tour 13 of 14
Egypt in the Old Kingdom
Papyrus from the Abusir papyri
Texts provide a great deal of information about
the funerary beliefs, administrative systems and economy of the
time. The first funerary texts, the Pyramid
Texts, spells for the well-being of the king,
were inscribed in the royal pyramids from the Fifth Dynasty (about
2494-2345 BC). Autobiographical texts in tombs of this period allow
non-royal individuals to be identified for the first
time.
This fragment of
papyrus comes from the papyrus archive in the funerary temple
dedicated to the cult of King Neferikare Kakai (2446-2426 BC) in
his pyramid complex at Abusir. Together the papyri are the most
important set of administrative documents to survive from Old
Kingdom Egypt, revealing detailed information about the running of
a royal mortuary establishment. They include duty rosters for
priests, lists of offerings and inventories of temple equipment, as
well as letters and
permits.
This fragment
bears the remains of two different texts. The introduction begins
with a date, which at this time was expressed in the number of
national cattle-counts in the king's reign. These censuses
usually took place every two years. The number of cattle-counts
given here is fourteen, which might be interpreted as the
twenty-eighth year of the king's reign. The reign may be
that of King Izezi (about 2494-2345 BC) near the end of the Fifth
Dynasty.