Saqqara

Mastaba AS 39 was discovered during the course of the
2013 season in Abusir South. It is located in the
northeastern part of the cemetery of officials dated to the
Fifth Dynasty, spanning the reigns of Nyuserre through
Djedkare (2402–2322 BC). Shepseskafankh was
a person of elevated status at the royal court as indicated
by the titles on his unique unfinished false door. These
include, among others, the title of the chief physician of
the king, property custodian of the king, chief of the
physicians of Upper and Lower Egypt as well as two so
far unattested titles of hem-netjer-priest of Khnum who is
foremost of the House of Life and of the House of
Protection and overseer of the healing substances of the
Great House. These titles attest to his historically unique
position. Shepseskafankh’s duties included supervision
over the House of Life, which was a centre authority for
storing and maintaining written documents. At the same
time he was in charge of the House of Protection, which,
most likely, was a facility where royal children were born.
Based on archaeological and epigraphic evidence, it may
be supposed that it is one of the earliest structures in the
examined cemetery. Despite the fact that most of the
burial facilities of the tomb owner and his family members
were looted in antiquity, the tomb represents a unique
testimony of the latter part of the Fifth Dynasty history on
a microscale

This is a revised issue of REL Issue No. 1

The tomb of the manicurists Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep, Fifth Dynasty, Old Kingdom Egypt, is regarded as exceptional either in its size and architecture or most noticeably in its lively portraits of intimacy between the two owners. The portraits confused the Egyptologists as being unprecedented in the Egyptian tombs. They looked for clues either in iconography or texts and came by three explanations; either they are twins, or conjoined twins, or they are in a homosexual relation. The last speculation has been passed to press and since then the issue of discovering homosexuality in ancient Egypt did not cease of popping up in books, journals, media and web-sites. This paper investigates the hidden symbolization rather than the visual interpretation. The intimate relationship shall be ascertained in view of the pictorial narrations of Predynastic Egypt. The spirituality of the scenes shall be judged by the ancient Egyptian conception of the soul. Question: Are they two or one? This question has never been raised in Egyptology and shall be answered for within the sphere of god Khnum.

The book is the first complete publication of a relatively small but interesting collection of Old Kingdom monuments in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Twenty-two pieces are reproduced as black-and-white photographs and line drawings. Among them are two statues, fourteen reliefs and relief fragments, five offering stones and a fragment of an ointment tablet; several objects in museums of Cairo, Copenhagen, and Cambridge belonging to the same people are published as well. Most of these monuments were never published or are known only through books and periodicals in Russian that usually are not available in Egyptological libraries. Although the Hermitage pieces were acquired at antiquities dealers without any documentation, their modern history is traced and in a half of cases either their provenance is reconstructed or related monuments are found. A limited number of monuments allowed the author to discuss them to a much greater extent than it is common in museum publications and, thus, the book in spite of its structure of a catalogue virtually is a detailed study of various problems of Old Kingdom history and ideology.

[French:] Publication d'une photographie (MMA 2005.100.321) prise pas l'égyptologue Théodule Devéria (1841-1871) en 1859. Cette photo montre une porte dans le tombeau du grand gouverneur de Memphis et grand intendant du temple de Ptah, Ptahmès. Ce tombeau a été redécouvert en 2010 pas la mission archéologique de l'université du Caire (dir. Ola el-Aguizy).
Cette étude commence par une discussion sur les précédentes fouilles de la tombe, et offerte des observations sur la vie de Théodule Devéria et ses activités en tant qu'assistant d'Auguste Mariette à Saqqâra. Une liste actualisée des découvertes attribuables au tombeau memphite de Ptahmès est ensuite livrée. Suivent la présentation et une discussion autour des images et des textes visibles sur cette « nouvelle » photographie. Une nouvelle datation de la tombe est proposé au début de la XIXe dynastie, du règne de Séthi Ier à la deuxième dizaine du règne de Ramsès II. La contribution se conclut par une note sur la famille de Ptahmès et une analyse préliminaire de ses titres.

Mots-clés : Saqqâra – Ptahmès – temple de Ptah – Memphis – gouverneur – Nouvel Empire – période Ramesside – tombeau – iconographie – architecture – Théodule Devéria – photographie


[English:] Publication of a photograph (MMA 2005.100.321) taken by Egyptologist Théodule Devéria (1841-1871) in 1859. The photograph captures a doorway in the tomb of the Mayor of Memphis and Great steward of the temple of Ptah, Ptahmose. This tomb was rediscovered in 2010 by an archaeological mission of Cairo University (dir. Ola el-Aguizy). This paper starts with a discussion of the tomb's (previous) excavations, and notes on Théodule Devéria's life and his work as an assistant to Auguste Mariette at Saqqara. This is followed by an updated list of finds that can be attributed to Ptahmose's Memphite tomb. The article contunues with a presentation and discussion of the reliefs and texts visible on this "new" photograph. A new date is proposed for this tomb: early 19th Dynasty, reign of Seti I to the second decade of Ramesses II. The article concludes with a reconstruction of Ptahmose's family tree, and a preliminary analysis of his titles.

