Nile I29 01.02 2021

NILEMAGAZINE.COM.AU | #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021 £5.
00
NILE
Because You Love Ancient Egypt
~
TIYE &
AMENHOTEP III
THE SCARAB TEXTS
The PHARAOHS’ GOLDEN PARADE

MOVING the LUXOR OBELISK
The CULT of the ANCESTORS
PETRIE and the FAYUM PORTRAITS
The LOST, GOLDEN CITY DISCOVERED
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NILE
Miral Mahilian @MiralMahilian · Fashion Model
So proud and honored to be part of such a historical day.
Words cannot describe the feeling of walking along with the
great pharaohs at the golden parade.
#ThePharaohsGoldenParade
SOURCE: FACEBOOK.COM/MIRALMAHILIAN
Civilization in the suburb of Fustat.
I
of the Pharaohs’ Golden
f there was a belle
Parade, held in Cairo in April, it would be This photo shows Mahilian opening the
Miral Mahilian. The Egyptian model and ornate main doors of the Egyptian Museum,
actor was honoured with leading the grand from where she and her fellow “priestesses”
procession, which celebrated the transportation emerged to stride before the motorised
of 22 New Kingdom kings and queens from pharaonic barques.
Cairo’s Egyptian Museum, overlooking Tahrir Enjoy the full report on the Golden Parade
Square, to the National Museum of Egyptian from page 24 in this issue of NILE Magazine.
NILEMAGAZINE.COM.AU 1
NILE
33
THE
LUXOR
OBELISK
AND ITS
56
PETRIE, THE
6 24 VOYAGE
TO PARIS
Bob Brier &
46 PORTRAITS,
AND THE
NATIONAL
THE Colette Fossez THE CULT
Sumner OF THE GALLERY
THE “LOST PHARAOHS’ RoseMarie Loft
The true story of ANCESTORS
GOLDEN GOLDEN one of the great When Flinders
Juan
CITY” PARADE engineering
Aguilera Martin
Petrie discovered
triumphs of the the famed Fayum
Jeff Burzacott James Bowden
early 19th century The royal tomb Mummy Portraits
Serendipity is alive Royal mummies on —transporting the builders at Deir in the late 19th
and well in Egypt. the move. When it Luxor obelisk from el-Medina in Luxor century, he was
While looking for came time to trans- Egypt to Paris. sometimes reached keen to see them
the cult temple of port many of the Translated and out to deceased regarded as works
Tutankhamun, an New Kingdom’s narrated by Bob family members for of art rather than
Egyptian mission most illustrious Brier and Colette divine help. Juan “mere artefacts”.
uncovers a little- rulers to a new Fossez Sumner Aguilera Martin Not everyone
known Luxor museum, the from the recently- presents a picture agreed with
village with the Egyptian govern- -published, first- of the peronal him—particularly
potential to solve ment managed to hand account by beliefs of those the Board of
a long-standing balance solemn French engineer who served the Trustees of the
mystery. with spectacular. Apollinaire Lebas. ruling classes. National Gallery.
2 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

NILE
COVER STORY #29
JAN.–FEB. 2021
4 Map of Egypt
5 Timeline
MARRIAGE SCARAB OF AMENHOTEP III. © THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM, BALTIMORE.
65 Exhibitions & Events

66 Looking Back
68 Coming Up
68 Contact NILE
TIYE & 69 Back Issues
AMENHOTEP III:
ACQUIRED BY HENRY WALTERS, 1914. ACC. NO. 42.206
69 Subscribe to NILE
THE COMMEMORATIVE
SCARAB SERIES
Kelee M. Siat SUBSCRIBE
& SAVE!
Amenhotep III packed a lot into
the text on the backs of his
Get NILE Magazine delivered
commemorative scarabs. Each
to your door every two
one celebrates a special event
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from his reign and glorifies the Every 6th magazine is free!
11
queen Tiye with a shared royal See page 69 for your
presence that was unknown until fabulous subscription offer.
Amenhotep III’s kingship.
- FROM THE EDITOR
G
ood news. Exhibitions are back,
as museums around the world reopen
their doors. One might even consider
the number of open exhibitions as a hopeful
“canary in the cage” for the current state of play.
One of those exhibitions, which opened
in May, is at the Neues Museum in Berlin.
Akhmim: Egypt’s Forgotten City runs until Sep-
tember 12 this year. One of the pieces on display
is to the right: the upper part of a colossal lime-
stone statue, thought to be of Tutankhamun.
This fragment alone is 1.79 m tall.
The exhibition focuses on the Middle Egypt
town of Akhmim, around halfway between
Memphis and Thebes. This was the home town
of Tiye, the chief queen of the 18th Dynasty’s
King Amenhotep III, and the location of a
vast man-made lake built by the king for his
consort’s pleasure. There are more exhibitions
on page 65 of this issue, and you can read more
about the special representation that Amenho-
tep III shared with Tiye on his commemorative
scarab series from page 11.
Welcome to issue #29. Enjoy your NILE time!
Jeff Burzacott ~
© STAATLICHE MUSEEN ZU BERLIN, ÄGYPTISCHES MUSEUM
editor@nilemagazine.com.au UND PAPYRUSSAMMLUNG. PHOTO: SANDRA STEIß
NILE
Cosy mystery, political intrigue and family drama
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JACQUES DESCLOITRES, MODIS RAPID RESPONSE TEAM, NASA/GSFC

Year Dynasty In This Issue ...
210 b.c.
Ptolemaic Ptolemaic Terracotta
332–30bc
p.56
Warriors
Period
280 b.c.
Colossus of
Rhodes
30
438 b.c.
Late
Period
525–404 27 Parthenon
664–525 26
25
23
3rd I.P. 945–715 22
1069–945 21 p.6
1186–1069 20 p.33 1184 b.c.
Trojan
New 1295–1186 19 Horse
Kingdom
1550–1295 18 p.6 p.11
17
2nd I.P. 1650–1550 15 16 A*
1795–1650 13 14
Middle 1800 b.c.
Code of
Kingdom Hammurabi
1985–1795 12
2100 b.c.
Ziggurat
2125–1985 11 of Ur
1st I.P. 9–10
7–8
2345–2181 6
Old
Kingdom 2494–2345 5
2500 b.c.
Stonehenge
2613–2494 4
2686–2613 3
Early 2890–2686 2
Dynastic
Period 3100–2890 1
(A* = Abydos Dynasty)
NEW DISCOVERY
AMENHOTEP III’S “LOST GOLDEN CITY”

THERE’S EVEN MORE TO MALKATA THAN EGYPTOLOGISTS IMAGINED
Temple of
Hatshepsut
Valley of Deir el-Medina Ramesseum

the Queens (Ramesses II)
Colossi of Memnon
(Amenhotep III)
Medinet Habu “GOLDEN CITY”
(Ramesses III) (Amenhotep III)
Malkata
Temple of Amun
(Amenhotep III)
Malkata # 1 -V g < tW
Royal Palace t t No
(Amenhotep III) “The Dazzling Aten” r th
B er
(Am irket n edg
e n Hab e of
ho
te p u
III)
PHOTO: PETER BARRITT / ALAMY.COM
This photo puts the location of the “golden city” in context The scale of Amenhotep III’s building program is quite
with the more well-known landmarks on Luxor’s west staggering. Dr. Zahi Hawass, whose team made the
bank. The settlement was part of a larger workers’ village discovery, revealed that the city extends to the west—all
that supported Amenhotep III’s festival palace complex the way to the village of the royal tomb builders, Deir
(today known as Malkata), built to commemorate the el-Medina—as well as to the south towards the temple of
king’s 30th jubilee. Ramesses III at Medinet Habu.
S
ome pharaohs raised massive pyramids, capturing succumbed to time and stone robbers, or lays beneath green
in stone the rays of the sun. Some focussed their farm plots, a recent discovery reminds us of what western
masons’ skills towards colossal statues that gave form Thebes looked like, before and after Amenhotep III.
to the deified, spiritual king, while other pharaohs erected
and embellished the great temples, strung along the Nile THE ANNOUNCEMENT
like a necklace. Not many pharaohs, however, can claim to On Thursday April 8 this year, Egypt’s former antiquities
have transformed an entire landscape. Commissioning minister, Zahi Hawass, announced the discovery of a “lost
palaces, temples, and a giant, man-made lake, all on the golden city” on the west bank at Luxor. Remarkably, the
Theban west bank, Amenhotep III was one of the latter. area where the settlement is located was a bare patch of
Although much of his 18th-Dynasty handiwork has ground between Amenhotep III’s cult temple at Kom el-

PHOTO: STR / DPA / ALAMY.COM
A photo of the newly discovered workers’ village on the day stable than a straight double brick wall, while using much
of its announcement, in April 2021. What has attracted a less material. They are also self-supporting without the
lot of attention are the serpentine walls that divided the need for columns. The oldest known examples date back
various districts of the settlement. to the Middle Kingdom; they were used as temporary or
Wavy walls like this are very efficient; even when they preliminary walls that were able to be raised very quickly
are built with the width of a single brick they are more to protect buildings or areas.
Hettan (fronted by the Colossi of Memnon), and the temple network of palaces, elite villas and temples were built at
of Ramesses III, built at Medinet Habu some 170 years later. Malkata for the king’s sed festival on his 30th jubilee (see
Over the years, thousands of people visiting the Valley of photo opposite). This was a mix of ritual and pageantry
the Queens would have driven past the site, not suspecting that blessed the king with a renewed divine mandate to
that an incredible discovery lay just beneath the surface. rule, as well as invigorating him with earthly power and
vitality. Near the official structures were several villages
SO WHAT EXACTLY WAS FOUND? that had been established for housing the workers, artisans,
The “lost golden city” is actually a workers’ community and servants who supplied labour and goods for the royal
built to serve the sprawling palace and temple complex of family, nobles and priestly corps who participated in the
Amenhotep III, who ruled around 3,300 years ago. A great celebration. Amenhotep III held two subsequent sed
PHOTO: EGYPTIAN MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND ANTIQUITIES
Inside the “golden city”, preserved to a remarkable degree. The excavation started in September 2020, and within
Egyptologist Salima Ikram told National Geographic that weeks, to the team’s great surprise, formations of mud
the settlement was “very much a snapshot in time—an bricks began to appear in all directions—the tops of the
Egyptian version of Pompeii.” walls of the workers’ village, some 3,300 years old.
© MARIE GRILLOT, ÉGYPTOPHILE ACTUALITÉS
This photo was taken in February 2021, overlooking the that Amenhotep III had constructed for his 30th jubilee
excavation site (arrowed) and the Temple of Ramesses III renewal ceremonies.
at Medinet Habu. The remains of similar mudbrick houses The lake was connected to the Nile, over two kilometres
have been discovered beneath the Temple of Ay / Horem- away, and acted as an artificial harbour for the king’s
heb, between the raised road and Medinet Habu. ceremonial palace (Malkata). Long since silted up, this
Beyond Medinet Habu, the fields mark the enormous man-made harbour was ancient Egypt’s largest earthwork,
expanse of the ceremonial lake (known as Birket Habu) and measured two kilometres long by one kilometre wide.

This neck of a wine jar is beautifully decorated with the head
of the goddess Hathor, and was discovered in the workers’
village of Amenhotep III’s ceremonial palace at Malkata in
Luxor. Malkata is an Arabic word, appropriately meaning “the
place where things are found”.
After Amenhotep III’s death, Malkata was largely abandoned,
and thus presents a chance to explore the palace and village just
as they were left, without the intrusion of later occupation.
PHOTO: HASSAN MOHAMED / DPA / ALAMY.COM
festivals, in his 34th and 37th years, with the Malkata WAS IT REALLY LOST. . . OR GOLDEN?
complex enlarged each time. So why did Zahi Hawass describe the find as a “lost golden
The link between Malkata and the newly-discovered city” if it wasn’t exactly lost, or particularly golden? Firstly,
settlement was established when the name tjehen Aten (“the the “lost” part: Hawass explained in a statement that “many
Dazzling Aten”) appeared on hieroglyphic inscriptions foreign missions searched for this city and never found it”.
found on the clay caps of wine vessels. This was a name This is only half true. “The current find is indeed a ‘new’
used by Amenhotep III for his festival palace. one, in that it has not been excavated before,” Egyptologist
The word Aten had been around since the Old Kingdom, Aidan Dodson notes, “but it is part of a much bigger whole
primarily to describe the shape of the sun disc inhabited that has been known for over a century.”
by the solar god Re. Aten itself wasn’t deified within a belief The discovery, in fact, was a happy accident. In Septem-
system until Amenhotep III’s son, Akhenaten, came along ber 2020, the Egyptian team was digging north of Ay/
and assumed the kingship. Akhenaten elevated Aten to the Horemheb’s cult temple, adjacent to Medinet Habu, looking
supreme role of creator god at the heart of a new Egyptian for the temple of Tutankhamun, which has never been
genesis, making himself and his wife, Nefertiti, the products found. “To the team’s great surprise, formations of mud
of the god’s first creative efforts. bricks began to appear in all directions,” said Dr. Hawass.
As it turns out, the tjehen Aten industrial village is much And although little gold has been discovered so far, Hawass
larger than the recently excavated area. Hawass’ team also says that it is a “golden city” because it dates back to the
probed to the west and revealed that the “golden city” “golden age” of the pharaohs, when Egypt’s might and influ-
reaches towards Deir el-Medina, the village of the royal ence was at its peak.
tomb builders. Similar remains, with the same curvy walls,
were unearthed in the 1930s, a few hundred metres east of THE VILLAGE
the current discovery, and fragments of mudbrick houses The village “looks as if people had just got up and left—a
have been found to the south, beneath the later cult temple real Egyptian Pompeii,” Egyptologist Salima Ikram wrote
of Ay, who followed Tutankhamun onto the throne. This on Facebook after the discovery’s announcement. “There
monument is usually referred to as the Ay/Horemheb are pots and grinding and cooking emplacements, areas
temple as it was usurped by Horemheb after Ay’s death. where amulets were made, and people laboured.”
PHOTO: EGYPTIAN MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND ANTIQUITIES
This vessel once contained dried or boiled meat, and the his regnal years before his sole rule, and would have been
inscription reads “Year 37, dressed meat for the third sed around 29 years of age when died in his 17th regnal year.
festival from the slaughterhouse of the stockyard of This means is that a skeletonised mummy discovered in
Kha made by the butcher luwy. This text tells us that the tomb KV 55 in the Valley of the Kings, generally regarded as
workers’ village was still active just a year before Amen- being too young to be Akhenaten, could now feasibly be the
hotep III’s death. When you combine this information with remains of the maverick ruler.
the discovery of a mud seal stamped with the name gem- A 2010 DNA study shows that Tutankhamun was the son
paaten—the name of a temple built by Akhenaten at Karnak— of the KV 55 mummy and a female mummy found in the
things get really interesting. Tomb of Amenhotep II (KV 35). The texts on the above jar
It may be that Akhenaten was living at Malkata during and the mud seal, therefore, bolster the case for Tutankh-
the start of his reign, ruling jointly with his father. Some amun being the son of Akhenaten. No doubt much more
Egyptologists believe this coregency could have been for up awaits discovery at the Malkata workers’ village that could
to 12 years. If true, Akhenaten would have started counting help fill in gaps in Egyptian history.
We can imagine the settlement as a kind of “gated com- yet to be fully explored. Two unusual burials, however,
munity”, divided up into various blocks, each fenced in by were found within the serpentine walls of the workers’
a wavy mudbrick wall. Three blocks have been uncovered village. A full-sized bull had been buried inside one of the
so far: the first was dedicated to food preparation, with the rooms, and the skeleton of a person was found with the
mission uncovering a large bakery operation that included remains of a rope wrapped around the knees. Both of these
ovens and storage pottery. The second area appears to be are rather odd, and more investigations are in progress.
largely residential, with larger units within. There was only
one easily-guarded gate that could access the internal cor- WHAT’S NEXT ?
ridors and houses of the residential area, so it appears that As you can see by the photo on page 8, there is a lot of bare
security was a concern. Was it to keep threats at bay or to ground to be examined, and we can expect the ground plan
keep the villagers in? We don’t really know at this stage. of the “golden city” to get a lot, lot bigger. As for Tut-
The third district was where workshops were found. In ankhamun’s cult temple, the search continues. Although
the first seven months of excavations, the Egyptian team some believe that the Ay/Horemheb temple on the north-
uncovered a large number of molds for the production of ern side of Medinet Habu may have originally begun under
amulets and decorative elements used in temples and tombs. Tutankhamun’s reign, the foundation deposits placed under
Evidence of metal and glass production in the workshop the corners of the temple belong to Ay. No trace of Tut-
area has also been found. ankhamun’s temple has ever been found. It may be that the
young king didn’t live long enough for work on his cult
THE BULL AND THE BODY temple to get underway. Or perhaps its remains lay beneath
To the north of the settlement is a group of rock-cut tombs, the still-unexplored ground. Now that would be worthy of
each reached by stairs carved into the bedrock. These are being labeled “lost”!

