IFAO

The paper is devoted to the origin of alabaster-calcite discovered in large quantities in the subterranean galleries of Saqqara Djoser’s pyramid, as well as to the subsequent problems. Thus, thanks to the inscriptions mentioned on the items worked in this material, as well as the titles and onomastics, it is possible to recount, from the First Dynasty onwards, a history of the production of this mineral which apparently takes place at this time in the area of the Oriental desert under the supervision of the Oryx’s nome. Being standard products of high cost, these containers were stored as sed-fest gifts meant for the sovereigns of the First Dynasty, certainly the Horus Adjib and Qaa, two kings whose names are incised or written in ink.

After two seasons of investigations at the so-called necropolis ‘F’ of Abou Rawash, it has been possible to determine that the cemetery mostly dates back to the IVth Dynasty, and not to the late Old Kingdom as it is generally assumed. This is amply demonstrated by the monumental size of the mastabas, their architecture, pottery and other criteria, revealed from a number of newly excavated or re-investigated structures. The connections with the nearby pyramid of Radjedef (1.5 km SW) are not only established on those chronological grounds, but also from a number of similarities in material culture (e.g., pottery or mudbrick types) and the "royal" character of the masonry. Furthermore, two King’s sons at least were buried in this cemetery, both connected to Radjedef. The investigations also revealed a number of new data which demonstrate that, in the domain of elite burials, this reign is innovative in several aspects, from chapel plans to decoration.

The demotic title pȝ ʿnṱ had not been recognised hitherto, the scholars usually translate it as "the myrrh". Actually, the meaning of this expression was not the name of a kind of resin, but the designation of the "myrrh specialist" or the "perfumer". This interpretation enabled the author to suggest new tanslations of some well-known demotic texts, their former translations being unsatisfactory. The same title has been also found in some hieroglyphic and hieratic texts, from the Middle Kingdom onwards till the Ptolemaic period. As members of the temple staff, the "perfumers" regularly performed their professional activities inside the sacred precincts; some of them played an important role in the preparation of the ointments used for the human and animal mummification.