RAMESSES

THE GREAT
BOSTON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE
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RAMESSES THE GREAT

This catalog is dedicated to the late

Museum of Science President and
Director, Roger L. Nichols. M.D., who
died on December 10, 1987. His vision
and persistent efforts on behalf of
the Museum were responsible for the
opening of this exhibition in the
City of Boston.
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Presented by the Boston Museum of Science
in cooperation with
the Egyptian Antiquities Organization

Rita E. Freed

THE GREAT
BOSTON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE
 1279 B.C., Egypt's last Ramesses II, ascended the throne.
great warrior-pharaoh,

In The Legacy of his 66-year reign can be found in the remarkable remains of his
temples and palaces, statues and murals, jewelry and tools, preserved for over
3000 years by Egypt 's shifting sands and hot, dry climate.
Today, thanks to the painstaking work of archaeologists, anthropologists, and other
scholars, we are able to view these exquisite artifacts in their historical and scientific
contexts. As our visitors examine the objects on display, they too will act as
archaeologists, first appreciating and then questioning in order to discover the
fascinating stories that lie behind each piece.
It has been a great honor for the Museum to host this exhibition— the largest
collection of Egyptian treasures ever to come to the United States— and one that would
have been impossible without the assistance of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization,
especially Dr. Ahmed Kadry; His Excellency El Sayed Abdel Raouf El Reedy, the
Ambassador of Egypt; Dr. Farouk El-Baz, Director of Remote Sensing, Boston
University; our corporate donors; and our dedicated staff, all of whom worked
diligently to provide an unforgettable experience.

J. P. Barger
Chairman of the Board
Boston Museum of Science

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The opening of the Harnesses the Great exhibition at the Boston Museum of
Science is not only a landmark in Egyptian-American relations, but also a
unique, science-oriented approach toward viewing these priceless treasures.
Although Ramesses II reigned over 3000 years ago, his unprecedented
building program has made Egypt an open-air museum. His incomparable temples at
Abu Simbel, Luxor, Karnak, Pi-Ramesses, and Memphis have provided archaeology
and scientists with innumerable clues to the intricacies of ancient Egyptian life.
The Ministry of Culture and the Egyptian Antiquities Organization are proud to
have worked with the Museum to provide a glimpse into the life and times of Ram*
the Great. As viewers contrast the exhibition artifacts with the majestic, 57-ton
Colossus of Memphis, we hope that they will gain a sense of Ramesses' awesome range
and power.

Farouk Hosni
The Minister of Culture
of the Arab Republic of Egypt
 A Message From the
Ambassador of Egypt

more rewarding someone whose vocation

Nothing
Egyptian-American
is for is promote
to
relations than to see the type of exchange offered
by the Raniesses the Great exhibition.
These exquisite artifacts provide far more than an opportunity for
millions of Americans to glimpse the magic of Egypt's past. They also convey a
message of friendship, peace, and understanding to our American friends.
It is on occasions like these that one realizes that a universal language exists,

after all.

El Sayed Abdel Raouf El Reedy

TJie Ambassador of Egypt
Washington, B.C.

Vlll
Egyptian Egyptian
Honorary Organizing
Committee Committee

Under the distinguished patronage Mr. Ibrahim El-Nawawy

of His Excellency Mr. HosniMubarak Director General of Egyptian Museums
President of the Arab Republic of Egypt of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization

His Excellency Dr. Atef Mohamed Naguib Sidki Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Mohsen
The Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt Director General of Museum Affairs
of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization
His Excellency Dr. Esmat Abdel-Meguid
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mr. Zahi Hawwas
Deputy Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt Director General of Giza, Pyramids, and Saqqara

His Excellency Mr. Farouk Hosni Dr. Abdel-Aziz Sadek

The Minister of Culture of the Arab Republic of Egypt Deputy Director General
Center for Documentation on Ancient Egypt
His Excellency El Sayed Abdel Raouf El Reedy of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization
Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt
to the United States of America Mrs. Saneya Abdel Aal
Deputy Director of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Mr.Mohamed Salmawy
Under Secretary of State of Mr. Galal Sharawy
Foreign and Cultural Relations Deputy Director of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo

Mr. Ibrahim El-Nawawy

Director General of Egyptian Museums
of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization

Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Mohsen

Director General of Museum Affairs
of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization

IX
 Corporate Support

Exhibition Underwriter
Fidelity Investments
Through the Fidelity Foundation

Corporate Donors
Sheraton Corporation
Official International Hotel
EgyptAir
Official International Airline
The Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston/Cambridge
Official Boston Hotel

Other Support
This exhibition is funded in part
by the National Endowment for
the Humanities, a federal agency.

X
 .

Introduction

Over three thousand years ago, mourners followed the body of Ramesses
the Great to its an elaborate tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
resting place,
Complex preparations had been made: the tomb was decorated with
brightly colored scenes and stocked with full provisions for the afterlife.
Detailed instructions for achieving immortality were spelled out in hieroglyphics. As
part of the 70-day mummification process, his body was wrapped in golden shrouds
and fine linens, then placed in a stone sarcophagus. Once the priests conducted the
appropriate rituals, Ramesses II was ready for eternity.
Unfortunately, Ramesses was not to rest in complete peace. Robbers plundered his
tomb sometime during the two centuries following his death and priests twice
rewrapped and moved his body to other tombs for safekeeping. In 1871, Ramesses'
body was rediscovered, stored in a simple cedar coffin that had been made for one of
his predecessors. The tale of his reburial had been inked on the coffin lid, and can be
seen today, along with the 72 other treasures on view in the Ramesses the Great
exhibition. Each of these artifacts is exquisitely beautiful. Each one has a fascinating
story to tell.

Following Ramesses' Trail

Ramesses the Great reigned during the New Kingdom, the Golden Age of Egypt. A
time of peace and prosperity, the New Kingdom offered the ambitious pharaoh
unlimited resources with which to satisfy his passion for monumental palaces, temples,
and sculpture. Ramesses' prodigious output, his love of documentation, and his quest
for immortality have left a rich and rewarding trail for archaeologists to follow.
Tbmbs are one of our best sources of information about life in ancient Egypt. The
Egyptians believed that death was a beginning rather than an ending, and that one
must be well prepared in order to enjoy the next life. Analysis of the pottery, tools,
food, and religious articles stored in the tombs speaks volumes about everyday
activities, diet, and religious beliefs. Analysis of mummies has led to detailed
information on the general physical conditions of the Egyptian people, the effects of
their diets, common diseases, and the herbs and ointments used in the embalming
process. In the case of Ramesses II, analysis showed that the great pharaoh was 5'6",
had red hair, and died in his eighties with arterial sclerosis.
A more obvious source of information on life in the New Kingdom is the wealth of
hieroglyphics found in tombs, temples, and palaces, as well as on sculpture and scrap
pieces of limestone called ostraca. One of the most historically important finds in
Egyptian history occurred in 1779, when soldiers sent by Napoleon on one of the
earliest scientific investigations discovered the Rosetta Stone, a portion of a stela
erected in 196 B.C. to commemorate the honors bestowed on Ptolemy V. Its text
carved in black basalt, was written in three different scripts: Egyptian hieroglyphic,

.VI
 Eg5 ptian demotic- (a cursive version of the more pictorial hieroglyphic), and Greek. The
presence of the Greek enabled Frenchman Jean Francois Champollion to decipher the
text in 1822, once he realized that hieroglyphics were not simply picture symbols, but
incorporated a complex system of phonetics. Suddenly, the language that had been last

used by Egyptian priests in the 4th century B.C. came alive, and Egyptology entered an
exciting new phase. Archaeologists had a new tool at their disposal, one, for example,
that enabled them to read the inked inscription on Harnesses' coffin and left no doubt
that the legendary pharaoh had been found.

The Role of the Archaeologist

The discovery of treasures such as those in the exhibition is only the first step
toward understanding bygone civilizations. Although many aspects of ancient Egyptian
culture correlate to our own, we cannot assume that this is always the case. Artifacts
must be examined in their physical and historical contexts before they can offer
reliable information on the past. This is the task that confronts the archaeologist.
Archaeologists are scientific detectives. They use artifacts, ruins, burial sites,

paintings, and written materials as clues to understanding the social, political,

economic, and environmental conditions of ancient civilizations.
As any science, archaeologists use special tools and techniques to aid them in
in
their search for information. Tbols can be as simple as toothbrushes and trowels, used
for delicate excavation work (in fact, a well-worn trowel is an archaeological status
symbol), or as technologically advanced as scanning electron microscopes, used to
determine an object's physical structure. Many archaeological tools have been
borrowed and adapted from sister sciences, such as X-ray equipment to analyze human
remains or satellite and aerial photographs to pinpoint new sites or determine a site's
over-all layout.
Complex equipment and advanced analysis techniques have made a huge
difference to our understanding of other cultures. However, archaeologists must
combine inspiration, imagination, and deductive reasoning with the facts in order to
bring the past into the present.
We hope our visitors will attempt to do the same as they examine the magnificent
articles from the time of Ramesses the Great.

XI l
 Structures in History:
The Materials Beneath
Form and Color
by Cyril Stanley Smith, Institute Professor Emeritus,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

There is

with the
a kind of magic in the qualities of materials that
human
somehow
The making of a work of art requires both mind and
spirit.
resonates

muscle. Our response

to such work is neither purely sensory nor purely
intellectual but involves the exploration of the relation between the two.
This takes time and can only end with the realization that the two aspects are
inseparable. What the eye sees depends upon what the mind remembers from past
acquaintance with similar forms and qualities, combined with a sense of how these
objects were produced.
Throughout most of human history, the discovery of useful materials and of related
mechanisms has been inspired by the search for beauty, fueled by aesthetic curiosity
rather than by the necessity that is commonly supposed to inspire invention.
(Perceived necessity will encourage development, but it discourages discovery; new
things are by their very nature misfits within a preexisting environment and will
usually be destroyed by the environment.)
An art object, or indeed any artifact, lies at the very point where patterns of
increasing atomic complexity are given shape by a human being in whose mind the
patterns have interacted with the larger patterns that have come to characterize a
society.

Fig. I Microstructure of
limestone, magnification x40. Its

texture, just visible to the naked

eye, profoundly influences how

sculptors shape it and how light

reflects from its finished

surfaces. This sample is from

France. Other samples differ in

detail; their structures are

records of a long sequence of
local events within larger,

changing environments.

XIII
 •••••••••• • • • ••!••••••••••••
•••••••• • • ••• •• - • -•.•.*.•?••••• * *t,jfWi

Fig. 2 An assembly of small

steel balls The patterns of fit

within small, local regions are

strongly influenced by their
environment Note how
imperfections in the dominant
geometric order extend over
considerable distances. The
properties of all solids depend
upon structures somewhat
similar to this, formed by the
association of atoms.

Visitors to the Ramesses the Great exhibition will enjoy, first and foremost, the
sheer splendor and diversity of the forms, textures, and colors of the objects on
display. Although the materials used to make each object can be described by a
single word— wood, gold, bronze, etc.— beneath the names lies a microscopic world
of interacting patterns, without which the object could not exist.
Fig. 1 (p. xiii) is a photomicrograph of limestone similar to that used by ancient
Egyptian sculptors. It is a record of biological and geological history, ultimately the
frozen pattern of balance achieved by atoms seeking to reconcile the incompatibility
between local movement and environmental restraints. Fig. 2 (p. xiv) is a photograph
of a model that uses small metal balls to illustrate the imperfections and disorder
that arise from the packing of atoms in a crystal. Similar structures occur in most
solid objects, although on a much smaller scale than can be seen under the
microscope. Microscopic structures are directly influenced by humans, as can be
seen in Figs. 3 and 4 (pp. xvii and xviii). These show the typical microstructures of
cast and worked bronze, respectively, and the differences that arose from what
metalworkers of long ago did with their hands.

Objects as Records
The fine objects in the Ramesses exhibition are records more accurate than
words of the experience of once-living artists and artisans. They record change of
material structure, the selection of some natural inorganic or biological material, the
disintegration and distribution of mineral pigments, the disaggregation of quarried
stone surfaces, or the deformation and joining of metal— all to reproduce some outer
form in conformity with an inner idea. The materials are natural; the shapes are not.
They convey both more and less than the artist's original idea, for the meaning of
the shapes depends upon their relation to each other and to the physical and social
environment in which they were made and are seen.
During the last few decades, there have been many scientific studies of works of art,
initially as aids to conservation. It was found that the structure and composition of art

xiv
objects served as important documents, recording the techniques of the artist and other
aspects of history that previously were inaccessible. In many ways, these documents
are truer than the written records. Nowhere has this discovery been more important
than in the history of science and technology, especially in relation to material science.

Shaping Materials
How an object was made is often of deeper human significance than the object
itself. Objects are made and experienced in history but depend upon some one

individual's knowledge of the properties of materials.

There are two basic methods of shaping material. One is by the removal of parts
from the surface without changing the internal structure, such as the chipping away of
stone or the carving of wood. The other is by the displacement of parts, as in the forging
and decoration of metal with punches. However, the difference between these
methods is only one of degree, for the atoms in malleable metal break contact with
their neighbors just as dramatically as do the microcrystals in brittle granite. The
intrusive force that causes the parts to separate can even be a chemical one, as in the
rusting of iron or the slow decay of limestone in today's acid atmospheres.
Shaping involves a kind of yin-yang relationship between two materials of different
properties. Water softens clay, while heat hardens clay. This same heat softens and
eventually liquifies metal. When shaping stone, Egyptian sculptors made unusually
effective use of both excision and incision. Their grand sculptures were shaped by the
skillful removal of the surrounding bedrock, while inscriptions and surface decoration
were commonly done in sunk relief. Was this to save labor or was it to exploit the
greater sense of individuality that comes from the sharper shadows by the cast
Egyptian sun? Compare the outlines of the low-relief objects on p. 79 and the figures
on p. 142 (even with their highlighting pigment), with the fine, carved outlines of the
head and cartouche inscriptions on pp. 54 and 139. The deliberate incisions have a
subtle influence on surface curvature and produce an aesthetic effect beyond that of
simple light and shadow. Goldsmiths and silversmiths make similar use of the contrast
between rounded, hammered details (repousse) and sharper, engraved ones.
The hardness of metal varies enormously depending upon its composition and
treatment, both of which change the rigidity of its inner structure. Soft gold yields to
hard steel tools because of the variations in the directionally coordinated or diffuse
movements of atoms.
The two bronze objects in the exhibition have completely different micro-
structures, due to the ways they were made. The mirror (p. 180) was cast. The
Egyptians cast directly in preformed molds of clay or soft stone and also used the Lost
wax technique. The razor (p. 181) was made by hammering a simply shaped ingot into a
flattened sheet and then trimming it. The hammering of cold metal hardens it and

AT
 enables it keep a sharp edge without undue brittleness. However, if extensive working
to
is necessary, the metal must be heated at intervals in order to rearrange and eliminate

most of the metal's internal crystal imperfections. The effect of these operations on the
microstructure of the metal can be seen in Figs. 3 and 4 (pp. xvii and xviii).

Working with Gold

lb many eyes, the most attractive objects in the exhibition will be the simply
formed and decorated gold vessels (pp. 158-159). These depended upon the great
malleability of gold and the artist's skill in controlling the direction and force of
innumerable hammer blows, first against a flat anvil to turn a thick ingot into a thinner
sheet and then against an internal stake to constrict the metal into the form of a vase
or cup. Simple tools were used, but superb skill was needed to anticipate the effect of
thousands of individual hammer blows on the final shape.
The special shape of the ewer (p. 154) required that it be made in four separate parts,
which were joined by thin lines of solder. The solder was probably an alloy of gold with
silver and copper, for it had been discovered early on that alloys often have a lower
melting point than the metals of which they are composed. The inscriptions were made by
displacing the metal with punches and tracing tools, not by removing it as in engraving,
a process that, though common on bone, was not used for decorating metal until later.
The bracelets (p. 150) are fine examples of the goldsmith's craft. Hammered sheet
metal provides a base for patterns formed of spheres and wires attached by nearly
invisible soldering. The wires are straight or braided or restricted to look like a chain of
balls. It is still uncertain whether in Ramesses' time wire was made by drawing metal

through a die or if it was cut from a strip and rounded. Longitudinal scratches are
rarely seen, but the extent to which long lengths of uniformly round wire was
employed suggests that a relatively simple technique for making it was known.
The soldering of the bracelets' components so that the delightful play of light and
shade on the tiny, rounded surfaces was not destroyed required great skill in handling
metal and fire. The granules were shaped by melting cut bits of gold wire or sheet that
were dispersed in some loosely packed powder, probably charcoal, lb join the granules
to the bracelet, a thin layer of adhesive paint containing finely
ground copper oxide or
carbonate was applied before the grains were set in place. On heating, the oxide was
reduced to metal that interacted with the gold to make a thin layer of molten alloy.
The molten alloy "wetted" the gold surface and joined the whole together by capillary
action, a manifestation of the same surface forces that shape drops of water and make
oily surfaces reject water. The goldsmith evidently took delight in playing with the
regular and irregular arrangements of the granules within the triangles, quite unaware
that he was producing diagrams that 20th-century physicists could use as models of
crystalline and amorphous arrays of atoms in solids.

XVI
Fig. 3 Microstructure of a
Chou Dynasty cast bronze,

magnification x200. The structure

arose from the partial rejection

of tin by copper-rich crystals as
they grew from the molten alloy
and the eventual solidification of

tin-rich crystals.

Chemistry of Faience and Egyptian Glass

The technique for producing Egyptian blue faience (pp. 174-175, 178-179, 203) also
depends upon atoms responding to surface forces. Although at first glance faience
looks rather like conventially glazed clay ware, it is composed of tiny grains of silica
(quartzite) held together by a small amount of glassy alkaline The glaze was
silicate.

not a painted-on mixture, but was formed in place by the reaction between the silica
and a powder of lime mixed with soda in which it is embedded. When heated, the soda
melts and is drawn by capillary action to react with the silica to form a thick layer of
fusible glass. Because of surface energy, the glass does not stick to the lime, much as
grease does not stick to a Teflon-coated pan but does stick to the sausage. The partial
transparency of the glaze and the reflection and scattering of light from the underlying
by us today as by the Egyptians of
particles gives the attractive effect enjoyed
Ramesses' time. The basic blue color arises from the presence of copper, usually
between five to ten per cent, with other colors coming from traces of iron, antimony,
and other metals.
The faience glazing technique was first used in the Middle East for glazing quartz
crystals and carved steatite objects. It is the ancestor of many processes used for
superficially coloring metals, notably the white copper-arsenic areas on some
Anatolian bronzes; the silver- and gold-rich layers on Pre-Columbian copper objects;
and the case-hardening of iron to make steel. Each of these molecular bonding
processes depends upon the choices of association made by four neighboring atoms.
which in turn determine the shape and quality of much larger objects.
The faience glazing technique led naturally although not immediately, to the

.mi
 1

manufacture of clear, uniform glass. For millenia, however, glass was used as a medium
to suspend pigment particles and to give them brilliance. Most Egyptian glass is of this
semi-opaque type, first used as small, colorful pieces of inlay (pp. 144-145, 173). Strings
of liquid glass were also wound around a temporary ceramic core and combed to make
highly decorative bottles and cylinders. Glass blowing came much later. The glass
industry of today began with the use of glass to simulate natural gemstones.

From Art to Science

The development of most technologies follows a common sequence: first, the
discovery of some pleasant effect for individual enjoyment; second, improvement by
craftspersons who have learned how to work with diverse materials; third, the
development of a technology to replicate what society seems to want; and finally,
philosophic or scientific inquiry into the nature of Nature.
Iron ores were used as pigment some 300,000 years before the iron industry
emerged. Except for cooking and the fire-hardening of wood, the first use of fire to
change the properties of matter occurred about 30,000 years ago to produce new
shades of color in iron minerals and to harden small molded clay figurines. The
production of plaster for use both in sculpture and for decorated walls and floors began
about 9000 B.C. The subtle pyrochemistry used to make Egyptian faience appeared in
Mesopotamia at about the same time that metallic copper became more than a
curiosity. Chemistry, both organic and inorganic, grew out of the search for color.
Virtually every material and method of treating it available to the 19th-century
engineer had a prehistory in decorative art. For example, rotary motion was used for
drilling and shaping beads long before play with beads led to the invention of the axle,

Fig. 4 Microstructure of a
Cretan bronze armor (600
B.C.). that had been shaped by
repeated hammering and
annealing, magnification x200.

This treatment resulted in more

uniform distribution of the tin

and complete reformation of

the crystals. The fine net of
intersecting markings is related

to the increased hardness

induced by the last hammering
of the metal when cold.

XVI 1
wheel, and bearing. Around 1600 A.D., a lathe with controlled, three-dimensional
movements was used for the turning of ornamental ivories some three centuries before
it was applied in "serious" manufacturing.

Discovery of new physical properties of materials began to move from the artist's

studio or workshop to the laboratory with the appearance of electricity at the very end
of the 18th Century. Even the discovery of electricity started with sensory curiosity
about taste— the curious feeling produced by two dissimilar metals in contact with the
tongue. Low-voltage electric current was first used in electrotyping to make art replicas
and plates for the graphic arts, decades before the possibility of a vast electric-power
industry was envisioned.
Today, important discoveries of materials are likely to be made by people who are
most scientists will admit that their search is in large measure driven
called scientists. Yet
by aesthetic excitement. The difference is mainly in the social mechanisms of patronage.

Search for Beauty

Here, we have considered only Egyptian stone, metal, ceramics, and glass but the
Egyptians were equally adept at using organic substances as adhesives, pigments, and
vehicles for the painter as well as in mummification. These techniques are an
important part of the history of material science, just as the search for natural minerals
and plant or animal parts for use in the decorative arts were essential preliminaries to
the understanding of geological and biological processes. The discovery of material
properties for decorative use long preceded the appearance of recorded philosophic or
scientific systems of thought.
Throughout history, the discovery of useful materials and technologies has been
inspired by the search for beauty, not by necessity. Almost all technologies began with
the simple discovery and enjoyment of natural substances. Science grew out of
technology just as technology grew out of art. The separate activities that we today
classify as art, science, and technology have always been intimately associated. Only
recently have the advantages of disciplinary specialization been fully appreciated—
and, with this, the necessity of achieving over-all balance, as in a work of art.

Bibliography
H. Jaksch et al. Analysis of Pigments in Wall Paintings and Egyptian Tombs (Heidelberg, Max Planck
Institute, 1986).
A. Lucas, Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries 4th ed., rev. and enlarged by J. R. Harris (London,
Arnold, 1962).
C. S. Smith, A Search for Structure: Selected Essays in Science, Art and History (Cambridge, Mass.. MIT
Press, 1981), chapters 8-11.
P. B. Vandiver and W. D. Kingery "Egyptian Faience: The First High-Tech Ceramic) Ceramics and
'

Civilization, eds. W. D. Kingery and E. Lense for American Ceramic Society, Vol III. 1986, pp. 19

ri.r
 Acknowledgements

the Great's empire succeeded and endured because of the

Ramesses
participation and support of many. this catalogue of his exploits
So, too, is

and world the product of the ideas and assistance of Egyptologists and
others from around the world. Its creation is the brainchild of the City of
Memphis, especially Mayor Richard C. Hackett and Executive Director of the
Exhibition and the City's Chief Administrative Officer, James E. Broughton. It has
enjoyed the enthusiastic cooperation of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization,
especially its former President, Dr. Gamal Mokhtar.
The catalogue attempts to recount the story of the life of Egypt's great King
Ramesses II and his world to the interested lay public. Subjects discussed in the essay
and their relative order reflect the nature and arrangement of the objects in the
exhibition.
For sharing his expertise, I am especially grateful to Dr. Kenneth A. Kitchen of the
University of Liverpool. The dates cited for events in the life of Ramesses the Great
and conform to Kitchen's chronology. For providing many new insights
his officials
and for giving generously of their time to ensure the accuracy and completeness of
this manuscript, I am indebted to James B. Manning of New York and Memphis State
University, Richard Fazzini of The Brooklyn Museum, Bernard V. Bothmer of the
Institute of Fine Arts of New York University, and Peter Shapiro of New York.
Additionally, I wish to thank my colleagues Janine Bourriau, Susan K. Doll, Zahi
Hawass, Cathleen Keller and John Mclntire.
For not only granting me access to their photographic archives and research
libraries but also for making me feel at home therein, I am grateful additionally to the
following institutions and individuals: Center of Documentation and Studies on
Ancient Egypt (C.E.D.A.E.), especially Dr. Abdel-Aziz Sadek; the Department of
Egyptian, Classical and Ancient Middle Eastern Art and Wilbour Library of The
Brooklyn Museum, especially, Dr. Robert S. Bianchi, James F. Romano, Dr. Ogden
Goelet, Vicki Solia, and Diane Guzman; the Department of Egyptian and Ancient
Near Eastern Art of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, especially Dr. Edward
Brovarski, Peter Lacovara, Sue D'Auria, Catharine A. Roehrig, Dr. Timothy Kendall
and Peter der Manuelian; the Department of Egyptian Art of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, especially Dr. Christine Lilyquist and Marsha Hill; the National
Geographic Society, especially Dori Babyak; and Barbara Shattuck, and the
Manning/Pleskow Archive in New York.
The majority of the excellent photographs of Ramesside monuments included here
are the work of Jon Abbott, who, with his assistant Anne Edgerton, accompanied me
in the footsteps ofRamesses II from Qantir to Abu Simbel during the dog days of July.
For their courage and persistance, I am especially grateful. Credit for the ease with

OCX
which our work was accomplished belongs to the Egyptian Antiquities Organization,
especially Dr. Gamal Mokhtar, Dr. Ahmed Kadry, Dr. Mohamed Saleh, Galal Sharawy,
Abdin Siam and Rada ali Soliman.
Also present with me in Egypt was world-renowned photographer William
Eggleston, on assignment for Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. He and Memphis
Brooks have generously allowed a selection of his work to be included here as an
introductory photographic essay.
For their kindness in supplying previously unpublished excavation material,
I am grateful to the following expeditions: the Egypt Exploration Society Memphis
Smith and David Jeffreys; the joint Egypt Exploration
Project, especially Professor H.S.
Society- Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden Expedition to the New Kingdom
Necropolis at Saqqara, especially Geoffrey T. Martin; the Qantir Expedition of the
Pelizaeus-Museum, Hildesheim, especially Dr.Edgar Pusch; The Brooklyn Museum
Mut Expedition, especially Richard Pazzini and Mary McKercher; and the Wadi
Tumilat Project of the University of Tbronto, especially Phyllis and John S. Holladay Jr.
lb all those involved in its production, this catalogue was more than just a job. For
their personal concern, and hard work, special thanks are due technical planning
coordinator Glen Campbell, catalogue project coordinator Nancy E. Bogatin, editor Liz
Conway, consulting editor Carol Lynn Yellin, index compiler Catherine C. Swearingen,
and contributing editor Valerie Moore.
Dedicated assistant Lynn Gipson and IEAA Curator of Education Anna Kay
Walker helped in a myriad way at all hours, often at a moment's notice. In this regard,
I wish also to thank Emily Sharp, Edward Orio, Diane Reed, Jane Jarvi, Elizabeth

Powell, James R. Wagner and Lucia Burch, as well as typists Kipp Williams, Brenda
Landman, Betty Leigh Hutcheson and Nancy Douglass.
The richness of color reproduction and attractive appearance of the catalogue is
due in large measure to the uncompromising standards and generosity of Lithograph
Printing Company, especially Vice President Herbert "Dutch" Akers, Mike Hines and
Sheila Hudson, as well as Ronnie Stoots and the staff of Marcol Graphics.
For granting me time to work on the catalogue, and, as always, for their support
and encouragement, I thank Dr. Richard R. Ranta, Dean of the College of
Communication and Fine Arts of Memphis State University, Dr. Carol J. Crown,
Chairman of its Department of Art, and my colleague at the Institute of Egyptian An
and Archaeology, Dr. Edward Bleiberg.
Tb all these individuals and institutions, a sincere "thank you" for helping to
make this catalogue all we wanted it to be.

R.E.F

.r.ri
 V

XXI
 The Colossus of Memphis
killfully carved in granite from Aswan, the 24 foot, seven inch tall colossus
journeyed 600 miles down Memphis, the glorious capital of ancient
river to
Egypt. Almighty Ramesses, pharaoh with dominion over Egypt's empire, would
live forever in stone.
Ramesses the Great, identified by name on both the belt of his pleated royal kilt
and on the statue's base, appears as he wished the world to remember him. He strides
forward regally, left foot first in the traditional pose of Egyptian male figures. His
arms hang at his sides, and in his right fist he clasps a folded bolt of cloth. The white
crown of Upper Egypt (Nile Valley) rests on his head, and a long straight beard
anchored to his chin with a strap further proclaims his royal status. Jewels adorn his
strong neck and powerful wrists, and a daggar hangs from his belt. Ramesses' figure is
youthfully trim, and his noble countenance was rendered with particular care.
Ramesses dedicated this colossus to Ptah, the patron god of Memphis. It flanked
one of the small temples along the processional way leading to the main south gate of
the sacred enclosure of the temple of Ptah. Perhaps, it stood beside a companion
statue of similar scale wearing the Lower Egyptian (Delta) crown.
Other kings before and after erected colossal statues of themselves, but none are
larger in size or greater in number than the ones commissioned by Ramesses the
Great. Throughout Egypt and Nubia, these colossi stood like guardians beside temple
facades or inside open temple courts. By their magnitude and their presence on
sacred temple grounds, the statues provided tangible and awe inspiring reminders of
the earthly power of Ramesses the Great and of his closeness to the gods. These
statues embodied both the essence of kingship and divinity. They functioned as
intermediaries between the people of Egypt and the inaccessible gods inside the

of Memphis in preparation for

restoration.
Restoration of the Colossus of
Memphis was conducted on site,

only yards away from where the

statue had been buried for centuries!

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on the project. Abd Allah el

Hossany and Hamdiny held the

positions of chief restorers.

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 Miiplcs. and prayers relied on Ramesses the Great to
Rassers-by delivering petitions
intercede with the gods on their humble behalf.
Ramesses the Great erected at least ten other larger than life statues of himself in
w vicinity of the temple of Ptah. Although only fragments of most remain, two
others have survived the centuries and are among Egypt's finest and most famous
monuments. One stands in front of Cairo's bustling railroad station at an intersection
known as Ramesses Square. The other lies in its own open-air museum near where it
once stood in ancient Memphis.
At an unknown time in history and by perpetrators unidentified, a heavy blunt
instrument reduced the great Colossus of Memphis to ruin. This once splendid statue
fell on its left side and wind-blown earth covered it.

For centuries, Ramesses' colossus was lost to the world. In 1962 it was
rediscovered behind the present open-air museum by machinery digging the
foundation for a restaurant. Construction immediately stopped, and the statue's three
largest pieces were moved onto wood pilings to prevent further ravages by the
elements. Thus, through the colossus, Ramesses regained his place as a commanding
presence in ancient Memphis.
In early 1986, after visiting Memphis, Egypt, delegations led by Mayor Richard C.
Hackett of Memphis, Tennessee, recognized the beauty and significance of these
magnificent ruins and requested that the Egyptian Antiquities Organization include
the Colossus of Memphis in the Memphis showing of the Ramesses the Great
exhibition. Egyptian officials agreed, and consultations with international art experts
commenced. Coca-Cola USA generously offered to fund the project, and restoration
began on the statue in Memphis, Egypt, during June of 1986. When the Denver
Museum of Natural History learned of Memphis' efforts, they offered to participate in
the restoration project.
Approximately 30 conservators worked 16 hours daily through January 1987 to
many smaller fragments. Steel pins were added
reassemble the three large pieces and
for stability and strength. Artisans reconstructed the missing knee area of the right
leg, right foot and parts of the base, using powdered granite, poured concrete and

steel rods. A back slab, added for increased support, replaced a smaller back pillar.
The restored colossus now weighs 57 tons.
In preparation for its journey to Memphis on the Mississippi, Lloyd's of London
insured the precious treasure. Conservators disassembled the statue into three pieces
and packed it into wooden crates (adding yet another four tons!). An Egyptian army
honor guard escorted the heavy transport trucks which took the colossus from
Memphis, Egypt to Mediterranean shores at Alexandria. There, under the close
supervision of Antiquities Organization officials, the wooden crates were packed in a
steel case and placed aboard the Aquila. A military band and a naval escort into
 the port of Marseilles, France on February 5, 1987. The colossus' incredible journey
continued as was transferred to the Express for its Atlantic crossing bound for
it

Savannah, Georgia. It arrived on U.S. shores in late February, and early in March, two
huge trucks caravaned to the Memphis Convention Center.
To accommodate the colossus of Ramesses the Great, tiles had to be removed from
the Memphis Convention Center's 38 foot ceiling. A 45 ton forklift and 50 ton crane,
supplied by Acuff Crane and Rigging Company, reassembled the statue on a steel
girded weight distribution platform.
The statue which once stood as temple guardian and petitioner of the gods now
stands as the focal point of the Ramesses the Great exhibition in Boston where it
bridges thousands of years and thousands of miles. The statue of the great petitioner
was petitioned for, and restored by, a remarkable cooperative effort led by Mayor
Richard C. Hackett, the City of Memphis, Tennessee, the Egyptian Antiquities Organization,
the Denver Museum and the generosity of Coca-Cola USA.
of Natural History
The colossus inspired awe then, and it inspires awe now. Ramesses has seen
Memphis in ancient Egypt and Memphis in the 20th century United States. Tbday, it
serves as a symbol of cooperation between two great countries, and it will continue to

With restoration almost completed,

the Colossus of Memphis once again

assumes its proper position.

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Ramesses the Great's Colossus:
from Ancient Memphis
to Modern Memphis

1279-1213 B.C. Ramesses the Great commissions a larger than life statue of himself
to stand outside the Ptah Temple precinct at Memphis.

B.C.-A.D. Ancient despoilers destroy the statue with heavy blunt instruments.
Lying broken on its side, desert winds shift earth which
eventually covers the colossus.

A.D. 1962 Egyptian construction workers unexpectedly make an important

archaeological discovery! They find statue fragments while
digging a foundation for a new restaurant.

1962-1984 Lack of funds precludes restoration of this once magnificent

treasure.

December, 1984 Memphis, Tennessee, Mayor Richard C. Hackett leads a delegation

to ancient Memphis and expresses interest in bringing the statue
to Memphis, Tennessee.

February, 1985 Ramesses the Great exhibition officials visit Egypt and formally
request permission from the Egyptian Antiquities Organization to
include Ramesses' colossus in the Memphis exhibition.

Egyptian Antiquities Organization informs Memphis that the statue

must be restored before leaving its Egyptian homeland.
Egyptian officials sign a letter of intent to include the statue as
part of the Canadian and U.S. tour of the Ramesses the Great
exhibition.

August, 1985 Egyptian officials sign Ramesses the Great exhibition contract
minus provisions for the Colossus of Memphis. All parties
understand that separate agreements must be reached to include
the colossus.

January, 1986 James H. Franz of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
and Michael S. Fletcher, an engineer with the architectural firm
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, journey to Egypt and prepare
feasibility study on the statue's restoration. The Memphis

Commercial Appeal funds their study.

March April, 1986 Ramesses the Great exhibition officials verbally agree to underwrite
the Egyptian Antiquities Organization's $100,000 cost of restoring
the Colossus of Memphis.

June, 1986 Although written agreement is not signed, restoration begins.

October, 1986 Statue contract signed between City of Memphis, Tennessee, and
Egyptian Antiquities Organization. Denver Museum of Natural
History agrees to share cost of statue restoration and
transportation.

December, 1986 Jacques Gaudin of Maison Chenue of Paris, France, visits Egypt to
arrange the packing and shipping of the colossus.

January, 1987 Largest statue restoration project ever undertaken by the

Egyptian Antiquities Organization is completed.
Conservators pack restored statue in three padded wooden crates.

Heavy transport trucks with military honor guard carry the

colossus from Memphis to Alexandria harbor.

Original ship selected to transport the statue wrecks in the

Mediterranean en route to Alexandria. New travel provisions are
quickly arranged.

February, 1987 Colossus crates are placed in heavy steel container for protection
on board the M.V. Aquila. Full military honors accompany the
statue as it leaves the Alexandria harbor.

February,. 1987 The colossus of Ramesses the Great arrives in Marseilles, France.
Its crates are transferred to the Express for the arduous Atlantic
crossing.

February, 1987 The Express sails for Savannah, Georgia with its priceless cargo.

February, 1987 The Colossus of Memphis reaches American soil and is transferred
to two trucks.

