Egypt Exploration Society
A New Old Kingdom Inscription from Giza (CGC 57163), and the Problem of SN-ḎT in Pharaonic Third Millennium Society Author(s): Juan Carlos Moreno García Source: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 93 (2007), pp. 117-136 Published by: Egypt Exploration Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40345833 . Accessed: 14/10/2013 09:08 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 NEW OLD KINGDOM INSCRIPTION FROM GIZA (CGC 57163),AND THE PROBLEM OF SN-DT IN PHARAONIC THIRD MILLENNIUM SOCIETY By JUANCARLOS MORENO GARCIA monument fromthepoorlypreserved tombD 203 PanelCGC 57163providesbotha newinscribed of theendowment'. totherather obscuretermsn-dt'brother reference at Giza andanother Studyof documents fromtheOld Kingdomshowsthat evidenceas wellas theadministrative theepigraphic to individuals whoreplaced theuse of thistermwasnotlimitedtothefunerary sphere:italso refers of certainduties,bothof a ritualandadministrative nature.In a another personin theperformance an administrator of institutional to a sn-dt was context, goodsformerly granted a particular funerary - to a secondary - undercondition The probable allotted butsubsequently recipient. functionary was to keeptheirassetsseparate.In anycase,thesn-dtdisappearsfromthe goalof thisprocedure oftheSixthDynasty. recordfromthebeginning andpapyrological epigraphic
fromthetombof NfrandJtj-sn(D 203), Little is knownabouttheinscriptions in theWestFieldof Giza. Justtwofalse-doors locatedin theSteindorff Cemetery nor ofwhichhavebeenproperly described inPorterandMoss,1neither arerecorded in theOriental published.The firstconsistsof a panel,lintel,and drumpreserved 1081 1 and 10812;onlya the numbers where it bears Institute of Chicago, inventory of thepanelhavebeenpublishedto date.2The and a briefdescription photograph formedpartof theEgyptiancollectionof theLeipzigMuseum secondfalse-door duringtheSecondWorldWar.Some yearsago (inv.no. 2556),butwas destroyed stelabelonging to an Italian Edda Brescianipublisheda panelof anotherfalse-door monument.3 which came from the same 'Hatun collection stela') funerary (the private of thepanelof a this Giventhescarceinformation concerning tomb,publication intheCairoMuseum(CGC 57163)mayallowforbetter false-door further preserved as well fromthistombnow dispersedworld-wide, of themonuments knowledge the as allowingfora moreaccuratedatingof thetomb,especiallybecauseit offers termsn-dt'brother of the to reopenthediscussionof theproblematic opportunity endowment'. to thetopicis thetombof Pttj,withitswellrelevant Anotherrecentdiscovery whichcan be datedto theFourth This knownthreatspell.4 monument, important whodeclareshimself tobe the alsodisplaysa newexampleofan individual Dynasty, 1 PMIII/i, 116. 2 von Abusir',Orientalia41 (1972), 244, pl. vi. Chicago Or. Inst. 10812: P. Kaplony,'Das Papyrusarchiv 3 E. Bresciani,'"La stele Hatun": II pannellodi una falsa-portaa nome di Nefere di It-sen,dalla necropoli deirAnticoRegno a Giza', EVO 18 (1995), 19-21. 4 Z. Hawass, 'The Tomb of the PyramidBuilders:The Tomb of theArtisanPetetyand his Curse , in G. N. World:Studiesin Honourof Donald Knoppersand A. Hirsch(eds), Egypt,Israel,and theAncientMediterranean B. Redford(PdA 20; Leiden, 2004), 21-39. TheJournalofEgyptian Archaeology 93 (2007), 117-36 ISSN 0307-5133
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dt of an official.The titlepublished by Hawass should be read shd nfr(w)rh nzwtJtjsn dt 'the inspector of recruit(s), the dt of the acquaintance of the kingJtj-sn',where Jtj-snwas a dignitarysuperior in rank to Pttj and importantenough forPttj to decide to give the name Jtj-sn nds 'Jtj-snjunior' to one of his own sons. This example of the use of the term dt must be added to those already known fromthe Old Kingdom sources,5and it is also interestingbecause it shows a case of a multiple patron-client relationship, in which an individual defined as the dt of another turns out also to be the patron of a person of lesser status, in this case a dt and mit{r)t 'mourner' mentioned in Pttfs tomb. Though sn-dtand dt figureprominentlyin the epigraphic record of the Old Kingdom, mainly froma funerarycontext and fromthe decorated tombs of the Egyptian elite, freshevidence concerning sn-dt,as well as dt of humble status, appears in administrative documents from the Fourth Dynasty on. Taking these new documents into account, it is possible to get a betterunderstanding of the sociological realitylying beneath these ratherdifficultterms. Panel CGC 57163 fromthe tomb of Nfr and Jtj-sn at Giza This limestone panel (55 x 30.5 cm), probably belonging to a false-door stela, is 6 currentlypreserved in the Cairo Museum bearing the inventorynumber CGC 57163. The inscriptionsread as follows (fig. 1 and pl. V.i): Over the deceased: sn-dtNfrjmj-r UwJtj-sn the sn-dtNfr, the overseer of the ^-ferrymen* Jtj-sn Over the attendant on the leftside of the panel: Mrjj Mrjj (name) Lintel: jmihwhr nb.fJtj-snsn-dtrh nzwtjmihwhr nb.fjmj-rhrq(w)Nfrh the revered before his lord Jtj-sn; the sn-dt,the acquaintance of the king,the revered before his lord, the overseer of barbers Nfr Notes: (a) Titles formed with the element Uw are extremelyrare in the Old Kingdom, only being attested in the tomb of Nfr and Jtj-sn, in the Abusir papyri, and on the statue of Jntj-Sdw at Giza.7 Three variants of the title are known fromthe mastaba of Nfr and Jtj-sn:jmj-r Uw 'the overseer of the £m;-ferrymen' ,jmj-r Uwn wji 'overseer of the £w-ferrymenof the bark5and jmj-r Uw n wji ri 'overseer of the Uw-ierrymen 5 D. Jones,An IndexofAncientEgyptianTitles,Epithetsand Phrasesof theOld Kingdom(BAR IS 866; Oxford, 2000),
II, 1012-15.
