Exclusive Interview: Dr. Josef Wegner discusses Abydos, Senwosret III, and Egyptian Funerary Practices
On September 19, 2009, the American Research Center in Egypt, Pennsylvania Chapter (ARCE-PA) held its symposium on the joint Expedition to Abydos, Egypt, fielded by the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts. This long-term project based in Egypt’s most ancient royal burial grounds includes some of the most prominent Egyptologists in the field today—Dr. David O’Connor, Dr. Matthew Adams, Dr. Janet Richards, Dr. Josef Wegner, and Dr. Stephen Harvey.
Dr. Josef Wegner is the Associate Curator of the Penn Museum's Egyptian Section and the South Abydos expert regarding the Middle Kingdom Period. I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Wegner for Heritage Key shortly after the symposium. We talked about the importance of Pharaoh Senwosret III’s tomb as marking a transition between the pyramid complexes that were the focus of earlier royal burials and the hidden tombs of the Valley of the Kings. We also talked about Senwosret III’s devotion to Osiris and what that may have indicated regarding the religious practices of the New Kingdom Period. We also discuss the on-going work at Abydos, which is really just beginning.
HK: Can you tell us a little about your involvement with the Abydos Expedition?
JW: I started work at Abydos as part of my Ph.D. research at the University of Pennsylvania. A major section of Abydos which was partially explored between 1899-1903 was South Abydos where work of the Egypt Exploration Fund had revealed a massive underground tomb, and a mortuary temple dedicated to Senwosret III. It was clear from the brief reports from the EEF work that the site had huge potential.
In 1994 with the encouragement of David O'Connor I started a new program of work. The results have exceeded my expectations with significant new discoveries every season. I continue work at South Abydos as Associate Curator of the Penn Museum's Egyptian Section and as part of the combined Pennsylvania-Yale-Institute of Fine Arts Expedition to Abydos.
HK: Why did you decide to focus on South Abydos?
JW: The Middle Kingdom was the period during which Abydos fully emerged as center of the cult of Osiris, god of the Egyptian netherworld. Abydos during that time was developed both by royal patronage of the Osiris cult but also through extensive involvement of non-royalty in the cult of Osiris. Unfortunately, evidence for the Middle Kingdom is fragmentary in the main center of Abydos (the Kom es-Sultan) where later phases of rebuilding erased much of the main cult buildings.
South Abydos was developed as an extension of the main town of Abydos and was not overbuilt in later times. We have there a combination of an ancient settlement, royal mortuary temple, pharaoh's tomb, and many other elements which provide a remarkable snapshot of culture and society at Abydos during the late Middle Kingdom (ca. 1850-1600 BCE)
HK: How does the design of Senwosret III’s tomb differ from others found at Abydos, and what might these differences imply?
JW: Senwosret III's tomb is an interesting case because it was the first royal tomb to be built at Abydos after the time of Egypt's first pharaohs. The kings of the Early Dynastic Period (Dyns 1-2, ca. 3000-2800 BCE) built subterranean tombs at the site now called Umm el-Gaab [Umm el-Qa’ab]. Other kings moved away from Abydos (principally to the Memphite region in the north), but with Senwosret III in Dynasty Twelve we have a significant return to Abydos for construction on a royal mortuary complex.
The tomb shows some similarities with the Middle Kingdom pyramid tradition but many features of its architecture look more like the later New Kingdom royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. The format being developed at that time may express changing ideas about the royal afterlife and the Abydos tomb of Senwosret III is therefore a very important transitional monument which helps to understand the roots of the famous Valley of the Kings.
The interest in being buried at Abydos may be partially personal devotion to Osiris, but may also reflect new concepts of the importance of Osiris in the process of royal rebirth in the afterlife.
HK: What evidence is there that Senwosret III was buried at Abydos rather than at his pyramid at Dashur?
JW: The Abydos tomb of Senwosret III has produced in the last several seasons extensive physical remains which we can connect with mortuary ceremonies celebrated at the time of the tomb's completion. The tomb itself was fitted with a special purpose ceremonial staircase which may have been used in the royal burial rites. The tomb's interior was sealed with tremendous investment of materials: several hundred tons of blocking masonry to prevent robbers from penetrating to the burial chamber (although robbers eventually did succeed in doing that!). By comparison the burial chamber of the king beneath the pyramid of Senwosret III at Dashur was never used. The sarcophagus is in pristine condition and appears never to have been used for burial.
HK: What does this decision (to be buried at Abydos) tell us about King Senwosret III and his possible beliefs regarding the afterlife?
JW: We know from stele and other records from the reign of Senwosret III that he was developing a very close personal interest in Osiris and he invested significant wealth in refurbishing the temple and cultic equipment of Osiris. The stela of Senwosret III's chief treasurer, a man named Ikhernofret, now in the Berlin Museum discusses royal officials sent to Abydos for this purpose.
The interest in being buried at Abydos may be partially personal devotion to Osiris, but may also reflect new concepts of the importance of Osiris in the process of royal rebirth in the afterlife. Osiris was the divine agent of the symbolic rebirth of the sun god (Re), and hence "ground zero" for any pharaoh who wished to tap into that mystical regenerative power of Osiris.
HK: Senwosret III had quite a reputation. He has been associated with the legendary Pharaoh Sesostris, who conquered his way around North Africa and Southern Europe and Asia, even reaching as far as Greece, Romania, and Southern Russia, a sort of Alexander the Great of ancient Egypt. These stories are dismissed these days, but is there anything in your research that suggests why such legends may have been associated with Senwosret III?
