the ostraco]y - Egyptian Study Society

Volume 4, Number 3 - November 1993
THE OSTRACO]Y
EGYPTIAN
STUDY
SOC IETY
O DHNHr9oe
PUBLICATIONSCOMMITTEE
FrankPettee
JudyCreenfield
Mary Pratchett
SandyKerns
CherylPrcyer
DavidPeppcr
Jill Taylor
IN THIS ISSUE
PAGE
1
ESS STAFF LIAISON
Dr. Rohefl Pick(ring
8
12
THE OSTRACONis publishedthreeto lour times per year by members
01-the EgJplian Study Socicty- The ESS, a suppon group of the
DENVER lltUSEllNI OF NATUR L HISTORY. is a non-profll
organizationrvhose purpose is to study ancienl Egypl. Articles arc
cortributed by memberson a voluntary basis. Member participatiollis
encouraged.Nothing ay be printed in rvholeor in part rvithoutwritten
pen]lrssron,
O1993EgyptianStudySociety
PublicalionofTHE OSTMCON is supportedby a grantlrom
THE PETTY FOUNDATION
l8
ARTICLE
The Middle Kingdom
by DavidPepper
Byblos and Egypt
by TroyL. Sagrillo
LectureNotes:
Alexandria by FloydChapman
Ramses Mural s/NetvAcq uisi t i ons
by Gretchen
Pascoe
Oa.sisof Siwa by Jill Taylor
ARCE in Egypl by Laura& LindaEngel
Arizona Expedition in Valley oJ the Kings
by StuartWier
House ofScrolls by HarriettePeters
THE MIDDLE KINCDONIOF ANCIENTEGYPT
By David Pepper
ABOUT 'I'HE AUI'HOR: Itctt'itl Papper is ona of otLr
tilo:l ocliye nlenlbers.having ser,-cclon the liSS lloard
os treqsurer antl a: an aclitrtr on the I)thlication.;
('omnillee.
He ha.s contriht ed article.\ /o THE
OSTRACON. leclued lo lhe llSS (nosl recenlly on the
Hi,storyof Alexandria). and vas also a main speaker.for
the Pltramid Sl,mpo:;i1tm
la:;t slonmer. Pepper works.for
United Airlines and does exlensive re:;earchon oncienl
Egrpt at vorious tn1lselln.\overseasduring his liequent
businessIri p.; abroad.
Have t ou ever \\ onderedrr'ho ruled Egvpt as maltr t ears
beforethe birth of Christ as u e live aftcr that event'l An
anall sis of the lengtl.rof the reigns of the pharaohshas
detennined that Nebtowe lle Menttthotep. commonll,
called Menluhotep 111 s as
the king of arcient Egl pt ir.r
1993BCE
When the Old Kingdom age
Neb towe Re
endedrvith the collapseof
the Sixth D1'nastv.perhaps
due to the overlong reign of PharaohPepi II. Egypt
becamea country besetby chaos. Local rulers reigned
in severalprovinces simultaneouslyduring this time
rvhich becameknolvn as the First IntermediatePeriod.
During this period. in the Seventhand Eighth Dynasties.
numerous lveak nome (provincial) govemors ruled
Egypt. They rvere gradually replaced b1' the more
centralized govenments of the Ninth and Tenth
Dynasties which nrled from the northem cit_v of
Heracleopolis,near modem Beni Suef.
The dominanceof these northem rulers was successfully
challengedby Inyotef I, II, and III, early rulers of the
llfr Dynasty from the southem city of Thebes. It i:"
important to realize that this early southem l lrn
Dynas\ coexisted with the more northem Tenth
Dynasty, and the country of Egypt rvasdivided in two.
The Early llth Dynasty: The kings ofthe early 1lft
Dynasty were (Rose):
Name
lnyotef I
Inyotefll
InyotefIII
Reign GCE)
c.2134-211,8
c. 2118-2069
c.2069-2O6I
Inrotcf [ rras follolcd bl a king rvho changedthe
fanrilv nameIo Mcntlthote
p. a namc trhich signifiesthat
"Montu is content." This local god had reasonto be
contcntedfor. aftcr manl r'earsofconflict. Mentuliotep's
long reign of 5l vcars litnessed the re-unificationof
Upper md Lolrer Egvpt undcr a single mler (Gardiner.
p.120). Mcntuhotcpconsolidatedthe centralauthorit,\'
and lorked torvard restoring the glorv of thc Old
Kingdom.
The Late llth Dynasty: The kings og 15" 1"1. 11th
Dr,nastvx'ere (Rose):
FamilyName
Menluhotep
I
Mentuhotep
II
Mentuhotep
III
ThroneName
Nebhotep
Re
SeAddla Re
Nebtorve
Re
Reisn (BCE)
c. 2061-2010
c. 2010-1993
c. i998-1991
MENTUHOTEP I, II, and III: MentuhotepI achieved
the rer"rnification either throueh some unrecorded
political settlement.
or
military
by
-.t o,/g-4.,{-E-'l
A ton.rb
victory.
discovered
near
Thebes from the
Nlentu hoteP
time of this intrepid
Rose)
king contained the
bodies of some 60
soldierslvho had been slain in battle, evidencethat the
victory may not have been by peacefulmeans(Gardiner.
p.121).
F€:-*.,l
Under the next king. Mentuhotep II, foreign trade and
re-building projects were started, and Eg,y-ptbegan to
retum to its position ofpower.
His successor,the last pharaoh of the l lth Dynasty.
MentuhotepIII (previously mentioned fiom 1993 BCE).
ruled betrveen1998 and l99l BCE. This king once
again began using the symbol ofthe Old Kingdom, the
pyramid, as a cenotaphover his burial chamber (located
at Deir el Bahri in Upper Egypt next to the muchlater
Temple of QueenHatshepsut).
Mentuhotep III's vizier was a commoner named
Amenemhet which means "Amun is foremost". This
man, who $'as fiom Elephantine Island. succeeded
Mentuhotep to,found the last great pyramid-building
dynasty,the l2m.
The late l lth and all ofthe l2th Dynasties make up the
Middle Kingdom period of ancient Egypt, an era which
lastedfor almost300 years(c. 2061-1783BCE).
NoYember1993
The 12th Dynasty: The line of kings of the l2th
Dynastywere(Rose):
ThroneName
FamilvName
SeHotepib Re
AmenemhetI
KheperKa Re
SenusertI
NebKauRe
II
Amenemhet
ll
KhaKheperRe
Senusert
KhaKau Re
Senusert
III
Ni MaatRe
AmenemhetIII
MaatKheruRe
AmenemhetIV
QueenSobek-neferuSebekKa Re
Reign (BCE)
c. 199l-1962
c. 197l-1928
c. 1929-1895
c. 1897-1878
c. 1878-1841
c. 1843-1797
c. 1798-l'787
c. l'787-l'783
The lastruler to follow King AmenemhetIV was Queen
Sobek-neferu. Her short four-year rule ended the l2th
Dynasty, and Egypt again slipped into the chaos known
as the SecondIntermediatePeriod.
The 12th Dynasty was a prosperousperiod in which
there was much new building constructionthroughout
the land. Remainsof l2tn Dynasty structurescan be
found in almost every major town throughout Egypt.
This was also the time for a re-discovery of art and
literature, creating styles that would be revered years
later when Egypt reachedits peak in the New Kingdom.
Middle Kingdom narratives and stories, like The Tale of
the Eloquent Peasant and the Story of the Shipwrecked
Sailor, wodd be copied again and again in the dynasties
that followed (Simpson,p. 15).
ln tlie First Intermediate
Period, burial places had
revefted back to rock-cut
tombs in nearby cliffs.
Middle
the
During
Kingdorn, however, the
kirrgs once again wanted
to
be
interred in
pyramid
impressive
those
Iike
structures
constructed in the Old
Kingdorr times. Each of
the pharaohsof the l2rll
Dynasty built a pyramid
complex in lvliich to
house their remains for
all eternity.
November1993
Middle Kingdom Pyramids: The locations of the
pyramids ofthese l2tn Dynasty kings are as follows:
AmenemletI
SenusertI
AmenemhetII
SenusertIl
SenusertIII
III
Amenemhet
AmenemhetIV
Lisht
Lisht
Dashur
Lahun
Dashur
Dashur& Hawara
Mazghuna
The following is a closer look at these pharaohs and
their pyramid complexes.
AMENEMHET I and SEIIUSERT I: Amenemhet I
reduced the power of the feudal provincial govemors
and subjectedthem to ever-increasingcentral authority.
Under his skillful leadership, Egypt began to prosper.
This king saysof his achievements:
I wasonewhocultivatedgrain and lovedthehqnest
god; and the Nile greetedme in every valley. None
werehungryduring myyears, and nonethirsted then
Men dwelt in peace, through that which I had
p.117).
wr ought (Breasted,
Amenemhet I furthered the foreign policy of the
Mentuhotepsand, in severalcampaignsin the last years
of his reign (in which he did not personallytake part),
he conqueredthe Nubian
land south to the second
cataract. The leader of
these campaignswas his
co-regentson, SenusertI,
and the ten-year overlap
in their reigns was
Amenemhet's innovation
which set a pattern for
co-regencies.
future
put
on the toyal
Pressure
&s
o "&
house by the tromarchs
"' 9 ^'!$
probably explains this
first use of co-regencies,
senior
whereby the
nronarch associatesItis
porve uvith his chosen
heir before his death to
ensurethat his succession
will not be challenged.
Senusert rvas by far the
Temple of Mentuhotep III At Deir el Bahri (From Fakhry)
more active pharaoh
during these Iatter years
(Murray, p.22).
tr:tlsi
; ; i* [;i :4 .
AmenemlletI also bLrilta greatrall. calledthe Prince's
Wall, along the easternedge of the Delta to keep the
Asiaticinvaders.the Aamu. out ofEg1pt. There is no
traceof this $all toda1..but its constrLtction
rvasone of
the achievelnents
of the eallr rcars of Antenemhet,s
reign(Montet,p.53).
Although the l2th Dynastl,\\as a prosperousperiod in
Egypt, it was still a tirne plagued by internal srrife.
