Pharaonic Inscriptions From the Southern Eastern Desert of Egypt

513 Pages·2008·49.193 MB·English

by  Rothe, Russell D. Miller, William K. Rapp, George Robert

Pharaonic Inscriptions
from the Southern Eastern Desert of Egypt
Pharaonic Inscriptions
from the
Southern Eastern Desert
of Egypt
Russell D. Rothe William K. Miller George (Rip) Rapp
, , and
Winona Lake, Indiana
Eisenbrauns
2008
ç Copyright 2008 by Eisenbrauns.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
www.eisenbrauns.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rothe, Russell D.
Pharaonic inscriptions from the Southern Eastern Desert of Egypt / Russell D. Rothe,
William K. Miller, and George (Rip) Rapp.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-57506-147-4 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Inscriptions, Egyptian—Egypt—Eastern Desert. I. Miller, William K. II. Rapp,
George Robert, 1930– III. Title.
PJ1526.E37R67 2008
493u.1—dc22
2008009893
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard
for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. †‘
To those who have gone before,
the giants on whose shoulders we have stood.
Table of Contents
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Chapter 1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 2. Qena Watershed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Wadi Abu Wasil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Wadi Bueib . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Wadi ºIsa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Wadi Meniah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Wadi Qash. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Chapter 3. Edfu Watershed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Wadi Abu Muawad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Wadi Barramiya. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Wadi Batur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Wadi Dagbag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Wadi Kanayis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Wadi Mia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Wadi Shalul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Wadi Sigdid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Wadi Umm Higlig. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Wadi Umm Salim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Chapter 4. Kom Ombo Watershed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Wadi Bezeh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Wadi Dunqash. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Wadi Midrik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Wadi Mueilha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Wadi Shaªit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Chapter 5. Other Wadis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Wadi Abu Agag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Wadi al-Alam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Chapter 6. GIS Analysis and Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Appendix A. Paleography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Appendix B. Indices and Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Index of Inscriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Index of Personal Names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Index of Titles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
Index of Royal Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
Index of Divine Names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
Index of Place Names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Index of Wadis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
Preface
The background of the project that led to this volume is given in chapter 1. It should be
noted that the massive detail we have presented has entailed special problems with coordination,
consistency, and accuracy. The authors are alone responsible for all errors that were incorpo-
rated. We also realize that some spellings have not been standardized so we have accepted com-
mon spellings and aimed at consistency.
We have attempted to incorporate all of the important references but we have not attempted
an exhaustive bibliography. We have added bibliographic items to a combined References and
Bibliography.
For the area of the Egyptian Eastern Desert covered by our project we have illustrated and
discussed all of the hieroglyphs recorded by us or by others, whether or not they have been
translated. We have visited all of the sites recorded by others in our project area, thus this vol-
ume is an up to date corpus of inscriptions from this region. Note that all of the photographs we
have included are our own.
Acknowledgments
It is impossible to undertake a project the size of the University of Minnesota Egyptian East-
ern Desert Expedition without large amounts of help and support, both financial and moral. It is
also impossible to name everyone who has helped in any way. To those unnamed, our thanks and
our apologies for their omission.
In Egypt
Although academic and professional help from both colleagues and officials of the Egyptian
government has been indispensable, pride of place must go to two Bedouin colleagues.
Seliim Abdul Gaddis, our driver, cook, repairman, and my (Rothe) close personal friend for
ten years. His skill and resourcefulness and his unflagging good nature have seen us through
hard and dangerous as well as good times. From the first season, when I spoke no Arabic and he
spoke no English, we have learned to communicate and he has become one of the few people in
Egypt who can understand my Arabic.
“Haage” Tofiik Ali, our guide for seven years, and another close friend. At 86, he seemed to
remember every rod and wadi he has ever traveled, and every gebel he has ever seen. He taught
Acknowledgments ix
me much about the lore of the ºAbabda Bedouins and about the art of living in the desert. My
knowledge and love of the desert comes from him and from Seliim.
