Byzantine- and Roman-era Rooms Uncovered in Egypt

ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT—Ahram Online reports that chambers dating to the Roman and Byzantine periods have been unearthed in Alexandria. Mostafa Waziri of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said one of the Roman-era chambers has huge stone blocks set at right angles and smooth Doric columns. A large number of Roman coins were also recovered. The walls of the Byzantine-era rooms were crafted from irregular blocks of stones fitted together with weak mortar. Another room had a tiled floor and a decorated column. According to Nadia Kheidr of the Central Department of Antiquities of Lower Egypt, the artifacts uncovered by the excavation team included lamps decorated with crosses and palm leaves, dishes, two large water jars, and other fragments of pottery. To read about a recent discovery in Luxor, Egypt, go to “Honoring Osiris.”

Lecture: The history of wigs in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptians are known by many as a historical symbol of ancient beauty, vanity, and hygiene. 

Appearance was very important in the country near the Nile River. The way people looked was a symbol of their wealth, status, and role in society. The desire for a beautiful body influenced fashion, but the climate and medical issues also formed a unique style.

Beauty in Ancient Egypt 

Ancient Egyptian hairstyles varied with social status, gender, and age. A slave could never have the same hairstyle as a free person, and the lower class could never have the same style of hair as the upper class. However, there were some similarities between them. Like nowadays, most people tried to follow the same fashion.

Generally, the hairstyle of children, be they boys or girls, was the same. Their hair was shaved off, with only a long lock of hair left on the side of the head. This style was related to the hieroglyphic symbol of a child or youth.

The princess Nsikhonsu, with long wavy brown hair

When the children grew older boys kept their shaved heads and girls wore their hair in plaits or something similar to a ponytail. Men usually wore their hair short, with their ears visible. But sometimes they preferred to have short curls covering their ears.

In the case of women, hairstyles were more advanced and unique. They often liked to have their hair smooth or with a natural wave. Women in ancient Egypt also liked to have long curls, but in the Old Kingdom period, they preferred short or chin length bobs.

A group of researchers based at the University of Manchester in the UK examined the hair from 18 mummies, most of them from during the early Ptolemaic Period. They took a close look at the hairs they found using microscopes. During analysis, the researchers discovered that the hair of nine mummies had an unknown substance on it. Chemical analysis revealed that it was made of fatty acids of animal and plant origin. The researchers were convinced that it was a sort of hair gel which was used by the Egyptians to hold their hair in a specific position. After death, the hair mummified naturally.

Wigs appeared for a few reasons. First of all, Egyptians didn't like to have gray or white hair. They used henna to avoid this problem, but in the dry Egyptian climate, wigs appeared as a better solution. Secondly, many saw this idea as more comfortable than having their own long hair. The examination of the aforementioned mummies suggests that the hair of ancient Egyptians, especially when they were older, was in bad condition.

The Popularity of Wigs

Wigs were very popular not only in Ancient Egypt, but also in Mesopotamia, Crete, Greece and Persia. Nonetheless, Egyptians improved the technique of making them to perfection. The most expensive royal wigs look like real hair. They were made of vegetable fiber such as linen, sheep’s wool, other types of animal hair, and human hair stiffened with beeswax. The cheapest ones were made of vegetable fiber, but royals only used the ones made of human hair. For both real hair and wigs, ancient Egyptians used fragrant oils like fir oil, almond oil, rosemary oil, and castor oil. They believed that the oils stimulated hair growth. Popular in ancient times, the seeds of fenugreek are still in use as a remedy for hair growth.

Wigs were used during daily life of the royals, but also at major festivals and events. Egyptian wigs usually were made in a structure similar to the helmet. Some of them were brightened blue, red or green, and decorated with precious stones and jewelry. People who belonged to the upper class liked to possess many wigs. The more wigs they owned, the higher their status was. Decorated with hair bands ending in tassels, with added braids and curls, over time the wigs gradually became bigger and bigger.

During the period of the Old and Middle Kingdom, two kinds of the wigs appeared as the most popular: the ones made of short and long hair. The hair was formed to make the forehead partly visible, with the ears and back of the neck fully covered.

The most classical style of wigs is a Nubian wig, a headdress worn in many periods in history, but especially popular during the 18th Dynasty and all the New Kingdom Period. In those times, wigs with luxurious decorations were a powerful symbol of fertility related to the one wore by the goddess Hathor. The wigs, known from tombs, reliefs and statues of Kiya, Nefertiti, Tiye and other women of this period, partly resemble the modern Afro hairstyle.

During the Third Intermediate Period, wigs were quite massive and heavy. Queen Isimkheb in 900 BC wore a wig which weighed so much that the queen needed help from her attendants to stand up. Nowadays, the wig is a part of the Cairo Museum collection. It was made of brown human hair held together by beeswax.

Wigs were mostly made by women. The human hair used by the wigmakers came from the clients of barbers or was brought by clients. Quite often the hair came from the client who ordered the wig. Sometimes it came from people who sold their hair or from slaves.

Wigs in the afterlife.

After death, people were often buried with their best wigs. They wanted to appear as wealthy and with beautiful hair in the afterlife. Because of this practice, many wigs have survived until now and they are parts of exhibitions around the world.

