volumeI No, 2
Fall 1998
THE OSTruICO]Y
EGYPTIAN STU D Y S OCIE T Y O oMNHr9l9 . PUBLICATIONSCOMMITTEE GraemeDavis JudyGreenfield IVaryPratchell ESSSTAFFLIAISOT' Dr RobertPickering
IN THISISSUE Page 2
I IHE OSTR]4COI, is publishedfourtimesperyearby mernbeBof lhe EgyplianStudySocjety.The ESS,a supporlgroupof the OENVER MUSEU OF iIATURAL HISTORY,is a non-profitorganization 14 whosepurpoâ‚Źeis to sludyancientEgypt.Articlesare clntributedby membeBand scholarson a volunlarybasis.Memberparticapaton is 16 encouraged. No$ingrnaybe reprintedin wholeor partwithorilwritten @1998EgyplianStudySociety Publicalionof the Ostacon is suppotledby a gnnt from THEPETTYFOUNDATION
Royal Mummies:Beforc and Aftot, paft 2 by tvlaianneLuban Dwais in AncientEgypt by BonnieSampsell Life on an EovDtianExoedilion - .---by DickHardwood The Electic Papyrus:New Media Reviews
Qogol $Aummies $efoYe ond iA1i"v, ltoct 2 bg tf[cricooe
4lubon
About the Author
corpse,"bul Theoldsayingis"Dieyoungandleaveagood-looking Ramsesll was happynot lo comply.One can imaginesevefal generations ofhis subjectsfeelingcerlainlhatlhe god-kingwould neverdie al all, havingbeen aroundas long as anyonecould lhis remember- ratherlike QueenVicloriain her lime. However, pharaohhadthesadlaskofburyingmanyofhis childrenandheirs lf one whothemselves fultilledthe usual'ifeexpeclancy. appafent, wantedlo accomplish somelhingin ancientEgypl,one hadlo do As agedas lhe worldis, realmedicine, the kindlhatcan it qLrickly. conttnuedhon vol 9 No. 1 populacealivepastsixty-live,is lesslhan a keep the bulk of lhe Personaly, I had much rather somelhing olher than a single Maianne Luban is a lifelong student ot ancient EWpt who specializes in the royal nunnies of the New Kingdom and in EWptian language She is a witer living in Minnesota, whose shott fictian collectton. "The Samaitan Treasure' is describecl in "500 Great Baoks By Wonen (Vikins/Penguin), and the noderator ot an lnlemet discussianlist ca ed'ScnbeList. devated to ancient
amulet had suNived of Seti | - a good and true bust or slatue. Oddly enough, the sculpturedwofks are conspicuouslylacking. one full-sEestatue from the "Karnak cache" is undoubledJyofthe king and evidences great charm bul va ous parts are missing, mosl reglettablythe nose and ihe inlay of lhe eyes. Besideslhe ma i meds laiue,alllc an re c a l l a rea s ma l l e rp i e c e s h o wi ngtheki ng and an unidenlinedhead in lhe Lou kneelifg (in the l,4etropolilan) vre, weaing the blue battle crown, which looks like Selito me I believelhis void is one of lhe many mysteriesof ancienl Egypl in view ofthe factthat Seti's reign was not exacllya briefone. Fortunatelyfor his legacylo us,lhe ad ofreliefcarving reachedils hlgh esl point at this time, so that all connected with this pharaoh appeaG teffibly eleganl - mummy, porlraits,buildings,and lomb. ln my opinion, King Selis fine iace is wodh any artistic masler and s surely superjor lo mosi in oiece displayed beauly and age To me the fact thal lhis man and olhers likâ‚Ź him were nol reiurnedlo eadh long ago gives us a human link to the pasl thai oughl lo be as sign ncan! for !s as il would have been lo them had they been able to imag ne lhe s lLrationPerhapsto Seti, dying n relativeyoulh. I might have compensatedfor not rnaklng il 10 old age had he poss bly known how much he is slill admited y ear sla te r T h e n n a lth l n gI w a n t l o m e nl ronabout th re e l hous and i a s h i o n e do f l i n enand resi n Se ul i s I he c er uc alc o l l a r' th eD ri e s ts forthe decapitaledPharaoh Somelimes look al their bulky,cl!m sy efforr and wish t gone from lhs noble rnummy seli liked lo w e a r t hos e nec k lac e so f Eg y p l i a n b i u e ' d i s k s s l rung thi ckl y togelher,which lhe fashionablecrowd of his day put on over lheir flat, collaFtypejewelry How nice lhat beauliful blue musl have l o o ke dagains thls t an n e ds k i n l T h e s ed a y s S e ti l i s l urnedbl ack as a bool but Maspefo ciaimed thal when first lnwtapped the klng was s1iI a shade of brown, a though this was nol lrrs nalural co l o rT he anc ientE gy p ti a n cs a m e n s e v e ra l c o l o rso i course.l i ke lheir modern counierparls, bul Seli. for one was most iikely of Eurooean complexion We know this because, when hrs son Ramses ll, was laken to France to be cured oi his tungus and insecl problems,lt was determinedlhal he was a leukoderm a wh le man wllh auburn h3 r and possiblyeven light eyes Anolher clle lo Setr'scoloring is on ihe coffin he was found in. Or ginally parl of ihe pharaohs tuneraryequipmenl,the case had been rav' aged and then allered to iook serviceable,but lhe eyes oflhe cof
t
ThenI Ramsesll was lhe manwho had so manychildren- overa hun- WhenI drewthe moulh,it cameout smilingautomatically. dred- that his genesmuststillbe circulating in Egypttoday.lt is remembered lhat the blackgranitestatueoI the king in the Tu n theTu n slat' thoughlthal the kinglivedto be ninety,but it is difiicultlobe sure Museumis smiling,too.Vlhilesomewhatidealized, about thal, Hasmummylooksas well-preserved as thal of his ue seemsto capturelhe real Ramses,a man very likelymuch falher,Seti I, bul so veryold as to seemalmoslreptilianof coun- morecha srnaticlhan oneis ableto gatherftomwhatis leflof him. lenance.WIen I lracedthe prolileof Ramsesll (wilhthe Rames- Merenptah(Belovedof Ptah)was nol the eldestson of Ramses sids the profilesare too exoticand intereslingto do any other the Greal,but he was to eventuallysucceedhim. By thal time view),I was al irct surehe wouldcomeout lookinglike that old I\,lerenptah wasalrcadyin hislifiiesorsixties,andso he couldnot actor,GeorgeArliss,who playedin D/srae/ibuthe didn'i!Ramses expectlo havethe longreignof hispredecessor, ll wasn'thisfathe/ssonfor nothing,il lurnsout-WnifredBrunton This kinghas beennominated by somescholarcas lhe Pharaoh did a remarkablejob portrayingthe elderly Ramsesin many of the Exodus, one ot lhe rcasons beinglhat his mummywas respects,yet I thinkshe missedthe boatwhenit camelo undeF implyingthal Merenptahhad encrusled wilh a sally residue, standingthe near-impossible refinementof the fealuresot thjs family-Bruntongave Ramsesa prominentbut ordinarynose drownedin lhe RedSea,whichthe Bibleslateswaslhe faleot lhe becauseI feel she thoughllhe nose on lhe mummywas loo enslaverof the Hebrews. however, waslo slrangein ilsexquisite, Semilacwayto be for real,thalitwas prob- Oneof the stepsin lhe prccessof murnmitication, processand,besides, ablylheresultoflhemummification failedto coverthe bodywjth a mixlureof natronand sodiumlo dehydrate had simplyhadtoo muchsodiumheaped matchlhe proboscjson the slatues.But I have seenthis sort of it. PerhapsMerenplah did a goodjob on the king noseon lhe livingand I knowil exists.I alsoknowlhatSetilcould overhim.At any rate,ihe embalmers Theonlyfailnot possably havebeenthe milk-fedwimphe appearsin Brunton's becausethemummyis in a finestateofpreservalion. urewaslo keeplhe shapeof the slalelyRamessid nose,yet it was painlingof him.SorryWnifred. not too difficullto detemineils originalconlou|s.The eyesol this MaybeI haveloomuchimagination, but I am convinced thatKing pharaoh appearquitesadin theirdownward slope,yel Merenplah Ramsesll was al leastas strikinga manas Seli,his sirc.Al any right il has allthe facial atlfibules and as safer lo assumethailhis rale,he was quitea bit taller,aboutst feet,sevenwhenhe wore prcbablyagoodjookingmanthanlo speculate as lo whether lhe lall, bluek epresr.Seliwas 5' '7" al the most,but perteclly- was not he was or truly lhe Pharaoh of the lame of Moses. For some propodioned in lhe way thattallermenseldomare.Still,all those reason,lhis king's scrolum is missing, theexposedwound covered formidablewoman writersoflhelasicenlurywhotraveledin Egypt seemlo votefor Ramsesll as the besllookinoDhaEohas evi- with resin.His mightysire,Ramsesthe Great,alsolosthis geni taliaat somepoint. dencedby his likenesses. gentleman foundin the Deirel Baharicachewho Justwhylhe stonecutlers who workedon Ramses'colossalmon- Thereisacenain prcbablynot his name.I drew him is called Nebseni, but that is umentscouldn'lseemto carveout the kiag'svery shan, jutting his face because is so well-preserved andinteresting. We knowfo. nose is anothermystery Perhapsit reallywasn'l considereda certain thal the "Nebseni", in whose coffin mummv the was found noseal lhe lime.too reminiscent handsome of lhe "wretched Asialics"to lhe East,and so someof the usual"cosmeticsurgery" was a scribe,butit is notverylikelylhat a sc bewouldhavebeen placedalongside lhe monarchs ot the Nile.The Egyptians ol antiqwas done via the statuesmakinglhem conformto thoseof the uity were notuslally democraiically inclined. Aq/way, the mummy pharaohs of the previousdynasty(bulnotthosef.omAmarna,the godsforbid!)-I, myself,likethissortof noseon a man,althoughI of this lall, dark,and probablyhandsomefellow(to be pertectly will admitthal on the mummyof Ramsesll it appearsvultuelike honest,if I werea mummyI wouldn'lwantto be seenby anyone personwilh lhe imaginationof a MarianneLubanl) now.its havingbeensluffedwithpeppercorns in aniiquilylo keep excepta became seemto thinkthe mummy "Nebseni",but Egyptologisls ils shapenotwilhstanding. andlhe casedon'lmatchin time.\ /halelse is new?Ivostof the
