studi di egittologia e di papirologia

Transcription

studi di egittologia e di papirologia
STUDI DI EGITTOLOGIA E DI PAPIROLOGIA
E DI PAPIROLOGIA
Rivista internazionale
3 · 2006
PISA · ROMA
ISTITUTI EDITORIALI E POLIGRAFICI INTERNAZIONALI
MMVII
3 · 2006
issn 1724-6156
issn elettronico 1824-7326
STUDI DI EGITTOLOGIA
STUDI DI EGITTOLOGIA
E DI PAPIROLOGIA
Rivista internazionale
Rivista annuale
diretta da
Mario Capasso
Comitato scientifico
Anna Angeli · Graziano Arrighetti · Roger Bagnall · Guido Bastianini
Marilina Betrò · Alain Blanchard · Luisa Bongrani · Edda Bresciani
Antonio Carlini · Sergio Daris · Paola Davoli · Didier Devauchelle
Nicolas Grimal · Salima Ikram · Jean Leclant · Wolfgang Luppe
Franco Maltomini · Marie Hélène Marganne · Bernadette Menu
Georges Nachtergael · Roberto Nicolai · Tito Orlandi
Paolo Radiciotti · Mauro Tulli
STUDI DI EGITTOLOGIA
E DI PAPIROLOGIA
Rivista internazionale
3 · 2006
PISA · ROMA
ISTITUTI EDITORIALI E POLIGRAFICI INTERNAZIONALI
MMVII
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SOMMARIO
Serena Ammirati, Claudio Biagetti, Paolo Radiciotti, Storia e geografia dell’alfabetismo in
Grecia. Alle origini di un fenomeno
9
Francesca Angiò, Il nuovo Posidippo (2005)
31
Francesca Angiò, Integrazioni in papiri attribuiti a Cherilo di Samo (POxy 2524, fr. 1, 11, col. i; fr.
8, 2; PMichael 5, col. i [B], 23 e 28; POxy 2814, 6, 22, 29)
51
Marco Bergamasco, Orfani e didaskalikai: il caso di SB xiv 11588
55
Mario Capasso, Per l’itinerario della papirologia ercolanese. i.
61
Sergio Daris, Frustoli letterari
77
Paola Davoli, Nahla Mohammed Ahmed, On some Monuments from Kiman Fares (Medinet elFayyum)
81
Yannick Durbec, Le chant des rossignols: contribution à l’établissement du texte de Posidippe, Epigr. 37, v. 5 (PMilVogl viii 309, col. vi 22)
111
Margherita Erbì, PRain i 25 riconsiderato
113
Luis Arturo Guichard, Posidipo y los prodigios. Una interpretación de PMilVogl viii 309
121
Wolfgang Luppe, Zum neuen Lysias-Papyrus POxy 4716: ajpologiva dwrodokiva" § 4 und § 7 f.
135
Maria Iride Pasquali, Riflessioni su alcune colonne istoriate rinvenute in Nubia
137
Natascia Pellé, Rotoli e scribi in Grecia e a Roma. i.
145
Amarillis Pompei, A proposito del frammento di Stele del re Amanikhabale (Khartoum 522)
165
Enzo Puglia, La lira, il delfino, gli usignoli (Posidippo, Epigr. 37 A.-B.)
175
Enzo Puglia, Platone in vendita a Egina nella Storia dell’Academia (PHerc 1021, coll. ii 38-iii 17) 181
Martin Andreas Stadler, Isis würfelt nicht
187
Onofrio Vox, Di`a gunhv : Stesich. 222 (B), 232 PMGF ; Call., H. 5,97 e 103 ; Posidipp., Epigr. 56, 2
205
A.-B.
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Paola Davoli · Nahla Mohammed Ahmed
ON SOME MONUMENTS FROM KIMAN FARES
(MEDINET EL-FAYYUM)
I
Introduction
n 1887 Kiman Fares was a wide archaeological area of about 2.4 × 2.2 km that
spread north of Medinet el-Fayyum and
contained the ruins of the great temple of
Sobek, some late cemeteries and part of the
old town (Shedet, Krokodilopolis, Arsinoe). 1
It was delimited to the south by the modern
town and Bahr Yussuf, to the east by the Bahr
Tirsa, to the west by the Bahr es-Sauwieh and
to the north by cultivated land (Pl. i). After the
great expansion of Medinet el-Fayyum during
the 1960s and 1970s, the archaeological area
almost disappeared under new residential and
administrative districts (Pls. ii-iii). In fact, only
five areas still survive under the control of the
Supreme Council of Antiquities. 2 They are
known as « the temple of Ramses ii » (29° 19’
38.4’’ N, 30° 50’ 08.3’’ E ; Area 1) (Pl. iv), 3 « Kiman Fares » or « the temple of Ptolemy » (29°
19’ 22.2’’ N, 30° 49’ 58.9’’ E ; Area 2) (Pl. v), « the
small bath » (29° 19’ 32.0’’ N, 30° 49’ 47.8’’ E ;
Area 3) (Pl. vi), « the great bath » (29° 19’ 17.8’’ N,
30° 49’ 48.8’’ E ; Area 4) (Pl. vii) and « the temple of Amenemhat iii » (29° 19’ 14.2’’ N, 30° 50’
08.0’’ E ; Area 5) (Pl. viii). 4 The last area is now
situated inside the enclosure of the University
of Medinet el-Fayyum, and the monuments
studied in this article are stored in it, not far
from the granite columns of Amenemhat iii.
