Nile Magazine #10, October-November 2017-Sample

£4.90 NILEMAGAZINE.CO.UK | #10 | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2017 NIL ~ E Discover Ancient Egypt Today ! w e N THE QUIZ Can you beat it? The Origin of CATS A Gilded Treasure RE-EMERGES Belzoni's LEGACY The Coffin of RAMESSES II A Mystery Solved T H E G O V E R N O R S O F ELEPHANTINE NILE 6 15 28 THE COFFIN THE MET'S NEW COFFIN Jef Burzacott On September 12, 2017, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art announced a major new acquisition: the stunning Late Period coin of a priest named Nedjemankh. 2 OF RAMESSES II Jef Burzacott When the mummy of Ramesses II was discovered in 1881, it was found in a coin that didn’t look much like the king at all. We look at Dr. Nicholas Reeves’ fascinating research that reveals not only the true owner of Ramesses’ coin, but also the circumstances surrounding its kingly re-use. THE ORIGIN OF CATS Jan Hoole A new DNA study reveals how cats from Egypt and the Near East colonised the world and helped shape the modern cats we love today. Plus we meet the world’s irst cat with a name. 34 THE NOBLE VULTURE Lesley Jackson How did such an awkward and unattractive bird with unappealing eating habits become the titular goddess of Upper Egypt? Lesley Jackson explores the vulture’s transformation into an elegant and powerful symbol of motherhood, protection and rebirth. 56 ACCESSIBLE EGYPT Jef Burzacott British expats now living in Egypt, Jane Akshar and Joanne Stables want Luxor to be famous as Egypt’s irst disabilityfriendly ancient heritage site. NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 NILE COFFIN MASK OF THE GOVERNOR OF ELEPHANTINE, HEQAIB III. PHOTO BY RAÚL FERNÁNDEZ © UNIVERSITY OF JAÉN #10 October– November 2017 4 4 5 9 58 60 62 64 64 65 THE COVER THE GOVERNORS OF ELEPHANTINE Judith Weingarten Alejandro Jiménez-Serrano For almost a decade a Spanish-Egyptian team has been excavating the "Tombs of the Nobles", opposite modern-day Aswan. 42 Y The Nile Quiz *NEW* Timeline On This Day Nile Style Looking Back Exhibitions & Events Coming Up Contact NILE Subscribe to NILE SUBSCRIBE & SAVE! Get Nile Magazine delivered to your door every two months and save over 20%. Every 6th magazine is free! See page 65 for your fabulous subscription ofer. FROM THE EDITOR ou may remember that in NILE #9 (Aug– Sept ‘17), we reported on a rather cryptic announcement made by the Egyptian Antities Minister, Khaled El-Anany. He teased us with the promise of a discovery that would “astonish the whole world”. All was inally revealed in a press conference on Saturday, September 9, outside a tomb at Dra Abu el-Naga on Luxor’s West Bank. An all-Egyptian team had revealed an 18th-Dynasty tomb (Kampp 390) belonging to Amenemhat—a goldsmith of Amun. On the right is the heavily patchedup tomb chapel statue of Amenemhat and his wife, Amenhotep (which is a curious choice for a name as it was traditionally reserved for males). he location of Kampp 390 has long been known, but this was the irst time it had been opened in modern times. Like many tombs at Dra Abu el-Naga, this one had been heavily reused for burials in the hird Intermediate Period. Tantalisingly, the mission, led by Dr. Mostafa Waziri, unearthed a large number of funerary cones, 40 of which mention four oicials whose tombs have not yet been found. he prospects for more discoveries in the area are seemingly pretty good. NILEMAGAZINE.CO.UK PHOTO: EGYPTIAN MINISTRY OF ANTIQUITIES - The Qubbet el-Hawa Project has been spectacularly successful, with a number of new tombs discovered, and new insights into life at ancient Egypt’s southernmost outpost. Map of Egypt But of all the news that day, what excited your editor the most was this proud statement by Dr. Waziri: “We used to escort foreign archaeologists as observers, but that’s now in the past. We are the leaders now.” he excavations at Dra Abu el-Naga have been an entirely Egyptian initiative. We know that the future of Egypt’s antiquities and ancient sites relies on modern Egyptians connecting with their cultural heritage and pharaonic past. Excavations like this give me a great deal of hope. Welcome to issue #10. Enjoy your NILE time! Jef Burzacott ~ [email protected] 3 he coin’s spectacular golden exterior relects the deceased owner’s newly-acquired divine status. According to the museum, “unique to this coin are the thin sheets of silver foil on the interior of the lid, intended to protect Nedjemankh’s face. To the ancient Egyptians, the precious metals gold and silver symbolized several things. On a general level, they could represent the lesh and bones of the gods, or the sun and the moon; on a more speciic level, they were identiied with the eyes of Herishef, whom Nedjemankh served. “Even more remarkably, the long inscription on the front of the coin’s lid explicitly connects gold and ‘ine gold’ (electrum) to the lesh of the gods, the sun, and the rebirth of the deceased. he association of the inscription with the actual use of metals on the coin is a rare—possibly unique—occurrence.” he Metropolitan Museum’s Janice Kamrin and Diana Craig Patch describe the coin’s elaborate decoration: “On the lid is a winged igure, likely the sky goddess Nut, through whose body the sun passed during the night to be reborn at dawn, and a winged scarab beetle pushing the solar disk. Beneath are registers containing illustrations of funerary spells. In the lid’s center, the jackal-headed god Anubis prepares the mummy; above this, Nedjemankh’s heart is weighed against truth in preparation for his acceptance into the land of the blessed dead; below, baboons worship the sun with rays that stream down to earth, linking Nedjemankh to the eternal solar cycle of death and rebirth. The lowest vignette shows Isis riding in two diferent barques whose iconography supports Nedjemankh’s rebirth.” It’s worth noting that this is one of those good news stories where the coin was legally exported from Egypt with the full blessing of the Egyptian Antiquities Service and has a solid provenance. Nedjemankh's long journey began in 1971 when he was