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pharaohsweren'l foundin theirown coflins,Ramsesll, for exam- Someexpertshavegone so far as lo say lhey don'tbeiievelhe ple,had a very tine coflin,but il was mostcedainlyintendedfor mummiesdesignatedThutmoseI and ll are acluallythoselwo andwasprobablynothingcom- pharaohs,especiallythe firct one, which appearsenlirelytoo oneoflheAmarnagrouporiginally parcdwiththe onemadetor Ramsesin theirst place.The priests young.Nevertheless, lhe faceof the coffinofThutmose| (laterrcsimplylixed him up with whalthey hadon handwhenthey'?elo- usedby Pinedjeml) has, in my view,very muchthe look of lhe mydrawingof Hatshepsulwilh lhe promummy. VvhenI compared caled"him. alike face ofThutmose l, I saw lhatthey were very iile of the - lhe Nobodybelieves"Nebseniis a kjng,so whowas he?Notall kings' no dge, a similar noseb dge same ial brow wilh almosl occipital sons gel to be pharaohs- somehavelo be contentwathbeing Thulnosel, afhe is not [4ontuhirkopeshef. Likely"Neb- and the samerecedingchin.Therefore, rcyaldukeslikelhat fashionplate, seni"wasa Drince.butwho washisfalher?lf andwhenDNAtest- actuallythat pharaoh,couldverywell be Thutmosell, Hatshep now designaled Thu! ing is done on the royalreinains,this strikingmanwill be tested suts brolhefand husband.The mumrnies mosell and SeliIl mightbe olhersonsofThutmoseI who predewilhlhem,you may be sure. ceasedtheirtather At leastthereis no questionthaltherereallywasa Nebseni,even frcmlhe Deirel Baha cache molelhan one,Thereis the Scrollof Nebseni,one ofthe longest Whenil wasseenthaltwomummies examDles of the Bookofthe Dead-ll is keDtin the BritishMuseum. werelabelledThutmoselland lll, Gaslonlllaspero,thelhendirecsurethata ceF \ryhether the scrollandthecoffinbelonged lo the sameperson,no lor of the BoulaqMuseumin Cairo,feltrcasonably corpse from lhe cache could be draffed lo comtain anonymous of Neboneknows.Yet whenI viewedmy nnishedreconstruclion plele Maspero fancied he saw a distinct family the set. In fact, look like seni'sfeatures,lhey struckme as veryfamiliar.He does in lhe face of lhe namelessmummylo the pai of Ivontuhirkopeshef as the princeis podrayedon the wallsof his resemblance convinced Thulmosesand so Thutmosel" took his placewith his peerslomblCouldit be?Perhapssomeonewillbe sumcjenlly ll is my impression. similarily. basedpnmanlyuponthisperceived portrait possibility tudher. by my lo investigate this moreover, thal Masperowas so anxiouslo havea complelesucThenthereis the problemofthe mummieswhowereidenliliedas cessionof early 18th Dynastykingsthat cedainfactors,which kingsby lhe priestsof old, but whoseaulhenticity is doubtedby when combinedwouldhave presenleda very strongargument As soonas lhaddrawnthephaEohsupposedto be Selill,lknew lhal lhis couldnl possiblybe the same man whose life-size quarlziteslatue is also on displayat ihe ailish Museum.The sculptordid not seek lo idealizehis pharaohbut lried very sucfirm-chinned Ramessid cessfullytoportrayhimas lhe long-nosed, mummyof Seli he surelywas.Thisdoesnoldescribelheso-called ll at all.G. ElliotSmilhdubbedthispe$on a trueThulmosidand I couldn'tagreemore.That createdthe dilemmaot who lhis man reallywas.lwouldn'twantto guess,bul he is notthe grandsonof Ramsesll; of thatlfeelposilive.
Setill?
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wereconveniently ignoredagainslsuchan identification, The genesof lhe pharaohswerevery sirong,il seems.Takethe for instance.No matterwhal wives or concubines Ramessids. proliles wereinvolvedanprocrealing theirheirs,thoserazor-sharp just keptturningout like lhey had lhe patenlon lhem.You may RamseslX of the 20thDynasly.His kinship recallmy mentioning yel,fromthis withSetilis unclearandpossiblyevennonexistenl, tombpaintings, he isthe spitlingimageof thatpharaohof al leasi wishedhewere.EvenRamsesXl, whowasihelastRamessid and Interfiediate Period,is the lastkingbeforethe.atherchaoticThhd porlrayedwith that same splendidcast of features-Meanwhile, whateverhappenedlo RamseslX? | havercadthat his mummy was in the Deirel Baharicache,but haveneverseena pholoof l/Vly acquaintances. himand neitherhaveany of my Egyplophile pharaoh is thisTwenliethDynastymanthe grealunphotographed Century?lfanyoneknowslhe answerlo thismysofthe Twentieth Do vou rememberKarisof Kamakfromthoseold horor movies? He andhissidekick, the manwiththe redhal,soughtoutandpun(intheireyes)ofEgypl'stombsas far away ishedlhe desecrators as Englandandlhe UnitedStales.Vvhenthe make-upwas crealthe mudeF ed lor BorisKarloff,one of the aclorswho portrayed was usedas a model-thalof King ousmummy,an actualmummy Ramseslll. It was a good choice,I suppose.The faceof this mummylooks scary but, at the same time, doâ‚Źsn'tturn your stomach.The embalmingprocessof lhe time is at fault here.Toomuchliquid resinwas ooureduoonthe facewhichthenhardenedandoblileF yearslaler,someone, peratedthefealures.A coupleot thousand hapsDr Smith,hinself,tooka chiselto lhe rock-likemassin an eftortto give Ramseslll some sod of a face once again-The successful, leavingus very littlelhe attemptwas only marginally wiseraslo whatlhe pharaoh- perhapsthelastgrealrulerof â‚Źgypt - hadreallylookedlike. calledthe GrcalHa is Papyrus(yet Hadil notbeenfor something againin lhe BdtishMuseurn), lwould neverhavetriedlo drawlhis Ramses,Thisdocument,the longestknownpapyrusfromancient Egypt,is 133feetin lengthandis datedto lhe daylhat Ramseslll died.RamseslV had it drawnup anorderlo sel downhastathe/s
I
goodworks-Mosl probablylhe papyruswas meantto be buried discovered in a smallpriwithRamseslll, yet it was mysteriously vatetomb.Alongwith lhe text,the GreatHarfisPapyrus(named afterthe man who purchasedit) containssome clevedydrawn vignettesshowingthe late king in full regalia.The drawings(or painlings, really)wereobviouslyintendedto be porlraits,showing the pharaoh's dislinctive, slopingnose,and very paleskin.Frcm this papytus,togetherwilh lhe mummyand one line statue,I of believelwas ableto get a fairlygoodsenseofthe appearance Ramseslll. The kingevidenllyreachedan advancedagefor hislame- about sixty.His reign ;s chiellyremarkablefor an incidenlcalledthe HaremPlotin whichsomepersonscloseto Ramses,includinga wife and children,soughtto kill him and take powerthemselves. The plottersfailedin theireffortsandcameto a badend. ll seemsthe old man'slime as kingwas markedby sadnessand misfortune. LikeRamsesll, the olderhegot,the moreoffsprjnghe was torcedto bury One of these,a belovedlattleprincenamed painled Amenhi*opshef, is shown in the boy's magniilcenlly tomb beingled into the presenceof the gods by his sovereign falher, Indeed,manyof the sonsof Ramseslll diedyoung,but the one who livedto succeedhim, RamseslV had a shortand peaceful reign.Thaspharaoh'smummyis in a good stateof preservation. RamseslV was a typicalRamessidwith the usualprcfile.Some poinlsof inlerestaboulhim are thal he had excellentleeth,was wellendowedin lhe netherregions,and thal littleonionswere Theylookprelusedto replacehiseyeballsduringmummitication. ty realistic.loo. The olherladyI havesketchedappearsto me to be a Ramessid, also,Hernameis not known,nor are her titleor position,but her mummywas foundin the tomb of Amenhoteplli therefore,she was mosl ce.tainlya personof consequence. The embalming technjque usedon heris onethatis not seenbeforelhe endof the
pracliceof 19thDynasty.Oneof its hallmarksis the questionable to lhe face.The resultwas stufinglhe cheeksto lendplumpness usuallymore negativethan othelwise,sometimesdistortinglhe oddways. mummy'sfacialaspectin remarkably Thisis whalhappenedtolheUnknownWoman,whois quiteniceShe nowwearsan eternalpoutdue ly preserved in mostrespects. to this tendencyloward over-sluflingand her llne nose has becomemisshapen due lo the bandages.I lhinkthat,in life,she \ryhatis outslandhada pleasingif nol exacllyprettyappearance. ing aboutlhis arislocrat(somebelieveshe is Tausret,Oueenof Siptahand Setill) is her hairstyle.ll is an upsweplcoifwilhwhat usedlo be call€d"sausagecurls,"a stylepopularin lhe 1glhCenby us in the 19thDynasty- exceplon lury but neverencounlered thiseleganlwoman. I don'l believethe hairdois the anomalyit appearslo be. The and invenlivenalon, bul ancienlEgyplianswere a sophisticated Egyptians did theirart was slatic,losaythe leasl.Apparenlly,lhe antheir not alwaysdeckthemselvesout as lhey are rep.esented paintingsand sculptures. lt is the mummies,themselves, likelhe UnknownWoman.who tellthe realslory, wearanyclothing? Peoplehaveaskedme - dolhe royalmummies Rarely.We don'thaveall lhat manyarticl€sof ancienlEgypUan jn anycase,but moslofwhathascomedownto us is lhe clothing, linenshld,whichconsistsof a pieceol clolh sameeasy-lo-make doubledover,slitchedup thesideswithholesleflforlhe atmsand this a roundpiececut oul in lhe centerfor the head.Somelimes didmasshirtwasdudedup withembroidery @hichthe Egyplians tedully,by the way) and I am sure it is what all menwore mosl offen,trom pharaohto farmer,yet lhis shiri is rcrelyd.awn.King lo be wearjngtwo of lhesesharts, embroiSeli ll was discovered but,alas,the deredwilh the c€rloucheof his father,Merenptah, garmentshave disappeared. Also, no sovereign monogrammed has beenshownwearinga scad,a robewjth sequins,or a skullwas buriedwjthalloftheseilems,including cap,yetTutankhamun (liedon likea diasomeembroidered shirts.Evenhis underpants oer)werenot lefl out ot his afterlilewardfobe.BothTutankhamun
