DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4203#0052
aself, As
ramids of
Dn during
lave been
' ^ Vlth
Proximity
inty miles
ydos, the
nasties, is
Dendereh
>t. More
>oked for
ound the
the Red
loor with
ndicating
Lintel are
implying
There are
of Mena
i accom.
tame and
" Favour
mi to the
y well of
o be that
lena. A
ornice of
of Mena
or court
kin, and
itly with
and be-
In the
bhe table
[oaves of
Lore con-
? the Old
ie shapes
ed to be
>m, after
ras fora
itly, ^
THE INSCRIPTIONS.
43
occasionally elsewhere at the end of the Old
Kingdom and during the Saite revival, the
objects are clearly intended for reeds or palin-
1 tranches, and bear out Borchardt's explanation
of them as such (A. Z., 1893, p. 1). It is of
course extremely probable that leaves were
actually used as a pleasant table-cover on which
to place the food : halved loaves were a more
barbarous and utilitarian substratum. The in-
scription immediately above this scene reads:
" Favour accorded by the king and Osiris ; a
thousand of bread, a thousand of beer, a thousand
of oxen, of oryx, of re-goose, terp-goose, of pin-
tailed duck, of widgeon, of pigeons, a thousand
of cloth and of thread, a thousand of all good
vegetables and of all good things to the ha-
prince, Mena."
Mena is entitled ha, chancellor of the King
of Lower Egypt, governor of a fortified town,
confidential friend of the king and sehhem of
the bat. With the exception of the last title,
which is new, these are the ordinary titles of
great people of the time. The reading sehhem
instead of kherp seems proved by the variant on
the lintel (pi. ii.); otherwise we might have
read klierp mebat, "constructor," or "organizer
of a mebat." bat, determined by the figure of
a boat, is a new word; it may designate the
sacred bark of Hathor at Dendereh, but as this
bears a quite different name in the Ptolemaic
Edfu list (Brugsch, Diet. Geog., 1362), we must
wait for further instances before translating the
title.
Pl. II. The five rectangular blocks with
raised inscriptions shown in pis. ii., ii.A, are the
remaining specimens from a number of slabs
engraved with the ordinary formulae, which
were placed over recesses in the exterior wall
of the mastaba. The first inscription reads:
" Favour that the king accordeth and Anubis,
a summons, food and drink to the chancellor,
the confidential friend of the king, deserving
before Hathor lady of Dendereh, Men-ankh
Pepy, whose good name is Mena." The second
reads : " Favour that the king and Osiris accord,
his good burial in the goodly West"—titles and
name. (Two of the stone lintels from the tops
of the recesses, inscribed simply "the ha, Mena,"
are shown on pl. ii.A.) The fragmentary block
with incised inscription, showing a man and his
wife, was found on the east side of the tomb of
Mena. The inscription in front of the man was
evidently of a type well represented from other
tombs at Dendereh: over the woman is in-
scribed, "his wife whom he loves, the royal
favourite Eebt-at-ef."
Pl. II.A. Restored line of inscription on
the stone cornice:
" [Favour granted by the king, and Osiris lord of
Busiris and] Khent-Amentiu lord of Abydos in all
their places, [funeral offerings to the ha, Mena:
lie saith, I judged brothers] to their reconciling,
I heard the word [of him whose throat was con-
tracted (with fear ?), I cured] the wandering of
the oppressed, I saved the weak from the hand of
him that was stronger than he, I held forth justice
to the just, of [the deshe of long life] upon earth.
I was noble .................. I am one to whom
a summons and food shall issue (pert-kheru)
in Dendereh amongst the devoted: the lector,
[the superintendent of] Pharaoh's [garden, the
sehhem'] of the bat ........., the superintendent of
the Black Land, lord of the Bed Land, lord
............, priest choosing the guard (?) of this
temple, devoted [to] Hathor, [mistress of Den-
dereh, Mena.]"
For the two forms of Osiris, as god respec-
tively of Busiris and Abydos, see P.8.B.A.,
November, 1899.
The passage referring to pert-kheru is of great
importance if it refers to privileges enjoyed by
Mena during his life-time, i.e. if the pert-kheru
were supplies of provisions from the temple or
palace; perhaps, however, it is safer to under-
stand it as referring in the future tense to post-
mortem prerogatives.
