Volume 150, Issue 1

In 2019 and as part of the project “Thutmose’ I Amduat-Specimen”, further research work was performed at the tomb KV 38. During last course of this exploration, I achieved to secure more small mud-plaster fragments of the Book of Amduat, of which the cliff walls of the burial chamber were decorated. These different Amduat fragments can be identified as a part of the fourth, eighth, and ninth hour of the Book of Amduat. About the ninth hour there had never been a hint or a corresponding mention of it before. Therefore, this is also a piece of new archaeological evidence. After a comparative analysis of the paleographic and iconographic features of the displayed scenes on the newly found Amduat fragments with similar scenes from the tomb KV 34, it could be proved that there is a definite development between the time of Thutmose I and his successors. Furthermore, these sections highlight the iconographic features of the Amduat version of Thutmose I – their characteristic attributes and archaic decoration style form the original basis on which all subsequent versions have been built. Thus, this version could be the earliest source of the theological underworld books of the early 18th Dynasty.

The investigation concerns the enigmatic signs incised on the magic ivories of the Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period. They represent tutelary deities mainly of the cardinal points protecting private houses and tombs against various demons and enemies. Apparently, they are forerunners of the symbols of the magical bricks of BD 151 from the New Kingdom.

Newly found hieratic graffiti in the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari enable shedding new light on the history of the area in the period of the 21 st Dynasty. Three of them, written in the form of memoranda relating presumably to work done in the area, can be dated to the very end of the pontificate of the high-priest Menkheperre. There are good reasons to relate them to a burial or burials in the neighbouring Bab el-Gasus cache or else to the work done in this tomb at an early stage of its building history.

This study of the Late Egyptian literary work, The Contendings between the Body and the Head , presents a new edition of the Turin writing tablet CGT 58004. Having visualised recent photos of the tablet with DStretch, a new transcription of the text can be presented, along with a new translation. A textual analysis, moreover, reveals the highly playful and metaphorical nature of the language, whereby the feminine body paints a vivid picture of her roles and responsibilities in order to challenge the primacy of the masculine head.

This paper deals with the title jry nfr-ḥȝ.t , which has been debated for a long time. The aim is to identify all individuals who weared this title from the Old Kingdom until the Late Period. The study of people wearing this title can provide some keys to understand the meaning of the expression jry nfr-ḥȝ.t . Some textual and iconographical informations give an idea of its significance, the period and reason of its creation, even if there are no direct evidence. The reuse of the title during the Late Period can be understood as well.

In 1877 Heinrich Brugsch, the founder of the ZÄS, mentioned a publication in print concerning foreign peoples in his „Geschichte Ägyptens unter den Pharaonen“. However, the work entitled „Ueber die libyschen Völker im 14. und 13. Jahrhundert vor Chr. Geb.“ should never appear. Six sheets from the estate of Ernst Weidenbach’s great-granddaughter can now be identified as part of this once announced work.

The Malqatta Palace was built in the vicinity of modern Luqsor for the celebrations of the first sed festival of Amenhotep III. This archaeological site is renowned for its decorations but also for the thousands of jar labels found. They provide valuable information concerning the food product, the date, the origin, the stewart responsible for the area and the associated titles, the person in charge of the preparation and, thus, his specific title. One of those jobs’ designation, "responsible for fat preparation", hasn’t been read accurately so far. This article aims to provide an answer to this shortcoming. This title, which seems attested only at Malqatta and during the last years of Amenhotep III, should read p/fs(w) ʿḏ and should be translated as "fat-boiler".

The article studies the trope of the crocodile bird in its evolution from antiquity to the present day. The story tells of the mutualistic behaviour between the Nile crocodile and an Egyptian bird, typically known as the trochilus . The trope has a complex history: primarily known from classical writers, it spread in fact to Jewish and Islamic traditions, too. The story is universally thought to be an invention of Herodotus. But a demotic papyrus, here published for the first time, proves that the trope of the crocodile bird has its true origin in ancient Egyptian culture.

A fragmentary ostracon, inscribed in Egyptian hieratic and found by the Austrian team during renewed excavations at Lachish, can safely be dated to the early (pre-Amarna) 18th dynasty. Albeit difficult to read, it seems to preserve part of a list with apparently Canaanite names and allocated provisions, in a structured layout. This differs notably from the later (Ramesside) hieratic inscriptions from Lachish and provides important evidence for early scribal practice and Egyptian involvement at the site in the 15th century BC.