Mentuhotep (Treasurer)

Mentuhotep (treasurer) in hieroglyphics
Mentuhotep (Mentu hotep) Mnṯ.w ḥtp Month is satisfied

Mentuhotep was an ancient Egyptian treasurer who served under Sesostris I (after his 22nd year of reign).

General

Mentuhotep is known from a large number of monuments. In el-Lisht he had east of Sesotris-I.-pyramid a large Mastabagrab and Abydos a chapel in which a large stele was. Here he also bears the title of vizier , although it is controversial whether he was the incumbent vizier or only carried this title on account of honor. There are hardly any firmly dated objects with his name, but in the 22nd year of Sesostris I's reign a certain Sobekhotep held the office of treasurer, so that Mentuhotep is probably to be assigned afterwards. The location of his grave indicates that he did not officiate beforehand, as grave structures near the pyramid are only to be expected after the pyramid has been completed.

Statues of Mentuhotep from the Temple of Karnak

Various statues of him were found in the Amun temple in Karnak . From the inscriptions on his statues in Karnak, it can be concluded that he was the main architect of the Temple of Amun, which was to become the core of the great temple of the New Kingdom . Mentuhotep also seems to have rebuilt the Temple of Osiris in Abydos. The location of his tomb combined with his titles also suggests the possibility that he was the architect of the pyramid of Sesostris I.

It has been suggested that he was the author of various literary texts, especially the so-called loyalist doctrine .

The mastaba

The grave of Mentuhotep in el-Lisht is not well preserved, but was once one of the largest private structures in the local cemetery. The building stood directly east of the pyramid of Sesostris I, south of the access road. The mastaba was 14.14 x 29 m and probably had a courtyard decorated with columns. The walls were decorated with reliefs. Fragments of ten life-size statues were found. The entire structure was torn down by stone robbers, so that little can be said about the floor plan . The mastaba was surrounded by an adobe wall. It was 2.1–2.89 m thick and had the dimensions of approximately 32 × 45 m (on the outside). Inside the wall, south of the mastaba, there were eight rooms, probably for priests and the cult of the dead. In the north a shaft led to the underground rooms. In the burial chamber there were two sarcophagi , one of which was broken and never used, the other made of granite and in good condition. It is decorated on the outside with a palace facade and inside with coffin texts , device friezes and a list of victims.

See also

• Ancient Egyptian official and function titles

literature

• Dieter Arnold : Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht (= Publications of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Egyptian Expedition. Vol. 28). Yale University Press, New York NY et al. 2008, ISBN 978-1-58839-194-0 , pp. 38-50, panels 62-92 (publication of the Mastaba) ( online ).
• Detlef Franke : Personal data from the Middle Kingdom. (20th - 16th century BC). Dossiers 1–796 (= Egyptological treatises. Vol. 41). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1984, ISBN 3-447-02484-4 , pp. 183-183, no. 262.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Wolfram Grajetzki : The title "Head of all the king's work" or who were the pyramid architects in the Middle Kingdom? In: Sokar. Volume 14, 2007, p. 61.