SOUTH ABYDOS on Egypt's SecondC ^ ______J TIntermediate — i______J* Period

The tomb of Woseribre Seneb-Kay (foreground) and seven other contemporary Second Intermediate Period tombs lie near the necropolis of the Mountain-of-Anubis at South Abydos. Photograph by Josef Wegner. Josef Wegner

xcavations at the site of Abydos during 2013-2015 The ongoing investigation of the Second Intermediate Pe­ have revealed a previously unknown royal necropolis riod necropolis by the Penn Museum, University of Pennsylva­ dating to Egypt’s late Second Intermediate Period (ca. nia, now spans three field seasons. At the present time we have 1650-1600 b .c .e .) and contemporary with the early-middle specifically identified one of these kings, the hitherto unknown Hyksos Period. This discovery has opened a new window pharaoh, Woseribre Seneb-Kay (opening photograph). Seneb- into political dynamics during one of the most obscure eras Kay’s tomb is the earliest within a larger tomb cluster. His dec­ of pharaonic Egypt. The late Second Intermediate Period, the orated burial chamber provides crucial evidence on the chro­ final stage of the Middle Bronze Age in Egypt, was associated nology of the necropolis. In addition to the tomb of Seneb-Kay with the decline of the Middle Kingdom state system and the work to-date has examined seven other tombs, all closely the emergence of a fragmentary political situation in which comparable in architecture and scale to that of Seneb-Kay. All Egypt was ultimately dominated by two rival kingdoms, the of the eight currently-known tombs were plundered in ancient Thebans (Dynasties 16-17) in Upper Egypt, and the Hyksos times. However, fragmentary remains of burial goods, as well (Dynasty 15) in the Nile Delta. The historical events that as the cohesive nature of the necropolis in terms of architec­ ended this era are comparatively well documented: the wars ture and use of the landscape, indicates these were all royal of the Theban kings Kamose and Ahmose that culminated in burials. Human remains from five of these tombs show a pat­ the expulsion of the Hyksos, ca. 1550 b . c .e ., and establish­ tern of single interments of mature males. Two nearly com­ ment of the New Kingdom. However, the nature of Egypt’s plete bodies, including that of king Seneb-Kay, have provided evolving political and territorial organization during the the rare opportunity for examination of the physical remains Hyksos Period remains an issue of great debate in Egyptian of Upper Egyptian rulers of the Second Intermediate Period. archaeology. This newly identified royal necropolis offers new Who were these eight kings? Why were they buried at Abydos? light on society and politics in Upper Egypt contemporary Attempting to answer these fundamental questions is helping with the early Hyksos Period and prior to the ascendancy of to shed new light on the political situation of Egypt during the the Theban 17th Dynasty. Hyksos Period.

68 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015) Figure 1 (top left). Map of greater Abydos showing location of the Senwosret III complex and the Mountain of Anubis: location of the newly identified Second Intermediate Period royal necropolis. Figure 2 (top right). The mortuary complex of Senwosret III (12,h Dynasty) at South Abydos, and associated structures. Figure 3 (below). The Second Intermediate Period tombs and adjacent 13th Dynasty tombs S9 and S10. Plans by Josef Wegner.

The Second neath a symmetrical promi­ Intermediate Royal nence in the cliffs that visually Cemetery resembles a natural pyramid. The Second Intermediate Pe­ Excavation of structures asso­ riod necropolis is located at ciated with the Senwosret III South Abydos, an area of low tomb enclosure has produced desert terrain that is bordered extensive deposits of clay seal­ by the Nile floodplain and ings produced by stamp seals high desert cliffs (fig. 1). Prior with the hieroglyphic desig­ to the Second Intermediate nation Mountain-of-Anubis. Period, this part of the land­ The mountain peak that rises scape of Abydos had been behind the tomb site appears developed during the Middle to have been ascribed to the Kingdom with the construc­ canine deity Anubis. The des­ tion of a series of royal mor­ ignation Mountain-of-Anubis tuary complexes belonging was applied as a form of insti­ to kings of the 12th and 13th tutional necropolis seal. Dynasties. Excavations, on­ Subsequent to the reign of going since the 1990s, have Sensosret III, two kings of the exposed an expansive mortu­ 13th Dynasty built additional ary complex, anciently named tombs on the northwestern Enduring-are-the-Places-of- side of the tomb enclosure. Khakaure-true-of-voice-in-Aby­ Briefly examined in 1 POI­ dos, belonging to the 12th Dy­ ROT by the British excavator nasty king Senwosret III (ca. Arthur Weigall, these struc­ 1880-1840 b.c.e.). This state- tures, tombs “S9” and “S10,” initiated funerary complex have massive stone-built includes a subterranean tomb substructures, variants of the within a T-shaped enclosure architectural format that pre­ at the base of the high desert dominated in the late Middle cliffs, an associated mortuary Kingdom pyramids in the temple, as well as an extensive Memphite region. The sub­ urban site, the town of Wah-Sut, with accompanying industrial terranean burial compartments appear to have originally been and agricultural zones (fig. 2). The tomb of Senwosret III sits be­ capped by now-destroyed superstructures, probably pyramidal

NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015) 69 in form. In 2014 the discov­ The Second Intermediate ery of a royal funerary stela Period tombs employ a pre­ associated with tomb S10 es­ dominantly linear design con­ tablished ownership to one of sisting of a walled entrance the Sobekhotep kings of the ramp that leads to a succes­ 13th Dynasty (here identified sion of two or three subterra­ as Sobekhotep ‘N’). Further nean chambers. The orienta­ evidence that emerged in tion is from Nile downstream 2014-2015 takes the form of to Nile upstream (true west to fragments of the painted ce­ east) with the tomb entrances dar coffin of this same king facing generally towards the Sobekhotep, reused in the cultic area of the Osiris tem­ tomb of king Seneb-Kay. The ple and sacred processional coffin was decorated with a route at North Abydos. The specific group of Coffin Texts tombs range in overall length Figure 4a-b. The architecture and scale of the Second Intermediate tombs is that demonstrate that his quite uniform. Variation occurs in the number of chambers and format of the between 7 and 17 meters, reign falls within the middle- burial chamber, typically a slab-lined crypt, as in CS8 (above). Other variants in although the inner cham­ late 13th Dynasty (Wegner burial chamber architecture include the use of monolithic chambers and the block construction in the tomb of Seneb-Kay, CS9 (below). Photographs by Josef Wegner. bers (excluding the entrance and Cahail 2015). The set of ramps) place the tombs more evidence now available sug­ cohesively in the 6-12 meter gests the probability that range. Construction is of gyp- Sobekhotep N, the builder sum-plastered mud brick with of Tomb S10, can be identi­ stone fittings (fig. 4a-b). fied as Sobekhotep IV of the The tombs are constructed middle 13th Dynasty while in trenches cut into the desert the nearby Tomb S9 belongs subsurface and typically de­ to his brother and immediate scend to a depth of 3-5 meters predecessor, Neferhotep I. below the elevation of the en­ The recently discovered trance. The architecture adapts Second Intermediate Period to this shallow mode of con­ royal necropolis represents struction. The first (highest el­ an addition to the preexisting evated) chamber in most cases area of the 13th Dynasty tombs takes the form of a wood-beam (fig. 3). The known tombs roofed chamber with a flat cluster in an area of just 40 by roof intended not to protrude 60 meters positioned directly above the desert surface. Mov­ north of tomb S10 and flanked ing inwards the chambers step on the east by the enclosure sequentially deeper and the wall of tomb S9. Vestiges of a architecture shifts to the use of series of enclosure walls sug­ brick vaults. In most examples gest the Second Intermediate the burial chamber is mud Period tombs were situated brick with an internal stone with respect to still-standing slab lining and surmounted enclosure walls dating to the by a barrel-vaulted roof (fig. 13th Dynasty. The tombs have 5). Variants include the use been numbered in sequence of a single-chamber interior of excavation with the prefix (tombs CS6 and CS11), and ‘CS’ for ‘Cemetery S.’ They in­ two of the tombs use mono­ clude the tomb of Woseribre lithic stone burial chambers in­ Seneb-Kay (CS9) positioned stead of slab lining (tombs CS6 very close to the front of tomb S10 (Sobekhotep). Slightly further and CS10). The only example to employ a stone-block construction to the north is the main cluster comprised of seven anonymous for the burial chamber is that of Seneb-Kay (CS9), a tomb which in tombs of similar design: CS4 through 8; CS10 and CS11. Ad­ other respects closely resembles the rest of the group (fig. 6). None ditionally, there are three shafts (CS12-CS14) that appear to be of the eight tombs preserves evidence of any superstructure. associated with tomb CS10, the largest and deepest of the Second Although the juxtaposition of this Second Intermediate Period Intermediate Period tombs. necropolis to the earlier Middle Kingdom tombs is suggestive of

