DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.6641#0082
68
superintendent of the treasury, Pikar, born of the
sistrum-bearer. . .
(5) Son of the superintendent of the altars in
the great temple. . . .
(6) Son of the superintendent of the altars in
the great temple, Peniusaas, born of the sistrum-
bearer of Ea Turn Isit n kheb, daughter of the
divine father Aufankh.
(7) Son of the superintendent of the altars in
the great temple [Pi ?] kar, born of the sistrum-
bearer of Ea Turn, Ankhesenmet, daughter of the
priest Har nefer, son of Nesiusaas.
(8) Son of the superintendent of the altars in
the great temple, Hor si Isit, born of the sistrum-
bearer of Ea Turn Metmerts, daughter of . . .
son of . . .
(9) Son of the superintendent of the altars of
the great temple . . . n Hap, born of the sistrum-
bearer [of Ea Turn], Isit n kheb, daughter of
[Pen] iusaas.
(10) Son of . . . Hor, son of Isit.
(11) Son of the prophet of Hap, father of the
gods (the Nile) and of Neb Hotep, the great lady
of. . . Ai.
(12) Son of the divine father, prophet of Hap
[Pen ?] Iusaas.
It is evident that Pathenef and his father lived
under the Sebennyte dynasty, since they held the
priesthood of the Sebennyte god (1. 29 and 10).
The two preceding generations, and perhaps the
third, marked their passage through the XXVIIIth
and XXIXth dynasties by holding the priesthood
of Amen ra in Heliopolis; and probably the
twelfth ancestor [Pen] iusaas fell in the XXVIth
dynasty. Pathenef was no doubt buried before
the second Persian invasion in 350 b.c., and
thirteen generations before this date gives an
MINOR EXPLORATIONS.
additional 400 years; the accession of the
twelfth ancestor to his paternal honours, such
as they might be, reaching as far back as the
year 750 b.c. The long line of ^
is very curious, but our inscription does not
i i i
rival the story told to Herodotus at Thebes, in
regard to the priesthood of the Egyptian Zeus,1
but Pathenef's first recorded ancestor may well
have seen the Ethiopian and Assyrian invasions.
The copy was made only as a temporary one.
The hieroglyphs, sculptured in relief, are much
worn : more time than I could spare, and a better
position than the floor of a mud hut, are required
to make an exact copy. When found, the slab
was probably in excellent condition, but some
ignorant person had tried to take a squeeze of it
for the Cairo dealers, and the delicate relief had
undergone much scraping with the sand and brush.
This slab is edged on two sides with a project-
ing cornice. A very similar piece was in a garden
on the Tell, displaying a figure of Pathenef
catching birds, &c, in the marshes. The latter,
together with the rudely-worked stela (PI. xxi.
No. 23), and an incised figure from the village on
the Tell, I secured and took to Bulaq; but I was
compelled to leave the genealogical slab, as the
owner would not come to terms. Later on, when
I found myself unable to re-visit the place, Count
E. d'Hulst kindly undertook to secure this stone
at an advance on the price first offered, and it is
now safely lodged with its fellow, though I confess
that I had hoped to see them in England.
I was informed that these two stones had been
found recently in the Tell.
1 Hdt. II. 143. Iii the hall of the temple were the statues
of 341 high priests who had held the office in a regular
succession from father to son.
superintendent of the treasury, Pikar, born of the
sistrum-bearer. . .
(5) Son of the superintendent of the altars in
the great temple. . . .
(6) Son of the superintendent of the altars in
the great temple, Peniusaas, born of the sistrum-
bearer of Ea Turn Isit n kheb, daughter of the
divine father Aufankh.
(7) Son of the superintendent of the altars in
the great temple [Pi ?] kar, born of the sistrum-
bearer of Ea Turn, Ankhesenmet, daughter of the
priest Har nefer, son of Nesiusaas.
(8) Son of the superintendent of the altars in
the great temple, Hor si Isit, born of the sistrum-
bearer of Ea Turn Metmerts, daughter of . . .
son of . . .
(9) Son of the superintendent of the altars of
the great temple . . . n Hap, born of the sistrum-
bearer [of Ea Turn], Isit n kheb, daughter of
[Pen] iusaas.
(10) Son of . . . Hor, son of Isit.
(11) Son of the prophet of Hap, father of the
gods (the Nile) and of Neb Hotep, the great lady
of. . . Ai.
(12) Son of the divine father, prophet of Hap
[Pen ?] Iusaas.
It is evident that Pathenef and his father lived
under the Sebennyte dynasty, since they held the
priesthood of the Sebennyte god (1. 29 and 10).
The two preceding generations, and perhaps the
third, marked their passage through the XXVIIIth
and XXIXth dynasties by holding the priesthood
of Amen ra in Heliopolis; and probably the
twelfth ancestor [Pen] iusaas fell in the XXVIth
dynasty. Pathenef was no doubt buried before
the second Persian invasion in 350 b.c., and
thirteen generations before this date gives an
MINOR EXPLORATIONS.
additional 400 years; the accession of the
twelfth ancestor to his paternal honours, such
as they might be, reaching as far back as the
year 750 b.c. The long line of ^
is very curious, but our inscription does not
i i i
rival the story told to Herodotus at Thebes, in
regard to the priesthood of the Egyptian Zeus,1
but Pathenef's first recorded ancestor may well
have seen the Ethiopian and Assyrian invasions.
The copy was made only as a temporary one.
The hieroglyphs, sculptured in relief, are much
worn : more time than I could spare, and a better
position than the floor of a mud hut, are required
to make an exact copy. When found, the slab
was probably in excellent condition, but some
ignorant person had tried to take a squeeze of it
for the Cairo dealers, and the delicate relief had
undergone much scraping with the sand and brush.
This slab is edged on two sides with a project-
ing cornice. A very similar piece was in a garden
on the Tell, displaying a figure of Pathenef
catching birds, &c, in the marshes. The latter,
together with the rudely-worked stela (PI. xxi.
No. 23), and an incised figure from the village on
the Tell, I secured and took to Bulaq; but I was
compelled to leave the genealogical slab, as the
owner would not come to terms. Later on, when
I found myself unable to re-visit the place, Count
E. d'Hulst kindly undertook to secure this stone
at an advance on the price first offered, and it is
now safely lodged with its fellow, though I confess
that I had hoped to see them in England.
I was informed that these two stones had been
found recently in the Tell.
1 Hdt. II. 143. Iii the hall of the temple were the statues
of 341 high priests who had held the office in a regular
succession from father to son.