Egypt Exploration Society

The Restoration Inscription of Tut'ankhamūn

Author(s): John Bennett
Source: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jun., 1939), pp. 8-15
Published by: Egypt Exploration Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3854924
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 (8)

THE RESTORATION INSCRIPTION OF TUTCANKHAMUN

BY JOHN BENNETT

THE stela of Tutcankhamin was found by the late Georges Legrain in July 1905,1 in the
temple of Amun at Karnak. It was lying in the north-east corner of the great Hypostyle
Hall before the Third Pylon.2 Some years later it was brought to the Cairo Museum, where
it now bears the Inventory No. 41504. A fragment (50x 61 cm.) of a duplicate was found
by Legrain in the foundations of the Temple of Montju at Karnak in 1907; it contains parts
of lines 15-27, but unfortunately the help it gives us in restoring the lacunae in those lines is
but trifling. Its Inventory No. in the Cairo Museum is 41565.
The stela was first published with a good photograph by Legrain in 1907 (Rec. trav. 29,
162 ff.), but his copy of the text contains errors and his translation is out of date. In 1909
Lacau gave a good photograph and text in Steles du nouvel empire (CCG),224 ff. with P1. 70,
under the Catalogue No. 34183. The only other publication, that of Maspero (The Tombs
of Harmhabi and Touatdnkharmanou,1912, 113 ff.), is incomplete but, although there are
obvious mistakes, several lacunae have been restored plausibly. Partial translations have
been made since Legrain's, but never a complete one; these were made by historians and
others, who were interested in the development of particular ideas rather than in the inscrip-
tion as a whole. Such translations occur in Grapow, ap. Hermann Haas, Textbuch z. Reli-
gionsgeschichte, 261, and Breasted, The Dawn of Conscience, 306. The fragment of a
duplicate was published by Legrain in Ann. Serv. 8, 256 ff.; and again by Lacau, op. cit.,
230 f., under the Catalogue No. 34184.
Contents of the Main Inscription
? a. Date and royal titulary, 1. 1.
Tutelary deities, 1. 2.
Epithets referring to the King's divine birth, 11.3, 4.
Summary of the royal benefactions, 11.4, 5.
? b. Former evil condition of the land, 11.6-8.
Anger and neglect of the gods, 11.8-10.
? c. Coronation of the King, 11.10, 11.
? d. Restoration of the images of Amun and Ptah, 11.11-15.
? e. Restoration of the temples and priesthoods of the gods, 11.15-20.
?f. Construction of divine barques, 11.20, 21.
Consecration of palace servants, 11.21, 22.
? g. Confirmation of the foregoing in the King's own words, 11.22, 23.
? h. Joy of the gods and people, 11.23, 24.
? i. Gifts of the gods of the temple to the King, 11.24-7.
? j. Session of the court, 11.27, 28.
Epithets relating to the royal might and wisdom, 11.28-30.
Conclusion, 1. 30.
The discovery was reported by Legrain in Ann. Serv. 6, 192.
This, the pylon of Amenophis III, formed the front of the Great Temple in the reign of Tutcankhamiin.
2

The stela was originally set up in a prominent position against the pylon face.

