Imagining Henenu Carlos Gracia Zamacona Aerial View of Deir El-Bahari

Imagining Henenu Carlos Gracia Zamacona Aerial view of Deir el-Bahari. Photograph by Patricia Mora Photography; copyright Middle Kingdom Theban Project.

he Middle Kingdom Theban Project, begun in 2014 The Owner of Theban Tomb 313 (TT 313) under the auspices of the Freie Universität Berlin, rep- and the Tomb’s Current State resents the resumption of the archaeological activities The highest court officials of the beginning of the Eleventh Tin the Middle Kingdom necropolis of Deir el-Bahari and Asasif. Dynasty were buried in Deir el-Bahari and Asasif, surrounding The site had previously been excavated under the auspices of Mentuhotep II’s burial complex, and their relevance was made the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, initiated by Her- apparent through the spatial arrangement of their tombs, the bert Eustis Winlock in 1912 with survey activities followed by most important being the closest to the tomb and funerary tem- excavations from 1921–1922 until 1928 (Arnold 1996: 59). ple of the king (fig. 1). One of them was Henenu, royal steward (im.y-r-pr) of Mentuhotep II since the unification of Egypt (ca. Winlock’s excavations had been preceded by Howard Carter’s 2030 BCE) to the end of his reign (ca. 2000 BCE). Henenu’s title in 1910–1911 (Morales et al. 2016: 258). The current excava- (fig. 2) may be an abbreviation for im.y-r-pr wr (Berlev 1960; tions began in 2015, and have continued annually through 2018 Grajetzki 2000: 79–115; Quirke 2004: 61; Grajetzki 2012: 71), (Morales et al. 2016, 2017, and 2018) under the auspices of the “great royal steward,” which was only held by one person at a Universidad de Alcalá (Madrid, Spain), with a fifth season time (Russo 2010, 6; Grajetzki 2000, 79–80; F. Arnold 1991), although our knowledge of the court organization during the scheduled for October 2019. Middle Kingdom is still far from complete (Quirke 1990; Ges- termann 1995; Grajetzki 2012: 67–69). Henenu also held non- functional apparatus titles such as “Steward of the Horn, the During the fourth season of the excavations at Deir el-Bahari Hoof, the Feather, and the Scale” (im.y-r ab wHm.t Sw.t xA.t), an (Luxor, Egypt) by the Universidad de Alcalá in April 2018, we allusion to the types of livestock under his charge. The name began epigraphic research of Theban tomb TT313 (= MMA510), Henenu (@nn.w; fig. 3) itself does not provide much informa- which was owned by Henenu, the steward of Mentuhotep II tion. It was very frequent during the Middle Kingdom, mainly (2051–2000 BCE). The epigraphic research focused not only on for men (Ranke 1935, 1: 245). Its meaning is difficult to grasp the new finds uncovered in the Middle Kingdom Theban Proj- (“Juvenile,” “Blooming,” “Upright”) because of its polysemic root ect’s third and fourth seasons, but also on the archival, museum, Hn (Erman and Grapow 1926–1963, 3: 100–110). In addition and photographic material from the Metropolitan Museum of to this, Henenu is an endophoric name (that is, it refers to the Art, to reconstruct the textual and decorative program in the bearer or to his parent), and thus does not give any information tomb. In addition, we were able to access, for the first time, a stela about the historical or religious context of the name bearer (Ver- that has been in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow since 1911 fol- nus 1986: 127). lowing its purchase in Luxor in 1888–1889 (Chodžaš and Berlev According to James P. Allen (1996: 18, fig. 3; see table 1 here), 1982: 67), which was first attributed to Henenu by Rebecca Ru- the other three main officials contemporary to Henenu dur- binshtein (1952). ing the long reign of Mentuhotep II were the vizier Bebi, later

