Neferefre Isi (; also known as Raneferef, Ranefer and in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
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**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
as , ) was an
ancient Egyptian
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 ...
of the
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 ...
during the
Old Kingdom
In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...
period. He was most likely the eldest son of pharaoh
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 ...
and queen
Khentkaus II
Khentkaus II ( 2475 BC – 2445 BC) was a royal woman who lived in Ancient Egypt. She was a wife of Egyptian king Neferirkare Kakai of the Fifth Dynasty. She was the mother of two kings, Neferefre and Nyuserre Ini.Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton, The ...
. He was known as prince Ranefer before he ascended to the throne.
Neferefre started
a pyramid for himself in the royal necropolis of
Abusir
Abusir ( ar, ابو صير ; Egyptian ''pr wsjr'' cop, ⲃⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲓ ' "the House or Temple of Osiris"; grc, Βούσιρις) is the name given to an Egyptian archaeological locality – specifically, an extensive necropolis of ...
called ''Netjeribau Raneferef'', which means "The
bas
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* Bas (rapper) (born 1987)
Chemistry
* Boron arsenide (BAs), a chemical compound
* Barium sulfide (BAs), a chemical compound
Other uses
* ''bas'' (French for "low"), as in bas- ...
of Neferefre are divine". The pyramid was never finished, with a mason's inscription showing that works on the stone structure were abandoned during or shortly after the king's second year of reign. Together with the sparsity of attestations contemporaneous with his reign, this is taken by Egyptologists as evidence that Neferefre died unexpectedly after two to three years on the throne. Neferefre was nonetheless buried in his pyramid, hastily completed in the form of a
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 ...
by his second successor and presumably younger brother, pharaoh
Nyuserre Ini
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 ...
. Fragments of his mummy were uncovered there, showing that he died in his early twenties.
Little is known of Neferefre's activities beyond laying the foundations of his pyramid and attempting to finish that of his father. A single text shows that Neferefre had planned or just started to build a sun temple called ''Hotep-Re'', meaning "Ra is content" or "Ra's offering table", which possibly never functioned as such given the brevity of the king's reign. After his death, Neferefre might have been succeeded by an ephemeral and little-known pharaoh,
Shepseskare
Shepseskare or Shepseskara (Ancient Egyptian language, Egyptian for "Noble is the Soul of Ra") was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the fourth or fifth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Fifth Dynasty (2494–2345 BC) during the Old Kingdom of Eg ...
, whose relation with Neferefre remains highly uncertain and debated.
Sources
Contemporaneous
There are very few archaeological sources contemporaneous with Neferefre, a fact which is now seen by Egyptologists, including
Miroslav Verner
Miroslav Verner (born October 31, 1941 in Brno) is a Czech egyptologist, who specializes in the history and archaeology of Ancient Egypt of the Old Kingdom and especially of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt.
Biography
Verner was the director of the ...
, to imply a very short reign. Verner knew of only one inscription dated to his rule. It was left by the builders of his pyramid on a corner block at the end of the corridor leading to the pyramid substructures. The inscription was written on the fourth day of the
Akhet season in the year of first occurrence of the
cattle count In ancient Egypt, the cattle count was one of the two main means of evaluating the amount of taxes to be levied, the other one being the height of the annual inundation. A very important economic event, the cattle count was controlled by high offic ...
, an event consisting of counting the livestock throughout the country to evaluate the amount of taxes to be levied. It is traditionally believed that such counts occurred every two years during the Old Kingdom although recent reappraisals have led Egyptologists to posit a less regular and somewhat more frequent count. Therefore, the inscription must refer to Neferefre's first or second year on the throne, and his third year at the very latest. Finally, a few artefacts dated to Neferefre's rule or shortly after have been uncovered in his mortuary complex and elsewhere in
Abusir
Abusir ( ar, ابو صير ; Egyptian ''pr wsjr'' cop, ⲃⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲓ ' "the House or Temple of Osiris"; grc, Βούσιρις) is the name given to an Egyptian archaeological locality – specifically, an extensive necropolis of ...
, such as clay seals bearing his
Horus name
The Horus name is the oldest known and used crest of ancient Egyptian rulers. It belongs to the " great five names" of an Egyptian pharaoh. However, modern Egyptologists and linguists are starting to prefer the more neutral term: the "serekh nam ...
.