long to Ramses ii and another dates back to
Amenemhat i.
No. 1. Group statue of Amenemhat i and Bastet
(Pls. ix-xiii)
Rose granite ; height 70 cm, width 81 cm, thickness 73 cm.
Throne : height 49 cm, width 81 cm, thickness
54 cm.
Several statues and architectural elements were
collected in area 5 in 1996 to prevent their deterioration due to the soil humidity that affects
the lower areas of the town. Four of them be-
Fragmentary statue representing the king
Amenemhat i and a woman sitting on a throne.
The base of the statue, the feet and the bodies
of the two figures are missing ; only the throne
and the legs are preserved. The king wears a
striped shendyt-kilt and holds, in his right hand,
a short strip of linen, only partially preserved
on the thigh. On his left sits a woman wearing
a long and tight dress, holding a long ribbon of
linen that falls along the left side of the statue.
According to the inscription, she may be the
goddess Bastet. 5
On the right and left sides of the throne, the
classical sma-tawy motif with heraldic plants
is carved in a small panel surrounded by a
cornice. The same motif is surely carved on
the back of the throne, but it is only partially
preserved as the surface has been badly damaged by humidity. The upper part of the sma
sign is preserved, and on both its sides two
columns of hieroglyphs are carved but barely
legible. On the four columns the beginning
of the recitation formula dd-mdw dj.n.(j) n.k
is still legible.
On the front side of the throne three columns
of hieroglyphs are only partially preserved.
At the right side of the king :
1 G. Schweinfurth, Zur Topographie der Ruinenstätte des
alten Schet (Krokodilopolis-Arsinoë), « Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde » 22 (1887), pp. 54-88 ; P. Davoli,
L’archeologia urbana nel Fayyum di età ellenistica e romana,
Napoli 1998, pp. 149-159.
2 Recently a new area with a public bath has been returned to SCA Inspectorate.
3 Cf. P. Davoli/Ahmed Abd El-Aal, Un rilievo frammentario di Amenemhat iii a Medinet el-Fayyum, « PLup » 10
(2001), pp. 5-21.
4 We will refer to them as areas 1-5, following the order
above. Some monuments, such as the granite columns of
Amenemhat iii, are no longer in situ but were transferred
by the Inspectorate for various reasons : cf. § 2. These columns were found about 1 km south of the great temple :
L. Habachi, Une “vaste salle” d’Amenemhat iii à Kiman-Farès
(Fayoum), « ASAE » 37 (1937), pp. 85-95.
5 A similar statue in rose granite, representing Amenemhat i sitting on a throne with Sachmet, was found in
the temple of Sesostris i at Tod : M. Seidel, Die königlichen
Statuengruppen. i, Hildesheim 1996, Dok. 34, pp. 71-75, Taf.
25.
1. The monuments (P. Davoli)
82
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
At the left side of the woman :
Between the two :
On the back side of the throne :
ing and the inscription, which was still legible,
carved between the legs of the two figures : a
serekh with the name of Amenemhat i, Wh_mmswt.
In 1887 and 1888 G. Schweinfurth and W. M.
F. Petrie saw the statue in the area in front of
the ruins of the great temple of Sobek, in the
area currently named « the temple of Ramses
ii ». 2 All the legible inscriptions were translated
by A. Erman, who accompanied Schweinfurth
in his exploration of the region : « der gute
Gott, der Herr beider Länder, welcher Leben
und Dauer und Reinheit giebt, wie der Sonnengott. Der von der Bast, Herrin beider Länder,
geliebte. Sohn des Sonnengottes Amenemha ». 3
Erman did not translate the inscription on the
back of the throne nor the third column on the
front side, probably because they were already
poorly preserved at his time.
The statue has been mentioned in recent
publications, but it was “lost” since Petrie’s
time and nobody examined it directly. For this
reason it was misinterpreted as a group with
Amenemhat i and Sobek. 4
No. 2. Statue of Ramses ii (Pls. xiv-xvii)
Red granite ; height 180 cm, width 78 cm, thickness 107 cm.
