The Tomb of Tuthmose III

One of my favorite spots in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, is the tomb of Tuthmose III. It is tucked away in a corner of the royal valley and is accessed via a high stairway (more a ladder than a stair really). Climbing this stairway can be exhausting in the mid-day heat. You then go down a series of stairs until you finally enter the burial chamber, which looks like it was decorated by a child armed with several different colored magic markers.

I suspect that the burial chamber's decoration is designed to look like a papyrus with scenes from the various books of the underworld on it. One of the "books" of the underworld found in this tomb is the Litany of Re; another was the Amduat. The photo above portrays a demon of the seventh hour of the Amduat decapitating the enemies of the King in the underworld.

The other photo in this post shows Isis, as a tree with breasts, nursing Tuthmose. To the left of this scene is a drawing of the King standing with a mace and staff in his hands (partially visible). To the left of Tuthmose (not shown) are drawings of three of Thuthmose's wives and one of his daughters. This particular scene is on one of the columns that supports the ceiling of the tomb.

Photos copyright John Freed

Learning Middle Egyptian

I joined a study group today to "learn" Middle Egyptian. I learned the language years ago, but could use a refresher course. I also like the idea of working with others who want to learn the language.

The study group has a moderator who will post homework assignments for the group. The group will communicate via email. I am looking forward to seeing how this works out.

If anyone is interested in joining the study group you can do so at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GlyphStudy/

Lady Hor is a Man

A CT scan of a Brooklyn Museum mummy that has always been considered to be a woman has revealed that the mummy is actually that of a man. The mummy has never been unwrapped because it is covered by a superb cartonnage cover.

Here is a link to the story:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/nassau/ny-limumm2412910051jun23,0,1461405.story

CT Scan Reveals Temple Singer's Face

A CT scan of the mummy of the temple singer Meresamun has been used to reconstruct her facial features. Meresamun died in about 800 B. C.

Here is a link to a story : http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529062,00.html

The Six Hyksos Kings (a Possible Retraction)

As I mentioned in my previous post, there seems to be a problem with the list of kings I proposed as being the six "Great Kings" of the Fifteenth Dynasty.

Sheshi has almost universally been assumed to be one of these kings. But scholars have recently realized that seals of Sheshi found at Uronarti and Mirgissa (in Nubia) are in contexts that would make Sheshi contemporary with the early Thirteenth Dynasty.

Additionally, a seal of Yakubher has been found at Shikmona which seems to be contemporary with the mid-Thirteenth Dynasty (Ryholt, K. "The Political Situation in Egypt During the Second Intermediate Period", Copenhagen: University of Copenhagen, p. 42). K. Ryholt would place both of these kings in the Fourteenth Dynasty (Ryholt, p. 46), which ruled at the same time as the Thirteenth Dynasty.

It should be noted however, that Dr. Ryholt has reconstructed the sequence of Second Intermediate Period kings differently from other scholars and that the evidence for that sequence is based on the stylistic developement of scarabs. I have commented in an earlier post that using scarabs as evidence for much of anything is dangerous, as the number of scarabs preserved from the Second Intermediate Period is small. Additionally, there is no consensus whatsoever on how scarabs could be used (or even if they should be used) to sequence kings.

Time will tell if Dr. Ryholt is correct in removing Sheshi and Yakubher from the Fifteenth Dynasty.

The Six Hyksos "Great Kings"

Many years ago (1987 to be exact), I wrote a couple of papers on Egypt's Second Intermediate Period. In one of them, I made a half-hearted attempt to identify the six Hyksos "Great Kings". I include the relevant section of the paper below. I my next post, I will retract part of what I wrote many years ago in light of new evidence that has become available.


The Six “Great Kings” of the Hyksos:

It is difficult to determine exactly who the six Hyksos “Great Kings” were. Manetho claims that the Sixteenth Dynasty was comprised of Hyksos Pharaohs, but this is impossible as the Kamose Stela proves that Kamose (of Dynasty Seventeen) and Apopis (of Dynasty Fifteen) were contemporaries[1]. Furthermore, the Turin Canon clearly states that there were six Hyksos Kings[2]. The usual explanation for Manetho’s Sixteenth Dynasty is that Manetho somehow got a list of Hyksos “Princelings” and came to the conclusion that they were Pharaohs in a separate dynasty[3]. In view of the almost total lack of evidence for this period it must be admitted that no better idea is available.

Going on the assumption that there were only six Hyksos Pharaohs and that they comprised the Fifteenth Dynasty we next turn to the question of exactly who those six Kings were. Manetho’s version of the names of these King’s is too garbled to be of any real use, and will be ignored for the most part in the following discussion.

The Inscribed monuments show that Apopis must have been one of the six Kings in question and that he must have been either the last of the six or next to the last (this is proven by the Kamose Stela, which clearly shows that Apopis is a contemporary of Kamose). Khian is certainly one of the six as well, but it cannot be stated for certain who the other four were.

Attempts to clear this matter up have been made by several scholars in the past. Olga Tufnell, in her analysis of the scarabs of the period[4], is one of the persons who have tried to shed light on this topic. A detailed analysis of her work is impossible here, but a summary of her results is in order.

First of all, she concludes that the only “Kings” who must be included in Dynasty Fifteen for sure are Khian, Apopis and Khamudy, There are no scarabs or other monuments of Khamudy; Manetho provides the only evidence for his existence when he claims that Khamudy was the (short-lived) successor of Apopis[5].

Secondly, she separates a list of “Kings” who are represented by a greater amount of “evidence” than the others. She includes on this list: Khian, Meruserre Yakubher, Mayebre Sheshi, Kauserre Amu, Sekhaenre Ykbmw, Nebuserre Y’mw, Ahetepre, Apopis and Khamudy. The remaining three Pharaohs could be any three persons on this list, or even from a list of lesser know individuals.

Thirdly, and most importantly, she has created a relative chronology of the Kings in question, which is not contradicted by any other historical source. This chronology indicates that Khian must be one of the earliest Kings of the period, while Apopis must be at the end. Most scholars accept Mayebre Sheshi as one of the Hyksos Kings[6] and, if her chronology is accurate, he must rule after Khian and before Apopis[7]. There is no way to prove who the remaining two Hyksos rulers were, but the present author is inclined to follow von Beckerath and, very tentatively, suggest Yakubher and Sekhaenre[8], as these two have left behind a larger number of scarabs than other candidates. Taking all of this in to consideration, I would suggest that the six “Great Kings” of the Hyksos, in the order that they ruled, were Meruserre Yakubher, Khian, Mayebre Sheshi, Sekhaenre, Apopis and Khamudy.

[1] Hibachi, p. 31 and passim.

[2] Gardiner, pp. 149-50.

[3] Trigger, p. 158.

[4] Tufnell, O. Studies on Scarab Seals, vol II, (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, lt., 1984).

[5] Tufnell, p. 172.

[6] Tufnell, p. 162.

[7] Tufnell, p. 168, fig. 29.

[8] Von Beckerath, p. 32 and Tufnell, p. 162 and sources quoted therein.

Tomb of Amenemopet

The tomb of a New Kingdom official has been found at Dra Abu el Naga on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor. Excavators have apparently found one or more mummies in the tomb. The tomb continues to be cleared and cleaned. A few photos can be found here (click on the "previous" link above the photo).