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Hieratische Ritzinschriften aus Theben: Palographie der Graffiti und Steinbruchinschriftenby Mohamed Sherif AliReview by: John Coleman DarnellThe Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 90, Reviews Supplement (2004), pp. 29-32Published by: Egypt Exploration SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3822278.

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reviewed. Of special interest are objects of the Thirteenth Dynasty found in the 'Tomb of the Lordof the Goats' bearing the name of 'Hotepibre Harnejheryotef' (c. 1770-1760 BC).The question of relations between Ebla and Egypt, explored by Gabriella Matthiae (pp. 415-27), isof special interest to Egyptologists. A lamp with the royal titulary of Khafre (Chephren) and a jar lidbearing the cartouche of Pepi I have been uncovered. How did these Egyptian objects reach this distantlocation? The author suggests that they travelled either directly or via an intermediary such as Byblos,with whom Egypt had enjoyed direct economic relations since the earliest dynasties. She proposes thatEbla's role as 'the final marketplaces of the long-distance lapis lazuli trade' from Afghanistan mightexplain Egypt's interest in the region. But this traffic too could have been achieved through Byblian orUgaritic traders.Currentlyit remains unclear how the Old Kingdom objects reached Ebla and the natureof the relationship with Egypt. Matthiae discusses inoreetail the silver bowl and a ceremonial macebearing the name of the Thirteenth Dynasty ruler 'Hotepibre Harnejheryotef'. Because it bears theepithet s3 3mw ('son of an Asiatic'), as well as mentioning 'Ptah South-of-his-Wall', Matthiae suggeststhat this ruler of Semitic origin controlled an area that includedhatncluded the Delta and extended as far south asMemphis. Bietak believes that this monarch may have been the builder of a Thirteenth Dynasty palaceat Tell el-Daba. Because of the 'Asiatic' roots of this ruler, the author regards the presence of theseobjects at Ebla as 'proof of the ties existing between the king and the Asiatic countries' (p).419). Thissuggestion is strengthened by McGovern and Harbottle's Neutron Activation Analysis mentionedabove, which identified some amphorae as possibly being from Tell Mardikh (p. 151).This volume concludes with a short chapter that investigates the relations between the Aegean andthe Hyksos. Philip Betancourt reviews some of the Hyksos Period materials found in Crete, Thera,and Greece, and the Aegean materials from Egypt and the Levant, including the Minoan frescoes fromTell el-Daba, Tell Kabri, and Alalakh (pp. 429-32). His purpose is to determine a model to explainthe nature of the contact between these regions late in the MBA. Because the frescoes were not foundin Minoan buildings or alongside other Aegean objects, he concludes that they reflect the work ofMinoan artisans, and not evidence for a permanent presence of Aegean peoples. He declares that 'Theevidence suggests that they did know of each other but that contact was not close' (p. 430). He furtherconcludes, 'The model suggested here is one of casual contact, with Cyprus acting as a bridge betweenthe two areas' (p. 430), a plausible scenario.This cross-disciplinary monograph is a welcome contribution to the study of the Hyksos Period,and will serve as a basis for considerable discussion for years to come. Most of the chapters are excep-tionally well illustrated with maps, charts, drawings, and black and white plates. There are problemsin many of the articles when Egyptian words are written, as diacritical marks are often missing.Despite this shortcoming, this is a valuable collection of essays.