March, 1987 The colossus completes its journey from ancient Memphis to
modern Memphis, Tennessee!
Memphis' Acuff Crane and Rigging provides 45 ton forklift and 50
ton crane to install the Colossus of Memphis at the Memphis
Convention Center.

April 15, 1987 Ramesses the Great exhibition opens in Memphis, Tennessee with
the modern world premier showing of the Colossus of Memphis.

September, 1987 The Colossus of Memphis departs modern Memphis for exhibition
at the Denver Museum of Natural History.

April, 1988 The Colossus of Memphis departs Denver for exhibition at the
Boston Museum of Science.
'

Post 1988 The Colossus of Memphis will permanently reside in the

courtyard of the Museum of Civilization in Cairo as a testimony to

international friendship.
-^aafc

Thanks to an international effort,

the Colossus of Memphis no longer

lies in ruin!
Eggleston's Egypt

The following nine pages contain works drawn from the Egyptian Project
by internationally known color photographer William Eggleston.
Portfolio
During the summer of 1986, Eggleston journeyed to the lands of Ramesses
the Great in an effort to capture a distinctive and fresh view of Egypt.
These photographs accurately reflect in microcosm what resulted in Eggleston's
Egyptian Project.
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art initiated and sponsored Eggleston's project which
had no creative restraints or limitations in its commission. Consequently, he was
afforded the rare luxury of approaching his assignment in the tradition of nineteenth
century photographic expeditions. Before retracing the footsteps of Ramesses the
Great, Eggleston joined Dr. Rita E. Freed in Cairo for an orientation to the land of the
pharaohs. For three weeks, Eggleston surveyed Egypt's virtually limitless field of
images with his vintage Leica camera. The photographs selected convey a sense of
order and composition unique to Eggleston while they also accurately reflect what it

is like to be in Egypt. Consequently, the images offer many layers of meaning to both
casual viewers and to sophisticated students of fine photography.

Eggleston's Egypt in Microcosm

Horizontal Head of Ramesses II, Mid 13th c. B.C., Memphis, Egypt, pages 12-13.

Ram-Headed Sphinxes, Processional Avenue, Temple of Amun-Re, Karnak, pages 14-15.

Granite Tbrso of Merneptah in two pieces, page 16.

Ruins With Palm Trees Near Memphis, page 17.

Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Deir El-Bahari, ca. 1450 b.c, pages 18-19.

Square Stacked Rocks Sporting Rebil of Ptah, Palm Trees Above, page 20.
12
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18
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 Ramesses the Great

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Ramesses the King

The Nile at Gebel Silsileh

 summer in ancient Egypt, the appearance in the heavens of the Dog
first
Each
Star Sirius heralded the start of a crucial occurrence on earth: the annual
Hooding of the Nile. The river's waters would soon rise and, when they
receded, leave behind a rich layer of fertile black silt, promising yet another
year of high crop yields. Around 1317 B.C., a rare thing happened. When the bright
stars first was observed on approximately July 19, the date marked the begin-
rising
ning of a new year for both the religious and civil calendars. This convergence took
place only once every 1,461 years and was regarded, the divine chronicles relate, as
an omen of great things soon to come on earth.
Less than 20 years later, around 1300 B.C. an infant destined to govern Egypt for
,

more than six decades came into the world. This pharaoh-to-be, Ramesses II, was the
son of the god Amun (who had assumed human form as King Sety I) and an earthly
mother, Queen Tuya. In records he left of his own life, Ramesses II would later explain
how it was evident almost immediately that his arrival on earth was the great event
which had been forecast in the heavens. In that year of his birth, he would claim,
record flood levels brought prosperity and joy to all the land.
Such confidence in his own destiny may have been justified. So numerous and
impressive are the contemporary records— monumental, archaeological and literary—
of his long reign and his many accomplishments, that history has recognized him as
Ramesses the Great, the king whose name, in the thirteenth century B.C., inspired
fear and awe throughout most of the known world. Because he became, quite liter-
ally, a legend in his own time, and because his name and reputation lived on in myth

as well as history long after his death, Ramesses the Great unquestionably set a stan-
dard against which other rulers thereafter measured themselves and were measured
by their own chroniclers.

The Nile's flood guaranteed the

fertility of the land.

Ramesses the Great wearing the

warrior crown and holding the
scepter of kingship.

24
 By honoring his ancestors
Ramesses II gave himself legitimacy

y A list of former kings is in the upper

registers. Below are the names of
Ramesses II. From Abydos.

A Pharaoh's Heritage
Young Ramesses (called Ramesses II, since his grandfather had also been named
Ramesses) was born into the prosperous world of the New Kingdom. It was Egypt's
Golden Age, when she was mistress of a wealthy empire. From his earliest years,
Ramesses was instructed by his father, King Sety I, about his own military family and
about Egypt's origins, her divine history and her long and impressive list of kings-
some 18 previous dynasties going back almost 2,000 years.
The New Kingdom had begun around 1550 B.C. with the reign of Ahmose, first
king of Dynasty XVIII. Ahmose not only expelled the Hyksos, foreign warrior groups
from Asia who had ruled Egypt for about 100 years, but also succeeded, from his
homeland in Thebes, in reunifying all of Egypt. Victory followed military victory, until
Egypt, under Ahmose's successors, had extended its borders to encompass all land
between the Fourth Cataract of the Nile in Nubia (Sudan) to northern Syria in the
Levant. The wealth of the newly conquered territories flowed into Egypt. Soldiers
returned laden with booty and captives, and foreign chieftains, eager to please their
new overlord, sent tribute. From Kush in the Sudan came quantities of gold, and from
 yel farther south came rare woods, ivory, animal skins and precious unguents. Asiatic
rulers sent Pharaoh precious stones, silver, timber, wines, spices, flowers and fruits for
Egyptian gardens. Amun, the great god of Thebes, in whose name the empire had
been conquered, received his share of the new-found riches, and his temple at Karnak
became the wealthiest in the land.
Soon, a new cosmopolitan lifestyle developed as this rich variety of exotic raw
materials and luxurious finished goods of foreign manufacture became available to
the wealthy nobles and administrators who managed Egypt's internal affairs and
governed her vast empire. Foreigners, arriving to trade in Egypt's ports or to settle in
her bustling cities, brought with them their gods as well as their native customs. It
was an age of great internationalism and economic vitality. Egypt thrived.
One Dynasty XVIII pharaoh who fully exploited Egypt's wealth and resources was
King Amunhotep III. During his long peaceful reign, he embarked on a building pro-
gram which both glorified Egypt's gods and elevated the king to a position of equal
prominence. Colossal statues of Amunhotep III (which would inspire the future King
Harnesses II) reminded passers-by of this divine power. His son and successor, however,
reacting against the ever-increasing power of the priesthood of Amun, abandoned the
old religion, shut down its temples and established the sun disk, the Aten, as the sole
god. He changed his name from Amunhotep IV, meaning Amun-is-Satisfied, to
Akhenaten, Blessed-Spirit-of-the-Aten or He-Who-Is-Beneficial-to-the-Aten, and
erected a new capital city at the virgin site of Tell el Amarna in Middle Egypt. As the
new religion's pontiff, Akhenaten worshiped the Aten in open-air shrines and
honored his god with hymns which would later inspire Old Testament psalmists. During
his 17-year rule, he also encouraged artistic freedom, instructing artists to represent
the royal family in intimate poses with an unprecedented naturalism.
The period following Akhenaten's death was unsettled, and Dynasty XVIII drew
to a close during the short and relatively ineffectual reigns of his successors, including
the young Tutankhamun. Soon, the clergy of Amun set about restoring the old order
with Thebes as the religious center and Amun as the chief god of the land. Egypt's
rivals, seeing her resources sapped by religious turmoil and her energy focused on

internal affairs, encouraged revolt in her conquered territories. When Tutankhamun

passed on to the netherworld in 1331 B.C. without living offspring, his commander of
chariotry, Ay, proclaimed himself Pharaoh. Upon his death four years later, he was
succeeded by the general Horemheb, who also died without progeny.
In 1295 B.C., Paramessu, Horemheb's chief administrative officer and designated
heir, proclaimed himself king as Ramesses (I). This former vizier, from a prominent

military family of the Eastern Delta, thereby became the first king of Dynasty XIX
and founder of the Ramesside royal house. Although Ramesses I ruled, at most, two
years, monuments from Nubia to Canaan testify to his extensive building activity.
When his son, Sety I, became ruler, he perpetuated his father's name by dedicating
chapels to him in his own temples at Abydos and Gurna.
From the start, Sety I embarked on a program to restore Egypt's military author-
ity. In Year 1 of his reign, he subdued cities in Canaan and southern Syria, returning

them to Egyptian control. In Year 4 or 5, rumors of trouble on the western border

prompted him to invade Libya. Beside him, now, was Prince Ramesses, his eldest son
from his principal wife, Tuya, a boy in his early teens. Ramesses also accompanied his

Queen Tuya. mother of Ramesses II.

26
Sety I anoints his father Ramesses I

in the section of the Sety I funerary

temple at Gurna devoted to his

father's cult.

Paramessu, in a statue made before

he became king, wears the garment
of a vizier and holds a scribal palette.
From Karnak.
 twu'
EASxJ-
^^l^llp^il

Ramesses the Great offers Ma at,

goddess of truth, to Ra-Horakhty. In

return he receives life and power.

A superbly crafted colossal statue of

Colossal statue of Meryetamun Meryetamun, daughter and wife of
in situ. Ramesses II, stood beside one of the
king at a temple in Akhmim.
father the next year to Kadesh, a central Syrian city once under Egyptian sovereignty
that had fallen to an invading Hittite force from the north. Sety I succeeded in enter-
ing Kadesh where he erected a stela (commemorative stone tablet), but the city later
reverted to Hittite control. Years later, as Pharaoh, Ramesses would return
to Kadesh.
Back in Egypt, Sety I turned his attention to domestic affairs, commissioning
temples to Egypt's gods, celebrating their festivals and encouraging the exploitation
of Egypt's natural resources. Here, too, starting about Year 7 of Sety I's rule,
Prince Ramesses appeared beside his father in an official capacity, learning from
him and acting as his deputy in administrative, military and religious affairs. Ramesses
was probably still in his teens, although it would later be recorded that while yet "in
the egg" he assumed responsibility for affairs of state.
The future kingship belonged (by divine right) to Prince Ramesses. His training
included instruction in how to maintain divine order or balance in the universe,
a concept known as Ma'at. When Ma'at was upheld, Egypt would prosper, the Nile
would flood, her would produce high yields, and her enemies would remain
fields
subjugated. Let Ma'at be disturbed, and chaos would result.
In preparation for his future role, Prince Ramesses received the full royal titulary,
five names expressing his divinity and linking him with his royal ancestors. Sety I
selected beautiful women as a harem for his son, and young Ramesses began his own
family. By the time he reached adulthood, he had already fathered many children by
a number of wives.
Sety I ruled as long as 15 or 20 years, with Prince-Regent Ramesses at his side for
at least half that time. When Sety died, Ramesses, a dutiful son, buried him in a large
and splendid tomb in the Valley of the Kings, the royal necropolis on the west bank
on the east bank, at
of the Nile at Thebes. Later, at Karnak Gurna in Western Thebes
and at Abydos in Middle Egypt, Ramesses II would finish his father's building projects,
even commissioning a golden statue in honor of Sety I. (Of course, to make clear to
the gods he had done so, he would carve his own name beside his father's or boast
of his pious deeds in temple inscriptions.)

Builder of an Empire
The year was 1279 B.C. At sunrise on Day 27 of the Third month of Shamu (June),
Ramesses II acceded to the throne. The coronation may have taken place in Memphis,
the political and administrative capital located at the juncture of Upper and Lower
Egypt (the Nile Valley and the Delta). Alternatively, it could have taken place in the
sacred city of Heliopolis, slightly north of Memphis.
From the gods Ramesses received the crowns Upper and Lower Egypt and
of
accepted the crook and flail of rulership. A uraeus, or symbolic cobra, was placed
upon his brow to protect him and destroy his enemies. Thus, the transfer of power
was made, Ma'at restored and the threat of chaos averted. Ramesses II became the
new Horus, the god incarnate.
The new pharaoh's royal names were then on the leaves of
inscribed for eternity
the sacred ished tree of Heliopolis (Cat. No. 5), thereby assuring Ramesses II millions
of years of rule. Uncaged birds flew in all directions, and his five-part titulary was
 By inscribing his names on the leaves

of the ished tree, the gods grant

Ramesses the Great eternal life and
rule. From the Ramesseum.

30
 proclaimed throughout the land:
The Horus: Strong Bull, Beloved of Ma'at
He of the Two Goddesses: Protector of Egypt who Subdues the
Foreign Lands
The Golden Horns: Rich in Years, Great in Victories
The King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Strong in Right
is Ra (User-Ma'at-Ra)

Son of Ra: Ramesses, Beloved of Amun

The last two of his names, his prenomen (User-Ma'at-Ra) and nomen (Ramesses),
were written in cartouches, encircling ovals which protected them and set them apart
from the profane world. They signified the king's mastery over all that the sun shone
upon. By Year 2 of his reign, Setep-en-Ra (Chosen of Ra) would be added to Ramesses
IPs prenomen, and, later, additional laudatory epithets would further proclaim
his grandeur.
In his mid-twenties, when he became Ramesses II was about five and one-
king,
half feet tall and had auburn hair, a rather pronounced aquiline nose and a jutting
chin. His ears had been pierced in childhood. Ancient Egyptian artisans, in keeping
with the traditional canon of proportion, represented him with a perfectly formed
body— square shoulders, a powerful chest, trim waist and bulging muscles in his arms
and legs.
Ambitious, energetic and politically astute, Ramesses II began immediately to
demonstrate his power and leave his stamp on the land. Evidence exists, dating from
the earliest years of his long rule, of Ramesses the Great's construction activity at
numerous sites throughout Egypt and Nubia. In just the first years of his reign, he
initiated or augmented building projects at Abydos, Karnak, Luxor, Beit el Wali,
The names of Ramesses II on the Abu Simbel and elsewhere. He also erected stelae as far away as Sinai and Syria.
back of his statue from Tanis.
Within two months after his coronation, Ramesses II headed south to Thebes.
This religious center would be a focus of attention throughout his rule, as it had been
for earlier pharaohs whose funerary temples and tombs occupied the west bank.
Nicknamed Niwt, "The City" Thebes was a large urban center. Here, the vizier of
Upper Egypt, chief administrator of the southern half of Egypt (see Cat. No. 33),
made his headquarters and maintained governmental archives. As the homeland of
the New Kingdom's most powerful gods, who lived primarily on the river's east bank
where the sun rose and where life began, Thebes was also a divine city. Karnak,
the home of Amun and other gods, was Egypt's largest and wealthiest temple, and
Thebes had largely grown up around the temple to meet its needs. Since much of the
city today lies buried under modern Luxor, its layout, industries and domestic areas
remain largely unexplored.
Ramesses arrived on Day 25 of the Second month of Akhet (August) to take part
in the Opet Festival. This was a time of great celebration, when the cult image of the
god Amun visited the nearby Luxor temple so that he might be regenerated. Luxor,
like a number of other sacred sites, claimed to be the site of the creation of the world,
and the Opet Festival celebrated the precise moment of creation. As the god was
regenerated, so too was an aspect of the soul of the new king, his ka, renewed
through a re-creation of his divine conception and birth. For three weeks, a general
carnival atmosphere prevailed. Singers, dancers, acrobats, sellers of food and drink.
 Valley of the Kings

Hatshepsut

nosis

Amunhotep I and Sety

d
Deir el Bahari
ari Ahmose-Nefertari
I

Tuthrr)osis
Deir el Medina

Amunhotep

s%
I!

Tuthmosis IV
Ramesses II (Ramesseum)
Valley of the Queens
Funerary Temples Montu and Ma at Precinct
Horemheb
and Aye ,^. Am
Amunhotep

^^^^ Tuthmosis l^^^

Palace of Amunhotep
(Malkata)

Precinct

Precinct

Luxor Temple

Thebes in the Ramesside Age

A lithe acrobat performs a

backbend. Carnival-like activities

accompanied the Opet Festival.

32
 and souvenir hawkers provided entertainment for all. At the end, when Amun
returned to his home at Karnak, Ramesses II left Thebes secure in his new role as
divine king. After his visit, the king demonstrated his gratitude by adding a court-
yard, a pylon (monumental gateway), colossal statues and obelisks to the Luxor
temple.
Returning downstream, Ramesses II stopped at Abydos, a holy city and traditional
burial place of Osiris, the god of resurrection. Ramesses later described in a dedicatory
inscription what greeted him there: "He found the temples of the necropolis which
belonged to former kings... fallen into a state of disrepair... no two bricks were
together... No son was there who would refurbish the monument of his father!' 1

One of a number of colossal statues

of King Ramesses II flanking the

columns of the first court of the

Luxor temple.
 from an early age with a reverence for his ancestors, Ramesses II cor-
Instilled

rected the sad situation in Abydos In completing their temples, restoring their tombs
and establishing their endowment in perpetuity. In a smart political move aimed at
placing the priesthood firmly in his camp and under his control, he promoted a local
Abydene priest, Nebwenenef, to the office of high priest of Amun at Thebes, the most
powerful priestly position in the land.
Leaving Abydos, Ramesses continued north into Lower Egypt to the Eastern Delta
near Avaris, probably the native city of his ancestors, where his father had erected a
summer palace. It was in this area, close to the Waters of Ra (Pelusiac branch of the
Nile), that Ramesses II decided to establish a new capital city. He named his city
Pi-Ramesses (the House of Ramesses, beloved of Amun, Great of Victories), and he
erected a heaven on earth.
Contemporary accounts hint at the magnificence of Pi-Ramesses. The king's
palace, large and lavishly decorated, occupied a central location in the city. Its great
limestone columns and its massive mudbrick walls, overlaid with a casing of glazed
faience tiles, must have loomed high above the flatness of the Delta terrain. Door-
ways, window frames, balconies and the platform of the king's throne featured
faience tile decorations showing foreign captives, vassals paying tribute and lions
devouring prisoners, all calculated to awe the onlooker. The harem's decorative tiles,
in contrast, featured lighthearted themes, such as floral designs (Cat. No. 39), aquatic
life (Cat. Nos. 40-42) and carefree maidens (Cat. No. 43). These tiles, too, were made

Waters of Ra (Pelusiac Branch of the Nile)

1 Living Quarters for Princes

and High Officials

2 Military Quarters

3 Royal Residence

4 Lake of the Residence

5 Temple of Sutekh

Avaris

Pi-Ramesses in the Ramesside Age

34
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Little remains of Ramesses II 's Delta

capital Pi-Ramesses, now under
excavation by the Pelizaeus Museum,
Hildesheim, West Germany.

One of at least 24 lofty obelisks

erected by Ramesses the Great at
Pi-Ramesses. Now they lie in ruin at

Tanis.

Piece by piece, the temples, statues

and obelisks of Pi-Ramesses were
moved to the new capital at Tanis by
the kings of Dynasty XXI.

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a.
 from faience, a ceramic covered with and their color dazzled the eye. An offi-
glaze,
cial writing during the reign of Harnesses Us son, Merneptah, would liken the material

to turquoise and lapis lazuli.

A large lake, living quarters for princes, priests and high-echelon bureaucrats, a
military training ground and barracks, and a zoo occupied the area around the palace.
(Lion, gazelle, giraffe and elephant bones aided archaeologists in identifying the site
of the zoo.) Archives, administrative buildings, workshops, open-air markets, a harbor,
warehouses and granaries, separated from each other by lakes and canals, also con-
tributed to the bustling atmosphere of Pi-Ramesses.
The city continued to flourish after Ramesses II's reign, but slowly, over the next
200 years, the river branch which flowed to its west silted up and changed course
northward. Pi-Ramesses was cut off, and the rulers of Dynasty XXI established a new
capital city at Tanis. Rather than transport vast amounts of newly cut stone from dis-
tant quarries, they simply dismantled the monuments of Ramesses IPs old capital and
used the stone to build their own temples. Tbday, so little remains in situ from
Ramesses IPs grand Delta city that the average visitor to the original site, in the area
of modern Qantir, would hardly be aware that an important ancient metropolis had
ever existed there.
Ramesses II sponsored active building programs in other cities, especially
Memphis, Egypt's first capital and her strongest link to the ancient past. We know
less about Memphis than many other ancient capital cities because so much has been
removed, destroyed by a rising water table or still lies buried. We do know, however,
that the city grew and prospered under Ramesses IPs rule. Of the extant monuments,
the majority bear the cartouche of Ramesses the Great.
Memphis in the Ramesside Age was a political, military and religious hub. Central
to the city, most likely, was the large temple precinct (ca. 3774 x 2625 feet) of Memphis'
patron god, Ptah. Ramesses II may have been crowned here. According to a myth
promoted by the Memphis priesthood, Ptah, in his role as creator of the universe, was
the god of craftsmen, and workshops of many artisans were located outside his temple.
Ramesses II's palace probably lay near the sacred area, but to date none of its remains
have been identified.
With its location at the southern tip of the Delta, Memphis had truly been a
"river city" from at least the time of the Old Kingdom. It guarded the entrance to
the Nile Valley, and its harbor served as a departure point for ships destined for Medi-
terranean ports. (Because of silting, the river changed course, and the precise location
of the Ramesside port awaits discovery.) Memphis was a vast ship-building center
where seagoing vessels and boats of all sizes which traveled the Nile were constructed
and repaired. The industry required timber yards, carpenters' workshops and tool-
makers' quarters. Some of the ships produced in Memphis dockyards joined Pharaoh's
fleet. The city's importance as a center of commerce and communication made it a

strategic military area. Troops were garrisoned there, and infantry and chariotry con-
ducted maneuvers and fought mock battles within the city's boundaries. Arsenals
warehoused chariots and weapons which had been manufactured in Memphis
workshops.
All the personnel required to staff and administer the military installations,
workshops, palace, temples and port, as well as the auxiliary industries which grew
up around them, made Memphis a key residential center, probably Egypt's largest.

36
 The Ptah temple precinct at
Memphis.

hyposcyle hall

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Houses and workshops of Ramesside

small Ptah temple
artisans lie at the southwest corner
of the Ptah temple precinct at
Memphis. They were recently
excavated by the Egypt Exploration
Hathor temple
Society.

Memphis in the Ramesside Age

Ptah Temple Precinct
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Main Hittite Army

Hittite Attack Force

Division of Ptah

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Forest of Labwi

Division of Sutekh
W Battle Of Kadesh

40
 A place of beauty and cultural Memphis enjoyed the devotion of her citizens.
vitality,

One homesick Memphite living at the end of Dynasty XIX wrote of how his heart
"hastens to a place that it knows... Come to me, O Ptah, that you may take me to
2
Memphis!' Another wrote, "The like of Memphis has never been seen!' 3

Warrior and Peacemaker

Rumors of trouble in the Levant in Year 4 forced Ramesses II to put aside his concen-
tration upon the ongoing massive construction projects and focus his attention on less
peaceful concerns. The relative stability of Egypt's vassal states along the eastern
Mediterranean coast and her control of other vital trade routes of the Ancient Near
East had been weakened since late in Dynasty XVIII by the growing strength of the
Hittite empire in Anatolia (modern Turkey). As Prince-Regent, Ramesses II had accom-
panied his father on a campaign to the Levant to re-establish control of the coastal
area and mastery over the city of Kadesh, an important crossroad in northern
Amurru, an area that included Syria and Lebanon. Kadesh, straddling the northern
tip of Lebanon's mountain ranges and controlling passage south into the Bekaa Valley
and east from there through the Eleutheros Valley to the sea, had again fallen under
Hittite control. Ramesses II was determined to recapture the prize.
In April of Year 5, Ramesses the Great left Egypt with an army of about 20,000
men, one of the largest military forces the Near East had ever seen. Four divisions of
about 5,000 men each made the long march north along the coast of Canaan, then
inland to the Bekaa Valley. Meanwhile, Pharaoh's advance guard, a small force of the
king's elite, moved forward along a different route. Each division included infantry
and chariotry; each traveled under the divine protection and standard of one of
Egypt's main gods and under the command of Ramesses II or one of his sons. The
entire force, with its chariots, herald trumpeters, supply wagons and camp followers,
must have stretched for miles. This army, traveling an estimated two miles per hour,
might have covered 15 miles on a good day.
Within a month the Egyptian forces reached the Orontes River, less than ten miles
from Kadesh. A pair of captured spies lied, asserting that the enemy forces were still
some 120 miles to the north near Aleppo. Therefore, Ramesses IPs Amun division,
followed closely by the Ra Division, crossed the Orontes and continued toward
Kadesh, establishing camp just west of the city. Then Egyptian scouts seized two more
spies who, after a hearty flogging, begged for mercy and revealed that the Hittite

King Ramesses II repulses the

Hittites. From Luxor.
 arm) was actually only minutes away on the other side of Kadesh! Upon hearing
this dreadful news, Ramesses II immediately dispatched mounted messengers to
summon his roups, hall of which had yet to ford the Orontes. Moments later, the
t

Hittites attacked.
Under the I lit t it had amassed an army even larger than
o banner, King Muwatallis
Eg) pt's. Hired mercenaries and pirates from a vast area had joined native Hittites to
make up two groups of fighting men about 18,000 and 19,000 strong. In addition,
there were 2,500 chariots. The Hittite chariotry now smashed into the division of Ra
which was behind that of Amun. In frenzied flight from charging chariots, the soldiers
of Ra burst into Ramesses II's encamped Amun Division, which also scattered in panic.
Finding himself abandoned by all but his personal guard and his shield-bearer,
Ra messes II prayed to the god Amun: "I call upon thee, my father Amun, for I am in
the midst of a multitude of foes!' 4 And Amun gave him strength. Virtually alone,
Ramesses II charged the enemy in his chariot. "All about him was the heat of fire)'
5

according to one inscription. "He was mighty, his heart stout!' 6

Fortunately, just at that moment, Ramesses II's elite advance guard, which had
been traveling a separate route to Kadesh, appeared and entered the battle. Attacked
now from two flanks, the Hittites hastily retreated. King Muwatallis sent auxiliaries,
but to no avail. A third Egyptian force, the division of Ptah, had arrived and joined
the melee. When Ramesses II set up camp that night on the battlefield, even the
cowardly warriors from Amun and Ra came drifting back. The next day Ramesses led
them in a fresh onslaught. The battle ended in a stalemate.
For the Hittites, it had been a near disaster. With the bulk of his chariotry cap-
tured, a brother killed and many of his chief officers wounded, King Muwatallis
begged for peace.
It must have been a joyous moment in camp, as the Egyptian forces surveyed

their booty of chariots, horses, armor, bows, arrows, swords, daggers, shields and
prisoners. To calculate enemy casualties, Egyptian soldiers lopped off the hands of
the dead Hittite soldiers, tossing them in a pile as scribes recorded their numbers.
Ramesses II led his troops home in triumph and proclaimed to the four corners
of the earth how his heroism in the face of adversity had saved the day. The story of
the Battle of Kadesh is related in prose, poetry and illustration on temples he built
throughout the land. It can be seen today at Abydos, Karnak, twice at the Ramesseum
(his funerary temple near the Valley of the Kings) and three times at Luxor. In Nubia
it may be seen at Abu Simbel, and it once existed at Derr as well. Each time

Ramesses II told the story, it became a bit more elaborate, but in every case he

Egyptian chariots (left) proved

superior to those of the Hittites
(right) at the battle of Kadesh.
Note the different shields. From
Abu Simbel.

42
Ramesses II slays foreign enemies.
From Memphis.

neglected to point out that, despite his valor, the battle had changed nothing. The
Hittites, after all, retained possession of Kadesh.
For a full 15 years following the Battle of Kadesh, skirmishes and constantly
shifting alliances continued to plague the Egyptian empire at its borders. Those years
saw Ramesses II back on the battlefield in Canaan, Lebanon and Syria, as petty
kingdoms resisted Egyptian supremacy and neglected to send tribute
 Then, following the death of old King Muwatallis who had fought at Kadesh, the
situation changed. His brother; after deposing and banishing a nephew, assumed
power as King Hattusil Because of his relatively insecure position internally and
III.

the Assyrian empire's growing strength to his east, Hattusil III could ill afford another
military debacle with his country's old enemy, Egypt. Instead, Ramesses II tells us, the
new Hittite king sent messengers to Egypt to propose a formal peace treaty. (Accord-
ing to Hattusil III, Ramesses II approached the Hittites!)
How long it took for the two great powers to agree on terms we do not know.
However, in November or December of 1259 B.C., Year 21 of Ramesses II's rule, three
Hittite ambassadors arrived in Pi-Ramesses bearing two silver tablets inscribed in
Akkadian cuneiform, the lingua franca of the day, with terms mutually agreed upon.
At approximately the same time, three Egyptian officials arrived in Hattusas, the
Hittite capital, with two similar tablets.
This remarkable treaty survives today in the Hittite version on two clay tablets
found in a temple in the Hittite capital and in the Egyptian version carved on temple
walls at Karnak and at the Ramesseum. Although it is neither the earliest ancient
treaty, nor wholly original in its content, it is the sole treaty for which versions from
both parties survive. Clearly, it demonstrates that, in addition to being a brave
warrior, Ramesses IIwas an effective statesman. The issues the treaty dealt with are
as timely today as they were when he was in power:

Mutual nonaggression: Each side desired peace, and each agreed not
to attack the other. (Boundaries, however, were not mentioned.)
Mutual defense: If a third party should attack, each would aid the other.

Rightful succession of heirs

Mutual extradition offugitives: They were to be guaranteed humane
treatment.
Witnesses: One thousand gods ofEgypt and 1000 gods of Hatti blessed the
treaty. Curses would befall anybody who broke its terms!

Soon after the treaty was negotiated, letters of greeting and good wishes were
exchanged between the royal families. King wrote to king, and queen to queen,
adding a uniquely personal note to ancient international diplomacy. Envoys also
carried greetings to the Hittite king from Queen Mother Tuya, Crown Prince
Amunherkhopeshef and Vizier of the South, Paser. Gifts of jewelry and clothing were
exchanged as well. On one occasion, when Hattusil HI expressed his displeasure at
what he interpreted as an arrogant tone, Ramesses II quickly responded with a denial
and an apology accompanied by rich presents, including medicinal herbs and a skilled
physician to admiriister them. We are aware of this wonderful demonstration of inter-
national pique and etiquette thanks to excavations in the temples and archives of the
Hittite capital.
Two thousand gods had borne witness that evil would anyone who broke
befall
the treaty's terms. As far as we know, no one did. It appears that Ramesses II had laid
down his arms good by this time and returned to his building projects. Even 50
for
years later, his son and successor, Merneptah, would record on the walls of Karnak
that he came to the aid of his brothers, the Hittites, by shipping them grain when
famine ravaged their land.

44
 '*&

Tia and Tia, sister and brother-in-law

of Ramesses II, were buried together
at Saqqara. Remains of their pyramid
are in the foreground. Their tomb
was recently discovered by the joint

Egypt Exploration Society-

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden.

The Royal Family

Ramesses IIwas very much a family man, perhaps more so than any other king
whose records remain. His devotion to his mother, Tuya (Cat. No. 3), is clear from the
number of monuments he erected in her honor. Ramesses II had at least two brothers
and two sisters, one of whom, Tia, served as divine chantress in Memphis, Heliopolis
and Pi-Ramesses. Her husband, also named Tia, was appointed by Ramesses II to the
office of Superintendent both of the Treasury and of the Cattle of the Ramesseum.
Among his wives, Ramesses' favorite was clearly the beautiful Nefertari, who
bore the titles Great Royal Wife and Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt. Ramesses
dedicated a temple to her, as the ideal woman and mother. Like only a few previous
Egyptian queens, Nefertari enjoyed a political role, appearing beside her husband on
state occasions and participating in the Hittite diplomatic exchanges. She was the
mother of the king's first-born son, Crown Prince Amunherkhopeshef, and before
Queen Nefertari passed on to the netherworld during Ramesses IPs third decade of
rule, she bore at least three additional sons and two daughters. Her tomb is the most
beautifully decorated sepulcher in the Valley of the Queens in Western Thebes. An
inscription on its walls names Nefertari "Possessor of charm, sweetness and love!'
Her veneration continued even after her death.
Although first in the king's affections, Queen Nefertari was not his sole royal
consort. A lesser queen named Istnofret was mother to his second son (Ramesses),
his fourth (Khaemwase) and his thirteenth (Merneptah), as well as to his first daugh-
ter. Elevated to the position of chief wife upon Nefertari 's death, Istnofret lived until

approximately Year 34 of Ramesses IPs rule. Meanwhile, the king's sister. Henutmire,
 and his daughters, Meryetamun (Cat. No. 4), Bint-Anath and Nebettawy, also received
the titU> Great Royal Wife.
A Hittite princess, King Hattusil Ill's daughter to whom the Egyptians gave
the name Maathorneferure, became one of Ramesses II's chief wives in Year 34.
I diplomatic "state" marriages were not uncommon in Ancient Near Eastern society,
for both sides profited. Tb renew their bonds of friendship and to reconfirm their
peace treaty of Year 21, King Hattusil III, some 13 years later, offered his oldest
daughter to Ramesses II in marriage (or so states the Egyptian account). Her lavish
dowry undoubtedly made this offer especially attractive to Ramesses II.

In late fall of 1246 B.C. , the Hittite princess left her homeland accompanied by

Of his many wives. Nefertari was

Ramesses II's favorite, based upon
the many monuments he built in her
honor. Her tomb at Thebes contains
some of the finest painting of the
Ramesside era.

46
 '

ambassadors, dignitaries and soldiers who guarded not only this retinue but also.

according to one of the commemorative stelae later erected, "a very great tribute... of
gold, silver, copper in great quantities, slaves, horses without limit, cattle, goats and
sheep by the ten-thousands!' 7 Ramesses II sent his delegation to meet the Hittites and
regally escort them to Egypt. On a delightfully balmy February day in 1245 B.C. (weather
arranged courtesy of Pharaoh through a special prayer to Sutekh in his role as god of
the weather), the party arrived at the gates at Pi-Ramesses. There Ramesses II gazed
for the first time upon his bride, and, we are told, "She was beautiful in the heart
of his majesty, and he loved her more than anything! 8
So proud was he of his new bride that he proclaimed her arrival throughout the
land. The text of the "Marriage Stela" has been found at Karnak, on the isle of
Elephantine at Aswan, and further south in Nubia at Aksha, Abu Simbel and Amara
West. In later state marriages, Ramesses II took another Hittite princess, a Babylonian
princess and a Syrian princess into his harem.
Exactly how many children Ramesses IPs great royal wives and his lesser wives
bore, we do not know, but recent assessments place the number at around 90 (approx-
imately 50 boys and 40 girls). Sons and daughters appear with the king in birth-order
procession on temple walls and beside him on statuary. Sons accompanied him in
battle. Like his father before him, Ramesses II trained them in the art of kingship.
As adults, some of Ramesses the Great's children aided him in administering the
country and promoting his ideals. His fourth son, Khaemwase, inherited his father's
interest in Egypt's splendid past and became the country's first archaeologist. He was
later revered by Greek and Roman conquerors of Egypt as a scholar and a magician.
Appointed to the priesthood at Memphis as a youth and eventually assuming the
office of high priest, Khaemwase studied the ancient writings and, by the time of his
death in Year 55 of his father's reign, he had systematically restored the Old Kingdom
pyramids at Giza and Saqqara which, even then, were more than a thousand years old.

Khaemwase, dressed as a high priest

kneels beside an image of Memphis'

god, Ptah-Tatenen. From Memphis.
 Ramesses II erected a stela chapel
(right) at Gebel Silsileh in honor
of Hapi, god of the Nile flood.
Sety I's virtually identical monument
may be seen to the left.

