Rehuerdjersen

Rehuerdjersen in hieroglyphics

Stele des Rehuerdjersen, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rehuerdjersen was an ancient Egyptian " treasurer " of the 12th dynasty . Rehuerdjersen is known from a stele from Abydos and from his mastaba tomb in El-Lisht . He was one of the highest civil servants and carried various important titles , including “member of the elite”, “first in action”, “royal sealer”, “only friend”, “head of the treasury”, “head of the royal apron” and his official title "Treasurer".

supporting documents

Dating the Rehuerdjersen is problematic. His grave was next to the pyramid of Amenemhet I , which is why he was considered its treasurer. Stylistically, however, his stele dates from under Amenemhet II , so that it has been assumed that he officiated under this ruler. Recent studies indicate that the style of the reliefs in the mastaba, which is attributed to him, under Amenemhat I must be recognized. Based on this evidence, it must either be assumed that there were two treasurers with this name, or that the stele was made in his honor after his death. A third option , however, is that the mastaba (grave 384) attributed to him did not belong to him at all. The reliefs described with his name were not found in, but scattered around this building and could theoretically come from another mastaba that had not yet been found.

The mastaba

The mastaba was excavated and published by a French expedition as early as 1894–1895 during an excavation campaign in El-Lisht , without it being able to be assigned to a specific owner. It was examined a second time by an American expedition in 1920-1921. The building is located west of the pyramid of Amenemhet I, within the outer enclosure wall. The actual mastaba was a massive structure about 13.5 × 9 m in size. The entrance to two cult rooms was on the south side. In the north, accessible via the roof of the mastaba, was the grave shaft, which leads more than 20 m deep, but was never excavated because of the groundwater. The interior of the building was decorated with reliefs. They show offer bearers, the grave lord on a boat in the papyrus thicket and the preparation of wine. Reliefs with the name of Rehuerdjersen were found scattered outside the grave and show him sitting or standing. These reliefs may have decorated the entrance to the tomb. The mastaba was surrounded by a massive brick wall. On the south side there were priestly apartments. Numerous grave shafts were found within the Mastaba district, some of which, however, can be dated much later.

literature

• Dieter Arnold : Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht. New York 2008, pp. 63-69, panels 115-128, ISBN 978-1-58839-194-0 .