This content downloaded from 130.209.006.061 on June 08,NEAR 2019 EASTERN17:01:48 PM ARCHAEOLOGY 82.2 (2019) 75 All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c). followed by Dagi; the treasurer Kheti I, later followed The tomb has two parts. One extends from the entrance through a hori- by Meketre (Desplancques 2006: 231–32); and the zontal corridor and a first hall, then descends to a second hall. The other overseer of the sealers Khety II, later followed by Meru runs through another descending corridor turning some 30 degrees east- (Grajetzki 2012: 169–74). The fact that Henenu shared ward and then northward again to the sarcophagus chamber. Perhaps ow- his time in court with two officials for each one of the ing to changes in rank during his career, Henenu erected two pairs of wall two other posts (vizier and overseer of the sealers) in- slab-stelae, one in front of the other: One pair was immediately after the dicates his longevity in the position, which might ex- entrance; the other between niches 3 and 4 (see fig. 4). For the same reason, plain the unusual structure and decoration program of his tomb: this is, however, speculative given the current poor state of the tomb. Henenu’s long carrier as a high official might be the reason why his tomb is unusually long, peculiar in structure, and probably richly decorated, on a par with that of Meketre, the owner of TT280, who was the first steward under Amenemhat I (1981–1952 BCE; D. Arnold 1991: 1–26). The mortuary complex included a lower chapel accessed from the valley causeway that led to Mentuhotep II’s burial complex. From the chapel and on the northern slope of the valley, a courtyard runs up the slope with a final stepped part that gives onto a platform. The platform leads to the moun- tain cliff, where the tomb was excavated northwards Figure 1. Aerial view of Deir el-Bahari with the king’s complex and the tombs of Dagi, Khety, and (fig. 4; Echevarría et al. 2018). Henenu marked. Photograph by Patricia Mora Photography; copyright Middle Kingdom Theban Project.

Table 1. Probable high court officials under Mentuhotep II through Amenemhat I (ca. 2051–1952 BCE). Brown marks preunification times. Data are collected from Allen 1996: 16 n. 17; 18, fig. 3; Russo 2010: 6; Grajetzki 2012: 71.

im.y-r xtm.t im.y-r pr TA.ty im.y-r xtm.yw Dates Royal residence Regnal years Reigns Treasurer Steward Visier Overseer of the sealers 2051–2041 Thebes 1–10 2040–2031 11–20 Mentuhotep II ? ? ? ?

2030–2021 21–30 ? ? ? ? 2020–2011 31–40 Khety I (TT311) Henenu (TT313) Bebi Khety II Thebes 2010–2000 41–51 Meketre Dagi (TT103) Meru (TT240) Mentuhotep II

2000–1988 1–12 Mentuhotep III Henu (TT312)?

(Wadi Hammamat 114) 1988–1981? 1–2 + 5? Mentuhotep IV Amenemhat Buau / Mentuhotep?

1981–1971 1–10 Amenemhat I Intef Meketre (TT280) Ipi (TT315) 1970–1961 Memphis 11–20 Ipi? Karenen (Sq) ? Rahershefnakht?

Gemenenhat (Sq) 1960–1952 Lisht 21–30 Rehuerdjersen ? Antefiqer Sokarhotep?

76 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 82.2This (2019) content downloaded from 130.209.006.061 on June 08, 2019 17:01:48 PM All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c). Figure 2. Henenu’s titles. Photographs by Patricia Mora Photography; courtesy Middle Kingdom Theban Project (top left), and courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (top right and bottom).

Figure 3. Henenu’s name spellings. Photographs by Patricia Mora Photography / Middle Kingdom Theban Project (bottom left), courtesy of Pushkin Museum, Moscow (top), and courtesy of Metropolitan Museum Figure 4. Henenu’s tomb plan TT313. Photograph by Morales et of Art, New York (bottom center and right). al. 2016: 281, fig. 9. the tomb’s length (40 m) is double the usual (20 m). In addition Middle Kingdom Theban Project third and fourth campaigns. to this, the seven shafts found may point to several burials. In the For each of the two hundred fragments collected so far, the data- same vein, some fragments apparently from different sarcophagi base gathered the following information: might correspond to more than one owner. • find number, image, and dimensions; The general state of the tomb is precarious (fig. 5), with in situ • archeological unit, and context; decoration totally effaced and fragments dispersed throughout • number of the possible document, its type (stela, sar- the tomb and even in the courtyard, perhaps as a consequence of cophagus, wall), material (limestone, etc.), and technique the work of previous excavations. This circumstance forced our (carved/raised relief, etc.); epigraphic research to begin by narrowing down the tomb’s ar- • script (hieroglyphic, hieratic), layout (column, line), di- cheological areas and inscribed objects through a double strate- rection (right-/leftwards), and peculiarities (retrograde gy—epigraphic and paleographic on one hand, iconographic on script, rubrics); the other—which included working with the fragments found • text transcription (Manuel de Codage), transliteration, together with the archival data from the Metropolitan Museum and translation; of Art excavations under the direction of Herbert E. Winlock, • bibliography; and almost a century ago (1947: 44–45, 67; Hayes 1949; Allen 1996; • remarks Arnold 1996; Soliman 2009, 112–14). The ultimate aim of the database is to determine how many A Database of the Epigraphic Finds and which documents (in the broadest sense “objects with inscriptions”) were in the tomb. These may include the four Under these circumstances, a simple database (fig. 6) was cre- slab stelae, A–D (MMA photo nos. M7C 127, 131, 134 and ated to gather all the written data from TT313 found during the 135; Winlock’s notebook: 140); hypothetical inscriptions and

