Karnak (Cachette) Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Most of the hundreds of stone statues yielded by the Karnak Cachette are private or royal effigies. However, stone divine statues were also found in the same deposit, but have received little attention so far. Compared to other gods such as Amun, Mut, Khonsu or Ptah, Osiris is by far the best represented in the Cachette. This paper aims to analyze the corpus of these Osirian effigies by considering them specifically in terms of their original function in the cults of Karnak. Using the texts of the inscribed statues, it is possible to determine the personality of their dedicants, and which particular forms of the god were honoured through them (e.g. Osiris pa-Hapy). In some rare cases, the inscriptions shed light on the rituals associated with the dedication of the statue. Evidence suggests a probable connection between some of these statues and the XXVth-XXVIth Dynasty chapels of Osiris in the northern area of Karnak.

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- Osiris, Karnak Temple, Osiris cult, Karnak (Cachette)

An hitherto unpublished statue of Padiamenope (« Petamenophis »), the owner of TT 33 in the Asasif, can be reconstructed from three fragments (Cairo RT 27/1/21/1 + Sydney University Museums NMR 11 + frag. coll. Porret). This is a very large striding statue (around 1,90 m high according to our reconstruction), whose inscriptions and general appearance are similar to those of a statue of Montuemhet from the Karnak Cachette (Cairo CG 42236). When comparing both monuments, one is led to suggest that they were created at the same time and that the floruit of Padiamenope’s career is to be situated at the end of the XXVth dynasty or at the beginning of the XXVIth dynasty. The autobiographical text carved on the two statues, which is also found in the tomb of Montuemhet (TT 34) and Ibi (TT 36), shows the features of a probably original creation, which was soon considered as a classic at Thebes at the end of the XXVth or the beginning of the XXVIth dynasty.

The lack of a full publication of the Karnak Cachette excavations, due to the untimely death of Georges Legrain, together with the chaotic destiny of his papers and the dispersion of his finds make it necessary to approach the historiography of this discovery before studying the Cachette proper. This article retraces the major steps of the scientific exploitation of the Cachette, starting with the work of G. Legrain himself, his method of documenting his finds, and his publication plans. Two archival documents are described at length here, as they are mostly unpublished: the Excavation diaries of G. Legrain, rediscovered in 2014 and now kept in the Louvre, and the manuscripts prepared for the publication of the unpublished volumes of the Catalogue Général dealing with the Cachette statues, written by G. Legrain and completed by Ch. Kuentz. Then, three main phases in the history of the study of the Karnak Cachette are described: the formation of the Corpus of Late Egyptian Sculpture and the publications building on it by B.V. Bothmer and H. De Meulenaere; the historiographical researches led by M. Azim and G. Réveillac on Legrain’s photographs; and the Karnak Cachette project launched by the Ifao and the SCA/MSA.

- by Emmanuel Jambon and +1
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- Ancient Egyptian Statuary, Karnak (Cachette), Georges Legrain

The Karnak Cachette, excavated by Georges Legrain between 1903 and 1907, is one of the most fascinating discoveries of Egyptian archaeology. The first reason lies in the very high number of objects found in it (statues, stelae, furniture of various kinds), some of them still unpublished, all of which are documents of major importance for the religious life of Karnak, but also more generally for the history and art of Pharaonic Egypt between the Middle Kingdom and the Ptolemaic period. The second reason is that the raison d'être of this cache and the historical circumstances surrounding its creation remain mysterious. Even if some comparisons can be made with other caches found in Egypt and the Sudan, its magnitude and wealth are exceptional.
Building on a research program launched by the IFAO and the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities to improve our knowledge of the Karnak Cachette and its content, this book comprises twenty-four contributions by international scholars studying objects found in this deposit, analyzing the Cachette itself, or investigating other Egyptian caches from an ideological or archaeological point of view.

