ESSAYS ON

FEMININE TITLES OF THE MIDDLE KINGDOM

AND RELATED SUBJECTS

by
WILLIAM A. WARD

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUI'

~ays on Feminine Titles
of the Middle Kingdom and
Related ubj<.'ClS
hy W illiam A. \\lard

First published in 1986 by the

Amrrican Universi ty of Beirut
© 1986. i\11 righlli reserved

Printed in .Beirut, Lebanon

 For my da ughters
Laurie , Robin , Pia , Patricia
and
my grand- daughter She lly

The sons and grandsons

will have to wa i t a while
 CONTENTS

Abbreviations vii
INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER ONE . Catalogue of Non- royal Feminine Titles J
Catalogue 3
Genera l Remarks 20
CHAPTER TWO . Remarks on Social Status 24
A. Married Women with Titles 24
B. Objects Owned by Women with Titles 28
Appendix A. Lists of Married Women wit h Titles and
the Tit l es of Their Husbands 33
CHAPTER THREE . Roya l Titles Used by Commoners 39
Introduction 39
A. s3- ns w, " King ' s Son " 40
B. r.t - pc.t, " Her editary Noblewoman " 45
c. s3 . t - nsw , "Ki ng ' s Daughter " 46
D. The Ge nealogy of Tomb 9 at el- Kab 49
Appendix B. The Documents 54
CHAPTER FOUR . Titles Said to Mean "Harem- woman , Concubine '' 57
Introduction . Remarks on Monogamy and the le gal status
of women 57
A. cnb . t , " Attendant" 61
B. bbsw(. t) , " Seco nd ( Thi r d , etc . ) Legal Wife" 65
c. bnr .wt, "T roupe of Singe rs and Dancers " 69
CHAPTER FIVE . The ip . t and ip.t - nsw 81
Appendix c. Supposed Early Hieratic Examples of Ld 95
CHAPTER SIX . The "Harem" of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep 102
CHAPTER SEVEN . Notes on Masc uline Titles Mentioned Primarily
in Chaptar Two 115
Footnotes 130
Addenda 150
Indices 155
 Text Figures

1. The Middie Kingdom title cnp . t and compound titles

beginning with th is word 63

2. Old and Midd le Kingdom Examples of bnr .wt 71

3. Spellin gs of bnrt , "prison," in Middle Kingdom Tit les 78

4. Q and its var i ants in archaic texts , in names of funerary

domain s ; the det erminatives 0 f
!O.· " ha l l ."
s. " ie . t - nstJ" in Old Kingdom Titles and narrative contexts 88

6. Spe l lings of "ie . t - nsw"

7. Suppo sed earl y ex amp les of fA 96

8. Early hieratic examples of t} in !l!!.!.l• " throne ," and as

phonetic ~ ; early examples of the bow- sign. 98

9. Facade of Queen Nefe ru' s tomb, e tc. (Deir el-Bahari) 105

10 . Ent r ance to tomb of Quee n Tem (Deir el-8ehari) 106

11. Chapels of the six "q ueens " along the tJestern wall of
the main colonnade d hall (Dei r el- Bahari) 109
 vii

Abbreviations

Abu- Sir Pa pyri P. Posener- Krieger and J . L. Cenival , Hieratic

Papyri in the British Museum . Fifth Se ries.
The Abu- Sir Pap yr i (London , 1968) .
Abydos I , II w. M. F . Petrie , Abydos . 2 vols . (London, 1900-
1901) .

AEO A. Gardiner , Ancient Egyptian Onomastica. 3 vols .

(Oxford, 1947) .

1tg . Stud . A. Firchow (ed.), 1tgyptologische Studie n

(Berlin, 1955) .
AH E. LUddeckens , ~Jyptische Handschriften I
(Wiesbaden , 1971 •
1fIB Aegyptische Inschriften aus dam koniglichen
Mussen zu Berlin . Vol. 1 (Leipzig , 1913) .
AL D. Meeks , Annas lexicographigue I (Paris , 1980) .

Allam , HO S. Allam , Hieratische Ostraka und Pa ri aus der

Ramessidenzeit TUbingen, 1973 •
Abydos North Offerin g Chapel , designation for
stelae , etc. , in W. K. Simpson , The Terrace of
the Great God at Abydos: The Offering Chapels
of Dynasties 12 and 13 (New Have n, 1 974).
Antefoker N. de G. Davies and A. Gardiner, The Tomb of
Antefoker, Vizier of Sesostris I , and of h1s
Wife Senet (London, 1920) .
APAW Abhandlungen der PrUssischen Akademie der
Wissenschaft zu Berlin
Arnold , Temple D. Arnold , Der Temple des Konigs Mentuhot'p van
Deir el-Bahar1 . 2 vols . (Cairo, 1973-74 •

Annales du Service des Antiguites de l ' Egypte

Athens B. Portner , Ae tische Grabstein und Denkstein
aus Athan und Konstantinopel Strassburg , 1 908 •
Barnes , Sinuhe J . W. B. Ba rne s , The Ashmo l ean Ostracon of
Sinuhe (Oxford , 1952) .
Barta , Opfe rl iste w. Ba rta, Die altagyptische Opferliste van der
FrUhzeit bis zur riechisch-romischen E ache
Berlin , 1963 •
 viii

Bauer F . Vogelsang , Kommentar zu den Klagen des Bauern

(Leipzig , 191 3)
Beamtentiteln

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-BH P. E. Newber r y , Be ni Hasan .

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BI FAD Bul leti n de l ' I nstitut Francais d ' Archeologie

Orientals
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BMMA Bulle ti n of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Brussels ti -

CAA Hildesheim Ae tiacarum . Pali zaeus -

Museum , Hildesheim Mainz , 1977 f f ••
Cambridge Ancient History

Carnarvon Tablet Text in JEA 3, pl . 13

£21 Chronigue d ' Egypte

R. D. Faulkner , A Concise · Oictionary of Middle
-COME Egyptian ( Oxford , 1 962) .
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de la necropole thebaine Cairo, 956 •
Cerny, LRL J . Cerny , Late Ramesside Letters {Brussels , 1 939 ).
CG Catalogue general des a nti guites eg yptiennes du
Mus6e du Caire
 ix

cc 1- 1294 L. Borchardt , Statue n und Statuetten von Ko nige n

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CG 20001 - 20780 H. D. Lange and H. Sc hafer, Gr ab - und Denkstei n
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el - Hudi A. I . Sadak , The Ameth st
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d~i-.--~
P~ r~t-..I~:--~--,.-..,..,.----.---.......---
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 x

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 xi

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 xii

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Thoutmosis III temple de Thoutmosis III Wa rsaw, 4 •

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l'lo' alla J, Vandier, Mo ' a lla,La tombs d'Ankhtif i et la

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 xiii

MHller, HP G, MB ller, Hieratische Palaogra phy, 4 Pa rts

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 xiv

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-SAK Studien zur altagyptis c hen Kul ture

 xv

SA SAE Supylements to Annales du Service des An ti guites

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 xvi

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Addenda

Arnold , Temple D.
of Me ntuhotep Bahari .
Bulletin of the Egyp to l ogical Seminar
Franke , AV8

Franke , D. Fr anke , Personendaten au s dem Mit t leren Re i ch

Pe rs onendaten 20 . 16 . J ahrhundert c . Chr . Dossiers 1-796
Wies baden, 1984 •
 xv ii

Klebe, ~ L. Klebs 1 Die Reliefs und Malereien des mittle ren

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Or ie nt
St . UC II H. M. Stewart, Elyltian Stelae, Reli efs a~d Pai{?;-
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1979 ).
 - 1 -

INTRODUCTION

From time to time, various scholars have turned their attention

to the position of women in ancient Egyptian society though no com-
prehensive work has appeared. The present volume makes no attempt
to fill that gap if indeed the nature of the available material
wo uld allow for comprehensive ness. There is never a "last word" on a
subject . The essays presented here are simpl~ concerned with some of
the problems I found of interest in the process of gathering material
for my Index MK. The time-frame for thes ~ essays is the Middle King-
dom, the Eleventh to Thi rteenth Dynast ies, though earlier and later
evidence is noted when pertine nt.
The basic difficulty in studying titles, of course, is that
during the Midd le Kingdom they so rarely appear in contexts which
define their functions . Meaningful translations are thus often
impossible . There is no problem with a "Priestess of Hatho r" since
the sense is obv ious , but what does one do with 11 Freewoma n of the
Stone-masons of the Northern District" (p. 8) which is totally with-
out meaning even though we can transla t e accurately each component
part of the who le? Furthermore, many terms used in tit les cannot be
translated accurately -- note the ubiquitous ••Attendants" who sprinkle
the monuments -- or have multiple meani ngs: 9w.t has eight (Index MK
p. 204) . ' Iry c .t may be rendered "Hall-keeper,M but this says little
of what c . t may imply in a given context . s . t and sncw may be trans-
lated "storehouse," but there were different kinds of storehouses
and cert~inly different sizes; what kind and size -- hence the rel-
ative importance of the person in c harge -- is usually impossible
to tell . In the l ight of these difficulties, I have opted (as in
Index MK) for literal tra nslations a s " more of a convenience than my
own final judgement." To offer inte rpretive transl at ions would re-
quire extensive discussions , often subjective and therefore incon-
clus i ve.
There are basica l ly two themes to these essays: an attempt to
define the relative social status of some women on the basis of their
titles (Chaps. 2-3) and to show that harems and concubinage did not
 - 2 -

exist in the Middle Kingdom , at l east as recognized institutions

(Chaps . 4- 6) . Through these theme s , I hope to have made a bit mor e
clear the role that women pla yed during the Middle Ki ngdom and to
emphasize once again t heir social and legal freedom relative to the
more strictured l ives led by women in other ancient societies .
Si nc e t hes e e ssays ma y be of interest to non- Egyptologists,
titles a r e generally give n in Engli sh transl ation , misleading as
this may sometimes be. Ind ices of both the Egyp ti an spellings end
the trans l ations have be en supplied so discussions of titles may be
readily found .
The completed manuscript wa s ready for the printer in lat e 1983
though , for var ious r easons , publi catio n was delayed. Ot her s t udies
have appeared or be come available in Beirut in the in t ervenin g time .
Rather than re - work t he whole text , as one must do i n these days of
photo - offset printing and camera- ready copy , I ha ve re - writ t en wha t
I cou ld a nd re so rted to "Addenda , " not the be s t so l ution but ona
dictated by c i rcumstances .
I tak e s?ecial pleasure in thanking Dr. Del Nord and Dr .
Gab r iella Scand one - Mat th iae who have read t he whole manus cript and
offe red numerous criticisms and suggestions which have improved my
work at many points . I also wi sh t o thank the Pub lica tion s Commi ttee
of the American University of Beirut for accepting t hi s volume for
publication .

Be irut , January , 1986

 - 3 -

CHAPTER ONE

Catalogue of Non-royal Feminine Titles

The known non-royal titles held by women during the Middle

Kingdom are listed in this chapter . Whe re only one or two refer-
ences are involved, these are given . Othe rwi s e , reference is to
the appropriate entr y in Index MK.

3ty.t , " Attendant , Nurse" ~ ~q 4 !J}

0

Index MK no. 14. While most ex amples of this title and its
masculine counterpart ~ are spelled i n an abbreviated form ,
this re ading is assured by Old Kingdom spelli ngs of ~ (Index
!!.!S. no. 1) and of the feminine form in P. Ram. IIIB , 27 . The
feminine title appears first in the Middle Kingdom with a more
restricted mean i ng tha n ~ which means some kind of atte ndant:
Co ptite Nome~ pp . 109 ff.; BIFAO 69, 117 ff .; RevEg 23 , 31 ff.
3ty . t has much the same meaning as mnc . t (see below) , i . e .,
"Nurse , Wet-nur se ." The verb 3!, is used pa rallel to snl$ , " to
suckl e ," in ~· 371 and a goddess named 3ty . t - ljr , "Nur se of
Horus , " appears in f.I I , 48c , where 3ty.t is determ ined with the
sign of a woman holding a child . This would seem to indicat e
the sense "We t - nurse. " However , 3ty.t and mnc . t appear side by
side in several contexts (Hatnub, Gr . 16; Gaye t, pl . 56 ; BH
I , pl . 35; P. Ram . IIIB , 27) so that some difference in
function may have been intended in these cases . In the latter
instance , the editor r e nders mnc . wt 3ty .u t as "suckling nur ses "
(P. Ram ., p. 23) , but I think it better to take both as no uns ,
perha ps " Wet - nurses and Dry- nurses . "

imy . t - r s . t , "Overseer of a Sto re house " ~~ ~

MIFAO VI , fig 59 . While the masculine counterpart has usually
been taken to mean "Overseer of a Ki tchen ," the word s .t is
rather "storehouse ;" CdE No . 114 , 199 f. The key to the
problem is fil:! I , pl . 12 , where four grou ps of servants are
shown wo rking in s t ore- c hambers for foods tu ffs . Each group is

l
 - 4 -

in the charge of an imy- r s . t who can be none other than a

store- keeper .

imy . t - r pr (n) §new • •• , "Stewardess of a Storehouse • • • "

Cairo J . 87778 = Fischer , Varia, p . 78 , pl. 19 , 4 . Traces of
more signs appear befo r e and after a break in the stela. Fischer
suggests the full title might be " Overseer of the Storehous e of
(?and?) Royal Linen for(?) the God ' s Offering ." This is a crud e
stela , typical of the style of the later Herac l eopolitan Period
and the contemporary Eleventh Dy nasty . The woman who bears this
title is the owner of the stela. On the masculin e counterpart
" Steward of a Storehouse , " see Chap . 7. I am i nclined to accept
Fischer ' s renderin g of the full title in spite of the break
which would mean that the woman concerned was probably a temple
off icia l .

ir.t n§ . t , "Hairdresse r" ~~_ ""'-

f.!:!l!i nos. 82- 83 . The r e liefs on which this title appears a r e
discussed in~ 15 , 10 ff .

iry.t c . t , "Hall- keeper" 4~ -;: c-:J

Index MK no . 499 . The masculine iry c . t {OOE , pp . 235 ff . ) is
a very common title , frequently with the addition of the place
where this official served. This is often a room in a private
hous ehold devoted to some kind of food , or a specific room in a
pa lace . An iry c.t could also be attached to another official,
to an institution or to some part of an estate such as a
cattle- pen or storehouse (s e e Index MK nos . 453 ff.). They seem
to have performed the function of a ca re- taker , or the like.
The feminine title must indicate a simi lar positi o n; .Q.Qf., p .
259 suggests " Maid-servant . "

c _.J Q
fty . t , "Bre'wer " "--- ~
Lacau , Sarcophages I , p . 87 . Said to accompany the figure of a
woman, though this does not show in the photograph (ibid ., pl .
7) . Cf. 11!2. 37 , 84 , n . 2.
 - 5 -

Cnp.t, " At tendant " t;-:

I nde x MK n o . 613 . See Ch ap. 4A .

cnp(.t) n( t) ip(?) , " Attendant of an Apartment (?)" ~~~

_§£ III , no . 3 . See Chap . 4A .

cnp.t nt ni w. t , 11 Citizeness , Town swoman " t--:' 0

Index MK no . 615 . See Chap . 4A .

_Q_ ~\ Q ~
cnb.t nt tpy.t nsw , " Attenda n t of the Royal Favourite" To A+' D
Index MK n o . 6 16. See Chap . 4A .

c
np . t nt 1.t( ? ), "At tendant of the Table (?)" Ta
~
~ '
• ......_ !==4..
a
JEA 5 1, 27 . The stone is damaged at the end of the title . If
Edwards is co rrect i n reading 1 . t , this may be an error fo r
cno . t nt 1 . t Q~3 , unknown in t-;:;;-femin ine , though the masculine
is ra t her common (Index MK no . 6 11 ) . In the present inst anc e ,
t he title labels a female figure , the daughter of the decease d.
Berlev , RevE g 23 , 25 , r eads this title as cnb . t nt nsw t p .t;
t he re is no trace of a ~- sign but the 1E.:..i is just possible .

c t{ y . t , " Attendant" ~~ij~

I ndex MK n o . 626 . Women with this title a re found among
of fering - bea~ers and se rva nts ; on CG 20476 one presents incense
to the deceased , though this f unction is performed elsewhere by
o ther types of servants . For the meaning , see GNS , p . 110 ,
and .Q.QI, pp. 1 6 1 ff .

c~y.t, " Maid - servant" (lit . "enterer ") ~~qA

c
Index MK no . 635 . The mascul ine counterpart~ (Index MK no .
628) i s p erha ps a priest who is allowed to enter a temple ; cf .
~ 17 , 239 . This title is usual ly p re ceded by web or wd pw
and r a r ely stands alone . While t he male wdpw ck may be a
household r ather than a temple servant , there are several cases
where an c~ is attached to a specific deity ( I ndex MK nos .
630-3 3) and one occurrence of an ck pr (CG 20279) which c2n be
 - 6 -

either "Enterer of a Temple (House)'' or "who enters and comes

forth ." The cky . t , on the other hand , is found only among
household servants and offering- bearers and nothing suggests
that these women were associated with temples . It is probable
that these servants were allowed to enter the private family
quarters just as the cl$ wa s allowed into the home of a deity .
In one instance, however , two women with this title are shown
shaping loaves of bread for cooking (Antefoker, pl. 12). .Q.QI,
p. 260, associates all cl$y.wt with the kitchen.

tJ:::c.
wc b . t , " Priestess "
FIFAO 10/2 , p. 34 ; CG 887.

wcb.t nt .!jnsw , " Priestess of Khonsu (in Thebes )" ~,+9

/Jo.-:'
On CG 20056 there appears the "Priestess of Khonsu Smn .t" and
on CG 20240 there is the " Priestess of Khonsu in Thebes
Snb.ty.sy-Smn.t. 11 This is the same person as on both ste l a e
she is the mothe r of the " Sc ribe in Charge of the Seal of t he
Guild Neferhotep ." Both the name and title are abbre viated
on CG 20056 .

we b . t nt Gs - i3by, " Priestess of Gs - i3by" tJ : "'~1 tJ 9

P. Kahun 11 , 3 . Gauthier , Qi.s.i. V, p. 220 , ·and P. Kahun, p. 21,
are agreed that Gs- i3by , literally " the eastern side , 11 is the
eastern border of the Delta . See also s .t nt Gs-i3by below.
There is furth er a '' Sc ribe in Charge of the Seal of Gs-i3by 11
( P. Kahun 13 , 21). That both a priestess and a scribe are
associ ated with Gs - i3by makes it highly likely that it was a
more specific location.

wb3 y.t, "Housemaid" iJ&>~n-=-J

Index MK no. 706. For the sense of this title and i ts ma scu line
counterpart , see Roots 8- 3 , pp . 91 ff., and .Q.Qf., pp. 297 ff.
Women with this title are usually among servants and offering-
bea rer s , though one offers a cup to a deceased woman (!!I IV,
 - 7 -

33), a function sometimes performed by the male .!!!.2l; Roots 8-3,

p. 92. A man carries the title " Master of Housemaids of Onuris"
on CG 20380, so it is eviden t that the wb3y . t could also se rve
in temples. In P. Westcar 12 , 9 , the wb 3y.t of Dedi ' s household
seems to be in charge of the household stores . In this and other
cases, "Ho usekeepe r" may be a better translat ion.

vrl.t Plnw, "Watcher of Min " ~ 1" c:>

c::::11
0.
c::>
fl\
CG 280p6. See Chap . 4C , no . 14 .

wdpwy.t, " Butler" O.'l.i nnt:i.

CG 20016. A unique feminine counterpa r t to the very commo n
wdpw, "Butler" (Index MK nos . 755 ff . ); the title labels the
female attendan t of a lady . .QQf., p. 286 , sugge sts that the
r arity of t hi s ·title is due t o its be i ng r eplaced by wb 3y. t ,
implying an earl ier broader usag e. However, there is no
evidence that wdpwy.t was e ver used except i n the present
instance .

b3k. t nt 1)1$3, "Servant of a Rul er" ~~ 71A

I nde x MK no. 778. Women with this title wer e usually ma rri ed
to minor functio nar i e s . The "rule r" is probably a local Nomarch
or other official r a t her than the king so that these women held
positions in prov incial courts . f or fu rther de tails , see Chap .
2. To the re f eren ces in Index PIK may be added MDAIK 35 , 223,
no. 70 , and £T 2, 10 3- 04.

b3k.t nt !,.t l)ls3, " Servan t of the Ruler ' s Table " ~~7 ~\
~ 51, 27. Thi s un ique example is found on a family stela where
three other members of the family be ar titles associating them
with the "ruler' s table . " Si nc e the head of the family bears
only the title " Magnate of the Southe rn Te ns'' (see Chap . 7) ,
the "r uler " must be a provi ncia l of ficial of some kind.

a£.!.!, "Domest ic Servant 11 c-:l ~ J}

!!.E.• Doc. II, 39. James, !!.E.• p . 42 , derives this from .P.!.•
 - 8 -

"house , " hence , "Domestic Servant . '' I prefer this to Spaull,

~ 49, 185, who suggests "Attendant," or the like , on the basis
of a word .e.!:.:l. of Ptolemaic times . See also ~ 83, 8, n. 62,
and .Q..Qf., p. 128 .

mnc.t, " Nurse" e

_ --'Q
.::.
Index MK no. 799 . This is the most common t erm for "Nurse."
The title is very rare in the Old Kingdom and designates a
divine nur se of the deceased king i n £l!.• 1375a ; it only come s
to be applied to humans in the Mi ddle Kingdom . In origin , and
gene ra lly in Middle Kingdom times, it seems to have meant
" Wet - nurse ;" the usual dete r minative i s a female breast and
on CG 23034 the mother of a queen is called the "Great Nurs e
who suck l es the god ." Already in the Middle Kingdom , the title
could be given to a man (A SAE 22, 122; HT II, B) and was used
figuratively in reference to a man: "I was the support of the
elder ly, the mnc . t of children" {Gayet, pl. 1 ). This indicates
that the sense of the word had broadened somewhat so that some
mnc .wt may have functioned more as nannies or male tutors. This
is best shown on the stela in~ 25, pl . 21 , 4 . The son who
dedicated this ste la faces his fa t her before an offering-t ab le;
behind t he son is "his nurse'' with her hand on his shou lder.
She was evidently a muc h- loved servant who had raised the boy
from infancy , hence more a nanny than a nurs e .

nb . t pr, "Lady of the House 11 ~ c:-:JJ

This very common title was used by married women only and indi·
cates the wife ' s duties as director of household affairs ; it
corresponds best to English " Mrs .": Fischer , Varia, p . 76;
Pestman , Ma rriage, p . 11, n . 1; Franke , ~' pp. 1 38 ff.

nmt.iy. t, "freewoman" ~~~~~a.Ji

Index MK nos. 830- 32 , to which may be added ~ 68, pl. 6 ;
found only in the titles 11 Freeuoman of a Town ," "Free woma n of
the Majordomos " and " Freewoman of the Stone-maso ns of the
Northern District ." Much has been written about the ma sculi ne
 - 9 -

nm?w which impli es a social class, especially in legal texts .

I n general, nmhw indicates a person of lower deg ree and is
sometimes re ndered "poor man: " Llb . II , 268 ; ~ 45 , 1 11 . In
the Emp i re and later, the sense is "freeman" as opposed to a
slave, in particular a f ree man who owns property . The key dis-
cussion for the Empire period is in RIOA 3e ser . 12 , 109 ff.;
eee also ,ill 26 , 74 f . The term is sometimes rendered " o r phan :"
.££!£No. 80 , 242 ; ASA E 42 , 1 2 1 , n. 4 ; SASAE 18, 48 ff . In the
latter work it is argued that while the original meaning of the
word was "orphan," it came to mean " free'' since an orpha n was
without obligation t o parents. Certainly the sense " orphan " is
well-atte sted in the Middle Kingdom: " You are the father of the
nm~w, the husband of the widow, the brother of the d iv orcee " for
whi c h several comparisons from funerary stelae are produced i n
Bauer, p. 73. But was this the case of the Middle Kingdom
n~~y.t? P . Kahun, p . 21 , says that this designates a woman
wi t ho ut a natural male pro tector who wa s placed as a ward under
a town or g uild. This, howeve r, is not poss i ble . The nmQy.t of
CG 20266 is l abel le d t he " beloved sister " of the deceased ; the
one of CG 20392 wa s a "Lady of the House ," hence ma rried; the
one of .fil! I , no . 3 , is specifically stated to be ma rr ied ; t he
one of .lli 68, pl. 6, is labelled " his mother ." Hence, all
four had e n at ural male protector. I ha ve therefore r etained
the transl ation Freewoman ~s the best alternative .
11 11

l'N<N\c
nl,t, "Hairdresser" c:::i '""
Index MK no. 838 . Cf. Mel . Masp. I , p . 685 .

n.S,.y,t, "Miller" ~~ ~
'T'
.!!!! I, pl. 29, over a figure of a woman grinding g ra in , That
th is is a title is shown by the spellin g . Llera th i s rather a
label describin g the scene -- " gri nding {grain)" -- we should
expect the infinitive nd.t.
--- <::>
r,t-pc ,t, "Pr i nc ess; Hereditary Noblewoman " eO?
Reading after !f.Q_ I , p. 16*. See Chap . 38 ,
 - 10 -
d.~'!
ti3 . tyt- c , " Countess " ~ ~
!!!:! I , pls. 25, 35; II , pl. 24 ' Petrie, Antaeopolis , pls. 7, 10;
Franke, Personendaten, no. 200 .

t;im.t, "Maid-servant" ~A
Index MK no . 943 .

t;im . t-n!,r, " Pr iestess" 4 ~

Mart i n no. 438 . Since this unique e x~ mple is on a scarab, it
is pr obab ly an abbreviation for t he more usual titles whic h
inc lude the name of a deity as in the following examples . The
term t;im.t-n!,r is i nvar iably wr itten as if masculine wit h
extremely rare e xceptions , e. g ., .!.§. no . 98 , and Klebs , !!fi, fi g.
14. fem in i ne personal name s and the female fig ure s the title
often la bels properly identify the title as fe minine.

t;im . t - n!,r P3tJ .t, " Priestess of Pakhet" 1i~

!lli, I , pls . 1 8, 35 , 36 . Pakhet was a local lion-goddess whose
shr ine was nea r Beni Hasa n. He r wor ship contin ued int o
Ptolemaic times ; R~RG , p . 578 .

t;im . t - ntr N.t, " Priestess of Neith " 1~•

IS no. 98

t;im.t-n tr l;lw.t-l;lr, " Priestess of Hathor" ~12

Index MK nos , 947- 54 , One of the most common women ' s titles of
the Middl e Kingdom , it was held by women of high status who
we re married to men of the highest rank s of officialdom; see
Chap. 2 . The masculine t;im-n tr n l;lw.t - l;lr is very rare and the re
are onl y a few s ure examp l es. Meir I II , pl . 12 , a nd 1.§. no . 120 ,
na me individual priests and an "Overseer of Pr iests (m al e det .)
of Hathor " appears on Walters no. 35 . The rulers of Cusae
i nf requently carried the l atter titl e , though no determinative
is used so one cannot tell whether priests or priestesses ar~
involved : ~I I , pl . 12; III , pls. 11 , 16; CG 459. There
were , howeve r, priests of Hatho r in other grades : Index MK
 - 11 -

nos . 652- 53 , 673 , 1033 , 1085 . Note also the Hathor - priests
po r trayed in Antefoker , pl . 22 .

tim . t Ql$3 , "Wife of a Ruler" ~ 14~Jl

.§!i. I , pl . 46 . This may not be a title, but r ather a symbo l
of stat us .

" Funerary Priestess"

~ m . t -k3 ,

Fische r, Va r ia , p . 78 , with n . 70 , suggests three examples .

I n Har a ge h, pl. 72 , 1, the phrase "all ka - priests" appears i n
an Appeal to the Living formula determined with both the male
and fema l e f i gures . The same determinative appears in Sinuhe
8 305 : "ka- pr iests (and priestesses?) were assigned to me . 11
The appearance of the f e male figure probably indicates both male
and female pr iests si nce t he phrase " all ka - priests " i n the
~ppea l to the Livi ng formula is usually in the masculine

singula r or plural. The third example , supposedly in th e

singula r and labelling a uoman on a stela in Munich is quite
unclear i n the publi s hed photographs (Fischer , Varia , p. 79 ,
n. 70) .

tinw. t nt ' I mn, "Lady of Amon" 1';": - ~.:::.

CG 20545 ; ~ 51, 27 . !:!!?.· III , 109 , 9, lists this sepa r a t ely
fr om the pr ece din g hnw. t , "lady , mis t ress ," but surely i t is
t he same wo rd. This r a re t it l e , appa r e ntly known only in the
Mi ddl e Kingdom, must re pre s e nt a priestess of Amon .

t:inu. t t:im. wt nb .wt, " Mis tr es s of All Women" l'i! ~;Al c;:
.fil:! .r ,
pl. 46 . Th i s is p r obab l y not a title , but an epithet
i nd icating t he high social s t a t us of the wife of a Nomarch
ove r a ll wome n o f t he d istr i c t . It was also an epithet of
Mi ddle Ki ngdom q ueens: Tan i s II , pl. 11 , 17 ; RecTr av 12 , 2 17;
Pierret I I, p . 5 (C 13 ) .

Qr y. t - pr, " Mis t r e ss of a Hous e" ~ c-:>

I nd9 x MK no. 990. Ac c ordi ng t o .Q.QI, p . 1 31 , the masculine
 - 12 -

Qry- pr was a servant who worked in the domestic quarters of a

household . Since most Qry.wt- pr are found among household
servants , they can be similarly defined: .Q.Qf., p. 158 , says
" Maid- servant " concerned with the toilet and wardrobe of her
master . On Firenze no . 51 , a Qry . t - pr is the wife of the
deceased so that in this c as e the title can probably be taken
more literally .

Qsy.t, " Si nger" Qij i0 &l

Index MK no. 1095 .

Qsy.t m bn . t , " Singer- harpist "

~iii
~
-:-n j
\l - ~
n~ 1lk
~... JJJD
Gayet , pl . 9 .

tJby . t , " Dance r" ejijijolJ:'

CG 20777 (in funerary formula)

tJnw . t , " Musicia n" ~ ~ J

CG 20026 . This word is usua lly translated " Sistrum- player "
and is normally dete rmined by a figure holding a sistrum .
However , the masculine tJnw appears seve r al times on Leiden II ,
nos . 13 and 15 , determined with a man playing a tambourine .
~ ' p . 192 , is thus correct in translating by the more

general " Musician ."

lJny. t nt ~w. t-~r, "Musician of Hathor " ~ ~q QJ 7 \lJ

Marti n no. 512 ; .f.I III , 124h .

~ C'\. A «'i\
bnmt • t ' "Nurse" ....,.,.......~ad!
RecTrav 32 , 149. This is rel at ed to a series of words , bot h
masculine and feminine (Wb . III , 293- 94) , known chiefly from
the Empi re and later which refer to divine nurses or p riests
and priestesses . This Middle Kingdom example , naming a woman
among a group of servants , is unique in referring to a human
being in a secular capacity . Anothe r Middle Kingdom example
occurs in fl I , 252 , but this again is a divine nurse.
1
- 13 -

onry.t nt ' Inpw, " Singer - dancer of Anubis 11 ·~ &n.o~ 7Q'tr;

Firenze no. 60 . Th is stela shows only two figures , a "Priest
of Sobk 11 to who m the stela is dedica ted and a woman facing him
who bea rs the t it le in question. It is logical to assume she is
his wife though she is not stated to be so . This woman belonged
to a tJnr.1o1t, " Troupe of Si n ger s a nd Dancers," on which see
Chap . 4C.

tJt. t -pr, " Cleaning-woman" --,.,; : t:"J

I ndex MK nos. 1183- 84 . Bea rers of this titl e usual ly appear
amon g offering- bea rers though one (CG 23056) was the owner of
an of f eri ng-table . The word is based on the preposition Qt,
" throughout , pervad ing," hence indicates a k ind of menial
servant p ut t o work anywhere in the house, pe r haps a ge ne r a l
cleaning-w oman. In BH I , pl. 35 , the title is made more
expl icit : bt .t-p r n c .t ~nk.t , " Scullery-ma i d of the Kitchen . 11

On c.t hnk.t, see f2f No. 114, pp . 19 1 ff .

gnm. t, 11 Nur s e 11 CO ~ .o
Firenze no . 37 . ~ · III , 381 , 8- 10 , lists one example of Dy n.
XVIII and se vera l of Gr eek times . The meanin g is base d on the
later use of this t itle by various godd e sses as 11 Nur s e 11 of
Horus , an d Urk. IV , 1 060 , 13, where a hnm. t is l isted next to
a rnnw.t, 11 Nur se. 11

b_rd.t nt k3p, 11 Pag e 11 ~::._ ~C"""l

CG 2 0058 . This un i que example of the feminine form labels a
fema le fi g ure; the ma sculine counterpart is r ather commo n
(Index MK nos. 1 229-30) . Earlier attempts to re ad the masc uline
title as iQms instead of hrd -- ~ 13, 458 f.; BIFAO 38 , 222;
~· I , 122, 14-18 -- have been a mply refu ted in a short state -
ment by Ga rd iner , JEA 27 , 57 , n . 1 . We may add to his r e marks
a Middle Kin gdom example on Leide n II , no. 19 , where hrd is
spelled out phonet ically ; ~ III , 397 , 9, takes this to be
"instead of the usual i~ms n k 3 p. 11 Anothe r pho netically
spelled exampl e of the Empire is q uot ed in ~, p. 284 . On
 - 14 -

the senss "Page ," see M il i t~r fUhr er, pp . 34 ff.

hkr. t nsu , " Lady- in- wait i ng "i0

~
Index MK no . 1233 . See the follo wing en t r y .

hkr . t ns u wet. t , " Sole Lady- in- waiting " 0

~ +2
Index MK no . 1234 . The meaning has now bee n satisfactoril y
explained i n 2.a!i 4 , 59 ff ., though· I cannot agr ee that thi s is
a variant of h kr. t ns w. As show n i n Cha p . 2 , t hese t wo ti tle s
belong to differe nt social levels based on the positions of
thei r husbands in t he official hie r archy . The p r ese nt t it le
was very common in the Old Kingdom and on in to Oy n. XI . Half
the occurrences list e d in Index MK date to the latter pe r i od so
it is evident that the title was used l ess i n the Midd le Kingdom
prope r than in the preceding periods . The Old Kin odom e vidence
has been thoroughly examined in Serapis 2 , 1 ff .

s.t nt 1$nb.t , " Member of a Council " .:Ji7~~ ~ 1

P. Boulaq 18 , xxix , 10 , in a l is t of officials r eceiving r atio ns.
The masculine coun t erpart is found only in P. Prisse 13 , 1 , a nd
el - Hudi no . 3. The spellin g in P. Boulaq shows that a f e minine
title was intended whic h makes the meaning of the title pr ob lem-
atic. The ~nb . t was a council of officials with both admini s-
t r a t i ve and legal duties and , as far as I can tell , this is the
sole instance where a woman wa s a member . The passage in P.
Prisse shous that s n ~nb . t means "a member ef a council " s o
that s . t nt knb . t must have the same sense . Li ttle is known
of the ~nb . t prior to the Empire ; cf . PLMK , pp . 68 f .

s . t nt Gs- i3b y, " Woman of Gs - i:Sb y " -All ,__

0 c=• \Al
TJ S I ''
P. Kahu n IX , 17 , 28 . On Gs - i3by , see wcb . t n t Gs- i3b y.

c 1..
s3.t Q3 . ty- , " Daughter of a Count " ~ .,.-A
.0 ...s
i ~d ex MK no . 1251 . Of the kn ow n examples , most refer to women
who probably or actually were daughters of Counts . A few of
thase examples indicate that this title may have been used by
 - 15 -

some who were not .

Ga yet, pl . 8 = ANOC no . 1 . 7 is the stela of the " Chamber-
l ai n of the Bur eau of the Overseer of the Tr easur y Sase t yt . 11
In the main scene , Sase tyt is seated before an offering- table
on the other side of which are tuo male and four female fi g ures .
These six figures a r e th us in the space usually allotted to
relatives of the owner of a stela , yet in no case is any
r ela ti o nsh i p to Sasetyt expressed . One of the women is l a belled
" Da ughter of the Cou nt of ~w . t - i~y . t Ita. 11 Since a place- name
is involved , Ita's title can be taken literally . According to
Geog. I , p . 58 , ~w .t- i~y . t uas the capitol of the third lower
Egyptia n Nome , tho ug h Gauthie r , .Ql.£1. IV , pp . 50 ff ., notes
five localities with this name . Ita may be the wife of Sasetyt ;
no wife is specifically identified a s such . The family was of
sufficient importance for such a marria ge to occu r, but lta ' s
position in tne f amily can only be sur mised .
A second woman i n t his scene is the " Da ught er of a Count
Sat- tep- ihu, ( bor)n to ~y . 11 She appears agai n on Geneva stela
D 50 = ANOC no . 1.9 , be lon ging to the " Chamberlain of the Burea u
of the Vi zier Imeny . 11 On this stela , Sat- tep - ihu appe a r s among
the rel ati ves of Imeny , the father of the above-mentioned Sa se tyt,
and is lab elled " Sat - tep- ihyt, born of Sat- Khentikhety. 11 Agai n,
no relatio ns hip to Imeny is given. The Louvre stela t ~ u s gives
the name of Sat-tep- ihu ' s fathe r ( Ky) , the Ge neva stela that of
her mother ( Sat- Khentikhety) . This stil l does not explain her
relatio nship to the family . That she a ppe~rs on both the stelae
of Imeny and his son Sasetyt indic~ tes she was he ld in high
regard , but there is no way of show ing whether she was a real
"Daughter of a Count '' who ma rried into the family as suggested
above for It a, or whether her ti t le was simply hon~rific .
On Gayet , pl . 34 , the 11 Daughter of a Count and Overseer of
an Administrative District Het e p , 11 is the wife of a ''King ' s
Acquaintance, Carpenter of Nekhen Imeny ." If Verualtung , pp .
279 ff ., is correct , the 11 Kin g ' s Acquai ntance " was a minor
 16 -

palace official , though , in my opinion , this title was purely

honorific in Midd le Kingdom times ; cf . Index MK, Introduction ,
n. 3 . The title '' Ca r pente r of Nekhen " is archaising i n this
unique Middle Ki ngdom example ; see Chap . 7 . He nce , Imeny was
a man of little c onseque nc e , hardly likely to mA rry int o one of
the more important fam i lies among whom t he title " Daughte r of a
Coun t " wa s promine nt. All indications point to a date for this
stela in the earlier Twe lfth Uynasty, precisely when these
f a milies we re most powerful , before the reforms of Sesost ri s II I .
Much the same can be said of the " Dauo hte r of a Cou nt " on
!:!I. III , 7 , mothe r of an " Oversee r of God ' s - ser v ants ," a ve r y
common title in this period. The on ly titles of members of the
fami ly a r e " Priest " and " Lady of the House , " so i t cannot claim
to be of a ny impor tance .
In summary , the t it le "Daughter of a Cou nt" is ~ost
prominent in t he families of the Nomarchs of Meir and Be ni Has a n
where it c a n be t ak en literally . The c a ses j ust discuss e d show
tha t o t hers may ha ve adopted t he titl e , t hough it must be
admitted that the r e is no clea r case where a woman with this
title WAS defin i tely not t he actu a l daughter of a Count . On
this and s imi la r titles , see JAOS 76 , 102 ff .

s3.t t;i 3 . ty- c n ljw . t - it;iy . t , " Daught er of the Cou nt of ljw . t - iQy . t
Se e precedin g ent ry.

s3 . t. t:im- nt r , " Daughte r of a Pr i:est 11 ~l~

Martin no . 697 .

stJ ty . t, "Weaver"
Index MK no . 1343 .

ss . t , 11 Scribe 11 ~o
In Index MK no . 1456 , I l ist seve ral references t o this title
but translate i t ''Cosmetician" followin g Posener , RevE g 21 ,
150 , who feels th is is an abbreviated form of ss . t nt r . s ,
" Cosmetician " (see next e ntry ) . Af te r th e publication of
 - 17 -

Index MK , however, Fischer, Varia , became available i n whic h

work (pp. 77 ff.) he makes an excellent case for the title ss.t,
"female scribe ," on a scarab: Marti n no. 301 (n o facsimile) =
Index MK no. 1458 , s~t.y following Martin ' s reading . Fischer,
Varia, pl. 19, 3, now illustr at es this scarab for the first time
and there is no doubt as to his reading and transl a t ion . This
•eans that the references in Index MK no. 1456 must also mean
"Scribe:" NyC St~les no . 18; Turin 10 7 = RecTrav J, 117 ;
!!!fl, pp. 26, 29. ~· III, 481, 6 , lists only t he Tur i n ste la.
The title appears as if masculine on the Copenhagen st ela though
it labels a female fi gure and there i s slight damage at the point
where the t of !!.tl would have stood. Both lE£l examples and
that on the Turin stela are written in the feminine and label
fa• al e fi gu res.

sl.t nt r.s, "Cosmetician" ~~ ~ <=> 1PJ

P. Boulaq 18, ii, 5 ; £.!1l!$, Vs . 40c; Pose ner, RevEg 21 , 150 .

sg3w .tyt, " Sealer" ~~

Index MK n o . 1500, to which should be added OrSuec 21, 6 f ., a
to•b relief of the late First Intermediate Pe riod, hence within
the period of the Eleventh Dy na sty . This title appe a rs several
times i n the Ol d Kingdom ; both the Old and Middle Kingdom
evidence is discussed in .Q.QI, pp . 204 ff ., and Fischer , Varia ,
pp. 70, 78. Many of these examples label female se rvants of
importan t women . The only "Sealers " from the Middle Kingdom
proper are Ib-Ne ith (see the following entry} and Tchat who is
portra yed several times in various contexts in the tomb of th e
Nomarch Khnu•hotep II : .fil:! I , p ls . 29, 32 , 35, 36. Tcha t ulti-
•ately became the second legal wife of this Nomarch ; see my
study ir:1 B!! no. 71. Tchat and the other female 11 Sealers 11 may
have been in charge of the household stores or perhaps the
personal belongings of arist oc ratic women, hence could acquire
an official title. Tchat her se lf is said to be "keeper of the
property of her lord" (BH I, pl . 32) . The title does not seem
 - 18 -

to have been used after the reign of Amenemhat IV {see next

entry) .
I\
s.Q_3w . tyt kf3 ib, "Trustworthy Sealer" ~ ~
..c ~
~ no. 120N , a stela from the po rtico court of the Hathor-temple

at Ser3bit el-Khadim. Though both Amenemhat IV and Thutmosis

III are named on this stela , al l the evidence points toward the
stela bein g of the earlier date, the name of Thutmosis being a
secondary addition (~ II, p . 124). On t he lower north edge or
this stela is a woman seated before offerings , the " Trustworthy
Seale r Ib - Neith . 11 This stela commemorates a r oyal expedition
to Sinai and, as usual , names certain members of the expedition
and lists the number o f various kinds of workers . It is highly
improbable that Ib- Neith was a member of the expedition. She
mu st have belonged to the personnel of the Hathor-temple. A
" Priestess of Hat ho r" is named on a statuette fro111 Si na i though
its provenance is unknown: IS no . 98. She must have s erved in
the temple e ve n though it was outside Egypt and in unhospit abla
conditions .
Ib-Neith was probably the official responsible for the
treasury of the Hathor - temple. The phrase kf3 ib , literally
"d isc reet of he a rt • trustworthy ," is a not uncommon addition
to the masculi ne s.Q_3w .ty: Index MK nos. 1485, 1495-98 . Since
it was never used with other tit les , it must have more tha n an
honorific sense , indicating a particular kind of "Sealer."
Ver waltung, p. 84, says the "Trus t worthy Sealer" wa s an official
of the treasury itself , ordinary " Sealers " being responsible
for what was contained therein . Ib- Neith was therefo r e in
charge of t he temple treasury and belongs to a well - documented
category of officials , "Tr ustuorty SeAlers " who were active
outside Egyp t: ~ no . 30 ; el - Hud i no . 17; ~ 33, 72; SCf
I , pp . 147, 154 , 156 , 166; etc .
-
sps.t nsw , "King ' s Noblewoman" i~~~A
Index MK no. 1511 . This title was very common in the Old King-
dom: Murray, Index , pl . 45 . All instances cited in Index MK
 - 19 -

a re from the period of the Elev e nth Dynast y, so we may consider

these examples as archaising or as represent in g the last phase
of the time during which the title was in active use. It seems
not to have survived into the Mi ddl e Kin gdom proper .

l11cy.t, "Musicia n" ~ __,4QacE

Index MK no. 1516 . Cf . Sphinx 13 , 103 ff.

k3ry.t, " Gardener" \0'1t~ Jl

.E.b!1!S, Vs . 38c, 43c . .af.Q I , p. 97* , suggests that the masculine
k3ry is the Upper Egyptian di a le ctal variant of Lowe r Egy pt ian
k3my, both o ri ginating in an e a rl ier k3ny .

tey.t nsw, 11 Royal favourite" ~A

4-o
CG 20743 . The upp er pa r t of this stela is broken off so the
owner is unknown . The title in que stion is r e peated over th e
fi gur es of two women. Of the men still r emaining o n this stale,
five have the title " Mag nate o f the Sou ther n Tens " and one is an
"Overseer of the Ho use ." The family was thus an undistinguis hed
on e . Since this title appears only here an rt in the title cnp . t
nt tpy.t nsw (see Chap . 4A) it is no t possible to state what it
me ans .

i•t k3.t, "Se rving-mai d(?)" ~~ _ ~ "11,t,

~
.E.b!1!S, Vs . 3Sc . Hayes, PLMK , p. 107 , suggests that this title is
a compound with the word for 11 staff( - member) 11 and that i t means
a " member of the work - staff, f e male laboure r," or the like .
While the female determinative is miss ing for this title , this
is definitely a woman: "the female Asiatic Bacaltuya , she is
called Wah- res - saneb , ! • t k3.t ." An alternati ve t o Hayes is
that !,.t is the common word for " table" (Wb . V, 338- 39) and
that we have here e " Serv in g-maid," a servant who wa i ts on the
table at meal- time .

