This article is part of the research project HAR2017-88671-R (MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE) within the Spanish National Program for Research, Development, and Innovation Oriented Towards Society Challenges. I am grateful to José M. Galán for his help on the presentation of the archaeological context and to G. Roberts for revising the English.
- 1 Miniaci 2009, pp. 36–56.
- 2 The area was already occupied by rock-cut tombs and modest burials of the 11th/12th and 13th Dynas (...)
- 3 Polz, Seiler 2003; Polz 2007b, pp. 115–138; Polz 2010, pp. 345–350.
- 4 Select Papyri, pl. 3; Peet 1930, pl. 2; Winlock 1924, pp. 217–277.
- 5 Spiegelberg, Newberry 1908, pp. 14–15; questioned by Winlock 1924, pp. 237–243.
- 6 Djehuty seems to have intentionally built his tomb-chapel so that its inner most room would be sit (...)
- 7 See the Spanish mission’s website, www.excavacionegipto.com.
1The hill of Dra Abu el-Naga rises at the northern end of the necropolis of ancient Thebes, on the West Bank of the Nile.1 Its northern area is located across the river from Karnak temple, and was chosen as a burial ground by several 17th Dynasty kings.2 The mud-brick pyramid of King Nubkheperra Intef was discovered by Auguste Mariette in 1860, and rediscovered by the German Archaeological Institute in 2001.3 Papyrus Abbott III seems to suggest that the pyramid-tombs of his brother King Sekhemra-Wepmaat Intef-aa and of his father King Sobekemsaf were located not far away, to the south.4 An expedition led by the Marquis of Northampton found the rock-cut tomb-chapel of Nb-Jmn, overseer of the granaries under Thutmose III, in the winter of 1898/1899, and according to the “tomb-robberies” papyri this tomb was connected by a robbers’ tunnel with the interior of the pyramid of Sobekemsaf, which is located higher up, near the rock cliffs on the northern side of the Wadi Sheikh el-Ateyat.5 The pyramids of Nubkheperra Intef and of Sobekemsaf are approximately 150 m apart, so that a third could have been erected between them. Hence it seems probable that any third pyramid would have been that of King Sekhemra-Wepmaat Intef-aa, and that it would have been located directly above the innermost room of the tomb-chapel of Djehuty (TT 11),6 overseer of the treasury under the joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, and within the concession of the Spanish mission.7
- 8 Borrego 2017, pp. 53–57.
- 9 Information on archaeological issues of “Sector 10” kindly provided by J.M. Galán, who was also re (...)
2A third son of King Sobekemsaf, Jn-(j)t⸗f-ms, did not reach the throne.8 Five inscribed objects bearing the name of the king’s son Jn-(j)t⸗f-ms have been found at the site of the Spanish mission, southwest of the open courtyard of the tomb-chapel of Djehuty, in the so-called “Sector 10” (fig. 1).9 There, a funerary shaft (UE 110), 2.45 × 1.05 m and 6.56 m deep, was excavated in 2013, and the lower part of a limestone octagonal pillar was found at its bottom. Two of its sides were inscribed, one of them with an offering formula “for the ka of the king’s son Jn-(j)t⸗f-ms, justified.” The burial chamber, 2.90 × 1.75 m, opens to the west and has a recess in the middle of the floor that is large enough to take a coffin, 2.45 × 0.95 m and 0.75 m deep.
Fig. 1. Plan of the northwest area of “Sector 10” adjoining the open courtyard of the tomb-chapel of Djehuty (TT 11). Coloured in grey are the offering chapel (UE 160) and the funerary shaft (UE 165). The linen shroud fragments with Book of the Dead spells were found in the latter.
© Djehuty Project/Galán and Cabrera.
- 10 The orientation presented hereafter is simplified, on the basis that ancient Egyptians adapted top (...)
3The funerary shaft is aligned with a mud-brick chapel (UE 107) 1.30 m to the northwest,10 which is directly above the burial chamber. The layout of the chapel is rectangular, 1.70 × 2.52 m. At the entrance it has a step 0.60 m wider than the rest of the structure, and descends 0.25 m towards the shaft. The chapel must have been slightly greater than 1.70 m in height, with the lower half of its outer face coated with white plaster.
4Behind this chapel is another funerary shaft (UE 113), 2.40 × 0.80 m, which is more modest, without a mud-brick curb, and is 5.30 m deep. At its bottom were several fragments of a limestone libation basin, and part of an inscription could be reconstructed along its edges. It is dedicated to the god “Amun-Ra, lord of the thrones of the Two Lands,” and “the king’s son Jn-(j)t⸗f-ms” is mentioned. The burial chamber opens to the east, is small and irregularly cut, and ends below the mud-brick offering chapel UE 107, almost one metre above the burial chamber of UE 110. At its entrance, together with dismembered human remains wrapped in linen, lay part of one of the sides of a wooden canopic box, bearing a painted depiction of Anubis and framed by an inscription in honour of “the Osiris, the king’s son Jn-(j)t⸗f-ms.”
5This shaft does not seem to have had its own offering chapel, and probably made use of the nearby UE 107. This also seems to be case for a third shaft (UE 114), located only one metre to the north of UE 107. The mouth of UE 114 is 2.55 × 1.00 m, and has a mud-brick curb of only three layers. The shaft is 8.70 m deep, and contains three burial chambers, one at the bottom to the west, and two chambers opposite one another at a depth of around 5 m. The funerary equipment found inside dates to the 17th or early 18th Dynasty, but none were inscribed.
6At the same level on the hillside, 7 m to the north, is a forth funerary shaft (UE 165), of larger proportions than the three described above. A mud-brick offering chapel (UE 160) is aligned with it, 4.5 m to the west, and is also larger than that preliminarily associated with the king’s son Jn-(j)t⸗f-ms (UE 107). Only a few years after it was completed, the chapel appears to have been enlarged, which seems to indicate that the person being honoured continued to receive cult offerings, and was venerated and even exalted after his burial. In support of this proposition, when Djehuty built his tomb-chapel around half a century later, ca. 1470 BC, he intentionally avoided interfering with the monument and built the left sidewall of his open courtyard 1.5 m to the north. No conclusive evidence remains to determine the identity of the owner of the funerary complex, as the entire area, and particularly this shaft, was repeatedly reused, robbed, emptied, and refilled.
7The rectangular mud-brick offering chapel UE 160 originally measured 4.40 × 3.30 m, with its entrance wall being 0.70 m wider than the main structure. Its outer face was coated with plaster and whitewashed. It was later enlarged on all sides but the front, to 5.00 × 4.72 m, with its entrance being 5.42 m wide. Its outer face was then plastered and painted, with vertical yellow and red parallel bands on the lower part. The enlargement was built on top of a 17th or early 18th Dynasty pottery deposit that surrounded the original chapel, and may be used as a relative-chronology indicator to date the earlier structure. A mud-brick wall was built during the renovation to encircle the enlarged chapel, with a 1.50 m wide passage between them to permit movement. A ramp was built around the complex, and was probably intended to provide access to funerary monuments located further uphill.
- 11 Díaz-Iglesias Llanos 2017.
8The space between the chapel and the shaft was mostly taken up by part of the large 17th and early 18th Dynasty pottery deposit (only partly preserved), which surrounded the chapel and extended at least 25 m downhill. Among the vessels was a crumpled fragment of a linen shroud with Chapter 149 of the Book of the Dead, and a stick-shabti with part of the box and lid of its coffin. The latter bore an offering formula “for the ka of the dignitary, Jȝḥ-ms ///.”11 Both objects seem to date to the late 17th or early 18th Dynasty, and were probably thrown outside by robbers looting a nearby funerary shaft or offering chapel.
9Shaft UE 165 is the largest in this area of the necropolis (fig. 2). Its mouth measures 2.70 × 1.20 m, and has a curb thicker than the others, making the exterior of the shaft measure 3.64 × 2.31 m. It is built from mud-bricks that measure 36 × 19 × 10 cm. Its western end—that closest to the bedrock of the hillside—is 0.30 m wide and the mud-bricks go down 2.25 m, while the opposite end is 0.60 m wide and the mud-bricks reach a depth of 3.55 m, where good quality rock is encountered. The southwestern corner of the curb was broken in antiquity, but reconstructed with eroded mud-bricks and irregular limestone blocks, without bonding mortar. This is a clear sign that the shaft had been looted and later reused.
Fig. 2. Funerary shaft UE 165 and its offering chapel UE 160.
© Djehuty Project/Galán and Cabrera.
- 12 Mud-bricks bearing the name of Nb-Jmn have been found reused across the site; see Galán 2008, pp. (...)
10The shaft is 5.40 m deep, and its rock-cut walls are finished to a higher standard than the other shafts in Sector 10. Each side has three holes, aligned vertically, which would facilitate climbing in and out of the shaft, and into which wooden beams might be fixed to assist with lowering or raising heavy objects. The burial chamber opens at the western side, with an entrance of 1.35 × 1.00 m. A group of mud-bricks measuring 0.30 × 0.15 × 0.09 m were used to block the entrance and are still in situ in the center, reaching 0.40 m in height. These bricks are slightly smaller than those used to build the tomb, and were probably laid when the tomb was reused in the 22nd Dynasty. They appear to have belonged to “the scribe Nb-Jmn” of the 18th Dynasty, since 4 mud-bricks of the exact same measurements and bearing his seal impression were found in the burial chamber.12
11Before reaching the burial chamber there is a corridor or antechamber that measures 5.70 × 1.60 m and is 1.75 m in height, which also has well-finished walls. The burial chamber itself, 3.10 × 2.00 / 1.35 m and 1.70 m high, was originally closed with a mud-brick wall; one of its bricks, measuring 0.40 × 0.17 × 0.12 m, is still in situ, and aligned with marks of the closing wall that are visible on the walls and ceiling. The burial chamber has a recess in the middle of the floor, 2.20 × 1.04 m and 1.90 m deep, which was intended to take a large coffin. The chamber ends just below the mud-brick offering chapel UE 160. The layout and size of the shaft, together with the size and enlargement of the offering chapel—particularly when compared with other nearby burials of the same period—seem to indicate the high status of its original owner.
