87-98.
P. A. SPENO:R, The Egyptian temple: a
lexicogm.phiml study (London, 198+), 193-+.

PYRAMID

PYRAMID

pyramid
Funerary monument, built usuaIJy of Stone
masonry and consisting of four triangular
sides meeting in a point. It served as the focal
point - or at least the most visible componcm
_ of Egyptian royal funerary complexes from
the 3rd Dynasty (2686-2613 BC) to the Second
Intermediate Period
(1650-1550
BC).
Throughollt the rest of the Pharaonic period
private tombs occasionally incorporated 5ma11scale mud-brick or stone pyramidia'. The
Illodern term derives from the Greek word
pyro111s ('wheat cake'), presumably because
cakes orrhis type wcre pyramidal in shape; the
ancient Egyptian word, however, was mer.
In purely architectural terms, pyramids can
be divided into two broad types: 'step pyra-

mids' and 'true pyramids'. The first step

pyramids appear to 113\-0 developed initially
out of the rectangular royal and private i\lAS'rAIlA tombs of the Early Dynastic period
(3100--2686 ne), but by the carll' 4th Dyna>ty
the first smooth~sidcd true pyramid had bccn
constructed at OM'SIlUR. Ovcr the next thousand years the pyramid gradually acquired a
wide range of symbolic meanings.
1'hc full-scale 'pyramid complex' consistcd
of a true pyramid with its mortuary and valley
temples, a causeway between the two lattcr,
and usually a number of smaller 'subsidiary
pyramids'; this had evolved by the beginning
of the 4th Dynasty. However, the origins of the
pyramid complex can be discerned in the royal
LOmhs and <funerary enclosures' at Early
Dynastic ABYooS and the Old Kingdom Step
Pyramid complex at SAQ<tAlu\.
Chronology and development: The first" step
pyramid was built by the architect IMI-IOTEP for
the 3rd-Dynasty ruler Netjerikhet DJOSf.R
(2667-2648 BC) at 5i\ClQ!\RA. From the reign of
Djoser onwards the pyramid complex was
established as the royal funerary monument
and burial-place. Djoser's pyramid seemS to
have initially taken the form of a huge mastaba, built in stolle rather than mud-brick, but it
was gradually extended and elaborated until it
became a pyramidal superstructure consisting
of six massive steps and reaching a height of
60111, making it clearly visible from the capital
city of Nlemphis. A passage from the nonh
side led to the subterranean royal buriaJ chamber, and elevcn subsidiary chambers for members of the family. A series of ancillary chambers and corridors were decorated with elaborate bluc FAII~NCE tiles and relief sculpture
showing the king performing: rites at his royal
jubilee (SED FI'5TII'AL).
In Djoser's complex the recesscd, 'palacefac;ade' style of the superstructures of Saqqara
mastaba tombs of the Early Dynastic period

was used to decorate the great enclosure wall

surrounding the pyramid and its ancillary
buildings. It is thus thought likcly that
Djoser's monument was a combination of a
royal tomb and a 'funerary enclosure' (or
7idbezirk), such as those of the 15t- and 2ndDynasty rulers at Abydos (e.g. the Shunet e1Zebib complex of KHASEKl tEM\\~').
To the cast of Djoser's pyramid was an
open area surrounded by rows of solid
'dummy' buildings apparently intcnded to
replicate various provincial shrines. This part
of the complex waS almost certainly connected with the celebration of the sed festival,
although it is not clear whether the ritual
itself would h.lve been enacted there during
the king's lifetime. A mortuary temple, now
badly ruined, stood on the north side of the
pyramjd, <md a large rectangular structure
known as the ~south mastaba' lay at the south
end of the enclosure (perhaps serving as a
cenotaph balancing the main pyramid and
thus symbolizing the DUALITY of the Egyptian
kingship). The complex as a whole seems to
have been simultaneously a permanent
monumental equivalent of the sed festival
and the celebration of the royal funerary
cult. As later pyramids became more concerned with the king's solar connections, the
importance of the sed festival as an element
of the funerary complex appears to have
diminished correspondingly.
Thc remains of the unfinjshed step-pyramid
complex of SEKlIE.\IKlIET (2648-2640 BC) arc
situated a short distance ro the southwest of
Djoser's complex. A few other surviving traces
of enclosure walls at the western side of the
Saqqara necropolis, including the so-called
Great Enclosure (currently being investigated
by a team from the Royal Museum of
Scotland), suggest that further 3rd-Dynasty
rulers probably began to crect similar mOnuments. It is also worth pointing ollt that lhe
use of steps in pyntmid-building nevcr truly
died out, in thaI many true pyramids continued to consist of a stepped slTucture, which
was simply transformed by the application of a
smooth outer casing. The late 3rd-Dynasty (or
early 4th-Dynasty) pyramid at j\lEIDUM, for
example, was originally conceived as a step
pyramid; in this instance, however, the smooth
outer casing eventually collapsed, and the
original stepped core of the superstructure
was revealed.
The two pyramids of SNEFERU (26132589 BC) at DAHSHUR were probably the first
royal funerary monuments to be conceived as
true pyramids from the outset. The southernmost of these is known as the 'bent pyramid'
(or 'rhomboidal pyramid'), owing ro the

marked change of angle part-way up its profile, from 54 27' in the lower part to 43 22' in
the upper. However, the 'northern pyramid'
(or 'red pyramid') was successfully completed
with a constant angle of 4Jo 22'. From this
time onwards the practice of giving names to
pyramids is regularly attested; thus the north
pyramid was known as 'Sneferu appears in
glory' and the bent pyramid as 'Sneferu of the
south appears in glory'.
Howcver, it was Sneferu's son KIIUFU
(2589-2566 Be) whose name came to be most
intimately linked with pyramjd construction,
since his funerary monument is the Great
Pyramid at (jIZA, the largest sun'iving pyramid. It stands alongside two other smaller
pyramid complexes belonging to two of his
successors, KII.\FRA (2558-2532 Be) and
l\lENKt\UR,\ (2532-2503 Be) (although the
unfinished pyramid complex of his immediate
successor, Djcdefra (2566-2558 BC), was located further lO the north at ABU ROASll).
As far as the overall devcloprncnt of the
pyramid complex was concerned, the basic
components were already prescnt" in the Giza
monuments, which were first scientifically
studied by Flinders Petrie in 1880-2. Each
pyramid was entered by a passage from the
north, and on its cast side was a mortuary
temple, usually interpreted as the royal equiv~
alent of the MASTAUA funerary chapel. A walled
(later roofed) causeway led down from the
mortuary temple to the valley temple, which
was associated with the royal funeral riles and
statue cults. All of the Giza pyramids, as well
as mosl other surviving pyramids, were
accompanied by 'subsidiary pyramids' of varying size and number, located within l'he main
pyramid enclosure; some of these are
described as 'qucen's pyramids" since they
were probably built for the king's wives, while
others may have served a similar purpose to
the 'south mastaba' in Djoser's complex.
The internal anangements of the Great
Pyramid were atypical in that there were three
burial chambers - onc subtcrranean and the
other two built into the core of the superstructure - whereas most other pyramids had
only one subterranean burial chamber hewn
out of the bedrock below the superstructure.
Small shafts, usually known as lair shafts',
lead from the uppermost chamber of the
Great Pyramid to the outside of the pyramid,
while similar ones lead from the so-called
'Queen's chamber' several metres below. Thc
investigation of one of these vents in 1993
revealed the presence of a blockage midway
along the passage, which may be ~l door to a
fourth chamber or perhaps simply closes off
the shaft.
233

I'
PYRAMID

I t has long been suggested that the 'air

shafts' in the Great Pyramid actually scrred

some astronomical function, since they arc

evidently carefully aligned with ,"ariolls stars,
including the constellation of Orion (the
Egyptian god SAIl), which might have heen the
intended destination of the king's 13i\, when he
ascended to mkc his place among the circumpolar Slars. A certain amount of asrronomiC'JI
obscn'..u-ion WilS clearly used in the process of
pyramid-building, p..u ticularly in terms of the
pn.::cise alignment with the cardinal points, but
there seems to be little foundation for the suggestion that the layout of the three pyramids at
Glzil was intended to symbolize the shape of
the belt of Orion.

PYRA'.1.1D

The pyramids 01" t\BUSIR, which date to the

5th Dynasty (2494-2345 BC), are regarded as
the peak of de,e1opmem of the standard
pyramid complex, alt.hough both their architectural quality and their size are less
imprcssive than those of the Giza pyramids.
h has been suggested that the more modest
scale of the Abusir pyramids might have partially resulted from the diversion of
resources into the sun temples that began 10
be erected in the 5th Dynasty (sec ,\Ill)
Gul<AIl). The layout uf the complexes differs
only in the sense that they show less variability, and .1 subsidiary pyramid began to be
regularly placed in the southeast corner of
the enclosure.

The last 5th-Dynasty ruler, L\I\S

(2J75-2345 BC), seems to have been the tirstto
inscribe the PYR,\ \IID TEXTS on the internal
walls of his pyramid at Saqqara. This practice
was then taken lip by the rulers of the 6th
Dynasty (2345-2181 BC) and their quceos,
pro"iding Egyptologists with a set of almost
eight hundred early religious 'uneranees' that
h~nc prm'ided a useful body of eyidence with
regard to the symbolism and purpose of pyramid complexes.
The standard of workmanship of pyramids
appears to have declined along with the political and economic structllre of the Old
Kingdom, ~tnd the pyramid complex all hut
disappeared in the First Intermediate Period
(2181-2055 Be). However, the form began to
be used again in the lVliddlc Kingdom, when
the state had been reunified. The unusual
funerary complex of the 11th-Dynasty ruler
"E"TUlIOTE" II (2055-200{ Be) at 1)1.1" t,l.l1.\IIRI may have incorporated a pyrarni();ll
sliperstrllcrure (although opinions differ on
this poilU), but the full pyramid complex was
reintroduced with the complexes of -\\IE'\'EMIIAT I and SI:'"U.SRET I al EL-L1SI-IT. Later
12th- and 13th-Dynast)' pharaohs built pyramids at Dahshllr, II:\WARA, Saqqara,
~Ilazghuna and EI.-1.1\lIU.'\!. These pynlmids
made extensive usc of mud-brick, llsing stone
only for cross walls which were then infiUed
with rubble or mud-brick, although the
whole edifice was given a casing of fine limestone so that externally it would have
appeared as well built as those of the Old
Kingdom. However, the subsequent removal
of these outer casings has reduced them to a
more severely weathered state than their
stone-built predecessors.
No pyramids have sun-ivcd from the 14th to
16th Dynasties (1750-1650 Be), although
there were a few small mud-brick 17thDynasty pyramjds at western Thebes, and the
17th-Dvnasty ruler IIL'tOSE I (1550-1525 BC)
is known to have constructed a cenmaph at
Abydos in the form of a mud-brick pyramid.
Thereafter, the 'pyramidion' became a comparatively minor clement in the pyr;lll1idshaped superstructures of pri,-atc funerary
chapels, as in the case of the cemetery of the
f'\ew Kingdom workmen at IlEIR EL-\I1 ilL' \ .
.M.anv hundreds of "C;lrs after 1he construction
or t1~c last Egypti-all pyramid comp1L'\, the
pyramid form was revived - albeit" on a smaller
scale and with much steeper sides - in the

The pyrtlmids ofKlll~rll, Khafra fIIlll J\1eul'arml (1/

Gi:::.a, midllhe sulw'diarypyramids ()!Jlmhw rll
in IITefim:growrd. -I,IT Dy"ll.If:)1 e. 2589-250311G".
(G/UII.JM Il-IRR/SOV)

234

PYRAMID TEXTS

PYRAMID

funerary monuments of the Nilp~llan and

Mcroiril: kings of Nuhia (sec .\lEROE, '\J;\P\T\

and "URI).

A1eJllOds of fOIlS/rIIt/ion: "rherc has been considerable speculation concerning the I11CJns
used to construct the pyramids. No textual
records outlining such methods hasc sunivcd l
although presumably this omission is a result
of the aCl.:idcnt of prcscn.ttion (or perhaps
cyen a proscription on the description of such
a sacred (;lsI\); the suggestion is occasionally
made that no records were kept because pyf;lmid construction was regarded as a comp.uatively prosaic activity not worthy of record,
bur this is surely unlikely, gi"cn the Yast
resources and amounts of labour i,wohcd in
such projects.
The careful sun'cy work begun by PETRIE,
and extended in rCl:cnt timcs by .Mark Lehner,
has shown that the Giza site was carefully levelled, probably by l:utling i-l series of trenches
as " grid and flooding thcm with water, then
reducing the surrounding stone "islands' ro
the desired level. The cardinal points would
subsequently have been determined astronomically (see t\STROI'\'O,\'1 AND ASTROLOGY).
Much of the required stonc was obtaincd from
sources immcdiately adjaccnt to the l:omplcxes
themselves, with only the fine limestone for
the outer casing being brought from Tur;.l
aeross the river. \hen granite was needed, for
such purposes as the lining of burial chambers
or, in the case of ~Ilenkaura, part of the casing,
it was brought up the Nile from Aswan (and
indeed reliefs in the causeway of Unas show
granite columns being conveyed by boat from
the quarries to ,he temple). The fInal stage of
transporting the stone would probably not
have been as difficult as it now appears, since
the nood waters of the annual l'IUr\IJATIOi\
would have allowed the boat'i to bring lhe
stone close to the pyramid itself. Since the
Oood also produced 'l slack period in the agricultural year, the king was able to employ large
bodies of seasonally available labour.
The methods hy which Ihe stone blocks
were raised into position remains a contentiolls issue. A variety of techniques have
been suggested} from the usc of simple nancs
(based on the $I-IAIJUF style of" irrigi.ltion) to
elaborate systems of levers and rockers, which
would certainly have been used in positioning
the blocks. What seems certain, from the
archaeological evidence, is that ramps were
used. These would have grown longer and
higher as the pyramid became hlloger1 and
would no doubt have been major fcats of engineering in themselves. There arc only surviving traces of long, straight ramps, but it has
been suggested that the terraced nature of thc

pyramid core would hayc often made it" 1110re

convenient to usc a series of much smaller
r:trnl's buill along the sides of the pyramid
from stcp 1:0 step; the remains of these would
no doubt have been lost when the outer casing
was applied.
The l.i.lsing would h:lve been smoothed fi'om
top ro bottom while the sC'Jffolding or ramps
were gradually cleared ;lway. Once the debris
had been clc.lred from the site, the mortuary
temple and subsidiary pyramids would no
doubt hayc been completed. It is also possible
that the causeways from pyramid to "'lIlC~
temple originally sen-cd as construction ramps
from quay ro building site, and the miley temple would ha,"c been built beside a quay connccred with the Nile by canal.
SYIlI/Jo!ism alJ(! purpose: There is general agreement that the fundamental purpose o[ rhe
pyramid WaS to serve as a highly visible superstructure for royal burials (with the cxception
of seven late 3rd-Dynasl)' non-scpukhral step
pyramids, perh"lps erected as symbols of royal
power at provincial capitals; sec NOMES). There
is, however, still a grcat deal of debate concerning the symbolism of it:s shape and design.
It has been suggesred that it represented the
PRIMEVAl. 1\10UND of creation, on which the
sun-god W..IS thought ro have been born, and
which was probably first symbolized by the
Hcliopoliran BE~IlEJ\ SIDNE.
Sinl:e thc pyramidion at the top of cadI
pyramid was often gilded and was closely connected with the sun, it has been proposed that
the building was intended to symbolize the
sloping rays of the sun. However, it has also
been suggl."Stcd thal, particularly in the case of
the step pyramids, there may ha"e been an
as."iociation with the idea of ascending to the
hel\'ens on a stairway, since it was believed,
from at least the Old Kingdom onwards, th.lt
the deceased were able to rise up to the night
sky, becoming transformed into 'imperishable
stars'" There is also a great deal of symbolism
in the ,"..l rious 10c.1tions of such features of the
pyramid complex as the entrance to the pyramid, the mortuary and valley temples, the subsidiary pyramids, as welJ as more detailed
fe"lll1rcs, such as the position of the sarcophagus and the orientation of the internal corridor
and chambers.
The Greek historian IIERODOTUS (,-.484420 Be) gave an account of the pyramids, hut:
Pliny (iH) 23-79) scems to have been the (irst
ancient writer to suggest that they might have
contained treasure. After the Arab conquest
(AI) 641), such stories of buried riches led to
numerous attempts to open the pyramids,
although the contents of the burial chambers
were always found to have been long since

plundered. Various myths concerning the origins and significance of pyramids pcrsisted
among Europcan travellers, including the
ingenious theory that they had funcrioned as
the granaries of the Biblical]oseph. In modern
timcs, much stranger theories continue ro he
concocted concerning the nature of pynllnids,
and the pragmatic accounts of generations of
archaeologists have done little to dispel the
popular belief that they arc emhodiments of
some lost mystic knowledge and/or the key to
the ulldcrsmnding of the uni,crse.
W. -"I. F. PETRIE, The pyrt/mids tl1ullemples of
Ci",h (London, 1883).
D. ARSOJ.D, Built/illg ill

l.~!{J'PI: pharaonic slullt!

mtl.wllry (Oxford, 1991).

G. l"l\RT. Pharaohs tllld pYrfl1l/itl.~ (London, 1991).
J-P. L'LER, I,fs P.JlJ"tI/1/ities til' Stllktlrfl, 6th cd.

(Cairo, 1991).
I. E. S. EDWARDS, 'l'Il' pyramids oIfgypt. 5th ed.
(llarmondsworth, 1993).
C. S<..:1\I00:, 'The meaning of death: funerary
beliefs and the prehisrorian', The (Jllcit'lIll11illd:
elt'lIIcn/.l' oj"(ogllilivc archaeology, cll. C. Renfrew
and L B. W. Zubrow (Cambridge, 1994),75-82.
R. ST,\rl!-:I ..\MN\, 'Dic sogcn<1l1l1ten Luftkaniilc
del' Chcopspyramidc 1\Ilodellkorridurc fur den
Aufsricg des Konig's zum I limmer, A/IDA1K 50
(1994),53-6.

Pyramid Texts
The earlicst Egyptian funerary texts, comprising some eight hundred spells or '"utteranccs'
writtcn in columns on the walls of the corridors and burial chambers of nine pyramids of
the late Old Kingdom (2375-2181 Be) and
First Intermediate Period (2181-2055 ue). In
modern texts and translations of the Pyramid
Texts the individual utterances arc conventionally numbered in a sequence relating to
their usual position in the pyramid, progressing frol11 the burial chamber outwards,
although it has been suggested that the opposite order (from tlle entrance to the burial
chamber) may in fact be a more logical
sequcnce. Siegfried Schott, for instance, has
argued thar the tcxts make up a ritu;tlistic
description of the funereal progress of the
king's dead body from its arrival in the vi-llley
temple to its deposition in the burial chamber.
Although the carliest surviving Pyramid
Texts are inscribed in the 5th-Dynasty pyramid of UNA, (2375-2345 Be) at Saqqara, the
examples in the pyramid of I'EI'Y I, a short: distance to thc south, were the first to be discovercc!. They were inscribed in the pyramids of'
six king, altogether (all buried at Saqqara
between the 6th and 8th Dynasties), as well as
in Lhe three pyramjds of Pepy II'S queens. No
single pyramid contains the whole collection

235

PYRAMID TEXTS
QADESH ,

of spells, the maximum number being 675

utterances in the pyramid of Pcpy II
(2278-2184 BC).
The constant references to the cult of the
sun-god in the texts suggest that they were
probablv composed by the priesls of llEl.lOPOLIS. There appear to have been several basic
categories of utrerancc, including what might
be described as 'magical' spells aiming to prevent harm to the deceased; these often usc
archaic language perhaps indicating the
Predynasti c origins of the ideas. Indeed, sometimes these magical utterances seem to be
referring to aspects of the funerary cull that
wcre no longer current at the time that the
pyramids were builr, as in the case of
Ulteranees 273-4 (the 'Cannibal Hymn'),
which appear only in the pyramids of Unas
and TETI (see I-IUMAN SACRIFICE). A nodlcf type
of utterance seems to consist of the texts of
various rituals which would have been performed at the royal funeral, with the deceased
addressed as OSIR'S. This type of spell, which
includes texts dealing both with offerings and
with the resurrectio n, was inscribed in the
burial chamber itself, no doubt the most
sacred part of the pyramjd. The OPENING OF
"1'1 [f. J"IOVTH CEREr...IONY is first recorded in these
ritual texts, along with the carly offering ritual.
Another category of spell, generally inscribed
on the walls of the ante-cham ber and corridor
l
seems to have been intended to be uttered by
the tomb owner personally.
I-I. RICKE, Bemerkungel1 Z/lI" Ii'gyptischel1 Sal/kunst
des Abell Reich.'i (Zurich and C'liro, 1944-50).
S. SUIO"JT, BemerJnwgell :::.um iigyptischell
Pyramidenkult (Cairo, 1950).
R.o. FAULKNER, The lIncient Egyptilln pyramid
lexlS (Oxford, 1969).
J. P. AJ.I.E!'\, 'The Pyramid Texts ofQ.leens Ipwt
and Wdbt-m. (j)',]AIICE 23 (1986),1-2 5
\v. B.O\R:r.\, 'Die Pyramidcnte..xtc auf den
Privatsargen des Nlittleren Reichcs', zAs 113
(1986), 1-8
J OSING, 'Zur Disposition der Pyramidentexte
des Unas', MDAIK, 42 (1986),131-44.

~
Oa'a (Ka'a) (c.2890

'Na'am troops
'\
BC)

Last ruler of the 1st Dynasty (3100-2890 BC),

who was probably buried in Tomb Qat ABY1>05, excavilted first by Emile Amelineau and
later by Flinders PETRIE at the turn of the century. 'rhe tomb was re~excavatcd by Gunther
Dreyer and Werner Kaiser in 1991-2. Two
typical royal funerary stelae bearing the king's
name were found on the cast side of the tomb.
The recent excavations show that the tomb
WilS built in stages, with the thick walls of the
central burial chamber eventually being hollowed out to create extra magazines. The discovery of seal impressions and other artefacts
bearing the name of Hetcpsekhemwy, the first
ruler of the 2nd Dynasty (2890--2686 BC), suggests that there may have been no real brea.k
between the 1st and 2nd Dynasties.
Four tombs at Saqqara have been dated 10
Q!I'a's reign, including the large MA~n:I\.B.'\
tombs 3500 and 3505. The latter incorporates
a set of rooms on the north side of the superstructure, where the lower parts of two wooden
statues were found. It has been suggested that
this maze of rooms may have served as an
offering chapel which would perhaps have
been an antecedent of the mortuary temple in
pyramid complexes. The stelae of two of
~'a's officials, i\1erka and Sabef, bear more
complex inscriptions than those of earlier
reigns, suggesting an increasingly sophisticated usc of the hieroglyphic script.
\V. 1\11. F. PETRlE, The royal tombs ofthe firsl
dyllasty I (London, 1900).
"V. B. Er,IIERY, Creal lombs ofthefirsl (~}'l1asty III
(London, 1958).
w. B. EMERY, Archaic Egypt (London, 1961),
86-91.
A. J. SPENCER, Early Egypt (London, 1993),
83-4.

Oadesh (goddess) see Q1:0ESIIET

Oadesh. Battle of (c. 1274 BC)
Military clash between RAMESES" (1279-1213
Be) and the HJ1~nTE king l\1uwatallis, which
was the first major conflict in the ancient
world to be described in detail. There arc thirteen sUT\iving Egyptian accounts of the barrie,
recorded both on papyri and on the walls of
many of Rameses II'S temples in Egypt and
Tubia. These thirteen versions are also written in three different literary forms: poem,
bulletin and captioned reliefs.
236

BATTL E~

Egyptian
camp

....
::

Hittites

The Bailie ofQatlesh.

In the summer of the fourth year of his
reign (c.I275 BC), Rameses II launched a military campaign into the Levant. He succr.;cded
in consolidat ing Egyptian control of the
provinces of Canaan and Upi and recaptured
Amurru without coming into direct conflict
with the Hittites, Egypl's principal riYals in
the region. Because Rameses then forced the
prince of Amurru to sign a vassal treat) wi1Jl
Egypt, the Hittite king lVluwatallis is s:lid to
have sworn to regain the Syrian territories. tor
his part Rameses was now keen to cnpitalize on
his successes by pushing forward into the area
of central Syria and the city of Q!ldesh in the
spring of 1274 Be.
In his second campaign, Ramescs sent :1
division of elite troops (the Na(arn) northwards along the Phoenician coast, while the
main army, divided into four divisions (named
Amun, Pre, Prah and Seth), marched through
Canaan and Upi to approach Qtdesh from the
south. i\1~nwhile, i\1uwatallis had assembled
an army said to have been more than double
the size of the Egyptian forces.
\Vhile Ramescs and his army were passing
rhrough the wood ofLabni, a few miles to the

Q!l.NTIR

south of ctIdcsh, two captured 8EIJQUIN convinced them that the Hittites were still a considerable distance away, in the area of Aleppo.
By the time it was realized that the Hittites
wefe in fact camped nearby, just across the
Orontcs, Ramcscs had already set lip camp
near ~desh and his three other divisions wcre
still some way behind. Before anything could
be done to remedy this situation the Hittite
chariots launched their attack, taking the Pre
division by surprise and sending them fleeing
north towards Rameses and the Egyptian
camp.
Although Rameses is said to have rallied the
combined troops of Amun and Pre in an
attempt to rescue the situation, it is clear that
the Egyptians might have been routed at this
stage if it had not been for thc timely arrival of
the Na'arn troops. Thc Egyptians wcre thcn
able to regroup and push back the Hittite
chariotry, thus allowing the Ptah and Seth
divisions finally to catch up with the rest. The
following morning the battle resumed but
eventually they reached a stare of stalemate. In
the subsequent exchange of envoys Rameses
(unlike his lather SETY I) refused to make a
treaty and returned to Egypt with the control
of Amurru still unresolved. Moreover, as soon
as he had retreated, the Hittites gained control
of both Amurru and Upi, thus pushing back
the Egyptian frontier to the borders of
Canaan.
Despite Rameses I1'S euphemistic accounts
of the battle, he was finally obliged to make a
treaty with a new Hittite king, Hattusilis Ill,
in 1259 BC, in order that Egypt and the
Hittites could form a united front in the face
of the growing threat or the ASSYRIAN empire
of Shalmancscr I.
J l-l. BREASTED, The Bailie of Klldes;', II SllId),
in Lhe earlies/. kl10mn mili/.alY s/.rategy (Chicago,
1903).
H. GOEDICKE, 'Considerations on the Battle of
Kadesh',JEA 52 (1966), 71-80.
K. KITCHEN, Pharaoh frill1J1plull1/
(Warminster, 1982), 53-62.
H. GOWICKE (cd.), Perspet/ives oll/;'e Batlie of
Klldes;' (Baltimore, 1985).
B. OCKINGA, 'On the interpretation of the
Kadesh record', edE 62/123-4 (1987), 38-48.

Qantir (anc. Piramesse)

Site of the ancient Egyptian harbour-town of
Piramesse, located in the eastern Delta near
modern e1-Khatana. Piramesse was founded
by Sety I (1294-1279 BC) and transformed into
a new royal residence and scat of government
by his successor Rameses II (1279-1213 BC). A
mUd-brick PALACE dating to the earliest phase
of the town was discovered in 1929, and exca~

QEBEHSENUEF

TI1JO pO~)lcllI'(J1/lej{liellce liles sllOming an aquatii" scene,

F0111 a palnce ofRa1/1eses II al Ql1ltir. L. 59.7 CW.
(UF7ROI'OUTIlN MUSEUM, NEW YORK, ROGHRS FUND
AND EDJf'/lRD S. HANKNESS GIF'I;

35.1.104)

vations in the 1980s have reveal cd military

barrack-rooms and workshops, also dating to
the Ramesside period. By the end of the New
Kingdom (d069 BC) the city had diminished
in importance and a great deal of its stonework
was transferred to the temples at TANIS in the
21st Dynasty and Bubastis (TELL BASTA) in the
22nd Dynasty.
W. C. HAYES, Glazed tiles/rom a palai"e (!{
Ra.11Iesses II at Kantir (New York, 1937).
E. UPIIII.J., The temples QIPer Ramesses
(Warminster, 1984).
M. BIU'AK, Avaris and Piramesse, 2nd ed.
(Oxford, 1986).
E. PUSGI, 'Bericht tiber die sechste
Hauptkampagne in Q?ntir' Piramesse-Nord
herbst 1988', GM 112 (1989), 67-90.
- , 'Auslrindisches Kulturgut in (~ntir
Piramessc', Aklen Miilldwi 1985, cd. S. Schoske
(Hamburg, 1989),249-56.

Gasr Ibrim (anc. Pedeme, Prim is)

Site of a Lower Nuhian multi-period fortified
settlement, now located on a headland in Lake
Nasser about 240 km south of Aswan, which
has been excavated by the Egypt Exploration
Society every two ycars since 1961. The earliesl activity at QIsr Ibrim dates to the late New
Kingdom (c 1000 BC), and the site was occupied throughout successive periods until the
early nineteenth century AD, when the garrison was still manned by Ottoman soldiers
from Bosnia.
The principal surviving building is a
Nubian cathedral dating to the eighth century
AD. Remains from earlier periods include fouf
rock-shrines dating to the New Kingdom
(d550-1069 BC) and a number of temples
dating from the 25th Dynasty (747-656 BC) to
the late MEROITIC period (C.AD 100-350). To
the north and south of the main town-site
there are a number of cemeteries, mainly dat-

ing to the Meroitic, IV,LLANA, Christian and

Islamic phases of the site's history.
W. B. Ei\'IERY and L. P. KIRWAN, The excavations
(wd Sllrvey between Wadi es-Sebua tlud Adilldan
/919-31 (Cairo, 1935),268-77.
R. A. C.-\MJNOS, The shrines alld rock insetipliollS oI
Ibrilll (London, 1968).
W. Y. ADAMS, 'Q?sr Ibrim: an archaeolog'ical
conspectus', Nubitlll Stlldies: proceedjllp oflhe
~)llJlposiuI11Jo" Nubian sludies, 1978, cd.
J. Plumley (Warminster, 1982),25-33.
A. J. )\1ILLS, The fewe/aies oIQpsr lbrjm
(London, 1982).
M. HINDS and V. MENAGE, Qpsr Ibrim in the
Ottoman period (London, 1991).
M. HORTON, 'Africa in Egypt: new evidence from
Qlsr Ibrim', Egypt alld Africa, cd. W. V. Davies
(London, 1991),264-77.

Qebehsenuef see SONS OF

1I0ltUS

Qedeshet (Q,'desh, Q,ldshu)

SYRIAN goddess, generally portrayed as a naked
woman (viewed frontally), holding flowers and
snakes, and standing on the back or a lion. Her
cult began to be celebrated in Egypt at least as
early as the 18th Dynasty (1550-1295 BC).

Limestoue relie/fragment depii"ting tire Asiatic

goddess Q!deshe/.. She holds a 10/llS ill ouc haud
and snakes ill tire olher. 19th Dj/nasty, e.1250 lie,
/1.25.5 WI. (EA60J08)

237

QUEE~

QUDSI-IU

Such was her assimilation into Egyptian religion that sht; was considered to be a member
of a THUD along with the fertility g'od ,\IIN and

the Asiatic

dcit~, RESIIIT.

She was also linked

both with the Egyptian goddess llATllOH and

with AN.'\'!' and ASTARTE, two other Asiatic goddesses ,,-hose cults had filtered into Egypt.
j. LEIBOrITClI, tUne imitation d'cpoque grccoromaine d'tme stele de la dcessc Qldcch', ASAt'
41 (1941), 77-R6.
1. E. S. Emv!\RDS, 'A relief of Qu.lshu-As[;lrtcAnath in the vVinchcstcr College collcction\
.JiVES 14 (1955), 49-51.

or

R. ST\UEI,,\\'\:\i\', Syriscli-paliisfillisdle GOlllieitell

illri"gyptell(Leith:n, 1(67), 110-23.
C. Ct.A,\IER, 'A gold plaque from Tell Lachish',
Journal ({Ihi' tel Ariz' Ulli;;t.'rsi~)' 1m/illile (~r
/lrdwcoll)gJl 7 (1980), 152-62.

Oudshu see Iv:m:S1IET

queens
Term usually applied to various female relatives of the pharaoh, although considerable
caution is necessary in using the word in an
ancient Egyptian context) since there is nO
Egyptian term precisely corresponding to it.
Instead, the Egyptian texts tend to highlight a
number of important women who arc defined
by their kinship ",ith the king.
There are three main types of 'queen': the
Lgreat royal wife' (hcme//lc.I"11l mere!), the 'king's
mother' (lII}})l /les}})) and the 'king's wives'
(ltelll}})/ lIesm). The great royal wife appears to
have been second only to the king in terms of
the politiGlI and religious hierarchy, and she is
often represented alongside him on monuments. Very occasionalJy, as in the case of
NEFERTITI, she was also represented alone. ft
was usually one of the sons of the great royal
wife who was heir to the throne.
For many years scholars believed that succession to the throne \Vas purely via the female
line; it was thus suggested that each king, irrespective of whether he was the son of Lhe previous ruler, had to marry a sister or half-sister
in order to legitimize his claim to the throne.
This so-called 'heiress theory' would have
meant that one of the daughters of the previous king would always have become a great
royal wife in the subsequent reign. However, it
has been pointed out that there arc several
clear instances where kings married women
who were not their sisters, as with the marriage of Amenhotep 111 (1390-1352 Be) to TIY,
the daughter of a chariotry officer, therefore
the theory is no longer accepted. II has been
suggested that the popularity of the 'heiress
theory' may have been due partly to the
attempts of carlier scholars to explain the

238

.lccedcd foreib'1l ruler waS orten asked to pro\ride a new daughter, even though the daug:h_
ITr of his predecessor was no doubt still liyingand married to the Egyptian king.
Because the conventions at" Egyptian .In
and literature t"ocus largely on the king and his
exploits, little information has survi\'ed Concerning l:ven the most E1l110US queens, such as
Tiy, Nefertiti and ~EI'TRTAI{I, the wire
Rameses II (1279-1213 lie). There arc also
comparatively few surviving personal det.lils
concerning II,HSIlEPSUT (1473~145R lIe)1 who
waS both a queen and a king, in that she ruled
initially as a regent and then assumed the full
attributes of kingship for many years. 1\lost of"
her monuments were damaged and ah:ered by
her stepsun and succcssor, Thutmosc III
(1-f.79~1425 I3c) who, late in his reig'n, appc~lrs
to have reacted against the idea of a female
king, which might have been regarded as ;111
abnormality, a contLl\Tntion of the Egypti.1I1
conception of M,\AT (truth and harmony).
h is clear, therefore, that ~ however powerful queens may have been and howeyer much
influence they might have wielded O\'cr Lhl'
kings' decisions ~ they remain shadO\\-y figures, effectively masked by the powerful
iconography of the king, which usually suggests that it was the p1:lce or the king's wife or
mother to be the epitome of feminine grace
while her husband typified the essence of
masculine power.
B. J. KE1\!I', 'The harim-palace at Nledinet c1Ghurab', zAs 105 (l9iS), 122-33.
A. R. Sf] IUI ..\'lAN, 'Diplomatic marriage in the
Egyptian New Kingdom',JNES 38 (]<)79)1

Brol/ze slatuelle o/tl quem, Itlle Nem Kingdom,

11.22 Wi. (1:..154388)

Egyptians' apparent acceptance of the royal
practice of incest (sec ~'ll\I{RIAGI::).
The 'mother of the king' was an important
member of the royal family, and, like the great
wife (and sometimes also the royal (bughter),
she was often depicted alongside the king all
his monuments. For example, Queen Til' still
enjoyed considerable prominence in the reign
of her son I\KlIF:~i\TEN (1352-1336 Be).
The third category of queen, the 'king's
wives\ were simply the Ol"her women to whom
he 'vas married, most of whom would have
resided in the IIt\RIM. From the New Kingdom
(l550-1069 Be) onwards these wives would
often have included foreign women married as
part of a diplomatic arrangement. It seems to
have been COlllmon fiJI' foreign rulers to be
asked to send their daughrers to Egypt, where
they would have effectively been treated either
as tribute or as hostages, guaranteeing the
preservation of good relations between the two
rulers. The relationship thus established was
perhaps more of a link between two ruling
families than between two states, since a newly

177~9J.

G. ROBl:'\'S, 'A critical examination of the theory

that the right to the throne of ~lIlcient Egypl
passed through the female line in the 18th
Dynasty', eM 62 (1983) 67-77.
L. TROY, Pal/ems (~(qllcell.\"ip in ({I/rim/ ExyjJf;al/
myth al/(I his/IJ1Y (Uppsala, 1(86).
G. ROlliNS l WiJlll'll ill tllIri'llt Egypt (London,
1993),21-55.

!0~

---=R.:.:A.:.:C=E

R
Ra

(Re)
Heliopolitall sUl1~god whose cult is first atrcstcd in the name of the 2nd-Dynasty ruler
Ralleb (c.2865 m:). The cliit of the slln IVa' celebrated particularly at 111':I.IOPOI..1S (ancient
runu), now largely covered by the nonhcrn
suburbs of Cairo. Numerous aspects
the
material culture and religion of the Old
Kingdom were influenced by the cull' of Ra,
but it W.1S not until the hh Dynast \
(2613-249-+ BC), ,,hell the ro\al title Sl' Ra
('son of Ra') IVaS introduced by Djcdefra
(2566--2558 BC), that the worship of the sungod rCi.lched its pC<1k. In the 5th Dynasty sc\"eral sun temples incorporating large masonry
OBELISKS (sec AIR.. GLI{.>\11 and BE.NBE.,,\") wcre
constructed, apparently all modelled on the
earliest temple of Ra at I-Icliopolis, although
no trace of this has suryivcd in the archaeological record.
The sun-god was usually represented <1S <1
hawk-headed human figure wearing a sWl-disc
headdress, but in the underworld, through
which he sailed in the SOI..,\R UARt..:, he waS portrayed as ram-headed. Ra exerted such a
strong innuence on the rest of the Egyptian
pantheon that vlfw<llIy all of the most significant deities were c"cnru;lll~' subsumed into the
universalist sun--eult by a process of SY::,\CRETIS~I; thus A.\IU\! became Amun-Ra, !\IO~TU
became lVlontu-Ra and I JORUS became RaHorakhty. In his manifestation as creator-god,
the sun-goel himself took the name of AtumRa, combining with ,mother Hcliopolitan
sun-god, ATU1\1, whose name means Ipcrfection' (see CREATIO,' and E'\NE/\D). The Li/{lJO'
~r Ra, a text of the Ncw Kingdom (15501069 Be) inscribed on the walls of some of the
royal tombs in the \.\l.I.EY OF TIlE I-.J:\"GS (the
earliest example being in that of Thutmose
111, K\' 34), is essenrialh a celebrarion of Ra's
idcntific.1.tion with O;'RIS, the god of the
underworld.
It was during the reign of /\KI--IJ~'ATE'
(1352-1336 BC) that the concept of the sungod as a uniyersal deity (into whom all other
deities could be absorbeJ) seems 1:0 have come
closest to a monotheistic position. The worship of the ATEi'" (Iitcrally the 'disc'), represented almost diagrammatically in the form of
a Sun-disc from which arms stretched down
offering life and power to the royal family, was
substituted for the culls of anthropomorphic
figures such as Ra-Horakhty or Amun-Ra, and

or

Sheetff-om a papyrm depic/iug the pril's/t'SS

fleJlJlfJIvy pros/ra/iug haselfiuat!ofll/ioll be.fiJre
the SUIl. mhich emergesjffJIll Ih,' tlt'ser/ horizon ami
cOlltaim the ~)'t' of Hums. /hm spdlillg ullllltt'
rebm oflite god Rll-Hortlklt~)/. 2/s1 Dyllasq'.
Il. 20 Oil. (IC/IOOIS, SIlICI:r I)
Akhenatcn's I1JIIl/}/ 10 'he _--1/ell appears 1O
describe a deity whose power perme~Hcs all
aspects of life, thus effectively superseding the
traditional Egyptian 'pantheon'
A. PIANKOFF, The ii/aiD' ofRl' (New York, 196-1-).
]. Ass.\!'\i\''\', Dcr Kiillig fll.\" S(}l/llellprie~'/"r
(Gliiekstadt,1970).
D. B. REDFORD, <The sun-disc in Akhenaten's
program: its worship and antecedents I,,]ARCE
13 (1976), +7~1.
S. QUIR"-E, A1fcielll l:.gyptiall religion (London,
1992),21-51.
J. Ass.\L-\~~, Egyp/iau SO/liT religion i/l lilt! Nem
Kingdom: Ret AnI/ill lIlIl//he crisis oIpo()'/heism,
trans. A. Alcock (Loodoo, 1995).

race
The apparently simple question of the racial
origins or characteristic racial type of the
Egyptians is both ditlicult to answer and in
some measure irrelevilnt. \~le know that their
1.:\ 'I"(jL"GI~ belonged to the group known as
Afro-Asiatic or Hamito-Semitic, which simpl~
means that they shared some common traits
with the languages of parts of Africa and [he
. ear East. L<tnguages of this group can be
spoken by people of "astly different racial
type, just .IS Spanish may be spoken by
Spaniards and South Amcrican Indians.
Examination of human rcmains from the
Predynastic period shows a mixture of racial
types, including negroid, i\JIediterranean and
European, and by the time that Pharaonic civilization had fully emerged it was no longer
meaningful [Q look for a particular Egyptian
racial type, since they wcre clearly already, to
some extent at le,lst, a mixed population. It is
in the context of the Protodynastic period
(.3100-2900 Be) that the issue of race has

often been most hotly debated, with a number

of scholars, including \V. B. Emery, claiming
that the Predynastic Egyptians were effecti\"cIy conqucred by ,I ne,,- race from the east.
AIL.hough the skeletal e\'idence for this theory
is still considered to be indicatiyc of some kind
of physical or racial change, it is no\\" thought
that there was a slower period of transition
which probably involved the indegcnous
Egyptian population gradually being infiltrated by a different physical typc fr0111 Syria~
Palestine, via the Delta region (sec PREIH'NASTIC PERIOD).

A morc fruitful avenue is to inquire how the

Egyptians saw themselves. The answer to this
is partly defined in the negati\'c, in that they
clearly did not consider themselves to be
either African or Asiatic; that much is obyious
from their art and literature (see CAIY1'1\ES). As
'Egyptians', they were automatically different
from all their neighbours, even when certain
Egyptian indiriduals may have appeared 'foreign' in their racial characteristics, as in the
case of the New Kingdom military official
1\lt\JHI~RPR1, who held an important post and yet
was clearly of negroid origins. Clearly, despite
the highly developed iconography of f()reigncrs, it was nevertheless possible for many different r,lcial types to consider themseh'es

TIlt' euemit'~' of/:.'g.l'P/TPere I/sua/(J' portrayed as

caplii'est ill /his (fiSt' all Asia/ic {l1ld {I Nubian art
.~J'mbo/i(fl/~)I bOl/lld to Ihe sudlof
Tu/allkllllmUII and so a/mays ill/he royal
grip. (c JlRO vo jOel; REl'ROm. CEl)
COCRTE51 OF TilE CR'FlTl'1I1.vSTJ71Tl::)

239

RADJEDEF

RAMES-I.

Egyptian. Perhaps the clearest example of this

is the case of the skeletal remains from the
'tomb of (Wo brothers' at Rireh, dating to the
Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC), where the
physical appearance of one of the men was
negroid, while thar of his brother was morc
European.
I t has recently been argued by certain scholars, notably Nlartin Bernal, the author of
BIlleK AI/WUl , thaL the Egyptians were essentiallya (black African' culture., and that ancient
Egvpt should therefore be regmded as a pinnacle of negroid ~lchievcmcnt, the artistic and
cultural influence of which instigated the earliest achievements of the Classical civilizations
in the Mediterranean. Although "aluable in
drawing attention to African contributions to
western culture, Bern.l\'s hypothesis might be
accused of missing the essential point, in that
'civilizations' cannot necessarily be defined in
purely racial terms. While the population at
large may consist predominantly of one or
another racial group, its 'culture' and the
archaeological record of its characteristics arc
often the product of the interaction of many
racial groups.
D. E. DERRY, 'The dynastic race in Egypt\.J..EA
42 (1956), 80-5.
A. C. BeRRY, R. j. BERRV and P. J. Ucm,
'Genetical change in ancient Egypt\ Man n.s. 2
(1967), 551-68.
A. C. BERRY and R. J. BERRY, IOrigins and
relations of the ancient Egyptians\ Population
biolog]1 ofthe af/rient Egyptia11s, cd. D. R.
Brothwcll and B. A. Chiarelli (New York, 1973),
200-8.
B. G. TRIGGI~R, 'Nubian, Negro, Black, Nilotic?',
flji-ira;11 aflliquity: the arts ofOf/dOli Nubia and
the Sudalll, cd. S. Hochfield and E. Riefstahl
(Brooklyn, 1978),26-35.
Nl. BER.'\"\L, Blark Athe"a: the Ajro-/hiatic roots
ofc1assiml civili:::.atirJ!1, 2 \ols (London, 1987~91).
F J. YURCO, (\,yere the ancient Egyptians black or
white?', BAR 15/5 (1989), 24--9, 58.

Radjedef (Djcdefra) see ABU RO.'SH and

KJ IAFRi\

Ra-Horakhty see IIORUS and

RA

ram
Like the UULL, the ram (Egyptian ba) was venerated by the Egyptians for its fertility, and
although sheep were regarded as unclean, and
thus unsuitable food fe)r purified persons, the
ram was worshipped from early times. The
earliest ram-gods seem to have been based on
the Ovis IOllgipes palaeoaegyptiaca species,
which has long wavy horns and a heavy build;
this was the form in which KHNUM and
240

Banebdjedet (sec MENDES) were represented. A

second species, OV/~'i aries pla/ym lIegyp/iaco,
appeared somewhat later in Egypt, perhaps
around the 12th Dynasty (1985-1795 BC); this
ram had a lighter build, fat tail and curved
horns, the form often attributed to the god
Amun.
Khnum, the local deity of Esna and
Elephantine, was the most prominent of the
ram deities, worshipped as the creator of
humankind. From the ~ew Kingdom
onwards, the cult of the god A,\IU~ absorbed
that of Khnum, and Amun himself was commonly represented in ram form, aJthough with
the cuning horns of the plt/tyra species. The
Delta town of Mendes was a cult centre for the
ram-god Banebdjedet, who held the epithet
'lord of Djedct' and was regarded as the BA of
the god OSIRIS. The Greek hislOrian
HERODOTUS, who visited Egypr around -1-50 Be,
noted the sacrifice of goats at .t\tlendes, in contrast to rhe usc of sheep elsewhere in Egypt,
although his reliability on this point is questionable. At Herakleopolis Magna the ram was
worshipped under the name I-IERYSHEF. At
many of these cult centres rams were regularly mummified and buried in catacombs at various cult centres (see S:\CRED A~I,\1AL.r;).
L. STORK, (Schaf', Lexikol1 da .Agyptologie v, cd.
W. Heick, E. OLIO and W. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1984),522-3.
P. BEIIRENS, '\\fidder', Lexikol1 da jigyptologie VI
ed. W. I leick, E. Otto and \II. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1986), 1243-5.
R. \VII.KINSON, Readillg t:r:yptialf art (London,
1992),60-1.

Rameses
'Birth name' used in the ROBL TITUL-\RY of
cle\'cn rulers in the 19th and 20th Dynasties.
This phase of the lew Kingdom is therefore
often described as the IRamesside' period.
Rflllleses I Meupelilj!r11 (1295-1294 BC) was"
military officer from the eastern Delta who
rose to the rank of rlZIER under IIORE,\IHEB and
founded the 19th Dmastv (1295-1186 BC).
His adoption as heir by Horemheb is recorded
in the form of an inscription added to the
granite interior coffin (Egyptian Museum,
Cairo) which was apparently made for him
while he was still vizier. He was married to <l
woman called Satra, whose father was also a
soldier, and she bore him a son, the future
SETY l. Although his reign lasted barely two
years he managed to build temples at ABYDOS
and nUl tEN and completed the construction of
the second PYI.OK at KARNAK, as well as almost
completing his tomb in the V,\LLEY OF TilE
KINGS (KYI6), which was decorated with
scenes from the Book of GaleS like those in the

Upper pari oia granitejigure of RomeJes 1/

wearing the double cr01P11l1l1t1 holdi11g the (roo/': lwd
flail, ~)Imbols ofroJ1alo'. 19th !J.)'IIlISty, c.1250 ne.
II. I.n III. (,67)
tomb of Horemheb. The style of the suryi\ing
funerary equipment, such as the wooden
(guardian statues' now in the British 1\ ru~eum,
is said to be innuenced by the art of much earlier rulers at the beginning of the 18th
Dynasty.
Ra11leses 1/ Userwl/a/rtl Se/epel1rt1 (12791213 BC) was the I"hird ruler of the 19Lh
Dynasty. A vast number of temples, monUments and statuary were created (or usurped
from earlier rulers) during his extremely tong
reign, including the construction of snerat
Nubian rock-cut temples at ABU SIMBEl.,;\ \1:\!U\
';Vest, BElT EL-Wt\L1, Derr and GerfHusein.Hc
was also an active builder in Egypt irself,
where his projects included numerous temples
at 1'v'E~wHrs, the court and pylon of LL \:OR
temple, the RAi\"lESSEUI\'1 at western Thebes (his
mortuary temple), another temple at Abydos,

RAMESES

rhe completion of his father's temple ne.1rby,

and rhe decoration of the great HYPOSTYLE
HALL at Karnak (as well as other addirlons to
[he complex).
The ITInjor c\-cnt of his reign, celebrated
repeatedly on the walls of his major Lcmples,
was the confrontation \yirh the HITTITES
known as the IH'ITJ.E OF QADESH, which ~ if
not the great victory he would clearly howe
liked - ensured that the Hittite empire was
kept at bay and Egyptian interests in the
Levant were 1110rc or less protected.
Eventu;lI1y he signed a treaty with the
Hittites, and the 31-chi,'c of CLi'\t~IFOR,\1 tablets
at Boghazkoy contains a large number of I.ETTERS sent by Rameses LO Lhe Hinirc king and
his wife. SUf\'iving stelae also record
Ramcses' further (ol1solidarion of relations
with Harti through his marri,lges to two
Hittite princesses in the thirty-third and
forty-fourth years of his reign (sec QCEE:\S).
His principal wife was '\!EFERTAR1, to whom
Ule smaller temple at Abu Simbcl was dcdicated, and when she died his daughter
.Merita11111n was elevated to this position. In
Ole eastern Delm, where his family origins lay,
he established a new capital called Piramesse
(sec Q;\NTIR and TELL EL-IJAO'A) at a site ncar
modern el-Khamna where Sety I had previollsly built a palace. This \\,;.15 to be the capital
city for the rest of the Ramcsside period,
although the royal cemetery was still in the
VAI.LEY OF TilE KI~GS at Thebes. Rameses' own
tomb was },T7 but his mummy was one of
those found in the DEIR EI.-B:\IIRI mummy
cache.
During the first part of Rameses' lifetime
the heir to the throne had been
Amunherkhepeshef, one of his sons by
Ncfcrtari, but it was Khacmwaset, the son of
another wife called Isernofret, who waS heir
for mOst of the latter half of his reign. Despite
a vigorous c.treer as chief priest of Ptah at
.\Ilemphis, Khaemwaset died in the fifty-fifth
year of Rameses' reign, about ,1 decade earlier
than his father, and when Rameses finally died
it was his thineelllh son, '1ERE:\llTAII, who succceded him on the throne. Even Nlerenptah
seems to have been middle-aged by the time
that he came to power; he ,,,as the first of several shorr-lived rulers who had perhaps
already passed their peak as a result of
Rameses' unusually long' reign.
Rameses !II USl'I'II/{/fllm JV!CITfI}JlUII (l 184II S3 Be) was the second king of [he 20th
Dynasty (1186--1069 BC). He appears to have
consciously set" out to emulate his illustrious
predecessor Rameses Il, not only in his titles
and military campaigns but also in the architectural style of his temple-building. He was

RAMESSEUM

[he son of the short-lived ruler Sethnakhte

(I 186--1 184 Ilc) by his wife Tiye-merencse. He
himself married a woman called Ese but, in
common "'ith most New Kingdom rulers, he
also had many minor 'Yives, by whom he bore
numerous children.
Defensive foreign policy occupied much of
the early part of his reign. His first conflict, in
the fifth ~T'ar of his reign, was with the LIBYANS
and their allies, whoin he defeated and
brought back to Egypt as sla,es. Three years
laler the great coalition of displaced and
migr'lI1l peoples from the north, knmyn as the
SEA PEOPLES, who had been repulsed by
1\ lerenplah in the late thirteenth century lie,
..d''ll1ced into Syria, apparenrly with the aim
of settling. 'T'he Sea Peoples, as their namc
indicates, were backed up by nayal forces,
including Sherdcn troops, who ,,,cre nOled
seafarers. Although presumably not used to
fighting maritime baLLlcs, lhe Egyptian navy
m:.lI1aged to destroy rhe Sea Peoples' neet,
while simultaneously defeating the rroops in
Syria on land. Ap:lrt [rom anothcr campaign
against the Libyans in his eleventh ycar, the
remaining two decades of Rameses Ill'S reign
were peaceful.
These campaigns, along with several others
that may well be fanciful copies based on
scenes from the RA!\IESSEL:\I, were recorded in
some of the reliefs on the walls of Rameses UI'S
l11orru.uy temple ,H ,\IEDli'\'I~T J-I'BL:. Delails of
his life can also be gleaned from the Great
Harris Papyrus, the longest known papyrus
roll (now in the British ~luseum)l a list of
temple endowments compiled by Rameses I\'
(I153-llf7 Ile) a[ [he time of his father's
death, which concludes with a description of
the de'ld king's 'lchie\'ements. The way in
which he died may be indicated by the
accounts of a trial of participants in a 'harim
conspiracy', preserved in se,-eral documents,
the most important of which are the Lee and
Rollin Papyri and the Turin Judicial Papyrus.
It appears that a secondary queen wished to
place her son on the throne in place of the
king, whom she sought to murder wilh the
assistance of other women of the harim. It is
not clear whcthcr the plot succeeded, but the
king's body, originally buried in K\ 11, was
preselTed in the I)EIR EI.-Bi\I-IIU cache and
shows no signs of a "iolent death.
There were, however, other problcms in
Ramcses 111'5 reign, which seem to have
resulted from poor communication between
the king and his officials. /I. STRIKJC of the
workmen of DI':IR FI.-1dEOl'\!A occurred in the
twcmy-ninth year of his reign as a consequence of the irregular and delayed delivery
of r:nions.

He was succeeded by one of his sons,

Ramcses IV, who was the first of a series of
increasingly weak rulers. Eventually, in the
reign of Rameses XI (1099-1069 Be) a[ the end
of the 20[h Dynasty, [he control ofThebes fell
into [he hands of Libyan generals bearing [he
rille High Priest of Amun, and by the late 22nd
Dynasry much of the kingdom dissolved into
independenr princedoms.
\V. ERICIISEi'., Papyrus Harris (Brussels, 1933).
A. DE BUCK, 'The judicial papyrus ofTurin I,
JI:.A 23 (1937),152--67.
A. G.-\RDlXER, RllJJlessirle arlmil1islrali1.'f rlOCUIIlt:lItS

(Oxford, 19f8).
\~'. r. EDGERTO~, 'The slrikes in Ramscs Ill'S
twenty-ninth year',JNES 10(1951) 137-45,
K. Krl'cllf::'\!, Phamoh triumphant: Ihe liji! a1/{1
,iI/I('s o./RalllcHcs II (\arminster, 1982).
D. POI..Z, 'Die Sarge des (Pa-)Ramessu\ ,HDAJK
f2 (1986),145-66.

E, J-10R'UNG, Zllm'

R{fIIIl':lsi(h~c!Je Kiilligsgrti'ln:r:

(Mainz, 1990).
Le de:ruier p/{(/I"(lOI/: R{fIlISCS /11 011 h~
cnJpwwk d'/lIlt: civilizaliulI (PariSI 191)2),
K. A. KITCI JI':N, Ral/lt'sside illsaijJliolJs, 7 yols
(Oxford, 1993-)
Rtl1l/sfs II {/lid Rall/ses III

17.

FI~\'RI':l

Ramesseum
lVlorfuary temple of Rameses II (1279-1213
Be), localed on the west bank of the Nile at
western THEBES, opposire modern Luxor. It
was misleadingly dcscribed by DIOOORUS as the
(lomb ofOzymandias', which in turn inspired
Shelley's verse. The principal building, in
which the funerary cult of the king was celehrated, was a typical stone-built New
Kingdom temple, consisting of two successi\'e
courtyards (each entered through a pylon), a
11\'I'OST"LE IIALL with surrounding annexes,
leading to a room for rhe s;:lcred BARK (a ritual
boat containing a cult image) and the sanctuary. The complex includes lhe remains of a
royal P.\L\CE and large numbers of mud-brick
granaries and storerooms. BOlh pylons arc
decor:lred with scenes from the Battle of
QAIJESII.

'T'he reliefs and architecture, as at other

funerary complexes such a5 the mortuary
templc of R.AJ\lSES 111 at MEDINET J-IABU (the
plan of which was closely modelled on that of
1"I1C RamcssclIm), constitute an important body
of evidence concerning the beliefs and rituals
relating to the royal funerary clIlt, while the
surrounding granaries indicate t.he importance
or the New Kingdom tcmples with regard to
the overall economy of Egypt. Evidence concerning the existence of a scribal training
school at the Ramesseum has survived in the
form of <l large pile of ostraca (sec EDUC.ATIO~
and I lOUSE or LIFE).
241

RAMESS EUM
RAMESSE~

1 first pylon
4 hyposlyle hall
7 second vestibule ('Ubfary') 10 sanctuary
2 temple palace 5 temple of Sety I
8 third vestibule
11 storerooms and workshops
3 second pylon 6 first vestibule ('Astronomical Room') 9 bark hall

50

100m

11

11

11

11

It
11

-\Bon:

Plall nfl/If: Rfl1IICSSeUIII.

JYFT FOllr ulllu! Osirid pil/ars offlle secoud (Ollrl

of/he RUlllt'SSCU11I, {lllill/~}1 RtlJJll'Sl'S IIlll Thd'es.
Tlu: building lafa sen,:('(/ (IS (llfloddJin' fIll'
l//(Jrll/{I/:JI lelllp/e o/RUJIlCSl'S {If (/1 Medillt'l [-Joli/(,
(,~ T. \lCIIOUiO \)

Bcnt.:ath the 0001' of the mUrluary temple a

sbaft tomb of a priest of the laiC .\Iiddlc
Kingdom ((.1700 He) was exc;1\,;.ltcd b~ Jnm cs
~libcll in the late nincLccmh cCl1tur:. The
burial chamber contained a box of pap: ri .lOcI
a range of religious ilnd magical artefacts (sec
LIBR:\I{JI':S I '\I:\Gle and i\l'\SKS).
As filr as the later hiswry of the site is (00cerncd, a number of p~I-)yri of the Third
Intcrmedia te Period (including fragments of
OXO,\IASTIC A) ha\'c bccn discovered, in addition to the rcmains of <1n elite ccmetery of
roughly the same dilte.
J. E. QLlBEU., The Ral1lesseul11 (London, IS9H).
B. PORTER and R. L. B. .!\ loss, 'lopographi(u!
bibliogrtlp/~)1 II, 2nd cd. (Oxford, 1972), -f32--+3.

242

RAMOSE

REKI-lMIRA

1-IELn.;:, Die Rillftlldarstellllllgc}/ des

Ramesscu111s I (\Vicsballcn, 1972).
R. S't:-\DEL\L\:'\)i, 'Ramcsscum'. Lexiltoll cia
Agyptul"gie '", cd. \. Heick, E. OlLO and
W. lVestcndorf(\l'iesbaden, 1984), 91~.
\~'.

Ramose
Vizier under Amenhotep '" (1390-1352 lie)
and A khenaten (1352-1336 Ill:), whose Thehan
tlImb at Sheikh Abd e1-Qu]'J1a (rr55) is of particular importance bCt,:;lUSC it includes reliefs
executed in both the distinctive" \ \I.\I{,\,\ style'
of Akhcnaten and the more rraditiOlul style of'
his father. The somhcrn W;lU depicts the
funcrar~ processions of Ramose, while the
wcst side presencs one of the earliest depictions of Akhcnatcn worshipping rhe HE\.
Like many Thcban pri, alC lombs, it remained
unfinished, and the Ene of its O\yncr, as with
m.tny of those who held office before
Akhcnalcn's 11100'C to c1-Amarna, is un.kno\\ n.
'rhe tomb was once known .IS 'Stuart's Tomb',
since it was cleared by II. \\T. Villiers Stuart in
1879, although it had been kno,yn to
Egyptologist's since l8()O.
A. E. J~ \VElG,'I.l., A guide 1/1 11ft! "1fliqui/it's (II
Upper Egypt (London, 1910), 160-5.
N. DE G. D "'II':S, 7'lu' I(lmb o/Ihi' ri::,ia Ram(lse
(London, 1941).
B. PORTER and R. L. Ill\ loss, Topographical
bibliflgrapby, (Oxford, 1960). 105-11.

red crown set' C:RO\\j\.S

\'\D RonL RI:li '1.1 \

Reisner. George Andrew (1867-1942)

American Egyptologisl who set new standards
in Egyptian archaeology with his mericulous
excavation methods, which were then comparable only with those of the British <lfchaeologist
Flinders I'I:TRIE. 130m in Indianapolis or
German parents, he ;H first studied law ,11
Harvard, but in 1893-6 he acquired;l trayclling
fellowship enabling him to study Scmitic h1l1guages at Berlin Uni,'crsity. c\'cnlu,llly gra\'itating towards Egyplology, Just as Pctrie was supported for much of his career by the novelist
Amelia Edwards, so Reisner's long-tcrm CXC<I\'arions at GIZ.\, :'\.\G EI.-lJEIR, KER.\I\ and DEl!t
EI.-IlAI.I,-\S relied Iargcl) on the finallcial assistance of the philanthropist Phoebe f\ppcrsun.
At the Nubian sites
'\L.RI , EI.-"':LRRL and
Gebel Ilarkal (i'\.\lwm) he discovcred the pyramidal tombs
sevcnty-three Nubian rulers,
inclucling the 25th-Dynasty pharaohs (7-1-7656 Bt:). I:-lis attemion to derail, which involvcd
the earliest Egyptological usc uf sect ion drawings as wcll as plans, rcsulted in lengthy reports
(several of which were unfortunately still
unpublished at his death) describing such monumcnts <1S the \"alley templc of \IE'.. ...:'U;R \ and

or

or

The mri:il/.If il1l11e Imllb oflite t'i::.ier Ramose til

'l'Ifebl's is anumgsllh('.!illl!sl (lfiH film', llal'I/pI)
11/(/ Ie gm'sls II re tlepicled (/1 (/ jimera r.l,.!elHl. 181It
/)yI1I1St)'. c.1Jl)()-1336 fJe. (CN 1If.l1l JLlNNJ.liO\)
the shaft-tomb of Quecn IIETEPIIF.RI':'o;; I at GilA:1.
The larrer was his most fa.mous discovcry, sincc
it still cont~lined much
the queen's funerary
equipmcnt, aILhough the hody itself seems to
have becn buried clscwhere, Reisner conLriblltcd se\'cral volumcs to the catalogue of'
antiquities in t'hc collection of the Egyptian
JVlllsc.unl at Cairo. After a period of twentycight years as Professor of Egyptology ~11
llalTard, he died at Giza in 19-1-2.
G. A. Rns'I':R, .-Imulels (CaiTo, 1907),
G, A. RUS'EI( and A. j\1 \CE. The Ear()l DYI/astic
Ct.111l'Jeries 0ISagll-l'd-Di,., 2 \'ols (Boston.
1908-9).
G. A. REIS'I:R. A/odds oIships am! boats (Cairo,
191.1).
- l Excm,:fltiolls (lJ Kama, 2 \oIs (Glll1bridg-c,

or

~IA, 1923).
G. A. REIS'\ER illld \v. S'I'I-:\ E'SO;': 5\IITII. II
hislmy of the Ci::,a JIt'rmpolh, 2 \'ols (Cambridge,
"'lA, 1942-55).
J. A. WilSON, .)'(tf;II,I' alld 1IJ/)"dl!l'.~ UPOIl ph{//"{/oh
(Chicagn, 1%4), 145-58.
Nt. LI::II'I'](, The pymmid IfIlllb oIf-Iclep-here,l' tlild
1I/e sflldlilc pyramid o/KIIl!lil (.!\'lainz, 1985).

Rekhmira
Vizier under Thurmose "' (1479-1425 Be) and

.'\menhotep II (1427-1400 m:), whose lomb

(.,-,.100) at Sheikh Abd ci-Q;IrI"l is unique
~lmong the pri\~1te tombs in the 'rhcban
necropolis, Texts on its walls describe lhe
inslallalion of rhe \ IZIER, a post of great
importance particularly at a time of imperi,lI
expansion. A furl her set of texts dcscribe the
duties oCthe \'izicr, and the moral codc within
which his administration \yas inlcnded to
opcrate (see ETI lies). It is stated thai: ~lhcre was
nothing of which he [the vizier] was ignorant"
in heaven, in earth, or in an)' quarter of the
undcrwOI'ld',
'l'he painted decoration includes numerous
scenes relating to agriculture and craflwork,
many of which pro,"ide i.nformalion concerning such acti\'itics as jewellery-making and the
acti,'ities in sculptors' studios, which ha\-e
served to supplement archaeological and
experimclllal chua. One of the walls is decOl'ated with scenes from the presentation of forcib'1l
tributc by Nubians, Syrians, Cretans and reprcsentati\'es of yarious othcr ncighhouring
countries, These scenes include valuable information on TRADE and lTibute, indic~lting the
kinds of ntw materials and artefacts that were
acquired fnl!TI particular geographical areas,
which hilS also prO\'cd useful in dating survi\"ing imported goods.
Funerary sccnes are also represent cd in thc
tomb, including the OPEXL,\G OF TilE !\IOCTII
CERE,\IO,y bcing performed on Rckhmira's
mummy, following the funeral procession 1,0

243

REKHYT BIRD
RELlGIC!. !'!

the tomb. The tomb chapel has no burial shali

below it, and it has been suggested that
Rekhmira was buried in a shaft tomb in the
VollIey of the Kings, although the location of
this burial-plac e remains unknown.
K. SE'Il-Il~, Die illSeIZ1fng dcs Ve::,ier.~ II1ller der 18.
Dynllstie. /nschrifi im Gmbe des Rekh-mi-re::;'11
Schuh Abd el Gunlll (Leipzig, 1(09).
A. E. ]~ WEIGALL, ,/1 guide 10 ,hi' {fllliquilies of
Upper Egypt (London, 1910), Il.i-17.
N. DE G. Do\YIr.s, The !omb oj" Re/.:h-mi-re (If
Thebes (New York, 19-+:1).
B. PORTI::R and R. L. B. Moss, '/opugraphiCflI
"i"li.graph), 1/1 (Oxford, 1960), 20t>-1{.

rekhytbird
Egyptian term for the hlpwing (Valldlus i.:lfllcl1m), a species of plover with a dislincri\-e crcslctl he'lel. It was often L1sed as a symbol for subjct:t peoples, probably because, with its wings
pinioned behind its back, thus prc\"cnting it
from nying, it roughly resembled the hieroglyph for a bound CAPTIVE.
The symbol is first attested in the upper
register of relief decoriltion on the late

ing of the birds (to modern eyes at least) since

they could, in different conrexts, be taken ro
refer either to the enemies of Egypt or to the
loyal subjects of the pharaoh.
The reklu,t bird icon, sometimes taking the
form of winged and crested human figure, was
llsed regularly in the decoration of Egyptian
palaces and temples throughout the }>haraonic
and Greco-Rom an periods. The bird was usually depicted with a pair of human arms
upraised in [he tradirional gesture of worship
and in many cases it \\"as perched on ~1 neb
hieroglyph (meaning 'all') with an accompany ing star-shaped tlm(f hieroglyph ('to adore'),
thus forming a rebus signifying 'all subject
peoples adore lthe pharaoh]'.
P. F Hm.. L1I1A'\", The birds ofulldmt EgypJ
(\V:l1"lllinster) 1986),93-5 .
A. NIBlIl, Lapmil/gs amI LibYflllS i" /II/dew t.g)'pJ
(Oxford, 1986).
- , '''fhe rhj.t people:;"ls pcrmanenr foreigners in
ancient Egypt', DE9 (1987), 79-96.
C. V.\f\DERsLE n::-., 'The rckhyt and the Delta',
The archaeology. geography (lnd his/fllY of/he
D,./ta, ed. A. Nibbi (Oxford. 1989),301-1.

religion

Seclion ofrl'liefOil a colli/lin inlhl' temple of Kom

Ombo. sllOmi/lg a rekhyt bird (llIpming).
represe11liug lite kings subja/.( ill {III tlllirude of
llH,rsltip. (t . .'Ill 1/1)
Predynastic 'Scorpion macehead' (c.31 00 BC);
a row of lapwings are shown hanging by their
necks from ropes attached to the ~-rA,Ll"'RDS
representin g
Upper
Egyptian
:'\01\IE5
(provinces) . In this contexl the rekltyJ appears
to be representin g the conquered peoples of
northern Egypt during Ihe crucial period
when the country was transforme d into a single unified state. In the 3rd Dynasty
(268t>-26U Be), however, another ro\\ of lapwings were depicted in the familiar pinioned
form, illongside the 1'1:'\ BOWS (symbolizin g
Egypt's enemies), crushed under the feet of a
stone statue of DJOSER from his Step Pyramid
at Saqqara. From that point onwards there was
a continual ambiguity in the symbolic mean-

244

Ancient Egyptian 'state religion' \\as concerned with the milil1lcnal1ce of rhe divine
order; this entailed ensuring that life was conducted in accordance with .\tAA1', and preventing the encroachm ent of chaos. In such a sysrem it was necessary for religion to permeate
every aspect" of life, so that it was embedded in
society ..mel politics, rather than being a sepanlte category. The Egyptian view of t.he universe was capablc of incorporati ng a whole
series of apparently contradicto ry CR,\TION
myths. This holistic \icw also led to the treatment of prayer, \If\G1C and SClI'~'JCE as realistic
and comparable alternati\'es ; as a result it
made good sensc to combine wha1 might now
bc described as medical tl'cat-ment with a certain ~lmount of ritu~ll and the recital ion of
prayers (see \IEIJIClKE), each componen t of the
overall treatment h'l\ing the same aim: 10 suppress c\'il and maintain t.he harmony of the
universe.
The TJ::'\IPLES and their attendant I'RJE..'iTS
therefore served as a perpel-ual means of stabilizing the universe. Each day the)' attended to
the needs of the god (who was thought to be
manifested in thc cliit image), made offerings
to him, and thus kept the forces of chaos at
bay. A djstinction is sometimes made bctween,
on the one hand, [he important state gods (e.g.
HORUS or ISIS) and
local deities (e.g.
Banebdjed et ,n _\IENUES) and} on the other
hand, the 'popular' or 'household ' deities such
as BES and 1't\\\'ERET_

In actwl1 practice the only major difference

seems to have been the lack of major c1lltplaces dedicated tn the latter (and e\en
1aweret effectively had a cult-place at K \R:'\ \K
in the form of the-temple dedicated to her prc~
decessor Opet).
A more useful distinclion can be made
between the tendency of the state religion to
focus on the concerns of the state and I he
kingship, whereas surviving ostraca, stehle ilnd
\'oti\'e offerings show that the indi\ iUlIa)
Egyptians regarded religion primarily a\ a
method of <Ivening disaster or harm on a more
pcrsonallcv el. Since childbirth was a particuhU"l~ dangerous rime in the lives of ordin'lr~
people, it is not surprising that the 1110S[ pupular household gods were credited with particular protcclive powers in this regard, while Ihe
processes of procreation and birth were both
arcas in which magic} prayer and medi~inc
were inextricably entwined.
Neglect of thc gods, or blasphemy against
them, could lead to punishmen t. Various stelae
from DI'~IR EI.-\IEDINA, {or instance} descrihe
how an offence against the cobra-godd ess
\IERETSI:~GER led to blindness or other COOlplnints, and how, aftcr penitence, the dciQ had
cured the wrongdoer. Although concerned
with maintainin g i'vlaat, Egyptian religion
generally was not O\erlly directed rowards lhe
personal morality that was implicit in upholding l\tlaat. However, the WISDOM LlTERt\Tl R
provides some insight into the Egyptians'
views on morality, and somc of the same concepts are reflectcd in the FUNERARY T1,XI"S of
Ihe New Kingdom.
Egyptian FUNER,\RY BEJ..[EFS were i-llso
direetcd rowards the continuilnc e of the
established order. The dead person attempted
to ensure thar through MU\I\UFICA '1'I0"" and
the provision of the established offerings and
funerary goods, the K!\ would recci\e nourishment and the UA find the body. The
dece~lsed would ,,,-oid the perils of the umlcrworld ~lIld lravel safely in the BARK of the sungod RA. See also -\"n:1'\"; DEIFICATIO,; ,,\O~ ;Ind
SIIRI:'\E.
S. S:\UNI:RU1\, The IJries/s (~rfl"l"iCllI Hgypi
(London, 1960).
S. \IORE.'\"Z, I:.gyprian rdigi{Ul (London, 1973).
E. LIPI-\1SKI (cd.), ..) '!((/e a 11I1 'eli/pIt' e({JlIlJII~l' iI/ llil!
fI1llit!1lllleareaSI, 2 \ols (Lcm'en) 1979).
E. HOR'\"Ui'\G, CQ1/cep/ions ofgod ill a11cil'l1/ Rgyp!:
the Olle alld tl1l' I1UI1~J' (London, 1983).
J. ASS~II\Kf\, Agyptm: Tlteologie ll1U! Frol11111igltll
eincr.friihell Hod/kill/III" (Stllrtg:ut, 198-1-).
J. P. ALI.EN ct aI., Religion and philosoplry ill
aurienl Egypt (New Haven, 1989).
S. QUIRKE, AI/{;ic!l1 Egyptia!l religioll (London,
1992).

RENENUTET

RESHEF

Renenutet (Greek Therlllo",!,is)

Cobra-goddess, protector of the king, and
goddess of fertility who was represented as a
cobra or a woman with a cobra head, sometimes nursing a child. Her name may be translated as 'the nourishing snake'. In the Old
Kingdom (2686-2181 Be) she was regarded as
an important guardian of the king, who united

with

WADl"T

as a fire-breathing cobra

LO

pro-

rcet him in Ihe afrcfworld. She was also the

'reserve head'
Type of funerary sculpture, consisting of a
limestone human head, usually with excised
(or unsculpted) ears and enigmatic lines
carved around the neck and down the back of
the cranium. About thirty examples arc known,
aU deriving from private mastaba tombs in the
MemphiLe necropolis (principally aL GIZA) dating to the Old Kingdom, primarily from the
reigns of KlIUFU and KlLAFRA (2589-2532 Be).
They were pl<1eed in the burial chamber dose
to the corpse, whereas other Old Kingdom
statues were usually placed in the chapel or the

R. TEFNIN, 'Les teres magiqucs de Gizeh' BSFE

120 (March 1991),25-37.

Reshef (Reshep, Reshpu)

Al1'lOrite war-god whose cult is strongly attested in Egypt during rhe 18th Dynast)' (15501295 Be), no doubt as a result of the inOuences
emerging from rhe Egyptian 'imperial'

SI':RO,,\B.

Stele Jhowing Se/al/, the Viceroy ofKmh duri1Jg

the reign ofRlimeses If, pouring a libation before
the goddess Rellcllulel, mho is depicted;l1 Jhejorm
ofa serpelll. 19,h DJ'llas~)I, c.J300 /lG, limeslljfle,
Fo", Bllliell, If. SO em. (fJ/IDSS)
protectress of lhe linen garment worn by the
king, which was thought to instiJ fear into his
enemies in the afterlife. By extension, she was
sometimes connected with the provision of
mummy bandages.
As the 'lady of renilc fields' and 'lady of
granaries' she was responsible for securing
and protecting the harvest. Her cult enjoyed
particular popularity at the cit)' of Oja
(MEDINET J\lI/\1\0I) in the l'iWU~1 REGIO:'oJ where a
FESTIVAL was annually celebrated for her, and
Where she was linked with the gods SQnEK and
II0RUS (this triad being known by the Greeks
as Hcrmouthis, Sekonopis and Ankhocs). In
this role as a corn goddess she was associated
with OSIRJS in his youthful form of Neper
(Ncpri). Her part in the Osiris l11yth is
extended by a mention in the UooK OF TilE
DEAD in which she is said to be the mother of
Horus from a union with ATU~l. This led to
her being identified with the goddess ISIS, who
was herself regarded as a divine mother.
]. BROEKJ-IUIS, De godin Rellellmete/ (AsSCI1, 1971).

The English term (reserve head' refers LO

the theory that the sculptcd head W<1S intended
to act as a substitutc for the real head of the
deceased in the afterlife. The facial features,
although idealizeu) are lhought to have been
intended to be more 'realistic' than was usually
the case with Egyptian st.ttuary, although this
view has been cOnLestcd by Rolnnd Tefnin.
According to Tefnin, the heads had a morc
complex religious funclion, simultaneously
serving both as <1 means by which the spirit
could idenlify its own body and as <1 symbol of
the ritual decapitation and mutilation of the
deceased, thus protecting the living from the
ill will of rhe dcad.
E. NAVILLE, Les liltes de pierl't' dipusies dalls les
/owbcaux igypliellS (Geneva, 1909).
C. L. VA;"\DERSLEYEN, 'Ersatzkopf', Le-rikon tier
Agypt%gie II) cd. Vol I-leick, E. Otto and
W Weslendorf(Wiesbaden, 1977), 11-14.
N. B. MJLLET, 'The reserve heads of the Old
Kingdom', Essays ill ho//oro/Dums Dunham, eel.
WK. Simpson and W. 'V\. Davis (Boston, 1981),
129-31.

Late Period stlltlie ofthe mllr-got! Res/u'lllfJlding II

spelo'lIud II shield lIud meariug Ihe mhite cronm
mith a gazelle's heat! oll/heFout. II is /he ml!JI
sUl'viving slolle s/(llue ofReshef Lale Period.
provenance J/ulmomll, II. 29 em. (MfTROPOUTAN
,I/USfUM, /\/;'". rORA', CtFTOF JOSEPH If: DReXEL,

/889,89.2.2!5)
presence in the Lev'1I1t". In the same way as the
goddesses cuml,:slIET, !\NA'1' and
AS'li\RTE) he became thoroughly absorbed into
Egyptian religion and was usually represented
as a bearded figure wearing an Upper
Egyptian white CROW;.! with a GAZELI.I~'S head
at the front (in place of the sacred cobra or
uraells of WADJYT) and a ribbon hanging down

Asiatic

Limestone 'reserve head' from GiZll. Old

Kingdom, late 4th Dynasty. e.2550 Be. II. 27 e111.
(JifHTROPOUTAN MUSEU"",, NEW VORK. ROCERS
FUND

48.!56)

245

ROMANS

ROMA~

at the rear. Sometimes he was portrayed in the

act of wielding a mace or spear, like the
Egyptian war-god 1\10"TU, with whom he
developed considerable affinities. Although
there are many bronze statuettes
the god,
and he is depicted on a number of stelae from
sites such as /V[emphis and ~ntir (often being
portrayed alongside other Asiatic deities), only
one stone statue has survived (fvletropoliran
Museum of Art, New York). It should be
noted that these images arc rarely named,
therefore they could, in theory, represent
other Asiatic gods.
B. GHDSF.l.0FF, Les tie/JIlts till mIte de Rahel!:11
EgyPlt' (Cairo, 1942).
'IIV. K. 5IMJ'SO,\, '.An Egyptian sralllcrrc of a
Phoenician god', BAlM,! x/6 (1952),182-7.
H. DE MEL1.EN\ERE, De cullus va1/ Resjelill
Egyple (Leuven, 1955).
\V. J. Flil.f:O, The Cal/lllll/ile god Resep (New
Ha,en,1976).
A. R. SCIIUL\I \', 'Reshep at Zagazig: a new
document', Sludiel1::'u Sprat:"e llIul Rt:ligi(JI/
jigyplem: Feslsd/riji Ii/( I'flcslelu/o/I(Gortingen,
1984),855-63.

or

Romans
The Romans' earliest involvement in the
affairs of Egypt dates to the period when
Pompey became engaged in the financial
affairs of the Ptolemaic court, ultim~Hely
becoming the guardian of CLEOI'\TRA \"11
(51-30 Be:) on the death of her father I'TOLE,\'"
XII (80-51 lle). When Pompey was defeated by
Caesar at Pharsalia in 48 Be he fled to Egypt,
but was assassinated there. C~lesar then
entered Egypt and reinstated Cleopatra (who
had been hricOy deposed in ...J.8 Be) as en-I~EGE:'\'T with hcr second brother, Ptolemy Xl\'
(47-44 Be), who became her husband.
Howevcr, in -1-7 Be Cleopatra gavc hinh to .1
SOil, Ptolemy Caesarion, whom she claimed to
have been fathered by Caesar. Her visit to
Rome, in 46 BC, attracted a great deal of attention, as did her political m;lOoeuvres on her
return to Egypt, im'olving the assassination of
her brother and lhe installation of Caesarion
on the throne. Having heen summoned by the
Romans 1"0 meet with IVlark Antony at 111rsus,
she soon afterwards bore him twins.
Ln 3-1- Be, ,Mark Antony divided various
parts of the eastern Roman empire between
Cleopatra (nnw his wife) and her children,
while infc>r1ning Rome that he was simply
installing client fulers. However, Oct3vian
(later Augustus) organized a propaganda cal11paib'Tl against Antony, and in 32 Be Rome
declared waf on Cleopatra. The following year
Octavian defeated 1\1ark Antony at the naval
battle of Actium. Both Mark Antony and

246

Bnm::.e .Wllue o/Horus dressed in Romall armour.