\_
 - 20 -

~ - - 1....0 ........-.. -=\..__

diw . t nt £.t , "Winnowe r of the Estate " : - '::i c. o\
1
HT I , 51 (2 exx . ) ; a n inscription fr om a t omb da tin g to the
r e i gn of Inyote f I II of the ea r ly Eleve nt h Dynas t y. Thi s title
is a hold - over f rom the Ol d Kingdom whe r e i t ap pear s half a
d o ze n t i mes (~ . V, 421 , 1) sometimes labelling women wi nn ow i n g
gra in: Davies , Ptahhete p II, pl. 7 ; Ju nke r, ~V I , fi g. 4 7 .
A d iscussion of the word diw . t is given i n .Q.Qf., p . 59 .

dw3 . t , " Ado r er " *1}..

Dr am . Texts , p . 120. This single occurr e nce is in the d ua l ,
refe r ring to priestesses taking the pa rts o f I sis a nd Nep h thys
as mourners of Osiris . It is quite possible that this is not a
tit l e , but rather a designation for the goddess e s , not fo r the
priestesses who play their roles .

£ . t , " Serf , Servant "

Index MK no . 1 603 .

Gene r al Remarks
Religious Titl e s
The r elatively small number of women ' s tit l es in the sphe re of
religion is somewhat surprising . The only common tit l es ha ve to do
with the cult of Hatho r fo r whom do zens of " Priestesses " are known .
There are " Musicians of Hathor " as well as a "Tr ust wor th y Sea l e r "
who served in this deity ' s temple in Sinai . The number o f men
belonging to this priesthood (Inde x MK nos . 268- 70, 652- 53 , 673 ,
9 21 , 1033 , 1085 , 11 66) is ample pr oof that t he cu l t of Ha tho r was
both wi desp r ead and popular du r ing the Middle Ki ngdo m.
Othe r than Hatho r, the only deities mentioned i n tit le s are
Amo n , Anubis , Khons u , Neith and Pakhe t . To this meager lis t we ca n
pr obably add Horus since a simple wc b . t is known fr om Edfu f rom which
si t e a l a r ge numbe r o f p r iests are know n who s er ve d in the Horus -
temp l e the r e . Fische r, Lex . ~g . IV , 1101 , no te s " Pri e s tes s es "
a mo ng t he pe r so nne l o f th e Osi r is- t e mpl e at Abyd os an d "Watche r s of
Mi n . " I ca n no t a gre e , however , that the t wo "G od ' s Ll i ves" noted i n
 - 21 -

Lex. B9·II, 802 , are r elated to deities ; both are probably queens .
On the eviden ce of tit le s , t he temple personnel of the Middle
Kingdom uere pred ominan tly male ; the only deity se r ved by a substan -
tial number of uomen uas Hathor . Why th is should be so is not easy
to e xplain. Ei t her the titles do represent the a ctual situation in
Middle Kingdom times , or t he evidence is somehou misleading . If
there was one "Pr iestess of Khonsu , 11 there were probably others ,
an d a s i ngle pr iestess of the lowest g r ade serv in g in the temple of
Horus at Ed fu ind ica te s there must have been mo re. It is po ~ sib le
tha t many women portrayed on stelae , f o r example , may have held
rel igious or other titles which were not recorded . The reason for
this may be no more complic a ted than tha t uomen are us ually in sub -
sidiary positions and there was not enoug h room in the space a llotted
to a given f ema le fi gu re to r ecord her r elationship to the deceas ed
and her name plus u hatever title she may ha ve held . This is not
true in a l l cases , houe ver, since on s ome s telae space was available
to record a title had one existed . In genera l, I tend to accep t
the obvious , that only a small propo r tion of uomen served in the
temples i n any professional capacity . To the te mple pe r sonnel
liste d above , of cou r se , ue must add t he singi ng and dancing troupes
(bnr . ut) attac hed to temples ; cf . Chap . 4C , nos . 14 , 15 , 19, and
the gro up of bnr . ut probably at t ached to a temple ne nr Lahun (Chap.
4C, end) . Finally , there is some ev idence for women with the title
" Funerary Priestess ."

Administ rat ive Ti tles

Administr atio n at al l l evels during the Middle Kingdom was
e ssentiall y carried out by men . Houever , women in minor positions
ere no t unkn own. Si nce Fischer , Varia , pp. 76 ff ., has recently
rev i ewed th is subj e ct , only a few relev ant remarks need to be stated
hara . My oun views on the imy . t - r s . t , the i r y . t c . t and the
s .t nt ~nb.t have bee n noted in the Catalogue . The latte r title is
omitted by Fisc her , though he does present a good ar gument for the
e xi s t en ce of fema le sc r ibes (ibid. , pp . 77 f.) , a title whic h,
after muc h hesi tat i on , I omitted f r om Index MK .
Fischer als o notes (iE.i!;!., p. 78) a ti tle heretofo r e unknown to
 - 22 -

me on Cairo ste.la J 87778: 11 Stewardess of a Sto re ho use" for which

there are several masculine counterparts {Index MK no. 179) .
Finally , Fischer , ibid ., p. 62 with figs . 1-2, sugges ts that two
sisters , dau ~ hters of a High Priest at Memphis , he l d the title
rr Controller of Works ." Unfortunately , the context is f ar from
clea r. The stela belongs to one Mentuhotep and the ni ne lines or
portions thereof still remaining (the bottom and left - hand por t ion
of the stale are broken off) list himself , his wife , two sons and
five daughters . To the left of l ines 6 and 7 (which name t wo of
the daughters) are the r emai ns of four s qu ares re ad by Fischer as
(1) tJrp.t k3 . wt , (2) n Pt J:i, (3) .!!!:••• (4) •••• Fischer feels this
broken text refers to t he names of the two daughters beside which
it stands . But the femi n ine . t could j ust as well go with k3.wt
and the title could be l ong to the so n named in line 5; e it her
interpreta tion is possible .

Titles and Epithets of the Aristoc r acy

The use of the titles " Hereditary Nob l ewoma n'' and "King's
Daughter " a re discussed in some detail in Chap 38-C. Palace titles
are few , primary among them being " Sole Lady- in- waiting" and "Lady-
in-wa i ting ," titles designating women who fo rmed part of the entour-
age of queens . The t itle " King ' s Noble woma n" seems not t o have
been us ed after the Eleventh Dynasty , and the tit le "Royal Favour-
ite " is ~nown only o n a single stela . The title " Co untess" was used
only at Beni Hasan .
A group of titles used by high - born ladies a re r ather epithets
of status : 11 Wife of a Ruler ," " Mistress of all Women ," " Da ughter
of a Coun t." On such titles , see Fischer ' s discussion in~ 76,
102 ff ., who refers to them as fil ia tion titles .

Minor Professions and Se r vants

female musicians are re latively common , mostly among the
personne l of private estates . However, we must keep in mind that
a musician named on a private stela may actually ha ve perfo rmed in
a local temple , but the known titles do not s o specify . These are:
" Singe r'' {J:isy .t, ~mcy . t) , " Singer- harpist ," and " Sis t rum (Tamb ourine)
 - 23 -

Player." Among these musicians we s hould also include t he tr oupes

of singers and dancers (Chap. 4C) attached to pri va te households
as well as temples and palaces.
Other women uho ma y be said to hold minor professional jobs
are the "Hairdresser," "Brewer," "Mill er," "Weaver," " Scribe,"
"Cosmetician," "Sealer," " Gard ener," end "Winnower." There are
also several terms for "Nurse" -- 3ty.t, mnc.t, pnmt.t, hnm.t --
all of which seem to indicate more or less the same functions. I t
is of some interest th at of all these professions, only the
"Gardener" and "Winnower" worked outside the house end its subsidi-
ary build i ngs. This points to the general observa ti on that outside
work in the fields, etc., was performed by men, including washing
clothing. There would thus seem to be e divis i on or labour on large
private e s tates: men worked outside (except for household servants)
and women worked inside. There are a few exceptions, of course,
but this division of labour generally holds true.
There are no less than 14 titles which fall into the category
of "Attendant, Maid, Servant." In practical ly all cases we cannot
define the specific dut ies of these numerous household servants,
though we cen guasa in some instances by reference to their mascu-
line counterparts. Naturally, the lar ger the household the more
there ware do•estics and the more specialized their functions
would become. These functions may well have overlapped and women
with different titles may have performed the sema duties in
different houaeholda.
 - 24 -

CHAPTER TWO

Remarks on Social Status

A, Married Women with Titles

It is possible to place some women ' s titles in a general orde r
of rank by examining the status of their husbands . The major dis-
tinctions , of course , are obvious . The wife of a Nomarch was in a
h igher position in society than en ordinary priestess who, in turn ,
held a higher position than household servants . However, a close
look at the titles of married women and their husbands allows a
somewhat more detailed picture , at least for a few titles .
The material is limited to a small number of titles for two
reasons. First, other than the ubiquitous "Lady of the House"
claimed by women of all stations , the number of women with titles
i s r elatively sma l l . Thus, the first limitation is one imposed by
the material itself . Secondly , I have used only those examples
where a woman is specifically identified as a wife , plus a few cases
wh er e both the mothe r and fath e r of the owner of a stela , etc ., a r e
ide ntified as such, hence the mother wou l d be a wife . Adm it tedly,
there must be many more wives with t itles represented on tomb
stelee and elsewhere than I have allowed , but it is not possible to
identify them . It is generally assumed, for example, that the
wo man seated with the owner of a st ela or standing directly behind
or in front of him is his wife . This is true in many cases as this
fi gu re is frequently stated to be " his wife . " Howeve r, this figure
can also be :
a mother .a!iQf. no . 1 . 9; CG 20055 , 20531, 20558;
!!.! II , 3, 7 , 9, 10, 30 ; III , 17 , 21 ;
IV, 5; Leiden II nos . 14 , 36 , 37 ; 1!.!.!!.
I, p. 184
a daughter Copenhagen , pl . 12, fig . 14 ; HT III , 25
a sister CG 20043
a grandmother Leiden II, no . 10; HT IV , 13
a nur s e ~no . 44 . 1
 - 25 -

Hance, the favoured position of a woman on a stela does n ot neces-

sarily make her the wife.
The titles (or combinations thereof) of the married women on
which the follow i ngdisc ussion is based are : 1
Numb e r
Titles Married
Attendant of the Royal Favourite 3
Daughter of a Count 5
Daughter of a Count, Priestess of Hathor 1
Freewoman of a Town 1
Lady-in-Waiting 20
Priestess 1
Priestess of Hathor 7
Priestess of Hathor, Sole Lady -in-waiting 10
Servant or a Ruler 6
Servant of the Ruler's Tabla 1
Sola Lady-in-waiting 8

To be sure, t his is a very smal l number on which to base clear

conclusions. Of the sixty-odd titles and their variants held by
woman in the Middle Kingdom, few demonstrably bel ong to married
woman. Only tentat i ve re sults are there fo re possible .
The lists giving the de t ails may be fo und in Appendix A at the
and of this chapter. List A gives married women with thr ee titles
which overlap in usage: (1) " Daughter of a Count , 11 (2 ) " Priestess
of Hathor," and (3) " Sole Lady-in-wa i ting." A woma n could hold any
of these separately, 1 and 2 togethe r , 2 an d 3 together , but not 1
and 3. This i~mediately suggests a difference in status between a
"Daughter of a Count" and a " Sole Lady -in-waiting ." The '' Priestess
of Hathor" must have stood somewhere in be t ween. This is borne out
by the titles of their husbands.
As should be e xpected , a "Daughter of a Coun t" was usual ly
•arried to one of the highe st officials whose mothers and daughters
could also hold this title. 2 The one c ase in Lis t A who mi ght not
 - 26 -

be an actual " Daught er of a Count" is Gayet , pl. 34 ; this and

similar instances are discussed in Chap . 1, sub s3 .t Q3.ty-c. In
rare cases , a woman holding this title could a l s o be a "Priestess
of Hathor ;" the one example i n Lis t A was the wife of a ruler at
Meir . Another instance where these titles are combined is with a
" Daughter of a Ruler " at Beni Hasan (fil:! I, pl. 36) .
The ''Priestesses of Hathor " were also ge ner ally married to the
highest officials . CG 20780 is an apparent exception. Its origin
is given as "unknown ," but the full title of the husb a nd is "Chief
Priest of Horus the Behdetite" so he was a n important member of the
pr iesthood of Horus at Edf u. While all traces of the Middle King-
dom temple at this site have disappeared , the large number of
priests and officials serving the temple in that period indicate it
was an impo rtant cult- pl ace ; the Chief Priest would t hus hold a
position of some significance . 3
All of the examples in List A of the combinatio n of the titles
" Priestess of Hathor" and " Sole Lady- in-w aiting" come from the
period of the Eleventh Dynasty wh ic h would appear to give a distor-
ted picture . However , very few of t he kn own examples of t his combin-
ation can be dated late r so that this combination of titles was lit-
tle used in the Mi ddle Kingdom proper . These titles were used to-
gether i n the Old Kingdom and First I ntermedi ate Period 4 so that
the relat i vnly large number of Eleventh Dyna s ty period examples
follows a long tradition . It is of interest that most of the exam-
ples in List A come from Nega ed - Deir 5 wh ich indicates the material
is somewhat one-sid e d. But CG 1654 comes from Abydos and women
with both titles whose married status ca nnot be proved are known
from other sites: CG 28025, 28026 (Deir al - Bahri) ; ~ 13, 10
(Assiut); etc.
As to the status of women with both titles, within the iimits
of the known evidence, they again were married to high officials.
This must have been because of their being "Pr iest e sses of Hathor"
since , as can be seen in List A, a " Sole Lady-in-wai t ing" was of a
lowe r status . Women holding only the latter title were married to
men wh ose titles place them bel ow the level of the husbands of the
" Priestesses of Hathor. 11 Such titles as " Sole Friend" indicate a
 - 27 -

lower rank in the hierarchy , while the active titles with real
functions are those of somewhat ordinary officials . The husba nd ' s
6
title on Gayet , pl . 54 , is questionable . Th is is a la r ge fragme nt
of an imposi ng stela on which the owner mentions a r oyal gift of a n
inscribed coffin of Cs - wood and a "mummy- case of r efined gold
ornamented in genuin: -lapis- laz uli. 11 7 Such gifts were ofte n be-
stowed o n deserving officials and this suggests that this " Oversee r
of Hor ned Ani ma l s(? )" was i n charge of the r oyal cattle while hi s
wi f e served i n some ca pacity in the palace .
There was a very re~l difference in status between the "Sole
Lady- in- waiting " a nd the o r dinary " Lady- in - waiting. " Women with
the latter title were neve r "Pries t esses of Hathor 11 nor do they
bear other titles except in ve r y rare instances . 8 There is also a
striking change in t he titles of their husbands as shown in List B.
These are mostly working titles of men who held responsib le but
mi nor positions . The r e a r e no tit l es of rank such as "Sole friend ,"
the lowest r anking title of the upper hierarchy , so we a r e now dea l-
ing with functionaries below that level . ea for the se reaso ns it is
ob vious that " Lady- in- waiting " is not a variant of " Sole Lady- i n-
waiting " as has bee n supposed : fil 4 , 59 ff' .; JEA 60 , 1 10 . The
t wo titles belonged to quite dif'ferent strata of society .
The title " Serva n t of a Rule r" belon gs i n the same class as
"Lady- i n-waiting ." The t itles of th e husbands or t hese women ar e
gi ve n i n List C. Again , each man has only a si ngle title , t here
are no ranking titles and they are all minor f unctionaries .
The r emai ning t i t les of married women and their hus b ands are
given in List D. These wome n were all mar r ied to men who fall i nt o
the same ranks as those of Lists B and C: they all have a si ngl e
wo r kin g title , there are no titles of rank and they are mino r
functionaries .
The results of this inquiry may seem d i s appointing as it is
pos sible to delineate only t h ree strata of society above the
peasant class and distribute amo ng them only a few of the many
 - 28 -

known women's titles. Thus:

1 . Titles belonging to the highest stratum
Countess
Daughter of a Count
Hereditary Noblewoman 9
Priestess of Hathor
So l e Lady- in-waiting
2. Titles belonging to the intermediate stratum
Attendant of the Royal favourite
freewoman of t he City
Lady- in- waiting
Priestess (wcb.t)
Servant of a Ruler
Servant of the Ruler ' s Table
3. Titles belonging to the lower stratum
These include the numerous titles of the minor pro-
fessions ( " Brewar , " "Hairdresser , " etc.) and the
numerous household servants and attendants .

8, Objects Owned by Women with Titles

Some confirmation of the conclusions just reached is gained
by examining the kind of objects owned by women with titles , I know
o f no instance where such an object includes the name and title of
the husba nd 1 D so we must fall back on the objects themselves as
11
indicators of status. followin g is a list of the objects concerned:

Statues and Statuettes

Priestess of Hathor CG 484

Priestess of Hathor , Sole CG 446

Lady- in- waiting
Servant of a Ruler ~ I, p. 150; ET 2 , 102 f.
Sole Lady- in- waiting CG 1039
 - 29 -

Stelae
Kin g ' s Noblewoman , Ki ng ' s JEA 23 , pl . 20 (8M 1658)
Acquaint a nce
Priestess of Hatho r, King's HT IV , 32 ( 8M 832)
Acquaintance
Pr iestess of Hathor, Sol e Du nham ~· no . 57
Lady-i n-wa iting
Si nger CG 2025 7
Stewardess of a Sto r ehouse Fischer , Vari a, p l . 19, 4
Coffins
Da ughter of a Count QE.I, M1 C
Hereditar y Noblewoma n OPT, 8680
He re dita r y No blewoman QE.I, 8380 , 8480
Lady- in- waiting
Lady - in- waiting CG 28030
Priestess of Hatho r , So le CG 28025- 26 ; ~ 13 , 10;
Lady- in- waiting ~18 I , pp . 234 , 235
Sole Lady - in- waiting Ha rageh , pl . 77 , 4
Off ering- tables
Attendant , Nurse CG 23052

Cleanin g-w oma n CG 230 56

Hall - keeper MIFAO VI , fi g. 58 ; CG 23050 ,
23053 , 23055
Housemaid MIFAO VI , f ig . 60 ; CG 230 29 ,
23049 , 23051 , 23062 , 23064
Scarabs
At ten dan t of the Roya l Martin no . 715
Favourite

Citizeness Martin no . 1735

Daughte r of a Pr i est Ma rtin no . 697
Haird res se r Martin no . 279
 - 30 -

Hall - keeper Martin no . 1 364a

La d y of the Ho use Martin , passim ( 100 exx . )
Lady- i n- waiting Martin , passim (5 exx . )

Musician of Ha thor Martin no . 512

Pr iestess (om. t - ntr) Martin no . 438

Scribe Ma r ti n no . 30 1
Ser va nt of a Rule r Marti n, passi m ( 9 e xx . )
MDAIK 35 , 223 , no . 70

Si n ge r Ma r ti n no . 1693
Mi rr or
Pr iestess of Ha thor , Sole fil I , p . 262
Lady - i n- waiting
It is evident that the mo r e impo r tant ob j ects which wo ul d be
t he most expe nsive -- statues , stelae , coffins -- belonged t o wome n
of the u pper s t rata of society . These women are mos t ly of the to p
stra t um as de fi ned above , r arely fr om t he second s tr atum. In
gene r al , t hen , the most expensive objects belonged to wome n mar r ied
t o th e highest officials , women who held the highes t f emini ne t itles .
Inc l uded in this group is the stela of a " Singer " (CG 20257) who is
portr ayed playi ng a ha rp . This stela is small and of r athe r c ru de
c r a ft s ma ns hip , though this is not always a reliable guide to the
st a t us of the i ndi vi dual concerned . This stela may hav o been a
gi ft fr om the gr e atf ul mas t er in whose house she sang and played .
The sca r abs all be l onged to women of the second and thi r d
str ata of society as defined above . There are none with titles of
t he t o p s tratum which , at first sight , seems surprising since such
women might have had to seal documents or stamp the sealings of
stor ag e- jars . But this may be exp lai ned by the hundred or so
s c ar abs with the t itle "Lady of the House . " No matter what othe r
t itle a woman happened to have , it would be in this capacity that
she " signed " documents or sealed jar s . We must also keep in mind
th a t e ven scarabs with names and t itles were not always meant for
a c t ua l s e aling , but were purchased as talismans, amulets , or simply
 - 31 -

as jewellery . ·As amulets , these were ob j ects which women of lowe r

status could afford and throu g h them they could achieve an added
hope for immortality .
The most interesting fe atu re of this collection of objects is
that all the offering- t a bles came from a single find at Lisht and
that they all belonged to women whose titles place them in the
category of household or personal servants . Unfortunately, the
circumstances of the find-spot tell us nothing about why women with
such unimportant title s s hould have su ch expensive , well- carved
objects .
During the French exca vation s at Lisht in 1894- 95 , one area
investigated was that south of the p yramid of Sesostris I . Just
inside the e nclosu r e wall of tha t monument the re uas discovered a
shaft which led to an under g roun d chamber in whi ch were found
coffins of the Ptolema ic or Roman period; cf. MIFAO VI , 50 ff.
This chamber uas lined wit h stones among which were the offering-
tables i n q usstion , taken from an older building of undetermine d
nature . The excavators state that all these stones originally
belonged to a str uc ture "sans doute le tombeau commun de touts une
corporation de femmes. " They attempted a reconstr uction of the
hi erarchy of this group , thou gh this is based on a mi s under sta nding
of most of the titles involved . Thus, the context itself is of no
help i n expla i nin g thi s group of objects beyond the probability
that they all originated in the same place .
The only solution wh i ch o c cu rs to me is that the importance of
these women is not their un imposing titles , but rathe r wher e and
whom they served . There is no quest ion about the date of this
group ; the funerary formulae , personal names , titles , and the form
of the offering - table s thems e lves all point to the Middle Kingdom .
It can be assumed with some degree of assurance th at the structure
in which the se offering- tables were originally placed was in the
immediate neighb orho od of the late tomb in which they were fo und ,
that is , near the pyramid of Sesost ris I . Though it is only a
guess , it is pos '1 ible th a t these women once served in the palace
or the funer ary t nmp le of Sesostris I and were gi ven offering- tables
as a sign of r oyal favour. Whet her these offering- tables were
 - 32 -

originally placed in burials that have yet to be found or in the

temple is unknown . The latter seems most likely so that the stone
lining for the late tomb may have consisted of blocks taken fr()(11
the pyramid - temple which would long since have fallen into dis use
and disrepair .
For a similar communal burial place for women of a certain
class , see Chap . 6 . There it is a question of Pr iestesses of Hathor
whose chapels were incorporated into the funerary temple of King
Nebhepetre Mentuhotep . Thes e women seem to have been candidate s for
royal marriage , hence had a special position at court comme mo rat ed
by a common funerary monument which ante- dated the temple itself.
 - 33 -

App end i x A
Lists of Ma rr ied Women with Tit l es
and the Titles of Their Husbands

List A
Mar r ied Women with the Titles " Daughte r o f a Co u nt , "
" Pri estess of Hatho r, '' " Sole Lady - in- waiting"

In this list , the t i tle s of the wife are giv e n on the lef t,
t he t itles of the husband on the r ight .

fil:! I , pl . 25 , 3 (Baqet)
Daught er of a Co unt
fili I , pl . 32 ( Kh et y)
Da ughter of a Count , Heredita r y
Noblewoman , Lady of the House ,
Coun t e ss , Daughte r of a Ruler
Pr iestess of Pakhet
fil:! I , p. 14 (H en u)
Da ughte r of a Count
~ III , pl . 27 (Mersy)
Daug ht er of a Cou nt
Ga ye t , pl . 34 (Hetep)
Da ughte r of a Count
t1!.!!, VI, pl . 6 (Mersy)
Da ug hte r of a Coun t , Priestess
of Hat hor, Lady of the House
Heredita r y Noble , Coun t ,
Ruler of New Towns
Hereditary Noble , Cou nt ,
Sealer of the Kin g of Lowe r
Egypt , Sole Friend , Ove r see r
of the Eastern Deserts
Count , Gene r alissimo of the
Or yx- Nome
Son of a Count , Oversee r
of Fields
True King ' s Acquaintance ,
Carpenter of Nekhen
Heredita r y Noble , Count ,
Sealer of the King of Lowe r
Egypt , Sole Friend , Oversee r
of God ' s - servants .
 - 34 -

Bers heh I ' pl. 20 (Hathor - hetep)

Priestess of Hathor , Lady of Nomarch of t he Hare-No me
the House
CG 20546 (Renef- ankh)
Priestess of Hathor He reditary Noble , Count ,
Generalissimo
CG 20780 (Nebunakht)
Priestess of Hathor Chief Priest of Horus,
Overseer of Fields
HT IV, pl. 33 (Medhu)
Priestess of Hatho r Ge neralissimo
BH II, pl. 24 (Horibra)
Priestess of Hathor, Lady of Hereditary Noble, Count,
the House Sealer of the King of Lower
Egyp t, Sole Friend , Overseer
of the Eastern Deserts
BH I, pl . 18 (Hetpet)
Priestess of Hathor, True King ' s Nomarch of the Oryx-Nome
Acquaintance, Priestess of Pakhet ,
Lady of the House
Antefoker , pl. 14 (Satsasobk)
Priestess of Hathor Vizier
CG 1654 (Senet)
Pri estess of Hathor , Sealer , Sole Friend
Sole Lady - in- waiting

CG 20010 (Sa)
Priestess of Hatho r , Sealer of the King of Lower
Sole Lady - in-waiting Egyp t, Sole Frie nd , Steward
of a Storehouse
Dunham ll· n·o. 84 ( Henutsen)
Priestess of Hathor , Count , Sealer of the King of
Sole Lady-in- wait ing Lower Egypt, Sole Friend ,
Lector- priest
1

- 35 -

Dunham §i. no . 78 (Mutmuti)

Pr iestess of Hathor , Count , Sealer of the King of
Sole Lady - in- waiting Louer Egypt , Sole friend
Leet or- priest
Dunham §i. no . 76 (!di)
Priestess of Hathor , Hereditary Noble , Coun t
Sole Lady- in - wa iting
Dunha m §i. no . 73 (Hetepti)
Pr iestess of Hathor , He r editary Noble , Count ,
Sole Lady- in- waiting Sealer of the King of Lowe r
Egypt , Sole Friend , Lector-
priest
Dunha m §i. no . 62 (Peryet)
Pr iestess of Hathor , Count
Sole Lady- in- waiting
Br ussels no . E. 4985 (Senet- menetwy)
Priestess of Hathor , Count , Sole Friend , Manager
Sole Lady- in- waiting of an Estate
!!! III , pl . 32 (Meritites)
Priestess of Hathor , Count , Sealer of the King of
Sole Lady- in- waiting Lower Egypt , Sole Friend ,
Lecto r- pries t
.§£. I, no . 18 ( I ru )
Pri estess of Hatho r, Seale r of the King of Lower
So l e Lady- in- waiting Egypt , Ove r see r of Foreign
Mercenaries , General
CG 2001 3 (Dedi)
Sole Lady - in- waiting Overseer of the Double Granary
Dunham §i. no . 23 (Sekhetiqe r t)
So l e Lady- i n-waiting Sole Friend

CG 20507 ( I nen)
Sole Lady- in- waiti ng Sole Friend
 - 36 -

Dunham .§!. no . 67 (Shed&tites)

Sole Lady-in-w aiting Sealer o f the King of Lower
Egypt, So le Friend
CG 20005 (Ibi)

Sole Lady- in-waiting Sealer of the Ki ng of Lower

Egy pt, Steward
Gayet , pl . 54 (Imi)
Sole Lady-in-waiti ng Over s eer of Horned Animal s(?)
.§f. I , no . 12 (Senebtisi)
Sole Lady-i n- waiting Stewar d of Recko nin g Barley
 - 37 -

List 8
Titles of the Husbands of Women with
the Title " Lady-in-Waiting"

Attendant of the Ruler ' s Tab le FM no . 31679 ; CG 20668 ; Abydos I,

PT. 59 ; Franke , Personendeten no.
578 ; ~ no . 65

Chief Director of Cra ftsmen JEA 68 , 52

Chief of Po lice in the Temple
of Anubis
First Ki ng's Son
God ' s - Se rv a nt
King ' s Acquaintance
Magnate of the Southe rn Tens
Overseer of Field-workers
Overseer of Sandal-makers
Scribe of a Temple
Sen ior Warden of Nekhen
Overseer o f an Administ rat ive
District
CG 20373 , 20778
CG 20732
l£a 33 , pl. 2 , 16
Bo l ton no . 10.20/12
CG 20661; Athens 10
l£a 60 , pl. 26
CG 20322
fil. IV , pl . 18
RevE g 26 , 104; Fr anke, Parsonen-
daten nos . 46 3, 730
Franke , Personendaten no . 359

List C
Titles of the Husbands of Women with
the Title "Servant of a Ruler"
Lector- priest Firenze no. 43
Magnate of the Southe rn Tens Rev Eg 26 , pls. 19- 11
Copenhage n, p. 1 5
Necropolis - guard CG 20481
Priest of Horus of Edf u FIFAO 10/2 , p . 33
Retainer Bol t on no . 10.20/12
Senior Warden of Nekhen Winlock , Bf., pl. 39 III
 - 38 -

List D
Married Women with Miscellaneous Titles
and the Titles of Their Husbands

Attendant of the Royal Favo ur ite

!!I IV , pl. 27 ; Husband: Att endant of the Ruler's Table
Firenz e no. 34 ; Husband : Scribe of the Great Priso n
Athe ns no. 10; Hus band: not clear

Freeuoman of the Toun

§.!! I , no. 3; Husband: Overseer of the Storehouse of the
Storehouse of the Palace

Priestess
CG 20056 ; Husband: Scribe of the Cadaster

Servant of the Ruler's Ta ble

lf.a. 51 , 27; Husband : Magnate of the Southern Tens
 - 39 -

CHAPTER THREE
Royal Titles Used by Commoners

Introduction
It has often been stated that royal titles were taken over by
commoners during the later Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate
Pe r iod . Since the evidence does not appear to have been collected
in one place, it seems appropriate to do so here. This evidence
suggests that during the period of concern here the titles "King's
Son " and "Hereditary Noblewoman" were used by commoners while the
titles "King ' s Daughter" and "King's Wife " were not .
The following discussion is based primarily on a series of
funerary stelae from Edfu and Abydos , a few stelae of unknown
provenance , and the well - known genealogical text from tomb 9 at
el - Kab . With a few exceptions , these documents give the parentage
or at least part of the families of those who held the titles in
question . The documentation is not complete since some stelae do
not give enough information. For example, five of the stelae in
Cairo listed by von Beckerath as showing commoners with the title
" King's Son" are not included here , though I agree with his opinion;
Zweite Zwischenzeit, p. 100, n. 1 (CG 20058, 20450 , 20578 , 20600,
20732).
The documents used For the present discussion with the pertine n t
information about the people involved are listed in Appendix B at
the end of this chapter.
These funerary stelae share certain common characteristics
which can be noted at the outset . On the basis of the personal
names , ge ne r a l style and the details of the Qtp- di - nsw formula as
studied by Bennett , ~ 27, 77 ff ., they can be placed in the later
Twelfth and the Thirteenth Dynasties . Stylistically, with one
exception , they range from poor to mediocre craftsmanship, often
with crude l y- cut hieroglyphs, human figures out of proportion and
e r rors in the text . In general , they are small, quite unpreten-
tious monuments, ha~dly suitable to royalty which, even in the most
troubled times, could at least command competent artists .
 - 40 -

While i t may seem redundant, it is usefu l to point out that

the titles in question uere used by actual members of royal families
throughout the Middle Kingdom . for example:

s3-nsw Dyn. 11 : Abydos I, pl. 57

Dyn. 12: fil:i 1, pl . 0 , 12; z~s 37, 91
Oyn . 13 : ~ 37 , pl. 6; LO II, 151e

s3.t-n s1o1 Dyn . 11 : ~ 28, 160 f .

Dyn . 12: Si nuhe R 3; LR I , pp . 294, 316; ~4, 133
Oyn . 13 : Pierret I I , p . 107 (C 8); ~ 22 , 116

r .t-pc . t Oyn . 12: Si nu he R 3; IS no . 71; LR I , pp. 294, 316,

336; fil IV, 9; ~4, ~3; 8, 48
Dyn. 13: df! 37 , pl. 6; ~ 22 , 116

Precisely when these titles first came to be used by commoners

is unknown . The evidence now available indicates this phenomenon
to be more characteristic of the Thirteenth Dynasty , though the
pract ise may have begun in the Twelfth . Wi nlock, B.[, p. 109, is
s urely incorrect in suggesting that the "King's Son " of Abydo s I ,
pl. 57, ua s not really the son of a king. This seems far too early
for a commoner to carry t his title and the indications on the stela
itself point to a ro yal f iliation . The best that can be said at
present is that commoners may have begun to use royal titles
touard the end of the Twelfth Dynasty .

A. s3-nsw , "Kin g ' s Son"

The group of stelae from Edf u (Appendix B, nos . 1-8) is a
convenient starting-point since royal titles were in particular
favour at t his site . While no Middle Kingdom buildings or tombs
have been pre.served there , the importance of Edfu as a provincial
capitol and the existence of a temple of Horus there in the Mi ddle
Kingdom is amply proved by some sixty stelae, statues and offering-
tables belonging to res idents of the town, among whom are numerous
priests of Horus of Edfu ; bibliog r aphy in~ V, pp. 202 ff ., and
1

- 41 -

BI FAO 37, 98 ff. These mon uments have bee n dated to the closing
dec ade s of the Th i r tee nth Dyna sty , ea . 1690 - 1650 B. C. (JEA 33 ,
9 ff.; Zweit e Zwischenzeit , pp . 76 f . ) . This datin g is on the
ba sis of t he ir ge ne r ally simila r wo rkmanshi p and the appearance on
t hes e s te la e of the names of Kin g De dumose I ( ASA E 9 , 1 f . ) , of
Ki ng De d umose I o r II {ASAE 21 , 189 f . ) , of Queen Sebekemsaf , wife
of In t ef V, f ounde r of the Seven t een th Dynasty (ASA E 22 , 116 ;
Zwe it e Zwis c he nz eit , pp . 170 f . ) , a nd Intef V himself (!:!I VJ , 28 ;
Zwe i te Zwisc henze it , p . 171, n. 3; origin of stela unkn own but
dated t o th i s gr oup o n styl i stic gr ounds) .
The no n-r oya l pa r e ntage of two " Kin g ' s Sons " ( Appendi x s, nos .
1, 4) prove s they cannot have bel ong ed to a royal family . The known
relative s of t wo o ther '' Kin g ' s Sons " were all commoners (nos . 5, 8) .
The " Ki ng 's Sons" of nos . 4 , 5 a nd 7 ca r ry othe r titles which must
repres ent t he i r a ctual positio n.
Nos . 6 and 7 are of pa rt icular in t erest since they may be the
key t o understand i ng t he use of the tit le "King ' s So n" at Edfu . The
taxt of no. 6 re a ds as follo ws :

1. A of Horus the Behdetite and Os iris , Lord of Busi r is ,

~tp- di -n s w

2. t hat t hey ma y gi ve a fune r a r y- offerin g of oxen , fowl , offe r ings

and prov isions to the ka of the King ' s Son
3. Hor-sekher. He says : I am one who is known in the (royal)
entourage,
4. the eldest s on(a)o f my f athe r, conte nt ed of movements in the
presence of
s. t he ru l er, one whom t he ki ng made great when he wa s a child .
He sa ys: I
6. am a Ki ng ' s Son of the mi ghty r ule r, So n of Re Dedumose , one
who m he has magn ifie d.
7. I ua s ••••
e. before. He ga ve me ••••
9. (and) a ba ttl e -axe of go ld. {]he King ' s Son Ho r-sekherJ ( b)
10. born t o t he King ' s Son Se bekhote p, bo rn of • •• •
11. Sen e b, possessor of honour.
 - 42 -

No tes: (a) s3-nsw wr; the engraver has confused s3-nsw

and s3 wr; (b) the reading 3~~w m nbw and
restorat io n after Halek , !:!.I1. no. 58.

This is a rather poorly engraved stela . Helck ' s restoration in

line 9 seems perfect ly plausible so that Hor - sekher is not a son
of King Dedumose and h i s title can therefore not be taken lit erally.
Such is also t he opinion of El- Sayed , the most recent editor of this
text .
No . 7 is a larger , better engraved and more impos ing stela with
a much longer tex t. It begins with the full titulary of King
Djedhetep re Dedumose . The opening lines of the main text are as
fo llow s :

2. •••• I gave pra ise to his majesty because

3. his [ma jesty] i s enduring of appearance like Kamutef, according
as he praised me in (my] office
4. (uhich] I held. He gave to me a portal before me of wood
covered (a) with silver,
5. two •••• of go l d and bronze , and a hind-quarter (of meat).
(There follows a long Qtp- di- nsw formula)
7. for the ka of the King's Son, Commande r of
B. [Edfu] (b) Khonsemuaset , who exercized office in his youth ,
one whom his city p r aises , etc ., etc .
No t es : (a) ~ uith this sense only in post- Empire
times and later , according to ~· II , 162 , 1-2 ,
but this must be the s a me word . (b) Restora-
tion after Halek , ~ 37, 339.

A second ~tp-di-nsw formula, now badly broken, is for another man

named Khonsu (lines 1 3- 18); only traces remain of his title ,
restored as s3b , 11 dignitary, 11 by Halek , .!:ill no . 57 . This may be
the fathe r of Khonsemuaset. Helck , ~ 37 , 339 f. , makes Khons-
emwaset -- as "Ki ng ' s Son , Comma nder of Edfu " -- the earliest in
a series of similar officials who uere military commande r s at
various places i n Egypt and Nubia . As a ''Kin g 's Son ," Khonsemuaset
 - 43 -

was answerable directly to the k ing . This title, of course, pre-

sages the titl~ "Kin g 's So n of Kush," always held by commoners
(Zweite Zuischenzeit, pp. 100 f.).
I do not believe we a r e dealing with an actual prince in either
case. The parentage of Hor-sekher is known, if we accept Helck's
restoration, and possibly also that of Khonsemwaset. In both cases,
these men speak as any other servan t of the king, even recording
royal gifts suitable for officials but not princes . We must thus
interpret the title " King 's Son" as defining a personal adherent of
the king, one who by means of t his title announces his loyalty to
the ruler. S ome such sense as "roya l adherent'' must have been
intended. Helck's interpretation of Khonsemwaset's titles would
indicate that in th is case the title was granted by the king .
Whether this was always true, or individuals adopted the title on
their own, cannot be stated.
It is probable that all the " King ' s Sons " at Edf u can be
expla i ned in this manner. These were men who enjoyed the special
favour of the king . Hou they received the t itle is open to question.
It could have been grante d by the king , or individuals could have
openly pr oclaimed their loyalty to the king by calling themselves
a "royal adherent.'' In the troubled t imes when these stelae were
engraved, perhaps this was one way of identifying the king's men .
A second group of stelae with royal ti tles applied to common-
ers comes from Abydos (n os . 9 -13 ) plus a few having an unknown
provenance (n os . 14-17).
In this group, the title " King ' s Son " appears f i ve times . On
no. 2, the fath~r is a loca l po l ice official ; on no . 13, the father
is a priest of the lowe st g r ade . Hence , in both cases the "K ing ' s
Son" cannot be a real prince. No. 11 has been taken by LR II , p.
95, literally as the only evidence for the existence of a s on and
daughter of King Sekhemre - khutauy Pan teni, but this can ha rdly be
the case. The stela is far too crude for ro ya l ty even in the
Thirteenth Dynas ty. Zueite Zwisc hen ze it , pp . 35 ff. , suggests
that because the stela is so poorly made , it mu s t date to the end
of that dynasty. Von Beckerath further sugg e sts that the t~o

people represented on this stela were not royal themselves, but of

 - 44 -

royal descent so that their stela comme morates a di s tant ance stor
who once sat on the throne . I do not feel it i s possib l e to dat e
this stela to the late Thirteenth Dynasty o n the bas i s of its c r ude
style ; good and bad ste l a e we r e ca r ve d in an y pe r iod de pendi ng on
the c r aftsm a n . The r e i s no r eason why it can not date t o the re ign
of King Panteni whose name it bea r s . Since I be l i e ve that the
title "King ' s Daughter " should be taken lite r ally (s e e be low), in
this case we probably have a daughte r of Ki ng Pan te ni who ma rr i ed
a c ommone r raised to the status of " Ki ng ' s Son = Ro yal Ad her e nt . "
Assuming the stela is his , this might account for its c rude
engraving .
No . 14 is a small stela purchased at Luxor which , at t he time
of pub l icetion (1887) was in a private collectio n in Hunga r y . It
has a ppa r ently never been pub l ished else whe r e . The stela names
only the owner and his parents . Nubkhas , the fa t her , w ~s a "K i ng ' s
Son " but also an " Oversee r of an Admin i strative Dist r ict " whic h
must have been his actual function . In the origina l publication ,
Wiedemann made the implausible sug gestion that si nce Nubkhas bear s
the same name as the wife of King Sebekemsaf II a nd the wife of
Nubkhas was named Sebekemsaf th o t they were related to the ro yal
fam i ly . This hardly seems likely , solel y on the basis of persona l
names wh i ch were common at the time , and I rather see Nubkha s as a
local administ r ato r granted the hono r i ~ic title " Ki ng ' s Son . "
No . 15 is a small crude stela in Bologna naming t he " King ' s
Eldest(?) Son Bebi ," though the questionable sig n might a l s o be
read ll• that is , " t he King ' s Son , the Official Bebi . 11 He i s
accompanied only by his son who dedicated the ste la , a simpl e
" Majo r domo ."
I feel that this group of " King ' s Sons " can be t reat e d i n t he
same manner as thei r contemporaries at Ed f u . These were men who
either received the t i tle as a sign of special favour o r who
adopted it themselves as a pu blic s t a t ement of thei r loyalty to
the king . It is of no small importa nce tha t i n ev er y ca se t hrou gh-
out the preceding discussion where the parentage of a "K i ng 's Son"
is known , th e y came fr om non-r oyal f ami lies .
 - 45 -

B. r.t-pc.t, "Hered itary Noblewoman"

It now remains to say something about the femin ine royal
titles which appear on these monuments . The title r.t-pc.t,
"Hereditary Noblewoman," was used hardly at all in the Old King-
dom, and then for queens (Lex . ~g . III, 474), and does not seem
to have been used again until Queen Neferu of the Eleventh Dynasty;
Metropolitan Muse um of Art photos M 7C61 and M 7C62 (unpublished).
In the Twelfth Dynasty, the title was used by royal women (see
above) but probably also by commoners .
An interesting c ase is that of the wives of the ruling famiry
at Be ni Hasan. The earliest is the "Hereditary Noblewoman, Wife of
a Ruler, Mistress of All Wome n Sat- ip" (BH I, pl. 46) , wife of t he
Nomarch Khnumhotep I . Si nce we know noth in g of her parentage, we
cannot assert or deny that she came from the royal family. Their
daughter was the " Heredita r y Noblewoman, Countess Baqet" (fil:! I ,
pl. 25, 63), married to the "Ruler of New Towns Nehri. " The son
of the lat t er pair was the Nomarch Khnumho t ep II who ma rried the
"Hereditary Noblewoman, Countess , Daughter of a Count Khety" (BH
II , pl. 24). Her parents were an unnamed "Ruler of t he Jackal -
Nome" (.fil:!. I, pl. 26, 121-23) and a lady Tchat who has no title
(BH II , pl. 24) .
With the last-named, Khety, we c a n be sure she did not be long
to the royal family. She identifies herself as "Daughter of a
Count" and her father was indeed a No march; she thus came from an
important provincial family, not a royal one.
Baqet's parents are known, but the problem here is that her
mother Sat-ip also carries this title . Si nce we do not know the
letter's parents, nor do we know if this title could be inherited ,
no clear conclusions can be reached rega r ding the royal connections,
if any , of Sat- ip and Baqet . The la tte r, in any case, would only
be indirectly related throu gh her mother . In my opinion , none of
these ladies were royal and they carried the title in question by
virtue of their high station as wives and mothers of Nomarchs .
However, it cannot be completely discounted that at the beginning
of the Twelfth Dynasty when the initial king was a usurper , a tie
 - 46 -

by marriage to an impo rtant provincial family (in the person of

Sat- ip) might have been thought to be of advantage to the new r oya l
house . On the other hand , it is probable that any royal co nne c -
tions would have been stated clearly at Beni Hasan .
On the funerary stelae lis te d in Appendix B., the r e are fi ve
" Hereditary Nob lewomen . " Two appea r on no . 2 , Nefer u and Sebe k-
n?. kht . The l at ter may have belonged to a royal family by vi r t ue
of her other title "King ' s Daughte r " (see below) . The "Hered i -
tary Noblewoman Nesen" {no . 16) is placed i n such a subs idi a ry
position in a long list of unimportant officials that r oya l st a tu s
seems out of the question . Of the " He r editary Noblewome n" Isi s
{no . 3) and Sebekemsaf {no . 14) , nothing can be said one way or
the other . In gen eral , I am inclined to think that unless c l ea r
evidence exists to the contrary , the title ''Hereditary Noblewoman "
was honorific during th is period . The masculine counterpart was
so frequently used as a ranki ng title with no royal connotations
that it is probable that the same was true , on occasion , for th e
feminine . In these cases , the title seems to be one tha t ma r ks a
woman ' s status within her community , a title she may have adopted
after marriage . The husbands were generally men of some importa nce
so s uch an honour was not out of place .

C. s3 . t - nsw , "King ' s Da ughter ," and t.tm . t - nsu, ~ ' King ' s Wife "
The title " King's Daughter"may be more than j ust a mark of
status. Those listed in Appendix B, together with the titles of
their husbands and fat he rs - in - law , are as follows':
Titles of
Titles of Husb;:ind father - in- law
~
2. Sebeknakht Count , Overseer of Coun t
God ' s - serva:its
10 . Hatshepsut Attendant of the Pa rticipant of t he
Ruler ' s Table Ruler's Table

11 • Hete pnefe ru King ' s Son ?

