Abedjou

Scorpion, Narmer, Menes, Aha. Three names circulate when trying to decide who was the uniter of the Two Lands into one country at the beginning of the state formation of ancient Eypt. Our sources are the fragmented the Narmer ceremonial palette, the Narmer macehead and the 'Scorpion' macehead, all three from the 'Main Deposit', Hierakonpolis, the writings of Manetho and Herodotus. We are here in the chronological borderland of a probable '0' Dynasty and the First Dynasty of rulers of ancient Egypt, at ca 3100 BC.

Hierakonpolis/Nekhen and the 'Main Deposit'
When J.E. Quibell excavated here in 1897-98 some finds were made in a pit called the 'Main Deposit', located between the walls of an Old Kingdom and a Middle Kingdom temple. The objects were sculpted palettes and maceheads which proved to be of great importance for the understanding of Early Dynastic Period. They are referred to as the Scorpion Macehead, the Narmer Palette and the Narmer Macehead. Unfortunately for researchers of today, these finds were not adequately recorded as to 'in-situ' references.

Narmer
Narmer is dated to c. 3100 bc and believed for good reasons to be the first ruler who unified Upper and Lower Egypt. He is thought to be buried in tomb B17-18 at Umm el-Qa´a, Abedjou. His spouse was probably one Queen Nithotep, buried at Naqada and their son Hor-Aha became the second ruler of Dynasty 1.

The name of Narmer is known from the Narmer Palette and the Narmer Macehead, both from the 'Main Deposit' at Nekhen (Gr: Hierakonpolis) where it appears in the form of the hieroglyphic sign which mean 'Catfish' n`r in later periods, and for 'chisel' m`r. These signs are conventionally read by egyptologists as narmer but could also be read narmeru or merunar. The name has been found registered in various forms on stone vessels and serehks from places around both Upper and Lower Egypt and even out in the western desert. Here is an overview of the various ways the Horus-name of Narmer is presented.

The Narmer Palette
This is perhaps the most intensely studied of all Eyptian artefacts and also the most well-known. At first it was taken for a plate commemorating a specific historical event such as the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, or a military victory over some foreign people but later research drift towards it being either a wholly symbolic event aimed at manifesting the king´s power, or summaries of the year in which it was made and represented to the temple.

On the top of both sides of the palette, in the center, is seen the serekh displaying the glyphs of the catfish and the chisel; the name of Narmer. On each side of the serekh, there is a female, horned deity, Bat or perhaps the later Het-Hert (Gr: Hathor).

On the reverse side of the Narmer palette, the king dominates the scene as a figure wearing the White Crown (hedjet) of Upper Egypt, slaying an enemy. A small figure is walking behind him, seemingly carrying a pair of sandals. Probably this is someone important enough to be depicted so near the king - the king´s sandalbearer? It could also be a priest, the heir-apparent or another royal. Just behind and slightly above his head is a rosette/plamette figure. In front of the king the falcon deity Horus holds a chopped off head by a rope (rope symbolises bondage) from its claws to the victim´s nose. The falcon perches on six papyrus flowers which might denote that the prisoner comes from the Delta. Below this, two men are seen fleeing or lying dead on the ground. They might be conquered enemies.

On the other obverse side, although in smaller size, the king walks wearing the Red Crown (deshret) of Lower Egypt and carrying the flail. Behind him walks the same small figure as on the reverse side, also here carrying a pair of sandals. Above his head is displayed the same rosette/palmette sign as on the reverse side. It appears on the Scorpion macehead as well. In front of the king walks a figure clad in leopard skins. This oculd be a priest oar a vizier. A procession of four men carrying standards walks in front of them. Two of the standards are believed to depict falcons, then a jackal or dog and the 'Royal Placenta' which was used to ascertain the kings´ high birth. There are also ten beheaded bodies liying on the ground, captive enemies?

In the register below this, two longnecked animals are held in check by two bearded men. Such animals are found on the Den Palette and on Mesopotamian depictions. At the bottom of the palette a bull is seen threatening a fallen victim. A sign of the king´s power?

The Narmer Macehead
The Narmer macehead, better preserved than the Scorpion macehead, has had various interpretations. Nowadays the opinion is, like for the Palette, that the events depicted on it records the year it was manufactured and presented to the temple, a custom which is known from other finds at Hierakonpolis, rather than great occasions like Narmer´s Heb Sed festival or marriage to a possible Queen Nithotep, a theory of earlier scholars, among them Petrie.

On the left side of this macehead we see a king wearing the Red Crown (deshret) sitting under a canopy on a dais, covered in a long cloth or cloak. He is holding the flail and above the canopy a vulture hovers with spread wings, possibly the deity Nekhbet. Directly in front of him is another dais or possibly litter on which sits facing him a cloaked figure. This figure has been interpreted as a princess being presented to the king for marriage, though it could also represent a deity. The dais is covered by a bowlike structure and behind it are three registers. In the center register attendants are walking or running behind the dais. In the top register an enclosure with what seems like a cow and a calf might symbolise a nome or the goddess Het-Hert (Hathor) and her son Heru (Horus), dieties associated with kingship since earliest times. Behind the enclosure four standardbearers approach the throne. In the bottom register, in front of the fanbearers, are seen what looks like a collection of offerings.