The King Divine and Eternal

In Ramesses the Great's Egypt, as decade followed decade, peace and prosperity
prevailed. Ramesses II was increasingly concerned with establishing himself as a god
in the eyes of his people and ensuring that he would live and rule forever.
Through the traditional jubilee festival (hebsed), beginning in Year 30, he sought
to renew his youthfulness and power. The jubilee was celebrated (in theory, at least)
only after a king had occupied the throne for 30 years. It was then repeated approx-
imately every three years thereafter. The jubilee reinvigorated the aging monarch,
reaffirmed his right to rule and re-enacted his coronation. For the subjects of Ramesses
the Great, it was a new experience, since almost 100 years had passed since a tradi-
tional jubilee was last celebrated (in the long reign of Amunhotep III). Ramesses II
would eventually celebrate 14 jubilees, more than any other king in Egypt's history.
For several months before his first jubilee festival in 1249 B.C., the king's son,
Khaemwase, in his role as high priest of Memphis, must have traveled the land pro-
claiming the great event. Records of his announcement, in the form of stelae and
inscriptions, are found particularly in Egypt's southern border areas, namely, Aswan,
where it was believed the Nile floods began, and Gebel Silsileh, an area sacred to
As part of the celebration of his
Hapi, god of the Nile flood. In a sense, the jubilee was similar to a flood, for just
jubilee festival, Ramesses II ran
around a course four times to as the Nile's deposit of fertile silt rejuvenated the land, so too did his jubilee festival
symbolize his taking possession rejuvenate the king. In fact, Ramesses the Great boasted later that the Nile flood rose
of the land. From Beit el Wali.
especially high at that time. (Supporting evidence, however, is lacking.)
Exactly where the king celebrated his jubilees is unclear. Whether the first was in
Memphis or perhaps at Pi-Ramesses, large crowds must have gathered to witness the

48
event. When the time arrived, the thirtieth anniversary of the king's accession, a pro-
cession formed. Ramesses the Great, dressed in a knee-length cloak and followed by
priests and high officials, entered a special temple precinct. There, he gave gifts to the
gods, and they responded by granting him hundreds of thousands of years of rule and
by renewing Ma'at, society's divine order. To demonstrate his triumph and renewal
and to symbolize his taking possession of the land, the king then sprinted around
a special track. This was followed by singing, dancing, feasting and all manner of
joyous celebration.
After his second jubilee festival, Ramesses II made another addition to his name,
explaining that he was "Lord of Not only did
Jubilees, like his father Ptah-Tatenen!'
Ramesses II associate himself with Egypt's gods, but he had now become one of them
in his own eyes. In Nubia, especially, where he enjoyed greatest independence from
Egypt's priesthood, his deification was proclaimed repeatedly.
In his later years the king spent much of his time at Pi-Ramesses. From there he
saw Egypt's her temples thrive and her people prosper. His peace with the
cities grow,

Hittites continued, despite great changes in the Ancient Near East, and the world
paid him homage. As jubilee followed jubilee, the divine promise of hundreds of
thousands of years appeared to be coming true. Ramesses II would outlive not only
many of his wives, but also his first 12 sons!
 II
Egypt in the Ramesside Age

.>•=*

1
1

,.1 Gods of the Nile flood hold Egypt's

riches at the temple of Ramesses II

at Abydos.
 <8(

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25 •
 visitors to today's Egypt soon Ramesses IFs huge stone buildings still
realize,

As mark the landscape at almost every ancient site. Temples he erected, statuary
he commissioned, monuments he inscribed and the funerary temple and royal
tomb he built for himself all provide first-hand information about his life and
his world, as he wished posterity to know them. However, the fascination that Egyp-
tian civilization holds for us stems not just from the splendor of monuments and the
glory of kings. It comes also from evidence that our ancient counterparts grappled
with moral, ethical and practical concerns similar to ours and evolved explanations
and solutions that have, in many cases, maintained their validity over the millennia.
Such evidence is found in the mudbrick remains of the cities Ramesses II
built— palaces, public buildings, workshops, the houses of citizens and the remains of
their material possessions. It also still exists in copious archival records on papyrus
(ancient paper made from the stem of the plant flattened and pressed together,
as Cat. No. 57) and on scraps of inscribed limestone or pottery known as ostraca
(Cat. Nos. 12 and 56). These reveal the minutiae of everyday life— prices and wages,
lawsuits, marriages and divorces, farm production, taxes, labor problems. Such infor-
mation reflects the people's hopes and fears and their relation to their gods.

Worship of the Gods

Ramesses II lived in a divine land. Happiness on earth and eternal life in the nether-
world, for king and commoner alike, depended directly upon the care and attention
lavished on the myriad gods who oversaw Egypt's proper functioning. On a cosmic
sphere, different gods represented and controlled the sun, moon, sky, earth, air and
Nile flood. Each city also had its own local god or gods responsible for the well-being
of its citizenry and often credited with its creation. When cities gained particular pro-
minence politically, as Pi-Ramesses, Memphis and Thebes did in Ramesses II's Egypt,
their local gods grew in prestige and power. Average villagers had little access to these
awesome state gods, so on a daily basis, they worshiped more intimate, more
The goddess Isis suckles the young
approachable gods who saw specifically to their needs.
Ramesses II. From Beit el Wali.
The king presented still another avenue for prayer and personal worship. The
office of kingship was divine. Ramesses II, like every other Egyptian king, was the
product of the union between a heavenly father and an earthly mother. Goddesses
suckled him and supervised his upbringing. Certain named statues of him represented
Ramesses II's kingly office deified, and they, too, were regarded as divine. The colossal
statues of him that stood in pairs outside temples throughout the land acted as in-
termediaries between passers-by and the great gods at home inside. Pious villagers
and high officials alike might offer a petition or erect a stela to the cult of the king.
1 vii !-U« f 1'JI
In this manner, Ramesses the Great, deified, was benefactor to all. (On occasion,
Ramesses II, the mortal, is himself shown worshiping a statue of Ramesses II, the god!)
What the gods had created, the king inherited. Ramesses II's duty was to preserve
the union of Upper and Lower Egypt which was secured in his name. He did this by
defeating Egypt's enemies, defined as the forces of chaos, and by honoring the gods.
In almost every ancient city, Ramesses II built new temples to the local deities or
added to existing ones.
Ramesses II pays homage to his own Egyptian temples, as homes of the gods, replicated the legendary structure of the
image included (second from right)
among the gods at Wadi Sebua.
universe at the time of creation. A mudbrick enclosure wall separated the sacred area
inside— the primeval hill which rose from a watery chaos at the beginning of time,

Villagers worshiped awesome images

of Ramesses the Great. From Luxor.
 Originally, six statues and two
obelisks flanked Ramesses the
Great's entrance to the temple of
Luxor. In the last century one of
the obelisks was moved to the
Place de la Concorde in Paris.

The gods Horus and Thoth tie the

plants of Upper and Lower Egypt

around windpipe and lungs, the

hieroglyph meaning "unite!" Above.

Ramesses II clutches the crook
of kingship.

54
 according to one creation myth— from the profane world outside. Soaring obelisks, col-
ossal statues, fierce sphinxes and brightly colored flags flanked the temple entrance.
A monumental gateway, where crowds might
or pylon, led to a large open-air court
gather for festivals. On the court's far side, a doorway led to a somewhat smaller area,
a room filled with rows of columns and known as a hypostyle hall. Floral capitals on
the columns and often a papyrus and swamp motif at the bottom of the walls enclos-
ing the hall reproduced the marshy landscape and luxuriant plant life at the begin-
ning of the world. Rays of sunlight, filtering down between the many columns from
the tiny windows high above, created a shadowy, other-worldly effect inside, in con-
trast to the brightness of the open-air court.
The hypostyle hall served as a passageway into the temple's tiny, dimly lit, inner-
most chamber, its focal point. Here, in this holy of holies, under a star-decorated ceil-

ing (the vault of heaven), the image of the god resided. Access to this sacred place
was permitted only to the highest priests whose duty it was to see that the gods were
cared for, nourished and entertained.
In theory, the king was the high priest of every temple, but in practice, others
usually took his place. Every morning as the sun rose, the chief priests, purified after
bathing in the god's sacred lake, entered the temple chanting and burning incense.
They carefully broke the seals, slid the lock's heavy bolt then swung open the doors
of the inner sanctuary. Bowing and singing, they stepped inside and greeted the god.
They washed and anointed him with precious unguents, dressed him in fine linen and
adorned him with jewels. More prayers, singing and incense accompanied his morning
meal. With reverent bows, they then resealed his door until the next rituals. Lesser
priests maintained the temple and cared for minor gods.
More elaborate ceremonies marked such festivals as the Beautiful Feast of the
Valley (Cat. No. 11), or the Opet Festival, when the god's statue, carefully shrouded
from public view, was placed on its sacred barque and carried on the shoulders of
priests through the hypostyle hall to the waiting throngs outside. Only at such times
was the great god directly accessible to all for petition or prayer.
Some gods received special attention by virtue of the political power of the city
from which they came, their connection to the king's family origins, their universal
role or their previous importance. When he built Pi-Ramesses, his opulent capital city
in the Delta, Ramesses II marked its four cardinal points with temples to four
different gods.
lb the west lay the Amun temple. Because Amun was a major god of the New
Kingdom monarchy, his temples were found in every major Egyptian city. Tb the
south lay the sacred precinct of Sutekh (later called Seth), the god for whom
Ramesses lis father, Sety I, had been named. Sutekh was associated with the Hyksos,
invaders from the East who ruled Egypt from Avaris, where Ramesside family roots
appear to lie. Sutekh also represented turbulence and unrestrained power, and when
he later fell out of favor at the end of the New Kingdom, his name came to signify
evil. Marking Pi-Ramesses' eastern side was a temple to another deity of Asiatic

origin, Astarte, a goddess of both war and love. New Kingdom Egyptians, associating
Kneeling, Ramesses the Great her with their maternal goddesses Hathor and Isis, assimilated Astarte into the
presents a table filled with food
Egyptian pantheon, lb the north was a temple to Wadjet, the cobra goddess and
offerings and a jar of a liquid libation

to the gods. titulary deity of Lower Egypt. In her form as a uraeus or snake, Wadjet entwined
herself around the brow of the king to protect him and destroy his enemies with her
fiery venom. Although literature provides most of our information about Pi-Ramesses
temples since so little actually remains, there is archaeological evidence that the king
 m mmmm

Sutekh. represented as a hybrid A villager kneels beside the toes A stela dedicated to both Egyptian
animal with a long snout, protects of a colossal statue of Ramesses II and Syrian deities bears testimony
an image of the king. from Pi-Ramesses. Originally the to the cosmopolitan religious climate
statue stood almost 33 feet high! of the Egypt of Ramesses the Great.
 also built temples there to honor, among others, Ptah, god of Memphis, and
Ra-Horakhty, a solar deity and primeval creator god whose homeland was Heliopolis.
The number of lesser known Egyptian gods, composite gods and gods of foreign
origin venerated in Pi-Ramesses testifies to that city's liberal religious climate and the
magnitude of its religious establishment. Needless to say, the cult of the king,
represented by colossal statues of Ramesses II, figured prominently and formed a
focus of worship for the average citizen. Although only fragments of the actual colossi
from Pi-Ramesses remain, the existence of more than 60 votive stelae from the site,
which depict their owners worshiping a named statue of Ramesses II, provides
evidence of their one-time importance.
In Ramesside Memphis, the precinct of the temple of Ptah was the only rival in
size to the precinct of Amun at Karnak. Ptah, because of Memphis' importance, had
gained a universal following. He was the patron of artists and craftsmen, because, as a
creator god, he had conceived the world in his heart and had brought it into being by
speaking aloud its and agencies. Like many other city gods, he was part of a
qualities
divine family consisting of his consort, Sakhmet, and their son, Nefertum. Ramesses
the Great often associated Ptah with Tatenen, another earth god of Memphis, and he
worshiped the composite Ptah-Tatenen. So proud was Ramesses II of his expansion of
Ptah's Memphis temple that in Year 35 of his reign he boasted about it in the so-called
"Blessings of Ptah" inscription found at Abu Simbel, almost 800 miles to the south.
He added a hall to the western side of the temple, perhaps erected in honor of one of
his jubilees, and he may have rebuilt parts of the Ptah temple's main structure, using
The army trumpeter, Hesi, worships

a colossus of Ramesses II named "stone, covered in gold and precious stones!' 9 Colossal statues of the king stood out-
"User-Ma'at-Ra Setep-en-Ra (throne side the temple's gateways or in front of wayside shrines which formed a proces-
name of Ramesses Montu in the
sional way leading to the main south gate. Tb date, 11 complete or fragmentary colossi
II)

Two Lands!'

The divine family of Memphis

consisted of Ptah, usually
represented as a human male
wearing a long cloak, skull cap
and royal beard, his consort, lioness-
headed Sakhmet and their son,
Nefertum. Here, Ramesses the
Great replaces Nefertum as the
gods' child. From Herakleopolis.
 have been found at two smaller Memphis temples, which Ramesses II
Memphis. Also,
may have erected in celebration of his first or second jubilee, lay west and south of
the main temple precinct— one to Ptah, complete with pylon, gateway and triple
shrines, and another to Hathor. Once quite splendid, they are still picturesque in their
ruined state.
At Thebes, a major religious center of Egypt's empire, Ramesses built lavishly,
especially at Karnak, the splendid temple home of the Theban patron god Amun. This
god's name meant "Hidden One}' and his "family" consisted of a consort, Mut, and
their son, Khonsu. King of the gods and father of kings, Amun, like Ptah, was
credited with the creation of the world. Generally represented as a human male,
Amun also took the form of a ram (Cat. No. 12) or a gander.
The Amun precinct at Karnak now fills approximately 60 acres, but it had not yet
reached that extent when Ramesses the Great built a landing dock on the west side
toward the Nile and connected it an avenue of 120 ram-
to the temple entrance with
headed sphinxes, which sheltered the king's image. Inside, Ramesses completed the
decoration of Karnak 's lofty, columned hypostyle hall and ordered that it be open for
public worship (of himself particularly). He called it "The Place Where the Common
People Extol the Name of His Majesty!'
This hall, begun by Ramesses IPs grandfather and partially decorated by his father,
Sety I, contained 134 columns with a papyrus motif. On an outside wall of the hall,
Ramesses II had carved scenes of his wars in Canaan and Syria and incorporated a

Ramesses II built a small temple

to Ptah in Memphis just south of the
god's main temple.

58
 PL
\jj jf**

- j
A lone Hathor-head capital from the
I Ptah temple precinct at Memphis.

copy of his peace treaty with the Hittites. He covered an inside wall with sacred
scenes that included his divine coronation, and he partially usurped the com- reliefs
missioned by his father, Sety I, which covered another wall. Dynasty XIX Thebans un-
doubtedly were awestruck upon entering this forest of towering columns which let in
only enough light to illuminate the images of Ramesses II (and Sety I) among the gods.
As a further display of his own grandeur and omnipotence, Ramesses II also sponsored
a gateway on Karnak's east side and erected two colossi of himself in the form of
Osiris, god of resurrection, flanking the entry of a Dynasty XVIII shrine.

About two miles south of Karnak lay the temple of Luxor, built largely by
Ramesses II, wearing divine headgear,
sits with arms entwined between
Amunhotep III of Dynasty XVIII and visited each year during the Opet Festival by
Amun and his consort, Mut, patron Amun's cult image from the Karnak temple. (It was at Luxor that Ramesses II had
deities of Thebes. Usually they are honored Amun by adding a colonnaded court, pylon, obelisks and colossi— of
represented with their son, Khonsu.
himself— after personally officiating as high priest at the Opet Festival in the first year
From Thebes.
of his rule.)
The ram of Amun protects an image
of Ramesses II. From Karnak.

Ramesses II erected an avenue of

ram-headed sphinxes leading to the
temple of Karnak.

,
 V

•^
V,

&^
iT

-M

\
.

\
s l.j
^^
l«
At the "Temple of Ramesses,
Beloved of Amun, Hearer of
Prayer" at Karnak's east gate,
passers-by prayed to statues of the
king so that he might speak on their

behalf to the gods at home inside.

*
 134 columns arranged in 16 rows
form the hypostyle hall at Karnak.
This architectural masterwork, the
largest hall of columns in the world,
occupies an area of 53,800 square
feet.

64
Wadi Sebua at its original site in

Nubia. The temple is dedicated to

Amun, Ra-Horakhty and Ramesses II.

>-:- --*

In Egypt proper— that is, the Delta and Nile Valley (to Aswan)— Ramesses II 's self-
glorifying activities and the image he presented were governed by tradition and were
held in check by powerful temple clergy. However, in far-off Nubia, the 800-mile
stretch of land south of Aswan, no such constraints applied. No major Nubian town or
strategically significant area was left untouched as Ramesses II built anew or
embellished over a dozen temples. In Nubia, especially in the many temples com-
pleted after his second jubilee, Ramesses the Great became a resident deity.
Sphinxes at Wadi Sebua in Nubia Many of Ramesses II's Nubian temples are familiar to us because of international
bear the head of Ramesses the efforts, during the building of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s, to record and or
Great wearing the double crown.
move them to higher ground before they were covered by rising waters. The list
"Sebua" is Arabic for lion.
includes Beit el Wali, Gerf Hussein, Wadi Sebua, Derr, Abu Simbel, Amara West and
Aksha. These southern temples replicated most elements of sanctuaries throughout
Egypt proper, and they typically incorporated hard sandstone from the Nubian cliffs
as part of their matrix. Often the hypostyle hall was cut into the face of the cliff, and
the holy of holies, the shrine housing cult statues of the temple's resident gods, was
carved deeper still into the mountain. The Nubian temples were exceptional in the
integration of colossal royal images into their architecture. Sphinxes bearing Ramesses
the Great's features guarded the entryways; statues of him en masse served as pillars;
and he resided among other gods as their equal in the holy of holies. Made by local
artisans, these statues often replaced in volume what they lacked in sophistication.
 Perhaps the most famous of Ramesses Q's Nubian projects— the two temples on
the Nile's west bank that are cut deep into the sandstone cliffs at Abu Simbel— is also
his greatest achievement. These temples now lie 215 feet higher than they did when

Ramesses II commissioned the work, probably sometime after his fifth regnal
first

year. His original purpose was to honor Egypt's major gods and their local Nubian
variants. However, as the impressive images of himself were carved on the facade and
pillars of the first temple and its walls were covered with a record of his military
exploits. Ramesses the Great s ideas about who he was began to change. He ordered
back of the first hall to include himself.
artisans to re-carve scenes of the gods at the
From the second hall back, he receives prominence equal to that of his fellow gods. In
the end. the main temple at Abu Simbel, completed sometime after the king's 35th
regnal year, became a temple to Ramesses the Great. He called it "The House of
Ramesses, Beloved of Amum'

The image of the goddess Mut

was moved to the right so a
representation of Ramesses II might
be added to a row of gods. From
Abu Simbel.

Osiride pillars in the hypostyle

hall leading to the sanctuary at Abu
Simbel.

Opposite page. Ramesses the Great

with his family at his feet from his

temple at Abu Simbel.

66
jU

-
 /

A
U%?3
 V

70
 The god Ra-Horakhty clasps
the User sign in his right hand
and a Ma'at sign in his left. Together
the composition may be read
User-Ma'at-Ra. the throne name
of Ramesses II.

72
 Just north of his own temple, Ramesses II built another temple which honored
femininity and motherhood. He dedicated it to his great royal wife Nefertari and a
localform of the goddess, Hathor Ramesses promoted his own interests here, as well,
for on its facade two 33-foot-high representations of Nefertari, wearing a Hathor
headdress, stand between four colossi of the king. Hathor, represented as a cow, pro-
tects an image of Ramesses the Great 80 feet inside the mountain sanctuary.
The main temple at Abu Simbel faces east so that every morning at sunrise its
entire facade comes alive. Dawn rays shine first upon the row of adoring baboons
(22 originally) carved in the cliff above the main temple's facade. Slowly, the rays pro-
ceed downward to highlight the rebus of Ramesses II's throne name, User-Ma'at-Ra
(the falcon god, Ra, carved three-quarters in the round and flanked by an User sign
and a Ma'at sign). Finally, the sun's rays burst into the temple itself to illuminate its
interior. Twice each year, on February 20 and October 20, when the axis of the tem-

ple matches the sun's axis, sunlight penetrates a full 160 feet into the very heart of
the mountain. There in the innermost sanctuary, seated in splendor, side by side with
Ptah, Ra-Horakhty and Amun, is the cult image of Ramesses the god.

The Wealth of the Realm

Egypt's wealth bedazzled the ancient world. Truly a land of plenty, her vast
resources, material and human, were largely available for pharaoh's use. Ramesses II,

one of Egypt's mightiest pharaohs during the New Kingdom, when her power was
at its height, used those resources to make the Ramesside Age a time of grandeur
and opulence.
Stone quarries rang with the sound of picks and hammers hewing out multi-
ton blocks of granite, limestone, sandstone and quartzite— Egypt's chief building
materials since her Old Kingdom kings first erected monumental stone architec-
ture (ca. 2750 B.C.)— to be used in Ramesses innumerable building projects. Gold
II's

mines yielded gold in great quantities which skilled artisans turned into ritual uten-
sils, cult statues, jewelry and architectural decoration for the houses of the gods.

Silver, copper, other precious metals and a variety of precious and semi-precious
stones, specially prized for their color, including carnelian, jasper and turquoise,
arrived as raw materials from Egypt's conquered territories or her desert mines.
Highly-prized lapis lazuli, mined in far-off Afghanistan, was exchanged in Syrian
markets and arrived in Egypt through trade. Egypt's craftsmen transformed these
treasures into artistic masterworks.

An unfinished ram-headed sphinx in ?\-£^r;

the Gebel Silsileh sandstone quarries.
 Iii all the mining, quarrying and building operations, Ramesses the Great himself
took an active and proud interest. In an inscription on the Luxor temple, he relates
how. alter he had pored over ancient records, "the writings of the House of Life" to
learn "the secrets of heaven and all the mysteries of earth" 10 he then conceived a
plan: Look ye, have it in my mind to perform construction work for my father
I

Amun-Ra!'" He assembled his workmen and overseers, and he tells us, "the king
himself issued instructions for conducting the work!' The fruits of this labor remain
12

as proof not only of the power of Ramesses II's regency, but also of the productiveness
of his quarrying operations and the skill of his stonemasons and sculptors.
The Egyptians divided stone into categories based on appearance, hardness and
place of origin. Beds of sandstone, the lightest and softest of Ramesses II's primary
building materials, were found in Esna (34 miles south of Thebes) upriver into Nubia,
where his temples were carved directly into the sandstone cliffs. Sandstone for
Ramesses II's other temples, statues, obelisks or sphinxes, usually came from Gebel
Silsileh, about 95 miles south of Thebes. These quarries, still worked until the nine-

teenth century, produced the lofty columns of Karnak's hypostyle hall and its avenue
of sphinxes. Mistakes made in the preliminary carving stages of several of the
sphinxes forced Ramesses II's stone carvers to abandon these works in the quarry,
where they may be seen today.
still

Limestone, slightly heavier than sandstone and similarly easy to quarry and
sculpt, was found in beds extending from Cairo upriver to Esna. The quarries at Tura,
about ten miles north of Memphis, provided most of the high quality building stone
for the ancient capital, and for Saqqara, its chief necropolis. Much of this stone later
became building material for medieval Cairo or fuel for its lime kilns, so comparatively
little remains.
Granite, heavier and harder than sandstone or limestone, was correspondingly
more difficult to quarry, transport and carve and was rarely used in temple construc-
tion except as door jambs, lintels or column bases. Nevertheless, granite obelisks,
stelae and statues bearing Ramesses II's name abound, despite the difficulty involved
in its handling. The area around Aswan was Ramesses II's chief source of both black
and pink granite, and he claimed considerable expertise in its acquisition. During Sety
I's ninth regnal year, when Ramesses II was probably barely a teenager, one of his

duties was to supervise for his father the quarrying and transport of "very great
obelisks and great and marvelous statues" 13 from Aswan. Later, in Year 8 of his own
reign, he returned to Aswan to select stone for his own projects. A stela inscription
tells how he then reported to his stonemasons that he had "examined a fine mountain

in order that I might give you the use of it!' 14

Ramesses has also left us an account of his discovery of a large deposit of quartz-
ite, one of the hardest and heaviest of the common Egyptian building stones which

was used infrequently, due mostly to the comparatively small amount available. It was
obtained from the Gebel Ahmar quarries just northeast of Cairo. Nevertheless,
Ramesses the Great, while out for a stroll one day in the desert outside Heliopolis
(near Gebel Ahmar), came upon a great quantity of quartzite, "the like of which had
never been found since the beginning of time!' 15 From this enormous block of stone
"higher than a granite obelisk," 16 his artisans carved a divine statue of the king which
was erected in Pi-Ramesses. Unfortunately, this tantalizing inscription is the only
evidence we have today of its existence.

74
 ""^^V
set;
a**^- .^-~ — -
" ' ' '

The quarries at Gebel Silsileh

provided sandstone for building

projects from pharaonic times until
the twentieth century A.D.

Comparatively little is known about the many quarrying expeditions which took
place during Ramesses II's rule. We may assume, however, that they were similar to
a later expedition that set forth under royal auspices during the reign of Ramesses IV
(1154-1148 B.C.), when High Priest of Amun Ramesses-nakht (Cat. No 27) led a granite-
,
quarrying gang of 8,362 men and overseers to Wadi Hammamat in the Eastern Desert.
Such quarry missions required the efforts of skilled specialists, untrained laborers,
stone movers, tool sharpeners, baggage handlers, provision suppliers and errand run-
ners. Quarry sites must have looked like small towns, equipped with temples, adminis-
trative buildings, processing areas and huts for workers whose job it was to turn
mountains into building blocks cut to exact specifications for each project.
Quarrying methods were well-defined. Copper chisels, wooden mallets and heavy
stone balls were used to pound out trenches in the rock around all four sides of the
desired area and to drive wooden wedges beneath it. When moistened, the wedges
Perhaps a flaw in the stone caused
quarrymen to abandon this colossal
expanded and helped to detach the block from the stone below. Finer finishing was
statue in the Aswan granite quarries. done by skilled personnel using more delicate chisels, adzes, mallets and rubbing
stones, aided by cubit rods (Cat. No. 30), right angles (Cat. No. 31) and plumb lines
(Cat. No. 32). Ships and barges then transported the blocks to workshops and building
sites where artisans and architects enjoyed working conditions decidedly more com-
fortable than those at the quarry! There the intense rays of the sun bouncing off
 According to Ramesses II, he
rewarded his quarrymen with all

manner of succulent foods.

desert cliffs often sent temperatures soaring above 140° Fahrenheit, making the
quarryman's life all but intolerable for a good part of the year. Hard manual labor
under such conditions clearly caused high fatality rates. Ramesses IV's expedition to
Wadi Hammamat lost over 900 men!
Still, Ramesses II would like us to believe that he treated his workmen well and

that "their hearts were happy, their arms strong!' 17 His quarrymen, he relates, were
provided with clothing, sandals and ointment. They received excellent care, ample
reward and feasted on cakes, wine, bread, barley, fish and beans. (Sagely he com-
ments that workers perform best "when the belly is satisfied!' 18 ) Despite the king's
humanitarian claims, it must be concluded that his myriad building projects, by their
very number and size, involved the exploitation of many laborers. Some of the

Forty overseers were each required

to deliver 2,000 bricks according to
the inscription on a roll of leather flf ,^3 M,,;^V*t,
|4 -.v*ili)t»6£r£
written in Ramesses II 's fifth regnal I. I*

year.

1*

-
> - T+.U':.4.>JZ «„^J,*-7^-
til

76
 workers were clearly foreign captives or prisoners forced to serve their terms doing
hard labor.
Among them, in all were a group of Near Easterners, the Hebrews
probability,
who, according to the Goshen (Egypt's fertile
Bible, fled servitude in the land of
Eastern Delta region). As related in the Book of Exodus, the Hebrews, led by Moses,
escaped from Egypt by crossing the Red Sea (probably the Reed Sea, a marshy area
near the Sinai border). Pharaoh's pursuing charioteers, intent on preventing the flight
of so many skilled laborers, were drowned in their attempt to follow them through
the water. The Bible also tells us that Moses and his followers then wandered for
40 years in the Sinai desert, overcoming hardship after hardship, before finally
making their way to a new homeland in the land of Canaan on the shores of the
Eastern Mediterranean.
The Egyptians in their writings make no mention of this event, but in view of the
propagandistic nature of ancient Egyptian official histories (including, of course, those
of Ramesses II), this omission of theExodus is understandable. What became a central
event in the history of the nation of Israel was probably only a minor annoyance to
mighty Egypt. Indeed, in ancient Egyptian records, the people of Israel are mentioned
only once, on a stela inscribed in Year 5 of the reign of Ramesses II 's son and suc-
cessor, Merneptah. Erected in commemoration of a victory over the Libyans, the
so-called "Israel Stela" also lists all the cities and tribes in Syria and Canaan that
Merneptah had similarly defeated. The fact that Israel is so listed provides clear (and
significant) evidence that by the fifth year after the death of Ramesses II, the desert
wanderings of the people of Israel had ended. Assuming 40 years for these wander-
ings, if the Exodus took place at least 40 years prior to the Israel Stela and no more

than 71 (66 years of Ramesses II's rule plus five years of Merneptah's), then the depar-
ture from Egypt would have occurred during Ramesses the Great's regency. Accord-
ingly, Ramesses the Great and Moses may have been contemporaries.

Egypt's bustling cities and splendid temples made her prosperity visible. Since
silver, copper and gold were mediums of exchange, the weight and amount of her

precious metal resources made Egypt's wealth quantifiable. (Coinage was not yet
in use and would not exist in Egypt until the end of Pharaonic times in the fourth
century B.C.)
Prior to the New Kingdom, had made it highly prized, but in
silver's rarity

Ramesses II's day it arrived in such quantity as tribute from Asia, Crete and Libya
that it was only half as valuable as gold. The value of copper was about 1 100th that
of silver during Ramesses II's rule, and it came chiefly from Sinai, Syria and Cyprus.
Copper's abundance and the ease with which it could be mined led to its wide use in
everything from weaponry to cooking pots.
Glistening, corrosion-proof and malleable, gold was the most precious metal. Its
value far transcended its exchange rate. Because it brought to mind the imperishable
sun and its radiant life-giving qualities, gold was identified with the gods, and gold
mining was a privilege reserved for kings and for temples. Most gold entered Egypt
from Nubia as tribute. Although we lack production figures, we know the mines of
Wawat, in Lower Nubia between the Nile's First and Second Cataracts, and those
On the "Israel Stela!' King of Kush, farther upriver between the Second and Fourth Cataracts, were among the
Merneptah lists Israel among Egypt's most productive. The Wadi Hammamat mines in Egypt proper also yielded gold.
conquered peoples.

The world's earliest map shows the

location of the gold mines of Wadi
Hammamat.

77
The Biblical Land of Goshen refers
to the fertile Eastern Delta regions.

The Sinai desert at Mount Sinai.

OtfM

TF.

.-M
M. m
 Gold mining, like stone quarrying, was a difficult task. Gold mining gangs pro-
bably resembled quarry gangs, consisting mostly of prisoners of war, criminals and
soldiers, as well as policemen who made sure they did not escape. Gold lay both in
veins within the quartz rock and in alluvial gravels washed into long dry river beds
or wadis. To separate metal from stone, the rocks and gravels had to be excavated
with heavy tools, crushed into powder and then washed.
One of the main problems confronting a gold mining expedition was the lack of
water. In one instance during Ramesses II's reign, the shortage was so severe in the
desert regions of Wawat that half the expedition's men and animals died of thirst
before they even reached the mines! Well aware that fewer workers meant lower
yields, but knowing also that during Sety Fs rule, in this same area, miners had dug
down 200 feet without finding water, Ramesses II summoned the princes of the court
and asked for ideas. His Viceroy of Kush suggested that Ramesses II himself pray to
Hapi (god of the Nile flood), "Let water be brought upon the mountain!' 19 Hapi would
heed Ramesses' plea, the Viceroy assured him, "because all the gods love you more
than any king!' 20 Recognizing good advice, Ramesses II gave it a try, and behold, a
mere 20 feet down, his workers struck water!
After the miners reduced tons of rock to powder from which they retrieved the
gold dust, it was smelted into easily transportable units and brought to Egypt in bars,
rings or lumps. Scribes carefully weighed and recorded it, and it finally found its way
to the treasure houses and workshops of the king and the gods.
Egyptian gold in its natural state ranged between 17 and 22 carats. To produce
treasures for the gods or the royal family, or golden gifts for trusted officials who had
distinguished themselves in Pharaoh's service, craftsmen melted the gold (at a heat of
1945° Fahrenheit) in a blast furnace fueled by wood and dung and stoked by means
of a foot-operated bellows. Goldsmiths then cast the molten metal in molds, ham-
mered it drew it out into wire, cut it into strips, formed it into granules
into sheets,
(Cat. No. 18) or mixed it with other elements which added color or strength. With
solder (made from a copper salt and gum or from a gold alloy) they could produce a
joint that was almost invisible (Cat. Nos. 17, 21 and 22). Alternatively, they might use
gold rivets (Cat. No. 25). Wielding tiny chisels and mallets, the gold workers engraved,
embossed, chased and hammered designs and inscriptions into plain surfaces. They
used brightly colored stones or glass set into cloisons (dividing bands) to add interest,
to jewelry especially (Cat. No. 18). Beautifully fashioned golden vessels enabled the
gods to eat and drink in style (Cat. Nos. 21-25). They fashioned awesome ceremonial
weapons, and their sheet gold coverings made temple doors, walls, obelisks and
columns glisten.

Delicate and beautiful, masterpieces created by these artisans over 3,000 years
ago are as appealing to us today as they must have been to their original owners. The
reign of Ramesses the Great, thanks to them, was indeed a golden age.

Gold chalices, libation vessels,

and offering dishes testify to the

riches of Ramesses the Great's
temple at Abydos.
 Governance of the Kingdom
Ramesses the Great ruled an estimated 3,000,000 people in Egypt proper, and his
jurisdiction over Nubia and the Levant added another few million, according to one
demographic estimate. The well-being of all his subjects was the king's responsibility,
to be fulfilled, in theory, with divine assistance. In practice, he relied on a multi-
branched administrative structure established in rudimentary form at the beginning
of dynastic Egyptian history (ca. 3200 B.C.).
By Dynasty XIX, the Egyptian administration had evolved into a complex
bureaucracy which may be divided into four branches: royal court, temple, military
and civil service. Each branch had its own responsibilities and hierarchy, but each
reported ultimately to the king. In Ramesses the Great's Egypt, the king always main-
tained control.
The large palaces Ramesses II built for himself in major cities— Pi-Ramesses,
Memphis, Thebes— were far more than just residential quarters. Often they included
a complex of government offices, reception areas, archives, storerooms, workrooms,
stables, stockyards, breweries, bakeries, kitchens, military marshalling areas, ornamen-
tal gardens, pleasure lakes and perhaps a harbor. The king, his wives and children, his
would have occupied the palace's living areas. Royal
trusted officials and their families
lands provided food and income to supplement tribute and taxes. Artisans' studios
and cottage industries supplied immediate needs.
Remains of the audience hall and
chrone room from the palace of
Ramesses II at the Ramesseum.

k €m

80
 Each palace compound had its own administrative staff. Chief stewards coor-
dinated the efforts of scribes, bakers, brewers, cooks, butlers, gardeners, overseers,
farm laborers, herdsmen, stable masters, guards, artisans, nurses, weavers, tutors,
messengers and body servants. When the king traveled, his personal entourage in-
cluded such specialists as cup bearer, sandal bearer, sunshade bearer and fan bearer.
(Their duties were probably more ceremonial than physically demanding.)
How splendid these edifices must have been in Ramesses II 's day. Since they were
intended for use only during the king's life on earth— his eternal dwelling place would
be in the Valley of the Kings— they were built mainly of mud brick, an impermanent
material. Tbday little remains, apart from some brightly colored faience tiles,
which once adorned the walls and floors of his magnificent palace at Pi-Ramesses
(Cat. Nos. 39-43), and stone column bases and mudbrick foundations from a less
imposing palace within the sacred precinct of his mortuary temple, the Ramesseum.
Ramesses II built certain smaller palaces to serve as short-term resting places so that he
could conduct business and receive visitors at select temples such as the Ramesseum
(the construction of which had begun almost immediately after his coronation).
Some clues to the way the royal court functioned are found in the remains of the
Ramesseum palace. Though miniscule in comparison to the vast acreage of Ramesses
II's major palaces, its layout, displaying a clear division between public and private
areas, was probably characteristic of all his residences. Behind a square reception
area, filled with 16 columns arranged in rows of four, lay a smaller, square, four-
columned room with a dais where the enthroned king might greet high officials. Aux-
iliary rooms for ritual or storage surrounded the complex. Far to the rear and inac-

cessible from the public areas lay four small housing units. On ceremonial occasions
Leaning down from the window of
appearance, King Sety I presents Ramesses II might ascend a stairway to a balcony overlooking the temple's open court.
Hormin with the Gold of Valor From this lofty "window of appearance" he could address his subjects or present
necklaces. From Saqqara.
awards. The Ramesseum palace also played a role in Ramesses II's funeral ceremonies.
Living quarters for great royal wives, lesser wives, children, servants and adminis-
trators occupied substantial space within palace districts. The harem was not just
a residential area. Here young princes, princesses and children of high officials
learned reading, writing, politics and leadership, manners and morals. Foreign princes
sent their children here (sometimes unwillingly) to receive training in the Egyptian
way of life. Virtually an independent institution, the harem had its own adminis-
trative staff and its own cottage industries, including weaving, farming and herding.
While court officials attended to the concerns of the State (i.e., the king), temple
personnel similarly cared for the gods and their holdings. Like the State, temples
owned fields, gardens, animals, workyards, storehouses, boats, slaves, mineral wealth,
even entire market towns, all of which required large administrative and maintenance
staffs. Most temple precincts also included wayside chapels, archives, artisans' studios,

schools and living quarters.