Women entertainers perform at a celebration in Ancient Egypt; the dancers are naked and the musician wears a typical pleated garment as well as the cone of perfumed fat on top of her wig that melts slowly to emit its precious odors; both groups wear extensive jewelry, wigs, and cosmetics; neither wear shoes - Thebes tomb c. 1400 BC. (Public Domain)

Legendary queens like Nefertiti, Cleopatra, and Nefertari were proud of their wigs and were regarded as great beauties. Many of them had shaved heads and their famous looks were partly made by the people who created the most impressive wigs of their kingdom.

Upper-class Egyptian men and women considered wigs an essential part of their wardrobe. Wearing a wig signaled a person's rank in Egyptian society. Although a shaved head was a sign of nobility during most of the Egyptian kingdoms, the majority of Egyptians kept their heads covered. Wigs were worn in place of headdresses or, for special occasions, with elaborate headdresses. Egyptian law prohibited slaves and servants from shaving their heads or wearing wigs.

The base of an Egyptian wig was a fiber-netting skullcap, with strands of human hair, wool, flax, palm fibers, felt, or other materials attached. The wig hair often stuck straight out from the skullcap, creating large, full wigs that offered wearers protection from the heat of the sun. Most often black, wigs were also other colors. Queen Nefertiti, who lived during the fourteenth century b.c.e., was known for wearing dark blue wigs, and festive wigs were sometimes gilded, or thinly coated in gold.

Wig hair was arranged in decorative styles throughout all the kingdoms of Egypt. During the earliest dynasties (which began around 3200 b.c.e.) and the Old Kingdom of Egypt (c. 2700–c. 2000 b.c.e.), both men and women wore closely cropped wigs with rows of short curls or slightly longer straight hair. In later kingdoms, some women began to grow their hair longer and wore wigs of greater length and bulk that showed their natural hair beneath. 

By the time of the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000–c. 1500 b.c.e.), bulky wigs with hair coils draping forward over each shoulder were favored. During the New Kingdom (c. 1500–c. 750 b.c.e.) men's wigs became much longer in the front than in the back and less bulky, but women's wigs became larger, completely covering the shoulders. For special occasions, wigs were decorated with gold, braided with colorful ribbons, or adorned with beads. Wigs were made even more elaborate with the addition of golden bands, caps, and fancy headbands.

The hot climate of Egypt made it uncomfortable for men to wear beards. However, Egyptians believed that the beard was manly, so they developed artificial beards, or beard wigs. Men of royal rank tied stubby beards on their chins for official or festive occasions. 

The king's beard was longer than that of other men and was usually worn straight and thick. Gods were depicted with thinner beards that curled up at the tip. Egyptians believed that kings were descended from the gods, and in some ceremonies kings would wear a curved beard to show that they represented gods.

Here are 10 facts about wigs worn in Ancient Egypt

1. What were Egyptian wigs made of?

The nicest wigs were made from human hair. These were also the most expensive. An accounts list from the town of Kahun put hair’s value in the same category as gold.

For the middle class, particularly those who couldn’t afford wigs made completely out of human hair, they would purchase a blended wig, which was constructed of part human hair, part vegetable fibers.

Wigs could also be made of sheep’s wool.

The absolute cheapest wigs were made out of 100% vegetable fibers.

2. Who could wear wigs, and who couldn’t?

Wigs were part of daily life in ancient Egypt. Both men and women could wear wigs. Men’s wigs were often shorter than women’s wigs.

Children did not wear wigs. Instead, girls either braided their hair or wore pigtails, and boys often sported shaved heads. Some kids wore what's called a side-lock, which was a braid on one side.

Priests, also, did not generally wear wigs and preferred to shave their heads instead.

Slaves and servants were prohibited by law from wearing wigs. They weren’t even allowed to shave their heads.

3. Why did Egyptians wear wigs?

In ancient Egypt, wigs served multiple purposes.

• Decoration. People liked the way wigs looked.
• Shade. Given that wigs could often be quite large and thick, the hairpieces could have acted as sun hats. They would have offered a degree of shade.
• Special occasions and religious ceremonies. People would pull out their most expensive wigs for these occasions, rather than wear the simpler wigs they wore for everyday use.
• To cover thinning hair. Even back then, people were concerned about hair loss. We know this because archaeologists have found instructions and recipes for hair growth remedies

4. What color were Egyptian wigs?

Most wigs were colored deep black. Less popular, but equally impressive, were blond wigs.

Queen Nefertiti, however, bucked both of these trends and had a fondness for dark blue wigs, which she made famous. What a fashion-forward rebel!

5. How were wigs decorated?

There were countless ways to adorn these valuable hairpieces. First, wigs could be curled and braided. Bangs extensions could be added. Men preferred simpler styles, while women loved adding lots of extra ‘bling.’ Here some examples of wig adornments:

• golden tubes
• jewelry chains
• glittery pins and clips
• ribbons woven through braids
• tassels
• flowers
• tiaras
• colored strands
• caps
• headbands

6. How were wigs made from human hair?

Hair first had to be collected. It was extremely valuable, and people probably bartered or sold their hair to wig-makers in exchange for goods. Once a wig maker had the required amount, they first cleaned the hair of any lice eggs. Combs have been found with traces of the eggs still in the teeth!

