BEITRÄGE ZUR SUDANFORSCHUNG. BEIHEFT 9

THE KUSHITE WORLD

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 11TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR MEROITIC STUDIES

VIENNA, 1 – 4 SEPTEMBER 2008

THE KUSHITE WORLD

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 11TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR MEROITIC STUDIES

VIENNA, 1 – 4 SEPTEMBER 2008

Edited by Michael H. Zach

Vienna 2015

BEITRÄGE ZUR SUDANFORSCHUNG. BEIHEFT 9 Publisher: Verein der Förderer der Sudanforschung c/o Department of African Studies University of Vienna Spitalgasse 2, Court 5.1 1090 Vienna Austria Printing House: Citypress Neutorgasse 9

1010 Vienna Austria

Front Cover: Northern Pylon of Naqa Apedemak Temple (© Department of African Studies, Inv. No. 810) ISSN: 1015-4124 Responsibility of the contents is due to the authors. It is expected that they are in possession of legal permission to publish the enclosed images.

CONTENTS

Michael H. Zach Address to the 11th International Conference for Meroitic Studies …………………………………

i

Hassan Hussein Idris Ahmed Address to the 11th International Conference for Meroitic Studies …………………………………

iii

William Y. Adams Origins and Development of the Nubian and Meroitic Conferences: a recollection …………….

vi

MEROE IN THE AFRICAN CONTEXT

Khidir A. Ahmed Meroe, a State of the Nile Valley ……………………………………………………………………….

1

Angelika Lohwasser A Kushite Metal Implement and its Modern African Descendants ………………………………..

9

Nada Babekir Mohammed The Local Features of the Meroitic Period …………………………………………………………….

17

ECOLOGY AND ECONOMY

Saeed Mosmar Alawad Remotely Sensed Data, Cartography, and Geo-Forms as Means for Archaeo-Ecological Information Extraction: Naqa and Musawwarat, Sudan ……………………………………………..

23 Juan Vicente Estigarribia The Hafīr as a Water Clarification Device …………………………………………………………….

29

Dorian Q. Fuller The Economic Basis of the Qustul Splinter State: Cash Crops, Subsistence Shifts, and Labour Demands in the Post-Meroitic Transition ………….……………………………………

33 Ali Ahmed Gasm el Seed Environment, Ecology and Meroitic Food …………………………………………………………….

61

Tim Karberg Culture, Crops, and Cattle. Aspects of Environmental Assessment, seen through an Archaeologist’s Eye ………………………………………………………………………………………..

69 Richard A. Lobban, Jr. Iron Making at Meroë ……………………………………………………………………………………..

77

ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE GREATER MEROE AREA

Julie Renee Anderson, Salah Mohamed Ahmed and Mahmoud Soliman Recent Fieldwork at Dangeil, Nile State in the Amun Temple Complex …………………………

89

Michel Baud Trois saisons à Mouweis: premier bilan archéologique ……………………………………………..

97

Krzysztof Grzymski and Iwona Grzymska† A Brief Report on Recent Excavations at Meroe ……………………………………………………..

111

Ali Osman M. Salih The Archaeology of Greater Meroe: the University of Khartoum, Department of Archaeology, and Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Joint Archaeological Activities ………….

115 Pawel Wolf, Ulrike Nowotnick and Catharine Hof Hamadab – Insights into Development and Lifestyle of a Meroitic Urban Settlement ………….

123

HISTORY AND CHRONOLOGY, SOCIAL STRUCTURE/KING-, QUEEN- AND KINSHIP/GENDER

Samia Bashir Dafa’alla Napatan Queenship …………………………………………………………………………………………

141

Rageh Z. Mohamed The Relation between Meroe and South Arabia ……………………………………………………….

157

Azhari Mustafa Sadig Progress and Regress of the Neolithic Culture in Central Sudan: the Chronological Setting ….

171

ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE MEROITIC NORTH AND EAST

Charles Bonnet Le temple circulaire de Doukki Gel …………………………………………………………………….

195

Vincent Francigny The Meroitic Temple at Sai Island ………………………………………………………………………

201

MEROITIC LANGUAGE

Abdelgadir Mahmoud Abdalla Ancient Sudanese ‘so-called Meroitic’ ………………………………………………………………….

213

Jochen Hallof Meroitische Inschriften aus Qasr Ibrim und das Zeichen w ..........................................

243

ART AND POTTERY

Dobiesława Bagińska The Meroitic Pottery from Selib …………………………………………………………………………

249

Eugenio Fantusati From Arnekhamani to Caravaggio (and more) ………………………………………………………..

265

Danièle Michaux-Colombot The Rosette in Nubian Cultures ………………………………………………………………………….

279

Isabella Welsby Sjöström Holes in the Study of Napatan Pottery ………………………………………………………………….

299

ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE GEBEL BARKAL AREA, MEROE AND THE BUTANA

Hans-Ulrich Onasch The Water System of the Royal Baths at Meroe ………………………………………………………

305

Agata Sander Sandstone Reliefs and other Architectural Details Revealed at the Awlib Temple Complex in 2003: a preliminary analysis ……………………………………………………………………………..

