II and his brother Shemai
Sarenput II, also called Nubkaurenakht (Strong is Nubkaure) was an Egyptian nomarch during the 12th Dynasty. While some scholars have claimed he ruled during the reign of Senusret II and Senusret III, evidence suggests it was actually during the reign of Amenemhet II. Among his titles, he was nomarch of the Ta-Seti, 1st nome of Upper Egypt, mayor of Elephantine, high priest, overseer of the priests of Satis and Khnum, and "leader of the border patrols at the narrow door of the southern lands". He reigned for a period which is still subject of debate but usually situated between about 1925 and 1895 BCE. Sarenput had a younger brother, Shemai, whose undisturbed burial was discovered in March 2017 by University of Jena in the Qubbet el-Hawa area of Aswan, the same area where Sarenput had his tomb.
“This is one of the best preserved tombs at Aswan. It consists of a large chamber with six perfectly symmetrical undecorated pillars and a gallery flanked by six niches each once containing mummiform statues of the deceased prince. The four pillars of a second chamber were decorated with images of Sarenput. Beyond this, a chapel cut deep into the rock is plastered and painted in vivid colours and depicts his wife, a Priestess of Hathor and other family members. In the niche at the back of the chapel Sarenput is named as ‘Hereditary Lord’. This biographical text is very colourful with well-depicted hieroglyphs and shows the cartouche of ‘Nebkaure’ – Amenemhet II as well as an unusual glyph of an elephant. The style of painting and the hieroglyphs are distinctly similar to the Old Kingdom tombs, leading some Egyptologists to suggest that the same artists decorated them and that the length of the 1st Intermediate Period was therefore very short.”
Interestingly enough the mummy of his younger brother Shemai appeared in a series "Secrets of Egypt's Valley of the Kings" where famed Archaeologist Alejandro Jemenes-Serrano and his team ran tests on Shemai. Oddly enough Alejandro seemed shocked when the CT scan revealed the ethnicity of Shamai to have “Nubian” features, which is consistent with the iconography of 11th and 12th Dynasty Kings and Queens such as Mentuhotep II and his royal wives, Kemsit, Kawit, and Ashayet, and Amenhemhat I whose mother was also from Ta-Seti. What Serrano describes as “Nubian” features are not reserved to the nome of Ta-Seti and regions south of Aswan but can be applied to Egyptians as well, particularly those in Upper Egypt as the two populations were reflective of one another culturally, genetically and phenotypically.
Clip of the revealing of Shemai's ethnicity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZGk0FIKaQ8&list=PLGqk1XFLTAk1AQGOd8OORweqHrGVhKldm&index=26&t=1s
The tomb of Sarenput II can be considered an architectural jewel, though soberly and sparsely decorated. Alejandro Jemenes-Serrano and his team would go on to excavate the Tomb of Sarenput II and document their findings in the following peer reviewed scientific journal:
"In 2009, in the northern part of the court, an intact burial (catalogued as QH34β) dated to the late Twelfth Dynasty was discovered. Although wood-boring insects had destroyed much of the coffin, enough parts survive for us to understand the high quality of the piece It was a cedar coffin fully decorated with complex offering formulae, which mentions the name and the title of the owner, the “overseer of the house” (jmj-rA pr), Sarenput.
Moreover, the anthropological study of his bones show that this individual was seventeen or eighteen years old when he died and his ethnic features were negroid. There is no doubt that Sarenput was member of the late Twelfth Dynasty ruling family of Elephantine because of the richness of his burial, the name of his mother (very common for women of the ruling family) and his own name, which linked him with the initiator of the lineage. But, what was unexpected was the discovery that a member of the ruling family of Elephantine had Nubian physical features.
The mummy of the anonymous deceased was analysed in order to compare his vital features with those of Sarenput. On the left part of his belly appeared a dagger covered by bandages. The handle was composed of an elephant ivory pommel with the rest made of a dark exotic wood (most probably ebony) and silver. The blade was made of copper. The high quality of workmanship and the absence of wear on the blade indicate that it was an object which defined the high rank of the owner.
His body confirmed that, as in the case of the Sarenput, he also died young (twenty one years old) and was also negroid. Future DNA analyses will confirm whether both were in any way related. All indications are that the ruling family of the Twelfth Dynasty in Elephantine had negroid features, as Habachi had already suggested from the statues that he found in Elephantine."
Translation from the Scene Painting from the Tomb of Sarenput II:
The one revered before Khnum, Lord of the (First) Cataract
upon Elephantine, High Official The-Golden-Kas-of-Ra-are-Strong
The one revered before Satis, Lady of Elephantine and El Kab,
The-Golden-Kas-of-Ra-are-Strong, His son of his body,
his praised one and his loved one, in the daily course of each day, Ankhu.
Photo Credit: Tobey Travels
Location: Yebu, Aswan, Upper Egypt.
Time Period: Middle Kingdom, Twelfth Dynasty
Reign: Amenemhet II
Year: Around 1991–1786 BCE.
Yorumlar