Amenernhet I found it necessary to appease the
polverful nome governors, rvho ultimately had the
pharaoh rnurdered an1,way,rvhile his son \\'as ol) a
campaignin Libya. However, perhapsbecauseof the
co-regency! there rvas no resulting
chaos and the son took over $ithout a
struggle.
In a literary work wtich
became
famous in later years, The Instructions
of Anenenhet. Amenemhet I gir es arr
account of the conspiracy rvhen his
ghost appears before his son, Senusert,
in a dream. The ghost says:
The Pyramids of Amenemhet I and Senusert I at
Lisht: ]'he p1'ranridsand rnastabas
at Lisht lie to thc
north of the village of that name, l9 ntiles south of
Dashur(43 miles southof Giza). Nor.vvisibleonly as
sand-coveredltounds, the pyramids rvere originally
surroundedby sntallerpyramidsfor femalemernbersof
the royal family atrdhundredsof mastabasbelongingto
slarehigh officials. At rhe time of rhe burials at Lisht,
Eg1.pt'scapital,Itj-totty was somewherenearby but it
hasneverbeendefinitiveJyfound.
The smaller and more northerly of the two is the
pyramid of AmenemhetI. Scatteredfragmentsindicate
it was partly built of stone stolen from
other tombs and templesat Saqqaraand
Giza. This pyramid u,asbuilt of a stone
framework over a mound of sand and
rubble.
The entranceis on the nodli side, as is
usuallythe case,witb a passageleading
down to the tomb chamber. This
chamberis now floodedas a resultof the
rise in the water table. Within its
lemenos (enclosrre) wall lay a smaller
pyramid for the queen and the tomb of
Antefoker, the superintendentof the
royal tombs. Around the main pyramid
were found a number of lizard
mummies.
The mortuary temple
belongingto the pyramid lay on a rock
terrace below and to the east. This
temple was adorned with lively, but
sometimes rather crudely executed,
reliefs.
It was after supper when nighl was
come, and I took an hour o/
repose, lying on my bed. I was
tired end I began to ;fall asleep.
All of a sudden, weapons |.i)ere
brqndished and there \ras blk
concerning me, while I remained
quiet like a snake in the desert. I
awoke to a fight, and being by
myself, found it was an attack by
my own guard.
Had I hed
weapons at hand, I could have
driyen the traitors bqck. But there
is none so strcng at night, and no
one canfight alone. There cqn be
no successwithout q protector."
s€nusertI (from Hayes)
This clearly refers to the conspiracy in
which Amenemhetlost his life (Gardiner,p.130).
In anotherfamous literary work of this period, The Story
of Sinuhe, the tale of the murder is told from another
angle,by the haplessSinuhe,a companionof the king's
son, SenusertI, who is away on the Libyan campaign
when the king is murdered. Overhearing that the plot to
kill the Pharaohhad already taken place, Sinuhe fled to
Lebanon for his life; he feared he might also be
implicated for overhearing tlose involved. Years later
he writes to the aging Senusertand begs his forgiveness
for his cowardice, and Senusertallows him to retum to
Egypt for his burial.
1
One mile south is the largerpyramid of
SenusertI. Its layoutcontinuesthe Sixth
Dynasty tradition of an attached
mortuary temple, a causeway, and a
valley temple.
Senusert I's pyrarrlid was surrounded by a double
temenoswall, the inner one of which was built of Tura
limestone, with reliefs at regular intervals. The
mortuarytemple is on the east side; a small subsidiary
pyramidwith its own cult chamberand chapelis located
at the southeastcomer.
The typical north side entrancehas a small chapelbuilt
in front of it. A narrow passagefaced with red granite
led down to the tomb chamber,which is now also filled
with waterand inaccessible.On the eastside.within the
November1993
mud-brick outer enclosure walls, were the temple
forecourts. Set at intervals around the structure and
within these walls were nine small pyramids for the
female members of the royal family, each with its own
chapel,offering room, and enclosurewalls.
It opens into a passagewhich descendsto a horizontal
gallery closed by two portcullises, one which operated
vertically and the other transversely. The gallery leads
to the burial chamber.on the western side of which is a
sandstonesarcophagussunk in the floor.
From the valley temple, of which there are only scant
remains,a masonrycausewayflanked by Osiris figures
of the king led up to the moftuary temple. The line of
this causervaycan still be seen at some points. Ten
seatedstone figures and two painted wooden figures of
SenuseftI were found here during an excavation by the
MetropolitanMuseumof Art.
The valley temple has not yet been discovered, but a
causeway 800 meters long extends from the cultivated
area westward to the pyramid. The mortuary temple is
also ruined, but limestone fragments found here
identified the owner of this pyramid as AmenemhetII.
AMENEMHET II: Amenemhet Ii was the son of
SenusertL During his reign the copper mines of the
Sinai r.vereextensivelyworked, and foreign trade was
substantiallyincreased(Muray, p.23). At the Temple
of el-Tod in Egypt, a treasurewas found, inscribedwith
the name of AmenemhetIl. lt containedobjectsfrom
Crete,Syria,and Mesopotamia(David, p.185).
AmenemhetII locatedhis pyramid at Dashur,near the
three Third Dynasty pyramids attributed to King
Sneferu. In the 23ro year of his rule, AmenemhetII
rramedhis son, SenusertII as co-regent. By this time,
expeditionsto the Land of Pnnt were frequent(Lepre,
p. I97) and unrestbeganto developin the landssouthof
Nubia. In his 39th year on the tlrrone,AmenemhetIi,
in
who rvas 80 years old at the time, was assassinated
his palace.
The Pyramid of Amenemhet II at Dashur: The
pyrarrid is norv in sucha ruinedstatethat its dimensions
are unclear. Hor.vever,
De Morgan excavatedthe site in
1894-95and reachedthe interior(Fakhry,p.2l6).
The site is bestknown for the discoveryof the so-called
Dashur Treasure, now in the Cairo Museum. The
owners of the treasurewere two princesses,Khnumet
and lta, whose graves were among a group of royal
tombs lying closeto the king's pyramidon the west side.
In technicalskill and artistic taste,the rvhole treasure
demonstrates
the skills of the Middle Kingdom Egyptian
goldsmithsand lapidarylvorkers(Edrvards,p.209).
plunderedin ancienttimes.
The pyramidwas thoroLrghly
De Morgan found the core \vasdivided by severalrvalls
into diagonal compartmentswhich rvere filled rvith
sand. Not a single casingstonehas been found so it is
impossibleto detenninethe angle of the exteriorslope.
The entrance,now inaccessible,
is on the northernside.
November1993
Immediatelywest of the pyramid, enclosedwithin the
temenos wall, are the tombs of the queen and four
princesses(Fakhry, p.216). On the east side, near the
pyramid, a magnificent gray-black granite pyramidion
inscribed with the name of Amenemhet II was found.
This pyramidionin now in the Cairo Museum.
SENUSERT II: SenusertII, the son of AmenemhetII,
was probably the first king to be concerned with
opening up new lands around the Failum to inigation
(Lepre, p.207). A small branch of the Nile, the Bahr
Yusef, flows into a lake, the Birket el-Qarun, which was
two metersbelow sealevel during ancienttimes (David,
p.4l). The site where his barrier dikes were built, at
Lahun, is the place SenusertII chose to build his
pyramid. Senusertll is also known for the construction
of a string of r.vallsand fortificationsin southernEgypt
and lowerNubia.
The Pyramid of Senusert II at Lahun: SenusertII's
pyramidlvas unorthodoxfor severalreasons.The lower
part r.vasformed from a naturalhill ratherthan on leveled ground. Its entrancewas hidden by placing it on
the south side, accessiblefrom a vertical shaft, which
led to an ascendingpassageway(locating the burial
chamberabove the ilater table). The builders used a
crosswall structureto form the core of the ovramid
(Lepre,p,208),
On the south. east. and rvest sides of the monument
severalgrovesof treesrvereplantedin rorvsof circular
beds. About one rnile eastof tlie pyramid,the remains
to$,n were uneafthedby FlindersPetrie.
of a r.vorkmen's
This torvnconsistedof over 2,000separateroomsspread
over l8 acres (Lepre. p.208). The story of the
excavationof this torvn.calledKahun, by the University
of Manclresteris told in Rosalie David's book. THE
PYRAMID BUILDERS OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
SENUSERT III: SenusertIll. the son of Senusertll,
rvasone ofthe greatestpharaohsever to rule Egypt He
carriedout campaignsto extend Egypt'sfrontiersto the
Sudanin the south.to the ArabianGulf in the east.and
Lrpthe Mediterraneancoastto the rrortll. He built great
fortressesand spreadEgyptianculture as he conquered
nationafter nation(Lepre.p.210).
In orderto rnakethe passagethroughtlle first cataractof
dre Nile navigable,
Senusert III had a
huge 250-foot long
canal dug between
the islandsof Sehel
Elephantine.
and
channel
This
circumvented the
natural granite rock
barrierin the river.
plrarrid. and the substructuleis cornposedof a mazeof
chambersand corridors.
Like Senusertll, Senusertlll hid tlie entranceto his
tomb in a placeotherthan otr the nofih side of tlie pyramid. in this case in the inner coutl otr the lvest face
When De Morgan excavatedthis site in 1894,he spent
many monthssearchingfor tlte burial entrance.In spite
of this ruse, the pyramid had been robbed in ancient
times (Edwards,
p.210).
De
However,
Morgan did discoverjewelry hidden in concealed
enclosuresin the
associated tombs
royal
the
of
princesses, SatHathor and Merit.
In his time, Senusert
Just soutlr of the
ill was revered by
enclosurewall of
The Pyramid at Lahun (Photo by the Author)
his people. Lengthy
the pyramid, De
passages described
chamber
an
underground
also
discovered
Morgan
his benevolenceand wisdom, and stated that "twice
Each
cedar.
made
of
boats
containingthree large solar
great" was anyoneblessedby him (Lepre, p.212). The
was over 30 feet long and in good condition. A large
on a stele
king himselfevendescribedhis achievements
wooden sledge found with these boats was probably
written in year 16 ofhis reign:
used to transport them from the water to their burial
l
place(Fakhry,p.221). SenusertIII's burial chamberis
I havecreated a frontier exceedingthat of myfathers
who
havegivenmorethan wasgivenlo me l am a king
built of enormousblocks of red granite,vaultedwitlrin.
my
speaksond acts. Thatwhichmy hearthasconceived,
At the westem end of the room stood a red granite
arm petforms. I am aggressivein attack ctndresolutein
decoratedwith verticalpaneling.
sarcophagus
success. Ilords do not sleep in my heart. (Montet,
p.59)
Senusert III enhanced intemal security when he
dissolvedthe privileges and power of the hereditary
nomarchs, reducing them forever to the status of local
non-entities, unable to threaten the power of the king
He set up an
and the stability of the counlry.
govern
Middle' and
Upper,
to
administration at Itj-towy
Lower Egypt with three separatebranchesof the central
govemment. These branchescame under the overall supervision of the vizier (prime minister) who was ultimately responsibleto the king. After the disappearance
of the nobility, the middle class, made up of craftsmen
and tradesmen,gained much power (David, p.32).
