網誌
2008年8月28日 上午2點18分17秒The Last King of Egypt's 11th Dynasty
 Though Mentuhotep III Sankhkare (Mentuhotep II in a number of texts) is said by both the Saqqara and Abydos king lists as being the last of the 11th Dynasty rulers, followed immediately by Amenemhet I who founded the 12th Dynasty, the fragmentary papyrus known as the Royal Canon of Turin says there was a period of seven years without a king after Mentuhotep III. Egyptologists believe that it was Nebtawyre Mentuhotep IV who fit within this slot for a short reign of about six years. Mentuhotep was this king's birth name, meaning "The God Montu is Content". His Throne name, Nebtawyre, means "Lord of the Two Lands is Re". Unfortunately, no images of this king are known to us from reliefs or statuary.
Because his name is missing from all of these kings lists, many presume that he may have usurped the throne. His mother was a commoner with no royal titles other than "king's mother', so it is possible that he may not even have been a member of the royal family. We know virtually nothing about any other of his family members. It should also be noted that inscriptions from the Hatnub travertine quarry suggest that some of the nomarchs (provinces) in Middle Egypt might have been troublesome at about this time. We should also note that the temple on the West Bank at Thebes cupped in a spectacular amphitheater of cliffs just a short walk from the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, which has traditionally been ascribed to Amenemhet I, is now believed by some scholars to be attributable to Mentuhotep IV. If so, this would be about the only building established by this king. This is a shadowy king and records regarding his reign are rare. From the reign of Amenemhet I, we find a fragment of a slate bowl discovered at Lisht in the first nome with both the name of Nebtawyre Mentuhotep and Amenemhet I. However, we do know that a vizier under Mentuhotep IV was one Amenemhet, who is well attested from a long inscription that he left in the Wadi Hammamat, He acted as Governor of the South under Mentuhotep IV, and most Egyptologists seem to believe that he is one and the same as King Amenemhet. As vizier to Mentuhotep IV, he records that he went with an army of 10,000 (some sources say 1,000) men into the Wadi to seek and retrieve a fine flock of stone suitable for the lid of the king's sarcophagus. The text says that they were led to the block by a pregnant gazelle which, having dropped its young on to the stone to mark it, was immediately sacrificed on the block. A second miraculous event was also recorded when, after a ferocious rainstorm at Wadi Hammamat, a well 10 cubits square was revealed that was full of water to the brim. In such barren terrain, this would certainly have been a spectacular discovery. Apparently, the block was successfully detached from the surrounding rock and safely taken to Thebes. However, during their expedition, they were also charged with finding a more favorable port on the Red Sea. Apparently, the port they found was Mersa Gawasis (Kuser), which was not established until the reign of Amenemhet II as the embarkation point for expeditions to Punt. Regrettably, one of the reasons this king remains so obscure is that his tomb, and the sarcophagus made from the block as well as his mummy, has never been found. Perhaps Mentuhotep IV was never able to use the stone since it appears that Amenemhet, with the backing of his 10,000 (or 1,000) men, overthrew his master and proclaimed himself king, founding the 12th Dynasty. It has been suggested by Richard Tidyman tht the name of the new capital, Lisht, was a direct reference to this event, and that the literary texts known as the Prophecy of Neferti and the Instruction of Amenemhat I should be considered in the light of evidence for a civil war accompanying the takeover. However, there is really no direct evidence of such revolt and it is also possible that Mentuhotep IV simply died without an heir.
|
2008年8月28日 上午2點16分29秒Mentuhotep III of Ancient Egypt's 11th Dynasty
 Mentuhotep III (actually, the second Mentuhotep of the Middle Kingdom and sometimes referred to as Mentuhotep II), benefited from a strong and flourishing country upon the death of his father, Mentuhotep II. He used this to good advantage, though by the time he took the throne of Egypt in about 2010 BC he was relatively old and only ruled for about twelve years. Though an 11th Dynasty ruler, his order in this dynasty, perhaps as its fifty king, differs according to any number of chronicles of the period, due to the inclusion or exclusion of previous kings.
Mentuhotep, which means "The god Montu is Content" was this king's throne name. His throne name was Sankhkare, which means "Giving Life to the Soul of Re". We know little about his family. His father was presumably Mentuhotep II, and his mother is believed to have been Queen Tem.
