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https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4657#0024
REMARKS ON THE INSCRIPTIONS.
19
CHAPTER VII.
REMARKS ON THE INSCRIPTIONS
By Prof. Kurt Sethe.
[The transliterations given here have been added to the phonetic
equivalents used by the author.—F. P. ]
55. The sealings from the wine jars found in the
tombs K 1-5 at Bet Khallaf are, some official, and
others private. The official seals bear the king's
name and the title of the office or official, but never
the personal name of the latter; the private seals
bear the name of the owner and his titles. The
names, whether royal or private, appear either once
or thrice on the seal. If repeated, the rest of the
inscription is placed between the names, a custom
maintained till the Vlth Dynasty. The titles and
name of the king are almost always written in a direc-
tion contrary to that of the other words, apparently
as a mark of respect. The same custom appears in
Ptolemaic temple inscriptions, where the names of
deities are thus reversed.
56. Sealings of Neterkket, K 1, Pls. VIII.-X.
No. 1. Official seal of a priest, with royal titles and
name facing the priestly titles. The royal titles are
as on the architrave of the doorway from the step
pyramid of Saqqara (Berlin 1185 ; Leps. Denk. II.
2,/):-
(1) Suteny bati (s'tnj-bjtf) " King of Upper and
Lower Egypt" ;
(2) nebti (nbtj), a title signifying the identity of
the king with the "two mistresses" of the united
double kingdom, the vulture goddess of El Kab and
the uraeus goddess of Buto ;
(3) Neter khet (Ntr-hi) the Horus-name of king
Zeser, here belonging to the nebti title, and therefore
not enclosed in the usual frame of the Horus-name ;
(4) fw") " gold," which here takes the place of
the " golden " Horus-name of later kings.
On the door from the step pyramid J^L appears
instead; and in the Sehel stele Sjk (Erman, A.Z.,
1900, 120). But here Neterkhet being placed over
the fw^ may possibly mean " Neterkhet who has
conquered the god of ' * (Set of Ombos)." This
would agree with the Rosetta translation of dvrnrdXwv
v-rreprepcx; for the royal title Jfek • The rendering of
this as bdk en nub {bjk n nb) "golden hawk" in later
texts (Moret, Rec, XXIII., 23) has no appearance of
conveying the original meaning, and does not agree
with usage just described.
The titles of the priest begin with—
(5) The name of the jackal god Up-uat ( Wp-wlwi),
followed by his figure on a standard, a jackal with
only two legs visible as in prehistoric drawings
(De Morgan, Rech. sur origiues). Before the animal
is an enigmatical object @—,, which is often on the
front of standards. In the pyramid texts it is called
<=*=^ =*=^
<a=,u-
v
(shed-shed am upt, sdsd
imj wpt), "the shed-shed which is in front" (T. 31,
32); and it is on this that the dead king was sup-
posed to ascend to heaven. Behind this was the
uraeus serpent (obliterated), seen also in R. T., II.,
XV., 108, iog, where the serpent is mistaken for a
leg of the jackal. A mace is placed across the pole
of the standard. Figures of Upuat as here described
are usual in the Old Kingdom (L., D., II., 2, 39) and
in pyramid texts for the god's name.
(6) The title sam (dm), which follows, must be
connected with the god, as " the high priest of
Upuat"; the divine name preceding the title, the
usual mark of respect. In later times sam (dm) was
only the title of the high priest of Memphis; but it
was more widely applied in the Illrd Dynasty, as in
n
\j
sam hat neter Anpti
khenty Ta-zeser (dm ht-ntr Inpw Imtj Ti-ddr) " high
priest of the temple of Anubis lord of Ta-zeser "
(Berlin 13502-3, reign of Nebka).
(7) The title khery-a (hrj-c) usually, though in-
exactly, translated " assistant " ; see " kherya of the
white house," R. T., I., XXIII., 40.
The next seal, VIII., 2, is an official one of the
same period. The Horus-name of the king is thrice
repeated, and between these are titles written in the
opposite direction.
(1) Uty (Wtj) " he of the town of Ut," a title of
Anubis, followed by the jackal-god above the front
view of his shrine (as in Berlin 13,502, above). As
Uty is also a priestly title (usually ^a. <=> ^o), the
" Uty priest " or " Uty priest of Anubis " might be
the meaning (see R. T., II., XII., 5).
(2) A fortress named Neru-taui (Nrw-tlwj), " the
terror of the two lands," enclosed in a fortification ;
then the title amy ab (imj-lb) "favourite," probably
connected with it, and to be read as " favourite of
Neru-taui" or of the Nerutauite; finally the title
kherya Q}rj-"-) described at the end of the last seal.
