DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3559#0011
8
PYRAMIDS OF ABOUSEIR.
top. The writing upon the area refers to an offering, which consists of a quantity of wine, bread, &c. Before the figure of
Otai is the following inscription in three horizontal lines of large hieroglyphics: — "An offering to Anoup (Anubis), resident in
the divine abode {may he give), a good and great embalmment in the Amenti and in the west, to the all true and devoted to his lord
. ... an abode well provided for him .... attached to the bards, delighting* his lord with his strains, excellent in ... . the great
abode of the God Ma, of Athor the pure Goddess, .... Nofrehare the pure God,\ Shou-re the pure God, Ousrenre the pure God,
Otau'X In No. 3 in the above-mentioned Plate, the same title follows the cartouche as in No. 5. This title has been already
mentioned in the " Operations carried on at Gizeh," Vol. II. p. 9. In No. 5 Otai is represented to have been a bard under the
kings Nofrekare, Shou-re, and Ousrenre: the precedence of these monarchs is therefore ascertained. Their names, however,
do not appear in the only copy of the Hieratic Canon of Turing to which I have had access, neither is their relative position
with the dynasty of Cheops determined. It is, however, necessary to mention that in the restoration of Renofre, the two arms,
signifying Ka, are wanting, and that Nofre~ka-re, therefore, and Nepercheres, although highly probable, are not positively
established; that the phonetic value of the central sign in the cartouche of Shou-re, and of the initial signs of Ousrenre, is
not exactly determined, although the latter has been supposed to be " ou;" besides that the list of Eratosthenes consists chiefly
of names, and that the prenomen Ousrenre is apparently connected with prenomens totally distinct from that of Nepercheres,
from which it may be supposed that different monarchs had the same prenomen. But the most probable solution of these
difficulties seems to be afforded by the lists of Manetho, where, in the fifth Elephantine dynasty, immediately succeeding to that
of Cheops, the first three names are Usercheres, Sephres, and Nepercheres, || which, if inverted, would greatly resemble the three
in question; and that their era, immediately after the Memphite dynasty, would coincide with the probable date of these buildings.
It may be also remarked, that there is no evidence to shew that any of the Pyramids were constructed later than the eighteenth
dynasty, and that they appear, on the contrary, to have been erected before the invasion of the Shepherd Kings. At the
same time it must be confessed, that, from their situation, these tombs cannot, without some hesitation, be ascribed to an Elephantine
dynasty, because the sepulchres belonging to the Memphite, the Theban, and the Saite dynasties, have been generally found near
the respective capitals, whence the monarchs derived their names, and consequently, that the island of that name might be
supposed to have contained the tombs of the Elephantine Kings. But the similarity of the names is at all events remarkable;
and it is possible that the succeeding monarchs may have occasionally retained the name of the town, whence the founder
of the dynasty derived his origin, without reference to their own actual residence, or capital city. By adopting a correction
proposed by the ingenious criticism of the Chevalier Bunsen, and by striking out the name of Soris as an interpolation, Suphis I.
(Cheops or Chemmis) will be the founder of the fourth Memphite dynasty; and he is expressly mentioned by Diodorus to have
been an inhabitant of Memphis, and by Eratosthenes, to have extended his authority over Thebes, in Upper Egypt. Memphis
was, most probably, at that epoch, the metropolis of Egypt, and continued to be so till the invasion of the Shepherd Kings,
after which, on account of political circumstances, it was supplanted by Abydos and by Thebes, when the latter city, embellished
by Remeses the Great (styled the King of Kings), surpassed probably the antient capital, and continued to be the seat of empire
till the epoch of the Ptolemies, and was even then inferior only to Alexandria. On these grounds it may be presumed, that the
Elephantine Kings constructed their tombs of a similar shape and grandeur with those of their predecessors, and established
them upon the rocky eminences, already consecrated for that purpose by former dynasties, in the neighbourhood of their actual
residence.
