G 8978

Ancient People

• 

  Khafre

  • Type Attested
  • Remarks Fourth king of Dynasty 4. Son of Khufu. Builder of the Second Pyramid at Giza and probably of the Great Sphinx as well. Known two thousand years later by the Greeks as King Khephren. A number of diorite and greywacke statues and statue fragments depicting the king have been discovered in Khafre's valley temple, including Cairo CG 9-17. The fragmentary head of an alabaster royal statue (MFA 21.351 + MFA 33.1113) is attributed to Khafre.
• 

  Khamerernebty [II] (G 8978 & G III-a)

  • Type Tomb Owner
  • Remarks Wife of Menkaure, daughter of Khafre and Khamerernebty [I]. Identified on entrance lintel as [sAt nswt nt Xt=f Hmt nswt mAAt Hr StX] king's daughter of his body, king's wife, seer of Horus and Seth; found above entrance to G 8978, possibly not in situ. Two uninscribed statues: one fragmentary wearing pleated robe (JE 48828), the other seated (JE 48856), probably represent Khamerernebty II (or possibly her mother Khamerernebty I); JE 48828 found in serdab ("room B") of G 8978, JE 48856 found in pillared outer hall ("room C") of G 8978. Mother ([mwt=f] his mother) of Khuenre (owner of MQ 1). Appears in chapel relief, south wall (seated before her son), identified as [mAAt Hr StX wrt Hts xrpt sSmtjw SnDt Hmt nswt sAt nswt smswt] seer of Horus and Seth, great one of the hetes-scepter, directress of the butchers of the "Acacia House," king's wife, king's eldest daughter; in situ in Menkaure quarry cemetery MQ 1 = MQ 137. Also mentioned on entrance lintel of Washptah (owner of G 8976), identified as [sAt smswt nswt nt Xt=f mAAt Hr StX wrt Hts Hmt nswt] king's eldest daughter of his body, seer of Horus and Seth, great one of the hetes-scepter, king's wife; in situ in G 8976.
• Khamerernebty [I] (in G 8978)

  • Type Attested
  • Remarks Mother of Khamerernebty [II] and Menkaure and wife of Khafre (Chephren). Identified on entrance lintel as [mwt nswt-bjtj sAt nswt-bjtj sAt nTr] mother of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, daughter of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, daughter of the god; found above entrance to G 8978, possibly not in situ.
• 

  Menkaure

  • Type Attested
  • Remarks Fifth king of Dynasty 4. Son of Khafre. Husband of Khamerernebti II. Builder of the Third Pyramid at Giza. Known two thousand years later by the Greeks as King Mycerinus.
• Sekhemre (in G 8978)

  • Type Attested
  • Remarks Possibly a son or grandson of Khamerernebty II who wished to be buried in her tomb. Inscribed seated statue, identified as [jrj-pat sA nswt smsw] hereditary prince, king's eldest son; found in niche of room C in G 8978. Possibly same individual as Sekhemre (in G 8992)?

Modern People

• Count de Galarza

  • Type Excavator
  • Nationality & Dates Spanish, 1878–1938
• 

  Selim Hassan (Bey)

  • Type Excavator
  • Nationality & Dates Egyptian, 1886–1961
  • Remarks Egyptologist; Sub Director General. Nationality and life dates from Who was Who in Egyptology. (1886-1961) Egyptian Egyptologist; born Mit-Nagi, 15 April 1886, he studied at the Higher Teacher's College, Cairo under Kamal (q.v.); in 1912 he became a teacher and in 1921 obtained a post in the Egyptian Museum as assistant keeper; he studied in Paris 1923-7 at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes; he was the first Egyptian to be appointed as a Professor of Egyptology in the Universitv of Cairo, 1928 - 36; he was later made Deputy Director of the Egyptian Antiquities Service responsible for the care of all monuments in the Nile valley, 1936-39; Ph.D. Vienna University, 1935; stimulated by the archaeological work of P. E. Newberry (q.v.) and Junker (q.v.)he began an active career in excavations with the clearance of some of the Giza mastabas in 1929; the excavations carried on by him in this necropolis continued until 1939 by which time a great deal of digging had been achieved, published in 10 parts; he also cleared the Sphinx and its temple, for the first time completely digging out the great amphitheatre around it and ensuring that it would not be buried by send again so easily; he wrote a study on this work and on the temple of Amenhotep II here; in addition the so-called Fourth Pyramid or the palace-façade tomb of Queen Khent-kawes of the Fourth Dynasty was investigated and also the funerary town of the priests associated with it; he later worked on the Unas causeway at Saqqara and at the valley temple of this king, discovering some of the mastabas in this area and two great subterranean tombs dated to the Second Dynasty; his final excavations at Giza were carried out on the east and south faces of the Great Pyramid and at the mortuary temple of King Khufu, 1938-9; he also took part in the campaign to save the monments of Nubia, and wrote a report on this subject; he published about 53 books and articles on Egyptological subjects in English, French, and Arabic, Hymnes religieux du Moyen Empire, 1928; Le Poème dit de Pentaour et Le rapport officiel sur la bataiILe de Qadesh , 1929; Excavations at Giza, 10 pts., 1929-60; The Sphinx. Its History in the Light of recent Excavations, 1949; Report on the Monunents of Nubia,1955Excavations at Saqqara 1937-8, 3 vols., 1975; in Arabic Literature of Ancient Egpt, 2 vols.; Ancient Egypt from Prehistoric Times to the Age of Rameses 11, 6 vols.; he died in Giza, 30 Sept. 1961. AfO 20 (1963), 310 (H. Brunner); Archaeology 14, no, 4 (1961, 293; ASAE 58 (1964), 61- 84 (bibl.) (Dia Abou-Ghazi); Orientalia 31 (1962), 271; Goettinger Miszellen 76 (1984), 78-80; Reid, JAOS 105 (1985), 237, 241-44.