JAMES K. HOFFMEIER

Hieratische Ritzinschriften aus Theben: Paldographie der Graffiti und Steinbruchinschriften. ByMOHAMED SHERIF ALI. Gottinger Orientforschungen IV. Reihe Agypten 34. Pp. xiv + 154 + 291palaeographic tables. Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2002. ISBN 3 447 03854 3. Price 86.Mohamed Sherif Ali has examined the palaeography of the rock inscriptions in the immediateenvirons of the main Theban necropolis, those inscriptions primarily published by Spiegelberg,Cerny, Azouz Sadek, and the others who worked on the corpus for the Centre de Documentation. Asthe title indicates, Ali is concerned with the texts carved and scratched into the limestone of theTheban gebel. The palaeographic discussions and conclusions, especially as regard the rock inscrip-tions of New Kingdom Thebes, are of considerable interest and importance; the actual palaeographythat forms half the book is of at least equal importance. The number of palaeographic tools availablefor the study of hieratic texts increases slowly but steadily; those available for the study of lapidaryhieratic are fewer in number and more scattered, and only the palaeography in Z. 2aba's RockInscriptionsof Lower Nubia (Prague, 1974) represents a large corpus of texts.Ali first presents a brief overview of rock inscriptions in Egypt (2.1). This is not the focus of thebook, and is necessarily somewhat selective. Certainly there aremore locations within Egypt proper thathave preserved rock inscriptions than the short list Ali provides (pp. 9-11): Wadi Hammamat (citingthe Couyat and Montet as well as Goyon collections), Wadi el-Hudi, Sinai (the Gardiner, Peet, andCerny publication), and Nubia (based solely on the excellent collection by aba), and Wadi Allaqi.1 Ali

reviewed. Of special interest are objects of the Thirteenth Dynasty found in the 'Tomb of the Lordof the Goats' bearing the name of 'Hotepibre Harnejheryotef' (c. 1770-1760 BC).The question of relations between Ebla and Egypt, explored by Gabriella Matthiae (pp. 415-27), isof special interest to Egyptologists. A lamp with the royal titulary of Khafre (Chephren) and a jar lidbearing the cartouche of Pepi I have been uncovered. How did these Egyptian objects reach this distantlocation? The author suggests that they travelled either directly or via an intermediary such as Byblos,with whom Egypt had enjoyed direct economic relations since the earliest dynasties. She proposes thatEbla's role as 'the final marketplaces of the long-distance lapis lazuli trade' from Afghanistan mightexplain Egypt's interest in the region. But this traffic too could have been achieved through Byblian orUgaritic traders.Currentlyit remains unclear how the Old Kingdom objects reached Ebla and the natureof the relationship with Egypt. Matthiae discusses inoreetail the silver bowl and a ceremonial macebearing the name of the Thirteenth Dynasty ruler 'Hotepibre Harnejheryotef'. Because it bears theepithet s3 3mw ('son of an Asiatic'), as well as mentioning 'Ptah South-of-his-Wall', Matthiae suggeststhat this ruler of Semitic origin controlled an area that includedhatncluded the Delta and extended as far south asMemphis. Bietak believes that this monarch may have been the builder of a Thirteenth Dynasty palaceat Tell el-Daba. Because of the 'Asiatic' roots of this ruler, the author regards the presence of theseobjects at Ebla as 'proof of the ties existing between the king and the Asiatic countries' (p).419). Thissuggestion is strengthened by McGovern and Harbottle's Neutron Activation Analysis mentionedabove, which identified some amphorae as possibly being from Tell Mardikh (p. 151).This volume concludes with a short chapter that investigates the relations between the Aegean andthe Hyksos. Philip Betancourt reviews some of the Hyksos Period materials found in Crete, Thera,and Greece, and the Aegean materials from Egypt and the Levant, including the Minoan frescoes fromTell el-Daba, Tell Kabri, and Alalakh (pp. 429-32). His purpose is to determine a model to explainthe nature of the contact between these regions late in the MBA. Because the frescoes were not foundin Minoan buildings or alongside other Aegean objects, he concludes that they reflect the work ofMinoan artisans, and not evidence for a permanent presence of Aegean peoples. He declares that 'Theevidence suggests that they did know of each other but that contact was not close' (p. 430). He furtherconcludes, 'The model suggested here is one of casual contact, with Cyprus acting as a bridge betweenthe two areas' (p. 430), a plausible scenario.This cross-disciplinary monograph is a welcome contribution to the study of the Hyksos Period,and will serve as a basis for considerable discussion for years to come. Most of the chapters are excep-tionally well illustrated with maps, charts, drawings, and black and white plates. There are problemsin many of the articles when Egyptian words are written, as diacritical marks are often missing.Despite this shortcoming, this is a valuable collection of essays.

