, Fayoum University
Faculty of Archaeology
REMAINS OF A FUNERARY STELA FROM EL-MATAREA
ANTIQUITIES STORE NO. 187.
ABSTRACT
Mahmoud Hamed Elhosary
Faculty of Arts, This research is concerned with studying the
Department of Egyptian Antiquities.
upper left section of the remains of a limestone
New Valley University, Egypt
funerary stela preserved in El-Matareya Antiquities
Store No. 187, which was discovered west of the “Ra”
temple complex in Heliopolis, as above the lines
appears a small part of the tip of the winged sun, and
behind the lines, on the far left, are the two feathers of
ARTICLE INFO “Amun”. After extensive study of this stela and the
Article history inscriptions that remain on it, we find that it follows
Received 6 April 2022
the stelae of the New Kingdom, and its writing
Received in revised form 6 April 2023
Accepted 1 March 2024
follows the late linguistic stage.
Available Online 10 June 2024
KEYWORDS
Funerary stela,
winged sun disk,
clutching the crown of the south,
the New Kingdom,
the god “Amun-Ra”,
the late linguistic period,
limestone.
INTRODUCTION
This stela is registered with Accession No. 187 and is stored amongst the non-studied
artefacts preserved in the Antiquities Inspection Store of El-Matareya and Ain-Shams. Due to
the crush, cracking and shattering damage from all sides and directions in most of the
remaining parts, including the incompleteness of its recorded texts, the stela has remained in
the Antiques Inspection Store. All of this clearly impacted the difficulty of reading and
translating the recorded texts. One of the issues in the study was the difficulty of determining
the period to which the stela belonged and during which era of kings it was carved due to the
lack of evidence on the remaining part of the recorded hieroglyphic texts. However, after a
thorough study of the stela, analyzing its recorded texts and studying the rest of its
decoration, the researcher reached some significant results that will reveal much about the
stela and its era. This was achieved by studying examples of similar stelae dating back to the
New Kingdom and Late Period.
SHEDET Issue Nu. 13 (2024), pp. 74-88 - 74 -
, Mahmoud Hamed Elhosary SHEDET (13)
STELA DESCRIPTION
In 1992, the stela was unearthed (pl.1, Fig.1) during the archaeological surveys conducted
in the course of the sewage project for Greater Cairo, decade 7, which extended from El-
Matareya, passing through Al-Khusus area to the Yellow Mountain, specifically in the area
west of the “Ra” temple complex in Heliopolis, and west of the Awqaf farm, at a depth of
approximately four meters. Following its finding, the stela underwent conservation
procedures and was subsequently stored in the Inspection Store of El-Matareya and Ain-
Shams Antiquities and designated No. 187.
Type Remains of the upper left portion of a funerary stela.
Material Limestone.
Publishing Unpublished.
Era/Period Perhaps it can be traced back to the era of the New Kingdom.
This stela is a continuation of the writing style of the stelas of the New Kingdom, and its
Writing Style
inscriptions follow the linguistic style of the later stage.
Stela Owner Anonymous?
Dimensions Max length 38cm, max width 36cm, max thickness 9cm.
Discovery
Prison Farms.
Site
Save
El-Matareya and Ain-Shams Antiquities Inspection Store.
Location
Record No. Prison Farms Record No. 187.
Description An irregularly shaped funerary stela with six vertical lines of hieroglyphs on limestone.
Table 1. Stela Description and Details.
The general shape of the piece under study is irregularly shaped limestone, originally the
upper left part of a funerary stela broken from all directions with a lot of smashing and six
vertical lines of hieroglyphic writing that appear above the lines; a small part of the tip of the
winged sun, and behind the lines far to the left are two feathers of “Amun”. Due to the
incompleteness of the stela, it was difficult to determine its specific period. Still, after
studying the form and nature of its recorded texts, artistic style, spelling features, patterns and
forms of signs, it was found that the stela follows the stela design of the New Kingdom, and
its writing follows the late linguistic stage.
Remnants of the Winged Sun Disk
Only a small fragment of the left wing and the stela's edge, which probably had a
curved apex, remained of the winged sun disk . The representation of the sun disk with
expansive wings is a prevalent motif in ancient Egyptian culture. The Egyptians' longstanding
belief about the cosmos posits that the firmament comprises the wings of a grand falcon. In
contrast, while the eye represents the sun and moon, the dots at the base signify the starry sky.
The sun disk, a renowned Egyptian emblem, embodies “Ra”, one of the well-known
preeminent Egyptian deities (Jordan, 2004, 264-265). The employment of the winged sun
disk dates back to the Nineteenth Dynasty, symbolizing the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt
(Erman & Grapow, 1928, 13-15, 331). In the Late Period, the image of the winged sun disk
appeared cosmically as a protective symbol above the entrances to the doors of temples and
on the interior rooms, as well as on the stelae with arched tops from the El-Sawy era of the
Twenty-sixth Dynasty (Wilkinson, 1992, 101).
