36. Examples of cosmetic vessels of Sathathoriunet. From Brunton 1920, pl. IX.
37. Vessel for pure water, from the tomb of Sathathoriunet. From Petrie, Brunton, Murray 1920, pl. XXV, 7.
Also found in the tomb was a jar made of alabaster inscribed with a magical spell connected to pure water (Fig. 37).94 This type of inscribed jar is not common and is restricted to royal women and kings. The spell appears in later times as part of the second nightly hour of the “hour vigil.”95 This is the ritual in which Osiris was embalmed with the help of other deities. Whether the spell and the jar were already related to the hour vigil in the Twelfth Dynasty is not certain. It is possible that this spell is an important text in a purification ritual, later used in the hour vigil. Indeed, the purification of the body of the deceased was an important part of preparing the mummy in the purification tent.96 The spell reads: “King’s daughter Sathathoriunet, receive this cool water which is from the land that begets everything that lives, all those things that this land gives; indeed, it is the land that begets everything comes forth. May you live on them, may you receive upon them. May you live and revive upon them. May you live and revive upon this breath that is within it. It begets you, and you come forth. You live on all that is desired and perfect that is therein.”97
Several pottery vessels were found in the burial of Sathathoriunet. They included large bowls, small fat-based cups, a beaker-shaped jar, a hemispherical cup, and a bottle.98 The pottery belongs to a type most recently called queen’s ware and most often found in burials of late Middle Kingdom royal women. It is made of Nile clay and highly crafted. It is covered with a red coat, but not so well fired, providing a somewhat patchy surface color. Altogether the pottery seems to copy Old Kingdom tableware known as “Meydum ware.” The Middle Kingdom craftsmen, however, did not manage to match the Old Kingdom quality.99
Who Was Sathathoriunet?
Sathathoriunet is so far known only from her burial. The only title she bore was “king’s daughter.” Her burial place next to the pyramid of Senusret II might indicate that she was closely related to him and therefore perhaps his daughter. The name of the king was found on some objects from her tomb. Also found in her burial were more than one object bearing the name of Amenemhat III. This might indicate that she died under this king. In some publications Sathathoriunet is also called queen.100 She did not, however, bear the title “king’s wife.” Her identification as a queen might go back to Brunton, who wondered whether she was a queen on the grounds that her crown was adorned with a uraeus.101 There is so far no evidence that the uraeus was restricted to queens.102 Indeed, there are examples where a king’s daughter wears a uraeus. From the late Middle Kingdom comes the scarab of the king’s daughter Nubhetepti, on which she is shown standing and with a uraeus.103 Another example is a rock relief depicting the early Thirteenth Dynasty king Sobekhotep III and his family. Here too, the daughters are depicted with a uraeus.104 The uraeus is the symbol of the goddess Wadjet, who was one the crown deities and therefore represented kingship. While it is possible to argue that Sathathoriunet was king’s wife later in her life, being “promoted” after parts of her burial equipment were made, this argument does not work for the women on the scarab and on the rock relief, where the depictions and the titles belong together. From this evidence it is safest to say that Sathathoriunet was a daughter of Senusret II who died under Amenemhat III. She might not have been the youngest when she died, but there is no evidence that she was ever a king’s wife.
BURIALS AT DAHSHUR
Dahshur is a modern village near Saqqara, about thirty kilometers south of Cairo (Fig. 38). In the Old Kingdom it was the location of the two pyramids of Snofru, first king of the Fourth Dynasty. There were also cemeteries of officials serving the king. After Snofru, Dahshur was no longer used as a cemetery for kings, though officials, perhaps not the highest ranked, were still buried there. All other rulers of the Old Kingdom were buried farther north, at places such as Gizeh, Abusir, and Saqqara. This change is not necessarily as great as it may seem from the changing place names, as the division between Dahshur and Saqqara is a modern one. In ancient times, the region from Abusir in the north, down to Dahshur, and even beyond to Magzhuna in the south formed one big cemetery, with concentrations of tombs and mastabas around the royal pyramids.
38. Map of Dahshur. Drawn by the author.
In the Middle Kingdom the cemetery of Dahshur again became important. Amenemhat II, who ruled around 1900 BCE, was the third king of this dynasty. He built his pyramid at Dahshur. His son Senusret II was buried somewhere else, but Senusret III and Amenemhat III built their grand pyramids again at Dahshur. Most pyramids of the ensuing Thirteenth Dynasty have also been found at Dahshur. Excavations in recent years have also shown that there were huge cemeteries for officials of the Twelfth and early Thirteenth Dynasties at the site. They have not yet been explored, because Dahshur was for a long time a military zone and not available to excavate. This has changed only in the past few years with new American, German, and Japanese expeditions.
In 1894, however, the French archaeologist and director of the Egyptian Antiquities Service Jacques de Morgan excavated at Dahshur. Next to the pyramid of Amenemhat III de Morgan found two undisturbed burials. They were placed within a chain of burial shafts perhaps already built under Amenemhat III. It is unclear whether burials took place in his reign and were looted early on or the shafts were left empty and used only in the Thirteenth Dynasty. At present the latter option seems more likely, as there is no published trace of any Twelfth Dynasty use. Two burials belong to the Thirteenth Dynasty. One is that of King Hor, well known from his wooden statue now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and among its highlights; the other is that of the king’s daughter Nubhetepti-khered. In the same campaign de Morgan also excavated at the pyramid of King Senusret III. Around the pyramid he found the tombs of royal women, and in two he discovered untouched jewelry boxes.
BURIALS NEXT TO THE PYRAMID OF AMENEMHAT II
In the expedition of 1894 to 1895 de Morgan excavated at Dahshur near and in the pyramid of King Amenemhat II (Fig. 39). The pyramid is so poorly preserved that even its exact measurements are not yet known for certain. It is sometimes called the “white pyramid” because the remains of the limestone cladding dominate the color of the otherwise shapeless rubble heap of pyramid remains.
West of the pyramid, de Morgan found three underground galleries, each of which contained two burials. In one gallery were the tombs of the queen Keminub and the “treasurer” Amenhotep.105 Both were found disturbed. The burials belonged to the late Thirteenth Dynasty, perhaps around 1700 BCE.106 Only inscribed fragments of the coffins were found, or at least these are the only objects mentioned and depicted in the excavation report. They provide us with the names of the tomb owners.
39. Amenemhat II pyramid complex. The undisturbed burials are to the west. Drawn by the author.
The other galleries were found undisturbed, still containing a remarkable set of objects. They belonged to Ita and Khenmet and to Itaweret and Sathathormeryt (Fig. 40). In each of these galleries two burials were found belonging to women, three with the title “king’s daughter.” For a long time it was assumed that they were daughters of Amenemhat II and buried during his reign, but the evidence of the pottery in the tombs indicates that they were most likely buried under Amenemhat III. In one of the burials a scarab was found with the name of Amenemhat III. The relationship of these women to Amenemhat II is thus unclear, though it is still possible to argue that they were daughters of that king, who died and