Throne : height 93 cm, width 78 cm, thickness
77 cm.
Back pillar : height 55 cm, width 34 cm.
Fragmentary statue of Ramses ii sitting on a
throne. The head, the forearms and part of
the legs and feet are missing. The king wears a
striped shendyt-kilt, with the bull tail still visible
between legs, the nemes headdress and the usekh
collar. On the belt is the name of the king :
K. R. Lepsius saw this statue lying in a street
during his visit to Medinet el-Fayyum (28th
May-22nd June 1843). He published 1 a draw-
The surface of the lower part of the statue has
been damaged by humidity and the inscriptions
are only partially legible. The text is carved on
the back pillar and on the throne. What is still
legible is the titulary of Ramses ii : the serekh
on the back of the throne is one of the variants used by the king and can be read as Ka
nht wr-ph_tj. 5
Æ
On
the front side of the throne, near the
right leg :
1 K. R. Lepsius, Denkmäler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien,
Leipzig 1904, Text ii p. 30 ; Abth. ii Bl. 118 e-f ; H. Gauthier,
Le livre des rois d’Egypte, i, Le Caire 1907, p. 259 § xx.
2 Schweinfurth, Zur Topographie cit., p. 76, No. 10 on
Taf. 2 ; W. M. F. Petrie, Hawara, Biahmu, and Arsinoe, London 1889, p. 56.
3 Schweinfurth, Zur Topographie cit., p. 76.
4 Seidel, Die königlichen Statuengruppen cit., Dok. 35,
pp. 76-77 Abb. 17 ; E. Hirsch, Kultpolitik und Tempelbauprogramme der 12. Dynastie, Berlin 2004, Dok. 42, p. 18.
5 Cf. J. von Beckerath, Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen, Mainz am Rhein 1999, p. 153 H 9 ; KRI, ii, p. 424, 3.
Translation :
« 1. The [good] god, lord [of the Two Lands]
Sehotepibra, given [life forever].
2. Son of Ra Amenemhat beloved by Bastet
mistress of the Two Lands.
3. [Horo Uhem-mesut] ».
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
83
No. 3. Statue of Ramses ii (Pls. xviii-xxi)
Red granite ; height 109 cm, width 61 cm, thickness 108 cm.
Back pillar : height 47 cm, width 23 cm.
On the front side of the throne, near the left
leg :
Fragmentary statue of Ramses ii sitting on
a throne. Its lower part, beginning from the
knees, is completely lost, along with the head,
the right arm and the left forearm. The king
wears a striped shendyt-kilt, the nemes and the
usekh collar. The only inscriptions still preserved are those on the belt and on the back
of the throne. The back pillar ends in a trapezoidal shape.
On the belt :
On the back side of the throne :
On the right side of the throne :
On the left side of the throne :
On the back pillar :
On the back side of the throne :
1 According to the register of SCA office in Medinet elFayyum (cf. § 2), we can rule out the possibility that the
monument may be one of the two fragments of a black
No. 4. Statue probably of Ramses ii (Pl. xxii)
Red granite ; height ca. 100 cm, width 50 cm,
thickness ca. 66 cm.
Fragmentary statue similar to nos. 2 and 3,
representing a king, probably Ramses ii, sitting on a throne, wearing a shendyt-kilt. The
monument is badly damaged : the upper part
of it, beginning from the waist, is lost and the
legs are almost completely gone. The surface
is exfoliate. Weak traces of the king’s protocol
are visible on the sides of the throne.
No. 5. Stela of Ramses ii (Pls. xxiii-xxvi)
Black granite ; height 130 cm, width 136 cm,
thickness 78 cm.
Part of a monument of Ramses ii cut to be
reused.1 A number of wedges holes are well
recognisable on the back side of the block. The
bottom and the left side of the block are original and not reworked.
The block should have been part of a monumental stela set in the great temple of Sobek in
Shedet. Inscriptions and part of a lightly carved
scene are visible on the only polished side that
is still preserved.
The surviving portion is the upper left corner
of an offering/praying scene. It is surrounded
by hieroglyphic inscriptions organized in one
row and two columns. Only the last two figures
granite stela found in this area by L. Habachi in 1937 : L.