307 Irene Vincentelli An Administrative and Trading District in the Napata Region ……………………………………..

319

Simone Wolf The Royal Baths at Meroë: recent investigations ……………………………………………………..

329

OFFICIAL AND FOLK RELIGION/FUNERARY PRACTICES

Salim Faraji King Silko and the Roots of Nubian Christianity ……………………………………………………..

331

Eleonora Kormysheva Evidences of the Sun-Eye Legend in the Meroitic Kingdom ……………………………………….

343

Maria Iride Pasquali Animal Representations in Nubia: symbolism and influence in the Graeco-Roman world …….

359

SACRAL AND PROFANE ARCHITECTURE

Emanuele M. Ciampini The Italian Excavations at Gebel Barkal: a royal hammam (B 2200: seasons 2008-2009) …….

369

Gilda Ferrandino and Matteo Lorenzini 3D Reconstruction of the Lion Temple at Musawwarat es Sufra: 3D model and domain ontologies ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

381 Alessandro Roccati Dating the Meroitic Sector at Napata ……………………………………………………………………

389

MEROITIC SOUTH AND WEST

Howida M. Adam and Yahia F. Tahir Preliminary Comparative Studies on Meroitic and Post-Meroitic Burial Substructures of Wadi al Milk, Sixth Cataract Region, Wadi al Muqaddam and the Fifth Cataract Region …….

395 Siddig Babiker Ahmed Daffallah The Archaeological and Ethnological Reconnaissance of Qerri Area ……………………………..

405

Khidir Adam Eisa Recent Archaeological Discoveries at Wad el-Magzoub Site (White Nile): sixth to seventh season (2006-2008) ………………………………………………………………………………………..

415 Brigitte Gratien, René-Pierre Dissaux, Jean Evrard, Séverine Marchi, Giorgio Nogara and El Ghazafi Yousif Ishag Le Kordofan occidental pendant la période méroïtique. Prospections à Zankor et Abou Sofyan

423

RECENT RESEARCH AND NEW DISCOVERIES

Abdelgadir M. Abdalla, Ismail El-Azhary and Elabbas Abdelmaged Elkhalifa The so-called “Meroitic” Alphabet from Typography to Digital Fonts …………………………..

431

Ossama A.W. Abdel Meguid The Management of Digitizing Nubian Intangible Heritage …………………………………………

437

Nettie K. Adams Images of Men in the “Ethiopian Chamber” of the Isis Temple at Philae: what were they wearing? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

447 Grażyna Bąkowska Some Remarks on Meroitic Pottery from Jebel Barkal/Napata …………………………………….

455

Brigitte Balanda Napatan Funerary Amulets Interpreting the “Egyptianisation” of Beliefs ………………………..

465

Luisa Bongrani Meroitic Aethiopia in Augustus’ Organization of the Roman Empire …………………………….

479

Costanza De Simone Preservation of the Archaeological Site of Nuri ………………………………………………………

485

Alex de Voogt Game Boards and Game Pieces in the Kingdom of Kush: tokens of cultural contact and influence ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

489 Susanne Gänsicke Examination of three Large-Scale Bronze Trays from Kush in the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ……………………………………………………………………………………….

497 Joyce Haynes, Mimi Santini-Ritt and Richard Newman Sculptural Styles and Stone Types of Taharqa Shawabtys …………………………………………..

515

Dan’el Kahn Piankhy’s Instructions to his Army in Kush and their Execution …………………………………..

531

Elsamani El Nasri Mohamed Ahmed Aspelta’s Stelae: an analytic study ………………………………………………………………………

541

Abbas S. Mohammed-Ali and Gamal G.A. El Hassan Tar: an ancient Sudanese curing treatment …………………………………………………………….

547

Marta Osypińska Animal Remains from el-Zuma Cemetery: the discovery of the earliest dated camel remains in Sudan ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

551 Natalia Pomerantseva Egyptian and Nubian Female Statuettes as Reflected in the Style and Traditions of Funeral Cult ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

559 Amarillis Pompei Meroitic Priestly Long Garments Decorated by a Falcon or Vulture ……………………………..

565

Alexey K. Vinogradov War and Charity in Kush ………………………………………………………………………………….

573

Florian Wöß The Representation of Captives and Enemies in Meroitic Art ………………………………………

585

Janice Yellin The Family of Arkamani I in the Southern Cemetery at Meroe ……………………………………

601

Salomé Zurinaga The Spanish Nubian Salvage Campaign through the Media and Official Archives ……………..

