| Sehener in hieroglyphs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Personal name:
Sehener Ṣḥnr [1] [2] | ||||||
Honorary title:
Sat-nesw Sˀ.t-nsw Daughter of the king | ||||||
 | ||||||
Sehener (alternatively read as Seheneser [1] and Sehefener [2] ) was an ancient Egyptian princess living during the late 2nd Dynasty. It is disputed as to who was the king (pharaoh) that reigned during Sehener's lifetime.
Sehener's name seems to be difficult to read, different scholars propose different alternative readings: James Edward Quibell proposes Sehener and Seheneser, [1] Hartwig Altenmüller instead reads Sehefener. [2] [3]
Sehener is attested only by her decorated slab stela. Next to nothing is known about her life, except for her title as a princess. However, the richly decorated slab stela might point out that Sehener was pretty wealthy and of some importance. It is also unknown, whose daughter exactly she was. The decoration style leads Egyptologists such as James Edward Quibell [1] and Hartwig Altenmüller [2] to a datation at the time between the midst and end of 2nd Dynasty.
As a princess, Sehener bore several elite and pious titularies: [1]
Sehener's slab stela was found by James Edward Quibell in the heavily damaged burial chamber of mastaba 2146-E in Saqqara. [1] It is made of fine polished limestone and measures 112 x 52 cm. The offering scene lies in the center of the slab and takes 57 x 42 cm of space. [1] [2]
Sehener is depicted as a seated woman, she wears a finely curled hair fashion ending in long, delicate dreadlocks. She is dressed in a tight gown which is knotted together above her left shoulder, the knot is made of a lanyard in shape of the Tijt-knot. The lady also wears a delicate pearl necklace. Sehener looks to the right and reaches out for some sort of bread or cake on an offering table. The right half of the apparition window is decorated with the common arrangement of offering foods. [1]
The whole offering table scene in turn is surrounded by a vast storage list in shape of neatly settled compartments. Each compartment provides the exact labelling of each good in hieroglyphs, together with a miniature of the item itself. Additionally, hieroglyphic numbers give the amount of each grave good – Sehener's stela may be the earliest known example to do so. [1]
Sehener's tomb was the small mastaba 2146-E at Saqqara. The tomb is heavily damaged and most of the interior has been destroyed by grave robbers. The interior consisted of a simple corridor ending in a single burial chamber. The burial chamber is thought to be the original place of display for the slab stela, as it was usual for the Second Dynasty. [1] [2]
Djoser was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom, and was the founder of that epoch. He is also known by his Hellenized names Tosorthros and Sesorthos. He was the son of King Khasekhemwy and Queen Nimaathap, but whether he was also the direct successor to their throne is unclear. Most Ramesside king lists identify a king named Nebka as preceding him, but there are difficulties in connecting that name with contemporary Horus names, so some Egyptologists question the received throne sequence. Djoser is known for his step pyramid, which is the earliest colossal stone building in ancient Egypt.
Huni was an ancient Egyptian king and the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom period. Following the Turin king list, he is commonly credited with a reign of 24 years, ending c. 2613 BC.
Menkauhor Kaiu was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom period. He was the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynasty at the end of the 25th century BC or early in the 24th century BC.
Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum were ancient Egyptian royal servants. They shared the title of Overseer of the Manicurists in the Palace of King Nyuserre Ini, sixth pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty, reigning during the second half of the 25th century BC. They were buried together at Saqqara and are listed as "royal confidants" in their joint tomb. They are notable for their unusual depiction in Egyptian records, often interpreted as the first recorded same-sex couple.
The pyramid of Unas is a smooth-sided pyramid built in the 24th century BC for the Egyptian pharaoh Unas, the ninth and final king of the Fifth Dynasty. It is the smallest Old Kingdom pyramid, but significant due to the discovery of Pyramid Texts, spells for the king's afterlife incised into the walls of its subterranean chambers. Inscribed for the first time in Unas's pyramid, the tradition of funerary texts carried on in the pyramids of subsequent rulers, through to the end of the Old Kingdom, and into the Middle Kingdom through the Coffin Texts that form the basis of the Book of the Dead.