This content downloaded from 130.209.006.061 on June 08,NEAR 2019 EASTERN17:01:48 PM ARCHAEOLOGY 82.2 (2019) 77 All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c). representations in the corridor (not in Winlock’s notebooks); the monumental entrance, both interior and exterior (MMA photo no. M7C 133); and one or two limestone ink-inscribed sarcophagi (MMA photo nos. M7C 137 and 139–140), according to the typescript notes by Winlock kept at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Metropolitan Museum of Art Theban Expedition ca. 1920–1939, 3: 140–57), Wil- liam Hayes’s study on the so-called “stela A” (1949), and Allen’s study on the high court officials of the Eleventh Dynasty (1996). The database has permitted us to initiate a paleographic study of the carved hieroglyphs to isolate possible discrete documents or epigraphic areas by using the stela I.1.a 5603 at the Pushkin Museum Figure 5. Current state of Henenu’s tomb. Photograph by Patricia Mora Photography / Middle Kingdom in Moscow, which has been attributed to Henenu Theban Project. (Rubinshtein 1952: 131; Chodžaš and Berlev 1982, 67–73 (no. 26); Hudáková 2017: 167), as a control.1 Because of the fragmentary state of the finds, this study was limited to just three “index” signs, which are among the most frequent, that is, the monolit- erals m, n, and r. In the future, the study will adapt in frequency and variety to the new finds. Currently, the three signs occur in three types each, as in the respective figures 7–9. At this stage of the research, the results after com- parison with the Pushkin stela are not firm enough to ascertain which and how many epigraphic areas there were in the tomb. Nevertheless, some information of value is provided about the epigraphic hands and techniques. In fact, the features in the owl’s face Figure 6. Henenu’s tomb epigraphy database. Photograph by Carlos Gracia Zamacona / Middle (and perhaps other inner features) are made by a Kingdom Theban Project. hand different from those of the sign’s contour. This technique would explain why the owls have a face/ inner features only in some areas (marked red in fig. 10), and not in others (marked green in fig. 10). This still incipient research will include the study of sign sizes and materials in the future to ascertain possible epigraphic areas and documents.

What Stone Is This? A Note on Philology and History

Notwithstanding these downsides, stela A, the best known of the documents from TT313, provides information about the tomb and its decoration. Only one matter of interest will be discussed briefly here. A possible mention of the tomb’s stone lining is to be found in lines 12–13, “with fine stone of Elephan- Figure 7. The paleography of m. Photographs by Patricia Mora Photography / Middle Kingdom Theban tine” (m inr an n Ab.w) (fig. 11; Hayes 1949: 46). The Project. meaning of inr an, “fine or beautiful stone” is con- tested (Montet 1957: 44–46; Harris 1961: 69–71) but conventionally translated “limestone.” Recently, Ch. only ideologically, the stone coming actually from the Dababiya quarries, Karlshausen and Th. de Putter (2017) have proposed 35 km south from Luxor (fig. 12),2 in what constitutes a case of continu- that the expression m inr an in the Middle Kingdom ity with the Old Kingdom court in Memphis in order to legitimate the new Theban necropolis meant “in stone from Tura” but Eleventh Dynasty. In such a case, the mention of Elephantine would be a

