1.
Seth-Peribsen
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Seth-Peribsen is the serekh name of an early Egyptian monarch, who ruled during the Second Dynasty of Egypt. His chronological position within this dynasty is unknown and it is disputed who ruled both before and after him, the duration of his reign is also unknown. Peribsens royal name is a subject of curiosity for Egyptologists because it is connected to the deity Seth rather than Horus, the debate continues over why Peribsen chose this name. However, newer evidence and evaluations tend to show that the Egyptian kingdom was unified, seal impressions from tombs of this era reveal great changes in the titles held by high officials, pointing to a reduction of their power. Thus, Peribsens reign was in fact a time of cultural, existing negative views about Peribsens existence are based on Ramesside king lists, such as the Abydos King List, the Saqqara King List and the Royal Canon of Turin, which all omit Peribsens name. These, however, are known to have been redacted nearly 1500 years after his death and these tombs report Peribsens name correctly and their existence demonstrate that Peribsen was seen as a legitimate pharaoh, not subject to damnatio memoriae as Akhenaten later would be. Historians and Egyptologists therefore consider the possibility that Peribsens name was forgotten in time or that his name was preserved in a distorted, misspelled form. Peribsens Tomb was discovered in 1898 at Abydos and it was well preserved and showed traces of restoration undertaken during later dynastic periods. The serekh for Peribsen was found pressed in earthen jar seals made of clay and mud and in inscriptions on alabaster, sandstone, porphyry and these seals and vessels were excavated from Peribsens tomb and at an excavation site in Elephantine. One clay seal with Peribsens name was found inside the mastaba tomb K1 at Beit Khallaf, two large tomb stelae made of granite were found at his burial site. Their shape is unusual and they appear unfinished and rough, Egyptologists suspect that this was done deliberately, but the reasons are unknown. A cylinder seal of unknown provenance shows Peribsens name inside a cartouche, another seal of the same material shows Peribsens name without a cartouche, but with the royal title Nisut-Bity instead. Peribsens name is unusual, in that Seth, not Horus, was his patron deity and this goes against the Egyptian tradition of a king choosing the falcon-shaped deity Horus as his royal patron. Traditionally, the Horus name of the king was written within a serekh, instead, Peribsen chose to have the Set animal, representing Seth, on his serekh. Like Horus, Seth was a popular deity during the dynastic period. He became the god of darkness and chaos afterward, during the much later Late Period of Ancient Egypt, although Peribsen is the only known pharaoh to have the Set animal preside alone over his serekh, he is not the only king to associate himself with Seth. Examples include the 13th dynasty pharaoh Seth Meribre, the 19th dynasty rulers Seti I and Seti II, the following sections discuss some of the theories that they put forth. Peribsens actions were thought to be similar to those of the much later 18th dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten, Newberry proposed that the priests of Horus and Seth fought each other in the Manner of a war of the roses during the second half of the Second dynasty
2.
