IFAO

This article is a lexicographical study on small to middle-size mammals based on new photographs, mainly from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Among them is the ḥṯs-animal for which the identification as a gerbil jird (Meriones sp.) is proposed. Another one is ḥḏrt, a much debated animal in the egyptological literature. This should be a shrew (Crocidura or Suncus sp.).

The fragmentary Papyrus H 40 of the IFAO is in fact an Oracular Amuletic Decree similar to those published by I.E.S. Edwards in the HPBM. The main purpose of the text is the protection of a pregnant woman and the onomastic might refer to the family of the High Priest Pinedjem II. It could be the most ancient of the OAD (21st Dynasty).

Publication of a Graeco-Roman relief, which shows the goddess Nut pouring out a libation for the ba-bird (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung Inv. 5092). As is demonstrated in this short article, the scene was part of the frieze inside the “naos” of the famous tomb of Petosiris at Tuna el-Gebel. The significance of the frieze is briefly discussed and parallels for the motive in funerary art and temple decoration are pointed out.

Essentially known by his traditional title attested in Edfu, Philae and in the great ­hypostyle hall of Kom Ombo, Ptolemy XII Auletes also used a second title in which he reused the Golden Horus name of Ptolemy X Alexander I. This second title is only attested in two crypts of Dendara Temple and a chamber of Kom Ombo. This study attempts to date these two royal protocols and concludes that they respectively date back to the first (80/76-58 BC) and the second reign (55-51 BC) of the king. These conclusions thus enable the author to propose more precise dates for the construction program of the places where this title appears.

Tell el-Neshed is located in the Sharqiya governorate, not far from the eastern edge of the Nile delta. Excavations led by the French Institute for Oriental Archaeology in Cairo (IFAO) in 2015 and 2016 uncovered extensive remains of an early Old Kingdom settlement. Fieldwork brought to light several superimposed mud-brick buildings and silos dated to the early 4th Dynasty. A test trench revealed more than 3 m of 3rd – early 4th Dynasty deposits above the water table. Tell el-Neshed is one of the very few early Old Kingdom settlements known so far in the Nile Delta. As such, it should provide us with new insights into the economic and social life of the rural communities in this time frame. By supplementing the textual evidence about how the territory was run in the early Old Kingdom, excavations at Tell el-Neshed aim at making a meaningful contribution towards a better understanding of the implementation of the territorial reforms undertaken by the 3rd and 4th Dynasty monarchs and the involvement of royal power in rural zones.

Le rituel de l’Ouverture de la Bouche noté dans la tombe du prêtre-lecteur en chef Padiaménopé (TT 33) est connu de longue date et a été publié par Eberhard Otto en 1960. Avec les copies de Harwa (TT 37) et de Montouemhat (TT 34), celle de Padiaménopé ­constitue l’une des versions les mieux préservées dans les tombes thébaines tardives. Des études récentes (2015, 2016) ont montré que le texte du rituel inscrit dans la tombe TT 33 est bien plus long et détaillé que ce que l’on croyait à l’origine et, de fait, qu’il développe de manière considérable le contenu des rituels connus dans les tombes des XVIIIe et XIXe dynasties à Thèbes. Des ­parallèles dans la sélection et la séquence des scènes peuvent être mis en lumière, particulièrement dans la reproduction du rituel sur les papyri, et par-dessus tout celui de Saïs.

The ritual of Opening the Mouth from the tomb of the chief lector priest Padiamenope (TT 33) has long been known and was most recently published by Eberhard Otto in 1960. Together with the rituals of TT 37 (Harwa) and TT 34 (Montuemhat), it belongs to the most well-preserved versions in the Late Period Theban tombs. Previous studies by this author in the years 2015 and 2016 have shown that the ritual version in TT 33 is far more detailed than previously thought. It therefore goes far beyond the content of the rituals in the tombs of the 18th and 19th Dynasty in Thebes. Parallels in the selection and sequence of the scenes can especially be recognized in the reproduction of the ritual on papyri and above all in that of Sais. This contribution gives a first overview of all scenes, including newly identified scenes, documented in TT 33, their order, design and context in the tomb’s iconographic and textual program. Finally, this article analyses the structure of the ritual in the tomb of the chief lector priest.

