The Early Dynastic Period

The Early Dynastic Period, also known as Archaic Period or the Thinite Period (from Thinis, the hometown of its rulers), is the era of ancient Egypt that immediately follows the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt in. It is generally taken to include the First Dynasty and the Second Dynasty, lasting from the end of the archaeological culture of Naqada III until, or the beginning of the Old Kingdom. With the First Dynasty, the Egyptian capital moved from Thinis to Memphis, with the unified land being ruled by an Egyptian god-king. In the south, Abydos remained the major centre of ancient Egyptian religion; the hallmarks of ancient Egyptian civilization, such as Egyptian art, Egyptian architecture, and many aspects of Egyptian religion, took shape during the Early Dynastic Period.

Before the unification of Egypt, the land was settled with autonomous villages. With the early dynasties, and for much of Egypt's history thereafter, the country came to be known as "The Two Lands" (referencing Upper and Lower Egypt). The pharaohs established a national administration and appointed royal governors, and buildings of the central government were typically open-air temples constructed of wood or sandstone. The earliest Egyptian hieroglyphs appear just before this period, though little is known of the spoken language that they represent.

By about 3600 BC, Neolithic Egyptian societies along the Nile had based their culture on the raising of crops and the domestication of animals. Shortly after 3600 BC, Egyptian society began to grow and advance rapidly toward refined civilization. New and discrete pottery styles related to those of Palestine appeared and copper became more extensively used. The Mesopotamian process of sun-dried bricks, and architectural building principles—including the use of the arch and recessed walls for decorative effect—became popular.

Concurrent with these cultural advances, a process of unification of the societies and towns of the upper Nile River, or Upper Egypt, occurred. At the same time, the societies of the Nile Delta, or Lower Egypt also underwent a unification process. Warfare between Upper and Lower Egypt occurred often. During his reign in Upper Egypt, King Narmer defeated his enemies on the Delta and merged both the Kingdom of Upper and Lower Egypt under his single rule. Narmer is shown on palettes wearing the double crown, composed of the lotus flower representing Upper Egypt and the papyrus reed representing Lower Egypt - a sign of the unified rule of both parts of Egypt which was followed by all succeeding rulers. In mythology, the unification of Egypt is portrayed as the falcon-god, called Horus and identified with Lower Egypt, as conquering and subduing the god Set, who was identified with Upper Egypt. Divine kingship, which would persist in Egypt for the next three millennia, was firmly established as the basis of Egypt's government. The unification of societies along the Nile has also been linked to the end of the African humid period.

Funeral practices for non-elites would have been the same as in predynastic times, but the rich demanded more elaborate rituals. Thus, the Egyptians began construction of the mastabas which became models for the later Old Kingdom constructions such as the step pyramid. Cereal agriculture and centralization contributed to the success of the state for the next 800 years.

It seems certain that Egypt became unified as a cultural and economic domain long before its first king ascended to the throne in the lower Egyptian city of Memphis. Political unification proceeded gradually, perhaps over a period of a few centuries, as local districts established trading networks and as the ability of their governments to organize agriculture labor on a larger scale increased. Divine kingship may also have gained spiritual momentum as the cults of gods like Horus, Set and Neith associated with living representatives became widespread in the country.

Writing system

It was also during this period that the Egyptian writing system was further developed. Initially, Egyptian writing had been composed primarily of a few symbols denoting amounts of various substances. The Second Dynasty of Egypt sees the advent of the first known complete sentences in Egyptian hieroglyphs. Probably the first known such sentence is a seal impression from Peribsen's tomb, at the end of the Second Dynasty, dating to ca. 2660–2650 BC. The sentence relates to the unification of Egypt: "Sealing of everything of Ombos (i.e., Naqada): He of Ombos has joined the Two Lands for his son, the Dual King Peribsen." By the end of the 3rd dynasty it had been expanded to include more than 200 symbols, both phonograms and ideograms. In all likelihood, Naqada III saw the earliest codification of signs, where royal serekhs—a rectangular cartouche representing the niched or gated façade of a palace surmounted by the Horus falcon—are also first seen, painted on jars and impressed on their sealings. These goods were often traded "abroad through the northern Sinai to southern Palestine."

According to Manetho, the first monarch of the unified Upper and Lower Egypt was Menes, who is now identified with Narmer, the earliest recorded First Dynasty monarch. Narmer appears first on the necropolis seal impressions of Den and Qa'a. This shows that Narmer was recognized by the first dynasty kings as an important founding figure. Narmer is also the earliest king associated to the symbols of power over the two lands (see in particular the Narmer Palette, a votive cosmetic palette showing Narmer wearing the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt) and may therefore be the first king to achieve the unification. Consequently, the current consensus is that "Menes" and "Narmer" refer to the same person. Alternative theories hold that Narmer was the final king of the Naqada III period and Hor-Aha is to be identified with "Menes".

Egyptian settlement and colonization are attested from about 3200 BC onward all over the area of southern Canaan with almost every type of artifact: architecture (fortifications, embankments and buildings), pottery, vessels, tools, weapons, seals, etc. 20 serekhs attributed to Narmer—the first ruler of the Early Dynastic Period—have been found in Canaan. The Egyptian colonial domain in the region was likely administered from Tell es-Sakan, a fortified settlement inhabited from 3300 to 3000 BC.

There is also evidence of Egyptian settlement and occupation in lower Nubia after the Nubian A-Group culture came to an end. By the Early Dynastic Period, the Egyptian state had likely imposed its authority as far north as modern Tel Aviv and as far south as the second cataract in Nubia.

Artifacts of the First Dynasty contain numerous depictions of captured foreigners, possibly alluding to the campaign to conquer Lower Egypt and the Nile Delta, and the accomplishment of the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. Various ethnic types seems to be represented: Asiatic-looking foreigners with full beards and straight hair, possibly alluding to vanquished people from the eastern parts of the Nile delta, or naked individuals with curly hair, possibly Libyan tribes from the western Nile delta. Depiction of West-Asiatic-looking foreigners were found in the tomb of Pharaoh Qa'a, and the Narmer Palette also exhibits similar scenes of conquest over alien people.

The First Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty I) covers the first series of Egyptian kings to rule over a unified Egypt. It immediately follows the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, by Menes, or Narmer, and marks the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period, when power was centered at Thinis.

The date of this period is subject to scholarly debate about the Egyptian chronology. It falls within the early Bronze Age and is variously estimated to have begun anywhere between the 34th and the 30th centuriesBC. In a 2013 study based on radiocarbon dates, the accession of Hor-Aha, the second king of the First Dynasty, was placed between 3111 and 3045 BC with 68% confidence, and between 3218 and 3035 with 95% confidence. The same study placed the accession of Den, the sixth king of the dynasty, between 2928 and 2911 BC with 68% confidence, although a 2023 radiocarbon analysis placed Den's accession potentially earlier, between 3011 and 2921, within a broader window of 3104 to 2913.

The dynasty

Information about this dynasty is derived from a few monuments and other objects bearing royal names, the most important being the Narmer Palette and Narmer Macehead, as well as Den and Qa'a king lists. No detailed records of the first two dynasties have survived, except for the terse lists on the Palermo Stone. The account in Manetho's Aegyptiaca contradicts both the archeological evidence and the other historical records: Manetho names nine rulers of the First Dynasty, only one of whose names matches the other sources, and offers information for only four of them. Egyptian hieroglyphs at this point were in their early stages, used primarily for labels and names, as seen on the Narmer Palette.

Alena Buis noted:

Conflicts

Artifacts of the First Dynasty contain numerous depictions of captured foreigners, possibly alluding to the campaign to conquer Lower Egypt and the Nile Delta, and the accomplishment of the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. Various ethnic types seem to be represented: Asiatic-looking foreigners with full beards and straight hair, possibly alluding to vanquished people from the eastern parts of the Nile delta, or naked individuals with curly hair, possibly Libyan tribes from the western Nile delta. Depiction of West-Asiatic-looking foreigners were found in the tomb of Pharaoh Qa'a, and the Narmer Palette also exhibits similar scenes of conquest over alien people.

Human sacrifice

Human sacrifice was practiced as part of the funerary rituals associated with all of the pharaohs of the first dynasty. It is clearly demonstrated as existing during this dynasty by retainers being buried near each pharaoh's tomb as well as animals sacrificed for the burial. The tomb of Djer is associated with the burials of 338 individuals. The people and animals sacrificed, such as donkeys, were expected to assist the pharaoh in the afterlife. For unknown reasons, this practice ended with the conclusion of the dynasty.

Anthropological data and cultural affinities

A study on First Dynasty crania from the royal tombs in Abydos generally demonstrated greater affinity with Kerma Kushites, and Upper Nile Valley groups. Keita noted the predominant pattern was "Southern" or a "tropical African variant" (though others were also observed), which had affinities with Kerma Kushites. Moreover, the analysis too found clear change from earlier craniometric trends, as "lower Egyptian, Maghrebian, and European patterns are observed also, thus making for great diversity". The gene flow and movement of northern officials to the important southern city may explain the findings.

Archaeologist Bruce Williams has advanced the view that Nubian elites participated with their first dynastic counterparts in the development of the pharaonic civilization. Williams also clarified in 1987 that his discovery of the Qutsul incense burner proposed no claim of a Nubian origin or genesis for the pharaonic monarchy but that excavations had shown Nubian linkages and contributions. He maintained that detailed, archaeological evidence had found cemeteries of tombs situated in Qustul, Nubia which were described to be vastly wealthier and greater in size than the Abydos tombs of the first dynastic rulers.

According to American historian and linguist, Christopher Ehret, the ritual practice of retainer sacrifice found in the first dynastic royal tombs of Abydos originated from the southern region in the Middle Nile. Ehret also stated that this cultural practice was shared with the Kerma kingdom of the Upper Nubian Nile region.

The name and the beginning

Senet is a two-player board game on three rows of ten squares, in which pieces move by the throw of sticks. Its Egyptian name means "passing". Its earliest evidence comes from the First Dynasty (about 3100–2900 BC): ivory squares in a tomb at Abu Rawash, three of them marked like senet squares, and a three-row board that appears as a hieroglyph from about the time of Narmer.