Nynetjer
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Nynetjer is the Horus name of the third early Egyptian king during the 2nd dynasty. The exact length of his reign is unknown, the Turin Canon suggests an improbable reign of 96 years and Egyptian historian Manetho suggested that Nynetjers reign lasted 47 years. Egyptologists question both statements as misinterpretations or exaggerations and they generally credit Nynetjer with a reign of either 43 years or 45 years. Their estimation is based on the reconstructions of the well known Palermo Stone inscription reporting the years 7–21, according to different authors, Nynetjer ruled Egypt from c.2850 BC to 2760 BC or later from c.2760 BC to 2715 BC. Nynetjer is one of the best archaeologically attested kings of 2nd dynasty and his name appears in inscriptions on stone vessels and clay sealings in large numbers from his tomb at Sakkara. A large number of bearing his name were also found in the tomb of king Peribsen at Abydos. However, the datings of some inscriptions, especially those made of black ink, writing experts and archaeologists such as Ilona Regulski point out that the ink inscriptions are of a somewhat later date than the stone and seal inscriptions. She dates the ink markings to the reigns of kings such as Khasekhemwy and Djoser, in fact, alabaster vessels and earthen jars with black ink inscriptions with very similar font design showing Nynetjers name were found in Peribsens tomb. Nynetjers name also appears on an inscription near Abu Handal in Lower Nubia. This might represent a clue that Nynetjer sent an expedition into this region. Nynetjer is commonly identified with the Ramesside cartouche names Banetjer from the Abydos King List, Banetjeru from the Sakkara table, the Palermo Stone inscription presents an unusual goldname of Nynetjer, Ren-nebu, meaning golden offspring or golden calf. Most of the information known about Nynetjers reign are found on the fragments of the Annal Stone of the 5th dynasty. The Palermo Stone lists the events, 7th year, Escort of Horus. 8th year, Appearance of the king, stretching the cords for Hor-Ren, Flood level,1.09 metres 10th year, Appearance of the king of Lower- and Upper Egypt, Race of the Apis bull. 12th year, Appearance of the king of Lower Egypt, second celebration of the Sokar feast, 14th year, First celebration of Hor-seba-pet, Destruction/Foundation of the cities of Schem-Re and Ha Flood level,2.15 metres. 16th year, Appearance of the king of Lower Egypt, second Race of the Apis bull, 18th year, Appearance of the king of Lower Egypt, third celebration of the Sokar feast. 20th year, Appearance of the king of Lower Egypt, offering for the kings mother, the Cairo Stone gives the years 36–44. The surface of the slab is damaged
3.
Khasekhemwy
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Khasekhemwy was the final king of the Second dynasty of Egypt. Little is known of Khasekhemwy, other than that he led several significant military campaigns and built monuments, still extant. His name means The Two Powerful Ones Appear, according to Toby Wilkinsons study of the Palermo Stone in Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt, this near contemporary 5th dynasty document assigns Khasekhemwy a reign of 17.5 or nearly 18 full years. Since the cattle count is shown to be regularly biennial during the dynasty from the Palermo Stone. Khasekhemwy is normally placed as the successor of Seth-Peribsen, though some Egyptologists believe that another Pharaoh, Khasekhem, most scholars, however, believe Khasekhem and Khasekhemwy are, in fact, the same person. Khasekhem may have changed his name to Khasekhemwy after he reunited Upper and Lower Egypt after a war between the followers of the gods Horus and Set. Others believe he defeated the king, Seth-Peribsen, after returning to Egypt from putting down a revolt in Nubia. Either way he ended the infighting of the Second dynasty and reunited Egypt, Khasekhemwy is unique in Egyptian history as having both the symbols of Horus and Set on his serekh. Some Egyptologists believe that this was an attempt to unify the two factions, but after his death, Set was dropped from the serekh permanently and he was the earliest Egyptian king known to have built statues of himself. Khasekhemwy apparently undertook considerable building projects upon the reunification of Egypt and he built in stone at el-Kab, Hierakonpolis, and Abydos. He apparently built a unique, as well as huge, tomb at Abydos, the trapezoidal tomb measures some 70 meters in length and is 17 meters wide at its northern end, and 10 meters wide at its southern end. This area was divided into 58 rooms, prior to some recent discoveries from the 1st dynasty, its central burial chamber was considered the oldest masonry structure in the world, being built of quarried limestone. Here, the excavators discovered the kings scepter of gold and sard, as well as beautifully made small stone pots with gold leaf lid coverings. In fact, Petrie detailed a number of items removed during the excavations of Amélineau, other items included flint tools, as well as a variety of copper tools and vessels, stone vessels and pottery vessels filled with grain and fruit. There were also small, glazed objects, carnelian beads, model tools, basketwork, Khasekhemwy built a fort at Nekhen, and at Abydos and was buried there in the necropolis at Umm el-Qaab. He may also have built the Gisr el-Mudir at Saqqara, Khasekhemwys wife was Queen Nimaethap, mother of the Kings Children. They were the parents of Djoser and Djosers wife Hetephernebti and its also possible that Khasekhemwys son was Sanakhte. Toby Wilkinson, Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt, The Palermo Stone, Egypt, Khasekhem/Khasekhemwy of Egypts 2nd dynasty
4.