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 RESTORATION INSCRIPTION OF TUTCANKHAMUN 9
Translation*
?a 1 [Year -],1 fourth month of the inundation season, day 19, under the majesty of Horus 'Strong
bull, beautiful of birth', Two Ladies ['Goodly of laws, he who pac]ifies the Two Lands',2
Horus of Gold 'Exalted of crowns, who placates the gods', King of Upper and Lower Egypt
'Nebkheprure ', Son of Rec 'Tut(ankhamiin, ruler of Hermonthis', given life like R5e for ever
[and ever;]3
2 beloved of [Amen-Rec],4 lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands, chief of Ipt-isut; Atiim, lord of
the Two Lands and Heliopolis; Rec-Harakhte; Ptah, South of his Wall, lord of [(Ankhtawe] ;5
and Thoth, lord of the god's speech;
he who ap[pears on] the Horus-[throne of the liv]ing,6 like his father Rec every day;
3 the good [god],7 son of Amun;
image of Kamephis, glorious seed, [splendid] offspring,8 scion of Amuin himself;
[father of the Two Lands ?],9 who moulds his moulder, who fashions his fashioner;
4 for whom the souls of I Heliopolis assembled, in order that he might be fashioned to act as king
of eternity, as the enduring Horus of everlastingness;
the good ruler; who does things beneficial to his Father10 and all the gods,
5 he has made that which was in ruins to flourish as a monument of eternal I age;
he has suppressed wrongdoing throughout the Two Lands;
Truth is established, s[he causes] falsehood" to be the abomination of the land, as in its (the
land's) first time.
?b Now when His Majesty arose as king,
6 the temples of the gods and goddesses, beginning from Elephantine [down] to the marshes of the
Delta,
[their ?- - - - had] fallen into neglect,12
7 their shrines had fallen into desolation and become tracts overgrown with K[t ?]]-plants,13
their sanctuaries were as if they had never been,
their halls14were a trodden path.
8 The land was in confusion, the gods forsook this land.15
9 If an [army? was] sent to Djahy to widen the frontiers of Egypt, it met with no success I at
all.16
If one prayed to a god to ask things of him, [in no wise] did he come.17
If one18 made supplication to a goddess in like manner, in no wise did she come.
10 Their hearts were weak of themlselves (with anger);19 they destroyed what had been done.20

?c After some days had passed by this,21 [His Majesty app]eared22on the throne of his father;
he ruled the countries23 of Horus,
the Black Land and the Red Land were under his dominion,
11 and every land was in obeisance I to his might.

?d Behold24 His Majesty was in his palace, which is in the estate of ?Akheperkarec,25like Re' in
the heavens,
and His Majesty was administering this land, and making daily governance of the Two River-
banks.26
12 Then His Majesty took I counsel with his heart,27
searching out every excellent occasion, seeking what was beneficial to his father Amun,28
for fashioning his august image of real fine-gold.
He has added to what was done in former time,
13 he has fashioned (an image of) I his father Amin upon thirteen carrying-poles,29
his holy image30 being of fine-gold, lapis-lazuli, [turquoise,] and every rare costly stone,
14 whereas formerly the majesty of this august god had been upon eleven I carrying-poles.
He has fashioned (an image of) Ptah, South of his Wall, lord of ?Ankhtawe,
* The reference-numbers in the translation refer to the notes which follow.

