admin The mystery of an “impossible” ancient Egyptian sculpture depicting two individuals, including a pharaoh, can now be solved, according to a researcher.
However, not everyone agrees with the new assessment.
The 3D sculpture, carved from limestone, shows the pharaoh sitting on the knee of a kneeling person. The statue of the pharaoh is not life-sized and wears a blue crown (sometimes called a war crown) with a uraeus (a snake) on its head. The artwork is now housed in the National Museum of Scotland.
In ancient Egypt, pharaohs were not depicted alongside non-royal people in 3D sculptures, writes Margaret Maitland, senior curator of the ancient Mediterranean at the National Museum of Scotland. in an article published in the book “Deir el-Medina:
Through a Kaleidoscope” (Franco Cosimo Panini Editore, 2022). Maitland also wrote a blog post about the sculpture in 2022, noting that the presence of a non-royal with a pharaoh makes it looks like an “impossible” sculpture.
Maitland conducted archival research to determine the origin of the sculpture in Egypt. Her discovery was excavated at Deir el-Medina, a site near the Valley of the Kings, in the 1850s by a team led by Scottish archaeologist Alexander Henry Rhind. She noted that the elders living in Deir el-Medina were responsible for building the tombs of the pharaohs.
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Maitland analyzed other sculptures found at Deir el-Medina, as well as ancient historical documents and other archaeological remains from the site. She discovered that some high-ranking officials in Deir el-Medina were authorized to represent the pharaoh in ways that people elsewhere in Egypt could not.
During the reign of Ramses II (c. 1279 BC to 1213 BC), an idolatrous cult dedicated to the king flourished in Deir el-Medina. Maitland writes: The worship of the pharaoh and the construction of statues representing him were encouraged by the royal family. “Given the essential role craftsmen played in the construction of royal tombs, as well as the centralization of king burials in the Egyptian political system, it was important to maintain stability. determination of the social structure that governs Deir el-Medina by fostering devotion to the king,” Maitland writes in the book. In other words, although the Egyptians generally discouraged carving pharaohs and non-royal people together, at that particular time and place it was still acceptable. Furthermore, the fact that this sculpture depicts a statue of the pharaoh and not the pharaoh himself, makes its existence all the more bearable, Maitland writes in the book.
Maitland writes that the pharaoh depicted in the sculpture is likely a statue of Ramses II. She added that
But this interpretation does not sit well with other archaeologists.
Betsy Bryan, a professor of Near Eastern studies at Johns Hopkins University who was not involved in the study, agrees that the sculpture depicts a man with a pharaoh statue. Although the pharaoh could be Ramesses II, it is more likely a representative of Amenhotep I (reigned about 1525 BC to 1504 BC), says Bryan.
For starters, Amenhotep is “the patron god of Deir el-Medina,” says Bryan. Alternatively, this pharaoh could be deified, which only happens after death, Bryan noted. This means that if the sculpture was created during the reign of Ramses II, the people of Deir el-Medina would choose a dead pharaoh, such as Amenhotep I, to depict.
That said, it’s still possible that the statue “can’t” represent Ramses II, Maitland said. During her research, she found examples of carvings depicting viziers or high officials, along with statues of deified pharaohs that were still alive when the works were written. carvings are made. This suggests that living pharaohs can also sometimes be considered divine. In addition, she discovered that Ramesses II is often depicted in Deir el-Medina with a blue crown.
the person depicted kneeling behind the pharaoh could be Ramose, a senior scribe who served as a community leader. Maitland says a big clue hints at Ramose’s identity. The person is depicted wearing a flower crown, a rare item for men in ancient Egypt. However, there is a wooden statue from Deir el-Medina that shows Ramose wearing a crown, according to his research.