AMENHOTEP III & TIYE
THE COMMEMORATIVE SCARAB SERIES:
ASSERTING ROYAL EQUALITY
KELEE M. SIAT
The ancient Egyptians believed that the humble dung beetles that the ancient artisans manipulated into
beetle was a manifestation of the rising sun’s power form. They uncover characteristics of familial lineage,
of self-regeneration. The height of scarab production diplomatic exchange, colossal construction, and the
was during the 18th-Dynasty reign of Amenhotep III king’s hunting prowess—all the while connecting royal
(ca. 1370 b.c.), and a brief examination of the inscrip- power to the continuous renewal of the sun.
tions on their reverses reveals a shared royal space These commemorative scarabs uncover Egypt’s
between the king and his queen, Tiye. position of power through a royal presence that
These scarabs represent more than the sacred balances the roles and duties of king and queen.
(ABOVE)
MARRIAGE SCARAB OF AMENHOTEP III, SAID TO BE FROM MEMPHIS. © THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM, BALTIMORE.
ACQUIRED BY HENRY WALTERS, 1914. ACC. NO. 42.206
PHOTO: WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ALI.HUSSEIN.EGYPTOLOGIST
AMENHOTEP III
Amenhotep III came into power during Egypt’s “Golden Amenhotep’s enormous cult temple complex—the largest
Age”—a time of relative peace and prosperity that saw Egypt ever built.
at its height of power and prestige, with an unprecedented Amenhotep III was perhaps only 12 years old when he
level of wealth flowing into the royal treasury. Amenhotep married Tiye within the first year or two of his reign. Tiye
put this time of plenty to good use throughout his 38-year may have been of a similarly tender age and their marriage
rule, commissioning building projects on a scale not seen was almost certainly an arranged one. Her home town was
since the Middle Kingdom pharaohs raised their pyramids Akhmim in Middle Egypt, about halfway between Memphis
four centuries earlier. and Thebes. Tiye’s father, Yuya, held a number of titles
The king added a towering new pylon to Karnak Temple, including “His Majesty’s Lieutenant-Commander of Char-
built much of Luxor Temple as we see it today, and on the iotry”, and her mother Tuya, was “Chief of the Harem of
Theban West Bank, constructed a new palace complex with (the god) Min”. Given that Tiye’s provincial home was a
a massive man-made lake (see page x for the recent discov- long way from Amenhotep’s Memphis palace, we’ll prob-
ery of part of the village of the palace workers). Perhaps ably never know how the two crossed paths. It may be that
Amenhotep III’s most famous standing monuments today Tiye’s father’s senior position within the royal stables at
are the giant seated figures at Luxor known as the ‘Colossi Akhmim provided the connection.
of Memnon’ that once marked the entrance to what was Amenhotep III corresponded frequently with the

QUEEN TIYE
Queen Tiye embodies the enigma of the royal women of
Egypt’s 18th Dynasty in the 14th century b.c. In the present
day, Tiye’s status has propelled her into mainstream culture
This colossal limestone group statue of alongside Nefertiti, recognised as a diva of power, strength
Amenhotep III, Queen Tiye and three of their and beauty. Never before had an Egyptian queen figured
daughters (not shown here) dominates the so prominently as her husband’s divine, as well as earthly,
atrium of Cairo’s Egyptian Museum, spanning
counterpart. Tiye’s name and image appears alongside
the height between the two floors. It towers
over seven metres, and is the largest known Amenhotep III’s in variety of tomb and temple reliefs,
ancient Egyptian family group statue ever statues and stelae, and a number of objects ranging from
carved. jewellery and funerary goods to boxes and plaques. Even
In ancient Egyptian statuary, size was a lock of her hair was found in the tomb of her famous
equated to status and power, and this grandson, Tutankhamun—perhaps, as Howard Carter
sculpture shows Tiye in equal scale beside her
husband. Indeed the cylindrical modius that
believed, a treasured family heirloom buried with the
surmounts her wig puts her height above that dynasty’s last son.
of Amenhotep’s. It is further testimony to the Tiye’s cartouche is often presented almost synonymous-
queen’s exceptional status during the reign of ly with that of Amenhotep’s. The pairing as king and queen
Amenhotep III. establishes a duality which represents ancient Egyptian
Tiye’s role as a powerful woman of
feminine and masculine cosmic principles. The royal couple
influence even after the death of Amenhotep III
is attested with the surviving political corre- act as figureheads, maintaining order and balance against
spondence between Tiye and Tushratta, King of the ever-present forces of chaos.
Mitanni (Amarna Letter EA26). In the letter, the Tiye’s cartouche also appears on hundreds of scarabs
Mitanni ruler begged for her assistance where produced during Amenhotep’s reign. An examination of
her son, King Akhenaten, would not listen. Tiye’s name alongside her king’s reveals subtle clues about
This statue group was discovered in
the role of ancient Egyptian queenship. Widely dispersed
fragments in front of the Ay/Horemheb cult
temple, immediately north of Ramesses III’s across the landscape of Egypt and internationally from
later precinct at Medinet Habu. This was likely Nubia to Syria, the commemorative scarabs of Amenhotep
the site of the southern gateway of Amenhotep III provide dates of Tiye’s appearance in ancient Egyptian
III’s sprawling cult temple complex. history. They were also the means of her introduction into
French Egyptologist Georges Daressy the region’s greater social and political spheres.
collected up the scattered pieces in 1897,
which were later restored as the centrepiece of
Cairo’s new Egyptian Museum for its opening
in 1902. As you can see, the reconstructed THE FIVE SCARAB SERIES
statue clearly shows the distinction between Scarabs were produced in vast quantities and have been
the original pieces and the restored portions. examined over the centuries to define and interpret their
Over a century later, in 2011, several missing
ancient cultural meaning. These crafted objects were used
pieces were discovered, including a large
portion of Tiye’s wig. At the time of writing, as seals, held amuletic properties, and were also ideal for
they have yet to be fitted into the statue. commemorative inscriptions.
With a flat underside, Egyptian scarabs provided an
ideal medium upon which to write, and a vast quantity of
scarabs identified royal names, connections and relation-
ships, with their names recorded and sealed through royal
symbolism and divine decree. Hundreds of these royal
artefacts directly name the prosperous king of the 18th
Dynasty, Amenhotep III and his queen, the Great Royal
kingdom of Mitanni (modern Kurdistan, on the Syria–Iraq Wife Tiye.
border), famed for the breeding and training of its horses. There are five known scarab series from Amenhotep
Diplomatic correspondence between the Egyptian and III’s reign which contain commemorative inscriptions
Mitanni royal courts show that the messages to Amen- documenting the royal names and cartouches of Tiye and
hotep III were often accompanied by gifts of horses and the king. They are thematically organised into the Marriage,
chariots. Perhaps it was Yuya who brought them to Memphis Lion Hunt, Wild Bull Hunt, Gilukhepa and Lake series.
for Amenhotep III’s inspection. Queen Tiye is mentioned on every one.
Tiye and Amenhotep III had at least six children: four
daughters and two sons. Having produced “an heir and a
spare” probably secured Tiye’s place as the king’s Great MARRIAGE SCARABS
Royal Wife. In the end, it was the second son, the maverick The Marriage Scarabs are generally recognised as a series
Amenhotep IV, who inherited the throne, renamed himself produced to commemorate the marriage of Amenhotep
Akhenaten, and founded a new creation story with the solar III and Tiye (see pages 11 and 14). Although they lack the
god Aten at its heart. After almost 40 years of marriage, it king’s regnal year, the Marriage Scarabs are estimated to
appears the widowed Queen Tiye moved in with Akhenat- come from the first two years of Amenhotep’s reign, based
en and her daughter-in-law, Nefertiti, at Amarna. on the timing of the royal union.
THE MARRIAGE SCARABS OF AMENHOTEP III AND TIYE
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Living Horus (name): Strong Bull, Appearing in Truth,
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The Two Ladies (name): Establisher of Laws,
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Golden Horus (name): Great of Might,
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The King of Upper and Nebmaatre
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Son of Ra (name): Amenhotep (‘Amun is Content’),
Ruler of Thebes, Given Life,
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The Great Royal Wife Tiye, May she live,
Mt ! B
This is a line drawing made by the Walters Art t h 11 K 1!T
Museum in Baltimore of the hieroglyphic text The name of her father is Yuya,
from the Marriage Scarab seen on page 11.
M t !B .
To the right, is a translation of the text. As you
can see, Amenhotep III packed a lot of informa- t . K1!
tion onto the back of one scarab. The text can be The name of her mother is Tuya,
divided into three sections:
z t ! #t!
1) The king provides all five of his official names
! #K ! 7t B`
2) He honours Queen Tiye and her parents
3) He describes the extent of his kingdom. This is the wife of the mighty king.
Tiye was not of royal birth, yet Amenhotep III !v 7 h 7 M
gave his queen almost equal billing on his
commemorative scarabs, pairing her name with
d <fb 8f b T b 11 . j
his, and, on some of them, extending his royal His southern boundary is to Karoy,
recognition to the names of her parents.
6 7 M t!M t
Copies of the Marriage Scarab were distrib-
uted throughout Egypt and beyond, and quickly
f
! b $ 7 !.j
the northern is to Naharina.
established Tiye’s royal position. She could not
have been exalted more highly.
These scarabs not only record the royal names of the Bubastis, Memphis and ‘Ain Shams (Cairo) in Egypt’s
king and queen, but also, unusually, the names of Tiye’s north; the Levantine area at Gezer in the Jerusalem-Jordan
father and mother, Yuya and Tuya. Such royal recognition region; and along the coastline of the Mediterranean north-
elevated the standing of Tiye’s parents and solidified their wards to Ras Shamrá in Syria. The production of these
direct royal connections. Marriage Scarabs established the royal names of Tiye, her
The text then celebrates the king’s sphere of control by father Yuya and mother Tuya, and introduced them to the
pointing out the broad boundaries of Egypt under his reign: vast territory under Amenhotep III’s control.
from Karoy (a fortress near the 3rd Cataract in Nubia) in
the south to Naharina (the kingdom of Mitanni—modern
Kurdistan) in the north. WILD BULL HUNT SCARABS
Only nine of the 50 known Marriage Scarabs have a The Wild Bull Hunt series records a royal bull hunt in
recorded provenance. What these provenances reveal, Year 2 of Amenhotep’s reign. The teenage king is fore-
however, is that the Marriage Scarabs travelled widely: warned of wild bulls spotted in the hills, whereby a planned
across Thebes and Abydos in Egypt’s south; throughout and coordinated attack is carried out through the efforts

PHOTO: GONZALO BUZONNI / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
The southern tower of the First Pylon of Ramesses III’s cult temple
at Medinet Habu carries a dynamic scene of the king hunting bulls
in the marshes. Just like Amenhotep III’s Bull Hunt scarab series,
made almost two centuries earlier, Ramesses III’s hunt was more
than just a pastime. The king’s success as a hunter represented his
battlefield prowess, as well as the triumph of order, embodied in the
divine ruler, over the ever-circling forces of chaos.
This scene was not visible to the public, but directed towards the private
ritual temple palace of the king within the temple area. The intended audi-
ence were likely the gods themselves.
of the king, his soldiers, and the children raised in the palace ! B j t
$R
as royal companions. bb M b
The scarabs document the hunt of 170 bulls, of which Year 2 during the majesty of the:
96 were captured or killed, 56 were taken by Amenhotep
III himself and 40 more were brought to the king. The loca- j% "
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tion of this event takes place at the hills of Shetep, a region Living Horus: Strong Bull, Appearing in Truth... etc.
suggested to be Wadi Natrun, west of the Nile Delta. M
Only five Wild Bull Hunt examples have been discov- !w x ! t j b h
V
ered, with provenances ranging from Serabît el-Khadem
Marvel (at) what happened to His Majesty.
in the southwest Sinai Peninsula, where turquoise was
mined in antiquity, to the northeastern Egyptian Delta at
Tanis. The few recorded provenances bear historical rele-
f t jb h
nK !K M i
vance that can help explain the presence of the scarabs. One came to His Majesty saying,
j
t eN" 6 :b ! b
1K B
In Serabît el-Khadem, Tiye’s name also appears on
architecture and objects dated to Amenhotep III’s reign.
t f t vu
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It may be that the Wild Bull Hunt scarab was a gift to
political diplomats who were based there. With so few Wild !# j
Bull Hunt scarabs discovered, however, it is impossible to ‘There are wild bulls upon the desert
identify with certainty a purpose behind their production in the district of Shetep’ (northwest of modern Cairo).
t B\ 1
and distribution.
The hieroglyphic text from the Wild Bull Hunt scarabs
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and their English translation follows. The king’s titles, as
well as those of Queen Tiye, are identical to those found
on the Marriage Scarab, opposite, and have been left off for His Majesty sailed northward in the royal barque,
space and clarity: Khaemmaat (‘Appearing in Truth’) at the time of night.
J p l against a foe: “Great of strength, Smiter of the Asiatics”.
# b ! b !e Mn 1 / Tiye’s involvement in the hunt is not stated, however
M b Kf t v u5 : ! &V t _KV her name is actively included in the events by association.
!# j b M Though the names of other individuals involved in the bull
A good start to the journey (and) arrived in peace hunt are absent, the record indicates that there was a great
at the region of Shetep at the time of morning. deal of social communication between varied groups,
\ ! #n h
m j h: & , 5 U including soldiers and the youths being raised in the palace,
! b b h P B! including the sons of foreign rulers. This communication
His Majesty appeared on a chariot, his whole army was aimed at subduing the untamed wild foes who are
following him. represented, whether literally or figuratively, as bulls, and
suggested a well-networked and unified Egypt gaining
" 5K ! jK! b , M D h
e <t control over a potential challenge of power.
! w w M
fh 1 b t b Amenhotep’s title as “Strong bull” and the events in-
]]b w scribed on the Wild Bull Hunt scarabs identify strength as
a core theme. It was under Amenhotep III that the Apis
(He) instructed the officials (and) the personnel of the
whole expedition, and the children of the (royal) nursery, bull (a manifestation of Ptah, the creator god of Memphis)
t regained prominence. The bull connection continues to
M<
B
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5 bear weight in royal rituals: Amenhotep III and Tiye’s eldest
son, Thutmose, participated alongside his father in an Apis
to keep watch over these wild bulls. bull ritual offering. As crown prince, Thutmose bore the
1 e! 9K t j b h \ M 1 !< :! K 66 titles of sem-priest and high priest of Ptah, strongly con-
! ` necting him to Memphis, the seat of the Apis bull.
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Divine bovine traits are further associated with the
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queen, who shared attributes of the cow goddess Hathor,

Then His Majesty commanded to draw these wild bulls a figure of fertility and motherhood. Tiye was the first Great
into an enclosure with a ditch. Royal Wife to adorn her crown with the cow horns and sun
B B
t
9 K11 t j b h M 66 N"
5 M jK 5 disk of Hathor. This connection was further displayed by
Amenhotep III’s construction of a temple in Tiye’s honour
His Majesty commanded a count of all these wild bulls. at Sedeinga in the north of Sudan, where she was revered
BM! 1 M 4444 as a form of Hathor, daughter of the sun-god Re.

