CONCLUSIONES GENERALES

Ahmose-Nefertari was the mother of Amenhotep I, and these two deified royals were often depicted and worshipped together.

The Menset temple in Qurna appears to have been dedicated, in addition to Ahmose-Nefertari, also to her son Amenhotep I and to Amon.

A Feast of Ahmose-Nefertari is probably depicted in the tomb of Amenmose, high priest of Amenhotep I of the Forecourt (TT19).

The scene in the tomb of Amenmose shows Ahmose-Nefertari inside a shrine which is placed on a boat sailing on the T-shaped lake in front of the Menset-temple of this queen.

Wolfgang Helck

suggested that the main Feast of Ahmose-Nefertari observed in II Smw was perhaps celebrated to commemorate the death of this beloved queen.

The name of the feast of the deified Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, the ‘Sailing of Nefertari’, is known from texts pertaining to Deir el-Medina.

In O. DeM 38

(year 32 of Ramesses III

), the Feast of Ahmose-Nefertari is called Xnw (nfrt-iry). 3nw (nfrt-iry) is also mentioned in O. Ashmolean Museum 11

(date attributed to year 2 of Ramesses VI

) and in P. Turin Cat. 1898 + 1926 + 1937 + 2094

(year 3 of Ramesses X

). That the name Nefertari alone could refer to Ahmose-Nefertari, the mistress of the temple in Menset, is demonstrated by the letter to the vizier recorded on O. OIM 16991

(date attributed to the reign of Ramesses III

). Among the gods mentioned in the opening formula is also Nefertari (of) Menset.

1 For Ahmose-Nefertari, see Gitton, L’épouse du dieu Ahmes Néfertary (1975). For the name iaH-ms nfrt-iry, see Leitz (ed.), Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter I (2002), 149; for nfrt-iry (mn-st), see idem, Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter IV (2002), 227–228.

2 For the temple called Menset, see, for example, Carter, Report on the Tomb of Zeser-ka-ra, JEA 16 (1916), 147–154; Derchain, Débris du temple-reposoir d’Aménopis Ier et d’Ahmes Nefertari à Dra‘ Abou’l Naga‘, Kêmi 19 (1969), 17–21; Gitton, L’épouse du dieu Ahmes Néfertary (1975), 18–

19, 78–83; Schmitz, Amenophis I. (1978), 105–118; Porter & Moss, Topographical Bibliography II² (1972), 422–423; van Siclen, The Temple of Meniset at Thebes, Serapis 6 (1980), 183–207; Polz, Der Beginn des Neuen Reiches (2007), 104–111.

3 Gitton, L’épouse du dieu Ahmes Néfertary (1975), 79; see also Foucart, Le Tombeau d’Amonmos (1935), pl. 11.

4 Geßler-Löhr, Die heiligen Seen (1983), 80–85; see also Foucart, Le Tombeau d’Amonmos (1935), pl. 11.

5 Helck, Zur Chronologie Amenophis I (1968), 72.

6 See, for example, Schott, Festdaten (1950), 108; Gitton, L’épouse du dieu Ahmes Néfertary (1975), 65. For the name Nefertari alternating with Ahmose-Nefertari, see Gitton, op. cit., (1975), 5.

7 PA Xnw n (nfrt-iry; O. DeM 38, 12. For nfrt-iry being written with the sign tr (Gardiner M5–7), see Gitton, L’épouse du dieu Ahmes Néfertary (1975), 68.

8 For the date of O. DeM 38, see Černý, Ostraca Deir el Medineh I (1935), 10; Kitchen, KRI V (1983), 551–552; Helck, Die datierten (2002), 334–335.

9 3nw (nfrt-iry; O. Ashmolean Museum 11, rt. 3–4.

10 For the date attributed, see Janssen, Village varia (1997), 136; Helck, Die datierten (2002), 445–

446. Kenneth Kitchen placed this text in the reign of Ramesses V (KRI VI (1983), 248–249).

11 3nt (nfr(t)-iit); P. Turin Cat. 1898 + 1926 + 1937 + 2094 rt. III, 6.

