The quartzite architectural block E16230 has been on display in the Penn Museum for 115 years. E1... more The quartzite architectural block E16230 has been on display in the Penn Museum for 115 years. E16230 is one of the few large architectural pieces in the world surviving from the much-debated reign of the "heretic" king Akhenaten. This block is one of the most historically significant objects on display in the Egyptian galleries, yet it has never been analyzed or published. This volume addresses that glaring gap and provides for the first time a translation and discussion of the important texts on the object, along with analysis of the architectural evidence it provides.
The block is part of the once intensely ornamented façade of a solar chapel ("sunshade") dedicated to princess Meritaten, the eldest daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. The large (1100 kg) block originates in a chapel that was part of a royal ceremonial palace of Akhenaten named Per-Waenre ("the house of the Unique-one-of-Re"). Later, after demolition of the building, the block was reused in the city of Heliopolis as the base for a sphinx of king Merenptah (Dynasty 19). Subsequently the block underwent a final stage of reuse in Cairo in the Islamic Period where it was found ca. 1898 in the Mousky district of central Cairo. Because the block is such a major architectural element it provides considerable detail in the reconstruction of the essential appearance, decoration, and other aspects of the Meritaten sunshade.
The volume addresses the significance of the piece and the Meritaten sunshade in the context of Akhenaten's monumental program. Major implications emerge from the analysis of E16230 providing further evidence on the royal women during Akhenaten's reign. The book examines two possibilities for the original location of the Per-Waenre in which the Meritaten sunshade stood. It may be part of a large Amarna Period cult precinct at Heliopolis, which may, like the capital city at Tell el-Amarna, have born the wider name Akhet-Aten, "Horizon of the Aten." Alternatively it could derive from Tell el-Amarna itself, possibly belonging to a hitherto unidentified palatial complex at that site. The book is a contribution to the study of one of the most debated eras of ancient Egyptian history focused on this long-ignored treasure of the Penn Museum's Egyptian collection.
Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 2021
Recent excavations have exposed the original bakery belonging to the mortuary temple of Senwosret... more Recent excavations have exposed the original bakery belonging to the mortuary temple of Senwosret III at South Abydos. Initially founded as a six-chambered building, the bakery was expanded in several phases to become a larger complex that housed a series of chambers dedicated primarily to large-volume hearth baking. Associated ceramics show that baking practices involved parallel use of rough-ware trays (aprt) and cylindrical bread molds (bDA). The bakery was linked by a walkway system with adjacent buildings also involved in the production and supply of offerings to the temple. One of the neighboring buildings appears to have been a companion brewery that was removed and replaced during a phase of alteration to the production area. The bakery and related structures are components of a larger shena or production zone that once extended nearly 300 meters along the edge of the Nile floodplain between the temple and town at the site of WAH-swt-¢akAwra-mAa-xrw-m-AbDw. Evidence from the bakery and neighboring structures shows that the layout of the shena was an extension of the urban plan of the town of Wah-Sut. Flanked by the main institutional buildings, the site was spatially organized around this multi-activity production zone which formed the site's economic and industrial nucleus.
A cache of more than forty inscribed clay prisms was discovered in the necropolis of Dendera by C... more A cache of more than forty inscribed clay prisms was discovered in the necropolis of Dendera by Clarence Fisher during the University of Pennsylvania’a excavations in 1915. This article is the first publication of these enigmatic objects housed today in the collections of the Penn Museum and the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Inscribed with short texts in hieratic, the prisms date to the early First Intermediate Period. Analysis of the texts suggests they form a program of short protective spells written to repel destructive forces that might obstruct the funerary passage. The hieratic texts themselves, likely written with a catfish bone, are part of a complex ritual sequence that included the embedding of ritual debris and use of a cylinder seal to impress the surface of the prisms. The Dendera prisms appear to be associated with the broader practice of execration rituals and related forms of mortuary magic. They appear to be an evolution from inscribed balls of the late Old Kingdom known from Abydos, Reqaqna and Elephantine. The deposition of this type of artifact into the superstructures of mastabas appears to represent a prevalent magical practice in the Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period that has very rarely been documented in the archaeological record.