purchased from the store of a Cairo antiquities dealer (Habib & Company) by an unnamed Swiss collector. he coin remained in the owner’s family until the Metropolitan Museum bought it from them this year. Exactly when and where Nedjemankh was originally interred, and what happened to his body and any other grave goods is unknown. Nedjemankh’s coin is now on display in the Met’s Lila Acheson Wallace Galleries for Egyptian Art (Gallery 138). It’s nice to see Nedjemankh back out into the sun. PHOTOS: METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. ACC. NO.: 2017.255a,b Purchase, 2017 Beneit Fund; Lila Acheson Wallace Gift; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; Leona Sobel Education and The Camille M. Lownds Funds; and 2016 Beneit Fund, 2017. NILEMAGAZINE.CO.UK 7 ON THIS DAY 16 October 1817 Belzoni Discovers the Tomb of Seti I “A new and perfect monument of Egyptian antiquity, which can be recorded as superior to any other in point of grandeur, style, and preservation, appearing as if just inished on the day we entered it. . . .” © RAMÓN VERDAGUER—CHRISTIANE MAQUET (SOLOEGIPTO) Giovanni Belzoni, 1820 A detail of one of the largest relief fragments pulled from the tomb of Seti I, now in the Louvre (Inv. No. B 7). he goddess Hathor, Lady of the West (the underworld), welcomes Seti I into her domain. She holds out her menat necklace towards the king as a symbol of her protection. F or decades ater Giovanni Belzoni’s incredible discovery in the Valley of the Kings, the great tomb of Seti I (KV 17) was known as “Belzoni’s Tomb”. Moreover, the incredible alabaster sarcophagus which the former circus strongman hauled from the tomb bears a similar story. Sir John Soane, the wealthy London architect who bought the sarcophagus without a moment’s hesitation ater the British Museum turned it down, referred to it in his collection’s oicial catalogue as the “Belzoni Sarcophagus”. his year marks the 200th anniversary of Belzoni’s NILEMAGAZINE.CO.UK he relief was pulled from a column in Seti I’s tomb by members of the Champollion expedition in 1828. JeanFrançois Champollion was the irst person in nearly two millennia to be able to read King Seti’s cartouche on the tomb’s walls. amazing ind, and while the sometimes “rough and ready” methods of the Italian treasure-hunter-for-hire have attracted criticism from a modern perspective, at the time, he was a sensation. Now, two centuries later, it seems his legacy is becoming increasingly crucial to modern Egyptologists. he tomb of Seti I is one of the most lavishly decorated tombs in the Valley. His was the irst decorated royal tomb in Egyptian history to have the whole tomb —including the corridors and various side chambers— covered in paintings and reliefs. 9 UL TU RE DE PA RT ME NT OF C VA — PA DO F UR CO TE SY OF EM TH I UN T LI PA CI Y O he description on the back of this charming early 19th-century miniature painting is very eicient: “Belzoni Padovano / Insigne Viaggiatore / Soldan dipinse” (“Belzoni Paduan / Distinguished traveller / Soldan painted”). No one really knows who Soldan is, or why he chose Belzoni as a subject. It may have been to commemorate (or capitalise on) the adventurer’s death in 1823. Padua was very proud of their “son”. During his time in Egypt (1815–1819) Belzoni had sent two seated Sekhmet statues as a git to the city. In turn, a special medallion was struck to honour him and his great discoveries. Belzoni is shown in the Ottoman fashion it seems the Paduan was fond of: lowing, ochre-coloured robe, a sort of turban-cap, and a large scarf. he long clay Turkish pipe adds an exotic air to the scene. he tiny portrait (just 7 cm across) was created on silk in the tempera style: a mix of powdered pigment and distilled water, held together with egg yolk. Today this wonderful (and rarely published) piece is in the collection of the Musei Civici Eremitani (Eremitani Civic Museum) in Padova—Belzoni’s birthplace and childhood home. the Museum recently announced a change in their opening days: to Wednesday–Sunday (from Tuesday– Saturday). his will, as the museum states, “help us accommodate the soaring number of visitors drawn to the Museum. . . .” With all this extra attention, Belzoni’s star is likely to shine brilliantly for many years yet. he exhibition inishes 15th April 2018. he next issue of NILE Magazine will feature the recreation of Seti I’s stunning sarcophagus, as well as another of Belzoni’s great inds from his time in the Valley of the Kings: the magniicent sarcophagus lid of Ramesses III, now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. 14 NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 THE COFFIN OF RAMESSES II Why such a modest coin for such a famously immodest pharaoh? NILEMAGAZINE.CO.UK 15 I n June 2013 Nicholas Reeves presented a fascinating paper at the First Vatican Coin Conference. In it he explored the long-held questions surrounding Ramesses II’s coin and put forward the name of its probable original tenant. His arguments not only compare the coin’s facial features against those of possible candidates, but, uniquely, also take in the broader context of hebes in the late 20th / early 21st Dynasties; namely the dismantling of the royal burials in the Valley of the Kings, the subsequent caching process of the stately dead, and the logistics of the coin’s appropriation for Ramesses II. he details of where to read Nicholas Reeves’ paper (which we thoroughly recommend) are at the end of this article, which aims to lightly summarise and guide readers through Reeves’ inspired, step-by-step process. originally intended for Neferneferuaten were adapted and pressed into service for Tutankhamun ater his early death, and so therefore couldn’t have been available for Ramesses II’s mummy. Physiologically, Reeves argues that Tutankhamun’s second coin, canopic stoppers (one example below), and canopic coinettes all feature the oicial funerary image of Neferneferuaten. his face, he states, “difers markedly from that of Inv. Cairo CG 61020 with its THE CANDIDATES Based on the coin lid’s facial features, Reeves proposes several late 