One of the most important discoveries in Egyptology is shaft of Queen Hetepheres I - "Her Face Is Satisfied".
This finding rested misfortune in the shade of Tutankhamun.
Let us throw a glance over goods placed in this shaft.
As you will see, the quality of commodities is on highest level and perfect artistic feel.
The shaft is rich of gold.
The age is from IV Dynasty.
All these make shaft and its proprietor very, very important.
Pictures are taken from Wikipedia and Jimmy Dunn’s site.
This burial has many ambiguities and secrecies, which are disclosed nicely from Jimmy Dunn writing as Alan Winston.
Here I wish to underline one, which is above at all, by my opinion.
Most of articles about Hetepheres begin with firm affirmation that he was daughter of Snefru and mother of Khufu. However, from where arising this affirmation?
For this, very important person and her monuments in the Wikipedia have two sources (!):
First is article Hetepheres I: “Starting in 1902, a joint expedition of Harvard University and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts took over the excavation of Giza. For 23 years, they methodically cleared and documented the area. On the February 9, 1925, while the leader of the expedition, George Reisner, was back in the US, the staff photographer noticed a patch of plaster where he was expecting limestone. Under the direction of Ahmed Said, Reisner's head rais, they cleared the area and removed the plaster, revealing a deep shaft. They dug down 85 feet before reaching a masonry wall which, when penetrated revealed a jumble of grave goods including a white alabaster sarcophagus, gold encased rods used to frame a canopy or tent, gold, wood furniture, and more. Using binoculars and mirrors, Battiscombe Gunn identified an inscription identifying Sneferu. Nevertheless, this, contrary to newspaper reports at the time, only meant that the owner of the tomb had lived during the reign of Sneferu.
Hetepheres I may have been a daughter of pharaoh Huni. Her title God's Daughter suggests she was the daughter of a king and the most likely candidate is Huni, the predecessor of Sneferu. Her titles include: King’s Mother (mwt-niswt), Mother of the Dual King (mwt-niswt-biti), Attendant of Horus (kht-hrw), and God’s Daughter of his body (s3t-ntr-nt-kht.f).
Hetepheres was the wife of the king Sneferu and the mother of King Khufu. It is possible that Hetepheres was only a minor wife of Sneferu and only rose in prominence after her son ascended the throne. She was the grandmother of Kings Djedefre and Khafra and Queen Hetepheres II. Hetepheres died during the reign of her son Khufu.”
Second in the article Khufu: “In 1925 east of Khufu's pyramid the tomb shaft of queen Hetepheres I, G 7000x, was found. It contained a lot of precious grave goods and several inscriptions report her title "Mother of a king" (Mut-nesut), together with the name of king Sneferu. Therefore it seemed at first to be sure that Hetepheres was the wife of Sneferu and that both of them had to be Khufu's parents.”
Third explanation is given in the article “Snefru” in site Ancient-Egypt.org: “Snofru, the first king of the 4th Dynasty, probably was the son of his predecessor Huni and Meresankh I, one of Huni’s secondary wives. His marriage to his half-sister, Hetepheres I, appears to have legitimized his claim to the throne.
Although the kings of the fourth Dynasty are thus descendants of the kings of the third Dynasty, Manetho justifies his placing them in a separate dynasty because Snofru came from a different line in the royal family!
Next to Hetepheres, Snofru was married to at least two other but unknown queens, with whom he had several children. A first queen bore him four children: one, whose name is unknown, then Nefermaat, Rahotep and Ranofer. Hetepheres only seems to have born him one child, Kheops. With his third wife, Snofru may have had one or two children: Kanefer and perhaps Ankh-haf. (Last of all carried title “Eldest son of His body” Wikipedia)”
In cited passages is difficult to understand what are facts, what are conclusions, what are imaginations. Very strange conclusions, should to say! I will underline expressions:
- “Therefore it seemed at first to be sure …” Seems or is sure …
Are we make proposal or give firm position.
- “… may have been a daughter of pharaoh Huni” Maybe yes, maybe not!
- “But this, contrary to newspaper reports at the time, only meant that the owner of the
tomb had lived during the reign of Sneferu.” I am sorry! Not only that!
- “Next to Hetepheres, Snofru was married to at least two other but unknown queens,
with whom he had several children.”
These two women are confirmed by trusted sources.
Hetepheres as wife of Sneferu is proposal. However, proposal over what?
Appears, over inscription in the shaft of Hetepheres. In addition, this inscription is insufficient to make such application.
- “Snofru, the first king of the 4th Dynasty, probably was the son of his
predecessor Huni and Mereankh I, one of Huni’s secondary wives.” Many “maybes” here!Remarkable is assumption:
“It is possible that Hetepheres was only a minor wife of Sneferu and only rose in prominence after her son ascended the throne. She was the grandmother of Kings Djedefre and Khafra and Queen Hetepheres II.”
