Nefertkau III

Nefertkau in hieroglyphs
Nefertkau Nfr.t kau

Nefertkau III was an Ancient Egyptian princess. She lived during the 4th dynasty. She was possibly a daughter of Meresankh II and Horbaef. If so, she was a granddaughter of King Khufu.^[1] Baud has proposed that Nefertkau was a daughter of Khufu instead.^[2] Nefertkau has the titles King's daughter of his body and Priestess of Neith in a scene in the chapel of her tomb. She was married to an official named Iynefer. Nefertkau and Iynefer had a daughter also called Nefertkau and two or three sons.^[3] Strudwick has suggested that Iynefer may be a son of Khufu. Depending on the interpretation of the family relationships Nefertkau may have married either her uncle or her brother.^[2]

Tomb

Nefertkau and Iynefer were buried in G 7820 which is part of a double mastaba. The tomb is located in the east field which is part of the Giza Necropolis.^[4]

Chapel

Scenes show Nefertkau and her husband. In one scene a small girl is shown between her parent. She is called "their daughter Nefertkau". In the same scene a small boy appears before his father, but no name is recorded. In another scene two small boys and a slightly larger man are depicted with Iynefer. The two small boys are sons, the larger figure may be a depiction of their eldest son.^[3]

Burial shafts

Two burial shafts were constructed. The husband is thought to have been buried in the shaft labeled G 7820A, while Nefertkau was likely buried in shaft G 7820B. In G 7820A no traces of a coffin were found, and there was no canopic pit or recess. In G 7820B no traces of a coffin were found either, but there was a canopic pit in the southeast corner of the burial chamber.^[3]

References

1. ↑ Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004. ISBN 0-500-05128-3
2. 1 2 Flentye, Laurel. “The development of the Eastern and GIS Cemeteries at Giza during the Fourth Dynasty. The relationship between architecture and tomb decoration.” In The Old Kingdom Art and Archaeology. Proceedings of the Conference held in Prague, May 31–June 4, 2004, pp. 133–143. Edited by Miroslav Bárta. Prague: Czech Institute of Egyptology, 2006. The Old Kingdom art and archaeology
3. 1 2 3 George A. Reisner and William Stevenson Smith, A History of the Giza Necropolis II, Appendix B: Cemetery 7000 by George Reisner, Harvard University Press, 1955, pp. 107- Appendix B: Cemetery 7000 by George Reisner
4. ↑ Porter, Bertha and Moss, Rosalind, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings Volume III: Memphis, Part I Abu Rawash to Abusir. 2nd edition; revised and augmented by Jaromir Malek, 1974. Retrieved from gizapyramids.org.

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