The Pyramid of Senusert III at Dashur: SenusertIII's
pyramid at Dashur lies just north of the pyramid of
Amenemhet IL Following the example set by Senusert
II, mud bricks are used for the inner core of the
AMENEMHET III: This son of SenusertIII built two
pyramids:one next to his father'sat Dashur,and the
other in the Faiyum, at Hawara. Although it is not utiusual to find two tombs for the same king (one is
usuallythoughtto be a ceremonialcenotaph),the only
other pharaohwho built two pyramids was Sneferu'who
built the two greatpyramidswithin a mile of eachother
at Dashur.
Amenemhet III undertook a vast irrigation proJect to
increasethe arableland in the Faiyum. A canalwas dug
from the Nile to allow the watersto be channeledduring
the annual flood into a low-lying depressionnear the
cultivatedareaat the Faiyum. This vast wall, some27
miles long, could be stopped-upas the flood watersreceded, providing an enorrnous storage pond for
irrigation water. This allowed an additional 27,000
acresto be brought under cultivation. For more lhan
November1993
half a century under Amenemhet III's rule, peace and
prosperitywere found throughout his kingdom. His
peoplepraisedhim:
He makesthe Two Lands more verdant than q great
Nile (lood). He hath filled the Two Lands ,eith
Strength. The treq:ures which he gives are food for
p.l9l )
thosewhoqre in hisfollowing. (Breasted,
The Pyramid of Amenemhet III at Hawara: The
pyramid at Hawara is most interesting,displayinga
great amount of ingenuity in the way the architect
soughtto outwit the tomb robbers.Like the pyramidof
SenusertII at Lahun, it has a mudbrick core, stone
cross-walls,
andhada casingof white limestone.
It had an unorthodoxentranceon the southside,with a
sloping passage leading to a
vestibule with a dead-end. At
this point, hidden in the ceiling,
was a 20-ton movable stone
slab which, when slid aside,
revealed another chamber.
From here a long blind
passageway, blocked with
loose stone rubble, led due
north -- acting as a ploy to lead
tomb robbersastray. A hidden
passageway concealed by a
The pyramid does not appear to
sliding panel leading due east
have lrad a r,alley temple or
was the real conidor, although
causeway associated with it.
it ended in a third dead-end.
Imrrediately south of it, however,
Again, as with the first
is the site of the famousLabyrinth.
vestibule, a 21-ton sliding
At ieast part of the Labyrinth
ceiling stoneled to a third level
contained the
temple
of
corridor system. At the end of
Amenemhet III, and it was
this fourth chambercomprising
apparently completed by hrs
yet another dead end, was
daughter, Queen Sobek-neferu,
found another 20-ton sliding
who was the last ruler of the l2th
ceiling stone. This led to a
Dynasty.
fifth vestibule which had a
AmenemhetIII (from Saleh)
false wall to the right made of
The immenseLabyrinthwas about
loosely-packedsmall bricks, the Ieft solid wall, of
1,000feet long and 800 feet wide, largeenoughto hold
course.blockedthe real entranceto the tomb chamber.
the greattemplesofKarnak and Luxor. Unfortunately,
it has been used as a quarry since Roman times, and
Ancient thievestrined through this rock, and avenged
today not a single wall is standing. When seen by
their hard work by burning the entire contentsof the
Herodotus,lrowever,the l,abyrinth still stood in all its
chamber,includingthe body of the king and his jewelry.
glory. He said its beautysurpassed
the pyramids,for it
The huge burial clramber contained two quartzite
had 12 walled courts,and contained3,000rooms(1,500
sarcophagiand two canopicchests. Petrie investigated
above and 1,500 below ground). Herodotuswas not
this chamber,and althoughit was half-filled with water,
allowedto visit tlie below-groundrooms,which he was
lie discovered artifacts incised with the names of
told containedthe burial placesof sacredcrocodilesand
Arnenernhetlll and his daughter,Ptah-Neferu.[n 1956,
kings, but he did get to see the above-groundrooms.
a tomb was found just south of the pyramid, rvhich
His descriptionreads:
provedto be the burial ofPtah-Neferu. Herjervelrynow
Amenemhet III was most likely
buried in his pyramid at nearby
Harvara (Fakhry. p.222).
He
probably built at Hawara because
it rvas the pad of Egypt he had
spent so much time developing.
Like Senusert II's pyramid at
Lahun, the pyramid at Hawara
commands a view of both the
FaiyurrandtheNile valley.
...theupper ones,which surpassal! humanv,orks,I
nyself saw;for the passagesthroughthe corridors,
and the windingsthroughthe cottts, for their great
variety,presenteda thousandoccasionsof v,onder.
p53)
(Budge,
November1993
residesin the Cairomuseum(Fakhry,p.226).
The Pyramid of Amenemhet III at Dashur:
Amenemhet'splrarnid at Dashur is the southernmost
one locatedthere. The valley ternplelras not yet been
originally paved
found-but a 2,000foot long causervay,
rvith limestoneslabsand l'alled with rnudbrick,leadsto
the cultivation. At thc Lrpperend of the cause\\,a\.
a
numberof mudblick buildinssand the ruinedmofiuar)
tenlpleare fbund. A gray granitepvrarnidionrvhich
once capped the rronurrent rvas found next to this
pyram id.It containedthe narneof King Amenenrhet
Ill.
and is norv in the Cairo urLrseLrm
The entrarce is on the east side. near the southeast
corner. The interior arrangementof passageways
and
vestibules,all lined rvith lirnestone,resemblesHawara.
Thev eventually lead to a burial charrber, which lies
some distance east of center. The tornb chamber
conlairrs
a magnificentred granitesarcophagus.
AMENEMHET IV & QUEEN SOBEK-NEFERU:
After the deathof AmenemhetIII, his son and co-regent,
AmenemhetIV, ascendedto tlle throneof Egypt. About
three miles north of Dashur,at Mazghuna,the remains
of two pyramids can be found. These ruins closely
resemblethe plan of the Hawara pyramid. While some
authors(Edwards and Lepre) feel that these pyramids
shouldbe attributedto AmenemhetIV and his co-regent
and sisterQueenSobek-nef'eru,
others(like Fakhry)feel
that they probablybelongedto 13tnDynastyrulers. The
Middle Kingdom came to an end with the reign of
but very little is known abouther.
QueenSobek-neferu,
The Collapseof the 12th Dynasty: The reasonfor the
collapseofthe l2tn Dynasty is not known. The country
was peaceful and experiencing a period of prosperity.
The next dynasty, the l3th, continued to rule from
southernEgypt, with a rapidly changingseriesof some
60 kings in 150 years. Only three of thesekings built
pyramids: Ameny, the sixth pharaohofthe dynasty,Ay,
the I lst. and Khendjerll. the 55thpharaoh.All threeof
thesepyramids are located in South Saqqara. The pyramid of Ay remained unfinished,and two uninscribed
black granite pyramidions were found next to its site.
R E FE R E N C E S
Budge. E.A.W. EGYPT UNDER THE AMENEDIHET'S
AND ItYKSOS. AnthropoJogicalPublications:Oosterhout,
The Netherlands.1968.
David. Rosalie.THE PYRAMID RAILDERS OF ANCIENT
EGfPT: A MODERN INVESTIGATION OF PHARAOH,S
WORKFORCE. Routledge& KeganPaul:London, I986.
Edwards, I.E.S. THE PVRAMIDS OF EGYPT.
B ooks:N Y ., R ev.E di ti on,1985.
Penguin
Fakhry,Ahmed. THE PYRAMIDS. Univ. ofChicago Press:
Chicago,2nd Edition,1969.
Cardiner. Sir Alan. EGYPT OF THE PHARAOHS: AN
INTRODUCTION. ClarendonPress: Oxford. 1961.
Hayes, Wilfiam C. THE SCEPTER OF EGYPT, Harvard
Univ. Press:Cambridge,1953.
THE
EGYPTIAN
Lepre, J.P.
COMPREHENSIVE,
ILLUSTRATED
McFarland& Co.: Jefferson,1990.
PYRAMIDS:
A
REFERENCE.
Montet, Piene. LIVES OF THE PHAfu4OHS.
PublishingCo.: Cleveland,1968.
World
THE SPLENDOR THAT WAS
Muray, Margaret, A.
EGYPT. PraegerPublishers:NY., Rev. Edition, 1969.
Rose, John. THE SONS OF RE: CARTOUCHES OF THE
MNGS OF EGVPT. JR-T Press:Cheshire,UK., 1985.
and Hourig Sourouzian. THE
Saleh, Mohammed,
Prestel-Verlag: Mainz,
EGyPTIAN MUSEaM, CAIRO.
Germany,1987.
THE LITERATURE oF
Simpson, Wm. Kelley (ed.).
ANCIENT EGYPT. Yale Univ. Press:New Haven.1972.
At the sametime in the north, Asiaticsestablisheda coexisting dynasty, the l4tn, ruling from the Delta. Egypt
had now slipped into the Second Intermediate Period,
and its citizens would have to wait another 200 years
until yet another powerful ruler, Ahmose, would reestablish Theban supremacy and bring Egypt to new
heightsof power and glory. But that's anotherstory...
Scotab seol desiRa. a
,jstt Mrseum,
368t.
November 1993
In any event, with the beginning of the First Dynasty,
Egypto-Byblian relations were firmly established.