The first clear picture of the game is in the tomb of Hesy-Re at Saqqara, from the Third Dynasty, beside the games mehen and men. In the Old Kingdom tomb of Pepi-ankh at Meir, one player's caption reads "passing is mine".

From pastime to passage

In the Old and Middle Kingdoms senet was a pastime, painted among scenes of daily life. By the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (about 1293 BC) the board had become a model of the netherworld, and the player was shown alone against an unseen opponent. In the tomb of Nefertari (QV66) the queen plays alone in the vignette of chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead. The signs on the last squares changed over time, and some Twentieth Dynasty boards are decorated on all thirty squares. The ordinary two-player game went on alongside.

Tutankhamun's boards

Howard Carter's list records four game boxes in the tomb of Tutankhamun. One is a board of solid ivory (Carter 585r), with senet on one face and the game of twenty squares on the other; its never-opened drawer held two ivory knucklebones and five red and five white pieces. The tomb also held a set of four ivory throwing sticks (620(110)). That he owned five boxes is a common mistake.

Beyond Egypt

Senet was played in the Levant — at Arad, Byblos and Tell es-Safi, later at Kamid el-Loz and Hazor — and appears where Egyptians were present. Cyprus adopted it in the late third millennium BC and made it its own until the end of the Bronze Age. There is no archaeological evidence that it is the ancestor of backgammon or of Greek and Roman games.

What we do not know

No ancient rulebook survives, and every set of rules known today is a modern reconstruction: the best known are Jéquier's (about 1930), R. C. Bell's (1960) and Timothy Kendall's (1978). Scholars disagree on what four dark sides count (five or six) and on what squares 26 and 27 did. The religious texts suggest that a piece left squares 28, 29 and 30 on throws of 3, 2 and 1. Senet was played at least until the Twenty-sixth Dynasty; play in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods is unproven.

Name

Jürgen von Beckerath translates the hieroglyphs of "Djer" as "Defender of Horus." The King lists of the New Kingdom (13th century BC) record the third pharaoh as ꞽttꞽ, which is sometimes also translated as Iteti. The earliest names given in these lists are almost certainly later tradition, as throne names, the one used in official annals, are only attested from the reign of Den, the fifth pharaoh. In fact, it's possible that ꞽttꞽ is the result of a later scribe mistaking one of Djer's honorific (recorded in the Palermo Stone) as an actual name.

In the Aegyptiaca of the Egyptian priest Manetho (3rd century BC), the third pharaoh is recorded as Kenkenês (Κενκενης). I. E. S. Edwards theorized that this name actually refers to an alternate spelling of Den's throne name, which in turn led to other corruptions in the king list.

Length of reign

According to the Roman historian Julius Africanus, Manetho wrote that the third pharaoh ruled 31 years. Modern reconstructions of the near-contemporary (and therefore, more accurate) Palermo Stone ascribes Djer a reign of at least 40 years. According to Toby Wilkinson, the annals record "41 complete or partial years." Wilkinson also notes that years 1–10 of Djer's reign are preserved in register II of the Palermo Stone, while the middle years of this pharaoh's reign are recorded in register II of Cairo stone fragment C1. However, this is not the only proposed reconstruction. Erik Hornung argues that the Palermo Stone records 47 years for Djer, while Wolfgang Helck proposes 57 years.

Reign

Djer's reign was preceded by a regency controlled by Neithhotep, possibly his mother or grandmother.

The evidence for Djer's life and reign is: The inscriptions, on ivory and wood, are in a very early form of hieroglyphs, hindering complete translation, but a label at Saqqarah may depict the First Dynasty practice of human sacrifice. An ivory tablet from Abydos mentions that Djer visited Buto and Sais in the Nile Delta.

Year-by-year records

The Palermo stone lists the first nine years of Djer's reign, as well as the heights of the Nile for each.

Cairo Stone, main fragment:

Since the 30th year is the last surviving register for Djer's reign on the Cairo Stone, it suggests that the 31st year was when Djer celebrated his first Sed Festival.

Manetho

Manetho claimed that Athothes, who is sometimes identified as Djer, had written a treatise on anatomy that still existed in his own day, over two millennia later.

Tomb

Similarly to his father Hor-Aha, Djer was buried in Umm el-Qa'ab at Abydos. Djer's tomb is tomb O of Petrie. His tomb contains the remains of 318 retainers who were buried with him. At some point, Djer's tomb was devastated by fire, possibly as early as the Second Dynasty. During the Middle Kingdom, the tomb of Djer was revered as the tomb of Osiris, and the entire First Dynasty burial complex, which includes the tomb of Djer, was very important in the Egyptian religious tradition. An image of Osiris on a funerary bier was placed in the tomb, possibly by the Thirteenth dynasty pharaoh Djedkheperu.

Several objects were found in and around the tomb of Djer:

In the subsidiary tombs, excavators found objects including stelae representing several individuals, ivory objects inscribed with the name of Neithhotep, and various ivory tablets.

Manetho indicates that the First Dynasty ruled from Memphis – and indeed Herneith, one of Djer's wives, was buried nearby at Saqqara.

Den, also known as Hor-Den, Dewen, and Udimu, was the Horus name of a pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period who ruled during the First Dynasty of Egypt. He is the best archaeologically-attested ruler of this period, credited with bringing prosperity to his realm.

Den was attributed the title "King of Upper and Lower Egypt" and wore the double crown (red and white). Notably, the floor of his tomb at Umm El Qa'ab, near Abydos, was constructed using red and black granite, making it the earliest known use of this hard stone as a building material in Egypt with a flight of stairs leading to it. During his long reign, he established many of the customs of court ritual and royalty drawn on by later rulers and was held in high regard by his immediate successors.

Length of reign

The Ancient Egyptian historian Manetho called him “Oúsaphaîdos” and credited him with a reign of 20 years, whilst the Royal Canon of Turin is damaged and therefore unable to provide information about the duration of Den's reign. Egyptologists and historians generally believe that Den had a reign of 42 years, based on inscriptions on the Palermo Stone.

Recent radiocarbon data from the tombs at Abu Rawash, datable to the reign of Den, provide likely estimate for the Den's accession to 3011–2921 BC (1σ).

Name sources

Den's serekh name is well attested on earthen seal impressions, on ivory labels and in inscriptions on vessels made of schist, diorite and marble. The artifacts were found at Abydos, Saqqara and Abu Rawash. Den's name is also attested in later documents. For example, the Medical Papyrus of Berlin (the Ramesside era) discusses several methods of treatment and therapies for a number of different diseases. Some of these methods are said to originate from the reign of Den, but this statement may merely be trying to make the medical advice sound traditional and authoritative. Similarly, Den is mentioned in the Papyrus of Ani (also dated to Ramesside times) in chapter 64.

Identity

Den's serekh name was "Den" or "Dewen", most likely meaning "he who brings the water". This is consistent with his birth name, which was “Khasty”, meaning “he of the two deserts”. Egyptologists such as Toby Wilkinson and Francesco Tiradritti think that the birth name refers to the eastern and the western desert – both surrounding Egypt like protective shields – or to Lower and Upper Egypt. This is in accord with the introduction of the Nisut-Bity-title by Den. This royal title was designed to legitimise the ruler's power over the whole of Egypt.

Den's family has been the subject of significant research. His mother was queen Merneith; this conclusion is supported by contemporary seal impressions and by the inscription on the Palermo Stone. Den's wives were the queens Semat, Seshemet-ka, Serethor, and, possibly, Qaineit (or Qua-Neith). He also had numerous sons and daughters; his possible successors could have been king Anedjib and king Semerkhet.

Den's Royal Household is also well researched. Subsidiary tombs and palatial mastabas at Sakkara belonged to high officials such as Ipka, Ankh-ka, Hemaka, Nebitka, Amka, Iny-ka and Ka-Za. In a subsidiary tomb at Den's necropolis, the rare stela of a dwarf named Ser-Inpu was found.

The birth name of Den was misread in Ramesside times. The Abydos King List has "Sepati" written with two symbols for "district". This derives from the two desert symbols Den originally had used. The Turin King List refers to "Qenenti", which is quite difficult to translate. The origin of the hieroglyphs used the Royal Canon of Turin remains unknown. The Saqqara Tablet mysteriously omits Den completely.

Reign

Beginning

According to archaeological records, at the very beginning of his reign, Den had to share the throne with his mother Meritneith for several years. It seems that he was too young to rule himself. Therefore, Meritneith reigned as a regent or de facto pharaoh for some time. Such a course of action was not unusual in ancient Egyptian history. Queen Neithhotep may have taken on a similar role before Meritneith, while queens such as Sobekneferu and Hatshepsut were later female Egyptian rulers. Den's mother was rewarded with her own tomb of royal dimensions and with her own mortuary cult.

Events

An important innovation during Den's reign was the introduction of numbering using hieroglyphs. Prior to this, important year events were merely depicted in signs and miniatures, sometimes guided by the hieroglyphic sign rnpt "bald palm panicle", meaning “year”. From Den's reign onwards, the Egyptians used numbering hieroglyphs for a range of purposes including calculating tax collections and for annotating their year events.

Den is the first Egyptian king attested with rock reliefs in the Sinai Peninsula. Two or perhaps even three reliefs are showing the standing king and some of his officials.

Most religious and political happenings from Den's reign are recorded in the numerous ivory tags and the Palermo Stone inscription. The tags show important developments in typography and arts. The surface is artistically parted into sections, each of them showing individual events. For example, one of these tags reports on an epidemic then affecting Egypt. The inscription shows the figure of a shaman with an undefined vessel or urn at his feet. A nearby inscription begins with “Henu...” but it is unclear, if that means “provision” or if it is the first syllable of the name “Henu-Ka” (a high official).

Another tag, known as the “MacGregor Label”, shows the first complete depiction of an Egyptian king with the so-called nemes headdress. The picture shows Den in a gesture known as "smiting the enemy". In one hand Den holds a mace, in the other hand he grabs a foe by his hair. Thanks to the braids and the conic beard the foe has been identified as of Asian origin. The hieroglyphs at the right side say "first smiting of the east". At the left side the name of the high official Iny-Ka is inscribed. It seems that Den sent troops to the Sinai Peninsula and the eastern desert a number of times. Plundering nomads, known by the early Egyptians as jwntj.w "people with hunting bows”, were regular foes of Egypt, often causing trouble. They are again mentioned in a rock inscription in the Sinai Peninsula under Semerkhet, one of Den's successors.