Some of the
Abusir Papyri
The Abusir Papyri are the largest papyrus findings to date from the Old Kingdom in ancient Egypt. The first papyri were discovered in 1893 at Abu Gorab near Abusir in northern Egypt. Their origins are dated to around the 24th century BC during ...
discovered in Khentkhaus II's temple and dating to the mid- to late Fifth Dynasty mention the mortuary temple and
funerary cult
A funerary cult is a body of religious teaching and practice centered on the veneration of the dead, in which the living are thought to be able to confer benefits on the dead in the afterlife or to appease their otherwise wrathful ghosts. Rituals w ...
of Neferefre. They constitute a written source near-contemporaneous with his reign, which not only confirmed the existence of Neferefre's pyramid complex at a time when it had not yet been identified, but also gives details regarding the
administrative
Administration may refer to:
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* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...
organisation and importance of the funerary cult of the king in Ancient Egyptian society.
Historical
![Abydos KL 05-04 n29](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Abydos_KL_05-04_n29.jpg)
Neferefre is present on several Ancient Egyptian king lists, all dating to the
New Kingdom period. The earliest such list mentioning Neferefre is the
Abydos King List, written during the reign of
Seti I
Menmaatre Seti I (or Sethos I in Greek) was the second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom period, ruling c.1294 or 1290 BC to 1279 BC. He was the son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II.
The ...
(
fl.
''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
1290–1279 BC), and where his
prenomen
The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the bi ...
occupies the 29th entry, between those of Neferirkare Kakai and Nyuserre Ini. During the subsequent reign of
Ramses II
Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded as t ...
(fl. 1279–1213 BC), Neferefre appears on the
Saqqara Tablet The Saqqara Tablet, now in the Egyptian Museum, is an ancient stone engraving surviving from the Ramesside Period of Egypt which features a list of pharaohs. It was found in 1861 in Saqqara, in the tomb of Tjuneroy (or Tjenry), an official ("chief l ...
, this time after Shepseskare, that is as a second successor to Neferirkare Kakai. Owing to a scribal error, Neferefre's name on this list is given as "Khanefere" or "Neferkhare".
Neferefre's prenomen was in all probability also given on the
Turin canon The Turin King List, also known as the Turin Royal Canon, is an ancient Egyptian hieratic papyrus thought to date from the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II, now in the Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum) in Turin. The papyrus is the most extensive list av ...
(third column, 21st row), which dates to the same period as the Saqqara tablet, but it has since been lost in a large
lacuna
Lacuna (plural lacunas or lacunae) may refer to:
Related to the meaning "gap"
* Lacuna (manuscripts), a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or musical work
**Great Lacuna, a lacuna of eight leaves where there was heroic Old Norse po ...
affecting the document. Nonetheless, the part of the reign length attributed to Neferefre by the canon is still legible, with a single stroke sign indicating one year of reign to which a decade could in principle be added, as the corresponding sign would be effectively lost in the lacuna of the document.
Neferefre was also likely mentioned in the ''
Aegyptiaca
Manetho (; grc-koi, Μανέθων ''Manéthōn'', ''gen''.: Μανέθωνος) is believed to have been an Egyptian priest from Sebennytos ( cop, Ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ, translit=Čemnouti) who lived in the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the early third ...
'', a history of Egypt written in the 3rd century BC during the reign of
Ptolemy II
; egy, Userkanaenre Meryamun Clayton (2006) p. 208
, predecessor = Ptolemy I
, successor = Ptolemy III
, horus = ''ḥwnw-ḳni'Khunuqeni''The brave youth
, nebty = ''wr-pḥtj'Urpekhti''Great of strength
, gol ...
(283–246 BC) by the Egyptian priest
Manetho
Manetho (; grc-koi, Μανέθων ''Manéthōn'', ''gen''.: Μανέθωνος) is believed to have been an Egyptian priest from Sebennytos ( cop, Ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ, translit=Čemnouti) who lived in the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the early third ...
. No copies of the ''Aegyptiaca'' have survived to this day and it is now known only through later writings by
Sextus Julius Africanus
Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 160 – c. 240; Greek: Σέξτος Ἰούλιος ὁ Ἀφρικανός or ὁ Λίβυς) was a Christian traveler and historian of the late second and early third centuries. He is important chiefly because o ...
and
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...