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 10 JOHN BENNETT

his august image being of fine-gold,[upon eleven carryi]ng-poles,31

his holy image being of fine-gold,lapis-lazuli,turquoise,and every rare costly stone,
15 whereasformerlythe majesty of this Iaugustgod had been upon [six ?] carrying-poles.32
?e And His Majestyhas made monuments33
for the gods,
[fashioning]34 their statues of real fine-gold, the best of foreign lands,
16 buildinganewtheir sanctuariesIas monumentsof eternalage, they beingendowedwith property
for ever,
establishingfor them divine gifts as a lasting daily sacrifice,
and supplyingthem with food-offeringsupon earth.
17 He has added to I what was in formertime,
he has surp[assedthat]35done since the time of the ancestors,
he has inductedpriestsand prophets,childrenof the notables of their towns, each the son of a
noted man, and one whose name is known;36
18 he has multiplied their [wealth?] with gold, silver, bronze and copper, without limit of [all
things?],37
he has filledtheir storehouseswith slaves, men and women,the fruit of His Majesty'splundering.
19 All the [possessions?] of the temples are doubled, trebled and quadrupled38with silver, gold,
lapis-lazuli,turquoise, all rare costly stones, royal linen, white cloth, fine linen, olive oil,
20 gum, fat, I [- -], incense,ihmtincenseand myrrh,without limit39of all good things.
?f His Majesty(may he live, prosperand be in health!)has hewn40their barqueswhich are on the
21 riverof fresh cedar,the best of the hill-slope,Ithe pick of Negau,41workedwith gold, the best
of foreign lands; and they illuminethe river.
His Majesty (may he live, prosperand be in health!) has consecratedmen and women slaves,
22 singersand dancers, I who are servantsin the house of the King; and their wages are charged
to the [- -]42 palace of the Lord of the Two Lands.
?g 23 'I causethem to be protectedand preserved43 for my fathers,all the gods, Iin the desireto placate
them by doing that which their kas love, so that they may protect [Ta-mery].'44
?h The gods and goddesses who are in this land, their hearts are joyful,45
24 the possessorsof shrines I are glad,
lands are in a state of jubilationand merry-making,
exaltation is throughout[the whole land];
a goodly [state ?]46has come to pass.
? The enneadof the gods who are in the temple,47
their arms are (raised)in adoration,
25 their hands are full of jubilees [of]48 I eternity and everlastingness,
all life and prosperitywith them (are placed)to the nose of Horus who is born again,
beloved son [of his father Amen-Re(,lord of the Thronesof the Two Lands?-] ;49
he (Amun)has fashionedhim that he (himself)may be fashioned;
king of Upper and LowerEgypt, Nebkheprurec,beloved of Amun,
26 his beloved, I real eldest son,50
who protects the father who fashionedhim
that he may exercisethe kingshipover ki[ngs in all lands];51
son of Rec, Tutcankhamuin, rulerof Hermonthis,
a son who is profitableto him who fashionedhim,
wealthy in monuments,rich in wonders,
27 who makes monumentsin righteousnessof heart for his father Amiin;
beautifulof birth, sovereign[who assumedthe crownsin Chemmis].52
?j On this day53One was in the goodly palace, which is in the estate of (Akheperkarec,
justified;
28 behold, [His Majesty (may he live, prosperand be in health!)] I was rejuvenated,54

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 RESTORATION INSCRIPTION OF TUTCANKHAMUN 11

he who seizes (?) hastenedof himself.55

Khnfimuhas mouldedhim [as a mighty one (?) -- _],5
he is mighty of arm,
great of strength, one distinguishedmorethan the mighty,57
vast of strength like the son [of Nit - ],58
29 mighty of arm like Horus,
there exists no59equal to him among the mighty ones of all lands together;
he who knows like Rec,
who [- -s like] Ptah 60
who understandslike Thoth,
who ordainsexcellent laws,
who commands[ -],61
30 excellent of utterance;
King of Upper and Lower Egypt, lord of the Two Lands, lord of rites, lord of the strong arm,
Nebkheprurec,he who placatesthe gods, beloved son of Re' of his body, lord of every foreign
land, lord of crowns,Tutcankhamuin, ruler of Hermonthis,given life, stability and prosperity
like Rec [for ever and ever].62
Notes
1. There is no definite clue to the missing year-number.
2. The nbty title of Tutcankhamun is ~ ~|] p -j=-, cf. the nbty title of Ameno-
phis III: smn hpw, sgrh tlwy.
3. Restore t?4.
4. The lacuna allows room for (]", of which the i is still visible. The gods mentioned
here are named together on several stelae of this period, e.g. the Nauri Stela of Sethos I
(JEA 13, 196).
5. Restore ~-I as in 1. 14; the name of a district in Memphis, see Gauthier, Dict.
Geog., I, 149.
6. Read [ ][]M;['i]I?j - The head of the first a
can be seen. Legrain took
tJ is El-'Amarnah style,
it for the top of -, but this does not suit the position.-- q9
see Gunn, JEA 9, 175.
7. Restore 1.
8. Literally 'egg'; read 1P tl1 : I from Legrain.-The line is an instance of sym-
metrical parallelism, see GriffithStudies, 88.
9. A lacuna of 2- groups. The only sign Legrain gives is q at the beginning. Lacau
omits it and gives z as the final sign. Restore perhaps _^ , cf. TSBA 3, PI. facing
p. 486, 1. 11.
10. I.e. Amun.
11. Read :- - ![^^
83 ^|L etc.
12. The erasure equals about 15 groups. Read a^ '
s sicp J1M=] I
, ~I=j|[~CO]. Next comes a lacuna, which is followed by [-\ $] 0 [ ,0 ] l I2
etc., ihmZ being restored from 1. 23. The large intermediate space of 5 or 5? groups indicates
that there were probably two sentences here. If so wiw r stp would be the predicate, not
of rw-prw 'the temples', but of another subject, some word denoting the part of a temple
parallel to hmmi,iwnnw, etc. Rw-prw might have a predicate or not; either is possible.-
In the Turin Coronation Inscription of Haremhab, TSBA 3, P1. facing p. 486, 1. 22, the
temples are mentioned in the reverse order, i.e. from north to south: P_\\ J|7c- l
6[,c = |.O Restore q as first sign of the line.
13. q~ ,~,, 'Ruine o.a.'-Wb. The references are inconclusive. From the land-deter-
minative, and the fact that the i;w are said to be overgrown with plants, 'desolate tract'
B

