171

The Representation of the Hedgehog Goddess Abaset at Bahariya Oasis

Hend SHerbiny and HuSSein baSSir

Abstract

The representation of the hedgehog goddess Abaset in ancient Egyptian iconography is unique. The goddess appears twice on the decorated walls of the tomb of the wealthy Saite merchant, Bannentiu, at Qarat Qasr Salim, Bahariya Oasis. Reading and analysis of the two scenes of this goddess are presented.

Introduction

Bahariya Oasis1 flourished during the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty or Saite period (664–525 BC), espe-cially in the reign of Ahmose II best known as Amasis (570–526 BC).2 Many magnificent Saite monu-ments have been found at Bahariya,3 though Bahariya was also important throughout prehistoric and

1 We dedicate this study to the late Egyptologist and pioneering discoverer of Egyptian Oases, especially Bahariya Oasis, Ahmed Fakhry (1905–1973), in the sxt jArw among the souls of the jmAxw Egyptians.

2 For more on Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, see A. Spalinger, “Twenty-Sixth Dynasty,” in D. Redford, ed., The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, II (Oxford-New York, 2001), 268–71; idem, “The Concept of the Monarchy during the Saite Epoch. An Essay of Synthesis,” Orientalia 7 (1978), 21; A. Lloyd, “The Late Period. 664–332 BC,” in I. Shaw, ed., The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (Oxford, 2000), 369–83; M. Van De Mieroop, A History of Ancient Egypt (Chichester-Malden, 2011), 300–304; D. Agut-Labordère, “The Emergence of a Mediterranean Power. The Saite Period,” in J. Moreno García, ed., Ancient Egyptian Administration (Leiden-Boston, 2013), 965–1027; O. Perdu, “Saites and Persians (664–332),” in A. Lloyd, ed., A Companion to Ancient Egypt, I (Chichester-Malden, 2010), 140–49; A. Hussein, Self-Presentation of the Late Saite Non-Royal Elite. The Texts and Monuments of Neshor Named Psamtikmenkhib and Payeftjauemawyneith (PhD dissertation, Johns Hopkins University, 2009), 24–38; A. Gardiner, “The Dakhleh Stela,” JEA 19 (1933), 19–30, pls. 5–7.

3 For more on Bahariya Oasis (and other oases), see A. Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I (Cairo, 1942); idem, Bahria Oasis, II (Cairo, 1950); idem, The Oases of Egypt, II. Bahrıyah and Farafra Oases (Cairo, 2003 [1974]), 21; idem, “Bahrija, Oase,” LdÄ I, 601–4; F. Co-lin, “Qasr Allam. A Twenty-Sixth Dynasty Settlement,” EA 24 (2004), 30–33; G. Castel and P. Tallet, “Les inscriptions d’El-Harra, oasis de Bahareya,” BIFAO 101 (2001), 99–136; F. Bliss, Oasenleben. Die ägyptischen Oasen Bahariya und Farafra in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart (Bonn, 2006), 33–34; J. Willeitner, Die ägyptischen Oasen. Städte, Tempel und Gräber in der Libyschen Wuste (Mainz, 2003), 89–91; F. Bliss, Die Oasen Bahriya und Farafra (Bonn, 1983), 41–44; F. Colin, D. Laisney, and S. Marchand, “Qaret el-Toub. Un fort romain et une nécropole pharaonique. Prospection archéologique dans l’oasis de Bahariya 1999,” BIFAO 100 (2000), 145–92; J. Baines and J. Málek, Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt (New York, 2000), 187; C. Vivian, The Western Desert of Egypt. An Explorer’s Handbook (Cairo, 2000), 174–212; M. Barta, “Bahariya Oasis,” in R. Bagnall et al., eds., The Encyclopedia of Ancient History (Blackwell, 2103), 1020–22; L. Giddy, Egyptian Oases. Bahariya, Dakhla, Farafra and Kharga during Pharaonic Times (Warminster, 1987), 15–16; J. Ball and H. Beadnell, Baharia Oasis. Its Topography and Geology (Cairo, 1903), 49; R. Said, The Geology of Egypt (New York, 1962), 80–81; O. Catuneanu, M. Khalifa, and H. Wanas, “Sequence Stratigraphy of the Lower Cenomanian Bahariya Formation, Bahariya Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt,” Sedimentary Geology 190 (2006), 121–37; I. Guermeur, Les cultes d’Amon hors de Thèbes. Recherches de géographie religieuse (Turnhout, 2005), 428; Gardiner, AEO II, 235; A. Mills, “Western Desert,” in Redford, Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, III, 497–501; “Al-Wah al-Bahrıyah,” in S. Timm, ed., Das christlich-koptische Ägypten in arabischer Zeit. VI. T–Z (Wiesbaden, 1992), 2926–43.

⁻

⁻ ⁻

Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 50, pp. 171–89doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5913/jarce.50.2014.a023

172 JARCE 50 (2014)

pharaonic times, with prehistoric settlements4; and sites of the Old Kingdom5; the First Intermediate period6; the Middle Kingdom7; the Second Intermediate period8; the Eighteenth Dynasty9; Nineteenth Dynasty10 which produced the famous tomb of the ruler of Bahariya, Amenhotep Huy11; the Late pe-riod; and the Graeco-Roman period12 (figs. 1–2).

The Saite Monuments at Bahariya

The Saite monuments at Bahariya Oasis13 are the four shrines of Ain Al-Muftella,14 the Qasr Allam settlement, the tombs of Qarat al-Subı (tombs of Badiastarte,15 Thati,16 Tanefertbastet,17 Badiisis, Naas, and Djedkhonsuiuefankh),18 and the tombs of Qarat Qasr Salim (tombs of Djedamuniuefankh19 and Bannentiu20).