+ 7 " ! 444 The king’s Horus name promotes royal and divine bull
The number thereof: 170 wild bulls. attributes throughout the scarab series, and the pairing of
BM! c t t j b h 1 q<e `
the king and queen’s cartouches shares these divine attributes
+ of strength and fertility.
# " 444
P Vt 44 b b b
b bbb LION HUNT SCARABS
The number his majesty took in hunting
on this day: 56 wild bulls. Though comparatively shorter in text length than the Wild
Bull Hunt series, the Lion Hunt scarabs share a theme of
v
=<} 1 t j b h Vb bb bb 1 K ; taming chaos by recording a number of animals that were
M B
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hunted by the king. The number of lions varies from record
! h h to record, ranging between 102–110, but the date range in
which they were hunted is consistent: between his first and
His Majesty waited four days in the desert to cause the
resting of his horses. tenth years of rule, which helps us suggest a date for the
scarabs. Following the standard scarab titulary of Amen-
m j h : & BM! 66 " c t t h
\ hotep and Tiye, the Lion Hunt scarab text reads as follows:
! b b + 5
1 q<e ` " 44
44 BM!
+
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(Then) His Majesty appeared on a chariot. The number of The number of lions
bulls he took in hunting: 40 wild bulls.
f c t t j b h 1 !_! h B
ih
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4 444 bb bb bb taken by His Majesty by his own shooting,
Total of wild bulls: 96.
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\ ! 1 $R b e 1 1 ! M $R 4
STRONG BULL: A BOVINE CONNECTION beginning from Year 1 until Year 10:
The king’s Horus name, “Strong bull appearing in truth”,
is inscribed upon all five series of scarabs. The name gives e< S!] : 7
us much to consider when recorded in connection to the fierce lions: 102.
narrative on the Wild Bull Hunt scarabs. The physical traits
of the king are further emphasized by Amenhotep III’s The text contains a narrative ascribed to the king’s
Golden Horus name, which directs his bovine strength strength and power, commemorating a decade of rule.

© MANNA NADER—KAIROINFO4U
The exterior of the northern wall of Ramesses III’s temple at Medinet

Habu is decorated with battle scenes showing the Egyptian king
triumphant over his Libyan and Sea Peoples enemies, who are shown
or scurrying home or dead on the battlefield.
Within one scene, the king skewers two fleeing lions with arrows.
Just like the text on Amenhotep III’s Bull Hunt series, this scene
showcases Ramesses III’s strength and power by equating the defeat
of those who would attack Egypt with rampaging lions. To support
the link, part of the accompanying text reads, “The lions writhe (in
anguish) and flee to their land”.
Only 15 provenances are known, with discoveries from Nile, and the
the Lion Hunt series having been recorded as far south as second on Tell
Soleb in Nubia to Upper Egypt at Thebes, Qurna, Abydos, Farâ’în (Buto) far
and on to Amarna, with distribution in the Nile Delta areas north in the Nile Delta.
of Tarrana, Memphis and Sais. Extended finds to the east The series carries with it a strong political message for
include Tell ed-Duweir near Jerusalem. both Egypt and Mitanni. Gilukhepa’s presence could be
More than half the space on the scarabs’ underside is indicative of either a large state visit or the permanent
taken up by Amenhotep’s and Tiye’s cartouches, which, in installation of a foreign princess as a political bride or
context with the lion hunt, reinforces their joint character- ambassador. Tiye’s prominence on the scarabs reinforces
istics of power and strength. her queenly rank as Gilukhepa arrives in Egypt. As Egyp-
tologist Arielle P. Kozloff put it, “Gilukhepa’s scarab made
it clear that the brilliant and talented Tiye was now the
GILUKHEPA SCARABS alpha female in the royal harem, that Gilukhepa was a mere
The series takes its name from that of the foreign princess consort” (Amenhotep III: Egypt’s Radiant Pharaoh, 2012).
recorded in its text: Amenhotep III’s new bride, Gilukhepa, The presence of Tiye’s cartouche acknowledges her in
a daughter of Mitanni king Satirna. The scarabs announce an official royal capacity, involved in the event of the prin-
the arrival of Gilukhepa to Egypt, along with an entourage cess’ arrival and establishing a social relationship to Gi-
of 317 women. The caravan of the women and the princess lukhepa and Satirna, the Mitanni king. This royal connec-
herself would have been a grand display and political event— tion to the event presents many questions as to Tiye’s role
“a marvel”, according to the scarabs. in association with diplomatic marriages and to what extent
Of the five known Gilukhepa scarabs, only two were she may have been involved in, and possibly in charge of,
provenanced, one at a southerly location at Tunah el-Geb- Gilukhepa’s introduction to Egypt, its customs, courtiers,
el which lies just north of Amarna on the west bank of the locations and general life.
The Gilukhepa scarab series is the second in which the
names of Tiye’s parents, Yuya and Tuya, are recorded,
perhaps adding weight to the theory that Yuya had per-
sonal or professional connections with Mitanni. The full
text is as follows:
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Year 10 during the majesty of the:
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Living Horus (name): Strong Bull, Appearing in Truth,
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The Two Ladies (name): Establisher of Laws,
Pacifier of the Two Lands,
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Golden Horus (name): Great of Might,
Smiter of the Asiatics,
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The King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Nebmaatre,
GV 1 .
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Son of Ra: Amenhotep III, Ruler of Thebes, Given Life,
!
7z
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The Great Royal Wife Tiye, May she live.
Mt ! B
t h 11 K 1!T
The name of her father is Yuya,
Mt !e .
t . K1!
The name of her mother is Tuya,
V t ! h
! w t 11 w j b
c
Marvels brought to His Majesty,
tM j M!
C 3 t $t
b !. S b g 1t
b
the daughter of Satirna (Shutarna), the great one of
Naharina (Mitanni),
? M 7H 9 B
6tt 5
7 U # M1e B
—Kirgipa (Gilukhepa), the chief women of her harem,
B ! 4b b b b
! !! bbb
317 women.
The Gilukhepa series moves away from the themes of

hunting; yet establishes a link to the marriage scarabs by
the theme of a union or marriage and the social connections
of Yuya and Tuya documented in the text. The examination
of Tiye’s name alongside her parents Yuya and Tuya in both
the Marriage and Gilukhepa scarabs begins to take on
another understanding. Tiye’s parentage may be an impor-
tant flourish to her own title as Great Royal Wife, acting as
a formal extension legitimising who she is and the author-
ity that might be carried with it. (Continued page 22.)
© MUSEO EGIZIO, TURIN. CAT. 694

MUSÉE DU LOUVRE, INV. E 25493. PHOTO: JEFFREY ROSS BURZACOTT
(LEFT) (ABOVE)
When Amenhotep III commissioned this It is normal for queens to appear slightly
basalt statue of the goddess Hathor for his smaller than their husbands, reflecting the
jubilee festival, he gave it the face of the authority of their roles, although here Tiye
strongest female figure in his life: Queen Tiye. appears more diminutive than usual—the
The connection between the queen and top of her head only reaching his shoulder.
the goddess had already been established; Perhaps this statue suggests that in life, Tiye
Tiye was the first Great Royal Wife to be may have been quite petite.
portrayed wearing the cow horns and sun This figure of Queen Tiye, just 29 cm tall, is
disk of Hathor. made of glazed steatite, just like most of
A queen’s official likeness was drawn from Amenhotep III’s commemorative scarabs. The
the style used to depict the king, and here the statue is part of a royal group. Of the king,
almond-shaped eyes with cosmetic stripes only his proper left arm remains.
and distinctive arch of the eyebrows are Tiye was fond of full wigs, which grow
particularly characteristic of statues of larger throughout her husband’s reign.
Amenhotep III and Tiye. Peeking out from beneath the front of the wig
This sculpture, now part of the collection are curved wisps of Tiye’s real hair. Wigs were
of Turin’s Museo Egizio, was originally an expensive luxury, and showing glimpses of
installed at Coptos (modern Qift, north of Tiye’s hair beneath was one way of highlight-
Luxor) for the king’s 30th jubilee festival. ing her wealth.
Even though these two sculpted
heads appear similar, the figure
opposite is more than five times the
size of this one. This calcite head,
thought to be from a shabti of Queen
Tiye, is just over 7 cm tall. The form of the
crown, full lips, down-turned edges of the
mouth and almond-shaped eyes are distinctive
features of Amenhotep III’s chief queen. Tiny
specks of colour remain to inform us that the
lips were once painted red, and the hair was
originally blue in colour.
THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO,

GIFT OF HENRY H. GETTY, CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON, AND NORMAN W. HARRIS. ACC. NO. 1892.232

This granodiorite head from
a statue of Amenhotep III is
just over 39 cm tall. Close ex-
amination by the Cleveland
Museum of Art, where this piece is
cared for, tells us that “the flesh areas
were smoothed to a glistening sheen, while
the eyeballs and the crown were left rougher.”
Paint would have adhered better to the unpol-
ished surface, and remaining traces reveal that
the crown was originally painted blue and the
browband was painted yellow.
THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART, GIFT OF THE HANNA FUND. ACC. NO. 1952.513
© JAAP JAN HEMMES
Queen Tiye is represented in statuary and tomb and at Amenhotep III’s vast temple complex at Luxor during the
temple reliefs more than any queen before her, and artists Ramesside 20th Dynasty. In this scene, Ameniminet stands
continued to portray a shared royal space between Tiye before the statue of the king, looking back and holding a
and her husband long after their deaths. This scene, from large feather fan.
the Theban tomb of Ameniminet (TT 277), shows statues of Both Amenhotep and Tiye are dressed in pure white,
Amenhotep III and Tiye being moved on sleds by priests. indicating their position in the divine realm. Tiye wears the
Rituals for the cult of the 18th-Dynasty king and queen vulture headdress of queens and goddesses, topped by
were performed for centuries after their deaths, with two rearing uraei (divine cobras), associated with the
Ameniminet officiating at ceremonies for the divine couple rising of the sun and its daily rebirth—as well as her own.
LAKE SCARABS
In regnal year 11—not long after Gilukhepa’s arrival— f
Amenhotep III celebrated the construction of an enormous 1 f] 1 Bb t \
iK, QS
M
artificial lake, dedicated to Queen Tiye within “her town” in her town of Djarukha (near Akhmim—modern Sohag).
of Djarukha—an area believed to be near Akhmim (modern
Ta ! ! ! !
, , , !! !! !! ! h
Sohag), north of Abydos. The occasion was recorded on
the final series of commemorative scarabs: the Lake Series.
ha
j !!!
The hieroglyphic text on these scarabs goes as follows: Its length is 3,700 (cubits) and its width is 600 (cubits).
< j h N `q v 1 \( V 4 b b b
!
$ R 4b \ (V B t t b fw w ! bbb
w ! b M jb His Majesty celebrated the festival of opening the lakes in
Year 11, third month of Akhet (season of inundation), the third month of Akhet, day 16.
day 1, under the majesty of. . . . (The standard scarab ! h
titulary of the king has been omitted here.) Y` jb 1
u z ! g 71 1 j g -
9K j b h <
! f b t 7! D
b
t! h
1 tV W 1 \
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M
His Majesty commanded the making of a lake for the His Majesty was rowed in the royal barque,
Great Royal Wife, Tiye, May she live, Aten-tjehen (‘The Dazzling Aten’) on it.”

The construction of the lake was a major project that Lion Hunt, Gilukhepa and Lake scarabs allow us to analyse
would funnel water some distance from the Nile via a canal aspects of Queen Tiye as an individual, as well as her posi-
to feed the artificial basin, 3,700 cubits in length and 700 tion in the social and political spheres of ancient Egypt.
cubits in width—equal to almost 2 kilometres long and 370 What these scarab series share is the inscribed name
metres wide. The decision to locate such a monumental and title of the Great Royal Wife, Tiye, in paired association
lake near Akhmim is a grand statement that reinforces with King Amenhotep III. The continued appearance of
Tiye’s status as principal queen, as recorded on this com- Tiye’s name in a royalised context alongside that of the king
memorative Lake scarab series. leads the observer to acknowledge her importance in being
There are 11 known surviving examples of the Lake present either symbolically or as a real participant in the
Scarabs, of which only three have known provenances. The events described on the scarab.
first was found at Buhen, just below the second cataract of The commemorative scarabs also underscore Tiye’s role
the Nile, and now submerged beneath the eastern shore of in the development of royal relationships from Amenhotep
Lake Nasser, near Wadi Halfa in Sudan (ancient Nubia). III’s new family (Tiye’s parents Yuya and Tuya) to foreign
The second turned up in the Middle Egypt area of Amarna, relations (Amenhotep III’s new Mitanni bride Gilukhepa
and the third was discovered in Memphis. and father, King Satirna).
The dates on the scarabs suggest that the lake’s construc- The presence of Tiye’s cartouche and title is almost a
tion took just 16 days. If accurate, this was a phenomenal flourish of the king’s own titulary, an example of her im-
achievement, and certainly brag-worthy for the king. On portance to the dual nature expressed in the philosophies
completion, Amenhotep III and Tiye sailed upon the lake’s of ancient Egypt where kingship and queenship provide
waters in a ship with a significant name: “The Dazzling balance, stability and strength in their duality and unity.
Aten”. It appears that Amenhotep III was particularly fond
of this name, as he also applied it to Theban royal palace
at Malkata, which included the curvy-walled workers’ village
recently discovered by Zahi Hawass (see page 6.) KELEE SIAT is a current doctoral
student at the University of
Manchester and holds degrees in
Sociology and Egyptology. She is
SCARABS, STRENGTH & ROYALTY currently researching women (like
Scarabs are objects full of symbolic meaning with connec- Queen Tiye) in Late Bronze Age
diplomatic correspondence
tions between the solar beetle in whose image the scarabs
between Egypt and the wider
were carved, and the names that were inscribed upon them. Eastern Mediterranean region.
The texts on the underside of the Marriage, Wild Bull Hunt,
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Egypt was temporarily transported back to its ancient roots in a night-time !
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ceremony worthy of the pharaohs whose coffins were moved from one hallowed w
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location to another in a modern funerary procession. +
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Amenhotep I
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Meritamun
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Thutmose I
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Hatshepsut
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SCREENSHOT FROM THE PHARAOHS’ GOLDEN PARADE
ae
Thutmose III
The faces of the parade were the “priestesses” and “priests” who strode in striking blue and white. Walking
ahead of the vehicles that carried the royal coffins, these men and women held large glowing orbs. What are
1.
they? The production designer for the parade, Mohamed Attia, described them as “light spirit balls”.
t
/
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JAMES BOWDEN Amenhotep II
There were two ways the Egyptian government capital city of Islamic Egypt, and a fitting site to
could have done it: in secret or with a grand, public showcase Egypt’s phenomenal history, starting in :
spectacle. Fortunately for us, they chose the latter. the Predynastic, around 5500 b.c., through to the ae
On Saturday April 3rd, 2021, the world watched overthrow of King Farouk in the 1952 revolution.
Thutmose IV
the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade: the stylish, formal The pharaohs represented in the parade date
celebration of the relocation of 22 royal mummies— to the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th Dynasties, a time
18 pharaohs and 4 queens—from Cairo’s aging of great restoration, and arguably the highwater 1.
t
Egyptian Museum at Tahrir Square to the new mark of ancient Egyptian civilization. The /
National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, around mummies left the Egyptian Museum in chrono- n>
five kilometres away. The new royal residence in logical order of their reigns—the same order in Amenhotep III
Fustat is part of Old Cairo, but was once the first which their cartouches appear on these pages.

g 11
7
Tiye
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“The Great”
Ramesses II
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/ SCREENSHOT FROM THE PHARAOHS’ GOLDEN PARADE
:b Reporting on the parade, Egypt’s Ahram Online commented that “the world was captivated by the scale and
Merenptah spectacle of this historical event, but its true impact came from the tireless dedication to every tiny detail.”
From the hubcaps to the gilded sarcophagus, each of the motorcade vehicles is packed with exquisite detail.
#
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u
t
Seti II
L
t
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Siptah
a
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Ramesses III
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Ramesses IV
V For security, the route from Tahrir Square to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation was cleared of
bystanders. Only members of the press were allowed to witness the motorcade and its precious cargo in
u
e a7 person. Instead of lining the streets, President Al-Sisi urged Egyptians to watch the spectacle on television.
h
Ramesses V
V The vehicles that transported the pharaohs’ must have accompanied the entrance of a pharaoh
a
B
B coffins were actually military vehicles with new to their eternal home in this place of ancient royalty
3 n< décor overlaid on top. The makeovers were de- and authority.
signed to resemble the funerary barques that would The worldwide millions who watched the event
Ramesses VI
carry the bodies of the deceased pharaohs and were afforded glimpses of the wooden coffins
m queens to their final resting place. in which the royal dead had lain for mil-
> In viewing the carefully-orches- lennia (see following page), but not one
u trated procession, one couldn’t escape of their mummies were to be seen.
7a e
M
M the feeling that there has been There is a very good reason for
Ramesses IX a near-perfect recreation of the this: the royal mummies weren’t
grandeur and ceremony that in the parade.
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SCREENSHOT FROM THE PHARAOHS’ GOLDEN PARADE L 11
The coffin of the 18th Dynasty’s Thutmose I (ca. 1500 b.c.) has had its own journey—of reuse. When
!
discovered in a large cache of royal mummies (see page 30), its gilding had been stripped, and the king’s Meritamun
name had been replaced by that of the Theban High Priest Pinudjem I, who lived some 400 years later.
:
7!
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Thutmose I
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Thutmose II
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Hatshepsut
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Thutmose III
The coffin lid of Ramesses II en route to the Royal Mummy Room of the National Museum of Egyptian
Civilisation. The coffin’s braided, curved beard is associated with the god Osiris, the god of resurrection,
1.
t
and here it is used to show the deceased king as having transformed into a deified being in the afterlife.
/
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Amenhotep II
Anyone who has stood in the filtered light of inert nitrogen. These hermetically sealed cases
the Royal Mummy Rooms in the Egyptian Museum protected the mummies from the pollution and :
in the last couple of decades would have viewed dust in Cairo’s air by day, and humidity from the ae
the ancient rulers lying securely within airtight nearby Nile at night. To remove the priceless, fragile
Thutmose IV
display cases that were constructed in the 1990s bodies from these glass boxes to wriggle them
by the Getty Conservation Institute. The into their wooden coffins would have
remarkable skill of the ancient Egyp- posed an unacceptable risk. The mortal 1.
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tians in preserving the bodies of their remains of the pharaohs were quietly /
pharaohs was matched by moved to their new home at a n>
modern technology that sur- separate time, with the grand Amenhotep III
rounded the mummies with parade forming a fitting tribute.

