IFAO

This article constitutes the two first notes of a series about history, geography and religion. The purpose of these two first is the publication of the two monuments belonging to Esnu(n) of Coptos: the well-known statue Cairo CG 70031 with an unpublished complementary fragment Cairo RT 31/4/64/1 on the one hand and the gnomon of Esnu(n) conserved in the Petrie Museum of London (UC 16376) on the other hand.

– Stele Allard Pierson Museum 10776: despite a vague notation of the titulary, it is possible to specify the datation of this stele (funerary stele of the cow, Buchis’ mother at the beginning of the Severian Period).

– Stele Bucheum 20 (Cairo JE 31901): reading again the first line reveals a quite unexpected titulary in which are associated Diocletian and Licinius whose name and account of regnal years are inscribed together (!) in the second cartouche.

First publication of O. Ifao 10044, a slab of limestone of 10 x 12 cm, found in 1930 south of the Great Pit of Deir el-Medina. The recto contains the proper names of six donkeys, all belonging to a Sennefer. The names of these donkeys, like human names, include a patronym (in one instance a matronym), one of these Ramesses. The verso only quotes a scribe Paykhery (?).

In 1911 Ernesto Schiaparelli found at Gebelein an Old Kingdom burial inside a shaft. The anonym burial Suppl. 14061 conserved in the Egyptian Museum in Turin was investigated by a multidisciplinary research team. The wooden coffin maintain part of its painted decoration and the mummy was led in a crouched position in a sort of linen bundle and apparently was not eviscerated. The 3D reconstruction was able to identify all details of the mummy and of the burial equipment. This was composed by a pair of sandals and a wooden headrest. Two small fragments of papyrus dating to the IVth dynasty were found at the bottom of the shaft near the coffin.

The two versions of biographical inscription of nomarch Sarenput I in Qubbet al-Hawa are known as similar. However, a comparative study of this double version reveals some notable differences: the restitution of the gaps shows that certain parts of the text, at least in the introduction, cannot be identical and that the graphic and semantic differences are marked enough throughout the two contemporary versions.

This article offers a solution to the problem of reading, understanding and meaning of the demotic sign heading the witness lists in demotic legal documents. The author reaches the conclusion that this was certainly a linguistic sign and had hieroglyphic origin or and phonetic value sȝw and had with all certainly a meaning "protection", "guard", "escort", "watch", "keep hold", "maintain".

In the sector of the mastaba of Akhethetep Nile-silt jars, which once contained mummification residues, have been found. In some of these jars there are traces of "white" natron, "black" natron found in canvas sachets, small straw fragments, remains of blackened wrappings, fragments of papyrus fibres and other vases. Clearly, most of these jars were not in their original arrangement as they had been carelessly abandoned there. These jars probably have no relation with the modest burials located in the sand layers to the east of the mastaba and which date from the end of the Pharaonic period or the beginning of the Ptolemaic period. They most certainly come from a slightly older group of tombs which were probably located close by. All of the pottery fragments are made of Nile silt. The pieces include large jars for the most part, but also bowls, a bottle, and small dishes which may have been used as jar lids.

This article deals with the veneration of Mentuhotep-Nebhepetre, since his death till the end of the New Kingdom, by pharaohs and individuals. More than fourty documents showing the worship of this king are given in a chronological order, starting by the Middle Kingdom and ending by the New Kingdom. The documents are varied and the majority comes from Thebes, especially its western bank. Mentuhotep-Nebhepetre was considered as a theban "saint" certainly because he was the founder of this capital, its first builder and the owner of one of its most important sanctuaries.

The status of adornment in graves, whether worn by the deceased or simply laid on or next to the body, can be explored by analysing eight predynastic tombs of children in the cemetery at Adaima in Upper Egypt. Following a thorough excavation carried out by anthropologists, archaeologists and experts in restoration, the diversity of different kinds of adornment became evident. This led the team to propose a reconstitution of the process of inhumation. The interpretation of the status of adornment was carried out by applying methods used in the anthropology of death. It thus became apparent that certain types of adornment were part of the funerary process, whereas others focused on the cultural or social aspect of the deceased. Only this last category can be used in a study of the socio-economic interpretation of funerary practices.

In Ptolemaic Egypt, xru!oË! (for xru!oË! !tatÆr) became an accounting device meaning 20 drachmas and corresponding to the deben of the demotic documents. In the phrase !uggrafØ trof›ti! érgur€ou xru!«n *k*a, érgur€ou is related to xru!«n, not to !uggrafØ trof›ti! as often surmised. It is doubtful that chrysous was ever used as a weight unit for gold in Greco-Roman Egypt, where the units in actual use were the mnaiaion and the tetartê, the tetartê being a quarter of a theoretical chrysous. The equivalence nb ḫm = tetartê and ʿ.wj wḫȜ = "pair of earrings" in the demotic marriage contracts, is proposed. P. Lille I 6 is the only Egyptian instance where chrysous is a weight unit, but for wool: in that case, it should correspond to the deben-weight. In Roman Egypt, xru!oË! or xru!oËn (scil. dhnãrion) refers primarily to the aureus. The old idea that the aureus, although not circulating in Egypt, was used in Lower Nubia to facilitate the trade with Ethiopia is shown to be wrong: it is only based on an ostracon from Pselchis and some proskynemata from Qirtasi; in these texts chrysoun means nothing but 100 drachmas (i.e. the theoretical value of an aureus).