The Giza writing board (also named Giza king list) is an ancient Egyptian artefact created during the late

Fifth Dynasty The Fifth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty V) is often combined with Dynasties Third Dynasty of Egypt, III, Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, IV and Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, VI under the group title the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. The Fifth ...

( BCE) or early

Sixth Dynasty The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty VI), along with the Third, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt. Pharaohs Known pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty are listed in the table below. Manetho acc ...

( BCE). It was found in the burial place of a high official, Mesdjerw, and his wife, Hetep-neferet. The Giza writing board is also known today under the name ''Giza king list'', because it presents a short list of six

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...

s from different dynasties.Wolfgang Helck: ''Untersuchungen zur Thinitenzeit'' (= ''Ägyptologische Abhandlungen (ÄA) ''. Vol. 45). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987, . p. 117. Mesdjerw held the titles of ''Confidant of the king'', ''Inspector of the auditioners of the treasure house'' and ''Overseer of the gold storages''.Edward Brovarski: ''Two Old Kingdom writing boards from Giza.'' In: ''Annales du Service des Antiquités de l´Egypte No. 71''. Cairo 1987, p. 29 - 52.

Description

The Giza writing board was made of polished

cedar wood Cedar is part of the English common name of many trees and other plants, particularly those of the genus ''Cedrus''. Some botanical authorities consider the Old-World ''Cedrus'' the only "true cedars". Many other species worldwide with similarl ...

and

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...

. The original size of the board is unknown and cannot be reconstructed due to the damaged state of the artefact: the tablet was broken into pieces by grave robbers and the cedar wood has nearly completely decayed away. Originally, it was made of a thin, wooden board that was covered smoothly with white gypsum. It was inscribed with a vast and detailed list, written with red, green and black

ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thi ...

.William Stevenson Smith, William Kelly Simpson: ''The art and architecture of ancient Egypt.'' Penguin Books, London 1981, {{ISBN, 0140560149, S. 358 - 359.

Inscription

Overview

The list was divided into five "chapters", each separated by three thicker strokes. The first two chapters were meant to contain a text, but for unknown reasons, these remained empty. The third chapter contains 43 vertical columns. The first 4 columns contain the famous king list, with six names that are repeated verbatim in every column. Each king list ends with the word ''Ma'at'' (here with the meaning "justified"). The next 12 columns contain a list of deities, three different deity groups repeated four times each. The same goes for the remaining 27 columns, which list certain city names. However, the last city group is repeated only three times (which explains the uneven sum of 27 city columns altogether). The fourth "chapter" is divided into square compartments which contains the depictions of sacrificial birds. The fifth "chapter" is also divided into compartments, this time filled with depictions of sacrificial fishes.

King list

The famous king list contains the cartouche names of following kings (from top to bottom): *

Neferirkare Kakai Neferirkare Kakai (known in Greek as Nefercherês, Νεφερχέρης) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty. Neferirkare, the eldest son of Sahure with his consort Meretnebty, was known as Ranefer A before he ...

(

5th dynasty The Fifth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty V) is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and VI under the group title the Old Kingdom. The Fifth Dynasty pharaohs reigned for approximately 150 years, from the early 25th century BC until ...

). *

Sahure Sahure (also Sahura, meaning "He who is close to Re") was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the second ruler of the Fifth Dynasty (c. 2465 – c. 2325 BC). He reigned for about 13 years in the early 25th century BC during the Old Kingdom Period. ...

(also 5th dynasty). * Khafra (

4th dynasty The Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty IV) is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Dynasty IV lasted from to 2494 BC. It was a time of peace and prosperity as well as one during which trade with other ...

), builder of the second largest pyramid at Giza. *

Djedefra Djedefre (also known as Djedefra and Radjedef – Modern Greek: ) was an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the 4th Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. He is well known by the Hellenized form of his name Rhatoisēs (Ῥατοίσης) by Manetho. D ...

(also 4th dynasty), first pharaoh using the sun symbol in a royal cartouche. *

Teti Teti, less commonly known as Othoes, sometimes also Tata, Atat, or Athath in outdated sources, was the first king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt. He was buried at Saqqara. The exact length of his reign has been destroyed on the Turin King List bu ...

(

3rd dynasty The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty III) is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth, Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Fifth and Sixth Dynasty of ...

), commonly identified as ''Hor-Sekhemkhet''. * Bedjataw (

2nd dynasty The Second Dynasty of ancient Egypt (or Dynasty II, c. 2890 – c. 2686 BC) is the latter of the two dynasties of the Egyptian Archaic Period, when the seat of government was centred at Thinis. It is most known for its last ruler, ...

