18th Dynasty Research Articles

Steering Gear, Sails, and Hulls for Dating Late Fifth and Sixth Dynasty Egyptian Tombs, and the Invention of the Tiller

Steering Gear, Sails, and Hulls for Dating Late Fifth and Sixth Dynasty Egyptian Tombs, and the Invention of the Tiller

Making plundered spaces sacred again: fragmentation, reorganisation and respect in reused Theban tombs

Textual sources from the Egyptian New Kingdom highlight a societal desire to preserve tombs for life after death, yet extensive architectural renovations and tomb robbing often followed the interment of elite individuals. Rather than posing a threat to conceptions of the afterlife, the author argues that these post-mortem activities were conducted with respect and the intention of forming connections. Using the identification of an unusual ritual structure from the Third Intermediate Period inside the reused Nineteenth Dynasty tomb of Paenmuaset (TT362) at Thebes (Luxor) as a basis, the author explores respect in ever-changing burial spaces as a key feature of tomb reuse.

An Unedited Hieratic Docket Regarding the Travel Expenses of Tutankhamun’s Funeral Procession (Carter 270b)

Summary Based on an unedited hieratic docket from the tomb of Tutankhamun, this article determines financial aspects of royal funeral processions in ancient Egypt. With reference to written sources from the Middle Kingdom, it is concluded that mechanics to safeguard the ritual’s safety included en route cash payments during the 18th Dynasty. As a result, this study advocates caution when it comes to the assessment of looting activities soon after Tutankhamun’s interment in KV 62.

A Prayer to Horus Praising Edfu

Summary The article publishes a hieratic ostracon from the Ramesside Period, now stored in the magazine of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities at Elkab and probably found in (Hagr) Edfu. The text is a prayer to Horus and belongs to the literary genre known as the ‘praises of cities’. The first lines present a close parallel to Ostracon Nakhtmin 87/173, obverse, ll. 1–2, found in Theban Tomb 87; that ostracon bears a prayer to Amun and dates back to Dynasty 18. A comparison of both versions shows how easily such poems could be adapted and how the texts were passed on to later generations. On the Edfu ostracon, the copying work involved either a memory slip or perhaps a deliberate pun.

The Cartonnage of Paysetjenfy (SMDAN 1353) Found in Dra Abu el-Naga

Summary In 2016, the Spanish Mission at Dra Abu el-Naga (hereafter SMDAN), directed by José M. Galán, found eight cartonnage mummy-cases. They were torn into pieces and discovered in the largest shaft and burial chamber of a group of funerary and commemorative structures that are located to the south-west of the open courtyard of the tomb-chapel belonging to Djehuty (TT 11). Built during the late 17th or early 18th dynasties, the shaft and chamber were thoroughly plundered and repeatedly reused over several centuries, especially during the Third Intermediate Period. One of the cartonnages, SMDAN 1353, made for Paysetjenfy, has been selected for a comprehensive analysis of its decoration, including its state of preservation, technique of execution and its textual and iconographic content. A combined study of the archaeological context and the materiality of this artefact, with a search for parallels for its decoration and an investigation into the genealogical and prosopographic information concerning its owner are undertaken. This type of research will help to contextualise this cartonnage within the Theban manufacturing industry of cartonnage cases and the complex social structure of families bearing the highest ranks in the priesthood of Amun during the 22nd dynasty.

Choice Cuts for Khakaura: New Kingdom Captions in the North Chapel of Senwosret III, Dahshur

The paper analyses a group of New Kingdom hieratic ink-written labels added to the Middle Kingdom relief figures of offering bearers in the North Chapel of the pyramid precinct of King Senwosret III of the 12th Dynasty at Dahshur. It applies a close observation of the spatial properties of the secondary epigraphy combined with contexts of the Egyptian written culture. To a large extent, it is a beginning, rather than a fixed and detailed outline, of a more differentiated, location-specific interpretation of secondary texts and figures added to the decoration of various parts of the royal pyramid complexes. The interpretation of this specific scene suggests that the visitors articulated their status alongside a personal involvement with this prestigious site by labelling the offering bearers in order to achieve a purposeful revivification, and an arrogation, of the offering scene performance. [Formula: see text]

Cypriot Fabrics? White Slip Pottery and Élite Linen Clothes of the Late Bronze Age

Abstract In this article we will point to the similarity between the decoration on Cypriot White Slip (WS) I and II pottery and contemporary 15th–14th-century BCE “Syrian” elite garments shown in 18th Dynasty Egyptian tombs. Depiction of men and women in the tombs of Rekhmire (TT100), Sobekhotep (TT63), Menkheperraseneb (TT86), and Anen (TT120) show white clothes decorated with both vertical and horizontal elements, with dotted and wavy additions. Such elements find direct parallels in the WS I decorative “vocabulary.” We will examine the possibility that the Cypriot WS pottery imitates elite linen clothing produced during the international Late Bronze Age, some even on Cyprus, as indicated by the mention of “linen of Alashiya” (gad uru Alašiya) in Hittite inventory texts.