During this period, the foundations of the Temple of
By Troy L. Sagrillo
Ba'alat-Gebel,"The Lady of Gebel,"2 were laid' By the
reign of Unas (Fifth Dynasty), and probably much
on
a
Troy Sagrillo began wotk
About the Author:
earlier, this goddess came to be identified with the
Ph.D. in Egyptian Archeology at the University of
Egyptian goddess Hathor. In Egypt, the tombs of the
Toronto lhis fall; he has an M.A. in Syro-Palestinian
First Dynasty kings employed Byblian: timber; pine,
Archeology from the Unirersity of Arizona. Troy was
cypress,and cedar; and wood by-products, such as oils
employed at the DMNH this past summer in the
and resins, are mentioned on alabaster vases of King
Anthropologt Dept. where he ussisled in cataloging the
Adj-ib and are listed among food offerings on two
mttsetrm'sEgtpt ian materi al.
Second Dynasty stelae. The oils and resins were
important components of the mummification process.
Located some 36 kilometersnorth of Beirut, Lebanon,
The first inscription of Egyptian
lhe ancienl ciq of Byblos -origin known from Byblos is on
modernJabayll -- is situatedon a
an alabastervase fragment with
/(
Mediterranean coastal promontory
\un-it )
a cartouche of Kasekhemui, the
at the foot of Jabal al Qaraqif, the
last pharaoh of the Second
western spur of Jibdl Lubndn alUnfortunately, the
Dynasty.
Charabilyah (Mount Lebanon).
not found in sit
was
fragment
Thesemountains,rising sharPlYto
I
\.
and may be from a later,
the east of Byblos. were denselY
Qutn"
t^^r*
probably Old Kingdom, shiP\
J
forestedin antiquitywith conifers
phcnicianCoast
The
ment of royal gifts.
) eaoeshf
such as pine.juniper. fir. cypress.
(Kadesh\./
A.g:
of
tnthe
and the famous cedarsof Lebanon.
/'
The Egyptian rulers of the Old
ALhenaten
This forested range constituted an
/ii
\-/
Kingdom maintained a high
effective obstruction to commuByblos
level of contact with theil
nication until the developmentof
Phenicia
Byblian counterparts, PrimarilY
lithic and metal technologies
Beirut
to securethe large quantitiesof
permittedits clearance. Until that
timber required by Egypt. a
time, Byblos turned princiPallYto
The
wood-poor country.
the sea for communication and
Palermo Stone mentions that
transportation, and to the narrow
the reign o[ Sneferu.a
during
strip of coast to the north and
Dynasfyruler.40 shiPs
Fourlh
, Hazor
south.
Akko
filled with cedar or pine logs
arrived in Egypt, probablY from
It is not precisely knowu when
Megiddo
Byblos. In 19l l. a coPPeraxcontact was first established
( M a l l '\ \ r t l h r 'r l
head, dating to the Old
between Egypt and the citY of
Kingdom and bearinga hieroByblos, but it definitely occurred
crew,
a royal r.r'ood-cutting
naming
glyphic
inscription
beforeDynastictimes. The Frenchclearanceoperations
lbrah-rm
Nalir
the
rvas found close to tlre mouth of
of PierreMontet and, later,Maurice Dunand.conducted
(Adonis River), rvhich opensto the MediterraneanSea
than
more
revealed
during the first half of this century.
nearB1'blos.It's not known whetherEgyptiansactually
ten metersof cultural deposits,dating fron.rthe modern
cut the treesor merely supervisedLebanesecrelvs. The
Kay Prag,
neriodbackto the Neolithic. One researcher,
sea route betrveenthe Nile and Byblos came to be so
believes that regular and significant maritime trade
rvell{raveledthat the oldest Egyptianrvord for "oceanbetweenByblos and Egypt existed as far back as the
goingvessel"literallvmeans"Byblos-Ship"
foufth millennium.but otller scholarshavedemonstrated
BYBLOS AND EGYPT
\
_L1
,"",Pji
|
that her seeminglyconvitrcingargtllllentis not as solid
as it first appears.Hor.rever,they do grantthat solre of
the evidencedeservesseriousconsideration,and that it
indicatesthat some kind of early contact did exist
betweenEgypt and Byblos -- though it need not lrave
beendirector frequent.
November1993
In additionto the royal tilrber trade.it's likely that comrnercein other materialsalso occltrred A text from the
tomb of an official narnedKhLri,dating to the late Fifth
or early Sixth Dynast), makesreferenceto the Byblian
trade. According to the inscriptiorr,Khtli and trvo
8
conlpanjolls.I-jcqi ard KhnLunu-hetep.
tra\eled to
Brbl.'. rrrl tlrc I rrrrd.'lPrrrt' .rr ..rir.rl ,';e.i.i.'rt' Tltc
i nscriptioncloesnol describetlrc dctailsol'thejoLlnre)s.
but a text lronr Tjct-ji'stornbstatesthathe \as "one$ho
foreignlandsto thc
bringsthe productsof the soLrthern
king." sLrggesting
that the three nrerl\vete inrolrcd in
trade l ith Bl blos and other important trading
ernporiunts.
flo$'ever. Eg),pto-Byblianrelations\\ent be1'ondmere
tlade. The pharaohsof tlre Fourth and Filth D)'nasties
found it irnportantto seud of1'eringsto the Temple of
Ba'alat.Cebel,rvith an eye to creating a sphere of
influence through mutual obligations between
theurselves and the Byblian rulers. Fragmentary
alabastra and offering plates bearing the names of
Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure,Unas, and Sahurehave been
excavatedat the site; similar fragments\\'itlr the nanes
of Pepi I and Pepi II, both of *hom ruled during the
Sixth Dynasty, have also been found. Although the
narnesof kings are most common, other royal names
have been found at Byblos, sucli as those of Queen
Hetepheris(wife of Sneferuand mother of Khufu) and
QueenMeriqtis (wife of Khufu).
After the reign ofPepi II (end of Sixth Dynasty),until
the 12tn Dynasty, no royal Egyptian inscriptionshave
beenfound at Byblos. It would appearthat commercial
relations between Egypt and Byblos were almost at a
standstillduring the chaos and confusiottof the First
IntermediatePeriod in Egypt. hi {act, the name of
Ibdadi,a king of Byblos, appearson a cuneiformtext at
the end of the third millennium BCE lldicatitrg that the
city was within tlie pale of the greaterUr lll Empire of
Mesopotamia.
The blue lotus.
Nerertheless.afier a gap of nearly'200 1,ears.Byblos
asainrcsLlnrcd
closccomnrcrcialand cult ulalties \\i1h
t31pt. The l2th Drnastl finclsthe conlectiou rvith
Blblos as strongas cvcr. thoLrghob.jectsbearingrolal
nalnes arc noticeabllferverdLrlingthe Middle Kingdonr.
It may be that trg)ptian interests at Byblos never
Period.
entirelvbrokeoff rlLrringthe First Interm ediate
Thc 20 ships of cedar rvood used in the reign of
AnenernhetI denronstrate
a connectionbetrveenEgypt
and Lebanonat tlre very beginningol the 12thDyrasty.
Thus,rvhilethe earliestinscribedroyal object at Byblos
fronr the Middle Kingdorndatesto thc reign of SerrLrsert
IIl, it rnay be safelyassumedthat the earlierkings also
engagedin courmercialrelationswith Byblos.
In 1922.a landslideexposeda rock-cuttoIrrbon the seasidecliffface at Byblos;this led to the discoveryofnine
tombs rvhich forn the Byblian royal necropoJis.Only
TombsI, II, and ltl badnot beenplunderedin antiquity,
although all nine yielded at least some grave goods.
Tiresethreesealedtombs,along rvith Tornb IV, belong
to the period correspondingto the Egyptian 12th
Dynastyand provide the bulk of non-textualevidence
relatingto Egypto-Byblianrelationsduring the Middlc
Kingdom. Tomb I containeda seriesof rich funerary
gifts from Pharaoh Amenemhet III, including an
obsidian vase rvhich contained, according to the
lrieroglyphic
ion. perfumeor incettse.
inscript
The richestof thesesealedtombs,Tomb II, held a gold
Egyptian-stylepectoral set with inlaid polished stones
forming a falcon with extended wings and two
of a plraraohwearingthe white crown of
representations
Upper Egypt. A box with gold ornamentationinscribed
with the nameof AmenemhetIV was also found, along
with a gray stone vase bearing the name of the same
king. Other items includeda gold bowl, a silver mirror,
and a gold necklace.
The name of the occupantof Tomb II is known from a
typically Egyptianhieroglyphicinscriptionon a bronze
khepeshsword which reads"The Prince of Byblos, IbShemu-Abi,repeatingof life, son of the Prince,AbiShemu, the triumphant." Ib-Shemu-Abi'sname also
appearson a cartoucheon a gold pendant set with
precious stones forming a scarab between trvo uraei
wearingthe crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt; under
the cartoucheis a falcon with its rvingsextended.Since
Tombs I and II are connected by a subterranean
passageway,
as was customaryin the burials of fathers
and sons, it is thought that Tomb I belongedto AbiShemu,and Tomb II to his son Ib-Shemu-Abi.
November1993
TonrbsIII and lV likerviscyieldeda numberofpiecesof
Egyptianjervelry.stoncvesscls.and othcr objectsn,hich
dateto the Middle Kin-cdonr.Sonreof the objeclsare
geuerall),poorer in qLralitythan sintilar itenrs from
Eglpt anc{probabl),representmaterial iashionedbv
localclaftsnrenimitatingEgyptianartisticstl'les.Many
scarabsfound at Blblos, inscribedtvith hieroglvphs.
belongedto private Egl,ptian of'ficials rvho probabl),
residedthere.
This rvide variety of textual and artifactual evidence
pointsto peacefulcomrrercialrelationsbetweentlre trvo
countries. The importedrnaterial,as rvell as the locally
nrade copies (including Egyptian-stylereliefs which
were allentptedby local craftsmen)points tc a great
respectfor Egyptianculture on the part of the Byblian
rulers. Even Egyptian hieroglyphswere regularlyerrployed. as shofi inscriptiols have been discovered,
inclLrdinga t),pe of Dgyptianhyrr.rn. Indeed,the local
princes regularly comrnernorated
themselvesin hieroglyphs, and adopted the Egyptian titles of reprl
(hereditarynoble)and hali-tt'(princeor rrayor).
