Sekhemkhet

Last updated

Sekhemkhet (also read as Sechemchet) was an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. His reign is thought to have been from about 2648 BC until 2640 BC. He is also known under his later traditioned birth name Djoser-teti and under his Hellenized name Tyreis (by Manetho; derived from Teti in the Abydos King List). Sekhemkhet was probably the brother or eldest son of king Djoser. Little is known about this king, since he ruled for only a few years. However, he erected a step pyramid at Saqqara and left behind a well known rock inscription at Wadi Maghareh (Sinai Peninsula).

Contents

Reign

Cartouche name Teti from the Abydos king list. Abydos KL 03-03 n17.jpg
Cartouche name Teti from the Abydos king list.

The duration of Sekhemkhet's reign is believed to have been six to seven years. The royal Turin Canon attributes six years of reign to Sekhemkhet, [5] a figure also proposed by Myriam Wissa based on the unfinished state of Sekhemkhet's pyramid. [6] Using his reconstruction of the Palermo Stone (5th Dynasty), Toby Wilkinson assigns seven years to this king. This figure is based on the number of year registers preserved in Cairo Fragment I  [ de ], register V. [7] Wilkinson states that "this figure is fairly certain, since the [king's] titulary begins immediately after the dividing line marking the change of reign.". [8] Similarly, the historian Manetho lists Sekhemkhet under the name of Tyreis and indicates that he reigned for seven years. Nabil Swelim, by contrast, proposed a reign of nineteen years, because he believed that Sekhemkhet might be the Tosertasis mentioned by Manetho. [9] However, such a long reign is at odds with the unfinished state of the buried pyramid and this view is generally rejected by Egyptologists.

Clay seal from the island of Elephantine showing Sekhemkhet horus and nebty names. Sekhemkhet Seal.png
Clay seal from the island of Elephantine showing Sekhemkhet horus and nebty names.

Little is known about activities conducted during Sekhemkhet's reign. The only preserved documents showing Sekhemkhet are two rock inscriptions at Wadi Maghareh in the Sinai peninsula. The first one shows Sekhemkhet twice: once wearing the Hedjet crown, another wearing the Deshret crown. The second inscription depicts a scene known as "smiting the enemy": Sekhemkhet has grabbed a foe by its hair and raises his arm in an attempt to club the enemy to death with a ceremonial sceptre. The presence of these reliefs at Wadi Maghareh suggests that local mines of copper and turquoise were exploited during Sekhemkhet's reign. [10] [11] These mines were apparently active throughout the early 3rd Dynasty since reliefs of Djoser and Sanakht were also discovered in the Wadi Maghareh.

Several clay seals presenting an unusual Nebty name together with Sekhemkhet's Horus name were found at the eastern excavation site on the island of Elephantine. The Egyptologist Jean Pierre Pätznik reads the Nebty name as Ren nebty meaning The two ladies are pleased with his name. It is not entirely clear whether this is indeed Sekhemkhet's nebty name or that of a yet unknown queen. [11]

Family

Sekhemkhet's wife may have been Djeseretnebti, but this name appears without any queen's title, and Egyptologists dispute the true meaning and reading of this name. [12] The name has alternatively been read as Djeser-Ti and identified with the cartouche-name Djeser-Teti presented in the Saqqara King List as the direct successor of Djoser. [13] Sekhemkhet surely had sons and daughters, but up to this date no personal name was found.

Some consider Sekhemkhet to be the brother of Djoser, making him another son of Khasekhemwy, who was the final king of the Second Dynasty. If this is true, his mother would be Nimaathap. [14] [15]

Tomb

Schematical depiction of Sekhemkhet's step pyramid Sekhemkhet pyramid - Substructure.png
Schematical depiction of Sekhemkhet's step pyramid
A hoard of 21 gold bracellets and a shell shaped container found in Sekhemkhet's pyramid tomb on display at the Egyptian Museum. Sekhemkhet's gold Bracelets from his Saqqara pyramid.jpg
A hoard of 21 gold bracellets and a shell shaped container found in Sekhemkhet's pyramid tomb on display at the Egyptian Museum.

