The Seven Hathors on the Philae Mammisi

This blog post has been written by Sandra Ottens, who has been working as a secretary at the municipality of Amsterdam for thirty years. Sandra studied Egyptology at Leiden University (BA and MA) from 2006 to 2012. She started blogging about her Egyptological adventures when her class attended a two-month study semester in Cairo, visiting a large number of excavation sites (https://egyptoblogie.wordpress.com). Sandra joined the excavations in Amheida (Dakhla Oasis) as an assistant epigrapher to Professor Olaf Kaper for one season in 2012. She wrote her MA thesis on the Seven Hathors, a group of seven goddesses who predicted the fate of newborn children. This blog post is about the Seven Hathors at Philae, which is written here to coincide with the Egypt Centre’s course on Gods and Goddesses currently taking place.

The seven Hathors were known in Egyptian fairy tales as a group of goddesses who come to visit a newborn child and foretell its fate. This can be found in the tales of the Doomed Prince and the Two Brothers. Consequently, they were mentioned in a number of medico-magical spells, in order to try to control their powers. In the Graeco-Roman Period, we find the seven Hathors depicted in temples where they bring good wishes to the temple’s child deity and sing praises to the mother goddess. They are often shown in the mammisi (birth house) of the temple, but also near doorways and along processional routes. 

If you have been to the island of Philae near Aswan (fig. 1), you will have seen the mammisi with its lovely columns with Hathor faces. This birth house stands in the forecourt of the Isis temple. It was built for the celebration of the divine birth of Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris.

Fig. 1: Philae Mammisi

On the same wall (the outside of the mammisi), a little further to the left, is this scene depicting the seven Hathors (fig. 2). Behind the seven Hathors a small king Ptolemy XII is shown, kneeling on an offering stand, and presenting two vessels. Here the Hathors are shown playing tambourines (hand drums) and singing praises before Isis, lady of the Abaton, and before Hathor, lady of Biggeh. The island of Biggeh was next to the original location of Philae. It had an Abaton (Greek for ‘untrodden place’), associated with a burial place of (a part of the body of) Osiris. The island of Philae had a Hathor temple as well as an Isis temple.

Fig. 2: The seven Hathors

In the fairy tales the seven Hathors are represented as a uniform group, speaking as with one mouth (fig. 3). However, in the temples they are individually named as goddesses from specific locations where Hathor temples stood. Egypt had a large number of Hathor sanctuaries throughout the country, as well as in mining areas abroad, so there were many locations to choose from. Almost every scene depicting the seven Hathors has a unique combination of Hathor sanctuary names.

Fig. 3: The procession

Here is a translation of the texts: 

·  Isis: Words spoken by Isis, giver of life, lady of the Abaton, mother of the god of the golden falcon. You are celebrated in every country, since your Majesty was born in Dendera.

·  Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, great one, lady of Biggeh, noble one, mighty one, mistress of the goddesses, lady of drunkenness, lady of jubilation, lady of singing, lady of myrrh, mistress of wreath binding

·  Text column behind Isis and Hathor: It is the great goddesses, the ladies of Egypt, who associate themselves with Biggeh in peace. Their father Ra is pleased at their sight and jubilates each day upon seeing them.

·  Text above the seven Hathors: We play the tambourine for you, you lady of the Abaton, Isis, giver of life, lady in Biggeh. We celebrate your Majesty, who rejoices in life, Hathor, great one, lady of Biggeh. We play the harp for you, you sovereign of Bugem, you lady of the whole of Egypt. We praise to the height of heaven and jubilate to the breadth of the earth, so that your hearts are pleased, great powers, for life, duration and prosperity for the Pharaoh.

·  First Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, lady of Thebes, Amunet, foremost in Karnak: "Jubilation for you, jubilation for your ka, Isis, giver of life, lady of the Abaton".

·  Second Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, [lady of ...]: "Jubilation for you, noble one, lady of jubilation, eye of Ra, foremost of Biggeh".

·  Third Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, lady of Qusae, queen of the people, who protects her brother: "The tambourine is beaten for you, noble one, lady of the two lands, gold, daughter of Ra, mistress of the goddesses".

·  Fourth Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, lady of Heracleopolis, mother of Ra: "(I) praise you, who radiate as gold, falconess of Edfu, mistress of Biggeh".

·  Fifth Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, lady of Atfih, mother of the great glorified god: "The tambourine is played for you, noble one, mistress of the goddesses, Hathor, great one, lady of Biggeh".

·  Sixth Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, lady of the Southern Sycamore: "For you the tambourine is beaten, for your ka, great mistress, lady of the Abaton".