6 I wouldliketo as wellas forhis to Dr. MahmudEl-Halwagyforhiskindassistance expressmygratitude topublishthismonument. permission 7 The readingtewis tobe preferred AnIndexofAncient reviewof D. Jones, to tew-r, cf.P.Andrassy, Egyptian which ofthetitlenfw'skipper' Titles(Oxford, As forthereading 2000),JESHO 45 (2002),397-8withreferences. itcouldalsobe readtewintheabsenceofphonetic (cf. complements appearsseveraltimesintheGebeleinpapyri, I papiridi Gebelein P. GebeleinI rt.Di 51; IV rt.92; V rt.72; V vs.A25and29): P. Posener-Krieger, (scaviG Farina1935) (SMET Gebelein1; Turin,2004),pisiv,xxxiv, xxxix,xl-xli.
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of the greatbark'. Anotheroccurrenceof the termUwappears in the papyriof the fromthe FifthDynasty,in whichan official, funerarytempleof king Neferirkare, who was a shd underthe controlof a Uww Dwi-Rr> 'inspectorof the fcftw-ferrymen' htmwntr'treasurerof the god', was in chargeof a teamof threeindividualsdefined m [bj?]tm collectivelyas Uwwyand who had the missionof ftw[w] jnnw htp-ntr[w] As who bringthedivineofferings fromtheResidencein a ft/jf-bark'.8 hn[w]'ferrymen forthetitlejmj-rwdpwread by Brescianiin the 'Hatun stela', thehieroglyphforhrq from has perhapsbeen misinterpreted in thesequencejmj-rhrq(w),as can be inferred the similarwritingof this titlein the inscriptionpreservedin the Cairo Museum. who Finally,thetitlejmj-rUwappearson thestatuesofJntjSdw of Giza,9an official also bore the titlesof jmj-r Uwn wji 'overseerof the fcw-ferrymen of the bark',and rhnzwt.10
Fig. 1. Panel CGC 57163.
(b) Anothertitleprobablycarriedby Jtj-snwas jmj-r hst 'overseerof singers', quoted in SteindorfFsexcavationjournal.11 The parallelsfromthe AbusirPapyrisuggestthatthe controlover the Uwwas of a ritualnatureand was connectedto servicein the funerarymonumentof the king, in a special bark.Bearingin mind morepreciselyto thetransportof divineofferings 8 P. Posener-Kriegerand J.-L. de Cenival, HieraticPapyri in theBritishMuseum, FifthSeries: The Abu Sir Les archivesdu temple de Neferirkare-Kakai Papyri(London, 1968), pl. lxxxiicol. c; P. Posener-Krieger, funeraire et commentaire (Les papyrusdyAbusir): Traduction (BdE 65; Cairo, 1976), I, 110-12; II, 520 n. 2, 691. 9 Cf. Andrassy, JESHO 45, 397-8. IO Cf. JE 98945-8: Z. Hawass, 'A Group of Unique Statues Discoveredat Giza, III: The StatuesofJnty-Sdw fromTomb GSE 1915*,in N. Grimal(ed.), Les criteres a I'AncienEmpire(BdE 120; Cairo, de dotationstylistiques 1998), 193, 203 (figs11-12). 11 Les archivesdu temple I, 112 n. 1. Posener-Krieger, funeraire,
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thatthe ownersof the mastabawere also an overseerof singersand an overseerof barbers,doubtlessat the royalpalace, it can be inferredthattheirpositionin the royalentourageof Memphis allowed themto participatein the ceremoniesdevoted to the kingand to obtain the rightto build a tomb in the necropolisat Giza. The occurrenceof theraretermUwin thepapyrifromtheNeferirkare templearchive,on thestatueofJntj-Sdw,and on thepanel CGC 57163mightalso have a chronological value fordatingthetombof NfrandJtj-sn,sincetheseofficials mayhave livedabout or somewhatlater.In fact,theonlydocumentin theAbusir thereignof Neferirkare Papyrimentioningthe tnvis dated fromthe reignof Djedkare Izezi.12The building of the tomb of Nfr and Jtj-snin the FifthDynastyseems plausible in the lightof of the dead on the panel in the Cairo Museum. Firstof all, the the representation absence of cushionsand backs in the chairs suggestsa datingfromthe Fourthor FifthDynasty,down to the reignof Niuserre.13Second, the bull paw formof the foundin the iconographicrecorddown to the reign footof the chairsis frequently the formof the offering loaves is of Izezi or somewhatlater(Pepi I).14And, finally, the regularformfromthe reignof KhafreuntilPepi I.15As forJntj-Sdwof Giza, the potterydiscoveredin his tomb dates to the Fourthor FifthDynasties,but the featuresof his mastabaseem typicalof the FourthDynasty;thedating architectural betweenthe Fourth of thetypologicalfeaturesof the statuesis less clear,stretching and SixthDynasty.Consideringall thisevidence,it is possiblethatthetombof Nfr andJtj-snmightbe datedto about thesecondhalfof the FifthDynasty. Corpusof sn-dtin the Old Kingdomsources documents Administrative 1 P. GebeleinI vs. B, 5: 'theserfoftheking'andsn-dt Hm-nzwt Jr[...]