A Group of Sixth Dynasty Titles Relating to Ptah and Sokar Author(s): Henry G. Fischer Source: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 3 (1964), pp. 25-29 Published by: American Research Center in Egypt Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40000982 . Accessed: 13/11/2013 04:56 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
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A Group of Sixth Dynasty Titles Relating to Ptah and Sokar Henry G. Fischer PLATE XV
The false door that is the subject of the following pages probably derives from Saqqara, or at any rate a necropolis in the vicinity of Memphis,being inscribed for a certain *Irt-Pthy surnamed ^Iry,1 who was "revered by PtahSokar/' and served this god, or pair of gods, in several capacities (PL XV). Although the monument has twice been described and illustrated in the Bulletin of the University Museum in Philadelphia, where it has long been exhibited,2 it remains to be pointed out that the titles on the six jambs form a rare and interesting group, which, when studied in relation to each other, contribute a surprising amount of information on the development of the local priesthoods from the Old to the Middle Kingdom. This is not to say that the false door belongs to the Intermediate Period; although its form and content show that it cannot be earlier than the Sixth Dynasty, there are no stylistic, palaeographic or orthographic peculiarities that necessarily point to a date later 1 For the first name see Ranke, PevsonennamenII, 265.30, where the museum number is to be corrected, and ibid., 100, where iri.t-Pth is analyzed as an abbreviationof nfr-iri.t-Pth "what Ptah does is good." The second name is noted ibid., 343 (additionto Vol. I, 41.6). 2 Bulletin of the UniversityMuseum2 (1930), 57-59 and 15, parts 2-3 (1950),30, and Fig. 16 on p. 32, the latter being H. Ranke's guide TheEgyptian Collections of the UniversityMuseum.The registrationnumberis E 14318; purchased in 1921, without information regardingthe provenance.The material is limestone, the maximumheight 133 cm., width 81 cm.
than the reign of Pepy II.3 The isolated pair of titles on the crossbar,which have no connection with the rest of the titulary and will therefore receive no further mention, are particularly characteristic of the late Old Kingdom. The first is \^ "noble of the king," the second ^Jf "courtier of the (royal) house."4The remaining titles are the following:
;:n^l|^iLeftouler]am ^ (3) 1
v [^
^ v
_
)
>Left intermediate jamb
(5) PfP& iU Right outer jamb and (6 only) D (6) I $t I I right intermediate jamb 3 The only abnormality worth mentioning is the presence of five jars in the hnt-sign instead of the usual |U^|or fjjjj),and this feature is exceedingly rare at any period. The closest parallel known to me, in an inscription dated to Amenemhet I (Hammamat 199) also contains five jars, but does not show the sides of the rack. An earlierOld Kingdom inscription (BrusselsE 754; Capart, Recueilde Mons. II, PL 54) shows a double rack, evidently containing a total of eight jars. 4 For these titles see de Wit, Chroniqued'Egypte31 (no. 61, 1956), 89-104. Further remarks are to be found in AZ 86 (1961), 26-28 and JAOS 81 (1961), 423, where it is noted that the title spsw nhwtfalls into disuse after the decline of the Old Kingdom; it should be added, however, that this term is still occasionallyused in the MiddleKingdomas a general and non-titularterm for a courtier:e.g., Sinai inscription 136 and 413, and BM 586 (Hieroglyphic Texts II, PL 12).
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(i) Ss sdswt-ntrm hwt Pth "Scribe of the treasureof the god in the mansionof Ptah" "Scribesof the treasureof the god" are less infrequentin the Old Kingdomthan might be supposed.Onecaseis probablyto be recognized in the Sixth Dynasty tomb of Ppy-Cnhhry-ib at Meir,althoughit has beenreproduced as ^£b and as two titles: "treasurer jHQj interpreted of the god" and "draughtsman."5Another example (written ^J^lif) appears above the head of an offering bearer in the tomb of ihty-htpat Saqqara,dating to the end of the Fifth Dynasty.6A fourth occurrencemay be quoted from one of a pair of Sixth Dynasty obelisks from Heliopolis, where the owners nameis precededby gg «{§= ^ Jft|]jf"scribeof the treasure the god's great house (at) Helio(in) polis,"7while the other obeliskbearsthe com-
parabletitle jgf^
^ \1Q
"privyto
"Privy to the secretof the god'streasurein the housesof MW (Deirel Gebrawitomb72)10 (Deirel Gebrawitomb 46)u
XO^ri^^Q]£4>''--
intheup.