The succession of these monarchs has indeed been stated in a different manner by M. Rosellini from memory, and also by
Sir J. G. Wilkinson,! but as in their lists the names are unconnected, and given upon inadequate authority, they cannot without
further evidence be admitted. Sir J. G. Wilkinson, indeed, seems to have been aware of these difficulties, for in p. 507 of his
work on Thebes, and General View of Egypt, he says, —" But I offer this table with great deference, and shall willingly yield
to any opinion, that may be established on more positive and authentic grounds." It is indeed obvious that the regular succession
of these antient monarchs cannot be established solely upon the authority of monuments, in different parts of which isolated
names may have been occasionally inserted. This indeed I have already alluded to (see " Operations carried on at Gizeh,"
Vol. II. pp. 7 and 8), where it will appear that the most antient monarch is last mentioned; and in support of the assertion
that the names of individuals were frequently composed of those of kings, I refer to a paper forwarded by me to the Society
of Antiquaries, in which the names of the children of an official character are composed, amongst other symbols, of the prenomen
of the reigning monarch. This custom seems to have been universally prevalent, and the traces of it, if carefully investigated,
may occasionally throw considerable light upon the individuals of the antient dynasties. I do not, however, positively insist,
from the slight analogy of their names, that these monarchs belonged to the fifth Elephantine dynasty; but at the same time I
must observe, that the tables hitherto published are not only at variance with the inscription in the Tomb (called of Trades) at
Gizeh, but likewise with those contained in Mr. Burton's " Excerpta Hier.," both of which are corroborated by the context, by
certain connecting links between the several kings, founded upon an analogy of the names, and titles of various functionaries, and
upon the tenor of various inscriptions relating to the monarchs in question at Wady Magara, and also near the Pyramids of
Gizeh. I must likewise add, that the appearance of the same names at Wady Magara seems to shew, that these monarchs
preceded the conquest of Egypt by the Shepherd Kings, because none of the persons belonging to the subsequent dynasties, who
were driven by these invaders into Upper Egypt, are there recorded.
Another reference to a King Ousrenre, but which cannot possibly apply to the monarch mentioned at Abouseir, is contained
in two inscriptions, which were published by Dr. Lepsius, and afterwards by M. Rosellini,** and were found upon a statue sent
by the former gentleman to the Museum at Berlin. They contain a dedication by a Pharaoh, supposed to be Osortasen the First,
to his father, Ousrenre, or Eian; and it is to be remarked, that the expression "father," a general expression, is not followed by the
pronoun " him," or " his," but by the seated image of a king, and that the name, as well as the prenomen, is preceded by a branch
and by a bee, which have hitherto been supposed only to precede prenomens. It can be satisfactorily proved, however, that prenomens
were made use of before the sixteenth dynasty, and the one in question is similar to that found at Abouseir, except in the substitution
of an eye for a mouth in expressing the letter R, and in the insertion at the bottom of the cartouche, of an undulating line
(phonetically signifying N). By comparing the inscription on the statue with the Tablet at Karnac, in which a king named
Re-en-ous,ff Ousenre (probably an abbreviated form of Ousrenre), is placed before two kings, whose prenomens are almost similar
in construction, and in meaning to his own. It is to be concluded that the next king in succession, namely, Osortasen the First,
had been preceded upon the throne by two relations or brothers; although the succession of Karnac does not coincide with the
list copied in Mr. Burton's "Excerpta Hier." from the Tombs at Gizeh.
The Tablet at Karnac has not been satisfactorily explained. The Ousenre recorded in it, although the same as that on the
Berlin Statue, is evidently distinct from the Ousrenre of the Pyramids. The standard of the older king seems to have been more
correctly given by M. Laborde, than by M. Rosellini. In both instances it commences, like that of Shou-re, with the word " Tosh,"
or " Tokh;" and the copy of M. Laborde contains the epithet "^ P ^ o-vcp-t-oto, " regulating the upper and lower countries!' instead
of the flf of Rosellini.