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earsarein fiany of her unusualinthe samewaythalHatshepsut's portraits. Theyare verysimilarto lhe earsoflhe mummyol Thulwouldlikely moseI Also,she is an olderwoman,as Halshepsut have been at death.However.the mummy'siaw appearsvery is porlrayedwith a rec€ding strongfor a womanand Halshepsut I drewher fromlhe slalueI lrusl chinon manyof her likenesses. in NewYork,where mosl,the rosrcoloredonein the Metropolitan beauty lhe sculplorgaveher a real,acewithoulany conventional The mummyanKV60wasprobablyobesein lafeandcerlainlylong pastyouth.Herfew remaining whitehaircare goldeniiom henna and her nailsare paintedred edgedin black.lt aspossiblethis queen was too old at dealh to lit in with the chronologyoi Hal profile sheis,thasg€nd lady(herreconstructed shepsul.\ryhoever is delinileindividuaD lookingmorelikea 20thDynastyRamessad Museumwiththe othetroywhoshouldbe in the Caaro ly someone wath als and certainlyshouldbe lestedfor any bloodconneclions the Thutnosidswith the ldle by the glamourconnected Peopleare so captivated "Queenof Egypt'(althoughil did nol reallyexistin lhe Egyptian language)thal I was prompledto do portrailsof someof lhem with or wilhoulthe mummy.Onefemalemummy,so far unidenli (on paper)with rathersladling fred,I subiectedto an experiment resultsl mummieslyingdd+ \4/henViclorLoretiounda trioof unidenliljed by-sidein the tomb of Amenhotepll, he descdbedlhem as an olderwoman,a littleprinceand a yoongman.Late.,it was deterherbaldminedlhatihe"youngman"was,in fact,a youngwo,nan, likeLoret. nesshavingconfusedevena Frenchman The exactage of thasfemalecannotbe positivelyfixed,butthe body of is nolenttelywithoutcluesas regardsatsplacein the chronology ancientEgypt.The processby whichlhis womanwas mummifed Theunususeernsto dateherlo theiatterpartotlhe 18thDynasty. herskullpulsherin lheAmarnaperiod,wherethistype al shape ot andKingAy havebeendepicledwearinggloves,lheexamplesof of cranialformation or a geneticc!nwaseilherartatioallyfostered whichfoundin Tut'stombbeingquilemodemin desagn - onlymore dition.The skullof lhe "Younger\/oman"fromKV35corresponds andreP the pulaliveSmenkhare closelyto thoseof Tutankhamun, Kings and queens have been portrayedin fancy garmenls resentations of lhe Amarnapnncesses. lhroughout the ages,yel, somehow,I donl lhinkanyonehasevet lookedas majestic,manlyor as elegantas the Pharaohof Egypt crowns,the cobra in his pleated,bleachedkilt, his streamlined rearingon hisbrow,hasbodycoveredwilh goldand b.ightstones, ,' blazinglike lhe sun, his belt and ap.on heavilyencrustedwith gleamingthreads,sequinsand studs- even his sandalsbeing
/lt-':;1
Halshepsulin the Valley Beneaththe emptytombof King/Queen KV60.ln it were oflhe Kingsis anothertomb{undecorated)called as Silrc,a foundthe mummiesof lwo women,onebeingidentified nurseof Halshepsut. Theotherremainsa camplelemyslery Sitre,the seNanl,was takenawayto Cairo.The otheroccupanl, raisedin the queenlyposition,has inexher leftarm lantalizingly plicably(to me) beenleftin lhe re-sealed lomb. ElizabethThomas,madethe lentaliveproThe lateEgyptologist, posallhat lhis mightbe lhe mummyof Halshepsut. She asked associated wilh PacificLutheEn DonaldRyan,an archaeologist to try lo reloc€lethe lostKV60,whichhe did withlittle University, trouble.ThisleavesRyanbetweena rockanda hardplace,a posiin the tield. workang tionnot unfamiliartoEgyptologisls NowRyanhasa verywelfpreseNedmummy,lookingsuspiciously likean 18thDynasty.oyalladybutwithnothinglo giveanyclue beneaihlhe tombof the to her identily' exceptbeingdiscovered gfeatHatshepsul withnurseofsamel ln my opinion,lwothingsaboutthismummycontljcl:Herearsare
/;,,'/rh I
UnkownWomantrom KV6O
The mummyin questionhas sufferedbadlyat lhe handsof rob- But,ofcourse,lhatdoesn'lnecessailymeanthatCleopatra wasbers.Whenfound,a linenstripprotruded tromthegapingholethat nt beautiful. Shesimplywasn'lbeautifulinthe old Hollywood tra, is its mouthand cheek.I supposeit has beenditicultto imagine ditionalway. Noneof the mogulsofyesleryearwould havecastthe thishairless, batteredcorpseas havingoncebeena beautifulany- rcalCleopaltaas a femne talale.lllostlyJewish,themselves, they body,muchlessan Egyplianqueenof legendary loveliness. were nevertheless leeryof puningpeoplewith obviouslyethnic Ithink it is safeto assumethal,werethe mummyofOueenNefer facesin leadjngroles. titilo be discovered, il wouldprobablyhavelitlleremaining ofthe \ryhileCleopatra's family,the Ptolemies, wereof Greek,lvlacedonexquisilebeautyoflhe famousbust in the BerlinMLrseum. Yet,in ian stocklike theirherc,Alexanderlhe Great,she had a definite my view,lhebone-struclures of the "YoungerWoman"and Nefer- orientallookaboutherandwas probablypad Egyptian. Herlong, liti, as immortalized in stone,are remarkably similarEachhas a cuNed nose is of a lype foundon morelhan one mummycase slenderneckof extrao.dinary lengthand a jaw thatexlendsfrom fromlhe cenluriesbetorethe Greeksevercameto the Landoflhe the lhroatat almosla ghl angle.WhenI did a regressive sketch Pyramids. Onetineexampleolthis nobleprolileis on the wooden ot the mummy'shead,I liftedthe jaw to what it wouldhavebeen coffinoi LadyShaamenensu of the 22nd Dynastyin the National withlhe mouthclosedandit looksstrikingly likethejawofthe lime- Museumof RioDe Janiero. stonebust.Seentromlhe front,the mummysjawappearssquare Cleopalra,whose Egyplianlhrone name was NetjeretMerites in the mannerof the likenessof Nefertili.Alsovery alikeare the (Goddess, Belovedof Hef Falher)hadherselfcutin reliefweang flat-bridged nosesandlhe angleof the eye sockets;n relationto the old Egyptiancostomefor the sakeoflradition.In truth,nobody lhe nose.The eyelidsare long in both cases.The moulhof lhe in Egyptdressedlhatwayby 50 B.C.Theclassicstyle wasin fash, mummyasnowimpossibleto guessat,so I gaveherlhe fulllipsof ionthen,probablysomehybridof Greekand Roman infuences. the sculpture, whichseemto itthe facequitewell. When Cleopalradied, she very likelywas embalmedusingthe Thereis litlledoubtin my mandlhat Nefertiti's tall,btuecrownwas methodof herday,whichresultedin veryomatelypackagedmum, meantlo conformlo a headshapedjust likethat oflhe "Younger mies,anfiswrappedseparalely fromthe bodyandfacialfeatures Woman"fromKV35andlhattheskullwouldbe shavedtikethalof carefullymoldedin lhe linenwiththe aid ofplasterCleopatra and lhe murnmyin oder to facilitatelhe wearingof thistight,narrow MarkAntonywere interredlogelherin the foyal mausoleumal Alexandda, but,today,no mummyof a rLrling Ptolemyexiststhat ln one photograph, "The ElderLady'(who is now styledOueen we know ol Neverlheless, sevenoutstanding mummiesof the 'Iiye,molher-in-law of Nefertili)lhe pnnceandthe youngerfemale Romanpeiod,wrappedso identicallyas to suggesttheyareof lhe (il in facl,sheis acluallyyounger)allseemto be arrangeden fam, sane family,are on displayin va ous museumslhaoughout the ilie,candlesbumingal lheir heads.I believethisis no accidenlal world. Only recenlly,other richly-adorned mummiesfrom this grouping.ll asmy theorylhat lhe boy very muchrcsemblesThe samee€ have been uncovered, so il is not impossiblethatlhe ElderLady"and is likelyher son (CrownPrinceThutmose?). The rcmainsof the Serpentof the Nilemayyetoneday surface. mummywhose,ace I havelried lo normalizemust seriouslybe conside€da possibleNelertitiorsomeonevery ctoselyrelatedto ll E ratum:in Pad I oithis adicle,the piclureofAmenholep lhis queen.\ryl le il js truelhatlhe mummv'sleii am is not raised lll. was incorrectlv c€olionedas Amenhotep in lhe queenlyattitude,this does not necessarilydisquatifyher frombeinga kingswitein the chaoticAmama era.Nefediti,it isto te remembered, suddenlydasappearc fromthe pictorialrecodsof lhe reignof Akhenalen,her husband.Sincetherea€ no reliefs showingherfuneralor nothingmorew ttenabouther,it hasbeen assumedthal she fell fromfavo. for some reasonand was supplantedby her owndaughterYelwe knowshewasgivenat least a standardroyalburiat, ullimalely, becauseushabtiligures bearjng her namehavebeenfound.lf the "YoungerWoman'is, indeed, Neferliti,the ideaot her b€ing"disgraced'mightaccountfof the armnol beingraised. No one knowshow old Nefertitiwas when she died or exactty whereshewas (originally) buried.Eventhoughshewas a mother manylimesover,shemayhavebegunhe. child,bearing veryea y and been no morelhan thirtywhen her eldestdaughterwas ifAlso,it makessenselhat a refugefor lhe bodyofQueenNefenit, the wife of a reviledherelic,shouldbe in the tombot a poweful anceslo.oflhis family,Amenhotepll, still in his sarcophagus and rulerovera growingnu,nberof displacedpersons. Perhapswe oughtto let go ofour romanticnotionsaboutthisroyal lady,NefeditiOh€-beauliful,one-comes), lake anotherlookat the youngerfemaleLom KV35and concedethat deathis something againstwhich eventhe greatestbeautyrarelyprevails. The rirstthingthal must be said about CteopatraVtt (and mosl famous)is thal she lookednothinglike Elizabeth Taytoror any of lhe actresses who havepodrayedher on film-Theywereall pre! ty, photogenic women.NoneoI the po.traitsof Cteopatra, Oueen ofEgypt,actualorsupposed, implythatshewas a prettygirt.