613

601

THE FAMILY OF ARKAMANI I IN THE SOUTHERN CEMETERY AT MEROE

Janice Yellin

Abstract The first royal burials in the Southern Cemetery at Meroe document a local family’s rise to power culminating in Arkamani I’s ascension to the Napatan throne. Late Napatan pyramids built on the cemetery’s eastern hilltop belong to Arkamani I’s immediate ancestors while burials on the northern hilltop belong to earlier family members. Inscribed objects, decorated chapels and inscriptions from their burials, particularly BEG S 10, offer insights into Arkamani’s origins and the circumstances behind his ascendancy to national rule. Introduction1 The Kushite preference for burial in family cemeteries (Southall 1988: 52-82; Edwards 2003: 137-150; for a discussion of the evidence for this practice in the Napatan Period cf. Yellin 2009: 11-15), clustered in close proximity to more immediate family members, explains the presence of the Napatan royal burials at Gebel Barkal and the later royal pyramids at Meroe. It has long been understood that when Arkamani I (gen. 28)2 discontinued the established royal practice of being buried near Gebel Barkal, he did so in order to be buried near his family members in the Southern Cemetery (Török 1992: 555-561 and now generally accepted, e.g. Priese 1996: 207-208; Yellin 2009: 8-28; Rilly 2010, among others). If we accept the premise that the Southern Cemetery is a cemetery with many generations of family burials then we can consider the evidence from individual burials to propose a preliminary history of Arkamani, his predecessors and successors. The burials of Arkamani I’s family group, particularly BEG S 10, offer insights into his origins and the circumstances behind his ascendancy to national rule.

At Meroe, as elsewhere in Kush (O’Connor 1993: 98), we find burials in family groups clustered together within their clans’ cemeteries. Using Dunham’s dating for all burials in the Southern Cemetery, F.W. Hinkel (in Hinkel &

1 I am indebted to Drs. Susan Doll and Dan’el Kahn for their helpful critique of the issues discussed in this paper. 2 Throughout this article the generations assigned to burials, unless specifically noted, are taken from Dunham 1955, 1957, and 1963.

Yellin forthcoming: C.V.I) charted their chronology and found that in almost every area, Reisner’s principle that preferred locations3 governed a burial site’s choice could not have been the only factor because in many cases there are relatively early burials in less ‘preferred’ locations than might have been expected. Instead burials from multiple generations were clustered together indicating that the choice of locations was often guided by family affiliations. Within the areas with sub-groups of family units, site selections are sometimes governed by Reisner’s principle. Even if some of Dunham’s dates for these tombs are wrong, this pattern of chronologically mixed family burials was consistent. Therefore the location of Arkamani I’s pyramid between burials on the northern hilltop and those on the adjacent eastern hilltop reflects a family relationship. Evidence from the northern and eastern hilltop pyramid burials for the status of Arkamani I’s family within the Napatan polity The pyramid burials in generations preceding Arkamani I (gen. 28) have Reisner/Dunham’s type IX superstructure (gen. 16-28).4 The best preserved pyramids are on the eastern hilltop

3 Reisner assumed that the highest available locations were preferred and so filled first. He also assumed that the cemetery filled from west to east (Reisner 1923: 34-77, 154-160). 4 There are two forms of type IX superstructures, Type IX.a are sandstone masonry with a solid core, plain corner pyramid on a plinth; Type IX.b are sandstone masonry, rubble-filled plain corner pyramid on plinth (Dunham 1957: Chart I).

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where there is also an earlier group (gen. 16-20) of smaller and less substantial ‘mastaba’ superstructures. Unlike the type IX pyramids, all these mastabas were damaged, sometimes by the construction of later type IX pyramids over their superstructures. This change from mastaba to more substantial pyramid superstructures in the later part of the Napatan period indicates the growing wealth of Arkamani I’s family. The type IX pyramids and ‘mastabas’ on the northern hilltop behind the royal burials are earlier than those on the eastern hilltop and are also considerably damaged.

Burials on the northern hilltop of the Southern Cemetery belonging to members of Arkamani I’s family have objects that are Napatan. However even when their owners have titles, not all of their funerary objects are manufactured to as high a standard as similar objects from Gebel Barkal’s royal cemeteries. This probably reflects the local origin of their owners and their grave goods. For example, the orthography on the shawabti’s from the burial of Queen (?) Mernuwa (BEG S 85, gen. 9-10, type VIII mastaba) is poorly done and there is no cartouche around her name, even though the title of ‘King’s Wife’ (Hm.t nswt) may have been written on the silver band on her mummy (Dunham 1963: 366, 373, fig. 199.B).5 The stele of the ‘King’s Brother’ (sn nswt) Karybane (BEG S 500, gen. 17-18? type IV mastaba), displays a similar lack of polish in its execution and its hieroglyphic text (Dunham 1963; 380, fig. 206.D, E; Hallof (in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming: BEG S 500 B.V.4; B.V.8.). The inscription of the ‘King’s Son’ (sA nswt) Watari’s offering table (BEG S 20, gen. 20-21, type IX.b pyramid (?)6 is Napatan in content but local in origin as demonstrated by the replacement of the Hs-vessel, typically carved in the center of a Napatan offering table, with an unusual and awkwardly formed hourglass-shaped vase carved at the edges of the decorated area (Hallof in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming:

5 However Hallof (in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming: BEG S 085 B.V.8) notes that the spelling may be better reconstructed as sA.t Hm.t nswt ‘Daughter of a King’s Wife’. 6 It was found in the burial chamber having fallen through a thieves’ hole in the chapel floor (Reisner 1920-1922; Apr. 14th, 1920; Dunham, 1963: 399, fig. 221.H).