18th-Dynasty kingly candidates for the original ownership of Ramesses II’s coin. hese candidates, in chronological order, are Neferneferuaten/Smenkhkare, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and Ramesses I. Ater analysing the strengths and weaknesses of each claimant, Reeves feels only one its the bill. CANDIDATE #1: NEFERNEFERUATEN / SMENKHKARE he inclusion of this candidate, Akhenaten’s female coregent, Neferneferuaten, rests on Reeves’ proposal that late in Akhenaten’s reign, his principal queen, Nefertiti, entered into a co-regency and adopted the kingly name Ankh(et)kheperure Neferneferuaten. When Akhenaten died, Neferneferuaten ruled as an independent pharaoh, changing her name to Ankhkheperure Smenkhkare. Reeves believes that the golden coins (RIGHT) One of the four calcite canopic lids found in Tutankhamun’s tomb. PHOTO © MARINA ANTUNES NILEMAGAZINE.CO.UK NILEMAGAZINE.CO.UK 31 Gardiner Notebook No. 70, pages 68–69, recording the dockets found within the tomb of Horemheb (KV 57). © Griith Institute, University of Oxford. THE KV 57 DOCKETS In 1909 Egyptologist Alan Gardiner transcribed a group of faint hieratic dockets written in ink at the entrance to the tomb of Horemheb in the Valley of the Kings (KV 57). We are grateful that he did as they seem to have since faded, worn away or been obscured. hese markings tell us a lot about the level of institutional tomb robbery during the wehem mesut (see box, right); a period of “rebirth” founded by Ramesses XI’s General Piankh in the closing years of the 20th Dynasty. Piankh was installed as High Priest of Amun at hebes ater the previous priestly elite were likely decimated in rebellious attacks by Panehesy, the viceroy of Nubia. Piankh’s military and priestly might saw a new balance of power in Egypt. While Piankh and the successive High Priests of Amun oicially recognised the legitimacy of the northern pharaohs ruling from Tanis, they became the defacto rulers over southern Egypt. he “oicial” 22 WEHEM MESUT ! [ a eK w he term wehem mesut translates literally as “Repeating of Births” and was used from time to time to proclaim a “rebirth” of royal authority ater a perceived period of chaos. he 12th-Dynasty king Amenemhat I (ca. 1985–1795 b.c.) established a renaissance in the second part of his reign by including wehem mesut in his titulary. Some 650 years later, Tutankhamun called himself “the victorious king, the Horus, wehem mesut. . .” on his Restoration Stela, signifying a return to the orthodox cults and the restoration of their temples which had been let to decay under Akhenaten. Around the 19th year of Ramesses XI’s reign (ca. 1080 b.c.) a new count was begun, with year one of the wehem mesut. his wasn’t inaugurated by the last Ramesside king, however, but by his general, Piankh, who had been dispatched to hebes to quell a takeover by Panehesy, the viceroy of Nubia. Rather than restoring Ramesses XI’s control over the region, ater the defeat of Panehesy’s army, General Piankh stayed on and claimed the titles of Vizier and High Priest of Amun. Whether Piankh had acted on orders or initiative to impose his authority over hebes, we don’t really know. But one thing is clear: Piankh was now the efective ruler of Upper Egypt, and his selfproclaimed renaissance had begun. NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 The head of the second-hand coin discovered in DB 320 containing the mortal remains of Ramesses II. 26 KV 57, but found no evidence of intrusive 22nd Dynasty (ca. 945–715 b.c.) burials; there were no coins, cartonnage fragments or shabti igures belonging to the hird Intermediate Period. Perhaps then the dismembered skeletons amid the debris were the sad remains of Horemheb and a third royal cache of “similarly ‘refurbished’ royal dead”, which, unlike those in DB 320 and KV 35, had been reached irst by ancient plunderers and destroyed. We can only hope that the eventual proper examination of the remains found in KV 57 might tell us more about these people and shed a little more light on this period of Egypt’s history. Many thanks go to Dr. Nicholas Reeves for his kind permission to summarise his richly-detailed arguments from he Coin of Ramesses II, his paper presented at the First Vatican Coin Conference. Grateful appreciation is also given to the copyright holders for the use of the ine images used in this article, particularly the Griith Institute at the University of Oxford, the Brooklyn Museum Libraries, Peter Brand (Director of the excellent Karnak Hypostyle Hall Project), and the ever-generous support of the Egyptology Library of Peggy Joy. For a more thorough examination of the stylistic and textual evidence pointing to Horemheb’s coin as the one allocated to Ramesses II during the wehem mesut (and subsequently enjoying “a happier fate” than that of Horemheb’s remains), please see Nicholas Reeves, “he Coin of Ramesses II”, in Alessia Amenta and Hélène Guichard (ed.), Proceedings First Vatican Coin Conference 19-22 June 2013, II (Vatican City: Edition Musei Vaticani), pp. 425–438. he paper can be freely downloaded from www. academia.edu/7415022/he_Coin_of_Ramesses_II_2017. THE EGYPTOLOGY LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY © GRIFFITH INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD THE EGYPTOLOGY LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY Horemheb’s mummy may be found in the disarray that Davis and Weigall encountered: “In the storage annexe to the first room of the burial chamber were found ‘a skull and a few bones. . . of more than one person;’ within the sarcophagus were ‘a skull and a few bones [again] of more than one person;’ while in ‘a little side chamber on the right’ of the sarcophagus were ‘two skulls and some broken bones lying in the corner. hese appeared to be female.’” Intriguingly, Reeves suggests that “taken in conjunction with the ‘dead flowers. . . found here and there amidst the debris’ (a characteristic feature of burials and reburials of the hird Intermediate Period, ca. 1069–747 b.c.), the conclusion I am inclined to draw is that not only was the restored mummy