The pyramid of Teti is a smooth-sided pyramid situated in the pyramid field at Saqqara in Egypt. It is the second known pyramid containing pyramid texts. Excavations have revealed a satellite pyramid, two pyramids of queens accompanied by cult structures, and a funerary temple. The pyramid was opened by Gaston Maspero in 1882 and the complex explored during several campaigns ranging from 1907 to 1965. It was originally called Teti's Places Are Enduring. The preservation above ground is very poor, and it now resembles a small hill. Below ground the chambers and corridors are very well preserved.
The Tomb of Perneb is a mastaba-style tomb from ancient Egypt, built during the reigns of Djedkare Isesi and Unas, in the necropolis of Saqqara, north of Pharaoh Djoser's Step Pyramid and about 30 kilometers south of Giza, Egypt. It was the tomb of Perneb, and from the size and placement of the tomb he might have been a court official or royal family member.
A false door, or recessed niche, is an artistic representation of a door which does not function like a real door. They can be carved in a wall or painted on it. They are a common architectural element in the tombs of ancient Egypt, but appeared possibly earlier in some Pre-Nuragic Sardinian tombs known as Domus de Janas. Later they also occur in Etruscan tombs and in the time of ancient Rome they were used in the interiors of both houses and tombs.
The pyramid of Djedkare Isesi is a late 25th to mid 24th century BC pyramid complex built for the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh Djedkare Isesi. The pyramid is referred to as Haram el-Shawaf by locals. It was the first pyramid to be built in South Saqqara.
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.
Nefertiabet was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 4th Dynasty. She was possibly a daughter of Pharaoh Khufu.
Khuit II was a wife of King Teti, the first pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt.
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 suggest. 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.
Meresankh IV was a queen of Egypt in the 5th Dynasty. Her name means "she loves life". While some sources consider that her husband is unknown, other sources suggest her husband was Pharaoh Menkauhor Kaiu. It is also possible that Meresankh was the wife of Djedkare Isesi.
The Tomb of Akhethetep, also known as Mastaba of Akhethetep, is a tomb complex in Saqqarah, Egypt. It was built for Akhethetep, a royal official, near the western part of the Pyramid of Djoser. Akhethetep was an official with several, mainly religious titles. including priest of Heka, priest of Khnum and priest of Horus. The tomb's decorated chapel was removed in 1903 and reassembled at the Louvre in Paris, where it is also known as the "Mastaba of Akhethetep" or simply "le mastaba du Louvre".
The Mastaba of Hesy-re is an ancient Egyptian tomb complex in the great necropolis of Saqqara in Egypt. It is the final resting place of the high official Hesy-re, who served in office during the Third Dynasty under King Djoser (Netjerikhet). His large mastaba is renowned for its well-preserved wall paintings and relief panels made from imported Lebanese cedar, which are today considered masterpieces of Old Kingdom wood carving. The mastaba itself is the earliest example of a painted tomb from the Old Kingdom and the only known example from the Third Dynasty. The tomb was excavated by the Egyptologists Auguste Mariette and James Edward Quibell.
Mastaba S3504 is a large mastaba tomb located in the Saqqara necropolis in Lower Egypt. It was built during the reign of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Djet, in the First Dynasty, shortly after 3000 BC. It is one of the largest mastabas from this dynasty. The building was excavated in 1953 by Walter Bryan Emery.
Shepset-ipet was an ancient Egyptian princess living during the late 2nd Dynasty. She may have been the daughter of king (pharaoh) Peribsen or Khasekhemwy. She is known by her decorated slab stela.
Mastaba S3503 is a large mastaba tomb at the Saqqara necropolis in Lower Egypt. The burial was constructed around 3000 BC during the 1st Dynasty of Ancient Egypt.
Meni, Meny or Menankhpepy was an ancient Egyptian high official who lived during the reigns of Pepy I and Merenre Nemtyemsaf I, in the late Sixth Dynasty. Most of what is known about his life comes from his mastaba burial tomb in the Dendera Necropolis, a few hundred metres south of the Temple to Hathor. This tomb was explored during 1897 and 1898 by a team led by the British archaeologist Flinders Petrie.
| Attested pharaohs |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Obscure pharaoh names | ||
| Queens consort | ||
| Other royals | ||
| Other people | ||
| Monument | ||
| Capital | ||