lD v\uaur/fss i n A\ntrcrientt |E.g1v1pt rt bv Bonnie M. Sampsell
About the Author
AchondroplasticDwarfs
Fron Chapel Hill, NC, Dr Bannie Sampse///s a conspon(ling nember of ESSand a regular canbbutor to the Ostncon. Shejs a retueclpmfessorof genelics,a menber of ARCE, and l,as y/sjted Egypttive limes. She hasa specialinterestin OtdKingdamaft
In an individualwilh achondroplasia, thetorsois ol aboutavefage size,whilethe lengthof the upperpad oI bothatms and Jegsis reduced.As a resullthe tipsof the tingersmay reachonlyto the top of the lhigh or just to the hips. The short tegs are stight|y bowed.The skjnofthe reduceda'ms andtegsappearsin excess andformssofltolds.Anothercommonfeatureis an exaggeEted lumbarlordosisor foMard curvingof the towerback teadingto prominenlbutlocksand abdomen Cfhissame featuremav be observedin smallnondwarfchildren,but was neverus€das a slylislickeyin Egyptianarl.) In achondroplasia, thecraniumis large,butthe faceis smatt,thus lhe foreheadprotrudes, whilelhe nasalbidge is set back The wide rangeof effectsin this disorde.appearcto springfrom a defeclin cadilagegrcl'r,th and ossification. I can be observedin lhe developing fetusanddiagnosed at birth Physica I strengthand intelligence are normalasis sexualdevetopment. This condiUon is now knownto be causedby a genelicmutation whichis inheritedin an auiosomaldominantfashion2. The incidenceis aboulone in 40,000live births.As manyas 87%of the casesare the resultof a new mutationoccuffingin lhe germcell jncreases ofa parenloflhe affectedchild. Theincidence in lhe offspringof olderfathersas doesthal of olherautosomaldomjnanr
Introduction
Dwadshavefascinaledpeoplelhroughouthistory.Suchgenuine 'liillepeople"may haveinspiredmylhsandfolktalesaboulelves or farriesAs a numericalmlnorityand a variantof the iypical humanbody,dwarfshavegenefa/lybeen marginalized bythesoci eliesin whichtheylived.AncienlEgyptrans maynotontyhaveloteroleddwarfs.ll-ey seemro haveqNentrem rrore proTinence andgenuinerespect.Pictorialrepresentations of dwarfsareabundantIn Egyptianart of someperiods.ln this adicte,I wittexptore someexamplesof theseand explainthe deduclions thatwe can Orawabouithe specialrcleof dwarfsin the Egyptiansociety. Humanhelghlis a continuously variabletrail and is lhe .esultof lhe rnteraction betweenmanygenelicand environmentat factors. Thedistribution of heightsis nearlylhatof the bett-shaped normal curue A dwarfis detned as a perconof smallerlhan average stalurewho is al least 3 standarddeviationsbetowlhe mean There is anolherform of dwariism,caltedhypochondroptasia, In rhesamegenec€Lsrng heightof ihe populatjon ot the sameage and sex.Thisdetinition whichFobablyresultsfroma mutarron The developmenlalconsequencesare ress encompa3ses lhe shortest0.13%of the poputation, and in lhe achondroplasia. Theljmbsare short,butthe tegsare nol bowed modemwesternworld lhat wouldincludeperconswith mature sevefe,however. and lhe petvjsis nomat.In fact. heighlsbelow58 inchesr \\hiie someof ihesesmattindividuats Thelace andskullare unallered, simplyweredealta handfulof "smailgeoes,"in mostcases,ther€ an affeciedchiidmayappeafnearlynomat untitit is twoorthree is a specilicgeneticor physiological reasonfor the individLrats yearsof age.lt is probablyjustas commonas t.ue achondropta, sia. In her comprehensive studyof morethan a thousandrepresentalionsof dwarfsin Egyptian,Grcek,and Romanart, Dasen jdentitied lvlorethan100formsoi dwartismhavebeen whichvary (1993)idenliliedseveEl forms of dwarfism,but achondrcplasia rntheircauseand fealures.ln someoltheseforms, thebodywhite wasthe one moslfrequenlly depicted. smallrelainsils usual proportionsbetweenlorso and timbs In olhertormstheseproportions afe dramatic€lly altered.Atthough Dwarfs in ancient Egyptiansociety modernphysicians can readilydiagnosettuedwarfismanddislin, Portrayalsof dwarfs in writing and insc.iptions guishamonglheseformsin an aclualpatient,it is moreditficuttto do so in ancientrepresentations in whichthe sizeof an indivjdual Dwadscan be identitiedin lomb paintings,statues,and from iimes to lhe Romanperiod. mayvaryfor symbolicreasons.Additionally it may be impossibte skeletalremainsfrom Pre-dynastic There were several hieroglyphjc words for dwarf.One ot these. lo distinguish a well proporlioned adulldwarffroma chjtduntess whichclea y represents a man the latterdisplayssuchfearuresas youthfulsidetockof hair,tinger /,mw,employeda delerminative lo mouth,or nakedness, to mentionjustsomeofthe conventions wilhshorlarmsandlegs Drg is alsolranslatedas dwarfandhas but it may also have meantpygmy pygemployed in Egyplianart.Onlyin lhosefo.msofdwartismin which a similardelerminalive, low levetof growihhormone,which lhe propodions are cleadyalteredandadultfeaturesare inctuded mreshave a conslitutionally accounls fortheir small, bul well-proportioned stature. is identification relalivelyc€rtain.One disoder oflhis type,catted Debateaboutthe meaningofthe worddnghasbeenfuetedbv the achondroplasia, willbe lhe focusoflhis adicte. dseof tnislermlo desc be a personbeingbroughtfrom the;outh lo the courlof the youngPepill. Pepishowedconsiderabte inler, estin thisdrg sayinghe wasmoreeagertoseeit lhana lheother treasuresand commanding the expedition's teaderto guardthe dng so he cannolfall overboardand to keep watchwhitehe sleeps.Sincelhe dngcamefromthe inleriorof Africawherepygmies were oflen kept at rcyal courls and exchangedbetween rulels,il hasbeenarguedlhatthisdngwasa pygmy,nol simptya
8
as "overseerof linen."Dwarfsof bothsexesare includedin the Portrayals of dwarfs in art Portrayalof the human{igurein Egyptianart was regllatedby a rowsoI offeringbearersc€rryingboxeswhichmayhaveconlained youngchilrigidcanonof proportions. lvoslJiguresof kings,gods,andnobles clothingorjewelry.Femaledwarfsservedas nurseslo painlings, in but in small figurines. a role nol depicted lomb dren, appearas lall, young,and heallhy.Accordingto Dasen,lhe mosl have been employed to assist at bidhs. They may also obviousway in whichtheseliguresdeviatefrom realityis in theh dwafs enjoy genetallygood slightlylongerlowerlegandslightlysmallerbutlocks.The relalive Althoughmost a€hondrcplastic withinthe samescenewere highlysymbolic: health,and somemay evenengagein spodsand othervigorous sizesof individuals Thus a king activiiaes, the physicaldeformitiesjn lheir legs and back may largersize impliedgrealerpowerwithina hierarchy. Thismayexpiainwhy amongall god restrict the rangeof occupalions. lo implyhis equalimightbe portEyedat the samesizeas a ly. Bul menwereshownlargerthanthearseruanlsandsometlmes thecraftspodrayedin lombart,lhe mostcommonone pursu€dby Grcupsof maledwarfsareshownmaktheir wives.Giventhis convenlion,how wouldthe ancientarltst dwarfsis thatofgoldsmith. individualwho was shortanddispro- ing gold necklacesin scenesin severalOld Kingdomlombs.El' haveportrayedan imporlant lhatlhesmallanddeilhandsof dwadsmayhave portionale? Aguizyremafked As il tu.nsout,withskilland c€re. suilable lo taskslikeslringingbeads. been especially Dwartsweredepictedso oflenin the Old Kingdomad thal a stanemploying dwarfs,whichmayseemsurpising dard form was adoptedwhich seems lo be based on achon- Anotheroccupation bowed legs and limitedhip andelbowmobilfor large in view oftheir sho|t These show a keen eye the droplastic d\,|/arfs. depictions remarksthal among buttocks. ity,was thatof rilualdancerAblon,however, head,longto.so,shortbowedlegs,andheavylhighsand Dancewas an essential a somedwarts,agililyis highlydeveloped. thal thisslandardformfor representing Dasentound,however, an elementof everydaycelebEtionsas well of €ligious rilual in dwadhadsomefealureswhich werenot realistic,butconveyed jconographic depicla singledwarf message.As slated,arms and legs are shownas ancientEgypl.Rowsof dancersfrequently figures. shortcomparedto torsolength.8ut bothlhe lowetandupperlegs amongthe average-sized indi- The paintingsin lhe Old Kingdomlombsthus showthe dwarfs contrastwith are shownreduced,perbapstoemphasizelheir vidualsof averageheighlin whichthe lowerleg was exaggeraled employedin a varietyotways in elitehouseholds. Theptacticeof in length.Thefacesof somedwarfsin painlingsshowdistinguish- havingdwadfelainercin the king'scourlapparenlly dalesbacklo angfealureslike the bulgiflgforchead,and someare shownwith lhe beginningof dynastjchislory.Skeletonsof dwarlsand slelae lhe hunchbackthal persistsinto adulthoodin about20% of the showingdwarfshave been reportedfrom a numberof royalor cases. lntereslingly, all known statuesof dwarfs have nomal nobles'lombsal bolhAbydosand Saqqara.In fact,a numberof of hypochondroplasiadwadswere buriedin subsidiary faces.\ryhilethismightbe the consequence tombswithinthe funerarycomDasenconsidersit morelikelylo plexof kingsof the FirctDynasty:lhreewith KingDjer,one with ratherthantruea€hondrcplasia, havebeenan attemplloavoidcaicaturein a respecledindividual. King\^hd, fourwith KingDen,twowith KingSemerkhet, andtwo however,to showdwarfs with King Oaaa. Unforlunately Shethinksit may havebeencaricalure, these human remainsdid not of subordinaleslaluseven smallerlhan their lrue heighlscom- receivelhe benefitof modernstudywhen lhe conlirmationof paredto averageindiv;duals in lhe samescene. ofits typemighthavebeenpossible. dwarllsmand identificalion thatlhe mannerin whichdwadsweregenerally Dwarfscontinuedlo be includedin scen€son lhe wallsof lombs Dasenconcludes portrayed, as well as the facl that somedwarfsachievedconsid- ofllliddleKingdomnobles.Theirfunctions seemedto be primaily had a loler- thal of personalattendants erablesocialstatus,provideevjdencethat Egyptians or nurses.Theyalsoappearin a wide of varielyofligurinesonlya tewofwhichrcpresent ant evenaffectionaie atlitudetowardslhem.The €xaggeration specificindividulhe snnallness of a dwarfcompared lo an averagesizepersonmay als;mostrepresentlypesofseruantssuchas nursesor enlertainwas an imoodantDartof theiratlraclive- ers.SomeMiddleKingdornsiatuetlesof dwafs supporled indicatethat "smalloess a bowl ness,"especially to "theelilewho keptlhemin thehhouseholds3-"or dishand servedas offeringslands. Duing lhe New Kingdom,dwarfswere no longerincludedin lhe scenesof dailylifein whichtheyappearedin the Old andMiddle
