Museum Pieces - Model of Nubian Soldiers

Model of Nubian Soldiers

Photocredit: Museums for Intercultural Dialogue

datation: Early Middle Kingdom (11th Dynasty around 2055-1985 BC)
provenance: Asyut
area: Egypt
period: 3000-2000 BC
materials: Wood.

These small figurines of different sizes, wood stuccoed and painted, represent Nubian soldiers as if in a parade. They are fixed on a base composed of five boards joined by three cross boards below. This group was found in a tomb dated to the beginning of the Middle Kingdom in the necropolis of Asyut in Middle Egypt, accompanied by a second group representing a troop of Egyptian soldiers.

These objects are in fact what we call “models”, made to accompany the deceased in his/her trip to the afterlife. They probably belonged to the governor of the nome (province) that they call Nomarch, perhaps Mesehti, who lived during the late 11th Dynasty.

The black skinned figures, dressed in a red or white loincloth and wearing a necklace and hair band, are standing in a way which represents the march of the parade: the bare feet, with the left leg forward. The left arm is brought back to a right angle and holds a bow. The other arm is left dangling by the body with the hand holding a set of arrows. The squad consists of four lines of ten soldiers giving a total of forty soldiers.

In Pharaonic Egypt, from the earliest times, there existed a military organization consisting of both Egyptians and other ethnic groups such as Nubians. The Nubian and Medjay auxiliaries appeared in the Middle Kingdom. Some stelae testify that a garrison of Nubian and Medjay archers was established in the late 11th Dynasty at Gebelein in Upper Egypt. In this period, it was primarily the infantry of defeated soldiers who were enlisted in the Egyptian troops.

With the New Kingdom and expansive aims of Egypt the army became professionalized. The pharaoh, supreme commander of armies, was surrounded by important management personnel. Titles connected to the military were numerous; from scribe to chief of troop (so-called General).

The Old and Middle Kingdoms defended their borders and did not venture out much, except to Sinai and Nubia up to the Second Cataract. With the appearance of the horse, a new military unit was created: the chariot, which will have a big influence in conflicts starting from the New Kingdom, especially considering it was a period when ambitions for the Near East intensified. In this period, other ethnic groups from Libya and the Near East will be incorporated into the army. The foreign reinforcements in the army will be continued in future periods as pharaohs will not hesitate to call on foreign mercenaries from the Saite period and onwards: a practice which will become the norm in Antiquity from Hellenistic Greece to Rome.

Source: http://www.unesco.org/culture/museum-for-dialogue/item/en/70/model-of-nubian-soldiers

King Mentuhotep II's chapel unearthed in Sohag

A well preserved limestone chapel from the reign of the 11th Dynasty king Mentuhotep II has been unearthed in Sohag

by Nevine El-Aref , Wednesday 2 Jul 2014

At the Arabet Abydos area in Sohag, where the large temple of King Seti I is located, an Egyptian excavation mission from the Ministry of Antiquities and Heritage (MAH) stumbled upon a limestone ancient Egyptian chapel from the 11th Dynasty.

The excavation work came within the framework of a cleaning programme carried out by the MAH in that area, after officers of the tourism and antiquities police caught red handed inhabitants trying to illegally excavate the area in front their residences in search of treasured artefacts.

Ali El-Asfar, head of the ancient Egyptian Section at the MAH, told Ahram Online that the chapel is in a very well preserved condition and is located 150 metres north to the temple of King Seti I.

Early studies on the hieroglyphic text engraved on the chapel's walls suggest that it belongs to the 11th Dynasty king Mentuhotep II, in honour of the god Osiris after his unification with the local god of Sohag, Khenti-Amenty.

The chapel is now under restoration as some of its engraving was subjected to damage from subterranean water.

"It is a very important discovery that will reveal more of the history of King Mentuhotep II," Minister of Antiquties and Heritage Mamdouh El-Damaty told Ahram Online.

He explained that monuments belonging to Mentuhotep II are rare in Abydos, despite that Mentuhotep II built several religious edifices in Abydos in an attempt to bolster his power in the ancient city through drawing closer Khenti-Amenty.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/105292/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/King-Mentuhotep-IIs-chapel-unearthed-in-Sohag.aspx

Archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old tomb from 11th dynasty in Luxor

Spanish team find large pharaonic tomb that was probably built for a member of the royal family or a high-ranking statesman

Spanish archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old pharaonic tomb belonging to a leader from the 11th dynasty of Egypt in Luxor, the antiquities ministry said on Monday.

The wide surface of the tomb showed it was that of "someone from the royal family or a high-ranking statesman," the antiquities minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, said.

The Spanish team was led by José Galán, who said the tomb would provide new insights into the dynasty that ruled in Luxor, the modern site of the city of Thebes, which was then the capital of ancient Egypt.

"This discovery confirms the presence of many tombs from the 11th dynasty in the Deraa Abu Naga region," said Galán.

One tomb dating back to the same period was discovered in the area five years ago. It contained a red sarcophagus, a well-preserved mummy, as well as arrows and arches that are now on display in Luxor's museum.

"The tomb may have been used as a mass grave, given the high number of human remains [discovered in it]," Ali al-Asfar, an antiquities ministry official, said on Monday, referring to the newly discovered site.

But it was also used during the 17th dynasty as pottery tools and utensils from this period were discovered in the tomb, Asfar added.

Luxor, a city of some 500,000 people on the banks of the Nile in southern Egypt, is an open-air museum of intricate temples and pharaonic tombs.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jun/09/archaeologists-discover-4000-year-old-pharaonic-tomb-luxor-egypt

Dynasties of Egypt Part III: Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period

The Middle Kingdom is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, between 2050 BC and 1652 BC.

The period comprises two phases, the Eleventh Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes, and the Twelfth Dynasty onwards, which was centered around el-Lisht. 

The Eleventh Dynasty of Ancient Egypt was a group of pharaohs whose earlier members are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period, while the later members from Mentuhotep II onwards are considered part of the Middle Kingdom. They all ruled from Thebes.

An inscription carved during the reign of Wahankh Intef II, the third pharaoh of the Eleventh Dynasty, says that he was the first of this dynasty to claim to rule over the whole of Egypt, a claim which brought the Thebans into conflict with the rulers of Herakleopolis Magna during the Tenth Dynasty. Intef undertook several campaigns northwards, and captured the important nome (regional governorship) of Abydos.

Warfare continued intermittently between the Thebans and the Herakleopolitans until the fourteenth year of Nebhetepra Mentuhotep II, when the Herakleopolitans were defeated, and the Theban dynasty began to consolidate their rule. Mentuhotep II commanded military campaigns south into Nubia, which had gained its independence during the First Intermediate Period. Some type of military action took place against Palestine, after which the pharaoh reorganized the country and placed a vizier (high government official) at the head of civil administration for the country.