Year-by-year records

More events are reported on the Palermo Stone fragments. Cairo Stone, fragment C5:

Palermo Stone, main fragment:

The second celebration of the Hebsed (a throne jubilee) is affirmed by several stone vessel inscriptions from Den's necropolis.

Tomb

Den was interred within a tomb ("Tomb T") in the Umm El Qa'ab area of Abydos, which is associated with other First Dynasty kings. Tomb T is among the largest and most finely-built of the tombs in this area, and is the first to feature a staircase and a floor made of granite.

His was the first tomb to have a flight of stairs leading to it, those of earlier kings being filled directly above from their roofs. It is possible the tomb was used as a storehouse for surplus produce during the king's lifetime, while also making it easier to add grave goods for later use in the afterlife by Den.

Tomb T is also the first tomb to include architectural elements made of stone rather than mud-brick. In the original layout for the tomb, a wooden door was located about halfway up the staircase, and a portcullis placed in front of the burial chamber, designed to keep out tomb robbers. The floor of the tomb was paved in red and black granite from Aswan, the first architectural use of such hard stone on a large scale.

Twenty labels made of ivory and ebony were found in his tomb, 18 by Flinders Petrie in the spoil heaps left by the less thorough Émile Amélineau. Among these labels are the earliest known depictions of a pharaoh wearing the double-crown of Egypt (see above), as well as running between ritual stele as part of the Sed festival. Also found are seal impressions that provide the earliest confirmed king list.

Tomb T is surrounded by the burial sites of 136 men and women who were buried at the same time as the king. Thought to be the king's retainers, an examination of some of the skeletons suggests they were strangled, making this an example of human sacrifice which is considered to be common with the pharaohs of the First Dynasty. This practice seems to have ceased by the end of the dynasty, with ushabtis taking the place of the bodies of actual people to aid the pharaohs with the work expected of them in the afterlife.

The Palermo Stone is one of seven surviving fragments of a stele known as the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. The stele contained a list of the kings of Egypt from the First Dynasty (c.3150–2890 BCE) through to the early part of the Fifth Dynasty (c.2498–2345 BCE) and noted significant events in each year of their reigns. It was probably made during the Fifth Dynasty. The Palermo Stone is held in the Regional Archeological Museum Antonio Salinas in the city of Palermo, Italy, from which it derives its name.

The Palermo Stone and other fragments of the Royal Annals preserve what is probably the oldest historical text that has survived from Ancient Egypt and form a key source for Egyptian history in the Old Kingdom.

Description

The Royal Annals stele, of which the Palermo Stone formed part, may originally have been about 60 cm high and 2.1m wide. The fragments are composed of a compact hard black stone, probably a form of basalt.

The Palermo Stone itself is an irregular shield-shaped fragment, 43.5 cm high, 25 cm wide and 6.5 cm thick (maximum dimensions).

The inscription on the "front" (recto) of the Palermo Stone consists of six horizontal bands or registers of hieroglyphic text running right to left. The first register lists the names of predynastic kings of Lower Egypt (identified as such by the wearing of the Red Crown). The second and subsequent registers contain portions of royal annals for pharaohs of the First to Fourth Dynasties, that is lists of the key events in each year of the reign of each king, arranged chronologically. The second register on the Palermo Stone begins with the final year entries for a king of the First Dynasty whose name is not preserved, but who is generally assumed to be either Narmer or Aha. The rest of the second register is taken up with the first nine annual entries for this king's successor, who is again not named on the fragment, but is assumed to be either Aha or his successor Djer. The remainder of the inscription on this side continues with royal annals down to the kings of the Fourth Dynasty.

The text continues on the "back" (verso) of the Palermo Stone, cataloguing events during the reigns of pharaohs down to Neferirkare Kakai, third ruler of the Fifth Dynasty. From the surviving fragments, it is unclear whether the Royal Annals originally continued beyond this point in time. Where a king is named, the name of his mother is also recorded, such as Betrest mother of the First Dynasty king Semerkhet and Meresankh I mother of the Fourth Dynasty king Seneferu.

Information recorded in the Royal Annals (as preserved on the Palermo Stone) includes measurements of the height of the annual Nile flood (see Nilometer), the inundation, details of festivals (such as Sed festivals), taxation, sculpture, buildings, and warfare.

Archaeological history

The original location of the stele is unknown and none of the surviving fragments have a secure archeological provenance. One fragment now in Cairo is said to have been found at an archaeological site at Memphis, while three other fragments now in Cairo were said to have been found in Middle Egypt. No find site for the Palermo Stone itself has been suggested.

The Palermo Stone was purchased by a Sicilian lawyer, Ferdinand Guidano, in 1859 and it has been in Palermo since 1866. On 19 October 1877, it was presented to the Palermo Archaeological Museum by the Guidano family, where it has remained since.

There are five fragments of the Royal Annals in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, four of which were acquired between 1895 and 1914. The fifth was purchased on the antiquities market in 1963. One small fragment is in the Petrie Museum of University College London, forming part of the collection of the archeologist Sir Flinders Petrie (and purchased by him in 1914).

The importance of the Palermo Stone was not recognized until it was noticed by a visiting French archaeologist in 1895. The first full publication and translation was that done in 1902 by Heinrich Schäfer.

Uncertainties

There are uncertainties regarding the date of the Palermo Stone and of the Royal Annals it records. It is unknown whether the inscription was done all at once or whether it was added to over time. It is also unknown whether or not it dates from the latest period it describes (i.e. from no later than the Fifth Dynasty). It has been suggested that the stele was made much later, perhaps in the Twenty-fifth Dynasty (747–656 BCE). Even if the Royal Annals, as preserved by the Palermo Stone and other fragments, were not carved during, or soon after, the period they describe, they are directly based on an Old Kingdom original.

It is also unknown whether all the surviving fragments are parts of the same stele or whether they come from separate copies. None of the smaller fragments held in Cairo have any clear provenance, and they may not all be genuine.

Various parts of the ancient text are in widely varying states of preservation, which makes the text difficult to decipher. If the text is a later copy, rather than a Fifth Dynasty original, errors and invention may have crept in during the copying process.

Significance

The Palermo Stone and the other associated fragments of the Royal Annals are vital sources for the history of the Old Kingdom, as they preserve names of members of the royal families during the first five dynasties, which are not otherwise recorded.

The surviving Royal Annals fragments contains the names of the following pharaohs:

In addition, while the names of Hor-Aha (1st dynasty), Anedjib (1st dynasty), Qa'a (1st dynasty), and Menkaure (4th dynasty) have not survived, their positions can still be inferred based on their surviving registers.

The New Kingdom Egyptian king lists, such as the Turin Canon (13th century BCE) and the Abydos king list (reign of Seti I, 1294–1279 BCE), identify Menes (probably Narmer) (c. 3100 or 3000 BCE) as the first king of the First Dynasty and so credit him with unifying Egypt. However, the top register of the Royal Annals names some predynastic rulers of Upper and Lower Egypt, presumably referring to a time before Egypt was unified. Identification of these kings with historical persons remains controversial. The ancient historian Manetho may have used information similar to the complete Royal Annals stele to construct his chronology of the early dynasties of Egypt, forming part of his Aegyptiaca (History of Egypt), written during the third century BCE, although the surviving king list most closely related to his work (as preserved by later ancient and later writers) is the Turin Canon.

The Palermo stone also mentions at least fourteen predynastic pharaohs from Lower Egypt by their Horus name, of which at least five whose names have been fully destroyed. These may be mythical kings preserved through oral tradition, or may even be completely fictitious.

Khasekhemwy ( 2690 BC;, also rendered Kha-sekhemui) was the last Pharaoh of the Second Dynasty of Egypt. Little is known about him, other than that he led several significant military campaigns, reunified Egypt by his 13th year and built the large mudbrick structure known as Shunet El Zebib.

His Horus name can be interpreted as "The Two Powerful Ones Appear", but the name is recorded in many variants, such as Ḥr-Ḫꜥj-sḫm (Horus, he whose power appears), ḫꜥj sḫm.wj ḥtp nṯrwj jm=f (the two powers appear in that the ancestors rest within him) (etc.) He is also known under his later traditioned birth name Bebti (which is also one of the names of the god Horus) and under his Hellenized name Cheneres (by Manetho; derived from Khasekhemwy).

Reign

Length of Reign

Khasekhemwy ruled for close to 18 years, with a floruit in the early 27th century BC. The exact date of his reign in Egyptian chronology is unclear but would fall roughly in between 2690–2670 BC.

According to Toby Wilkinson's study of the Palermo Stone in Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt, this near contemporary 5th dynasty document assigns Khasekhemwy a reign of 17.5 or nearly 18 full years. Wilkinson suggests that a reign of 18 "complete or partial years" can be attributed to Khasekhemwy since the Palermo Stone and its associated fragments record Years 3-6 and Years 12-18 of this king and notes that his final year is recorded in the preserved section of the document. Since the cattle count is shown to be regularly biennial during the second dynasty from the Palermo Stone (the year of the 6th, 7th and 8th count is preserved on the document plus full years after these counts respectively), a figure of 18 years is likely correct for Khasekhemwy. (or 18 years 2 months and 23 days from the main fragment of the Palermo Stone)

In addition, Manetho states Khasekhemwy ruled Egypt for thirty years, while the Turin King List states it was only twenty-seven years and a lifespan of forty years. However, both are considered unreliable as they were written long after Khasekhemwy's death whereas the Palermo Stone was carved 200 years after Khasekhemwy's death and is thought to be more accurate.

Events

Khasekhemwy is normally placed as the successor of Seth-Peribsen, though some Egyptologists believe that he was the successor of Sekhemib-Perenmaat and that another Pharaoh, Khasekhem, ruled between them. Most scholars, however, believe that Khasekhem and Khasekhemwy are, in fact, the same person. Khasekhem may have changed his name to Khasekhemwy after he defeated Seth-Peribsen and reunited Upper and Lower Egypt following a civil war between the followers of the god Horus led by himself and the followers of the god Seth led by Peribsen. Others believe Khasekhemwy only defeated Seth-Peribsen after returning to Egypt from putting down a revolt in Nubia. Either way, he ended the infighting of the Second dynasty and reunited Egypt by his 12th year on the throne, since the Palermo Stone first refers to him as "the Dual King" by his 13th year.