12 E.g., Kitchen, KRI VI (1983), 687–699; Helck, Die datierten (2002), 541–554.

13 O. OIM 16991, rt. 1 – vs. 12; see also Gitton, L’épouse du dieu Ahmes Néfertary (1975), 5.

14 For the date attributed, see Wente, A Letter of Complaint to the Vizier To (1961), 252; Kitchen, KRI V (1983), 559–560.

15 (Nfr(t)-iry) anx.ti mn-st; O. OIM 16991, rt. 4.

Ahmose-Nefertari was a beloved deity in the royal artisans’ community.

The queen mother is often depicted with her son Amenhotep I

but occasionally she is also presented alone.

In O. Michaelides 13

(date attributed to year 2 of Merenptah

), the draftsman Neferhotep relates how he made for Haremwia a painted stela of Ahmose-Nefertari for which he received a wooden chest in payment. A chapel or temple of Ahmose-Nefertari, as far as I am aware, is not mentioned in the documents pertaining to Deir el-Medina but the deified queen was probably worshipped with Amenhotep I in chapel D to the north of the present Ptolemaic precinct.

Other possible locations of the rituals of the ‘Sailing of Nefertari’ are the side chapel of the Hathor sanctuary built by Seti II, chapel 2 inside the present Ptolemaic precinct, and chapel 1190, all of which may have been dedicated to Ahmose-Nefertari.

The deified queen, furthermore, seems to have had her own religious personnel. In the British Museum, there is a stela (BM EA 1515

, reigns of Ramesses II and Merenptah

) dedicated to Amenhotep I and Ahmose-Nefertari by Anherkhawy, whose wife Henutdjuu is called ‘servant of the Divine Wife in the Place of Truth’. In another stela in the British Museum dedicated to these patrons of the royal artisans’ community (BM EA 1347,

date attributed to the 19th Dynasty

), Mutemwia, wife of Parennefer, was entitled ‘Chantress of the Lady of Both Lands’. Both these appellations contain common epithets of Ahmose-Nefertari.

The festival rituals of the ‘Sailing of Nefertari’ at Deir el-Medina are unknown. The inhabitants of the village might have visited the temple of Menset during this feast in order to witness the sailing on the T-shaped lake. The villagers seem to have been familiar with that specific region. Column II on the verso side of P. Turin Cat. 2070

(date attributed to the 20th Dynasty

) is an account of the division of belongings of Nakhtmin. Among the property mentioned, is a ‘hut next to the temple of Ahmose-Nefertari at Menset’.

1 See, for example, Sadek, Popular Religion (1987), 140–141; Noberasco, Analisi statistica (1977), 13–15; Helck, Ahmesnofretare als Mittlerin, ZÄS 83 (1958), 89–91.

2 Sadek, Popular Religion (1987), 140.

3 See, for example, Stela BM EA 916 where Ahmose-Nefertari is adored by qn-imn.

4 Rdyt sS-qd nfr-Htp n pA-wiA wD sSw n (nfrt-iry) anx.ti iw=f dit n=i mh(n) r DbAw=f; O. Michaelides 13, rt. 1–3. For mhn, ‘wooden container’, see Janssen, Commodity Prices (1975), 207–208.

5 For the date attributed, see Kitchen, KRI IV (1982), 152–153; Helck, Die datierten (2002), 85–86.

6 Bruyère, Rapport 1935–1940 (1948), 105–106; Porter & Moss, Topographical Bibliography I².2 (1973), 693–694.

7 Sadek, Popular Religion (1987), 83; see also Gitton, L’épouse du dieu Ahmes Néfertary (1975), 58–

59.

8 BAk(t) n Hmt-nTr m st-mAat; Stela BM EA 1515.

9 In-Hry-xaw is known from the second half of the reign of Ramesses II to the reign of Merenptah (Davies, Who’s Who at Deir el-Medina (1999), 16).

10 2sy n nbt tAwy; Stela BM EA 1347.

11 For the date attributed, see Hieroglyphic Texts XII (1993), 14.

12 See, for example, Sadek, Popular Religion (1987), 141; Noberasco, Gli dei, OrAnt 20 (1981), Tavola 7bis.

13 P. Turin Cat. 2070, vs. II; see also Demarée, A House is not a Home – What exactly is a Hut?, in Dorn & Hofmann (eds.), Living and Writing in Deir el-Medine (2006), 60.

