THE EGYPTIANS IN SINAI I.
THE monuments which the Egyptians erected in Sinai are evidence of
their continued connection with the place. These were examined and
studied in the winter of 1906.[42] They comprised many monuments which
were carved in the living rock, and were found in the Wadi Maghara,
the Wadi Nasb and at Serabit. At Serabit, moreover, there were found
numerous offerings consisting of statuettes, vases, pottery, and other
objects which were brought from Egypt to the sanctuary. Outside this
sanctuary the Egyptians set up steles near the holy caves and on the
neighbouring hillside, and they built chambers and porticoes inside
the temenos, and covered these with scenes and inscriptions. Thus the
buildings outside the caves went on increasing till the place assumed
the appearance of a vast temple.
The baboon figure which was discovered in the temple of Serabit, and
the turquoise that was found in early graves in Egypt, show that the
Egyptians came to the peninsula in pre-dynastic days. The beginning of
dynastic history in Egypt was dated by Prof. Breasted (1909) to about
B.C. 3400,[43] and by Prof. Petrie (1914) to about B.C. 5500. Scholars
are more and more inclining to accept the earlier date.
At the beginning of the First Dynasty the Egyptians had secured a firm
foothold in the peninsula, as is shown by the inscriptions on the
living rock of the Pharaohs of this dynasty. These rock-inscriptions
are close to the mine holes in the hillside about 170 feet above the
valley floor. Besides these there were many inscriptions of kings of
the Third, Fifth and Sixth Dynasties. They were known to Europeans in
the eighteenth century, and some were drawn and described. But their
importance was not fully recognised and many perished in the blasting,
when the search for turquoise was renewed in the nineteenth century.
Among those which were ruthlessly destroyed was the great tablet of
King Khufu (IV 2), here reproduced. A full record was therefore made of
those which remained in 1906, and, in order to save the tablets, they
were removed to the Museum in Cairo. One only was left _in situ_. It
was the oldest of all, dating from King Semerkhet (I 7), seventh king
of the First Dynasty, which is engraved on the rock 394 feet above the
valley floor in a position which seems to guarantee its safety.
The earliest tablets in the Wadi Maghara represented the Pharaoh under
three aspects: as king of Upper Egypt, as king of Lower Egypt, and as
smiter of the enemy who crouches before him. There is, at first, little
wording beside the names and the titles of the king. As a smiter the
king holds a mace in one hand and a staff in the other, and the enemy
has a bold cast of countenance, abundant hair, a peaked beard, and
wears a loin-cloth. The Pharaoh holds him by the top-knot, together
with a carved object which he seems to have taken from him. This may be
a feather; possibly it is a boomerang or throwstick.
The rock inscription of Semerkhet was worked by cutting away the face,
and leaving the figures and the hieroglyphs standing in relief. A
little in front of the scenes, and worked on the same scale, was the
general of the expedition, who wears no distinctive dress, but the word
_Mer-meshau_ (leader of troops), written in hieroglyphs, is before
him. He is without head-dress and carries arrows and a bow of the
double-curved Libyan type.
Semerkhet was probably not the first Pharaoh who worked in Sinai. For
a small plaque found at Abydos represents Den-Setui, an earlier king
of the First Dynasty, who is seen in the same attitude as the Pharaohs
on the Sinai rock tablets, and the cast of countenance of the enemy is
also the same.[44]
Little is known of King Semerkhet outside Sinai. It is supposed that
the First Dynasty at his time was weakening. No records in Sinai
mention kings of the Second Dynasty, who were indigenous to the Nile
valley, and whose energies were devoted to reconstructing the older
elements of government at home.
A new spirit arose with the kings of the Third Dynasty, of whom
Sanekht (III 1) was represented at Wadi Maghara in the usual scenes
with the addition of the jackal-nome standard, one of the earliest
represented in Egypt, which may refer to the troops that accompanied
his expedition. The face of Sanekht is strongly Ethiopian in character,
not unlike the present Sudanys. The jackal-nome standard appears also
on the tablet of Zeser (III 2), the next Pharaoh recorded, who was
seen in the regular group of smiting with the addition of the familiar
titles, “giver of purity, stability, life, gladness for ever.”[45]
The intercourse between Egypt and Sinai found a new development under
Sneferu (III 9), who was represented wearing the horned head-dress
mentioned above, and the wording of his tablet described him as “Great
god ravaging the lands,” here reproduced. Sneferu worked not only at
Maghara, but was in contact also with the sanctuary at Serabit. To
this he presented the figure of a hawk, his favourite emblem, worked
in grey limestone, which was discovered in the winter of 1906 in the
sacred cave itself. Its work and inscription mark it as a contemporary
monument. It is now in the British Museum. Later ages looked upon
Sneferu as especially connected with Sinai, reckoning him as one of
the protecting divinities of the place, and his haul in turquoise was
referred to in the Twelfth Dynasty as exceptional. “I obtained more
turquoise than any man since Sneferu.”[46] The value which was set on
turquoise in Egypt during his reign is shown by one of the so-called
_Tales of the Magicians_, which relates how the damsels of the harim
of Sneferu went rowing on the lake. One dropped her jewel of “new
turquoise” into the water, which was recovered by magical means.[47]
The next Pharaoh who was commemorated at Maghara was Khufu (IV 2), the
great pyramid builder, who, as already mentioned, was figured smiting
the enemy before the ibis-headed figure of the god Thoth. At Maghara
several tablets recorded him, which were of large size and of excellent
workmanship. The chief one had fortunately been drawn and photographed
before it was entirely smashed during the recent blasting. On this
tablet, the Pharaoh, here named Khnumu-Khufu, was described as a smiter
of the Anu, a word written with three pillar signs, with a man as a
determinative (Fig. 4).