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12 JOHN BENNETT
`
is perhaps the meaning here.-Read, possibly, ?['] , ; ,; no other word seems
to suit the lacuna.
14. The plural strokes of ?cjl are omitted. The word is usuallytranslated'temple',
'house' but hereit must be the part of a temple,possiblya hall, cf. Urk.,iv, 386, 6.
15. The kdm.fwhich is in evidencein 11.8-10 must be translatedby the past tense,
beingused for past narrative.
16. A lacunaof 21 groupsallows the restorationFr J l[ ]i. The Sdm-twf is
parallelto the sentencesfollowing. Mscseemsto be the only wordthat suits both the con-
text and remainingspace. D1hyis used at this time as a genericterm for Syria.-For 'it
Hist. Inschrr.d. 19. Dyn., 32, 5. This must be
met with no successat all', cf. Sander-Hansen,
an allusionto the pacificforeignpolicy of Akhenaten.
17. ' for which appears normally in the next sentence, cf. 1. 29.-Restore
-,
1,l (0(=)from the followingsentence.
18. Maspero(Tombsof Harmhabiand Touatdnkhamanou, 114) thought that tw in ss'itw
referredto the King, but this is unlikely. The passage concernsthe time before Tut-
cankhamun'saccession,i.e. in all probabilitythe reign of Akhenaten,who did not worship
'a goddess'.-For ss`i, an unusualword, see Wb.,s.v.
19. I7bsnfn 'their hearts were weak' does not seem to occur elsewhere;it must be
synonymouswith 'angry'. The phraseis to be contrastedwith ib.sn m rswt 'their hearts
arejoyful' in 1. 23.
20. Hd&sn may hereintroducea virtualclauseof result(seeGard.,Eg. Gr.,? 220)depend-
ing on the previoussentence.
21. An early occurrencein a royal inscriptionof this phrasefromthe popularlanguage;
cf. TSBA 3, P1. facing p. 486, 1. 12.
22. Restore. [J l?lA], a form of the infinitiveprominenton the boundarystelae
at El-'Amarnah,cf. Davies,RockTombsof El Amarna,v, P1.27, 1.5.
23.- - c idbw, a variant of ~.
24. Istw also in 1. 27, while in 1. 5 we have ( P, the earlierwriting.
25. The estate of 'Akheperkar6t(TuthmosisI), mentionedalso in a stela of the third
year of Ay, whereit is said to be at Memphis,see Rec. trav.16, 123. The importancegiven
to Ptah and the mentionof 'Ankhtaweon the stela are additionalevidencethat the inscrip-
tion originatedin Memphis,in spite of Maspero'stheory (op. cit., 116) that it was com-
posed at Thebes.
26. ~ idbwy, a variant of .
27. The phrase w?w? sh hnc tibf seems to occur here for the first time. It appears later
in the Edict Stela of Haremhab,1. 10, and the RedesiyehInscriptionof Sethos I, 1. 2.
28. Cf. the Edict Stela, 1. 12, wherethe two phrasesare reversed,showingthat they are
parallel,not dependenton one another.
29. Inb;' carrying-pole', a New-Kingdom form of - "J--, -J i etc., see Wb., s.v.
The portableshrine of the barqueof Amun in the New Kingdomrested on five of these
carrying-poles,to which were attachedthirty priests,in six rows of five, see Legrain,Bull.
Inst. fr. 13, 1 ff. (I owe this and other valuablereferencesto Prof. Gunn.) Thusthirteen
carrying-poles,the largest number mentioned in the stela, seems extraordinarilyhigh.
RamessesIII states that the poleswereoverlaidwith fine-goldand engravedwith the name
of the god, P. HarrisI, 46, 9 ff.
30. Apparentlytwo images are mentioned,the 'august' image and the 'holy' image;
they occuragain in 1. 14. Restore[ J], ', as in 1. 14.

