Editing Narmer (section)

==Tomb and artifacts==
===Tomb===
[[File:Chambers B17 and B18 (Umm el-Qa'ab).jpg|thumb|Chambers B17 and B18 in the [[Umm El Qa'ab|Umm el-Qa'ab]], which constitute the tomb of Narmer]]

Narmer's tomb in [[Umm El Qa'ab|Umm el-Qa'ab]] near [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] in Upper Egypt consists of two joined chambers (B17 and B18), lined in mud brick. Although both [[Émile Amélineau]] and [[Flinders Petrie|Petrie]] excavated tombs B17 and B18, it was only in 1964 that [[:de:Werner Kaiser (Ägyptologe)|Kaiser]] identified them as being Narmer's.{{sfn|Kaiser|1964|pp=96–102, fig.2}}{{full citation needed|date=April 2025}}{{efn| For a discussion of Cemetery B see {{harvnb|Dreyer|1999|pp=110–11, fig. 7}} and {{harvnb|Wilkinson|2000|pp=29–32, fig. 2}} }} Narmer's tomb is located next to the tombs of [[Ka (pharaoh)|Ka]], who likely ruled [[Upper Egypt]] just before Narmer, and [[Hor-Aha]], who was his immediate successor.{{efn| Narmer's tomb has much more in common with the tombs of his immediate predecessors, Ka and Iry-Hor, and other late Predynastic tombs in Umm el-Qa'ab than it does with later 1st Dynasty tombs. Narmer's tomb is 31 sq. meters compared to Hor-Aha, whose tomb is more than three times as large, not counting Hor-Aha's 36 subsidiary graves. According to Deyer,{{sfn|Kaiser|Dreyer|1982|pp=215,220–221}} Narmer's tomb is even smaller than the tomb of Scorpion I (tomb ''Uj''), several generations earlier.{{sfn|Dreyer|1988|p=19}}{{full citation needed|date=April 2025}} In addition, the earlier tombs of Narmer, Ka, and Iry-Hor all have two chambers with no subsidiary chambers, while later tombs in the 1st Dynasty all have more complex structures including subsidiary chambers for the tombs of retainers, who were probably sacrificed to accompany the king in the afterlife.{{harvnb|O'Connor|2009|pp=148–150}} To avoid confusion, it's important to understand that he classifies Narmer as the last king of the 0 Dynasty rather than the first king of the 1st Dynasty, in part because Narmer's tomb has more in common with the earlier 0 Dynasty tombs than it does with the later 1st Dynasty tombs.{{harvnb|Dreyer|2003|p=64}}{{full citation needed|date=April 2025}} also makes the argument that the major shift in tomb construction that began with Hor-Aha, is evidence that Hor-Aha, rather than Narmer was the first king of the 1st Dynasty.}}

As the tomb dates back more than 5,000 years, and [[Grave robbery#Africa|has been pillaged]], repeatedly, from antiquity to modern times, it is amazing that anything useful could be discovered in it. Because of the repeated [[Disturbance (archaeology)|disturbances]] in Umm el-Qa'ab, many articles of Narmer's were found in other graves, and objects of other kings were recovered in Narmer's grave. However, [[Flinders Petrie]] during the period 1899–1903,{{sfn|Petrie|1900}}{{sfn|Petrie|1901}} and, starting in the 1970s, the [[German Archaeological Institute]] (DAI){{efn|Numerous publications with either Werner Kaiser or his successor, [[Günter Dreyer]], as the lead author—most of them published in MDAIK beginning in 1977}} have made discoveries of the greatest importance to the history of Early Egypt by their re-excavation of the tombs of Umm el-Qa'ab.