4 F. Hassan, “Baharia Oasis,” in K. Bard, ed., Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt (London-New York, 1999), 164; idem, “Archaeological Explorations at Baharia Oasis and the West Delta, Egypt,” Current Anthropology 20.4 (1979), 806; M. Barta et al., “Report on the survey and Trial Excavations of the Czech Institute of Egyptology, Carried in the Area of El-Hayez, Baharia Oasis (2ND season, 6.3.–31.3.2004),” Prehled vyzkumu 45 (2004), 23–28; J. Svoboda, “Prehistory of the Southern Bahariya Oasis Western Desert, Egypt. An Outline,” Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia 4 (28) (2006), 18–30.

5 Giddy, Egyptian Oases, 52; S. Gosline, Baharia Oasis Expedition Season Report for 1988, I, Survey of Qarat Hilwah (Texas, 1990), 6–7.

6 Wb. I, 349; Giddy, Egyptian Oases, 53; S. Marchand, “La céramique de la fin de l’Ancien Empire/ Première Période Intermé-diaire: Tombe 10 de la nécropole de Qaret el-Toub (oasis de Bahariya),” in M. Dospel and L. Suková, eds., Bahariya Oasis. Recent Research into the Past of an Egyptian Oasis (Prague, 2013), 227–41.

7 Gardiner, AEO II, 74; Giddy, Egyptian Oases, 53–55; A. Fakhry, “Wädi el-Natrün,” ASAE 40 (1940), 815–47; Castel and Tallet “Les inscriptions d’El-Harra, oasis de Bahareya,” 99–136; A. Fakhry, “The Search of Texts in the Western Desert,” in Textes et langages, 207–22.”

8 M. Bunson, Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt (New York, 2002), 14; Gosline, Baharia Oasis Expedition 1988, 13; Z. Hawass, Valley of the Golden Mummies (Cairo, 2000), 63.

9 F. Colin, “Le « Domaine d’Amon » à Bahariya de la XVIIIe à la XXVIe dynastie. l’apport des des fouilles de Qasr ‘Allam,” in D. Devauchelle, ed., La XXVIe dynastie continuités et ruptures (Paris, 2011), 47–49; Hawass, Valley of the Golden Mummies, 102–3; Gosline, Baharia Oasis Expedition 1988, 15–16; N. Davies, Puyemerê; idem, Rekh-mi-Re.

10 Wb. V, 618; Gardiner, AEO II, 235; Gosline, Baharia Oasis Expedition 1988, 16; Hawass, Valley of the Golden Mummies, 103.11 C. Van Siclen III, Wall Scenes from the Tomb of Amenhotep (Huy) Governor of Bahria Oasis (San Antonio, 1981), 1–9.12 S. Aufrère, J. Golvin, and J.-C. Goyon, L’Égypt restituée Sites et Temples des deserts de la naissance de la civilization pharaonique

à l’époque gréco-romaine (Paris, 1994), 125–42; F. Charlier et al., Bahariya, I. Le fort romain de Qaret el-Toub, I (Cairo, 2012); Colin, Laisney, and Marchand “Qaret el-Toub,” 45–92.

13 For the Saite cemetery at Bahariya Oasis, see PM VII, 299–308.14 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 152; idem, The Oases of Egypt, II, 64; G. Steindorff, Durch die Libysche Wuste zur Amonsoase (Leipzig,

1904), 135, fig. 101; F. Labrique, “Le catalogue divin de ‘Ayn al-Mouftella. Jeux de miroir autour de “celui qui est dans ce temple,” BIFAO 104 (2004), 336; D. Arnold, Temples of the Last Pharaohs (New York-Oxford, 1999), 88. On temple symbolism and Late period temples in ancient Egypt, see J. Baines, “Temple Symbolism,” Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 15 (1976), 10–11; idem, “Temples as Symbols, Guarantors, and Participants in Egyptian Civilization,” in S. Quirke, ed., The Temple in Ancient Egypt (London, 1997), 216; C. Zivie-Coche, “Late Period Temples,” UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 1 (1). nelc_uee_7919. Retrieved from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/30k472wh, 1.

15 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 99; W. El-Sadeek, Twenty-Sixth Dynasty Necropolis at Gizeh (Vienna, 1984), 173; K. Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Spätzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II (Wiesbaden, 2014), 1125–26 (679).

16 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 123; PM VII, 303–4; El-Sadeek, Twenty-Sixth Dynasty Necropolis at Gizeh, 174; Jansen-Winkeln, In-schriften der Spätzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II, 1126–30 (680).

17 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 148; PM VII, 304; El-Sadeek, Twenty-Sixth Dynasty Necropolis at Gizeh, 190.18 Z. Hawass, “Hier ruhte der Statthalter des Pharaos,” National Geographic (Deutschland) 2001 (September), 91–101; idem,

“More Secrets Uncovered in the Valley of the Golden Mummies,” Horus. The Inflight Magazine of Egyptair 19 (1) (2001), 14–21; F. Colin and F. Labrique, “Semenekh oudjat à Bahariya,” in F. Labrique, ed., Religions méditerranéennes et orientales de l’Antiquité. Actes du colloque des 23–24 avril 1999, Institut des sciences et techniques de l’Antiquité (UMR 6048), Université de Franche-Comté, à Be-sançon (Cairo, 2002), 45–78.

19 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 49–63; PM VII, 305; Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Spätzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II, 1113–17 (677).

20 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65–93. We follow Fakhry’s common anglicized writing of this individual’s name (underlying form

⁻⁻

˘

⁻

SHERBINY AND BASSIR 173

Qarat Qasr Salim21

Qarat Qasr Salim is a small tell at the eastern edge of the capital city of Bahariya, Al-Bawiti on the road to Ain Al-Hubaga.22 On the top of this tell are two of the famous Saite tombs of the oasis: the tomb of Djedamuniuefankh and the tomb of his son Bannentiu.23

The Tomb of Bannentiu (figs. 3–4)24

This grander tomb belongs to Bannentiu who was buried in this tomb with all the hallmarks of magnificent elite burials.25 He was a wealthy man who inherited his wealth from his prominent father, Djedamuniuefankh. The tomb is located around 15 meters to the west of the famous tomb of his father.

bA-n-ntjw?), although it is not the correct rendering of his name; see our discussion below. For more on the monuments of Baha-riya Oasis, see Fakhry, The Oases of Egypt, II. Bahrıyah and Farafra Oases, 78–153.