R01/la1/ period. prrrue1/l/1/{(, ImlmonJl1, H. -/7 (111.
(I, /360(2)

Clcopatra committed suicide, and Octavian

had Caesarion killed, thus effectively hringing
an end to the Ptolemaic Dynasty.
Octavian Augustus appointed himself
pharaoh on 30 August 30 UC1 thcnccfonh
treating Egypt .IS an imperial est~1te, rather
than a Roman prO\fincc. This special staWs
was rctained under subsequent emperors.
Greek remained the official language, and
,\LEX/\i'\I)IUA the dominant city. The country
underwent a sparsc military occupation,
although outposts arc known throughout the
country as far as (l.!\SR IBKI~I in Nubia.
Augustus ruled from 30 Be to AU 14, during
which time he appc<lrs to howe done little to
en<.1l.'<1I" himself to the n~lIiYe Egyptian elitc) Ilot
least through his contempt for traditional religion and his refusal to visit the sacred ,\PIS bull
at Memphis.
Superficially) Iloman rule was a continuation of the Ptolemaic period, except that no
ruling fami.1y was resident in Egypt. This had
important consequences, in that it may have
removed any incentive for Egypt to create
wealth, given that it was effectively being
exploited at a distance, as a source (If food for
Rome. Improvements in irrigation that had
been introduced by the Ptolemies wefe
exploited to the fuLl by the Roman administ"racion, and the produce was gathered up in tax

by govcrnors who could be held personallv

liable for any shortfalls.
.
Thc official adoption of Egyptian practices,
such as the completion of Ptolemaic temples
(e.g. DE:"JIWR!\, 1\:0,\1 O\IBO and PIIlLAE) in
Egyptian style, and the depiction of the
cmperors in Egyptian garb did linIe to distract
attention from the harsh conditions under
which the poor laboured. There were \ariOtls
revolts, including an uprising of Jews in
\I) 115-17. The emperor Hadrian (\LJ ][7-38)
looked more Ewourably un Egypt, and lrJ\,e1led widely in the country_ He even incorpu_
rated a SERAPEUl\l into his villa ill Ti"oli, along
",ith statucs of Egyptian gods. The inOucncc
of Egyptian relib,rion on Rome became \en
great at this period. 1-Io",c,cr, condjrioTt"i i~
Egypt prob'lbly improved little as a result of
the imperial visit, which seems to have rcsulled only in the fjRlIlding of new scnlemems
such as AntinoopoLis in !\1iddle Eg~ pt.
During the reign of 1\1arclls ,\urelius
(11lI 61-80), Egypr was stricken bv a plague,
which can only have added to Ihe gradual
dcpopuhllion or the country, while a ri".11 bid
for power made by A,idius C1ssius in .\1) 175
did nothing to help the situation. Conditions
improYcd slightly under Septimius Snerus
(All 19J-211) who reorganized the local
AIHllxISTRATIOi'\ and carried out yariolls
building works, notably thc repair of the
COI.OSSI OF \IE\Ii'\O," at Thebes. This conciliaLOr~r phase was shari lived, and in \1) 215
CaracalJa (", I 98-217) banned Egyptians
from Alexandria, ordering the killing of ,III rhe
youth of the city because of ~I slander m'llic by
lhe inhabitants.
The reign of Dioclerian (:\1) 284--3(5) WitS
infamous for its persecution of Christians
(known as Copts in Egypt) and Egypt \\a~ nor
sparcd, perhaps evcn suffcring more gril"ousI~ through the inOucnce of Sossi"nus
Hicrocles, a fanmical persecutor. This WitS an
anempr to enforcc tradil ional Roman religion,
but it was not to be effective. Nor nlll~ did
Christianity survivc, but Eg~ ptian l:ulrs,
notably that of ISIS, were already cS(;lhli')hcd
within the Roman empire,
Although the liWL:l\1 RE<.iIOi'\, he;l\il~ scttled
by Greeks) continued to be fa"oured b) Ruman
\isitors (who needed special permission to ,isiL
the country), il too graduall~ undcf\,cnt
depopulation, evident by the fourth century
:\11. In ;\1) 384 Theodosius (/\D 379-(5) issued
an edict commanding the closing of .111 pilg<ll1
temples, and ordering rhe adherence of the
entire populace to Christianity. Howe,cr, some
areas resisred, and PI 111.1\.1-: remained an outpost
of traditional religion for it considerable time.
The Egypl"ian Christians continued to sci up

ROSELLINI, IPPOLITO

ROYAL TITULARY

churches and monasteries in some of the

ancient temples, and to estahlish settlements
(sec

COPTIC PERIOD).

r. G. MILNE, A his/(jl:JI oJ EgJlftllllldcr RO/J/a1/ mit-

(London,1924).
(-1. 1. BEL1., J:.gyptji"()l/l .-I./extflldcr Ihe Creal /0
Arab Wllljllt'sl (London, 19:'6).
P. A. BRUi\'r, 'The administrators of Roman
Egypt',Jollnla! (~rRolJI(f1l SlJulies 65 (1975),

fht'

12~7.

N. LEWIS, Ldi.> i1l Egyp!

lIuder ROl/lan mlc

(London, 1983).

A. K.

BOWI\I!\N, Eg)lpl ajier the Pharaohs

(London, 1986).
D. PEACOCK, Rome ill tlu:t1csal: a .qlfllbol o!I)(J/PI:I'
(Southampton, 1992).

Rosellini, (Niccolo Francesco) Ippolito

(1800-43)
Italian Egyptologist, born and educated in
Pisa, who accompanied Jcan-Fran~ois C11!\MI'OI.UON on the Fr.mco-Tuscan expedition to
Egypt in 1828-9. Although his career was rel~

atively short, his ten-volume description of

the major monuments of Egypt, published
betwcen 1832 and 1844, was one of the most
inOuential Egyptological publications of the
mid-nineteenth celltury, rivalling the principal
publications of his contemporaries, Karl
Richard LEI'SIUS and Sir John Gardner
WILKJNSON.

I. ROSELUKl, J mO//llme",i del/'E:t!.if/o l~ della Nubia,

diseglltfli dalla spcf!Jziv//e sriellldi(:o-lellcraria
Tosu/1fa i// Egif/fJ, 3 ptS, 10 \'ols (Pisa, 1832--44).
G. GABI~rELl, IpjJUlilo Rosel/illi e iI suo girmwle
del/a spedi::.io//e IClferaria Tosca1/o ill T:gilfo I/(:gli
a/l/li 1828-29 (Rome, 1925).
E. BRECCIA (cd.), SiTi"i dedicali alia lIIe1lloria di
Jppolilo Rosel/illl'lIe primo eellle//ario della //lorle
(Florence, 1945).
G. BOTI"I (cd.), SUIfIi il/ //lemoria tli Rosel/illi Ilel
primo eel/leI/a rio del/a /!Iorle, 2 vols (Pisa. 1949-55).

Rosetta Stone
Black granitic stele discovered in 1799 at the
village or el-Rashid (Rosetta) in the western
Delta of Egypl. The Rosena Stone (now in the
British Museum) is inscribed with a decree
issucd at .Memphis and dated to 27 Nlarch
196 BC, the anniversary of the coronation of
PTOLEJ'l'!Y" Epiphancs. The main significance of
the text lies not in its content, a record or benefits conferred on Egypt by Ptolemy", but in
the fact that it is written in three scripts: IllEROGLYPH1CS, 01::.\10TIC and Greek. It should be
noted, however, lhat the text is an jmportant
source for the re-cstahlishmcnt of Ptolemaic
(Alexandrian) rule over Egypt after the secession of a great deal of the country at the end of
the reign of Ptolemy IV, len ycar~ earlier.

The Rosel/a Slolle, i/lsaibert in hicrog~J!Phics (IUp),

demolif (eCJJue) ami Greek (hol/um), provided (J.
kcylo Ihe deciphermenl oIlhe hieroglyphic stript.
..41t1wugh./oJ/'lul [f/ el-Rashid (Rosella) al1d
recording (l. decree issued ill Memphis, illl/aJ!
f)rigill{//~)llw1Je bcclI erected in Sa Is. Ptolewaic
periud, 196 Br., graui/it stone, fl. I./-Im. (/;',-/24)

the perccived division of Egypt into two lands,

both under the control of the pharaoh.
The 'birth name' (also known as the
nomen), such as !\:VIENEi\IHAT or RAi\IESES, \vas
introduced by the epithet 'son of RA' It was
lIsually the last name in the sequence in
inscriptions giving the king's name and titles,
but it was the only one to be given to the
pharaoh as soon as he was born. The other
four names (Horus; He of the two ladies;
(Horus of) Gold; and He of the SEDGE and BEE)
were given to the ruler at the time orhis installation on the throne, and their components
may sometimes convey something of the ideology or intentions of the king in question.
In the late fourth millennium Be the earliest
kings' names are attested. These simple
'Horus names', pai.ored on pottery vessels and
carved on fragmentary ivory and wooden
labels, typically consisted of a falcon perched
on a SEIU~Kl r frame containing the name of the
king in question. By the end of the 1st
Dynasty (3100-2890 Be), all elements of the
full titulary, apart fi'om the 'son of Ra' (sa Ra)
name had appeared, although often they made
their initial appearance as isolated symbols and
epithets rather than as full-blown names. For

Early Egyptologists such as SilvestTe de

Sal')', Johann David Akerblad and Thomas
Young recognized the potential of the Rosetta
Stone in terms of the decipherment of
Egyptian hieroglyphs. Young deciphered the
demotic text, but it was Jean-Franyois
Champollion who made the final breakthrough, announcing in his famous Lel/re d J1!I.
Dacia in 1822 that the Rosetta Stone had not
only enabled hjm to decipher the names of
Ptolemy and Cleopatra, as Young had, but also
provided him with the means to understand
the basis of the phonetic and ideogrammatic
system employed in hieroglyphic texts.
C A. ANDIU~W~, 7,1e Rosella Slolle (London,
1982).
s. QJJI~KE and C. A. ANDREWS, The Rosella
Slune: (/ Pits/Illile drawing (London, 1988).

Royal Canon of Turin sa TURtN

ROYAl.

CANON

royal ka see Ki\

royal titulary
The classic sequence of names <lnd litles held
by each or the pharaohs consisted of five names
(the so-called 'fivefold titulary'), which \Vas not
established in its entirety until the l\liddlc
Kingdom (2055-1650 Be). The five epithets to
somc extent encapsulate Egyptian views On
KINGSI nr, in the sense that three of thcm stress
his role as a god, while the other two emphasize

FragmclIlofiv01y.lhJlIl the lomb of King Den at

The killg\' 'ffortls /lfl/ne' appears il1 a
serekh surmoulfted k)' L!tcj{t/roll-god Horus. 1st
DyllfWy, c.2950 He, II. 6 on. (r:..J3SSS2)

/l/~)"I()s.

instance, the 'He of the sedge and bec' title

(nesm-bil) was fjrst used in the reign of DEi'\"
(c.2950 BC), but it was ANED]IB (".2925 Be) who
was the first to have both the title 'he of the
sedge and bee' and also a second name
(Merpabia) linked with it.
Two further crucial developments in the
royal titulary took place during the 4[h
Dynasty: Huni (2637-2613 BC) introduced the

247

ROYAL TITULARY

usc of the CARTOUCl-IE to frame his 'He of the

sedge and bee' namc, and Djcdcfra
(2566-2558 BC) was the first to use the 'son of
Ra' title. By the II th Dynasty (2055-1985 BC)
the two names by which the king was most
regularly known were the two 'cartouche
names': 'he of the sedge and bee' (the throne
name) and 'son of Ra' (the birth name). The
religious implication of this change was that
the king was no longer first and foremost a
manifestation of Horus; instead he was seen
primarily in terms of his rule over the two
lands and his relationship with the sun-god.
'The importance of the royal titulary in
terms of legitimizing and enshrining each
king's right to the throne is indicated both by
the apparent: care taken in choosing names and
by the lengths to which 111any foreign rulers or
Egypt went to acquire authentic titulary. In
the reign of the Persian ruler Cambyscs I
(525-522 Be), for example, an Egyptian priest
called Udjahorresnet was employed to create a
suitable throne n.Ime for him (see PERSIA).
H. GAUTHIER, Le livre des rois d'Egyple, 3 vols
(Cairo, 1907-17).
P. KAPLONY, 'Konigstitulatur', Lexikoll ria
AgYPlolog;e III, cd. W. Heick, E. Otto and
W Westendorf (Wieshaden, 1980),641-59.
N. GRL\'li\L, Les tames de la jlropaganrle n~yale
Jg)!p/ielllle (Paris, 1986).
S. QUIRKE, Who mere the pharaohs? (London,
1990).

SACRED ANIMA~

s
sa
Hieroglyphic sign meaning 'protection',
which may have originally represented the
rolled-up reed mat that would have sheltered
herdsmen; it. might also have served as a type
of papyrus 'life-vest' for boatmen. It is clear
that the sign soon acquired rhe more general
meaning of 'protection', and, like the ANKlI
sign, it was used either as an amulet in its own
right or as a symbol held by the deities BI':S
and TAWERET In the lVliddle Kingdom

Amulet ill tlze forI/} of

1he sa hierog!:J,ph made
ill electrmn mire.
l\!fiddle Kingdmn,
c.2055-/650 IIC,
Il. 4 Oil. (D/65332)

(2055-1650 Be) the sa. shape was llsed as a single, repeated element in jewellery and on magic
wands, while in the New Kingdom (15501069 J3C) it usually occurred in combination
with other signs such as thc ANKH, I)JI]) or
TYET (Isis knot). Virtually all of the surviving
amulets in the form of the sa sign date to the
Middle Kingdom.
R. H. \OVII.KINSON, Reading Egyptian aN
(London, 1992), 196-7.
C. ANDREWS, A11Iu/eJs oIalicienl EgVPl (London,
1994),43.

sacred animals
The Egyptians held a number of animals to be
sacred as the living manifestations of various
gods (see Rt\). The belief may have COIlle froIll
Prcdynastic times, when animals were revered
for particular qualities, such as the bull for its
strength and the lion f()r its aggression. Some
of the NOME gods may have had their origins in
such totem istic beliefs.
tn some cases, after t:.700 fie, a whole
species of animal, bird or fish was rcvered, as
with the THIS (sacred to the god Tl 10'1'11) or the
falcon (sacred to IIORUS and OSIRIS), while in
248

other cases individual animals might repre_

sent the god, as with the CYNOCEP}-L\LUS
baboon of Thoth, or more especially the APIS
bull at Saqqara (see sE,,-,rEvM). In the latter
case only one Apis bull existed at anyone
time, and this animal was selected and fe'Ired
with great care because of its distinctive
markings.
The sacred animal cults were overseen by
their own priesthoods, who cared for the animals and ultimately arranged for their muOlmification and burial. In thc case of an Apis,
BUf:lI1S Or .~INEVIS bull, the burial would be
very claborate, involving funerary equipment and ceremonies similar to rhose Surrounding a royal funeral. The hawks and the
ibises, on the other hand, were donated in
their thousands as votive offerings, therefore
many of the mummies were placed in wooden
boxes or scaled pottery jars. Pilgrims would
pay for the embalming and burial of one of
these birds as an act of piety. "fhe jars containing mummified birds or animals were
buried in underground galleries such as the
extensive complexes at SACtQ!\RA or TU\JA ELGEBEl., while the Apis and Buchis bulls, as
well as their mothers, were each allocated
splendid hypogea (subterranean tomb chambers) with individual granite sarcophagi. At
Saqqara the sacred baboons were found
buried in wooden shrines set in stone niches
in their O\lln gallery. These cults grew in
importance from the late New Kingdom
onwards, reachjng a peak in the Late Period
(747-332 BC), when they rna)' have formed an
important part of the economy. The Sacred
Animal Necropolis at north Saqqara was
excavated by the Egypt Exploration Society
during the 1960s, and two more recent
expeditions at the site) during the 1990s,
have concentrated firstly on the analysis of
the chronological development of the galleries, and secondly on the usc of the mummified remains to study the genetic history
of primates.
As well as the numerous galLeries of
sacred animals at Saqqara, there were
important centres for the cult of sacred rams
at ,vIENDES, IIERAKLEOI'OLIS .t\'IAGNA, ESN ..\ and
1-:1 .EIlI IANTINE, sacred cats at TELL BAST.\ and
BENI IIASAN, Mnevis bulls at I JELiOPOJ.lS (and
possibly EI..-I\JvlARNA), Buchis bulls at
ARM ANT, the sacred cow of Hathor at nENDEltJ\, and sacred crocodiles at KOM (l\IBO,
MEDINET E1.-FAYUlvl (Crocodilopolis) and cIMaabda.
J. D. RAY, 'The world of North Saqqara', lE4
10/2 (1978), l49-57.
G. T. MARTIN, The sacred {{llima/11eaopoli.\ ttl
Nor/It Saqqara. (London, 1981).

SAFF TOMB

SACRED LAKE

B. GESSLER-LoIIR, Die he;/igeu Seen ill iigypI;seher

Tempel (Hildesheim, 1983).

safftomb
Type of rock-cur tomb constructed primarily
in the eI-'TI1rif area of western Thebes for the
local rulers of the Tbeban II tb Dvnast)'
(I"TEF I-Ill; 2125-2055 Be). The term sllfI
(Ambic: 'row') refers LO the rows of rock-cur
pillars which stood around Lhree sides of a
large trapezoidal sunk forecourt, forming the
distinctive frontage of each of the tomb
chapels. Private stiff tombs have also been
excavated at ARMANT and DEt\DERA.
D. ARNOLD, Cdiher lb AI/CUll/it! i\!lillfercll
Reidll:s in EI-Trlrif(Mainz, 1976).

Saft el-Hinna see SOI'ED

Sah (Orion)
Personification of lhe principal southern con-

Amulets vIsix sacred aI/iII/a Is. '1'01' LEfT TO RIGIIT

Ra.m il1l11rquoise.jitienu:, 'nlirtl lllfermediale
Period. Ibis il1 lurquoise ({ud dark bIlle,
representing Tho/It; the bill is supported by Ihe
feaJlterOfiHllllJ. Late Period. L. -/.5 WI. Apis bull
iUlUrqIloiseji,icuu, Salle period, L. 2.9c11I.
BOTTOM I.EFT TO RIGHT Com, probably
represell1ing Hal/lOr, ill brollze. Lale Paiod. Lion
;11 pale grull./i/ience. repreSe11lil1g NeJer/em, Saile
period. Jackal, prob(l.b~JI representing Hlepmamel,
Third Intermediale Period. (/:'/111896.36451,
61622,11600,64617,36H8)
D. KESSLER, Die Heiligefl 1i'ere tuu! der Kijllig ,
(Wiesbaden, 1989).
R. PERIZONIUS C( oIl.. ',Monkey mummies and north
Saqqara'. l:."'gypliall Elrclweology3 (1993). 31-3.
P. T NID-IOLSON, ~Archaeolog)' beneath Saqqara',
Egypt;an Al'dweology -1- (1994),7-8.

sacred lake
Artificial expanse of water located within the
precincts of many Egyptian temples from the
Old Kingdom to the Rnman period (2686 BeAD 395). The most common type is that of the
Temple of Amlin at KARN\K: a rectangular}
stone-lined reservoir filled by ground water
and entered via several stairways, which the
Egyptians described as a site /feljeri ('divine
pool'). The sacred lake fulfilled a number of
different cui tic purposes} serving as a setting
for the sailing of BARKS containing images of
the gods, the home of such aquatic sacred animals as geese or crocodiles} and a source of
pure water for the daily ritual ablutions and
libations of the temple.
well as the conventional rectangular lake found at such sites as

As

The stlcretilaKe iu 11//: predJ1t"J.~ of/he temple of

f/(lfhor (If Dendera. (I. SII./II')
:\R,\lt\'\T} ).lEOI~EI IIABU, DE'\DER.'\

and TA~IS,
there were several other forms, such ..IS the
horseshoe-shapcd pool (known as an ishcrmwatcr) that enclosed the main buildings in the
sacred precinct of M ut ill Karnak. There were
also circular reservoirs completely surrounding the main cult-place
the Osircion at M~Y
DOS and encircling the shrines
the M'lruAten at EL-}\.\lAR~A.
H. BONNET) Realle-ril:QlI der iigypljscheu
Religiomgeschidae (Berlin, 1952),694-5.
P. j\'IONTI-:T, Le fae stlerc de Tim;s (Paris, 1966).

or

or

stcllation that was later known as Orion. The

god was described ..15 the 'gloriolls soul of
OSIRIS' and formed a divine triad along with
the dog star SOI'I)ET (50th is) and his son
SOI'ED, who was the god of the eastern border.
I~ CASr\~O\A, 'De quelques Icgcndcs
astronomiqucs arabes considerccs dans leurs
rappons avec]a mytho logic cgyptiennc', BIFAO
2 (1902),1-39 (17-24).
K. PREISEi'.'D.O\NZ, Papyri Graecue II/(lgime: Die
griechiIchm Ziluberpilpyri (Stuttgart, 1973),
26-33.
1-1. Bnuu:"s, (Orion', 1xil:Oll det A"gyptolog;e 1\,
cd. W. Heick, E. Otto and W. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1982), 609-11.

249

SAlS

Sais (Sa el-Hagar)

Town in the western Delta) the remains of
which arc mostly covered by the modern village, and date principally ro the eighth to sixth
centuries Be. It'i patron goddess was "nTlI,
whose cull is attested at le,lst as early as the 1st
Dynasty (3100-2890 Be), suggesting that Sais
itself must hayc been occupied from the late
Prcdynasric period 011 wards. It was the prm incial cariml of the tifH, nome of J,ower Egypt
and the scat of the rulers of the 2{lh and 26th
Dmasties (727-715 and 66+--525 Be). There
appear to be no sUfYi,"ing remains earlier than
the late New Kingdom (c. I I 00 Be). The
remains of Ihe fell ha,-e been largely destroyed
by sebakhill (farmers removing mud-brick
deposits for lise as fertilizer), leaving only a

few relicf blocks ill silll, and the site has not
yet been scientifically exc;l';lted_ Sec also
S.\ITE PERIOD.

B. PORTER ;lnd R. '\loss, Topographit:ll!

bibliograp/o' 1\' (Oxford, 19.H), {6-9.
L. l-I.\B:\(:III, S'lis and irs monul11cnrs', .IS_-tf: 42
(19{2),369--116.
R. EL-S:\YED, DO(/flllt:nts rC!llt~'(s tI Sais 't Si'S
dh.:illitis (Cairo, 1975).
- , LII deeSSl! Nt'ith deSllis (Cairo, 1982)_

Saite period
Term applied to the 26th Dynast\' (66+-525 Be), when Egypt was ruled fromlhc city of
SAIS in the Delta. The overall character of the
period stems from the fact that the first S.litc
ruler, PS","TE~ I (66+--610 Be), had shaken 011'
.-\SS\ RIAN .10<1 Kushite rule, thus ushering in a
new era of Egyptian nationalism. This cultural change was expressed primarily by the
sculpture and painting of the period, which
were ofren consciuusly modelled on carlier
work, particularly that of the Old and Middle
Kingdoms (2686--1650 Be), a process that had
already begun in the latc Third fnrermediatc
Period ami especially in the 25th Dynasty
(747-656 Be). when f..:ushitc kings sought 10
Icgilimize their rule hy using est.lblished
Egyptian artistic styles.
Thc cnormous c<lre with whil:h Saite artists
l:opied ancicnt works of art is indicatcd by the
fact that they appe.lr to have merlaid some of
the panels in thc Step Pyramid at S\{&\IU wilh
grid lines in order to reproduce rhe relicf.'\.
c\-cn creating a new cnlrancc into Ihe pyramid
in order to gain access to the subtcrrancan
chambers. It is interesting to note, however,
thaI the copies did nor necessarily reproduce
the originals in precise detail. Instead, therc
were often artistic innO\-ations, as in the case of
Ihe rclicf.'\ in the tomb of .\IE:'\TLE~III.\T (TrJ4;
c.700-650 Ite) which, although apparently
dra\ying on scenes from the nc'lrby lSlh250

SAQQA~

,\IE"""

Dynasty tumb of
("1"1"69; c.I {OO Ite),
nevertheless added new details. Such observations have led to suggestions that the Saite
period should be regarded as a time of ,-igorous
renaissance rather than slavish archaizing.
Similarly, traditlonal religious practices
were reinforced hut often simultaneously reshaped; thus the S.\CRED _'\:'\1.\1.\1. cults grew in
importance, and their upkeep became an
increasingly important clement of the
Egyptian economy_ The cult-centre of the
goddess :'\EITII .It Solis "-;.lS exp;lI1ded and
embellished, while new temples were (onstruclcd at .\IE\1PIIIS (still Ihe administrati,'c
centre) as well as 011 Thehes and other major
cities througholll Egypt". During this period
the 'T'hchan region was effectively controlled
by lhe Gon's WIFE OF t\ \IUK. In another indication that the Saitc period was a lime of
progress as well as re"i'"al, the DL\lO-rlC script,
first .lttesred in t.700 UC, gained wide accept.mce under the 26th-DynaSTY rulers.
The Egyptian army C;.In1C increasingly to
depend upon <,il~F.EK mercenaries) and as early
as 630 Be a settlemcnt for Greek traders was
founded 011 ~\L:K.R_\TIS in the Delta. The town
was later reorganized under -\II.\IOSE II
(570-526 Be), who waS traditionally credited
with its foundation, This economic connection with the Greeks ine\'itably led to Egypt's
closer involvement in the affairs of the
J'vlediterranean, and a change in outlook. Frol11
this time onwards, many Grecks tra"clled to
Egypt, including IIEROOO'IUS, who described
Egypt in the period immediately following the
Saitc dynasty. Sce also L\TE PERIOD_

J. 0_ COO'l"E', "]'hrce early Saite tomb relicfs.',

.7NES9 (1950), 193~203.
H_ KEES, 'Zur lnnenpolitik del' Siiitcndynaslic'.
Narhrirhtcl1 tier Geschidfte /Iud H'i.uemdulji.
Gijttil1geu Phi!_-Hiu, A'!asse 1(1963),96-106.
A. B. Ll.m 1>, 'The Lare Period, 664-323 IlC',
.-Incimt Egl,pt: a sm:ilf! !I;story, R G. Trigger
et "I. (Cllnbridge, 1983), 279-3{8.
P. DER j\lANLEUAN, f.im-/lg il/ the pasl (London,
I 99{).

Saqqara
SiTc of the principal necropolis of lhe ancient
l:ity of \IE:\lI'IIIS, situated some 17 km from Ihe
liIZ.\ suburb of Cairo, which was in use frum
the 1st Dynastv (3100--2890 Be) to the
Christi"n perind (till 395-540). The entire
length of the sile is about six kilometres, \\ ith
;l maximum width of ahout 1.5 km. It has been
suggested that the namc of the sire m;'l~ bc
derived from that of the god SOK..\R, although
:\rab chroniclers state, more plausihl~-, Lb:l1 it
derives from the name of an Ar:lh tribe unee
resident in rhe :lrea.
The importance of the Saqqar'l necropolis
is indicated by the ,ery crowded nature of the
hurials, with some ha,-ing been re-used rn.my
limes and most haying becn extcnsiYcly plundered throughout anLiquity. Beneath lhe
ground, Saqqara is honeycombed with imernfe Sh'p l~)'falffid o/Djoser at Sa(j'ltlrtf is
.wrmu//{!etl !~V (f m/lfp!ex oIritua! buildings a//{!
murts. i"cluding Iltest! tlllmll~)1 rlwpe!(' ill JIll! sed

Ji:stirlll court. r((onslrueted

(/~ 1: X/CliO/SO \)

"y J-P.

Lafla.

SAQQARA

SAQQARA

""",:::::::

100

200

400

300

SOOm

"" 'Pl1 Illl\\\\\\

T Serapeum

New Kingdom
necropolis - - - monastery of
ApaJeremias

----l1lI..

j
~ 2

" , ~,.:f:~: :
'''''.. '11,''111111'''''''',11.''',''

,,<:,'::/
"//

-+N

-f-i

'1111\"""""""'"1111\\\'''

Unas valley temple

Abusir village

"\\\\\',,j)f'

mastaba tombs of the 1st Dynasty

mastaba tombs at the 6th Dynasty
3 New Kingdom necropolis
4 Antiquities Inspectorate

cut" tombs, galleries and robber shafts) not

always visible on the desert surface.

The 1st-Dynasty ruler

Nt\RI"ll~R

is the earli-

est king whose name is known from Saqqaraj

his actual burial was almost certainly in 'Tomb
n17-18 of the Umm el-QI'ab cemetery at ABYDOS} but a stone bowl bearing his name was

discovered in one of the extensive storerooms

beneath the Step Pyramid of DJOSER
(2667-2648 BC). It is not impossible thaI there
was originally also a monument of rile reign of
Narmcr at Saqqara, since slightly later I st~
Dynasty 1\1-\5"[,'\13:\ t"Ombs ilrc well attested at
the site, forming a distinct group along the

northeastern edge or the plateau.

It is thought likely that the original sire of
the White Walls (one of the names for ancient
.Memphis) was probably ncar the modern village of Abusir, which is situated en the north-

eastern edge of the plateau, close to the lstand 2nd-Dynasty tombs. The development of
Un extensive cemetery of mastaba tombs along
the plateau edge during the first two dynasties
might have gradually produced a situation
when the population at l\!lcmphis would have
found it difficult to distinguish any particular
tomb among the great mass on t.he edge of the

plateau; it has therefore been suggested that

this may be partly why the architect 11\11-10TEI'
devised such an innov<ltivc structure as
Djoser's funer<lry monument in the early -'I'd
Dynasty (see PYR/\l\I1DS). This was thc first
time that stone architecture had been used on
such a large scale in Egypt. It therefore still
followed closely the c<lrlier building styles connectcd with mud-brick and organic materials:
thus the 'palacc-LH;ade' style of dccoration
continucd to be uscd, and wooden columns
were transformed into stonc.
lVlastaha tombs were constructed at
Saqqara for the i\iremphite elite during the
Old Kingdom (2686-2181 Be), many of them
focusing closely on the pyramids of the kings,
which date from the ~rJ-Dynasty complex of
Djoser to the lJl"h-Dynasty monument of
Khendjcr (r.1748 BC). The 5th-Dynasty pyramid of Unas (2375-2345 BC) was the first to
be inscribed with the prRM"ID TE;\TS, while
the pyramid complex of the 6th-Dynasty
ruler Pep, B (2278-2184 BC) was effectively
the last major funerary monument of the Old
Kingdom at Saqqara. The remains of the
small mud-brick pyramid of the 8th-Dynasty
ruler Ibi lIptly symbolizc the decline in the

PIau u.(lforth Safjfjam.

political and economic system from the Old

Kingdom to the roirst Intermediate Period
(2181-2055 Be).
In the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC)
and Second Intermediate Period (1650] 550 BC) the area around IJAI-ISI-lljR and ELI.lSII'!', ::1S well ::15 the siles of EL-Lt\IIL"N,
11!\WARt\ and THEBES, became the main centres
of royal funerary activity. Although Thebes
was probably the religious capital of the Ncw
Kingdom, i\ilcmphis rcwined a great deal of
its administ"ral"ive importance and, as for
most of Egyptian history, it was the real seal
of government. Many important officials of
the New Kingdom resided in the city, and
although their rulers chose to be buried in
the \"ALl.EY OF TilE KINGS at Thebcs, nuny
noblcs constructed elaborate temple-style
tomb chapels f<lI" themselves at S;'lqqara, LlSLlally surrounded by the smaller tombs of their
servants and family.
Somc of these New Kingdom tombs were
recorded by Karl Richard L!-:I'SIUS during his
expcdition of 1842-5, but" their precise locations were subsequcntly difficult to aseert"ain
251

SARA~

SAQQARA

RIGHT Carl:er! reliefji'o/ll the !/laslaba-chape! 0/

Plahlwtep (/1 ~)'(/.qqartl, SllOl1Jillg a herdsmall
leading/or/Vard a group ofprize cattle. Sih
Dyutlsly, c.2380 lJG. (CRAf/AM IIARR/SON)

monastery of Apa Jeremias

modern
settlement

pyramid of
Neferkara (pepy II)

",

tomb of Shepseskaf ,,_,

(the Mastabat el-Faraunj" '

lZlt2J .

pyramid o!the late

/~
Middle Kingdom ~ l

,,/

from maps. Since 1975, the joint expedition

of the Egypt Exploration Society and Leidcn
"Museum has rediscovered some of these
tombs, in a part
the necropolis to the
south of the causeway of the pyramid of
Un as, where the finest surviving tombs
date to the period bct\yccn the time
of 1UTANK1IAMU~ (1336-1327 BC) in the late
18th Dynasty and Rameses II (1279-1213 BC)
in the carly 19th. The rediscoveries have
i.l1cluded the tomb of rVlaya, the treasury official of Tutankhamul1, and that of his colleague, the generalissimo 1-I0REMHEB (13231295 BC\ who later became king and was
buried in a royal tomb (KV 57) in the Valley of
the Kings at Thebes. In the cliffs towards the
Early Dyn'lstic remains at the northern end
of the Saqqara plateau, a French expedition
Jed by Alain Zivie has also discovered the
tomb of Apcria (or Apcr-el), who waS north~
ern vizier during the reigns of AKI-IENATEN
(] 352-1336 Be) and Tutankhamull, thus

or

probably indicating that Nlemphite officials

continued to govern from l\1emphis even
when a new capital had briefly been established at EL-Ai"Ir\Ri'\t\.
There was also New Kingdom activity in
northwestern Saqqara, in the form of the
hypogea (tomb chamber) of the sacred AI'IS
bull, which began to be buried in the underground galleries of the sr':JtAI'EUM from at

252

LEFT

PIau o/soll!h Saqqara.

least the time of Amcnhotep III (1390-1352

He) until the Roman period. By the Late
Period (747-332 BC) onwards, large numbers
of SACRED !\.'\JL\'IALS were being buried in huge
quantities in the vast underground catacombs at the north end of the site; these
mummified animals and birds included cows
identified as the 'i\!Iothcrs of Apis', as well as
CYNOCEPHALUS baboons, hawks and IBrSES.
The area was probably chosen for a sacred
animal necropolis because of its tradition,ll
connection with Tmhotep, who had become
identified with THOTH, a god particularly
associated with baboons and ibises. The texts
sug"gest that rams sacred to the god
Banebdjedet (see MENDI':S), as well as the
calves of the Apis bull, may also have been
buried in this area, although the actual galleries have not yet been located. Further to
the east, there were burials of dogs or jackals
connected with the Anubeion (see ANUBIS),
and of cats connected with the Bubasteion
(sec BASTET). SO many cats were buried in
this part of Saqqara that their mummified
remains were deposited in many of the earlier private funerary monuments, including
the nearby tomb of A.per-el.
Private tombs of post-New Kingdom date
26th and 27th Dynasties arc also located
ncar the pyramid of Unas. lv[any of the
artists decorating tombs of the 26th Dynasty
(or SAlTE PERIOD) deliber.uely copied a great
deal of the earlier funerary art at Saqqara.
1()mbs of the 30th Dynasty (380~343 BC)
and Greco-Roman period (332 BC-AD J95)
arc clustered mainly on the northern side of
the Step Pyramid, and towards the
SerapeuI1l.
Since many of the tombs at Saqqara were
constructed from unusually small stone blocks
(particularly during the New Kingdom), they
could easily be dismantled to provide a ready
source of building stone for later building
operations. Nluch of rhe monastery of Apa
Jeremias, to the south of the Unas causeway,
for instance, was constructed from such re~
used blocks. During the time of the monastery,
a small Coptic settlement was established to
the southeast, close to the valley temple of
Unas.

\\T. B. Ei\lERY, Creal lOlllbs o/thejin/ r()llIl1J/J'.

3 vols (Cairo and London, 1949~58).
]. D. RAY, 'The world of North Saqqara', W-I,
10 (2) (1978) 149~57.
G. T l\tlARTIN, 'The New Kingdom necropoli~ at
Saqqara', AdS oI/he Firsl T"Iemf/tional COllgress
oIEgypto!ogy, cd. vt/. F Reinecke (Berlin, 197Y),
457~63.

- , The sa.cred allimall/eaopo!is (1/ I/Oi'll! Satjljara

(London, 1981).
].l\JIALEK, 'Saqqara, Nekropolen NR', Lexilum del
AgYPlo!ugie v, cd. W. Heick, E. Ono and
W Westendorf (Wiesbaden, 1984), 41 0~12.
G. T iVlARTtN, The hiddclI tOJ!lb.\ oIMI~I/lJlhis
(London, 1991).
]. VAN DIJK, Thc New Kingdolllllc("J"opo/is 0/
/vlemphis: hh'Iorical alld ico/logmphica!.'illldil!s
(Groningcn, 1993).

Sarapis see SI';RAl'tS

sarcophagus see COI'TINS A,'\I[) SAR.COPII.l,(;1

Satet (Satis)
Goddes~ associated with the island of
Elephantine at I\SWAi'\- and guardian of the
southern frontiers of Egypt. She was usually
depicted as a woman wearing the white CROWl\'
of Upper Egypt, with M,;TELOPE horns on
either side of it. From the New Kingdom
onwards, she was regarded as the wife of the
creator god KHi"\Ui\'l. She was also considered
to be the mother of AN LiKE'f' the huntress. I'he
principal cult centre of Sater at Elephantine
(on the site of an earlier Predynastic shrine)
was excavated by a German expedition during
the 1980s and 1990s.
Although she was most common]} worshipped in the region of Aswan, her name has
also been found inscribed on jars exca\'atcd
from the subterranean galleries
the Step
Pyramid of Djoser at SAQQi\RA, and she is mentioned in the PYRA1\-IlD TEXTS as a goddess

or

SCORPION

SATIS

specifically concerned with purifying the

deceased. Her temple at Elephantine is situated at the point at which rhe first waters of rhe
annual Nile l~lj:'\'D!\TIO.\.'would be heard before
the flood itself became Yisible. This geographical situation would perhaps have emphasized
the aspects of her role relating (Q fertility. Tn
her function as protectress of the sOllthern
border she was considered to repel Egypt's
enemies with her arrO\vs.
G. ROWER, 'Sothis und Satis', zAs 45 (1908),
22-30.
D. VALBELLE, Salis el Auulll.,.is (l\lainz, 1981).
G. DREYER, Del' Tempel tier Salet: die FundI! tier
Friilz:::.eillllffl ties Al,en Reiches CVlainz, J986).

Salis see SATET

scarab
Common type of amulet, seal or ring-bezel
found in Egypt, Nubia and Syria-Palestine
from the 6th Dynasty until the Ptolemaic
period ((.2345-30 BC). The earliest were
purely am uletic and uninscribed; it waS only
during the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC)
that they were used as seals. 1"he scarab seal is
so called because it was made in the shape of
the sacred scarab bectlc (Scarahaem safer),
which was personified by KJlEPRI, a sun-god
associated with resurrection. The flat underside of the scarab, can'cd in stone or moulded
in faience or glass, W'1S usually decorated with
designs or inscriptions, sometimes incorporating a royal name. Scarabs, however, have
proved to be an unreliable means of dating
archaeological contexts, since the royal name
is often that of a long-dead ruler;
lVlenkhepcrra, the prenomen ofThutmose Jll
(1479-1425 BC), being a particularly common
example.
During the reign of t\,\l[NI-IOTEP 111
(1390-1352 BC), a series of unusually large

Glazed steatite (:OJll111e111oratiu Jwrab of

Amenhotep III dest:ribing a lion hunt undertaken
by the king. 18th Dynasty, c.1360 Be, H. 8.5 C111.
(A29J38j

....

scarabs were produced to celebriHe certain

events or aspects of Amcnhotep's reign, from
the hunting of bulls and lions to the listing of
the titles of Queen TIY. There were also a
number of funerary types of scarab, such as
the large (winged scarab' (virtually always
made of blue faience and incorporated into the
bead nets covering mummies), and the (IIEAHT
scarab' (usually inscribed. with Chapter 30b of
the BOOK OF '1'1-11': DEAD), which was included in
burials from ::It least the 13th Dynast)'
(1795-1650 Be) onwards.
The term s({{raboid is used to describe a seal
or amulet which has the same m-oid shape as a
scarab bUL may have its back carved in the
form of some creaturc other than the scarab
beetle. This appears to h,ne de\'eloped out of
Lhe practice of carving two-dimensional animal forms on the nat underside of the scarab,
which is known as early as the First
Intermediate Period (2181-2055 Be).
P. E. NEWBERIn', Anriell'1::gYP'iallst"arabs: till
hllmdllctioll to Egyptian seals ({nd signel rings
(London, 1906; repro Chicago, 1979).
C. BI._-\NKU\'IJERG-Vt\N DEI.DEN, The large
commemorative sc(/rtlhs ofAlIlI:lIhotep III (Leiden,
1969)
E. HORNUNG and E. ST\EI-IEI.I1'\, Skllrtlbtiell lind
audere Siegelalllulelle (IllS BllJ/a Sall/lIlluflge"
(Mainz,1976).
i\ 1. j\LU.A1SE, us scartlbees de coeur dansl'Egypte
ll11rieuuc (Brussels, 1978).
B. ]At-:GER, Essai de r/assificlltioll des sCtlrtlbees
A1ellkhepeni (Goningen, 1982).
G. T. j\lARTIN, Scarabs, cyliutlersllud olher lIlIcient
Eg},ptillu sell!s (~';'lfIninster, 1985).
C. ANDREWS, AII/ulets olallcient Egypt (London,
1994),50-9.

science
The need to solve particular problems, such
as the moving of large weights of stonc, or
the calculation of the height or angles of
PYRi\I\1I0S , was usually the inspiration for
particular developments in Egyptian (science" which docs not seem to have existed as
a word or concept in its own right. Rese.lrch
appears not to haye been undertaken for its
own sake, and no attempt \,"as made to derive
general laws, such as mathematical theorems,
from practical solutions. In a society in
which religion played a major role it is
unsurprising to find that pure research was
not: conducted. Any phenomenon could be
explained by refercnce to the actions of the
gods, and such science as there W.IS may be
seen as practical measures, such as the prediction of the Nile I1'\U;'\lD1\TIO~ (see ?\ILO:\II~
TERS) and the construction of temples .md
funer-try complexes.

~e\'erthcless, the Egyptians were clearly

capable of keeping accurate scientific records,
when necessary, and such surviving documents as the Edwin Smith 1\ Iedical Papyrus
(New York Historical Society) even suggest
that the)' sometimes conducted what amount
to scientific experiments. Similarly, the attention lO astronomy in the development of the
CALEi'\D,\R
shows careful
observation,
although the)' do not seem to have sought
reasons for the discrepancy between the seasons and thcir calendar, a phenomenon which
was due to the need for an additional quartcrday each year.
There are undoubtedly still aspects of
ancient Egyptian technology that remain
poorly understood (such as the precise methods by which man~' of the monuments \,"ere
constructed), but there is no reason to bclieve
that the Egyptians had any special hidden
knowledge rhat has since been lost.
See also ASTRONOMY 1\1'\1) I\STROLOG)'; ~IAGIC;
!\lATIIEi\IATICS and .\IEI)I[;H\E.
0. NEUGEBAul:n, The exaci sciences il/ allliquily,
2nd cd. (Providence, 195i).
R. J. GIl.LlNGS, IltlaJl/{:l1llltics ill the lilll(' oflhe
pIll/moils (New York, 1982).
'\T. 'VI::$TENOORF, 'Wissenschaft', Lexil'oJl tier
.;JgYPtologie VI, cd. \V. Heick, E. Otto and
W. Westendorf(Wiesbaden, 1986), 1278--9.
.\1. Cih-\GE-IT, Ancient Egyfltiall scie11ce, 2 \'015
(Philadelphia, 1989).

scorpion
Arachnid which, like the SERPEJ'T, bec.1me
the object of cults and spells from the
earliest times in Egypr, doubtless principally
because of the fcar of its sting. Two main
species of scorpion are found in Egypt': the
paler, marc poisonous BUII/rir/tlc and the
darker, relatively harmless Scorpiollidae. The
scorpion ideogram, one of the earliest known
hieroglyphic signs, was depicted on wooden
and ivory labels found in the laLe Predynastic/
Early Dynastic royal cemetery at ABYDOS <1nd
<1lso among the cache of cult equipment in the
Early Dynastic lemple at IIlER.\KO'I'OLlS. A
Protodynastic ruler called SCORPIOX was portrayed on the 'Scorpion macehe~ld' from
Hierakonpolis.
The goddess SERKEr was the principal
divine personification of the scorpion
(although Isis was also said to have been protected frol11 her enemies by seven scorpions),
and was usually depicted with <1 scorpion
perched on her head. Another, less wellknown deity, the god Shed (also described as
'the saviour'), was linked with the scorpion
and considered to afford protection against it')
sting; two stelae dedicated to Shed were found

SCORPION

SC~

Lilf('-dramilIg (~r(hc rdie/-w;c!l{, 011 till: S(Orpiol1

J}[{f{I.dICadFolll I-ficrakollpolis. shoming Killg

Scorpio// mearing thf IPhilt: trom1/ and wndllcJillg

{/ rill/aI, c.3100

11e. (DR.-II Vi\' 11\'I?ICII,/R[)

',"IRKINSOi\' ,/lTER M-IRIAN

cox)

in a chapel associated with lhe workmen's yillage at 1:I.-AMt\RNA. Images of scorpions are
also depicted on cippi1 a type of stele used (Q
ward ofl" scorpion stings and snake bites from
the Late Period onwards (see HORUS). See also
"1'.'\-Bl"IJE'r

H. KANTER) 'Giftschhmgen und Skorpione

Nordafrikas\ Dil' Sahara lIlId 11m: R{//1{~~ebiel !,
ed. I-I. S(llJFFERS (lVlunich, 1971).
E. HORJ\U"\lG and E. STAEI-IEU:---"l Skarabiiell 111/(1
andere Siege/all/u/elle ailS Basla Stllllll/ll/lIj!,CII
(Mainz, 1976), l31-3.
J-c. GOYo;,\, 'Hcdcdyt: Isis-scorpion et Isis au
scorpion: en marge du papyrus de Brooklyn
4721850', B11'AO 78 (1978), 439-58.
P. BEl rrn:NS, 'Skorpion', Lexikoll da Agyptulogie
v, cd. VI/. Heick, E. Otto and Vl \Vesrendorf
(Wicsbadcn, 1984),987-9.
F K\NEL, 'La lIepe et Ie scorpioll': tllIlI/onographie
.'illr la die.'ise Serltet (Paris, 1984).

Scorpion (d 150 Be)

Name held by rwo Prorodynastic rulers, one of
whom was perhaps buried in 'lomb L-j of the
Umm cl-Ql'ab cemetery at ABYDUS.
A fragmentary pC:1r-shaped limestone
macchead (Ashmolean i\!{uscum, Oxford),
bearing a depiction of a man wearing the white
c'RO\\,1'\ of Upper Egypt and identified as King
Scorpion, was excavated from the 'main
deposit' in the temple precinct ,\l 11lERr\"O~PO
LIS in 1896-8. The stratigraphic context of the
'Scorpion macehead' was poorly recorded by
the excavators, James Q!.libell and Frederick
Green, but the style of its decoration almost
certainly dates it to the late Predynastic
period when the early Egyptian state was first
appearing (c.3150 DC). Like the 1'\r\RMER
palette and macehead, it is decorated with a
raised relief depiction of an early pharaoh

254

engaged in ritualistic activities. On the

Scorpion macehead this royal figure, identified by scorpion and rosette ideograms, wears
the white crown of Upper Egypt and is apparently excavating a ceremonial irrig'ation canal
with the help of attendants.
Tomb L"-j at Abydos was excavated by a
team of German archaeolog'ists in 1988,
revealing' a twelve-chambered subterranean
tomb, originally roofed with wood, matting
and mud-brick. Although it had becn plundered in antiquity, one chamber still contained
over four hundred vessels imported from
southern Palestine, and the excavation of the
burial chamber revealed fl-agments of a wooden
shrine and an ivory model !leMa-sceptre (sec
CROW'IS), suggesting that the tomb's owner
was a ruler. Throughout the site there were
large qu;.mtities of fragments of pottery dating
to the late Predynastic ('\.\It\J):\) period, many
of which bore ink inscriptions consisting of
the scorpion hierog'lyph; it is considered
unlikely, however, that rhis Scorpion was the
same ruler as the figure represented on the
Scorpion macehead.
J. E. Qunu:LL and F 'vv. GREEN, Hierakrmpolis,
2 vols (London, 1900-2).
A. J. ARKF.LL, '\;Vas King Scorpion l'vlenes?',
Allliquily 46 (1963), 221-2.
E. J. B:\Ur.1Gt\RTI::r., 'Scorpion and rosette and the
fragment of the large Hierakonpolis macehead',
ZAS92 (1966), 9-14.
.!Vl. A. 1-101-"1-"111.\1\, Egypt bejore Ihe pharaohs
(London, 1980),312-17.
G. DREYER, 'Umm cl~Qlab:
Nachuntcrsllchungcn im frlihzeitlichen
Konigsfriedhof 5.16. Vorbericht',lltIDAlK..J.9
(1993),23-62

scribe
Term Llsed to translate the Egyptian word sC5h,
which was applied not only to clerks or copyists but to the class of bureaucratic official
around whom the entire Egyptian political,
economic and religious system revolved (sec
,\DJ\IINlsIRAnOl'\). Throughout the Pharaonic
period it is likely that only a small percentage
of tile population was literate, and the scribal
elite tended to pass on their profession fiom
father to son, thus enabling power to be
retained by rhe same family groups ovcr long
periods. The prestige attributed to the scribal
profession is indicated by the popularity of the
'scribe statue" portraying members of the elite
IUGI IT Q}ltIrlzite stmlle ofthe chflll/ber/ai"
Pessl/llpCJ; /p!lo is holding (/ papyrus roll ill his 1(/1
fraud ill the atti/utle uIa stribl!. 25th or 26tfr
Dynasty. provel/aJlce lIJlkuown, /I .i3 Oil.
(,,dSN)

in typical cross-legged scribal pose, c\"en if

they had never served as professional scribes.
Nlany of the I1IERATIC texts used in the
EDUCATIOi'\ of scribes, in preference to the
slower and more ceremonial I-IIEROGU.'PI [S
consisted of descriptions of the comfort anci
prestige enjoyed by scribes, in contrast to the
rigours of manual labour (sec \\"ISDO\1 L1TEH.,.\TURE and LITERATURE). 1\1uch of the ,,"ork
and training of scribes is thought to haw
taken place in an institution known as the
1-IOl/SE OF I.IFE.

The hieroglyphic signs used for the terms

'scribe' and 'writing' wcre both essclltiallv
depictions of the scribal equipment, consist~
ing of a stone or wooden PALE'ITE containing
two cakes of ink (usually red and black), a
leather bag or pot holding water, and n ~et of
reed brushes. During the Pharaonic period,
rhe brushes were made from the stem of
.tUllctllS IIwritilllllS, but from the Ptolemaic
period (332-30 lie) onwards reed pens cur
from the stems of P!lraglllitcs acgYf!li{/((/ \rerc
more frequently used. The surfaces on which
scribes wrote varied frolll simple OSTR\C:\
(chips of stone and potsherds) to mOre expensive manuElcturcd materials such as )1\1'\ RlJS,
leather sheets and thinly plastered wooden
boards.
R. J. \\!n..UAi\IS, 'Scribal training in ancit:nt
Egypt', JA OS 92 (1972), 21 +-21.
J. R. BAINES, 'Literacy and ancient Egyptian
society" l\!1rlll 18 (1983), 572-99.

SEA PEOPLES

Sea Peoples
Loose confcdennion uf peoples of the c;.lstcrn
J\!lcditcrrancan, who attempted to settle in
Syria-Palestine and Egypt bel ween the thirteenth and twelfth centuries BC The names
and charat:[cristics of the indivitlual peoples,
some of whom probably originated from the
Aegean anti Asia Minol\ arc known from
reliefs at MEDI'\fT Ilt\BU and KAR'\AK as well as
from the text of the Great Harris Papyrus
(now in the British IVluscum)1 a historical text
at the end of a list of temple endowments from

SEDEINGA

such as Alalakh in northern Syria. This time

the list included the Denen, Peleset,
Shekclesh, Sherden, Tjekel, Teresh and
Weshwesh, and the atlack Glme bv both land
and sea. Rameses lII'S troops in Palestine
defealed lhe land-based anack, while lhe
Egyptian navy destroyed the cnemy Ocet on
the Delta coast, Like Mcrenptah, Ramescs Jl[
recorded his vieLOry in. stone, on the outer
walls of his mort'uary temple on iVlcdinet
l-labu, while the compiler of the Great. Harris
Papyrus included them in a broader accounl of
(he campaigns of his reibrn.
S(udy of the 'tribal' names recorded by the
Egyptians and Hittitcs has shown that some
groups) no(ably the Dellell, Lukka and the
Shcrdcn, were already actiyc by the reign of
Akhenalcn (1352-1336 "c), while lhe Llikka
and Sherden were also recorded, along with
the Peleset, serving as mercenaries in the army
of Rameses L1 (1279-1213 Be) at the IJ.I"ITI.E OF
Q!\I)J:SII.

Dewi! of/he head (~r(/ Shaden sQldier/rom/llt:

reliefi depif/illg ,he IlI/lIle {JfQfldnh 011 the QuIa
mllll oft/Ie temple ofRtl11U!SeS /I {If Abytlos.
(I. SI/.111)

lhe reign of ILI.\IL"'~ III (118+--1 J53 "e). 1l is

clear from these sources that the Sea Peoples
were not bands of plunderers but part of a
great migration of displaced peoples. \Vhen
they moved overland, thc warriors were generally accompanied hy their wives and families
carrying their possessions in ox-drawn carts;
there waS a clear intcntion to settle in the areas
through which they passed.
'J'heir first attack on Egypt took place in the
fifth regnal \'""r of Ihe 19lh-DmaslY ruler
"ERE:\'I'TAII (1213-1203 lie). The Lilli I.'S,
allied with these migrant peoples, named as
lhe Ekwesh, Lukka, ~leshwesh, Shekelesh,
Shcrden and Teresh, launched an attack on the
Della. ~'lcrenptah gained a victory, killing
mOre than six thousand of them and routing
the rest. He then recorded his victo!"\" on one
of the walls of the temple of Amun a;: Karnak
and on the so-called ISlb\EI. Stele in his funerary temple.
In the eighth regnal year 01" Ramcscs Jill the
Sea Peoples returned. They had perhaps
already brought about the destruction of the
IlrnTl'E empire, and arc probably to be held
responsible for the sacking of the cliem city of
Ugarit on the Syrian COast as well as cities

Attempts have been made to link the various groups of Sea Peoples with particular
homelands} or at least with the phtces in which
they eventually settled. The Ekwesh have been
identified with the Homeric Achaean Greeks,
the Peleset wilh lhe Biblical Philistines (who
gave their name to Palestine), and, more contentiously, the Shcrdcn with Sardinia.
G. A. W.\L'.;WRIGIIT} 'Some Sea-Peoples and
olhers in the Hittite archives',]EA 25 (2) (1939),
H8-53.
G. A. W",WRIGIIT, 'Some S"" Peoplcs',]E~1 D
(1961),71-90.
R. ST,\I)I~L\I.\S:'\, 'Die Abwehr der See"Olker
lIIlLer Ramses Ill', Sacm!ul11 19 (1968), 15f>-71.
W. HELCK, Die Bczil'hllllgell AgyjJtem /II1f!
l/rll"dcrasiclls ZUI' /Jg(;'is IJis im 7..7!J. r, ChI'.
(Darmsladt, 1979).
N, K. S-\'\IHHS, Sm Pl'op!eJ (London, ItJ85).

acting as the 'native' Egyptian government,

as opposed to the foreign northern rulers.
Having esmblished their capital at Avaris,
lhe political inn lienee of lhe Hyksos appears
to have gradually spread, wilh lhe development of centres such as TELL EL-Y,\/-IUDIYA and
TELL EL-.\L\SKIIUTA) and the probable seizure
of the important Egyprian city of t\IEi\lPIIlS.
The discovery of a small number of objects
inscribed with the names of Hyksos kings al
sites such as Knossos, Baghdad and
Boghazkoy (as well as the remains of 1\'linoan
frescos at 15rh-Dynasty Avaris) suggests that
the new rulers maintained trading links with
the Ne..u East and (he Aegean. Seals . H the
Nubian site of .... EK,\I-\ be..l r the name Sheshi,
apparently a corrupted form of Salitis, the
earliest known Hyksos king. The presence of
these seals probably indicates that there was
an alliance between the Hyksos and the kingdom of Kerma, which would have helped
them to countcr the opposition of the 17th
Dynasty in Upper Egypt. The last rulers of
the 17th Dynasty, SHtENENRA T/\/\ [I and
K.\MOSE, campaigned openly against the
Hyksos, and l\Ill\10SE I, the first ruler of the
18th Dynasty, was eventually ablc to drive
them from power, thus establishing the NEW
t.;:ISGDO,\I.
J. \"UN BEC"-EH.\TII, UutersudwlI!!ef/ :::'lIr pnlitischell
Ceschirhu tier :::.meitell ZUJI:{Chell:.:eit il1 AgJlpte"
(Gluckstadt and lew York, 1965).
J. V:\~ SI~TERS} The / r)/hos, a "em im:estiglllirm
(New Haven, 19(6).
B. J. KE..\II'" 'Old Kingdom,l\liddlc Kingdom
and Second lmcrmedialc Period',Allcieut Egypt:
(f socia! hisfO~)/, cd, 11 G. 'Trigger et al.
(Cambridge, 1983), 71-1~2.
D. B. REIWOIHl l !:.:ttyj}f, Canaun (fud /s/'(/t!! ill
fl1u:ieUllimc.l' (PrinccLOIl, 1992), 9~-129,

Sedeinga
Sebek see SOBEK
Second Intermediate Period
(1650-1550 Be)
As the \lII)I)I.E .... 1'\GI)()\l (2055-1650 Be) "ent
into decline, groups of Asiatics appear to have
migrated into the Delta and established setlIemenls (sec 11\ KSOS). The Second
Tnl"crmediat"e Period hegan ,yith {he eSI'ablishment of the 151"11 Dynasty ..I t Avaris (TI':I.I.
I':L-[),\B' ,\) in the Delta. The 1St h-Dynasry
rulers were largely contemporary "'ith the
line of minor J-lyksos rulers who comprise
the 16th Dynasty. The precise dates of these
two dynasties, and more particularly (heir
rulers, arc uncertain, as are those of the
17th Dvnasty, the lasl of lhe period. The 17lh
Dynasly ruled from Thebes, effeCli\c1y

Religious sitc in Uppcr Nubia, consisting of

the ruins of il temple of Amenhotep III
(1390-1352 BC), 10caLCd onl\- a few kilometres
to Ihe north of lhc lemple of SOI.EIJ. The
Sedeinga temple was probably dedicated to
the cult uf Amcnhotep Ill'S wife, O!-Icen TIY,
and the modern toponym appears to be a considcrably distortcd yersion of the ancient
name of the temple (hmt- Tl)/) , Certain signifiC<lnt pnrts of the temple have survived, such as
columns with 11/\Tll0R-hcaded capitals ~ll1d a
fragment of relief bearing a represcnt:Hion of
Tiy in the form of a SPlllNX, which was perhaps also intended w suggest a leonine f(n'm of
the 'eye of 1I0RUS}. The temple was restored
and c1abornted during the reibrtl of the 25thDynasl\ pharaoh 1.\l1.IRQO (690-664 BC).
M. Su IIFF GIOHGI;\.I, 'Premiere Gll11pagnc des

255

SED FESTIVAL

SEDQE:

fauilles aSedeinga 1963-4', Kusll 13 (1965),

112-30.
J. LECLANT, 'Taharqa i Scdcinga', FesIschrifi
W r1leSlellt!or/(Gorringen, 1984), 1113-20.

sed festival (Egyptian Ileb-set!: 'royal

jubilee')
Ritual of renewal and regeneration, which was
intended to be celebrated by the king only after
a reign of thirty years had elapsed. Tn practice
the surviving inscriptions and monuments
associated with this festival seem to show that
many kings whose entire reigns 'vere much
shorter than thirty years have left evidence of
the celebration of their sed festivals. There arc
two possible interpretations of this situation:
first, that many kings actually celebrated the
sed festivals well before Lhe requisite thirty
years had elapsed, or, second, that they ordered
the depiction of the ritual in anticipation of the
actual event happen.ing later in the reign.
The sed festival (which derives its name
from a jackal-god called Sed, closely related to
WEI'Wt\\VET of Asyut), is inextricably linked
with the Egyptian perception of KINGSIlIP,
being documented from a very early stage in
Egyptian history. The two essential elements
of the ceremony (the paying of homag'e to the
enthroned king and the ritual of territorial
claim) are depicted on an ebony label from the
tomb of King DEN at Abydos (now in the
British l\l1useum, see illustration above). The
right-hand corner of the label shows the king,
at first, seated inside one of the special festival
pavilions, wearing the double CROWN, and,
later, running between two sets of three cairns
or boundary markers (probably symbolizing
the BORDERS of Egypt). The two scenes are
framed by the king's name in a SEREKl-I frame
on the left and the hieroglyphic sig'n for a regnal year on the right.
The first royal mortuary complexes were
concerned with the king's enactment of the sed
festival. The eastern side of the Step-Pyramid
complex of Djoser at SAQQARA incorporates the
earliest surviving architectural setting for the
fesrival, in the form of a courtyard surrounded
by 'dummy' chapels, each representing the
shrines of the local gods in different. provinces.
At the southern end of the court is the basc of
a double pavilion which would have held two
thrones likc the one shown on the ebony label
of Den. Tt is presumed that the king would
have sat on each throne dressed in the Upper
and Lower Egyptian regalia respectively, thus
symbolizing his dominion over the 'twO lands'
of Egypt.
In the adjoining court to the south of the
pyramid traces were found of boundary
markers Ijke those between which the king was
256

LEFT Block u/reliefFolII tlte Red Cltapel 0/

Hatshepsllt a.1 Ka.rnak, showing the queell faking
part in one oIthe rituals oIher sed.feslival, IPil1I
the boundalJI-markcrs visible behind hn 181h
Dynasty, c./473-/458I1c. (I. SIWV)
BELOW Oil--)(/.r label hearing (/ scene depicling lIh' sed
.festival (~rKing Dell. Ill/he upper n~!:Jht-l!llnd (omer
tIle king I~\' SIIOI1J11 mUlling hclmt:elllmQ 1!l(l1'A-r'n
probab~)I represelllillg /he borders o/Egypt. lsI
DYIlI1S!:JI, c.2900 IJG, ehony, fl. S.S 011. (J;./32650)

required to run. A relief from the subterranean chambers of the pyramid shows Djoser
himself running benvecn two sets of cairns;
this dynamic image of the running pharaoh
(orten holding strange implements) continued
to be depicted in sed-festival reliefs throughout
the Pharaonic period, as in the case of one of
the blocks from the red chapel of Hatshepsut
(1473-1458 Be) at KARNAK temple.
From the 4th Dynasty onwards the importance of the sed festival in the royal mortuary
complex was to some extent eclipsed by reliefs
associated with the cult of the dead king, hut
there were still large numbers of buildings
constructed and decorated in connection with
the royal jubilee, not least the mortuary temple
of Amenhotep III (1390-1352 BC) at Thebes,
the Aten temple of t\KlrENATEN in cast Karnak
and the sed-festival court of OSORKON II
(87+-850 "c) at Bubastis (TELL ",ISH).
Although there is enormous continuity in
the depictions of sed festivals from Den to
Osorkon, it seems fr0111 the descriptions of the
three sed festivals celebrated by Amenhorep III
that the liturgy and symbolism of the ceremony could sometimes be adapted to suit the
occasion or the place. The huge lake excavated
to the east of the palace of Amenhotep III at
MAl.KATA appears to have functioned as the setting for a reinvented sed festival, in which the
king and the divine statuary were carried along
On barges, in imitation of the voyage of the
solar BARK through the netherworld.
H. KEES, 'Die weisse Kapelle Sesosrris' I. in
Karnak lind das Sedfesr', iHDA/K 16 (1958),
19+-213.

E.

UPHILL,

'The Egyptian sed-festival rites',

]NES 24 (1965),365-83.
E. HORNUNG and E. STAEHLlN, Swdien ZUlli
Set!jCSI (Geneva, 1974).
YV.]. NfuRNANE, 'The sed festival: a problcm in
historical method', iYIDAJK 37 (1981), 36<J~76.
sedge
'Term used to refer to the plant, the hieroglyph
for which formed part of the ROYAl. 'Ill LLt\RY
as early as the Ist Dynasty (3100-2890 Ile),
when one of the titles of the king of Upper
Egypt was 'he who belongs to the sedge'
(apparently referring to the eternal, divine
aspect of the kingship). Prom the unification
of Egypt (c.3100 BC) onwards, the sedge and
the bee became part of the titulary of the King
of Upper and Lower Egypt: llcST1J-lJil ('he of
the sedge and the bee').
S. QUlRKE, I'VIIO mere the pharaohs? (London,
1990), 11, 23

Sekhemib sec

I'ERIBSEN

Sekhemkhet (2648-2640 HC)

One of the principal rulers of the 3rd D}naSI)',
whose reign probably lasted for only abollt
eight years. It has been suggested that he nu)'
be the same ruler as Djoserti (or Djoscrtcti)
whom the TURIN ROYAL CANON, ;t king list preserved on a papyrus dating (Q the reign of
Rameses II (1279-121.1 Ilc), lists as the successor of "Jo",,,{ Netjerikhet (2667-264R He). It
was Sckhcmkhet who sent one of the ei.lrlics t
expeditions to the TURQ..UOISE mines ;11 \Vadi
l\Ilagham in the Sinai, where three rock-car vcd

SEKHEM SCEPTRE

SELKIS

depictions of the king (still ill si/II) show him in

the act of smiting an Asiatic prisoner.
His unfinished step-pyramid complex lies

the Theban triad (A,\IUN, l\lIUT and KHONS)

became correspondingly more important and
began to 'absorb' the attributes of other
deities. This meant that Sekhmet was increasingly represented as an aggressive manifestation of the goddess Mut, and large numbers of
statues of the lioness-goddess were therefore
erected by A,\lE.'IHOTEP 1lI (1390-1352 BC) both
in the temple of ivlut at K.AR~i\K and in his
mortuary temple in western llIEBF-<i.
j. YorulTE, tUne monumentalc litanie de granit:
Ics Sekhmcr d'Amcnophis UI et la conjuration
permenanrc de la dcesse dangereuse', BSFE
87-8 (1980), 46-75.
P. GER\10;-":O, Sekhmct et Ill. pro/eetion du 11Iomle
(Gene"",1981).

close to the southwest corner of the Step

Pyramid of his predecessor, Djoser, at
SA~\RA; it waS excavated by Zakaria Goneim
during the period 1951-9 and by JeanPhilippe Lauer in 1963-76. Sekhemkhet's
name was found inscribed on the clay stoppers of jars from the pyramid. The burial
chamber contained a closed travertine sarcophagus with a wreath placed on top, which
was nevertheless found to be completely
empty, suggesting that either the burial chamber or the sarcophagus may have been duplicates, perhaps serving some ritual purpose or
designed to fool tomb-robbers. In the socalled Isollth mastaba' at the south end of Lhc
enclosure (similar to that in Djoser's complex), the excavations revealed a wooden coffin of 3rd Dynasty type, which waS found to
contain the skeleton of an eighteen-monthold child of unknown identity.
.M . Z. GONEIM, The buried pyramid (London,
1956).
- , Horus Sekhem-khet: the unfinished step
pyramid (/,t Saqqara I (Cliro, 1957).
J.-P. LAUER, 'Recherchc ct decouvcrte du
tombeau sud de PI Torus Sekhem-khet a
Saqqarah', /11 E 48-9 (1969), l21~31.
1. E. S. EDWARDS, The pyramids ofEgypt, 5th cd.
(Harmondsworlh, 1993),58-65.

sekhem sceptre
Symbol of power which was sometimes
shown in the hand of the king from the Early
Dynastic period (3100-2686 BC) onwards,
but which also served as il badge of office for
the highest officials, who are commonly
shown holding it in funerary reliefs. Whcn
the king held :1 sekhe11l sceptre in his right
hand he would usually hold a MACE or Censer
in the left, whereas officials generally held
only a staff in the left hand if the seklre11l was
in the right.
The term sekhem meant 'power' or 'might'
and was associated with a number of deities (as
well as being incorporat"ed into such royal
names as SEKIIEMKIIET). Thus the name of the
(joness-goddess SEKJ-IMET means 'she who is
powerful', while the god OSIRIS was sometimes
described as 'great sekhem who dwells in the
THINITE nome'. 'T'he term was also associated
with ANUBIS, another god of Abydos, who, as
god of the underworld and Khcntimentiu
C'chief of the westerners'), had a particular
association with the royal cemetery and the
supposed burial place of Osiris at Abydos. The
seklz em sceptre was sometimes depicted
behind the reclining figure of Anubis.

Stele o/Sarenenlltet, steward of/Ire dOl/ble

showing him sea.ted and holding a
sekhem saplre. 12tlr Dyllasl)', c. 1950 IJC,
limestone,from AkJldos, II. 52 em. (...1,)85)

grtllWfY,

Occasionally the sceptre was shown with two

eyes or a face carved into it.
The sceptre also playcd a role in the mortuary cult, in that it was often held by individuals making offerings. It appears that the sceptre was waved over the items being offered to
the 1(;\ of the deceased. A gilded sekhem sceptre
was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun
(1336-1327 BC; KV 62), and on its back were
carved five registers showing a slaughtered
bull, which may possibly have signified the
number of times that the sceptre was waved
during the offering ritual.
R. H. \>VILKINSO:"l", Reading Egyptiall art
(London, 1992), 182-3.

Sekhmet (Sakhmet)
Lioness-goddess whose name simply meant
'she who is powerful'. She personified the
aggressive aspects of fcmale dcities and acted
as the consort of PTAH and probably the
mother of NEFERTEM in the IV[emphite TRIAD.
She WilS usually portrayed as a woman with II
lioness's head but, as the daughter of the sungod RA, she was also closely linked wil-h the
royal IIraeus in her role as the firc-breathing
'EYE OF RA' (sec also WAnjYT). The PYRAI\IID
TEXTS twice mention that the king was conceived by Sekhmet.
Because of the rise to power of the Thcban
rulers of the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC),

7")0 sllltuesofthe goddess Sekhmelfro11l Thebes.

/8th DYllast)', c./-IOO Be,

11.

2./8 Ill, 2.28 Ill.

(r,,62,80)

Selkis see SElue"T

Semainean see PREllYNAST1C

PERIOD

Semerkhet .2900 BC)

Penultimate ruler of the 1st Dynilsty, who succeeded ANEDJm on the throne and waS probably buried in Tomb u at Abydos. His name is
not listed on the Saqqara Tablet (a Ramesside
KING LIST) and, in contrast to the other IstDynasty rulers, no MAS'lj\BA tombs of his reign
257

SENUS~

SEMNA

have yet been <.liscovcrcd at Saqqara; it has

therefore been suggested that he usurped

Ancdjib's jubi1cc vessels in order to bolster
somewhat shaky claims to the thronc_ On the
other hand, his lIes11J-/li, name ("he of the sedge

and bee" sec

ROY.\!. TITUL\RV),

probably that

rendered by

Scmcnptah, is
,\I,\;\IETIIO

as

Semempses, and he is also mentioned on the

P-\LER.\IO ~TO~E (35th-Dynasty king list). It is
;dso perhaps significant, in terms of his legitimacy, that his tomb 301 Abydos is larger and
more chlhoralc than that of Ancdjib.
\V. ~l. F. PETRIE, The rOJftlltombs oItltejirst
1!>lI1llSly I (London, J 900).
W. B. E.\IERY,Ardwic J:.gypt (London, 1961),

8+-6.
A.]. SIF.....n:R, Etir(}t J:.:ttJlPI (London, 19(3),

83--'1.
Semna
Fortified to\\ n established in the reign of
Sen usret I (1965-1920 BC) on the west hank of
the Nile at the southern end of a series of
FORTRESSES (ounded during the] 2th Dynasty
(1985-1795 Be) in the second-cataract area of
Lower Nubia. The Scmna gorge, at the southern edge of ancient Egypt, was the narrowest
part of the Nile valley. It was here, at this
strategic location, that the 12th-Dynasty
pharaohs built a cluster of four mud-brick
fortresses: Semna, Kumma, Scmna South and
Uronarti (all covered by the waters of Lake
Nasser since the completion of the ASWA:\
IlIGII IHM in 1971). The rectangular Kumma
fortress, the L-shapcd Scoma fortress (on the
opposite bank) and the much smaller square
fortress of Semna South were each im'cstig;lted by the American archaeologist George
"''''''''" in 1924 and 1928. Semna and Kumma
also included the remains of temples, houses
and cemeteries dating to the ::"Jew Kingdom
(1550-1069 BC), which would have been
roughly contemporary with such Lower
Nubian towns as \ \IAR \ West and SESEBISUIJI.J\, when the second cataract region had
become pari of an Egyptian 'empire', rather
than simply a frontier zone.
G. A. RE1S,\IER, 'Exe;muions in Egypt and
Ethiopia', BMI'A 22 (1925), I X-28.
D. DU,lli\\' and./. M. A. J:\NSSEI\'", Saolld
(alilrlltl.!'ms I: ,)'(,II/I1a. K/lI1IIIUI (Boston, 1960),

5-112.
B.j. KE,\IP,AIlCicl/f I:.:~JlPI: (1//(fIOllO' (!I'a
,ondon, 1989), 174-6.

G"li:ili::,{ffioll (I

Senenmut (fl. c. 1470

BC)

eh_ief steward in the reign of IIATSIIEPSCT

(1473-1458 Be), who appears to have been
born al \RI\\ \.NT of rclatiyely humble parents
(Ramose and I-Iarncfcr). I-Ie entered royal ser-

258

Qurna :lnd still preserves a rock-cm Bl.OCI\

porrraying him in his role as roral
tutor, with Neferura scated on his lap. Thi~ is
onc of six surviving block statues of Senenmut
and Neferura, :llthough the rest are freestand_
ing. About 150 OSTR.'\C-\ were found in his
tomb, including sketch-plans of the tomb
itself and v~lrious literary texts. He later began
a second grander romb (rr353) to the east of
the first court of the temple of Hatshepsul at
DEIR EL-BAJlRI, which is sometimes described
as the lsccrct tomb'. Its walls arC decorated
with scenes from the BOOK OF TIn-: OE-\D and its
roof is the earliest known 'astronomical ceiling' (see ASTRO'\:O.\IY .\KO _\STROI.CXn). The
tornb was never completed, and, Ijle the
images of Senenmut at DeiI' e1-B..lhri and elsewhere, it was defaced in antiquity. This
defacement was probably caused by some kind
of fall fi'om grace, since there is no further
record of Senenmul from late in the reign of
llatshcpsul. Neferura is not at"tested afr'cr
Hatshepsut's eleventh regnal year, and it has
been suggested that Senenmut then sought to
ally himsclf with Thutmose III (1479~1425 Be)
with whom J-Iatshepsut was supposedly (0regent. Peter Dorman has suggested that
Sencnmut may well have outlived Halshepsut
,mel conrinued ,IS an unrecorded official during
the sale reign ofThutmose [II.
\V. C. H:\y1:5, OSlral'(I (Iud n(lme Siones/rom II",
l(Jfu!J o/Sell-A/lul (IUJ. 71) ill nlehes (New 'ork.
STATUE

Sl'tlled slaille oISl'IW/11/IIl nursiug Priurcn

Ne.ferura. 10 mlwm he mas lit/or, mi/hin his rloaK.
IS/h DYl1asO" c. 1470 lie. Mad: gmnilt',Iro11/
Karl/ak (I). /1.7/ CIa. (F..J!7-1)
vice in the reign nfThutmose II (1492-1479
lie), and under Hatshepsut he became the
most influential member of the court. His
numcrous titles included the role of steward of
Amun and tutor to Harshepsut's only daughter, 'cfcrura. There is no eyidcncc that
Senenmut ever married, and he is usually
depictcd only with his parents or with
Neferura. This has led some scholars to speculate that he was the lover of Hatshepsut,
although evidence for this theory is distinctly
flimsy.
His responsibilit.ies included the overseeing
of royal building \\"Orks at Thebes, a duty mentioned on one of his many surviving sLatues. IL
was probably as a result of his influence in
construction projects that he had himself portrayed in the temple at DEIR EL-BAI UtI, although
his figures stand behind shrine doors, where
they were not readily visible. He is also credited with organizing the transport and erection
of ule rwo great" OIIELISKS of Hatshepsut in the
temple of Amun at Ki\lC\i\K.
He built two tombs for himsclf~ the first
(rr71) is high on the hillside at Sheikh Abd el-

1942).
B. PORTER and R. L. B. .1\1105S, 'Iopogmphiatl
bibliogmph)I III (Oxford, 1960), 139--42,417-18.
P. DOR.\I p~, '/11(. momw/enls o/Sem:mllu/:
probit'lrlS ill hislorit',,1 melhodology (Lomlon,
1988).
- , Till' lombsofSeuelll11l1l ( TcwYork, 1991).

Senusret (Senwosret, Senuserl, Sesostris)

'Birth name' taken by three kings of the 12th
Dynasty (1985-1795 nc).
SellllS/el I Kiteperkl/rtl (1965-1920 Be) lras
the second ruler of the 12th Dynasty, who
succeeded to the throne after the assassination
of his father '\\IE:'JE\IIIAT I (1985-195j lie),
with whom he had ruled as coregent for up to
a dccade. The unusual circumstances of his
accession form the background to the 7ftii' of
Sillll!le anel the 111slnu;/ioll (~r A111wc1II!la//. He
continued the policy of expansion in Lower
Nubia and established a garrison at the
fortress or UUIIE:'\.. As far as relations with
Syria-P;llesrine were concerned, the policy
was very different, concentrating on 11l.linraining commercial and diplomatic linkS
r,lther than <lchicving territorial gains. He
protected the Delta region and the oaseS
of the \Vestcrn Desert from Libyan in\'<lsio n

SENUSRET

gNUS RET

by means of a series of military expeditions.