Archaeology
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Archaeology, or archeology, is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. In North America, archaeology is considered a sub-field of anthropology, archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology as a field is distinct from the discipline of palaeontology, Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for whom there may be no written records to study. Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the Paleolithic until the advent of literacy in societies across the world, Archaeology has various goals, which range from understanding culture history to reconstructing past lifeways to documenting and explaining changes in human societies through time. The discipline involves surveying, excavation and eventually analysis of data collected to learn more about the past, in broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. Archaeology developed out of antiquarianism in Europe during the 19th century, Archaeology has been used by nation-states to create particular visions of the past. Nonetheless, today, archaeologists face many problems, such as dealing with pseudoarchaeology, the looting of artifacts, a lack of public interest, the science of archaeology grew out of the older multi-disciplinary study known as antiquarianism. Antiquarians studied history with attention to ancient artifacts and manuscripts. Tentative steps towards the systematization of archaeology as a science took place during the Enlightenment era in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, in Europe, philosophical interest in the remains of Greco-Roman civilization and the rediscovery of classical culture began in the late Middle Age. Antiquarians, including John Leland and William Camden, conducted surveys of the English countryside, one of the first sites to undergo archaeological excavation was Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments in England. John Aubrey was a pioneer archaeologist who recorded numerous megalithic and other monuments in southern England. He was also ahead of his time in the analysis of his findings and he attempted to chart the chronological stylistic evolution of handwriting, medieval architecture, costume, and shield-shapes. Excavations were also carried out in the ancient towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and these excavations began in 1748 in Pompeii, while in Herculaneum they began in 1738. The discovery of entire towns, complete with utensils and even human shapes, however, prior to the development of modern techniques, excavations tended to be haphazard, the importance of concepts such as stratification and context were overlooked. The father of archaeological excavation was William Cunnington and he undertook excavations in Wiltshire from around 1798, funded by Sir Richard Colt Hoare. Cunnington made meticulous recordings of neolithic and Bronze Age barrows, one of the major achievements of 19th century archaeology was the development of stratigraphy. The idea of overlapping strata tracing back to successive periods was borrowed from the new geological and paleontological work of scholars like William Smith, James Hutton, the application of stratigraphy to archaeology first took place with the excavations of prehistorical and Bronze Age sites
5.
Epigraphy
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Specifically excluded from epigraphy are the historical significance of an epigraph as a document and the artistic value of a literary composition. A person using the methods of epigraphy is called an epigrapher or epigraphist, for example, the Behistun inscription is an official document of the Achaemenid Empire engraved on native rock at a location in Iran. Epigraphists are responsible for reconstructing, translating, and dating the trilingual inscription and it is the work of historians, however, to determine and interpret the events recorded by the inscription as document. Often, epigraphy and history are competences practiced by the same person, an epigraph is any sort of text, from a single grapheme to a lengthy document. Epigraphy overlaps other competences such as numismatics or palaeography, when compared to books, most inscriptions are short. Typically the material is durable, but the durability might be an accident of circumstance, epigraphy is a primary tool of archaeology when dealing with literate cultures. The US Library of Congress classifies epigraphy as one of the sciences of history. Epigraphy also helps identify a forgery, epigraphic evidence formed part of the discussion concerning the James Ossuary, the study of ancient handwriting, usually in ink, is a separate field, palaeography. The character of the writing, the subject of epigraphy, is a quite separate from the nature of the text. Texts inscribed in stone are usually for public view and so they are different from the written texts of each culture. Not all inscribed texts are public, however, in Mycenaean Greece the deciphered texts of Linear B were revealed to be used for economic. Informal inscribed texts are graffiti in its original sense, the science of epigraphy has been developing steadily since the 16th century. Principles of epigraphy vary culture by culture, and the infant science in European hands concentrated on Latin inscriptions at first, individual contributions have been made by epigraphers such as Georg Fabricius, August Wilhelm Zumpt, Theodor Mommsen, Emil Hübner, Franz Cumont, Louis Robert. The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, begun by Mommsen and other scholars, has published in Berlin since 1863. It is the largest and most extensive collection of Latin inscriptions, New fascicles are still produced as the recovery of inscriptions continues. The Corpus is arranged geographically, all inscriptions from Rome are contained in volume 6 and this volume has the greatest number of inscriptions, volume 6, part 8, fascicle 3 was just recently published. Specialists depend on such on-going series of volumes in which newly discovered inscriptions are published, often in Latin, Greek epigraphy has unfolded in the hands of a different team, with different corpora. The first is Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum of which four volumes came out, again at Berlin and this marked a first attempt at a comprehensive publication of Greek inscriptions copied from all over the Greek-speaking world
6.