Habachi, A Strange Monument of the Ptolemaic Period from
Crocodilopolis, « JEA » 41 (1955), p. 107. Another black gran-
84
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
of the scene are preserved. They are standing,
looking to the right with raised arms in a praying position in front of a god or a king. The
figure on the right is a woman wearing a long,
transparent robe with wide sleeves and a ribbon
that falls on the back from the neck. A rounded
earring comes out from the short wig. On the
wig is a crown composed by a vulture crowned
with the solar disk and with open wings outstretched forward. The second figure is a male
wearing a long robe and/or a long mantle, with
a pointed cap. 1
The scene and what remains of the texts have
strong parallels with those of the “first Hittite
marriage of Ramses ii”, known from the Abu
Simbel stela (Pl. xxvii).2 On it the Hittite king
Hattusilis iii presents his daughter to Ramses
ii in his 34th regnal year. The Hittite king and
his daughter, Maathorneferure, are represented
in the same way, but reversed. Ramses ii sits in
front of them and between two gods, under
a light pavilion. The scene is bordered by the
king’s titulature and is topped by the winged
solar disk. Stelae of Ramses’ Hittite marriage
were surely present in the most important temples of the country, but only five of them are
preserved in whole or in part : one was engraved
on the south face of the east tower of the ix pylon in Karnak; another was placed on the south
wall of the outer court of Amarah West temple.
Some blocks in Elephantine and Serra West also
have parts of the text. The scene is completely
preserved only on the Abu Simbel stela.
Translation
Horizontal inscription on the top of the
scene : 3
« He of Behedet, great god, with dappled plumage, who comes forth from the horizon ».
Inscription on two columns on the left side of
the scene : 4
« 1. Horus, strong bull, beloved of Maat, King
ite monument dated to the 35th regnal year of Ramses ii
was found at Kiman Fares and then moved to the Cairo
Egyptian Museum in 1910 ( JE 42783) : cf. Gauthier, Le livre
des rois cit., iii, Le Caire 1914, p. 44 no. xxxi ; KRI, ii, p. 398,
§ 145 ; RITANC, ii, p. 258 ; RITA, ii, pp. 226-227. A big limestone slab of the Ramesside Period found in Kiman Fares
entered the Cairo Museum in 1909 : A. E. P. Weigall, Miscellaneous Notes, « ASAE » 11 (1911), p. 172 § 6.
1 It has been identified as a « bonnet phrygien » : C.
Kuentz, La « stèle du mariage » de Ramsès ii, « ASAE » 25
(1925), p. 187.
2 The main records of this event are five stelae : cf. KRI,
ii, pp. 233-256, § 66 ; Kuentz, La « stèle du mariage » cit., pp.
181-238.
3 Cf. “stela of Abu Simbel”, right of the solar disc : KRI,
[of Upper and Lower Egypt]
2. […] Lord of Crowns Ramses Meriamon beloved by Sobek of Shedet […] ».
According to the dimensions and the shape of
Medinet el-Fayyum block we can suggest that
this stela might have been about 3 m wide and it
was carved directly into a wall built with black
granite blocks. The surviving block was part of
the upper left corner of the stela. The type of
stone employed suggests that the stela was not
engraved on a wall, but probably on a gate. If
this was the case, the stela should have been on
its right side, according to the direction of the
scene. Its position and orientation are similar
to that of the stela on the east tower, right of
the door, on the ix pylon in Karnak. On the
west tower a symmetric stela was engraved,
but it is nearly illegible.
Three other black granite blocks of Ramses ii
were found in Kiman Fares. 5 The first one ( JE
42783) was sent by G. Lefebvre 6 to the Cairo
Egyptian Museum in 1910 along with many
other objects collected in Kiman Fares and
the Fayyum. It bears the beginning of the first
two lines of a text dated to year 35, 1st month
of Peret. According to K. A. Kitchen, 7 it was
probably part of a monument set in the Sobek
main temple. Its date is close to that of the
“Blessing of Ptah” celebrated on stelae, which
opening text does not correspond with the one
preserved on Kiman Fares block JE 42783.
The other two black granite blocks were
found near the columns of Amenemhat iii.
L. Habachi refers to them in 1955 as « two fragments of a stela of Ramses ii in grey granite ». 8
One of these was probably seen by S. Donadoni in 1964 in Kiman Fares near the columns
of the temple. 9 The text has been recognized
by Donadoni as part of the last lines of the
“Blessing of Ptah” stela. According to the dimensions of the lines and the hieroglyphs he
ii, p. 233 ; Kuentz, La « stèle du mariage » cit., p. 185.
4 Cf. “stela of Karnak” : KRI, ii, p. 234 (left margin) ;
Kuentz, La « stèle du mariage » cit., p. 186.
5 Cf. above note 1 p. 83.
6 G. Lefebvre was chief Inspector of Middle Egypt
in 1905-15. On some stelae from Kiman Fares cf. G. Lefebvre, Egypte Gréco-Romaine, « ASAE » 9 (1908), pp. 231242 ; « ASAE » 10 (1910), pp. 155-162. I could not see the
monument as it is recovered in the Sous Sol of the Museum.