70 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015) a pattern of incremental growth of an evolving royal necropolis, ing would necessitate a major work force with central oversight the mode in which the Second Intermediate Period tombs relate over a long time frame. The archaeological evidence emerging at to the larger 13th Dynasty tombs demonstrates a less harmonious South Abydos presents a fascinating picture of a series of kings relationship. The tomb closest to S10, that of Seneb-Kay, occupies of the Second Intermediate Period who placed their burials near a walled area that appears originally to have contained an offer­ tombs of the most prominent rulers of the late Middle Kingdom. ing chapel and related elements connected with the earlier 13th But, it was Seneb-Kay and his contemporaries who appear them­ Dynasty structure. The construction of Seneb-Kay’s tomb con­ selves to have initiated the systematic desecration and plunder­ tributed to the denudation of this area, as the builders inserted ing of those earlier royal tombs beneath the Mountain-of-Anubis. the later king’s tomb into the walled enclosure of the earlier 13th Dynasty structure. Both the architecture and the funer­ ary equipment within Seneb- Kay s tomb make use of spolia drawn from 13th Dynasty elite and royal mortuary structures. Seneb-Kay’s burial chamber was constructed of reused limestone blocks that had been disassembled from a group of decorated mortuary chapels belonging to high ranking of­ ficials of the mid-late 13th Dy­ nasty (Cahail 2015). Remarkably, the canopic chest of Seneb-Kay (fig. 7a- b) was fashioned from cut- down cedar boards that had once composed the painted outer coffin of a king Sobek- hotep (evidently the same king associated with tomb Figure 5. Burial chambers of tombs CS8 (behind) and CS10 (front). CS8 is a typical slab-lined burial chamber while CS10 S10). Among the anonymous employs a monolithic limestone chamber. Photographs by Josef Wegner. tombs at the northern end of the Second Intermediate Pe­ riod necropolis we have evidence for a continued process of ex­ A Regional Dynasty of Upper Egyptian Rulers? ploiting materials from S10. Tomb CS6, the northeastern tomb The archaeological picture at South Abydos suggests a densely clus­ of the central cluster, was constructed with a ca. 60-ton reused tered royal necropolis including a succession of tombs built in se­ quartzite sarcophagus chamber that had been extracted from quence. Spatially, the cemetery appears to follow a generally south the substructure of S10 some 80 meters away (Wegner 2014; to north progression. The tomb of Seneb-Kay is the earliest pres­ Wegner and Cahail 2014). This implies not just the despoiling ently known, while the tomb at the northern-east corner of the main of that tomb and its funerary equipment, but the extensive de- group (CS6) appears to be one of the latest in the sequence. Ceramics construction of its architecture culminating in the removal of associated with the tombs confirm a general date range in the post- the burial chamber for reuse during the Second Intermediate 13th Dynasty Upper Egyptian Second Intermediate Period. Other Period (fig. 8). dating evidence provides more specific chronological indications. The evidence recovered so far suggests that during the con­ Of greatest chronological value is the decoration in the struction of the Second Intermediate Period tombs the two burial chamber of Seneb-Kay which establishes a set of specific neighboring 13th Dynasty royal tombs were targets for state- iconographic parallels with tomb chapels dated to the middle sponsored plundering, potentially motivated by political rea­ 16th Dynasty in El-Kab and Hierakonpolis (Wegner 2015). In sons, but perhaps more fundamentally reflecting a declining particular, distinct artistic parallels with the tomb of Sobe- economic situation and curtailed access to raw materials such as knakht II, governor of El-Kab, suggest that Seneb-Kay was a cedar, metals, and finer quality building stones. Not coinciden­ close contemporary of that official whose career can be placed tally, evidence from the nearby tomb of Senwosret III suggests on historical evidence in the middle of the 16th Dynasty. Con­ that it, too, was broken into and plundered during the Second sequently, Seneb-Kay is a king whose reign falls ca. 1650-1600 Intermediate Period (Wegner 2007, 2009). Due to the scale of b.c .e ., coeval with the early-middle 16th Dynasty and the early- that tomb and its immense blocking system, successful plunder­ middle Hylcsos Period.

NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015) 71

'•A*,./- Seneb-Kay’s decorated burial chamber provides hints at a mentary state of the list, enough is preserved to see clearly that king who may have reigned early in the formation of an indepen­ the first two kings both employ the same structure to their pre­ dent Upper Egyptian dynasty. The name of Seneb-Kay, recorded nomen: Woser-X-re. Remarkably, this pattern corresponds with in painted texts in his burial chamber, is significant. While his the prenomen of king Seneb-Kay - Woseribre - now established throne name, Woseribre, follows conventional structure incor­ from his decorated burial chamber at South Abydos (fig. 10). porating the name of the solar deity Re, there are no other known Building on the evidence provided by the king’s nomen this individuals with his particular nomen or birth name (fig. 9). raises the possibility that the Turin Kinglist recorded a dynastic Conceivably Seneb-Kay is an unattested name variant. However succession initiated by two kings: a Woser///re Seneb followed the names Seneb and Kay in­ dependently are well attested. Equally viable is the possibil­ ity that this king employed a filiative nomen in which the name of father and son are placed in direct juxtaposition: the nomen in this case is to be understood as Senebs (son) Kay. The filiative nomen was a technique for expressing de­ scent known particularly dur­ ing the earlier 13th Dynasty, a century before Seneb-Kay. It appears possible that Seneb- Kay may have adopted the same practice somewhat later in time, as a way of asserting filial association, particularly relevant if his father was king. In this case the royal sequence may include two kings: a king Seneb and his son Woseribre, Senebfs son)-Kay. With the discovery of Wo­ seribre Seneb-Kay we are now provided with archaeological evidence that may elucidate one of the most problematic sections of the well-known Turin Kinglist. Preserved sec­ tions of the Turin Kinglist include entries for the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th Dynasties. Figure 6. The tomb of Seneb-Kay following excavation in January 2014. Photograph by Josef Wegner. Following the entries and summation for the 16th Dy­ nasty (Column 11) the document begins with a new dynastic by Woseribre (Senebs son Kay). Although, other interpretations sequence that is unfortunately broken away after the first two of such a name can be proposed (for instance the statement “Kay names. Following a lacuna of eight lines the list then contin­ is healthy:” Schneider 2006). ues with five partial royal names. Consequently, we have a suc­ The tentative placement of Seneb-Kay as one of two kings at the cession of kings preserved in seven partial names. There is no beginning of a dynastic succession fits with the archaeological evi­ summation line and the document must have continued onto a dence from the Second Intermediate Period necropolis at Abydos. now-missing column. Seneb-Kays tomb appears to date relatively early in a sequence that Several scholars have suggested that this part of the Turin continued with the addition of at least seven further tombs slightly Kinglist may represent a continuation from the Theban 16th further to the north. With iconographic evidence suggesting a date to 17th Dynasty (Allen 2010, Bennet 2006). However, none of for Seneb-Kay contemporary with Sobeknakht II at El-Kab we have the fragmentary names correspond with Theban rulers known a sequence of kings buried at South Abydos but ruling at the same through the archaeological and textual record. Despite the frag­ time as the ’fheban 16th Dynasty. Who were these kings?

72 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015) It might appear tempting to simply identify the South Abydos whose rulership broadly paralleled that of the Theban 16th Dy­ necropolis as a group of ephemeral rulers belonging within the nasty (hence their placement directly after that dynasty in the Theban succession of Dynasties 16-17. However, the archaeo­ Turin Kinglist). They appear to be a succession of kings who ulti­ logical evidence from South Abydos, and indeed the Egyptian mately lost their independence as part of political events that led historical record provided by the Turin Kinglist, suggests oth- up to the Theban ascendancy of the 17th Dynasty (fig. 11).

Evidence of the Human Remains The Second Intermediate Period tombs excavated thus far at South Abydos all suffered extensive robbery in ancient times. Concomi­ tant with the plundering of the tomb assemblages the remains of the tomb occupants were damaged and disarticulated but discard­ ed in the immediate vicinity. Human remains have been recovered in association with five of the eight tombs. All of the burials belong to individual mature males. There is no evidence for multiple or secondary interments. The remains are all skeletonized but with indications that the bodies were originally mummified. Subse­ quent loss of flesh and linen wrappings occurred through damage and exposure associated with tomb robbery. The most complete bodies are those of Seneb-Kay (fig. 12), excavated amongst re­ mains of his burial assemblage on the floor of his tomb, and the

Figure 7a-b. The disarticulated body of king Seneb-Kay (during excavation, above) lay associated with the remains of his burial assemblage including his canopic chest which had been made from coffin board| bearing the name of an earlier king Sobekhotep (below), as well as his painted coffin and funerary mask. aS Photographs by Josef Wegner. '"■'5; ------a f erwise. These appear to be kings whqgtpade use of Abydos as their burial ground and whose territorial control was therefore centered in Middle Egypt and the northern part of Upper Egypt. Prior to the discovery of the Second Intermediate Period royal necropolis at South Abydos, Kim Ryholt proposed in a reanalysis of the historical records for the Second Intermediate Period that the beginning of the Hyksos Period was associated with the de­ feat and conquest of the city of Itj-Tawy, thereby terminating the 13th Dynasty. In the political vacuum that resulted Upper Egypt fragmented into two kingdoms: a Theban rump-state ruled by the 16th Dynasty, and a short-lived series of kings centered on the region of Abydos, for which Ryholt coined the term “Abydos Dynasty” (Ryholt 1997). This unnumbered dynasty is presumably one that fell out of the standard royal dynastic canon known from later sources such as Manetho, but was included as a separate royal grouping anonymous occupant of tomb CS10, the majority of whose body within the earlier Turin Kinglist which was compiled from ear­ was recovered from debris within and adjacent to his burial cham­ lier sources during the Ramesside Period. Although doubts have ber. Additional partially preserved remains include a cranium been expressed regarding the historical evidence for an “Abydos from tomb CS5 and post-cranial elements (CS11). Dynasty” (Maree 2010), the archaeological evidence from South During 2015 Maria Rosado and Jane Hill completed detailed Abydos, paired with correlation of the prenomen of Seneb-Kay osteological analysis of the human remains with significant re­ with the fragmentary Column 11 entries in the Turin Kinglist sults particularly deriving from the two more complete individ­ lends considerable weight to the basic thesis of an “Abydos Dy­ uals. King Seneb-Kay was a man whose age at death was 35-40. nasty” originally proposed by Ryholt. His height can be calculated in the range between 5’6 and 5’10.” Although we yet lack direct evidence for the territorial scope, He was right-handed with evidence on the muscle attachments and location of their capital, the archaeological picture emerg­ for significant development associated with repeated use of his ing from South Abydos is suggestive that the early and middle right arm in fairly strenuous physical activity. He had sustained Hyksos Period was associated with a higher degree of political recent blows to the right side of the face and clavicle which had fragmentation than is usually ascribed to Egypt in the simpli­ partially healed. Seneb-Kay’s body preserves evidence for life­ fied model of Hyksos/Theban territorial bifurcation. Seneb-Kay ending trauma caused by a massive assault involving bladed and associated rulers at South Abydos may be independent kings weapons. Seneb-Kay’s skeleton preserves sixteen significant

NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015) 73 cuts that penetrated to the bone. The locations extend from the cranium to the feet but with the majority con­ centrated on the king’s lower body: his lower back, knees and ankles (fig. 13). Cuts of significant force include a blow to his right ankle that severed his Achilles tendon as well as cuts through the right patella and sacrum. The wounds to the lower body would have rendered the king severely incapacitated. The upper body includes cuts to the fingers on both sides and a set of three major blows to the cranium: one to the front and two to the back. Of the cranial wounds the blow to the front is best pre­ served (fig. 14). This wound was significant enough in scale that independent of the trauma to the lower body it would have ended Seneb- Kay’s life within minutes. This blow created a series of radi­ Figure 8. Tomb CS6, at the northeastern limit of the tomb cluster, this tomb makes use of the reused ca. 60-ton sarcophagus chamber extracted from nearby tomb S10. Photograph by Josef Wegner. ating fractures as the entire leading edge of the bladed flecting strongly developed adductor muscles, as well as gluteal weapon embedded into the king’s skull. The curvature, width and and adductor extoses. Seneb-Kay displays a full roster of marked cross section of the blade are preserved in the cranial bone. The long-term stresses to the lower body consistent with equid riding weapon was a 4.5 cm wide convex blade. The parameters show the since childhood: features that have been recognized as indicators characteristic form of a Second Intermediate Period battle axe. for long term horse riding in other skeletal populations in the The nature and extent of the trauma to Seneb-Kay’s body rep­ ancient Near East (Molleson and Blondiaux 1994). resent an attack that certainly must have involved multiple assail­ In view of the evidence from the skeleton of Seneb-Kay, let ants. The extensive trauma to the lower body indicates strongly us turn to briefly discuss the other nearly-complete body exca­ that the king initially was in an elevated position relative to his vated at South Abydos. The individual buried in tomb CS10 was attackers; the cuts to his ankles, knees and lower back likely had a shorter man (ca. 5’4”-5 ’6”) than Seneb-Kay. He also died at ap­ the goal of bringing him to the ground and incapacitating him. proximately 35-40 years of age, although with no indications for The blows to the cranium, including the massive axe wound to a traumatic death. This man was shorter but more robustly built the front of his skull, in all likelihood represent the final blows than Seneb-Kay. He was left-handed; his left arm displays sig­ of this life-ending assault. Although the body was disarticulated nificant development of the muscle attachments consistent with and damaged by tomb robbers, remains of flesh and linen wrap­ long-term repetitive athletic activities. Significantly, evidence pings demonstrate that embalming of the body occurred a sig­ from the lower body is consistent with Seneb-Kay and he too nificant time after the king’s death. Wherever this fatal encounter shows an array of diagnostic features on the pelvis and femurs occurred, the king’s followers managed to retrieve his body but indicative of long term horse riding. a significant interval must have elapsed prior to mummification If Seneb-Kay and the anonymous king buried in CS10 were and burial at Abydos. both long-term horse riders, the distinctive patterns to the array A notable result of the recent forensic analysis is that the of wounds on Seneb-Kay’s body becomes explicable. Seneb-Kay patterns of trauma to Seneb-Kay may correlate with evidence may in fact have been attacked while on horseback. A plausible for specific stresses to his body during his lifetime. The king’s scenario is that Seneb-Kay was assailed while mounted, with the lower body displays a set of distinctively developed muscle at­ cuts to his ankles, knees and lower back reflecting the need to tachments, particularly the attachments of the upper femurs. dislodge him. Once he was knocked to the ground he may have Diagnostic features include strongly developed linea aspera re­ briefly attempted to defend himself resulting in further cuts to