Take a good look – the daughter of Huni, the person legitimized Snofru’s claim to the throne, the supposed mother of Khufu, the grandmother of Khafra and Radjedef is minor wife to the man who still is not prince … Decent humiliation of the royal family. Simple women, not daughters or members of the royal family, not mothers and grandmothers to the next kings are main spouses? The problem is that all official spouses of the Sneferu are well known.
Not HetepHeres between them.
Most simple and direct conclusion is that Hetepheres was mother of Sneferu! This is correct conclusion from the inscription in the shaft.
This is not only conclusion – into the original place it is statement in straight words!
In Wikipedia is omitted obstacle that Sneferu was not born prince.
He is the founder of IV dynasty!
Because of that, his mother was praised only King’s Mother, and never called "king's wife"(Hemet-nesut). She wore title "Biological daughter of a god" (Sat-netjer-khetef).
Most probably she was daughter of a king, and may be this was the ground over which her son ketches the power?
Maybe she was daughter of Huni, maybe she was his sister. This is truly not known.
But if we accept this very direct and very trustable statement “mother of Sneferu”, appears big turmoil …
The tomb shaft is at east of Khufu’s pyramid, at the west end of the Eastern Cemetery. That means it is buried after building the pyramids!
That means in the row, that the Great Pyramid was ready in the times of the father of Khufu!
Still it is possible somebody to argue that the pyramid of Khafra was erected at full in the times of the grandfather of Khafra!
Thus, all smart managed chronology turns into heap …
This is indigestible for the mainstream Egyptologists. Therefore, they created official explanation, which like every false construction, raises more questions than gives answers and no one stable point.
This artificial construction gave birth of, and still generates big endless discussions, which should be seen in the proposed articles and in the Internet, and are object for ridiculous disagreements and quarrels between mainstream Egyptologists. However, these disagreements and quarrels are not subject to now study.
Meanwhile Reisner understood the importance of the discovery!
He worked with dedication from 1905 to 1942 years. Really, until his death. One of beloved photography by him was this one before the Hetepheres object:
No occasionally Reisner gathered famous persons before Hetepheres magazine. Reisner recognized magnitude of the find.
This find was the crown of his work.
This finding rested misfortune in the shade of Tutankhamun.
Let us throw a glance over goods placed in this shaft.
As you will see, the quality of commodities is on highest level and perfect artistic feel.
The shaft is rich of gold.
The age is from IV Dynasty.
All these make shaft and its proprietor very, very important.
Pictures are taken from Wikipedia and Jimmy Dunn’s site.
This burial has many ambiguities and secrecies, which are disclosed nicely from Jimmy Dunn writing as Alan Winston.
Here I wish to underline one, which is above at all, by my opinion.
Most of articles about Hetepheres begin with firm affirmation that he was daughter of Snefru and mother of Khufu. However, from where arising this affirmation?
For this, very important person and her monuments in the Wikipedia have two sources (!):
First is article Hetepheres I: “Starting in 1902, a joint expedition of Harvard University and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts took over the excavation of Giza. For 23 years, they methodically cleared and documented the area. On the February 9, 1925, while the leader of the expedition, George Reisner, was back in the US, the staff photographer noticed a patch of plaster where he was expecting limestone. Under the direction of Ahmed Said, Reisner's head rais, they cleared the area and removed the plaster, revealing a deep shaft. They dug down 85 feet before reaching a masonry wall which, when penetrated revealed a jumble of grave goods including a white alabaster sarcophagus, gold encased rods used to frame a canopy or tent, gold, wood furniture, and more. Using binoculars and mirrors, Battiscombe Gunn identified an inscription identifying Sneferu. Nevertheless, this, contrary to newspaper reports at the time, only meant that the owner of the tomb had lived during the reign of Sneferu.
Hetepheres I may have been a daughter of pharaoh Huni. Her title God's Daughter suggests she was the daughter of a king and the most likely candidate is Huni, the predecessor of Sneferu. Her titles include: King’s Mother (mwt-niswt), Mother of the Dual King (mwt-niswt-biti), Attendant of Horus (kht-hrw), and God’s Daughter of his body (s3t-ntr-nt-kht.f).
Hetepheres was the wife of the king Sneferu and the mother of King Khufu. It is possible that Hetepheres was only a minor wife of Sneferu and only rose in prominence after her son ascended the throne. She was the grandmother of Kings Djedefre and Khafra and Queen Hetepheres II. Hetepheres died during the reign of her son Khufu.”
