Queen Meresankh III was the daughter of

Hetepheres II Hetepheres II was a Queen of Ancient Egypt during the 4th Dynasty. Biography Birth and family Queen Hetepheres II may have been one of the longest-lived members of the royal family of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, which lasted from ca. 2723 ...

and Prince

Kawab Kawab is the name of an ancient Egyptian prince of the 4th Dynasty. He was the eldest son of King Khufu and Queen Meritites I. Kawab served as vizier and was buried in the double mastaba G 7110–7120 in the east field which is part of the Giz ...

and a granddaughter of the Egyptian pharaoh

Khufu Khufu or Cheops was an ancient Egyptian monarch who was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty, in the first half of the Old Kingdom period ( 26th century BC). Khufu succeeded his father Sneferu as king. He is generally accepted as having co ...

. She was the wife of King

Khafre Khafre (also read as Khafra and gr, Χεφρήν Khephren or Chephren) was an ancient Egyptian King (pharaoh) of the 4th Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. He was the son of Khufu and the successor of Djedefre. According to the ancient historia ...

. Hetepheres also provided her daughter with a black granite sarcophagus decorated with palace facades for Meresankh's burial. Her tomb was discovered by archeologist

George 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 Elizabeth ...

on April 23, 1927, with subsequent excavations undertaken by his team on behalf of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

. Her sarcophagus and skeleton are today located in the Cairo Museum; the latter reveals that she was 1.54 metres (5'1") tall and between 50–55 years at her death. An anthropological study suggested, that she might have suffered from bilateral

silent sinus syndrome Silent sinus syndrome is a spontaneous, asymptomatic collapse of an air sinus (usually the maxillary sinus and orbital floor) associated with negative sinus pressures. It can cause painless facial asymmetry, diplopia and enophthalmos. Diagnosis ...

. The tomb also contained a set of the earliest known

canopic jar Canopus (, ; grc-gre, Κάνωπος, ), also known as Canobus ( grc-gre, Κάνωβος, ), was an ancient Egyptian coastal town, located in the Nile Delta. Its site is in the eastern outskirts of modern-day Alexandria, around from the cente ...

s. A limestone statue depicting Queen Hetepheres embracing her late daughter Meresankh was found in her tomb and is today located in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.Dodson & Hilton, p.57

Meresankh III's children

The children of Meresankh and Khafre include: * Prince

Nebemakhet Nebemakhet was a king's son and a vizier during the 4th Dynasty. Nebemakhet was the son of King Khafre and Queen Meresankh III. He is shown in his mother's tomb and in his own tomb at Giza.Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Fami ...

Buried in Mastaba 8172. His titles include scribe of the (divine) book, elder of the snwt-house of his father, chief justice and vizier, hereditary prince, king's son of his body, chief lector-priest, khet-priest of the Great One, khet-priest of (?) Temp. Khephren to Menkaure or a little later. In the mastaba Duaenre, and Niuserre are mentioned. As well as a brother named Ankhemre. Nebemakhet's wife was named Nubhotep,

Prophetess of Hathor Priestess of Hathor or Prophetess of Hathor was the title of the Priestess of the goddess Hathor in the Temple of Dendera in Ancient Egypt. Title The title is known to be given during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, and was at that point very powerful ...

Mistress-of-the-Sycamore in all her places, etc. * Prince

Duaenre Duaenre was a vizier under Menkaure during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt. His titles include those of ''king's son of his body'' (''za-nesut-khetef, zꜣ-nswt- ẖt .f''), ''hereditary prince'' (''iri-pat, jrj-pꜥt''), ''count'' (''hati-a,'' '' ...

Mastaba G5110 Vizier of Menkaure. Possibly the father of vizier Babaef. * Prince Kenterka. Mentioned in Meresankh's tomb. Khenterka is assumed by some to be a son of Meresankh III. * Prince

Niuserre (A) Nyuserre Ini (also Niuserre Ini or Neuserre Ini; in Greek known as Rathurês, ''Ῥαθούρης'') was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He is credited with a reign of 24 to 35 ye ...

(Ny-user-Re-ankh (?) is mentioned in Meresankh's tomb) King's son of his body, Chief lector-priest of his father, Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt, etc. Middle to end of Dyn. IV. (Unfinished Rock cut tomb in central field) * Prince Ankhemre King's son of his body. Mentioned in the inner chapel of his brother Nebemakhet. * Princess Shepsetkau (mentioned in Nebemakhet's Mastaba).

References

External links

Virtual exploration of the mastaba of Meresankh III
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meresankh 03 Queens consort of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt 26th-century BC women 25th-century BC women Khafre