of Horemheb in all probability returned to KV 57, but that other refurbished mummies were then or later deposited alongside. . . KV 57, in other words, will have served as another Royal Cache.” It’s a tantalising prospect; that ater being relieved of his funerary valuables and original coin (which, evidence suggests, wound up with the next king in the refurbishment line, Ramesses II), King Horemheb was furnished with a replacement coin and sent back to his tomb, presumably for eternity. He was, however, soon to have company. here are some notable “missing persons” from the mummies discovered in the famous caches in DB 320 and KV 35, such as the pharaohs Ay and hutmose I, aside from Horemheb himself. (We may discount the Amarna dead from potentially appearing in KV 57 since, as Reeves states, they “appear to have escaped [the dismantling process] thanks to the 19th-Dynasty removal of their names from cemetery records.”) Weigall counted four broken bodies in the rubble of A detail from Gardiner’s Notebook of the dockets written inside the entrance of Horemheb’s tomb. A portrait-headed canopic jar lid discovered in the tomb of Horemheb (KV 57) in 1908 by Arthur Weigall. NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 28 NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 © JAAP JAN HEMMES In this ishing and fowling scene from the tomb of Menna (TT 69) at Luxor, a papyrus stalk bends under the weight of a mongoose, no doubt on a mission to the birds’ eggs above. A hungry cat, however, appears to be beating it to the nests. Menna was a scribe and “Overseer of Fields” belonging to the Amun Temple at Karnak in the reign of Amenhotep III. Here you can see two representations of Menna—capturing birds on the left, and spearing ish on the right. It is thought that such scenes represent both the tomb owner’s hunting prowess and physical vitality, as well as the symbolic dominance of order over chaos. It’s probably no coincidence that, at the beginning of time, a papyrus marsh sprang up around the fertile mound that emerged from the primeval waters of chaos (Nun). The marsh, therefore, perpetuates the act of life springing forth from the moment of creation. Ancient DNA reveals how cats conquered the world Dr. Jan Hoole H umans may have had pet cats for as long as 9,500 years. In 2004, archaeologists in Cyprus found a complete cat skeleton buried in a Stone Age village. Formed by a clash and uplit of tectonic plates, Cyprus has never been connected to the mainland and thus has never had a native wildcat population. he animal must have been brought 30 to the island by humans all those millennia ago. Yet despite our long history of keeping pet cats and their popularity today, felines aren’t the easiest of animals to domesticate (as anyone who’s felt a cat’s cold shoulder might agree). here is also little evidence in the archaeological record to show how cats became our friends and went on to spread around the world. NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 © JAAP JAN HEMMES The Egyptians found that the dual nature of cats (on one hand, docile and nurturing, and on the other, ierce and protective) made them suitable for many diferent roles. Pictured is a guardian cat demon in the tomb of Khaemwaset (QV 44) in the Valley of the Queens, Luxor. Prince Khaemwaset was mentioned as the eighth son of Rameses III (Dynasty 20, 1184–1153 b.c.), on the prince list at Medinet Habu, where he is listed as deceased. Wall decorations in the tomb’s burial chamber “peculiar social and cultural context of the Egyptian society may have facilitated the evolution of a more ‘friendly’ disposition of cats towards humans”. In a nutshell, ancient Egypt may have shaped the modern cat. In medieval times this Egyptian cat spread throughout the Mediterranean along trade routes as the predators were used by mariners to control rodents on board ships (as shown by cat DNA from the 7th century found in the Viking port in Ralswiek on the Baltic Sea.) But it wasn’t until the 18th century that the traditional “mackerel” coat of the wildcat began to change in substantial numbers to the blotched pattern that we see in many modern tabbies. his suggests that, at that time, serious eforts to breed cats for appearance began— perhaps the origin of modern cat shows. Another interesting inding is that domestic cats from earliest times, when moved around by humans to new parts of the world, promptly mated with local wildcats and spread their genes through the population. And, in the process, they permanently changed the gene pool of cats in the area. his has particular relevance to today’s eforts to protect the endangered European wildcat, because conservationists oten think interbreeding with domestic cats is one of the greatest threats to the species. If this has been happening all over the old world for the past 9,000 or so years, then perhaps it’s time to stop worrying about NILEMAGAZINE.CO.UK feature Khaemwaset and Ramesses III confronting knifewielding demons who guard a series of gates of the underworld. At each encounter, the king acknowledges the demon, pronounces their name and presents his son, which allows Khaemwaset to pass safely through the gateways into the afterlife. The rear wall of the chamber features My (The Cat), shown above, ready to ferociously repel the prince and his father if they didn’t know the demon’s name. wildcats breeding with local moggies. his study suggests that none of the existing species of non-domesticated cats is likely to be pure. In fact, cats’ ability to interbreed has helped them conquer the world. DR. JAN HOOLE is Lecturer in Biology at Keele University in Stafordshire. This article was originally published in The Conversation. DID CATS DOMESTICATE THEMSELVES? Probably not. he most popular opinion on cat domestication is that cats—true to their independent nature—did exactly what they wanted and domesticated themselves. Perhaps encouraged by villagers, the less skittish cats invited themselves in and became more reliant on (or tolerant of!) humans. However, it may not have been all the cats’ doing. Keeping