186. By the Pharaoh's treasurer of the god, Zezemonekh, who made this for his wife Nubhotep. He buried her in this beautiful tomb.

aThe Pharaoh's treasurer of the god Zezemonekh. I made this for my eldest son, the treasurer of the god, Theshen (Ts-hn), while he was a child.

187. Sole companion of love, leader of the palace-hall, overseer of the baths of the palace, overseer of the bounty of the king's field of offerings, revered by his lord every day, governor of the Cow stronghold, Kam. (This tomb is) what his eldest son, his revered, the judge and inferior scribe Hotep, made for him, that he (the son) might be revered by him (the father) when he (the son) journeyed to his (own) ka (viz., died).

"From the tomb of Zezemonekh, priest of Kings Userkaf and Sahure; Cairo, Nos. 1415, 1417; published by Mariette, Mastabas, 201 (K 1417), 200 (K 1415); Sethe, Urkunden, I, 33 (collated by Erman).

bOr simply "palace-treasurer, etc."

CA false door.

dMariette, Mastabas, 160; Sethe, Urkunden, I, 33 f.

REIGN OF KHAFRE

STELA OF MERTITYÔTES a

188. This document is especially useful as indicating the place of Snefru with relation to the first kings of the Fourth Dynasty, and was long ago so employed by E. de Rougé.

C

189. Kings-wife, his beloved, devoted to Horus, Mertityôtes (Mrtt-yt 5).

dKing's-wife, his beloved, Mertityôtes; beloved of the Favorite of the Two Goddesses; she who says anything whatsoever and it is done for her.e

C

Great in the favor of Snefr[u] (Snfr-) — — ; great in the favor of Khuf[u] (Ḥ¡[w]), devoted to Horus, honored under Khafre (H‹ƒ-R), Merti[tyôt]es.

WILL OF PRINCE NEKURE, SON OF KING KHAFRES

190. A new date of Khafre is the contribution furnished by Sethe's collation of this inscription. The twelfth "numbering" as the numberings took place at this time twice a year, indicates the twenty-fourth year of Khafre. This surprisingly confirms the Turin Papyrus, which gives twenty

aLimestone false door of the usual type noted in the Appendice (p. 565) of Mariette's Mastabas, but without text. According to the headline of the page, the tomb stands on the "Plaine de Gizeh;" the false door has never been removed. The text is published by Rougé, Inscriptions hieroglyphiques, I, 62; Rougé, Recherches sur les monuments qu'on peut attribuer aux VI premières dynasties, 36 f.

bAt the top.

The king.

dRight side.

*An obscure title of the queens of Egypt, extending from the Old Kingdom down into the Empire. Sethe, Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache, 36, 143 f.; cf. also Naville, ibid., 142.

fLeft side.

gIn his tomb at Gizeh; published by Lepsius, Denkmäler, II, 15, a; Sethe, Urkunden, I, 16, 17 (collated with Berlin drawing, No. 253, and Berlin squeezes, Nos. 35 and 38).

four years as the length of Khafre's reign. The king's son, Nekure, was then old enough to feel the necessity of making a will. It is the only document of the kind from the Old Kingdom, which has survived in such excellent preservation.

191. The fortune which Prince Nekure bequeathed to his heirs consisted of fourteen towns, and two estates in the pyramid-city of his father. The latter doubtless consisted of his "town-house" and gardens. These he had left to a daughter, but she had evidently died, and on the reversion of the legacy to himself he left it to his wife. The fourteen towns he distributed among five heirs, of whom one was his wife, and three were his children, while the name of one is lost. Eleven of the fourteen towns are named after Khafre, and there is no reason to doubt that the other three were also so named, but they are now unreadable. Besides these fourteen towns, Prince Nekure had at least twelve a towns in the mortuary endowment of his tomb, of which nine were named after Khafre. It is impossible to determine whether these had belonged to the prince's estate, or whether they were given by the reigning king at the prince's death.

Date

192. 'Year of the twelfth [occurrence] of the numbering of large and sm[all] cattle.

Introduction

193. 'King's son, Nekure (R-n-k3w)

he makes the (follow

ing) ["command"],b (while) living upon his two feet without ailing in any respect.c

aSee Lepsius, Denkmäler, II, 15, b. There could not have been more than fourteen towns, as no more than two are broken out.

com

bThe determinative of a document is visible at the end of the lacuna; mand, edict" (wḍ't-md t) is usual after "make" or "made" in this connection.