Fouillée par Georges Legrain entre 1903 et 1907, la Cachette de Karnak a livré un très grand nombre d’objets parmi lesquels les centaines de statues en pierre sont les mieux connus. Pourtant, plus d’un siècle après, de nombreuses questions restent posées tant sur le déroulement des fouilles elles-mêmes et leurs résultats précis que sur le destin post-fouille des objets découverts alors. La présente recherche a pour but d’éclaircir certains points particuliers de cette histoire complexe. Nous avons tenté, en un premier temps, de dresser un tableau aussi clair que possible de la question des numéros de fouilles attribués par Legrain lui-même, les « numéros K » et, ainsi, de mieux comprendre le déroulement chronologique des fouilles. Dans un second temps nous avons cherché à mieux cerner le devenir des objets en nous attachant en particulier au cas du Musée du Caire. En étudiant les registres de ce musée, on a pu reconstituer un peu de l’histoire de certains des objets de la Cachette et en identifier qui n’avaient pas été reconnus comme tels.
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Excavated between 1903 and 1907 by Georges Legrain, the Karnak Cachette has provided a large amount of items, among which hundreds of stone statues are the better known. However more than a century later, many questions are still hanging, both on the history and results of these excavations and on the fate of the objects once discovered. This research is an attempt to clarify some special points of this complex history. We have tried, in a first time, to clarify the question of the excavation numbers given par Legrain himself, the so-called « K numbers » and, in this way, to have a better understanding of the chronology of the excavations. In a second time we have tried to better understand what has then happened to these finds with the Cairo Museum as a case study. Scrutinizing the Museum registers, we have been able to reconstitute a part of the history of some of the objects of the Cachette and to identify some of them which haven’t been before.

- by Emmanuel Jambon
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- History of Egyptology, Egyptian Museum Cairo, Karnak (Cachette), Georges Legrain

Die Umbettung der Könige des Neuen Reiches
Die Mumien der Könige des Neuen Reiches wurden mehrheitlich nicht in ihren Gräbern, sondern in zwei großen Mumienverstecken (DB 320 und KV 35) gefunden. Die Priester des Amuns hatten sie dort am Ende der 21.Dynastie dort versteckt. Zuvor sind die Mumien zum Teil mehrfach umgebettet worden und ihrer ganzen Schätze beraubt. Diese wurden zum Teil für die Bestattung der Könige der dritten Zwischenzeit wiederverwendet.

- by Michael E . Habicht
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- Egyptology, Forensic Science, Identity and Identification, Amarna Studies

Few remarks regarding the discovery of blocks of Thutmosis II inside the foundations of the walls of the Cachette court and the 7th Pylon itself during the 1955-1958 excavations of this area. A new examination of a set of glass negatives kept in the CFEETK archives provide more information on real extent of the area explored and allowed identification of two well-known blocks from the reigns of Senusret I and the regency of Thutmosis III by Hatshepsut to which the find-spot was previously unknown, and provides new elements for the much discussed chronology of the building activities of Hatshepsut and Thutmosis III.

Communication lors de la journée d'étude « L’interopérabilité des données de la recherche : textes, images, bases de données » organisée par Adam Mestyan (Duke University) et Mercedes Volait (CNRS, INHA, InVisu) le 02 juin 2020. Webinaire... more

Publication of two objects in the Cairo Museum: a kneeling naophorous statue (CG 670) and an Osiris statuette (JE 37031). Both objects belong to Pedesi who served as a chamberlain of the divine adoratress, and can be dated on stylistic grounds to the transitional period between the Kushite and the early Saite Dynasty. CG 670 is an excellent example of the artistic trends of its period, and JE 37031 introduces a specific aspect of Osiris as “lord of light” or “luminary.” The article deals with the stylistic details of both sculptures, along with an analysis of their inscriptions.

Abstract
Publication of two fragments from two similar statues, from the Karnak cachette (CK 1185), at the Egyptian Museum (N.239). The large fragment presents the first known attestation of the title siȜ nt.t (/ snty) ‘the prime minister’ on a Theban monument. The fragments, their inscriptions and style are studied and compared to parallels, proving that they belong to two different statues dated to the early Ptolemaic Period.

The statue Cairo CG 42191 is inscribed (on the arms!) for the high-priest of Amun, Painedjem (Dyn. 21); the statue's base is missing. Both epigraphic and stylistic analyses point to the statue's re-use and to a much earlier date of principal workmanship (during the early 18th dynasty). The available evidence in both three and two dimensions (inscribed statues, temple reliefs from Karnak) which serves as basis for comparison makes it most probable that the youthful ruler, Tuthmose II is depicted in the statue.

- by Helmut Brandl
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- Egyptology, Egyptian Art and Archaeology, New Kingdom (Egyptology), Karnak Temple