Читать книгу A History of Ancient Egypt - Marc Van De Mieroop - Страница 42

Tomb U‐j was dwarfed in size by nearby tombs whose occupants are known to us from inscriptions. They include three kings from Dynasty 0, six kings and one queen of the 1st dynasty, and two kings of the late 2nd dynasty. All are large subterranean complexes, with multiple rooms that were built of mud brick and became increasingly deeper. Above ground was probably only a low earthen mound. The names of the occupants appear sometimes on steles set up above the tombs, or we know them because of the writing found within the tombs on jars and on seal impressions and labels originally attached to goods. Although all tombs had been looted and burned in the 3rd millennium, they still contained evidence of their original wealth when excavated in modern times. Beads of semi‐precious stones, gold, and silver were strewn around, while numerous vessels were stacked in the rooms. Among them were many jars from Palestine that held perfumed oil, which was highly valued. In the entrance of one tomb people poured oil three feet (90 centimeters) deep in order to make the air smell pleasant.

The king’s body was placed in a wood‐lined shrine, while the secondary rooms often contained the corpses of people and animals. Analysis of the bodies shows that the servants were strangulated to accompany the king in death, while his pet dogs and lions, as well as some dwarfs, were killed so that they could entertain him in the afterlife. Human sacrifice was a short‐lived practice in Egypt, abandoned after the 1st dynasty. Its appearance at this time shows how powerful the kings were in society.

The cemeteries at Naqada, Hierakonpolis, and Abydos were attached to walled settlements which have drawn increased archaeological interest in the past few decades. It is clear that certain institutions arose in them that provided services to large groups of people. At Hierakonpolis, for example, there were industrial‐sized breweries made up of large vats that could easily have produced 300 gallons of beer a day. Since beer was a very important source of nutrition at the time, this indicates that at least part of food provision was centralized. At Hierakonpolis too there was a monumental complex with an administrative center, craft workshops, and a ceremonial area with buildings made of wood and reed alongside a large oval courtyard. Some of the inhabitants of all three towns were also involved in importing goods from outside the Nile Valley, an activity facilitated by their location near a wadi that gave access to routes into the desert. From Naqada one reached gold mines in the eastern desert, while Hierakonpolis controlled access to Nubia in the south and Abydos had close contacts with Palestine in Asia, the source of semi‐precious stones, metals (especially copper), and agricultural products such as wine and oil. The people with these distant contacts seem to have gained special prominence that gave them power over others. Egyptian society had become fully hierarchical with a select group on top, supported through the labor of the local agricultural populations. The elites surrounded themselves with specialists, such as craftsmen who created the art and architecture that confirmed their special status.