Hatshepsut - 8th Pylon, Karnak Temple

Building at Karnak seems to have been somewhat of a priority for Hatshepsut.

A large part of the responsibilities on the shoulders of a Pharaoh was religious- or so it seems to me. The monuments so far mentioned on the Hatshepsut Project are dedicated to deities; Amun Ra, Pakhet, Anubis and Hathor spring to mind. Hatshepsut was no different to most pharaohs of Ancient Egypt.

Building at Karnak Temple would have given Hatshepsut the opportunity to show she was no different to her father. By this i mean "my father erected obelisks here and so shall I".

Not only her father, but previous Pharaohs in general. Also living at Karnak are the hugely powerful and influential priests (and priestesses?) of Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Surely pleasing them by building in the names of their gods would show Hatshepsut's loyalty(?)

The 8th Pylon at Karnak is one more of the building achievements of Hatshepsut still visible in Situ today. Digital Karnak is a very reliable source of information. They are also the source of the photograph above.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut Punt Relief - Brussels

Musée du Cinquantenaire, Brussels

This is just one of the fragments from Deir el Bahri housed outside Egypt, but known to Egyptology

Although not in-situ, fragments like these can be used when piecing together the walls of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple. Exact replicas can be made and integrated into the temple walls.

From the Punt Colonnade, originally. The photograph comes from the Global Egyptian Museum's website. they have a great collection of Egyptian artifacts and are well worth the visit.

Regards,
Stuart

KV60 - the Theban Mapping Project

Designated as Tomb of Sit-Re, called In.

KV60 is a tomb located within the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank of Luxor. The location of the valley in a remote and barren rocky area was first used during the early new kingdom.

Thutmose I would be the first pharaoh to be buried in the valley. Soon to follow would be Hatshepsut, Thutmose II and Thutmose III. As a royal burial ground it is only right that the Thutmoside pharaohs be buried here, together.

Within KV60 there was to be an unusual addition to the royal valley- Sit-Re, called In.

Sit-Re, called In was the wet- nurse to Hatshepsut. Someone who doubtlessly had spent much time with the queen/pharaoh. Exactly how close she was to Hatshepsut apart from her job title may not be known - but she was buried within the Valley of the Kings alongside pharaohs.

Please click on the above link for further information.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut Project - Searching the blog made easier

During the many small changes made to the blog appearance recently - I realised that searching the blog needs to be improved. The labels are working well, so too the blog history, but I wanted a better way of searching my own blog.

So now at the very bottom of the blog Home page you will see a Google search box. Just type in what you are looking for and all related posts will be displayed.

Testing provided excellent results, but if your own experience using the new search box differs to mine, then please let me know immediately. I've turned off web searches, so all results are specific to this blog only.

I hope this new addition proves useful. Feedback will be very much appreciated.

Regards,
Stuart

Deir el Bahri, Excavation of Middle Platform

Deir el Bahri, Excavation of Middle Platform, Dec 1894
Originally uploaded by The Egypt Exploration Society

This photograph is from the archives of the Egypt Exploration Society - showing the clearance of the middle platform of Deir el Bahri.

Top- left of the photo is the remains of a monastery of Saint Phoibammon. Built of brick and re-used stone - it was to be knocked down by Francois - Auguste Mariette. This was due to Mariette conducting what would turn out to be the first large- scale excavation of the temple.

Thanks to the EES for the photo and Hatshepsut - From Queen to Pharaoh (Metropolitan Museum of Art and others)- pages 290-291 for the information on the Coptic monastery and Mariette's excavation.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - Pyramidion

The Egyptian Museum Cairo Egypt 160908
Originally uploaded by rob 68

From the grounds of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

The figure of Hatshepsut has been erased and replaced by offering stands rather than another pharaoh.

From Karnak Temple, Luxor.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut Article - Wicked Stepmother or Joan of Arc?