"Being of sound mind." This line (2) is engraved horizontally over the following columns, and is evidently the prescript or title of the will. There are eight of the subjoined columns, each column being headed by the name of an heir, below which is entered the legacy bequeathed him. Each legacy is a town or towns; the district or nome is given first and then the town-name, or names, each of which is compounded with that of Khafre, the king.

First Legacy

194. 3I have given to the king's-confidant, Nekennebti (N-k3n-nbty), (in) —,a (the townsb of) "Khafre- -," and "Khafre- -."

Second Legacy

195. 4cHis son, the king's-confidant, Nekure (in) the eastern backland, (the towns of) ["Khafre-," "[Khafrel " and "Khafrel

Third Legacy

196. 5His daughter, the king's-confidant, Hetephires, (in) the eastern district, (the town of) "Khafre- ;" (in) the eastern back-land, (the town of) "Khafre- —.”

Fourth Legacy

197. [His son] the king's-confidant, Kennebtiwer (K-n-nbty-wr) (in), (the town of) "Great-is-[the-Fame]-of-Khafre;" (in) the Mendesian nome, (the towns of) "Khafre- -," and "Khafre- —."

198. 7.

Fifth Legacy

-, (in) the Mendesian nome, (the towns of)

199. His beloved wife, the king's-confidante, Nekennebti (N-k’n-nbty), (in) the nome of the Cerastes-Mountain, (the town of) "Beautiful-is-Khafre;" (in) the nome of eUpper (the town of) "Brilliant1-isKhafre" (H-R-[b]); (in the pyramid-town) "Great-is-Khafre," the estate of his daughter,

с

and -f

A nome-name is lost.

bTwo towns at least.

The formula "I have given" is omitted after its occurrence once for all in 1. 3; hence "his son" instead of “my son."

dThree towns, from the size of the lacuna.

eTwentieth nome of Upper Egypt.

f Two small subcolumns, each containing a designation of some piece of property, but they are no longer legible; it is doubtless the estate, or part of the estate, of a deceased daughter, which, after its reversion to him, he now leaves to his wife. Hence her occurrence twice in the will.

THE TESTAMENTARY ENACTMENT OF AN UNKNOWN OFFICIAL, ESTABLISHING THE ENDOWMENT OF

HIS TOMB BY THE PYRAMID OF KHAFREa

200. As a revelation of the legal organization of this remote age, this document, like the similar instrument of Senuonekh (§§ 231 ff.), is of great interest. Economically it is of importance to note that the king gives whole towns as mortuary endowment, to keep the tomb of the deceased constantly supplied with offerings.

201.

I

Introduction

- while he was alive upon his two feet, even the sole companion, lord of Nekhen, member of the king's court every day local governor of "Praise-of-Horus-First-of-Heaven,"d 2. these mortuary priests forevere

202. 3

f

Endowment is Entailed

This is the [dec]ree which I made concerning it: I have not empowered any of [my brothers], 4my sisters, or my daughter's children, inferior mortuary priests, or assistant mortuary priests, to take lands1, ] 5people, or anything which I have conveyed to them, for making mortuary offerings to me therewith, whether their man-servant [or their maid-servant], "their brothers or their sisters, save to make mortuary offerings [to me therewith, in the cemetery in] 7my eternal tomb which is at the pyramid, "Great-is-Khafre;" according to the portion of lands, people, and [everything, which I have conveyed to them, for making mortuary offerings to me] therewith.

aStela in Cairo (No. 1432); published by Brugsch, Thesaurus, V, 1210 ff.; Sethe, Urkunden, I, 11-15 (collated with Berlin squeeze, No. 1597). bWhence the restorations below are drawn.

The lost introduction will be found in the preceding will (§ 193).

dName of a vineyard estate founded by Zoser of the Third Dynasty; see Sethe, in Garstang's Bet-Khallâf, 21. I have omitted before this title a repetition of titles already mentioned.

eProbably so rather than "endowment;" for "these mortuary priests of the endowment" is expressed by ḥn-k dt (y)pn (Sethe, Urkunden, I, 36, l. 1). f Probably a lacuna of more than one line.