Occupationsof Dwarfs
The larg€numberof represenlations of dwads(morethan 50 in Old Kingdomtombsat Giza and Saqqara,for example)lels us abouttheirrolein socielyduring thalperiod.The drawconclusions in a repetition of certainscenessuggeststhal dwarfsspecialized Theseincludedaltendantto royalty limitedrangeof occupations. pethandler,supervisorof clolhingandlinen or in elitehouseholds, andjewin royalor elitehouseholds, enle(ainer/dancer/musican, In many nobles'lombs,a male dwarfappearcbehindthe tomb owne/schairor underhis sedanwilh a dog or monkey.In some c€sestheanimallowersoveritsdwarfhandlerin an amusingmanhavebeenconner Thassuggeststhatthedwadslhemselvesmay sideredalmostas pets.Thismay implya rolefor dwarfssimilarto lhat ot courtjesteras occurredduringthe MiddleAgesand even laterat someEuropeancourts.Llntilrecenllymanydwarfsfaced variousformsof discrimination whenthey triedto applyfor jobs, find in the entedainment indusand manycouldonly employment lry Bothmaleand femaledwarfswere employedas personalatlentitlessuch dantslo elilemenandwomen.MatedwarfsaDoearwith
Fmm the maslabaof Nuneler, Gi2a DynastyVt Kunsthisionsches Museun, VtPnn a
Kingdom.Does lhat mean they wete no longeremployedas Some lndividual Dwarfs retaineG?Severaldepictionsof duads are foundin coniunction the namesand hisloriesof some individualdwads theyweredancers- a teligious We know withthe royalsedjestival.Possibly of th€m have been because statues of olher representations pe od. SeveralreptePharaonic rolelhatoccuredthroughoutthe several dwarfs who led indeFrom these we learn about found. sentalions of dwarfsoccurin the AmarnaPefiod.A pairof dwarfs pendent average-sized men status sjmilar to those of lives with a _usualnamed"TheSun"and 'Forevei aDoearin severallombs Egyptian society. within lhe ly attendingllutnedjmet,sisterol Neferleii.\4hilethey may have the.emayalsohavebeenan associalionwith Khnumhoteo beensimplyjesiers, the Aten cult.Figurinesof dwarfshavebeenfoundcarryingcos- A painted limesloneslaluetteof Khnumholepwas tound at meiicjarc,and one appearedon an alabasterboatin the tombof Saqqara. The |8-inchigure,nowon displayin theCairoMuseum, The Tulankhamun. stomachhasa slockytorsowatharchedbackand prolruding js slightlyflattened, bul otheF The head arms and legs are short. in Late Pe od maleDasenreportsonlythreeexamplesof dwa.fs on lhe Accordinglo the inscriptions of dwarlsas membersol wise normalin appearance. rial.Thus it seemsthat the prevalence reacheda peakdu nglhe Oldandlt4id- base,he was lhe overseerof the clolhingand a sett-p esl.The eliteEgyptianhouseholds Afterthat,two godsin the fotmof dwarfs,Besand statuetlehas been dated to DynastyV The existenceof this sla! dle Kingdoms. suggeststbat Ptah-Pataikos becamevery popularand may have teplacedteal ue, so similarto that of otherold Kingdomofijcaals lhis he may have had his own tomb at Saqqara.lJnfodunately, dwarfsin ce(ain capacities. itcould so anyfudherinformalion lombhasneverbeenexcavated, is lostto us. haveDrovided Seneb We know more about the dwarf, Seneb,[Snb,Sonb]whowas buned al Giza.His tombwas excavaledin lhe early1900'sby Junkerand pro. videsa greatdealof intomation 'n lhe fom ot inscrjptions and slalues. For example,the charmingslatuelt€ of Seneb and his family is well knownfrom picturcsor visilsto the Cairo Museum.This staluetleprovidesan inleresling exampleof how lhe Egypiianadist dealt with the prcblemsot portraying an imporlanl individualwho didnotconfomlo the Egyptiancanonof idealproporlions. Senebis seatednexlto hisaveragesizedwife with his legs foldedin a dignifiedsc bal position.In frontof him, in placeof his legs,slandhis tr smallson and daughterI disagree that,' his withWlkinson'ssuggestion head Jwaslartificiallyraisedlo the exacllevelof lhe headof hiswifes. In fact, lheir torsoswefe probably verysimilarin length.Hisshodalms afld legs are clearlydepicted.His face, however,is quite un€markable,with noneotlhe distinguishing Vlhileit tealuresof achondroplasia. is possible that Seneb was a hypochondroplastic dwarf,it is also likely, as Dasen suggestedlhal Seneb'shigh stalusmade it desirablenotio dwellooanyotherabnor-
*K-
n--:
&-
mlrm
Q., t-.i IIlhl-frnlTfll,
&-A ,8' I
Fmm the false door of the Tombof Seneb,Giza,Dynasty Vl
10
Depictedin Seneb'stombare three (apparcnlly) average-sized childrcn. Thus,it mighlbe appropriate al thas poinlto discusssomefeatu€sof the heritablity of dwarfrsm anditseffecls is a on reproduclion. Achondroplasia hedtablecondition.Sinc€is caused by a dominanl gene, only one produce alleredcopyis necessaryto
the condition. As previously noled,lhemajorityof c.ses ofthe dis- ary in his tomb.I recentlynoliced,however,thal thereis a dwarf orderarelhe resultof a new mutationin lhe germcellof a parenl. by the nameof Djedefre-ankh depictedin the lombof Nelernesut, Buta childmayalsoinherila mutantgenefroman affectedparent a highofficialwho p.obablylivednearthe end of DynastyV The of eithergender-The chancesof a childof such a parentbeing dwarfseemslo havebeena peasonal atlendanlsincehe is shown affectedis 50%. carryinga headrestSeneb'ssonwasnamedDjedef.e-m-a.kh - in position priest recognilion ofSeneb's as a of Djedefre. The names In modemsocietymanydwartshavea spousewhois alsoa dwart. is knownfrom (Ablonsays95% of dwarfs'spousesare also dwarfs).The mar- areverysimilarandno oneelsewitha similarname Perhaps,bolh Seneband Djedefre-ankh riageof twoachondrcplastic individuals wouldhavea 25o/a chancE lhe Giza cemeteriesz. as akeadysuggested, and the ofproducingentirelynormalchildren who haveinheriteda noarnal sufieredfrcm hypochondroplasia, genefromeachparent.Therewouldbe a 50%chanceof produc- latle/s amictionwas not manifeslat the time that Seneb'stomb becausehe was stillquiteyoung. ing an achondroplastic dwarfwho has inhe ted one fiutanl and was beingdecorated one nomal gene.Finallylherewouldbe a 25%chanceof having a childwho hadinhedteda fiutant genefromeachparent-A child The tomb of anotherdwarfhas been discoveredrecentlyin the withtwo mutanlgenesgenerallydies aneady infancy.The cause WesternCemeteryat Gizaduringexcavations underthe superviof deathis respiratory insufficiency dueto a smallrib cageor neu- sion of Zahi Hawass.A slatueot lhe owner,Perenankhui was rological defcit duelo hydrocephaly. foundin an exlemalserdab,whilehis skeletalremainsandthose An achondroplaslic femalemay experience complic€tions during ot twoaverage-sized womenwerelocaledin lhe burialchambers. pregnancyand childbirthdue to her smallpelvis.Ihe largehead The basallslatueis beaulifully c€rvedandcapturesseveralofthe of some achondroplasljc fetuses(causedby hydrocephaly) may dwafs defomities(shoft upper arms, slightlyhunchedback, alsocrcatean increasedriskof intracranial bleedingdurjngdeliv, bowed legs) wilhoul detractingtrom his dignity.Like Seneb, ery lo a normal-statured mother Todaythe head groMh of a Perenankhu's face appearsnormal-Again,this may indicatelhat potenlially-affected fetuswouldbe moniloredby ultrasonographyhypochondroplasia was involved,or maybe a stylisticconvenlion. andthe deliverywould be byCesareansection.Onewondershow Examinalion ofthe skeletalremains whichhavebeenhandedto a an ancienlEgyplianmidwilewouldhavemanagedsucha case. physicalanthrcpologist shouldbe able to resolvelhis puzzle.lt sufferedfromelephanliasis Senebwasa highoffcialwithmanycourtappointments. Hislitles couldalsoshowwhetherPerenankhu in Hawass's report),orwhelherthedeformily oflhe refecteda rangeof dutiesand ancluded "Direclorof dwads in (as suggested on lhe slaluewasassocialedwith hisdwarlism. (animalhandlers?),and lefflegreproduced chargeof dressing,Overseerof ./1ahw' Direclorofweavingin lhe palace."He was alsoc€lleda'Tutor of A varietyol leg problemsare expe encedby modemdaydwads, lhe Kingssons,"perhapsa rolesimilarlo the femalenu$es6.He manyofwhichrequiresurgerylo corect. was a piest in the morluarycultsof Khutuand Djedefre.He was The insciptionon Perenankhu's slaiue claifis that he was a alsoa priestoI lwo cullsrelatinglo sac.edbulls. "Kings acquaintance," and "Onewho delightshis lordeveryday, In this slatuehe holdsa ThatSenebwasclearlya royalfavorite is shownby his occupying lhe king'sdwadof the GrealPalace8." a tombal Gizawhichwouldhavebeenassignedtohimbyihe king sekhemscepterand anolherstaff of office.Hawassttkensthe and by his many honorifics. These inclLrded "friendof lhe king, qualilyof lhe pieceto thefamousdioritestatueof Khafreandsugfriendof lhe house,and beloved€verydayby his Lord."Finally, gestsa DynastylV daleforlhetomb.lf he is correct,lhis mayindiSeneb'swife,Sentioties, likeso manywivesot highoffcialswasa catelhat Senebshouldalso be datedlo DynastylV €lher than priestessol Hathorand Neilh. DynastyVl, an ideathat has