SOUTH ABYDOS
on Egypt's Second Intermediate Period
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The tomb of Woseribre Seneb-Kay (foreground) and seven other contemporary Second Intermediate Period tombs lie near the necropolis of
the Mountain-of-Anubis at South Abydos. Photograph by Josef Wegner.
xcavations at the site o f Abydos during 2013-2015
have revealed a previously unknown royal necropolis
dating to Egypt’s late Second Intermediate Period (ca.
1650-1600 b . c . e .) and contemporary with the early-middle
Hyksos Period. This discovery has opened a new window
into political dynamics during one of the most obscure eras
of pharaonic Egypt. The late Second Intermediate Period, the
final stage o f the Middle Bronze Age in Egypt, was associated
with the decline o f the Middle Kingdom state system and
the emergence of a fragmentary political situation in which
Egypt was ultimately dominated by two rival kingdoms, the
Thebans (Dynasties 16-17) in Upper Egypt, and the Hyksos
(Dynasty 15) in the Nile Delta. The historical events that
ended this era are comparatively well documented: the wars
of the Theban kings Kamose and Ahmose that culminated in
the expulsion o f the Hyksos, ca. 1550 b . c . e ., and establish­
ment o f the New Kingdom. However, the nature o f Egypt’s
evolving political and territorial organization during the
Hyksos Period remains an issue of great debate in Egyptian
archaeology. This newly identified royal necropolis offers new
light on society and politics in Upper Egypt contemporary
with the early Hyksos Period and prior to the ascendancy of
the Theban 17th Dynasty.
68 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015)
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Josef Wegner
The ongoing investigation of the Second Intermediate Pe­
riod necropolis by the Penn Museum, University of Pennsylva­
nia, now spans three field seasons. At the present time we have
specifically identified one of these kings, the hitherto unknown
pharaoh, Woseribre Seneb-Kay (opening photograph). Seneb-
Kay’s tomb is the earliest within a larger tomb cluster. His dec­
orated burial chamber provides crucial evidence on the chro­
nology of the necropolis. In addition to the tomb of Seneb-Kay
the work to-date has examined seven other tombs, all closely
comparable in architecture and scale to that of Seneb-Kay. All
of the eight currently-known tombs were plundered in ancient
times. However, fragmentary remains of burial goods, as well
as the cohesive nature of the necropolis in terms of architec­
ture and use of the landscape, indicates these were all royal
burials. Human remains from five of these tombs show a pat­
tern of single interments of mature males. Two nearly com­
plete bodies, including that of king Seneb-Kay, have provided
the rare opportunity for examination of the physical remains
of Upper Egyptian rulers of the Second Intermediate Period.
Who were these eight kings? Why were they buried at Abydos?
Attempting to answer these fundamental questions is helping
to shed new light on the political situation of Egypt during the
Hyksos Period.
Figure 1 (top left). Map of greater Abydos showing location of the Senwosret III complex and the Mountain of Anubis: location of the newly identified Second Intermediate
Period royal necropolis.
Figure 2 (top right). The mortuary complex of Senwosret III (12,h Dynasty) at South Abydos, and associated structures.
Figure 3 (below). The Second Intermediate Period tombs and adjacent 13th Dynasty tombs S9 and S10. Plans by Josef Wegner.

The Second neath a symmetrical promi­

Intermediate Royal nence in the cliffs that visually
Cemetery resembles a natural pyramid.
The Second Intermediate Pe­ Excavation of structures asso­
riod necropolis is located at ciated with the Senwosret III
South Abydos, an area of low tomb enclosure has produced
desert terrain that is bordered extensive deposits of clay seal­
by the Nile floodplain and ings produced by stamp seals
high desert cliffs (fig. 1). Prior with the hieroglyphic desig­
to the Second Intermediate nation Mountain-of-Anubis.
Period, this part of the land­ The mountain peak that rises
scape of Abydos had been behind the tomb site appears
developed during the Middle to have been ascribed to the
Kingdom with the construc­ canine deity Anubis. The des­
tion of a series of royal mor­ ignation Mountain-of-Anubis
tuary complexes belonging was applied as a form of insti­
to kings of the 12th and 13th tutional necropolis seal.
Dynasties. Excavations, on­ Subsequent to the reign of
going since the 1990s, have Sensosret III, two kings of the
exposed an expansive mortu­ 13th Dynasty built additional
ary complex, anciently named tombs on the northwestern
Enduring-are-the-Places-of- side of the tomb enclosure.
Khakaure-true-of-voice-in-Aby­ Briefly examined in 1POI­
dos, belonging to the 12th Dy­ ROT by the British excavator
nasty king Senwosret III (ca. Arthur Weigall, these struc­
1880-1840 b . c .e .). This state- tures, tombs “S9” and “S10,”
initiated funerary complex have massive stone-built
includes a subterranean tomb substructures, variants of the
within a T-shaped enclosure architectural format that pre­
at the base of the high desert dominated in the late Middle
cliffs, an associated mortuary Kingdom pyramids in the
temple, as well as an extensive Memphite region. The sub­
urban site, the town of Wah-Sut, with accompanying industrial terranean burial compartments appear to have originally been
and agricultural zones (fig. 2). The tomb of Senwosret III sits be­ capped by now-destroyed superstructures, probably pyramidal

NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015) 69

 in form. In 2014 the discov­
ery of a royal funerary stela
associated with tomb S10 es­
tablished ownership to one of
the Sobekhotep kings of the
13th Dynasty (here identified
as Sobekhotep ‘N’). Further
evidence that emerged in
2014-2015 takes the form of
fragments of the painted ce­
dar coffin of this same king
Sobekhotep, reused in the
tomb of king Seneb-Kay. The
coffin was decorated with a
specific group of Coffin Texts
that demonstrate that his
reign falls within the middle-
late 13th Dynasty (Wegner
and Cahail 2015). The set of
evidence now available sug­
gests the probability that
Sobekhotep N, the builder
of Tomb S10, can be identi­
fied as Sobekhotep IV of the
middle 13th Dynasty while
the nearby Tomb S9 belongs
to his brother and immediate
predecessor, Neferhotep I.
The recently discovered
Second Intermediate Period
royal necropolis represents
an addition to the preexisting
area of the 13th Dynasty tombs
(fig. 3). The known tombs
cluster in an area of just 40 by
60 meters positioned directly
north of tomb S10 and flanked
on the east by the enclosure
wall of tomb S9. Vestiges of a
series of enclosure walls sug­
gest the Second Intermediate
Period tombs were situated
with respect to still-standing
enclosure walls dating to the
13th Dynasty. The tombs have
been numbered in sequence
of excavation with the prefix
‘CS’ for ‘Cemetery S.’ They in­
clude the tomb of Woseribre
Seneb-Kay (CS9) positioned
very close to the front of tomb S10 (Sobekhotep). Slightly further
to the north is the main cluster comprised of seven anonymous
tombs of similar design: CS4 through 8; CS10 and CS11. Ad­
ditionally, there are three shafts (CS12-CS14) that appear to be
associated with tomb CS10, the largest and deepest of the Second
Intermediate Period tombs.
The Second Intermediate
Period tombs employ a pre­
dominantly linear design con­
sisting of a walled entrance
ramp that leads to a succes­
sion of two or three subterra­
nean chambers. The orienta­
tion is from Nile downstream
to Nile upstream (true west to
east) with the tomb entrances
facing generally towards the
cultic area of the Osiris tem­
ple and sacred processional
route at North Abydos. The
tombs range in overall length
Figure 4 a -b . The architecture and scale of the Second Intermediate tombs is
quite uniform. Variation occurs in the number of chambers and format of the between 7 and 17 meters,
burial chamber, typically a slab-lined crypt, as in CS8 (above). Other variants in although the inner cham­
burial chamber architecture include the use of monolithic chambers and the block
construction in the tomb of Seneb-Kay, CS9 (below). Photographs by Josef Wegner. bers (excluding the entrance
ramps) place the tombs more
cohesively in the 6-12 meter
range. Construction is of gyp-
sum-plastered mud brick with
stone fittings (fig. 4a-b).
The tombs are constructed
in trenches cut into the desert
subsurface and typically de­
scend to a depth of 3-5 meters
below the elevation of the en­
trance. The architecture adapts
to this shallow mode of con­
struction. The first (highest el­
evated) chamber in most cases
takes the form of a wood-beam
roofed chamber with a flat
roof intended not to protrude
above the desert surface. Mov­
ing inwards the chambers step
sequentially deeper and the
architecture shifts to the use of
brick vaults. In most examples
the burial chamber is mud
brick with an internal stone
slab lining and surmounted
by a barrel-vaulted roof (fig.
5). Variants include the use
of a single-chamber interior
(tombs CS6 and CS11), and
two of the tombs use mono­
lithic stone burial chambers in­
stead of slab lining (tombs CS6
and CS10). The only example to employ a stone-block construction
for the burial chamber is that of Seneb-Kay (CS9), a tomb which in
other respects closely resembles the rest of the group (fig. 6). None
of the eight tombs preserves evidence of any superstructure.
Although the juxtaposition of this Second Intermediate Period
necropolis to the earlier Middle Kingdom tombs is suggestive of

