Boundary Stelae Of Akhentaten

272 Pages·1993·8.25 MB·English

by  Murnane

THE BOUNDARY STELAE
OF
AKHENATEN
STUDIES IN EGYPTOLOGY
EDITED BY ALAN B. LLOYD
PROFESSOR OFCLASSICS AND ANCIENTHISTORY,
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OFSWANSEA
EDITORIAL ADVISOR: GEOFFREY THORNDIKE MARTIN
EDWARDS PROFESSOR OFEGYPTOLOGY, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LONDON
THE EGYPTIANTEMPLE THEDUTIES OFTHE VIZIER
PATRICIA SPENCER G.P.F. VANDENBOORN
THE ADMINISTRATION OFEGYPT IN AGLOSSARY OFANCIENTEGYPTIAN
THEOLD KINGDOM NAUTICAL TITL.ES AND TERMS
NIGEL STRUDWICK DILWYNJONES
CORPUS OF RELIEFS OFTHE LAND TENUREIN THE
NEW KINGDOM FROMTHE RAMESSIDE PERIOD
MEMPHITE NECROPOLIS AND LOWER SALLYL.D. KATARY
EGYPTVOLUME 1
GEOFFREYTHORNDIKE MARTIN VALLEY OFTHE KINGS
C.N. REEVES
PROBLEMS AND PRIORITIES IN
EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY THECOBRA GODDESS OF
EDITED BYJANASSMANN, ANCIENTEGYPT
GUNTER BURKARDAND VIVIAN DAVIES SALLYB. JOHNSON
LOSTTOMBS A BIBLIOGRAPHYOFTHE AMARNA
LISEMANNICHE PERIOD AND ITS AFTERMATH
GEOFFREYTHORNDIKEMARTIN
DECORATION IN EGYPTIAN TOMBS
OFTHE OLD KINGDOM THEPRIVATECHAPEL
YVONNE HARPUR IN ANCIENTEGYPT
ANNH. BOMANN
UNTERSUCHUNGENZU
DEN TOTENBUCHPAPYRI DER 18. AKHENATEN'SSED-FESTIVAL
DYNASTIE AT KARNAK
IRMTRAUTMUNRO JOCELYNGOHARY
THE MONUMENTS OFSENENMUT AFTER TUT'ANKHAMUN
PETER F. DORMAN EDITED BYC.N. REEVES
THEFORTCEMETERY AT THEBOUNDARYSTELAEOF
HIERAKONPOLIS AKHENATEN
BARBARA ADAMS WILLIAMJ. MURNANEAND
THEBOUNDARYSTELAE
OF
AKHENATEN
WILLIAM J. MURNANE AND CHARLES C. VAN SICLEN III
~ ~~o~!~~n~~:up
LONDONAND NEWYORK
Firstpublishedin1993by
KeganPaulInternational
Thiseditionfirstpublishedin2011by
Routledge
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SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada
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©WilliamJ.MurnaneandCharlesC.VanSiclenIII, 1993
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ISBN10:0-7103-0464-1 (hbk)
ISBN13:978-0-7103-0464-3(hbk)
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In Memoriam
CHARLES FRANCIS NIMS
Mentor and Friend
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table ofContents. ... ................... .......... .... .. .. .... .. ... ... .. ......... vii
List ofPlates . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .ix
Preface xi
Chapter One. Discovery and Previous Studyofthe BoundaryStelae 1
ChapterTwo. The Earlier Proclamation 11
Bibliographyanddescriptions (pp. 11-18);paralleltexts (pp. 19-34);translation (pp.35-47);
commentary (pp. 47-68).
ChapterThree. The Later Proclamation ... ............ .... ... ... .. ... ... .. .. ......... 69
Bibliographyanddescriptions(pp.69-83);paralleltexts(pp.84-98);translation(pp.99-104);
commentary (pp. 104-109).
ChapterFour. Architectural Features ofthe BoundaryStelae 111
ChapterFive. The BoundaryStelae as Officialand Historical Documents 147
Parallels and historical significance (pp. 147-149); inscriptions, design ofand modifications
tothestelae:the chronologyofAkhenaten's reign(pp. 149-155);historyofthesite(pp. 155-
157); the developing design ofthe stelae and the demarcation ofthe boundaries (pp. 157-
162);thefixing ofthebordersinthetext(pp. 162-165);thedecreesashistoricaldocuments:
reasonsforsettlingatEI-Amarna(pp. 166-169);Akhenaten'sallegedself-exiletoEI-Amarna
(pp. 169-171); building plans for the city (pp. 171-175); the royal family in the boundary
stelae (pp. 175-178);ceremonialandpracticalregulationsinthe lowerparts ofStelaeK, M
and X (pp. 178-181); conclusions (pp. 181-182).
Appendix One. Fragments ofthe BoundaryStelae no longerinsitu 183
Appendix Two. Stelae L 193
AppendixThree. PrincipalTopics ofthe Inscriptions onthe Boundary Stelae 195
Endnotes 197
IndexofEgyptian Words and Phrases 225
vii
LIST OF PLATES
Frontispiece: Tablet ofStela A (photograph)
1. Map ofthe EI-Amarna region, with boundary stelae
2. Stela K, columns (collated drawing)
3. Stela K, lines 1-28 (collated drawing)
4. Stela K, lines 29-44, 74-80 (collated drawing)
5. Stela X, columns (collated drawing)
6. Stela X, lines 1-20 (collated drawing)
7. Stela X, lines 21-40 (collated drawing)
8. Stela X, lines 41-57 and 68-72 (collated drawing)
9. Stela M, top [=lunette and line 1] (drawing, from a tracing)
10. Stela M, lines 2-25 (drawing, from a tracing)
11. Stela M, lines 26-50 (drawing, from a tracing)
12. Stela M, lines 51-67 (drawing, from a tracing)
13. Stela F (sketched reconstruction, after Petrie)
14. StelaJ (sketch after Petrie)
15. Stela V (sketched reconstruction)