Khasekhemwy is unique in Egyptian history as having both the symbols of Horus and Seth on his serekh. At the beginning of his reign he adopted the Horus name Khasekhem, "The powerful one has appeared", which clearly showed his allegiance to Horus. Later, however, after defeating Peribsen, he added the symbol of Seth next to Horus and added the epithet to his royal serekh, / and accordingly changed his name to the dual form Khasekhemwy, "The two powers have appeared", along with the addition "The two powers are at peace with him". Some Egyptologists believe that this was an attempt to unify the two factions; but after his death, Seth was dropped from the serekh permanently. Khasekhemwy was the earliest Egyptian king known to have built statues of himself.

Khasekhemwy apparently undertook considerable building projects upon the reunification of Egypt. He built in stone at el-Kab, Hierakonpolis, and Abydos. Khasekhemwy built enclosures at Nekhen, at Abydos (a structure known as Shunet ez Zebib), and was buried in the necropolis at Umm el-Qa'ab in Tomb V. He may also have built the Gisr el-Mudir at Saqqara.

An inscription on a stone vase records him “fighting the northern enemy within Nekheb”. This means that Lower Egypt may have invaded and almost taken the capital of Nekhen.

Year-by-year records

The Palermo Stone records the events of the twelfth to final years of Khasekhemwy's reign, and the London Fragment records the events of his third to sixth years of reign.

London Fragment:

Palermo stone, main fragment:

Attestations

Khasekhemwy is attested by several artifacts.

Statue of Khasekhemwy

A lime statue of king Khasekhemwy, one of the earliest known life-size statues of an Egyptian pharaoh, is on display in the Ashmolean Museum (AN1896-1908 E.517). The statue comes from the "Main Deposit" at Hierakonpolis, and is dated to about 2700-2686 BC. It was discovered by Flinders Petrie in 1896.

The king wears the White Crown of Upper Egypt, and is dressed in a long robe. His right fist is drilled so as to attach a separate object, possibly a mace handle or a scepter. The king's name, Khasekhem, is inscribed in front of his feet. It is inscribed within a representation of the palace façade (the serekh), and the falcon god Horus stands on top.

The base of the statue has depictions of killed enemies on its four sides, recording a military campaign against the 'northern rebels', referring to the inhabitants of the Nile Delta. On the front, the number of slain enemies is given as 47,209 dead, with a symbol generally considered as designating "Libyans". This scene seems to record the victory of Khasekhemwy over a northern Egyptian population led by their ruler, Besh. The name Besh may be a variation or nomen of Peribsen, or more probably the name of a Libyan northern tribe near the Fayum. This iconography of the king crushing enemies at his feet would remain a central theme of royal iconography for the next three millennia.

Tomb

He was buried in Tomb V, the last such royal tomb built in the Umm el-Qa'ab necropolis. The trapezoidal tomb measures some 70 meters (230 ft) in length and is 17 meters (56 ft) wide at its northern end, and 10 meters (33 ft) wide at its southern end. This area was divided into 58 rooms. Prior to some recent discoveries from the 1st dynasty, its central burial chamber was considered the oldest masonry structure in the world, being built of quarried limestone. Despite being entered and looted by ancient tomb robbers, the excavators discovered the king's scepter of gold and sard inside the central burial chamber, as well as several beautifully made small stone pots with gold leaf lid coverings, apparently missed by earlier tomb robbers. In fact, Petrie detailed a number of items removed during the excavations of Amélineau. Other items included a tomb stele, flint tools, as well as a variety of copper tools and vessels, stone vessels and pottery vessels filled with grain and fruit. There were also small, glazed objects, carnelian beads, model tools, basketwork and a large quantity of seals.

Legacy

The second half of the 2nd dynasty, especially starting from the reign of Peribsen, the targeted unification of Egypt under a central administration, the development of the economy, trade and culture, created the conditions for the dynamic onset of the 3rd dynasty. This is evidenced by the constructions that were realised, which in their increasingly massive size determined the development of construction technologies and their logistical support, including the necessary administrative structures associated with it. It was also the development of the craft of producing objects, as evidenced by the objects exhibited in museums, partially preserved from the funerary equipment in the tomb of Khasekhemwy. There is no doubt that his sons Netjerikhet, Sekhemkhet, Sanakht and Khaba had enough inspiring ideas for their own reigns.

The era of Khasekhemwy's rule is therefore, in a historical context, an important phase in the development of Egypt's statehood. Increasing Egyptian involvement in neighbouring areas and the imposition of political control over territory beyond Egypt's borders, are important indicators of growing self-confidence. The intensity of Egypt's foreign relations in the Early Dynastic period is a complex mixture of ideology and practical economics, illuminating some of the problems and priorities faced by Egypt's early rulers.

The Second Dynasty of ancient Egypt (or Dynasty II, – ) is the latter of the two dynasties of the Egyptian Archaic Period, when the seat of government was centred at Thinis. It is most known for its last ruler, Khasekhemwy, but is otherwise one of the most obscure periods in Egyptian history.

Though archaeological evidence of the time is very scant, contrasting data from the First and Third Dynasties indicates important institutional and economic developments during the Second Dynasty.

Writing

The Second Dynasty of Egypt sees the advent of the first known complete sentences in Egyptian hieroglyphs. Probably the first known such sentence is a seal impression from Peribsen's tomb, at the end of the Second Dynasty, dating to ca. 2660–2650 BC. The sentence relates to the unification of Egypt: “Sealing of everything of Ombos (i.e., Naqada): He of Ombos has joined the Two Lands for his son, the Dual King Peribsen.”

Conflicts

The base of a lime statue of king Khasekhemwy has depictions of killed enemies on its four sides, recording a military campaign against the 'northern rebels', referring to the inhabitants of the Nile Delta. On the front, the number of slain enemies is given as 47,209 dead, with a symbol generally considered as designating "Libyans". This scene seems to record the victory of King Khasekhemwy over a northern Egyptian population led by their ruler, Besh. The name Besh may be a variation or nomen of Peribsen, or more probably the name of a Libyan northern tribe near the Fayum. This iconography of the king crushing enemies at his feet would remain a central theme of royal iconography for the next three millennia.

Rulers

For the first three pharaohs, sources are fairly close in agreement and the order is supported by an inscription on the statuette of Hetepdief, who served in the mortuary cults of these three kings.

But the identity of the next few rulers is unclear. Surviving sources might be giving the Horus name or the Nebty name and the birth names of these rulers. They may also be entirely different individuals, or could be legendary names. This might never be resolved.

It has been theorised that following the reign of Nynetjer, the country was split and ruled by two successors due to the overly complex state administration of the whole of Egypt.

The following list contains various king names from different sources:

With the last ruler, the sources return to an agreement:

Manetho states Thinis was the capital, as in the First Dynasty, but the first three kings were buried at Saqqara, suggesting the center of power had moved to Memphis. Beyond this, little can be said about the events during this period as the annual records on the Palermo stone only survive to the end of the reign of Nebra and for parts of Nynetjer's. One important event, the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, might have occurred during the reign of Khasekhemwy as many Egyptologists read his name as "the Two Powers arise".

Narmer (, may mean "painful catfish", "stinging catfish", "harsh catfish", or "fierce catfish"; ) was an ancient Egyptian king of the Early Dynastic Period, whose reign began at the end of the 4th millennium BC. He is believed to have been the successor to the Protodynastic king Ka. Many scholars consider him the unifier of Egypt and founder of the First Dynasty, and in turn the first king of a unified Egypt. He also had a prominently noticeable presence in Canaan, compared to his predecessors and successors. Neithhotep is thought to be his queen consort or his daughter.

A majority of Egyptologists believe that Narmer was the same person as Menes.

According to Manetho, Menes was a native of Thinis, located now in Sohag. Therefore, the governorate adopted an emblem featuring the king wearing the double crown of unified Egypt.

Historical identity

Although highly interrelated, the questions of "who was Menes?" and "who unified Egypt?" are actually two separate issues. Narmer is often credited with the unification of Egypt by means of the conquest of Lower Egypt by Upper Egypt. Menes was the first pharaoh of Ancient Egypt according to the ancient historian Manetho, and is identified by the majority of Egyptologists as the same person as Narmer – although a vigorous debate also proposes identification with Hor-Aha, Narmer's successor, as a primary alternative.

The issue is confusing because "Narmer" is a Horus name while "Menes" is a Sedge and Bee name, also known as "prenomen" or "throne name". All of the King Lists which began to appear in the New Kingdom only list throne names, and almost all begin with Menes, or begin with divine and/or semi-divine rulers, with Menes as the first "human king". The difficulty is aligning the contemporary archaeological evidence which lists Horus names with the king lists that list personal names.

Two documents have been put forward as proof either that Narmer was Menes or alternatively Hor-Aha was Menes. The first is the "Naqada Label" found at the site of Naqada, in the tomb of Neithhotep, often assumed to have been the mother of Horus Aha. The label shows a serekh of Hor-Aha next to an enclosure inside of which are symbols that have been interpreted by some scholars as the name "Menes". The second is the seal impression from Abydos that alternates between a serekh of Narmer and the chessboard symbol, "mn", which is interpreted as an abbreviation of Menes. Arguments have been made with regard to each of these documents in favour of Narmer or Hor-Aha being Menes, but in neither case is the argument conclusive.

The second document, the seal impression from Abydos, shows the serekh of Narmer alternating with the gameboard sign (mn), together with its phonetic complement, the n sign, which is always shown when the full name of Menes is written, again representing the name "Menes". At first glance, this would seem to be strong evidence that Narmer was Menes. However, based on an analysis of other early First Dynasty seal impressions, which contain the name of one or more princes, the seal impression has been interpreted by other scholars as showing the name of a prince of Narmer named Menes, hence Menes was Narmer's successor, Hor-Aha, and thus Hor-Aha was Menes. Cervelló-Autuori has rebutted this, but opinions still vary, and the seal impression cannot be said to definitively support either theory.