alreadyfoundsomefavor Hawass also nolesthe fact thai Perenanku's tomb is just nodhof lhat of posi, Oasenspeculates on whetherSenebroseto his supervisory posits Seneb and a cemelery ol dwarfs" in thisseclion,Another tionsby virtueof merilafterenteringthe royalhouseholdlikeany explanation, which seems more likelyto me, isthatthetwodwarfs otherdwarfor wheiherSenebmighthavebeenbom intoa noble family- perhapsone of those rare sporadicnew mutations.In mighlbe related,sinceitwas the customfor peopletotry to place Thefinding whichcasehis appointment to superviseolherdwadsmighthave lheirtombsin closeprcximilyto thaloftheirancestors. oflhe name of Seneb's wife in anothertomb north Perenankhu's of seemedespeciallyappropriate. One cluethal may be relevantis lhal Seneb'stonb wasnextlo thatofan officialnamedAnkhLr who tombmay supportlhis hypolhesis. wife,Nihalhorankhu, heldtwo tillesalso possessedby Seneb:"Directorof weavingin Perenankhu's was a p eslessofHathorand the palac€and Tutorof lhe King'ssons.'Officesand litleswere was appa.enllyot averageslalure.This raisessone interesting oflenpassedfromtalherto son.Thereis no evidenceof whichI questionsaboutthe marriagesof high,ranking dwarfs.Ablonhas notedlhe impodanceof marriagelo modemdwarfs."Marriage am awarelhat Ankhuwas a dwarf. a symbolof achievingno.malstatus,quiteapartfrom Olher scenesin Seneb'stomb show us how the ancientaftist constilutes needfor a life companion and coparentfor his or observedconvenlionswhile portrayingSeneb'sunusualbody lhe individual's her familye." Cerlainly maniagewas highlydesared by all ancient accodingto anotherstandard. We haveakeadynotedlhat in the anda highofficjalespecially wouldwantto passon his statuetleof Seneband his family,his shortlegsare disguisedby Egyplians, hissons.Givenlhe complacations of pregnancy and his pose and the oositionof lhe children.Other deviceswere acquisitionsto employedin scenesfrom lhe talse door in his tomb. Scenesin childbirihamongfemaledwarfs,it is worthaskingwhethermate womenfor wivesrather whichthelombownerwouldbe expectedlo be lallerthanhis seF dwarfsmighthavesoughtaverage-sized problems, than other dwarfs to avoid such which might have vants,for example,showSenebas lhe sameheighl,henceindicatinghe was acluallyshorlerlhan lheyl The a.tists avoided becomefamiliarlo the Egyplianslhroughsadexperience. includang Seneb'swifein thesescenessinceshewouldhavehad Djeho to be tallerthanthe setuantsandwouldhavetoweredoverSeneb. Seneband Perenankhu were bothOld Kingdomofficials,hetdin In thesesceneslhe.elaiiveshortness of Seneb'sarmsand leosis highrcgad by lhe kings.theyserved.Anothersorlofcareefwhich cleadyindicatedcouldbe pursuedby a dwarfandanoihersortof relationship with I havesaldthal Seneb'sthreechildrenwefe appa.entlyavetage- a patronare illuslraledby the exampleof Djeho.This dwarfwho sizedfor lhat is howlhey are portrayedin lhe paintingsandstatu- liveddu.inglhe reignof Nectaneboll in Dynasly)(xX is known
't'l
Djeho'soccupation as a dancerin a religiouscrlt seemsto conlinue a praclicethal dates back to the earliestdynaslies.A PyramidText refers to the use of dwarls in "god's dances."The pygmy(?)whowasbeingbroughltoPepillin DynastyVlwasdesmayalso linedlo be a "drg of the god'sdances."His occupation reflectan ongoingassocialionbetweendwarfsand lhe cullsof Senebwas Drieslin lwo bullculls. sacredbulls:rememberthat
Drvarfsand Religion Apparently fromtheearliesttimes,dwarfs,in spiteoftheirphysical were associaledwilh vadousgod and goddesses, deformities, particulaywilh thesungod.Dasensuggeslslhattheshapeoflhe its shorlarmsandl6gsmay bodyof theachondroplasticdwadwith havereminded the Egypliansoflhe scarabbeetle,whichwasone form in whichthe sun god, Re, appeared.She concludedlhat, wasassimilated to thatof thesacredscarab-bee''Theksilhouetle tle Khepri;thehphysicalmaltormalion was nol regardedas a disquietingattribute,butas a divineone13." Dasenreviewsmanyinslancesof dwarfsmentioned in magicallileralureand spells.Onespell,for example,was lo be reciledfour timesovera claystalueof a dwartwhichwas thenplacedon lhe brow of a wonan in labor.El-Aguizyreportslhat dwadswere invokedin many magicallexts of the Lale and G€eco-Roman Periodsas a proteclivedeily concernedwilh the prolectionof the dangerbodyof the deadas wellas oflhe livingagainstdiseases, perhaps ousanimals,andevilspirits.Underthesecircumsiances, it is not surprising to lindlhatlhe Egyptians hadai leasltwogods who hadthe bodiesof dwarfsandwhosefunclionswereDrimarilv
Dwarf gods Bes The originof Bes has beenmuchdebated;his form asclearlya hybridcombiningelemenlsof humanand anirnallraitsincluding dwad and the ears,tail, and the body shapeof a short-limbed maneof a Iion.He tirsl appearcdin Egyptianhistoryduringlhe Middle Kingdomand increasedin popularityfrom the New Sarcophagusof Dkho Kingdomonwards.Du ng lhis lime his ligure bec€memore dwarfishand moregrolesque,Any prolongeddiscussion of Bes fromhis largestonesarcophagus. A pictureof a nakedDjeho,ot wouldtakeus toofar fromthe basicthemeofthis article.PerhaDs almostclinic3laccuracy,Is carvedon the lid of the sarcophagus it is reallyonlynecessaryto commenton thefactlhatamongBess andleaveslittledoubllhal he was an achondroplastic dwarf. rolesis lhal of orctective atlendanlto lhe ladvoflhe house- a role His figureis Thelid alsocaniesa longinscriplion fromDjeho's"Osiris"ordead fonnerlyplayedby dwarfsin someelitehouseholdscommonly found adorning cosmetic lubes, mirrors, and similar ll Djeho had been a dancerwho "danced in Kem body slatesthat greal the day ofthe intemenl ofthe Apis-Osiris,lhe lsaqqaralon god,kingof the gods;who dancedin Shenqebeh on A secondand welfknownfunclionof Bes was as protectorand lHeliopolis] of the Osirisof Mnevis,ihe assislantin pregnancyand childbirth. lhe dayoflhe festivalofthe everlasling Againwe mightrecallthat grcatgodr0."ln otherwords,Djehoperformedlualdancesduring femaledwarfswereshownas nursesandDedraos servedas midthe tuneElsof two sacredbulls,and lhis may havegivenhimthe wifeassislanlsin ea i€r periods.Bes amuletsare abundant, and righl to a lomb within the SacredAnimalNecropolisat North hisfrgureappearsas a decoralion on a varietyof household furniSaooara. ture. lt wouldappearthat Bes'spopulaty rose as that of real relainersdeclined- al leastlojudgeby lheir Buriedwilh Djehoin the sametomb was his patron,Tjaiharpla, dwarfsas household whowasa "Counl,OverseerofUpper Egypt,Overseeroflhebank absencefromscenesof dailylifefromlhe NewKingdomforward, (treasurer), and Overseerof fields."Thesedutiesmay haveenli- PerhapsBesamuletsweremorereadilyavailabletowomenal all lled him, wilh the king'spermission,to a burialin lhis sacred precinct.Evidently his patronpaidfor Djeho'sburialand funerary includes equipmenl, sance the inscription on Djeho'ssarcophagus to beslowblessings on Tjaiharpla. He a requestlotheApis-Osiris furlher asks that "l rcmain beside him, wilhin his lomb....in lhat exchangefor whathe has donefor me11."Bainesconcludes "AlthoughDjehowas subodinalelo Tjaiharpla,his statuswas sarcophsuchthathjs presencein the tombwithhis lmagniticent] aguscannotbe reducedto thatof a retainer12,"
12
sociallevels. whilelhesupplyot dwarfswas limited.Theincreased Conclusions progrcssive roleof Bes maysay moreaboutlhe Egyptians' inteF of achondroplasia amongnew' of or atti- Lel us assumelhat lhe incidence est anmagic,however, and lessabouttheiremployment in Kingdom as il isloday. ll rnay bomswas aboutthesame lheold tudestowads rcal humandwarfs.Bes was also a god of music have been lower if lhere were fewer older lathers and Derhaos anddance.andwe haveakeadyremarkedon lhe faclthatdwarfs mutagens.In a populationof perhapsone (andpygmies) wereparliculady soughtoul as dancersbeforecer- fewer environmenlal million, there would have been 25 achondroplastic dwafs14.Of lain godsandfor cerlainrituals. population courselhesewouldbe spreadthroughoutthe of Upper Ptah-Pataikos of dwadsin royaland and LowerEgypt.Theapparentabundance Thisis the lermusedby Dasento referlo a dwarfgodfoundfrom elile households maysuggestthal dwarfchaldren, bornanywhere the endoflhe NewKingdom. Takingthe formof an achondroplas' in the kingdom, weresenlto Memphisor provincial cadlalswhere was relaledlo the ancienlEgyptiangod, theirexpeclalions tic dwarf,he apparently for successwouldhave beengreaterJewelry Ptah.Herodotuscalledit Pataikosbecauseof the similaly lo a workshopsemployingseveraldwads may speakof a familyin Phoeniciangod of lhe same shape,This god appearsalmost which dwarfnesswas inherited,since most craflsmenprobably exclusively as amulelswhoseoriginand symbolismis complex pu.suedtheirfathe/slrade. Otherdwarfsmayalsohavehaddwad and conlroversial. Theirfunclionwas probablyas a prcleclion parenls,as suggesiedby the findingof the tombsof Seneband againstavarietyofdangersthus.elainingthe magicproperties of Perenankhu in closeproximilyandlhe presence of a dwarfnamed Djedefre-ankh in anolherlomb, Dwarfswereappafently associated with vaaious djvinilies froman ea y slagein Egyptianreligiousbeliefs,andfromlhis association arosepeople'stolerancetor them as atypicalhumansand their adoptionas the form of two proteclivegodsi 8es and PlahPataikos. As lreviewedthe lilerature. it seemedme thatlherewas a trendawayfiom realdwartsas personalattendants and padiclpants in religiousiles to a dependenceon magicand dwart god/amulets overlhe courseof dynastichistory In prcbablyno olhercullure,however, havedwarfsplayeda morevisiblerole.
