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A team from the German Institute of Archaeology in Cairo (DAIK) led by Günter Dreyer had been excavating for some years in what is known as the U-cemetery at Umm el-Qa‘ab in Abydos. Evidence from the tombs found in this cemetery indicate usage throughout the Naqada Period (from c.4000 BC), specifically by the rulers of the Thinite region. In 1988, one of the most important tombs in the area, Tomb U-j, was discovered. The tomb is thought to date to Naqada III, just prior to the beginning of Dynastic Egypt (c.3100 BC), and its discovery is a milestone in Egyptian archaeology for a number of reasons.
First, it indicates that kingship had become established in the Predynastic Period. One of the objects found in the burial chamber was an ivory heqa sceptre (shaped like a shepherd’s crook) – a key symbol of kingship throughout Egyptian history. Further evidence that U-j is a king’s tomb lies in its large size (it contains 12 chambers) compared to others in the cemetery. Also, there are ink- inscriptions on a number of pots and jars depicting a scorpion. This suggests the name of an important local ruler, possibly the same king who is portrayed by a rock inscription at Gebel Tjauti (west of the Qena bend), recorded by John Darnell. The rock image depicts a falcon above a scorpion, thus suggesting a Horus name. Some of the scorpion images in U-j were resting on what could be a serekh. Tomb U-j could therefore have been the resting place of a ruler we might call Scorpion I (who ruled earlier than the more famous Scorpion II depicted on the ceremonial mace in the Ashmolean Museum – see AE 151).
The second reason why Tomb U-j is so important is the presence of a large number of ceramic jars thought to have been imported from the Near East, the design of which suggests they came from present-day Lebanon. There were traces of wine within some of the jars, as well as grape pips and grapes. The evidence therefore suggests that there was a vibrant trade between this area of Egypt and the Levant at this time.
However, Tomb U-j is most famous for the ivory and bone labels found inside – some 150, each of which was engraved with various symbols or signs, thought to be one of the first indications of a written Egyptian language in pictorial hieroglyphs. Up to the time of this discovery, it was thought that written language first emerged in Mesopotamia through the Sumerian culture c.3200 BC. This cuneiform writing (patterns of wedges pressed into clay tablets) may indeed be the first written script; the carbon dating range is quite wide, so it is difficult to be precise about dates. However, it is more probable that the two languages developed contemporaneously but independently, with the only common denominator being the need for an accounting system. The labels were bored with a small hole at the top or in the corner so they could be attached to a particular offering jar. Forty-three contain just vertical or horizontal numbers, which presumably indicate size or quantity of the contents. The rest of the labels vary in content and include different types of birds, animals, and human figures.
The discovery of Tomb U-j was first published in 1998, and its discovery remains an important milestone in our understanding of the development of the Egyptian dynastic state, notably the early stages of writing for the purposes of economic administration, and the extent of royal or central control.
Andrew Fulton, Independent researcher and regular contributor to AE
Images: courtesy of the German Archaeological Institute (DAIK)