70 N E A R E A S T E R N A R C H A E O L O G Y 78:2 (2015)
a pattern of incremental growth of an evolving royal necropolis, ing would necessitate a major work force with central oversight
the mode in which the Second Intermediate Period tombs relate over a long time frame. The archaeological evidence emerging at
to the larger 13th Dynasty tombs demonstrates a less harmonious South Abydos presents a fascinating picture of a series of kings
relationship. The tomb closest to S10, that of Seneb-Kay, occupies of the Second Intermediate Period who placed their burials near
a walled area that appears originally to have contained an offer­ tombs of the most prom inent rulers of the late Middle Kingdom.
ing chapel and related elements connected with the earlier 13th But, it was Seneb-Kay and his contemporaries who appear them ­
Dynasty structure. The construction of Seneb-Kay’s tomb con­ selves to have initiated the systematic desecration and plunder­
tributed to the denudation of this area, as the builders inserted ing of those earlier royal tombs beneath the Mountain-of-Anubis.
the later king’s tomb into the
walled enclosure of the earlier
13th Dynasty structure. Both
the architecture and the funer­
ary equipment within Seneb-
Kay s tomb make use of spolia
drawn from 13th Dynasty elite
and royal m ortuary structures.
Seneb-Kay’s burial chamber
was constructed of reused
limestone blocks that had been
disassembled from a group of
decorated m ortuary chapels
belonging to high ranking of­
ficials of the m id-late 13th Dy­
nasty (Cahail 2015).
Remarkably, the canopic
chest of Seneb-Kay (fig. 7a-
b) was fashioned from cut-
down cedar boards that had
once composed the painted
outer coffin of a king Sobek-
hotep (evidently the same
king associated with tomb
Figure 5. Burial chambers of tombs CS8 (behind) and CS10 (front). CS8 is a typical slab-lined burial chamber while CS10
S10). Among the anonymous employs a monolithic limestone chamber. Photographs by Josef Wegner.
tom bs at the northern end of
the Second Interm ediate Pe­
riod necropolis we have evidence for a continued process of ex­ A Regional Dynasty of Upper Egyptian Rulers?
ploiting materials from S10. Tomb CS6, the northeastern tomb The archaeological picture at South Abydos suggests a densely clus­
of the central cluster, was constructed with a ca. 60-ton reused tered royal necropolis including a succession of tombs built in se­
quartzite sarcophagus cham ber that had been extracted from quence. Spatially, the cemetery appears to follow a generally south
the substructure of S10 some 80 meters away (Wegner 2014; to north progression. The tomb of Seneb-Kay is the earliest pres­
W egner and Cahail 2014). This implies not just the despoiling ently known, while the tomb at the northern-east corner of the main
of that tomb and its funerary equipment, but the extensive de- group (CS6) appears to be one of the latest in the sequence. Ceramics
construction of its architecture culm inating in the removal of associated with the tombs confirm a general date range in the post-
the burial cham ber for reuse during the Second Intermediate 13th Dynasty Upper Egyptian Second Intermediate Period. Other
Period (fig. 8). dating evidence provides more specific chronological indications.
The evidence recovered so far suggests that during the con­ O f greatest chronological value is the decoration in the
struction of the Second Intermediate Period tombs the two burial chamber of Seneb-Kay which establishes a set of specific
neighboring 13th Dynasty royal tombs were targets for state- iconographic parallels with tomb chapels dated to the middle
sponsored plundering, potentially motivated by political rea­ 16th Dynasty in El-Kab and Hierakonpolis (Wegner 2015). In
sons, but perhaps more fundamentally reflecting a declining particular, distinct artistic parallels with the tomb of Sobe-
economic situation and curtailed access to raw materials such as knakht II, governor of El-Kab, suggest that Seneb-Kay was a
cedar, metals, and finer quality building stones. Not coinciden­ close contem porary of that official whose career can be placed
tally, evidence from the nearby tom b of Senwosret III suggests on historical evidence in the middle of the 16th Dynasty. C on­
that it, too, was broken into and plundered during the Second sequently, Seneb-Kay is a king whose reign falls ca. 1650-1600
Intermediate Period (Wegner 2007, 2009). Due to the scale of b .c . e ., coeval with the early-m iddle 16th Dynasty and the early-
that tomb and its immense blocking system, successful plunder­ m iddle Hylcsos Period.

NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015) 71

'•A*,./-
 Seneb-Kay’s decorated burial chamber provides hints at a mentary state of the list, enough is preserved to see clearly that
king who may have reigned early in the formation of an indepen­ the first two kings both employ the same structure to their pre­
dent Upper Egyptian dynasty. The name of Seneb-Kay, recorded nomen: Woser-X-re. Remarkably, this pattern corresponds with
in painted texts in his burial chamber, is significant. While his the prenom en of king Seneb-Kay - Woseribre - now established
throne name, Woseribre, follows conventional structure incor­ from his decorated burial chamber at South Abydos (fig. 10).
porating the name of the solar deity Re, there are no other known Building on the evidence provided by the king’s nom en this
individuals with his particular nom en or birth name (fig. 9). raises the possibility that the Turin Kinglist recorded a dynastic
Conceivably Seneb-Kay is an unattested name variant. However succession initiated by two kings: a W oser///re Seneb followed
the names Seneb and Kay in­
dependently are well attested.
Equally viable is the possibil­
ity that this king employed a
filiative nom en in which the
name of father and son are
placed in direct juxtaposition:
the nom en in this case is to be
understood as Senebs (son)
Kay. The filiative nom en was
a technique for expressing de­
scent known particularly dur­
ing the earlier 13th Dynasty, a
century before Seneb-Kay. It
appears possible that Seneb-
Kay may have adopted the
same practice somewhat later
in time, as a way of asserting
filial association, particularly
relevant if his father was king.
In this case the royal sequence
may include two kings: a king
Seneb and his son Woseribre,
Senebfs son)-Kay.
With the discovery of Wo­
seribre Seneb-Kay we are now
provided with archaeological
evidence that may elucidate
one of the m ost problematic
sections of the well-known
Turin Kinglist. Preserved sec­
tions of the Turin Kinglist
include entries for the 13th,
14th, 15th and 16th Dynasties.
Figure 6. The tomb of Seneb-Kay following excavation in January 2014. Photograph by Josef Wegner.
Following the entries and
sum m ation for the 16th Dy­
nasty (Colum n 11) the docum ent begins with a new dynastic by Woseribre (Senebs son Kay). Although, other interpretations
sequence that is unfortunately broken away after the first two of such a name can be proposed (for instance the statement “Kay
names. Following a lacuna of eight lines the list then contin­ is healthy:” Schneider 2006).
ues with five partial royal names. Consequently, we have a suc­ The tentative placement of Seneb-Kay as one of two kings at the
cession of kings preserved in seven partial names. There is no beginning of a dynastic succession fits with the archaeological evi­
sum m ation line and the docum ent must have continued onto a dence from the Second Intermediate Period necropolis at Abydos.
now-missing column. Seneb-Kays tomb appears to date relatively early in a sequence that
Several scholars have suggested that this part of the Turin continued with the addition of at least seven further tombs slightly
Kinglist may represent a continuation from the Theban 16th further to the north. With iconographic evidence suggesting a date
to 17th Dynasty (Allen 2010, Bennet 2006). However, none of for Seneb-Kay contemporary with Sobeknakht II at El-Kab we have
the fragmentary names correspond with Theban rulers known a sequence of kings buried at South Abydos but ruling at the same
through the archaeological and textual record. Despite the frag­ time as the ’fheban 16th Dynasty. Who were these kings?

72 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015)

