Wedjebten

Alabaster sacrificial plate of Queen Wedjebten
(the inscription shows the cartouche with the throne name Pepis II - Nefer-ka-Re / Nfr-k3-Rʿ )

Wedjebten , also spelled Udjebten , was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 6th Dynasty , i.e. the Old Kingdom . As the daughter of Pepis I (ruled approx. 2295-2250 BC), she was one of the three half-sisters and main consort of Pharaoh Pepi II (ruled approx. 2245-2180 BC), children, along with Neith and Iput from this marriage are not known.

tomb

Wedjeben's own small tomb complex with a queen pyramid was built directly on the southeast corner of the tomb complex Pepis II in south Sakkara and is similar in structure and equipment to those of the two other main wives of the king. The pyramid, which is almost completely destroyed today, has a side length of 23.9 m and was originally 25.6 m high; the walls of the burial chamber and probably also those of the access corridor were inscribed with pyramid texts .

The mortuary temple , which includes a modest vestibule, a small open courtyard and a chapel for the dead , is quite simple. Noteworthy, however, are the fine reliefs (depictions of the queen, scenes of slaughter, lion frieze) with which the walls of the chapel were decorated throughout, the beautiful limestone shining door and a large, inscribed sacrificial plate made of alabaster (see illustration).

The queen's grave complex also included a tiny cult pyramid (southeast of the queen's pyramid) and a second, outer courtyard in which there were residential and storage buildings (regular chambers and courtyards) made of bricks, as well as simple graves. Corresponding inscriptions (e.g. on the “Gate of Goods”) suggest that these small buildings within the secondary enclosure are the pyramid city of the queen, in which there is talk of a dynasty of Wedjebten priests.

literature

Michel Baud : Famille royale et pouvoir sous l'Ancien Empire égyptien. Tome 2 (= Bibliothèque d'Étude. Volume 126/2). Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Cairo 1999, ISBN 2-7247-0250-6 , pp. 440–441 ( PDF; 16.7 MB ).
Aidan Dodson , Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt . The American University in Cairo Press, London 2004, ISBN 977-424-878-3 , pp. 70-78.
Gustave Jéquier : La pyramide d'Oudjebten (= Fouilles à Saqqarah. ). Imprimerie de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale, Cairo 1928 ( online ).
Mark Lehner : Secret of the Pyramids . Bassermann, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-8094-1722-X , p. 163.
Rainer Stadelmann : The Egyptian pyramids. From brick construction to the wonder of the world (= cultural history of the ancient world . Volume 30). 3rd, updated and expanded edition. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1997, ISBN 3-8053-1142-7 , p. 202.
Miroslav Verner : The pyramids (= rororo non-fiction book. Volume 60890). Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-499-60890-1 , pp. 408-409.

personal data
SURNAME	Wedjebten
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Udjebten
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Queen of the ancient Egyptian 6th Dynasty
DATE OF BIRTH	23rd century BC BC or 22nd century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	23rd century BC BC or 22nd century BC Chr.