12The upper layer of the shaft’s fill consisted of loose debris, grey sand, and stones of mid- and small size, mixed with fragments of objects of various types—mostly pottery sherds—of a wide chronological range, from the 17th Dynasty to the modern day. The consistency of the filling became harder only at the bottom of the shaft, due to a concentration of broken and compacted mud-bricks. A marl clay sherd (10.5 × 9 cm) was found in this layer with part of a moon-sign, facing downwards, and a mes-sign that were incised before the vessel was baked. These most probably formed the name Jʿḥ-ms, and date to the 17th or early 18th Dynasty (fig. 3).
Fig. 3. Marl clay sherd with part of the name Ahmose incised.
© Djehuty Project/Galán.
13The homogeneity of the fill, and the different levels at which fragments belonging to the same objects were found, reveal that the shaft had been reused, robbed, emptied, and refilled several times, the last being at the beginning of the 20th century. For example, an inscribed wall fragment from the entrance to the central corridor of the tomb-chapel of Djehuty (TT 11) was found at the very top of the shaft, another fragment from one of the two stelae of its transverse hall was found at a depth of 3.35 m, and a third that contains a join with the latter was discovered at 4.00 m. Between the latter two reliefs, at a depth of 3.50 m, was a funerary cone of Djehuty, while a second was found in the antechamber (see below). Fragments of a limestone canopic jar, which had a solid lid in the shape of a human head with its eyes and eyebrows outlined in black, were found at 2.60 m, 3.50 m, 4.50 m, and 4.70 m, but also in the antechamber. Painted cartonnage fragments of the 22nd Dynasty started to appear at 4.00 m, and continued until the far end of the burial chamber.
- 13 The siglum corresponds to Spanish mission at Dra Abu el-Naga.
14The antechamber was filled almost to the ceiling with debris, including three mounds that reached 1.40 m in height indicating that at some point the debris was manually pushed inside. The upper half of the debris had a grey colour and a loose, sandy consistency. The lower half was earthier and had a brown colour. Near the entrance, one metre inside and one metre deep (i.e. on top of the lower half), were found 5 beige, torn and creased linen pieces containing columns of text written in cursive hieroglyphs and numerous hieratic signs. These were the first fragments of the Book of the Dead exemplar (L. SMDAN 1344)13 studied below. More came to light, along with fragments of painted coffins and cartonnage mummy-cases, burnt human mummies, various types of shabti, and pottery sherds. The number of linen fragments increased significantly in the lower 0.40 m of the debris filling the antechamber, and only one linen fragment was found inside the burial chamber.
- 14 Aston 2009, passim; for the use of wax in magic, see Raven 1983, pp. 15–16, pl. 2–5.
15The second funerary cone of Djehuty and two fragments of the limestone canopic jar also mentioned above were found 4.00 m inside the antechamber, and only a few centimetres above floor level, making it clear that the debris was the result of more than one refill of mixed material. Most of the pottery sherds date to the 17th or early 18th Dynasty, but fragments of Saite, Byzantine, and Islamic period vessels were also unearthed. Despite the uncertainty concerning the original location of each piece or fragment thereof, the discovery of a number that pertained to the same object, ensemble, or funerary assemblage make plausible the hypothesis that these were at some point deposited down the shaft. For example, 4 wax figurines in the shape of the four sons of Horus,14 showing little sign of degradation, were all found in the lower layer, and were most probably deposited in this tomb.
- 15 Work on this reconstruction is ongoing, and being undertaken by the author and C. Hunkeler.
- 16 Ranke PN I, p. 173 (19).
- 17 Ranke PN I, p. 121 (18).
- 18 Ranke PN I, p. 409 (17).
- 19 Ranke PN I, p. 128 (20).
- 20 Taylor 2003, pp. 103–113; Aston 2009, pp. 275–284.
16Similarly, hundreds of small fragments of painted cartonnage from 8 mummy cases of the 22nd Dynasty were retrieved. The way they were split into pieces seems to indicate that they had been deliberately broken, but they could nonetheless be partially reconstructed,15 and texts on two of the cases allow for the partial reconstruction of several family trees. Nsr-Jmn16 had a son called Pȝ-dj-ȝst,17 who was a scribe and wab-priest of Amun and who was married to Jw⸗s-nhs-mwt. A second Pȝ-dj-ȝst was married to Ḏd-ȝst-j(w)⸗s-ʿnḫ,18 who was the daughter of a fourth prophet of Amun called Ḏd-Ḫnsw-[jw⸗f]-ʿnḫ. They in turn had a son named Pȝ-s-ṯnfy,19 who also served in the temple of Amun as sḏm-ʿš, and was probably the one responsible for burying his parents in this shaft.20
- 21 PN I, p. 41 (8).
- 22 PN I, p. 175 (20).
17Pȝ-dj-ȝst had his set of shabti made of grey mud and painted in light green/blue. They were intentionally broken in half at a later date, or at least this is the case with the 66 samples found in the shaft. His wife, Ḏd-ȝst-jw⸗s-ʿnḫ, had her shabti made of blue faience, 39 of which were retrieved (25 were complete and the rest broken). A group of 80 complete (red) mud shabti were found painted in green/blue, for which the only difference is the name written upon them: 18 bear the name Jry,21 46 have the name Ns-pȝ-kf,22 and on 16 the name is illegible.
- 23 Lenzo Marchese 2004; Lenzo Marchese 2015.
18The different types of cartonnage and shabti, together with the human remains found in the shaft, indicate that it was reused several times during the 22nd Dynasty. At least 8 individuals were buried here as the anthropological study also shows. The bodies deposited in the shaft were all violently dismembered by robbers. One of the mummies still preserves part of a papyrus among the linen wrapping its chest. Fragments of this were also found at the bottom of the rock recess for the coffin, and contain part of the opening vignette of the Book of the Dead or another religious composition. It is traced in black and depicts the falcon-headed god Ra-Horakhty-Atum seated on a throne, crowned by a solar disc but wearing the feathered shroud of Osiris, and grasping a crook and flail.23
- 24 I am very grateful to John H. Taylor and Wolfram Grajetzki for their comments on these coffin frag (...)
- 25 See note 2 above. There are four still unpublished Middle Kingdom rock-cut tombs in Sector 10 of t (...)
19Five coffin fragments inscribed with funerary texts were found in the burial chamber itself, one metre into the recess that was cut to hold the coffin. The text was written in black and red ink, in columns with a maximum width of 2 cm and separated by vertical lines, on a thin, cream-coloured layer of stucco. Two of the pieces are written in carefully-traced cursive hieroglyphs and four are in hieratic. In both cases, the palaeography seems to be from a period before the 17th Dynasty, probably the Middle Kingdom.24 This date, and the small number, suggests that they were probably not original to this shaft but may instead have come from one of the Middle Kingdom rock-cut tombs in the area.25 They do not therefore seem to be related to the 17th Dynasty linen (L. SMDAN 1344) with the Book of the Dead excerpts written on it, of which 30 fragments were retrieved. In contrast with the coffin fragments, taking into account that the date of the shroud corresponds to that of the shaft and its offering chapel, and considering the high number of fragments pertaining to the same piece, it is highly probable that the latter was originally placed in the burial chamber of shaft UE 165.
20In this second part of the article, attention will focus on one artefact that can shed light on the first owners of the burial and cult structures UE 160 and 165, described in the previous section. Scattered in the antechamber of UE 165, with a single piece retrieved in the chamber, were found around 30 fragments of a linen cloth (so-called shroud) decorated with funerary texts and accompanied by a vignette. What follows will be a description of their state of preservation, an examination of their material qualities, and a detailed philological analysis. Shrouds decorated with the same texts are assembled in a table of parallels at the end (table 1), together with palaeographical tables (tables 2–3).
21The fragments of shroud L. SMDAN 1344 were found crumpled, and with many instances of fibrillation, loosened weave structures, and internal lacunae (fig. 4). Initial conservation was undertaken by the restorer Pía Rodríguez-Frade, who cleaned off the fine-grained sand that had adhered to the cloth, moistened and relaxed the fibres in a humidity chamber, stretched the fragments with tweezers and weights, and dried them with blotting paper. The fragments were returned to their original or estimated positions on a support board covered with acid-free fabric (fig. 5). High-quality photographs were taken using standard, ultraviolet, and infrared imaging, to improve the legibility of the most damaged areas. Readability was further enhanced using DStretch software, which increases the contrast between the black ink and the linen substrate, and is particularly useful for rubrics and faded signs (fig. 6). A microscope and thread counter were used to analyse the quality of the cloth (fig. 7).
Fig. 4. The state in which the shroud fragments were found; crumpled, creased, and with frayed ends.