BEG S 20 B.V.1.4, B.V.8; Yellin ibid.: B.IV.3). Lohwasser (2001: 232, 235 ff.) has proposed that sA nswt and sn nswt do not express literal blood relationships but are given to dignitaries (presumably relatives) who held royal offices with specific duties and that Hm.t nswt can refer to a female member of the king’s retinue who holds a specific rank, which would explain the absence of cartouches around the name of Mernuwa (ibid.: 240). The offering prayer on the stele of Lady Pasalta (Persarût)7 contains no titles and is crudely carved indicating that not all female members of the family, even one with a substantial burial, had an official status.

So, while their titles demonstrate that some of Arkamani’s family members held established offices in the Napatan royal court, the quality of their funerary objects suggests that they lived at Meroe since their grave goods were of local manufacture. Although more research is needed to establish if local manufacture versus Napatan royal quality in funerary objects could also be an indicator of status,8 the burial of Horus-Teby (BEG S 7) suggests that this might be the case for family members buried at Meroe. Although Horus-Teby’s only title is ‘soldier’ (pA mSa) (Fig. 1.A, B)9 his pyramid’s well-built solid core construction (type IX.a), chapel’s Nuri-type pylon, and the content, technique, and style of chapel decorations10 are

7 An intrusive object found in the stairs to the burial chamber of BEG S 15, MFA 21-2-101 (Dunham 1963: 395, 397, fig. 220A; Yellin and Hallof in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming: BVIII.5). 8 An examination of the elite burials in the Western Cemetery may clarify whether the local quality of the work reflects the owner’s status. 9 pA mSa @r-tbj: Hallof (in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming: BEG S 007.Ch/S. 1A; BEG S 007.Ch/ S. 1C; BEG S 007.Ch/W. 3C) notes that the word mSa uses an atypical glyph for its spelling. The fragmentary inscription with this title drawn in Fig. 1.B on the small block, upper right, is from two paper squeezes by Lepsius (328/2) and Breasted (A3242/1) held in the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Wörterbuch der Ägyptischen Sprache [renamed as Altaegyptisches Wörterbuch]. Abklatscharchiv, Berlin. 10 Reconstructed by the author, cf. Yellin 2009: fig. 6 (BEG S 7, south wall); Yellin in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming: BEG S 007.IV, VII.2; Hallof ibid.: BEG S 007.B.V.

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like those at Nuri11 and indicate that Horus-Teby was important enough to have had his pyramid built by workers, perhaps from Nuri, who were familiar with the more complex and ‘expensive’ construction typically associated with royal burials there (Fig. 2)12. If this tomb is earlier than those on the northern hilltop that had objects of local origin, then it could be argued that as time went on, artisans at Meroe became less adept at traditional skills, but BEG S 7’s type VI coffin bench (axial to the west wall) does not appear at Nuri until generation 17, tentatively putting the date of BEG S 7 into the same general time period as the elite burials

11 Such as: A. the bringing and making of funerary

offerings as carved on the chapel walls in NU 6, NU 2, and NU 11 with the north and south walls of BEG S 7 including an offering procession of cattle that includes a worker carrying a calf or an antelope across his shoulders (Yellin 2009: figs. 6, 8).

B. the design and content of the offerings heaped on large offering tables shown on BEG S 7 north and south walls’ middle registers also decorated actual offering tables from Nuri; e.g. NU 2 (gen. 16) (Dunham 1955: pl. XLVIII.D); NU 6 (gen. 9) (ibid.: pl. XX.A, C); NU 9 (gen. 11) (M.F.A. 24.1789), and Kendall 1982: 41-42, among others. These elaborate offerings and their arrangement are also in a relief scene from NU 400, a late Napatan mortuary temple, in which they are shown resting on the floor before a seated figure rather than on an offering table (NU 402, Dunham 1955: pl. LXIV.C).

C. a winged scarab, carved on the pylon’s lintel, is similar to ones carved on lintels from NU 12 (gen. 21) and NU 14 (gen. 25) (ibid.: pls. LVI.D, LXI.B).

D. the use of incised lines to outline the contours of the forms is shared by BEG S 7 and the Nuri chapels. The later royal chapels (BEG S 4-BEG S 6) use a type of pseudo-raised relief; compare Fig. 1.A with Fig. 4.A. 12 The discovery of a solid core superstructure then led Hinkel to speculate that BEG S 9, BEG S 6, and BEG S 2 are also solid core pyramids because of their excellent state of preservation and of aerial photographs in the Hinkel Archives that show what appears to be solid stonework in their centers. However, Hinkel was not able to investigate this before his death and the construction type of these pyramids awaits confirmation. If these are also solid core pyramids then a date for BEG S 7 contemporary to or later than the tombs with objects of local manufacture becomes more likely.

with the locally made objects. Therefore, Horus-Teby, an ancestor of Arkamani I, had a significant connection to the court at Barkal.