On the same plate there is shown a defaced
but important fragment of a stone on which
two inscriptions had been symmetrically en-
graved side by side, each reading from the
ramids of
Dn during
lave been
' ^ Vlth
Proximity
inty miles
ydos, the
nasties, is
Dendereh
>t. More
>oked for
ound the
the Red
loor with
ndicating
Lintel are
implying
There are
of Mena
i accom.
tame and
" Favour
mi to the
y well of
o be that
lena. A
ornice of
of Mena
or court
kin, and
itly with
and be-
In the
bhe table
[oaves of
Lore con-
? the Old
ie shapes
ed to be
>m, after
ras fora
itly, ^
THE INSCRIPTIONS.
43
occasionally elsewhere at the end of the Old
Kingdom and during the Saite revival, the
objects are clearly intended for reeds or palin-
1 tranches, and bear out Borchardt's explanation
of them as such (A. Z., 1893, p. 1). It is of
course extremely probable that leaves were
actually used as a pleasant table-cover on which
to place the food : halved loaves were a more
barbarous and utilitarian substratum. The in-
scription immediately above this scene reads:
" Favour accorded by the king and Osiris ; a
thousand of bread, a thousand of beer, a thousand
of oxen, of oryx, of re-goose, terp-goose, of pin-
tailed duck, of widgeon, of pigeons, a thousand
of cloth and of thread, a thousand of all good
vegetables and of all good things to the ha-
prince, Mena."
Mena is entitled ha, chancellor of the King
of Lower Egypt, governor of a fortified town,
confidential friend of the king and sehhem of
the bat. With the exception of the last title,
which is new, these are the ordinary titles of
great people of the time. The reading sehhem
instead of kherp seems proved by the variant on
the lintel (pi. ii.); otherwise we might have
read klierp mebat, "constructor," or "organizer
of a mebat." bat, determined by the figure of
a boat, is a new word; it may designate the
sacred bark of Hathor at Dendereh, but as this
bears a quite different name in the Ptolemaic
Edfu list (Brugsch, Diet. Geog., 1362), we must
wait for further instances before translating the
title.
Pl. II. The five rectangular blocks with
raised inscriptions shown in pis. ii., ii.A, are the
remaining specimens from a number of slabs
engraved with the ordinary formulae, which
were placed over recesses in the exterior wall
of the mastaba. The first inscription reads:
" Favour that the king accordeth and Anubis,
a summons, food and drink to the chancellor,
the confidential friend of the king, deserving
before Hathor lady of Dendereh, Men-ankh
Pepy, whose good name is Mena." The second
reads : " Favour that the king and Osiris accord,
his good burial in the goodly West"—titles and
name. (Two of the stone lintels from the tops
of the recesses, inscribed simply "the ha, Mena,"
are shown on pl. ii.A.) The fragmentary block
with incised inscription, showing a man and his
wife, was found on the east side of the tomb of
Mena. The inscription in front of the man was
evidently of a type well represented from other
tombs at Dendereh: over the woman is in-
scribed, "his wife whom he loves, the royal
favourite Eebt-at-ef."
Pl. II.A. Restored line of inscription on
the stone cornice:
" [Favour granted by the king, and Osiris lord of
Busiris and] Khent-Amentiu lord of Abydos in all
their places, [funeral offerings to the ha, Mena:
lie saith, I judged brothers] to their reconciling,
I heard the word [of him whose throat was con-
tracted (with fear ?), I cured] the wandering of
the oppressed, I saved the weak from the hand of
him that was stronger than he, I held forth justice
to the just, of [the deshe of long life] upon earth.
I was noble .................. I am one to whom
a summons and food shall issue (pert-kheru)
in Dendereh amongst the devoted: the lector,
[the superintendent of] Pharaoh's [garden, the
sehhem'] of the bat ........., the superintendent of
the Black Land, lord of the Bed Land, lord
............, priest choosing the guard (?) of this
temple, devoted [to] Hathor, [mistress of Den-
dereh, Mena.]"
For the two forms of Osiris, as god respec-
tively of Busiris and Abydos, see P.8.B.A.,
November, 1899.
The passage referring to pert-kheru is of great
importance if it refers to privileges enjoyed by
Mena during his life-time, i.e. if the pert-kheru
were supplies of provisions from the temple or
palace; perhaps, however, it is safer to under-
stand it as referring in the future tense to post-
mortem prerogatives.
On the same plate there is shown a defaced
but important fragment of a stone on which
two inscriptions had been symmetrically en-
graved side by side, each reading from the