Written in 2004, i find this article interesting. The author is Peter Dorman- an associate professor of Egyptology at Chicago University (at least at the time of writing the article).

The subject matter itself is one which has caused much controversy ever since the name of Hatshepsut became known to modern scholars. The article is inconclusive, which i personally feel is the correct finding- based solely on the artifacts which are available to us to see today.

Its an informative read, so i leave you all to draw your own conclusions. This article comes from the archives of the Oriental Institute, Chicago. I will be posting further articles from Peter Dorman in the future as he appears to have written much of the time of Hatshepsut.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - Visible Cartouche at Deir el Bahri - Part 3

Unintentionally, i have been looking for cartouches at Deir el Bahri which are still visible today.

The Lower Chapel of Anubis at Deir el Bahri has an example of a pillar which has both the nomen and praenomen (see definitions, below) of Hatshepsut. Highlighted on Maat-Ka-Ra-Hatschepsut (Dr.Karl Leser), this area is described in detail and includes a photo to show the cartouches. I have yet to find a similar photo outside of Dr. Leser's site, so i suggest to go there for more information.

Please click the above link and use the site-map to find the Lower Chapel of Anubis (middle terrace).

Also for definitions of Ancient Egyptian titulary, Wikipedia is worth visiting

With thanks again to Dr Leser.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - "New Sphinx" at Deir el Bahri

Deir el Bahri finally has a sphinx on display. I find this photo really exciting. On recent visit to Deir el Bahri, Dr Karl Leser took this photo and was kind enough to pass this photo on to me - with permission to use it on this blog.

From the picture, we are able to see that a number of fragmented pieces have been brought together to recreate this "new sphinx". Currently it is housed at Deir el Bahri in the stone garden next to the temple of Thutmose III. In the future, perhaps it may be integrated into the area of Hatshepsuts mortuary temple - although that is pure guesswork on my part.

For those who have visited or studied Hatshepsuts temple - we know for sure that a number of sphinxes graced the temple. Today there are none on site, but there are (restored and fragmented) Hatshepsut sphinxes in museums. One on site (at Deir el Bahri) would be a wonderful inclusion.

I hope we will find out more in time. Should you have any further information, then i would love to hear from you.

Thanks to Dr. Karl Leser for kindly sharing this photograph with us.

Regards,
Stuart

TT11 - Tomb of Djehuty

TT11 (Theban Tomb No.11) in the Theban Necropolis is the tomb of Djehuty. Djehuty was the Overseer of the Treasury & Overseer of the Works during the reign of Hatshepsut.

Other than Senenmut, i have yet to include anyone with a real connection to Hatshepsut (outside family members), so this will add another name to the Hatshepsut Project. His tomb mentions of course Hatshepsut, for whom he worked and is another person who is involved in the life of our female pharaoh.

Jane Akshar's blog provides some very useful posts, as does Dr Karl Leser's website (search Persons,Djehuti).

Senenmut and Djehuty, as well as the other people involved in Hatshepsut's reign provide a lot of information for modern day scholars and researchers. Dates, achievements, job titles and much more can be found on the walls of their tombs and on their statues.

Update: Further findings in Djehuty's tomb by Kate Phizackerley

Regards,
Stuart

Foundation Deposits by Tour Egypt

In an earlier post i mentioned foundation deposits. Within the post i said:

"I cannot say for sure why foundation deposits were deemed necessary"

Looking further into this (and there's a good deal of online resources for this) - the placing of foundation deposits was part of a much larger ritualistic ceremony. Information provided by TourEgypt gives us the full ceremony and how foundation deposits fit into it:

Beginning the Construction

1. "Stretching the Cord", thereby fixing the plan of the building.
2. Purifying the area to be built upon by sprinkling gypsum.
3. Digging the first foundation trench
4. Filling the foundation trench with sand
5. Moulding the first brick or bricks
6. Burying the foundation deposits
7. Initiation of the building work

Completion of Construction

8. Purification of the completed temple
9. Presenting the temple to the deities to whom it is dedicated
10. Offering of sacrifices

Thank you to TourEgypt for the information. Although i linked to their site during the original post - i feel it necessary to post the above-to show that foundation deposits are now less of a mystery to me- now that the above is known.