pets isn’t a modern habit, and it is likely that as rodents drew them in, young wildcats were captured and adopted to be handreared as furry members of the family. he German botanist, Georg Schweinfurth, noted as much on a trip to southern Sudan in the 1860s. He described how easily the indigenous Bongo people caught and kept African wildcat kittens, “reconciling them to life about their huts and enclosures, where they grow up and wage their natural warfare against the rats.” Anguished by a rat problem himself, Schweinfurth was inspired to acquire several local cats to protect his valuable botanical specimens. He found that “ater they had been kept tied up for several days, [they] seemed to lose a considerable measure of their ferocity and to adapt themselves to an indoor existence so as to approach in many ways to the habits of the common cat.” Schweinfurth was thus able to “go to bed without further fear of any depredations from the rats.” 33 Noble ulture V The i ! !!. Lesley Jackson © JAAP JAN HEMMES Mother goddesses unite The goddess Hathor receives an ofering from Ramesses III (out of frame) in the tomb of his son Amenherkhepshef (QV 55) in the Valley of the Queens. As a mother goddess, Hathor shares the iconography of fellow divine mothers, Nekhbet and Wadjet, and wears the distinctive vulture headdress and uraeus. 34 On Hathor’s brow, Wadjet, the cobra-goddess of Lower Egypt, is poised and ready to strike at the pharaoh’s enemies. This is combined with the headdress of her counterpart, Nekhbet, the vulture goddess of Upper Egypt. Together, the “Two Ladies” protect a unity Egypt and represent the king’s sovereignty over the country. NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 “THE TOMBS OF HARMHABI AND TOUATANKHAMANOU”—THEODORE DAVIS (1912) PHOTO COURTESY OF THE EGYPTOLOGY LIBRARY OF PEGGY JOY Alternative Fact-checking AC E N CE TE Valley of the Kings SO HN JO SA NA D RE M O TE S E N S IN G UN I T, Nekhen / Hierakonpolis Nekheb / Elkab 6q b Q EAR TH S CI E NCE AN Aswan Abu Simbel 40 on the pharaonic brow, including the canopic lids of Amenhotep II and Horemheb (above). This photo was taken shortly after Horemheb’s tomb was discovered in 1908. You can see the full image on page 20 in the article reporting on Dr. Nicholas Reeves’ search for the original owner of Ramesses II’s coin. It appears that the mighty king’s coin was second-hand and was made with another king in mind. NEKHBET R N SP This portait-headed canopic jar lid from the 18th Dynasty royal tomb of Horemheb (KV 57) helps dispell a largely-accepted “fact”. It is popularly believed that Tutankhamun’s burial equipment is unique in that some items bear a vulture-and-cobra forehead emblem, rather than the more usual single uraeus (see image on page 18). There are, however, a few earlier and later examples of Nekhbet and Wadjet appearing together Nekhbet’s name simply means “She of Nekheb”, the capital of the third nome of Upper Egypt (modern Elkab). Unlike other goddesses associated with the vulture, Nekhbet was normally depicted as a vulture with outstretched wings usually grasping the shen ring in her claws. She can wear the White Crown of Upper Egypt, sometimes with two long feathers. More rarely she can be shown as a vultureheaded woman. Nekhbet has a strong association with rebirth and funerary imagery, but she does not igure prominently in the funerary texts— possibly because of the lingering fear of the destruction of the body given the nature of the vulture. Coin Text Spell 957 speaks of “Nekhbet, the entire vulture. Her wings are opened to me. . . Nekhbet has installed me in the midst of herself [lest] Seth should see me when I reappear.” While on one hand, Nekhbet’s wings are open in welcoming embrace but the second phrase seems to allude to her ingesting the deceased (albeit with good intentions), or, to put it more agreeably, the deceased becoming as one with her. NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 © JAAP JAN HEMMES The 20th-Dynasty tomb of Setau at Elkab includes a damaged but legible scene of a barque bearing a shrine for the cult statue of Nekhbet. The accompanying text reveals that the statue is being taken by boat from the temple of Elkab to the royal residence of Per-Ramses, in the Delta, to attend the celebration of the king’s Sed Festival, in year 29 of Ramesses III’s reign (ca. 1155 b.c.). Setau was a high priest of Nekhbet under the reigns of eight kings during the bulk of the 20th Dynasty: from Ramesses III through to Ramesses IX (ca.1175 to 1120 b.c.). With such an incredibly high turnover in pharaohs in less than 50 years, one can imagine Setau making increasingly urgent oferings to Nekhbet, perhaps praying for stablitily as his country’s fortunes declined. Like many other goddesses, Nekhbet was referred to as the mother of the king. She was largely a state goddess, but at her cult centre of Nekheb she was venerated as a protector of women in childbirth and children. Amenhotep II (18th Dynasty, ca. 1427–1400 b.c.) rebuilt her temple and the foundation deposits of faience eyes and ears and fertility igurines indicate a popular cult in parallel with the oicial one. In later periods, Nekhbet was considered a protector of the roads which led from Nekheb to the quarries and mines of the eastern Desert, probably suggested by sightings of vultures along these same routes. A 20th-Dynasty tomb painting at Elkab (above) depicts a procession for Nekhbet. A vulture perches on the top of her shrine on the boat and around its wings is a red band. Does this depict a live sacred bird who had its wings bound to stop it lying away? A BIRD TRANSFORMED Observing the vulture emphasises its extremes. Up close it is awkward and unattractive with unappealing NILEMAGAZINE.CO.UK habits, but when observed riding the thermals in easy spirals, becomes graceful. he Egyptians appeased the spirit of the vulture by taking it as their maternal protector, its large expressive wings becoming a clear statement of its powers. hey turned its frightening feeding habits into an illustration of rebirth and their art transformed it into an elegant