After cleaning the hair, it was separated into various lengths. A wigmaker would coat the hair with a mix of resin and beeswax to make it easier to work with.

Hairdressers would then weave the hair through a cap made of fine netting (which itself was often made of hair) and affix the strands using more wax.

After creating the basic wig, styles would be applied such as braids and curls. The wax and resin would help keep the styles in place through endless wearings, even in the Egyptian heat.

Fun fact: One particularly impressive wig artifact contains 120,000 individual hairs!

7. Who made wigs?

Ready made wigs were made in factories, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of wig factories. Wig boxes have been found in tombs, and may have come from the factories with the wigs inside.

Barbers also made wigs, and so did women. It was considered a very respectable profession.

8. How were wigs cared for?

Because they were so expensive, Egyptians spent effort caring for them.

Since they couldn’t be washed, wigs would be perfumed instead using scented petals, essential oils, and wood chips such as cinnamon bark.

Oils and emollients made from animal or vegetable fats could be applied to keep the wigs shiny and supple.

9. What the heck is a beard wig?

Beard wigs were false beards made of human hair or wool that were worn using hooks that fastened behind each ear.

Beard wigs were braided and knotted into a tight, solid rectangle or tube shape that hung straight down from the chin. They became so popular that even the gods were depicted wearing beard wigs.

Beard wigs became a symbol of pharaonic power, worn to show that they were living gods on earth. Even some of Egypt’s queens, such as Pharaoh Hatshepsut, wore beard wigs during certain ceremonies for this purpose.

10. How did wig styles change?

Just like modern fashion is always changing, so did wig fashions change and evolve in ancient Egypt.

Old Kingdom wigs: These were short and either straight or with rows of short overlapping curls.

Middle Kingdom Wigs: Most people wore one of two styles: a short wig with bangs made of small curls that overlapped one another like shingles. The bangs were short enough to show some forehead, while the side and back covered the ears and neck. The alternative during this time was a long, bulky wig with bangs that framed the face, while the longer back section was formed into waves or spirals that were draped over each shoulder.

Wig rings of Sithathoryunet (Egypt, B. Sit-Hathor-yunet was a daughter of Senwosret II

New Kingdom Wigs: Many people wore wigs with groupings of long, tassel-ended tails. Women’s wigs became even larger and bulkier, and decorations became hugely popular, including beads and ribbons, and fancy caps. Men preferred less bulky wigs, and ones that were longer in the front than in the back.

An Ancient Egyptian wig worn in the New Kingdom,
this is known because of the gold detailing on the braids.

Amarna Period Wigs: During this time, styles became short and simple.

Final Note:

Like any fashion form any civilization you can see that through time styles changed from being very basic to very complex and decorative and like ours it will repeat in some form or another.

Lecture: Qebhet Daughter of Anubis

Qebhet (also known as Kebehwet, Kabechet or Kebechet) is a benevolent goddess of ancient Egypt. She is the daughter of the god of death, Anubis, granddaughter of the goddess Nephthys and god Osiris. She is the personification of cool, refreshing water and is mentioned frequently in the Egyptian Book of the Dead as she brings water to the souls of the dead in the Hall of Truth as they stand awaiting judgment by Osiris and the Forty-Two Judges.

UNKNOWN ORIGINS

She was originally a serpent deity, known as "the celestial serpent" in the Pyramid Texts (c. 2400-2300 BCE) but was re-imagined as a goddess associated with the land of the dead, daughter of Anubis and "the king's sister", though who the `king' is remains unclear. Anubis was conceived from an affair between Nephthys (who was married to Set) and Osiris (married to Isis). Nephthys was drawn to the beauty of Osiris and transformed herself into an image of Isis, tricking Osiris into sleeping with her.

As Nephthys and Osiris were brother and sister is is possible that this story became mirrored in the conception of Qebhet. Anubis was an ancient god and judge of the dead before Osiris rose in popularity and replaced him. Possibly the story of Qebhet formed an earlier tale involving Anubis in the role of Osiris and some other goddess in the part of Nephthys. Osiris was considered the "first king" and often references to "the king" indicate this god but, in this case, it does not seem to make sense. Qebhet is never linked to Osiris as a daughter and the reference to "the king's sister" remains a mystery.

QEBHET'S SERVICE TO THE DEAD

The Egyptians believed that the afterlife was a mirror image of life on earth in Egypt. One of the reasons Egyptians preferred not to campaign far from their land was the concern in dying and being buried somewhere beyond the boundaries of their native land and so not being able to pass on to the Hall of Truth and, from there, to the Field of Reeds. If someone died in Egypt, however great or humble, they were buried in the earth of their mother and so passed on to the afterlife with relative ease.

This same paradigm held for all other aspects of the soul. Since they held that the immortal soul had all the needs and desires it did in the body, it might well become thirsty standing in line in the Hall of Truth, and Qebhet would have attended to this need. Although it does not seem she ever had a large cult following, she may have played a part or made some kind of appearance in religious events such as the Festival of the Wadi which was a celebration of the lives of the dead and of the living. The Egyptologist Lynn Meskell writes:


Religious festivals actualized belief; they were not simply social celebrations. They acted in a multiplicity of related spheres. There were festivals of the gods, of the king, and of the dead...The Beautiful Festival of the Wadi was a key example of a festival of the dead, which took place between the harvest and the Nile flood. In it, the divine boat of Amun traveled from the Karnak temple to the necropolis of Western Thebes. A large procession followed, and living and dead were thought to commune near the graves which became houses of the joy of the heart on that occasion. (Nardo, 100).