He had already begun a programme of
temple construction during his corcgency
with his father, extending and embellishing
most of the major temples, including those at

ern '\!UBI.\. These three ministries (warel) were

each headed by an official and an assistant.
In the preceding two reigns, there had been
littlc military activity, and Nubian tribes had
perhaps gradu'llly moved northwards, toward
the second cataract. Senusrct III took military
action against these tribes in his eighth, tenth
and sixteenth regnal years, thus enabling the
fronticr to be established at SE.vINA, south of
the second c.1taracl. This border W;15 further
sccured by a series of eight FORTRESSES
between Scmna and BUIE', further to the
north, although it is not clear how many of
rhese were built, and how many extended, by
Senusret III, Communication between
Elephanrine and the fortresses was f.lcilit.HCd
by the cnlargement of a canal built by Pep~ I
(2321-2287 BC) ncar the island of Sehel, south
of Aswall, 50 great was his hold on Nubia that

KJ\RNAK .mel IIEJ.IOPOLIS. His pyramid complex

at EL-L1SIIT J ncar lhe new 12th-Dynasty capiml, Itj[,:l\vy, was loc:ltcd ro the south of that of
Amenemhat I; the burial chambers of both
these monuments arc currently inaccessible.
Two painted wooden figures, one wcaring the
white crown and rhe other the red crown, were
excavated from the neighbouring ~I.\ST:\IH
tomb of lhe priest Tmhut"cp; these may possibly be portraits of Senus ret 1 but have also
been interpreted as daring to the lJth D~ nasty
(1795-1650 lie).

Sel/lISrel

II

Khakheperm (1880-187-11l<:), lhe

fourdl ruler of the 12th Dynasty, sw.:cccdcd

Amenemhat Il (1922-1878 Be) after a eoregency. He constructed his funerary complex
at EL-LAlllJi'-, placing the entrance to the p~ famid not on the nonh side, as in most other
pyramids, but a short distance to the south,
perhaps because the pr,lt.:ticc of aligning the
monument \yith the circumpolar stars was
considered less important than the security of

the tomb. Stronger connections with the cult

of Osiris may be indicated by the presence of a
row of trees around the base of the pyrilI11id as
well as the first instances of balls of mud cOntaining grain (sec OSiRIS uEn). The burial
chamber, exc3,arcd by Plinders PETRIE in
1887-8, contained an empty red granite sarcophagus. In the vicinity of the.:: yalley te.::mple
Petrie also cxcantted the senlement of Kahun,
which was originally built in order to house
the community associated with the pyramid
and the royal funerary culL
During his reign, the tomb or Khnumhotep
at IlEi\'l IIJ\SA~ (11113) records the arriml of a
BEOOUl~ trading pany apparently bringing
supplies of galena for usc in cosmetics, This
incident is indicative of the fact that 5enusrct's
foreign policy was <.:hanlcLcrized by an cxpansion in commerce with western Asia and
I ubia. He 'llso inaugur<lted an ambitious irrigation systcm in the l"IWL,\l In:f.iIO'\i, which
enabled large areas of new agri<.:ulturalland to
be brought undcr cultivation.
Sellllsrel III KlllllullJrll (1874-1855 Be) succeeded Senusret II, and was to be instrumental
in re-shaping Egypt's internal and foreign
affairs. His domcstic policy cenl:n:d 011 the reorganization of the administrative system.
Since the Old Kingdom (2686--2181 BC), the
nlajor threat to royal power had probably come
from the nomarchs, the provincial governors
(sec NOMES); a shift in the.:: funerary patterns of
the C1ite (.1 decline in provincial tombs) may

IJlack graniie sl(llile oISellusreJ III. from

Deir el-flahri. 121h DyIllHlJl, c.1860 lie,
/I. 1.12 III. (Ii /(86)

LEVI'

IJEI.()\\ "lin: reamslrufled IVhiJr! Chapel of

SellllsreJ I, mhich nmsjowul il1Img111C11/J imide Ihe

3rt! pylrm oIAmcuholep

III

al Karnak. '/III:

milll h~/s oIlhe l::!{),plian

(prm.:im:es). (R 'I: .\lCIlOISO,\)

e.rlel'i!)!' is dean'flled
Iwmes

indi<.:atc that Scnusret III reduced their authority drastically by removing m~II1Y of their
established privileges. The means by which
this was achie\'ed is uncle<lr, hut henccforrh it
waS the king's \'lZIERS who o\'ersaw all branches
of administration. There were three viziers:
one ror the north, another f(>r the south and a
third for Elephantine (sec 1\5\\1\:'1) and north-

by the New Kingdom the deified Senusret was

worshipped in northern Nubia.
The king seems to havc personally led a
campaign into Palestine, .md to have taken the
town of Sekmem, probably to be equated with
Shechcm in the Mount Ephraim region. This
is the only recorded campaign in western Asia
during his rcign, although useful insights

259

SERAP~

SENWOSRET

concerning attitudes tow<lrds foreign enemies

arc provided by the ":XI':CRATION TEXTS, many
of which have been excavated at the Nubian
fortress of !\Jlirgissa. The names of Sckmcm,
Ashkelon, Byblos and Jerusalem are mentioned in these texts, as well as many of the
Nubian peoples, including the Kushitcs and
the MEDJAr.
Senusret constructed a temple to J\llontu,
god of war, at the Upper Egyptian site of
l\II'.DAl\\UI), and chose DAIIS'I R, al the southern
end of the Mcmphite necropolis, as the site of
his pyramid complex. The pyramid itself,
however, has suffered from the O\'crze.llous
investigations of Richard Vyse and John
PeTTing, causing damage to its already weathered profile. In 1894-5 Jacques de l\!lorgan
undertook a more careful investigation, discovering a wealth of JEWEI.J.ERY in Ihe tombs of
women of the royal family in the vicinity. The
site has recently been re-examined by Dieter
Arnold on behalf of the MetTopolitan
Nluscum of Art, New York. Although the
superstructure of the pyramid is in poor condition the subterranean chambers of thc king
arc spectacular; the corridors are lined in fine
white limestone, with a granite burial chamber
and sarcophagus. 110wcvcr, [here is no evidence that Senusret 111 was ever buried here. In
1994 the jewellery and sarcophagus of Nefrct,
the queen of Senusret III, were discovered.
After his de:lth his feats were conflated wilh
those of Scnusret I and II, and by Classical
times he was probably also confused wilh
Rameses n (1279-1213 Be). He thus eventually
beGlITIe regarded as 'high SenusreL" Ihe archetypal Egyptian ruler.
K. LA~GE, Sesostris (Munich, 1954).
P. L.\Ct\U and H. CiIE\R1ER, Vile dlllpd/e de
Sesoslris ler aKarnak, 2 \"015 (Paris, 1956-69).
G. POSENER, LiUera/ure el polililJue dans I'Egyplt'
de ta .\11 dynaMie (paris, 1956).
H. GUEDICKE, 'Remarks on Lhe hymns to
Sesostris III',JA RCE 7 (1968), 23-6.
'vV. K. SIi\II'SON, 'Scsoslris II and Sesostris III',
LexilulI1 tier Aiypt%gie v, cd. \.\1. l-Iclck, E. Ono
and W. Westendorf(Wiesb"den, 1984),899-906.
D. 'VU~DUNG, Sesosln~~ /(/U! A1I1ellemhet: ~IgYPlel1
i/1 A/lill/erell Reid! (Freiburg, 1984).

Senwosret see SENUSRET

Seqenenra Taa II (c.1560 Be)
Theban ruler of the 17th Dynasty, who began
the series of c:ll1lp:'ligns against the 11YKSQS
rulers in the Delta, which were eventually to
culminate in the liberation of Egypt by his
son AHi\IOSE I (1550-1525 Be), the first ruler
of the 18th Dynasty. The Ramesside talc of
the QJlllrrel oj Apophis lIud Seqwwra

260

(Papyrus Sallier I) consists of part of an

eccentric account of Seqenenra's struggles
with lhc l-lyksos ruler Aauserra AI)t~PI.
Although his tomb has not been located, it
probably lies somewhere in the Ora Abu c1Naga region of wcstcrn Thcbes, and fortunately his body was onc of those preserved
(along with Ahmosc I'S) in the DEIR EL-BAHKI
mummy c;'1che discovered in 1881. His head
and neck had clearly been badly wounded,
suggesting that he died in battle. A forensic
examination of the body in the early 1970s
succeeded in obtaining a good match between
the gashes :lnd the typic:ll dimensions of a
Paleslinian axe-head of the correct date, confirming the suspicion thal he died in a battle
against the Hyksos, although more recent
analysis of the skeleton has suggested that
some of the wounds had been inflicted at :I
later dalc and that he may therefore have survived the first. onslaught.
B. GLiNN and A. I L GARDINER, 'New renderings
of Egyptian texIS II: The expulsion of the
T-lyksos',JEA 5 (1918), 36-56
1T. WINI.OCK, 'The tombs of the kings of the
seventeenth dynasty atThebes',JEA 10 (1924),
217-77.
Nt BIETAK and E. STROUIII\I., 'Die
]bdesllmsliinde des Pharaohs Seqllencnre (17.
Dynastic)', A//Im/ell des Nt/turhislorischm
Jl1.usel/11/. "Vif!1I78 (I 97-l), 29-52.
C. Vt\:,\,DERSLEYF.J\i, 4Un seul roi T<t<t SOLIS b lie
dvnastie', eM 63 (1983), 67-70.

1 entrance
2 burial made under
cambyses (27th
Dynasty)
3 bUrial made Under
Ahmose II (26th
Dynasty)
~

4 last Apis burial of

the 30th Dynasty

~
~

50

100m

Serabit el-Khadim see TURQUOISE

PllllI

Serapeum

burial of Prince Khaemwaset, a SOil ofR\\lESES

(1279-1213 Be), who h"d been respunsible
for constructing some of these \"aults.
The Serapeum serving as the cult centre of
Scrapis W:lS located at AI.EXA~DRL-\, close to
Pompey's pillar, bUI it was sacked by
Christians when Theodosius (.11) 379-95)
issued an edict in AD 391, ordering il to be
razed to the ground, and only Ihe subterranean seclion has survived. Some of the
underground chambers served for jadal burials associated with lhe temple of Ai\"uUIS, while
other parts were shelved to hold the temple
1.IBlV\RY. Viilh the spread of the cult of Serapis,
other such cult-centres were conslructcd,
including one at the Greek holy site of Delos,
which was founded by ill1 Egyptian priest in
the lhird century HC
A. MAR1ETrE, Le ScmpclIl/I tie /vle1lfplu\ cd.
G. Maspero (Paris, 1882).
E. nITO, Beilrtige ZlIr Geschicllte tleJ SliaJ.:lIlte ill
Agyptell (Berlin, 1938).
j. VERCOUTrER, 'Tex/es biogmphiqueJ tin Simpiul/I
de Memphis (Paris, 1962).

Term usually applied to buildings associated

with the cull of the ,\PIS bull Or that of the later
syncretic god SER!\I'15. The Memphite
SerapeuJ1l al SAQQARA, !.he burial-place of the
Apis bull, consists of a seric.c;; of catacombs to
the northwesl of the Step Pyramid of Djoser.
From the 30th Dynasty onwards, funerary
processions would have approached the
Serapcum via a rlr011l0:i (sacred way) running
from the cit)' of Memphis t.o the Saqqara
plateau.
The Saqqara Serapeul11 was excavated in
185J by Auguste Mariette, who was led to the
site through his discovery of traces of some of
the sphinxes lining the drrJlllOs, which arc faithfully described by the Greek writer STRA130
(e.63 HC-AD 21). The eat"eombs date baek at
least as carll' as the 18th Oyn"sty (15501295 Be) and continued in use until the
Ptolemaic period (332-30 HC); they contain
many massive granite sarcophagi weighing up
to 80 tons, although all but one had been
robbed of their burials. Marietre also found the

It

of the SUlipelll1/ {II S(lqqam.

gRAPIS

M.

MALININI::,

SEREKH

G.

POSENER

and]. VERCOUTJ'E\{,

Cala/ogue ties stiles till St1rapiu11l de jlrlemphis',

2 vols (Paris, 1968).
FRASER, PtQlemaic Ale.l"lIlld,.;a I (Oxford,
1972),246-76.

P. M.

Tlfe underground catacomb knuwn lIS the

Serapeum mas lite burial plate of/Itt' Apis bill/s.
Near the en/nmre. niches mhich ollce rOlllainetl
rOIi've stelae C{lU be S('('11, along l1Jilh the lid of(jilt:
o/Ilre 11/assiv(' bull sarcophagi. (p. T. NIC]IOI..'.;oN)

Serapis (Sara pis)

Composite god resulting from the fusion of

ti,e Egyptian god Osorapis (himself combinOSIRIS and AlliS) with attribules of
a number of Hellenistic gods, notably Zeus,
Helios, Hades, Asklepios and Dionysus. From
the laner, Osorapis took solar, funerary, healing and fertility <lSpcctS, although in fact he
already encompassed some of these. The fertility aspect of the god is emphasized by his
protection of Ihe corn supply, denoted by a
COrn measure (see I\IQOILS) on his head.
Serapis is first attested in the reign of
PTOLEMY I Sotcr (305-285 Be) and was considered to be representative of the essence of
Egyptian religion, while at the same time
blending it with Greek theology. Unlike the
Apis bull, the main cull-centre of Scrapis was
nOt at Memphis or Saqqara but at the
Alexandrian SERAI'EUi\t, which runctioncd as
an important centre of learning. His consort
Was ISIS, whose cult W~lS also popular among
the Romans, and the pair came to embody the
natural forces of male and fem~lle fenilirv. In
~lexandrian iconography they were s~mc
tllYles represented on c100r jambs as a pair of
ing the gods

human-headed serpents, the bearded one representing Serapis. His cult was adopted by the
Romans, and spread very widely through the
empire. One text mentions a temple of
Serapis in Britain, and indeed a sculpted head
of the god was found at the Walbrook
IVlithraeum in London. 'The Romans thus
appear to have kept ~'di"e the very Egyptian
animal deities that they. are initially said to
han" despised.
L. VID.\IAN, Js/~~ Ulltl SlIrtlpis be; dell Crirchell Ulltl
R()'mem (Berlin, 1(70).
P. Nt. FRASI':R, P,(}lell/air Alexandria I (Oxford,
1972),24&-76.
J. E. S'I:-\t\UHUGII, Sarapis /Imler Ihe ear(J'
PlOlemu:s (Leiden, 1972).
\V. I IOI{J'\BOSTEI., Surt/pis (Lciden, 1(73).
G. J. F. KI\TER-SIIIIIES, Prelimilltfl]! wlalogue (~r
Sart/pis /lIn/wlllents (Leidcn, 1(73).

serdab (Arabic: 'cellar'; Eg\'ptian per-Iml:

'statue-house')
Room in .\lASTABA rombs of the Old Kingdom
(2686-2181 BC), where statlles of lhe KA orthe
deceased were usually pl<lccd. There were
oftcn eye-holes (known as the 'eyes of the I.!ahouse') or a narrow slit in the wall of the
chamber, both enabling the ita to leave the
chamber and allowing offerings to pass
through to the st'atues from the tomb chapel.
'The earliest sl'1'dabs in private masraba tombs
date to the {th Dynasty (2613-2494 BC).
A. ~ I. BL.\CK,\l.o\l'\, \The b-house and rhe
serdab',]EA 3 (1916), 250-1.
G. A. REISNEI{, The derelopl/lI.:II1 (~tlhe Egypliall
lomb dOl1JlIlO Ihe aac.I'sioll o/Chcop.l' (Cambridgc,
MA, 1936),267-9.
A. J. SPE"ICER, Delllh iI/ ancie11l EgYPI
(Harmondsworth, 1982), 60- I.
serekh
Hieroglyphic symbol comprising the recessed
panelling described in modern timcs ~lS
'palace-fac;ade' decoration, which is belicved
to ha\'c been modelled on the design of Lhe
earliest royal residcnces. The palace-fal,;ade
design is imitated in mud-brick on the mastaba
tombs of Ihe Early Dynastic period (31002686 BC) and Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BC),
on E-\LSE I)OOR stelae, COFFI'JS, s~1rcophagi and
numerous other funerary and ceremonial contexts throughout Egyptian history.
The term is usually employcd to refcr to a
rectanguhtr frame surmountcd by the I I(lRUS falcon, within which the king's 'Horus nallle' was
written (sce ROYAl. TITUL\RY). This frame seems
to have effectively symbolized the domain of
Horus, the royal residence. Occasionally the
royal name in its serekh surmounted by Horus
was combined with;] sculpture as in the statue

Granite slele bearing Ihe serekh ~lRalleb.rrom

,Hi/rahinll (A/Jemphis). 2nd DY1lfIS~}I, c.2850 lie,
1/99 em. (IIETROPOU1:J.\" iIlUS/;,L-.Il, .vEil' )'URK,
JOSf:I'lI p["UnE EQUEST /960.60.114)
of the 6th-Dynasty ruler Pepy I (2.121-2287 Be;
Brooklyn iVluseulll, New York), wherc it forms
I he back of his throne. Such iconography is
typical of the close relationship between
Egyptian ART and writing. J\10re spectacular
examples are the monumcnral falcon panels
which formcd part of a palacc-fas:ade wall for
the enclosure of the pyramid complex of
Senusrel 1(1965-1920 BC) at EL-USHT.
For a bricf period, in the 2nd Dynasty
(2890-2686 BC), SETtt replaced Horus as the
god surmounting the serekh (see PEI{IBSEN and
KliASEKHEM\vY), thus transforming it into a
'Sc..h name', but the changc was short lived.
The Horus name continued to be written in a
serekh even after the introducrion of the CARTOUCHE for the 'birth' and 'throne' namc.'i.
\\'. Kt\ISEK, 'Einige BClllcrkungcn zur
agyptischcll Fr(ihzcit Ill. die Rcicheinigung',
Z.,{~91 (196-1),86-125.
R. II. \VILKINSO<,\, 'The IIorus name and the
form and sibrnificance of the serckh in the royal
Egyptian rirulary',]SSEA 15 (1985), 98-104.
\V BJ\Rll-IA, 'Del' Pabsthorustitcl und seinc
Vorl:iufer in der Fruhzeit', GM 117-18 (1990),
55-8.
S. QUIRK..t:, IV/If) mere the pharaohs? (London,
1990),19-23.
A. O'BRlEN, 'The Serekh as an aspect of the
iconography of early kingship' ,lARCE 33
(1996),123-38.
261

SERKET

SERPENT,S~

serpent. snake
As in most cultures, the snake W.IS regarded b"
the Egyptians as.1 source of evil and danger; i't
was the prim:ipal ttlI'm of thc god \1'01'111.\ Who
thrcarened the sun-god during his \'oyagc
through the netherworld (sec Fl"'I-.R \IW
TEXTS). In the same \\"ay thar thl: Scorpion_
deities SI:RK.ET and Shed were worshipped and
propitiated in order fo aycrt the danger pOsed
by their ph~ sical manifest<1lions, So prJ\'crs
and offerings were made to Ihe serpem-~od_
dcsscs RE...'\E'\LTET and \IERETSElit:R, su "'that
snake-biles could be avoided or (lIrel!. There
was also J snake-god called :"Jehebkaw, firs!
attested in the I'YRA1\lID TJ':XTS of thl' hlte 5th
and 6th Ornasl)' (c.2375~2181 ilL). It
not
until the Third Intermediate Period
(1069-747 Ile) thaL Ihe first amulcts of
Nehcbkaw wcre m'ldc, usually rcpreseming
him as a man wilh a snake's head and "lil.
The most highly regarded serpcnt-dcirr
was the cobra-goddess \\"'\I)J' T, who was th~
patroness of Lower Egypt and, along \\ ith the
vulwrc-goddess i\'EKIIHET, a symbul of the
king's rule over the two lands or Egypt. The
IIra('l/.~ (cobra), traditionally poised at thl' ron:head of the pharaoh as a potent s~ mbol of his
""GSIIIP, W.IS gi\'en the epithcT 11'('n'l 1/('/:(1111,
'gre.ll of magic', and there wcre strong associations between serpents and the pracL.icc or
magic. A I3rh-Dynast:y bronze serpent (no\\"
in the Fitz\yilli:llll lvlusCUIll, Cambridge),
round entangled in a mass or hair in ('lomb 5'
under the Ri\i\!ESSELM at Thcbes, has bccn
interpreted ~lS a magician '5 'wancP like those
held by a statuette representing a lionesshC;lded (or lioness-masked) female magician,
which waS found in the same conlc:\t and is
now in lhe l\lanchester ~luscum (sec \1 \GIC).
A rype of stele callcd a fippus, used cluring the
Latc Periocl (747-332 Be) as a means of warding ofl' such dangers as sl1;lkes, scorpions :md
clil-ie,lSC, usually depicts Harpoa;Hcs (sec
IIORUS) holding snakcs and other desert creatures in eithcr hancl.
Serpenls were also regarded ;IS primc\";ll,
chthonic crcatures intimatclv linked \\ ilh Ihe
proccss of creat ion, thcrefo-rc the four goddesses of thc J lcrmopolitan (XiDO\!J WCfe
somctimes describcd as having snakes' hL'ilds,
and Kcmatcf~ thc cosmogonj~ aspect of Ihe
god \.\'\U;\:, took the form Of.l serpent. There
was also dlC uuroboros, the serpCTlI \\"hos c

'''IS

Serket (Selket, ScIkis)

Scorpion-goddess usually depicted as a
woman wit"h a rearing SUlltPIO.">l 011 her head,
aILhaugh, like many Egyptian goddesses, she
could also be represented as a lioness or serpent. Her name ~lppcars to be an abbrc\'i~ltion
of the phrase serltel hely' ('the one who t"auscs
the throat to breathc1)J presumably in an
attempt to neutralize the thrc.It posed by scorpions. The cult of Scrkct is ;ll'lcsted as carl~ as
the 151 Dynasty (3100-2S90 Ile), on the
inscribed funerary stele of Nlcrka from Tomb
3505 at Saqqara, and she also appears in the
I'YRAj\IIDTEXTS as the 'mistress of the beautiful
house'. This hItter epithet rc!;ltcs to her role in
the embalming process, and she was rq,rardcd
15 the protccror of the hawk-headed C,\-'OPICJ IR deity Qebehsenuef (see SO'\S OF 1I0RL:S).
Along with three other goddesses, Isis,
262

Ci/(kd aud paillln! flmodcn.figul"l'J r~rlhrcf' yItllt'

j;wr guddcJsl'J mho prYlall'd Ihe goldcn shrille (~(
TII/anNul//Ilm, il/eludil/g (li"/J/Il /t}i II} righl)
Ncilh. hi"I' ({/1(1 Sal'cl, m/um: hear! is sUI"II/(J/ilfled
kJ' (J sforpirllf. /81h Dynasly, c./336-/327 He,
II.

YO 011.

(CIIROJ1:"60686, R/:PRUIJlCf./J

COL RTE.'j) 0,.. 1"111: GRJFF17U J\'STJ71TI:..)

Nephlhys and ~cith, she was charged with

gu'lrding the royal collin and canopic chest.
Although she oftcn rC:llUres in spclJs LO cure or
avoid venomous bites (and was prohably the
patroness of magicians dealing with such
bires)) she is rarely invoked in spells relating to
scorpion stings.
E KihEI., 'La 1/cpe ('lie .wnpioll': 1Il1l1lf1j/fJgmphie
sur Ifl dc('sse Sakel (Paris, 1984).
- , /,('S prhres-olltlb de Sl'I.:lw/('1 files cmljllrcllellrs
de Seri'" (Paris, 1984).

body coiled around the universc, cventually

allowing it to bite its own tail, which sen cd as
<1 mctaphor for thc relationship bel ween neing
and non-being. This serpent, the carlie~t surviving depiction of which is on the small golden shrinc of TVT"\'JI'HA.\IL:"l' (l336-Ll27 Ile).
represented lhc powers of resurrcction ;Inc!

SSEBI-SUDLA

SSEBJ-SUDLA

..._ _
-----J

. . . .

........... ....---.
J I: :Il
~

=-----

magazines
residential areas

temple

ditch

original settlement (?)

Stele ofPtmeb. lljOrt'I1UIII ofthe !olllb-lJ'orkers
til Deir e!-AIl!d;/1(/, shaming Pauch l1'orshippillg
Ihe goddess flIal'lSeger il1lhej(Jrm (Jfa serpl'/II.
19th D),,/(/.<ty. Co//9.; IiC. II. /9.30". (Ii ,272)

renewal, ;.mcl it was thought that the regeneration of the sun-gou ""as rc-enactcd cycry night

50

within its body. \Vhilc the ouroboros cOIlYcyed

a SCIl..'iC of endless spatial length encompassing

the universe, another snake called the melmi
('double cord') ~ervcd as;l manifestation nfrhe
infinity of time, and a depiction from t.he BOOk'
of Cates in the tomb of Sety I (129+-1279 IIC)
shows the undulating coils of .1 \';lst snake
accompanied by the hieroglyphs signif~ring
'lifespan'.
J BoURRI,\U, P/wrt/ohs a"d morlals: Egyptitlll al'l ill
,Ire Middle Kingdo/l/ (Cambridge, 1988), 111-13,
S, JOHNSON, The cubm goddess (!!aJJcieut Egypt
(London, 1990).
E. HORJ'\1Li\'G. Idetl i1ll0 illlage. trans. E. Bredeck
(New York, 1992),49-51,63-4.

.\BO\'E

100

150

200 m

Plan o/Sesebi.

RIGIIT Faiel1rt' i.'CJse! d{,{ol"flll'll milh blue /olll,,,e."

}olll1d al St'scbi. Nem Killgdo11l, 111-/..1011.
(E ,6-1UJI)

The principal areas exc3\'iuecl by Aylward

Blackman and l-l. 'W. Fairman in 1936-8 \\'ere
the northwestern and southwcstern corners of
thc site. The remains in the northwestern corner of the town \\ ere dominated by a hlrge tri-

partite temple dedicated to the Theban triad

must theref()rc ha\'e bcen founded in the early years of
Akhelliltcn's reign, before his full-scale adoption of the cult of the t\TEN, The southwestern
area comprised a dense block of houses
arranged along a reguhtr grid of streets. The
examination of the central e:'lstern area of the
town has also rC\'caled traces of a small enclosure surrounded by it ditch. which may be the
remains of an earlier sertlement established in
advance of the main town,
Since the date of the town's foundation was
within ~l few years of the esmblishment of <l
new Egyptian capital city at EL-:\:\IAR,"', com('.\IL:;'-:", .\IL:T illld I..:.JIO.\S), which

Sesebi-Sudla
Walled settlement situated in the Upper
Nubian Abri-Dclgo reach) betwcen the second
and third cataracts \\"hich was founded bv the

18th-Dynasty ph:,raoh Akhenaten (1352-

1336 He). The roughly contemporaneous

Nubian towns at Bl;IIE): and \I1RGlSS~', dating
to the Ncw Kingdom (1550-1069 Be), were
essentially extensions of garrisons established

in the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 nc), but

Sesebi-Sudla was a newly established town
and very much ;l product of the New
Kingdom Egyptian policy of colonization of
Nubia. It covered .In area of more than fiyc
hectares and the population has been estimat-

ed at about 1000-1500.

parisons between (he twO sitcs are potentially

re\"ealing. The fe\\' elite houses at SesebiSudla, unlike the villas in the main city at el-

263

.~SB.!:!

o:S.:::Eo:S:.:H.:.:A"-T

Amarna, wcre not set in extensive private gar-

Sesostris sec SEI'USttET

dens, and many of the smaller houses, like

those in the Thcban workmen's village at DEBt

were regularly furnished with cellars. The colony as a whole showed signs of
'careful, regular and cconomlc planning',
making it rnore similnr to the peripheral workmen's \'ilhlge at c1-Amarna Lhan the main city.
EL-,\IEDINI\,

These fUI1chlmcnral differences suggest that

Ihe town of Sesebi-Sudla was probably a spe-

cialized, stare-run community rather than

simply a cross-section of Egyptian society
fmnsplanrcd into Upper iubia.
A. T.. BI.;\cI'.\I.\:'\, 'Preliminary fCP0rl on the
CXC3\"alions al Scscsbi, :\orthern ProYince,
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, 1936-7',]EA 23 (1937),
145-51.
H. \V. Fi\I~\l \'-, 'Prdiminar) report on the
excavations al Sescbi (Sudla) and "Amarah 'Vest,
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, 1937-8',]EA Z+ (1938),
1.;1-6.
R. iVloRJ..:OT, 'The excavations al Sesebi (Sud I,,)
1936-38" l3eill'iige ::;111' Sw!al(f{I/'sdlllllg 3 (1988),
I 59-H

Seth (SCI, Setekh, Sut,, Sutekh)

God of chaos and confusion, \\"ho was general-

I)' depicled with" human borly but wilh the

hcad of a mysterious animal, often described
as 'l~'phonian' (because of his later idenrific:ltinn with the Greek god T\phon). With ils
long nose and squared ears, the 'Seth animal'
has sometimes been comp:lred with an
anteater, but was probably a completely mythical beast. Thc full animal form of the god \\"as
depiclcd with an crect forked tail and a canine

Seshat
Goddess of writing and measurement, usually represented as a woman clad in a long
panther-skin dress and wearing :1 headdress
consisting of a band surmoumed by a se\"cnpointed star and a bow, From at least thc 2nd
Ovnast)' (2890-2686 BC) on warcls she was
recorded as assisting the pharaoh in the
f(mndation ritual of 'stretching the cord' (see
.\STRO'\O,\IY \:'\'1) .\STROLOGr), although the
goddess Sefkhet-!\bw)' ('she ,yho has laid
aside the [two] horns') sometimes replaced
her in Ihis role. Temple reliefs of the Old and
;vliddle Kingdoms (2686-1650 He) show her
in the act of recording the quantities of
foreign captives and booty in the aftermath
of military campaigns, bUI in the New
Kingdom (1550-1069 Be) she became mueh
more 'lssoci,ltcd with the SED FESTfY:\1, (thc
royal jubilee ritual); she is thercf()re often
depicted with thc notched palm rib that
traditionally represented the passing of time,
,md, like her male equiyalenl TI lOTI I, she
\\",1S somctimes shown writing the names of
thc king on the leaves of the persea tree
(sec TllEI':S),
R. E;,\,liEWi\Cl1, 'A foundation scene of the
second dymlsly',JEA 20 (1934),183-4.
G. A. W..\ INWl{IGlIT, 'Seshal and the pharaoh',
lEA 26 (19+0). 30--40.
H. BONNET, Real/e.rikoll der /(!!,yp/iSL'hen
Religio//sgeschicllle (Berlin, 1952),699-70]
W. HI~LCK, 'Seschat', Lexikon der AgJlp/o!ogii' ,;
ed. W. I leick, E. Ono and W. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1984),88+-8.
264

Limes/Oflt! .cleft' oI.-IaprhtJ', fI roy,,! CmfiSmll11,

s!wlJ1ing him adoring lltt' god Snit. Tlte (Tafimum$
IUllI/i' is (I pll'.)' on Ihe phrase aa-pehty II/eaniug
~r:re(ll ofslrwgtlt', oue oftltt' epithelS ofSeih mhQ,
ill Rall/e.uidt., linu's, became a patroll ofEg)lpl
"long millt Anllm, Ra lIlId Pltlk 19,h DJ'nfls~J"
c./200 /lC,]i'OIll Thebes. /I. 21.2 fill. (.43.,360)
body, bur he was also occ<.lsionally representcd
in the guise or other abhorred animals, such as
t.he hippopotamus} pig and donkey. The earliest known representation of Seth takes the
rorm of a carved iyory artefact (perhaps a
comh) from Tomb 1l2Y at cl-Nlahasna} dating
to rhe ""(!!"),, I period ('.4000-3500 BC), while
the distinctive figure of the Scth-animal is also
porrrayed on the macehead or the Protodynastic ruler SCORPION ('.".3150 JK:).
According to surviving religious texts, Seth
was the son of the sky-goddess J'\UT, the
brother of OSIRIS, ISIS and i'\EPHTHYS (the latter
being also his wire), and was said to havc been

born in the region of i'\AQ!\DA. Since the deserts

and foreign lands werc equated with enmit\" in
the Egyptian world ,"iew, Seth hecamc pa;ron
of such countrics, and was aJso sometimes
associated with the foreign goduesses ''\AT
and -\Sli\J{TE.
According to legend, Seth was supPo...ed to
h:we murdered his brother Osiris and [htn to
havc eng;.lged in a long and \'ioleot contest
with his nephew HORes, who sought to ~n'cnge
the death of his father. In this contest, Seth
pur out the eye of Horus, while thc laner castrated Seth, part or whose ,"iolent nature probably dCl'i,-cd frolll his sexual poten('~, It has
bccn suggested, in this contcxt, thal thc struggle bel ween the two gods may ha\"c scn cd as a
melaphor for the rolc of male SEXL'-\I.IT, in thc
cult of the Egyplian king, Tn the ,arious contests, Seth look on many forms, including
those of a black boar <md 1-111'1)01'0'1'..\ \tLS, and it
is common to sec Horus spearing him in onc
of these animal guises, as in thc ambuh11UI'\' of
the temple of J-Torus at rlWL, Evenltl<lll~ 'the
g'ods were called upon to judge "'hieh uf the
t \Yo should be the earthly ruler. Despite his
great: c"il, Seth was favoured by I~\ on ,H;Count
of his scniority, However, it \yas eventuJlly
decreed that Horus should be the ruler of rhe
living (hence his idemificarion "'jth lile king)
while Osiris would gO"ern the underworld
(hence his identification with the dead king).
As god of chaos and confusion, Serh lay outside the ordered uni\"ersc, thus sen ing as a
necessary cmnplcmcnt to the diyinL' order,
since cycryLhing within the Egyptian system
needed an opposing force in order to maint:1in
rhe necessary balance (see DL"o\un ).
Despite his failure to gain the lIuune Seth
was said to hare remained a 'comp;mion of
Ra', dwelling with him and causing storms
and bad wcather. He is also supposcd to hare
journeyed with the sun-god in his Ao\R!\
through the twdyc hours of the night. In this
context his \"iolent nature ,,"as put 10 good usc,
defending Ra from the coils of the :-.crpcnt
;\POPIIlS, whom he speared from the bow of rhe
boat. Since the dececlsed king '1lso journeyed
with Ra, he too enjoyed the protection ofSerh,
Similarly Seth might be called upon to proviele good wcarher by withholding [he Ch<.lotic
aspect of his character that would usually h.l\'C
instigared storms.
Despite his unsavoury reputalion, Seth waS
nevertheless the object of veneration; his cult
had been centred at Naqada since rhe
PredYTlastic period, as well as in the northeastern Delta. The 2nd-D\'nast\ ruler
Peribsen chose to write his pri~cipal'nall1c in
a SEKEKII surmounted bv an image of Seth
rather than Horus, in a ~'adical change front

SEXUALITY

traditional iconography, while his successor,

placed images of both gods
above his name. Thereafter, however, the
serekh remained uniquely associated with
Horus.
In the Second lnrcrmcdiate Period
(165(1-]550 lie) Seth was worshipped by the
HYKSOS at A\"aris (TELl. EI.-Dr\H'A), perhaps
because he was a thunder-god, like the
Levamine deity, Baal. He was also ,"cIlerated
by the rolers of the 19th and 20th Dynasties
(1295-1069 BC), some of whom took his name,
as in the case of Se,,' t (129+-1279 BC) and
Sethnakhte (1186-1184 BC), The rulers of this
period occasionally made reference lo the
strength of Seth when describing their own
deeds in battle,
FrOiTI the late T'hird Intermediate Period
(c.800 Be) onwards, there appears to have been
a change in the way mat Seth wus viewed.
Whereas pre,'iousl)' he had been regarded
simply as an ambi\-alent force, avoided for
most purposes but im"oked for others, he
began instead to be seen as c\-il and undesirable, to the extent fhar some of his statues were
rccarved Wilh the attributes of the god Amun,
and his defeat by Horus was widely celebrated.
H. TE VELDE, Seth, god ofro/lfmioll (Leidcl1,
1967),
C. ON:\SO I, 'Ocr iigyprische und der biblische
Seth', Archij; jiir PapyrusfiJrsdlll11g 27 (1980),
99-119,
S. QUIRKE, AI/elml Egyptj{f/l religioll (London,
1992),61-70,
KHASEKHE\I\\ Y,

Sety
'Birth name' forming part of lhe RorAI. TITULARY of two phan.lOhs of the 19th Dynasty
(1295-1186 BC),
Sel)' I Mellllllll/im (129+-1279 BC) "as the
second ruler of the 19th Dynasty, the son of
RAMESES I and the father of Ramcscs II. His
COREGE.I'\'cr with his father appears 10 havc
lasted virtually from the beginning of the
dynasty, perhaps in <l conscious effort to avoid
the problems of succession I hat had COIltrihuted to the decline of the 18th-O,'nast)'
royal family. The concern wilh historil:al continuity is e\ident in his temple at. :\BYDOS,
where the (;ult of the royal ancestors was celebrated with a relief sho~Ying his son reading a
papyrus inscribed with the IKlllles of sixtyseven predecessors stretching back to the
sem.i-mythical t-.ll:i\I:S (sec J'1i\'U L1~TS).
His reign seems to h3ye been successful on
virtually all levels, with miliwry campaigns in
the Levant and wars ,,-ith the L1BY,U';S and
IIrnTrF.5 effccliveh- securin cr the countn"s
sphere of innucnc~ in nortl; Africa and ~he
Near East. In terms of architecture, the reliefs

IValerr%llr /~}I Hem)1 SaIl oia srwe in 1he lomb

(?fSety f al Thebes, pail/ted c./8/8.

in his temple at Abydos and the paintings in

his tomb in the VALU:V OF TilE KISGS (KvI7)
were among the most elegant of the ;\Ie\y
Kingdom. His mummy was among the group
which survived the tomb-robbery of the Third
Intermediate Period (l069-7{7 HC) through
reburial in the 'DEIR EL-B:\IIRI cache'.
Sel)' /I Userkliepel'llrn Selepwra (12001194 BC) 'YOS the designated heir of
,\IERI':NPC\1I (1213-1203 He), but it seems
likely that he was initially prevented from
reigning by the emergence of a rival claimant
called Amenmessu, son of a relatively
unknown daughter of Rameses II. AboUI li\e
years after the death of \1erenptah, Sety
finally became king, .md there is suni\-ing
cyidence of work which he commissioned at
Karnak and the Ramesseul11_ His tomb in lhe
Valley of Ihe Kings (KrI5) was never C0111pleted but the standard of the reliefs all the
walls was high. His mummy waS among those
re-interred in the tomb of :\.\IE'\J-10TEP II in
the 21st Oynast\- (1069-9{5 BC),
H. CJIT:TRIER, Le temple repo.wir tit' Siti tt (Gliro,
19{0),
A. R. D:\nD, A guitle to religiollJ ritual tit A/~)ldoJ
("-arminstcr, 1981).
E_ IJoR::'\L'G, The tomb oISeti I (Zurich and
;\lunieh,1991),
K. A. KrrOll':N, Ralllesside illsaiptiolls, 7 "Dis
(Oxford, 1993),

sexuality
Until comparati\'cly recently it was often
implied that the ancient Egyptian 3ttimdes to
sexuality were somewhat nai\e or coy. It is

now recognized, however, thar the Egyptians'

vicw of sexual behaviour was relatively uninhibited and straightforward; like most societies, they applied their code of [TIIICS to certain aspects of sexuality, in thai" adultery was
not condoned and sexual intercourse in
sacred places W;,1S prohibited, bur their general attitude was distinctly pragmatic and
unprudish.
Sexuality and fertility were clearly of great
significance in many of their religious beliefs.
The ithyphallic god l-lI:'oJ was a popular symbol
of fertility, to whom cos lettuces were offered,
allegcdly because the white sap of the lettuce
was identified with semen. 'The Egyptians
were a\yare that semen (I11W) was lhe male contribution to conception, althuugh they also
believed that the semen emerged from a man's
bones and thus pro\'ided the child with its
skelcton, while women were thought to supply
the baby's soft r.issues. As far as contraception
was (;()Ilcerned, some of the surviving 'medical
papyri' prescribe recipes for porions to avoid
pregnancy.
From at least the Badarian period onwards,
figurines of womcn, made from clay, wood,
ivory or stone, were included among funerary
equipment. These were often highly stylized
and generally emphasized one or more of the
sexual characteristics. The interpretJrion of
the various different types of 'fertility figurines' has prmcd exrremely difficult. 1\vo
areas of confusion have persisted until recent
times: on the one hand, some figures were
described by their excavators as 'dolls' and
therefore incorrectly viewed as TOYS; on the
other hand, e\-en when their sexual significance was re(;ognized by schohus, they were
often automatically assumed to have been
265

SHABA(~O

intended for the posthumous sexual gratification of the deceased (despite the fact that the\'
h,we been found in the tombs of women as
well as men).
fr is now bclic,-ed by most Egyptologists
that the flulCtion of stich female figurines
within the tomb was to reinforce or symbolize
the sexual aspects of regeneration and rebirth.
There arc a number of specialized types such
as rhe wooden 'paddle dolls', so called because
of their shape, which have been found mainly
in 11 rh-Dynasry Theball romhs. Another very
common 1\liddle Kingdom type, often misleadingly described as 'concubines of the
dead', consisLed of cby or faience female fjgures, often trum.:atcu at the knees, which were
found in both tombs and houses.
i\ lcdical papyri make it clear that physicians
were famili.u- with the male sexual organs but
less so with the femillc genimlia. The hieroglyphic sign shmying fcmale genitalia was
often used for the word Iwoman', \\-hilc the
erect penis was somel"imcs lIsed to denote
'milk' or 'husband'. The two hkrog'lyphs \\'ere
occasioll'111y even supcrimposcd to express
sexual intercourse. The an in tcmples ilnd
Tombs frequently depicts or alludes to the sexual act. Til the temple of Harhor at DE'\!DI':IU,
for example, ISIS, in the form of a kite, is shown
poised 011 the phallus of thc mummificd OSIRIS
as pan of the Osiris myth. Similarly, the coffin
of Ihe deceased might be identified \yith the
sky-goddcss XLT, ilS though the deccilsed h'1d
returned to her hody to await rebirth.
Homosexuality was not unknown, .lOd
tendcd to be described somewhat disapprm'ingly, as in the .utcmpred rape of the god
J IORl;S by his enemy SETlI. The Greek historian Herodotus made reference to the practice
of bestiality in Egypt, hut his reliability in this
matter is uncertain, and hc may cvcn ha\'c
been conf"using mythologic;ll references and
ritual acts with actual sexual preferences.
P. J. UCKO, Alllhropoll/nrphic./igurim'J oJ
Prer(J"/11J1ic Egyp/ {Iml .\'l'(it;fhit Grelt' (London,
1968).
H. BRl "ER, 'Fruchrbarkcit', l,cxiI'OI/ tier
.lgYPfolfigic II, cd. \\'. I leick, E. Otto and
\\'. \\'eslCndorf (\\-icsbaden, 1977), 336--I-L
L. .\ l\, 'lOll:, Scxualliji' il1 til/cit.", Egypl
(London, 1987).

Shabaqo (Shahab) (7 I(}-702 BC)

Second ruler of the Egyptian 25th Dynasl~
(747-6.56 lIe). He rose 10 power O\-cr the kingdom of '\PH\ afler the deilth of his brother
PlY (747-716 BC:), who had ah'ead~ conquered
Egypt but apparently failed to consolidate his
milimry success. Shabaqo soon re-c.'itablished
control over Lower Egypt, defeating his main

266

SH\~

rival , the 24th-Dynasty Saire king Bakenrcnef

(Boeehoris; 720-71 5 Be) and replacing him
with a Kushite gO\-crnor. Throughout his
reign he made many additions to Egyptian
temples, such as those at _\IE\IPIIIS, _-\BYDOS and
Esn.1, while at J'ARi'\ \1( he erected a 'treasury'.
The 'archaism' that characterized the art and
architecture of the 25th and 26th Dynastics
was already .1pparent in the reign of Shabaqo,
particularly in the case of the 'ShabaClo Stone'
(now in the British lVluscum), an account of
the creation of the universe by the god Prnh
which was inscribed on a slab of basalt and
claimed to be copied from an old worm-eaten
document.
Shabaqo appointed his son, Horemakhct, ro
thc post of High Priest of Amun at Thebes,
although the rloa} power in the Theban region
still lay in the hands of Shabaqo's sister,
Amenirdis I, the Gon's \\ WE or .\\IL-~, who
constructed a monu;try chapel and tomb Ii)!'
herself within the precinct's of .\II])I'ET J I \IlL.
\Vhen Shahaqo died, he was buried in a pyramidal rumb at the Napamn royalnccropolis of
1':L-h:CRnli and \\'"s succeeded by Piy's SOil
Shabitqo.
K. A. KrrCl-II~~, The Third IIIIallft'd;lIlt' Period ill
Egypt (1101J-650 lie), 2nd cd. (Warminster,
1986),378-1G.

Shabtis (~rlhl' prillfl!ss J-lellllIJl1e1~)11 tlmllllt'lm.\';1I

mIJirh they l1'UC (oll/ff;ffed. rIJt' bnx -"IJml's Ita
adoring Ihl'jackal-headed Dutlllllllelalld Ihe
Illf1}f{f1l-helldetl 11IIS"~l" IlllO (~tllll'.I;mr SIi1'-~ ,~r
Horus. 19111 /J.J'11t1SO', c.1290 IIC, !pf)od,ji'om

shabt; (Eg\'ptian IIsl/{{bti. ,hIlUlt/btl)

Thebes.

Funerary figurine, usually mummiform in

appearance, which dc\-c1opcd during the
j\.liddlc Kingdom out of the funerary statue[{es and models pro\jded in the tombs of the
Old Kingdom. The etymology of the \\'ord
slUlhli is unknown, as is the \'ariant :iIUllJ)a!Jti,
but by the Late Period (747-332 Be) the term
IIshal)/;, meaning 'answerer', \ras in general
usc.
The purpose of" the stalueUcS "-as to spare
their owner from menial con'ce labour in the
afterlife, ,,-hich would be required t()I- the
dece'lscd to produce his or her food. The figures stood in felr both the deceased (in whose
1l.1111C they "'ould answer the caLi to work) and
t'he seryants of the deceased. Some shalnis ;Ire
uninscribcd but most arc decorated with
Chapter 6 of the BOOK OF TilE I1t\I1, which is
therefore known as lhe 'shalJ/; chapter'.
Se\'eral forms of this text have been identified
by I-L1l1s Schneider, bur its basic purpose was
to enable the slwIJlis to accomplish their tasks:
'0 .~//{{bti, if Inam~ or dCl.:eased] be summoned
to do any \york which hns 10 be done in rhe
realm of the dead - to make arabic the fields,
to irrigatc the land or to COI1\ ey sand from
cast to west~ "1:"lere am I", you shall sa~, "I
shall do it".'
Early Nc\\ Kingdom sl/{{hti.~ \\-ere sometimes

accompanicd b~ model hoes and baskets

and from thc Third Intermediatc Period
(1069-747 Be:) onwards some "oYcr~ccr figures' \\'ere pro\'ided with a \yhip, \\hile hucr
examples hayc such dctails moulded or
can-cd as parr of the statuette. .'\.e" h.ingdom
sllalJlis were also occasionally 5hO\\ n in ordinary dress rather than ill the guise of :I
111 U;'lIl1Y. Tnil:ially rh~ deceased w,;s pro\'ided
\\-ith only one shab/;, but by the.' ~iCW
Kingdom the numbers had increased signifiC~111tly so that there might be 365 figures, one
for C\'ery day of the year, accomp.micd by
thirty-six loyerseers', giying a tl)1.11
401,
'llthough <IS many as seyen hundred aTe S<1id
to ha\-c been found in the tomb
SCI)' I
(129+-1279 Be). The increasing number of
sl/llbtis led to the manufacture of special containers now known ~1S sl/llhli~boxes.
The quality of .I'!talJlis and dlcir material
yarics wiclcl~, although wood, clay, \\a\, SLOlle,
bronze, F,\W'CF and L'\'CIl GI. \SS arL' kI1O\r1~
Faience is the 1llaterial most cOIl1ll1onl~ aSSOCIated \yith SIW/Jlis, pnnicularly "ith rl'gard 10
the fine e>.amplcs of thc 261"h 10 :lOth
Dynasties (66+-343 He). The poorest qualit~
s!lalJlis were bareh- reco!!nizablc a~ such, all
somc - espcciail y of~ the 17th Dynasty

1/

oIbox H

fll/.

(""11.>-/9)

or

or

SHADOW, SHADE

(1650-] 550 lIe) - were little more than ,,"ooden

pegs. The Lise of shah/is dicd Ollt during the
ptolemaic period (.132-30 lit:).
\~!. Nl. E PETRIE, Shah/is (vV,lrminst:er, 1974).
H. D. SCII,\EIDl':l\, Shahlis,.1 \'ols (Lcidcn, 1977).
H. M. STEWART, Egyptiall shabu:, (Princes

SHEN

Shay

shadow, shade (Egyptian sliml)

The shadow was regarded by the Egyptians as

God who sen'ed as <1 symbol of allotted lifespan or destiny, and was therefore occasionally
portrayed in vignclles of the weighing of the
heart or the deceased (lhe Egyptian last judgement). Tn the Ptolemaic period he became
closely identified with lhe Greek serpent-god
of fortune-telling, Agathodaimon.
J. QL'\I':GI':m:LR, Le dil:1I {~!.{..Jlp'ielf Shui' dalls la
religion ell'ol/o/}ul.I,iqlfe (Luuyain, 1(75).

an essential clement of every human being; as

with the ,\1\:1 I, HA, 1'.1\ and 1'\.\1\11-:, it was consid-

sheep Sl'C

Risborough, 1995).

ered necessary to protect it from harm.

Funerary texts describe the shadow as an entity imbued with power and C<lpablc of moving
at great speed, but the Egyptian word for
shadow (shm!) also had the connotations of
'shade' and 'protection', consequently the
pharaoh is generally portrayed under the
shade of a feathcr- Or palm-fan (the same
hieroglyphic sign bcing used for both fan and
sunshade). The painted scenes decorating the
royal tombs in the Valley of the ~ings rake
account of the sLin's shadow as it passes
through the nctherworld, and il was fell that
power was transferred to those o\"Cr who111 the
solar shadow fell. In thc city at I-:J.-_\\I.\RNA
there was a special rype or shrine dedicll"cd to
the god ATEN, known as a shllN-Ro ('sunshade').
13. GI':OI~GI':' Z/I dt'li al!l(fJ.l'Plisdlt/l VO!'.I'lclllll/gl'1I
l.!Om SdwlfclI als Seele (Bonn, 1970).
E. )-IoRNuNu, Idetl i"lr} ill/tlge, trans. E. Bredeck
(New York, 19n). 178-9.

:\1\I,\J \1. IIUSB \1\I}RY

and

R'\ \1

Sheikh el-Beled (Arabic: 'headman of the

village')
Popular name for lhe woodcn statue of a chief
lector-priest called Ka-aper, whose tomb,
mastaba eE, was excl\'atcd by lhe French
archaeologist Auguste lvlarictte at north
Saqqara, nelr the pyramid complex of the

5th-D"nasty pharaoh Userkaf (24942487 Be). 'I'he liCe-size. standing figure

(Egyptian Nlllseum, Cairo), carved from
sycamore wood, is widely regarded as one of
the masterpieces of Old Kingdom private
sculpture. Kit-aper is portrayed as a thick-set)
middle-aged figure clad in a straight skirr
and holding a staff in his left hand and <l
sr"III:.\\ Sr:I':I'TRE in his right (bOlh lradition,ll
symbols of authority). His eyes arc made of
rock~crystal rimml:d \yith copper and furnished with pupils in the f()rm of drilled
holes filled with black pigment.
The dates of mastaba c8 and thc statue havc
been a matter of some debate, but most scholars place Ka-apcr and his tomb in the late 4th
D\Ilast\ ((.2.\00 HC). The Sheikh e1-Be1cd is
comparable with other 4th-Dynasty realistic
sculptures, such <IS the bust of" Ankhhaf in
Boston; it waS found in association with a hlrge
granite stele and part of ~l wooden figure or a
woman thought to represent Ka-aper's \\"ife
(Cairo). Another wooden stiltLle of ;l man
(Cairo), although of inferior qualify, is considered to he a representation of Ka-aper at ,1
younger age and probably derives from the
same mastaba.
j. V.\,\DmR, Allallllt,1 d'archefJlogie egvpliclllle III
(Paris, 1958),90-1,10+-5,125-8.
C. VAi\IJERSI.E\ EN, 'T,a date elu Chcikh ('I-Beled
(Caire CG 3+)'.]/1 69 (1983), (d-5.
.V!.. Sc\l.1::11 and H. SOLROUZI!\N, The Egypliall
JIIIWl'IIIJ1, Caim.' official Ctllalogllc (Mainz, ] 987),
110.-1-0.

shadu'

she"

Irrigation tool consisting of a long wooden

pole with <1 receptacle at" one end and it counterbalancing weight at the other, b~' means of
which water could be transferred out of a
river 01' canal. It is first depicted on an .\"" \I)IAN cylinder seal of" the hlte third millennium Be but it \yas probably not introduced
into Egypl until lhe 18th Dynast:
(1550-1295 lie) and the earliest suryiying
depictions are on the walls or the tomb
chapels of" Nefe-rhotcp and J\'lerira II ;Il the
time of Akhenatcn (1352-LH6 BC). It was
by the
eventually superscded, first
Archimedcs screw (Arabic ((/lIIJlII") in the
fifth century IIC and, second, by I he wat.erwheel (Arabic S(/(jI)ltI) in the early Ptolemaic
period, although small .l'llfIdldi ~11't' still OCC1sionall y used, eycn in modern Egypl, to
water garden plots.
K. \V. BUTZER, 'Sch,lduf', Lexil'oll der
li"gYPlulogie v, cd. \-V. r-kld, E. Onu ;lIld
\\1. Westendorf (Wicsbadcn, IY8..J.), 520-1.
E. Smoulll\J., Life i/l alleii'1I1 Egyp! (Cambridge,
19 92),97.

Hieroglyphic symbol depicting a circlc or ring

of" rope f"olded and knotted at the bottom; since
the circle effect ive1y had no end, it came 10
denote infinity. \Vhen the :ihCII sign was
depicted encircling the sun, it appears to have
symbulized the eternity of the uni\erse. This
property or encirclement was extended to
denote protection as well as eternity, making
the sign doubly pOlent. Conscquentl~ it is rrcqlJenrly f'ound as a ckcorati\'e clement in
designs, and is panicularly associated wilh
IIOI~LS the falcon or NE"I IHI':T the nllrurc \\"ho
hold the sign in their ChlWS above the king,
offering him eternal protection. Similarly il
appears as an ilmulcLic elemCI1\ in jewellery
from the JVlidclie Kingdom (205;")-] 650 HC)
onwards. The shapc is well suited to finger
rings, but also occurs in pendants, earrings
and pectorals. Richard \Vilkinson suggests
that thc upcurycd \yings of somc jewellery in
the for111 01" birds deliberately im.itate the
shape of the shcII that they hold in their chl\\"S.
On sarcophagi lhe sig'n commonly appears
in the hands of the goddesses who kneel on the

The I{fi.'-!ilc sIal lie ,{,ht' (hieFla/o!' priesl

Ka-apcr

is hella l'IlIlfJ)/1 tiS Ihe 'Sha"!.:h cl-Beletf', applIrCllI(J'

bc((/use ht' relllilldcd JlI{{fl"iel/l' \- /lHll'klllCII (~Flltei}'

i'llla!!,/! !u.'lIdlllall. 'lilt' origi/lill (tlllL' (/1/(1 s((.'pll"l! held

ill his IUlI/ds /I't'}'l' lIIissing alld ,ht' ((JIlL' hl' /10m holds
is /IIodcm: /he Il'gs hm.:c alslI hecn pan()/ rcslored.
-/,h Dy1!lIsly, c.2FJO /Je, .~)I({/IIIOI(' mood /I1ilh (oppe!'
lIlId ro(/..' u:Jlslal C)'cs,jimll Stlqqara. IIU1Slul){{ oS,
fI/./2/11. (c/lRocc.N)

267

....

SHESHO NQ
SHIPS AND BO~

Duuble-sidtd a111ulel ill pale greenjilieuce in 'he

}orll/ of/Ire shen SlKl1.~)I11/boli::,jllg il1/inizv, etemily
lIud prOlection. Saile period, 1/3.7 011. (,68025)
l1e!Jm sign ('gold '), at the ends of roYilI sarcophagi of lhe Kew Kingdom such as that of
Amenhotep n (I~27-1400 BC). The shape of
the sign is imitated by the ouroboros, the
snake which bites its own tail, and thell the two
<tre related is shown by the S;'lfcophagus lid of
i\Jlcrenprah (1213~ 1203 Be), which is carved in
the shape of a C:\RTOUCITE (the CIOllgntcd form
of the shelf sign in which royal names were
written) surrounde d by an elongated
ouroboros.
R. H. \VILKlNSO:,\ ,

Reading f:fJ..l1ptiaJ/ aI'/

(London, 1992).

Sheshonq (Shoshenq , Sheshonk, Shishak)

Libyan name held by five kings of the 22nd
.md 23rd Dynasties (9~5-715 BC. and 818-715
Be respccti\cly ) as their 'birth name' or nomen
(see RorAL T1TuuRr).
SIIe5111111q I Hedjkhepel'rn SCICpenl'1I (945-924
IK:), a nephc\\ of OSORKO~ the elder, was a
descendant of the L1BYt\(\ 'great chiefs of the
Nleshwesh '. He rose to power through his role
as general and adyiser to I)SlJSE~NES II
(959-945 Be), whom he eventually succeeded,
thus inauguratin g the period of Libyan domination. He succeeded in restoring Egyptian
political innuence over Palestine, an act commemorated on the 'Bubastite porral', which
was the gateway leading into the first court of
the temple of Amun at K\R.~,,\K. His reliefs on
an exterior wall of Ihis courl at Karnak depict
his victory o\'er the two Jewish kingdoms of
ISR.\!':!. and Judah (sec nIBI.IC,J\L CO:"':'\ECI'IOl'\S).
The prescl1lation of a statue of himself to
King Abibaal of llYBLOS probably also indiGI.[ed the full resumption of economic links with
the Lev:lIlt.
SIIc5110llq !I Heqakhepel'l'{/ 5cleprlll'{/ (c.890
Be) was the designated heir of OSORKO~ I
(924-889 BC), but died before him, having
ruled only in a COREGE'\CY with his father
268

rather than as a pharaoh in his own right. In

1939 Picrre .Montet discovered his silver coffin in the vestibule of the tomb of Psusennes I
(1039-991 BC) at UNIS, and the age of the
mummified body which it contained is estimated to have been about fifty ycars at death.
J-Ie is probabl\' the same person as Sheshonq
Ivleryamull , who is recorded as chief priest of
Amun at Thebes at roughly the same time; a
quartzite statue of Hapy the god of the inundation, now in the collection of the British
l\luscum, was dcdic~lted by Sheshonq i\lcryanUlIl, whose figure is carved in relief at
Hapy's side (see 1tApl' for illustration ).
Sheslwnq 111 Usemultllra Selepellra/ anum
(825-773 BC) was the successor to 111kclot II
(850-825 BC), ha\'ing appareml\' usurped the
throne from the heir, prince Osorkon. It was
around the eighth year of his reign that he was
somewhat eclipsed by Pedubastis t (818-793
Be), ruler of Lcolltopoli s (TEI.L EL-_\\UQDAM),
who also dedared himself king, thus creating
the 23rd Dynasty, whose rulers were coni emporancous with the last four rulers of the'Ihnitc
22nd Dynasty. This left Sheshonq lit with his
territories restricted to parts of the eastern and
central Delta, while it was Pedubastis whose
reign was apparently endorsed by the influential priests of AnuJn at Thebes.
Sheshonq I/' UsemUfllJra i\l[eJya11l1l1l (c. 780
Be) had a brief reign (six years al most) as the
23rd-Dyna sty successor to the throne of
Pedubastis I at Leontopoli s.
511esiIOI/q 1 /!akhepl'l'l'fI (767-730 nc.), the
penultimat e 22nd-DYl1asty ruler, reigned for
nc.uly forty years and is relali\'e1y well attested, particularly at 'nmis, where he constructed
a small tcmple dedicated to the triad of AnuIn
and, in thc thirtieth year of his reign, a chapel
relating to his SED FESTI\t\1..
K. A. KrrcIIE'\, The Third fnterwl'llime Paind in
EgYPI (1100-6.,0 fiC), 2nd cd. (Warminster,
1986), 287-.15~, 575-6.
J. YmOTn: et aI., lImis, I'Qrdt'sp/U/I"{101IS(Paris.
19R7).
D. A. ASTON, '1:'1kcloth 11- a king of the
"Theban 23rd Dmas"'''?' ,]t:A 75 (1989),

139-53,
N. GRl,\IAL, A histfHJI o/all,iellt Egypt (Oxford,
1992), 319-30.

shesmet girdle
Belt or girdle from which an apron of beads
W<lS sllspended , forming part of the symbolic
attire of Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom
rulers such as Djosel' (2667-2648 Be), which
perhaps evolved from Predynasti c beaded
girdles. The belt waS also worn by certain
deities, and there was <l goddess Shesmcret,
attested from the Early Dynastic period

(3J00-2686 BC) onwards, who personified the

girdle. By at least the 5th Dynasty Shesmetet
was represented with the head of a lioness and
considered as a form of the goddess u \~-I'F:r,
It is possible that the s!resmet itself cyen_
walk developed into other forms of belt, Such
as those found in male burials from the Old
Kingdom onw:lrds, which were later extended
to women by rhc iVliddle Kingdom
(2055-1650 BC). The tomb of Seneblis), a
woman of the 12th-Dyna slY royal famil\'
buried at I~L-I.ISIJT, contained numerous item~
of jcwellery, including :l shesl11l't girdle. The
cultic significanc e of the girdle is perhaps also
indicated by the fact that the epithets or the
god SOPI':O included the phrase 'lord of the
shesmet'.
P. E. NEWHERR', 'SSmit', Stut/irs prescllw/l0
Frallcis Llemel(JIIi Grijfith (London, 1932).
316-23
E. S'lt\EIIELlN, 'Sdlcsemct-Gi.inc1', Le,riJ"u/I rler
AgYPt%gie ", ed. "YV. Heick, E. Ono and
W. Westendorf (\Viesbaden, 198{), 586-7.

ships and boats

'1'he importance of water transport, both as :l
pracrical me:lns of communica tion and as a
recurring religious metaphor, arose inc\imbly
from the existence of the river Nile and its
tributaries as the princip:l1 artery of communication in ancient Egypt. The prc\ailing wind
in the Nile valley C:lme from the north, so that
saiJs could be used to propel boats na\clling
south, while those heading north, ag:linSI the
wind, relied on oars :lnd the current. ror this
reason, the hicroglyph for 'tr.l\clling north"
evcn in the case of overland travel, consisted of
a boat with its sails down, while that for 'tra\"elling sOlllh ' shows a bom with billowing s:lils.
Boats were already being lIsed as early :lS the
Gerzean period (c.3500-31 00 BC).
A great deal of information has sur\'iHd
concerning Egyptian ships and boats, principally in the form of depictions on the "ails of
tombs, funcrary models and textmtl references. There have also been a number of finds
of actual boats, ranging frum the reconstructed
SOL\1t lHItK of Khufu (2589-2566 ilL) to the
fragments of bual timber prcsen'cd through
Iheir reuse for such purposcs as the consrruction of slipwa)'s.
Tra\cl by boat was so ingr~lined in the
Egyp! ian psyche that it was considcred natural
to depict' the sun-god I{,\ tf:lYclling through
the sh or rhe nctherworl d in his botrk.
Howcv~r, when sailing outside the Nile \'~lIeYl
on the 1\ lediternmc an or Rcd Sea, the shipS
seem to ha\e stayed close to the shore. Unlike
the Greeks, the Egyptians were evidently not
enthusiasti c seafarcrs.

gIlPS AND BOATS

Probably the earliest and simplest boats

skiff.:;, made of bundles of reeds
lashed together. These would have been used
for fishing and IlUNTING g,lIne in the marshes,
for crossing the river and tor travelling shan
distances, and this type probably remained in
use throughollt Pharaonic history. Even from
Predynastic rimes there is evidence for larger
vessels, though perhaps still of reed construction. Painted pottery of the I aqada period
shows elaborate, many-oared, ships with
numerous sailors. The prows and sterns of
such vessels are usually upturned; they would
normally have been provided with at least one
large steering oar, and sometimes also a sail
and cabin.
The boats and ships of the Old Kingdom
(2686--2181 BC) were usually made of 11'001)
WCfe PAPYRUS

SHRINE

the bOius carrying the gre-Jt granite p:'lpyrus

columns for his valley temple.
The rypical craft of rhe Middle Kingdom
(2055-1650 BC) were similar in design,
although, from rhe lare Old Kingdom
onwards, the steering oar was operated as a
rudder by means of ropes. The mast was collapsible and rested on :l stand when not in use,
while the cabin was usually located at the
stern..Many models of these boats have survived in tombs) where they played an important role in the funerary cult) symbolizing the
journey of the deceased to !\BYDOS. There are
also surviving fragments of timber from actual
vessels reused for slipw<lYs and ramps in the
pyramid complexes at EI.-I.lSJ-IT.
In the New Kingdom (1550-1069 Be) vessels seem to have become more specializcd;

Boats of the L1te Period (747-332

BC)

seem

to have remained roughly similar, but the stern

was generally higher. \>\lith increasing Greek

innuence from the SAITE PERIOD onwards,
however, sea-going vessels began to be modelled on those used by the Greeks and
Phoenicians, and by the time of the sea battle
of Actium) between CLEOPATRA VII (51-30 Be)
and the Roman consul Octavian (later
Emperor Augustus), the Egyptian ships
appear to have been similar in design to those
of the Romans.
G. A. RnSi\'"ER, A10dels o.r~hips (/ml boa Is (Cairo,
1913).
P. LIPKJ-~, The f()j!lt/ ships o/CI/(:o/J.I' (Oxford,
1984).
tVl. BIET\K) 'Zur iVlarine des Alten Rciches',
PJ'rtlll1id studies 111111 o/Iu:r essaJis presented to
r. E. S. Edwards, ed. J. Baines et al. (London,
1988),35--10.
D. A. )Ol't.:s:, "glossalJ1 ofal1cielll I:.gyptial1
IUIU/iellllitles a11l1,erms (London) 1988).
R. H.WILKINSON, Relldiug Egypti(fl/ (frt
(London, 1992), 152-7.
S. VINSON. Egyptiall boals tl11d ships (Princes
Risborough, 1994).
D. A. Jo,"S, BOIlIS (London, 1995).

shrine

Mode! bOlitsfreqllent~)lliCCOmplll1ied hurilils oftire

Middle Kingdom f/ud _~)lmbolized tire pilgrimagr to
A~)ldos. 12th Dynasty, c. 1900 IIC., prOVl'1lllllCe
llllk1101PIl, /I. (~(I/lIJlI().2 em, I.. 66.7 ew.
(u,9524)

Obtained cithcr locally or from Syria-Palestine.

They had a characleristically curving hull and
were usually prm-ided with se\'cral steering
oars) a m;.lst and;'l long narrow sail. Oars would
also have been used for propulsion when there
was insufficient breeze to fill the sails. The
best-known surviving Old Kingdom hoat is
that found beside the pyramid of Khufu at
GIZA, which Was made of large planks of wood
'scwn' together with ropes. Rather less elaborate vessels would hm'e been used to transport"
stone from the quarries to the construction
sites of pyramid complexes. The reliefs decorating the causew.1Y of the pyramid complex of
Unas (2375-2345 BC) included depictiuns of

therc werc usually c'lbins on both the stern

and the prow in addition to a main cabin in
the centre of the boat. The helmsman operated double steering oars by a system of ropes
and levers as before, and the width of thc sail
was greater than its height. The Egyptian
navy of this period was put to the test when it
repulsed the invasiun of the SEJ\ PEOPLES)
according to the reliefs of Ramcses III
(1184-1153 BC) at MEIlI'lET Il,m . As in the
Old Kingdom, huge masses of stone were also
moved by bargc) including OBELISKS for the
temple of Hatshepsut (1473-1458 BC) at DEI.
1:L-BA!1R1. The same queen also sent a seaborne expedition to PUNT. A late 20thDynas!:y literary (or possibly quasi-historical)
text) The Report uf ItVenamUI1, outlines .1 seajourney by an official to obtain timber from
RYBLOS; this cxpedition was initially unsuccessful due to Egypt's poor political fortunes
at the time (see HERIIIOR).

Term which is to some extenl synonymous

with N.-\05, in that it is often used to refer
either to the innermost element of a temple
(where the cult image or B!\H.K of the deity was
placed) or to the elaborate boxes containing
funerary statuary (such as those in the tomb of
TUTt\NKIIAl\IUN (Kv62. The Egyptian term
per is used to refer to thc pm'ilion-style shrines
of pper and Lower Egypt".
The traditional Upper Egyptian shrine
(per-mer or Ita 1') has a shape identical to that of
the golden shrine ofTutankhamun, consisting
of a square box topped by a \..t\\!ETro CORJ~'CE
and a roof or lid sloping down from the front.
Allhough the hieroglyphic imag'e was initially
llsed simply I'D designate the chapel of the
goddess .'lEKllUET at ELKAI3) it came to symbolize the whole gcographical region of Upper
Egypt itself The Lower Egyptian shrine (perII1l or perneser) was a dome-roofed box with
high posts on either side) which became thc
model for various other objects such as sarcophagi (sec COFFINS Ai'\D SARCOPHAGI) and
SIIi\BTI-boxes. 'J'he original shrine was located
at BUla (TELL EL-Fi\RR1\ 'lK), the city of the
cobra-goddess WAOJYT, but it too came to represent the region as ;l whole.
'The English tcrm 'shrine', howevcr, is often
used to describe various small freestanding
buildings which in themselves were miniature
temples or chapels) such as the 'HARK-shrines"

269

SHU

SIOELOCK OF YO.!:!.:!:!:!

which were placed along processional ways as

temporary resting places for the divine bark as
it was carried bel ween one temple complex
and another. The gardens of the larger houses

wife, TH''UT, was goddess of moisture or corrosive air; they were the first two gods crcated
by ATUf\'1 according to the CJtEAI'lO'\l myth of
Hcliopolis, in which they were said to have
come into being from the semen of Atum or
from the mucus of his sneezc. Their children
wcre GEI3 the earth-god and NUT the skygoddess, and it was Shu's role to support the
outstretched figure of NUL, thus efrectj\,cl~'
separating the sky from the earth.
He was not a soIar deity (indeed he was
often linked with the lunar deities K:IIONS and
TIIOTII), but his role in pnwiding sunlight led
to an obvious connection with the sun-god IU,
and it was believed that he brought the sun to
life each morning. Similarly, in thc underworld, it was thoughl Lhat he protectcd the sun
from the snake-god WOPI liS, although at the
same time he was ponrayed at the head of ,I
group of the torturers threatcning the
deceased. During the reign of Akhenaten
(1352-1336 Be) the cult of Shu escaped proscription because of his solar associations, and
he was considered to dwell in the sLin-disc (see
:\TE:"1). 'Vith a typical Egyptian sense of l1lJ.\LITY, his wife, TefnUl, was linked with the
moon. His conncctions with the sun, with resurrection and with scparaLing heavcn and
earth are cxemplificd in a headrest
Tutankhamun (1336--1327 Be) in which Shu,
nankcd by two lions, supports the head of the
sleepcr, so that thc composition as a whole
forms the 1I0RIZON hieroglyph, rhus perhaps
allowing the head of the king to bc identified
with the sun poised on the horizon.
P. DERClI'\IN, 'Lc nom de Chou et .'1;1 mcLion',
IIdE27 (1975), 110-16.
1-1. \A;\, DE \V AI.I.E, 'SUf\,jvamcs mythologiqucs
dans Ics coiffures royal de I'cpoque at'Oniennc',
edt: 55/109 (1980), 23-6.

11. TE \'1:1.1)[, 'Schu" Lexikoll da J':JIPIQ//Jgir r

cd. W. Heick, E. Otto and W. WesLendorf
'
(Wiesbaden, 1984),735-7.
S. QUIRKE, .---II/tielll Egyplian relt~!!iol/ (London,
1992),25-31.

sidelock of youth
Egyptian children, p~lrticularly boys, are usu-

ally portrayed with thcir heads shaved, apart

from <1 single plaited 'sidclock', which fcatures
in the hicroglyph for 'child' (l.:hel'L'd) and \Vas
considered to be the archetypal symbol of
youth. Four actual examples of sidclocks were
found in 6th-Dynasty graves at .i\lostagedda
by Guy Brunton. The childlike \'ersions of

or

(;1"1.111111: slirifli'/rom Phi/ae, t:arved during the

reign ofPIOIt'I1~)1 1"111 Euergetes /I (170--1/6 lie)
tl11(1 bearing lexls iududiug tl dedicaliQn 10 Iht
goddess Isi~. Ihe principal dci~)1 (If Phi/m'.
11.2..1/11I. (10" 134)
at EL-.\~I"It;'A often contained unusual shrines
in the form of small decorated I'YI.Ol\S or stelae, which were dedicated to the royal family of
AKIIE"J!\TF.:\l

(1352-1336

Be).

l\1. Exro,-KR<\uss and E. GR"":FE,

'nlf: 5/1/1.11/

goltlen s!Jril1l'!rmlllhl' I(lmb O['nltllllIdUlJIIl/11

(Oxford, 1985).

Fragmenl jl-OJI/ Ihe lomb ofAnlll'l"NwlI, .I!lowing {/

{lIiM ,pilh Ihe sidt'/od.' 0/)/011111. 20111 DytllHl)'o
e.1160 flc,.frolll Dei, r1-Medil/fl. (/133'1)

such gods as IIORUS and KIIO'\lS were regularly

pOri rayed with a sidclock, as were royal orrspring, including the 'Amarna princcsses" the
daughters of ,"""'C.ITEN (1352-1336 II(). The
scm pricst, who usually performed the fin.l]
rites of resurrecLion on the Illllmm~ of the
deceased, often wore a sidclocl., pr('sun1ahly in
imilariun of Horus, who would h;l\c pcrformed the sa111l: filial rites on the hody
his
father OSIRIS.

or

Shu
God of the air and sunlight, whose name

silver

probably means 'he who rises up', He W.1S

usually depicted as a man wearing a headdress
in the form of a plumc (which was the hicroglyph dcnoting his name). Apart from refcrcnces in the PYIU:\IIJ) TEXTS ,mel COFFI1\
TEXTS, his cult is not attested until the New
Kingdom, when his comparativc prominence
is probably a reneetion of his association with
the force of life, which was an increasingly
important clement of Egyptian religion in the
New Kingdom.
While Shu symbolized dry ,lir, his sister-

Although the Egyptians could obtain GOI.D

and elcctrum (the natural alloy of sihcr and
gold) from the mountains of the Easle rn
Desert and Nubia, silver was compar;lti\'e1y
rare, and 111<1)1 cven havc becn unknown in
carly til11cs, sincc the Egyptian language lackS
a word for it. Thc\' described it onl~ ;IS (hc
'white melal" and ~ccm to hU"c regarded it as
a variety of gold.
\~lhcn silver was first introduccd inLO the
Egyptian cconomy, its value scem", to ~l;lrc
been higher than that of gold, judging from

270

Crey-greeu ]fl.lellte (/Jl/Ulel of SlIu, god ol(/ir alld

sun/iglllo suppQrling (f SIOl-diJ(. Saifl' period,

c.66-1--S2.' lie, If. 3 CIII. (,,-,60n9)

~VER

Cult image o/Iht' god A"IlIl1ji-fJ/Il his Icmple til

Ka.rnak. Nem Kingdom, c./300 1)(.', silver all(l
gold, I/. 23 CIII. (Ji,,60006)
the fact that silver items were listed before
those of gold in descriptions of valuables during the Old J<jngdom (268(}'-2181 BC). The
value of the earliest silver imports is indicated
by the thinness of the bracelets of the -+thDynasty queen IWTEI'IIICRES I (c. 2600 BC), in
marked contrast to the extr.wagancc of her
goldwork. A silver treasure excavated at the
site of TOD comprised vessels probably made
in Crete, or perhaps somewhere in Asia but
under Cretan influence. This cache dates to
the reign of Amenemhat" (1922-1878 RC), in
the 12th Dynasty, and is roughly contemporaneous with finds of fine silver JEWELLeRY at clLahun and Dahshur.
By the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC),
however, silver may have been regarded as less
valuable, presumably as a result of increased
availability; according to thc Rhind
Mathematical Papyrus (written in the Second
Intermediate Period bot perhaps originally
Composed in the 12th Dynasty), silver had
acquired a value approximately half that of
gold. It was imported into Egypt from western

SINUHE, TALE OF

Asia and the iVlediterrancan, and became

readily a"ailable only from the New Kingdom
(1550--1069 BC) onwards. A study by Jaroslav
Cerny, based on New Kingdom ostraca
recording sales and othcr transactions, suggests that metal prices remained relatively
constant hetween the 12th and the 19th
Dynasties (c.198S-1186 Be), with silver maintaining half the \.llue of gold, and copper
about one-hundredth the yaluc of silver.
Despite (or perhaps even because of) the
increased quantity of silver ,1yailablc in the
New Kingdom, the tomb of Tutankhamun
(1336-1327 BC; KV62) contained relatively
little silverwork. The rulers of the 21st and
22nd Dynasties, who were buried at TANIS,
made greater usc of silver in their burials.
Sheshonq II (c. 890 BC) had a solid sill'er coffin
with gilded details in the form of the hawkgod SOK1\!{. Sih'er was reg-Jrded as the material
from which the bones of the gods were fashioned, while their nesh was considered to be
made from gold.
E BISSON DE LA ROQ.UE, 'Le lresor dcl'od', CdE
12 (1937),20-6.
J. CERNY, 'Prices and wages in Egypt in the
Ramesside period" CaMers tI'Histoire A1()1u!iale I
(195-+),903-21.
A. Luc.-\s, Ancient Egyptiall materials a11f1
illllustrieJ, 4th cd. (London, 1962),245-9.
N. H. G/\LEand Z. A. STOS-G.-\.LE, 'Ancient
Egyptian silver',]EA 67 (1981),103-15.
Z. A. STOS-GAI.E and N. H. GAl.E, 'Sources of
galena, lead and silver in Prcdynastic Egypt\
Aetes du XXe Symposium internatiollal
t/'ardll!omt?lrie, Paris 26-29 mars 1980 III [ReVIle
d'Arclu!ometrie, Supplemenl 1981] (Paris, 1981),
285-96.

tionally been settled by llEDOUIN, The people

of the Nile valley and southern Palestine periodically exploited its mineral resources (primarily consisting of TURQUOISE and COPPI':R),
and created settlements, shrines and rockcarvings <It siles such as Sembit el-Khadim,
Wadi Maghara, Wadi Arabah and Timna, A
major archaeological survey of the Sinai was
undertaken by Flinders PETRIE in 1904-5, and
in lhe 1990s many sites were im'cstig-ated in
northwestern Sinai in advance of the construction of a new canal.
Texts written in an unusual script known as
Proto-Sinaitic have been found at a number of
places in the Sinai, including Serabit clKhadim 1 as well as at sites in Palestine. The
script consists of at least twenty-three signs,
about half of which appear to derive from
Egyptian hierogl~l)hs, and the texts probably
date mainly to the late i\liddle Kingdom
(.1800--1650 BC) or Second Intermediate
Period (1650--1550 Be), but it has still not been
properly deciphered, It is possible that ProtoSinaitic represents a crucial carly stage in the
development of the alphahet.
,.y. M. F: PETRIE and C. T CURREJ.U', Researches
ill Siu(I; (London, 1906).
\v. F. AWRlGf-rr, The proto-S;llitic imcriptions (11111
their deciphermellt (C1mbridge, !VlA, and
London, 1966).
B. ROTIIEKBERG et al., Sillai: pharaohs, miners.
pilgrims (llId Jo/diers (New York, 1979).
\V. V. DAVIES, EgYPli11l/ hier()g~J'phs (London,
1987),57-60.