Second in the article Khufu: “In 1925 east of Khufu's pyramid the tomb shaft of queen Hetepheres I, G 7000x, was found. It contained a lot of precious grave goods and several inscriptions report her title "Mother of a king" (Mut-nesut), together with the name of king Sneferu. Therefore it seemed at first to be sure that Hetepheres was the wife of Sneferu and that both of them had to be Khufu's parents.”
Third explanation is given in the article “Snefru” in site Ancient-Egypt.org: “Snofru, the first king of the 4th Dynasty, probably was the son of his predecessor Huni and Meresankh I, one of Huni’s secondary wives. His marriage to his half-sister, Hetepheres I, appears to have legitimized his claim to the throne.
Although the kings of the fourth Dynasty are thus descendants of the kings of the third Dynasty, Manetho justifies his placing them in a separate dynasty because Snofru came from a different line in the royal family!
Next to Hetepheres, Snofru was married to at least two other but unknown queens, with whom he had several children. A first queen bore him four children: one, whose name is unknown, then Nefermaat, Rahotep and Ranofer. Hetepheres only seems to have born him one child, Kheops. With his third wife, Snofru may have had one or two children: Kanefer and perhaps Ankh-haf. (Last of all carried title “Eldest son of His body” Wikipedia)”
In cited passages is difficult to understand what are facts, what are conclusions, what are imaginations. Very strange conclusions, should to say! I will underline expressions:
- “Therefore it seemed at first to be sure …” Seems or is sure …
Are we make proposal or give firm position.
- “… may have been a daughter of pharaoh Huni” Maybe yes, maybe not!
- “But this, contrary to newspaper reports at the time, only meant that the owner of the
tomb had lived during the reign of Sneferu.” I am sorry! Not only that!
- “Next to Hetepheres, Snofru was married to at least two other but unknown queens,
with whom he had several children.”
These two women are confirmed by trusted sources.
Hetepheres as wife of Sneferu is proposal. However, proposal over what?
Appears, over inscription in the shaft of Hetepheres. In addition, this inscription is insufficient to make such application.
- “Snofru, the first king of the 4th Dynasty, probably was the son of his
predecessor Huni and Mereankh I, one of Huni’s secondary wives.” Many “maybes” here!Remarkable is assumption:
“It is possible that Hetepheres was only a minor wife of Sneferu and only rose in prominence after her son ascended the throne. She was the grandmother of Kings Djedefre and Khafra and Queen Hetepheres II.”
Take a good look – the daughter of Huni, the person legitimized Snofru’s claim to the throne, the supposed mother of Khufu, the grandmother of Khafra and Radjedef is minor wife to the man who still is not prince … Decent humiliation of the royal family. Simple women, not daughters or members of the royal family, not mothers and grandmothers to the next kings are main spouses? The problem is that all official spouses of the Sneferu are well known.
Not HetepHeres between them.
Most simple and direct conclusion is that Hetepheres was mother of Sneferu! This is correct conclusion from the inscription in the shaft.
This is not only conclusion – into the original place it is statement in straight words!
In Wikipedia is omitted obstacle that Sneferu was not born prince.
He is the founder of IV dynasty!
Because of that, his mother was praised only King’s Mother, and never called "king's wife"(Hemet-nesut). She wore title "Biological daughter of a god" (Sat-netjer-khetef).
Most probably she was daughter of a king, and may be this was the ground over which her son ketches the power?
Maybe she was daughter of Huni, maybe she was his sister. This is truly not known.
But if we accept this very direct and very trustable statement “mother of Sneferu”, appears big turmoil …
The tomb shaft is at east of Khufu’s pyramid, at the west end of the Eastern Cemetery. That means it is buried after building the pyramids!
That means in the row, that the Great Pyramid was ready in the times of the father of Khufu!
Still it is possible somebody to argue that the pyramid of Khafra was erected at full in the times of the grandfather of Khafra!
Thus, all smart managed chronology turns into heap …
This is indigestible for the mainstream Egyptologists. Therefore, they created official explanation, which like every false construction, raises more questions than gives answers and no one stable point.
This artificial construction gave birth of, and still generates big endless discussions, which should be seen in the proposed articles and in the Internet, and are object for ridiculous disagreements and quarrels between mainstream Egyptologists. However, these disagreements and quarrels are not subject to now study.
Meanwhile Reisner understood the importance of the discovery!
He worked with dedication from 1905 to 1942 years. Really, until his death. One of beloved photography by him was this one before the Hetepheres object:
 |
Arthur Merton (London Times), Alfred Lucas, George Reisner, Dows Dunham, and Noel F. Wheeler, outside the magazine for G 7000 X, Hetepheres I; April 11, 1927 (B6205) From Reisner's biography by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
This find was the crown of his work.
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