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The Book of the Amduat on Papyrus Zagreb E-605

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The Book of the Amduat on Papyrus Zagreb E-605 vamz / 3. serija / li (2o18) 55 THE BOOK OF THE AMDUAT ON PAPYRUS ZAGREB E-605 Igor Uranić Archaeological Museum in Zagreb Trg Nikole Šubića Zrinskog 19 HR-10000 Zagreb [email protected] UDK: 069(497.5 Zagreb).5:003.51(32) Izvorni znanstveni rad / Original scientific paper the Amduat, dated to the 21st or 22nd Dynasty, during the Third The paper deals with an ancient Egyptian text from the Intermediate Period. The text describes renewal of life in the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb collection. It provides the hier- natural cycle of the Sun at the end of the adventures of the joint oglyphic text, with its transliteration and translation, of Papyrus nocturnal journey of the god Re and a human soul. Zagreb E-605. The papyrus fragment contains hours 10–12 from Key words: Amduat, Papyrus Zagreb E-605, Sun-boat, underworld, hidden chamber, ico- nography, Duat, image, soul, night hours Amduat is a name used for a specific form of the Egyptian Book element of the funerary customs of the elite. At the same time, of the Netherworld,1 which was the most complex composition versions of the Amduat reach the coffins3 and papyri as well. The of eschatological texts during the New Kingdom (1550–1069 book was used until the Ptolemaic period. The main concern of BC). The earliest attestations of the Amduat (meaning “What is the Book of the Hidden Chamber is the regeneration of a human in the Netherworld”) appeared in the decoration of 18th dynasty soul supported by the Sun god, or even his own parallel renewal. royal tombs. The text was also named the Book of the Hidden The regeneration in the treatise flows through twelve sections Chamber and is closely connected with the development of until the soul of the dead person is revived on the horizon at the architecture2 of the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. the moment of the sunrise. Various obstacles and demonic crea- The earliest examples of the text are known from the burials of tures4 try to stop the sun boat, so the journey becomes a drama. Tuthmosis I and Hatshepsut, while the first complete versions Iconographic representations of different levels of Duat, of the were found in the tombs of the Pharaoh Tuthmosis III and his gods dwelling there, and also of the destiny of the human souls, vizier Useramun. Eighteenth-dynasty examples were written on provide numerous data about the ancient Egyptian concept of the walls of the burial chambers. During the second half of the the afterlife and ethics. The Amduat itself represents a further 21st Dynasty the book was accepted by the Theban priesthood, step towards the more profound esoteric concepts of Egyptian and from the Third Intermediate Period on it become a common eschatology. As such, the Amduat is diametrically opposed to the 1 Wente 1892; Budge 1905; Hornung 1999; 2007. 3 Duarte 2017, 137–144. 2 Roehrig 2007; Richter 2008. 4 Apophis, the great enemy of the Sun. 56 Igor uranIć: the book of the amduat on papyrus zagreb e-605 vamz / 3. serija / li (2o18) Figure 1. Papyrus Zagreb E-605 (photo by I. Krajcar). rather popular beliefs widespread in the Book of the Dead, pre- tury, and the fragment was recorded in the inventory book as inv. senting an authentic dualistic myth of the passage. The Sun and no. 605 (Papyrus Zagreb E-6056). It seems that part of the text has a soul are destined to travel through different reality-layers of been lost. The missing part of the papyrus may contain several the hidden world and to face degradation in primaeval darkness more ‘Amduat hours’ and even the name of the owner himself. It and resurrection at the end of the path. The Amduat is also based is also possible that the papyrus was never finished, due to the on unity with the Sun. The soul travels on the barque of Re. It fact that some sections in the lower register, below the text ar- could be said that the deceased unites with universal light. That ranged in columns and written in red ink, are left empty. could be assumed as a restoration of the primordial ideas of the solar religion based on the Old Kingdom cult of the Sun. On the left-hand side of the preserved papyrus fragment, cur- rently on show as part of the Museum’s permanent exhibition Description (149.5cm x 43.5cm), eight columns of the text, written in red ink, present the 10th hour of the Amduat. Within the main part of The Ancient Egyptian collection of the Archaeological Museum