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:b The gala parade began in the heart of Cairo’s Egyptian Museum, which was bathed in images of swirling
Merenptah clouds, creating an impression that here was where the gods dwelt—and where creation sparked. From
behind the colossal statues of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, priestesses holding glowing orbs emerged.
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V Some sections of the program, such as the dance sequence shown here, were recorded earlier, to fill in some
of the travelling time from one museum to the other. The pharaonic art on the blocks behind the dancers
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e a7 was designed by Dina Fekry, Associate Professor of Interior Design & Furniture at Helwan University.
h
Ramesses V
V The Pharaohs’ Golden Parade was part of the shipment of illustrious dead from Luxor to Cairo.
a
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B inauguration of the new National Museum of Remarkably, this find was followed by the unearth-
3 n< Egyptian Civilization (NMEC). This is where ing of another Theban royal cache in 1898 (see
President el-Sisi welcomed his pharaonic forebears, pages 30–31).
Ramesses VI
creating a sense of modern Egypt honouring Between now and then, it seems like the
m her ancient roots. royal mummies have barely sat still,
> This was not the first time that the having been moved about for museum
u Egyptian government has relocated upgrades, political point-scoring, and
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Ramesses IX ery of a spectacular cache of opinion on the display of pha-
mummified pharaohs led to a raohs wobbled back and forth.
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SCREENSHOT FROM THE PHARAOHS’ GOLDEN PARADE L 11
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation at Fustat overlooks Lake Ain El-Sira, the last natural lake in
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Cairo. During the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade, the museum was illuminated by a glowing flotilla of small boats Meritamun
in the style of the papyrus craft that once plied the Nile.
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The designers transformed army trucks into climate-controlled floats decorated in pharaonic style. One
factor behind the decision to use the vehicles is that their tyres have a self-inflation system, which meant
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there was less likelihood of a flat tyre disrupting the parade. Plus, the government offered them at no cost. /
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Amenhotep II
In this latest relocation—hopefully the last for nature and purpose of the event weighed on him.
a very long time—the Egyptian government made There was significant pressure for this parade to :
what could have been ordinary, extraordinary. be absolutely perfect. It could, in some ways, be ae
The two-hour ceremony included President considered the grand reopening of Egyptian
Thutmose IV
el-Sisi touring the new museum at Fustat, tourism, and the parade certainly made that
winding up in a large auditorium filled message clear. The recent pandemic has
with awaiting dignitaries. Onstage was just been the latest blow from which 1.
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Egypt’s United Philharmonic Orches- Egypt has had to recover. /
tra, with a large screen behind. As the vehicles moved n>
The President sat in his chair through repaved streets lined Amenhotep III
quite pensively. Perhaps the with giant maat feathers, music

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:b The traffic circle at Tahrir Square underwent a makeover during 2020 to be ready for the pharaonic
Merenptah cavalcade. A granite obelisk discovered in 2019 near Bubastis in the Delta was reconstructed and erected
here, and four ram-headed sphinxes were moved from Luxor’s Karnak Temple to decorate the roundabout.
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V The ritual procession of the royal coffins, led by men and women in ancient Egyptian-like dress, was
accompanied by stirring music from the Cairo Opera House. Among the hypnotic songs performed by the
u
e a7 virtuosos was the Hymn to Isis from the walls of Deir el-Shelwit temple south of Luxor.
h
Ramesses V
V from the orchestra swelled in grandeur as short relief). Everything appeared to go smoothly, with
a
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B clips showcased Egypt’s ancient glories, hosted by no incidents to mar the proceedings. Youtube.com
3 n< a stellar lineup of modern Egypt’s A-listers. is still featuring the full parade and program (search
The motorcade was welcomed at the NMEC “Pharaohs’ Golden Parade”), and the reader is
Ramesses VI
with full military honours—as befitting highly encouraged to watch it.
m royalty—including a 21-gun salute from After a week of conservation at the
> the Republican Guard. The president NMEC, where the mummies under-
u stood at attention as the motorised went treatment to kill any bacteria or
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M barques passed by. He wore a bugs, they went on display in
Ramesses IX distinct smile, perhaps from a the elegantly lit Royal Mummies
sense of accomplishment (and Hall. (Continued on page 32.)
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COURTESY OF THE EGYPTOLOGY LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY :

7!
THE FIRST PROCESSION OF ROYAL MUMMIES ae
The February 4, 1882 edition of the Illustrated event had occurred just seven months earlier. In Thutmose I
London News included the above engraving contrast to the 2021 Pharaohs’ Golden Parade
showing a parade of royal mummies being removed which had been planned out meticulously, the July
from a communal Luxor tomb prior to being taken
by steamboat to Cairo.
1881 procession was a somewhat haphazard affair.
Upon being led to the royal cache by the tomb
:
More than 50 kings, queens, lesser royals, high robbers who found it, the Egyptian authorities ae
priests and their families had been discovered, cleared the tomb in just seven days. Compare that
crammed into the family tomb of Theban high to the clearance of Tutankhamun’s tomb, which Thutmose II
priest Pinedjem II (ca. 980 b.c.). The spectacular took Howard Carter some 10 years.
.
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In 1881, a prior parade, albeit treasures onto the antiquities !
much more secretive, took market before being caught
6
place in which over 50 mum- The men of today, brought face to and forced to reveal the loc- Hatshepsut
mified bodies—both royal face with the greatest kings of ation of the tomb and its
and righteous—were relo- Pharaonic Egypt. . . asked each mummified tenants. :
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cated from a cache tomb in other if they were dreaming. . . . Some 2,800 years earlier,
Luxor (DB 320) to Cairo. The confronted by the mortal remains the same royal dead had ae
journey down the Nile was of heroes who till this moment had been pulled from their indi- Thutmose III
attended by only those who survived only as names far echoed vidual tombs in the Valley
crowded along its banks and down the corridors of Time. of the Kings and unceremo-
who had received word that —Amelia B. Edwards, Harper’s New niously strip-searched by 1.
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the bodies were being moved. Monthly Magazine (July 1882) the Theban priesthood. /
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In the midst of the mis- This was the 21st Dynasty
sion, men fired guns in salute and the noise and (ca 1069–945 b.c.), where the official pharaonic Amenhotep II
singing accompanying the pharaohs was a death line in Tanis ruled via an informal power-sharing
wail unforgettably etched in the ears and minds arrangement with the High Priests of Amun at
of those who heard it. As Amelia Edwards de- Thebes, who became the effective kings of Upper :
scribed it in 1882, “Never, assuredly, did history Egypt. To fund the two regimes, the clergy turned ae
repeat itself more strangely than when Rameses to the bullion buried in the Valley of the Kings.
Thutmose IV
and his peers, after more than three thousand Once the royal tombs had been emptied
years of sepulture, were borne along the and their owners relieved of their gold,
Nile with funeral honors.” the battered mummies were rounded 1.
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The royal cache had been up into two known caches: a /
discovered a decade earlier by a priestly family vault known as n>
local family of tomb robbers, DB 320 and the tomb of Amen- Amenhotep III
who proceeded to drip-feed its hotep II (see opposite page).

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!< © ARCHIVES OF EGYPTOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MILAN
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Seti II Celebrating the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade were the along with the caption: “The procession of the Royal
Library and Archives of Egyptology staff at the Mummies from the tomb of Amenhotep II (KV 35) in
University of Milan. This is the home of the archives the Valley of the Kings in January 1900, on the
L of Victor Loret, the discoverer of Egypt’s second orders of Gaston Maspero, then Director of the
t royal cache, found within the Valley of the Kings Antiquities Service.”
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tomb of Amenhotep II (KV 35). As you will read below, after lying undisturbed
On their Facebook page (Biblioteca e Archivi di for almost 3,000 years, these kings and their
Siptah Egittologia—Università degli Studi di Milano), the companions would spend the next couple of years
Library and Archives staff posted the above photo, being shuffled out of the tomb and then back again.
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French Egyptologist Victor containing a number of the
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Loret became the head of the pharaohs that were notice-
Ramesses III Egyptian Antiquities Service I leant over the nearest coffin ably absent from the DB 320
in July 1897, and soon turned and blew on it so as to read the cache, 17 years before.
his attention to the Valley of name. . . . of Ramesses IV. Was I Loret had the mummies
u the Kings in Luxor. It wasn’t in a cache of royal coffins? crated up and carried to a
]B
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a long before his excavations I blew away the dust of the second waiting boat before politics
made international headlines: coffin, and a cartouche showed intervened: “We nailed up the
Ramesses IV
in February 1898, his workers itself. . . . I went over to the other last planks on the last cases
V uncovered the tomb of the
18th Dynasty warrior phar-
coffins—everywhere cartouches! hastily, because the Nile was
sinking and we were pressed
—Victor Loret, Bulletin de l’Institut
u aoh Thutmose III (KV 34). for time, when I received
e a7 Égyptien (1898)
h Then, less than a month later, from the Minister of Public
Ramesses V the tomb of his son, Amenhotep II (KV 35). Works the order to replace the mummies in their
This last tomb was not only remarkable in that, ancient place and to seal the tomb.” With public
V for the first time, the king was found in place in sentiment firmly against removing their royal
a
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B his own sarcophagus, but also for the fact that ancestors, Loret was forced to put them back into
3 n< Amenhotep II wasn’t the only pharaoh in the tomb. the tomb, where they lay for nearly two years.
Indeed, 13 other heavily-rifled mummies were A change in leadership in the Antiquities
Ramesses VI
discovered in KV 35. Reading the cartouches Service saw a change in heart, and in readiness
m written directly on their bandages, the for the tomb opening to the public in
> first mummy that Loret identified was January 1900, most of the mummies
u Ramesses IV, who ruled around were again brought into the light
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Ramesses IX reign. What Loret had uncov- the trip to Cairo. This procession
ered was a second royal cache, was captured in the photo above.
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Daphne Oseña Paez @DaphneOP · Apr 4 =
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I cant believe this is real and not a movie. Wow. So incredible. Tao
22 royal mummies parade from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
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to the new one. Hair raising. . . shivers. So many thoughts. ae
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#ThePharaohsGoldenParade #Egypt 1M
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Michèal Kierans @mick_ie87 · Apr 4
Thutmose I
Replying to @DaphneOP
If my family doesn’t have this planned for my funeral then I’m :
not going. ae
Thutmose II
Iago Aspas Fanclub @BenDov007 · Apr 4

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That was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen.
Hatshepsut
Social media was abuzz with gushing comments about The Pharaohs’ Golden Parade. If the National :
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Museum of Egyptian Civilisation was looking for an attention-seeking grand opening, they got it.
The museum’s Royal Mummies Hall welcomed more than 2,000 visitors on its opening day. ae
Thutmose III
(From page 29.) The Pharaohs’ Golden Parade Mohamed Attia also described the national
was a visual treat, thanks largely to the chief pro- “confidence boost” from the positive reviews 1.
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duction designer, Mohamed Attia, and his events that flowed in from around the world for the all- /
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company Kokoro. Their production, direction and Egyptian production: “I believe there was pride
creative efforts brought to life an occasion that and joy that Egyptians can do this.” Amenhotep II
celebrated history as well as made history. Attia There was one notable absentee from the
told the Egyptian newspaper The National that the Golden Parade: Tutankhamun. But barely had the
parade “renewed the link between contemporary royal mummies settled into their new home when :
Egyptians and their pharaonic ancestors.” Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, ae
Promotional trailers for the parade spoke of a Khaled El-Anany, announced plans to hold another
Thutmose IV
civilisation that provided humanity with “the procession—this time to transfer Tutankh-
first model of a strong state, built on amun’s mummy to the yet-to-be-opened
knowledge and faith.” Similarly, the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. No 1.
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various hosts of the ceremony took doubt, more of these types of grand /
every opportunity to draw par- productions would draw more n>
allels between ancient and people to visit Egypt and expe- Amenhotep III
modern Egypt. rience the grandeur in person.

THE LUXOR OBELISK &
ITS VOYAGE TO PARIS
The extraordinary story of how an obelisk from the banks
of Luxor was transferred to the Place de la Concorde in Paris
in the early 19th century.
© SEAN BRUBAKER
In the 19th century, three large unknown. This is a shame. It is a

obelisks left Egypt destined for wonderful story full of drama, com-
Paris, London, and New York. The passion, technological innovations,
journeys of the London (1878) and and a main character (not the
New York (1881) obelisks are well obelisk) who we can all root for.
known, chronicled in the news- Because it is a story worth telling,
papers of the day and later described we translated French engineer
in full-length books devoted to Apollinaire Lebas’ personal account
each obelisk. In contrast, the story of his adventures in Egypt and of
of the Paris obelisk is virtually how he moved the obelisk.
BOB BRIER and COLETTE FOSSEZ SUMNER
The Luxor Obelisk and Its Voyage to Paris
COURTESY OF THE EGYPTOLOGY

LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY
here are several reasons why the APOLLINAIRE LEBAS
T account of the Paris obelisk’s journey from

Egypt to France is little known. Firstly, it left
Egypt in 1833, before the debut of widely
circulated newspapers. Thus, we have very few con-
temporary accounts of the obelisk’s travels. Secondly,
Short in stature, barely over five feet tall (around 152
cm), Lebas was a giant of a man, interested in every-
thing, with prodigious engineering skills, and cool
demeanor under pressure.
Apollinaire Lebas started his grand adventure at
when Apollinaire Lebas’ report of how he moved the Alexandria in the spring of 1831, where he waited
obelisk came out in 1839, it was published by the Royal several days for his audience with Mohamed Ali Pasha.
Corps of Bridges, Roads, and Mines (title page above) He didn’t waste the time, and repeatedly visited the
and didn’t have a wide circulation. Further, it came two obelisks at Alexandria, one upright, one fallen, to
out a full three years after the obelisk was erected and get an idea of what he would encounter when he
by that time, interest had largely faded. reached Luxor and the obelisk he was going to move:
The primary account of the moving of the Paris
“Often I would go to visit them to gain
obelisk is Lebas’ L’Obelisque de Luxor. Many of the
inspiration from their location, to study,
images in this article are from Lebas’ publication, and
to meditate the issues that I had taken in
were originally drawn by the engineer himself. While
hand to solve, and prepare by thinking
the book is ostensibly the record of how he moved the
through the procedures I proposed to solve
obelisk, it is far more. Just as interesting as the scien-
the difficulties that would be offered by the
tific aspects are his adventurous travels through Egypt
movement of such a considerable mass.”
and his experiences with the locals.
When Lebas was finally granted his interview with
GIVING AWAY OBELISKS the Pasha he notes a rare incidence of humor in
Egypt’s ruler, Pasha (Governor) Mohamed Ali, took Mohamed Ali:
power in 1805 in the wake of Britain’s withdrawal,
“Told in advance by the consul general of my
three years earlier, after defeating Napoleon’s forces.
small stature, he pretended not to see me,
He was keen to gain favour with European powers,
and asked with a laugh, ‘Where is the engi-
and his diplomatic currency was obelisks.
neer?’ On my presentation by Mr. Mimaut he
The Pasha offered the standing obelisk in Alexan-
replied, ‘He was hiding behind you. Tell him
dria to France, but Jean-François Champollion, the
to sit beside me so I can see him’’’
man who first cracked the hieroglyphic “code” had just
returned from a tour of Egypt and suggested that The meeting went well, and Mohamed Ali promised
France lobby for a grander monolith: one of the two to supply any assistance needed in the project and gave
obelisks in front of Luxor Temple, as they were taller Lebas letters of introduction to the officials he would
and in far better condition. have to consult. Eight days later, Lebas was in Cairo,
The French wrote to Mohamed Ali in November meeting with Krali Effendi, the Turk who was Dir-
1829, requesting one of the Luxor obelisks. The Pasha ector of Navigation. Krali Effendi was brutal to those
agreed and France immediately swung into action. under him but was educated and skilled. During the