THE GREAT PYRAMID.
UJL
Plate VI. Fig. H, contains in the first part of the upper line, a date in the month of Mesore, but the day cannot be
distinguished.
According to the usual mode in which dates are inserted, these symbols delineate either the standard, or the titles of the
king, and phonetically signify Cojp; but they are too imperfect to be exactly explained, although it may be conjectured, that the
lower line contains the name of a woman, or of a female deity, which seems to be represented in I. The jackal has various
significations; sometimes that of a guardian (generally sacerdotal), at others of a son, and frequently, when combined with other
characters, of the name of the God Eiemothph, or Imouth ; and in sepulchral monuments during the Ptolemaic era, and in a few
more antient, a jackal precedes the name of the above-mentioned deity.
#
The phonetic group expressing this has been translated by M. Champollion, to be " morose," CtuccgJUL or UJcoaui of the Coptic; but the correction is evident from the context.
f The term "ka" (offering) is wanting in the inscription; there can, however, be scarcely a doubt with regard to it. Wilkinson's "Manners and Customs of the Egyptians," Vol. III. p 280, gives the cartouche in its full form.
% The parts between brackets are restored from contemporaneous monuments. § By M. Dulaurier, of Thoulouse. The liberality of the Sardinian government has allowed Dr. Lepsius a copy for his own use.
|| Rosellini, "Mon. Stor." Tom. I. PI. I. p. 28. According to this analogy, Usercheres would be Ousr-ka-re, not Ousrenre.
f Manners and Customs, Vol. III. p. 280. This ingenious and highly talented author, who has done so much for Egyptian archaeology, says they are placed in chronological order. This succession would give Nouv-Shouf (Cheops), Shore (Sephres), Nofre-er-kare (Nepercheres).
** Rosellini, "Mon. Stor." Tom. III. PI. I. p. 46. -j-f Burton, "Excerpta Hier." PI. I* Tablet of Karnac.
PYRAMIDS OF ABOUSEIR.
top. The writing upon the area refers to an offering, which consists of a quantity of wine, bread, &c. Before the figure of
Otai is the following inscription in three horizontal lines of large hieroglyphics: — "An offering to Anoup (Anubis), resident in
the divine abode {may he give), a good and great embalmment in the Amenti and in the west, to the all true and devoted to his lord
. ... an abode well provided for him .... attached to the bards, delighting* his lord with his strains, excellent in ... . the great
abode of the God Ma, of Athor the pure Goddess, .... Nofrehare the pure God,\ Shou-re the pure God, Ousrenre the pure God,
Otau'X In No. 3 in the above-mentioned Plate, the same title follows the cartouche as in No. 5. This title has been already
mentioned in the " Operations carried on at Gizeh," Vol. II. p. 9. In No. 5 Otai is represented to have been a bard under the
kings Nofrekare, Shou-re, and Ousrenre: the precedence of these monarchs is therefore ascertained. Their names, however,
do not appear in the only copy of the Hieratic Canon of Turing to which I have had access, neither is their relative position
with the dynasty of Cheops determined. It is, however, necessary to mention that in the restoration of Renofre, the two arms,
signifying Ka, are wanting, and that Nofre~ka-re, therefore, and Nepercheres, although highly probable, are not positively
established; that the phonetic value of the central sign in the cartouche of Shou-re, and of the initial signs of Ousrenre, is
not exactly determined, although the latter has been supposed to be " ou;" besides that the list of Eratosthenes consists chiefly
of names, and that the prenomen Ousrenre is apparently connected with prenomens totally distinct from that of Nepercheres,
from which it may be supposed that different monarchs had the same prenomen. But the most probable solution of these
difficulties seems to be afforded by the lists of Manetho, where, in the fifth Elephantine dynasty, immediately succeeding to that
of Cheops, the first three names are Usercheres, Sephres, and Nepercheres, || which, if inverted, would greatly resemble the three
in question; and that their era, immediately after the Memphite dynasty, would coincide with the probable date of these buildings.
