Material:
It is
made out of painted limestone.
Discoverer
and place of discovery:
It was
discovered by Naville in the
rock-cut tomb of Dagi, which is located to the north side of the funerary
temple of king Montuhotep II Nebhepetrea at Deir el-Bahari on the west
bank of Thebes.
At the
time of its discovery, it was placed in the eastern side of the burial chamber
of the rock-cut tomb of Dagi and behind this sarcophagus there was a false door
which played an important role as a means of communication between the bA
of the deceased and the outside living world as according to the ancient
Egyptians religious beliefs the bA of the deceased comes
out from the burial chamber through the false door in order to receive the
offerings that are placed In front of it, then the b3 joins god Re during his
journey across the sky, then at sunset the bA of the deceased returns
back to earth and enters the burial chamber through the false door.
Dating:
It
dates back to the Middle Kingdom, the beginning of the 11th dynasty,
reign of King Montuhotep II Nebhepetrea.
Who is
Dagi?
Dagi was the chancellor or
the seal bearer of the king of Lower Egypt "sDAwty-bity"
and the sole companion "smr-waty" during
the reign of king Montuhotep II, 11th dynasty.
1-
The names of the sarcophagus:
The
ancient Egyptian people called the sarcophagus "NbJnh" which means
"the lord of life" and this name indicates the religious beliefs and conceptions
of the ancient Egyptians according to which they believed that the sarcophagus
was the place of rebirth, life and resurrection.
On the
other hand the Greeks called it "sarcophagus" which means" the
flesh eater" and this name indicates the religious beliefs and conceptions
of the Greeks according to which they believed that "the sarcophagus"
was the place of death unlike the ancient Egyptians.
So
there are two names for the sarcophagus one of them was mentioned by the
ancient Egyptians, while the 2nd one was mentioned by the Greeks,
and these two names reflect the difference between the religious beliefs of the
ancient Egyptians and those of the Greeks.
2-
The development of the sarcophagus in ancient Egypt:
i-
During the Predynastic Period:
During
that period the deceased was placed inside a basket made of the plant's stems,
then he was buried in a pit in a position looks like that of the embryo inside
the womb of his mother.
ii-
During the Archaic period and the 3"1 dynasty:
Most
of sarcophagi during that period were made out of wood in simple rectangular
forms without any decorations.
iii-
During the 4th Dynasty:
Most
of sarcophagi during that period were made out of hard stones like granite and
diorite in rectangular forms without any decorations.
iv-
During the 5th dynasty:
Most
of sarcophagi during that period were made out of hard stones like diorite and
granite and the exterior part of the sarcophagus was depicted with "the
facade of the palace".
v-
During the 6th dynasty:
Most
of sarcophagi during that period were made out of hard stones and the periphery
of the exterior part of the sarcophagus was inscribed with horizontal lines of
hieroglyphic signs around it containing "the Htp di nswt
formula" or "the magical offering formula", while the eastern
exterior part of the sarcophagus was depicted with the representation of the
two wd3t eyes of god Horus, indicating the two eyes of the deceased and the
eastern interior part of the sarcophagus was depicted with the facade of the
palace.
vi-
During the Middle Kingdom:
Most
of sarcophagi during that period were similar to those of the 6th dynasty
in their shape; however the interior sides of sarcophagi, which date back to
the Middle Kingdom, were inscribed with the coffin texts, which represent some
religious spells that were used as a means of protection and resurrection for
the deceased.
vii-
During the New Kingdom:
Most
of the sarcophagi during that period were made out of wood, and their lids were
formed in anthropoid shapes i.e. in the shape of the human body.
viii-
During the Late period:
Most
of sarcophagi during that period were similar to those of the New Kingdom in
their shape, however they were made out of hard stones like granite and
diorite.
