Jar dockets from Khuwy’s tomb: A preliminary overview of inscribed pottery sherds from the core fill of an Old Kingdom mastaba at Djedkare’s royal necropolis

Ja docke s om Khuwy’s omb: Ap elimina y o e iew o insc ibed po e y she ds om he co e ill o an Old Kingdom mas aba a Djedka e’s oyal nec opolis Hana Vymazalo á– Ne meen Aba Yazeed ABSTRACT The co e ill o Khuwy’s omb mos ly consis s o pebbles and po e y, mainly including ough wa e such as bee ja s and b ead moulds. Ne e heless, one a ea in he omb co e ill con ained she ds o ine wa e bea ing he emains o Old Hie a ic insc ip ions. These can be iden i ied as ja docke s ha we e once among la ge‑ and medium ‑sized s o age ja s wi h o e ings. E en hough he w i ings a e e y agmen a y, hey s ill con ain e e ences o he da es o p obably Djedka e’s eign as well as o he emple o P ah. The o igin o hese ja docke s is unclea , bu hey we e likely e use o o e ings om ano he omb a Djedka e’s oyal nec opolis. KEYWORDS Saqqa a– oyal nec opolis– Djedka e– Khuwy– s o age ja – ja docke – emple o P ah :ىوخ ةربقم نم ىناوأ تاقاطب ةيكلملا ةنابجلاب ةميدقلا ةلودلا رصع نم ةبطصمل ىلخادلا مدرلا نم تاباتك لمحت ىتلا ةيراخفلا عطقلا ىلع ةيلوأ ةماع ةرظن عراكدج كلملل ديزي ابأ نيمرن – اڤولازاميڤ اناه صخلملا نم اهرثكأ ءاج ىتلاو ،ةيراخفلا تارسكلاو ىصحلا نم بلاغلا ىف )وشح( مدر ىلع ىوخ ةربقم نم ىزكرملا ءزجلا ىوتحي ىزكرملا ءزجلا نم ةدحاو ةقطنم توتحا ،كلذ نم مغرلا ىلعو .زبخلا عنص بلاوقو ةعجلا ىناوأ لثم عنصلا ةنشخلا ىناولأا نكمي ثيح .ةميدقلا ةلودلا رصع نم ةيقيطاريه تاباتك اياقب اهحطس لمحي ءاسلم عنصلا ةديج ىناولأا نم عطق ىلع ةربقملا نم .نيبارقلا ظفحل مجحلا ةطسوتمو ةريبك نيزخت ىناوأ ةعومجم نمض ام ًاموي تناك ةيفيرعت تاقاطب اهنأ ىلع تاباتكلا كلت ميدقت كلذكو ،عراكدج كلملا مكح خيراوت ىلإ تاراشإ ىلع ىوتحت لازت لا اهنأ لاإ ،ريبك دحل ةلماك ريغ تاباتكلا نأ نم مغرلا ىلعو نيبارق نم تافلخم اياقب نوكت نأ لمتحملا نم اهنأ لاإ ،مولعم ريغ ىناولأا كلت ردصم ربتعيو .حاتب هللإا دبعمل تاراشإ ىلع .عراكدجل ةيكلملا ةناباجلاب ىرخأ ةربقمل تمدُق ةلادلا تاملكلا حاتب دبعم – ىناوأ تاقاطب – نيزخت ىناوأ – ىوخ – عراكدج – ةيكلم ةنابج – ةراقس PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXXII/2024, 72–86 73HANA VYMAZALOVÁ– NERMEEN ABA YAZEED The wo k o he Djedka e P ojec mission ocuses on he explo a ion o he king’spy a‑ mid complex a sou h Saqqa a and he oyal nec opolis su ounding i ( o he his o y o he explo a ion o his si e, see Megahed 2011; Megahed 2016: 6–70). Be ween 2009 and 2018, Djedka e’spy amid and une a y emple we e documen ed (Megahed– Jánosi– Vymazalo á 2017; Megahed– Jánosi– Vymazalo á 2018; Megahed– Jánosi– Vymazalo á 2019; Megahed– Jánosi 2017; Megahed– Jánosi 2020); since 2018, he wo k has ex ended o he no h and no h‑ ‑eas o he king’smonumen . Apa o he queen’spy amid complex was unco e ed in 2018 (Megahed– Jánosi– Vymazalo á 2019) and he subs uc u e o he py amid was documen ed in 2020 (Megahed– Vymazalo á 2022). In 2019, he explo a ion began in he a ea o he eas o he queen’sp ecinc , which con ains eli e ombs om Djedka e’s ime. Al eady in ha yea , he exca a ions in he no h ‑eas e n pa o he oyal ceme e y unco e ed he omb o Khuwy (MS ‑Eas ‑1) (Megahed– Vymazalo á 2019). In an iqui y, i s supe s uc u e su e ed damage when he ine ‑limes one casing collapsed and some o i s pa s we e emo ed o be eused as building ma