A Brother for Thutmosis III, JEA 2013

THE JOURNAL OF

EgyptianArchaeology

VOLUME 99

2013

PUBLISHED BY

THE EgYPT ExPLORATION SOcIETY3 DOUgHTY MEwS, LONDON wc1N 2Pg

ISSN 03075133

The Journal of Egyptian ArchaeologyAll rights reservedISSN 0307-5133

website: http://www.ees.ac.uk/publications/journal-egyptian-archaeology.html

Published annually by The Egypt Exploration Society3 Doughty MewsLondon wc1N 2PgRegistered charity No. 212384A limited company registered in England, No. 25816

Printed in great Britain bycommercial colour Press PlcAngard House, 185 Forest RoadHainaultEssex Ig6 3Hx

Editorial Team

Roland Enmarch, Editor-in-chief

Violaine chauvet, EditorMark collier, Editorchris Eyre, Editorcary Martin, EditorIan Shaw, Editor

glenn godenho, Editorial Assistant

editorial email address: [email protected]

the journal of

egyptian archaeology

Volume 99

2013

published by

the egypt exploration society3 doughty mews, london wc1n 2pg

The Journal of Egyptian Archaeologyall rights reservedissn 0307-5133

website: http://www.ees.ac.uk/publications/journal-egyptian-archaeology.html

published annually by the egypt exploration society3 doughty mewslondon wc1n 2pgregistered charity no. 212384a limited company registered in england, no. 25816

printed in great britain bycommercial colour press plcangard house, 185 forest roadhainaultessex ig6 3hx

Editorial Team

roland enmarch, editor-in-chief

Violaine chauvet, editormark collier, editorchris eyre, editorcary martin, editorian shaw, editor

glenn godenho, editorial assistant

editorial email address: [email protected]

Contents

tell el-Amarna, 201213 Barry Kemp 1

theban Harbours and Waterscapes A Graham, K D strutt, survey, 2013 V L emery, s Jones, and D s Barker 35

the sacred Falcon necropolis of Djedhor(?)at Quesna: Recent Joanne Rowland, salima Ikram, Investigations from 20062012 G J tassie, and Lisa Yeomans 53

Glass of Amenhotep II from tomb KV55 Paul t nicholsonin the Valley of the Kings and Caroline Jackson 85

A Brother for thutmose III(Cairo Museum Bn 104) Dina Metawi 101

the Dean of Archaeological Photographers: Harry Burton Ronald t Ridley 117

the egyptian Royal titulary ofAlexander the Great, I: Horus, two Ladies, Golden Horus,and throne names Francisco Bosch-Puche 131

the PastoPhorion: Priests Houses inLegal texts from Ptolemaic Pathyrisand elsewhere in egypt sin e thomas 155

Compositions in egyptian Hieroglyphs innineteenth Century england Chris elliott 171

Local Vessels and Imported CopiesManufactured in sandy Fabrics silvia Lupoat tell el-Ghaba, north sinai and Maria Beatriz Cremonte 191

Missing Koms and Abandoned Channels: Joshua trampier, the Potential of Regional survey in Willem toonen, Aude simony, the Western nile Delta Landscape and Jennifer starbird 217

some Remarks on a negated earlieregyptian nominal sentence andRelated Constructions sami Uljas 241

some Literary Aspects of theKamose Inscriptions Roland enmarch 253

Brief CommuniCations

A Roman Period Childs Mummyin the saffron Walden Museum Christina Riggs 265

A Block of Ramesses II Reused as athreshold in the Wakala of Qawsun(Cairo) David Lorand 270

A Coptic epistolary exercise fromWadi sarga Jennifer Cromwell 272

A Middle Kingdom Funerary stela of aWoman at Al-salam school Museum,Assiut Abdalla Abdel-Raziq 275

A stable of the third IntermediatePeriod at tell el-Retaba ukasz Jarmuek 281

new titles of the Great ChancellorBay Alexander safronov 290

the oracular Amuletic Decrees:A Question of Length t G Wilfong 295

A neglected Funerary text James P Allen 300

on the Validity of sexing Data fromearly excavations: examples from Qau tatjana Beuthe 308

reviews

Anne Boudhors and Chantal Heurtel,Les ostraca coptes de la TT29: Reviewed byAutour du moine Frang Jennifer Cromwell 313

Andreas Dorn, Arbeiterhtten im Tal der Knige: Ein Beitrag zur altgyptischen Sozial-geschichte aufgrund von neuem Quellen-material aus der Mitte der 20 Dynastie (ca 1150 v Chr ) Christopher eyre 317

Jean-Claude Goyon, Le recueil de prophylaxie contre les agressions des animaux venimeux du Muse de Brooklyn: PapyrusWilbour 47 218 138 Pierre Meyrat 319

Fredrik Hagen, New Kingdom Ostraka from the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge Matthias Mller 321

Horst Beinlich (ed ), Die Mnner hinterdem Knig: 6 Symposium zur gyptischen Knigsideologie Anthony spalinger 324

Bram Calcoen, TT176: The Tomb Chapelof Userhat nigel strudwick 325

Ian s Moyer, Egypt and the Limits ofHellenism Galle tallet 327

David Aston et al (eds), Under the Potters Tree: Studies on Ancient Egypt Presented to Janine Bourriau on the Occasion of her 70th Birthday Roberta tomber 329

H s smith et al , The Sacred AnimalNecropolis at North Saqqara: The Mother of Apis Inscriptions s P Vleeming 332

Andreas H Pries, Die Stundenwachen imOsiriskult: Eine Studie zur Tradition und spten Rezeption von Ritualen imAlten gypten Mareike Wagner 334

Karen exell, Soldiers, Sailors, and sandalmakers: A Social Reading ofRamesside Period Votive Stelae eric Wells 338

Angelika Lohwasser, The Kushite Cemetery of Sanam: A Non-royal Burial Ground of the Nubian Capital, c 800-600 BC Derek A Welsby 341

The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 99 (2013), 10116ISSN 0307-5133

A Brother for thutmoSe III(CAIro muSeum BN 104) *

By DINA metAwI

Publication of a dyad (Cairo museum BN 104) representing Nebnefer, a wab-aq priest of Amun in henket-ankh, and his wife. Stylistically the dyad is probably datable to the reign of thutmose III, and it also bears his cartouche. Nebnefers filiation formula refers to him as born of the royal mother, possibly making him a hitherto unknown brother of thutmose III. If so, the dyad provides a previously unattested title for Queen Isis, the mother of thutmose III: wrt xnr aAt (n) Imn. Notwithstanding Nebnefers titular association with henket-ankh, Greek graffiti scratched on the statue base, published here for the first time, argue for a different provenance for the dyad.