. Africanus relates that the ''Aegyptiaca'' mentioned the succession "Nefercherês → Sisirês → Cherês" for the mid-Fifth Dynasty. Nefercherês, Sisirês and Cherês are believed to be the
hellenized
Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in the ...
forms for Neferirkare, Shepseskare and Neferkhare (that is Neferefre), respectively. Thus, Manetho's reconstruction of the Fifth Dynasty is in good agreement with the Saqqara tablet. In Africanus'
epitome
An epitome (; gr, ἐπιτομή, from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "t ...
of the ''Aegyptiaca'', Cherês is reported to have reigned for 20 years.
Family
Parents and siblings
![Menkauhor CG 40](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Menkauhor_CG_40.jpg)
Neferefre was, in all likelihood, the eldest son of his predecessor pharaoh
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 ...
with queen
Khentkaus II
Khentkaus II ( 2475 BC – 2445 BC) was a royal woman who lived in Ancient Egypt. She was a wife of Egyptian king Neferirkare Kakai of the Fifth Dynasty. She was the mother of two kings, Neferefre and Nyuserre Ini.Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton, The ...
.
This is shown by a relief on a limestone slab discovered in a house in the village near Abusir and depicting Neferirkare and his wife Khentkaus with "the king's eldest son Ranefer", a name identical with some variants of Neferefre's own. This indicates that Ranefer was Neferefre's name when he was still only a
crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
, that is, before his accession to the throne.
Neferirkare and Khentkaus had at least another son, the future king
Nyuserre Ini
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 ...
. In addition, since the relation between Shepseskare and Neferefre remains uncertain, it is possible that the two were brothers too, as suggested by the Egyptologist Silke Roth, although other hypotheses on the matter have been proposed: Verner sees Shepseskare as a son of Sahure and hence Neferefre's uncle, while Jaromír Krejčí believes Shepseskare was Neferefre's son.
Finally, yet another brother, possibly younger than both Neferefre and Nyuserre has also been proposed: Iryenre, a prince ''
iry-pat
Iry-pat ( egy, jrj-pꜥt "member of the elite") was an ancient Egyptian ranking title, that is a title announcing a high position in the hierarchy of the country. Iry-pat was indeed the highest ranking title at the royal court, and only the mos ...
'' whose
filiation
Filiation is the legal term for the recognized legal status of the relationship between family members, or more specifically the legal relationship between parent and child. As described by the Government of Quebec:
Filiation is the relationship ...
is suggested by the fact that his funerary cult was associated with that of his mother, both having taken place in the temple of Khentkaus II.
Consort and children
Until 2014, no consort of Neferefre was known. Late in that year, the
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 ...
of
Khentkaus III
Khentkaus III, often called Khentakawess III by news media, was an ancient Egyptian queen who lived during the Fifth Dynasty, around 2450 BC.
Khentkaus was very likely a daughter of king Neferirkare Kakai and queen Khentkaus II, while her husba ...
was discovered by archaeologists from the
Czech Institute of Egyptology
Czech may refer to:
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** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
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** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
*Czech, ...
working in Abusir, south east of Neferefre's pyramid. The location and date of the tomb as well as inscriptions found in it strongly suggest that Khentkaus III was Neferefre's queen. Indeed, not only was Khentkaus III presumably buried during the few decades following Neferefre's reign, but her mastaba is also in close proximity to his pyramid, and she bore the title of "king's wife", proving that she was a queen.
In addition, Khentkaus III was also called "king's mother" by inscriptions in her tomb, indicating that her son had become pharaoh. Since Neferefre's second successor Nyuserre Ini is known to have been his brother rather than his son, and since Khentkaus III might have been buried during Nyuserre's reign, as indicated by mud seals, this only leaves either Neferefre's ephemeral successor
Shepseskare
Shepseskare or Shepseskara (Ancient Egyptian language, Egyptian for "Noble is the Soul of Ra") was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the fourth or fifth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Fifth Dynasty (2494–2345 BC) during the Old Kingdom of Eg ...
or Nyuserre's successor
Menkauhor Kaiu
Menkauhor Kaiu (also known as Ikauhor and in Greek as Mencherês, Μεγχερῆς) was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom period. He was the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynasty at the end of the 25th century BC or early in the 24 ...
as possibilities. There is an ongoing debate in Egyptology concerning these two alternatives. Verner posits that Shepseskare was an uncle of Neferefre and therefore that Menkauhor Kaiu was Neferefre's son. Meanwhile, Krejčí views the opposite hypothesis, that Shepseskare was Neferefre's son with Khentkaus III, as more probable.