QEBHET PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE RITUALS OF DEATH IN THAT SHE ASSURED THE STILL-LIVING THAT THEIR LOVED ONE WAS CARED FOR.

One of the most important aspects in honoring the dead in ancient Egypt (as well as Greeceand elsewhere) was their remembrance and no one wished to think of their departed loved one thirsting while awaiting trial before the great god Osiris in the afterlife. Qebhet, therefore, played an important role in the rituals of death in that she assured the still-living that their loved one was cared for and, furthermore, that they themselves would also be when it came their own time to stand in the hall of judgement. Further, the ritual cleansing of the body of the corpse by clean water was a vital element in the burial of the dead and Qebhet symbolized this purification.

She was also thought to play an especially vital role in the revival of the soul after death. Egyptologist Richard H. Wilkinson writes how Qebhet personally tended the soul of the dead king and "refreshed and purified the heart of the deceased monarch with pure water from four nemset jars [ritual funerary vessels] and that the goddess helped open the `windows of the sky' to assist the king's resurrection" (223). To `open the windows of the sky' meant to liberate the soul from the body and Qebhet seems to have come to perform this service for all the dead, not just the royalty. Her grandmother, Nephthys, was known as "Friend of the Dead" and Qebhet came to be associated with this same kind of care and concern for the departed souls.

ASSOCIATION WITH HARMONY AND BALANCE

Qebhet is often pictured as a serpent or an ostrich bringing water. She was never worshipped to the degree of Isis or Hathor - or even much lesser deities - but was revered and respected and, at certain times, became associated with the Nile and cults which grew up in worship of the river. This is hardly surprising as she was always closely associated with pure, clean water. As the Nile was associated with Milky Way and the courses of the gods, Qebhet also became linked with the sky in both daylight and darkness. In her role as a purifier, she would also have been linked with the concept of Ma'at, eternal harmony and truth, which was the central guiding principle in ancient Egyptian culture.

Her earlier image as a celestial serpent was probably never completely forgotten even after she was imagined in human form in the land of the dead. Qebhet's association with the Milky Way and the divine Nile probably come from this early understanding of the goddess. The earthly plane of existence was thought to be a reflection of the eternal realm of the gods and so balance was struck through Qebhet as a goddess of the ever-changing night sky and also of the river of life which flowed through the Nile Valley to the sea. Her place among the dead would have further illustrated the Egyptian value of harmony in that a celestial goddess would humble herself to provide water to the souls of mortals. She would then have been a role model for the living to care for others in life just as Qebhet did in the land of the dead.

Sobekneferu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sobekneferu
Neferusobek Skemiophris (in Manetho)
Bust of Sobekneferu (Louvre)
Pharaoh
Reign	1806–1802 BC (12th Dynasty)
Predecessor	Amenemhat IV
Successor	uncertain, Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep or, in older studies, Wegaf
Royal titulary
Father	Amenemhat III
Died	1802 BC
Burial	Northern Mazghuna pyramid (?)

Sobekneferu (sometimes written "Neferusobek") was an Egyptian woman reigning as pharaoh after the death of her brother Amenemhat IV. She was the last ruler of the Twelfth dynasty of Egypt and governed Egypt for almost four years from 1806 to 1802 BC. Her name means "the beauty of Sobek."

Family

She was the daughter of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. Manetho states she also was the sister of Amenemhat IV, but this claim is unproven. Sobekneferu had an older sister named Nefruptah, who may have been the intended heir. Neferuptah's name was enclosed in a cartouche and she had her own pyramid at Hawara. Neferuptah died at an early age, however.

Reign

Sobekneferu was the first known woman reigning as pharaoh for which there is confirmed proof. There are five women who are believed to have ruled as early as the First Dynasty and Nitocris may have ruled in the Sixth Dynasty.

Amenemhat IV most likely died without a male heir; consequently, Amenemhat III's daughter, Sobekneferu, assumed the throne. According to the Turin Canon, she ruled for 3 years, 10 months, and 24 days in the late nineteenth century BC.

She died without heirs and the end of her reign concluded Egypt's brilliant Twelfth Dynasty and the Golden Age of the Middle Kingdom as it inaugurated the much weaker Thirteenth Dynasty.

Monuments and Tomb

Drawing by Flinders Petrie of the cylinder seal of Sobekneferu in the British Museum.

Few monuments have been discovered for her, although many of her (headless) statues have been preserved including the base of a representation of a king's royal daughter that was discovered in Gezerand bears her name. One statue with a head is known. A bust in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin (Inv. no. 14476), lost in World War II, could be identified as belonging to her. Today, the sculpture is known only from photographic images and plaster casts. It came in 1899 to the museum. The head fits on top of the lower part of a royal statue discovered at Semna. The latter can be identified for sure as royal because the royal symbol unification of the two countries appears on the side of her throne. It is known that she made additions to the funerary complex of Amenemhat III at Hawara (called a labyrinth by Herodotus) and also built structures at Herakleopolis Magna.