 It might appear tempting to simply identify the South Abydos
necropolis as a group of ephemeral rulers belonging within the
Theban succession of Dynasties 16-17. However, the archaeo­
logical evidence from South Abydos, and indeed the Egyptian
historical record provided by the Turin Kinglist, suggests oth-
Figure 7a-b. The disarticulated body of king Seneb-Kay (during excavation, above) lay associated with the remains of his burial assemblage including his canopic chest
which had been made from coffin bo a rd | bearing the name of an earlier king Sobekhotep (below), as well as his painted coffin and funerary mask.
aS
'"■'5;
af
erwise. These appear to be kings whqgtpade use of Abydos as
their burial ground and whose territorial control was therefore
centered in Middle Egypt and the northern part of Upper Egypt.
Prior to the discovery of the Second Intermediate Period royal
necropolis at South Abydos, Kim Ryholt proposed in a reanalysis
of the historical records for the Second Intermediate Period that
the beginning of the Hyksos Period was associated with the de­
feat and conquest of the city of Itj-Tawy, thereby terminating the
13th Dynasty. In the political vacuum that resulted Upper Egypt
fragmented into two kingdoms: a Theban rump-state ruled by
the 16th Dynasty, and a short-lived series of kings centered on
the region of Abydos, for which Ryholt coined the term “Abydos
Dynasty” (Ryholt 1997).
This unnumbered dynasty is presumably one that fell out
of the standard royal dynastic canon known from later sources
such as Manetho, but was included as a separate royal grouping
within the earlier Turin Kinglist which was compiled from ear­
lier sources during the Ramesside Period. Although doubts have
been expressed regarding the historical evidence for an “Abydos
Dynasty” (Maree 2010), the archaeological evidence from South
Abydos, paired with correlation of the prenomen of Seneb-Kay
with the fragmentary Column 11 entries in the Turin Kinglist
lends considerable weight to the basic thesis of an “Abydos Dy­
nasty” originally proposed by Ryholt.
Although we yet lack direct evidence for the territorial scope,
and location of their capital, the archaeological picture emerg­
ing from South Abydos is suggestive that the early and middle
Hyksos Period was associated with a higher degree of political
fragmentation than is usually ascribed to Egypt in the simpli­
fied model of Hyksos/Theban territorial bifurcation. Seneb-Kay
and associated rulers at South Abydos may be independent kings
whose rulership broadly paralleled that of the Theban 16th Dy­
nasty (hence their placement directly after that dynasty in the
Turin Kinglist). They appear to be a succession of kings who ulti­
mately lost their independence as part of political events that led
up to the Theban ascendancy of the 17th Dynasty (fig. 11).
Evidence of the Human Remains
The Second Intermediate Period tombs excavated thus far at South
Abydos all suffered extensive robbery in ancient times. Concomi­
tant with the plundering of the tomb assemblages the remains of
the tomb occupants were damaged and disarticulated but discard­
ed in the immediate vicinity. Human remains have been recovered
in association with five of the eight tombs. All of the burials belong
to individual mature males. There is no evidence for multiple or
secondary interments. The remains are all skeletonized but with
indications that the bodies were originally mummified. Subse­
quent loss of flesh and linen wrappings occurred through damage
and exposure associated with tomb robbery. The most complete
bodies are those of Seneb-Kay (fig. 12), excavated amongst re­
mains of his burial assemblage on the floor of his tomb, and the
Photographs by Josef Wegner.
--------------------------------------------
anonymous occupant of tomb CS10, the majority of whose body
was recovered from debris within and adjacent to his burial cham­
ber. Additional partially preserved remains include a cranium
from tomb CS5 and post-cranial elements (CS11).
During 2015 Maria Rosado and Jane Hill completed detailed
osteological analysis of the human remains with significant re­
sults particularly deriving from the two more complete individ­
uals. King Seneb-Kay was a man whose age at death was 35-40.
His height can be calculated in the range between 5’6 and 5’10.”
He was right-handed with evidence on the muscle attachments
for significant development associated with repeated use of his
right arm in fairly strenuous physical activity. He had sustained
recent blows to the right side of the face and clavicle which had
partially healed. Seneb-Kay’s body preserves evidence for life­
ending trauma caused by a massive assault involving bladed
weapons. Seneb-Kay’s skeleton preserves sixteen significant
N E A R E A S T E R N A R C H A E O L O G Y 78:2 (2015) 73
 cuts that penetrated to the
bone. The locations extend
from the cranium to the feet
but with the majority con­
centrated on the king’s lower
body: his lower back, knees
and ankles (fig. 13). Cuts of
significant force include a
blow to his right ankle that
severed his Achilles tendon
as well as cuts through the
right patella and sacrum. The
wounds to the lower body
would have rendered the king
severely incapacitated.
The upper body includes
cuts to the fingers on both
sides and a set of three major
blows to the cranium: one to
the front and two to the back.
Of the cranial wounds the
blow to the front is best pre­
served (fig. 14). This wound
was significant enough in
scale that independent of the
trauma to the lower body it
would have ended Seneb-
Kay’s life within minutes. This
F ig u re 8. T o m b C S 6, a t th e n o rth e a s te rn lim it o f th e to m b cluste r, th is to m b m a k e s u s e o f th e re u s e d ca. 6 0 -to n s a rc o p h a g u s
blow created a series of radi­ c h a m b e r e x tra c te d fro m n e a rb y to m b S 1 0. P h o to g ra p h b y J o s e f W e g n e r.
ating fractures as the entire
leading edge of the bladed flecting strongly developed adductor muscles, as well as gluteal
weapon embedded into the king’s skull. The curvature, width and and adductor extoses. Seneb-Kay displays a full roster of marked
cross section of the blade are preserved in the cranial bone. The long-term stresses to the lower body consistent with equid riding
weapon was a 4.5 cm wide convex blade. The parameters show the since childhood: features that have been recognized as indicators
characteristic form of a Second Intermediate Period battle axe. for long term horse riding in other skeletal populations in the
The nature and extent of the trauma to Seneb-Kay’s body rep­ ancient Near East (Molleson and Blondiaux 1994).
resent an attack that certainly must have involved multiple assail­ In view of the evidence from the skeleton of Seneb-Kay, let
ants. The extensive trauma to the lower body indicates strongly us turn to briefly discuss the other nearly-complete body exca­
that the king initially was in an elevated position relative to his vated at South Abydos. The individual buried in tomb CS10 was
attackers; the cuts to his ankles, knees and lower back likely had a shorter man (ca. 5’4”-5 ’6”) than Seneb-Kay. He also died at ap­
the goal of bringing him to the ground and incapacitating him. proximately 35-40 years of age, although with no indications for
The blows to the cranium, including the massive axe wound to a traumatic death. This man was shorter but more robustly built
the front of his skull, in all likelihood represent the final blows than Seneb-Kay. He was left-handed; his left arm displays sig­
of this life-ending assault. Although the body was disarticulated nificant development of the muscle attachments consistent with
and damaged by tomb robbers, remains of flesh and linen wrap­ long-term repetitive athletic activities. Significantly, evidence
pings demonstrate that embalming of the body occurred a sig­ from the lower body is consistent with Seneb-Kay and he too
nificant time after the king’s death. Wherever this fatal encounter shows an array of diagnostic features on the pelvis and femurs
occurred, the king’s followers managed to retrieve his body but indicative of long term horse riding.
a significant interval must have elapsed prior to mummification If Seneb-Kay and the anonymous king buried in CS10 were
and burial at Abydos. both long-term horse riders, the distinctive patterns to the array
A notable result of the recent forensic analysis is that the of wounds on Seneb-Kay’s body becomes explicable. Seneb-Kay
patterns of trauma to Seneb-Kay may correlate with evidence may in fact have been attacked while on horseback. A plausible
for specific stresses to his body during his lifetime. The king’s scenario is that Seneb-Kay was assailed while mounted, with the
lower body displays a set of distinctively developed muscle at­ cuts to his ankles, knees and lower back reflecting the need to
tachments, particularly the attachments of the upper femurs. dislodge him. Once he was knocked to the ground he may have
Diagnostic features include strongly developed linea aspera re­ briefly attempted to defend himself resulting in further cuts to

