Early Dynastic Egypt (16 page)

Although Aha’s name has been found at several sites—Abu Rawash (Klasens 1959:57, fig. 8, pl. XXVII.l), Zawiyet el-Aryan (Kaplony 1963, I: 66; II: n. 1592;

Dunham 1978:1, figs 1, 1a), Saqqara (Emery 1939:20–5, figs 13–20; 1949:76, fig. 38 and

78, fig. 39; Kaplony 1965:9, pl. I fig. 14, pl. II fig. 15), Helwan (Kaplony 1965:8 and 7, fig. 11), Abydos (Petrie 1901: pls III.2, 6, IIIA.5–6, XI.1–2, XIV) and Naqada (Emery 1961:50, fig. 10)—he is not as widely attested as his predecessor, nor yet has his name been found outside the Nile valley. It is difficult to gain an accurate impression from the limited evidence, but a change in the nature of Egypt’s relations with southern Palestine may have been the beginning of a long-term trend which saw reciprocal trade between Egypt and its neighbours ultimately replaced by more direct Egyptian exploitation of resources via outposts (such as the First Dynasty ‘residency’ at En Besor in southern Israel) or
entrepôt
s (principally Byblos on the Lebanese coast). To date, only one fragment of Syro-Palestinian pottery has been found in a context datable to the reign of Aha: a sherd of combed ware from Abydos tomb B19 (Adams and Friedman 1992:328, n. 9 [Ashmolean E4029]). Two ebony labels of Aha may record royal visits to the Delta (Petrie 1901: pl. IIIA.5–6), while another label from Abydos depicts a campaign against Ta-Sety (Petrie 1901: pl. III.2), the name given in later periods to Nubia. Whether the label records a real event or a symbolic activity, in a way the message remains the same: Egypt was now looking south with hostile intent, its eyes perhaps fixed on the lucrative trade in exotic goods which passed through the Nubian Nile valley.

Djer

Aha was succeeded by King Djer who, if the various reconstructions of the Palermo Stone are to be believed, must have reigned for a considerable period. Nine years from Djer’s reign are recorded on the main Cairo fragment of the royal annals. Apart from recording the biennial royal progress, ‘the following of Horus’, and the fashioning and/or dedication of a variety of cult statues, the Cairo fragment also mentions an expedition to a land named
S t.
This is the name given later to Western Asia generally, and it is difficult to be more precise about which locality is intended. The En Besor ‘residency’ seems to have been maintained well into the First Dynasty, and it is possible that the Cairo fragment refers to a trade or punitive expedition to southern Palestine. Other authors, however, have interpreted
S t
as referring to the Sinai, and this must be a strong possibility. Either way, the royal annals seem to indicate renewed Egyptian interest or activity beyond Egypt’s borders to the north-east. Fragments of at least a dozen vessels of Syro-Palestinian origin were found in Djer’s tomb, demonstrating trade between Egypt and the Near East (Petrie 1902, pl. 8.2, 4–6; Bourriau 1981:128 [Catalogue 253]; Serpico

and White 1996).

It used to be thought that a rock-cut inscription at Gebel Sheikh Suleiman in Lower Nubia, recording a punitive expedition by Egyptian forces against the local inhabitants, bore the
serekh
of Djer (for example, Emery 1961:60). It has been conclusively shown that this is not in fact the case; the
serekh
is anonymous, and the inscription dates to the late Predynastic period (Murnane 1987, following Helck 1970:85; cf. Baines 1995:102; Shaw and Nicholson 1995:86).

Djer’s burial on the Umm el-Qaab at Abydos (Petrie 1901) was accompanied by numerous subsidiary burials, some of which accommodated women of the royal harem. The short inscriptions—restricted to names and a few titles—on the private funerary stelae from these subsidiary burials provide some evidence for the composition of the royal court in the early First Dynasty, although some of the inscriptions are not easily understood (Amélineau 1899: pls XXXIV-XXXVII, 1904: pl. XVIII; Petrie 1901: pls XXVI-XXIXB). The layout of the royal mortuary complex shows important innovations, and for the first time the tomb on the Umm el-Qaab was accompanied by a separate funerary enclosure, itself surrounded by further subsidiary burials, on the low desert nearer the town and cultivation (Petrie 1925: pl. XVI; Kemp 1966; O’Connor 1989).