), commonly identified as king ''Hor-Hotepsekhemwy''. The list names the kings in reverse chronological order, with the earliest king being the last given. Each column ends with the phrase '' ma'a'', meaning "the justified", which was typical for honouring deceased kings. It may be possible that Mesdjerw participated in the mortuary cult for these kings. This would explain why it was important for him to mention and thus honour only these selected kings. The cartouche names ''Bedjataw'' (or ''Bedjaw'') and ''Teti'' are of special interest to Egyptologists. Indeed, the name "Bedjataw" is otherwise only known from the Abydos King List dating to the much later

New Kingdom New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

period. According to the position given to it on the list, the name "Teti" seems to designate a king who must have ruled before Djedefre and Khafre. A possible candidate for Teti is Hor-Sekhemkhet, whose

nebty name The Nebty name (also called the Two-Ladies-name) was one of the "ancient Egyptian royal titulary, great five names" used by Egyptian pharaohs. It was also one of the oldest royal titles. The modern term "Two-Ladies-name" is a simple derivation fro ...

is known from ivory stencils to have been ''Djeserteti''. Hence the Egyptologist Wolfgang Helck has proposed that "Teti" is Sekhemkhet.

List of deities

The list of deities comprises three fix groups of certain deities, each group is repeated four times, which results in twelve columns altogether. Every group comprises eight deities, there were once 24 gods listed. However, the writing board is heavily damaged in this section, many of the names are lost today. ;First group (from top to bottom): *

Seker Seker (; also spelled Sokar, and in Greek, Sokaris or Socharis) is a falcon god of the Memphite necropolis in the Ancient Egyptian religion. Name Although the meaning of his name remains uncertain, the Egyptians in the Pyramid Texts linked his ...

, god of the underworld. Worshipped since predynastic times. *

Nemty In Egyptian mythology, Nemty (Antaeus in Greek, but probably not connected to the Antaeus in Greek mythology) was a god whose worship centered at Antaeopolis in the northern part of Upper Egypt. Nemty's worship is quite ancient, dating from at l ...

, another underworld deity, also worshipped since predynastic times. *

Sopdu Sopdu (also rendered Septu or Sopedu) was a god of the sky and of eastern border regions in the religion of Ancient Egypt.Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). ''The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt''. Thames & Hudson. p. 211 He was Khensit's ...

, protector deity of foreign origin, often depicted with one or several captive(s). * ''destroyed''. *

Horus Horus or Heru, Hor, Har in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as god of kingship and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the P ...

, god of the sky, safety patron of the pharaohs. *

Geb Geb was the Egyptian god of the earth and a mythological member of the Ennead of Heliopolis. He could also be considered a father of snakes. It was believed in ancient Egypt that Geb's laughter created earthquakes and that he allowed crops to g ...

, earth deity. * Sak, crocodile god which is seldom mentioned and thus little known. *

Neith Neith ( grc-koi, Νηΐθ, a borrowing of the Demotic (Egyptian), Demotic form egy, nt, likely originally to have been nrt "she is the terrifying one"; Coptic language, Coptic: ⲛⲏⲓⲧ; also spelled Nit, Net, or Neit) was an early ancien ...

, goddess of war and hunting, worshipped since predynastic times. ;Second group (top to bottom): * ''destroyed''. * ''destroyed''. * ''destroyed''. *

Nekhbet Nekhbet (; also spelt Nekhebit) is an early predynastic local goddess in Egyptian mythology, who was the patron of the city of Nekheb (her name meaning ''of Nekheb''). Ultimately, she became the patron of Upper Egypt and one of the two patron dei ...

, throne goddess in shape of a vulture resting on a basket. *

Shezmu Shesmu (alternatively Schesmu and Shezmu) is an ancient Egyptian deity with a contradictory character. He was worshiped from the early Old Kingdom period.Pat Remler: ''Egyptian Mythology, A to Z''. Chelsea House, New York 2010, , p. 177-178. H ...

, seldom mentioned deity. He was the god of the wine, the gardeners and the dancers. A party god. * Qis, a deity of sumerian origin, worshipped since protodynastic times. He is shown holding two giraffes or lions in each hand. *

Selket Serket ( egy, , italics=no, translit=srqt) is the goddess of healing venomous stings and bites in Egyptian mythology, originally the deification of the scorpion. Her family life is unknown, but she is sometimes credited as the daughter of Neith ...

, goddess of protection and health. Her heraldic animal is the scorpion. *

Sobek Sobek (also called Sebek or Sobki, cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲕ, Souk) was an ancient Egyptian deity with a complex and elastic history and nature. He is associated with the Nile crocodile or the West African crocodile and is represented either in its f ...

, crocodile god of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

and the swamps. He evoked and controlled the yearly life-spending Nile inundation. ;Third group (top to bottom): * ''destroyed''. *

Min Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Amtrak ...

, god of potence and fertility. His idol is an erect phallus. He was worshipped since predynastic times. * Onuris, god of war and expeditions. He is shown in Asiatic wardrobes with knotted hair, yellow-ish skin and a long, lush beard. *

Seshat Seshat ( egy, sš3t, under various spellings) was the ancient Egyptian goddess of writing, wisdom, and knowledge. She was seen as a scribe and record keeper; her name means "female scribe". She is credited with inventing writing. She also bec ...

