Inventory stele

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The inventory stele

The inventory stele (also called the stele of the daughter of Cheops ) is a well-known ancient Egyptian artifact in the form of a decorated plaque . The tablet was discovered in Giza ( Egypt ) and is discussed among other things in protoscientific circles. Egyptologists and historians see the artifact as a forgery from the Saïten period .

discovery

The inventory stele was discovered in Giza in 1858 by the French archaeologist François Auguste Ferdinand Mariette . She was found during excavation work on the Isis Temple near the eastern flank of the Great Pyramid in the immediate vicinity of the Great Sphinx .

description

The original and actual size of the inventory stele is unknown as it was damaged when it was found. The manufacture of the stele can be traced back to the 26th Dynasty during the Saïten period around 670 BC. To be dated. The stele is made of polished granite and has extensive memorial and founding inscriptions. The inscription runs around a so-called appearance window on the top, left and right side, in which 22 gods are depicted, for each of which statues were made. These are said to have been in the possession of the temple. Attached, the dedication text in the appearance window contains a precise description of the statues of the gods, along with information on the material and size.

The main focus, however, is the founding inscription, which frames the apparition window and according to which the temple of Isis is said to have existed long before the pyramids were erected. The inscription describes how King ( Pharaoh ) Cheops found the Temple of Isis next to the Temple of the Sphinx and had it rebuilt. Then he had his pyramid built next to the temple and, at the end of the day, dedicated his own pyramid to the “king's daughter” Henutsen .

historicity

Egyptological evaluations

Egyptologists and historians see the inventory stele as a forgery from the Saïten period. The doubts about the authenticity are based primarily on anachronisms and blooms that can be found in the founding text. For example, King Cheops is called by his Horus name , Hor-Medjedu , although this was unusual in later times. Normally, deceased kings were addressed only (and exclusively) by their maiden name, which was framed by a royal cartouche . Next, an alleged "king's daughter" named Henutsen is mentioned. Although there is archaeological evidence of a lady of this name, it is unknown who her actual parents were and there is no evidence that she was the daughter of a pharaoh. In reality, Henutsen was a queen and also the wife of Cheops herself. Last but not least, scholars refer to the epithet of the goddess Isis: she is titled on the inventory stele as "Mistress of the pyramid". On the one hand, the name of the goddess first appeared after Cheops, under the rule of King Niuserre ( 5th dynasty ) in his solar sanctuary . Secondly, the title “Mistress of the Pyramid” has never been used for her. Apparently the creators of the memorial stele gave it this title.

According to Egyptologists, the stele was made by local priests at the Temple of Isis. The motive for this was probably a desire for recognition, the temple of Isis should be ascribed an age and a venerability that the temple never had. Such forgeries were made in order to secure political and public attention and more financial and economic donations for temples and similar institutions.

Protoscientific Interpretations

In protosciences , especially in ufology and pre-astronautics , the inventory stele is regularly used as an indication or even proof of the theory that the Sphinx of Giza and the Great Pyramid of Cheops must be much older than Egyptologists and historians would admit . The stele proves that Cheops only had the Sphinx and the pyramid uncovered in order to then claim the latter as a grave or cenotaph . The archaeological and Egyptological evaluations are repeatedly ignored.

literature

  • Margaret Bunson: Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt (= Facts-on-File Library of World History-series ). Infobase Publishing, New York 2014, ISBN 1-438-10997-0 .
  • Miroslav Verner : The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture, and Science of Egypt's Great Monuments . Grove Press, New York 2007, ISBN 0-802-19863-5 .
  • Peter Jánosi : The pyramids of the queens (= memoranda of the general academy, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Volume 13). Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-700-12207-1 .
  • Garrett G. Fagan: Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public . Routledge, London 2006, ISBN 0-415-30592-6 .
  • Sandra Sandri: Har-pa-chered (Harpokrates) (= Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. Volume 151). Peeters Publishers, Leuven 2006, ISBN 904291761X .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Margaret Bunson: Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. New York 2014, p. 181.
  2. a b c Miroslav Verner: The Pyramids ... New York 2007, p. 212.
  3. Sandra Sandri: Har-pa-chered (Harpocrates). Leuven 2006, p. 268.
  4. a b c d Peter Jánosi: The pyramids of the queens. Vienna 1996, pp. 11 & 125.
  5. ^ Garrett G. Fagan: Archaeological Fantasies. ... London 2006, pp. 111-112.