Sinai

sistrum (Egyptian sesheslll; Greek srislroll)

Peninsula situated between Egypt and the

Levant at the northern end of the Red Sea and
to the cast of the Suez canal, which has tradi-

Musical rattling instrument played primarily

by women, except when the pharaoh was making offerings to the goddess HATIIOR. Although
most surviving Greco~Roman examples arc
made of bronze, many ritual or funerary
examples, which would often have been nonfunctional, were made from other materials
such as wood, stone or faience.
Priestesses, princesses and royal wives werc
often represented shaking the instrument
while participating in rituals or ceremonial
activities. There were two basic types of
sistrum, hooped and NAos-shaped, both of
which were closely associated with the cult of
Hathor, whose head was often depicted on the
handle. An early travertine sistrum inscribed
with the names of the 6th-Dynasty ruler TEl'l
(2345-2323 BC) takes the form of a papyrus
topped by a II(lOS, which is itself surmounted
by a falcon and cobra, thus forming a rebus of

Relief[ragmelll of King SllllllkJl1 from the lllrquoiJc

mines at I'Vadi Maglwra, cell/ral Sinai. 3,d
Dyl1t1SJy, c.2680 BC, stlndstone, If. 33 e111. (1-:..-169/)

Sinuhe, Tale ofsee

I.ITER.HURE

Sirius see SOPDET

271

SMENKHK~

SIWA OASIS

and therefore the legitimate pharaoh. In the

Middle Ages, the caravan route from northwest Africa passed through the Siwa Oasis.
A. FAKIlRY, The oases of Egypt I: Sima Oasis
(Cairo, 1973).
K. P. KUI-IL\lANN, Dos Ammol1eiol1: Archiiologie,
Geschichte lIml Kultpraxis des Orakels VOl1 Silva
(Maim., 1988).

slaves

De/ailola Book ofthe Dead papyrus bearing fhe

figure ofthe priestess An/wi shaking a sistrum ami
holdillg a /euglh alville. 20,h DYllasly, 0.//00 Be.
(EAI0472, SilICIC,. 7)
the name or Hathor (i.c. hWI Hor). The 1It10Sstyle sistrum thus dates back at least as early
as the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BC), but it
was the hooped style which became most
common by the Greco-Roman period
(332 BC-AD 395).
N. DE G. DAVIES, 'An alabaster sistrum dedicated to King Teta',]EA 6 (1920), 69-72.
F Dl\UMAS, 'Les objects sacrcs de la dcesse
Hathor ii Dcndara', RdE 22 (1970), 63-78.
C. ZIEGI.ER) Call1/ogue des i11Slrumellls tie
l/lusique egyptiells (Paris, 1979), 31-40.

Siwa Oasis (anc. Sckhet-imit; Ammonium)

Natural depression in the Libyan Desert
about 560 km west of Cairo, where the earlicst remains date to tho. 26th Dynasty (664525 BC). Tho. sitc includes the cemetery or
Gebcl el-Mawra, dating rrom tho. 26th Dynasty
to the Roman period, and two temples dedicated to the god AMUN, dating to the reigns of
Ahmosc " (570-526 BC) and Nectanebo "
(360-343 BC) rcspcctivcly. In 332 BC the
famous oracle of Amun at Siwa is said to have
been visited by AI.EX/\NDER TIlE GREAT, where
he was officially recognized as the god's son
272

Attempts to analyse the use of slaves in ancient

Egyptian societl' have often been thwartcd hy
problems of definition and translation, as well
as by the emotive connotations of a term thaL
invariably conjures up anachronist.ic visions
either of ancient Rome or of the nineteenthccntury plantations or the New World.
Most or tho. population or Pharaonic Egypt
were tied to the land or followed strictly
heredimry professions; these men or women
were often included among the possessions of
kings, high-ranking officials or TEMPI.E estates.
They might, however, be better described as
'serfs' (semedet or meret), although even this
translation is perhaps too closely connected
with images of feudal society in medieval
Europe, especially in view of the fact that
Egyptian farmers were 'tied to the land' not
legally but by tradition and economic circumstances. Semedel and metet were allowed to
own property but appear to have enjoyed very
limited freedom by modern western standards.
True slavery, in the Classical sense of the
word, seems to havc been rare in Egypt before
the Ptolcmaic period (332-30 BC). Most
Egyptian slaves (hemw or !Ja.kw) would have
been Asiatic prisoners of war (khe1lt!IW, or,
more commonly, sekerw auk/uv), although it is
elear rrom rccords or tho. Late Period (747-332
BC) that Egyptians too could be slavcs, and
indeed that they werc sometimes obliged to
sell themselves into slavery, presumably in
order to gain rood and shelter or to pay debts.
The Jewish mercenaries at Elephantine
(ASWAN), for instancc, arc said to have had
Egyptian slaves during the Late Period. It
appears that slaves were generally well treated,
and some at least secm to have owned property. Both male and female owners of slaves
had the right to frec them, and it was possible
for shIves to marry frce-born women and even
to own land.
The popular assertion that the PYRAMIDS
were built by slave labour finds little support"
in the surviving textual records of the Old
Kingdom (2686-2181 BC), since tho. work on
royal funerary monuments was mostly conducted through corvee labour. Quarrying and
mining, however, were sometimes carried out
by convicts or foreign prisoners of war. It was

not until tho. Middle Kingdom and tho. Ncw

Kingdom that prisoners of war became
numerous enough to play any perceptible role
in Egyptian society. The records of the work_
men's village at DEIR EL-]\'LD1~A show that
slaves were employed on a communal basis,
particularly to help with the grinding of grain
for bread-making, and some workmen in the
community eyen owned personal slaves. One
19th-Dynasty worker, Ken, buried in tomb
rr4 at Deir el-Medina, appears to haye had
about Lwelve slaves, thus illustrating that the
ownership of slaves was by no means the
exclusive preserve of the Clitc.
A. EI.-M. B.-\KIR, Slavery ill pharaonic Egypt
(C.,iro, 1952).
S. P. VLEE]\IING, 'The sale of a slave in the time of
pharaoh Py', OMR061 (1980), 1-17.
E. S. BOGOSI.OVSKIY, 'On the system of rhe
ancient Egyptian society of the epoch of Lhe New
Kingdom', Allorielll PorsclwlIgel1 8 (l981), 5-21.
E. CRUZ-URIBE, 'Slavery in Egypt during Lhe
Saire and Persian periods', Revue ]lIfenwtif1llul
des Dmits de l'AlIliquilt! 29 (1982), 47~7J.

Smenkhkara see AKHENATEN

snake see SERPI~NT
Sneferu (Snorru) (2613-2589

BC)

First pharaoh or the 4th Dynasty, who was dcified by tho. Middlc Kingdom and celebratcd
in later literature as a benevolent and goodhumoured ruler. He was the son of his predeccssor I-luni by Meresankh I (probably a
concubine rather than one of the principal
wivcs) and rather or KJIUFU, the builder or the
Great Pyramid at Giza. According to the
PALERMO STONE, he sent military expediLions
against the iubians and Libyans as well as
quarrying expeditions to the TURQUOISI' mines
in the Sinai. His 'Horus name' was l':ebmaal,
but his ROYAL TITULARY was the first to han his
other name (i.e. Sneferu) enclosed within an
oval ring or CARTOUCJ IE. It was by this 'cartouche name' that he and subsequenl kings
were known.
I'he time of Sneferu is also crucial in terlllS
of the development of the royal pyramid complex, since the three funerary monumentS
constructed eluring his reign (one aL \IEJl)L1~1
and two at DAI-ISI-IUR) represented the first
attempts at true pyramids, moving a\\';l~' from
the step-pyramid complexes of the 3rd
Dynasty. Tho. North Pyramid (or 'Red
Pyramid') at Dahshur is thought to hayc been
the actual burial-place of Sneferu.
A. FAKlIRY, The 11I01l1l/IWltS of SI/efiru lit
D"iI,hlll',2 I'ols (Cairo, 1959-61).
R. S"Ii\I)ELMANN, 'Snofru und die pyTamiden \'on

SOBEKNEFERU

OFRU

Meidum und D.hschur', MDAIK 36 (1980),

437-9.
E. GRAEFE, 'Die gme Reputation des Konigs
"Snofru lll , Studies ill Egyplo!ogy pre.wiled 10
Miriam Lid/the;,u, cd. S. lsarclit-Groll
aerus.lem, 1990), 257-63.
1. E. S. EOW.\RDS, Tire pyramids o/Egypt, 5th cd.
(Hormondsworth, 1993),70-96.

Snofru see SNEFERU

Sobek (Sebek, Suchos)
Crocodile-god who was portrayed either as a
CROCODll.E

the Middle Kingdom onwards, like many

other deities, he gradually became assimilated
into the cult of the pre-eminent tstate' god
t\1\lUN, and in the form Sobek-Ra was worshipped as another omnipotent manifestation
of the sun-god. By the Ptolemaic period his
association with the sun-god was sufficiently
close that he was identified with the Greek god
Helios.
C. DOI.ZANI, II dio SoH (Rome, 1961).
L. KAKOS,", tKrokodilskulte" Lexikrm der
Agllptologi! Ill, ed. \V. Heick, E. Otto and
W. Wesrendorf(Wiesb.den, 1980),801-11.

(often perched on a shrine or altar)

or as a man with a crocodile's head, often

Sobekhotep

wearing a headdress consisting of the horned

'Birth name' held by eight rulers uf the 13th

Dynasty (1795--<.1650 BC), most of whom h.d
very short reigns. The few surviving monuments from the reign of SobekllOlep II
AlIICtlelllha/ (d 750 BC) include relief blocks
from MED1\MUD and nEIR EL-BAIIRI. SobeldlOlep
Ifl SekhemrasemadjlamJ' (c.lt-tS He), the son of
a Thcban prince called l\1entuhotep, is
credited with the construction of <l colonnade
and a number of gateways in the temple of
Montu at !Vledamud. A pair of important
papyri relating to Af)~U~lsrRATION during the
Pharaonic period (one of which lists a
month's income and expenditure incurred by
the royal court during a period of residence at
Thebes) h.ve .Iso survived from his reign. Thc
period encompassed by the reigns of
Sobekhotep IV Kill/lle/erra (c. 1730-1
BC) and
his two brothers, Neferhotep I and Sihathor,
was the most stable phase in the 13th Dynasty.
There are a number of surviving colossal statues of Sobekhotep IV) as weIl as several relief

sun-disc and upright fcathers. l-us two main

cult-centres were at the Upper Egyptian site
of

KOM o~mo,

HORUS,

and

where he shared a temple with

.it lvlEDINET EL-F.AYUM in

the

centre

of the Fayum region, where the [Own of

Shcdyet, later known as Crocodilopolis, once
stood. There were., however, numerous other
shrines and temples dedicated to Sobek
throughout the Nile v.lley, such as GEBEL ELsn.sn.A and GEIJELEN. 'rhe temples of crocodile-gods were usu.lly provided with. pool
containing sacred crocodiles.
During the 12th .nd 13th Dynasties the
cult of Sobek was given particular prominence, as the names of such rulers as
SOHEKIIOTEP and SOBEKr.'lEFERU indicate. From

Sectio11 ofl'eliefiuthe mammisi ttl Kom Ombo,

showing PJoleJl~)' IX ma.killg offerings 10 tt sealed
figllre ofthe crocodile-god Sobek, c.II&-107 HC.
(I. SHAW)

no

fragments from temples embellished during

his reign.
J. \o=" BECKERATH, Ul1tersuclumgen zur politischel1
Gesdzidl1e der zmeiteu ZlJ)ischellzeit (Gltickstadt
and New York, 1964).
D. FRANKE, '2ur Cluonologie in des M itderen
Reiches II', Orielltalia 57 (1988), 245-74.
S. QCIRKE, 'Royal power in the 13th Dynasty',
AtIiddle Kingdom Studies, cd. S. Quirke (New
M.ldell, 1991), 123-39.

Sobekneferu (1799-1795 BC)

Last ruler of the 12th Dynasty, whose name
means tbeauty of Sobek'. The sister (and perhaps also the wife) of AMENI:i\HlAT I\"
(1808-1799 BC), she become the first definitely
attested female pharaoh, although Queen
Nitiqret (c.2180 Be) may have come to power
in similar circumstances at the end of the 6th
Dynasty. The reign of Sobekneferu .ppears to
have lastcu only about three years) but she is
credited with completing the construction of
the mortuary temple of Amenemhat III
(1855-1808 BC) at I1AWARA, the so-c.lled
(labyrinth'. The location of her own ton1b has
not yet been definitely ascertained; it has been
suggested that she m.y h.ve been buried in the
uninscribed northern pyramid complex at
Mazghuna, immediately to the north of the
complex ascribed to Amencmhat IV, but both
identifications have been questioned on architectural grounds.
\v. M. E PETRIE, G. A. 'VAI:"WRIGHT and
E. MACKAY, The La~)I,.illth, Gerzeh aud
Mazglllleh (London, 1912).
T. E. S. EDWARDS, The pyromidso[EgYPI, 5th cd.
(I-lormondsworrh, 1993), 227.

Sokar
God of the Memphite necropolis) who was
usually shown as a human figure, often mummiform in appearance, with the head of a
hawk. He was also sometimes portrayed as a
low mound of earth surmounted by a boat
containing the hawk's head-an image that was
connected with the title the who is upon his
sand) in the Amdual (sec FUKEIV\RY TEXTS).
The most spectacular surviving image of the
hawk-headed Sokar is the silver coffin or
SHESIIONQII (c.890 BC) from TANIS.
The origins of the god) and indeed the
very etymology of his name, are obscure; he
seems originally to have been a god of the
Iv[emphite region, possibly a patron of craftsmen, although he was also venerated as an
earth or fertility god. By the Old Kingdom
(2686-2181 BC) he wos identified with the
god of the dead, osm.IS, who, according to
legend, was slain by the evil god SETH at All\'DOS, thus extending the domain of Sakar into

273

SOLARB~

SOKAR

.--1 //1UfI{!eJJ

P/ali-Srd'ar-Osiris.h!.IIFl' S!{/Wlillg till (J

slIl'rop!Jaglls {)JJ mil/eli arc SL't/lcdjiw/' !tamks /pith

slil/-disrs. The bmfs (!(sl/r!J .figures. or IIu:jigllrt,.'i
IlwlIse!iys, /pure (diL'JI/wIIOlPt'd oilllO (o/ltaill
.lil/I/'/my papyri. 20th DYI/asty. ()6-!-.'1., /JC,
11.90011. (L/9737)

Upper Egypt. This association is doubtless

the origin of his rLJl1crar~ role, and it" is in this
contc:xt rhilt he is described in the I'YR-\.\\I1)
TF.\TS as the creator of 'royal bones' and in
the BOO". OF '1"1 IE 1)1':,\lJ as the maker of footbasins from sikrr, which was the material of
which di\'inc bones \yen: bclicH,d to haH~
been composed.
Sokar was also linked wit'h the god 1''1'\11 (at
an earlier date than the cOl1necrions with
Osiris), no doubt because both deities shared
associal-ions with !\II,:,\IPIIIS anti craftsmen, and
consequcntl~ SEI':IL\IFT, lhe lioness ,,-itc or
Prah, came to he regarded as Sobr's consort".
In the Old Kingdom, the combined cult of
IJtah-Sokar became more elaborate, and by the
Middle Kingdom (2055-1651J Be) it had
expanded further into Ptah-Sokar-Osiris.
From the 1\ew I-.:.ingdom (1:'50-1069 11e)
onwards, rhe FESTIY:\1. of Sokar was lavishly
celebrated, p,lrtlcularly in the necropolis of
western Thebes, where it is portrayed in SOIl1t:
of the reliefs decorating rhe walls of rhe second court of the mortuary temple of Rameses
[II al" ,\lEnIN!:".T II.\Bl,.

Tt was in the syncretic form of Pt"ah-SobrOrisis that Sokar was most often represented,
particularlv from the LaiC Period (7-17-.1.12
Be) onwards, wht:n many tombs were
equipped with wooden slat'ucltes depicting'
Ptah-Sokar-Orisis as an anthropomorphic
mummiform figure, \\"ith Or "'ithout a ha\\"k's
head, combined with curled ram horns) sundisc, plumes Jnd (l/(:f C1~O\\'N. The PtahSokar-Orisis tigure was usually shown standing on a miniature sarcophagus base, sometimes surmounted by figures of Sokar-hawks.
It was sometimes hollow, in which Case it
would often have originally contained a copy
of a Book of the Dead papyrus or a COR.\!
l\-IU!'vIMY; alternatively, a small piece of the
Book of the Dead was occasionally placed in
the sarcophagus base. The distinctive amuIctic figure of Pt\TAIJ..:OS almost certainly
derived from the Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figure.
G. A. G:\llt\LL.'\ and K. KrrCl-II~N, "rhe lesti\al 01"
Sobr', Orit/Ifll!ia38 (1969), 1~76.
M. J. R:\YEN, 'Papyrus-sheaths and Prah-SobrOsiris statues', OMRO 59-60 (1978-9),
251-96
E. BRESnAN[, 'Sobr', Le.rikoll dcr Agypt%gil' v,
ed. \v. Held, E. Otto and W. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1984), 1055-7-1.

solar bark (solar boat)

J LISt'

as the images of gods were carril'd

betwcen lemples Or shrines in ceremonial
B,\nKS, so the sun-god and the dCccasl..:d
pharaoh ""CIT considcred to ITa\ cl 1hrough the
netherworld in a 'sobr bark'. Thcrl' wen' rwo
dif1lTem types of solar bark, lh~lt of the d;l\
(mll/U/ct), and that of the night ('IIlt'sd.'ft,t). II i~
possible that the well-known solar barks discanTed in the pyramid complex of Khufu al
GIZ.\ (one or whit:h has been reconstructed and
displayed ill .,illl) were intended to serve ils a
means or comeying the pharaoh through the
netherworld.
G. FOLC \RT, 'Un rcmple flortanr: Ie vaisseau d'or
d'Amon-Ib', 6im/alilllf Eughlc Pilll: JlJO/llflllL'11fS
clll/(,;lllllirl'S publil:., pllr /~Ja/(/t:lIlie des /IlStTljll//J/i)
el IJf//es /A:fll"t'-, 25 (1921-2), I43-6Sl.
0. FIIU:! I()\\, 'Konigsschiff lind Sonnen bark"
IIZA"II 54 (1~57), .1-1--12.
K. A. f..:.1TClIEX, 'Barke', Lexikllll tier. -igYPl%gie
I, ed. W. Hdck, E. Otto and W. Westendorf
(\\'iesbadell, 1975), 61 ~-25.
P. LIPKE, nil' n~l'(d ships (~(Cheops (O'\ford,
1~84).

R. r-1. \VIL.KINSO,\, !?cadillg f:~J'Pli(f/ll/rl

(London, 19(2), 152-:).

Soleb
Site in the third cataract region of Upper
Nubia, which was excavared by a team from
the University of Pisa between 1957 and 1977.
It consists primarily of a sandstone temple
built by Amenhotep III (1390-1352 Ilc), the
remains of a town which became the c,lpital or
1:.ush in the late 18th Dynas!")', and cemeteries
datill!! mainly to the New Kingdom
(1551J'-1IJ69 Be) and the Meroiric periuti (30n
IlL-.II) 350).
The temple ofAmenholep rll was (kdicHted
both to Ai\ILi.'!-RA of Karnak and to Nehma:nra,
lord of Nubia (a deified vcrsion of AmenholCp
III himself). Nebmaatra was portrayed as an
anthropomorphic moon-god wearing the
ram's horns of Amlin, in effect a local ,crsion
of KIIOIl\S, the son of Amun-Ra and 1\ltT. The
temple f()rmed the setting both for the edebration of a SED FESTIV/\L and for the ritual of
'illuminating the dais', whereby Ncbmaatnl
was invoked to ensure the regul;lr appearance
of the full moon by healing the eye of 1I0[{US.
Several mVl"hs describe the 'eye' as harin~ ned
to Nubia, 'where it was frequ~ntl\' said [0 h,we
uken on the appearance of a 'lioness. it is
therefore possible that a pair of red granite
lions inscribed with the name of Amcnho[cp
III and originally installed at the temple (and
later moved to Gebel Barkal) may have represented the lioness-1Toddess of rhe full moon,
Tefnut-Nfehil. The~e st;l~~es - the 'Prudhoe

274

.....

SO POET

SOMTUTEFNAKHT

When portrayed on coffins, from the Middle

Kingdom onwards, the depictions of H;:lPY
and Qebehscnuef were placed on thc west side
at the head ~1I1d foot respectiycly, while those
of Tmsety and Duamutef were located in the
corresponding positions on the cast side. The
north (head) end of the coffin was usually protected by '\!El'l rTI IYS, while the south (foot) was
associated with ISIS.
\v. C. 1-I.I\YEs, 'the seepla ~rf:!!YPf (New York,

1953),320-1.
A.]. SPE:\CER, Death in fll1tielll EgYPI
(Harmoncls\\'onh, 1982), 157-9.
A. DOlJso" The cfI1wpic e'flliplllt'1l/ o/tht' kings of
Egypi (London, 1994).

The ru;,/s oflhl' {tmp/e til S"lcb. l)ffilll~)1

!lmell/w!ep III. From (/ /9/h-u//llIIY t/rtllJlillg I~)I
George Akx({/l(lcr Hos!.:. illS.

(RI:PROf){'Cf!J

COlRTfS \' OF Tf-IH G/U FFn'lI f \snn TE)

Lions' - are now lTI the British lVluseum (see

illustration under 1.10,).
1\1. SCIIIIW GIORGI:'-JI, So/eb, 2 'ols (Florence,

1965-71).

Somtutefnakht see

and a l11an). Drawings and painlings of lhe

four sons consisted of human figures (sometimes l11ummiform) cal..:h with their charactcristic head. Their forms ,mel functions are summarized belo\\":
N(/lIIt'(~l{hil.J'
Head
Cardilla!
.7ar
tolllt'lIls
poilll
Imscty
liyer
human
sourh
I-bpy'
lungs
apc
north
jackal
Duamutef
east
stomach
inrt'Srincs falcon
Q!:bchsenoef
west

I'ER51.\, PERSIA 'IS

Faieuceligllres oftht'.four SOl1S ofHorus. They are

aiom !eli 10 right) lmseo'. DUfl11IUtr.f,

Sons of Horus
Four deities (Duamutef, Qcbchscnucf, Imsety
and Hapy) who were responsible for protecting the internal organs of the deceased (see
CANOPle JARS). Each of the four gods was associated with a particular canopic vessel ;.mel its

Qsbehselllll:( find Hapy. Such rll1wpirJigures mighl

be placed within 11I11111/1~)1 mrappiugs. Late Nt'm
Kingdolll. ff. (~rJII1.w:~)' f.I.6 011. (E.-I26230)

Sopdet (50th is)

The goddess Sopdct, known as Sothis in the
Greco-Roman period (332 uC-.\1> 395), was
the personification of the 'dog smr', which the
Greeks called Seirios (Sirius). She was usually
represented as a woman with a star poised on
her head, alrhough the earliest dcpiction, on
an ivory tablet of the 1st-Dynasty king DJER
(<'.3000 BC) from Abydos, appears to show her
as a scated cow with a plant between her horns.
It has been pointed out that, sincc the plant is
symbolic of the year, the Egyptians may have
already been correlating the rising of the dog
star with the beginning of the solar year, even
in the early third millennium Be.
Along with her husband SAil (Orion) and
her son SOI'ED, Sopdet was part of a triad
which paralleled thal of OSJRJS, ISIS and I JORUS.
She was therefore described in the PYRAMID
TEXTS as having united with Osiris to give
birth to the morning star.

contents, while the gods themselves were said

to be protected by particular goddesses. The
fouf arc first mentioned in the Old Kingdom

(2686-2181 Be), when the prR \.\111)

TE\TS

describe them as the 'friends of the king',

assisting him in hjs ascension to the heavens.
Their connection with the god IIORtJS also
dates to this period. In the "liddle Kingdom
(2055-1650 BC) their associmion with particular goddesses and specific internal organs was
not well defined, but their roles had become
clearer by the New Kingdom (1550-1069 IIC),
by which time thev had also become members
of the group kn~wn as the 'seven blessed
ones', who were considered 1"0 guard the coffin
of the god OSIRIS (father of Horus) in the
northern skv.
From rh~ hne 18th Dynasty onwards the
Stoppers of the canopic jars were f<.1shioned in
the forms of the heads of eaeh of the four gods
(i.c. a jackal, a cynocephalus baboon, a hawk

275

SOPED

SP~

J. VANDlER, Manuel d'arcluiologie eg)/p/ielllle I

(Paris, 1952),842-3.
L. KAKOSY, 'Die Mannwcibliche Natur des
Sirius in Agypten', Siudia Aegyptiacll 2
(Budapesr, 1976),41-6.
G. CLERC, 'Isi-Sothis dans Ie monclc romain"
lJommllges ti A'11111rtellJ Vermaserel1 (Leiden,
1978),247-81.
C. DESROCi IE-NoBLECOURT, 'Isis Sothis - Ie
chien, Ia vignc - ct 101 tradition millenairc\
Livredu Celileuuire,lF/JO 1880-1980 (Cairo,
1980),15-24.

Soped (Sopdu)
Hawk-god and personification of the eastern
frontier of Egypt, whose primary cult-centre
was in the twentieth Lower Egyptian nome at
thc city of Pcr-Soped (modern San el-Hinna),
although there arc also inscriptions attesting
his worship at Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai
peninsula (see TURQUOISE). He was represented
either as a crouching falcon or as a bearded
man wearing a SHESM.ET GIRDLE and a headdress of two falcon feathers, often carrying a
WAS SCEPTRE, a battle-axe and an ANKH sign.
'rhe PYRAMID TEXTS associate him with the
teeth of the dcccased pharaoh, but they also
describe him as a star who was born from the
union of the king (as OSIRIS) and the dog star
SOPDET (as Isis). He therefore became associated with the more important hawk-god HORUS
(producing the syncretic form Har-Soped),
and the triad of Sopdet, SAIl and Soped thus
paralleled the divine family of ISIS, Osiris
and Horus.
I. ""V. SClIU~IADlER, Der Colt Soptlu, tier Herr tier
Fremtlliimler (Freiburg, 1988).

Sothic cycle
In terms of the Egyptian CALENDAR, the dog
star Sirius, whose Egyptian name was Sothis
(SOPDET) was the most important of the stars
or constellations known as decans (see ASTRO~
O;\IY AND ASTROLOGY), and the 'Sothic rising'
coincided with the beginning of the solar year
only once every 1460 years. This astronomical
event (known as a heliacal rising) took place in
AD 139, during the reign of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius, and was commemorated by
the issue of a special coin at Alexandria. There
would have been earlier heliacal risings in
1321-1317 BC and 2781-2777 IlC, and the
period that elapsed between each such rising is
known as a Sothic cycle. The Egyptian textual
records of Sothic risings (surviving from the
reigns of Senusret III, Amenhotep I and
Thutmose Ill) form the basis of the conventional CI-IRONOLOGY of Egypt, which, in nlrn,
influenced that of the whole .i\llediterranean
region.

276

Bronze statuette oflhe

goddess Sopdel. Lale
Period, Ilfie,. c.600 HC,
11.19<111. (./1/1-13)

R. A. PARKER, 'Sothic dates and calendar

"adjllstmcnI"', RdE9 (1952),101-8.
]. CER."IY, 'Notc on the supposed beginning of a
Sothic period under Sethos I',JEA 47 (1961),
150-2.
i\1. F. L\:GJ-L-\!\'1, 'The length of the Sothic cycle',
JEA 55 (1969), 36--40.
R. KRi\USS, Sothis-ulld MOI/r1daten: Studien ZlIr
astrol/oWiSc/te1lllflrl tec/mise/ten Chronologie
(I-lildeshcim, 1985).

Sothis see SOI'IJET

soul house see OFFERI"'G 1;lBI.E

speas (Greek: 'cave')

Term used in Egyptian archaeology to refer to
a small rock-cut temple. Egyptologists in the
nineteenth century tended to apply the term
to comparatiycly large temples, such as the
rock-cut shrines of Rameses II (1279-1213 BC)
at ABU SIMBEL, but its use has since become
much more restricted.
Speos Artemidos
Rock-cut temple dedicated ro the honessgoddess Pakhet (or Pasht), located about three
kilometres east of the Middle Kingdom rockcut tombs of BEN I HASAN, in Middle Egypt.

The temple, locally known as [stabl 'Antar (the

'stable' of Antar, a pre-Islamic hero) was built
by Hatshepsut (1473-1458 BC) and Thlltmose
III (1479-1425 BC). Pakhet ('she who scratches')
is known from the COFFI~ TEXTS as a night_
huntress, which was presumably the reason
why the Grech later identified her with their
own Artemis. There is no evidence for any cult
of Pakhet in the area of Beni Hasan befo~e the
Ncw Kingdom (1550-1069 Be).
The temple consists of a vestibule, supported by eight !lATHOR-headed columns,
connected by a short corridor with an inner
chamber where the cult image would once
have stood, although only the niche nO\\ SUrvives. An inscription on the architrave above
the vestibule describes the ravages of the
IIYKSQS rulers, and the work of HatshepsUl
in restoring the damage they caused. It is
usually assumed that this text simpl) uses
the Hyksos as convenient personifications of
disorder, since their expulsion had taken
place morc than scventy-five years earlier,
under the reign of her great-grandfather,
AIIMOSE I (1550-1525 IIC). Ironicallv, the
queen's own name was latcr hacked our when
Sety I (1294-1279 BC) inserted his own eartouches instead. The temple is surrounded
by the much-plundered burials of sacred
C.ATS, most of which date to the Late Period
(747-332 BC).
A. F:\Kf-lRY, 'A new speos from the reign of
Hatshepsut .lOd Tuthmosis III at Bcni-l Jasan',
ASAE 39 (1939), 709-23.
A. H. GAKDI1\'ER, 'Davies's copy of the great
SpcosArtemidos inscriprion',JEA 32 (19-+6),
43-56.
S. BICKEL and J.-L. C!-IAPI'AZ, 'l\I[issiol1s
cpigraphiqucs elu fonds de I'Egyptologie de
Gcncve au Speos Artemidos', BSEC 12 (1988),
9-24.
J. MALEK, Tire in uude"t g)/pt (London.
1993), 97, 126-8.

(tI'

sphinx
.Mythical beast usually portrayed with the
body of a lion and the head or a l11al1, often
wearing the royal lIcmcs headcloth, as in the
case of the Great Sphinx at Giza. Statues of
sphinxes were also sometimes given the heads
of rams (eriosphinxes) or hawks (hierakosphinxes). ]n one unusual case from the mortuary temple of Amenhotcp III (1390-1352 lie)
a sphinx was given the tail of a crocodile, evidently in imitation or a beast associated with
one of the Egyptian constellations. "'omen afC
rarely represented in the guise of a sphin.\. and
evcn Queen HHSIIEI'SUT (1473-1458 BC)
assumed the form in her masculine role as
king rather than as a woman.

SPHINX

The Creat Sphinx (if Gizll proIJII/J()I represel115 lite

4th-DYllllSO' ruler, Khajra. AI/hough lIluch of/he
body;s cllrvedfrom fl low" ofrock, subs/lintial
sloue cladding has been added at imervals since
Pharaonic times bOlh ;11 reSpOl1Si! 10 eros/oullntl as
a 111C(I11S a/improving areas ofpoor qualiZJI mck.
Fur/her comen;atiOl111JOrk IUlS reccllt()f been
tl/u!erlakw. (p. T. .!I/ICHOI..'WN)

Although the ancient Greek term sphinx

meant 'strangler', it has been suggested that
the origin of the word may have been the
Egyptian phrase shesep ankh ('living image'),
which was an epithet occ<lsionally applied to
sphinxes. The Egyptian sphinx, associated
with both the king and the sun-god, was clearly
very different from the malevolent female
sphinx that features in Greek myths such as
the tales of Oedipus and Perseus. Even when
Egyptian sphinxes are depicted in the act of
trampling on foreign enemies, as in a depiction on a shield from the tomb of
TUTANKIIA;\IUt\ (1'-,,62), the slaughter was
clearly regarded simply as one of the archetypal aspects of the kingship. This theme was
popular in jewellery, as in the case of the 12thDynasty pectoral of ~1ercret fi'OITI DAI-ISIIUR,
which bears a scene of two falcon-headed
sphinxes crushing the enemies of the pharaoh.
The head of a statue of Djedefra (25662558 Be), discovered in his pyramid complex
at ABU ROASIl, is thought to be the earliest

SPHINX

surviying fragment of a sphinx (now in the

Louvre). The same site also yielded a small
limestone sphinx statuette. However, the
Great Sphinx at GIZA, located beside the
causeway of the pyramid of KJIAFRA
(2558-2532 BC), remains the best-known
example. Nlcasuring 73 m long and a maximum of 20 III in height, it was carved from a
knoll of rock lcft hehind after quarrying. The
face probably represents Khafra himself,
although it has been ,1rgued that it may represent his predecessor Djcdcfra. On many occasions it has been all but buried by sand and
recleared, the most famous instance being
recorded on the 'Dream Stele' erected directly
in front of the Sphinx b\ Thutmose 1\
(1400-1390 BC), describing the promisc made
to him in a dream that ifhc cleared the sand he
would become king.
A detailed study of the Great Sphinx was
undertaken by the American archaeologist
Mark Lehner during the 19805, leading to the
suggestion that a standing figure of a king was
added between the paws of the Sphinx in the
New Kingdom. As early as the 18th Dynasty
(l550-1295BC) the Sphinx was already subject
to reconstruction work in the form of limestone cladding, and there has been growing
concern with regard to the gradual deterioration of the monument, which has lost its nose,
Ilraeus and divine beard (fragments of the two
latter features being in the collections of the

British l\lluseum and the Egyptian iVI useUITI,

Cairo). More recently erosion and rising
ground water have become a problem, and the
site is currently the subject of environmental
monitoring.
An incomplete 4th-Dynasty temple, apparently made from the same stone as the sphinx
itself, was built immediately in front of the
monument. It was probably intended for the
worship of the three forms of the sun: KHEPIU
in the morning, R!\ at midday, and KJ'Ul'vl in the
evening. In the New Kingdom, the Sphinx
was identified with Horemakhet ('Horus in
the horizon'), and a new temple dedicated to
Horemakhct was constructed to the north of
the earlier building, which would by then
have been completely immersed in sand. This
:\lew Kingdom temple was also dedicated to
the cult of Hauron, a Canaanite desert-god
who may have become identified with the
Great Sphinx partly because it was buried in
the desert.
From at least ns carly as the New Kingdom,
avenues of sphinxes lined the processional
ways (drolJ100 leading to many temples,
including those of KARNAK and LUXOR. The
main entrance to the temple of AmLin at
Karnak is flanked by rows of criosphinxes,
while the pylon of the Luxor temple was
approached through avenues of humanheaded sphinxes bearing the cartouche of the
30th~Dvnastl' ruler l'\ectanebo 1 (380-362 BC).

277

STANDARDS

E. Clll\SSINI\T, '1\ propos d\lI1c tefC en grcs rouge

elu roi Didoufri', Poudal;OIl EugclIl' Piot:
Alolillmeuts (/ memoires pub/iis par {,flau/emir deJ
II/scriptions e1 Belles Leflres 25 (1921-2), 53-75.
S. I-L\ss.\~, The Sphinx: its hisJoly ill/ighl 0/

(Cairo, 1949).
C. DI:: \~'rrl Le nUl' el Ie SI!US till IiO/l dal/s I'Egyple

reall{exca'l.'G/;OllS

flllcinwe (Leidcn, 1951).

A. DESSL~~t:, Le sphillx: euult' j(ollogmphiqul!
(Paris, 1957).
H. DE\lISUI, Die Sphinx (Stuttgart, 1977).
;'vl. LEIlNER, 'Reconstructing rhe Sphinx', GEl.7

2! I (1992), .1-26.
L E. S. Emv;\RDs, The pyramids o/Egypt, 5th eel.
(Harmonds\\"orth, 1993), 121--.J.

standards
\Vooclcn standards, comprising poles SlIrmounted by cult images, were used rrom the
Predynastic period onwards as i1 means of displaying fetishes or representations of deities
symbolizing the differclll towns and !'\O\IES
(provinces) of Egypt. There are depictions of
standards on many of the ceremonial
PALETI'ES, mace heads and labels of the late
Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods
(c.3200-2890 BC). The Bull Palelle (now in the

ST~

The term 'standard-be.ncr' was a military

rank designating the commander of a unit of
about two hundred men, and the title was held
by numerous individuals throughout the
Pharaonic period. \\fhcrcas the :\"O.\lE stand,wds usually appcar to have been threedimensional images at the rop of the poles,
military srandartls are often represented as
rectangular wooden stehle bearing paintcd figures of gods or occasionally aggressh'e scenes
such as the pair of wrestlers on a Nubian soldiers' standard depicted in the Theban tomb
of Tjanlln)' (rr7-1, 1'.1-100 Be).
Priests are regularly portrayed in the act of
carrying standards bearing either stelae or figlII'ines of deitics, as in the Cilse of the wooden
srallie of .1 priest called Pen buy holding two
standards) each surmounted by divine statuettes (now in the lVlusco Egizio, Turin). A pair
of ebony statuettes of 1..\IE:'\1I0TEP III and Tn
(Riimer-Pclizaeus i\lllseum, Hildesheim) and
a faience figurine of Ptah (University of
Pennsylyania, Philadelphia) are thought to
have derived fi'om temple standards of this
type. See also illustration under .\RT.
C. C. SELlGI"'" and 7\l.l\luRR1.', 'Note upon an
early Egyptian standard', AIJ((l1 II (1911),165-71.
R.o. F_1.LLK'ER, <Egyptian military stand:lfds',
JEA 27 (i9{l), 12-18.
C. CJ J.\lHTAUD, Les sUIIlICS pO/'Ie-t'lisciglll's de
l'Egypte til/tiel/lit: (Paris, 1982).
S. CLRTO, 'Standarten" u'xil:rl1l tier AgYPlologie v,
ed. IV. I-Ielck, E. Otto "ml IV. Westeodorf
(Wiesbaden, 198{), 1255-6.

Crallile slell' I~r

Perib.w:n ji'Oll1 lomb PIII
_/~}Itlos. 2nd P)'II11S/1'.
c.27008c,I1.I.13m.
(lu35.'i97)
LEVI"

IlELO\r Plait,

lit" patrol/

l~l(l"(~/isml'lI.

/"ac;"t'.(

l~fJerillgs

alld ut!oralul11

jrrl111 lite roylll allji.HlIllJI

Pm/my. Paimed
limewme stde ofPCllbIlJ'
FOI/1 DeiI' el-JIIrcdil1t1,
19th Dynasty. c./2S0
Be. 11. 38 CIII. (/1f6h)

stars see f\STRO]\"O,\lr AND l\STKOLOGYj

C:\I.END..... H; S:\II; $UPDET

and

SOTIIIC CYC.LE

stele

lIr61 Dyuastic iV01Y Ilibel shomiug King Den

smilil1g (Ill AS/lltic; 011 the right-hlll1d sitle is 1I
sllI11dllrtlsurmoul1tetlID'thejigllre Qla jackal. ht
DYl1(lS~)I, c.29.10 /lC,/;"0111 A/~),tlos, II. -1.5 (m.
(>:A55586)
Louvre) shows a rope clutched by hands on
the end of several smndards each of which evidently personified regions controlled by an
carl)' Egyptian ruler. The SCORPIO" maeehead
(Ashmolean .Museum, Oxford) inventively
used a row of standards as gibbers from which
to hang the subject-peoples in the form of
REKIIYT BIRDS. More convention'llly, the
).I,,\K\IER palette (Egyptian Nluseum, Cairo)
shows the king wearing the 'red crown' and
preccded by a group of fouf standard-bcarers
as he inspects enemy dead.

278

Sl:1b of stone or wood bearing inscriptions,

relief'i or paintings, lIsually of a funerary,
votive, commemorative or liminal nature,
although these four categories often overlap.
The earliest funerary stelae were cxcavated
from the cemetery of lst- and 2nd-Dynasty
kings at ABYDOS The royal stelae at Abydos
consisted of pairs of large stone-can-cd slabs
be:lring the name of the king written in a
SEREKI-I framc, while the private stelae from the
tombs of their courricrs at Abydos and
S'\QQAR.1. were smaller and less carefully
carved.
By the 3rd Dynasty a new type of funerary
stele, the FALSE DOOH, had emerged out of a
combination of c;trly slab stelae and the
inscribed niches into which they were set.
This was to be the focal point of the pri\"ate
offering cult for much of the Pharaonic
period, providing a symbolic door between the
world of the living and the afterlife, through

which the K/\ of the deceased could pass hack

and forth to partake of the offerings in Ihe
chapel. 1n the early lVliddlc Kingdom a new
round-topped type of funerary stele began to
be used, particularly in \otiyc contexts such as
the offering chapels at Ab,dos.
Voti\'e stelac, usually placed in temples,
were principally rectangular, round-topped
slabs decorated with either painted relief decoration or painting O\'cr a dlin layer of plaster.
Large numbers of \"otive stelae were erected at
particularly sacred sites such as Abydos and
the Saqqara SERAPEU.\I, although they arc less
prominent in the archaeological record than
funerary stelae. Nlost stelae were decorated

STELE

with scenes of an indiyidual hearing offerings

deity or simply in (he acT of worshipping
the god or goddess whose assistance \V.1S
sOllght~ but ;l special form. known as an 'C.lf
stele', was also decorated \Yith selS of cars,
apparently in order to ensure rh,lt the prayer
recorded on the stele "-as heard by a particular
aspect of the dcil-y in question: 'he/she who
listens to prayers'. These stelae constitute part
of the l~\idcnce for the g,TOWlh in 'personal
piety' in the ~cw Kingdom, \\ hereby individuals .1ttcmptcd to make their OWI1 approaches
to deities. rather than relying on I'K[I:srs to
intercede on their behalf.
C0111mcmor:uivc sLebe were a fOfm of
vorive stelae erected in temples by the
ph'lraohs or their courtiers in order ro describe
royal exploits on behalf of the gods. This (;Itegory includes thc "'d_\\OSE Stchle' describing
the conqucst of the I n ~SOS, dlC 'lSR_\EI. Stele'
to ~l

STONE AND QUARRYING

orativc stelae were the rock-cut and freestanding inscriptions carved at sites sllch as GEDI~1.
1:I.-SIl..SII. \ and IL\T."L,II in ordcr to mark the
achie\'cments of quarrying and mining
expeditions (see SH1'E \'\1) <LL \RRn:--..G .\ '\J)
TL"l.LOISE).

Liminal stelae were set up to mark the

edges of territory, lhe simplest version being
the stones Ihat marked the edges of fields. On
;\ more sophisticated Ic\-c! were the unique
'boundary stelae' at lhc edges of the city of
t\khctaten at EI.-\\IW'\.\, and such far-fiung
monuments as the SE\I'\.\ and "LRGLS stelae,
marking the southernmost BORDERS of Egypl
in the 12th and 18th Dynasties rcspcctiycly.
Stelophorous sratues, consisting of human
figures holding or offering stelae, were produced fi'om lhe 18th D~ nasty onwards. Such
stelae 'vere usually inscribed with hymns 10
the sun-god.
\V. 1\ I. Po PETRII'" The ro)'(/llowbs oIthe (ttrlitsl
f6",(/stie.\11 (London, 1901), pis XX'I-XXXI.
P. L \c:\L:, ,-\/{~/c.l dll NOI/i.c/ {;mpire (Cairo, 1909).
J. V '''I.)IER, .lluIlN/!/ r/'ardft;,,/ogie (~)Iplit!/i//e II/I
(Paris, 1954).
L. H.\B:\C1II, The Sl'I'(IIu/ KflwoJt' Jfe/e (Gllickst;'ldt,
1972).
S. \VIEH.KII, Dit' iigypJische Sduiutfi'r (Hamburg,
1981).
\V. .J. l\lL:RN.\:'\E and C. VA' SIU.I':, Ill, The
boundory Sielo/! r!FAklfClwll'II (London, 1993).

stelophorous statue see STEI.I:

Qplln:::.;Il' Jtt~/ophor()1IS (~telt'-beur;"g) .~/({llIl' (!(

Amellwu!l.l'II. The stele is il/saitxd milh a prayer 10

the sUII-god alld ajigflre I~rlhe gnd Ru-l1nrakho'
ill his /Jurk. /8Jh DynasJy, c./-I50 IJC. 11.56 cm.
(f:'~80)

enumerating ,\lEREXI'TAII'S c;,lmpaigns <.lgainst

Libyans, Sea Peoples and Asiatics, the 'Victory
Stele' of the Kushite ruler PlY, recounting his
glorious crusade through Egypt, supposedly
re-conquering it on behalf of the god Anlllll,
and the 'Restoration Stele' of TLiT\N~II,\\lv.'\,
describing the religious reforms introduced
in the immediatc aftermath of the _'\marna
period. A m(lre specialized group of commem-

stone and quarrying

\Vhcreas many ancient peoples were obljged to
trade with other cultures in order to obmin rhe
mineral resources me)' needed, the Egyptians
were well provided with a diyerse range of
types of stone in the dcserts on eirhcr side of
the Nile yalley. Their exploitatiun of stone is
first attested in the form of small chert quarries of the Palaeolithic period, dating to
c.35000 Be. In the Predynastic period
(c.5500-3100 Be), relativelv small pieces of
slich ElVourcd stones as siltstone, basalt, breccia, limestone, sandstone and granodiorite
were being quarried for the production of cosmetic PALETn:s, .\L\CE:S and vessels. The carving of stone "cssels, often from vcry hard
stones, for funerary usc yirtually reached the
level of mass production in the Early Dynastic
period (3100-2686 Be).
By the mid-third millenniulll Be rhere were
hundreds of quarries scattered across the
,,,estern and eastern deserts and the SIi'\\1
peninsula and southern Palestine, often in
extremely remote areas, since the use of stone
was an essential component of the Pharaonic
economy, parricularly once rhe reign of DJOSER

and rhe construction of his Step I>yramid at

had ushered in a new era of monumental stone masonry on an unprecedented
scale.
The amount of quarrying (hat rook place in
each reign of the Pharaonic period (3] 00-332
Be) Gill be employed as a kind of measure of
political centralizalion and sLabili~. There arc
S:\Q.Q'\RA

UI!lillis/wlstalllt'lle
IIJfIl//{1!f or goddi'ss,
milltl!u.'Jfllj(,uslill
.~ltolPil1g Jhl' marks uI
fltt J(II/ptor~~ rhis(I.
Lllle Pl'fiud. c.6()() nco
busa!l. If. 32 C111.
(E/5.;2.;,)
vllf

even some Egyptian rulers who would barely

be known if i( were not for the remote rock-cut
inscriptions commemorating their quarrying
expeditions, as in the C;.lSC of the 1l th-Dynasty
pharaoh !\Ientuholcp ". (1992-1985 Be), who
sent expeditions LO \adi el-Hudi for
amerhysts and to the \>Vadi H,lmmamat for siltstone (grcywacke).
Egyptian kings would often supply their
loyal courtiers with the stonc they needed for
their funerary equipment, and this arrangement seems to ha,e oeen an import~mt
element in the political and personal links
between the pharaoh and his offici~lls. 'T'he
lomb of an official called Wcni at Abydos
describes the quarrying expeditions thai he
organized for the king and mentions the royal
gift of a fine limestone sarcophagus from the
Tura quarries.
Although me scalc of many expeditions
would have effectively made I'hem royal
monopolies, archaeological evidence from the
II;\Tl\"vll travenine ('Egyptian alabaster') quarries, rhc Umm el-Sawwan gypsum quarries
and the Gebel e1-Zeit galena (lead sulphide)
mines suggests that there was intermittent
private exploitation of certain raw materials
throughout the Pharaonic period, perhaps
following in ..he footsteps of the major
expeditions.

279

SYNCRET~

STRABO

K.--J. SEYFRIED, Beitrage zu dell E.. .pedit/ouen des

Nlittleren Rcie/zes in die Osl-Wli"sle (Hildesheim,
1981).
J. A. HARRELL, 'An inventory of ancient Egyptian
quarries', NARCE 146 (1989),1-7.
D. ARNOLD, Building in Egypt: pharaonic s(olle

the country in the Third Intermediate Period

(1069-747 ne).
W. EDGERTON, 'The strikes in Ramcsscs m's
twenty-ninth year',JNES 10 (1951),137-45.
C. J. EYRE, 'A "strike" text from the Theban
necropolis', Orbis AegJlptiol'll1l1 Speculum,

lIIa.W1II)' (New York and Oxford, 1991).

D. and R. KLEM:-"'1, Steine lind Stdnlmlche /m allen
Agyptell (Berlin, 1993).
L SHAW, 'Pharaonic quarrying and mining;
settlement and procurement in Egypt's marginal
rcgions',Alltiquily 68 (1994),108-19.
B. G. ASTON,]. HARRELL and L SHAW, 'Stone',
AlIdellt Egyptian maler/als (l1ltIted11lo/Qgy, ed.
P. T. Nicholson and 1. Shaw (Camhridge 2000).

Glimpses ofallcie1ll Egypt: SlI/dies ill hOI/our of

H. W Fairma/l, cd.]. Ruffle, G. A. Gaballa and
K. Kitchen (Warminster, 1979),80--;91.

Strabo (.63 BC-LAD 21)

Greek historian and geographer, who was born

in Pontus but spent several years at

Alexandria, which he describes in some detail
in the eighth book of his Geography. As in
IIERODOTUS' Histories, much of Strabo's information concerns Lower Egypt, but he also discusses the Theban monuments, including the
tourist attractions of his day such as the
COLOSSI OF 1vlEMNON and the New Kingdom
rock-tombs. He also travelled as far south as
the first cataract near Aswan in c.25 BC, recording the presence of the NltOMETER at
Elephantine. Although not generally as informative as the work of Herodotus, Strabo's
Geography is nevertheless a valuable record of
Egypt in the first century Be.
STRABO, The geography, trans. I-I. L. Jones
(London, 1932).
strikes
'The only evidence for the very modern concept of the 'strike' or withdrawal of labour
occurs in some of the surviving documents
from the DElR EL-MEDINA community of royal
tomb-workers. The records of the scribe
Amennakhtc show that the government supplies for the village were repeatedly delayed
over a period of six months in the twentyninth year of the reign of RAME$t,:S lit
(1184-1153 BC). The workers therefore eventually went on strike and staged protests in
fi'ont of the mortuary temples ofThutmose III,
Sety rand Rameses TT, on the Theban west
bank. Despite attempts by the central administration to remedy the situation, further
strikes took place later in the year and later
documents seem to show that the rest of the
Ramesside period was dogged by poor relations between the village and the government.
It is possible that the Deir el-lYledinJ strikes
are part of the evidence for a steady decline in
the poljtical and economic stability of Egypt as
it slid gradually towards the fragmentation of
280

Suchos see SOIll-X

Sumer, Sumerian
Early Mesopotamian ethnic and linguistic
group comprising a series of autonomous cit1'states, which emerged in about 3400 Be. It \vas
probably the first 'civilization' in the world,
perhaps appearing as a result of the stimulation of the organizational demands of irrigation agriculwre. Among the principal
Sumerian cities were Ur, Eridu, Lagash and
Uruk, some of whose rulers arC known from
king lists compiled in the second millennium
Be. Sumerian, the spoken language of the
people of Sumer, is unrelated to any other
known linguistic group; it was recorded in the
CUNEIFOR~'l script, archaic versions of which
already appear to be in the Sumerian language
in the later fourth millennium Be (i.e. the
Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods). The presence
of Sumerian cylinder scals at late Predynastic
sites in Egypt has raised the possibility that
early cuneiform may have inspired the development of IIlEROGLYPHS in Egypt, but there is
still considerable debate concerning the connections, if any, between these two ancient
scripts. Around 2300 Be Sumer was incorporated into the AKKADIAN empire.
S. N. KRAMER, The SU1IIeriam (Chicago, 1963).
H. CRAWFORD, Smile/" aud the Sllweriam
(Cambridge, 1991).

sun see

ATEN;

ATUiVI; IV\ and SHADOW

symplegma (Greek: 'intertwined')

Greek term used to describe a type of sculptural group depicting a group of intertwined
figures engaged in sexual intercourse, usually
executed in painted terracotta. Votive sculptures of this type were sometimes deposited in
shrines and temples, especially in the
Ptolemaic period (332-30 BC). The largest surviving ~Yl1lpleg1Jl(f, now in the collection of the
Brooklyn wluseul1l, New York, is a terracotta
Ptolemaic sculpture portraying a nude woman
receiving the sexual attentions of four male
figures (each wcaring the distinctive SIDELOCK
of a se1ll-priest), while two attendants hold a
representation of a bound oryx. In this
instance it has been suggested that orgiastic

scenes were probably associated with the procreative powers of the god osmls, while the
bound oryx perhaps symbolized the contain_
ment of evil.
R. S. BIANCl II ct al., Cleopatra Egypt: age Olthe
Pto/emies (Mainz, 1988), no. 130.
- , 'Symplcgma', Ancient Egyptiall art ill the
Brook(}111 iV[/lseum, cd. R. A. Fazzini et a1. (New
York and London, 1989), no. 82.

syncretism
The process of syncretism, by which two Or
more deities were fused into the object of a
single cult, was a fundamental aspect of the
development of Egyptian RELIGIOi\. Erik
Hornung has made an eloquent study of the
ways in which the attributes and associations
0['10c<11' and 'national' deities were rearranged
and combined by the Egyptians in a form of
visual and iconographic theology. Thus the
recurring concept of a single underlying \miversal' deity was considered to be manifest
in a huge variety of Egyptian gods and g'oddcsses. The syncretizing of onc goel with
another, such as the transformation of 4r.MUN
and RA into Amun-Ra, and the fusion of PTAH,
SOKAR and OSIRIS into the consummate funerary image of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, was a nanlral
conseq uence of this flcxibility in Egyptian
theology. The same process could also be used
to assimilate Asiatic, Nubian, Greek or Roman
deities into the Egyptian pantheon, as in the
case of the Mcroitic god ShU~AREl\SNUPlllS,
the Asiatic goddess ANAT-Hathor, and the
Greco-Roman god SERAPIS (Zeus, Helios and
Osorapis).
I-I. BONNET, 'Zum Verstiindnis des
Synkrctislllus', zAs 75 (1939), 40-52.
- , 'Synkretisl11us', Real/exikoll der iigYPfischell
Religiollsgeschichte, cd. H. Bonnet (Berlin, 1952),
237-47.
J. G. GRTFFITIIS, 'lVlotivation in early Egyptian
syncretism', Studies in Egyptiall religivlI dedir({fed
10 Professor Jan Zalldee, cd. M. H. van Voss et <11.
(Lciden, 1982),43-55.
E. HORNUNG, COllaptiolls o/God ill ({uciellt
Egypl: the Olle and the ma,,~J' (London, 1983),
91-9.
Syria-Palestine
Geographical area in western Asia, comprislng
the southern and northern sections of the
Levant, bordered by the SINAI peninsula to the
southwest, the j\I[editerranean to the west,
Anatolia to the north, and the Arabian desert
and Mesopotamia to the south and cast. See
BYBI.OS; CANAAN; ISRl\EL; i'vIEGIDDO and Q!\DESIL

TA-BlTJET

T
Ta-bitjet
Scorpion-goddess closely associated with the
bleeding caused by loss of virginity. She is
described as the consort of the hawk-god
1I0RUS in certain magical spells intended to
avert the consequences of poisonolls bites.

taboo (Polynesian taha)

Originally a term applied to the various mechanisms by which Polynesian social divisions
were created and maintained. In Egyptology,
as in the study of many other ancient civilizations, the term is commonly lIsed in a slightly
different sense, LO describe the various phenomena that posed a threat to the st.ructure of
the universe. 11tboos were in effect the means
by which the social and metaphysical framework was preserved and reinforced.
The Egyptians believed that taboos were
instilled by the creator in particular objects,
people and actions, and it was fclt that only
the creator-god himself, or sometimes the
king (functioning as a demiurge), could alter
this situation. The word used by the
Egyptians to refer to the coocept of taboo
seems to have been bml, according to Pierre
Montet's analysis of cult-topographical lists
of the Late Period (747-332 BC). Unless
some parts of the universe were declared bml
it was considered to be impossible to recreate
the primordial statc of the universe at the
moment of creation, since the act of cosmogony was effectively concerned with the
creation and maintenance of the very boundaries from which taboos were derived. One
type of taboo affected access to such ceremonial and ritualistic structurcs as temples,
tombs and palaces, in the sense that individuals were prohibited unless they adhered to
certain rules of purity, such as abstinence
from sexual activity. Other forms of taboo
were concerned with the avoidance of such
activities as the consumption of certain
foodstuffs, including pigs, FISI-I and honey,
or walking upside down (an action somehow
connected with faeces). Since the epagomenal days at the end of each year (see
CALENDAR) were taboo, it was considered
essential for the names of each of the days to
be memorized.
Taboos could affect physical entities ranging from bodily orifices to national borders,
but they could also apply to events such as
copulation or birth. It is important to note,

TALATAT BLOCKS

however, that the most important factor was

often the geographical or cultural context
rather than the event or act itself. Taboos could
often be purely local, affecting only the inhabitants of a region dominated by a particular deity.
In the Victory Stele of the Kushite ruler pry
(747-716 HC) the description of the surrender
of the Delta princes involves reference to two
taboos regarding CIRCUMCISIOK and the consumption of fish: CThey were forbidden to
enter the palace because they had not been circumcised and they were eaters of fish, which is
an abomination to the palace, but King Nimlot
was able to entcr the palace because he was
clean and did not eat fish.'
P. MOi\:TET, 'Le fruit dCfendu', Kblli II (1950),
85-116.
J. ZANOEE, Death as all menD' (Leiden, 1960).
P. J. FRANDSEN, (Tabu', uxikoll der A'gyptologie
VI, cd. 'lvV. I leick, E. Ouo and W. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1986), 135-42.
- , 'Bwt - divine kingship and grammar', Aklen
A1iillcheu 1985 llI, cd. S. Schoske (Hamburg,
1989),151-8.

Taharqo (Taharka, Taharqa) (690-664 BC)

Third pharaoh of the NAPATAN 25th Dynasty,
who inherited the throne of Egypt and Nubia
at the age of about thirty-two, on the death of
his nephew (or possibly cousin), Shabitqo
(702--D90 BC). During the first half of his
twenty-six-year reign he was able to undertake
a considerable amount of construction, particularly in the temple complexes of KARNAK,
KAWA, MEDINET I-IA13U and Sanam. He also had
his daughter, Amenirdis II, adopted as GOD'S
WIFE OF AM UN at Thebes, partly no doubt in
order to ensure that MENTUEMIIAT, the power-

ful (fourth prophet of Amun" did not exert too

much independent control over the Thcban
region.
He recorded the early years of his reign on
a series of stelae in his temple at KAWA, the first
of which dated to the sixth year of his reign. In
the seventeenth year (c.674 BC) he defeated the
invading armies of the ASSYRIAN king
Esarhaddon, hut three years later Esarhaddon
returned and succeeded in driving him Out of
l\1cmphis, apparently capturing his son and
brother in the process. Although Esarhaddon
died in 669 BC, his successor Ashurbaoipal
wasted no time in reconqucring Egypt, this
time pushing down much further south to
'T'hebes, forcing Taharqo to retrcat in exile to
the Kushite heartland around Napata.
Once the Assyrian armies had withdrawn,
the rulers of the princedoms of Lower Egypt
plotted with 'laharqo to restore him to power.
'rhc Assyrians, howcver, were alerted to the
potential rebellion and promptly killed most
of the Delta princes, leaving only the favoured
Saite prince NEKAU I (672~664 IIC) and his son
PSAMTEK I (664-610 BC) as the Assyrian-backed
joint rulers of Lower Egypt. Shortly afterwards, Taharqo died in Napata, leaving the
throne to his nephew TANUTAMANI (664-656
lJc); he was buried in a pyramidal tomb at the
royal cemetery of NURI.
M. F. LA..'lING MJ\CADA;\'I, The temples ofKama.,
2 vols (Oxford, 1949-55).
K. /\1YSLIEWIEC, cDa.s Konigsportriit des Taharka
ill Napata', MDAIK39 (1983), 151-7.
'lvV. Y. ADAMS, Nubia: corrie/or 10 Africa (London
and Prioccton, 1984),246-93.
J. LECLANT, 'Taharqa', Lexikol1 der Agyptologie
VI, cd. W. Heick, E. Otto and W. Westcndorf
(Wiesbaden, 1985), 156--84.
K. A. KITCHEN, The Third il1lermediate Period il1
Egypt (I1{)()-650 BC), 2nd cd. (Warminster,
1986),387-93.

talatat blocks
Small sandstone relief blocks dating to the
Amaroa period (<".1352-1336 IIC), the name
for which probably derives from the Arabic
word meaning (tluee hand-breadths" describing their dimensions (although it has also

Gral1ite sphi11x of Tallllrqo from

Temple T at Kama, Nubia.
25,11 DYllaSlj', 690-664 BC,
L. 74.7clII. (EAI770)

281

TALMIS

TAN!.

been suggested that the word may have

stemmeu from I"he Italian for ~cut masonry"
laglill/fI). '['heir distinctive ShilPC derives from
the rapid construction techniques employed
by \kllJ'::'\_\TE~ (1352-J336 He) in commissioning the temples of the Atcn at I]~-.\\IAR'.\
and" \R'.\"', which necessitated the provision
of large quantities of smaller, more roughly
c.ln"cd blocks compared with the temples
constructed during the rest of the 1 ew
Kingdom. \Vhcn the 'heretical' Amarnaperiod temples were comprehensively dismantled in the reign uf 1I0RE:\IIIEB and the early
Ramessidc period, the llilallll blocks wcrc prcsen"cd through their fe-use as rubble in the
construction of new temples; Horcmhcb, for
instance, used thcm [Q fill rhc Ninrh and
Tenth PYI.Oi'S in rhe temple of Amun at
Karnak. 'T'he largest numbers of la/alat blocks
hayc been found in the temples of Karnak,
I.LX(lH. and fIEI{MOPOI.IS t\I1\G.)IA, alrhough
smaller numbers have also been found at several other iiites, including Medamud, As)'ut

ouler enclosure wall

"\

,, ',

..
-------:::: :-:-:---:l

,,
,

"

----------------1
i
______ .J

,"" j

greal temple of Amun

"
"
"

monumental"

'.

gale

: ,

:~ ..

r;.-_-_-..c..c..c..c..c==..c..c::..c::=

:
:,

,,

41 L~-~-.:-::::..-:.-~-~-:::---------..:-.:-.:--------------"

3~. royal

611"

necropolis

- - inner enclosure wall

temple of Horus . . - .

's

now form vast and complex jigsaw puzzles,

the partial solurion of which has alrcady
assistcd archaeologists in their attempts to
reconstruct the plan and appearance of the
various Amarna-period temples at e1-Amarna

D. B. REDFORJ), AHle1wtell, the heretic killg

(Princcton, I98{), 65-71.

I.

C. ALDRED, Akhelwtell. king oIEgypt (London,

1988),69-87.

00
1 tomb of Osorkon II
2 tomb of Psusennes Iand Sheshonq II
3 tomb of Amenemope
4 tomb of Sheshonq III
5 and 6 lambs with unknown oceupants

and Karnak.

temple 01 Mut,
Khans and Astarte

Tanis (anc. Djanet; San c1-Hagar)

,, ,,

,: sacred
lake

QQ

('

and Abvdos. The tens of thousands of blocks

Talmis set' KAJ.:\BSIIJ\

:
L

east temple
of Osorkon II

50

100m

10st important archaeological site in the

northe.lstem Delta, and capital of the nineteenth Lower Egyptian nome in the Late

Period (7{7-332

Be).

The principal exca-

yations at Tanis were carried alit in 1860-80

by Auguste l\ll\RIETn:, in 1883--86 by Flinders PETRII': and in 1921-51 by Pierre Muntet,
and the site is still heing studied by French
archaeologists.

Plan of Timis.
I'SUS~"l'~S

(1039-991

Be)

of the 21st

Dynasty, who was responsible for constructing

the huge mud-brick enclosure wall (430 III X
370 (1) surrounding the temple of Amon.

Ahhough many blocks and frab'ments of

relief, and statuary from the Old and Middle

Later rulers of thc 21st and early 22nd

Kingdoms as well as the reign of Rameses

NECIlINEBO'

(1279-121J

Be)

II

have been discovered at the

site, all of this carlier material appears to have

been re-used. Montet believed that the
Ramesside sculpture identified the site as
Piralllesse, the new capital established by Setl'

,(1294-1279

Be)

and Rameses

II,

but this the-

ory has been invalidated by work at TELL EL])(\13'" and Q!\NTJR (the laner being the actual
site of Piramcsse). The earliest recorded
building at Tanis dates to the reign of

282

Dynasty added to the temple complex, while

(380-362

Be)

of the 30th Dynasty

also built there, removing stone from the

temple buildings of SliESIIONQ v (767-730

Be)

(664-610 He) for lise in the construction of the SACRED LAKE. On the southwestern side of the site, beyond the temple
enclosure, is a smaJler temple dedicated to
MUT and KIIONS, where the Asiatic goddess
AS'li\RTE was also worshipped. This building
was reconstructed during the reign of Ptolemy

.111d PSAMTEK I

'v (221-205

Be).

l'vl.ontet's discovery, in 1939, of the roY'll

tombs of the 21st and 22nd Dvnastics was
overshadowed bv the outbreak of the Second
\-Yodd \iVar; the;efore the fmds are less widcl~'
known than would otherwise have bcen Lhe
casco Six tombs were discovcred: all were subterranean and constructed of a combin.ltion of
mud-bricks and re-used stone blocks, mnny of
them inscribed. The occupants of (Wo of the
tombs arc unknown, hut the remaining four
belonged to Psusennes I, Amencmope (993984 Be), Osorkon " (874-850 Be) and

Sheshonq "' (825-773

BC).

However, twO fur-

ther royal burials had been placcd in these

tombs: the tomb of Psusennes I contained the

hawk-headed silver coffin of Sheshonq "

(c.890 Be) as well as the coffin and sarcophagus
of Amenemopc, while that of Osorkon

II

held

the sarcophagus of Takelot " (850-825

BC).

TAWERET

The gold work and other c()uipmcnt from the

Tanis necropolis are the most important
source
knowledge concerning royal funerary goods of the 'Third Intermediate Period
(1069-7f7 Be).
\Y.1VL. F. PETRIE, 7,wis, 2 ,'ols (London, 1885-7).
P. Nlo""('ET. Les lIouL'cltcsJhuilles de 7l1nl~ (Paris,
1933).
- , La mfrmpole 1"(~)I(tle de 1illlis, 3 \'ols (Paris,
19f7-60).
-, Le Ill( sacredI.' 'fi/1/i.dParis, 1966).
K. A. KITClIL'l Tht' Third Intermediate Period i1/
Egypi (1100-650 lie), 2nd ed. (Worminsrer,
1986).
G. GUYON, La lNc()/Ivcrle dl'~lnf.wrs de 1;l1IJ~~
(Poris, 1987).
J. YmunE ct al. , 1ill/is. I'or des plutrilOlIS (Paris,
1987).
- , Gold of/he pharaohs (Edinburgh, ]988).

or

Tanutamani CElIltamani, Tanwelamani)

(664--656 BC)
Last of lhc 25th-Dynasty ph~traohs, who
defeated and killed rhe ASSYRIM,;-baeked Saite
ruler "C>...IL I (672-664 BC) in 664 Be, and was
then recognized :IS king by the Delta princes_
He left a stele in Lhe temple ar Gebel Barkal
which described how, in a dream, the throne of
Egypt had been offered to him by goddesses_
This method of legitimizing ;.lI1d strengthening his claim to the throne drew not only on
the text of the Victory Stele of the ~"'P_\T\"
ruler I'll' (7f7-716 BC) hut also harked baek LO
dlC 18th-Dynasty Drcam Stele of TlIUTi\IOSI':
IV (1400-1390 Be).
"TImut.lmani's reign m-er dle whole kingdom
of Egypt and I'\ ubia hlstec! for liule more tlmn
a year. In 663 Be he was overthrown in the
same way as his uncle (or cousin) 'I:'\II'\I{(~), by
the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, whose armies
plundercd thc temple treasures of Thebes.
Despite maintaining control oyer the Napatan
territories in r\ubia, 1:lIlutam;mi ,,-as unable to
regain e0111"ro] of Egypt itsclf~ where the
Assyrians established Nckau's son, I's\ \1TEk. I
(66+-610 lie), as a ,assal ruler. 1n the Theban
region, howcYcr, thc dates continued to be
written in terms of the years of ~nlllllt<lmani's
reign until at least 657 Be, although a local
priest, i\'Fh~TL-E.\lIl \'1", appe'lrs to have wielded
the genuine political power. In 656 Be
llmutamani died ~lIld was imerred in a typical
Napatan pyramidal tomb (accompanied by
horse burials) in the royal cemetery at 1-:1.KURRL.

K. A. KITell":', Tlte Third IlIIermeditJlt! Period ill

I:.gYPI (//00-650/1(:), 2nd cd. (\Varminstcr,
1986),393-100.
A. A. GASr-.IEI.-SEEIl, 'Lol wmbe de '"Emoutamon
aEI Kurru (Ku.16)', Rtfli 36 (1985), 67-72.

Tatjenen CEltenen: 'risen land')

Primeval god who is mentioned on the
SII \1I:\Q0 Smile (see OGDOi\D and 1''1'\11) in connection wil:h the emergence 01" the PRL\'IE\'l\1.
MOU"D at the moment of creation, as his name
suggests. His cult was initially ;lttested at
Memphis and became closely associated with
the ,-arious myths of CRI'::\'!'IO,"; he was effectively the IVlemphite equivalent of the BE;\IBEi\"
STO:'\'E at I-Icliopolis, although he was also sYIll~
bolic both nf Egypt itself and of the fertile
land rising annually from the waters of U1C
inundation_ Often portrayed as a hearded man
wearing a crown consisting of ram'$ horns, a
sun-disc and two plullles, he W<lS an 'earth
god' or chthonic deity, like AKER and GEIl,
guarding [he passage of the SOLAR II-\Rk.
through the netherworld. In the Li/(Jf~J' (~rR(f)
however, he is listed as the personification of"
the phallus of the dead king.
E. A. E. RU:\IOI'D, 'The childrcn ofTanen',
92 (1966),116-28
[I. A _SCI [I.OGL, Der Goll unel/ell (Freiburg,
19RO).

"As

Thweret that g;lined panicular importance

O\-er time. Like the dwarf-god BES, she appears
to h::1Ve had no cult temples of her own,
although a few statues have survived, and she
was sometimes portrayed in temple relief..;.
The Egyptian system of constclhuions connected the hippopotamus with the northern
sky, and it was in this role as Neberakhet ('mistress of the horizon') that 'lll\veret waS depicted on the ceiling of the tomb of Sety I
(129+-1279 BC) in rhe Valle\ of the Kings
(KI 15).
Esscntially a hcncyolcnt figure, rl:lwcret
was widely represented on amulers frolll the
Old Kingdom (2686-2IRI BC) onwards,
including large numbers excilyated from
houses at I':L-HL\R",\ (c.13-H) Be). Be<....1Usc of
her protective powers during childbirth, the
image of the hipP(lpotilllllls-goddess was considered a suit.lble motif for the decoration of
beds and h ,ldrcsts. Faiencc ,rases in dle shape
of the goddess, prO\'ided with <1 small pouring
hole at the nipple, were sometimes used to

tattoos see (I)S:\IE.TICS

Taweret ('EtlIrt, Thueris)
Household deity in the form of a female hippopotamus, who was panicularly associatcd
with the protection of "'omen in childbirth.
She was usually pon-rayed with the arms and
leb"S of a lion and the back and tail of a crocodile (or even a complete crocodile perched Oil
her hack), while her pendulous breasts and full
belly clearly conveyed the idea of pregnancy_
Her headdress comprised a low \loniLS surmounted by two plumes, somctimes with
horns and ;1 disc, and she often held a large S,\
amulet ('protection') and sometimes an '\:'\KII
symbol ('life'). As <1 result of l\lcditerrane;lll
trade, her image was absorbed into the iconograph~ of the Nlinoan ciyiliz.llion on the island
of Crete, where she was eventually trans(lrilled into [he somewhat different 'Genius'
figure.
The hippopotamus-goddess is at tested as
early as the Old Kingdom, when she took
three principal namcs: OPCl or Ipy ('hari",' or
'f~lvoured place'), ~n1\\'Crel- ('the great goddess')
and Reret ('the sow'). Although there is a
temple of Opet at I(,\R"\K, dating to the Late
Period and Ptolemaic period, it was the cult of

Figure of/he home/ruld dl!i~J' '/iI/pi're/ res/iug

sa Jigl/. She I1JtlS especial(y a.uQcia/ed
mj/It Ihe prolee/ioll o./1}JOmC1l ill dtildbir/h aud i~'
(Jn/! oIlhe /lfOS/ ((Jm/1/fJ/l(JI represt!1lled {//1/ulcljc
deilie.I. NClJJ Kingdolll, rod: 0)/.1"/(11, II. 9.5 mt.
(K/2.J39.i)

Oil tI

283

TAXATJO:-;

serve milk, presumably in an attempt to instil

extra potency into the liquid.
The male hippopotamus was essentially
regarded as a destructive animal and therefore
closely associated with the evil god 5E111. It
was presumably with this connection in mind
that the Roman historian P)march described
Tawcrcr as the 'concubine' of Seth, who had
changed her ways to become one of the (followers' of IIORUS.
S. QUIHKE, /blt:ielll EgyptiaN religion (London,
1992),107.
G. ROBINS, Women ill (lucien/ E~!{J'PI (London,
1993),85-7.
C. ANDREWS,Al1lulels oftl1lcienJ Egypt (London,
1994)40-1.

taxation
From al least the Old Kingdom (2686--2181
BC) onwards) the government of Egypt
revolved mainly around the collection of taxes
by the cenfral ,md provincial administrators. It
is important, however) to try to distinguish
between tax and rent and between regular and
ad hoc taxes. The PAJ.I]{!\'IO STO~E and other
surviving documents suggest' that there were
biennial censuses of agricultural produce so
that the 'treasury~ could assess the amount of
tax to be paid by individuals (although even
these censuses may have actually taken place at
irregular inlen'lls). Because of the nonmonetary economy that operated for almost

Delllil ofl/fragmenl ofl1){1l1-pailllillgfro111 lire

tomb-chapel oINeba111ulI. showing cllllle being
paraded inlroul ola scribe (1IIlhe exlreme left oI
Ihe upper regsler) so IhM (l lax ({ssessme11l can be
made. 181h D.)IIl(/S~)'. c.1400 11C, painted plasler
FOIII Thebes, 11. 58.S CIII. (",,37976)

284

TEFNUT

the whole of the Pharaonic period, taxes were

paid in kind. The surviving scenes of daiJy life
in private tombs show that scribes were sent
out to measure the precise areas of land under
cultivation and to calculate meticulously the
numbers of livestock from geese to cattle.
The seriousness with which this system was
enforced is indicated by such evidence as the
scene depicted in the 6th-Dynasty MASTi\Ui\
tomb the vizier Khentika at Saqqara (c.2300
Be), showing five men in the process of being
punished for corruption in the collection of
taxes. A painting in the tomb chapel of !vlenna~
dating to the reign of Thutmose TV (14001390 Be), shows a stock scene o[ lhe assessment of produce and collection of taxes by
SCRIBES, and the subsequent beating of a
farmer who has not paid his tax, while Papyrus
Lansing, a well-known 20th~Dynasty text
(now in the British Museum), describes the
severe penalties suffered by a defaulting
farmer and his family, despite their failed harvest. The tomb of an 18th-Dynasty vizicr
called REKJ lMIRA (c.l425 Ile) is decorated with
a portrayal of the reception of taxes on behalf
of the king, including detailed descriptions of
specific amounts of such products as cakes,
barley, honey, reed mats, gold ingot'i and linen.
It is interesting to note that the scribes themselvcs usually seem to have been exempt from
taxation, although it has been pointed out that
the tax was generally levied on agricultural
produce~ which the non-farming scribes
would rarely have owned in the first place.
'Exemption decrees' could be issued to individuals and institutions; these are our chief
source of knowledge of taxation.
A. H. GARDINER, 'A protest against unjustified
,axdclllands',RdE6(195l),115-24.

or

B.J.

KL\lP,A"cie"t Egypt: 1l1lalomy ofll

civilizali(JIl (London, 1989), 234--8.

Tefnut
Goddess associated with moisture or damp,
corrosive air. She and her brother-hush.md
SIIU were the first gods created bv A!'U\I
according to the doctrine of Heliopolis (se~
CREATION). Because she was considered to have
been created by a process of ejaculation or
spitting, a pair of lips could be uscd La dCnlne
her name. The children of Shu and Tefnm
were GEB and NUT.
In the same way [hat the myths and atlribUles of Atum gradually merged with those of
RA, so Tefnut and Shu became 'EYES OF' I{ \ '; in
these roles, Tefnur rook the head of a lioness,
and Shu that of a lion. Both were worshipped
in these forms at Leontopolis (TELL 1:1."uQrHM) in the Delta. Tefnut was also identified with the lIrr/ellS (see WALJJYT), thus establishing an association with the Kli'GSIIlP, anll it
was in this connection that she appeared in the
I'YRM,ll[J 'rEXTS in rhe form of a scrpent rearing
from a sceptre.
vv. SPlJ~GEI.IWJ{G, Del' iig)lplische /Hyllllls rOil
Somte"auge (Leiden, 1917).
S. \VEST, ''I'he Gn.-.'Ck version ofthe legcnd of
Tefnut',]EA 55 (1969), 161-83.
S. QUIRKE, Au(iel/I t:gyplian religion (LondtlO.
1992), 25-31.

rekenu
Enigmatic figure which played an uncertain
role in private funerary rites. Scenes on the
w'llls of tombs of the early New .Kingdom,
such as that of Reneni at ELKAU (EK7), dal ing to
the reign o[ Amenhotep I (l525-1504Ilc), portray the lekenll as a man wrapped in a skin or
bag, usually taking the form of a hl1manheaded sack-like bundle placed on a sledge
and drawn along by cattJe as part of the funeral ceremonies. Since it was carried alongside
[he corTin and canopic equipment, it ha~ been
suggestcd that the sack may ha\'e simply contained the parts of the body that could neither
be mummified nor placed in C!\~OPIC:)\RS but
were nevertheless essential to the full resurrection of the deceased. It would perhaps also
have served as an im'lge of the body itscl[
The lekeu/{ has also been inrerpretcJ as a
symbolic survival of the practice of funerary
HUMi\!\ SACRIFICE or even as a symbol of the
contracted form of corpses of d1C Predynasric
period, although there is little evidence to substantiate either of these views.
J. GWYN GRIFFITIIS, 'The rckenu, the Nubians
and the 13utie burial', Klish 6 (1958), 106-2U.
E. I-IOR"l.;"G, itlea il1to image, trans. E. Bredeck
(New York, 1992), 169-70.

TELL

Sceneji'olllihe lomb o/Renelli (II Elkab (EK7)

shoTPingfimertlJ]' rius, iududiug the opening of/he
mouth (middle register), (Imt processiol1. In/he

upper regis/a the tekcnu call lIe seen /Jeiug pulled

along Oil (J sledge infrol/I oImell carryil1g (f chest.
/8/11 Dyl/asl)'. e./S20 Be. (I' T. "'Iel/OLSO.\)

Tell
All site names beginning with 'Tell' are alphabetized under the second parr of the name, e.g.
Yahudiya, Tell c1-.

tell

(Arabic: 'mound')
Term usuaUy employed to describe.1n arrifichll
mound consisting of superimposed settlement
remains. Although many Egyptian toponyms
incorporate the word it is more accurately
applied to sites elsewhere in the Ncar East
- the siLe of 'TELL ,:r.-A.\tARt'A\ for instance,
dcriycs from local tribal n;:lmcs rather thiln
topography.

TEMPLE

the Egyptian temple was the innermost cultchamber or SIIRJ]\'1-:, where the image of the
deity W;lS kept. The activities of the temple
revolved around the worship and celebration
of the deity's cult via the image in the shrine,
and the building itself was not a meeting-place
for worshippers but an architectural setting
for the celebration of the culL
The modern conception of rhe Egyptian
temple is biased by two principal factors of
archaeological preservation. First, yery few
pre-New-Kingdom t.emples have survived,
primarily because Egyptian temples were
repeatedly rebuilt in the same sacred area,
thercfore the earliest structural phases were
uften obliterated, buried and recycled in constructing the later versions of the tcmple.