7 Cf. RITANC, ii, p. 258.
8 Habachi, A Strange Monument cit., p. 107.
9 S. Donadoni, Un frammento di stele ramesside dai Kiman Fares, in J. Cervelló Autuori-A. J. Quevedo Álvarez (eds.), …ir a buscar leña. Estudios dedicados al prof. Jesús
López, Barcelona 2001, pp. 99-102.
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
suggests that the stela might have been more
than 3 m high. Moreover, the orientation of the
text suggests as its original position the opposite side of stela no. 5.
2. A short history of the
archaeological excavations
(Nahla Mohammed Ahmed)
85
xxxvi-xxxvii) ; the second one was built with
limestone blocks and has been dated to the
Ptolemaic period (Pls. xxxviii-xl) ;
4. ruins of a large Roman bath south of Kiman (Pl. xli) ; 3
5. ruins of a Roman bath north of Kiman
(Pl. xlii). 4
The archive of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Medinet el-Fayyum stores a series of
registers, letters, documents and photographs
about excavations in the region. Some interesting data on the history of the archaeological
exploration of Kiman Fares can be collected
and summarised.
The records begin from 1960. In that time the
area suffered from sebbakhin activity and some
unscientific excavations carried out by scholars
from secondary schools who removed the dust
and a great quantity of pottery sherds from the
surface. 1 The excavations attempted to determine which areas were free from ancient buildings and thus available for development.
In 1963 some architectonic elements, a red
granite grinding stone, some terracotta statuettes and some vases were found during the
excavation of a channel next to the railway,
south of the Kiman. Among these finds were
two limestone blocks (ca. 20 × 14 cm) inscribed
with hieroglyphs mentioning the god Sobek
and a limestone statue of the goddess Toeris.
In 1964 the chief Inspector of El-Fayyum sent
a general report on the situation of the antiquities in the Kiman Fares to the central office of
the SCA (Pls. xxviii-xxxi). A series of buildings
and monuments brought to light by the students are listed in this report :
1. ruins of a temple with some blocks of
granite in the north-east of Kiman (Pl. xxxii) ;
2. two statues in red granite showing Ramses ii seated on a throne, south of the aforementioned temple (Pls. xxxiii-xxxv) ;
3. ruins of two temples east of Kiman : the
first one was built with limestone and granite blocks and referring to Amenemhat iii (Pls.
An Italian mission also spent the 1964 season
in the Kiman. 5
The Inspectorate of El-Fayyum organised
excavations in 1965 and 1966, during which
some areas of the Kiman were explored. In
the north, near the temple (Area 1), some architectonic elements were discovered. One of
them, a granite block with reliefs and inscriptions bearing the name of Amenemhat iii and a
scene with the god Sobek is still visible on site. 6
In the west of the Kiman another ancient bath
was discovered. After the excavation of some
trenches throughout the archaeological area,
the Inspectorate stated that the Kiman Fares
area was free from antiquities and that it could
be used for new buildings and construction.
In 1968, after a visit by a committee, the SCA
decided that only two areas of the Kiman Fares
had to be protected : one with the columns of
Amenemhat iii (originally a wide Area 2) and
another with granite blocks near the original
site of the temple (Area 1). For this reason it
was decided to move all the monuments within these two areas.
In 1970 the local Inspectorate decided to define more distinctly the areas under the SCA
protection within five areas : “Ramses ii temple” 50 × 50 m (Area 1) ; “Ptolemaic temple”
(Area 2) ; “small bath” 50 × 13 m (Area 3) ; “large
bath” 50 × 50 m (Area 4) ; “Amenemhat iii temple” 100 × 100 m (Area 5).
In June 1981 a black granite block of Ramses ii was found during a building project of
the Governatorate in the Kiman area. It bears
the name of the king and a scene with two
praying figures (cf. stela no. 5).
In 1982 a building contractor found two “pieces” of limestone with hieroglyphic inscription
1 Both the activities were legal and the excavations
were organised by the Governatorate under the supervision of El-Fayyum Inspectorate.
2 Cf. J. Leclant, Fouilles et travaux en Egypte et au Sudan,
1965-1966, « Orientalia » 36 (1967), p. 191 § 18, Figs. 21-23.
3 An unknown number of baths were found in Kiman
Fares at different times and at present it is extremely difficult to identify them with the extant ruins : Foad Yacoub,
A Private Bath Discovered at Kîmân-Fâris, Fayûm, « ASAE » 60
(1968), pp. 55-56, Pls. i-iv ; Abd El-Mohsen El-Khachab,
TA SARAPEIA à Sakha et au Fayum, Le Caire 1978, pp.
65-96, Pls. 55-59, Plan iii, Fig. 2 p. 78.