- 75 - DOI: 10.21608/shedet.2024.131843.1113
Faculty of Archaeology
REMAINS OF A FUNERARY STELA FROM EL-MATAREA
ANTIQUITIES STORE NO. 187.
ABSTRACT
Mahmoud Hamed Elhosary
Faculty of Arts, This research is concerned with studying the
Department of Egyptian Antiquities.
upper left section of the remains of a limestone
New Valley University, Egypt
funerary stela preserved in El-Matareya Antiquities
Store No. 187, which was discovered west of the “Ra”
temple complex in Heliopolis, as above the lines
appears a small part of the tip of the winged sun, and
behind the lines, on the far left, are the two feathers of
ARTICLE INFO “Amun”. After extensive study of this stela and the
Article history inscriptions that remain on it, we find that it follows
Received 6 April 2022
the stelae of the New Kingdom, and its writing
Received in revised form 6 April 2023
Accepted 1 March 2024
follows the late linguistic stage.
Available Online 10 June 2024
KEYWORDS
Funerary stela,
winged sun disk,
clutching the crown of the south,
the New Kingdom,
the god “Amun-Ra”,
the late linguistic period,
limestone.
INTRODUCTION
This stela is registered with Accession No. 187 and is stored amongst the non-studied
artefacts preserved in the Antiquities Inspection Store of El-Matareya and Ain-Shams. Due to
the crush, cracking and shattering damage from all sides and directions in most of the
remaining parts, including the incompleteness of its recorded texts, the stela has remained in
the Antiques Inspection Store. All of this clearly impacted the difficulty of reading and
translating the recorded texts. One of the issues in the study was the difficulty of determining
the period to which the stela belonged and during which era of kings it was carved due to the
lack of evidence on the remaining part of the recorded hieroglyphic texts. However, after a
thorough study of the stela, analyzing its recorded texts and studying the rest of its
decoration, the researcher reached some significant results that will reveal much about the
stela and its era. This was achieved by studying examples of similar stelae dating back to the
New Kingdom and Late Period.
SHEDET Issue Nu. 13 (2024), pp. 74-88 - 74 -
, Mahmoud Hamed Elhosary SHEDET (13)
STELA DESCRIPTION
In 1992, the stela was unearthed (pl.1, Fig.1) during the archaeological surveys conducted
in the course of the sewage project for Greater Cairo, decade 7, which extended from El-
Matareya, passing through Al-Khusus area to the Yellow Mountain, specifically in the area
west of the “Ra” temple complex in Heliopolis, and west of the Awqaf farm, at a depth of
approximately four meters. Following its finding, the stela underwent conservation
procedures and was subsequently stored in the Inspection Store of El-Matareya and Ain-
Shams Antiquities and designated No. 187.
Type Remains of the upper left portion of a funerary stela.
Material Limestone.
Publishing Unpublished.
Era/Period Perhaps it can be traced back to the era of the New Kingdom.
This stela is a continuation of the writing style of the stelas of the New Kingdom, and its
Writing Style
inscriptions follow the linguistic style of the later stage.
Stela Owner Anonymous?
Dimensions Max length 38cm, max width 36cm, max thickness 9cm.
Discovery
Prison Farms.
Site
Save
El-Matareya and Ain-Shams Antiquities Inspection Store.
Location
Record No. Prison Farms Record No. 187.
Description An irregularly shaped funerary stela with six vertical lines of hieroglyphs on limestone.
Table 1. Stela Description and Details.
The general shape of the piece under study is irregularly shaped limestone, originally the
upper left part of a funerary stela broken from all directions with a lot of smashing and six
vertical lines of hieroglyphic writing that appear above the lines; a small part of the tip of the
winged sun, and behind the lines far to the left are two feathers of “Amun”. Due to the
incompleteness of the stela, it was difficult to determine its specific period. Still, after
studying the form and nature of its recorded texts, artistic style, spelling features, patterns and
forms of signs, it was found that the stela follows the stela design of the New Kingdom, and
its writing follows the late linguistic stage.
Remnants of the Winged Sun Disk
Only a small fragment of the left wing and the stela's edge, which probably had a
curved apex, remained of the winged sun disk . The representation of the sun disk with
expansive wings is a prevalent motif in ancient Egyptian culture. The Egyptians' longstanding
belief about the cosmos posits that the firmament comprises the wings of a grand falcon. In
contrast, while the eye represents the sun and moon, the dots at the base signify the starry sky.
The sun disk, a renowned Egyptian emblem, embodies “Ra”, one of the well-known
preeminent Egyptian deities (Jordan, 2004, 264-265). The employment of the winged sun
disk dates back to the Nineteenth Dynasty, symbolizing the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt
(Erman & Grapow, 1928, 13-15, 331). In the Late Period, the image of the winged sun disk
appeared cosmically as a protective symbol above the entrances to the doors of temples and
on the interior rooms, as well as on the stelae with arched tops from the El-Sawy era of the
Twenty-sixth Dynasty (Wilkinson, 1992, 101).
- 75 - DOI: 10.21608/shedet.2024.131843.1113