12 . Oedet- Amon Count , Seal er of th e Magnate of the

King of Louer Egypt Southern Te ns
 - 47 -

13 . I •••• He r edita r y Noble , Coun t , Wab-priest ,

Sealer of the King of Ente r er of Sobk
Louer Egypt , King ' s Son
17. Neferu Chief of Police in the Chief of Police i n
Te mple of Anubis the Temple of Anubis

In only one case i s t he mother of the woman kn own : Hatshepsu t

(no . 10) was the daughter of t he ''King ' s Wife Nefe r et ." While an
earlier generation of Egyptologists identified Nefert as the wife
of Sesostris II and Hatshepsut as his daughter (kB, I , pp . 300 f . ;
II , pp . 121 , 138) , this error wa s soon dropped from the literature .
Now it would be st r ange indeed fo r a commoner to adopt the title
"Kin g ' s Wife .'' A ready solution for which no p r oof can be o f fered
is to assume that Neferet was in r eality tha wife of one o f the
ephemeral kings o f the Thirteenth Dynasty who was himself of
common origin , r eig ned only a sho r t time and whose so n did not
succeed him . This was more o r less the r ule a t the time . Neferet ' s
daughter Hatshepsut could th~s legally claim the tit le " King ' s
Da ughte r ." The only fact I can off e r to support this is the epithet ,
uniq ue as far as I know , appl ied to Hatshepsut ' s husban d , the
"At tendant of th e Rule r ' s Table , the n£s cnb Iu ." This must mean
someth i n g like " living commoner , " " commoner an d or dinary person ,"
c lea r ly dist inguishing him in station from the royal family into
wh ic h he ma rried. Both he and his father were undoubted1y palace
off icia l s . I feel we can take this stela literally and accept
these women as membe r s of a short - lived r oyal f n mily .
If this is an acceptable theory , then it can apply to all the
" King ' s Daughters " listed above . We must keep in mind the pa r adox
of the Thi rteenth Dynasty . As Hayes puts it (CAH II 3 , p . 4l!):
From their number , the brevity of their rei gns ,
an d the evident lack of any continuous dynastic
succ ession it wo uld appear thAt the kings of the
Thi rt eenth Dynasty, dominated by a powe r ful line
of Vizier~ , were for the most part puppet rulers ,
holding their offices, perhaps by appointment or
" election ," fo r l imited periods of time •••• On
 - 48 -

the other hand , it is evident that for mo r e than

a hundred years , in spite of frequent changes in
the persons of the ru lers , the power of a si ngl e
central gover nment contin ued to be r espected
throughout most of Egypt itself ••• an d until
late in the eighteenth ce ntury B.C ., Eqyptian
presti ge i n Nubia and West ern Asia remained
lar gely unshaken .
In other words , during this pe ri od we are no t dealin g with sacro -
sanct Pha r aohs possessing authority limited only by t he gods.
Their authority was limi ted by men and they the mselves were by and
lar ge l ittle mo r e than fi gu re - he Ads . The i r daughters we re th us of
little mo r e importance than t he daughte rs of state or provincia l
officials . The reign s of these ki ngs were usual ly s o shor t that
they may have ceased to rule by the time their daughte~s were
married , in which case both fathe r and daughter had rejoined the
ranks of the commoners from which they had spru ng .
In s uch a situation where a f ami ly is suddenly th r ust into
prominence as royalty , on ly to lo se t his distinct ion a sho r t time
later, it is not surprising to f ind '' Ki ng ' s Daughte r s " married to
commone r s , some of r elatively low status .
It is prob able that all the n umerous ro yAl families of the
period were of common origin and came from var ious places in the
provinces . The Se bekhotep fami ly of the mid - Thirteenth Dynasty ,
for exampl e , was of low or midd l e - class orig in fr om Aswan;
Macadam , JEA 37 , 2D ff . The tomb of Queen Sebekems a f , wife of
King Nubkheperre In te f V of the Seventeenth Dyn asty , was at Ed fu
ac co rding to an early Eigh te enth Dynasty text which notes the
tomb ' s r esto r ation (Urk . IV , 3D , 8- 9) . A stela f r a~ment whic h
originally named a queen Sebekemsaf and members of her family was
found at Edf u (ASAE 22 , 1 1 6) ; t his is pr esumably the wife of
Nubkheperre Intef V wh o t h us had provinc i al o r igins . The fami l y
stela of Queen Nubkhas shows that he r parents were commoners
( Pie rret II , p . 5 , C 13) . Gi ven such circumstances, " King ' s
Da ughte r ' s mus t have abounded dur ing the Thi r teenth Dynasty , all
 - 49 -

with the legal right to claim the title even though they may have
been royalty for a very short time .
For the sake of completeness , I note here a "King ' s Siste r
Iuf" (Appendix 8, no. 4) ma rr ied to a Count of Edfu ; t hei r
d~u ght er married into a large family of Lector-pr i ests . I am
incl ined to se e here a genuine sister of a king who reigned for a
short time and t hen faded into obscurity. Under such circum-
stances , a marriage to a Cou nt of Edfu would be an advantageous
one. Since var ious priests of the Horus - temple at Edf u do mi nate
the f amilies known from the monuments , perha ps the daughte r' s
marr iage i nto a family of priests was not the step down it first
appears t o be .

00 The Genealog y f r om Tomb 9 at el - Kab

We may now turn to the in teresti ng genealog i cal text from
the tomb of Renseneb at el - Kab which mentions seve ra l women with
ro ya l titles . The part of the text of interest here i s given in
Halek , .!:!J1. no . 110 , with slight changes from the original publi-
c a t i on i n LO III , 62a . I translate the text as foll ow s :

1. A Qtp- di - nsw of Osi r is , Lord of Bus i r is , that he may give

(the us ual list of funerary offerings)
2. to the ka of the Attendant of the Ruler ' s Table Re nseneb and
hi s wif e • .•• , t he daughter of the Ove r see r of an Adminis -
t r ative District Nefe r hotep ,
3. son of t he Count of el- Kab Ay , born of the King ' s Da ughte r
Khonsu , daughter of the King ' s Wife Nubkhas , born to the
Digni t a ry(a) Renseneb . His wife (b) was In- s at-Hutshepsut(c )
daughte r of t he Oversee r of an Administrative District
Res- seneb ;
4. her mother was the Hereditary Noblewoman Nefe r hote p , ( d)
sister(e) of the King ' s Wife Senebsen.
Notes: (a) restorat ion after Halek , .!:!J1. no . 110;
' (b ) i.e. , she was th e wife of the Dig nita ry
Rens e neb. The m befor e hm . t . f (shown i n LO
- ~·~~-

t
 - 50 -

but not HTZ) must be a scribal erro r; (c)

name following Weill , .El!:!., p. 343, though it
does not appear in Ranke, Personennamen ; ( d)
title a nd name written as if mascul i ne; (e)
readin g sn .t instead of the !!i of the text .

It is evident from the translation that there is a basic

difference between my interpretation of this text and those which
have preceded . I do not accept the commonly held opinion that the
Re nseneb of line 3 is the same Renseneb of line 2 . Hence , the
owner of this tomb had on l y o ne wife whose name is now lost in a
lacuna . The l ong line of ancestors is th us the genealogy of this
unnamed wife , a genealogy which cove rs seven generations . This , in
itself , is unusua l but the reas on is obvious: Renseneb ' s wife came
from a family which at one time included royal women and it is this
fact which is being r e c ord ed . The genealogy was thus carried back
far enough to include the royal ancestors . My reconstruction of
th i s genealogy is given on the following page.
The ge nealogy begins with a " King ' s Wife Se neb se n 11 whose sis-
ter was t he "Heredi tary Noblewoman Neferhot•p . " It was through
Neferhotep and her husband Res - seneb that the family ties ultimate-
ly reach down to the wife of the own e r of tomb 9 . The daughter of
Neferhotep and Res - seneb bears no ti tl e and her husband Renseneb
was apparently a simple " Dignitary . " Their daughter was the
" King ' s Wife Nubkhas ," whose hu sband is not listed . Her daughter
was the "King's Daughte r Khonsu " whose husband is again not listed .
Then there a r e given the grandfather and father of the wif e of
Renseneb of tomb 9.
The picture thus gained is clear enough . Two a~pestors of
Renseneb ' s wife were married to men appointed or elected as kings.
Th ei r immediate female r elatives could thus adopt ro yal titles --
the '' Hereditary Nob lewoman Neferhot ep," sister of Queen Senebsen ,
and the "King ' s Daughter Khonsu , 11 daughter of Queen Nubkhas .
These titles could apparently not be passed on to the next gener -
ation . All four women carried royal titles because they we re
related to ephemeral kings of the Thi r teenth Dynasty .
 - 51 -

King's Wi fe Hereditary ----Overseer of an

Senebsen sister of Noblewoman Administrative District
Neferhotep Res- seneb

Dignita r y Tin- sat - Hatshepsut

Renseneb

King's W i f e T ?
Nu bk has

King ' s Oa u gh t e r T ?
Khonsu

Co unt of el - Kab
Ay

Oversee r of an
Admin is tra ti ve Dis trict
Neferhote p

Attendant of the-- Wife of Ow ner

Ruler 's Table of tomb 9
Renseneb
{tomb 9)

Genealogy of the wife of Renseneb in tomb 9 at

el-Kab; LO III , 62a , and Helck, !ill. no . 110 .
 - 52 -

It is fruitless to try and identify the husba nds of the two

queens, formerly thought to be Neferhotep I (Queen Senebsen) and
Sebekemsa f II (Queen Nu bk has) . It is just conceivable that the
Queen Senebsen of el - Kab wa s indeed the wife of Neferhotep , also
named Senebsen and known from a graffito at Sehel . It is not
possible to date the tomb of Renseneb any more accurately than
the end of the Thirteenth Dynasty or somewhat later (Zweite
Zwischenzeit , p . 174 , n . 5) whi ch would place it ea . 1650 B.C.
following von Beckerath ' s dating . According to him , Neferhotep
I ru led ea . 1741-1 730 a.c. , so six generations before Rense neb and
his wife wou ld place Queen Senebsen of el-Kab in the gener al period
of this king. Beyo nd this faint possibility we can say nothing .
Queen Nubkhas of el - Kab , on the other hand , can in no way
have been the wife of Sebekemsaf II . In the first place , by t he
el - Kab genealogy she lived only two generat ions after Senebse n
while Neferhotep I and Sebekemsaf II are now known to have bee n
separated by a century and a half . Secondly , the wife of Sebek-
emsaf II is known for certain only from the tomb- robbery papyr i
(P . Abbot 3 , 5 ; 6 , 3) . A queen Nubkhas has left a re co rd of her
family , but not her husband , on a stela in the Louvre (Pier ret II ,
p . s, C 13) . It is often though t t hat th is ~s the wife of Sebek-
emsaf though this is pu r e as s umption . We can at least show that
she is not the Nubkhas of el - Kab as they had different parents .
If the Quee n of the Louvre stela is the wife of Sebe kemsaf II ,
then this queen cannot be the Nubkhas of el- Kab . We thus have at
least two , and perha ps t h r ee , queens with this n1ame.
To complete the documentation fr om el - Kab , mention must be
made of the "King ' s Daughte r Redit nes " and the "K ing ' s Son Sobk-
nakht " of another important family at this site who appear in the
well - known Karnak juridical stela . This stela concerns the sale
of the title " Count of el - Kab " to Sobknakht by a relative for
goods amounting to 60 deben of gold during the reign of King
Nebiryerau I of the Seventeenth Dynasty . While the duties this
title may have carried are not specified , the title did car r y with
it an income , servants . etc . (Stele j ur . 6- 7) . The full tit ulary
]
- 53 -

of Sobknakht was "King's Son , Sealer of the King of Lower Egypt,

Overseer of an Administra tive District" so that the latter title
must have been his actual position (e .g., Stele j ur. 10). Like
the oth e r "King's Sons" discussed above, Sobknakht must hav e
held this ti t le for some special service to the king .
Of the " King ' s Daughter Reditnes, 11 Lacau states that her title
is without doubt one that does not imply real filiation (Stele jur .
p. 43). However, if my t he or y is correct, that holders of this
title were genuine members of the short-lived royal families of
the per i od, then we must count Reditnes as a real princess. Her
husband was the "Mayor, Vizier Ay" (Stele jur . 24) who held that
position under King Merhetepre of the late r Thi rteenth Dynasty
(Stale iur. 20) and perhaps also un der his predecessor Me rneferre
Ay. It would be quite appropriate for a Vizier to marry a prin-
cess in this peri od . A "King's Da ughter Reditnes" is also known
f rom a faience bead inscribed wi th th is t itle and name , ori ginally
in the Pi ers Collection ( ~ 25 , 362) . I see no reason to doubt
that this is t he same pers on .
Between the gene alogy of tomb 9 at el-Kab which deals with
one importa nt fa mily and the Karnak j ur idical stale wh ich deals
with ano the r, it is evident that there were connections between
the nob i l ity of this i mportant town and several ro yal families of
the later Thir tee nth Dynasty and earl y Seventeenth. Several royal
women ma rried off i cials of el-Kab, undoubtedly to obt ai n the
support of thes e provincial families.
 - 54 -

Appen di x 8
The Documents

1. CG 20329 ; Edf u
The "King ' s So n Hori ," son of a 11 Count , Oversee r of Go rl ' s -
servants 11 and a 11 Lady of the House ." Hori ' s wife and si x
chi l dren are without titl es.

2. CG 20537 + £:.!:! 31664; Ed fu

The " Hereditary Noblewoman Nefe ru" ma rr i ed to a " Count ."
The i r son was an " Ove r se er of God ' s - se rvants " ma r ried to the
" Hered i tary Nobl ew oman , Kin g ' s Daughter Se beknakht .'' Two of
their sons ha ve the tit le " King ' s Son . "

3. ~ 17 , 240 ; Ed fu
The " Heredita r y Noblewoman Isis 11 ma rried to an " Ove rseer of
God's - se rv a nt s ." Thei r daughter , a "Lad y of the House ," was
mar ried to a " Lector- pr iest '' whose father and g rand - father
held the same office .

4. ~ 1 7, 238 ; Edfu
The " King ' s Son , En te r e r lb " whose parents wer e a " Chief
Lec to r" and a " Lad y of the House ." His wi fe , a " Lady of the
House , tt was the daughte r of a " Count of Edf u ;" her mothe r
was a "Lady of the House , King ' s Siste r ."

5. ASBE 1 8 , 5 1; Edfu
The " Ki ng ' s Son , Magnate of the Southe r n Tens Is i - net che r;"
his mother and sis ter were both " Lady of the House. " The
sister was ma rr ied to a " Count , Oversee r of God' s - se rv ants ."

6• ~ 21 , 190 ; e 1- S a ye d , 8 If.A 0 7 9 , 1 8 6 ; Ed f u
The " King ' s Son Hor- sekher , 11 son of the "Ki ng ' s Son Sebek-
ho tep .11 The m6ther ' s titl e i s not pres er ved .
 - SS -

7. ~ 9 , 1 f .; Helck, !!If no . S7; Edfu

The "King ' s Son , Commander of Edfu Khonsemwas e t ;'' pa r ent age
unknown , though the father may ha ve been the "Dignita r y Khonsu . "

a. ~ Edfu
23 , 1 84 ;
The "King ' s Son Horherkhuf 11 mar ri ed to a " Daughte r of a Count ;"
their son was an " Attendant of the Ruler ' s Table ."

9. CG 20304; Abydos
The "King ' s Son Nebsenet" wh ose pa ren ts were a '' Chief Adminis-
trator of a Town " a nd a "Lady of the Hous e." Hi s brother was
a simple " Digni tary."

10 . CG 20394 ; Abydos
The " King ' s Wi fe Neferet'' and he r daughter , t he "King's
Da ughter Hatshepsut . " The latter was ma rr i e d to an "Attenda nt
of the Ruler ' s Table , 11 so n of a " Participa nt of the Ruler ' s
Table 11 and a " Lady of the Hous e." Hatshepsut ' s s on was a
" Magn ate of the Sout hern Tens" and one daughte r was a " Lady
of the House ." Two othe r daughters ar e wit hout titles .

11. BM 630 ; !iI IV , 26 ; Abydos

The King ' s Son Djehuty- aa" and the "Ki ng ' s Dau ghter Hetep-
ne feru ." The stela has t he ca rt ouch e of King Sekhemre-
khu t awy Panteni who ruled early in the Thi rteenth Dy nas ty
( Zweite Zwischenzeit , pp . 3 3 ff . ) .

12 . Vatican MG 170 ; ~ no . 6S , 2; Abydos

The " King ' s Daugh ter De det - Amon " ma rr ied to a '' Courlt , Sealer
of the Kin g of Lower Egypt " whose parents were a " Ma gna t e of
the Southern Tens" and a ''Lady of the House ." Thre e sons of
Dedet - Amon are listed but have no titles .

13 . JEA 14 , pl. 21 , 3 ; Abydos

The 11 King s Son , Hereditary Noble , Count , Seal er of the King
1
 - 56 -

of Lower Egypt Dedtu" married to the " Ki ng ' s Dau ghter I ••• "
His father was a 11 Wab-prie st , Enterer of Sobk . 11

14 . PSBA 9 , 1 90 f.; provenance unknown

The "King's Son , Sealer of the King of Lower Egypt , Overseer
of a n Administrative District Nubkhas " whose wif e was the
" Heredita r y Nobl ewo ma n Sebekemsaf; " their son wa s a " Seale r
of the Kin g of Lowe r Egypt ."

15 . Coll . It . Sett . no . 20 (Bologn a 81927) ; pr ovenance unknown

The " King 's Eldest Son Bebi , " the owne r of the ste l a ; the
only o the r perso n mentioned is his son , a " Maj ordomo. "

16 . BM 1 348 ; HT IV , 27 ; provenance unknown

The Hereditary Noblewoman Nes en 11 appea r s on a family stela
namin g many people all of whom have low-grade or ho nora r y
titles. Her so n was a "Senior Warde n of Nekhen ." No r elatio n
to the . mai n members of the family is stated .

17 . CG 20373 ; provenance unknown

The "King ' s Daughter Nefe ru" married to an "Overseer of Police
i n t he Temp l e of Anubis . 11 His f athe r had the same title ; his
mother was a " tedy- in- waiting ." Two more stelee (CG 20778 and
Me ux no . 46) belon g to the same family but there are no r oya l
titles .

18. Tomb 9 at e l - Kab

Among the ancesto r s of the wife of Renseneb , owner of this tomb ,
are the " King ' s Daughte r Kho~su " and her mo the r the "Ki ng ' s
Wife Nubkhas , 11 the " He reditar y Noblewoma n Ne ferho tep 11 and th e
"Ki ng ' s Wi fe Senebsen ."

19. Stele jur .; Karnak

The "King's Da ughter Reditnes" and the " Ki ng ' s Son Sebeknakht"
are men tio ned as membe r s of a family from el-Kab.
 - 57 -

CHAPTER FOUR
Titles Said to Mean "Harem-woman , " "Concubine"

Introduction: Remarks on Monogamy and the Legal Status of Wome n

Monogamy
As a general rule polygamy existed among some royal families
of Egypt but commoners were monogamous . While no thorough study of
the problem has been written, general statements to the effect that
polygamy in non-royal Egyptian families was extremely rare have been
made for many years . 12 The exception to this rule wh i ch is most
often quoted is the case of the lady Mutemheb, wife of the Goldsmith
Ramose, who was brought before the court to give evidence in the
tomb-robber y trials of the Twentieth Dynasty. I n her statement ,
she decla r es: "I am t he fourth wife (of Ramose) ; two are dead but
the other is alive. Let the live one be brought and let her accuse
me " (Tomb Robberies , pl. 34 , 15, 7) . Now there is nothing in this
statement which forces us to the conclusion that Ramose had two
wives at one time, even though this is the usual interpretation.
The other wife who was s t ill living could just as easily have been
divorced from Ramose wh ich wou l d account for the apparent animosity
between the two women.
As in the case of Mutemheb, practically all the evidence for
. o f po l ygamy is
. am b iguous.
. 1 3 Ed gerton , a f tar examin
. -
t he existence
ing all marriage contracts known at the time he wrote, concluded
that no marriage settlement suggests the existence of polygamy or
concubinage and that these documents assume a second marriage could
only occur after a divorce . 14 Edgerton ' s conclusion has been
questioned by al - Amir who takes the opposite position using the
same material. 15 This ambiguity is typical of the evidence from
the Empire period and later which bears on the ~uestion of polygamy ;
it does not point to a firm conclusion.
Lacking marriage contracts and the lik e for the earlier periods,
scholars have had to depend on other evidence. Kanawati has taken
up the problem in several articles dealing with the Old Kingdom. 16
He collects 16 examples where more than one wife is represented in
a tomb and 20 cases where there is more than one "eldest son" par -
 - 58 -

trayed , the latter having different mothers . He argues from this

evidence that polygamy did exist at the time , but was rare and
limited to a few high of~icials who were financially able to support
more than one fam ily. Here, again , the evidence is ambiguous as
many of the instances he cites can be e xplained as resulting from
the death of the first wife or the original ''e ldest son . " Still ,
a few cases are rather convincing 17 and there thus seems to be some
evidence o~ polygamy on an extremely limited scale among high
officials of the Old Kingdom .
The same can be said for the Middle Kingdom for which period
Simpson , ~ 60 , 100 ff., has collected 13 possible instances of
multiple ma rr iage . These are based on the fact that more than one
wife is mentioned in a to~b or shown on a funerary stela . But as
Simpso n admits , most of these cases can be explained otherwise; one
wife is already dead or has been divorced . There are, however , two
or three cases where the evidence favours the existence of polygamy
on a very restricted scale (ibid ., p. 104) .
Thus , while there were no laws prohibiting polygamy and one can
assume there was no social stigma involved in those very rare cases
wh~re it seems to have been practised , the norm was monogamy . This
was due both to the legal s t atus held by women (see below) and for
economic rea sons . An estate (lan d , servants, houses , etc . ) could
r emain intact if a man had only one family . Having two would cause
problems of inheritance and a broader division of the estate which
might then be broken up int o smaller units to satisfy the demands of
a larger number of heirs (cf . Lex. ~g. I , 1166-67) . Therefore ,
monogamy was the rule among the non-royal population .
I strongly suspect that multiple marriage in r oyal families
became e nec essity because of international diplomacy from the
Eighteenth Dynasty onward . (The much- quoted " harem" of Nehepetre
Mentuhotep probably never existed ; see Chap . 6). One of the
features of this diplomacy was the practise of foreign marriages i n
which the women involved were little more than signatures to
treaties between r ulers . International rel ations were at a personal
leve l between rulers and ma r riages were arranged so the rulers be-
came relat ives and potential hostil~ties between them could be better
 - 59 -

avoided. A general es s ay on this subject may be found i n Schulman ,

~ 38, 177 ff.

The Legal Position of Women

The status of women i n ancient Egy pt has been thoroughly
studied by many scholars . Of the more recent works, which cite
the relevant literature, there may be mentioned Pestman's major
work on marriage, a summary of the legal position of women by Allam
and the admirable essay on the broader aspects of the subject by
Theodorides. 18
In t erms of written documents, the bulk of the material avai l-
able comes from post-Empire and He l lenistic times , though the r e are
enough documents from the earlier periods to indicate that the
women's position in society remained fairly constant thro ugh out
Pharao nic history . Some changes did occur under the influence of
Greek law when the impact of th a t legal system was felt in Ptolemaic
Egypt , but these alterations in the long-standing legal positio n of
Egyptia n women are beyond the scope of t he present discussion .
As a general princi ple , men and women were equal before the law.
Since the evidence on wh ich this princ ipl e is bas ed stretches from
the Thi rd Dynasty to the end of th e Pharaonic period , it may be taken
as fairly -well est ab lis hed that legal equal ity between men and women
wa s a constant feature of Egyptian society . Egyptian law recognized
any person as an ind i vidual so that family connections , economic or
social standing, and the like, did not confer speci a l legal advan-
tages. Legal theory , then, promised all pe r sons, high-born or low,
r ich o r poor, male or female, t he same s tatus before the law. There
were devi at ions from the theory , of course , 19 but by and lar ge it
held true.
Marriage , strangely enough , was not a legal but a social
institution in which the wife ' s r ights were as scrupulously main-
tained as those of the husband . The principles by whi ch marriages
took place or were dissol ved were thus developed by custom, there
being no le ga l form for these acts . Property , however , was handled
on a more f ormal bas is , its acqui siti on, sale and inheri ta nce being
 - 60 -

go ve rned by law a nd r ec orde d in writing . 20 The wife could own he r

own prope rty and d ispose of it as she wished . Pr ope rt y was oft e n
given to her by he r husband at mar r iage . If a divo r ce took place ,
the wi fe was granted the dowry she had orig i na ll y br ought into the
marriage as well as a pe r cent~~e , usually one - thi r d , of all prope r ty
acquired dur ing the marriage .
In other aspects of law , the equal status of women is l ikewise
shown . Women were equa l ly responsible under criminal law a nd its
punishmen t s and had the same rights as men under the l aws of inhe r i -
tance . They could be involved in business and commerce and be
par t ners in business transactions . Women were also able to institute
l egal proceedings on their own behalf . They could be witnesses i n
cou r t and the i r testimony.equal in value to that of men . Women
could sign as witnesses to legal documen ts though such instances
are extremely rare , this function normally bein g perfo r me c by me n . 2 2
The latte r point illustrates that in spite of equality before
the law , there was a distinct separation betwee n men and wome n i n
terms of the public functions they performed . I can quote , for
example , only a sin gle Middle Kingdom instance wher o a woman sat i n
a cour t (see Chap . 1 , s . t nt ~nb . t) . That this should be the case
accords completely with the overall pictu r e of the Egyptian adminis-
trative st r uct ure . All off ice- holders i n the l and were subject to
appo i ntment as members of tribunals which sat to he a r specific
cases . 23 But administrative offices were hel d by me n ; offic i aldo m
was almost exclusively male . As shown in Chap . 1 , a few wome n of
the Middle Kingdom held minor administrative positions , but the
n umbe r is very small . That official f un c ti ons were r el e gated to me n
seems mo r e a matter of accepted custom tha n a conscious desi re to
kee p wome n out of polit i cs an~ government . Some women ach ie ved
mino r of ficial status in th e Mi ddl e Kingdom , but ap pare n tly no t
many chos e to do so .

Summa r y Statemen t
The s e r ema r ks o n the nea r-universal practise of mo nogamou s
ma rri age and t he legal e quality of women with me n ha ve a dir e ct
be ar ing on what follows in this an d t he next chapter . Monogamous
 - 61 -

marriage and legal equality represent basic Egyptian attitudes

regarding the status of women in so~iety. Such attitudes are not
compatible with the institutions of the harem and concubinage for
these institutions do not grant equality and relegate some women ,
at least, to a secondary status. This in itself is sufficient to
raise serious doubts that these institutions existed at all . An
examination of some of the terms usually rendered "harem- woman " or
"concubine" and ip.t- nsw, traditionally said to mean "royal harem"
(Chap . 5) , shows that these doubts are justified . It also shows
that the incompatibility of monogamous marriage and legal equality
with harems and concubinage is not a modern interpretation, but a
fact of ancient Egyptian society .

A. cnb . t , "Attendant"
Berlev, RevEg 23, 23 ff., has proposed the existence of a tit l e
cno . t meaning "concubine," based on f i ve . examples of what has gene r-
ally been considered to be a shortened form of the title cno.t nt
niw . t Berlev states that since no certain exa mple of the latter
title i s known from the Middle Kingdom, the so-called abbreviated
examples must be someth i ng else, namely cno . t. However, since
several clear examples of cnb.t nt niw.t are known from Middle King-
dom texts (see below , nos. 12-15), the matter is not so simply
resolved as Berlev thinks. The problem is that in the "abbre viated"
spellings there is a round sign which could stand either for J:Lor
niw . t; this sign is used elsewhere for both . In all five example s ,
only this round sign appears so that it can be read either way
(fig . 1: 1- 5). These five examples are as follows.
1. ~VI, pl. 13 ; tomb- chapel of Ukhhotep (C, no. 1). In a
fishing scene, a woman with the title cnb . t stands behind
the owner of the tomb as he fishes . In ibid., p. 10 , it is
suggested that this ti t le should be read cno.t nt niw . t
and that it means "concubine."
2. Bersheh I , p . 37, notes a fragment from the tomb of Djehutyhotep ;
this fragment was subsequently shown t o belon g to the scene
shown in i2.!!!•• pl. 24 , by Smith , i2! 55, 323 . This scene
portrays ele ven women of the Nomarch's household; three
 - 62 -

can be identified as his wife , daughter and sister. A fourth

bears the title cnh.t. Bers heh I , p . 8 , suggests that the
t it l e should be read c nh . t nt niw.t and that the woman is a
c oncu bin e .
3. Flo ren ce 255 9 = Fi r enze no . 35
4. Florence 2561 • Firenze no. 36
5. CG 20520
Th~se three stelae belon g to the same family a nd are pub-

1 ished toge the r in .a.!iQf, pl . 50 . Bosticco , Fi renze, pp. 40

f., re a ds the t itle cnb . t nt niw.t, " cittad i ne . 11 The perti-
nen t family r elationship is expressed on Floren c e 2561:
" The Magnate of the Sou t hern Tens Nahi , born to the Over-
se er of Field- wo r kers Khakhep erresaneb , born of the cnb.t
Re nes - seneb . 11
It is evident that in all t hree cases , a woman wi th the title
c no . t held a position of re spec t in private househol ds, ei t he r be-
cause of the way she is por t raye d in wall -pai nt ings or because s he
was the acknowledged mother of the owner of a stale . The key
example in Berlev ' s argument is the lady Re nes - se neb who , while
stated to be a mother , is nowhere said to be a "wife " or a "Lady of
the House , " hence married . Thus , ha states , she must have been a
c oncubine . But in the formu l a 11 A, bor n to Y, bo rn of Z, 11 there
a re co-untless instances where the mother is not ide nt ified as " wife"
or " Lady of the House . 11 ' The same is t r ue where both pa rent s are
actually portrayed and identif ied as the f a ther and mothar . 24 In-
deed , a mothe r is more ofte n than not named without a title of any
k i nd . The lack o f any such designation for Renes - se neb thus follows
a normal practise and is no way unique .
One piece of evidence that stands decided l y agains t re nder i ng
cnb.t as " co ncubine " consists of women with the title cnb.t nt tpy . t
.!!!!:!,, " At tendant of the Royal Favouri te . " I a m able to quot e six
examples from the Middle Kingdo m (fig . 1 : 6- 11) :
6. HT IV , 27 (BM 1348) ; title of the lady Senebsen , specific a l l y
identified as the 11 wife 11 of t he owner of the st ela.
7 . Ma rtin no . 715, a scarab of the lady Neferhotep .
 - 63 -

f~
1

~®
15

i~
16

fig . 1 . The Middle Kingdom title c nb . t (1-5)

and compound titles beginning with
this wo r d
 - 64 -

B. Bolton no . 10 . 20/12; t he title is held by two daughters of

the ow ner of the stela .
9. Florence 2554 = Fire nze no . 34; title of the lady Neferu ,
specif ica l ly i dentified as the "w ife 11 of the deceased.
10 . Ath en s no . 10 ; t it l e of a lad y identified as 11 hi s wife" t ho ugh
the identity of the husband is obscure.
11. 2.£f_ I I , pl. 61 B; the woman with thi s title stands with two
daugh t e rs, but she herself is not i denti fied as a member of
t he family. Fr agment of a fu ne r a ry st ela from Shalfa k.
Previous attemµ ts to read and translate this title , I bel ie ve ,
are incorrect . 25 That a phrase tpy . t nsw , " r oy al Favou r ite ," or the
like , is involve d is st r ongly suggested by the use of thi s phra s e
elsewhere as a title for'women . 26 Since t hr ee of the women with the
title in question were married (nos . 6 , 9 , 10) , we can ha rdly trans -
late c nb .t as " concubine . " It should r ather be t aken more or less
in the literal sense , a '' liv i ng (female) person ." Attached to
another title , i t must mean somet hin g like " Attendant ."
The s·ense " person " i s evidently what is intended i n the fou r
clear examples of the tit le cnQ . t nt niw . t fr om the Middle Kin gdo m
(fig . 1 : 12- 15)
12 . .!:!.I IV , 24 (BM 833) = JEA 68 , pl . 6 . On this stela the re are
four women with this title , two of whom are identified as
11 his wife ." The stela is dated to the rei gn of King Sekhe m-
re - wah- kha , placed by Zweite Zwisc henzeit, pp . 195 ff ., as
t he second king of the Seventeenth Dynasty , hence very sho rt-
ly after th e end of the Thirteenth .
13. Martin no . 1 735 ; a scarab of the l a dy Tchiaby(?) .
14 . ASAE 4 , 224 ; the tit le is used her e a s a persona l name ,
followed by m3c . t brw .
15 . CG 20418 ; title of the l ady He pu . While this title is written
as if masculine , the persona l na me (which c a n be either
masculine or feminine) has t he female determinative.
In nos . 12 and 15 , t he niw . t - sign is clear ; in nos . 13-1 4 ,
bo th the b and niw . t are written . This raises a gai n the problem of
whet he r or not t he simple cnQ , t {f ig . 1: 1-5 ) is re a lly an abbrev-
iate rl form : c np( . t ) n(t) niw.t. ihe prohlem is compounded by the
 - 65 -

fac t that the very common masculine counterpart is , on occasion ,

wr itten uith the signs cno- n- CIRCLE , 27 that is , exactly like nos .
1- 5 above without the feminine -i · On the other hand, in the wall -
paintings (nos. 1- 2) there is ample space so that the full writing
of the longer title could have been written had that been intended .
furthermore , the ter m cnb . t does enter into the composition of
longer titles (n os . 6- 16) . On the whole , I am inclined to accept
Berlev ' s reading of nos. 1- 5 as simple cno . t , but no t his trans -
lation as "concubine " since many of the women us ing this title were
married .
The key to the meaning of cnb . t may well lie in the meaning of
the masculine cnb• In both the Old (~ 55 , 44 f.) a nd Middle
Kingdoms (KHn . Dok ., p . 219) , this meant "fre ema n''so that cnb.t can
reasonab ly be rendered "freewoman . " In some cases , as with the
title cnfJ.t nt tpy . t nsw, the meaning seems to be rather "Attendant ."
This also seems to be the case in a unique and problemat ic
title . On Geneva stela D 51 t here appears a title which seems to
read cnQ.t n(t) ip(.t) (fig . 1: 16) before the figure of a woman
named Sat- Montu . 2 8 She stands facing the priest Mentuhote p and
between them i s 11 his son Ge men ;" this is presumably a family group
related to the owner of the stela . The hieroglyph I have re ad as
ip( . t) may be compared to the wide variety of signs used in the
spelling of thi s word ( Chap . s , figs. 4- 6) . I am unable to offer a
convincing translation of this title . Th ere is no ev idenc e that
cnh.., . t means "concubine ," as the precedi ng discussion has shown ,
and the only sense of ip(.t) which seems to fit here is the vague
"apartment . " Hence , I suggest "Attendant of the (Royal?) Apartment "
though with out conviction.

B. bbsw( . t) , " Second (Third , etc . ) Legal Wi fe"

The term Qbsw(~t) has been the subj ect of discussion for over
a century . The first to define the word was Goodwin, Z ~S 11, 39,
who translated it as "wife. " A key study by MUller , ZJtS SS , 95 f . ,
which is quoted by most later wr ite rs , also concludes that the w~rd
means "wife , " th oug h he concentrated on pos t - Empire and Demotic
l evidence . The problem was not settled , however , as!!!£ • III , 66 , 23 ,
 - 66 -

suggests 11 wife 11 or "concubine , " both wi th question, and Varille

translated one example as "l ' ~pouse" but emphasized that this mean-
ing is not certain . 29
Mo r e re cently , the wh ole problem has been taken up again due to
the appearance of the word Qbsw . t in the Hekanakht letters of the
la te Eleventh Dynast y within the context of ordinary matters of a
family of mino r status. In these letters , the lady Iutenheb , to
whom the term r efers , has an important but seemingly ambiguous
position in the household . A maid- servant has somehow mistreated
her and the family is instructed to turn the maid out of the house.
The family is furt her told to take care of I utenheb and send her to
Hekanakht if they do not want her , though they are warned not to do
her harm (HP Doc . I Vs ., ' 13 ff . ; Doc. II Rt ., 40 ff . ) . It is
evident that while Hekanakht holds the woman i n high esteem, he r
position is such that the family resents her presence among them .
These facts led t he editor of these documents to suggest that
Iutenheb was a concubine which must then be the meaning of Qbsw.t
(~. , p . 12). But Qbsw . t and Qm .t, the usual word for "wife ," are
used in the same passage as if they were almost synonymous (~.,
Doc . II Rt ., 42 f . ) :
See ! This is my Qbsw.t and it is known wh at should
be done for a man ' s obsy. t . See ! Whoever will do
for her the like of what I have done -- indeed , would
any of you be patient if his wife (Qm.t) had bee n
denounced to him?
This seems to indic at e that Iutenheb was a legal wife, not a co n-
cubine . Now there is good evidence to show that Qbsw.t may be a
special term for a legal second (or third, etc . ) wife . Such an
exp lana tion easil y accounts for Iutenheb's problems in the family.
She has taken over another woman's household , perhaps quite re cent-
ly , and such a situation often breeds precisely the kind of family
squabble here described. The family has been telling tales , a maid -
servant has abused Iutenheb , etc. , and Hekanakht must warn his kin-
fo lk to treat he r with the respect sh e de serves .
There are two othe r contexts in which a woman is referred to
30
as both a Qbsw and a Qm. t . The first , a lre ady noted by
 - 67 -

Theodorides, £2f. No. 82 , 298, n. 2 , is in P. Turin 2021 in which

the " God's -father Amonkhau" settles some property on his second
wife I nksunedjem. In a hear in g before the Vizier, the sons of the
first wife are ques tioned as to whether they agree with the arrange-
ment. In the co urse of the inquiry , the Viz ier asks the sons:
"What do you think of this plan which your father is ma ki ng for
the Citizeness Inksu{nedj em) , this Qbsw of his?" He then asks:
If it had not been his wife {om.t)" but a foreign woman, would they
still agree? (~ 13, pl. 14, 9 ff .).
A second instance appear s in P. BM 10052 , one of the documents
recording the famous tomb-rob bery trials. One of the secondary
criminals was the Goldsmith Ramose , accus ed of receivin g sto len gold
and silver objects and meltin g them down. Hi s wife was hai led before
the court to give testimony: "There was brought the Citizeness
Mutemheb, the Qbsw of the Goldsmith Ramose ••• 11 In her own state-
ment, Mutemheb declares : "I am th e fourth wife (Qm . t) , two are dead
and the other is (still) alive:" Tomb -robberies , pl. 34, 15, 4 and 7.
I n both cas es, a woman is desc ribe d as the legal wi fe {Qm. t )
and as a Qbsw ; in both cas es, she is not the first legal wife.
Hence, it appears very likely that Qbs w is a special term designa-
t i ng any wife, other than the origina l one , who has entered into a
regular marriage with a man who was pre viously ma rried. It is sig-
nificant that in a few cases , a Qbsw is also a nb . t pr , he nce a
married woman; !!!!. II, pp. 504 , 548 .
Another example from P. BM 10052 wou ld seem to f it he re. One
of the women involved in the aftermath of the tomb-robberie s wa s a
certain Nesmut in whose house one grou p of thieves weighed and
divided their lo ot. In the same passage (Tomb-robberies, pl. 27,
3, 8-9 and 13) Nesmut is ca l led both the Qbsw and the Qm.t of the
Trumpeter Perpethau . One mi gh t see in t his merely the fa ct that
the two terms were at th i s time synonymous; the re is no indic a tion
t hat Nesmut was a second wife. However, in six other instances in
31
this papyrus women are identified as the wife of someone and Qm.t
is invariably used. I t thus seems eviden t that the scribe wished to
specify the status of Nesmut more clearly as she was an important
secondary criminal in the tria l s.
 - 68 -

While the cases of Mutemheb and Nesmut are the only ones i n the
to mb-r obber y re c ords where a woman is referred to both as a Qbsw and
a Qm.t , the terms do appear elsewhere in these papyri . In. P. BM
10054, two women are calle d Qbsw and one is a Qm.t Since all a p pea r
i n the same passage it appears that the scribe has purposely show n
a distinction in the status of these women . Indeed , the formu l a
use d to ~xpress the relations hip to the husbands bears this out .
Throughout these papyri , the formula "X, t he Qm . t (or Qbsw) of Y"
is used . In P. BM 10054, however , there is a different formula for
the Qm.t :
Vs. 2 , 25: the Citizeness Taukhad, the Qbsw of the
Washerman Kherer
27: the- Citizeness Iner , bein g as a hm . t with the
Engraver Khonsumose
30: The Citizeness Tais, the ~bsw of the Priest
Amonkhau
Here , the usual t3 Qm. t n is replaced by wnw m ~m . t m- di , a unique
occurrence . of t his phrase in these papy ri in spite of the large
number of women inv olved . 32 It is possible t hat the scribe wished
to make perfectly clear t he difference between a Qm . t and a hbsw
by using a more specific terminology .
In P. BM 10053 it is possible that, again, a distinction is
made . No less than eight 11 Citizenesses 11 bear the title Qbsw. 33
While no woman in this papyrus is designated a om.t , there are six
" Citizenesses 11 mentione d wi t h no reference to their husbands. 34
Since the title 11 Citizeness" (cnb . t nt niw . t) implies a married
woman in Empire times (Pestman , Marriage , p . 11) we may infer that
these women would have been called om . t had it been necessa r y to
f urther identify them by giving their husbands ' names .
In post - Empire times , Qbsw and Qm . t came to be used inter-
chang eably . This is pointed out by Baki r in his publication of a
Twenty- second Dy nasty donation stela . In the curse 11 a donkey shall
violate his wife , " parallel texts show that Qm . t and Qbsw were
synonyms . 35 Wh ile the word Qbsw appears many times in the post-
. 36 ~-
Empire period , I know of no othe r context where it is used inte r-
changably with Qm . t except for a few cases i n e a rly Demotic marriage
 - 69 -

cont r ac t s . Erichsen points out fou r instances wh e re the t e r m f o r

"wife " in the standard legal formula which norma l l y us ed Qm. t i s
written with the group ~ t:ibs. 37 In his stud y o f three of t he se
documents , LUddeckens transliterates Qm.t , noting that the a ppar ent
trbs is an early Demotic spelling of t:im.t . 38 The Demotic group i n
question , however , repeats some abbreviated spe l lings of t:ibsw fo und
al r eady in early post - Empire examples (~IB II , p . 548 ; ~ 47 ,
267) and is used as the determinatives on others ( Re cTr a v 25 , 196 ).
It thus seems logical to accept the examples note d by Eri chsen a s
the word Qbsw of Empire times and to see here other ex a mples , as on
the donation stelae , whe r e it was a substitute fo r t:im. t I n all
four cases , the women were legal wi ves . The wo r d t:i bs w seems not t o
have been used after early Demotic . 39

c. bn r. wt , " Tr oupe of Singers and Dancers "

The terms usually read onr and hnr . t have t r aditio nally bee n
rendered " harem" and " concub i ne" respectively . This would seem to
be a logic al assumption since the meaning of the r oot is " con f ine,
restrain " from which such words as pnr , "p r isoner , " ere de r ived . 40
Whe n applied to women , it was natural to suppose that the wo r d read
onr . t indicated "one who is restrained, confined ," hence .a harem-
woman or concubine . But this is incorrect . This te rm, which I
prefer to read bnr . wt (see below) is associated with si ngi ng and
dancing and , while it may ha ve a ge neric connection to the wo r ds
fo r "prison ," etc ., it cannot r efer to harem - wome n or c oncubi nes .
The Old and Middle Kingdom evi dence is as follows (see fig . 2) .

Old Kingdom

1. ibJ n bn r ( .w t) , t:is . t n hnr( . wt} , "dancing by the hnr . wt ,

singing by the tJnr{ . wt) "
Label to two s c e nes of five women dancing , th r ee women
singing and clapping hands ; the individual fig ur e s a re
l abe l led ~' " danc er ," and t:is.t , " singe r;" Wild , ll•
pls . 56- 57 .
 - 70 -

2. ib3 n bnr{.wt), "dancing by the Dnr{ . wt)

Label to scene of four women dancing; Dahchour II , pl . 25 .

3. {.i.bJ i]n !Jnr{.wt) , "[dancing b)y the Dnr{.wt)

End of label to broken scene , probably of four women dancing ,
two of whom remain; !:!.!. I 2 , 25. The re storation is the obvi -
ous one.

4. tis . t in hnr( . wt) , "singing by the bnr(.wt)

Label to scene of three women singing and clapping hands,
accompanied by three women dancing; Junker, ~ II I, pl. 2.

s. tis . t in bnr( . wt) n i ( t>3], "singing by th e bnr( . wt) for the

den ( c ing) 11
Label to scene of four women singing and clapping hands,
accompanied by nine dancers; LO II , pl. 52 . The restora-
tion is obvious.

6. [ti] s .t in (pnr{.wt» nt im3 . t , "[slingin g by the !Jnr(.wt)

of the women' s - quarters"
Label to scene of four women singing and clapping hands,
accompanied by four dancers; LO II , 35. Restoration by
Brunner- Tr au t, Der Tanz, p . 84 (18). On imJ . t, see Or
29, 185 ff.; and below , Addenda .

7. tis.t n ib3w in Qnr( . wt) , "singing for the dancers by the

bnr( . wt)"
Label to scene of three women singin9 and clapping hands end
four dancing; Junker, ~ VI, fig. 13.

8. tis.• t n i[b3w] in hnr(.1.1t) , "singing for the dan (cers1 by the

bnr( .wt)
Label to scene of three women dancing and clapping hands and
four dancer s ; Junker , filll IV, pl . 15 . The -restoration seems
correct by analogy to the preceding example and .!.!:Ll:!!•• p . 87.
However , the destroyed area is such that one expects the top
 - 71 -

1 QJoQ--.!..~~&--~~
2 qj(l)l&-~~
a [QJoq+~~ 16 tJ..~~!. tJi
4 tP~Q~~~ 17 l~~~J\
SIC
s 1P~q~~T[Jo1 18 ~c::>~~1\

6 [{)~ ~ ~-(!::1 ~ Q 19 ~J..J:-~

1 tP ~- QJaoo Q-t!- 20 ~~~.A~Ji
a l~~-n[Jooo~-!­ 21 ~\aff
s ~t--~~ ~c:>..L~J:-*~
22 ..ll6 <> ' 6, , ,
10 ~~~$;-j)j)J 23 !: q,A,~ ''~
11 9n~~~~·~ 24 ~~-!:f-JUJJ~Jii~
12 ~~ p~~~~ 25 :::o,•IJ~Qf-J:
13 ~jo~~~ ,!.... ~f-

Fig . 2 . Old and Midd l e King dom example• of bnr.wt

 - 72 -

of the b in ~·

9. bnr( . t) n im3 . t , "bnr(. t) - woman of the women ' s -quarters "

Individual labels to three of four dancin g women accompanied
by two singers ; LO II , 101b . Beca use these figures are
labelled individually , on r ( .t) is here in the singular. For
i~3 . t , see no . 6 .

