3200-Year-Old Picture of Israelites Found in Egypt

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My work with the Epigraphic Survey had provided me with the techniques, training and experience for just such a task. The principal tool in examining usurped cartouches is the mirror. With a mirror you rake the light across the cartouche to deepen the shadows. This makes the carving stand out more sharply. It is not difficult to use this technique on a stone lying on the ground or even on one on the lower register of the reliefs. It is more difficult standing on a ladder 10 feet above the ground. The technique employed by the usurping pharaohs—usurpation of cartouches was quite common all over ancient Egypt—was to hammer out and partly erase the original name. Then the surface was coated with plaster. But often the erased surface would first be scored to create a roughness that would better hold the plaster. Finally the new name would be incised in the plaster. Over the centuries, the concealing plaster tends to fall away, leaving visible traces of the carving beneath. In short, the very technique of usurpation often allows the traces to be unscrambled. In many cases, the traces are clearly visible. This set of battle reliefs has dozens of usurped cartouches. But usurpation was not confined to the cartouches alone; it also appears on the full extended titulary of the pharaoh in the great triumphal scene, which originally was on the far right end of the wall. The names of the latest versions in these cartouches and in the titulary belonged, as I said, to Sety II. Because of the statements of earlier scholars who had seen the wall, what I expected to see beneath the upper version were the names of Ramesses II. To my surprise, when I began examining these cartouches closely, I discovered they had been twice usurped. The original name had been partially erased; a second name had been incised on plaster that covered the original name; then that name on the plaster had been erased and replaced with the name of Sety II. Frank J. Yurco Superimposed cartouches. Drawing of superimposed cartouches. It gradually became clear that the name below Sety II was Amenmesse (1202–1199 B.C.E.), perhaps Sety’s half-brother. But below the name of Amenmesse was not the
expected Ramesses II (1279–1212 B.C.E.), but Merenptah (1212–1202 B.C.E.)! * This, as we shall see, had extraordinary consequences. Drawing of Merenptah cartouches. Drawing of Amenmesse cartouche. Drawing of Sety II cartouches. From a close examination of the cartouches on these reliefs, on the loose blocks and in the Cour de la Cachette, I could see that Pharaoh Amenmesse had the cartouches of Merenptah hammered out and partly erased. The surface was then coated with plaster, and the usurping names incised. Next, Sety II had the cartouches of Amenmesse partially erased by scraping away the surface of the plaster; he then had his own names incised into the plaster. The original names, those of Merenptah, were carved deepest and at a uniform depth. The first usurper, Amenmesse, carved his signs a little more shallowly. Moreover, these names were cut partially in the stone and partially in the plaster, and the depth varied. Sety II’s erasure, by scraping away the name of Amenmesse, was quite thorough, leaving only scant traces of Amenmesse’s name. But Sety did not remove Merenptah’s name, which had been carved deepest. The net result is that the most visible names now to be seen are those of Merenptah beneath and those of Sety II above. † A small confirming detail is found on a stray block that clearly once fit into scene 10, which depicts the spoils of the campaign being presented by the pharaoh (now almost completely missing from the scene) to the Theban deities (also now missing). The stray block I refer to is lying in the field nearby; it bears the visage of a pharaoh. We have many depictions of Ramesses II, and some of Sety II also, but this visage does not resemble either of them. The closest parallels to this visage are found in the indisputably identified visages of Merenptah from his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, on the other * This name is often written “Merneptah.” The hieroglyphic signs do not indicate vowels, so either vocalization is possible. The name means Beloved of Ptah. The sign for “of” is the hieroglyphic equivalent of n. I believe it much more likely that it was read en, rather than ne. † Adapted from Frank J. Yurco “Merenptah’s Canaanite Campaign,” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt ( JARCE ) 23 (1986), p. 197 (fig. 10).
Page 1 and 2: Editor, H. S. (2002;2002). BAR 16:0
Page 3: Frank J. Yurco Peace in their time.
Page 7 and 8: started the decoration of this wall
Page 9 and 10: The stele in the Cairo Museum, whic
Page 11 and 12: From Atlas zur Altagyptischen Kultu
Page 13 and 14: From Atlas zur Altagyptischen Kultu
Page 15 and 16: provide an important clue to Israel
Page 17 and 18: in the forested and wild hill-count
Page 19 and 20: were in the highlands and that they
Page 21 and 22: of Merenptah dated year two or earl
Page 23 and 24: In addition, a papyrus ( Papyrus An
Page 25 and 26: Understanding the Wall of Reliefs N
Page 27 and 28: Usurped Cartouches Key to Discovery
Page 29: his nomen. From Merenptah’s preno

3200-Year-Old Picture of Israelites Found in Egypt

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