Wepemnofret was a Royal prince of the

Fourth 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 ...

. His father was

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 ...

, and mother unknown. A

stela A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

embedded in the wall of his tomb was found near the

Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, ...

, in the

Giza West Field The West Field is located on the Giza Plateau, to the west of the Great Pyramid of Giza. It is divided up into smaller areas like the cemeteries known as the Abu Bakr Excavations (1949–50, 1950–51, 1952 and 1953), as well as several cemeterie ...

. The stele was discovered by the

Hearst Expedition The Hearst Expedition was an archaeological project led by the University of California to explore burial grounds at and around Qift, Egypt. The expedition spanned the years 1899–1905, and was named for Phoebe Hearst, mother of William Randolph H ...

in 1905, and is considered to be the turning point between two artistic styles: the Archaic Style of the Fertile Period, and the Mature Style of the 4th Dynasty.

References

Princes of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt {{AncientEgypt-bio-stub