10. imy . t -r tJn r.w(t), " Overseer of the onr. w(t) 11

Tit l e of the lady Hamra from her tomb at Saqqarah; Ma r.
~ · C 15 = CG 1380 . She also has the titles " Sole Lady-
in- waitin g" and "Overseer of Singing ."

11. imy . t - r hnr{ . wt) n nsw , ".O verseer of the King ' s tJnr{ . wt)n
Title of the lady Neferesres , bu r ied in the mastaba of
Nimaatre at Giza ; Hassan, Giza II , fig. 226 . She also
has the ti tles " Oversee r of Si ngi ng ," " Over seer of Dan cers,"
"Sole Lady- in- waiting ," and " Oversee r of Pleas ure."

12 . mk s~t3 n tJnr .{w)t

One of several names for various kinds of dances labelling
five rows of dancers in the tomb of Mereruka . The labels
are given in Der Tan z, p . 85 (2 1a) , and a r e noted but not
discussed in~ ·• pp . 21 ff. The feminine •i ending is
clear on the phot o in Vandier , Manuel IV , fi g . 217 , third
re gister between t he second an d third figures .

13 . tJb . t in hnr . {w)t , ~me in §mew , "dancing by the pnr . (w)t ,

singing by the singers "
Label t o scene of twelve men dancing and singing ; Gebrawi
II , pl. 7 , second re gister .
 - 73 -

First Intermeaiate Period

14. imy.t-r bnr . w(t) n ' Iwn-mw. t.f , " Overseer of the Dnr .w (t)
of lunmut e f"
Title on the coffin of the lady Henti ; CG 28006. She also
has the titles "Sole Lady-in-wa iting ," and " Watcher of Min ,"
a priestess who, l ike her masculine counterpart , kept watch,
that is , observed time during the daylight hours . 41

15. imy.t-r bnr(.wt) n 83.t, " Overseer of the hnr(.wt) of Bat "
Tit le of the lady Nefer- Bat on her husband ' s stela ; UC
14312 , studied by Fischer , JARCE 1 , 8 ff .; St . UC II no . 47 .

16. imy.t-wr.t nt onr .w (t)

The title imy.t-wr. t is of a religi ous nature , though its
sense is obscure. This example occurs on the stela of th e
lady Hesi from Nags ed-Oeir, studied by Fischer, ~ 76 ,
106 ff. She was al so a "Sole Ledy- in-waiting " and " Priest-
ess of Hathor."

17. nfr.t bnr . w(t), "Most Lo vely of the onr . w(t)n

Title or epithet on the coffin or Merit- iqert from Nags
ad-Deir; Fischer, l a c . cit . She was also a "Priestess
of Hathor."

18 . f~y{ . t)-r
bnr. w( t) , " Ove rseer of the bnr.w(t) "
Title on the coffin of Senhenit from Sheikh Farag; she
was also a "Priestess of Hathor ;" Fischer , lac . cit .

19. onr .w(t ) n Wp-w 3. wt, "the onr .w (t) of Uepwawe t

I n : " how joyful is the heart of your noblewomen and the
onr.w{t) of Wepwa wet at seeing you r monuments i n the temp le;"
~ I V, 29 . It is also possible to translate "• • • your
noblewome n (namely) the Qn r.w (t) of Wepwawet ••• ;" Brunne r~
Si ut p. 33 (47) .
~
 - 74 -

20. si3 bnr.w(t), "who ushers in the unr.w(t)"

An epithet of Iha; Bersheh II , pl. 21, 9. Other titles and
epithets connect this official with the palace.

l'liddle Kingd o•

21. bnr.wt, "bnr.wt-people"

Found on a broken stone. A fragment of the t e xt reads:
"••• al l the bnr.wt of the temple ••• ;" Koptos, pl. 12. The
second determinative is a kneeling woman with arms str aight
out; a close parallel is in Fischer, Dendera, p. 82 with
n. 346.

22. imy-r hnr .w{ t) , imy-r pnr.w(t) n nfr.wt, " Oversee r of the
bnr.w(t), Over seer of the onr.w(t) of lovely ones"
Titles of an important priest who se rved in the Hathor-
temple at Kam el-His n; Edgar , in Mas pero (ed.), Le Musee
Egyptian III , 54 ff. He was responsible for the temple
musicians and in one scene is actually shown dire cting groups
of ten sistrum-pla yers and e ight women clapping hands; !.E..!.£.,
fi g . 5 and pl. 35. Cf . Der Tenz, pp. 31, 45.

23. bnry.t nt ' I npw, "bnry. t -woman of Anubis"

A stale in Florenc'e shows two figures only, the "Pr iest of
Sobk Suma," owner of the stale , and the lady It-seankh who
beers the title in question; Firenze, no. 60. Whi le she is
presumably his wife, this is not specificall y stated.

24. imy-r bnr.w{t) nsw mi-~d.f, "Oversee~ of all t he Roya l onr.w(t)"

Title in the t omb of Ihy whose list of titles is impressive
though his primary responsibilities seem to have been as a
senior priest at the pyramid temples of Teti and Amenemhat I;
!£.£, pls. 83 ff. Due to the female determinativ3 this must
be the word under discussion which means the masculine
mi-~d.f is an error.
 - 75 -

25. snhy bnr.w{t), "register of the bnr.w(t)

In a broken context on a fragment of a letter from Lahun;
fil! I, no. 53. On the use of snhy with the sense of "re gis-
tering people," see Smither, ill 27, 75, and Hayes, JEA
46, 45.

Ther~ has been some disagreement over the reading and meaning
of the term I have here transliterated onr . wt. Brunne~~raut, £22!.
-
Tanz, pp. 20, 45, etc., reads hnr , "harem;" Drenkhahn, _SAK 4, 51,
~
reads bnr.t, "harem;" Junker wavered between bnr and tJnr.t, trans-
lating 11 Insassen des Har!ms, Weibliche Ha usins a ssen, Frauen des
Hauses . 1142 The word shows a varie t y of spellings (fig. 2):

Seel l ing No . exx. O.K . F. I . P. M.K.

1L 2

~ 10
pnr.t 2
tJnr 1
tJnrw 6 3
bnr.wt 1
bnryw 1

There is no doubt that a11 t hese variants represent the same word;
the determinative usually associated wit h the root tJnr is present in
all examples save four, and these (nos. 19-21 , 23) are spelled out
phonetically. In nos. 15- 17, the strange determinatives are from
the hieratic sign which t hey roughly resemble. An indication of the
plural occurs in only one Old Kingdom example (no. 10), but is
regularly present thereafter . The reason for the absence of the
plural in the Old Kingdom is t hat t his is a "disg uised plural" which
is "sometimes found in the captions to the scenes of daily life in
the tombs, the sculptor having omitted the indica tions of the plural
as unnecessary when the notion of plurality is clearly conveyed by
the accompanying scene." 43 This is precisely t he case with most of
the Old Kingdom examples listed here .
 - 76 -

The feminine ·l-anding occurs on only two examples of the Sixth

Dynasty and two of the Middle Kingdom (nos. 12, 13, 21, 23) which is
surprising since the word moat frequently refers to women and must
be a collecti ve noun, hence fe~in ine. However, it is noteworthy
that ib3.t, "female dancer," is regularly written without the femi-
nine ending even when referring to female figures. 44 furthermore,
if I have corr e ctly read no. 6, it contains the feminine genitive
pa rticle .!!!.; the word which precedes it , however, must be restored
so this evidence is not certain. In spite of the numerous variant
spellings of the word, I think the correct re a ding is Qnr.wt and,
since it could refer to man as well as women or both together (sea
below) , it can be cons idered a feminine collective noun. 45
As indicated abo ve, the meaning of pnr.wt is vari ously gi ven.
Junker felt that it is not always clear wh a t should be understood by
this term: women belonging to or servants assigned to a harem, or
even members of the family . The latter , he observes, are sometimes
shown playi ng mus ic for the owner of the tomb by which he seems to
mean that members of the family could be shown as substitutes for
the hnr .w t in similar scenes. The examples ha quotea 46 are not
appropriate here since they are no t simile~ scenes . There is , how-
ever, another ex ample which proves the point far better. This is
in the Giza tomb of Kaiemankh where one scene shows four dancers and
three women singing and clapping in a purely domestic context where
th e mas te r is playin g the senet- game and an orchestra plays in the
background. The three singing women are labelled "singing by his
child ren" (Junker , .!il.!!, IV , fig . 9). This group of musicians is
exactly paralleled by a scene in the same tomb where the singers
are onr.wt {no. 2 , above).
But more important is the fact that this scene and others like
i t refer to groups of people, not an institution (as Brunner-Traut,
Orenkhahn, etc.). This is strongly s upported by no. 9 where thre e
women are individually cal l ed "a onr.t of the women's-quarters,"
and no. 23 where, again, an individual is noted. These e xamp les
rule out a reference to an institution or place.
It is of significance that in one case (no. 13) the bnr.wt
consists entirel y of men and the determinatives to nos. 14 and 21
 - 77 -

show that it was made up of both sexes. This effectively negates

any connection with a harem or conc~binage. This may also be indi-
cated by no. 15 where the "Overseer of the bnr.wt of Bat Nefer-Bat"
was a married woman, and no. 23 where the pnry.t It-seankh 11 may have
been married.
The Old Kingdom scenes clearly indicate the meaning of the
word (nos. 1-9, 13); it is a collective noun for a group of people
specializing in singing and dancing. The word does not appear to be
a professional title like ib3 .t, "dancer," or t:is.t, "singer," but
rather one wh ich indica tes a group that habitually performed togeth-
er. It seems best to translate it "Troupe of Sin gers and Dancers,"
a sense which fits all ex a mples c ollected here. Such troupes were
found in palaces, temples and large private households, performing
in both religious and secular contexts. The existence of these per-
formers in troupes is shown by the several "Overseers" who appear
throughout the period under considera t ion, both women (nos. 10, 11,
14, 15) and men (nos. 22 , 24) . No. 25 also shows that they were
organized into recognized groups and that lists of their na mes were
kept.
There is one Middle Kingdom context which ties all these facts
together and amply proves the sense proposed here. This is a letter
from Lahun with instructions to brin g a group of people to an un-
47
specified place for an unspecified reason. Included in this group
are:
the sm3w.ty-priest Sebekhotep, brother of the wcb-
priest Sesostris at Lahun;
the female Singer Sat- tepihu who is in the ~ ; ;
which is at Lahun;
the male Singer Ititi and the lad who are in ~;; ~
(namely) the son of Sesostris.
From this I gather that there was a onrt at Lahun in which were to
be found male and female si ngers as well as children. This bnrt
seems to bave been attached to a temple since two priests are
48
mentioned, the son of one of them being in the onrt .
 - 78 -

The spelling of onrt in th is letter is that normally used

fo r the word " priso n" (fig . 3) and is here co nsidered masculine
(£!.!!., "thi s") und oubtedly inf lue nced by onrt, "prison," which i n
spite of its ending is masculine (~, p. 36 , n. 120). There i s
no question of a prison being involved so this must be a un ique
example of the inst itutio n where the on r.w t -people lived, in this
case probably within the confines of a temple . Since both men and
women li ved there , it cou l d hardly be a harem.

~
oO
f-
[""J ~.'!.

€.;; ~d ~ ><
C""':J
'
fig . 3 . Spellings of onrt , "prison,"
in Middle Kingdom titles .

This a ppare nt confusion with the word for " prison " brings up
the problem of how onr .wt is r elated to this and othe r terms based
on the. roo t bnr. The appea ran ce of " Overs eers" of these si nging
and dancing troupes (normally translated " Overseer of a Harem")
has been thought to be f ar mo re frequent than f have al lo wed; I
ha ve listed only two (nos . 22 , 24) for t he Middle Kingdom . Ther e
ere , houeve r, many examp les of " Ove rseers" an d other functionaries
49
attached to a~ who are generally t hou ght to be hare~ of ficials .
While the !!!!?.• lists only four titl e s whic.h i nclude onrt , "pr is on,"
there are in re ality twelve titles which , collectively, occur over
sixty times in Middle Kingdom texts .
50
tjnrt , "prison," is spelled in a variety of ways (fig. 3 )
and it is of importance that in not a si ngle instanc e does it have
the female and/or the male determinativas, nor is it ever spel l ed
with phonet ic signs . These factors indicate that the _.., __
hnrt used i n
Middle Kingdom t itle s is a different word from the onr.wt discussed
above and the onrt near Lahun. With the e xcep tion of the two
 - 79 -

examples noted above {nos. 22 , 24), all these Middle Kingdom

titles must therefore include the term for "prison;" on this,
see the wall-known discussion by Hayes. 51
The related noun pnr(i), "prisoner," i s we ll-established in
Middle Kingdom texts 52 and also appears in a few titles of that
period. I n two cases, "prisoners " is the obvious sense: imy-r
onrw, "Overseer of Prisoners , 1153 and tisbw .hry-Q3.t pnrw, "Reck-
~ in Charge of Prisoners " (£1!!.!i, Insert B, 9). Two other
tit les, however, contrary to my opi nion in Index ~K nos. 295, 406,
concern not prisoners but musicians: imy-r bm.wt . Qnr.w(t), "Over-
seer of the {sacred) cattle of the Singer-dancers, 1154 and imy-r
kmy.wt Qnr.w(t), - uover seer of the (sacred) black cattle of the
Singer-dancers. 1155 The lat t er title is also in Dunham .§i. no. 11.
It is difficult to state the precise relationship between such
words as pnrt, "prison,"~' "prisoner," a nd pnr.wt, "Troupe or
Dancers and Singers." As f a r as I have been able to de t ermine,
56
bnr.wt appears as early as th e fourt h Dynasty wh ile terms for
"prison," e tc ., appe a r for the first time i n the first Intermed-
iate Period title just noted.
One obviou s connection between them is the hieroglyph used as
a phoneme or determina tive in most e xamples of thes e and other
words. Thi s hieroglyph appears already in the archaic period with
t-rtl;i (var. rtl;i), "baked bread," and in the title rtt:i.ty, "Baker"
{l![, p. 249 and n. 1789). It is used in the Old Kingdom with
rt~, "fortress " {J unker, fil.!.!. III , fi g . 28), and itt.i, "to drag"
{~. 303c) and there is a Middle King dom occurrence wi th the verb
§n°, " to repel, detain" {!:!I II , 2). The shape of the sign became
standardized by the fourth Dynasty , though some earlier e xamples
show the end el e men ts rounded or set straight along the canter
stem, 57 not angled as in the usua l form. The reversed end as in
fig. 2: 4-5 is also found elseuhere. 58 The substitution of the
nose-sign, common in the Middle Kingdom and later, is due to a
close resemblance in hieratic and occurs as early as the first
Intermediate Period; see fig . 2 : 16 and three examples of it~,
"fortress," in Mccalla, pl. 17.
 - 80 -

The object which this si gn represents has ne ver bee n identi-

fied ; it occurs nowhere in the reliefs in actual use . It has
been suggested that it represents e key , a fish- hook, or an instru-
ment employed in baking. 59 The latter seems the most plausible
since of those words wh ich use the sign in question , rt~ , "to
bake," is the earliest, already '1911- represented in archaic tex"fs.
One c a n then pos tulate the following to explain why this sig n was
used for different roots . For phonetic reasons , it could easily
have been borrowed from rt~, "to bake," for it~ , "to drag," and
rt~/it~, "fortress." From a genera l correspondenc e in meaning with
"fortress," the sign uas then us ed for §nc, "to detain ," and tJ nr ,
"to confine," and from the latter, for phonetic r easons , it was
used for tJnr . wt , " Troupe of Singers and Da ncers . " Each transfer
of th is sign from one word to another falls with i n the normal pat-
tern of the hieroglyphic syste m. Such transfers may even have been
easier if we assume that the si gn represents an object used in th e
ar~haic period but not thereafter . It could thus move from one
word to ano ther purely on the grou nds of phonetics or me ani ng,
the original significa nce of the object portr aye d having been for -
got ten . We can thus explain why a baker's instrument came to be
used as the normal determinative f o r a wor d like onr . wt . This re-
construction of several borrowin gs of the sign in question ass umes
that wo rds such as tJnr , " prisone r , " were in use lon g before they
are actually at t ested , though this is not a rea l o bstacl e. Old
Egypt i an ex amples of words thought to be only of later date freq -
uently turn up as new texts are published.s 9 a
Nau it is evident that the word bnr . wt must be derived from
the same root as ~ hnr, "prisoner , " and re~ated words, though it can-
no t have the same sense . A troupe of singers and da ncers was a
specialized group of people by virtue of their training and pro-
fessional standing. Relatively few ind ividua ls could belong to
such troupes. Hence they were not "confined" to special quarters
or "restricted" as to their mov ements , but wer e rather "set apart"
from the general po pulation because of their unique profes sional
status. It may be this looser definitio n of being set apart in a
specialized profession uhich is the original sense of the root and
that such mean ings as "prison," etc. , were ~erived from this .
 - 81 -

CHAPTER FIVE

The !e.:,i and ip.t-nsw

An institution called the ip.t-nsw is well known from Empire

times, but whether s uch a~~nstitution existed prior · to that period
is questionable. It is the purpos e of this essay to examine the
earlier evidence wh ich has been prop osed and to attempt to deter-
mine if such an institution existed and what it was.
The translation of ip.t-nsw as "royal harem" was orig i nally
proposed by Deveria in 1865 in his study of the Turin Juridical
Papyrus. 60 St rangely enou gh , it is this very document which proves
that ip.t-nsw cannot have this meaning, though the eviden ce it has
to offer has never been pointed out except for a brief hint by
Lorton in JARCE 11, 100. Statements in this document seem to me
to be qu ite clear on the matter . This papyrus does no t contain,
as de Buck has suggested (df.a 23, 161), t wo expressions for "ha rem,•
namely, pr- bnr and ip.t-nsw n pr-bnr. It rather refers to two
separate institutions , the ip .t-nsw and the pr-pnr, the former
being attached to the latte r.
The Tur i n Jur idical Papy rus is a post-facto record of the f ate
of a long list of officials invol ved in the so-called "Ha rem co ns-
pi racy " against Ramses III. In this text , t he "women of the pr-pnr"
are mentioned no lase than eight times 61 so that the pr-pnr was a
par t of the pa l ace where t he women who we r e involved in this plot
lived. 62 That it was not the same as the ip.t-ns w may be shown
by the t itles of the officials involved who served one or the
other of the two institutions.
Officials of the pr-Qnr: 63
rw£w n pr-pnr Controller of the pr-hnr ( IV , 6-11)
idnw n pr-hnr Dep ut y of the pr-Qnr (V, 9)
Officials of the ip.t-nsw:
imy-r ip .t-ns w Overseer of the i p.t-nsw (IV, 5)
imy-r ip.t-nsw n pr-hnr the

s§ ip.t-nsw n pr-hnr
 - 82 -

In this document , we c a n thus separate officials who b e longe d t o

the pr - unr and those who belonged to the ip . t - nsw, the latter bein g
" of , 11 that is , part of the former . Reiser , Harim , pp. 69 fr .,
gives a few o t her tit l es from other sources , adding : s! i p. t - ns w,
" Scribe of the ip . t - nsw;" s! nsw in pr - bnr , "Royal Scribe of the
pr- bnr ;" s! n pr- t.ig n pr-pnr , " Scribe of the Treasury of the pr -
p n r. 11 The latte r title shows another institution , a "treasury , "
attached to the pr- Qnr just as was the ip.t- nsw . The important
point here is tha t i p .t- nsw and ip . t-nsw n pr- hnr were not sy nonyms.
The pr-pnr was the main institution , the pr - Qg and ip . t - nsw being
administrative units which carried out specific functions of the
pr - pnr . Due to the strong financial interests of the pr - Qnr , as
amply proved by Reiser , Harim, Chap . 4 , it is evident that lorton's
translation of i p .t -ns~ as "counting- house, accounting office " (se e
below) , is emin e ntl y suitable here .
In spite of this evidence which has been available for over a
century, De veria ' s translation of ip.t- ns w as "royal harem" remains
universal:
~· I , 67, 1 3- 14 ; .Q.QI, p. 237 ;
Reis er , Ha rim , passim;
etc . This implies the existence of a closed in st itution in palaces
and private est at es for women and children alon g the lines of the
ha r em of Ott oman times . This long- held belief has recently been
challenged by Lo rton , JARCE 11 , 98 fr ., who studies the few narra-
tive contexts in which ip.t-nsw appears . He concludes that the
term should rather be rendered "r o yal counting- hou sw• and that it
has n o thing to do with the institution of the harem. Another r~ ­

cent statement which goes against the traditi o nal view is that of
Nord, ~ 34 , 144 f ., who sees in the ip.t- nsw the private quarte r s
of a palace where queens , royal children and cer ta in non- royal chil -
dre n li ved , thoug h this cannot be construed of as a harem , at l east
i n the Old Ki n gdom .
The actual readi ng of the term in the Old and Middle Kingdoms
deserves some comment. In the f i rst place, it cannot be ip3 . t as
o nce propos ed by Gardine r, Z~S 45 , 127 , a reading which has bee n
adopted by others : Junker , ~ XI, p . 127, n . 2; QQI, p . 237;
TPC , P• 133 , n . 4 ; e tc . The term ±.e3/ip3 . t which Gardiner felt
r ep r e s ents a fuller spelling of ~ are corre ctly listed separate-
 - 83 -

ly by both !!!.2.· I, 68, 15-16, and f.Q!!I, p. 17, and Sethe, Les. Erl.,
p. 130, was quite certain that there is no connection with ip.t.
The word appears only in t wo contexts where some such meaning as
"royal bureau" is more eppropriate. 64
The reading ip.t is itself questionable and many of the occur-
rences of a presumed ip .t-nsw may be something else entirely; it
is a problem which at present has no solution. In almost every
instance from archaic times to the Middle K.tngdom, "ip.t" is
spelled with a phonogram only , usually Gl and its many variants
(figs. 4-6), or Cd
wh ich came into vogue in the Middle Kingdom
(cf. fig. 6). There is also one Middle Kingdom example of ~
(fig. 6: 6), a common substitute for the oth er signs during the
Empire. But there is no certain example prior to the Eighteent h
Oynasty 65 where any of these si gns is accompanied by the phonetic
signs i-p-t, thus assurin g the reeding .!..P.!.i•
Only fig . 4: 6 of the Third Dynasty gives the phonetic signs
i-p. Kaplony correctly reads this .:l.P!:!. (I~f, p. 5 15) , though
others have read i p.wt: La pyr. a degres IV, 2, p. 60; Weill ,
Recherches I, pp. 229 f. The only other example accompanied by a
phonetic sign is fig. 4: 3 1Jhich Kaplony reads ~. "Akhmtm,11 6 6
though the sign involved is not necessarily ~ a s he suggests . In
all other cases of the 01~ and Middle Kingdoms the reading is
quest ionable .
Thus, while Kaplony reads the archaic examples of fig 4: 1-1 2
as ie.:.1 or ipw (I~f, pp. 501 ff .) this is not at all certain in
many instances. Similar signs are used in the names of funerary
domains (fig. 4: 13-19), three of which are spelled out phoneti-
celly: idn.t, t3r.t and is.t. I t is highly probable that these
-
three terms apply in all the names of the funerary domains since
words like "silo" and "granary " should be expected in names of
67
places which supplied grain and other foodstuffs. It is not
likely that i p.t is involved here .
Another problem is that there is no evidence prior to the
Eighteenth Dynasty that the word in question is feminine. 68 The
feminine ending •! occurs only once in all the examples from
 - 84 -

Key to Fig . 4

1. Petrie , Royal Tombs I, pl. 63

2. Smith , Art and Ar chitecture , pl . 14
3. Petrie , Royal Tombs I , pl. 17, 29
4. I~F , fig. 243
5. Emery , Great Tombs III , pl . 38 , 43
6. La pyr. a
degres IV , p l . 22, 121 - 22
7. l[E., f ig. 367
8. Gunn , ~ 28 , pl . 3 , 10
9. La pyr. a
degres IV , pl. 23 , 126
10. Petrie , Royal Tombs I , pl . B, 4
11 . Petrie , Royal Tombs I , pl. 9 , 12
12 . Gunn, ~ 28 , pl . 2 , 11
13 . Ooma ines f un. , p . 382; reads idn.t
p . 431
~· ·
14 .
15 . Ibid ., p . 284
16 . Jlli., p . 382
17 . Ibid ., p. 2 50 ;
-
reads t3 r. t
18 .
19 . ~··
p . 262 ;
Ibid ., p. 305 ; -
re ads t3r . t
reads t3 r. t
=
20 . .9£. 30 , 174 f .
 - 85 -