JAMES K. HOFFMEIER

Hieratische Ritzinschriften aus Theben: Paldographie der Graffiti und Steinbruchinschriften. ByMOHAMED SHERIF ALI. Gottinger Orientforschungen IV. Reihe Agypten 34. Pp. xiv + 154 + 291palaeographic tables. Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2002. ISBN 3 447 03854 3. Price 86.Mohamed Sherif Ali has examined the palaeography of the rock inscriptions in the immediateenvirons of the main Theban necropolis, those inscriptions primarily published by Spiegelberg,Cerny, Azouz Sadek, and the others who worked on the corpus for the Centre de Documentation. Asthe title indicates, Ali is concerned with the texts carved and scratched into the limestone of theTheban gebel. The palaeographic discussions and conclusions, especially as regard the rock inscrip-tions of New Kingdom Thebes, are of considerable interest and importance; the actual palaeographythat forms half the book is of at least equal importance. The number of palaeographic tools availablefor the study of hieratic texts increases slowly but steadily; those available for the study of lapidaryhieratic are fewer in number and more scattered, and only the palaeography in Z. 2aba's RockInscriptionsof Lower Nubia (Prague, 1974) represents a large corpus of texts.Ali first presents a brief overview of rock inscriptions in Egypt (2.1). This is not the focus of thebook, and is necessarily somewhat selective. Certainly there aremore locations within Egypt proper thathave preserved rock inscriptions than the short list Ali provides (pp. 9-11): Wadi Hammamat (citingthe Couyat and Montet as well as Goyon collections), Wadi el-Hudi, Sinai (the Gardiner, Peet, andCerny publication), and Nubia (based solely on the excellent collection by aba), and Wadi Allaqi.1 AliI A convenient overview is now A. J. Peden, TheGraffiti of Pharaonic Egypt (PA 17; Leiden, 2001).I A convenient overview is now A. J. Peden, TheGraffiti of Pharaonic Egypt (PA 17; Leiden, 2001).

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appears in his list rather to have concentrated on the select portions of the select sites he has chosen toutilize in his study. Some triage was obviously necessary, in order to prevent the study from becomingtoo unwieldy and to allow the author to concentrate on the New Kingdom Theban rock inscriptions.Interestingly, a number of the Wadi el-Hudi inscriptions Ali discusses are small, free-standingmonuments. Their inclusion opens the question of just where a study of rock inscriptions ends; if thecorpora are not limited to immovable gebelinscriptions, one could include numerous small monumentswith the palaeographic features of rock inscriptions (compare Ali's 1.3).2This is an avenue for furtherwork, to which the author of this valuable study may perhaps turn his attention in the future. The mainfocus of the work, and the palaeography at its heart, are based primarily on true rock inscriptions onthe face of the Theban escarpment.In 2.2 Ali discusses the palaeographic character of the rock inscriptions. This is an importantsection of the book, and presents a number of conclusions regarding the blending of hieroglyphic andhieratic sign forms in rock inscriptions. Ali distinguishes three palaeographic types amongst the rockinscriptions he examines: 1) hieroglyphic inscriptions; 2) hieratic inscriptions; and 3) hybrid inscrip-tions. This third group includes both texts employing a mixture of hieroglyphic and hieratic signs, aswell as inscriptions revealing individual sign forms blending hieroglyphic and hieratic elements.3Based on Ali's analysis of several admittedly limited corpora of texts, approximately 40% of all MiddleKingdom rock inscriptions utilize a mixed hieratic-hieroglyphic orthography, compared to approxi-mately 12% of such texts from the New Kingdom. Although the phenomenon of lapidary hieratic isrecognized in a number of publications,4Ali is the first author to provide such a quantitative basis forthe frequency of such texts.Ali believes that hybrid rock inscription palaeography is similar to the so-called book script, itselfnot far removed from early hieratic. Although his purpose was not to examine Old Kingdom inscrip-tions in great detail, he does note the existence of a similar, apparently mixed hieroglyphic-hieraticstyle during the Old Kingdom (see pp. 31-3). Ali rightly points out the similarity of much OldKingdom hieratic to cursive hieroglyphic forms; he refers to examples from the tomb of Kaiemankhat Giza. In fact, the varieties of semi-hieratic and combined hieroglyphic-hieratic inscriptions attestedduring the Old Kingdom are slightly more complex than they may seem-one may say that the degreeof hieroglyphicity appears to be directly proportional to the elevation of the level of discourse.5At the conclusion to chapter 2, Ali presents an interesting discussion of the reasons why a cursive ormixed hierolgyphic-hieratic script for a rock inscription may have been chosen. He also raises a numberof interesting questions for future work, including considerations of geographical location of theinscription and social position of the carverpossibly influencing the script a writer might use for leavingrock inscriptions; hopefully Ali will turn his attention to some of these. On pages 33-5 Ali discusses theinterplay of technical ability, location, formality, and education in the production of rock inscriptions.One may at this point raise the vexing question of what to term such inscriptions in a modernlanguage. The book often employs the term graffito/graffiti; this word has a poor connotation in themodern world, and detracts for the essential formality of many of the inscriptions. A term such as the'Ritzinschriften' of the book's title is perhaps better, covering as it does the inscribed hieratic, hiero-glyphic, and hybrid texts of both rock inscriptions and free standing monuments. Perhaps better still,considering that the work concentrates on the New Kingdom inscriptions of the gebelof the Thebannecropolis, would be 'rock inscriptions', 'Felsinschriften'.6 In terminology the ancient Egyptians do