In addition to inscribed objects with titles, there are pyramids and chapels on the eastern hilltop that speak to the local, elite origins of Arkamani I’s family. Fragments from the western ends of the damaged north and south chapel walls of BEG S 11 (gen. 18-19)13 and BEG S 13 (gen. 22-21) are carved with the leg(s) of a lion throne – indicators of high status (Fig. 3.A-C). For example, when the ‘Temple Musician’, ‘Mistress of the House’, and ‘Daughter of Re’ Karatari (BEG S 10) is depicted as divinized and of higher status (e.g. holding a royal flail) on her chapel’s south wall, she no longer sits on a stool as shown on the opposite wall, but on a lion throne. BEG S 10 and the rise of Arkamani’s family Inscriptions and chapel relief decorations of BEG S 10 offer insights into Arkamani’s family and its rise to national power. BEG S 10 is several generations earlier than Reisner’s dating to generation 30 (Dunham 1957: 6, 47) that was entirely based on BEG S 10’s “unfavorable” location on the edge of the wadi beside the eastern hilltop. Similarly, Reisner believed that BEG S 503’s unusual location near the entrance to the Wadi Tarabil, was also unfavorable (ibid.: 37). He concluded that both pyramids had to have been built after the hilltop was full. However, in his excavation diary Reisner noted numerous small objects in BEG S 10 that were the same as late Napatan materials from Nuri and that its decorations were like those in the queens’ burial chambers at Nuri (Reisner 1920-1922: April 6, 1920; April 8, 1920; Jan. 15, 1922) suggesting an earlier date. The carving method using incised contour lines and iconography in BEG S 10’s and BEG S 503’s pyramid chapels are closer to royal chapels at Nuri (Fig. 4.A) and BEG S 7 than to the later royal chapel decorations (Fig. 1.A, 7). Finally, there is an alternative explanation for their unusual locations at the edge of wadis. They are the first burials encountered by those entering royal areas of the Southern Cemetery

13 Based on their location on the eastern hilltop and type IX.b superstructures, they may have been built after gen. 20 (Yellin in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming: C.V.2).

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and the wadis beside which they stand lead to their families’ tombs in different areas of their clan’s cemetery.14 There are other interesting parallels between the burial of Karatari (BEG S 10) and that of her ancestor Queen Khenuwa (BEG S 503) who was a ‘King’s Wife’. Karatari appears to have modeled her burial on Khenuwa’s because her pyramid’s size, atypical location, and burial chamber decorations are extremely close to those of BEG S 503.15 Hinkel noted that the average height of the blocks used to build the pyramid varies between 38 cm and 47 cm, an unusual size that is typically found only in earlier structures.16 At Nuri, the largest queens’ pyramids belong to the ‘King’s Mother’, not the ‘King’s Wives’, so the large size of BEG S 10 (and BEG 503) reflect their owners’ roles as a significant ancestors, even though Karatari does not appear to have this title.

Karatari’s exact role and status are elusive. She does not have the royal titles, hm.t nswt or mwt nswt, as one would expect of a Napatan Queen, yet the size of her pyramid and chapel decorations argue that to the descendant who was responsible for their creation, she was a significant ancestor despite her modest royal status.17 Significantly, her modest status is represented on the chapel’s north wall, but is rectified on its south wall. Key elements of royal iconography such as the royal flail, uraeus frieze on the baldachin, and lion throne, as are used for Arkamani I’s queen (BEG S 4, Fig. 4.C), are missing (Figs. 4.B, 5.A) on the

assured his/her divine nature.

14 I am indebted to F.W. Hinkel for this explanation of their location on the wadis (personal communication of Hinkel to author 2005). 15 BEG S 10 is 10.45 meters square (Dunham 1957: 47) and BEG S 503 is 12.87 meters square (ibid.: 37); the next largest pyramids BEG S 7, BEG S 15, and BEG S 9 are a little over 7 meters square (Dunham 1963: 380, 395; 1957: 33). Only the two kings pyramids are larger – BEG S 6 and BEG S 5 are approximately 13 meters square (ibid.: 27, 37). BEG S 4 is just under 7 meters square (ibid.: 32). 16 Hinkel in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming: BEG S 010.B.III.2.1; Because of construction similarities, Hinkel suggested that BEG S 503 and BEG S 10 were close in date (personal communication, 1997). 17 Also made clear by the absence of the large individual cartouches with royal titulary carved in front of the seated owners in royal chapels (BEG S 5, BEG S 6, BEG S 4).

north wall.18 Instead, Karatari holds an ankh while seated on a webbed stool19 under a baldachin without a uraeus frieze. Although she is holding an ankh,20 Karatari is not directly addressed by a god in any of her inscriptions. A female, who may be a princess and/or priestess, replaces the winged Isis, who in the other royal chapels, stood behind the enthroned owner. Karatari does enjoy an elevated degree of royal status on the south wall on which she is shown (Fig 5.B) holding a flail while seated on a lion throne; features reserved for royalty.21 However, even on this wall, unlike the queen of BEG S 4, gods still do not directly address Karatari; she is still not protected by Isis; and there is still no uraeus frieze on her baldachin. Unlike the later royal chapels in this cemetery, its north wall prominently depicts the actual consecration of the chapel with a procession of court members. A pyramid chapel’s consecration had important religious implications because it inaugurated and established the deceased’s on-going mortuary cult that in turn

Karatari’s titles further demonstrate an inconsistent use of royal features. It appears that she is the daughter of a previously unknown ‘king’, Karaki, whose name is written in a cartouche sometimes preceded by the titles nsw or nswt-bjtj (Fig. 6) (Davies 1906: 25.b;