In the basement of the egyptian museum, Cairo is an eighteenth Dynasty dyad of a man and wife. It is of unknown provenance, and bears the number BN 104. Insofar as its preservation permits accurate measurements, its total surviving height is 80 cm, maximum width is 53 cm, and the maximum total depth is 66 cm. It has never been published in detail or photographically, presumably because both figures lack their heads (and parts of the arms and the torso). what survives, however, is of fine quality. the dyad represents Nebnefer who served as a senior wab-priest of Amun-re in henket-ankh,1 and his wife tauseret. Greek graffiti exist on the statue base below the feet of the figures, and further down the front of the base. Christian crosses are also scratched over virtually the whole sculpture.

Description

Cairo egyptian museum BN 104 (figs 1, 2, 4, 6) is a sandstone dyad of a man (Nebnefer) and wife (tauseret), carved from a single block. the couple are seated side by side on a high-backed seat, with a plinth projecting to support their feet. Nebnefer is preserved from the waist down. tauseret is seated to the left of her husband,2 but she is broken off diagonally across the torso from the right shoulder down to the left hip. the surviving part of the sculpture shows the couple with their arms round each other, a common

* I would like to thank: my colleagues at the higher Institute for hotels and tourism for their support with this paper; tarek el-Awady, director of the Cairo museum, for permission to publish the dyad; and Sabbah A. el-raziq, curator in charge of the Cairo museum basement, for helping locate it. the BNnumbering system was used for objects transferred to the basement between 1959 and 1960. No indication survives in museum records as to when the dyad arrived in the museum, its location before transferral to the basement, or its provenance.

1 @wt Mn-xpr-Ra @nk.t-anx is tuthmosis IIIs mortuary temple at el-Qurna in west thebes, about a km to the south-east of Deir el-Bahari: Pm II, 148; h. ricke, Der Totentempel Thutmoses III. (BBA 3; Kairo, 1939); w. helck, Materialien zur Wirtschaftsgeschichte des Neuen Reiches, I (AAwLm 1960/1011; wiesbaden, 1961), 947.

2 In New Kingdom pair statues, men appear more often on the right side than women. for the dominance of right over left in Ancient egypt, and its use in hierarchical gender depictions, see G. robins, Some Principles of Compositional Dominance and Gender hierarchy in egyptian Art, JARCE 31(1994), 3940. robins argues that exceptions, which do occur, may relate to the orientation of statues within their architectural setting.

102 DINA metAwI JEA 99

fig. 1. Dyad of Nebnefer and tauseret (Cairo museum BN 104).

fig. 2. Cairo museum BN 104 (view of the back).

2013 A Brother for thutmoSe III 103

pose in New Kingdom pair statues.3 the arm of the man crosses in front of the arm of his wife, obscuring it partly. their free hands rest on their thighs. the upper part of the sculpture is too poorly preserved for a full description of their costume. what survives shows Nebnefer dressed in a long, close-fitting, unpleated kilt, ending just above the ankles,4 and a pair of sandals. his right hand rests on his lap in front of his right knee. he clasps a long folded piece of cloth. tauseret wears a long, tight-fitting, unpleated dress reaching to her ankles,5 while her left hand rests flat on her thigh, and her feet are bare.6

An incised column of hieroglyphs runs down the centre of the front of the costume of each one of the seated couple, beginning presumably at the lap, and ending at the hem, providing their names and titles. A dedicatory text, in seven columns of incised hieroglyphs, is inscribed on each side of the seat, providing standard offering formulas, and the name, filiation, and titles of the official and his wife. the rear of the seat appears never to have been decorated.

3 J. Vandier, Manuel darchologie gyptienne, III (Paris, 1958), 441 (A, a).4 Vandier, Manuel III, 494 (B). According to Vandier, this type of kilt was favoured in the eighteenth Dynasty

until the reign of Amenhotep III. Parallels are found in Louvre A.53, Louvre e.10443, and turin 3057. 5 Vandier, Manuel III, 499500 (b), pls cxlv.3, cxliii.1 and 3. this type of dress was common for women in the

eighteenth Dynasty. It is usually held by two wide straps, not clearly identifiable on the damaged dyad. other eighteenth Dynasty parallels are Berlin 2289, CGC 42126, Louvre e.10443, turin 3056, Louvre A.53, and Louvre e.11364.

6 eighteenth Dynasty parallels showing the male figure wearing sandals, with the female figure barefoot: Bm eA 31, Bm eA 36, mmA.62.186, Je46600. to my knowledge, no study has so far provided a satisfying explanation for this, but the wearing of sandals appears to have been a privilege of the priestly class: see S. Sauneron, The Priests of Ancient Egypt (D. Lorton tr.; Ithaca, 2000), 42. however, sandal-wearing in old Kingdom tomb decoration apparently does not convey status or gender difference: see r. Siebels, the wearing of Sandals in old Kingdom tomb Decoration, BACE 7 (1996), 7588.

fig. 3. Cairo museum BN 104, inscriptions on the costume of Nebnefer (left) and tauseret (right).