3-
The religious meaning of the sarcophagus in ancient Egypt:
According
to the ancient Egyptians' religious conceptions and beliefs, the pyramid texts,
the coffin texts, and the Book of the Dead, the sarcophagus had three religious
significances in ancient Egypt as follows:
i-
The sarcophagus as the living house of the deceased:
The
evidence, which confirms and supports this idea, is that the exterior sides of
some sarcophagi, which date back to the Old Kingdom are carved with
representations of the facade of the palace, hence the deceased wishes that the
sarcophagus would be transform into his palace in the Underworld where he can
live comfortably.
ii-
The sarcophagus as the mother of the deceased:
The
evidences, which support and prove this idea, are as follows:
1- During the Old Kingdom
the backsides of the lids of some sarcophagi are carved in the form of goddess
Nut, goddess of the sky accompanied with stars as an indication for the birth
of the deceased in the Underworld like god Rea every day.
2- The four corners of some sarcophagi
were carved in the form of the four protective goddesses "Isis, Nephthys,
Neith and Selket; in some other cases the front and rear parts of the
sarcophagus' lid were depicted respectively with representations of goddess
Isis and goddess Nephthys in order to protect the deceased.
iii-
The sarcophagus as the boat of the deceased:
The
ancient Egyptians believed that the sarcophagus will be transformed into the
boat of the deceased in the Underworld, moreover they believed that the deceased
will use this boat to sail with the sun god Re every day "every
morning" during his journey across the sky.
F Development
of the religious texts:
a- During the Old Kingdom and exactly during the 5th
and the 6th dynasties:
King
Unas of the 5th dynasty is considered to be the first king in
ancient Egypt to inscribe the religious texts on the interior walls of his
pyramid at Saqqara, these texts are known as the "Pyramid Texts" that
continued to be inscribed on the interior walls of some of the pyramids which
date back to the 6th dynasty like the pyramid of king Teti and that
of king Pepy I, the main purpose of these texts was to protect the mummy of the
king and insure the king' eternal life in the Hereafter.
b- During the Middle Kingdom:
During
the Middle Kingdom all the Egyptians became like god Osiris in the Underworld,
therefore all of them had the full right to inscribe these religious texts on
the interior sides of their sarcophagi and coffins as a kind of protection for
their mummies to insure eternal life in the Hereafter and prevent or resolve
the dangers facing the deceased in the afterlife, and as a result of that the
name of these texts changed from "the Pyramid Texts" to be as
"the Coffin Texts", represent spells and formulae which were derived
in part from the older Pyramid Texts.
c- During the New Kingdom:
During
that period the name of these religious texts changed from the Coffin Texts to
be as the "Book of the Dead" which was derived in part from the
"Coffin Texts", the religious spells of that book were written on
papyri rolls.
F Position
"attitude" of the deceased's mummy inside the sarcophagus:
The
deceased's mummy was placed inside the sarcophagus lying by side, his head was
placed facing the representation of the two wd3t eyes which are depicted on the
exterior eastern part of the sarcophagus and also facing the false door which
is depicted on the interior eastern side of the of the sarcophagus, while his
legs were placed facing his sandals.
F Description:
Middle
Kingdom private sarcophagi and coffins show a variety of forms and sizes,
depending on the social status of their owner or the "style" of a
particular necropolis.
§ Description
of the exterior sides of the sarcophagus:
It
takes a rectangular form, its the exterior sides are inscribed with one band or
one horizontal line of hieroglyphic signs around its periphery, which contains
the Htp-dt-nswt
formula "the magical offering formula" addressed to the gods Osiris
on one side and Anubis on the other, accompanied with the name of the deceased
and his titles, the exterior eastern side of the sarcophagus, to which the
mummy was turned is carved with a pair of wDAt eyes that
enable the deceased to see the outside living world as it considered a means of
communication between the bA and the
outside living world, while the interior eastern part of the sarcophagus is
depicted with a painted representation of a false door corresponding to the
eyes, through this false door the bA of the
deceased could come out from the sarcophagus and return back to it.
§ Description
of the interior sides of the sarcophagus:
The
interior sides are also inscribed with a band or horizontal line of colored
hieroglyphic signs around the periphery of the sarcophagus repeating the
previously mentioned offering formula.