18 Unfortunately the chapel reliefs of BEG S 503 are so damaged that no comparisons can be drawn from them. The best comparison is offered by the well preserved Queen’s chapel of BEG S 4 (gen. 28). 19 Known only from the north wall of BEG S 7 (block S 0005). 20 In Egypt, gods typically hold ankh-signs, but on rare occasions deceased mortals can also hold one symbolizing their elevation to the divine sphere in the afterlife (Lohwasser 2001: 274). Found also in BEG N 12 and BAR 6. 21 Among these features associated with royal iconography, the uraeus frieze on the baldachin, flail, and the lion throne are most clearly reserved for royalty, local or Napatan. Horus-Teby was an important enough private individual to have had a Napatan-style pyramid and chapel. The decorations even show gods making offerings on both walls and a winged Isis behind him on the south wall (the north wall is destroyed), but he is seated on a stool, not lion throne, and there is no uraeus frieze. No names appear in cartouches in his chapel so his non-royal status is clear (Hallof in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming: BEG S 007 B.V.8).

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Hallof in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming: BEG S 010.Ch/N. 1B). A damaged place-name ending with a xAst-sign determinative may follow the writing of ‘King’ Karaki’s name. The sign indicates that he ruled over a territory that may or may not have been under direct Napatan control (Hallof in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming: BEG S 010.Ch/N. 3A). The xAst-sign can be used for both local and foreign territories as on the Madiqen-stele in which both tA sti and kS use this determinative.22 Karatari’s name is written in a cartouche that appears to be preceded by the title ‘Daughter of Re’ (sA.t Ra) (Fig. 6) rather than ‘King’s Daughter’ (sA.t nswt) as might be expected from her father’s use of nswt and nswt-bjtj. The possible use of sA.t Ra may offer a clue into Karatari’s unusual role/status. The title ‘Daughter of Re’ is carried by Nasalsa, the mother of Aspelta, and perhaps by the mother of Irikeamonnote.23 Tellingly it is used on the Election Stele of Aspelta to legitimate his kingship by stating that his father is the ‘Son of Re’ and his mother is the ‘Daughter of Re’ (Lohwasser 2001: 238, 251 ff.). So it appears to be a title used for the mothers of kings with connotations of legitimation (ibid.: 199-200), a theme also expressed by Karatari’s chapel decorations. As noted, Karatari lacks the title of ‘King’s Wife’ or ‘King’s Mother’; instead her other titles are fairly humble. She is a ‘Musician’ (Smaj.t) and ‘Lady of the House’ (nb.t pr) (Hallof in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming: BEG S 010.Ch/N. 3A, 1B). Therefore, if the reading of sA.t Ra is correct, her most important title refers to her son’s legitimation.

It is worth noting that the owner of BEG S 4, who is Arkamani I’s queen and whose chapel reliefs consistently show all the features of royal iconography also does not have any titles written before the many cartouches in her chapel inscriptions (ibid.: BEG S 4 B.V.8). The absence of titles for this queen throws into question the extent to which Napatan use of royal titles is being followed at Meroe and if

22 I am indebted to Dr. Karola Zibelius-Chen for bringing this to my attention. 23 However Kahn (2005: note 31) doubts the reading of sA.t Ra in the stele of Irikeamonnote’s mother. He proposes that this title was reserved in Egypt for ruling queens and the same may have held true in Napata.

the absence of ‘King’s Mother’ and ‘King’s Wife’ from BEG S 10 necessarily means that Karatari did not fill one or both of those roles.

The unusual decorations and inscriptions relate to Karatari’s royal status; however they also need to be considered and understood with respect to their potential meaning for her son, because he would have built and decorated the chapel.24 Indeed, most of BEG S 10’s unusual elements can be understood in terms of her son’s desire to legitimate his claim to the throne. He needed to elevate the status of his mother whose most important known title, sA.t Ra, is associated with a king’s mother and her son’s royal legitimation.

In the Napatan Period the king’s mother’s status was elevated (as on Karatari’s south wall) during her son’s coronation (Kormysheva 1992: 65) and through the establishment of her mortuary cult25 (as in the consecration scenes on Karatari’s north and south walls). Furthermore, Karatari’s son’s desire to legitimate his claim to the throne explains another unique feature on the south wall showing her holding the flail that is denied her on the north wall and with her right hand, instead of holding lotus flowers, extended with its palm turned down. This is a gesture Amun makes to indicate that he has selected the person before him as a ruler.26 The now divine Karatari makes this gesture towards her son, who acting as an iwn-mwt.f priest (Figs. 5.B, 8),27 stands at the beginning of the

24 In most instances, a pyramid and chapel could only be built after its burial chamber was sealed and stairway was filled so a descendant built a parent’s pyramid and chapel. 25 Inscriptions from BEG S 4 clearly demonstrate the belief that the queen became a god in the afterlife and was entitled to treatment equal to that of other gods. In the inscription in front of this seated queen, Isis announces the successful outcome of her judgment by Osiris Khontamenti and decrees the offerings that other gods will give the queen (Hallof in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming: BEG S 004.Ch/S. 5B). 26 In Egypt, for example, on the pyramidion of her obelisk at Karnak, Hatshepsut kneels before an enthroned Amun who extends both hands, palms down, towards her (Capart 1942: pl. 498). 27 This is a detail documented by N. de Garis Davies unpublished drawing of the wall (N. de G. Davies 1906: 21). The reference to this type of priest is intriguing. A iwn-mwt.f priest can act as a funerary

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lower register in front of and below this outstretched hand. Through her gesture, her son is designated the legitimate ruler, whose divine status is both created and confirmed by this monument and its decorations. The same gesture appears on Aspelta’s Election Stele,28 another feature relating to royal legitimation that this chapel and the Election Stele have in common.