74 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015) his hands and fingers. The axe wounds to his cranium were the culminating blows in the assault that killed the king. Evidence for long-term equid riding, and the pos­ sibility that Seneb-Kay was attacked while on horseback, raises a host of significant questions. The appearance and initial adaptation of hors­ es in the Nile Valley has been long debated, particularly since the discovery in 1958 of a horse skeleton with possible bit-wear at the Egyptian for­ tress site of Buhen in Lower Nubia. Based on stratigraphic evidence, Walter Emery dated the skeleton to the late 13th Dynasty (ca. 1675 b .c .e .). Numerous scholars have questioned this early date of the Buhen horse. Recent re­ appraisal of the evidence has affirmed the viability, though not certainty, of the Second

Figure 9 (above). The name of Seneb-Kay in the CS9 burial chamber, including his nomen, Woseribre (left), and text band with his longer titulary, “The good god, the lord of the two-lands, lord of ritual, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Woseribre, son of Re, Seneb-Kay, justified.” Photographs by Josef Wegner. Figure 10 (bottom left). Possible association of Woseribre Seneb-Kay and his predecessor with the Woser-X-Re entries in the Turin Kinglistand the tentative placement of “Abydos Dynasty" kings in the Kinglist following the Theban 16,h Dynasty. Diagram, Josef Wegner with facsimile of Turin Kinglist Column 11 from A. Gardiner, The Royal Canon of Turin (1959). Figure 11 (bottom right). Suggested chronological position of the Second Intermediate Period tombs at South Abydos Diagram, Josef Wegner.

13th Dynasty 15th Dynasty (Itj-Tawy) Hyksos 16th Dynasty (Thebes) j ca. 1650 BCE Sckhemre-semcmawy Djehuty Sooth Abydos Second Intermediate Sekhemre-sewosertwawy Sobekhotcp Period Royal Necropolis Sekhemrc-sankhtawy Ncferhotcp (III)

Sankhre Mentuhotepi

Sewadjenre Nebiriau I Sobcknakht (1) El-Kab

Nebiriau II WoserHire (Scneb) ?

Semenre Horcmkhaucf (Hierakonpolis) Woseribre Seneb-Kay (CS9) Sobeknakht (II) (El-Kab) Sewoserenre Bebiankh

Sekhemre-shedwaset Anonymous Tombs CS8 5 kings (Turin Kinglist 11/10-11/14) CS10 CS4 CS5 Turin Kinglist 11/18-31 CS7 < ------,7) CSI1 CS6 17th Dynasty (Thebes) a ca. 1600 BCE 3

Intermediate Period date (Raulwing and Clutton-Brock 2009). Moreover, new evidence for horses in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period has emerged recently. In 2009 the skeleton of a five to ten year old mare was discovered at Tell el-Dab’a in a building dated to the middle Hyksos king Khayan. This date lends further direct evidence for the presence of horses in the Nile Valley during a timeframe contemporary with Seneb-Kay and the early-middle Hyksos Period. It is well established through the Egyptian textual record that extensive use of horses and chariots occurred during the Hyksos wars of the Theban 17th Dynasty kings Kamose and Ahmose, ca.

NF.AR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015) 75 1550 b .c . e .. Yet, there has been considerable scholarly resistance Questions of Political Organization to the notion of horses entering Egypt and being adapted into and Dynastic Conflict elite and military activities prior to this era. It is quite improb­ The physical remains of Seneb-Kay demonstrate that he died in a able that the complex practices of horse raising, breaking, and violent confrontation. The body also shows evidence for substan­ riding appeared “overnight” in the company of chariot technol­ tial decay of soft-tissue prior to mummification and wrapping. The ogy at the end of the Hyksos Period. Moreover, some scholars event that led to his death occurred at considerable distance from appear to inadequately account for the differences between the his burial place at Abydos. Interestingly, the physical evidence large-scale use of horse riding in military combat (a develop- may correlate with the architecture and decoration of the tomb

Figure 12 (above). Skeleton of Woseribre Seneb-Kay, recovered among remains of his burial equipment in the pole-roof chamber of tomb CS9. Photograph by Josef Wegner. Figure 13 (below). Locations of perimortem trauma, skeleton of Seneb-Kay: anterior view (left) and posterior view (right). Diagram, Jane Hill. ment which post-dates the itself. The relatively modest Late Bronze Age) with other tomb was constructed with forms of horse riding in mili­ extensive use of reused lime­ tary movements and by elite stone blocks and reworking of and royal levels of society. funerary equipment from ear­ Indeed, some scholars have lier royal tombs at South Aby­ long recognized indications dos. The decoration in Seneb- that horse riding was being Kay’s burial chamber appears adapted, possibly as early as to have been rapidly painted the late Middle Kingdom, as and, in fact, remained incom­ part of military scouting and plete at the time of the king’s rapid movements (Schulman interment. The fact that the 1957). Horse riding may have decoration was attenuated is been used in military tac­ suggested by black guidelines tics, and by elite levels of the the artists used to delineate ar­ military prior to the advent of eas of the walls for decoration. chariot technology in Egypt. Horses may well have a history in A set of framed, but empty, sections imply that the artists never gift exchanges among elites during the Middle Bronze Age in­ completed planned sections of the decoration. The implication is dependent of chariot technology (Bibby 2003). Seneb-Kay and that the tomb may have been rapidly built, and quickly painted, the anonymous occupant of tomb CS10 both appear to be kings during a window of time that might have occurred immediately actively involved in military campaigning during this fractured after the unexpected death of the king. era of Egypt’s late Second Intermediate Period. Contrary to some Of considerable historical interest is the nature and location recent opinion (Shaw 2009), kings of this era appear likely to of the martial encounter that led to Seneb-Kay’s death. Until have had an integral role in developing military traditions, fore­ the discovery of Seneb-Kay the 17th Dynasty Theban king Se- runners to the better documented warrior pharaohs of Egypt’s qenenre-Tao was the earliest known Egyptian king whose physi­ early New Kingdom. cal remains indicate that he died in battle. Seneb-Kay predates