Sekhemkhet's pyramid is sometimes referred to as the "Buried Pyramid" and was first excavated in 1952 by Egyptian archaeologist Zakaria Goneim. A sealed sarcophagus was discovered beneath the pyramid, but when opened was found to be empty.

Pyramid

Sekhemkhet's pyramid was planned as a step pyramid from the first. Its base was a square measuring 378  ft x 378 ft (220 x 220 cubits). If the pyramid had been completed, it would have had six or seven steps and a final height of 240.5 ft (140 cubits). These proportions would have given the pyramid an angle of elevation of 51˚50', identical to the pyramid at Meidum and the Great Pyramid of Giza. Like Djoser's pyramid, Sekhemkhet's was built of limestone blocks. The monument was not finished, possibly because of the pharaoh's sudden death. Only the first step of the pyramid was completed, leaving a monument in the shape of a large square mastaba.

Subterranean structure

The entrance to Sekhemkhet's burial lies on the northern side of the pyramid. An open passage leads down for 200 ft. Halfway down the track a vertical shaft meets the passage from above. It opens on the surface and its entrance would lie at the second step of the pyramid, if the monument had been completed.

At the meeting spot of the passage and shaft another passageway leads down to a subterranean, U-shaped gallery containing at least 120 magazines. The whole gallery complex has the appearance of a giant comb. Shortly before the burial chamber is reached the main passage splits into two further magazine galleries, surrounding the burial chamber like a "U" (similar to the big northern gallery), but they were never finished.

The burial chamber has a base measurement of 29 ft x 17 ft and a height of 15 ft. It was also left unfinished, but surprisingly a nearly completely arranged burial was found. The sarcophagus in the midst of the chamber is made of polished alabaster and shows an unusual feature: its opening lies on the front side and is sealed by a sliding door, which was still plastered with mortar when the sarcophagus was found. The sarcophagus was empty, however and it remains unclear whether the site was ransacked after burial or whether King Sekhemkhet was buried elsewhere.

A shell shaped container made of gold was found by an Egyptian Antiquities Service excavation team in 1950. [16] The object has a length of 1.4  in and is currently on display in Room 4 of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. [17] A small trove of 21 gold bracelets in Sekhemkhet's tomb was also found in this king's tomb. The bracelets and shell shaped container likely escaped detection by ancient Egyptian tomb robbers who would have looted Sekhemkhet's tomb and the king's sarcophagus in ancient times.

An ivory plaque bearing the form of Sekhemkhet's Saqqara King List name of "Djoserti" found in the remains of his step pyramid tomb. Djeserty.jpg
An ivory plaque bearing the form of Sekhemkhet's Saqqara King List name of "Djoserti" found in the remains of his step pyramid tomb.

Necropolis complex

Because the necropolis of Sekhemkhet was never finished, it is hard to say which planned cultic building had already existed. The pyramid courtyard was surrounded by a niched enclosure wall facing north-west. It was 1.850 ft long, 607 ft wide and 33 ft high. The only archaeologically preserved cultic building is the Southern Tomb, its base measurement is estimated to be 105 ft x 52 ft. The subterranean structure included a tight corridor, beginning on the western side of the tomb and ending in a double chamber. In this chamber in 1963 Jean-Philippe Lauer excavated the burial of a two-year-old toddler. The identity of this child remains a mystery. The only fact known for certain about it is that it cannot be king Sekhemkhet himself, since the king was always depicted as a young man.