Keywords: Saqqara – Ptahmose – temple of Ptah – Memphis – Mayor – New Kingdom – Ramesside Period – tomb – iconography – architecture – Théodule Devéria – photography.

This publication is the latest monographic outcome of a long-term project of survey and research of the archaeological site of Abusir, focusing on a particular set of cemeteries located at Abusir South. So far, four volumes were published on selected tombs and tomb complexes located in Abusir South – Abusir V, Abusir XIII, Abusir XIX and Abusir XXII.
The present volume of the Abusir series concentrates on the mastaba of Neferinpu (AS 37). It aims to present primary data and their basic analysis and interpretation acquired during the tomb examination by the Czech Institute of Egyptology during two subsequent seasons of 2006 and 2007 and followed by some minor campaigns in 2012 and 2013 and a specific analytical campaign in September 2014 carried out by the Japanese team from Tokyo University of Sciene. The mastaba was built by a sun priest and official Neferinpu who reached the peak of his career during the reign of Nyuserra and Djedkara.
Altogether fifteen chapters are contained in the present volume.  They cover all major aspects of the mastaba’s history: names and titles of Neferinpu and his family, architecture, decoration, finds, graffiti, pottery, model stone vessels, anthropological and zoological finds, radiocarbon sample, artefacts possibly related to the mastaba, 3D scanning of selected artefacts, facial reconstruction of two individuals including Neferinpu and X-ray Raman spectroscopy analysis of selected artefacts. Next to it, the first and last chapters are dedicated to more general aspects of the site and the mastaba and her owner and related to a general historical background of the period. Throughout the publication, the reader should find a companion to subject- and period-specific issues concerning the development of Ancient Egyptian society of the day. Broad scope of issues covering political, religious, symbolical, social and behavioural aspects of Neferinpu’s time and his close circle of related persons can be followed and negotiated.
Since sampling permits are virtually impossible to obtain in contemporary Egypt (and this in fact significantly hampers a deep resolution archaeology in the field), the multidisciplinary team had to limit itself to more traditional kinds of analysis. The only exception being radiocarbon dating carried out in cooperation with the French Institute of Archaeology in Cairo, the 3D scanning and modelling of two persons discovered in the compound and X-ray Raman spectroscopy analysis of selected artefacts. Despite this, it is hoped that the current monograph will meet the expectations of most members of the scientific community.

This article presents for the first time a complete description and discussion of a relief-decorated block from the tomb of Ptahmose currently housed in the collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University (Durham, North Carolina). It addresses the question of how the object got to the Nasher Museum: starting at Saqqara and then being passed on through the hands of art dealers, collectors and middlemen in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. While the block first came to the attention of scholars in the 1920s, its authenticity has long been doubted. Research on the block’s provenance leads to the conclusion that both the texts and image are genuinely ancient. It is suggested that its physical appearance was altered in order to make it more attractive to potential buyers. Some of the art dealers highlighted in this study at one time also had other elements from the same tomb in their possession. The histories of these objects are also traced back to Saqqara and to their present owners.

Study dedicated to the development of the Old Kingdom bread forms, especially during the Fifth and Sixth Dynasty. Their iconography is reevaluated with regard to the appearance of the cult of Osiris in the reign of Nyuserra and the formal modifications of the offering table with bread loaves scene.

La nécropole de Pépy Ier est aujourd’hui connue essentiellement pour les
complexes funéraires du roi et des reines de la VIe dynastie. Pourtant, de nombreux
particuliers sont venus là pratiquer leurs dévotions et, pour certains, s’y faire inhumer,
constituant ainsi ce qui apparaît comme un véritable lieu de mémoire.
Trois grandes phases se distinguent, qui témoignent de l’évolution de cette
nécropole royale, dans sa perception et son occupation. L’Ancien et le Moyen Empires
se caractérisent par une continuité de l’activité rituelle dans le temple. Ensuite,
jusqu’au Nouvel Empire au moins, les sépultures de particuliers se multiplient, mais
conservent une certaine considération pour les installations royales. C’est à la Basse
Époque enfin qu’il faut situer la cessation des pratiques funéraires.
The work of the MAFS, for more than fifty years, has considerably increased our knowledge of the area of Saqqara South. The search of Ppy-Mn-Nfr - whose name is supposed to be at the origin of that of Memphis - now allows to propose a first assessment of the activity on this part of the site and the continuity of occupation with the ages. The extent of discoveries does not permit a systematic study in the context of such an article. The purpose of this paper will be to paint a broad outline, period after period, of private activities, worship and burial practices, within the necropolis to show how it was recognized and used by the different occupants who have succeeded one another.