21 Willeitner, Die ägyptischen Oasen, 93–94.22 Vivian, The Western Desert of Egypt, 192. 23 Vivian, The Western Desert of Egypt, 193; A. Fakhry, Recent Explorations in the Oases of the Western Desert (Cairo, 1942), 40–41;

Fakhry, The Oases of Egypt, II. Bahrıyah and Farafra Oases, 140 (1). 24 PM VII, 305–7; Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65–93, pls. 20–34; Colin and Labrique, “Semenekh oudjat à Bahariya,” 47–50;

Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Spätzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II, 1118–24 (678).25 The Saite tombs at Asasif, at West Thebes, have the same architectural elements, see D. Eigner, Die monumentalen Grab-

Fig. 1. Map of Egypt showing the location of Baha-riya Oasis (after Bliss, Oasenleben, fig. 2)

⁻

⁻

174 JARCE 50 (2014)

Fig. 2. A satellite image showing the topographical features and geographical localities of Bahariya Oasis (after Charlier, Bahariya, I, Le fort romain de Qaret el-Toub, I).

On the Name of Bannentiu. It is remarkable to find the name of this individual written several differ-ent ways in his tomb. Fakhry pointed out that the rendering of the name of this tomb owner, Ba-n-nentiu meaning “the soul of those who have not,” was not common, and was not the best reading of the name. The name of this individual was written in several different ways in his tomb,26 and all begin with the bA sign. Fakhry proposed that the name can be pronounced “Ba-n-ati,” meaning “the ram of need,” he also stated that it could be read “Benaty,”27 “Benati,” “Beniuti,” or “Beniwty,”28 which he considered “more plausible” than “Bannentiu” which some scholars regard as “impossible”; however, the latter is the most common in Egyptological literature after Fakhry. Fakhry published the name in his reports as “Ba-n-nentin” and “Ba-n-nentiou,”29 but leaving it as it is, however, pointed out that “none of the other readings is conclusive” and “another reading would be more suitable.” Fakhry thinks that the name is

bauten der Spätzeit in der thebanischen Nekropole, 2 vols. (Vienna, 1984); M. Bietak and E. Reiser-Haslauer, Das Grab des ’Ankh-Hor. Obersthofmeister der Gottesgemahlin Nitokris I. Mit einem Beitrag von E. Graefe und Relief-und Fundzeichnungen von H. Satzinger, 2 vols. (Vienna, 1978–1982).

26 See Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65 (1), 90. 27 See Colin and Labrique, “Semenekh oudjat à Bahariya,” 46–47; DN 141. 28 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65 (1); idem, The Oases of Egypt, II. Bahrıyah and Farafra Oases, 140 (1). 29 Fakhry, Recent Explorations in the Oases of the Western Desert, pls. 15a and 15b.

⁻

Fig. 3. The tomb of Bannentiu (photograph by the authors).

Fig. 4. The panel of the tomb of Bannentiu showing its plan and main architectural features (photograph by the authors).

176 JARCE 50 (2014)

not Egyptian, and probably of “Libyan origin.”30 The several different ways of writing the name of Ban-nentiu are as follows:31

Fakhry32 read “bA-n-iwtj.” However, Ranke has “bn-iwt.t(?)-inHr.t,”33 “bn-iwti(?)-DHwtj,”34 and “kA-n-iwtj.”35 De Meulenaere36 read “bA-n-jwtj” and Von Droste zu Hülshoff37 has “bA-n-jwtj.” Malinine has “BA-At-jt=f”38 and Graefe has “Bn-Atj-jt.”39 Osing40 read “Bn41/BAn-jwtj” or “Bn/BAn-jAd(t)” and “Bn/BAn-Atj” and Jansen-Winkeln42 has “Bn-jwtj” or “Bn-n-Atj.” Leitz and Budde read “BA-n-ntyw.”43 The name of this individual should read “BAn-At44-(jt=f)” or “Bn45-Atj(-jt)” “Benatj(it)” (=Bannentiu) meaning “It is not that he who does not have (a/his father).”46 This could be confirmed by the relationship between Bannentiu and his prominent father, Djedamuniuefankh.

No superstructure (fig. 5) has been found. The depth of the shaft leading to the substructure is about 6 meters deep. At the end of it there are two entrances: the first opens south and leads to an incomplete burial chamber with undecorated walls; the second entrance in the northern side leads to the original burial chamber. The substructure is composed of a central hall and three side rooms. Only one of these rooms is painted, and this is the original room which faced the entrance (figs. 6–8).47

The central hall has four square pillars covered with a thin layer of white plaster48 but only one of its sides was painted with religious scenes that are very well preserved. The walls of this hall were cut with

30 Fakhry, The Oases of Egypt, II. Bahrıyah and Farafra Oases, 140 (1). 31 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65, 90. 32 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65; De Meulenaere, “Notes d’onomastique tardive (deuxième série),” RdE 12 (1960), 72.33 Ranke, PN I, 96 (18).34 Ranke, PN I, 96 (19). De Meulenaere, “Notes d’onomastique tardive (deuxième série),” 72, read them as “bn-iwtj” and “tA(n.t-)

DHwtj.” For the latter example, see Ranke, PN I, 363 (14). Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65 (1), pointed out that the two examples of Ranke, PN I, 96 (18–19), are not translated by Ranke and both end with a deity (Thoth and Osiris or Atum?).