Alabaster
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Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft and often used for carving, as well as being processed for plaster powder. The term is used in different ways by archaeologists and the processing industry on the one hand. The first use is in a meaning, covering varieties of two different minerals, the fine-grained massive type of gypsum, as well as the fine-grained banded type of calcite. Geologists only define the gypsum variety as alabaster, chemically, gypsum is a hydrous sulfate of calcium, while calcite is a carbonate of calcium. Both types of alabaster have broadly similar properties and they are usually light-coloured, translucent and soft stones that have been used throughout human history mainly for carving decorative artifacts. Onyx-marble must be understood as a traditional, but geologically inaccurate term, in general, ancient alabaster is calcite in the wider Middle East, including Egypt and Mesopotamia, while it is gypsum in medieval Europe. Modern alabaster is calcite, but may be either. Both are easy to work and slightly water-soluble and they have been used for making a variety of indoor artworks and carvings, as they will not survive long outdoors. Moreover, calcite alabaster, being a carbonate, effervesces when treated with hydrochloric acid, the origin of the word alabaster is in Middle English through Old French alabastre, in turn derived from the Latin alabaster, and that from Greek ἀλάβαστρος or ἀλάβαστος. The Greek words were used to identify a vase made of alabaster and this name may be derived further from the Ancient Egyptian word a-labaste, which refers to vessels of the Egyptian goddess Bast. She was represented as a lioness and frequently depicted as such in figures placed atop these alabaster vessels, other suggestions include derivation from the town of Alabastron in Egypt, described in sometimes contradictory manner by Roman-era authors Pliny and Ptolemy and whose location is not yet known. The purest alabaster is a material of fine uniform grain, but it often is associated with an oxide of iron. The coarser varieties of gypsum alabaster are converted by calcination into plaster of Paris, the softness of alabaster enables it to be carved readily into elaborate forms, but its solubility in water renders it unsuitable for outdoor work. If alabaster with a smooth, polished surface is washed with dishwashing liquid, it will become rough, dull and whiter, losing most of its translucency and lustre. The finer kinds of alabaster are employed largely as a stone, especially for ecclesiastical decoration and for the rails of staircases. Alabaster is mined and then sold in blocks to alabaster workshops, the effect of heating appears to be a partial dehydration of the gypsum. If properly treated, it closely resembles true marble and is known as marmo di Castellina. Alabaster is a stone and can be dyed into any colour or shade
7.