company of images Modelling the Imaginary World of Middle Kingdom Egypt (2000-1500 BC), 2017
The tomb of king Woseribre Seneb-Kay was discovered in
2014 during excavations of the University ... more The tomb of king Woseribre Seneb-Kay was discovered in 2014 during excavations of the University of Pennsylvania at South Abydos. It is one of a group of eight tombs of Second Intermediate Period date that were added to the royal necropolis centered on the tomb enclosure of Senwosret III. Although Seneb-Kay’s tomb is architecturally similar to the other Second Intermediate Period tombs at South Abydos it is the only example with a decorated burial chamber. Analysis of the iconography and texts shows an adaptation from coffins and canopic chests of the late Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period. The iconography in Seneb-Kay’s burial chamber displays particularly close affinity with Theban Black-Type coffins of the late Thirteenth Dynasty, while aspects of artistic style in the human figures suggest a close contemporaneity between Seneb-Kay and Sobeknakht II at El-Kab. This decorative program was still unfinished at the time of Seneb-Kay’s burial and suggests the tomb was completed, and quickly decorated, to accommodate the interment of a king who had died unexpectedly in battle.
The biographical stela of Idudju-iker, 'foremost-one of the rulers of Wawat', was excavated by th... more The biographical stela of Idudju-iker, 'foremost-one of the rulers of Wawat', was excavated by the University of Pennsylvania during 2014-2015 in the royal necropolis that developed around the mortuary enclosure of Senwosret III at South Abydos. The stela had been reused, ca. 1650 BC, as a roof block on the burial chamber of the Second Intermediate Period king Woseribre Seneb-Kay. Despite its secondary context, the stela dates originally to the early 11th Dynasty. Based on a range of criteria, the originally over two-meter tall stela, can be attributed to the reign of Wahankh Antef II. Idudju-iker appears to have been an Egyptianized Lower Nubian (C-Group) ruler who was in a formal political alliance with the Theban kingdom. As such he was formally invested as a member of the royal court, and was a participant in military activities within Egypt including campaigning against the Herakleopolitan kingdom. Evidence for the existence of a formalized political relationship between a Theban 11th Dynasty king, arguably Antef II, and a primary ruler of Wawat who was embedded into the Theban court, adds new light to the dynamics of the Theban conflict with Herakleopolis and the role of Wawat and Medjay Nubians in the territorial expansion of the Theban 11th Dynasty. The surviving parts of the inscription discuss Idudju-iker’s participation in an extensive range of ceremonial and building activities at Thinis and Abydos. These activities included rituals at the temple of Onuris and other gods at Thinis, as well as the annual Osiris procession with the progress of the Neshmet barque to Poqer. Idudju-iker was the recipient of a royal dedication made in his honor, along with members of the royal court. The text explains the various activities in Thinis as having occurred 'through the desire of the rulers of the Theban nome, inasmuch as they love me'. Idudju-iker’s presence at Thinis and Abydos appears not to be the result of a pilgrimage, nor does the text reflect the range of activities performed by an official sent on commission. Rather, he appears to have been there as part of the Theban victory over the Thinite nome during the reign of Wahankh Antef II. The stela of Idudju-iker – which is comparable in size to the well-known 'Hound Stela' of king Antef II – reflects the key role of this Nubian alliance in the Theban victory in Thinis. The stela may have been set up in a commemorative chapel at Abydos at the behest of the king.