2 Compare small monuments such as the stela of thereign of Amenemhat III (JE 59484, currently in theNubia Museum, Aswan) from the so-called Gebel el-Asrquarries-see the photo in R. E. Engelbach, 'The Quarriesof the Western Nubian Desert: a Preliminary Report',ASAE 33 (1933), 72-3 (full publication of this and theother inscribed monuments from the site forthcoming bythe author, with the assistance of C. Manassa).3 Ali also comments upon the use of both hieroglyph-ic and hieratic versions of the same sign within a singleinscription on the basis of a stela of the reign ofAmenemhat I, Sinai 30. For this compare the references inJ. C. Darnell, Theban Desert Road Survey in the EgyptianDesert, I (OIP 119; Chicago, 2002), 56 (n. b to GTRI 14).4 See also the comments of Zaba, Rock Inscriptions ofLower Nubia, 261; H. G. Fischer, 'Archaeological Aspectsof Epigraphy and Palaeography', in R. Caminos and H. G.Fischer (eds), Ancient Egyptian Epigraphy andPalaeography2 (New York, 1979), 43-4; H. Vandekerckhoveand R. Miiller-Wollermann, Die Felsinschriften des Wadi

Hilal (Elkab 6; Turnhout, 2001), 347. The brief discussionof incised hieratic in A. G. McDowell, 'An Incised HieraticOstracon (Ashmoleon HO 655)', JEA 81 (1995), 223-4,appears to underestimate the number and significance ofhieratic rock inscriptions.5 Compare the blending of hieratic and hieroglyphicforms in a semi-cursive ink inscription in J. Junker, Giza,XI (Vienna, 1953), 15, fig. 10, and pl. 5e, and thediscussion pp. 15-17. Junker also describes the variousdegrees of cursiveness in the textual content of a numberof decorated coffins. Note, however, that being written inhieratic does not lessen the formality, though lapidaryhieratic/semi-cursive or hieroglyphic styles may increaseformality-compare H. Willems, The Coffin of Heqata(OLA 70; Leuven, 1996), 49 n. 3, noting that more formalbandeau texts need not appear with formal orthography.