Next in date at Maghara was the tablet of Sahura (V 2), which was
framed by a colossal _Uas_-sceptre on either side and a row of stars
along the top. Sahura was described in the wording as “smiter of the
Mentu.” The same words were used to describe Ra-en-user (V 6), whose
tablet at Maghara measured 63 by 102 inches, and was the largest
of all. This tablet has the additional feature of an enormous vase
supported by two _ankhs_ with the words: “The lord of foreign lands
(_neb Setui_) gave coolness,” which suggests that a water supply was
made accessible by some local sheykh.
The Pharaohs at Maghara, between the First and the Fourth Dynasties,
were always represented as smiters. The tablets of the Fifth and Sixth
Dynasties are for the most part broken or destroyed, but what is left
of them points to more peaceful relations, and records the mining
expeditions with additional detail.
Thus the tablet of Dadkara (V 8) states that the expedition (_upt_)
was sent in the year after the fourth cattle census, which dates it to
the eighth or ninth year of the reign of this king. Again, a tablet
of Pepy I (VI 3) was dated by “the year after the eighteenth cattle
census”. These tablets, moreover, mention some of the dignitaries who
took part in the expedition. That of Dadkara named the ship-captain
Nenekt-Khentikhet; that of Pepy I the ship-captain Ibdu; a further
one of Pepy II (VI 5) the ship-captain Benkeneph.[48] This shows that
the Egyptians approached the mine-land by water. There is mention on
these tablets also of princes, of scribes, of a commander of recruits
(_hez-uz-neferu_), of inspectors (_uba_), of interpreters of princes
(_sehez-saru_), of the seal-bearer to the god (_neter sahu_), of
a chief of the land (_mer ta_), of a chief of the storehouse (_mer
ab_), of a chief of the elders (_mer uru_), and of others, which shows
how carefully the expeditions were organised. The tablet of Dadkara,
moreover, mentions for the first time the _Fkat_ country, _fkat_ being
short for _mafkat_, the ancient Egyptian word for turquoise. There is
always a difficulty in reading aright the names of precious stones.
_Mafkat_ was often rendered as malachite, and it needed the turning
over of the rubbish heaps at Serabit and the discovery of turquoise, in
order fully to establish the nature of the stone that was the product
of the area appropriated to “Hathor of Mafkat.”
The close of the Sixth Dynasty brought a break in the relations between
Egypt and Sinai, which is attributable, no doubt, to changes in Egypt
itself, of which we know little at this period. Perhaps there were
movements among the people of the east. Among those who threatened
Egypt from this side were the Mentu, who were Asiatics, and whose
successful defeat was achieved, as mentioned above, with the help of
the devotees to Sopd.
The Egyptians probably resumed work in Sinai during the Eleventh
Dynasty, since workmen’s pots, found in the Wadi Maghara, are dated
to this dynasty by their style.[49] The reign may have been that of
Mentu-hotep III (XI 7), for a group of four kings seated at a table
carved in stone was discovered at Serabit, with the names of the kings
along the edge of the table on which their hands were placed. They were
Sneferu (probably), Mentu-hotep III (XI 7), Amen-em-hat I (XII 1), and
his son Sen-usert (XII 2), who was probably the donor of the group.[50]
When work was resumed in Sinai in the Eleventh Dynasty, the attitude of
the Egyptians towards Serabit had undergone a marked change. In early
days they had approached the sanctuary as quasi-worshippers, presenting
offerings such as the baboon and the hawk. Now the sanctuary itself was
drawn within the sphere of their influence, and they erected uprights
or _mazzeboth_ on the approach to the cave on which they recorded their
mining expeditions.