e ial in la e monumen s ( o he supe s uc u e, see Megahed– Vymazalo á 2019: 39–41). Likewise, he subs uc u e was plunde ed and he sa cophagus des oyed (Megahed and Vymazalo á 2019: 42–43), bu he walls o he subs uc u e s ill bea excep ional deco‑ a ion in pain ed elie (Megahed– Vymazalo á 2019: 44–45; Pieke 2021; Pieke– Vymazalo á o hcoming). The e idence collec ed du ing he explo a ion o Khuwy’s omb includes no only he Old‑ ‑Kingdom emains o his bu ial (Ik ame al. 2023) and small emains o omb deco a ion ( o ins ance Vymazalo á 2021; Vymazalo á 2022; Megahed– Vymazalo á 2024), bu also ala ge numbe o inds om la e pe iods, a es ing o he de elopmen o he si e du ing he millen‑ nia a e Khuwy’sdea h ( o ins ance Vymazalo áe al. 2021), as well as nume ous po e y inds. THE POTTERY FINDS FROM KHUWY’STOMB The ce amic inds om Khuwy’s omb include bo h Old ‑Kingdom and pos ‑Old ‑Kingdom e i‑ dence. The Old ‑Kingdom po e y con ex s can pa ly be associa ed wi h he omb i sel . Some o hese inds we e he emains o he omb equipmen and o e ings, mos ly ound in he subs uc u e and damaged by ancien omb obbe s. O he po e y con ex s come om he supe s uc u e o he omb, namely om i s co e. The ou e walls o he omb and he walls o he chapel and se dab we e buil o local limes one blocks and cased on he ou side wi h ine whi e limes one. The inne a eas be ween he co e walls we e illed wi h amix u e o pebbles and po e y; he la e mos ly comp ised small and iny she ds o ough po e y, bu many comple e bee ja s and b ead moulds we e ound in he co e ill as well. This co e ill was e y compac , s ong and s able and i was p obably cheap and easy o ob ain o he builde s. Some o hese essels may ha e been ela ed o he cons uc ion o he omb and i s builde s’ a ions, bu he majo i y p obably cons i u ed disca ded e use om ea lie ce emonies a he nec opolis collec ed by Khuwy’sbuilde s in he omb’ssu oundings. Asimila p ac ice has been eco ded in o he ombs o he Fi h Dynas y, o ins ance in he ombs o he membe s o he Fi h ‑Dynas y oyal amily a Abusi (Ve ne – Callende 2002: 38 and igs. B4, B8 and B9; K ejčí– A ias Ky na o á– Odle 2015: 29, 37–38). The po e y inds om he omb co e a e s ill being s udied and hei ull e alua ion will p o ide a e minus pos ‑quem o he da ing o he omb cons uc ion. 74 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXXII/2024 THE INSCRIBED POTTERY FROM THE CORE FILL The po e y inds om he co e ill o he omb o Khuwy include ag oup o she ds ha bea insc ip ions. These she ds a e o adi e en cha ac e om mos o he ill because hey come om ine ypes o ce amic essels. They we e ound in asmall a ea o he co e si ua ed o he wes o he alse ‑doo chambe and no h o he se dab (exca . no. MSE1‑F149‑2019) oge he wi h nume ous agmen s o animal bones; hese we e undoub ‑ edly disca ded in his pa o he co e a some poin du ing he cons uc ion o he omb. Some addi ional insc ibed she ds ha e been iden i ied among po e y om ano he con ex (exca . no. MSE1‑F50‑2019), which comes om he same gene al a ea bu was collec ed a ahighe le el, associa ed wi h La e ‑Pe iod inds ( ig. 1). Ade ailed analysis o hese inds can help us de e mine whe he he insc ibed po e y was a emnan o he o e ing i uals pe o med du ing he omb cons uc ion o i was included in he co e ill o he omb as e use. These