Bob Brier and Colette Fossez Sumner
interview, he impressed Lebas with his knowledge [Monsieur], the stone, it is cracked, but I do
of the size and weight of the Luxor obelisk, but also not believe it is broken. The sound is good.
revealed that the obelisk Lebas intended to move was We will be able to remove it, providing that
cracked, starting from the base to about one third the it falls slowly, very slowly.’ […] I was walking
height. Lebas could not believe this. He had been like a drunken man, incessantly repeating,
specifically told by Champollion to take the obelisk ‘There was a crack that not a single book on
on the right, because it was in better condition than Egypt had mentioned.’ A thousand contradic-
the one on the left. Lebas had complete confidence in tory thoughts assailed me at once, full of
the great Champollion, and Champollion had said turmoil and agitation. I was at the same time
nothing about a crack. Could Krali be right? He cer- in Toulon, Paris, and Thebes. The sole thought
tainly seemed to know the obelisk well. that I might be accused of shattering the
obelisk while taking it down from its base,
“From then on, our engineer lived in fear,
or while taking it on board, was absorbing
wondering if the obelisk he was to move
all my faculties.”
had a fatal flaw and would break when he
attempted to lower it. For the next few weeks However, encouraged by what the stonemason told
during the trip south to Luxor, he wondered him, Lebas sprang into action and began preparations
if the obelisk really was cracked.” for lowering the obelisk. His approach was different
When they finally reached the banks of Luxor, from anything used to move obelisks before. Edu-
Lebas immediately went to the obelisk. His stone- cated at the École Polytechnique, France’s equivalent
mason, just as concerned, ran ahead to the obelisk and of MIT, Lebas had a sound training in both engineer-
when Lebas arrived on the scene, ing and mathematics, which he now applied to the task
of moving the obelisk.
“the Italian, Mazacqui, a stonecutter, was When Lebas took on the project, the last obelisk
gently tapping the east side of the obelisk moved was in 1586, when Domenico Fontana moved
on the right and was paying close attention the Vatican obelisk a quarter of a mile from the old St.
to the noise resonating from the mass. As Peter’s Basilica to its present site. We can appreciate
soon as he saw me, he cried out in his lan- just how different Lebas’ approach was by comparing
guage, half Italian, half French: ‘Moussou it to Fontana’s.
COURTESY OF THE EGYPTOLOGY LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY
This is Luxor Temple as Lebas encountered it in 1831, obelisk in its hull. But first, around 30 mudbrick huts
drawn by Verniac Saint-Maur, captain of the Luxor. would have to be purchased and then demolished to
This was the ship specially-built to carry the western clear a path from Luxor Temple down to the Nile.
DOMENICO FONTANA raise the obelisk but had no idea how many were nec-
Fontana’s achievement has often been called “the great- essary. He couldn’t calculate the force each man would
est engineering feat of the renaissance”; this is a great exert on the bars, or how much total power each capstan
exaggeration. Fontana was successful, but he really generated. Nor did he know how much resistance the
didn’t know what he was doing because he couldn’t do obelisk would present at the various stages of its low-
the calculations to determine exactly what was needed. ering and raising. He couldn’t calculate how much
Like Lebas, he used winches (capstans) to lower and tension would be translated to the ropes nor how much
Compared with Domenico Fontana’s seemingly chaotic

1586 operation, below, Apollinaire Lebas’ plan to raise the Luxor
Obelisk in Paris is an exercise in grace—underscored by serious maths and engineering.
The Vatican Obelisk

had stood since a.d.
37 when Emperor
Caligula brought it
to Rome to decorate
his circus (chariot-
racing arena).
Papal architect
Domenico Fontana
moved the obelisk
to St. Peter’s Square
in 1586. It took 900
men four months to
lower, move and
raise the obelisk at
its new location, 240
metres away.

strain they could withstand. He also didn’t know the obelisk is almost serene compared with Fontana’s. Just
forces that would be transmitted to his “castello”—the 10 winches, no horses, and only 200 men. Lebas had
scaffolding structure that would surround the obelisk calculated what was needed and was confident he
during the work. In the absence of knowledge, he would succeed.
overbuilt his system. He had 40 winches with 900 men
and dozens of horses turning them. The castello was MATHS AND LEBAS
a huge affair with massive timbers and extremely thick Lebas’ moving of the obelisk ushered in a new era
ropes and bolts holding it together, and still Fontana of computational engineering—using mathematical
didn’t know if it would work. It did, but he was lucky. calculations to determine what is necessary to achieve
Lebas on the other hand was able to do all kinds a specific task. This was an important step forward
of calculations to precisely determine what was needed. and he proudly included all of his calculations in the
He knew how much force each man could exert, cal- Appendix to his book for engineers who would come
culated how much would be lost to friction of the after him. His ability to do the calculations was due to
ropes, how much resistance the obelisk would present his École Polytechnique education, but the school had
at various stages of the lowering, etc., etc. Like any also taught him something else.
engineer, he too overbuilt, but just a tiny bit for safety. Everyone at the École Polytechnique took drafting
He knew he only needed 10 capstans, not 40. A com- courses. Many of the members of The Commission of
parison of the scene at the raising of the Vatican obelisk Arts and Sciences, who Napoleon took with him to
with Lebas’ diagram of raising the Paris obelisk shows Egypt in 1798, were students and graduates of the
the effects of knowledge (opposite). École. When they returned to France, they
Fontana’s drawing shows something produced the Description de l’Égypte,
that looks like a circus. There are the massive publication that pro-
nearly a thousand workers, 40 vided Europe with its first
capstans, horses, dozens of accurate renderings of Egypt’s
people just to feed the ropes. ancient monuments, all due
The diagram Lebas has left to their drafting training
us of the raising of his at the École (below).
This engraving of the

Temple of Isis at Philae
is an example of the
amazing work produced
for the Description de
l’Égypte by Napoleon’s
scholars. Many of them,
like Lebas, were taught at the
École Polytechnique in Paris.
Apollinaire Lebas also took these drafting courses “Of all the kinds of dances that I saw per-
and illustrated his book with his own detailed sketch- formed by the almee, I will limit myself to
es and diagrams of the Luxor obelisk being lowered, recalling a few characteristics of the one
transported, and finally raised in Paris. Like the they call the Dance of the Bee. The almee
members of Napoleon’s team of savants, his drafting appears dressed in a pantaloon with a skirt
skills were considerable. on top, a spincer [a tunic cut at the waist]
One of Lebas’ simplest diagrams was of great inter- and a belt. The head is covered by a large
est to the Egyptology world. When the obelisk was veil that falls to the bottom of the leg. The
lowered from its base, Lebas was the first person in music begins; the artist starts to dance and
over 3,000 years to see the top of the pedestal, where sing while clapping her cymbals. . . . Soon she
he discovered the cartouches of Ramesses the Great. pretends to hear the buzzing of an insect
Ramesses II frequently erased the names of his prede- flying in the room. She listens closely,
cessors and replaced them with his own. He knew this looks, pretends to chase it, continues her
could happen to him too after his death, so he carved steps, slips, and then declares through a
his name on the top of the pedestal so that when the painful scream that she is being chased by a
obelisk sat on top of it, no one could replace his car- bee. Then the two instrument players and her
touche. Lebas also noted that the pedestal cracked in companions come near while screaming at the
antiquity and was repaired with what today we call top of their lungs ‘AK-AKO!’ There it is, there
“butterfly cramps.” it is! Her movements become much more
vibrant; the almee doubles her complaints,
brings her hands to her body, sometimes on
one side, then the other, turns and turns in
all directions. Her face lightens up, light-
ning sparkles in her black and rolling
eyes. . . . Sometimes she pursues the cruel

animal that stings her, sometimes she
tries to escape it by fleeing.... The beat of
the music accelerates more and more. The
tambourine and the piercing sound of the
castanets accompany the jerky movements of
the almee. Exhausted with fatigue, the voice
faint, one only hears the piercing screams
of her companions: ‘Ak-ako embeillaho’: Here
it is, here is the bee! . . . Finally, she loses
all restraint; she gets rid of her veil; her
hair falls in disorder on her shoulder; but
the cruel animal persists. It continues to
pierce her with its stinger. It takes refuge
Ramesses II carved his cartouches on the pedestal under her belt. She pulls it off violently.
before the obelisk was lowered onto it so that no
He goes under the spincer, under the dress.
later pharaoh could replace his name with theirs.
Same movements, same intensity, everything
is taken off; finally, under the pantaloons,
THE DANCE OF THE BEE the last refuge of modesty. The almee brings
Once the obelisk was down (which took only 25 her hand to it and torn between two feelings,
minutes) and loaded on board the Luxor, Lebas had she abandons this last piece of clothing and
to wait several months for the Nile to rise so the Luxor faints to the floor. A veil thrown with pre-
could float off the riverbank where it had been ground- cision and agility by the matron of the house
ed. Always eager to learn more about Egypt, Lebas hides instantly the nudity of the dancer.”
headed south to visit Egypt’s Nubian monuments.
On his travels south, Lebas encountered one of the Lowering the Luxor obelisk was a great achievement,
many itinerant dance troops that made their living but it seems that for Lebas, another highpoint of the
entertaining the locals. When Lebas describes the expedition was the Dance of the Bee!
encounter, he is enthralled, captivated by everything,
especially “The Dance of the Bee.” When one of the LEBAS’ SOUTHERN ADVENTURE
almees (dancers) performs what really is an early strip- Lebas was eager to venture south of the first cataract
tease show, he is overwhelmed. at Aswan. Indeed, Napoleon’s savants were forced to

Apollinaire Lebas certainly wasn’t the first European 1842 lithograph is based on a painting by Scottish
to be smitten by the exotic “orientalist” dance troops artist David Roberts who was inspired to capture a
he encountered in Egypt, and he wasn’t the last. This performance in Cairo by dancers known as Ghawazi.
stop at the first cataract when the French surrendered Lebas sailed as far south as Abu Simbel where he
to the British. When they returned to France, their spent three days visiting the temples carved into the
Description de l’Égypte didn’t include the Nubian mountain by Ramesses the Great. He did what engi-
monuments. Now Lebas would have a chance to see neers always do; he measured everything—the height
them. This was high adventure. of the four colossal statues, width of the shoulders,
Entering Nubia, Lebas stopped at Derr, a small length of the foot (16 feet—4.9 metres), even the width
town opposite the temple of Amada. There he saw a of the nose under the nostrils. He explored both
slave market, which clearly moved him: temples thoroughly; but reluctantly, he had to leave
“I witnessed in that town [Derr] the purchase for Luxor. He couldn’t risk missing the rise of the Nile.
of several black slaves whom ships brought Back at Luxor, the Nile was slow to rise. Lebas and
from the interior of Africa. . . . Here, as his team waited and waited, and finally the water came.
several interested buyers had come, they With the Luxor afloat, they quickly headed down
presented to them the black women, who were stream for Cairo and then on to Alexandria where they
locked into a common room in the back of the waited a month for fair weather. When the weather
ship. The buyers examined them with the cleared, the Luxor didn’t sail on her own. There was
greatest care, looking at all the joints, the another plan involving the new engineering marvel,
head, the eyes, the breasts, the neck, the the steam engine.
nails, the ears, the feet. . . . They were turned Lebas was what today would be called “a techie”—
and turned again, the way a horse dealer always looking for the new trend in science and engi-
haggles over horses at the fair. During this neering. The Luxor was fine on her own for the Nile,
examination the face of the buyer shows but, for the open seas, with the extra weight of the
perfect indifference, the total absence of obelisk in her hold, she was towed by the Sphinx, the
all feeling of humanity. Everything for him first steamship in the French navy (page 41). While
seems to come down to a simple deal.” the steam engine had proven its worth at sea, it was
still rarely used on land, with the steam locomotive
This diagram from Apollinaire Lebas’ The obelisk had been clad in wood to
L’Obelisque de Luxor illustrates the protect it during the operations, and
elaborate system of pulleys and by October 23, 1831 everything
rigging that he designed to lower was in place to finally bring it
the Luxor obelisk. Fortunately, down. The procedure itself
the base of the its eastern turned out to be something
twin was buried in metres of an anti-climax. Lebas’
of silt, rubble, and village equipment performed just
debris. It provided a as he had calculated and
handy ‘anchor’ for the within 25 minutes the
restraining apparatus obelisk was horizontal. It
which kept the descend- was a major triumph for
ing obelisk from crash- the young engineer—and
ing to the ground. for applied mathematics.
To get the obelisk into the Luxor, the ship had been allowed to be
beached as the Nile receded. The prow of the ship was then
sawed off to receive the obelisk. This 1/66 scale model of
the operation was made in 1847 and is in the Musée
national de la Marine in Paris (Acc. No. 13 PA 42).
IMAGE: JEAN-PIERRE DALBÉRA

COURTESY OF BOB BRIER AND PAT REMLER
The Luxor was custom-built for the various stages in- land on the bank of the Nile to permit the obelisk to be
volved in bringing the obelisk to Paris. In addition to loaded into its hull. To cross the Mediterranean on the
being seaworthy, it had to manage the shallow rivers return journey, the Luxor was towed by a steamer named
of the Nile and Seine, and be low enough to pass under the Sphinx. On April 1, 1833 the Luxor and the steamer
the bridges of the Seine. Further, it had to be able to Sphinx left Alexandria for France.
only recently introduced in England. Lebas intended 25, 1836, as 200,000 Parisians watched, Apollinaire
to change all this. Not only was the obelisk towed to Lebas raised his obelisk by manpower.
France by a steamship, Lebas was going to raise the
obelisk in the Place de la Concorde by steam power! THE OBELISK RISES
It had been more than five years since Lebas had left
No occasion could provide a more brilliant
France for Egypt with the intention of bringing back
or solemn chance to demonstrate in front of
an obelisk. Now, on a cloudy Tuesday morning, as a
the eyes of the whole assembled population
band played the “Isis Suite” from Mozart’s Magic Flute,
the power of this marvelous agent. It would
the Luxor Obelisk rose to the sky.
have been a very imposing spectacle to see a
The only contemporary depiction of the event is a
load of 500,000 [pounds] rise majestically
marvelous painting at the Musée Carnavalet by Fran-
in space, without any help from muscle power,
çois Dubois (page 43). The king, Louis Philippe I, and
to straighten it on its base with the help of
the royal family watched the proceedings from the
one of the most powerful inventions of modern
balcony of the Ministry of the Navy, the building on
times, the only one, perhaps, that antiquity
the left in the painting. The king applauded and all
cannot claim priority over. Unfortunately,
200,000 spectators joined him. Lebas was a hero.
the problem that befell the machine while
Later that night, at a dinner hosted by the King,
we were testing it, to make the obelisk move,
Apollinaire Lebas learned that he would receive an
forced us to give up using it.
annual pension of 4,000 francs for his service to his
Lebas had been sent a steam engine with a defective country. At the time, skilled Parisians, such as engra-
boiler that could not generate enough pressure to raise vers and goldsmiths, earnt around 5 francs a day, so
the obelisk. He quickly reverted to manpower and for Lebas, this pension meant a life of relative ease.
capstans, just as he had used in Luxor. Thus, on October (Continued on page 44.)
(ABOVE) (OPPOSITE)
Lebas’ diagram of how the obelisk would travel to On Tuesday October 25, 1836, some 200,000
its pedestal in the Place de la Concorde via a raised Parisians, including the King and Queen, turned out
wooden track, and then a gently sloping stone to watch the obelisk being erected in the Place de
ramp. The pedestal still bears a gilded depiction of La Concorde. This oil painting by François Dubois is
the system Lebas used to lower the obelisk in Luxor. the only contemporary depiction of the occasion.