Uprights of this kind are entirely unknown in Egypt. The _mazzeboth_
erected by the Egyptians in Sinai were therefore set up in deference
to the custom of the place. They were worked in red sandstone which
was quarried on the north side of the temple height judging by a great
square cutting that remains there, and the work of inscribing them
was done _in situ_ by Egyptian stone-cutters who were attached to the
expeditions. These steles are for the most part 6 to 12 feet high,
2 to 4 feet broad, and 6 to 8 inches thick. Their tops are rounded,
which gives them the appearance of gravestones, and this led some of
the earlier travellers to describe the height of Serabit as a place of
burial.
The oldest of the _mazzeboth_ were erected on a prominent spot outside
the temenos within sight of the sanctuary; later these steles were
placed along the approach to the cave, more and more crowding the
adytum. These Egyptian inscribed _mazzeboth_ all have a flat stone at
the base which suggests a place of offering, and their purpose seems
to have been to recommend the members of the expedition who set up the
stone to the good graces of Hathor of Mafkat.
In keeping with this, a statuette of Hathor was presented to the
shrine by the Pharaohs of the Twelfth Dynasty, every one of whom
organised one, if not several, expeditions to Sinai, in order to
secure turquoise. Several of these statuettes, varying in size and in
workmanship, were discovered inside the temple area during the winter
of 1906; most of them were sadly mutilated.
One statuette was the gift of Amen-em-hat I (XII 1), the founder of the
dynasty, who erected a portal outside the lesser cave as was shown by
a stone lintel bearing his name, which was found here. His successor,
Sen-usert I (XII 2), added to this portal as was shown by a piece
of limestone bearing his name. The larger cave about this time was
squared, its walls were smoothed and a slab was fixed inside, on which
were placed the more important Egyptian offerings, including the hawk
presented by Sneferu, and the statuettes of Hathor. It served also
to hold a hawk worked in sandstone that was presented by Sen-usert
himself, which named him, his queen Khent, their daughter Sebat, and
Ankhab, chief or overseer of the north land.
The same Ankhab also set up a tablet of his own, inside the cave on
which he was represented offering loaves to Amen.
Of the next king, Amen-em-hat II (XII 3), there was found the usual
statuette of Hathor, which was presented by the ship-captain Sneferu.
Inscriptions on a hill at some distance from the caves showed that the
Egyptians now worked turquoise mines at Serabit on their own account on
land which they had acquired. One inscription was of the seventeenth
year of Amen-em-hat II, another of his twenty-fourth year. The latter
mentioned the “mine chamber which Men, born of Mut, triumphant and
revered, excavated.” Two steles erected in the approach to the
sanctuary likewise recorded the seventeenth and the twenty-fourth year
of the reign of the same king.
The next kings, Sen-usert II (XII 4) and Sen-usert III (XII 5), made
the usual gift of a statuette of Hathor. The latter was presented
by five officials, including Merru, two inspectors, a scribe of
the cattle, and an Amu or Syrian named Lua or Luy, “a name which
corresponds to the Semitic Lévy.”[51] This shows a Semite in actual
contact with the place. A stele of the same Pharaoh stood in a knoll
of hæmatite on the plateau, the exposed position of which caused it to
fall and crumble long ago; its remains strew the ground.
The reign of the next Pharaoh, Amen-em-hat III (XII 6), marked a climax
in the intercourse of Egypt and Sinai. Of the forty-four years of his
reign, at least fourteen witnessed expeditions to Sinai, which were
commemorated by inscriptions set up in Wadi Maghara, in Wadi Nasb, and
at Serabit.
A great inscription of the second year, mentioned above, stands on a
boulder at the entrance to Wadi Maghara, which shows the king facing
the ibis-headed Thoth and Hathor, and the accompanying wording mentions
Khenti-hotep Khenemsu, who was commissioned to fetch turquoise and
copper, and who had with him 734 men. Another inscription was set
up by Harnakt, who “crossed the sea and secured stones of great
excellence.”[52]
At Serabit also Amen-em-hat III was commemorated by many inscriptions.
Large stone steles, set up on the plateau, recorded the 4th, 8th, 13th,
23rd, 30th, 44th, and 45th year of this reign. Several of these steles
mention by name the Retennu people, of whom we now hear for the first
time in Sinai.
[Illustration: Fig. 9.—Upper half of Stele of Amen-em-hat III.
(Petrie: _Researches in Sinai_.)]
The stele of the fourth year contained in two columns the names and
titles of over a hundred persons who took part in the expedition. The
names start in fairly large hieroglyphs at the top, and diminish in
size lower down. A few additional names were roughly inscribed along
the edge of the stele as the result of an afterthought. This splendid
stele stood about ten feet high in the approach to the temple, but,
worn through at the base by the continued action of wind and rain, it
fell, and snapped in two in the falling (Fig. 9).