© Djehuty Project.
- 26 Pullan et al. 2012, p. 14.
- 27 Information provided by S. Ikram.
22The underlying fabric displays colours that vary from creamy-brown to reddish-brown. The fragments, even those nearly joining, exhibit remarkable variations in hue, and it is probable that the original colour of the textile was closer to the lighter tones than the darker ones. According to Salima Ikram (personal communication), such strong differences are due to contact between the fabric and the body, and thus with oily substances used during mummification, as well as to post-depositional processes once the pieces become detached. The creamy-brown colour is also characteristic of aged linen that has been discoloured by cellulose degradation products.26 Some areas of blackening were visible on the cloth, resulting in the partial erasure of signs. Below the depiction of a large wedjat-eye was a grey and thick substance that had formed a crust, which partially overlaid the vignette and the ḏd-mdw jn Wsjr formula. This substance appears to have derived either from the decomposition of the body or from materials related to mummification, to which dust and dirt easily adhered. The crust indicates that this part of the shroud was most probably placed directly over the central part of the body, or that oily products had been poured on top of it (see below).27
- 28 M. Müller-Roth calculates that the average height for shrouds was between 60 and 80 cm, although s (...)
- 29 A relevant comparison is offered by L. Cairo JE 96807, from the early 18th Dynasty, which bears th (...)
- 30 Most of the vignettes on shrouds take up this space, according to Müller-Roth 2008, p. 148.
23The shroud is preserved to a maximum height of 52 cm and a maximum width of 65 cm. Its original height can be estimated to have been at least 80 cm from what remains of the funerary spells written on the cloth. These dimensions mean that L. SMDAN 1344 was of average size for a shroud.28 Between the upper border and the beginning of the text columns is a frame of some 6 cm, which was left uninscribed. The text starts towards the left-hand margin with BD 72. An undetermined width has been lost between spell BD 72 and the beginning of the text sequence preserved on the right-hand side (BD /// 65-116-91-64-30 B-V). However, if the latter sequence was written in full, as is attested on similar artefacts (see the following section and table 1), the object would have been quite wide.29 The vignette containing the wedjat-eye is located toward the right-hand side, after the last preserved spell, rather than below the text or in the center (fig. 8). It is separated from the sequence of texts by a vertical dividing line and roughly occupies a quarter of the shroud’s height.30
- 31 The same yarn count has been observed on the shroud L. Nicholson Museum R92, belonging to Ṯnj and (...)
- 32 Jones 2006, p. 136.
- 33 For estimations of density and cloth quality see Kemp, Vogelsang-Eastwood 2001, pp. 99–105; Jones (...)
24The relative density and quality of a shroud is measured by taking a thread count in several areas. In this case, there are on average 25 warp threads and 16 weft threads per square centimetre; a ratio that is close to the 2:1 average for similar shrouds.31 The weft count shows little variation throughout, between 15 and 16 threads per centimetre, but the warp count varies greatly, ranging between 24 and 35 threads per centimetre (fig. 7). Such variation was observed by Jana Jones for L. Nicholson Museum R92, who concluded that this is due to the “sideways stretching of the textile during the various processes of mounting and conservation,” or, as is more probable for L. SMDAN 1344, to the “irregular placement of the warp yarns during weaving.”32 Both the warp and the weft are s-twist flax, with the diameter of individual yarns being ca. 0.3 mm. The thread count and the yarn diameter indicate that L. SMDAN 1344 should be considered a textile of medium quality.33
- 34 For plain selvedges and warp fringes see Kemp, Vogelsang-Eastwood 2001, pp. 121–123, 133–144.
- 35 Díaz-Iglesias Llanos 2017, p. 11, n. 35, with additional bibliography.
25The linen is woven in 1:1 plain- or tabby weave (fig. 7), the simplest form of weaving. The interlacing has begun to loosen in certain areas, and there are no major weaving faults in the fragments that have been retrieved. Two edges are preserved: the plain selvedge on the top, and the finishing border with warp fringe on the left.34 The selvedge indicates that the textile was woven on a (vertical or horizontal) loom and afterwards turned 90° to copy the texts, which start from the left margin, in the direction of the warp. The fringe was left with the raw ends of its warp yarns hanging free. Most fragments have frayed and irregular ends, probably due to natural deterioration suffered by the textile pieces rather than to the deliberate tearing of the shroud.35
- 36 Data taken from Totenbuch-Projekt. It should be noted that information on column widths is not ava (...)
- 37 These dots are vertically separated from one another by an average distance of 27 cm. Similar dots (...)
26The surface where the texts were written was divided into columns, the average width of which is 1.3 cm. This is a rather small intercolumnar space compared to other shrouds, where the distance ranges between 2 and 4.2 cm.36 The space between columns was calculated at the outset and marked with small black dots (reproduced in fig. 9 with small red circles),37 but column widths vary between 1.1 and 1.5 cm, and deviations of lines from the predefined dots are visible in several parts. The separation between columns is marked by thin vertical lines traced in black ink, which is a common device on shrouds and papyri bearing Book of the Dead spells. These lines were carefully executed, and it is only possible to discern individual brush strokes by changes of the ink densities. No decorative device, whether horizontal lines or more complex colour bands, were used on the upper and left margins—the only preserved edges—to frame either the text or the vignette.
27L. SMDAN 1344 was inscribed in cursive hieroglyphs in a retrograde direction, in which the signs face right, but the columns are to be read from left to right. The texts were written on the cloth in a combination of black and red inks, used respectively for the body of the spells and for their titles and colophons. The red ink has faded in many places, or has become practically illegible due to the blackening of the textile, so that infrared photography and special software had to be used to enhance it (fig. 6). The spells were written one after the other, with no blank spaces between them or at the end of a column. Their titles were inserted in the columns themselves and not in separate horizontal lines, so that they acted as separation marks between spells by virtue of their colour.
- 38 Munro 1994, pp. 2, 14, 15; Ronsecco 1996, p. 11; Lapp 1997, pp. 44–45.
- 39 Díaz-Iglesias Llanos 2017, pp. 12–14.
- 40 Munro 1994, pp. 27–31, photo-pl. 10, pl. 24–25.
- 41 It appears in twenty-two out of the 325 New Kingdom sources (all types of media), i.e. less than s (...)
- 42 Since the sequence in this example coincides with that of L. SMDAN 1344 (see table 1), the sequenc (...)
28Some 7 columns from the beginning and 34 columns from the second half of the cloth are preserved, with the spells copied in the following sequence: BD 72-? /// 65-116-91-64-30B-V ///. The sequence after the lacuna is part of a common succession of spells, which is attested on numerous shrouds and papyri of the late 17th Dynasty and the beginning of the 18th Dynasty: BD 124-83-84-85-82-77-86-99/99B-119-7-102-38A-27-14-39-65-116-91-64 (see table 1).38 This assemblage enabled the deceased to enter before the divine tribunal headed by Osiris; achieve transformation into a number of powerful beings; go aboard the solar bark and pass obstacles such as sandbanks; move freely in the beyond; secure power over the heart; live on air; dispel any hostile force and have power over enemies; know the souls of the sacred places; and open the underworld and go forth by day. This broad-reaching sequence was used in thirty percent of the published or known shrouds,39 but is not elsewhere attested in conjunction with BD 72, a spell centered on the provision of offerings and freedom of movement for the deceased. However, few inscribed linen cloths preserve the beginning, so definitive conclusions cannot be drawn. According to the information on shrouds in the Totenbuch-Projekt database, BD 72 is only otherwise attested on the shroud of Ḥȝt-nfr (L. Cairo JE 66218), where it is followed by CT 335.40 The database indicates that BD 72 is seldom attested on other surfaces in the Second Intermediate Period and the 18th Dynasty,41 and that it often comes in conjunction with BD 105, 95, 71, and the set of transformation spells. Finally, BD 30B is only documented on three shrouds, either immediately after BD 64 (L. Cairo JE 96807 + L. Norwich42 and L. Turin 63002 + L. Uppsala without number) or in between the transformation spells (L. Paris Louvre N 3097). The topics dealt with in BD 72 and 30B are also addressed in the larger and more popular sequence that begins with BD 124, so that they could easily have been integrated into this group by those composing the textual programs for these shrouds.
29The final element preserved on the right-hand margin of the linen is a large-scale line drawing of a wedjat-eye, a common symbol of protection and regeneration (fig. 8). It is executed in a fluid fashion, with practiced and steady lines, which indicates a certain level of draftsmanship. Below the eye and separated by dividing lines are at least two columns of text, written in large (2 cm high) and detailed hieroglyphs that contain a statement by Osiris: ḏd-mdw jn Wsjr nb Ḏdw /// “to be pronounced by Osiris, lord of Abydos ///.” The relationship between the vignette and the text is difficult to determine, due to a large lacuna and the greyish crust covering part of the formula (see above).
- 43 Niwiński 1989, pp. 20–22.
- 44 Töpfer, Müller-Roth 2011, p. 84.
- 45 Thanks are due to an anonymous reviewer for drawing my attention to BD 167 on the papyrus of Nb-Sn (...)
- 46 Totenbuch-Projekt, Spruch 163; Wüthrich 2010, pp. 8–9, 130–136.