No further cultic buildings were detected, but Egyptologists and archaeologists are convinced that once upon a time a mortuary temple and a serdab existed but were destroyed due to the looting of stone from his cult buildings in antiquity.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Djoser</span> Pharaoh of the third dynasty of Egypt

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khasekhemwy</span> Last pharaoh of the second dynasty of Egypt

Khasekhemwy was the last Pharaoh of the Second Dynasty of Egypt. Little is known about him, other than that he led several significant military campaigns and built the mudbrick fort known as Shunet El Zebib.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Userkare</span> Ancient Egyptian pharaoh

Userkare was the second pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, reigning briefly, 1 to 5 years, in the late 24th to early 23rd century BC. Userkare's relation to his predecessor Teti and successor Pepi I is unknown and his reign remains enigmatic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sixth Dynasty of Egypt</span> Final Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt

The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, along with the Third, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanakht</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Sanakht is the Horus name of an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the Third Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. His chronological position is highly uncertain, and it is also unclear under which Hellenized name the ancient historian Manetho could have listed him. Many Egyptologists connect Sanakht with the Ramesside cartouche name Nebka. However, this remains disputed because no further royal title of that king has ever been found; either in contemporary source or later ones. There are two relief fragments depicting Sanakht originally from the Wadi Maghareh on the Sinai Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Djer</span> First-dynasty pharaoh of Egypt

Djer is considered the third pharaoh of the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt in current Egyptology. He lived around the mid 31st century BC and reigned for c. 40 years. A mummified forearm of Djer or his wife was discovered by Egyptologist Flinders Petrie, but was discarded by Émile Brugsch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nynetjer</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Nynetjer is the Horus name of the third pharaoh of the Second Dynasty of Egypt during the Early Dynastic Period. Archaeologically, Nynetjer is the best attested king of the entire dynasty. Direct evidence shows that he succeeded Raneb on the throne. What happened after him is much less clear as historical sources and archaeological evidences point to some breakdown or partition of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huni</span> Ancient Egyptian king and pharaoh

Huni was an ancient Egyptian king, the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom period. Based on the Turin king list, he is commonly credited with a reign of 24 years, ending c. 2613 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menkauhor Kaiu</span> Pharaoh of Egypt

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khaba</span> Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh of 3rd dynasty

Khaba was a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, active during the 3rd Dynasty of the Old Kingdom period. The exact time during which Khaba ruled is unknown but may have been around 2670 BC, and almost definitely towards the end of the dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebra (pharaoh)</span> Horus name of the second early Egyptian king of the 2nd dynasty

Nebra or Raneb is the Horus name of the second early Egyptian king of the 2nd Dynasty. The exact length of his reign is unknown since the Turin canon is damaged and the year accounts are lost. Manetho suggests that Nebra's reign lasted 39 years, but Egyptologists question Manetho's view as a misinterpretation or exaggeration of information that was available to him. They credit Nebra with either a 10- or 14-year rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semerkhet</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Semerkhet is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the First Dynasty. This ruler became known through a tragic legend handed down by the historian Manetho, who reported that a calamity of some sort occurred during Semerkhet's reign. The archaeological records seem to support the view that Semerkhet had a difficult time as king and some early archaeologists questioned the legitimacy of Semerkhet's succession to the Egyptian throne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sekhemib-Perenmaat</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Sekhemib-Perenma'at, is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the 2nd Dynasty. Similar to his predecessor, successor or co-ruler Seth-Peribsen, Sekhemib is contemporarily well attested in archaeological records, but he does not appear in any posthumous document. The exact length of his reign is unknown and his burial site has yet to be found.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Layer Pyramid</span> Archaeological site in Egypt

The Layer Pyramid is a ruined step pyramid dating to the 3rd Dynasty of Egypt and located in the necropolis of Zawyet El Aryan. Its ownership is uncertain and may be attributable to pharaoh Khaba. The pyramid architecture, however, is very similar to that of the Buried Pyramid of king Sekhemkhet and for this reason is firmly datable to the 3rd Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyramid of Unas</span> Fifth Dynasty Egyptian pyramid complex

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebka</span> Throne name of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh

Nebka is the throne name of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Third Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period, in the 27th century BCE. He is thought to be identical with the Hellenized name Νεχέρωχις recorded by the Egyptian priest Manetho of the much later Ptolemaic period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buried Pyramid</span> Step pyramid

The Buried Pyramid is an unfinished step pyramid constructed c. 2645 BC for Sekhemkhet Djoserty. He was the second pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, which reigned over Egypt c. 2686–2613 BC and is usually placed at the beginning of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Many historians believe that the third dynasty played an important role in the transition from Early Dynastic Period of Egypt to the Age of the Pyramids.