Breccia
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Breccia is a rock composed of broken fragments of minerals or rock cemented together by a fine-grained matrix that can be similar to or different from the composition of the fragments. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means either loose gravel or stone made by cemented gravel. A breccia may have a variety of different origins, as indicated by the named types including sedimentary breccia, tectonic breccia, igneous breccia, impact breccia, and hydrothermal breccia. Sedimentary breccia is a type of sedimentary rock which is made of angular to subangular. A conglomerate, by contrast, is a rock composed of rounded fragments or clasts of pre-existing rocks. Both breccia and conglomerate are composed of fragments averaging greater than 2 millimetres in size, the angular shape of the fragments indicates that the material has not been transported far from its source. Sedimentary breccia consists of angular, poorly sorted, immature fragments of rocks in a finer grained groundmass which are produced by mass wasting and it is lithified colluvium or scree. Thick sequences of sedimentary breccia are generally formed next to fault scarps in grabens, Breccia may occur along a buried stream channel where it indicates accumulation along a juvenile or rapidly flowing stream. Sedimentary breccia may be formed by debris flows. Turbidites occur as fine-grained peripheral deposits to sedimentary breccia flows, in a karst terrain, a collapse breccia may form due to collapse of rock into a sinkhole or in cave development. Fault breccia results from the action of two fault blocks as they slide past each other. Subsequent cementation of these fragments may occur by means of the introduction of mineral matter in groundwater. Volcanic pyroclastic rocks are formed by explosive eruption of lava and any rocks which are entrained within the eruptive column and this may include rocks plucked off the wall of the magma conduit, or physically picked up by the ensuing pyroclastic surge. Lavas, especially rhyolite and dacite flows, tend to form volcanic rocks by a process known as autobrecciation. This occurs when the thick, nearly solid lava breaks up into blocks, the resulting breccia is uniform in rock type and chemical composition. Lavas may also pick up rock fragments, especially if flowing over unconsolidated rubble on the flanks of a volcano, within the volcanic conduits of explosive volcanoes the volcanic breccia environment merges into the intrusive breccia environment. There the upwelling lava tends to solidify during quiescent intervals only to be shattered by ensuing eruptions, clastic rocks are also commonly found in shallow subvolcanic intrusions such as porphyry stocks, granites and kimberlite pipes, where they are transitional with volcanic breccias. Intrusive rocks can become brecciated in appearance by multiple stages of intrusion and this may be seen in many granite intrusions where later aplite veins form a late-stage stockwork through earlier phases of the granite mass
8.
Tomb
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A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber and its central feature is a single, prominent pillar or column, often made of stone. Sarcophagus – a stone container for a body or coffin, often decorated and perhaps part of a monument, sepulchre – a cavernous rock-cut space for interment, generally in the Jewish or Christian faiths. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgräber or kurgans, a cairn, might also be originally a tumulus. A long barrow is a tumulus, usually for numbers of burials. As indicated, tombs are located in or under religious buildings, such as churches. However, they may also be found in catacombs, on land or, in the case of early or pre-historic tombs. The tomb of Emperor Nintoku is the largest in the world by area, however, the Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt is the largest by volume
9.
Abydos, Egypt
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Abydos /əˈbaɪdɒs/ is one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, and also of the eighth nome in Upper Egypt, of which it was the capital city. It is located about 11 kilometres west of the Nile at latitude 26°10 N, in the ancient Egyptian language, the city was called Abdju. The English name Abydos comes from the Greek Ἄβυδος, a name borrowed by Greek geographers from the city of Abydos on the Hellespont. These tombs began to be seen as extremely significant burials and in times it became desirable to be buried in the area. Today, Abydos is notable for the temple of Seti I. It is a chronological list showing cartouches of most dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from Menes until Seti Is father, the Great Temple and most of the ancient town are buried under the modern buildings to the north of the Seti temple. Many of the structures and the artifacts within them are considered irretrievable and lost. Abydos was occupied by the rulers of the Predynastic period, whose town, temple, the temple and town continued to be rebuilt at intervals down to the times of the thirtieth dynasty, and the cemetery was used continuously. The pharaohs of the first dynasty were buried in Abydos, including Narmer, who is regarded as founder of the first dynasty and it was in this time period that the Abydos boats were constructed. Some pharaohs of the dynasty were also buried in Abydos. The temple was renewed and enlarged by these pharaohs as well, funerary enclosures, misinterpreted in modern times as great forts, were built on the desert behind the town by three kings of the second dynasty, the most complete is that of Khasekhemwy. From the fifth dynasty, the deity Khentiamentiu, foremost of the Westerners, Pepi I constructed a funerary chapel which evolved over the years into the Great Temple of Osiris, the ruins of which still exist within the town enclosure. Abydos became the centre of the worship of the Isis and Osiris cult, during the First Intermediate Period, the principal deity of the area, Khentiamentiu, began to be seen as an aspect of Osiris, and the deities gradually merged and came to be regarded as one. Khentiamentius name became an epithet of Osiris, King Mentuhotep II was the first one building a royal chapel. In the twelfth dynasty a gigantic tomb was cut into the rock by Senusret III, associated with this tomb was a cenotaph, a cult temple and a small town known as Wah-Sut, that was used by the workers for these structures. Next to that cenotaph were buried kings of the Thirteenth Dynasty, the building during the eighteenth dynasty began with a large chapel of Ahmose I. The Pyramid of Ahmose I was also constructed at Abydos—the only pyramid in the area, thutmose III built a far larger temple, about 130 ft ×200 ft. He also made a way leading past the side of the temple to the cemetery beyond
10.