This king initiated a number of expeditions to gather raw material for his many building works, which included a number of temples and shrines. In Year 8 of his reign, we specifically learn, from a long inscription in the Wadi Hammamat, of an expedition led by his steward, Henenu, from Koptos to Wadi Gasus. The road they used had to be cleared of rebels prior to their departure, and with him, Henenu took some 3,000 soldiers. Wood was carried by his soldiers in order to build ships once they reached the Red Sea, and along their journey, they sank twelve wells to support future expeditions. After having built their ships, they departed for the land of East Africa land of Punt, the first such expedition we know of during the Middle Kingdom to do so. They acquired a number of products while in Punt, including perfume and gum. Upon their return, they apparently stopped in Wadi Hammamat in order to query stone.
Mentuhotep III's building work is characterized by a certain amount of architectural innovation. For example, at Medinet Habu he built a triple sanctuary that foreshadowed the 18th Dynasty temple built for "family" triads of gods. He was also responsible for the temple atop Thoth Hill, the highest peak overlooking the Valley of the Kings, not only had a triple sanctuary, but also incorporated the earliest extant temple pylons. Not far away lies the remains of another of his temples. He also apparently finished much of his father's building activities at Abydos, Elkab, Armant, Tod and Elephantine. The artwork commissioned during the reign of Mentuhotep III was also innovative, and the relief work during this period is arguably the beast of the Middle Kingdom. Most of the stone carving is very fine, with raised relief conveying tremendous spatial depth with a differentiation of no more than a few millimeters of thickness within the stone. The subtlety of the portraiture and the details within the clothing on the reliefs from Tod are far better than the works commissioned by his father.
We believe that, upon his death in about 1998 (according to some sources, a few years earlier) BC, Mentuhotep III was probably buried in a bay in the cliffs to the south of his fathers monument at Deir el-Bahari. Little remains of his mortuary temple beyond a causeway that apparently ends at a sloping passage going into the rock at Deir el-Bahari. His mortuary temple may have been intended to be similar to that of his fathers, but it was unfinished and uninscribed. In 1997, a Hungarian team led by Gyoro Voros found an early Middle Kingdom tomb below the peak of Thoth Hill on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes), that very likely belonged to this king. Its architecture may have been the inspiration of the bab-tombs of the early 18th Dynasty. One wonders why Mentuhotep III's mortuary temple was unfinished, given his other monumental building activities. His successor, Mentuhotep IV could have usurped the throne, since he is missing from some king lists. His mother was apparently a commoner with no royal titles other than King's mother, so he may not have even been a member of the royal family. |
Mentuhotep III evidently continued with many of the policies of his predecessors, which included maintaining a defensive attitude towards his neighbors on the northern frontiers, and he was eager to extend trade beyond the First Cataract of the 
It is also interesting to note the care with which Henenu treated his men. Each soldier was provided with a leather bottle, a carrying pole, two jars of water and 20 loaves a day. In addition, "the asses were laden with sandals" to provide for the troops in this harsh terrain. 
Though overall, Mentuhotep III reign seems to have been very positive, we do learn from some correspondence from a man named Hekanakht, who was the funerary priest under the vizier Ipy at 2008年8月28日 上午2點14分30秒Mentuhotep II, First Ruler of the Middle Kingdom
 For everyone who studies Egyptian history, we like to point out occasionally the fallacy of accepting a single reference about many different ancient topics. One problem with experts is they have their own opinions, which they often state unequivocally, even though others disagree. References on the first ruler of the Middle Kingdom are a perfect example of this.