COURTESY OF THE MUSÉE CARNAVALET, PARIS. ACC. NO. P107
LER
EM
TR
PA
D
AN
R
IE
BR
B OB
F
YO
T ES
CO U R
King Louis Philippe I had a medal struck to commemo- Gasparin, Minister of the Interior. The Obelisk of Luxor
rate the great event. The inscription on the reverse reads, was raised on 25th October 1836 on its base by the care
“Under the reign of Louis Philippe I, M. Adrien de of M. Apollinaire Lebas, Marine Engineer”.
(From page 41.) Transporting the Luxor obelisk

from Egypt to Paris was one of the great engineering
triumphs of the early 19th century. It would be another
four decades before the English and the Americans
finally got around to collecting the obelisks that had
been offered to them.
The man who brought Paris her obelisk died on
New Year’s Day, 1873. The January issue of Le Monde
Illustré for January 11, 1873 provides us with one of
the rare portraits of Apollinaire Lebas (opposite). He
is buried at Paris’ famous Père-Lachaise cemetery,
where, appropriately, an obelisk marks his grave.
The full story of Apollinaire Lebas’ obelisk adventure

has been translated into English for the first time by
Bob Brier and Colette Fossez Sumner and is available The Luxor Obelisk
in a new book, The Luxor Obelisk and Its Voyage to AND ITS VOYAGE TO PARIS
Paris (right). Your editor would like to express his by Bob Brier and Colette Fossez Sumner
thanks to William Joy, curator of the Peggy Joy Egyp- AUC Press, 2021
tology Library, for providing many of the wonderful ISBN 9781617979958
images that appear in this article. Hardcover, US$39.95
BOB BRIER is an Egyptologist COLETTE FOSSEZ SUMNER is a

specializing in mummies, but linguist whose native language
also has a deep interest in is French. She teaches in the
Egyptomania. He is Senior Department of Romance
Research Fellow at the C.W. Languages and Literatures at
Post Campus of Long Island Hofstra University in Long
University. Island, New York.

Apollinaire Lebas was appointed to the post “This engineer, to whom we owe the
of curator of the Musée de la Marine in 1836 removal, transport and erection of the
in recognition of his efforts in erecting the obelisk of Luxor, not to mention other
Luxor Obelisk in the heart of Paris. When he brilliant endeavours, has just died aged
died in 1873, the newspaper Le Monde Illustré 75. . . . On the occasion of the climactic
devoted the front page to Lebas, surrounding step of his career, M. Le Bas published
him with Egyptian icons, including his famed himself a wonderful piece of writing
obelisk in the act of being raised. Part of the entitled L’Obélisque de Louxor: Histoire
obituary inside reads as follows (translated): de sa translation à Paris.”
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. PURCHASE, FLETCHER FUND AND THE GUIDE FOUNDATION INC. GIFT. ACC. NO. 66.99.45

JUAN AGUILERA MARTIN
CULT OF THE
ANCESTORS
IN DEIR EL-MEDINA
© MANNA NADER—KAIROINFO4U
For generations, the Deir el-Medina workers who built the first rays. As the crowns of the pyramids glowed each
royal tombs in the Valleys of the Kings and Queens lived morning, the Deir el-Medina residents may have felt
with their families below the tombs of their ancestors, built reassured that their ancestors were also reborn.
higher up on a hill. Many of the tomb chapels were topped As we’ll read in this article, it was believed that those
by pyramids, such as the restored example we can see same ancestors could return to the realm of the living to
here, which connected the dearly departed with the dawn’s intervene in the affairs of those that they left behind.
The workers of Deir-el-Medina woke up to a daily but little has been said about the many workers
reminder of the fragility of this life, and the hope who served the ruling classes.
for eternal glory. But how did they relate to the When the homes of the artisans who built the
dead whose tombs overlooked the little village? New Kingdom royal tombs were abandoned, its
What were their beliefs and funeral rites like? residents left behind a treasure trove of artefacts.
We understand a fair bit about the lavish fu- These have helped us form a picture of the very
nerary and religious rites of the Egyptian kings intimate beliefs and rites of these essential people
and nobles, thanks to their richly-adorned tombs, in the pharaonic enterprises.
(OPPOSITE PAGE)
An agent on the other side.
Busts of family ancestors were set into niches in the walls of houses of Deir el-Medina or placed
in tomb chapels in the cemeteries there. These busts represented the deceased’s success in
attaining eternal life as an akh—an “effective spirit”—who could act as an intermediary between
the mortals and the gods. Villagers would make offerings to the deceased, imploring them to act
on their behalf, or carry a petition to the ears of the gods.
Many of the busts wearing luxurious wigs like this one are thought to represent female ancestors.
This elaborately-painted example is now in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
efore starting, it is necessary to know that the entity, as it is conceived in modern monotheistic religions
B Egyptian beliefs that surround the composition of a

person’s soul are an essential factor when considering
their cultural relationship with the dead. In the ancient
(Christianity, Islam and Judaism), but rather as a collection
of different components. This division of the soul, or kheperu
M
x 5 (“manifestations”) as the Egyptians called it, meant
Egyptian set of beliefs, the soul was not seen as a singular that individuals could experience immortality in many
ways. Each of these components repre-
sented a complex concept, some with
similar and sometimes contradictory
functions.
The essential components of the soul
are described on these pages: ba (per-
sonality), ka (essence/spirit), Akh (active
spirit), ren (name), and shut (shadow).
Some Egyptologists include ib (the heart)
as well (see page 53). It was thought that
when the living communicated with the
dead, they addressed the akh.
Despite the high rates of infant
mortality and the fact that adult life
expectancy rarely exceeded 40 years,
deaths were not at all trivialised, and
were recognised in Deir el-Medina as
being traumatic for the living. The
ISM AND ANTIQUITIES

© EGYPTIAN MINISTRY OF TOUR
KA
(Divine essence)
ng a spiritual
“You are not a human being havi
You are a spir itua l bein g having a human
experience.
line, attri bute d to American
experience.” This popular
or Way ne W. Dyer , also hap pens to be
“new age” auth
the conc ept of the ka.
one of the best ways to explain
esse d by a hier ogly ph depi cting two
The ka was expr
upraised arms and can be thought
of as the divin
the
e REN
ifest ed into a pers on, and
creative energy man
in creative poten-
(Name)
source of one’s essential nature. Rich Names were so important that their removal from
ed on from generation to
tial, the ka’s vitality was pass
tombs, monuments, or statuary was considered as
on was said to be
generation, and on death, a pers an attack on the existence of that person. The name
rnin g to the ance stra l realm.
“going to one’s ka”—retu was thought of as a living part of each individual
king s were wors hipp ed as inca rnations of
Egypt’s
PHOTO: CORNFIELD / ADOBE STOCK.COM
divine kingship which and the means by which the gods would know the
the royal ka, the creative spirit of deceased in the afterlife. As long as one’s name was
y mon arch upo n their coronation.
inhabited ever remembered, the deceased was immortal.
the sculpted ka
The above royal ka statue, with This Saqqara relief labels the figure as “Mereru-
head , was unea rthe d in late 2019
hieroglyph on its ka, his beautiful name is Meri”. Mereruka was his
ng an illeg al exca vatio n near the ruins of the
duri more formal name, while his “beautiful name” was
ient Memphis), 20
Temple of Ptah in Mit Rahina (anc the name he was more popularly known by.
h of Cair o. An insc ripti on on its back pillar
km sout Mereruka was the Vizier (chief minister) and
repr esen ted the divine ka of
reveals that the statue son-in-law of King Teti, the first pharaoh of Egypt’s
s II, the 19th -Dyn asty pha raoh responsible for
Ramesse 6th Dynasty (ca. 2330 b.c.).
the great temples at Abu Simb el.
Waziri, Secre-
Inspecting the statue is Dr. Mostafa
Cou ncil of Antiquities.
tary-General of the Supreme

ancient Egyptians were meticulous record
keepers, and absences from work were
recorded on ostraca (broken pots or stone
flakes used as writing surfaces), such as
this example concerning a man named
Ruti. The entry details the date, the type
of absence (he stayed home from work),
his name and the nature of the ailment—
he was simply “ill”.
]\ !M ! V 44 b b b b
b bbb
“Month 1 of Peret (Growing Season,
Oct.–Feb.), Day 27,
a\
Stayed (home),
t 7 b !" ;
w ]
by Ruti, Ill.”
(‘Absence from Work Text’,
Reign of Siptah, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1190 b.c.],
O. Ashmolean Museum 37.)
MUSÉES ROYAUX D’ART ET D’HIS

TOIRE, BRUSSELS. ACC. NO. E.504
PHOTO: WERNER FORMAN ARCH 3
IVE/ / ALAMY.COM
This scene is from the Book of the

Dead of a man
named Neferrenpet, who lived and
worked in Deir
el-Medina during the reign of King
Ramesses II, around
1250 b.c. The papyrus features Nefe
rrenpet’s shadow
(shut) emerging from the tomb to
greet the sunrise, as
well as his ba, depicted as a hum
an-headed bird. The
ba and shadow are often referred
to together in the
Book of the Dead:
M t B? 7!
b t` 1 H e"
“Spell for opening the tomb
t bt !l Y ! n ! $V
b M 1M
for the ba and shadow to come forth by b
day,
r 1` 1 oo7K
and gain power over the legs.”
(The Book of the Dead, Chapter 92)
R FUND, ACC. NO. 54.1
BA
AKH (Spirit of Freedom)
(Active Spirit) The ba allowed the deceased free
and could leave the tomb during
dom of movement,
the day to join the
Elevating to a divine state as an akh was the sun god Re on his solar circuit thro
ugh the sky. At
BROOKLYN MUSEUM, CHARLES EDWIN WILBOU
ultimate goal of an individual’s rebirth after night the ba returned to the tomb
to reunite with the
death. A deceased’s akh was worshipped in an deceased’s body, in the same way
that Re sank below
“ancestor bust” like this one, where their presence the horizon to be united with Osir
is and receive the
could continue to be felt by loved ones, and they lord of the netherworld’s powers
of rejuvenation.
remained “effective” in the land of the living.
This female bust, now in the Brooklyn Museum,
was likely originally fully painted, and would have
SHUT
been striking. The lappet wig shows traces of blue, (Shadow)
and the modius above it was painted red. The casting of one’s shadow mea
nt that a person was
in the sunlight, and in an ancient
Egyptian context,
this meant soaking up Re’s creative
energies. The
shadow was said to accompany the
deceased’s ba
when it emerged from the tomb each
morning to
share in the rising sun’s rebirth.
This is the outer coffin of the chief scribe at Deir el-Medina, from the living to the dead for help. In Butehamun’s letter,
Butehamun. A letter from Butehamun to his deceased wife he seems to be asking Ikhtay to put in a good word for him
Ikhtay (see below) is one of about 15 “letters to the dead” with the “Lord of Eternity”. Why Butehamun felt that he
that have been discovered. They usually include an appeal needed a netherworld ally, we don’t know.
Other ostraca inform us that workers could take off

B!
1+
!
7 ! \> 1 B z
17 days after the death of a relative. The first part of this
“grieving time” was for the preparation of the corpse, the
! t !!
“Oh Ikhtay, the fairest of women,
libation, the embalming and the mourning. This was
t
t !: !: X1+ t
followed by another nine days assigned for offerings and 1"5 !
rituals after the funeral. t!
I! !7 : 11
Letters to the Dead Can anyone hear me where you are?
t >
1" i
f U" ! : w <V < '
We know that the dead were not simply worshipped as
ancestors but also played a crucial role in the relationship
between mortals and the gods. For example, towards the Tell the Lords of Eternity,
end of the New Kingdom, around 1100 b.c., the chief scribe 1 l:n t I!1 1
11 \ +!
at Deir el-Medina, Butehamun, wrote an ostracon letter to M
his late wife Ikhtay, who was a chantress of Amun. In the ‘Let my brother (i.e. Butehamun) arrive.’ ”
letter, now in the Louvre, Butehamun implores his wife (‘The Letter to Ikhtay’,
(“the fairest of women”) to help him. Part of the letter reads 21st Dynasty, ca. 1100 b.c.],
as follows: Ostracon Louvre 698.)

In this case, Butehamun’s letter does not specify his diffi-
culty, nor the help he hopes to receive. This was common,
and it is a reasonable assumption that both individuals
knew what the subject of the letter was, either before
Ikhtay’s death or through post-mortem correspondence.
However, Butehamun is not directly seeking the help
of his dead wife, instead, he is asking her to bring his plea
to the “Lords of Eternity”, presumably to allow his (even-
tual) successful admittance to the afterlife.
Such “Letters to the Dead” weren’t a uniquely Deir el-
Medina phenomenon. They have been found in sites
throughout Egypt and across a wide span of time. One
example was written on a limestone stela around 900 years
earlier, ca. 2000 b.c., and likely comes from a tomb chapel
at Naga ed-Deir in Middle Egypt. On the stela, a man named
Merirtyfy asks his wife Nebtiotef to champion his cause in
the afterlife and interceded with the gods for him:
M < ! t >hR
f 1t M b !
Mi 7h !!
“Words spoken by Merirtyfy to Nebtiotef.
1 K! ] 1 B "
How are you?
t B!
i\ 1e 'M
B
h! db !
Is the west taking care of you
according to your desire?
t ! a
1] - 1 ? M
M! b h
Since I am your beloved on Earth,
: 1!
Z8 M
© THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM, BALTIMORE. ACC. NO. 48.1537
fight on my behalf,
M
: t This mirror support, just 6 cm tall, is fashioned in the
Cq M form of the dwarf god Bes, who was a source of comfort
and protection for the Egyptian household. With his
and intercede on behalf of my name.” lion’s ears and mane, and protruding tongue, Bes was a
(‘Letter to the Dead from Merirtyfy to Nebtiotef ’, fearsome ally who frightened away all manner of
late 11th / early 12th Dynasties, ca. 2000 b.c., supernatural nasties, particularly when the village
Michael C. Carlos Museum, Object No. 2014.033.001.) women were at their most vulnerable: during childbirth.
Bes’ popularity may stem from the Egyptians’ great
love for dwarves, which was recorded in the Old
Divine Protection Kingdom Pyramid Texts eight centuries before Deir
Like the mortal realm, the land of the dead was filled with el-Medina was founded. In the 6th-Dynasty Pyramid of
King Merenre (ca. 2800 b.c.), the Pyramid Texts state:
threats that endangered the existence of its inhabitants.
M # f t
Various amulets, spells, and offerings from the living were
used in order to control this, and the exchange essentially
V Lt K !U 1 q /// 3
created a two-way dependency between the living and the “Merenre is that pygmy who dances for the god,
! M
e B1B d t 3 1l\
dead. When we examine this relationship, it seems to us to
be rather fragile; the ancestors, like gods, needed rituals 7 K ! h D!
and offerings to exist in the afterlife and maintain their who pleases the god before his great throne.”
favour towards their relatives.
In addition, excavations at Deir el-Medina have pro-
duced a vast amount of papyrus, ostraca and stelae that tell
us a lot about the villagers’ religious and funerary customs would not only serve as a protective element against the
and beliefs. Several chapels have been found in the city with evil, but also as a point of contact with the deceased to
stelae and offering tables dedicated to deceased relatives, whom petitions were made.
as well as busts of the ancestors that would serve as re- Protective divinities of the village were female, with
cipients of the food offerings (see pages 46 and 49). These Hathor’s particularly standing out. Alongside this we find
busts were also located within the houses, where they the household deities Bes and Taweret, (cont’d page 54)