74 N E A R E A S T E R N A R C H A E O L O G Y 7 8 :2 ( 2 0 1 5 )
 his hands and fingers. The axe
wounds to his cranium were
the culminating blows in the
assault that killed the king.
Evidence for long-term
equid riding, and the pos­
sibility that Seneb-Kay was
attacked while on horseback,
raises a host of significant
questions. The appearance
and initial adaptation of hors­
es in the Nile Valley has been
long debated, particularly
since the discovery in 1958 of
a horse skeleton with possible
bit-wear at the Egyptian for­
tress site of Buhen in Lower
Nubia. Based on stratigraphic
evidence, Walter Emery dated
the skeleton to the late 13th
Dynasty (ca. 1675 b . c .e .).
Numerous scholars have
questioned this early date of
the Buhen horse. Recent re­
appraisal of the evidence has
affirmed the viability, though
not certainty, of the Second
Figure 9 (above). The name of Seneb-Kay in the CS9 burial chamber, including his nomen, Woseribre (left), and text band with his longer titulary, “The good god, the lord
of the two-lands, lord of ritual, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Woseribre, son of Re, Seneb-Kay, justified.” Photographs by Josef Wegner.
Figure 10 (bottom left). Possible association of Woseribre Seneb-Kay and his predecessor with the Woser-X-Re entries in the Turin Kinglistand the tentative placement of “Abydos
Dynasty" kings in the Kinglist following the Theban 16,h Dynasty. Diagram, Josef Wegner with facsimile of Turin Kinglist Column 11 from A. Gardiner, The Royal Canon of Turin (1959).
Figure 11 (bottom right). Suggested chronological position of the Second Intermediate Period tombs at South Abydos Diagram, Josef Wegner.

13th D ynasty 15th D ynasty

(Itj-T aw y) Hyksos
16th D ynasty (Thebes) j ca. 1650 BCE
Sckhemre-semcmawy Djehuty Sooth Abydos
Second Interm ediate
Sekhemre-sewosertwawy Sobekhotcp Period
R oyal Necropolis
Sekhemrc-sankhtawy Ncferhotcp (III)

Sankhre Mentuhotepi

Sewadjenre Nebiriau I Sobcknakht (1) El-Kab

Nebiriau II WoserHire (Scneb) ?