Inscriptions

Texts on the costumes of Nebnefer and Tauseret (fig. 3)

Nebnefer: (p)rt nbt Hr ... ... ... n Hr sA tpy n Mn-xpr-Ra, Nb-nfr, mAa-xrw All that which goes forth upona ... ... (for the ka) of the chief of the first priestly phyleb of men-kheper-re, Nebnefer, justified.

tauseret: prrt nbt Hr wDHw 7 n Mwt ... ... ... n kA n Hmt.f nbt pr, &A-wsrt, mAat xrw All that which goes forthc on the offering table of mut ... ... for the ka of his wife, mistress of the house, tauseret, justified.

Commentarya prt can tentatively be restored above nbt. the common expression prt nbt Hr wDHw ... ... n kA n ... is what one expects here.b Hr sA tpy is a well attested New Kingdom title, denoting a phylarch in charge of the first priestly phyle.8 the ancient phyle system of part-time temple service 9 was used in royal mortuary temples 10 and state temples, as well as in smaller shrines. In the New Kingdom, there were four phyles,11 with each phyle serving for one month each by rotation, thus rotating three times a year.12 A chief (phylarch) was appointed for each phyle, his title in the New Kingdom being Hr sA.13 Because of the lacuna above Hr sA on the dyad, the reading of Nebnefers full title is uncertain, but [wab n] Hr sA-tpy n Mn-xpr-Ra is possible.c the reading prrt at the beginning of this column is certain.

Text on Nebnefers side of the seat (figs 4 and 5)

() | Htp di nsw ... ... Wsir nTr aA HqA 2| Dt di.sn ... prt-xrw t Hnot kAw Apdw Ss mnxt snTr mrHt 3| ixt nbt nfrt wabt ssnt TAw nDm 4| n mHyt qbHw irp irtt 5| n kA n wab-aq n Imn m Hnkt-anx 6| Nb-nfr mAa-xrw ms.n wrt xnr aA(t) 7| Imn m Hnkt-anx, mwt nsw, mAat xrw| An offering that the king gives to ... ... (and) osiris, great god, ruler 2| of eternity that they may give an invocation offering 14 of bread, beer, oxen, fowl, alabaster, linen,

7 w. Barta, Aufbau und Bedeutung der altgyptischen Opferformel (f 24; Glckstadt, 1968), 89, records the prayer for prrt nbt Hr wDHw in the early eighteenth Dynasty.

8 G. Lefebvre, Histoire des grands-prtres dAmon de Karnak jusqu la XXIe dynastie (Paris, 1929), 21; h. Kees, Das Priestertum im gyptischen Staat, vom Neuen Reich bis zur Sptzeit (Pd 1; Leiden, 1953), 3013; for eighteenth Dynasty examples, see S. eichler, Die Verwaltung des Hauses des Amun in der 18. Dynastie (SAK Beihefte 7; hamburg, 2000), 13, 133, 347, 495.

9 See L. Borchardt, Die Zweite Papyrusfund von Kahun und die zeitliche festlegung des mittlern reiches der gyptischen Geschichte, ZS 37 (1899), 946; K. Sethe, Der totenbuchspruch fr das herbeibringen der fhre, ZS 54 (1918), 3; h. Kees, Die Phylen und ihre Vorsteher im Dienst der tempel und totenstiftung, Or 17 (1948), 7190; w. helck, Die hand-werker und Priesterphylen des Alten reiches in Agypten, WdO 7 (1973), 18; A. m. roth, Egyptian Phyles in the Old Kingdom (SAoC 48; Chicago, 1991).

10 h. Schfer, Priestergrber und andere Grabfunde vom Ende des alten Reiches bis zur griechischen Zeit vom Totentempel des Ne-User-R (Leipzig, 1908), 34, 57, 82.

11 Phyles and their personnel during the New Kingdom were studied in Kees, Priestertum im gyptischen Staat, 3008.

12 e. Brovarski, Senenu, high Priest of Amn at Deir el-BaHri, JEA 62 (1976), 65. 13 A. Blackman, Priest, Priesthood (egyptian), in J. hastings (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, X

(edinburgh, 1918), 297, reprinted in A. Lloyd (ed.), Gods, Priests, and Men: Studies in the Religion of Pharaonic Egypt (London, 1998), 129.

14 See G. Lapp, Die Opferformel des Alten Reiches unter Bercksichtigung einiger spterer Formen (SDAIK 21; mainz, 1986), 91194.


fig. 4. Cairo museum BN104, right-hand side.

fig. 5. Inscriptions on the right-hand side of the seat (detail).


incense, unguent, 3| (and) every good and pure thing, breathing the sweet breeze of the North wind,15 4| libations, wine, and milk 5| for the ka of the wab-aq priest a of Amun in henket-ankh 6| Nebnefer, justified, born by the great superintendent of the musical troupe b 7| of Amun in henket-ankh, the royal mother,c justified.

Commentarya wab is the general term for priest, as well as designating a low status member of the priestly hierarchy.16 the more specific priestly title wab-aq a priest who has access, a priest who enters,17 refers to a high ranking priestly office whose holder had access to the divine statue that resided in the sanctuary.18 the stela of one useramun (temp. thutmose III), who was a wab-aq in the temple of Amun, records that his duties included the anointing and dressing of the statue of the god.19 Another wab-aq from the reign of osorkon I claims to wn aAwy nw pt m Ipt-swt open the doors of heaven (i.e. the sanctuary) at Karnak.20 Lefebvre argues that such privileges were especially reserved to the wabw-aAw, or senior wab-priests.21 b wrt xnr superintendent of the musical troupe 22 is first attested at the beginning of the eighteenth Dynasty.23 It was one of the few senior female offices in the New Kingdom temple hierarchy,24 being held by some of the most prominent women in egypt including queens, princesses, and noblewomen.25 Among notable figures who

15 Barta, Aufbau und Bedeutung, 93 (Bitte 79) records the phrase (di.f) ssn.tw TAw nDm n mHyt for the early eighteenth Dynasty.

16 See e.g. A. h. Gardiner, the tomb of Amenemhet, high-Priest of Amun, ZS 47 (1910), 94; J. Gee, Prophets, Initiation and the egyptian temple, JSSEA 31 (2004), 97107.

