small beads, with bars between them providing some stability. The two anklets of the princess were similar but without the richly adorned and inscribed clasps. Another armlet was adorned with two golden figures of lions.81 This reconstruction, however, is far from certain (Fig. 30).
Two other anklets are simpler in design and consist of plain amethyst and golden ball beads with golden bird claw pendants (Fig. 31).82 Winlock originally reconstructed them as one necklace,83 but there are depictions in tombs of the period indicating that claw pendants were worn around the ankles.84
The princess had two girdles. One of them consisted of eight golden cowry shells (Fig. 32).85 The other was a chain of seven double leopard heads, also made of gold, perhaps once connected by amethyst beads and further double, but smaller, leopard heads, most likely originally arranged between the larger ones (Fig. 33).86 The cowry shell girdle in particular is also known from other tombs of royal and high-status women of this time.
Next to the jewelry several cosmetic objects were found. The first of these was a partly gilded mirror with a golden Hathor head at the top of the handle (Fig. 34).87 Two razors were found with two whetstones for sharpening them (Fig. 35),88 and there were three cosmetic jars, all cylinder-shaped with a wider top part. These were made of obsidian with gilded rims; a fourth one is smaller but also with a gilded rim (Fig. 36).89 A small saucer made of silver has the shape of a shen ring.90 Two copper blades of two knives were also found.91
34. The mirror of Sathathoriunet. From Winlock, Lahun, pl. XV.
35. Razors of Sathathoriunet and whetstones. From Brunton 1920, pl. X.
In a separate box were found eight similar vessels made of Egyptian alabaster92 and not gilded.93 They are described as not highly polished. The contents, a pinkish substance, was still visible in a few of the vessels. These eight jars are typical of highstatus burials of the late Middle Kingdom. In other tombs the lids of the jars are inscribed with the names of the seven sacred oils (compare the description of the burial of Ita, below).
36. Examples of cosmetic vessels of Sathathoriunet. From Brunton 1920, pl. IX.
37. Vessel for pure water, from the tomb of Sathathoriunet. From Petrie, Brunton, Murray 1920, pl. XXV, 7.
Also found in the tomb was a jar made of alabaster inscribed with a magical spell connected to pure water (Fig. 37).94 This type of inscribed jar is not common and is restricted to royal women and kings. The spell appears in later times as part of the second nightly hour of the “hour vigil.”95 This is the ritual in which Osiris was embalmed with the help of other deities. Whether the spell and the jar were already related to the hour vigil in the Twelfth Dynasty is not certain. It is possible that this spell is an important text in a purification ritual, later used in the hour vigil. Indeed, the purification of the body of the deceased was an important part of preparing the mummy in the purification tent.96 The spell reads: “King’s daughter Sathathoriunet, receive this cool water which is from the land that begets everything that lives, all those things that this land gives; indeed, it is the land that begets everything comes forth. May you live on them, may you receive upon them. May you live and revive upon them. May you live and revive upon this breath that is within it. It begets you, and you come forth. You live on all that is desired and perfect that is therein.”97
Several pottery vessels were found in the burial of Sathathoriunet. They included large bowls, small fat-based cups, a beaker-shaped jar, a hemispherical cup, and a bottle.98 The pottery belongs to a type most recently called queen’s ware and most often found in burials of late Middle Kingdom royal women. It is made of Nile clay and highly crafted. It is covered with a red coat, but not so well fired, providing a somewhat patchy surface color. Altogether the pottery seems to copy Old Kingdom tableware known as “Meydum ware.” The Middle Kingdom craftsmen, however, did not manage to match the Old Kingdom quality.99
Who Was Sathathoriunet?
Sathathoriunet is so far known only from her burial. The only title she bore was “king’s daughter.” Her burial place next to the pyramid of Senusret II might indicate that she was closely related to him and therefore perhaps his daughter. The name of the king was found on some objects from her tomb. Also found in her burial were more than one object bearing the name of Amenemhat III. This might indicate that she died under this king. In some publications Sathathoriunet is also called queen.100 She did not, however, bear the title “king’s wife.” Her identification as a queen might go back to Brunton, who wondered whether she was a queen on the grounds that her crown was adorned with a uraeus.101 There is so far no evidence that the uraeus was restricted to queens.102 Indeed, there are examples where a king’s daughter wears a uraeus. From the late Middle Kingdom comes the scarab of the king’s daughter Nubhetepti, on which she is shown standing and with a uraeus.103 Another example is a rock relief depicting the early Thirteenth Dynasty king Sobekhotep III and his family. Here too, the daughters are depicted with a uraeus.104 The uraeus is the symbol of the goddess Wadjet, who was one the crown deities and therefore represented kingship. While it is possible to argue that Sathathoriunet was king’s wife later in her life, being “promoted” after parts of her burial equipment were made, this argument does not work for the women on the scarab and on the rock relief, where the depictions and the titles belong together. From this evidence it is safest to say that Sathathoriunet was a daughter of Senusret II who died under Amenemhat III. She might not have been the youngest when she died, but there is no evidence that she was ever a king’s wife.
BURIALS AT DAHSHUR
Dahshur is a modern village near Saqqara, about thirty kilometers south of Cairo (Fig. 38). In the Old Kingdom it was the location of the two pyramids of Snofru, first king of the Fourth Dynasty. There were also cemeteries of officials serving the king. After Snofru, Dahshur was no longer used as a cemetery for kings, though officials, perhaps not the highest ranked, were still buried there. All other rulers of the Old Kingdom were buried farther north, at places such as Gizeh, Abusir, and Saqqara. This change is not necessarily as great as it may seem from the changing place names, as the division between Dahshur and Saqqara is a modern one. In ancient times, the region from Abusir in the north, down to Dahshur, and even beyond to Magzhuna in the south formed one big cemetery, with concentrations of tombs and mastabas around the royal pyramids.
38. Map of Dahshur. Drawn by the author.
In the Middle Kingdom the cemetery of Dahshur again became important. Amenemhat II, who ruled around 1900 BCE, was the third king of this dynasty. He built his pyramid at Dahshur. His son Senusret II was buried somewhere