The high each temple served as its supreme authority in the absence
priest of
of the king. (The high priest of Amun at Karnak wielded considerable power, since
Karnak was one of the main employers in New Kingdom Egypt.) Second, third and
fourth priests or prophets aided the high priest in attending to the god's intimate
needs. A temple's lesser priests performed other duties, such as reciting liturgy, burn-
ing incense, pouring libations, celebrating special festivals, collecting offerings, main-
taining records and tracking the passage of time so that each ritual might be per-
formed at its specified day and hour (Cat. No. 15). There were also lay (wab) priests
82
 who served for one month at a time, three times a year. During their period of duty,
were obliged to shave their entire bodies, refrain from
they, like full-time priests,
wearing wool clothing and remain sexually abstinent. Women of the New Kingdom
aided their gods primarily as singers, dancers and musicians, although occasionally
they attained higher priestly office as well. Meryetamun, daughter and later wife
of Ramesses II, served as Sistrum Player for Mut, Menat Player for Hathor, Songstress
of Atum and Dancer for Horus (Cat. No. 4).
A temple's riches came largely from royal gifts presented by kings to curry
divine favor and priestly support. In exchange, kings hoped to obtain what only the
gods could give— long life, dominion health and general prosperity. Over the years
,

a temple might accumulate enormous wealth. By Dynasty XX, for example, fully 10%
of Egypt's agricultural land belonged to the sanctuary of Amun at Karnak.
In many Ramesside Egypt resembled semi-autonomous
respects, houses of gods in
corporations. One temple might lease land to another or open it to sharecroppers.
Temple-owned ships transported goods from its market towns. Surpluses might be
traded, but despite their vast power, temple priests remained subordinate to the king.
Before any income in the form of produce, grain, wines, oil, precious stones and
metals, cloth and handiwork went into temple storerooms, a share went to the king
as tax. Not even the gods were exempt!
lb ensure that the king's voice would remain supreme was the task of the
military. A standing army had existed in Egypt only since the beginning of the New
Kingdom (ca. 1550 B.C.), when it was established to protect newly conquered ter-
ritories. By Dynasty XIX, it had grown considerably.

The king was indisputable commander-in-chief of the army, and we know

Ramesses II took his role seriously. Generals, usually princes, commanded each divi-
sion of about 5000 men and reported to the king. Each division, consisting of infantry
and chariotry regiments of about 200 to 250 men under the leadership of a com-
mander or standard bearer, was further subdivided into platoons of 50. The smallest
units of his army were squads of ten men each.
lb recruit troops for the army's mainstay, the infantry, army scribes traveled from
village to village promising young farm boys adventure, foreign plunder and a chance
to better their lot if they became soldiers. Teachers, meanwhile, fearful that children
of noble families might also be seduced into joining the army, instructed their pupils
about the reality of a military life. According to a New Kingdom papyrus: "The
soldier, that much tormented one... is taken when yet a child to be imprisoned in a
barrack!' 21
"he is beaten like papyrus and battered with castigation!' 22 On
In training,
the march, "his bread and water are upon his shoulder like the load of an ass... he
drinks of smelly water and halts (only) to keep watch!' 23 In battle, "he is like a
plucked bird...Turn back" the teachers warned, "from the soldier's calling!' 24 When
army recruiters failed to produce sufficient inductees for Pharaoh's army, they
resorted to conscription. Foreign mercenaries and prisoners of war also joined the
ranks of the military.
Ramesses IPs troops fought valiantly for him (most of the time). Archers led the
way into battle, followed by soldiers armed with axes, swords, daggers and spears and
protected by shields, helmets and sometimes coats of mail. Chariots, made of wood
with bronze and leather trappings, protected each flank and the rear. Charioteers

Ramesses II 's High Priest of Amun

Bakenkhonsu. He probably usurped
this statue from an official of
Dynasty XVIII. From Karnak.
 were the army's elite Kadi two-wheeled chariot was pulled by two horses and carried
two men. Generally, one man drove as the other fought with bow and arrow or spear,
but an especially valiant driver might tie the reins around his body and battle beside
his companion.
When Egypt was at peace, Ramesses the Great's soldiers lived well, served as an
internal police force, patroled the borders, manned foreign garrisons and labored on
public works. Whether stationed at home or abroad, they enjoyed a varied diet of
meat, fowl, vegetables, bread, oil and, of course, beer and wine. Those who had
served bravely received further rewards— enemy plunder, grants of land, office and, if

they had truly distinguished themselves, possibly even the Gold of Valor (Cat. No. 26).
Court officials, priests, and regiment commanders played their roles, but it was
Ramesses II's civil service bureaucrats who kept Egypt and her conquered territories
functioning. Egypt's two viziers, presiding from Memphis for Lower Egypt and from
Thebes for Upper Egypt (Cat. No. 33), were the most powerful officials in the land.
They directed all public services and public works, ensured that all civil government
branches worked together efficiently and maintained open communication with the
royal court, the priesthood and the military, no small task in Ramesses II's day.
Appointment to this high office theoretically was made solely on the basis of ability,
but family connections probably played a greater role. The Southern Vizier, Paser, for
instance, who was appointed by Sety I and went on to serve some 25 years into
Ramesses II's reign, was the son of a high priest of Amun.
Paser, in an inscription on the wall of his tomb— he copied it from the tomb of
a Dynasty XVIII vizier who, in turn, had usurped a Middle Kingdom text— left us an
account of his job. It sounds very much like that of any modern day chief executive
officer. Each day, ideally, began with a policy meeting with Ramesses II and a con-

ference with the royal steward. Then Paser met with his own staff of deputies,
overseers, mayors, heralds, scribes and treasurers, listened to their accounts and issued
orders. He signed legal contracts, maintained archives, inspected construction projects,
established property boundaries, organized labor on canals, fields and tombs, received
official delegations, provided police protection, oversaw workshops, supervised com-
merce and communication and officiated at festivals.
The vizier, in the name of the king and in his role as judge, presided over the
high courts or kenbets, which convened at Memphis and Thebes. These councils, using
plaintiff-defendant procedures remarkably similar to ours, decided grave criminal
cases and major civil disputes. Local kenbets dealt with lesser problems— property
disputes, payments, inheritances, charges of adultery and minor criminal offenses.
Meticulous accounts on these trials suggest that they were lively village events
enjoyed by all.
Ramesses II's administration, like that of any modern day government, relied on
taxes to fund State institutions, and it was the vizier's responsibility to oversee tax

Crown prince Amunherkhopeshef

rides a chariot into battle against the

Syrians. From Beit el Wali.

84
 collection. Fishermen, farmers and herdsmen delivered their shares to city mayors,
as scribes kept careful account for the vizier. The vizier's treasury officials collected
levies from craftsmen and even priests. Farm produce and manufactured goods were
surveyed yearly, and a percentage of all crops and products went to Pharaoh's stores.
Large landowners were assessed, percentage-wise, a larger "harvest tax" than small
farmers. The system appears fair, but ancient records show that disgruntled citizens
lodged occasional complaints, such as this one: "What is this wrong you are doing to
me? It is I (alone) whom you have found to penalize amongst the entire body of tax-
payers!' 25 The result of his plea remains unknown.
In the end, much of Egypt's wealth returned to her citizens directly and indi-
rectly, because the economy was based on a redistribution system. All those who

worked for Ramesses II— soldiers, quarry men, builders, craftsmen, government
officials— received their wages in the form of food and drink, clothing and household
effects. The abundant food and free-flowing beverages the public enjoyed at many
temple festivals also came from Pharaoh's stores. Thanks to the bounty of the land,
Workers measure grain for taxes.

From the tomb of Ipy at Deir el

hunger was rare in the Egypt of Ramesses the Great.
Medina.

The Life ofthe People

In comparison with many other ancient civilizations, we know a great deal about
Egypt. This is due, in part, to the Egyptians' delight in and their desire to con-
life

tinue enjoying life's earthly pleasures in the netherworld. They equipped their tombs
with all the material requirements for a blissful existence. Their tomb wall paintings
depict them engaged chosen to guarantee them pleasure, nourishment
in activities
and divine favor in the afterlife. They often recorded the events of their lives in tomb
inscriptions which can now be read, thanks to the work of Jean Francois Champollion,
the early nineteenth century French linguist. He, with others, established the prin-
ciples for deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Other sources of information about how and where the ancient Egyptians lived
are diverse— sociologists, anthropologists, palaeobotanists, scholars of military and
religious history, even geographers and climatologists. Geography and climate, no less
than commercial needs, political requirements and divine dictates, influenced the
location and development of farms, villages, cities, trade routes, industrial centers,
strategic defense areas and sacred ground.
The amount of Egypt's land devoted to agriculture in Dynasty XIX has been
estimated to be as high as 5,500,000 acres. The size of a New Kingdom family farm
was about three and one third acres. Some farmers worked fields in return for a share
of their yield. Soldiers, who served their king valiantly, received gifts of land from
state or temple holdings, the standard being approximately two acres.
As soon as flood waters subsided (August at Aswan, as late as October elsewhere),
farmers hitched cows and oxen to heavy wooden plows and broke up the fertile earth.
Most sowed seeds of barley, emmer and flax, New Kingdom Egypt's main crops, and
carefully tended them over the next four months or so. At harvest time, they lopped
off the heads of grain with sickles and brought them to the threshing floor where
cattle trampled them to break open the husks. Workers then tossed them in the air
with winnowing spoons. The wind took the chaff. What was left was gathered into
 Sennedjem plows and his wife
scatters seed in a painting from their

tomb at Deir el Medina.

86
Sennedjem cuts grain with a sickle,
and his wife collects the ears in her
basket. From Deir el Medina.
 heaps, measured, recorded and returned to farmers, less the amount due tax
assessors. Flax plants had to be harvested near the root so the precious fibers would
not suffer damage. After seeds were detached for next years' planting, the stalks
were transformed into linen thread from which was woven the cloth most commonly
worn by Egyptians, rich and poor. (In the hot Egyptian climate, wool was too warm,
and silk and cotton came to Egypt only in Ptolemaic and Roman times respectively.)
Even with the land's fertility guaranteed yearly by the silt-bearing flood waters,
the lot of the farmer was difficult. One late New Kingdom school text asked young
readers to consider the plight of the "cultivator" in whose fields "mice abound, the
locust descends, the cattle devour (and) sparrows bring want" and who still had to
pay his harvest-tax 'after the snake has carried off one-half and the hippopotamus
'

has eaten up the rest!' 26

On desert fringes beyond the agricultural lands, lay animal grazing land. Oxen
and cattle, bulls, pigs, sheep, goats and donkeys were raised for work and for food.
Animals less domestic, including ibex, oryx, gazelle and antelope might also be
trapped for game parks and the gods' offering tables. Wild fowl— at least 14 species
have been identified— were captured and raised for food and for aviaries of wealthy
estate owners. In addition, New Kingdom Egypt witnessed the arrival of the domes-
tic chicken. Imagine an owner's delight, watching these wonderful birds lay an egg

every day!
Farms and herds fed and clothed Egypt's people, but towns and cities, located
usually on the floodplain but high enough to escape flood waters, formed her cultural
hubs. A few cities were planned, among them Tell el Amarna, Pi-Ramesses, Nubian
garrison areas and Deir el Medina, a village near the Valley of the Kings built to pro-
vide homes for workmen constructing the royal tombs. These planned cities often
display an axial layout of streets and houses, with various sectors devoted to separate
concentrations of administrative buildings, temples, crafts and industries, markets or
living quarters. Most towns, however, spread irregularly on the basis of need and
availability of land. In many instances, they grew up around the estates their inhabi-
tants served.
In residential areas, larger houses were grouped together in affluent "suburbs"
while smaller domiciles in poorer sections shared contiguous walls. Most families had
to make do with modest mudbrick dwellings of three or four rooms laid out one
behind the other, like the typical Deir Medina home. A foyer, entered from the
el

street, led to a larger room with a low platform to one side for eating or sleeping and
a false door stela for worship set into the wall. One or two plastered wood columns
supported a flat wooden roof, and light was admitted through tiny windows just
below the ceiling. A short flight of steps led down to a household storage area.
Behind the "living room" lay a sleeping area containing a bed niche. Food was
prepared on the roof or at the rear of the house in an open air "kitchen" which
generally contained a clay oven and a recessed mortar for grinding grain. Throughout
the house, plastered mudbrick floors and walls might be painted with images of
favorite deities, floral friezes or simple bands of color.
On the whole, furniture was sparse and utilitarian. People sat on high- or low-
back chairs and stools and ate at low tables from a variety of plates, bowls, saucers,
pitchers and cups made primarily of undecorated, wheel-thrown pottery. At night,
reed mats or beds with woven cord "springs" provided comfort. Padded headrests

^* Cattle grew fat from the bounty of

-^ the land.
Ramesses
From the temple of
II at Abydos.

88
I

/L M
 >*-
t."'r~

'm* 0tfBfc

n-n

. ^.

-*£--/ * .r

Padded reed mats placed in niches

often served as beds for Deir el

Medina villagers.

Deir el Medina kitchens included

sunken hearths for cooking. Walls
throughout the houses were often
plastered and white-washed.
 Triangular bread loaf and trussed

duck in a case.

Villagers trap a rich variety of fish in

Nile waters. From the tomb of Ipy

at Deir el Medina.

served as pillows (Cat. No. 38). Baskets and wooden chests (Cat. No. 36) stored linen
and personal articles. Often, clever methods of construction, veneering, inlay and
painting made inexpensive woods more attractive. Acacia and sycamore, commonly
used in furniture, were available locally, but the more highly prized cedar and ebony
had tobe imported from Lebanon and Nubia respectively. Most families made their
own simple furniture, but they might commission more ornate or elaborate pieces
from local carpenters in exchange for other goods or services.
lb ancient Egyptians, corpulence was synonymous with prosperity. Because
workmen were paid largely in food, wage records, together with actual food remains
and paintings of food on tomb walls, provide us with information about their diet.
Bread and beer were its primary components. Loaves of bread, formed in many dif-
ferent shapes and using a variety of ingredients such as honey, milk, fruit, eggs and
fats, were baked in cylindrical ovens, on low braziers or over open fires. In Ramesses

the Great's Egypt, over 40 words existed for breads and cakes! Villagers made their
own beer by mixing, baking and fermenting the basic ingredients— barley, yeast and
malt— in several stages of preparation. The alcoholic content of the resulting beverage,
up to 8.1%, was greater than today's brews (6%). Regular beer was enjoyed daily,
but for festivals its flavor might be enhanced with honey, mint, pomegranate, figs
or grapes.
Among the vegetables Egyptians ate were lettuce, cucumbers, celery, melons,
onions, leeks, garlic and beans. Fish appears to have been their main protein source.

90
 '

Such and 67), mullet (Cat. No. 42), catfish,

varieties as bolti fish (Cat. Nos. 41, 53
mormyr and perch (sometimes so large it took two men to carry them) were caught in
traps, nets and on hooks. Scaled and cleaned, they might be sun-dried, broiled, baked
or boiled with vegetables in savory stews. Also important to the diet were oils and
fats. Oil from the castor bean was the cheapest and most prevalent; sesame and

moringa oils and animal fats were also used. For festivals or as bonuses, workmen
sometimes received gourmet fare— wine, milk, meat, fowl, fruit or condiments
awarded from royal stores or temple treasuries.
For some in Ramesses the Great's Egypt— the palace official, the priest, the
scribe— life could be most pleasant. They lived in style, educated their children
well, dressed fashionably and generally enjoyed the amenities of a prosperous cos-
mopolitan society.
In crowded cities houses for the wealthy might be multi-storied structures with
each level devoted to a separate function. Work areas, storage and servants' quarters
occupied the ground floor; the first floor consisted of large public reception areas;
above were bedrooms and a roof terrace where food was prepared. In the "suburbs"
the elite lived in luxurious, sprawling estates that testified to the prosperity of their
owners. One such home was described by owner as "a goodly villa... on the verge
its

(of the river)... planted with trees on every side" and boasting "fine door-posts of
27
limestone inscribed and carved... and walls inlaid with lapis lazuli!' Its splendors did
not stop at the house doors, for had granaries "packed with abundance, a fowl-
it

yard and an aviary... a breeding bird-pool; horses (are) in the stable... ferry boats and
new cattle boats are moored at its quay... fishes are more plentiful than the sand of
28
the riverbanks!
A by heirs of the elite was education. At the age of five,
special benefit enjoyed
young boys from noble families began studies at "schools" connected with the royal
court, temples and government institutions. Under a teacher's watchful eye, they
mastered both cursive hieratic, the script of routine correspondence, and the more
formal and artistic hieroglyphic writing.
The classics of Egyptian literature served as models not only for grammar and
spelling but also for virtue and moral principles: "Do not give your heart to pleasures"
young students were warned, "or you shall be a failure. Write with your hand, read
with your mouth, and take advice of those who know more than you!' 29 Teachers also
offered their pupils career counseling— in this example, based on experience: "Be a
scribe. It saves you from toil... and spares you torment, as you are not under many
lords and numerous masters!' 30 Additionally, they pointed out: "He who works in
writing is not taxed. Take note of this!' 31 Clearly, the scribal profession was the key
to success in Ramesses the Great's Egypt.
The Egyptians took pleasure in attractive attire and personal adornment. The
undyed linen that villagers used to make clothing was generally woven by women
on two-beamed horizontal ground looms and graded into categories on the basis of
the number of threads per unit. Royal linen, the best they produced, was even finer
than today's delicate handkerchiefs.
For work, men wore simple, wrapped kilts, but on more festive occasions they
donned bag tunics made by folding a large rectangle of linen in half, hemming it up
the sides to the armhole and cutting a circle in the center for the head. A second
 Servant women wash clothing
at Deir el Medina. From the tomb
of Ipy.

piece of linen wrapped around the torso and knotted in front created an apron-like
effect (Cat. No. 62). For added warmth, sleeves might be sewn in, and on the coldest
nights, a shawl provided further protection. Sandals of leather or woven papyrus and,
perhaps, a walking stick completed the costume.
Stylish women of Dynasty XIX wore floor-length dresses made of linen rectangles
draped around their torsos and over their shoulders, knotted beneath their breasts
and trimmed with fringed borders and pleats secured with sizing (Cat. No. 63). Tbmb
paintings suggest that these garments were often transparent, billowy and as elegant
as the occasions for which they were designed.
Wealthy Egyptians feasted at sumptuous multi-course banquets, became intoxi-
cated on fine wines and enjoyed lithe dancers performing to the accompaniment
of orchestras (Cat. Nos. 55 and 56). They strolled in verdant pleasure gardens filled
with exotic trees and shrubs. Colorful flowers surrounded artificial ponds suitable for
boating or bathing. Board games provided further entertainment (Cat. Nos. 58, 59 and
72), and, as in life itself, the stakes were high. Fate, in theory, was the opponent;
eternal life was the winner's prize.
Most Egyptians cut their hair short with bronze razors (Cat. No. 50) or flint
knives. Outside the house men and women of high station wore wigs woven from
strands of natural human hair, each secured individually to a matrix by means of
resin and beeswax and kept neat by combs (Cat. No. 51). A lump of scented fat placed
atop a wig would melt under the heat of the sun and prevent the hair from becoming
brittle. (It must have also contributed a pungent aroma as it aged.) For wrinkles,

for dandruff and for all manner of ills and injuries, Egyptian medical papyri prescribed
cures, and skilled doctors were available for hire. Jewels of gold, silver and precious

92
 stones added allure to the appearance of those who could afford them (Cat. Nos.
18-20). Others less fortunate made do with ancient Egypt's equivalent of costume
jewelry fashioned from brightly glazed faience. Colorful multi-rowed floral collars,
delicate single-strand necklaces, beaded bracelets and armbands and gaudy rings in
multiples stood out against the white of the Egyptians' linen garments.
No respectable man or woman would have appeared
of Ramesses the Great's day
in public without proper make-up. Kohl made from galena to outline the eyes and
shield them from the sun's glare (Cat. Nos. 46-48), red ochre mixed with fat to redden
the cheeks and perhaps the lips, and creams to keep skin soft and supple transformed
an ordinary countenance into one of great beauty. Mirrors were available to inspect
the results (Cat. No. 49).
Dressed in their finest linen garments, wearing their long elegant wigs, adorned
with jewels, painted with cosmetics and scented with floral perfumes, Ramesside high
society's beauties must have rivaled those of any culture in any age.

Ipy and his wife, elegantly dressed

in Ramesside high fashion, receive
offerings from their children. Copy
of a painting from their tomb at

Deir el Medina (substantially restored).

 ***-"-* '•'K.

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 Ill
Quest for Immortality

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 ancient Egyptians, an ideal lifeon earth lasted 110 years. If proper condi-

To tions were met, death was not an end but a beginning— the start of a journey
into an other-worldly realm of everlasting bliss. Ramesses the Great, living
well into his ninth decade, was on his way to achieving the ideal, for he had
expended considerable resources and manpower to guarantee his immortality.
Early in his reign, he had begun to make careful preparations for his death, burial
Looking down the papyrus columns and entry into eternity to join his fellow gods. Like his New Kingdom predecessors,
of the hypostyle hall at the
Ramesses chose sites in Western Thebes for the majestic mortuary temple where his
Ramesseum.
funeral ceremonies were to be held and for the royal tomb where he would be buried.
Heeding lessons learned millennia earlier, he located his temple, the Ramesseum, at
the desert's edge, on the opposite side of the limestone cliffs from the wadi, known
as the Valley of the Kings, where his tomb would be hidden. This was to draw atten-
tion away from his burial place and ensure its security against violation and plunder.
Or so he thought. Work on both temple and tomb began almost immediately after
Ramesses II assumed the throne.

The king's cult lived on in his

funerary temple, the Ramesseum.

An Eternal Dwelling Place
The Ramesseum was designed to be a splendid eternal dwelling place where the cult
of the king would be honored in perpetuity. The spot Ramesses chose to build this
'House of Millions of Years United with Thebes)' as the Ramesseum was called in his
day, lay on the edge of the desert between the temples of Kings Amunhotep II and
Tuthmosis IV of Dynasty XVIII. Here he erected not only a temple, which reproduced
elements of Karnak on a smaller scale, but also a palace, storerooms and housing for
his funerary The magazines or warehouses of the Ramesseum provide some
priests.

idea of the size and complexity of this enterprise. The area of the enclosed temple
precinct devoted to storage of commodities was three times that allotted to the tem-
ple itself. There were 20 large, vaulted, mudbrick granaries, each of which held suffi-
cient barley and emmer wheat to feed 60 families for more than two years. Similarly,
great amounts of other goods, like wine, honey and oil, filled smaller storerooms.
In the Ramesseum temple area proper, a massive stone pylon opened onto an
open-air court flanked on the north and south by pillars and columns. Dominating this
court and, indeed, the entire temple was a 66-foot-high, 1000-ton seated statue
of Ramesses, with an inscription which, according to ancient Greek translators, pro-
claimed him the King of Kings. A stairway led to a second open-air colonnaded court
where additional towering statues of the king, this time represented as Osiris, god of
resurrection, flanked pillars on the east and west sides. From the second court, a
48-columned hypostyle hall, second in size only to Karnak 's, led to three smaller col-
umned halls and finally to a sanctuary in the rear.
Nowhere in Egypt are ancient
storerooms better preserved than at

the Ramesseum. The largest, which

were granaries, were filled through
holes in the roof and emptied
through side doors.

The Ramesseum was oriented to the Luxor temple on the east bank of the Nile so
that during the annual "Beautiful Feast of the Valley" celebrations (Cat. No. 11), the
god Amun might travel in his royal barque across the river and visit Ramesses the
Great's funerary temple. Here in the "House of Millions of Years" the dead king and
the god would become one.
As one group of builders and artisans was constructing the Ramesseum, a second
group worked on Ramesses the Great's tomb. Their task involved carving and
decorating the tomb according to precise specifications so that the king's resurrection
and rebirth would be assured. The Ramesseum was essentially completed by Year 20
based on the early spelling of the king's name which changed slightly from Thebes to
Nubia after Year 20.
This select group of approximately 50 artisans and supervisors reported directly to
the vizier. They lived in Deir el Medina, a village in Western Thebes founded in early
Dynasty XVIII to provide convenient living quarters for royal tomb builders and their
families. By the time of Ramesses II's rule, the village had grown considerably in size
and prosperity. Inside a protective wall, about 70 houses were grouped in contiguous
units along two main avenues. Gates at the north and south ends excluded those who
did not belong. Around the village lay its temples, tombs and tomb chapels. Tbtal
population is estimated to have been around 300.
Excavators at Deir el Medina have uncovered a wealth of domestic and archival
material as yet unsurpassed in amount and state of preservation. Remains from the
village, including the "Journal of the Necropolis" a day-to-day account written on

ostraca about the mundane trivialities of work at the tomb, provide a window to the
inner workings of an ancient enterprise. Work schedules, equipment, delivery of sup-

Pillagers and an earthquake reduced Following page The secon

theRamesseum to a ruin. Although the Ramesseum with sutuc<. ol

now only a shadow of its former King. His crossed l

magnificence, the statue to the right crook and flail and mum
is one of the largest ever carved body identify him as

from a single block of stone. resurrection.

f
 i

One of the main streets at Deir el

Medina. Houses shared side walls.

Debris from repeated floods now

fills the burial chamber in the tomb
of Ramesses the Great.

109
 plies, excuses for skipping work, rewards and punishments, promotions and inter-
actions between management and staff, all dating back more than 3,000 years, may
be viewed as if they took place today. For example, Deir el Medina records show that
a workman's basic monthly wage (received ideally on the twenty-eighth day) was four
76 liter sacks of emmer for bread and one and one-half sacks of barley to make beer.
This amount would have comfortably nourished a family of ten.
The artisans who worked on Ramesses the Great's tomb were divided into two
groups or gangs. Because of attractive work schedules and generous compensation,
places on the gangs were in great demand. Generally son succeeded father, often
generation after generation, and bribery of officials to assure an appointment was not
unknown. A foreman, assisted by a deputy, headed each gang, supervising their per-
formance, monitoring progress, supplying equipment, resolving disputes and repre-
senting their interests to the vizier. A scribe, who also reported to the vizier, main-
tained the daily log, registered supplies, wrote letters and compiled reports. Although,
strictly speaking, they were not members of the 'gang; Doorkeepers of the
'
' Tbmb
maintained round-the-clock security.
Probably it was the accompanied by stone masons and architects, who
vizier,

selected an appropriate spot in the Valley for the king's tomb—subject to royal
approval, of course. The tomb which housed the mortal remains of Ramesses the
Great is located near the entrance to the Valley of the Kings (Royal Tbmb #7). In
layout and decoration, it largely reproduced earlier royal sepulchers of Dynasty XIX.
It deviated from them only in incorporating one right-angle turn, rather than a

straight axis, in the passageway leading to the vaulted burial chamber. This design
may have been prompted by an intrusive bed of shale that experienced stone carvers
thought safest to avoid.
Construction was carefully planned. quarrymen cut diagonally down into
First,

the soft limestone with heavy copper or bronze chisels. Others followed with plumb
bobs and right angle levels (Cat. Nos. 31 and 32), smoothing any unevenness with pre-
cision tools. Plasterers patched flaws and covered the naked rock with a layer of
gypsum. Next, draughtsmen laid out registers with the aid of a cubit rod (Cat. No. 30)
and filled them with inscriptions and decorations painted in red ink. Then, carvers
slowly and carefully cut down the background area, making figures and text stand
out in raised relief. Finally, painters covered the reliefs using a rich palette of natural
earth tones. Presumably, the stone cutters and painters took turns working, since the
fine dust raised by the chisels would have rendered the pigments unusable.

Paint pigments were mixed with

water and applied with a reed brush.
The owner of this palette made the
greatest use of blue and black.
 - ,

Ramesses II makes an offering to

a goddess in a representation from

his tomb. warofcrjfr; *W*

The worked a four-hour shift in the morning and a similar stint

artisans probably
in the afternoon. One gang may have been responsible for the right side of the tomb
and the other for the left. We know the tomb was cut and decorated one room at
a time so that in the event of an unexpected royal death, it would be usable with
some hasty finishing touches. When the gangs ceased work each day, their valuable
copper and bronze tools were collected for sharpening and safekeeping. (One copper
chisel cost more than a family's grain supply for a month.) The State also kept a
record of the linen wicks and lamp oil it issued.
In theory, for eight days out of ten, the artisans cut and painted Ramesses II 's
tomb, spending nights in temporary huts overlooking the Valley and going home to
Deir el Medina only on their days off. In practice, they took far more time off for such
"legitimate" reasons as beer brewing, drinking sessions, house building and repair,
moonlighting for their superiors, work on their own tombs, family quarrels, festivals,
personal or family illness, parental visits and family rites of passage including births
and deaths. By Year 40 of Ramesses El's reign, some men were working an average of
only one day out of four! (Only two men that year maintained a perfect attendance
record.) Presumably the vizier permitted such laxity because work on the king's tomb
was largely finished by that time.
Excluding its end halls, Ramesses II 's tomb measures 324 feet in length, a large
tomb by New Kingdom standards, although not the largest. In quality, the tomb of
Ramesses the Great, with its delicately modeled, low relief representations and its
finely carved hieroglyphs, is unsurpassed. Proficient as they were, however, the
Deir el Medina artisans still made mistakes, in one instance even spelling the king's
name incorrectly. A layer of plaster was applied to cover the blunder, but it has since
fallen off.

104
 J
1

Death of a King
.

After some 66 years and two months of sole rule over the world's most powerful
'*?'
country, Ramesses the Great departed this earth. His deathcame sometime during
the Second month of the season of Akhet (August), 1213 B.C. Most likely in his
eighties at the time, he suffered from arthritis severe enough to cause him to stoop
and from dental abscesses which undoubtedly generated constant pain. Old age was
the probable cause of his death, which seems to have occurred while he was in
M J, residence at his Delta capital, Pi-Ramesses. (We know the preparation of his body took
1/ place in the Delta, and logically in or near Pi-Ramesses, since some of the sand found
in the mummy came from a marine rather than a riverine environment.) Immediate

£ steps were taken to preserve Ramesses IPs body through mummification so that his
soul would be housed eternally. Essentially, mummification is a process of desiccation,
or drying out. (The word "mummy" comes from the Arabic "mummiya" meaning
bitumen, a gummy black material which resembles embalming resins.) The process
took 70 days, the same length of time that the bright star Sirius remained beneath
the horizon before it reappeared again, rising just before dawn.
,v> We may conjecture that Ramesses IPs body was carried to the House of Embalm-
ry •*".'
Jh
ing, placed on a long wooden table and cleansed with the Nile's life-giving water. Mor-

tuary priests, chanting ancient prayers, then made a cut in his left side and removed
from both abdominal and thoracic cavities the internal organs which might cause his
body to decompose. His liver, lungs, stomach and intestines were retained and treated
separately. Generally, the heart was left in place, but Ramesses IPs heart was removed
and sewn back in later with golden thread. (We know this from the recent examina-
tion of Ramesses IPs mummy performed at the Louis Pasteur Institute in Paris.)
Chanted spells helped ensure the heart's safety. As the source of intellect and feeling,
according to ancient Egyptian thought, its preservation was critical since it contained
a record of allRamesses IPs actions and was required in his final judgment. Only if his
heart were no heavier than the feather of truth (Ma 'at), would he be granted eternal
life. In contrast, little significance was attached to Ramesses IPs brain, so, in keeping

with New Kingdom tradition, it was cut up and drawn out in pieces through his nose.
Funerary priests then poured wine, scented with aromatic spices, inside his empty
body cavity to cleanse it. Embalmers temporarily packed the body with bulky absorb-
ent materials— wads of linen containing bits of straw, sand, natron and resins— to
preserve its shape and hasten the drying process.
About 16 days later, mortuary priests laid the king's body out on a slanted bed
Head of Osiris, god of resurrection, and covered it with the principal drying agent in mummification, powdered natron,
from the tomb of Ramesses the a naturally occurring salt found in Wadi Natrun near the Western Delta. There
Great.
the body remained for the next 40 days, after which time its weight would have
decreased approximately 75% through loss of water.
Following its natron bath, embalmers emptied the king's body of its temporary
stuffing, washed it and dried it. Then, as lector priests recited the appropriate texts.
bandagers began the critical task of permanently packing and wrapping Ramesses IPs
body. Embalmers body cavity with cloth of yellow and blue,
lined the inside of the
the colors of gold and lapis lazuli. (Traces were found adhering to the ribs.) They
inserted peppercorns in the king's nostrils— probably to help them keep their shape
and also to reawaken his sense of smell— and stuffed his body cavity with undyed
 linen soaked in resin. Other important ingredients of the packing materials included
bits of wood (cypress mainly, but also fir and oak), pollen from a variety of flowers
(including sago, linden and camomile), wild tobacco, fragments of the bulb of the nar-
cissus tlower and undoubtedly myriad other special substances now gone. All of these
were intended to preserve and revitalize the body.
Racking complete, the incision on Ramesses II's left side was closed, and priests
turned their attention to treating the exterior. Tb keep his skin supple, they massaged
it \\ ith unguents and oils. At some point henna, thought to have rejuvenative qualities

because of its blood-like color, was applied to the king's hair (coincidentally approx-
imating the natural auburn color of his youth). Priests crossed his hands over his
chest, placing left over right (a reversal of the standard royal position), and the ban-
dagers, with sheets, strips and wads of linen in readiness, began wrapping Ramesses
the Great's body.
Although none of the original wrappings remain, bandagers began
it is likely the
by dressing the king in a golden-colored linen shroud. After carefully wrapping each
finger and toe separately (and then perhaps covering them with individual guards
of gold), they next would have bandaged each arm and leg. While lector priests
chanted prayers and uttered spells, bandagers continued to wind layer after layer of
linen around Ramesses the Great's mortal remains, coating each layer with resins to
help stiffen the body. Altogether, several hundred yards of linen must have gone into
wrapping Ramesses II's body. Magical amulets were undoubtedly included among the
wrappings. Some, imitating body parts, were to ensure that the mummy's correspond-
ing element functioned properly. Others were shaped like animals, reptiles or insects
whose salient characteristics, such as strength, tenacity or fertility, might thus be
transferred to the body. A large scarab (valued for its seemingly self-regenerative
abilities)was presumably laid atop Ramesses II's heart to guarantee him a favorable
final judgment. Jewels, some with amuletic significance and others purely decorative,
adorned his neck, wrists and fingers.
As the final step in the wrapping process, a shroud about 15 feet long and 4 feet
wide and painted with an image of Osiris, god of resurrection, was probably placed
over Ramesses II's body, knotted at the ends and secured with linen strips. All the
embalmers' refuse— scraps of linen, bits and pieces of entrails, left-over embalming
unguents and anything which might have touched the royal remains— was carefully
swept up and sealed in jars to be buried near the king's tomb. This, too, was sacred
and contained life-giving powers.
At this point, priests undoubtedly covered Ramesses the Great's head and
shoulders with a golden mask. Then, they might have carefully lowered his body into
a solid gold coffin of anthropoid shape, which was then probably nested inside one or
two other coffins also made of gold or gilded wood and possibly inlaid with precious
stones. Depictions of the king on the coffin lids probably featured him in different
stages of rebirth. Finally, a large granite sarcophagus, carved in an oval shape so that
it resembled a cartouche, would have housed the nested coffins.
The king's liver, lungs, stomach and removed at the start of the mum-
intestines,
mification process, were cleansed, anointed and wrapped like the rest of the body.
Each of the organs fell under the guardianship of one of the four sons of the god
Horus, and their images formed the lids of the four canopic jars in which the organs
were stored. Alternatively, the lids may have depicted images of their owners (Cat. No. 3).

The internal organs of Ramesses II's

royal scribe and chief lector priest,

Thenry, were stored inside this set

of canopic jars.

106
Head of the mummy of Ramesses II.

Priests wrapped Ramesses II 's toes

individually as one of the first steps
of the bandaging process.

