Merneith - Wikipedia

12/5/2020 Merneith - Wikipedia
Merneith
Merneith (also written Meritneith and Meryt-Neith) was a
consort and a regent of Ancient Egypt during the First Dynasty. She Merneith
may have been a ruler of Egypt in her own right, based on several
official records. If this was the case and the earlier royal wife
Neithhotep never ruled as an independent regent, Merneith may
have been the first female pharaoh and the earliest queen regnant in
recorded history. Her rule occurred around 2950 BC[1] for an
undetermined period. Merneith’s name means "Beloved by Neith"
and her stele contains symbols of that ancient Egyptian deity. She
may have been Djer's daughter and was probably Djet's senior royal
wife. The former meant that she would have been the great-
granddaughter of unified Egypt's first pharaoh, Narmer. She was Tomb stela of Merneith from the
Umm el-Qa'ab.
also the mother of Den,[3] her successor.
Regent of Egypt
Reign ca. 2950 BC[1]
Contents Co-monarch Den
Family Spouse Djet
Biography Dynasty 1st Dynasty
Tombs at Abydos and Saqqara Father Djer
References
External links
Family
Merneith is linked with the kings Djer, Djet and Den in a variety of seal impressions and inscribed bowls.
Merneith may have been the daughter of Djer, but there is no conclusive evidence. As the mother of Den,
it is likely that Merneith was the wife of Djet. No information about the identity of her mother has been
found.[4][5]
A clay seal found in the tomb of her son, Den, was engraved with "King's Mother, Merneith".[3] It also is
known that Den’s father was Djet, making it likely that Merneith was Djet’s royal wife.
From Abydos comes a small ivory fragment with the remains of two figures. It is possible that they show
Merneith together with her son king Den.[6]
Biography
Merneith is believed to have become ruler upon the death of Djet. The title she held, however, is debated.
It is possible that her son Den was too young to rule when Djet died, so she may have ruled as regent
until Den was old enough to be the king in his own right. Before her, Neithhotep is believed to have ruled
in the same way after her husband King Narmer died, as Narmer's son was too young to rule. Her name
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merneith 1/4
was written on a Naqada seal inside a serekh, which was the way the kings' names were written. This
would mean Merneith may have actually been the second female in Egypt's first dynasty to have ruled as
pharaoh.
The strongest evidence that Merneith was a ruler of Egypt is her tomb. This tomb in Abydos (Tomb Y) is
unique among the otherwise exclusively male tombs. Merneith was buried close to Djet and Den. Her
tomb is of the same scale as the tombs of the kings of that period. Two grave stelae bearing her name
were discovered near her tomb. Merneith's name is not included in the king lists from the New Kingdom.
A seal containing a list of pharaohs of the first dynasty was found in the tomb of Qa'a, the third known
pharaoh after Den, her son. However, this list does not mention the reign of Merneith.[5]
A few other pieces of evidence exist elsewhere about Merneith:
Merneith’s name appears on a seal found in the tomb of her son, Den. The seal includes Merneith on
a list of the first dynasty kings. Merneith's name was the only name of a woman included on the list.
All of the names on the list are the Horus names of the kings. However, Merneith's name is
accompanied by the title "King's Mother".
Merneith’s name may have been included on the Palermo Stone.[5]
Items from the great mastaba (Nr 3503, 16 x 42 m) in Saqqara, where her name has been found in
inscriptions on stone vessels, jars, as well as seal impressions. In particular, there is one seal from
Saqqara, which shows Merneith's name in a serekh.[5]
The so-called Merneith Enclosure is a group of tombs from the cemetery at Shunet el-Zebib. These
tombs are dated to the time of Merneith.[7]
Merneith's name was found on objects in king Djer's tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab.
Tombs at Abydos and Saqqara

At Abydos, the tomb belonging to
Merneith was found in an area
associated with other pharaohs of
the first dynasty, Umm el-Qa'ab.
Two stelae made of stone,
identifying the tomb as hers, were
found at the site.
In 1900 Flinders Petrie