76 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015) Seqenenre but the evidence for his death in battle is comparable political rivals. To the south lay the Theban kingdom ruled by in a number of respects to the case of Seqenenre. Both kings dis­ the 16th Dynasty. To the north the Hyksos 15th Dynasty and play significant trauma effected by multiple weapons and sub­ a possible array of vassal rulers would have dominated the stantial axe wounds in the cranium. Both show evidence for the Nile Delta. At the beginning of this era the vestiges of the 13th elapse of a significant post-mortem period prior to the prepara­ Dynasty may have still controlled the area around the Middle tion of the body for burial. The mummy of Seqenenre has been Kingdom royal capital at Itj-Tawy, even after secession of Upper widely accepted to reflect a confrontation with the Hyksos, or Egypt (Ilin-Tomich 2014). northern vassals of the Hyksos, associated with the early stages Moreover, the artistic synchronism between the tomb of in the outbreak of military hostilities between the Theban 17th Seneb-Kay and the chapel of Sobeknakht II at El-Kab suggests Dynasty and Hyksos 15th Dynasty. Analysis of the wound pat­ that Seneb-Kay ruled during a time when Upper Egypt was sub­ terns suggest that Seqenenre was also elevated relative to his at­ ject to significant military incursions from Nubia. The signifi­ tackers, a position which Bietak has suggested shows use of a war cant scope of one attempted invasion by a coalition of Nubian chariot at this stage (Bietak and Strouhal 1974), although other groups is recorded in a recently identified text in Sobeknakht’s interpretations have been entertained. chapel at El-Kab (Davies 2003). Kings buried at Abydos may Possibilities for the conflict that led to the death of Seneb- have been involved through alliances with Upper Egyptian poli­ Kay depend on the specific date of the king’s reign and the ties, particularly the Theban 16th Dynasty, in repelling such at­ evolving political context of the kings buried in the South tacks from the south. At the present time it appears that Seneb- Abydos cemetery. While warfare against the Hyksos appears Kay’s death may be attributed to military activities against any to be a viable explanation, Seneb-Kay and the seven anony­ of these potential adversaries. mous burials at Abydos date to an earlier, and quite likely more Based on the archaeology of the cemetery at South Abydos, fractured political situation than was the case during the later the death of Seneb-Kay does not appear to be linked to events Second Intermediate Period when Egypt had coalesced around that brought an end to his dynasty. Evidently he was succeeded the two rival kingdoms of the Hyksos 15th Dynasty and Theban by at least seven other rulers of comparable status suggesting the 17th Dynasty. long-term continuity of a regional kingdom that managed to If we accept the evidence in favor of Seneb-Kay and the sev­ maintain itself for a significant time period. Continued archaeo­ en other similar tombs representing an independent kingdom, logical work at South Abydos promises to add further evidence the “Abydos Dynasty,” then we may plausibly suggest that this on the political history associated with these newly identified was a kingdom geographically flanked by a mosaic of potential Second Intermediate Period kings.

Figure 14. Cranial wound preserving the impression of a battle axe in the skull of Seneb-Kay. Photograph by Josef Wegner.

NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 78:2 (2015) 77 Acknowledgments Its Rise, Administration and Politics. Journal of Egyptian History I would like to thank the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities 7: 143-93. for ongoing support of the archaeological research program at South Maree, Marcel. 2010. A Sculpture Workshop at Abydos from the Late Abydos. Among the many Egyptian colleagues who have been in­ Sixteenth or Early Seventeenth Dynasty. Pp. 275-77 in Tire Second volved I would like particularly to note the current chairman, Dr. Intermediate Period: Current Research, Future Prospects, ed. Marcel Mamdouh el Damaty, as well as Mr. Gamal Abd el-Naser and Mr. Maree. Leuven: Uitgeverij Peters and Department Oosterse Studies. Ashraf Okasha of the Sohag-Abydos Inspectorates. For their work on Molleson, Theya and Joel Blondiaux. 1994. Riders’ Bones from Kish, documenting the South Abydos tombs particular thanks to Dr. Jen­ Iraq. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 4.2: 312-16 nifer Houser Wegner and Dr. Kevin Cahail. Work in 2013-2015 has Raulwing, Peter and Juliet Clutton-Brock. 2009. The Buhen Horse: benefited from ongoing institutional support from the Penn Muse­ Fifty Years after Its Discovery (1958-2008). Journal of Egyptian um, University of Pennsylvania, particularly research funds through History 2.1-2: 1-106. the Office of Director, Dr. Julian Siggers, as well as major support Ryholt, Kim. 1997. The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second from Mr. Rick Rockwell, Elizabeth Jean Walker and Dr. Charles K. Intermediate Period c. 1800-1550 B.C. Carsten Niehbuhr Institute Williams. The 2014-2015 research on the human remains and sci­ Publications 20. Copenhagen. entific analysis was substantially supported by funding from the Na­ Schneider, Thomas 2006. Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Pe­ tional Geographic Society Expeditions Council. The Penn Museum riod. Pp. 168-96 in Ancient Egyptian Chronology, eds. ErikHornung, excavations at South Abydos form part of the combined Pennsylva­ Rolf Krauss, and David Warburton. Leiden: Brill. nia-Yale-Institute of Fine Arts/NYU Expedition to Abydos.? Schulman, Alan. 1957. Egyptian Representations of Horsemen and Riding in the New Kingdom. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 16.4:263-71. References Shaw, Garry. 2009. The Death of King Seqenenre Tao. Journal of the Allen, James. 2010. The Second Intermediate Period in the Turin American Research Center in Egypt 45:159-76. King-List. Pp. 1-10 in The Second Intermediate Period: Current Wegner, Josef. 2007. The Mortuary Temple of Senwosret III at Abydos. Research, Future Prospects, ed. Marcel Maree. Leuven: Uitgeverij Publications of the Pennsylvania-Yale-Institute of Fine Arts Expe­ Peters and Department Oosterse Studies. dition: New Haven and Philadelphia. Bennett, Chris. 2006. Genealogy and Chronology of the Second Inter­ ------. 2009. The Tomb of Senwosret III at Abydos: Considerations mediate Period. Agypten und Levante 16: 231-43. on the Origins and Development of the Royal Amduat-Tomb.” Bibby, Miriam. 2003. The Arrival of the Horse in Egypt: New Ap­ Pp. 103-69 in Archaism and Innovation: Studies in the Culture of proaches and a Hypothesis. Pp. 13-18 in Current Research in Middle Kingdom Egypt. Publications of the Pennsylvania-Yale- Egyptology III, eds. Rachel Ives, Daniel Lines, Christopher Naun- Institute of Fine Arts Expedition: New Haven and Philadelphia. ton, and Nina Wahlberg. Oxford: Archaeopress. . 2014. Kings of Abydos: Solving an Ancient Egyptian Mystery. Bietak, Manfred and Eugen Strouhal. 1974. Die Todesumstande Current World Archaeology 64: 18-25. des Pharaos Seqenere' (17. Dynastie): Vorbericht. Annalen des ------. 2015 (in press). Woseribre Senebkay: A Newly Identified Upper Naturhistorischen Museums Wien 78: 29-52. Egyptian King of the Second Intermediate Period. In The Age of Cahail, Kevin. 2015 (in press). A Family of Thirteenth Dynasty High Khyan, eds. Irene Forstner-Muller and Nadine Moeller. Officials: New Evidence from South Abydos. Journal of the Ameri­ Wegner, Josef and Kevin Cahail. 2014. Ancient Reuse: The Discovery can Research Center in Egypt 51. of a Royal Sarcophagus Chamber. Expedition 56:1, 19-23. Davies, W. Vivian. 2003. Sobeknakht’s Hidden Treasure. British Muse­ ------. 2015 (in press). Royal Funerary Equipment of a King Sobekho- um Magazine 46: 18-19. tep at South Abydos: Evidence for the Tomb of Sobekhotep IV? Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. 2014. The Theban Kingdom of Dynasty 16: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 51.

Josef Wegner is Associate Professor of Egyptian Archaeology in the Department of Near East­ ern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also Associate Curator in the Egyptian Section, Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. He has been con­ ducting excavations at South Abydos since 1996. His primary areas of research include adminis­ tration and urbanism during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom. His publications include: The Mortuary Temple of Senwosret III at Abydos (2007); Archaism and Innovation: Studies in the Culture of Middle Kingdom Egypt (2009); and Akhenaten and Tutankhamun: Revolution and Restoration (2009), and forthcoming volumes on the archaeology of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period.

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