35 Ranke, PN II, 321 (19); De Meulenaere, “Notes d’onomastique tardive (deuxième série),” 72.36 De Meulenaere, “Notes d’onomastique tardive (deuxième série,), 72.37 V. Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten (Hildesheim, 1980), 93.38 M. Malinine, “Une vente d’esclave à l’époque de Psammétique Ier. (papyrus du Vatican 10574, en hiératique ‘anormal’),”

RdE 5 (1946), 121–22, 128 (9).39 E. Graefe, Untersuchungen zur Verwaltung und Geschichte der Institution der Gottesgemahlin des Amun vom Beginn des Neuen

Reiches bis zur Spätzeit, I (Wiesbaden, 1981), 60–61.40 J. Osing, “Zur Lesung der neuägyptisch-demotischen Negation bn,” Enchoria 10 (1980), 101-2. The examples of this tomb

that Osing used were read “Bn-jwty” and “Bn-Atj.”41 For the bA sign as the sound and letter b, see W. Albright, The Vocalization of the Egyptian Syllabic Orthography (New Haven,

1934), 39; H. Fairman, “Notes on the Alphabetic Signs Employed in the Hieroglyphic Inscriptions of the Temple of Edfu,” ASAE 43 (1943), 222; idem, “An Introduction to the Study of Ptolemaic Signs and their Values,” BIFAO 43 (1945), 69; N. de G. Davis, The Temple of Hibis in el Khargeh Oasis. III. The Decoration. Ed. by L. Bull and L. F. Hall (New York, 1953), pl. 9, 10; Osing, “Zur Lesung der neuägyptisch-demotischen Negation bn,” 99 (44), 102 (64).

42 Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Spätzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II, 1118 (678). 43 Leitz, LGG II, 89, probably following Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65 (1). 44 For the negative relative adjective Atj/jAdt/At/jwtj/jtj/jwtw, Coptic at, and Demotic At, see M. Hamza, La lecture de l’adjectif

relatif négativ et sa syntaxe comparée avec celle de l’adjectiv relative (Cairo, 1929), 10; Crum, CD, 18; W. Westendorf, Kopt. HWb, 13; Erichsen, Glossar, 13 (25); Wb. I, 35 (17); PM II2, 157; Gardiner, EG, 152-53 (§ 202–203); Malinine, “Une vente d’esclave,” 128 (9).

45 Bn or bAn here is a negation of bw, see Osing, “Zur Lesung der neuägyptisch-demotischen Negation bn,” 102–3.46 Malinine, “Une vente d’esclave,” 128 (9); Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar, 152–53 (§ 202–203); Osing, “Zur Lesung der neuä-

gyptisch-demotischen Negation bn,” 102–3; Erichsen, Glossar, 13 (25); Wb. I, 35 (17); Hamza, La lecture de l’adjectif relatif négativ, 10.

47 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 66; H. El-Sherbiny, The Tombs and the Chapels of Baharia Oasis in the Late Period (in Arabic) (MA Thesis, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt, 2012), 12–13.

48 A. Fakhry, “Bahria and Farafra Oases. Second Preliminary Report on the New Discoveries,” ASAE 39 (1939), 628–29.

⁻

Fig. 6. The entrance to the burial chamber of the tomb of Bannentiu (photograph by the authors).

Fig. 5. The shaft leading to the burial chamber of the tomb of Bannentiu (photograph by the authors).

178 JARCE 50 (2014)

Fig. 7. The entrance to the central hall (photo-graph by the authors).

great care. The tomb paintings depict elaborate scenes from the Book of the Dead including the solar boat traveling to the Netherworld.49 The style is charming and its colors are vivid. The tomb was robbed and reused in the Roman period and looted again in modern times. When Ahmed Fakhry opened it on April 22, 1938, however, all the walls and painted scenes were intact (figs. 9–10).

49 For the Book of the Dead, see G. Lapp. The Papyrus of Nu (BM EA 10477) (London, 1997); R. Faulkner, The Egyptian Book of the Dead (San Francisco, 1994); T. Allen, BD; E. Hornung, Das Totenbuch der Ägypter (Zürich-Munich, 1979). For the Book of the Dead in the Saite period, see T. Wilfong, “A Saite Book of the Dead Fragment in Kelsey Museum of Archaeology,” In R. Ast, H. Cuvigny, T. Hickey, and J. Lougovaya, eds., Papyrological Texts in Honor of Roger S. Bagnall (Durham, 2013), 325–30; M. Mosher Jr., “Theban and Memphite Book of the Dead Traditions in the Late Period,” JARCE 29 (1992), 143–72; K. Griffin, “The Book of the Dead from the Western Wall of the Second Pillared Hall in the Tomb of Karakhamun (TT 223),” in E. Pischikova, J. Budka, and K. Griffin, eds., Thebes in the First Millennium BC (Newcastle, 2014), 251–68; M. Molinero Polo, “The Broad Hall of the Two Maats. Spell BD 125 in Karakhamun’s Main Burial Chamber,” in Pischikova, Budka, and Griffin, Thebes in the First Millennium BC, 269–93.

Fig. 8. One of the Roman burials cut into the tomb of Bannentiu (photograph by the authors).

Fig. 9. A religious scene in the tomb of Bannentiu (photograph by the authors).

180 JARCE 50 (2014)

Fig. 10. Plan and section of the tomb of Bannentiu (after Fakhry, Baharia Oasis, I, fig. 25).

On the Name of Abaset. The hedgehog50 goddess Abaset was depicted at Bahariya Oasis in two scenes in the central hall of the tomb of Bannentiu. The name of the goddess Abaset is rare. Fakhry51 read it as “ ‘Ab‘as” and published only one version of it: . Von Droste zu Hülshoff52 reads abast, while Vernus read abas.t.53 Leitz and Budde read abast and did not offer any translation, only “….?...,” though they presented two ways of writing the name of the goddess as they appear in her two inscriptions af-ter Fakhry’s publication: the first as that of Fakhry with the letter “t” and the egg sign, and the second without the letter “t” and the egg sign.54 However, the first is probably the correct way to write this name, the second being presumably incomplete, since the inscription does not continue: .55 No interpretation of the goddess’s name has not been yet presented. Her name is presumably composed

50 For more on hedgehogs in ancient Egypt and especially in this tomb, see S. Lippert, “Stachelschwein, Igel und Schmetter-lingspuppe,” in C. Zivie-Coche and I. Guermeur, eds., Parcourir l’éternité: Hommages à Jean Yoyotte II (Paris, 2012), 777–99.

