A PREDYNASTIC CHIEFTAIN? - The rock art context of the Mentuhotep II panel at Shatt el-Rigal

Maria Nilsson and John Ward return to Shatt el-Rigal, located to the north of Gebel el-Silsila, for a close-up of the famous colossal scene of Mentuhotep II, but with special focus on its extraordinary rock art context that has never before been published in its entirety. The lead role will be played by a chieftain – a possible predecessor to the early rulers of Upper Egypt.

- Maria Nilsson and John Ward

In 1888, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie published some preliminary results of his research journey into Upper Egypt, including a summary of epigraphic documents recorded during a day’s visit to Wadi Shatt el-Rigal. The valley was already known for its many rock inscriptions, as seen by Harris, Eisenlohr, Mariette, Sayce, and of course Lepsius. Strangely, Petrie arrived, and began his description of the wadi from its central part (not its upper end as stated), walking eastwards, and reaching the main, renowned Mentuhotep II panel at the mouth of Shatt el-Rigal as the final destination. In his words, the panel is described as “the principal object in the valley, occupying the most prominent place, on a flat face of rock just at the mouth, is the large tablet of Mentuhotep and Antef [now known as Intef] (No. 489), which is raised some distance from the ground (illustrated centre-left in a plate from Petrie’s report). It is cut in fine low relief, with well-wrought details […]”. Further down the pages, he uses the panel as conclusive proof that “Antef succeeded Mentuhotep, and worshipped him, as did also the chancellor Khati [Khety] […]”.

In addition to the records of dynastic iconography and rock inscriptions, Petrie mentions a “vast number of figures of animals”, which “in most cases [are] wholly distinct, and of a different age. These figures have never received any attention hitherto, and their number deters one from copying or even cataloguing them”. Since then, the panel has been documented in more detail by Legrain, and subsequently by Caminos and his students. Nevertheless, a comprehensive record of the entire panel (see a modern facsimile, above) remains unpublished.