The Egyptian Antiquities Organization which granted our concession beginning in year
three of our project, and its successor, the Supreme Council for Antiquities, currently under the
direction of Dr. Zahi Hawass, which has renewed our concession in each of the succeeding years.
The Edfu Inspectorate of the SCA, and its director, Mr. Fathy Abou Zaid Mahmad, as well as
Mr. Ramadan Hassan Ahmed, our inspector for the last four years. Together they have worked
out a program giving us the required amount of oversight while allowing us the flexibility
needed for a project of this nature.
The Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority, and its director of the Geological Sur-
vey Division, Dr. Abdel Aziz A. Hussien, which sponsored our expedition for the first two years.
Saad B. Muhammed, who has handled our administrative paperwork in Egypt.
Chronologically, the roots of our efforts began in 1976 when Rapp was hosted by Rushdi Said
and M. F. El Ramly of the Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority on a project to inves-
tigate the antiquity of copper and tin mining in the Eastern Desert. A National Science Founda-
tion Office of International Programs grant to Rapp using Foreign Currency funds funded this
project.
In the U.S.
Dr. James P. Allen of the Metropolitan Museum of Art read the manuscript and offered many
helpful suggestions and corrections which have improved our readings of inscriptions in a num-
ber of instances. As we have said above, however, all readings and interpretations are the respon-
sibility of the authors.
Our very special thanks go to Edith Dunn who used her considerable artistic and graphic tal-
ents to assemble the Paleographic Appendix. She had some linguistic help in this from the late
Doris Stoessel.
Edward Wappes of the University of Toronto, a former student of Miller, read early versions
of some of the inscriptions and provided good discussion and suggestions.
Throughout the decade-long history of the University of Minnesota Egyptian Eastern Desert
Expedition, Jeanne Hartwick managed our financial affairs very competently.
Funding has come from the following:
The Johnson Family Foundation
The National Geographic Society
The University of Minnesota Institute for International Studies
McKnight International Travel Award Grants through The Graduate School of the Univer-
sity of Minnesota
Nancy Smith
The Cleveland Cliffs Foundation
Abbreviations
BAR James Henry Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents from the Earliest Times
to the Persian Conquest. London: Histories and Mysteries of Man, 1988.
Bell Lanny Bell, Janet H. Johnson, and Donald Whitcomb, “The Eastern Desert of Upper
Egypt: Routes and Inscriptions,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 43 (1984): 27–46.
Cerny Jaroslav Cerny, “Graffiti at the Wadi El-Allaki,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 33 (1947):
52–57.
CM J. Couyat and P. Montet, Les Inscriptions Hieroglyphiques et Hieratiques du Ouadi Hammamat.
Cairo: L’insitut francais d’archéologie orientale, 1912.
Colin Frederic Colin, “Les Paneia d’el-Buwayb et du Ouadi Minyah,” Bulletin de l’Institut francais
d’archéologie orientale 98 (1998): 89–125.
DF Hans Vanderkerckhove and Renate Müller-Wollermann, Die Felsinschriften des Wadi Hilal.
2 volumes. Turnhout, Belgium: Musée royaux d’art et d’histoire, 2001.
Eichler Rosemarie Klemm and Eckhard Eichler, “Neue Expeditionsinschriften aus der Ostwüste
Oberagyptens, Teil II: Die Inschriften,” Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts,
Abteilung Kairo 54 (1998): 250–266.
G Georges Goyon, Nouvelles Inscriptions Rupestres du Wadi Hammamat. Paris: Libraire d’ame-
rique et d’orient Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1957.
Green F. W. Green, “Notes on Some Inscriptions in the Etbai District,” Proceedings of the Society of
Biblical Archaeology, June 1909: 247–55.
GSL sign list from: Alan H. Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar. 3rd ed. Oxford: Griffith Institute, Ash-
molean Museum, 1957.
JEA Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
OHP Hans Goedicke, Old Hieratic Paleography. Baltimore: Halgo, 1988.
