Iry-Hor
| Iry-Hor in hieroglyphs | ||
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Iry-Hor r-Ḥr Belonging to Horus |
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Iry-Hor or Ro (as read by Petrie) was a Predynastic pharaoh of ancient Egypt. He is the oldest attested ruler of Egypt known by name.
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[edit] Existence
Some archaeologists are doubtful of his existence: his name never appears in a serekh, the Horus falcon being placed directly above a mouth sign. Toby Wilkinson dismisses the tomb attributed to Iry-Hor as a storage pit and the name as a treasury mark. Indeed r-Hr may simply mean property of the king[1]. Additionally, Iry-Hor is poorly attested, the only inscription of Iry-Hor outside of Abydos is located in Lower Egypt at Zawyet el'Aryan, while Ka and Narmer have many inscriptions located as far as Palestine.
Alternatively, supporters point to the size and location of the tomb. It is a double tomb as big as Ka's and Narmer's, located within a sequential order linking the older "U" cemetery with the First Dynasty tombs. The name is inscribed on a large jar, like that of other pharaohs, and contains the royal Horus falcon. Finally, the serekh could have been a tradition that started with Ka, whose name has been found both with and without a serekh.
[edit] Reign
If he was indeed a king, Iry-Hor was most likely Ka's immediate predecessor[3] and thus would have reigned during the early 32nd century BC. He probably ruled from Hierakonpolis over Abydos and the wider Thinite region and may have controlled Egypt as far north as Zawyet el'Aryan. He was buried in its local cemetery at Umm el-Qa'ab near Ka, Narmer and the First Dynasty kings. Iry-Hor name appears on clay vessels from his tomb in Abydos. A clay seal with the hieroglyphs for r-Hr was found in Narmer's tomb which may refer to Iry-Hor. A similar seal was also found far to the north in Zawyet el'Aryan in Lower Egypt[4]. Finally an incision on a spindle whorl found in Hierakonpolis may refer to him.[5]
[edit] Tomb
Iry-Hor's tomb is the oldest tomb of the Abydos necropolis B in the Umm el-Qa'ab[6]. It comprises two separate underground chambers B1 (6m x 3.5m) and B2 (4.3m x 2.45m) excavated by Petrie and Werner Kaiser[7]. These chambers have a size similar to those of Ka and Narmer. No superstructure, if there ever was one, survives to this day. Chamber B1 yielded jar fragments incised with his name[6]. Chamber B2 produced another incised jar fragment, a seal impression, several ink inscriptions and interestingly, vessel fragments bearing Ka and Narmer names. Parts of a bed were also found onsite[8].
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Toby Wilkinson: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. Nr. 79. Egypt Exploration Society, London 1993, ISSN 0307-5133, S. 91–93.
- ^ Dreyer, Kaiser M.D.A.I.K. 38, 1982
- ^ Winfried Barta, Zur Namensform und zeitlichen Einordnung des Königs Ro, in: GM 53, 1982, 11–13.
- ^ W. Kaiser and G. Dreyer, Umm el Qa'ab: Nachuntersuchungen im frühzeitlichen Königsfriedhof', Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo (MDAIK) Vol 38, pp 211-69, 1982.
- ^ Quibell, Hierakonpolis, pt. 1 James E. Quibell/W. M. F. Petrie, Hierakonpolis I, London 1900.
- ^ a b Raffaele, Francesco. "Dynasty 0". http://xoomer.virgilio.it/francescoraf/hesyra/Dynasty0-Raffaele_AH17.pdf
- ^ Werner Kaiser: Einige Bemerkungen zur ägyptischen Frühzeit. In: Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde. Band 91, 1964, S. 86–124.
- ^ W Kaiser and G Dreyer, Umm el Qa'ab: Nachuntersuchungen im frühzeitlichen Königsfriedhof', Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo (MDAIK) Vol 38, pp 211-69, 1982.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Scorpion I? Double Falcon? |
Pharaoh of Thinis Protodynastic |
Succeeded by Ka ? |
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