Semenre Horcmkhaucf (Hierakonpolis) W oseribre Seneb-K ay (CS9)

Sobeknakht (II) (El-Kab)
Sewoserenre Bebiankh

Sekhemre-shedwaset A nonym ous Tombs

CS8
5 kings (Turin Kinglist 11/10-11/14) CS10
CS4
CS5 Turin Kinglist 11/18-31
CS7 < ------------------ ,7)
CSI1
CS6
17th D ynasty (Thebes)
a ca. 1600 BCE
3

Intermediate Period date (Raulwing and Clutton-Brock 2009).

Moreover, new evidence for horses in Egypt during the Second
Intermediate Period has emerged recently. In 2009 the skeleton
of a five to ten year old mare was discovered at Tell el-Dab’a in
a building dated to the middle Hyksos king Khayan. This date
lends further direct evidence for the presence of horses in the
Nile Valley during a timeframe contemporary with Seneb-Kay
and the early-middle Hyksos Period.
It is well established through the Egyptian textual record that
extensive use of horses and chariots occurred during the Hyksos
wars of the Theban 17th Dynasty kings Kamose and Ahmose, ca.

NF.AR E ASTERN A R C H A E O L O G Y 78:2 (2015) 75

 1550 b . c . e .. Yet, there has been considerable scholarly resistance Questions of Political Organization
to the notion of horses entering Egypt and being adapted into and Dynastic Conflict
elite and military activities prior to this era. It is quite improb­ The physical remains of Seneb-Kay demonstrate that he died in a
able that the complex practices of horse raising, breaking, and violent confrontation. The body also shows evidence for substan­
riding appeared “overnight” in the company of chariot technol­ tial decay of soft-tissue prior to mummification and wrapping. The
ogy at the end of the Hyksos Period. Moreover, some scholars event that led to his death occurred at considerable distance from
appear to inadequately account for the differences between the his burial place at Abydos. Interestingly, the physical evidence
large-scale use of horse riding in military combat (a develop- may correlate with the architecture and decoration of the tomb

F ig u r e 12 (a b o v e ). S k e le to n o f W o s e rib re S e n e b -K a y , re c o v e re d a m o n g re m a in s o f his b u ria l e q u ip m e n t in th e p o le -ro o f c h a m b e r o f to m b C S 9 . P h o to g ra p h b y J o s e f W e gn er.

F ig u r e 13 (b e lo w ). L o c a tio n s o f p e rim o rte m tra u m a , s k e le to n o f S e n e b -K a y : a n te rio r v ie w (le ft) a n d p o s te rio r v ie w (rig h t). D ia g ra m , J a n e H ill.

ment which post-dates the itself. The relatively modest

Late Bronze Age) with other tomb was constructed with
forms of horse riding in mili­ extensive use of reused lime­
tary movements and by elite stone blocks and reworking of
and royal levels of society. funerary equipment from ear­
Indeed, some scholars have lier royal tombs at South Aby­
long recognized indications dos. The decoration in Seneb-
that horse riding was being Kay’s burial chamber appears
adapted, possibly as early as to have been rapidly painted
the late Middle Kingdom, as and, in fact, remained incom­
part of military scouting and plete at the time of the king’s
rapid movements (Schulman interment. The fact that the
1957). Horse riding may have decoration was attenuated is
been used in military tac­ suggested by black guidelines
tics, and by elite levels of the the artists used to delineate ar­
military prior to the advent of eas of the walls for decoration.
chariot technology in Egypt. Horses may well have a history in A set of framed, but empty, sections imply that the artists never
gift exchanges among elites during the Middle Bronze Age in­ completed planned sections of the decoration. The implication is
dependent of chariot technology (Bibby 2003). Seneb-Kay and that the tomb may have been rapidly built, and quickly painted,
the anonymous occupant of tomb CS10 both appear to be kings during a window of time that might have occurred immediately
actively involved in military campaigning during this fractured after the unexpected death of the king.
era of Egypt’s late Second Intermediate Period. Contrary to some Of considerable historical interest is the nature and location
recent opinion (Shaw 2009), kings of this era appear likely to of the martial encounter that led to Seneb-Kay’s death. Until
have had an integral role in developing military traditions, fore­ the discovery of Seneb-Kay the 17th Dynasty Theban king Se-
runners to the better documented warrior pharaohs of Egypt’s qenenre-Tao was the earliest known Egyptian king whose physi­
early New Kingdom. cal remains indicate that he died in battle. Seneb-Kay predates

76 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015)

