Meresankh III in hieroglyphs | |||||
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Meresankh Mrs ˁnḫ | |||||
Queen Hetepheres II (left) embraces her deceased daughter Meresankh III (right) (MFA 30.1456) |
Queen Meresankh III was the daughter of Hetepheres II and Prince Kawab and a granddaughter of the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu. She was the wife of King Khafre.
Hetepheres also provided her daughter with a black granite sarcophagus decorated with palace facades for Meresankh's burial. [1]
Her tomb was discovered by archeologist George Reisner on April 23, 1927, [2] with subsequent excavations undertaken by his team on behalf of Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Her sarcophagus and skeleton are today located in the Cairo Museum; the latter reveals that she was 1.54 metres (5'1") tall and between 50–55 years at her death. [3] An anthropological study suggested, that she might have suffered from bilateral silent sinus syndrome. [4]
The tomb also contained a set of the earliest known canopic jars. [5] A limestone statue depicting Queen Hetepheres embracing her late daughter Meresankh was found in her tomb and is today located in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. [6]
The children of Meresankh and Khafre include:
Khafre was an ancient Egyptian King (pharaoh) of the 4th Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. He was the son of Khufu and the successor of Djedefre. According to the ancient historian Manetho, Khafre was followed by king Bikheris, but according to archaeological evidence he was instead followed by king Menkaure. Khafre was the builder who made the second largest pyramid of Giza. The view held by modern Egyptology at large continues to be that the Great Sphinx was built in approximately 2500 BC for Khafre. Not much is known about Khafre, except from the reports of Herodotus, writing 2,000 years after his life.
Hetepheres II was a Queen of Ancient Egypt during the 4th Dynasty.
The Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Dynasty IV lasted from c. 2613 to 2494 BC. It was a time of peace and prosperity as well as one during which trade with other countries is documented.
Hetepheres I was a queen of Egypt during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt who was a wife of one king, the mother of the next king, the grandmother of two more kings, and the figure who tied together two dynasties.
Ankhhaf was an Egyptian prince and served as an overseer during the reign of the Pharaoh Khufu, who is thought to have been Ankhhaf's half-brother. One of Ankhaf's titles is also as a vizier, but it is unknown which pharaoh he would have held this title under. He lived during Egypt's 4th Dynasty.
Sneferu, well known under his Hellenized name Soris, was the founding pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom. Estimates of his reign vary, with for instance The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt suggesting a reign from around 2613 to 2589 BC, a reign of 24 years, while Rolf Krauss suggests a 30-year reign, and Rainer Stadelmann a 48-year reign. He built at least three pyramids that survive to this day and introduced major innovations in the design and construction of pyramids.
Ptahshepses was the vizier and son-in-law of the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh Nyuserre Ini. As such he was one of the most distinguished members of the royal court. Ptahshepses' mastaba complex in Abusir is considered by many to be the most extensive and architecturally unique non-royal tomb of the Old Kingdom.
Nebemakhet was a king's son and a vizier during the 4th Dynasty. Nebemakhet was the son of King Khafre and Queen Meresankh III. He is shown in his mother's tomb and in his own tomb at Giza.
Kawab is the name of an ancient Egyptian prince of the 4th Dynasty. He was the eldest son of King Khufu and Queen Meritites I. Kawab served as vizier and was buried in the double mastaba G 7110–7120 in the east field which is part of the Giza Necropolis.
Khufukhaf I was an ancient Egyptian prince and vizier of the 4th Dynasty.
Khamerernebty II was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 4th Dynasty. She was a daughter of Pharaoh Khafre and Queen Khamerernebty I. She married her brother Menkaure and she was the mother of Prince Khuenre.
Meresankh II was a Queen of Egypt who lived during 4th Dynasty.
Princess Hetepheres was an Egyptian princess who lived during the 4th Dynasty. Hetepheres was the daughter of King Sneferu and the wife of vizier Ankhhaf.
Duaenre was a vizier under Menkaure during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt. His titles include those of king's son of his body, hereditary prince, count, vizier (tAjtj), scribe of the divine book, mouth of Nekhen, and mouth of every Butite.
Iunmin was a vizier from the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt. He was possibly a son of king Khafre. He served as vizier towards the end of the dynasty, possibly during the reign of his brother Menkaure.
Meritites II or Meritites A was a 4th Dynasty princess of ancient Egypt, probably a daughter of King Khufu. She may have been a daughter of Meritites I based on the fact that this queen is mentioned in mastaba G 7650. She married the Director of the Palace, Akhethotep, and she had several children with her husband. Meritites and her husband shared a mastaba G 7650 in Giza.
Rekhetre was an ancient Egyptian queen from the late 4th Dynasty or early 5th Dynasty. She was a daughter of Pharaoh Khafre. Her husband is never mentioned, but Rekhetre would have been the wife of one of Khafre's successors, possibly Menkaure.
Sekhemkare was a vizier from the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt. He was a son of king Khafre and queen Hekenuhedjet. He served as vizier during the beginning of the next dynasty, during the reigns of Userkaf and Sahure. Sekhemkare is the only son of Khafre whose death can be fairly securely dated to a precise reign, here that of Sahure.
Babaef was a vizier from the late Fourth Dynasty of Egypt. He was likely the son of the vizier Duaenre and hence a grandson of Khafre. He served as vizier during the reign of his cousin Shepseskaf.
Djaty I was a prince who lived in the ancient Egypt during the 4th Dynasty. He was an overseer of a royal expedition.