51 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 78.52 Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, 93.53 P. Vernus, “Hérisson,” in P. Vernus and J. Yoyotte, Bestiaire des Pharaons (Paris, 2005), 146. 54 Leitz, LGG II, 89; Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 78–79, fig. 35, pl. 29 B, and 83, fig. 41. 55 See figs. 12–17 here and Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 78–79, fig. 35, pl. 29 B, and 83, fig. 41.

SHERBINY AND BASSIR 181

of two elements: ab and Ast. ab is a verb meaning “to praise” or “to boast”56 and “Ast” “Isis,”57 the famous goddess “Isis.” Therefore the name of Abaset is Egyptian, ab-Ast, may mean “Praising Isis” or “Boasting Isis” and was perhaps a regional image of Isis at Bahariya Oasis since she is attested only at the oasis and not yet in the Nile valley.

These scenes of the goddess are the only appearance of this goddess on Egyptian monuments until this moment. We present here a description of her representation in this tomb and a commentary on this deity from both a religious and an artistic point of view.

The Representation of the Goddess Abaset

The two scenes representing the goddess Abaset are well executed. The first scene is placed on the western wall of the central hall of the tomb, while the other is on the outer side of one of its four pillars (fig. 11).

The First Scene58

The scene depicts two figures of the tomb owner, Bannentiu, in two gestures: one kneeling and the other standing with his arms raised, adoring two deities in front of him, Rehorakhty and Abaset (fig. 12). The kneeling figure of the tomb owner is executed as a sketch in paint and above him is a drawing of an unfinished offering table loaded with round loaves in two rows, with two geese and two incense burners above. In both representations Bannentiu is depicted wearing a long garment and a short wig and raising his arms glorifying the deities. Rehorakhty wears a short garment above the knees, and the nemes headdress with a uraeus and a sun disk on his head. He holds the wAs-scepter in his right hand and the anx-sign in the left.

A text in front of the god reads as follows:

Dd mdw jn Ra-@r-Axty nb-(r)-Drw (pt) tp(y)59 anxw“Words spoken by Rehorakhty, Lord (to) the Limits (of heaven),60 and Foremost of the Living.”

Behind Rehorakhty is the goddess Abaset with her remarkable hedgehog61 headdress62 in blue.63 Abaset wears a long tight dress painted in red64 and raises her right hand toward Rehorakhty in the

56 Wb. I, 177 (16–22); R. Hannig, Großes Handwörterbuch Ägyptisch-Deutsch (2800–950 V. Chr.). Die Sprache der Pharaonen (Mainz, 2006), 135; Faulkner, CDME, 41; P. Wilson, A Ptolemaic Lexikon. A Lexicographical Study of the Texts in the Temple of Edfu (Leuven, 1997), 271; L. Lesko and B. Lesko, A Dictionary of Late Egyptian, 2nd ed., I (Providence, 2002), 64.

57 Leitz, LGG I, 61; C. Zivie, Le temple de Deir Chelouit I (Cairo, 1982) 7 (5). 58 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 78–79, fig. 35, pl. 29 B; PM VII, 305 [2–3]; Vandier, “Iousaas et (Hathor)-Nebet-Hetepet,” RdÉ 16

(1964), 109, pl. 8; Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, 93–94; Lippert, “Stachelschwein, Igel und Schmetterling-spuppe,” 789–90, pls. 22–23; El-Sherbiny, The Tombs and the Chapels of Baharia Oasis in the Late Period, 120–21.

59 tpy is facing right. 60 Leitz, LGG III, 4. 61 Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Spätzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II, 1120 (678); Vernus, “Hérisson,” 146.62 K. Goebs, “Crowns,” in Redford, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt I, 323.63 The blue color was called xsbd in ancient Egyptian, see S. Quirke, “Colour Vocabularies in Ancient Egyptian,” in W. Davies,

ed., Colour and Painting in Ancient Egypt (London, 2001), 188. It was also very important pigment in ancient Egyptian iconogra-phy, see J. Taylor, “Patterns of Colouring on Ancient Egyptian Coffins from the New Kingdom to the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. An Overview,” in Davies, Colour and Paintings in Ancient Egypt, 167.

64 For the symbolism of the red color, dSr, see G. Pinch, “Red Things: The Symbolism of Colour in Magic,” in Davies, Colour and Paintings in Ancient Egypt, 184; see also B. Leach and R. Parkinson, “Creating Borders: New Insights into Making the Papyrus of Ani,” BMSAES 15 (2010), 35–62, http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/online_journals/bmsaes/issue_15/leach_parkin-son.aspx.

182 JARCE 50 (2014)

gesture of protection while her left hand is beside her body. There is a text in three vertical lines above her which reads as follows:

Dd mdw jn ab-Ast nTrt aA(t) nb(t) pt65 Hnw(t) nTr(t)“Words spoken by Abaset, Great Goddess, Mistress of Heaven, the Mistress, and the Goddess.”66

The representation of Abaset, Rehorakhty, and Bannentiu is divided by the wAs-scepter into two equal sections: the right and the left, so it is executed in a much harmonized balance (figs. 13–14).