At a later date i will discuss who discovered the various foundation deposits around Deir el Bahri, when they discovered them, what was included and where they are now. A lot more information gathering is necessary before i am able to do this.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - NTrj-mnw - Karnak Open Air Museum

M20081120_594
Originally uploaded by kairoinfo4u

Let's start by making then name a bit easier to say - NTrj-mnw can be pronounced Netery Menu (Neterry Menoo).

Located in the Karnak Temple Open Air Museum, the NTrj-mnw (meaning "Divine Monument") in the form of 240 blocks- is the latest of Hatshepsut's monuments to be mentioned on this blog.

Dr. Karl Leser, known (amongst other achievements) for his Hatshepsut related website Maatkara Hatschepsut informed me about the "Divine Monument" by email. His website has an excellent description of the monument and further photos, including the appearance of Neferure. The above photo provided by Kairoinfo4u just happened to be a saved favourite of mine on Flickr. Until today, i did not know which monument this came from.

All information on the transliteration and translation, plus the location and number of blocks within this post comes directly from Dr. Leser's website, which is where you will find out the currently available information regarding this monument (click on the above link).

Two points i would like to add:

* We have 2 further cartouches of Hatshepsut which appear to be undamaged in the way we would expect of a Hatshepsut cartouche.

Look at both Lion's heads (the lions head and paw make up the "Hat" in the name Hatshepsut. They are carved individually and are different. Also note the distance between the flail (the item held in the hand of the seated figure) and the lions paw to show that both cartouches were done at different times (perhaps by different individuals?). These are the types of things that stand out to me when looking at blocks like this.

Thank you Dr Leser for the information supplied by private correspondence and your website.

Thank you also Kairoinfo4u - you're becoming a regular on my blog and long may that continue.

Regards,

Stuart

Book Recommendations - Dr Joyce Tyldesley

I must admit that my love of reading started around the time my interests in Egypt began. Before then i would have taken a mammoth effort for me to read anything. I was more interested in my hobbies.

Now, in 2011 as stated above- i love reading. A huge majority of my reading is Ancient Egypt related and i wish the bug had bitten me earlier. Every chapter of every book provides new information and this is what i crave.

I will share more of my own collection of books in time, but there's one person in particular who is able to grab my (occasionally short) attention span like no other and her name appears in the title of this post.

I was introduced the the work of Dr Tyldesley when i was given a book entitled "Egypt - How a lost civilization was rediscovered". Since then i have been sure to purchase further books by Dr Tyldesley.

What i personally enjoy from a Joyce Tyldesley book is the fact that they flow so well. Uncomplicated language is always essential to those "new" to Ancient Egypt, which i was. I was so gripped throughout that i was truly sad to eventually be looking at the last page of the book.

So i searched for more and was not to be disappointed. Of particular note to this blog are:

Hatchepsut - The Female Pharaoh, Penguin Books

Daughter of Isis - Women of Ancient Egypt, Penguin Books

Egypt's Golden Empire - The Dramatic Story of Life in the New Kingdom, Review

Egypt - How a Lost Civilization was Rediscovered, BBC Books


Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - Auctions

I posted recently about my concerns about private collections. Rather than assuming that all private collections are black market born collections, I wanted to show that well- known auction houses have been selling Egyptian antiquities for many years.

The Griffith Institute (University of Oxford) is one source of information which highlights some previous auctions, which have included Hatshepsut- related artifacts.

Seen here are a few items mentioning Hatshepsut, which have changed hands over the years through auction houses. I am unsure as to the rules concerning modern auctions - this is a very small glimpse into the world of the auctions houses and their role in moving Egyptian artifacts from collector to collector.