and powerful symbol. LESLEY JACKSON writes about the Egyptian deities and is the author of Thoth: The History of the Ancient Egyptian God of Wisdom, Hathor: A Reintroduction to an Ancient Egyptian Goddess and Isis: The Eternal Goddess of Egypt and Rome. 41 QUBBET elHAWA “We are certainly facing the most promising good news campaign of the last few years.” —Dr. Alejandro Jiménez-Serrano at the start of the 2017 campaign in Qubbet el-Hawa. he joint mission between Spain’s University of Jaén and the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities is now in its ninth year, studying the tombs of the governors of Elephantine. Now co-directed by Dr. Jiménez-Serrano and Dr. José Alba GÓmez, the project has been spectacularly successful, with a number of new tombs discovered, and new insights into life at the southern outpost. Governor of Elephantine, Heqaib III: portions of his coin discovered in QH 33 in 2014. PHOTO BY RAÚL FERNÁNDEZ © PROYECTO QUBBET EL-HAWA 42 he Qubbet el-Hawa project focused initially on the study and excavation of the QH 33 tomb where the governors of Elephantine, HeqaibAnkh and his step-brother brother and successor, Heqaib III were buried. he tomb was reused in the New Kingdom and Late Period (over 300 intrusive burials have been uncovered), and has subsequently yeilded a vast amount of material for study. Although QH 33 was discovered in the late 1880s, it had never been excavated—probably because the prospect was so unattractive; the tomb's interior was thought to have been thoroughly been ransacked and then destroyed by an immense ire. Despite the challenges, the mission pressed forward, and their decision has been well-rewarded. Nile Magazine #8 (June-July 2017) featured the discovery of the burial of Shemai (opposite page). He was the brother of Governor Sarenput II and thus secured a place among the nobles at Qubbet el-Hawa. Yet a good number of governors do not yet have an allocated tomb in Qubbet el-Hawa, so the prospects for new discoveries by the Spanish-Egyptian mission are considered very good. NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 his special Nile Magazine feature includes two essays: the irst by Dr. Judith Weingarten, who tells the story of the Lady Sattjeni V whose burial was discovered in 2013, and the central—if slightly incestuous—role she played in sustaining the local dynastic line. he second article is by Dr. Alejandro Jiménez-Serrano, who recaps for Nile readers the key discoveries and indings of the seasons so far, and their hopes for the future at Qubbet el-Hawa. 1970 b.c. 1960 b.c. 1950 b.c. Sarenput I FROM NILE MAGAZINE #8, JUNE-JULY 2017 1940 b.c. Nebfendjet Hapi II Gaut-Anuket I 1930 b.c. Sattjeni I 1920 b.c. Heqaib I 1910 b.c. Sattjeni III Sattjeni II Ameny 1900 b.c. (QH 36) Ipi 1890 b.c. Heqaib Heqaib “the elder” (QH 32?) “the middle” “the younger” ? Khema 1880 b.c. 1870 b.c. Ipi 1860 b.c. Ankhu Heqaib II Khema Satethotep I Sarenput II Senusret III Ameny Senusret II Heqaib I Sattjeni IV Amenemhat II Sarenput I Senusret I But irst, take a good look at this family tree of the Middle Kingdom governors of Elephantine. he sheer number of Sarenputs, Sattjenis and Heqaibs can sure get confusing, so we’ve provided you with this diagram to help you navigate your way through. he names of those who became governors are bolded and highlighted in colour. Below-right is a chronology to illustrate the approximate lengths of the governors’ reigns, and which pharaoh they served. 1850 b.c. Heqaib-Ankh Sarenput II Dedet-Khnum Shemai (QH 34bb) (QH 31) 1830 b.c. Ankhu Gaut-Anuket II Heqaib II (QH 30) Sattjeni V Heqaib III 1820 b.c. Dedu-Amen Amenemhat III 1840 b.c. (QH 34aa) Ameny-Seneb Heqaib-Ankh Heqaib III Ameny-Seneb (QH 33) (QH 33) Satethotep II Sarenput Amenemhat 1800 b.c. Khakaure-Seneb 1780 b.c. NILEMAGAZINE.CO.UK 43 Queen Sobekneferu 1790 b.c. Khakaure-Seneb Amenemhat IV 1810 b.c. QH 33 Sarenput II QH 34 © JAAP JAN HEMMES QH 33 QH 34 Sarenput II PHOTO: JUAN LUIS MARTÍNEZ DE DOIS. © UNIVERSITY OF JAÉN Qubbet el-Hawa is honeycombed with the so-called Tombs of the Nobles. he name Qubbet el-Hawa “Dome of the went belly-up, leaving no direct male heirs. But irst, a little background on the family and home of the Governor’s daughter. Sattjeni was buried in the necropolis at Qubbet el-Hawa (above) across the Nile from Elephantine a ! (known as Ta-Seti B a j :“land of the bow” in pharaonic times), which was the southernmost province of Egypt. his is the cemetery where the governors of Elephantine built their tombs. During the 12th Dynasty (ca. 1985–1795 b.c.), they constructed huge funerary complexes for themselves and their closest relatives. A Local Dynasty Governors ranked just below the pharaoh’s royal family and, indeed, they oten behaved like little kings within their own territory. Today, we would call them princes—even though (in theory at least) each and every governor was appointed by the pharaoh and served at his pleasure. In that sense, the oice, with its princely title, wasn’t hereditary. However, the royal residence at Memphis was far away to the north, so soon, very early 46 wind’, originates from the domed mausoleum (‘qubbat’) of Sheikh Ali Abu ‘l-Hawa, which sits above the site. y [ e ] 5 !7 1 M 4 ! 5 . 