30No similar vignette is documented among shrouds that have been published or are accessible through the Totenbuch-Projekt database. Notwithstanding, this type of eye is mentioned in BD 64 (a spell included in L. SMDAN 1344), where its healing power is remembered in an address uttered by the deceased to Osiris in the Field of Reeds. According to the pars-pro-toto principle,43 a vignette could stand in substitution for a whole spell. In this sense, it should be remembered that wedjat-eyes are a constituent element of several Book of the Dead vignettes, including those of spells BD 15, 17, 125, and 148,44 but are only the dominant element in BD 163 and 167. The latter is only attested in a single New Kingdom exemplar, bearing the title “Formula for bringing the wedjat-eye” and accompanied by a vignette of this object.45 The rubric in BD 163 indicates that it should be read over two such eyes (among other objects and images) that are drawn on “fresh linen, with which a man and all his limbs are wrapped.” However, this formula was introduced in the Kushite Period and usually depicts two winged- and legged eyes.46 Another spell connected with the wedjat-eye is BD 140, which was also introduced in the Third Intermediate Period and was conceived as a recitation over an amulet in the form of a wedjat. In any case, BD 30B, which was written immediately before the vignette in L. SMDAN 1344, has a strong amuletic connection, since it was recited over a heart-scarab so that it would not betray the deceased at the final judgement.
- 47 For the relationship between some objects of the funerary equipment decorated with Book of the Dea (...)
- 48 Albert 2012.
- 49 Stünkel 2015, pp. 407–427. According to this author, gold amulet plaques with chased images are re (...)
- 50 For ritual spells related to the gold amulets depicted on the Late Period or early Ptolemaic papyr (...)
- 51 Albert 2017.
- 52 Crevatin 2008.
- 53 Albert 2012, pp. 75 (fig. 5), 82.
- 54 The most detailed study on wedjat-eye amulets is Müller-Winkler 1987, pp. 86–177.
31Amulets to protect the deceased in the afterlife, or as signs that recalled apotropaic rituals,47 were occasionally drawn in funerary manuscripts,48 or carved on plaques and gold foils.49 They were sometimes accompanied by written compositions describing their role, material, colour, form, or desired effects, which were taken from the Book of the Dead tradition or from other sources.50 Most such documents date from the Third Intermediate Period onwards and are more frequent in the Late Period,51 with pBusca of the Ramesside era (pMilano, Ospedale Maggiore) being an early example.52 L. SMDAN 1344 could therefore be one of the first attestations of the practice of including vignettes with an amuletic background on objects deposited close to the deceased. Besides, some late manuscripts (pParis Louvre N 3082 and pLondon BM EA 10098) include plans that indicate the locations of amulets on the mummy,53 and wedjat-eyes were—among other places―on the sides of the ribs. Could this custom of placement of protective amulets be taken back in time? If the greyish crust below the vignette in L. SMDAN 1344 was the result of a substance being poured over the central part of the body (see above), then the part of the shroud with the eye vignette would have been placed on the chest. The image would thus have coincided with the ideal location of a wedjat-like amulet, at least according to late sources, and acted as a bi-dimensional substitute.54
- 55 VisualGlyph© was used for the transcriptions in this paper. The author would like to thank Barbara (...)
- 56 For recent translations and transliterations of the spells commented below, see B. Backes (Thesaur (...)
32The texts of L. SMDAN 1344 have been transcribed into normalised hieroglyphs (see figs. 9a–e).55 The position of some fragments could only be approximated due to large lacunae, so a combination of forward slashes with a dashed line (in the columns themselves or at the bottom) indicates that the missing parts are longer or that their exact dimensions are difficult to determine. The comments derive from a comparison between L. SMDAN 1344 and other BD examples, mainly written on shrouds (see table 1).56
- 57 For parallels, see Lapp 2011, pp. 380–429. Reference to this book and other volumes of the same co (...)
33a. Indication of filiation, with the name of the mother first (see below). The father’s title could be read as ḥr(y) wḏt ʿȝ nw tȝ “chief of the great command of the land” and his name starts with the signs rḫ. Although this position is not attested elsewhere, the spelling of the first element with the sign D2 is documented in titles during the early 18th Dynasty. The space lost between columns 1 and 2 is not enough to fit all the passages written in other witnesses (cf. TbT 7, 382–383b to 398–399c), so that part of the text must have been abbreviated on purpose or by mistake.
34b. Inversion of the suffix tw and the personal pronoun j in nn šnʿ.tw⸗j ḥr sb[ȝw⸗ṯn] “I will not be turned back at [your] gat[es].”
35c. Among the early witnesses, the coffin of Queen Montuhotep (facsimile London BM EA 10553, siglum T4L) displays the same orthography for prt-ḫrw as L. SMDAN 1344, while later ones alternate between this form and the more usual
; cf. TbT 7, 408–409a.
36d. This part of the BD 72 colophon is hitherto only attested in pParis Louvre N 3073 (temp. Thutmose III/Amenhotep II, TbT 7, 416–417b-d, under siglum pP4) and pTokyo Waseda University Library F 242–34 (temp. Hatshepsut/Thutmose III). In comparison to these examples, the version of L. SMDAN 1344 omits m ṯḥnt.
37e. L. SMDAN 1344 adds statements only documented in pParis Louvre N 3073 (see previous note), pParis Louvre N 3092 + pMontpellier (reign of Thutmose IV), and pTokyo Waseda University Library F 242–34 (see previous note); cf. TbT 7, 424–425b-d, under sigla pP4 and pP3 u.a.
- 58 For parallels, see Lapp 2011, TbT 7, pp. 166–211.
38f. Omission of n in the statement [jnnyw] ḥr <n> ʿnd “[who bring] the sky <to> the dawn” (TbT 7, 172–173b). Alternatively, since many parallels write ʿnd simply as ʿd, the monoconsonantal signs might have been misplaced.
39g. The personal pronoun is omitted in L. SMDAN 1344 (as is the preposition m) and in later variants on papyri such as pGeneva, Musée d’art et d’histoire Inv. D 189 and pNew York, Brooklyn Museum Acc. 35.1448 + 35.1464 (TbT 7, 172–173c, see under pGe1 and pNY2). Most of the early parallels contain the line m jṯ wj m ḥȝkt n Wsjr “do not seize me as plunder for Osiris.”
40h. If this is the sign Gardiner D19
(= Möller no. 90), which is sometimes attested in the orthography of the preposition ḫnty (Wb III, 303, 10 – 304, 5), the scribe has omitted the two horizontal strokes.
41i. Omission of the sign s and the determinative
in the noun ḥbs.
42j. Most parallels contain wḥʿ/ṯs jb-kȝ “the thirsty of ka is untied” (TbT 7, 184–185a). In L. SMDAN 1344, wḥʿ and kȝ are omitted. After the divine determinative and after some signs probably misplaced (A1), a lengthy passage is skipped between this sentence and the following one: dj.tw [pr⸗]j r ḫft[yw] mȝʿ-ḫrw r⸗f “that I be made to [go forth] against (my) enem[ies], justified against him,” TbT 7, 188–189c. The omission almost certainly derived from a slip of the eye (aberratio oculi, parablepsis) between two passages ending with the same sign: a divine determinative. There is also a defective writing of ḫftyw, with only the first two signs of the word being copied.
43k. This section of BD 65 consists of a threat of cataclysm hurled at a powerful being by the deceased in order to achieve his goal (to go forth as a justified being). It is composed of a succession of clauses that have similar structures, but minor alternations in the type of construction (negative and affirmative), verbs (pr and hȝ), and nouns (mȝʿt and rmw). The version present in L. SMDAN 1344 is not attested elsewhere. It is garbled, and might indicate a loss of concentration by the editor or copyist. The order of the sentences starting with nn hȝ and nn pr is inverted in the rest of parallels. In the clause starting nn pr, the name of either Re or Hapy has been substituted by ḥr pt. If the former, one might conclude that the substitution resulted from a confusion between two similarly-shaped signs
(N5) and
(D2), but the final phrase would make poor sense (nn pr ḥr pt [divine determinative] r pt). Moreover, the amount of text lost in several of the lacunae is not sufficient to include all of the repetitive statements known from the parallel versions (TbT 7, 190–191d to 206–207c). If the editor or copyist did not deliberately shorten the spell, then other passages might have been omitted by mistake.
- 59 For parallels, see Lüscher 2012, TbT 8, pp. 176–191.
44l. Omission of the noun mȝʿt in the clause sṯȝ mȝʿt ḫnt kʿḥ “the maat is drawn out of the forearm” (TbT 8, 176–177d, 178–179a). Contains an unusual orthography of sṯȝ, but one that is otherwise attested in the Middle Kingdom (Wb IV, 351).
45m. The verb ḫtḫt “turn back, drive away” after jw⸗j rḫ⸗kw is only attested in L. SMDAN 1344. In parallels, the following statement is included: jw⸗j rḫ⸗kw sy bs⸗kw ḥr⸗s jn sm “I know it, (I am) initiated into it by the sem-priest” (TbT 8, 178–179c-d, 180–181a).
46n. Omission of the personal pronoun wj in rḫ⸗tn wj “you know me.”
47o. Defective writing of the name of the red crown nt (Wb II, 198, 4–8) with the sign
(N35) and the divine determinative. The orthography may have been influenced by the near homophone nty “body of water” (Wb II, 198, 10–15; 351).
48p. The determinative of jp is a horizontal stroke, though one would expect to find a papyrus roll.