The god Osiris holds the crook and

flail of rulership. His mummiform
body reflects his role as master of
the netherworld. From the tomb of
Sennedjem at Deir el Medina.
 Journey to the Netherworld
Seventy days following Harnesses lis arrival at the House of Embalming, mortuary
personnel plated his mummified body on a royal barque for its slow journey upriver
to Western Thebes. There a bevy of headed by the Southern vizier, had been
officials,

making preparations for the royal burial. All that the king would need in his
afterlife—food and drink, furniture, personal items, ritual objects— had to be ready
for the funeral ceremonies since all of it would accompany the king to the tomb.
Some two to three weeks after departing Pi-Ramesses, the barque bearing the
royal remains pulled up along the East Bank of the Nile at Thebes. We can imagine
how, as evening approached, the royal barque, accompanied by barques of the official
burial party, slowly crossed the river following the westward course of the setting sun.
Leading the procession that formed when they reached the West Bank was Merneptah,
son and successor of Ramesses II. It was his responsibility to bury his father, just as
the god Horus had first performed this rite for his father, Osiris. Osiris, rejuvenated,
then ruled the netherworld, and Horus inherited his kingdom on earth. Similarly, if
correct rituals were observed, Ramesses the Great would become Osiris and rule a
netherworld kingdom, and only then could Merneptah become Horus, Egypt's earthly
ruler.

En route to the mortuary temple and royal tomb, the king's body in its coffins
traveled on a sledge pulled by oxen across the cultivated area that lay between the
river and the desert necropolis. A second sledge carried Ramesses II's canopic chest.
Merneptah, the Southern vizier, other high dignitaries, along with various priests,
offering bearers and professional mourners, wailing and tearing their hair, accom-
panied the coffins. Priests, preceding them, sprinkled milk along the route as a liba-

tion to the gods and sweetened the air with incense. Actresses impersonating the god-
desses Nephthys and Isis, Osiris' sisters and wife, walked with the corpse as mourners
and guardians at this critical moment prior to burial.
When the procession drew near the tomb, ritual dancers, whirling and snapping
their fingers, came to meet them. Then, with participants gathered, a priest wearing

A priest wearing the jackal mask

of Anubis, guardian of the
necropolis, attends the mummy
of Sennedjem in a painting from his

tomb at Deir el Medina.

108
A set of ritual implements used
in the Opening of the Mouth
ceremony. From the tomb of Ipy
at Deir el Medina.

The mummy of Ramesses the Great

now at rest in the Cairo Museum.
 King of kings. Ozymandias.
Originally. 66 feet tall and 1.000
tons.

114
 '

which had gained power in Upper Egypt while kings in the Delta ruled Lower Egypt
from Tanis. The Age of the Ramessides had come to an end.
Over the next 100 years of rule by Dynasty XXI kings, the tomb robberies con-
tinued. When High Priest of Amun, Pinodjem II, died, his fellow priests took steps to
end them. Once again, they gathered the royal bodies and used the activities sur-
rounding Pinodjem's burial as a foil to hide all New Kingdom kings,
of Egypt's great
together with bodies of their own tomb of Queen Inhapy,
dead, in the narrow pit
which they had enlarged to accommodate the additions. They closed the tomb near
Deir el Bahari, on the twentieth day of the Fourth month of Peret in Year 10 of King
Siamun (ca. 969 B.C.). There, miraculously, for more than 2800 years, all the bodies,
including that of Ramesses II, remained lost and forgotten.

Afterlife: Greatness Remembered

His body was desecrated, his tomb lost, but Ramesses the Great lived on. After the
monuments of Pi-Ramesses were dismantled and moved to Tanis, the memory of
Ramesses the Great traveled with them, and worship of Ramesses the god continued
at the new sites and elsewhere. For the next 1000 years, people paid homage to his
colossi and venerated him in his temples throughout the land. In the Ptolemaic Period
(331-30 B.C.), his cult supported its own priesthood.
When Egypt became a vacationland for ancient Greek and Roman travelers and
tourists, their accounts of their journeys, almost without fail, mentioned the still

splendid monuments of Ramesses the Great. The Ramesseum, in particular, with its
1000-ton megalith statue excited awe. The chronicler, Diodorus of Sicily, writing about
60 B.C., noted the statue's unbelievable size and quality. Thorough journalist that he
was, he provided a translation of the hieroglyphs inscribed on its base: "King of Kings
am I, Ozymandias. If anyone would know how great I am... let him surpass one of my
works!' 32 Ozymandias is the Greek version of the throne name of Ramesses II,
User-Ma 'at-Ra.
The name stuck, and millennia later the English nineteenth century poet, Percy
Bysshe Shelley, further immortalized the same statue in his well-known poem,
"Ozymandias!' By then, however, earthquakes and looting had reduced both the
Ramesseum and its statue to a ruin, which Shelley described:
'

'. . .Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter 'd visage lies...
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away!' 33

Although despoiled, the Ramesseum was never lost to history. Such was not the
case with Abu Simbel, Ramesses IPs majestic monument to himself in Nubia, some
175 miles south of Aswan. We know it still dominated the landscape in Dynasty
XXVI, when Greek mercenaries marching south carved their names on the leg of one
of the colossi. But slowly, over the centuries, the drifting Nubian sands virtually
covered this lofty temple.
 Belzoni and his men move a busc

of Ramesses II from the Ramesseum

to the British Museum.

The re-assembly of Abu Simbel at its

new site.
Sfc

116
 It was a Swiss traveler and Arabic
John Lewis Burkhardt, passing by in
scholar,
1813, who recognized the potential of the sandy mountain and stopped long enough
to uncover one of the heads of Ramesses II. Struck by its quality, which he likened to
Greek rather than Egyptian art, Burkhardt hastened to share his discovery with his
fellow adventurer, the engineer Giambattista Belzoni, who was in Egypt to supervise
the removal to London of a large bust of Ramesses II which Egyptian ruler Mohamed
Ali was presenting to England's Prince-Regent. Finishing the task in 1817, Belzoni was
free to turn his attention to the problem of unearthing the treasures at Abu Simbel.
It was an enormous task to dig down through more than 30 feet of sand just to

reach the temple's doorway. Belzoni 's workmen, for their labors, earned about a
penny a day (and their local chief was promised half of the gold that was thought to
be stored inside). Alas, the temple proved to be empty, but thanks to those workmen,
the wonders of Abu Simbel became accessible to the world once more.

The face of Ramesses the Great, cut

out of the mountain at Abu Simbel.

». -

117
 \thuit half a centurj later. In L871, an Egyptian peasant, Mohamed er-Rassoul,

ami his brothers stumbled onto another treasure which would bring them their for-

tune and be their undoing chambers at the bottom of a chimney-like shaft in the
In

desolate hill between Deir el Bahari and the Valley of the Kings, they found the
bodies of Egypt's meat New Kingdom pharaohs and the wealth of antiquities that had
been buried with them for three millennia. The mummies remained piled, like kin-
dling wood, just as they were when hastily hidden during High Priest Pinodjem's
funeral.
For the next ten years, the Rassoul brothers exploited their good fortune, carefully
removing choice objects a few at a time and selling them illegally in the markets at
nearby Luxor. Authorities soon began to take note of the splendid finds available
there, and also of the ever-increasing wealth of the Rassoul family. They investigated
and arrested one of the brothers, but he revealed nothing. The mystery was not
resolved until the Rassoul brothers quarreled. One them went to the local police
of
and confessed, in return for immunity, a small payment and the promise of a job
as an archaeologist.
On July from the Egyptian Antiquities Organization descended
6, 1881, officials

the long narrow shaft of Queen Inhapy's tomb, as the Rassoul family had first done
ten years earlier. Aware of the need to work quickly, lest more of the hoard's
treasures disappear, they had amassed a work force of some 300 men. Within two
days they emptied the tomb. They carried its contents, including the mummy of
Ramesses II, to a waiting steamer for transport to the museum in Cairo. As the boat
made its w ay
r
slowly down river, villagers gathered on the banks of the Nile and
wailed and pulled their hair, just as their ancestors had done in mourning for Egypt's
kings thousands of years before.
In our own more than 3000 years after his death, Ramesses the Great
century,
still earns universal respect. His monuments still evoke a sense of awe, and the world

still pays him homage. In 1960, when the building of the Aswan High Dam threatened

to drown Abu Simbel, 90 countries united in an international effort to rescue this

most famous monument of Egypt's most famous king. Over a period of eight years,
and at a cost of $36,000,000, some 2000 workers cut the temple into more than 1000
numbered and labeled pieces, moved them to higher ground and reassembled the
temple a mere 14 months before rising waters would have engulfed it forever.
Today, looking down from his large temple, four 65-foot-high, seated statues
of Ramesses II, with wives and children at his feet, dominate the Nile. Ramesses the
Great has gained immortality. His greatness lives on.

Head of Ramesses the Great from|

Abu Simbel.
118
 Pita

v
II A -1 *>
 the Great at Abu Simbel dominate
the Nubian landscape once a,

> \ 4

J\ 1 I

oA^
V V
A' -*,.«

*
— \ 4

L20
 Notes

Chapter I— Ramesses the King

the dedicatory inscription of Abydos, as translated by D.B. Red ford, Pharaonic King-
in

Lists, Annals (mil Day Books: A Contribution to the Egyptian Sense of History (Mississauga, 1986)

266.
•From Papyrus Anastasi IV. as translated by R. Caminos, Late-Egyptian Miscellanies
(London. L954) 150.
'From Papyrus Sallier IV. ('aminos 334.
•From the Kadesh |>oem and bulletin adapted from R.O. Faulkner, "The Battle of Kadesh"
MDAJK L6 (1958) L01, L04.
Faulkner 104.
6
Faulkner 104.
7
From the abridged version of the first Hittite marriage stela, as translated by A.R.
Schulman, "Diplomatic Marriage in the Egyptian New Kingdom;' JNES 38 (1979) 186, note 41.
Schulman 186.

Chapter II— Egypt in the Ramesside Age

'From the "Blessings of Ptah" at Abu Simbel, adapted from J.H. Breasted, Ancient Records
of Egypt III (Chicago, 1906)81.
As translated by M. Abd el-Razik, "The Dedicatory and Building Texts of Ramesses II in
10

Luxor Temple II: Interpretation;' JEA 61 (1975):125.

As translated by D.B. Redford, "The Earliest Years of Ramesses II, and the Building of the
11

Ramesside Court at Luxor;' JEA 57 (1971): 114.

12
Redford 114.
13
From a stela of Sety I from Aswan, Breasted 88.
14
From the Manshiyet es-Sadr stela, Redford 112.
15
From the Manshiyet es-Sadr stela, as translated by E. Uphill, "Pithom and Raamses;' JNES
28 (1969):33.
16
Uphill 33.
17
From an inscription on the Luxor temple, Redford 114.
18
From the Manshiyet es-Sadr stela, as translated by A. Hamada, "Stela from Manshiyet es-
Sadr;' ASAE 38 (1938):228.
19
From the Quban stela, Breasted 120-121.
"Breasted 120-121.
21
From Papyrus Anastasi IV, Caminos 169.
22
Caminos 169.
23
Caminos 169.
24
Caminos 169.
25
From Papyrus Anastasi V, Caminos 273-274.
26
From Papyrus Anastasi V, Caminos 247.
27
From Papyrus Lansing, Caminos 412-413.
28
Caminos 412-413.
29
From Papyrus Anastasi III, Caminos 83.
30
From Papyrus Anastasi II, Caminos 51.
31
From Papyrus Anastasi V, Caminos 247.

Chapter III— Quest for Immortality

32
Diodorus of Sicily I, trans. C.H. Oldfather (Cambridge, 1968) 169. Diodorus was citing the
third century B.C. historian Hecataeus of Abdera.
"Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Ozymandias;' from The New Oxford Book of English Verse, ed. Helen
Gardner (New York and Oxford, 1972) 580.

122
Harnesses ll's thirteenth son,
Merneptah, assumed the throne
upon his father's death. From
Thebes.
 esentations

iii Exhibition

Scale: l uu-h 1 toot

27

124
16
 38 40
37

42

39

43

on
5 Q@
46 47 ,

48 50 51

35 45
49

55

52 53

54 56

66

65

68 69

67

70 71

o7

60, 61, 62

126
 r

59
TT
J-
Catalogue of
the Exhibition
 I

Ramesses as a Child and the God Hauron

The child Ramesses squats represents the sun god Ra; Ramesses II. It was found
under the towering figure <>f the child with his finger inside a mudbrick chapel

the Semitic deity Hauron at his mouth is the hiero- built in the Late Period

represented as the Egyptian glyphic word mes; and the (730-30 B.C.) within the
falcon god Horus. Whether plant is the mtf-plant. temple enclosure of King
royal or plebian, male or Many foreign gods became Psusennes I (1054-1004 B.C.)
female, ancient Egyptian assimilated into the Egyptian at Tanis. Anciently, the

children, like the young pantheon in the New King- falcon's face was restored in
Ramesses, frequently dom, especially during limestone. It was found in
gathered their hair to one Ramesses the Great's reign. another room of the Late
side in a "side-lock," touched Hauron, whose homeland cult Period chapel.
a finger to their mouth, and centered at Beit Horon near The inscription encircling
wore no clothes. Here Jerusalem, came to Egypt at the base lists the names and
Ramesses wears only a sun least as early as the reign of titles of Ramesses and
disk and uraeus (royal cobra Amunhotep II (1427-1396 B.C.), describes him as "Beloved
whose job was to shelter and when he was identified with of Hauron."
protect the king) on his head. the sphinx and worshiped in Material: Graniteand limestone
In his lefthand he clutches a chapel at Giza. Both Provenance: Tanis
Height: 231 cm. (90.9 in.)
a plant symbolic of Upper Tutankhamun and Ramesses Base Length: 130 cm. (51.2 in.)
Egypt, namely the Nile II added to this structure. Base Width: 64.5 cm. (25.4 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
Valley. Ornamental but mean- Awesome and majestic, this
Ramesses II
ingful as well, the com- granite statue remained an Cairo Accession No.: JE 64735
Catalogue References:
position puns the name object of reverence genera-
Brigham Young University No. 7
Ramesses: the sun disk tions after the death of Montreal and Vancouver No. 4

130
 s II

ol t Ills

erved, and
ntary inscription
On tin" back pillar dors not
include tln> owner's name.
However, the distinctive style
leaves tittle doubt thai it

represents Ramesses the

Ckeal His round face, high
cheekbones, slight l> bulging
almond shaped eyes, and
sweet smiling mouth are
reminiscent of other statues
of the king and his family

members (Cat. Nos. 3-7). It

shaft's a timeless, forever

youthful quality with some

of the best Ramesside
statuary.
Harnesses II wears a short
curled wig with a central
uraeus attached by means of
a band tied at the back and
terminating at each side in
another uraeus. His torso is

clothed in a finely pleated

linen garment knotted just
below the right breast, a
beaded broad collar, and a
bracelet shaped like an
udjat eye. Combining
a human eye with the facial
markings of the falcon god
Horus, the udjat symbolized
health and prosperity. The
outline of a heka scepter,
a shepherd's crook which
represented kingship, may
still be seen in the king's
right hand. The torso's
slightly forward angle sug-
gests that it originally came
from a seated statue.

Material: Granite
Provenance: Tanis
Height: 82.5 cm. (32.5 in.)
Width: 64 cm. (25.2 in.)
Date: New Kingdom. Dynasty XIX.
Ramesses II
Cairo Accession No.: CG 616
Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 54
Montreal and Vancouver No. 67

132
Canopic Lid of
Queen Tuya, Mother
of Ramesses II

Females carried the royal forms the lid of one of four Material: Alabaster
Provenance: Thebes, Valley of the
blood line in ancient Egypt, canopic jars from her tomb.
Queens, tomb of Queen Tuya
and every New Kingdom king Inside these jarswere her (No. 80)
Height: 17 cm. (6.7 in.)
regarded himself as the off- internal organs, removed
Diam. of head: 15 cm. (5.9 in.)
spring of his earthly mother from her body at the time Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX.
and heavenly father Amun. of mummification and spe- Ramesses II
Luxor Museum Entry No.: J 191
Accordingly, queens, and cially treated. In 1972, a joint Catalogue References:
especially queen mothers, Egyptian-French expedition Brigham Young University No. 56
Montreal and Vancouver No. 5
enjoyed special reverence. discovered Tuya's tomb in the
Queen Tuya, Great Royal Valley of the Queens.
Wife of Sety and mother of
I Idealizing rather than
Ramesses II, was honored by portrait-like, the queen's face
both husband and son with smiles sweetly from beneath
statues, temples, and a tomb. a heavy, curled wig. A vul-
She lived until at least the ture cap, atop the wig, sym-
twenty-second year of her bolizes her royal status. The
son's rule. eyes were once inlaid,
Queen Tuya's likeness probably with glass.
 Meryetamun,
Daughter and Wife
of Ramesses II

An artistic mast or work indicate her royal status. Ball

of the Nineteenth Dynasty, earrings, a broad collar
t his royal female statue, dis- largely made up of beads in
covered in 1896, was long the shape of nefer signs
though! to represent (the hieroglyphic word for
Meryetamun, but proof was beauty), and a wide bracelet
not forthcoming until just adorn her. In her left hand
a few years ago. Workers she clutches a meruit
excavated a trench prior (ceremonial necklace and
to building a school in the counterweight) bearing the
upper Egyptian city of head of Hathor attached to
Akhmim in 1981. They dis- strings of beads.
covered a colossal statue Hathor was the goddess
strikingly similar to the pre- and dance, and
of love, music
sent example in physiog- menats were frequently car-
nomy, dress, accoutrements, ried by women who served
and cultic titles. Inscribed as her priestesses, as
on the back of the Akhmim Meryetamun was. The hiero-
statue was the name of its glyphic inscription on her
owner, Meryetamun, daugh- back further relates that she
ter and later wife of was Sistrum Player for the
Ramesses the Great. Un- Goddess Mut (associated with
doubtedly, it is she who is Hathor) and Dancer for the
represented here as well. God Horus. Just as the king
Her soft round face, slightly officiated as high priest,
protruding eyes highlighted so too did royal wives have
by incised lines, and full a role in Egyptian religious
sensuous lips characterize practices.
the best of Ramesside art.
Material: Limestone
Meryetamun wears a crow n r
Provenance: Thebes, northwest of
of uraeii and sun disks the Ramesseum
Height: 75 cm. (29.5 in.)
known as a modhis. Two Width: 44 cm. (17.3 in.)
additional uraeii attached Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
Ramesses II
with a band to the front of Cairo Accession No.: JE 31413 =
her long, ornately curled wig CG600
Catalogue References:
wear the crowns of Upper Brigham Young University No. 66
and Lower Egypt and further Montreal and Vancouver No. 28

134
 K

mtk

IT

m
it .*

m
 .

with th on tho leaves of the ished. Harnesses II wears the in the temple of Karnak
This assured tho kmga long nemes, a headcloth reserved (Karnak cachette) during
messes 11. outstretched, and prosperous rule. Here for kings, and a uraeus a "housecleaning" effort
presents an altar shaped box tho name inscribed on emerges from his brow. of the early Ptolemaic Era

to his god At t hi' trout, food i In- leaves is ( ser Ma '<it /fa, Around his waist, a deco- (ca. 300-250 B.C.).

offerings cover a mat Ramesses Ms coronation name. rated belt holds a finely

The ished, or persea tree, Probably this statue was pleated linen kilt in place. Material: Schist
Provenance: Thebes, Karnak
uiew in the temple court either made at tho time of I lis downcast eyes and
Height: 27.5 cm. (10.8 in.)
yard o\' the sacred eit> of the coronation or later in reverent expression comple- Maximum width (base): 75.8 cm.
The ment (29.8 in.)
Hrliopoiis since the begin commemoration of it. his prostrate stance.
Length (without restoration):
ning of time. On every coro- text around tho statue's This statue was one of 12.5 cm. (4.9 in.)
base promises that '"his almost a thousand stone Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
nation day tho king's titular}
Ramesses II
was proclaimed throughout (Ramesses Us) achievements sculptures (Cat. Nos. 6, 15, Cairo Accession No.: JE 37423 =
tho land. The goddess of are confirmed hundreds of 27 and 33) deposited in a CG 42142
Catalogue References:
w ritmg. Seshat, or her thousands of times on the fourteen meter-deep pit in
Brigham Young University No. 20
delegate inscribed tho name leaves of the sacred ished tree." front of the Seventh Pylon Montreal and Vancouver No. 64

136
 6
Ramesses the Great
as a Sphinx

Noted for his strength and Egyptian New Year (mid-

power, the lion symbolized July). This coincided with
kingship in ancient Egypt. rising flood waters atAswan,
As early as the Old Kingdom which brought with them
(ca. 2700-2200 B.C.), renewed fertility for the
Egyptian artisans combined land. Accordingly, an actual
the head of the reigning vessel of this shape, often
monarch with the body of made of precious metal,
the king of beasts to create contained the first flood
an awesome image. waters. It might also hold
Here, a rather idealized, sacred unguents for pre-
reverential representation sentation to the gods in
of the head of Ramesses II return for a long and pros-
joins a taut, powerful leonine perous life.

body. The nemes headcloth Inscribed on the front

and broad collar help mask of the vessel are Ramesses II's

the transition between birthname and coronation

anthropomorphic and zoo- name. Like Cat. Nos. 5, 15,
morphic forms. 27 and 33, it was found in
The human-handed the cachette of statues at
sphinx statue type began Karnak.
only in the New Kingdom Material: Sandstone
(ca. 1550 B.C.). Here the Provenance: Thebes, Karnak
Height: 18 cm. (7.1 in.)
hands clasp a high-
Length: 37 cm. (14.6 in.)
shouldered vase surmounted Width: 9 cm. (3.5 in.)
by a ram's head. The ram Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
Ramesses II
was sacred to the god Amun Cairo Accession No.: CG 38060 =
(Cat. No. 12). Pharaoh tradi- CG 42146
Catalogue References:
tionally offered a vessel of
Brigham Young University No. 19
this type to Amun on the Montreal and Vancouver No. 65

.
 Column Drum
Reinscribed for
Ramesses II

In constructing his vast whose talons clutch the shea-

architectural complexes ring (the hieroglyph meaning
throughout the Delta and "to surround" and "to
Nile Valley, not only did protect"), hovers above the
Ramesses the Great quarry king. It may also have sym-
new stone, but he also reused bolized rejuvenation.
his royal ancestors' monu- Ramesses II is identified by
ments. King Tuthmosis IV two of his five names, writ-
(1425-1417 B.C.) originally ten in cartouches to the left

erected this channeled col- of his visage. One of these

umn, and his names may still names, the composite
be read on it. However, User-Ma 'at-Ra Setep-en-Ra,
Ramesses II took it for his adopted at his coronation, is
own use, and his representa- also inscribed on his belt.
tion covers far more of the The practice of reusing
surface area. The king wears older monuments did not stop
the kheperesh or warrior with Ramesses II. This
crown with a coiled uraeus already twice-used column
and two pendant streamers, became part of the foun-
a beaded necklace, and a dation of a building erected
royal kilt. In one hand he at the end of the first cen-
holds three lotus flowers, tury A.D. by the Roman
symbols of rebirth, and in emperor Trajan.
the other a composite bou-
quet. The ancient Egyptian
word for flowers, renpeyt, is Material: Sandstone
Provenance: Elephantine
similar to renpey, to become
Height: 162 cm. (63.8 in.)
young, and renpuwt, to enjoy Diam.:96cm. (37.8 in.)
many more years. Accord- Date: New Kingdom, Dynasties
XVIII and XIX, Tuthmosis IV and
ingly, by presenting the gods Ramesses II
flowers, he receives in return Cairo Accession No.: JE 41560
Catalogue References:
youth and a long life.
Brigham Young University No. 1

The falcon god Horus, Montreal and Vancouver No. 3

138
 10
Sun Sanctuary from
Abu Simbel

The cult of the sum ma\ be the morning sun's first rays. and its form is unique.One
traced back to the beginning Pour baboons perch can still imagine the awe
of EI© ptian civilization. aiop the altar with arms inspired by the rising sun as
Ramesses the Great, like upraised in worship. As the its rays burst through the

many of his royal ancestors, sun rose each morning, the towers of the false pylon,
elevated the sun god baboons' shrill cry awakened rosebetween the upraised
Ra-Horakhty to a position of the world to a new day. paws of the adoring baboons,
importance. Cut into the rock Behind the altar, an open air and illuminated the cult
at t he north end of the Great shrine housed a scarab beetle images inside the shrine.
Temple terrace at Abu Simbel surmounted by a sun disk
was a sanctuary devoted to and a single squatting baboon
the worship of the sun. wearing a lunar disk and
Alternating statues of crescent. The scarab placed
Ramesses II and Ra-Horakhty on the east side represented
stood beside it. the rising sun, newly reborn
Cliffs border the chapel and rejuvenated on the
to the west and north. eastern horizon, as the Egyp-
Material: Sandstone
To the east is a pylon. Nor- tians hoped they, too, would
Provenance: Abu Simbel
mally taking the form of two be. The baboon on the west 8
towers with a gateway bet- symbolized the moon and Height of Baboons: 92 cm.
(36.2 in.) to 99 cm. (39 in.)
ween them, here the pylon night. On the outside of the Base Lengths: 37 cm. (14.6 in.) to
lacks an opening. Entry into shrine nearest the scarab is a 43 cm. (16.9 in.)
Base Widths: 26 cm. (10.2 in.) to
this unroofed chapel was representation of Ramesses II
28 cm. (11.02 in.)
through a door in the terrace offering to the sun god 9
Height of Seated Baboon: 92 cm.
and up a short flight of stairs. Ra-Horakhty, and on the side
(36.2 in.)
A sandstone altar cut from nearest the baboon, the king Base Width of Seated Baboon:
the living rock stood inside. makes an offering to the 33 cm. (12.99 in.)
10
Two obelisks flanked its moon god Thoth shown in an Height of Scarab: 69 cm. (27.2 in.)
east side. alternate form, namely an Width of Scarab: 43 cm. (16.9 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
The sloping sides of the top ibis-headed man. Ramesses II

of the obelisks recalled the Found in 1909, this is the Cairo Accession No.: JE 42955
Catalogue References:
pyramidal shape of the most complete sun sanctuary Brigham Young University No. 47
benben stone and caught of its kind known to date, Montreal and Vancouver No. 2

14d
,
\

li
 transported in a veiled sane Sety I, who offers burning their questions. Villagers

mple homes tu;u> placed on a portable incense to the divine image. marked the celebration's end
11 public \ i« boat shrine. Hero, in the up- Below, the royal scribe with banquets held at the
however, on special holidays per register, the boat is Amunemonet kneels in tombs of their deceased
priests brought them outside borne on the shoulders of adoration of the great relatives. Drunkenness was

their sacred compounds. Cult twenty-tour priests and Userhet and recites a prayer encouraged since it broke
images were available for all privileged high dignitaries. in honor of the Great God. A down the barriers between
to revere, and religion According to the text, many description of the Userhet of the living and the dead.
became a participator) of the officials who carried Ramesses III (1185-1154 B.C.) After an evening filled with
event. t he portable barque filled from the Harris Papyrus abundant food, drink, and
Represented here is a scene important positions at Deir hints at the grandeur of this revelry, they customarily
from a summer holiday el Medina, the village of divine barque. Measuring 67 passed the night in the
know n as the "Beautiful workmen who built the meters in length, it was ancestral funerary chapels.
i of the Valley" when royal tombs. Images of made of imported Lebanese Material: Limestone

Anum-Ra Amun-Ra shown as a ram cedar covered with gold and Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
the god left his
Medina
home at karnak temple and (Cat. No. 12) decorate both other precious materials. Approx. Height: 60 cm. (23.6 in.)
travelled across the river on bow and stern. The sacred All could take part in the Approx. Width: 80 cm. (31.5 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
:
eat barge known as the barque, having just left one Beautiful Feast of the Valley Sety I— Ramesses II (Year I)
rhet to visit the royal temporary resting place and by greeting the god in his Cairo Accession No.: JE 43591
Catalogue References:
funerary temples on the on its way to another, is met journey. By means an
of
Brigham Young University No. 46
West Bank. On land he was by Ramesses II's father, oracle, the god would answer Montreal and Vancouver No. 11

142
12
Ram of Amun
Ostracon

On account of their strength, Deir el Medina workmen

power, and salient aspects charged with the building of
of their appearance and the royal tombs of Merneptah
behavior, certain animals (son and successor of
were associated with gods Ramesses II), Amunmesse,

from the beginning of Egyp- Sety II, Siptah, Tausert,

tian religious history. The Seth-nakht, and Ramesses III

virility of the ram led to his (1213-1154 B.C.). Since

identification with the god papyrus was far more costly,

Amun-Ra. scribes and artisans fre-

Drawn boldly in black ink quently used ostraca for
and highlighted in red on quick, often humorous sket-
a scrap of limestone known ches, for practice drawings,
as an ostracon is a recum- to record minor business
bent ram labeled "Amun-Ra, transactions and for simple
He Who is at the Head of All votive offerings like the
the Gods.' ' A large bouquet present example.
of lotuses, a circular loaf of
bread, and a fig face the god.
Material: Limestone
According to the inscription, Provenance: Thebes, Valley of the
Kings
these offerings were pre-
Height: 11 cm. (4.3 in.)
sented to the ram by the Width: 18 cm. (7.1 in.)
Foreman Hay who, by doing Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX
or XX, Amunmesse-Ramesses III
so, hoped to place himself Cairo Museum Temporary Register
in the god's good graces. We No.: 23/2/22/1
Catalogue References:
know from other sources that Brigham Young University No. 42
Hay supervised the crew of Montreal and Vancouver No. L3
 13, 14
Rekhyt Bird Tiles

Colorful inlaid and painted

faience tiles often orna-
mented the floors and walls
of New Kingdom palaces and
temples. More than just a
pleasing group of elements,
these tiles make a strong
statement about the power
of kingship. The birds repre-
sented are lapwings (VaneUus
cristabus), the hieroglyph
meaning people (rekhyt).
Their human arms are raised
reverently beside a star. The
two hieroglyphic signs
together mean worship. The
basket upon which they
squat signifies all (neb).

Taken as a whole and

repeated as many times as
possible to fill the available
space, each unit reads 'All '

people worship (the king)."

A common motif, it often
decorated the bases of walls,
thrones, platforms, windows,
and statues. Although these
tiles came from the funerary
temple of Ramesses III at

Medinet Habu, even larger

examples were found at

Ramesses IPs capital city,

Pi-Ramesses.

and glass paste

Material: Faience
Provenance: Thebes. Medinet
Habu
Larger Tile Length: 23.1 cm.
(9.1 in.)
Larger Tile Width: 11 cm. (4.3 in.)
Larger Tile Thickness: 2 cm. (.78 in.)
Smaller Tile Length: 7.8 cm.
(3.1 in.)
Smaller Tile Width: 12 cm.
(4.7 in.)
Smaller Tile Thickness: 2 cm.
(.78 in.)
Date: New Kingdom. Dynasty XX,
Ramesses III
Cairo Accession No.: JE 33968
Cairo Museum Temporary Register
No.: 5/2 24 7
Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 17
Montreal and Vancouver No. 21

144
 15
Water Clock of
Amunhotep III

Many temple rituals had to register. Below, the twelve

be performed on specific gods and goddesses repre-
days of the year or at precise senting the months receive
times of the day or night. For offerings from the king and
*<5*"-
that reason, an accurate give him their blessings of
method of recording the pas- life, and health.
prosperity,
sage of time was essential. This clepsydra was found
Every day had twenty-four in fragments in the Karnak
hours, twelve day hours and cachette (Cat. Nos. 5, 6, 27
twelve night hours. During and 33). Although it was
1 the day, the ever-present sun
provided a foolproof method
made for King Amunhotep
of the Eighteenth Dynasty,
III

it

of measuring time. For night may still have been in use in

hours, priestly astronomers Ramesside times. Also a
developed the water clock, or monumental builder,

w clepsydra. It

principle of gravity.
operated on the

dribbled out a hole in the

base at a constant, measur-
Water
Amunhotep

who
III

high esteem by Ramesses

was held

frequently copied his

works. The astrological
in
II

able rate. On this example, motifs of the clepsydra are

tiny columns of circles inside reproduced on the ceiling
correspond to the water level of Ramesses IFs funerary
at the passing of each night temple in Western Thebes.
hour. Since the length of a
Material: Alabaster, glass paste,
day hour and a night hour
and carnelian
varied with each month, Provenance: Thebes, Karnak
Exterior Height: 35 cm. (13.8 in.)
there are twelve columns of
Upper Diaro.: 49 cm. (19.3 in.)
circles, each marked at the Lower Diam.: 27.5 cm. (10.8 in.)
top with the appropriate Rim Thickness: 2 cm. (.78 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty
month. Alternating ankh- XVIII, Amunhotep III

signs and d/ed-pillars, sym- Cairo Accession No.: JE 37525

Catalogue References:
bols of life and stability
Brigham Young University No. 16
respectively, are carved at Montreal and Vancouver No. 8
the bottom of each column.
Scenes on the clepsydra's
outer surface, once inlaid
with faience and carnelian,
relate to the heavens and the
passage of time. A vignette
featuring King Amunhotep III
(1386-1349 B.C.) between the
falcon-headed sun god
Ra-Horakhty and the ibis-

headed god of the moon

Thoth (Cat. Nos. 8-10) fills
part of the upper two
registers. By virtue of its

size, it serves as the most

important scene. On the
remainder of the uppermost
register, the king in a barque
accompanies the deities of
the planets and constella-
tions. Symbols of the ten
days of the week and circum-
polar stars fill the middle
 L6
Ramesses II and the
Gods of Armant

In many (it ies Ramesses II stylized plumes, feathers

dedicated monuments to and a sun disk, the crown

local gods. Here the king, could easily have added
attired in royal regalia, clut- another three feet. A second
ches two standards featuring base for the statue, still in
the god and goddess of the courtyard of the Cairo
Armant, a city just north of Museum, measures two and
Thebes. At his right side is one-half feet.
the falcon-headed Montu, a Striding regally forth in the
warrior god, and to his left is traditional left-foot-forward
Montu's consort, Rat-tawy, pose of the Egyptian male
shown with a human head figure, the king displays the

and wig surmounted by a physique of a trim young

sun disk and cow horns. In man. Chronologically, he was
the column of inscription on at least in his mid-fifties at
each staff, Ramesses II the time this statue was com-
relates that he made this missioned, since the inscrip-
statue as a monument to "his tion on the base refers to
father"Montu and "his the jubilee festivals he had
mother' Rat-tawy. The stan-
' celebrated. Ramesses II wears
dard-bearing statue type was the royal uraeus and beard,
especially common during a beaded collar, and a kilt

Ramesses II's reign. Placed in ornamented with a panther-

front of a temple or inside head apron and pendant
the first court, in this case at uraeii. The panther apron

Armant, it would have been signifies his role as high

available to any passer-by for priest giving service to
worship. In that manner it his god.
served as an intermediary
between god and man.
Material: Granite
Every aspect of this statue Provenance: Armant
Height: 244 cm. (96.1 in.)
heralds Ramesses the Great's
Width: 100 cm. (39.4 in.)
power and majesty. Over Base: 73 cm. (28.7 in.) x 103 cm.
seven feet tall as it is now, (40.6 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
a hole on top of the wig Ramesses II

indicates that the king once Cairo Accession No.: JE 44668

Catalogue References:
wore a headdress, probably Brigham Young University No. 50
the atef crown. With its tall Montreal and Vancouver No. 1

146
 J
&

/T r

r'IJ

**r

Jij

;r'i

>, ll

!••& S3

jfli

i j5H
 17
Goal Vessel

A masterpiece of crafts- Royal Butler Atum-em-ta-neb,

manship, this gold and silver the owner, wearing a tradi-
vessel reflects the cosmopol- tional long, pleated linen gar-

itan nature of the Egyptian ment and worshipping a for-

empire in the Ramesside Era. The inscription
eign goddess.
Since its primary metal, expresses Atum-em-ta-neb's
was rare in Egypt, it
silver, (and every Egyptian's) desire
was most likely imported to enjoy millions of years of
from the Near East. The gold lifeand power.
used on the rim and handle Rearing on his hind legs
was probably mined in and nipping at the rim of the
Nubia, Egypt's chief source vessel as if to drink from
of that material, although the it is a goat hammered out of
animal handle motif is sheet gold which forms the
primarily Near Eastern. In handle. Although the goat's
shape, the vessel recalls the body is made out of two
pomegranate, an exotic fruit halves of metal, fine crafts-
to the Egyptians. It was first manship makes the join prac-
brought to Egypt from the tically invisible.