Step pyramid
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A step pyramid or stepped pyramid is an architectural structure that uses flat platforms, or steps, receding from the ground up, to achieve a completed shape similar to a geometric pyramid. Step pyramids are structures which characterized several cultures throughout history, in locations throughout the world. These pyramids typically are large and made of layers of stone. The term refers to pyramids of similar design that emerged separately from one another, ziggurats were huge religious monuments built in the ancient Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau, having the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels. There are 32 ziggurats known at, and near, Mesopotamia, twenty-eight of them are in Iraq, and four of them are in Iran. Ziggurats were built by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites and Assyrians as monuments to local religions, the earliest ziggurats probably date from the latter part of the Early Dynastic Period of Sumer. Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance, kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven, with a shrine or temple at the summit, access to the shrine was provided by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit. It was also called Hill of Heaven or Mountain of the gods, the earliest Egyptian pyramids were step pyramids. During the Third Dynasty of Egypt, the architect Imhotep designed Egypts first step pyramid as a tomb for the pharaoh and this structure, the Pyramid of Djoser, was composed of a series of six successively smaller mastabas, one on top of another. Later pharaohs, including Sekhemkhet and Khaba, built structures, known as the Buried Pyramid. In the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, the Egyptians began to build true pyramids with smooth sides, the earliest of these pyramids, located at Meidum, began as a step pyramid built for Sneferu. Sneferu later made other pyramids, the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid at Dahshur, with this innovation, the age of Egyptian stepped pyramids came to an end. One of the structures of Igboland was the Nsude Pyramids, at the Nigerian town of Nsude. Ten pyramidal structures were built of clay/mud, the first base section was 60 ft. in circumference and 3 ft. in height. The next stack was 45 ft. in circumference, circular stacks continued, till it reached the top. The structures were temples for the god Ala/Uto, who was believed to reside at the top, a stick was placed at the top to represent the gods residence
11.
Djoser
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Djoser was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd dynasty during the Old Kingdom and the founder of this epoch. He is well known under his Hellenized names Tosorthros and Sesorthos and he was the son of king Khasekhemwy and queen Nimaathap, but if he also was the direct throne successor is still unclear. The painted limestone statue of Djoser, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, is the oldest known life-sized Egyptian statue, today at the site in Saqqara where it was found, a plaster copy of the statue stands in place of the original. The statue was found during the Antiquities Service Excavations of 1924–1925, in contemporary inscriptions, he is called Netjerikhet, meaning divine of body. Later sources, which include a New Kingdom reference to his construction, help confirm that Netjerikhet, more significantly, the English Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson has demonstrated that burial seals found at the entrance to Khasekhemwys tomb in Abydos name only Djoser, rather than Nebka. This supports the view that it was Djoser who buried and, hence, directly succeeded Khasekhemwy and this is also suggested by another jar sealing, dating to Djosers reign, calling her Mother of the King of the Two Lands. Her cult seems to have still been active in the reign of Sneferu. Inetkawes was their only known by name. There was also a royal female attested during Djosers reign. The relationship between Djoser and his successor, Sekhemkhet, is not known, and the date of his death is uncertain, manetho states Djoser ruled Egypt for twenty-nine years, while the Turin King List states it was only nineteen years. Because of his many building projects, particularly at Saqqara. Manethos figure appears to be accurate, according to Wilkinsons analysis. Unfortunately, next to all entrances are illegible today, the Year of coronation is preserved, followed by the year events receiving the twin-pillars and stretching the cords for the fortress Qau-Netjerw. Djoser dispatched several military expeditions to the Sinai Peninsula, during which the inhabitants were subdued. He also sent expeditions there to mine for minerals such as turquoise. This is known from inscriptions found in the desert there, sometimes displaying the banner of Seth alongside the symbols of Horus, the Sinai was also strategically important as a buffer between the Nile valley and Asia. His most famous monument was his step pyramid, which entailed the construction of several mastaba tombs one over another and these forms would eventually lead to the standard pyramid tomb in the later Old Kingdom. Some fragmentary reliefs found at Heliopolis and Gebelein mention Djosers name, also, he may have fixed the southern boundary of his kingdom at the First Cataract
12.