. Date: FourthDynasty.16 2 P. GebeleinIV vs.6: Sn(t)-dtDb 7> J9~2i, U. Luft, Urkundenzur Chronologie derspdten12. Dynastie:Briefe aus Illahun (DGOAW 34 = CCEM 7; Vienna,2006), 91-6, pl. xxix. 4 Cairo JdE 66844 (C 4), Posener-Krieger, in Berger,Clerc, and Grimal (eds), Hommagesa Jean Leclant,I, 322 (fig.8). 47 P. Gebelein I vs. B, 5, Posener-Krieger, I papiridi Gebelein,pl. v. 48 Documents83 and 17A respectively: and de Cenival,TheAbu Sir Papyri,pis xvii.A,lxxxiii; Posener-Krieger Les archivesdu temple Posener-Krieger, II, 398, 472-3. funeraire, 49 Document 82 mentionssome dt: Posener-Kriegerand de Cenival, The Abu Sir Papyri,pl. lxxxii;PosenerKrieger,Les archivesdu temple I, 109. funeraire,
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in the fulfilling of a task. It mightbe expectedthatdocumentsof a different nature context(such as funeraryinscriptions)will show othersets of or froma different out activitiescarried by the sn-dt.Taking into considerationall the areas in which thesn-dtintervenedcan providea morebalancedpictureof theroletheyplayed,and avoid the riskof gettingtoo restricteda pictureby relyingexclusivelyon a rather limitedand specificset of documents.The papyrialso show thatthe role of thesndt as substituteswas not exclusiveto thisgroup of people. Nevertheless,theywere tied to otherpersonsto the point of being consideredmore or less as membersof theirfamilies,and theirsocial backgroundcould be an elite or a humbleone. The betweensn-dt,dtyand people simplymentionedby theirnames,without difference anytitleor familyindication,pointsto a bureaucraticrelevanceforthe factof being a sn-dt.Finally,papyrusGebelein V rt. shows thata sn 'brother'and a sn-dtcould thatthetwotermswere replaceanotherperson,and fromthisfactit can be inferred notsimilarand that,consequently, theydesignatetwodistinctkindsof social links. The sn-dtin funerarydispositions fromfunerary about theactivSeveralinscriptions dispositionsprovideinformation serviceor thebuilding itiesperformed bythesn-dtin theorganisationof thefunerary of a tombforanotherperson. inthetombof Nj-mirt-Rr The inscription (no. 18) containsthefollowingstatement: jr n.sjz pn dt.ssk s(j) m hnwmjpt-nzwtm-swj jn sn.sdtjmj-rhs(w)tpr- grantedto or built by Nj-m;rt-Rr. even if it was builtinsidethe funerarymonumentof anotherperson,one can infer thatNj-rmrt-Rr administeredor had access to the goods of Nfr-srs'(pr-)dtin order to build her chapel in his tomb.If thisinterpretation is correct,thesn-dtprocedure allowedthe goods whichconstitutedtwo different (pr-)dt,thoseof the originaland to be keptclearlyseparate.And theuse of thetermsn 'brother' secondaryrecipients, emphasizedboththeclosenessof thepersonsinvolvedin thisoperationas wellas the sharingof theirgoods. The case of Htp-ki(no. 24) furtherfleshesout the procedurejust described.An inscribedwoodendoor leaf foundnearthetombof thearchitectKi-m-hztmentions his father,Sn.f-rnh,as well as Sn.f-rnhys fivesons: Ki-m-hzthimself,Ki-pw-nzwt, and It Ki-hnt. must be stressed thatthewoodendoorleafwas notfound Mmj,Htp-hy in themastabaof Ki-m-hztbuton theeast side of an unexcavatedtombimmediately to thewest; Gunn thoughtthatalthoughKi-m-hztwas the donorof the door,it did notbelongtohimorhistomb,butperhapsto anothermemberof thesamefamily.58 In the tomb of Ki-m-hztbelongsto a largefamilycomplextogetherwiththetombs fact, of two of his brothers,a factthatcould explain the presenceof some monuments commissionedby membersof this familyin orderto honourthe most prestigious memberand builderof thefirstand largesttombof thegroup.Neverthelessitmight be keptin mindthatin spiteof the prominentfigureof Ki-m-hzty the onlybrother with him was An in represented together Htp-k;. inscriptionrunning frontof Ki-mhztandHtp-h states:jr( .j) nwnjt(.j) nsnw(.j)n-mrwt n.snhnr(.j)mjst(.j)'itwas prt-hrw in orderthattheymighthave invocationofferings togetherwithme, frommy(own) 55J.C. Moreno Garcia,Hwt etle milieururalegyptien du IIP millenaire:Economie, etorganisation administration
