IFAO

In Middle Egypt, the necropolis of Gebel Asyut el-Gharbi has become famous because of its large rock tombs of nomarchs from the time of the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom. During the long-term research activities of “The Asyut Project” (with international cooperation of German Research Foundation, Freie Universität Berlin, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Sohag University, and the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities) not only these tombs and many other structures have been documented extensively for the first time; also the hitherto unknown Tomb N13.1 of the nomarch Iti-ibi(-iqer) from the time of Mentuhotep II (approx. 2030 BC) was first discovered and studied over the last years.

The tomb bears a unique collection of hand-written sources: several scribes from the New Kingdom (approx. 1550 – 1100 BC) left about 200 ink graffiti (dipinti) on its walls, which inform us about contemporary and long-gone regents, the temples and gods of Asyut, as well as the political and religious literary texts handed down on site during that period.

The lecture presents the entire range of text genres, informs about involved kings, gods and individuals, and tries to explain the background of this exceptional location for graffiti writing. A special focus lies on new insights on the Teaching of Prince Hordjedef and the Teaching of a Man to his Son.