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 .

RESTORATION INSCRIPTION OF TUTCANKHAMUN 13

31. Restore r4[, , qCI]tE,

q/ cf. 11.12, 13. The numeral, less than half broken,
shows two vertical strokes. As the number must be below 13, the number of poles dedicated
to Amun, the only restoration possible seems to be n ; I I I would make the total too small
for the following number, cf. n. 32.
32. The numeral is again half-broken. Three vertical strokes filling half the space
suggest the reading [I II] I I ; n, the only other alternative, would make the number too large.
33. n (sic) for .
34. Restore [fmll] . The lower part of the strokes of rist can be seen; this is a word
often employed with (hmw, cf. TSBA 3, P1. facing p. 486, 1. 22.
35. Read ^:A[~]qq,,,.
36. The srw-notables at this time were, according to Dr. Pfliiger, the ruling class.
Though the suffix .sn may refer to the gods or the notables, the former is more likely,
here and throughout the passage. The fact that the chosen officials are well-known is em-
phasized by the juxtaposition of the two rh's. In an analogous passage in his Coronation
Inscription, Haremhab states that he filled the ranks of the priests and lector-priests with
the pick of his army, see TSBA 3, P1. facing p. 486, 1. 25.
37. Read []t , . The suffix refers to the gods.-Restore - or the like.
_[]
38. Restore possibly [qI ],' ,. Kb, hmt, ifdy 'doubled, trebled, quadrupled', an
expression apparently not occurring elsewhere. Ifdy is an unusual Old Perfective; the form
occurs again, see n. 55.
39. B l of the stela is S L in the duplicate.
40. ; a strange writing; an intrusive occurs also in ,y 1. 25.
41. Ng;w, a locality not far south of Byblos, see Montet in Syria, 1923, 181 ff.
42. The duplicate has | c < -... . The lacuna, of 2 groups, perhaps held an adjec-
tive qualifying (h.
43. 'l i Old Perfective. The plural strokes are also seen in 7 I',1. 28. H1w
nmkwrefers to the restoration work as a whole, see Rec. trav. 29, 55 and 21, 44.
44. Read Bpi
tl][S fj] from the duplicate. By this phrase the document is
revealed as a characteristically Egyptian contract.
45. 'Ib'sn m rswt 'Their hearts are joyful', see n. 19.
46. Read i~ , < 1 ] T1r [dr.f] restored from the duplicate.
lwc shrw ('state, condition') is a guess for the two remaining groups.
47. The gods of the ht-;t are distinguished from the gods of the land. Ht-?t here is
probably part of the temple of Atum at Heliopolis, see Wb., in, 4 (3).
48. Restore =?. withfnd occurs also in the duplicate, cf. n. 40.
49. A lacuna of 4 groups, probably partly filled with the name and titles of Amen-Re',
e.g.[.][ _(B ]. Lacau gives no lacuna under A but the photographs
indicate one.
50. Restore or . q
51. Restore 0[ ] ,,], cf. Urk., iv, 15, 8.
52. Restore perhaps l l t71 ,] cf. Urk., IV, 16, 15. The phrase emphasizes
the King's hereditary right to the throne, likening him to Horus who was said to have been
destined for kingship from the time of his birth. The words twt mswt, 'beautiful of birth',
probably also refer to this.
53. Hrw pn iwltw etc. 'On this day One was etc.', a phrase characteristic of El-'Amarnah.
54. Restore 9IlI-. . Rnplw must be Old Perfective, cf. n. 43.
55. 7tt icny hr dt.f, 'He who seizes hastened of himself', but what is the meaning?
For the Old Perfective form ~.A cf. ifdy, 1. 19.