17 Wb. I, 283.11; helck, Materialien II, 156, Nr. 23.18 G. Daressy, monuments dedfou datant du moyen empire, ASAE 17 (1917), 239. In his discussion of

the Demotic P. fitzhugh D.3+D.4, reymond differentiates between the wab nty pA nty wab (priest of the adyton) and the wab nty aq (priest who enters), arguing that wab nty aq was the higher rank: e. reymond, fragment of a temple Account roll, JEA 60 (1974), 194 n. 5.

19 A. moret, monuments gyptiens de la collection du Comte de Saint-ferriol, RevEg NS 1 (1919), 10.20 Stela of Nespaheremhat (CGC 42189), G. Legrain, Le logement et transport des barques sacres et des

statues des dieux dans quelques temples gyptiens, BIFAO 13 (1917), 41. two further examples of wab-aq: CGC 42138 (eighteenth Dynasty), G. Legrain, Statues et statuettes de rois et de particuliers (CGC Nos 4200142138; Cairo, 1906), 889; Je37847 (twenty-sixth Dynasty), K. Jansen-winkeln, Zwei Statuen der Sptzeit aus der Cachette von Karnak, MDAIK 60 (2004), 93105.

21 Lefebvre, Histoire des grands prtres, 15, 1723.22 xnr, first translated as harem or concubines, is more accurately understood as a musical troupe. the

xnr was associated with temple music, with women who belonged to it being musical performers called upon to provide the proper atmosphere for the service of a particular deity: see A. Blackman, on the Position of women in the Ancient egyptian hierarchy, JEA 7 (1921), 1517; D. Nord, the term xnr: harem or musical Performers?, in w. Simpson and w. Davis (eds), Studies in Honor of Dows Dunham: Studies in Ancient Egypt, the Aegean, and the Sudan (Boston, 1981), 13745; G. robins, Women in Ancient Egypt (London, 1993), 1489; S. onstine, The Role of the Chantress (Smayt) in Ancient Egypt (BAr 1401; oxford, 2005), 1618; id., the musician-Priestesses of Ancient egypt, Ostracon 13/2 (2002), 913. for wrt xnr, see Wb. III, 297.13, 298.1; A. Ayedi, Index of Egyptian Administrative, Religious and Military Titles of the New Kingdom (Ismailia, 2006), no. 864; w. ward, Essays on Feminine Titles of the Middle Kingdom and Related Subjects (Beirut, 1986), 6971.

23 m. Gitton, Les divines pouses de la 18e dynastie (ALuB 306; Besanon, 1984), 97. Gitton cites stela CGC 34080 (temp. co-regency of hatshepsutthutmose III), depicting Queen Ahmose-Nefertary, as one of the earliest attestations for this title.

24 A. Dodson, An unusual Statue of a royal mother-in-Law and Grandmother, in A. Leahy and w. tait (eds), Studies on Ancient Egypt in Honour of H. S. Smith (London, 1999), 256.

25 A list of important figures that held the title wrt xnr during the eighteenth to twentieth Dynasties is provided by Gitton, Les divines pouses, 1024. During the third Intermediate Period, this title was often held by the wife or the daughter of the high priest: see K. A. Kitchen, The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100-650 B.C.) (1st edn; warminster, 1973), 4301; S. Naguib, Le clerg fminin dAmon thbain la 21e dynastie (oLA 38; Louvain, 1990), 13388.


held this title, in addition to Queen Ahmose-Nefertary,26 are: huy (mother of the great royal wife of thutmose III Queen merytre);27 Queen tuya (wife of Seti I, and mother of ramses II);28 and Queen Nefertari meryt-mut (wife of ramses II).29 c Nebnefer is here linked to the royal family only through his maternal filiation. Since the present statue is probably to be dated to the reign of thutmose III (see below), and assuming that the title mwt-nsw is here used, as in general, to denote a kings mother during his reign,30 the only candidate would seem to be that kings mother, Isis. Nebnefer is not explicitly said to be a kings brother (sn-nsw). According to Dodson, during the first portion of the New Kingdom only the ruling kings sons were commemorated on official monuments. he suggested that, after the demise of their father, it was unusual for non-regnant princes to explicitly state their close connexion with the ruling king.31 If so, and if the stylistic dating of this dyad holds (see below), then Nebnefer could have been a hitherto unknown son of thutmose II who had passed out of the direct line of succession. In this case, Nebnefer would thus have been a wab-priest in the mortuary temple of his brother. It was not unusual for royal princes to hold priestly offices. thutmose III himself had been a Hm-nTr of Amun before his ascension to the throne.32 Since Nebnefer is not given the title sA-nsw, it is possible he was the offspring of a new marriage by Isis after the death of thutmose II, in which case, he could have been only a maternal half-brother of thutmose III. this would perhaps justify his filiation to his mother rather than to his father, due to her prestigious position. In order to ascertain whether the royal mother referred to in Nebnefers filiation really is Queen Isis, the dating of the henket-ankh may be relevant. exactly when thutmose III began its construction is unknown. the earliest surviving mention appears on a row of grano-diorite blocks forming the base of the south wall of the red Chapel of Queen hatshepsut at Karnak.33 here, henket-ankh is mentioned among other palaces, nomes, and temples that are being offered to Amun. Since the red Chapel is probably to be dated very shortly after year 16 of the co-regency,34 this could indicate that the construction of henket-ankh already commenced as early as the

26 m. Gitton, Lpouse du dieu, Ahmes Nfertary: Documents sur sa vie et son culte posthume (Besanon, 1981), 69.

27 Gitton, Les divines pouses, 7980, 102; Dodson, in Leahy and tait (eds) Studies on Ancient Egypt in Honour of H. S. Smith, 2559.

28 LD text III, 148; KRI II, 846, 294.29 m. Gitton, Variation sur le thme des titulatures de reines, BIFAO 78 (1978), 39780. 30 A. Dodson, tuthmosis III: family man, Ostracon 15/2 (2004), 34. Dodson notes occasional instances

where this title appears to be used prior to any offsprings accession, in which case a co-regency between that king and his predecessor should probably be assumed. the title mwt-nsw could also be used after the death of the king her son, as with Queen Isis herself in the tomb of Dhutmosi (tt 248), dated to the reign of Amenhotep II (Urk. IV, 1642.7).

