SOME OLD KINGDOM SEALINGS FROM MENDES: I1

Donald B. Redford Pennsylvania State University

The current excavations at Mendes have concen- Scattered over floors and adjacent surfaces asso- trated on the royal necropolis (1992–1995), the ciated with these were a series of about a dozen two harbors (1991, 1994, 1997), and the main tem- fragments of clay sealings. Several pieces seemed ple of Banebdjed (1996, 1999 to present).2 While to represent impressions of the same seal, and the first two areas have largely escaped the ran- these are offered here for the reader’s perusal. sacking of modern treasure hunters, the temple was extensively pillaged of its statuary and re- liefs both in the Middle Ages and in the nine- AJ-A 280 (fig. 2) teenth century. Such depredation notwithstand- ing, a number of significant fragments of texts This small lump, with perforation for suspension, and reliefs has come to light in recent seasons shows the serekh of Hor-aha5 as its principal fea- from the area of the temple. Five Old Kingdom ture. The falcon’s feet are extended down within sealings in particular are chosen for publication the rectangle and are transformed into a sweep- here, for the light they shed on certain specific ing arm holding the shield, and beneath a hor- historical and stratigraphic problems. Excava- izontal “bar” for the arm with weapon. Unless tions due west of the entry to the naos court3 were it is a flaw in either the seal or the clay, which carried out in units AJ-A/B and AJ-U, and pro- both seem unlikely, the bird is also equipped with vided the deepest stratigraphic sounding of third a baton held diagonally.6 Before the serekh, at millennium materials to date at the site (fig. 1). aslightlydifferent angle,7 is a reed leaf, which Placed so as to abut the western wall of the tem- in another fragment is accompanied by two cimaˇ ple, these units penetrated through c. 4.5 meters (Gardiner V 13). The resultant itt is undoubtedly ¯ of domestic deposition beginning at the top with an imperfective active participle8 from the root ı"tı", ¯ the First Intermediate Period and terminating “to seize”9 in the sense of “take rightful possession with the Early Dynastic Period. At this, the lowest of.”10 level so far reached,4 a series of light, mud-brick Word groups in the first part of the Early structures with curvilinear walls came to light. Dynastic Period that stand next to serekhs, or

1 Itisapleasuretobeabletooffer this brief study as a 4 Corings suggest that Predynastic occupation extends tribute to my old, dear friend Richard Fazzini, who worked to as much as 4 meters below the Early Dynastic levels. so long ago at Mendes, and whom I first met at the site in 5 Peter Kaplony, Die Inschriften der ägyptischen Frühzeit 3, the mid-’60s. ÄA 8 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1963), Taf. 10–12;Wolf- 2 See Donald B. Redford et al., “Three Seasons in gang Helck, Untersuchungen zur Thinitenzeit,ÄA45 (Wies- Egypt, 3. The First Season of Excavations at Mendes baden: Harrassowitz, 1987), 144–151;JürgenvonBeckerath, [1991],” JSSEA 18 (1988 [published 1992]): 49–79;Redford, Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen,MÄS49 (Mainz: Philipp “Interim Report on the Second Campaign of Excavations at von Zabern, 1999), 38–39. Mendes (1992),” JSSEA 21/22 (1991–1992 [published 1994]): 6 Cf. Kaplony, Inschriften 3,Taf.5,Abb.5 (Ashmolean 1–12; Redford, “Mendes,” in L’Égypte du Delta: les capitales E 3915 [Narmer with baton]), Helck, Thinitenzeit, 146 (Hor- du nord, ed. Jean Yoyotte, Dossiers d’Archéologie 213 (Di- aha with hoe). jon: Ed. Faton, January 5, 1996); Redford, The Excavations 7 Perhaps part of a second impression of the clay. at Mendes,vol.1, The Royal Necropolis (Leiden: Brill, 2004). See 8 Elmar Edel, Altägyptische Grammatik (Rome: Pontificium alsotheforthcoming“InterimReportontheTempleofthe Institutum Biblicum, 1958), §630bb. Ram-god at Mendes,” in Delta Notes and News 1 (2006), and 9 Rather than ı"tt, “to fly,” Ranier Hannig, Ägyptisches Excavations at Mendes, 2: The Temple of Ba-neb-djed and Environs, Wörterbuch 1 (Mainz:¯ Philipp von Zabern, 2003), 240. Leiden, 2007. 10 Elke Blumenthal, Untersuchungen zum ägyptischen König- 3 See Donald P. Hansen, “Mendes 1965 and 1966,” tum des Mittleren Reiches 1 (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1970), JARCE 6 (1967): fig. 2. 173–174;M.Schade-Busch,Zur Königsideologie Amenophis’ III some old kingdom sealings from mendes: i199 between repeating serekhs, have been taken to expected in the Delta, under the attraction of be names of princes, sons of the king denoted such words as ity (“sovereign”), and Tty (personal by the serekh.11 This is unlikely. First, these are name).14 Other suggested derivations of the Greek not plausibly understood as names; they have do not do justice, either to the phonetic structure no currency nor obvious derivation during the of the word, nor the social context in which the time period in question. Second, in numerous word came into existence.15 cases where signs appear in association with a serekh, the result is not a phonetic group, but a mnemotechnic device designed to trigger an AJ-U I 27 idea.12 Third, in a “Big Man” society, such as the incipient kingship certainly was, reference Four sealing fragments come from this locus. to members of the family, nuclear or extended, Three, apparently showing impressions of the apart from the mother, was not countenanced. It same seal, are given in fig. 3. Common to all is much more likely that these ancillary groups three is the writing of what appears to be the are to be construed as qualifiers of the presence sh. shrine (Gardiner 021).16 Once (b) it is accom- signified by the occupant of the serekh, and stand panied by the sign of a building with a vaulted in direct line with earlier protoliterate devices roof, presumably the pr-nw (Gardiner 020).17 The conveying the power and swiftness of the “Big shrine appears to be flanked on the left by what Man.” couldbetakentobethewhitecrownonadish.18 It is tempting to see in ı"tt,“theSeizer,”the Above is a partly preserved group which may be ¯ origin of the later name Αωις, second king of restored mı"[t]r,19 although to find this title alone— the 1st Dynasty, in the king-list tradition in the is there a hrp lost?20—might pose a problem for stage of its development reflected in Manetho.13 the Early Dynastic˘ Period.21 One might also con- By the New Kingdom, the faulty transmission of strue it as htm.ty,“sealer.” the remembered epithet had produced a form Two possible˘ writings of place names are too with a voiceless alveolar, aspirated as would be questionable to be insisted upon: it would be