His throne name was most certainly Neb-hetep-re, meaning "Pleased is the Lord Re", though we also find it spelled Nebhepetra. But this is not his common, or birth name, and here we So much for Egyptology being consistent, but never fear, they are all talking about the same king, and they all place his rule as the first of the Middle Kingdom and within the 11th Dynasty. However one names him, his birth name, Mentuhotep, means "The God Montu is Content". It should be noted that Montu was a Theban god of war. Mentuhotep ruled Egypt from Thebes, which until then, had not been as prominent as it later became. We believe he was the son or heir of Intef III, for a number of reasons. First, there is a relief located at Wadi Shatt el-Rigal, near Gebel es-Silsila, that incorporates a colossal figure of Mentuhotep II dwarfing three other figures believed to be he mother, Intef III and Khety his chancellor. There is also a masonry block found at Tod with reliefs portraying Mentuhotep II towing over three kings, named Inhtef, lined up behind him. However, Mentuhotep worked so diligently to enhance his reputation with his contemporaries with self-deification that some Left: Part of the Jubilee celebration scene of Mentuhotep II from Armant. Montuhotep's principle wife was Tem, but he had a number of lesser consorts. A second major wife was Neferu, who mothered his heir to the throne, and we also know of a wife named Henhenet who died in childbirth. Though he reunited Egypt after the First Intermediate Period, he did not do this immediately, and we find him with a number of Horus names that follow a progression. First, he was "He who gives heart to the Two Lands", followed by "Lord of the White Crown" (Upper Egypt) At first, his reign was probably peaceful, but latter became most certainly a bloody one, and with a highly militaristic focus. Near his temple at Thebes, American archaeologist Herbert Winlock found a mass tomb in the 1920s with the bodies of 60 of his soldiers who were lain in battle. There place of burial near the King suggests that the battle they fought was an important one, but sources disagree on where they might have fought. In the tomb of a local prince or general named Mesehti at Asyut, we also find models of marching Egyptian soldiers and even in the tombs of common people, we find an increase in the inclusion of weapons among grave goods. In year 14 of his rule, we know that a revolt took place in the Abydos area by the Hierakleopolitan forces, and that he quickly crushed it. Afterwards, his armies slowly drove the Hierakleopolitan forces north eventually leading to his overall rule of Egypt, but even by year 39 of his rule, when the country was well under his control, he continued his military campaigns into Nubia. It would appear that there might have even been an Egyptian based local kingdom established in the area around Abu Simbel, and so he apparently crushed these upstarts, as well as initiating other policing actions in Lower Nubia. One such expedition was led by his Chancellor, Khety, illustrating the importance Mentuhotep II placed on reopening Egypt's access to Nubia, and beyond.
|
run into problems. "Chronicle of the Pharaohs" by Peter A. Clayton refers to him as Mentuhotep I, and gives his reign as 2060-2010. However, the "Oxford History of Ancient Egypt" edited by Ian Shaw gives his name as Mentuhotep II, with a reign from 2055-2004 while Aidan Dodson in his book, "Monarchs of the Nile" refers to him as Montjuhotpe II, with a reign from 2066-2014. "A History of Ancient Egypt" by Nicolas Grimal calls him Mentuhotpe II, with a reign from 2040-2009, while "Who Were the Pharaohs" by Stephen Quirke simple calls him, as well as the following two kings Mentuhotep, without elaboration or dates.
Egyptologists believe he may not have been a legitimate heir to the throne, though this might also be explained by his efforts to reunite Egypt.
and finally Sematuawy, "Uniter of the Two Lands", as he apparently unified Egypt. Indeed, in later inscriptions, the king was set alongside 
However, he did have a long reign, perhaps as long as 50 years, and peace did finally return to Egypt proper, along with prosperity. Mentuhotep II initiated a number of building projects, including in the areas of 2008年8月13日 上午6點49分36秒The Ancient Egyptian Concept of Fate
|
Today, many Egyptians continue to believe, as they have for some 4,500 years, that fate plays a big part in their lives. While one might hear in the west concerning a possible promotion that "I hope I get it, I sure worked hard for this promotion", one is more likely to hear in Egypt, simply "inshallah", meaning "if God is willing". Of course, fate is actually very interwoven with religion, and the more religious a people are, the more likely that they are to believe that their destiny is not in their own hands. Even many modern Christians believe in preordination, that the thread of their life is already laid out by God, and hence their fate is sealed. Hence, in the Story of Sinuhe, the protagonist describes his flight to western Asia as a "fateful flight". However, earlier in the story, he refers to the journey by saying that, "I do not know what brought me to this country; it is as if planned by god". Clearly the notion of a divine plan and that which has been fated are synonymous. The ancient Egyptians believed that, from the beginning of life, an individual was surrounded or assisted by powers that affected his destiny in many ways. Demons of fate were present at his side throughout his life, and accompanied him after death. However, in any culture, fate is a much more complex issue then one might at first imagine, and there were many facets of contradiction in how the ancient Egyptians viewed their fate. The ancient Egyptian term for fate was derived from a word meaning "ordain" or "fix" and referred generally to the action of a deity. The word is first attested to as early as the end of the Old Kingdom and just as the Arabic word inshallah is frequently uttered from the mouths of modern Egyptians, so too does the term for fate appear regularly in the ancient texts. This is particularly true of Wisdom Literature. Early on, we find fate and death closely associated in these texts. From the 6th Dynasty Instruction of Ptahhotep we find references to inevitable death, when it is stated that "His time does not fail to come; one does not escape what is fated", and again in the Admonitions of Ipuwer we are told that "Death is a kindly fate". In fact, in Hieratic script, the word for fate was sometimes written with the sign for death. Egyptians also thought that foreigners, including their enemies, were likewise effected by fate. Hence, concerning the Nubian enemy Aata, Ahmose son of Abana reports that, "His fate brought on his doom. The Gods of Upper Egypt grasped him."