It may be also remarked, that there is no evidence to shew that any of the Pyramids were constructed later than the eighteenth
dynasty, and that they appear, on the contrary, to have been erected before the invasion of the Shepherd Kings. At the
same time it must be confessed, that, from their situation, these tombs cannot, without some hesitation, be ascribed to an Elephantine
dynasty, because the sepulchres belonging to the Memphite, the Theban, and the Saite dynasties, have been generally found near
the respective capitals, whence the monarchs derived their names, and consequently, that the island of that name might be
supposed to have contained the tombs of the Elephantine Kings. But the similarity of the names is at all events remarkable;
and it is possible that the succeeding monarchs may have occasionally retained the name of the town, whence the founder
of the dynasty derived his origin, without reference to their own actual residence, or capital city. By adopting a correction
proposed by the ingenious criticism of the Chevalier Bunsen, and by striking out the name of Soris as an interpolation, Suphis I.
(Cheops or Chemmis) will be the founder of the fourth Memphite dynasty; and he is expressly mentioned by Diodorus to have
been an inhabitant of Memphis, and by Eratosthenes, to have extended his authority over Thebes, in Upper Egypt. Memphis
was, most probably, at that epoch, the metropolis of Egypt, and continued to be so till the invasion of the Shepherd Kings,
after which, on account of political circumstances, it was supplanted by Abydos and by Thebes, when the latter city, embellished
by Remeses the Great (styled the King of Kings), surpassed probably the antient capital, and continued to be the seat of empire
till the epoch of the Ptolemies, and was even then inferior only to Alexandria. On these grounds it may be presumed, that the
Elephantine Kings constructed their tombs of a similar shape and grandeur with those of their predecessors, and established
them upon the rocky eminences, already consecrated for that purpose by former dynasties, in the neighbourhood of their actual
residence.
The succession of these monarchs has indeed been stated in a different manner by M. Rosellini from memory, and also by
Sir J. G. Wilkinson,! but as in their lists the names are unconnected, and given upon inadequate authority, they cannot without
further evidence be admitted. Sir J. G. Wilkinson, indeed, seems to have been aware of these difficulties, for in p. 507 of his
work on Thebes, and General View of Egypt, he says, —" But I offer this table with great deference, and shall willingly yield
to any opinion, that may be established on more positive and authentic grounds." It is indeed obvious that the regular succession
of these antient monarchs cannot be established solely upon the authority of monuments, in different parts of which isolated
names may have been occasionally inserted. This indeed I have already alluded to (see " Operations carried on at Gizeh,"
Vol. II. pp. 7 and 8), where it will appear that the most antient monarch is last mentioned; and in support of the assertion
that the names of individuals were frequently composed of those of kings, I refer to a paper forwarded by me to the Society
of Antiquaries, in which the names of the children of an official character are composed, amongst other symbols, of the prenomen
of the reigning monarch. This custom seems to have been universally prevalent, and the traces of it, if carefully investigated,
may occasionally throw considerable light upon the individuals of the antient dynasties. I do not, however, positively insist,
from the slight analogy of their names, that these monarchs belonged to the fifth Elephantine dynasty; but at the same time I
must observe, that the tables hitherto published are not only at variance with the inscription in the Tomb (called of Trades) at
Gizeh, but likewise with those contained in Mr. Burton's " Excerpta Hier.," both of which are corroborated by the context, by
certain connecting links between the several kings, founded upon an analogy of the names, and titles of various functionaries, and
upon the tenor of various inscriptions relating to the monarchs in question at Wady Magara, and also near the Pyramids of
Gizeh. I must likewise add, that the appearance of the same names at Wady Magara seems to shew, that these monarchs
preceded the conquest of Egypt by the Shepherd Kings, because none of the persons belonging to the subsequent dynasties, who
were driven by these invaders into Upper Egypt, are there recorded.