As in the previous reign, craftsmanship of a high quality was maintained under Djer. Among the most impressive artefacts to survive is a flint knife, the handle of which is covered in gold leaf embossed with the king’s
serekh
(Needier 1956). Metalworking reached new levels of excellence, as attested by an impressive hoard of copper tools, weapons and vessels found in mastaba S3471 at North Saqqara, dated by inscriptions to the reign of Djer (Emery 1949). Even one of the subsidiary graves around the king’s Abydos funerary enclosure yielded a copper adze incised with the royal
serekh
(Petrie 1925:4, pls III.l, IV.8). Marbles similar to those of Aha have survived from Djer’s reign (Kaplony 1965:6 and 7, fig. 5), whilst another artefact probably represents the oldest known example of three dimensional royal statuary: a headless statuette of light-blue glazed composition from the Satet temple at Elephantine, showing a figure seated on a throne, bears a sign on one side which has been read as
r
(Dreyer 1981). Further objects bearing the name of Djer have been found at four sites: Saqqara (Quibell 1923: pls VIII.5, XI.2–3, 5, top; Emery 1938:35, fig. 8, pls 17A, 18A; 1961:59, fig. 21; 1939:31,

fig. 31; 1949:13; 1954:169, figs 225–7; 1958:66, pl. 78.1; 1961:60, fig. 23; Lacau and

Lauer 1959:9, pl. 1 nos 2–3, pl. 2 nos 4, 14), Tura (Kaiser 1964:103, fig. 3), Helwan (Saad 1947:165, fig. 13b), and Abydos (Petrie 1901: pls V.l-2, XV; 1925:4, pls II.8, 14– 15, XII.l; Spencer 1980:64, pls 47, 53 [cat. 458]). An ivory label of Djer from Abydos seems to record a royal visit to Buto and Saïs in the Delta (Amélineau 1904: pl. XV.19; Emery 1961:59, fig. 20), suggesting that Djer may have maintained his predecessor’s policy of honouring important shrines. The institution of the biennial royal progress, first recorded in Djer’s reign, may have been initiated for the same reason. Djer is not attested from outside Egypt, despite the tantalising reference to Setjet on the Cairo fragment of the royal annals.

Djet

The name of Djer’s successor is rendered by modern scholars in a variety of forms: Djet is the most common, but Zet, Wadji and Uadji are also used by some authors. In fact, there is good evidence for an initial ‘W having formed part of the ancient pronunciation: a rock-cut inscription of the king in the western desert south of Edfu preserves a unique writing of the king’s name, the
w3
sign accompanying the usual
t
sign in the
serekh
(Legrain 1903:221, fig. 7; Porter and Moss 1937:207). Wadjet or Wadji may, therefore, be a more accurate realisation of the king’s name; but, as the most frequently used form, Djet will be retained here. The Horus-falcon in the rock-cut inscription just mentioned was reported as wearing the double crown. If so, it would be the earliest attested occurrence of this element of royal iconography, pre-dating the more famous Abydos label of Den by a generation.

The indications are that Djet did not enjoy a long reign. Sealings from the royal tombs at Abydos suggest that the career of one high official, Amka, began in the reign of Djer, spanned the entire reign of his successor and continued into the early part of Den’s reign, when the country was under the regency of Queen Merneith (Petrie 1900: pls XIX.10, XX.12–15, 18; 1901: pl. XVI.121, 123). The implication is that Djet occupied the throne for a comparatively short period, probably less than twenty years. None the less, his reign has furnished us with one of the masterpieces of ancient Egyptian art, the king’s magnificent funerary
stela
from Abydos, now in the Louvre (Vigneau 1935:4; Emery 1961:70, pl. 2b; Kemp 1989:38, fig. 10).

In his mortuary provision, Djet followed the pattern established by his predecessor (Petrie 1900, 1901, 1925: pl. XVII; Kemp 1966). Other major funerary monuments dating from the reign of Djet include two large mastabas at Tarkhan, decorated with niches in the so-called ‘palace facade’ style (Petrie
et al.
1913; Petrie 1914). They probably belonged to regional governors who were keen to demonstrate, by the architecture of their tombs, their functional and ideological proximity to the royal court (Wilkinson 1993a: 211). A niched mastaba of even larger proportions, labelled by its excavators mastaba V, was excavated near the village of Nazlet Batran, just south of Giza (Petrie 1907). Sealings of Djet (Petrie 1907:5, pl. IIIA) have given rise to the suggestion that it was constructed for Djet’s queen. An alternative explanation is that it belonged to Djet’s mother, and therefore a wife of Djer’s. Like the Naqada royal tomb, mastaba V may represent a lavish burial for the king’s mother, constructed in the lifetime of her son.

The name of the occupant is unknown, as are the reasons for the novel location of the tomb.