31 A. Dodson, Crown Prince Djhutmose and the royal Sons of the eighteenth Dynasty, JEA 76 (1990), 889; C. Aldred, the end of the el-aAmrna Period, JEA 43 (1957), 32. Aldred suggests that it was unusual for officials intimately related to the royal family to publicise such a relationship, citing Anen, second prophet of Amun during the reign of Amenhotep III, and that kings brother-in-law: on none of his monuments does Anen mention his relationship to Queen tiye, and he is linked with her only by his being named on the coffin of their mother tiuyu.

32 Urk. IV, 157.9. G. Shaw, Royal Authority in Egypts Eighteenth Dynasty (oxford, 2008), 21.33 P. Lacau and h. Chevrier, Une chapelle dHatshepsout Karnak (Paris, 1977), I, 80, and II, pl. iv.290.34 P. Laskowski, monumental Architecture and the royal Building Program of thutmose III, in e. Cline and

D. oConnor (eds), Thutmose III: A New Biography (Ann Arbor, 2006), 185.


period of co-regency, and that c. year 16 it was ready and operative. the temple was later on enlarged with the addition of a mud brick entrance pylon, probably during the first decades of thutmose IIIs sole rule since the bricks forming the pylons northern tower were stamped with thutmose IIIs epithet nb xpS, which seems to have been used only in the first half of his independent reign.35 work seems to have continued at henket-ankh in the last years of the Kings reign, as indicated by an ostracon 36 referring to the assignment of three stonemasons to work in henket-ankh in the 49th regnal year of thutmose III. this phase probably witnessed the addition in the south eastern corner of the temple of a chapel for hathor, whose decoration appears to have taken place under Amenhotep II.37 Queen Isis is mentioned on two fragmentary objects discovered at the temple of henket-ankh.38 the first is a fragmentary stela where she is titled mwt-nsw and described as anx.ti (living or may she live).39 the second object is a fragmentary block where she is titled: iryt-pat wrt-Hswt Hmt-nTr Hmt-nsw wrt mwt-nsw hereditary princess, great of praises, gods wife, great kings wife, kings mother.40 here, too, she is described as anx.ti.41 Although the presence of anx.ti is not itself sufficient proof that a queen was alive at the time of the monuments creation,42 and so the surviving evidence does not allow definite conclusions, it is at least conceivable that she had a presence at henket-ankh, and that for some time she might have served as a wrt xnr aA(.t) (n) Imn m Hnkt-anx.

Text on Tauserets side of the seat (figs 6 and 7)

() 1| Htp di nsw Imn-Ra Hry-ib m Hnk.t-anx Mwt 2| nbt ISrw @wt-@rw Hrt-tp smt Inpw 3| imy-wt di.sn xA m t xA m Hnot xA m 4| Ss mnxt snTr mrHt xA m Htpw-DfAw aq pri 5| m Xrt-nTr Hr-Sms.w nTrw nbw n kA n 6| wab-aA n Imn-Ra m Hnk.t-anx Nb-nfr 7| snt.f nbt pr &A-wsrt mAat xrw1| An offering which the king gives to: Amun-re who resides in henket-ankh, mut 2| lady of Ishru, hathor, chieftainess of the desert, Anubis 3|who is in the place of embalming, that they may give a thousand of bread, a thousand of beer, a thousand of 4| alabaster and linen, incense, ointment, a thousand of food provisions going into and coming out 5| from the Necropolis,43 in the following of all gods, for the ka of the 6|

35 Laskowski, in Cline and oConnor (eds), Thutmose III, 2078, 232 n. 151.36 w. hayes, A Selection of tuthmoside ostraca from Dr el-BaHri, JEA 46 (1960), 52.37 ricke, Totentempel Thutmoses III., 215.38 In addition to the two objects discussed here, Isis is mentioned on stela CGC 34015, which was also found at

henket-ankh. however, her name is now believed to have replaced that of merytre-hatshepsut to whom the stela was originally dedicated: see P. Piccione, the women of thutmose III in the Stelae of the egyptian museum, JSSEA 30 (2003), 947.

39 A. weigall, A report on the excavation of the funeral temple of thoutmosis III at Gurnah, ASAE 7 (1907), 1312 [13].

40 ricke, Totentempel Thutmoses III., 30 n. 5.41 anx.ti and mAat-xrw both occur in a scene from the tomb of thutmose III in which three of his royal wives

(merytre, Satiah, Nebtu) and his daughter (Nefertiru) appear behind him: P. Bucher, Les textes des tombes de Thoutmosis III et dAmnophis II (mIfAo 60; Cairo, 1932), pl. 24. here, thutmose III is designated mAa-xrw (i.e., deceased). Both Satiah and Nefertiru are likewise designated mAat-xrw (albeit with some doubt over the reading of Nebtus epithet: see Piccione, JSSEA 30, 95, 99 n. 29). merytre, who survived thutmose III, is the only one who is described as anx.ti.

42 Queen Ahmose-Nefertari is labelled anx.ti on monuments dedicated to her posthumously: see A. h. Gardiner, A Stele in the macGregor Collection, JEA 4 (1917), 1889; Gitton, Lpouse du dieu, 72.

43 Barta, Aufbau und Bedeutung, 95 (Bitte 115 a) records the phrase aq prjt m Xrt-nTr for the early eighteenth Dynasty.


fig. 6. Cairo museum BN 104, left-hand side.

fig. 7. Inscriptions on the left-hand side of the seat (detail).

senior wab-priesta of Amun in henket-ankh, Nebnefer 7| and his sister (wife),b mistress of the house, tauseret, justified.