49q. The sign arrangement in kw is peculiar, with the w superimposed over the k. This feature is attested on other shrouds, such as L. Cairo JE 96804 and L. New York MMA 22.3.296, which are both from the early 18th Dynasty.
- 60 Munro 1994, pl. 45, col. 28; TbT 8, 190–191a-c.
50r. The longest version of the colophon of BD 116 (jr rḫ r pn bwt⸗f pw ḥs nn swr-n⸗f wsšt “as for the one who knows this formula, excrement is his abomination, he does not drink urine”) is hitherto only attested on the shroud L. Cairo JE 96804 and on papyri.60 L. SMDAN 1344 is another early example of this tradition.
- 61 For parallels, see Naville 1886, p. 206.
51s. Two main variants of the spell’s title are known: r n tm ḫnrj bȝ n NN (m ẖrt-nṯr) “spell for not restraining the ba of NN (in the necropolis);” and r n tm rdjt ḫnrj bȝ n NN (m ẖrt-nṯr) “spell for not allowing that the ba of NN is restrained (in the necropolis).” L. SMDAN 1344 seems to follow the latter, but omitting several signs in the verb rdj.
52t. Later insertion of the m-owl, stepping on top of the sign tm.
53u. Unusual arrangement of signs in the adverb jm.
- 62 For parallels, see Lapp 2011, TbT 7, pp. 2–163.
- 63 Munro 1994, p. 8, n. a.
54v. The longest titles of spell BD 64 are attested on shrouds.63 This section of the title (TbT 7, 4a–b) is only known from L. SMDAN 1344 (the whole section is not written in red) and L. Cairo JE 96810 (temp. Ahmose I). The position of the verbs pr and ʿḳ is inverted in the latter.
55w. The name of the owner and his parents was probably introduced instead of, or after, that of the god Osiris in jr-n Ḏḥwty n Wsjr “made by Thoth for Osiris,” as in L. Cairo JE 96807 (early 18th Dynasty).
- 64 Munro 1994, p. 8, n. b.
56x. According to Irmtraut Munro, the orthography of šsmt with the sign
(D53) is the earliest form, and is found on several shrouds.64
- 65 Munro 1994, p. 24, n. b.
57y. The verb attested in L. SMDAN 1344 and L. Cairo JE 96806 (18th Dynasty) is wbn “shine/raise,” instead of bkȝ “to (become) pregnant,” which predominates in other documents (TbT 7, 8–9e). The substitution is classified as an Austausch-Mechanik-Fehler by I. Munro.65
58z. Omission of ḥr and substitution of ky for kȝ in the sentence ḥr mswt m sp ky “head of the births on another time” (TbT 7, 10–11a).
59aa. The inclusion of pt after jȝbt(y) is awkward. The previous clause, now lost on the shroud, included this noun as part of n dȝtyw jmnt(y) pt “for the underworld gods which belong to the West of the sky,” which seems to suggest that the scribe either repeated this word in the following sentence, or misplaced it (cf. TbT 7, 10f–13a). In the following epithet, nb ḥrwy “lord of the two faces,” the components are given in reverse order.
60bb. In the list of epithets qualifying the sun-god, nb is omitted from the expression nb sṯsw “lord of the supports.” The arrangement of graphemes in sṯsw is quite unusual, pairing the first sign of this word with the last ones of the previous noun (stwt⸗f).
61cc. Omission of p in the demonstrative pn (cf. TbT 7, 24–25b).
62dd. A concentration of mistakes starts here, which may betray the point where the scribe lost his pace in the copying process, or was using a garbled original. Most of the early parallels have pr m šwt⸗f njsw/snsw smsw jmyw-bȝḥ “go forth from his feather, you whom the eldest gods and the ancestors summon/praise.” The version of L. SMDAN 1344 begins with pr m ḥʿw⸗f “go forth from his body/limbs,” after which follow 5 similar rectangular signs. The first two can be interpreted as
and
, but the other three seem to mechanically reproduce the same unidentified sign, as if to fill space (fig. 10).
63ee. The outlines of the signs s and m in the word snḏm seem to be influenced by that of the triliteral sign nḏm. The version of L. SMDAN 1344 (snḏm⸗j wȝt “I gladden the path”) contrasts with other witnesses that record snḏm n⸗j wȝwt⸗k “gladden your ways for me” (TbT 7, 28–29a). If the n was not dropped inadvertently, the change would have intentionally turned the speaker into the agent of the action instead of featuring him as recipient.
64ff. Most parallels have swsḫ n⸗j mtnw⸗k “broaden your paths for me” (TbT 7, 28–29b). In L. SMDAN 1344, only the final uniliteral sign and the determinative of the verb swsḫ have been written. The noun that follows is not mtnw⸗k, but kȝr (the kar-chapel?). The latter would have been written in the previous column (in a section now lost, cf. TbT 7, 20–21b) roughly at the same height as the word mtnw, so that it is conceivable that the eyes of the scribe slipped to the wrong position in the text being copied.
65gg. The orthography of the word dwȝt with a rounded sign (most probably the sun disc
, N5, or
, Aa1) and the vertical stroke is unusual (cf. Wb V, 415). It may have been influenced by the determinative of the word hrw, which falls at the same height on the previous column.
66hh. Omission of several sentences after n<n> jw, probably due to the phonetic and visual resemblance between mwt, the noun that complements jw in parallels (nn jw mwt⸗j r⸗j “there is no evil of my mother against me,” TbT 7, 32–33b), and m-ʿ, the compound preposition written some words below (TbT 7, 34–35a).
67ii. The sign m (or maybe f) was written atop the sign s (or maybe šwt), as a later correction inserted with fresh ink (fig. 10).
68jj. The ear tuffs and back of a bird are still visible below the s. The scribe might have been confused by the ensuing sign, the preposition m, which was started before the feminine suffix pronoun (⸗s) was added. The mistake was amended after a new dip of the writing tool. Most parallels, however, add the masculine pronoun to the word jrt (fig. 10).
69kk. The verb snw is not attested elsewhere with plural marks (TbT 7, 34–35b). While the rest of the parallels have snw tm m wšȝw “plunging everything into deepest night,” the scribe of L. SMDAN 1344 seems to have forgotten to write tm, and may have already copied the signs
and
, belonging to the ensuing words, when the mistake was noticed. The error was corrected by simply writing
on top of the m and abruptly turning the biliteral šȝ into a bird (m or ȝ). Alternatively, the scribe may have written the group Möller no. 2, which is attested in the spelling of snw, the word preceding the noun tm (fig. 11).
70ll. The m sign (G17) is written on top of a round-shaped sign. There is no
(Aa1) in the immediate co-text, but this grapheme was written in the previous column at roughly the same height, and this may have confused the scribe (fig. 10).
- 66 For the first epithet, see LGG V, 309. Although several qualifying statements are built upon the n (...)
71mm. There is a superfluous f in the statement ḥry {f} bȝg⸗f (TbT 7, 40–41c). Two traditions are attested for this expression. While most shrouds have ḥry ȝgb⸗f “who is over/controls his flooding,” L. SMDAN 1344 and L. Cairo JE 96806, of the 18th Dynasty, opted for ḥry bȝg⸗f “who is over/controls his weariness.”66 In previous clauses it is the inundation god who is speaking, so the latter version probably arose from a confusion in the signs’ positions.
72nn. The signs ḥ (
) and b (
) in the word nḥbt “neck” seem to have been later altered to
and 
(fig. 11). The scribe apparently tried to insert the preposition ḥr where it had initially been skipped in the sentence mk ḫpš ṯs(.w) ḥr nḥbt “see, the foreleg is tied to the neck” (TbT 7, 40d–43a).
73oo. Superfluous n.
74pp. Confusion between two similar expressions, m ẖry and m ẖn, in the consecutive sentences ḥrw⸗tn m ẖry ʿ⸗k m ẖn⸗k “your faces down, your arm is your cover” (TbT 7, 46–47b–c). The scribe had already copied the latter when the mistake was noticed, and wrote the signs T28 (
) and D21 (
) on top of F26 (
) and N35 (
, fig. 10). This is only a partial correction, since neither the nw-vase nor the determinative were altered, although the w seems to have been turned from a simplified into a more complex sign through the addition of a stroke marking the legs. In the second sentence, the scribe also confused the similar words ẖn “cover” (accompanied by the strip of cloth
S28) and ẖnw “interior/inside.” The same mistake, resulting in the phrase “your arm is in your interior,” is attested in pCairo CG 51189 (temp. Amenhotep III, TbT 7, 46–47b-c, under siglum pC1).
75qq. The scribe of L. SMDAN 1344 omitted the suffix kw and did not adhere to the classic stative: jw⸗j rḫ⸗kw “I know you.” The sequence seems to be corrupted and bears no resemblance to any parallel (TbT 7, 52–53e, 54–55a).
76rr. The spelling of the word mḏwt “depth” does not include two
. These were written some clauses before (TbT 7, 50–51b). Since the same sequence of signs (w + t) is repeated in both cases, the eyes of the scribe could have jumped to the wrong position in the text he was copying.
77ss. The outline of
(A40) is probably influenced by the form of the hieratic sign
(F27), situated in the previous column at exactly the same height.
78tt. The text lost in the lacuna is not enough to fit the passages written in other witnesses (cf. TbT 7, 60–61a-c), so that part of the text must have been abbreviated on purpose or by mistake.