Guardian of Ancient Egypt Studies in Honor of Zahi Hawass Volume III, 2020
Excavations in 2013–2016 at South Abydos have uncovered two formerly unknown, royal burial chambe... more Excavations in 2013–2016 at South Abydos have uncovered two formerly unknown, royal burial chambers of the 13th Dynasty. One of these chambers belongs to an in situ tomb, Tomb S10, which can be attributed to the 13th Dynasty king Sobekhotep IV. Tomb S10 is located not far from a nearly identical, also completed tomb, S9, which may be attributed to Sobekhotep IV’s brother and predecessor, Neferhotep I. The recently discovered burial chamber inside S10 still has its lid and blocking system in place. The architecture, along with extensive areas of resin inside the chamber, demonstrate that Tomb S10 was completed and used for royal burial. To the north of S10 is yet another burial chamber that belongs to an abandoned 13th Dynasty royal funerary complex. This chamber is associated with a rectangular brick enclosure that was subsequently reused as the site for a royal cemetery during the later Second Intermediate Period. The abandoned chamber and its enclosure indicate the beginning of a royal tomb placed in between those ascribed to Neferhotep I (S9) and Sobekhotep IV (S10). The unfinished complex may be attributed to the short reign of a third brother, Sahathor. A review of the evidence for Sahathor advocates for the veracity of the Turin Kinglist, which records a reign of less than a year for Sahathor occurring between Neferhotep I and Sobekhotep IV. The archaeological situation at South Abydos may reflect the historical context of the three brother kings, and adds new evidence favoring a brief reign of King Sahathor.
International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 2016
Excavations at Abydos, Egypt, during 2014–2016 have revealed the remains of a boat burial dating ... more Excavations at Abydos, Egypt, during 2014–2016 have revealed the remains of a boat burial dating to the reign of Senwosret III (c.1850 BCE). The boat burial occurred inside a specially prepared, subterranean vaulted building. Surviving elements of planking appear to derive from a nearly 20 m‐long boat that was buried intact but later dismantled for reuse of the wood. The vessel may belong to a group of royal funerary boats associated with the nearby tomb of Senwosret III. Incised on to the interior walls of the boat building is an extensive tableau including 120 surviving drawings of pharaonic watercraft. A unique deposit of pottery vessels was found associated with the ceremonial burial of this royal boat.
Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 2017
In the collection of the University of Pennsylvania Museum is a limestone relief depicting a king... more In the collection of the University of Pennsylvania Museum is a limestone relief depicting a king at life-size engaged in a boat ritual as part of the Sed-festival. Discovered in 1904 at Herakleopolis, this object can be dated, based on context, iconography, and style to the early Old Kingdom. Only the upper part of this monumental relief is preserved and the name of the king does not survive. However, the associated labels show that the scene depicted a king, accompanied by Iunmutef, receiving the barque of the goddess Wenut-Shemau, or Nekhbet, at the Sed-festival. This relief, reused in the foundations of the Twelfth Dynasty at Herakleopolis derives from what was evidently a large-format tableau of Sed-festival scenes in a royal cult complex of the Old Kingdom. The relief is a forerunner to scenes in the Twentieth Dynasty tomb of Setau at El Kab depicting the arrival of Wenut-Shemau at the site of the Sed-festival. The ceremonial mooring of the barques of Wadjet and Nekhbet at the Sed-festival may form a central, but hitherto unrecognized, element of the Sed-festival. The closest surviving parallels to the Herakleopolis scene occur in fragmentary reliefs from the Valley Temple of Sneferu at Dahshur. Attribution is proposed to Huni, Sneferu or Khufu. The Sed-festival block may have been transported to Herakelopolis from one of the Memphite pyramid complexes, or from Meidum, during the early Twelfth Dynasty. Alternatively, the relief may derive from an early Old Kingdom royal complex at Herakelopolis itself, possibly originating in a mortuary complex of Huni that once stood at that site.
Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 2015
Recent excavations at South Abydos have produced evidence for the date and ownership of a group o... more Recent excavations at South Abydos have produced evidence for the date and ownership of a group of royal tombs adjacent to the tomb enclosure of Senwosret III. Tombs S9 and S10, two structures investigated initially by Arthur Weigall, are late Middle Kingdom royal tombs constructed using the distinctive format of the late Middle Kingdom royal pyramid interiors known primarily from the Memphite region. Excavations during 2013–2015 in and around tomb S10 now permit its attribution to one of the Thirteenth Dynasty Sobekhotep kings. Evidence includes a monumental funerary stela bearing the nomen Sobekhotep that appears to derive from a now-destroyed chapel associated with S10. The stela was likely reused in an adjacent intrusive tomb: that of the Second Intermediate period king, Woseribre-Senebkay. In Senebkay's tomb, excavation revealed that king's canopic chest, constructed from reused planks that had originally belonged to the coffin of a king Sobekhotep. The original painted texts include a distinctive set of Coffin Texts (Spells 777–785), examples of which date to the middle–late Thirteenth Dynasty. The probable chronological range of these spells, paired with additional lines of evidence suggest that S10 is the burial place of one of the longer-reigning Sobekhotep kings of the middle Thirteenth Dynasty, likely Sobekhotep IV. The proximity of S10 to the similarly designed tomb S9 implies royal burials at South Abydos of two closely connected kings, the brother kings Neferhotep I and Sobekhotep IV, who were unusually active at Abydos and may have chosen to associate their tombs with the mortuary complex of Senwosret III. During the later Second Intermediate period, Senebkay (ca. 1650–1600 BCE) and associated kings reused both funerary equipment and materials from these late Middle Kingdom tombs.