6 See the useful discussion of such terminology inVandekerckhove and Miiller-Wollermann, Die Fels-inschriften des Wadi Hilal, 9-11.

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not appear to have distinguished these inscriptions from those of tombs and temples, nor did theydistinguish between hieroglyphic and hieratic rock inscriptions; all apparently were sh3.w, 'writings,depictions'7 and at least some were worthy of the treatment and even label of wd, 'stela'.8In 2.3 Ali presents an overview of the known rock inscriptions of the Theban necropolis, and in2.4 he discusses the characteristics of the script. He notes that the inscriptions, predominately NewKingdom, are also predominately in hieratic, as his chronological examination of inscriptions from aselection of other sites would suggest likely for a corpus of New Kingdom rock inscriptions. Purelyhieratic inscriptions form an even higher percentage in the Theban corpus than in the other corporathe author examined. Ali demonstrates, nevertheless, the often subtle intrusions of a mixed lapidaryhieratic tradition into these often florid hieratic texts.9 He suggests that the use of hieroglyphic andhybrid forms could result from both a desire to suit the style to the medium, and from the possibilitythat a carver might more easily execute some signs in their hieroglyphic shapes than in their lessangular hieratic forms, more suited to reed and ink on papyrus than to knife, chisel, or flint on stone.His discussion of Theban rock inscription 1082 (p. 64) properly observes the desire to employ hiero-glyphic forms and both left and right orientations to 'monumentalize' the lapidary hieratic text. In hisbrief discussion of the entirely reversed (left to right) hieratic inscription 1384 Ali misunderstands thetext on the Balat sarcophagus-this appears reversed because the inscription seems to have transferredfrom inscribed bandages to the inside of the coffin, thereby surviving as a negative, and thus reversed,image. I0Although the book in its entirety is to be recommended to all with an interest in hieratic and/orrock inscriptions, the palaeography, the largest portion of the book, is probably the section to whichscholars will have most frequent recourse. Rock inscriptions are extraordinarily difficult to copy, andalmost any copy can be improved;11nevertheless, there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of themajority of the copies on which the palaeography is based. Without, therefore, referring constantly toproblems and possibilities in the readings of the individual inscriptions in which the signs occur, onemay nevertheless offer a few comments on the palaeography:

A 10: This sign does not in fact show a man holding an oar, and Ali is right to find this slightlydisturbing. When the examples of A 3 are compared with those of A 21, the similarities are apparent;A 3 appears rather to represent a seated variant of the standing man holding a staff. An alternation ofstanding and seated sign forms is not uncommon for Middle Kingdom hieratic and hieroglyphictexts-compare 2aba, RockInscriptions of LowerNubia, 80 (note to 1.5 of inscription no. 56); comparealso H. G. Fischer, Denderain the ThirdMillennium B.C. (Locust Valley, NJ, 1968), 77, n. 325, 79-82,and 124-5; J. Osing et al., Denkmaler der Oase Dachia aus dem Nachlass von Ahmed Fakhry (AV 28;Mainz, 1982), 35, no. 32, and pls. 7 and 61. Note also the standing version of the man with hand tomouth during the Heracleopolitan Period, originating in a confusion of the normal, kneeling versionof that sign with the sign of the seated man (Gardiner Al); see H. G. Fischer, 'Des chanteursmilitaires a Gebelein et Hatnoub?', RdE 28 (1976), 153-4. These confusions may derive from theappearance of some standing signs in late Old Kingdom hieratic-compare P Posener-Krieger and J.