14 For the date attributed, see Demarée, A House is not a Home (2006), 60 (year 7 of Ramesses VI, Ramesses VII, or Ramesses IX).

15 6A at nty r-gs pr (iaH<-ms> nfrt-iry) a w {s} n mn-st; P. Turin Cat. 2070 vs. II, 4. For at, ‘hut’, see, for example, Janssen & Pestman, Burial and Inheritance, JESHO 11 (1968), 160; Demarée, A House is not a Home (2006), 57–66.

Although Ahmose-Nefertari is not known to have given oracle statements as her son Amenhotep I did,

the deified queen might, at Deir el-Medina, have given advice for someone who was in need of it. The writer of the letter recorded on P. DeM 6

(date attributed to the reign of Ramesses V

) relates how a woman had come in order to stand in front of Nefertari because of a dream she had. Whether this visit to Ahmose-Nefertari occurred during the Feast of Nefertari or not, is not evident from the text.

The date of the Feast of Ahmose-Nefertari is known from documents pertaining to the royal artisans’ community.

According to O. DeM 38

(year 32 of Ramesses III

), the Sailing of Nefertari was celebrated on II Smw 15. In O. Ashmolean Museum 11

(date attributed to year 2 of Ramesses VI

), the crew is said to have been freed from work on the Royal Tomb because of the ‘Sailing of Nefertari’ on II Smw 15. On the previous and the following day, Nekhemmut was burning rock, i.e., the rest of the crew may also have been working.

According to P. Turin Cat. 1898 + 1926 + 1937 + 2094

(year 3 of Ramesses X

), the feast occurred, or at least started, on II Smw 14. An analysis of the references to working and inactivity in the middle of the month of II Smw reveals that II Smw 15 may, indeed, have been an annually occurring work-free day for the royal artisans. According to O. Cairo CG 25529 (date attributed to year 5 of Seti II

), the men seem to have been freed from work on the Royal Tomb on II Smw 14–17.

In O. Turin N. 57034

(date attributed to year 22 of Ramesses III

), the royal artisans are said to have been work-free on II Smw 15 and working on both II Smw 14 and 16. According to O. Turin N. 57044

(date attributed to year 24 of Ramesses III

), the crew was freed from work on the Royal Tomb

1 See Gitton, Ahmose Nofretere, LÄ I (1975), 106.

2 4w dy yA irw=s iit r aHa m-bAH (nfrt-iry Hr wa qd prt=s; P. DeM 6, vs. 2–3.

3 For the date attributed, see Kitchen, KRI VI (1982), 266–267; Wente, Letters (1990), 151.

4 Gitton, L’épouse du dieu Ahmes Néfertary (1975), 79.

5 M pA Xnw n (nfrt-iry; O. DeM 38, 12. In the transcription by Jaroslav Černý, the text is marked as column II (Ostraca Deir el Medineh I (1935), pls. 18–19) but the ostracon only contains one column of text (idem, 10) and, hence, the column number is not used here.

6 For the date of O. DeM 38, see Černý, Ostraca Deir el Medineh I (1935), 10; Kitchen, KRI V (1983), 551–552; Helck, Die datierten (2002), 334–335.

7 Wsf r Xnw (nfrt-iry; O. Ashmolean Museum 11, rt. 3–4.

8 For the date attributed, see Janssen, Village varia (1997), 136; Helck, Die datierten (2002), 445–

446.

9 Psi in nx-m-mwt; O. Ashmolean Museum 11, rt. 2–5.

10 Wsf tA ist Xnt (nfr(t)-iit); P. Turin Cat. 1898 + 1926 + 1937 + 2094 rt. III, 6. The entry for II Smw 15 is in a lacuna and for day 16 there is no information on working or inactivity (rt. III, 6–8). On II Smw 17, the crew was work-free (wsf tA ist; rt. III, 8).

11 For the date of this papyrus, see, for example, Kitchen, KRI VI (1983), 687–699; Helck, Die datierten (2002), 541–554.

12 For the date attributed, see Helck, Die datierten (2002), 133–135.

13 N; O. Cairo CG 25529 rt. II, 7–10. The beginning of line 7 is destroyed but the date sw 14 is written in black ink which indicates inactivity in this document.

14 4w 14 xbs 4 sw 15 wsf sw 16 xbs 4; O. Turin N. 57034, rt. 8–10.