1t 1 1 “Royal Sealer, Sole Friend, Overseer of Peasants, Ameny”. Graito of Ameny, Elephantine. in the 12th Dynasty, a local dynasty arose in Elephantine to govern the province. he oice didn’t always pass from father to son, but it did stay within the family. he title “Daughter of the Governor” ranked near the top of the provincial tree, following the example set by the royal house, in dignity just one level down from the more exalted “King’s daughter”. A “Daughter of the Governor” always retained her title regardless of marrying a man belonging to another family; she would always be identiied, irst and foremost, as a member of the ruling family—even until death and into the aterlife, as was the case with Lady Sattjeni, daughter of the Governor Sarenput II. Elephantine was a boom town at the time, proiting from Egyptian expansion across the southern border into Nubia. he province was the jumping-of point for military expeditions—usually aimed against the warlike Nubian kingdom centred on Kerma, south of the third cataract on the Nile. he governors of Elephantine led these expeditions and so, on their return, some of NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 untimely death provoked a dynastic crisis in the “hen the governor Heqaib II married his wife’s ruling family which was only resolved when a man younger sister, Sattjeni (V) or vice-versa, she named Heqaib (II) became governor. We know married him. Sattjeni had at least two more very little about Heqaib II. Neither of his parents, children, Heqaib III and Ameny-Seneb, who Khunes and Sathathor, were part of Sarenput II’s would later become governors of Elephantine. immediate family. hus, Heqaib II became goverOnce Heqaib II passed away, his eldest son nor, not because of any blood ties to the ruling Heqaib-Ankh automatically became governor family, but because of his spouse. In efect, Heqaib of Elephantine. Ater Heqaib-Ankh’s [untimely] II married the boss’ daughter. death, his stepbrother Heqaib III received the he right to rule the southernmost province rule of Elephantine through the inheritance of of Upper Egypt had to pass through a “Daughter his mother, Sattjeni, Sarenput II’s daughter. of the Governor” in order to maintain the blood line of their great-grandfather, the dynasty’s Sattjeni and her sister had served their family founder. First into the breach was Sattjeni’s elder well, and so smoothed the succession over a period sister, Gaut-Anuket. Her task was precisely to of some 30 years. However, research suggests that produce male children. Gaut-Anuket was as good it was not all was “beer and skittles” in Elephantine, as her loins, and produced a son, Heqaib-Ankh, with widespread hunger and disease devastating who would once day succeed his father as governor. even the elites. Wealth, as it turns out, did not buy Unfortunately, Gaut-Anuket died while Heqaibhealth on Egypt’s southern frontier. Ankh was still a child, thus thrusting the burden Analysis of the mummies unearthed in tomb of dynastic legitimacy onto her younger sister, QH 33, carried out by forensic anthropologists at Sattjeni. Spain’s University of Granada, has shed new light With her brother and elder sister dead, Saton the living conditions at that time. As Prof. tjeni was the last heiress standing on behalf of her Miguel Botella Lopez from the University of Granada’s Laboratory of Physical Anthropology explains, deceased father, Sarenput II. In short, the inheritance rights of the dynasty now lowed through “Although the cultural level of the age was ex“It was I who built the ka-chapel of the her veins. traordinary, the anthropological analysis of the prince Heqaib.” From the chapel of Heqaib, Dr. Alejandro Jiménez-Serrano, co-director human remains reveals the population in built by Sarenput I at of the Qubbet el-Hawa project, recaps what general and the governors—the highest social Elephantine. happened next: class—lived in conditions in which their health b ? C ! &T t ! M # \ n nd R Passage to top of primary burial shaft Secondary Naos Naos Southern Shaft he funerary complex QH 33 was constructed to bury two governors of Elephantine: Heqaib-Ankh and his step-brother Heqaib III. Ameny-Seneb, the younger brother of Heqaib III, is yet to be found. TOMB DIAGRAM BY JUAN ANTONIO MARTÍNEZ-HERMOSO © UNIVERSITY OF JAÉN 50 C23 Heqaib III C25 Unknown Burial NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 in having two naoi rather than just one. A iveKingdom levels, and it seems that it was Heqaibmetre-long shat descends from the southern naos Ankh who was buried there. In the end, Heqaib to two burial chambers below. he western chamber III appears to have enjoyed a rather lengthy reign (labelled C23) lies precisely below the naos. Inside which must have been a pleasant surprise considwas a badly decayed coin containing the body of ering the odds against it at the time. a 28- to 30-year-old male, and his mummy mask For a while it was thought that QH 33 was built (previous page). Luckily, some wood at the head for Heqaib III and then usurped by his younger of the coin survived and on it was written the brother, Ameny-Seneb, who appropriated the name of the deceased: Heqaib. It is believed that largest naos and deepest burial chamber for this Heqaib must be the deceased governor Heqaib himself, and relegated his older brother to a subIII—Sattjeni V’s elder son. his now raises the sidiary burial chamber and inferior naos. Although question: who was buried in the 12-metre-deep this no longer seems to be the case, it does beg the main northern shat? Quite likely his older stepquestion, where is Ameny-Seneb? No one knows. brother, Heqaib-Ankh. What we can igure out, however, is that at What might have happened is this: When some point Ameny-Seneb was called upon to bury Heqaib-Ankh became Governor, he began the one of his step-brothers. Ater the death of Heqaib construction of his future tomb, QH 33. He did II, our Lady Sattjeni remarried. If her choice of not live to inish it, as the uninished central naos irst husband was somewhat eccentric—marrying suggests. His step-brother and successor, Heqaib her elder sister’s widower—what are we to think III, seems to have realised that time was not on his of her second marriage, to an oicial named Deduside either. Rather than carve out a brand new Amen, an individual of apparent Nubian ethnictomb to relect his proud gubernatorial status, ity? he couple had two sons, a Sarenput (named Heqaib III had a shat sunk within his step-brothater her father) and Amenemhat (ater the reigner’s monument. Certainly, the southern naos does ing pharaoh), both of whom would have shared not appear to be have been part of the original the Nubian features of their father, Dedu-Amen. “The revered one tomb plan. And so it proved to be. before Satet, Lady of and NekhExcavations earlier this year, down in the Elephantine, In 2016 the Qubbet el-Hawa team found bet.” From the naos of Sarenput II in QH 31. tomb’s