79uu. In the sentence jwt jm m mȝʿ-ḫrw “returning from there as a justified of voice” (TbT 7, 62–63b), the addition of t to mȝʿ is unusual, but could derive from a confusion with the common noun mȝʿt.
80vv. Garbled version of the sentence jj-n⸗j m wpt n nb nrw… “I have come on a mission of the Lord of Terror…” (TbT 7, 70–71e, 72–73a).
81ww. The version in L. SMDAN 1344, /// m nn j Jwnw, makes no sense. The parallels have: jj-n⸗j m Ḫm r/m Jwnw “I have come from Khem to/from Heliopolis” (TbT 7, 74–75c). The strong visual similarity between the signs
(R22, with which the first toponym may be written) and
(D35), especially in hieratic (Möller no. 111 and 545, n. 7), probably led to the confusion.
82xx. Omission and substitution of some signs, giving rise to a garbled version of the phrase wbn⸗j/NN m nfwt m r ḳrrt “I raise as one untied from the mouth of the cavern” (TbT 7, 82–83d).
83yy. Anomalous rendering of the word gḥw “weary one.” According to parallels, the signs
(X1 and Z4) were part of the relative adjective nty, written a couple of words above in an area of the shroud that is now lost (jry ḥr nty jm gḥw “that I may act for the one who is there, exhausted/weary,” TbT 7, 90–91d). It is possible that the scribe was misled by the horizontal bottom stroke of the hieratic sign
(W11), which looks like an n, and repeated or misplaced the signs
. Alternatively, the -ty of the common words nst “throne” or nsty “throne owner” might have been in mind, and were added as phonetic complements and fillers. Beneath the w in gḥw another sign was written, and later corrected.
84zz. Omission of the preposition r and of the direct relative clause with nty in the sentence r sȝḳ sw nty ryw “to assemble him, the one who is decayed/full of pus.” The former is also omitted in other papyri (e.g. pLondon BM EA 10489 + pAmsterdam Coll. Dortmond 22 + pBoston MFA 22.401 + pNew York MMA 30.8.70a–b + pNewport + pPrivate Collection Stockholm, pParis Louvre N 3092 + pMontpellier), but the latter is always present (TbT 7, 92–93b-c). Moreover, the spelling of the verb sȝḳ with the signs
,
, and
(O36, N23, and Z1) is unusual. It could be explained as a slip of the scribe’s eyes to the following column in the master copy, if the word jnb was written at a roughly similar height (cf. TbT 7, 98–99b).
85a′. Omission of the interrogative pronoun njm “who.”
86b′. The sign
(A2) was written on top of a vertical sign.
87c′. While the scribe of L. SMDAN 1344 opted for the preposition m, other parallels have tp-ʿ in the phrase ms ḥnjjt tp-ʿ sḫd “the pouncing woman has given birth before (the one who) walks upside down” (TbT 7, 98–99a).
88d′. The suggested reading, jmyw, derives from a comparison of these signs with those of column x+14. The version of L. SMDAN 1344, /// [Šw] jmyw nmḥwt, differs from known parallels, which contain ḥny Šw jm⸗j jnk nmḥ⸗f “the material of Shu is in me, I am the nemeh stone” (TbT 7,104–105b-c). A similar sentence was written in the following column in known parallels (jj-n⸗j r mȝȝ jmy m ḥn⸗f “I have come to see him who is in his coiled snake,” TbT 7, 116–117b–c), but this section is lost on the shroud analysed here. Its similarity and proximity might have confused the scribe, whose eyes would have often shifted between contiguous columns (see below). This would explain why jmy, and not jm⸗j, was written as well as why jnk was skipped.
89e′. Omission of the old masculine dual ending in the exclamatory adjectival sentence nfr wj mȝȝ mnj wrd-jb “how good is to see the mooring of the weary hearted one” (TbT 7, 104–105e, 106–107a). L. SMDAN 1344 introduces an agent: nfr mȝ-n⸗j mn ///.
90f′. An m is only attested in pLondon BM EA 9900 as part of the compound preposition m-bȝḥ. All witnesses bear the name of Osiris (Wsjr mk ḫrt/ḫt⸗k “Osiris, see your condition/your possessions,” TbT 7, 110–111a-b) and not that of Isis, which was probably written in L. SMDAN 1344. This shroud also adheres to the tradition of mentioning divine possessions (ḫt) in a version that was not recorded on shrouds, but is attested on the coffin of Queen Montuhotep (T4L).
91g′. Omission of n (TbT 7, 124–125d).
92h′. This version of the rubric has hitherto only been preserved in L. Turin 63002 + L. Uppsala without number, of the late 17th Dynasty, and on papyri. L. SMDAN 1344 records jw⸗f jr⸗f jrt ʿnḫ[w] /// “he does all that the living have done ///,” a clause also attested in pCairo CG 51189 (TbT 7, 144–145c, 146–147a, under siglum pC1). The whole colophon was not written in red. The change of ink probably occurred in the vicinity of the name of King Menkaure, not preserved on the shroud, and the red colour was not resumed afterwards.
93i′. Omission of n in the demonstrative pn (cf. TbT 7, 146–147c), probably by confusion with the horizontal stroke of the sign p.
94j′. Omission of t in ḫft in the clause [gm sw] jm ḫft mnmn⸗f “(he) found it there during his tour” (TbT 7, 152–153d).
95k′. The column opens with an unidentified sign, with endings that curved upward and downward but is not attested in the orthography of the verb wnm (TbT 7, 158–159c). Omissions and additions of signs are frequent in the change of columns.
96l′. An j is visible below the ḥ. The scribe’s eyes appear to have jumped to the wrong section of the text, slipping between the two vertical signs of the words mḥyt (
) and jst (
), which is written just below (cf. TbT 7, 158–159c, 160–161b). Having copied jst grt, the scribe compressed the biliteral mḥ atop js, then turned the j into a ḥ, and squeezed the determinative of mḥyt (
) between the last grapheme of jst and the first of grt. The plural dots were added on top of W11 (
), and the expression jst grt was then included a second time (fig. 12).
- 67 For parallels, see Lüscher 2016, TbT 9, pp. 156–175.
97m′. The scribe wrote the sign
(O1) atop two graphemes, perhaps including an ḥ (to the right). Since two n-signs were copied thereafter, it is conceivable that he was misled by the noun ḥnn, written some words later and often complemented by the same determinative as pr (
, D54, cf. TbT 9, 164–165b).
98n′. Part of the sentence jryw rmṯ m ʿḥʿw “those that make people in (his) place” (TbT 9, 166–167a) has been dropped. The omission could be explained by the change of column, and the repetition of the same signs (two examples of j, A1, and plural marks) in jryw and the previous word (šnyt).
99o′. Omission of the dative and addition of rn in the sentence nfr n⸗n nfr sḏm “(it is) good for us, (it is) good for the hearer” (cf. TbT 9, 166–167c-d). This part of the spell is lost or absent on other shrouds but appears on several media including coffins, papyri, and in tombs. In L. SMDAN 1344, one can read nfr nfr rn sḏm “(it is) good, (it is) good for the name of the hearer.” The addition of rn seems to be more of an unconscious mistake than an intentional conceptual change, and also appears in pLondon BM EA 9905. It probably resulted from duplicating the r from nfr, joining this grapheme to the following preposition n, and adding the corresponding determinative
(A2).
100p′. Possible incomplete form of the sign
(F40, Möller no. 172).
101q′. This recitation by Osiris is not attested for other shrouds. References to this deity on this medium are usually found in the so-called Adoration of Osiris, which are scenes commonly accompanied by a formula of praise (rdjt jȝw n Wsjr… in L. Hannover 39-64-6623, L. London BM EA 73807, and L. Paris Louvre N 3097) or of offering (ḥtp-dj-nsw Wsjr… in L. Cairo IFAO without number).
102r′. The fragment could belong to BD 64 and perhaps correspond to sections TbT 7, 90–91a, 96–97d, or 102–103a. The signs in the second column could also be read as D46 and A7.
103The handwriting is not uniform throughout the shroud, so it is probable that two scribes were involved in copying the texts. One of them, for convenience called Scribe A, was responsible for the beginning of the text (BD 72) and for the final section (the latter part of BD 64 and 30B). He was also probably in charge of writing a portion of the central section (BD 65-116-91), although the numerous lacunae render the place of separation between scribal hands difficult. The other, called Scribe B, was responsible for the initial and central part of BD 64. The change of scribes could have taken place around column x+26, but this suggestion ought to be taken with caution due to the large amount of missing parts.
- 68 Oversized birds are also found in L. Tomb TT 65: Bács 2009, p. 92.
104Scribe A apparently used two types of reed, resulting in much thinner strokes in BD 72 than in the spells on the right-hand part of the shroud. His hand can be identified by the outline of the signs, their size (with vertical signs 1 cm high), the rather simplified form of the birds, especially w and m, and even spacing. A break in homogeneity of the sizes of, and separation among, signs in the area of BD 65-116-91 could be due to spatial issues, fluctuating concentration, work in haste, or other material and human aspects. In contrast, Scribe B used smaller vertical signs (normally less than 1 cm), some oversized animals (particularly birds,68 notably G21
and G35
), and completely different shapes for certain graphemes (A1, ʿ, ḥr, D54, ȝ, m, w, j, k, see table 2), along with more instances of faded ink. The spacing between his signs and their relative proportions (with small signs at times occupying as much space as vertical ones) are irregular, resulting in a less balanced, and perhaps more carelessly executed, text.