Exploring diachronic variation in discernment politeness in Ancient Egyptian

Abstract In this paper, we investigate evidence of diachronic variation in patterns of Discernment Politeness in letters written in the ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom (c. 2300–2200 bce) and Late Ramesside period (c. 1099–1069 bce). We present examples of requests, information acts and honorifics used in these letters, predominantly those letters sent by subordinates to their superiors, to explore how this relationship dynamic is linguistically indexed. Our evidence shows that throughout the Old and New Kingdoms, communicative acts were regulated by behavioural norms dependent on power structures rather than individual volition, with Power being the most dominant social variable. Finally, we argue that Discernment is a key approach for exploring politeness in texts from ancient Egypt, supporting current research on the topic, and that the approach used here for the ancient Egyptian material has wider applicability for diachronic linguistic analyses of remote civilisations which are highly hierarchical.

From Shamans to Priests of Sekhmet: A Review of the Literature in Search for the Origins of Doctors in Ancient Egypt.

This review suggests that shamans were in charge of the healing process in pre-dynastic Egypt. After the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt by Narmer in 3100 BC, shamans evolved into the Sem priests, who were responsible for the king's health. With the change in Egyptian religion in the fourth dynasty (2613-2494 BC), Ra, the sun god, was revered as the supreme power, replacing the king. The emergence of mass festivities to celebrate Ra led to the priests of Sekhmet in the fifth dynasty (2494-2345 BC) checking the sanitation of bull meat that was provided to the populace in an attempt to avoid infectious epidemics. This seems to be the first recognition that disease might be transmitted from animals to humans. They used medical folklore, incantations, spells, and charms available at the House of Life, previously used by the lector priest. By 2487 BC, the first medical curative procedure was performed by Ni-Ankh-Sekhmet who cured the bleeding of a king's nose.

Discovering manganese-based blacks in the grave goods of Kha and Merit (Egypt, 1450-1400 BCE): Multidisciplinary investigation on use and nature

As part of the “TT8 Project”, several research groups examined the grave goods from the Theban Tomb No. 8 of Kha and his wife Merit who lived during the second half of 18th dynasty and were discovered by the Italian Archaeological Mission led by Ernesto Schiaparelli. Thanks to the collaboration of Egyptologists, conservators, and scientists, numerous state-of-the-art, non-invasive methods were used to examine and characterize the objects found in the tomb.During this comprehensive investigation, for which a fully non-invasive approach was designed, the preliminary results for three polychrome wooden caskets showed the unexpected presence of manganese in the black areas in combination with the carbon black ink also present in the black decorations.In addition to MA-XRF analysis, which allowed for the discovery, an innovative imaging method was applied for faster discrimination of black pigments. This method is based on the optical spectral differences between manganese-based blacks and carbon black in the short-wave infrared – with a maximum difference in the range of 1400–1700 nm – and is comparable to a photograph in terms of acquisition time. By using an InGaAs camera with an interferential long-pass filter of 1400 nm, the images were acquired first on a series of mock-ups and then on the wooden caskets. Using false color imaging representation, the areas painted with manganese black showed a clear red false color, in contrast to the black false color of the areas painted with carbon black. The results are fundamental to understanding whether the use of manganese black could be more widespread than reported in the literature so far.

Egyptian Art in Colonized Nubia: Representing Power and Social Structure in the New Kingdom Tombs of Djehutyhotep, Hekanefer and Pennut

Monumental rock-cut tombs decorated with wall paintings or reliefs were rare in New Kingdom colonial Nubia. Exceptions include the 18th Dynasty tombs of Djehutyhotep (Debeira) and Hekanefer (Miam), and the 20th Dynasty tomb of Pennut (Aniba). The three tombs present typical Egyptian artistic representations and inscriptions, which include tomb owners and their families, but also those living under their direct control. This paper compares the artistic and architectural features of these decorated, monumental rock-cut tombs in light of the archaeological record of the regions in which they were located in order to contextualize art within its social setting in colonized Nubia. More than expressing cultural and religious affiliations in the colony, art seems to have been essentially used as a tool to enforce hierarchization and power, and to define the borders of the uppermost elite social spaces in New Kingdom colonial Nubia.

