Misplaced Pages

Herneith in hieroglyphs
Era: Old Kingdom (2686–2181 BC)

Herneith (fl. c. 3050 BC) was a Queen consort of ancient Egypt. She lived during the 1st Dynasty. The name herneith means "The face of Neith".

Documents

In the tomb of Herneith in Saqqara her name is found scratched on a vase, while in Abydos the name is found written together with the name of Djer. However, the interpretation of their names written together remains controversial and it is not even certain that Herneith refers to a woman, and thus to a queen.

Biography

It is not known who Herneith's parents were. She is thought to be a queen of Djer but there is no conclusive evidence. Tyldesley suggests Herneith as a possible mother of Den, but it is more commonly thought that Merneith was his mother.

Grajetzki mentions that even though Herneith is known from her tomb in Saqqara and her name is found together with signs that may refer to her role as a queen, confidently interpreting this information has proven difficult. If the interpretations are correct, Herneith may have held the titles of "The First One" and "Consort of the Two Lords".

A large tomb in Saqqara (tomb S3507) is thought to belong to Herneith. Inscriptions on vases found in the tomb mention King Djer, King Den and King Qa'a. The tomb is a mudbrick mastaba. However, a pyramid-like mound was found within the structure, covered with brick. This combination of mastaba and grave mound represents a combination of Northern (mastaba) and Southern (grave mound) tomb architecture.

Literature

• Walter B. Emery: Great Tombs of the First Dynasty III. London 1958, S. 73–97.

References

1. ^ J. Tyldesley, Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt, 2006, Thames & Hudson
2. Emery: Great Tombs III , page 94
3. Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2004, ISBN 0-500-05128-3
4. W.Grajetzki, Ancient Egyptian Queens: a hieroglyphic dictionary Golden House Publications, pg. 2

v t e First Dynasty of Ancient Egypt
Pharaohs	Menes/Narmer Hor-Aha Djer Djet Den Anedjib Semerkhet Qa'a
Regents	Neithhotep Merneith
Queen consorts	Benerib Herneith Penebui Nakhtneith Khenthap Semat Serethor Seshemetka Betrest
Officials	Amka Hemaka Sabef Meriiti
Other people	Ahaneith
Artefacts and monuments	Narmer macehead Narmer palette Den seal impressions Abydos boats MacGregor plaque Mastabas S3503 and S3504
Capital	Thinis

• 31st-century BC women
• Queens consort of the First Dynasty of Egypt
• Djer