At the end of the l2th Dynasty, with the deaths of
ArnenemhetIV and later Queen Sobek-neferu,Egypt
was divided betweenthe l3th Dynastl,atThebesand the
l4n Dynastyat Sakha(arcient Xios, in the Delta). At
Byblos this period rentainsobscuredue to the lack of
sufficientarcheologicalmaterial. There is, however,a
Iragrnerrtof bas-relief,rvith a hieroglyphicinscription
dcpictingthe princeof Byblos,Inten,pavinghontageto
one o1' thc last pharaohs of thc l3th Dynasty,
t.\efcrhctepI. Ir is the earliosttext which gives a direct
clironological sl nchlonisnt between an Egyptian
pharaohand a Byblian prince. A Byblian ruier named
Yantin-Khanruis mentionedon a cu:reiforminventory
tablet frorn the palacearcltivesof Zimri-Lirr, a king of
Mari.4 The name Yantin-Khamu is the Canaaniteform
of the Egyptian Inten, and thus sets up an indirect
synchronisminvolving the threerulers.
With the ascendancyof the CanaaniteHyksos rulers iu
the Egyptian Delta, the ScconclIntermediatePeriod
courmencedu'ith the l5th Dynasty. Except fbr some
scarabs,Iittle Egyptian matcrial is klorvn front Blblos
duringthis period.
With the expulsionof the l-lyksosfron the Delta at ihc
beginni ngof the Ncw Kingdont,the Egyptianpharaohs
of the early lSth Dynastyundeftooka policyofpunitive
attacksagainstthe Hyksos. Indeed,Ahmose I hirnself
rnay have landedat Byblos to conductson]eoperations
inland.
November1993
Follo\\,iug thc death ol Queen
I latshepsut.
TLrthrrosis
III
undcrlook a long series of
carrpaignsinto Northern Syria.
prinarily,agailtstthe kingdornof
Mitanni and her vassals,TLrnip
and Kadesh.By this tirne.Byblos
las again apparentll,rvithin the
Eg),ptianspherc,for the pharaoh
olderedships of cedarbuilt near S.rtth senl design. Ilrc
Arilish
Byhlos lor lrilitarl operatiorrs
in
centralNorth Syria. Likewise,there are recordsfron.r
thc reign of TuthmosisIII regardingthe shipmentof
cedar logs to Egypt. After the defeat of Mitanni,
Egypto-Bybliancommercial relationsremainedstrong
throughoutthe remainderof the 18th Dynasty, and a
number of Egyptianroyal namesfronr tlre period have
been discoveredon objects frorn Byblos (inclLrding
ArnenhotepII, ArlenhotepUl. and Akhenaten).
A "robber" state, the kingdorn of Anrurru, rvas
establishedin rorthent Lebanon during the reign of
AmenhotepIll. It began,undertlre hand of its Amorite
rr-rler,'Abdi-Ashirta,
to llarry the entirePhoeniciarr
coast.
The king of Byblos,Rib-Hadda,sentnumerouslettersto
AmenllotepIII and his successor,Akhenaten,begging
for rnilitary assistanceagainst 'Abdi-Ashirta and his
vassals. Initially, Rib-FIaddawarned AnrenlrotepIII
aboutincLrrsions
rrade by'Abdi-Ashirta along tlte coast.
and that Byblos rvas in dangerof attack. The situation
becamc riesperateas other city-states sided with
ArrurrLr. Rib-lJaddasent his sisterand her childrento
Sfir (Tyre),rvherethey were larerkilled in anti-Egyptian
violencc.'Abdi-Ashirta,
sensingRib-hadda's
rveakness,
laid siegeto Byblos,where'Abdi-Ashiftamet lris deatlr.
Aziru and Pu-Bakhla,sons of 'Abdi-Ashifia. lifted the
siege but continuedattacking the other coastal cities.
Throughoutthis conflict, Rib-Haddasent lettersto the
pharaolr,now Akhenaten,begging for rnilitary aid and
graiu to prevent farnine. Akhenaten replied by
requestinga shiprnentof box-wood! Rib-Haddarvrote
back that the Hittites were no\v tltreateningByblos as
uell. As a last resort, Ite fled to thc protectionof
Arnmunira(KhamnrLrniri).
the king of Bayrl-tt(Beifut).
At the erd of it all. Rib-Hadda
rvlotetlrathis brotherhad
turncdByblosovcr to the sonsof 'Abdi-Ashifta,and that
Anrmunira rvas being persuadedto hand Rib-l'ladda
over to Aziru. With this. Rib-Haddadisappears
lionr
history. Hou'ever.Aziru rvashinrselflatcr summonedto
the coun of Akhenaten,rvhere he ivas detained lbr
severallears and probabll blinded. tJpon his release.
hc returnedto Anturru and pronrptlvsrvoreallegianceto
l0
ShuppiluliLrmash,
king of the Hittites, and his kingdom
wasthen annexedto the Hittite Empire.
treesfelled until he receivedpaymentfor the u,oodand
eventuallybetrayedWen-Amento his enemies!
While it's possible that Horemheb tnay have
campaignedagainstthe Hittites from Byblos, it rvasnot
until the 19th Dynasty that Egypt made any serious
attemptto regain its l-orrrerLebanesctcrritory. After
Seti l's death.his son. RamsesII, took to the field iu thc
for.rrthyear of his reign. marchingas far north as Nahr
al-Kalb. north of Bayrut. The spring of the following
year saw Rarrses again in Lebanon, as he passed
through on his rvay to meet the Hittites in battle at
Kadesh (Tall Nabi Mand). After the battle, with
political stability restored, Byblos resumcd her
comrnercialactivities. Numerousobjectsinscribedwith
the name of RarnsesII have been found at Byblos,
includingstelaeand a largedoorrvay. From the tonrbof
Ahiram, the ruler of Byblos at the tirne, came an
alabasterfiagment inscribed witli the cartouche of
RamsesII. The latter'sreign 'ivasa periodof greatprosperity,and the presenceofnumerous inscriptionsofthis
pharaohat Byblos is evidencethat closc rclationsbetrveenEgypt and the Phoeniciancity existedonceagain.
Thereafter, Egypt retained very little influence in
Phoenicia and Byblos. Shortly after Wen-Amen's
I of Assyria
.journev to Byblos, Tiglath-PiJeser
Lebanon
and
received
tribute
from the
eoncluered
Phoeniciancity-states.Egypt regaineda certaindegree
of powcr in the Levant follorving the death of
I and the breakdolvn of Assyria;
f iglath-Pileser
SheshenqI and OserkonI, Libyan rulers of the 22th
Dynasty, even sent offerings to the Temple of
Ba'alat-Gebelin Byblos. Horvever, with a nervly
resurgentAssyria, Byblos passedpermanentlyinto tlie
Mesopotamiansphere when AshunrasirpalII led an
expedition to the Levant in 877 BCE, and all of
Phoeniciawas forcedto submitto Assyrianrule.
During the 12th century BCE, the political structureof
the entire Levant underwent a drastic clrange.
Mycenaeans.displaced by the Dorian invasiotrsof
Greece,took to the seas,raiding the coastlinesfrom
Anatoliato Egypt. A northernwave oftribes destroyed
the Hittite Ernpire and ovelran important Syrian citystatessuch as Ugarit and Alalakh; Byblos herself was
razed. Another wave headedsouthlvardsto attack Egypt
but was repelled by RamsesIII at Pelusium (Tall
al-Faramah). Altlrough they were pushed back, the
Egyptianswere unableto preventsomeof these"People
of the Sea" frorr settling in Canaan,where tltey were
laterknown as " Philistines."
With the deathof RamsesIII in I 154 BCE, Egypt was
no longer the dominate power in the Near East; the
countryenteredinto a period of political and economic
declinervhile Assyria emergedas the leadingpower in
Mesopotamia. No longer politically or economically
dependentupon Egypt, Byblos enjoyeda periodof prosperityand growth as one of tlre premierPhoeniciancitystates.
It wasat this time, late in the 20th Dynastv,that I'{erihor,
High Priest of Amen at Thebes, sent his envoy,
Wen-Amen, to Byblos to secure cedar for the
ceremorrialbarqueof Amen. As recordedin The Story
of Wen-Amen,Egypt'sprestigeabroadhad fallen so lolv
that Zakar-Ba'al,king of Byblos, refusedto have cedar
ll
NOTES
preserves
the Phoenician
L The modernArabic name,-/a6a1,/,
nameof Byblo",gebel,Byhlosbeing Greek;the Semiticform
is alsofound in the Akkadiangz-ub-laft,the UgariticgD1,and
the Hebrewgebal
2. Ba'alat-Gebelwas the patron goddessof Byblos down to
times.
Phoenician
3. Punt is generally thought to be modem Somalia and-/or
Yemen.
4. Mari (Tall Hariri) was an importantSyrian city-stateand
kingdomcenteredon the Middle Euphrates.
REFERENCES
Jidejian,Nina. BYBLOS THROaGH THE AGES. Bettut.
Publishers.
1968.
Darel-Machreq
Monrel.Piere. BYBLOSET L'EGYPTE. Paris:Librairie
1929.
PaulGeuthner,
Orientaliste
THE AMARNA
Moran. William (ed.).
Baltimore:JohnHopkinsUniv. Press.1992.
LETTERS.
Redford. Donald B. EGYPT, CANAAN, AND ISRAEL IN
ANCIENT TIMES. Princeton:PrincetonUniv. Press,1992.
J, tt D+.[t',-
Dill
O
,r
t f / t ' l( 4'-,t 1 1 7 '
1993
Novemtrer
LECTURE NOTES
discr.rssiorr
of ccrtain aspectsof their constructionas
rvellas the socialand religioLrs
activitiesassociated
u,ith
tllem.
Rhtc ghr.el hippo. Tonh ofSenbi, Meir. Xlcttopolitan Museurn ofAtt, NY
Of parlicular lascination to me were the ancient
underground cataconrbs with
its
labyrinthian
passage\r,ays
and ancient tombs, many of rvhich are
decoratedin an exotic blend of Egyptian and GrecoRomanreligiousmotifs.
ALEXANDRIA
Presentedby David Pepper
Tlre presentationconcludedrvith a discussionof the
city's more outstandingMoslem sites and other pointsof-interestincludingfour surviving monasterieslocated
out in the desertin Wadi Natrun.