Fate determined life and its outcome, which becomes apparent in the story of the birth of the three children of Ruddedet in the Westcar Papyrus. In this story, Re sends Isis, Nephthys, Meshkhenet (Meskhenet), Heket (Heqet) and Khnum to assist in the birth of the triplets. He tells them to, "Please go, deliver Ruddedet of the three children who are in her womb, who will assume this beneficent office in this whole land. They will build your temples. They will supply your altars. They will furnish your libations. They will make your offerings abundant." Hence, the three children are preordained to their fate of becoming kings, building temples and providing for their offerings. It was actually Meshkhenet who proclaims of each child that "A King who will assume the kingship in this whole land". This text demonstrates that the other deities are acting on Re's behalf, and from this we find that fate was instrumental in the elevation of an individual to kingship.
Therefore, we may say that there were three forces, or deities associated with one's fate, at least by the New Kingdom. The seven Hathors were responsible for one's lifespan and manner of death (as well as other bad events of one's life). Meshkhenet (Meskhenet decided one's status or work, while Renenet (Renenutet) ordained an individual's material fortune or misfortune. However, it should be noted that Renenet and her companion Shai (Shay), ("Destiny") are also attributed with providing life spans, and which according to some scholars, could be lengthened or shortened by good or bad deeds. By now, the word for "fate" could be written with a deity determinative, as if the word were personified or deified itself, perhaps because of its association with particular deities. One important question remains, however. Could fate be changed? In the Report of Wenamun, the prince of Byblos refers to his sending Egyptian envoys back to Egypt with timber "so as to beg for me from Amun fifty years of life over and above my allotted fate". Apparently, this might indicate that, while fate was ordained, they at least hoped that Amun could or would make alterations. We also know that magic spells were invoked to close the mouths of the seven Hathors and prevent them from foretelling the future.
Afterwards, he sets off in his chariot, along with his dog, to Naharin. There he marries a princess, to whom he discloses his three possible manners of death. His wife urges him to kill his pet dog but the prince refuses. We are told that a crocodile has followed him from Egypt to Naharin, but it is prevented from killing the prince by a protective demon or water spirit. At a different time, a snake enters the prince's bedroom but is killed by the princess. She then announces, "Look, your god has given one of your fates into your hand. He will protect [you from the others also]". Afterwards, the prince makes an offering to Pre, who has delivered him from this fate. While walking with the dog one day, the animal tells him that it is he who will determine the princes' fate. The prince tries to escape the dog by running down to the lake, where the crocodile that was earlier prevented from killing the prince snatches up the dog and carries it off "to where the demon was". The crocodile returns to inform the prince that it is he who will determine the princes' fate, but offers to spare him if he will help kill the crocodile's enemy, the water sprit. Regrettably, the end of the papyrus is missing, but scholars generally believe that the prince manages to escape his fate and lives happily ever after. Basically, the message of this story is that one could, by divine intervention, alter their fate with a longer lifespan and perhaps another means of death. There is little question that the ancient Egyptians did not attempt to cheat their fate. For example, the Egyptians had a calendar of lucky and unlucky days. The scholar F. T. Miosi believes that "There is no convincing grounds for positing an 'astrological' basis to the Egyptian concept of fate, destiny or whatever other term one wishes to use". Yet, why would the ancient Egyptians create such a calendar if they felt that they had no control over fate? Though James K. Hoffmeier advises us that "There is certainly nothing in the literature to suggest that amulets and other forms of magic had a role in altering one's fate", then why did this protective jewelry exist? It is even possible that prophetic name formulas such as "deity X says he/she will live" may have been given to children born on an unlucky day, in fact, to specifically alter the child's fate. In the final analysis, people of course were not informed of their divine fate, and the stories we have from ancient text are those told mostly after an event occurred in a person's life, rather than as a prediction. One might know if he or she were born on an unlucky day, or were subject to other bad omens and could take steps meant to attempt to mitigate such problems. However, the ancient Egyptians apparently believed that, while fate might be altered, it was a rare occurrence to be granted such divine intervention. One reason for this is, of course, because man did not know his fate, and as the Story of Sinuhe suggests, "Is there a god who does not know what he has ordained, a man who knows how it will be?". |
