Kemsit was an ancient Egyptianqueen consort, the wife of pharaohMentuhotep II of the 11th Dynasty. Her tomb (TT308) and small decorated chapel were found in her husband's Deir el-Bahari temple complex,[1] behind the main building, along with the tombs of five other ladies, Ashayet, Henhenet, Kawit, Sadeh and Mayet. Most of them were priestesses of Hathor, so it is possible that they were buried there as part of the goddess's cult, but it is also possible that they were the daughters of nobles the king wanted to keep an eye upon.
Only parts of her sarcophagus have been found, these are now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.[2]
The queen was also depicted on reliefs in the funerary temple of her husband Mentuhotep II. These depictions are today heavily destroyed, but it seems that she appeared in a scene showing a row of royal women. On the preserved fragments she is shown behind queen Kawit. Her title in the depiction is King's Beloved Wife.[3]
Shrine of Kemsit at the Mortuary Temple of Mentuhotep II in Deir el-Bahari.
Kemsit may have been of Nubian origin, as indicated by depictions that show her face as black or dark pink.[4]
Her titles were: King's Beloved Wife (ḥmt-nỉswt mrỉỉ.t=f ), King's Ornament (ẖkr.t-nỉswt), King's Sole Ornament (ẖkr.t-nỉswt wˁtỉ.t),Priestess of Hathor(ḥm.t-nṯr ḥwt-ḥrw).[5]
Sources
↑ Dodson, Aidan, Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. ISBN0-500-05128-3 (2004), p.89
↑ Grajetzki, Wolfram. Ancient Egyptian Queens: A Hieroglyphic Dictionary. London: Golden House Publications. ISBN0-9547218-9-6 (2005), p.30
↑ Dieter Arnold: Relief of Wives of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II, in: A. Oppenheim, d. Arnold, D. Arnold, Kei Yamamoto (editors): Ancient Egypt Transformed, The Middle Kingdom, New York 2015 ISBN978-1-58839-564-1, 102-103, no. 43; the fragments are now in Geneva, Musėesd'Arte ed d'Histore, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Fund 1907 (4767)
↑ Fisher, Marjorie M. (2012). "The History of Nubia". In Fisher, Marjorie M.; Lacovara, Peter; Ikram, Salima; D'Auria, Sue (eds.). Ancient Nubia: African Kingdoms on the Nile. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. p.20. ISBN978-977-416-478-1.
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Ashayet or Ashait was an ancient Egyptian queen consort, a wife of Mentuhotep II in the 11th Dynasty. Her tomb (DBXI.17) and small decorated chapel were found in Mentuhotep II's Deir el-Bahari temple complex. The shrine and burial to Ashayet was found along with the tombs of four other women in their twenties and a young girl, Henhenet, Kawit, Kemsit, Sadeh and Mayet. However, it is likely that there were three other additional shrines that were destroyed in the expansions of Mentuhotep II's burial complex. The nine shrines were built in the First Intermediate Period, prior to Mentuhotep II's reunification of Egypt. She and three other women of the six bore queenly titles, and most of them were Priestesses of Hathor. The location of their burial is significant to their titles as Priestesses of Hathor as the cliffs of Deir el-Bahri were sacred to Hathor from the Old Kingdom onwards.
Henhenet was an ancient Egyptian queen consort, a lower ranking wife of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II of the 11th dynasty. Her tomb (DBXI.11) and small decorated chapel were found in her husband's Deir el-Bahari temple complex, behind the main building, along with the tombs of five other ladies, Ashayet, Kawit, Kemsit, Sadeh and Mayet. Most of them were priestesses of Hathor, so it is possible that they were buried there as part of the goddess's cult, but it is also possible that they were the daughters of nobles the king wanted to keep an eye upon.
Kawit was an ancient Egyptian queen consort, a lower ranking wife of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II of the 11th Dynasty. Her tomb (DBXI.9) and small decorated chapel were found in her husband's Deir el-Bahari temple complex, behind the main building, along with the tombs of five other ladies, Ashayet, Henhenet, Kemsit, Sadeh and Mayet. She and three other women of the six bore queenly titles, and most of them were priestesses of Hathor, so it is possible that they were buried there as part of the goddess's cult, but it is also possible that they were the daughters of nobles the king wanted to keep an eye upon.
Sadeh or Sadhe was an ancient Egyptian queen consort, a lower ranking wife of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II of the 11th Dynasty. Her tomb (DBXI.7) and small decorated chapel were found in her husband's Deir el-Bahari temple complex, behind the main building, along with the tombs of five other women, Ashayet, Henhenet, Kawit, Kemsit and Mayet. She and three other women of the six bore queenly titles, and most of them were priestesses of Hathor, so it is possible that they were buried there as part of the goddess's cult, but it is also possible that they were the daughters of nobles the king wanted to keep an eye upon.
Sobekemsaf(sbk-m-z3=f) was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 17th Dynasty. She was the wife of pharaoh Nubkheperre Intef and sister of an unidentified pharaoh, probably Sekhemre-Heruhirmaat Intef, Sobekemsaf II or Senakhtenre Ahmose.
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