4 Foad Yacoub, A Private Bath cit.
5 A scientific report has never been published : J.
Leclant, Fouilles et travaux en Egypte et au Sudan, 1964-1965,
« Orientalia » 35 (1966), pp. 139-140 ; M. Manfredi, Scavi in
Egitto, « A&R » NS 10 (1965), pp. 93-95 ; S. Bosticco, Scavi
dell’Istituto Papirologico “G. Vitelli” ad Arsinoe (Kîmân Fares),
in Atti del Convegno Internazionale “Archeologia e papiri nel
Fayyum”, Siracusa 1997, pp. 285-287.
6 Published in Davoli/Ahmed Abd El-Aal, Un rilievo
frammentario cit.
86
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
bearing the name of Ramses ii. 1 A fragmentary limestone statue of a sitting woman (the
head and shoulders are lost) was also found by
a guard. It measures 95 × 70 × 44 cm and bears
a hieroglyphic inscription on the right side of
the base.
On 22nd June 1982 the Inspectorate collected the statues spread in the various areas and
moved them inside the Area 2 precinct.
A new Roman bath was discovered on 17th
December 1984 in an area North-West of the
Kiman by the Roda Company.
In 1985 a new season of excavations was carried out by Inspector Samia Aid Khalil in Area
5, near the columns of Amenemhat iii and west
of the Faculty of Agriculture. A Roman bath
with pipes and some coins were discovered.
In 1986 a new report on the general situation
of the Kiman was written by the local Inspectorate. Here the monuments are listed according to the area in which they were kept.
Area 1 : a basalt monument called “Ramses
stela” with inscriptions and reliefs (117 × 150 ×
49 cm) ; 2 a granite block with Amenemhat iii
inscriptions (220 × 235 × 65 cm) ; 3 a granite architectonic element with inscriptions (65 × 60
× 60 cm) ; two fragments of limestone columns
(ø 50 cm, h 100 cm) ; a limestone grinding stone
(75 cm).
Area 2 : a granite statue of Ramses ii on a base
(h 173 cm ; base 76 × 76 cm) (cf. statue no. 2) ; a
granite statue of Ramses ii (108 cm) (cf. statue
no. 3) ; a granite statue of two people (man and
woman) (h 70 cm, base 83 × 44) (cf. statue no.
1) ; a huge statue of granite (155 × 105 × 45 cm) ;
6 granite columns (ø 50-80 cm, h 90-160 cm) ; 5
limestone columns (ø 40-70 cm, h 75-125 cm) ;
some uninscribed granite blocks ; a sandstone
chair with inscriptions (95 × 65 × 65 cm).
Area 4 : a limestone coffin (200 × 100 × 50 cm)
(Pl. xliii) ; bases of two granite columns (95 ×
75 × 70 cm ; 85 × 65 × 70 cm).
Area 5 : two fragments of granite columns
(225 × 80 cm ; 125 × 80 cm) ; 13 columns (ø 70,
h 300) ; 5 limestone blocks (125 × 80 × 70 cm) ;
some objects and fragments of monuments
under the surface.
On 5 July 1991 a committee of Inspectors and
Engineers from El-Fayyum and El-Haram In-
spectorates removed some monuments from
Kiman to the storehouse of Karanis, following
the agreement of the SCA permanent committee of 26th Aug. 1986. The monuments removed were : fragments of limestone columns
with hieroglyphic inscriptions (ø 52 cm, h 102
cm ; ø 52 cm, h 104 cm) ; a fragmentary limestone statue of a seated woman (h 96 cm, base
88 × 44 cm). 4
In July 1991 concrete enclosure walls replaced
the wire fences around the five archaeological
areas of the Kiman.
During a clearance of the Kiman that took
place between 4th and 27th September 1994 some
objects were found, including amulets (Bes and
Amon), bronze coins, a bronze statuette of a
dog, 22 pottery lamps and a small bowl.
In 1995 some bronze coins, pottery lamps
and statuettes were found by Inspector Ahmed
Abd el-Aal during his excavations in the west
corner of area 5.
New excavations and clearance took place in
1996 under the supervision of Ahmed Abd elAal. On that occasion some water pipes, a well
built in fired bricks, amphora handles and coins
were found. 5
On 5th September 1996 a committee of Inspectors and Engineers from El-Fayyum and
El-Haram Inspectorates removed some monuments, including the granite columns of Amenemhat iii, the statue of Amenemhat i (cf. statue
no. 1) and 3 granite statues of Ramses ii (cf. statues nos. 2-4), from Area 2 to Area 5, to protect
them from humidity and water. The Ramses ii
stela (cf. stela no. 5) and other elements were
removed from Area 1 and collected in Area 5.
In 2000 a joint Mission of the Faculty of Archaeology of Medinet el-Fayyum University
and the local Inspectorate worked in Area 5.