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14 JOHN BENNETT
56. Read perhaps kd.n sw Hnmw [r kdf] 'Khnumu has moulded him that he (himself)
may be moulded', parallel to ms.n.f sw r mst.f 'He (Amun) has fashioned him that he
may be fashioned' in 1. 25. Possibly a better restoration is kd.n sw Hnmw [m nht- -],
'Khnumu has moulded him [as a mighty one - - -]', cf. Sander-Hansen, op. cit., 13, 17.
57. M tnw r 'distinguished more than', cf. TSBA 3, P1. facing p. 486, 1. 23.
58. Read [? -- ], i.e. Seth. An epithet probably filled the two remaining spaces.
-
59. for -, cf. n. 17.
60. Read [-- mi] Pth. The lacuna of a group and half may have held ~>
'skilled of heart', cf. Gardiner, Admonitions, p. 107.
61. Possibly the lacuna of 2? groups contained a noun and qualifying adjective which,
together with wd, formed a phrase parallel to the preceding phrase.
62. Lacuna of 3 groups. Restore perhaps L *?I, see Wb., v, 509 (14).

The stela, of fine red granite, measures 2-54 m. x 1-29 m., and is 38 cm. thick. It was
found lying on its face beneath half a metre of earth. According to Legrain1 it was still
standing in Coptic or even Arab times, when an attempt was made to split it in two, probably
for building purposes, by driving great holes into its face along the axis. Fortunately the
task was not completed. In later times, when it was lying on the ground, a drum of
one of the columns of the great Hypostyle Hall fell and smashed it into five pieces. In
spite of such rough treatment at the hands of time and man the stela bears traces of its
former beauty.
The structural composition is typical of the Eighteenth Dynasty, resembling that of
the large granite 'building stela' of Amenophis III in Cairo.2 The treatment of the human
figures shows clearly the influence of the art of El-'Amarnah. The hieroglyphs, which for
some reason face left, are well formed and artistically spaced, in the style of the Eighteenth
Dynasty. They are incised, and were originally filled with blue paste, which, at the time of
the erasures, was replaced by yellow.
In the lunette at the top of the stela, two almost identical scenes show the King
offering to Amen-Re< and Mit. Above are the outstretched wings of Behdeti, the uraei
of which wear the red and white crowns. In the left-hand scene Tut(ankhamiin, wearing
the 'blue helmet', offers bouquets of lotus and papyrus to Amen-Rec, 'Lord of the Thrones
of the Two Lands, Lord of Heaven, King of the Gods', who responds by presenting to the
King's nose the top of his was-sceptre, from which 'life' issues. In such scenes the god
usually holds the was-sceptre upright before him, but here Amun extends it, imbuing the
King with the divine powers. This seems to be a relic of the fluid style of El-'Amarnah.
Standing behind Amfin and wearing the double crown is Mut, 'Lady of Ishru, Mistress of all
the Gods', who rests a hand upon her consort's shoulder. An inscription between the King
and the god describes the ceremony as rdit rnpwt ir.f di (nh 'giving flowers that he may
make a "given life"'. The words above state the reciprocal act of Amun: dl'f (nth (cn nb
ddt nb was nb 'he gives life and all life, all stability and all prosperity'. The right-hand scene
is rough and has been entirely re-engraved. In design it is similar to the other except that
the King wears the royal head-dress and offers a vase; there is no explanatory text. The main
inscription, in thirty horizontal lines below the lunette, is in good condition, except for the
large holes made by the wreckers, fractures at the ends of lines and a long erasure in line 6.
Below the inscription, the common motif, dw; rhyt nb 'all the rekhyt adore', is repeated
on both sides of the vertical nomen and prenomen, each of which stands upon a sign as. Thus
the meaning of the whole is 'all the rekhytadore King Haremhab'. Down the lateral edges
1 Rec. trav.
29, 162. 2 Lacau,
op. cit., No. 34025 (recto), with Pls. 15, 16.