105Both scribes share the use of a relative high number of hieratic signs and ligatures. Hieratic is used for the following Gardiner’s signs:
A1 (
, two versions, see Möller no. 33 and 33B and tables 2 and 3)
A2 (
, Möller no. 35, sometimes alternating with a more cursive variant)
A24 (
, Möller no. 15)
A47 (
, Möller no. 47)
D1 (
, Möller no. 79)
D2 (
, Möller no. 80)
D36 (
, Möller no. 99)
E8 (
, Möller no. 139)
E9 (
, Möller no. 143)
E23 (
, Möller no. 125)
E34 (
, ligatured with n, Möller no. 132B)
F26 (
, Möller no. 165B)
F27 (
, Möller no. 166)
F31 (
, Möller no. 408)
F36 (
, Möller no. 181)
F40 (
, Möller no. 172bis)
G1 (
, Möller no. 192, used more often than the abbreviated form 192C)
G7 (
, Möller no. 188B)
G17 (
, Möller no. 196)
G37 (
, Möller no. 197)
G41 (
, Möller no. 222)
G43 (
, Möller no. 200)
G47 (
, Möller no. 224)
I6 (
, Möller no. 392)
L1 (
, Möller no. 258)
M3 (
, Möller no. 269)
M8 (
, Möller no. 274)
M12 (
, Möller no. 277)
N1 (
, Möller no. 300)
N14 (
, Möller no. 314)
N23 (
, Möller no. 324)
N25 (
, Möller no. 322)
N31 (
, Möller no. 326)
O31 (
, Möller no. 364)
P6 (
, Möller no. 380)
P8 (
, Möller no. 381)
S34 (
, Möller no. 534)
T26 (
, Möller no. 464)
T28 (
, Möller no. 397)
T34 (
, Möller no. 585)
U9 (
, Möller no. 470)
V2 (
, Möller no. 519)
V4 (
, Möller no. 524)
V22 (
, Möller no. 459)
W11 (
, Möller no. 395)
W17 (
, Möller no. 504)
X1 (
, Möller no. 575)
Y3 (
, Möller no. 537)
Y5 (
, Möller no. 540)
Aa18 (
, Möller no. 594)
Aa21 (
, Möller no. 583)
Aa28 (
, Möller no. 488)
Two rows of 4 horizontal strokes (
, Möller no. 663).
106Ligatures are attested for the following Möller groups: no. II, V, IX, XI, XII, XXV, XXVI, XXXVIII.
- 69 Munro 1988, pp. 254–257, list 19.
- 70 Images of all shrouds are available through the database of the Totenbuch-Projekt, except for L. P (...)
- 71 Díaz-Iglesias Llanos 2017.
107The listed graphemes are among the most recurrent hieratic signs in Book of the Dead documents written in a mixture of cursive and hieratic forms.69 It is nonetheless significant that many signs are closer in form to hieratic than to cursive hieroglyphs and that a wide range of ligatures is used in L. SMDAN 1344. Such traits are also attested on other shrouds of the late 17th and early 18th Dynasties:70 L. Cairo 96810 (S.R. 2165); L. London BM EA 7036; L. SMDAN 65; L. Turin 63005 + L. Uppsala VM MB 107; L. Private Collection; L. New York MMA 22.3.296; L. Cairo JE 96804.71 The latter two, which date to the early 18th Dynasty, share some palaeographical features with L. SMDAN 1344 (see note q above), as well as many of the same hieratic forms and ligatures, particularly L. New York MMA 22.3.296.
- 72 The limitations in the use of Möller’s paleography for the chronological assessment of documents s (...)
108It is significant for dating purposes that some hieratic signs have counterparts in compositions of the Second Intermediate Period or early New Kingdom, according to the data assembled by Georg Möller:72 Gardiner A1 (Möller no. 33); A24 (Möller no. 16); E8 (Möller no. 139); T26 (Möller no. 464); W11 (Möller no. 396); Y5 (Möller no. 540B); and Aa28 (Möller no. 488).
109The following distinctive palaeographical traits are notable (table 3):
- Two or even three graphic variants are attested for several signs, one version being closer to the hieratic or abbreviated form. For Scribe A this is visible in the sign
(A1). For Scribe B this is most clear in the signs m (
) and w
(G43). The writing of w alternates between
(G43, predominant) and
(Z7).
- Scribe A opted for a highly abbreviated form of m and w, with the feet of the birds schematised and reduced to a single horizontal stroke. The ear tuffs of the owl were often drawn as a single line on the body, projecting at an angle. Scribe B used at times the simplified form of w.
- Plural marks were sometimes made by slightly lifting the writing tool and pressing it three times, resulting in a horizontal stroke with three circular marks.
- The determinative of sḫr in column x+35 (
, A15) more closely resembles a quadruped than a human being.73
- The forearm (
, D36) describes a loop and its right side can dip somewhat downwards.
- The upper part of š is left open in
(N37) and
(N40) as in L. Turin 63005 + L. Uppsala VM MB 107 (temp. late 17th Dynasty – early New Kingdom).
- 74 See above, notes a, j, k, and hh.
- 75 Alvarez 2016, p. 25.
- 76 See above, notes j, aa, ff, gg, jj, kk, ll, pp, rr, ss, yy, zz, d′, i′, l′, m′, n′, o′.
- 77 For unfinished words, see notes i, j, s, ff.
110The text contains numerous mistakes, including whole passages that were omitted. This was probably a consequence of the scribe seeing the same signs in close proximity to one another, so that his eyes would jump to the wrong place in the composition.74 This type of mechanical fault is often attested in the process of copying texts.75 Indeed, other types of omissions (of some words or signs; haplography), additions, substitutions of signs, or unusual orthographies (when not the result of directly merging two words into one) can be explained by a scribe confusing words that lay at roughly the same height in the hypothetical master copy or in the final product (the shroud itself). In this scenario, the scribe would have been misled by graphemes from the previous or following columns (aberratio oculi in a horizontal dimension), or by those that came immediately before or after on the same column (aberratio oculi in a vertical dimension) in both the carrier and the funerary shroud.76 The omission of certain signs in a word would render its reading and identification quite difficult without the aid of parallels, or a sound knowledge of the underlying formula.77
- 78 For confusion in determinatives, see notes o and pp.
- 79 See notes u and bb. For quadrat blocks see, most recently, Polis 2018.
- 80 Note how prt is written in the title of BD 64 in column x+16 or nḫt in column x+36.
- 81 See notes b, g, n, jj, qq.
- 82 An aspect highlighted in the Late Egyptian Miscellanies by Ragazzoli 2017, pp. 109–110. For a cons (...)
111Along with mechanical errors there are other inconsistencies. There are, for examples, cases in which words were confused with their homophones, and a different determinative and new (but not always meaningful) nuance was introduced.78 Moreover, the arrangement of orthographic components within words does not always adhere to the standard practice of writing in virtual squares or quadrat (blocks).79 Along the same lines, confusions in the orientation of signs or groups are also visible.80 Furthermore, there are grammatical errors such as incorrect pronouns and verbal constructions.81 Additionally, there are instances of careless strokes, such as the one that crosses column x+21 and partially overlaps other signs. Finally, in repetitive passages, where memorisation might have played a prominent role, the scribe was more likely to fall into omission and shortening.82
- 83 The notions of mechanical mistakes and conceptual variants, phenomena arising in the material and (...)
- 84 The faithful reproduction of errors is attested in the Coffin Texts: Sokolova 2017, pp. 83–84.
- 85 A. Gasse reached the same conclusion regarding L. Cairo IFAO without number + L. Unknown location, (...)
112All of the examples described above can be regarded as mechanical mistakes introduced by the scribe, but it is difficult to say whether the fault lay with the editor of the master copy or the copyist of the shroud. These mistakes are opposed to conceptual variants, i.e. meaningful variations that demonstrate understanding and active copying on the part of a scribe. These variants encompass additions, subtractions, displacements and lexical and grammatical changes when they yield meaning.83 Whether simple or more extensive, all of the mechanical errors in L. SMDAN 1344 would have hindered the comprehension of whole passages. At certain points (for example, that mentioned in note dd above), it seems probable that the scribe slavishly copied a meaningless original text, reproducing its errors faithfully,84 though one may argue that he had lost concentration at work or did not understand, and was little involved in, the composition he was writing down.85
- 86 Wise 2006, p. 313; see also p. 318.
- 87 Gasse 1983, p. 194. In L. Norwich, white pigment (gypsum) has been applied underneath or over part (...)
- 88 Cases of superimposed corrections are mentioned in notes ii, jj, kk, ll, nn, pp, yy, b′, l′, m′.
- 89 Instances in which wrong signs were crossed out are attested in L. Cairo IFAO without number + L. (...)
- 90 L. Berlin P. 10476 and L. Cairo JE 96810 contain examples of column division lines that occupy spa (...)