the papyrus, vignettes and texts are arranged in three registers in Zagreb owns an extensive fragment of the Amduat: three which symbolise the three realms: sky, earth and underworld. At chapters of the text, known as the 10th, 11th and 12th hours of the the very end of the fragment, at the right, there is a fragmentary night. The papyrus originally belonged to Franz Koller’s collec- preserved ellipsoid form – part of a cartouche on which a mum- tion. The collection5 was acquired by the Museum in the 19th cen- my lies – where the end of the soul’s journey through the 12 night 5 The main part of the Egyptian collection in the Museum was purchased 6 Published in: Monnet Saleh 1970, 165, cat. no. 883; Uranić 2007, 196, cat. no. from the Franz Koller inheritance in Prague. The collection of 1934 artefacts 444. was brought to Zagreb in April 1868. A more detailed history of the collection can be found in: Ljubić 1889, 1; Monnet Saleh 1970, 5; Mirnik, Uranić 1999, 197– 208; Tomorad 2003, 19–27; Uranić 2005, 5–6; Mirnik 2007, 16–22; Tomorad 2016, 327–329. vamz / 3. serija / li (2o18) Igor uranIć: the book of the amduat on papyrus zagreb e-605 57 hours is depicted and symbolised with the Sun in the form of a the image of the deceased and its magical role in successfully scarab elevating in the morning sky. The cartouche line seems passing through the levels of Duat with the help of the gods. to represent the sky. The text is placed in horizontal and vertical According to the text, the image was placed in the “hidden cham- squares. The papyrus was mentioned by A. Niwinski7 and dated8 ber.” Through magic, rituals and utterances, the image of the de- to 21st or 22nd Dynasty. If correct, this may mean that Papyrus ceased becomes able to unite with Re on his own journey to the Zagreb E-605 preserves one of the earlier versions of the Amduat horizon. Magical means, which implies knowledge of the names on papyrus. of the gods, are required of the soul. The horizontal text placed on the uppermost part of the papyrus states: “[If] their names Contents of the papyrus are known [he shall] travel and pass through Duat [and he shall] not be turned back from flying up before Re.” The fragment describes renewal of life in the natural cycle of the Sun at the end of the adventures of the joint nocturnal journey The vignettes on Papyrus Zagreb E-605 are arranged within three of the god Re and a human soul. The text consists of the so-called registers which are, as already mentioned, separated text frag- 10th, 11th and 12th ‘night hours’ of the book. The text is written ments. Two blocks consisting of three registers are separated by from the left towards the right side of the papyrus, where the squares of text, arranged in columns. The arrangement of icono- representation of the dawn and resurrection are symbolised by graphic and textual elements creates a ‘visual impression’ of six the scarab. The central motif of these three chapters (hours) is autonomous fields. On the left side of the papyrus surface, in the 7 Niwinski 1989, 376. 8 J. Monnet Saleh (Monnet Saleh 1970, 165, cat. no. 883) dated the papyrus to the New Kingdom, which is too early for the Amduat to appear on the medium of papyri. 58 Igor uranIć: the book of the amduat on papyrus zagreb e-605 vamz / 3. serija / li (2o18) upper register, nine anthropomorphic gods (facing East, stand- be one and the same. They, as well as the two-headed god on the ing or walking, three of them riding double-headed snakes) are left, symbolise the duality of the movement of time. Usually, in shown. In front of each of the figures, the god’s name is written. this part of the Amduat, Atum is represented with two wDAt eyes The central register displays four goddesses, two of them wear- above. The winged snake is an instrument of the god Atum, be- ing a white crown and the other two a red one. They are followed ing enabled to annihilate time. Of the winged snake (which is by the hieroglyph of Amenti, the double-headed god, and a red male), named “He who takes away the hours”, as well as of the crown. The lower register presents two snakes, each of them other (female) snake, it is said that “he (or she) swallows his (or named as anx(w) tA(wy) – “those who live in (Two) land(s)” – lift- her) images again.” The two eyes (not represented in the Zagreb ing up the sun disc. The scene described above, in many other Papyrus) are symbols of the Sun and the Moon. The two eyes examples, presents the images of two seated goddesses wearing meet in Duat on two bars (for example on texts of hypocephalus).
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