·  Seventh Hathor: Words spoken by Hathor, lady of the Red Lake, who protects her father from her enemies: "Praise for your Majesty, who is pleased with life inside Edfu and foremost in Philae".

·  King: Cartouches of Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos.

 

Sources

Champollion, [J. F.] 1844. Monuments de l’Égypte et de la Nubie: notices descriptives conformes aux manuscrits autographes, vol. 1. Paris: Firmin Didot Frères. [178 (lower)-179 (middle), 619 to 178 and 179 ('colonne A')]

Guglielmi, W. 1991. Die Göttin Mr.t: Entstehung und Verehrung einer Personifikation. Probleme der Ägyptologie 7. Leiden: Brill. [95 note 217; 98 note 239]

Gutbub, Adolphe 1973. Textes fondamentaux de la théologie de Kom Ombo, 2 vols. Bibliothèque d’étude 47. Le Caire: Institut français d’Archéologie orientale. [325 (d)]

Junker, Hermann and Erich Winter 1965. Philä-Publikation II: Das Geburtshaus des Tempels der Isis in Philä. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Denkschriften der Philosophisch-Historischen Klasse Sonderband. Wien: Hermann Böhlaus Nachf. [220–223]

Porter, Bertha and Rosalind L. B. Moss 1939. Topographical bibliography of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, reliefs, and paintings VI: Upper Egypt: chief temples (excluding Thebes), Abydos, Dendera, Esna, Edfu, Kôm Ombo, and Philae. Oxford: Clarendon. [228 (225)–(226)]

Rochholz, Matthias 2002. Schöpfung, Feindvernichtung, Regeneration: Untersuchung zum Symbolgehalt der machtgeladenen Zahl 7 im alten Ägypten. Ägypten und Altes Testament 56. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. [76] 

The Changing Image of Bes

The blog post for this week has been written by Vanessa Foott, who obtained a distinction in her Masters in Egyptology from the University of Manchester in 2022. The subject of her research and dissertation was the assimilation of Bes in cultures beyond Egypt. For the last five seasons, she has worked as a small finds registrar for the South Asasif Conservation Project (SACP) for whom she is also a trustee. She has visited many of the local Egyptology societies in the UK in her role as Local Ambassador for The Egypt Exploration Society.

The name Bes is commonly used today to describe a variety of composite dwarf deities but was not actually attested in Egypt until the Twenty-first Dynasty. Figures found in an Old Kingdom context at Abusir and Giza show lion-headed men or men wearing lion masks (although the dating may be the Middle Kingdom) and the Middle Kingdom birth tusks have similar figures which are named as Aha. Within the Ancient Egyptian pantheon, the dwarf-type images are used to portray at least eight different entities which, in addition to Aha and Bes, can include Hayet, Soped, and Tettenu. The Bes images do not display the augustness of the majority of Egyptian gods. Instead they can be depicted as both fearsome and playful whilst their misshapenness was considered a sign of divinity (fig. 1). Like Hathor, they are commonly shown frontally, which is a sign of liminality and the power of the eye of Ra and can be shown with wadjet eyes on their heads or back.

Fig. 1: Bes amulet (Egypt Centre W2037C/b2)

 

These figures were popular from Nubia and possibly even further south on the African continent, throughout Egypt and the Middle East into Anatolia, and across the Mediterranean into the Iberian Peninsula. Evidence has been found as far afield as the subcontinent of India, Siberia, and Romania.

The original ‘birth’ place of Bes-type deities has been much debated. In the Late and Graeco-Roman Period, Bes is sometimes referred to as the ‘Lord of Southern Lands’ or the ‘Lord of Punt’, and his facial features appear similar to masks used by African tribes. In Cameroon, black pygmy deities are invoked to bring fertility and masks worn, sometimes covered in animal skins by the invokers. Wherever he originated from the general theme has spread and his forms and functions have intermingled with many different cultures.

Fig. 2: Birth Tusk BM EA18175 (Photo author’s own).

Aha (fig. 2) is naked, has rounded ears and a lion-like mane, a tail, and visible genitalia, snakes are held in each hand, dwarfism is not apparent at this stage and he is sometimes described as a giant. The name Aha, which is inscribed next to the figure on two of the tusks, can be translated as ‘fighter’, which may have originated at Hermopolis where he is thought to have been a protector of Thoth and prevented evil forces from jeopardising the birth of the sun, hence his protection for childbirth, women, and children. Figure 3 is a mask made of painted linen and gesso, which displays signs of wear. The painted motifs make the face look lion-like. It was found in a house at the Middle Kingdom settlement site of Kahun, which also contained a wooden figure and ivory clappers or wands. It may have been worn by a doctor or midwife attending a birth to aid in warding off evil.