ESSJuly Meeting
Reviewedby Floyd R. Chapman
ABOUT THE REVIEWER: Floyd R. Chapman is an
archeological and historical painter, specializing in
ancient Egypliatl, Moyan, and Khmer cullural lhentes.
Follov,ing his training in Fine Arts, he studied thefields
of Asian history and anthropologt at San Diego State
Unbersity. AJter receiving his 8.A., Floyd contintled his
studies for on additional two yeors as o Masters
candidate. He is currenlly pointing a reconstruction of
a large relief in Ramses III's great temple (tt MedinetHabu as it woulcl have looked when lhe ancient
Egyptians
f rct pdinted it.
With a prelude of exotic Egyptian music filling the
roonr,David Peppercornrrencedhis presentation
on the
histoly and sitesof both ancientand modenrAlexandria.
He explainedho$'this historiccity was foundedApril 7,
331 BCE, by Alexander the Great, at tl'renorthwesten'r
mouth of the Nile Delta on the MediterraneanSea. The
ancientcity, in its prime, was not only the capital of
Egypt but was also a centerof commerceand learning.
During its glorious years,ancientAlexandriapossessed
numerousfabulous buildings and monumentsJarnong
which were the Lighthouseof Pharos(one of the Seven
Wondersof the Ancient World), the museurn,arrdthe
library. Unfornmately,virtually nothing rernainsof the
city'sancientsplendor.
However,what still exists of this arcient ciiy provided
ample material for an errgaging lectLrre. Pepper's
enlighteningcommentary rvas illustrated by e..:ceilent
slides. Some of the archeological sites which he
shorvcasedwere the remains of an ancient school, a
theater, and the temple complex of the Serapeum.
Pepper elaboratedupon eacl.rof these sites with a
November1993
This was a very well-researched,orgarrized. and
infonnative lecture which highlighted one of Egypt's
greathistoriccities.
RAMSES II EXHIBIT MURALS
Presentedby Joe Craighead
and
Nf,W DMNH EGYPTIANACQUISITIONS
Presented
by Dr. RobertPickering
ESSAugustMeeting
Reviewed by Gretchen Pascoe
ABOUT THE REVIEWER: Gretchen Pascoe, ctfter a
lrip to Egypt tt,ith her daughler, becume a rating
Egyptophile like lhe rest of us! She has ntany interests,
and has just contpleted courses for lhe American
Ntttionsl Red Cross Disct,slerAclion Teum which serves
in casesof naturol disaslers. Grelchen furs workedfor
the Jederal governmenlJbr l9 years mttl is u long-time
Denver resident.
At the August ESS rneeting, a double-featurewas
presented.During the first part, Joe Craigiread,Events
ServicesCoordinatorat the DMNII and highly-regarded
local artist, presentedan in-deptlt discussionof the
aftistic metlrodsand researchinvolved in painting the
muralsfor lhe RuntsasII Exhibit. 'fhis was follorvedDr.
Robert Pickering'sshorv-and-tellpresentationof the
ancient Egyptiar'rartifacts recently pr:rchasedrvitlr
nrortevdoltatedb1,the Ratnsesll Voluutecrs.
THE RAMSES II EXHIBIT MURALS Prescntedby
Joe Craighead: Craigheaddiscussedhow the nrurals
tbr the Rarnses II Exhibit r.vere pairted, and the
t2
extensive lesearch involved in this trernendous
underlaking. The u'hole projecttook over four months
to cornplete and involved an in-depth study of tlre
techniquesused by the ancient aftists. John Romer's
LIVES, abotrt the artisalts' torvn of
book, /NCIENI
Deir el Medina. provided huch inspiratiou and
guidance.
Craigheadnarratedraw original video footageol Deir el
Medina (supplied by the DNINH Video Production
'fearn)to orientatcthe audiencel'ith thc village location
and layout. 1'he village had its orvn cemeteriesand
who did both
300 inhabitauts
chapelsand approximately
in the Valley
in
the
tombs
the diggingand the afl,,vork
of the Kings. The pharaoh suppliedthese attcieut
of life
artisansand their families rrith the necessities
(food^ grain, beer, etc.) as the-"-could not grorv ancl
luLulLrre
tlrcir o\4Jr)
crops anci work on thc tontbs at tllc
sanrc tiuro. They kne$ tl)c seclcts ol' preparingthe
plraraohs'tonbs, and so \\ere able to malie smaller
velsions for themselles. l-he tomlr of Sennerljem.:r
ancithe
lbrerran, ,'vasin the best slatc ol preserYalion,
paintilgsin suchvivid colorsthatthcv lcoled as though
thel had beenpaintedyestelday. The video allowedthe
audienceto actually see these lantasticr.vallpaintings
tomb. I'lle skin coloringof the
insideol'Sennedjem's
men \\'as darker than that of the \.vomen,possibly to
showthat the men spentmoretime out in tlte sun.
These tomb paintings,which representedthe life that
Sennedjemand his family expectedand hopedfor in the
afterlife, were perf'ect fbr providing an authentic
Therefore,
backdrop for the Exhibit's aftifacts.
Craighead'stask was to accuratelyreprodttcethem for
the exhibit murals.
Craigheadpresentedslides depictingthe variousstages
of the murals' production; they were scaledto about
85% ofthe sizeofthe originals. The leproductionofthe
muralswas very exact. Areas tlrat were chippedoffof
in the
the actualpaintingsin the tomb were represetrted
Exhibit rnuralsas lvell. Sincethe line drawingsby the
Egyptianaftistscaughtthe spirit of their subjects,it was
also essential to capture that same spirit when
reproducingthe art work for the exhibit.
Other mLrseumartists who worked otr tltese murals,
jokingly referred to as the "Torrb Gang", rvere Gail
Opsahl,Joan Klipping, Mark Gould and Carol Dufficy.
Aftist Torn Buchanarr rvas enlisted to paitrt tlte
hieroglyphs.
l3
EG\?TIAN
ACQUISITIONS
NEW
DMNH
Presentedby Dr. Robert Pickering: Bob Pickering,
Curator of Anthropoiogy, utilized a terrific new
techniqueto show off the museum'srecentlypurchased
I-gyptianartifacts. This technique,a conceptconceived
by Joe Craighead.displayed close-up viervs of the
artifactson a largeprojectionscreenusingclosedcircuit
TV. This methodprovidedthe audiencervith a blownup vierv of eaclr srr.rallobject. and it was much more
practical than having everyone crorvd around these
small artifacts.
The center-pieceof the show nas a beautiful bronze
statue of Osiris, dated from the Late Period. Other
ob.jectsshorvnwere: two small faience"identicaltwin"
forerren uslrabtis,two largervoodenushabtiboxes(orre
tlating frorn the 2lst - 22nd Dynasty. ard the other
betweentlre 2lst - 3()thDynasty).an alabasterofl'erirg
goddessand I
tablet,and arruletsol'the hippopotarlus
papyruspillar. Anotller item displal,edrvasa bcaritifttl
r.voodenPtah-Sokar statue, part of the rnuseutn's
perrnanentEgyptiancollection. lt haciat orte linle becn
covered witlr gold leal and hac! a niche in its back.
pruhnblrto hold a papyrrr:scroll.
These neu'ly acquired objects were purchasedwith
furrds donatedby the volurteers from the Ramsesll
Exhibit. The presentationof these objects was ver)
educational, and the audience gained additional
understanding
of thesewonderful artifactsfrom ancient
Egvpt.
OASIS OF SIWA
PresentedBy Patricia Shamseldin
Meeting
ESS Septernber
Reviewed by Jill Taylor
Patricia Shamseldin(also Shams-el-Din)preserlteda
very interestingprogramon a little known areaof Egypt
-- the Oasis of Siwa. Shamseldinis an importer of
merchandiseprirnarily frorn Egypt, but it was not until
her 20th trip to Egypt that slretook the time to visit this
remoteareanearthe Libyan border. The inhabitantsof
Siwa are not consideredEgyptian,but are descendants
ofthe Berbersfrom NorthernMorocco. Tliey havetheir
own languageand customsand, while the Oasiswas famous in olden tirnes, it is not yet a popular area for
November 1993
modem tolrrists. It rvas a long and difficult journey in
ancient times; even today, for tourists on a tight
schedule,the Oasisis far off the beatentrack.
ARCE IN EGYPT
Presentedby Dr. Terry Walz
ESSMeetingOctober,1993
Siwa'sfonner glory was due to the many notabletulers
and military leaderswho lraveled tl'rereto corlsultthe
Templeof Aghurmi Oracle. The most prominentleader
to consult this Oracle was Alexander the Great who
wishedto be buried in Siwa (this wish was not granted).
Reviewedby Laura & Linda Engel
Shamseldinshou'edslides of the Fortressof Shali, the
entireAghurmi areaincludingthe Oracle,the Ternpleof
Amun (restorationto begin in the near future by the
Germangovernment),FatnasIsland,the town itself, the
many date palrn trees, and underground springs
(includingone that Cleopatrabathedin). Terrific slides
of the interior wall paintingsof the ton.rbof Si-Amon,
obtainedby specialpennission,were also presented.
ABOUT THE REVIEII/ER: Although Laura and Linda
Engel live in lhe Kittredge area, lhey have beett
extrenel.ydclive in the ESS. Thesevivacious, intelligent
ladies belong to both the Art Study ond Mummy Study
Grottps as well as to ARCE. They especially enioy
oltending ARCE's Annual Conferencesaround the US
where lhey seent lo alwaysfnd adventure - or it fnds
thent! Linda und Laura sell Egyptian arlicles al vdrious
craJi ;t'airs and have traveled extensively here and
abroad including several trips to Europe and Egypt.
Samplesofthe unusualhandicraftsof Siwa were on display for the audience to enjoy before and after the lecture. These included a heavily embroideredwedding
dress, a wedditrg shawl with over I,l00 hand-sewn
motirer-of-pearl
buttons,basketwork, old silverjewelry,
a rug, and other articles of clothing - all completely
different from anything from other areasof Egypt.