On the center part of the macehead, behind the throne with the seated king there is a figure just like the supposed sandalbearer from the Narmer palette, likewize with the palmette sign above its head. He is followed by a man carrying a long pole. Above him three men are walking, two of them likewise carrying long poles. The serekh displaying the signs for Narmer can be seen above these.

The top field to the right of the center field shows a building, perhaps a shrine, with a heron perched on its roof. Below this, an enclosure shows three animals, probably antelopes. This has been suggested as signifying the ancient town of Buto, the place where the events described on the macehead might have taken place. An interesting discussion of these can be found here.

It has been debated wether Narmer was the last king of Dynasty 0 or the first king of Dynasty I and if he preceeded or was contemporary with 'Scorpion' or even the same person. It is also questioned if he is the same as Manetho´s Menes or perhaps even the ruler Aha. What is perhaps most important to look at in this problematic chronology is that the reign of Narmer came before Den and Qa´a, we must also remember that dynasties as such did not come around until over two thousand years later. Apparently Den and Qa´a seem to have themselves placed Narmer as their predecessor and founder at least when it comes to the royal burial grounds at Abedjou. In this context it has to be said that Narmer is sofar unattested by monuments at the Saqqara necropolis though he is much more attested than his predecessors in other archaeological material.

'Scorpion'
The name comes from the so called 'Scorpion Macehead' found at the Main Deposit. It is a rounded piece of decorated limestone, originally in the form of a macehead. On this a king is seen with the White hedjet Crown on his head, dressed in a short tunic and with an animal´s tail tied around his waist. He is carrying what looks like a hoe or a mattock, and it seems he is conducting a ritual of some kind, perhaps cutting open some land in laying the foundation for a building. In front of his face is a scorpion under a seven-petalled flower, thereby his name. This rosette/palmette sign has been interpreted as denoting the ruler. In front of the king is a man pouring out sand, and below the king a strip of water can be seen. Above him a series of lapwings are hangning from poles crowned with what is probably standards for different districts. The hieroglyph used for lapwings is the one for rekhyt, which also means 'common people' and so it seems these 'common people' have been conquered by 'Scorpion'.

There is only one side of the macehead remaining (and hardly that much) so it is impossible to know if the other side of it showed 'Scorpion' wearing the Red deshret Crown too, thus placing him as a king over a unified Egypt. IF so, it could mean that Egypt was unified before Narmer but this is impossible to decide. Therefore the general interpretation of the Scorpion Macehead has to be that it shows a king of Upper Egypt by name of 'Scorpion' and a number of people - lapwings probably conquered by him in battle. This would place the event before Narmer though by no means the last word has been said yet.

Noteworthy is also that at Abedjou there are no signs of a king 'Scorpion' though the tomb B50 with four chambers has been suggested as his burying place. The question then remains if he were partly a contemporary of Narmer and belonging to a royal house at Hierakonpolis rather than with the Thinite dynasty.

The problem is nowhere near solved as there also exists inscriptions and seal-impressions which seem to speak to the contrary. However, the Scorpion macehead remains the best evidence for the existence of an early king of this name.

Menes - or Aha?
The Egyptian historian and priest Manetho (c 305-285 bc) from Sebennytos in Lower Egypt, puts Menes as the founder and unifier of the Egyptian state. But there are uncertainties wether to identify Menes with Narmer or with Aha for various reasons.

A few words are therefore in place here about Aha: It is nowadays evidenced that Aha was the successor of Narmer. This since a seal impression from Umm el-Qa´ab from 1985 lists the first six rulers in this order: Narmer, Aha, Djer, Djet, Den and Merneith. Therefore Narmer is put as possibly the father of Aha and in any case his predecessor. This sets aside the belief by some scholars that Aha was identified with the mythical Menes, instead it is said that Menes could have been a name or a title for either of them, and then possibly the nebti name. Certainly there is the possibility that Menes (mn) meaning 'established' is a title rather than a name as it appears alternatingly with Narmer´s on seals from Abedjou. The form of Menes could be a Greek Period interpretation of mn.

Latest finds on Aha.

Another uncertainty about Menes/Narmer is the fact that the kings from the Pre- and Early Dynastic Period were mostly known by their official royal Horus name. With the Old Kingdom, the royal titulary changed and the king lists, which are all of a later date, are inscribed with their birth names (nomen and prenomen) while monuments show only the Horus names so confusions are prone to occur.

Of Manetho´s mythical Menes we know almost nothing more than the name. Even if he was credited by Herodotos, the Greek traveller and historian from Halicarnassos (c.484-c.420bc) as having dammed the Nile south of the future location of MenNefer (Memphis)there are no evidences. True, the city was founded during the reign of Aha but if recent dicsoveries are to be believed, Aha is the one to be credited with the foundation, not Menes.

It looks as if Narmer, as indicated by the Narmer Palette and Macehead, and by the vast and well-spread amount of sherds and ivory fragments was a ruler with interests far beyond the Nile valley, into the Eastern deserts and Israel. It does not seem impossible that he was uniter of Upper and Lower Egypt but if he was identical with Menes and if he had a predecessor by name of 'Scorpion', or was identical with this one, future finds and research will have to show.