Saturday, March 21, 2009

Noblewoman's Tomb in Saqqara

From Al-Ahram Weekly:
"As for the sarcophagus, Yoshimura explained that this was partially broken but its shape was identifiable. It is a fine limestone sarcophagus inscribed in sunken relief and painted in a brilliant blue colour. It has a vaulted lid, and bears the name of its owner, Isisnofret, whose title means "the noble woman".

"This is a title that is very rare in the New Kingdom," Yoshimura said, adding that since Prince Khaemwaset had a daughter named Isisnofret and his monument was located on the same outcrop, then the owner of the sarcophagus could probably be this daughter of the prince."

From National Geographic News:
"The tomb has been identified as belonging to a woman named Isisnofret—possibly the granddaughter of Pharaoh Ramses II, who reigned during the 13th century B.C.

Hieroglyphics on a sarcophagus in the tomb identify Isisnofret as a spst, or noblewoman—an honorific reserved for women of the royal family or of otherwise exceptional status.

Isisnofret's identity remains a mystery, though Egyptologists see clues in the tomb's close proximity to a monument for Pharaoh Ramses II's son Prince Khaemwaset. The prince had a daughter named Isisnofret—a granddaughter of the pharaoh—though the name was common at the time."


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