Levant in the early Eigh- Undoubtedly as much of

teenth Dynasty. a treasure to its original
In the upper register of the owner as it is today, this
rim's incised decoration, vessel was part of a group of
stylized palmettes, a motif precious objects found in two
borrowed from Near Eastern caches at Bubastis (modern
art, frame scenes of animal Zagazig) in 1906, when con-
combat. Also present is a struction workers were build-
winged griffin, a mythical ing a railroad (see also Cat.
creature whose origins may Nos. 18, 20 and 22). Two
also lie in ancient objects in the group were
Mesopotamia or Iran. The inscribed for Queen Tausert
register below likewise (Cat. No. 22), and it is on
displays hunting and combat, that basis that this vessel
but it is purely Egyptian in may be dated.
inspiration and has a riverine
Material: Gold and silver
rather than desert location. Provenance: Bubastis
Height: 16.5 cm. (6.5 in.)
Scenes of fishing and bird
Height of Handle: 9.5 cm. (3.7 in.)
trapping in the Nile marshes Opening Diam. 8.9 cm. (3.5 in.)
:

symbolize royal mastery over Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,

Queen Tausert
the country and victory over Cairo Accession No.: JE 39867 =
its enemies. CG 53262
Catalogue References:
An incised rectangle on the
Brigham Young University No. 51
belly of the vessel depicts the Montreal and Vancouver No. 16

148
 els

lis ranked best advantage. lhghh prized proper temperature. Each missioned
st in the both for its rich color and its band of the bracelet was Since other items in the
ancient world, and nowhere rarity, lapis had to be manufactured in two match- hoard bore the cartouches of
is their ^kill better displayed imported from mines in ing semicircles. One side Queen Tausert (Cat. No. 22),

than in this pan of bracelets Afghanistan. Most of it was hinged together permanent- these precious objects cannot
which bear the coronation probablx traded along the ly; the other opened or have been buried prior to
name of Ramesses II. Form- Euphrates River and reached closed by means of a lock- her reign (1188-1187 B.C.).

ing the central element of Egypt from there. ing pin. Tomb paintings, Accordingly, Ramesses ITs
each is a pair of ducks with The heads and tails of the statues, and the mummy of bracelets must have been
recurved heads, the charac- ducks and the bands of the King Tutankhamun provide retained as family heirlooms.
teristic position for ducks bracelets are made of high evidence that both men and
intended as offerings to the carat gold which ancient women often wore the
cods. A large inlay o( lapis craftsmen hammered, sol- bracelets in multiples. Material: Gold and lapis lazuli
Provenance: Bubastis
lazuli, positioned in the dered, and twisted into Construction workers
Width: 6 cm. (2.4 in.)
rent or of the bracelet's shape. Another technique found these splendid jewels Maximum Diam.: 6.5 cm. (2.6 in.)
\\ idesfl part, functions as the employed here was granula- at Bubastis together with Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
Ramesses II
bark of the paired golden tion, a process by which Cat. Nos. 17, 20 and 22. Cairo Accession No.: JE 39873 =
The interplay of color
birds. minute gold balls were fused Either they were made for CG 52575 and CG 52576
Catalogue References:
between the shiny gold and onto a flat gold surface when Ramesses II himself or for a
Brigham Young University No. 49
deep blue highlights each to both were heated to the temple statue he com- Montreal and Vancouver No. 23

150
19
Earrings of King
Sety II

Men, as well as women, tom are seven cornflowers, late Dynasty XVIII on are
pierced their ears in ancient fashioned, like the rest of represented with pierced
Egypt, and by the late New the pieces, out of sheet gold. ears. Nevertheless, we really

Kingdom they could choose Found in a small pit, have no evidence that adult
from a variety of earrings, numbered 56, in the Valley of male rulers (unlike non-royal
earplugs, and ear studs. the Kings, these earrings males) ever wore earrings.
These tube-and-boss ear- were part of a cache of
rings, which bear the car- precious metal jewelry and Material: Gold
Provenance: Thebes, Valley of the
touches of King Sety II funerary objects inscribed
Kings
(1200-1194 B.C.), represent primarily for Sety II and his Height: 13.5 cm. (5.3 in.)
some of the most ornate wife, Tausert. Length: 5 cm. (1.96 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX.
known. The upper element A few objects which bore Sety II
actually includes two halves, the cartouches of Ramesses II Cairo Accession No.: JE 39675 =
CG 52397 and CG 52398
each consisting of a hollow may have been cherished Catalogue References:
tube attached to a boss, one heirlooms of Sety IFs great Brigham Young University No. 53
Montreal and Vancouver No. 24
hemispherical in shape and royal ancestor. The owner-
the other floral. Since one ship of the funerary deposit
tube is slightly smaller in and why this glittering hoard
diameter, they fit neatly and was deposited in it remains a
securely together. The middle mystery.
element is a trapezoidal His mummy shows that
plaque looped over the bar Ramesses II had pierced ears,
between the bosses. A as did his father Sety I,

rounded area cut out at the and son and successor

top accommodated the ear- Merneptah. Frequently, kings
lobe. Dangling from the bot- of the New Kingdom from
 d and
rnelian Collar

Based on representations in faience, a glazed ceramic types is based on contem-

sculpture, relief, and paint- material (Cat. Nos. 46, 47 and porary New Kingdom models.
ing, mult i row broad collars 48) easily made and inexpen- At the time of their
were the most common sively priced. Few, however, discovery, they were scat-

jewelrj item in ancient could have afforded an tered among other precious
Egypt. Worn at banquets, example as elegant as this objects in one of two caches
festivals, and other goldand carnelian necklace. found at ancient Bubastis
ceremonial occasions, they The gold and carnelian (Cat. Nos. 17, 18 and 22),
also formed part of the pendants represent corn- a city in the Delta.
funerary equipment. flowers (Cat. No. 19), a com-
In the New Kingdom, mon and colorful plant in Material: Gold and carnelian
Provenance: Bubastis
especially, collars were often Egyptian gardens. They are Width of Present Mounting: 36 cm.
composed of interwoven accompanied by gold and (14.2 in.)
Date: New Kingdom
floral elements. For a more carnelian disk beads and tiny Cairo Accession No.: JE 39875 =
permanent version, crafts- gold spacer beads. The pre- CG 53184
Catalogue References:
men reproduced the leaves, sent stringing in nineteen
Brigham Young University No. 64
berries, and flowers in rows of alternating bead Montreal and Vancouver No. 27

152
.
21
Ewer of King Ahmose

Since the gods of ancient

Egypt demanded food and
drink as well as clothing,
shelter, and amusement on a
daily basis, the presentation
of liquid offerings played an
important role in temple
ceremonies. Temple walls fre-
quently depict the reigning
king in the act of pouring a
libation to the resident god
from a vessel similar in shape
to this example. It also
served as a container for the
first flood waters and their
accompanying hope for fer-
tility and rebirth (Cat. No. 6).

Although this ewer was

found in Tanis in the tomb of
the Twenty-first Dynasty
king Psusennes I (together
with other gold and silver

vessels; Cat. Nos. 23-26), it

bears the name of the first

pharaoh of the Eighteenth
Dynasty, Ahmose. King
Ahmose is credited with
expelling foreign rulers
known as the Hyksos from
the Delta and restoring
native rule to Egypt. The in-

scription calls Ahmose the

good god, beloved of Osiris,

lord of Abydos. Since Osiris

was a funerary god, the
vessel may have been made
for Ahmose's tomb.
The neck, spout, body and
foot of the jar were ham-
mered separately from sheet
gold and then soldered
together.

Material: Gold
Provenance: Tanis
Height: 14.6 cm. (5.7 in.)
Max. Diam.: 5 cm. (1.96 in.)
Base Diam.: 4 cm. (1.6 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty
XVIII, Ahmose
Cairo Accession No.: JE 85895
Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 12
Montreal and Vancouver No. 25
 22
Chalice of
Queen Tausert

Skilled artisans have com-

bined the pointed petals of
the common blue lotus with
the vertical striations of the
rarer white lotus on the bowl
of this golden drinking
vessel. The shape of the
vessel's foot and its incised
petals recall the umbel of the
papyrus plant. Since lotuses
flourished in Nile waters and
its canals, they became the
symbolic flower of the Nile
Valley or Upper Egypt. The
Delta marshes ideally suited
the papyrus plant, which
became synonymous with
Lower Egypt. Together the
two plants signify all Egypt.
Engraved on the foot of
the chalice is the cartouche
of Queen and it is
Tausert,
surmounted by a sun disk
and double plumes. This was
the female crown par excel-
lence, popularized by
Ramesses IPs Great Royal
Wife Nefertari and adopted
by subsequent Nineteenth
Dynasty queens. Little is
known about the short reign
(two years) of Queen Tausert,
the last of Dynasty XLX.
After the death of her
husbands, Sety II and Siptah,
she became the sole ruler of
Egypt, the second woman of
the New Kingdom (after
Hatshepsut) to achieve that
distinction.
The cup and foot of the
chalice were made separately
and soldered together. Like
Cat. Nos. 17, 18 and 20, this
vessel was part of one of the
two Bubastis hoards.

Material: Gold
Provenance: Bubastis
Height: 9.5 cm. (3.7 in.)
Cup Diam.: 8 cm. (3.1 in.)
Base Diam.: 4.3 cm. (1.7 in.)
Halt Now Kingdom. Dynastj XIX.
1
:

Queen Tausert
Cairo Accession No JE 39872 =
CG 53260
Catalogue References:
Brigham Young Universit) No. 6"!
Montreal and Vancouver No. 26

j
23
Offering Dish and
Stand of Psusennes I

Not only the king but all who the good graces of Osiris,

could afford it consecrated Master of Eternity, and

offerings to the gods hoping Wen-nefer, Ruler of the Liv-
t < > receive divine favor and a ing. Inside the dish, the
good life in return. Frequent- king's names are repeated
ly on temple and tomb walls beside an invocation to the
as well as on humble private Memphite god Ptah-Sokar.
stelae, one or more gods are Since all the deities men-
seated beside a table piled tioned are funerary in
high with meats, vegetables, character, this offering stand
fruits, breads, beverages, likely formed part of the
flowers— all the products of king's burial equipment. In
a rich and fertile land. This 1940 a French expedition
offering stand resembles the found these items in the
one shown in many of these tomb of Psusennes I on top
representations. of a bronze brazier which
The stand itself is a hollow bore the name of his revered
silver tube with a narrow ancestor, Ramesses II (see
neck and flaring base. Set also Cat. Nos. 21 and 24-26).
into it is a slightly concave
dish with a deep central
Material: Silver
depression, intended perhaps Provenance: Tanis
for catching liquids. A col- Height: 59.5 cm. (23.4 in.)
Diam. at top of Base: 8.5 cm. (3.3 in.)
umn of elegantly engraved Depth of Dish: 8 cm. (3.1 in.)
hieroglyphs on the stand in- Top Diam.: 25.7 cm. (10.1 in.)
Date: Third Intermediate Period,
cludes the titulary of the Dynasty XXI. Psusennes I
king who probably commis- Cairo Accession No. JE 86899
:

Catalogue References:
sioned namely Psusennes I,
it,
Brigham Young University No. 18
and notes his desire to be in Montreal and Vancouver No. 29
 24,25
Offering Jar and
Basin of Psusennes I

Cleanliness of the gods

and those who served them
played an important role
in Egyptian religious prac-
tices. Daily, priests bathed
in the sacred lake attached
to major temples and used
its waters to wash the gods'
cult statues. For ritual wash-
ing, possibly in connection
with meals, ajar to pour
water and a basin to catch it
were used. Frequently, they
appear together on tomb or
temple walls.

158
 The jar with its squat body, The juxtaposition of the Material: Gold
Provenance: Tanis
long neck, and papyrus- papyrus on the jar spout and Jar Height: 38 cm. (14.96 in.)
umbel spout was hammered the lotus of the basin handle Jar Max. Diam.: 8.9 cm. (3.5 in.)
Basin Height: 17 cm. (6.7 in.)
from a single piece of sheet recalls theunion of Lower
Basin Diam.: 10.2 cm. (4.01 in.)
gold. The basin also was (Delta) and Upper (Nile Date: Third Intermediate Period,
Valley) Egypt respectively, Dynasty XXI, Psusennes I
made in one piece with the
Cairo Accession Nos. JE 85892 (jar);
:

exception of the handle. For as they do on Cat. No. 22. JE 85893 (basin)
the latter, artisans skillfully Both jar and basin fea- Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University
bound together bud and ture the throne name and Nos. 14, 15
jl flower of the lotus on top, birth name of Psusennes I, Montreal and Vancouver
Nos. 30, 31
and then underneath, ter- in whose tomb they, like Cat.
minated the stem in a styl- Nos. 21, 23 and 26 were found.

j
ized palm motif. Three gold
rivets bond handle and basin.

,
 usennes Is ( told
of Valor

Brilliant and massive, this flat gold disk beads (approx- a papyrus column, the car-
golden collar is the best imately "),()()()) strung on touches are framed by friezes
example of a i\ pe repre heavy thread fasten to a lapis of cobras wearing sun disks.

sented frequently in the lazuli inlaid gold plaque, A winged scarab pushing
\cu Kingdom. Known as the which also serves as the a sun disk, a symbol of dawn
shebyu or Gold of Valor, it clasp. Originally, there were and rebirth (Cat No. 10).
.

was worn by the king, by a six circlets. Suspended from crowns this baroque melange.
god, or by a fortunate official the plaque are fourteen
w ho received it in return for braided gold chains; each Material: Gold and lapis lazuli
Provenance: Tanis
bravery on the battlefield divides into two and then
Total Height: 64.5 cm cr>.4 in.)
or a similar act of courage or four narrow ropes. Gold Opening Diam.: 13.5 cm. (5.3 in.)
honor. This example was one floral elements neatly mask (ham Length: 30.7 cm. (12.1 in.)
Date: Third Intermediate Period.
of three found on the mummy each transition and also form Dynasty XXI. Psusennes I
of King fcusennes I in 1940. the bottom border. Cairo Accession No.: JK 85571
(Catalogue References:
Approximately nineteen The cartouches of Brigham Young University No. 48
pounds (8.6 kilograms) of gold Psusennes I make up the Montreal and Vancouver No. -VI

comprise the necklace as it gold plaque's central element

now exists. Five circlets of of decoration. Divided by
 27
High Priest of Amun,
Ramesses-nakht as a
Scribe
i

From the reign of Ramesses IV

1
to at least Year Two of

L Ramesses IX, Ramesses-nakht

served as priest of Amun,
k
Mj.
a powerful office which car-
ried with it both religious
and political power. When
his son Nesamun succeeded
1 him in this position, he
.

erected this statue in his

father's honor.
Ramesses-nakht sits with
under him, a
J his legs crossed
typical scribal pose and a
reference to another office
he held. The papyrus un-
rolled on his lap provides
details about his life. The
baboon embracing his head,
^^
i "^Mk-t fJm "
^ offeringhim both protection
B and counsel, represents
Thoth, god of scribes and of
all written things.
^^^^B Although the high priest-
hood was certainly the more
prestigious position, New
Kingdom literary texts refer
to the scribal office as the
5 1 ^^^B^^^^B
most desirable of all occupa-
1 tions a young Egyptian might

1 pursue. It brought with it

pleasant working conditions,
special privileges, and the
respect of all.

The garment worn by

Ramesses-nakht consists of

.Am

^^ ^nW

•
 28
Scribal Palette

Part of the equipment essen- trimming or cutting papyrus,

tial to every scribe (Cat. No. and a burnishing stone for

two elements, both made of

27) was a palette. In the New smoothing rough surfaces.
Kingdom, the palette was Not only scribes, but every
fine linen probably pleated by
hand. A bag tunic slipped generally rectangular and man needed a palette in the
had depressions on one end afterlife to gain access to the
over his head and knotted at
for cakes of black and red secrets of the god of writing,
the neck covers his chest. A
ink, as well as a central slot Thoth (Cat. No. 27), thereby
separate piece of material
to hold fine reed pens. avoiding all the horrible pit-
wrapped around his waist
Scribes used black ink, made falls of the netherworld.
forms the skirt. The rolls of
from carbon mixed with Because the pen slot on this
fat on his chest and his
water to make it flow and palette is only indicated
ample stomach indicate that
he chose to be represented in
gum to make it adhere, for rather than carved out, it is

A deli- the text's main body and also certain that it was made to
corpulent prosperity.
to outline any figural decora- be part of the burial equip-
cately curled, shoulder-length
tion. They inscribed impor- ment and not intended for
wig frames his reverent gaze.
Like Cat. Nos. 5, 6, 15 and
tant passages and headings in daily use. A shen sign,
red ink made from ochre the hieroglyph meaning "to
33, this statue was part of
similarly mixed with water protect and enclose" (Cat.
the Karnak cachette.
and gum. Egyptian scribes Nos. 7 and 60) surrounds
wrote on papyrus (Cat. No. each ink depression.
Material: Granite
Provenance: Thebes, Karnak 57), limestone ostraca (Cat.
Height: 75 cm. (29.5 in.) Nos. 12 and 56) and wooden Material: Schist
Width: 43 cm. (16.9 in.) Provenance: Tell el Ruba'a
Depth: 39 cm. (15.4 in.) tablets, in addition to temples, Length: 32.3 cm. (12.7 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XX, tombs, and statuary. Width: 6 cm. (2.4 in.)
Ramesses IV-Ramesses IX Date: Late Period
Cairo Accession No.: JE 36582 =
The well-equipped scribe Cairo Accession No.: Special
CG 42162 would also have owned a Register 305 = CG 69033
Catalogue References: Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 4
mortar and pestle for grind- Brigham Young University No. 2
Montreal and Vancouver No. 7 ing pigments, a knife for Montreal and Vancouver No. 9

I
 'inmis- presence in the form of an
d State inscription on the cliff face of

buildings from the Delta in the nearby island of Sehel.

t hf North to as far South as A wavy, shoulder-length
Nubia, .justly earning his wig frames May's stern,
reputation as one of the most round face. Somewhat
prolific builders i>\' all time. heavier than the ideal body
The responsibility for era of Egyptian youth, his torso
rutins these myriad building ismarked by swollen breasts
projects fell to his trusted and fleshy folds, signs of
officials. A key person was prosperity that come with
the chief architect May. age. His image evokes dig-

shown hero in a seated posi- nity, wisdom, and serenity.

tion with his palms upturned
Material: Granite
in reverence.
Provenance: Memphis
Son o[' the Chief of Works Height: 74 cm. (29. 1 in.)
Bakenamun, May followed in Base Width: 38.5 cm. (15.2 in.)
Base Depth; 47.3 cm. (18.6 in.)
his father's footsteps. In his Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
long career, he served not Ramesses II-Merneptah
Cairo Accession No.: JE 67878
only Harnesses II but also his
Catalogue References:
sueeessor Merneptah, whose Brigham Young University No. 38
Montreal and Vancouver No. 6
cartouches are inscribed on
May's shoulders. The statue
was found in Memphis near
the temple of Merneptah dur-
ing a clandestine excavation.
In 1937 was recovered for
it

the Cairo Museum.

The majority of the stand-
ing monuments in ancient
Memphis bear the name of
Ramesses II, and May may
well have been responsible
for erecting them. In the in-

scription incised on his long

wrap-around skirt, he first

invokes Ptah, the god of

Memphis and patron of
craftsmen, asking for life,

prosperity, and health. May's

jurisdiction extended to other
major cities of Ramesses II as
well, including Heliopolis,

Thebes, and Pi-Ramesses,

where he built temples to Ra
and Amun as well as to Ptah.
He also held military titles.
Not only the actual building,
but also the obtaining of
suitable building materials
seems to have been his
responsibility. Travelling as
far south as Aswan to quarry
granite, he recorded his

164
30
Sennedjem's
Cubit Rod

To calculate land area and to Place of Truth Sennedjem

build temples, tombs, and (Cat. Nos. 31, 32, 37, 58, 60,
State buildings, the ancient 61, 66, 68 and 71).
Egyptians used a standard Sennedjem may have used
unit of measure known as this cubit rod to help build
the royal cubit. Sculpture and and decorate the tombs of
relief were also constructed Sety I and Harnesses II in the

with the aid of a cubit mea- Valley of the Kings, as well as

sure, but a slightly smaller his own splendid burial place.
cubitwas used. Although Sennedjem lived,
The length of the royal worked, and was buried at
cubit (20.6 inches or 52.5 Deir el Medina, he, like the
centimeters) and its sub- architect May (Cat. No. 29),
divisions were based on sought the favor of the
human body measurements Memphite god and patron of
and ratios. One royal cubit who was
craftsmen, Ptah,
represented the distance revered throughout Egypt.
from the elbow to the tip of
the longest finger. It also
equaled seven times the Material: Wood
Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
width of the palm and Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
twenty-eight finger widths. (T.T.I)
Length: 52.7 cm. (20.7 in.)
All these units are marked Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
off on the cubit rod shown Sety I-Ramesses II
Cairo Accession No.: JE 27211
here, which belonged to the Catalogue Reference:
artisan and Servant in the Brigham Young University No. 35
 ill building to ensure him a good burial
sun unoothand alter attaining a venerable

perfectly aligned, ancient age, and he requests the com-

Egyptian architects and posite god Ra Horakhty-Atum

craftsmen employed a right to make him a luminous

angle and plumb level, both spirit in the sky and a power-
««!'
which remain essentia] ful man on earth. The plumb
instruments of the car level is inscribed only with
penter's trade today. his name and another title,

Three slats of wood join in Servant of the Master of the

an A shape to form the right Two Lands (i.e. the king).
angle,and a limestone bob is

suspended by a cord from 31

Wben placed against Material:Wood and limestone

the top.
Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
a perfectly flat surface, the Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
bob would fall
string of the (T.T.I)
Length of Diagonal: 36.3 cm.
between the two lines in- (14.3 in.)
cised in the middle of the Length of Horizontal: 22.2 cm.
(8.7 in.)
crosspiece. If the surface
Height of Bob: 5.3 cm. (2.1 in.)
were not properly aligned, Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
Sety I-Ramesses II
the bob would then indicate
Cairo Accession No.: JE 27258
the necessary corrections. Catalogue References:
The plumb level, consist- Brigham Young University No. 35
Montreal and Vancouver No. 37
ing of two short pieces of
wood projecting at right 32
Material:Wood and limestone
angles from a longer slab, Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
operated on a similar princi- Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
(T.T.I)
ple. A string with attached Height of Level: 48.6 cm. (19. 1 in.)
bob was threaded out the top Height of Bob: 5 cm. (1.96 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
of the long slaband upper-
Sety I-Ramesses II
most short projection. The Cairo Accession No.: JE 27260
string would just touch the Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 37
lowermost projection when Montreal and Vancouver No. 38
the long slab was held against
an even, vertical surface.
These tools, like the cubit
rod (Cat. No. 30), belonged
to the Servant in the Place
of Truth Sennedjem who in-

cluded them in his tomb

(together with Cat. Nos. 30,
37, 58, 60, 61,66, 68 and 71).
In the inscription on the right
angle, he asks the god Ptah

166
33
The Vizier Khay

Under the king, the highest In contrast to the relative

government officials were plainness of his body, Khay's
two viziers. One adminis- head shows careful detail.

tered internal affairs in His layered, precisely curled

Lower Egypt (North) and wig, pierced ears, heavy face,
the other had jurisdiction high cheekbones, slightly
over Upper Egypt (South). bulging eyes, thin nose, wide
Khay shown here, served nostrils, and fleshy lips are
Ramesses the Great as Vizier characteristic of some of
of the South for about six- the finer statuary of the
teen years, beginning in ap- Ramesside Period.
proximately the thirtieth
year of Ramesses II's rule.
Material: Granite
One of his responsibilities Provenance: Thebes, Karnak
Height: 73 cm. (28.7 in.)
was to arrange jubilee
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
festivals for the king Ramesses II
(celebrations of the king's Cairo Accession No.: JE 37406 =
CG 42165
rejuvenation), and he left a Catalogue References:
record of this important task Brigham Young University No. 8
Montreal and Vancouver -
in the form of rock-cut (unnumbered)
stelae at the Gebel Silsileh
sandstone quarries, some 65
kilometers north of Aswan,
where he is shown offering a
votive statue to the local
goddess Anukis. According
to the inscription on the
statue in the exhibition,
Khay's career also included
service to Ramesses II in the
capacity of steward and high
priest of the goddess of
Truth (Ma 'at).
Khay is shown in a squat-
ting position, and his body
has been abstracted into a
cubic form called a "block
statue.' ' A type known since
early Dynasty XII (approx-
imately 2000 B.C.), it was
intended primarily as a tem-
ple statue. Here, it incor-
porates the facade of a naos
(shrine) intowhich are
sculpted the chief god of
Thebes, Amun, and his con-
sort, Mut. Khay's block
statue probably sat in the
temple of Karnak for about
1,000 years until it, together
with close to one thousand
other statues, was deposited
in a pit outside the Seventh
Pylon at Karnak (Cat. Nos. 5,

6, 15 and 27).
 I * It holds the crook and a single-
bur: > rl\. plumed ceremonial fan. The
attend a ceremon} former was a symbol of ruler-
connected with a presentation ship, and the latter was
of the Gold of Valor neck a badge of honor frequently
laces shown at the far left carried by high dignitaries.
ami in CM No - ["he Officials o\' Lesser signifi-
reliefs come from an as yel canoe are represented
unidentified private tomb in en masse behind the viziers.

Western Thebes. The style of Wearing identical shoulder-

the carving, the profiles of length wigs and long,
the figures, and their billowy garments, they carry
garments hear the unmis- papyrus rolls and walking
takable stamp of a Ramesside sticks. The fact that all the
Period artisan. officials are barefoot sug-

Set apart on each block by gests that they were in the

virtue of their spacing and company of the king. Ancient
their distinct ive clothing are Egyptian custom dictated the
the viziers of the North and removal of one's sandals in
South, key officials of the the presence of superiors.
king whose responsibility it
Material: Sandstone
was to coordinate the inter- Provenance: Thebes, Asasif
nal affairs of their respect ive Maximum Height: 102 cm.
(40.2 in.)
regions (Cat. No. 33). They Maximum Width: 117 cm. (46.1 in.)
wear the vizier's traditional Date: New Kingdom. Dynasty XDX
Cairo Museum Temporary Register
long, sheath-like garment No.: 14 6 24 20 = Special
held in place by narrow Register No. 11775
Catalogue References:
shoulder straps. The first
Brigham Young University No. 9
vizier on the block below Montreal and Vancouver No. 10

/
L68
35
Kha's Lamp
To light homes, to illuminate clothing and linen provided
the inner chambers of tombs them by the authorities as
during construction, and one of their auxiliary tasks.
to brighten the passageways Supervisors maintained a
of the netherworld, lamps watchful eye to ensure that
were essential. The lamp the proper number of wicks
from the tomb of Kha, a were rendered.
Dynasty XVIII chief of work-
men at Deir el Medina, repre- Material: Limestone, wood, and
sents a fairly elaborate copper or bronze lamp
Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
example.
Medina, Tomb of Kha (T.T.8)
A wooden column set into Total Height: 105 cm. (41.3 in.)

a semi-circular limestone Lamp Height: 7 cm. (2.8 in.)

Lamp Length with Handle:
base supports a bronze bowl 24.5 cm. (9.6 in.)
on three prongs. Eat or Lamp Width: 18.1 cm. (7.1 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XVIII,
sesame oil inside the bowl Tuthmosis IV-Amunhotep III
burned by means of a Cairo Accession No.: JE 38642
Catalogue References:
twisted linen wick to pro- Brigham Young University No. 31
duce light. Salt added to the Montreal and Vancouver No. 39

oil kept the lamp from smok-

ing. A whitish substance

(perhaps remnants of fat),

charred fragments, a stick,

and some material as yet

unidentified are preserved
inside.
The most common type of
lamp consisted of a simple
ceramic saucer containing oil

or fat, a wick, and salt set

into a niche in a house or

tomb wall. Here, however,
Egyptian artisans have
transformed a utilitarian
item into a decorative object
through the use of plant and
animal motifs. The support-
ing column tapers to resem-
ble the stalk of a papyrus
plant, and it terminates in a
papyrus umbel. The bowl
takes the shape of a fish,
with the pointed spout
representing a mouth and the
handle mimicking a tail.

Records from the village at

Deir Medina indicate that
el

wicks were carefully allo-

cated to tomb workers, with
precise records kept of the
number consumed each day.
Often, workmen manufac-
tured wicks from used
 36
Khabekhnet's Chest

Linen, jewelry, cosmetic Similarly, Khabekhnet's

articles, and other personal tomb was near his father's
effects were frequently (and other family members),
stored in boxes such as this and both shared the same
one.Made of pieces of local chapel. A number of objects
wood doweled together, it has belonging to Khabekhnet, in-

been painted to appear as if cluding this box, eight

it were fabricated from costly shawabtis (Cat. Nos. 68 and
imported woods and ivory, 69) and a shawabti box (Cat.
a common trick of crafty No. 70) were found in
Egyptian woodworkers. The Sennedjem's tomb. Like all

lid of the chest pivoted up- of the more-than-forty

ward from the front to reveal wooden boxes from that
four compartments inside. To tomb, this one was empty at
fasten it, a cord was wound the time of discovery.
alternately around the two
knobs and then sealed with Material: Wood
Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
a lump of wet clay which was Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
probably impressed with its (T.T.I)
Length: 28 cm. (11.02 in.)
proprietor's stamp.
Width: 20 cm. (7.9 in.)
Two on
lines of inscription Height: 17 cm. (6.7 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
the lid identify the owners as
Sety I-Ramesses II
Khabekhnet, Sennedjem's Cairo Accession No.: JE 27292
eldest son (see also Cat. Nos. Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 34
58 and 70) and his wife Montreal and Vancouver No. 43
Sahto. The couple resided in
Deir el Medina in a house
located close to Sennedjem's.

170
37
Sennedjem's
Wine Jar

The Ramesside Era repre-

sents a highpoint for
polychrome painted pottery
in Egypt, and nowhere is it

better displayed than on this

jar found in Sennedjem's
tomb. Collars of flower petals
separated by framed man-
drakes encircle the neck, and
a floral garland fills the up-
per body. From the garland
hangs a large blue lotus
flanked by lotus buds and
pomegranates. Although
originally both mandrake and
pomegranate were imported
from Asia, by the Nineteenth
Dynasty they were common
fruits in Egyptian gardens.
Frequently, the combination
of lotus, pomegranate, and
mandrake appears in bou-
quets presented to the gods,
to the deceased, or worn at

funerary banquets.
The vessel shape, known as
an amphora, was common in
Dynasties XIX and XX,
especially at Deir el Medina.
Larger unpainted examples
used to store wine were
often festooned with actual
floral garlands. The tasty
drink might then be
decanted into a miniature
painted version, such as this
one, and served to a guest on
a festive occasion.

Material: Pottery
Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
(T.T.I)
Height: 33 cm. (12.99 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX.
Sety I-Ramesses II
Cairo Accession No.: .IE 272 lti
Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 32
Montreal and Vancouver No. 42
 dwarf god holding knives in

syp both forepawsand hindlegs,

lept <»n iiu-i!' sides so leans on the hieroglyph for
their cheeks and upper protection A snake spews
necks rested in the i from his mouth. Bes guarded
shaped area. Perhaps the household and protected
employed more for their women in childbirth. By vir-

protective and rejuvenative tue of his ferocious ap-

connotations than for com- pearance, and in this exam-
fort, headrests were found ple with the knives he holds,
both in houses and tombs. he frightened away or
The semicircular concave destroyed malevolent spirits
shape on a support approx- just as he consumed the
imated the hieroglyph writhing serpent. In a similar
for horizon ( [Q] ). With manner he was thought to
t he spherical shape of the guard sleeping souls.
head placed in the middle, it A funerary offering for-
brought to mind the image mula incised on the base
of the morning sun rising be- indicates that this head-
tween two mountain peaks. rest was intended for use in
Just as the sun was reborn the tomb.
at the start of a new day, so
too did the Egyptians hope
to survive the dangers of
Material: Wood
the night and the nether-
Provenance: Thebes, Gurna
world and awake rejuve- Height: 20 cm. (7.9 in.)
Width: 14 cm. (5.5 in.)
nated, daily and eternally.
Length: 36 cm. (14.2 in.)
The scene carved on the Date: Second Intermediate Period,
front of the columnar sup- Cairo Accession No.: JE 6269
Catalogue References:
port reinforces the image of
Brigham Young University No. 40
protection. Bes, the leonine Montreal and Vancouver No. 40

172
39
Floral Frieze

Remains of painted floral and was indivi-

fruit cluster
bands and garlands sus- dually made from a mold and
pended blossom-downward then assembled. The daisies
from the upper edges of the and poppies were made from
house and temple walls in- a colored paste inlaid into
dicate the most likely use for the designated depressions in
this brightly colored frieze of the matrix.
floral tile inlays, which once
decorated a palace of Material: Faience and glass paste
Provenance: Tell el Yahudiyah
Ramesses III in the Delta. Height: 7.7 cm. (3.03 in.)
Grape clusters and poppies Length: 60 cm. (23.6 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XX,
alternately fill the spaces Ramesses III
between large blue lotus Cairo Accession No.: JE 21842
Catalogue References:
flowers. Inset daisies mark Brigham Young University No. 10
the upper border. Each lotus Montreal and Vancouver No. 22
 ..Ill

ctural decoration
predates the Giza pyramids,
no kin>4 made more lavish

use oi' them than Harnesses

the Great in his palace at

Pi Ramessea Floors, parts

of walls, doorways, windows,

and throne daises came alive

With color and life. The

genre themes represented
here probabh came from
the personal living quarters
of the king and his family.
More formal and awesome
subjects, such as bound cap-
t ivos or heraldic lions,
adorned the audience
chamber and throne.
The zigzag background
of the duck and fish tiles
represents water. These may
have formed part of a rec- 40

tangular pool teeming with

aquatic life and bordered by
low flowering shrubs similar
to those represented in
Egyptian gardens. In the
palace these tiles would the Deir el Medina workmen,
have covered a floor, perhaps who received a portion of
in one of the rooms of the their salary in fish. Mullet
harem. The sprightly, high- was also prized for its roe.

stepping pintail duck with On the fourth tile, a

his near impressionistic woman crowned with an
plummage represents a type overpowering lotus flower
of fowl as common today appears to touch a stick to
along the Nile as it must a tall flowering plant,
have been in the Ramesside perhaps a hollyhock. Its ver-

Age. Not only was the duck tical format suggests it came
an omnipresent decorative from the lower half of a wall.
motif in Egyptian art, but
also, strangled or trussed,
Material: Faience
it was a frequent funerary Provenance: Pi-Ramesses (Qantir)
offering or gift to a deity. 42
Length: 17.2 cm. (6.8 in.) to
31.5 cm. (12.4 in.)
The fatter of the fish is the
Width: 13.2 cm. (5.2 in.) to
Tilapia nilotica or bolti fish. 18.4 cm. (7.2 in.)
Noted for hatching its eggs Thickness: 2.7 cm. (1.1 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
in its mouth (see Cat. Nos. Ran
53 and 67), it symbolized Cairo Ace- FE 89480,
894,
rebirth. Large bolti fish, as Catalogue Reft
well as mullet, like the one Brigham Your
11,6,5,63
represented in the second
Montreal and Vai
fish tile, were tasty foods to 18, 19, 20

174
43
 lib The "swimming girl"

attitude of belongs to a category of

>\ immei once held a con objects not t'nlK understood,
tamer in hex out-stretched ricarly. she projects adoles-

hands. Judging from similar cent vitality. Most likely, the

pieces, the missing container missing container once held

ma> have taken the form of a a magical unguent whose
duck, gazelle, or fish, The girl youth-renewing properties
in nude except for a few would have been as effective
articles o\' gold-foil jewelrj in this world as in the
seductive]) draped over her afterlife.

wood torso. These include

bracelets, a broad collar, and
bands across her chest. At
Material: Wood
Provenance: Not known
one time a thin girdle en- Length: :S4.."> cm. (13.6 in.)
circled her hips. She wears Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty
XVIII
a short, bobbed wig with Cairo Accession No.: JE 5218 =
a lock of longer hair gathered CG45118
Catalogue References:
at the side, a hairstyle com- Brigham Young University No. 70
mon to young girls. Montreal and Vancouver No. 60

176
45
Miniature Chest

Jewelry, amulets, cosmetic

substances, edibles, and ar-
ticles whose true significance
is lost to us were stored in
miniature chests like this
example. Made of contrasting
colors of wood pegged
together and inlaid with bone
or ivory, it demonstrates the
skill of the Egyptian cabinet-
maker even on a small scale.
Like many other boxes (Cat.
Nos. 36 and 70), it closed by
wrapping a cord alternately
around knobs on the lid and
body. A lump of wet clay
sealed the chest.
The sloping lid and project-
ing cornice approximate the
appearance of the symbolic
palace of the South, a shape
seen on a much larger scale
in Khonsu's sarcophagus
(Cat. No. 59). The Northern
palace, characterized by
a vaulted roof and vertical
extensions of the side walls,
is represented in Khabekhnet's
shawabti box (Cat. No. 70).

