Horus Djer

Horus Djer

Horus Djer was Aha's successor and, according to the Palermo Stone, corresponds with the third king of the 1st Dynasty on the kinglists. He ruled for more than 19 years, as is shown by the number of year cells that has been preserved on two different fragments belonging to the Annals Stone.
 

Djer Quick Facts

Chronology
Dynasty: 1st
Predecessor: Horus Aha
Successor: Horus Djet
Highest year: 19 years on the Annals Stones
Family
Father: Horus Aha (?)
Mother: Khenthap
Wives: Herneith, Nakhtneith,  Penebui
Children: Horus Djet (?), Merneith
Principal Monuments
Tomb: Umm el-Qa’ab Tomb O

Biography of Horus Djer

Cairo Fragment CF1 of the Annals Stone states Horus Djer’s (name) of gold, probably a reference to the king’s name of birth, to have been Iti,  which corresponds with the 3rd name listed in the Abydos King-List, after Menes and Teti. Djer is also the 3rd king mentioned on the two Umm el-Qa’ab royal seals that list the kings buried at that site. This confirms that Horus Djer was considered to have been the 3rd king of the 1st Dynasty.

Cairo Fragment CF1. The second row mentions Horus Djer, along with his probable birthname Iti. The fragment also names an otherwise unattested woman named Khenthap as Djer’s mother.

According to Manetho, Djer ruled for 57 year. The Turin King-List has a lacuna at the spot where Djer would be listed.
The Palermo Stone lists the first 10 years of Djer’s reign, while Cairo Fragment CF1 lists 9 more, granting Djer a total of at least 19 years as king. If the reconstruction of the Annals Stone based on its different fragments is correct, the reign of Djer may have lasted up to 41 years.
Also according to Cairo Fragment CF1, Djer’s mother was a woman named Khenthap, who is not attested by contemporary sources. Assuming that Djer was the son of his predecessor Aha, Khenthap probably was one of Aha’s queens.
Several ladies bearing titles that identify them as queens have been associated with Djer and may have been his wives: Herneith, who was the owner of Saqqara tomb S3507, Nakhtneith, buried in one of the subsidiary graves of Djer’s tomb, and Penebui.
It is assumed that Djer was the father of his successor Djet, and perhaps also of Djet’s wife Merneith. The mothers of both Djet and Merneith are not know.
Cairo Fragment CF1 hints at a possible military expedition against a region named Setjet, a region in Syria-Palestine. There are no contemporary sources that corroborate Egyptian military activity in Western Asia at this time.
Most other year-cells on the fragments of the Annals Stone related to Djer mention ritualistic acts and visits to temples and shrines throughout the country.
At least one label from the reign of Djer shows evidence of human sacrifice, with a bound person being stabbed during a ritual that appears to have a funerary character.

Label showing the killing of a human in a ritual context (top row, to the right).
Source: Wilkinson, Early Dynastic Egypt, p. 267, fig. 2.

Djer was buried in a fairly elaborate tomb at Umm el-Qa’ab, registered as tomb O.
A mummified arm, wearing four lovely bracelets, was found in this tomb and may have belonged to one of Djer’s wives. Later generations would consider this tomb to have been the tomb of Osiris, god of the dead.

Titulary of Horus Djer

Horus Name

1. Hr Dr
   Horus Djer
   The exact meaning and transliteration of this name are not certain.

Kinglists

2. iti
   Iti. The Cairo Fragment CF1of the Annals Stone juxtaposes this name to the Horus Name of Djer, confirming that Djer is to be identified with the 3rd king of the kinglists.

Manetho
Africanus: Kenkenês
Eusebius: Kenkenês, Cencenes
Alternative names in modern-day literature
Horus-Djer, Hor Djer, Hor-Djer, Athothis II

Tomb O at Umm el-Qa'ab

Djer built his tomb at Umm el-Qa’ab at some distance to the west of that of his predecessor, Aha. Petrie, one of the archaeologists who excavated the tomb, gave it the designation of “Tomb O”.

Interactive map of the tomb of Djer. Click or tap on the little circles to learn more.
Source: Hadas Newsletter Archive.

Contrary to Aha’s tomb, Djer’s consisted of one single pit measuring 13.2 by 11.8 metres internally and a depth of 2.7 metres.
The sides of the pit are lined with 2.6 metre thick walls. Several smaller chambers were built agains the north, east and west walls, but not against the south wall. It is the first royal tomb of the 1st Dynasty to have an internal structure.

A view on the king’s tomb shows the thick walls as well as the tomb’s internal structure.
Source: Hadas Newsletter Archive.

Among several objects found inside the tomb was a mummified arm, assumed to have belonged either to the king himself or, more likely, to one of his queens. One of the oldest known artificially mummified human remains, the arm wore 4 bracelets, one of which consisted of a string of Djer’s Horus-names.

Four bracelets were found on a mummified arm inside the tomb of Djer.
Source: Tiradriti, Egyptian Treasures, p. 42

318 subsidiary graves, some with stelae identifying the owners, were found surrounding the king’s tomb. The fact that some individuals were named, points to them having had some prestige, if not in life, then in death. It is not certain if all subsidiary burials happened at the same time, and were the result of retainer sacrifice or not.
For some reason, later tradition, started at the latest during the 18th Dynasty, considered this tomb to be the tomb of Osiris, the god of the dead, who had one of his most important cult centres in Abydos.