The Second Scene67

The second scene (fig. 15) depicts the god Bare (the Soul of Re)68 standing on the southern west pillar while the goddess Abaset stands behind him.69 The scene is topped by a winged sun disk surrounded by two uraei.70 Bare is represented with a human body and a ram’s head with a sun disk between two horns, referring to his relationship with the sun god Re. Bare wears a short garment and holds the anx-sign in his right hand and the wAs-scepter in his left hand. Abaset wears an elegant tight red dress, her left arm alongside her body with her hand raised slightly, and her right hand raised toward Bare in a

65 The letter p is written after the letter t. 66 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 78–79, fig. 35, pl. 29 B, reads Hmt. J. Vandier, “Iousaas et (Hathor)-Nebet-Hetepet,” 109, translated as

“Paroles dites par Abâset, la grande déesse, la maîtresse du ciel, la souveraine des dieux.” According to Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, 93, n. 3, Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 78, and Vandier assumed to read Hnwt nTrt and translate “mistress of Gods.” Although “mistress of Gods” in Egyptian should be Hnwt nTrw, not Hnwt nTrt. However, Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, 93, translates “die große Göttin, Herrin des Himmels und göttliche Frau.” Vernus, “Hérisson,” 146, reads “grande déesse, dame des dieux.”

67 Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 83, fig. 41; PM VII, 307 [IIa]; Vandier, “Iousaas et (Hathor)-Nebet-Hetepet,” 109, pl. 8; Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, 93–94; Lippert, “Stachelschwein, Igel und Schmetterlingspuppe,” 789–90, pls. 22–23; El-Sherbiny, The Tombs and the Chapels of Baharia Oasis in the Late Period, 204–5.

68 This deity is probably BA-Ra who is attested since the New Kingdom, see Leitz, LGG II, 688–89 (9). It is mentioned in the Book of the Dead, Chapter 17, see Urk. V, 15 (5).

69 Vernus, “Hérisson,” 146, considers him “the ram of Mendes.” Colin and Labrique, “Semenekh oudjat à Bahariya,” 46, thought that he is Banebdjed.

70 This form of the winged sun disk often appears as decorative element in temples and confirms the nature of the deity as a celestial god. This decorative element probably first appeared on the ivory comb of Djet from the First Dynasty. On a block from the mortuary temple of Sahure is a scene of the winged sun disk above the king’s name and titles. Then the winged sun disk becomes a symbol of protection. Moreover, Gardiner mentions that the sun disk represents the king as the sun god, see I. Shaw, and P. Nicholson, British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt (Cairo, 1995), 134, 305; Gardiner, EG, 564.

Fig. 11. The central hall of the tomb of Bannentiu where the goddess Abaset is depicted in an red dress on the side of the nearest pillar at the left of the photo-graph (photograph by the authors).

SHERBINY AND BASSIR 183

Fig. 12. The first scene (after Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, fig. 35).

gesture of protection. On her head is a long wig with a vulture headdress atop of it with a hedgehog71 in blue while an upright uraeus decorates her forehead (figs. 16–17).

The text above and behind the goddess in two vertical lines reads as follows:

Dd mdw jn ab-Ast … @rw Jnpw jr Hr=k hrw nb r(?) rmT Ast jr[w]t=sn [Hr] pr @rw … wnm(=k?) ... t… Hsj=s […]72

“Words spoken by Abaset … Horus and Anubis, pay attention every day to (?) the tears of Isis,73 their eyes are [upon] the House of Horus … so that you (?) may eat bread (?) and praise her (?) […].”

The text above and in front of Bare reads as follows:

Dd mdw jn BA-(Ra) … nb pt74 dj[=f] anx … n=k p(A) mAat … dwA sA=k nxn bA sDr=s Htp dwAt n psS nn “Words spoken by Ba(re), Lord of Heaven, may [he] give life … to you that of justice … praise your son so that the soul be reborn75 and may it sleep pleased (and occupy ?) the Netherworld (?)…. for dividing these (?).”

71 Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Spätzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II, 1122 (678); Vernus, “Hérisson,” 146.72 Hsj=s may refer to the meaning of Abaset and associate her with Isis, see above. 73 A. Leahy, personal communication, July 18, 2014, points out that the “tears of Isis” may suggest “an association of Isis and

Abaset.” 74 The letter p is written after the letter t.75 Hannig, Großes Handwörterbuch Ägyptisch-Deutsch (2800–950 V. Chr.), 427; Wb. II, 311 (15), 313 (4).

184 JARCE 50 (2014)

Fig. 13. The first scene shows Bannentiu worshipping Rehorakhty and Abaset (photo-graph by the authors).

Reading and Analysis

The goddess Abaset is represented with the hedgehog on her head.76 Why did this goddess take the hedgehog77 as her symbol? The hedgehog was probably called Hntj78 and HntA79 in ancient Egyptian. The hedgehog is called Paraechinus aethiopicus.80 Two species of hedgehog live in Egypt today. The long-

76 Å. Strandberg, The Gazelle in Ancient Egyptian Art. Image and Meaning (Uppsala, 2009), 20.77 For a general introduction on the animal world in ancient Egypt, see J. Boessneck, Die Tierwelt des alten Ägypten. Untersucht

anhand kulturgeschichtlicher und zoologischer Quellen (Munich, 1988); P. Houlihan, The Animal World of the Pharaohs (Cairo, 1995); P. Vernus and J. Yoyotte, Bestiaire des Pharaons (Paris, 2005).

78 Wb. III, 121 (15).79 Wb. III, 122 (7); Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, 13–16; idem, “Igel,” LdÄ III, 124; Vernus, “Hérisson,” 146. 80 See D. Osborn, The Mammals of Ancient Egypt. The Natural History of Egypt IV (Warminster, 1998), 19–20. For the detailed

discussion of which species the ancient Egyptian hedgehog belongs to (I mean either Paraechinus deserti, Paraechinus dorsalis or Paraechinus aethiopicus); R. Hoath, A Field Guide to the Mammals of Egypt (Cairo, 2003), 25–29; Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, 7–11, 17–21; idem, “Igel,” LdÄ III, 124; Vernus, “Hérisson,” 145.