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. ROGERS FUND AND EDWARD S. HARKNESS GIFT, 1922. ACC. NO. 22.3.33
(OPPOSITE) (ABOVE)
This stela was found in the Tomb of Hay (TT 267), who Dressed in a pleated, pure white, translucent robe, the
worked at Deir el-Medina during the 20th-Dynasty reign Chantress of Amun, Tent-dentesi is led by Anubis
of King Ramesses III (ca. 1170 b.c.). towards Re-Horakhty. Seated in the mummified form of
The stela called upon the guardianship of two Osiris, Re-Horakhty possesses the combined power of
goddesses, perhaps for a woman’s trouble-free preg- daily rebirth with the rising sun and Osiris’ netherworld
nancy and childbirth. Meretseger is shown with a female transformation from death.
body and cobra’s head, and her veneration helped ward Tent-dentesi’s white robe is significant. Egyptologist
off other dangerous forces. Taweret, a fearsome Kara Cooney points out that, according to the Book of
hippopotamus with the tail of a crocodile, was invoked the Dead, the white garment “is explicitly linked with the
to protect women in childbirth and shared this function purity of successfully passing through the Hall of Justice
with Bes. Her pendulous breasts and large belly also as a blessed soul, an akh.”
point to her link with pregnancy and nursing. Standing before Re-Horakhty, Tent-dentesi presents
Each of the goddesses are named in the hieroglyphic her ib (heart), which has passed judgement. The heart
text before them, and both wear a modius crown topped had carried a lifetime’s worth of thoughts and deeds,
by cow horns and a sun disc, which associates them and was weighed against the feather of truth. The stela
with the daughter of Re, the mother goddess Hathor. shows that Tent-dentesi’s heart supported her denial of
The text along the bottom of the stela records the any wrongdoing, and she was declared “True of Voice”,
names (and memory) of three generations of Hay’s worthy of an eternity dwelling with the gods.
family: “Made by the deputy in the Place of Truth (Deir This stela, dated to Egypt’s 22nd Dynasty (ca. 800
el-Medina), Hay, True of Voice, his son, the scribe b.c.), was discovered at Deir el-Bahari in the offering
Amennakht, and his son Nebnefer.” chapel of Tent-dentesi’s father, Saiah (MMA 801).
(LEFT)
This faience (glazed ceramic) ancestor bust amulet is just
2.7 cm tall, made with a loop at the top so it could hang
from a necklace as a pendant.
An ancestor bust is thought to embody the deceased
who has successfully journeyed through the realm of the
dead, passed the Weighing of the Heart ceremony and
become an akh—an “effective spirit”. This status earned
the deceased a place on the solar barque of Re, and
shared in the sun god’s daily rebirth.
The amulet thus offered hope for the family of the
deceased by symbolising the solar cycle of renewed
existence that their family member had attained.
(OPPOSITE)
Stelae such as this one, crafted for a man named Pashedu,
were found primarily in the houses in Deir el-Medina,
where they stood in niches. It is thought that they served a
similar function as ancestor busts, which represented the
akh spirit in human form. Indeed, the hieroglyphic text
tells us that Pashedu was being remembered as an akh—
an “effective spirit of Re”:
<
" 9B+ 1 M
n + t VH
b
f
` :`
H !f ! {
L
“The Osiris, the effective spirit of Re,
Pashedu, True of Voice.”
Both ancestor busts and stelae served as a medium for
two-way communication between the living and the dead,
and with his newfound powers as an akh, Pashedu could
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. act on behalf of his family when called upon.
PURCHASE, EDWARD S. HARKNESS GIFT, 1926. ACC. NO. 26.7.1024
as well as the serpent goddesses Renenutet and Meretseger, representation of the deceased as an akh—an effective spirit
identified with Hathor (see page 52). The devotion of these —which could be asked to intervene in the world of the
female divinities could be explained by the fact that the city living. Dwelling in the realm of the gods, the ancestors had
was run by the wives of the workers, who returned to the the power to attract good or bad consequences, and their
village only every ten days. Likewise, gods who were related presence in the family home made the akh spirit a relevant
to the activity of the royal tomb builders were also wor- figure in the daily life of the ancient Egyptians. They would
shipped, such as Anubis (god of the necropolis), Thoth even be able to partake in ceremonial banquets and impor-
(god of architects and builders), Ptah (patron saint of crafts- tant family occasions.
men and sculptors) or Khnum (creator god who modelled Despite the overwhelming gap in time between us, the
mankind on his potter’s wheel). questions we ask ourselves are the same; they haunt us in
the very same way, and we try to answer them as truth-
fully as possible: “Is there something beyond life?” “And,
Ancestor Busts & Stele if so, what will become of us?”. Just like us, the Egyptians
The porous threshold between the realms of the living and also had their doubts and worries. Butehamun’s letter to
dead meant that for the residents of Deir el-Medina, the his deceased wife, mentioned on page 50, finishes with a
divine felt both omnipresent and intimate. Living relatives plea for reassurance:
would be able to feel that the deceased was “still here”. This t
t !: !: X1+
was reflected by inclusion of ancestor busts and stelae in 1"5
their houses, which provided a means for two-way interac- “Can anybody hear?”
tion with the dead. Indeed, half of the known ancestor busts
come from Deir el-Medina, with the rest found at various
sites throughout Egypt. JUAN AGUILERA MARTIN is a history
The sizes of the ancestor busts range from small amulets graduate at the University of Malaga,
Spain, and specialised in Ancient Near
(above) to 50 cm-high limestone statues (page 46). Among East Archaeology. He was part of the
the examples from Deir el-Medina, a small number were Spanish Archaeological Mission,
found in the domestic setting, in niches that were located Project Vizier Amen-Hotep Huy in
Luxor in 2019, and is currently
on the walls of the front room or in the living room. studying for a Master’s Degree in Art
The main function of these busts and stelae is the Market Management (URJC).

© THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. ACC. NO. EA74704
The practice of painted mummy portraiture appeared This remarkable portrait of a bearded young man
very late in Egyptian history, around the turn of the 1st in a white tunic, glistens with light reflecting in his eyes
century a.d., and lasted for some 200 years. By this time, and a gilded border of vine-tendrils and grapes. It was
large populations of Greeks had settled in the Fayum unearthed by English Egyptologist Flinders Petrie at
area and mingled with the native Egyptians. The portraits Hawara in 1888, and later that year was presented to
present a fusion of the two traditions—Classical style the National Gallery in London by H. Martyn Kennard,
portraits placed on Egyptian-style mummies. one of Petrie’s wealthy benefactors.

PETRIE,
THE PORTRAITS,
& THE NATIONAL GALLERY

PHOTO: PRICEM / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
RoseMarie Loft
“It may seem strange that we are indebted to Egypt for our knowledge
of classical portrait painting. The frescoes of Italy show nothing
of the portable pictures which were so highly valued. It is only by a
curious adaption of Egyptian customs that we have preserved to us a
branch of the most important division of ancient painting.”
—Flinders Petrie in The Hawara Portfolio: Paintings of the Roman Age (1913).
In 1888, English Egyptologist Flinders Petrie dis- Gallery, Sir Frederic Burton, agreed: “I consider
covered a vast Roman-era necropolis at Hawara these things as appropriate and desirable [for the
in Egypt’s Fayum basin, and found that some of collection]. . . as any early Italian fresco or other
the mummies wore realistic painted portraits work.” In complete contrast, the National Gallery’s
instead of the traditional Egyptian idealised masks. Board of Trustees felt that the Fayum Portraits had
Petrie appears to have been keen on having them no place on the walls of the Gallery whatsoever.
displayed at England’s National Gallery as rare RoseMarie Loft follows the changing attitudes
surviving examples of classical portraiture, rather towards the remarkable Fayum Mummy Portraits,
than “mere” artefacts, and the Director of the from their 19th-century discovery through to today.
© THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. ACC. NO. EA74708
“An admirable character-study of a shrewd-looking, artist has not flattered him. His nose is bent, as if from
hard-featured Roman.” This was how Amelia Edwards, a blow, and about the lines of the mouth there is a hint
founder of the Egypt Exploration Fund (now Society), of humor, grim and caustic, which has been caught with
described this portrait in her 1891 book, Pharaohs evident fidelity.”
Fellahs and Explorers. She also seemed to possess a Edwards recorded that Sir Frederic Burton, Director
remarkable gift for personality profiling: “The man is of the National Gallery, thought that this portrait was
somewhat on the wrong side of fifty. His face is deeply “ ‘worth all the rest put together’. . . . On hearing this
furrowed, probably by business cares, and he looks verdict, the owner of the picture, who had intended it
straight out from the panel with the alert and resolute for his private collection, generously presented it, with
air of one who is intent on a profitable bargain. The two others, to the National Gallery.”

Sofia Aziz “Charming head of a girl with
an ingenuous sparkling ex-
PORTRAITS
pression, but very modern
THE FAYUM MUMMY sh

in
appearance—such as one might
meet in any drawing room now-
Strokes of Realism
Ancient Diseases Captured in the Bru
adays.”
For Petrie, the eerie realism of the

Rome ruled Egypt. portraits provided crucial clues about
Things changed when imperial by the newco agemers,
mummification was embraced
the and character of the subjects,
Although the Egyptian custom of faces but thatis stared
al. Instead of the idealised, golden
it possible to ascertain the state
mummy masks became person l portraits of the deceased. of their health? According to a 2001
into eternity, masks were now faithfu study published in the Journal of Neu-
Why?
but
rology
rather kept at urgery & Psychiatry, the
Neuros
have been buried straight away,
Roman-era mummies may not answer is an empha
—for a few month s tic ‘yes’!
in family rituals and festive meals
home so they could be included image The
s to study,
them. Neurology in Ancient
was important to attach such lifelike
at least. This may explain why it to be part of the
Faces,. from Otto Appenzeller, J.M.
family
sed continued
In a bittersweet way, the decea Stevens, Robert Kruszynski and Susan
young
opposite of a, provide
beautiful, such as the example Walker
These portraits can be strikingly
s compelling evidence
ng in Frankf urt, Germa ny. Her curled
urensa mmlu that
girl, now in the Liebieghaus Skulpt
neurological diseases can be de-
her large eyes.
with a wreath of leaves , and thick eyelashes frame tected in these famous portraits.
hair is adorned seemThe quite right.
other portraits. The ones that don’t
This article, however, is about the
researchers examined 200
an even
its tellFayum more
study reveals these latter portra Mummy Portraits which were
Sofia Aziz explains that a recent of the Roman exhibitans.
Egypti
al story: that of the illness es and afflictions ed in the British Museum in
person 1997, along with 32 skulls which had
been excavated by Petrie during his
archaeo logical season at Hawara. These
rchaeological excava-
A
skulls have been kept at the Natura
tions in the Fayum Oasis l
History Museum in London but only
during the late 19th and
19 of them could be matched to the
early 20th century led to
portraits with some level of certainty.
the unveiling of hundreds of striking
To detect neurological disorders,
painted mummy portraits. Many rep-
nd realism , that the skulls were measured and statisti-
resented such profou
cally analysed, with the results com-
they came to be regarded by some as
merit, pared against the Mummy Portraits.
works of exceptional artistic
Here the focus was on the eyes and
and quite possibly the “Rembrandts”
distortion of the facial features.
of their time.
Remarkably, two cases of progres-
We shall see how the haunting in-
sive facial hemiatrophy (deterioration
tensity of the eyes, and the impression
d by of the skin and soft tissues on one side
of distorted facial features execute
of the face), two cases of deviation of
the ancient artists, provide a window
visual axes (eyes pointing in different
into the health of individuals who lived
directions) and one case of corectopia
nearly 2,000 years ago.
(oval-s haped pupils) were detected.
Around 1,000 of these remarkable © THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH
Let’s look at these in more detail.
portraits, depicting the stylish Greco-
MUSEUM. ACC. NO. EA 74707
Roman elite of Egypt, are known

ed PORT RAIT 1 When Flinders Petrie’s Fayum
today. Although they were unearth away. Parry Romberg Syndrome gen- Portraits first arrived in London,
The first portrait was of a young man,
in various locations in Egypt, they are erally begins in young people between they were regarded in much the
excavat ed by Petrie at Hawara in Feb- the
misleadingly known as the “Fayum ages of 5 to 15, but is, thankfully, same way as more modern, Western
ruary 1888 (above right). It was of
Mummy Portraits” because a large a rare disorder. art, and exhibited in London’s
discove red at Hawara , particular interest to the researchers Nationa l Gallery, rather than
numbe r were The CT scans revealed a noticeable
because a skull could be positively presented in their funerary context
near the entrance to the Fayum oasis, thinness caused by the disease on
at the British Museum.
southw est of Cairo. assigned to it.
about 100 km the right side of the man’s skull, and This portrait—Case 1 in the
Mummy Portrait to leave
Thesskull Egypt (still
underw
Italian musicologist, composer and Possibly the earliest recorded Fayum ent CT scanning measurements showed
composer and the skull to be study—was eventually presented
and
were collecte d by the Italian
transill umination to
author, Pietro della Valle (1586–1652), attached to their mummies, above) Written in Greek on(held up before significantly different from
the chest the British Museum in 1994.
Decemb er 15, 1615.
bright lights). The results the others
after struggling with a calamitous love traveller, Pietro della Valle on is the word “Farewell.” A thrilled displayed in the study. When it was discovered at
male mumm y, just below the right hand, several feature Hawara
life and an intensely tortured mind, of the s of
exquisite sight in the world”. progressive facial On close inspection of the portrait, in 1888, Flinders Petrie
della Valle described it as “the most hemiatrophy mummies dismissed this portrait as “ugly in
decided to pursue travel to help lift his The above drawing was published
in 1733, by which the two Rombe
time (Parry rg Syn- the researchers noticed distorti
are ons in subject,” although the drooping
spirits. During this period, he spent had moved into the collection of
drome)Augustu
the King of Poland, which iss II.a slow andthey
Today,
progressive the angle of the mouth
State Artg Collecti
atrophyn affectin
en Dresden (Dresde
ons), and the area mouth and chin is more likely to
some time in Egypt, and it is his trav- in the Staatliche Kunstsammlung one side of the face. around eyes.
There was a noticeable represent a facial disability
778 (right).
With this condition, the tissues ben-
elogue that provides the earliest re- registered as Aeg 777 (left) and Aeg lowering of the left corner of the mouth (hemiatrophy), rather than a failing
ts. eath the skin, and even bone, waste and moustache,
cording of these mummy portrai and changes in the
on the part of the painter.
13
NILEMAGAZINE.COM.AU
NILEMAGAZINE.COM.AU
15
The title page and inside page from Sofia Aziz’s article on how the detail captured in the
Fayum mummy portraits revealed signs of neurological diseases. Circled is the caption
that mentions the portraits being displayed at the National Gallery in London.
I
n Issue 26 (July–August 2020) of NILE Magazine, be termed of European influence. But much of the Collec-
Sofia Aziz examined the so-called Fayum portraits and tion is still rooted in a culture which is increasingly obscure
followed them through to an acceptance within the art to its visitors, heavy with classical mythology and the
community, appreciated in similar manner to contem- Catholic tradition. So how did such a Collection ever
porary works. But is this so? As recently as 2014, a former embrace a handful of Ancient Egyptian ‘mummy masks’?
colleague from the National Gallery in London, erstwhile Quite simply, it didn’t.
owners of some of the “paintings”, dismissed them (and Contributor to the Egypt Exploration Fund and Direc-
with a look of some disdain) as “mere artefacts”. Such were tor and head of the National Gallery, Sir Frederic Burton
much better placed at the British Museum which only was one of the few who responded to Flinders Petrie’s
housed artefacts whereas we housed art, an altogether more invitation to look beyond “ancient Egypt” and consider
complex and nobler aspect of human endeavour. the works on a par with anything that the classical world
That view, thankfully, is not prevalent among all col- had to offer. The correspondence between Petrie and Burton,
leagues, but the Gallery’s mission, to acquire, preserve still present in the Gallery’s archives, make it clear that it
and display European Old Masters on behalf of the nation was a personal enterprise.
underlines a tradition that art derives from the classic form. The portraits’ appearance certainly challenged the view
The “European Old Masters” is now a label which itself is of ancient Egyptian art, but the acquisition of a few by
undergoing revision: for “Masters” we now recognise the the National Gallery did nothing to raise the appreciation
achievements of women artists, even if the price tags are of the works, even within its own walls. In 1888, following
yet to compare; for “European”, it expands to what might their display at Burlington House, now better known as the
Royal Academy of Arts, Petrie sought a suitable home for
their permanent display. Being exhibited at Burlington
should not be taken for establishment acceptance either,
as this was very much a Petrie initiative to boost the paint-
ings’ credibility.
From Petrie’s first expedition to Hawara, seven portraits
were donated to the Gallery, while Burton arranged for
four others to be purchased for the sum of £95. The U.K.’s
Office of National Statistics estimates this as a present-day
value of £11,500—a bargain set alongside the price of
£162,500 realised in a Sotheby’s auction in 2018 for a single
item of similar age and preservation.
In the summer of 1888, Petrie gave no indication in his
letters that he was acting on behalf of anyone other than
the “friends” who sponsored his Hawara excavations. A
handwritten note in red on an original archived letter of
thanks (left) identifies the friends: businessmen Mr. H.
Martyn Kennard and Mr. Jesse Haworth. Both men were
generous sponsors of Petrie’s private excavations. In return
for their patronage, wealthy enthusiasts like these would
share in the spoils of the dig to furnish their private collec-
tions. Petrie later pointed out that “without their liberal
co-operation my visits to Egypt would have borne but little
of the fruit which has enriched our knowledge in the past
years,” (Naqada and Ballas, 1895). (Continued page 64.)
(LEFT) A letter (transcribed below) from Flinders Petrie to Sir