The Instruction of a Man for His Son in Finland (O. SES 23)

This short article is the publication of a hieratic ostracon (O. SES 23) from the Ramesside Period in the collection of the Finnish Egyptological Society that preserves parts of the title, the exordium, and the first paragraph of The Instruction of a Man for His Son. The provenance and the exact acquisition history of the ostracon are unknown, but indirect evidence suggests that it derives from Deir el-Medina and was acquired in Luxor by the late Professor of Egyptology in Finland, Rostislav Holthoer, in the early 1970s. A textual variant in line three, also attested in another ostracon from Deir el-Medina, suggests that the first paragraph of the composition does not juxtapose the life of a scribe with that of a farmer, as is commonly believed, but instead with that of a soldier. [Formula: see text]

Leaving the “Discomfort” Zone: The Correlation between Politics and New Artistic Practices at the Beginning of the 19th Dynasty

At the end of the Amarna Period, a process of political and religious restoration began. This attempt at recovery went beyond the strictly official, as the Egyptian society seemed to demand a moral reparation. It was a much-needed change that would encompass all aspects of society and it was imperative that the changes be visible. It is for this reason that visual art would be one of the main means of communication. The artistic image was the propaganda necessary to reconstruct historical memory and religious sentiment. This was most evident in the early years of the 19th dynasty, when, in addition, the need to legitimize the new royal lineage was reflected in private tombs. The Egyptian artist used art to visually consolidate these changes, and the owner of the tomb was keen to do so. This article aims to analyze the artistic changes, mainly in the private sphere, that occurred in funerary art in opposition to the religious changes that had been made during the Amarna Period and that were most evident from the reign of Horemheb until the first half of the reign of Ramesses II. Politics and art intermingled at a time when reconstructing the past and the relationship with divinity was an urgent necessity.

Papyrus PM 49.11.1, Dating the Great Tomb Robberies, and the Chronology of the Late 20th Dynasty

Summary The Great Tomb Robbery papyri are a major source of information on the end of the 20th Dynasty. Questioned in year 1 of the Renaissance thieves mention the taking of Medinet Habu by foreign troops, an attack of Hardai in Middle Egypt by the Viceroy of Kush Panehsi, and a temporary destitution of the High Priest of Amun (HPA), that are unfortunately not dated. The way forward to resolve this uncertainty is to date the thefts themselves since they were contemporaneous. For this we systematically reviewed what we know of the prosopography of the people involved in the thefts and their investigation. The result shows that tombs and temples robberies mostly occurred between the end of the reign of Ramesses IX and the early years of Ramesses XI. In addition, P. PM 49.11.1 mentions an otherwise unattested HPA Nesmut. The consequences of these results on the history of this period are discussed.

Iconographical Study and Semiotic Analysis of Princess Khnumet’s Diadem from the 12th Dynasty, Middle Kingdom

This study identifies unique aspects present in Princess Khnumet’s diadem through a hybrid approach incorporating Van Straten’s four-phase iconographic methodology and semiotics. Van Straten’s first phase identifies the materials, colours, and techniques that are present in Khnumet’s diadem. The second phase deals with the iconographic significance of the colours and motifs on the jewellery piece. The third phase discusses the use of iconographical themes to identify a theme that represented Khnumet’s diadem in its entirety. The fourth phase makes use of the historical, cultural, and social background of the Twelfth Dynasty, Middle Kingdom, to determine the influences that may have affected the design of the jewellery piece. Lastly, the discussion identifies how certain aspects were repeatedly present in Khnumet’s diadem, from which one can deduce how certain themes were predominantly selected. This study thus illustrates that the individual motifs are interconnected to the broader iconographical theme within a jewellery piece.

