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| Sekhemkhet | ||||
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| Djoser-ti | ||||
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| Sekhemkhet smiting an enemy and wearing the two crowns of Egypt | ||||
| Pharaoh of Egypt | ||||
| Reign | 2649–2643 BC (7 years in Manetho and Palermo Stone), 3rd Dynasty | |||
| Predecessor | Djoser | |||
| Successor | Khaba | |||
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| Monuments | Buried Pyramid | |||
Sekhemkhet was a Pharaoh in Egypt during the Third dynasty. According to the Manethonian tradition, a king known as Tyris (which may be compared to the Turin Canon's "Djoser-ti") reigned for a relatively brief period of seven years, and modern scholars believe Djoserty and Sekhemkhet are the same person. While the Turin Canon gives Sekhemkhet a reign of 6 years.[1], Toby Wilkinson's reconstruction of the Dynasty 5 Palermo Stone Annal document assigns a reign of 7 years to this king based on the number of year register preserved for him in Cairo Fragment One, register V.1 Wilkinson states that "this figure is fairly certain, since the [king's] titulary begins immediately after the dividing line marking the change of reign."2 Hence, the Manethonian tradition appears to be correct. His reign is thought to have been from about 2649 BC until 2643 BC or 2642 BC. Sekhemkhet's name means "Powerful in Body."3
Pyramid
While there was a known successor to Djoser, Sekhemkhet's name was unknown until 1951, when the leveled foundation and vestiges of an unfinished Step Pyramid were discovered at Saqqara by Zakaria Goneim. Only the lowest step of the pyramid had been constructed at the time of his death. Jar seals found on the site were found inscribed with this king's name. From its design and an inscription from his pyramid at Saqqara, it is thought that Djoser's famous architect Imhotep had a hand in the design of this pyramid. Imhotep's name appears in a graffito on the enclosure wall surrounding Sekhemkhet's unfinished step-pyramid which suggests that this official outlived Djoser and went on to serve under king Sekhemkhet.4Archaeologists believe that Sekhemket's pyramid would have been larger than Djoser's had it been completed. Today the site, which lies southwest of Djoser's complex, is mostly concealed beneath sand dunes and is known as the Buried Pyramid.
A shell shaped container made of gold was found in Sekhemkhet's unfinished pyramid by an Egyptian Antiquities Service excavation team in 1950.5 The object has a length of 5.3 centimetres and is currently located in Room 4 of the Cairo Museum.6
References
- ^ Wilkinson, Toby. Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and Its Associated Fragments, p79. Kegan Paul International, 2000.
- ^ Wilkinson, Toby. Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and Its Associated Fragments, p79-80. Kegan Paul International, 2000.
- ^ Clayton, Peter A. Chronicle of the Pharaohsp.32 Thames and Hudson, 2004. ISBN 978-0-500-28628-9
- ^ Jaromir Malek 'The Old Kingdom' in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt by Ian Shaw (ed.) Oxford University Press. paperback 2002. p.92
- ^ Alessandro Bongioanni & Maria Croce (ed.), The Treasures of Ancient Egypt: From the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Universe Publishing, a division of Ruzzoli Publications Inc., 2003. p.344
- ^ Bongioanni & Croce, op. cit., p.344
Bibliography
- Hawass, Zahi. "Excavating the Old Kingdom". in Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1999.
- Leclant, Jean. "A Brief History of the Old Kingdom". in Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1999.
- Wilkinson, Toby. Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and Its Associated Fragments, Kegan Paul International, 2000.
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