Commentary:a the title wab-aA or senior wab-priest, followed by the name of a deity, first appeared in the middle Kingdom,44 but was less frequent in the New Kingdom, and by the Late Period, it became used as an honorary title that could be applied to any priest of high rank.45 the wabw-aAw were lower in rank to the Hmw-nTr and the itw-nTr. their position in relation to other categories of priests remains, however, obscure. b the term snt became used as a designation for wife in the eighteenth Dynasty.46 According to ern, the earliest attestation of snt.f referring to a wife in dated theban private tombs was during the independent reign of thutmose III, in the tomb of Nebamun (tt 24).47 whale, however, suggested an earlier occurrence in the tomb of Senemioh (tt 127), which was probably decorated during the reign of hatshepsut.48 According to whale, snt.f meaning the wife of the tomb owner became more common under Amenhotep II, and by the reign of thutmose IV, it was used almost exclusively.

Greek graffiti on the base of the dyad (figs 811)Greek graffiti occur on the base of the statue immediately in front of the feet of the seated couple, and on the front face of the plinth. the main graffito is a perfectly visible single line of inscription that was roughly cut on the front face of the plinth (figs 89), with a chisel-edged tool. traces of black ochre are still visible in the graffito, particularly in the last four words. the script begins on the left and descends towards the right. Its total length is 43 cm (h. of letters: 0.5 cm [ in ] to 2.4 cm []). the graffito reads:

A Proskynema (homage) of eugraphios before the lord god.49

Above the preceding graffito, and immediately below Nebnefers left sandal sole (figs 1011), another graffito reading is visible (length: 7.9 cm). It was apparently cut by the same hand, and seems, therefore, to be a continuation of the main graffito. most

44 w. ward, Index of Egyptian Administrative and Religious Titles of the Middle Kingdom (Beirut, 1982), nos 645, 647, 647.

45 h. de meulenaere, une formule des inscriptions autobiographiques de basse poque, in o. firchow (ed.), gyptologische Studien (VIo 29; Berlin, 1955), 22325.

46 J. ern, Consanguineous marriages in Pharaonic egypt, JEA 40 (1954), 239; G. robins, the relationships Specified by egyptian Kinship terms of the middle and New Kingdoms, CdE 54 (1979), 203; see also D. franke, Altgyptische Verwandtschaftsbezeichnungen im Mittleren Reich (hS 3; hamburg, 1983), 6175; h. willems, A Description of egyptian Kinship terminology of the middle Kingdom c.20001650 BC, Bijdragent ot de Taal-Land-en-Volkenkunde 139/1 (1983), 15268. for a discussion on laws relating to consanguineous in the Ancient Near east, see J. Kimuhu, Leviticus: The Priestly Laws and Prohibitions from the Perspective of Ancient Near East and Africa (New York, 2008).

47 ern, JEA 40, 28.48 S. whale, The Family in the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt: A Study of the Representation of the Family in

Private Tombs (ACe Studies 1; Sydney, 1989), 2513, n. 36.49 the proskynema were homages left by the pious in the Graeco-roman era while visiting a holy place.

they reflect the desire of the devout to assert the permanence of their names near to a deity. they contained a pilgrims name, patronym, and in the best examples his ethnonym. the name of the deity invoked in the homage is then mentioned, usually preceded by (i.e. lord god), and complemented with one of the deitys epithets. the motivation for the visit was sometimes included, such as piety or healing. See G. Geraci, ricerche sul Proskynema, Aegyptus 51 (1971), 3211; Y. Volokhine, Les dplacements pieux en gypte pharaonique, in D. frankfurter (ed.), Pilgrimage and Holy Space in Late Antique Egypt (Leiden, 1998), 846.


fig. 8. Greek graffiti on the base of Cairo museum BN 104.

fig. 9. Greek graffiti on the base of Cairo museum BN 104 (detail).

fig. 10. Greek graffiti before the feet of Nebnefer and tauseret (Cairo museum BN 104).

fig. 11. Detail of Greek graffiti in front of the feet of Nebnefer and tauseret.


likely, it forms the latter part of ,50 the first four letters of the word being no longer visible; this word is demanded by the sense, and suggests the homage of eugraphios was for the purpose of healing. Immediately next to the preceding word, and on the same level, is another graffito (figs 1011) of two words (dimensions: 9.8 cm in length; h. of letters 0.9 cm [] to 2.0 cm []). this graffito appears to have been cut by a different person. It reads:

and Phritob.51

In addition, several crosses are scratched almost everywhere over the sculpture (fig. 12). the addition of Christian symbols to older pagan texts seems to be a commentary by a Christian convert on the main graffito. the graffiti on Cairo museum BN 104 can be understood in the light of two similar graffiti left by a certain eugraphios at the mortuary temple of Queen hatshepsut at Deir-el-Bahari. Both graffiti are found in the upper terrace of the temple, and are dated to the roman Period (firstsecond century ad).52 the first graffito is found on the south wall of the court (north face, 30 cm below dado line). It reads:53

50 on the meaning of , see N. van Brock, Recherches sur le vocabulaire mdical du grec ancien: Soins et gurison (Paris, 1961), 126.

51 the correct Greek spelling is . this term is believed to be a transcription of the ancient egyptian title pA Hry-tp (chief). It probably refers to Amenhotep-son-of-hapu who was frequently referred to thus in hieroglyphic sources; see also J. Quaegebeur, Phritob comme titre dun haut fonctionnaire ptolmaque, AncSoc 20 (1989), 15968.

52 A. Bataille, Les inscriptions grecques du temple de Hatshepsout Deir El-Bahari (Cairo, 1951), 61 (no. 86), 82 (no. 120). Apart from these two occurrences of the name eugraphios at Deir el-Bahari, it occurs nowhere else in egypt except for P. oxy XIX, 2228, which belongs to an and has been dated with doubt to 283285 ad.

53 Bataille, Inscriptions grecques, no. 86.

fig. 12. Detail of Christian crosses.