A fine cylinder seal bearing her name and royal titulary is located in the British Museum. A Nile graffito, at the Nubian fortress of Kumma records the Nile inundation height of 1.83 meters in Year 3 of her reign. Another inscription discovered in the Eastern Desert records year 4, second month of the peret season. Her monumental works consistently associate her with Amenemhat III rather than Amenemhat IV, supporting the theory that she was the royal daughter of Amenemhat III and perhaps, only a stepsister of Amenemhat IV. The Danish Egyptologist, Kim Ryholt, notes that the contemporary sources from her reign show that Sobekneferu never adopted the title of King's Sister--only 'King's Daughter'--which supports this hypothesis. Additionally, all Egyptian rulers were given the title 'king', regardless of gender.

Her tomb has not been identified positively, although she may have been interred in a pyramid complex in Mazghuna that lacks inscriptions. It is immediately north of a similar complex ascribed to Amenemhat IV. A place called Sekhem-Neferu is mentioned in a papyrus found at Harageh. This might be the name of her pyramid.

Lesson: Isfet the idea of injustice chaos and violence

Isfet in hieroglyphs
Isfet ı͗zf.t Injustice/Violence

Isfet or Asfet (meaning "injustice", "chaos", or "violence"; as a verb, “to do evil”) is an ancient Egyptian term from Egyptian mythology used in philosophy, which was built on a religious, social and political affected dualism.

Principles and ideology

For many Kemetics (if not most) these two concepts have a particular importance on many levels. Living and sustaining Ma’at is a basic religious and moral precept.

Ma’at encompasses (but is not necessarily restricted to) the ethical concepts of ‘cosmic balance’, ‘universal harmony’, ‘truth’, ‘order’ and even ‘justice’.

Ma’at the goddess is the personification of these concepts.

‘The goddess represented the divine harmony and balance of the universe, including the unending cycles of the rising and the setting sun, the inundation of the Nile River, the resulting fertility of the land, and the enduring office of kingship; she was considered to be the force that kept chaos (isft), the antithesis of order, from overwhelming the world.’

Isfet on the other hand is not just chaos or disorder. It is complete destruction, un-creation, nothingness. Isfet is a complex concept just like Ma’at and one could say they are the perfect opposites.

Ma’at keeps things together and Isfet tears them apart then sends them into nothingness. With Isfet and its agents (such as the dreaded Ap/p who threatens the Sun God Ra himself) there is no beneficial chaos, no destruction to make room for creation, no reason. It just is and it wants more. It wants everything. It constantly tries to creep up on creation and all it entails.

Isfet and Ma'at built a complementary and also paradoxical dualism: one could not exist without its counterpart. Isfet and Ma'at balanced each other. Ma'at was to overcome isfet, "that which is difficult," "evil," "difficult," "disharmonious," and "troublesome." Isfet was to be overcome by good and to replace disunity with unity and disorder with order. An Egyptian king (pharaoh) was appointed to “achieve” Ma'at, which means that he had to keep and protect justice and harmony by destroying Isfet. A responsible kingship meant that Egypt would remain in prosperity and at peace of Ma'at. However, if Isfet were to rise, humanity would decay and return to a primordial state. Decay was unacceptable as a natural course of events, which meant that the world was separated from the cosmos and away from order. The universe was cyclical meaning it had repeated sequences: the daily sunsetting and its rising, annual seasons and flooding of the Nile. On the other hand, when Ma'at was absent, and isfet unleashed then the Nile flood failed and the country fell into famine. Therefore, Ancient Egyptians believed through their rituals of the cosmic order it would bring forth prosperity to the gods and goddesses who controlled the cosmos.The principles of the contrariness between Isfet and Ma'at are exemplified in a popular tale from the Middle Kingdom, called "the moaning of the Bedouin":Those who destroy the lie promote Ma'at;those who promote the good will erase the evil.As fullness casts out appetite,as clothes cover the nude andas heaven clears up after a storm.

In the eyes of the Egyptians the world was always ambiguous; the actions and judgments of a king were thought to simplify these principles in order to keep Ma'at by separating order from chaos or good from evil. Coffin Text 335a asserts the necessity of the dead being cleansed of Isfet in order to be reborn in the Duat.

Isfet is thought to be the product of an individual's free will rather than a primordial state of chaos. 

In mythology, this is represented by Apep being born from Ra's umbilical cord relatively late.
It was also believed that the physical representation of Isfet was through the god, Seth.

Role of the King

When the king made public appearances he was surrounded by images of foreigners which emphasized his role as protector of Ma'at and the enemy of isfet which were foreign enemies of Ancient Egypt. As such, the king is mainly shown 'smiting' foreigners to maintain Ma'at.

The king also maintained the Temple Cult to prevent isfet from spreading by ensuring the cults were performed at defined intervals which were necessary in preserving the balance of Ma'at against the threatening forces of isfet.

The Book of Caverns

The Book of Caverns appears to have originated in the Ramessid Period (the 20th Dynasty).

As an underworld book, it seems almost to emphasize that previous text had been too soft on those deceased who fail their judgment in the afterlife, while at the same time focusing also on the rewards of those who do. It is, in fact, one of our best sources on the ancient Egyptian concept of Hell.