On
both one long wall and one short wall, the middle frieze "register"
is depicted with painted scenes represent objects and various kinds of
daily-use offerings. The rest of the walls and even the bottom of the
sarcophagus are inscribed with the "Coffin Texts", spells numbers 12 to 17, 63 to 74 and 179 to
180.
i- The
painted scenes of offerings which are depicted on the middle register of the
interior long wall of the sarcophagus:
This
part of the wall is depicted with painted scenes of objects and offerings of
everyday use they are respectively: a headrest, two mirrors (one of them is
black awhile the 2nd one is white), finished wsx
collar, bracelets, unfinished wsx collar,
figs, incense, HD
jars, arrows inside quivers, bows, shields and finally a pair of sandals.
ii-
The painted scenes of offerings which are depicted on the interior short wall at the front side of the sarcophagus:
This
wall is depicted with scenes representing the seven sacred oils jars, which were used during the process of
mummification and purification of the deceased, accompanied with 2 hieroglyphic
signs pronounced as "sSrw" they
are referring to the linen clothes.
Each
item of these painted offerings scenes have two powers "meaning" which
are:
1- The
materialistic power "meaning".
2- The
abstract power "meaning".
I-
Materialistic power of the painted offerings scenes:
The
materialistic power of these painted offerings scenes indicate that all these
scenes will turn into Teal offerings in front of the deceased through reciting
the magical offering formula, furthermore it indicates that Dagi whished to
have and enjoy all these kinds of offerings in the Underworld.
II-
Abstract power "meaning" of the painted offerings scenes:
a-
Abstract power "meaning" of the headrest:
The
main function of the headrest (wrs in hieroglyphs) was to
be used as a rest for the head, thus its abstract power was to be used as a
means for rising-up the head of the deceased in the Underworld as an indication
for his rebirth and resurrection.
b-
Abstract power "meaning" of the 2 mirrors:
The
abstract power of these 2 mirrors is that when the deceased sees his face on
these 2 mirrors this means rebirth, resurrection and eternity for him in the
Underworld, moreover the white mirror indicates morning, while the black one
indicates night so both of them indicate the circle of the sun every day.
c-
Abstract power "meaning" of the bracelets:
These
bracelets were used as amulets in order to protect the arms and wrists of the
deceased.
d-
Abstract power "meaning" of the vvesekh collar:
According
to their religious conceptions, the ancient Egyptians believed that "the wsx collar" would be
transformed in the Underworld into
"the two arms of the
god Atum " the father of
all gods and goddesses and head of the Heliopolitan Ennead, who would embrace
the deceased in the Underworld with his arms to give him rebirth and
resurrection, likewise he gave life to all gods and goddesses.
e-
Materialistic power "meaning" of the hedj jars:
The
materialistic power "meaning" of the hedj "HD"
jars is that they were used for the purification of the deceased.
f- Materialistic power "meaning"
of the arrows inside quivers, bows and shields:
These
three military' items started to be depicted on the interior walls of the
sarcophagus from the Middle Kingdom onwards, and they are indicating the
military life during the Middle Kingdom and especially during the reign of king
Montuhotep II. Moreover they indicate the importance of the military posts
which played a vital and effective role in the social life of the Egyptians at
that time, as a result of the wars led by Montuhotep II against the armies of Lower Egypt, to unify Upper and Lower
Egypt under his authority.
F
The
attitude of the mummy of Dagi inside his sarcophagus:
According to the arrangement of the painted
scenes of the offerings and objects of daily-use, which are depicted on the
interior left wall of the sarcophagus, in addition to the place of the two wDAt
eyes, and the false door we can guess the attitude of the mummy of Dagi as
follows:
The
mummy of Dagi was placed inside the sarcophagus lying by side his head against
the headrest and his face just opposite to the false door depicted on the
interior eastern side and the two wDAt eyes
depicted on the exterior eastern side, while his feet were placed against his
sandals.
Cairo Day Tours
Let's Explore Egypt
Cairo Day Tours
Let's Explore Egypt
No comments:
Post a Comment