Excavations at South Abydos have revealed a royal necropolis dating to Egypt's late Second Interm... more Excavations at South Abydos have revealed a royal necropolis dating to Egypt's late Second Intermediate Period, ca. 1650–1600 b.c.e. The necropolis includes the tomb of king Woseribre Seneb-Kay, as well as seven other tombs which — on the basis of architecture, artifacts and human remains — also belong to kings. The necropolis provides evidence for the existence of an independent kingdom, the “Abydos Dynasty,” contemporary with the Theban 16th Dynasty and the early-middle Hyksos Period, and implies a higher degree of territorial fragmentation than is often assumed for Egypt during this time period. Physical remains of the kings buried at South Abydos indicate involvement in military activities, including long-term horse riding, and, in the case of Seneb-Kay, death in a violent military encounter. The necropolis reflects the circumscribed political and economic context of an Upper Egyptian kingdom that appears to have lost its independence during the final stages of the Second Intermediate Period.
The quartzite architectural block E16230 has been on display in the Penn Museum for 115 years. E1... more The quartzite architectural block E16230 has been on display in the Penn Museum for 115 years. E16230 is one of the few large architectural pieces in the world surviving from the much-debated reign of the "heretic" king Akhenaten. This block is one of the most historically significant objects on display in the Egyptian galleries, yet it has never been analyzed or published. This volume addresses that glaring gap and provides for the first time a translation and discussion of the important texts on the object, along with analysis of the architectural evidence it provides.
The block is part of the once intensely ornamented façade of a solar chapel ("sunshade") dedicated to princess Meritaten, the eldest daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. The large (1100 kg) block originates in a chapel that was part of a royal ceremonial palace of Akhenaten named Per-Waenre ("the house of the Unique-one-of-Re"). Later, after demolition of the building, the block was reused in the city of Heliopolis as the base for a sphinx of king Merenptah (Dynasty 19). Subsequently the block underwent a final stage of reuse in Cairo in the Islamic Period where it was found ca. 1898 in the Mousky district of central Cairo. Because the block is such a major architectural element it provides considerable detail in the reconstruction of the essential appearance, decoration, and other aspects of the Meritaten sunshade.
The volume addresses the significance of the piece and the Meritaten sunshade in the context of Akhenaten's monumental program. Major implications emerge from the analysis of E16230 providing further evidence on the royal women during Akhenaten's reign. The book examines two possibilities for the original location of the Per-Waenre in which the Meritaten sunshade stood. It may be part of a large Amarna Period cult precinct at Heliopolis, which may, like the capital city at Tell el-Amarna, have born the wider name Akhet-Aten, "Horizon of the Aten." Alternatively it could derive from Tell el-Amarna itself, possibly belonging to a hitherto unidentified palatial complex at that site. The book is a contribution to the study of one of the most debated eras of ancient Egyptian history focused on this long-ignored treasure of the Penn Museum's Egyptian collection.
Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 2021
Recent excavations have exposed the original bakery belonging to the mortuary temple of Senwosret... more Recent excavations have exposed the original bakery belonging to the mortuary temple of Senwosret III at South Abydos. Initially founded as a six-chambered building, the bakery was expanded in several phases to become a larger complex that housed a series of chambers dedicated primarily to large-volume hearth baking. Associated ceramics show that baking practices involved parallel use of rough-ware trays (aprt) and cylindrical bread molds (bDA). The bakery was linked by a walkway system with adjacent buildings also involved in the production and supply of offerings to the temple. One of the neighboring buildings appears to have been a companion brewery that was removed and replaced during a phase of alteration to the production area. The bakery and related structures are components of a larger shena or production zone that once extended nearly 300 meters along the edge of the Nile floodplain between the temple and town at the site of WAH-swt-¢akAwra-mAa-xrw-m-AbDw. Evidence from the bakery and neighboring structures shows that the layout of the shena was an extension of the urban plan of the town of Wah-Sut. Flanked by the main institutional buildings, the site was spatially organized around this multi-activity production zone which formed the site's economic and industrial nucleus.
A cache of more than forty inscribed clay prisms was discovered in the necropolis of Dendera by C... more A cache of more than forty inscribed clay prisms was discovered in the necropolis of Dendera by Clarence Fisher during the University of Pennsylvania’a excavations in 1915. This article is the first publication of these enigmatic objects housed today in the collections of the Penn Museum and the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Inscribed with short texts in hieratic, the prisms date to the early First Intermediate Period. Analysis of the texts suggests they form a program of short protective spells written to repel destructive forces that might obstruct the funerary passage. The hieratic texts themselves, likely written with a catfish bone, are part of a complex ritual sequence that included the embedding of ritual debris and use of a cylinder seal to impress the surface of the prisms. The Dendera prisms appear to be associated with the broader practice of execration rituals and related forms of mortuary magic. They appear to be an evolution from inscribed balls of the late Old Kingdom known from Abydos, Reqaqna and Elephantine. The deposition of this type of artifact into the superstructures of mastabas appears to represent a prevalent magical practice in the Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period that has very rarely been documented in the archaeological record.
company of images Modelling the Imaginary World of Middle Kingdom Egypt (2000-1500 BC), 2017
The tomb of king Woseribre Seneb-Kay was discovered in
2014 during excavations of the University ... more The tomb of king Woseribre Seneb-Kay was discovered in 2014 during excavations of the University of Pennsylvania at South Abydos. It is one of a group of eight tombs of Second Intermediate Period date that were added to the royal necropolis centered on the tomb enclosure of Senwosret III. Although Seneb-Kay’s tomb is architecturally similar to the other Second Intermediate Period tombs at South Abydos it is the only example with a decorated burial chamber. Analysis of the iconography and texts shows an adaptation from coffins and canopic chests of the late Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period. The iconography in Seneb-Kay’s burial chamber displays particularly close affinity with Theban Black-Type coffins of the late Thirteenth Dynasty, while aspects of artistic style in the human figures suggest a close contemporaneity between Seneb-Kay and Sobeknakht II at El-Kab. This decorative program was still unfinished at the time of Seneb-Kay’s burial and suggests the tomb was completed, and quickly decorated, to accommodate the interment of a king who had died unexpectedly in battle.
The biographical stela of Idudju-iker, 'foremost-one of the rulers of Wawat', was excavated by th... more The biographical stela of Idudju-iker, 'foremost-one of the rulers of Wawat', was excavated by the University of Pennsylvania during 2014-2015 in the royal necropolis that developed around the mortuary enclosure of Senwosret III at South Abydos. The stela had been reused, ca. 1650 BC, as a roof block on the burial chamber of the Second Intermediate Period king Woseribre Seneb-Kay. Despite its secondary context, the stela dates originally to the early 11th Dynasty. Based on a range of criteria, the originally over two-meter tall stela, can be attributed to the reign of Wahankh Antef II. Idudju-iker appears to have been an Egyptianized Lower Nubian (C-Group) ruler who was in a formal political alliance with the Theban kingdom. As such he was formally invested as a member of the royal court, and was a participant in military activities within Egypt including campaigning against the Herakleopolitan kingdom. Evidence for the existence of a formalized political relationship between a Theban 11th Dynasty king, arguably Antef II, and a primary ruler of Wawat who was embedded into the Theban court, adds new light to the dynamics of the Theban conflict with Herakleopolis and the role of Wawat and Medjay Nubians in the territorial expansion of the Theban 11th Dynasty. The surviving parts of the inscription discuss Idudju-iker’s participation in an extensive range of ceremonial and building activities at Thinis and Abydos. These activities included rituals at the temple of Onuris and other gods at Thinis, as well as the annual Osiris procession with the progress of the Neshmet barque to Poqer. Idudju-iker was the recipient of a royal dedication made in his honor, along with members of the royal court. The text explains the various activities in Thinis as having occurred 'through the desire of the rulers of the Theban nome, inasmuch as they love me'. Idudju-iker’s presence at Thinis and Abydos appears not to be the result of a pilgrimage, nor does the text reflect the range of activities performed by an official sent on commission. Rather, he appears to have been there as part of the Theban victory over the Thinite nome during the reign of Wahankh Antef II. The stela of Idudju-iker – which is comparable in size to the well-known 'Hound Stela' of king Antef II – reflects the key role of this Nubian alliance in the Theban victory in Thinis. The stela may have been set up in a commemorative chapel at Abydos at the behest of the king.