This is also a great opportunity to welcome the Griffith Institute to the Hatshepsut Project. The information which can be gained from visiting their site is worth sharing.

A link specifically to their "collections" page can be seen here. I have only introduced these collections. I leave the browsing to you as your interests may differ slightly from mine.

I am sure more will follow, regarding the Griffith Institute and their site.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut Project - New Page added

Hatshepsut Project - Background work...

...can be found on the top- right of the blog, under Museums and Sites. This is a chance to share what i am working on and in some cases what i plan to work on in the near future.

Regards,
Stuart

Email account hijacked

I am used to the benefits of having an email address and now i must get used to the fact that hijackers are ready to pounce at any time.

As you will see from this blog i use Hotmail, under the name styler78. I publicly include my email on this blog and welcome all emails.

It seems that my account has been hijacked within the last 2-3 days. Emails are going out in my name, which are not of my making.

If anyone receives an email which reads something along the lines of:

"there is so much we need to catch up on I found something that is ideal for your lifestyle I didnt think that this could do much for me at first (spam email address) ive never seen so much money in my entire life its always good to broaden your horizons"

then the email is not from me.

Using Hotmail's own advise- I've changed my password and will assume that this will correct matters. If you get an email from me which you would like me to verify- please ask (post a comment on this post). I would say that 90% of my emails will specifically be about Ancient Egypt. If not-then do not click any links.

Also i will sign emails "Regards, Stuart"-or similar, as i tend to do on this blog. Do not click any links on possibly "dodgy" emails.

Thank you (and of course my apologies) to Dr. Leser for your email- informing me of this.

I will change my email address if problems persist,

Regards,
Stuart

News from the Valley of Kings - Kate Phizackerley

I am a proud follower of Kate Phizackerley and her News from the Valley of Kings blog.

Last night as i was nearing brain- freeze on Flickr - i decided to drop in to see what Kate was posting. To my delight, Kate had just posted the following article:

UK TV Tonight 10pm - Hatshepsut

After running around the house, tripping up over my blog material (the horrible paper-based information which i always have the intention of working through, but inevitably end up resting my coffee cup on) i turned on the TV.

Now as a blogger (and specifically a Hatshepsut blogger), i share this delayed information with you.

The documentary is related to the Punt trading expeditions which are documented on the walls of Deir el Bahri- and for which Hatshepsut is so well known.

I intend to make notes, but have yet to do so. However, as luck would have it- there is a lovely write-up on another blog i follow: Egyptology News by Andie Burns/ Kat Newkirk.

Other blogs have been so helpful to the Hatshepsut Project. Please feel free to drop in to see what others are reporting on.

Thanks to Kate/Andie/Kat

Regards,
Stuart

Warsaw University's Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology in Cairo

My last post "Deir el Bahri 1962" touched on the work done at Deir el Bahri from 1961- present.

The link i posted is excellent. More importantly- it is their site which is excellent. There are a number of downloadable PDF files which I've been able to view and print which i would like to share.

Rather than a great list of links, i will include links to PDFs to highlight specific areas of (restoration/ conservation/ cleaning/ study, etc) work which will aid my/ your understanding of the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut.

I have yet to look at all the available documents, although i will print every available document and save the links for a "rainy day".

Whilst i am sorting through the documentation i have accrued - i would like to share the following link, which comes directly from the Warsaw University site:

Deir el Bahri by Zbigniew E. Szafrański (follow the link then click "Deir el Bahri" on the right hand side of the screen). The PDF is in English.

More links will follow. I feel that it is important to hear directly from those "in the field" and this short Wikipedia Article confirms who Zbigniew E. Szafrański is.

This very well written article and the others that i will share should prove to be invaluable to gathering information on Deir el Bahri. I look forward to spending some time looking through the many other documents i have been able to locate.

