Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten
Encyclopedia
The Boundary Stelae at the city of Amarna
were constructed between Year 5 and Year 8 in the reign of Akhenaten
.
. These have been distinguished as the letters A, B and F. The other twelve are located on the eastern side of the Nile and are represented by the letters J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, U, V, X. This system of labeling the stelae was created by the English Egyptologist Flinders Petrie and is still used today.
, a Jesuit priest, first discovered the site in 1714 but the work he did was minimal. More work was done in the early and mid 1800’s by Joseph Bonomi
, John Wilkinson
and others. Karl Lepsius also did some work on the site thanks to some funding from the Prussian government. Flinders Petrie was the first to categorize the stelae in a systematic way using letters. However, the work of Norman de Garis Davis and William J. Murnane contributed the most knowledge of the site than anyone else.
. He also decided to make the city both the political and religious capital. The stelae he built around the perimeter of the city explained why the city was built, what he planned on doing in honor of Aten, and described the projected layout of the city. Some of them also depict Akhenaten and his royal family worshiping Aten. Sadly, many of “these rock-hewn stelae which marked the exact bounds of the city of Akhetaten are now in a sad state”. This is due to a number of things including natural weathering
, and being built in a bad type of rock. Stelae P was blown up in 1906. Though many of the stelae are in bad shape, Stelae A is still in fairly good shape and is also easy for archaeologists and tourists to get to. The building of the city and the transition that Akhenaten made to the religion affected the state of Egypt
. Many of the temples were closed down. Though people still worshiped the old gods, they were unable to visit the temples and participate in the ceremonies associated with the gods.
Amarna
Amarna is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city newly–established and built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the late Eighteenth Dynasty , and abandoned shortly afterwards...
were constructed between Year 5 and Year 8 in the reign of Akhenaten
Akhenaten
Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
.
Naming
There have been fifteen stelae found at this site, each of which has been labeled with a letter. Of the fifteen, three are located on the western side of the NileNile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
. These have been distinguished as the letters A, B and F. The other twelve are located on the eastern side of the Nile and are represented by the letters J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, U, V, X. This system of labeling the stelae was created by the English Egyptologist Flinders Petrie and is still used today.
Work done on the Stelae
Claude SicardClaude Sicard
Father Claude Sicard was a French Jesuit priest, and an early modern visitor to Egypt, between 1708 and 1712, producing the earliest known map of the country. He was Supervisor of the Jesuit Mission in Cairo.-References:...
, a Jesuit priest, first discovered the site in 1714 but the work he did was minimal. More work was done in the early and mid 1800’s by Joseph Bonomi
Joseph Bonomi
Joseph Bonomi or Giuseppi Bonomi may mean either of a father-son pair notable in architecture and sculpture:*Joseph Bonomi the Elder , architect*Joseph Bonomi the Younger , sculptor, Egyptologist...
, John Wilkinson
John Wilkinson
John Wilkinson may refer to:* John Wilkinson * John Wilkinson , British industrialist who suggested the use of iron for many roles where other materials had previously been used...
and others. Karl Lepsius also did some work on the site thanks to some funding from the Prussian government. Flinders Petrie was the first to categorize the stelae in a systematic way using letters. However, the work of Norman de Garis Davis and William J. Murnane contributed the most knowledge of the site than anyone else.
Stelae
Akhenaten built the city of Akhetaten for the sun deity AtenAten
Aten is the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology, and originally an aspect of Ra. The deified Aten is the focus of the monolatristic, henotheistic, or monotheistic religion of Atenism established by Amenhotep IV, who later took the name Akhenaten in worship in recognition of Aten...
. He also decided to make the city both the political and religious capital. The stelae he built around the perimeter of the city explained why the city was built, what he planned on doing in honor of Aten, and described the projected layout of the city. Some of them also depict Akhenaten and his royal family worshiping Aten. Sadly, many of “these rock-hewn stelae which marked the exact bounds of the city of Akhetaten are now in a sad state”. This is due to a number of things including natural weathering
Weathering
Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soils and minerals as well as artificial materials through contact with the Earth's atmosphere, biota and waters...
, and being built in a bad type of rock. Stelae P was blown up in 1906. Though many of the stelae are in bad shape, Stelae A is still in fairly good shape and is also easy for archaeologists and tourists to get to. The building of the city and the transition that Akhenaten made to the religion affected the state of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Many of the temples were closed down. Though people still worshiped the old gods, they were unable to visit the temples and participate in the ceremonies associated with the gods.