| Rekhetre in hieroglyphs | ||||
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Rekhetre Rḫ.t Rꜥ | ||||
Rekhetre was an ancient Egyptian queen from the late 4th Dynasty or early 5th Dynasty. She was a daughter of Pharaoh Khafre. [1] Her husband is never mentioned, but Rekhetre would have been the wife of one of Khafre's successors, possibly Menkaure. [2]
Reketre was a King's daughter (of his body), She who sees Horus and Set , Great one of the hetes sceptre and a King's wife. In the tomb of her ka-servant Kaemnefret she is referred to as a daughter of Khafre. [3]
Rekhetre's tomb was excavated in 193–35 by Selim Hassan. The tomb was first just known as the tomb of Rekhit-Ra, but was later given the number G 8530. The tomb is located in the Central Field which is part of the Giza Necropolis. [4]
The tomb has a long passage which takes a 90 degree turn to the left and via an entrance leads to a shorter passage. A sharp turn to the right leads to a chapel. In one corner a niche was created and on the other side three pillars mark the passage to a side room. From that side room a sloping passage leads to a burial chamber containing a sarcophagus. The sarcophagus was empty. The leg bones of a bull were found on top of the sarcophagus, and human bones were found besides the sarcophagus. These human remains may be those of Rekhetre herself. A recess had been cut in one of the walls to hold the canopic jars, but these had disappeared. [3]
Several items were found in the debris from the floor of the burial chamber. These include several small alabaster vases, a lid of a canopic jar, and an alabaster fragment containing the image of a woman seated on a chair. Further fragments of the canopic jars were found in the chapel area and the forecourt of the tomb. [3]
The family tomb G 8538 belongs to Kaemnefert, Irenakhet Iri and Kakaiankh. Kaemnefret was an overseer of ka-priests of the funerary estate, and senior of the dockyard of neheb-boats. [5] [6] He was also a ka-servant of Rekhetre.
Kaemnefret is shown standing before Rekhetre in two matching scenes on the doorjambs. She is shown holding a lotus flower to her nose with her left hand. She is dressed in a simple long dress and has a long tripartite wig. She wears bracelets, anklets, and a necklace. Kaemnefret is shown at a smaller scale before the queen and is holding a censer in his hands. In a register below this scene four ka-servants are depicted: Ptahsheri carries a ewer and a basin, Ihy carries a live goose, followed by Iynefer who is holding a duck in each hand, and then Ptahwer who carries another live goose. All men are apparently wearing their kilts backwards. The matching scene on the other jamb is very similar. The ka-servants in the lower register are shown carrying legs of a bull and another goose. [3]
Menkaure, was an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the fourth dynasty during the Old Kingdom, who is well known under his Hellenized names Mykerinos and Menkheres. According to Manetho, he was the throne successor of king Bikheris, but according to archaeological evidence he rather was the successor of king Khafre. Africanus reports as rulers of the fourth dynasty Sôris, Suphis I, Suphis II, Mencherês, Ratoisês, Bicheris, Sebercherês, and Thamphthis in this order. Menkaure became famous for his tomb, the Pyramid of Menkaure, at Giza and his beautiful statue triads, showing the king together with his wives Rekhetre and Khamerernebty and with various deities.
Khafre was an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the 4th Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. He was the son of Khufu and the throne 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 of 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 historical reports of Herodotus, writing 2,000 years after his life, who describes him as a cruel ruler who kept the Egyptian temples closed after Khufu had sealed them.
Hetepheres I was a Queen of Egypt during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt.
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.
Minkhaf I was an ancient Egyptian prince of the 4th Dynasty. He was a son of Pharaoh Khufu, half-brother of Pharaoh Djedefre and elder brother of Pharaoh Khafre. His mother may have been Queen Henutsen. Minkhaf had a wife and at least one son, but their names are not known.
Djedefhor or Hordjedef was a noble Egyptian of the 4th Dynasty. He was the son of Pharaoh Khufu and his name means "Enduring Like Horus".
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.
Kaemsekhem was an ancient Egyptian nobleman and probably the son of Crown Prince Kawab and Hetepheres II. He later served as the director of the royal palace. He was buried in mastaba G 7660 in the Giza East Field, which is part of the Giza Necropolis.
Meresankh II was a Queen of Egypt who lived during 4th Dynasty.
Khentkaus I, also referred to as Khentkawes, was a royal woman who lived in ancient Egypt during both the Fourth Dynasty and the Fifth Dynasty. She may have been a daughter of king Menkaure, the wife of both king Shepseskaf and king Userkaf, the mother of king Sahure. Some suggest that she was the regent for one of her sons. Perhaps, in her own right, she may have been the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, which aspects of her burial suggests. Her mastaba at Giza – tomb LG100 – is located very close to Menkaure's pyramid complex. This close connection may point to a family relationship. Although the relationship is not clear, the proximity of the pyramid complex of Khentkaus to that of king Menkaure has led to the conjecture that she may have been his daughter.
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 (jrj-pat), count (HAtj-a), 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, and 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.
Iunre (Yunre) was an ancient Egyptian prince of the 4th Dynasty. He was the son of king Khafre. He was named after Ra.
Ankhmare was an ancient Egyptian prince and vizier of the 4th Dynasty. His titles include king's eldest son of his body, as well as chief justice and vizier. Ankhmare was a son of Pharaoh Khafre and was named after the god Ra.
Hemetre (Hemetra) was an ancient Egyptian royal woman of the Fourth Dynasty. Hemetre may have been a daughter or granddaughter of Khafre. She did not hold the title king's wife and may have even married a non-royal. She is mainly known from her tomb, which is located in the central field of Giza. Her name honors the god Ra.
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.
The Central Field is located to the east of Khafre's causeway and extends to the pyramid town of Queen Khentkaus I. One of the main excavators of the central field is Selim Hassan. The central field is located at the site of some large stone quarries that provided the stones for the construction of the first two pyramids at Giza. Hence the tombs date to the later part of the Fourth Dynasty and later. The tombs from the 4th Dynasty include those of queens Persenet, Khamerernebty II, Rekhetre, Khentkaus I and Bunefer, as well as several royal sons.
Bunefer was an ancient Egyptian queen from the 4th or 5th dynasty. It is not known which king she was married to. Bunefer was buried in tomb G 8408 in the Central Field of the Giza Necropolis.
The Pyramid complex of Khentkaus I or Step tomb of Khentkaus I is a Fourth Dynasty two-stepped tomb built for the Queen Mother Khentkaus I in Giza. The tomb, built in two phases coinciding with its two steps, was originally known as the fourth pyramid of Giza. In the first phase, a nearly square block of bedrock, around which the stone had been quarried for the Giza pyramids, was utilized to construct her tomb and encased with fine white Tura limestone. In the second phase, most likely in the Fifth Dynasty, her tomb was enlarged with a large limestone structure built on top of the bedrock block. The Egyptologist Miroslav Verner suggests that this may have been intended to convert her tomb into a pyramid, but was abandoned as a result of stability concerns. South-west of the tomb was a long boat pit, which housed the Night boat of Re. A companion day boat has not been found. A chapel was built into the tomb superstructure, with a large granite entrance bearing the queen's name and titles. One of her titles was of particular interest because it had not previously been known.
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