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Egyptian Kings (Dynasties I - Xvii) 1

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Egyptian Kings (Dynasties I - Xvii) 1 VOLUME III A PROSOFOGRAPHICAL REGISTER OF THE WIVES OF THE EGYPTIAN KINGS (DYNASTIES I - XVII) 1 PROSOPOGRAPHICAL.OUTLINE OF THE WIVES OF THE KINGS DYNASTIES I - XVII DYNASTY I QUEEN NT-HTP Temp. Narmer to Aha; Weeks (JARCE 9 [1971], p.31) has pointed out that the facade decoration on the tomb at Naqada, and mastaba 3357 at Saqqara have identical niche patterns to the decoration in the facade wall recently found at Hierakonpolis. Both the niche design, and the dimensions of the niches were identical. These monuments all date, in his opinion, to the time of Aha. Tomb: There is some doubt about this. While Emery and others consider that Nt-htp’s tomb is the great mastaba at Naqada, other scholars (such as Kemp, Kaiser) prefer to leave it unassigned. Kaplony (IAF, p.592) considers that this tomb belongs to a person he identifies as Prince Rhjt. There is no certainty, however, that Rhjt was a prince - indeed, it would be an odd name for a prince to be given, since the consistent usage of the word possibly means ’the lower classes’ (see Gardiner, Onomastica, 1.232, pp.98 - 111) - and there is no certainty that any person named Rhjt was the owner of this tomb. For further discussion see Chapter 4. While it is appreciated that the queen’s claim to this tomb is doubtful, the tomb-owner is likely to be the name most frequently found on the important dedications. In this case the frequency of Nt-htp’s name on the jewellery and vase sherds, and the presence of her seal in the tomb suggest she might have been the owner. The tomb itself appears to be the oldest of the large mastabas built during the First Dynasty and has strong affinities with the tomb of Aha at Saqqara. These similarities, in addition to the large number of mud seal impressions belonging to Aha’s officials found within the tomb provide its tempus. The tomb is built of mud-brick and is 53.4 metres long and 26.7 metres wide. The outer walls of the mastaba are decorated in palace-facade fashion (Borchardt, ZAS 36 [1898], pp.91f .); presumably these walls were painted when the building was fig, 1 Seal impression of Queen Nt-htp. i* - Kaplony, IAF, fig. 201 finished, but today no sign of colour remains. Its inner structure is thought (Stadelmann, Die grossen. p.45f.) to resemble the shape of the temple of Buto as portrayed on Aha’s wooden label (Petrie, RT II, pis. X and XI). The Naqada tomb is the only large tomb from these times which has all its magazines above the ground. Later tombs were to increase the number of the magazines below ground. Although de Morgan (Prehistoi re, p.174) found no trace of the burial chamber, later investigations discovered the remains of a carbonised skeleton in the central room. Originally this room had been lined with wood and the body, apparently, was buried within a circular depression in the floor (Reisner, TD, p.27). There were seventeen magazines surrounding the five central rooms. These had been robbed in antiquity, nevertheless, de Morgan found a number of inscribed ivory labels, vase sherds, seals and seal-impressions, a number of which bore the name of Nt-htp. Although the robbers had taken everything of value and the remainder had been destroyed by fire at some time, sufficient number of items remained to indicate that the tomb had once been lavishly provided with offerings of food and drink, furniture, utensils and jewellery of some worth. There is thus no doubt about the importance of its original tomb owner. There are two dozen different records of the Nt-htp’s name in Naqada, Abydos and Saqqara. In his excavations at Helwan, Saad discovered part of an ivory label belonging to a woman named Nt-htp (Saad, Helwan. pp.43f. and pl.LXIV). Both he and Emery (AE, p.47) assumed it belonged to the queen. This, however, is unlikely, since the Helwan Inscription is dissimilar to the Naqada and Abydos inscriptions referring to the queen. The Helwan label uses the augments | and f§§| while the earlier material does not. There is also present the signo between the Neith sign and the hetep sign in this Helwan stele; they are never present on the earlier material. Tit ies: sm3-nbwj; she who unites the Two Lords This is the earliest in a series of titles connecting the queen to the throne (see Fischer, JEA 60 [1974], pp.94 - 99). In addition to the title mentioned Queen Nt-htp has the distinction of having her name appear in