Second, most Lower Egyptian religious complc.xcs, such as the temple of Ptah at .l'.'IEr..WIIIS
and the sun temple at IIEUOPOI.lS (lwnw), have
been heavily pillaged over the centuries, therefore comparatively little of their plan and decoration has been preserved. The result of these
two archaeological distortions is that thc modern view of the Egyptian temple is based
almost entirely on Upper Egypti<m temples
dating from the New Kingdom (1550--1069
Be) onwards. The most claborate surviving
example of the Upper Egyptian temple is the
precinct of Amun at KAR.-'MK, while the bestpreserved sueh building is the temple of
Horus at EDFU, dating to the Ptolemaic period
(3J2-30 Be).
The rypical post-Middle Kingdom Upper
Egyptian temple appears to have consistcd of a
series of processional ways through which the
king and his priests could gradually approach
the cult image in its KAOS_ The same conduits
also provided the backdrop for religious FFSrtVM.S, which usually consisted of the transpOI'ration of the deity's statue, carried in a
BARK, hom one temple to another. vVithin the
confines of thc tcmple, these processional
ways passed through open courtyards,
HYPOSTYI.E IlA1.LS and massive ceremonial
gateways known as PYLO:\lS. The decoration of
the external walls of the temple tendcd to concentrate on the motif of the king's conquest
over enemies and wild beasts, symbolizing the
protection of the god's cult. The painted
reliefs on the internal walls usually depicted
aspects of the performance of rituals, showing
the king engaged in the presentation of offerings to the various deities ;lssociated with the
temple, and thus performing his role of intermediary between the human ;tnd the divine.
The temple was also considered to be an
architectural metaphor both for the universe
Raollstructioll dramil1g oIthe temple olKhom at
Karnak, built during the 20th DYI1(ls~)I. c.//OO BC.
(DRAWN 10 G/I/US""N" IJ IRRA7..,j

temenos
Ancient Greek term used to describe the
sacred precinct surrounding the cult place of a
deity. Tn Egyptian religious architecture it is
usually loosely applied to the area within the
enclosure wall of a temple. The religious complex at KAR,'\Ji\K consisted of three distinct
leU/enoi: the precincts relating to lhe temples
of J\l\IU~, ,\IUT and MO:,\TU respectively.

temple
Building or complex of buildings regarded by
the ancient Egyptians as the 'house' of <l deity
(or deities). The most essential component of
285

TET!

THEB~

and for the process of C1U':t\TI(l'\ itself The

floor gradually rose, passing through forests
plant-form columns and roofed by images of
the constellations or the body of the skygoddess XLT, allowing the priests to aSl:cnd
gradually from the outermost etlgc of the universe towards the sanctuary, which was a symbol of the inner core of creation, the I'Kl\IEr,\L
\!OL '\IJ on which the crcaLOr-god first broughl
the world into being.
Apart from sClying as uni,-crsal mcti:lphors
and eternal baddrops for the celebration of
cult and ritual , the lcmplcs also served as
important parts of the Egyptian economic
infrastrllcture. Each W.IS founded nOl merely
as a hollow building but as an important institution employing large work forces ;tnd
endowed with such reliable sources of income
as agricultural land and gold mines. The main
tcmple was therefore innlriably surrounded by
ancillary buildings such as granaries and
slaughter-houses, in which the daily offerings
were stored and processed, usually e\-cl1lu.llIy
being re-distributed to teed thc tcmple staff
themselves. The administraLion of the temple,
which in modern terms might be di,'ided into
ritualistic and cconomic actiyiries, is documented both in the temple relief... and in cermin surviying archin:s of" papyri, particularly
those that have been eXC<1Valcd from lhe Old
Kingdolll mortuary temples of Neferirkara
(2475-2+55 He) and Ranefercf (2H8-2H5 Be)
at ,m... SIlC
II. \V. f\IIC\L\.:\", 'Wurship:md lesti,als in an
Egyptian temple', BII//elill (~rl"eJnl11/ 1~)'ltflld(
!,ibrtny, A'(tll/chesler.37 (195-f), 1(l5-203.
A. R. 0\\ 111 1 .1 guide 10 rt'!;g;olls r;llItll (/1 A/~}rdos
(\Varminsrer, }(81).
P. SPE'U.R, nle '''':~J'Pli{f'' It'll/pIt': II
Ic-rimgmpltiwlsllIt6r (I.ondon, 1984).
B. J. 1(1':\11\, I111'ic11l I:.~!(J"}I: 1I'!lI/(iIJ~l' o/a
t;ivili~(/Ii/l" (London, 1(89), 91-1U~.
D. O'Co;'\ ,OR, 'The status of early Egyplian
templcs: an altcrnariyc theory', TIJcjiJ//t1l1'ers of
f!fJrlH, cd. R. Friedman and B. Adams (Oxford,
1992),83-98.

or

Teti (2345-2323 Be)

first ruler of the 6th Dynasty (23~5-2181 Be)
whose reign probably does not represent any
sharp brcak with the preceding reign of L' \s,
in that he married Jput, one of Unas' daughters, although it scems likely that his falhcr
camc li'om outside thc 5th-Dynasty royal family. Teti "'as the first 01" many rulers to take lhe
Horus nalllc Schetep-taw~ ('pacifier of the
two lands') in his Ror\l. TITL""J. \In, possibly
suggesting a desire on his part to remed~
problcms in rhc administration, which had
becomc less srable by the end of" the 5th

286

Dyn:lsty, as a result of thc increasing powcr or

nom:lrchs (provincial gmcrnors). The evidence of his more concrete :lttempLs to adjusl
the balance of powcr includes firsLly a stele at
.l\bydos exempling tcmples frum T\ '\ rno.'\ and
secondly the marriage of his cldcst daughter to
the vizier .\lI:RERUK'\, who was later to be chief
prieST of his funerary cult.
The historian \I.\.'\E"I"IIO claims. that '1cti was
e,cntually assassinatcd by his bodyguards, Jnd
allhough Lhere is no other c,'idence for this, it
seems likely that PEP' I, his true heir <Ind e"cnlual succcssor, was initially usurped by
Userbra. Little is knowll about the 1:ltter who
reigned for onl~ a year alld may h'1\c been a
descendanl of a 5th-Dynasty pharaoh.
Teti's pyramid complex, exc:n'ated b) James
Quibcll in 1907-8, is situated in north
Saqqara, accompanicd by th~ Ml\Sli\B,\ tombs
of se\eral of his officials, ineluding thaL of
.\lereruka. In a re"iYal of a 4th-Dynasty lradilion, the complex included pyramids for two
quecns (Tput and K:l\\'it). The intcrnal passage
of the pyramid was onl)" the second 10 be
inscribed with 1" R:\ \IID TEXTS, and the burial
chamber containcd :1 grey basalt sarcophagus,
the bod~ .111d funerary equipmcnt hm-ing been
plundered in ancient tim<.--:;. A plaster dcathmask (now in thc Egyptian i\(useum, Cairo)
was found in his morluary temple, bm it is
uncertain whether it was taken li'om the body
ol"Teti himself
C. .\1. furl'll and B. GL"'\', The "eli pJ1ramitl
({'1IIt!laies, 2 "ols (Cairo, 1926).
J-P. L.\LEI~ :lnd J LH:U'T. Le WI/pIt' !talll till
culllpftoxcjimimirctlll roi Til; (eliru, 1972).
N. GRL\I\I., .'I//I~~/01:JJ u/tll/til'1I1 f:r:.JlPI (Oxli)rd,
1992),80-1.
I. E. S. 1>\\ 'KDS, Tltt' pyramitls flfl:.:fil'pl, 5th cd.
(I brmonds\\"orth, 1993), 179-80.

Tetisheri (<.1590-1540

!vi. H. GO\UTIIIEH, LiiJl't'dc.\' mi.l' d'Fg.l'Pll' II, 159-flO.

- , '!vlonumcnrs ct fragmcnts appartell<11H:i
l'Instirut FranC;:lis d'Archcologie Orientale du
C,ire', 811'-10 12 (1916), 125-H(128--9).
\V. V. D" IES, "I rt~J'tf' .~/tfllll' l"t'tfllribuletl (Lnnl!cln.
1981).

Thebes (ane. WaseL)

Principal ciry of Upper Egypt and capital (If
the fourth pper Egyptian nomc, The archaeological remains of the city and tempks
Thebes surround the modern city of J .1I:\or un
the casr bank or the Nile, while rhe ',"cst hank
is thc site of the mortuary temples :lnd tombs
of kings and high officials from the )\lidtl!e
Kingdom to the end of the Pharaonic period
(c,2053-332 lie). Because of its long .111d
important history, Thebes has been a centre uf
archaeological research sincc at IC.lst lhe time
of the Napoleonic expedition (1798-1802; see

or

EGYI'TOL.oGl').

The anciellt Egyptians kne\\" the town as

\>Vasel, symbolized by the 'us SCEPTRE, but the
Greeks called it Thebes, :tfler their own t.:i(~ of
the same name in Boeotia. Unlike other l11ajor
cities of the Pharaonic period, such as \II\I~
PillS, IlELlOT'{)I.IS or \B\ DOS, its origins WlTC
compar;'ltiyely recent; it probahly emerged :IS a
small pro\'inci:ll town during thl' Old

BC)

Wife of the 17.h-Dynastl" Thehan ruler

Senakhtenra Taa I and mother of SI:(l.E'I:'R \
T\ \ II, who appears to ha\ e bcell of nOIl-roy.11
origin. She suni,cd until Lhe car1~ ]8th
Dynasty alld, like her descendants \IIIIOTEI' 1
and 'III\\OSE i'EFI':K'I',\RI, appcars lO have been an
unusually influential wom<1l1. Her grandson,
\1 L\IOSE I, established cenotaphs and runer~lry
estates for both himself and Tctishcri .It \BYDOS, where she was granted a posthumous cult
:IS the mosr important (emale aJl(:estor or the
18th-Dynasly rulers. Despite her importance,
only one smtue has sun'i\'cd, thc lowcr portion
of:l limestone statuellC, the present location of
which is now unknown. The coUcction of the
British ,\Iuseum includes a se;lted swruettc
purponlng to represcnt Tctisheri, bur this has
becn jtknlificd as a I()rgery.

Giltlcd/1l/JtJdt'lIri..hi
{:(dJiJl(dj.,if/.~

N"bkhc/It'I'I'1I

II/III

ji'om his Inm/llli IJm

.Ibu d-Saga. -nIl'
l1umpoliscs (~r J7'tbl's
tire (/ lIIajor .~I1{fr(t' 4
f.'"Ol/1ledgt' 01/

fUIU'flIl:,' pre/lIIn'S.
17IhDYI1l/SI.l'.
c. 16.iO /le, II. 1,93 m.
(/' /61>51)

THEBES

THEBES

""'"

""""""'''''!II\\\''''''

\,.

.,''''''\

.'\ """"'\ .~~\

.....

"l\l\\\\~

t
emple of Thutmose III
Ramesseum: temple of Rameses II
temple of Thutmose IV
temple of Merenptah
site of the temple of Amenhotep III

temple of " colossi of Memnon

Ay and Horemheb

new town
of Duma

precinct
of Mantu

tem~pe /~u~~~rn
Q.

ot Khons

Medinet Habu: temple of Rameses III

sacred lake
Karnak
precinct of Amun

Malkata:
palace of Amenhotep III

!!fjz

Birkel Habu

preeirn:t of Mut

Valley of the Queens

Deir el-Medina: workmen's village
Ptolemaic temple of Hathor
Qurnet Mural
modern houses
Sheikh Abd el-Qurna

Asasil

2km

PllI/1 UfTllCbt'I.

Kingdom (2686-2 J8 J Be), bUI e,-enlualJ,assumcd a more prominent role in the First
Intermediate Period (2181-2055 BC), as the
principal ri\"al to the 'Hcraklcopoliwn'
dynasty of" r.owcr Egypt" (sec lll]~ \KI.EOPOLlS
i\\!\Gl"i\ and .\IE.'\TL'IIOTEP II).
The 9th and lOth Dmasties of Lower
Egypt ruled from the traditional administrativc centre, 1\ lemphis, but the roughly contemporary ] Ith-Dynasty rulers of Upper
Egypt came from .\K"\I.\!\"T and therefore established Thebes as their scat of power. At the
end of the First Intermediate Period ,"he
Theban rulers cmerged victorious, ousting the
Herakleopolilans and g<lining control of the
whole of Eg\pL The ,\Jiddle Kingdom
pharaohs then ruled from lhe newly founded
city of ltjtawy ('taking possession of the two

lands'), situated ncar the new necropolis or El.USIIT, although they c1cilrly still rcgilrded
Thebes as their sacred cit~. The rulers of the
12th Dynasty (1985-1795 He; see '\"IE'E\IH'\T
and SE2'.lSRI~T) established Thebe... as the cnpital of Upper Egypt, and he nee forth .I'IU', the
locnl god or Thebes, became increasingly
prominent. In [he 11th Dynasty roynl burials
wcre already being made on the west bank,
notably at c1-"rarif in the north but also at DEIR
EL-U.\IIKI, whcre ~Ientuhotcp II (2055-200'+
Be) built his funcrary complex. By the i\ew
Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) the Thehan west
banI.: was dc\c!oping into a great necropolis
that would eventually rival the jVlemphitc
nccropolis of S \QQ\R\ in importance.
At the end of the Second Intermediate
Period (1650-1550 Be) it was once again a local
Theban dyn~lsty that rose to power, expelling
the lIYt.:SOS from Egypt and rcunifying the

el-Khokha
temple of Hatshepsut
at Deir el-Bahri
10 Valley of the Kings
11 Western Valley
12 elQurn

country. Burials of the 17th Dynasty arc concentrated around Ora Abu el-Nab"'3 betwcen
eI-'!,uif and Deir eI-Bahri. The J J{ known
rock-lambs at Ora Abu c1-Naga include those
of officials from the early New Kingdom to the
Late Period (c. I 550-500 BC), as ,,ell as Ihe
pyramidal royal burials of the 17l'h-Dynasty
rulers and their families (r.1650-1550 BC).
'rhe area has bccn cxtcnsi\"ely plundered and
many of the tombs h~l\c now been badly damaged or lost.
The Nc,, Kingdom \\"as the most imporlant
period in Thchan history, and it was during
this period that slIcccssive rulers began to
enlarge and elaborate the temple complex of
K:\R'\-\K (the ipel-islIl, 'most fa\"oured of
places'), founded in the 12th Dynasty and
dedicaled to the di\'inc triad of Amun, \1L.~r
and KJIO"":S, as well as _\\O:--:TU (another local
god). Tn the reign of A\IEi'\IIOTEP 111

287

THOE~

THINIS, THINITE PERIOD

(1390--1352 BC) the LCAOR templc (the ipelresJI/, 'private chambers to the south') \Y<lS
founded, a shorr distance to the south of
Karnak.
On the west bank the VAI.IXY OF TIlE Kli\'GS
became the burial place of the 2\'cw J(jngdom
rulers from at least as early as the reign of
THtJT~IOSE I (150-l-1{92 BC), while mam' ofthc
highest officials of each of the reigns were
buried nearby on the hill slopes of Ora Abu elNaga, Deir e1-Bahri, el-Khoka, Asasif, Sheikh
Ahd el-Qurna and Qurnet Murai. A long row
of mortuary temples also stood on the wcst

bank, usually with communities of officials,

priests and servants housed in the vicinity (sec
anu RA..\IESSEufo.l). At DElI{ EL:-'IEIJI~:\ was the walled settlement and cemetery of the workmen responsible for constructing the royal tombs. t\ number of royal
palaces were also conslTucrcd on the ',"cst
bank, ranging from the comparatively small
buildings attachcd to the mortuary temples to
the sprawling complex of buildings from the
reign of Amenhotcp III at MALKATA.
Evcn in the Ramesside period (1295-1069
BC), when the royal palace and the central
administrarion werc transferred to the Delta
(sec QANTIR and Ttl.l. EL-DAR' -\), Thcbes
retained a great deal of its religious and political significance, .md the bodies of rulers werc
still brought to western Thebes for burial in
lhe Valley of lhe Kings. The kings of the 21st
and 22nd Dynasties (1069-747 BC) governed
from various cities in the Delta, bur they
lacked the strength to control the whole country, and at this time Libyan generals, from
HERIIIOl{ onwards, controlled Upper Egypt
from their power-base at Thebes. It was only
in thc Late Pcriod (7H-332 oc) that the
importance of the city finally secms to have
dwindlcd in fa,"our of iVlemphis, TA'\IS, SAIS
and HGBA$'I'L'i.
B. PORTER and R. L. B. .Moss, T{Jpogmphical
bib!iograpli)' I-II (Oxford, 1%-1-72).
E. RJI~rsT!\Il[., Thebes in/he lime oIAlI/lIl1hOlcp III
(Norman, OK, 196{).
]. BAINES and]. J\l.\LEK, Allns o/ll1lriell/ Egyp/
(Oxford, 1980), 8-1-105.
L. ~l.\N1'\'CIIE, Ci~)' of till' dt'lul: Thebes ill Egypt
(London, 1987).
I\lEDINET IIABU

Thinis. Thinite period

The rem.tins of the ancient town ofThin is, capital of the 'rhinite region, have never been
located, although it has been suggested that
lhcy may have been situated in the ,"icinity of
the modern ,"illage of Girga, sevcral kilometres
to the north of the Predynasric and Early
Dynastic ccmeteries of Ainoos.
The Thinite region appears to ha,"e been

288

the most important of the small states that

were competing for control of Upper and
Lower Egypt, at the end of the Predynast ic
period. The first two Egyptian dynasties,
covering a period of over four hundred years
(c.3100-2686 BC), were descrihed by the
Egyptian historian lvlanerho as thc 'Thinirc
period', in recognition of the fact thaL Early
Dynastic Thinis enjoyed a shoJ:"t period of
pre-eminence, when it \\,..1S the seat of power
of the first rulers of a united Egypt. It is
unclear, however, precisely when the ccnrre
of power trnnsfelTed northwards to i\IMIPIIIS,
thus diminishing the political role of Thin is
ilnd leaving Abydos as a sire of purely ceremonial and ritualistic importance (sec }\BYDOS and SAQQ!\R:\ for discussion of the possible roles of the Thinite ilnd Memphite
necropoliscs).

however, the 25th Dynasty was still thwarted

for a while bv the 2{th Dmasty (727-715 BC)
ruling from the town of SAIS in the Della. The
Napamn ruler PlY (747-716 BC) campaigned as
far north as IVlcmphis until he was satisfied
that he had secured control of the Nile \"alle\then he withdrew to 'HIWU. His campaign~:
howe"er, werc inconclusiye, necessitating further military acri,"ity by his successor, SII \ll-\Q9
(716-702 BC) at the beginning of tbe L,n:
]'ERIOD (7{7-332 BC).
J\1. BIERllRI"~R, Thl' l(I(e Nl'J1J Kingdom ill Egypt
(1'.1.100-66-1 He): a gcnt!tllogiwl lIlld rhrollollJ/!,/{ol
iuve.l'//:!ttllioll (\Narminstcr, 1975).
D. O'CO,\l;":OR, 'New Kingdom and Third
intermediate Period, 1552-664 BC', A//I';t'lIl
Egypt: 1I sMilll histolJI, ed. B. G. Trigger ct al.
(Cambridge, 1983), 183-278.
K. K!TClIEN, The Third Interwedillh' Perulllw
t.gypt, 2nd ed. (Warminster, 1986).

Third Intermediate Period (1069-747 BC)

R.

Chronological phase following the i'\EW Kl~G

0'''''- Smendes (1069-1043 BC) succeeded
R'I.\lESES XI (1099-1069 BC) as first king of the
21st Dynasty (1069-945 BC), but his was only
one line of succession in this period of divided
gm'ernmcnt. Smcndcs ruled from TA~IS, while
the High Priests of Amun at Thebes, unuer
Pinudjem I, continued to rule an area stretching from as far north as EJ.-IIIUA (sollth of the
Elyum) to \SWt\i'\ in the south. The two lines
interm.uried, and the Thcbans recognized the
official T~mite dating system, but maintained
Upper Egypt as a separate state.
The Delta-hased 22ml Dynastv (945-715
DC) beg"l11 with the reign of the Libyan ruler
SHESllO:<Q I (9{5-924 IlC). His accession coincided with the decline in power of the
Theban 1-1 igh Priests, so that he was able [Q
install his son at Thebes, lending some degree
of unity to the two lands. Later in the Dynasty,
however, the Thebans appc~lI' to have objected
to the establishment of Osorkon, son of
'bkelot II (850-825 1](:), as High Priest of
Amun, and embarked 011 :I ciyil war with the
nonhern rulers. The establishment of rival
dynasties followed, with the result that the
22nd to 24th Dynasties were all ruling simultaneously in different parts of the coul1rfY.
Osorkon III (777-7{9 HC) established his
daughtcr Shepemycper as GOD'S \\'lFE OF (\ \IU;,\
in Thebes. The importance or this post as, at
the ycry least, a symbol of the polit-ical control
of Thebes, meant that it was subscqucnliy
filled by a series of adoptions imposed b~' the
dominant ruler of the time. It was perhaps by
this mcans that the Kushitc 25th Dynasty
demonstrated that it had secured religious as
well as political authority in the region.
Despitc having gained the Theban region,

1988).
K. Jt\NSI~,-\VINKEtX, tOas Ende des l'euen
Reiches', zAs 119 (1992), 22-37.
- , 'Ocr Bcginn der Libyschen I-Ierrschaft in
Agypten', BN71 (1994), 78-97.

F-\ZZI~I,l:.gypt: DJ'I/lIS~)I.YX'I-\.\1

(Lcidt:n,

Thoeris see TAII'ERET

Thoth

(Djehun-)
God of "Titing and knowledge, "ho was
depicted in the form of two animab: the
baboon (Papio cYllocephalm; see (:)NOCEPllt\I.US) and the sacred IBIS (TliJ't'skioni
(/ethiopiclIs), both of which arc elegamly portrayed on the exrcrior of the unusual l:arly
Ptolemaic lomb-chapel of a priest of Thoth
called ]'ETOSIRIS. In his baboon fi,rm Thoth
WilS elosch- associatcd with the baboon-god,
Hcdj-wer ('the great white one') of lhe Early
Dynastic period (3100--2686 1lC.). By the end Hf
thc Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BC) he lI'as most
frequently portraycd as an ibis-headed man I
usually holding a scribal palctle and pen or a
notched palm-leaf, engaged in some .let of
recording or calculation. Utterance 359 of the
PYRA \IIL> TEXTS describes ho,," the god:, gained
the
access to the netherworld b,- tf<l\Tlling
wing of 'Thoth' across to th"e other side of the
'winding- waterway'.
He "~1S worshi"pped, along with his linlcknown consort, Nchmeta,Yay, at the ancient
city of Khmun (HERI\\OPOLIS \IAG'.\) in \ liddle
Egypt, although there was also a temple
Thoth at DAKI-lLt\ OASIS and at Tell Baqli"a JJ1
the Dclta. There arc few sun-j,"ing remains of
the tcmplc at Khmun, but two colossal bab~~~
statues erectcd by Amenophis III (1390- 10 'HC) still dominate one arca of the site (seC illustration under 1IER.1\10POI.IS .\I.-\Gi'\A).

';m

?f

THOTH

THUTMOSE

C. BorL.\..'\, l1wih. ihe Hermes ofEgYPi (Oxford,

1922).
C. J. BI.n:KER, Haihor tllul Thot (Leiden, 1973).
A. P. ZI\ IE, Hamopolis eile l10me de l'iMs:
recherches sur Itl pr01:;II((' dll dial Thoi ('II Basse
Egyp/c(Giro, 1975).
M.. T DERCII<\IN-URTEL, 7,wi: ri/('s cgyptil'lIs 3
(Brussels, 1981).
- , IThor:i Akhmim" HOII/lllages d F Dal/lIU1s.
cd. A. GuillaOlont (Montpe11ier, 1986), 173-80.
J. QUAEGEBEUR, 'Thor-I-lerll1cs, Ie dieu Ie plus
grand!\ HOl1llllllge.\ rI F. D(/lIl1f{/~' (iVlonrpdlicr,
1986), 525-H
V. \VESSETSK-Y, 'Tier, Bild, Gott: iiber die Affcn
des Thot', .-Jkil'lI Jl'liillfhcl/ 1985111, ed.
S. Sehoske (Hamburg, 1989), {2S-30.

tomh in the Valley of the Kings (K\ {2) containing an uninscribed sarcophagus, was once
thought to be his burial place but this is now
considered unlikely. His mortuary temple in
western Thebes was eXGl\,ated by French
'lrchaeologists in 1926.
Thlllllfose II! MeIlN/epr,.,.a (1479-142; BC)
was the son ofThutmose II and a minor wife
called AseL \;Yhen Thutmosc II died, his wife
and half-sister l-iatshepsur acted as regent for
the first few years of the reign ofThutmose [II.
By year seven of his reign she herself h'ld
assumed the full timlary of a pharaoh, thus

throne name (prenomen) SI'e "01'.11.

TITUL.<\ln

Thutmose (Tuthmosis)
Birth name, meaning 'Thoth is burn', held by
tour 18th-Dynasty pharaohs.
Thllllllo."e I AI/k/lcperkl/rtl (I ;O+-H92 BC)

SqulIttillg/igure oI'he god 71/0/11 illlhejorm ofa

1",!Joon, inscribed mit" the mrlouthl'S ofA1llmholep
III. 18/h Dynasty_ c./390 He. quarl::.ile, fl. 67011.
(,,38)
Thorh \\"as closely associated with the
'EYE OF IU I) and \\"as regularly shown with it headdress consisting of a
disc and crescent symbolizing the lunar
phases. It is possible that the long curved beak
of the ibis was idcnt"ificd both with the crescent 1110011 and "'ith the reed pen. An associ.lrion with the passing of" time is rcncctcd in
those depictions that show him recording the

moon (the second

king's names on the leaves of the pcrsca trec.

In vignettes of the 'judgement of the dead',
regularly included in Book of the Dead papyri
in the NO\\" Kingdom (1;;0-1069 BC), Thoth
was often shown both in his anthropomorphic, ibis-hc~dcd manifestation, recording the
results of the weighing of the heart of the
deceased, and, less frequenTly, as a baboon.
Sometimes, in addition, he is shown as a
baboon perched on top of the scales. It was
probably beCi.wse of his role as guardian of the
deceased in the netherworld, and as an intermedian' between the various deities, that he
becam~ associated with the Greek god
Hermes in the Ptolemaic period (332-30 Be),
hence the renaming of the city of Khmun as
Hermopolis lVIagna.

was the successor of ,\J\lENIlOTEP I and the

third ruler of the 18[h Dynasty. Although his
reign was comparati,'cly shorr, his achievements in rerms of foreign policy were significant. The inscriptions at Tombos, in the area
of the third f'\ile cataract, and Kurgus, somh
of the fourth camract, indic.le th'1t he had
consolidated and expanded Egyptian control
oYcr l'\ubia. Another stele (known only from
later records) erected on the far side of the
ri"cr Euphrares and commemorating a successful military incursion inro the rerritory of
1\11'1':\:'\1'\11, suggests thaL he was rhe first of the
New Kingdom pharaohs to gain control of a
substantial area of the Levant. The main
motivation for Egyptian expansion il1[Q
Nubia and \restern Asia lay in the desire to
secure trade routes tor such raw marerials as
OII.S, timber, COPPER, SILVER and SLA\ ES, ;,111 of
which were more difficult to obmin within
Egypr itself.
Thurmose 1 is considered ro have been
buried 1n Ky3S, the earliest romb in rhe \ \LI.EY
OF TilE J...:.l"iGS ar Thebes, but his body was
probably among those reinrerred in the cache
of rOY;'ll mummies at UI':II{ I:I.-R<\HRI. Although
a sarcophagus bearing his name was disco\'ered in I-:v38, a second one was also found in
the tomb of his daughter I IKrSI rEPSl'T (1-.:\ 20).
Thll/lIlIise I! Allk/lepemtr/I (1492-1479 I1C)
was the son of Thull110se I by a lesser wife
called IVlutnofret. In the tirsr ye.lr of his reign
he erected a "ictory stele at Aswan, describing
the crushing Of.l re"olt in Nubia, rhus signaling rhar he was cominuing his farher's aggressive foreign policy. A Yirtually undecorated

f!t'{U!./i'OIll (l gref!ll schist siatue pro!Jabh'

representi1lg 1Imilllosl' III or Hatsheps1Ii. 18th
DYIf({s~)I. c./-I.:)O He. II. -1.1.7 elll. (E/986)
delaying the full accession of her nephew for
more rhan twenty years. He finally came to the
throne in his own right in about 1-1-58 Be, presumably on the death of H~ltshepsur. It was
probably not umil relatively laLc in his reign
thar he began systematically to remove
J-btshepsut's name from her monuments,
replacing it with his own.
In his foreign policy he emuhned rhe
exploirs of Thutmose " re-establishing

289

---~1Jl:

_f-'H-'U-'I"'M-'-"O"'S-'E

Egyptian suzerainty over Syria- Palestine

wiLh the B:\Tru: or: MEGlDDO in the first year
after Hatshepsut's death, thus neutmlizing the
military threat pnsed hy the Prince of Qadesh
and his l\,litannian allies. This battle and his
subsequent Lcyantine campaigns were recorded in the Holl of the Annols in the tempic
of Amlin at K..\R:'\AK. As well <1S expanding the
cull-centre of AnuJn, he also built temples at
DeiI' c1-Bahri and j\IEDINET I-!,\BU as well as
numerous sites in Nubia and the Delm. AI
.\RMt\1\T and SPEOS \RTEI\IJDOS he completed
his stepmother's constructions.
His tomb in the VoileI' of the Kings ("dol)
is decorated with scenes from the Amdllfl/
('th~lr which is in the underworld') and his
monuary templc on the Thehan \\'est bank has
sunived, although in poor condition. His
mummy was one of those discO\"ered in the
Deir el-Bahri cache.
TllI/llIIOSe /I J11ellkhepel'llrll (1400-1390 uc)
was the son of Amenhotcp II, the father of
Amenhotcp III ;Inc! the grandfather of M;:I-IE'IATEl\. The so-called Dream Stele at Giz;I
describes how he was ofTered the throne of
Egypt in return for removing the sand from
the Great Sphinx. Since he does not seem to
have been the actual heir 1O the throne, it is
possible that this inscription formed part of the
legilimizing of his accession. In tcrms of
foreign policy his reign marked a period of reconciliation with I\litanni, including a 'diplomatic marriage' to the daughlCr of Artatama I,
the !\limnnion ruler. He also icCt 0 stele at the
ishll1d of KO!1osso, ncar Asw~lI1, commcmonlting :m expedition to quell rebellion in
Nubia. Both his Theban funerary temple and
his tomb (1-:.\43 in the Valley of the Kings)
have survived, and his mummy was among
those recovered from the tomb of Amenhotep
11 in 1898.
I-I. E. \VI'-UX:K, 'Notes on the reburial of
11Ilhmosis I',JEA 15 (1929), 56-68.
\r F. EDGERTOX, Thc TII/llmnsitl s/t(tl'ssiOIl
(Chicogo, 1933).
D. B.

REDroRD, lIis/Qry lim! dm11lfJ!flgy f}f/h~'

High/t'cu/h PJ"UlJ/Y ofEx,J'p/: J~T('1I J/Ilt1i~".~

(Toronto, 1967).
A. TCUfOI'F, T!IlI/1IlfJsiJ III (.\ lunich. 198-1-).
B..\1. 13R) \:\, Tht' r/'l~~1f ofT!flIlmost! w(Baltimore
and London, 1(1) 1).
:'-J. GRI\I.\J.,.'J his/ol]1 off/llcit'll/ L~!.!..}'p/ (Oxford,
1992),207-21.

Thutmose (Djehutymosc, Tuthmosis)

(r.I.HOBC)
One of the principal sculptors of the reign of
.\I..:IIE'\TE' (1352-1336 Be), whose titles
describe him as 'king's f;wourire and master
of works, the sculptor Thutmose'. His house

290

ond workshop, buildings P.47.1-3 in lhe

south suburb of EL--\i\I \R1'\,\, were discoyered
by Ludwig Borchordt in December 1912.
Most of the identifications of occupants of
houses at Amaroa hilve been made on the
basis of inscribed door lintels or jambs, but
Thutmose's house was ascribed to him
through the excavation of a fr;lgmcnt of an
ivory horse-blinker from it domes.tic rubbish
pit. A storeroom or Thutmosc's atelier
(1'.47.2: room ]9) was found to cont.lin
numerous artist's 'triill pieccs', as well as
m~1I1Y unfinished statucs and heads, including
those of the king, queen and princesses.
'rhere were also a number of plaster heads
probably representing various members of
the Amarna-period royal family, which were
initially interpreted as dcath-m.lsks but are
nO\\' usually assumed to h~l\'e been the 'm~lster
images' from which sculptures in stone may
have been copied. The most spectacular find
was thc brightly painted limestone bust of
1\EFERTITI, the principal wife or Akhenaten
(now in the collection or rhe Agyptischcs
lViuscu11l, Berlin).
L BORCHARDT, PormiIS ria K()'l1igiu Noji-t'/-ele
(Leipzig, 1923).

L. BORCHARDT :lnd H. RfCKE, Die 11!()!lIlhiiust!T m

Tell e1-AlIIlInU/ (Berlin, 1980), 9fr-7.
R. KRAUSS, 'Der BildhaucrThutmose in
Amarna',.7llhrbm:h da PreJlssisrher KJI!Jllr"~SltZ
20 (1983),119-32.
C. .ALDRED, AI.'!wllItcn King ofEgyp/ (London,
1988),59.

time
and

see

Ci\I.END"R; CIIKONOLOG); CLEl'SYIllt \

1-115'1'010' AND I IISTORJOGRAPIIY

titulary sec ROY,IL TITULARY

Tiy (Ti)'e) (c.1410-1340 BC)
Principol wife of the bte 18th-Dynasty ruler
UIE,,1I0TU' III (1390-1352 Be). Her fother lI'as
" chariot officer (scc YUYf\ '\'10 TL.'"YU) and her
brother, Anen, rose to the position of Second
Prophet of A\IL:'. She seems to have e\cncd
considerable influence both on her husbond
and on her son AKIIENATEN (1352-1336 Be).

The lips vIQ//1.'e1/ TZ)l. 18/1t DYllm~)I. c. 1380 /1(',

ydlom jaSjJl!l;

11.

12.60/1.

(,IJHTRO/,OU7: IS

tIlUSlhlI, .vEil }Ol?"', /:/)/U1WS.

/926. 26.7./396)

nIRK."E.";swn~

TlY

TOMBS

After the dcmh of Amenhotcp IU, for instance,

the correspondence from Tushratta, the ruler
of Ml'li\~l\I, was addressed directly [Q Tiy. She
waS regularly being ponrayed alongside her
husband in sculptures, and her titles were
listed on onc of il series of commcrnoratiyc
SCAR.>\BS isslled by the king.
On the accession to the throne of her SOil.
Akhcnarcn, the centre of power transferred
from Thebes to a new capital city at EL'\,\IARK\. A relief in the rock-cut tomb of
Huya at el-Amaroa shows that Tiy ,-isited

C. AI.DRI:D, _H'lwwfell, King o/.EgYPI (London,

The Tori Irc(I.'\/lre. dis((n;t!I"cd k)' Frall(.ois Bi.\".Iol7 de

1988),146-52,219-21.
G. ROlll'\S, rVOIIIClf ill aI/dent Eg.l'jJl (London,
1993),21-.1.;.

/(/ Roque illlhl! leJl/p/e oI!l1ollllf i11 /936, is Olll' 0/

the I(/rgesl fi/fds (~rsilverji'ol1l a/fcienl 1.:.'gYPI. Illl!
DYl/flSI)', c./900 ue. L. ofbo.\" -1-5 OIl. (LOU/'R'"
djI28-1.l318, Pf-/OTOGR.II'Il: .7ti 1\-I,Ve lJOln7)

tjet see TYET

Tod (:mc. Djerry, Tuphium)

Creell S/t.'tltill' head Qf1i)lJi"o1llIhe le11lple of

Hal/lOr aJ the lurquoi.w:-lIlillillg sile ofSerabit elK/ull/im. Siulli. /81h !J.l"lllJO'. c.lllO BC,
1-1.7.2011. (CI/ROJf382.'7)
Akhenarcn at the new city in the t\yelfth year
of his reign, and shc may c,-cn hayc had her
own rcsidence thcre. She was perhaps buricd
with her son in the royal tomb at Amarna, but
this is by no mc.lI1s certain. It is likely, at any
rate, that her body was c"cntually taken ro
Thebes. Some of her funcrary equipment
was found in 1OI11b KrSS in the ULLEY OF TilE
KL'\iGS, although the body associated with
thesc objects is bclic\'cu to bc that of
Smcnkhbra, the shorr-lived coregcnt of
Akhenaren. A body of a royal woman discm-ered among the cache of royal mummies in
the tomb of Amcnhorcp II (Kr35) is thought
to be that of Tiy, although this identification
has not been universally accepted. A lock of
her hair waS also f(Hmd in a miniature coffin
in the tomb of Tl;T\'\iJ.\:IIJ\hlU.\I ("-\'62).
A. ROWE, 'Lnscriptions on the model coffin
cont3ining the lock of hair ofQ!.lecn Tiy', ASAE
40(1941),627.

Site on rhe east bank of the ~ile, south of

.\R.\I.\:'\T, which dates from at least the Old
Kingdom until the Islamic period. A muclbrick chapel \ras constructed there as early as
the Sth Dynasty (2494-2345 BC), but the site
gained in importance in the ~liddle
Kingdom (20.1.1-16.10 BC), when temple construction for the local god \!O;-'TL was undertaken hI .\lE1'TLIIOTI'I' 1I (20.1.1-2004 BC),
1\!emuhotep tll (2004-1992 BC) and SFSCSRET t (196.1-1920 BC). Allhough these structures arc now almost entirely destroyed, a
number of imprcssiye fragments of relicf
h'1\'c sun ivcd, including part of a wall decorated on hoth sides \\-ith depicl"ions of the
goddess Tjancncl1l and the god .!\lontu, dating to the reign of J\ lcntuhorep III (now in
the Louvre).
In February 1936 the French 'lrchaeologist
Fran<;ois Bisson cle 101 Roque discoyered the socalled "lod treasure' underneath the !\Iliddle
f..:.ingdom temple. The treasure comprised
SIlXER vcssels (which may have been made
in Crete, or perhaps somewhere in Cremninfluenced western Asia), a silver lion, bpis
lazuli cylinder seals from LVlesopotamia, and
gold ingots" These were found in four bronze
chests bearing the cartouchc of Amenemhat JI
(1922-1878 BC) of the 12th Dmasty. ?'Jot only
W.1S this discovery one of the richest finds of
silrer in Egypt, but the c\-idcnce it provides

concerning contacts with Greece and the Ncar

East during the lVliddle Kingdom is a valuable
indication of trade contacts at the time.
From the I\ew Kingdom haye survived the
remains of <l R-\R!..: shrine erccted byThutmose
1lI (1+79-142.1 BC) for Montu, the decoration
of \\'hich includes rcstoration work undertaken by other kings of lhe 18th, 19th and 20th
D,nasties. Many of the blocks of Thutmose
m's temple were later re-used in the construction of the DeiI' Anba Ibshay church to the elst
of the site. In front of the site of the temple of
Senusret I, Ptolemy, Itl (170-116 BC) built a
new tcmple and sacred lake, and a !..:JOSh. was
added in the Roman period.
).: BISSO, DE 1,.-\ ROQLE, 'Lc [rcsor dc'Lbd', G/E
12 (1937), 20-6.
J. r.\:'\DIER, 'A propos d'un depot de prO\'cnancc
asiatiquc trou\'c;l Tod', Syria 18 (1937), 17.f--82.
E Blsso;o.J UE 1.,\ ROQLE, G. COXTE:XEAC and
F 0 I \I'OL:TIIII~R, Lelrisor de Tod (C1iro, 195J).
C. DESRC)CIIE..,;-l\"OBI.ECOCRT and J. VERCnUYI'EI{,
U" siedl! dl'joJlilll'sj1-a,,(aises ('11 Egypt 1880-1980
(Paris, 1981), 1.17-63.

tombs
[n the strictest sense of the word the ancient
Egyptian tomb underwent very little development over the course of the six millennia from
lhe beginning of the Predynastic period to the
end of the Roman period (c.5S00 ItC-'11) 395).
In essence thc tomb itself was almost always
subterranean, usually comprising a simple pit,
291

TOMBS

TO~

quality buiJding stone (as at GIZA and S,\~.t\R\)

or the suitability of the desert cliff, for Ihe
exca,-ation and decoration of ruck-cut cham_
bers (as ,tt ASYUT, BEN I IIASAN .md \IEIR).
Elctors such as these would have dctt:rmincd
whether private funerary chapels were rockcut or built. In addition, the chronological
changes in architectural sl'yle within particular
necropolises, such as S",QQ;\R.-\ or '1lIEBE.~. "ere
generally the result of dynastic or religious
change, as welJ as an increasing rc,lction to the
threat of tomb-robbety. Indeed, the prohlem of
security seems to have been one of the main
factors that led to the move away from the
highly visible pyramid complexes of tht Old
and .Middle Kingdom to the hidden corridors
of the VALLEY OF THE "I~GS at Thebes in the
New Kingdom.
See also FAL~E DOOR; FL''\I~R''RY BEI.lLFS;

court
hall
passage
offering chamber
lomb chapel
underground chamber

PIau (Iml cross-set/ion ofll prirnll' lomb of/ht'

18,h Dynast)' lI/ Thebes. The lomb belonged /0
Sobekhotcp mlwst' lije til rour' '~f raortlcd ill SCl'JIeJ
;1/ his l(Jmb~dlllpel. mlll"t:!J lPas 10m/cd abore
gruund. In/he 19th !J.l"Il1SZl'. tomb chapels mere
decorated with /II11CfalY lexts. 7l1l'subterrauea/l

pal'/s oIthe lomb mul' !arge(J' III/decorated (lilt!

mere h1od~ed c.rn:plfor burials. (DR,IIII' /J)
CIIRIST/.\/;, a.IIlR-/TT)

a rock-cut room or a chamber of mud-brick or

stone, within which the body was placed, usually accompanied by funerary equipment of
,-ariolls kinds. The pit style of burial was particularly persistent, being used not only by
most of the Predynastic population but als() by
poorer people throughout Egyptian history.
The full study of the develoJlment of the
Egyptian tomb is therefore principally concerned with the evolution of the superstructure, which was im'ariably the nrchitccrural
form of the 'offering chapel' rather than the
burial chamber itself Since the purpose of Ihe
funerary monument \\"as to ensure the continued sun-ivai of the deceased, the attention
of the funerary architects and artists naturally
focllsed nof so much on the body itself but on
the chapel, which was the interface between
the dead and the living, and the means by
which the K..:\ Cspiritual essence') and the 13.\
('potency') of the individual could communicmc with the world olltside. Although there
were obvious diflercnces in scale and elaboralion between the I'YRA \lID complexes of the
Old Kingdom and the simplest .\I:\ST\Bi\
tombs of some of the more lowly officials of
the time, all of these buildings were essent;ally
performing thc same function, proyiding a
ychicle for the making of offcrings to rJle
deceased_ From the SERD.\BS containing statuary of the deceased to the STEI..J\E bearing
inscriptions n'lllling and describing the individual, and listing the required offerings for

292

:\1L'\I\IIFICYrlOS; \'t\LLEY OF TilE QCEl:',\S.

G. A. REISNER, The dei'e1opmeul ofthe EgYPll1l11

t01/1b t!OI1JU to IIIC accession ofCheops (C1mbrit.Igc,
MA, 1936).
A.]. SI'E~C:ER, Deolh ill (f/l(;ielll1.:!{},pl
(Harmondsworth) 19HZ).
\\T. KAISER, 'Zu Entwicklung und Vorformcn Jcr
friih7.cirlichen Griiber mit reich geglicdcrt
Oberbaufassade', A1.tflullges Camul Eddill
,vIl/killllr' (Cairo, 1985),25-38.
K. 0 IERPIOr\, JltltlSlabas et I{)/pogees d~-/Ilciell
Empire: Ie problcuu! de la da/(I/ioll (Brussels.. 1(89).
E. HOR"ul'G, The Valley oflhe Kings: hnri::'IJIIIJI
etemily (New York, 1990).
1. E. S. EDWARDS, nil! pyramids oI1.:ltYP1, 5lh cd.
(Harmondsworth, 1993).

the culr, the basic components of the funerary

chapel and mortuary temple were very similar.
There were certain subtle architectural and
artistic means by which royal {(Jmbs could be
distinguished from those of their courtiers, and
equally there were ways in which the design
and iconography of the LOmb could be used to
indicate rJle prerogaci,cs and pri,"ileges held by
certain members of the non-royal Clite and not
by others. However, some of the major differences in the outward appearance of tombs were
the result of simple geological and geographical yariations, such as the availability of good

lli"
__

u..~:_-~_-_-_-~J~.~~'ITuIIl""IIu>-!C-=--=--=--=--=---J

Plal/ alld (fOss-setlion ~rJlIl: royal lomb o!SelY J, ill

Ihe T1t1ley of/hl' Kil/gs (I( Thebes. The lomb o.rSe~l/1
includes S0111l' oIlhejil1cst detOmli()1/ iu Ihe M,lIq' of
Ihe Kiugs, uud mas Ihejinllo be melllmo1Pl1 il1
Brilain, through Ihe efforts o/its discorerer,
CiOi;m/11i Be/::.oni. (DR.illX In CIIRIST1\F. JlARR ,n~

~I~O~

DO

00

TOWNS

TOYS

towns
Although Egypt was once described as ;l
'civilization without cities', the archaeological
c\-idcncc ro the contrary has been steadily
growing over the last hundred years, as more

settlement sites ha\'c been surveyed and excavated. By the 19705, with the inauguration of

new programmes of research at such sites as

EL-A!\IJ\R'\I"t, EU:I'II . \NTL~E and TEI.L EI..-I),\II'1\,
'settlement archaeology' can be said to have
arrived as a subdiscipline within Egyptology.
These long-term cxc.w.ltiolls ha,"c played a
crucial role in demonstrating the ways in
which the dc,'elopmcnt of Egyptian towns was
innucnccd both by gcographic~.11 loc~ltion and
by the particular politic.11 and social conditions in which they were founded. It has been
suggested, for insmncc, that the orthogonal
grid-plan of most surviving Old and i\liddle
Kingdom scttlements indicates a high degree
of state control and bureaucn.tc~~ as in the case
of IGhun (sec EI.-I.'''L'-).
The phenomcnon of urban life in EgypL is
currenLly best sLudied in terms of its New
Kingdom phase, whcn the expansion of the
Egyptian empire was reflected in the cosmo-

'\UOH~ Sduma/ic

models oftnJO Egyptian hOllses.

Third l111erllletlia/e Period, limes/om:, I-1. 2/ elll
Il//{l 1-1 ClII. 0' /2-162,27526)
B. J. KE:-'ll', 'The early development of towns in
Egypl',AlllifJllilJ' 51 (1977), 185-200.
nL I3l1~T:\~, 'Urban archaeology and the "rown
problem" in ancient Egypt', Egyp/ology tllltl/he
social scieuces, ed.I-.:.. \Vceks (C1iro, 1979),95-1+4.

E.
Cross-.~ec/iOl1 ofa

/.l'picalltollSe ill/he /1}orJ.'meu'.~

viI/age a/ Deir el-lVledil/tf. Similar !Jouses (fre
Imo/1}nfro1l1/lu' TPorkmen's ril/age a/ Amari/{{.
20/1I DYllas/y, ell50 IIC
politan nature of its major cities. The site of
c1-Amarna, on the cast h;mk of the Nile in
M:iddle Egypt, midway between the modern
towns of J\ilinya and Asyut, is the location of
the only virtually complcte city to have survived ti-olll an<.:ienl Egypt. Small patches of
settlement have survi\-ed from the contemporary cities of Nlemphis and Thebes, which, in
their time, would have been considerably
larger, but cI-Amarna is the only Egyptian
site at which a relatively completc and representative range of official :md residcntial
buildings have been excavated. There arc at
least tcn other substantial excayated townsites dating principally to the ?'Jew Kingdom
(c. 1550-1069 Br.): DEU' EL-IHLLlS, BUIir-/>.,
SESEBI, SOLf':B, A.\I>\R1\ \\lest, DEIK EL-,\IEDI1\A,
~'ALK.t\.TA, GLJROB, MEl\'1PI liS (Kom c1-Rabia)

and Pir<lmessc (Q1\1\TIR and TELL EL-IJ.\B';\).

A few smaller areas of New Kingdom scttlement have also becn excavated at other
sites, such as ,\In'DOS! .\IEIJI'\'ET [IABU, "': ..\ K:-.\"
and IIER,\10POI.IS _\lAG'\"\ (ci-Ashmullcin).
Substantial Late Period settlements have
been excayared at T\'\IS, _'\JAUI'K'\T1S and
Hcrmopolis J\!lagna.
"1"'he textual and archaeological evidence
suggest that, although there wcre c"iclently
cities in the Ncw Kingdom with a strong agricultural economic raisO/l d'e/re (such as the
nome capimls, Ninsu and Hardai, which .ue
known from textual refcrences rather th~m
cxc;wation), many New Kingdom towns "-ere
focused on religious or administrative buildings. As David O'Connor has pointed out, 'the
definition of Egypt as '(ci"iliz<uion without
citics" c;m only be acccpted if "city" is understood in a most narrow and specialized sense;
a more broadly defined type (or lypes) of
urbanism was certainly characteristic of h.istoric Egypt'.

UI'IIILI., /:.:(~.J'Ptiall/ollmstllld (ilies

(prillces

Risborough, 1988).

B.J. KEMI',AllciclI/ 1:':1)1/1/: tllla/ollq' vIa

civili::,atiol/ (London, 1989).

toys
T'he identification ofttoys' or playthings in the
archaeological rccord is fraught with probIcms. The Egyptians' frequent lise of models,
statuettes and figurines, both in religious cults
and in the practice of MAGIC, means that many
ritual artefacts can appear disconcert-ingly
similar to dolls or puppets to the modern eye.
A number of unfired (or lightl\' fired) cia\' figures of humans and animals h3"c sun-iYcd in
urban contexts, particularly from the town of
Kahun (sec EL-LAIlL/>.), dating to the Middle
Kingdom (2055~1650 Ilc), and may therefore
be toys.
The balls of string or rag and the wooden
tops c.'xcavatcd at settlement sites, and sometimes also in priy~1te tombs, are almost certainly ph:tythings. A few relatively elaborate
toys have survived, includi.ng human figures,
293

TRADE

TRAQ.I;:

rattles and models of animals (one example, in

the collection of the British i\1useum, being a
crocodile with a moving jaw). As widl some of
the clay figures from Kahun, it" is possible that
some of these dolls had ritual functions. It is
also possible that the two purposes may sometimes ha\'c been combined, in that Some
'dolls' may have been intended both as girls'
toys and as the amulctic means {Q fertility in
later life.
T KE'\o:\L1 .. 'Games', Egypl'sgQldclI age, cd.
E. BrO\-arski, S. K. Doll and R_ E. Freed
(Bosron, 1982),263-72.
~ l. STEAD, E~".J'Plillll !ije (London, 1986).63.

Selecli(}III~//(nIS: lJ/odeljeIi11l'.f(!!,urc /pi/II artimlnted

jam. ill/aid eye.~ lIud bronze Icellt, prn!JtlN)' dntil1g /0
,he Nem Kingdom: plliu/cd liucn fllld fad ball,

ROil/flU period:jilil'1w! spinning lop/hull/hI.' Fayum.

ROlI/tItI period_

rf 1/567/. J6709. H920)

trade
Ancient Egypt did not ha,"c a monetary economy until the end or the Late Period (747-332
Hr.), and indeed the Egyptians of the
Pharaonic period had no word or concept corresponding to the modern category of 'economy'. The economic aspects of their liycs were
embedded in the social system as a \yhole, and
trading primarily lOok a form akin to bartering. The system, howc,"er, W.15 ,cry sophisticated, and, at least as early as the New
Kingdom (1550-1069 HC), it was relilted to a
definite scale of ,"aluc hased on weights of
metal (see ,\IEASURL\IENT). Copper was lhc
main standard for small transacrions, and silver and gold wcre used for those of higher
,"alue. Fragments of the melals rhcmsclycs
were sometimes used in transactions, but not
in such a precise way as to consri[Ute coinageo
1\ lost of the evidence for trade among ordi-

294

nary Egyptians of the New Kingdom comes

from rhe workmen's community at DEIR 1".1.,\IEDI'H. It seems that each given commodity
had a value thilt could be expressed in terms of
numbers of copper rlehm. Many transactions
therefore seem to have taken the form of a
calculation of the yalue of lhe n\'O sets of
goods that were being exchanged, in order to
ascertain that e.lch was wort~ the same
amollnt of deben, Some Egyptologists consider
that these prices were fairly stable and
resulted from tradiLional usage, whereas
others have ilrgued that the prices were fixed
much more fluidly through the supply and
demand of the market. \Vhether ilncient
economics should be subject to 'fi:>rmalist'
(markct-OJ'icntcd) or 'subsmnti,'ist' (nonmarket) an'.llysis is a matter of some COl'Hroversy in anthropology, particularly where
ancient states are concerned, and in Egypt a
case can be made for either. Barry Kemp has
been able to show th:.tr the process of exchange
was .111 accepted pan of social relations, :lI1d
so helps to bring the two schools of thought
closer together.
Records of baTtering transactions necessarily shm\" the exchange of a number of itcms of
rchni"ely low ,oalue in order lO buy something
of a higher ,alue. Clearly this system would
work only in a community in which people
werc prepared to be Ocxible about what they
took in exchange, otherwise an enormous
chain of smaller exchanges would have been
necessary in order lO obtain goods purely fe)1'
the purpose of a transaction, and the whole
system would have become impractical. The
vendor usually seems to hiwc tried to ensure
that some of the goods obtained in exchange
could, if neccssary, be bartered again in the
future. 1\ lany of the sun'iving records of transactions at DeiI' el-.\ledina list a bed (,'alued at
20-25 deben) .uuong the iLems traded; it is
unlikcly that households would actually ha,'c
wished to receive ilnd store numerous beds,
therefore it is usually assumed that the hed
was included in the record of the transaction
simply as surcty, to facilitate the exchange. In
this way, Egyptian economic acti,'ity can be
secn to he the material expression of social
relations. The economist Karl Polanyi and the
anthropologist !\ larshall Sahlins have shO\,n
thaL in many societies commodities may hiwe
one price for those within the community and
another for outsiders; il is possible that slich a
system operated in Pharaonic Egypt.
}-<oreign trade probably also operated mainly
through barrer. The cxpedition to the African
country of PLi.:'\T, which is recorded in the
l11ort"'11\- temple of ]-hllshepsut (1473-1458
BC) at DeiI' cl-Bahri, seems to depict the oper-

ation of'silent trade" whereby each of the parties gradually laid out more or fewer items
until both felt satisfied with their return On the
deal. This system is particularly likely to hil\"e
been used when dealing with rehnivcly unsophisticated foreigners, who would havc had no
knowledge of the priees of objects or goods
within Egypt.
Trade with dereloped states in the
..\lcditernmean and rhe Near East seems to
h~l\'c taken a different form. Here goods of
high value were regularly exchanged by Wil~ of
diplomatic gifts. "fhe A;\IAR.i'" lEITERS contain
lists of goods sent by foreign rulers to Egypt,
<lnd requests by them for gifts such as gold
st.ltucs. The luxury goods acquired in this Wil,
could often be given to loyal couniers a~
rewards, sen'ing as marks of St.1tus conferred
by the king.
~ lany tomb-paintings in the New Kingdum
depict rhe arri,'al of trade goods, but thc~
often ponray them ilS if they were gifts given
as tribute. In practice traders from Cretc, and
elsewhere in the Greek world, visited Egypt to
exchange goods, ilnd were no doubt Ihemselves visited by Egyptian traders (or ilt least
traders bearing Eg~1)ti<ln goods such ilS those
found on the Bronze Age shipwrecks at C1pe
Gelidonya and Ulu 8U1un). Egyptian trauers
themsclycs are not well ~lttested, although the
term SI111'O' apears to be used to refer to mt=rchants. There arc also references to Lhe sending of royal trading missions throughout (he
Pharaonic period; these were usually organized by officials serving as 'expedition leaders', from Harkhuf, who travelled to Africa in
the time of Pep' " (2278-2184 BC), to the
semi-fictional character \renamun, \\ho '\as
supposed to ha\'e been sent to the Syrian port
of "\"BLOS in the time of IIERIHOR (c.1070 BC).
\Vhen the ,,orel shmJy was used to identi~
traders in the New Kingdom, they were
always state employees. Ne\'errhelcss, there
seems to have been a level of trade that was
intermediate between the international commerce of the highest courtly officials and tbe
local bartering of Lhe workmen. This is
demonstrated hy numerous finds of
~ lycenac.m pottery ill sites such as EI.-\ \1 \R'\.\,
where its occurrence olllside purely royaln)lltexts perhaps indicates that it arrived through
.\'lyccnaean merchants or Egyptian middlemen. At ilny rate l t.here may well ha\'(' been
unofficial exchanges between Egyptians and
members of the retinues of visiting foreign
pOtentiltcs, just as the anthropolog-ist
Bronislaw l\lalinowski recorded among the
peoples of the Pacific_
In the Late Period (747-332 Be) forei~n
trade was dominated by GREEKS, and Egypthtn

TRADE

rulers controlled them by confining tJ'CI11 to

tfading cities such as :"JAUKRATIS. During the
29th Dynasty the first coinage was introduced
into Egypt, which was to lead [0 a full moncrary economy in the Ptolemaic period, rhus
effectively beginning the process of integrating the Kile ,alley into the early monetary
economy of the ;'vlediterrancan world.
E. i\,L-\I.INo\YSK1, Argol/(flllS (~rll/(! fVl'~/t:ru P{/cdic
(London, 1922).
K. POI. \,,\ I, 'The Cl:onomy as instituted
process" Trade lind marh'l illlhe early empires,
ed. K. Polanyi, C. Arensberg and 11. Pe-J.rson
(Glencoe, IT., 1957).
D. .\1. DI:\o,. 'The tn1l1splanr:nion of Punt
incense trees in Egypr',.7E.155 (1969), 55-65.
!VI. S,\IILlNS, Slolle age afJI/OIll;CS (London, 197~).
J. J.}\ 'SSI~:-':, COlllmodiZJI prin:sFolIJ the RUI1Il!s.I'id
period (Lcidcl1, 1975).
1\1. G. It\SCIIKE, 'Pap~ rologi<.:al c\"idcnce for
Ptolemaic and Roman trade with India"
Proceedillgs oltlll' .\11 lutenUltiol1/1/ COllgreH f~r
Papyr%gists (London, 1975),2+ 1-6.
S. AU.. \~\l, "Vic del' Altiigypter in del' Zeit des
Neucn Rciches bufte und vcrbufrc" Dm'
,.j/ler11l1ll27 (1981), 233--40.
]. P.illRO, 'Lc role de I'Egyptc dans les relations
commcrciales d'Oricnr ct d'Occidcnt au premier
miUenaire',AS_JE 71 (1987), 2lJ-22.
B. J. KF..\lI',_.Jflciefll (l;yPl: (I'f(llOlI~J' ala
civili::;alioll (London, 1989),231--60.

TRIAD

trees
Among the more common species of tree in
Egypt were the acacia, tamarisk, chite palm,
clom palm and SYC~lmore. Perhaps because of
the companuivc rarity of trees, many of them
de\-elopcd associations both with specific
deiries and ,,irh rhe afterlife. The goddess
II.\THOR,
for instancc, was sometimes
described as 'lady or the sycamore" ;1Ild this
tree was also linked with other goddesses.
including ISIS and l'L:T. Chapter 109 of the
Book of the Dead describes two 'syco1mores of
turquoise' growing at the point on the eastern
horizon wherc the sun-god rises each morning, It W~lS the sycamore tree that was often
depicted in funerary decoration as a scmianthropomorphic figure, often with arms and
hands offering rood or sacred watcr to the
deceased. Perhaps the most unusual version of
the sacred sycamore is in the burial chamber of
Thurmose III (1479-1425 BC), ,,here the rreegoddess - probably in this instJJ1cc Isis - is
shown suckling rhe king with .1 breast emerging from the branches,
The ished lree was connected with rhe sungod :md, like the sycamore, had connections
with the horizon, Relief~ sometimes depict
TIIOTII and SESILrr, the two deities associated
wirh \\Titing, inscribing the lel\-eS of either the
isht'd or persea tree (lHilllllsnps /aflr~I(Jlill) with
the RO\':\l. TITUlhA.RY and the number of years in

Shabti-box bt'l/ring
paimed decoratiou
depicting lhe priesless
J rCl1/1tJllel~l'/I'(!(('iviJlg
mtfterji'olll tf trtf/!g()dde.~s.

/9th 1~)'II11st.J'.
c. /290 Be. J1 Jond. from
Thebes, H. of/J()x II cm.
(l'I~/_'.f9)

the pharaoh's reign. The link between trees

and the duration of kings' reigns was rciter::Ited in the use of::I date~palm branch as the
hieroglyph signif~'ing year (n:llpet), which is
often shown in association with the god of
eternity, HEI J. \Vhen co\-ered in notches indicotting the passing of time, the palm branch
formed an important clement of scenes
depicting the SED FESTlr!\!..
There are only a few suniving depictions
of the felling of trees, the e~Irlicst of which is
probably rhe relief in rhe 4th-Dynasty tomb
of Personet at GiZ.l, showing one man in the
act of chopping at ;1 tfunk, while others hack
off the branches, According to the '.\LEIL\10
STO~E (:1 5th-Dynasty king list) the .tthDyn~sty ruler Sneferu (2611-2589 Be) was
already importing large quantities of coniferous timber from nYBLOS. Li\'e species were
sometimes also brought back from tnlding
missions, according to the painted scenes of
the expedition to the African kingdom of
I'L:"T,
111
the temple of J-Iatshepsul
(147]-1458 BC) ar Deir el-Bahri, which show
Egyptians carrying off small lrees in cerollnic
pots, as well as trimming branches from
ebollY logs in preparation for their transport~1
(ion b.lck to Egypl.
~L L. l3ullL <The goddesses of th~ Egyptian
tree eult',JNES 6 (1947), 80-97.
I. \V I\LLERT, Die Polmell ill a/fell Agypll!//: ei/le
Vl/lenllclwllg ilirer praktist!If:II, '~)'lIIbo/isdlCll IIllrl
re/igiiiseJl Bedeutllllg (Berlin, 1962),
R. ~IOl,~nll, 'Die uraltc Sykomore und andere
Erscheinungcn der Hathor', z.-ls 92 (1965),
40-7.
f, G.L\IER-'V\LLERT, 'Baum, heiliger', Lexil'oll
tier >igYPl%gie I, ed, \;V. Heick, E, Otto and
W. Westendorf (Wicsbaden, 1975), (,55-60.
E. r-IER\ISE.'-, LdJj.'l/s!J(/1I111.~J'l1/b()/ik ill/ a/leu
Agyptell: ciue Ulltt'rSUdffwg(Cologne, 1981).
I\. R\L \I, ./rlm's et lIr!lIIS!i'J de I'gypte (/1/Cit'llIIt.'
(Lou\ain.1988).
R. H. \\'ILI(IXSO:\, RelUlillg Egyptiall art
(London, 1992), 116-19.
J

triad
Term used to describe a group of three gods,
usuaUy consisting of a di\-ine family of rather,
mother and child worshipped ~1t particular
cult centres. The triad was often a com'enient
mcans or linking together three rormcrly
independent gods of an area. and scems to
have been primarily ~ rheological development
of the Ncw Kingdom. The process of torming
a triad prm-ided 01 frame of referencc lor each
of the deities, placing them into a detailed
mythological context. Among the most
important triads were _\.\IL ", \IUT and "-110:"5
at Thebes. PTAll, SEKH~IET and i'\EFERTE~1 ::It

295

TUNA EL-GEI3EL

TURI

ROYAL CA:-JON

funerary houses and nine limestone tomb

chapels, many of Ptolemaic and Roman date.
The names of some of the owners of these
'funerarY houses' and tomb chapels are known
indudin-g Isadora (c.. \1) 150), a ,yoman "'ho i~
said to have drowned in the Nile and subsequently became the object of a popular cult.
The tomb chapel of a chief priest of 1'hOlh
called I'ETOSIRI$ (-JOO lie) is the most important
private tomb at the site, principally bCCIUSl' its
dccoration consists of an unusual combination
of Egyptian and Hellenistic styles.
S. G'\UIL\, E. DRIOTOi\, P. PEIWRIZET and \,,~ G.
\V".UDELL, Rapporl sur h'sjouilles d'HerJl/opo!i5
Olll'.'t (C.iro, I ~{I).
S. G.\BR.\, Che::.les demiers (I(lort!fcurs dlf
Trimigiste: III necropoli' d'//ermopQlis-701I1Jt1 rJCl'be/(C1iro, 1~71).
J. BOEss:--:Ech:.A. \0"1 DER DRIL'iU! and
D. KE.o.;SLER, TUlia I: Die Tierga/erien
(Hildeshcim, 1~87).
D. ~ESSLER, Die heiligen Tiere lIlu/ der Kiim:!!
(Wieshadell, 198~).

Memphis, the Bchdctitc J [onus (sec

DISC),

11:\'1'1 [Ol{

WINGED

and Hafsomr.us (Horus the

child) at Edfll, imd KI-I::'\lUI\l, S.\TET and ANUKET

(daughter or second consort) aL Elephantine.
The best-known triad is thai of OSIRIS, isis and
]-Torus, but this grouping was not associated
with any specific cult-centre, Osiris being
worshipped at Abydos, ISIS at Philae and
Horus at Edfll.
'fhe term is also occasionally used to refer
to it 'group statue' consisting of three figures,
as in the case of the statues from the -I-thDynasty v.1l1c~r temple of j\IF.~" -\URA
(2532-2503 Be) at Giza. These fiyc 'triads'
(now in the.; collections of the Egyptian
4i\1uscum, Cairo and the lVluSCUJ11 of Fine Arts,
130sl'on) each show the king in the company of
the goddess I-fathor and a female personificalion of one of the nomes (provinces) of Egypt
in which IlaLhor was particularly venerated. In
private smruary, such a sculpwral triad would
usualJy consist of a man and two of his dependants, as in the case of the painted limestone
statue of the 5th-Dynasty official !\lcrL'Sankh
and two of his daughters (now in the Egyptian
iVluseum, Cairo). Triads, howe,'er, arc far less
common than OY/\DS (pair-statues).
E. HOR:"iUNG, COllapliol/S ofgod il/ audent EgYPI:
IIIC QII,' and the II/I/Iq', trans. J Baines (London,
1983).

Tuna el-Gebel
Site of the necropolis of IIER.\IOPOLIS :\"IAG:\t\,
including ,1 complex of camcombs for the burial of S.\CRED A1'\I\IALS and an associated temple
of TIIOTII, located on the west bank of I he
Nile, ncar the modern town of l\!lallawi in

296

nU' IOlllb d/(/pel ~rp{()le1/lais al TUlia d-Cebel is

(Jlle ~/a 1Il/lIIba oICmt'Co-Rowalllolll!J dwpels al
111l'sile. !fwrlt'd dO.Ie 10 ,ht' .wacd auimal
Ctlla((J1I1bs. (p. '/: :\ICIIOLS'O\)
~liddle Egypt. The temple, now much dam,1ged, is connected with the subtcrrancan galleries, which date from at lcast ,1S early as Lhc
19th Dynasty until Prolemaic times (f.1295100 Be). Close to the animal catacombs is a
boundary stele of .n,] IEX'\TE~, labelled Stele t\
by rlindcrs Petrie, marking the incorporation
of this agricultural territory within the bounds
of his ncw capital on the C..1st bank, at 1-:1./1l\lf\R1'\!\ (sec also STELE).
One catacomb at Tuna el-Gebel is devoted
primarily to the ritual storage of mummified
votive IB[SES, although many of the scaled
pottery jars also contain falcons and olher
birds. i\1ummified baboons, lhe other creatures sacred to Thorh, were also buried in the
galleries, in some cases accompanied by the
bodies of the priests who had tended them in
life. A nuicty of other animals, including
crocodiles, arc also represented in smallcr
numbers. The galleries, and other parts of the
site, were partly CXC;l\,..Hcd by Egyptian
Egyptologist Sami Gabra in the inter-war
perioel, and h~l\'e been excavated during Ihe
1980s and 19905 by a team of German
archaeologists under the direction of Dieter
Kessler.
Therc arc also surviving remains of the
buildings constructed to accommodate the
numerous ancient pilgrims visiting lhe site.
A site or such imporrance also attracted pri",1fe burials, including 3bout sixty brick-built

Turin Royal Canon

Papyrus dating to the reign of Ramcscs [I
Be), inscribed in lIH-:IUTIC wilh a
list of the names of Egyptian rulers (originally
numbering about three hundred), e\'idcnrl)
copied from a morc complete original. \\Then it
was first acquired by the trayeller Bernardino
Drm'cni in the C".lrly nineteenth ccntur), it

(1279-]213

boundary stele A IJ

/~

",,,,i

the 'Oedipus' tomb

(decorated with scenes
from the Oedipus legend)

/<.., """'' ,.

Roman water-wheel

f animal catacombs

'"'"

-.....

.-............

tomb 01
Pelosiris

Lale
Period
painled

renclosure
~wall

lomb a!

",/i-'/'

Isadora

J"

tomb
necropolis

t/

/-

o
o

50 100 1;0 200 250 300 350 400 m

PIa" oITwltl d-Gl'bel.

TURQUOISE

TUTANKHAMUN

seems to have been largely jntact, but by the

time it had become part of the collc<.:tion of
the Musco Egizio, Turin, its condition had
detcrior.ltcd. The diligent work of such
Egyptologists as Je.m-Fran'r0is CII!\\IPOI.I.JON
and Gustavus Seyft~lrth ensured that the
many fragments were placed in the correct
order, but many hlcun.lc still remain.
The list included the IIYh::SOS rulers (often
left out of other UNG LISTS), although they
welT not given CI\HTOUCHES, and a hieroglyphic sign was added to indicate that they were
foreigners. Apart from the names of each
the rulers, the list also cited the precise duration of each reign, and occasionally provided
a summary
the numbers of years that had
elapsed since the time of lhe sLmim)'thical
ruler MI:NI':$. There was also an altempt" to go
back beyond the reigns of known kings and to
assign regnal lengths to the series of unn,lmed
spirits ;md gods who had ruled bdi:Jre the
appearance of the human pharaohs, It waS
presumably this type of document that: provided ;VIANETIlO ",ith the basis for the history that
he compiled in rhe early third century lIe,
which has supplied the sequence of DY:"JAST1ES
still used by Egyptologists.
E. j\!ll~YER, Aegyptische ChrollfJ/ugic (Berlin,
1904),105-14.
G. FAIUNA, Ilpllflim del 1"1: rest(/{(J"{Ilo (Rome,
1938).
A. H. G,\R.DI:,\II:H, The R(~y(// Ca1!o1! o/Til1'ill
(Oxford, 1959).
J. MM.EK, 'The original \'ersion of the Royal
Canon orTurin',.JEA M~ (19X2), 93-106.

or

or

turquoise
j\Jlined by the Egyptians from the late
Predynastic period onwards, turquoise is an
opaque blue-green or pale sky-bluc mineral
(hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminimum)) which forms as ycjns and nodules in
the fissures of sandstone and trachyl'c, The
greener variety was highly prized b~' thL
ancient Egypti,ms, who preferred it to the
more porous blue variety, which tends to fade
when exposed to the air. Turquoise (probably
corresponding' to the Egyptian tcrlll lIleftal)
was used in jewellery as early as the Gerze.m
period, and onc or the moSt cXl]uisirc early
examples of its use is a bracelet consisting of
thirteen gold and fourteen turquoise SEREKlIplaques, each crowned by a falcon, excavated
fi'om thc I st-Dynasty lOmb or DJER ((,.1000 BC)
at Abydos.
The Sinai peninsula was the major
Egyptian source of turquoise and copper
throughout the Pharaonic period, The mines
at Wadi IVlaghara, 225 km southeast of Cairo,
were particularly exploited during the Old and

Nliddle Kingdoms (2686-1650 lie), and there

are impressive rock-carvings (usually depicting the king in the net of smiting foreign captives), dating bad to the reign of the 3r<.1Dynasty ruler SE""'''IKJIE'I' (26+8-2MO Be).
Petrie examined the site in 1904-5 and found
an Old Kingdom hill-top miners' settlement
consisting of about 125 stone-built structures.
His eXC<lVations also revealed numerous artefacts, including cvidcnce or copper-smelting
ill silli.
Another set of mines, at Serabit el-Khadim,
about 18 km to the north of vVadi i\lfaghara,
were also accompanied by rock-carved stelae,
as weU as an unusual associated temple complex dating to the i\!fiddle and New Kingdoms
(r.20.l5-1069 BC). Tn the temple precincts and
the surrounding area, numerous rock-cul- and
fr~estallding stelae were dedicated by mining
expeditions to the goddess I [ATI lOR in her
aspect of uebeL lIle.fl't/f ('lady of lurquoise') and
the god SOI'I':1) 'guardian of the desert ways'
R, \VULL, Raeui/ tics il/saipfiollS /gyptieJ/lles till
Sillili(Paris, 190-1-).
\V J\JL F PJ::Tlm: and C. T CURRI::I.I.Y, Rescarches
ill Sillai (London, 1906).
A, H. GARDINER,'l~ E. PEETandJ. CER.~Y,
Illscriplio1/s o/Sil/ai, 2 vols, 2nd cd. (London,
1952-5).
R, GIVI:DN) 'Le temple c!'Hathor a Serahit elKhadem', Arrlth'/ogia 44 (1972),64--9,
.rvi. C!-IARTIER-RAY,\!ONIJ, 'l\otes sur J\llaghara
(Sinai)', Gil/PEL 10 (1988),13-22.

Tutankhamun (1336--1327 Be)

Ruler of the late 18th Dynasty who was, ironically, one of the most poorly known of the
pharaohs until Howard CI\RTER'.'j discovery of
his tomb in the \',\LLEY OF TJlE KINGS (Kv62) in
1922. Although the tomb had been partially
robbed and resealed in ancient tjmes, most of
the funerary equipment, including the coffins
and sarcophagi, were found in excellent condition, and it was certainly the best~preserved of
any of the royal tombs (although the contents
of the 215t- and 22nd-Dynasty royal burials at"
T/\NIS, excavared by Pierre lVlontet in 1Y39,
were jn similarly good condition), The tomb is
also architecturally different from other
phaJ"aohs' tombs in the Valley of the Kings, in
thaL it consists of only four very small rooms
rather than the long corridor-style tomb lhal is
typical or the 18th to 20th Dynastics. It is possible that a more conventional tomb ncar that
of AI\1f:".NIIOTEI' Ir1 (1(\'23) may have originally
been intcnded for him but this was usurped by
his successor, the ageing courtier :\Y, who
probably acted as regent and wielded the real
power during his reign.
Tut41nkh~U1111n was born during the Amarn41

-<
~:;.,

"
<.

~~

.~.....;

,::,.

iI

I
~

....-;

;;
::>;;

--

.=:

:::'

;>

~~

~-

~~
~..;

The bo{(l' O/Tulflllkha/JlII/I, mhich disil/tegrated

mhcl/ Ilmus IIIlm}"apped ill Novelllba /923 (Jilt!
fwd 10 be re-fHscJllbled 011 (/ lray, 181h DYI/t/sly,
c./336-1327I1e, 11.1.63 !II, (R/:'!'RO/JUCED
Cm'RTrSI' OF 'l'/IE CRIF,..,TlI INSTITUTE.)

297

TUTANKHAMUN

period, probably at el-Amarna itself, where he

was at first known as Tutankhatcn Cli\'ing
image of the Aten'), but bter changed his
name, presumably in order to distance himself
from the Arcnisr heresies of the reigns of
.-\I'IIE"\:\1'E' ~md Smcnkhkara. His wife,
Ankhesenpaarcl1, who was one of the daughters of Akhenarcn, simi1arly changed her name
to Ankhesenamun, although a throne found in
his tomb porrrilYS them together underneath
the rays of the Atcn, since {his item was presumably created in the late Amarna period. Tn
his decoration of the colonn'lde in the temple
at LL'XOR constructed by Amenhotcp Ill, he
describes the lauef as his 'father'. This raises
the question of whether he may in fact have
been Akhenarcn's brother, although it is usually
assumed that the term is ro be tr,mshtted more
generally as 'ancesror" and that the supposed
link with Amenhotep III was simply a COm"cnient way of dissociating himself from his twO
heretical predecessors.
\~1hcn he reached the throne, at the age of
perhaps only eight yenrs old, hc movcd thc
royal court back up to lVlemphis. It \vas therefore at SAQQ\RA that the tombs of a number of
his high officials were located (rather than at
Thebes, as in the earlier 18th Dvnasty),
including those of the general J-10RI':i\IHJ~B, the
chancellor Maya and the vizier Aper-el, all
three of which were excavated during the
19705 and 19805. Although his (restoration
stele' (enumerating a number of reforms
designed to undo the excesses of the Amarna
period) was erected at Karnak, it was actually

TYET

issued from Memphis. The Theban tomb of

his nCERm OF KuSll, Buy, is decorated with
painted scenes showingTutankhamun's reception of tribute from the Nubian prince of
i\Iiam (A~UlA).
H. C \RTER, The IOl1lb oITulflllHllIl1IlllI,.3 \'ols
(London, 1923-33).
C. DI::5ROClII::5-NoOl.ECOURT, TUlflllkhflmen. life
fllld tlt'flth ofa pharaoh (London, 1963).
TilE GRIFFITII hSTITLIE, Tu/ 'fllIkluimulIs tomb
series, 10 \ols (Oxford, 1963-90).
R. KRACSS, Das Elide dl'r Amanw::,eit: Bfitrti~!{t>
::.ur GC'schidJle liIltl Chronologie des Neufll Reidu's,
2nd ed. (I-Jildesheim, 1981).
)1. E.\TO:'\-KR.\LSS, 'Turankh:.l.mun:.l.[ l\..:.l.rI1ak',
JIIDArK ++(1988), I-II.
N. REE\ ES, The compteit' nlltmJdlllmlill
(London, 1990).
G. T l\!:\RTIN. The hiddell /ombs oIA'lcmphis: lIe/1l
discouriesji'of1/ the lim/! oj'Ttt!a1/khalJ/l/1/ {/1/(1
Ra/1/t'sst'S Iht' Crt!({/ (London, 1991).

e.

'Two Ladies' see KEKH8ET and

\\,WjYT

Ty (Ti) (c

2500 1Jc.)
Important 5th-Dynasty official who was overseer of the pyramid complexes and sun temples of the 5th-Dynasty rulers Neferirkara
(2475-2455 BC) and Ivuserra (2445-2441 IJc)
.'It /\BlJSIR, as well as the sun temples of Sahura
(2487-2475 BC) and Raneferef (2448-2445 BC).
His career, which roughly coincided with
the reign of Nyuserra, is documented in the
painted reliefs decorating the interior of one of
the finest \IAS''''IJ.\ tombs at S.\Q!l"tA (no. 60).

Hend ofa black gmuile

statue oj'Hap)' with the
jil(iatjclItures of
711ItmJdltf1lJlI1J. II is
i1JSrribed milh the IlllJlJes
of Horemheb who llSufped

His wife, Neferhetpcs, was a prophetess of the

goddesses Ncith and Hathor, and is frequentl\'
portrayed at his side.
.
The funerary chapel, which would ori~i
nally have formed the superstructure of the
tomb, was discovered and cleared by Auguste
:'\t!\RIE1TE in the latc nineteenth century, but its
exterior W:lI1S are now parrly buried in the
desert. Its porricoed doonyay ~ probably sill1ihu ro the entrances of the houses of the C1ite
during the Old I'.ingdom (2686--2181 BC)-Ied
ro a columned hall bene~lth which a passa~c
way led down to the actual burial. The wall; of
this hall were decorated with agricultural
scenes emphasizing the wealth and official
duties ofTy. A corridor in the southwest corner led past rhe 1:'...\.1..5E-000K stele of
)Jeferhctpes (and the ~lccomp'1I1ying offering
scenes) into a chamber on the west side which
is decorated with scenes showing the bringing
and preparing of offerings, including an interesting depiction uf a potters' workshop (sec
PO'ITERY). Further southwards along the corridor was a larger hall, the roof of \\"hich was
supported by two pillars, while the walls wcre
decorated with further agricult-ural scenes, as
well as dancers, temple craftsmen and boatbuilders, somc of these workers apparently
being 'inspected' by Ty in his official capacilY.
There were also typical scenes of the deceased
engaged in hippopotamus IIUl\-n~G and fowling in the marshes.
The SERJ)AB (statue chamber) was placed on
the south side of the large hall, and a plaster
cast of the statue of Ty is currently yisible
through three spy-holes in the ,,all (the original having been transferred to the Cairo
!\Iuseum).
A.\II.\KItTn:, Les IIwstubas dl' 1>J.llcit:n Empm'
(Paris, 1882-9).
G. STt-:I.:\"DOKFF, Dus Grab {It~s Ti (Lcipzi~, 1913).
L. EPRON and E DAui\l.\s, Le tombellll dt' Ti
(C,iro,1939).