7 Compare the description of an hieratic rockinscription as sh;.w in Darnell, Theban Desert Road SurveyI, 103 and pl. 83 (WHRI 6B); the plural shb.w thereappears to presage the New Kingdom meaning'document' for the plural-see K. Donker van Heel and B.J. J. Haring, Writing in a Workmen's Village(Egyptologische Uitgaven 16; Leiden, 2003), 110-12.Such inscriptions were considered worthy of protection bythe use of threat formulae (compare Zaba, RockInscriptions of Lower Nubia, 84; S. Morschauser, ThreatFormulae in Ancient Egypt (Baltimore, 1991), 168-70). ASaite text refers to visitors' inscriptions left in a tomb asssm.w-writings (Wb. IV, 289.13), visitors having writtenand ws, 'cut', them into the stone of the tomb; see K. P.Kuhlmann, 'Eine Beschreibung der Grabdekoration mitder Aufforderung zu kopieren und zum Hinterlassen vonBesucherinschriften aus saitischer Zeit', MDAIK 29(1973), 207, 11.14-15, and 210, with nn. 40-1.8 Compare Wb. I, 398.17; for an excellent example ofwd, 'stela', to refer to a lengthy and physically ramblinghieratic rock inscription without any border, see G.Roeder, Von Debod bis Bab Kalabsche, II (Cairo, 1911),pls. 106-8 (wd occurs in inscription no. 1, 1. 1). On arough, free-standing monument of the early MiddleKingdom, with ink inscription and depiction of the owner,

the text is hieratic in the vertical texts on the obverse andreverse, and of a hybrid nature in the two horizontal linesin the 'lunette' on the obverse; 1. 5 of the reverse refers tothe depictions as twt pn and the inscription apparently aswd pn (see W. K. Simpson, 'An Additional Fragment of aHatnub Stela', JNES 20 (1961), 27).9 H. E. Winlock, 'Graffiti of the Priesthood of theEleventh Dynasty Temples at Thebes', AJSL 58 (1941),146, characterized the authors of Theban rock inscrip-tions during the Middle Kingdom as having 'affected aminute, cramped, practically hieroglyphic hand which isfar less likely to attract attention than the flowing hieraticof Ramesside scribes'. Certainly much of the hieratic isflowing, or at least possessed of calligraphic flourishes, butAli's work demonstrates again that first impressions maybe deceptive.10 See the discussion in M. Valloggia, Balat, I. Lemastaba de Medou-Nefer I, (FIFAO 31/1; Cairo, 1986),74-5. For occasional true reversals on the hieratic ofcoffins, see Willems, The Coffin of Heqata, 543 (referencesto 'hieratic, orientation of').11 For the Theban inscriptions compare R. Jasnow,'Demotic Graffiti from Western Thebes', in H.-J. Thissenand K.-Th. Zausich (eds), Grammata Demotika(Wuirzburg, 1984), 87-105.


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L. De Cenival, The Abu Sir Papyri (HPBM Fifth Series; London, 1968), pal. pl. 1, Gardiner nos. 24,28, and 32 (fig. 13).D 2: An elongated writing of D 2 foreshadows the abbreviated demotic orthography of hr, 'upon'(compare W. Erichsen, DemotischesGlossar(Copenhagen, 1954), 320, and the form in W. F. Edgerton,Medinet Habu Graffiti Facsimiles (OIP 36; Chicago, 1937), pl. 20, Nr. 47, 1. 2), and probably arisesfrom occasional elongations representing hr +r (compare M. Marciniak, Deir el-Bahari, I. Les inscrip-tions hieratiquesdu templede ThoutmosisIII (Warsaw, 1974), 265 [exx. of hr + r from 10, 3; 11, 9; 15,2; 16, 2; and 20, 6]).D 34: The version in inscription no. 1011, which All compares to A 24, is indeed uncommon, butthe form is attested in earlier texts-see H. G. Fischer, Varia Nova (Egyptian Studies 3; New York,1996), 103 (with nn. 1-2)-and may represent a survival of earlier lapidary hieratic forms.D 57: The two signs G 1 and D 57 in inscription 3485 do appear distinct.Several of the above comments suggest that the palaeography supports one of Ali's majorconclusions quite well. Subtle as they may be, features of an already old lapidary hieratic sign list docome through, even in the most outwardly florid and at first glance most fluid and hieratic inscrip-