The Osireion, a well known cenotaph of Seti I located at Abydos, along with his mortuary temple, has the first known version of The Book of Caverns that is nearly complete (having its upper register damaged.

 It is found directly across from the rendering of the Book of Gates within the entry corridor on the left wall. Hence, it appears to be a relatively late funerary text of the New Kingdom, not showing up at all until the 19th Dynasty, and not making it into the tombs within the Valley of the Kings until the following reigns. 

A deviated version of the final depictions are given a dominant position in the decorative theme of the sarcophagus chamber in the tombs of Merneptah (KV8), Tausert (KV14) and Ramesses III (KV11), so versions of this book may have also been inscribed on earlier gilded shrines around the sarcophagi.

 Unfortunately, these earlier shrines are lost to us, so that possibility may never be known.

In the third corridor of the tomb of Ramesses IV (KV2) in the Valley of the Kings, Ramesses IV employed the earliest versions of the first and second sections of The Book of Caverns, rather than the traditional Amduat passages, and then repeats these passages twice more in the room behind his sarcophagus chamber.

 By the reign of Ramesses VI (KV9), we find an almost complete version of the book, here as in the Osireion, opposite the Book of Gates in the front half of the tomb, though due to the limited wall space, some passages had to be continued on pillars and in the upper pillared hall as well. 

While in the tomb of Ramesses VII (KV1), we find a similar arrangement to that of Ramesses VI on the right wall, here only the first corridor is decorated, with a small excerpt from The Book of Caverns second section. 

Later though, in the Tomb of Ramesses IX (KV6), there were selections from the first four sections on the right wall of the first and second corridors.

 However, in the sarcophagus chamber we also find parts of the two remaining sections of the book.

Afterwards, bits and pieces of The Book of Caverns appears here and there, during various periods. 

For example, the first section and passages of the fourth section, along with the concluding representations were included on a 21st Dynasty papyrus of Nedjmet. 

There is also a Late Period version in the tomb of Petamenophis that has yielded otherwise missing parts of the text, and another Late Period version containing the first two sections of the book were inscribed on the Nilometer at Roda Island. Though used rarely on late sarcophagi, one example exists with the book's first two sections, along with parts of the Amduat and the Litany of Re.

Jean Francois Champollion apparently first described the version of the book in the tomb of Ramesses VI, and even provided some translations in his thirteenth letter he sent from Egypt. 

However, no scholars seemed particularly interested in the book until a century later when a second complete version was discovered in the Osireion. 

Henri Frankfort tried to compose the first translation of that text, assisted by Adriaan de Buck in 1933. However, it was not until the period between 1941 and 1646 that Alexandre Piankoff executed an edition of the text based on several versions which he translated into French. He also translated the text from the tomb of Ramesses VI into English in 1954. Not until 1972 was a version translated into German by Erik Hornung, and a synoptic edition of the text has never been published.

The name we give this text, The Book of Gates, is a modern invention based on the netherworld being divided into "caves" or actually "caverns" from the Egyptian "qerert", for no original title has ever been discovered. 

However, it should be noted that Piankoff translated qerert to mean "envelope" or "cocoon". Unlike the Amduat and the Book of Gates, this book is not divided up into regions of the night, though an attempt is made to follow the general divisions divided up between three registers. 

However, these registers often had to be staggered due to space limitations. In all, every version divides the two initial sections into five registers. We also end up with problems in the version of the book in the tombs of Ramesses VI and Ramesses IX, for apparently the initial design of these versions was meant for a left hand wall, but transposed on the right hand wall.

The Book of Caverns is divided into two halves by two large depictions of the ram headed sun god, and each half is further divided into three parts. Hence there are a total of six sections. The text of the first two sections of the book are separated from the representations, with the text placed after the representations, though this order is reversed in the version found in the tomb of Ramesses VII. Here, the sun god invokes the individual beings or groups of gods depicted in the representations within a long monologue. The remaining sections combine representations and captions, as well as a descriptive formula of the earlier books. Each section within the second half of The Book of Caverns is preceded by several litanies, with section five having a total of thirteen.

Like the Book of Gates, the Book of Caverns, with the exception of the final representation, divides the text into registers with further pictures. It should also be noted that it is more literary then previous funerary books of the New Kingdom, having a higher percentage of text to pictures. In section five, the depictions are of Nut and Osiris, with the image of Nut alluding to the theme of the Books of the Sky, which describes the nightly journey of the sun through the body of Nut.

The solar bargue is only found within the final representations. In sections three through six in which the damned and their punishment (occupying the lower registers) are not depicted, the individual scenes have a sun disk. The beings who are portrayed in the various caverns are often enclosed in ovals, while there are sarcophagi that enclose the bodies of gods and goddesses. In the single example found in the tomb of Ramesses VI, some two hundred remarks were added referring to the king.

The obvious theme of this book, like other such text, is the sun god's nightly passage through the netherworld. Interestingly, the distinction between Osiris and Re are clouded, and both actually seem to be viewed as attributes of a sole deity. A principle motif of the book is established primarily in section three. Here, Osiris, who is more prominent then in most prior funerary text, is encountered by Re as a corpse in his "coffer". In section four the god begins to regenerate. Less prominent is the battle with Apophis found in the Amduat and the Book of Gates.

