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One of two blocks of a limestone lintel

Object register page:

One of two blocks of a limestone lintel, inscribed for [sAb r nxn] "judge, mouth of Nekhen" Ankhemtjenenet and his wife [rxt nswt] “royal acquaintance” Nebet.

Details

  • ID
    EMC_TR_6.4.49.1.2
  • Department
    Egyptian Museum, Cairo
  • Classification
    Architectural elements-Doors, jambs, lintels
  • Findspot
    D 201 ?
  • Material
    Limestone
  • Dimensions
    40 x 131 x 17 cm
  • Credit Line
    Egyptian Museum, Cairo
  • Cairo Special Register number
    EMC_SR_2/14823.2
  • Period
    Old Kingdom, Dynasty 6
  • Object owned by
    Egyptian Museum, Cairo
  • Notes
    The lintel is inscribed for [sAb r nxn] “judge, mouth of Nekhen” Ankhemtjenenet and his wife, [rxt nswt] “royal acquaintance” Nebet. Two individuals by these names occur on a wall relief of tomb D 201, which seems to belong to [sHD pr-aA Hrj-sStA pr-dwAt] “inspector of the Great House, secretary of the House of Morning” Senenu and his son [sAb sHD sSw Hrj-sStA n wDa-mdw] “judge, inspector of scribes, secretary of judgements” Ankhemtjenenet Ineb. The latter is shown on the west wall, north of the northernmost false door, seated at an offering table with a woman standing behind him; she is labeled [sAt=f] “his daughter” Nebet. [On GAP website, see photos AEOS_I_5739, PDM_00167, PDM_00168.] The problem seems to be that on the Cairo lintel, Nebet is Ankhemtjenenet’s wife, while in D 201, she is his daughter. It is therefore unclear if this is the same Ankhemtjenenet (although he holds the title [sAb] in both places) and/or if this is the same Nebet (particularly since the wife of Ankhemtjenenet in D 201 is named Khenti or Khenit). While Nebet is a very commonly found name for Old Kingdom women, Ankhemtjenenet is quite rare at Giza. D 201 was excavated by Steindorff in 1903. However, this lintel is not mentioned under the entry on D 201 in: G. Steindorff and U. Hoelscher, Die Mastabas westlich der Cheopspyramide, Muenchener Aegyptologische Untersuchungen 2 (Frankfurt am Main, 1991), edited by A. Grimm, pp. 93-95. Nor does it appear on the Giza Projekt website (which publishes Steindorff’s original excavation notes in Hildesheim). There are several possibilities: 1) These are two different Ankhemtjenenets. If this is the case, then It is possible (though unlikely) that the Ankhemtjenenet on the Cairo lintel is to be identified with Ineb, son of Niankhhathor (owner of an unnumbered mastaba excavated by Junker). The mastaba of Niankhhathor is just east of D 201 on the south side of G 2000, and Junker (Giza IX, pp. 94-95) suggests that the two families are related, due to proximity and the reuse of the uncommon name “Ineb” (only held at Giza, so far as I am aware, by these two men). If, like his predecessor in D 201, this Ineb’s full name was Ankhemtjenenet Ineb, then it is possible that it could be he who is depicted on the Cairo lintel. However, this is a highly speculative account, and I mention it just to put the possibility out there. Probably one of the following scenarios is more likely. 2) These are the same man and the labeling of Nebet’s relationship (wife or daughter) to him is incorrect, either on the lintel (most likely) or on the D 201 relief. In this case, the lintel would be from D 201 but illicitly removed before Steindorff’s excavations. 3) These are the same man and he had two different wives, Khenit (on false door tablet) and Nebet (on entrance lintel), and a daughter by one of them, also named Nebet (on relief north of false door). In this case, the lintel would be from D 201 but illicitly removed before Steindorff’s excavations.
  • Remarks
    ALTERNATE NUMBER(S): SR 2/ 14823.2; RELATED CONSTITUENT(S): ; RELATED SITE(S): D 201

Institutions 1