Fig. 3: Bes Mask Manchester Museum 123 (Photo: Manchester Museum)

The New Kingdom saw a surge in the popularity of composite dwarf deities and many developments with both iconography and ideology began, with the image beginning to feature on a wide variety of objects. Bes is now shown with a typical body of a being with achondroplasia and hypothyroidism, which causes a large bulging forehead, thick lips, myxedema, making the tongue swell and protrude, pot belly, and skin wrinkles from excess flesh, whilst the limbs appear short in proportion to the body. Infant mortality was especially high in this period, which may have prompted this change with stronger magic needed for protection. Dwarves rarely survived beyond infancy and therefore an image of an adult with this condition may have provided the extra power required. There are figures of these deities in the divine birth scenes of both Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari and Amenhotep III at Luxor temple. Although Bes is thought of as the non-elite household deity, he also played a role in the highest echelons of society, featuring on Tutankhamun’s bed, headrest (fig. 4), his chariot, and many other items found in his tomb.

Fig. 4: Tutankhamun's headrest (Cairo Museum)

Other changes during the New Kingdom include the addition of wings, which may be an incoming influence from the Near East, the ostrich plume headdress that is always shown frontally even when the face is in profile, sometimes with the addition of a disc or discs. The figures sometimes wear kilts, with or without aprons. Jewellery also begins to feature in the form of anklets, wristlets, and broad collars. The figures occasionally hold sceptres, a sword, or knives, which become more common later. Rarely, he is depicted shooting a bow.

 

His association with death becomes more pronounced from the Eighteenth Dynasty onwards when he starts to feature in the Books of the Dead. Spell 164:

 “A dwarf stands before her, another behind her, each facing her and wearing plumes. Each has the head of a falcon, the other a human head”.

In a Twentieth Dynasty tomb, a Bes image is named as Sopdu in an accompanying text. Sopdu is usually represented as a falcon, associated with Horus in the form of Horus-Sopdu. He was also a god of the Asiatic regions and as such was associated with Baal.

During the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, the form of the beard can sometimes feature spiral ringlets. At the same time, the figures begin to appear on cippi and to show attributes of other gods such as Shed, who has powers over snakes and demons. Bes can now be depicted with a sword raised in one hand and either an uraeus or falcon in the other. He can sport the side-lock of youth associated with Horus the Child (Greek Harpokrates), can be animal-headed with a dwarf body or Bes headed with a full-size body and, as time goes on, the hybridity becomes more varied. Some figures from this period can have a distinct negroid appearance with round cheeks, broad nose and thick lips (fig. 5).

Fig. 5: Kohl pot. Louvre Museum N 4469 (Photo author’s own)

 

Figure 6 is a Late Period bronze figurine found at the Serapeum at Saqqara, which shows an ithyphallic Bes-pantheos with bird wings and tail, four human arms, and uraei on each foot. The figure is standing on a base decorated with a snake, lion, hippopotamus, scorpion, jackal, and crocodile. The lower left hand may have once held a was or papyrus sceptre and possibly a snake.

 

Fig. 6: Composite Bes-type deity. Louvre Museum N 5141 (Photo Louvre Museum)

Bes figures can also be shown holding lions or gazelles across their shoulders or standing on them. Crocodiles and snakes are all common features and Bes becomes known as a master of animals showing that he has control over and can provide protection from, dangerous creatures. This attribute may have originated further east and has been assimilated into the Bes typology. 

The Metternich Stela (fig. 7) now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a cippus showing Bes providing protection for Horus. It contains the inscription “The protection of Horus is that great dwarf (nmw) who goes through the underworld (or: the Two Lands) in the twilight”. This image demonstrates the round cheeks, thick lips, and broad nose mentioned previously. Cippi often show baboons with Bes, a connection which really began in the New Kingdom when Bes could even be said to have simian-like features. This demonstrates the solar aspects of Bes and his links to Re and his fiery eyes.

Fig. 7: The Metternich Stela. MMA 50.85 (Photo Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Many Late Period Bes images have been excavated from sites other than Egypt. Tunisia, Cyprus, across the Levant, and places within the Achaemenid Empire, particularly Susa and Persepolis, together with sites across the Western Mediterranean have all yielded Bes objects. This indicates that by the First Millennium BC, Bes had already become known beyond territory that had been under Egyptian control. 

