The Saqqara Canon (a.k.a. Saqqara Tablet) contains a list of Egyptian pharaohs. Mariette wrote of the discovery to his patron Vicomte de Rougé in March of 1860, but the list was not published until 1864.
It was found in a funerary shrine above the tomb of a lector priest by the name Tjunery (II. The location of the tomb is lost, but supposedly south of Djoser's step pyramid, close to the pyramid of Unas, between the Monastery and Sekhemkhet’s enclosure.
), who lived during the reign of RamessesThe inscription originally listed 58 kings in two rows of 29 kings each, in reverse chronological order, starting with Ramesses II, going backwards to Adjib. It was discovered in eight parts, with a section missing, which was searched for but never found. It is assigned inventory number JE 11335 (CG 34516), and is on display in Hall 9 at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
It was written in the tradition of Lower Egypt, i.e. preferring honored ancestors with a strong affinity in Lower Egypt. The purpose of the list was to show celebrated "ancestors," and was not meant to be a complete chronological list, apparent by the exclusion of Hatshepsut and the heretic Amarna pharaohs.
Cartouche 39 was recorded by Mariette in 1864 containing the name Menkaura, but this is the only attestation for this. In all subsequent line drawings, the cartouche is drawn as unreadable, so the reading can not be trusted, it was likely added by Mariette.
Curiously, the New Kingdom kinglists have differing numbers of kings for the Fourth Dynasty. Abydos holds six kings (20-25), Saqqara nine (43-35) and the Royal Canon of Turin eight (4.9-16). At some point, the records of the Fourth Dynasty suffered damage that resulted in incompletely preserved archives for posterity. Centuries later, scribes accessing the archives for information about the ancient kings either failed to realize that the records were incomplete, or misinterpreted the contents. The variation in the three king lists is puzzling.
The justice of Ra is powerful, chosen of Ra
Eternal is the Truth of Ra
Eternal is the Strength of Ra
Holy are of the manifestations of Ra, chosen of Ra
The possessor of the Maat of Ra
Established manifestations of Ra
Great are the manifestations of Ra
Lasting is the Manifestation of Ra
Great is the manifestation of Ra
Great is the manifestation of the soul of Ra
Holy is the soul of Ra
The Lord of the might is Ra
The Lord of the rudder is Ra
The one whom the ka of Ra has sustained
He who satisfies the heart of Ra
The Ka of Ra is created
Golden are the souls of Ra
The appearance of the manifestation of Ra
The appearance of the kas of Ra
He who belongs to the Maat of Ra
The righteous one of Ra
The ka of Sobek-Ra
The perfect one of the ka of Ra
The one whom Ra has loved
Pepi
Teti
The one who truly exists
The soul of Ra is justified
The established one of the ka of Horus
The appearance of the perfection of Ra
The noble one of the ka of Ra
The perfect one whom the ka of Ra has made
Ra has endowed me
His ka is strong
—
Hieroglyphs destroyed
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Hieroglyphs destroyed
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Hieroglyphs destroyed
—
Hieroglyphs destroyed
Hieroglyphs destroyed. Incorrectly shown by Mariette 1864.
He appears (as) Ra
Ra is his stability
He protects me
He has perfected me
The smiter
The Lord of the ka of Ra
Teti is sacred
The sacred one
Beby
“Omitted” (i.e. name missing)
The perfect one of the ka of Sokar
The appearance of the perfection of Ra
The frightful one
Fresh of tongue
The spirit of the gods
Bull of bulls
Divine of might
He from the north
Beloved one of the throne
Gallery
Bibliography
- Mariette, A., 1860. Lettre de M. Aug. Mariette A M. le Vicomte De Rougé. Revue Archeologique, N.S. ii: 20-23
- de Rougé, E., 1865. Album photographique de la mission remplie en Égypte. Paris: Photos 143-145
- de Rougé, E., 1866. Recherches sur les Monuments Qu’on Peut Attribuer aux Six Premières Dynasties de Manéthon. Paris: plate I
- Mariette, A., 1864. La table de Saqqarah. Revue Archeologique, 10. Paris: 169-186, Plate XVII
- Mariette, A., 1872. Monuments divers recueillis en Égypte et en Nubie. Vol. II. Paris: pls. 57b, 58, text Vol. I, p. 18-19
- Meyer, E., 1904. Ägyptische Chronologie. Berlin: plate 1.
- Kitchen, K. A., 1980. Ramesside Inscriptions, Vol. 3. Oxford: 481-82. (§217, 3)
- Kitchen, K. A., 2000. Ramesside Inscriptions. Translated and Annotated., Vol. 3. Oxford: 340-42
- Porter and Moss, 1981. Topographical Bibliography, Vol. III, part 2. Oxford: 666
- Beckerath, J. von., 1997. Chronologie des pharaonischen Aegypten. Mainz: 216
- Devéria, T. Squeezes in the Louvre, 6165