In order to get to the Oasis of Siwa, Shamseldintook a
public bus from the RamsesHiltotr Hotel in Cairo to
Marsa Matruh and then transferred to another bus frotn
MarsaMatruh to Siwa. Tlie trip took ovet 12 hoursand
she arrived after 10:00 at night. She was able to see
rnostof the sights in two full days but recommendeda
stay of at least three days in order to take advantageof
the excursioninto the desertto a lrot-springspool. The
but more are
few hotelshave minimal accomrnodations
to
Siwa is also
being built. A paved road from Luxor
planned. Departingfrom Luxor insteadof Cairo would
probably cut tlre travel tirne in half. It was very
inexpensiveto visit this delightful area; if you would
like more informationon visiting Siwa, pleasefeel free
to call Sharrseldinat (719) 256-4010.
DetailIon |9a -paitunry.'romboIKenanun,493, ThebesISth U,aso'-
November 1993
The ESSaudiencevery rtuch enjoyedthe lectureby Dr'
Terry Walz, Executive Director of the American
ResearchCenter ir.tEgypt (ARCE). Walz presenteda
brief history of ARCE and a slide presentationand
overviewof someoftheir many activities.
ARCE was founded in 1948 as an archeologicaland
academicsuppod resource. One of its maitr functions,
at that time, was to look after digs when researchers
could not be in the field. ARCE hasalso providedmuch
support for the ongoing epigraphic survey being
conductedby ChicagoHousesince 1927. The intentof
this ambitiousprojectis to make a permarentrecordof
templereliefsso tltat a recordwill exist after the reliefs
are no longer visible due to their continr"titlg
deterioration. These records being compiled will be
of the future.
invaluableto Egyptologists
Other projectssupportedby ARCE includeKent Weeks'
rnappingof all known tomb locationsin the Valley of
the Kings and surroundingarea.Mark Lehner'swork at
the Sphinx, David O'Connor'swork near Abydos, and
ongoing projectsat Karnak and the Medurn Pyramid
Walz pointed out that ARCE was also involved in the
internationaleffort to relocate the tcrnples at Abu
Simbel abovethe rising waterscausedby construction
of the Aswan Dam.
ARCE is currently expandingits Cairo facilitir, which
will enable it to increaseits current 15,000volume
library to 25,000 volumes. This library provides a
valuableresourceto scholarswlren they are in Egypt
l4
Horvever,ARCE's involvementin Egypt is not Iimited
to the support of the archeologicalcommunity. Last
June, the organization hosted an international
conference on the preserualion of Egypt's Islamic
monumentswhich were severelydamagedduring last
year'seafthquake.
E,SSnrembersshould definitely note tl'ratARCE and a
Los Angeles museum will host a fabulous exhibit of
the US.
Egyptian artifacts from museurnstirror"rghout
TJreopeningis plannedfor Novernber,1994.
Walz concludedwith an explanationof the benefitsof
rnembershipin ARCE. These include a quarterly
newsletter containing reports on field work and a
cornprehensive
annualjournal containingreportsfrom
top scholarson their work in Egypt. ARCE also hosts
numerollsconferencesduring the year; and the annual
conference,as those ESS memberswho also belongto
ARCE can attest, provides a wealth of infonratiorr and
fun.
THE ARIZONA EXPEDITION TO THE VALLEY
OF THE KINGS
Presentedby Dr. Richard Wilkinson
DMNH Lecture- October25, 1993
Reviewed by Stuart Wier
ABOUT THE REVIEWER'. Stuart Wier is an active
nember of ESS and a frequenl conllibulor to THE
OSTRACON. Sluarl is foscinated witlt history and eyen
participated on a dig in Winchester,England, where he
excavaledthe grave of a tenth century Saxon noblernan.
He is currenlly compiling an excellent bibliography on
ancient Egypt for the ESSmembership (to be cnailable
,soon). The Publications Cotnmittee is delighted tltat,
Stuart hds graciously agreed to write lhe Lecture Noles
for THE OSTRACON on a regular basis.
Dr. Richard Wilkinson of the University of Arizona,
avtllor of READING EGYPTIAN ART, the forthcoming
SYMBOL AND MAGIC IN EGYPTIAN ART, and the
cover story Tne Pclhs of Re; Sun Symbolisnt in the
Vallel, of the Kings Tombs in tlle current issue of rLilfl,
describedthe lvork of himself and his colleaguesof the
Arizona Expeditionin the Valley of the Kings to over
200 listeners. Wilkinson is an engagingspeakerand
that, combined with his fascinating topic, had the
audiencein rapt silenceand on the edgeof their seatsby
the end ofthe lecture.
For a numberof yearsihe Arizona Expeditionhas been
rvorking in the Valley of the Kings, continuing
excavationsbegun by Dr. Wilkinson's colleague,Dr.
Otto Schadenof Chicago. The expeditionstartedin the
rarely-visitedback valley, clearinga tomb next to what
is believedto be Akhenaten'soriginal tomb, tlre one he
startedbefore removing to Amarna. This tomb began
with a vertical well shaft over 30 feet deep,an unusual
feature for the Western Valley of the Kings. The
slopeddown from the baseofthe shaft
entrancepassage
into the mountain. It was filled with turab -- flood
debris consisting of sand, dirt, and rock fragments
washed into the tomb by the rare but violent
which afflict the Valley every centuryor
thunderstonns
so. Many tombs in the Valley have filled with layersof
this debrisover the centuries.
Woolen cosnetic spoon with litl
Muse
,5966, IEth Dltas!*.
t5
The B.itisl'
Oddly enough,this debriscan encaseand help preserve
remainsin the tombsalthoughthe lrlrlal swirling waters
and debrisare violent enouglrto abradesurfaces.This
protection and destruction is especiallytrue of wall
November1993
paintingswhose i organicpigmentsare very resistiveto
most types of deterioration. The first flooding caused
the rnostdamageas the swirling debrisabradedthe wall
decorationcloseto glound level. However,subsequent
flooding every century or so depositedthe debris in
layerswhich actuallyprotectedthe tomb walls.
Careful removal of the turab from the tombs is
immenselylaboriousbut pays off when finds are made
which shed new liglit on ancient Egypt. In the
Expedition'sfirst tomb, severalobjectsof interestwere
found, including pottery, a wooden mallet left by the
workmen who made the tomb, a face mask, a broken
woodencoffin, the remainsof five mummies,and linen
in excellentcondition. Tliis torrb is now thoughtto be
an adjunctto Akhenaten'stomb next door.
The other tontb excavated in the back valley was used
by PharaohAy, successorto Tutankhamun. This tomb
was being prepared for Tutankhamun when Tut's early
demise (at about age 20) forced the use of a snaller
tomb for his burial. Some of the wall paintingsin Ay's
tomb are nearly idertical to those in Tutankhamun's
lomb. All the names and images of Ay were later
hacked out as part of the campaign to obliterate the
memory of all associatedwith the Amarna regime.
lnterestingly,the image of Ay's ka sufferedonly two
chiselbiows, which leadsto some speculationaboutthe
meaningofthe ka in ancientEgypt.
This past summer, the Arizona Expedition began
clearingKVl0 in the main Valley of the Kings. This
tonrbis well known; in fact, it's lessthan 100feet down
the patir front Tutankhamur.r's
tomb entrance. The
entranceof KVl0 has been open for generations,the
passagevidually filled with turab, and the wall
paintingscompletelydestroyed. There has never been
any significantinterestin this tomb -- until now.
KV l0 is the tomb of Amenmesse,probably a son of
RamsesII, who ruled after Merneptah,anotherson and
successorto Ramses. Amenmesse'scompletename is
Amen-Ramesse,"son of Amen-Ra." Amenmesse
apparentlyruled for only four to five years,but though
his reign was slroft, he is not an unknown. Wilkinson
and liis colleaguesdecidedto excavateKVl0 following
the kind of insightwhich also led Howard Carterto look
for the torrb of Tutankhamun.
ln Carter'sday, tlie known pharaohs'tombs had been
robbed and were empty, yet some objects from the
entiresuite of rnaterialleft in each tomb, known as the
funerary corpus, were in the handsof collectorsaround
Novemtrer1993
the world. Theseobjects.likely stolenfrom the tombs
in antiquity, had somelrorvsurvived the ages. Carter
spottedan exception.Therewere no survivorsfrom the
tomb contentsof an obscureking namedTutankharnun.
There was a possibility that his tomb, if it could be
found, would still contain some or all of the original
offerings. Carter went on to find the tomb, bLrried
unintentionally by debris frorn the constructionof
RamsesVI's tornb nearby, a rnore effective disguise
than all the deliberatecontrivalrcesof ancient tomb
architects. Wilkinson pointed out that, in the caseof
Amenmesse'stomb, there is also a paucity of known
funeraryitems. This suggeststhat either this king was
not actuallyburied,or tltat some items may still remain
irrthe tomb, althoughit was apparentlyopenedcenturies
agoand sincefilled with flood debris.
Amenmesse'stomb is expectedto be very similar to
thoseof the pharaohsjust beforeand after him: a long
straightcorridor or passageleading into the tnountain,
sloping downward in places,with side niches arrd at
leastone pillaredhall mid-way beforereaclringthe rnain
and larger pillared hall at the far end. The entrance
passageto Amenmesse's
tomb is about sevenfeet wide
and ninefeet high; its lengthis as yet unknownalthough
Merneptah's tomb is about 300 feet long. The
decorations
of Amenmesse's
tonrbwere also expectedto
be similar to those of his predecessor,
and so far, the
excavationshavefound this to be the case,allowing for
the alterationsIaterdescribed.
After a suspenseful
waiting periodfor a concession
from
the Egyptian governmentto excavatethis tonrb, the
team, Inostly composedof llrose who had previously
worked in the back valley, began rvork on KVl0 this
past summer. Right away importantfinds were made.
The depositsin the torrb's entrancepassagewere indeed
flood debris. Perhapsappropriately,neartlte top was a
typed menu for a banquetheld in 1923, shortly after
Tutankhamun'stomb was opened. On the back were
notesin what may be the handwritingof Howard Caner
or one of his contemporaries.A srnallcacheof objects
frorn the burial of Seti I (ust up the hill) was also found
in the entrance.Theseitemsmay havebeenwashedinto
the tomb of Amenmesseby floods or possibly left by
robbers who paused here to sort their treasureand
durnpedunwanteditems. Many centurieslater,perhaps
Howard Carter sat in the same spot writing notesand
debatingwhat to do with tlre contentsof Tut,s tomb
acrossthe path.