Two necropolis sealings, found in 1985 and 1991 in Abydos (Umm el-Qa'ab), in or near the tombs of Den (called the Den seal impressions) and Qa'a (called the Qa'a sealing), show Narmer as the first king on each list, followed by Hor-Aha. The Qa'a sealing lists all eight of the kings of what scholars now call the First Dynasty in the correct order, starting with Narmer. These necropolis sealings are strong evidence that Narmer was the first king of the First Dynasty, hence the same person as Menes.

Name

The complete spelling of Narmer's name consists of the hieroglyphs for a catfish (nꜥr) and a chisel (mr), hence the reading "Narmer" (using the rebus principle). This word is sometimes translated as "raging catfish". However, there is no consensus on this reading. Other translations of the adjective modifying "catfish" include "angry", "fighting", "fierce", "painful", "furious", "bad", "evil", "biting", "menacing", and "stinging". Some scholars have taken entirely different approaches to reading the name that do not include "catfish" in the name at all, but these approaches have not been generally accepted.

Rather than incorporating both hieroglyphs, Narmer's name is often shown in an abbreviated form with just the catfish symbol, sometimes stylized, even, in some cases, represented by just a horizontal line. This simplified spelling appears to be related to the formality of the context. In every case that a serekh is shown on a work of stone or an official seal impression, it has both symbols. But, in most cases, where the name is shown on a piece of pottery or a rock inscription, just the catfish, or a simplified version of it appears.

Two alternative spellings of Narmer's name have also been found. On a mud sealing from Tarkhan, the symbol for the ṯꜣj-bird (Gardiner sign G47 "duckling") has been added to the two symbols for "Narmer" within the serekh. This has been interpreted as meaning "Narmer the masculine"; however, according to Ilona Regulski, "The third sign (the [ṯꜣj]-bird) is not an integral part of the royal name since it occurs so infrequently." Godron suggested that the extra sign is not part of the name, but was put inside the serekh for compositional convenience.

In addition, two necropolis seals from Abydos show the name in a unique way: While the chisel is shown conventionally where the catfish would be expected, there is a symbol that has been interpreted by several scholars as an animal skin. According to Dreyer, it is probably a catfish with a bull's tail, similar to the image of Narmer on the Narmer Palette in which he is shown wearing a bull's tail as a symbol of power.

Reign

The date commonly given for the beginning of Narmer's reign is 3100 BC (± 150 years), which is derived from several sources including the Turin Canon. A 2013 study, using radiocarbon dating and Bayesian statistics, placed the reign of Aha (Narmer's successor) most likely between 3111 and 3045 BC (with 68% confidence), with a broader range of 3218 to 3035 BC (with 95% confidence). Other mainstream estimates, using both the historical method and radiocarbon dating, are in the range 3173–2987 BC.

Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt

The famous Narmer Palette, discovered by James E. Quibell in the 1897–1898 season at Hierakonpolis, shows Narmer wearing the crown of Upper Egypt on one side of the palette, and the crown of Lower Egypt on the other side, giving rise to the theory that Narmer unified the two lands. Since its discovery, however, it has been debated whether the Narmer Palette represents an actual historic event or is purely symbolic. Of course, the Narmer Palette could represent an actual historical event while at the same time having a symbolic significance.

In 1993, Günter Dreyer discovered a "year label" of Narmer at Abydos, depicting the same event that is depicted on the Narmer Palette. In the First Dynasty, years were identified by the name of the king and an important event that occurred in that year. A "year label" was typically attached to a container of goods and included the name of the king, a description or representation of the event that identified the year, and a description of the attached goods. This year label shows that the Narmer Palette depicts an actual historical event. Support for this conclusion (in addition to Dreyer) includes Wilkinson and Davies & Friedman. Although this interpretation of the year label is the dominant opinion among Egyptologists, there are exceptions including Baines and Wengrow.

Archaeological evidence suggests that Egypt was at least partially unified during the reigns of Ka and Iry-Hor (Narmer's immediate predecessors), and perhaps as early as Scorpion I. Tax collection is probably documented for Ka and Iry-Hor. The evidence for a role for Scorpion I in Lower Egypt comes from his tomb Uj in Abydos (Upper Egypt), where labels were found identifying goods from Lower Egypt. These are not tax documents, however, so they are probably indications of trade rather than subjugation. There is a substantial difference in the quantity and distribution of inscriptions with the names of those earlier kings in Lower Egypt and Canaan (which was reached through Lower Egypt), compared to the inscriptions of Narmer. Ka's inscriptions have been found in three sites in Lower Egypt and one in Canaan. Iry-Hor inscriptions have also been found in two sites in Lower Egypt and one in Canaan. This must be compared to Narmer, whose serekhs have been found in ten sites in Lower Egypt and nine sites in Canaan (see discussion in "Tomb and Artefacts" section). This demonstrates a qualitative difference between Narmer's role in Lower Egypt compared to his two immediate predecessors. There is no evidence in Lower Egypt of any Upper Egyptian king's presence before Iry-Hor. The archaeological evidence suggest that the unification began before Narmer, but was completed by him through the conquest of a polity in the north-west Delta as depicted on the Narmer Palette.

The importance that Narmer attached to his "unification" of Egypt is shown by the fact that it is commemorated not only on the Narmer Palette, but on a cylinder seal, the Narmer Year Label, and the Narmer Boxes; and the consequences of the event are commemorated on the Narmer Macehead. The importance of the unification to ancient Egyptians is shown by the fact that Narmer is shown as the first king on the two necropolis seals, and under the name Menes, the first king in the later King Lists. Although there is archaeological evidence of a few kings before Narmer, none of them are mentioned in any of those sources. It can be accurately said that from the point of view of Ancient Egyptians, history began with Narmer and the unification of Egypt, and that everything before him was relegated to the realm of myth.

Peak of Egyptian presence in Canaan

According to, quoted by Eusebius (Fr. 7a), "Menes made a foreign expedition and won renown." If this is correct (and assuming it refers to Narmer), it was undoubtedly to the land of Canaan where Narmer's serekh has been identified at nine different sites. An Egyptian presence in Canaan predates Narmer, but after about 200 years of active presence in Canaan, Egyptian presence peaked during Narmer's reign and quickly declined afterwards. The relationship between Egypt and Canaan "began around the end of the fifth millennium and apparently came to an end sometime during the Second Dynasty when it ceased altogether." It peaked during Dynasty 0 through the reign of Narmer. Dating to this period are 33 Egyptian serekhs found in Canaan, among which 20 have been attributed to Narmer. Prior to Narmer, only one serekh of Ka and one inscription with Iry-Hor's name have been found in Canaan. The serekhs earlier than Iry-Hor are either generic serekhs that do not refer to a specific king, or are for kings not attested in Abydos. Indicative of the decline of Egyptian presence in the region after Narmer, only one serekh attributed to his successor, Hor-Aha, has been found in Canaan. Even this one example is questionable, Wilkinson does not believe there are any serekhs of Hor-Aha outside Egypt and very few serekhs of kings for the rest of the first two dynasties have been found in Canaan.

The Egyptian presence in Canaan is best demonstrated by the presence of pottery made from Egyptian Nile clay and found in Canaan, as well as pottery made from local clay, but in the Egyptian style. The latter suggests the existence of Egyptian colonies rather than just trade.

The nature of Egypt's role in Canaan has been vigorously debated, between scholars who suggest a military invasion and others proposing that only trade and colonization were involved. The latter has gained predominance. Tell es-Sakan was a walled city dating to Dynasty 0 through early Dynasty 1 period, and built almost entirely using an Egyptian style of construction. As the only fortified Egyptian site in the region it likely functioned as a centre of administration.

Regardless of the nature of Egypt's presence in Canaan, control of trade to (and through) Canaan was important to Ancient Egypt. Narmer probably did not establish Egypt's initial influence in Canaan by a military invasion, but a military campaign by Narmer to re-assert Egyptian authority, or to increase its sphere of influence in the region, is certainly plausible. In addition to the quote by Manetho, and the large number of Narmer serekhs found in Canaan, a recent reconstruction of a box of Narmer's by Dreyer may have commemorated a military campaign in Canaan. It may also represent just the presentation of tribute to Narmer by Canaanites.

Neithhotep

Narmer and Hor-Aha's names were both found in what is believed to be Neithhotep's tomb, which led Egyptologists to conclude that she was Narmer's queen and mother of Hor-Aha. Neithhotep's name means "Neith is satisfied". This suggests that she was a princess of Lower Egypt (based on the fact that Neith is the patron goddess of Sais in the Western Delta, exactly the area Narmer conquered to complete the unification of Egypt), and that this was a marriage to consolidate the two regions of Egypt. The fact that her tomb is in Naqada, in Upper Egypt, has led some to the conclusion that she was a descendant of the predynastic rulers of Naqada who ruled prior to its incorporation into a united Upper Egypt. It has also been suggested that the Narmer Macehead commemorates this wedding. However, the discovery in 2012 of rock inscriptions in Sinai by Pierre Tallet raise questions about whether she was really Narmer's wife. Neithhotep is probably the earliest non-mythical woman in history whose name is known to us today.

Tomb and artifacts

Tomb

Narmer's tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab near Abydos in Upper Egypt consists of two joined chambers (B17 and B18), lined in mud brick. Although both Émile Amélineau and Petrie excavated tombs B17 and B18, it was only in 1964 that Kaiser identified them as being Narmer's. Narmer's tomb is located next to the tombs of Ka, who likely ruled Upper Egypt just before Narmer, and Hor-Aha, who was his immediate successor.

As the tomb dates back more than 5,000 years, and has been pillaged, repeatedly, from antiquity to modern times, it is amazing that anything useful could be discovered in it. Because of the repeated disturbances in Umm el-Qa'ab, many articles of Narmer's were found in other graves, and objects of other kings were recovered in Narmer's grave. However, Flinders Petrie during the period 1899–1903, and, starting in the 1970s, the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) have made discoveries of the greatest importance to the history of Early Egypt by their re-excavation of the tombs of Umm el-Qa'ab.