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 RESTORATION INSCRIPTION OF TUTCANKHAMUN 15

of the stela the royal nomen and prenomen are set between 's held by a god on r
Above each column is on the left side the lotus of Upper Egypt and on the right the
papyrus of Lower Egypt.
Wherever they occur the nomen and prenomen of Tutcankhamun have been erased and
replaced by those of Haremhab. In many cases it is possible to distinguish the signs of
Tutcankhamun's name under those of Haremhab. The only untouched group in the nomina
is the name of Amfn. Curiously enough, the other names of Tut(ankhamun's titulary have
not been altered. Behind each figure of the King a second figure has been erased and replaced
by the words 'be all protection (sv), life, stability, prosperity and health behind him like Re '.
Legrain thought he could detect the name of Queen 'Ankhsenamun, who would thus have
been standing behind her husband; and Lacau confirmed this. It is noteworthy that
Haremhab did not use the figures of 'Ankhsenamun for his wife Mutnedjemte as one might
have expected. From this we may perhaps infer that she was of little importance.
At the end of 1. 6 of the main inscription occurs a long and clumsy erasure, apparently
by an unskilled hand. This attempt at obliteration was not altogether successful: enough
remains to catch the general meaning of the damaged line, which deals with the evil con-
dition into which the temples had fallen, cf. Notes, No. 12.
The grammar and orthography of the inscription are transitional, and seem to reflect the
unsettled state of the country after the reign of Akhenaten. As the period is one of struggle
between the reactionary party of Amun and the revolutionary followers of the Aten, so is
the inscription a mixture of old and new words and phrases. Broadly speaking the grammar
is that of the royal stelae of the Eighteenth Dynasty before the time of Akhenaten upon
which can be seen the influence of El-'Amarnah; e.g. in such writings as _VItJ (1.2, etc.).
On the other hand J I and J , the definite article and the preceding possessives, Late-
Egyptian forms occurring first in royal documents at El-'Amarnah, do not appear in this
inscription.
The contents of the stela by their symmetry and contrast show an underlying poetic
construction. The coronation section (? c) is the inscription's pivot. Before it we have a
description of the evil state of the land and the displeasure of the gods (? b), and afterward,
in contrast, an account of the King's restoration work (?? d, e, f), and the rejoicing of the
gods (? h). Royal and divine names and titles begin and end the work. The sections into
which the text may be divided are related to one another. Thus ?? d and e are almost
identical in structure. The first sentence of ? d forms a general introduction. Then, in both
sections, occurs the wn.in.f hr gdm construction, followed by several repetitions of hr with
the infinitive. Next comes a sort of refrain 'he added to' etc., in the sdm.nf form, which
introduces a series of lines containing the gdm-n.f. Finally, a general summing up in the
words 'all their (property?) was doubled, trebled and quadrupled', completes the sym-
metry, by balancing the first sentence of ? d.

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