78 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 82.2This (2019) content downloaded from 130.209.006.061 on June 08, 2019 17:01:48 PM All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c). Nevertheless, there is a rare possibility for limestone to be found northwards near Assuan (Klemm and Klemm 2008: 23; contra Lucas 1926: 10; Aston et al. 2000: 40) or even in the very area of Assuan (Harris 1961: 69). A better alternative provenance for limestone from the region would be the oasis of Kurkur (fig. 12), a southern area on the route from Thebes to Elephan- tine through the Western desert (Sallam et al. 2018). If Mentuhotep II conquered the Elephantine area as John C. Darnell (2004), and Gloria Rosati (2006: 16–17) have proposed, this could have included control over a limestone quarry. In this case, as a high court official, Henenu, who guided expeditions perhaps to this very area, as we read on his stela A (Hayes 1949: 46 and 48 n Figure 8. The paleography of . Photographs by Patricia Mora Photography / Middle Kingdom n. g), could have chosen this limestone for his tomb’s Theban Project. wall lining. In the same vein is the fact that Henenu, on stela A again, is said to be “sealer of supplies from the oasis” (xtm.ty (i).x.wt n.wt wHA.t), which might explain his providing food to the southern nomes as we read on stela A, line 4 (Hayes 1949: 46). That said, the information provided by auto-laudatory texts like this one must be viewed with caution. A good example of this kind of auto-laudatory text using fine stone are the dedica- tion texts of New Kingdom temples in which the local construction stone used for lining the walls was said to come from Tura, the finest quarry of limestone close to Memphis, which was exploited by the all-powerful kings of the Old Kingdom who built the Giza pyramids, and which, because of its consistency and color, repre- sented the ideal stone to construct “eternal” buildings Figure 9. The paleography of r. Photographs by Patricia Mora Photography / Middle Kingdom (Karlshausen 2018: 157). Theban Project. Future Research

Future research must follow three main lines. First, the study of the epigraphic finds by techniques such as infrared and ultraviolet light may be of assistance, especially in helping to read some fragments of presum- ably mortuary texts which are illegible at present. These techniques are expected to be implemented during the next working season in October 2019. Second, study of new finds during future seasons, especially in the courtyard, will certainly cast new light on the textual and decorative program of the tomb. Third, the analysis of new information from other sources, whether primary or secondary, is of essence: This should include geological and chemical analysis of the lining stone to its con- Figure 10. The paleography of m on the Henenu’s stela (I.1.a 5603) at the Pushkin Museum: textualization within the new interpretative studies; in- Signs with face/inner features are marked red; signs without them are marked green. depth study of the stela in the Pushkin Museum—sur- Photograph courtesy of the Pushkin Museum, Moscow. prisingly not taken into account in the previous studies on Henenu; and reanalysis of the archival material from Winlock’s excavations such as those documenting mor- scribal error—or ours, because of the fragmentary state of the inscrip- tuary texts, for instance, Pyramid Text spell 222 on the tion: The phonograms for Abw can be read but any possible ideogram or central fragment of MMA photo no. M7C 137. All the determinative is lost. information collected will help not only to picture the

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Notes

1. http://www.arts-museum.ru/data/fonds/ancient_ east/1_1_a/0001_1000/4757_stela_henena/index.php? lang=en [Accessed on 22/01/2019] 2. Dababiya is a Paleocene/Eocene Boundary Stratotype. As a GSSP (Global Standard-stratotype Sections and Points provide the means to stabilize chrono-stratigraphy) is at the UNESCO heritage tentative list; see https://whc.unesco.org/ en/tentativelists/5389/ [Accessed on 28/01/2019].

References

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Carlos Gracia Zamacona (PhD, Egyptology and linguistics, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris) is a researcher for the project Reino Medio Tebano (HAR2017–84505–P), and epigrapher for the Middle Kingdom Theban Project at Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid (http:// thebanproject.com/en/idi-project/) as well as a tutor in Egyptology at the University of Glasgow. His research focuses on ancient Egyptian language and writing, and the Coffin Texts. He has been awarded a Seal of Excellence by the European Commission (2017), and research fellowships at the Academia de España in Rome (1999–2000) and the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale in Cairo (2010–2011).

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