territoriale (BEHE SHP 337;Paris,1999),210-22. 5 The tombofNj-m?rt-Rr contains textual andiconographic evidenceabouthiswifeandsons,butthereis no information aboutNfr-srs in herchapel.Cf.thecontrast withHtp-hr.s wife family Hnwt,whowasNj-mirt-Rr>s andwhobearstheepithets mrthj.s'belovedofherhusband'andjmih(w)t hrhj.s'revered byherhusband'onher ownfalse-door stela(Hassan,Excavations at Giza II, 210fig.230). 57The use of thetermhtp(t)-ntr 'divineofferings' thata templedelivered to Nj-m?rt-Rr, suggests offerings orperhapsthrough theendowment oftheroyalmother. Forsomeparallels, cf.MorenoGarcia, perhapsdirectly
Hwt et le milieururalegyptien, 110-11. 58 McFarlane,Mastabas at Saqqara, 42.
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that I built this formy fatherand my brothers'(Urk. I, 206.14-15). But property, of Ki-m-hztand Htp-k?, anotherinscription, runningjust below the representations says:sn-dtjmj-rqd Htp-kirdjn.fmNrrtgrgtHm-dfiihtstlt2 'thesn-dtand overseer of architectsHtp-kr.thegrgt-domain Hemdjefain the provinceof Naret (= nomes 20-21 of Upper Egypt)has been givento him (consistingof) a fieldof two arouras' of (Urk. I, 207.2-3). 59I interpretthissentenceas a continuationand a specification the contentsof the previousone, whichwould make Htp-k?the donor of the door as a meansof honouringhis elderbrother:the dimensionsof thehieroglyphsof the to explainif thedoorhad secondsentence(whichconcernsHtp-ki)wouldbe difficult been orderedby Ki-m-hzt.Consideringthe textsand scene, it seems reasonableto monumentcommissionedby thinkthattheinscribeddoorleafwas a commemorative Htp-k?,sincehe stressedthathe had obtaineda domain,and thatthemonumentwas of theseactivities.Moreover, consecratedtothefatherand brothersof theprotagonist the monumentappears near the tomb of a person Ki-m-hzt- who was not the main protagonistof the inscriptions.The identityof the personwithwhomHtp-ki maintaineda sn-dtrelationshipis thereforeproblematic.Perhaps he was the sn-dt of his fatherand brothers;in fact,parallelsrevealthata personcould be thesn(t)-dt of a father,brother,or husband (cf.nos 15, 16, 21, and 30 in the repertory).As the fromhis own textmentionsthathe receiveda fieldand thathe deliveredofferings thegeneralcontextseemsrathersimilar propertyto theothermembersof his family, It would seem that,once again,an official(Htp-ki) to thatdiscussedforNj-m?rt-Rr. to financeactivitieson behalf of people resources his own at least used, partially, who werenottheoriginalrecipientsof theendowment(thebrotherand thefatherof Htp-ki). In spiteof the absence of any indicationof the originof the donation,the area of thefields(two arouras)60and theverbemployed(rdj insteadof,forexample, jrj orjn, theverbsthenused to expressthe acquisitionof land),61suggestan official, the sn-dtof royaldonationinsteadof a privatepurchase.If Htp-kiwas effectively his fatherand brothers,we would have anotherexampleof theroleplayedby thesnin transactionswhereindirectusufructsand officialincomewere dt as intermediary involved. The epigraphicrecordof the singerof the palace Hwfw-rnh (cf. no. 12) points - a in the same direction,since his son statesthathe had also built a monument came froma stela- to honouranothermemberof his family, Hwfw-rnh. Hwfw-rnh familyof hntjw-s(his father,mother,and he himselfbore thistitle)and he also had close ties withthe royalcirclebecause of his functionsof singerof the palace and 59Alternatively, ihtstlt2 'it as sn-dtjmj-r onecanalsoreadthissentence qdHtp-kirdjn.fmNrrtgrgtHm-dfi of Naret of architects is thesn-dtandoverseer Hemdjefaintheprovince Htp-kiwhogavehimthegrg£-domain 'Administration C. Moreno two a field of arouras' of nomes 20-1 Garcia, (J. of) (consisting Upper Egypt) (= avantJ.-C:grgtetle titrer(n)d-mr millenaire de l'espaceenEgypteau troisieme etorganisation territoriale grgt\ ZAS 123(1996),117). 60This appearsbothin privateandritualtexts(cf.,forexample,Urk.I, 25.4,163.14;CT III, 88h, quantity standard landedendowa kindof minimal n8g, i37g,153c;VI, 248d;VII, 505a,506a),as ifitwasconsidered ofofferings. mentdevotedtotheproduction 61Cf.thecontrast oflandin Urk.I, 2.8-9.Forthe theacquisition intheuseoftheverbsjn andrdjconcerning cf.J.C. MorenoGarcia,'Acquisition inthethirdmillennium, to landpurchase intextsrelating termsemployed socialedansl'Egyptedu IIP millenaire', Uneetuded'histoire PeriodeIntermediate: de serfsdurantla Premiere RdE 51(2000),123-39.
