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Ancient Egypt Magazine

Volume 7 issue 2 October 2006

ANCIENTEGYPT explores the WORLD WIDE WEB ...

The Old Kingdom is often referred to as "The Pyramid Age", because of the huge monuments that survive at Giza, and the New Kingdom is renowned for its fabulous wealth, the treasures of Tutankhamun, and the beautiful temples that still stand in Luxor today, but what remains of the Middle Kingdom? Unfortunately, remarkably little. Its pyramids (referred to in the previous issue) were made of mud-brick rather than stone and so they have not survived at all well. Its temples were dismantled and rebuilt by later pharaohs, and its great fortresses in Nubia have all been covered by the waters of Lake Nasser.

What survives from this Period is, therefore, largely the literature and the artwork.

More than anything else, the Middle Kingdom is renowned for its great literature, and the Period is often spoken of as being "Egypt’s Shakespearean age". Two of the most famous stories of this period are: The Tale of Sinuhe – in translation: http://www.touregypt.net/storyofsinuhe.htm in hieroglyphs: http://jennycarrington.tripod.com/JJSinuhe/index.html

The Eloquent Peasant – in translation: http://touregypt.net/featurestories/peasant.htm in hieroglyphs: http://www.rostau.org.uk/ep/index.html In addition, the quality of the jewellery of the Middle Kingdom is so exquisite that it set a standard that was never surpassed.

Indeed, the trinkets of the New Kingdom seem crude in comparison. Much of the MK jewellery was found in the pyramids of the kings’ daughters, buried in the Faiyum. To see some of these impressive jewels visit: www.touregypt.net/egyptmuseum/egyptian_museumR.htm and then click on a piece that captures your eye.

The pectoral of Princess Mereret is stunning; it shows her father, Senusret III, as a griffin, crushing the enemies of Egypt beneath him. The anklet of Mereret is also interesting as, at 34cm, it seems far too large to fit around a young girl’s ankle – but it is not. Some of my students made a copy at Manchester University and found it was a perfect fit, with the gold claws hanging down on either side of the foot to warn away any intrusive scorpions!

The tombs of the Middle Kingdom were largely undecorated, all the emphasis being placed on the coffins and the "tomb models", which accompanied the deceased. The best examples of these come from the tomb of Meket-Ra, refer to: www.metmuseum.org/explore/newegypt/htm/wk_mek.htm and for a close-up of some of the details of the boat models visit: http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/museum10.htm

Two other famous tombs of the Period are to be found at Aswan. As these tombs belong to the Nomarchs (governors) of the region, they are well decorated and are good examples of the artwork of the Period. For Sarenput I; refer to: www.osirisnet.net/tombes/assouan/sarenpout_1/e_sarenpout_1.htm (Be sure to scroll through the pictures to see the carvings of his favourite dogs.) Also visit the tomb of Saranput II, which features a rare depiction of an elephant: www.osirisnet.net/tombes/assouan/sarenpout_2/e_sarenpout_2.htm

One of the measures that Egypt took to maintain its security was to annex the lands to the south of Aswan, the lands of Nubia.

Military fortifications were erected to control the river traffic and to act as trading posts and transshipment points for the large amounts of gold (nub) that were mined in this area. The largest of these "forts" was the one built at Buhen, which had very elaborate defences; refer to: www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/africa/fortress_of_buhen.html and to: www.learningsites.com/EarlyWork/buhen-2.htm for a "Virtual Tour".

One of the most important sites to have survived from the Middle Kingdom is the town of Kahun, built to house the workers who constructed the kings’ pyramids. The town appears to have been suddenly abandoned, leaving behind much evidence of the daily lives of the inhabitants: their tools, domestic goods and even children’s toys. Refer to: www.touregypt.net/featurestories/kahun.htm for an outline and to the "Virtual Kahun Project" site for more detailed information: www.kahun.man.ac.uk/intro.htm

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