1 2
...~ 3 4 5 8

~ •@f tZA
~
0 *~P
~ ~
r1tftl 6Ji ~i
~~~ ~

00 A')~
--
---.
C'-::l
~

~ ~~~~~00 i~ v lW, VA• .

'-'4~-
~~ = 7
loon &!8Bi
\Ill Q c::7
8
-~
GGIG ggg
~
9 10 11 12 ~
<::>
°'
~
--£(
at
~
1l1tt-
Q
'* ~ 9m:~
44

ff ~' ~
\...->
13
-~
~
14 Q~Q·
@
1n 1s !t>~I

16 19 20
Q-:-f! Ai a~fllDO

Fig. 4. CJ and its variants: 1- 12 , in archaic texts;

13-19, in names or rvnerary domains; 20 , the
determinatives or !il.· "hell . "
 - 86 -

archaic times to the Middle Kingdom. This is fig . 4 : 7 which

Kaplony feels is the same place- name as fig . 4: 6 (.!![, p. 833) ,
but which could just as well be read i3r.t on the analogy of fig.
4: 15 , 17. In all cases of "ip . t - nsw"in figs . 5- 6, the i belongs
with the £!!.!!-sign . In figs. 5: 1 and 6: 3- 5, no i appears at all
and in some examples of the titles of Ihy (fig . 6) the three signs
of 11 ip . t-nsw" are so arranged that it is obvious that the i is not
part of the supposed ip . t . It must thus be considered a possibil-
ity that before the Eighteenth Dynasty , if the wo rd existed at all,
it mi gh t have been masculine.
Just as there is no conclusive evidence that we must apply the
same readin g to all th e examples collected here , there is none to
indicate that the meaning is the same in all cases . Other than the
personal- and place-names in fig. 4: 1-12 , Kaplony t r anslates
"harem" in all instances (.!1![, pp. 501 ff . ). A co mpletely differ -
ent conclusion was reached by Weil l , Recherches I, pp. 229 ff. ,
who studied the same materia l , read the word in question as ip . t
and translated "decompte , dotation funeraire. 11 But neither the
reading nor the meaning need be the same in all cases . fig. 4 : 12 ,
for example , can be read wr t3r . t (or ip.t) nsw is df3 , " Chi ef of
the Ro ya l Granary (or counting - house) and (archive- )chamber 69 for
provisions." This makes more sense than Kaplony's "Grossen des
kHnigliches Harems" or Weill ' s "Service des approvisionnements du
Si ~ge de l'Horus roya l " (I"f, p . 502 ; Wei ll , Recherches I , p. 134).
In those cases where a priest is involved (fig. 4: 5, 9, 11), per-
haps Weil l ' s 11 d6compte" is more appropriate . for fig 4 : 10 ,
Kaplony offers several possibilities: "Unter~gyptischer Harem,"
"UnterMgypt ische n ~annschaft , 11 "UnterMgyptische Phyla" (I"f, pp .
445 , 501) , but this could just as wel l be i3r . t m~ . t 'Itm , " the
northern granary of Atum . " It is also concei vable that the rare
Old Kingdom word s!)(w), "hall(?)" (!!£. 30, 174 ff . ; KHn. Dok. ,
pp . 109 f . ) may be involved in some archaic examples since it is
determined by signs very much like those used for the supposed
.!.P..!..i of the archaic end Old Kingdom periods (fig . 4: 20). I n other
words , there is nothing that requires the meaning "harem" in any
of these archaic texts .
 - 87 -

For the Old Kingdom , material bearing on t he term in question

consists of three occurrences in narrative contexts (fig . 5: 8- 10)
and several titles (fig . 5: 1-7) . Lorton has examined the th ree
narrative--contexts and, as already noted above, concludes that
" ip . t -nsw " me ans " royal counting- house " rather than "royal harem. "
Lorton ' s argument is fairly convincing provided we accept the read-
ing i.e..!.l for which the only justification is the analogy of later
spellings . It is of interest , however, that this meaning may exist
el s ewher e . Fig . 5 : 1 is a title on the unpublished architrave of
Ankh-nebef fr om Giza . Whil e Fischer , Oendera , Index , p. 233 and
n . 824 , renders this '' Overseer of the Harem of the Gre at House ,"
thi s do es not seem like ly. Ankh- nebef was a l so a " Sailor of a
Shi p" and a " Sc ribe of the Royal Dockya rd" so that it would be
more lo gica l for him a s· an imy-r ip . t pr-c3 to be an " Oversee r of
the Palace Counti ng- house , " implying duti es more in keeping with
his wo rk in the ship- bui l ding industry .
I know of only five Old Kingdom exampl es of the title custom-
arily read imy-r ip . t - nsw , always trans l ated " Ove rseer of the Roya l
Harem " (~i g . 5 : 2-6) . Once more we must dea l wit h the fac t that
no phone tic complements accompany the presumed iE.:.l so th at the
readin g , hence the meanin g , is uncertain . In all five cases ,
o t her titl es carried by these individuals assure them high status
in the palace hierarchy , but there is no th i ng which require s res-
ponsibility over a hare~. The title in question could j ust as well
indicate one in charge of the "royal counting- house" or even the
i 3r . t nsw, "royal granary . "
The only other title wit h " ip.t- nsw'' i s f ig . 5 : 7, a ~ry-s~t3 ,
" Privy Councillor ," lit . " Mas t er of Secrets . '' While the rank of
Privy Councillo r was originally g ranted t o officials who served the
king on a personal bas i s , already in the Old Kingdom it came to
have a broader use in juridical titles (Beamtentiteln , pp. 43 f.),
and could even designate someone attac hed to another officia1 . 70
In the present instance , dating from the Sixth Dyna sty , there is
nothing to show a connection wit h a harem . Seshemu, the person
involved , held only two other titles . The first is iry pt nsw
pr-c3 which has some such meaning as "Royal Wo rkman of the Palace ,"
 - 88 -

CJ ~<:::>
<>c:> Q ~C>·~ ~<>+i. VA~. +Q Sl~+a
1 2. 3 4

SA<:>• ~ c:-:l
5
ia~
6
~o~pc::s
£)<:> A 1
7
* Qc-::1 Viti. •
8
~

~; c=-::a
·9~ 10

Fig . 5 . i p. t - n s w11 in Old Kingdom titles (1 - 7)

11

and nar r ative contexts (8-10)

1. Fisc her , Oende ra, n . 824

2. Junker , ~ XI , f i g . 83
3. Mar . Mast . A 1
4. CAA Hildesheim , p. 7.50 • Junker , Giza VII, p . 124
5. Mere r uka , pl . 217 8
6. filI , 19
7. Hassan , ~ III , pl. 25
8. ~I, 99, 6; 100, 13; 101, 4
9. ~ I, 51, 13
10. Hassan, ~ I I , fig . 226
 - 89

71
a titl e ge ner ally of low grade . The other title is imy- r s .t,
"Overseer of a Storehouse ," also a title of little i mportance . 72
It is difficult to see Seshemu as a hig h harem- official and he is
better thought of as be ing attached to a count in g- house or grana ry.
The Midd l e Kingdom ev idence is just as elusive. There are
onl y two narrative contexts in wh i ch 11 ip . t - nsw 11 is said to appea r.
The fi r st is from the tomb of Saren put I at Aswan in a state ment
rendered by Gardiner , Z~S 45 , 124 , as: " whose (name is) upon the
sig net-ring in all things of foreign count rie s i n the roy al apart-
men ts ." But the phrase ''royal apartments " is spelled with the
sign usually associated with the word hkr. t , so it looks very much
as if we have here the term hkrw- nsw , " royal insignia" rather tha n
ip . t - nsw . 73 This reference can therefore be discounted .
The second instance is in Sinuhe R 3 where he introduces him-
self: "I was a f ollower of his lord , a se rvant in the ip.t - nsw(?)
of the Heredita ry Noblewoman ••• Nefru . 11 It has always been felt
that the key word here is to be read ip . t -nsw, "ro yal ha rem," and
t hat Sinuhe wa s a ha r em- official serving Nefru . As Posener ,
Li tterature, p . 93 , emphasizes , Sinuhe had a special attachment to
this queen. That she seems closely connected to the ip.t -nsw has
undoubtedly influenced translato r s to conside r this a harem .
Lo r ton, JARCE 1 1 , 100, however , suggests that ip.t - nsw in this
case i s ra the r to be understood as "an accounting office concerned
specifically wi th the queen's provisions. " This makes good sense
and this understanding of the term maintai ns the obvious close re-
l atio nship between Sinuhe and the queen . The pr oblem her e is that
the hieratic sign considered to be !E...:.l, is unique and may not be
!E...:.l, a t all ; see below , Appendix C.
The remainder of the evidence from th i s period consists of a
series of titles wh ich name various officials of the "ip . t - nsw''
(Index MK nos . 36- 38 , 454 , 1230 , 1349 , 1569): "Hall-keeper ; "
" Overseer;" 11 Page; 1174 " Scribe ;" " Journeyma n" (fil 107 , 170 ff . ) .
In the s e titles Ld , known to be read !E...:.l, in later times , appea r s
i n the majority of examples (fig . 6: 1-3) though Cd is found in
some cases (f ig . 6: 4 , 8- 10) . It may be of importance that in the
titles of Ihy , while the title imy-r " ip . t - nsw " ap pea r s many times
 - 90 -

+ea ~~
~~ea
1 2
•ea
3
~ea
4
~m
5
• A
~~

6
[il

8 C@P*~ [t] io~~

9 ~C>~Q VAR1l ~ +o, e- i=A) ~ia , Glo~, ~

10 ~eol)~

11 ?
$1C

<:> 011 ~ _..

c::::> +(j)
0 VAR. ~ .. ~

Fig . 6 . Spellings of 11 i p. t - nsw "

(1 - 6) in Middle Kingdom titles
(7) ~· VII , 1 , 20
{B- 11) mastaba of Ihy , Saqqa r ah
(12) .!E..!!• " cens us," in fili I, no . 53
 - 91 -

in this tomb with several variants of the latter sign , the ip . t -

sign is neve r used (fig. 6 : 8-1 0) . One may r ightly a sk if some -
thing other than the ip.t - nsw is involved here .
One interesting context is the small tomb of Iha , an official
who se r ved the Nomarch Ahanakht in the later He r acleopolita n
pe r iod . 75 In the texts from this tomb (Bersheh II , pl . 21) , Iha
is given many epithets that associate him with the palace . He was
an " Overseer of Writings in the House of Life to whom all sacred
matters are revealed ,'' the House of Life being " a scriptorum whe r e
books connected with religion and cognate matte r s were compiled "
(d£a 24, 175) . It was perhaps in this capacity that he served as
" Inst r uctor of the Royal Children. " His intimacy with the royal
family is expressed thus: " one unhindered in the secret places,
one who hears conversatibn in t he priva te apartments , one who
watches dancing in th e private places ." The latter epithet goes
along with others: "one wh o ushers in the troupe of singers and
danc.ars (hnr .w t , Chap . 4C), he who locks up the (female) ornaments ."
That is , he was responsible for the royal danc e rs and for the jew-
ellery and other accoutrement they used in performing . In light
of al l this , it seems inevitable that in this case the title
imy - r ip . t - nsw should be rendered " Overseer of the Royal Apart -
ment ," or the like .
A similar case is that of Ihy, already referred to , an official
of the Twelfth Dynasty buried at Saqqarah. Among his many titles
are four (fig. 6: 8- 11) originally thought to contain the phrase
l!!!..:.!_ ~ " king's stall" (lli, pp. 280 ff.) . After studying these
titles , Junker, Giza XI, pp. 127 ff . , rightly rejected this inter -
pr etation , concluding that this term is really ip . t - nsw which he
rendered " royal harem ." According t o Junke r , this is supported
by other tit l es of Ihy: "Overseer of the Two Pools of Amusement , "
and "Overseer of the Entire Harem (sic) of the King. 1176 One of
lhy ' s titles , however , can be omitted from the discussion as it
has been misread , namely, fig . 6: 11. J unker takes this to be
" Privy Councillo r of the Royal Harem, " pointing to a supposed
parallel from the Old Kingdom (fig . 5: 7) though , as noted above ,
" royal counting- house" is more likely in the latter example . The
 - 92 -

variant spellings in Ihy ' s tomb show that this title is rathe r
"Privy Councillor of the Royal Insignia" which is rare, but does
appear elsewhere (!:!! II , 8) .
The most common title to appear in Ihy ' s tomb is imy- r "ip . t -
~11 (fig . 6 : 9) and , since i t usually appears just before the
personal name , it is apparently his principle title . The one
example with the additional m3c (fig. 6: 10) is simply a variant ,
and both titles must be abbreviations for the fuller form (fig .
6: 8) " Overseer of the 'ip.t- nsw ' of Lisht. n 77 In this case ,
Junker's appeal to other titles to est a blish the sense "royal
ha r em" works equally we l l in another direction . Ihy was also
" Overseer of the Double House of Silver , Overseer of the Double
House of Gold ," so it would not be out of place to see him as
"Overseer of the Royal Accounting- house of Lisht . " Furthermore ,
since the ~- sign never appears in the numerous occurrences of

-
these titles , we can just as ea s ily read t3 r. t , or the like, and
translate '' Overseer of the Royal Gra na r y at Lisht," which would
again fit in with his being a treasury official .
Other officials of the "ip. t - nsw" are known primarily from
scarabs and as subsidiary figures on a fe w stelae. One "Page of
the ip . t - nsw " did have a small but rather fi nely engraved stela
(CG 1647) tho ugh these officials seem generally to belong to the
lower ranks of officialdom. The documents on which they are named
offer nothing which helps define the "ip . t - nsw ."
One final Midd l e Kingdom example has been considered to in-
clude .!£.:..!., "harem ." This is a unique titl e in a fragment of a
letter from Lahun (fig. 6 : 12): iry n ip . t nt smd.t nb . t . This
was first translated by Sc harff , l!.§. 59 , 44 , as " iry- i p.t alle r
abgabenpflichtigen leute, 11 but the t itle is said to include the
term "Haremswachters" by the latest e dito r (AH I , p. 32, no. 53) .
The interpretation of this title de pends much on the meaning of
smd . t in the Middle Kingd om. In Empire times , this term refe r red
to extra labourers added to a work- ga ng s uc h as wood - cutters ,
water-carriers , fishermen , etc . , or to the cad r e of lower grade
personnel of an institution . 78 In earlier times~ the meaning
seems more general . Two Middle Kingdom r e f er ences a r e pertinent
 - 93 -

here: (1) "one chosen from among his (the king's) smd.t" {.!§.
no. 25) , translated "subjects" by Gardiner, and (2) "of whom one
says ' heed his coming' by the chief of all his smd .t" {.!:!! II , 22).
In both cases, smd . t must be a collective te rm for the imme diate
subordinates of a king or official . When us ed in titles it shou ld
then indicate a circumscribed class of pe opl e t o whom the official
involved is attached.
In - addition to the title under discus sion , there are three
others which contain this term known from the Middle Kingdom. An
imy-r smd .t is known from a stela of the First Intermediate Period,
the earliest occurrence of smd . t ( Dunham .§i. no. 30). A s§ smd .t
is known from Sinai {.!§. I I , fig . 8) translated " Sc ribe of the
called- up labourers" by Gardiner . A rock inscription from Kumma
names a ss n smd . t n wc~.t (2.£.E I , p . 15 1, no. 66). The latter two
titles suggest a specific group of people attached to foreign
expeditions with their own officials in charge . The wc r.t of the
las t title is probably the southernmost admi nistrative district
of Egypt f r om which this group was collected to join a nubian ex-
pedition . In all the Middle Kingdom examples, then , smd . t indi-
cates a group of people with something in common , eith e r allegiance
to a speci f ic ruler or as specially-mentioned members of an expe-
dition .
In the title from the Lahun papyrus, the smd . t mus t likewise
be a specific groop, perhaps the la bou rers attached to a temple .
In any case , ~ ca nno t' mean "ha rem " and , in spite of the dete r-
minative , must be the word fo r "census." The title should thus be
translated "Keeper of the Cens us of al l (Temple?) Labourers ."

Summary Statement
Whil e I have consistently read ~a and its variants as ip . t -
~ throughout this discussion , this is more for the sake of conve n-

ience than from any conviction that th is reading should be univer-

sally applied . Indeed, only indirect evidence exists in that in
certain Middle Kingdom titles lA and Q are apparently used inter-
changeably though here there is still some ambiguity. Can we be
certain, for example, that lili'+a
and l{lr(•Q (Index MK no. 1349 )
 - 94 -

ar e to be r ead and translated the same way? Eightee nth Dynasty

contexts show that t2J is to be read ie.:JJ before that time it may
ha ve been masculine . The archaic place- name ~ (fig . 4 : 6) shows
that a could on occasion be read iE_, but this sig n is found wit h
several other words as well so that wherever it appears without
phonetic complements , the reading must re main doubtful . In othe r
words , there is very little to r ecommend the general application
of the re ading i p.t-nsw (or i p-n sw) until Middle Kingdom times when
the s pel ling+a firs t appears and it is highly questionable tha t
this reading must extend to + Q•
This means , of course , that several different words may be
involved. The sense " harem " which is given i n the literature fo r
all occurrences is based so l ely on a few narrative contexts , the
traditional meaning of which has been seriously challenged by
Lorton in his study quoted at the beginning of this chapte r. His
t ranslation "royal counting- house'' does make sense in some contexts,
but not a lw ays . 11 Royal apa r tment ," that is , the private quarters
of the royal fa mi l y , seems to fit best in others. Where Q and its
variants appear , we mus t consider "roya l granary ," o r the like, a s
a possible meaning . I think the latter is most pr obable for the
titles of Ihy (f ig . 6 : 8- 11) which are consist entl y spelled with
(d and its va riants , never with ld.
From the a r chaic period to t he Middle Kingdom , then , it would
appear that a and its variants may be read in different ways with
appropriate variations in meaning . It is unfortunate that we lack
phonetic spellings which would differentiate the terms involved ,
if indeed it be true that there are more than one . Lacking such
spellings , the r e is nothing which forces us to translate "royal
harem " i n a n y ins ta nce where ip . t - nsu (ip - nsu) should be read .
 - 95 -

Appendix C

Supposed Early Hieratic Exampl es of £'.a

Before discussing the supposed early hieratic examples of the

~-s ig n in Sinuhe and P. Llestca r, it is useful to state some

important facts about the use of this sign from the Eighteenth Dyn-
asty on .
1. It is used only in the word le.!.!.• commonly held to mean
" ha rem '' and in wo rds of the same phonetic st ructure (nos.
79
3-4 below) .
2. MBller , HP , lists only a single example of the .!.E.:.l-sig n
fr om the Eighteenth Dynasty , all o thers being from th e
Twenty- second Dynasty and later . 80 In every case , the
hieratic sign reproduces t he hi~roglyphic form. A second
Empi re example which again re produces the hieroglyp hic
81
form is fro m the Gurob papyri .
3. In the spelling of the personal name ' Imn- m- ip . t , very
commo n from t he Eig hteenth Dynasty onward , the ip . t -s ign
freq uentl y appears in hieroglyphic ; 83 in a sample of well
over a hundred hieratic examples of this name , the 1£.:..i-
sign is never used . This pattern continues into post-
Empi re and Saite times where the le.!1-sign is used in
hieroglyphic 84 but not in hieratic . 85
4. The s a me distinction in usage between hiero glyphic and
hier atic also holds true fo r:
86
{a) 'Ip.t-sw .t, "Karnak;"
87
( b) the divine name and epithet 1 Imn-(m)-ip .t;
(c) ' I p.t(-rsy. t) , 11 Luxor;» 88
( d ) other personal names with the element ip . t.89
While a th o rough search t h ro ugh hieratic documents would have to
be undert ak en before a final conclusion could be drawn, these facts
are bas ed on an exte nsive search sufficient , I believe, to suggest
the followi ng :
a) There was no hie ra t ic equivalent for the .!E.:,!-sign even
thou gh terms were often used where it would ha ve been
appr opriate .
 - 96 -

b) On those rare occasions where a scrib e wished to use

t his s ign in a hie rati c document , he simply repr od uced
the hieroglyph .
Such conclusions go against t he opinion of Ga rdiner who felt
tha t the lE.:.l-si gn appears in P. Westca r 7 , 5 and 7 , and in Sin uhe
R 3 and B 204 . Ga rdiner ' s opinion has generally been followed
eve n though his a r gument is somewhat subjective. In his disc us -
sion of the word ip . wt in P. We stca r , 90 Gard iner state s that while
MHller gives no early example of t he lE.:.l-sign ,
the obs cur e sign in Sinuhe R 7 (sic) and anothe r
rather diffe r ent fo r m in Sin uhe 8 205 {sic ) are
exampl es from the Twel fth Dynasty and later . From
the Hyks os per iod , however , no instances are forth -
coming unless it be two in the Westcar papyrus here
cited .
Two of the occ urre nces of the word ip .wt i n P. West ca r (fig. 7:
1-2) are determined by a sign which c losely re sembles t hat fo r the
91
bow and were so taken by MHller , Sethe and others . A t hi rd
instance of this word i s determined by the sign for a seal (P .
Westcar 9, 2) . Disc ounting the latter as an e r ro r , Gardiner

-
- C":lJ=1""4.,:
- a
op ~a~:;~ 1

-~
:~ 2
- c::IO ""c:
~

C"-::J B\
.a. .a.='
,,,....... ()~~J 3

op
c-:J~
___:§ 0
~&)* 4

Fi g . 7 . Supp ose d early examples of LJl i n: (1)

P. Wes t car 7, 7; (2 ) P. Westca r 7, 5;
(3) Si nu he R 3 ; ( 4) a genu i ne e xampl e
in P. Bou l aq 1 7 , 9 , 2
 - 97 -

argued that the other two must be the ip . t - sign for t he follo wing
reasons . The bow- sign is not compatible with any meaning i p.wt
might have , hence the sign in q uestion must be something else .
The lE.:.1- and ~- signs are confused in hieroglyphic texts of t he
Empire , a confusion which " must obviously be '' due to the simila ri t y
of these signs in hieratic . In line 1 of the Carnarvon Tablet , the
word ~, " throne ," is written with a ~- sign "almost identical"
to the sign in P. Westcar . A similar sign is used to write !!!..:.lr
" throne ,h in Sinuhe B 207 . He concludes that before the r eig n of
92
Thutmosis III the le.:..!- and ns- signs looked very much alike s o
that the sign in P. Westcar mu~ be ip.t .
93
There is an alternative explanation , however , which is more
convincing . The basic facts , of course , are quite appa r ent . The
hieratic sign in P. Westcar (fi g . 7 : 1- 2) is indeed much like the
,!l!- sign on the Carnarvon Tablet (fig . 8: 6) and in Si nuhe B 207
(fig. 8: 4) and there i s even an Old Kin gdom example (fig . 8:1)
which i s similar . furthermore , in P. Boulaq 17 , 9 , 2 , in which a
" hieratic " ie...t.i- sign occurs (fig. 7: 4) the word !l!.!.l, " throne , "
appears in the same line written with a ~-sign similar to tha t
in Sinuhe (fig . 8: 4, 7). It is evident that from later examples
of hieratic ~ (MHller , HP II , no . 396) that the Sinuhe and
Boulaq forms are the normal ones and that some early examples
(fig . S: 2-3) are s imply variants of the ~- sign with addition-
al ticks to indicate a different pronunciation . P. Boulaq also
pr oves conclusively that at the time it was written ( prior to
t he r eign of Akhnaton) ip.t and ~wh ich appear in the same line
(figs . 7: 4 ; 8: 7) bore no resemblance whatsoever in hieratic .
This negates Gardiner ' s theory that they looked very much alike
before the reign of Thutmosis I I I .
I think that the important point here does not concern con-
fusion between the le.:..!- a nd ~- signs . It is rather that the bow-
sign and the ~-sign were very similar . Indeed, as examples from
Sinuhe show (fig . 8: 15) they were sometimes almost identical ,
very closely resembling fig . 8: 4 {~) . It looks very much as if
the scribe of P. Westcar, wishing to write a !!!-sign , actuall y
wr ote what looks like the bow- sign . That he i nt en de d t o write a

1
 - 98 -

O. K. Oyn 11 ..
MK D'Yft 17 0 yn 18
1 2 3 4 5 6 I

~ -4-! t:=.
Ci'r it ~ ~
.-.... ~ ia
"'·' <T a
I
• 10 11 12 13 14

~
I
c 0 ~ ~ ~ Gt, ~ &
~

1~
16
_P\...
17E::-1
~

P!i•t .Jt:

Fig. B. Early hieratic examples of ~ in .!:!.!..:..!.• " throne "

(nos . 1- 7), and as phonetic s (8- 14) ; early
example s of the bow-sign (15 - 17) .

(1) Abu- Sir Papyri , pls . 24, 42; (2) Hatnub 25, 2;
20, 1; (3) .!:!!:• pl. 20, 5; (4) Sin uhe B 207; (5) P .
Kahun 35, 39; (6) Carnarvon Tablet 1; (7) P . Boulaq
17, 9, 2; 1 , 2; (B) Abu- Si r Papyri , pls. 52 - 54 ; (9)
Hatnub 23, 3; (10) HP, pl. 1, 4 ; (1 1) Sinuhe B 4 ;
(12) Hymn III , 4 • M8ller , .!:!!: I , no. 395; (13) P. West-
car 5 , 17 =
MBller , loc . ict .; (14) P. Boulaq 17 , 5 , 3;
(15) Sinuhe B 53, 56 ; (16) Hymn I , 6 • MBller , HP I,
no. 436 ; (17) Carnarvon Tablet 12 .
 - 99 -

!!!.-sign can be inferred from the follo wing : already in Middle

Kingdom hieroglyphic, the !].!-sign could be substituted for the
ip.t-sign (fig. 6: 6) and there was no separate sign in hieratic
for the ip.t-hieroglyph. There is thus every re ason to suppose
that ip.wt in P. Westear 7, 5 and 7, uses the sign for the bow
in error for the !].!-sign . Had the scribe wished to do so, he
could have copied the .!2.:.i-hieroglyph as was done in rare instances
by scrices of the Empire and post-Empire periods. We can thus
conclude that there is no ie..:..i-si gn in P. Westcar .
What , then, of the supposed examp les of the i.e..!l-sign in
Sinuhe? The obscure sign in 8 204 has long bean a problem. The
primary publication of t his docume nt transcribes it with the ie..:..i-
sign with question (Hier . Pap. Berlin V, pl. 11a) . While Gardiner
does suggest the presence of an ip.t- sign in the quotation given
above , he had earlier felt that t hi s shoul d probably be read eh ,
94 --L;
"palace," an opinion with which later wri te rs have ag reed. There
is no question that this i s the better interpretation and we can
discount t his ex amp le as no t including a hieratic ie..:..i-sign .
The ~nique sign in Sinuhe R 3 ( fig . 7: 3) has generally bean
taken to be the ip.t-sign , though Gardiner's defansa of this read-
ing is questionable. His proof consists of later ex a mples of ip.t-
!!!!!!. in which the !].!-sign replaces the ie..:..i-sign; note that other
occurrences of the passage in question show .!1!• 96 These later
instances, of course, have on l y indirect bearing on how we should
unders tand the sign in Sinuhe R 3. Since the phrase was understood
later as "servant of the ip . t-naw," it seems likely that this is
what was originally intended . As for the sign itself, ther~ are
two alternatives. Either this is the form of the !].!-sign used by
this particular scribe 97 or t h is is a unique early ip.t-sign
which roughly copies the hieroglyph . Lacking any contemporary
evidence for comparison, the question cannot be settled though I
98
favour the latter alternative more than the former.
There remains the puzzli ng question as to why 1J could be used
as a substitute for £'.a in hieroglyphic, a substitution which is
rarely reflected in hieratic. 99 There is no question that this
confusion took place; there is one example from the Middle King-
 - 100 -

dom (fig. 6: 6) and several can be quoted from Empire times . 100
There ere t wo facts about the confusion of these signs that
warrant attention:
a) ~appears only in the term ip.t-nsw as a substitute for
t he i p.t-sign but never , as far as I can see , in any other
occurrence of the uord i p. t .
b) lA is never used as a substitute for 'L) in uo r ds uhere
the latter is normal.
The co nfu si on be tween l:d end 7J is thus limited to a single term .
Why this shoul d be so is a difficult question to a nswer.
Ga rd iner's soluti on, that this confusion arose throu g h
hi eratic, is no longer tenable. There was no hieratic l.e...!..l-sign;
as ear l y as P. Boulaq 17, the hie ro gl yph was copie d and there is
no si milarity to the ~- sign in the same l ine . The only possible
earlier example is in Sinuhe R 3 and , if this be the proper inter -
pretation , this too seems to be a rough copy of the hieroglyph .
It likewise bears no resemblance to contemporary !:!!,-si gns . Fu r-
thermore , a continuous substitution of hiero glyp hs based on simi -
lar hi eratic signs implies that the hieratic signs themselves
existe d over a l ong period of time. Such continuous confusion
in hieroglyphic on the basis of similar hieratic signs did occur ,
of course , 10 1 bu t this is hard ly true in the pr esent case. The
ip.t-sign was hard l y ever used in hieratic and when it uas used
the re i s no pos s i bili ty of confusion wi th the hieratic !:!!,-sign.
Finally , if the tuo signs uere confus ed because of similar hier a tic
ori gi nals, we should expect to find this substitution not only in
the ter m ip.t-nsw but in o ther words as wel l.
Badawy 'a solution (~ 15, 176) a l so seems unlikel y. Be-
cause at Medinet Habu, the •women's quar t ers" were connected t o
the palace by the throne-room, he suggests t ha t "the throne ha s
bec ome the main feature in both palace and harim." However, the
substitution of £2 by~. as no t ed frequen tly above, is al re ady in
ev idence in t he Twelfth Dynasty and as Lorton, JARCE 11, 98 ,
correctly points out, it is only ~odarn conjecture which has
identified certain parts of E•pire palacea aa "harems."
 - 101 -

I must confess I have at present no alternati ve to offer.

Since the substitution of the signs in question took place only
in the term ip.t-nsw, it is log ical to assume that the Egyptians
had in mind some connection between the institution and a throne.
What this connection may have been escapes me.
 - 102 -

CHAPTER SIX

The "Harem" of Nebhepe tre Mentuhotep

It has been customary to speak of the s everal women buried i n

and around the funerary temple of Nebhepet re Mentuho t ep as having
constituted his harem . Thus , Hayes, Scepter I, p . 158 :
In addition to Neb-Qepet-Rec ' s own bu r ial sha f t and
chamber , the te mple structure and the surrounding
courtyard contain more than thirty tombs for the
nume r ous wives , "fianc,es," and concubines of the
king . Chief among the women were Queen Tern , the
mother of Secankh- ku- Rec Mentu- Qo t pe, and Queen
Nef ru , Neb -~epet-rec ' s own full siste r.
Hayes adds a third " King ' s Wife Amunet " (~., p . 162) and Rief-
stahl and Nord allow for ei ght wives wi th this title: Tern , Neferu ,
Ashayt , Kawit , Mayt , Henhenet, Sadeh and Kemsit . 102 Three female
burials with no evidence of names or titles are said to be conc u-
bines (PM I 2 , pt . 2 , p. 656 , pi ts 3- 5) and it has bee n the general
pract ise to refer to all these women , indiv i dually or collectively ,
as queens and concubines of th e king. 103 Could all t his be taken
for gr anted, there would indeed be grounds for stating tha t a harem
of some kind or other was maintained i n the palace of Nebhepetre ,
inhabited by quee~s and numero us concubines . A closer look gives
a very different picture .
Both the textual and archaeologica l evidence is impo r tant here .
To begin wi th , it is now certain tha t Nebhe pe t re used three suc -
C"8ssive Horus-names dur ing his long reign. This was proposed by
Stock and Gar dine r with the final l ink in the argument supplied by
104 c .
Arnold . He began to rule as the Horus s nb-1b- t3 .wy . This was
c hanged t o Niry -~~. t , perhaps shortly af ter hi s 14th year when,
still with his original Horus- name, he qu~lled a rebellion at
This. 105 The third Horus-name, Sm3-t3 .wy , must have been intro-
duced at ~ point when the un ification of Egypt was c omple t e, or
ne arly so , though this crucial date remains unknown. The name
 - 103 -

Sm3-t3.wy, "Uni te r of the Two La nds ," appears at the earliest in

t he 39th year of Nebhepetre's re ign 106 but it is generally agreed
that t his final Horus -name was introduced some t i me before this .
These changes in the Horus - name can be connected wi t h the main
building phases of Nebhepetre' s temple .
The difficul t archaeological history of the temple can be
r econstructed from the excavations of Nevi lle, Winlock an d
Arnold . 107 After Arnold ' s final reports had appeared , howev er, he
examined Winl ock 's note boo ks and the still unpub lis hed materiel
from Winlock ' s excavations. This r esulted in a new assessment of
the history of the structure whi ch has some bearing on the present
discussion . 108 The temple underwent fou r majo r building phases
as follo ws :
Pha s e A. The on l y rema ins a r e those of a ro ugh field - stone
wall which may or may not be part of the origina l structure.
Phase B. The chapels and burial chambers of the "p rincesses "
were built into a tomb s t ruct ure of some kind, all traces of wh ic h
have disappea red. Since th e second Horus - name of Nebhepetre appears
in these six c hapels , Phase 8 dates to the period when that name wa s
i n use. That thes e chapels a nd th e ir accompanying bu r ia l apa r t -
ment s were const r ucted and the burials closed before construction
of the t e mple began is amply shown by t he architectural facts . 11 0
The Bab al- Hasan , a dromos-type ro yal burial , was also built around
this ti me though there is no known connection between this and the
chapels of the six "princess es." Since the Bab al-Hasan, unfinished
and covered over bef ore the main t emple was bui lt, was the pre deces -
sor of the ro yal bu r ial of Phase c, i t is evident tha t Nebhepet re
had ordered construction of his funerary temp le to be gin earl y in
his re ign. Nothing but the Bab al- Hasan rema ins of tha t proposed
structure which, indeed, may never have been started. Ar nol d
places Phase B immediately a ft er the re bellion of This in Nebhepet -
re 's 14th year. With some assurance, the king could now proce e d on
the assumption that the unif i ca tion he was working to ac hieve wo uld
be accomplished so that a monume nt of sufficient propor tio ns to mark
his reign could be conceived.
 - 104 -

Phase c. This marks a change in the temple plans since there

was a levelling off of the site, the Bab al- Hosan was covered over
and a new royal tomb constructed , a shield-shaped court with stone
walls was built foll~wing the natural contours of the bay of Deir
el - Bahari , and the retaining wall and central part of the temple
was constructed , incorpo~ating the chapels of the "princesses . "
Since the third Horus - name is the one used in the temple , 111 one
can logically associate the taking of this final Horus-name with
the beginning of Phase C and the comple~ed reunif ication of Egypt .
In terms of years , all t hat can be said is that Phas e C began ~ome
time after year 14 and before year 39, say , between years 20- 35 .
Phase D1 . The temple was enlarged by the addition of the
outer colonnades , a sanctua ry at the rear of the temple and stone
walls to create a rec tangu l ar court . The stone walls of the
shield- shaped court of Phase C were taken down .
Phase D2 . Brick wall s were added at various point s , especially
around the northern part of the Phase C court, once again following
the natural contours of the bay of Dei r el-Bahari .
We may now turn to the matter of the queens of Nebhepetre.
Neferu was certainly a queen for she bea r s the titles "Hereditary
1118
Noblewoman, King ' s Da ughte r , King ' s Chief Wife (~m . t nsw wr . t)"
and is thought on very dubious evidence to have been the king ' s full
112
sister . She was buried in Theban Tomb no . 319 , carved into the
low cliff which borders the Phase D2 brick walls built on the
foundation - trench of the stone wall of the old. shield- shaped court
of Phase C ( fig . 9) . One could argue that this queen's tomb wo uld
have been placed within the temple precinct had it existed when she
died as was done for Queen Tern (see below) . However, the precise
archaeological facts conce~ning the r elati on of this tomb to the
temple precinct are lacking and the best that can be said is t hat
the tomb was probably built before the brick walls of Phase 02 .
Since the tomb facade rests upon the empty found~tion trench of the
stone wall of the shie ld-s haped court of Phase C, it must ha ve been
constructed after that wall was taken down . Furthermore , there is
 - 105 -

,,,,
,, ,,,,
~'
''" ,,~
,,,,,, '
a

( ( •

Fig . 9 . Facade of Queen Neferu ' s tomb (a) built into low cliff ;
left jamb of facade r ests over foundation trench (b) of
Phase C stone wa ll, with brick wall and retaining wall (c)
of Phase 01 cutting off entrance to tomb . After Ar nold ,
Temple of Mentuhot ep , pl . 440

an unpublished relief fragment from ' this tomb with the hieroglyphs
sm3- t3( . wy) indicati ng that it was decorated after Nebhepetre had
11 3
adopted his final Horus - name . While no precision is possible ,
Queen Ne fer u seems to have died i n t he middle years of Nebhepetre ' s
rei gn .
A second queen was the " King ' s Wife , King ' s Mothe r Tam'' who is
genera ll y conside red to be the mother of Nebhepetre 1 s successo r
114
Seankhkara Mentuhotep . While she produced the heir to the throne ,
we have no idea when she became queen . On questionable grounds it
has been assumed that he r son wa s around 50 when he took the thron e
which would mea n that Tem beca me queen at the beginning of Nebhepet-
Re ' s 51- yea r r eign . 115 The sole proof that Seankhkare was "past
middle age" when he assumed the kingship is a rel ief fragment
(Neville, XIth Oyn . Temple I , pl . 12 B) showin g a "(Ki ng ' s) Son
Mentuhotep " armed as a warrio r. This supposedly represents the
 - 106 -

D D D D D
r-1 r-, r-.,
--- -
I I I I I I
D
b a

--- I I
t---t
I
~
I
-.J D

Fig . 10. Entrance to tomb of Queen Tem at the rea r of the

upper colonnaded hall , with paving stones For pilla r
bases restored; (a) d r amas , (b) shaft to tomb .
After Arnold , Temple I, Befundplan .

future Seankhkare fighting in his father's wars . Granted that this

is true, there is no way to give a date to this fragmentary scene .
116
Nebhepetre ' s battles did not cease for many years so that ,
assumi ng this to be the yo ung future king , he could easily have been
a you ng man in the latter part of his father ' s reign . The scene in
quest i on need not represent Nebhepetre ' s initial battles as must be
assumed if Seankhka re was 50 when he became king . That he ruled
only 1 2 years does not automatically mean he was of middle age on
taking the throne . Kings could , and did , die younq on occasion.
 - 107 -

We can be no more precise about when Tam was buried . Her tomb
(fig. 10) is at the rear of the upper colonnaded hall; the dramas
is in the f loo r of this ha ll and leads to a sloping burial shaft . 11 7
Arnold suggests that the original la yout of the rows of columns from
south to north (the width of the ha l l) was to have been nine inter-
columnar spaces , measured from the canter of each column , of 4 ells
with the central one widened to 5 ells . At an early stage of con-
struction , this plan was changed due to a sudden need to constr uct
Tam ' s burial . The outer two rows of columns were widened so that
the inter - columnar space became 4 . 5 ells , with a similar widening
on the other side of the hall for symmetry . The wider space was
needed because of the widt h (1 . 5 m) of the dramas of Tern ' s tomb
which runs between four pairs of columns . This width was necessary
"besonders wohl fUr die Einbringung die enormen Sa rkop hagplatte n
fUr die Bestattung; " the sarcophagus itself is 1.s m wide. . 11 7a
Th is sarcophagus wa s evidently unfinished since the texts were not
engraved , but wr i tte n in ink, and Da re ssy noted that the name of the
queen was written "e n surcharge" as if the sarcophagus had original-
ly been intended for someone else with the same titles : " King ' s
Wife , Mother of the King of Uppe r Egypt , Mother of the King of Lower
.
Egyp t , wh ose praise . grea t , wh ose c h a r m is
is . grea t • "11 ?b Th ese
factors lead Arnold to propose that Quee n Tern must have died suddenly
short l y after Phase C of the temple was begun .
But there is an alternative explanation . In the first place ,
it seems strange that a queen ' s tomb should be constructed at the
l ast min ute in such a way that a major alteration in the temple plan
and the initial stage of const ruction had t o be undertaken. It may
be that this alteration , if it took place , was more extensive than
Arnold allows . The supposed origina l width of the upper colonnaded
hall was 37 ells, not 38 as it now stands. The middle hall which
directly adjoi ns it has precisely the same width of 38 ells and
118
there is also an irre gula rit y in the inte r-c olumnar spaces .
Assuming that both were intended to have the same width , eithe r both
were widened by one ell at the sudden need for a tomb or the 38 ell
 - 108 -

width was planned from the beginning , ~ncluding the irregularities

in the inter - columnar spaces. Finally, there was no need for a
dromos 1. 5 m wide simply to accomoda t e the sarcophagus; this was
made in pieces and it would have been more practical to carry the
pieces down to the burial chambe r and assemble them there. The tomb ,
including the dromos , could thus have been part of the original plan
or could have been constructed at any time after Phas e C was begun .
The latter possibility see ms to me more likely and I would place the
death of Tam and her burial in t he lat ter years of Nebhepetre's
. 118a
reign .
The tomb of Amunet , also supposedly a queen , was found intact
in 1891 though its location was soon lost a nd Winlock ' s l ater s e arch
for it was in vain . 119 The only texts published from this tomb are
on her two r ectangular wood coffins and some of the notations
written on her mummy linens ; her only t itles ar e "Sole Lady-in-
Waiting , Priestess of Hathor " ( CG 28025 - 26). The no tations on the
linens (Sphinx 17 , 99 f . ) name a Princess Id eh, three " Ladi es-i n-
Waiting" (Manet, Tam, Tenenat) and "t he King of Upper and Lower Egypt ,
Son of Re Mentuhotep . 11 Since other notations on these l ine ns give
re gnal years as high as 42 , the letter name can re fer only to Neb-
hepetre . Amunet is said to have be e n portrayed i n the tem ple itself
though if this relief ever existed it has disappeared .120
Amunet must have died in or shortly after Neb hepetre's 42nd
year , the highest date w~ itten on her mummy linens . She was there-
fore a contemporary of Queen Tam and possi bly the latter ' s chief
pe rson al attendant. Since it is now quite clear that the title
h kr .t nsw wct .t means nsole Lady-in- Waiting" and that women wit h this
title were not concubin e s but precise ly what the translation states ,
Amunet was neither a queen nor a concubine. The other ladi es men-
tioned on her mummy linen s wi th the lower- grade title hkr.t nsw were
li kewise not concubines , but undo ubt edly se r ved under Amunet 's direc-
tion in the queen ' s entoura ge; for a discussion of t hese titles,
see pp . 12 , 27 .
 - 109 -

Fig . 11 . Chape l s of the six "queens'' along the western wall

of the main colonnaded hall . The first row of pilla r s
is included to show how they impede access to the
first and fifth chapels; note the niche in the main
wall to make easier access to the sixth chapel .

So far , then , we have two queens who were no t contemporaries

and one important court lady who served the later queen . But what
of the six "princesses " buried beside each othe r behind their smal l
chapels alon g the western wal l of the main hall? (fig . 11). 121 As
already noted , these chapels were built and the burials closed ear ly
in Nebhepetre ' s rei gn , af te r he adopted his second Ho ru s - name but
before construction of the temple platform of Phase c, that is ,
probably not long after year 14. Whateve r t heir origina l architec-
tural context may have been , the six chapels were incorporat ed as
they stood into the main ha ll of Phase c. The two sets of three
chapels are completely off canter , causing the entrance to the
colonnade d ha ll likewise to be off canter . While access to two of
the chapels is impeded by pillar s befo re their entrances , access t o