SHERBINY AND BASSIR 185

eared desert hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus)81 lives in the north of the country. The desert hedgehog (Paraechinus deserti) is bigger than the Lower Egyptian one and has long ears, long limbs, a short tail, and spikes.82

There is a scene showing a hedgehog in a defensive situation with spikes on his back against a pan-ther trying to eat it in the Old Kingdom tomb of Pehenuka from Saqqara.83 The hedgehog has been associated with protection because when this animal feels danger it covers itself with a ball of spikes and has the ability to face all bites especially of snakes. Hedgehogs hide beneath earth when food is scarce and appear when there is plenty of food. All these factors refer to the hedgehog’s ability for rebirth after death. There is a scene from the Old Kingdom tomb of Nyankhnesut (object number 1965.28.M, now at the Dallas Museum of Art) that shows eight men bringing offerings to the tomb owner.84 They are car-rying ducks, geese, bread, and flowers for the deceased. The third man from the left is carrying a caged hedgehog to symbolize the rebirth of Nyankhnesut. The Eighteenth Dynasty Ebers Medical Papyrus85 refers to a prescription for curing baldness by using ground spikes of hedgehog and mixing them with

81 Vernus, “Hérisson,” 145. 82 J. Kingdon, The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (London, 1970), 141–42.83 Y. Harpur, Decoration in Egyptian Tombs of the Old Kingdom. Studies in Orientation and Scene Content (London; New York,

1987), 530 [fig. 188]; Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, 62 (no. 8, fig. 9); PM III, 149 (6). 84 S. Kotz, Dallas Museum of Art. A Guide to the Collection (Dallas, 1997), 130. 85 For more on this very important medical papyrus and medicine in ancient Egypt, see T. Bardines, Les papyrus médicaux

de l’Egypte pharaonique (Paris, 1995); P. Ghalioungui, The Ebers Papyrus. A New English Translation, Commentaries and Glossaries (Cairo, 1987); H. Joachim, Papyros Ebers. Das älteste Buch uber Heilkunde. Aus dem Ägyptischen zum erstenmal vollständig ubersetzt (Ber-lin, 1890); B. Ebbell, The Papyrus Ebers. The Greatest Egyptian Medical Document (Kopenhagen, 1937); W. Westendorf, Handbuch der altägyptischen Medizin, I–II (Leiden-Boston-Cologne, 1999); W. Wreszinski, Der Papyrus Ebers. Umschrift, Übersetzung und Kommen-tar. I. Teil. Umschrift (Leipzig, 1913); J. Nunn, Ancient Egyptian Medicine, London, 1996; S. Fukagawa, Investigation into Dynamics of Ancient Egyptian Pharmacology. A Statistical Analysis of Papyrus Ebers and Cross-Cultural Medical Thinking (Oxford, 2011).

Fig. 14. A detail of the first scene (after Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, pl. 29 B).

186 JARCE 50 (2014)

oil. It is suggested86 that the hedgehog aryballoi87 of the Late period (mainly Saite from Naukratis) may have contained extracts of hedgehog spines and other body parts, which were used as a remedy against hair loss. Moreover, the ancient Egyptians respected the hedgehog so much because it kept their envi-ronment green by eating grasshoppers. The hedgehog often appears in desert environments and is well known for fighting with snakes which are common in desert oases. Although the hedgehog was not part of the ancient Egyptian diet,88 it was included in the offering rows carried in baskets in tomb reliefs of the Old Kingdom (for instance, the tombs of Pehenuka,89 Mereruka,90 and Nyankhnesut91).

Archaeologists have discovered amulets,92 often of faience, in the form of hedgehogs.93 For example, from the Middle Kingdom the hedgehog features on amulets and later on aryballoi throughout the

86 S. Aufrère and M. Erroux-Morfin, “Au sujet du hérisson. Aryballes et preparations magiques à base d’extraits tires de cet animal,” in S. Aufrère, ed., Encyclopédie religieuse de l’Univers végétal Croyances phytoreligieuses de l’Égypte ancienne, II (Montpellier, 2001), 521–33.

87 Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, 33–36.88 S. Ikram, Choice Cuts. Meat Production in Ancient Egypt (Leuven, 1995), 22; Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten,

22–23; Idem, “Igel,” LdÄ III, 124. 89 Harpur, Decoration in Egyptian Tombs of the Old Kingdom. Studies in Orientation and Scene Content, 530 (fig. 188); Von Droste

zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, 62 (no. 8, fig. 9); PM III, 149 (6).90 P. Duell, The Mastaba of Mereruka, I (Chicago, 1938), pls. 24–25; PM III, 140 (12–13); J. Lauer, Saqqara. The Royal Cemetery

of Memphis (London, 1976), 59, pl. 33; Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, 65 (no. 11, fig. 13); W. Smith, A History of Egyptian Sculpture and Painting in the Old Kingdom (Boston, 1949), 239 (fig. 92a).

91 Kotz, Dallas Museum of Art, 130.92 For more on amulets, C. Andrews, Amulets of Ancient Egypt (London, 1994). 93 E. Hornung and E. Staehelin, Skarabäen und andere Siegelamulette aus Basler Sammlungen (Mainz, [1976]), 117; Colin and

Labrique, “Semenekh oudjat à Bahariya,” 46.

Fig. 15. The second scene (after Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, fig. 41).

Fig. 16. The second scene shows Bare and Abaset (photograph by the authors).

188 JARCE 50 (2014)

Fig. 17. A detail of the second scene (photograph by the authors).

ancient Mediterranean world.94 Hedgehogs may have been used as offerings in the season of peret as a symbol of resurrection, or as a means of protecting the sun god. In Old and Middle Kingdoms tomb scenes, the hedgehog was usually represented at the front of the Nile vessels with its face looking back-wards, like a hedgehog in the act of rolling itself up face-first; this probably refers to the similar shape of the hull of ship. In this sense the hedgehog played an important role as a forecaster of moving winds.95 For example, the prows of numerous faience models of boats, excavated on Elephantine Island, were decorated with a representation of the head of a hedgehog. Archaeologists also excavated a room lo-cated under the foundations of the Middle Kingdom temple in Tell Ibrahim Awad.96 One of the items found was a small model of a “hedgehog-ship” made of pottery. This figure-head is looking toward the back of the ship. This unique positioning is believed to confirm the defensive nature of the hedgehog.

