The lunette of this round-topped limestone stela, measuring 1 ft 11 in. (58.5 cm) in height by 1 ft 4 in. in width, depicts the high priest luwelot, son of Osorkon I, and his wife kneeling in adoration of the solar bark, which bears the disk of Re-Horachty. Above the bark, two apes adore the rising sun and an audjat-eye, while a fish and frog appear beneath the stern and prow, respectively. Below the lunette, nine hieroglyphic lines record the high priest’s solar hymn, a variant of the popular religious genre grouped collectively as Book of the Dead spell 15.1
This is the first complete translation. For a photo and description of the stela, see Fazzini 1988, 27, 35, and pl. XLIII.1; Budge 1909, 215 (no. 777) and pl. XXVIII; with further discussion and additional references in Kees 1953, 195-96; 1964, 95; and Jansen-Winkeln 1985, 1:257 (B.7). Photo courtesy of The British Museum, with the kind assistance of W. Vivian Davies and R. B. Parkinson. See Kitchen 1986, 311 n. 385 (§270) and 576 §512.
Two Baboons, Each with Tag dw?.t
“Adoration.”
Label for Iuwelot
[dw]?.t R™-Hr-?h. ty hft wbnsf in Wsir (2) hm-ntr tp(y) n /mn dwwriwt m?™-hrw (3) s? ny-sw. t Wsirkn mri-/mn
[Ador]ing re-Horachty when he rises by the osiris, (2) First Prophet of Amon, Iuwelot, the justified, (3) royal son of Qsorkon (I), beloved of Amon.
Label for Iuwelot’s wife
Sn. tsf mr.(t)sf sm™y. t n.(t) /mn (2) sps.(t) T(?)-dny. t m?™-(hrw)2 His sister (“wife”) whom he loves, the chantress of Amon, (2) the noble lady, Tadenit, the justified.2
Solar Hymn
Dw?.t R™-Hr-?h. ty hft wbnsf in Wsir hm-ntr tp(y) n /mn-R™ ny-sw. t ntr. w ts hp. w nfr. w m tl Sm™w (2) imy-rl ms™ wr n tl r-dr. wsf hlw. ty /wwriwt m?™-hrw s? ny-sw. t n nb t?.wy Wsirkn mri-/mn ddsf i(3)?w. w nsk wbn m i? bt. t R™ disf s(w) m sd. t b? wr ssp. nsf t?.wy mh. nsf sn m i[r](4)w bik sps hdi. nsf sts. w n(n) dr. w n dm(?).tysf hy sp-2 r ntr nb n(n) irw m (5) ntr. w ™s?.w ir. ty wr ™nh. wy n t?.wy sw m qdsf shm ntr(y) ms s(w) dssf s(6)hd t? nb m iwnwsf hry sp-2 r rh s. tsf n(n) ir. t m?? sst(?)sf
Wbk3 (7) yw™sk mn. t drsk dw.(t) nb.(t) hrsi disk df(d)sk m gs-dpw.(t)4 hsrsk (8) snn. wsi ™ps(i) r p. t m-™b h? bs. w hnms(i) m ihih. w smsi r /wnw r-gs S(9)[kr]
[ni]s(?) m w™ n smsy.(w)sf
Bn. tw4 hhs(i) m hd. w m-b? h-™.wy wrd-ib
Adoring Re-Horachty when he rises by the Osiris, First Prophet of
Amon-Re, King of the Gods, he who devises good laws in Upper Egypt, (2) great general of the entire land and leader, iuwelot, the justified, royal son of the lord of the two lands, osorkon (i), beloved of Amon, who says: (3)
“Praises be to you, o he who rises in the east, o Re, when he manifests himself in flame, great ram-spirit, having illuminated the two lands, having completed the (heavenly) circuit in the form of (4) a noble falcon,
And having spanned the clouds,
With no limit to his two wings,
Being more exalted than any god,
Without form among (5) the common gods,
The great eyes and ears of the two lands,
Though devoid of shape,
The divine power who gave birth to himself,
Who (6) illumines all lands with his features,
Yet whose place is far from being known,
Since no eye can behold his mystery.
O illuminator,3 (7) may you wash away my wrongdoing, may you drive away all evil from me.
May you place the pupil of your eye as a protective bulwark,
May your might dispel (8) my impurities,
That I might fly up to heaven amidst the stars,
That I might unite with the twilight.
May I go to Heliopolis beside (9) s[okar,]
[summon]ed(?) as one of his followers,
My neck garlanded4 with onions
In the presence of the Weary-hearted one (Osiris).”
NOTES
1. See Allen 1974, 12-26.
2. Budge (1919, 215) read Shepset-tent, while Kitchen (1986, 311) read T(a)denit(enbast). No text is lost.
3. or wbk (w)i “illuminate me.”
4. The word, determined with an arm and Gardiner Sign List F 10, perhaps should be linked to Erman and Grapow 1926-63, 1:456/14 and 3:442/4 “to grasp/ enclose” or similar. Blackman (1914, 33b) translated “catch hold (?).”
71. pectoral of wasakawasa, son of high priest iuwelot
Made of electrum, this pectoral is of typical naos form, with the god Thoth shown standing before twin offering tables. Now in the Petrie
Museum of University College, London, this item of personal jewelry is the only attestation for Wasakawasa, whose prominence is based exclusively, and rather redundantly, upon his father’s status as high priest of Amon.
Text publication in Petrie 1905b, 264-65, fig. 108 (wrongly claimed to be high priest); 1917, pl. 51, K. For discussion, see Jacquet-Gordon 1967, 67 n. 3; contra Petrie 1905b, 264, and Kees 1964, 100. See Kitchen 1986, 197 §157 and 311 n. 385.
Label for Thoth
Dd-mdw in Dhwty (2) nb Hmnw (3) ntr nb p. t (4) dis(i) ™nh wd? s(nb) n s? n hm-ntr tp(y) n /mn W? s?kw? s? (5) m?™-hrw s? n hm-ntr tp(y) n /mn /wwrit m?™-hrw
Recitation by Thoth, (2) Lord of Hermopolis, (3) Great God, Lord of heaven: (4) “I shall give life, prosperity, and health to the son of the First Prophet of Amon, Wasakawasa, (5) the justified, son of the First Prophet of Amon, luwelot, the justified.”
World History