the northernmo st one was made possible by a large ni che in the north
 - 110 -

wall . This shows that the already exis ting chapels were intended to
become a functional part of the new temple .
From the fragmentary inscriptions that are left , only three of
these ladies def inite ly held the title "King's Wife ; '' Ashayt , Kawit
and Sadeh (l.!:!:l, pp . 24 ff . ) . In the chapel of Ashayt , she is shown
sitting with the king and he r figure is la belled " King ' s Wife whom he
loves, Sole Lady- in- Waiting , Prie stess of Hatho r, Revered before
Os iris the Great God , Ashayt" (Naville , Xlth Oyn . Tem ple II , pl . 18) .
An identical scene appears on the shrine of Sadeh , though it is more
fragmentary (ibid ., pl . 11; !.E£:.!., p . 34 . Only the beginning of the
text over the woman is preserved: " Kin g 's Wife whom (he) loves ••• • "
As sumi ng that this fragment has been properly placed and it comes
from t he shrine of Sadeh , s he was also a "King ' s Wife .'' Finally , in
the chapel of Kawit , sh~ may be referre d to as a " King ' s Wife " though
t he text must be restored ; on a fragment from the temple , however ,
this title is clear (TPPI , pp . 30 , 43) .
For the other three , the evidence is ambiguous . On the te mple
fragment just no t ed , there also appears a label re stored as " King ' s
(Wife) whom he (loves) Kemsi t , " wh ich seems lo gical but is not cer -
tain . In her own texts (TPPI , pp . 32 ff . ) this title does not
appear . I n the extant texts of Henhenet she is nowhere referred to
as a "King ' s Wife , 11 122 and Mayt, a child of five , has no titles at
all . 12J
One point concernin g the titularies of the five ladies con -
cerned has troubled severa l writers: the titles "Sole Lady - in-
Waiting , Priestess of Hathor" take precedence over the title "Ki ng 's
Wife ." In the texts that are prese r ved , the former a re far more
common than the latter . We can go even a step farther : the tit le
" King ' s Wife" appears on the front of tha chapels appa r ently only a
single time and never appears in the burial chambers or on the
coffi ns or sarcophagi. In the burial of Ashayt , for example , the
non - royal ti t les appear six times and are also included in the fu ll
titulary on her c hapel. The r e a r e multiple occurrences of the non-
royal tit les in other of these bu r ials as well.
This is a st r ange set of affai r s indeed . These women were
 - 1 11

buried as non- royal ladies , yet are identified as queens in their

chapels . f or the sake of argument , I will concede the probability
that wer e these chapels comp l ete , all five ladies would have been
called a "King ' s Wife . " There is no need for such an assumption
with the burials . There is sufficient wri t ten material in Ashayt ' s
burial to ass ure that somewhere the royal title would have been
mentioned had she actually held it; certainly the sarcophagus of a
genuine queen would have the ro ya l title insc r ibed on it . Yet there
is no trace of royalty in any of these burials nor on any of the
stone sarcophagi that remain.
The title "Ki ng ' s Wife'' thus seems to be singu la rly unimpo r tant
in this context. Without the evidence of the c hapels , this group of
women wou l d immediately be identified a s court ladies in the service
of the queen , pro bab ly Neferu who followed them in death some yea r s
later . There is another disturbing fact . All six mummies , that of
Sadeh in fragments , have been found so that statements that none of
these women wa s much over 20 when she died are presumably based on
fact . 124 How they died is unknown a s is whether they died befo r e or
after their tombs were prepared .
One explanation occu r s to me which seems to fi t the known
circumstances of these burials , though I must admit it is not en-
tirely convincing and seve ral questions remain . The titles " Sole
Lady- in-Waiting , Priestess of Hathor" were commonly held by important
women during the first Intermedia t e Perio d (e . g., Dunham §i. passim)
and such women were wives of important officials during the Middle
Kingdom (above , pp . 26- 7) . As " Sole Ladies - in - Waiting they served
in key posi tio ns in the royal co urt (~ 4 , 67) ; their functions as
" Priestesses of Hathor" are obvious . It is now known that Hatho r
was worshipped in the Theban area at least from the Eleventh Dynasty ,
pe r haps because this was a new capitol of a united kingdom and
125
Hathor played a special role as protectress of the king . It
would be the high- bo r n women of the court , wives of important
official s , who served both the queen in her persona l e~tourage and
the king through the cult of Hathor . Such must have been the five
 - 112 -

126
young women buried behind the chapels ; the c hild Mayt may be
e xplained in many ways, perhaps as a young accolyte bein g t r aine d
as a futu r e priestess. Ther e is reall y nothing in any of the
burials which s ugges ts they were queens or concubines ; indee d,
their titles stand against this .
How , then, do we interpret two c r uc i al facts: ( 1 ) t ha t they
were all or igi nall y buried in a funerary monument , t heir cha pels
then be i ng incorpo rate d into the temple as a s i gn of royal favou r,
and (2) that on the fronts of their chapels , but not on the s i des
and never in their bu ri a l s , they a re on ce referred to as "King ' s
Wi fe . 11
I wo uld r econstruct events as f ollows . The women in question
were bu r ied in the or de r: t hose of the six chap e ls , Queen Nefe r u,
Queen Tern. Now t hat it .seems fairly certain t hat the six chapels
once belonged to a tomb monument whi ch existed before the temple
was begun and which has now disappeared without a t ra c e , it is no
longer necessary to assum~ t hat all si x burials wer e made at the
same time . This earlier monument I assume to have been re s erved fo r
important women who se rve d at t he ro yal court or in a local temple
127
of Hathor f or which the r e is some evide nc e . An even more pre-
cise interpretation will be offered be l ow . A c l os e analogy is the
similar structure , likewise lost , proposed as a tomb monument
for women at Lisht nea r the py ra mid of Sesostr is I (pp . 31 - 2) ; the
women r e present ed here may also have s erved at court or in a temple .
As emphasized above , t he five young women were buried as
Pri e stesse s of Hatho r, not as queens. But it wo uld be fro m t he
ranks of suc h women - - with both court and temp l e offices and be-
lon gi ng to the hi ghes t stratum of society (see p. 28) - - that
futu r e queens wo ul d be chosen . Women with thi s combin ation of
titles belonged to the aristocracy and it is well within reaso n t ha t
Nebhepetre would consider expedient to hi s ambitions an alliance
with a prominent f ami l y . I su ggest t hat t he five " Sole Ladies - in-
Wa i ting , Pr iestess of Hathor " were a t one time considered as candi -
dates for ro yal ma r riage but were not chosen . Elevated to cand i dacy ,
they would ha ve a special position i n Ne bhe petre ' s cour t whi c h
 - 113 -

would have to receive some tangible recognition in a society where

titles were so proudly displayed. This could only be the right to
use the title "King's Wife" in a prominent place in their tomb com-
plexes . This title therefore re flects not a reality but a possibil-
ity that never cam e to pass: they proclaim their status as potential
queens, not real ones. This would explain why they were buried as
Priestesses of Hathor, why the royal title is displayed so visibly
but only once, why their actual titles are the most prominant, and
why they were important e nough to have their chapels incorporated
into the king's funerary temple even though doing so threw the whole
plan off kilter . This would also supply the missing connection with
the contemporary Bab al- Hasan : when Nebhepetre planned his own
initial burial place, he also built the tomb monument for the six
court ladies who had been honoured by being selected as potential
queens. If this theory is reasonable, then the mystery of how and
when these women died which has vexed schola rs for decades is
irrelevant .
It is of no small interest that Queen Neferu herself evidently
came from the ranks of the women just described . Three community
tombs, or catacombs , wer e discovered by Winlock near the northeast
corner of the temple court . In one of these (no. 101) was found a
scrap of mummy linen on wh i ch was written "the So le Lady- in-Waiting ,
Priestess of Hathor Neferu .« 128 Winlock felt that this scrap origi-
nally belonged to Queen Neferu who had given some of her personal
linen to one of her servants . With the analogy of the women of the
chapels in mind , it is probable that this scrap of linen names Neferu
l as she was before she became queen. Having achieved that position,
she gave away her personal linens as no longer being appropriately
identified . It could well be that Neferu was a contemporary of the
women in the chaoels, one of six candidates for marriage to the king,
and was the lucky one to receive the king's nod .
We thus have an even more plaus ible explanation for the six
chapels. Counting Nefe ru, t he re were six candidates for the royal
marriage who were honoured by having a special fu nerary monument of
their own . Once Neferu became queen, she no longer belonged to th i s
 - 114 -

special group of cou r t ladies and built her own tomb just outside
the wall of the no r th court . The tomb she no l onger needed was the n
used for t he child Mayt whose orig i ns and place in the court remain
as mysterious as eve r. Was she placed here because she was Neferu ' s
daughter?
If the r econstruction of even ts as given in this chapte r is
actua l ly what happened , or close to it , then the " harem" of King
Nebhepetre did not exist . We know of only two queens , Neferu and
Tern , and there is no thing t o ind icate they were contemporaries . 128 a
The five '' queens " of the chapels were only potential l y so and women
like Amunet and those mentioned on her mummy linens were membe r s of
the queen ' s entourage . The o the r nameless women buried about the
temple complex cannot be called concubines simply because they were
female . For example , the two tattooed Nubian dancing- girls were just
that , not concubines as often s tated . 129
Other factors should be considered . Pit no . 2 at the western
end. of the northern court was that of a man so that the burials in
the temple complex we r e not exclusively female. °
13
Furthermore , i t
is likely that some of these burials may be later than the temple .
Pits 3 to 5 , between the columns outside the north wall of the mai n
131
hall , were cut after that part of the temple had been built . Pit
no . a, at t he eastern end of the middle co lonnaded hall , was dug
132
after this phase of the temp le was completed . This would indi -
cate that there was a continuing use of the temple precinct as a
burial ground for important people , perhaps even after the king him-
self had died , though both pits 6 and 8 were never finished .
 - 115 -

CHAPTER SEVEN

Notes on the Masculine Titles Me ntio ned

Pr imarily in Chapte r Two

The social status of the married women discuss e d i n Ch a p . 2

was lar gely determined by t he offices held by their husbands . The
followin g notes on the masculine titles conce rned are i ntended to
give what information is necessary to justify the conclusions
r eached there . A few other masculine tit les mention ed elsewhere
in this volume are also included .
Where a ti tle occurs only once or t wice , the references are
gi ven . Otherwise , the app r opriate numbers are gi ven to my I nde x MK.
Since the masculine titles are mentioned in translation in Chap . 2,
they are listed here alphabetically in Eng lish .

Attendant of the Ruler's Tabl e ( 3tw n t . t nt t;.1$3) fo ~ ,_.,.... fc:i T

Index MK no . 13 . On the r eadi ng ~ instead of wcrtw, see
I ndex MK no . 1 . The translation of this title and the fu nctions
it carried are difficult to asce rt ain . Wild , BI FA O 69 , 117 ff .,
translate s ''intendant de la table du so uvera i n;" Enge lbach ,
~ 22 , 119 , "Royal Commissariat Order ly;" Ga rdiner, .2f.a 24 ,
88 , n . 5 , end , a lso ass ume s th at the royal tabl e is meant . As
the title is so common -- it appears 50 times in Middl e Kingdom
texts -- I doubt that this is true and feel that the "r uler"
could have been the king in some cases , but a No ma r ch or othe r
high official in others . It is of inte rest that while many of
these officials owned their own funerary stelae , they not in-
frequ ently appear as subs i diary figures . Their fathers and
sons ge ne ra lly belonq to the lower levels of t he official class
holdin g titles such as " Pr iest , " " God 's- servant ," " Lector-
priest ," " Atte nda nt (imy- bt) , 11 " Overseer of Sa ndal - ma kers,"
etc . Thi s is a stro ng indication that the " Attendant of t he
Ruler ' s Table " was also of the lower administra tive echelon.
 - 116 -

Whe re their wives are given titles , they are only "Lady of the
House " or "Lady- in - waiting . " All this , I th i nk , points to
their mo r e often than not serving local r ule r s rather th an
kings .

Carpenter of Nekhen (mdh Nhn)

-· v
"°"
~
Gaye t , pl. 34 . This example is unique in the Midd le Kingdom ,
though the title goes back to the Thi r d Dynasty ; KBI~F , p . 43 .
It was still in use in the First Int erme diate Period (F isc her ,
Dendera , pp . 123 f f . ) but then died out . Its precise signi f i -
cance is still debated though its use on only one document of
the Middle Kingdom shows it must have lost all meaning by that
time. On Nekhen , see be l ow , " Senio r Warden of Nek hen . "

Chief Administrator of a Town (wcrtw C3 n niw . t) f ~ =

Index MK no . 695. A fairly common title in Midd l e Kingdom
$

times, there is some reason to believe this was a military or

po li ce off.icial : Ve rwalt ung , p . 24 3; CdE No . 109- 10 , 21 .
Presumably such officials wer e respo nsible for law and orde r
in a town and t hei r r elative importance would depend much on
the size of the town they policed . Thei r funerary stel~e a re
ge ner ally unimposing a nd some times quite crudely carved .

Chief Di re ctor of Craftsmen (wr h r p t:im . wt)~ ~ 1.

I ndex MK no . 729 . This is the usual tit le of the Hi gh Priest
of Ptah a t Memphis who was gene r ally of lower s tatus before the
Empire ; Lex . 1lg . II , 1257 .

Chi ef of Poliee in the Temple of Anubis (imy - r snt n t:iw . t - ntr nt

' In pw) '--' ~
..--1Q 7 ~
CG 2037.3 , 20778 . Literal l y , " Ove rseer of Disputes • • • ," this
tit l e clearly indicates a law officer responsible for kee ping
or der : Verwaltung , p . 73 ; P. Reisne r II , p . 41 ; Coptite
~ ' pp . 108 f . While imy- r snt is a r ather common title
( Index MK no . 390), it is only rarely made more sp ecif ic by
the a ddition of the place where thi s official served ; in t he
 - 117 -

only other c ~ ses known to me , this place is a temple {Index

MK no . 391 .

Chief Priest of Ho r us (web C3 n Hr) f.j ~ -- i

CG 20780 ; BIFAO 37 , 108 . Apparently the head of the cadre of
ordinary priests {web) in a temple , though the duties and pre-
cise position i n the p r iestly hierarchy cannot be dete r mined.
According t o ~ I , p . 54*, the web C3 (found more f req uently
than AEO allows : Index MK nos . 645 - 62 ) was t he head of the
priesthood in question . In the p re sent cas e, th e f ul l title
is 11 Chief Priest of Ho r us the Behdeti te , 11 hence of t he Horus -
temple at Edfu wh ich was a rather i mport a n t positi on in the
Middle Kingdom.

Count ( h3 . ty- c) ~
Index MK nos . 854 - 56 , 864 - 89 . Ve ry commo n in the Middle King-
doms , this t it le sometimes c onfo rms to our '' Mayor," e s pec ially
when followed by the tit l e '' Overse er of God ' s - s ervants."
Verwaltung , pp . 210 ff ., sees a diffe r ence in usa ge before the
Twelfth Dynasty when the title had more a military cha r ac ter.
By the end of the Twelfth Dynasty , a " Coun t" of a given town,
but 1Jho was not also an " Overseer of God ' s - serva nts , 11 was a
simple official , not a mayo r . The title " Count " is very
freq uently preceded by the title " He r ed i tary Noble ." Since
" Count " was the title of s everal hundred individuals , it was
most o f ten used as a title· of r a nk .

Dignita r y (s3b) ~
In d ex MK no . 1263 . The sense of this title ha s never be en
satisfacto ri ly dete r mined: P. Re i sne r II , p . 42; Provinzial-
ve r waltung , p . 72 , n. 2 . One gets the imp ression that by
Middle Kingdom times , it was mo r e a designatio n for officials
in ge neral , usually of low grade . For f urther rema rk s , see
Index MK no . 1263 .
 - 118 -

Enterer (cls) ~ i
See under c~y.t, Chap. 1.

first King's Son (s3 ns w tp y )

CG 20732. Th i s i s t he on l y occu r rence of this title and there
is no re a son t o tak e i t s er iously . The ste l a on whicr it ap-
pears is rather crud e; the t e xt is full of spelli n g e r ror s ,
signs wh i c h fa c e the wrong di r ection and signs that a r e incom-
prehensible. The pare nt a ge of t his pe r son is not given but he
can hardly have been a rea l p r i nce . This is p r obably yet ano -
ther c a se of a c ommon er who was awarded a royal title ; see
Chap. JA . According to t he deta i ls of the fune r ary form ul a
(~ 2 7, 77 ff. ) , t h i s s tel a is probably of the later Middle
IUngdo111.

rrea•an (n•hw) ~~~ ~~

See under nm~y.t, Ch a p . 1.

General (i•r-r m!c} ~ ~~

Index ~K nos. 205-0 6 , 209-1 5 . This ti tl e was held by the
highest active f i el d commande r s of the Egyptian army , espec -
ially in the fro n t i e r r eg i ons and at Egyptian f o r t re sses i n
Nubia. The title was used by l e ade r s of work me n on mining and
quarrying expedi t i ons where " fo r eman " is a mo r e appropriat e
translatio n; .2fi 39, 37 f. Ov er 80 i ndi v idu a ls hel d this
title in Mid dle Kin gdom t imes , though only whe r e the con t ex t
or their a c tiv i t ies i s k no wn can we de cide be tween " Gen e ra l"
and "forema n ." The wo r d msc was broadly use d t o indic a te a
large organ i zed grou p: "Army , e xpedi ti on , work - ga n g ," and
the like.

Generalissi•o (imy-r msc wr) ~ ~t ~

Index MK nos. 207-08. Li tera lly " Chi ef Ov e r se e r of t he Ar my;"
the precise fun c tion o f t his of fice r d ur i n g the Midd l e Kin gd om
is not c l ear. Faulkner, ~ 39 , 37, s uggests su c h offi c ial s
May have been Mi nister o f War rat her than f i el d commanders .
 - 119 -

The fact that only seven individuals are known who held this
title in Middle Kingdom times may sup port this . However, the
instance involved here, a "Generalissimo of the Oryx-Name,"
see11s to have had local duties in a specific area.

God 's-ser va nt (t:im-n!,r) \i

Index MK nos. 897-937. Often translated by the mi sleading
term "Prophet," this title repre$ents the next stage above the
ordinary web-priest in Emp i re times; ~ I , pp. 30* f., 48*. f.
This probably also holds true fo r the Middle Kingdom. It is a
very common title and, more often than not, it is specified ae
to which deity an individual "God's-servant" vas attached .

God ' a-servant of Hathor ('t.111-ntr tfw. t-ljr) 49. 00

See under t:im.t-nir ~w.t-~r, Chap . 1.

Hall-keeper (iry-c, t) 1lJ -;:

t:-:l
See under iry.t - c.t, Chap. 1.

<:::>
Hereditary Noble ( r-pc.t) ..JL,
Index ~K nos. 850-56. This t i tle has the general sense •heir,•
though in its earliest usage and in Ramesside times it referred
specifically to the Crown Prince as heir to the throne; cf. !!,!!
I, pp. 14* ff. In Middle Kingdom times, it is no t found too
often alone, but is commonly the first in the sequence " Heredi-
tary Noble, Count, Sealer of the Ki ng of Lower Egypt, Sole
Fri end" which a ppears i nnumerable times in this period. I n the
Middle Kingdom, this title seems to be largely one of rank,
indicating a person of high position.

King's Acquaintance (rh nsw) ~~ ~~

This epithet, rather commo n in the Midd l e Kingdom, goe s back to
Protodynastic times , proba bl y origina l ly iry-Qt nsw. The lat-
ter is now generall y taken to mean "k~nigliche Arbeiter:" .!![
I , pp . 370 ff .; 8eamtentiteln , pp . 26 ff.; Junker,£!..!!. VI,
pp. 24 f. This o ri gi nal meaning had c ha nged already in the
 - 120 -

riret Intermediate Period and the old title now came to be

read rb nsw; cf . Hatnub Gr. 16; etc. I believe this "title"
was purely honorific by Middle Kingdom times, hence it is not
included in Index MK. While Halek , Verwalt ung, p p . 279 ff. ,
be lie v811 it waa still an active office at that time , the text
ha quotes in support is highly doubtful; cf. Index MK, Intro-
duction, note 3.

1~ "')._ I
King's Son (s3 nsw) *~- ~
Sae Chap. JA.

Lector-pr iest (hry-Qb.t) ~cnj

Index MK nos. 1202-24; literally "he who carries the ritual -
book." This official , usua l ly but not always a priest, was
responsible for knowing and reciting the appropriate incan-
tations , ritual s and magica l spe lls for religious ceremonies
of all kinds: ~I , pp. 55* ff .; f.Ef. No. 51 , 38 ff.

Ma gnate of the Southern Tens (wr mdw §mew)~ ~g

Index MK no . 721 . This t itle was some t imes earlier read wr
mcb3yw Amcw, "Magnate of the Sout hern Thirty:" Sphinx 18,
69 ff.; ill• p. SO . The " Souther n Tens " served as a legal
body to the Vizier and undoubtedly to other officials as well.
Since over 75 ind i viduals are known who held this title in the
Middle Kingdom , such courts mus t have e xisted l ocally all over
Egypt . The general sense of the title must be "member of a
law-court."

Majordomo (hry -pr) .,b c;:1

Index MK no. 977. A do mestic servant serving in the living
quarters of his master . A full discussion is in .Q.QI, pp. 129
ff. See also under Qry.t-pr, Chap. 1. Perhaps "H ouseho ld
Servant" is a better transl atio n.

Manager of an Esta te (hk3 hw.t) 1.a Q~

Index MK nos. 1114-1 7 . The word ~w . t a l ready had several
 - 121 -

meanings in the Old Kingdom; .£2f. No. 93, 29 ff. Verwaltung,

no. 238, etc., translates "Ortsvorsteher" and seems to connect
this title with the administration of royal domains; see also
RevE9 9, 14, n. 5. There were many holders of this title in
the Middle Kingdom and it is often impossible to define it
exactly, lacking a co ntext for most examples.

~ember of a Council (s n ~nb.t) ~-\ff,

See under s.t nt knb . t, Chap . 1.

Musician (Qnw) ~"'CJ~~

See under pny . t , Chap . 1 .

Necropolis Guard (s3w smy.t) -:~ tJ1

CG 20481. The reading of the single example of this title
could also be i ry smy.t. Since smy .t has two meanings we have
a choice of four translations: "Guard/Warden of the desert/
necropolis." I have chosen what I belie ve to be the most
probable, though the other three a re also possible .

Nomarch (~ry-tp C3) "2'~ Qc::.

Index MK nos. 1050-65. The highest provincial official ,

governor of a Nome. In the Middle Kingdom, this title is
always accompanied by the name of the Nome concerned with one
exception in Karma II, fig . 344, no. 47 . It was less used in
the Middle Kingdom than previously; Ve r wal tung , p. 210 .

Overseer of an Administrative District (imy-r gs-pr) '--i ~

Index MK n o . 411. 1:!£. V, 198, 2 ff., is silent on the meaning
o f gs-pr even though it is a very common term. This is not
surprising as the te rm appears mostly in titles . Suggestions
as to its meaning are var ied: "administrative district ;
temple" (f.Q!!I, p . 291); " Wirtschaftsbetr iebe" (Verwaltung,
p. 107); " estate" (~ 22, 114); "royal domain" (~ 38,
269); 11 Verwaltung" (MDAIK 28, 188); "administration" (~
56 , 213). There is thus no concensus as to the meaning . In
 - 122 -

general, "administrative dis t rict" seems the better rendering

of th is term in Mi ddle Kingdom times . See further, Index MK ,
Part Two, sub gs-pr.

Overseer of the Do uble Granary (imy-r !nw.ty) ~c:::> J]),

Index MK nos. 385- 8 9. Middle Kingdom ex ampl es are almos t al-
ways written in the dual and the titl e often bel onged to very
high offic ials. Thi s might indicate tha t s u ch men were re s pon-
sible fo r granaries in both Up per and lower Egypt or a central
government granary in which grain from both pa rt s of Egyp t
was stored. Su ch officials were also attached to l oca l tem-
ples whic h i s logical since so me temples ow ned land through-
out Egypt a nd received g r ain from both north and so uth.

Ove rseer of the Eastern De s erts (imy-r smy .w t i3bt y.wt) '-\ ~ \ 1'J~
Index MK no. 340. This title is unique to the rulers of Beni
Hasen during the Middle Kingd om tho u gh other officials held the
titles " Overs eer of Deserts," "Overseer o f the West ern De s ert s "
and "Overseer of Al l Deserts." The title indicates control
over the desert areas bordering the Nile Va l ley which were
considered to be foreign territory and not part of Egypt i t sel f.

Overseer of fields (imy-r 31;1 .w t) ~<:>J...l~

Index MK nos . 29- 32 . Thi s off i cial was in charge o f register-
ing state lands for taxatio n purpo s e s and pr obab l y also f o r
the work-forces on such land: Verwa lt ung , p. 113; ~. p. 76 .

Overseer of forei g n Me rce na r ies (imy-r cww) ~<:::>~ t

Inde x MK no . 59. There is still some question as to the mean-
ing of the word .'.:.!! which has been studied many t i mes, most re c-
ently by Goedicke , ~ 46 , 60 ff ., and 52 , 1 72 ff ., and by
Fischer, Coptite Nome, pp. 29 ff . Goedicke strongly argues in
favour of t he mean ing "foreign mercena ries " which is adopted
here. Fi scher pre fers to see in t he cww e gyptiani zed fo rei gn-
ers wh o s erved as interpreters, spies, scouts , etc . This is
~erely a more precise definition of " foreign mercena ri es ."
 - 123 -

These officials are usually associated with mining expeditions

or frontier posts and a number of ind i viduals with the title
5:!, appear at Sinai and on funerary stela e; Index MK no. 591.

Overseer of God 's-servants (imy- r Qmw- n!r) ~ 4~\

Index MK nos . 259- 80 . Very frequent in the Middle Kingdom ,
this title often adds "of (the deity) X," indicating the tem-
ple in which an individual served . This title was part of the
titulary of Mayors indicating that they were likewise in charge
of the priesthood of the chief temple in their capital . Not
all holders of thi s title, however, were Mayors . It very
rarely appears alone and is usually part of the titulery of
high officials .

Overseer of Horned Animals (imy-r cbw) L-<, ),

Index MK no. 62. A rare title wh ich presuma bly means res-
ponsibility over the cattle belonging to a temple or other
institution. The one example noted in the pre sent study is
questionable; see p. 27.

Overseer of Sandal - makers ( imy- r t bww) '-'\ ~l Q.

Index MK no . 417 , where only three occurrences of this title
are listed . In each case , t h is officia l was in cha rge of the
sandal- shop of a lar ge private estate such as that shown in
fil! I , pl. 11.

C> r4 ~
Overseer of a Storehouse (imy-r s .t ) t\.
~ .u~ ~
See under imy.t-r s . t , Chap . 1.

Overseer of t he Storehouse of the Great Sto r ehouse (imy-r s.t n

,, c c ) c._, rf 0 .... .. ~ ~ .JI
sn w I 3 ' .11 c:i ~ .Jbll c-:l I ._.J, iu
if: I, no. JEA 25 , pl. 20, 2; both stelae belong to the
3;
same individual (cf . ANOC no . 63) . Both the~ and the ~new
are storehous e s of varying size. In t his case , the actual
title is imy- r s .t, ver y common in the Middle Kingdom, with
the addition of n sncw C3 to show where this incividual
worked. On s.t , see CdE No . 114 , 199 ff.
- -
 - 124 -

C\. c::> .q n ::_

Overseer of a Temple (imy - r ow.t- nir) ~ \ Lsi ~ -
I ndex MK nos . 250- 54 . This is a common title , sometimes with
the addition " of (the deity) X." Holders of this title were
also frequently a " Count " or held other priestly titles. They
seem to have been in charge of the o rganiz at ion of a temple ;
ZJtS 37, 99 .

Page ( b_rd n k3p)Ji --. ~

See under hrd . t nt k3p , Chap . 1.

1
Participant of the Ruler ' s Tab l e (cnb n i • t 01$3) ~-"""""" ~~
Index MK no . 611 . RILN , p. 97 , suggests the meaning should be
"Membe r of a Ruler's Household ." This is st r ongly supp o rted
by B.!.b!i no . 72 where the "Herdsman of Hounds Nakht" is intro-
duced as a "Member of the Ruler's Household'' of one Montu- Min .
The subsidiary positio n of men with th is title and the inferior
quality of th e stelae they possessed (e . g ., !:!I IV , 44 = BM 234)
shows they we r e of lower stat us .

Priest ( web)J1 E ~
See followin g entry .

Pr iest of Horus of Ed fu (web n Hr Bod .t ) d ~ ..-...1'.

g
f ifAO 10/ 2 , p . 33 . While web is a term for priests in general ,
it is basically a word indicating the ordinary or lowest grade
of priest ; AEO I , pp. 53* ff . The present title thus indicates
a membe r of the lowest order of priests in the Horus - temple at
Edfu for wh ich many priests of all grades are known even though
the Middle Kingdom temple itself is no longer preserved .

Retaine r (~) a~
I ndex MK nos . 1517- 30 . Literally " one who follows , " this very
common title ind icates someone in the service of another
official or sometimes of a place , though these are not too often
specified . Many of these " Retainers" served in a military or
 - 125 -

body-guard capacity; ~ 39 , 38 f . They were organized into

groups as shown by their numerous officers (imy-r, ~ry, s og,
etc . ) . for a general discussion , see Q.Qf., pp . 206 rf.

Ruler of New Towns (l:il$3 niw.wt m3.wt) \4!\1. ,~, !,$~

fil::! I , pl . 25, 68 ;
found only in this un ique instance in the
Middle Kingdom with a single example also froM the Old Kingdom
(.!!!Ji. I , 131, 4). This is probably only a variant of the
title imy-r niw.wt m3.wt , "Overse er of Ne w Towns ;• Murray,
Index , pl . 22 . On the term "new town" which i ndicates o ne
newly founded or one that has changed its status, see ~ 32,
10 (13), and Kon . Dok ., pp . 143 f .

Sc r ibe of the Cadaster (s! n tm3) Q'.d'1~ ~ 5

"lS'-
lndex MK no. 1450 . There are eleven men with th is title from
Middle Kingdom times . Fort unately , there is one text which
allows us to describe their function: P. Harageh 3 • ~ 27,
74 ff. This is a daily work record of a tax-ass e ssor and his
team who are surveying land for the purpose of assessing taxes.
This document contains "the list of the Scribes of the land
who arrived for the registration (of land) ," the first of whom
is the "Scribe of the Cadaster, Keeper of Regu l ations Paentyny ,n
who is apparently the one in charge. Smither renders the tit le
in question as " Sc r ibe of the !.!!!!!.•" though it has generally
been translated " Scribe of the Mat :" ~ I , p. 91*; fb..!!!i, p.
39; JEA SO , 18 ; etc . Previo usly , however , .!!a.§., p. 49 , re cog-
nized that this title had to do with a g r iculture and was not
related to the word for " mat ." !!!E.• II , 185 , 10, wrongly reads
s~ n m£, with one Middle Kingdom example under s~ n tm3 left

untranslated; Wb . V, 307 , 13. Verwaltung , p. 139 , has cor-

r ectly seen that the proper sense of the title has to do with
the cadaster . This is given some support by the ca reer of
Simontu (.!:!l II , 2 1) who was a " Scribe of the Cadaster• as well
as a " Reckoner and Overseer of Grain i n North and South. "
 - 126

Scribe of the Great Prison (s§ n hnrt wr) ~ ':7.

Q-61--.-...
Index MK no. 14 12. A rather common title , the function of
which is self- evident . On the Great Prison, see ~' pp.
39 ff.

Scribe of a Temple (ss n J:iw . t ntr) ~ ,_,_ ~ u;;

Index MK nos. 1398-1 402 . While only a score of these scribes
are known from the Middle Kingdom , t hey must have been much
more common than this as each temple uould have to keep records
and accounts; .8fQ I , p . 58*. In a few cases , the title in-
cludes the name of a god or place , thus specifying uhere an
individual sc ribe uorked .

Sealer (sgJw . ty) ~ \

Index MK no . 1468. Scores of " Sealers " are known from Middle
Kingdom times , many of whose titles shou them to be attached
to private households, other officials or to institutions. If
the title is simply '' Sealer" and no such specification is given ,
it is not possible to state uhat position a Sealer held . Pre-
sumably, a Sealer uas responsible for the disbursement of pro-
perty for the official or institution to uhic h he was attached
and for " signin g" the appr o priate documents with an official
seal . I have translated "Sealer" rather than the usual
"Treasurer " since the latter implies an authority the s&3w . ty
may not always have held . A general discussion of the func -
tions of this official is in QQI, pp . 165 ff.

Sea ler of the King of Lower Egypt (s.2,3w . ty bi . ty) ~0 lf\J

Index MK nos. 14 72- 76a . Held by ove r 75 individuals of the
Middle Kingdom , t his may r e prese nt an active office as sug-
gested i n~ 61, 250 . However , since it does enter into the
standard titulary of Nomarchs and other hi gh officials , it may
have been a rankin g title as well. Other discussio ns are in
££f. No . 16 , 237 ff ., and 8IfAO 5 1, 137 .
 1l. '( -

Senior Warden of Nekhen (s3b iry Nhn) ~ ~®

Index MK no. 1265 . During the Old Kingdom , bearers of this
title were among the higher ranks of the central administra-
tion, serving as assistants to the Vizier; cf. Verwaltung,
p. 57, and especially RevEg 27, 66 ff. This situation was
radically a l tered in Middle Kingdom times. In almost every
instance the bearer of this title has no other title and is
more often than not a subsidiary figure on funerary stelae.
Where their fathers are mentioned, they belong to the lower
ranks of officialdom. Some type of administrative duties may
be indicated in a few cases where "Senior Wardens of Nekhen"
were active outside Egypt: !!!B.• no . 52; ~ 31 , pl. 6, 11;
LO II, 139e-f. Nekhen is the ancient town of Hierakonpolis
with which this title was associated in early times; Provin-
zialverwaltung, pp . 37 ff . The initial word i n the title has
formerly been rendered " Judge," but~ seems rather a desig-
nation of grade (cf. Index MK no. 1263) and I ha ve adopted
here the "Senior" of COME, p . 209.

Sole Friend (smr wc . ty) ~lf ~

Index MK no. 1299. For discussion, see _fil;Q I , p. 20* , and
~No . 7 1, 23 ff . Already in the Fi rst Intermediate Period
this title , then often used alone, had come to designate a
relatively low rank; Fisc her , Oendera, p. 72, and Coptite
~. p. 13 . In t he Middle Kingdom it was rarely used alone,
but is found in conjunction with other titlas of varying
degrees of importance and in the standard title sequences of
the highest officials; see above , for example , under "Hered-
itary Noble . " In general , t his titl e seems to have had more
importance after t he period of the Eleventh Dynasty , being
the lowest ranking title of the upper hierarchy .

Son of a Count ( s3 Q3 . ty- C) "").I

~ ~ .~
Index MK nos . 1248- 49 . Like its feminine cnunterpart, this is
a title of rank , not of office. Its use is restricted in Mid-
dle Kingdom times to the Asyut area {Rife h , Meir and Beni
 - 12 8 -

Hasan) , a g roup of seal impressions from Lahun , all of the

same person , and one scarab o f unkn ow n provenance . We can
prob ably unders tand t he t itle li ter ally in all c ase s . On the
use of such titles which stress fi liat ion , se e ~ 76, 102 ff .

Steward {imy- r pr) ~ C(l

Index MK no . 132. Th i s is one of the most common tit l es in
Middle Kingdom times , very frequently with additional elemen ts
specifying a particular place or functio n, a no t her official or
a deity (Index MK nos . 1 34 - 90) . The simpl e imy- r pr is often
an abbreviation for one of these longe r titl es . As f a r as hi s
importance is concerned , the '' St ewar d " could run a pr i va te
household o r a larg e institu tion such a s a temple . Ther e ware
ev e n " Stewards of the Palace :" CG 20030 ; P. Reisner I I , pp .
41 , 59 . Verwaltung , pp . 91 ff ., places t he imy - r pr in cha r ge
of royal property. This may be true in some cases , but the
applic a tion of the title is much br oade r than this. Other than
the various kinds of " Ste wards" just noted , t hey cou ld also
s erve a tomb- chapel , a food - pa ntry in a p r i vate house , and even
a city . In many cas es it is probably be st to tr ansla te this
title as "Administrator ."

Stewar d of Reckoning Bar lay ( imy- r p r hsb it) ~ !;0 fCD

Index MK no . 161 . During the Middl e Kingdom there ware several
of ficia ls re sponsible for the ''reckoning " of various t ypes of
grain , cattle , sh ips , l and , p r isone rs , people a nd the t reasury .
The se officials were e vi dently responsible for keeping account
of t he c ommod ity ove r which they had cra r ge , though t hei r pre-
cise function cannot be stated as there is no c o nt ext whi ch
defines i t .

Steward of a Storehouse {imy- r pr snc w) ~ ,.._ ~~

Index MK no . 179 . The i mp ortance of th es ~ o f ficials was based
on the type o f s nc w t hey administered which could be very sma ll
o r quite l arg e . The meaning of sncw has be en deb a ted for many
years . Th e or iginal sense is said to have be en "ergas tu l um "
 - 129 -

(~ 42 , 122 , n. 3; ~ II , pp. 209* r.) though thia can

ha r dly apply in t he Mi ddle Kingdom. The ter• hea bean vari-
ously rendered "warehouse " (fil 12, 136), "Arbaitahaua" (!!!:,-
walt ung, pp . 159 ff . ) , or more specifically defined aa the
pla ce where food wa s stored and prepared (Q.Qf, pp. 319 rr.).
On occasion, t he t erm c an als o refer to the place where
offer i ngs were prepared ( MDA IK 24, 197) . There were over •
do zen different officials a ssociated with the §new so a large
one would have a con s ide r able staff. I have re tain ed the more
general " storehouse " for the Middle Ki ngdom occurrences in
agreement with SASAE 18 , 44. Fis cher has dis cussed th is ti t le
in Co ptite Nome , pp . 59 f . , where he shows that in so•e cases
it shoul d probably be interpreted as imy-r pr-§ncw, " Overseer
of the Department of Stores ."

True King ' s Acquainta nc e (rh ns ...

_...u~~
m3c) 1 - P~,a
-~~- ~ ._~
j~
""'"-"
A variant of the more common " King 's Acquaintance ," which see.

Tr ustworthy Se a ler (sd3u. ty k f 3 ib) ~g .b 3

See under sd3w. tyt kf3 i b, Cha p . 1.
 - 130 -

Footnotes

1. A few married women with titles have not been included her e
since their husbands ' titles are not recorded: e . g ., .!:!I IV ,
32 , the "Priestess of Hathor Pefes; 11 ASAE 8 , 246 , the " Sole
lady- in- waiting •• • ka . 11

2. fil:i I , p . 14 , pl . 35 ; Meir VI , pl . 13 . The latte r shows t wo

girls standing behind t he Nomarch Ukhhotep; these are su r ely
his daughters , not his concubines as~. , pp . 9 f .

3. The origi nal 8Qd . t was in the north end the cult of Horus the
Behdetite was t hen transferred southward ; cf . 1f..B. 30 , 23 f f.
BQd . t as a designation of the site of Edfu is th us seconda r y .
However , many stelae and other objects which name p r iests of
this cult come from Edfu so there is no doubt that t he wor -
ship of this deity was thriving there in Middle Kingdom
times ; for a partial list of these objects , see PM V, pp .
202 ff. , and FIFAO 10 , pt. 2 .

4. LO II , 1 11 ; Geb r awi I , pl . 18 ; Sheikh Said , pl. 25; CG 1589 ,

1611 , 1 622 ; .Jf.a. 47 , 7 ; etc. Almost all these were ma rri ed
women .

5. Including !:!.I. III , pl . 32 , listed as of this provenance by

Schenkel , FrUhmittelagyptische Studien , p . 95 . I hav e fol -
lowed Schenkel ' s dating of the stelae from this site .

6. The owner ' s name was read Mur Kau by Pierret II , p . 30 , but
such a name does not appear in Ranke, Personenname n. The t wo
occurrences of t he name are spelled differently , but it is
just possib l e that the initial signs represent a rare tit le
imy - r cbw , " Overseer of Horned Animals ," as on CG 20683 and
23042 . If so, the personal name would be K3w whi c h is known
elsewhere. Simpson , JEA 60 , 1 01, r eads the name as cAb-kau,
 - 131 -

but this would leave the clear imy- r on t he left side of the
stela standing alone .

7. Probably the inner and outer coffins , not ac t ually made of

gold but r ather decorated with gold leaf as attested by other
coffins of the period; cf. Winlock and Mace , The Tomb of
Senebtisi at Lisht (New York , 1916) , pp . 23 ff .

a. An exception: the " Hereditary Noblewoman, Lady - in- wai t ing

Ojehuti- nakht, on her two coffins from Bersheh ; OPT nos .
83Bo , 8480.

Ba . An appa r ent exc e ption is the "Lady- in - waiting" married to a

High Priest of Ptah at Memph is . This couple is s hown on a
stela of fair craftsmanship dating to the Thi rteenth Dynasty ;
df.a 68 , 52 . However , this particular priestly office was
generally of low social status until Emp ire times ; c f.
Lex . lfg. II , 1257.

9. This title is included here even though it is not given in

th e lists; it i s s tud ied below in Chap . 38 .

10 . Rarely , husbands and ot he r male relat i ves do appear on objects

dedica ted to women whose titles are not given . !:!! II , 34 is
a stela for Nefertu who was " the wife of the God ' s Treasurer
Rudj - menu;" her father is also named. Two stelae in Cairo
(CG 20016 , 20017) were dedicated to the woman Senites by her
father and son , both of whom were palace officials .

11 . I have omitted here the five " Priestesses of Hatho r'' -buried
behind the shrines in the f unerary te mple of Nebhepetre
Me n tuhotep . These represent a special case which is taken up
in Chap . 6 .

12. Erman , Aegypten , p . 177; Mon tet, Everyday Life in Egypt, pp .

54 f. ; Lex . ~g. II , 282 , 982; Pest ma n , Mar r ia ge, p. 3 ; etc .
 - 132 -

13 . Another case of a man with two wives has been poi n ted out in
the tomb - robber y papyri , but here aga in there is disagree -
ment : Edgerton, zns 64 , 42; al - Ami r, BIFAO 62 , 105 .

14 . Edgerton , lac. cit . This conclusion has generally been

adopted by other scholars .

15 . al - Amir , BIFAO 62 , 103 ff . The problem revolve s around the

tra nslation of the preposition r - ~r ; either these documents
state that a man w~shes to take a wife "other than " his p re-
sent one in which case a divorce is involved , or he wishes to
take a wife " i n addition to " his cu r rent spouse in which cas e
polygamy is involved .

16 . ~ 4 , 149 ff .; 5 , 123 ff ; £2f. No . 102 , 235 ff. ; ~ 63 ,

59 ff . Se e a l so Vachala , zns 106, 87 ff .

17 . Su ch as that of Ibi f r om Deir el- Gebrawi presented in ~ s,

1 23 ff . If one acce pts the complicated argu ments ab ou t t he
family relationships and relative ages of the seven sons por-
t r ayed in this tomb , and that tw o " eldest sons" existed at the
same time , then the r e is a fairly con v incing case for t wo
wives l iving in the same household . The one discordant fac -
to r is that only one wife is portrayed in this tomb , though
Kanawati ' s argument does not stand or fall o n this fact .

18 . Pestman , Marriage ; Allam , BiOr 26 , 155 ff .; Theorodides , i n

Harris (ed . } , The Legacy of Egypt. 2d ed . (Oxford , 1971} ,
Chap . 11 , and Otto , MOAIK 14 , 150 ff . On matrimoney in
gene r a l , see also Allam , JEA 67 , 116 f .

19 . E. g ., one can find examples of dishonesty which belie the

theory of honesty and justice . In the harem conspiracy t r ia l
of the early Twentieth Dy nasty , three officials at the end of