Fate apparently was thought to effect ones time as well as manner of death, which was ordained at birth. Thus, in the 
Another aspect of fate was material possessions, which was associated with the goddess 
One of the most notable instances of altering one's fate comes from the Story of the Doomed Prince. In this story, the Hathors announce that "He will die through the crocodile, or the snake, or the dog." Having three possible manners of death are unusual, and there is notably no mention of when death will occur. At first, the prince spends his life worrying which of these entities will bring his demise. Yet he asks his father for a pet puppy, which is reluctantly granted to him. Then, after years of living reclusively in the hope of avoiding his fate, the prince announces, "To what purpose is my sitting here? I am committed to Fate. Let me go, that I may act according to my heart, until the god does what is in his heart.".2008年8月13日 上午6點48分10秒Divine Cults of the Sacred Bulls
 The deification of animals in ancient Egypt existed even before the country’s unification around 3100 BC. Communities worshipped their own deities, many of which were represented in animal form. In some villages animals wrapped with linen and matting, such as cows, dogs, and sheep, were buried right along with humans. Animal statuettes as well as amulets and slate palettes shaped like animals have been found in the graves of many ancient Egyptians.
Although there is no clear-cut reason for the deification of animals, it has been surmised that some animals may have achieved their godly status because they helped humans, whereas the more dangerous and feared animals, such as jackals, may have been worshipped as a way to appease them. In any case, it is believed that deities needed to be given a recognizable form so that the divine force would not seem so abstract to the masses. A familiar image, such as that of an animal, gave people a more concrete concept of the powers of that specific deity, which is why one deity could be represented by several different images. In essence, the powers and traits of the god were conveyed by the form or forms that it took. In this way, it was more easily understood.
Among the most important animal cults were the bull cults, which appeared in Egyptian writings as far back as the First Dynasty. The ancients believed that the powerful bull represented the personality of the king; slate palettes dating back as far as 3100 BC even show kings as bulls. This animal was chosen because it symbolized the king’s courageous heart, great strength, virility, and fighting spirit. Bulls’ horns even embellish some of the tombs of courtiers who served the first Saqqara kings. Priests of the bull cults identified a sacred bull by its very specific markings (described below). Once the bull was proclaimed to be a god incarnate, it was taken to the temple compound where it was purified, stabled in majestic quarters, fed the best foods, and given a herd of the finest cows. The Apis bull cult is probably the best known of the three most prominent and divine bull cults, and it is considered to be the most sacred. Herodotus wrote that the Apis was the "calf of a cow which is never afterwards able to have another. The Egyptian belief is that a flash of lightning descends upon the cow from heaven, and this causes her to receive Apis." The Apis bull was originally considered to be the incarnation of the god Ptah, the creator of the universe and master of destiny, but this was a lesser-known association. Later the Apis became widely known as the incarnation of Osiris, god of embalming and cemeteries, when Ptah himself took on funerary characteristics and became associated with Osiris. Plutarch wrote that the "Apis was a fair and beautiful image of the soul of Osiris". At any rate, only one bull was considered to be the sacred Apis at a time; a replacement could be sought upon the death of the bull. The new Apis was transported to Memphis on a boat with a specially built golden cabin. An Apis calf could be identified by certain distinct markings: the black calf had a white diamond on its forehead, an image of an eagle on its back, double the number of hairs on its The birth of an Apis calf was a time for celebration among ancient Egyptians, since this meant that a living god had been born into their midst. But according to Herodotus, this religious belief was desecrated in 525 BC by Persian King Cambyses when he overtook the holy city of Memphis. Herodotus states that the day after Cambyses’s bloody battle, he awoke to discover the Egyptians in Memphis celebrating. Upon asking why a defeated people would rejoice after being so brutally beaten, he was told that a living god had just been born. Cambyses demanded that this god be brought before him, and when he was presented with the Apis calf, he laughed with disgust and called the Egyptians pagans and fools. He then stabbed the calf in its hindquarters, which eventually