The subject of this brief study is a representation of a running man dating back to the sixth millennium BCE. This unique iconographic motif was discovered in a rock shelter in Wadi
Sura in the Gilf Kebir mountain range located deep in the Egyptian Western Desert. Based on the formal analysis of the scene, the possibility of its relationship with the much later Ancient Egyptian iconography of a running Egyptian king during the sed festival of the renewal of magical forces of the pharaoh is considered and discussed.

Depuis 50 ans, la Mission archéologique française de Saqqâra fouille inlassablement les sables du désert égyptien. Conçue en 1963 par ses deux éminents fondateurs, Jean Leclant et Jean-Philippe Lauer, elle s’est consacrée longuement à l’étude des Textes des Pyramides, enrichissant par ses découvertes régulières les travaux des premiers philologues.

Le dégagement continu de la nécropole de Pépy Ier a permis également d’élargir notre vision du monde funéraire tel que le concevaient les anciens Égyptiens. La multitude des monuments, des textes, des bas-reliefs ou des objets révèle des femmes et des hommes qui nous racontent un fragment de leur espérance d’éternité.

Les contributions de cet ouvrage rassemblent autour d’un même projet les acteurs passés et présents de la MafS. Leur richesse et leur variété témoignent de l’envergure et du dynamisme dont la mission a su faire preuve tout au long de son histoire.

For 50 years, the French Archaeological Mission in Saqqara tirelessly excavates the sands of the Egyptian desert. Started in 1963 under the impulse of its two eminent founders, Jean Leclant and Jean-Philippe Lauer, the mission goal was long devoted to the study of the Pyramid Texts, thus largely improving the work of the firts philologists.

The continuous clearing of the necropolis of Pepy I also widely allowed to broaden our understanding of the funerary world as conceived by the ancient Egyptians. The multitude of monuments, texts, reliefs or objects richness women and men who are sharing with us a fragment of their hope of eternity.

Contributions to this work gather past and present members of the FAMS around a common project. Their richness and variety testify of the scope and dynamism the mission has demonstrated throughout its history.

The hypothesis of two persons by the names Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep, irrespective of whatever sort of their relationship, is well-established in Egyptology since the discovery of the tomb in late 1964. Part one of this paper has been assigned for establishing the truth of the tomb owner by the name Ni. Ni, the single owner of the tomb, has given the twin-forces of his soul the names Ankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. Hence, his name reads Ni-Ankhkhnum-Khnumhotep where there is no place for the conjugation 'and'. Part two penetrates the profound symbolization and intellectuality of the iconography. The identity of the midget youngsters is revealed. The leading role of Ni-Ankhkhnum is investigated and justified. The marital life of Ni and its impact on questioning the two false doors is here unmasked. Finally, there is unanticipated surprise waiting for Egyptologists but more significant for readers to appraise. Ni has faithfully adhered to the teachings of his forefathers that have been later on spelled out by the Egyptian priests.

A photograph has recently been found among the records left by Victor Loret following his discovery in 1898 of the tomb-chapel of Mose at Saqqara, of a relief still lying in situ, that does not appear in the publication of the tomb by Gaballa. The relief, very probably part of a limestone wall, is decorated with an offering scene showing a man, accompanied by a little procession, censing and libating before the Apis-bull in a shrine.
The author retraces the path of the relief from the art gallery of Maurice Nahman to the current location of its remaining left hand portion at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, San Jose.

This article deals with the priest of Heqet during Egyptian Old Kingdom period. The analysis shows that this was a particular group of officials responsible for funerary ceremonies in the Abusir - Saqqara zone of cemeteries. Moreover, it emphaises the importance of landscape archaeology and the social logic of space.

There has been a long-standing debate within Egyptology whether the decline of the Old Kingdom (dated to about 2200 BCE) was due to internal and/or external factors or a combination of both of them. Equally important has been the question of the duration of this process.  The present study shall make the case that the external environmental factors which contributed to the demise of the Old Kingdom state can be discerned to have happened much earlier than traditionally supposed. There is now sufficient evidence which demonstrates a continual adaptation of the ancient Egyptian society to a changing/worsening environment over a period which lasted almost two centuries. This climate change went hand in hand with several deep internal processes in the society that contributed significantly to the eventual demise of the Egyptian empire. The analysis will use iconographic material from Old Kingdom tombs, evidence from archaeological excavations, interpretation of unique finds of beetles in Abusir and a model describing the functioning of the administrative system of the Egyptian state. The emerging picture will show that the collapse of the Old Kingdom was a long process triggered by several internal crises in combination with a climate change.