Saqqara
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Saqqara, also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English /səˈkɑːrə/, is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Saqqara features numerous pyramids, including the world-famous Step pyramid of Djoser, sometimes referred to as the Step Tomb due to its rectangular base, located some 30 km south of modern-day Cairo, Saqqara covers an area of around 7 by 1.5 km. At Saqqara, the oldest complete stone building known in history was built, Djosers step pyramid. Another 16 Egyptian kings built pyramids at Saqqara, which are now in states of preservation or dilapidation. High officials added private funeral monuments to this necropolis during the pharaonic period. It remained an important complex for non-royal burials and cult ceremonies for more than 3,000 years, well into Ptolemaic, north of the area known as Saqqara lies Abusir, south lies Dahshur. The area running from Giza to Dahshur has been used as a necropolis by the inhabitants of Memphis at different times, some scholars believe that the name Saqqara is not derived from the ancient Egyptian funerary god Sokar, but from a supposed local Berber Tribe called Beni Saqqar. The earliest burials of nobles can be traced back to the First Dynasty, during this time, the royal burial ground was at Abydos. The first royal burials at Saqqara, comprising underground galleries, date to the Second Dynasty, the last Second Dynasty king Khasekhemwy was buried in his tomb at Abydos, but also built a funerary monument at Saqqara consisting of a large rectangular enclosure, known as Gisr el-Mudir. It probably inspired the monumental enclosure wall around the Step Pyramid complex, Djosers funerary complex, built by the royal architect Imhotep, further comprises a large number of dummy buildings and a secondary mastaba. French architect and Egyptologist Jean-Philippe Lauer spent the part of his life excavating and restoring Djosers funerary complex. During the second half of the Old Kingdom, under the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, the Fifth and Sixth Dynasty pyramids are not built of massive stone, but with a core consisting of rubble. They are consequently less well preserved than the world-famous pyramids built by the Fourth Dynasty kings at Giza, Unas, the last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty, was the first king to adorn the chambers in his pyramid with Pyramid Texts. It was custom for courtiers during the Old Kingdom to be buried in mastaba tombs close to the pyramid of their king, clusters of private tombs were thus formed in Saqqara around the pyramid complexes of Unas and Teti. Few private monuments from this period have been found at Saqqara, Pyramid of king Khendjer Pyramid of an unknown king During the New Kingdom Memphis was an important administrative and military centre, being the capital after the Amaran Period. From the Eighteenth Dynasty onwards many high officials built tombs at Saqqara, when still a general, Horemheb built a large tomb here, though he was later buried as Pharaoh in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. Other important tombs belong to the vizier Aperel, the vizier Neferrenpet, the artist Thutmose and to Maia, many monuments from earlier periods were still standing, but dilapidated by this period. Prince Khaemweset, son of Pharaoh Ramesses II, made repairs to buildings at Saqqara, among other things, he restored the Pyramid of Unas and added an inscription to its south face to commemorate the restoration