inds can be s udied om wo pe spec i es, namely he analysis o he po e y and he analysis o he ex s, he combina ion o which p o ides amo e comple e pic u e o Khuwy’s omb and i s builde s. Fig. 1 Aplan o he supe s uc u e o Khuwy’s omb wi h he da ke ‑ma ked a ea showing he place o he disco e y o he insc ibed po e y agmen s (d awing Djedka e P ojec , Hana Vymazalo á) se dab chapel 75HANA VYMAZALOVÁ– NERMEEN ABA YAZEED POTTERY ‑RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The insc ibed she ds collec ed om he co e ill o Khuwy’s omb we e cleaned wi h ab ush o a oid losing he ink ex s by washing. The ab ics we e examined by means o alens in o de o iden i y esh she d b eaks, which make i possible o de e mine he ype o ab ic. The ab ics we e hen desc ibed and classi ied acco ding o he Vienna Sys em (No ds om– Bou iau 1993: 168–187). All o he ex an insc ibed she ds we e pho og aphed and hose ha show acomple e p o ile o a essel we e selec ed o d awing. This s udy aims o desc ibe he ypology, ab ics and unc ions o he essels om which he insc ibed she ds came. THE MATERIAL AND TYPOLOGY The s udied g oup o insc ibed po e y she ds included she ds ha we e composed o se e al agmen s (see, o ins ance, ig. 2), while o he s canno be di ec ly joined. All o hese inds ha e been da ed o he Old ‑Kingdom pe iod acco ding o hei ype, clay, su ace ea men as well as Old Hie a ic w i ing. All o he insc ibed po e y she ds a e a he small and, despi e he ca e ul collec ion o he inds du ing he a chaeological wo k, hey cons i u e only small pa s o essels. This seems o indica e ha only she ds, no en i e essels, we e disca ded in he co e ill. The collec ed insc ibed she ds a e small and he ma e ial does no comp ise any agmen s o ims and bases, only hose o he body and neck o he essels. On he basis o compa a i e ma e ial, howe e , he essel ypes can be de e mined wi h some deg ee o con idence: he majo i y o he insc ibed she ds seem o ha e belonged o medium ‑sized s o age ja s (21 she ds, 55%), whe eas he es p obably came om la ge ja s (17 she ds, 45%). Fig. 2 Ashe d composed o se e al po e y agmen s om he co e o Khuwy’s omb (le ) ha came om amedium ‑sized s o age ja compa able o he ype a es ed in he omb o P ahshepses (C1) a Saqqa‑ a ( igh ) (pho o and d awing Djedka e P ojec , Pe Košá ek, Ne meen Aba Yazeed, Hana Vymazalo á) 76 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXXII/2024 These essels a e mos ly made o Ma l C ab ic, which applies o 19 she ds (50%), ollowed by Nile B2 ab ic– 14 she ds (37%), hen Nile B1– 4 she ds (10.5%), and a las 1 she d (2.5%) made o Ma l A3. The su ace o all he she ds was coa ed wi h aslip laye be o e w i ing was applied; one she d (Kh75‑2022) shows w i ing applied o e an incised po ma k made be o e i ing. In he majo i y o he cases, he Old Hie a ic insc ip ions (discussed below) we e w i en in black ink on he essel body (30 insc ibed she ds– 79%), al hough some she ds include w i ing in ed ink (8 she ds– 21%). The ink colou s we e p obably chosen based on he essel‑ ‑su ace colou s; he essels wi h c eam slip on he ou e su ace bea black and ed w i ings, while he essels wi h ed and whi e slip show only black w i ings. O he o al o 38 she ds, 21 she ds seem o ha e belonged o nine essels, each ep esen ed by