It explored a sector of 60 × 50 m and brought
to light only some water pipes running northsouth and east-west. Among the objects that
were found they recorded pottery lamps,
bronze coins, terracotta statuettes and two
gold rings (6.64 gr).
1 According to J. Leclant, (Fouilles et travaux en Egypte
et au Sudan, 1982-1983, « Orientalia » 53, 1984, p. 369) a limestone column with the name of Ramses ii was found.
2 It is probably our stela no. 5, but the stone and the
measurements are different.
3 Davoli/Ahmed Abd El-Aal, Un rilievo frammentario cit.
4 This statue was found in 1982.
5 One of the coins was Islamic and dated to Egira
1277.
6 Shedet might have been founded before the First
Dynasty : A. Ćwiek, Fayum in the Old Kingdom, « GM » 160
(1997), p. 18. On Shedet cf. at least : E. Bernand, Recueil des
Conclusion (P. Davoli)
Shedet is one of the most ancient towns in
Egypt and the main one in El-Fayyum region
from the Old Kingdom until today. 6 Many
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
87
monuments of different periods were found in
the past and several of these were found during the building of the actual living blocks in
Medinet el-Fayyum. Most of them are stored
in Cairo Egyptian Museum and in the Karanis
Storehouse. Only parts of these monuments,
statues, statuettes or inscriptions have been
published. The five objects in this article are
all royal monuments and were probably placed
in temples, perhaps in the main temple of Sobek.
A complete dossier and an integrated study
of all the evidence from Kiman Fares have yet
to be done. 1 Such a study would be of great interest and also essential to understand the importance of the town and the region in ancient
times. It would then be possible to undertake
a new study of what is left of Kiman Fares.
Because of the destruction of the archaeological area and the lack of documentation on the
archaeological remains it is very difficult to
have a coherent idea of the ancient town and
its monuments. A reconstruction based on the
poor documentation for this site leaves many
open questions that cannot be solved. The
progressive reductions during the period 19681996 from two wide archaeological areas to five
small spaces under the SCA control caused the
loss of parts of buildings and the transfers of
some monuments from their original sites to
different stores.
The publication of these five monuments is
a small contribution to the history of the town
and its archaeological remains. Unfortunately
we do not know precisely where they were
found and their archaeological contexts. For
this reason, it is not possible to know if they
were part of the same temple or not. It is certain that statue no. 1 (Amenemhat i and Bastet)
found by Lepsius in 1843 was situated, according to Schweinfurth and Petrie, south of the
great temple of Sobek (Area 1). The two statues of Ramses ii nos. 2 and 3 were found in 1964
south of the same temple (Area 1). The three
statues were transferred from their original site
to area 2 in 1982 and then to area 5 in 1996. Stela
no. 5 was casually found in 1981 probably in
or near area 1 since, according to the registers
of El-Fayyum Inspectorate, it was transferred
from area 1 to area 5 in 1996.
As in many other towns in Egypt, the reign
of Ramses ii is well documented by the presence of several monumental statues originally
placed in temples. 2 The fragment of a new
and unknown monumental “Marriage stela”
can be considered as evidence of the important role of Shedet and of its temple at that
time. Its presence in a temple dedicated to the
local town-god Sobek, suggests the existence
of other copies of the same official text in the
main temples spread throughout the country
and not only in the south. The Medinet elFayyum stela does not add any new evidence
to what we know about this historic event from
the other five stelae, but it does show part of
the same scene as the Abu Simbel stela, the
only one which is completely preserved. The
stela was probably set on the right side of a
temple gate and the “Blessing of Ptah” stela,
whose fragments were seen in Kiman Fares, 3
was probably on its left side.
inscriptions grecques du Fayoum. La « Méris » d’Hérakleidès, I,
Leiden 1975, pp. 11-83 ; F. Gomaà, Die Besiedlung Ägyptens
während des Mittleren Reiches, Wiesbaden 1986, pp. 392-396 ;
L. Casarico, Crocodilopolis-Ptolemais Euergetis, in epoca tolemaica, « Aegyptus » 67 (1987), pp. 127-170 ; Ead., La metropoli
dell’Arsinoite in epoca romana, « Aevum » 69 (1995), pp. 69-94 ;
P. Piacentini, Il Fayyum nell’Antico Regno, in Atti del Convegno Internazionale “Archeologia e papiri nel Fayyum” cit.,
pp. 24-27.
une collection privée de Suisse, « BIFAO » 69 (1971), pp. 89-130 ;
L. Sist, Un frammento di statua da Crocodilopoli, « Vicino Oriente » 8/2 (1992), pp. 49-68 ; Davoli/Ahmed Abd El-Aal,
Un rilievo frammentario cit., pp. 15-16 ; Biri Fay, A Deity from
Amenemhat iii’s Temple at Crocodilopolis, « GM » 191 (2002),
pp. 27-34 ; Hirsch, Kultpolitik cit., pp. 18, 57, 84, 119-123 (not
always updated).
