The Ikhernofret Stela is an important Ancient Egyptian stela dated to the Middle Kingdom

Middle Kingdom of Egypt

The Middle Kingdom of Egypt is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, between 2055 BC and 1650 BC, although some writers include the Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties in the Second Intermediate...

 and is notable for its veiled description of how the mysteries of Osiris

Osiris

Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...

 were carried out in Abydos

Abydos, Egypt

Abydos is one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, and also of the eight Upper Nome, of which it was the capital city. It is located about 11 kilometres west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern Egyptian towns of el-'Araba el Madfuna and al-Balyana...

. The stela is 100 cm high and made of limestone. Osiris is depicted standing under a winged sun disk facing Senwosret III. The text is laid out below Osiris in twenty-four horizontal lines. Underneath the text Iykhernofret

Iykhernofret

Iyhkernofret was an Ancient Egyptian treasurer of the Twelfth Dynasty, under king Senusret III. On his monuments he bears several important titles, including overseer of the double treasury, overseer of the double gold house, royal sealer and his main title treasurer. Iyhkernofret is known from...

 is depicted at an offering table with his family. The rituals celebrated the god's kingship, death and resurrection.

The stela describes how Ikhernofret is regarded as a beloved "foster child" of the King who was made "Companion of the King" when twenty-six. He is sent on a mission to Abydos by the King to carry out work in honour of the Kings Father "Osiris, Foremost of the Westerners".

The stela records how the festivities were celebrated in four main parts.

• Procession of Wepwawet
  Wepwawet
  In late Egyptian mythology, Wepwawet was originally a war deity, whose cult centre was Asyut in Upper Egypt . His name means, opener of the ways...
  
   ("The Opener of the Ways"). Wepwawept was in this instance a manifestation of the triumphant Horus
  Horus
  Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
  
   who came to the aid of his father Osiris. The rite involved excoriation rituals relating to the enemies of Osiris.
• Great Procession. Leaving the Temple of Osiris, a re-enactment of the funeral procession of Osiris in the Neshmet-Barque.
• Haker Festival ("The Night of the Battling Horus"). The acting out of the battle between Horus and Set
  Set (mythology)
  Set was in Ancient Egyptian religion, a god of the desert, storms, and foreigners. In later myths he was also the god of darkness, and chaos...
  
  .
• Procession to the Temple of Osiris. Osiris returns to the Temple, symbolising resurrection and the triumph over death.

The Egyptologist and novelist Christian Jacq

Christian Jacq

Christian Jacq is a French author and Egyptologist. He has written several novels about ancient Egypt, notably a five book suite about pharaoh Ramses II, a character whom Jacq admires greatly....

used the Ikehernofret inscriptions as the foundation of his Osirian series "The Mysteries of Osiris".