the long list of accused were originally part of the pane l of
judges appointed to investigate the case, having apparent l y
 - 133 -

been bribed; De Buck , ~ 23 , 154 (line IV , 1 , t he list of

judges) and 156 (lines VI , 2 , 3 , 7 , the th r ee judges now
accused). The events lead in g u p to this trial are re construc-
ted by Goedicke , dfl!. 49, 71 ff . Th ere also seems to have
been some behind-the- scenes maneuvering during the tomb -
robbery trials of the Twentieth Dynast y .

20. Doc uments recordi ng such transactions, decisions of courts ,

etc., were legally bind ing agreements , he n ce we can speak of
" law " in ancient Egypt even though no law- code as such exis -
ted . Egyptian lega l procedures were guided mainly by custom
and precedent. That there were standing laws for certain res -
tricted area s of act i vi ty is shown by those quoted in a Middle
Kingdom papyrus havin g to do with c rimin al law ; PLMK . pp .
47 f . Decisions were also made on th e ba si s of statements of
general p r inciple made by the king wi th re g ard t o specific
types of cases: P . Turin 2021 , 3 , 4- 5; P. Boulaq X, Rt .
1 0-11 ; CG 42208c . Sue~ ''laws," howeve r, may only have been
va lid during the reign of the king who stated them .

21, In at least one i nstance, t he wife' s father and his prospective

son- in- law make an agreement that in case of divorce , the hus -
band will give up all ri ght s to such joint property; Ward , .Q£.
32, 430 ff ., and Allam , HO , no . 1 8 .

22. Al l am , .§l.Q£ 26 , 158, n . 22 , cites only three examples and I

can quote no other .

23. There were no permanent tribunals in Egypt , hence no profes -

sional cadre of judges . Groups of t h ree o r more officials
were appointed to hear individual cases , the theo ry apparent -
ly being that a ny office - holder, secular or priestly , should
be able to dispense fair and impartial justice. The more
important the crime and/or the criminal, of course , the more
important and experienced were the judges who heard his case .
 - 1 34 -

24 • .!:!I II , pls . 15 , 22 , 25 ; III , 20 , 29 ; !!J! I , pp . 1 67 , 1 68 ,

1 82 ; Geneva 0 SO ; CG 20531 ; Bolton no . 1 0 .2 0/11 ; etc .

25 . There has be e n much disag r eement abou t the r ea d i ng and in t er-

p r etation of this rare title . Ma r ti n n o . 7 15 r ea ds c nb.t nt
ip . t nsw ; the crucial sign is somewhat vague on thi s scara b ,
bu t tpy. t is qu i te clear i n the other e xamples . Bost ic co ,
Firenz e , p . 39 , reads ~ as the first eleme nt i n th e person-
al name and translates " she who lives {on the depe n de nce of)
the k i ng . " Ber l ev , RdE 23 , 25 , r eads c nb .t n t ns u t p.t,
" Chief Concubine of the King . "

26 . CG 20743 ; two wome n with this title a r e shown . The s tela i s

broken so the owne r is unknown . The t wo women a p pe ar am o n g a
g r oup of men with undistinguished titles.

27 . E. g . : HT IV , 40 ; St . UC II , no . 109; Ath e ns no . 9 ; et c .

28 . 5P III no . 3 . 8erlev , !!.!!f. 23 , 25 , inco rrec t ly r ea d s cnp .t nt

ip . t nt Mntw 53 . t - ic~ , " cnb . t d u gy n'c'e de Mont ou, 5 3 . t -ic~,"
offering this as further proof of the meani ng " conc ub i ne."
En la r ged photog r aphs of t his stela , how e ver , c l ea r ly s h ow
Be r lev ' s read ing to be wrong .

29 . Varille , Kami 3 , 4 2. Pestman , Mar r ia ge, p . 10 , n. 7 , r e nders

" wife" and lists various opinions on the me a n i ng of the wo rd .

30 . The Late Egyptian form , though it is t r eated g r ammati ca lly a s

a feminine .

3 1. BM 10052 , 2 , 29 ; 1 0 , 11; 11, 4 ; 1 2 , 10 ; 13 , 15 ; 1 3 , 22 .

32 . This f ormula is based o n the constr uction un • • • m- d i of Erman ,

Neua g yp tische Grammatik , pp . 312 f f .
 - 135 -

33. BM 10053 , Rt. 1, 9; 2 , 18 ; 4 , 20; 5, 6; 5 , 10; 5 , 15;

6 , 6; 1, a.

35. Bakir , ASAE 43 , 8 0. He quotes another post - Empi re text

studied by Spiegel berg , RecTrav 25 , 1 96 f., where the con-
text is broken , but enough is le ft to p r ove the point .

36 . Refs . in Wb. III , 66 , 23- 24 ; Mol l er , Z~S 55 , 96 , n . 2 ;

Pestman , Marriage , p . 10 , n . 7 .

37. Erichsen, Auswah l FrUhd emoti sche r Texte I , pp. 22 , 3 (P.

Berlin 1 3614 , 1); 31 , 7 (P. BM 10 120 A, 2); 35 , 4 ( P.
Be rl i n 3076 , 4) ; 68 , 3 (P . Be rlin 3078 , 3) .

38 . LOddeckens , ngypti sche Ehevert rage ( Wi esbaden , 1 960) , pp.

16, 1 8, 188 , n. 60 .

39. Eric hsen, Oe motisches Glossa r, p . 306 , first four examples

only. The se are listed under hm.t with t he note that the
rea d in g mi g ht be hb s .
-·---

40. ~· III , 296; ~. p. 1 93 ; Reiser, Harim , p p . 14 ff.

41. As oppose d t o wnw.ty, " Ast r o no me r ,'' who examined the sta r s
to keep the night-t ime hou r s ; .af_Q I , p . 62*.

42. J unker, ~ I I I , p . 213 ; IV, p . 87 ; VI , p. 59 .

43. Faulkner, The Plu ral and Dual in Old Egyptian ( Br ussels ,
1929), p. 5 .

44 . Wild, Ti , p l . 56 ; Ge brawi II , pl . 17 ; Mereruka, pl. 87 ;

De r Tanz, fig . 8 ; et c. Wb . I , 62 , 15 , knows of only a
single example (Mar . ~· E 1 0) with the final ·i·
 - 1 36 -

45. On collective nouns ending in .~, see Edel, Altagypt ische

Grammatik I , pp. 107 ff.

46. J unker, !!i.!! III , p. 213 , quoting LO f.!s, pl. 38 • Junk er,
~ VI , fig. 38b (a grandson sings, a grandson and grand-
daughter play harps), and ~ IV , pl. 9 (daughters playing
harps) .

47 . P. Berlin 1002 1; Scha rff, .ill, 59 , 45 f., ·P· 9 of the

autographed text. My interpretation is contra~' p. 41.

48. The phrase "s3 Snwsr .t" was added later at the end of line 7.
Scharff felt it was misplaced and should go at the end of
line 6, hence he transl at es "The Singer ' Ititi ' s son San-
usert." It is just as likely that this phrase was added aa
an afterthought to identify "the lad " more cl osel y . I take
this to indicate that this child was the son of the Priest
Senusert mentioned in line 4.

49. ~· III , 296, 19 - 297 , 2 ; De r Tanz , p. 45.

SO . for an explanation of the variant spellings , see £.b!!!S., pp.

36 ff., and other litera tu r e quoted there.

51 . ~. loc. cit . One problematic example is Bersheh II, pl.

7, upp er text, 10: imy -r bnr( •• ~ where the term in question
is spelled phonetically . But there is a lacuna where any
determinatives would have been so it is not possible to say
which sense should be understood here .

52. Cf. Goedicke , The Report About the Disp ute of a Man wi th his
Ba (Baltimore, 1970), p. 11 3.

53 . !:!IV, 1. While the word in this instance has a fa~ale deter-

minative, this text con fuses this with the male det erm i native
which is expected here.
 - 137 -

54. CG 20024. ~· III , 333 , 2 , wron gly lists t his under osm.t ,
but the ~-sign is for the ~-s ign; f.Q!!I, p. 191, and
Ga rd iner, Egyptian Grammar, Sign- list R 22 .

55. The Art News, Dec . 9 , 1933 , quoted in Dun ham.§!., p. 24. See
Nord, in Simps o n and Davis (ads . ) , Studie s in An~iant Eg ypt,
The Aegean, and the Sudan (Boston, 1981), p . 144 , n . 74 .

56 . Example no. 6, from the tomb of Debhen at Giza, dating, ac-

cording to a text from the tomb, to the r eign of Menkaure ;
LO II , 37b. Unfortunately , t his e xample must be re s t ored .

57 . Petrie, Royal Tombs I, pls . 32 , 19; 36 , 46 ; ]![, fig. 838 ;

SASAE no. 21 , pl. 2 ; ~eir II, pl 7 ; Mar . Mast. , p. 77 (A2);
Barta , Opferliste, fig. 1; etc .

58. CAA Hildesheim 8 , 100 (no. 3257) ; Wa lters no . 54.

59 . !!!:! III , p. 17, no. 42 ;Griffith , Hierog lyph s , p . 53 ;

Gardiner , Egy pti an Grammar , Sign-l ist U 31; Lefebv re,
Gramma ir e, p . 418, U 319 e s p. Br yan , !!f.§. 4, 41 f f.

59a. E.g., sk . t , "donkey- foal," was a lu ays thought to be a Late

Egyptian word until an Old Kingdom example was published by
Roquet, BIFAO 76, 37 ff . Several other l ate words are now
known from Old Egyptian due to the publication of the archive
from the temple of Neferirkare at Abu- Sir .

60. Devlfr ia , ~ 6e ser. 6 , 343: 11 pallacides r oyals (gynecee

royal)." The r e lated documents -- P. Rollin and P. Lee --
are publ ished in facsimile by the same author in JA 6e ser .
10, 402 ff., pls. 5-7 .

61 . Dever i a, JA 6e ser . 8 , pls . 2- 3 : Cols . IV , 2 , s, 6 ; v,

7-1 0 . The e ighth r e fer e nce is to 11 his sister uho was in the
pr-bnr" in Col. V, 3 .
 - 138 -

62 . Cf . Reiser, Ha r im , pp . 11 ff.: 11 der Haushalt der Hartms-

bewohner.11 It seems safe to argue that pr-bnr, not used be-
fore the Eighteenth Dynas ty, includes the old word bnr.ut,
"Troupe of Singers and Dancers ," discussed in Chap. 4C. While
it is outs ide the scope of the present wo rk, it seems clear
that this older sense was carried over into later time s . For
example, when Gilukhepa came fTom Hatti to marry Amenhotep III ,
she brought with her tpyu n hnriw.s s . t 317 (Urk . IV , 1738 ,
14), "favouri tes of her singers and dancers , 317 women." I
think this is mo re log ical in this context than the usual
" ha rem-women."

63. I have not included the phrase ~r smsw which follows every
example of pr-bnr in a title. This is usually considered to
be part of these titles and translated "in the suite" (De
Buck) , ''in accompanying" (Gardine~), "in the retinue" (Wilson),
etc . The idea behind these translations is that this was a
11 harem 11 that accompanied the king as he moved about Egypt ;

cf . Gardiner , Egypt of the Pharaohs, p. 290 . Aga inst this ,

however, stand the facts that in a ll examples of "women of
the pr-pnrttthis additional element never appears nor is it
a dded to " doo rway of the pr- Onr"(Col. v, 1). Furthe rmore,
since the pr-pnr was a substant ial land- owning institution ,
it seems unlikely that it wa s mob ile .
Now the phrase hr smsw stands in a syntactic posi t ion
where it separates the initial statement of each pa ragraph
(naming a criminal and his former position) from the bulk of
each paragraph which summa rizes the charges and final dispo-
sition of each case . I suggest that or smsu means simply
11 as follows ," e . g ., in Col . IV , 7: " The great crim inal
Kerpes , who was then Contr oller of the pr-hnr, as follows:
he was brou ght in because "
The single exception to this use of hr !msw is in Col .
v, 3 : " his sister who was in the pr- hnr or !msu'' where, if
my suggestion is correct, it should not have been written.
However , the scribe had by this time written ~r !msw eight
 - 139 -

t imes after p r - hn r and this must have been a slip of the pe n.

64 . i p 3-n s w (Gayet , pl . 1 , C 1) ; ip3 . t - nsw (BM 614 , ~ 21 ,

159 ff . ) . The same term appears in the Middle Kingdom title
id n w n imy- r n i p (3) - nsw , "Deputy of the Overseer of the Royal
Bu reau ;" OrSuec 17 , 23 .

65 . Eighteenth Dynasty examples: ~· IV, 409, 10; 742 , 2 ; ~IB

II , p . 63 (Berlin 6910) in the name 'Imn - m- ip . t .

66. 11![, p . 299 . This seems very probable as this text reads iry-
ib . t Mnw ' Ipw, "Worker of Min of Akhm!m," a site at which
there was an important cult - canter of Min. I~F, p . 515 , in -
sists this is not the same place as t h e~ of f i g . 4 : 6 .

67. These translatio ns follow Domaines fun. (refs . in fig . 4) .

' Ist and 1

-
idn . t do not app ear e l sewhere, though t3r . t was
u sed from the Middle Kingdom on wi t h the meaning "camp , cabin, "
that is , a kind of enclosed place ; .f.Q!!f, p. 303. A s i mil a r
determinative is used for the word mbrw, " gr anaries; "
Domaines fun ., p . 402 .

68 . The word in P. Westcar (fig. 7 : 1- 2) reads ip . wt and is now

taken to mean "secret chambers , " or the like . Th is sense is
supported by Ugaritic ap sqrt, "closed chamber , " which I be -
lieve includes the word from P. Westcar; l!if.§. 20 , 32 . In
any case , the term i p .wt is not identical to the word under
disc ussion though it may be derived from the s a me root .

69 . On th i s sense of.!,!, cf . Beamtentiteln , pp . 71 f ., Kon. Dok .,

p. 100 ; .ah I , no . 77 . 0442.

70. E. g ., " Privy Councillor of the God's Seal - bearer;" Murray ,

Saggara Mastabas I , pl. 29 .
 - 140 -

71 . Beamtentiteln , pp . 26 ff . This title was re - interpreted as

rb- nsw, "King ' s Acquaintance , " by early Middle Kingdom times;
cf . pp . 114- 15.

72 . In th is title, ~ does not mean "kitchen" as ofte n supposed ;

cf . CdE No . 1 14 , 199 ff .

73 . This reading was understood by MUllbr , Die Felsengraber van

Ele phantine (GlUckstadt, 1940) , p . 29 , though he translated
11 bei der koniglichen Ha remsfrau . 11 Save- Soderbergh , 1tgypten
und Nubian (Lund , 1941), p . 68 , n . 3, points out that this
can be rendered "bairn Schmuck (Schatze) des Konigs . 11 That
officials could be assigned to the royal insignia is shown by
several titles of the pe ri od : "Overseer of the Workshop of
the Royal Insignia " (CG 20729); " Privy Councillor of the
Royal Insignia " (HT II , 8); " Gr eat Chief of the Royal
Insignia" (CG 20539) .

74 . Translating afte r Ve rwaltung , p . 254 , rather than Ga rdiner,

~ 27 , 57 : " Child of the privy apartment ."

75 . On this data : Faulkner , JEA 30 , 61 ; Halek , Geschichte des

Alten ~oypten (Le iden , 1968) , p . 98 .

76 . The latter is really " Ove rseer of the Entire Dancing- troupe
of the King" (see Chap . 4C) .

77 . Lit . : "Overseer of the ip.t - nsw of Sehetepibre- takes- pos-

session- of - the- two- lands (Lisht) ." This appears to be a
unique subs t itution for the original name of Lisht , " Amenem-
hat - takes - possession •••• " Since this tomb dates to the rei gn
of Amenemhat II , the substitution was necessa r y to retain the
id en tity of Amenemhat I ( Sehetepib re) as fo und er of the town;
cf . Simpson , JARCE 2 , 53 ff .
 - 141 -

78 . Tomb Robberies I , pp. 14 f .; Comm . Prices , pp . 459 , 481 ,

493 , 536 ; SASAE 18 , 34 f .

79 .
~· IV , 559 , 3 , gives the lE..:.l- sign as an 11 old " determinative
1
for s,ty . t , the shrine of Sokar , but none of the references in
the 8ele 9stellen show th is sign . Perhaps CG 20733 was inten-
da d where the printed text shows Cd ; there is no photograph .

80 . Vol . III , no . 349. The Ei gh teenth Dy nasty example i s in

Vol. IV , no . 349 , from P. 8oulaq 17, 9 , 2.

81. ~' p. 18a , n . 8c (Gurob , Frag. 1 , 1). Another example in

the Gurob papyri is transcribed iE..:.l (RAD , p . 3Da , 16) but the
same hieratic group is transcrib ed ns . t else where {!IBQ, p.
1 Sa, 2) .

82 . (not used)

83 . E. g .: 1!1J! II , pp . 64 , 79 ; HT IX , 27; CG 34079 , 34171 ;

Tosi and Roccati , Stele e altre epigrafi di Deir el Medina
(Tur in , 1972) , nos . 5D085 , 50203 , 5 0221 ; Leiden vr , nos . 3 ,
32 ; Cerny , Re pertoire onomastigue de Dei r el-Medineh (Cairo ,
1 949) , pp . 99 ff .; Cerny and Sadak , Graffiti de la montagne
thebaine III (Cairo , 1970) , nos. 1867 , 1 972, 2443, etc . ;
fB.1 I , p . 99 , 14 ; Pierret II , no . 0 19 .

84 . Malanine , et al , Catalogue des steles du Serapeum de Memphis

I (Paris , 1968) , no. 18 ; REA 1, 212.

85 . P. BM 10474 , II , 11 (Te achings of Amenemope) ; AEO , pls .

7 , 4 and 14 , 4 ; Parker , A Saite Oracle Papyrus from Thebes
( Providence , 1962), pl. 5 , 6 ; Edwards , Oracular Amuletic
Dec r ees , nos . L. 1 , Rt. 33; L. 2 , Rt . 21 ; B, nt . 96 .

86 . While the cor rect s pelling of this place - name i s without the
~- sign , examples do appear in hieroglyphic (borrowed from
 - 1 42 -

' Ip . t - rsy . t , "Luxor tt ): ill, II , pp . 73 , 74 , 345 , 546 , et c.

Hieroglyphic examples with the ~- si g n begin to appea r only
in late Ramesside times ; Sethe, ~ 1929, p . 1 6 . In
hieratic , the correct spelling is reta ined : P. Boulaq 17 ,
9 , 2 ; ~ 41, pl . 7 , 3; P. Berli n 3055 III , 3 ; Cerny , .!:.fil:.,
pp . 14 , 4 and 29 , 1 ; Cerny , Graffiti ••• de la necropo l e
thebaine (Cai ro , 1956), no . 1313 ; Ost . Deir el - Med . 1222 ,
Vs . 2; 1226 , 9- 10 .

87 . Hieroglyphic: LD III, 221f ; de Wit , Les inscriptions d u

temple d ' Opet (Brussels , 1958) , pp . 25 , B7 , 262 ; CG 42189 ,
4221 1 .
Hieratic : Ost . Dei r el-Med . 354, Rt. 4 ; 586 , 8 ; !iQ. I , pl .
35 , 3 , Rt . 10- 11 ; P . Beat ty IX , Rt . 2 , 1 ff .; P. Ha r ris I ,
12a , 3 ; Marciniak , Thoutmosis III, no. 31 , 2 .

88 . Hieroglyphic : KRI I , 181 , Ba; II , 325 , 6; ~ · IV , 71 , 10 ;

409 , 10 ; 1 B89 , 18 ; ~I B II, p . 206 ; !:!I VIII , 21 ; I X, 44 .
Hie r atic : P. Beatty IX , Rt . 2 , 1 and 13 ; Rt . B, 1; P.
Harris I , 5 , 6 ; 17a , 5 .

89 . P3 - nht - n- ip . t . Hiero glyphic with i p. t : ~ 6 , 83 ; hieratic

without ~ : Ost . Deir el - Med . 570 , 5 ; Cerny , LRL , p . 23 ,
16 ; P . BM 10052 , 1 4 , 11 .
~cy-m- ip .t. Hieroglyphic with ~ : Copenhage n, p . 35 ;
hiera t ic without ~: Ost. Deir el-Med . 143 , Rt . 1 and 4;
164 , Co l. I , 4.

90 . Ga rdiner , ~
11 , 2 ff . It should be noted that this article
was written before the appe arance of Vol. IV of Moller , ~
which incl udes the re fe rence to P . Boulaq 17 .

91 . Mol le r , !!E I , no . 436 ; Sethe , ~ ., p. 29 , 4 and 6.

92 . He is specific as t o the date since he notes a ste l a o f that

period which quotes Sinuhe R 2- 3 . This later example uses
 - 143 -

the ~- sign in the word lE..:.l• replacing the supposed .!.e..:.l-

sign in Sinuhe R 3 . Howeve r, the latter is very uncertain so
the argument is based on an assumption which may be wrong .

93 . Weill , Recherches I , p . 236, co ncurred wi th Gardiner , quoting

an example from the Turin Juridica l Papyrus to support the
argument that the ie..:.i- sign is found i n P. Westca r . However ,
the hieratic sign in the Turi n Ju ridical Papy rus is quite
definitely the !!,!- sign ; cf . Deveria , JA 6e ser . 8 , pl . 2 ,
4 and s.

94 . ~' p , 77 ; Blackman , !!f.§_, p . 33a , n. 2a ; Barnes , Si nuhe ,

p. 21; etc .

95, ~. p . 9 , and especially p. 152 , His note on this sign in

Hier . Pap . Be rlin V, pl . 1a: "Woh l sicher so zu lesen , ob-
wohl das hieratische Zeiche n sonst im M. R. nicht gut bele gt
ist ." Maspero , Les m6moires de Si nouh it (Cairo , 1908) , p .
118 , sub~' could not decide whether the crucial sign wa s
!!!!. or ip . t .

96 , Blackman , ~' p . 2 (OB 3 ) ; Ba rnes , Si nuhe , Rt . 2 .

97 , Unfor t unately there are no other examples of th is sign in

the R manuscript fo r comparison .

98. The same seems true of Demotic , thou gh I have on ly searched

rather summarily here . One example of a Demotic .!.P.!.!- sign
is quoted in Lexa , Gra mmaire demoti gue , p . 457 , ex . 9 .

99. In the Tur in J ur idical Papyrus; cf . n , 93 , above.

100 . £.g . , the later cop i es of Sin uhe R 3 cit e d in n. 96 , above,

and i n t itles of the Empire period : ~ . Iv , 1466 , 13 ; ~IB
II, p . 195 . The latter reference shows two titles , one of
which is imy- r ip . t-nsw n pr-hnty m Mn- nfr which appe ars
 - 144 -

elsewhere wit h the l.E..:J.-hieroglyph : RecT rav 21 , 73 ; ~ IB

II , p . 137. Note also Be r landini , BIFAO 77 , 35 , who co l-
lects the numerous examples of the title im y- r ip . t -nsw
from the Ramesside tomb of Pay ; the ~ and ip . t hieroglyphs
are used i nterchangeably in the same tomb . See also the list
of Empire examples of im y-r ip . t - nsw i n Reiser , Har im , p. 8 ,
n. 4. The re is no question th a t the ns is a legitimate sub-
stitute for the l.E..:J.•

10 1 . Cf . the three- folG confusion between the hieroglyphs [ , ~

and ~; GAS , p . 47 , and Gardiner , Sign- list D 19; MBlle r ,
HP , nos . 90 , 437 , 491 . Co nf usion could occur here over a
long period since the hieratic signs were in constant use .

102 . Riefstahl , JNES 15 , 12 ; No r d , JNES 34 , 143 . Winlock , RF ,

pp . 25 , 27, 43 , also refers to all eight as '' wives . "

103 . Seve ra l othe r s are named on the mummy- wrappings of Amunet ;

Da res sy , Sphinx 17 , 99 f .

104 . Stoc k , Die erste Zwischenzeit "gyptens {Rome , 1949) , pp . 78

ff . ; Ga r diner , MDAIK 14 , 42 ff .; Arnold , MDAIK 24 , 38 ff .
That Nebhepetre had three Horus - names and that they were
changed at important points in his ca r ee r is also accepted by
others : Orio ton and Vandier , L ' Egyp te . 3d ed . ( Paris , 1 952) ,
3
pp . 278 f . ; Hayes , CAH I , 2 , pp . 479 ff .; Helck , Geschichte
des alten ~gypten , pp . 97 ff . ; etc .
Gardine r ' s essay is a most convincing account . The
basic problem has always been that of the three titularies
proposed for the same king , only the second and third cou ld
be linked by incontrovertible evidence , the first bein g linked
to them only by somewhat subjective reas oning . Arnold , howe ver ,
has now produced the missing link in the form of a lintel in
Turin whic h ties the first and second Horu s-n ames together •

•
 - 145 -

Hence , in spite of Habachi ' s defense of the older theory in

MDAIK 19 , 44 ff ., it is now certain tha t all three Hor us - names
belonged to the same king .

105 . Recor ded on the stela of Ka's son Inyote f; HT I 1 , 53 ; TPPI

p . 1 9 (with corrections) .

106 . In t he wel l - known graffito {no . 489) at the Shatt - er- Riga l ;
early re ferences in PM V, p . 207 . This text has since been
studied many times , e . g ., Hab ac hi , MDAIK 19 , 47 ff .

107. Neville, XIth Dyn. Temp le; Winlock, .Q§_, passim ; Arnold ,
Temple .

108 . Arnold , Temple of Mentuhote p .

109 . Combining the cha r ts in Arnold , Temple I , p . 62 , and Tem ple

of Mentuhote p, p . 45 , wit h the accompa nying discussions .

11 0 . Arnold , Temple I , pp . 64 f .; e . g ., the columns of the main

hall stand over the buria l shafts meaning that the burials must
have already been closed befo re these columns were erected .
Winlock, !![, p . 25 , agrees that the shr ines were built befo r e
the temp le. Navil l e and Somers Clarke , Xlth Oyn . Temple II ,
pp . 7 , 17, believed it was the othe r way round .

111. Arno ld , Tem ple II , plates , passim . Even mo re f r equent is the

later spelling of " Nebhepetre 11 with the oar- sign which perhaps
c ame into being along with the third Horus - name .

111a. Te xts from Neferu's sarcopha gus ; Gabet , RecTrav 12 , 21 7.

112. Wi nlock , RF , pp . 27 , 63 ; Hayes , £1U:!3 I , 2 , p . 481 ; etc .

The only evidence for this seems to be that Nebhepet re ' s
mothe r was na med ! a h and Ne feru ' s mother wa s named lahu .
 - 146 -

However , as far as I can s ee f r om the published accounts ,

Nefe ru' s mother is nowhere given any title at all (e.g .,
Hayes , Scepter I , p . 327) , hence there is no evidence that
the same mother is involve d. This seems to be one of those
"facts" originally suggested as a t heo r y {Winlock , .fill!!a., Dec .
1924 , Pt . 2 , 12 f . ) which by constant repetition come to be
adopted without query . In reality , t here is nothing to indi-
cate that the mother of Nebhepet re and the mother of Ne f e ru
were the same person .

11 3 . Arnold , Temple of Mentuhote p, pp . 18 f . and n . 63 .

11 4 . \Jinlock , f!.[, p . 43.

115 . Win lock, f!.[, p . 48 ; Hayes , Scepter I , p . 166 ; etc .

116. For a summar y of his military activities , cf . Gomaa , Agyp ten

wa hr e nd der Ersten Zwische nzeit (Wiesbaden , 1980) , pp . 155 ff.

117. Arno ld, Temple I , pp . 35 f ., 53 F.

117a . Arnold , Temple I , pp . 36 , 54 .

117b . These texts had al r eady been washed off by r ain water by the
time of Navil le' s excavations ; XIth Dyn . Temple II , p . 3.
They were published by Maspero , Z~S 21 , 77 , and Da res sy ,
RecTrav 14 , 30 . The most recent expedition has discovered a
fragment of an offering- tabl e with Tern's name and t itles ;
Arnold , Tem ple I , pp . 53 ff ., pl . 2Sb , where she is called
" King ' s Wife , King 's 1'1 o the r."

11 8 . Arnold , Temple I , p. 33 .

118a . Once a link between the tomb and the beginni ng of construction
in Phase C is no longer necessary , the fact that the sarc ophagus
 - 147 -

was unfinished is i rrelevant t o the date of the tomb but pre-

sents other problems . Even a sudden death would not mean
hasty burial and there would have been ample time during the
mummification of the queen to insc r ibe the sarcophagus prope r -
l y . Why, then , was it not? Nor is it now possib le to check
Daressy ' s observation that Tam ' s name was written "en surcha rge ''
since the texts have lon g since disappeared (see n . 117b) .

11 9. Winlock , DB , pp . B5 ff . : " it must be among the nameless

graves in the temple itself . " PM 12 , p . 655 , suggests Amunet
may have been bu r ied in pit 25 in the north corner of the
court t hough Daressy , who first wrote about this tomb , states
it wa s found "south of the temple" or "a little in front of
the royal structures of the Eleventh Dynasty ; " RecTrav 14 ,
166 , and Sphinx 17 , 99 .

120 . Naville , Xlth Dyn. Temp le II , p . 6 ; Winlock , !!.[, p. 43.

Winlock refers to Navi lle , op. cit. I , pl . 17B , though this
gives no names at all and in its " mo re complete" state names
Kawit and Kemsit ; TPPI , p . 43 . A similar scene may have been
found -- Naville says it portrays Amunet and another woman
named As -- but it was never pub l ished . PM does not note such
a piece which means it may not exist.

121 . The chapels and four of the bu ri als - - Sadeh , Kawit, Kemsit
and Henhenet - - wer e published by Naville , Xlth Oyn . Temple
I ' pp . 47 ff . , tombs 7 , 9- 11 , and I I, Chap . 2 . The burials
of Mayt a nd Ashayt were publis hed by Winlock , DB , pp . 37 ff .

122 . TPPI , pp . 29 f . The first fragm ent of this group (= Neville ,

XIth Oy n . Temple II , pl . 9F) shows a king ' s crown above which
is a winged sun - disc . Behind the crown is " Hi s wife whom he
loves , ( Pries tess) of Hathor ••• • " Over the winged disc
are the remains of a text res to red as Qm( . t ntr ~w . t-~r
im3)h(y . t Hnhn . t) in TPPI , p . 29 , which admits the restoration
 - 148 -

is "hy pothetical . '' Neville , op . cit. , p . 6 , states that the

owner of this fragment is unknown which may mean that it was
not found in Henhenet ' s chape l.

123 . Only the coffins and mummy of Mayt were discovered in her
burial behind the northernmost chapel ; Winlock , .QQ., pp . 43 ,
45 ff . (Neville ' s t omb 7) . One of the coffins is published
in . Cooney , Five Years of Collecting Egyptian Ar t (Brooklyn ,
1956) , no . 59 ; the texts are in £.!:!.!]_, no . as .

124 . Hayes , Scepter I , p. 160; Win lock, B.[, p. 26 . I have only

found precise statements on Mayt (5 years) and Ashayt (a
little over 20) . Since Derry was working with Winlock whe n
these mummies were found, we can assume that these ages are
correct .

125 . Allam , Beitrage zum Hatho rku lt (Berlin , 1963) , . pp . 57 ff . ;

Bleeker , Hathor and Thoth (L eiden , 1 973) , pp . 51 ff . The
early evidence for the worship of Hathor in the Theban area
consists of more th an Nebhepet r e ' s funerary temple .

126 . Much has been made of t he
hence of foreign origin ;
20 , and III , pls . 2- 3 . I
a foreign woman should be
at this time.
fact that Kemsit is dark - skinned ,
Neville , XIth Dyn . Temple II , pl .
do not find it at all strange that
among a group of potent ial queens

127 . Arnold , Temple I , pp . 83 f .

128 . Winlock , .Q!!, p . 122 ; idem ., The Slain Soldiers of Neb- hepet -
Rec Mentu- Hotpe (New York , 1945) , pp. 4 f .

12Ba . Eve n if they were , there is an i nterest ing difference in their

tit l es and the sc e nario could run as follows . Neferu was a
" King ' s Daughte r, " hence of r oyal blood , and a " King ' s Chief
.,

l - 149 -

Wite,• the !erliest occurrence or this title now known (~.

!i• III, 475, n. 13 • . While Tem was a "King's Mother" who pro-
duced the royal heir, she was only a "King's Wife" and there
is no indicatio~ she was of royal blood . Neferu, who held the
higher position, had no son for which reasoo Nebhepetre
married Tam, granting her the lesser status . It is tempting
to equate Queen Tam with the "Lady-in-Waiting Tam" mentioned
on the mummy linen of Amunet (p. 108) which would mean she was
a l ady of the court who caught the king!s eye when it became
evident Nefaru would not give him a son . Sha may then have
been elevated to . royal st~tus after the des i red heir was born.
I must emphasize, however, that even if Neferu and Tam were
contemporaries for a while, two queens do no t consti t ute a
harem.

129. Winlock , fil!, p . 74; Hayes, Sceptar I, p. 162.

130. Neville, XIth Dyn. Temple I, p. 43; PM I 2 , p. 605 , wrongly

states this is a female burial .

131. Arnold, Temple I, p. 19; Neville, Xlth Dyn . Temple I, pp.

44 ff.

132. Neville, XIth Dyn . Temple I, pp. 47 f.

 - 1 50 -

Addenda

pp. 40 ff . -- Schmi tz, Unte rsuchungen zum Titel 53- NJSWT 11 Konigs-
sohn (Bonn , 1976), pp. 245 ff., discusses the problem of this
title held by commoners . Schmitz argues that this t i tle was
awarded to commone rs on the basis of their holding important
military posts or their affiliation to a divine cult , primarily
that of the god of the city where their fathers held the office
c
of Q3.ty- • Franke , .al{!!, p. 308 , also emphasizes the military
aspect of non- royal "King's Sons ."

p. 46 -- Two other " Hereditary Noblewomen" should be noted:

Reditnesni , marrie d to an " Attendant of the Ruler's Tabla," and
Hatshepsut, married to an " Oversee r of Fields;" Franke,
Personendaten, nos . 11 , 769 . Both are of the Thirteenth Dynasty
and fall into the category of women with honorific royal titles
married to men of humble off ice.

pp. 58 f. -- Franke, ~' p. 340 , po ints out that the large number
of children claimed by individuals wa s the result of "serial
monogamy ," that is , a series of monogamous marriages . He also
stresses that the normal family st r ucture was monogamous .

p . 62 -- Two more exampl~s of the title cnb.t nt tpy . t nsw have

been published in s. Hodjash and o. Berlev , Th,e Egyptian Reliefs
and Stelae in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow (Lenin-
grad , 1982) , no . 38 . Neither girl is identified as a married
woman. The editors , I believe incorrectly , translate the
title as "King ' s First Co ncubine."

pp. 69 ff. -- Note further the study by Nord _on the pnr .w t in
Simpson and Davis (supra p. 137 , n. 55) , pp. 137-45. Nord
covers much the same material and has independently arrived at
the same conclusions regarding the meaning of this term. While
our two essays overlap considerably, togeth~r they should la y to
 - 151 -

rest the traditional idea that the wo r d means " har e m."
In the same article , Nord (p . 141) poi nts out that the
group r ead here a s im3 .t {pp . 70 , no . 6 , a nd 72 , no . 9) may
instead be §n2. t , a sanctuar y of the godd e ss Sekhmet. This
would thus be the earliest reference to a hnr . wt a ttached to a
temple .

p . 71 -- add to fig . 2:
(\. :::_ ~ <.__
10a . ~~ ~-~ imy . t - r hnr{.wt), " Ove r s eer of a bnr( . wt) "
10b . Pt.o "":""~ sl}g. t nt bn r {. wt) , " Inspector of a bnr{ . wt)"
Both titles are from the mastaba of Mehu; Fischer , Va ria , p . 71.

pp . 77 ff . -- Bryan , ~ 4 (1982) , 35- 54 , presents a lengthy study on

the etymology of bnr . wt (Bryan: bnj/r t) whi c h differs conside ra-
bly from that suggested he r e . She argues that the ro ot bni/r
having to do with musicians is not derived from llt..- hn r, "re strain ,"
as traditionally thought , but rather from bni , to keep rhythm . "
11

The Qnr.wt and bn . wt musicians perform the same functions and

the terms can be used interchangeably. Her linguistic argument
canters around the mouth- hieroglyph which "represented severa l
sounds but exchanged with q most frequently " p. 37) ; in a fina l
positi on , ! and !:. "interchanged often" (p . 50) . The supposed bn r
was not written with the fina l - £. until the Sixth Dynasty and
there is a possible spelli ng bni from the Old Kingdom .
She finds an a nalogy i n the proposa l of Vycichl and Schenkel
that the root~' "be sweet , " and related words ( ~, 11 da t e , 11
e tc.) never contained a fina l -£. and that the spel l ing bnr is
ps eudo- histori cal. .!!!::?.!: on ly appears from the Twel f th Dynasty on
b y analogy to ot her word s in whic h an original final -£. had been
reduced to -!,, but sometimes r eappea red in historical spelli ngs
in Middle Kingdom times. The same phenomenon occurred with bni/ r
wh ich neve r possessed a final -!:,; when this consonant does
a ppear {fr om the Sixth Dynasty on) , as wi th bni it is a pseudo-
historical spell i ng , addin g t he -£. on the analogy of words like
.!!:!£,, "to dri nk ," which early became ~a n d th en was later
written ~' .!!:!!:.!. as historical spellings .
 - 152 -

This argument is not as clea r as it first seems . In the

first place , in all Old Kingdom scenes where a vhnr.wt-troupe is
performing , they a re singing and dancing -- and are so la be lled
but not using musical instruments . The bni .w t , on the other hand ,
do use mus ica l instruments and Old Kingdom spellings ha ve deter-
minat i ves of figu r es ho lding vario us instruments {Fische r, Vari a,
pp. 11 f.)~ While the t wo terms may have been in ter chang e ab le
later on (Bryan ' s evidence for this is of Empire date) , the Old
Kingdom evidence, whic h is paramount in decidi ng etymologies ,
c le arly makes a semantic distinction between bnr .w t , " singing
and dancing troupe ," and hni . wt , "musicians . "
Secondly , the linquist ic argument is questio~able , though
t his may be because of Br yan ' s termi nology . The mouth- hie r og lyp h
do es not "represe nt severa l sounds " and ther e is no " interchange "
or " exchange " with !• The £ was a semi-weak consonant which
tended to reduce to ! or disappear altogethe r. This r ed uction
is see n alr ea dy in Old Egyptian and was a continuing process:
bound forms of .e!.• " house," a r e spelled e,!-, etc . , in Akkadian ,
Gre ek and Coptic transcriptio ns (Redford , ~ 22 , 120) ; hrw ,
"day," had become ~b y the end of the Empi re pe r iod , Coptic !!£!:!.
(Ward , ~ 37 , 32) .
Sche nkel' s theo r y on the ro ot ~ (MDAIK 20 , 11 5) appears
acceptable, t hough its starting- point is incor r ect . He begins
with a note by Vycichl {rlli:!Q 101, 71) who connec ts Egyptian .E.!lf.
wit h Berber ta~inaut, both me aning 11 palm-tree, 11 a te rm supposedly
belonging to a proto-hamitic linguistic stratum ; since ta ~ina ut
shows no -£• the Egyptia n r oot must be !?.!:!.!.• no t 2.!l!:.• Howeve r,
tabinaut is more l ikel y a borrowing f ro m Copt ic tabeni {Egy . !1
~), "the palm-tree , 11 with the definite article: no t e Egy ptia n
*t3 msh. t >Ar abic tims at:i, " c rocod i le"; t3 cb.t , " the offering">
Coptic tebe , a month-name, Arab ic t0ba ; ~ ~' "the bird" >
- -
Coptic papoi, 11 bi rd. 11 The Ber ber word t hus tells us nothing
a bout the original st r ucture of Egypt ian EL!!• only what that
struc t ure was in late times .
 - 153 -

It is improbable that Schenkel ' s proposal for the root £!l!.

can apply to bnr.wt. For one t h ing , the reappearance of a pre -
viously reduced -£, according to him , was a Middle Kingdo m prac-
tise; Qnr . wt shows the -£ by the Sixth Dynasty . Secondly ,
while Bryan insists (p . 37) that the si gn ~ "is not necessary
in the spelling of Onj/r , 11 all Old Kingdom examples of the term
include it. Again , the oldest ev id e nc e is the most important in
etymological studies and th e consistent use of this sign indicates
it was treated in thi s word as a tri - l iteral phono gram , not a
determinative , this being usually supplied by the figures in the
reliefs. This is why the word rar ely appears fully spelled out
phonetically before the First Intermediate Period . Tri - litera l
phonograms , more often than not , are accompanied by only one or
two phonetic signs (cf. Ede l, Alt ag . Gra m. I , pp . 26 f . ). Note
that t he single example of bni Bryan points out for the Old King-
dom should be restored at the e nd ; see abo ve , p . 70 , no . s.

pp . 77- 78 -- Bryan , op . cit ., pp. 52 f. , follow s Hayes , PLMK , p . 42,

in assumin g that the bnrt at La hun wa s a "workhouse'' and feels
that one crimi nal/pr i~r there was "t he §mcyt named among a
motley group ro unded up for f orced l abor in a Middle Kingdom
bnj/rt ' workhouse '." But the text in question ( Pa p . Be rl in
10021) does not say this . An " Overseer of Servants'' (imy- r mrw)
has instructed a " Scribe of the temple'' (s§ n ~w . t - n t r) -- cf .
fil:! I , p. 11 -- to assemble a grou p of people from var io us places ,
some of which are named . One of these places is a bnrt at Lahun
f!.2!!!. wh i ch two singers and a child are to be taken . There is no
reason to assume that forced labo ur is involved nor is this gr oup
of people being taken iE, the bnrt .

p. 133, n. 20 -- On the l aws mentioned in ~, pp. 47 f ., and the

co ncept of codified law as applied to Egypt , see Lorton, JESHO
20 , 16 f ., 53-64. On the position of the king as the ultimate
giver of law, see now A. Theodorides, in Centre G. Glatz , ~
origins de l'hellenisme. La crate et la grace . Festschrift
 - 154 -

van Effanterre (Paris, 1984), pp. 55-61.

p. 139, "• 67 - A detailed study on thfi' WQrd !,3r.t, "cabin, enclosed

place," i's given by Schulman, fil 1, 29 ff.
 - 1 55 -

INDICES

A. Egyptian
1 • Titles p. 1 56
2 . Royal Names 164
3. Private Names 165
4 . Words Discussed 1 69

B. English
1. Titles 171
2 . Royal Names 1 80
3. Private Names 181

c. Texts Cited 184

All title s and names are given in both Egyptian and English
throughout even though many of the titles and practically all the
names are only in English i n the text . The normalization of
Egyptian names ado pted here is more for the ease of non - Egyptolo-
gical readers and opts for clarity rather than strict phonetic
ac cu ra cy.
 - 156 -

A. Egyptian

1. Titles

Underlined page numbers i ndicate a d iscussio n

o f a title; els ewhere it is mentioned only.

3ty,t, Attendant, Nurse: ~' 23

~' Attendant:~
3tw n t . t nt Q~ 3 1 Attendant of t he Ruler ' s Tab le: 37- 8 , 46, 49,
55 , 1.12.· 148
ib3,t, Dance r: 77
imy bt, Attendant: 115
imy-r 3Q.wt, Overseer of Fields: 33- 4 , 11..£, 148
im y-r i p, t pr-c3 , Overseer of the Palace Counting- house: 87
im y-r i p,t-nsw, Overseer of t he Royal Cou nting- hou se: 81, 89 ,
91 ; n, 100
imy-r ip,t-nsw n pr- bnr, Over·seer of the Royal Counting- house of
the pr-hnr: 81
imy-r ip , t - naw n pr-Qnty m Mn-nfr, Overseer of the Ro ya l Coun t ing-
house o f the pr- pnty i n Memphis: n. 100
imy-r is .wy n hkrw ns w, Overseer of the Workshop of the Roya l
Insignia: n. 73
i my-r it m Smcw T3- mQw , Overseer of Grain in North and South : 125
imy-r cww, Overseer of forei gn Me rcenaries; 35 , 11..£
imy-r cbw , Overseer of Horned Animals: 27 , 36 , 123; n. 6
imy-r chnw , ty n h3 n imy-r sd3w,t , Chamberlain of the Bureau of
the Overseer of the Tre asury: 15
imy-r chnw , ty n b3 n i3.ty, Overseer of t he Bureau of th e Vizier : 15
imy-r pr, Steward: 36 , 1.£!!.
imy-r pr,wy ~d, Overseer of the Double House of Si lver: 92
imy-r pr,wy nbw, Overseer of the Double House of Gold: 92
imy-r pr Qsb it, Steward of Reckoning Barley : 36, 1.£!!.
imy-r pr §new, Steward o f a Storehouse: 34 , 1.£!!.
imy-r mrw, Overseer of Servants: 151
imy-r m!c, General: 35 , 11.!!
 - 157 -

TITLES : EGYPTIAN

imy-r msc wr , Generaliss imo: 33-4, 118

_i_m.x_-_r__n_i_
·w_...._t , Mayor : 53
imy- r niw . wt m3 . wt , Overseer of New Towns : 125
imy- r Qw .t-ntr , Overseer of a Temple: 124
imy-r Qmw- ntr, Overseer of God ' s Servants : 33 , 46 , 54 , 11 7 , 123
imy- r hm . wt hn r.wt, Overseer of the (sacred} Cattle of the
Singing- Dancing Troupe: 79
_i_m_y_-_
r __s~._ t , Overseer of a Sto re hous e: ~. 89, 123
imy- r s . t n sncu c3 , Overseer of the Storehouse of the Great
Storehouse: 38 , 123
imy- r sm y.wt, Ove rseer of Deserts: 122
imy- r smy . wt i3bty . ut , Overseer of Eastern Deserts : 33- 4 , 122
imy- r smy.wt imnty . ut , Overseer of Western Deserts : 122
im y-r smy . ut nb . wt, Overseer of All Dese rts: 122
imy-r sp . tyw, Overseer of Field- workers: 62
imy-r as m pr cnQ , Ove rseer of Wr iting in the Hous e of Life : 91
imy- r ss .w y n sbmb-i b , Ove rseer of the Tua Poo l s of Amusement : 91
imy- r snw . t y, Overseer of the Double Grana ry: 35 , 122
imy- r sn!, Po lice Chief : 116
imy- r sn! n ~u . t -nir nt 1 InP.w , Police Chief in the Temple of
Anubis: 37 , 47 , 56 , 11 6
imy- r kmy .wt pnr.ut , Overseer of the Black Catt le of the Si nging-
Dancing Troupe: 79
imy-r gs-p r , Oversee r of an Administrative District : 44, 49 , 53 ,
56 , 11.!
imy- r t3 r. t (ip .t ) nsw SQt p-ib- Rc- 1 It- t3.wy , Ove r see r of the Royal
Granary (Counting- house) at Lisht : 92
imy-r tbww , Overseer of Sandal- makers : 37 , 115 , 123
imy.t-r pr n sncw, Stewardess or a Storehouse: i• 22 , 29
imy .t-r pnr .wt , Overseer of a Troupe of Singers and Dancers :
72- 4, 149
imy. t -r pnr.wt nt ' I wn-mw.t. f , Overseer of the Troupe of Singers
and Dancers of Iunmute f: 73
 - 158 -

TITLES: EGYPTIAN

·imy.t-r hnr.wt nt 83 .t, Overseer of the Troupe of Singe r s and

Dancers of Bat: 73
imy . t - r onr . wt n nsw , Overseer of the King's Troupe of Singers
and Dancers: 72
imy .t-r hnr.wt nsw mi -~d. f , Overseer of All the Royal Troupe of
Singers and Dancers : 74
imy . t - r s . t, Overseer of a Storehouse: ~, 21
iry n ip . t nt smd.t nb ,t, Keeper of the Census of all (Temple?)
Labourers: 92-3
ir y c ,t, Hall- keeper: !• 11 9
iry c ,t n ip . t - nsw, Hall- keeper of the Royal Counting- house : 89
iry- pc,t : see r - pc,t
iry hpw , Keeper of Regula t io ns: 12 5
iry Qt Mnw ' Ipw, Worker of Min at Akhmtm: n. 66
iry pt nsw pr-c3, Royal Workman of the Palace : 87
ir . t n! . t , Hairdre s ser: 4
iry . t c .t, Hall- keeper : !• 21, 29- 30
iry ,t-pc .t: see r . t-pc .t

-
it- ntr , God's Fat her: 67
idnu n imy- r n i p (3) - nsw , Deputy of the Overseer of t he Royal
Bureau: n . 64
idnw n pr- hnr, Deputy of t he pr-Qnr: 81

cft y.t, Brewer : ! 1 23

~ Freeman: E.§.
cnb n i •t Q~3, Participant of t he Ruler's . Table: 46-7, 55; 11,i
cnQ .t, Attendant , freewoman: 5 , .21 ff .
cnh. t n(t) ip(7), Attendant of the (Royal) Apa~tmant : s, E.§.
cnQ.t nt niw,t, Citizaness , Townswoman: 5 , 29, .21. ff., 68
cnh,t nt tpy .t nsw , At tendant of the Roya l favourite : s, 17, 25 ,
28- 9, 38 , .21 ff., 148
cnQ. t nt i.t, Attendant of the Tab le: s
-
 - 159 -

TITLES: EGYPTIAN

cnb. t nt i•t Q~3 , Participant of the Rule r 's Table: 5 , 123

cbcy . t , Attendant : ~
.'.:..!i., Enterer : ~, 54 , 118
e
~ pr, a household servant : 5
~k n Sbk , Enterer of ~obk: 47 , 56
e~y.t , Maidservant : 5

web , (ordinary) priest: 5 , 47 , 56 , 77 , 11 5, .11.i

web C3 n Hr , Chief Priest of Horus: 26, 34, 117
web n ~r Bhd . t, Priest of Horus of Edfu: 37, 124
wcb.t , (ordinary) Priestess : 6 , 20, 25, 28
wcb . t nt tinsw , Priestess of Khonsu: ~' 38
wcb . t nt Gs-i3by , Priestess of Gs-i3by : 6
wcr . tw 0 3 n niw . t, Chief Administrato r of a Town : 55 , 116
!:!.E,l , Butler : 6- 7
wb3y . t, Housemaid , Housekeeper: 6- 7, 29
wnw . t y, Astronomer: n . 41
wr mdw §mew , Magnate of the Southern Te na: 37- 8, 46 , 54- 5 ,
62, .11.Q..
wr Qrp Qm . wt , Chief Director of Craftsmen (= High Priest at
Memphis): 22 , 37, 11.2.; n . Be
wr t3r.t (ip . t) nsw is df3 , Chief of the Royal Gr anary (Counting-
house) end Archive- chamber for Provisions : 86
wr§ . t Mnw, Watcher of Min: 7, 18 , 1l
wdpwy.t, Butl er (f . ): 7

b3k . t nt Q ~3 , Servant of e Rul er: 1• 25, 27-8, 30

b3k . t nt t . t hk3 , Se r vant of the Ruler's Table : 1• 25, 28 , 38

£!..!.!., a domest i c servant:

-
7
 - 160 -

TITLES: EGYPTIAN

mw . t nsw, King's Mother: 105 , 107 ; nn. 11 7b , 12 8a

mnc.t , Nurse , We t nurse: 3, ~ . 23- 4
m~Q NQn , Carpenter of Nekhen : 16, 33 , 116

nb . t pr , Lad y of the Ho use: ~ ' 24 , 30 , 33-4 , 54- 5 , 67 , 116

!!!:!..l, Gol~smith: 57 , 67
nm hy . t, Fr eewoma n : ~' 25 , 28
nmhy . t nt n iw . t , Freewoman of the Tow n: 8 , 38
nmQy.t nt Qr yw- pr , Fr aewoman of the Majordomos: 8
nmhy . t nt hr . tyw- nt r wc r . t mht y . t , Fr eewoman of the Stone- mas ons
of the Northern District : 8
nmhw , Freeman: ~ . 11 8
~ . Hai rdresse r : 9 , 23, 29
nd y._t, Miller: ~. 23

r - pc . t , He re dita r y Nob l eman : 33- 5 , 47, 55 , ..!.22.

r . t - pc . t , Hered i t ary Noblewoman: 9 , 22 , 28- 9, 33, 39- 40 , ~.
49, 54 , 56 , 89 , 104 , 148 ; n . 8
rwgw n pr - bnr , Controller of the pr-Qnr : 81
rnnw . t, Nur s e : 13
rQ new , King ' s Acqua inta nce: 13- 4 , 37 , 119
rQ ns w m3c , True King ' s Acquai ntance: 33
rQ.t nsu , Kin g ' s Acquaintance (f.): 29
rh . t nsw m3c , Tr ue Ki ng 's Acquaintance (f . ): 34 , 129
roty , Washerman: 68

~3 . ty -c, Count : 33- 5 , 4 6- 7 , 54- 5 , _!.11., 11 8 , 148

~3 . tyt -c , Count ess: 11!_, 28, 33, 45
~m . t nsw , Kin g 's Wife: 39 , 46- 7 , 49 , 55- o, 102, 105, 107, 11 0-1 1 ,
11 3; n . 117b
l - 161 -

TITLES : EGYPTIAN

hm . t nsw wr.t, King ' s Chief Wife : 104 ; n. 12 8a

Qm- nir , God ' s Servant : 37 , 114, 11 9
hm - ntr n l;lw.t- ljr , Priest of Hathor : 10, 119
Qm . t , Maidse r vant: 10
Qm.t-ntr , Priestess: 1.Q, 30
Qm. t - nir P3Q . t , Priestess of Pakhet : 1.Q, 33- 4
Qm . t - nir N.t , Priestess of Neith : 10
Qm . t -nir ~w . t - l;lr , Priestess of Hatho r: 1.Q., 25- 30 , 33- 5 , 73 , 108,
110-1 3 ; nn . 1, 122
hm . t k3, Funerary Priestess : !!_, 21
Qnw . t nt ' Imn, Lady of Amon: 11
hnw . t hm . wt nb . wt , Mistress of All Women : .1.l• 22 , 45
hry- pr , a household servant: 12, 44 , 56 , 120
hry . t - pr , a household servant : 1.l
Qry sst3 ip . t (i3r.t) , Pri vy Councillo r of the Royal Counting-
house (Granary) : 87
Qry sst3 hkrw nsw , Privy Councillor of t he Royal I nsignia: 92 ; n . 73
Qry sst3 n s~3w . ty ntr , Privy Councillor of t he God's Seal- beare r:
n . 70
hry-tp c3 , Noma r ch: 34 , 120
Qry- tp C3 n hkrw nsw, Great Chief of t he Royal Insignia : n . 73
9ry- tp hry- Qb .t, Chief Lecto r-priest : 54
Qsy . t , Si nger : 12 , 22 , 29 , 77
hsy . t m bn . t , Singer- harpist: 12 , 22
Qsbw, Reckoner (of grain): 125
hk3 niw .w t m3 . wt, Ruler of Neu Towns: 33 , 45 , 125
9~3 9w.t , Manage r of an Estate: 35 , 120

bby.t, Dancer: 12
bny. t nt ljw.t-ljr , Musician of Hathor: 12 , 20, 30
~' Musician: 12 , 23 , 149-51
bnw . t , Musician: 11,, 23 , 149- 51
 - 162 -

TITLES: EGYPTIAN

hnmt.t , Nurse : .11, 23

pnry . t nt ' Inpw, Singer-Dancer of Anubis: 1J., 74
Qrp k3 . wt , Ove r seer of Works: 22
hr p . t k3 . wt n PtQ , Oversee r (f . ) of Wo rks of Ptah: 22
pt . t - pr, Cl eaning- woman: 1J., 29
bt . t - pr n c . t Qnk.t , Scullery- maid of the Kitc he n: 13

: 1J., 23
-hrhnm.y- Qbt , . tNurse
, Lec t or- priest: 34- 5 , 37, 54 , 114 , 1!.Q.
hr d n k3p , Page : 1J., 124
h rd n k3p n ip . t - nsw , Page of the Royal Counting- house: 89
hrd. t nt k3p, Page (f.): 1J.
h kr. t nsw, Lady- in- Waiting: 14 , 22 , 25- 30 , 56 , 108, 11 6 ; nn .
B, Ba , 128a
h kr. t nsw wct . t , Sole Lady- in- Waiting : 14 , 22, 25- 30, 34-6 , 72- 3,
108 , 110- 13; n . 1

8 n knb . t , Member of a Council: 1,i, 121

s .t nt ~ nb . t 2 Member (f . ) of a Council : 1,i, 19, 60
s . t nt Gs- i3b:t;, Lady of Gs- i3b;t: 6 , 14
s 3 ns w, King ' s Son : 39- 44, 46- 7, 52- 6 , 105, 148
s3 nsw n K3§ , King ' s Son of Kush: 43
s3 nsw t e :t: • Fir st Ki ng's Son : 37 , 118
s3 h3.ty- c , Son of a Count: 33 , 49 , 127
s 3. t nsw1 King ' s Daughter : 22, 39- 40 , 46- 49 , 52- 56, 104; n. 128a
a3 . t h3 . ty- c , Da ughter of a Count : 1±:.2.· 22 , 25- 6 , 28- 9 , 33 , 45 , 55
s 3 . t om- ntr , Da ughte r of a Pr iest : 16 , 29
s 3. t ~~ 3 , Daughter of a Rule r : 26 , 33
a3w sm:t;.t 1 Necropolis Guard: 37 , ill
ill,, Dign itary : 42 , 49 , 55 , ill
e 3b i r y NQn, Se ni or Warden of Nekhen : 37, 56 , 127
-
 - 1 63 -

TITLES : EGYPTIAN

sm3w . ty , a kind of priest: 77

smr wc . ty, Sole f r iend : 26- 7 , 33- 6 , 118 , 127
sn . t nsw, King ' s Sister: 49 , 54
SQd . t nt hnr . wt, Inspector of a Troupe of Singers and Dance r s : 149
sOty .t, Weave r: 16 , 23
s§ ip . t - nsw , Sc ri be of the Royal Counting- house : 82 , 89
s§ ip . t - nsw n pr- bnr , Sc ri be of the Royal Cou nti ng - hous e belong i ng
to the pr - hnr: 81
ss whr. t nsw , Sc r ibe of the Royal Dockyard: 87
s§ n p r-Qd n pr- hn r, Scribe of the Treasury belonging to the
the pr - hnr : 82
s§ nsw n pr- hnr , Royal Scribe of the pr- Qnr: 82
s§ Qw . t - nt r, Scribe of a Temple : 37 , 126 , 151
s§ Qry htm Gs- i3by , Scribe in Charge of the Sea l of Gs-i 3 by: 6
s§ n hnrt wr , Scribe of the Great Prison : 38 , 21.§.
s§ n tm3 , Scribe of the Cadaste r: 38 , 21.§.
~' Scribe (f.): l&,,21 , 23 , 30
s§ , t nt r , s , Cosmetician : 17, 23
skd n dp . t , Sailor of a Boat : 87
s£3w . ty , Sealer : 18, 34 , 126
s&3w . ty bi . ty , Seale r of the King of Lower Egypt: 33- 6 , 46- 7 , 53 ,
55 - 6 , 1 18 , 21.§.
sd3w . ty kf3 ib, Trustworthy Sealer: 1 29
s £3w . ty nir , God ' s Tr eas urer: n. 1 0
s£3w . tyt , Sealer (f . ): 11, 28
sd3w . tyt kf3 ib , Trustworthy Sealer (f . ) : !.§_, 20

§ps . t nsw , King ' s Noblewoman : ~, 22 , 29

smcy , t, Musician: 17 , 22 , 1 5 1
smsw , Retaine r: 37 , 124
 - 164 -

TITL ES: EGYPTIAN

k3ry.t, Gardener: 12.• 23

tpy.t nsw, Royal Favourite: 12.• 22, 64

t.t k3 . t , Serving- maid : 19

-
t3.ty, Vizier: 34 , 53
t 3w ip.i-nsw, Journeyma n of the Royal Counting-house: 89
tsw (n Qb3), Commander (or Edfu): 42, 55

diw.t nt d . t, Winnower of the Estate: ~. 23

du3 ,.t, Adorer : ~

d.t, Serf, Se rva nt :

=-- -20
.]
- 165 -

ROYAL NAMES: EGYPTIAN

2. Royal Names

' Imn- m- h3 .t I , Amenemhat: 74 ; n. 77

'Imn-m-h3.t II, Amenemhat: n. 77
1 Imn-m-h3.t IV , Amenemhat: 18
c
Mn- k3w-R , Menkaur e: n. 56
Mr-nfr - Rc ~' Mernefe rre Ay: 53
~r-9tp-R 0 , Merhetepre: 53
Nb-iri-r-3w, Nebiryerau: 52
0
Nb-!J'pt-R Mniw-Qtp, Nebhepetre Mentuhote p: Cha p. 6 passim ; nn.
104 , 11 2 , 12Ba
Nbw-Qc.s, Nubkhas (Q . ): 48-9, 52, 56
Nbw-bpr-R 0 'In.it.f V, Nubkhepe rr e Intef: 41, 48
Nfr.t, Neferet (Q.): 55
~, Neferu (Q.): 45 , 102, 104-5, 111-14; nn . 111a, 112, 12 8e
Nfr-7tp I , Neferhotep: 52
S- n-Wsr .t I , Sesostris: 31 , 112
S-n-Ws r.t II, Sesostris: 47
Scnb-k3-R 0 Mniw- Qtp, Seankhkare Mentuhotep : 105- 6
Sbk-m-s3.f II , Sebekemsaf: 44, 52
Sbk-m-s3 .f, Sebekemsaf (Q.): 41 , 48
Snb-sn, Senebsen (Q.): 49, 52, 56
Sbm- Rc w3?-b 0 w, Sekhemre-wah-khau : 64
SQm-Rc bwy- t3 .wy P3-n-tn~, Sekhemre-Khutawy Panteni: 43-4, 55
!!!!.• Tam (Q . ): 102 , 104- 5 , 107- 8 , 112, 114 ; nn. 117b, 11 8 , 12Ba
Tti, Teti: 74
Dd-msw I , Dedumose : 41-2
Dd-msw II, Dedumose: 41
QQwty-ms III , Thutmosis : 18
 - 166 -

PRIVATE NAMES : EGYPTIAN

3. Private Names
A name marked with an asterisk (*) is masculine.

~' As : n . 120 * 'Isi- nt r, Isi-ne tcher: 54

3s . t , Isis : 46 , 54 ~' Ita : 15
* ' Ititi , Itit i: 77
' It . s - cnh , Itse a nkh : 74
*~ (1), Ay : 49 ~' Idi : 35
*~ (2) ,
Ay : 53
'IcQ, Iah: n . 112
'I chw , Iahu : n . 112 c3sy .t, Ashayt: 102 , 110; nn.
* ' Iw , Iu: 47 121, 124
1 Iwf , Iuf : 49 *cnh- nb . f , Ankh-n ebef: 87
' Iw . t -n-Qb , Iutenheb: 66 *cQ3-nbt, Ahanakht : 91
*'lb, lb : 54
*:!El, Ibi : n . 17
~, Jbi : 36 W3h- rs - snb , Wah-re s - se neb: 19
' Ib - N. t , Ib- Neith: 1 7- 8 * Wb- otp, Ukhhatep: 6 1
~, Imi : 36
• Jmn . t , Amunet : 102 , 108 ,
1 14 ; n. 120 83k . t , Baqet: 33
*' Imn- hcw (1), Amonkhau: 67 8 c 3twy , Ba c a l t 0ya : 19
* 'Imn-hcw (2), Amonkhau: 68 *.filLl:., Bebi : 44, 56
* 'Imny (1), Imeny: 15
*'Imny (2), Imeny : 15
~' Inen: 35 .e.t:.:!•
Pefes: n . 1
2!l!:,, Iner: 68 Pr y .t, Per yet: 35
' In- s3 . t - h3 . t - sps . wt, In- sat- *Pr-p3-i3w, Perpethau: 67
Hatshepsut: 49
'In k-sw- ndm , Inksunedjem: 67
_,
' I rn Iren: 35 Miy .t, Mayt : 102, 108, 112, 114;
*' Ih3, Iha : 74 , 91 nn . 121, 1 23-4
*~. Ihy: 74 , 89- 91 Mw . t - mw . t. i, Mu tmuti: 35
 - 167 -

PR I VATE NAMES : EGYPTIAN

c
Mw . t - m- hb , Mute mhe b : 57 , 67 *R - ms , Ra mos e : 57 , 67
~' Mane t : 1 08 *Rwd- mnw , Rudj - menu : n . 10
- c
*Mntw- Qtp , Mentuhotep : 65 Rn . f - n h , Renefankh : 34
Mr . t - ik r . t , Me r it - iqe r t: 73 *Rn- snb , Re nse ne b: 49 , 56
Mr . t - it . s, Me r itites : 35 Rn . s - seneb , Re nes-seneb : 62
*Mr r . wy-k3.i , Mereruk a: 72 *Rs- snb , Res - seneb: 49
J:!!:.!i, Me rsy : 33 Rdi . t - n . s , e editne s : 52 - 3 , 56
Mdhw, Medhu : 34 Rdi . t - n . s - n . i , Re d itnes n i : 148

*Ny- m3c , t - Rc , Nimaatre : 72 Hnh n . t , Henhene t : 1 02 , 108 ;

* Nb- sn .t , Nebsenet : 55 nn . 121 - 2
Nbw- nbt , Ne bunakht : 34
*Nbw- bc . s , Nubkhas: 44 , 56 H3 . t - sps . wt (1), Hatshepsut :
Nfrw (1) , Neferu : 46 , 54 46- 7 , 55
Nfrw (2) , Nefe r u : 47 , 56 ~3 . t - sps . wt (2) , Hatshepsut : 148
Nf rw (3), Neferu : 64 ~w . t - ~r - Qtp , Hathor - hetep : 34
~ (4 ) , Neferu : 89 ~ pw ,Hepu : 64
Nfr . t , Neferet: 47 ~m-Rc , Ham ra: 72
Nfr . t - tw , Nefertu : n . 10 ~nw , He nu : 33
Nfr- b3.t, Nefe rbat: 73 Hnw . t - sn , Henutsen: 34
Nfr- htp (1) , Nefer hotep : 49 , 56 ~' Henti : 73
Nfr- Qtp (2) , Neferhotep : 62 *Hri, Hori: 54
*Nfr- htp (1) , Nefe r hotep: 6 Hr-i b- Rc , Ho r i br e : 34
* Nf r - Qtp (2), Neferho t ep: 49 *~r - Qr - pww.f , Horherkhu f : 55
Nf r. a - rs , Nef9resres: 72 *~r - sQ r , Ho r - s e kher : 41 - 2 , 54
*N l;l i, Nehi : 62 ~si, Hesi: 73
*Nhri , Nehri: 45 *~~3 - nQt , He ka ~akht : 66
Ns- mw . t , Nesmut : 6 7 ~t p , l;ietep : 15 , 33
t!!!l• Nese n : 46 , 56 ~tp . t , Hetpet: 34
~tp.ti , Hetepti : 35
Htp- nfrw, Het ep - nefe r u : 46 , 55
 - 1 68 -

PRIVATE NAMES : EGYPTIAN

* tl3rr , Kharer : 68 * Sbk-Qtp (1) , Sebe kh ot ep: 41, 54

* Hc - hpr - Rc- snb , Khakheperre- *Sbk- ht p (2) , Sebekhotep : 77
seneb: 62 Sh t.t - i kr . t , Sek ha tiq e rt : 35
Hnsw , Khons u:
_v _ _
49 , 56 *Ssmw , Sashamu: 88- 9
*tjnsw , Khons u: 42 , 55 Sn . t , Senst: 34
*Hnsw- ms , Khonsu - mose : 68 Sn . t - mn . t .wy , Sanat- manatwy : 35
..§..!!!?., Seneb: 4 1
Snb - sn , Sanabsen : 62
- .
* Hnmw- htp I , Khnumhotep: 45 Snb . ty , s y, Senabtisi : 36
- .
*Hnmw- htp I I , Khnumhot ep:
17 , 45
Snhn . t, Senhen it : 73

l:!ty , Khety : 33 , 45
Sd .t-it . s , Shedetites : 36

*S- n- Wsr .t , Sesos tris: 77

g , Sa : 34 * Gmn , Geman : 65
*53-r np .wt I , Sarenput : 89
*53- sty . t , Sasetyt : 1 5 K3wi . t , Kaw~t : 102 , 1 08 ; nn . 120- 1
S3 . t - i p , Sat- ip : 45- 6 *~ , Ky : 15
53 . t - Mntw , Sat - Montu : 65 Kmsi . t , Kemsit : 1 02 , 108 ; nn .
53 . t - tinty- ht y , Sat- Khenti - 120-1, 126
kheti : 1 5
S3 . t - s3- Sbk , Satsasobk: 34
53 . t - tp- ihw (1) , Sat- tepihu: 1 5 T3- is , Tais : 68
S3 . t -t p- ihw ( 2) , Sat- tepihu: 77 T3- whd , Taukhad : 68
~, Sadeh : 102 , 108 , 111 ; !!!l• Tam: 108 ; n . 128a
n . 121 Tnn . t, Ten ena t: 108
* Sw- m- c , Suma : 74
Sbk - m- s3 . f , Sebek emsaf : 44 , 46 ,
56 ! 3 . t (1) , Tchat : 17
Sbk - nht
v
, Sebeknak ht :
* Sbk - nht , Sebeknakh t:
4 6 , 54
49 , 56 ---
T3 .t (2) , Tchat:

-
Ti3by (?) , Tchiabi
45
(?) : 64
 - 1 69 -

PRI VATE NAMES : EGYPT I AN

.QE.!, Dedi ; 35
Dd . t -' Imn, Dedet- Amo n : 4 6 , 55
*Dd.tw , Dedtu: 56

c
*Q~wt y -3 , Djehuti - ea : 55
Q~wty- npt , Dj a h uti-nakht: n. 8
DQwty- Qtp, Djehu ti- hotep : 61
 - 170

WORDS DISCUSSED

4. Words Di scussed

ie..J:., count i ng- house : 81 ff .

ip.t - nsw , royal counting - house: 81 ff .
ip . t, census: 93
i p. wt, secret chambers: n . 68
ip31. t) nsw , royal bureau : 82 - 3 ; n . 64
im3 . t , women ' s quart ers : 70 , 149

c
~· foreign me rcenary : 122

.E.!2!,, be sweet , etc .: 15 1 f .

~. to cover: 42

niw . t m3 . t , new town : 125

r - hr , pre p .: ot h er than : n . 15

Qw . t , estate , etc . : 122

Qm . t , wi f e:,66 ff .
hr §msw , as follows : n . 63

hnri , prisoner : 79
~

hnrt, priso n: 78
~

bnrt , quarters for Si nger - Dancers: 78- 9 , 151

s . t , storehouse: 3 , 128; n . 72
smd . t , subordinate , la bou rer : 92 f .
snhy , to register people : 75
sk.t , donkey- foal : n. 59a

sncw , storehouse: 128

§nd . t , a sanctuary of Sek hmet: 149
-
 - 171 -

WORDS DISCUSSED

knb.t, council: 14

kf3 ib, trust1.1orthy: 18

gs-i3by, place-name( ?): 6

gs-pr, administrative district: 121

t.t, table: 19
=--
---
t.t, staff-member: 19
i3r.t, granary, ca~in, etc.: 83, 152 ; n. 67

--
tm3, cadaster: 125
 - 172 -

TITLES: ENGLISH

B. English

1, Titles

Underlined page numbers indicate a discussion

of a title; elsewhere it is mentioned only .

-
Adorer , dw3 , t : 20
Astronomer , unw . ty: n . 41
Attendant , cQcy . t : 5
Attendant, imy pt: 115
Attendant , ~: 1
Attendant , nurse, 3ty.t: 1• 23
Attendant of a (Royal?) Apartment , cnh . t n(t) ip(?): S, 65
Attendant of the Royal Favourite , cnh . t nt tpy.t nsw: S, 19 , 25 ,
2B- 9 , 38 , 62 ff., 148
Attendant 9f the . Ruler ' s Table, 3tw n i• t nt Q~3: 37- 8 , 46, 49 ,
55, 1.!.2.· 148
Attendant of the Table , c nb . t nt i . t; 5

Breuer , cfty,t : i• 23
Butler, ~: 6- 7
But ler (f.), udpwy.t : 7

Carpenter of Nekhen , mgQ Npn: 16 , 33 , 116

Chamberlain of the Bureau of the Overseer of the Treasury , imy-r
chnu. ty n h3 n imy- r sd3w , t : 15
Chamberlain or the B u~e a u of the Vizier , imy- r chnw,ty n b3
n t3.ty: 15
Chief Admini;trator of a Town, wcr.tu C3 n niu.t: 55, 11 6
Chief Director of Craftsmen (•High Pries t at Memphis) , wr prp
'hm.1.1t: 22 , 37 , !!.§.; n . ea
 - 173 -

TITLES: ENGLISH

Chief Lector-priast, Qry-tp hry-tfb.t: 54

Chief Priest of Horus, web C3 n Hr: 25, 34, 1.11.
Chief of the Royal ~ranary (Counting-house) and Archive Chamber
for Provisio~s , wr t3r.t (ip . t) _osw is df3: 86
Citizeness, T-0~nsuoman, cnh.t nt niw.t: 5 , 19, ~ff., 68
Cleaning-woman , ht .t-pr : J1., 29

-
Commander {of Edfu) , tsw (n Db3): 42, 55
Controller of the pr-hnr, rwdw n pr-hnr: 81
--Y- - V
Cosme~ician , s§ ,t nt r,s: 17, 23
Co unt , Q3 , ty- c : 33- 5, 46-7, 54- 5 , .1.11., 11 9 , 148
Countess , Q3.tyt-c : 1.Q, 28, 33 , 45
Controller of Works of p't ah , brp . t k3 . wt n Pt~: 22

Dancer , ib3.t: 77
Dancer , bby.t : 12
Daughter of a Count , s3.t h3 .ty-c: 14-6, 22 , 25- 6, 28- 9, 33, 45, SS
Daughter ·of a Priest , s3 .t ~m-ntr: 16, 29
Daughter of a Ruler, s3.t Q~3: 26 , 33
Deputy of the pr-bnr: idnw n pr-bnr: 81
Deputy of the Overseer of the Royal Bureau , idnw n imy-r n
ip(3) -r:isw: n. 64
Dignitary, s3b: 42, 49, SS, 117
domestic servant, .P!..:.!= 7

Enterer, ~: .§., S4, 11 ~

Enterer of the ~ouse(?) , c~ pr: 5
Enterer of Sobk , ck n Sbk: 47, 56

first King's Son 1 s3 nsw tpy: 37, ~

freeman, cnb: 65
Freeman, nmhw: ~. 118
 - 174 -

TITLES: ENGLISH

free woman , Attendant , cnp . t: 5 , §.1. ff .

Freewoman , nmby . t: ~ , 25 , 28
Freewoman of the Majordomos , nmhy . t nt hryw- pr: 8
Freewoman of the Stone- masons of the No r the r n District , nmQy . t nt
~r . tyw-ni+ wcr.t mQty . t: 8
f r eewoman of a Tow~ , nmhy . t nt niw.t: 8, 38
funerary Priestess , hm.t k3 : !Q_, 21

Gardens+ , k3ry . t : 19 , 23
General , imy-r m§c: ~
Generalissimo , imy- r m§c wr: 33- 4 , ~

-
God ' s father , it- ntr : 67
God ' s Servant , Qm-nir: 37 , 114, 119
God ' s Servant of Hatho r , Qm- ntr n ~w . t - ~r : 8 , 11 9
God ' s Treasur er , sg3w . ty nir : n. 10
Goldsmith , !!.2.Y, : 57 , 67
Great Chief of the Royal Ins ignia , Qry- t p c3 n hkrw new: n . 73

Hairdresser , n§ . t : 9, 23 , 29
Hairdresser , ir . t n§ . t: 4
Hal l - ke eper, ir y c . t: i• 119
Hall - keeper (f . ) , ir y.t c . t: i• 21 , 29- 30
Hall- kee per of the Royal Counting- house, iry c . t n i p. t-nsw: 89
He r editary Noblemen , r -pc . t: 33- 5, 47, 55 , 112.
Hereditary Noblewoman , r.t-pc . t : 9 , 22 , 28- 9 , 33 , 39- 40, ~.
49 , 54 , 56 , 89, 104 , 148 ; n. 8
High Priest at Memphis {see : Chief Director of Cr aftsmen)
household se r vant , Q r y ~ p r : 12 , 44 , 56 , 11.Q.
household s ervant (f . ), Qry . t -pr: 11
Ho usemaid , Houseke e per , wb3y . t : ~, 29
 - 1 75 -

TITLES : ENGLIS H

Journe yma n of the Royal Counting- ho use , i~ w i p. t - nsw: 89

Ke epe r of the Census of all (Temple?) Labourers, iry n ip . t nt

emd . t nb . t~ 92- 3
Keeper of Regulatio~s, iry hpw: 125
King's Acquaintance , rp ~sw: 15-6 , 37 , 119
King ' s ~cquaintance (f . ), rh . t nsw: 29
Ki ng ' s Chief Wife , Qm . t nsw u r. t: 104 ; n . 128a
King ' s Daughter , s3 . t nsu : 22, 39- 40 , ~' ~2 - 6 , 104 ; n . 128a
King's Mother , mu. t nsu: 105 , 107 ; nn . 117b , 128a
King ' s Nobleu9man , sps . t nsw: .Jl!, 22 , 29
King's Sister , sn .t ns u : 49, 54
King's Son , s3 nsw: 39-44 , 4 6- 7 , 52- 6 , 105, 148
King's Son of Kush , s3 nsu n K3s : 43
King's Wife , Qm . t nsu : 39 , 46- 7 , 49 , 55- 6 , 102, 105 , 107 , 110-11,
113 ; n . 117b

Lady- in- Waiting , hkr.t nsu : 14, 22 , 25- 30, 56 , 108 , 116 ; nn .
e, ea, 12 Ba
Lady of Amon , bnu . t nt ' Imn : 11
Lady of Gs- i3by , s . t nt Gs - i3by: 6, 14
Lady of the House , nb. t pr: ~ ' 24, 30 , 33- 4, 54- 5 , 67 , 116
Lec t or- priest , hry- Qb . t: 34- 5, 37 , 54 , 115, .1lQ.
Magnate of the Souther n Tens , ur mdw smcu : 37- 8, 46, 54-5, 62, 1 20
Maid s erv a nt, c~y . t: 5
Maidservant , hm . t : 1.Q., 30
Manager of an Es tate , Q~3 Qw . t; 35 , .1lQ.
Ma ster of Housemaids of Onuris , hry ub3y . ut nt ' In-hr.t: 7
Ma yor , i my- r niw . t: 53
Me mbe r of a Council , s n knb.t : ~ . 121
Member of a Council (f . ) , s . t nt ~nb.t : ~' 21, 60
Mi llar, ngy.t: ~' 23
 - 176 -

TITLES : ENGLISH

Mistress of All Women, Qnw . ~ Qm . wt nb.wt: .!..!, 22 , 45

Musician , hnw: 12 , 23, 149- 51
.lot- -
Musician , hnw . t : 11, 149- 51
Musician , §mew : 77, 151
Musician, §mcy . t : 19 , 22 , 77, 151
Musician of Hat ho r , ony . t nt ~w . t-~r: 12 , 20 , 30

Necropolis Guard , s3w smy .t: 37, 121

Nomarch , l)ry- tp c3: 34 , 121
Nurse , rnnw . t: 13
Nurse, mnc . t: ~. e, 23-4
Nurse , hnmt . t : 11. 23
Nurse , b_nm . t: ll· 23

Overseer of an Adminis t rativ e District , imy- r gs - pr : 44, 49 ,

53 , 56 , ill
Overseer of All Deserts, imy- r smy . wt nb . wt: 122
Ove r see r of all the Royal Troupe o f Singers and Dancers , imy . t - r
hnr . wt nsw mi- 1$d . f : 74
Overseer of Deserts, imy- r smy . wt: 122
Overseer of the Do uble Granary , imy- r £3nw.t y : 35, 122
Overseer of the Double House of Go ld , imy- r pr . wy nbw: 92
Overseer of the Double Hou se of Silver , imy- r pr . wy Qd: 92
Overseer of Eastern Deserts , imy- r sm y . wt i3bty . wt: 33- 4, 122
Overseer of fields , imy- r 3Q . wt: 33- 4 , 122, 148
Overseer of Fie l d- workers , imy- r sh . tyw: 62
Over seer of foreign Mercena r ies , imy-r cww: 35 , 111_
Overseer of God ' s Servants , imy-r t:i~w - ntr: 33 , 46 , 54 , 118 , 123
Overseer of Grain in Nor th and South , imy- r it m Smcw t3-mhw: 125
 - 177 -

TIT LES: ENGL! SH

Oversee r of Horned ~nimals , imy- r cbw : 27 , 36 , 123 ; n. 6

Overseer of the King ' s Tro upe of Singe rs and Dancers , imy .t- r
!Jnr . wt n ns._, : 72
Overseer of New Towns , imy- r niw . wt m3 . wt : 125
Overseer of the Pal ace Counting- house, imy- r i p . t pr- c3 : 87
Overseer of the Royal Counting- house , imy- r i p . t - ns w: 81 , 89 ,
91 ; n. 100
Overseer of the Roya l Counting- house of the pr-hnr, imy- r ip . t - ns w
n pr - hn r: 81
Overseer of the Roya l Counti ng- house of the pr - !Jnty in Memphis ,
imy- r ip .t- nsw n pr bnty m Mn - nfr: n . 100
Overseer of the Royal Gra na ry (Counting- house) at Lis ht , i my- r
i3r . t (ip . t) nsw SQt p- ib - Rc-' Ii - t3 . wy : 92
Overseer 0 f' Sandal- makers , imy - r tbww: 37 , 114 , 123
Overseer of Servants , imy- r mrw: 151
Overse e r of a Storehouse , imy- r s .t: .2., 89 , 123
Over seer of a Sto re house (f . ) , imy . t - r s . t : .2., 21
Over see r of the Sto re house of the Great Storehouse , im y- r s . t n
§new c3: 38 , 123
Overs eer of a Temple , imy- r ~w . t - ntr : 124
Overseer of' a Tr oupe of Si nge r s and Dancers , imy- r Qnr . wt: 74
Overseer of a Troupe of Singe rs and Dancers (f . ) , imy . t - r bnr . wt:
72 - 4 , 149
Overseer of the Troupe of Singers and Dance r s of Bat , imy . t - r
hnr . wt nt 83 . t: 73
Oversee r of the Troupe of Singers and Dance rs of Iunmutef , imy . t - r
hnr . wt nt 'Iwn-mw . t . f: 73
Overseer o f the Two Pools of Amusement , imy- r ss . wy s!Jm!J- ib: 91
Overseer of' West er n de serts , i my- r sm y . wt i mnty .wt: 122
Overseer of the Workshop of t he Royal Insignia , imy- r is . wy n
hkrw nsw: n. 73
Overseer of Wri ting in the House of Li fe , imy- r s! m pr cn!J: 91
 - 178 -

TITLES : ENGLIS H

Page , h r d n k3p: 11, 124

Page (f . ), h rd . t nt k3p : 13
Page of the Royal Co unt ing- ho use , hrd n k3p n ip . t - nsw: 89
Participa nt of the Ruler ' s Table , cnQ n t.t Q~3 : 46- 7, 55 , ,11.i
Participant of the Ruler's Table {f . ) , cnhy . t nt -t.t hk3 • •
: 5 , 124
Pol ice Chi ef , imy- r §nl: 11 6
Police Chief in the Temple of Anubis , imy- r §nl n Qw. t - ntr nt
' Inpw : 37 , 47 , 56 , ~
Priest , web: 5 , 47, 56, 77 , 11 5 , ,11.i
Priest , sm3w . ty: 77
Priest of Horus of Edfu , wc9 n ~r BQd . t : 37 , 124
Prie stess , wcb . t : 6 , 20, 25 , 28
Priestess , Qm . t - nlr : 1.Q., 30
Priestess of He t hor , Qm . t - ntr ~w . t - ~r: 1.Q., 25- 30 , 33- 5 , 73 , 108 ,
11 0- 1 3 ; nn . 1 , 122
Priestess of Khonsu , wc b .t nt tlnsw : ~ ' 38
Priestess of Neith , ~m . t - nlr N. t: 10
Priestess of Pa khet , Qm . t - nlr P3b . t : 10 , 33- 4
Priestess of Gs- i3by , wcb . t nt Gs - i3by: ~
Privy Counc illor of the God ' s Seal - bearer , Qry-s§t3 n sd3w . ty

---
ntr: n . 70
Privy Co uncill or of the Royal Co unting- house {Granary) , Qry- s§t3
ip . t {t3r . t) nsw: 87
Privy Councillor of the Royal Insignia , Qry- sst3 hkrw nsw : 92 ;
n. 73

Reckone r {o f grain) , hsbw: 125

Retainer , ~: 37 , 11,i
Royal Favourite , tpy . t nsw : 1.2,, 22 , 64
Royal Scribe of the pr- pnr , ss ns w n pr- hnr : 82
Royal Workman of t De Palace , i r y pt nsw pr -c~ : 87
Ruler of New Towns , Q~3 niw . wt m3 . wt : 33, 45 , 125
J
- 1 79 -

TIT LES : ENGLISH

Sailor of a Boat , s~d n dp . t : 87

Sc r ibe (f . ) , ss . t : ~' 21, 2 3 , 30
Scribe of the Cadast er, ss n ! m3 : 38 , .:!12,
Sc ri be in Cha r ge of the Seal of Gs - i3by , ss Qr y htm Gs - i3by : 6
Sc ri be of t h e Great Pr ison , ss n hnrt wr : 38 , ~
Sc ri be of the Royal Cou nti ng - hous~ , ss n ' i p . t - nsw : 82 , 89
Sc ribe of the Royal Cou nti ng- house Belonging to the pr-b n r ,
s § ip . t - nsw n pr- hnr: 81
Scribe of the Roya l Docky ard , ss whr. t nsw: 87
Scribe o f a Temple , s§ QW . t - n!r: 37 , 126 , 151
Scribe of the Tre asury Belonging to the pr- hnr , ss n pr-Qd n
pr - tJnr : 82
Scu ller y- maid of the Kitchen , bt . t - pr n c . t Qnk . t: 13
Sea ler , s~3w . ty : 1 8 , 34 , ~
Sea ler (f . ) , sd3w . tyt : !l• 23
Sealer of t he King of Lower Egypt , sd3w . ty bi . ty : 33- 6 , 46 - 7 ,
53 , 55- 6 , 119 , 126
Senio r Wa rden of Nekhen , s3b iry Nhn : 37 , 56 , 124
Se rf, Se r vant , d . t : 20
=--
Serva n t of a Rule r, b3k . t nt hk 3 : z,
25 , 27- 8, 30
Servant of t he Ruler ' s Tabl e, b3k . t nt t . t Q~3 : z, 25 , 28 , 38
Servin g- maid, i • t k 3 . t: 19
Singer , osy . t : 1 2 , 22 , 29 , 77
Sin ger-da ncer of An ubis , bnry . t nt 'I npw : 12., 74
Sin ge r - harpist , bsy . t m bn . t: 1 2 , 22
Sol e friend , smr wc . ty : 26- 7 , 33- 6 , 11 9 , 127
Sole Lady- in- Waiting , hkr . t nsw wct . t : 14 ~ 22 , 25 - 30 , 34- 6 , 72 - 3 ,
1O8 , 11 0-1 3 ; n . 1
Son of a Count , s3 h3 . ty- c : 33 , 49 , 12 7
Steward, imy-r pr : 36 , ~
St eward of Reckonin g Ba rley , imy-r p r hsb it: 36 , ~

Ste ward 'of a Storehouse , imy-r pr sncw: 34 , ~

Stewardess of a Storehouse , imy . t - r pr n sncw: i• 33 , 29
 - 180 -

TITLES : ENGLISH

True King's Acquaintance, r h nsw m3°: 33

True King ' s Acquaintance (f.) , r h.t nsw m3°: 34 , 129
Trustworthy Sealer, s~3~.t y kf3 ib: 129
Trustworthy Sealer (r.), sd3w . tyt kf3 ib : 1.J!., 20

Vizier, !3.ty: 34, 53

Washe rman, rbty: 68

Watcher of Min, wr§. t Mnw: 7 , 20 , 73
Weaver, sbty . t: 16, 23
Wife of a Ru l er , Qm .t Q~3 : .!.!.• 22
Winnower of the Estate, diw.t nt d . t : £Q_, 23
Wo rker of Min at Akhmtm , iry Qt Mnw ' Ip w: n. 66
 I
JA

- 181 -

ROYAL NAMES : ENGLISH

2. Royal Names

Amenemhat I , ' Imn- m- h3 . t: 74 ; n . 77

Amenemhat II , 'Imn- m- h3 . t : n . 77
Amenemhat I V, ' Imn- m- h3 . t : 18
Dedumose I , Dd- msw: 41 - 2
Dedumose II , Od- msw : 41
Menkaure, Mn-k 3w- Rc : n . 56
Me rne ferre Ay , Mr-nfr- Rc ' Iy : 53
Me rhetepre, Mr- ht p-Rc : 53
Nebhepetre Mentuhotep , Nb- Qpt- Rc Mnt w-Qtp: Chap. 6 passi m,
nn . 104 , 112 , 128a
Nebiryerau, Nb- iri- r-3w; 52
Nefere t (a .), Nfr . t : 55
Nefe r hotep I , Nf r - htp : 52
Neferu ( a . ), Nfrw: 45 , 102 , 104 - 5 , 111 - 14 ; nn . 111a, 112 , 12 8a
Nubk has (Q .), Nbw- Qc . s: 48- 9 , 52 , 56
Nubkheperre Intef v, Nbw- hpr-Rc ' In . it . f : 41, 48
Sea nkhk are Mentuhotep , ScnQ- k3 - Rc Mnlw- Qt p: 105- 6
Sebekemsaf Il t Sbk- m- s3.f: 44 , 52
Sebekemsaf (a . ) , Sbk- m- s3 . f : 41 , 48
Sek hemre- wah- kha , SQm- Rc - w3Q- b c w: 64
Sekhemre-kh utawy Panten~ , Sbm- Rc - owy- t3 . wy P3 - n- tni: 43 - 4 , 55
Senebsen , Snb-sn: 49 , 52 , 56
Sesost r is I , S- n- Wsr .t: 31 , 11 2
Sesost ris I I , S-n-Ws r,t: 47
Tam , I!!!.: 102 , 104- 5 , 107- 8 , 11 2 , 114: nn . 117b , 11 8 , 128 a
Te t i , fil.: 74
Thut mosi s III , QQwty- ms: 18
 - 182 -

PRIVATE NAMES: ENGLISH

3. Private Names
A name marked with an asterisk (*) is masculine .

*Ahanekht , cQ3- nht : 91 Hatshepsut (2), Hw . t -§ ps. wt: 148

*Amonkhau (1) , 'Imn- bcw: 67 *He ka~akht , l;i~3 -nbt: 66
*Amonkhau ( 2) , 'Imn- bcw : 68 Hamra , Hm-Rc: 72
Amunet, '.Imn .t: 102 , 108, 114 ; Henhenet, Hnhn .t: 102, 108 ;
n. 120 nn. 121 - 2
*An kh-nebef , c nb- nb . f: 87 Henti , Hnti : 73
As , ~: n . 120 He nu, Hnw: 33
Ashayt , c3§y . t: 102 , 110; Henutsen, Hnw . t - sn: 34
nn. 121, 124 Hepu , l;ipw: 64
*Ay (1) , ~: 49 Hesi , Hsi : 73
*Ay (2) , ~; 53 Hetep , l;itp: 15 , 33
Hetep- neferu , l;itp-nfrw: 46, 55
Hetepti , l;itp. ti : 35
8acalt0ya, Bc3twy : 19 Hetpet , Htp . t; 34
Baqet , 83k.t : 33 *Hori , Hri: S4
*Bebi, Bbi: 44 , 56 *Horherkhuf , l;ir - h.r- hww.f: 55
Horibre , Hr-ib-Rc: 34
*Hor- sekher, l;ir - sbr: 41 - 2 , 54
Oede t-Amon , Od . t -' Imn: 46 , 55
Dedi, Odi: 3S
*Oedtu, Dd . tw: S6 Iah, ' Ich.: n. 112
- -c-
*Djehuti-aa, gh.wty-c3: SS Iahu , 1 1 hw : n. 112
*Djehuti-hotep, Qh.w ty- Qtp: 61 *Ib, ' lb: 54
Oj ehuti-na kht , Qh.wty-nbt: n. 8 * Ibi , ~: n. 17
Ibi , 'Ibi: 36
*Gemen, ~: 65 Ib- Neith , ' Ib- N.t: 17-8
Idi, ~: 3S
*Iha, ~: 74 , 91
Hathor-hetep, ~w.t-~r-Qtp: 34 *Ihy, ~; 74 , 89- 91
Hatshepsut (1), ~3 .t-§ps .wt: *Imeny (1), 1 lmny: 1 5
46-7, SS *I many (2), . 1 .Imny: 1 S
 - 183 -

PRIVATE NAMES: ENGLISH

!mi·, ~: 36 Mayt, Miy ,t; 102, 108, 112, 114;

Inen, ~: 35 nn . 121, 123- 4
Iner , ~: . 68 Medhu, Mdhu: 34
Inksunedjem , 'Ink-sw-ndm: 67 Ma net , Mn , t : 108
In- sat- hatshepsut, ' In-s3 , t- *Mentuhotep, Mntu-~tp: 65
H3 , t-sps . ~t: 49 *Mereruka, ~rr-wi-k3,i: 72
Iru, ~: . 35 Merit-iqert, Mr,t-ikr,t: 73
Isi-netcher, 'Isi~ntr: 54 Meritites, Mr,t-it, s : 35
Isis , ~: 46, 54 Me ray, Mrsi: 33
!ta, ' It3 : 15 Mut emhab , Mw ,t-m-hb: 57 , 67
*Ititi, 'Ititi: 77 Mutmuti , Mu , t - mu , t , i: 35
It-seankh, 'It.a- c nb: 74
*lu, ~: 47
Iuf, 'Iw,f: 49 *Nebsenet, Nb-sn , t: 55
Iutenheb, ' I u,t-n-~b: 66 Nebunakht , Nbw- ntJt : 34
Neferbat, Nfr- b3.t: 73
Neferesres , Nfr , s -rs: 72
Kauit, K3wi , t: 102, 108 , Nefe ret, Nfr , t: 47
nn, 120- 1 Neferhot ep (1), Nfr- htp: 49, 56
Kemsit, Kmsi,t : 102 , 108, Nefer hotep (2) , Nfr-htp: 62
nn, 120-1, 126 *Neferhote p (1), Nfr - Qtp: 6
*Khakheperre-se neb , !jc -tJpr- *Neferhotep (2) , Nfr- htp: 49
Rc-snb: 62 Nefe rtu, Nfr , t -tw: n, 10
*Kherer, ij3rr: 68 Neferu (1) , !if.!:.!:1.: 46, 54
Kheti, tity: 33 , 45 Nefe ru (2) , !if.!:.!:1.: 47, 56
*Khnumhotep I, tlnmu- Qtp: 45 Neferu (3), Nfrw: 64
*Khnumhotep II , tlnmu-Qtp: 45 Neferu (4), ~: 89
*Khonsemuaset, tlnsw- m-u3s , t : *Ne hi , . N\fi: 62
42 , 55 *Nahri, Nhri : 45
Khonsu , tlnsw: 49 , 56 Nesen, !!!!!,: 46 , 56
*Khonsu, tlns~ : 42 , 55 Nesmut , Ns-mw . t: 67
c c
*Khonsu-mose, tlnsw- ms: 68 *Nimaatre, Ny-m3 , t-R : 72
*Ky, .!S.l: 15 *Nubkhas, Nbw-bc . s: 44, 56
 - 184 -

PRIVATE NAMES: ENGLISH

*Paentyney, P3-nty-n.i: 125 Sekhetiqert , Sht ,t-i~r.t: 35

Pefes, £.f!) n. 1 Seneb , 2!!!,: 41
*Perpethau, P r-p3~t3w: 67 Senebsen, Snb-sn: 52
Peryet, Pry.t: 35 Senebtisi , Snb,ty ,sy : 36
Senet , 2.!:!..:.i= 34
Senet- menetwy , Sn ,t-mn,t,wy: 35
*Ramose, Re-ms: 57 , 67 5enhenit, Snhn,t : 73
Reditnes, Rdi.t ~n . s: 52-3, 56 *Seshemu, ~: 88-9
Reditnesni, Rdi.t- n,s- n .i: 148 *Sesostris, 5-n-Wsr ,t: 77
c
Renef-an kh, Rn .f- nh: 34 Shedetites, Sd .t-it ,s: 36
Renes- seneb , Rn , s-snb: 62 * Suma, Sw-m-c: 74
*Renseneb, Rn-s nb: 49 , 56
*Res-seneb, Rs- snb: 49
*Rudj-menu, Rwd- mnw: n, 10 Tais, T3- is: 68
Taukhad, T3-wQd: 68

Sa , .§1: 34 ---
Tchat (1), T3.t: 15
Tchat (2), T3.t: 4 5
=--
Sadeh , ~:
n. 121
102 , 100, 111;
-
Tchiabi(?) , Ti3by(?): 64
Tem , I!!= 108; n. 128a
*Sarenput I, 53-r np.wt: 89 Tenenet , Tnn ,t: 108
* Saaetyt, S3- Siy,t: 15
Sat- ip, 53,t-ip: 45-6
Sat- Khentikhety, 53 ,t- ~nty - *Uk hhotep, WQ- ~ tp: 61
hty: 15
=--
Sat-Montu, S3,t Mniw: 65
Satsasobk , 53 .t-s3-Sbk: 34 Wah-res-seneb, W3h-rs-snb: 19
Sat-tepihu (1); 53.t-tp-i hw: 15
Sat-tepihu (2), 53 ,t-tp-i~w: 77
Sebekemsaf , Sbk~m-s 3 ,f: 44, 46, 56
*5ebekhotep (1), Sbk-htp: 41, 54
*Sebekhotep (2), Sbk-~tp: 77
Sebeknakht, Sbk-nbt: 46, 54
*Sebeknakht, Sbk-nbt: 49, 56
 - 185 -

TEXTS CITED

c. Texts Cited

Texts are cited by the references in the first column unle ss

there is a further reference in the second . References in parenthe-
ses under "cited as " indicate where a text is published, not as it
is cited here . For the abbreviatio ns , see pp . vii ff .

TEXT CITED AS: .EB,g

Antefoker , pl . 12 6
pl. 14 34
pl . 22 11
AswAn, t . of Sarenput I ZJ{S 45, 124 89

Athens, National Museum

Athens 9, stela n. 27
Athens 10, stela 37- 8 , 64
Avignon, Musee Ca lvet
Inv . 31 , stone box RecTrav 32 , 149 12

Berlin, 1tgyptisches Museum

statues
2080 1(18 II ' P• 79 n . 83
2278 Tilf II , p . 206 n . 88
4423 m I ' P• 1 50 28
nn . 65, 83
6910 Jm' II, pp. 63- 4
17272 Jrm II, pp. 73- 4 n . 86
stelae
894 108 II, p. 345 n. 86
1183 Jrm I, p. 167 n. 24
1190 m I ' P• 168 n. 24
1191 m I, P • 184 24
100
7271 Tilf II , p . 195 n.
7305
coffins -m II , P• 137 n.
29
100

13774 1(18 I , p . 234

13775 m
m
I, p. 235 29
n . 86
20132 I I, P• 546
67 , 69
20136
papyri -Jrm I I, p • 54 8

3022 Si nuhe R 4fl, 89 , 96

3033 P. l.Jestcar 7 , 96, 98
3055 I II (Hier. Pae. Berlin I) n. 86
 - 186 -

TEXTS CITED
TEXT CITED AS:
serii n, papyri (cont)
3076 Erichsen, Auswah l r r Uh-
dem o tische~ Tex£ e - t, p. 35 n . 37
3078 Erichse n , ep. -c i t ., p . 68 n . 3?
10021 (fil 59 , 45 f . ) 97- 8 , 153;
nn• 47 , 136
10068 AH I , no . 53 75 , 90, 92
10462" Edwards; Oracular Amu l etic
Decrees , no . B n. 85
10494 Cerny, LRL , p. 23 n. 89
10499 Sin uhe 8 98
13614 Erichsen, op. cit ., p. 22 "· 37
miscellaneous
250 , c hest JfIB II , p. 504 67
15786 , mirror M I , p . 262 30
8ersheh I , pl. 20 34
I , pl. 37 61
II, pl . 7 n . 51
II , pl . 21 74 , 91
I , pl. 8 40
I , pl. 11 123
I, pl. 12 3
I , pl .' 18 10, 34
I , pl . 25 10 , 33, 45 ,
125
H, pl. 24 10, 34 , 45
Bologna , Mus . Civico
B 1927, stel a Coll . It . Sett ., no . 20 56
Bolton Mus eum and Art Gall .
10.20/11, stela Bolton 10.20/1 1 n . 24
10 . 20/12 , stela Bolton 10.20/12 37 , 64
Boston Museum of fine Arts
21 . 810-1 1+968, coffin OPT , 86Bo 29
21. 964- 65 , coffin 'Dl'T; 83Bo 29
21 . 966•67 , coffin 'Ol>f,8480 29
25 ~ 628 ; stel a DUnha m St . no . 11 79
25 . 679, stel a Dunham ~. no . 23 35
38 . 2064 , papyrus P. Reisii'i't II 128
no number , seal impr . Martin no . 279 29
Br oek l yn Museum
35 . 1446 , papyrus PLMK 19 , 79
47 . 218 . 3 , papyrus 15'8'rl<er , A Saite Oracle
Pa pyr us "· 85
 - 187 -

TEXTS CITED

TEXT CITED AS: ~

Brooklyn Museum (cont)
51.231, relief frag . CHIB no. 83 4
52 . 12 7 , coffin CHie no . 85 n . 123
54 .49 , relief frag . CRTB no. 82 4

Brusseler Musees ray . du Cinq .

E. 4985 , statue Brussels E.49 85 35

Cairo , Egyptian Museum

statues
CG 446 28
459 10
484 28
42189 n. 87
42208C n. 20
42211 n. 87
J 86125 iill 47, 267 69
ste lae
CG 1039 28
1380 72
1589 n. 4
1611 n. 4
1622 n.. 4
1647 92
20005 36
20010 34
20013 35
20016 7; n . 10
20017 n . 10
20024 n. 54
20026 12
20030 128
20043 24
20055 24
20056 6, 38
20058 13 , 39
20240 6
20257 29 , 30
20266 9
20279 5
20304 55
20322 37
20373 37 , 56 , 116
20380 7
20392 9
20394 55
20418 64
20450 39
20476 5
 - 188 -

TEXTS CITED

illl CITED AS :

Cairo , Stela (cont)

CG 20481 37 , 121
20507 35
20520 62
20531 24; n. 24
20537 54
20539 n. 73
20545 11
20546 34
20558 24
20578 39
20600 39
20661 37
20668 37
20683 n. 6
20729 n. 73
20732 37 , 39 , 11 8
20733 n. 79
20743 19; n. 26
20777 12
20778 37 , 116
20780 26 , 34 , 117
34079 n. 83
34171 n. 83
J 38917 ASAE 9 1 ff . 41 , 55
42201 A'S'A!' 17, 240;Franke ,
l>erSonendaten no . 578 37 , 54
43362 ASAE 17, 238 54
44135 '§Sr£a , Olferliste , fig . 1 n. 57
45970 Dunham S • no. 57 29
46 998 ASAE 21-;-109 f . 41, 54
52453 S£8I'e jur. 52- 3, 56
87778 rlscher, Varia, pl . 19, 4 4 , 22 , 29

fr om Se rapeum Malanine , et al, Catalodue

des stelas du Serap&um e
Memphis I , no. 10 n. 84
temp. no. 1 6/2/22/23 ASAE 22, 116 4 8-1
19/11/24/2 Dunham .§i. no . 62 35

offe ring- tab les

CG 23029 29
23034 13, 29
23049 29
23050 29
23051 29
 - 189 -

TEXTS CITED

CITED AS:
Cairo, offering-tables {cont)
CG 23052 29
23053 29
23055 29
23056 29
23062 29
23064 29
coffins
CG 28006 7 , 73
28025 26 , 29 , 108
28026 26, 29, 108
28030 29
28033 Lacau, Sarcophegea I, 87 4
J 42949 OPT, M1C 29
J 44019 ffiE 13, 10 26 , 29
papyri
CG 6139 P. Boulaq XVIII 14, 17
58038 P. Boulaq XVII 96 , 98; n. 86
58092 P. Boulaq X n. 20
J 49911 .,!;!!!, pl. 20 , 5 98
mi s cellaneous
J 41790 Carnarvon Tablet 1 98
42949, coffin OPT , 1'11C 29
47267, sarcophagus m1, p. 26 17

number unknown
sphinx frag. ASAE 4, 133 40
statue ASAE B, 48 40
stale lm' 18, 51 54
ate lee Dunham St . no. 6~ 73,76 35-6
stale RecTrav~S, 19? 69; n. 35
inscribed rrag. ASAE 28, pl. 2, 11 84
inscribed frag . ~ 28, pl. 3, 10 84
Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Mua eum
E. ss.37 , stela ~ 68, p. 52 37 ; n. Ba
Cerny, Repertoire onomastigue
de Deir el-Midinah, pp. 99 ff n. 83

Chicago , Oriental Inat .

64 , stale Abydos I , pl . 57 40
16950 , stela Dunham §!• no . 84 34
 - 190 -

TEXTS CITED
CITED AS :
Chicago, field Museum
31664 FM 31664 54
31679 rM 31679 37
Cope nhagen, Glyptotheque Ny Carlsberg
AEIN 1025 NyC Steles no . 18 17
Copenhagen ; National Museum
A. A. d . 12 , ste l a Copenhagen , p . 35 n . 89
A. A. d . 13, stela Copenhagen , pl. 12 , fig . 14 24
no number , stela Copenhagen , p . 15 37
Cracow , National Museum
MNK- XI - 999 , stale ~ 47 , 7 n. 4
£1 I , 48c 3
I , 252 12
III , 124b 12
Da hcho ur I I , pl . 25 70
Davies , Ptah hete p II , pl . 7 20
Domaines fun . passim 84
Emery , Gr eat Tombs III 84
fifAO 10/2 , p . 33 , stela 37 , 124
p. 34 , ste l a 6
Florence , Archaeology Museum
s-telae
Inv. 2554 Firen ze no . 34 38 , 64
2559 no . 35 62
2561 no . 36 62
2564 no . 37 13
7581 no . 51 12
7601 no . 60 13 , 74
7603 no. 43 37
Franke , Personendaten
nos . 20 0, 359, 463 , 578 , 730 37
nos. 11. 769 1 50

Gebrawi I , pl. 18 n. 4
II , pl. 7 72
I I, pl • 17 n. 44
 - 191 -

TEXTS CITED
CITED AS:
Gene~a , Musse d ' art et d hist .
D SO , stela ANOC , no . 1. 9 1 5 , 24 ; n . 24
D 51, stela SP"TI I , no . 3 5 , 65 ; n . 28
Graffiti
Deir el-8ahar i
temple Thutmosis III Marciniak, Thoutmosis
III , no . 31 n. 87
mummy-linen, Amunet S'j?'hinx 1 7, 99 f . 108 ; nn .
103, 119
Hat nub Hatnub no . 16 3 , 20
no . 20 98
no . 73 98
no . 25 98
Shatt er - Rigal , no . III Wi nlock , RF , pl . 39 III 37
no . 489 PM V, p . m1 n. 106
Thebes
Cer ny, Graffiti ••• de la
necropole th~baine ,
no . 1313 n. 86
Cern y and Sadak , Graffiti
de la montafne the ba i ne ,
nos . 1867 , 972 , 2443 n. 83
Ha rageh, pl . 72 , 1 , stela 11
pl . 77 , 4 , coffin 29
Hassan , ~ II, fig . 226 72 , 88
III , pl . 25 88
Hildesheim , Pelizaeus- Museum
3257 , relief CAA Hildeshe i m 8 , 100 n . 58
11[, fig . 243 , seal impr . {Petrie , Royal Tombs I
pl . 28 , no . 77) 84
fi g . 367 , seal imp r. (~ 3 , 189) 84
fig . 838 , off .-stela (£!:1!1! no . 31 ) n . 57
Ju nker, ~ II I, pl . 2 70
III , fig. 28 79
IV , fig . 9 76
IV , pl . 15 70
VI , fig . 13 70
VI , fig . 38b n . 46
VI , fig . 47 20
VII , p . 124 88
XI , fi g . 83 88
 - 192 -
TEXTS CITED

li!! CITED AS: ~

Kom · el-Hisn Le Mus e s E9letien III,

t. or Sabkhesu pp . 54 ff. 74

Koptos, pl. 12, t e xt frag . 74

KRI I , P• 99 n . 83
I, p.. 181 n . 88
n. 88
II ' P• 325
LO II ' pl. 35 70
pl. 37b n. 56
pl. 52 70
pl. 101b 71
pl . 11 1 n. 4
pl . 151e 40
I II , pl . 62a 49 ff ., 56
pl. 221 f' n. 87

Leiden, Rijksmus . van Oudh .

stelae
Leiden II , no . 10 24
no . 1 3 12
no. 14 24
no . 15 12
no . 19 13
no. 36 24
no . 37 24
VI , no . 3 n . 83
no . 32 n . 83
scarab 30
no number Martin no . 1364a

London, British Museum

s telae 79
pl . 2
BM 181
152 -HT II,
II; pl. 34 n . 10
n . 83
154 IX, pl . 27
1 62 IV , pl. 33 6 , 34
224 I II , pl . 17 24
IV , pl. 44 124
234 24
247 III , pl . 25
II I , pl. 20 n . 24
249
250 IV , pl. 40 n . 27
I II , pl . 7 16
363 n . 88
384 IX , pl . 44
24
557 II ' pl . 3
 - 1 93 -

TEXTS CITED

Ill.I CITED AS: PAGE

Br it ish Museum (cont)
s te la e
BM 56 1 HT II , pl. 25 n . 24
563 I II , pl. 29 n . 24
565 II , pl . 10 24
572 II , pl • 22 93 ; n . 24
574 II , pls . 8- 9 8 , 24 , 92 ;
n . 73
579 II , pl . 15 n. 24
6 14 AJ SL 21 , 159 ff' . 29; n . 64
630 Hi""Iv, pl . 26 55
826 - VIII , p l. 21 n . 88
827 II , pl . 30 24
829 IV , pl. 5 24
831 IV , pl. 13 24
832 IV, pl . 32 29 ; n. 1
833 IV , pl . 24; JEA 68 , p l. 6 8 - 9 , 64
839 II , pl . 7 - 24
994 I (2d ed) , pl . 25 70
1 059 I II , pl. 32 35 ; n. 5
1069 IV , pl . 9 40
1163 IV , pl. 18 37
1203 I (1st ed) , pl . 53 ;
TPPI , p . 19 n . 105
1 245 III-;--pI'. 21 24
1 348 III , pl. 27 38 , 56 , 62
1 383 I (2d ed) , pl . 1 9 88
1 628 v, pl. 1 n . 53
1 645 VI , pl. 28 41
1658 JEA 23 , pl. 20 29
papyri
P. SM 9999 P. Harris I nn . 87 - 8
10052 (Tomb Robberies, 57 , 67 ; n n .
pls . 25- 35) 31 , 89
10053 {Tomb Robberies , 68 ; n. 33
pls . 1 7- 2 1 )
1 0054 {Tomb Robberies , pls . 6- 8) 68
10083 Edwards , Or acular Amuletic n. 85
Decrees , no . L.1
10 102 Erichsen , Auswahl FrUh-
demotischer Texts I , p . 31 n . · 37
10202 {P. Hood) AEO , pl . 14 n. 85
10251 tdU'ards , op. cit . , no . L. 2 n . 85
10474 (Amenemope) n. 85
1 0689 (P. Beatty IX) nn . 87- B
1 0735 Abu- Sir Pa p yri 98
 - 194 -

TEXTS CITED

.ill.! CITED AS:

British Museum (cont)
miscellaneous
BM 43037 , sa r cophagus TPPI , pp. 32 ff . 110
29447 , scarab Mertin no . 1 735 29 , 64
63845 ; scar ab no . 438 1 o, 30
67085 , scarab no . 1693 30
London , Univer sity College
UC 11438, scarab Martin no. 715 29 , 62 ; n . 25
14312, stela (St. UC I I no. 47) 73
14457 , stela s t . UC II no . 109 n . 27
Ost . Petrie 5 !ill. I ' pl. 35 , 3 n . 87
Manchester Univ. Museum
7964 , stela ~ 14 , pl. 21, 3 55

Mar. ~· A1 88
A 2 n . 57
c 15 72
E 10 n . 44
Meir II , pl . 7 n . 57
II, pl. 12 10
III , pl . 11 10
III , pl . 12 10
I I I , pl. 16 10
III , pl . 27 33
IV , pl . 9 n. 46
VI , pl . 6 33
VI, pl . 13 61 ; n . 2
Mereruka , pl. 87 n . 44
pl. 2178 88
MIFAO VI , fig . 58 29
fig. 59 3
fig. 60 29
Mo calla , pl . 17 79
Moscow , Pushkin Muse um
I . 1 . a . 5608 , stela Hodjash and 8erlev , The 1 50
Eg~ttian Reli efs and--st'elae
i n ne PusnKin Museum oP
fine Arts 1 Moscow , no . 38
I . 1 . a. 5358 , canopic box JEA 60 , pl . 26 37
Golenischef f Onomasticon AEO, pl. 7 n . 85
 - 195 -

TEXTS CITED
CITED AS:
Murray, Saqqarah Mastabas I , n. 70
pl. 29
Munich, "9·
Staatssammlung
GL WAF 34 , stela ~no. 44.1 24
New York, Metro. Mus. of Art
MMA 25 . 2 . 3 , stela Dunham St . no . 78 35
35 . 7.55, stale ~ 33 ,pl. 2 37
30 .B.649, scarab Martin no. 697 , 6, 29
30 .B. 65 1, scarab no . 512 12; 30
Hekanakht Papyri Doc . I HP,, Doc . I 66 , 98
Doc . II 'HP, Doc. II 7 , 66
Ost . Deir el-Medineh
Cat . no. 143 n. 89
164 n. 89
354 n. 87
570 n. 89
586 n. 87
1222 n. 86
1226 n. 86
Oxford , Queen ' s College
1111, stela ANOC no. 63 123
JEA 25 , pl . 20 , 2
1113, stela JEA 25 , pl . 21, 4 8
P. Gurob, Fraga. F, L .B.!Q, pp. 1 8 , 30 n . 81
P. Harageh 3 ~ 27, 74 ff . 125
P. Kahun , pl. 9 14
pl . 11 6
pl. 13 6
pl . 35 98
P. Ram II I 3

Paris, Louvre
stelae
c 1 Gayat, pl. 1 8; n. 64
c5 ANOC no. 1.7; Gayet , pl. 8 12, 15
c8 Pierret II, P• 7 40
c ,3 Pierre t II ' p. 5 11
c 15 Ga yet, pl. 54 27, 36
 - 196 -

TE XTS CITED

.ill.I
Louvre stelae (cont)
CITED AS:
-PAGE
c 168 Gayet; pl . 56 3
c 179 Gayet, pl. 34 15, 26 , 33,
116
D 19 Pierret II , p. 17 n. 83
s . 1466 Re cTrav 21, 73 n . 100

Paris , Bibliotheque Nat.

papyri
197, IV Cerny, LRL, P• 14 n. 86
183-194 P. Pris8e 14
Petrie, Antaeopolis, pls. 7 , 10 10
Pa trie, Royal Tombs I 84 ; n. 57
Pittsb ur gh , Carnegia Inst .
2231/4 , stela frag . Abydos I , pl. 59 37
Private Collections
Alnwick Castle , scarab MDAIK 35 , 223 , no . 70 7, 30
Da re ssy, fun. statuette REA 1 , p. 212 84
Duffer in, stela m 5 1, 21 "'·
5, 7 , 11 , 38
Fenwick , P. Phillips carny, LRL, p. 29 n . 86
Michaelides, scarab Martin no:- 301; Fischer,
Varia, pl. 19 , 3 17, 30
Tadross , naos RevEg 26 , 104 , pls. 10- 11 37

E.l!:.· 303 79
371 3
1 375 8

Rock Inscriptions
Abu Handal RILN no. 72 124
Kumma SCFI, pp. 147, 154 , 156 ,
--.,.66 18
P• 151 93
Sahe! JEA 37, pl. 6 40
Sinai TSI , no . 25 93
- no . 30 18
no. 71 40
no . 98 10 , 18
no. 120 10, 18
IS II , fig . 8 93
Wedi el- Hudi 8I-Hudi, no. 3 14
no . 17 18
 - 197 -

TEXTS CITED

illl CITED AS: PAGE

Shaikh Said, pl. 25 n. 4
Siut IV, 29 f . (K&mi 3, 102- 3) 73
Stockholm, Medelhavsmuseet
MM 11432, stela OrSuac 21 , 6 17

\ Stockholm, National Museum

NME 17, stela OrSuec 17, 23 n. 64
j Stuttgart
stelae
3 ANOC no. 63; SP I, no. 3 9, 38, 123
12 SP I, no . 12 36
18 S P I, no . 18 35

!£.£, pls. 83 ff. 74

pp. 280 ff . 91

17, 110; nn.

120, 1 22
Turin, Egyptian Museum
stelae
107 RecTrav 3 , 11 7 17
1 516 Tosi and Roccati , Ste le e n . 83
altre epigrafi di Deir
at-Medina, no . 5o2o3
1 5 17 Ibid., no. 50085 n. 83
Suppl. 9508 Tb'Id. , no . 50221 n . 83
papyri
1882 JEA 4 1, pl. 7 n. 86
1 875 ~6e ser. 6 and 8 81 -2; nn . 60-
2021 °!rA 13, pls. 1 3-1 5 67 ; n . 20
Univ. California Museum
Lutz 27, stela Dunham 21• no. 30 93

Urk. I , 5 1 88
I, 99 88
I, 1 00 88
I, 101 88
IV, 71 n . 88
IV, 409 nn . 65, 88
IV; 742 n. 65
IV, 1 060 13
IV , 1466 n. 100
IV, 1738 n. 62
 - 198 -

TEXTS CITED
CITED AS :
~· IV , 1889 n . 88
VII, 1 90
Vandier , Manuel IV , fig . 21 7 72
Vatican , Gregorian Eg . Mus .
MG 1 70 , stale ANOC no . 65 . 2 55

Vienna , Kunsthistorisches Mus .

1 96 (42) , stela ~ no. 65 .3 37
Walters Art Gallery
22 .1 66 , statue Walters no . 54 n. 58
22 . 209 , statue no . 35 10
Wild, I!.• pls . 56- 7 69 ; n. 44
de Wit , Les inscriptions du
temple d 1dpet , pp. 25 , 87 , 262 n . 87
Miscel lane ous Objects
Deir el-Bahar i
off .-table frag . Arnold , Temple I , pl. 25b n . 11 7b
Edfu
stela seen at dealer's ~ 22 , 122 8

Giza
architrave from tomb Fischer , Dendera , n. 824 88

Helwan
ceiling ste la SASAE 21, pl . 2 n . 57
Saqqarah
niche stale Smith , Art and Architec -
~. el. 14, 84
stone vase frags . La pyr. a degres IV , pls .
22 - 3, nos . 121-2 , 126 84

Shalfak
stela lli. II , pl . 618 64