The Graeco-Roman Bes continues to be the protector of Horus and on some cippi he merges with Horus appearing as a Bes-headed deity with a child’s body. This could imply that the Horus figure is wearing a Bes mask and during the Roman Period he can actually take the place of Horus. His role of protector of death and rebirth can be seen in the Osiris chamber in the Hathor temple at Dendera where he is pictured under the figure of Osiris on his bier impregnating Isis in the form of a falcon (fig. 8). An almost identical depiction is on the walls of the Roman Period mammisi on the site. This building also features Bes column capitals and depictions of him dancing in front of Ihy-Harsomtus (Harpokrates).

 

Fig. 8: Bes in the Osiris chamber at Dendera (Photo author’s own)

 

Previously, there had been no official cult. However, evidence has been found at Saqqara of a Bes sanctuary where incubation was practised in chambers decorated with Bes figures and erotic pictures of women. This would have needed attendants, possibly in the form of a priesthood. Information from classical writers such as Demetrius of Alexandria and Ammianus Marcellus provide evidence for an oracular cult of Bes centred in the Osiris Temple at Abydos where incubation was also undertaken to provide answers to questions. Graffiti has been found on the walls invoking Bes and offerings may have been made to him using Bes jugs and Bes lamps, which could have been used both in temple rituals and at domestic shrines. Further evidence of his cultic status comes from the temple of Soknopaiou Nesos, in the desert north of the Fayoum, where a Roman Period temple inventory lists Bes figures made of bronze and silver.

Small plaques featuring male and female Bes figures were used in household shrines to promote fertility. Some feature inscriptions on the reverse asking Bes for help to conceive (fig. 9). Prior to this, female Bes figures, although not unknown, were rare. Another stela dated to the third or fourth century AD has a spell on the back stating that he is “the great lord of women’s wombs, healer, feeder, and awakener”. The figure on the front shows Bes holding a snake and a sword but with the features of Ptah-Pataikos. The stela is part of the Michailidis Collection and it has not been possible to obtain an image.

Fig. 9: Terracotta plaque. E 26921 (Photo The Louvre Museum)

Bes remained popular well into the Christian era and is still attested as late as the sixth century AD. Additionally, in Luxor today there are still beliefs that Bes-type entities haunt the precincts of Karnak!

The Conservation of a Pottery Vessel (EC1376)

This blog post is written by Katie Morton, a second year Conservation Practice Masters student at Cardiff University. Katie previously completed her undergraduate in Egyptology at Swansea University. Her main interests are pottery and ceramics, but she is starting to get hands-on with other materials, such as plaster (HARGM10873).

My first encounter with EC1376 was when I was an Egyptology student at Swansea University, completing research for my dissertation into the blue painted pottery held at the Egypt Centre. EC1376 was in a box with one of my study objects. Although it was not included in my dissertation, Dr Ken Griffin and I checked to see if most of the vessel was there, then made a note to have it conserved at Cardiff. Fast forward to the summer of 2024 and Ken came across the vessel again and asked if I wanted to conserve it over the summer holidays. Of course, I accepted!

Fig. 1: Sherds of EC1376

When the vessel first came to Cardiff it was in multiple pieces, with some sherds already stuck together and almost all of them covered in an adhesive from a previous reassembly (fig. 1). When the vessel was dropped off at Cardiff, Ken mentioned the adhesive was most likely animal glue, which was commonly used in the past for sticking together objects in museums and during early excavations in Egypt. One of the properties of animal glue is that it is soluble in warm water, which means that, in theory, it should come off when brushed/soaked in warm water (fig. 2). Due to the amount of adhesive that was present on the sherds, the decision was made to give them a bath overnight. This is where things got complicated!

Fig. 2: Sherds in warm water

 

The next day I came in to find the adhesive had turned grey and hadn’t softened at all (fig. 3). At this point the decision was made to do some investigation as to what the adhesive may be. Prof. Phil Parkes (Cardiff University lecturer) and I did a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to look at the chemical composition of the adhesive. Unfortunately, the spectrum was inconclusive, showing aspects of organic as well as synthetic material. Whilst the spectrum did not yield any helpful results, when comparing my sample to those of previous students, there was a match to another vessel from the Egypt Centre. Due to time constraints, there was no time to investigate this further. However, it may make an interesting project in the future.