Another reference to a King Ousrenre, but which cannot possibly apply to the monarch mentioned at Abouseir, is contained
in two inscriptions, which were published by Dr. Lepsius, and afterwards by M. Rosellini,** and were found upon a statue sent
by the former gentleman to the Museum at Berlin. They contain a dedication by a Pharaoh, supposed to be Osortasen the First,
to his father, Ousrenre, or Eian; and it is to be remarked, that the expression "father," a general expression, is not followed by the
pronoun " him," or " his," but by the seated image of a king, and that the name, as well as the prenomen, is preceded by a branch
and by a bee, which have hitherto been supposed only to precede prenomens. It can be satisfactorily proved, however, that prenomens
were made use of before the sixteenth dynasty, and the one in question is similar to that found at Abouseir, except in the substitution
of an eye for a mouth in expressing the letter R, and in the insertion at the bottom of the cartouche, of an undulating line
(phonetically signifying N). By comparing the inscription on the statue with the Tablet at Karnac, in which a king named
Re-en-ous,ff Ousenre (probably an abbreviated form of Ousrenre), is placed before two kings, whose prenomens are almost similar
in construction, and in meaning to his own. It is to be concluded that the next king in succession, namely, Osortasen the First,
had been preceded upon the throne by two relations or brothers; although the succession of Karnac does not coincide with the
list copied in Mr. Burton's "Excerpta Hier." from the Tombs at Gizeh.
The Tablet at Karnac has not been satisfactorily explained. The Ousenre recorded in it, although the same as that on the
Berlin Statue, is evidently distinct from the Ousrenre of the Pyramids. The standard of the older king seems to have been more
correctly given by M. Laborde, than by M. Rosellini. In both instances it commences, like that of Shou-re, with the word " Tosh,"
or " Tokh;" and the copy of M. Laborde contains the epithet "^ P ^ o-vcp-t-oto, " regulating the upper and lower countries!' instead
of the flf of Rosellini.
THE GREAT PYRAMID.
UJL
Plate VI. Fig. H, contains in the first part of the upper line, a date in the month of Mesore, but the day cannot be
distinguished.
According to the usual mode in which dates are inserted, these symbols delineate either the standard, or the titles of the
king, and phonetically signify Cojp; but they are too imperfect to be exactly explained, although it may be conjectured, that the
lower line contains the name of a woman, or of a female deity, which seems to be represented in I. The jackal has various
significations; sometimes that of a guardian (generally sacerdotal), at others of a son, and frequently, when combined with other
characters, of the name of the God Eiemothph, or Imouth ; and in sepulchral monuments during the Ptolemaic era, and in a few
more antient, a jackal precedes the name of the above-mentioned deity.
#
The phonetic group expressing this has been translated by M. Champollion, to be " morose," CtuccgJUL or UJcoaui of the Coptic; but the correction is evident from the context.
f The term "ka" (offering) is wanting in the inscription; there can, however, be scarcely a doubt with regard to it. Wilkinson's "Manners and Customs of the Egyptians," Vol. III. p 280, gives the cartouche in its full form.
% The parts between brackets are restored from contemporaneous monuments. § By M. Dulaurier, of Thoulouse. The liberality of the Sardinian government has allowed Dr. Lepsius a copy for his own use.
|| Rosellini, "Mon. Stor." Tom. I. PI. I. p. 28. According to this analogy, Usercheres would be Ousr-ka-re, not Ousrenre.
f Manners and Customs, Vol. III. p. 280. This ingenious and highly talented author, who has done so much for Egyptian archaeology, says they are placed in chronological order. This succession would give Nouv-Shouf (Cheops), Shore (Sephres), Nofre-er-kare (Nepercheres).
** Rosellini, "Mon. Stor." Tom. III. PI. I. p. 46. -j-f Burton, "Excerpta Hier." PI. I* Tablet of Karnac.