More impoftantthan tltese incidentalintrusionsis the
infonnation gleaned from the walls of tlte entrance
l6
passage.Near the front, the decorationsare completely
missing. Perhaps "destroyed" is the correct word
because,on inspection, it is clear that both the
hieroglyphsand the figures of the gods themselveshad
beenchiseledfrom the walls. In ancientEgypt,suchan
undefiaking would normally have been regarded as
religioussacrilege.This is very puzzling,sincemuch
work would be required to remove the yards of
decoration. Yet this was done carefully and
deliberately,r'ightin the centerof a holy site rvhichwas
guardedby civil and religious authorities. The only
tirle such destructionwas permitted in ancient Egypt
was when the alterationsreplacedone holy effigy with
one of equalsanctity.
of paintedplaster
In the deblis in the passage,tlrousands
rnay well be
found.
These
have
beetr
cliips of all sizes
the remains of painted plaster decorationrvhich rvas
applied to the walls after tlre original decorationrvas
removed with chisels. In fact, traces of plasterwere
found overlying the chiseled surface of the walls
Anotherpuzzle is the fact that in a few placesthe u'all
was rci chiseled -- just where the name Amenmesse
appeared.This suggestsrespect tbr the metnory of
Amenmesse.
FLnlherback, intact plasterwas found on the \\'allswith
images,titles, and narnesof two otherrviseunknown
women: Great Royal Wife Baketwerel and Queen
Mother Takat. Wilkinson suggestedthat, while there is
at presentno direct evidencefor the relationshipofthese
women with a specific king. it is not impossiblethat
tlrey were the wife and mother of Alnenmesse One
imageshorvsBaketwerelmaking a gestureof respectto
Osiris. 'l-his is inappropriate:mofials shottld make a
But, if
gestLrreof glorification towards a god.
justthe
wife
of
Baketwerelwere the
deceased Ameumesse, tlte gesture
becones appropriate, or at least
since Osiris is
cornprelrerrsible.
actually her husband who becalne
Osirisupon his death.
to a burial here,the possiblesecondaryburials(at least)
must have been robbed. Wilkinson wonderedif tomb
objects of Baketwerel or Takat lay unidentified and
in museumsaroundthe world.
unappreciated
at the time of the secondburial in the tomb,
Presumably,
the back of the tomb, still containing the burial of
would havebeensealedoff beforeconvertArnenmesse.
ing the front of the tornb for the new occupant(s).The
most obvions and mundanereasonfor doing so being
simply to protect the valuable tomb contents. It is
certain that the tomb was prepared for the burial of
Amenmesse,since royal tombs were never decorated
until the king died. The decorationswere appliedduring
the lengthy period (70 days) of ritual and
mumnrificationfollowing death. There is evidencefrom
other tombs that the tomb contentswere installedeven
as the decorationwas underway. Its seemsodd that the
oharaohs never saw tlteir own tombs decorated.
Properlyspeaking,no pharaohwould have ever seena
decoratedtomb,exceptthat of his predecessor!
The Arizona Expedition's excavation this year has
proceededa good distanceinto the tomb but lias yet to
reachthe secondpillaredhall or burial chamber,if such
exists-- following the analogywith other tombs of the
stilJ
period. A wall of debris,nearlyfilling the passage,
confrontsthe excavators.
Wilkinson finally presented a scenario which he
describedas an interestingpossibility -- one among
many until more is known of the history of the tomb.
Amenmessehad KVl0 preparedfor his burial, and lie
may have been buried in the tornb accordingto plan.
of the tomb were reSometimelater,the outer passages
prepared
for
the
burial of the royal
decoratedand
uomen, Takal rnd Brketuerel.
possibly the rnother and wife of
Amenmesse,perhapsafter blocking
the inner part of the tomb. At an
unknown later date, parl or all of
the tomb may havebeenrobbedand
'fhe opened
clearedof its contents.
tomb passagesgraduallyfilled rvith
flood debrisover the centuries.
Wilkinson thoughtit possiblethat the
tomb was refront of Arnenrnesse's
usedthe for burial of one or both of
thesewomen. The original decorated
wall would lrave been chiseled.
plastered.and repaintedto sltow tlle
name(s)of the new occupant(s),an
essential pad of a proper burial.
o! boi'|, hlue sto.rd conryositionw\rc.
Sinceno objectshave yet beenfound Inside
,11
uset D', ev Xn,gdo"L
^"
in the tomb that are definitely related
t1
rhc British
Much hard work rernains for
Wilkinson and his colleaguesof the
Arizona Expedition as they
continuetheir exciting excavations
in KV10. The ESSwishesthem tlte
bestof luck!
November 1993
HOUSEOF SCROLLS
M$"$
€e
EXHIBIT REVIEW
MUMMIES: THE EG\?TIAN ART OFDEATH
Reviewed by Harriette Peters
ABOUT THE REVIEWER: Haruiette Peters is one of
otu' long-distancenrenbers -Jiont New Jersey. Even so,
she has ntanaged to be quite actiNe in the ESS.
Haffiette, y,ho Jinances contntercial reul estale Jbr
Anchor Savings Bank, becante obsessetl v,ith ancient
Egy-pton her Jirst trip there in 1986. She became a
menber o/ ARCE and eventually hooked up y,ith sonte
ESSmembersat one of their conferences. Hariette was
one oJ the lecturers at the Pyranid Syntposiumand hos
parlicipated in other Pyramitl Study Group actiyities
incltrding their research trips to Egypl!
Mtmmties: The Eg,ptian Art O;fDeath
August7, 1993- January31,1994
SanAntonio Museumof Afi
MuseumHours:l0:00 AM - 5:00PM, M-S
Noon-5:00PM on Sunday,
closesat 9:00 PM on Tuesdays
Adrrission:$4.00
Phone:(210)978-8I00
While on a recentbusinesstrip to SanAntonio, I had the
opportunityto visit this show and believethat it will be
of particular interest to mernbersof tlre ESS. This
exhibit is a clear demonstrationof how a regional
i.lluseutrcan pLrlltogether a thematic exhibit utilizing
both its owl resoltrcesas rvell asjudicious borrowingof
works fron otlrer rruseumsand individLrals
aroundthe
country. The end result, while 1]awed.coritair'ts
sotne
fascinatingpieces on a scale not norrnally available
outside of Philadelphia, Boston, New York-, arici
C hicago.
Tlre show, which contains well over 300 pieces, is
arranged in chronological order beginning with a
reconstructed Pre-Dynastic, Naqada II burial pit.
November1993
Although the body is not real. thc pots and other
artifactsare! The Old Kingdom is well represented
rvith
pots, "models" of a rorving ship. rvonderfulbas-relieJ
fragmentsand a ntoderndoubleserdab(ed. note: srrall,
sealedchamberfor tlte statueof the personfor r.vhorn
the tomb or pyrarnid was built) containingstatuesof
Nakht-Sas(from the Brooklyn Museum) and a scribe.
SesharnNefer II. Middle Kingdom objects include
anhydrite and amethyst cosmetic jars and a rvell
preserveomummy case.
If anyhing, the period leastrepresentedin the slrolvis
the one best known to studentsof ancientEgypt - the
New Kingdom. The ore exceptionto this is a collectiorr
of objects from Deir el Medina, most notably a
tnarvelousdouble statue of Sennedjerrand his son
Khonsuholdinga stele.
Most surprising is an extensive collection of Third
IntermediatePeriod objects including a set of unique
canopicjars. Although internaJorgausrvereburiedwith
the body duringthis peliod,carropic.jar.s
rverefashioned
for the burial to honor tradition, Thesejars, however,
are solid rvith lines drawn where the openingswould
normallybe found.
'flrere is ample representation
of Nubian objects,most
notablytwo particularlyfine ushabtisof King Taharqa.
Members of the Mummy Study Group rvould be
especially interestedin the two Third Intermediate
Period and one Late Period mumnty cases, some
rvrappedrrurrrnified birds, and a modernre-creationof
u wrrpperl Il)Un))) cLJr)taiDiltg
iltr acluJl layoUt of
originalamuletsas they woLrldbe placedon a body prior
to bLrrial.
The flnal display,Ient by the Detroit Instituteof Afts, is
an open mummy casecontainingthe pitiful remainsof
Tai-Beset. Tlre rnuntrnyis not in very good condition.
However"viewing this display serves to personalize.
mostgraphically.the cntire exhibit, as one perceivesthe
EgyptianArt of Deathas excmplifiedby tlteseoncealltoo-humanrenrains.
AII ol the ob.jects in this shorv are uuique and
intercsting. llowever the exhibit caLtscsa ceftain
anrountof liustrationin tlvo particularareas:
J. Many itemsthat u,crc labeleddid not include
their provenance
(point of origin) in Egypt. This,
in part. nray be due to the fact that many have
been lent by individuals who rray have had no
t8
access
to this inforrnation.
2. More frrjstrating',r'erethe manl'caseslvhich
containedno identificationwhatsoever. The
exhibithad beenopenfor trvo weeksb1'thetime
I visited and this seemed inexcusable,
particularlywhenI foundan entirestackof labels
llad
sittingon top ofone ofthe casesl Somebody
donethework to thispoint...in
vain!
I heartilyrecommend
this
Despitethesereservations,
showbecause
of tlie qualityand varietyof tlre objects
displayed;
they includemany from periodswhich are
not normallyaccessible.SanAntoniois a wonderful
destination
in itseli and this exhibitprovidesan extra
bonus.
A brief note abofi the San Antonio Museum of Art
(SAMA):
In addition to this exhibit, SAMA has
pennanentcollectionsof Chineseand Asian art, Greek
and Ronran antiquities. Spanish Colonial and Latin
Americanfolk afi. and various paiuting galleries. The
museumhas a small gift shop but no cafeteria. lt is
housedin a striking,renovatedbrewerya bit northofthe
centercity ("Alamo land") and any visit would requirea
car or taxi. The surroundingneighborhoodis rather
undistinguished
althoughyou will be greetedby many
yelps and howls from the inhabitantsof the Humane
Society facility located directly across from the
entrance.
THE DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
2001ColoradoBlvd.
Denver,CO 80205
EGYPTIAN
ST UD Y
SOCIE T Y
November1993