Fig. 3: Greying adhesive

 

The next step was to try the variety of solvents available in the lab, including acetone, IMS (Industrial Methylated Spirits), toluene, and white spirits, none of which were successful in removing the adhesive. The option of manually trying to remove the adhesive with a sharp tool was considered. However, it was deemed too damaging to the vessel. Finally, Phil suggested we try chloroform as it is a stronger solvent than the others used. Due to chloroform being a volatile liquid with severe side effects from exposure, all work was done in a fume cupboard whilst wearing gloves. We tested it out on one of the smaller sherds and it very quickly became evident that it was softening the adhesive and allowing removal without causing damage to the sherd. We decided to create a chloroform environment, where a small amount of chloroform in a beaker is placed into a sealed Tupperware box with some of the sherds and left overnight. The next morning the adhesive on the sherds was a lot easier to remove. Over the next week, I spent a total of 19 hours carefully removing the adhesive using a hard brush, a sharp tool, and some extra chloroform (fig. 4).

Fig. 4: Removing the adhesive

Once all the sherds were clean and dry, I completed an initial test run of putting the vessel back together to see how much of it was present. This was an important part of the process as some of the sherds ‘floated’ and could not be placed due to the large gaps. After a discussion with Ken, the decision was made not to complete gap fills in the voids as the vessel was structurally stable without them. Knowing all this, the reassembly process began. Due to the porosity of the material of the vessel, a layer of adhesive called Paraloid B72 at 20% was brushed over the joins of the sherds. This creates a barrier, meaning when the main layer of adhesive is applied it does not absorb into the fabric, causing the join to fail. Paraloid B72 was chosen due to its reversibility in acetone, meaning if there are any errors they can be easily rectified. The first few attempts of the initial reassembly failed due to the percentage of the Paraloid not being high enough. Once I made Paraloid B72 at 40% the joins were successful and after 14 hours of reassembly, the vessel was completed, with only one area needing to be redone due to being misaligned (fig. 5).

Fig. 5: EC1376 rim reassembled

What started as a seemingly easy task turned out to be more complicated than we imagined. Despite the issues encountered, the conservation treatment was successful. Over a four-week period, I spent a total of 42 hours working on this vessel, and it is now back at the Egypt Centre. This work means that this vessel can be studied as a complete artefact, being measured accurately, and its shape is now identifiable (fig. 6). It has been really fun working on this vessel and I look forward to working more with the Egypt Centre in the future.

Fig. 6: Completed vessel

Bibliography:

Atria. 2024. What is FTIR. Available at: https://atriainnovation.com/en/blog/what-is-ftir/ [Accessed: 4 November 2024].

Horie, C. V. 2010. Materials for Conservation: Organic Consolidants, Adhesives and Coatings. London: Routledge.

Schellmann, N. C. 2007. Animal glues: a review of their key properties relevant to conservation. Studies in Conservation 52(1), 55–66.

Science Direct. 2024. Adhesives for Packing. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/animal-glue [Accessed: 4 November 2024]

The Egypt Centre. 2024a. History of the Museum. Available at: https://egypt.swansea.ac.uk/history-of-the-museum/ [Accessed 4 November 2024]

The Egypt Centre. 2024b. EC1376. Available at: https://egyptcentre.abasetcollections.com/Objects/Details/2680?SavedSelections=$Search-EC1376$Page-1 [Accessed: 7 November 2024]

UK Health Security Agency. 2024. Chloroform: General Information. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chloroform-properties-incident-management-and-toxicology/chloroform-general-information [Accessed: 4 November 2024]. 

Launch of New Egypt Centre Website

The last few months have been quite busy as we have been working to update the Egypt Centre’s website. Our previous site was hosted on WordPress, whereas the new site is through CampusPress. Rather than migrating the previous site, we decided to largely start from scratch. The reason being that the old site had over 800 pages, many of which were out of date, no longer needed, or had no Welsh version (compulsory in Wales). Starting from scratch also allowed us to slim down our new site with fewer pages (56 per language). I’m delighted to announce that the new site is now available on the same URL as our previous address: egypt.swan.ac.uk (or egypt.swansea.ac.uk)!

Website homepage

The site navigation has been made much easier with the introduction of tiles. These can direct visitors to information about the Egypt Centre, such as volunteering, our learning programme, collections, and visiting us. Additionally, the text and layout are now consistent, while each image has alt text (alternative text) to assist those with visual impairments. In addition to all our pages being translated into Welsh (big thanks to our volunteer Sian Charlton!), we are also in the process of having everything translated into Arabic for the first time. This is currently around 50% complete, so please bear with us for the next month or two while this is being worked on (likewise, a big thanks to Fatin Haddad for undertaking this!). There are several new features of the site that I will present below:

Use of navigational tiles

We have introduced a new timeline page presenting a history of the collection from before it arrived in Swansea (1971) until the present day. This page, which will be continually updated as noteworthy events take place, can be found here: https://egypt.swansea.ac.uk/timeline/.