94 V. Webb, Archaic Greek Faience. Miniature Scent Bottles and Related Objects from East Greece, 650–500 B.C. (Warminster, 1978); Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, 28–44; idem, “Igel,” LdÄ III, 124; H. Altenmüller, “Bes,” LdÄ I, 720–24.

95 H. Altenmüller, “Die Nachtfahrt des Grabherrn im Alten Reich. Zur Frage der Schiffe mit Igelkopfbug,” SAK 28 (2000), 1–26; idem, “Funerary Boats and Boat Pits of the Old Kingdom,” ArOr 70 (3) (2002), 275 (nn. 32–33); W. Van Haarlem, “A Remarkable ‘Hedgehog-Ship’ from Tell Ibrahim Awad,” JEA 82 (1996), 197–98; S. Ivanov, “The Aegis in Ancient Egyptian Art. Aspects on Interpretation,” in Z. Hawass and L. Brock, eds., Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century. Proceedings of the Eighth International Congress of Egyptologists, Cairo, 2000, II (Cairo, 2003), 333, 338 [n. 2, n. 3]; Von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, 24–27; idem, “Igel,” LdÄ III, 124.

96 See Van Haarlem, “A Remarkable ‘Hedgehog-Ship’ from Tell Ibrahim Awad,” 197–98.

SHERBINY AND BASSIR 189

The role that Abaset played in ancient Egyptian religion, however, is not clear. All the above-men-tioned associations of Abaset with the hedgehog may have elevated Abaset’s importance as the local goddess, at least in oases where the hedgehog was a very common local desert animal.97 The unique representations of Abaset in the tomb of Bannentiu raise many questions. Why did the tomb owner choose this goddess to be displayed on the walls of his tomb? Why is this goddess depicted behind two solar deities? What is the relationship of Abaset with Bare and with Rehorakhty? Why was she depicted in this location and what was her relationship to the tomb owner? Why is she depicted as a woman with the hedgehog on her head?

The goddess Abaset is here depicted for the first time. The gesture she makes confirms her protec-tive nature over important deities. She was probably the partner of the major solar deity Rehorakhty. The presence of the hedgehog goddess behind the sun god may refer to the fact that hedgehogs, as the enemies of snakes, might have represented a major threat to the serpent Apophis.98 Furthermore, the solar god Bare as a manifestation of the sun god was depicted with the goddess Abaset presumably as her partner, as well to confirm her association with the sun god and his many manifestations. The god-dess Abaset is here depicted, with the sun god and one of his several forms and aspects, like the major goddesses Nut (with her husband Geb), Isis (with her husband Osiris), and Tefnut (with her husband Shu) with their spouses on the pillars of the central hall, which represent the four corners of the uni-verse. The artistic representation of Abaset shows a regional artistic style full of local features and attri-butes such as the hedgehog headdress; however, the two scenes are well executed. The depiction of the goddess in the tomb and its location within the tomb confirm her important role in its scenic repertoire.

Conclusion

The representation of the hedgehog goddess Abaset in two scenes within the tomb of Bannentiu at Bahariya Oasis is very remarkable and unique, yet it is comparable to the artistic traditions in the tombs of the Nile valley at Thebes. The colors, mainly red and blue, in which the scenes were executed are full of symbolism. The association of Abaset with the solar deity Bare, the manifestation of the sun god, may imply that she was his partner at Bahariya Oasis, paralleling depictions of other divine couples on the other pillars: Geb and Nut, Osiris and Isis, and Shu and Tefnut. Abaset also might have played the same role with the other solar deity Rehorakhty. Since the hedgehog was associated with the sun god as a solar animal, it had many characteristics related to rebirth and resurrection. Moreover, through her textual association with Isis by the implications of the name and epithets,99 Abaset may have shared con-nections with Osiris as well. Therefore, through her relationships with Re and Osiris, Abaset may have represented the cycle of life and death100 at Bahariya Oasis. However, we still wait for other monuments that may present this very interesting hedgehog goddess in different representations.101

University of Arizona

97 P. Houlihan, “Hedgehogs,” in Redford, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt II (Oxford-New York, 2001), 87–88; R. Fazzini, J. Romano and M. Cody, Art for Eternity. Master Works from Ancient Egypt (New York, 1999), 70; Houlihan, The Animal World of the Pharaohs, 44, 66, 68–70; Vernus, “Hérisson,” 145–46.

98 K. Jansen-Winkeln, personal communication, July 17, 2014.99 See n. 73 and our commentary on the name of Abaset above. 100 For more, see J. Roberson, The Awakening of Osiris and the Transit of the Solar Barques. Royal Apotheosis in a Most Concise

Book of the Underworld and Sky (Fribourg-Göttingen, 2013); K. Weiß, “Der Kreislauf der Ewigkeit. Re und Osiris,” in S. Heimann, ed., Ägyptens Schätze entdecken. Meisterwerke aus dem Ägyptischen Museum Turin (Munich-London-New York, 2012), 234–35; A. Von Lieven, “Nun sprach aber Osiris zu Re…: (Götter)Dialoge in den großen Corpora der ägyptischen Funerärliteratur,” in A. El Hawary, ed., Wenn Götter und Propheten reden. Erzählen fur die Ewigkeit (Berlin, 2012), 83–104; J. Jørgensen, “Myth and Cosmography. On the Union of Re and Osiris in Two Types of Religious Discourse,” in M. Horn, et al., eds., Current Research in Egyptology 2010. Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Symposium, Leiden University 2010 (Oxford, 2011), 71–80.

101 We would like to thank N. Doyle, F. Haikal, K. Jansen-Winkeln, P. Kuniholm, A. Leahy, and I. Romano for comments on earlier drafts of this article. Any remaining mistakes are solely our own.