Thanks very much to Angela Gray for her photos from the British Museums Early Egypt gallery, which reopened in the summer after a major refurbishment. I was at the BM for the Ming exhibition yesterday so I put a very large lens on the front of the camera and went to see if I could get some close-ups of the items that Angela showed. Heres two of them, both belonging to Aha - an ivory box fragment from the tomb complex of Aha in Abydos, EA35513 and a fragment of a faience vessel from the Osiris Temple at Abydos, EA38010. The illustrations are both from the British Museum labels. Aha is thought to have followed Narmer as king of Egypt in the First Dynasty, and he was probably the son of Neith-hotep. His name means the fighter. He is believed to have governed from Memphis and he had a large tomb complex in Abydos. The EA35513 box fragment, 3.1cm tall, shows the name of Aha on the right, together with the name Bener-ib which may be that of one of his wives (according to the BM label, means sweet of heart). The faience vessel shows only the name of Aha, and was once green. The kings name is composed of the symbols for a mace and a shield. Spencer emphasises that Ahas tomb complex was a much more elaborate affair than any of the predecessors, containing not just the traditional double-chamber but a set of subsidiary burials as well. These contained his wives, young male retainers of up to 25 years old (and who, it is believed, had been sacrificed to accompany the king) and a tomb for seven lions. T Wilkinson says that craft and architecture flourished under Aha, with architecture in particular showing considerable innovation. He adds that Aha is not as widely attested as Narmer, particularly outside Egypt, perhaps indicating changes in relations with neighbouring areas and in resource exploitation. (Info from the British Museum label, Toby Wilkinsons Early Dynastic Egypt and A.J. Spencers Early Egypt).
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 10:57:44 +0000
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