Djeseretnebti is possibly the name of an ancient Egyptian queen. Since this name appears without any queen‘s title, Egyptologists dispute the true meaning and reading of this name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Dynasty of Egypt</span> Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Old Kingdom)

The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth. The capital during the period of the Old Kingdom was at Memphis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inykhnum</span> Egyptian high-ranking official

Inykhnum was an ancient Egyptian high-ranking official who worked and lived during the transition time between Second and Third Dynasty of Egypt. The king(s) under which he served are not known for certain, the subject being currently highly disputed.

References

  1. ↑ Turin King List
  2. ↑ Wilkinson 2000 based on the Palermo Stone
  3. ↑ Manetho
  4. ↑ Alan H. Gardiner: The Royal Canon of Turin, Griffith Institute, Oxford 1997, ISBN   0-900416-48-3.
  5. ↑ Alan H. Gardiner: The Royal Canon of Turin, Griffith Institute, Oxford 1997, ISBN   0-900416-48-3, Vol. 2.
  6. ↑ Myriam Wissa: À propos du sarcophage de Sékhemkhet, in: Catherine Berger: Études sur l'Ancien empire et la nécropole de Saqqâra dédiées à Jean-Philippe Lauer, Orientalia Monspeliensia. Vol. 9, 2, Université Paul Valéry – Montpellier III, Montpellier 1997, ISBN   2-8426-9046-X, p. 445–448.
  7. ↑ Toby A. H. Wilkinson: Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and Its Associated Fragments. Kegan Paul International, London 2000, page 115.
  8. ↑ Toby A. H. Wilkinson: Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and Its Associated Fragments. Kegan Paul International, London 2000, page 79-80.
  9. ↑ Nabil Swelim: Some Problems on the History of the Third Dynasty, Archaeological and historical Studies, Vol. 7, ZDB-ID 800015-3, Archaeological Society of Alexandria, Alexandria 1983, p. 221
  10. ↑ Morsi Saad El-Din u. a.: Sinai. The site & the history. Essays. Photographs by Ayman Taher. New York University Press, New York NY 1998, ISBN   0-8147-2203-2, page 30.
  11. 1 2 Jean-Pierre Pätznick: Die Abfolge der Horusnamen der 3. Dynastie. In: Jean-Pierre Pätznick: Die Siegelabrollungen und Rollsiegel der Stadt Elephantine im 3. Jahrtausend v.Chr. Spurensicherung eines archäologischen Artefaktes (= BAR. International Series. Vol. 1339). Archaeopress, Oxford 2005, ISBN   1-84171-685-5, page 76–79.
  12. ↑ Wolfgang Helck: Untersuchungen zur Thinitenzeit. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987, ISBN   3-447-02677-4, pp 108, 117.
  13. ↑ Toby A. H. Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, London/New York 1999, ISBN   0-415-18633-1, page 98.
  14. ↑ Toby A. H. Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, London 2001, ISBN   0415260116, p. 80 - 82, 94 - 97.
  15. ↑ Silke Roth: Die Königsmütter des Alten Ägypten von der Frühzeit bis zum Ende der 12. Dynastie (= Ägypten und Altes Testament, vol. 46). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2001, ISBN   3-447-04368-7, p. 59-61 & 65–67.
  16. ↑ Alessandro Bongioanni & Maria Croce (ed.), The Treasures of Ancient Egypt: From the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Universe Publishing, a division of Ruzzoli Publications Inc., 2003. p.344
  17. ↑ Bongioanni & Croce, p.344

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.