Guardian of Ancient Egypt Studies in Honor of Zahi Hawass Volume III, 2020
Excavations in 2013–2016 at South Abydos have uncovered two formerly unknown, royal burial chambe... more Excavations in 2013–2016 at South Abydos have uncovered two formerly unknown, royal burial chambers of the 13th Dynasty. One of these chambers belongs to an in situ tomb, Tomb S10, which can be attributed to the 13th Dynasty king Sobekhotep IV. Tomb S10 is located not far from a nearly identical, also completed tomb, S9, which may be attributed to Sobekhotep IV’s brother and predecessor, Neferhotep I. The recently discovered burial chamber inside S10 still has its lid and blocking system in place. The architecture, along with extensive areas of resin inside the chamber, demonstrate that Tomb S10 was completed and used for royal burial. To the north of S10 is yet another burial chamber that belongs to an abandoned 13th Dynasty royal funerary complex. This chamber is associated with a rectangular brick enclosure that was subsequently reused as the site for a royal cemetery during the later Second Intermediate Period. The abandoned chamber and its enclosure indicate the beginning of a royal tomb placed in between those ascribed to Neferhotep I (S9) and Sobekhotep IV (S10). The unfinished complex may be attributed to the short reign of a third brother, Sahathor. A review of the evidence for Sahathor advocates for the veracity of the Turin Kinglist, which records a reign of less than a year for Sahathor occurring between Neferhotep I and Sobekhotep IV. The archaeological situation at South Abydos may reflect the historical context of the three brother kings, and adds new evidence favoring a brief reign of King Sahathor.
International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 2016
Excavations at Abydos, Egypt, during 2014–2016 have revealed the remains of a boat burial dating ... more Excavations at Abydos, Egypt, during 2014–2016 have revealed the remains of a boat burial dating to the reign of Senwosret III (c.1850 BCE). The boat burial occurred inside a specially prepared, subterranean vaulted building. Surviving elements of planking appear to derive from a nearly 20 m‐long boat that was buried intact but later dismantled for reuse of the wood. The vessel may belong to a group of royal funerary boats associated with the nearby tomb of Senwosret III. Incised on to the interior walls of the boat building is an extensive tableau including 120 surviving drawings of pharaonic watercraft. A unique deposit of pottery vessels was found associated with the ceremonial burial of this royal boat.
Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 2017
In the collection of the University of Pennsylvania Museum is a limestone relief depicting a king... more In the collection of the University of Pennsylvania Museum is a limestone relief depicting a king at life-size engaged in a boat ritual as part of the Sed-festival. Discovered in 1904 at Herakleopolis, this object can be dated, based on context, iconography, and style to the early Old Kingdom. Only the upper part of this monumental relief is preserved and the name of the king does not survive. However, the associated labels show that the scene depicted a king, accompanied by Iunmutef, receiving the barque of the goddess Wenut-Shemau, or Nekhbet, at the Sed-festival. This relief, reused in the foundations of the Twelfth Dynasty at Herakleopolis derives from what was evidently a large-format tableau of Sed-festival scenes in a royal cult complex of the Old Kingdom. The relief is a forerunner to scenes in the Twentieth Dynasty tomb of Setau at El Kab depicting the arrival of Wenut-Shemau at the site of the Sed-festival. The ceremonial mooring of the barques of Wadjet and Nekhbet at the Sed-festival may form a central, but hitherto unrecognized, element of the Sed-festival. The closest surviving parallels to the Herakleopolis scene occur in fragmentary reliefs from the Valley Temple of Sneferu at Dahshur. Attribution is proposed to Huni, Sneferu or Khufu. The Sed-festival block may have been transported to Herakelopolis from one of the Memphite pyramid complexes, or from Meidum, during the early Twelfth Dynasty. Alternatively, the relief may derive from an early Old Kingdom royal complex at Herakelopolis itself, possibly originating in a mortuary complex of Huni that once stood at that site.
Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 2015
Recent excavations at South Abydos have produced evidence for the date and ownership of a group o... more Recent excavations at South Abydos have produced evidence for the date and ownership of a group of royal tombs adjacent to the tomb enclosure of Senwosret III. Tombs S9 and S10, two structures investigated initially by Arthur Weigall, are late Middle Kingdom royal tombs constructed using the distinctive format of the late Middle Kingdom royal pyramid interiors known primarily from the Memphite region. Excavations during 2013–2015 in and around tomb S10 now permit its attribution to one of the Thirteenth Dynasty Sobekhotep kings. Evidence includes a monumental funerary stela bearing the nomen Sobekhotep that appears to derive from a now-destroyed chapel associated with S10. The stela was likely reused in an adjacent intrusive tomb: that of the Second Intermediate period king, Woseribre-Senebkay. In Senebkay's tomb, excavation revealed that king's canopic chest, constructed from reused planks that had originally belonged to the coffin of a king Sobekhotep. The original painted texts include a distinctive set of Coffin Texts (Spells 777–785), examples of which date to the middle–late Thirteenth Dynasty. The probable chronological range of these spells, paired with additional lines of evidence suggest that S10 is the burial place of one of the longer-reigning Sobekhotep kings of the middle Thirteenth Dynasty, likely Sobekhotep IV. The proximity of S10 to the similarly designed tomb S9 implies royal burials at South Abydos of two closely connected kings, the brother kings Neferhotep I and Sobekhotep IV, who were unusually active at Abydos and may have chosen to associate their tombs with the mortuary complex of Senwosret III. During the later Second Intermediate period, Senebkay (ca. 1650–1600 BCE) and associated kings reused both funerary equipment and materials from these late Middle Kingdom tombs.
Excavations at South Abydos have revealed a royal necropolis dating to Egypt's late Second Interm... more Excavations at South Abydos have revealed a royal necropolis dating to Egypt's late Second Intermediate Period, ca. 1650–1600 b.c.e. The necropolis includes the tomb of king Woseribre Seneb-Kay, as well as seven other tombs which — on the basis of architecture, artifacts and human remains — also belong to kings. The necropolis provides evidence for the existence of an independent kingdom, the “Abydos Dynasty,” contemporary with the Theban 16th Dynasty and the early-middle Hyksos Period, and implies a higher degree of territorial fragmentation than is often assumed for Egypt during this time period. Physical remains of the kings buried at South Abydos indicate involvement in military activities, including long-term horse riding, and, in the case of Seneb-Kay, death in a violent military encounter. The necropolis reflects the circumscribed political and economic context of an Upper Egyptian kingdom that appears to have lost its independence during the final stages of the Second Intermediate Period.
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Books by Josef Wegner
The block is part of the once intensely ornamented façade of a solar chapel ("sunshade") dedicated to princess Meritaten, the eldest daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. The large (1100 kg) block originates in a chapel that was part of a royal ceremonial palace of Akhenaten named Per-Waenre ("the house of the Unique-one-of-Re"). Later, after demolition of the building, the block was reused in the city of Heliopolis as the base for a sphinx of king Merenptah (Dynasty 19). Subsequently the block underwent a final stage of reuse in Cairo in the Islamic Period where it was found ca. 1898 in the Mousky district of central Cairo. Because the block is such a major architectural element it provides considerable detail in the reconstruction of the essential appearance, decoration, and other aspects of the Meritaten sunshade.