 

Timeline tile

The Egypt Centre has received many awards over the years, both from a museum, volunteering, or individual perspective. Chief amongst these is the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (2018), the equivalent of an MBE, in recognition of our volunteer programme. Details of all our awards can be found at the following link: https://egypt.swansea.ac.uk/awards/.

Awards page

We have created a new page bringing together Egypt Centre publications. Many of these are out of print, so we have made PDFs available to download for free: https://egypt.swansea.ac.uk/publications/.

Publications page

The Egypt Centre is proud to be an advocate of Playful Places, which supports play in museums and cultural spaces. We are committed to creating a playful environment where visitors can engage with history through hands-on experiences. Our play offerings range from formal play spaces to informal opportunities, fostering a sense of wonder and discovery. Full details of these can be found here: https://egypt.swansea.ac.uk/A-Playful-Museum/.

Our playful museum

Our What’s On page will provide details of current events, workshops, and courses that are taking place. This includes the Friends of the Egypt Centre lecture programme: https://egypt.swansea.ac.uk/friends/.

What's On

The Support Us page includes details of how visitors can support the Egypt Centre with a donation or leaving a legacy. Additionally, we are very excited to launch a new Adopt an Object scheme, which is an exciting way to support the Egypt Centre’s mission to preserve and share ancient Egyptian history. We have created three packages (Bronze Beetle, Silver Shabti, and Golden God), each with different benefits. While all 7,000+ objects in our collection are available for adoption, a selection of 30 objects to inspire you is presented here: https://egypt.swansea.ac.uk/adopt-an-object/ With the planned redevelopment of the House of Death gallery in 2025, we need your support more than ever!

Adopt an Object tiers

As with any new site, there are likely to be some teething problems, so we would be grateful if visitors reported any issues or broken links to me (k.griffin@swansea.ac.uk). We are grateful to the Digital Humanities team at Swansea University for their help and support with the creation of the new site. Finally, we hope that you enjoy exploring the site and learning new things about the Egypt Centre!

Trail-blazers!

The blog post for this week has been written by regular contributor Sam Powell. Sam is an Egypt Centre volunteer and the Director of Abaset Collections Ltd, which hosts the museum’s online catalogue. 

As some of you may be aware, the Egypt Centre’s online catalogue had a massive overhaul in 2020. The new online catalogue (usually referred to as Abaset) was designed specifically with the Egypt Centre in mind. As a volunteer at the Egypt Centre, I used my experience of working with the collection to design a new bespoke platform that would allow it to be better appreciated virtually. Through working closely with the Egypt Centre staff, the catalogue has been honed to ensure that the user experience is as intuitive as possible and meets the needs of a diverse collection. 

One of the features that I felt was really important to include was trails. This feature can be used to group together related objects with additional descriptions specific to the theme (fig. 1). Additionally, audio recordings can be added to function as an audio tour. 

Fig. 1: A selection of some of the fantastic trails available on Abaset!

Over the last few years, we have built up a diverse range of trails, including highlights of each gallery, trails focusing on specific collectors, a selection of objects researched by Swansea University students, and thematic trails focusing on specific object types.

In addition to those aimed at the general public, trails have been created for younger audiences in in mind (‘Junior trails’). These have specific descriptions designed to be more accessible and importantly have audios recorded by children to feel more relatable. As well as the topics of animals, gods and goddesses, and others, there is a trail designed by my son Max (who was just 6 when he made the trail!), focusing on materials that are found in the game Minecraft that can also be found in the EC galleries! A big thank you to Matilda Barton, Noah Barton, Youssef Amro Hassan (and his dog Cooper!), and Max Powell for providing audios for our Junior Egyptologist trails.

Fig. 2: Max following his Minecraft trail in the galleries!