Two further sons of Neferefre and Khentkaus III have been proposed by Verner: the "king's son" Nakhtsare, whose filiation is supported by the general date and location of his tomb, and Kakaibaef, a member of the elite buried in Abusir. Krejčí notes the lack of the titular "king's son" in relation to Kakaibaef, thereby emphasizing the conjectural nature of Verner's assertion.
Reign
Accession to the throne
![Shepseskare Cylinder Seal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Shepseskare_Cylinder_Seal.png)
Two competing hypotheses exist in Egyptology to describe the succession of events running from the death of Neferirkare Kakai, third king of the Fifth Dynasty, to the coronation of Nyuserre Ini, sixth ruler of the dynasty. Relying on historical sources, most notably the Saqqara king list and Manetho's ''Aegyptiaca'', where Neferefre is said to have succeeded Shepseskare, many Egyptologists such as
Jürgen von Beckerath
Jürgen von Beckerath (19 February 1920, Hanover – 26 June 2016, Schlehdorf) was a German Egyptologist. He was a prolific writer who published countless articles in journals such as '' Orientalia'', ''Göttinger Miszellen'' (GM), ''Journal of t ...
and
Hartwig Altenmüller
Hartwig Altenmüller Hamburg University biography (in German) (born 1938, in Saulgau, Württemberg, Germany) is a German Egyptologist. He became professor at the Archaeological Institute of the University of Hamburg in 1971. He worked as an archa ...
have traditionally believed that the following royal succession took place: Neferirkare Kakai → Shepseskare → Neferefre Isi → Nyuserre Ini. In this scenario, Neferefre would be the father of Nyuserre, who would have become pharaoh after the former's unexpected death.
This view was challenged at the turn of the millennium, most notably by Verner, who has been responsible for the archaeological excavations of the Fifth Dynasty royal necropolis of Abusir since 1976. Firstly, there is the relief, mentioned earlier, showing that Neferefre was in all likelihood Neferirkare's eldest son.
Secondly, excavations of Neferefre's pyramid have yielded his mummy, which showed that he was 18 to 20 years of age at the death of Neferirkare. Consequently, as the previous king's eldest son, in his late teens to early twenties, Neferefre was in optimal position to ascend the throne. Positing that Shepseskare reigned between Neferefre and his father would thus require an explanation as to why and how Shepseskare's claim to the throne could have been stronger than Neferefre's.
![Abusir map 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Abusir_map_2.png)
Thirdly, archaeological evidences indicate that Shepseskare most likely reigned for only a few weeks to a few months at the most rather than seven years as credited to him in the ''Aegyptiaca'', a hypothesis already supported by Nicolas Grimal as early as 1988.
Indeed, Shepseskare is the least known Fifth Dynasty king, with only two seals and a few seal impressions bearing his name known as of 2017, a paucity of attestations suggesting a very short reign. This is also supported by the state of Shepseskare's unfinished pyramid, which "was interrupted
ndcorresponds to the work of several weeks, perhaps no more than one or two months".
Fourthly, archaeological evidence also favors dating Shepseskare's reign to after Neferefre's. Some of the few seal impressions bearing Shepseskare's name have been discovered in the oldest part of Neferefre's mortuary temple, which was not built until Neferefre's death. This seems to indicate that Shepseskare made offerings for the funerary cult of Neferefre, who must therefore have reigned before him. Another argument concerns the alignment of pyramids of
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. ...
,
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 ...
and
Neferefre
Neferefre Isi (; also known as Raneferef, Ranefer and in Ancient Greek, Greek as , ) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt, Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He was most likely the eldest son of pharaoh Nefe ...
: they form a line pointing to
Heliopolis, just as the three
pyramids of Giza
The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...
do. In contrast, Shepseskare's unfinished pyramid does not fall on the line to Heliopolis, which strongly suggests that Neferefre's pyramid had already been in place when Shepseskare started to build his. Lastly, while Shepseskare is noted as the immediate predecessor of Neferefre in the Saqqara king list, Verner notes that "this slight discrepancy can be attributed to the
oliticaldisorders of the time and its dynastic disputes." Verner's arguments have convinced a number of Egyptologists, including Darrell Baker,
Erik Hornung and
Iorwerth Edwards.