tions. The commentary to the palaeography (4.1) contains a number of detailed discussions,including an analysis of the sign A 1. Here Ali observes that at least two of the Theban lapidaryhieratic inscriptions employ an archaic form of the seated man sign, more like the Middle Kingdomhieratic. As with the use of hieroglyphic signs, the carvers appear to have felt that archaism wasappropriate to monumental inscriptions. In 4.1 Ali lists a number of the signs by Gardiner number,and defines them, without further commentary related to the Theban rock inscriptions. These labelswithout specific commentary could have been omitted, and some space saved. Note that S. Wimmer,HieratischePaldographieder nicht-literarischenOstraka der 19. und 20. Dynastie (AAT 28; Wiesbaden,1995), appeared after the completion of the original dissertation (1996, see Ali's p. ix), and is notreferenced in the published version here reviewed.Perhaps the most novel section of the book is 4.2, in which the author examines the ink andlapidary hieratic handwritings of several New Kingdom Theban scribes. In particular,the well-knownQenherkhopeshef has a lapidary hand markedly differing from his standard hieratic on P. ChesterBeatty III, but occasionally finding an echo in earlier texts from his career-his handwriting appearsto have become more scrawling later in life, but even earlier, his lapidary hand shows a number ofdepartures from his book hand. Even in Twentieth Dynasty hands, such as that of Butehamun,lapidary hieratic signs that alone strike one as essentially good, Late Ramesside hieratic reveal a subtle'lapidary' or 'hybrid' aspect-the mn + n of Butehamun's name reveals a lapidary concept of the signsessentially different from that of the signs in the letters Ali cites for comparison (see p. 144).This is an interesting and useful book, and stimulating to those whom rock inscriptions stimulate.The present reviewer, counting himself amongst that group, commends and recommends Ali's workon the Ritzinschriften aus Theben.

JOHN COLEMAN DARNELL

Gebieterin aller Ldnder. Die Rolle der koniglichenFrauen in der fiktiven und realen Aussenpolitik desdgyptischen Neuen Reiches. By SILKE ROTH. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 185. Pp. xii + 168, figs. 25,tables 4. Gottingen, Vandenhoek and Ruprecht, 2002. ISBN 3 525 53042 0. Price not stated.This slim volume is a thorough, indeed exhaustive, examination of the role of royal women in NewKingdom foreign policy. The author takes as a basis for the study the contention that during the NewKingdom the intensive contact that occurredbetween Egypt and the ancient Near East brought about anumber of changes in the traditional ideology of Egyptian kingship and in Egypt's actual foreign policy.

The aim is to explore how these changes affected the role of royal women not only within the traditionalEgyptian view of foreign relations but also in the actual dealings of Egypt with foreign powers. The booktherefore divides naturally into two parts: the role of Egyptian royal women in 'fictitious' foreign policyplayed out accordingto the traditionalideology of kingship in which Egypt viewed herself as dominatingthe rest of the world, and their role in actual foreign policy conducted through the long-establisheddiplomatic network of the ancient Near East, in which Egypt now participated.

L. De Cenival, The Abu Sir Papyri (HPBM Fifth Series; London, 1968), pal. pl. 1, Gardiner nos. 24,28, and 32 (fig. 13).D 2: An elongated writing of D 2 foreshadows the abbreviated demotic orthography of hr, 'upon'(compare W. Erichsen, DemotischesGlossar(Copenhagen, 1954), 320, and the form in W. F. Edgerton,Medinet Habu Graffiti Facsimiles (OIP 36; Chicago, 1937), pl. 20, Nr. 47, 1. 2), and probably arisesfrom occasional elongations representing hr +r (compare M. Marciniak, Deir el-Bahari, I. Les inscrip-tions hieratiquesdu templede ThoutmosisIII (Warsaw, 1974), 265 [exx. of hr + r from 10, 3; 11, 9; 15,2; 16, 2; and 20, 6]).D 34: The version in inscription no. 1011, which All compares to A 24, is indeed uncommon, butthe form is attested in earlier texts-see H. G. Fischer, Varia Nova (Egyptian Studies 3; New York,1996), 103 (with nn. 1-2)-and may represent a survival of earlier lapidary hieratic forms.D 57: The two signs G 1 and D 57 in inscription 3485 do appear distinct.Several of the above comments suggest that the palaeography supports one of Ali's majorconclusions quite well. Subtle as they may be, features of an already old lapidary hieratic sign list docome through, even in the most outwardly florid and at first glance most fluid and hieratic inscrip-