- -Proskynema of eugraphios before the lord godAsklepios, and Amenothes, and hygieia.Be mindful to us and grant us healing.54

the second graffito is found on the south side of the Ptolemaic portico (north face, cornice between the entrance and the eastern column). It reads:55

[ ] {} , , Proskynema of eugraphios before the lord godAsklepios and Amenothes and hygieia.remember (us), our masters, oursaviours.56

these two healing prayers were left by a certain eugraphios during his visit to the temple of Queen hatshepsut at Deir-el-Bahari. As indicated by numerous Greek graffiti left by pilgrims, the upper terrace of this temple became a healing centre in Ptolemaic times. the deities mentioned in this proskynema are those who were invoked to induce a cure at this healing centre: Imhotep (named Imouthes by the Greeks, and identified with their god of medicine Asklepios), Amenhotep-son-of-hapu (named Amenothes by the Greeks), and hygieia the Greek goddess of health (daughter of Asklepios). Significantly, directly under the first Deir-el-Bahari graffito of eugraphios, another graffito was added by a later visitor, reading:57

with the help of Pcherstapane and Phritob.58

Just as with the dyad Cairo museum BN 104, this first graffito of eugraphios at Deir-el-Bahari received Christian comments. these were apparently carved by a monk from the monastery of St. Phoibamon, which was installed on the upper terrace of the temple of Queen hatshepsut, probably at the end of the 6th century.59 this time, however, and in addition to Christian symbols, such as an ankh cross with palms and a Solomons knot, a Christian invocation formula was also added. It reads:60

54 translation after J. milne, the Sanatorium of Dr-el-BaHri, JEA 1 (1914), 97. for a recent study of the two graffiti mentioned here, see A. Lajtar, Deir el-Bahari in the Hellenistic and Roman periods (JJP 4; warsaw, 2006), nos 129, 197.

55 Bataille, Inscriptions grecques, no. 120.56 translation after Lajtar, Deir el-Bahari, no. 197.57 Bataille, Inscriptions grecques, no. 87. the sense requries in this graffito should be read last, rather

than first as its position suggests. Bataille observes that this arose from a lack of free space after : see discussion in Lajtar, Deir el-Bahari, 217.

58 translation after milne, JEA 1, 97. 59 the monastery of St. Phoibamon continued to function until the end of the eighth century, and numerous

graffiti prove that the monastery continued to be visited by Christian pilgrims until the end of the thirteenth century. See w. Godlewski, Le monastre de St Phoibammon (Deir el Bahari 5; warsaw, 1986).

60 Bataille, Inscriptions grecques, no.89; G. Lefebvre, Recueil des inscriptions grecques-chrtiennes dgypte (mIfAo 101; Cairo, 1907), no. 379.


It is the one God who helps you.61

Provenance and Date

the provenance of Cairo museum BN 104 is unknown. Although Nebnefers titles associate him with henket-ankh, the later graffiti on the statue base suggest another provenance for the dyad. the instantly recognisable similarity between the graffiti on the dyad and those quoted from Deir-el-Bahari temple indicate that they were written by the same individuals. the fact that the main graffito of eugraphios, in both cases, was twice improved upon by the same later commentators, leaves no doubt that at the time when the dyad attracted the attention of eugraphios and the two other commentators, it was standing at the temple of Queen hatshepsut at Deir-el-Bahari, most likely in the upper terrace of that temple, and not very far from the location of the graffiti on the south wall of the court. the column of text on Nebnefers kilt indicates that he served as a chief of the first priestly phyle of thutmose III, but without reference to a specific temple. Priestly duties in several royal memorial temples on the theban west bank were often combined.62 It is possible that Nebnefer was likewise attached to other memorial temples of thutmose III on west thebes, such as +sr-Axt, and that his dyad originally stood there. the temple of +sr-Axt has been dated to between the forty-third and the forty-ninth regnal years of thutmose III.63 It was destroyed, probably by a rockslide, which occurred sometime at the end of the twentieth Dynasty,64 possibly explaining the broken condition of Cairo museum BN 104. the statue would have remained in situ (in +sr-Axt) until that building had fallen into ruin, and then perhaps only in the ramesside period transferred to the neighbouring temple of +sr-Dsrw.65 the dyad of Nebnefer and tauseret can be dated, on stylistic grounds,66 to the eighteenth Dynasty. the occurrence of thutmose IIIs prenomen on the sculpture, the fact that Nebnefer served in henket-ankh, and the suggested provenance for the dyad (the temple of +sr-Axt at Deir-el-Bahari), all support a date in the reign of thutmose III, not excluding the possibility of a date early in Amenhotep IIs reign. It appears that Nebnefers priestly service was associated with two mortuary temples of thutmose III on the theban west bank. A reconstruction of his career

61 translation after milne, JEA 1, 97.62 See m. Doliska, temples at Deir el-Bahari in the New Kingdom, in B. haring and A. Klug (eds), 6.

gyptologische Tempeltagung (KSG 3/1; wiesbaden, 2007), 77. for example, a certain Amenhotep served as a wab-priest of Amun in the mortuary temples of mentuhotep II, hatshepsut, and tuthmosis III in the reign of the latter: eichler, Die Verwaltung des Hauses des Amun, 259 (no. 133). Similarly, a certain ra served as a high priest of Amun in both @nkt-anx and +sr-Axt (the mortuary temple of thutmose III at Deir-el-Bahari), as well as Queen Ahmose Nefertaris mortuary temple in Dra Abu el-Naga and the small temple of medinet habu during the reign of Amenhotep II: ibid., 301 (no. 401).

63 J. Lipinska, Names and history of the Sanctuaries Built by tuthmosis III at Deir el-BaHri, JEA 53 (1967), 2531.

64 J. Lipinska, The Temple of Tuthmosis III: Architecture (Deir el-Bahari 2; warsaw, 1977), 10. 65 It has already been pointed out by Lipinska that sculptures and other elements from the destroyed temple of

+sr-Axt were extensively scattered not only over the mortuary temple of mentuhotep II at Deir el-Bahari, but in the temple of Queen hatshepsut as well; Lipinska, Deir El-Bahari 2, 11.