Given the focus on the theme of royal legitimation created by the son who was responsible for her burial, it is tempting to identify him as Arkamani I, whose decision to be buried at Meroe indicates that he was not of direct Napatan royal lineage. The general dating of BEG S 10 and the chapel’s themes are appropriate to his circumstances as they are currently understood.

In order to clarify the identity of Arkamani I’s family and its relationship to the Napatan royal family, more needs to be known about the identity of Karatari’s father, Karaki and his place, if any, in the royal king’s list. This is outside the scope of the current paper, but below are two possible scenarios, both of which respond to the evidence from Karatari’s chapel decorations and inscriptions including her son’s interest in elevating her status and in highlighting his legitimation:

Scenario A. King Karaki is a member of the local nobility from the area around Meroe and his use of the titles nswt and nswt-bjtj refers to his control over a specific territory (area around Meroe?) within the Napatan state. He might have been related to the Napatan royal family, since his daughter’s title ‘Lady of the House’ was used for a granddaughter of Piankhy who was descended from a non-ruling royal son.29 As at Napata, distant relatives of

priest, which is in keeping with the context. In Egypt this is also the class of priest who purifies and crowns the king in coronation ceremonies. Napatan queens appear to have stepped into this aspect of the role, e.g. Nasala (who also bore the same title, sA.t Ra, as Karatari) acts as a iwn-mwt.f priest for her son, Aspelta (Lohwasser 2001: 271 ff). 28 Cairo JE 48866 (Wildung 1996: fig. 39) and in Taharqo’s Temple T, Kawa (Macadam 1949: pl. XXII/c). 29 Two Dynasty 25 monuments from Thebes: Statue of Pachedredenmut (son of Montemhet) and the Stele of Montemhet use this title. On his statue, Pachedredenmut, refers to his mother as the nb.t pr Wedjarenes (Lohwasser 2001: 42). On Wedjarenes’

the ruler would have carried the titles sA nswt and sn nswt. Since Karatari’s son (Arkamani I?) oversaw the creation of her inscriptions, the inclusion of ‘King’ Karaki’s name may have been intended to establish Karatari’s son’s claim to the throne and/or his place in the royal family through his mother’s descent from this local ‘king’. Other local rulers from this family, including Karaki, may have been buried in the Southern Cemetery since there are chapels (i.e. BEG S 11 and S 13, Figs. 3.A, B) whose north and south walls have a seated male figure on a lion throne.

Scenario B. King Karaki is the previously unknown Napatan ruler whom M.F.L. Macadam30 suggested is named in a partially destroyed cartouche in King Sabrakamani’s Kawa XIII inscription (first half of third century BC). If so, and if Macadam’s proposed identification of Karaki in Kawa XIII is correct, then Sabrakamani was possibly Arkamani I’s immediate predecessor (Török 1997: 203). And if Karaki is the same king referred to at Kawa and in BEG S 10, then King Sabrakamani and Queen Karatari shared an ancestor (father?). Karatari’s titulary as it is given indicates that her mother (the wife of King Karaki) was of a modest rank, perhaps because Karatari’s mother was from a local Meroitic family. However modest Karatari’s place in the Napatan royal family was, her connection to the ruling Napatan royal family through King Karaki would still have been important in legitimating her son’s (Arkamani I?) claim to the throne and hence the frequent appearances of Karaki’s name with titles in her tomb. Summary The pyramids on the eastern hilltop nearest BEG S 6, Arkamani I’s tomb, belonged to family members whose large and well

offering table, she uses the title nb.t pr before her name (ibid.: 44), which is again written without a cartouche (ibid.: 190) and she is identified as a granddaughter of Piankhy (through a non-ruling son). On the Stele of Montemhet, Amenirdis also has this title, but no cartouche is used with her name (ibid.: 146). 30 For a discussion see Hallof in Hinkel & Yellin forthcoming: BEG S 010.B.V.8; Macadam 1949: 74-75, pl. 27, 31; FHN II: 534-535.

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constructed pyramids (such as BEG S 7, BEG S 8), in contrast to their predecessors’ mastaba tombs, demonstrate the growing prominence of this family within the Napatan state. Titles on funerary objects from later Southern Cemetery Napatan tombs indicate that they, along with King Karaki, were in some way linked to the Napatan royal line, although they may not have belonged to the main branch of the family. Whether King Karaki, whose name appeared in a cartouche preceded by the title nswt or nswt-bjtj, was a local dynast with ties to the royal family at Napata rather than a previously unknown Napatan king, as suggested by Macadam, awaits further research.