JW: Senwosret III was clearly an active military-minded pharaoh who personally led his army in Nubia. Additionally we know his army was active in the southern Levant, even if at that time the Egyptians did not yet possess the expansive empire developed in the later New Kingdom. Additionally there were a line of "Senwosret" kings during the Middle Kingdom.
The activities and achievements of these pharaohs may have been gradually conflated in the legends associated with Sesostris, as we have, for example, recorded in later documents like the famous "Aegyptiaca" of Manetho. Interestingly, Manetho records that Senwosret III was extremely tall (about six and a half feet), a giant by ancient Egyptian standards. Indeed, the royal sarcophagi get longer during the 12th Dynasty and reach maximum size with Senwosret III and his son Amenemhat III, perhaps indeed they were impressive towering kings!
HK: Where do you see your work at Abydos going in the future?
JW: I plan to complete in coming years the full excavation and documentation of the tomb of Senwosret III. This will allow us to then undertake a restoration program and perhaps the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) can eventually open the tomb to visitors.
Another major focus of research are the urban remains of the nearby settlement site. There I plan to complete a full investigation of the remarkably well preserved remains of the settlement which has already provided informative discoveries including the residence of the ancient mayors of South Abydos (then called Wah-Sut), and within the mayoral residence, the unique discovery of an actual ancient Egyptian birth brick. The potential of the Wah-Sut town excavations is considerable and will add a lot of information on society and culture of Egypt's Middle Kingdom.
HK: Another area over which you wield some expertise is the Eighteenth Dynasty, in particular Tutankhamun and Akhenaton. Dr. Zahi Hawass is currently working on the genetic mapping of Tutankhamun’s family, and recently announced that he will be releasing details of the DNA testing of the two fetuses Howard Carter discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb. He feels this could lead to the identification of the mummy of Tutankhamun’s wife, Ankhesenamun, and ultimately could lead to Nefertiti as well. Do you have any comments regarding the testing of such ancient DNA, and its usefulness in tracing the family tree of the late Eighteenth Dynasty?
JW: Application of modern DNA testing and other scientific techniques is a great tool for Egyptian archaeology and can potentially add crucial new lines of evidence or even solve many existing debates. In the case of the royal mummies, this is illustrated by the recent evidence surrounding the identification of the mummy of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut. All avenues of investigation should be systematically applied where they appear relevant.
HK: I know this has more to do with Dr. Stephen Harvey and his work at South Abydos, but I am very curious about Pharaoh Ahmose and his pyramid at Abydos. Is there anything that you can share with us about these subjects, and the work going on there?
JW: Ahmose's pyramid complex at Abydos is the last pyramid of an Egyptian pharaoh (subsequent king's full embraced the hidden tomb format already developed at Abydos under Senwosret III). Dr. Harvey discussed his recent excavations which show that the Ahmose complex was a center of worship of the founder of the New Kingdom for many centuries and well into the Ramesside period. He made a significant argument that Ahmose may have actually been buried at Abydos and discussed the lack of evidence for any tomb or mortuary complex of Ahmose at Thebes. It was his son Amenhotep I who really developed western Thebes as a royal burial ground.
HK: Again, I know this involves the work of someone else, in this case Dr. Janet Richards, but is there anything you can share about the on-going work in the Middle Cemetery at Abydos?
JW: Dr. Richards has been investigating a remarkably well-preserved necropolis of the late Old Kingdom with a series of huge elite mastabas of high officials of Dynasty Six, as well as smaller structures. Amazing finds of statuary and decorated burial chambers, as well as the cultic installations of these people will add substantially to our understanding of the prominence of Abydos in the society of the Old Kingdom
HK: When might we expect another symposium regarding the Abydos Expedition?
JW: Hopefully soon, Abydos is a major site with ongoing work and new discoveries every year!
HK: Do you have any plans for any future books?
JW: I am working on a publication of the excavations of the mayors' house at South Abydos. Others as well.
HK: What advice would you give a student of archaeology who expressed an interest in eventually working at Abydos?
JW: Many archaeologists and other specialists over the years have come to work at Abydos. For Egyptologists this is generally a case of people with the skills and expertise in archaeology or textual studies needed in any given season. Many other specialists come: architects, photographers, surveyors, conservators and others with expertise in scientific analysis of human, animal or botanical remains. It is not a place where we are able to take volunteers but many with the right skill set find the opportunity to go to Abydos.
HK: My last question is one that I ask everyone I interview. As you know, the geo-political situation is touch-and-go at best. What impact do you feel your work has on the cross cultural dialogue in particular, and world peace in general?
JW: Archaeology is a great enterprise in which to find the common humanity which we all share. My project is not unique in this way but hopefully contributes in some small way to this.
videosBlogpost
Popular Articles
Related Articles
- Discovery of Abydos: Examining the Work of the Penn-Yale-IFA Joint Expedition
- Nazis, Rockefellers and the Tomb of Seti I: the Adventures of Amice Mary Calverley Prepare to go Public
- Exclusive Interview: Pamela Rose's Quest to Save a Dark Age Settlement in Qasr Ibrim, Nubia
- The History of Wine
- The Egyptian Collection at Palazzo Altemps
Comments
Excellent interview. The debate over the burial of Senwosret III is interesting. Why would he go to all the trouble to construct a pyramid at Dashur if he never intended to use it for burial?
Perhaps to make people remember him.
Post new comment