Tenth International Congress of Egyptologists Abstracts of Papers

XICE – Abstract of Papers
type and is unique among all known depictions in its polychrome painted decoration:
as such it contributes to our understanding of Homer’s epitaphs regarding his heroes’
ships. The vessel bears a typical Helladic bird-head decoration topping the stempost
while holes along the sheerstrakes confirm the use of stanchions that have been
postulated based on other representations. The boat was found with four wheels and
other evidence for a wagon-like support structure, which connects it with European
prototypes. A number of the model’s pieces are missing, indicating that it had been
broken, probably intentionally, prior to having been deposited in the tomb. Textual
evidence for Sherden living in and around Gurob raises the possibility that the model
represents a galley of that Sea People. Comparative materials permit the tentative
reconstruction of a virtual reality replica of the model.
Sarcophagus circle: the godesses in the tomb
Cory L. Wade
Since the New Kingdom reign of Amenhotep III (c. 1390-1353 BCE), royal
sarcophagi were customarily reproduced with a specialized funerary depiction
intended to assist the king into the next life. As unvaried as it was memorable, this
design portrayed four female deities in a striking configuration: a single goddess stood
at each corner of the sarcophagus, her wings outstretched in protection. The
overlapping wings on the narrow end and the touching wingtips on the long side
created a ring of divine protection, a circular sanctuary in which the king could safely
await his new life. This powerful depiction, which appeared frequently on canopic
chests and shrines as well as sarcophagi in the royal tombs of the Eighteenth Dynasty,
always revealed the same four goddesses composing a circle of safety for the king:
Isis, Nepthys, Serket, and Neith. While these deities were certainly among the most
significant members, male or female, of the ancient Egyptian pantheon, there were
arguably many other deities who possessed power, vitality, fertility, and varied forms
of magic, all of which attributes might be of inestimable value to the king in his
journey to the next life. Yet although many of these formidable gods and goddesses
appear regularly in the tomb and sometimes appear even on the sarcophagus, no other
divinity ever appears as a member of the funerary quartet encircling the dead pharaoh
besides Isis, Nepthys, Serket, and Neith.
The consistent appearance of these four goddesses on royal sarcophagi and
canopic containers raises many questions: What determined the gender of the deities
who would surround the remains of the king? If the divinities were to be goddesses,
why were there always four—one stationed at each corner? If there were to be four
goddesses at each corner, why was it Isis, Nepthys, Serket, and Neith to whom the
sacred task of guardianship was inevitably entrusted? The answers lie in part with the
fact that these goddesses are associated with birth and new life in widely differing
forms. The four divinities represent fertility, but fertility of a complex metaphysical
nature rather than that of a simple physical sort. In brief, their cosmological purpose
was to create, not to procreate.
Besides being connected to birth and fertility, the guardian goddesses are also
associated with motherhood, albeit motherhood of an unconventional nature. The
maternal attributes of Isis, Nepthys, Serket, and Neith revolve around protection
rather than production of progeny. Concepts of birth, fertility, and maternity appear
repeatedly in connection with the four divine guardians, yet it is not these traits alone
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