it was not until Champollion managed to decipher the hieroglyphic writing, that we found the first approximation to the true meaning of these objects. We can consider that it is at that precise moment (year 1822), that the long journey of the study began that will lead to recovering and understanding the true meaning of the statuettes.
Thomas tells Anne that at first they were made for the deceased, over time as the different dynasties passed, large quantities of these statuettes were manufactured, as if they were in series, in the case of the pharaoh Tutankamon who had his disposition 365 ushabtis, one for each day of the year, 36 foremen, one for each crew of 10 workers, and 12 month bosses, one for each month of the year. This made a total of 413 ushabtis who served the king in the Hereafter.
There is a diversity of materials with which the ushabtis were made, among which are wood, faience and other materials such as terracotta, clay, wax, ceramics, copper, bronze, vitreous paste, stone in its different forms in use in Egypt (granite, in its different characteristics, especially pink, calcareous stone, calcite, serpentinite, quartzite, limestone, even alabaster). The height of the objects was between 20 and 25 centimeters.
They had hieroglyphic inscriptions that refer to the call, it is found on the legs.
They were generally kept in wooden boxes; they had a particularity, of having a vertical element that allowed them to be erect forever.
The way to activate the different funerary figures to carry out the tasks they had entrusted to them was through the recitation of certain magic formulas. Called “Formulas shabtis”. Later we will continue talking about this, when we talk about the holy books, you think, says Thomas to Lein.
Border stelae
Now they are heading towards the areas of the border stelae, an area in which some 15 stelae have been found, each one labeled with a letter. Three of them are found on the western side of the Nile, designated A, B and F. Stela A is the northernmost and is found at Tuna el-Yebel. The other twelve are on the eastern side of the Nile and are represented by the letters J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, U, V, X. The furthest is the X which is near the tombs of el-Sheikh Said. This system of systematic naming of stelae was created by the English Egyptologist Flinders Petrie and is still used today.
They go in search of the stela “U” is located on the eastern shore, forming part of the so-called second group consisting of the stelae.
This stela is one of the five best preserved and thanks to them it has been possible to fully reconstruct the text called “of the proclamation.” The stela is 7.6 high and is very close to the royal tombs of Amaran (TA-26).
It belongs to year 6 of the reign of Akhenaten, although it was later expanded in year 8. The main theme is the consecration of the city of Ajetaton to the god Aton. The “proclamation” and the “repetition of the oath” also appear.
Akhenaten built the city of Ajetaton for the solar deity Aton. He also decided to make this city his religious and political capital. The stelae that I plan and build around the perimeter of the city explain why the city was built, in honor of Aton, and the city design project is also described. It also has representations of Akhenaten and his royal family worshiping Aton.
Sadly, many of the rock-cut stelae that marked Ajetaton’s border limits are now in a sorry state. This is due to a series of events, including natural erosion, the type of rock they were built on, and human damage. Even the stela “P” was blown up in 1906, as they believed it was the door to the treasure chamber. Stela “R” was uprooted indefinitely and the remains would be bought by the Louvre Museum in 1940. Stela “S” in 1984 was badly damaged by attempts by thieves to cut it into pieces until 2004 when it was blown up. and totally destroyed.
The ceremony of “taking possession” of the land could be initially marked by a provisional tablet (L), since the first limits were marked by stelae X and M in year 5 (AK5). In a subsequent visit to the area, Akhenaten ordered the stela M that had suffered damage to be copied. This is how stela K is placed, which bears the date of year 5, month 8 and day 13.
During AK6 (year 6 of Akhenaten’s reign) Stela J and V are sculpted. That same year, Akhenaton marks the western limit of the territory, leaning on Stela J towards the western mantañas, engraving Stela F.
The other two stelae that mark the western limit (A and B) are engraved with the inscription of the year 8, month 4, day 30. That same year the stelae N, P, Q, R, S, and U that have just been finished delimit the horizon of Aton.
Border steles were built as authentic sculptures, in which text and image are represented l real family b garlic Aton protection within a table representing the container upper arch sky solar disk. The texts of the stelae contain promises not to go beyond the limits of the stelae and the royal family.
As data, it has been possible to collect the almost intergoal text of Stela K, a copy of the first Stela M, this being the message: “Year 5, month 8, day 13 Hail good God, who delights in Truth, Lord from the Heavens, from the earth, Aton, the Throbbing, the Great, who illuminates the Two Kingdoms!
Hail Father, divine and royal, Ra-Harotki, who rejoices on the horizon in his aspect Light emanating from the disk of the sun, who lives forever and ever, Aton, the Great, who rejoices in the temple of Aton in Ajetaton!
Hail Horus, strong Bull beloved by Aton (Name of Horus of Ajenaton) Male of two women, Great in the kingdom of Ajenaton (name of Nebty of Ajenaton); Horus of Gold, that Holds the name of Aton (Golden name of Ajenaton); The King of Lower and Upper Egypt, the one who beats in the truth (epithet of Maat from AK5), Lord of the two Neferjeperure Kingdoms, Waen Re (prename carved likeness of the figure of Ra, the Only Begotten of Ra); The Son of Ra, the one who beats the Truth, Lord of the two Crowns, Ajenaton (Name), may they be long days on Earth.
The Good God, the only begotten of Ra, whose beauty Aton created, truly excellent for his Maker, who satisfies him with what the spirit wants, serving the One who created him, administering the earth through the One who instituted him on his throne, foreseeing his eternal mansion with so many riches, carrying Aton around and glorifying his name, who creates the Earth to belong to its Maker (...)
And the Magnificent Heiress in the Palace, the one with the beautiful face Adorn with light Feathers, Lady of Happiness, Fountain of Virtues, the voice that pleases the king to hear the King’s Favorite Wife, his good beloved, the Lady of the Two Kingdoms, Nefernefruaton- Nefertiti. Save her forever and ever (...) ”(C. Aldred)
Akhenaton
Anne Lein seeks to know more about Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, so she asks: Why did Akhenaten change his name and why is he known as the Heretic Pharaoh?
Ngerjeperura Amenhotep, Neferjeperura Ajenaton, was the tenth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. Kingdom from 1353 BC to 1338 BC
The hieroglyphic transcription of his first Throne and birth name is Nefer-Jeperu-Ra Amen-Hotep.
Akhenaten came to the throne with the same monarchical name as his father: Amenhotep (transcribed Amen-Hotep and later Hellenized as Amenophis which in the ancient language means “Amon is satisfied” or “the will of Amun be done”.
He was the son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye. He succeeded his father after the premature death of Prince Thutmose, the legitimate successor. It was a time of happiness, the Empire was overflowing with gold in its coffers, the administration was efficient, his father ruled for three decades, and he presented himself as a divine sovereign, triumphant over chaos and the forces of evil. Two 20 meter tall statues of the pharaoh guarded his funerary temple on the banks of the Nile, and so the country had erected monuments to its own divinity. (The Colossi of Memon)
His first wife was Nefertiti, who was very beautiful and possibly had great gifts, because with her the figure of the Great Royal Wife reached parameters never seen before.
I also highlight the figure of Kiya, mentioned as “The beloved