BIBLIOGRAPHY NOTES 1-Ablon.l98zliDasen,1988. 2. A disoderis defin€das aulosomaliflhemutantgeneis localed on one of the 22 pairsof chromosomes whichoccurin maldring pai.sin bothsexes.The mutanlis dominanttothe normalformof thegeneif il produces theabnormalcondilion whenpresenlin only a singlecopy- thalis, whilepairedwilha normalformofthe gene on the otherchromosome. lf a mLlanlgenehas litlleor no effe€{ jt is considered whenpairedwitha normalgene, recessive. Genes on lhe X or Y chromosomewould be c€lledXlinked or Ylinked ratherlhan autosomal. In 1994,the genefor achondroplasia was identilied on chrcmosome tl4. Thereis nowa prenalalDNA lestfor the condition. 3. Dasen,1988,p. 268. 4. Dasen,1993,p 107. p 57. 5. Wlkinson,1994, 6. Porterandlvosslranslalelhehieroglyphsoflhis tilleas "Tutorof lhe King'ssons"whileotherauthors,for exampleDasen,call il "Grealone of lhe Litterlseden chair]."The lattertitle seemsto accordbetterwiththe hjeroglyphs.ln anycase,lhetitlewascleaF ly oneofthe mostp€sligiousonesthatSenebheldfor it appearc repeatedly in lhe sceneson thefalsedoor Porter 7. andMoss.1974 8. Hawass, 1991,p 160 p.55. L Ablon,1984, 10.Baines,1992,p. 245. 1l . ibid.o. 244. 12.ibid.o.251. 13.Dasen,1993,p.53. 14.Butzer,1976,pp. 81-85.
Ablon, Joan. l,ilile People in Atrenca: Ihe Smial Arrcnsims of D^/ar,ten Praeger,Neu,York,19&l Aaines,John."Meritby Prory:the BiogEphiesof lhe DwarfDjehoand his Patronlaiharpta, Jo.mal of Eg$tjan Atd6edogy 7A:241257. '19€2. Adzet, f'an. EadylNradb Ciilizatim in Egy . Cni.?'go,1976 Dasen,Veronique.D$/a/s in AncientEgyptand GreeLe.Clarcndon Ptess,Odord.'1993 Das€n, Vercnique."Dwadism in Egypt and ClassicalAntiquity: lco.rogfaplry andlvedicalHislory,"MedicalHidory 32:25}276.1 8 Dawson,W R. "rygmies and Drarfs in AncientEgypt,"Jo{rmalot Egptian Archaedqy 24:145189.1938 ElAguizy, O. "D/Jarfsand Pygmiesin Andent Egypt,"Atnales du Engel, Laura. 'A DwarfTomband Olher Discoveriesat lhe ciza Pl eau."me OstncDn,August1992,p g. Haw6ss,Zahi.'The Statueof the D arf Pr-n0) rnh (w) recentydiscovered al Giza," Mifteilungendes Deutschen Archaalqischen lnstilutsAbteilungKairc47:157€2.1SS1 Junker,H. GizaVol.V D,bMastabasdesSercbanddieunlieg$ds1 GraberVlenna.1941. Mange,Mhur P and ElaineJohansenMange, Genelics:Hunan / qpecb,2ndedition-SinauerAssocjates,Inc.Sundedand, MA,1900. Mdtusick,MdorA. Mendel,a,l eitance in Man.7lh e/,ilon. Joh^s HopkinsUniversilyPress,Ballirnore,1986 Porler, Bertha and RosalindMoss- Topqrapmc BiNiqnphy of Ancient EWNidt Hietqwhic Texts, Retiefs,and PaintingE.L Merph,s. ClarendonPress,Oxford,1974. \,4lkinson,Ricl|ardH. Slarbd andMagicin EgyplianM.fhalfi]fs and Hudson,London.1994 Wynn+Davies,RrIh, ChristineM. Hall,andA. GEhamApley.Ailasof Ske/etalDysplastas. Chu.drillUvingstone,Edjnburgh,1985
13
L.[F'M. ON ANJf,@YPTIANJfl}(PflD[T1CIN BY DIGKH{RTITOOD About the Author: Dick HaNooclis a long time nenber and cur rent Chaiman of the Egyptian Study Society.An attomey and bankea he rctired in 1995 to clevotemore Iime lo a number of intercsts,includingEgyptology.Dick is a memberot the UniveBW ot Aizona Egyplian Expedition, anc! a trustee of the Amama ResearchFaundation.His lectureon theExpedifion'swo* - given beforehe set out for the 1998 seasondescibed here - is covercd Forthepaslfewyears,I'vehadthegoodfortuneto workas a metr} Beingan of Arizona'sEgyptianExpedition. ber of ihe lJniversity can experience l-gyprophile bul by no meansan EgYptologrsl,lh€ childlelloosein a candyslore totheexcjtementofa onlybeequated of a ptosliluleatearlylvlass. andthe nervousness projecls. Theonewe'v€beenwotkingon has several TheExpedition li.st is to cornforlhe pastthre€yearshastwomainpurposes.The oare.contmst.andshowthe evolulionof thewallsceneswithinthe in theValleyofthe Kings 1gthand20thDynastyRamessidetombs Thesecondis to recordand publishthosescenesbeforetheydis_
VVespendaboutamonthin Egypteachyearandthere'sasubslantial amountof lime spent on the ptoject both befote and afrerlhe is nota tull'limejob. Butbeingon an expedilionleam aclualseason. notall members of the teamcanspend Dueto othercommitmenls, thalmuci tamein Egypteachyear Ratherthanwo*ingwithreplace_ to who is ableto be therepitchesin willingly menlstaff,everyone jobs who cannol. the of those cover members arenot As withmanyarchaeologicalexpedilaons,ourteam \ /hilethe University of Arizonapicksup someexpenses salarjed. and helps supporl studenl wo*ers when lhey are presenl,leam trans_ membersusuallypay theirown costsof accommodalaons, podation travel,andincjdentals. to andfromEgypt,food,extraneoos in UppetEgyptworklheredurarchaeologisls ManyoftheAmerican with tendto be associaled Modernarchaeologisls anglhe summer. to beon campusduruniverciliesand theirjobsusuallyrequarethem summerin Egyplis lhe Equallycompelling, inglhe academicyear withod timeof fewesttourislsandmoreworkcanbe accomplished
Butmakeno mislake: thesummerheatin UpperEgyptis inlense.In in Egypt thenarrowwadis smallteamfor a majotexpedition Oursis a comparatively sunradiates of lhe \ /estBank,whetethe blinding The expedilionleader is Dr RichardH. Wlkinson,renolvned off the barrencliffs,the thermometeron my backpackoflentops out professor of Arizona,and authotof at 120"F bythemiddleoflhe aftetnoon. at the Universily Egyptologist, almost That,combinedwilh Magicin Egyplian 0% humidity, Symboland problem. suchbooksasReadingEgyptianAd, Manyofussel makesdehydrationa constanl Valleyofthe Kings thealarmson ourwalchesforevery15 or 20 minuteslotemindouF Art,\blleyofthe Sun Kings,andThe Complete (withNicholas In additiontoDr.Wlkinson,wehavea corn_ selvesto dink somewater OthershireEgyptianchild€nlo keep Reeves). ot trackofthe time.I'velearnedthe hardwaythatwhenyou become pulerexpertand a gEphicsexpert,employees of lhe LJniversity attomeyand pasl Trusteeof the American dehydfated, Arizonaia practicing you aduallylose all senseof lhirstandlime can get ResearchCenterin Egypt,who has also workedwilh Dr Mark awayfrom you until its too lale. Lehnerat GizaandwithDr Kent\ /eeksat Thebesian epigrapher The logistics of eachseasonbeginmanymonthsbeforelhe team of Toronto; and me bothfromthe University andan iconographer, in Egypt.Theworkol theleam,as wellaseachindi' acluallyarrives for the projecl.A politic€llycoF My posilionis thatof photographer Counol everyyearby lhe Sopreme vidualon it, mustbe approved rectleamof threemenandfourwomen,allofu'homhavebecome for Anliquities. of a fom3l, This requkeslhe advancesubmission uesoverthe years closefdendsas wellascol'eag acmmpanied by numerous s€curitydocuments w lten application, All teamsworkingin Egypl afe tequiredto have an Egyptian passpodphotos,andbiographical on eachteammenF informalion to makesurelhe sites ber Oncein Cairo,al leasta fullday is requhedat lhe SCAheadInspeclorwilh themwhenevertheytewofking valuelhatmighl quarteisto cafrylhe pap€rwork andto recordanihing of intrinsic arenotdamaged to another iom one departmenl TheseInspecto.sare generallyvery friendlyand oblainingthe necessary be discovered. apprcvalsfrom each.The govetnmental placemenl andsiorageof equatr bureaucracy pitching helpful, inwilhthecatrying, forms in Egyptis infamous.In 1996,the permission ment,arangingfof specialneeds,elc. Fot securityreasons,no werelinallyobtained, allof ourteamhadbeen onlyto discoverthat lo lhe sameprojeclin successiveyears assigned inspeclorcan be assigned to v/orkwithKenl\,leekson hisKV 5 projed(thetombof lls sons),andall of Dr Weeks'steamhadbee. assigned Ramses people leam is the on our enended One of the most imponant backat the Egyptianelect cranassignedto us by the ChieiInspectotof lhe to Dr Wlkinson.lntpicalfashion,it tookanotherfullday ValleyoftheKings.Existinglightingin thetombsis dimandfluores' SCAoflicesto correclthe errot epigraphy andiconogEphyenremelydif-Onto Luxor,wherelhereaaeal leastanothertwodaysof redlape, cent,makingphotography, insidethe tombson Jive- meetingandconsuming we sel Lrpfloodlights ficult.Consequently, counllessglassesof scaldingtea wilhthe lhe eledncity authotiesresponsible lo sevenfootstandsfor betietlighling.Unforlunalely, all LJppet Egyptandfof for the antiquiliesof withina giventomb cannotbe tumedoff withoutlhrowingolher lhe specific sileson theWeslBank. darkness,an evenlthatlourjsts tombsin the Valleyintocomplete apprcvalstrom lhe off In return,we not onlyobtainthe necessary Solheonlyway insidethosetombstendto finda littledisconceding. ttust,helpand goodwill, al' of whici bul alsotheirfriendship, cials tubesand is to disconnedthe Jluorescent to set up our equipment At theDnedo/sdislhe actualforms. areevenmoreimportantlhan workwilhthe livewires. 6elion,we alsoreceivea wondedullittlepieceof paperHand'writ HamdeAhmedHassanHamdan. ten in Arabicandsignedby the Directorot Egyptian That'sthe iob of our electraoan, Anliquilies fot livewiresandsplicesin our UpperEgypt,it identifies wth hisbarehands.he separateslhe of lhe Expedilion eaci of us as members The lirsl lime I watched andadmitsus to anyopenarcfiaeological converters. extension cordsand electric€l sitejn UpperEgyptwith_ him,I sawa streamof sparkslly aboutlwelveinchesbetweenhis oul cfiarge.lt alsoworkswonderson siteguardsbenton baksheeshl twohandsandhiswholebodyactuallyseemedto dow Afte.thal,I Consideringlhe size of the pieceof papet,to say that its worlh its gaveuPwalchingweightin goldisa drasticunderstatement. 1L