Reign duration
![Neferefre 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Neferefre_2.jpg)
While Neferefre is given a reign of some 20 years in epitomes of
Manetho
Manetho (; grc-koi, Μανέθων ''Manéthōn'', ''gen''.: Μανέθωνος) is believed to have been an Egyptian priest from Sebennytos ( cop, Ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ, translit=Čemnouti) who lived in the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the early third ...
's ''Aegyptiaca'', the current academic view is that this number is an overestimation of his true reign length, which must have been significantly shorter. Before the results of the extensive excavations in Abusir were fully published, Egyptologists following the traditional succession hypothesis credited Neferefre with around a decade of rule, based on the paucity of attestations contemporaneous with his reign. For example, von Beckerath and Winfried Barta gave him 11 and 10 years on the throne, respectively. This view now has few supporters.
Indeed, since then, Verner has set forth the hypothesis of a reign of no more than two years. His conclusion is based on archaeological evidence: the unfinished state of his intended pyramid, and the general paucity of documents datable to his rule. Verner writes that:
The shape of the tomb of Neferefra...as well as a number of other archaeological finds clearly indicate that the construction of the king's funerary monument was interrupted, owing to the unexpected early death of the king. The plan of the unfinished building had to be basically changed and a decision was taken to hastily convert the unfinished pyramid, (of which only the incomplete lowest step of the core was built), into a "square-shaped mastaba" or, more precisely, a stylized primeval hill. At the moment of the king's death neither the burial apartment was built, nor was the foundation of the mortuary temple laid.
Furthermore, two historical sources conform with the hypothesis of a short reign: the mason's inscription in Neferefre's pyramid was discovered "at about two thirds of the height of the extant core of the monument" and probably refers to Neferefre's first or second year on the throne; and the Turin canon which credits Neferefre with less than two full years of reign. The combination of archaeological and historical evidence led to the consensus that Neferefre's reign lasted "not longer than about two years".
Building activities
Pyramid complex
Pyramid
Neferefre started the construction of a pyramid for himself in the royal necropolis of Abusir, where his father and grandfather had built their own pyramids. It was known to the Ancient Egyptians as ''Netjeribau Raneferef'' meaning "The
bas
Bas may refer to:
People
* Bas (name), a given name and a surname
* Bas (rapper) (born 1987)
Chemistry
* Boron arsenide (BAs), a chemical compound
* Barium sulfide (BAs), a chemical compound
Other uses
* ''bas'' (French for "low"), as in bas- ...
of Neferefre are divine".
Planned with a square base of , the pyramid of Neferefre was to be larger than those of Userkaf and Sahure, but smaller than that of his father Neferirkare. Upon the unexpected death of Neferefre, only its lower courses had been completed, reaching a height of c. . Subsequently, Nyuserre hastily completed the monument by filling its central part with poor quality limestone, mortar and sand. The external walls of the building were given a smooth and nearly vertical covering of gray limestone at an angle of 78° with the ground so as to give it the form of a mastaba, albeit with a square plan rather than with the usual rectangular shape. Finally, the roof terrace was covered with clay into which local desert gravels were pressed, giving it the appearance of a mound in the surrounding desert, and indeed it was by the name "the Mound" that the monument was subsequently called by the Ancient Egyptians. Verner has proposed that the monument was completed this way so as to give it the form of the
primeval mound, the mound that arose from the
primordial waters
Nu in the
creation myth
A creation myth (or cosmogonic myth) is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop ...
of the
Heliopolitan form of
Ancient Egyptian religion
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with many deities believed to be present in, and in control ...
.
The monument was used as a stone quarry from the New Kingdom period onwards, but was later preserved from further damages as its appearance of a rough unfinished and abandoned pyramid did not attract the attention of tomb robbers.
Mortuary temple
Works on the mortuary temple in which the funerary cult of the deceased king was to take place had not even started when Neferefe died. In the short 70-day period allowed between a king's death and his burial, Neferefre's successor—possibly the ephemeral Shepseskare—built a small limestone chapel. It was located on the pyramid base platform, in the gap left between the masonry and the platform edge, where the pyramid casing would have been put in the original plans. This small chapel was completed during Nyuserre's reign. This pharaoh also built a larger mortuary temple for his brother Neferefre, extending over the whole length of the pyramid side but built of cheaper
mudbrick
A mudbrick or mud-brick is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE, though since 4000 BCE, bricks have also bee ...
.