Frederic Burton stating that seven ancient Greco-Egyptian
portraits had been presented to the National Gallery (five
by Mr. H. Martyn Kennard and two by Mr. J. Haworth), and
offering four more portraits of the same series for sale.
Letter of thanks sent to Mr. Kennard and

Mr. Haworth, 8 Aug ’88
8 Crescent Road, Bromley, Kent
20 July 1888
Dear Sir Frederic Burton
I have now obtained definite answers from my friends as
to the distribution of their portraits. The numbers of those
which you wish for and which will be presented are Nos 2,
7, 14, 19, 28, 37, 39 and those of which you agreed to
consider the purchase are Nos 4, 10, 11 and 22.
I am sorry not to have persuaded my friends to give more
to the National Gallery in preference to other places, but I
have a made a special point of securing the old man’s head
for you.
I suggested at first to Mr. Haworth that probably four
presented and four purchased would be a likely acquisition
for the Gallery; so as you will receive seven presented, I have
more than fulfilled the expectations I held out.
I propose to bring the portraits down to the Gallery
about the end of this month, or I will deliver them to your
representative at the Egyptian Hall if you should prefer that.
Yours sincerely,
© NATIONAL GALLERY. REF. NO. NG7/105/3

W. M. Flinders Petrie

Prior to Petrie’s discovery of the Fayum Mummy Portraits, Hawara owed its fame to the 12th
Dynasty mudbrick pyramid built by King Amenemhat III around 1800 b.c. Amenemhat III is
credited with developing a natural watercourse to create a 16-kilometre-long canal, known today
as the Bahr Yussef, to bring water from the Nile to the swampy Fayum basin. This delivered
reliable irrigation and prosperity to the area, and 2,000 years later, Amenemhat’s canal was still
blessing the now Egyptian-Greek community, who built their cemetery to the north of the pyramid.
South of the pyramid once stood what the Greek historian Herodotus described as a 3,000-room
labyrinth. This was Amenemhat III’s enormous cult temple, which, like the pyramid’s gleaming
white limestone casing, has since been quarried away. In the late 1820s, the Bahr Selah irrigation
canal (shown here) was constructed to take water from the Bahr Yussef to the northeastern part
of the Fayum. Incredibly, the engineer in charge of the project elected to slice the canal right
through the remains of Amenemhat’s temple.
© MIKE SHEPHERD IMAGES
(OPPOSITE PAGE)
Flinders Petrie arrived at Hawara with the
intention of reaching the burial chamber of
the Pyramid of Amenemhat III. He records
how his focus soon shifted:
“But perhaps the greatest success
at Hawara was in the direction
least expected. So soon as I went
there I observed a cemetery on
the north of the pyramid; on
digging in it I soon saw that it
was all Roman, the remains of
brick tomb-chambers; and I was
going to give it up as not worth
working, when one day a mummy
was found, with a painted
portrait on a wooden panel
placed over its face. This was a
beautifully drawn head of a girl,
in soft grey tints, entirely
classical in its style and mode,
without any Egyptian influence.
More men were put on to this
region, and in two days another
portrait-mummy was found; in
two days more a third, and then
for nine days not one; an anxious
waiting, suddenly rewarded by
finding three. Generally three
or four were found every week,
and I have even rejoiced over
five in one day. Altogether sixty
were found in clearing this
cemetery, some much decayed and
worthless, others as fresh as the
day they were painted.”
—Ten Years’ Digging in Egypt, 1881–1891
(London, 1892)
In the photo opposite, published in 1923,

Petrie holds a stone head purchased in
Cairo that he thought to be of Narmer—
ancient Egypt’s first king. The head (UC
15989) is now in the Petrie Museum of
Egyptian Archaeology, part of University
College London.
Over three-quarters of the museum’s
collection (including a number of Fayum
Portraits) comes from excavations directed
or funded by Petrie, or from purchases he
made for university teaching.
(LEFT)
This doe-eyed portrait of a young woman,
perhaps in her early 20s, was discovered at
Hawara, and is now in the Cleveland
Museum of Art. Such overly-large eyes are
a feature of many mummy portraits.
The portrait displays a technique used
by the local artists to emphasise the
dazzling sequins sewn into the woman’s
garment. Some of the gold sequins sparkle
like stars as they catch the light.
The detail in many of the Fayum
Portraits is such that their clothes,
jewellery and hairstyles can help scholars
identify in which Roman Emperor’s reign
the person lived. This painting can be
dated based to around ca. a.d. 35., based
on the hairstyle popular at the end of the
THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART, THE JOHN L. SEVERANCE FUND. ACC. NO. 1971.137 reign of Emperor Tiberius.

Gallery notation, am? 30 July ’88
(Bromley, Kent)
Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly
21 July 1888
Dear Sir,
Sir Frederic Burton informs me that he has given
instructions for the Greek portraits to be fetched from here
on Monday next if convenient to me. I do not suppose he
remembered my mentioning to him that I was going to have
them photographed next week; & so I will ask you–on the
discretion which he has left to me as to this–to be so good
as to arrange to have these portraits fetched on Tuesday the
© NATIONAL GALLERY. REF. NO. NG7/105/4 31st, by which time I hope to have the photographs
completed.
(ABOVE) A letter (transcribed at right) from Flinders Petrie to
the National Gallery in London regarding the acquisition of Yours truly,
Greco-Egyptian portraits, all now in the British Museum.
Petrie felt that the portraits should be treated as art rather W. M. Flinders Petrie
than archaeology, and was keen to see them housed in the
National Gallery.
(From page 60.) One portrait (on page 58) is now attrib- and ended up at the British Museum, to which formal title
uted as a donation by Martyn Kennard. was transferred in 1994. By this time, their merit as artwork
The portrait on page 58 seems to have been a particular was better recognised and the transfer was not without its
favourite of Burton’s, and Petrie was at pains to point out own controversy.
in a July 1888 letter (page 60) how he had taken “a special It seems that Petrie hoped for a recognition of the work
point of securing the old man’s head for you.” This portrait of ancient Egyptian artists by their inclusive display among
is one of the few that can be traced to the time of its dis- the classicists and the European Old Masters, but neither
covery, between 4–10 March 1888 at Hawara, and described happened. When the National Gallery passed them on to
by Petrie as “a good portrait of an old man, much like Julius the British Museum, hardly a trace was left within their
Caesar, awfully scraggy.” It might be thought ironic that original home. The notes, the photo plates, conservation
an overtly Roman-style portrait was Sir Frederic Burton’s and loan records, all were passed on as though they had
favoured representative of ancient Egyptian art. never resided there. Just a small file of letters remain within
Although Petrie clearly attributes the portraits to the the Gallery as testament to that part of their history and
Roman era, in his letter of 21 July 1888 to the National rejection by a contemporary Eurocentric art establishment.
Gallery (above), he personally references the paintings as
“the Greek portraits”. This may well have been to fulfil his
ambition that the paintings should be seen as classical art
for their own sake, rather than historical artefacts. The ROSEMARIE LOFT is the Director
Board of Trustees of the National Gallery were less than of People Services at the National
Gallery in London. She is cur-
enthusiastic, however and considered them worthless and rently in the final stages of her
of no artistic value and they were never regularly exhibited Masters Degrees in Egyptology at
the University of Manchester.
at the Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Hidden away in the
basement, they were sent out on loan from time to time

E X H I B I T I O N S & E V E N T S
Information correct at time of printing. Note that exhibition dates may change unexpectedly due to local responses to
Covid-19. Always check with the museum for their current status.
RAMSES AND THE KINGS OF THE SUN EGYPT: THE TIME

PHARAOH’s GOLD OF THE PHARAOHS
Natural History Museum of

Utah, Salt Lake City
20 May 2021 – 2 January 2022
More than 350 original artefacts drawn
from European and U.K. collections, with
the above sandstone bust of Hatshepsut
being one of the highlights.
AMERICAN VENUES
• Houston Museum of GOLDEN MUMMIES
Natural Sciences
• de Young Memorial National Museum, Prague
OF EGYPT
Museum, San Francisco Showing until 30 June 2021 (Extended)
• Castle Hall in Boston, For the first time, this exhibition
Massachusetts showcases finds unearthed by the Czech
EUROPEAN VENUES mission working at Abusir—the royal
necropolis of Egypt’s 5th Dynasty.
• La Felette Hall, Paris
• London Exhibition Hall
November 2021 – January 2025
QUEENS OF EGYPT
A new blockbuster international travelling
exhibition from the Egyptian government.
Starting in the U.S., there are five venues
in all: three in the U.S. and two in Europe.
The exhibition focusses on the Egypt-
ian royal dynasties and their relationship North Carolina Museum of Art,
with the shiny yellow stuff. More details Raleigh
as they come to hand.
Showing until 11 July 2021
Features over 100 objects from the
Manchester Museum collection, and
ANIMAL MUMMIES: explores beliefs about death and the
WHAT’S INSIDE afterlife in Greek and Roman Egypt.
SACRED ADORNMENT:
JEWELRY AS BELIEF IN
Canadian Museum of History, ANCIENT EGYPT
Quebec
19 May – 29 August 2021
Then showing as. . .
QUEEN NEFERTARI:
ETERNAL EGYPT
Portland Art Museum, Oregon
Natural History Museum, Tring, 9 October 2021 – 16 January 2022
Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn,
Hertfordshire Pennsylvania
Meet ancient Egypt’s women of power
Showing until 17 October 2021 Showing until 31 October 2021
and influence, including legendary queens
Modern technology allows us to study such as Nefertari, Nefertiti, and Explores how jewelry in the Glencairn
animal mummies like never before. Hatshepsut. More than 300 objects, Museum’s collection was used by the
Includes items from the Tring’s collection largely from the collection of the Museo ancient Egyptians to adorn, to protect,
as well as from the Manchester Museum. Egizio in Turin. and to express devotion to the divine.
THE EGYPTOLOGY LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY

LOOKING BACK
Vintage Images of Ancient Egypt
THE EGYPTOLOGY LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY
The real “Mannequin of Tutankhamun” is brought out from the king’s This life-size model of the king’s head and torso is generally thought
tomb (KV 62). The hat-wearing man in the foreground is Howard to have served as a mannequin for the king’s garments or jewellery, or
Carter, the discoverer of KV 62. Behind him, carrying the wooden even used as a model for the royal dressmakers. Since discovery, the
figure, is an Egyptian man whose name is sadly unknown. At the back “mannequin” has been kept in Cairo’s Egyptian Museum (JE 60722),
is British engineer Arthur “Pecky” Callender, who joined Carter as his but will form part of the vast Tutankhamun gallery in the Grand
assistant during the excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Egyptian Museum that is due to open towards the end of this year.
E
gyptologist Arthur Weigall had a way with words, and replica of Tutankhamun’s tomb, which had been discovered
his description of the moment that Howard Carter less than 18 months earlier. As Cambridge University histo-
first peered into the Antechamber of the Tomb of Tut- rian Dr. Allegra Fryxell describes, it was a sensation:
ankhamun, is a delightful read: “Its decorative hieroglyphs were historically
“When this hole had been pierced, Mr. Carter, accurate, as was the use of nearly £1,000 worth of
holding an electric torch, thrust his head and gold, leading visitors to declare that a visit to
arm through, while Lord Carnarvon and his com- Tutankhamen’s tomb at Wembley had achieved ‘the
panions waited breathlessly to hear what he saw. . . most perfect illusion of reality.’ ”
At last Mr. Carter was pulled from the hole, so the —Twentieth Century British History, Vol. 28, No. 4, 2017
scene was jestingly represented to me, ‘like a cork
from a bottle.’ ” One person who wasn’t happy about the replica tomb
was Howard Carter, who attempted to have it shut down.
—Tutankhamen and Other Essays (1923).
Carter argued that such a replica was in violation of copyright,
Eclectically, Arthur Weigall also had a background in and had to have been based on photographs which were
theatre set design. The 1924 photo opposite shows Weigall the property of the Carnarvon-Carter expedition. The exhibi-
(on the right) with sculptor William Aumonier Jr. working on tion organisers, however, were able to demonstrate that they
a reproduction of Tutankhamun’s “mannequin” that was had worked from photographs taken by others, perhaps
to be used for the British Empire Exhibition held at Wembley including the one above. Carter’s solicitors withdrew their
Park in London during 1924 and 1925. legal action, but one suspects that the complaint was perhaps
Drawing on both his Egyptological knowledge and design more about Howard Carter feeling that Arthur Weigall’s
skills, Weigall led a team of craftsmen to create a detailed replica was stealing his limelight.
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NILEMAGAZINE.COM.AU | #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021 £5.

The PHARAOHS’ GOLDEN PARADE

Ancient Egypt at your fingertips.

Civilization in the suburb of Fustat.

2 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

65 Exhibitions & Events

- FROM THE EDITOR

Book Two of the Lord Hani Mysteries

Valley of the Kings !

BECOME AN ARCE FELLOW OR MEMBER TODAY: arce.org

4 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

AMENHOTEP III’S “LOST GOLDEN CITY”

Valley of Deir el-Medina Ramesseum

PHOTO: PETER BARRITT / ALAMY.COM

6 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

© MARIE GRILLOT, ÉGYPTOPHILE ACTUALITÉS

8 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

PHOTO: HASSAN MOHAMED / DPA / ALAMY.COM

10 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

12 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

14 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

queen, who shared attributes of the cow goddess Hathor,

BM! 1 M 4444 as a form of Hathor, daughter of the sun-god Re.

16 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

The exterior of the northern wall of Ramesses III’s temple at Medinet

The Gilukhepa series moves away from the themes of

18 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO,

20 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

22 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

Thanks to your help,

24 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

26 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

28 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

COURTESY OF THE EGYPTOLOGY LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY :

30 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

Iago Aspas Fanclub @BenDov007 · Apr 4

32 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

In the 19th century, three large unknown. This is a shame. It is a

BOB BRIER and COLETTE FOSSEZ SUMNER

COURTESY OF THE EGYPTOLOGY

here are several reasons why the APOLLINAIRE LEBAS

T account of the Paris obelisk’s journey from

34 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

COURTESY OF THE EGYPTOLOGY LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY

Compared with Domenico Fontana’s seemingly chaotic

The Vatican Obelisk

36 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

This engraving of the

COURTESY OF THE EGYPTOLOGY LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY

eyes. . . . Sometimes she pursues the cruel

38 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

COURTESY OF THE EGYPTOLOGY LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY

COURTESY OF THE EGYPTOLOGY LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY

IMAGE: JEAN-PIERRE DALBÉRA

40 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

COURTESY OF BOB BRIER AND PAT REMLER

COURTESY OF THE EGYPTOLOGY LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY

42 NILE #29 | JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021

COURTESY OF THE MUSÉE CARNAVALET, PARIS. ACC. NO. P107

(From page 41.) Transporting the Luxor obelisk

The full story of Apollinaire Lebas’ obelisk adventure

BOB BRIER is an Egyptologist COLETTE FOSSEZ SUMNER is a