Amenemhat III (Ancient Egyptian: Ỉmn-m-hꜣt meaning ‘Amun is in the forefront’), also known as Amenemhet III, was a king of Ancient Egypt and the sixth ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty in the Middle Kingdom. His father, Senwosret III, elevated him to the throne as co-regent, and he shared the throne as active king for twenty...
This model of a slaughter house was discovered in a hidden chamber beside twenty-three other models of boats, gardens, and workshops that led to the royal chief steward Meketre’s rock-cut tomb. Meketre started working for the kings of the 11th Dynasty under King Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II and continued to serve them until the early 12th...
This wooden figure of a priestess named Imertnebes was discovered in Thebes and dates from the Middle Kingdom period, c. 1991-1783 B.C. Imertnebes was a high-ranking priestess who bore a title that would eventually be designated for princesses who served as high-priestesses of Amun; “God’s Wife“. Depicted in typical Middle Kingdom fashion, Imertnebes’s figure is...
This wooden statuette depicts a Middle Kingdom woman with a wig of plaited hair parted in the middle, creating a pigtail appearance. Her real hair can be seen within the middle part of the wig peeking through, with slight painted lines indicating hair strands. Such a hairstyle was usually associated with the goddess Hathor. The...
Aamu (Egyptian language: 𓂝𓄿𓅓𓅱 ꜥꜣmw) was an Egyptian word used to designate Western Asians in antiquity. It is commonly translated as “Western Asiatic,” however some argue that it could refer to the Canaanites or Amorites: ○ Canaan was a Semitic-speaking culture and territory of the Southern Levant in the Ancient Near East that existed in...
These limestone fragments were originally part of a scene in which royal hairdressers attended Queen Neferu. The relief on the right represents Neferu, referred to as “The King’s Wife,” wearing a magnificent beaded usekh collar. Behind her, Henut, the hairdresser, has already pinned one strand of hair and twisted another. The relief on the left...
“Paddle dolls” got their nickname from their likeness to modern Ping-Pong paddles. They all include exaggerated images of female genitalia. Some are painted with crude representations of couples having sexual intercourse, while others have pictures of birth-gods. The motif of birth and reproduction shows that “paddle dolls” increased fertility for both the living and, most...
The White Chapel of Pharaoh Senwosret I, also known as the Jubilee Chapel of Senwosret I, was built during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom. During the New Kingdom, it was dismantled and used as filling for the Third Pylon of Karnak’s temple in the Amun-Re Precinct. The dismantled fragments were discovered inside the Third Pylon of Karnak’s...
Kemsit was an ancient Egyptian queen consort and the wife of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II of the 11th Dynasty. Her titles included “King’s Beloved Wife” (ḥmt-nỉswt mrỉỉ.t=f), “King’s Ornament” (ẖkr.t-nỉswt), “King’s Sole Ornament” (ẖkr.t-nỉswt wˁtỉ.t), and “Priestess of Hathor”. Her tomb (TT308) and modest ornate chapel were discovered in her husband’s Deir el-Bahari temple complex, behind...
This limestone statuette of a female in an arched position dates from the Middle Kingdom and was discovered within Tomb D303, at Abydos. The tomb is associated with a man named Sa-Inher. The woman is archived as an acrobat due to the pose, however, it is also quite likely she was a dancer. Perhaps she...