![Abousir Neferefre 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Abousir_Neferefre_01.jpg)
The temple entrance comprised a courtyard adorned with two stone and 24 wooden columns. Behind was the earliest
hypostyle hall
In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns.
Etymology
The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or un ...
of Ancient Egypt the remains of which can still be detected, its roof supported by wooden columns in the shape of lotus-clusters resting on limestone bases. This hall was possibly inspired by the royal palaces of the time. The structure housed a large wooden statue of the king as well as statues of prisoners of war. Storage rooms for the offerings were located to the north of the hall. In these rooms several statues of Neferefre were discovered, including six heads of the kings, making Neferefre the Fifth Dynasty king with the most surviving statues. East of the main hall was the "
Sanctuary of the Knife
The pyramid of Neferefre, also known as the pyramid of Raneferef, (in ancient Egyptian ''Nṯrỉ bꜣw Nfr-f-Rꜥ'' ("Divine is Neferefre's power")) is a 25th century BC unfinished pyramid complex built for the Egyptian pharaoh Neferefre of the ...
" which served as a slaughterhouse for the rituals. Two narrow rooms on either sides of the central altar in front of the
false door in the main hall may have housed long
solar boats similar to
Khufu's.
A significant cache of administrative papyri, comparable in size to the Abusir Papyri found in the temples of Neferirkare and Khentkaus II, was discovered in a storeroom of the mortuary temple of Neferere during a 1982
University of Prague Egyptological Institute excavation. The presence of this cache is due to the peculiar historical circumstances of the mid-Fifth Dynasty. As both Neferirkare and Neferefre died before their pyramid complexes could be finished, Nyuserre altered their planned layout, diverting the causeway leading to Neferirkare's pyramid to his own. This meant that Neferefre's and Neferirkare's mortuary complexes became somewhat isolated on the Abusir plateau. Their priests therefore had to live next to the temple premises in makeshift dwellings, and they stored the administrative records onsite. In contrast, the records of other temples were kept in the pyramid town close to Sahure's or Nyuserre's pyramid, where the current level of ground water means any papyrus has long since disappeared.
Mummy of Neferefre
Fragments of
mummy
A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fu ...
wrappings and
cartonnage
Cartonnage (word of French origin) is a type of material used in ancient Egyptian funerary masks from the First Intermediate Period to the Roman era. It was made of layers of linen or papyrus covered with plaster. Some of the Fayum mummy portrait ...
, as well as scattered pieces of human remains, were discovered on the east side of the burial chamber of the pyramid. The remains amounted to a left hand, a left
clavicle
The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the rig ...
still covered with skin, fragments of skin probably from the forehead, upper eyelid and the left foot and a few bones.
These remains were in the same
archaeological layer as broken pieces from a red granite
sarcophagus
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
as well as what remained of the funerary equipment of the king, hinting that they could indeed belong to Neferefre. This was further corroborated by subsequent studies of the embalming techniques used on the mummy, found to be compatible with an Old Kingdom date.
The body of the king was probably dried by means of
natron
Natron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate ( Na2CO3·10H2O, a kind of soda ash) and around 17% sodium bicarbonate (also called baking soda, NaHCO3) along with small quantities of sodium chloride and sodium sulfate. N ...
and then covered with a thin layer of resin, before being given a white
calcareous
Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.
In zoology
''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...
coating. There is no evidence of brain removal as expected from post-Old Kingdom mummification techniques. A final confirmation of the identity of the mummy is provided by
radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was dev ...
, which yielded a 2628–2393 BC interval for the human remains in close correspondence with estimated dates for the Fifth Dynasty. Thus, Neferefre is, with
Djedkare Isesi
Djedkare Isesi (known in Greek as Tancheres) was a pharaoh, the eighth and penultimate ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt in the late 25th century to mid- 24th century BC, during the Old Kingdom. Djedkare succeeded Menkauhor Kaiu and was in tu ...
, one of the very few Old Kingdom pharaohs whose mummy has been identified.
A
bioarchaeological analysis of Neferefre's remains revealed that the king did not partake in strenuous work, died in his early twenties at between 20 and 23 years old and that he may have stood to in height.
The remains of a second individual were discovered in the burial chamber, but those proved to belong to an individual from the
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...
, who likely lived during the 14th century AD. He had simply been laid on rags and covered with sand for his burial.