Despite the chaotic condition of the cemetery, inscriptions on both wood and bone, seal impressions, as well as dozens of [[flint]] arrowheads were found. (Petrie says with dismay that "hundreds" of arrowheads were discovered by "the French", presumably [[Émile Amélineau|Amélineau]]. What happened to them is not clear, but none ended up in the Cairo Museum.{{sfn|Petrie|1901|p=22}}) Flint knives and a fragment of an [[ebony]] chair leg were also discovered in Narmer's tomb, all of which might be part of the original funerary [[Glossary of archaeology#assemblage|assemblage]]. The flint knives and fragment of a chair leg were not included in any of Petrie's publications, but are now at the [[Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology]] (University College London), registration numbers ''UC35679, UC52786'', and ''UC35682''. According to Dreyer,<ref name="DPC">G. Dreyer, personal communication to Thomas C. Heagy, 2017</ref>{{unreliable source|certain=y|reason=Sources MUST be [[WP:V|verifiable]], which private, unpublished writings by nature are not. If it's mentioned in another reliable source, cite that instead|date=December 2024}} these arrowheads are probably from the tomb of [[Djer]], where similar arrowheads were found.{{sfn|Petrie|1901|pp=pl.VI.}}

It is likely that all of the kings of Ancient Egypt buried in Umm el-Qa'ab had funerary enclosures in Abydos' northern cemetery, near the cultivation line. These were characterized by large mud brick walls that enclosed space in which funerary ceremonies are believed to have taken place. Eight enclosures have been excavated, two of which have not been definitely identified.{{sfn|Adams|O'Connor|2003|pp=78–85}}{{sfn|O'Connor|2009|pp=159–181}} While it has yet to be confirmed, one of these unidentified funerary enclosures may have belonged to Narmer.{{efn|Next to Hor-Aha's enclosure is a large, unattributed enclosure referred to as the "Donkey Enclosure" because of the presence of 10 donkeys buried next to the enclosure. No objects were found in the enclosure with a king's name, but hundreds of seal impressions were found in the gateway chamber of the enclosure, all of which appear to date to the reigns of Narmer, Hor-Aha, or Djer. Hor-Aha and Djer both have enclosures identified, "making Narmer the most attractive candidate for the builder of this monument".{{sfn|Bestock|2009|p=102}} The main objection to its assignment to Narmer is that the enclosure is too big. It is larger than all three of Hor-Aha's put together, while Hor-Aha's tomb is much larger than Narmer's tomb. For all of the clearly identified 1st Dynasty enclosures, there is a rough correlation between the size of the tomb and the size of the enclosure. Identifying the Donkey Enclosure with Narmer would violate that correlation. That leaves Hor-Aha and Djer. The objection to the assignment of the enclosure to Aha is the inconsistency of the subsidiary graves of Hor-Aha's enclosure, and subsidiary graves of the donkeys. In addition, the seeming completeness of the Aha enclosure without the Donkey Enclosure, argues against Hor-Aha. This leaves Djer, whom Bestock considers the most likely candidate. The problems with this conclusion, as identified by Bestock, are that the Donkey Enclosure has donkeys in the subsidiary graves, whereas Djer has humans in his. In addition, there are no large subsidiary graves at Djer's tomb complex that would correspond to the Donkey Enclosure.{{sfn|Bestock|2009|pp=102–104}} She concludes that, "the interpretation and attribution of the Donkey Enclosure remain speculative."{{sfn|Bestock|2009|p=104}}

There are, however, two additional arguments for the attribution to Narmer: First, it is exactly where one would expect to find Narmer's Funerary Enclosure—immediately next to Hor-Aha's. Second, all of the 1st Dynasty tombs have subsidiary graves for humans except that of Narmer, and all of the attributed 1st Dynasty enclosures, except the Donkey Enclosure, have subsidiary graves for humans. But neither Narmer's tomb nor the Donkey Enclosure have known subsidiary graves for humans. The lack of human subsidiary graves at both sites seems important. It is also possible that Narmer had a large funerary enclosure precisely because he had a small tomb.{{sfn|Dreyer|1998|p=19}}{{full citation needed|date=April 2025}}{{sfn|Bestock|2009|p=103, n.1}} In the absence of finding an object with a Narmer's name on it, any conclusion must be tentative, but it seems that the preponderance of evidence and logic support the identification of the Donkey Enclosure with Narmer.}}