Flexibjlily is as necessary whenworkingin Egyplas it is whentrav- By aboutnoon,we canno longerkeep thetourislsoutofthe tombs eling.Thispastseason,we hadto delaythe startof ourworkby a so we knockoff for the day.Afrera quicklunchbacl at lhe hotel,a day in orderto fulfillalaslminuterequestby theauthorilieslolake much-needed shower,and dancinglhe 'GreatAmericanBalhtub therestoftheaftemoon is usually some publicilyshols" ofa coupleofwondedullSthDynastytombs Stomp"lo washourclolhes, spent at DraAbuel-Nagathalthe governmenl hopesloopento the geft reslingandworkingon ournoles. nota hardship SinceI havetheeasyjobandit onlytakesmean hoLrr eralpublicby lhe endof 1998.A deiay,butdelinitely or soto comsincenoneofus hadeverbeeninsideeitherof thelombs. pletemy nolesandcleanmy cameralensesfor lhe nextday,I will For most projecls,al leastnearlhe majorpopulalioncentersan offenstayoveron lhe \l,bslBanklo prowlaroundolherarciaeologEgypl,archaeologisls no longerlive in tentsal lhe silesthey are icalsites.Despite(orbecauseoDlhe heat,summeraflernoons are working,emptyingscorpionsfrom lheir boolseaci momingand a wonderfullime lo visilsitesin Egypl.Therear€veryfewtourists, waichingfor snakesthal mighlhaveslilheredin duringthe night. andevenlhe gua.dsare moreinleresled in Jyingin the shadeof a Wth lhe exc€ption of a few European arcnaeological missions lhat wallor underoneof the sc€rcetreeslhanpayingmuchatlention lo afoLrnd havetheirownhouseson theWeslBank,almostallwhoworkin the a oneor lwo crazypeoplewandering lhe site. Luxorareaslay in one of the city'shotels.This pastseason,lhe Egyptologists workingin Egyplat anygiventimecomprise a fakly Universityof Arizonagenerouslyprovideda small stipendthal small communityand mosl eilher know each olhe. akeadyor allowedusto upgradefromthe hotelwhefewehadstayedin previ- become f endsveryquicklyOneof thehighlights ofan expedilion is ousyearc.There'sa lotto be saidfor an an-conditioned room,rcli- lheoppodunitylo visjtlhesitesofotherpfojects, to socializewith the ableeleclricily, a coolsho /er,cleansheetsanda wellslockedbar archaeologislsworking them,andlo disc{sseachothe/swofkand afrera dayofeatingdustin an Egyptiantombl We gel up betoredawn,wakeup the holel'skilchenstaff,graba Similay,beeusewearein thesameafeaeachyearforan exlendquickbreaHasiof boiledeggs,localbread, andslfongcoffeeof lea, ed periodoflime,we havethe opportunityto gel to knowa number and take an earlyferryacrossthe river Thereour regulard ver of the lo€l Egyplians andtheiffamiliesThefoodandambiance in meetsLrsanddrivesus to lhe Valleyofthe Kings,abouliifteenmin- Egyplian hotelsandtouistreslaurants is goodbutil canneverco.rF utesaway.VVeget to the Valleyshodlyafterdawnand colleclour parewithsitlingcros+legged on lhedirttloorofamudbrick housein equipmenllhafs been storedfor the nightin one of the several a loc€lvillage, sha ng a mealwilhan Egyptian family. closedandunidentitied tombs. As eachseasondrawsto a close,our thoughlsinevitably turnlo Oneofthe mainproblems we faceis lhal rnanyofthetombswhere bejngbackwilh ourfamiliesandfrjends,sleepingin our ownbeds, governmentallows weworkare openlo lhe public.TheEgyplian us and lo such modemconveniences as washingmachinesand to dosethelombsforonlyfourhoursa day.Luckily, becruseoflhe microwaveovens. Wlh headygoodbyes to Egyptianfriendsand cof healal lhatlimeof year,lherearen1a lol oflourists.Thosewhodo leagues, andwithpromises lo slay in touch,we beginto lrickleolrt cometo lheValleyusuallydon'lslartaffivingunti!about7:00amand of Luxor.But halfwayovertheAtlanlic,wete alrcadymakingplans donl gel lo lhe lombswherewe'reworkingunlilaboul8:00.So we and dreamingabout ouf nexl seasonin The Greal Egypiian postoneofou. Egyptian workman al thetopof a hilloverlooking the Sandbox. paihleadingto lhe tomb.As soonas he seeslourislsapproac*ring, he runs down lhe hil to the enlranceof the tomb and yells "Antagonisls comingiAntagonisls comingiAt thatpoint,we dropa blackbedsheet overlhe enlranceand beginourfour"ofllcial" hourc Buleverr'reoedsheeldoesnr always wor\ o.e morrrrgwewe.e worklng in KV8.thetombofMerenptah. Around9:00,a louroftwenty Frenchtourisisadved ai the entmnceandthe guidedemanded ihatsheafd her groupbe allowedin We explained thatthe lomb wouldbe closeduntilnoon,hecause we weredoingarchaeologicai work The eleclic cords3tlached1othe floodlights werestretdrd outin the middl€of the corridors andwouldendanger anyonewho lappedovefihem,losaynolhingofdamaging expensive equipment. In addition, the dustslirredup by the gfoupwooldmakephotog€ phyandcloseepigraphicwork on thewallsc€nesimpossible for the Indignant, she k€pl her iourwartingat ihe enlfanceln lhe blazlng .l!ne sun,for almostan hour,demanding admissionBy 10 0Oam, we hadfinrshedour workin lhe firstlwo corridorsand movedouf equipment lo the FirctPillaredHall Realjzing shewas notgoingto leave,we agreedto lel the groupin on lhe mndrlionlhaltheymdd onlyenierasraras thesecondcrrridorOnceinside,theguidegatheredlhe g.oup n lhe firsl coridor and proceeded to give a lenrninutelectureon.. the RosetlaSlonelThen.wllhouta wordabout L4erenplah or hislomb,shemarched lhe groupslraightdown to the pushingall of us asidein the processAfterthey bu.ialchamber, nnallyleit,we had no choice:packingup our equipment amidlhe swirling dust,we fo lowedlhemoutofthe lomb. DonaldKunzand Dick Harwaodin KV8, lhe tonb of Merenptah, June 1996
'15
7ae {teetrie /fiapgrus {g4ptologg in rhe e,tfew *ledie lnageA NigetSttodwr.r 19941cc8 U\ed wrth pem'sson
Pharaoh's Ascent
The Egyptologist'sElectronicForum
h ttp l/ww w.a mb eft e c.c o n /
http t/w. n eti n s. n evs h ow c as d an k h/ eefma i n.h tn l On a more seious note. the Egyplologisl'sElectronicForum is a very aclive email mailinglisl devoledto Egyplology.lt is an excel, lent iorum ior discussion,contactbuildingand searchingfof rnfor maiion on jusi aboul any aspecl of ancienl Egypt. Jusl lo lake a sarnpleffom one days traflic on the list. lhe subjects ncluded Senefmul's tomb (with slde-discussionsof aslfonorny) Anens chapel Pyrarnidlexls retering to the raising of the Djed pllar, Egypls noftern border where to find sate lite photographsoflhe Nie deila and whe€ to find a Hieraticpr mer Lisl members hall from ai corners oflhe world. but the forums blsiness is cond!c1edin English.and the discussionsare alv/ays sumulaling The forum s Web sile (addrcssabove) includeslinks lo the iorum s archives its chai(er and instructionson signingup S'rbscription s i.ee. and the nformalion and access 10 olher Eqyptophilesworldwide s abso lley piceless. Reviewbv Graene Davis
Phanah's Ascent is a stra'ghtfotuard bui challenging puzzle game where you have to guide the recenlly-dead Pharaoh through all sorls of diabolicaltraps and mazes sei by Seth, and bring hrm inlo lhe presenceof Os ris lt consislsoi over 90 levels filledwilh stone blocks ' some you can push olt oflhe way some you can lunne through some you can blow aparl wilh an energy bol from ihe fabled Slaff of Ra and so forlh. To escape from a evel, you have 1omove a circularstone slab markedwilh an ankh to the exit, which lhen becomes a magical gateway lransporting you to lhe n€xl leve Along lhe way yo! musi avoid hazardslike l a me l r dos .deadlys pd e s d i d w a te ' rrg mJ m n ,e s The leves on lhe demo version (downloadablefrom ihe Web a d d re s sabov e) looks mp l ee n o u g h b , u tl h i sa p p e a ra nce i sdeceptive. Takelhings in lhe wrong order,destfoya blockthal you need to move and cllmb over, and you ll find yoursef completelystuck, wlh no opton bU to use lhe thoughtfuly pfovided resiad corn As you might imag ne lhe actual Egyptologicalconleft of this game is slim to say the east, bul providespleasingbackground gfaphics lo a s mple but niuialing and addictivelitlle game. ll s a pleasingdiversionfor a few minutes at a time, and one at which youngerrelalivesare sure to exce I
Becomea Cyberscribe! f yolve seen a Web s[e, CD RO[,], video, laserdisc,DVD o olher eleclronicoublicationlhal vo! think would be of intercsl
ow ESS memberslhe EleclricPapyrusneedsyoul Senda briei rcview' as long or as shorl as you like by emailto G Davisat graemed@vA.com or type it up 3nd hand I to any pub licalionscommilleememberat an ESS meet no
unteers publlcauons commiileeneedsvolunleercto help wilh the OslraconParlicularvneededare shortreDortson ihe ESSleceach month.lf you are willingto help, pleasecontacl Graem€Davisat (303)422-5342or gEemed@vr1.com. Thanksl
HOU SE OF S CR OL L S
Reviewby GQene Davis
ll DenverIVluseum of NaturalHistory,2001ColoradoBlvd,Denver,CO 80205