66 Namely, the phrasing of the Htp di nsw formula, the pose and the costume of the seated couple, which is traditional of the eighteenth Dynasty, and the fact that Nebnefers wife is referred to as being his sister.


could be suggested here. he most likely entered the temple ranks as a wab-priest of Amun-re in henket-ankh. with training and experience, and after having performed the necessary initiation rituals, he acquired the privilege of being admitted into the sanctuary of that temple (wab-aq n Imn m Hnkt-anx). At the same time, he may have acquired of the title wab-aA (senior wab-priest).67 then, he advanced into becoming a chief of the first priestly phyle of thutmose III. Presumably in the last years of thutmose IIIs reign, at a time coinciding with the construction of +sr-Axt, he became affiliated with that temple as well. he probably continued to serve at the two memorial temples throughout the reign of thutmose III, and possibly during the early years of Amenhotep IIs reign.

Nebnefer as a Royal Prince

Assuming that Cairo museum BN 104 indeed indicates that Nebnefer was a true royal prince, rather than a commoner-born half-brother of the king, no other references to him as a royal prince seem to exist from the eighteenth Dynasty. there are, however, four other monuments from Deir el-medina, all dated to the ramesside Period, that perhaps support the possibility of Nebnefer being a royal prince:68

1. A fragmentary stela dedicated by a deputy named hay to Prince Nebnefer.69 the stela shows Nebnefer seated before an altar, holding a lotus flower in his right hand. the dedicatory text on the stela reads: ... Wsir sA nsw Nb-nfr mAa-xrw xr nTr aA, nb nHH Dt ...osiris, the kings son, Nebnefer, justified before the great god, lord of eternity.

2. A small libation table dedicated by a man whose name probably reads @qA-mAat-Ra-sxpr-DAmw.70 here again, Nebnefers name is preceded by the title sA nsw kings son.

3. Stela Leyden f93/1.27,71 dedicated by a workman named PA-TAw-m-di-Imn to Amenhotep I and Nebnefer. Interestingly, the accompanying text describes Nebnefer as being a nTr nfr or a good god.

4. Stela fragment Cairo Je41469.72 the dedicant of the stela, a workman named Amunemopet, is represented standing on the right (figure broken off) holding a brazier in his hand, censing towards four standing figures, facing right. the first one of these figures is named Nebnefer. he is followed by King Amenhotep I, Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, and the goddess mertseger. Interestingly, Nebnefers name is enclosed in a cartouche. he wears a short wig from which a curled side lock of hair depends. royal princes of mature age wore this lock to indicate their filial relationship to the king. It was also indicative of a particular priestly rank.73 Nebnefer appears holding the crook and

67 Lefebvre, Histoire des grands prtres, 15, 1723.68 r. Demare, The Ax ikr n Ra-Stelae: On Ancestor Worship in Ancient Egypt (eu 3; Leiden, 1983), 1702. 69 B. Bruyre, Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el Mdineh, 19341935 (fIfAo 15; Cairo, 1937), II, 124 no. 291

(fig. 206); D. Valbelle, La tombe de Hay Deir el Mdineh [no.267] (mIfAo 95; Cairo, 1975), 37 n. 4.70 B. Bruyre, Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el Mdineh, 19341935 (fIfAo 16; Cairo, 1939), III, 167, 204

[2], figs 64, 146.71 P. Boeser, Beschreibung der gyptischen Sammlung des niederlandischen Reichsmuseums der Altertmer in Leiden:

Die Denkmler des Neuen Reiches, III (Den haag, 1913), 13 n. 48, pl. 7.72 B. Bruyre, Mert Seger Deir el Mdineh (mIfAo 58; Cairo, 1930), 210 (fig. 109); Y. el-Shazly, Royal

Ancestor Worship in Deir El-Medina during the New Kingdom (PhD thesis, Johns hopkins university; Baltimore, 2008), 26871.

73 G. Xekalaki, Symbolism in the Representation of Royal Children during the New Kingdom (PhD thesis, university of Liverpool; Liverpool, 2007), 11316.


flail in his left hand. Both symbols were likewise associated with royal sons.74 however, unlike the figure of Amenhotep I, no uraeus can be seen protecting his forehead.75

the ramesside kings tended to venerate their ancestors, particularly the early eighteenth Dynasty as is evident, for example, from the so-called wadjmose Chapel, where the cults of some queens and royal princes of the early eighteenth Dynasty were re-established during the reign of ramses II, following their abandonment after the reign of Amenhotep III.76 It should therefore come as no surprise that the group of evidence cited above is all dated to the ramesside Period. Not only does the above cited evidence from Deir el-medina support the possibility of Nebnefer being of royal lineage, it also seems to demonstrate fairly conclusively that he was the subject of a mortuary cult, at least during the ramesside Period, if not earlier. Little is known about the origin of Queen Isis, but insofar as the extremely limited evidence allows conclusions, the simplest assumption would be that Nebnefer was a younger brother of thutmose III and therefore a royal prince who passed out of the direct line of succession. this would make Cairo museum BN 104 a piece of particular interest due to the rarity of sculpture representing royal princes of the early New Kingdom.

74 Xekalaki, Symbolism, 119. 75 It should be noted, however, that the reading of Nebnefers name on Cairo Je 41469 has been a matter of

debate. Legrain suggested restoring it as tanefer: G. Legrain, Sur le Prince tonofir, ASAE 9 (1909), 579. Demare supports reading Nebnefer: Demare, Ax ikr n Ra-Stelae, 1702. redford, however, identifies him as King Snefru, suggesting a revival of the cult of this king at Deir el-medina, which seems very unlikely since depictions of this king on Deir el-medina monuments are rare, if not non-existent: D. redford, Pharaonic King-Lists, Annals, and Day-Books (SSeAP 4; mississauga, 1986), 49. A careful examination of Cairo Je41469, however, supports a restoration of Nebnefer.

76 S. Snape, ramose restored: A royal Prince and his mortuary Cult, JEA 71 (1985), 1803.

JEA99-offprint frontJEA99-i-vi FrontJEA99-101-116 Metawi