Material: Wood and bone or ivory

Provenance: Thebes
Height: 7.8 cm. (3.1 in.)
Date: New Kingdom
Cairo Accession No.: JE 3318
Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 60
Montreal and Vancouver No. 56
 heir eyes
them from the
sun's bright glare, Egyptian
men and women alike out-
lined their eyes with kohl.
Most commonly made from
galena, a naturally occuring
lead ore, kohl was ground to
a powder and stored in
decorative pots and tubes
The cosmetic was applied
with a short stick. Three
faience examples are shown
here. (Faience is a powdered
mixture of mainly silica

which was fired at a high

temperature.) Kohl con-
tainers might also be made of
stone, bone, ivory, glass, pot-
tery, wood, or reed.
Using pots to store kohl
dates back to the Old
Kingdom (ca. 2700-2200 B.C.).

Since the body shape and

color brought to mind the
blue lotus flower, artisans 46

added its pointed petals in

black glaze. A faience disk
with a tiny projection on the
underside to hold it in place
serves as the lid. Inside is a
cylindrical hollow.
Kohl tubes came into vogue
only in the New
Kingdom.
The earliest were simple
hollow reeds. Then the shape
was copied in more perma-
nent materials which were
often fancifully decorated,
as these are. In one example,
a squatting monkey clutches
a kohl tube as if it were a
tree trunk. Since their
playful actions often
mimicked human ones,
monkeys afforded great
amusement, and they may
have been kept as household
pets. Frequently, in the New
Kingdom they appear as
decorative motifs. Two holes
near the top of the tube
were intended to secure
the lid. Monkey and tube

178
were made in one piece from 46
Material: Faience
a mold. Provenance: Abydos
The appearance of two Height: 4.7 cm. (1.9 in.)
Width: 3.8 cm. (1.5 in.)
reeds bound together is im- Date: Second Intermediate Period
itated in the double faience Cairo Accession No.: JE 30776 =
CG3681
tubes, and the vegetation Catalogue References:
motif continues through into Brigham Young University No. 59
One tube Montreal and Vancouver No. 61
the decoration.
undoubtedly held galena; 47
the secondmay have con- Material: Faience
Provenance: Kaw (?)
tained eye paint of another Height: 5 cm. (1.97 in.)
color or a medicinal sub- Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty
XVIII
stance for the cure of eye Cairo Accession No.: JE 31244 =
diseases. A tiny hole be- CG 3979
Catalogue References:
tween the two tubes once
Brigham Young University No. 57
held the applicator. A nude Montreal and Vancouver No. 62
servant girl holding a duck
48
and a lotus bud decorates Material: Faience
one side. On the reverse, a Provenance: Abydos
Height: 13 cm. (5.1 in.)
similar maiden holds a lotus Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty
flower aloft in each hand. XVIII
Cairo Accession No.: JE 72178 =
CG 3978
Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 58
Montreal and Vancouver No. 63

47

48
 Ms bronze
•
an
well as its

modern counterpart. Like

many other objects, mirrors
were i»>ih used in dattj life

and served a symbolic func

tion in the afterlife.

The minor consists of a

slightly flattened disk with
projecting tang riveted to a
decorative handle. The cir-
cular shape wa> associated
with the sun and its life-
giving and life-renewing prop-
erties The young servant girl
whose nude, columnar body
serves as the mirror's handle
further emphasizes this fer-
tility aspect. From her head
emerges a papyrus umbel.
Other figural mirror
handles of New Kingdom
date feature the head of
Hathor. goddess of love,
music, joy. and inebriation or
Bes, the protector of the
household and of women in
childbirth (Cat. No. 38). Most
common, however, was the
stem and umbel of the
papyrus flower.
When not in use, the mir-
ror would have been stored
either in its own case or with
other cosmetic articles in a
chest. The Egyptian words
for mirror were "see-face"
and "life."

Material: Bronze
Provenance: Saqqara
Height: 30.5 cm. (12 in.)
Date: New Kingdom. Dvnasty
XVIII
Cairo Accession No.: JE 10888 =
CG 44044
Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 65
Montreal and Vancouver No. 53

180
50
Razor

Both for cleanliness and for

relief from the heat, Egyp-
tian men and women kept
their hair short and wore
wigs for festive occasions.
Except in rare instances,
men were clean-shaven.
Flint knives, readily
available and cheap, prob-
ably served as razors for
most. Those who could af-
ford would have used a
it

bronze cutting implement

like the one shown here. Its

broad end forms the cutting

edge; the wooden projection
is the handle. Oilmay have
been used as a lubricant to
make facial shaving less
painful. Some barbers
served as part of the regular
staff of the palace, large
estates, and the army.
Others travelled from village
to village, cutting hair in
exchange for food or other
commodities.
This razor probably belong-
ed to a woman, one of two
buried in the Deirel Medina

tomb in which it was found.

Material: Bronze and wood

Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
Medina (Tomb No. 1388)
Length: 16.6 cm. (6.5 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty
XVIII
Cairo Accession No.: JE 63686
Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 41
Montreal and Vancouver No. 54
 ned the
thick, often greased hair »>i

;>ttan wil> This DOS

form commonly appeared in

the New Kingdom. The ver

tical 9hape of tin 1
teeth is

echoed in tlu> incised lotus

petals on the handle. I frigi

nalry, a blue paste filled the

space between the petals.
( onilw w tMi^ frequently found
with other cosmetic articles
in houses and tombs

Material Wood
Provenance: Abusirel Melek
Height: 5 cm. (1.97 in.)
Length: 17 cm. (6.7 in.)
Date New Kingdom, Dynasty
Will
Cairo Accession No.: JE 36233 =
G 44316
Catalogue Referer
Brigham Young University No. 68
Montreal and Vancouver No. 55
52, 53, 54
Containers for
Unguent or Incense

Shallow dishes in a rich the bolti fish becomes the theme of boating in the mar- 52
Material: Alabaster
variety of shapes and container in the grey schist shes. Two men skillfully pro-
Provenance: Saqqara
materials held such things example. Unlike the previous pel a light papyrus craft Length: 14.3 cm. (5.6 in.)
Date: New Kingdom
as rejuvenative creams, piece where an abstract through the water by means
Cairo Accession No.: JE 30759 =
unguents and incense. As shape alone conveys the iden- of two long poles. A seated CG 18566
Catalogue References:
shown in this sampling, many tity of the forms represented, calf is their cargo. Incised
Brigham Young University No. 69
incorporated plant and here specific details are pro- contiguous triangles at the Montreal and Vancouver No. 58
animal motifs or parts vided. The convex underside base represent water, and
53
thereof. The neck and is clearly incised with scales, soaring papyrus flowers and Material: Schist
gracefully recurved head of fins, gills, tail, and facial buds provide a marshy back- Provenance: Not known
Length: 11.4 cm. (4.5 in.)
a duck or swan form the han- features. The bolti fish was a drop. The combination of the Width: 5.8 cm. (2.3 in.)
dle of a shallow dish in frequent decorative motif in circular bowl, the horizontal Date: New Kingdom
Cairo Accession No.: JE 25226 =
alabaster. Trussed ducks, Egyptian art, in part because papyrus beneath, and the
CG 18551
presented as food offerings of its association with birth handle's long-stemmed papy- Catalogue References:
rus plants suggest the ankh Brigham Young University No. 61
to the deceased and to the and rebirth (Cat. Nos. 41 and
Montreal and Vancouver No. 57
gods, frequently had their 67). A food source in ancient sign, the Egyptian word for
heads in that position. The times, it continues to be one "life." The circular shape 54
Material: Wood
dish is in the shape of a today in Egypt. may also represent the sun Provenance: Saqqara
fresh-water mussel shell, In the third example, made rising from the papyrus Height: 21.5 cm. (8.5 in.)
Diameter: 9 cm. (3.5 in.)
a natural receptacle used to of wood, the circular bowl is marshes at the dawn of a Date: Late Period (?)
mix and hold cosmetics since dwarfed by a broad extended new day. In this manner the Cairo Accession No.: JE 49540
Catalogue References:
Predynastic times (before handle which also serves as content's rejuvenative power
Brigham Young University No. 62
3,200 B.C.). a field for decoration. On it is would have been enhanced by Montreal and Vancouver No. 59
The hollowed out body of represented the common the receptacle's symbolism.

52
 55
Clappers

For ceremonial dances and have changed them signifi-

orchestral performances cantly so we cannot be sure

accompanying banquets, the how they sounded.
staccato beating together of Music not only delighted
clappers supplied rhythm and an audience but also served
punctuation. Their armlike an important religious func-
form suggests they were in- tion. Sweet melodic tones

spired by the clapping of could be counted on to

hands. Incised lines around soothe an angry god or god-
the wrists represent brace- dess and also drive away evil
lets. A cord threaded through spirits. A number of deities,

holes at the ends kept the both male and female, were
clappers together when not associated with music, and
in use. the playing of musical in-

Judging from representa- struments was considered a

tions in painting and relief, priestly duty (Cat. No. 4).

women and especially young

girls most often played clap- Material: Bone or ivory
pers. Frequently, other musi- Provenance: Thebes
Length: 17.5 cm. (6.9 in.)
cians performing on harps, Date: New Kingdom
and oboes
lutes, lyres, Cairo Accession No.: JE 25820 =
CG 69211
accompanied them. Drums, Catalogue References:
trumpets, tambourines, and Brigham Young University No. 44
Montreal and Vancouver No. 12
sistra were also played. In
fact, early forms of most
modern instruments were
in use in ancient Egypt,
although not necessarily in
the same manner. In many
instances, the instruments
themselves as well as their
representations have been
found, but time and weather

184
56
Harpist Ostracon

A squatting, bald, middle-

aged man wearing a long
linen garment (see Cat. No.
28) plays the harp in this
quick sketch on a scrap of
limestone, known an
as
ostracon (Cat. No. 12). The
harp was probably made
from wood covered in
painted leather. Fourteen
alternating black and red
pegs on top secured the gut
strings, twelve of which are
represented. (Harps with as
many as sixteen strings were
known.) To what notes the
strings were tuned, we do
not know, since no musical
notation has been found in
ancient Egypt.
The harper shown here
may have been blind. In
many representations,
harpers clearly lacked sight,

perhaps to avoid confronting

the gods directly when they
played before them. Whether
or not harpers actually were
blinded is not known.
Harps might be strummed
while seated or standing. A
different type of harp was
balanced on the shoulder.
Both men and women played
the harp either in orchestras
or individually, perhaps
accompanying their own
voice. Some harper's songs
show a philosophical contem-
plation of the fleeting quality
of life and a despair at the
chances of achieving immor-
tality; others glorified death
and assisted the deceased on
his netherworld journey; and
yet others advocated living
life to its fullest, pursuing
one's desires.

Material: Limestone
Provenance: Thebes, Deirel
Medina
Height: 13.8 cm. (5.4 in.)
Width: 11 on. (4.3 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Pvnast> XX
Cairo Accession No ,ik 69409
Catalogue References:
Hrigham Young I iu\oimi\ V
Montreal and Vancouver No 14
 IS enjoy
ne\ poked tun
at it. This pap> rus reveals
acomplete reversal of roles.
Animals ad m a human
capacity, and natural pre-
dators become servants to
their prey. Here, eats attend
mice, and foxes meekly per-
form menial tasks for a cow.
The artist skillfully outlined
the design in black and red
and painted it with a pastel,
almost impressionist ic

palette. The main figure

seems to be a large mouse
elegantly dressed and coif-
fed, seated on the traditional
Egyptian birthing stool. A
cat in front of her has just
handed the mouse a chalice,
while behind her a cat hair-
dresser arranges her wig.
A nurse cat tenderly carrying
the swaddled baby mouse
and a cat with a large fan
and a jug follow in proces-
sion. Walking in the other
direction and totally obli-
vious to what is happening
beside him, a fox carries a
jaron a shoulder pole as
another pours from a second
jug into a basin. Beside it

their cow mistress looks on.

Unique in its content but
not in its nature, this papyrus
belongs to a group of appeal-
ing genre scenes, most from
the late Ramesside Period,
which reflect a topsy-turvy
world. Perhaps this fore-
casted the confusing political
situationwhich heralded the
end of the New Kingdom.

Material: Papyrus
Provenance: Not known
Height: 13 cm. (5.1 in.)
Total Length: 55.5 cm. (21 .9 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, probably
Dynasty XX
Cairo Accession No.: JE 31199
Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 3
Montreal and Vancouver No. 15

186
 e Tomb
m
(Cat. No. 59), sealed it. the exhibition (Cat. Nos. 36, moved the door and entered
»)<i\ .111(1 soul On the outer face, upper 59, 69 and 70). the burial chamber, an amaz-
and contained all that was register, a painted rec- In keeping with ancient ing sight greeted them.
necessary to sustain him in tangular panel features Egyptian tradition, Senned- Nine family members in cof-
the afterlife. A locked door Sennedjem, his wife Iyneferty jem and his sons have ruddy and eleven more bodies
fins
sealed it off from the secular and their daughter Nefer. skin, reflecting their outdoor wrapped in linen were
world. This wooden example They worship Osiris, god of occupations. In contrast, his stretched out on the ground.
comes from the family tomb and
fertility resurrection, female family members, These represented three
of Sennedjem. Servant in the and Ma 'at, goddess of Truth. together with the two god- generations of Sennedjem's
Place of Truth, and it is the Below, seven of Sennedjem's desses, have a lighter skin They also found
family.
best preserved tomb door sons adore the composite tone, since their pri- household items and tools
from Deir el Medina. A funerary god Ptah-Sokar-Osiris mary tasks theoretically kept (Cat. Nos. 30-32, 36 and
sliding bolt anchored it to the and the mother goddess Isis. them indoors away from the 37), as well as objects
surrounding limestone frame, Burial equipment belonging sun. Osiris' green skin, of exclusively funerary
and a lump of clay impressed to three of his sons, recalling the color of new nature (Cat. Nos. 66 and
with an image of Anubis, Khabekhnet, Khonsu, and vegetation, reflects his role as 68-71). Food for a splendid
jackal god of the necropolis Ramose, are also included in fertility god. meal— breads, eggs, dates,
Sennedjem and his family doum palm nuts, and grains
pose proudly in their finest of wheat— was, of course,
pleated linen clothes. Nor- provided.
mally white, these garments
have acquired a yellowish Material: Wood
Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
tint, probably from the Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
melting of the scented cone (T.T.I)
Height: 135 cm. (53.1 in.)
of grease which decorated Width: 78 cm. (30.7 in.)
their wigs. Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
Sety I-Ramesses II
On the inner face of the Cairo Accession No.: JE 27303
door, invisible to the outside Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 23
world, a sacred game known Montreal and Vancouver No. 45
as senet (see Cat. Nos. 59
and 72) is being played by
Sennedjem and his wife
against Eate, an invisible
opponent. Should they win,
their prize would be a blissful
existence in the afterlife.
The distinctive palette of
red and yellow ochre, aqua,
and deep green displayed on
the door is repeated inside on
Sennedjem's tomb walls and
echoed in most of the objects
it contained (Cat. Nos. 30-32,
36,37, 59-61, 66 and 68-71).
It bears testimony to
Sennedjem's skill as a painter
and the high quality work of
which the artisans of the
time of Ramesses the Great
were capable.
The Egyptian Antiquities
Service excavated Sennedjem's
tomb in 1886, one of pre-
cious few unplundered tombs
at Thebes. When they re-

188
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 59
rcophagus of
Sennedjem's Son
Khonsu

Following in his father's ably corresponded to the human-headed birds repre-

footsteps, Khonsu earned a orientation of the sarco- senting the souls of Khonsu
place in the gang of Deir el phagus inside the tomb. The and his wife, perch atop
Medina artisans, and like his four sons of the god Horus a low building beside a pile
father, he may have helped who face the southern, of offerings symbolic of
decorate and equip the tomb "front" end guarded the renewed life.

of Ramesses II. As oldest son, deceased's internal organs. Protecting the body of
it was his job to prepare Two registers make up the Khonsu from the top of the
Sennedjem's burial. When central panel on each side. lid of his sarcophagus are, on

Khonsu died at between 50 On the "east" face, not one side, two representations
and 60 years of age, he was shown, two genii bearing of Anubis shown this time as
interred beside Sennedjem ankhs, the hieroglyph for a jackal-like dog squatting on
and other family members in life, squat in front of a low a bier. Anubis' alert watchful
their splendid tomb at Deir building. Behind are two Nile pose reflects his role as guar-
el Medina. His mummified gods w hose
r
fleshy breasts dian of the necropolis. On
body lay inside nested cof- and protruding bellies sym- the other side is a figure of
fins (similar to Cat. Nos. bolize the fertility brought the sky goddess Nut. Her
60-63) protected by this yearly by the flood waters. w inged arms
r
stretch out in
brilliantly painted sarco- Below, Khonsu kneels in readiness to receive Khonsu
phagus. With its sloping lid adoration beside the mother and welcome him to her
rounded on one edge, it goddess and mistress of the abode. Also present are, once
recalls the shape of the sky, Hathor, represented as again, the four sons of Horus
shrine of the vulture goddess a cow. Beside Hathor, Khonsu, and additional representa-
of Upper Egypt, Nekhbet, accompanied by his w ife
T
tions of Khonsu and his wife.
w^hich came to symbolize the Tameket, plays a game of Rich in symbolism and
Royal House of the South. senet (Cat. Nos. 58 and 72). representing a highpoint
(For the House of the North, On the on
central panel in funerary art, Khonsu's
see Cat. No. 70.) A removable the "west" face, not shown, sarcophagus protected his
sledge on the bottom facili- Khonsu worships two lions mortal remains from the time
tated its transport from the who guard the rising sun. of Ramesses the Great until
place of mummification to A sign of life hangs between their discovery by the

the tomb. the two horizons, w hich

T
Egyptian Antiquities Service
The brilliantly decorated define the borders of the in 1886. The coffins which
box may be read like a text- world. One lion faces Khonsu, were placed inside the sar-

book of the netherworld with the other faces the head of cophagus and the mask
funerary scenes illustrating the falcon god Horus rising w hich
r
covered his face may
spells from the Book of the from the primeval pool of be seen in the Metropolitan
Dead and their accompany- water which originally Museum of Art. Khonsu is

ing texts filling every covered the entire land. also represented in his
available area. Isis, Nephthys, Hathor, behind Horus, pro- brother Khabekhnet's tomb.
Selket, and Neith, four god- tects him.
desses whose role was to pro- Below T
,
Isis and Nephthys
tect the deceased, especially squat at either end of a
his internal organs, fill the decorated shrine. Inside, Material: Wood
Provenance: Thebes. Deir el
end panels. Their green skin Anubis, the jackal-headed
Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
tone reflects their rejuve- god of mummification, at- (T.T.I)
Height: 125 cm. (49.2 in.)
native role (Cat. No. 58). Four tends the body of Khonsu,
Length including Runner: 262 cm.
ibis-headed deities bearing stretched out on a lion bed. (103.1 in.)
sky symbols frame the end of The five jars beneath prob- Width: 98 cm. (38.6 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX.
each side. Two sacred to the ably contained the magical Sety TRamesses II
South are at the front (head) oils and unguents guaranteed Cairo Accession No.: JE 27302
Catalogue References:
end; two sacred to the North to assureKhonsu 's rebirth. Brigham Young University No. 24
protect the feet. This prob- On the far end, two bas, Montreal and Vancouver No. 48

190
 60
Lid From the Outer
Coffin of Sennedjem

The mummified body of the in mirror images on each

"Servant in the Place of side, are representations
Truth' Sennedjem
' was placed of the guardian of the necro-
inside an outer coffin and in- polis Anubis, kneeling god-
ner lid of anthropoid shape. desses touching shen signs
These were housed inside a (Cat. Nos. 7and 28) symbolic
rectangular sarcophagus of protection and rebirth,
similar to Khonsu's (Cat. and of Sennedjem drinking
No. 59).Shown here is the eternally from the sweet
stuccoed wooden lid of waters provided by the god-
Sennedjem's outer coffin. He dess of the sycamore tree.
is represented as a mummy Although all the other images
with his arms crossed on his are fairly rigid and stereo-
chest clasping the tyet amulet typed, this last vignette

in one hand and the djed displays a much freer

pillar in the other. Associated naturalistic treatment. On
with Isis and Osiris, they one side Sennedjem's wig
symbolize protection and is black; on the opposite side
stability, respectively. Criss- it is white. Finally, the god-
crossed columns of inscrip- dess Nephthys on top of his
tion on the coffin's surface head and Isis on the soles of
imitate the pattern of a his feet serve as divine
mummy's outer bandaging. mourners .They ensure that
Sennedjem wears an ela- Sennedjem's body will be
borately curled wig, a floral protected in its journey
headband, a broad floral col- through the netherworld.
lar, and a short false beard.
Hands, amulets, face, and
Material: Wood
beard were made separately Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
and attached to the body of
(T.T.I)
the coffin. Length: 185 cm. (72.8 in.)
Funerary images decorate Width: 50 cm. (19.7 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
the length of the coffin. The Sety I-Ramesses II
winged sky goddess Nut Cairo Accession No.: JE 27308
Catalogue References:
stretches protectively across Brigham Young University No. 25
Sennedjem's chest. Beneath, Montreal and Vancouver No. 33

192
 i^=r

H^M
r 1 1

\
:

.
M
Pw
'

i .'^^B

•
I
i if
k !
I

t
n;

I
I
 his waist tightly and identifies him as a "Servant
in- secured. The second, a long in the Place of Truth" in
utside world narrow strip with fringed Western Thebes (i.e. a worker
from a lid which protected ends, was twisted around his at Deir el Medina). Isis,

his mummy. Like his outer waist and hips and looped painted at the bottom of his
coffin (Tat. No. «)()), it was underneath to form an feet, grants Sennedjem her
made from Stuccoed, apron. eternal protection.
painted, and varnished In life Sennedjem's wig
wood. Of the two, this is the would most likely have been
most lifelike. Following con- made from human hair, with Material: Wood
temporary custom, he wears each strand carefully curled Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
a garment and wig similar to and secured to a matrix,
(T.T.I)
what he would have worn in perhaps with beeswax. As Length: 175 cm. (69.9 in.)
life. His three-quarter length on his outer coffin, he wears Width: 44.3 cm. (17.4 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
kilt would have been made a short beard and a floral Sety I-Ramesses II
from two pieces of finely and bead collar. Cairo Accession No.: JE 27308
Catalogue References:
spun, undyed linen. The The column of inscription Brigham Young University No. 26
first was wrapped around between Sennedjem's feet Montreal and Vancouver No. 34

194
195
 62
Inner Lid from
Piay's Coffin

Chief Merchant of the Prince, a single piece of linen folded

Piay, is depicted in splendid in half, stitched up the sides,

festival costume on a cover and cut in the center to

which rested directly atop accommodate the head. The
his wrapped mummyand sleeves were probably sewn
face mask. Like Sennedjem in separately. A second piece
and his daughter-in-law Isis of cloth was wrapped around
(named for the goddess), on his hips like a sash. The stria-
their corresponding coffin tions on the garment indicate
lids (Cat. Nos. 61 and 63), pleats, which were probably

Piay would have worn these put in by hand with the help
garments in life. Only the of a sizing. Piay's wig is

position of his hands, which delicately curled,and he

reproduce the characteristic wears a headband Two
floral .

pose of the funerary god narrow beaded collars,

Osiris, reflect the lid's bracelets, and armbands
funerary function. They complete his stately attire.

probably once clasped

amulets similar to those held
by Sennedjem on his outer
coffin (Cat. No. 60). Like the Material: Wood
Provenance: Thebes
other coffins, was made
it Length: 179 cm. (70.5 in.)
from strips of wood pegged Width: 43 cm. (16.9 in.)
Date: New Kingdom. Dynasty XIX
together and then stuccoed, Cairo Museum Temporary Register
painted, and varnished. No.: 512 25 3
Catalogue References:
Piay's garment consists of Brigham Young University No. 28
a bag-like tunic made from Montreal and Vancouver No. 36

196
63
Inner Lid from
Isis' Coffin

Isis, possibly another wife of delicate tendrils of a creeper

Khabekhnet (Cat. Nos. 36 vine. Found also in associa-
and 70) and daughter-in-law tion with nude servant girls
of Sennedjem, is dressed for and birthing stools, this plant
eternity in the finest haute probably had a symbolic con-
couture of her day. Here, on nection with birth and
the inner lid of her coffin she rejuvenation. On the soles of
wears a long garment made her feet, her divine name-
from a single large piece of sake, the goddess Isis, holds
fringed linen. First wrapped aloft two ankh signs (signify-
around her torso, it was then ing while two djed
life)

draped over her shoulders pillars (stability) dangle from

and finally secured with a the goddess' elbows.

knot. A large and colorful A column of hierogylphs
floral collar covers her entire between her feet identi-
chest. Rosettes mark her fies Isis as the owner of this
breasts. Framing her face coffin lid. A single-line
is a long, elaborately curled inscription around the
wig crowned by a wide floral perimeter invokes a variety
headband. of gods.
Jewelry further enhances
Isis' beauty. Two pairs of Material: Wood
Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
earrings (made from bone
Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
or ivory and separately at- (T.T.I)
Length: 193 cm. (75.98 in.)
tached), three rings on each
Width: 47 cm. (18.5 in.)
of four fingers of her right Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
hand and one on her thumb, Sety I-Ramesses II
Cairo Accession No.: JE 27309
braceletson her wrists, and Catalogue References:
beaded strands entwined Brigham Young University No. 27
Montreal and Vancouver No. 35
around her arms complete
her splendid costume.
In both hands, Isis clasps

L97
64
Lid from the Coffin
of Ramesses the Great

Of all the gold, costly jewels,

and other precious equip-
ment that surely accom-
panied Ramesses II in his
tomb, little remains that can
be identified with certainty
(Cat. No. 65). Although this
cedar lid covered his mummy,
the soft treatment of the
facial features leaves little

doubt that it was made for

one of Ramesses IFs royal
predecessors, either in
the late Eighteenth or early
Nineteenth Dynasty, per-
haps for his grandfather,
Ramesses I. The wood was
imported from Lebanon.
A hurriedly inked inscrip-
tion on the legs and on
top of the head records its

painful history.
Stripped of all valuables in
the two centuries following
his death, Ramesses IFs
desecrated body, together
with those of several other
prominent kings, was rewrap-
ped and moved to Sety I's
tomb by order of the High
Priest of Amun, Herihor.
This took place in Year
Twenty-Four of Ramesses XI
(ca. 1075 B.C.), on the

Fifteenth day of the Third

month of Peret. Still

vulnerable, it was moved yet

again to a safer stronghold in
the tomb of Queen Inhapy,
just south of Deir el Bahari
together with nearly forty
other royal mummies. This
trip occupied three days
in the Fourth month of Peret
in the Tenth Year of the
reign of Siamun 969 (ca.

B.C.), from day Seventeen

through Twenty. There they

remained until their dis-
covery in A. D. 1881.
This coffin lid probably
resembles the way one of
Ramesses IFs coffin lids
would have looked stripped
of its gold and inlaid precious
stone covering. The crossed
hands, a characteristic pose
of royalmummies, hold the
crook and flail of rulership
(probably added during one
of the reburials). A divine
cobra (uraeus) emerges from
the front of the royal head-
cloth (nemes) to shelter and
protect the king.

Material: Wood
Provenance: Thebes, near Deir el
Bahari
Height: 206 cm. (81.1 in.)
Width: 54.5 cm. (21.5 in.)
Depth at Foot: 36.5 cm. (14.4 in.)
Date: Coffin: New Kingdom,
Dynasty XVIII or XIX
Inscriptions: New Kingdom and
Third Intermediate Period,
Dynasty XX and Dynasty XXI
Cairo Accession No.: JE 26214 =
CG 61020
Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 55
Montreal and Vancouver No. 66

W
 65
Alabaster Vessel of
Ramesses II

Since Ramesses the Great's

tomb suffered near-total
destruction at the hands of
ancient plunderers, nothing
remains that can unques-
tionably be identified as
having been buried with the
king (Cat. No. 64), except for
a few of his shawabtis. How-
ever, since this alabaster
vessel bears two incised
and inlaid cartouches of
Ramesses II and since it was
found in the Valley of the
Kings beside the tomb of
Merneptah not far from
Ramesses IPs tomb, it
possibly was part of
Ramesses II 's original burial
equipment. Perhaps plun-
derers tossed it aside so as
not to be burdened by its

weight after they had emp-

tied it of its precious con-
tents. Alternatively, it may
have contained some of the
embalming materials of the
king, which were buried
together with the remains of
his funerary feast following
the burial ceremony.
Vessels of this shape, called
<e
alabastra, were common in
Egypt in Dynasties XVIII
and XPX and could be made
from clay as well as stone
(Cat. No. 71). They were
often sealed with simple,
disk-shaped lids. An analysis
of the contents of similarly
shaped vessels indicates that
some held scented unguents
intended for a cosmetic or
ritual purpose.

Material: Alabaster inlaid with

paste
Provenance: Thebes, Valley of the
Kings
Height: 26.6 em. (10.5 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
Ramesses II
Cairo Accession No.: JE 46712
Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 13
Montreal and Vancouver No. 44

200
66
Canopic Coffin of
Sennedjem

Reproducing in miniature here as a mummy. The bands

his outermost coffin (Cat. of inscription across his torso,
No. 60), this limestone box which imitate the mummy's
once protected one of final wrappings, include
Sennedjem's internal organs. Sennedjem's name and titles
To prevent the body from and invoke the favor of
decaying, embalmers remov- funerary deities. The yellow
ed most of the viscera and blue stripes on his long,
through a slit in the left heavy wig reproduce in paint
side, and then they covered it what Tutankhamun, and
with powdered natron to dry probably other kings as well,
it out. The liver, lungs, rendered in glistening gold
stomach, and intestines were and lapis lazuli.

most often stored in vessels

known as canopic jars. Material: Limestone
Provenance: Thebes. Deirel
Here, in imitation of a royal
Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
custom seen in the tomb of (T.T.I)
Height: 34 em. (13.4 in.)
Tutankhamun, Sennedjem
Date: New Kingdom. Dynast) XIX.
has substituted a mummi- Sety I-Ramesses II
form coffin shape for a jar. Cairo Accession No.: Special
Register 41 CG4251
One of the four sons of Horns Catalogue References
(Cat. No. 59) would have pro- Brigham Young lim ersit) No. 2\
Montreal and Vancouver No, 47
tected each organ.
Sennedjem's linen-
wrapped, white body and
crossed arms identify him
 67
Faience Bowl

Filled with aquatic motifs morning. On two sides of the

painted in black against a pool, bolti fish (Tilapia
blue-glazed background, this nilotica) nibble lotus buds.
bowl belongs to a type com- The Egyptians noted that
mon in New Kingdom tombs these fish incubate and hatch
and temples. It probably con- their eggs inside their
tained a rejuvenative liquid mouths. The tiny newborns
refreshment, perhaps milk, emerging suggest an image
wine, or water, intended of spontaneous generation
either for the deceased or and fertility. Associated
for the gods. with the goddess Hathor,
Although water, indicated they formed a duality with
by wavy lines, is shown only the sun god as represented
in the rectangular pool in by the lotus flower. Stylized
the center, the entirety of the palmettes occupying the
bowl's interior represents a remaining space symbolize
pond. Decorative but sym- the tree of life.

bolic as well, the images

inside relate to the theme of Material: Faience
Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
rebirth.The lotus flowers Medina (Tomb No. 1382)
radiating from each corner of Diameter: 17 cm. (6.7 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty
the central rectangle suggest
XVHI
rejuvenation: they close each Cairo Accession No.: JE 63677
Catalogue References:
evening to reopen with the
Brigham Young University No. 39
dawning of a new day just as Montreal and Vancouver No. 41
the sun god was reborn every

202
 68,69
Shawabtis of
Sennedjem and
Ramose

While the deceased enjoyed namely to cultivate the

fields, towater the banks, to
every possible pleasure in the
transport sand from the East
afterlife, miniature servant to the West, "Here I am!"
figures called shawabtis took you shall say.
care of any work that The inscription on
awaited. Sennedjem's Ramose's shawabti con-
shawabti is shown here, as tains only his name and his
well as one belonging to his epithet, Child of the Tomb,
son, Ramose. Their poses and signifying that his father
attributes are characteristic Sennedjem was part of
of shawabtis, namely, they the gang of Deir el Medina
are wrapped as mummies, workmen charged with
and their crossed arms clutch construction of the royal
agricultural tools (in this tombs. In all likelihood,
case, two hoes). A bag to he died before he could
carry grain is often sus- follow in his father's foot-
pended on the back steps. Ramose stands fifth in
(Sennedjem's shawabti car- line on the outside of his
ries two). A total of nine family tomb door (Cat. No.
shawabtis of Sennedjem and 58, lower register).
three shawabtis of Ramose
were found in Sennedjem's
68
family tomb. It was cus-
Material: Limestone
tomary later on to provide Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
one shawabti for each day of Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
(T.T.I)
the year and one supervisor Height: 29 cm. (11.4 in.)
shawabti for every ten Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
Sety I-Ramesses II
workers, a total of 401 Kings .
Cairo Accession No.: JE 27251 =
included shawabtis in their CG 47740
Catalogue References:
burial equipment, often in
Brigham Young University No. 30
even greater numbers. Montreal and Vancouver No. 52
Eight lines of inscription
69
encircling Sennedjem's Material: Limestone
shawabti contain the tradi- Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
tional shawabti prayer (T.T.I)
excerpted from Chapter Six Height: 19 cm. (7.5 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
of the Book of the Dead: Sety I-Ramesses II
Cairo Accession No.: JE 27232 =
O shawabti! If the Osiris CG 47765
Sennedjem is called upon to Catalogue References:
do any of the work which a Brigham Young University No. 29
man does in the necropolis, Montreal and Vancouver No. 51

204
70
Khabekhnet's
Shawabti Box

In the New Kingdom special Lower Egypt sacred to the Medina villager exchanged sons and one of ten children,
care was taken with shawab- cobra goddess Wadjet, which the equivalent of two deben is represented on the outside
tis (Cat. Nos. 68-69), and was often juxtaposed with of copper (182 grams) to door of his father's family
they were often stored in the holy shrine of Upper obtain a shawabti box, and tomb (Cat. No. 58, bottom
pairs in chests similar in Egypt (Cat. Nos. 45 and 59). a record of this transaction register, first in line). Many
shape to this one. Later, Together, they brought to was inscribed on an ostracon objects belonging to
shawabtis were mass- mind the duality of the coun- (Cat. Nos. 12 and 56). Khabekhnet were found in-

produced and stored by the try united under a single A centralcolumn of side, including a painted
hundreds in crude, often divine monarch. The box/ inscription on each side wooden chest in the exhi-
undecorated wooden boxes. shrine rests on runners, of the shawabti box identifies bition (Cat. No. 36). His
In this splendid example, the which here are strictly its owner, "The Revered One own tomb lay next door.
vaulted lid, vertical projec- ornamental, but on larger under Osiris (god of the Most likely, he was born
tions, and "palace facade" items (Cat. No. 59) would netherworld) Khabekhnet, during the reign of Sety I

decoration imitate the ap- have facilitated transport justified." Khabekhnet, the and was active during
pearance of the sanctuary of across the sand. One Deir el eldest of Sennedjem's seven Ramesses IFs rule.

