Granite stela of Senwosret I

From Elephantine, Egypt
12th Dynasty, around 1950 BC

Deities offering life to the king

Senwosret I (about 1965-1920 BC) carried out a very active building programme all over Egypt. This stela stood in or near a chapel in Elephantine that he erected on Egypt's southern frontier. The chapel contained statues and offering tables, as well as decorated blocks. The stela was made of a slab of granite, roughly finished on the rear, indicating it may have been set into the wall of the chapel.

The stela shows the god Khnum offering life to the Horus name of the king, with Khnum's consort Satet, standing at the left. Khnum, Satet, and their daughter Anuket were the local deities of Elephantine and the region of the First Cataract. Below are the remains of six damaged lines of hieroglyphs.

The purpose of the stela, and the whole chapel, was to stress the presence and importance of Senwosret in the Elephantine area. It also emphasized his piety and the importance of his relationship with the deities of the region.