Despite the chaotic condition of the cemetery, inscriptions on both wood and bone, seal impressions, as well as dozens of flint arrowheads were found. (Petrie says with dismay that "hundreds" of arrowheads were discovered by "the French", presumably Amélineau. What happened to them is not clear, but none ended up in the Cairo Museum.) Flint knives and a fragment of an ebony chair leg were also discovered in Narmer's tomb, all of which might be part of the original funerary assemblage. The flint knives and fragment of a chair leg were not included in any of Petrie's publications, but are now at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology (University College London), registration numbers UC35679, UC52786, and UC35682. According to Dreyer, these arrowheads are probably from the tomb of Djer, where similar arrowheads were found.

It is likely that all of the kings of Ancient Egypt buried in Umm el-Qa'ab had funerary enclosures in Abydos' northern cemetery, near the cultivation line. These were characterized by large mud brick walls that enclosed space in which funerary ceremonies are believed to have taken place. Eight enclosures have been excavated, two of which have not been definitely identified. While it has yet to be confirmed, one of these unidentified funerary enclosures may have belonged to Narmer.

Artifacts

Narmer is well attested throughout Egypt, southern Canaan and Sinai: altogether 98 inscriptions at 26 sites. At Abydos and Hierakonpolis Narmer's name appears both within a serekh and without reference to a serekh. At every other site except Coptos, Narmer's name appears in a serekh. In Egypt, his name has been found at 16 sites:

A serekh that was found in the Kharga Oasis was reported in 2004 led some egyptologists to think it was of Narmer, however, later studies found it to be more likely to be that of the pharaoh Qa'a.

During Narmer's reign, Egypt had an active economic presence in southern Canaan. Pottery sherds have been discovered at several sites, both from pots made in Egypt and imported to Canaan and others made in the Egyptian style out of local materials. Twenty serekhs have been found in Canaan that may belong to Narmer, but seven of those are uncertain or controversial. These serekhs came from eight different sites: Tel Arad, En Besor (Ein HaBesor), Tell es-Sakan, Nahal Tillah (Halif Terrace), Tel Erani (Tel Gat), Small, Tel Ma'ahaz, and Tel Lod.

Narmer's serekh, along with those of other Predynastic and Early Dynastic kings, has been found at the Wadi 'Ameyra in the southern Sinai, where inscriptions commemorate Egyptian mining expeditions to the area.

Nag el-Hamdulab

First recorded at the end of the 19th century, an important series of rock carvings at Nag el-Hamdulab near Aswan was rediscovered in 2009, and its importance only realized then. Among the many inscriptions, tableau 7a shows a man wearing a headdress similar to the White Crown of Upper Egypt and carrying a scepter. He is followed by a man with a fan. He is then preceded by two men with standards, and accompanied by a dog. Apart from the dog motif, this scene is similar to scenes on the Scorpion Macehead and the recto of the Narmer Palette. The man, equipped with pharaonic regalia (the crown and scepter), can clearly be identified as a king. Although no name appears in the tableau, Darnell attributes it to Narmer, based on the iconography, and suggests that it might represent an actual visit to the region by Narmer for a "Following of Horus" ritual. However, Hendrickx (2016) places the scene slightly before Narmer, based, in part on the uncharacteristic absence of Narmer's royal name in the inscription.

Abydos ( or ; Sahidic ) was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, and also of the eighth nome in Upper Egypt. It is located about west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern Egyptian towns of El Araba El Madfuna and El Balyana. In the ancient Egyptian language, the city was called Abedju (ꜣbḏw or AbDw)(Arabic Abdu عبد-و). The English name Abydos comes from the Greek, a name borrowed by Greek geographers from the unrelated city of Abydos on the Hellespont.

Considered one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt, the sacred city of Abydos was the site of many ancient temples, including Umm el-Qa'ab, a royal necropolis where early pharaohs were entombed. These tombs began to be seen as extremely significant burials and in later times it became desirable to be buried in the area, leading to the growth of the town's importance as a cult site.

Today, Abydos is notable for the memorial temple of Seti I, which contains an inscription from the Nineteenth Dynasty known to the modern world as the Abydos King List. This is a chronological list showing cartouches of most dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from Menes until Seti I's father, Ramesses I. It is also notable for the Abydos graffiti, ancient Phoenician and Aramaic graffiti found on the walls of the Temple of Seti I.

The Great Temple and most of the ancient town are buried under the modern buildings to the north of the Seti temple. Many of the original structures and the artifacts within them are considered irretrievable and lost; many may have been destroyed by the new construction.

History

Most of Upper Egypt became unified under rulers from Abydos during the Naqada III period (3200–3000 BCE), at the expense of rival cities such as Nekhen. The conflicts leading to the supremacy of Abydos may appear on numerous reliefs of the Naqada II period, such as the Gebel el-Arak Knife, or the frieze of Tomb 100 at Hierakonpolis.

Tombs and at least one temple of rulers of the Predynastic period have been found at Umm El Qa'ab including that of Narmer, dating to. The temple and town continued to be rebuilt at intervals down to the times of the Thirtieth Dynasty, and the cemetery was in continuous use.

The pharaohs of the First Dynasty were buried in Abydos, including Narmer, who is regarded as the founder of the First Dynasty, and his successor, Aha. It was in this time period that the Abydos boats were constructed. Some pharaohs of the Second Dynasty were also buried in Abydos. The temple was renewed and enlarged by these pharaohs as well. Funerary enclosures, misinterpreted in modern times as great 'forts', were built on the desert behind the town by three kings of the Second Dynasty; the most complete is that of Khasekhemwy, the Shunet El Zebib.

From the Fifth Dynasty, the deity Khentiamentiu, foremost of the Westerners, came to be seen as a manifestation of the dead pharaoh in the underworld. Pepi I (Sixth Dynasty) constructed a funerary chapel which evolved over the years into the Great Temple of Osiris, the ruins of which still exist within the town enclosure. Abydos became the centre of the worship of the Isis and Osiris cult.

During the First Intermediate Period, the principal deity of the area, Khentiamentiu, began to be seen as an aspect of Osiris, and the deities gradually merged and came to be regarded as one. Khentiamentiu's name became an epithet of Osiris. King Mentuhotep II was the first to build a royal chapel. In the Twelfth Dynasty a gigantic tomb was cut into the rock by Senusret III. Associated with this tomb was a cenotaph, a cult temple and a small town known as "Wah-Sut", that was used by the workers for these structures. Next to the cenotaph at least two kings of the Thirteenth Dynasty were buried (in tombs S9 and S10) as well as some rulers of the Second Intermediate Period, such as Senebkay. An indigenous line of kings, the Abydos Dynasty, may have ruled the region from Abydos at the time.

New construction during the Eighteenth Dynasty began with a large chapel of Ahmose I. The Pyramid of Ahmose I was also constructed at Abydos—the only pyramid in the area; very little of it remains today.

Thutmose III built a far larger temple, about. He also made a processional way leading past the side of the temple to the cemetery beyond, featuring a great gateway of granite.

Seti I, during the Nineteenth Dynasty, founded a temple to the south of the town in honor of the ancestral pharaohs of the early dynasties; this was finished by Ramesses II, who also built a lesser temple of his own. Merneptah added the Osireion, just to the north of the temple of Seti.

Ahmose II in the Twenty-sixth Dynasty rebuilt the temple again, and placed in it a large monolith shrine of red granite, finely wrought. The foundations of the successive temples were comprised within approximately. depth of the ruins discovered in modern times; these needed the closest examination to discriminate the various buildings, and were recorded by more than 4,000 measurements and 1,000 levellings.

The last building added was a new temple of Nectanebo I, built in the Thirtieth Dynasty. From the Ptolemaic times of the Greek occupancy of Egypt, that began three hundred years before the Roman occupancy that followed, the structures began to decay and no later works are known.

Cult centre

From earliest times, Abydos was a cult centre, first of the local deity, Khentiamentiu, and from the end of the Old Kingdom, the rising cult of Osiris. A tradition developed that the Early Dynastic cemetery was the burial place of Osiris and the tomb of Djer was reinterpreted as that of Osiris.

Decorations in tombs throughout Egypt, such as the one displayed to the right, record pilgrimages to Abydos by wealthy families.

Great Osiris Temple

From the First Dynasty to the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, nine or ten temples were successively built on one site at Abydos. The first was an enclosure, about, enclosed by a thin wall of unbaked bricks. Incorporating one wall of this first structure, the second temple of about square was built with walls about thick. An outer temenos (enclosure) wall surrounded the grounds. This outer wall was made wider some time around the Second or Third Dynasty. The old temple entirely vanished in the Fourth Dynasty, and a smaller building was erected behind it, enclosing a wide hearth of black ashes. Pottery models of offerings are found in these ashes and were probably the substitutes for live sacrifices decreed by Khufu (or Cheops) in his temple reforms.

This was done at an unknown point in time but the subsequent discovery of the chamber where they were stored produced the high-quality ivories and the glazed statues that from the first dynasty. A vase of Menes with purple hieroglyphs inlaid into a green glaze and tiles with relief figures are the most important pieces found. The Khufu Statuette in ivory, found in the stone chamber of the temple, gives the only portrait of the pharaoh.

The temple was entirely rebuilt on a larger scale by Pepi I in the Sixth Dynasty. He placed a great stone gateway to the temenos, an outer wall and gateway, with a colonnade between the gates. His temple was about inside, with stone gateways front and back, showing that it was of the processional type. In the Eleventh Dynasty Mentuhotep II added a colonnade and altars. Soon after, Mentuhotep III entirely rebuilt the temple, laying a stone pavement over the area, about square. He also added subsidiary chambers. Soon thereafter, in the Twelfth Dynasty, Senusret I laid massive foundations of stone over the pavement of his predecessor. A great temenos was laid out enclosing a much larger area and the new temple itself was about three times the earlier size.

Brewery

On 14 February 2021, Egyptian and American archaeologists discovered what could be the oldest brewery in the world dating from around 3100 BCE at the reign of King Narmer. Dr. Matthew Adams, one of the leaders of the mission, stated that it was used to make beer for royal rituals.

Portal Temple

At the back of the main Oisris temple, outside of the enclosure well, near the cemetery areas, there was the Portal Temple that was built or at least finished by Ramses II. Only the front part with four columns of the temple is preserved.