Many of the trails have been translated into a wide range of additional languages. For example, the Harrogate trail Causing Their Names to Live, is now available in twelve languages (English, Welsh, Arabic, French, Spanish, Dutch, Mandarin Chinese, Hungarian, Polish, Czech, Italian, and Ukrainian). I would like to thank everyone who has helped with the translations:

• Nassim Aarab (Dutch)
• Bérénice Bruckert (Mandarin Chinese)
• Morgane Delepeleere (Dutch)
• Dulcie Engel (French)
• Fatima Farkas (Hungarian)
• Ihab Samir Francis (Arabic)
• Kexin Fu (Mandarin Chinese)
• Ingrid Inkindi (Dutch)
• Asmae Maataoui (Dutch)
• Carla San Miguel (Spanish)
• K. Post (Dutch)
• Julia Rachfalik (Polish)
• Noura Seada (Arabic)
• Abby Richards-Williams (Welsh)
• Daniel Salava (Czech)
• Marzia Sartori (Italian)
• Shreya Shailesh Ranade (Mandarin Chinese)
• Mengjia Shi (Mandarin Chinese)
• Sophie Smith (Welsh)
• I. Vasse (Dutch)
• Olga Zapletniuk (Ukrainian)
• Zihan Zhang (Mandarin Chinese)

We are always looking for more translations for our growing collection of trails, so if you’re able to help, do please get in touch. 

Did you know that the Abaset software has the capabilities to allow you to create your own trails?

As well as the publicly available trails, you can use the online collection to curate your own selection of objects on any theme you like! Whether you want to make a list of your favourite objects, group together some objects you are researching, or just want to make a grouping of objects that are your favourite colour, the option is there! Instructions on creating your own trail can be found here.

Please check out the existing trails and enjoy creating your own, we’d love to see them!

Return of the Coffin of Ankhpakhered

On Wednesday 31st July, the anthropoid coffin of a man called Ankhpakhered was returned to the Egypt Centre after twenty-six years of conservation work at Cardiff University (fig. 1). The coffin was gifted to the Egypt Centre in 1997 from the Aberystwyth University. Details about its history are a little sketchy, although it is known that it was present in Aberystwyth by at least 1910. The museum acquisition record for 1900–1901 contains the following record, which might be related to this coffin: “An Egyptian mummy. Presented by Mr. James Wilson (Wilson Bey, Cairo), per Mr. Thomas Davies, J. P. Bootle.” The coffin was used as a storage box at one time, with other Egyptian objects placed in it for safekeeping.

Fig. 1: Lid of AB118

The coffin is made of planks of wood joined together with dowels. It is covered with textile to create a smooth surface, which was then painted with decoration. When the coffin arrived in Swansea, it was in a very poor state of preservation. The face of the lid was hanging off, the sides of the base had collapsed, and much of the textile decoration was already detached (fig. 2). It was also covered in layers of dirt and grime, including “Chambers” being written on the lid in white chalk. The coffin had to be painstakingly cleaned, reconstructed, and consolidated to prevent it from deteriorating further.   

Fig. 2: The lid of the coffin c. 1998

The coffin is decorated on both the exterior and interior. On the exterior of the lid, the goddess Nut kneels with her wings outstretched across the chest of the deceased (fig. 3). Two wedjat eyes are located just beneath her. Ten deities are depicted over four registers in the lower half of the lid. In the upper register are the mummiform figures of the four sons of Horus (Qebehsenuef, Duamutef, Imsety, Hapy), two on each side. They are followed in the register below by two forms of the jackal-headed god Anubis. In the third register, Geb and Hornedjitef are represented, while in the lower Ptah-Sokar-Osiris and Thoth are shown. Beneath these gods are two further wedjat eyes, each accompanied by a protective spell. The goddess Isis, flanked by additional wedjat eyes, is depicted kneeling with her arm raised in mourning on the foot of the lid.

Fig. 3: Decoration of the lid

On the interior of the lid (fig. 4), a large polychrome figure of Nut is included. Four columns of hieroglyphs to the right of her identify the owner as Ankhpakhered, son of Padiese and Tawer. Above the figure of the goddess is a so-called “Nut Text”, emphasising the role of the goddess as a mother to the deceased. On the foot of the interior is a large shen-rings with two flails.  

Fig. 4: Interior of the lid

The interior of the trough is decorated with a large djed pillar with a crown consisting of a solar disk flanked by uraei atop the horns of a ram (fig. 5). The djed pillar represents the backbone of the god Osiris, so its location on the base of the interior of the trough is rather fitting. Hieroglyphic texts are located above and below. The one below is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of the Book of the Dead, which begins “I am Djedi son of Djedi. I was born in Djedu (Busiris)”.

Fig. 5: Interior of the trough

A further djed pillar is located on the exterior of the trough (fig. 6). It is flanked by texts (the sides of the trough) ensuring that the deceased will receive nourishment in the afterlife.

Fig. 6: Exterior of the trough

The footboard of the coffin contains a depiction of the Apis Bull carrying the mummified deceased on its back. A winged sun disk is located above (fig. 7). Such scenes are standard on coffins of the First Millennium BC.