Not far from this stele stood one that was set up by Horoura,
describing an expedition which reached the mines in hot weather. “The
desert burnt like summer; the mountains burnt like fire; the vein
seemed exhausted; the overseer questioned the miners; the skilled
workers who knew the mine replied, There is turquoise to all eternity
in the mountain, and at that moment it appeared.”[53]
The reference is to the turquoise mines opened by Amen-em-hat II,
which were now further developed. The neck of rock which contained the
turquoise had hitherto been worked from the north. This neck of rock
was now attacked from the south, and, as the work became complex, a
shaft of about ten feet square was sunk from above, which brought light
and air into the passages. This shaft was wrongly described by some
travellers as a reservoir. The passages eventually extended about 220
feet into the rock. A great inscription on the rock, near the chief
opening, gives an idea of the offerings which the Egyptians made at
the sanctuary at this time; evidently in return for the permission
to work here. It mentions “a thousand loaves, jars of beer, cattle,
fowls, incense, ointment, and everything on which the gods live.”
The offerings in this case were presented by Sebek-her-heb, chief
chamberlain, who declared, “I excavated a mine-chamber for my lord, the
workmen came in full quota, never was there any neglect.”[54]
The same Sebek-her-heb erected the stele of the 44th year of
Amen-em-hat III on the plateau. It is inscribed on one side only and
stands in a rough stone enclosure with a flat stone at the base. The
inscription runs “a royal offering to Hathor, mistress of turquoise
(_mafkat_), for the family spirit (_ka_) of the chief chamberlain
Sebek-her-heb, and the _ka_ of the seal-bearer, deputy of the overseer
of seal-bearers, Kemnaa, born of Ka-hotep.”[55]
Another inscription of the 45th year of Amen-em-hat III, named Ptahwer,
triumphant, who described himself as “delivering the Anu Sut (eastern
foreigners) to the Pharaoh, and bringing the Mentu to the halls of the
king.”[56]
During the reign of Amen-em-hat III the caves at Serabit were
re-modelled to their present shape. The larger cave, without the
recesses, now measures 20 by 10 feet. A square pillar of rock was left
standing in its centre as a support to the roof. On one side of this
pillar the Pharaoh was represented facing the goddess Hathor, wearing
a high head-dress, who held out to him a sceptre. Beneath this scene
Khenum-su, Ameny-seneb, seal-bearer, and other officials were seen.[57]
The walls of the cave at the same time were smoothed and inscribed with
mortuary prayers. But their surface for the most part has crumbled
away, perhaps owing to intentional desecration, and the inscriptions
are lost.
Ameny-seneb who was represented on the squared pillar, also set up in
the cave an altar in the name of his king. This altar measured 40 by
26 inches, and probably stood at the back of the cave in a recess of
corresponding dimensions. It was found in another part of the cave.
This altar had the ordinary appearance of an Egyptian altar and was
worked in the red sandstone of the place. It apparently took the place
of an earlier stone or altar of different appearance, fragments of
which were also found inside the cave. The smashing of this altar also
points to an intentional desecration of the place.
The smaller cave which was appropriated to Sopd, was probably
re-arranged at the same time. There was here no sign of inscription or
tablet. It was simply a rounded apse with three steps leading up to it.
The other work which was done during the reign of Amen-em-hat III
included mining in the Wadi Nasb, where an inscription at the head of
the valley recorded his 20th year.[58]
The head of the valley floor of the Wadi Nasb is covered with an
enormous mass of slag, which points to extensive copper smelting. The
mass of slag is 6 to 8 feet deep, 300 feet wide, and extends about 500
feet down the valley. It “may amount to 100,000 tons.” The provenance
of the copper that was smelted here is insufficiently known. It can
hardly have been brought up from the mines in the Wadi Khalig. But even
at Serabit, now entirely denuded of trees, a crucible was found.
After the long reign of Amen-em-hat III came the short reign of
Amen-em-hat IV (XII 7), the last king of his dynasty. An inscription
in the Wadi Maghara recorded work done there in his sixth year, and,
at Serabit, the small rock tablet mentioned above, was set up on the
western side of the plateau. A portico-court about 10 feet square was
also built by him outside the larger cave. This court was roofed over
with slabs of stone, the roof being supported by two fluted columns
which, like the rest of the building, were worked in the red sandstone
of the place. The walls of this portico were inscribed, the subject
being Hathor seated with the Pharaoh offering to her, and a long row of
officials behind him. The same scene reversed was represented on the
other side of the entrance. But the surface of the wall has crumbled so
that the general character only of the scenes is visible and the names
of the officials have gone.