PM Bertha Porter and Rosalind L. B. Moss, eds., Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian
Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings. 7 volumes. Oxford: Clarendon, 1927–1951. 2nd
edition in process.
PN Hermann Ranke, Die Agyptischen Personennamen. 3 volumes. Holstein: J. J. Augustin, 1935.
RILN Z. Zaba, The Rock Inscriptions of Lower Nubia. Czechoslovak Institute of Egyptology Publica-
tions 1. Prague, 1965.
RM Russell D. Rothe and William K. Miller, “More Inscriptions from the Southern Eastern
Desert,” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 36 (1999): 87–101.
Rothe Russell D. Rothe, Human Activity in the Southern Eastern Desert of Egypt During the Pharaonic
Period. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Minnesota, 1995.
RRM Russell D. Rothe, George R. Rapp, and William K. Miller, “New Hieroglyphic Evidence for
Pharaonic Activity in the Eastern Desert of Egypt,” Journal of the American Research Center in
Egypt 33 (1996): 77–104.
Sinai Alan H, Gardiner, T. Eric Peet, and Jaroslav Cerny, The Inscriptions of Sinai. 2 volumes.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1955.
WH Ashraf I. Sadek, The Amethyst Mining Inscriptions of Wadi el-Hudi, 2 volumes. Warminster:
Aris and Phillips, 1985.
Chapter 1
Introduction
Purpose
The southern Eastern Desert of Egypt probably has fewer people living and working in it
now than at any time in the last 6,000 years. It is a land of stark beauty requiring care and plan-
ning by those who would exploit its resources but fully capable of supporting those who under-
stand its eccentricities and idiosyncrasies. The ancient Egyptians fully understood this and for
3,000 years exploited the riches of the desert and utilized its routes to riches that lay even farther
south. The Romans and the Muslims after them continued to exploit the mineral resources of
the southern Eastern Desert for 2,000 years after the Pharaohs disappeared into history. It was
only after the Suez Canal offered easier access to riches elsewhere and obviated the need for car-
avan routes from the Red Sea to the Nile that the southern Eastern Desert became a backwater
peopled only by the nomadic Bedouins and a few miners. In modern times, a few hardy travelers
have crossed the desert, mapped its trails and wadis, and exploited its resources. Some of those
travelers have recorded, and a few have photographed, Pharaonic inscriptions that they discov-
ered during their travels. (Wilkinson 1832; Green 1909; Weigall 1909; Murray 1925; Bell, et al.,
1984; Zitterkopf and Sidebotham 1989. See also Cerny 1947, who writes about inscriptions dis-
covered on a trip made by G. W. Murray and his wife in 1942.)
The University of Minnesota Egyptian Eastern Desert Expedition is the first expedition to
systematically survey a specific area of the southern Eastern Desert for evidence of Pharaonic
activity. The area, some 60,000 km2, lies between the Nile and the Red Sea and 24°N to 26°N
(Figures 1-1 and 1-1a). During ten seasons, each of at least three months duration, we have sur-
veyed tens of thousands of kilometers of wadis and desert, most of it on foot. Figure 1-2 shows
the routes we have traveled. Note its similarity to fig. 1-1, which shows the main and secondary
wadis in the project area. Within this area we have catalogued not only inscriptions, but also
mines and wells.
The University of Minnesota Eastern Desert Expedition had its beginnings in 1975 when co-
author George (Rip) Rapp, T. H. Wertime, and J. D. Muhly visited cassiterite (tin ore) mines in
the southern Eastern Desert. Near the westernmost of those mines they were shown a group of
Pharaonic inscriptions by M. F. el-Ramly of the Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Author-
ity. The inscriptions were photographed and the photos were given to an Egyptologist to trans-
late. As more pressing projects came to the fore, the inscriptions and the cassiterite data were
allowed to languish until 1991 when senior author Russell D. Rothe read about the photos in a
footnote in an unrelated article. After obtaining copies of the photos from Rapp, he, with the
help of co-author William K. Miller and others, translated the inscriptions. (See RRM for some
of the initial translations.)