Regards,
Stuart

Deir el Bahri 1962

Bild 0058.jpg
Originally uploaded by risotto al caviale

This is the type of photograph that really makes it all worth while to me.

In 1961 (as i look at page 293 of Hatshepsut- from Queen to Pharaoh), Deir el Bahri was to be taken under the wing of the Warsaw University's Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology in Cairo.

During 1961, restoration work began on the Upper Terrace (pictured). The wooden scaffolding has been built so that the Ptolemaic Portico can be restored to its present day condition.

Restoration, conservation and study continues at Deir el Bahri today (by Warsaw University). Hatshepsut's mortuary temple has been very well cared for. It can be too easy to take for granted the work that goes on "behind the scenes" in Egypt. Deir el Bahri suffered over the years, but today "she" can be considered one of the most inspiring of all the many sites in Egypt.

Regards,
Stuart

18th Dynasty Family Tree Anneke Bart

Here we have a site that has helped me to try to understand the 18th Dynasty family tree.

Thank you to Anneke Bart for the information provided on your website.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - Visible Cartouche at Deir el Bahri - Part 2

Hatshepsut Djeser-djesru 3470
Originally uploaded by kairoinfo4u

Looking through thousands of photos can sometimes be unrewarding. Some days however, patience is rewarded.

Kairoinfo4u provides a photo which shows at first glance the throne name of Thutmose II, "Aakheperenre". However on closer inspection it seems that the name of Thutmose II was carved over an earlier cartouche.

Now, with the photo enlarged we clearly see "Maatkara" which we know to be the Prenomen (throne name) of Hatshepsut.

Whilst not a surprise to see the name of Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahri (another was mentioned in a previous post) this is the first time i have been able to read her name under that of another (in this case, her husand).

I cannot give an exact location for this cartouche, but will if let you know if that changes.

Regards,
Stuart

Deir el Bahri - Senseneb

http://www.metmuseum.org/Imageshare/eg/large/INST.1979.2.30_chr.jpg

Thanks to Debbie for the information about watercolour paintings at the MMA. This is the second of the Howard Carter Deir el Behri watercolours which i have been able to locate pictures of. One thing that strikes me about the 2 featured so far is the quality.

Until today, the name of Senseneb/ Seniseneb was unknown to me. Often my posts are written like this - literally as i find out something new and useful- it appears here.

Having referred to Dr Leser's site and also Anneke Bart's site, as well of course as the source of the picture, the MMA (linked above) - the name of Sen(i)seneb will be an important part of the Hatshepsut jigsaw.

Sen(i)seneb is the mother of Thutmose I, grandmother of Hatshepsut. Although very early days, i have yet to find out much about her, except for her appearance at Deir el Bahri and her relationship to Hatshepsut. If i can find out more, i will post my findings at a later date.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut Project - work in progress....

I am playing around with the design of the blogs template - so forgive me if things look a bit odd for a while...

Stuart

Senenmut and Neferure - British Museum

Statue of Senenmut and Neferura
Originally uploaded by Lenka P

As a father, i am always taken back when i see sculptures like this wonderful example from the British Museum. To me this appears to be be a very loving, protective picture of what appears to be a father and daughter (at a glance). Thutmose II, Neferure's father would object to such a statement. But where are the statues featuring Neferure and Hatshepsut/ Thutmose III?

Neferure (Neferura if you like) is the only (confirmed) child of Hatshepsut that i am aware of. Here, she is shown with (one of) her tutor(s), Senenmut.

Senenmut is the one person who (outside of recognised family members) is depicted the most with Hatshepsut's daughter, Neferura, but not the only person which i will highlight at a later date.

This is one of many such statues showing such an embrace between these two people. What role did a tutor play in Ancient Egypt? Probably a dominant role in the lives of those who were under their tutorship, after the early days of their wet- nurse.

I highlight this photo due to both Senenmut and Neferura being present. Thanks to Lenka P for the original photo.

Regards,
Stuart