Clay cones of 10-15 cm in length which were placed at the entrances of tombs, particularly those in the 'Fheban area. 'Ehev are lirsl recorded from the 1 lih Dynasty (2125-1985 IK'.) and continue into the J. ate Period (747-332 nc), although most belong to ilw
Rated with
'ays). 12th I, from IS39J
Tj'VRi' was on of their ludgement Tfti'. l)i; icd against ibol ol the onduct to ires). dent
¦idge.
Bredeek
Hich were articularh are first n25-1985
Te Period ng to the
Texts and
Volvcd the ) Osiris, so ndivitlLuils ceased lor
He im th of
For them-
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Ith Osiris, prove that rortln anti
Funerary cone of Merymose. c.1350 BC. potlery, from Tfiehes, II. ]()J an, I). 7.1 an. (E. m49)
Each tomb-owner had about three liundred identical cones, and the owners of manv decorated tombs of the New Kingdom have been readilv matched with surviving cones. However, there is no evidence of cones from over three hundred other known tombs. More significant, on the other hand, is the fact that no tombs are known for a further four hundred or so cones, suggesting that the tombs to which they belonged have been destroyed or re-used, or else aw ait discovery.
N. DF G. Davii:s and F. T-. M c.:ai)m, .1 corpus of inscribed funerary cones (Oxford, 1957).
H. - M. Stiavart, Mummy cases and inscribed Junevary cones in the Petrie colleclion (Warminster, 1986).
J. K()M)0, ‘Inscribed funerary cones from the Theban necropolis’, Orient 23 (1987).
L CONES
Funerary cones
FUNERARY TEXTS
Also found in eight pyramids dating from the 6th to 8th Dynasties (2345-2125 Bc), comprise some eight hundred spells or ‘utterances’ written in columns on the walls of the pyramid chambers, but apparenil} not arranged in any specific order. No single pvra-mid contains the whole collection of spells, the maximum number being the 675 utterances inscribed in the pyramid of I’l'.i'v ii (2268-2184 iic). The words spoken at the ceremony of ()i>i;mng of tfif, mouth are first
Pari of the Booh of the Dead papyrus of the royal scribe.-ini, consisting of the vignette associated with Chapter 125, in which the heart of the deceased is weighed against the feather of the goddess Maat. 19th Dynasty, c.1250 bc, painted papyrus. (tu47(), siii:t:r3)
New Kingdom and the bulk of them to the 18th Dynasty (1550-1295 itt:).
The broadest end of the cone is usually stamped with hicroglvphs bearing a name, title and sometimes a short inscription or genealogy. The earliest, how'cvcr, are uninscribed. They were once thought to represent loaves of bread, roofing poles, MU. vtMt i. Aiiia..s or boundary stones but current opinion suggests a more likely explanation. The pointed end allowed them to be set in plaster as a frieze above the tomb entrance, while the broad end would be clearly visible. It may be that this broad circular end represented the sun’s disc, and was part ol the solar iconographv of rebirth.
D. P. Rvax, ‘The archaeological analysis of inscribed funerary cones’, /:4 4/2 (1988),
165-70.
World History