wo o h ee agmen s which canno be joined di ec ly oge he bu show he same ype o ab ic, ype o essel, su ace ea men , and w i ings. Fo ins ance, he she ds Kh72, Kh73 and Kh74 come om one s o age ja made o Nile B2 clay. Simila ly, he she ds Kh62 and Kh82 come om one la ge s o age ja o Ma l C clay, and Kh60, Kh79 and Kh80 belonged o one medium s o age ja o Nile B1 clay ( ig. 3). Fig. 3 Th ee she ds (Kh60, Kh79 and Kh80) belonging o he same essel (pho o Djedka e P ojec , Pe Košá ek) The emaining 17 she ds did no belong o hese nine essels, and each p obably ep esen ed adi e en po . They show he same ypes o essels and we e made o he same ypes o clay, bu hey di e om he nine essels in size ( hickness), su ace ea men , exac ab ics (in‑ clusions in he clay), ha dness, homogenei y, he deg ee o i ing and he colou o he w i ing. The e o e, he ma e ial may ha e ep esen ed up o 26 di e en essels ( able 1). 77HANA VYMAZALOVÁ– NERMEEN ABA YAZEED Vessel No. Type Fab ic Insc ip ion She d No. Exca a ion No. 1 La ge s o age ja Nile B2 Black ink Kh72 MSE1‑F149‑2019 Kh73 MSE1‑F149‑2019 Kh74 MSE1‑F149‑2019 2 La ge s o age ja Ma l C Black ink Kh62 MSE1‑F149‑2019 Kh82 MSE1‑F149‑2019 3 La ge s o age ja Ma l C Red ink Kh55 MSE1‑F149‑2019 Kh59 MSE1‑F149‑2019 Kh78 MSE1‑F149‑2019 4 Medium s o age ja Nile B1 Red ink Kh60 MSE1‑F149‑2019 Kh79 MSE1‑F149‑2019 Kh80 MSE1‑F149‑2019 5 Medium s o age ja Nile B2 Black ink Kh69 MSE1‑F50‑2019 Kh91 MSE1‑F149‑2019 6 Medium s o age ja Nile B1 Black ink Kh56 MSE1‑F149‑2019 Kh70 MSE1‑F50‑2019 7 Medium s o age ja Ma l C Black ink Kh57 MSE1‑F149‑2019 Kh84 MSE1‑F149‑2019 8 Medium s o age ja Ma l C Black ink Kh64 MSE1‑F149‑2019 Kh81 MSE1‑F149‑2019 9 Medium s o age ja Ma l C Black ink Kh66 MSE1‑F149‑2019 Kh67 MSE1‑F149‑2019 10 La ge s o age ja Nile B2 Black ink Kh76 MSE1‑F149‑2019 11 La ge s o age ja Nile B2 Black ink Kh86 MSE1‑F149‑2019 12 La ge s o age ja Nile B2 Black ink Kh87 MSE1‑F149‑2019 13 La ge s o age ja Nile B2 Black ink Kh88 MSE1‑F149‑2019 14 La ge s o age ja Nile B2 Black ink Kh90 MSE1‑F149‑2019 15 La ge s o age ja Nile B2 Black ink Kh92 MSE1‑F149‑2019 16 La ge s o age ja Ma l C Black ink Kh54 MSE1‑F149‑2019 17 La ge s o age ja Ma l C Black ink Kh61 MSE1‑F149‑2019 18 La ge s o age ja Ma l C Black ink Kh65 MSE1‑F149‑2019 19 Medium s o age ja Ma l A3 Black ink Kh58 MSE1‑F149‑2019 20 Medium s o age ja Ma l C Red ink Kh63 MSE1‑F149‑2019 21 Medium s o age ja Ma l C Black ink Kh68 MSE1‑F149‑2019 22 Medium s o age ja Ma l C Black ink Kh75 MSE1‑F149‑2019 23 Medium s o age ja Ma l C Red ink Kh77 MSE1‑F149‑2019 24 Medium s o age ja Ma l C Black ink Kh83 MSE1‑F149‑2019 25 Medium s o age ja Nile B2 Black ink Kh85 MSE1‑F149‑2019 26 Medium s o age ja Nile B2 Black ink Kh89 MSE1‑F149‑2019 Table 1 O e iew o he 26 essels iden i ied om he she ds wi h hie a ic insc ip ions 78 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXXII/2024 The inds om he lowe le el o he co e ill o he omb (exca . no. MSE1‑F149‑2019) in‑ cluded 36 o he insc ibed she ds s udied. Only one she d was made o Ma l A3 ab ic (Kh58), and i mos likely belonged o amedium ‑sized s o age ja ( ig. 4). Simila examples o ab ics ha e been iden i ied in s o age ja s ound in he subs uc u e o Khuwy’s omb (Aba Yazeed 2019: 10). The ype has an o oid body wi h