11I(IJ~)' JIlOnt/111e1ItS of

Tutllllkl1lJlIIlI1l.
1.6811I. (1:.475)

fl.

298

lyel (Egyptian Ije/: 'knnt of Isis')

The so-called '.)'el 'knot' or 'girdle' was
alrcady <1 sacrcd symbol during the Old
Kingdom (2686--2181 BC), and was commonly
depictcd alongside the Al\KJ I and the DJED
PILLAII. By the :-Je\\' Kingdom (1550-1069 BC)
it was described as the 'knot of lsis" perh,lps
partly in order to parallel thc association
between the djed pillar and the god OS11l15,
consort of the goddess ISIS. It was during
this pcriod that Iyet amulets became comparatively common; the loop of the knot was
sometimes replaced by a head of the co\\'goddess IIl\T! lOR, thus emphasizing rhe links
between Isis and Bathor.
The ly('1 resembles an al1kh sign wirh irs

TYET

VALLEY OF THE KINGS

Udimu see DE:"

Valley of the Kings (Biban e1-Muluk)

Udjahorresnet Sl'e .IRT and PERSI.I

udjal see "ORLS

Unas (Wenis) (2375-2345 BC)

Pro/allVC ryet" (lilli/lei ;/1 red jasper, New

Kingdom, II. 6.6"111. (E/20639)
horizontal bar turned clown at either side, and
Spell 156 of the Book of the Dc"d states that it
should be made of red jasper, which would
have been symbolic of the 'blood of Isis'. Some
lyet amulets were carved from cameli.In, while
others were manufactured in red faience or
glass.
,;y. \OVESTENOORF, 'Beitragc aus und zu den
Medizinischen Texten', zAs 92 (1966),128-54
(14'1--54).
- , 'Isisknotcn" Lexikoll rlrr Agyptologie II, cd.
W. Heick, E. Otto and W. Westendorf
(Wicsbaden. 1980),204.

Final ruler of the 5th Omasty (249+-2345 Be),

whose reign is poorly documented in many
respects, despire the comparati,-c1y good
prcscr\";ltion of his funerary complex at the
sOllthwest corner of the Srep Pyramid l:omplex of Ojoser (2667-2648 BC) in north
S-"<,tQ-\RA, His funerary causeway (linking the
mortuary temple and the yalley temple)
includes a number of reliefs apparently depicting events during his reign, such as the transportation by barge of granite COI.U?-,lNS fro111
dlC quarries at Aswan to the mortuary temple,
and a scene of emaciated figures that has been
inrerprclcd as a portrayal of a FAMIi\E, perhaps
heralding the econom-ie a~ld political decline
of the late Old Kingdom. Another scene shows
Asiatic traders apparently arri,-ing in Egypt by
boat, which probably indicates continued economic contacts with IIYBI.OS.
Although Unas' pyramid is the smallest of
those built during the Old Kingdom
(2686--2181 BC), it is particularly significant
because it was the earliest to ha\-c ilS internal
walls inscribed with the rarious spells making
up the I'YR,\:\IID TEXTS.
E. DRIOTO:S, 'Une representation de la famine
sur un bas-relief egyptien de Ia Ve Dynastic"
DIE 25 (1942-3), 45-54.
S. 1-I.\ss.\;..., 'The causeway of\Vnis at Sakkara"
zAS 80 (1955),136--14.
A.

LABKOLSSE,

J-P. LACER ;md J

LECL>\i':T,

1('f1/plc haw till (owplexfimeraire dll roi DUllos

(C1iro, 1977).
L E. S. ED\V.>\RDS, Tlu: pyramitIJ ofEgypl, 5th cd.
(I-Iarmondswonh, 1993), 173-6.

uraeus see COUK:\ and

Uta see W/\DJYT

\rADJYT

~e\\' Kingdom royal necropolis located on

the west bank of the Nile, about 5 km to the
wCSt of modern Luxor, which actuall~ consists of two separate ,alleys. The eastern ralley is the main royal cemetery of the 18th ro
20th Ol'llasties, ,,hile the so-called Western
Valley (or Cemetc,, of the i\lonkeysl Apes)
cont:lins only four tombs: those of ~\_\IE;"'
ItOTEP III (1390-1352 Be; KI22) and ".
(1327-1323 OC; K\23), and two others which
are uninscribed (K\'2+-S). There are sixtytwo tornbs in the cemetery as a whole: the
earliest is pcrlups 1-:,"38, at the far end of the
main railey, which has been identified as that
Of"'''UT,\10SE I (1504-1492 BC) and the lalest
is K14, belonging to Rameses XI (1099-1069
BC). It hns been suggested that 1>::\"39 may
be rhe l'omb of Thutmose I'S predecessor,
Amenhotep " bur most scholars still believe
that his tomb was at Dra Abu el-Naga (sec
THEBES).
One of the m:ljor features of the royal
tombs at the Valley of the Kings was their
separation from the mortuary temples,
whit:h, for the first time since the E'lr1y
Dynastic period, were built some distance
away, in a long line at the edge of the desert.
Each of the tombs was therefore a long series
of rock-cur corridors and chambers, sloping
downwards into the cliffs. The earlier tombs
(from Thutmose Ito Amenophis III) consisted
of a bent-axis corridor leading down to a burial chamber ,,-hich was at first o,al (or CAKTOCcIiE-shaped) and later square. The ""0111decoration in these 18th-Dynasty tombs consisted of scenes from the Amdufll (see Ft.:KER1'.K\ TEXTS) executed in a simplified linear
style, apparently imitating painted papyrus,
with the background colour changing from
onc tomb to another.
The most famous tomb in the valley, that
of n:nNKIiAMuN (1336-1327 BC; Kv62), is
also ironically probably the most unusual. It
is a small tomb, almost certainly intended for
it pririlte individual, leaving Tutankhamun's
origill<ll tomb (Kv23) to be lIsurped by his
successor, ,w. ,More importantly, however,
rhe discovery of much of Tutankhamun's
funerary equipment still intact and unplundered has given n good indication of the riches
that were robbed from the other tombs
over the centuries. \Vhen discovered, most
tombs contained only remnants of funerary

299

VALLEY OF THE QUE~

VALLEY OF THE KINGS

[numbers here refer

to actual lomb numbers
(KV numbers]
1 RamesesVIl

2
3
4
5

Rameses rv
Rameses nl
Rameses XI
uninscribed and
undecorated lomb
Rameses IX
Rameses II
Merenptah

9 Rameses\~
10 Amenmessu
11 Rameses II
12 uninscribed tomb
13 Bay

14
15
16
17
18
19
20
34
35
3B

42
43
4B
47
55

57
62

TausreVSethnakhte
Sety II
Rameses J
Sety I
Rameses X
Montuherkhepeshet =
Hatshepsul
.
Thutmose III
Amenhotep II
Thutmose I
Thutmose II
Thutmose IV
Yuya and Tuyu
,,,_saptah
;
TiylSmenkhkara 1''1
Horemheb
Tutankhamun

or

,1"'"

t(/l
N

-0,__,
-.''''''
,.
1 11

".

-'I"" ..

100

Phm oflhe I ("ley of/lte Kings.

equipment. including sarcophagi, CA;\"OI'IC
equipment <lnd pieces of wooden furniture
and statuary.
The tomb of IIORE\IIIEB (1'\:\"57) was lhe
first to consist simply of one straight corridor, like that of 't.::IIE'.\TE' at EL-.\MAR",
and also the first to be decorated with SCenes
from the Book (~( Gales. The tomb of SET\' I
(h:\ 17), which is argu<lbly the finest in the \'alley, was discO\'cred by Gioyanni BELZO"\I in
October 1817. It was the first to be decorated
with the Li/a101 ofRa, in which the cult of the
sun-god Rt\ was combined with that of the
dead king as OSIRIS. As far as the ceilings of
the tornbs were concerned, those from
Thutmose I to Rameses 111 (1184--1153) were
decorated with astronomical scenes depicting
constellations and listing their names (see
ASTRONO,\\Y .\Nt) l\STROLOG'). From the reign

300

Valley of the Queens (Biban c1-llarim)

Cemetery of the royal wivcs clnd sons of some
of the ~ew Kingdom pharaohs, located on the
west bank .1t Thebcs, about a kilometre to the
northwest of ~ledinet Habu. Although tht: \ite
includes the rombs of somc members of the
late 17th and early 18th Dynasty royal family
most
the 18th~Dyn<lsty-rulers' \; iyes \\C~~
buried in the same tombs as their hushands in
the \.\I.I.EY Of TilE t-:..1.:'\CiS. 1-:10\\"c\'cr, mal1\ of
the 19th- and 20th-Dynasty royal wires ',md
their offspring wcre buried in thcir 0\\ n rodcut tombs in the Valley of the Q!.lcens. There
arc about serellty-fivc tombs ilt the site,
usually consistlng of a small antcchamber fullowcd by a narrow corridor leading 10 the burial chamber, ilnd viflually all of them \\erc
exc,wated by Ernesto Schiaparel1i in 1903-i
The carliest inscribed t'Olllb is Q.r38, belonging
to Satra, Ihe wife of ".'''ESES I (1295-1294 HC),
blll thc best-known and undoubtedly the
finest is Q\ 66, the tomb Ofi'EI'ERT\RI. the principal wife of Ramcses H (1279-1213 ilL),
although ..he dcterioration of much of its
painted decoration hilS necessitated a !:!I"eat
deal of expensive (and, to some extcnl, successful) restoTilrion work since the 1970s.
Some of the tombs of the princes indlldc
beautifully prcserYed painted deeOl'alion, <I~ in
the case of Q\ 55 and {~-,,4-+, belonging ro
Amcnhcrkhepeshef and Khacl11wasct II, lwO
sons of Rameses III.
See Appendix 2 for a list of owners of royal
tombs.
E. So lIi\I'-\R~:L1.I. Esp/ora::,.iollc della "(tI/e dc'lIl'
Regille' Crurin, 192~).
G. 'l'IlALSING ,md II. GOEIJlCKE, N"ji-clari: L'illl'
DokuJllcultilioll tier IValldgcwiilde iltrL'.~ Grah
(Grolz, 1971),
~I. A. CoRZO (cd.), Hilll paill/iugs fJ./"the lomb 11./
Nelcr/(fri: scielllifir siudit'sjil/,heir ({JIW'/Ta/llm
(Cairo and Malibu, 1987).

200 m

of Rameses 1\' onwards, scenes from the

Books oI//II: IJcavem were painted on the ceiling of the burial chamber.
As far as the bodies of the New Kingdom
ph'lrilohs were concerned, sume were moved
in the 21s1 Dymlsty, forming a cache in the
tomb of Inhapy at nEIR El.-D.\J lI{1. where they
were discO\'ered in 1871 b,' the Abd c1-Rassul
family. The majority of the others were discovered in .. he tomb of AmenhOlep II (10:\"35),
which was exc,l\",lIed by\"ictor Loret in I\brch
1898,
Sec Appendi.x 2 for a list of owners of royal
tombs.
.J. Ro,\I!':I{, Va/":l'o/Ihc Killgs(London, 1981).
E. 1-loll"Ll'\G, Valli:J1 n/the Killgs (New York,
1990),
C. r\. REt:\ ES, '/til/e.)' oft/'" Kings: Ilu: tlet/inc ofll
rUJ'"/uecropolis (London, 1990).
C. N. REE\ 1':5 (cd.). fNia 7;i/allJ:!JflWUlI (London,
1991).

Viceroy of Kush (King's son of Kush)

Administraliyc pOSl established in the cw
Kingdom, undcr either h:.\\I0Sl ((.1555-1550
BC) or .\/I\lOSE I (1550-1525 Be) and emJing
with the close of 'he 20th Dynolsty (I J86-1069
BC). 'This high official governed the wholt: of
.:\!ubia, then known as \Vawat and Kush, each
of which was ,Hlministcred b\ a 'dcput~'
(ideum). This seems to have b~en somc\\hat
difTerent to the situation in Svria-Pall-stine,
where Egyptian governors wOI~kcd alongside
local potentates during the New KingtlOln .
Under Amenhotep 111 (1390--1352 IIC) Ihe pOlrers of the Vicer()\' were extended so that he
controlled the goid mining areas in the Jeep
sOlllh of Nubiol,
The'Thcban tomb of .Amenhotep (known

VICEROY OF KUSH

VIZIER

Intermediate Period, 1552-664 Be', Aun"elll

GaSI OfSte1ll',I'ji'ulI/ ,he 1Pfllls DIllie temple of Beil elI/fit/ii. Nubia, showing IIIl' Viceroy, .rimel/ope, lu'ing
rcmllrdt'd mil" gold rol/(/!"S 1~}1 Rameses II, /1J/111e
e.rol;~ (/1I;1/Ia/s alld prodll(l.~ of/Hi';ea (/1"(' brought
in/o the l'il1g:~ PI'f:SCU{('. 19/11 D.l'l1flSly, c./2,'O IJG.

(Cambridge, 1983),262-3.
'Vv. Y. AIH.\IS, Nubia: (Orridar 10 Eiji'il'tl, 2nd cd.
(London and Princeton, 1984),229-32,242-3.

as Buy; TT-f.O), who was Viceroy, or 'King's

son of Kush" in the reigns of Akhcnarcn
(1352-J:l36 Be) and Tutankhamun (13361327 Be), depicts his investiture, and his close
relationship with Lhe king. The collection ;]nd
distribution of trihute and taxes appears to
have been his main role, along with the organization of the gold mining regions. The title
was a civil one, the army being under lhe control of the 'b~ll[;tlion-commandcr of Kush',
although, in case of emergency, \-iceregal
authority took precedence_ !\lany of the
\-iceroys were drawn from the ranks of the
royal stables or chariotry, presumably because
they were felt to h;1\-e the necessary experience of desert campaigns through their military sen-icc, ilnd were loyal to the king who
promoted them so highly.
Late in the 20th Dynasty Ramcses XI
(1099-1069 BC) requested the Viceroy or
Kush, Panehsy, to command troops in Upper
Egypt in order to strengthen his reign. jViany
of the troops brought by P:mehsy were
Nubians, and lhere was well-founded fear of
usurpation ilnd f(JI'eign invasion, on top of
which he seems Lo have destroyed the town of
Hardai in Upper EgYPT, and appears as an
cnemy in Papyrus l\tlayer A. Panehsy was
eventually buried at Aniba in Nubia.
G. A.lh:1SNI:R) 'The viceroys of Kush',.7EA 6
(1920),28-55,73-88.
N. DE G. l)AVIl':S and A. H. GARDIXER, The lomb
oIHII)', viceroy o/Nubi(/ (London, 1926).
T Si\VF.-SOm:RBERGll, ;igYPIeIl I/ud Nubieu
(Lund, 1941), 177-84.
D. Q'CO,,\NOR, 'New Kingdom and Thjrd

vizier (Egyptian Ij(/O')

Term usually employed to refer to the holders
of the Egyptian ritle IjMy, whose position in
the ancient Egyptian AIl 1\1It\ISTR..t\TIO.'J is generally considered to hayc been roughly comparable with that of the vizier (or chief minister)
in the Ottoman empire. The office of ~itlly is
first attested in the 2nd D,nast' (2890--2686
Be), later than the title of 'chancellor of Lower
Egypt' held by such men as Hcmaka al
Saqqara. It is possible, howeYer, that the role
of the Ij{l~}' may eventually he traced back to
the beginning of the Pharaonic period and the
emergence of thc king's own titles_
It ,,"as in the 4th Dynasty (2613-2494 Be)
thal lhe vizier attained his full range of po\\'ers, sen'ing as The king's reprcsentati\-c in
most arcas of goycrnment (apart from the
royal military and religious duties) and usually
bCJring a string of further titles such as 'chief
of all of the king's works' and 'royal chancellor
or Lo,,"er Egypt'. All of the 4th-Dynast'
yiziers were illso kings' sons, but from the 5th
Dynasty (249+-234-5 Be) onwards this practice
scems to have stopped. In the JVliddlc
Kingdom there is cyidence for a 'burcilu of the
vizier' (kha " ~ia~J!) at various plilccs (including
Thebes) but the post was not split into northern and southern ofrices until the 18th
Dynasty.
During the Second rntermediate Period
(1650-1550 Be), which was characterized by a
long and rapid succession of short-lived rulers,
it appears to have been the viziers who provided
the essential swbility I-hat prevented the
administfiltive system from breaking up com-

Egypl: a sorial l1iSIOIJ', B. G. Trigger et 301.

pletcly. Ankhu, for inst~mcc, served under two

different kings and is attested, unlike other
vlziers of the time, on papyri and thc stele of
another orfieial. This probably had the effect or
bolstering the innuence of the vizier in the
long term, so that even when the smbiliry of
the kingship was restored in the New Kingdom
(1550-1069 IlC) viziers such as K!\,\IOSE and
REKtll\IlRA continued to play <1 significilnt role in
the government. In addition, it appears that the
position had once more become hereditilry, as
in the 4th Dynasty, when the title was passed
on from one king's son to another.
Rckhmira's tomb chapel in western Thebes
presents a particularly re,-caling snapshot of
the state of the \'izierial office in the reign of
Thutmose "' (1479-1425 IIC), since the texts
inscribed on its walls (which are duplicated in
three other 18th-Dynasty viziers' tombs) disclose details of the installation and responsibilities of the ,-izier, while the paintings of the
reception of foreign tribute and the armies of
craftsmen working at his command indicate
his key position in the adminjstration.
from the 18th Dynast' (1550-1295 BC)
onwards the title was di"ided into two viziers,
one dealing with Upper Egypt and the olher
with Lower Egypt. This had hilppened twice
berore, in the reigns of Pepy II (2278-2184 BC)
and Senusret , (1965-1920 BC), but rrom the
18th Dynasty onwards the diyision became a
permanent fixture, perhaps partly as il result of
the polariz~lIion of the two Theban and Deltabased sets of dynasties during the Second
Intermediatc Period. 1Vlore is known about the
sOllthern vizier during the 18th Dynasty, primarily because most of the archaeologic;ll and
prosopographical evidence for this period
derives from the Thcban region rather than
rrom the north. E"en in the 19th and 20th
Dynasties (1295-1069 BC), when the rounding
of the new capital of Piramesse (see O!\ ~TIR
301

WADI HAMMAI\.~

VIZIER

w
Wadi Hammamat see \IAI'S 1'''0 I'LI"S and
STOi\E .\1'\D QU:\RRrl.'\G

Wadi Maghara see TURQUOISE

Wadi Tumilat see TELL EJ.-\IASKJICT\
Wadj Wer see GR[..\T GREE"
Wadjyt (Edjo,

Uro, Wadjer)
Cobra-goddess whose name means 'the g-rccn
one' or (she of the papyrus'. Her cult was
particularly associated with the Lower
Egyptian town of Buro (TE.LI. EL-F\K-\',,),
which dates back lO the Predynastic period.
Usually portrilycd as a rearing cobra, she was
thus ine:xrric4lbly linked with the ural'lIS, the
archctyp4l1 serpent-image of kingship, \\hich
protruded just above the forehead in must
royal crowns .1I1d headdresses. It has been
suggested that the original meaning of the
Greek word llraeus m,l)" ha\-c been 'she who
rears up'.
Wadj'T and the vulture goddess '" ~ItIJET

Flt.ri/J!c {ollar illllu!jhrm

~r(f l'ullure.!;",,"

vulture

the

tomb ~rI;'t(lnJ.:h{/1Il1l1l. Both Ihe I'lIltlln: flud the

((WlllerpOl~~e art! in/aid milll dark blue, red lIlfd
green glass. 18/ft DYJl{(s~)I, c./336-/327 lie.
(c/IRO J6/876. RI:'l'RODCCED COCRTE.S') OF .,.,/

CRIFFITJlI\STI71TE)

and TEI.1. EL-D,\U'.\) moved the centre of go\'emInent northw:lrds, the sOlilhern vizier continued to wield power at least equal to that of
his northern coumcrp<lrt.
By the L.1tc Period (747-.332 He) the yizier
had become i.1 far less influential figure, and it
has been pointed out that Papyrus Rylands
which documents the forrunes of:l family of
prir..:sts between the reigns of Psamlck I and
Darius I (1".66-1---486 ec), does not mention the
yizicr, despite numerous references to Lhe centnl1 'ldmi..nistntrion. On the other hand, some
of the finest monuments of the Late Period
belonged to viziers.
\v. C. 11,,-, ES, A PdPYruS oft/n/atr. 'lidd/e Kingdom
ill th" IJroold'ylI A'I,m'1I111 (l':ew York, ]955).
T. G. I-I. J \1\1I":S, Pharaoh '..I people: scl!//csFollllij(ill imperial t:gypt (Oxford, 198-1-),51-72.
N. STRUD\\ Ie", 11,,: administration ofEg)/pt in the
Old Kingdom (London, 1985),300-35.
G. P. E \-A~ l>E~ BOOR.', The tluties of the "rizier:
ch.iltu/miuistrtltiOlf il1 ,he early Nem Kingdom
(London, 1988).

I"

302

1\!lanifestation of the goddesses l'EKIIBET

and .\ILT, depicted in a variety of forms,
from rhe typically outstretched wings of
rhe \ultures painted on the ceilings of many
temples to the crouched attitude of the
l'\ekhbet-vulture, which was regularly depicted in the motifs associated with KI'\"USIIJP.
or the several different species of vulture
found in ancient Egypt it was the 'griffon
\ulturc' (Gyps jid-I;US) that was most frequently represented, whereas the hieroglyph
with the phonetic value 'a' was lhe so-called
Egypti;lI1 nllture (IVel1pltrOIf permoplerus).
One of the earliest represent.nions of
Nekhbet as the griffon vulture, on a
2nd-Dynasty stone Vilse of h:IIASEKJ1E,\I\\'Y
(c.2686 BC) fro111 Hierakonpolis, incorporates .1 sIIE,-sign (representing encirclcmcnl
and therefore also infinit~ and protection)
underne~lth her left mlon. ~1any later representations show both yulturcs and falcons
grasping shl:'1f~signs in their talons, often whcn
they arc poised protectively behind or above
the king.
See also CKQW,S Ai\U KOY:\!. REG.\LL\.
P. E HOl':1.I1l \", Tile birds afanciem Egypt (C1iro,
1988),39--13.
R. H. \VII.h:r,so:\" Retitling Egyptiau art
(London, 1992),8+-,,192-3.

Ural'US mearillg Ihe red croml1. mhich 11't(S prllblJ/1~)'

pari ofa sttlllle or item offllmilurf.
Lale Period OJ. afla 600 BC, gold sheel. If. J.i {JU.
(.,/6518)

origil1(1/~J'

WARFARE

RIGI IT 8r0I1::.e sCliledfigure of' Vat/jv! (IS fl liollt!ssheaded goddess, whirh origifla/~)1 cOl1lail1ed a
111l1mmifietillUi11lal. possibly lin ichneumon. Lale
Period, pr01:e1lfJ1lCe JlUk110mll, fl. 32.5 em.
(A2.f 78.')

were described as the "ebO' ('nyo ladies'), who

served as tutelary deities of Lower and Upper
Egypt respectively, symbolizing the essential
DUAI,[TY of the Egyptian world. Together they
presided over one of the elements of the ROYAl.
TITULARY, the 'two Iladies' name, which is
attested as early as the Isr Dynasty.
\Vadjyt was <1150 sometimes portrayed in
leonine form, since she and the uraeus were
often identified \\"ith the lioness-goddess
known as the 'EYE or RA'. In the Late Period
(7-4-7-332 Be) bronze statuettes of the lioness
form of the goddess were used as coffins for
10 11'EU~IOXS.

B. V. BOTII\lER) 'Starucs of\V'd.1 as ichneumon

coflins',]NES 8 (19~9), 121-3.
J VANDlER, 'Ouadjet er Horus Iconrocephale de
Bolito', PO/ulal/oll EI/ghlc PIo/: lv/vl/lIl11ellls t:1
milllolrcs pu/JIiis p(/r I'Academie des II/scrip/ions c/
Belles LellrCS 55 (1967), 7-75.
T G. H. J:\~IES, 'A woodcn figure ofWadjcl with
two painred representations of Amasis"JEA 68
(1982), 15fH>5.
H.-W. FISCI-IER-ELFERT, 'Uto" [,t'xikol1 der
./igyplologie \'1) cd. W. Heick) E. Ouo and
W. Westendorf(Wiesbaden, 1986),906--11.
S. ]OIl'lSO:'\) The cobra goddess oltl11cielll Egypl
(London, 1990).

WARFARE

atmosphere of Egyptian army life has been

wcll prcsen'ed in the suni\'ing art and texts,
from paintings of new recruits being giYcn
military-style haircUls to the enthusiastically
pedantic military despatches from the
Nubian front.
The \'cry fact that the Egyptians rctained
their national aUlOnomy for almost three millcnnia is evidcnce enough of thcir military
abilities. The lVliddle TGngdom FOHTHESSES in
Nubia) and the numerous indications of polilical interycntion in thc Lcyant) indicatc that a
\igorous policy of expansionism and imperialism was pursued by Egypt for many hundreds
of years. This policy was a fundamenml part of
the Egyptian world-yicw whereby rhe
ph'lraoh's domains were considcred to haye
originally comprised rhe whole of cre.nion.
Any act of warrare perpetrated by Egypt whether a punitive f<lid on a I\ubian villagc or
<1 major expedition into Syria-Palesline was therefore considered to be a legitimate
rcstoration of the natural order of things (scc
BORDERS 1 FRONTIERS AND LL\lITS).

See also

BEDOUIi'; l.!\I\t\t\N; C:\PTI\'ES; cllt\RlCrr;

J IrnTn:s;

L1BYt\"iS; NINE BO\\'S; SHIPS '\1'.... 0 BOATS;

STANDARDS.
Y. Y'\OI'\) Thc arl OIIJJti1jilre;1/ Biblicallal/ds ill
the lig/a o/archat'ological disCfr..'ny (London)
1963).
L 511 \\\, EgYPlion Illt/rfim' {lmlmet/pons
(Aylesbury, 1991).

warfare
From the primordial conflict or the gods
1IORUS and SETH to the well-documented battles of the Ne,Y Kingdom (1550-1069 uc) at
MI,:GIDDO and (lADESII, warfarc was <l recurrent' clement in Egyptian mythology and history. All'hough the Egyptians may bc customarily regarded as a comparatively peaceful n:lIion) particularly in comparison with
the peoples of western Asia, such as the
l\SSYRI;\ 'is and the j>ERSIA:'\S, thcre was a large
military and hureaucratic infrastructurc
devoted to the expansion and maintenance of
their imperial ambitions in "\L"BL'\ and
SYRI.\-P:\LESTf.'E.

The range of sources for the study of

Egyprian warfare is far frol11 complete and
cert:lin historical periods are poorly known,
For instance) little has survivcd concerning
the organization of the Egyptian army until
the beginning of the second millennium Be,
while the primary sources for international
diplomacy (the \.\L"R~\ LETTERS) are
restrictcd to only a few decades in the fourteenth century Be. Overall) howe,-cr) thc

711JOjflining/i'agllll'II/S oIa ceremonial pa/Nlt' (lht'

so-railed 'Ball/efield Pa/elll") mllh relic/
decoratioll showing, 011 /he side here ill"slm/ed. a
seem) o/wP/it,ct. alld slai1l1:irl;ms oflJIIlllc, Ihe
latler inlhe proust. o/beil/g dCi:Ollrcd I~}I "L'ffllflJ"l'S
nnd (I li01l. nil' olher side Sh01PS Imo IOllg-uerkl'd
ga::;el/es bromsiug 011 a dale palm. Lale Prct()'lIaslic
10 lsI Dy1lflSly, c.3/00 tJe, grey sill5lont?,
H. 32.8(111. ("'120791)

303

WAS SCEPTRE

STROUl-L\I., Life in {lucienl Egypt (Cambridge,

1992),201-H.
I. 511:\\\" 'Battle in ancient Egypr: r.he triumph of
I Torus or the clItring edge of the temple
economy?', BailIe i/l Allliquily, cd. A. B. Lloyd
(London, 1996).

E.

was sceptre
Sceptre consisting of a straight shaft with its
handle in the form of the head of'l c.mine animal, and its b::lsC ending in two prongs. This
unusual appearance may deri,"c from an early
totemic or fetish animal, which would probably have been associated with prosperity and
well-being, given that the sccptTC acquired
these connotations in the Pharaonic period. lts
primary function in funerary contexts was [()
ensure the continued welf'lre of the deceased.
Until the ~liddle Kingdom (2055-1650 Be)
the sceptre was somctimes represented in
wood alongside thc mummified body. In huc!"
times} rows of mas sceptres wcre incorporated
into the decorative fi'iczes on the coffin or the
wnlls of the tomb. It has also been suggested
that the sceptre may have been used as a gnomon (the upright section of a sundial), perhaps representing lhe divine mcasurement of
time. \Vhcn adorned with a strcamer and
feather} it became the cmblem of the Theban
nome (prO\oince) of \Vaset.
K. i\ I-\RTlN, 'Was-Zeptcr', Lexil'oll der
.-(~.l'Ptologie \"I, cd. \~'. I leick, E. Ono and
W. Wesrendorf(Wiesbaden, 1986), 1152--4.
R. II. WII.KINSON, Reading EgyjJtian art
(London, 1992), 180-1.
C. Ai'UREWS. /Jlllllleis o/lIIuicnl EgYPI (London,
199{),80.

water
In Egyptian CRE..\TIO' myths, the prime"al
walers of ~t;" were a formless mass of fecundity from which the uni\'erse was horn. This
fundamental role in the process of cosmogony
itself must have contributed to the Egyptian
sense that pure \v.lter was a sacred substaIlce
(see SACRED w\KE), and the role of the lilc
I,\,U"Dxno:\. (personified as I L\i'r) in the <lIlnual
agricultur'll cycle must h'l\'e automatically
imbued water with an aura of fertility and
power. There was also a belief in the ability of
waleI' to 'acquire magical and healing powers
when it was poured moer statues or other
sacred objects, such as cippi (see' [ORCS).
RIGIIT Fmgmml o/a /1}all-painlillgji'o1ll Ihf! lombdf{fpl'! ofNeballJl/1/, showing a gardm pont
surrounded k)/Imit Irees: Ihe /VlIler is i!ulimled by
repelltetlmal..],!illes. as ill Ihe Itieroglypltsftr
mliler. 181h Dynllsty. c./-IOO BC. painled plaslel~
If. 6-1 CIII. (.,37983)

30+

WEPWA\HT

See also

-\GRICL1...TURE~ 1:'\ L:\.Dxno:\; CI.EPSr-

DR.\; GRE.\T

'I;

GIU~E..

XfLE;

:'\ILO~IETER.

'~iJLD, flltller il1 Ihe ClIllh mursltip o/Isis lIml

Sumpis(Leiden, 1981).
C. VANDEKSLEYE:,\, 'L'Egyptc pharaoniquc et ses
symboles: Peau, les colonncs loti formes et"
papyrilol"mcs', Lc ~Y/flbolisll1e "ails Ie mIle Iks
grandes rdigiollS (Loll\'ain, 1985), 117-23.
R. H. \\'II.""SO'\, Retlding Egyptillll.lIrl
(London, 1992), 136-7.

R. A.

his cult" was celebrated in connection wilh that

of OSIRIS. He was usu;lIly depicted cirhcr as a
figure of a jackal or other wild canid (often
standing on a nome STAi\DAKIJ) or as a jackal_
headed man.

water clock see cl.I'l'smJ<c'

wedjat see

IIDI((;S

Weighing of the Heart -'CC I BCART

Wenamun. Report of see I IERII lOR and
L1T1:Krl'URE

Wenis see '""

IS

Wepwawet ('opener of rhe ways')

Jackal-god who was already portrayed on
the ;-.i:\R!\lER palcne at the end of the fourth
millennium 13C. His cult waS particularly connected with :\SYUT in the Pharaonic <md
Greco---Roman periods, with the result that
the city was renamed Lykopolis ('wolf city') in
the Ptolemaic period (332-30 BC). At Ahydos

Limeslone siele ji'()m A/~J"los, {{In:cd i11 Junk

rdicImilh a (!t'pil'lion vIKing IVepl1l(fI1Jl'll'm.\(~riJ1
Ihe presence oIthejackal-headed god "ep/J/al1't'f.
who is holding 11 waS-steplre {f1U1 1111 ankh sl~~n.
/31h Dyuasty. c.1650 flC. II. 27.-1 e111. (t.:/969)

,\lIO\'E

WHITE CROWN

l-lis iconographic and mythical connections

related mainly to the v:'lrious interpretations
of his name. In ;l political context he could be
the god who opened up the way for the king's
foreign conquests, while in the PHtAMlD TEXTS

he performed the OPE'\I:\"G OF TilE .\10UTII

on the king and led the deceased

CERE.\IO~Y

through rhe netherworld, a task with ,,-hieh he

was also latcr credited in the funerary papyri
of pri\-arc individuals. \Vepwawct was closely
linked with another L"aninc deity, Sed, who
was also depicted as a (:anid perched on a
standard; Sed's name has been prcscn"ed primarily in the ancient term for the royal jubilee

or SED

FESTl\o.\L.

J. SI'IEGEI., Die Ciiller t.'OIl Akrdos (\icsbaden,

1973), 179-80.

E. GRAEFE, 'UpuaUl', Lexikoll der Agyplo!ogie \"l,

cd. W. Heick, E. OliO and W. Westendorf
(Wiesbaden, 1986),862--1.

white crown see CROWNS A'\ID ROY,'\I, REGALI\

Wilkinson. (Sir) John Gardner
(1797-1875)
Early nineteenth-century Egyptologist who
was the first British scholar to make a serious
study of Egyptian antiquities. The son of the
Rcvcrcnd John \,Vilkinson and Nlary Anne
Gardner) he was born in Hardcndale,
\Vestmorhmd. \:Vhile he W;.lS still a young boy,
both of his parents died and the Reverend Dr
Yates was appointed as his guardian. He was
educated at Harrow School and Exeter

WISDOM LITERATURE

College, Oxford, but in 1820, as a result of

poor health, he traveUed to Italy. There he met
Sir William Gell, a Classic,,1 archaeologist,
who persuaded him to undertake a career in
Egyprological research.
Ln 1821 the menry-four-,ear-<:>Id Gardner
\Vilkinson arrh-ed in Egypt. Based in C1iro)
he was to spend the next twelve years tr:l\-c1ling through Egypt and Nubia. Along with
other intrepid scholars of the same period,
such as James Burtnn, Robert Hay and the
Fourth Duke of Northumberland, he red iscm'ered numerous ancient sites and undertook
some of the earliest sun-eys and scientific
eXC<lVations at such sites ;.lS K..-\R2\lAK) the \.>oLLEY
OF TilE "I~GS nnd the ancient Nubian capital
or Gebel Barbl (sec ""'AT'). He was the first
archneologist to produce a detailed plan of the
ancient capil'al city of Akhennten at elAmarna, and his map of l'he Theban temples
and tombs was undoubtedly the first comprehensive survey of the region. The records of
his excavations and epigraphy at '1'1 wm:$ arc
still an invaluable source of information fiw
modern Egyptologists. He also conducted the
first" excav.ltions at the Greco-Roman settlement of Berenice, on the Red Sea coast, which
had been discovered by GIO\',\l'NI BEI.ZU:\'1.
V./hen he returned to Britain in 1833, his
copious notes ilnd drawings <lnd his diverse
collection of antiquities pro\-ided the basis for
his most famous book, Jile IJUl1/ners alld {/IJloms oIthe (llu:it'11I Egyplial/s, which was to earn
him a knighthood in 1839. He undcrtook two
further sensons of study in Egypt, in 1842 ;.md
1848-9, and in 1849-50 he studied the TLR'"
ROY_\!. C\1\"OK, publishing a detailed facsimile
of ,"his important KJ~G 1.15T.
J G. \VII.KI'SO,\/, Topogmp/u' of Thebes lI11f!
gruem! tiem of1:.gypt (London, 1835).
- , The.fragmell/J of/he hiem/ir papJ1rus al Turi".
{fl/llai"iug Ihe names olEgypliflll kings. milh Ihe
hiemlie if/scriplioll til 1111: ba(k, 2 "ols (London,
1851).
- , The I1l1l1f11t:rS ({11f! fIIsloms oflhe tll/rie",
I:.KJlPlitlllS,.1 vols (London, 1837; rev. 1878).
J. TJ IO,\II'SON, Sir Carr/ner IViU'imollll11f! his (irde
(Austin, 1992).

window of appearance sec l''''.>lCES and

\IEDI'\"ET II'\BL"

wine see !\I.COHOLIC BE\'EHAGES

'm' ,per: 'the great

nyer')
The image of the solar disc with the wings of
a hawk was originally the symbol of the god
1I0RUS ofBehdet (or the 'Rehdetite Horus') in
the eastern Delta. An jyory comb dating to the
winged disc (Egyptian

Porlrail (!(S;r]o/m C{/rdller IVi/kil/soll ill Oriclfw!

dress. !~)' lIe/llY JIIjllJdha1ll Phillips. (REPRODUCED
COURTES1' OF 7111:. GRIFFITflINSTITl'TF)

reign of the 1st-Dynasty ruler lJJET .2980 Ilc)

already shows a pair of wings ilttachcd to the
SOL.\R Il\RK as it passes through the sky, and an
inscribed block from the mortunry temple of
the 5th-D,nasty ruler Sahura (2487-2475 Ilc)
includes a winged disc aboye his names and
titles, with the phrase "Horus of Behdet' written beside it.
Since Horus was associated with the king,
the winged disc also came to hm-c both royal
and protective significance) as well as representing the he<lyens through which the sun
movcd. Alan Gardiner argued th;'lt the disc
represented the 'actual person' of the king,
syncretized with the sun-god. It was presulllably bccause of these royal associnLiolls, as well
as the t:onnecrions between the Behdetitc
Horus and the Lower Egyptian cobra-goddess
WADjYT:1t" Buto, that urae; (sacred cobras) were
added on eirher side of the disc during the Old
Kingdom (2686-2181 BC). By the New
Kingdom (1550-1069 IlC) it was a symbol of
proreci iOIl La be found on temple ceilings ~l1ld
ahove I'YI.O.'JS and other ceremonial portals.
R. EGELBAClI, 'An alleg'ed winged sun-disk of the
Pirst Dynasty', z/is 65 (1930), 115-16.
~IL \~lERIlROUCt(, 'A propos dl! disque aile', CdE
16/32 (1941),165-71
A. I-f. G'\RI>J'\:ER, 'Horus the Behdetite',JE.~l 30
(19H), 23-61 W>-521
D. \VIl.IJL":"u, <Fli.igelsonne', Le.rikol1 der
Agyplo!ogie II, cd. \Y. Heick, E. Otto and
W. Westendorf (Wiesbaden, 1977),277-9.

wisdom literature
Genre of didaclic texts that is arguably the
most characteristic form of Egyptian literature. There .lre two basic types of wisdom literature: the St!J"J't or 'instruction' (see EOCC.\TI01\" ;.lnd ETIIICS) and the rcnccti,-c or pessimistic 'discourse.'
The earliest sun'i"ing scb"yl (3 series of
maxims on the ~way of living truly') is the text
said 10 h:"'e been composed by the 4thDynnsty sage Hardjedef ('.2550 Be)) while
another such document was attributed to
Ptahhotep, a yizier of the 5th-Dynasty ruler
Djedkara-Tsesi. It is Iikcl, that few of these
instructions were written by their purported
authors, :Ind many, including that of
Hardjedef) were almost certainly composed
much later than they claim.
The instructions retained their popularity
throughout the Pharaonic period, two of them
being attributed to kings. The first of these
was the fllSlrIf'lion Iur King Jl1erik"ra, set in
the Pirst Intermediate Period (2181-2055 Ile),
and the second W<IS the }/lslr/l(:I;o// nf
Ammem/wl I) set at the beginning of the J 2th
Dynasty (.1950 BC). The instructions of Any
305

WOMEN

WOMEN

and Amcnemipet son of Kanakht", composed

during the New Kingdom (1550-1069 fiC), arc
similar in some respects to such Biblical wis-

dom texts as Proverbs (see BlBUC.'\L CON!\Ef:TIO:--lS). The (Wo most important surviving
instructions from the Greco-Roman period
are the Sayings o/A"kh:jlles!lOl/{D' (nmv in the
British j\!Iuseum) and the maxims recorded on

Papyrus Insinger (RijksJ11uscul11, Leiden),

which wcre both written in the

DEl\IOTIC

script, consisting of much shorter aphorisms

compared with the sebayt of the Pharaonic
period. As well as the narrative form of
instruction, there is also some evidence for the
existence of less elaborately structured collections of maxims, as in the case of Papyrus
Ramcsseul1l 11.
The second type of wisdom tcxt, the pcssimistic discourse, tended to focus on the
description of order and disorder, ,IS opposed
to the prescription of a set of ethics. These
include such works of thc iVliddle Kingdom
(2055-1650 Be) as the At/mullitiflll.l (~r IpuJ1)cr,
the Di::mmrsc ()./lVl:jerly, the Dialoglfe o./a j\iJa}/
mill, his Ra, the Dialogue 0./ Ihe Heat! aut!
Ihe Bel6! (now in the Nluseo Egizio, Turin),
the DisuJllrse (~r Klwkheperraseneb and the
Di.l((}lIrse o/Sasobek, the two latter (now in the
British lVluseum) being preserved only on an
18th-Dynasty writing board and a 13thDynasty papyrus rcspectivel~'.
Nt LICIITHEL\I, AII(:iellt Egyplia}/ litem/lire I
(Berkeley, ]975), 58-80.
w. R\RT'\, 'Die Erste Zwischenzeit im Spiegel
del' pessimistischen Literatur',JEOL 24
(]975-6),50--,,]
L. POT1, 'The history in the Prophecies of
Noferti: relationship hetween the Egyptian
wisdom and prophecy literatures" Studia
Aegyfllia((l 2 (1976), 3~18.
M. V. Fox, "nyO decades of research in Egyptian
wisdom literature', ZiY(1l)80), 12{)-35.
13. OCKI'GA, 'The burden ofKha 'kheperre
'sonhu',]EJ169 (1983),88-95.
R. B. P \RKI'\'SOi'\, Voires/rom IIlIt/elll Egypl: (III
(/Ilthology (~r/vJidd/e Killgr!ollllllritillgs (London,
]991),48-5-1,60-76.
- , 'Teachings, discourses ~md t:tles from the
!\liddle Kingdom', A1iddle Kingdoll/ Sludies, ed.
S. Quirke (New Malden, 1991),91-]22.

women
The role of women in ancient Egyptian society
and economy has been seriously studied only
in recent ye.us. The previous neglect of the
subject was partly::t qucstion of acadcmjc bias,
in that Egyptologists - consisting mostly of
male schobrs until modern times - were
apparently unintcrested in examining the evidence for female activitics and roles, On the
306

other hand, there are also problems in terms of

the bias of the surviving evidence itself, which
largely consists of elite male funerary asscmblages, male-dominated religious monuments
and ancient texts which were written primarily by men.
'T'hc true roles played by women, therefore)
invariably have to be carefully extracted [rom
the records left by their husban.ds, fathers,
brothers and sons. Although a small number of
surviving documents, including a few ostraC<1
from the Ramesside village at D!:W. fL-~{EDI'JA,
are said ro have been written by women, thcre
is no suryiving ancient Egyptian text that can
~'et be definitely ascribed to a woman. Even
when women (such as SOIlEKNEFI':RU and HATSIIEPSLT) attained the highest office in ancient
Egypt, the KJl\"GSI IfP, they were effectiycly portrayed as men, since the pharaoh waS regarded
as intrinsically male.
There arc) hmyevlT, many other ways in
which the study of ancient Egyptian women
has been fruitfully pursued. The exca\'ations
of cemeteries ha\"C provided a vast amount of
data concerning the bioanthropology of both
male and female illiterate members of society
(perhaps 99 per cent or the population). In
addition, the recent excavations at settlement
sites such as EL-'\'\'IARKA, .\IE.\<lPI lIS and TELL
EL-LJAB'A have begun to provide insights into
such subjects as diet, work practices, patterns
of residence and levels of education and
hygiene, all of which can be used to shed light
on the act"ivities of women,
The study of RELJGIO~ and MYTI-I01.QGY
often provides evidence concerning ancient
Egyptian attiUides to women and femininity.
The goddess [SIS, I'or instance, was regarded as
the ideal wife :md mother, while II:\TJ10R was
the epitome of female SEXL-ALITY and fertility.
J\1any of the goddesses, however, could also
present the more negative, destructive aspects
of womanhood, in the form of the 1':Y!': OF IV\,
the daughter of the sun-god sent to persecute
the human race.
Although women are frequently depicted in
Egyptian art, there seems little doubt that
their status waS generally lowcr than that of
men at alllevcls of society. The political stTUCture of ancient Egypt was clearly dominated
by the male scribal dite, and women were
given very few overt opportunities to participate in the Al)MIN1STR.'\TIO;\ or public ceremonies. On the oLher hand, \yomen such as
\1EFI:RTITI and TIY, who were the \rives and
mothers of pharaohs (see QUEENS), must hayc
becn both rich and powerful by virtue of their
social rank, regardless of their rights as
women; in othcr words, the differences
bcnveen peasant women and royal women

must have been far grcater than the differcnces

between Egyptian men and women as <l \\lhol e.
Although women were not usually parr of
the political or administrative hierarchy, thc,
were able to participatc in certain sphercs
life outside the homc: at various periods the\"
were able to bc bakers, weavers, musician~,
dancers, pricstesses (until the 18th DynJsry),
gardeners and farmers. They were also able t()
engage in business deals, inherit property, 0\\ n
and rent land and participate in legal cases; in
othcr words, their legal and economic rights
and freedoms wcre often similar to those of
men, On thc other hand, there is no evidence
for girls of (scribal' class being educated .ts
their male equivalents were; and there Wcrt
clearly various ethical distinctions made
between the activities of men and women.
lVlarried men, for instance, were allowed to
sleep with unmarried womcn, whercas
women's jnlidcliry was considered morally
wrong (perhaps as a practical means of being
sure of the paternity of children),
On a more visible level. as in most cultures,
Egyptian women were distinguished from
their male counterparts by such aspects of
their appearance as CLOTI-/I1\G and 1l.\IlL
Egyptian artistic conventions not only ide:ll~
izcd the bodily proportions of men and
women but also usually dictated skin colour;
thus men were shown with reddish-brown
tanned skin while women were giycn a paler,
yellowish-brown complexion. This difference
is thought to have originated tiom the gre;ltcr
proportion of time that women spent indoors,
protected from the sun (a theory perhaps corroborated by the paler skin of some important
officials of the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 uC).
whose high status nO doubt excmpted them
I'jom outdoor work).
The status and perceptions of ,vomen were
by no means static aspects of Egyptian society;
clearly there was a reasonable amOllnt of
change during the period of almost three millennia from the Early Dynastic period to the
end of the Pharaonic period. There is cvidence, for instance, to indicate that there were
more women involved in temple rituals in the
Old Kingdom than in later periods; that thc~
hcld more administrative titles in the Old
Kingdom than in later periods; and that thcy
were more able to participate in busincss
transactions in the late New Kingdom.
There is no obvious sense of progress or
(emancipation' in these changes, or at least nO
sense that the ovcraU lot of women was being
improved o,er the centuries; the impression is
much more that ancient Egyptian women's
roles and appearances in the world outside the
domestic. cycle were simply adapted in

(;r

WOOD, TIMBER

X GROUP

response to overall changes in society. The

Instruction of Plahhotep, probably originally

composed in the early .Middle Kingdom, thus

appears

{Q

summarize a view of women that

remained relatively intact throughout the

Dynastic period: 'If you are excellent, you

shall establish your household, and love your
wife according to her standard: fill her belly,
clothe her back; perfume is a prescription for
her limbs. !\lakc her happy as long as you liyc!
She is a field, good for her lord. You shall not
pass judgement on her. Remove her from
power, suppress her; her eye ,,,hen she sees
(anything) is her srormwind. This is how to
make her endure in your house: you shall

restrain her.'
Sec also n III.DRI:1\.;

UI\ I'\'E I\I)ORATRICE; EROT-

Egyptians was imported cedar wood from the

Lebanon (Cedrus libam), which was much
prized for sea-going boats as well as for thc
best COFFI"S. The Aleppo pine (Pilllls !w!epmsis) was also imported for similar purposes,
while juniper (Juniperus sp.) ,yas also used in
architccturc and as a \"cncer. Finally, ebony
(Diospyms sp.) was imported from the lands of
tropical Africa, including PL~T, and used prinCip,llly for furniture and '"cncering.
The ancient Egyptian methods of stoneworking were probably partly derived from
skills that were first perfected by woodworkers, and many of the rools used by stonemasons arc deri,cd from those of carpentcrs
and joiners. As well as c1cyc1oping yeneering
techniques, the Egyptians also produccd ~1

form of plywood, fragments of which, perhaps

deriving from a coffin, were found in the Step
Pyramid of the 3rd-Dynasty ruJer Djoser
(2667-2648 Be) at 5'QQIR.'. The Egyptians'
im'cntive usc (,md re-use) of timber emphasizcs its high Yaluc, a point which is further
illustratcd by Egyptian carpenters' skilful usc
of joints, producing well-crafted rectangular
comos from small, irregular fragments of tim-

bet planking. Wooden objects could be deeor;ued by painting, gilding or veneering, as well
..IS with inlays of iYory, GL\SS or gem-stones.
A. LL.c.\s, flneii'llt Egyptil/11111aterials fllld
illdllStfies, 4-th cd. (London, 1964),429-56.
V. TA\."':1I0I.\I, Students' j/Offl of Egypt (Cairo,

1974).
1-1. VEDEL, 1ieeJ (l11f1 shrubs oftile ,"lediterrallellll
(llarmondsworrh, 1978).
G. Kn.I.E", Eg)lptiall moot/1Porking autlJimlilure
(Princes Risborough, }994).

ICJ\; GOD'S WIFE OF .\.\ILN; I-IARI,\!; ,\I:\RRIAGE;

/\IEOICINE.

A. TIII::OI)ORIDI~S, IFrau\ Lexil'oll del' .lgyptologic

11, ed. 'V. Heick, E. Otto and W. 'Westendorf

(Wiesbaden, 1977),280-95.
C. j. EYRE, 'Crime ilnd adultery in ancient
Egypt', ]Ii/I 70 (1984), 92-1 os.

Pa!t('l'IIs nj'fj/ll'ewhip il/ fllleiclIl 1:'..~!!;.J'Plifill

and hisf(J/Y (Uppsala, 1986).
B. LESKO (cd.), IVo/lll:n'sellrliesl rcwnls/rol/l
lIncienl Egypt lind IVcstel'll Asia (Atlanta, 1989).
G. ROBlXS, IVnmell in al/riclfl t:gYPI (London,
L. TROY,
lJ~llth

1993).
J. T, 1.01-.51.1':', Daughters oflsis: momen offllfc/clIl
l:g)lpl (London, 1994).

wood. timber
Despite the fertility of Ihe Nile \alley, timber
was c1C~Ir1y always a precious commodity in
ancient Egypt. Allhough many TREE-I;) (such as
the date palm, dom palm and fig) were grown
principally for their fruit, they were also good
sources of wood, which was principally used
for building or the construction of furniturc.
Its use ~lS a fuel mUSl h,we been very limited,
dried dung usually being burnt in domestic
fires.
'fhe datc palm (Phoenix d(f{t)'lijera) and
dom palm (/~)Ipllllelle IlIelJl/iol) were both
can'cd into planks, whilc (he date palm was
also regularly employed, \\ith rclati\'ely little
prcp"lration, for lhe production of COLL.\I"S or
roof joists. The tamarisk (ulwarix aplq1lla) and
the sycamore fig (Ficus .~)ltlJlI1{Jm.\) were both
\yidely lIsed for rhe making of C.OI;FI1\S as well
as for carving imo staluary. Ash (Fraxillfls
exa'lsior) was sometimes used for weapons,
particularly those requiring nexibility, such as
the how found in the tomb of Turankhamun
(1336-1327 lie; KI'62). Acacia wood (.1u/(ill
.\'p.) was often used for boat building (sec SIIIPS
A~n no\'Is) ancl other large-scale constructions. Howcver, the finest timber lIsed by the

II oodell/illfl!rm:JI stalue of Ramcses 1I./rOJII his

lomb ill the Valley of/he Kings (KI2). 191h
DYlIlIsly,

e./2.'O 1Je. (I: ,882)

307

YAHUDIYA,TELL EL-

YUYA AND TU!J:i

y
Yahudiya, Tell el- (anc.

Naytahut,
Leontopolis)
Town-site in the eastern Delta, dating fi-om at
least as early as the J\!liddlc Kingdom until the
Roman period (c.2000 DC-AD 200), which was
first CXC;l'",HCd by Edouard Naville and
Flinders PETRIE. The main feature of the site is
a rectangular enclosure (about 515 111 X 490 111)
surrounded by huge earthworks, the function
of which is not clear; it is Llsually dated to the
late l\1iddle Kingdom, and may perhaps relate
to the 11\ 1-.:505 occupation of the Delta. Among
the other remains at Tell cl- Yahudiya are a

temple of
Rameses III

Olle a/several pazwhrollu:j(fielll'e tiles.

here depirfing a capt in: Li/~J'all. olle o/tlll!
traditional elll:mies o/EgyjJt. ./i"olll a Ramesside
palace at Tellcl- )~tllIIdZJ!a. He mears ({ sidclock
(llld a PCJll~~ shcath, both d{{{/'{/cterislit o/his
homelaud. 20,h D)'lIas'y, c./170 /lC, H. 30.S 011.
("/2331)
\:~;;-;~:::-::.:::::;.---

100

Plan

200

300 m

0/ Tell cl- Ya!IlUI,:}Itf.

temple built by Rameses III (1184--1153 Be)

and a small settlement established by Onias, an
exiled Jewish priest". which nourished between
the early sc(:ond century IK: and the late first
century \D.
The pottery dating to thc Hyksos pcriod
and the Middle Kingdom at Tell el-Yahudiva
is particularly characterized by a typc of juglct
named after the site, which has been found as
far afield as Cyprus, Syria-Palestine and the
Nubian town-sites of Buhen and Aniba.
These juglets were made in a distinctive blackfired material described as 'Tell el-Yahudiya
wan", \vhich was oftcn decorated with
incised zigzag designs filled with white pigment. 'rhe wiele geographical elistriburion
the ware has been the subject of considerable
research, including' the identilication of

or

308

centres of production in Egypt and the Levant.

H. E. NAYILLE, The Iltlo{{ut! oIthe Jew {//ul 'he tily
o(Ollias (London, 1890).
Vl. Nt E PETRLE, Hyksos alld /sraelite cifies
(London, 1906).
S. ADM\, 'Recent dist.:overies in the eastern
Delta', AS,JE 55 (1958), 3(11-24.
R. S. MERRILLEES, 'EI-Lisht and Tell el-Yahudiya
,,"<Ire in the Arch;leologicallvluseum of the
American Uni\crsity of Beirut', Lnx(/{! 10
(1978), 75-98.
Nt. K. KJ\I'LA'\, The origill alld distribflli()// (~rTcll
el- Ya!llulijah-l7Jarc (Gothenburg, 1980).
M. BIET:\h: and C. MJ.I'\\R, 7/:/1 el-Dab'a ,.
(Cairn, 1987).

Yam see KER:\IA

Young, Thomas (1773-1829)

Egyptologist <Ind polymath, who purslied a
brilliant career as both a scientist and a linguisr. By the age of fourteen he was already
able to read twelve languages (including
Hebrew, L<Hin, Greek, Arabic, Persian, French

,mel Italian). Although he qualified as a ph\Csi_

t.:ian and made important discoveries in -the
field of physics (including the formulation of
the undulatory theory of light), he ret.lined a
strong interest in linguistics. While practising
as a physit.:ian in London in the early nineteenth century, he began to take an interest in
the decipherment of Egyptian IllEROGLYPIiS
and he published a study of the ROSE"ITA STO\;;
in 1815. Three other scholars, Johann D<l\id
Akerblad, Antoine Silvestre de Sa~v and JoanFri1n~ois (:1-I1\:\'11'01.1.I0:'\', were also examining
copies of the trilingual Rosetta inscription ar
roughly the same time, although it was the latter who was to achieve the first great breakthrough. Young, on the other hand, "as the
first modern scholar to translate rhe lJE\10TJC
script, in a posthumous paper which was published as an appendix to Henry Tatt:am's
Coptic grammar in 1831.
T YOUNG, I?ewart:s 011 EgYPliall papyri alld Oil/lie
i/{scriptioll o/RoSelf{l (London, 1815).
- , Egypt, supplement to [he 4th and 5th
editions of the EllIydopaedi{{ Brif{{lI/fi({/
(London, 1819).
H. T.\TT\J\\ and T YOUNG, A (olllpmdiolls
gmlllll!(fr of the l.~!{)ljlti{I1' lallguage as (()III{{illt:d il{
the COjJfit: alld Saltidi~ dialects ... mi,Ii (lI! appouli.l
(ollsistillg oIlhe mdimcllts (~rall E'gYPliaJl
die/iolla/]I ill Ihe (/lft'ien/ cnclUJrial df{{I"{{{li'r:
(olltailliJlg all/lte mords oImhi(h fhe sellse hf/.l bccll
{{seer/aillcd (London, 1831).
J. D. RAY, 'Thomas Young et Ie monde de
Champollion', BSFE 119 (October 1990), IS-3+.

Yuya and Tuyu (Yuia and Thuiu) (c.1400 uc)

The parents of Queen TTY, the wife of Al\IE:'\HOTEl' [[I
(1390-l352 Be), whose wellpreserved tomb (I-;:v46) was excavated in the
VAU.!':Y (W THE KlJ\GS in 1905. Yuya held the
unusual title of 'god's father', and 'master of
the horse' and Tuvu, who was also mentioned
on some of the ~oJ11memorati\'e SC\R \BS of
Amcnhotep [[I, was the 'chieflady of the [URL\1
of Amun'.
The inscriptions indicate that Yuya came
from i\I'll,\H.\1 in Upper Egypt, but mrious
aspet.:ts of the evident.:c, induding his unusual
name and tall stature, have suggested to some
scholars that he was not a native Egyptian. Thencxt holder of the title 'divine E.nher' ",lS ;\Y
(1327-l323 BC), who also came from Akhmim
and waS eventuallv to succeed TUrAi'\"]I \,\IL '\
(1336-1327 IK:) as l;haraoh. It has theref"ore been
argued that Ay was the son ofYuy<I .md 'UIYu and
hence the brother ()fTi}~ but until genetic ,,'ork
is carried on the mummies of t.he lSt.h-Dynasty
f"amily this theory C1l1not be proved.
The political rise ofVuya and Tuyu, including the granting of the rare privilege ~l tomb

or

YUYA AND T 'YU

in the royal necropolis, was no doubt a direct

consequence of the marriage of their daughter
to the king. Their tomb was discm"crcd by
James Edward Quibcll while carrying Ollt
cxca\'<\rions on behalf of Theodore Davis.
Until the discovery of the tomb of
Turankhamull (I"':Y62) the CQlHents of their
tomb (now in rhe Egyptian lv(useum, Cairo)
comprised the most complete set of funcrar~
equipment fi}und in the royal ,"alley, including
a canopic box, .1 sllllbJi-hox. a model collin, a
sta{UcUe from a \1\G1C 1.lJ{[(.X, a chair inscribed
with the name ofQ!.lccn Tiy, a kohl tube, jewel
box and Vilse of Amenhotep III, and seven.ll
beds and chairs. The mummies of the couple
are among the finesr to h~l\e suni,"cd.
Although the lomb had been enrered in antiquity, few objects had bccn removed, indeed a
golden C1lARIOT yoke was one of thc first
objects to be found. Tragically, Da\is' decision
to ha\e the 10mb el<.."ared in a matter of days, in
the absencc of Quibell, mcant thm \Til'll/ally no
record was made of lhc positions of the contents, which has greatly diminished the value
of the find to archaeology.
T j\ I. D \ns, G. j\ I \SI'ERO, P. E. ~E\\ HERin ;1I1d
H. C-\RTI~R, 'lift! lomb of IUlIl)'fI find 1'(HII)'IJIl
(London, 1907).
J. E. QUlBELI., The lomh n.f}'i({fa al/(I TlllIiu
(Cairo, 1908).
n. PORTER and R. L. B. 1\ loss, 1';Jpographifal
bibliography 1/2 (Oxford, 1964),562-4.

l"ll1l/lff~)1 was/.!

of 'l ily II. II/nlha ofQjll'l'If T~)I,

j\'latleJimll giltlttl mrtmwagt! mjth tll'tails illiaid ill
gemslollt!s alld glass. Pari oflhe liuC11 gtlll:;l' still
(ltlheres to tIll' maSk'. 181h Dynasty, c.139()'13.,2 tJC,Fu/1/ the 10m" (~r) i~)la IInti 'n~)'11 (".,.';'6).
H. !Utl/l.

(c./Il/oJI,'9525-1/u;51009)

ZOSER

I. E. S. EIJ\\"\RDS, Th(~ pyramids ({g)'PI, 5th cd.

(llarlllondsworth, 1993),6-1-6,146-7.
- , 'Chephren's place among Lhe kings of the 4-th
Dynasty', The flllbro/.!f!II rad: studies i1/ honour of
.-1. F Shore,!. C. Eyre el a!. (London, 199-1),
97.... 105.

Zawiyet el-Aryan
Sitc of l wo unfinished 1') R.'HIIDS, a number of
\I.\ST\B \
tombs of the Old ~ingdom
(2686....2 J81 Be) and a cemetery of the New
Kingdom (1550.... 1069 Be), situated on the west
bank of the Nile, between GIZA and .\BUS)]{.
The earlier of the twO pyramids is known as
thc 'Layer Pyramid' or 'e1-Nlcdo\\"\nlra'" <md
was possibly constructed for the 3rd-DYl1asty
ruler Khaba (2640--2637 Be). The 8+-metresquare superstructure is almost identical w
that of the unfinished step pyramid of
Sekhemkher (2648....2640 Be) at SAQ5t'R'I, both
consisting of slanting layers of masonry, and
both being originally planned as six- or sc,-cnstepped pyramids. The subterranc.m section
\Y:lS entered \'ia a vertical burial shnft descending from the north face of the pyramid. At the
base of the shaft werc three corridors, one
leading south,,-ards to the burial chamber
(beneath the centre of the pyramid) and two
others leading to east and west, each with sixteen side-chambers that \ycrc presumably
intended fix the deposition of funerary goods.
'rhe pyramid was cXC<l\'atcd first by .<\lc:xandrc
B.lrsanti and later by George REIS~ER, who ;l!SO
c1cared some of the associated \1 \ST\U.\ tombs.
It was Reisner who locatcd fragments bearing
thc name of Khaba , ~tS \yell as a pottcry fragment with lhe name OfNt\RI\lER, leading him to
suggest that the monument should be dated to
lhc 2nd Oyn.tsty. Howc\'cr, the subscqucl1l
exca\'ation of the pyramid of Sckhemkhct
indicated (hat a 3rd-Dynasty date was the
most likely.
The second pyramid at Zawiycl' cl-A.. ryal1
probably dates to the 4th DY11asty (2613-2494
lie) and \\as also CXC;lY;1tcd by Barsanti. lts
main feature is a long sloping trench, at the
bottom of which an ullusu;tl oyal granite sarcophagus ,,as discoyered. Fragments of a
similar type 01" sarcophagus ,,,cre found by
Flinders I'I~TRIE in the pyramid complex of
Djederra (2566-2558 He) al IHe ROISII, leading to lhc suggestion that the Zawiyet elAryan monument was constructed by the
same ruler, although more recently it has been
suggested that it may havc helonged to an
unknown ruler betwcen the reigns of
Djedefra and Khafra.
B. PORTER and R. L. B. ~loss" 'lopographiCllI
bibliograp/~)IIII/1 (Oxford, 197-l), 312-H.
D. DLi'\11 \ \1, Z{{/m:l'et el-AlJl{l1l: the ({'II/clerics
atlja(t:I!//o Ihe I,ayer I~}'ralllid (Boston, 1978).

Zoser see DJOSER

309

CHRONOLOGY
All dates before 690

Predynastic

5500-3100llc
5500-4000

Badarian period

BC

arc approximate.

5'1'1 I DYI\A~,nT

249+-2345

12'1'1-1 DYNASl'''

1985-1795

Userkaf

2494-2487

Amenemoat 1 (SeoeLepibra)

1985-1955

Amratian (Kaqatla I) period

4000-3500

Sahura

2487-H75

Senusret L(Kheperkara)

1965-1920

Gerzean ('-'aqada

3500-3100

:\ererirkara

2475-H55

Amenemhat

(i\ubkallra)

1922-1878

Soepseskara

2455-2H8

Senllsrel

(Khakoeperra)

1880-1874

Early Dynastic Period

3100-2686

Raneferef

2H8-2445

Senus ret III (Khakaura)

187+-1855

1ST D\;....\STy

3100-2890

I\yuscrra

2445-H21

~\menelllha[ III

1855-180~

II)

period

LI

II

(Nimaarra)

Narmer

(.3100

nlenkauhor

H21-2414

Amenemhall\ (nlaakherura)

Aha

dlOO

Djedkara

HI+-2375

Queen Sobekneferll (Sobekkara)

Djer

c.3000

Unas

2375-2345

Ill'll

Djet

[.2980

6TIIDY,\\STY

2345-2181

Den

[.2950

TCli

2345-2323

Some SC\-cl1ty rulers, of which

the five more frequently

Uscrkara

2J23~2321

IQueen ~ lemeith

(.29501

Anedjih

[.2925

Pcp)' 1 (Mer)'ra)

2321-2287

SClllcrkhcl

t:.2900

1\ lcrcnra

2287-2278

QI'a

(.2890

PC\)\' LL (Neferbra)

2278-2184

NiLiqrct

218+-2181

2"o m"" \STY

Hctcpsckhcmwy

2890-2686

1808-179'1

attested arc listed below

Hor (A\\'ibra)
Khendjer (Userkara)
Sobekhotel'

LLL

(Sekhemrasewadjtalw)

Neferhotep L(Khasekhemra)
SobekhOlep 1\ (Khaneferra)

<".2890

Raneb

".2865

\Vcncg

First Intermediate Period

2181-2055

7'1'11 \:\"D 8'1'11 DY',,\\STIES

2181-2125

Pe-ribscn

(.2700

Khasckhcm,,-y

".2686

9TH \ 'd)

1OTt I m I'\-\STII':S

2160-2025

(rIEI~ \U.EOI'OI.IT'\,,\)

Khct\ (nleITibra)

2686-2181

:l1~.lJ IJY'J \STY

2686-2613

SanakhL (=i\eoka?)

2686-2667

Djoser ('-'etjerikhet)

2667-2648

Sekoemkhel

2648-2640

Khaoa

2640-2637

I-Iuni

2637-2613

SncfCfU

the 13th Dynasty

Second Intermediate Period

1650-1550

15TIL Dn;,sn

1650-1550

(ILY~sos)

Salili.

Khet\' (Wahkara)

Old Kingdom

m .... \STY

.Minor rulers probably

contemporary with

Numerous ephemcrill kings

Sened

4-'1'11

J\lcrykara

Khyan (SclIscrcnra)

(.11>00

It,'

Apepi (Aauserra)

(.1555

I ITIL nY"'ST' (TILEIlES 0"1.1)

2125-2055

Khamudi
16T111J\,-,"-\sn

[~lenLuhOlep 1 ('Tepy-aa')]

Imefl (SehenawI')

2125-2112

1\ linar 1-1 yksos rulers

contemporary wilh

Inter 11 (Waoankh)

2112-2063

the 15th Dynasty

Intef LLI (Nakotneblepnefer)

2063-2055

2613-H94

17'1'11 m"'\ST\

1650-1550

1650-1550

Scycral rulers based in 'Thebes}

of which the four 1110st prominent

2613-2589

Khllfll (Cheops)

2589-2566

Middle Kingdom

Djedefra (Radjedel)

2566-2558

lIT" D\', ISTI

Khafra (Chephren)

2558---2532

j\ lelHuootep LL (Neboepetra)

2055-2004

Taa I (Scnakhtcnra)

Menkaura (~Iycerinus)

2532~2503

\!emLLhotep

(Sankhkara)

200+-1992

Taa LL (Seqencnra)

Shepseskaf

2503-2498

i\lcnrllhorcp lr (Ncbtawyra)

1992-1985

Kamose (Wadjkhcperra)

310

r,l72.i
1750-1650

14'1'1 r DYNASTY

~ync[jcr

1799-1795

1795- after 1650

DYNAST\

(.\1.1.

LLL

EGYPT)

2055-1650

examples arc listed below

2055-1985

[ntef (Nubkoeperra)

r.1560
1555-1550

CHRONOLOGY

New Kingdom

1550-1069

18TI J DY"I \~~n

1550-1295

Alunose ( 'ebpeht'Ta)

1550-1525

Amenhotep I (Djeserkara)

Thutmose II (Aakheperenra)

H92-1.f79

Thullnose III (!\lenkheperra)

1479-IH5

Hatshepsut (!\ laalkara)

H73-H58

Amenbotep II (Aakheperura)

H27-1400

Thutmose

HOO-I390

ilmenholep III (Nebmaatra)

Amcnhotcp

1\ /

1390-1352

Ramcscs x
(I;:hepermaatra Setepema)
(~lenmaalra Setepenptah)

1099-1069

Third Intermediate Period

1069-7.f7

21sT Dr, ISTY (TI"rn:)

1069-IOf3

Amcncmnisll (Ncfcrkara)

1043-1039

1352-1336

(ilakbeperra Setepenamun)

1039-991

Amcncmopc

m8-1336

Tutankhamun (Nebkbeperura)

1336-1327

ill' (Kheperkheperura)

1327-1323

Osorkon the elder

(Aakbeperra Setepenra)

Horemheb (Djeserkheperura)

1323-1295

Siamun

19T11 IlYN,\STY

1295-1186

(Nctjcrkhcpcrra Setepenamun)

1295-1294

PSlIscnncs II

Setl' I (Menmaatra)

1069-945

Smcndcs
(Hedjkheperra Selepenra)

Nefernefruaten (Smenkhkara)

Rameses I (!\'Ienpebt)'ra)

1108-1099

Psuscnncs J rPasebakhacnniutJ

Akhcnalen

(Nefcrkhcpcru rawacllra)

1126--1108

R:.II11CSCS \1

150+-H92

(Menkbeperura)

Sheshonq

1\

1525-1504

Thutmose I (Aakbeperkara)

1\

Ramcscs

C'ieferkara Setepenra)

(Uscrlllaatra Scrcpcl1al11un)

993-984

1".780
777-749

24111 DY~.\Sn

727-715

Bakenrenef (Bocehoris)

727-715

late Period

7.f7-332

25TII Dn',ISTr (>;:LSlllTE)

7.f7-656

Pi,' (Piankln)

7.f7-716

Shabaqo (Neferkara)

716-702

Shabitqo (Djedkaura)

702-690

'Elbarqo (Khuneferremra)

690-664

1l1Tluramani (Babra)

66+-656

26'\"] [ DYl'\ASTY

(sArl'I-:)

[Nekau I
98+-978
978-959

[Pasebakhacnniu(1

(Titkheperura Setepenra)

1\

Osorkon II]
( scrmaalra Sctcpcnamun)

959-945

129+-1279

66+-525
672-6641

Psamtek I (Wahibra)

66+-610

Nekau II (Webemibra)

610-595

Psamtek II (Neferibra)

595-589

Apries (Haaibra)

589-570

Ahmosc 11 (KJmemibra)

570-526

Psamtek III (Ankhkaenra)

526--525

22'1'11 m''''\5T''

Ramcscs II
(Uscrmaatra Scrcpcnra)

1279-121.1

!\Ierenptah (Baem'a)

1213-1203

Amenmcssu (!\lcnmira)

1203-1200

Sety

II

(IlLll.ISTITEI LIBYI~)

(Uscrkhcpcrura Sctcpenra) 1200-1194

Sheshonq I
(1ledjkbeperra Setepenra)
Osorkon I (Sekhemkheperra)

945-715

27'1'11

(FIRST PERSIV, PERIOD)

92+-889

Cambyscs

525-522

Darius 1

522-486

119+-1188

Sheshonq II
(Hekakheperra Setepenra)

]ausrcr (Sitramcrimmun)

1188-1186

Takelo[ I

889-87-1

I 18(}-1069

Osorkon II
(Uscrmaatra Sctcpnamun)

87+-850

m ,,\STY

Setbnakhtc
(Userkhaura 1\ len'amun)

Ralllcscs lit
(Uscrmaatra JVlcryamun)
Ral11cscs 1\
(Hckamaarra Screpenamun)

1186--1184
j

18+-1153

1153-1147

R.ullescs \'
(Usermaalra Sekheperenra)

Ramcscs \'I
(Ncbmaatra .McI'Yill11un)

IH3--1136

R<lmcses \ II (Uscrl1laatra
Sctcpcnra j\!lcryamun)

1136-1129

Ramcscs \'T11
(Uscf111ilatra Akhcnamun)

1129-1126

Xerxes 1

486-465

Artaxcrxes I

465-424

Darius

42+-405

II

Artaxcrxcs II

-105-.159
40+-399

Scrcpcnra/alllun)

850-825

28'1'11 m :\,\STY

Shcshonq

825-773

Amyrtaios

(Uscrmaatra)

Pimay (Uscrmaatra)

773-767

Sheshonq \ (flakhcperra)

767-7.10

Osorkol1
1147-1143

,.,890"

''E1kclot " (l-Iedjkheperra

III

29TI I

40+-399

m '-:/\ST'

Nepherircs

Haknr (Khncmmaatra)

IV

(Aakheperra Se[cpenamun)

730-7 IS

Ncpheri res

23RD DYl\,\STY (T:\~ITE/l.Irn'Al\)

818-715

30TI I D"~t\STY

Several contcmp()rary lines

of rulers at Hcraklcopolis iVl.agna,
I:-Icnnopolis M.ag:n3, Leonropolis and 'l~ll1is,
only three of whom arc listed below
Pedubaslis I (Usermaatra)

525-404

945-924

Saptah (ilkhenra Setepenra)

20TlI

IJ\":'\.\.

RI8-793

II

.199-380
399-393
.193-380
(.380
380-343

Ncctanebo I (J(heperkara)

380-362

Teos (lrmaatcnra)

362-360

Nccmncbo

II

(Senedjemibra Sctepcnanhur)

360-343

311

CHRONOLOGY

SEeo.,n PEKSL\;\.

1>I~RJOI)

Artaxcrxcs 111 Ochus

Arscs
Darius

Codoman

III

Ptolemaic Period
.\lACEI)()~I.\~

343-332

Roman Period

343-338

Augustus

338~336

Tibcrius

336-332

Gaius (Caligula)

332-30

D\ ,\sn

332-305

Alexander the Great

332-323

Philip Arrhidaeus

323-3]7

.L\lexander l\ !/l'IU;

317-310

PTOI.E\iAIC DYi\.\ST'

305-285

Prulemy " Philadelph us

285-246

Ptolemy

246-221

Ptolemy

III

Eucrgercs

Philoparor

1\

221-205

Ptolemy \ Epiphancs

205-180

Ptolemy rI Philomctor

180-145

Ptolemy rll Neos PhilopaLOr

Ptolemy

rill

Eucrgetcs

II

Ptolemy IX Soter II

11&--107

Pwlemy '\ Alexander

Ptolemy 1\ Soter
Ptolemy
Ptolemy

\1

II

107-88

(restored)

Alexander

.\11

145
170-116

II

Ncos Dionysos (Aulctcs)

Cleopatra \ II Philop.ltor

88-80
80
80-51
51-30

Prolefny XIII

51-47

Ptolemy XI\

47-14

Ptolemy xr Caesarion

lI2

44-30

Gallienus

30 Be-,ll) 14
.\1)

25:>-268

IVlacrianus and

Q!.liClllS

260-261

1+--37

Aurclial1

27{)-275

37-41

Probus

27&--282

Clnudius

41-54

Dioc1crial1

284-305

.'\leTa

54-68

i\.laximi..m

286--305

Galba

68-69

atho

69

Galcrius

2<)3-311

Constantine I

30&--337

Vespasian

69-79

lVlaxcntius

30&--312

Titus

79-81

lVlaximinus Daia

307-324

Domitian

81-96

Lidnius

NCfV<l

9&--98

Constantin e

Trajan

Ptolemy I Sotcr I

30 IlC-.\D 395

98-117

Hadrian

117-138

308-324
II

337-341l

Consrans

337-350

COl1sranrius II

337-361
350-353

Antoninus Pius

138-161

~Iagnctius

l\llarcus Aurelius

161-180

Julinn the Apostalc

361-363

Lucius Vcrus

161-169

JO\'jall

363-364

Commodu s

180-192

Valcntinian

Seprimius Scvcru5

193-211

Valens

364-375
364--378

C'faealla

198-217

Gratian

375--3N3

Gem

209-212

l'hcodosiu s the Great

379-395

J\llacrinu5

217-218

Didumcnia nus

218

ralcntinian

II

Eugcnius

Elagabalus

217-222

Di,"ision of lhe Roman Empire

Sc\'Crlls Alexander

222-235

Gordian

III

Philip

238-242
244-249

Decills

249-251

G,tJllIS and '-olusianus

251-253

Valerian

253-260

**

383-392
.W2-39~

395

Iherc are some 0\ crlaps between 'he rcign~ of

12th-Dynast y kings, when there appl.:'u' to h,l\e
heen 'corcgcm:ics ' during which Euhcr and son
\\oull! han:: ruled silllultum,'ously
died
tll":l

;ll"tcr h:wing scrn:d onl~ une ~C;lr

corcgcncy "ilh his father, Osurkon I

.~* onl~ titular ruler .110-30.5 Be

APPENDIX

APPENDIX I

List oIEg)/ptologists
mentionet! in the /e.rt

J.