First Section of the Book of Caverns

At the very beginning of the book, two vertical strips depict the solar disk and Re as a ram headed sun god. This is "Re who is in the sky", and his mission is to enter the primeval darkness in order to defend and and provide care to Osiris. Afterwards, depictions of section one are divided into five registers. The separate text is a monologue of Re directing various groups of entities. Here, the three snakes of the Duat's first cavern guard the cavern entrance. Re faces Osiris with his hand extended to him in the third register. We see Osiris within his shrine, protectively surrounded by a serpent, as are his followers inside their sarcophagi. In the bottom register, Osiris' enemies are shown beheaded though still guarded by another three serpents. They are to be punished in the "Place of Annihilation", an ancient Egyptian concept of Hell, as Re condemns them to nonexistence.

Second Section of the Book of Caverns

In section two, Re must reach the various gods and goddesses in their sarcophagi who are guarded by several serpents. He meets various forms of Osiris in the second register and beseeches them to "open their arms to me...receive me". In the third register, Re encounters Osiris in his coffer, which sits aside the ram and jackal headed posts of the sun god found also in the Book of Gates. Other forms of Osiris are encountered in the fourth register, while in the lowest register, we again find Osiris' enemies who are bound and beheaded. Some of these figures are depicted hanging head first with their hearts torn out. Once again, Re condemns them to nonexistence, sending them to the Place of Annihilation where their punishment is carried out by guards with knives. Now, Osiris is told by Re that he will enter the "cavern where Aker is".

Third Section of the Book of Caverns

Hence, in the third section, Re enters the cavern that contains Aker and finds the ithyphallic body of Osiris lying beneath Aker, an earth god. Here, in the first register, Osiris is depicted as the dead king in his sarcophagus, which is guarded by several serpents. After that scene we find depicted several figures with the heads of catfish. They are the helpers of Aker who we will encounter again, and represent the deepest and darkest regions of earth and water. In addition, Re also finds other manifestations of himself within sarcophagi, while the end of the register is filled with divine sarcophagi "in the cavern of Osiris-Khentamentiu".

In the middle register of the third section, we initially encounter Re once again in his manifestation as the Eldest One, who leans on a staff. He addresses four forms of Osiris as the "lords of the Duat". The center scene in this register depicts Aker as a double sphinx surrounded by the gods of the Ennead. The next scene seems to stress the unity of Re and Osiris, with the corpse of Osiris in his sarcophagus, along with a Ram's head, and the eye of Re in sarcophagi. Surrounding all of this is a ouroboros. Next, Osiris is once again shown surmounting a serpent as "the one who has become two".

In the lower register of section three, we once again encounter those who are in hell. In this case, the "enemies" are all upside down and some have been decapitated. Here, in the first two groups who are pleading for mercy, we find for the first time, female enemies. Now the wicked are in the primeval darkness of the Place of Annihilation, and by the end of the register, even their ba (souls) are upside down, and thus being punished. Interestingly, the ithyphallic corpse of Osiris is also here among the enemies, but the sun disk sits above him, and he is protected by a serpent.

Fourth Section of the Book of Caverns

The second half of the Book of Caverns begins with section four. Initially we find an erect serpent named Great One on His Belly, with the solar disk and the ram headed sun god to either side. Here, the opening text in vertical columns consists of three litanies praising the sun god, praising his beauty as he illuminates the region of darkness. Re faces Osiris and his followers and makes a number of promises. In the upper register, we first encounter Isis and Nephthys who lift the body of Osiris so that he may be resurrected. This is followed by a scene depicting Osiris being cared for by his two "sons", Anubis and Horus and following this, Osiris is portrayed as the Bull of the West, accompanies by Horus-Mekhentienirty, a mongoose (ichneumon) who is his son.

The second register of section four begins with Re, one more leaning on a staff, facing the three forms of Osiris. This is followed by a scene depicting Horus and Anubis protecting the double corpse of Osiris, and another scene where they stand in a pose symbolic of protecting Osiris and his ba.

In the lower register, we once again encounter the enemies in hell, who are found and standing on their heads, which this time have not been cut off. However, between them are the "annihilators in the Place of Annihilation,". In this initial scene, the punishing demon is Miuti, the "cat-formed one, from whose clutches there is no escape". We are told that there bodies have been robbed of their souls, and that they can neither see nor hear Ra.

Fifth Section of the Book of Caverns

At the beginning of the fifth section of the Book of Caverns, Tatenen, the litanies reveal a little known but important deity as both an earth god and the father of the gods, who rejuvenates the sun. The initial depictions portrays Nut, the goddess of the sky, who lifts the ram headed sun god and the solar disk on her upraised palms. She faces the three registers and is surrounded by motifs representing the course of the sun, including on one side a scarab pushing the solar disk, then a ram, a disk, a ram headed deity and a child, while on the other side, a series of crocodiles pushes a ram's head, a scarab, an utchat eye and a disk. There is also human headed, bearded serpents that rear up on either side of Nut. Her arms are stretched towards the heavens in order to receive the solar child. Here, Nut is called the Mysterious One and "she with the mysterious form.".