2 Cf. A. Roccati, Guerra e pace al tempo di Ramesse, in F.
Pecchioli Daddi-M. C. Guidotti (eds.), Narrare gli eventi.
Atti del convegno degli Egittologi e degli Orientalisti italiani in
margine alla mostra “La Battaglia di Qadesh”, Roma 2005,
pp. 313-315.
3 Donadoni, Un frammento di stele ramesside cit.
1 Many monuments and statues are spread among museums in Europe and the United States. Cf. at least : PM iv,
pp. 98-99 ; H. Wild, Quatre statuettes du Moyen Empire dans
Università degli Studi di Lecce
Supreme Council of Antiquities - Egypt
88
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
Pl. i. Plan of Kiman Fares (1887) from G. Schweinfurth, Zur Topographie cit., Taf. 2.
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
89
Pl. ii. Plan of Medinet el-Fayyum (1933), Survey of Egypt (30/586), 1 :5,000. Kiman Fares were in the encircled area.
90
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
Pl. iii. Plan of Medinet el-Fayyum (2001), Egyptian General Survey Authority, 1 :10,000. Kiman Fares survive in the encircled areas.
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
Pl. iv. Area 1 : “the temple of Ramses ii”, red granite blocks.
Pl. v. Area 2 : “the temple of Ptolemy”.
91
92
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
Pl. vi. Area 3 : “the small bath”.
Pl. vii. Area 4 : “the large bath”.
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
Pl. viii. Area 5 : “the temple of Amenemhat iii”.
Pl. ix. Statue no. 1 : Amenemhat I and Bastet. Frontal view.
93
94
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
Pl. x. Statue no. 1 : Amenemhat i and Bastet. Top view.
Pl. xi. Statue no. 1 : Amenemhat i and Bastet. Right side.
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
Pl. xii. Statue no. 1 : Amenemhat i and Bastet. Left side.
Pl. xiii. Statue no. 1 : Amenemhat i and Bastet. Back side.
95
96
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
Pl. xiv. Statue no. 2 : Ramses ii. Frontal view.
Pl. xv. Statue no. 2 : Ramses ii. Right side.
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
Pl. xvi. Statue no. 2 : Ramses ii. Left side.
Pl. xvii. Statue no. 2 : Ramses ii. Back side.
97
98
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
Pl. xviii. Statue no. 3 : Ramses ii. Front view.
Pl. xix. Statue no. 3 : Ramses ii. Right side.
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
Pl. xx. Statue no. 3 : Ramses ii. Left side.
Pl. xxi. Statue no. 3 : Ramses ii. Back side.
99
100
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
Pl. xxii. Statue no. 4 : probably Ramses ii.
Pl. xxiii. Stela no. 5 : Ramses ii. Front view.
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
Pl. xxiv. Facsimile of the relief (realized on the block).
101
102
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
Pl. xxv. Stela no. 5 : Ramses ii. Detail of the scene.
Pl. xxvi. Stela no. 5 : Ramses ii. Back view.
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
Pl. xxvii. The “first Hittite marriage” stela at Abu Simbel (courtesy of the Oriental Institute
University of Chicago).
Pl. xxviii. View of Kiman Fares (1964) with Inspector M. Hishmet Messiah.
103
104
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
Pl. xxix. View of Kiman Fares (1964).
Pl. xxx. View of Kiman Fares (1964).
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
Pl. xxxi. View of Kiman Fares (1964).
Pl. xxxii. View of Kiman Fares (1964). Ruins of a temple ; granite blocks.
105
106
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
Pl. xxxiii. Statue no. 2 of Ramses ii (1964).
Pl. xxxiv. Statue no. 2 of Ramses ii,
detail (1964).
Pl. xxxv. Statue no. 3 of Ramses ii (1964).
Pl. xxxvi. View of Kiman
Fares (1964). Ruins of a
temple ; granite columns of
Amenemhat iii.
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
Pl. xxxvii. View of Kiman Fares (1964). Ruins of a temple ; limestone and granite blocks.
Pl. xxxviii. View of Kiman Fares (1964). Ruins of the Ptolemaic “temple”.
Pl. xxxix. View of Kiman Fares (1964). Ruins of a Ptolemaic “temple” with Inspector
M. Hishmet Messiah.
107
108
paola davoli · nahla mohammed ahmed
Pl. xl. Ruins of a Ptolemaic “temple” (1964).
Pl. xli. Ruins of a bath (1964).
on some monuments from kiman fares (medinet el-fayyum)
Pl. xlii. Ruins of a bath, detail (1964).
Pl. xliii. Limestone coffin in area 4 (2000).
109