Evaluation of the historical reconstruction seen in the short story “Akhenaten, Aten and Religion”

The reconstruction of events that happened in the past can be quite a difficult task, especially when there are lots of factors relating to a certain section in history that cannot be controlled at all. For example, archaeological evidence doesn’t have one specific way of interpretation or simply blanks in history. Historical reconstruction can get even more complicated when historical accounts cannot be validated. These can be misleading to those who read history without the evaluation of sources or without researching archaeological evidence that potentially could disprove certain claims. A good example of this is Akhenaten, a unique figure in Egyptian history. Akhenaten, originally called Amenhotep IV, succeeded his father, Amenhotep III, as the tenth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (Dorman, 2018). He is noted for changing the religion, art, and social structure of Egypt dramatically and founding “Atenism,” a completely new kind of religion that focused on the worship of one single god——Aten, characterized as a solar disc, a creator of lives and the chief god of the universe. Due to the peculiarity of the change and the elimination of elements of Egypt’s traditional social and religious order, after his reign, priests and succeeding rulers restored the traditions, destroying his religious architecture and gradually erasing the heretic king from history (Kemp, 2014). Based on how his successors described him, it can be seen that in later times, he was portrayed as a tyrant or a villainous character. However, modern historiography re-evaluates this claim, leading to a debate about the nature of Akhenaten’s new religion and his reign. This essay presents the basic facts of the period and evaluates the reconstruction of Akhenaten’s reign in the form of a short story, “Akhenaten, Aten and Religion,” and uses archaeological evidence.

The Proximity Principle and the Egyptian Levant in the Late 18th Dynasty

The Proximity Principle and the Egyptian Levant in the Late 18th Dynasty

The Kingship and the Moon from the Late 17th to Early 18th Dynasties

The Kingship and the Moon from the Late 17th to Early 18th Dynasties

Aumento en el acervo geotécnico de los constructores de hipogeos entre los Reinos Antiguo y Medio (Necrópolis Qubbet el-Hawa, Asuán)

La colina de Qubbet el-Hawa fue el lugar elegido para el cementerio de los altos funcionarios de la provincia más meridional del Antiguo Egipto, desde finales del Reino Antiguo hasta finales del Reino Medio. Hasta la fecha se han descubierto, a media ladera, un centenar de tumbas excavadas en la roca distribuidas en varias terrazas superpuestas. Del estudio geológico/geotécnico se desprende que no había mejor emplazamiento, en un tramo donde predominan las areniscas, delimitado por dos estratos especialmente resistentes que sirven como suelo y techo de los hipogeos, lo que en principio garantizaba su estabilidad. En este artículo analizamos dos tumbas representativas de los dos períodos más importantes del cementerio: QH34h (Dinastía VI) y QH33 (Dinastía XII), construidas con una diferencia temporal de unos 400 años. A partir del estudio de fracturación y del análisis de la estabilidad geotécnica en estas tumbas comprobamos que la más moderna (QH33), respecto de la más antigua (QH34h), presenta innovaciones constructivas y de diseño que solucionaron los problemas de estabilidad que presentaban algunas de las tumbas más antiguas. Este estudio demuestra que, en primer lugar, la elección del emplazamiento de las tumbas se realizó en función de la naturaleza resistente de los estratos, en segundo lugar, que los métodos constructivos utilizados por los antiguos egipcios estaban condicionados por la geología de la colina y, en tercer lugar, que, resultado de la experiencia adquirida durante años, el diseño de las tumbas evolucionó para solucionar los problemas de estabilidad del macizo rocoso.

The toponym $n-nxn and its connotation till the end of the middle kingdom of Egypt

The present research paper focuses on the term $n-Nxn as a sign of a geographical region located in Upper Egypt and its connotation in the royal and non-royal texts. It highlights the political and religious significance of the toponym. Moreover, it explores the definable territorial divisions in Upper Egypt that were created in the second half of the Fifth Dynasty since upper Egypt was divided into three administrative unites in conjunction with Agricultural areas, therefore, some high elite titles linked with a specific regions such as,spAwt 9( the ninth provinces).and imy-r spAwt Hryw-ib an overseer of the Middle provinces of Upper Egypt, and consequently , by the second have of sixth Dynasty, the provinces of $n -Nxn was referred from Archaeological records regarding it as an administrative sector included some Nomes, but it would appear that they didn't give any crucial information on its extensions or its location. moreover ,by the Middle Kingdom, $n -Nxn attested for the first time in literary texts as An important geographical region associated with legitimacy of of the throne, the notion of centralization and the power and authority of the King. Nevertheless, it wasn't An independent administrative sector, and it designates to A geographical area situated in wart rsy “the southern administrative sector.