(3) The epithets mery-seten (mrjjs'tnf), "beloved
D 2
19
CHAPTER VII.
REMARKS ON THE INSCRIPTIONS
By Prof. Kurt Sethe.
[The transliterations given here have been added to the phonetic
equivalents used by the author.—F. P. ]
55. The sealings from the wine jars found in the
tombs K 1-5 at Bet Khallaf are, some official, and
others private. The official seals bear the king's
name and the title of the office or official, but never
the personal name of the latter; the private seals
bear the name of the owner and his titles. The
names, whether royal or private, appear either once
or thrice on the seal. If repeated, the rest of the
inscription is placed between the names, a custom
maintained till the Vlth Dynasty. The titles and
name of the king are almost always written in a direc-
tion contrary to that of the other words, apparently
as a mark of respect. The same custom appears in
Ptolemaic temple inscriptions, where the names of
deities are thus reversed.
56. Sealings of Neterkket, K 1, Pls. VIII.-X.
No. 1. Official seal of a priest, with royal titles and
name facing the priestly titles. The royal titles are
as on the architrave of the doorway from the step
pyramid of Saqqara (Berlin 1185 ; Leps. Denk. II.
2,/):-
(1) Suteny bati (s'tnj-bjtf) " King of Upper and
Lower Egypt" ;
(2) nebti (nbtj), a title signifying the identity of
the king with the "two mistresses" of the united
double kingdom, the vulture goddess of El Kab and
the uraeus goddess of Buto ;
(3) Neter khet (Ntr-hi) the Horus-name of king
Zeser, here belonging to the nebti title, and therefore
not enclosed in the usual frame of the Horus-name ;
(4) fw") " gold," which here takes the place of
the " golden " Horus-name of later kings.
On the door from the step pyramid J^L appears
instead; and in the Sehel stele Sjk (Erman, A.Z.,
1900, 120). But here Neterkhet being placed over
the fw^ may possibly mean " Neterkhet who has
conquered the god of ' * (Set of Ombos)." This
would agree with the Rosetta translation of dvrnrdXwv
v-rreprepcx; for the royal title Jfek • The rendering of
this as bdk en nub {bjk n nb) "golden hawk" in later
texts (Moret, Rec, XXIII., 23) has no appearance of
conveying the original meaning, and does not agree
with usage just described.
The titles of the priest begin with—
(5) The name of the jackal god Up-uat ( Wp-wlwi),
followed by his figure on a standard, a jackal with
only two legs visible as in prehistoric drawings
(De Morgan, Rech. sur origiues). Before the animal
is an enigmatical object @—,, which is often on the
front of standards. In the pyramid texts it is called
<=*=^ =*=^
<a=,u-
v
(shed-shed am upt, sdsd
imj wpt), "the shed-shed which is in front" (T. 31,
32); and it is on this that the dead king was sup-
posed to ascend to heaven. Behind this was the
uraeus serpent (obliterated), seen also in R. T., II.,
XV., 108, iog, where the serpent is mistaken for a
leg of the jackal. A mace is placed across the pole
of the standard. Figures of Upuat as here described
are usual in the Old Kingdom (L., D., II., 2, 39) and
in pyramid texts for the god's name.
(6) The title sam (dm), which follows, must be
connected with the god, as " the high priest of
Upuat"; the divine name preceding the title, the
usual mark of respect. In later times sam (dm) was
only the title of the high priest of Memphis; but it
was more widely applied in the Illrd Dynasty, as in
n
\j
sam hat neter Anpti
khenty Ta-zeser (dm ht-ntr Inpw Imtj Ti-ddr) " high
priest of the temple of Anubis lord of Ta-zeser "
(Berlin 13502-3, reign of Nebka).
(7) The title khery-a (hrj-c) usually, though in-
exactly, translated " assistant " ; see " kherya of the
white house," R. T., I., XXIII., 40.
The next seal, VIII., 2, is an official one of the
same period. The Horus-name of the king is thrice
repeated, and between these are titles written in the
opposite direction.
(1) Uty (Wtj) " he of the town of Ut," a title of
Anubis, followed by the jackal-god above the front
view of his shrine (as in Berlin 13,502, above). As
Uty is also a priestly title (usually ^a. <=> ^o), the
" Uty priest " or " Uty priest of Anubis " might be
the meaning (see R. T., II., XII., 5).
(2) A fortress named Neru-taui (Nrw-tlwj), " the
terror of the two lands," enclosed in a fortification ;
then the title amy ab (imj-lb) "favourite," probably
connected with it, and to be read as " favourite of
Neru-taui" or of the Nerutauite; finally the title
kherya Q}rj-"-) described at the end of the last seal.
(3) The epithets mery-seten (mrjjs'tnf), "beloved
D 2