D. Akcrhhld

Emile Amclim.:au
Alcx:lntlrc Barsanti
Gio\anni Belzoni
G(,:orgcs A.lron Bcncdilc
f'rcdcrid WIl Hissing
Fcrnand lJisson de h1 Roque
Aylward .\ bnlc~ Rladman
Ludwit! Bon.:hanh

1763-1819
1850-1915
185!\-1917
1778-1823

1857-1926
1871--1956
1885-1958
1883-1956
1863-1938

James I knry Breasted

1865-1935

Emile Brug'sch
j-Icinrich I~crdin;jnd Karl Brub-"Sch

1842-1930
1827-1894
1878-1948

Gu\' BrUllwn
BeT'nard Bnm:~rc
E. A. W;ll1is Buduc
jC:lI1-I..Awis Burcih;mh
James Burton
I-IowaI'd C1r1cr
Gertrude Catotl-'I'hompson
Jaros!:1\' c':crny
Jcan-FralllYois C:hampollillll
Jacques-Joseph Ch,IIllPllllilln-Figcac

Dunlth\' Charleswurth
Emile Chassin:ll

J. D.

Cooney

C. 'I: CUl'l'l:lh'

1~79-f1nl

1857-193+

178+-1817
1788-1862
187+-1939

188!\-1985
1898-1970
17911-1832
1778-1867
1927-1981
ISM)-llJ+S
1905-ltJ82

1-1. \V. Fairman

1876-1957
1742-1833
18:17-1915
1891-llJ15
177(..-IS52
1831-1892
1903-1971
1888-1946
1907-1982

Ahmed Fakhn

1905-1973

Bon Joseph IJacicl'

Theodore D;\\'is

James Dixon
Bcrnartlil1(J Dnl\cni
Amelia Edwards
WalLer Br\',lll Emen'
Reginald

Engclh'lcl~

Chm:ncc Sla.;Ic\ Fisher

Smlli Gabra
.
A.lan I-I. Gardiner
Erncsl.J\rthur G;trdner
John Garslallg
Robert Grenville Gaver-Anderson
Zakaria Goneim
'
Frederick \\'illi,lJl1 Green
E I,lewellvn Griffirh
William I iaves
D,). Ilog-Jr~h

GUStavc JCljuicr
ALhan;lsius Kirchcr
Gustavc I.clcbnc
Kid Rich;lfll I,cpsius
W, L. S,I.mll
VicLor Lorel
Albert 1.\ Ih~tll'
AlH!Ustc ~~ hl;icltc
Ga~lOn j\ laspcro
Robert ~ lond
Pierre i\lonlet
J:lClJlICS dt: Morgall
Oliver Ilumphrys Myers
Eclou;lnIN;]villc
Pt:rcy E, Newbcrrr
Fredt:rick I ,lJdwig Nordell
T Eric PCCI
Lord Algernon Perc)
(follrth Duke
Northumherhmd)
John Sh,w Perring
\Yo M, Flinders Pctrie
Richard Pucockc
JUllCS Edward Q..uibell

or

George Reisner
GunLher Roeder
(Kiccolo Francesco) Ippoli1o Rosdlini
Olivier Charles de Rouge
I lenn' Salt
A,I-I,'S;ln:c
Ilcinrid~ Schiilcr
Erncsru SehiaJl;lrdli
Siegfried SChUlL
Vemlliea SCion-Williams
Gusr;,,'us Scdlarrh
Claude SiL";1;d
Gmfton Elliot Smilh
Ilcmy Windsor\'illicrs Swan
Ilcnn'Tur:llll
Rich;rd 1100\,lrd \\sc
John Gardner Willinson
I.cunard Woolle~
Thomas Young

rh

n;\V

~laihcrjlri

(sland;lfCl-oC:1Ter in reign
of I bl'shepsur)
1\ lcrcnlJlah
.\ tonLuhcrl..hejltoshcf
(son of Ramcscs IX)
Ramcs<.'S 1
Ramcses II
Ralllc.l:ics II (sons)

1708-1742
1882-193+
1792-1865
1813-1869
1853-1942
170+-1765
1867-1935

TIHllmosc I
Thuunose II
Thutmoscill
'rhunl1ose 1\
'I'iv/Smenkhkara
'l'u'lankhamun
Userhat (official)
YU\';I and 'nlYll
(l~arcntS o(Qucen Tiy)
unknO\n1

22
10
23

13
56

20

IS

18

57
36

19
20

8
19

I'lm

rr~:'(1)\IBS I'

16
7
5

3, II
2
9
I
18
6
4
47
17
15
14

38
42
,H

n
55
(l2

45
46
11, 21. 2+-,13,
37,39--1-1,++,
49-54, 58-61

QI ,\//mber

17

47

2U

55

19

71
4(,

10

51

lU

+l

II)

68

1tl

3(1

II)

611

II)

66

20

2U

53

II)

,l8

20

+3

20?
20?

,l.l

(\\ifCorRan1esesJ\?)
Titi, wife or a Ramcses
unknown quecn
unknown quccn
unknown quecn
unknown princess
unl..nO\\ II princess
unknown

20

74

52
:11
411
75
36

73
1-29,32,3+-5,
37,39,41,+5,
48-50,5+,56-9,
61-5,67,69-70,
72,76-79

\H:STER' THEBES

.\t//flt'

Ab;IU

20
20
19
19
19
20
18
18
18
IS
18
18
IS
18

Ralllescs :-"1

,lJ

18

2U

Sapmh

K/' N/llI/ber
'f8

19:

Ral1lc.~cs \'11

Sen I
Sel~ II
'r,l~sret

IIJO,l-19()()

19
18
IlJ

Ralllcsc..'S '\
1\

Dynasty

YUlIlt'

Ahmose
(daug-hler of SeqencllT;l'El;1l1)
AI1111nhcrl..hepcshcf
(son of R;lmescs JIl)
Bcnmnla
(dallghler of R:lnlescs Il)
Imhotep
(vizier)
Isis II
(mother of Ramt'Sl'S H)
KhacmwaSCL 11
(son of RamcsL'S Ill)
.\ Icrilamun
(daughter of Ramcses II)
Nchiri
NchL,l\\\
(daugl~ler of Rames<.'S II)
NeferLari
(wife of Ramescs II)
Paraherwencnlcr
(son of R;lI11CS<.'S Ill)
R'llnc.'ics
(sun of ILlllles<.:s JJ)
'sarra
(wifi: Rameses I)
Scthherkhepeshef
(son or Ibmeses Ill)
'E11lcdjc1l1

TCIlIOPCI

18
IS

Ramcses

Ramc.~cs III

Ramesesl\
Ramcs<.'S \1

1868--19,1+

I8(}l)-1lJ+lJ

1'8

19
19
19
211
211
211
20

1821-1881
1841>-1916
lS67-llJ3H
18S5---llJ6C,
1857-1924
184+-1926

1880-1960
1773-1829

\.\I.I.Er OF TII~. IlL'EE.-'\'S

or

Dl'lItHt}1

Amcnclllopel
(vizier in reign
ofAmenhtlLCp II)
AmenhoreJll1
Amenhort'p III
AmenmcsslI

1871>-1941

1861-11J27
I86!\-1946
1602-1680
1879-1957
1810-1884
1871-1932
1859-1946

178+-1853
1797-1875

\,\J.I.I':\ OFTIJI-_ "INUS

NII/II/'

1892-1973

1903-19(,3

185(>-1928
1897-1971
19111-1992
1791>-1885
1677-1726
1871-1937
1827-1895
1789-1868

APPE'iD1X 2

1879-1963
1862-1939

1868-1957

AlphabeticallislOlo)}}lIen
~rtolllbs ill Wes/em Thebes

(~hancellor in reign
OfS;lJltah)
'Golden rumb'
IlarsheJlsur
Iloremheh

1876-1956
1881-1945
1911-1959
1869-1949
1862-1934

1867-1'142
1881-1966
18011-1843
1811-1872
1780-1827
1845-1933

Ahmose (Ilumay)
Ahmosc
Ahmosc
.o\hlllosc (\lcriramun
(daughter ofThutmose III
and \\ifcofAmcnhntcJlIl)
Akhamcncr;lu
I\menarncfru
AmencmhaL (Surer)
Amenemh;lI
Amencmhal
Alllcncmhal
Amencmhal
Alllellemhat
f\menemhat
:\mencmhal
Amencmhal
Amencmhat
I\menemhat
Amcncmhcb
Amenemheh
Amenemhch (Mahu)
Amcncll1heb
Amcnemhcb
Amcncmheb
Amcnemib
Amenel110nct

DylllfS(J'

19120
18
18
18
18

rrtvllmlu:r
351

12+
121
241
358

25

18
18
18
18
18
18
18
19
18
IS
18
18
19120
191211
18
191211
19
IX/If)

19120
211

53

82
97
122
113
1(,3
182
3+0,354
\1
<:1

25
+l
85
278
.164
\8
\15
58

313

APPENDIX

19/20
19/20
19
20
19
19
Amcncmopcl
18
18
Amcncmopcl (Djchuryncfcr)
19
Amcncmopcl
Amcncmopcr
19/20
18
Amcnclllwaskhtt
f\ rncncmwia
19
Amcncmwia
19
Amcnholcp
18

i\mcm:monet
Amcnemonet
Amcnemopcr (Ipy)
Amcncmopcr
Amcncmopcl
Amcncmopcl

277
381
-fl
148
177

215, 265
276

297
37-f
118
62

no

356
-fO

(Buy; Viceroy ofKllSh, reigns

01" Akhcn;lfCll & Tumnkhat1l1111)

Amenhotep
211
Amcnhorcp
18
Amenholcp
18
Amcnhorcp
18
AmenholCp
18
Anll:nhorcp
211
Amenhotcp
18
(Huy; 'overseer uf sculptors
ofAlllun')
Alllenhorcp
18
18
Alllellhotcp
AIllCllhutcp
18
)\mellhotcp
19
Amcnhcltep-si-se
18
Amenkluawmw;\set
'NK'
Amenkhall
211
AmcnmeSSll
19/211
Alllcnmosc
19120
1Y
AlllelllllOSC
18
Amcnmosl'
Amenmosc
21
Amenml)SC
18
Amenmose
18
19120
Amenmose
18
Amcnmusl'
18
Amcnmosc
18
Amenmose
19/20
Amcnnakhtc
Alllcnnakhtr.::
19
Amcnncfru
18
211
Amcnpahapy
Alllenusl:r (Usl:r; vizier)
18
Alllcnuscrhet
18
AmenW;lhsu
18
Amcnwahsll
19120
Amethu (Ahlllosc; \"izier)
18
Allluncdjch
18
Amy (Ramose)
18
Allen
18
I\nherkhall
211
Anhotcj) (Viceroy of Kush) 19/211
Ankhcfcndjchllty
26
(i'\cfcribrasench)
Ankhcfcnrahor;lkhlY
l'wL
26
Ankhhor
AnrcliJkcr (sec Jlltefiqer 1''1'60)
An\'
19
Asilakhcl
19
Ashe(vlemwaset
19120
Baki
Baki
Basa
Bekcnamun
Bckcnamull
Bekenalllllil
Bckcnkhons
Bekcnkhons

314

18
19120
26
19
19
19120
19
19/20

Bckcnkhons

BCSCIl1l1Ul

19/20
18
26
26

288
J43
-f07
160

Dagi(vizicr)
Dedi
Djal'
Djclllulcfankh
Djcscrbrascnch
Duauncheh

11
18
11
21/22
18
18

103

Bcnia (P3hckmcn)
Bcntcnduanctjer

Esb;l1H::bded

26

2110

366
117

:is
125
1911

Eskhons
21/22
Espancfcrhor
21
Espekashuli (sec Ncspcbshuti, 1'1'312)

3J7

Ibrua
Ilatia)
Ibuf

37
32+
n3
267
32S
222
6-f
3D
66
67
151
78
2117
314
28
259
3{)]
347
221
12(1
r:7
23(,
245
12

68

58

73
122
294
3-f5
.H6
368

1\7

cl
cJ
-f15
75
III
372

373
9
19
-f2
711
89
118
1-f9
228
251
.lIt;

218
26()
132

355
61, 131
176
111
274
fG
84
9-f
120
299, J5~
3110

cH
380
-fl-f
168
17-f
112
18
298
3R9
135
195
-f08
35
HI

lla"

26
19120
26'
20
21l
20
18
II
18
18
18
18
19120
11
19121l
19/21l
19/21l
19/21l
191211
26?
19
19/211
18
18

Ha~
IIekamaatran;\khtc (Turo)
Hekernehch
I-Iencnu
I-Icpu (\'izicr)
I-IcpLlscllcb
Hcr)"
Horemhch
I-Ioremheb
J-1orhotep
[Iori
Ilori
I-Iori
Hori
Horimill
Hormosc
rlormosc
I-Iornakht
I-lory
Hra\'
J-JlI~l<1Y (see Ahmosc '1"1'224)
Illlllcfcr
19121l
Huy
191211
18
HllY
19
Huv
I lu~
19
I-Iu;' (sl:cAmenhotcp TToO, TT36t')}
Ibi
Ihy (nolllarcb)
Imhotep
Imischa
Incni
Inlupy (incl, ROY~ll Cache)
InplIemheb
Ill\"

In'tc:f
Intcf
Inrcf(son of Mcketra)
Intd
Intdiqcr (vizier)
lpi (vizier)
Jpiy
Ipuk~

2(,

F1P
18
20
18
ZI
191211
19120
18
18
II
11
12
11
19
18
19

Ipuy
Ipy (scc Alllenelllopct TT-l-l)
Ipy (see Mose, Mosc and Ipy'I"1'329)
Ipy
18
191211
lrillllfer
Jrtcrau
26
Irdjanen
19-21
Kaclllhcribsen

18

]85
H
54
.139
361

36
186
1IJ2
65
81
320
20()
285
155
16-f
280
386
60
315
26-f
181
217

c6
290
390
306
98

Kaha

19
Kamosc (Ncnt:lwarcf)
18
Karabasakcll
25?
Karakhamull
26
Karo
19
Kasa
19
Kcfia (scc Ncfcrronpcr rrn 40)
Kcmsit
II
Ken
19
Ken
18
Kcnamull
18
Kcnamull
18
Kcnamull
18
Kcnro
19
Kcnro (sec Ncfcrronpct TT17S)
Klu
18
KhabckhnCl
19
Kluemhct (Mahu)
18
KJuemopct
19
Klucmopct
IYI2Il
KJuemopet
19121l
Kluemrcl'i
19120
Khacmwasct
18
KJl;\Cmwaset
19
K1urllef(Sl:naa)
18
Khawi
191211
Khav
19
FIP
KJ1C~lti (llumarch)
Khety
11
Khnumcmhch
19
Khnummosc
18
Khons(To)
lY
Khonsmose
19121l
Kiki (see Salllllt l"l'4(9)
Kynebu
20

360

:\98
391
22.1
3]0
10
]IIS

-f,m

Sy
93
1(12

-f12
5-f

8
2
57
1115
272
321
WI
261
369
192
2H
173
-f1l5
311
26
25:;
31
30

J\ibhu
19
?\llahu
Ivlahu
18?
j\tlahll (sec Alllenelllheb '1"1'85)
i\'lahu (sec Khaemhcl'rT57)
j\tbhuh~
20
J'\'lay
18
18
May
1V1eketra
11
Ml:n
18
Mcnkhcpcr (McnkJll:perrasencb) 18
18
Mcnkhcpcr
Mcnkhl:pcrrasench
18
Mcnna
18
Mcntiywi
18
25!2(l
Mcntucmhet
(Mayor of"'-'hebcs)
Mcru
11
jvlcn
18
lVIl:r)'amun
18
lVlerymaal
18
l'vlcrymaal
18
1\1er\"1ll0se
18
(Vic~roy or Kush ;lIld son
of Amcnhotcp 1Il)
19
Meryprah
18
i'vlin
Minn~lkl1tc
18
Monnlhcrkhcpcshef
18
19
Mosc
lvlose
18
Mose, Mose and Ipy
191211
Mutirdais
26
Naamutllakhte
Nakht
Nakht
Nahkt

22
18
18
19/211

113

157
el2

1,3
III
Ull
.:13K
Z811
230
79
25R
86,112

69
172

H
2-f1l

8+,95
Z2
-f1l3
(-f

3S3
.lS7
lOY

1\7
211
l.ri

ZS+
]29
410

3+8
52
161
282

APPENDIX

Nahkt
Nahkt (Panakhl)

Nahkl
Nakhl:.llllun
Nakluamun

N.lkhl<lmun
NakllldjchlllY

Nakhrmin
Nay
Nch,nlllln
Nchalllull
Nch<llllllll

Nch,llllUIl
Ncb,llllUIl

Ncbal1lull
Ncb:mlUll
Ncb:lInun

Ncballlull
Ncbancnsll
Ncbenkcmcr
Ncbcllmaar
Ncbmehyt
Ncbll1chyt
Ncbnal..htc
Nclmc!er
NcbscmNebsen\-

Ncbscn~"

IS
18
18
19?
19
19
19
IX
IX
IX
18
18
18
18
18
18
IX
18
18
18
19120

397
,\20
c8
202
335
341
189
291
271
17
24
65
90
145
146
179
181

I~

170
384
268
6
108
401
ell

19
19
18-19
IS
IS
18
19
19
19120'
19

Ncbsur;lcnu
Ncbwcncnef
Ncbwcncncf
Ncujcmgcr
Ncfcrahcl
1~120
Ncfcrhabcf (sec Userhcl ~lT51)
18
Ncfcrhabcf
18-19
Nefcrhotcp
Ncfcrholcp
IS'
Nefcrholcp
18
Ncfcrholcp
19
18
I cfcrholep
II
Ncfcrhotep
Nefcrholcp
18
Ncfcrmcnu
18
18
Nefcrmenll
18
Nclerronpet
Ncferronpet
19
Ncfcrronpet (Kef!a)
18
Nderronpd (Kcllro)
1~
18
Ncfcrronpet
Nd'crronpl;l
19
Ncfcrsekheru
18
Nefcrsckheru
19120
Ncferwcbcll
18
Nchcm;twa\"
IX
Nehi (\'iec;oy of b.:ush)
18
2(,
Ncspebshuti (vizier)
Ni;n
1'11211
II
t oirll (\\ ife of i\lenruholcp 11)

Nu
Nu

18
18

231

204
256
219

un
157
AI2

13R

Panchs\"
PaT:lcn;hcb

P:lT3cmhcb
Parcnncfcr
Paroy (sec Thurmosc T'T295)
Paser (\"izicr)

Paser
Paser
Paser
Pashcdu
Pashcdu

Pashcdu
Pashcdu
Pathcnl\
Pchsukl;er (ThcIlCIlU)

Pcmu
Pcnamun
Penaashefi
Pcnhuy
Pcmlua
PCllhcl
Penne (SlIncro)
Pcnllcsurtawy
Penra
Pcnrcnkhnum
Pcnrennu (?)
Pcnrcnnu
Pcnrcnutct
Penshcnabu
Pctcr~lIcll1hcbscd

Pia\'
Pia)'
Pial

Pia~'

\22

6
49
50
216
257

316
A5
184

Psa-mtck
Pmhemhch
Ptahcmhcl
Puimr;l

Ra
Ra

336

Rai;t
Ramcsscnakhtc
Ramose
Ramose
Ramosl; (vizier)
Ibmosc (Amy)
R.amosc
Ramose
Rawchcn

1117

Ra~

296

Rekhrnira (\"izier)
Renna
Riya
Roma
Roma (Ro~)
Rom;1

365

43
133

140
178
249

165
III
312

2R6
319
144

Ro~

Roy

291

RO"

362

Ruru

19
19120
19
18

16
302
363
188

19
19120
19-21
18
19/20
19
19
19
26
18
26
20
19/20
19
19/20
18
19120
19
19
20
19120
18
19/20
19120
NK
19
19120

1116
303
305
367
J, .lUI
292

1~I2U

.1++

19

406
411
19.1

19
18
18
IS
IS
19
20
19
18
18
18

:n

A13
29

244
187
211

S:lmUI
S:lmut
Samllt (sec Kiki 'lT409)
Samul
S,\rny
Saycmiotf
Sencmiah
Scncnmur
Senenra
Sellet
St:nimcn

(Yiccroy of Kush)

Shuro\"

Smen
Sobt:khorcp
Sobckmosc

243

Sucmnlll

213

Surer (sec f\mcncmh:u TI'-J.8)

10
287
23~

.131

1S6
346
68

\399
elO
:U2
322
02
26:1

3tH

77
39
72

201
159
293
7,212,250

26

21~)

19
26
19120
18
18
IX
19/20
IX

289
27

'I:tU
18
"'ctiky
18
"banuro
18
Th;.trwas
1~/20
Thaucnany (Any)
1~
Thenuna
IS
20,
Thoncfcr
Thonder
20121
Thonder (~cc All1encmopct TT297)
Thllt
18
IX
Thlll
Thul
18
"]'hULCll1hcb
19
'rhUlCll1hcb
19
Thuthorep
19/20
19
Thutihcrmakluf
19
Thutmosc
18
Thutmosc
Thutmosc
18
Thulmose (Paroy)
18
IS
Thutmosc
Thutncfcr
IS
Thutncfcr
18
Thulncfcr (Scshu ur Scniu)
20
Thurncfer
18
Tj;lnllny
IX

TjayClo)

55

Tjay
Tlirobay

19
18
19120

Ullasankh
User
User (AmellllSerj vizier)
User
Uscrhet
Userher ('\lcfCrhahcl)
Userhel
Uscrhcl
Userhcr
Userhcr
Uscrmolltu

F1P
18
IS
IX
18
19
IX
18
211
20
19120

cJ
198
208
283
294

77
234
255

\\'ah

IX
19120
19120
18
18
18
12
18

169
1

4(,

16(,
210
124
100

18
18

185

IS
19
18
18

94

20

NK

HI'

96
99

,\4
325
63
275
92

_\23

\.1

279
196
197
284

5Ct;lLl

Shcshonq

339
12X
S8

I{o; (scc Rom;t Tr283)

19
P;tallcm\\;tsct
20
Pabasa
P;tuiamcnopcl
16
I'adihurrcsnct
26
Padincith
26
P,lhcmncrjcr
1'1120
Paimosc
IX
Pairi
19
Pairi (sec Amencmopel TT29)
Pakharu
19120
19
Pakhihct
P'Ulal..hl (sec Nakhl .\20)
Pancb
19

Scshu (sec Th~l{ndcr \6)

Siuser"

132

I~

Scrcmharrcl..ll\ t

.m

25

18
18
18'
19120
19120
19
19
18
18/19
18

Scniokcr
Seniu (see Thutm:fcr \6)
Senna
Scnncdjcm
Scnncfcr
Senncfcr

142
2~7

Wahibra
\Vahibranehpl'hti
\Vclll1cfer
\Vennefer
Wcnncfer

1S4
15
101
232
134
7f,
158
307

II

45
110

+5
194
1\16
357

32
205

248
295

.H2
80,104
317
,6
\10
74
2.1
349
327
~1.1

21
C>!,Ul
2611
47
51

56
150
235
\17

3S2

IS
26

22
242

26

I'll

19
19120
19/20

203
137

18

350

298

,124
2:n
273

... y

127

Numhers.\ 1-1)3 arc tOmbs which were cxplorcd

in the past bur hn\'c now heell lost.

71,353

246
(,0
252

Names in brackets arc ahcrn~t(i\'c names

of tIle romb owner.

31S

INDEX
AapehlY 26-1
:\.3USCrr:l Apepi 35,1+6,152,260
Ahadi)a 131
Abel cl-Qurn:l-ll
Abel c1-Rassul ramik .100
..-\bdjw 1.1, 21-1
'
Ahibaal 2(),~

agriculnlre IS, 16-17, 59,93,103,

129,132, HI, 1M, IS8, 194,203,
20-1,229,235,2-13,259, 2S-+, 286,
304

A Group 17, 17,37, -IS, 54, 20-1-5

Agyrium 86
Aha II, 17-IS, S9, 181./8/. 196,200

8.\

Abbn 17

Aha (dcmon) 5-1-,

abnormal hieratic 12S

Ahri-Ddgo reach 263

Ahhotcp liS, 19, 101, lUI. IH, 2011,

Absbck 12

Ahir;lm 58
A Horizon. st:c A Group
AhlllOSC

Abu Roasb 11.111. 1+9.180,lIO,

233, 277. J09

Ahu Sara. 'Iell 56
Ahu S313hikh 22
Abu SimhclIJ-12, II, 12, +-I, -IS, 52,
61,62,76,79,131,199,229, no,
2+0-1,276
Ahusir 12-13, (iO, 71,118, 16U, 172-3,
ISO, I~n, 210,220, 2:i2, 2.14, 251,
286, 298, 309

Ahydos 12, l.1-15, 17, 18, It), .n, .H,

37,42,49,6-1. 70, 71, 76. 84, 86, 89,
lOll, IIH, 109, 124, 128, 134, 137,

1-1-1,1+1)-50,152, /.)2, 153, 170, 172,

175,181,186,195,196,200,2IH,
209,211,214,1211,226,129.23.1-1,

2-1U,2-17, 2-19, 251, 253, 255, 2.15,

256,257,265,266,269.169.275,

278,282,286,288,193,295,297,
3114,31H

ccmelcn L 1+,25-1
E3rh' D~'nastic lombs:
BI7il8

i96

u19/1517
I' 220, 278
<t23()
\ 150,257-8
x 33

z 86
acacia lOS, 295, 306
Adlaean 255
Achaemcnitl, see Persia
AdlOris, sec I bkor
Actillnl 66, 246, 169
Adams, \\.Y. 17,55,98,147, 2fH
Adjih, see :\nedjih
itdminislration 15--\6. IS. 28,129,
153,161,IXO,H6,25-1,259,273,
284,286, 3f10-2, 307
/dl1l1l11ifillll., I{ I puma

306

adzt: 71
Aegean 76-7, l/.i, 137, 162, IS6, 22-1,
255
aegis 16, IfJ,-I-8
AegYPliacI16
fegYPliu((/ (15, 89. 1m
"11'1111

Afian 94
African Jung"1c Fowl 33
Afro-Asiatic 239
Al\eh 17
Agathodailllon 267
Agcsibus 116
Agilqiyya 222, 223

316

171

286

Abu Ghuroh, St:t :\.bu Gur'lb

Abu Gur3b 10-11, 10, 25, 2,1. 39, 5 J.
12-1. 20~, 2Hl.132, 23-1. 239
Ahu R.l\\;ISh, st:eAbu R03Sh

270,279,281, 283, 290, 291, 293,

29-1,296,300,305,307
stune "illage 26
workmen's "illage 17,26, .H, +5, 5-1-,

11-I--15,18-19,18,19,2S,80,SI,
113.137, HI, 146, lSI. 218,2.14.

255, 260. 276. 286, .lOU

U 19, IV, 37, -In, -1-5, -17, 73,116, ISS,
197, 20U, 229, 250, 272
Ahmose '\It'!crt.lri 14, 19, 2S, 79, 82,
113. 120, 286
AhlllOSC Pcnnckhbet 18, 101
Ahmosesonuflhana 18,92
AiguplOs 130
AinDallaf97
i\in el-Wadi 97
Akcr 19.20,132,162.283
Akcrbhld,J. D. 247,308
"I:!J 20.20, 47,1110, ItH, 139, 146, 194
"Hef (horizon) 31, 1]2, 162,232
akhet (season) 58-9, 99, HI
,ddt iJ:er ell Ru 32
:\.khenitlCn 20, 26, 27, 29, 3+, +0,
+\--15,46,54.57,79.104,112. liS,
124.125,131-2, HI, 152. 166,189.
194,198,19')-200,202.217,228238,239, 2+3, 252, 255, 256, 263,
267,270,281,290,290-1,296,21)7,
300,301,305
:\khelitlen 20, 21, 26, 26, +1-,13+,189,

279
Akhmim2L21.46 , I.H,187,19-1.30S
Akkad/.I\.kkadian 22, 27, -17, 57, 75,
112, HO-I, 156, IS6,267,280
J\lalakh 76. 255
:\bmein, d- 56
Aleppo 237
Alexander, J. 204
'/kxu/ltler ROl/ulI/(t' 23
Alexander
J (the Great) 23, 23, -1-0, -1-8, 89,116,
1.;;8,165,198,221,231,272
1\' Z-l-.231
.-\.leximdriil.23-5, 24, -IU, 59, 66, 1)1,
113, lib, 161, 180, 186, 19S, 231,
246, 260, 261, 276. 280

altar 10--11. 11,25, -15,12-1

horned 25
fire 221
f\lllad~1 29
Amanishakhcto It'{i
Amanislo 162
t\manitcrc35
Amara 25, 25. 57, 205, 2-10.258,293
Amarn3, c1- 20--11, 22, 25, 26, 27,29,
H-5, 57. bl, 81-2, 96, 1lI4, 106,

113,116,117,118.125,132,133,
1.14,137.145,160.161,172,IS9,
199-200, 2f12, 216, 21(>-7, 222, 225,

232,243,2+8,2-1-9,252,263----4.267.

11I2, 107-8,254.264

mmbs
(tomb of Panehsy) 26
1':.\8 (tumb ufTutll)-I-I
Ei\9 (Iomh or L\lahu) 26
1'.!\25 (IOmh of A\") -1-5, 46
ruynl2L 26, 20ll, 291
t\m:lrna Letters 21, 27,27,29, -II, 58,
1;.\6

76,112.114,131,141,160.189.294,

30.l
Amasis, sec .'\hmnsc
I\m:luncr 31. 193,210
Amtlut/f 29, 62, 79, 106,273,290,299
Amclinc.tu, E. 14, S4, 86--7, 150,236
mencmhat 190,2-1-7,287
>

I 27-8, 51. 56. 102, 11I.1, I (>3, 180,

18.l, ltio, 23-1, 25S-9

1128,77,130,144, IS6, 259, 271, 291
11128,50,51, 57. 77, i8, S1'1, 121, 121.
1-/6,154,178,180, IS6, 21(" 273

IV 2S. 57, N-I, 178, 2i3

Amcllcmhnr (BlI2) 70
Amellemhatitjtawy, sec Iljt;t\\ y
Amcncmnpc 215, 282, ]01
}\mcncmopct (rr276) 145
Amcncmopet (royal nurse) 1-1-8
Amenhcrkhcpcshcf 300
Amenhotep 28--9, 202
I IS, 19, 28. 39, 79. SO, 82, 159, 212,
21,1,276,28+,289,299
1115.28-9,42.+1,51,65.73,111,

119,13-1,1-1-6,1-1-8. I(IS, UB, 24."

265, 268, 290, 300
III 20,27,28,29,29,30, .H, -1-+, +5,
50,5-1-, 67, 6~, 70,79,82, X(I, 93, 99,
113,117,118,125,135,141,148,
1(>1,162,165,168-9, 1S4, 189,200,

202,217, 2J2, 238, 2-13, 252, 253,

2.13,255,256,257,27-1-,27.1,276,
278, 2X7, 2SS, 2lJO. 290-1, 297-8.
299,300,308-lJ
I\", see Akhen~1Lcn
Amenhotcp (chief ste\\ard or
Amcnhotep III) 3-1
'\menhutep HllY -1-7,300-1
Amcnhotcp son uf Ilapu 29, 29, -1-5,
7l),140

Amenirdis
I 113, 11.1. 178,224,266
11229,281

t\menmessu 152, 18-1-,265

Amenn3l..luc 1.19, 2S0
t\mentet 122, 122
Amen\\"ilhsu 279
Amen" 2S
Amen;'ilamu, see Amenyqem.lll
j\mt:nyqcIll311 77
amctlwsl 1-1--1-, IR3, 279
i\mha~hl7l)
Amir,c1-,~1. 154
i\mmcnemes, see Amenemh;ll
Ammul 30, 30, 55, S3
Amorite 2-1-5
Amosis, see AhmuSl'
:lmphorat:' 22, 5<)

Amra, d- 38. 187

anllllel17,30-I,JI,34,3-1,38,-15,5-1-,
55,62, S6, 95, 10 I, 10+, 106, liS,
In, 123, 12+, 132. /32, 1.1" 137,
14-1--5,1511,1(,8, 175,192.193. Il)S,

200, 20S, 248, 2-1Y. 253, 202. 27~,

2H.l,29S
Amun IX, 19, 20-1,23,25,30..1I-2,
31,35, 3S, -H-5, -18--9, -18, 79, XU,
86. 87,W, IIH, 113.120.122.122.

124,127,13-1,143,1-1-7,151,152,
160,164,169,170, 173, 177~~, 182,
185,187,190,194.195,198,211I,

212,215,22-1,228,232,236-7,239,
2-1tl, 2-11, 2-19, 255, 257, 258, 262,
26.\,265,266,267,27/,272,273,
277,279,280,281. 282, 2X7, 21:)8,
290,21)5
Amlincl, sec f\mauncr
AmllnhcrLhcpeshcf 2-11
Annm f.\.'llllulef12, 165
Amun Kemaref 32,262
Allllll1-Min-Kallllll:cf 146
Arnun-Ib 11, IS, 23, 25, 32, 52, 120,
127, 1-I7-X, 177, 2:l9, 27~. 2S0
AnHllTll 236--7
'\!llHtaios 116, 158
An:;1 32..12. 42, 137, 23S, 2-15, 26....
280

Anitr-her 32
.-\.n:llolia+I,13tJ...-.1.2S0
am:cstor husts .n, 31
:\ndjel-Y 213----4
Andjych, see '\neJjib
Ancdjib 33, 89, 201, 2-17. 257-8
.-\.nen 290
Anherkh3u 2iO
Anhur, see Onuris
Anioa .13, ,U, 298, 301, 3U8
animal husbandry 33----4, 73,184
3nirnals, sec individual animals
I/IIH 21. 31, 3+, 3-1, 50, 86,123, 201,
230, U8, 276, 2S3, 298
Ankhal" 267
Ankhef 50
Anl..henesmerira 220
Ankhcsenamun 131,298
Ankhesenp:wen 46, 29X
Ankhin 161
Anl..11In'3hor 65, 65
Ankhncsnefcrihra 37
Anl..hoc..' S 2-15
Ankhtifi 97, IS9
Ankhu 301
Ank~'mnpolis 127
~111I/(/lsfl.rn/flfl/l(ls(111112, I.1U, 178
Anqet, sec :\nukcl
:mlclupe .H, IU7, 122, 135,252
Anrinoopolis -10, SO, 2-1-6
Al1I.inOlis XO
Alll'ollinus Pius 276
Allllbicioll X7, 252
Anubis 30, .H, 3-1, "';6, 61, 70, XU. 87.
100, HO, /.fa, 16~. 171. 191. 201,
209,212,252,257,260

I\nukel .1-1. 35, 122, 122. 151, 202,

252,296
Anukis, see Anuker
anus 176, 190

INDEX

Apedcmak 15, ISS

Apcpi 35

Apcr-c140, 252, 2YS

Aphrodite 19S

Aphroditopulis lOY

astrology 42-3,228
astronomy 42-3, ()+-5, 1:H, !.lX, Z07,
23+-5,249,253,258,26-1-.276,283,

300
Aswan .14. 35, 43-4.';], 70. 96-7. Ql.

118,120, WI, HI. H2, H9, 151,

Apis buI135-6, 3.), 47, 56, 57, 73,1-1-2,

1-15, 180, 18~, 191. 1Y2, 1~8, 2+6,

248, ],19, 252, 260, 261, 2M
.Api.\" /:'mballlliJlg Hill/II/S:;
Apollo 19, 198,207
ApolloniusoCRhodcs 16\
Apollonopolis i\rbgna H9
Apophis (I-lysksos Kin~), see Aallserra
Apcpi and f\qcniL:llra i\pcpi
Apophis (sl:rpcnt) 35, 36, 62, 100, I3lJ,
262,270
Appcr~on, P.

243

April'S 19,36-7, +S, 00,103, 1S0, 217,

22~

Apuleius, Lucius 37,143

Aqcnicnra Apcpi 35

Arabs HI, 1SO, 192, 235, 2S0

Arabi;141.51,5lJ,131)
Arabic 22, 63, 91, 109,lSL 30R
Arab d-'[~lWil J2-J., 1St)
}\rchac()lo~ic~ll Survey of Egypt (i I
archaizing 13, (,8, 224, 266
An:himl:t!cs screw 267
Arcnsnuphii> 35, 37, 223, 280
Arcs 211
Aristophancs uf Byz<lntill111 161
Arkamani 37, 224
ArmillH .n, Sf), S7, 124, 17S, 189, 1tJ8,
222, 24~, 24tJ, 258, 287, 2Y(), 291
armour 1:)7
army 15, 28, 37-8, 38, ++, 1Y2, 2.l(}-7,
255,301,303
Arnakamani .n
Arnold, D. 77, 260
(/I"/J/I/"{/175
Arsaphcs, scc I-Icryshef
Arsinoe II II
Arsinoc (province) 177
Arslluphis, see An:nsnuphis
art3R--41
Anat.1ma 1 2Y()
f\rtaxerxes III IS<J, 19f1
Artcmidorlls 121
Artemis 27()
Asasir2Hi-l
Asellct 54
Asel289
ash 306
Ashkeloll 143,2(,1)
Ashmllllcin. cl- 125.210
Ashllrh:mipaI41, -/2, 14X, 1.18, nu,
20H. 22~, 2S I. 2S2
Asia 28, -1-1, 71, 107. 126, 132, 1-1-1,
156,167,189,192,202,203,204,
210,227,211,237,238, 23Y, 23V,
245-6,255,256, 2S9, 271, 272, 2iS,
28Y, 291,2<J9, 303
Ask1cpios 36,79.140,176,2(,1
Askm 103, 205
ass 33, 130, 191
assassination 28
Assur41
Assurhanipal, sceAshurbanipal
Assyria/Assyrian 21, 27, 41-1, -12, 54,
5~, 711, 12~, Uli-I, H3, 1-18, 15S,
183.11\6,189,200,208,221,229.
237,250,281.282,303
Astarte 32. -1-2, 58,137,189, 2JH, 2i-S,
26-1-,282
:lsrragit1s 107

183, 18(" lY6, 203.203, 2tl4. 20S,

220,222,22-+,252,259,272,280,
288. 28Y. 299
Aswan High Dam 12,33, +4, 57, 91,

1+1, I-I(). IS~, 203, 211-1, 25~

.c\..syur 28, 40, +4, 62, 97,100,180,186,
256,281, 2Y2, 30-158
AdMra 1-1-1,20.1
till/crown 42, 53, 72, 75, 122, 121,
1H), 150, 2U, 274
Aten 2U-I, 26, 29, 29, .)-1-, 40,-1--1---5.
-1-1,54,79,132.137. ]()5, 16(l, llJ4,
199, /99,217, 23l:J, 2+3, 25(l, 263,
167,270, 2SI, 2lJt'
Arer 171)
Athena 200
AIhens 37.116,22+
Athrihis, sceArrib, Tell

til

Ati2}1
Arlanris 321
i\trih, 1l:l11lJ, 37. +5,200,224
Arum 45, -16, 5U, 53, 74, 93,113,122.

/22. IN, 150, 163, 1'15,2110,2116,

215,129.2.19, 2+S, 270, 277. 21H
AUgllSruS M). 130, 231, 246
A\'aris 40. 76-7. 132, 136-7,255,265
!\\,idillSClssillS2+(,
Awihral-Ior 77, 146, I-I()
axe 32, 71, 2/9, 260,276
A.\ +5, -I-(). 132, 135, 137, 199,202,
211, lCJ7, 299, 308

Iii! 12, 20, 35, 47, 53, 56, 68, 85, 96,
10-1,1+6,151, lSI, IS9, 19+.21-1,
23+,2+0,24+, 24R, 292
B.ml 32, 265
Ba';IJat Gcbal 58
IlilboOll 52, 76,116, IIi, 137, 151,
202, 20R, 231, 24S, 252, 275, 2RS-9,
28lJ,2%
Bilbylun 37, +7,130
Rlbylonia 27, 47,158,186
Babylonian 22, 4.,. SH, 76,121),157.

2011,221
IbCl.:hiaslJ8
Badakhshan 15S
l3ad,lri, el- 47,22.1.226
Baghdad 137, 152. 255
Bahariya Oasis 37. 47
Bahr Yusscr98
btl;: ('servant') 272
Bakcnrcnef" (IJocchoris) 266
Bnketatell 29
Balamull, Tell 103
B'llat 78
l3allana 25, 4X, -18, .15, 206, 237
B'l11as, el- It,J5
R1Ilcbdjcdctl19, 181 , 240,244,252
HaqariYYilh 56
Baqliya, Tell 288
Bard, K. 131
h,lrk 16, 1~,43,+S-f),-I8, 7lJ,I)f).195,
212,214,2+1,249,256,2(l-l-,2(,S,
26Y-70, 274, 279, 283. 285. 21)1
barley 16, 17,22,72,8-1,99, 102, 176,
215,284
Barsanti, A. 309
Basa 35

hasenji S7
basketry 17, +9, -19, (iX, 122. 1R5. 226,

Z60
Basta, lcIl28, 35, 49-50, -/9. .)0, 62,
126. 152, 162. 19H, 21 5, 21 (,,220,

237, 2-18, 256,

2~~

Baslct U, 23. +9-50, 62, tJ2, 7+, ]()3,

199,215,219,26S
13at50
batter 50, 218
Bawit47
. beans 17, 102

l>e,,,,,150-1,68, 118, 120.161,230,

232,245.261,283
Ht' (J Saibl' 135
bed IOfl, 106, 127.12i, 162, 2X3. 294
Bedouin 41, 51,,1/. 59,1+3, IS3, 224,
237,259.271
bce51, I02,247-X
heer 15, 16,17,22,S7, 101-2, 103,
2(1)
Ikg:lra\\"iya ISS
Bchbcit el-I'-bgar 51, 191'1
Bchdcr 134
Beheira pro\inee 197
Ikhislun 76
Beitel-Wali 51,52,2+0,30]
Beja 55
beJ.:!lcllc/ 232
bellows 71
Belzoni, G. 11,52,70,91,300,30.1
/le//hclI stone 10,44, .12, S3, 74, 208,
229,235,28.1
/lCI!/Ielli'l 52, 20X
Bcncdire. G. 109
Bcnh:l45
13eni Hasan 40. 52-3, .i2, 70, 186, ](J3.
2+8,259,276,292
lleniSucfl24.126
Benin 52
HCl1l Pyramid 17Y, 233
Bentresh Stele 152
bellu-hird 52, 53, .13
J3erber 156
Berenit:t..: 52, 305
Berlin Nblthematical Papyrus 173
Berlin Medical Papyrus 17f)
Bernal, J\il. 240
IlLs 30,53-4. :;3, 72, R3, S8, 9.1,124,

1711,219. 2H, 2-1S, 283

Bes Chambers .)3, S4

B Group 54
Biahmu 28
Bihan d-J-.brim 30U
Biban d-Moluk 299
Bihlc/biblic1154,97. 143, 171,215,

255
lliMilll!le((( llisillri({/ 86
Bietak, j\1. 76,13(,
Biga223
/la\)6
hirds20, -Ii, -I-S, 53, 61.96.122,129,
135,13.1,13(I,171.187,217,2IS,
2+4, 2+H. 252, 267
Birkel Ilahu 169
'hinll name' 27, (}-I, 198,200,215,
220,229,240,247,258, 2(l5, 268
Bir Umm rawakhir 170
Hissing, F W. von II
Bisson de Ia Roque,.E 291, 2VI
hitumen 192
bil)1/1 1 51
HI~ekll1;lIl, i\. 180. 2()3
Blemmvcs 55
block statlle 55

blue crown 7+-5

HIm: Nile 203
boat 38,39, ++, +8-9, 99, 109, 133,
177, /96,219,220,225,248,264,
268-9,269, 2lJ8, 2lJ9. 30()
hoal pir/gnnc 11,12,1+,41),111,173
Hocchoris, sec Bakenrencf
Bueotiil 28(,
Bo~llilZkoy 130-1,137,152,199,241,
2S5
Bolzoni, G. P. V. 131

JJool' oI./pl/phi., 36
llOI/A'I!{JJrc{/t!lillg 106
/JlloJ,'uFCIIi.'l'I"IIS 100
IlimA' I!rCUI/:S 13, 67. 71.J, 106. 132.
167,240,263,300
/Jullk oFKellljl(

90

Buol.. ~f the Deild 13,30, 30.. . . \,47, 53,

55,

6~, (,Y,

7-1, S3, ')9, 101, 111+, 106,

122-3, /23, 128. 134, 137,1-1-1,150,

162,16+,16-1---5,161':;,174, In. 202,
211, 21 +, 2:)1l, 253, 258, 2()6, 274,
284,21)5,2YB
or Anhai 206, 272
of Ani 1U, /(J.).228
of Ilcrihor 12.1
of Huncrcr 30. 36, -17. 112, 21.1
of Kerqun)" 16
ur )\'laiherpri 168
ofNakht.13. ]08
of Ncsitancbtashru 93
of'bmcnill 108

Hord' I{Spl.'lIdillJ[ H/t'l"IIily lO()

BOllk o(t!lalmhir!l I~~ illihe Net!ll'l"JI!orfd
lOll .
IJlJlIl'I{'!i/JI) lf1/ys 10-1,106,170
HI/Ilks oFlh!" Hm"iJellS

300

IJorch,{rdt, L 11, 12, 117, 200, 2(JO

bonlcr/rrunticr 55-6. 60, NS, 102-3,
155, 187,200,220.2+9,252-3,256,
256,258,279
Bosni'1237
boundary 16, 55,105,175,189,205.
25(,.278, 2%
brain 176, 190-2
nranding; 33
bread 16,22, i)9, 101-2, J()2. 103. 105.
129,209,226,272
bronze 50, 71,133,162,175,188.199,
200, 21JH, 238, 2-16, ]./~, HIll, 271,
291,303
Brooklyn Medical Pap~ rus 17(,
Drug-sell, E. and 1-1. 220
Brunton, G. 47,270
I3ruycrc, 11 S2
Buhasleion 252
13uhilstis, sec IJasra, Tell
Bucheulll 37. 3 i, 5(" 175, 189
Buchis hull 37, J7, 56, 57, HN, IlJS.
2-1~

Budge. E. A. W. 27
Buhen IR, %-7. .)(j 7,1113.132,205,
2+0,2-1.,,258-9,263,293, ]OR
Buhlq 170, 172
hu1132, 35-6, 3.i, 42, -1-5, 57, 76, 77.
93, 115, 11,1, 135, I3tJ, H-+, 1+6, 175,
IR4, llJ2 , 240, 248, 2-19, 253, 257,

260,26\,261,278
Burd.hardt, J-L. 11
13urlun,J. 305
Busiris 213-4
Hufana 185
Burehamun 17S
HllW 19,67.97, lSI, 199,227,269,
J02,305

317

INDEX

/'/11{

('taboo') 2S1

B\'blos 57, 59,119,120,142, IH, 214,

215,22+,259.267.26<),294.2<)5,
299

Chacronea 22-1ChaldaC-Jn 63
chamberlain 15
Champollion,].-E 62. 6J, 90,1)1,128,

160,169.170.247. 29i, 308

l.-ahhagc 1/
C:.lcs:.u.julius 66, 86, 2+6
C.lcsariun, Ptolcnl\ 66,66,84,2-16
l.:alcndar 16,42, S(i, 58-9. .i8. 6-1-5,

HI. 107, 228, 253, 276, 281

Cambys(.'s 13. 19.36, -II, 51. 158.221,
229,248
camel 33. 51, 59
Campus .\ I.. nius J-l.3
canaI16,56.8~,97, 107.131, HI,
171. 177. ZUO. n5, 25-1, 259, 267,
271
C:.ma;m 57, 59,59. H3, lOS, 22+,
236--7.277

C.1nniball-h 11m 1.1-1.236

Cmopic SJ,- 197

canopir.:s 59-60. 60. 6S. 77,127,191,
200, ZOZ, 220, 262, 275, 2hi, 28+.
JOD,309
Clnuplls 59
ClIlOpUS I)t.:crt.:t'

160

Cape Gclidonya 29+

caprin's 13,35,60-1,60,62,87,9-1.

9-1,112, LH, 135. 162, 167, 197,203,

217, 220,232, 232. 239,24+. 2M,

297, ]fU. 30S
Carac;llhJ 2+6
Carchcmish ..j.7

Carian 158, 229

Clrlsbcrg Papyrus \'111 176
Carnan on, Lord 61
Carnarmn 'Elhlet 35, I-!-()
Clrp

100,119,214

Caner, H. 26, 2<,1, -!-O, 61, 67, 91,91,

121,168,230,297
Caner, W. 91
Carthage 37
cartonn:lgc 21,28,61,61-2, W, 101),

138. 171-2,201,219,309
c.mouche 22, 39, 62, 62, lH, 100, 125,

152. In, 169, 194. 19-/,215,219,

N8, 2fl1, 268. 272, 297.21)9
Caspian SC<l 189
ell 13,23, 36, SO, 50, 62, 62, 93, 135,
189, In, 199,219,252,276
c.ll.tracl 55,62,203. 20-!first 33, 34, 35,43.55-6,96,118,
1N6, 203, 220
second 28,33,56--7,6\ 101, 187,
188.203.205,258,259,263
third 63, 148, 188,205,263,289
fourth 55. 57,195,205,207,289
fifth 55. 155
sixth J5, 203
cathedral 98, 237
Ctton-'rhumpson, G. -1-7, 93, 226
cattle, see cows
C:IUSCW;IY 11, 12-13, 28, 51, 110, 120,
149, 179, 2:n, 235. 252, 269, 277,

299
cavctro cornice 63, 269
cedar tree 214
wood 306
cenotaph 13-I-!-, 17, 18. II), iH. 86,
IS3, 229, 233--4, 286
census 6-!Ccnrral Park obelisk 25
Cerny,]. 271

C Group 17, 54,63,63,205,218

Chabrias 11(1

318

Champollion-Figeac, J-J. 63
chancelJor 13, 15, -1-6, 8-1-.180, 29S, 301
chamress of Amun 228
chariot 42, 63--+. 6.1,132.135,136,
137,216,237.289.301
Charlesworth. D. 97
Chassinal. E. II
cheese 102
Chcops, see KJlUfu
Chephren, see I\:.hafr:l
Chicago Epigraphic Sllr\"C~ 177
chief steward 15

children 64, 119, 166

C Horizon, sec C Group
Christ 6-1chronology 13,6-1--5,6-1,72,89,276
cippu.\"SS, 133.133. 168.254,262,30-4
circumcision 65. 65. 281
Clement A.Jcxandria 161
Cleoparra VII 66, 66, 8-1, 231, 2-16,

or

247,269
Cleop~Hra's Nccdk~

25,91

clepsydra 66, 187

clothing 66-7, 67, 1)3. IS4, 194, 22S,
307
cobnl 16,67,95, 1M';, In, PH, 199,

201,245,262,269,271,102,105
coffin 18,20,21,24,36,40, +2, -12, 4S,
47,52,5",61,67-9,68,69,87, 105,

111,11+-15.128,113,146,153,168,
170, 181~2, 181,184,190,200,20/,
201-2,207,208,209.2119.212,214,
222,222,240,257,261,266,268,
269,271,273,275,282, 2!H, 297,

303, 306, 309

Coffin Texrs 55, (19, 69, 72, 106, 128,

cows 17,33,39,50,57,63,73,119,

1/9,122,123,126,142,153,174,
189,200,201, 21H, 207, 218, 248,
2-19,252,252,275,28-1,298
co\\roid 73,73,103
crane 33
crcarion 73--+. 88, 93, 94,10-1-,126,

138,150,151,164,166,167,187,
193,200,206-7,210.229.230,232.

239, 2-H, 262, 270, 281, 283, 286,

3o-J
Crele/Cretan 40, 76,115-6, II.,. l-H,
243.271,283,291.294
criosphim 276-7
crocodile 30. 45, 126. 129-30, 133,
135, I.i-l, 176, 191,200,22-1-,248,
2-+9,273,276.283,294,296
Crocodilopolis 176.248,273
crown 34, J5, -1-2, -15,53,72,7-1--5, N.
75,79,80.88, 122, 122, 125, 1-l-8,

152,167,187,193,19.,,197,197.

24<,,280
columns 70--1. 108, 138. 184, 199.

219.223,2-/-/,286,299,306
l.'ampaniform 71
composite 70
Harhor-headcd/sisuum 71, 8-1, 255,
276
lotus 70--1
palm 12-13.70,71.124,12-1
papyrus 70--1, 115. 138, 138, liS,

181,269
proter-Doric 70
'lelll-pole' 71
'concubine of the dead' 266
Constantinople 150
Contendings of Horus and Seth 21+
contraception 176
Cooney,]. D. 113

copper 17, 41, 50, 66, 71, 86,10.1,116,

166,17+-5,188,205,220,271.289,
294,297
Copric34,63, 71-2, 83, 91, 92,104.
125,129,131,149,157,163,170,

182,216,246-7,252,108
coregcncy 18,20, 28, 29, 66, 72 , 120,
200,220,246,258-9, 2l'i5, 267
cordage 17.-1-9
Corinthians 197
corn mllmlll)' 72, 274
cosmetics 72,106,107, 112,192,208,
259

Deir c1-llagar 78
Deir c1-i\lcdina 19,28.30, :n. 3J .19,
m, 51, 54, 67, 79, 82-3, 82, 87, 90,

99,1110,102,1/7,140,159-(10,1.,",
160,16-1,171,174,178,184,202.
212, 2l3, 216, 219, 234. 241. 2+(
262,264.270,272,278,280,288,
29.1,293,294,306
DeiI' "las;} 47, 216

/)/' Isidl't'l Osiride 22-1-

Delos 260
Delphi 19
demons 53, 55, 62, 83, lB. 171
(kmutic 55, 63, 71, 83--4,8-1,101),127.

128,129,153.157,1(.2. 16.1. 17.1.

198, 199, 200,201,2-/0,245,2-/.;,

192,213,216,147,2-17,250, J06,

252,254,2.,-1. 256, 259, 274,27S.

308

283,302

{l'IIxaf/sala.H
nypt R4
Crysral Pabcc, London 41
cubit 17-1-5,175,219
cllcumbers 17, 102
cuneiform 22, 27, 27, 41. 47. 75-6,

131,160,199,241,280
Currcl1y. C. T 14,97
cursiyc hieroglyphs 128
Cusae 28, ISO
Cyril' (~r I /UI ros 164
Cyrle (jIPt'(lilbllsll~\' 162, 164
cynocephalus 76, 151, 231, 2-1S, 252,
275,288
Cyprus 19,37,116,186. .lOS
Cnene 185
C;Tus1l221

16-1,270,276
coins 23, 59, 116, 198, 276, 295
Colossi of i\lemnon 29. 69-70,70,

23-1,241,259,260,265,269.27:\.

287,289-90,294,295,300
Dcir c1-Bal1as 81-2, 81, 117,243, 25X
291
'
Deir c1-llcrsha 40, 69, 82, 82, /{N.
128,186

Dab'a, Tell c1-.H, -W, 76-7. 76, U2,

187, 241, 255, 265, 282, 288, 291,

302,307
Dabenarti 103, 188
d:lchshund 87
Dahshur 28, -10,77-8.77,78,127,

IH, 146./-/6. 179, 180, 182, 186,

210,23-1,251,260,271,272,277
O.lkhl:l Oasis 22. 78, 78, 288
Damictta 83
&lllce 64,72,75,78-9.78, 79,88,93.
1H, 192,298,307
Darius
113,40,76,158,221,302

I1 116
IIJ 221
dates/date-palm 17,22-3,102,108,

295,303,306
Da\js, T 21, J09
Davis, W.197
debell 175,294
dr.:can -1-2, 276

Dedi 160
'!<:UiljiI148
dcific:uion 79-80, 199
Deinoknnes 24
Deir Anba Bishuy 82
Deir t\nba fbshay 291
Dcir cI-Bahri 18: 25, 28, 30, 36, 38,

40,61,68,70,73,79,80-1,80.81,
99,101,103,108,117.119,120-1,
135,140,145,169,172,183,183,
186,19-/,197,208,213,23/,232,

Dl'lIIlJlir Chnlllirlt' 83
Den II, 18,33,84,89.247,2-17. 2S(I.
2.,6. 278
Dcnder:l 36, 43, 49, 66, 71,72, H-I-S,
8-/.8.;,119, HI, 142,153, 169,171,

176, 20.1, 207, 2U7, 214, 218,2211,

221,231,2-16,248,249,2-11),266
DCllliur 37, SO
tlm/'f!,

88

Denen 255
/)enhlJae!er {/u.\" Aegyf!11!1I

[(11I1

"Jethiopim9l,160
dcnrisr 116

Dep9i
Dcpury of Kush 25, 300
I)err 240
Descriplioll de J'Egyple 91, 160
dt'shrel (crown) 74
dl'Jhrel (desert) 85, 88, HS

Di'slrllrlilJll oj. \"IllIlkiml23

Dewen, see Den
Dia{ogut' 0[11 "'(flllPith ltiJ Btl ]0(,
Ditl/ugur o[Ihe J!rtlt! tlml Ilu BcI()' 306
Diodcti~m 25, .,7, 56, 223, 246
Diodorus Siculus 22. 86, 126, 161.

241
Dionysus 36, 261
Dio of PruS3 24
Diospolis Paml 131
diplolllaC)" 12,21,22,27,4-1,75-6.
112, 160, 171,238, 258. 290, 29-4.

303
Discourse o[KlwHli'perms/'IU:/J 16-1, 306
Dis(llurJl' I~r Neftr~J' 28, 135, 186. 30b
Discourse o[S{/so/Jd' 306
Dishna 94
divine adoratricc 86. 113
divorce 171
Dixon,). 91
Dj, 178,245
Diadjaem:lIlkh 167
DjamclI77
Djau220
Dj:lwry4-1Djeb 89
Djcdcfr:l 11,88, III, 149,210,231).
247,277,309
Djedet 181,240

Djedi 134, 167

Djedkara-lsesi, see Isesi
Iljetlpillar 31, 3-1, 68, 71,86,86,168.
2H, 230, 248, 298

INDEX

DjcdthuLcfankh 221
Djcdu 213
Djcbhapy ++

Djcrty 17S
Djchutymose, sec ThulnloSC
djef 55, S6
Djer 14, 18,89,144,161,186,214,
275,297
Djcscrkarascncb 23

dje/123
Djel 18,57,67,86--7,89,11I9, .105
Djustr79,S7,97,97,121, 126, U9,
H9, 179,210,233, 2-H, 25'0, 251,

252,256,260. Zi9, 299, 306

Djoscrri 256
Djurmosc, sec ThuUllOSC
dog 34,37, fl.7, 168, 2z.t

doll 64
dolphin 119
Dongula RC:lch 155, 195, 205
donkey 33.116,132,135.166.232,
264
DOfl,rinarti 103
Dorian 19
Dorm'ln, P. 258
douhle crown 11
Ora Abu cl-Naga 18, 19, 28. H6, 260,
286, 287, 299
drama 90. Hil, 164, 169, 193
c1rc:nHs 54, 85, 87,134,176,213,277,

283
Dream Stde 277, 283, 290
On:\'(:.., G. 86, 236
dro,,~(JS 260, 277
Dro\'clti, B. 91, 296
duality 88,123, !-l8, 201, Ln. 2M.
270,303
Duamurcf 59,200,266.275

Elephantine 28, 34, 35, n, +-1-, 55--6,

97, HI, 151, 170,203,203,204,220,

224,248,252-3,259,272,280,293,
296
E1ibaal215
Elkab 18,23,92-3,92,97, 102, 14 I,
197,201,202,218,269,284,28.;
embalming, sec mummifiGlrion
embalming plate 191
Emery, W. B. 36, 56, 57, 84, 140,239
em mer 16,22, 9<J, 101-2. 176
encaustic 40, 43,121,121,172
enchorial, sec demotic
Enezih, sec Anedjih
Engclbaeh. R. 208
en~ead 45, 73-4, 93, 93,108,201,207,
214
Eos69
epagomcna! days 58
Erani, '11:11,.'1- 166
Eridu280
erorica 93, 93
Esarhaddon 41, 59.158,18.1,200,281
Esc 241
Esna 93-4, 9-1,134,138,151,200,
202,20.1, 2.11, 248, 266
Ethinpi;\ 231
EUl!ubian'lhblclS 160
EujJhrates 18, -+ I, 55, 186, 189, 289
EuscbiliS 169
execration [cxLS 36, 60, 94--5, 9-1, 168,
203,260
Exodus 54
eye of Ilorus, sec /lJl'fljal-eyc
cycofRa67,95, 163, 193.257,289.
303.307
Ezbct l3ashindi 78
Ezbet Hclmi 76-7

duck 27, 33, 93, 102, 107

tlwtl2-H
dwarf 53,88,88,219,231,283
dll'fl/2H
d/J}(/I-III:tjer 85,

113
dyad 88, 146,296
dymlsLics 65, 89,169,297
E;lsternDescrt28,41,SI,71,114,

119,170,187,195,218,270
Ebers Medical Papyrus 176
ebony 57, 84, 86, 205, 231, 2S6, 278,
295,306
economy 15,24,41,42.82, 128, 175,
22(1,229,234,248,250, 2S4, 270,
286. 29......5, 299
Edfu 36, 38---1-0, 42, 48-9, 88, 89-90,
89.90,119,130,1.14,136,161,169,
169,173,193,203,204,221,231,
264,285,296
Edomite 215
education 90, LH, 254
Edwards, A. 222, 2+3
Edwin SmiLh Medical Papyrus 176,
253
egg 102,109,139,210
Egypt Exploration Socict-y/Fund 26,
171,180,222,237,248.252
Egyptian Anriquities Service 91, 170
Egypti:1.11 I Iall, London 52
ehlipllH'1f 112
Eilcitlwia 201
einkor;116
Ekwesh 162,255
Elamite 76, 109
Eldorado 231
elephant 135

faience 3-1, 38, 73, 95-6,95, 112-3,

119,1/9./23./29,130,1+1....5,157,

158,168,180,198,217,225,233,
2-19,253,263,266.271,275,283,
29-/,299,308
Fairman, I-I. \V. 263

Fakhariyeh, Tell c1~ 189

F;lkhry, A. 77
r:llcon-13, 39, 45,59,87, SlJ, 90, %,
119,127, l.13--l, 149, 150, 151,
153,171, Iii, 188.1~9, 197,211,
214,219,220,230,239,2+7,248,
252,261,262,267,271.273-4,
2N, 276, 277, 281, 282, 296. 297, 305
false beard 50, 73, 75,277

false dnor 84, 96,96, 146, 173,209,

210,261,278,298
famine 96--7, 141,299
Famine Stele 87, 97,97,151
Para'in, Tell cI- 67, 97, 227, 302
Farafra Oasis 97
Farama, Tell c1- 56
Faras 63, 98, 98, 1+7
Fayum 22, 28, 40, 93, 98,98,100,116,
121,137,156,161,172,177,179,
184,186,227,245,246,259,273
feather :W
fenililY figurine 93,168,265-6
festi\'als 43, 48--9, 50, 59, 98-9, 102,
188,210, 212-3, 218, 228, 245, 274.
285
Festival of Osiris 21-+
Fcsti\'al of Sokar 27+
fetish, 3......5, 86, 140,278,303
Field of Reeds 99-J00, 99, 104
Fields of I.aru, sec Field of Reeds

Fields ofOfTcrinb'S, sec Ficld of Rccds

figs 23, 52, 102, 108. 306
fish 93,100-1, /00, 102, 108,1/2,
119,136,185,214,218,248,281
Fisher, C. 184
fishing 17,40,101,135
flabellum, sec nail
nag 232
nail 3+, 75, 187,213,2-10
nax 17
Fletcher, J. 140
ninr39,47,65, 109.166, 168, 195,211
OJ' 18, 101, /0/. 115
followers of Horus 133, 284
fuod 47, ()S, 86, 97, JUO. 101-2, 102.
i03, 146, 161, 183,204,209,228,
272,281,295
fortrcss 28, 33, 37, -13, 56, 56-7,
56-57,63,98,102-.1,160,161,177,
ISO, 18.1, 186, 188. /88,205,217,
258,259,303
foundation deposit 77. 103, 103
frog 103----4,123,12-1.210
funcran' cone 105, 105
'fllnera~y enclosurcs' 14, 128, 150,233
furniture 106-7, 106. 107. 126, 127,
127,203.221,300,306
Fustat 180
Gahra) S" 296
Galen 176
h,ra!ena 72, 218, 259, 279
games 64.107,107
Ganfenbrink, R. 11 ()
brarden 107-8, 108, 267, 30-1
Gardiner, A. 1-1.305
Gardner, Elinor 98
Gardner, Ernesl 198
garlic 17, 102
Garstang, J 52, 185
Gash Delta 218

Gaol 86
Ga\er-Anderson. R. 62
ga;clle3-+, 102, 184,218,245,303
Geb 45, 68, 74, 93,93, 108-9, 108,
122,13.1,142.207-8,270,283,284
Gebel Adda 147
Gebel el-Ar", 109
Gebel Barbl 32, 87, 148, 155, /62,
195,224,24.1,274,28.1, .105
Gebelein 39-40,100,109,152,273
Gebel c1-Mawla 272
Gebel c1-Silsi1a 109, /09, 118, 1.12.
273,279
Gcbel Sheikh SlIleiman 86
Gebel c1-Zeit 279
geese I.l, 33,109.122.115,179,208.
249,284
Gell, \1'.305
GL"'Orgecallcd Synccllus 169
Gerf Husein 230, 241
gesso61,109} 16-1
GeLrv Consen"ation InsLitutc 199
Gcz~r 143
Gczirct el- Rhoda 203
Giza 1.1,39,42,49,59,77,87,88,
109-12.110-1/,1.11,141,144,149,

J./9, 152, 170, 172, 173, 179, 180,

181-2,181,187,210,222,233-5,
23~, 243, 245, H;, 250, 269, 274,
276-7,277,290,292,295,296,309
Mastaba \' 109
GI-a 127
G6020114
G7000x 127

gla5527,41,95,1 12-3, 1/2, 123, /23,

1+4-5,148,157,18/,197,253,266,
299,302, 306, 309
goat 16, 17,33,181. 20-+, 240
god's wife of Amun 19,37,86, 11.3-4,

173,178, /78, 193,224,228,229,

250,266,281,288
gold 27, 41, 50. 57, 86, 97.101, /0/.
//2,11+-5, / N, 144, /-11, 155, /58,
166, /66. /72,175, /85, 195, /99,
205,208,231,268,269.270, 27lJ--l,
27/.282,284, 2SI>, 291, 294, 297.
.100-1
Golde1l Ass, Thl' 37,143
'Golden Hours' name 11+.2+7
Goncim, Z. 257
grain IS, 16--17.129, 166, 174.215,
259,272
granaril.'S 15, 16, 185. 18S, 235, 2+ 1,
245,286
grapL'S 17, 102, 108
Gre;n Bear ..fl, 57
Great Green 115
Grc:lI J larris Papyrus 128, 130,230.
2+1,255
'gre:lt royal wifc' 238
Grcece/Greeks 19,23,24,38,47.63.
69,71, 7()-7, 79, H3, 109, 115-16,
1Ij, 124, 125, 126, 127, 129, 153,
155, 157, 159-60, 162, 11>.1, 17.1, 192,
194.197-8,198.216,221,221-2.
22/, 229, 230, 231,245, 247, 2n,
250,269,280,291,294-5 . .108
Green, f. W. 128,120, 254
greyhound 87
griffin 220
Griffith, F Ll. 153, 154, 195, 198
GrOlcrend, G. F. 76
Gua 69. JO~
Gublj 57
Gurob 81,116--7, //6, 118,293
gynat=cology 176
H" 122, /22
H:wibra, sec Apries
Hadad 215
H:lcles 36, 261
Hadri"n 80, IZS, 241>
hair 50-I, 72,117-18,1/7,189,202,
228, 262, 303, 307
Ilakor 198
)-Ialicarnassus 126
Hall of the Two Truths 30
Hamada, A. Ei4
I JamiLO-Semitic 239
I-lammamia -+7, 226
Ilammurabi -H
1-1::lOigalbat 189
Ilap~~(inundation god) 115, lIS, 118,
141, 268, 304
Ilapy (son of Horus) 59, 202, 275, 275
1-larageh 166
I Jardai 293, 301
I-Iardcnda!e 305
Ilardjedef 305
hare 102
I-Iarensllllphis, sec Arensnllphis
harim28, 117, 118-19, 1/8, 165, 177,
189,217,220,224,238.241.283,
308
1-lar,huf 88, 160, 220, 231,294
I-Iaroeris 133, 154
I-Iarpocmtes 64,133,175,181,262
I-Iarrow School 305
I-Iarsicse 133, 215

319

INDEX

llarsumrus 1.1+.296
I bncy, S. 14

(I:lthor 12, ]0, 32. 35, 4.l, 49, 50, SR,

H 68, 71, 13, 80, 8+-5, 8-1, 85, 85,
93,95,109,111,11+,119, IN, 122,
/22,133--4,1+0,142,151,153,169,
171, /82, 188, 189, 193, 199,200,
2117,207, 21-l, 218, 219, 23/, 238,
248,2-19,255, 2(IS, 271, 295. 296.
2<)7,298.307
lI.r-,\lchil J()O, 119, 181
I blmdcr 258
Iialnuh 22, S2, 119-20, 119, 152,279
H:ltshcpslIt 19,25,28, 3U, ]8, -1-0. 70,
811,80. 81, 86, JIG, /0./, 108, 112,

113,120-1,120,130.135.153,168.
169,177-8,178,183, IV-I, 21111, 2118,
2U8, 213. 23/. 23S, 1.:;0, 25S, 269,
276,289,29+. :lU7
Hatli 241
j-I;mlls;ls 152
Iialtlisilis LI112, 199,237,14-1
flllly 122

han-' 16. 156

Ila~lhct 210
Il:turon 277
H:l\\ara28,-JO, Ti, 121, /2/,234,251,

272

d-Ilavz. -HI
hcadn:'st 31.106.113,138.162,270,

283
I h::trsr Papyrus 176

he/lslI'/170
II/:djt'/ (crown) i+
Hcdj-wcr ('the grC::l1 whilc one') 2S8
I <n
Heh 104, 121, 122, 12J,123, 210, 295
Ileir, 'n~1I d- 56, Hl3
beiress Iht.'()f\- 19,238
luk" (crooL.) 75, 213, 2-1fJ, 25+
lid. 74, 94.162, 167
/uk" NUism/136, 187
Ilekanakhte 160
IU'I'II/175
Hekel 104, 123--+, /2-1
heliacal rising +2,65,276
Ileliopulis 25, 3(1, 39, +4, 45, 52, 53,
55,57, (12, 7.1, 93, IOH, 124, 1+2, 1+3,
I('~, 189, 20B, 210, 214, 230, 235,
236, 2.W, 248, 25lJ, 270, 2S+, 285
Hclios 311, 207, 261, 273. 2S0
l-Idlenion 197
l-Ic1wan 9-1. 211
helll ('sen'ant') 272
Ilcmaka 84, 301
Ilcmnumiyeh, sec I bmmamiil
heJil~kr

19, 171,238

hCIII/'/III'tji'r 228
1/(;}1/{~/l1ctja II//lllt'/!

228
hell//I" /It'S/I) 238
hens 33, 102
l-Icnen-nes\\ 12..J.

IU:IIA'l/22

henothcism 44
Henllawy 239

320

IIaj'seslllil190

llcmhcf 124,12-1,126,221,240
Ilcsat 189
III:S!Ji:f6..J.

hl'.\'-vasc 201)
Ilesna 126, 126
ht,ft';1/1I' I/I''.ia 191
ht'/l'p 99, 101,201)
1rt'/i'p-di-nwI' 209, 209

heir! :W, 30. 83,104,10.1.122-:1, 166,

174,182,191,198, 231l, 267
hean scarab 55, 25J
Hebrew 22, 63, 156, 30M
11th-sed 256

h/'m I//'/ja

296
Ilcrodurus I(l, It), 23, 34, 36, 37. 4t),
50,6.i,~0, 101-2, 11(" 118, 121, 126,
139,158, 1M, 17f" 181, 1911-2, 1~7,
21+,219,228, 2..J.O, 25U. 266. 280
heron 53
I-Icr-wcr 123
IIayll/'b 191.228

IIl'r}I/J>-,\'II51

hawk, sec Ellcon

I-by, It 52, 305
Hayes, W. C. 100, 130, 187

IU'lIIl'/170-1
he1lli'/lIcswmeref

Hcnutmehn 2M, 295

Hcnunaw\: 192
I-lephaisl~s 230
Ileqaib 1+1
I h:qanefer 33
lleqat, see Hekel
llera ISIS
Heraklcopolis J\bgna ++. IOO, 12+,
12-1,126,127,1.11, HI, 183.215,
221, 240, 248, 287
Hcraklcs 124
Ilcrihor 12 5, 125.202.288,21)+
Ilermcs 207, 2SI)
Ilermunthis 56
HcrmulXIlis l\bgna 32, 55, 73, 76,
123,125, l2.l, 127, 183, 192, 19R,
200, 210. 221, 262. 282, 288, 293,

113

I-Iclephercs 59,107, III, 127.12i,

144, 152,243,271
Ilcrepi 97, HI
I-Iclepsel..helllwy 50, 89, 236
hi 170
cl-Hiba 127, 2~8
Hierakonpolis 92, 96, 102, 109, 12i-8,
127, I.H. 150, 1<J5. 220, 226-7, 25-1,
302
tVhtin Deposit 128, 167, 1<.16-7, 19(j,
218,254
'nmlb JOO 39, tiO, 128, 167,253
hicfilkosphinx 276
hieratic 55, 55, 83, 9-1, 128. 128, 129.
152,156,157,160.162,163, 17U,
216,254,2%
hieroglyphs 55, 62, 63, 75, 90,114,
118,128-9,128,131,157, Fi, 163.
170.1<.17,236,2+7,2-17.253,254,
2~7. 308
Ilit:mg~J,phi(((

131

hill 175
hippopOl:lmLls 30, 35, 109, 116,
129-30, /29, 135-6, 16i, 176.211.
218, 26+. 283, 298
IIisn,Tcll124
IliS/flril'S 126

Ilittites 12,27,29,..J.I, 51,5<.1,

130-131.152,183,189.199,202,
236-7, H2, 255, 265
I-liw-Scmaina 131./31, 195
el-Ilobagi 1R5
Hogarth, D. G. I\)8
Ilolllcr 255
honey 22, 51, 102, 176, 28+
Ilophra 36
I-Lor, sec f\wibr:J. Ilor
11m (prit.'St) 139
1I0",poIl091l, 13 I
Iloremakhct III, 132, 133--+,266,277

Horemheb 38, 40, +5, 46, 109, liS,

131-2, /32, 165, 173,202, 2..J.(), 252,
2B2, 29B, .100
Ilorelllsaf 156
horizon 19,20,31,132,132,13+,162,
232.239,270,277, 283.295
l-lornal..hl 2\ 5
IlufI1ung, E. ++, 280
huroscopc -IJ
horse 33, +5, 63, 6J, 132-133, JJJ,
137.155,22+.232,283
I-Ionon .\ 1. 204
Ilorus 13, 34, 35, 38-HI, +2-3, 48,
+8-9,57,58,6+,79,87, RR, 88,89,
89. ')0,96, 108, III, 114, 118, 119,
122,127,130.132,133--+, U3, 13(1,
1+2,1-12,1+9,150,153,154.1.,-1,
Hd, 165, 167, 16H, 169, li5, 181,
187.193.200,201,2117,211,214,
21S, 220, 224, 2-1-4, 2+5, 24i-H, 2-1i,
248,261. 262, 264-5, 266. 26i, DO,
173,275,281.284, 2M3, 2lJ6, 303,
.103
Ilonls uf Behrlel I_H. 296, 305
Horus Iun-muter 13J
Ilorus Khent\--Irty LH
Ilonls Khenl ~-l..h~1 \" 45
Horus name 28. 15i,l.i2. I.l.i, 183,
247,272, 286
11ose:154
hour priesr 22X
I-Iousc of BeaulY II) 1
Iluusc tlfBooks-134
Houseur Life 90. 134, 161,228,254
human s<lcrific(' 48, 13..J., 148,236,28+
humour9U, IOi, 13 5,216
Huni 127, 179, 196,248
hunting J9--..J.O, +6. 57, 61, 62, S7, 93,
102, 129-30, 132, 135-6, /1.i. /16,
162,211,219,269,298
hunting and gathering 17
Ilurrian 27, 112,189
hllsbandn'. sec animal husbandnHuy (Al1l~nhotcp sun tlf Hapu) 29
Iluy ('n40) 33, 331 2tJS
Hu~a (c1-!\marna) 291
I hn-llen-ih +5
l-h\t-h\" i5+
IlwT-k;-Ptah 230
11II'1-7i"JI255
hyena 33, 97,184
J-1~ l..sus 15, IS..n, 33, 35, ..J.O, 56. 59,
63, 76, 81, 92, 97,130,136-1:'7,/36,
14(,,152,171,11-1,187,202,205,
255.260.265,276, 27tJ, 297, JO,~
hymns 45, +6, 75,137,1(11. \(14, ISl3,
litJ
I-h'llllllll "it! 4//'11 +5, 46,54, 137, 23tJ
I~)'IIII/ (t/ JIll' Nile 11I111fl/1l1illll 137. HI
h~ IlOccphalus 137--8, l3i
hypostyle h'II171, 8-1. X5.94, In. UH,
1./8.146,148,177,217,219. HI,
283,28,i
Iabet 122, 122
iare/67

('hcarr') 122
Ihi 251
ibis 20, 20,139, /39, 1411, In, 248.
2-19,252, lHH-I), 21)(1
ibtl 191
ichncumon ..J.5, 139,303, .U}]
idelll" ('dcplIlY') 300
Ihnas,:J. c1-l\ledina 124
Ihy I i9, 169
ib

Iken 205
lIlahun, sec cl-Lahun
Imholep /63, 230
ImhOlep (deified) 30. 79, X7, 13Y-1+0,
13<J, 176, 2.B, 251,252, 25t)
imilll f~tish 34-5, 1+0, 1-10
Imollthcs, sec Jrnhotcp
iJlo,-r-!.:II/III'Sm IS
imports Ii, 112, 188, In, 271
lmsety 59. 266. 275, 2i5
Imu 15+
incense 72, HO-I, 1-10
incesr 171. 238
IndJ-hedj 180
incbm hd.!iI 56, IU2
Incni 108
Inhapy 3no
Inhert, sec Onuris
Inpw 3..J.
Ills/rl/f/i(JIlj;Jf King ,1IerdlIm..J.l, 305
Ins/me/inn III IWl'1/cmllll//28, 25S, 305
/IlS/ructifJJ/ oI.llJ/t'IIl'Iuipd Sill/III
KfUllIklll 54, 3U6

Ins/ruction /If IIIJ' 305

0fP/lIhholl'p t)4, 307
Imef
I 11K). HI. 183,249
1197.141,149
III 141,149
Nubkhcpl:rra 1-1-1. 18()
I ntcfiqer 102
inundation 16,42,57.58,85, W..... i.
118. HI, 148, 151, 175,203.2111,
213, 218,219,229, 235,153,2()8,
IUSlnleliUIl

283,304
Iper, sec OPCI
ipt'/118

Iper-isUl H7
ipel-im/2S7
ipf'/-,.e.~J'/

165, 28X

I phikraercs 198

JPl! 21
Iput 220, 2R()
rpl!y lOS
Iran i(l, 221
Iraq IS6
Irc11120+
in'p22
Irehorcru 190 I
iron 27, 131, 1+1-2, 185.IQO,211
irrig:uion 16-7,28,97,107--8,122,
141,203,235,254, 2.1lJ, 267
irJl-lil'lIIl'.Hle!;",.37

I~adora 2%
Iscsi U, W, 160,210,305
ISClllOflTt 2+1
Iscum 36
Isellln (I3chbeit c1-II:ut.lr) 51
islll'l/lrcc 295
~
ishaw-water 249
Ishtar 189
Isis 35, 311, 37, +0, 45, -/6, 51, 58, 64.
(18.7:1, 7..J., 85, 93, lfH. 108--9. Ill,
I H. 118, 111), 13.1, 1+2-3,1-11, 155,
169, 185,18,l,187. 193, 198.201,
201-1,207,2/3,21+,222--+,123.
231,232, 24..J., 2+5, 2+6, 253, 2(,1.
262,262,26+, 2(J6, 275. lY5. lY6,
298-9,307
Isis (daughtcr or Itmleses, I) I U. Ill,
/12
Ismailiya 171
lsmam' c1~Kharab 78
Israel +5, 5+, 5<.1, 1+3. 1-13, HH,200,
268

INDEX

Israel Side j~. 1~3. J./3. HH. 255. 279

Istabl 'Antar 276
irerlll118
Iri (Gchclcin) 109
lri (l\..ing) So
[tjtawy2N,-W,98, 163, 186-7,259,

imim87

215,221,22+,230,232,2+1,2++,
2+9,255,256, 2.i6, 257, 258, 259,
2.i9, 265,266, 2ML 271, 27+, 277,
281, 2H2, 28.1, 285, 285, 287-8, 290,
293, 298, 305
Karuma .ilj
I\:asht:t Ill, 22+
K.:lukct210
K.:1\\'a JI, 1+8, NS, 162, 195,281
Kawit 117, Ill, 286
Kebct 155
Kcftiw 11.1
Kek 104.211I
Imlld 85, 88, 148
Kemp, H../. 14.117, 137, 168.294
Ken ('T4) 272
Kcn:ltllUil (rr93) 108, 1+8
"Cn~lInlln (rrI62) 1+1'1
i'i.'lIbl'l 16, 159,212

Iy-Mcry 114

i'l'rt:!"

j;lcbl.H.44,-/6.87, 171, /85, 191,

203,214.1-/9,252,256,260.266,

Kerllla63, 13+, 137, 148, 148-9. 1-19,

195,205---6,218, 2+3, 255
Kessler, D. 296

287
iUII, SCI..' i/l/l'I'/I
Junet 8+

lunu 12+.23<), 21Hlunu~.\lonIl137

Junn 93
illm~'1/ I-U
imTy15,17.39,47,57,S+.86,R9.
107, IO~, 12+, 152. 1.12. 1M, J()i.
168./8/, ISH, 192, 193-6,205,227,
231,247,1-17,253,25+,264,265.
275,278,290. :lOS, 30(,

175,30+-5, .UN

103

K]",67,107

J;.l.kh;tal 136
J311scn-Willl..dn. K.. 12+.201
J&re,s, D. 180
Jemuel Nasr 280
Jcmc 177
./cquicr, G. 220
Jerusalem 54. 260
jewellery 11'1, 73, 77, 86, 95, 115,

I\:h:l1>:1 309
Khabab:1sh 198
Khaemhct 29
lo\Jl:1cmw:lscL I (son of Ramcscs II) -10,

1++-5,156,157,198, H3, H8, 260,

267,268,271,277,297,30t)
Jews 2+. I.n. 169. .lOS

Khafra 13,39,96.109-12,1+9,1-19,
IMI, 210. 233, 2+5, 277, 2il, J09

83,H5,241,2611
Khactllwasct II (son of Ramcses Ill)

300
Khac!llwasel (Tr26 1) 23

KhamcrcrncbL' II 182

Joam 136
Joppa 64

H/(/ 1/ tjll~)' ('officc of the vizier') 301

HUlr 175

Joseph 5+.97,235

Khaq;,ra Oasis 22, 1+9, 1-/9

Kh.1TtoUI11 20+
Khasekhcll1, sec Khasekhel11wy
KhascJ..hemwy H, 1-1,+2, 71,S9, 128,
1+9-50,187,19+,220,233,261,265,

Josephus 169
Jubcil57
Judah 143,200,2(,8
JulillsAfricanus 169
juniper 1()CJ
Jupitcr +J
Jusrini:m 22-1-

ktl20, 38, -H, 50, 68, 77, 88, 96, 99,

104.146, 1.f6, 190, 194.20'),211I,
111.144,257,261,278,292
Kala. sec Ql':}
Ka-aper 267, 267
K:1hckhnel IOU
Kabri 7f,
Kahub rapids 188
Kagcmni :H
Kahull 5+, 102, 15(1, /56.160,171,
159,293,29+
K:lhun t\lathemalital Papyrus 173
Kahun 1\ ledicll Papyrus 176
Kaiser, W. 86. 236
Kalabsha 29, -14, 52, 1+6
Kama(ma) 192
Kamosc 18, SI, 130, 137, HI, 1+6,
255,279, JOO

1m lIIl/hfS7
K:lmlltef 1+6-7
K:1naw:tli, N. 22
K:lranis91:'
Karanog 1+7
Karnak 18,19,20,21,25,29,30,31,
40, .fO, 44, 48, 71, 78,99, 120, /20,

125,132,134,138,1.18,140,146,
1+7-8, Ni, lSI, 152, 153, 158, 16+,
165,166,175,178,182,183, IS],

186,189,193,198,207,208,213,

~02

kiwI ('altar') 25
NUll Chcaduress') 7+
e1-Khalan'l 183,237,241
Idwy 175
Khcui,c Ism'lil 203
klllIu frieze 150
Khclllcnu 125, 192
Khcmmis 1+2
lo\hcndjcr 251

HIt'l/er75
I'hmer /(111'),199
Khcnlclk:ll I
K hent ika 28+

klwJlill/t'lIlill35
Khentimcntiu 35, I ~2, 21+, 257
Khen I kawcs 13
Khcnt-.\lim 21

1d",tI'y-st:!t-It/:lja 35
I\:hcnw lOt)
KJlell\" 109
kh('p('~1t 137

Nrepreslt 7+
Khcpri -I(j, 150-1,150, 25:l, 277

KhnumholCp 52, 70. 259

KhllUlII he/iii, SCl' Khufu
Khnuml1losc UN
cJ-Khukha 288
Khons32, 7(),99,122,122, 125, 1+7,
151-2, lSI, 193, 193,215, 25i, 263.
2iO, 27+, 282, 28." lS7, 295
l\:..hol1su, see Khons
KJlOT Bahan 226
Khufu 13. +9, 59, 77. 88, W7. IOY-12,
119,127, I.H, 1+1, 1+9, 152, 1.,2.