In addition to the fine funerary stela, other artefacts from Djet’s reign include an ivory comb, engraved with the king’s
serekh
and symbols with probable cosmological meaning (Petrie 1925:4, pls II.6, XII.5; Malek 1986:35; Quirke 1992:21–2). Metalworking is represented by a massive copper axe and a large, copper adze, both from a subsidiary burial surrounding Djet’s tomb at Abydos (Petrie 1925: pl. V.5, 7). A fragmentary limestone base from the town enclosure at Hierakonpolis may once have supported a statue of King Djet (Quibell and Green 1902:48, pl. LIX.l). Trade with Syria-Palestine is attested by the pottery vessels of foreign origin found in tombs of Djet’s reign at Saqqara (Emery 1954:75), Tarkhan (Petrie
et al.
1913:16, pls XVI.l, XIX.24) and Abydos (Petrie 1925: pl. IV.9–10).

Merneith

One of the royal tombs excavated by Petrie at Abydos clearly belonged to an individual called Merneith (Petrie 1900): two large funerary stelae with this name in
raised relief
were discovered near the tomb (Petrie 1900: pl. LXIV.6; Emery 1961:65, fig. 29; Spencer 1993:82, fig. 60). Despite the fact that the name is not written in the customary
serekh,
Petrie at first believed Merneith to be a king, like the owners of the other tombs on the Umm el-Qaab. It has since been realised that the name belonged to a queen, more properly realised as Mer(t)neith, ‘beloved of Neith’. From the many sealings of Den found in Merneith’s tomb, Egyptologists surmised that Merneith must have been the king’s mother. This has been confirmed by the recently discovered necropolis sealing from the tomb of Den, which ends with the signs denoting ‘king’s mother Mer(t)neith’. It is clear that Merneith must have occupied an unusually important position for her to have been granted the privilege of a tomb on the Umm el-Qaab. (Interestingly, the necropolis seal of Qaa, modelled closely on Den’s, omits Merneith from the list of First Dynasty rulers; this may indicate that, after the reign of Den himself, Merneith was no longer accorded equal status to the
de jure
kings of the First Dynasty.) It seems virtually certain that Merneith acted as regent during Den’s minority; Djet must therefore have died while Den was still a child. Merneith may have been the senior royal wife of Djet, although her influence seems to have derived from her position as the mother of the next king. Certainly, Den’s name features prominently on the sealings from her tomb, even those which are thought to date to her own regency. One Egyptologist has speculated that she was also the daughter and heiress of Djer, and thus connected with three consecutive kings of Egypt (Lauer 1966:175–7). This is an attractive theory, but one which cannot, at present, be proven.

The regency of Merneith is the first attested occasion in Egyptian history when a woman held the reins of power. As
de facto
ruler of Egypt, Merneith seems to have been accorded a full royal mortuary complex at Abydos. However, outside Abydos she is poorly attested. This is not surprising, since all official documents (including seals) drawn up during her regency would have borne the name of the reigning king, Den, despite his minority. An unprovenanced alabaster cylinder vessel bears Merneith’s name in relief (Kaplony 1964: fig. 1075), and a further three vessel fragments from Saqqara show her name scratched on the surface (Emery 1954:141 and 142, figs 205–6). The most

notable object marked with the name of Merneith is a small ivory vessel from the Saqqara region (Kaplony 1964: fig. 1073).

Den

The name of Egypt’s next ruler is usually rendered as Den, although this is unlikely to be an accurate realisation. The meaning of the name is as obscure as its proper pronunciation, despite the efforts of several scholars at decipherment (S.Schott 1956:59; Kaplony 1958; Meltzer 1972; Godron 1990). Den has been called ‘one of the most important rulers of the First Dynasty’ (Lauer 1966:177–8), his reign lauded as marking ‘a significant stage in the cultural and material development of Early Dynastic Egypt’ (Whitehouse 1987:261). Without doubt, he is the best attested king of the First Dynasty.

His tomb at Abydos (Petrie 1901)—marked in traditional style by a pair of funerary stelae, of which only one survives (Amélineau 1899: pl. XLI; Baity
et al.
1988:15)— shows an important new feature in Egyptian mortuary architecture, an entrance stairway giving access to the burial chamber. This facilitated the provisioning of the tomb and the burial itself, and was swiftly adopted throughout Egypt in private as well as royal tombs. It highlights the reign of Den as a period of innovation; and this is reflected, too, in the king’s
titulary.
The title
nswt-bỉty
, literally ‘he of the reed and bee’, and best translated as ‘dual king’, first appears in the reign of Den. It probably signifies a corresponding development in the ideology of divine kingship. The invention of the double crown – combining the older red and white crowns—is another innovation usually attributed to the reign of Den (Edwards 1971:26); although, as we have seen, it may have already occurred in the preceding reign of Djet.