Fig. 7: Footboard of the coffin

Nephthys is represented kneeling in an act of mourning on the head end. Beneath her is a solar disk and scarab rising between the symbols of the East and West (fig. 8).

Fig. 8: Head end of the coffin

The style of the coffin indicates that it was produced in the late Twenty-fifth or early Twenty-sixth Dynasty (c. 700–660 BC). It can be pinpointed further by looking at the number of divisions on Nut’s wings. On the coffin lid she is depicted with her wings divided into three sections (fig. 9). As her wings were generally shown with four divisions after 660 BC, this indicates a date just before this change.

Fig. 9: Detail of Nut

The coffin has an interesting history with multiple occupants. At an unknown date, perhaps the Ptolemaic Period (c. 305–30 BC), the coffin was usurped for a man called Djedher, a Stolist at Akhmim, who was the son of Harsiese (also a Stolist at Akhmim) and Ibii. The usurpations are evident on the exterior of the lid only. The white patches indicate where the name of Ankhpakhered was covered over in order for the new owner’s name to be added (fig. 10). The titles of Djedher might suggest that the coffin was transferred from Thebes to Akhmim for reuse, although this is by no means certain.

Fig. 10: Detail showing the change of name

When the coffin arrived in Swansea in 1997, it contained bits of cartonnage in a very poor state of preservation (fig. 11). These were also conservated by students at Cardiff with two of the three pieces now on display within the House of Death Gallery (fig. 12–14). Stylistically, the cartonnage dates to the Ptolemaic Period, so perhaps they belonged to Djedher? If only things were so straightforward! As mentioned previously, the archives in Aberystwyth mention a mummy. This appears to have been kept in the coffin until 1963 when it was sent to St. Thomas’ Hospital in London in order to be examined. Despite the coffin belonging to two men, the body belonged to that of a woman! Could the cartonnage thus have belonged to her? The mummy was later given by Dr Dick Kittermaster, a pathologist at St. Thomas’ Hospital, to Uplands Academy (formerly Uplands Community College) in Wadhurst. While here, the body was re-examined by Professor Rosalie David of the KNH Centre in Manchester. A video relating to the body can be viewed below. What is unclear is whether the coffin and the mummy were donated to Aberystwyth at the same time.

Fig. 11: Photo of the cartonnage in the coffin c. 1998

Fig. 12: Cartonnage head covering

Fig. 13: Cartonnage chest covering

Fig. 14: Cartonnage leg covering

During its time in Cardiff, over fifty students spent more than 1,000 hours cleaning, conserving, and analysing the coffin. All of this took place under the watchful eye of Phil Parkes (Reader in Conservation), who guided the students every step of the way. Several dissertations have been written on the coffin, including an analysis of the pigments (Jenny Gosling) and the varnish layer (Deborah Magnoler).

Video on the mummy

This is not the end of the story though. Since the coffin returned to the Egypt Centre, it has been photographed and 3D scanned. While it is now in storage, future plans are for the coffin to go on display in the House of Death gallery at the Egypt Centre. Additionally, a full publication on the assemblage (coffin, cartonnage, and human remains) is planned, bringing together research on the history, construction, decoration, conservation, scientific analysis, palaeography, and other disciplines.

3D scan of the complete coffin (exterior decoration only): https://skfb.ly/p6QG8

3D scan of the lid: https://skfb.ly/p6OL8

3D scan of the trough: https://skfb.ly/p6P9y

We would like to thank the following present and former students who worked on the coffin over the past twenty-sixth years:

Jenny Gosling, Stefanie White, Deborah Magnoler, Gemma McBader, Susie Sandford, Sophie Alcock, Jerrod Seifert, Olivia Silverstein, Eloise Lovejoy, Anna Dembicka, Chloe Pearce, Aliza Taft, Stephanie Whitehead, Dean Smith, Emily Franks, Joanne Hoppe, Sarah Dunn, Angela Leersnyder, Sean Billups, Rachel Coderre, Deirdre Ellis, Celia Godfrey, Naomi Hadfield, Leah Hammon, David Jacobs, Rosie Jones, Wanlei Liang, Jess MacLean, Maria Meerson, Jessie Morgan, Tia Ryder, Domonkos Szabo, Liz Trump, Nancy Wender, Hannah Willett, Zoe Bell, Kwan Yu Chow, Kimberley Dowding, Alexandra Meek, Katie Morton, Aron O’Shea, Carmen Cooper, and Gabrielle Wright.

Thank you!