tions. The commentary to the palaeography (4.1) contains a number of detailed discussions,including an analysis of the sign A 1. Here Ali observes that at least two of the Theban lapidaryhieratic inscriptions employ an archaic form of the seated man sign, more like the Middle Kingdomhieratic. As with the use of hieroglyphic signs, the carvers appear to have felt that archaism wasappropriate to monumental inscriptions. In 4.1 Ali lists a number of the signs by Gardiner number,and defines them, without further commentary related to the Theban rock inscriptions. These labelswithout specific commentary could have been omitted, and some space saved. Note that S. Wimmer,HieratischePaldographieder nicht-literarischenOstraka der 19. und 20. Dynastie (AAT 28; Wiesbaden,1995), appeared after the completion of the original dissertation (1996, see Ali's p. ix), and is notreferenced in the published version here reviewed.Perhaps the most novel section of the book is 4.2, in which the author examines the ink andlapidary hieratic handwritings of several New Kingdom Theban scribes. In particular,the well-knownQenherkhopeshef has a lapidary hand markedly differing from his standard hieratic on P. ChesterBeatty III, but occasionally finding an echo in earlier texts from his career-his handwriting appearsto have become more scrawling later in life, but even earlier, his lapidary hand shows a number ofdepartures from his book hand. Even in Twentieth Dynasty hands, such as that of Butehamun,lapidary hieratic signs that alone strike one as essentially good, Late Ramesside hieratic reveal a subtle'lapidary' or 'hybrid' aspect-the mn + n of Butehamun's name reveals a lapidary concept of the signsessentially different from that of the signs in the letters Ali cites for comparison (see p. 144).This is an interesting and useful book, and stimulating to those whom rock inscriptions stimulate.The present reviewer, counting himself amongst that group, commends and recommends Ali's workon the Ritzinschriften aus Theben.

JOHN COLEMAN DARNELL

Gebieterin aller Ldnder. Die Rolle der koniglichenFrauen in der fiktiven und realen Aussenpolitik desdgyptischen Neuen Reiches. By SILKE ROTH. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 185. Pp. xii + 168, figs. 25,tables 4. Gottingen, Vandenhoek and Ruprecht, 2002. ISBN 3 525 53042 0. Price not stated.This slim volume is a thorough, indeed exhaustive, examination of the role of royal women in NewKingdom foreign policy. The author takes as a basis for the study the contention that during the NewKingdom the intensive contact that occurredbetween Egypt and the ancient Near East brought about anumber of changes in the traditional ideology of Egyptian kingship and in Egypt's actual foreign policy.

The aim is to explore how these changes affected the role of royal women not only within the traditionalEgyptian view of foreign relations but also in the actual dealings of Egypt with foreign powers. The booktherefore divides naturally into two parts: the role of Egyptian royal women in 'fictitious' foreign policyplayed out accordingto the traditionalideology of kingship in which Egypt viewed herself as dominatingthe rest of the world, and their role in actual foreign policy conducted through the long-establisheddiplomatic network of the ancient Near East, in which Egypt now participated.The first part draws on internal Egyptian sources, such as titles and epithets of queens and theiconography and context of their images. It turns out that there are remarkably few titles that connectqueens to areas outside Egypt. Although the title hnwt (nt) t3w nbw appears for the first time in the

The first part draws on internal Egyptian sources, such as titles and epithets of queens and theiconography and context of their images. It turns out that there are remarkably few titles that connectqueens to areas outside Egypt. Although the title hnwt (nt) t3w nbw appears for the first time in the

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