===Artifacts===
[[File:Narmer serekh on alabaster jar from Abydos.jpg|thumb|Narmer ''serekh'' in its full formal format on an alabaster vase from Abydos]]
Narmer is well attested throughout Egypt, southern [[Canaan]] and Sinai: altogether 98 inscriptions at 26 sites.{{efn |Of these inscriptions, 29 are controversial or uncertain. They include the unique examples from Coptos, En Besor, Tell el-Farkhan, [[Gebel Tjauti]], and Kharga Oasis, as well as both inscriptions each from Buto and Tel Ma'ahaz. Sites with more than one inscription are footnoted with either references to the most representative inscriptions, or to sources that are the most important for that site. All of the inscriptions are included in the [http://www.narmer.org/ ''Narmer Catalog''], which also includes extensive bibliographies for each inscription. Several references discuss substantial numbers of inscriptions. They include: [http://www4.ivv1.uni-muenster.de/litw3/Aegyptologie/index06.htm ''Database of Early Dynastic Inscriptions''], {{ harvnb|Kaplony | 1963 }}, {{harvnb|Kaplony | 1964|}}, {{ harvnb|Kaiser | Dreyer |1982}}, {{harvnb|Kahl |1994|}},{{harvnb|van den Brink | 1996 |}}, {{harvnb|van den Brink |2001 }}, {{harvnb|Jiménez-Serrano |2003}}, {{harvnb|Jiménez-Serrano |2007 }}, and {{harvnb|Pätznick |2009 }}. {{harvnb|Anđelković |1995}} includes Narmer inscriptions from Canaan within the context of the overall relations between Canaan and Early Egypt, including descriptions of the sites in which they were found.}} At Abydos and Hierakonpolis Narmer's name appears both within a ''[[serekh]]'' and without reference to a ''serekh''. At every other site except Coptos, Narmer's name appears in a ''serekh''. In Egypt, his name has been found at 17 sites: 
* 4 in Upper Egypt: [[Nekhen|Hierakonpolis]],{{Sfn|Quibell|1898|pp=81–84, pl. XII–XIII}} [[Naqada]],{{sfn | Spencer | 1980 | p = 64(454), pl. 47.454, pl.64.454}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/0084 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913093222/http://www.narmer.org/inscription/0084 |date=2017-09-13 }}</ref> [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]],{{Sfn|Petrie |1900}}{{sfn|Petrie | 1901}} and [[Qift|Coptos]]{{sfn|Williams|1988| pp=35–50, fig. 3a}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/0085</ref>
* 10 in Lower Egypt: [[Tarkhan (Egypt)|Tarkhan]],{{sfn|Petrie|Wainwright| Gardiner|1913}}{{sfn|Petrie|1914}} [[Helwan (cemetery)|Helwan]],{{sfn | Saad | 1947 | pp = 26–27 |}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/0114 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913135222/http://www.narmer.org/inscription/0114 |date=2017-09-13 }}</ref> [[Zawyet El Aryan|Zawyet el'Aryan]],{{sfn | Dunham | 1978|pp=25–26|loc= pl. 16A }} Tell Ibrahim Awad,{{sfn | van den Brink | 1992 | pp =52–53 }} Ezbet el-Tell,{{sfn | Bakr|1988| pp=50–51|loc=pl. 1b}} [[Minshat Abu Omar]],{{sfn|Wildung|1981|pp=35–37}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/0121 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913135022/http://www.narmer.org/inscription/0121 |date=2017-09-13 }}</ref> [[Saqqara]],{{sfn | Lacau | Lauer | 1959 | pp = 1–2, pl. 1.1|}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/0115 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913135100/http://www.narmer.org/inscription/0115 |date=2017-09-13 }}</ref> [[Buto]],{{sfn|von der Way|1989|pp=285–286|loc=n.76, fig. 11.7}} Tell el-Farkha,{{sfn | Jucha |2008 | pp = 132–133, fig. 47.2 |}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/6002</ref> and Kafr Hassan Dawood{{sfn | Hassan |2000 | p = 39}}
* 1 in the Eastern Desert: Wadi el-Qaash{{sfn|Winkler| 1938| pp=10,25|loc=pl.11.1}}
* 2 in the Western Desert: [[Kharga Oasis]]{{sfn|Ikram | Rossi |2004 | pp = 211–215|loc=fig. 1-2}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/6015 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913091603/http://www.narmer.org/inscription/6015 |date=2017-09-13 }}</ref> and [[Gebel Tjauti]]{{sfn | Darnell | Darnell | 1997| pp = 71–72|loc=fig. 10}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/4037 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913091549/http://www.narmer.org/inscription/4037 |date=2017-09-13 }}</ref>