(Hildesheim: Gerstenberg Verlag, 1992), 370;JoséM.Galan, Chicago (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960), pl. 37. Victory and Border: Terminology related to Egyptian Imperialism in 14 Wolfgang Helck, Manetho und die ägyptischen Königslisten, the XVIIIth Dynasty,HÄB40 (Hildesheim: Gerstenberg Ver- UGAÄ 18 (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1956), 9–10;Donald lag, 1995), 25;cf.Wb 1, 149:6, 16–19, 150:5;KurtSethe,Ägyp- B. Redford, Pharaonic Kinglists, Annals and Day-books (Missis- tische Lesestücke (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs, 1928), 65:23, 67:13; sauga: Benben Publications, 1986), 210 n. 22;vonBeckerath, Hannig, Ägyptisches Wörterbuch 1, 237–240; for its use in per- Handbuch, 38. sonal names in the Early Dynastic Period see Jochem Kahl, 15 Few will wish to introduce Gardiner’s putative itr.ty,his ed., Frühägyptische Wörterbuch (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, “personal” name for “King Serpent” (Sir Alan H. Gardiner, 2002), 65. “The Personal Name of King Serpent,” JEA 44 [1958]: 38– 11 Kaplony, Inschriften 3,Taf.29,Abb.78(A–D) (ht), 39): apart from the dubious nature of its status as a “name,” 79 (rhyt), 80 (sA "Ist), 81 (ity); Helck, Thinitenzeit, 179;von the sequence i +t +r would have produced a phonemic Beckerath,˘ Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen, 32–33. evolution which would not have led to Αωις,asHeb. 12 Jan Vansina, Oral Tradition as History (Madison: Uni- øåàéattests. It seems very doubtful that the Greek versity of Wisconsin Press, 1985), 44; examples from the derives in any manner from ht. (N. Dautzenberg, “Zum Early Dynastic Period include stakes (Kaplony, Inschriften 3, König Ityi der 1.Dynastie,”GM 69 [1983]: 33–35). More no. 26A–B), mace (ibid., no. 34), standards (ibid., nos. 175A– likely ht. is to be explained as h(w).t(y). , “smiter,” in which B), “yellow-face”+mace+running king (ibid., no. 211), bull t(y) is the affixofexpectedorcustomaryaction:SirAlan (ibid., no. 18); M. Berger, “Predynastic Animal-headed Boats H. Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar, Being an Introduction to the Study from Hierakonpolis and Southern Egypt,” in The Followers of of Hieroglyphs, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Griffith Institute, 1957)§364; Horus, ed. Renée Friedman and Barbara Adams (Oxford: Edel, Altägyptische Grammatik §682. Oxbow Books, 1992), 108,fig.1. 16 Jochem Kahl, Das System der ägyptischen Hieroglyphen- 13 W.G. Waddell, trans., Manetho (Cambridge: Harvard schrift in der 0.-3. Dynastie, Göttinger Orientforschungen 4, University Press, 1940), 28, 30. The medical treatise with Reihe: Ägypten, 29. (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1994), 634. which he is credited (Dietrich Wildung, Die Rolle ägyptischer 17 Ibid., 634 (Hotepsekhemwy). Könige im Bewusstsein ihrer Nachwelt 1: Posthume Quellen über die 18 Cf. Pierre Lacau and Jean-Philippe Lauer, La Pyramide Könige der ersten vier Dynastien,MÄS17 [Berlin: Hessling, 1969], àdegrés,vol.4, Inscriptions gravées sur les vases (Cairo: IFAO, 20) apud Manetho is not reflected in the traditions of the 1959), no. 78 (Ny-neter), flanked significantly by a sh-n. tr. pharaonic period, when the reign of Den is credited with 19 Dilwyn Jones, An Index of Ancient Egyptian Titles,¯ Epithets similar textual discovery and invention: P. Ebers C 111, 1; and Phrases of the Old Kingdom (Oxford: Archeopress, 2000), P. B e r l i n 3038.xv.1ff.; E.A.W. Budge, Facsimiles of Egyptian no. 1571. Hieratic Papyri in the British Museum (London: British Museum, 20 Ibid., no. 2611. 1910), pl. 42; Thomas G. Allen, The Egyptian Book of the Dead: 21 Henry G. Fischer, “A Scribe of the Army of the Fifth Documents in the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Dynasty,” JNES 18 (1959): 262.