Scenario A might be the likelier one since King Karaki’s use of the titles nswt and nswt-bjtj does not necessary mean he was more than a local ruler because Egyptian titles may have had a different meaning in a Kushite context. Horus-Teby’s impressive tomb belies his simple title of soldier (pA mSa), a sign that the XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX

title, in a Napatan context, is associated with a more important function than expected. Karaki is probably the ancestor of Kings Arkamani I and Amanislo, whose royal iconography has non-Napatan elements such as an unusual cap that flares out in the back and long fitted robes. Karaki, Arkamani I and Amanislo may have been members of a local ruling clan whose leaders wore these garments.31

The need to establish a new, legimate line of royal succession explains BEG S 10’s pyramid size, location, inscriptions, and chapel decorations. Karaki’s name in Karatari’s inscription may have served to establish her son’s claim to the throne through his mother’s relationship to this local dynast. If, as the evidence indicates, BEG S 10 pre-dates BEG S 6, the unusual themes of royal legitimation found in BEG S 10’s chapel decorations refer to the rise of this new ruling family whose ancestors are buried in the Southern Cemetery at Meroe.

31 These distinctive royal garments are also found in BEG N 4, the first royal burial in the Northern Cemetery, only to disappear along with the introduction of other traditional Meroitic elements in ensuing reigns (Yellin 2009: 24-28, figs. 11, 13).

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Dunham, D. 1955 Nuri, The Royal Cemeteries of Kush II, Boston 1957 The Royal Tombs at Meroë and Barkal, The Royal Cemeteries of Kush IV, Boston 1963 The West and South Cemeteries at Meroë, The Royal Cemeteries of Kush V, Boston

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O’Connor and A. Reid (eds.), Ancient Egypt and Africa, London, 137-150 FHN = Eide, T., T. Hägg, R.H. Pierce and L. Török

1996 Fontes Historiae Nubiorum. Textual Sources for the History of the Middle Nile Region between the Eighth Century BC and the Sixth Century AD. Vol. II. From the Mid-Fifth to the First Century BC, Bergen

Hallof, J. forthcoming Inscriptions: in: F.W. Hinkel and J.W. Yellin, The Necropolises of Kush I.1, 2.

Meroe. The Southern Royal Cemetery. Text and Graphics, Berlin Hinkel, F.W.

forthcoming in: F.W. Hinkel and J.W. Yellin, The Necropolises of Kush I.1, 2. Meroe. The Southern Royal Cemetery. Text and Graphics, Berlin

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Gesellschaft zu Berlin 16, 143-163 Kendall, T.

1982 Kush: Lost Kingdom of the Nile, Boston Kormysheva, E.

1992 The Royal Crowns of Kush: an extended review, Beiträge zur Sudanforschung 5, 55-71 Lohwasser, A.

2001 Die königlichen Frauen im antiken Reich von Kusch. 25. Dynastie bis zur Zeit des Nastasen, Meroitica 19, Wiesbaden

Macadam, M.F.L. 1949 The Temples of Kawa I. The Inscriptions, London

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Priese, K.-H. 1996 Die Götterwelt von Meroe, in: D. Wildung (ed.), Sudan. Antike Königreiche am Nil,

Tübingen, 267-300 Reisner, G.A.

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Rilly, C. 2010 Le royaume de Méroé, Afriques [on-line], Varia, placed on-line April 21, 2010,

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Török, L. 1992 Amasis and Ergamenes, Studia Aegyptiaca XIV, 555-561 1997 The Kingdom of Kush. Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization, Handbuch der

Orientalistik 31, Leiden Wildung, D. (ed.)

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2009 La transition entre le Napatéen Tardif et l’époque méroïtique d’après les recherches sur la nécropole royale sud de Méroé, Bulletin de la Société Française d’Égyptologie 174, 8-28

forthcoming in: F.W. Hinkel and J.W. Yellin, The Necropolises of Kush I.1, 2. Meroe. The Southern Royal Cemetery. Text and Graphics, Berlin

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Fig. 1.A: BEG S 7 south wall, EA 68993 (© The British Museum)

Fig. 1.B: BEG S 7 south wall (drawing I. Fechner)

Fig. 2: BEG S 7 (photo J.W. Yellin, 2001)

Fig. 3.A: BEG S 11 north wall (drawing I. Fechner)

Fig.3.B: BEG S 13 north wall (drawing I. Fechner)

Fig. 3.C: NU 6 (Dunham 1955: pl. XX.A)

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Fig. 4.A: NU 6 north wall (Dunham 1955: pl XX.A)

Fig 4.B: BEG S 10 north wall (photo J.W. Yellin)

Fig. 4.C: BEG S 4 north wall (photo J.W. Yellin)

Fig. 5.A: BEG S 10 north wall (drawing I. Fechner)

Fig. 5.B: BEG S 10 south wall (drawing I. Fechner)

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Fig. 6: BEG S 10 north wall, Davies Notebook (© Griffith Institute, University of Oxford)

Fig. 7: BEG S 10 north wall, inscription before owner (photo J.W. Yellin)

Fig. 8: BEG S 10 south wall, Davies Notebook (© Griffith Institute, University of Oxford)