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chief of flautistsresponsible for the entertainmentfor the king. The inscriptions on the false-door in his mastaba stress the fact that the king himself furnishedthe funeraryequipment forhis tomb: jr.n n.f hm.fnw rjrrnh.fhr hm.fsk sw rnhhr rdwj.f 'it was when he was alive on his feetthat His Majesty did this forhim because of his ' condition of being honoured before His Majesty', and jr gs nzwt ds.f hr pgi n dldw 'done in the presence of the king himself at the entrance of the audience-hall'. By contrast,his own son could only dedicate a stela to him: rh nzwt Hwfw-rnhjr.n n.f nw zi.f [...] 'the acquaintance of the king Hwfw-rnh,his son [...] built this for him'. The presence of at least four snw-dt in his funerarymonument, including a snt-dt very close to the inner core of Hwfw-rnhys family,points to an importantofficialwho managed to obtain invocation offeringsfrom snw-dt;one of these, K?p, is probably one of the homonymous hntj-s(pr-ri)whose statues were found in the tomb of Hwfwrnhand, consequently,he was a colleague of his. The inscriptionsof Pn-mrw(no. 37) and Tntj (no. 36) doubtless provide the richest informationabout the role played by the sn-dt in a funerarycontext. Tntj was a middle rank officialwho received invocation offeringsfromthe pr-nzwt,which were administered by his wife: 'with regard to the invocation offeringswhich have come to me fromthe house of the king in the formof barley,wheat, and clothing,it is my wife, the royal acquaintance Tp-m-nfrt,who will provide my invocation offerings, for she is an honoured one for me' (Urk. I, 163.11-13).62 But the main concern of the funerarydispositions in his tomb was to participate in the funeraryendowment originally granted to his mother, the rh(t) nzwt Bbj, consisting of two fields. The measures taken by Tntj were twofold. On the one hand, he asked royal permission to dispose of one field fromBbj's endowment, apparently invoking his status as eldest son who had accomplished the pious act of burying his mother: 'I am her eldest son, her heir. It was I who buried her in the necropolis' (Urk. I, 164.2-3). This field was to be administered by his wife, and its income devoted to the remunerationof several hmw-ktin charge of the funeraryservice for Tntj and Bbj: 'with regards to the firstof two fieldswhich provide the invocation offeringsformy mother,the royal acquaintance Bbj, it now belongs to my wife, the royal acquaintance Tepemnefret. She is the one who shall make the invocation offeringsfor me and my mother,the royal acquaintance Bbj. It was I who begged them (= the plots of land) fromthe king because of my condition of being honoured' (Urk. I, 163. 14-164. 1). On the other hand, some otherinstitutionalofferingsformerlygrantedto Tntfs mother,Bbj, as well as another field,were to be administered by the sn-dtKij-m-nfrtin order to provide invocation offeringsfor Tntj and his mother: 'with regard to the invocation offerings formy mother,the royal acquaintance Bbj, consisting of barley and wheat fromthe granary,and clothing fromthe treasury,it is my sn-dt,the ka priest Kij-m-nfrt,who shall provide the invocation offeringsthereformy mother,the royalacquaintance Bbj, and formyself.As regards the second of these two fieldswhich provide the invocation offeringsformy mother,the royal acquaintance Bebi, it shall belong to my sn-dt,the fe-ritualistKij-m-nfrt.It is he who shall provide the invocation offeringsthere for 62 For a recenttranslationof this text,see N. C. Strudwick,TextsfromthePyramidAge (WAW 16; Atlanta,
2005), 202-3 (no. 115).