, goddess of building, founding and measuring. She was worshipped since Early dynastic period. * Osiris-Khontamenty, god of the underworld. He is the godlike judge of the court of the dead. *

Meret In Egyptian mythology, Meret (also spelled Mert) was a goddess who was strongly associated with rejoicing, such as singing and dancing. In myth Meret was a token wife occasionally given to Hapy, the god of the Nile. Her name being a reference ...

, seldom mentioned goddess of dancing, luck and joy. She is depicted standing on a gold collar and clapping her hands rhythmically. *

Kherty Kherty is an ancient Egyptian deity. Despite being archaeologically attested since the early 2nd Dynasty, his original mythological role during this era is unclear. Kherty was an Egyptian god of the Duat.Georg Meurer: ''Die Feinde des Königs i ...

, god of the underworld. He welcomes the deceased ones and guides them safely to the court of the dead. *

Anubis Anubis (; grc, Ἄνουβις), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian () is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depict ...

, jackal-headed god of grieve, mummification and burials. He was worshipped since Early dynastic times.

Domain list

The domain list comprises 28 cities and domains. Some of these domains are well known to Egyptologists, because their names were found in numerous Old Kingdom tombs throughout Giza (but also at

Saqqara Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. ...

). Others are devoted to certain gods, such as the cities ''Iret-Nemty'' ("where Nemty works") and ''Tefet-Khnum'' ("where they gather together for Khnum"). Another city, ''Tenmet afefi'' ("hill of the flies") is of particular interest, because it shows by far the earliest hieroglyph of a house fly.

Sacrifice lists

The first sacrifice list comprises six birds, most of them goose and duck species. However, despite the detailed and naturalistic drawings, it remains difficult to Egyptologists and

ornithologists __NOTOC__ This is a list of ornithologists who have articles, in alphabetical order by surname. See also :Ornithologists. A * John Abbot – US *Clinton Gilbert Abbott – US *William Louis Abbott – US * Joseph H. Acklen – US *Humayun Abdul ...

to identify some of the depicted species. The first bird can be identified as a

Sennar Sennar ( ar, سنار ') is a city on the Blue Nile in Sudan and possibly the capital of the state of Sennar. It remains publicly unclear whether Sennar or Singa is the capital of Sennar State. For several centuries it was the capital of the F ...

guineafowl Guineafowl (; sometimes called "pet speckled hens" or "original fowl") are birds of the family Numididae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds. Phylogenetically, they branched o ...

. This bird is known in hieroglyphic writings as ''Neh''-bird, its signs stands for "being attentive" or "being vigilant". The fourth bird might be a

greylag The greylag goose or graylag goose (''Anser anser'') is a species of large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae and the type species of the genus '' Anser''. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and pink legs. A ...

and the penultimate bird may be a pintail duck. The second sacrifice list comprises three species of fish, each species repeated twice (which makes a total sum of six fish depictions). The first species can be identified as a

Nile perch The Nile perch (''Lates niloticus''), also known as the African snook, Goliath perch, African barramundi , Goliath barramundi, Giant lates or the Victoria perch, is a species of freshwater fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is wid ...

, the second one is some kind of carp species. The third fish can be identified as a

Nile Tilapia The Nile tilapia (''Oreochromis niloticus'') is a species of tilapia, a cichlid fish native to the northern half of Africa and the Levante area, including Israel, and Lebanon. Numerous introduced populations exist outside its natural range. It i ...

Discovery

The writing board was found in 1904 by American Egyptologist

George Andrew Reisner George Andrew Reisner Jr. (November 5, 1867 – June 6, 1942) was an American archaeologist of Ancient Egypt, Nubia and Palestine. Biography Reisner was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His parents were George Andrew Reisner I and Mary Elizabet ...

in chamber "C" of Mesdjerw's tomb (

mastaba A mastaba (, or ), also mastabah, mastabat or pr- djt (meaning "house of stability", " house of eternity" or "eternal house" in Ancient Egyptian), is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inwar ...

''G-1011'') at

Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah'' arz, الجيزة ' ) is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 9.2 ...

. The tomb was badly damaged by grave robbers. Mesdjerw's name and titles were found on a loosened door jamb, the writing board was scattered across the sandy floor.

Function

The exact function of the Giza writing board remains unclear. In normal cases, royal scribes used such writing boards for calligraphic and dictional practices. Or they used them as blueprints for later relief decorations. However, the hieroglyphic design and the depictions of the animals on the Giza writing board are way too detailed and professionally exercised to be a simple blueprint or writing test. For this reasons, some scholars think it was possible that Mesdjerw created his writing board as some kind of notebook for the afterlife. Such things were similar to the offering stelae inside tomb chambers of royal officials, and their popularity grew during the New Kingdom period. Old Kingdom examples, however, are extremely rare, and in case of the Giza writing board unique in its design.

References

25th-century BC works 24th-century BC works 1904 archaeological discoveries Ancient Egyptian King lists Archaeological discoveries in Egypt