a medium‑sized neck and a la base. Apa allel close o his ype has been known, o ins ance, om he bu ial chambe o Ne e min in he omb o Duap ah a Abusi Sou h (A ias Ky na o á 2016: 118–119, ig. 15) as well as om he sun emple o Wese ka in he no h o Abusi (A ias Ky na o á 2016: 119). Ano he g oup o she ds (19 pieces), made o Ma l C, comes p obably om o oid ‑shaped ja s wi h apoin ed base and pa allels o his ype o essel come om he omb o We kau e in Abusi (A ias Ky na o á 2014: 122, ig. 4.20, no. 194.AC26.09) and om he omb o he p ies P ahshepses in Saqqa a (Aba Yazeed 2023: 18), bo h da ed o he middle and he second hal o he Fi h Dynas y. Mos o he insc ibed she ds coming om his con ex belong pe haps o medium ‑sized s o age ja s made o Ma lC. Two examples o his ype ha e p e iously been disco e ed in he ma e ial om he subs uc u e o Khuwy’s omb. This ype o essel is cha ac e ised by amedium ‑sized neck wi h an o oid body and apoin ed o a la base (Aba Yazeed 2019: 10). Simila examples o Fi h ‑Dynas y da e ha e been known om Abusi (Kaise 1969: ig. I, no.6), Abusi Sou h ( he anonymous omb AS 33, see A ias Ky na o á 2010: 91), and Giza (Reisne 1931: ig. 67, no. 5; Reisne – Smi h 1955: ig. 82, nos. 14–2–120 and 12–10–45). Two insc ibed po e y agmen s ha e been collec ed a ahighe le el o he deb is o he wes o he alse ‑doo chambe o Khuwy’schapel (exca . no. MSE1‑F50‑2019), namely o he wes o he pillaged s one omb (MSE1‑F15‑2019) and o he sou h o he po e y ja wi h an in an bu ial (MSE1‑F55‑2019) da ed o he La e Pe iod (Vymazalo áe al. 2021). These po e y inds undoub edly came om he uppe le el o he co e ill o Khuwy’s omb, which was dis u bed du ing he bu ial ac i i ies in he La e Pe iod. Impo an ly, wo she ds om his con ex seem o ha e belonged o he same essels as wo she ds om he lowe le el acco ding Fig. 4 The insc ibed she d no. Kh58 om amedium ‑sized s o age ja o Ma l A3 ab ic (pho o Djedka e P ojec , Pe Košá ek) 79HANA VYMAZALOVÁ– NERMEEN ABA YAZEED o hei ab ic, su ace ea men , ha dness, compac ness and wall hickness. The agmen s come om wo medium ja s wi h ed slip on he ex e nal su ace, made o Nile B2 ab ic (Kh69) and sandy Nile B1 ab ic (Kh70); hese agmen s belonged o he same essels as wo agmen s (Kh91 and Kh56) coming om he lowe ‑le el con ex (MSE1‑F149‑2022) ( ig. 5). E en hough hese agmen s canno be di ec ly joined, hey p obably belonged o he same wo essels, hus con i ming he same o igin o bo h ce amic con ex s in he omb co e ill. INSCRIPTIONS The ex s co e he ex e io su aces o he essels, wi hou any ex being a es ed on he in e nal su ace in his ma e ial. The w i ings we e applied mos ly e ically, less equen ly ho izon ally, depending on he shape and size o he essel; he e ical w i ings can be ound on all ja s, he ho izon al w i ings on la ge and wide essels. I is well a es ed in ancien Egyp ha sc ibes kep la ge pieces o b oken po e y essels and s one chips on hand o use hem as he w i ing ma e ial in he o m o os aca. In such cases, agmen s om he same essel could ha e been used by di e en sc ibes o a a ie y o messages on di e en days (Capu o 2020, 49). Such os aca we e “p e ab ica ed” by he sc ibes (Capu o 2020, 50–51), who o en cu hese she ds in o ound and ec angula shapes (Capu o 2020, 51). The inds om he co e ill o Khuwy’s