Seqenenre but the evidence for his death in battle is comparable
in a number of respects to the case of Seqenenre. Both kings dis­
play significant trauma effected by multiple weapons and sub­
stantial axe wounds in the cranium. Both show evidence for the
elapse of a significant post-mortem period prior to the prepara­
tion of the body for burial. The mummy of Seqenenre has been
widely accepted to reflect a confrontation with the Hyksos, or
northern vassals of the Hyksos, associated with the early stages
in the outbreak of military hostilities between the Theban 17th
Dynasty and Hyksos 15th Dynasty. Analysis of the wound pat­
terns suggest that Seqenenre was also elevated relative to his at­
tackers, a position which Bietak has suggested shows use of a war
chariot at this stage (Bietak and Strouhal 1974), although other
interpretations have been entertained.
Possibilities for the conflict that led to the death of Seneb-
Kay depend on the specific date of the king’s reign and the
evolving political context of the kings buried in the South
Abydos cemetery. While warfare against the Hyksos appears
to be a viable explanation, Seneb-Kay and the seven anony­
mous burials at Abydos date to an earlier, and quite likely more
fractured political situation than was the case during the later
Second Intermediate Period when Egypt had coalesced around
the two rival kingdoms of the Hyksos 15th Dynasty and Theban
17th Dynasty.
If we accept the evidence in favor of Seneb-Kay and the sev­
en other similar tombs representing an independent kingdom,
the “Abydos Dynasty,” then we may plausibly suggest that this
was a kingdom geographically flanked by a mosaic of potential
Figure 14. Cranial wound preserving the impression of a battle axe in the skull of Seneb-Kay. Photograph by Josef Wegner.
political rivals. To the south lay the Theban kingdom ruled by
the 16th Dynasty. To the north the Hyksos 15th Dynasty and
a possible array of vassal rulers would have dominated the
Nile Delta. At the beginning of this era the vestiges of the 13th
Dynasty may have still controlled the area around the Middle
Kingdom royal capital at Itj-Tawy, even after secession of Upper
Egypt (Ilin-Tomich 2014).
Moreover, the artistic synchronism between the tomb of
Seneb-Kay and the chapel of Sobeknakht II at El-Kab suggests
that Seneb-Kay ruled during a time when Upper Egypt was sub­
ject to significant military incursions from Nubia. The signifi­
cant scope of one attempted invasion by a coalition of Nubian
groups is recorded in a recently identified text in Sobeknakht’s
chapel at El-Kab (Davies 2003). Kings buried at Abydos may
have been involved through alliances with Upper Egyptian poli­
ties, particularly the Theban 16th Dynasty, in repelling such at­
tacks from the south. At the present time it appears that Seneb-
Kay’s death may be attributed to military activities against any
of these potential adversaries.
Based on the archaeology of the cemetery at South Abydos,
the death of Seneb-Kay does not appear to be linked to events
that brought an end to his dynasty. Evidently he was succeeded
by at least seven other rulers of comparable status suggesting the
long-term continuity of a regional kingdom that managed to
maintain itself for a significant time period. Continued archaeo­
logical work at South Abydos promises to add further evidence
on the political history associated with these newly identified
Second Intermediate Period kings.
NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015) 77
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities
for ongoing support of the archaeological research program at South
Abydos. Among the many Egyptian colleagues who have been in­
volved I would like particularly to note the current chairman, Dr.
Mamdouh el Damaty, as well as Mr. Gamal Abd el-Naser and Mr.
Ashraf Okasha of the Sohag-Abydos Inspectorates. For their work on
documenting the South Abydos tombs particular thanks to Dr. Jen­
nifer Houser Wegner and Dr. Kevin Cahail. Work in 2013-2015 has
benefited from ongoing institutional support from the Penn Muse­
um, University of Pennsylvania, particularly research funds through
the Office of Director, Dr. Julian Siggers, as well as major support
from Mr. Rick Rockwell, Elizabeth Jean Walker and Dr. Charles K.
Williams. The 2014-2015 research on the human remains and sci­
entific analysis was substantially supported by funding from the Na­
tional Geographic Society Expeditions Council. The Penn Museum
excavations at South Abydos form part of the combined Pennsylva­
nia-Yale-Institute of Fine Arts/NYU Expedition to Abydos.?
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Josef Wegner is Associate Professor of Egyptian Archaeology in the D epartm ent of Near East­
ern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also Associate Curator
in the Egyptian Section, Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. He has been con­
ducting excavations at South Abydos since 1996. His prim ary areas of research include adm inis­
tration and urbanism during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom. His publications include: The Mortuary
Temple of Senwosret III at Abydos (2007); Archaism and Innovation: Studies in the Culture of
Middle Kingdom Egypt (2009); and Akhenaten and Tutankhamun: Revolution and Restoration
(2009), and forthcoming volumes on the archaeology of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom and Second
Intermediate Period.

78 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015)

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