15 For the date attributed, see López, Ostraca ieratici I (1978), 27; Helck, Die datierten (2002), 244.

16 4w 15 wsf sw 16 wsf; O. Turin N. 57044, rt. 6. On day 14 the crew received rations (wsf p(s)S pA aqw; rt. 5).

17 For the date attributed, see López, Ostraca ieratici I (1978), 31; Kitchen, KRI V (1983), 510; Helck, Die datierten (2002), 275.

on II Smw 15–16. According to O. Turin N. 57033

(year 25 of Ramesses III

), the men were work-free on II Smw 15. In O. Cairo CG 25647

(date attributed to year 10 of Ramesses IX

), the crew is said to have been freed from work on II Smw 15–16. There is, however, one document from the first half of the 19th Dynasty which indicates that the royal artisans were working during the days under discussion. In O. BM EA 5634

(years 39–40 of Ramesses II

), individual men absent from work on II Smw 14–15 are listed and, thus, most of the crew appears to have been working. As there is one reference to working and six references to inactivity on II Smw 15, it appears that the inhabitants of Deir el-Medina celebrated the Sailing of Nefertari on this particular day. Often, however, the festivities – or at least the work-free period – seem to have continued through II Smw 16

or 17

and occasionally the holiday already started on II Smw 14.

1 4w 14 mr sw 15 wsf; O. Turin N. 57033, rt. 16–17. The suggestion by Schafik Allam, that the enigmatic mr on day 14 might stand for binding (binden), does not make the reference much clearer (HOP (1973), 248 note 4). The crew might, in fact, have been work-free on II Smw 7–14 as no lamps were reported (rt. 11–17).

2 For the date, see, for example, López, Ostraca ieratici I (1978), 27; Helck, Die datierten (2002), 265.

3 Wsfw n tA ist; O. Cairo CG 25647, rt. 10-11.

4 For the date attributed, see Kitchen, KRI VI (1983), 659; Helck, Die datierten (2002), 499–501.

5 O. BM EA 5634, rt. 7a, vs. 5.

6 Rnpt-sp 40; O. BM EA 5634, rt. 1; see Janssen, Absence, SAK 8 (1980), 133; Helck, Die datierten (2002), 66–71.

7 The ratio of references to working to references to inactivity on II Smw 16 is 2/3. Working: O.

Ashmolean Museum 11, rt. 4–5 (date attributed to year 2 of Ramesses VI; e.g., Janssen, Village varia (1997), 136); O. Turin N. 57034, rt. 11 (date attributed to year 22 of Ramesses III; e.g., López, Ostraca ieratici I (1978), 27). Inactivity: O. Cairo CG 25529 rt. II, 9 (date attributed to year 5 of Seti II; Helck, Die datierten (2002), 133–135); O. Cairo CG 25647, rt. 11 (date attributed to year 10 of Ramesses IX; e.g., Kitchen, KRI VI (1983), 659); O. Turin N. 57044, 6 (date attributed to year 26 of Ramesses III; e.g., López, Ostraca ieratici I (1978), 31).

8 The ratio of references to working to references to inactivity on II Smw 17 is 2/3. Working: O.

Ashmolean Museum 11, rt. 5; O. Turin N. 57034, rt. 12. Inactivity: O. Cairo CG 25515 rt. I, 7 (year 6 of Seti II through year 1 of Siptah; e.g., Černý, Ostraca Caire (1935), 7); O. Cairo CG 25529 rt. II, 10; P. Turin Cat. 1898 + 1926 + 1937 + 2094 rt. III, 8 (year 3 of Ramesses X; e.g., Kitchen, KRI VI (1983), 687–699).

9 The ratio of references to working to references to inactivity on II Smw 14 is 4/2. Working: O.

Ashmolean Museum 11, rt. 2–3; O. BM EA 5634, rt. 7a, vs. 5; O. DeM 902, rt. 2 (date attributed to the second half of the 19th Dynasty; Grandet, Ostraca Deîr el-Médînéh IX (2003), 75–76); O. Turin N. 57034, rt. 9. Inactivity: O. Cairo CG 25529 rt. II, 7; P. Turin Cat. 1898 + 1926 + 1937 + 2094 rt.

III, 6.