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mymother,theroyalacquaintanceBbj, and formyself. (Urk. I, 164.13-165.2).The inscriptionin thetombof Pn-mrwdescribesthemeasureshe tookin orderto ensure that invocationofferingsoriginallydeliveredto the vizier Ssm-nfrsubsequently revertedto himthroughthesn-dtNfr-htp(lines2-4): 'withregardto mysn-dt,thekiand his childrenof fatherand mother,theyareto be thefo-ritualists ritualistNfr-htp, formytombof of mypersonalendowmentresponsibleforthe invocationofferings myendowmentin the necropolisof the pyramidof Khufu; theyare also thosewho In exchange of mysovereign,thevizierSsm-nfr\63 bringto me thereversionofferings forthisservice,Nfr-htpwas paid witha fieldoverwhichthedescendantsof Pn-mrw wouldnothave anyrights(lines4-8): 'withregardto theone kha (=10 arouras)field whichI have givento him and thesehis children,I do not empowerany personto overhimand thesehis children;I do notempoweranyson of mineor haveauthority anychildrenof mineto haveauthority'.A finaldispositionin thetextsprotectsa field 's wife,therh(t)nzwtMrt-jt.s,fromanyreallocationthatcould be grantedto Pn-mrw made by theirdescendants(line 9): 'he shall give 5 ta measuresof land as invocation of theroyalacquaintanceMrt-jt.s\ offerings These two textshave some importantelementsin common. In both cases, the receivedgoods whichhad not originallybeen recipientsof the invocationofferings grantedto them,and whichdid not belongto theirown patrimonies;theyhad been allocatedto a vizierand to themotherof one of them.It seemsas if thefactof having in theiruse or administration access to thesegoods impliedsome kindof restriction as otherpersonsintervenedas mediators(thesn-dtas forthesecondarybeneficiaries, well as the wifeof one of them).AlthoughTntj and Pn-mrwdid benefitfromthese goods, theycontinuedto be consideredas belongingto a separatesphere,distinct fromthepossessionsof Tntjand Pn-mrw.The roleplayedbythesn-dtas mediatoror was recompensedwitha remuneration, forthe secondarybeneficiary representative even whenhe was a close memberof the familyof the finalrecipientof the goods. Anothercommonaspect of the textscited seems to be thatthe goods whichwere institutional had an official, transferred royalendowment, origin(stateremuneration, of the royal a member or even a froma temple reversionofferings high official, family),and thattheywerenot privateproperty.In some cases the contextsuggests thattheycame fromroyalgrants(such as thefieldsof Htp-kt),or allocations(such as but in otherexamplesit is clearlystatedthatroyal and Nfr-srs)y thedt of Nj-m?rt-Rr permissionwas necessaryto enjoythem. The inscriptionof the zs pr-hdHr.f-Pthin the tomb of thejmj-htpr-hdNj-hwfroma sociologicalpointof view.It states:jn snfdt to interpret Pth is moredifficult 'it was whenhe was buriedin thebeautiful jr nfsk swqrs{w)mjmnttnfrtm-mjmihww west,amongthe revered,thathis sn-dtmade (this) forhim'. Nothingis said about But sincetheyworked betweenthesetwoofficials. thedetailsof thesn-dtrelationship branch(the pr-hd), it is possible thattheircase might forthe same administrative and Nfr-srs,two dignitariesinvolved show some parallelswith that of Nj-mirt-Rr in the same professionalactivities,the controlof dancers and singersin the royal of the palace. Nevertheless,in the absence of furtherevidence this interpretation 63 Cf. a recenttranslationof thistextin Strudwick,TextsfromthePyramidAge, 200-1 (no. 112).
