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Pebbles inscribed in demotic from a burial in the tomb of Padikem at Tuna el-Gebel
Martina Minas-Nerpel
Enchoria: Zeitschrift für Demotistik und Koptologie, Volume: 33, Pages: 65 - 90
Swansea University Author: Martina Minas-Nerpel
Abstract
The group of objects presented in this article consists of fifteen pebbles and is so far unparalleled in a funerary context in the entire history of ancient Egypt. The pebbles from Tuna el-Gebel (the necropolis of Khemenu, Greek Hermupolis, modern el-Ashmunein, was the capital of the fifteenth Upper...
| Published in: | Enchoria: Zeitschrift für Demotistik und Koptologie |
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| Published: |
Enchoria
2013
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa11216 |
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| Abstract: |
The group of objects presented in this article consists of fifteen pebbles and is so far unparalleled in a funerary context in the entire history of ancient Egypt. The pebbles from Tuna el-Gebel (the necropolis of Khemenu, Greek Hermupolis, modern el-Ashmunein, was the capital of the fifteenth Upper Egyptian nome) were found in a secondary burial next to the tomb of Padikem (3rd century BC) and they are inscribed in demotic with the names of Egyptian deities, of which some are rather unexpected and otherwise not attested (for example Montu, son of Isis). The combination of all fifteen names is so far unique. The pebbles can be called magical since they were intended to protect the deceased, to ward off evil, and to ensure resurrection with the support of the named deities, very much like mummy masks or hypocephali with the decoration and spells inscribed on them. Because of the number fifteen and the presence of some specific deities, it is possible to establish a context of the moon eye and rebirth. The person who was buried in the sand without a coffin did not belong to the wealthy elite who could afford tombs and expensive funerary equipment. The deceased’s family had the means to pay for mummification, but a mummy mask was evidently too costly. However, a priest was able to supply magical protection by using local pebbles and by inscribing names of deities on them, thus transferring age-old knowledge onto material readily available that he had only to pick up from the ground. The pebbles were based on religious traditions thousands of years old and reflect in a simplified way the mythology of the moon eye, of Thoth, the lunar staircase, and the protective function of funerary masks known from the Old Kingdom onwards. |
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| Item Description: |
The volume will be available in print by autumn 2013. |
| Keywords: |
Egypt: Tuna el-Gebel; funerary equipment; magical protection; demotic. |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Start Page: |
65 |
| End Page: |
90 |