Material: Wood
Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
(T.T.I)
Height: 30 cm. (11.8 in.)
Date: New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX,
Sety I-Ramesses II
Cairo Accession No.: JE 27296
Catalogue References:
Brigham Young University No. 22
Montreal and Vancouver No. 50
 s Imitation

through the addition of white in stone and faience as well

.
the art paint and multi-colored wavy as pottery. Through trade,

I
mg. a techni- lines. A ceramic disk painted some found their way to
que practiced almost since with an abstract floral design the Aegean world where they

the beginning of recorded forms the The

lid. inscription were copied in local materials.

history in Egypt. Precious identifies Sennedjem as the

stones were imitated in glass vessel's owner. Material: Pottery
Provenance: Thebes, Deir el
and faience; cheap local The bag-like shape, called
Medina, Tomb of Sennedjem
woods were veneered in im- an alabastron, is typically (T.T.I)
Egyptian and seems, in some Height: 14.5 cm. (5.7 in.)
ported ebony and ivory; and
Date: New Kingdom. Dynasty XIX,
pottery was painted to look instances, to have contained Sety I-Ramesses II

like stone. Here, a simple scented fat (Cat. No. 65). Cairo' Accession No.: JE 27248
Catalogue References:
buff-colored ceramic vessel In the New Kingdom many Brigham Young University No. 36
resembles veined alabaster examples were manufactured Montreal and Vancouver No. 49
 I

72
Senet Game
Since the beginning of their land on some squares, while ebony and ivory inlaid board
recorded history (ca. 3200 others brought bad luck, such stored the playing pieces.
B.C.), the Egyptians as being forced to return to A sphinx and an ibex nib-

displayed a fondness for the start. The first player to bling from the tree of life

board games. They played move all his pieces off the decorate the side panels.
them both for personal board won the game.
amusement and for their Especially during the
Material: Box: Bone and ebony
religious significance. Of all Ramesside Era, playing senet Game Pieces: Faience

was rich in symbolism. One Provenance: Thebes, Dra Abu'

the board games, senet,
Naga
shown here, achieved the played not with an earthly Length: 26 cm. (10.2 in.)
greatest popularity partner but against Fate Width: 7.6 cm. (2.99 in.)
Height: 4.7 cm. (1.9 in.)
Two opponents played the himself, and moving one's Date: Second Intermediate Period.
game, and each had his own pieces across the game board Dynasty XVII
Cairo Accession No.: .IE 21462
distinctive playing pieces was synonymous with tra-
Catalogue References:
(between five and ten per versing the pitfalls of the Brigham Young University No. 52
Montreal and Vancouver No. 46
The object was to
player). netherworld. Eternal life was
move those pieces across the the prize for victory. Both
thirty squares (three rows of Sennedjem and Khonsu are
ten) of the game board. The shown playing senet against
throw of a knucklebone or an invisible other-worldly
the tossing of a set of opponent on their tomb door
throwsticks determined the (Cat. No. 58) and sarcopha-
number of squares moved. It gus (Cat. No. 59) respectively.
was considered fortunate to The drawer inside this
Suggestions for Further Reading

General

Aldred, C. Egyptian Art (New York and Toronto, 1980).

Baines, J., and Malek, J. Atlas of Ancient Egypt (New York, 1980).

Desroches-Noblecourt, C. The Great Pharaoh Ramses II and his Time. An exhibition of antiquities

from the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Palais de la Civilisation, Montreal. June 1-September 29, 1985
(Montreal, 1985).

Edwards, I.E.S. et al., eds. Cambridge Ancient History, Till rev. ed. (Cambridge, 1970-82).

Harris, J. R., ed. The Legacy of Egypt (Oxford, 1971).

Hayes, W.C. The Scepter of Egypt, Part II (New York, 1959).

James, T. G. H. An Introduction to Ancient Egypt (London, 1979).

Kees, H. Ancient Egypt (Chicago, 1961).

Mertz, B. Red Land, Black Land (New York, 1966).

Sabbahy, L. Ramses II: The Pharaoh and His Time. Exhibition Catalog. Brigham Young University.
25 October 1985 to 5 April 1986 (Provo, 1985).

Smith, W. S. The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt rev. ed. by W. K. Simpson (New York, 1981).

Chapter I— Ramesses the King

Bietak, M. Avaris and Piramesse: Archaeological Exploration in the Eastern Nile Delta
(London, 1981).

Dimick, M.T. Memphis, The City of the White Wall (Philadelphia, 1956).

Gaballa, A. Narrative in Egyptian Art (Mainz, 1976).

Gardiner, A. The Kadesh Inscriptions of Ramesses II (Oxford, 1960).

Goedicke, H., ed. Perspectives on the Battle of Kadesh (Baltimore, 1985).

Hayes, W.C. Glazed Tiles from a Palace of Ramesses II at Kantir. 1937 (New York, 1973).

Jeffreys, D. G. The Survey of Memphis I (London, 1985).

Kitchen, K. A. Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life and Times of Ramesses II (Mississauga. Canada, L982).

Redford, D. Pharaonic King—Lists, Annals and Day Books: A Contribution to the Egyptian Sense "J

History (Mississauga, Canada, 1986).

Yadin, Y The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands in Light of Archaeological Study (New York. L963)

Chapter II— Egypt in the Ramesside Age

Alfred, C. Jewels of the Pharaohs (London, 1971).

Bietak, M. "Urban Archaeology and the Town Problem in Ancient Egypt!' in Egyptology and the
Social Sciences, ed. K. Weeks (Cairo, 1979), pp. 97-144.

Caminos, R. Late-Egyptian Miscellanies (London, 1954).

209
 i Vim. I. Ancient Egyptian Religion (London, L952).

I rim. .1. Pricesand Wages in Egypt in the Ramesside Period (Paris, 1954).

Egypt's Golden Age: The Art qf Living in the New Kingdom 1558-1085 B.C. (Boston, 1982).

Frankfort, 11 Ancient Egyptian Religion, An Interpretation (New York, 1961).

Foster, J. Love Smti/s qfthe New Kingdom (New York, 1974).

van der Haagen, J. K. "Rameses' Mysterious Encounter at Dawn at the Great Temple of Abu Simbei;'
The Unesco Courier (October, 1962), pp. 10-15.

Habachi, L. Features of the Deification of Ra messes //(Gluckstadt, 1969).

Habachi, L. The Obelisks of Egypt: Skyscrapers of the Past (New York, 1977).

lames, T.G.H. Pharaohs People: Scenes from Life in Imperial Egypt (London, 1984).

Janssen, J. Commodity Prices from the Ramesside Period. An Economic Study of the Village of
Necropolis Workmen at Thebes (Leiden, 1975).

Kemp, B. 'Imperialism and Empire in New Kingdom Egypt (c. 1575-1087 B.C.)" in Imperialism in the
Ancient World, eds. Garnsey and Whittaker (Cambridge, 1978), pp. 7-57.

Kitchen, K. A. "From the Brickfields of Egypt;' Tyndale Bulletin 27 (1976), pp. 137-147.

Lesko, B. King Tnt's Wine Cellar (Berkeley, 1977).

Lichtheim, M. Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, Vols. Till (Berkeley, 1973-80).

Lucas, A. Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries 4th ed., rev. and enlarged by J. R. Harris
(London, 1962).

Montet, P. Everyday Life in Egypt in the Days of Ramesses the Great. 1958 (Philadelphia, 1981).

Nims, C. Thebes of the Pharaohs (New York, 1965).

O'Conner, D. "The Geography of Settlement in Ancient Egypt" in Man, Settlement, and Urbanism,
eds. P. Ucko et al. (London. 1972), pp. 681-698.

Redford, D. "Studies in Relations between Palestine and Egypt during the First Millennium B.C. I. The
Taxation System of Solomon" in Studies on the Ancient Palestinian World, eds. J. Wevers and
D. Redford (Toronto, 1972), pp. 141-156.

Riefstahl. E. TJiebes in the Time of Amunhotep ///(Norman, 1964).

Romer, J. Ancient Lives: Daily Life in Egypt of the Pharaohs (New York, 1984).

Sauneron, S. The Priests of Ancient Egypt (New York, 1960).

Simpson, W. K. ed. Tlie Literature of Ancient Egypt (New Haven and London, 1972).

Smith, H.S. "Society and Settlement in Ancient Egypt; in Man, Settlement, and Urbanism
eds. P. Ucko et al. (London, 1972), pp. 705-719.

Trigger, B. G. et al. Ancient Egypt: A Social History (Cambridge, 1983).

Chapter III— Quest for Immortality

Andrews, C. Egyptian Mummies (London, 1984).

Balout. L., Robert, C. and Desroches-Noblecourt, C, et al. La Momie de Ramses II (Paris, 1985),

includes English abstract.

Bierbrier, M. The Tomb Builders of the Pharaohs (London, 1982).

Cerny. J. A Community of Workmen at Tliebes in the Ramesside Period (Cairo, 1973).

Edwards, A. A Thousand Miles up the Nile. 1891 (Los Angeles, 1983).

Fagan, B. The Rape of the Nile (New York, 1975).

Greener. L. High Dam over Nubia (New York, 1962).

Harris. J. E.. and Weeks, K. X-Raying the Pharaohs (London, 1973).

MacQuitty. W. Abu Simbei (London, 1965).

Mekhitarian, A. Egyptian Painting (Geneva, 1978).

Romer, J. Valley of the Kings (New York, 1981).

210
Index

Army, 36, 41-42, 83-85, 181 lost-wax technique. < <

Abu Simbel, 31, 40, 42, 47, 57, booty, 42 Cataracts, see Nile
65-66, 68, 73, 115, 116-118, 120 conscription, 83 Ceramics, xvii-xix
description of main temple, 73 Artisans, xiv, 26, 31, 57, 65-66, Champollion, Jean Francois, 85
hypostyle hall, 66 73-75, 79-81, 85, 99, 103-104, Chapels, 26, 99, 130, 140, 142, 170
moving of temple, 118 137, 150, 155, 159, 164-166, Chariots, 36, 41-43, 83-84
sun sanctuary, 140 168-169, 178, 188, 190, 206 Chariotry, 26, 36, 41, 83
Abydos, 25, 26, 29, 31, 33-34, 42, tomb, 99, 103-104 Charioteers, 77, 83
50-51, 79, 88, 154 Asia, 25, 77 Children, 130
Administration, 80, 84 Assyrian empire, 44 Cities, 33-34, 36, 49, 53. 55. 57.
Afghanistan, 73, 150 Astarte, 55 77, 85, 88, 91
Afterlife, 85, 108, 112-113, 176, Aswan, 47, 48, 65, 74-75, 85, 115, Clepsydra, see Water clock
188, 204 137, 164, 167 Clothing, 44, 85, 91-93, 132, 136.
Agriculture, 85 Aswan High Dam, 65, 118 138, 146, 148, 162-164, 168,
animals, 88 Atef crown, 146 188, 194, 196-198
crops, 24, 85, 88 Aten, 26, 130, 134, 140, 146, 155, Coffins, 188, 190, 192, 194, 196
farms, 85, 88 160 Coffins, see also Ramesses II,

tools, 204 Attire, see Clothing coffin, 106, 108, 11, 113. 198
Ahmose, 25, 154 Atum, 140
83, Colossus of Memphis, 1-10
Akhenaten, 26 Atum-en-ta-neb, 148 Column Drum, 138
Akhmin, 28, 134 Avaris, 34, 55 Combs, 92, 182
Akkadian cuneiform, see Ay, 26 Cosmetics, 93, 170, 177-178, 180,
Cuneiform 182-183
Aksha, 47, 65 B Costume, see Clothing
Alabastron, 200 Baboons, 73, 140, 162 Creation myth, 55
Aleppo, 41 Bakenamun, 164 Customs, 168
Ali,Mohammed, 117 Bakenkhonsu, 82 Crete, 77
Amarna West, 47, 65 Barques, 55, 99, 111, 142, 145 Crook and flail, 29, 99, 107, 199
Amarna, see Tell el Amarna Bas, 190 Crops, see Agriculture
Amulets, 106, 192, 196 Battle of Kadesh, see Kadesh, Crowns, 29, 134, 138, 155
Amduat (Book of What Is In the Battle of Cubit rod, 75, 103, 165-166
Netherworld), 111 "Beautiful Feast of the Valley," Cuneiform, Akkadian, 44
Amphora, 171 55, 99, 142 Cyprus, 77
Amun Beit el Wali, 31, 48, 65
god, 24, 26, 31, 33-34, 42, 55, Beit Horon, 130
57-59, 61, 66, 73, 75, 81, 83-84, Belzoni, Giambattista, 116, 117 Deir Bahari. 115, 118, 198
el
99, 113, 115, 133, 137, 143, Bekaa Valley, 41 Deir Medina, 18-19, 85-90,
el
162, 164, 167, 198 Benben Stone, 140 92-93. 99, 102-105. 107-109.
high priests of, 34, 75, 81, 84, Bes, 172, 180 Ill, 142, 165, 169-171. 174.
113, 115, 162, 198 Bible, 77 181, 188, 190, 194, 204-2"-,
priesthood of, 26 Bint-Anath, 46 workmen, 88. 142-143. 169. 174.
temple of, 26, 55, 58 "Blessings of Ptah" inscription, 57 194, 20 '4

Amun division, 41-42 Boat-shrine, 142 Delta, 26, 29. 34, 36. 5~>. 65.
Amun-Ra, 74, 142-143 Boltifish, 91, 174, 183, 202 77-78, 105, 115, 13s. 152,
Amunemope, 142 Book of Exodus, see Exodus, Book 154-155, 159, 16^. 173
Amunherkhopeshef, 44-45, 84 of Den: 42. 65
Amunhotep II, 98, 130 Book of the Dead, 190, 204 Deserts. 73, 75 76, 79, 88, 108, 148
Amunhotep III, 26, 48, 59, 145 Bubasti caches, 148. 150, 152, 155 Diet. 76. 84, 90-91, 103, 111. 174,
Amunhotep IV, 26 Bubastis, 150, 152 183, 188
Amunmesse, 113, 143 Burial equipment, see Funerary Diodorus of Sicily, 115
Amurru, 41 equipment Djed pillar, 145, 192. 197
Anatolia, 41 Burkhardt, John Lewis, 117 Doctors, see Physicians
Ankh, 145, 183, 190, 197 Doorkeepers oi the tomb, 103
Anukis, 167 hivss. sim" Clothing
Archaeologists, 36, 47, 118 Calendar, 24, 145 Dvnasty XII. 16?
Architects, 75, 103, 164, 166 Cannan, 26, 4/. 'il. 58, 71 Dynasty Will. 25-26, M. 59
Architectural decoration, 34, 36. Canopic coffin, 201 98-99, 145, 148, 151, 154, U
55, 73, 81, 144, 173-174 Canopic jars, 106, 201 IDS, 200
Archives, 31, 36,
84
H 53, 77, 80-81. Cartouche. 31. 36. 106, LIS.
150-151. 155, mo. 164, 200
Dynasty XIX.
85, 103, 113.
26, «,
131
59,
155,
5

in.
Armant, 1 '46 lasting, XIV -XV, xvii-XViti 195. 200

1211
 U H U i 171 Hapi, 'ts, 79 Kamak, 14-15, 26, 29, 31, 33, 42,
XXI, 36, 115, 154 Harems, 29, 34, 47, 81, 174 44, 47, 57-59, 61, 63, 74, 81,
Harris papyrus, 142 83, 98, 137, 142, 167
E Hat hoi. 38, 55, 58, 73, 83, 134, description of temple, 58-59
Education, 91 180, 190, 202 hypostyle hall, 58, 64, 74
[leston, Wilham. // 22 Hatshepsut, 155 Karnak cachette, 136-137, 145,
Egj ptian Antiquities I Organization Hatti, 44 163, 167
(Ser\ ice). 6. 775, 188, 190 Hattusas, 44 Ken bets, 84
Eg) man New fear, /•>'?
i
Hattusil III, 44, 46 Khaemwase, 45, 47-48
Eighteenth Dynasty, see Dynasty Hauron, 130 as archaeologist, 47
XVIII Hay, 143 as high priest of Memphis, 47-45
Elephantine, (Island of), 47 Headcloth, see Nemes Kha. 169
Eleutheros Valley M Headrest. 88, 90, 172 Khabekhnet, 170, 177, 188, 190,
Bmbalmers, 105-106, 201 Hebrews, 77 197, 205
Entertainment, 92, 184-185, 188, Hebsed, see Jubilee Festival Khay, 167
190, 207 Heka scepter, see Crook and flail' Kheperesh, 138
Esna. 74 Heliopolis, 29, 45, 57, 74, 136, 164 Khonsu (god), 58
Euphrates River. 150 Henutmire, 45 Khonsu (Sennedjem's son), 177,
Ewers, xvi, 154 Herihor, 113, 198 188, 190, 192, 207
Exodus. Book of, 77 Hesi, 57 Kush, 25
Hieroglvphs, 85, 91, 104, 115, 134, gold mine, 77
144, 156, 172, 190, 197 viceroy of, 79
Faience, xvii-xviii, 34, 36, 81, 93, High priests, 34, 47-48, 55, 75, 81,
144-145, 152, 178-179, 202, 206 84, 115, 130, 167 L
Farmers, 85, 88 duties, 55, 81 Lamps, 169
Festivals. 29, 55, 81, 84-85, 91, power, 81, 83 Lapis lazuli, 36, 73, 91, 105, 150,
104, 152 Hittites, 29, 41-47, 49, 59 160, 201
Opet, see Opet Festival army, 29, 40-42 Late Period, 130
Flail, see Crook and flail empire, 41 Lebanon, 41, 43, 90, 198
Food, see Diet diplomatic exchanges, 45 Lerant, 25, 41, 80, 148
Friezes, 173 princess, 46-47 Libya, 26
Funerary banquets. 111, 171, 200 peace treaty, 44, 46, 59 Limestone, xiii, xiv
Funerarv equipment, 112-113, war, see Battle of Kadesh Lion, 137, 174, 190
151-152, 156, 163, 188, 204 Horemheb, 26, 113 "Litany of Ra," 111
Funerary offerings, 172, 174 Hormin, 81 Lotus, 138, 143, 155, 159, 171,
Funerary scenes, 190, 192 Horus, 29, 31, 54, 83, 106, 108, 173-174, 178-179, 182, 202
Furniture. 88, 90, 108, 170, 177, 180 130, 132, 134, 138, 190, 201 Louis Pasteur Institute (Paris), 105
four sons of, 106, 190, 201 Lower Egypt, 29, 31, 34, 45, 53,
House of Embalming, 105, 108 55, 84, 115, 134, 155, 159, 167,
Gardens, 26, 171, 174 Houses, 53, 88, 91, 172-173, 182 205
Gebel Ahmar, 74 Hyksos, 25, 54 Lunar disk, 140
Gebel Silsileh, 23, 48, 73-75, 167 Hypostyle hall, 55, 58, 64-66, 74. Luxor, 31, 41-42, 53-54, 59, 118
stela chapel,48 98, 154 temple of, 31, 33, 42, 54, 59, 74,
Gerf Hussein, 65 99
Giza, 47, 130, 174 I

Glass, xvii-xviii Inhapv, 115, 118, 198 M

Goddesses, 53, 55, 73, 104, 136, Ipy, 93, 109 Ma'at, 28-29, 31, 49, 73, 105, 112,
145-146, 148, 167, 184, 188, tomb, 85, 90, 92-93, 109 167, 188
190, 192, 196 Iran,148 Maathorneferure, 46-47
Gods, 26, 29, 31, 41, 44, 48-49, 53, Ished tree, 29-30, 136 Make-up, see Cosmetics
55. 57-59, 65-66, 73, 79, 81, Isis (goddess), 53, 55, 108, 188, "Mariage Stela," 47
83, 97, 106, 111, 137, 140, 190, 192, 194, 197 Material science, xv, xix
142-146, 154, 156, 158, 160, Isis (Sennedjem's daughter-in-law), Materials, xiii-xix
165, 167, 171-172, 174, 196-197 shaping of, xiii-xviii
184-185, 190, 197, 202 coffin, 196-197 Mav, 164-165
cult images, 31, 55, 59, 65, 73, Israel, 77 Medinet Habu, 113, 144
140, 142, 158 "Israel Stela,"' 77 Memphis, 1-10, 29, 36-38, 41, 43,
Gold, xiv-xvii, 25, 47, 57, 73, 77, Istnofret, 45 47-48, 53, 57-58, 74, 80, 84,
79, 105, 106, 142, 148, 151-152, Iyneferty, 86-87, 188 164
154, 159-160, 198-199, 201 as a port city, 36
method of working, xv-xvii, 79, temples, 58
150 Jerusalem, 130 Menat, 134
Gold miners, 79 Jewelrv, xvi, 44, 73, 79, 92-93, Merneptah, 16, 36, 44-45, 77, 108,
Gold mines. 73-74, 77, 79 106, 113, 132, 134, 138, 111-113, 123, 143 151. 164, 200
Wadi Hammamat. 77 150-152, 170, 176-177, 196-197 burial of father, 108, 111
Kush, 77 "Journal of the Necropolis," 99, reign as King, 113
Wawat. 77 103 Meryetamun, 28, 46, 83, 134
Gold mining, 74, 79 Jubilee Festivals, 48-49, 57-58, Mesopotamia, 148
Gold of Valor. 81, 84, 160, 168 65, 146, 167 Metal, xiv-xoi, xix
Goldsmiths, xv, 79, 150 procession, 49 Metalworkers, xiv-xvii
en. 77-78 Metropolitan Museum of Art (New
Granulation, xvi K York), 190
Gurna. 26, 29 Ka, 31 Middle Egypt, 29
Kadesh. 29, 41-44 Middle Kingdom, 84
H battle of, 42-43, 58-59 Mines, see Gold mines
Haii-styles. 92, 130. 176, 181 Mirror, 93, 180
 1

Modius, 135 building projects, 7-70, 31, 36,

Monkeys, 178 Palaces, 36, 53, 80-81, 113, 144 47, 44, 53, 66, 73-74, 76, 164
Montu, 746 Palette, 103, 163, 188 canopicjars, 706"
Moses, 77 Papyrus, 53, 55, 58, 83, 92, 113, consorts, see Ramesses-wives
Mummification, 105-106, 133, 190 143, 155, 159-160, 162-163, coronation, 29, 31, 48, 59, 81,
Mummy, 105, 107-109, 111-113, 168-169, 180, 183, 186 136, 138, 150
115, 118, 150-151, 160, 190, Paramessu, 26 coffin, 706, 108, 111, 113, 198
192, 194, 196, 198-199, 201, Paser, 44,84 cult of, see as god
204 tomb, 84 duties, 53, 80
relocation of royal mummies, Patterns, ociii-ociv death, 77, 97, 105
113, 115, 198 Peace treaty, see Ramesses, Treaty education, see training
Music, 134, 180, 184 with Hittites family, 29, 47, 44-40, 66, 79-81,
Musical instruments, 184-185 Perfumes, 93 83, 118, 132-133, 174
Musicians, 184-185 Persea tree, see, Ished tree funeral ceremonies, 81, 97, 108,
Mut, 58-59, 66, 83, 134, 167 Physicians, 44, 92 200
111-112,
Muwatallis, 42, 44 Photomicrograph, xiii, xvii-xviii "Opening of the Mouth"
Piay, 196 ceremony, 777, 112
N Pinodjem II, 115, 118 texts, 111-112
Natron, 105, 201 Pi-Ramesses, 34-36, 44-45, 47-49, funerary banquet, 777, 200
Natural resources, 26, 29, 73, 113 53, 55-57, 74, 80-81, 88, 105, funerary equipment, 112-113
Near East, 41, 46, 49, 148 108, 115, 144, 164, 174 funerary temple, see
Nebettawy, 46 palace, see Ramesses, palace at Ramesseum
Nebwenenef, 34 Pi-Ramesses golden mask, 706
Necropolis, 29, 111, 113, 190, 192, Plumb level, 75, 103, 166 harem, 29, 47, 81
204 Pottery, 53, 88, 171, 178, 206 Jubilee Festivals, 48-49, 57-58,
Nefer, 188 Predynastic, 183 65, 146, 167
Nefertari, 45-46, 70, 73, 155 Prenomen, 31 marriages, 46-47
temples, 45-46, 73 Priests, 34, 49, 65, 81, 83-85, 91, military exploits, 47-43, 58, 66
tomb, 45, 70 108, 113, 115, 142, 158, 162 mortuary temple, see Ramesseum
Nefertum, 57 funerary priests, 98, 105-106, mummification, 105-106
Neith, 190 108, 111-112 mummy, 705, 707-705, 777-773,
Nekhbet, 190 high priests, see High priests 118, 151, 198
Nemes, 136-137, 199 lector priests, 105-106, 111 names, see titles
Nephthys, 108, 190, 192 sem priests, 108 palace at Pi-Ramesses, 34, 36,
Nesamun, 162 wab priests, 81, 83 81, 174
Netherworld, 26, 45, 53, 85, 108, Priesthoods, 26, 34, 47, 49, 84, palaces, 36, 80-81
111-112, 163, 169, 185, 190, 113, 115, 162 physical characteristics, 37, 730,
192, 205 Psusennes 130, 154, 156, 159-160
I, 132
guardians, 111 Ptah, 36, 41, 57-58, 73, 164-166 physical condition at his death.
New Kingdom, 25, 31, 55, 73, 77, priesthood of, 36 705
81, 83, 85, 88, 97, 104-105, temple, 17, 20, 36-37, 57-59 preparation of mummy for
113, 115, 118, 130, 137, Ptah division, 42 burial, 105-106
151-152, 155, 160, 162-163, Ptah-Sokar, 156 royal barque, 703
178, 180, 182, 186, 202, Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, 188 royal burial, 703
205-206 Ptah-Tatenen, 47, 49, 57 royal tomb, 53, 97, 99, 102-106,
Nile, 23-25, 29, 34, 36, 48, 58, 66, Ptolemaic Period, 88, 115, 136 108, 110-113, 115, 190, 198, 200
77, 90, 99, 105, 108, 113, 118, Pyramids, 47, 174 burial chamber, 102-103. 111-112
148, 155, 174, 190 construction and decoration.
floods, 24, 29, 48, 53, 79, 85,
137, 154, 190
Q
Qantir, 36
99, 103-104,
structure, 703, 770-77J
165

gods, 51, 190 Quarries, 36, 73-76, 78, 167 tools used, 703-704
Nile Valley, 29, 36, 65, 130, 138, methods, 75 violation of. 773. 198, 200
155,159 types of stone, 74 workmen, 88, 99, 103-104
Nineteenth Dynasty, see Dynasty Quarrying, 74, 79, 138, 164 sarcophagus, 706, 777
XIX Quarrying expeditions, 75 servants, 37, 767
Niwt, see Thebes Quarrymen, 76, 85, 103 shawabtis, 200
Nomen, 31 tools, 73, 75, 103 25. 29. 31. 73. 115.
titles,
Nubia, 25-26, 31, 42, 47, 49, 65-66, 136-138. 150
74, 77, 80, 88, 90, 99, 115, 148, Setep-en-Ra, 31, 138
164 Ra, 31, 73, HI, 130, 164 User Ma'at-Ra. 37. 72, 73. 115.
Nut, 190, 192 Ra Division, 47-42 136, 138
Ra-Horakhty, 28, 57, 72-73, 140, training. 25, 29
145 treaty with Hittites. 44, 46. 59
Obelisks, 33, 35, 54-55, 59, 74, 79, Ra-Horakhty-Atum, 166 wars, see military exploits
140 Ram, 58, 61, 137, 142-14- wives. 29, W
%7, 81, 134
Objects as records, xiv-ocv Ramesses I, 25-27, 58, 113, 198 Ramesses II building activity,
Old Kingdom, 36, 47, 73, 137, 178 Ramesses II (the Great) colossi, /-/''
Old Testament, 26 ancestors, 25, 29, 34, 11-3 77.5

"Opening of the Mouth" as child, 130 monuments, 36, %5, 53, 115
s
ceremony, 109, 111-112 as commander-in-chief of army, relief representations, ! v/.

Opet Festival, 31, 55, 59, 142 47-43, 83 v.; 57, 66. 76. :

Oracles, 142 as god, 48-49. 53, 57-58, 65, 73. statues. 12-13, Jl. -

Orontes River, 41-42 98, 115 5 >'.

5 5 5 7, 3

Osiris, 33, 59, 98-99, 105-108, 154, as high-priest, 59. 146 98-99, 116-120, 130. l

156, 188, 192, 196, 205 as Prince Regent, 26, 29, M, 74 136 137. 146, i

Ostracon, 53, 99, 143, 163, 185, 205 as statesman, 44 temples. fcg, i 5, \7, 51

Ozymandias, 115 birth, 24 57 58, 62

65 66 63,
SS. 97-98, 115. US. 164
 ., S III. 11 Statues. SIS, 29, 33, 55, 74, Uraeus, 29, 55, 130. 132. 134. 138.
• - W 162 133 134. 144. 150, 162-163, 107 140. 149
Ran H W5, 1' see also Ramesses, Statues sign, 73
jses nakht, 75, Zfi2 Stria. 29, 31, 47 )\ 53, 56, 57, 74. ">(. 142
Ramesseum 77. 88, 156, 107 User-Ma'at-Ra, 31, 73. 115. 130.
:/j-yy.y. ///;. stom- carvers, 74 13S
Stone masons. 74. 103
hypostyle hall Stone quarries, see Quarries
->t i >rt' rooms Stone workers, XIV-XV Valley of the Kings, 29, 42, 81, 88,
structure oJ Sudan. 25 94, 97, 103-104. 118, 151. .

Ramesseum palace, 80-81 Sun disk, see Aten 200

description of, 98 Sun sanctuary, see Abu Simbel Valley of the Queens. 45, 133
Ramesside Age, 86, 73, 148, 168, Sutekh. 47. 55-56 Vessels, 79. 13713s. 154-150. 158,
174. 186, 207 Syna, 25-26, 31, 41. 43. 58. 73. 77 171. 200, 202, 206
Ramose, 188, 204 Viziers. 26, 31, 44, 84-85, 99,
er-Rassoul, Mohammed. 118 T 103-104. 108. 167-168
Rassoul brothers, 118 Tameket. 190 Votive offerings. 143
Rat -taw y. 146 Tanis. 35-36. 115. 130. 154 Votive statue. 167
Razor, 92, 181 Tatenen. 57 Votive stela. 57
Rebus. 73 Tausert. 113. 143. 148, 150-151.
Red (Reed) Sea. 77
Religious practices. 134. 158
155
Taxes. 80, 84-85
w
WaJb priests, see Priests
Right angle. 75. 103. 166 Teachers. 83. 91 Wadi Hammamat. 75-77
Royal Tomb #7, see Ramesses— Technology, xo, xviii-xix map. 77
royal tomb Tell el Amarna. 26. 88 Wadi Nat rum. 705
Temples. 26. 29. 31, 34. 36. 38. 42. Wadi Sebua. 53, 65
s 44-45. 47. 49. 53. 55. 57-59. Wadjet. 55. 205
Sahto, 170 65-66. 73-75. 77. 81. 83. 85, Water clock. 145
Sakhmet, 57 88, 91, 98-99. 113. 115. 133. Waters of Ra. 34
Saqqara. 45. 47. 74 142. 144. 146. 154. 156. 158. Wawat. 77. 79
Sarcophagus. 106. 111. 177. 190. 163-165. 173. 202 Wealth. 25-26. 73. 77. 85
192, 207 ceremonies. 154 Weapons. 36. 79. 83
Scarab. 106, 140, 160 funerary temples. 31, 142. 144 Wen-nefer. 156
Science, xiv-xv, xviii-ocix priests, see Priests Wigs. 92-93. 132-134. 146. 163-164.
Scribes. 42. 79, 81. 83-85. 91, 103, pylons. 33. 55. 58-59. 98. 140 167-168. 176. 181-182. 186,
142-143. 162-163 structure of. 53. 55 192. 194. 196. 201
equipment. 163 wealth. 81. 83 Women. 45. 83. 133-134. 155. 172.
Sehel (Island of). 164 Thebes. 25-26. 29. 31. 33-34. 180. 184-185. 188
Selket. 190 45-46. 53. 58. 74. 80. 84.
Senet. 188. 190, 207 97-99. 108. 113. 145-146. 164. Z
Sennedjem. 86-87. 108. 165. 167-168. 188. 194 Zagazig. 148
170-171. 188. 190. 192. 194. Thenrv. canopicjars. 106
196-197. 201, 204-207 Thoth! 54. 140. 145. 162-163
coffins. 192. 194. 196. 201 Throne. 29. 97
familv tomb. 86-87. 107-108. 111. Tia.45
165-166. 171. 188. 204-205. 207 tomb and pyramid, 45
mummy. 108. 192. 194 Tombs. 31, 34. 45. 85. 88. 92. 94.
shawabtis. 204 99. 103-104. 113. 115. 130. 133.
tools. 165-166 142-143. 150. 156. 158-159.
Sepulchers. see tombs 163. 165. 168-170. 172.
Seshat. 136 181-182. 188. 190. 201-202, 204
Setep-en-Ra. 31. 138 robberies. 113. 115
Seth. see Sutekh Trajan. 138
Seth-nakht. 113, 143 Travelers.Greek and Roman. 115
Setv I. 24-27. 29. 41. 55. 58-59. 74. Treaty with Hittites. see Ramesses,
79. 81. 84. 113. 133. 142. 151. treaty
205
155. 165. 198. Troops, see Army
building projects. 29 Tura. 74
funerary temple at Gurna. 27 Turkey. 41
temples. 26. 29 Tutankhamun. 26. 130. 150. 201
tomb. 29, 113. 165 Tuthmosis IV. 98. 138
Sety II. 113. 143. 151 Tuva. 24. 26. 4'i-45. 133
Shawabti box. 170. 177. 205 canopic lid. 133
Shawabtis. 170. 200, 204-205 Twentieth Dynasty, see Dynasty XX
Shebyu, see Gold of Valor Twentv-First Dvnastv. see Dvnastv
Shelley. Percy Bysshe. 115 XXI
Shen sign. 138. 163, 192 Tyet amulet. 192
Shrines. 26, 57-59. 65. 140. 167.
205 u
Siamun. 115. 198 L'djat eye. 132
Sinai desert. 78 Unguents. 26. 55. 106. 137. 176.
Siptah. 143. 155 183. 190. 200
Sirius. 24, i '
Upper Egypt. 29. 31. 45. 53. 84.
Soldier- 83-85 115. 130. 134. 155. 159. 167.
Sphinxes. 55. 58. 61. 65. 73-74. 190. 205
130, 137. 207

214
Photographers

Jon Abbott
pp. vi-vii, 21, 22-23, 24-25 bottom, 27 lower right, 30, 33, 35 middle and bottom, 37 top, 38-39, 41, 43,
47, 48 top, 50-51, 52, 54 top and bottom, 56 upper left, 57 bottom, 58, 59 top, 60, 61, 62-63, 64, 66
lower right, 67, 68-69, 70-71, 72, 73, 74, 75 top, 76 top, 77 middle left, 78 top, 79, 80, 86, 87, 89 top
and bottom, 94-95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100-101, 102 top, 107 upper left, upper right, bottom, 108, 109
bottom, 111, 112 right, 114, 119, 120-121, 123

Sharon Avery
p. 5 lower right

Glen A. Campbell
pp. 2 upper left and right, 3 upper right and bottom, 4 lower left and lower right, 5 upper left, lower
left, 7, 10

Christopher Craig
p. xiii

William Dawson
cover

William Eggleston (Memphis Brooks Museum of Art Collection)

pp. 12-13 (no. 87.1.1), 14-15 (no. 87.1.9), 16 (no. 81.1.32), 17 (no. 87.1.37), 18-19 (no. 87.1.52), 20
(no. 81.1.35)

Rita E. Freed
pp. 37 bottom, 75 middle left, 88

Kenneth S. Graetz, City of Montreal

pp. ii, 129, 131-133, 135-137, 139, 141-145, 147, 149-151, 153-155, 157-159, 161-189, 191-201, 203-208

Margaret Nutt Moore

pp. 2 lower left and lower right, 4 upper right

Gary Richardson
p. 90 upper left

Cyril Stanley Smith

p. xiv, xvii-xviii

Institutions

The British Museum

pp. 25 upper, 55, 116 top

The Brooklyn Museum

pp. 31, 56 bottom, 78 bottom, 102bottom (photographed by David Loggie for The Brooklyn Museum
Mut The Brooklyn Museum Mut Expedition), 105
Expedition), 104 (photographed by David Loggie for
(photographed by David Loggie for The Brooklyn Museum Mut Expedition), 106, 112 left

Center of Documentation and Studies on Ancient Egypt (C.E.D.A.E.)

pp. 27 upper left (Neg. 16879), 40 (Neg. 12263), 42 (Neg. 10638), 48 middle (Neg. 6865), 53 top (Neg.
8567), 65 upper right (Neg. 13233), middle left (Neg. 12139), 66 upper left (Neg. 10603), 84 (Neg. 11777),
116 bottom (Neg. 16968)

Cleveland Museum of Art

p. 103 (Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust)

Egypt Exploration Society— Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden Expedition to the New Kingdom
Necropolis at Saqqara
p. 45

Egyptian Antiquities Organization

p. 1

Manning/Ciani-Kaiser
pp. 3 upper left, 4 upper left

Manning/Pleskow
pp. 28 upper left, upper right, bottom, 46, 90 upper right, 92, 109 top

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

pp. 85, 93 (Egyptian Expedition of The Metropolitan Museum of Ait Rogers Fund. L930)

Courtesy Dr. Gamal Mokhtar, Egyptian Antiquities Organization, Cairo

p. 53 lower, 117

Musee de Louvre, Paris

pp. 56 upper right, 76 bottom, 81

Musei Vaticani
p. 26

Museo Egizio, Turin (Chomon-Perino Photograph)

pp. 24 left, 32, 59 middle, 77 bottom

Pelizaeus-Museum, Hildesheim
pp. 35 top, 57 top

Staatliche Sammlung Agyptischer Kunst. Munich

p. 82 (photo by Dietrich Wildung)
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