113Material choices, such as the nature of the writing surface, affect scribal decisions and practices. This can be seen in erasures and forms of introducing corrections. Unlike papyri and tomb walls, fabric does not accommodate erasure of strokes by means of humidifying, scrubbing, or scrapping the surface. Scribes writing on shrouds who needed to alter what they had written typically traced new signs over erroneous ones, and squeezed graphemes into free spaces. Two exceptional cases are L. Sydney R92 and L. Cairo IFAO without number + L. Unknown location. On the former, two hieroglyphs “appeared to have been altered or repainted at some stage using white paint, and then re-drawn with black or red paint.”86 On the latter, “le scribe a masqué la partie fautive par une couche de peinture blanche, puis a écrit par-dessus le ou les mots justes.”87 L. SMDAN 1344 contains several instances of superimposition of signs with fresh ink, and of partial correction of words,88 in which some graphemes have been amended but other faulty ones were not crossed,89 giving rise to defective spellings. A perusal of the shrouds collected in the Totenbuch-Projekt database shows that overlapping signs and smaller secondary additions are also quite frequent in other witnesses, such as L. Berlin P. 10476, L. Cairo JE 96810, L. London BM EA 73807, and L. New York MMA 22.3.296.90
- 91 A conclusion already reached by Rößler-Köhler 1979, p. 27.
114The fact that many mistakes were left uncorrected could indicate that there was no close proofreading of spells once they were written, but rather that scribes occasionally noticed errors in the process of copying and tried to amend them.91
- 92 For L. SMDAN 65 and L. SMDAN 3328, see Díaz-Iglesias Llanos 2017.
- 93 See above, notes c, q, r, v, f′.
115L. SMDAN 1344 is the third example of a shroud inscribed with Book of the Dead to have been found in the area southwest of the open courtyard of TT 11 at Dra Abu el-Naga.92 This area is now of some importance among the different zones in the Theban necropolis in which similar artefacts have been retrieved. It might have shared the same textual sequence as L. SMDAN 65 (see example 7 in note 1 to table 1), but preserves different spells from that sequence and adds a vignette unattested elsewhere among contemporary witnesses on linen. Moreover, L. SMDAN 1344 includes seldom-attested passages, notably the titles and colophons of BD 116 and 64, and the end section of BD 30B. It also bears a different version of the rarely-documented BD 72 to the other known examples written on the same medium (e.g. L. Cairo JE 66218), including lengthy rubrics that are otherwise only, and then seldom, attested on papyri from the reigns of Hatshepsut and Amenhotep II. It also shares similarities in orthography and wording with several early documents of the Theban Book of the Dead recension, dated to the late Second Intermediate Period (the coffin of Queen Montuhotep, T4L) or the early 18th Dynasty (L. Cairo JE 96804; L. Cairo JE 96810).93 This chronological framework is also suggested for L. SMDAN 1344 on the basis of the sequence of spells, the textual versions of each chapter, palaeographical features, and the archaeological context (for which see the first part of this article).
- 94 See n. 28 and Quirke, Cruickshank, Morgan 1995, p. 32. H. Ranke noted the addition of the signs -t (...)
116The owner of the shroud remains elusive, since a reading for his name (ending in -j) in columns 6 and x+15 cannot be suggested with certainty. This is also true for his parents, whose names are written, or partially preserved, in columns 1, 6, x+15, and x+17. The name of the mother has been tentatively read as Šmtj. Although this anthroponym is not recorded in the works of Hermann Ranke and Michelle Thirion, personal names ending in -tj are attested on other contemporary shrouds, such as that of the lady Rstj (L. London BM EA 73807).94 The title and name of the father could be respectively read as ḥr(y) wḏt ʿȝ nw tȝ “chief of the great command of the land” and Rḫ ///. A notable feature is the order in which the parents’ names are listed, with that of the mother written first. There are numerous examples of published shrouds where no filiation is recorded, and many cases where only the maternal side is mentioned (L. Cairo JE 33984; L. Cairo JE 96807; L. Cairo GC 40001; L. Berlin P. 10476 + L. Berlin P. 10467 B; L. Hannover 39-64-6623; L. Grab TT 65; L. New York MMA 22.3.296, in 7 out of the 39 examples). However, only one example is known in which the name of the mother precedes that of the father (L. Cairo JE 96805), and L. SMDAN 1344 adds a second instance of this practice.
117From the evidence at hand, it may be concluded that the owners of written shrouds in the 17th and early 18th Dynasty were either members of the royal family or high officials. The size and design of the funerary shaft and of the offering chapel UE 165 and UE 160, where the linen fragments under study were found, also situate the owner of L. SMDAN 1344 among the Theban elite. Moreover, the enlargement of the chapel, together with the amount of vessels placed on the ground around it, seem to indicate that an active cult must have been going on for some time. The proximity of the funerary complex UE 160-165 to those associated with relevant individuals of the 17th and early 18th Dynasty, such as the king’s sons Jn-(j)t⸗f-ms and Jʿḥ-ms, the mouthpiece of Nekhen Jʿḥ-ḥtp, and the owner of a rishi-coffin called Nb, help to visualise our enigmatic character as a distinguished one. Moreover, the three pyramids of King Sobekemsaf and of his two sons Intef standing in the area a few metres up the hill may be taken as a chronological and social background against which to analyse L. SMDAN 1344 and its early version of the Book of the Dead.
Fig. 5. Photograph of L. SMDAN 1344 after conservation and with fragments returned to their original or estimated positions.
© Djehuty Project/Latova.
Fig. 6. Standard photograph and image enhanced using DStretch software, for improved legibility of the signs on the right-hand side of L. SMDAN 1344.
© Djehuty Project.
Fig. 7. Analysis of textile quality, with thread count.
© Djehuty Project/Rodríguez-Frade.
Fig. 8. Detail of the vignette with the wedjat-eye.
© Djehuty Project.
Fig. 9a. Transcription of Book of the Dead spells written in L. SMDAN 1344. Small red circles reproduce the black dots that the scribe used to define columns widths.
Fig. 9b. Transcription of Book of the Dead spells written in L. SMDAN 1344. Small red circles reproduce the black dots that the scribe used to define columns widths.
Fig. 9c. Transcription of Book of the Dead spells written in L. SMDAN 1344. Small red circles reproduce the black dots that the scribe used to define columns widths.
Fig. 9d. Transcription of Book of the Dead spells written in L. SMDAN 1344. Small red circles reproduce the black dots that the scribe used to define columns widths.
Fig. 9e. Transcription of Book of the Dead spells written in L. SMDAN 1344. Small red circles reproduce the black dots that the scribe used to define columns widths.
Fig. 10. Enhanced image of columns x+20 to x+23, in which the traits described in notes dd, ii, jj, ll, and pp are visible.
© Djehuty Project.
Fig. 11. Enhanced image of columns x+21 to x+22, in which the traits described in notes kk and nn are visible.
© Djehuty Project.
Fig. 12. Enhanced image of column x+37, in which the trait described in comment l′ is visible.
© Djehuty Project
Table 1. The data compiled here is based on the information provided by P. Ronsecco (1996, pp. xxxviii–xl); B. Ockinga (2006, pp. 185–186), M. Müller-Roth (2008, pp. 149–153), and the Totenbuch-Projekt database. The chapters that were written in L. SMDAN 1344 are highlighted in bold. The links to the Totenbuch-Projekt entries given in the last column include detailed bibliographical references. Only the more recent publications, or those that are not registered in the database, are otherwise included in this table.
1. The beginning of this long sequence starting with BD 124 is preserved in other eight examples: 1) L. Aberdeen ABDUA 84044 + 85050 + L. Avignon A. 69 + A. 70 (Pȝ-jmy-r-jḥw, ḥry jḥw, Hatshepsut/Thutmose III – Amenhotep II, unknown provenience), sequence: BD 125B /// empty columns /// BD 77V-99/99B /// 83-84-85V ///; 2) L. Cairo IFAO without number + L. Unknown location [1] (Sn-ḥtp, ḥry mḏȝjw n Mnw nb Jpw, ḥry mḏȝjw n ȝst, ḥry ḥmȝtyw n Mnw, nb Jpw, Thutmose III – Amenhotep II, [Akhmin]), sequence: A.o.O.-BD 1-124-114V-113V-83-84-85 ///; 3) L. Heidelberg Ä.I. 1787 + L. Würzurg H 393 (Pȝ-ḥrj-pḏt, sḏȝwtj n šm, early 18th Dynasty – Amenhotep II, unknown provenience), sequence: /// BD 1-124V ///; 4) L. London BM EA 7036 (18th Dynasty, unknown provenience), sequence: /// BD 124-83-84 ///; 5) L. New York MMA 20.3.201 (early 18th Dynasty, Thebes, forecourt of TT 280), sequence: /// BD 124-83-84-85 ///; 6) L. New York MMA 22.3.296 (Jʿḥ-ms, ṯȝj-ḫw, early 18th Dynasty, Thebes, Deir el-Bahari, Pit 1013), sequence: BD 124-83-84-85-82-77-86-99/99B ///; 7) L. SMDAN 65 (late 17th Dynasty – early 18th Dynasty, Dra Abu el-Naga), sequence: BD 124- 83- 84-85 ///; 8) L. Tomb TT 65 (Sn-nfr, Hatshepsut/Thutmose III – Amenhotep II, Thebes, Sheikh abd el-Gurna, shaft III of TT 65), sequence: BD 124[-]83-84-85 ///. For further details, see Díaz-Iglesias Llanos 2017.
2. To the same owner belongs L. Turin 63002 (see previous register) and L. Turin 63004.
Table 2. Differences in the handwriting on shroud L. SMDAN 1344, which are attributed to the work of two scribes. Only diagnostic signs, which are chosen for their frequency, are shown. Typical use of these forms does not preclude the occasional use of other forms.
Table 3. Distinctive palaeographic traits on shroud L. SMDAN 1344.