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relationshipbetweenHr.f-Pthand Nj-ktw-Pthis purelyspeculative.Finally,thesntdt Hhj declaresthatshe had offereda statueto thejmj-htzi-pvKi-pw-Pthwhenhe thata sn-dtcould providea funerary confirm was buried.These twoexamplesfurther monumentforanotherperson. The titlesof the sn-dtand of their'patrons' The titlesof sn(w)-dtusuallybelongto thesame administrative sphereof thoseborne as if theywere It seems by the 'patrons' in whose tombs theywere represented. branches,withthe obviousexception colleaguesworkingin the same administrative of thesn(w)-dtwho wereat the serviceof a vizier,thehighestofficialin thecountry. Jttj,forexample,was smrn pr-r?and shdwrb(w)of the pyramidof Khafre,whereas exertedexactlythe same functions.Pth-fc.fwasa scribeof his 'patron',Hr.f-Rr-rnhy the treasury, whereashis 'patron',Nj-ktw-Pth,displaystitlesconcerningthe same likehis fatherWhm-ki.This example And thesn-dtSnb was zs pr-mdrt, institution. shows the fictionalnatureof the siblingrelationshipevoked by the termsn-dt>as it was displayedby wives (cf. nos 16, 21, and 30) or sons (cf.nos 15 and 24) of the ownersof thetombs.Sometimes,thesn(w)-dtpossessedtheirown tombs(nos 14, 18, and 34) or theywererepresentedat the same scale as their'patrons'in the funerary of thestelaofJtj-snand Nfr monumentsof thelatter,as in thecase of thefragment in the Cairo Museum. to observethatsn(w)-dtareonly Froma chronologicalpointof view,itis interesting attestedin monumentsdated fromthe Fourthto theend of the FifthDynastyor the betweenGiza and Saqqara: there verybeginningof theSixth,witha slightdifference weremoresn{w)-dtfromthe FourthDynastyat Giza, whereasthe titlesurvivedat Saqqara untilthebeginningof the SixthDynasty.Anotherimportantelementto be consideredis the factthatfromabout the middleof the FifthDynastythe 'patrons' of thesn{w)-dtknownat Saqqara wereviziers(Ph-n-w(j)-k?y Iht-htp,Pth-htpII), or of thevizier'sbureau(hwt-wrt: officials involvedin theadministration Ntr-wsr,Shmki). The latestof them,Pth-htpII, had by farthe largestnumberof sn(w)-dtat his service(fifteen), and probablyeven more:the officialTzmwclaimedto be the sn-dt of Pth-htp(probablyPth-htpII), eventhoughhe was notrepresentedin thetombof thiswell-knownvizier.The case of Pth-htpII is exceptionalwhencomparedto other 'patrons'of manysn(w)-dt:in fouror,perhaps,fivecases twosn(w)-dtwerementioned in thetombof an official, and thereareonlythreecases in whichthreeof themappear at theserviceof a singledignitary. The commonestsituationwas,then,thatonlyone sn-dtwas connectedto a 'patron'.It is also worthnotingthattherewas no correlation betweenthe display of high titlesby an officialand the mentionof a numberof sn-dtin his tomb.Since the sn(w)-dtappear as substitutesfortheir'patrons'in the betweentheir'patrons' performanceof rituals(cf. nos 7-8),64or as intermediaries and a source of revenues,one can reasonablyinferthatthe sn(w)-dtat the service of a memberof the elite revealthatthesepeople accumulatedimportantsourcesof 64 Many ownersof thetombswheresn{w)-dtwererepresentedwerew>r&-ritualists of thekingor a pyramid(cf. nos 9, 10, 14, 16, 29, 34, and 37), or hm-ntr of a king(cf.nos 25, 26, and 29).
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in a numberof official activities. The case revenuesby participating institutional or sixteensnw-dt, of Pth-htpII, withhis (at least)fifteen suggestsan exceptionally social which led and of economic position, probably to thesuppression prominent thesn-dtinstitution just afterhim,sincehis tombis quiteprobablythelastone to thatthe'patrons'ofthe showindividuals bearingthetitlesn-dt.It is alsoremarkable in of middlerankinvolvedin ritualactivities attested at Giza werecourtiers snw-dt a at had more administrative thepalace,whereastheircolleagues Saqqara prominent in the snw-dt viziers and as represented theirtombsalsodisplay highofficials; profile nature. a richersetof titles, manyof themof administrative Conclusion:thestatusand roleofthesn-dt weretheownersofthetombswheretheywereburied,as wasthecase Severalsnw-dt forJttj,Nj-rmct-Rr, Tzmw,and,probably, Nfr(inhiscaseitwasa doubletomb,built stresses thefactthattheywereusually This circumstance andNfrhimself). forjftj-sn monuments and thattheirrelationship richenoughto possesstheirown funerary kindof closerelationbut some a full withtheir'patrons'didnotimply dependence, at thesamesize as their'patrons'in wererepresented somesnw-dt ship.Moreover, their titleswhichconfirm andtheyusuallydisplayimportant thetombsofthelatter, elite. of theEgyptian socialstatusas members If we examinetherangeof theiractivities, theywereusuallyof thekindwhere have been would son of an elder theintervention expected,likethebuildingof a of thechiefof thefamilyin the tombfora deceasedperson,or thereplacement and ritualsforthedead. of worksor in theprovisionof offerings accomplishment endowment forexample,statedthathe had receiveda fieldfromthefunerary Tntjy field as for another buried had as a piouseldersonwho of hismother her; originally