a serekh (see fig. 1). The name of Queen Mrjt-Nt also has her name recorded in a serekh, as do Sebekneferu, Hatshepsut and Twosret. It is suggested that this distinction marks out a sovereign (see Chapter 4) since, in later times than this, no queen-consort ever has her name written 3 enclosed by this rectangle. Although Troy ascribes the hntj title to Nt-htp, it is not present among her records, as Kaplony (IAF, p.592) had also noti ced. From a wooden seal found in her Naqada tomb (Kaplony, IAF, fig.201) it is suggested that we might read, ’Queen Nt-htp’s taxation from Lower Egypt’. Similar signs have been read by Kaplony (IAF Supplement, p.32 and fig.1064) on two vases bearing the serekh of Narmer (Kaplony, Supplement, fig.1061, 1062) the signs for Lower Egypt (1062) and Upper Egypt (1061) provide evidence of this use by other rulers. Recent work at Abydos has also provided examples of this sign for King Ka (Kaiser, MPAIK 38, [1382], p.223 fig.7) and King Iry-Hor (ibid. p.234 fig. 10c). Whatever its intended purpose the seal does link Nt-htp with a traditional jurisdiction in Lower Egypt. Prosopography: Although it is certain that Queen Nt-htp lived at the beginning of Dynasty I, her family relationships are problematic. Emery (AE. pp.45 - 47) and Newberry (Menes, p.52) suggest that she was the wife of Narmer; Petrie (JRT II, p.4), Drioton & Vandier (L’Egypte. p.134), Kaplony (IAF. p.591), Helck (LA IV.394) and others see her as the wife of Aha. Helck (Geschichte p.30) assigns her a regency after his death. If she were his wife, however, it is uniikely that the seals of his officials would have been used on items in her tomb - as they were in the Naqada tomb. One would expect the seals of her successor, not her predecessor, to predominate. In Emery’s opinion the female figure in the carrying chair on the Narmer macehead could represent Nt-htp (AE, pp.46f.). Contrary to Emery’s view, however, the Narmer macehead scene is unlikely to depict a marriage since there is as yet no marriage scene or ceremony known among Egyptian records. On the other hand, the carrying chair scene on the macehead is strongly reminiscent of hfa sd depictions known from the temples of Sahure (Borchardt, Sahure II, pi. 65) and Akhenaten’s Gem pa Aten (ATP I, pi. 41), as well as sherds from First Dynasty times. It is suggested that this could be the likely interpretation of the Narmer macehead. Since we know that the Hierakonpolis macehead of Scorpion, and the females in Akhenaten’s reliefs are the msw of the king, it is possible that the female on the Narmer macehead might not even be a queen. Kaplony and Helck (LA IV.395) have based their opinions about Nt-htp’s family relationships upon a fragment published in Kaplony (IAF, fig.722). This inscription they read as Nt-htp’s fig. 2 Inscription with the name of Nt-htp, and other signs. - Kaplony, IAF, Tig. 722 4 name next to that of Horus Aha and a prince. I cannot read these names on this inscription (see fig. 2 ). Kaplony (IAF, p.734) considers it likely that filiation during this early period was indicated by the proximity of one name to another. He has therefore suggested that the signs given here could read ’N son of Horus Aha and Nt-htp’. Kaplony (ibid, p.591) also suggests that Nt-htp was the mother of Rfjjt, whom he considers to be the owner of the great grave at Naqada. No known evidence has yet confirmed that suggestion. Seipel (Koni gi nnen p .11) provides a genealogy for the proposed marriage of Aha and Nt-htp, assigning the queen Rhjt, J3tj and Zm3-nbwj as three of her offspring, along the lines suggested by Kaplony’s research. Seipel goes on to demonstrate arguments against Kaplony’s filiation. (His suggestions can be found in Koniginnen, pp.12 - 16.) If the queen was indeed the owner of the Naqada grave, it is possible that Nt-htp was either the mother, or the wife of Aha. Her title, sm3 nbwj, indicates that she was a royal wife. Both Narmer’s name and Aha’s appear on sherds among the objects from the queen’s tomb, which could suggest that she was the wife of Narmer, rather than Aha. This is the preferred option of the present writer. The very early date of the Naqada tomb also prompts one to consider that it preceded the tombs of Aha, Mrjt-Nt, Djer and other monarchs. It is suggested, therefore, that Aha might have been her son - or at least accepted the responsibility for the organisation of her burial, as a son might do - as the numbers of fragments bearing the seals of Aha would indicate.
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