caused the calf to die, at which point Cambyses had it cooked and served at a banquet. Horrified Egyptians considered this blasphemy to be the reason for all of Egypt’s future tragedies. Herodotus’s account differs greatly from Egyptian records, which appear to take an opposing view. These records state that between 525 and 522 BC, Cambyses partook in a religious ceremony in which he dedicated the sarcophagus of a mummified Apis bull as part of his pharaonic obligations. Egyptians celebrated the Festival of the Apis Bull, which lasted for seven days. Throngs of people gathered in Memphis to watch priests lead the sacred bull in a hallowed procession through the welcoming crowds. It was thought that any child who smelled the breath of the Apis had the ability to predict the future. In fact, the Apis itself was often consulted as an oracle. Egyptians asked the bull a question and then offered it food: if the bull ate the food it was a good omen, but a rejection of the food was a bad omen. When Egypt fell under the rule of the Ptolemies, a new god was created by Ptolemy I in an effort to unify Greeks and Egyptians by establishing a deity that would be familiar to both When an Apis bull died, the body was embalmed and entombed with the great ceremony that would be afforded royalty. A Memphis temple housing large alabaster slabs was the place in which the bulls were embalmed. After preparation of the body and internal organs, the crouching bull was intricately bandaged, artificial eyes were inserted, its horns and face were either gilded or covered with a gold leaf mask, and it was covered with a shroud. The Apis mummy was carried to the Serapeum (a catacomb preceded by an avenue of sphinxes), amid the formalities due a deity, for burial in a massive stone sarcophagus weighing over 60 tons. A papyrus from the 26th Dynasty explains the technique used to embalm an Apis bull.
The center of the Buchis cult was the town of Armant. Many generations of mummified Buchis bulls and their mothers were laid to rest in a designated cemetery, called the Bucheum, where the bulls were fastened to wooden boards with metal staples that held the forelegs and hindlegs in place.
Many of the animal mummies in museums today were donated over a century ago by various collectors who purchased them during their travels, therefore the mummies have no associated provenience information. Unless the animals are wrapped in a specific style, such as the diamond pattern used during the Greco-Roman period, the remains cannot be dated. Animal mummies with plain linen wrappings could belong to any era, from ancient to modern times. It is possible that radiocarbon dating performed on animal mummies in good condition could yield information about the age of some animal cults, providing some long-awaited answers. |
During the early dynastic period animal gods were gradually anthropomorphed, being portrayed with animal or bird heads on human bodies. Over the course of time these animal deities appeared many different ways, including in full animal form, animal heads with human bodies, and completely human. In all of these various forms, animal deities were drawn performing human activities, such as engaging in battle and conquering enemies.
tail, and a scarab mark under its tongue. Since the Apis was so sacred, it stands to reason that its mother (referred to as the "Isis cow") was revered as well.
cultures. The new god was named Serapis, which combined components of the Greek gods Zeus, Asklepios, and Dionysys as well as the Egyptian deity Osiris and the sacred Apis bull cult. Although the god had a Greek appearance, it also had some of the features of an Apis bull as well as an Egyptian name. Serapis was declared a god of fertility and the underworld, but even though Egyptians tolerated this new deity, they never truly accepted it. On the other hand, because Greek leadership supported the new Serapis cult, many Greeks did accept and follow it, but the artificially created cult never achieved its goal of religious unity between Greeks and Egyptians.
Another bull cult was the Buchis cult, which lasted until about 362 AD. The Buchis bull was the representation of the gods Re and Osiris, but it was also linked with the god of war, Montu. A bull had to have the specific colorings of a black face with a white body in order to be considered Buchis.
There is far less information about the Mnevis cult than the other two bull cults. Mnevis was the sacred bull of Heliopolis, and although it was associated with the sun god Re, it has been suggested that it was also identified with Min, the fertility god of Coptos. When Akhenaten (originally Amenhotep IV) raised the cult of the sun to new heights, he established a new city, now known as Tell el Amarna, and dedicated it to the worship of the god Aten. Akhenaten swore he would bury Mnevis bulls in this new city, but thus far archaeologists have not found any bull burials there. However, two Mnevis burials were found in Heliopolis, both belonging to the Ramesses dynasty. The bulls were found in individual tombs that were cut into the ground and sealed with a granite slab.