Neithhotep
| Neithhotep in hieroglyphs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Personal name:
| |||
 Alabaster fragment with the name of queen Neith-hotep. | |||
Neith-hotep (also read as Neith-hetepjw) was an Ancient Egyptian queen consort living during the early 1st dynasty. According to newest discoveries, Neith-hotep was the spouse of king (pharaoh) Hor-Aha and the motherly co-regent of king Djer. Neith-hotep was thus maybe the first known female pharaoh of Egypt.[2][3]
Identity
Name
Neithhotep's name is connected to Neith, the goddess of war and hunting. This goes d'accord with an old name fashion during the first dynasty: many queens (Meritneith, for example) and princesses (such as Aha-Neith, Her-Neith, Nakht-Neith and Qa'-Neith) connected their names with Neith, too.[4]
Titles
As a queen, Neithhotep bore several elite and pious titles:[5]
- Foremost of the women (Egypt. Khenty wat)
- Consort of the Two Ladies (Egypt. Semat Nebty)
Attestations
Neithhotep's name was found at Helwan, Abydos and Naqada. It appears on clay seal impressions, on ivory tags and as inscriptions on stone bowls. Most of the objects were found in her burial complex and in the tombs of Aha and Djer. On several clay seals, Neithhotep's name was written inside a double serekh, the midst of the merged serekhs is perched by a divine standart of Neith.[5][4] One unusual seal impression gives the name diction Hetepjw.[6]
New discoveries
A new discovery site of Neith-hotep's name lies in the Wadi Ameyra at Sinai. At the site, several rock carvings date back to the times of the kings Iry-Hor, Narmer, Djer and Raneb. King Djer's inscription depicts at its left a procession of royal festive boats, at the right it shows a royal serekh with Djer's name inside. The horus-falcon atop of the serekh holds a war mace, clubbing a kneeling foe to death. Neith-hotep's name appears at the left site diagonally above the serekh.[2][3]
Until recently, it was believed that Neith-hotep was the wife of king Narmer and mother of king Aha. Clay seal impressions were found in her tomb showing the serekhs of Narmer and Aha.[4] But the most recent discoveries of hieroglyphs carved at Wadi Ameyra reveal that she was in fact the mother of king Djer and his temporary co-regent.[2][3] A similar case is that of king Hor Den, in which queen Meritneith lead the royal office for her still minor son.[7] Thus, queen Neithhotep may have also led the royal office for her infant son.[5] This theory is promoted by two facts: firstly, Neithhotep's name appears on several clay seal impressions inside a serekh - a fashion that was commonly reserved for male rulers only. Secondly, her tomb is of extraordinary size and it has its own cultic enclosure. Such a case is otherwisely known only from queen Meritneith.[4]
Tomb
Neithhotep's tomb was discovered in 1897 by French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan at the site of Naqada. Later it was investigated again by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt in 1898. The superstructure consisted of a huge mastaba made of hardened mudbricks, the outer walls were niched. It is now completely destroyed due time-conditional erosion. Because of its huge size the tomb was once believed to be that of king Menes. The choice of place for the tomb may indicate that queen Neithhotep originated from the northern Lower Egypt. It was also once believed that Neithhotep married Narmer in attempt to facilitate Narmer's unification of Egypt.[5][4]
References
- ↑ Silke Roth: Die Königsmütter des Alten Ägypten von der Frühzeit bis zum Ende der 12. Dynastie. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2001, ISBN 3-447-04368-7, p. 377.
- 1 2 3 Owen Jarus: Name of queen Neith-hotep found at Wadj Ameyra. In: Live Science, 19. January 2016 (online).
- 1 2 3 Owen Jarus: Early Egyptian Queen Revealed in 5,000-Year-Old Hieroglyphs. In: Live Science, 19. January 2016 (online).
- 1 2 3 4 5 Toby A. H. Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt - Strategy, Security and Society. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-26011-6, p. 70 & 291.
- 1 2 3 4 Joyce A. Tyldesley: Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt: From Early Dynastic Times to the Death of Cleopatra. Thames & Hudson, 2006, ISBN 0500051453, p. 26-28.
- ↑ Walter Bryan Emery: Ägypten – Geschichte und Kultur der Frühzeit. Fourier, Wiesbaden 1964, ISBN 0-415-18633-1, p. 28.
- ↑ Silke Roth: Die Königsmütter des Alten Ägypten von der Frühzeit bis zum Ende der 12. Dynastie. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2001, ISBN 3-447-04368-7, p. 31-33.