landtemple"(El Kabgrafitto)12 ? t P3 3^1 ^ & ^ ^ "- * the chamber of offering(?)" (Nagaed-Deirstela)13
Na§a Z Pn & _ 1® "- of Min"(coffin>
ed-Deirtomb3751).14 Here,as in the caseunderconsideration(andin the title ^ ^_, to be discussedpresently),it seems likely that ntr refersto the local god. A similar reapplicationof a title that formerlypertained to the king is attested by two occurrencesof hry-tpdd "overlordof the wardrobe:" mMj$Mi2 "overlordof the wardrobe (dity hp [ ?]Jin the temple"(Nagaed-Deirtomb89)15
the secret of the god's treasure(in) the great house (at) Heliopolis."8In both thesecasesthe context is apparentlysecular,with ntrreferring %l\* *9- K3^6 if "overlord of thewardto the king, and in anotheroccurrenceof the secondHeliopolitantitle, which makesits first 10Davies, Deir el GebrawiII, p. 20 and PL 21. appearancein the Sixth Dynasty,ntris actually M'm is the cult center of the god (nty. 11Ibid., p. 33 and PL 21; the false door C in tomb replacedby nswt: J^ p^q ^ ^.9 Towardsthe end of the Old Kingdom,however,and somewhat 72 probably has the same title; cf. also tomb 38 (A). is the cult center of the goddess M;tit. later, hry sst?n sdiwt-ntris sometimesassociat- >I;krnt 12L. Stern, AZ 13 (1875), PL 1 (k), facing p. 72. ed with temples: 13Dunham, ed-DerStelae,no. 16. Some of the 5 Blackman, Meir IV, PL 4A (1) and p. 2. 6 Davies, PtahhetepII, PL 34. 7 Daressy,ASAE 16 (1916), 212; Kuentz,Obelisques, PL 3 (CairoCat. 17002). 8 Daressy, loc. cit.; Kuentz, ibid., PL 2 (CairoCat. 17001).
9 Junker, Giza IV, 5, 18, 27f., where the title is translated "Der iiber den Geheimnissen der versiegelten Schriftstuckedes Konigs steht." Apart from the inconclusivereasonthat the same titulary includes a scribal function, there is little to recommend "versiegelte Schriftstucke"as a translation of sdiwt rather than "treasure," particularly in view of the fact that one of the other titles refers to the pr-hd. Among the evidence offered by Wb. V, 637, Belegst. 2, for this meaningof sd;wt, note in particularp§ ^ "bringingthe best of gold and every "^^l^l^^ treasure" (Daressy, Mastaba de Meva, 571; cf. ibid. 573, LD II, 22, and Steindorff,Grabdes Ti, PL 66).
Naga signs have hieratic forms; there is no question about jfQ however, and the reading of o_d (suggested by Gardiner, ibid. p. 30) seems highly probable. The title is preceded by imy-r hwt-ntr "overseer of the temple." 14C. N. Peck, Some DecoratedTombs of the First Intermediate Period at Naga ed-Der, University Microfilms,Ann Arbor,p. 135, n. 4. For the construction of the title see the discussion on p. 123 of the present volume. 15Quoted (in translation) by C. N. Peck, ibid., p. 136, n. 1. Dr. Peck, to whom I owe the facsimile made by Norman de Garis Davies, has also put me in mind of the possibility that the armmight represent ssp, and I have subsequentlycome upon examples of $sp (and Ssp.t) as a word for cloth or clothing in titles (JARCE 2 [1963], 25). The trace above the arm is difficult to explain, however, unless this and the sign are actually |P, and=3 in itself might be a determinativefor clothing (Gardiner,Gram.3,507).