16. Stela L (drawing, from a tracing)
17. Stela A: (A) general view; (B) statues
18. Stela A: (A) lunette; (B) Princess Ankhesenaten
19. Stela B: (A) tablet with flanking statue groups, from south; (B) same, obliquely from the north
20. StelaB: (A) remains ofprincesses carved onto south side ofsouth altar; (B) right-hand group from
lunette
21. (A) Stela F: view ofterrain leading to site (from top ofhill);
(B) StelaJ: the tablet in 1984
22. StelaK: (A) tabletwith flanking statue groups; (B) princesses' figures at right side oflunette (from
Steindorffs photograph).
23. (A) sites ofStelae L (right) and M (left) at southern promontory; (B) the tablet ofStela N in 1984
24. Stela N: (A) and (B) statue head of Nefertiti [Aegyptisches Museum Leipzig 1114]; (C) statuary
fragments (bodyofprincess,andarmofroyalfigure); (D) detailofking's footfromgrouponwestside
ix
25. Stela P: (A) remains oftablet with flanking statue groups; (B) remains oflunette
26. StelaP: (A) fragment showingking's foot (fromlunette) above lines 1-2; (B) two fragments: from
lunette,textcolumntoleftofking's leg(right),andfrombottomofthetablet(left); (C) emplacement
for statuette ofthird princess (right), beside south statue group
27. Stela Q: (A) view ofsite takenfrom with northeast cornerin 1989, showingwrecked tablet flanked
by remains ofstatue groups; (B) emplacement for statuette ofthird princess, beside eastern statue
group; (C) fragment ofelder princess from western statue group
28. (A) site ofStela R, with tablet on south side ofniche (1989);
(B) site ofStela S, with tablet flanked by statue groups (1984)
29. Stela U: (A) view ofsite; (B) lunette
30. Stela U statue groups: (A) north side; (B) south side
31. (A) Stela V, view ofsite, with "Coptic" houses in front;
(B) Stela X: lunette
32. Stela X: (A) niche with tablet; (B) fragment with text from tablet
x
PREFACE
"Why a new edition ofAkhenaten's boundary stelae, which are already published?" The genesis of
this project arose, in fact, out ofa question which the authors asked ofthat earlier publication in 1983.
At that time, our direct acquaintance with these monuments was confined to Stela A, which is on the
normaltourist's itineraryinMiddleEgypt. Wewere alsoaware that, atmost oftheseboundarymarkers,
the tabletswere accompanied bystatues ofAkhenaten, Nefertiti and two oftheir daughters, all ofwhich
stood onlowplatforms thatwere raised above the levelofthe floor. What hadcaughtour attentionwas
that the statues at the site of Stela A were elevated to a greater degree than were the corresponding
statues at other sites (insofar as this could bejudged from published photographs). The evidence inthe
publicationindicated, moreover, that StelaA, alongwith StelaB (some two miles south)were the latest
ofthe boundarymonuments to be inscribed, since both concludedwith a "colophon", dated to the end of
Akhenaten's eighthregnalyear,addedtothestandardtextofthe"LaterProclamation"found ontheseand
otherstelae ofthisseries. DidStelaBthenalsosharetheunusualelevationofthestatues, hithertonoted
onlyatStelaA? Andwasthisfeature diagnosticofthecomparativelylatedateatwhichthesemonuments
were finished?
Theseanswerswerenottobefound, unfortunately,inthefifthvolumeofNormande GarisDavies'
The Rock Tombs ofEI-Amarna, which is the editioprinceps ofAkhenaten's boundary stelae. While the
layoutofStelaA(themostvisitedofthesemonuments)wasdocumentedwithseemingadequacy,thesame
could not be said for Stela B, or indeed for any ofthe other stelae. The descriptions supplied for each
of the sites were sketchy and (as it turned out when we visited them ourselves) significantly wrong in
several cases. It was clear that something more needed to be said, if only to compensate for these
insufficiencies ofthe published record.
Another surprise greeted us when, in addition to the architectural observations that were our first
concern in 1983, we checked a number of passages that remained obscure in Davies' copy of the
"colophon" texts on Stelae A and B. It was and is not our intention to defame an honorable publication
thathasservedEgyptologistsfor morethanthree-quartersofacentury. Evenso,itwasdisturbingtofind
that line divisions (onStelaBespecially) were unclear and occasionally incorrect inDavies' edition; and
that the published copies differed from the original texts in ways both great and small. Variations in
spelling and in the arrangement ofhieroglyphs were frequently encountered, as were omissions ofsigns
and errors in interpreting the original signs. One particularly striking divergence at the start of the
xi