omb, howe e , indica e ha hese we e no os aca bu a he ja docke s, acciden ally agmen ed a e he essels we e used, because hei edges a e na u al b eaks a he han eshaped. Since hese essels we e all s o age ja s, all o hem almos ce ainly con ain he same ypes o ex s, which p obably conce n he con en o hese essels. The ja ‑docke insc ip ions ha e e ealed agmen a y bu s ill aluable in o ma ion. They include he emains o da es, names, supplie s and pe haps also he iden i ica ion o o e ings, and occasionally also some longe ex s. Since he documen ed ja docke s a e only pa ly p ese ed, none o he insc ip ions is comple e, which complica es he ull in e p e a ion o hese inds. Fig. 5 The insc ibed she ds nos. Kh69 and Kh91 coming om asingle essel bu wo di e en con ex s wi hin he co e o he omb (pho o Djedka e P ojec , Pe Košá ek) 80 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXXII/2024 The ca ouche o Isesi can be ound on wo agmen s, bu only pa ly p ese ed. I occu s on a iny agmen wi h no o he w i ing (Kh69; ig. 5) and on amedium agmen , whe e i p obably cons i u es an incomple ely p ese ed pe sonal name (no. Kh55). Since he ma e ial comes om Djedka e’s oyal ceme e y, he ca ouche wi h his king’sname is ye ano he con i ma ion o he da ing o he po e y o his eign o he ollowing pe iod. The da es in he ja ‑docke insc ip ions mos likely e e o he ime o he packing and deli e y o o e ings. E en hough ou ma e ial does no con ain any comple e da e, i is s ill possible o d aw some p elimina y conclusions. We can iden i y he mon h, season o day on se e al agmen s, bu no da e is p ese ed in i s comple e o m (e.g. Kh56, Kh57, Kh60 (see ig. 3), Kh77, Kh82, Kh87, Kh89, Kh92). These agmen s show all h ee seasons, Smw, p and Ax , p o ing ha he o e ings we e no associa ed wi h asingle occasion o e en . One small agmen (Kh56) seems o men ion he es i al o Tho h oge he wi h mon h 1, bu i does no con ain any o he p ese ed ex ( ig. 6). Th ee (maybe ou ) agmen s ea u e da es e e ing o he yea s o he ca le coun . These a e pa icula ly in e es ing o ou s udy. The yea o he 7 h occasion o he ca le coun is a es ed on one o wo agmen s (Kh55 and possibly also on Kh63), and he yea o he 10 h occasion o he ca le coun occu s wice (on Kh76 and Kh90)– bu in one case he agmen is b oken immedia ely a e he nume al, which may hus be incomple e ( ig. 6). The da es on he ex an agmen s a e no di ec ly ela ed o he eign o any king, bu he a chaeological con ex sugges s hei associa ion wi h he end o he Fi h Dynas y. One o he agmen s wi h e e ence o he 7 h ca le coun con ains also aca ouche o Isesi (no. Kh55), which is no apa o he da e i sel bu is s ill indica i e o da ing. The cons uc ion o Khuwy’s omb may be da ed o he eign o Djedka e, who is he only Fi h ‑Dynas y king wi h such high ca le ‑coun da es a es ed in ou e idence (see Ve ne 2006a: 139–142). The e o e, he da es on he insc ibed po e y agmen s mos likely e e o Djedka e’s eign. Acco ding o he adi ional in e p e a ion o he biennial ca le coun in he Old Kingdom, hese da es o he 7 h and 10 h ca le coun may e e o he 14 h and 20 h yea s o he eign. Ne e heless, wi h Fig. 6 The insc ibed she ds Kh90 (le ) showing he 10 h ca le coun da e and Kh56 ( igh ) e e ing o he eas o Tho h (pho o Djedka e P ojec , Pe Košá ek)