Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta
1 primary work • 3 total works
Volume 210
Dayr al-Barsha Volume II. First Intermediate Period Restoration of Old Kingdom Tombs
by M. de Meyer
Published 31 December 2015
This is the second volume of the final reports of the mission of the
K.U.Leuven in Dayr al-Barsha (Middle Egypt). This volume is dedicated to
the Old Kingdom rock tombs that are mainly located on the south hill of
the site. First a general introduction to this necropolis is given,
together with a history of the research in this area. While most of the
rock tombs are undecorated, there are several that do contain reliefs and
inscriptions, all of which are published here for the first time in
facsimile drawings and provided with transcriptions and translations. The
title strings of the persons buried at Dayr al-Barsha are then compared to
the title strings encountered in contemporary tombs at nearby al-Shaykh
Said.In five Old Kingdom tombs at Dayr al-Barsha and four at al-Shaykh
Said, restoration inscriptions were left by a First Intermediate Period
nomarch named Djehutinakht, son of Teti. These inscriptions are published
in facsimile for the first time, and the importance of these texts is
discussed in relation to the chronology of the nomarchs of the First
Intermediate Period and early Middle Kingdom in the Hare Nome.Finally,
the Old Kingdom tombs at Dayr al-Barsha that contain one of these
restoration texts, were excavated in search for the meaning of this
restoration. The archaeological reports regarding these tombs are
presented, and the discovery of the intact tomb of Henu provides the best
insight in what the restoration by Djehutinakht encompassed.
K.U.Leuven in Dayr al-Barsha (Middle Egypt). This volume is dedicated to
the Old Kingdom rock tombs that are mainly located on the south hill of
the site. First a general introduction to this necropolis is given,
together with a history of the research in this area. While most of the
rock tombs are undecorated, there are several that do contain reliefs and
inscriptions, all of which are published here for the first time in
facsimile drawings and provided with transcriptions and translations. The
title strings of the persons buried at Dayr al-Barsha are then compared to
the title strings encountered in contemporary tombs at nearby al-Shaykh
Said.In five Old Kingdom tombs at Dayr al-Barsha and four at al-Shaykh
Said, restoration inscriptions were left by a First Intermediate Period
nomarch named Djehutinakht, son of Teti. These inscriptions are published
in facsimile for the first time, and the importance of these texts is
discussed in relation to the chronology of the nomarchs of the First
Intermediate Period and early Middle Kingdom in the Hare Nome.Finally,
the Old Kingdom tombs at Dayr al-Barsha that contain one of these
restoration texts, were excavated in search for the meaning of this
restoration. The archaeological reports regarding these tombs are
presented, and the discovery of the intact tomb of Henu provides the best
insight in what the restoration by Djehutinakht encompassed.
v.124
This first volume of the final publication of the results of the Belgian Mission to Shanhur concerns the decoration of the inner rooms of the temple, and most notably of the sanctuary (built in the time of Augustus) and the wabet (decorated under Caligula). All decoration is presented in facsimile and photograph. The commentary discusses earlier theories on the theology of the temple. The temple is shown not to be a border temple between the spheres of influence of the temples of Thebes and Coptos, but to have been dominated by theological ideas of Coptite extraction. The main goddess (Isis, and not 'the Great Goddess', as was previously assumed) occurs in a fourfold form. This seems to be a reflection of the tendency of conceiving of deities in four complementary aspects, the best known instance being the cult of Hathor Quadrifrons.
v.70
The coffin published in this book represents a type that had some popularity in southern Upper Egypt in the early Middle Kingdom, but which, despite its extraordinary decoration had not attracted attention so far. The most striking feature of the decoration is that the object friezes - the pictorial rendering of ritual implements usually found on coffin interiors of the period - also include complete ritual scenes, some of which are attested only here. Apart from this, the decoration includes an extensive selection of the religious texts know as the Coffin Texts. The author first studies the archaeological context and dating of the coffin and attempts a reconstruction of the construction procedures from his technical description of the monument. The detailed account of the decoration in the rest of the book interprets the ritual iconography and offers fresh translations and interpretations of the Coffin Texts. A methodological innovation is that he regards the scenes and texts not as individual decoration elements, but as components of an integral composition.
The background of this composition is argued to be a view of life in the hereafter in which the deceased is involved in an unending cycle of ritual action which reflects the funerary rituals that were actually performed on earth. On the one hand, these netherworldly rituals aim at bringing the deceased to new life by mummification, on the other the newly regenerated deceased partakes in embalming rituals for gods representing his dead father (Osiris or Atum). These gods, in their turn, effectuate the deceased's regeneration. The entire process results in a cycle of resuscitation in which the afterlife of the deceased and of the 'father gods' are interdependent. The sociological bias of this interpretation, with its emphasis on kinship relations, differs significantly from earlier attempts to explain Egyptian funerary religion.
The background of this composition is argued to be a view of life in the hereafter in which the deceased is involved in an unending cycle of ritual action which reflects the funerary rituals that were actually performed on earth. On the one hand, these netherworldly rituals aim at bringing the deceased to new life by mummification, on the other the newly regenerated deceased partakes in embalming rituals for gods representing his dead father (Osiris or Atum). These gods, in their turn, effectuate the deceased's regeneration. The entire process results in a cycle of resuscitation in which the afterlife of the deceased and of the 'father gods' are interdependent. The sociological bias of this interpretation, with its emphasis on kinship relations, differs significantly from earlier attempts to explain Egyptian funerary religion.