Main sites

Seti I Temple

The temple of Seti I was built on entirely new ground half a mile to the south of the long series of temples just described. This surviving building is best known as the Great Temple of Abydos, being nearly complete and an impressive sight. A principal purpose of the temple was to serve as a memorial to king Seti I, as well as to show reverence for the early pharaohs, which is incorporated within as part of the "Rite of the Ancestors".

The long list of the pharaohs of the principal dynasties—recognized by Seti—are carved on a wall and known as the "Abydos King List" (showing the cartouche name of many dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from the first, Narmer or Menes, until Seti's time). There were significant names deliberately left off of the list. So rare, as an almost complete list of pharaoh names, the Table of Abydos, rediscovered by William John Bankes, has been called the "Rosetta Stone" of Egyptian archaeology, analogous to the Rosetta Stone for Egyptian writing, beyond the Narmer Palette.

There were also seven chapels built for the worship of the pharaoh and principal deities. These included three chapels for the "state" deities Ptah, Re-Horakhty, and (centrally positioned) Amun and the challenge for the Abydos triad of Osiris, Isis and Horus. The rites recorded in the deity chapels represent the first complete form known of the Daily Ritual, which was performed daily in temples across Egypt throughout the pharaonic period. At the back of the temple is an enigmatic structure known as the Osireion, which served as a cenotaph for Seti-Osiris, and is thought to be connected with the worship of Osiris as an "Osiris tomb". It is possible that from those chambers was led out the great Hypogeum for the celebration of the Osiris mysteries, built by Merenptah. The temple was originally long, but the forecourts are scarcely recognizable, and the part still in good condition is about long and wide, including the wing at the side. Magazines for food and offerings storage were built to either side of the forecourts, as well as a small palace for the king and his retinue, to the southeast of the first forecourt (Ghazouli, The Palace and Magazines Attached to the Temple of Sety I at Abydos and the Facade of This Temple. ASAE 58 (1959)).

Except for the list of pharaohs and a panegyric on Ramesses II, the subjects are not historical, but religious in nature, dedicated to the transformation of the king after his death. The temple reliefs are celebrated for their delicacy and artistic refinement, utilizing both the archaism of earlier dynasties with the vibrancy of late 18th Dynasty reliefs. The sculptures had been published mostly in hand copy, not facsimile, by Auguste Mariette in his Abydos, I. The temple has been partially recorded epigraphically by Amice Calverley and Myrtle Broome in their 4 volume publication of The Temple of King Sethos I at Abydos (1933–1958).

King's List

In The Gallery of Ancestors, also referred to as The Gallery of the List, one can find the Abydos King List. This list is depicted in low relief, carved under the reign of Seti I, and it shows Seti and Ramesses making offerings to their royal ancestors. These royal ancestors are the past kings of Egypt. Notably, some rulers, like the 15th Dynasty Hyksos that ruled Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period 1650-1550 BCE and the reign of the 18th Dynasty heretic Akhenaten of the New Kingdom 1550–1069, were omitted from the list, possibly due to being associated with periods of internal weakness and divisions. The Gallery of Ancestors led into the storerooms and the desert behind the temple.

Osireion

The Osirion or Osireon, meaning "Menmaatre beneficial to Osiris" sometimes called the Osiris Complex, is an ancient Egyptian temple. It is located to the rear of the temple of Seti I. It is an integral part of Seti I's funeral complex and is built to resemble an 18th Dynasty Valley of the Kings tomb. This was possibly used in ritual purposes with the growing of barely that allowed for the symbolic representation of the resurrection of Osiris. Today parts of the Osierion contain water due to the Aswan Dam and rising floodwaters.

Helicopter hieroglyphs

Some of the hieroglyphs carved over an arch on the site have been interpreted in esoteric and "ufological" circles as depicting modern technology, having been the subject of pyramidology.

The "helicopter" image is the result of carved stone being re-used over time. The initial carving was made during the reign of Seti I and translates to "He who repulses the nine [enemies of Egypt]". This carving was later filled in with plaster and re-carved during the reign of Ramesses II with the title "He who protects Egypt and overthrows the foreign countries". Over time, the plaster has eroded away, leaving both inscriptions partially visible and creating a palimpsest-like effect of overlapping hieroglyphs.

Ramesses II temple

The adjacent temple of Ramesses II was much smaller and simpler in plan, but it had a fine historical series of scenes around the outside that lauded his achievements, of which the lower parts remain. The outside of the temple was decorated with scenes of the Battle of Kadesh. His list of pharaohs, similar to that of Seti I, formerly stood here; the fragments were removed by the French consul and sold to the British Museum.

King's List

Inside the temple once stood another Gallery of Ancestors. This list is also depicted in low relief, carved under the reign of Ramesses II, but is more damaged. The surviving fragments were removed by the French consul in 1837 and sold to the British Museum.

Umm El Qa'ab

The royal necropolises of the earliest dynasties were placed about a mile into the great desert plain, in a place now known as Umm El Qa'ab "The Mother of Pots" because of the shards remaining from all of the devotional objects left by religious pilgrims.

The earliest burial is about inside, a pit lined with brick walls and originally roofed with timber and matting. Other tombs also built before Menes are. The probable tomb of Menes is of the latter size. Afterwards, the tombs increased in size and complexity. The tomb-pit was surrounded by chambers to hold offerings, the sepulchre being a great wooden chamber in the midst of the brick-lined pit. Rows of small pits, tombs for the servants of the pharaoh, surrounded the royal chamber, many dozens of such burials being usual. Some of the offerings included sacrificed animals, such as the asses found in the tomb of Merneith. Evidence of human sacrifice exists in the early tombs, such as the 118 servants in the tomb of Merneith, but this practice was changed later into symbolic offerings.

By the end of the Second Dynasty the type of tomb constructed changed to a long passage with chambers on either side, the royal burial being in the middle of the length. The greatest of these tombs with its dependencies, covered a space of over, however it is possible for this to have been several tombs which abutted one another during construction; the Egyptians had no means of mapping the positioning of the tombs. The contents of the tombs have been nearly destroyed by successive plunderers; but enough remained to show that rich jewellery was placed on the mummies, a profusion of vases of hard and valuable stones from the royal table service stood about the body, the store-rooms were filled with great jars of wine, perfumed ointments, and other supplies, and tablets of ivory and of ebony were engraved with a record of the yearly annals of the reigns. The seals of various officials, of which over 200 varieties have been found, give an insight into the public arrangements.

A cemetery for private persons was put into use during the First Dynasty, with some pit-tombs in the town. It was extensive in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasties and contained many rich tombs. A large number of fine tombs were made in the Eighteenth to Twentieth Dynasties, and members of later dynasties continued to bury their dead here until the Roman period. Many hundreds of funeral steles were removed by Auguste Mariette's workmen, without any details of the burials being noted. Later excavations have been recorded by Edward R. Ayrton, Abydos, iii.; MacIver, El Amrah and Abydos; and Garstang, El Arabah.

"Forts"

Some of the tomb structures, referred to as "forts" by modern researchers, lay behind the town. Known as Shunet ez Zebib, it is about over all, and one still stands high. It was built by Khasekhemwy, the last pharaoh of the Second Dynasty. Another structure nearly as large adjoined it, and probably is older than that of Khasekhemwy. A third "fort" of a squarer form is now occupied by a convent of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria; its age cannot be ascertained.

Kom El Sultan

The area now known as Kom El Sultan is a big mudbrick structure, the purpose of which is not clear and thought to have been at the original settlement area, dated to the Early Dynastic Period. The structure includes the early temple of Osiris.

Anthropological data and cultural affinities

A study on First Dynasty crania from the royal tombs in Abydos generally demonstrated greater affinity with Kerma Kushites, and Upper Nile Valley groups. Keita noted the predominant pattern was "Southern" or a "tropical African variant" (though others were also observed), which had affinities with Kerma Kushites. Moreover, the analysis too found clear change from earlier craniometric trends, as "lower Egyptian, Maghrebian, and European patterns are observed also, thus making for great diversity". The gene flow and movement of northern officials to the important southern city may explain the findings.

Archaeologist Bruce Williams has advanced the view that Nubian elites participated with their first dynastic counterparts in the development of the pharaonic civilization. Williams also clarified in 1987 that his discovery of the Qutsul incense burner proposed no claim of a Nubian origin or genesis for the pharaonic monarchy but that excavations had shown Nubian linkages and contributions. He maintained that detailed, archaeological evidence had found cemeteries of tombs situated in Qustul, Nubia which were described to be vastly wealthier and greater in size than the Abydos tombs of the first dynastic rulers.

According to American historian and linguist, Christopher Ehret, the ritual practice of retainer sacrifice found in the royal tombs of Abydos originated from the southern region in the Middle Nile. Ehret also stated that this cultural practice was shared with the Kerma kingdom of the Upper Nubian Nile region.

Identity

Name

The commonly used name Hor-Aha is a romanisation of his Horus name, written as a Horus falcon perched upon a serekh with a mace and shield in its talons, forming a variant of hieroglyph Gardiner code D34. Read as Aha (ꜥḥꜣ), the Egyptian verb 'to fight', here a masculine singular participle describing an attribute of the king (Horus) and thus translated as Horus 'the fighter' by scholars.

Manetho's record Aegyptiaca (translating to History of Egypt) lists his Greek name as Athothis, or "Athotís".

In the contemporary Early Dynastic sources, kings are most usually identified by their Horus and later (after Den) their Nebty/Nesut biti names. Whereas, the later Ramesside kinglists tend to use their Personal/Nebty names, rather than their Horus names. Thus there are issues with matching Horus name to Personal/Nebty names on the Abydos and Turin canon. However, in more recent years it has been increasingly accepted that we do in fact have the personal names of the earliest kings Narmer = Menes, Djer = Iti, Djet = Ita, based on the existence of particular sealings and graffito. Although, Hor-Aha, is left as the outlier with no seal and or document like the Djer Sinai graffito discovered by Tallet that confirms his Horus name. It has however, been argued by Autuori that a contemporary seal of Hor-Aha (IÄF III, fig. 36), with an additional two X1 brad loaf/'t' glyphs placed within his serekh, may actually be a writing of his personal name. As tt is very close to ttj (Teti) the spelling on the Abydos and Turin canon.