During Narmer's reign, Egypt had an active economic presence in southern Canaan. Pottery [[sherd]]s have been discovered at several sites, both from pots made in Egypt and imported to Canaan and others made in the Egyptian style out of local materials. Twenty ''serekhs'' have been found in Canaan that may belong to Narmer, but seven of those are uncertain or controversial. These ''serekhs'' came from eight different sites: [[Tel Arad]],{{sfn | Amiran | 1974| pp=4–12, fig. 20, pl.1}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/0123</ref> En Besor ([[Ein HaBesor]]),{{sfn | Schulman | 1976 |pp = 25–26}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/0547 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913091620/http://www.narmer.org/inscription/0547 |date=2017-09-13 }}</ref> [[Tell es-Sakan]],{{sfn | de Miroschedji| Sadeq |2000| pp=136–137| loc = fig. 9}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/6009 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913093227/http://www.narmer.org/inscription/6009 |date=2017-09-13 }}</ref> Nahal Tillah ([[Tell el-Khuweilifeh|Halif]] Terrace),{{Sfn | Levy | van den Brink | Goren | Alon | 1997 | pp = 31–33}} [[Tel Erani]] (Tel Gat),{{sfn | Yeivin | 1960 | pp=193–203| loc = fig. 2, pl. 24a}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/0124 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614075431/http://www.narmer.org/inscription/0124 |date=2020-06-14 }}</ref> Small [[:fr:Tel Malhata|Tel Malhata]],{{sfn |Amiran| Ilan| Aron|1983| pp = 75–83|loc=fig.7c }}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/6006 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913135058/http://www.narmer.org/inscription/6006 |date=2017-09-13 }}</ref> Tel Ma'ahaz,{{sfn|Schulman| Gophna| 1981}} and Tel [[Lod]],{{sfn | van den Brink | Braun |2002| pp = 167–192 }}

Narmer's ''serekh'', along with those of other Predynastic and Early Dynastic kings, has been found at the Wadi 'Ameyra in the southern Sinai, where inscriptions commemorate Egyptian mining expeditions to the area.{{sfn | Tallet | Laisney |2012 | pp=383–389}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/4814 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614075636/http://www.narmer.org/inscription/4814 |date=2020-06-14 }}</ref>

===Nag el-Hamdulab===
[[File:Limestone head of a king. Thought by Petrie to be Narmer. Bought by Petrie in Cairo, Egypt. 1st Dynasty. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|thumb|[[Limestone]] head of a king, thought by [[Flinders Petrie]] to be Narmer, on the basis of the similarity to the head of Narmer on the Narmer Palette. This has not been generally accepted by Egyptologists.]]

First recorded at the end of the 19th century, an important series of rock carvings at Nag el-Hamdulab near [[Aswan]] was rediscovered in 2009, and its importance only realized then.{{sfn|Gatto et al. 2009}}{{full citation needed|date=April 2025}}{{sfn|Darnell|2015}}<ref>The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/6014</ref> Among the many inscriptions, tableau 7a shows a man wearing a headdress similar to the [[Hedjet|White Crown]] of [[Upper Egypt]] and carrying a scepter. He is followed by a man with a fan. He is then preceded by two men with standards, and accompanied by a dog. Apart from the dog motif, this scene is similar to scenes on the [[Scorpion Macehead]] and the recto of the Narmer Palette. The man, equipped with pharaonic regalia (the crown and scepter), can clearly be identified as a king. Although no name appears in the tableau, Darnell{{sfn|Darnell|2015|}} attributes it to Narmer, based on the iconography, and suggests that it might represent an actual visit to the region by Narmer for a "Following of Horus" ritual. In an interview in 2012, Gatto{{sfn|Gatto 2012}}{{full citation needed|date=April 2025}} also describes the king in the inscription as Narmer. However, Hendricks (2016) places the scene slightly before Narmer, based, in part on the uncharacteristic absence of Narmer's royal name in the inscription.