Palermo stone

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Palermo stone
Annal Stone Fragment P1 , Petrie Museum , London

The Palermostein is one of the two larger fragments of the Annal Stone of the 5th Dynasty , which together with the Cairo Stone and other smaller pieces contained the names of the kings ( pharaohs ) from the predynastic period to the 5th Dynasty (2504 to 2347 BC). This section got its name from its current location in the Archaeological Regional Museum of Palermo , where it has been located since 1877.

description

→ Main article: Annal stone of the 5th dynasty

Former form

The original annal stone was a black diorite plate , the dimensions of which were probably 220 × 140 cm. For unknown reasons, the artifact has broken into several pieces, seven of which have been preserved so far. The two largest fragments are due to their venues "Palermo Stone" and " Cairo Stone called" a much smaller fragment ( P1 ; "London fragment" called) is in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archeology in London . There are also three other parts, which are referred to as "Cairo fragments".

Today's form

The Palermostein is approximately shield-shaped , approx. 43.5 cm high, approx. 25 cm wide and approx. 6.0 cm thick, the thickness of the stone being irregular. It is inscribed on both sides, with the inscription on the back being better preserved than on the front. It was applied directly to the stone with chalk .

labeling

The stone tablet is labeled on the front and back. The basic form of the division is clearly structured. The entries are made in the horizontal direction and are read from right to left. They are by the Jahreshieroglyphe Renpet ( Gardiner character M4; a bald Palmrispe ) (the "Annual Event Fields" or "Event Fields") in small fields divided. The number of fields corresponds to the number of years since the unification of the empire . Not every row contained the same number of annual fields, as the individual rulers ruled for different lengths of time. The first broad line is followed by two narrow rows. The fourth line is made wider again with extended entries; from the fifth row higher. Then the lines grow to their monumental shape on the opposite side.

The names of predynastic rulers are entered in the top line . This includes all kings of the 1st to 4th dynasties . The names of Horus , throne names , gold names and cartouche names of the rulers, as well as the names of the respective royal mother , are noted in the free lines that separate the tables . The name bandaroles of the kings are always positioned in such a way that they are exactly in the middle above the corresponding table. The most important annual events are listed directly below from right to left in narrow windows. These included religious and cultic festivals such as the Escort of Horus and the Sedfest , political and economic events such as the cattle count or military campaigns against foreign peoples (e.g. the Iuntiu and Setjet ), the creation (“births”) of statues of gods and kings as well as the Establishment of temples , domains and cities. The current annual status of the Nile flood is shown in a very thin extra line under each window .

The tables of rulers always end with an indication of the calendar year in which the king died. The year counting for the successor king does not start with the takeover of government, but only names the year in which the respective king ascended the throne (so-called coronation year ). The Egyptian administrative calendar was chosen as the calendar form, the beginning of which always began with the 1st Achet I in the Egyptian season "flood" . The entire front of the former memorial plaque is built according to this principle. The back is dedicated to the kings of the 5th Dynasty. The Palermo stone and the Cairo stone are the two largest fragments and are still the subject of research today.

Received royal names

On the front of the Palermostein the entries for the following kings ( pharaohs ) can be read:

On the back of the Palermostein the entries for the following rulers are preserved:

  • Huni King (Pharaoh) of the 3rd Dynasty (Old Kingdom)
  • Sheepseskaf King (Pharaoh) of the 4th Dynasty (Old Kingdom)
  • Userkaf King (Pharaoh) of the 5th Dynasty (Old Kingdom)
  • Sahure King (Pharaoh) of the 5th Dynasty (Old Kingdom)
  • Neferirkare King (Pharaoh) of the 5th Dynasty (Old Kingdom)

See also

literature

  • Heinrich Schäfer : A fragment of ancient Egyptian annals (= treatises of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences. Appendix: treatises not belonging to the academy of scholars. Philosophical and historical treatises. 1902, 1, ZDB -ID 221471-4 ). With contributions by Ludwig Borchardt and Kurt Sethe . Publishing house of the Royal Academy of Sciences, Berlin 1902, pp. 32–33, online .
  • Toby AH Wilkinson: Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt - The Palermo stone and its associated fragments. Routledge, London 2012, ISBN 1-136-60247-X .

Web links

Commons : Palermostein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e Toby AH Wilkinson: Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt. London 2012, pp. 18-21.
  2. ^ Siegfried Schott: Ancient Egyptian festival dates. Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz / Wiesbaden 1950, pp. 52–53.
  3. ^ Siegfried Schott: Ancient Egyptian festival dates. Mainz / Wiesbaden 1950, p. 53.