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robe of Hathor, Mistressof Dendera" (Dendera,
generally added to U-ntr when courtly rank is tomb of Mrrl).1Q involved, or relationship to the king, it is The first of these examplesmay be as early as extremely likely that this title designates a while the other is no VI, probably Dynasty priestly office. If so, it is one of the earliest earlierthan Dynasty VIII. At a slightly later examples of its kind, although an equally date the closelyrelatedtitle try nfr-h?t"keeper good case can be made for the same interpret" whichwas of the Headdress, ation of U-ntr in the titularies of three Helioformerlyheld by those who arrangedthe king'swig, is readapted politan high priests whose tombs evidently to the local cult as follows: antedate the end of the Old Kingdom.23Here the headdress the title in question regularlyfollows wr-m^(.w) of "keeper ^I^^I^t® in attiring his lord (namely) his city god" "greatest of the seers" or hry-hbt "lector (Naga ed-Deir tomb 3737).17 priest," and sometimes occurs between the the for ss later evidence sdswt-ntr two. As Kees points out, examples of U-ntras a Among there is a Tenth Dynasty examplereferringto priestly function are rare even in the Middle : ( o ^c LJM Kingdom;24it does not seem necessary, howthe pyramidcult of King Merykare ever, to deny their existence at a somewhat I J J J 1 (Pf^ -18At leastoneTwelfthDynasty earlier period,25 when there is additional occurrence again makes mention of a local divievidence for the assimilation of courtly titles to nity - the god Amun,19 and this connection the priesthood of local divinities. This evidence is wrellattested in later times.20 has already been discussed in connection " with the first of the preceding titles. (2) Ss htpw-ntr"scribe of the god's offerings The present occurrenceis the only one known (4) Sch c;(?) m hnw Skr "Noble great (of to me from Old Kingdom sources. At least one years?) in the bark of Sokar" other example may be cited for the Twelfth The reading of the second sign is somewhat Dynasty,21 but the title does not become comuncertain; the slightly bent attitude of the mon until the New Kingdom.22 If ntr in the figure would favor iiw "old," or smsw "eldest," preceding title refers to the local god, the same but this form also admits the possibility of c* conclusion seems equally justified in this case. "great," which is sometimes written with the same sign. A particularly persuasive instance of (3) yIt-ntr"Father of the god" the latter occurs in the epithet wr m ist.f> c/ m Considering the context of the other titles, and the absence of tnry-ntr, a phrase which is sch.f, the last half of which is written $ ^ p-j* ^ *^ in the Sixth Dynasty tomb of 'Ibi at Deir 16Petrie, Dendera, PL 8 (lower left: Cairo Cat. el Gebrawi.26But if it seems likely that this 1663); discussed in my dissertation Denderahduring paraphrases ^jj}, so that the reading of the the Old Kingdom, etc. (University Microfilms, Ann latter is &â‚-h-â‚-?, the bent attitude might still be ff. Arbor),269 17C. N. Peck, ibid., PL 12 and pp. 109-110. For try nfr-hstsee my remarksin AZ 90 (1963), 39, where I shouldhave mentionedDr. Peck's discussionas well as Helck, Beamtentitel,42. 18Cairo Cat. 39053, coffin of 'Ipi-m-st.f,evidently from the Teti pyramid cemeteriesat Saqqara;one of
theothertitles*
• (^fl ffj j j& 7 Q]
19CairoCat. 20677 d. 20For the later evidence see Wb. V, 637, Belegstellen 7-9. 21CairoCat. 20335 c. 22Wb.Ill, 185, Belegstellen 15ft.
23Daressy, ASAE 16 (1916), 198 (Mrw); 199*1. (tSbky); 209! (Hw-n-Hr). Helck (Beamtentitel,94) mentions these occurrences,but apparently assumes that they are simply "Ehrentitel," without any referenceto the local cult. 24 AZ 86 (1961), 121. 25 Ibid., 120.
26Davies, Deir el GebrawiI, PL 6; for other examples of the epithet cf. Janssen, TraditioneeleAutobiografie I, pp. 6-7. His second Sixth Dynasty example of the samewriting (Petrie,AbydosI, PL 54) is actually MiddleKingdom.