of the benefit for a sn-dt was administered it his to Tntj.The by mother, granted from wereof a veryspecific carriedoutbythesnw-dt activities nature,independent betweenthemand their'patrons'.Brothers, anytruesiblingor familyrelationship bythistermdespitebeinghis sons,orwivesof the'patron'couldalsobe designated of the truerelations, just as in thecaseswhena sn-dtdid notbelongto thefamily dead. a sn-dtplayedtheroleofrepresentative In certainotherinstances, of,orsubstitute whichtookplacein the activities as in theceremonial orworker, for,anotherofficial fromadministrative of the lists in or of thepharaohs, personnel complexes funerary ofthesourcesat thescarcity suchas theGebeleinpapyri.Unfortunately, documents ofthesocialroleplayed definition ofa thorough ourdisposalimpedestheformulation is activities butitseemstomethata commonaspecttotheirdocumented bya sn-dt, and the in the fora 'patron'both thefactof beinga substitute privatesphere. public ritualservice of the the concern detailed The most funerary organisation inscriptions of the'patron'orthebuildingof histomb,wherethesn-dtmediatedin thetransfer of goodsto the'patron',goodswhichhad notbeenoriginally grantedto him.This of therangeof goodsat thedisposalof procedureallowedboththeenlargement of a numberof ritual theaccumulation a 'patron'and,perhapsmoreimportantly, havebeenabletofulfil hewouldnototherwise functions effectively. which,probably,
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This procedurecould also turnout to be an importantway of creatingclienteles betweenmembersof the elite,65because of the restrictedaccess to certainritual functionsin the funerarycomplexesof the Pharaohs,whereroyalpermissionand decreeswere needed, and whichwere,forthis reason,reservedforhigh officials.66 This circumstancecould explain why high officials,like the viziers,were the last officials to have snw-dtat theirservice. But the most importantdocumentedrole played by the sn-dtas a substituteor middlemanwas to administerthegoods belongingto thepr-dtof a dignitaryforthe benefitof theholderof anotherpr-dt,a procedurewhichallowedthetwopr-dtto be keptclearlyseparated.As theterm(pr-)dtdesignatedthegoods grantedby thestate to an officialas remuneration or recompenseforhis services,the literalmeaningof to sn-dt'brotherof the dtyimpliesthe idea of a personexternalbut complementary the(pr-)dtof an official, of certainduties.The sn-dtinespeciallyin theperformance stitutionwas perhapsone of themany'fictionalfamily'procedureswhichenabledthe transfer of goods betweenindividualsleavingaside thefamilyrulesof inheritance.67 Withall theseconsiderationsin mindthe differences betweena sn-dtand a dt can be betterappreciated.The termdtimpliestheexistenceof somekindof patron/client as in therecentlydiscoveredcase of Pttj quoted at thebeginningof this relationship, article.68 He was thedtof theofficial Jtj-sn:shdnfr(w)rhnzwtJtj-sndt 'theinspector of recruit(s),the dt of the acquaintanceof the kingJtj-sny . But, on the otherhand, Pttj was the patronof anotherperson of lesser status,a dt and mit(r)t'mourner'. People also identifiedthemselvesas being a pr-dtor n(j) dt '(member)of a (pr-)df at Elkab or Saqqara.69The natureof the as, forexample,in a numberof inscriptions sn-dtinstitution was by contrastquite different since it expressedmainlya specific administrative in which the of substitution or representation notions status/function wereimplied,and notprimarilya patron/client relationship.
65 Cf. the rhetoricalclaim by Hzj of having progressedin his career withoutthe supportof any backer, N. Kanawatiand M. Abder-Raziq,The Teti Cemetery at Saqqara, V: The Tombof Hesi (ACE Reports13; Warminster,1999), 37-8, pis xxxiii.b,lix.b. 66 Cf. the listsof officialswho carriedout ritualsat the Posenerfunerarycomplexof Pharaoh Neferirkare: 'Decretsenvoyes Krieger,Les archivesdu temple funeraire, passim.As fortheroyaldecrees,cf.P. Posener-Krieger, au templefunerairede Reneferef ', in P. Posener-Krieger(ed.), MelangesGamal EddinMokhtar(BdE 97; Cairo, 1985), II, 195-210. 67 Cf. J.C. Moreno Garcia, reviewof N. Kanawati and M. at Saqqara, III Abder-Razig,The Teti Cemetery (Warminster, 2001), BiOr 60 (2003), 346 n. 25, and S. Allam,'PapyrusTurin 2021: AnotherAdoptionExtraordidansVEgypte nary1,in C. Cannuyerand J.-M.Kruchten(eds), Individu,societeetspiritualite pharaoniqueetcopte: au Professeur AristideTheorides(Ath, 1993), 23-8. Cf. also P. Rylands28, where Melangesegyptologiques offerts a man and his familybecome the sons of a ritualist.Similarproceduresare well attestedin Near Easternjuridical documents;cf.,forinstance,B. Lion, 'Les adoptionsd'hommesa Nuzi (XIVe s. av. J.-C.)',RHD 82 (2004), 537-76. 68 Hawass, in Knoppersand Hirsch (eds), Egypt,Israel,and theAncientMediterranean World,21-39. 69 Cf. LD II, 117.I, p, u; G. Jequier,Tombeauxde de Pepi II (Cairo, 1929), 101 (fig. particuliers contemporains 116). Cf. also titleslikehwt-r!t '(member)of thehwt-rn\ pr-r?'(member)of thepalace', and so on.
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