deep northern shat, reached the Middle Sarenput’s burial chamber in the northeast PHOTO: PATRICIA MORA © UNIVERSITY OF JAÉN 1 ib B M ! _! p > ! ]qK R jb 6q ! . Dr. Alejandro Jiménez- Serrano, brushes sand away from the face of an intrusive Ramesside-era coin in shaft No. 7 52 in the tomb of Sarenput I (QH 36). here are nine burial shafts in all. It appears that ive have never been cleared. NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 PHOTO: MOHAMED A. FAHMY Accessible W hat a difference a small wooden ramp can make. Able-bodied visitors to the Temple of Hatshepsut on Luxor’s West Bank probably wouldn’t even notice the simple wooden addition to the grand access ramp. For anyone who needs a wheelchair or mobility scooter to get about, however, these ive planks of timber bridge a discouraging step and make the female pharaoh’s graceful temple a whole lot more accessible. And, in a nutshell, that is the mission of Accessible Egypt: to improve access for disabled people at Egypt’s temples. Accessible Egypt is a campaign launched by Jane Akshar and Joanne Stables—British expats who now live in Luxor. It was only in recent years, as Jane herself became progressively reliant on a motorised scooter (Luxor’s irst), that she realised how diicult it was to enjoy the region’s magniicent temples. he paving stones in and around the structures are oten so gappy and uneven that they pose a problem not only for those on wheels but also people using walking sticks or frames—or even just a little wobbly on their feet. Jane wants Luxor to be famous as Egypt’s irst disability-friendly ancient heritage site. At a time when Egypt needs all the visitors it can get, the work of Accessible Egypt has seen early interest from local antiquities authorities. he opportunity is there to make Egypt a real option for people who never thought they could visit Egypt before. 56 Egypt Recently Accessible Egypt has made contact with Helm, an Egyptian non-proit organisation that has accessibility to private and public premises as one of its core aims. Part of the solution might lay in mudbricks. hey are cheap and easy to produce en masse, easy to replace when necessary, and are remarkably durable. Joanne Stables reveals that “on the West Bank of Luxor at the ancient necropolis of Dra Abu el-Naga, a group of workmen employed by the American Research Centre in Egypt (ARCE) have been busily working away to produce more than 15,000 mudbricks for a number of international archaeological missions.” One of these missions is the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, which is developing a paved walkway at Medinet Habu to allow visitor access to the western precinct of Ramesses III’s temple, as well as the House of Butehamun. he paving blocks produced by the ARCE team are composed mainly of soil collected from the (carefully sited) spoil heaps of the nearby archaeological excavations. “As a paving material,” Stables says, “mudbrick has a number of advantages when compared to conventional stone paving. For example, mudbrick is able to endure exposure to direct sunlight and high temperatures more than limestone and sandstone which are known to deteriorate with the increase of temperature. Furthermore, mudbrick is more resistant to cracking due to its ability to absorb movement. NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 NILE STYLE ART, FASHION AND POPULAR CULTURE INSPIRED BY ANCIENT EGYPT Pharaoh would be pleased; a stunning Nekhbet vulture collar necklace in 18ct gold and sterling silver. he openwork wings are patterned in a feather and pharaonic dress detail. Photo: Azza Fahmy. I n last issue’s Nile Style we presented a spectacular Egyptian revival brooch in the form of a winged scarab. hat piece was made in 1924 by the luxury jewellery designer, Cartier, and, 93 years later, ancient Egypt is still trending; the art of ine jewellery inspired by ancient Egypt is alive and well. 58 Azza Fahmy is Egypt’s best-known contemporary jewellery designer, and now, “handcrating 7,000 years of inspiration”, earning international acclaim. his striking Nekhbet necklace was inspired by a golden armlet discovered in 1859 in the 17th-Dynasty tomb of Queen Ahhotep, in Dra Abu el-Naga, Luxor. NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 LOOKING BACK Y ou may recall a certain “scandal” almost ten years ago when a young man named homas Kohnstamm published a “swashbuckling tale of high adventures” from his years as a travel writer. It wasn’t the rollicking yarns that caught everyone’s attention, however, but his admission that he had either copied or simply made up large sections of his contributions to travel guides. In one instance, he hadn’t actually visited the place he was commissioned to write about: “hey didn’t pay me enough to go to Colombia. I wrote the book in San Francisco.” his, of course, was all great publicity for the book. Such admissions from a travel writer of the 16th century, however, would have caused much less of a ripple. It was not uncommon for chroniclers of the day to describe far-lung destinations they had never seen, and happily record the accounts given to them in good faith by more adventurous souls. You may recall that the last issue of Nile Magazine 60 (#9, June-July 2017) featured a wonderful image of the Giza pyramids (below) from the 1564 edition of Sebastian Münster’s “Cosmographia” (irst published in 1544). he fact that Münster actually set foot in relatively few of the places he described didn’t stop his lavishly illustrated encyclopedia from being one of 16th-century Germany’s most popular works. Even the giants of historical travel writing may not have visited all of the places they pretended to. he Greek historian Herodotus wrote a colourful account of Egypt in around 450 b.c., supposedly visiting the country during the Persian occupation (27th Dynasty). Herodotus was the irst to admit that much of NILE #10 | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 © JOHN J. BURNS LIBRARY, BOSTON COLLEGE © LIECHTENSTEIN. THE PRINCELY COLLECTION, VADUZ-VIENNA, INV. No. HS 98 Vintage Images of Ancient Egypt