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indicative, for c/ can mean "great in age/'27 and an early Twelfth Dynasty nomarch at Beni
Hasanis in fact fo^2££ j^ + I "a noble
great of years in the house oi'Imy-Snt."28A yet closer, if less conclusive parallel occurs on a MiddleKingdom offeringtable of about the same date, belonging to a Memphitehigh priest who is
tome W,$ ^k^ ii -29Thetextisonlyknown
from two hand copies, but both copies agree in giving the initial sign a decidedly bent attitude ; the preceding context and the size of the lacuna suggest that ^ might be restored at the head of the title, as in the case under consideration. The false door of a Sixth Dynasty master-metalworkeragain associates fy (slightly bent forward, as before) and p- *| 4fa with Sokar,this time in a consecutive pair of epithets :
"great (of years?) in respect to the divine office in smelting ; possessor of rank (as) a goldworker in the retinue of Sokar."30A further indication that the idea of age may be implied in these epithets is provided by the title (j^ fy £ J 27For a Sixth Dynasty example see Sethe, AZ 61 (1926), 74 (PapyrusBerlin 9010, line 3). 28Newberry, Beni Hasan I, p. 22 and PL 7. For the god in question, see Kees, AZ 64 (1929), 107-112. A somewhatsimilar MiddleKingdomepithet isj^ ^» "overseer of offering tables as a digniiTI Mf" tary of his house," in this case referringto Horus the Behdetite (Alliot, Tell Edfou [1933], PL 16 [1]). 29Berlin 1189,Hier. Inschr.I, 208 andLZ>II, 118(i). 30Goyon, Kemi 15 (1959), p. 18 and PL 4. Goyon translates the last part "Orfevrepour les ornements de la cour," equating skr with a Middle Kingdom ' and word ^* 5 meaning "adorn* evidently related to Shkr (Wb. Ill, 487.12; cf. IV, 318.13). In this case, however, one might expect P rather than - »- in the Sixth Dynasty text. For SnwtSkr cf. Wb.IV, 511.13flf. "Hofleuteeines Gottes." For the association between Sokarisand metalworkingsee also CT 660 a (Vol. VI,
284): ©l^-^-^n^
w^-JHIj./l
a s^»
f 1-1M
a Y/i^h
"Itis this fn> his own
skin belonging to Sokar and to smelting; indeed, it is not the smelting of his craftsmen."I am unable to explain the particular significanceof h>y.t in this passage, beyond the fact that it is apparently related to h?w and hiw.t in Wb. Ill, 225 (8, 9).
Q^j "old one of the mansion of Ptah," on the false door of a Memphite high priest who lived in the latter part of the Fifth Dynasty.31 (5) §}!>ism(.w) "Inspector of im-attendantsM $hd sm is a lesser counterpart of the title 1 3^ hrp sm, which is attributed to most of the Memphitehigh priests of the Sixth Dynasty and is regularly preceded by another title referring to Sokar.L2In one case the name of Sokar is actually attached to it (g8icf lj,33 and the same is apparently true of the one case where
the titleis simplysm: (oltfj S A& T1 I £ i 11 S ^ -UTheim (nott0 be confusedwith
stm) thereforeappears to be a minor officiant of this god.35For the meaning one should probably compare a verb of identical appearance which involves an attitude or action towards a god, and which, in the case of Pyr. 892, has been taken to mean "revere" or "respect."36 No further examples preceded by shd appear to be known until Saitic times, when titles referringto sm are revived ;37such titles do not occur at all duringthe intervening periods,from the end of the Sixth Dynasty to the beginning of the Twenty-sixth. of Ptah" (6) Wcbc6-priest" local hierarchy, since there is no mention of the title that is distinctive of the Memphite high and since he is only a slid sm priests (^ff), rather than hrp sm. The same status is indicated for a second "great w'b-priest" whose false door is apparently as early as the Sixth Dynasty ; he is ~P? an(i - $8**" "Inspector of the House of Min" and "Great z#c6-priest of Min."40 The next earliest examples of (^ J occur on two Saqqara false doors of the First Intermediate Period, one of which is probably as late as the Tenth Dynasty.41 There is no indication that either of these "great wcbpriests" was of very exalted rank. Conversely, two Memphitehigh priests of the Sixth Dynasty are merely °f$| - ,42 but their inscriptions doubtless antedate the title that is under discussion. Once the rank of "great ze^ft-priest" was established, it must have conveyed a considerable degree of importance when it referredto a cult so central and well-established as that of Ptah. L J
| I
I
5 OX
wm
"
Resume and Conclusions The foregoing group of titles indicates that while *Irt-pth was not at the summit of the 39Cairo Cat. 20514; Newberry, BershehII, PL 17; Blackman, Meir II, Pis. 10, 11. 40CairoCat. 1407. 41Firth and Gunn, Teti Pyr. Cent.,PL 70 (1), and Quibell,Excav. Saq. 1906-07, PL 7 (3). 42Mar., Mast., p. 130 (Pth-spss; cf. note 32 above; the architrave on p. 377 is apparently the same, copied in reverse),p. 375 (S;bw).
Memphite clergy (being only a shd sm rather than hrp sm), his position (as wcb