Regardless, based on the sequence of 1st dynasty kings in contemporary sources it is generally accepted by those that agree Menes = Narmer. That Hor-Aha is indeed the Teti mentioned as the second king of the first dynasty on the Abydos and Turin canon.

Theories

There has been some controversy about Hor-Aha. Some believe him to be the same individual as the legendary Menes and that he was the one to unify all of Egypt. Others claim he was the son of Narmer, the pharaoh who unified Egypt. Narmer and Menes may have been one pharaoh, referred to with more than one name. Regardless, considerable historical evidence from the period points to Narmer as the pharaoh who first unified Egypt (see Narmer Palette) and to Hor-Aha as his successor.

Reign

Successor to Narmer

Seal impressions discovered by Günter Dreyer in the Umm El Qa'ab from Den and Qa'a burials identify Hor-Aha as the second pharaoh of the first dynasty. His predecessor Narmer had united Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom, Upper and Lower Egypt. Hor-Aha probably ascended the throne in the mid 31st century BC.

Interior policy

Hor-Aha appears to have commemorated visits to a number of religious sites, for ritual activities. One year label of Aha (Aha3) from Abydos appears to record both a visit to a shrine of Neith (likely at Sais). It has been suggested this was to honour the lower Egyptian origins of Neithhotep if she was indeed his mother. Furthermore, the same label in the second register appears to commemorate a visit to the Djebaut (ḏbꜥ.wt) shrine in Buto. A third visit to a religious site may be recorded on the right hand side of the first register of the Naqada label. Which has a combination of signs, that although often argued to be evidence in the Narmer-Menes debate, may simply be read instead as a visit or founding of a nb.tj (nebty, two ladies) shrine. It is now the general consensus that the Naqada label has no bearing on the Narmer-Menes debate. Moreover, many scholars doubt that it is a nebty name as the nebty name simply is not in use this early on.

Furthermore, the first register of the Naqada label may show an iꜥb nṯr.w or iꜥb sḫm.w barque of Sokar (rather than a Henu or Maaty barque), or alternatively it may depict a following of Horus event which is more administrative in nature. The other above mentioned label Aha3 which commemorates the visit to the Djebaut shrine at Buto, also shows other ritual activity taking place there, possibly even a running of the Apis bull along with other connected rituals. Moreover, the second register of the Naqada label depicts potentially some kind of ritual feast. One other label of Aha (Aha2) also appears to depict a ritual event in which human sacrifice takes place. Furthermore, the labels of Aha's reign attest to the fashioning of 2 or 3 Imiut (im.i-wt) fetishes. Label Aha5, however, depicts the sign Gardiner code E15, and so may instead be read as Anubis instead of an Imiut fetish, and thus interpreted as the fashioning of a statue of Anubis. A making of a statue of Anubis is also recorded on the surviving year entries on the Palermo stone dated to the last year of the reign of Hor-Aha.

The magnificent Naqada Mastaba at a size of 54m by 27m, Excavated by De Morgan, dates to the reign of Hor-Aha. It is a monumental 'palace facade' mastaba tomb, with 16 chambers and 5 larger and deeper inner chambers, of which the middle is the burial chamber. De Morgan states that the outer 16 chambers are for burial goods, but according to Kahl et al they are purely architectural features formed by the supporting walls as a structural element of the superstructure. The structure had a low bench around the outer walls, and a mud brick enclosure wall. The names Narmer, Aha, Rekhit and Neithhotep have been found here. The burial assemblage of this tomb is exceedingly high status for this period, with ivory vessels inscribed with Rekhit, and Neithhotep in the Burial chamber, along with ivory fragments associated with a coffin like object. Furthermore, ivory and copper objects, as well as stone palettes, expensive beads, and stone vessels have been found in other chambers. As for the occupant of this tomb, there are two main candidates, Rekhit and Neithhotep, now considering the exceedingly high status of this burial and scale of the tomb, Neithhotep is often considered by scholars to be most likely, and so usually identified as the occupant. However, some consider Rekhit, a possible, brother/half brother or son of Aha to be the tombs occupant due to him being the most attested individual within the tomb. It is also now known, however, that Neithhotep out lived Aha, and is attested alongside Djer, Aha's successor on a graffito at Wadi Ameyra in the Sinai.

The oldest Mastaba at Saqqara is tomb S3357 which dates to the reign of Hor-Aha, and is of the 'palace facade' type, excavated by Emery. It is approximately 42m by 16m, and notably has a boat grave. It is generally considered to have had one the highest officials of Aha as its occupant, likely a member of the royal family. Which makes the possible princes of Aha, Het, Sa-Iset and Rekhit mentioned on seals and burial goods of the tomb potential candidates for the occupant of the tomb. Most importantly though, is it marks the appearance of the first tomb in Saqqara, the Memphite necropolis under Aha, coinciding with his larger concentration of attestations in the region compared to predecessors, for example, at Helwan and Zawyet el-Aryan. Showing an intensification of Royal interest in Memphis under Aha, which indeed would make sense given Manetho's remark that Aha built a palace in Memphis, it is likely according to Heagy that Aha moved the residence from Thinis to Memphis.

Economic development

Few artifacts remain of Hor-Aha's reign. However, the finely executed copper-axe heads, faience vessel fragments, ivory box and inscribed white marbles all testify to the flourishing of craftsmanship during Aha's time in power. Furthermore, Hor-Aha's tomb complex at Umm el-Qa'ab, is far larger than his predecessors. This has even been used by some as an argument for the identification of Aha with Menes. However, it in general testifies to a growing capacity for the contemporary administration to command significantly larger quantities of labour than ever before.

Activities outside Egypt

Inscription on an ivory tablet from Abydos suggests that Hor-Aha led an expedition against the Nubians. On a year tablet, a year is explicitly called 'Year of smiting of Ta-Sety' (i.e. Nubia).

During Hor-Aha's reign, trade with the Southern Levant seems to have been on the decline. Some scholars consider Hor-Aha to be unattested in the Southern Levant. However, many would identify a serekh on a vessel fragment from En Besor as his, and so it is quite possible Hor-Aha is indeed attested in the Southern Levant. Although, clearly a major drop in attestations in the Southern Levant when compared to Narmer, who is attested securely many times at multiple sites. Either way the Egyptian outpost in En Besor is known to have been active in the reign of Hor-Aha, and Hor-Aha's tomb also contained fragments of pottery from Syro-Palestine. Furthermore, the Naqada label mentioned above may also attest to this. If Helck's interpretation of the boat scene in the Neith shrine visit labels third register is followed, and timber is indeed being transported. Then it may imply that the toponyms mentioned could be as far out as Lebanon, the usual source for Egypt's timber. To corroborate this, analysis of the timber in Hor-Aha's tomb has shown it is cedar wood which was procured by Egyptians exclusively from Lebanon. Thus the earliest known Egyptian contact with Lebanon (likely Byblos), is securely dated to Hor-Aha's reign.

Year-by-year records

The Palermo stone lists the final year and death of Hor-Aha's reign, as well as the heights of the Nile for each.

Manetho

According to the Egyptian priest Manetho (who lived over 2,600 years after Hor-Aha's reign), Aha built a palace in Memphis and was a skilled physician who wrote multiple books on anatomy.

Family

One possible family member of Aha, is the occupant of tomb B14 within his funerary complex, named Imaib (imꜣ-ib) or "Benerib" (bnr-ib), which is best translated as "Beneficent of heart, or Sweet of heart". Usually taken by scholars to be a chief wife of Aha or an important official. Based on the translation of this individuals name they have typically been identified as a female family member of Aha, however, Bestock (2009) points out that the use of the name element ib "heart", is not exclusive to women in the Early Dynastic period. Furthermore, Bestock pointed out that from Aha's funerary complex, all the occupants of the subsidiary graves (of which B14 is one), have been male. Which does indeed cast doubt on the identification of this individual as the chief wife of Aha. Three reasons were posited by Bestock for this discrepancy, firstly that, "Beneribs remains were among those recovered and the name was misinterpreted as female when Benerib is male.", "The remains weren't collected, but Benerib is male.", or "That the remains of benerib were not found but Benerib is female, thus being exceptional for her sex and status when compared to the other occupants of the subsidiary graves." Either way, based on their tomb size (chamber B14), and finds recovered, whatever Imaib/Beneribs sex, they were an important official under Aha and likely a relative of the king. Hence also Wilkinsons identification of them with a chief queen of Aha.

The Palermo stone, records the mother of Djer as Khenthap, who must then also be a Queen of Aha.

Rekhit has often been identified as a prince of Narmer, and thus a brother or half-brother to Hor-aha. However, he has also been identified as a prince of Hor-Aha, based on his name being juxtaposed next to Aha's name on some seal impressions in a type of seal known as the "prinzen seal".

Other individuals whose names have been found on seals of Aha, and whom maybe identified as Princes or Princesses, include het (ḥ.t) and Sat-iset (zꜣ.t-is.t).

Neithhotep, was most likely the mother of Hor-Aha and Queen of Narmer. Although, may also have been a wife of Aha instead, given that she lived until the reign of Djer.

Tomb

The tomb of Hor-Aha is located in the necropolis of the kings of the 1st Dynasty at Abydos, known as the Umm el-Qa'ab. It comprises three large chambers (designated B10, B15, and B19), which are directly adjacent to Narmer's tomb. The chambers are rectangular, directly dug in the desert floor, their walls lined with mud bricks. The tombs of Narmer and Ka had only two adjacent chambers, while the tomb of Hor-Aha comprises three substantially larger yet separated chambers. The reason for this architecture is that it was difficult at that time to build large ceilings above the chambers, as timber for these structures often had to be imported from Canaan.

A striking innovation of Hor-Aha's tomb is that members of the royal household were buried with the pharaoh, the earliest known retainer sacrifices in Egypt. It is unclear if they were killed or committed suicide. Among those buried were servants, dwarfs, women and even dogs. A total of 36 subsidiary burials were laid out in three parallel rows north-east of Hor-Aha's main chambers. As a symbol of royalty Hor-Aha was even given a group of young lions.