In Dra Abu el-Naga North, the area southwest of the open courtyard of the tomb-chapel of Djehuty (TT 11) was densely occupied by 11th/early 12th Dynasty rock-cut tombs and Second Intermediate Period mud-brick chapels and funerary shafts built for members of the royal family and high officials of the Theban court, which were pillaged and reused in the Third Intermediate Period. The funerary equipment and human bodies placed inside the burial chambers were then broken into pieces and scattered around among the sand and stones that filled the shafts. Hence, today it is difficult to ascertain who the original owner of each shaft was and to deduce which objects were deposited with him/her. The larger and most elaborate funerary shaft was reused in the 22nd Dynasty by several individuals, but various fragments of a 17th or early 18th Dynasty shroud inscribed with Book of the Dead spells were found, which could have belonged to the first individual buried here and honoured in the mud-brick chapel aligned with it. The shroud (L. SMDAN 1344) and its early version of the Book of the Dead are analysed in the present study.

This article consists in an iconographic, textual, onomastic and prosopographic ­study of the ­offering table Louvre D 69. The inscriptions—some in hieroglyphs, some in demotic—corroborate the Akhmimic origin of the object and allow us to draw up the family tree of the owner, the smȝty priest Pa-di-Hor-pa-khered, over three generations. The decoration, although very classic at first sight, expands on the iconographic and textual themes that are ubiquitous on offering tables from this region and thus emphasizes the important role of the ba for the deceased’s well-being in his otherwordly existence.

This article is the second set of editions of Coptic and Greek papyri from the archives of Papas, included in the collective project on these archives (“The Edfu jar”). The eight texts published here attest to the phenomenon of the re-use of Coptic documents (a draft of judicial proceedings, letters) to draft accounts in Greek, and testify to the variety of topics covered in the correspondence written in Coptic, where it is often difficult to distinguish between the public and private spheres. They also contribute to the question of the chronological delimitation of the papyri of the jar, some appearing to be very close to the Arab conquest, if not earlier. A small account exceptionally written in Coptic closes this series.

Les inscriptions de visiteurs (Besucherinschriften) désignent les graffiti laissés dans la partie publique des monuments funéraires par des visiteurs qui viennent interagir avec les lieux. Le présent article propose deux études de cas, tirés du corpus de l’épigraphie secondaire des tombes thébaines, étudié et rassemblé par l’auteur.

La première tombe est celle du prêtre d’Amon Païry à Cheikh Abd el-Gourna (TT 139), qui contient deux inscriptions de visiteurs, dont l’une – la prière de Paouah – est bien connue pour les références qu’elle contient à l’épisode amarnien. Alors que l’interprétation à donner à ce texte a pu faire l’objet de controverses, seul son contexte d’apparition dans la tombe, ignoré jusqu’ici, permet d’en comprendre pleinement le contenu, en lien avec le monde funéraire. Le troisième graffito, ramesside, provient du naos de la tombe TT 112, tombe du grand prêtre d’Amon Menkhéperrêseneb sous Thoutmosis IV, réutilisée à l’époque ramesside. Si ce document peut paraître assez différent à première vue, il partage pourtant avec le long graffito de la TT 139 le thème de la vision du dieu dans l’obscurité et sa position en un point clé de la tombe, témoignant de la même façon d’un usage très raisonné de l’espace funéraire par les graffiti, en lien avec la redéfinition de la tombe à partir de l’époque amarnienne.

Visitors’ inscriptions (Besucherinschriften) refer to the graffiti that were left in the public part of funerary monuments by visitors who come to relate to the place. This article offers two case studies from the corpus of secondary epigraphy in Theban Tombs, gathered and studied by the author.

The first tomb belongs to the Amun priest Pairy in Sheikh Abd el-Gurna, that contains two visitors’ inscriptions, one of which – Pawah’s prayer – is well known for its references to the Amarna period. While the interpretation of this text has been largely discussed, only its positioning in the tomb, ignored so far, can lead to a full understanding of its symbolic importance in relation to the funerary realm.

The third graffito, ramesside, comes from the naos of TT 112, the tomb of the high priest of Amun Menkheperraseneb under Thutmosis IV, which was reused in the ramesside time. Although this inscription may seem fairly different, it shares with the long graffito from TT 139 the theme of god’s sight in the darkness. Its position in a key point of the tomb bears witness to a meaningful use of the funerary space by graffiti, showing a change in how tombs were defined from the Amarna period onwards.