Hi Hermione,
Thank you for the link to Tallet's article.
Quote
Working from the contemporary evidence of Merer's logbook, French archaeologists have deduced that Khufu died in the spring of 2483 BC (Tallet, Journal de Merer, MIFAO 36, 2017: 12.)
To begin with, I can note that I was very impressed by the author's courage in determining absolute dates with an accuracy of one year.
Unfortunately, I could not find this article in the public domain to consider all the arguments of the author regarding his assumption about the exact absolute date (2483 BC) of the last year of Khufu's rule.
Quote from [
www.passionegypte.com]:
Cinq papyrus distincts présentaient la formule traditionnelle évoquant "le recensement du grand et du petit bétail" utilisé comme point de repère chronologique pendant tout l'Ancien Empire.
La date "après l'année du 13ème recensement" de Khéops suggère qu'il pourrait s'agir de l'année de règne qui était en cours au moment de l'abandon des archives, soit l'an 26 ou 27 du règne. Cette date étant la dernière année de règne connue de Khéops.
- Plusieurs fragments portent la mention des mois au cours desquels ils ont été rédigés. En particulier le papyrus A du Journal de Merer porte la date du 1er mois d'Akhet, ce serait le premier mois de l'année après le 13ème recensement. ( La saison Akhet= Inondation correspond à la période du 19 juillet au 15 novembre).
- La période enregistrée pour ces archives pourrait couvrir un laps de temps de 10 mois, de juillet -2484 à avril -2483. Khéops serait mort entre avril et juin -2483.
In this article [
www.researchgate.net] devoted to the creation of a chronological model, there is a list of dates (p.85) from various sources relating to the period of Khufu's reign. Among them is one of Tallet's dates:
rnp.t sp 4 (?)3bd [ ] G2130 Khentika (Smith, “Evidence,” 118 Fig. 6, 127 no. 4)
rnp.t sp 5 [ ] Smw (?) sw 5 G1203 (Smith, “Evidence,” 118 Fig. 6, 127 no. 2)
rnp.t sp 8 3bd I pr.t [ ] loose block near entrance to mortuary temple (Smith, “Evidence,” 119 Fig. 7, 126f. no. 1)
rnp.t sp 8 3bd III Smw sw 20 G4000 Hemiunu (Junker, Mastabas, 159 Fig. 24 no. 10, 161, Pl. 24f)
rnp.t sp 10 3bd IV pr.t sw 23/24 G4000 Hemiunu (Junker, Mastabas, 161 no. 12; no image)
rnp.t sp 10 3bd I Smw sw 10+x G4000 Hemiunu (Junker, “Mastabas, 158–60, 159 Fig. 24 no. 1, Pl. 24c)
rnp.t sp 10 3bd II Smw sw 10+x G4000 Hemiunu (Junker, Mastabas, 160, 159 Fig. 24 no. 2, Pl. 24b)
rnp.t sp 12 3bd II Smw G2120 Seshatsekhentiu (Smith, “Evidence,” 118 Fig. 6, 127 no. 3)
rnp.t sp 12 3bd II [ ] G7130–7140 Khufukhaf I (Smith, “Evidence,” 119 Fig. 7, 127 no. 8)
rnp.t m-xt sp 13 Tnw.t jx.w aw.t nb.t Inscription of Imeri and Bebi (Kuhlmann, “Oasis,” 138 Fig. 10, 136),
Papyrus A Wadi el-Jarf (Tallet, "Les papyrus” 160)
rnp.t sp 17 (?) Pyramid chamber (Petrie, History, 60; no image)
These dates are read like this:
1)
rnp.t sp N – year of N cattle count (N = number)
2)
rnp.t m-xt sp N – year after N cattle count (N = number)
3)
3bd N – number of the month in the season (N = 1..4)
4)
3x.t or
pr.t or
Smw – season
All the dates of this type are relative (within the reign of one king) and one can try to translate them into absolute dates only if the entry mentions:
a) heliacal rise of Sirius on a certain day of the year (Sothic date);
b) an event (for example, a festival) that is tied to the lunar months.
I have not heard that the papyri from Wadi el-Jarf contain any Sothic dates or information that allows one to get absolute dates for Khufu with an accuracy of one year using lunar dates.
If you have any information on this, please share.
Alex.
Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2020 10:28AM by keeperzz.