167,179,181,210,2.>3.245,268-9.
272,27+
KJllIi
Khyan 1%, 152
kiln 225-6
Kiman Farcs 28,176
king lisl I J, 61, 6+-5, 86, 89, I

no

IH, 138, 146. 151, /.",200,224,

240,252,296

I.;IYcr PH:lIllid 309

no, 120.

UO. HI, 152-3, 164, 186, 187. 194,

218, LiN, 297, 305
King's Son or Kush, sec YiL-croy of
Kush
kiosk 37.137.153,169. 17S.10i, 291
Kircher,A. 91, 131
kilt' 175
K.i,a200
KI~omcllcs of Naukratis 23--t
Knossos 76, 152, 255
knot of Isis, sec 1)ld
knuckle bones Il17, 107
kohl 72, 188, 309
KOIll cl-Abd 216
KomAhu Billo 153,231
Kom e1-Ahlll<lT 102, 127
f-:.om c1-Atl 9S
Kom i\.ushim 98
Kom Ausim 13+
Kom c1-Dikka 2+
Kom FakhTV ISO
KOIll Gi'ci{ 197
K0Il1c1-I-leit'\Il79
KOIll c1-llisn 15+
KOlll.Mer 202
Kom d-Nan01 26
KOIll Ombo liS, 151, 15+, 15-1,203,

224,2.1 1,246.248
hom c1-Qtla 180
KOIll Rabi:l ISO
I\:om c1-S:Ull:lk 169
Kom c1-Shll!!':1f:124, 1-1
KOIll c1-Sult;n 13-14
KoplOs 1.14, 141, 155, I.'.i, 187,

195
Kor 103
t.wllms 116
Krauss, R. 5:;
Kronos 109
c1~Kub 2U+
I\:umma 103, 258
Kurgus 55,155,279,289
c1-Kurru 133, ISS, 195,107.22+,2+3,
266,283
Kush 16. 195,20+-6,207,274, 30U-1
KUSS,1f:1 130
K,-nebu 3<j
K;'nopolis 22

labcll5, 17-18,84,89,105,196,200,
210,216, 2+7,2-17. 25~, 256, 2.i6,
278.278
I.abni 237
Labyrint.h 28, 121, 273
I.achish 59
LacO\':lra, P. S I

1."g;Ish 280

160,171,186,23+,251,259,271.293
Llkl' Nasser 12, 33, +3, ++, 48, 52, 57,
98,1+6,203,20+,222,223,237
Lake Urmia 221
bncc 32
lapis bzuli 51,95.14+, 1-1-1, ISi~,
158, 172.227, 2YI
lapwing 2+-1-, 2-1-1
Lateran Obelisk 209
l.:uin 308
L11Opolis 93
Liller, J-P. 60, 257

law 44,83, 1.14, 159-60, 164, 166,

170-1,224

Ht'slJ(:d15
Khcsllwcr 15+
KhcL:t lJO
Khct.v Hl 183
KJlll1~1l 210, 288
Khncmcll-14
Khoum 35. 7+, 87. 9-1, 9-1, 97, 10+,

L~lhun. c1-+O, 102, 137, 1-14, 156, 1.16,

1c:l~121~

!c'lthcr39, 71, 7.1,87,106,168,172,

173, 218, 22S, 25+
Ll:h:lIlon 57, 59, 22+
lector priest 191. 22H, 267
I.c(. and Rollin Papyrus 2+ I
LefcbHc, G. 222
l.dlller,_\1.127,235,2n
lentils 17
Lcolllopolis 162. 192.215,268,284,

.108
Leopuld n - Amherst Papyrus 159
LcpidOl"lIs tish 100
I.epsills, K. R. I I, lJl, 121, 132, 160,
2+7,251
Lctopolis I.H

Leifer rif I-Iori 160

lettcrs 13,35,37-8.90,160----1,160,

163,194,199,216,241
IcltliCC 17, 102, 108, 1+7. 187.2115
Le w is,:-J.83
LC";lIll, sec Svri.l-Pak-stine
1..' 1-16t<; N. 170
library 2-1-,1.14,152,161,163,169,

176,218,260
l.ibu 161. 1r,2
LibY'lIls ~2, 38,56, fJ5, 9-1, 1)/, 12+,

161-2, /62, 177, 18.1, /86. 197, 202,

210, 220, 22 I, 230, 2+ 1,255,258,
265, 268, 272, 279, 288, 308
LibY:lI1 Dcscrt/\\'L-stern Deserl 23,
+7,55, 7S, 85, Y7, 98,122,258,
272
linen 17,33,39,61,66-67.67,69,
/06,118,137. HI, 172, 184, 192,

n.

228,2-15,284,309
lioll 19, 2(), 30,35, +5, 53,106, IU7,

101),132,1.13,135,152,162-3,/62,
16S, 171-2, 185, IIJ2. 199,248,253,
2.i3, 270, 27+-5, 2lH, 241, 3m
lioness 13,23,50, 111),151,193, 199,
21 J. 230, 257, 2.i7, 262, 26S, 27+.

276,284,303,303
Lishl,

c1~

28, 40, 62, 98,103,1++,163,

163,183,186,2.'4,251. 251), 261,

268, 269, 287
Li/(/1~J' "fRa 62, 68,137,239,283,300
l.i/('JlI~)' Lelia of lint' 16-1
lizaru -15
I.oat, W. L S. 117
LOlldon-Leidcl1 lVbgicnl Payrus S+
I.ondoll Medical p.lpyrus 176 1 17(,
Lorel, V. 29,168,300
lutus 5.1, 70-1, 7+, lOS, 118, 122, 148.
16+-5, /65, 191).21.1,230,237.263
Lukka 255
Luxor 23,29,36, +0, +8-9, 60, 99,

132,147-8,165, /(,5,

16~.

208, 2411,

277, 282, 288, 298

321

INDEX

Lykopolis -H, 30-1Lythgoe, A. 19+

Nkdinct c1-Fayulll 28, 176-7, 248, 273

Mcdinct c1-Ghurob 1 J(j

lVLlabda, c1- 2+8

l\llaadi 71 1 166,188,227

Mnar 30,55,9+, ltH, JO.}, 122, /22,

159,166,166.238,2+1
lvlaatkara 230
mace 16, 39, 60, 6+, 7-1-, 109, 166--7,
167,185,187,196-7,232,2+1,246,
253,2':;-1,257,26+,277,279
J\ilaccdonian 21,159,187,231
lvtlcrobius 56
i\ibclaura 37
!\'!adu 175

rvbfdcl U9
74, 9-1-,101, 12+,13+,1+2,
146, 16lf-1, 161, 164, 167-8, 167.
168,171-2,175-6,209,218,242,
244,248,262,293,304
magic brick 16R, 168,309
lll~lgic 64,

c1-l\tlahasna 167, 264-

Mal1ll26
Maihcrpri 67, 168,239
nu!achirc 72

Malinowski, B. 19-+
Malka'a 29, +I, 54, 81,118,168-9,
217, 25(j, 288, 293
Mallawi125
lIla/IIJIIIS!

5+, 8-+-5, 169. /69,221,223

mandrake 108
Mandlilis J-l.6

tVlanetho 35, 36, 65, 89, 100, 139, 152,

169,181.198,215,218,258,286,
288,297
iVlangles, J. 52
A'IIIIIIII:n {llld CllstOIllS

Egypti(//ls91,305
m;lp /l-l, 169-70

o(the AI/cielll

Marcus Aurelius 9+

J'vlaricttc,A. 14, 18.91,9+, 126} 1+1,

149,170,172,179,260,267,282,298
jV!ark Antony 66, 246
m;lrriagc27,88, 131, 169, 170-1, 189,

220, 228, 238, 290, J07

Mars-l-3

Maru-Atcn 27, 249

11I(11TtlI/II1I64

rnask28,50-1 , 6/,69, 72,11-1-,168,

171-2, /72. J90, 212, 262, 2R6, 290,
]09

Maskhllt;l, Tell d- 56, 171, 17/,201,

255
Maspcro, G. 61, 80, 172
MastabatPara'ull lS2

10Illh 12-13, 33, 50, 65, 77,

78,84,87,88,96,109-1 \, 126, 129,
131,140,161,172-3,173,179,181,
183,18+,195.210, n3, 236, 251,
2.:;2,258,259, lfil, 2S+, 286, 292,
298,309
maslifTS7

IllfIs/{{ba

mathematics 1)0, 134, 163, 171-l-. 17-1,

253
matting 49, 106, 126, 150,209,251-,

284
Maya 40, 115, 252, 298
mayor l()

M:;zghun;l 28,23+,273
meat 33, 73, 100, 102
iVlcdamud 29,175,189,260,273,282
~Ilcdcs 221

medicine 51, 6+, 79, 8-1. 134, 139--40.

142,161,163,167,175---6,2++,
265-6

322

Mcdinet Hahu 30, 40, 65, 82, 99,

1U, 1/8, 132, 135, 136, 158, 1(j1,
173, 177-S, 177, 178, 188, 202,
213,216, 217,221,2J2,241, 249,
255,266,269,274, 2S1, 288, 290, 293
Mcdinet !Vlaadi 28,178,186,245
Mcdjay 38, 178,219,224,260
c1-Mcdowwara 309
?v1cgiddo 59,178-9,189,290,303
.Mchit 211, 274
.Mehitcnwesekhct 178
me!l-t(/175
JV'ChlCnwcsckhet 215
J\lcidum77, 172, 179, 179, 186, 210,
23J,272
Moil' 40, 179-80, 186, 292
/I/{:l'et 30
iVkkClaten 21, 200
MekClra 67, 811
III/:Hu1l2
.lVkmnon41,52,69-70,70
rv1cmnonium 70
Memphis 17, 19,20-1,2.1,24,28, .)4,
35,36, 37,40,41,50,7.1,83,86,IUO,
103, III, III>, 118, 119, 124, 110,
134, n7, 148, 149,158,161,163,
180-1, 18U, 181, 186, 191, 196,210,
214,217,221,224,229,283,285,
230, 2J 1,233,241,246, H7, 250--1,
255,260,261,261,266,27+--5,281,
285,286,288,293,298,307
McmphitcTheology 74,194,230
IIICII 181
mel/(il 50, 119
.Mendes 100, 119, 159, 1(1), 181, 181,
198,240,244,248
Menelaus 59
l'vlenes 17-8,89,152,180,181,181,
19(,,218,265,297
Menhcr 144
Mcnhyr 151
IIIl:IIiw Ije.l'ellllJ 224
Mcnkallhor210
lVlcnbura 50,109,111-2,181-2,181,
182,210, HI, 243, 296
Menkhepcrra 127
Menkheperrasencb 115, 11,1
Menna 16, .14, 1.19, 175, 182,250,284
lVlen-nefer HIO
Mentllemh:n 182-1, 183,250,281,
283
Melltllhmep 189
1141,183
II 31, 80, SO, 100, lOB, 117, 1/7, 120,
14\, 183, 183, 186, 2.H, 287, 291
UI 183, 291
IV28, 183, 186,279
.Vlellwi IH
Iller

233

mcrccll;uy 19, J8, 47,116,159,200,

219,224,229,231,250,255,272
Mercury 43
Merenl;tah 13,29,54,62, 1+3, 113,
161-2,180, 1R.1--4, 21+, 241, 255,
165, 268, 27t)
Merenra 56, 71, 220
Mererct 277
Mercruka 17,3.1, 8H, 184,186
Meresankh 296
11/1'1"/'/ chest 18-1tvleretscger 184, /8i-, 244, 262, 262
Mcribra Khety I 100
Mcrimda Beni Salama :)3,18+-5,227

Mcrira II 267
Mcritatcn 200
Mcritamull 19,22
:vleri-Tcti 184
Meritra-I-IaL"hepsut 2H
Merka 2.16, 262
IIIl'I'h'/Jet63
lIlat/w, 42
lVlerneith 18,84,89,200
~liIcroc 35, 48,185-6,18,1,195,206,
207
:vlcroitic25,35,37,5:i, 147, 185, 195,
206,223,235,274
Merpabia 247
MCl"sa Gaw;\sis 231
J\ih:rsa Matruh 186, J86
Meni 144
.Mcru 194
]\llcr-wer 1St)
lIII'sdCIIICl72

Mcsen 1.H
Meskhcnt IS6
Mcshwesh 161-2,255,268
Mesopotamia 15,22,4 1,47,59,75,
1119, 174, 18(,,224,291
metallurgy 51,71 1 141-2
Metalllorp/uJSl'S 37,142
!\'li:un,.13, 33, 298
lII/gdo/l77

Migdul56
Mihos 50,162,192
Milcsian 197-8
Miletus 116
milk 33--+, 64, 73,102,176,28.1
Millet, N. 197
Min 22, 32, 32, 74, 75, 85, 93, 108,
122,122,143, l..n, 155, 15S, 177,
187-8,187,218,238,265
mining 25, 37, 41,57,71,85, 114, / U,
152,155,166,170,183,205,210,
224,272,279, 2X6, 297, 300-1
Nlino<ln 40, 76,1 I5, //.1, 186, 255, 283
Minshat" Abu Omar 188, 227
el~i\I[jnya 52) 82, 11 l)
Mirgissa 94,103, IS8, /88,260,263
mirror 72,123,188,188
Mi.\"tdlallic.l' 90
!'vlitanni27,27, 112, 114, no, 178,
189,289-90
Mit Rahina 1XO, 26/
mim62
Mi-wcr 116-17, liS
MncYisbll1l44,57, 124, 189,248
lVlo'alb, cl- 39, 97, lOO, 189
modcls 52, 73, 80,103,134,140,167,
190,266,268-9, 20Y, 293, 309
/IIodills 189,283
Mocris98
Momemphis 19
monasteries 72, 82, 92, 247, 252
Mond, R. 37, 56
lllonothcism21, H, 54,137, 23CJ
Montet, P. 145,215,229,268,281,
282,297
Month, sce Montu
lVlonthu, sec j\llontu
lVlontu 18,37,56,96,147-8,166,175,
183,189-90,239,246,200,27.1,2S7,

291 '91

Nlon~L~-Ra

189, 190,239
moon 57, 76, 134, Ii,:), 151,270,274,
289
morals/ethics 9+,166,229,243,265,
305-6,307
Morgan,j. dc28, 77,154,195-6

mortuary temple 11, 12-13, 1+, 15,

28,29,30, 7ll, 79, HO, 80, %, 99, 103,
1111-11,1\8,120,121,132,135,130,
153,161,163, 177--1i, 179, 1~3, 184,
188,213,216-7,217,220,221,232,
233, 236, 241, 241-2, 242, 255, 256,
257,272,274, 2S0, 286, 288, 292,
294,299,305
fvloscow l\lathcmaticll Papyrus 173
Moses 54, 119
Musque of Abu [Iat;g;lg 165
Mosque of Nebi Daniel 24
Moslagedda47, 62,167, 21S, 219, 27ft
Mount Ephraim 259
mourning 118
IIII//llIJl~)11/ 192
mummy hnummificalion 18, 2 L 2S-9,
31,34-5,37, J8, 40, 42,46,47,50,
55,59-60,61,62, 67-l), 6~, 72, 73,
80,86,93,96,100,104,115,121,
/21,122,126,127,132,138,139,
139, 140, 142, 146, 172, 176, 179,

184,189,190-2,190,191,195,197,
200,201,202, 207, 211~12, 112,
21]-1+,2.10,240,241,243,24-1-,2+5,
248) 252, 2.13, 260,265,260, 2US,
270,284, 2S9, 291, 296,303, .1()4,

30R,3D9
mummy label 105, 192
Muqdam,'lell cl- 163, 192,215, 2(,1'L
284
Murnane, W. 86
music 72, 75, 78-9, 78, 79, 93, 119,
192,193,228,271-2
Musawwarat c1~Sllfra 35, 37
MUl32, 78, 99,122, /22, 132, 147-8,
151,163,188,193,193,249,257,
263,274,282,287,295,3112
Mutllcdjmcr46,131
Mutnofret 289
MLltcmwiya 29, -/8
lIlulI-dancers 79
Muw:l1:1llis no, 23(,
IIIl1Jt

208

/IIm/llem} 19,238
l'vlycenaeaJl 7f" 116, 186, 294
Mycerinus, sec Mcnkaura
M}'crs, 0. 37
mYlTh 232
Mysis 162

Na 'am 236-7
Nabopolassal" 47
Nag cl-Deir 194,200,243
Naga d-l)cr, sec Na~ el-Deir
Nahrin 189
Nakht 22, 194
Nakhthorhcb, sec Ncctancbo II
N;lkhtllcbcf, sec Nectalll.:bo I
name 20, 104, 167, 192,194, IY-I,111.
253
name-stone IY-I
naophol"ous 19,1
1/(flls48,85, 110, 181, 19+--5,19S,26 fJ ,
271,285
N~11);lla48, 13-1-, 155, 195,206,235,
266, 281, 283, 288, JUS
Napoleon 62, CJ 1, Y4-, 100, 2X6
Naq<l35
Naq:ub 17,94, 114,153, 155, 172,
175,181,181,195,19';,200,204,
222,226-7,264
Narmer 17-8, 39, 50, 60, 74, 86, S9,
96,127,133,167, 181, 196~7, 1%,
218,251,254,278, 3(H, :H)9

I 'DEX

m'lja 232

oil 17, 72,1/2, IYO,21O,289

Natabm:mi 35

fleljeri-b1ade 212

llalron 59, 95,153,176,190-1,197.

Ncrjerikhel, sec Djoser

neutrun activation analvsis 226
Newbcrry, P. 22
.
New Kalabsha 52
New YColr 16, 50, 58, S5, <.19
Niankhpepykcn 180
Niger 52

Olympias23
eI-Omari 211, 227
Ombos (Knill Ombo) 154
Ombos (N"q"c!:l) 195

NarmOUlhis 178

/97
Naukratis !lJ, 116, 141, 154, 197-8,

/97,229,250,293,295
NauIlct20i

Naville, E. 4Y, 61,171,308

15, 200, HI, 255, 269
Na\'tahut 308
N'l~lcl c1-Simm:m 111

n:IYY

neb 2+4
Ncb:lmun I.), 6J. 7Y, l3.l, 140, /-10.

Nile 16.48, %-7,118,130.141,

202-3,203,268,30+
~ilomcrcr +4, 58, 203, 203, 280

NcdjcLcmpct 184

Nimaalhep 150
Nima;uscd 88
Nimlot 215, 281
Nine Bows 12,9+,203-4,217,2++
Nim:vch 189
Ninsli 293
cl-Niqrash 197
Nitctis36
Nitiqrct (qlleen) 100, 210, 273
Nitiqn:1 (god's wife of Amun) 37, 229
Nitocris, see Nitiqrct
Nobarae 55
:"1odjmer 23
Nodjmct (wife of Herihor) 125, 125
Nofrel (molher of Amenemhal I) 27
Nofrer (wife of Raholcp) 179
nOlllarch 15,37,180,186,20+,259,

Ncf:l:lrud, sec Nephcritcs

129, 19S-9, /98

nome 15,21,3+,38 1 50.52,8+,92,

28f,30f

Nc.:ber-akhcL 2SJ
Ncbmaat 272
Ncbmaatra 2/9. 27+

Ncbra, St.:\.:

Ralll~b

lIt:b-I'HIj,.~t'I'

35

lIeb 11IIIJyNS
lIt'bl)' Ctwo ladies') lumcltitk 33, ZOl,

303
chuchadnczz:lf II 37, +7

1It:bm 114,268
echo, sec 'ckau
NCC1::mchu

I S+, 15<J, 169, 198,223,277

1123,56,116,159,198,211,221,272

1I~/i!r 74,

111,119,171,175,180,181,182,
186,192,204,235,2+1,248,250,

Ncferc IY4
Icfcrhclpcs 29R
l cfcrhotcp

82,267

Ncfcrholcp I 273

Ncfcrirkar;\ 12-13,210,286.298
NClcrkara IUO
Ncfcrm:l:ll 179
'efcrtari 12, 199,238,241,300
Ncfcrlem 7+,122,122,165,165,180,
It)l), IY9, 230, 2-19, 257, 2%
Nefcrtiti21,34,+5,+6,131,198,
IYY-200, 199,238,2'10,307
NcfcrurJ 120, 25~, 15R
Nefrel260
negative confession 9+
negro/negroid 239
Nchebkau 262
"elte130
Nchmctawa, 2SS
cith 51. .;-4, 59, 9+,116,112,122,

151,1'17.200.200,202.221,250,
262,262, 298
Ncilhhotcp 17, 181, 19(1, 200

1II:N!aH/{/75
Ncbu

ckhbcI67.<J2,122, 150,201,262,

267, 26Y, 302

Nekheh 92,201
Tckhcn 92, 96,12/.13+
ht.wJ.dclOlh II, 18,7+,7.), 122
IIC1I1Sei R'SScl 201
Ncpcr72, 215, 2+5
Nepherites
lIe1l1CS

I 116,159
II 1'18
Nephth)s 45,-16, 58, 5<.1, 74, 9\ lOR,
114,122,122. 2IXI, 201-2. 20/, 207.

213,214,232,262,264,275
Neshorpakhercd 137
247,256.258

137,142,142-3, HI" 147. 148, 14Y.

158,168,178,186-7, IY5, 202, 203,
20+-6, 20f, 205, 206, 207, 218,226,
229,236,237,239,2+3,253,255,
258-60,263,263-4,270,272,27+,

278.281,283, 28Y-90, 298, 3()(1-1.

.101,303,305,308
l"\ubt 195
~un +5, 57, 74, 88, 93,10+,150,16+,
21l0. 21l1>-7, 206, 218, 3114
Nuri 1J3, 155, 195,207,207,243,281

NU142, fl, 45, 68,73,74,84,85,91,

Y3, 108,108,122,122,150, /91,200,
207-tol, 207, 264, 266, 270, 2R4, 286,

/1122+

11111

Nyncrjcl' 8Y, 110

12-13,25,25,51.60,

N~userr;llO,

124. 208. 210.232, 2Y8

62, 84, 88,153,

Oni:ls 308
onion 17, 102
ollimrrill'$

87

onomasticon 161. 194,211,2+2

Dnuris 37, 211, 211
Onruis-Shu 211
opening of the mouth ceremony 38,

1115,133,201,2111,211-2,212,230,
236, 2+3, 285, 305

Opel 147. 2+1, 283

Opct Festi"aI49, 59, 99,165
oraclc36,H7,99, 159,181, 189,

211-3,213,272
oracular amulclic decree 213
Orion +2, 23+, 249, 275
Oronles 170, 237
oryx 52, 280
Osireion 13, +2, 70, 21+, 229, 2+9
Osirid pilJar 213, 2-12
Osiris 13, 1+,30,3+,36,37. +3, 45,-16,
47,53,55,56,58,59,68,69,72,73,
7+,75,79,83, 85, 86, 93, 96, 99,104,
108,118, IIY, 122.122, 124, 126,
130,133,137,142-3,150,153,166,
168,184,186, IYO-I, 200, 201, 20/.
207,209,213,213-15,223, 236, 239,
240,2+5,248,2+9,257,259,261,
264,266,270, 273,275,280, 29fi,

298,300.3().l
Osiris-Apis 36, 23 I
Osiris bed 72,215,215,259
Osiris-Khemimcnriu 13
Osorapis 36, 261, 280
Osorkon 130, 162
Ihe elder 215, 268
150, 118, 215, no, 26R
n 50,212.21\ 256, 282
IIlSO, 192,215, 224. 28S
IV 215
son of'Elkclot n 2SS
osteopathy 176
OSlrJ.C;1 17,
82, 83, 102. 128, 135,
15Y, 160, 16.1, 167, 170, 18f, 216,

n,

216,2+1,2++,254,258,271,306
osrrich 122, 166, 18+
Otlom;m 237, 301
uuroboros 262-3, 268
(1\ ersecr of the mysteries 190
un:rseer of Ihe si~ great lll;msions 159
overseer of prophets 15
on:rscer of royal works 15
oxen 17. 33, 102. 103,212, 255
OXHhmchus 116
Ox~n-~chus fish 100
Ol:;'~andias 2+ 1

oaSt.-..... 17,22.23,37, +7, 78, 78, 97.

258,272
10, 10, +1, 52, 53, 58.76,91,
114, 120.124,141. H8,165,20H-Y.
208, 258, 26Y
O'Connor, D. 1+, 168,293
OCI:l\'ian 66, 231, 246, 269

obelisk

Oedipus 277
olTering formula 96,101,1+6,173,
20Y, 20'1, 210

onering table 14.45,92,96,99. 146.

lI(s1IlIIel b:lrk 214

lIesw-/Jil name 33, 51,

257,259,278,282,293,30+
Norden, E J.. 91
Norris, E. 76
:"1oflhumbcrland, Fourth Duke of 305
I\ubi;t 16, 17, 18, 19, 25, 28-9, :W, 35,
37-8,39,41,4+, +8, 52, 54, 55,
56-7,59,60,62,63,71,79,80,86,
9-1,95,98,102-3,1/-1, 12+, 132, ]35,

295

] 41, 158, 183. 200, 229, 28 I. 28.1,

1147,171,2011-201,229
I

286

On 124

209,209-10
ogdoad 32, 73,10+,123,207,210,262,
283

Paarcncmheh 131
Pabasa 51
paddle doll 266
P.lheri 23
p;Tir~statllc, see dyad
Pakhct 276
palace 19, 2(l, 4+, 60-1, 76, 81-2, 88.

98,117,118.134,147, 16H-Y. 178,

180, 18{, 185,211>-7,2/7,218,222,
224,237,241, 2-H, 256, 281, 288,
308
palace fac;ade 57,96, 126, 173, 181-2,

195,23.1,251,261

Palermo Stone 6+-,71,126, 152, 187,

21S, 258, 272, 28+, 295
P:llcsrinc37,8+.137,152,158,160,

166,188,198,255,259,260,268,
271,279
palcrrc 39, +7, 50, 60, 72, 74,109,127,
133,167,171. 187, 187. 192, 196-7,
196,218,2/8,254,278,279,288,
303,304

palm 17. 4Y. 70, 7/, 108, 117, 122,

123,232,26+,288,295,306
Pamiu62

Pan 187
pan bedding SO, Sol, 207, 218
Paneb 159,262
P"nchsy 26
Panchs)' (Viceroy of t.:.ush) 202, 301
pan-gl'a\'c 178,218-9,219
Panopolis IS7
I),mralacci, L. 155
palllhcr 264papyri 13, 16,20.24,30,31,36,36,
fl. ;5,
61, 68, 8f, 87,93. 93. Y4,
9f, 97. 104.105. 106, 107, 108, 109,
116,118,125,127,128,128,134.
135,137,138,139, ISO, 152, 156.

5.,.

15Y. 160, 161, 162, 161--1, 168, 170,

17.1, IN. IYI-2, 202, 210, 211.213,
216,21 H, 219, 219, 228, 230, 236,
239,242,25+,2.,';,256, 2fi5-6, 272,
273,274, IN, 286, 2\)7, 299, 301,

.105,306
pap~

rus plan( 27,31, 35, +9, 70--1,

108,118.138,148.16-1,188,188,
193,217,219,228,248, 26Y, 271
Papyrus Abbol II +
Papyrus Anastasi] 53. 63
Pap~ rus Brcmncr-Rhind 36
Papyrus Brooklyn (35.1-146) 159
Pap~ rus Chester Bcarry 161
I 133

HI 87
V U7
\'1176
IX 1.17
Pap~

rus ( brris, sec GrCtlt Ilarri!>

Papyrus
Papyrus Insinger 306
Papyrus Lmsing: 28+
Papyrus .\ IacGregor 30
Papyrus Mayer \ 301
Papyrus Ralllcsscum
1(30Ci
IV 176
V 176

1'1115
XII18
Papyrus Rylands LX 302
Papyrus S;lllicr 1 136,260
Papyrus Salt, sec Salt Pap~Tus
Papyrus \rcslcar 134-, 16+, 167, 186
Paraelonium 186
Parchu2.;1
Parsua 221
Pasargadac 221
PascbakhacnniuL see PSllscnncs
{w!aih,s 219,230
Palh,rris 109
p/I!ri:1' 226
Pc 97
peas 17
pecloral/6, 1++,201,267,277
Pediamenncbncsuu'l\n" -16
pl'l!j sltt'$ ('stretching the cord') 42
Pedubastis 1162,16+,268

323

INDEX

Pcct,'f. E. J-l.
Pcftjawcll:twyhor 35
Pchor 80
peN/rei 167

PclCSCl255
Pc1usiac 83. ZOU

Pc1usium 56, 221

Pcnbu, 278, liB
penis ~hC:llh J+. 308
Pepy

139,50,60. 71, ~H, 180,220,236,

259,261. 286
II 13,60,62,88.100,103,136,161,

210.220.231.236.151.29+,301

per 129
pa-all ('grc:.ll house', p:i1:u.;c) LiJ, 216,

122
Pl'TliIlHJ ('hou:;coflifc') 13+. 161
Pcr-b::mcbdjcdcI 181
Pcr~B;lSICI

49

pa-bi/51

peTch 93
pm:/ (spring)

58. 64. HI

perfumes 72
Pcr~l-blhor

109

Pcr-hcbrr 51
Pl"fibscl~ 8Y, 150,220-1,261,26+,278
per-Heuer (harim) 118
pa 111(((;11/ (house of pap) 1'1iS rolls)
13+,161

pcrl/e.kr 191
per-lilt (Lower Egyptian shrine) 269

Perring', J. 11, 77, 260

pcrsca trcc lOS, 26-1-, 289, 295

I>crscpulis 76, 221

Perseus 277
Persia/Persian 13, 19,21, :l6, 40, -1-1,
+7,31,3+,76.112,116,125.126,

I+J. 15S-9. 17+-5. 198,221,226,

229,2+8,303,308
Pcrsoncl 295
Per-Sopcd 276
Per-'Icmu 171
Per-TemuTjclu 171,201
per~I11J1 ('statue house') 261
Peru-nercr HR
pam 107, 153.22
per-mt"r(Uppcr Egyptian shrine) 269
Pcr-Wadjyt 97
pemljel93
peJ(Jh~~'l:f211-2

Pcsshllpcr 2.;-1
Pcticsis SO
l l eLOsiris 25,116,123,125,150.
221-2.221,122, 28S, 296
Petrie. \\1. 1\1. E H, 17,20,01,64,84,
86,91,97,113,117,121,131,1+1,
152,155,156,170,171.173,179,
180,18+,187.193,209,217,222,
222,220, LB, 243, 259, 271.182, 3US
petrology 226
phallus 10D, 21-1, 26r1.1SJ
Pharnabazl:s 19S
Pharos 2+
Plurs;llia 06, 246
PhiJ;ll: 30, 37, 40, H, 56, R3, 128, 137,
1-10,142,153,161, 16Y, IlJH, 203,
222-+. 232. 2+6. 271i, 296
Philip 11 23
Philip Arrhichtcus 2+, 66, 187,231
Philistints 59, 255
Phoenicia 37, 38, 59, 219, 22+, 229,
236,269
phoenix 52, 53
phyle 228-9

324

physician 13, 126, 128. .lOS

Pianlhi 12+,202
Pianlbr see Piv
pig 16,-33--+, 1C12,ZI5,26-1,281
pigeon 33
pilgrims 1+,85,93,1+0,186,21-4,269,
296
Pimav62
pine 222, 306
Pinudjem 29
180, 127, 192,202.230,288
1180
PirJ.mlossc 76,12+,202,237.2-11,282,
293,302
Pirnom 56, 171
Piy 32. 101, 130, 155,206, 21.5,22+.
266,279,281,283,288
Pin... see Pi,
PI;lCCOrpu~ifiL"lliun 191
planets 43, 53
Pliny 197, 235
Plutarch 118, 126, 130, 11" 189,207.
21+,22-1,28-1
Pocockc, R. 91
Polanyi, f..:.. 29-1
pol;cc 16, 26, 87, 219. 22-1
polygamy 171
pomegranates 23, 102, lOS
Pompcy 66. 2-16
Pompey's Pilbr 25, 260
pork.H
portico 12
Portland Vase 113
Potiphar 5-1
pottery 3+. 38, 39, n, -18, 59, 63,6.1,
6-1,72.74,77,78,89,93, 9i--lJ5, 106,

116,127,/-19,153.160,166,175,
18-1-3,186,187,188,198,209,211,
216,218,22-1-6,225,247,25-1,269,
280, 296, 298, 308
pregnancy 6+,124.1.10.176,192,196,
197,265,283
priest 28, 32, 38, -12. -IS, 65, 67, 75, 79,
80,87,90,92,100,10+,113,117-18,
124,126,127.133,134,139,159,
161,163,163,167,169,171,175.
180,191-2,209,210,212,2/2,21+,
215,221,228-9,228,230,2+1.260,
267.268,279,283,286.288,296,302
priestcss-l5,68, 78,113,119,206,
228, 239, 271. 307
primc,-al mound 45, 52, 71, 74,138,
150,151,166,175,183,210,218.
219,229.235,283,286
prisoners, Sl'C captives
Pmpltt'Cy nfXeftr/J', see Dis{{/UHt'lIf
"'eftrly
prosopography 15
Proto-Canaanite script 59
Proto~Sinailic SUipl 59, 271
provincial gon-rnor. SI,:l: numan.:h
Prussia 160
psalm 45, 54. 72
Psalm 1O+: -15, 54, 137
Psammctichus, sec Psamtt;:k
Psamtck
1-11,90,116.138,183, 2011. 229. 2311,
2S I, 282, 283, 302
1I 19,36,229
III 19,Hl, 158,221, 229
Psamlek of Sa is 116

psdle1Jt74
PSLlscnncs
1 172. 18+. 229-30, 268, 282
II 230, 268

Ptah 11.35,38. -to, -t2, 56, 73--+. 7-1,

79,86,122,139, H7, 163, 180, 18-1,
189,19+,199,21+,219.230-1. 230.
236-7,2-11,257,266,27-1.278,278.
280. 283, 285, 296
Ptahhorep 252
Plahshcpscs (Abusir) 12
Ptahshcpscs (Saqqara) 96
Prah-Sobr 230. 27+
Pmh-Sokar~Osiris 72, 230, 27-1. 280
Prolemais 116 (ciry),296
Ptolemy 159, 208, 231
I (son of Lagos) 23. 153, 161, 169,
231,231,261
II 11,2-1, 169,223,269
IIJ 90
I\' 37, 82, 1.1-1, 223, 2-17. 282
VI 88
VI1/69,291
XII 66. 90,90,231,2./2,2-16
XIII 1>6, /69. 231
XII' 66
Pudukhcpa 199
Punr80. SS. 120, US, 1+0,231-2.
2.1/, 26Y,294, 295, 306
Pwcnci 231
pygmies 88, 220
pylon 29, 35, 45, lH, YO, 125, U2, 135,
J3fJ, 138, 1-16, 148, 165, 177, 178.
213,223,2:)2-3,232,240,2+ 1,277,
282, 2S5, 305
pyramid 11, 12-13, 1-1,28,39, -12, 45,
-19,52,60,77,87,101,103,103.
109-12,1/0-1/,121, /2/, 127, 133,
137, HI, H6. 1+9, 152, 153. 136.
/56,163,163-+,173,17+,176,179,
/79,181-2,18-1,183, /85. 198,2117.
20i, 210, 211, 220, 224, 229, 232,
233-5,23-1, 215-f1, 2.1CJ, 2-13, 250,
251-2,253,256,257,259-60,261,
266,269,272,273,283,286,292,
299,309
pyramidion 2S. 20S, 233, 235
Pyramid Texts 31, 42. 53. 55. 57, 62.
68,69,73,105,106.109, 11+,123,
129,1.1+,150,163.172,187,199,
200,201,207,210,211,21+,220,
229,235-6,257,262,270,274,275,
28+,286,288,299,305

pyramis 233

Q;! 'a 89, 236

Qadan 9+
Q;tdesh 51, 130, 170, 178, 183, 202,
nfl-7, 236, 2-11, 255, 2_1_), 290. 303
QlilIJey24
Qtbr;l lhy 100
c1-Q;tl';) 155
(bntir 76,7(,,96, 12f, 202, 216, 237,
237, 2+ 1. 246. 282. 288, 293, 302
Q1rct c1-1\ luz.1Wwaq;1 78
d-Qlsr78
Qasr Ihrim -18, 59, l-n. 20ti, 237, 1-16
Q1Sl' d-Sagha 28
Q.11U 173
(~lll 137
~bchscnucr 59,262.275,275
Qcdcshct 32, 237-8, 137, 245
Qch32
Qcna 8-1, 225
(~namun, see Kc:n;lIlulIl
Qift 155
Qjs 180

Qf/arrel of.-lpopltis alld St'qellellrrl 35.

260

quarrying 18, 22, 29. 37, -13, 70. 82,

85,109,109,111,119-20,1+9,152.
155, 170. 183.208,224. 235,2()9,
271, 277, 279. 279-80
Q!Jbani~"l 173
Qubhcr cI~Haw;l-l3. ++. SR, 220
queens 11.13,17-18.19.21.34.-15,
77,113,127,182. 183,199. 199-2IMI,
2U7. 233, 236, 238, 300, 307
Q~lihcl1,J. E. 92,126,128,195,220.
242.25-1,286.309
Qurncr Murai 30. 288
Q!.IS 123
QlIseir231
(~ustuI17. 48
Ra 10,32,35,36.42, ++, -t5, 51, 53.
56,57,61.68,69.73,79,84,88,95.
100, 11+,119,126,133-+,1.19.1+2.
130,151,162-3,165,166,189.199.
207,211,21-1,230,239,239,2+7,
268. 277,280,28-1,3IM!
Ra-Atum 25. f5, 52.189
Ib'tuwy 175, 1S9
radiocarbon daring 6-1-5. S9,lJ2, IN-I.
226
radish 17
Radictlcf~ see Djedefra
Ib-J Ifll'akhty 11,25, -16, 1Z4. 133,
134,239,239,279
Rahotcp 50, 17l), 194
R;lkll;\cf~ sec Khafra
r;lI11 In,.1/, 32, 47, -t8, 9-1, 97, 111),
124,126,151,181,181,213,2.l<),
240, 248, 2-19, 27+, 183
Ralllcses 2-1()-1, 2+7
I 13, 38, 240. 265. 300
1I 11-12,13,15,22,25, -10, -Iii. +.i,
51,51,52,54,60,02,6-1.70,79.80,
102,117,12-1,12-1,125,130-1,145,
1+8,132,15+,161,165,168,171.
17I',180.183,186.199,202.209,

217,236-7,237,238,2-10.2-10-1,
2-11-2, ]-12, 2-1,), 152, 155,156. 260.
265,276, 2S0, 282, 297, 300, .U)f,
11136,65,80.92,99,118,119,1.15,
/36,161,162,177-8, /77. 178,188,
202, 2 I 7, 221, 230. 2f1. 255. 269,
27-1,280, 3IX), 308
11'29,-12,103,170,2+1,.100
\. 29,116
\'129,43,79,83,106,113
III +.1,1+8
IX 28, +3, 80. 83,1+6,170
XJ 58, 12-1-5,202,241. 288, 29<). 3111
R;llllcsseum 15,5+,70,79.82,161,
16S, 172,178,213,216-7,232,
241-3,2-12,262.265,288
Ralllesscum Dra.matic P;lpyrus ItJ3
Ralllo!;c- (father of Senellmllt) 25N
Ramose (rr55) 29,166,243,301
Ranch 89, 239, 261
lbndcrcf 12-3. 60, 210. 286. 291')
Raqolc 24
cl-R;IShid 2-1-7
rarions 22
lbwlinsol1, H. 76
Re, sce Ra
Rcdfi-n-d. D. un. 136, 1+3
RcdSea28,-I1,52,84,100,155,171.
200-201,218,231,268.271,305
Reisner, G. 17.54,81,91,127,170,
lSI, 185, 194,207,2-13,258,309
RcI..hmira 15,51, 1-15,208,211,243,
2++,28+,301

INDEX

reHo'f bird 61. 2+l, 2-1-1, 278

re/lleu 175

Rcncni

28~,

285
RcnCllLllC( 28, 15J. 17S, 2+5, 215, 262
I'Cllpet 218, 295
Report oIlVel/fllIIlI1I

513,125.16+, 2tJ-j.

Refer 2S3
rcscn-c head 172.2+5,2-15

Res Ges!a,' 130

Rcshcf 32.32. 238. 2+5-6. ].1.)
Rcshcp. sec: Rtoshcf
Reshpu, sec Rcshcf
Rcstoration Side 132
RClCIlU

59

rc\'crsion of offerings 99,228

Rhea 207
Rhind J\l>1thclllariGll Papyrus 137.
173-+, / i-l, 271
r1wton 115
Riixlddi 58
Rifeh 209, 2+0
Righa, Pyramid of 10
rishi-conin 18,68,286
Roeder, G. 52

Rome 37, 51, (ifI, H3,2-1-6

'room of Lht: l:>casom; 11

no,

ropc-l-9.62,
175,219,244,278
Rosdlini , N. E I. 63. 91,247
RosettJ 83, Hi
Rosena SlU!lL' 63. 83.\)1, 128-9, 16U,

2+7,2-17,3U8
Rouge, 0. de 172
'rov;ll 11l00hcr'

238

'ro;-al wi,cs' 238

Rub'., 'Idl eI- 181

167

TW

S'SIUl
S(I

224

('protection ') 30, 53, 248, 2-18, 283

sa ('son') 129
sub 34
Saber 236
sacred animals 30, 57, 02, 7~, 75, g7,
96, IOU. 139, 1.19-40. 159, 162,189,
198. 21.1, 229, 240, 24S-9, 2-/9, 250,
296
Sal,:Y, S. de 63, 247, .lOS
eI-S.ff 166
Sa c1-Ha brar 250
s(~tomb HI. 249
Saft c1-llinn;1 198,276
Sah 42, 2:H, 249, 275, 276
Sahaba-Oarau 9+
Sahlins, 1\,.1. 294
Sahur;t 12-3, 11~, 136, 161,210, 2YS,
305
Sa128
Said Pasha 170
Sa is 19,37.41, 51. 54, 116, 158, 197,
200,221,224,229,1-/7,250,288
sflUia 17
e1-Salaam canal 92
Salt, 1-1. 52
Salt Papyrus Hl)
saluki 87
Samannud 169
Samaria 5+
S;lnam 155, 195, 2Rl
sandal .14, 84, 106,203
Samorini 7fr-7
sa-per 224
Saptah 29
5t1tfi)'{1267
Saqqar:l IS, 17,33.H,+9, 50, 51, 53.
54,57,59,60,61,65,70,71.73,77,

79,87,88,89,94,96,96,97,100,
105.121. 131-2. 1.1+, 1.19, 139-4Q,
/-12.1+1--5.150,153.162,163,170,
172-3.179,180.18+,196,198,210,
213,219,230,233-+,236,2+4,2+8,
250, 25U-2, 2S0, 2,5/,2,;2,256,258,
260,261,267,278.279. 2S(" 287,
292,298,299,301,306,309
tomhs
c8 267, 267
60129,139,298
2+05 (,,3) 126, /26
303584,219
303833
.135717
3S00 236
35114 57, S7
3505 236, 262
351S I+U
Saqqara "Elblet 152,257
sa Rtl 62, 1-1-9, 210, 219, 2-1-7
Sararis, see Scrapis
sarcophagus 29. 58, 62, 67, 72, 77,
111,11+-5,117,1/7.121,127,132,
152,156,168.170,181,183,18+,
201, 2U7, 220, 222, 235, 2+8, 257,
259-6U, 260, 261, 26/, 267-8. 269,
274, 2N, 279, 182, 286, 289, 297,
299-300, 309
Sarclllltt:t2.,7
Sargon the Grear 22
Satet .14, 35,122, /22, 151,252-3,296
StI!ifi: ollih/' Tmdt's 15. 135
Satirical Papyrus lUI, 135
Sarra 240, 300
S;llr:'lp 198, 221
Saturn-B
Sauncron, S. 228
S,1\'al:l 17
Sa;'(:c,A. 1-1. 27
Saying.. ,!/AIIN1slu:slt/llul.J' 83, 306
scarab 16,36,45, -/6, 73, 7+, 122, 123,
13(j, 150-1, ISO, 152, IS8, 229, 253,
2.i3,308
S((lrtiboid 253
Schiifcr, H. II
Schiap;lrclli, E. 82, 300
Schneider, H. 266
school 24
Schott, S. 23.:;
scorpion 122, 133, 139, 168, 253--l,
262.2SI
Scorpion 16,39.128,167, Jln, 2+~,
25~, 2.)-/, 264, 278
scribe 15,29,38,90, 118, 1J2, 13~,
135,1411,156,160,161,17.1,175,
17S, 19+, 211, 218, 2~ 1,25+,25-/,
284,307
scrihe rccruiL<; 29
Sc:.l liS
seal be:lfer of lhe !rod 191
sc:.lls 13, 15, 17.22,35,61,86,89,109,
152, IflJ. 183. 191, 1lJ6, 203. 220.
236,248,25.1,267
Sea Peoples 131, 162, 177,202,141.
255,2.5.,,269,279
.\"i:lmkhlsdmkltill 27, 45,154,250
sdm,JI/94, 139,305-6
Schegu43
SCbCI1lWlic 83
Schelln~'tos 169, 198.211

or

seiJi65 -

Scbilian lJ4
Scbiumekcr 35
Sed 256, 305

Scdcinga 255
set! fcsliv:ll 11,33, 50, 84, 86, 153, 155,
169,187,199,215.233,2.,0,256,
256,264,268,27-+,295, JUS
Sedmcllt c1-Gcbcl 12-+
Sefkhet-Abw\' 264
ulll:dustar II'
Schcl35, 87, 97, 151,259
seltm:1 stone 123
Sei1. 196, 20+
. seter (litH ('prisoner of w:.J.r') 272
Sckhemib 220
Sekhcmka 87
sddll'lII s(:cptrc 3ol, 257, 257, 267
Sckhcmkher 1+4, 179,210,233,
256--7.297,309
Sckher~il1lit 272
Sckhmet 13, 23, 50. 83, 95,119,162,
163,175,180,193,199,211,230.
230,256--7,257,257, 27ol, 296
Sekhmct-I-]alhor 15+
uHt slutl83
seHe! 99
Sekmem 259-60
Stkonopis 245
Sc1kct, sec Serkcr
SI'IIUt 118
SI'lIttlel ('scrr') 272
Scmempscs 258
semen 176, 187, 265, 270
Scmcnpt,lh 258
Semcrkhct 33, 89
Scmna 28.103,205,258,259,279
Scnma Dispatclll.:s 37-8, .)5, 160, 161
Scmn;l South 103,258
sem-priest6i, 211, 2/2, 228. 228, 270,
280
Scn:.J.khlcnra 'I:la I 18,286
Senbi 180
Scnch 8S, 88
Senebtisy I-H, 268
Scncd 89
Senenmllt 42, 80, 11.:;' 120, 1.U, 19-/,
258, LiS
sl:lle1107,107
SCllclites 88, 88
Scni 20, /28, 209,209
Scnncdjem 99
SCllnedjemib 160
Senusrer 27
128,31,55, 102, 124.153, 15-l, 1.)5,
163,163,183,186,187,234,258-9,
2.19,261,291 , 301
11156,156, lS6, 259
11128,37,1.1,77,103,137, 186, I~~,
259-60,2,;l)
SCllusrct-ankh 163
SCllwosrcr, sec SClllisrel
Septimius Snerus 70, 246
Scqcncnra l'a,l IJ 18. 35, 80, 146,255,
260.286
scquenet.: daring 6+,226
Scr:lbit c1-Khadirn 51, 59,119,271,
276,291,297
Serapcum 2-4-5, 36, 56, 145, 161, 170,
189, 198,246,248.252,260,260,
261.26/,278
Scrap is 24, 3/l, 169, 231, 260, 261
srrtltlb87,126, 173, 18+,245,261,292,
298
S!'rt'N/39, 87, 96,126,150,173,220,
2+7,247,256,261,26/.265,278,
297
Scrkct30, 59, 121. 122,200, 253, 262.
262

"l'!y! ('the one who causes the

throat to breathe') 262
Serpent" sec Djet
Scscbi-Sudb 57, 205, 258, 263--l, 263,
293

Sl'fttl
l

.~,-,slt 254
Seshar 122, 122,220,264,295
seslttlJl/ 167
sesltesltl ('sistrum') 271

Scshou 221
Seshscshe( 184
Sesosnis, see Scnusrcl
Scrau92, 92, 2-/5
Selh 32, 33, 34, 36, H, -l3. 45.58,74,
85,88,90,93,101,10+,108.119,
130, 133, 136, 142, ISO, 193. 200,
201,2117,211,21+,215,220,22+,
216-7,261, 26-4-S, 26-/, 266, 273,
284
Scthnakhrc HI, 265
Serhos, sce Set~

se/jtll 175
SCIOn-Williams, \: 97
Set"
113,+2,51,52,80,112,12+,152,
16I,liO,2H,216,237,2-HJ,263,
265,26.1, 276, 2S0, 282, 283, 292.
300
lJ 29, 265
Seuscrcnra, sec. KJw:ln
sevcn sacred oils 210
sl'mesl'kh ftlJltm 55
Seyrf;lrLh, G. 297
Shabaqo32, 113, 14S, 155, 158,206,
22ol, 266, 288
Shabaqo Srone 74, N, 131, 19+,266,
283
Sh.birqo 1+8, 155,206, 266
sl/lllJ!i 18,19,20,55, N, 95, 13ol, 148,
168, /68,208,266-7,266,269,309
shadow 20, 47, ]04,194,267
sl/(/rll((l7, 108, 141, 235, 267
shafl rumb 12-13, 52,5+, 80,127,1+4,
156,161,168,172, 18U, 2+2, 2++
Shahr i-Sokht;l 59
ShakchlkhclC 185
Sh.lf.k 103
Shalm;lncser

12.n
111221
Shasu-l1,51,H3
Shay 186, 267
Shed 253, 262
ShcdYCl 176,273
sheep 16, 17, 181, 20+, 240
SheikhAbd c1-Qurn;l 182, 19+,243,
2-I.i, 258, 288
Sheikh cl-Bded 267, 267
c1-Shcikh Fadl72
Shckc1csh 162. 255
Sheik,', P, B. 241
shell/aw! 75
slt(/1I1;58, H1
sltcII62,103.20I,267-8 .I02

sltelll'!jeriH9
shcp i'li .(d/'llle! 170-1
Shepenwcpct
122+,288
II 178,229
fII 178
Shepscsbf 21 0
Shepscskara 13. 210
Shcpscsra 160
Shcrden 162, 241, 255, 255
She-resr 98

325

INDEX

Shc"Shonq 162,268
I ;~, 1/8,127,180,21;, 26S, 288
n 21;, 230, 268, 271, 273, 282
IIJ 268, 282
IY 21;, 268
V /62,21;,268,282
Shcshonq .\ lCf)"-lI11UIl 268
ShcsmclcL 2M~
sheslltcl b';rdlc 268, 276
shidd .12,121,188,200,118, US
Shinnic. P. 185
Shishak 5-1Shoshcnq, sec Shcshonq
Shu3?, -1-5, 7+. 93, 1)3. 108, 113, 122.
130,162,207,211, 27U, 270, 28~
Shu-Arcl1sl1uphis 37

Shunct c1-Zcbib 14, 128. 150,233

shmi-Rtl ('sun-shade') 267
slll1'O' ('mcrcham') 294-

Sin 74
Siamun 80. 230
Sicard, C. 91
sickle 17
sid clod or muLh 6-1-. 65. 117. 133,
151,270,270,280
Sidon 58,22+
Sihathor 273

Silc 56
sih'cr2J.-l-l,50, 11+,175, 199.2/1,

268.270-1, 2n, 27-1-, 282, 28<), 24)1,

29/
Sin;li 2S, 41,51, 5S, 59, 71, 88, 92, 119,
120,166,25(1,271,276.279,297
SillUhc, sec Tide uISimtlu'
.~illm 175
Siplah, sec S:tpl;th
Sirius -fl, 58. 65, 192,275
sistrum 12,50,50,75,8+-5. 119, J/CJ,

192, /99, 271-2, 272

Sirlurhoriuncl 144, 156

Siwa Oasis 23, 272

sb\'cs 38, 159,205,231.241.272.289
slipper-coffin 153
Smcndcs 121-,229,288

Smcnkhkara 20-1, 29, +1-, -1-6, ZOO, 291

Smith. G. E. 194
sllakdscrpcnl 32, 36, ]6, 39, -J.5, 54.

67,1110, IJJ, 139, 1+2, 16H, IH~, /8-1,

210,237,2.17,245,2-/5,25+,262,
267, 28~, 3U2
Sncfcr1l77, 110, 127, 152, 161. J(ll,

179, I ilJ, 210, 233, 272-3, 295

Sobek 28, 7+, 118. 151. 15+, I.j.j, 161,
176-7, IH6, 2UO, 22~, 2~;, 273, 273
SobckhOlCJl (c1-1\lo'alla) 189
Sohc,hOlep (Thebes) -11,114,1/-1,
I~;, /-1",20-1,292
Sobckhutcp (13th-Dyn;lsry rulers)
273
Sobd,l1cfcfll 2/, 273
Sobck-Ra 272
Sohkcmsal"(tlucen) 1';'-1

Sobkcllls"r 11

II~,/-I-I

Sohag 13,21

Sobr 86,96,99, 177,21+,230,2;11,

271,273,2S0
Sokarhcr 1~6
Sokar-Osiris 55
sular bark 11, 211, 36, 49, 68,100.123,

206, 207, 239, 2++. 256, 26-1-, 26R.

274,283,305
soldiers 38,80.109,117,132,135,

136,198,22.... 229,237,2100,278
Soleb 25, 30, -is, 135, 162. 255,27+-5,
27",293

326

Solomon 5-+, H3
Somalia 231
Somrutefnakht 221
Sonsofl-lorus30,-+7,59.19I,200,
266,275,275
Sopdct -+2, 65, 2-+9, 275--6, 276, 276
Sopduhotcp 33
Soped 187, NY, 268, 275. 276, 297
Sossianus I-Iierodt.:s 2-+6
Sotcr -12
Sothic cyck 192, 276
Sothis. sec SOpdCl
soul house 209-1U
spelt 16
,'pt'OS 109, lJ2,276
Speos Artemidos 52, 62, 130,276, 290
sphinx 11, 19,99,165,220,255,260,

276-8,28/
Sphinx, Gre;.u -i2, 87, 111~2, lJ2. H9,
276-7,19U
spil..'L'S 22, -iO, 190

spons 64, Ifll, 1Il2

Stilddnlilllll, R. 110
standard -10,168,197,20-+, 2+t, 278,
278,30+-5
star 42, -+5, J(H, 122, 156, 192, 2U7,
23+-5, 2-i9, 26-1-, 27S-f)
Srelae of Kamosc 35, 137, H6,279
stele 14-, 18, IY, 2I,2Y,J2,:n, ,17,-13,
1V, 54, 55, 62, 65, 68, 82, H3, 87, 96,

109,118,125, /2u, UO, 131, 132,

133,1.13,137, HS, 150, 152, 153,
155, IW, 162, 163, 170, 179, 18-1-,

189,192,193,200,20;,209,210,
212,212,218,221,22-+,232,236,
2+t,2-15, 247, 25-1-,2.,7, 261, 26/.
278,278-9,278,279,286,289,292,

296, 297, 3UI, 30-1

StcleofDonations 19
step pyramjd 33,179,196,210,233,
257,272,309
Step Pyramid 15,70,79,87,121,139,
210,230,233, H-I-, 250, 250, 251-2,
252,256,257,260,279,306
Stonehenge 222
stork -+7,151
Strabo 65, 69, 126, 197,260,2:30
Strouhal, E. 65
stlll':CO 21,121
5tuan, II. W, V. 2-+3
5tuiln'sTomb, sec 'I'hebes IT55
Suez Canal \60, 171, 271
SumerlSulllcrian 22, 47, 75---6,186,

2HU
sun-disc lv, 20--21, 29, .1-1-, +t, 67, 85,

10;,119,122,126,134, 139,

1~2,

188,189,239,270,270,272,27-+,
2:33,305
sun temple 10-11, n, 12-1-,208,210,
239,285,298
Suppilulium;ls 131
Suprcme Councillc)r Antiquities 91
SUS;\ 221
Swcnet -1-3,55
sycamore 109, 119,167,295,306
5n:nc -+3
,~};lIIpft-gllll/ 93, 2RU
S~-ri;l -1-2, 47, 52, 71, R6, 125, nO-I,
13-1-,143,152,178,189,236,237,
2-+1,243,255,294
S\Ti;te 63
S)Tia-Palcstine/Lcr:lIlt 16, 18,21,22,
23,25,27,28,29, .n, 38. -+1, -n, 54,
59,71,102, I H, 130, 136-7, l-n,

H3, 1;2, I;S, 178, 186, lH8, 198,

200,202,206, 22-t, 236-7, 24-1, 253,

255,259,265,269,27\,280,289-90,

3UO, 303, 30S

/(1175
'Iian:lch 178
'ra-hitjcr 281

Teran:! 19
Tcrcnulhis 153
Tcrcsh 162,255
'Ieri 50, 60,172,18-+,220,236,271
'l'clishcri 18, 19,286
Ti::udjoi 127

'n,h"rqo 3/., 32, ~I, I+H, /-18, I;H, 162,

Tcv46
rc.~ri1cs 17, 22, :13, 66--7
Thebes IH-19, 20, 29, .10, .11, ~O, ~1.
+-+, -10, -II, -+9, 52, 59, 69, lU, 81, H6,
9-+,105, ION, 122, 124, 126, 132, HI,

182-3,206,207,223,229,255,2SI,

140,1-+7-8,159,160,168,170,175,

lab/a

192

T:lble of Karnak 14-1

'EH:itus 130

IHII, IH2,

281,283

'l~kc1ot(sonofOsorkon 111)215
'Iiklu-i Shamshid 221
rlikhul-+5
laill/tfl block -+5,165,200,232,281-2
'lit/IJfz;rk, sec funer:lrr cndosurc

"lit/l' (If HI/filS lIlId Srlh 193

7illt' of Is;s tI/Ill /1,,: Seu1/ Smrp;olls Ill3
Ttt/t' olS;lIl1h( 28,164, \86,216,22-1-,

2;8
'/illc flllht'ClIplllrl'ofJllpp(/16-t
nt/t' (1/he Eloquel/I Pm,illlll159, 1641ft/I'O//hl' Predesl;,ml Pr;l1fl' 16-+
'1iilt' o/Ihe Shipml't'CA'l'd S(/ilor 1()-+, 231
Taft- 1{lht' 1h,o 8mlhers 5-+
'/(J!e /lIStllle! Khth'lIl!IJ(f.I'l'l 16-+

'Iides ({ Illrmt!cr, see I)apyrus Westear

'E\[mis 1-+6
mmarisk 108,295,306
'!:lmin21
lillis 32, 50,68, 88, 1-+5, 16U, 162,
173, 18-t, 215, 22Y-30, 231, 2.n, H9,
271,273,282-3,282,288,293,297
'r;mt;lnllct 168
'Iantcrc 8-+
Tallutall1;1ni -+1, 87, 155, 158, 183,200,

2U6, 229, 283

''1iremu IY2
'J~rif, c1- l-t I, 2-t9, 287
'l:trkh:ln 66, 67, 106
Tarsus 66, 2-t6
'I:I-scnet 93
Ta-scIY 20-+

Ta-sh~ 9~

111.1"11 55
'J:ltjencn 229, 2:33
'l';1Ualll, J I. 308
[;11 ton 72
Taucrt, see 'Iiwcret
'Iaweret30,5-+, 115-6, 12-+, 130, 189,
2~,

2+8, 283--l, 283

2+6,

28~,

28-1, 2H6

9-1

Tebtllnis 98, 161

Tefnakht 5-t, 22-t
Tefnin, R, 24-5
'llJnut-t5, 7-t, Y3, 108, 113, 162, 1/)3,

211, 270,

28~

Teflltll-Mchit 27+
Id:clI/I 28-+, 285
Iddw/20S
tcmpera 121, 172
'Icnroy 152
Tentlllutcngcbtiu lOI
'lentyrisfH
Tcos 116,198
Tep.\ -:m 183
fepy...dju-cf35

191, 19.1, 1'1.1, 1'1-1,

273, 2HO, 281, 2H2, 28-1, 286--8, 281>,

287,291,292, 298, 30~
lombs

rr21110
rr-t272

rr867, 107
Tr34 183,250
rr3823
rr-l-O 33, .13, 300
'n-5222,194
rr55 29, 166,2-+3

rr565U
-rr572Y

'n6U IU2
rr6.1-1I, /1-1, H;, /-15
'1T(19:H,131J, 175, 182,250
rr71 115,132,258
Tr7-+ 278

".,.86 115, /15

rr93 108, H8
rrIOO;I, H;,2U8,211,2~3
nl62 H8
rr217 108
Tr26113
rr276 1-t5
-n-27951
rr28067
rr353 42, 258
rr373 152
Theodosius 2-+6, 260
Thera 76-7
Ihcrlllolltlllinesl:cncc 6+, 226
Thinis 2X8
'I'hoeris, see Tawerct
Thorh 25, 48, 7ll, 78, 92, 116. 12~,

/25,139,1;1,201,2117,2111,221,
2-+8, J.I(j, 26-t, 270, 28H-IJ, 289, 21)5.

296
Ihrnnc3lJ, 106, 112, 122, H2, 152,

203, 217, 256

rax:ltinn 15, 16, 33, 73, 97, II R, 153,

164,198,203,210,221,222,224-,
/dlm:j"lH
'1i'lullillgs "j"P/llhllo/ep

18~,

2UI, 202, 215, 230, 231, 2-+1, 112,

2-+Y, 251, 257, 25R, 260, 2(1), 268,

'El-iht97
T:lkclot 1215

Ihronc Il;Ulle 6-1, 152, 155

rhrow-slid 107
Thucnlidcs 130
Thull;OICp82,82
Thutmose 202
119,~,80,

1111, JOH, 120-1, I;;,

28H, 289, 2lJ9

II ; 1,80, 2;8, 2H9
11115,22,25,28,39,51,55,62,6-1-,

71,7,1, HO, 86, 9~, 99,101,112,1/1,

113,117,118, 120, 12~, 13U, I~-;,
152,155. I (IS, 17S, 189, 189, 198.
238,231),2-+3,253,258,276,280,
289-90,289, 291. 295

IV 29, -1/, 67, H7, U5, 16H, 182, IH'J,

19~, 201, 277, 2H2, 28~, 290
'fhutll1ose (sl.:ulptor) 172, 19lJ. 2lJll
ThlltlllOSC (son ofAlllenhotcp 111) 29,
~6

Ti, sccTy

INDEX

Tibcrius /93
Tigris41, 186, 189
Tihml c1-Gcbcl 72
Timna 166,271
lin 7J, 95
Tivoli 246

Ti\' (wife of AmcnhOlcp IJI) 20-1, 29,

29,45,46,69,199, ZOO, 2:;8, 253,
255,278, 291J-!, 290, 29/, J07,
J08-9,309
Tiy (wife ofRamcsscs llJ) 11 ~

Tiycll1cn.:ncsc 2+1
Tjamcr liS
Tjancncnr 21)1
Tjancni 178
Tjanuny 278
Ij(~)I~)1

sub ,jao' 15
IjuO'301
tjrhwt'/95
Tjchcnu 16\

Tjckcl255
Tjcmchu 161
Tjcncnycr 1N9

Tjuiu lOS
Tod 28, 29, 115, 181),271,291,]91
toilet items, ."iCC cosmetics
~Ihmh()s +4. 2H9
Toshka 94
toys 64, 265, 293-4, 2W
trade 17, !lJ, 25,27,28,37,.18. +0. 41,
52, 55-6, 57, 102, 120, 152, 155, 158,
164,166,175,186,188,197,2011,

205,22+, n 1-2, 24J, 250. 259, 281),

291,29+'-'-5.295
Trajan 137, 153
Tr;llI11cdcr, C. 155
16
rriad 32, 35,+8,99, 111, 151,180, IX2,
/82,187.193,230,
249. 2(13,

t.fC'ASUn"

no,

268, 287, 295-6

Tuareg 156
Tukh 195-(l
Tuna d-Gcbcl25, 72,116,123.139.
150, 221, 222, 148, 296, 296
Tuphillm 291
TUfa 18. 111,235
Turi lS.1H
Turin Erutic Papyrus lJ3, ISH
Turin JlIdici;11 Papyrus II (), 241
Turin t\lining Papyrus 1/-1, 170

Turin RO~;ll C\Ilon 6~, 89, IJJ, 152,

218,256, 2W)-7. 305
Turin Saliric.lI P;IP~ rus 192

Turke\' I89, 211

tUrlI1lt-,ise51,95.119,1-H.153,156,
271,272.295.21)7
tunic 218
TushrallOl 114. 2lJI
Tutanl..hamun 21,12.27.21),33,40.
45, +6. 51, 60, 61. 63, 67. 67, 74, N.
92,99,11I6--7, /07, 112-3, 11-1-5,
/23, no, nL HO, I-IU, HI, 145,
162,1(,1.165. Ih,. 167, 168, 172,
lil. 199,202,103. 20R, 211, 215,
230,239,252,257,262,lo2,2fi9,
2i(J, 271. 277.179. 2Vl, 297-8, 297.
21)8,299.302, JO(l, JOS-9
'rulankhalCll, scc 'l'llfankh;11l1tlll
'I'ulhmosis, sec Thlilmnse
Tuyu 290, 308-lJ, 309
1\ 12l). 139.298
(l;e/ 31. 31, 248. 298-9. 199
Tyre 58, 2z.t

Udimu, scc Dcn

Udjahorn..:sne( 13, -W, 221,247

lItljllt-CYC, sec "'ttfja/-cyc
I/(/ju 72
Ug"Jrit 59,255
lu Burun 294
Umm d-Breigal, Tdl98
Umm d-Qtah 13, 17-18,33, 150,
186,196,220,251,254
Umm c1-Sawwan 22, 279
Unas 42,51,60,70,7/,97, 105,210,
234-5,235,251-2,269,286,299
undcrworld 19,36,45,47, 6S, Rl, 85,
UN, 139, 146.162,107,256,267.
2X3
UNESCO 11, 12,44
Upi 2J6-7
Ur280
llrai'l/S 18,34, 67. 74. 7S, 87, 95, 96,
139,167.199,201.245.262,277.
284,302-3,305
rart:1l221
urine 176
Uronani 103, 258
Ursa .\ lajor. sec Great Bear
Uruk 280
"Gscrhct

50

USCJ"kaf 10,12.210.252,267
Uscrbra 220, 286
usluhti, sec s"ab/i
Utn, sec Wadjy!
vagina 176
\'allc)' Festival 49, 99
"alley ofrhc Kings 35. 36, 40, +3, 61.

80,82,83,137,170,172,18+,202,
203,207, llo, 219, 2++, 251. 252,
267, 288,292. 292,299-300,3oo.
305
K\ 143
...,442,299
K\6 43. 83
J...,7 2+0,306
184
1>.,943.79,83,106
n11241
h.\ 15 265. 2~U
).;,"16240
f.. \ 17 2()5. 292. 300
'12111211-1, 28~
1(\ 2229,299
.;T23 46, 135, 2lJ7. 299
/..,24299

",S

K\2529lJ
... \.14 39, 62, M, 239, 290
..:\3529,184.300
",\36 (17,168
K\38 289. 299
1\.'-'928,199
",-42289
1>.,4-3290
",-4()30~9

...,5521.20U.291
1..:,"57 132, 252, 300
f..\(1267. 106. 141, 165. 16.1,211.215,
257, 2W,171. 277, 297---8, ZY9. 306,

ValiCln ohc1isk 41
Venus 43,53

mad hekllW 67,167,262

Verncr,:\1. U
Vermis, P. 45
Viceroy of Kush 16, 18,28-9.124,
202, 20S-6, 2f5, 298, 300-1, 30/
Victory Stclcof I)iy 101, 103, 130,

J1'eshrlJ

224,279, 2S1, 283

ViClOf\' Stele ofThulnluSC 11289
Vicnn;~ S,slem 22S
yizier 12,15,28, 29, 40, +6, 65, 67, 79,
90,159,166,183,184, Hl(l--7, 21 I,
220,240,243,2";3,252,259,184,
286, 2~8, 3111-2
vulture 36, 61, 67, 74, 122, 193. 201,
267,302,302
Vyse, R. 11,77, lSI. 260
Wadi Abu Ilinnis Y7
Wadi Allaqi 135
lI'adiArabah 166,271
Wadi Digla 166
Wadi Gah!..raba 133
Wadi Gha~zch 166

Wadi Iialfil 25
Wadi Hammamat 2X, 65. S4, 114, I H,
119-20, 155, 170, 1S3. 195, 279
Wadi I Jill:!l 92
Wadi Har211
Wadi c1-Hudi 183,279
\,Vadi iVbghara 71, 152, 256, 271, 297
Wadi cl-Nakhhl 82
Wadi Natrull 56, 153, 197
Wadi Qlrun I I
Wadi Qubbanci c1-Qjrud 72, 1+5, 198
\Vadi Silke,'laqa c1-Zcid 121
\\"adiTumilat iii, 201
Wadi,see Djel
n'tufj mer 115
WadjYL 67, 95,139,199,201,245.257.
262,269,302-3. J()3. 305
\Vahihra, stc f\ pries
\\albrook l\lithracum26I
\VaJlsofthe Prince 56. 102
wand 16i, 16~, 24S, 262
'Wolr crown', sec hlue crown
1/!1Iref('minisrries') 2S9
warfare 32, 35. 40, 42, 63-+, 132, 134,
U7, 161-2,177,189-90,203, 211,
245.272. ::\03-+. 303
I1JtfSsccplre21,31,.N.S6,122,20l,
230, 276. 2X6. 304
Wascl/\Vosrcr 122, 122. 148,286.30+
\\'ashshubnni IS9
\\;ller clod, scc dcpsydra

190,209,216
\\omcn64, 72,90,118-9,170,193,
238,265---6,272,306-7
wool 33. 117,228
Woollc~; L. 26
writing 15, 59, 90,128-9,163-+,16-1,
216,219,261. Uri, J06
Wri/iu-,( oj"/he /litltlm Chamba 106
Xerxes 116
X Group 48, 55

Yahudi';l, Tell c1- 13()-7. 215, 255,

J08, j08
Yam 148, 20+-5
Y:lrcs, Rc\', Dr 305
Ycno;lm 143
Young, T. 90, 247, 30S
uya 46, 290, J08-9, 309
Zawi\e( c1-An'an 180.210.309
Zawi~"Cf el-!\l;yitin 204
Zawi~e( Umm-c1-Rakham 56. 103. 186
Zeus31, 36, 261, 280
Zi\'ic, A. 252
zodiac 42-3.85
Zoser, sec Djoser

\\"atctkhclhor IlH
\\'aw:1I 16, 33, lOb, 3UO
\\"a\ of Horus 5f)
\\a;, T mn der97
wa'.51, 71. 72.93,191.261)
wcaving" 49. 118,200.307
"'t'{,l'Il 52, 53. 20S
wet/ill 30
"'i(ljlIl-C~C (cye of Iloru!i) 3 I, 02,

133-+.176.139,255,264.274

,,;(lIc~

ur66 11)9, 3nO

temple II, 12, 28. 39, 70, 71,

\Vcnamun, sec Ihporl flj"fll'IWIllIfIl

Wcncg89
Wcni 37, 220, 27lJ
Wcnis, sec Un;ls
Wcnkc, R, 127
Wcnncrer 214
\\'epwawcl -H, 214, :U(j, 256, 304-5,

111, H~, 150, 156, 179,211,233,

235.243.259,269,299
Yapheio 115

3114
\VcpW;I\\ctcmsaf 30-1
1Vl'rael63

30Y

'"alley of (hl.: Q.l1ccns 300

Q\J~ 300
(/144300
<t\ 55300

mer kht!Tep IW11IP/ 230

129
\Vcshwcsh 255
Western Descn, Sl.'e Libyan Desert
me/JIm 191
wheat 16, 17,8-1,188
Whilc Nile 203
While W'llls 251
wig 69, 117, II i, 140-1
Wilkinson,]. G. 91, 131,247, .lOS, JOS
Wilkinson, R. 267
willow 108
window of appearances 36, 178, 217
winc 15,17,22-3,23, 1U2, 103, 108,

327

5h

List ofbibft:ogra.phical abbreviatio11S

I
II
II

ASAE

V
51
5
sli
sh

51
51
51
51
51
51
51!
sl!
Si

BACE

BSFE
C,,]

1
CdE
CRfPEL

SII

Si

5i
si,
Si

5i

DE
ET
CM
JAOS

st
sl"

5,
5,
5,

JNES
JSSEA

Journal ofl"ear Eastern Studies

l'Egypte
Bulletin de ]'Tnstirur Fran<;ais

Si

5i]

Journal of lVlediterranean
Archaeology

BIfAO

BN
BSEC

5i

J1\11A

BiO,.
BIE

BMNUI

Si
Si

Centre for Egyptology

Seminar
Bibliothcca Oricntalia
Bulletin de I'Institut de

5i
Si

sil

JEOL

Bulletin of the Egyptological

si
si

JARCE
]EA

SI

5
5

s
5
5
5
5
S
5
5
5

328

Jaarbericht van het

Annales elu Service des

Antiquitcs de l'Egyptc
Bulletin of the Australian

BAR
BES

BMF/!

Note

Vooraziatisch-Egyptisch

Genootschap 'Ex Grieme Lux'

Biblical Archaeology Review

d'Archeologie Orientale
Bulletin of the iVluseum of
Fine Arts, Boston
Bulletin of the Metropolitan
IVluseulll of Art, New York
Biblische Notizen
Bulletin de la Societe
d'Egyptologie de Gencve
Bulletin de la Societe
Fran~aise d'Egyptologie
Cambridge Archaeological
Journal
Chronique d'Egypte
Cahiers de Recherche de
l'lnstitut de Papyrologie et
Egyptologie de Lille
Discussions in Egyptology
Etudes et Travaux
Gbttinger .Nliszellcn
Journal of the American
Oriental Society
Journal of the American
Research Center in Egypt
Journal of Egyptian
Archaeology

Journal of the Society for the

Study of Egyptian Antiquities
Liverpool Annals of
LAAA
Archaeology ,mel Anthropology
MIDAIK 1\1ittcilungen des Deutschen
Archiiologischen Insriwts,

Abteilung Kairu

MfO

l'vlitteilungen des Instituts fur

Orientforschung
NARCE Newsletter of theAmerican
Research Center in Egypt
Orientalistische
OLZ
Literaturzeitung
Oil/IRO
Oudheidkundige rvlededelingen
uit het Rijksl11useul11 "all
Oudheden tc Lciden
Grim/alia Orientalia Lovaniensa Periodica
PSBA
Proceedings of the Societ~ of
Biblical Archaeology
RdE
Revue d' Egyprologie
Studien zur Alt~lgyptischen
SAK
Kultur
fijI
Varia Aeg'yptiaca
/ifc4
\-Varld Archaeology
WZK1\!1 \Viener Zeitschrift flir die
Kunde des wlorgenlandes
zAS
Zcitschrift fUr Agyptische
Sprache und Altertumskunde

(/1/

tile illuslmli(l1ls

Each illustr.nion is credited in its

accompanying caption. \Vherever possible
object numbers are included. 'I'he follO\\inl:?:
abbreviations have been used to refer to [h~se
institutions which kindly supplied
photographs:
Cairo
The Egyptian
.Museulll, Cairo
eM
The Dcpanmenr of
Coins and 1\ lcd,lls at
the British J\lllscum
Deutsches
IMI, Cairo
Archiiologischt.:s
Jnstiwt in Cairo
EA
The Department of
Ancient Egypt and
Sudan at the British
lVluseum
Griffith Institute
The Griffith
Institute at the
Ashmolean
?vlUSC1l111,0'\ford
rVletropolitan !VlUSClIl11 'I'he l'vletropolililn
lVluse1ll11 of An,
NcwYark
Petric !vlllseul11
The PctTie 1\ lll!'JClllll
of Egyptian
Archaeology,
University College
London
The Department
\VA
of the ~!\ncicnt ~ear
East" at the British
?vluseu111