The volume addresses the significance of the piece and the Meritaten sunshade in the context of Akhenaten's monumental program. Major implications emerge from the analysis of E16230 providing further evidence on the royal women during Akhenaten's reign. The book examines two possibilities for the original location of the Per-Waenre in which the Meritaten sunshade stood. It may be part of a large Amarna Period cult precinct at Heliopolis, which may, like the capital city at Tell el-Amarna, have born the wider name Akhet-Aten, "Horizon of the Aten." Alternatively it could derive from Tell el-Amarna itself, possibly belonging to a hitherto unidentified palatial complex at that site. The book is a contribution to the study of one of the most debated eras of ancient Egyptian history focused on this long-ignored treasure of the Penn Museum's Egyptian collection.
University Museum Monograph 144
Papers by Josef Wegner
2014 during excavations of the University of Pennsylvania at South
Abydos. It is one of a group of eight tombs of Second Intermediate
Period date that were added to the royal necropolis centered on the tomb
enclosure of Senwosret III. Although Seneb-Kay’s tomb is architecturally
similar to the other Second Intermediate Period tombs at South
Abydos it is the only example with a decorated burial chamber. Analysis
of the iconography and texts shows an adaptation from coffins and
canopic chests of the late Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate
Period. The iconography in Seneb-Kay’s burial chamber displays particularly
close affinity with Theban Black-Type coffins of the late Thirteenth
Dynasty, while aspects of artistic style in the human figures suggest
a close contemporaneity between Seneb-Kay and Sobeknakht II at
El-Kab. This decorative program was still unfinished at the time of
Seneb-Kay’s burial and suggests the tomb was completed, and quickly
decorated, to accommodate the interment of a king who had died unexpectedly
in battle.
The block is part of the once intensely ornamented façade of a solar chapel ("sunshade") dedicated to princess Meritaten, the eldest daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. The large (1100 kg) block originates in a chapel that was part of a royal ceremonial palace of Akhenaten named Per-Waenre ("the house of the Unique-one-of-Re"). Later, after demolition of the building, the block was reused in the city of Heliopolis as the base for a sphinx of king Merenptah (Dynasty 19). Subsequently the block underwent a final stage of reuse in Cairo in the Islamic Period where it was found ca. 1898 in the Mousky district of central Cairo. Because the block is such a major architectural element it provides considerable detail in the reconstruction of the essential appearance, decoration, and other aspects of the Meritaten sunshade.
The volume addresses the significance of the piece and the Meritaten sunshade in the context of Akhenaten's monumental program. Major implications emerge from the analysis of E16230 providing further evidence on the royal women during Akhenaten's reign. The book examines two possibilities for the original location of the Per-Waenre in which the Meritaten sunshade stood. It may be part of a large Amarna Period cult precinct at Heliopolis, which may, like the capital city at Tell el-Amarna, have born the wider name Akhet-Aten, "Horizon of the Aten." Alternatively it could derive from Tell el-Amarna itself, possibly belonging to a hitherto unidentified palatial complex at that site. The book is a contribution to the study of one of the most debated eras of ancient Egyptian history focused on this long-ignored treasure of the Penn Museum's Egyptian collection.
University Museum Monograph 144
2014 during excavations of the University of Pennsylvania at South
Abydos. It is one of a group of eight tombs of Second Intermediate
Period date that were added to the royal necropolis centered on the tomb
enclosure of Senwosret III. Although Seneb-Kay’s tomb is architecturally
similar to the other Second Intermediate Period tombs at South
Abydos it is the only example with a decorated burial chamber. Analysis
of the iconography and texts shows an adaptation from coffins and
canopic chests of the late Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate
Period. The iconography in Seneb-Kay’s burial chamber displays particularly
close affinity with Theban Black-Type coffins of the late Thirteenth
Dynasty, while aspects of artistic style in the human figures suggest
a close contemporaneity between Seneb-Kay and Sobeknakht II at
El-Kab. This decorative program was still unfinished at the time of
Seneb-Kay’s burial and suggests the tomb was completed, and quickly
decorated, to accommodate the interment of a king who had died unexpectedly
in battle.