A part of the Fifth Section of the Book of Caverns

The upper register of section five begins with Osiris, whose hands are extended out to Re, along with four human headed serpents. In the next scene, we encounter a representation of Tatenen, who is propped up by the corpses of Atum and Khepri. Next, we find two sarcophagi, one of which encases the two manifestations of Re as a child.

In the middle register, initially we find represented the four falcon headed mummies who are forms of Horus, which is followed by Anubis in his role as guardian and a coffin containing the scepter of Atum, which embodies the creative power of the sun god, and therefore "created the netherworld and brought forth the realm of the dead". At the end of this register, we find four unknown goddesses in sarcophagi.

The bottom register of this section opens once again with the ancient Egyptian concept of Hell, where a female deity who carries two stakes in her hand is about to punish two bound prisoners who kneel before her. In the following two scenes the enemies are being punished in large cauldrons. We see in the first cauldron their heads and hearts (which the ancient Egyptians thought of more as the mind), and in the second we find the decapitated, bound, upside down enemies themselves. A uraei fans the flames beneath the cauldrons, which are being held above the fire by the "arms of the Place of Annihilation.

The three registers of section five are interrupted by an image of Osiris, once again depicted in his ithyphallic guise, together with his ba that is symbolized by a bird atop his head. He is guarded by a protective serpent. As the registers continue, we first find an oval containing the four "flesh" hieroglyphs which refer to the corpse of Osiris. His corpse is now cared for by the light and voice of Re. Below this, the goddess Tayt greets the sun god and Osiris, which is followed by a scene depicting the head of Re in its ram manifestation being adored by Osiris and Horus. Another cauldron, in the lower register, contains the flesh, the souls and the shadows of the enemies of Re and Osiris. Once again, the arms of the Place of Annihilation hold the cauldron which is being heated by two goddesses.

It should be noted that the shadow held important connotations to the ancient Egyptians. It was considered to be a major component of an individual, as well as a separate mode of existence. We find the mention of shadows mostly in funerary text such as this, with early references appearing in the Coffin Text of the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom.

Between section five and six, the final part of the Book of Caverns, there is a long text consisting of thirteen litanies which refer to the prior section (five). Here, Re addresses all the entities, including his enemies, portrayed in the section five. The sun god gazes upon his own corpse with the intent of effecting the resurrection of Osiris-Imenrenef, who is "he whose name is hidden".

Sixth Section of the Book of Caverns

The first scene in the upper register of part six depicts the funerary god, Anubis, caring for corpses ("the bodies which are in the earth") in their sarcophagi, which is followed by a second scene where Anubis tends to the sun god, who in his sarcophagus, is depicted as a ram with a falcon head. In the third scene, the sun god, in several manifestations is now being watched over by two goddesses, each of whom stand on the symbols for flesh. Here, he is presented with a ram's head, as a scarab and in his role as "he of the netherworld". In the final scenes of this register, Osiris-Orion leans over a mound containing a fettered and decapitated figure, followed by a god who prays before a falcon. Osiris is shown protecting Horus, his son, as well as the sun god who is within Horus.

In the middle register, initially we find a scene portraying a scarab beetle pushing the sun disk before it out from "between the two mysterious caverns of the West" (the mountains of sunrise). This cavern contains both Osiris and Re, who are met by four standing gods. Here, text addresses the rebirth of the god, which is heralded by the scarab. Yet, even now there remains a final threat, depicted as the great serpent encircling the solar beetle. This obstacle is overcome by the "two old and great gods in the Duat", who cut the serpent into pieces and place a spell upon it. While this serpent seems malicious, another represented in the third scene appears to regenerates Re, who emerges from the mound in a ram head manifestation, to sit upon the tomb of Tatenen. In a fourth scene, two sarcophagi holding falcon headed gods are encountered by Re, while in the next scene, he meets several gods who are headless. Re restores their head with his creative power.

The motif of the lowest register, consistently followed throughout the Book of Caverns, is once again present in this final part of the sixth section. Again, we find scenes of punishment in the place of Annihilation, where at first, goddesses wielding knives torture supine, beheaded figures with their heads set at their feet and who's hearts have been torn from their bodies. The accompanying text also explains that the soul and shadows of these enemies have also been punished. In the second scene, we encounter four bound female enemies who are guarded by two jackal headed goddesses. Re has condemned these enemies, once again, to the "Place of Annihilation, from which there is no escape". Next, four more headless, kneeling and bound enemies are guarded by a god and goddess, and finally in the last scene, the enemies are thrown head first into the depths of the Place of Annihilation, while Osiris rises out of the abyss.

A final representation after the sixth section of the Book of Caverns shows Re emerging from the "two mounds", which are each protected by a god. We also find the solar barque, towed out of the netherworld by twelve gods, while seven more rejoice to either side. While the boat is not yet completely revealed, we do see the ba, the scarab and the ram headed morning form of the sun god, and in front of the barque, we see a ram headed scarab beetle, along with the sun as a child. A symbolic representation of the route through the netherworld, consisting of two triangles, is sown leading to a large representation of the sun disk. The triangles each are half black (the netherworld) and half blue, representing water. In the end, we finally witness Re at the end of his nightly journey, entering the eastern mountains from where he will rise once more to provide light for the living world.