Sun temple
![V dinastia, mastaba di ti, 2400 ac ca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/V_dinastia%2C_mastaba_di_ti%2C_2400_ac_ca._01.JPG)
Following a tradition established by
Userkaf
Userkaf (known in Ancient Greek as , ) was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Fifth Dynasty. He reigned for seven to eight years in the early 25th century BC, during the Old Kingdom period. He probably belonged to a branch of the ...
, founder of the Fifth Dynasty, Neferefre planned or built a temple to the sun god Ra. Called ''Hotep-Re'' by the Ancient Egyptians, meaning "Ra is content" or "Ra's offering table", the temple has not yet been located but is presumably in the vicinity of Neferefre's pyramid in Abusir. It is known solely from inscriptions discovered in the mastaba of Ti in North Saqqara, where it is mentioned four times. Ti served as an administration official in the pyramid and sun temples of Sahure, Neferirkare and Nyuserre.
Given Neferefre's very short reign, the lack of attestations of the ''Hotep-Re'' beyond the mastaba of Ti, as well as the lack of priests having served in the temple, Verner proposes that the temple might never have been completed and therefore never functioned as such. Rather it might have been integrated to or its materials reused for the ''Shesepibre'', the sun temple built by Neferefre's probable younger brother, Nyuserre. Incidentally, an earlier discovery by the German archaeological expedition of 1905 under the direction of
Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing
Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing (22 April 1873, Potsdam – 12 January 1956, Oberaudorf am Inn) was a German Egyptologist. He was the son of Prussian general Moritz Ferdinand von Bissing (1844–1917).
He studied classical philology, archaeology, ...
may vindicate Verner's theory. This expedition uncovered the ruins of large buildings of mudbricks beneath the sun temple of Nyuserre in
Abu Gorab
Abu Gorab (Arabic: أبو غراب , also known as Abu Gurab, Abu Ghurab) is a locality in Egypt situated south of Cairo, between Saqqarah and Al-Jīzah, about north of Abusir, on the edge of the desert plateau on the western bank of the Nile. ...
. It is possible that these represent the remains of the sun temple of Neferefre, although in the absence of inscriptions confirming this identification, it remains conjectural.
Pyramid of Neferirkare Kakai
![Neferirkare](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Neferirkare.jpg)
When he ascended the throne, Neferefre faced the task of completing the pyramid of his father which, with a square base side of and a height of , is the largest built during the Fifth Dynasty. Although well underway at the death of Neferirkare, the pyramid was lacking its external limestone cladding and the accompanying mortuary temple still had to be built. Neferefre thus started to cover the pyramid surface with limestone and build the foundation of a stone temple on the pyramid's eastern side. His plans were cut short by his death and the duty of finishing the monument fell on Nyuserre's shoulders, who abandoned the task of covering the pyramid face and instead concentrated on building the mortuary temple in bricks and wood.
Funerary cult
Like other pharaohs of the Old Kingdom period, Neferefre benefited from a
funerary cult
A funerary cult is a body of religious teaching and practice centered on the veneration of the dead, in which the living are thought to be able to confer benefits on the dead in the afterlife or to appease their otherwise wrathful ghosts. Rituals w ...
established at his death. Some details of this cult as it occurred during the Fifth Dynasty have survived in the Abusir Papyri. A 10-day yearly festival was held in honor of the deceased ruler during which, on at least one occasion, no less than 130 bulls were sacrificed in the slaughter house of his mortuary temple. The act of mass animal sacrifice testifies to the importance that royal funerary cults had in Ancient Egyptian society, and also shows that vast agricultural resources were devoted to an activity judged unproductive by Verner, something they propose possibly contributed to the decline of the Old Kingdom. The main beneficiaries of these sacrifices were the cult's priests, who consumed the offerings after the required ceremonies.
The funerary cult of Neferefre seems to have ceased at the end of the Old Kingdom or during the
First Intermediate Period
The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom. It comprises the Seventh (although this is mostly considered spurious ...
. Traces of a possible revival of the cult during the later
Middle Kingdom are scant and ambiguous. During the
Twelfth Dynasty
The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom by Egyptologists. It often is combined with the Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth dynasties under the group title, Middle Kingdom. Some s ...
, a certain Khuyankh was buried in the funerary temple of Neferefre. It remains unclear if this was to associate himself closely with the deceased ruler or because other cultic activities in the area constrained the choice of location for Khuyankh's tomb.
Notes, references and sources
Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Neferefre
25th-century BC Pharaohs
Pharaohs of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt
Ancient Egyptian mummies