Plan of the main chamber of
Merneith's tomb.
discovered Merneith’s tomb and,
because of its nature, believed it
belonged to a previously
unknown pharaoh. The tomb was excavated and was shown to
contain a large underground chamber, lined with mud bricks,
which was surrounded by rows of small satellite burials, with at
least 40 subsidiary graves for servants.[5][8]
Cemetery B, Umm el-Qa'ab. Tombs of
The servants were thought to assist the ruler in the afterlife. The the pharaohs of the first and second
burial of servants with a ruler was a consistent practice in the dynasty of Egypt.
tombs of the early first dynasty pharaohs. Large numbers of
sacrificial assets were buried in her tomb complex as well, which
is another honor afforded to pharaohs that provided the ruler with powerful animals for eternal life. This
first dynasty burial complex was very important in the Egyptian religious tradition and its importance
grew as the culture endured.
Inside her tomb archaeologists discovered a solar boat[9] that would allow her to travel with the sun
deity in the afterlife.
Abydos was the site of many ancient temples, including Umm el-Qa'ab, the royal necropolis, where early
pharaohs were entombed.[10] These tombs began to be seen as extremely significant burials and in later
times it became desirable to be buried in the area, leading to the growth of the town's importance as a
cult site.
At Saqqara, Merneith's tomb exhibits features that possibly preview the builders of the Third Dynasty.
Concealed within the normal rectangular palace façade mastaba of Merneith's tomb at Saqqara is the
base of a stepped structure, a juxtaposition of two different methods of building. It is perhaps indicative
of the fusion of northern and southern styles that was to lead, ultimately, to the Step Pyramid of Djoser,
or influenced the design of the Third Dynasty structure.[11]
References
1. Teeter, Emily (ed.). Before the Pyramids, The Origins of Egyptian Civilization. The Oriental Institute
of the University of Chicago, 2011, p. 207
2. vergl. Günter Dreyer, in: Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo.
(MDIAK) Bd. 43, von Zabern, Mainz 1986, S. 115-119.
3. Wilkinson, Toby A.H. Early dynastic Egypt Routledge; 1 edition (14 Jun 2001) ISBN 978-0-415-
26011-4 p.74 [1] (https://books.google.com/books?id=AR1ZZO6niVIC&pg=PA74)
4. Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson,
2004, ISBN 0-500-05128-3, p.140
5. J. Tyldesley, Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt, 2006, Thames & Hudson
6. Matthieu Bégonː Une probable représentation de la reine Meret-Neith en tant que régente du roi
Den, in̊ː ENiM 13, 2020, p. 211-215 (http://www.enim-egyptologie.fr/?page=enim-13&n=7)
7. Porter and Moss Topographical Bibliography; Volume V Upper Egypt Griffith Institute. p.55
8. [2] (http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/abydos/abydostomby.html) Tomb of Merneith at Abydos
9. Egypt solar boats (http://www.solarnavigator.net/egyptian_solar_boat.htm)
10. "Tombs of kings of the First and Second Dynasty" (http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/abydos/abydoski
ngstombs.html). Digital Egypt. UCL. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
11. A., Clayton, Peter. Chronicle of the Pharaohs : the reign-by-reign record of the rulers and dynasties
of ancient Egypt (https://archive.org/details/chronicleofphara00clay/page/24). New York, N.Y. pp. 24-
25 (https://archive.org/details/chronicleofphara00clay/page/24). ISBN 0500050740. OCLC 31639364
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/31639364).
External links
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This page was last edited on 5 December 2020, at 00:42 (UTC).
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12/5/2020 Merneith - Wikipedia

Contents Co-monarch Den

Family Spouse Djet

Biography Dynasty 1st Dynasty

Tombs at Abydos and Saqqara Father Djer

A few other pieces of evidence exist elsewhere about Merneith:

Tombs at Abydos and Saqqara

In 1900 Flinders Petrie

This page was last edited on 5 December 2020, at 00:42 (UTC).

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