Ouvrage disponible en libre accès sur la page de l'éditeur : https://books.openedition.org/momeditions/193

En Égypte ancienne, la mort semble être une préoccupation constante. Pour affronter cette étape tant redoutée, le dogme prévoit une existence dans l'au-delà, mais celle-ci demeure conditionnée au maintien de la mémoire des individus parmi les vivants. Chaque personne va donc tenter, en fonction de son statut et de ses capacités, de développer certaines stratégies pour rendre son propre culte éternel et garantir ainsi son immortalité.
Cette étude, fondée principalement sur l'analyse des pratiques post-inhumatoires, souhaite mettre en évidence les différents leviers qui sont utilisés en vue de pérenniser les cultes mémoriels : le choix du lieu, celui des supports et enfin – peut-être surtout – l'intégration à de multiples matrices sociales complémentaires. Car le maintien de la mémoire est avant tout affaire de société. L'individu, pour exister, se doit d'interagir avec la communauté, qu'il soit vivant ou bien mort.

In 1995, the Czech archaeological team discovered the tomb complex of vizier Qar whose burial chapel was fully decorated. In 2002, the tomb of one of Qar’s sons Inti was found, also with a deco- rated chapel. Among the most relevant scenes in their chapels are the ones showing Egyptian priests carrying out an offering ritual for the soul of the deceased. The purpose of such scenes was twofold: to secure the transmission of the funerary offerings and to assist the deceased in attaining the spiritual stage of being “well-provided”. The following stages may be identified, in this order: fumigation of the cultic place, ritual purification of the altar with clean water, declamation of the ritual utterances, wiping off footprints in the chapel and presentation of offerings. The importan- ce of the newly discovered Abusir scenes relating to the funerary cults of the ancient Egyptians lies in the fact that they considerably expand the corpus of similar scenes from other Saqqara tombs. At the same time, they comprise some valuable details that shed more light at the individual sta- ges of this unique ritual, traces of which have been preserved in the archaeological record.

ABSTRACT: This lecture covers Dynasty 3, beginning with a discussion of the Sed Festival in general regarding the various rites, its setting, structures, participants, and other details.  It proceeds next with an examination of the reigns, expeditions, achievements, and monuments (i.e., mainly pyramids) of kings Djoser, Sekhemkhet, Khaba (Nebka), Sanakht, and Qahwdjet (Huni), with a detailed coverage of King Djoser's Step Pyramid complex, the various components within it and their significance and/or postulated functions.  It concludes with a discussion of the small Dynasty 3 step pyramids found throughout the Nile Valley, plus a summary section outlining the lecture's main points.  UPDATED: Feb. 2023

The tomb chapel of Hetepherakhet is a monument that has intrigued me ever since I set foot in it for the first time. Once part of the necropolis of Memphis, it is now one of the highlights of the Egyptian collection in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden (inventory no. F 1904/3.1). The chapel itself formed part of a much larger mastaba originally built at Saqqara. It was first excavated by Auguste Mariette in the 1860’s. In 1902, the tomb chapel was purchased from the Egyptian government by the Dutch amateur archaeologist Adriaan Goekoop. It was shipped to the Netherlands in 70 crates, and first opened to the public in 1904.

Publication of a cemetery of minor burials excavated by the Australian Centre for Egyptology at the Teti Cemetery (Saqqara) in 1994 and 1995, under the overall direction of Prof. Naguib Kanawati. The burials range in date from the mid-18th Dynasty down to the Persian Period. The book includes chapters on the burials, pottery, objects and human skeletal material

Publication of the archaeological report on the excavation of the Sixth Dynasty tomb of Inumin at Saqqara. Inumin served during the reigns of Teti, Userkare and early Pepy I. The excavation report is followed by a description of the objects and pottery from the shafts (including the Main Shaft) and the Main Burial Chamber (MBC) of the tomb owner. The MBC contained a number of objects from the original burial equipment. Assessment of the archaeology of the MBC and the Shaft reveals that the robbing was likely limited to a couple of centuries immediately after the original interment. The unusual deposits excavated in the MBC reveal evidence of weather events from the end of the third millennium BC. This is further discussed by the author in  Studia Quaternaria 30/2 (2013).

Un ingegnere chimico Joseph Davidovitz indagando sui blocchi delle Piramidi di Giza, notò la presenza di un capello e di una conchiglia fossile inseriti dentro una grande blocco di calcare. Questo poteva dimostrare che la pietra non era di origine naturale, ma poteva essere fatta da un particolare tipo di calcestruzzo. Di calcare intorno alle Piramidi ne esiste in grandi quantità, e si mise in ricerca, questa ricerca lo portò sull’Isola di Seel, nei pressi di Elefantina.