Horus Hotepsekhemwi
Horus Hotepsekhemwi, the successor of Horus Qa'a, is the first king of the 2nd Dynasty. His name meaning 'the two powers are at peace', it is often postulated that he brought peace to Egypt at a time when the country was divided. His choice to move the royal necropolis to Saqqara, indicates a break with his predecessors that might justify the start of a new dynasty.
Hotepsekhemwi Quick Facts
Chronology
Dynasty: 2nd
Predecessor: Horus Qa'a
Successor: Horus NebreFamily
Children: Perneb (?)Principal Monuments
Tomb: Gallery B at Saqqara
The name of his wife is also not know, but a “son of the king” and priest of the god Sopdu, named Perneb, may be his son.
Hotepsekhemwi may have come to power during, or, as his name “the two powers are at peace” seems to suggest, a period of conflict. The appearance of the names of two kings, Horus Ba and Horus Seneferka -the latter believed by some to have been an alternative name for Qa’a- towards the end of the 1st Dynasty may confirm that there was some upheaval prior to Hotepsekhemwi’s reign. There are indications that the tomb of Qa’a at Umm el-Qa’ab was robbed shortly after the king’s burial, and that it was subsequently re-closed by Hotepsekhemwi. In doing so, Hotepsekhemwi may have attempted to show himself to be the proper successor.
According to Manetho, Hotepsekhemwi ruled for 38 years, while the Turin King-Lists grants him a very unlikely reign of 95 years. Based on the traces he left behind, Hotepsekhemwi’s rule is estimated to have lasted for about 25 years. During this time, the cult of the god Akhti or Netjer-Akhti, a solar god whose name literally means “Horizon-dweller”, became more important.
The cults of Lower-Egyptian gods such as Bastet and Sopdu appear to have received some attention as well, prompting some Egyptologists to postulate a Lower-Egyptian origin for Hotepsekhemwi.
He also appears to have founded a new royal estate named “The star of Horus rises” (or “Horus, the rising star”).
For his burial, Hotepsekhemwi chose to break with some 1st Dynasty funerary traditions. Although he did bury or re-bury his predecessor at Umm el-Qa’ab, he chose Saqqara, close to the capital of Memphis and close to the tombs of the high officials that served the kings of the 1st Dynasty, as the location for his own burial. The structure of the tomb believed to have been his, no longer consists of a series of pits dug into the ground, but of a series of underground galleries connected by corridors and leading to the burial chamber. There is no trace of subsidiary graves connected to his, and thus the 1st Dynasty custom of retainer sacrifice had come to an end.
Horus Name
Africanus: Boêthos, Boëthos
Eusebius: Bôchos, BôchusAlternative names in modern-day literature
Hetepsekhemwi, Hetepsekhemoui, Hotepsekhemoui, Hetepsechemwi, Hetepsechemoui
Seal
impressions found inside the structure and showing the Horus names of
Hotepsekhemwi and his successor Nebre can mean one of two things:
either the tomb was built for and used by Hotepsekhemwi and Nebre left his seal impressions when he buried his predecessor, and brought the required funerary offerings
or it was intended for Hotepsekhemwi but it was usurped by Nebre.The latter of these two possibilities appears to be the least likely, so it is in general agreed that this tomb belonged to Hotepsekhemwi.
With its north-south axis spanning a length of approximately 120 metres and its width of about 50 metres, it is also unlikely that the tomb was created for a non-royal person: the largest non-royal tombs of the Early Dynastic Period or the Old Kingdom are considerably smaller. And contrary to the Archaic Tombs in Saqqara-North, no private names appear to have been found in this tomb.
The entrance to the tomb is located in the north, a feature that would be common to the royal tombs of the Old Kingdom. From the entrance, a long 4 metre high passage, constructed in an open trench covered with immense blocks of stone, descends deeper into the Saqqara rock.
A couple of metres into this passage, a doorway opens upon a corridor to the west. A bit further down, a second doorway gives access to a corridor to the east. On each side of both corridors are 7 long and narrow rooms that are interpreted as magazines.
Just before the central corridor ceases to descend, a large portcullis slab, made of granite, was intended to block the further passage. After that, the corridor continues horizontally and was blocked by three more portcullises. More magazines open onto the east and the west of this corridor. After about 35 metres, the ceiling of the corridor is lowered to some 2 metres and the corridor becomes subterranean.
To the east and west of the central corridor, a maze of magazines continues to unfold, until finally, at about 110 metres from the entrance, the burial chamber was found ... empty.
If this tomb ever had a superstructure, nothing remains of it. But it is very likely that the superstructure was removed for the construction of the pyramid and mortuary tomb of Unas, some 500 years later, if they even survived that long.
Dynasty: 2nd
Predecessor: Horus Qa'a
Successor: Horus NebreFamily
Children: Perneb (?)Principal Monuments
Tomb: Gallery B at Saqqara
Biography of Horus Hotepsekhemwi
Very little is known about Hotepsekhemwi, who Manetho has placed at the start of the 2nd Dynasty. Although the Turin King-List does not distinguish between the first five dynasties, which could imply that every king from this period was part of the same royal family, the relationship between Hotepsekhemwi and his predecessor, Horus Qa’a, is not known.The name of his wife is also not know, but a “son of the king” and priest of the god Sopdu, named Perneb, may be his son.
Hotepsekhemwi may have come to power during, or, as his name “the two powers are at peace” seems to suggest, a period of conflict. The appearance of the names of two kings, Horus Ba and Horus Seneferka -the latter believed by some to have been an alternative name for Qa’a- towards the end of the 1st Dynasty may confirm that there was some upheaval prior to Hotepsekhemwi’s reign. There are indications that the tomb of Qa’a at Umm el-Qa’ab was robbed shortly after the king’s burial, and that it was subsequently re-closed by Hotepsekhemwi. In doing so, Hotepsekhemwi may have attempted to show himself to be the proper successor.
According to Manetho, Hotepsekhemwi ruled for 38 years, while the Turin King-Lists grants him a very unlikely reign of 95 years. Based on the traces he left behind, Hotepsekhemwi’s rule is estimated to have lasted for about 25 years. During this time, the cult of the god Akhti or Netjer-Akhti, a solar god whose name literally means “Horizon-dweller”, became more important.
The cults of Lower-Egyptian gods such as Bastet and Sopdu appear to have received some attention as well, prompting some Egyptologists to postulate a Lower-Egyptian origin for Hotepsekhemwi.
He also appears to have founded a new royal estate named “The star of Horus rises” (or “Horus, the rising star”).
For his burial, Hotepsekhemwi chose to break with some 1st Dynasty funerary traditions. Although he did bury or re-bury his predecessor at Umm el-Qa’ab, he chose Saqqara, close to the capital of Memphis and close to the tombs of the high officials that served the kings of the 1st Dynasty, as the location for his own burial. The structure of the tomb believed to have been his, no longer consists of a series of pits dug into the ground, but of a series of underground galleries connected by corridors and leading to the burial chamber. There is no trace of subsidiary graves connected to his, and thus the 1st Dynasty custom of retainer sacrifice had come to an end.
Titulary of Horus Hotepsekhemwi
Horus Name
- Hr Htp sxm.wjHorus, the two powers are at peace
- Htp nb.tjThe Two Ladies are at peace
- bDAwBedjaw
- bDAwBedjaw
- bAw nTrThe powers of the god
- bAw nTrThe powers of the god
Africanus: Boêthos, Boëthos
Eusebius: Bôchos, BôchusAlternative names in modern-day literature
Hetepsekhemwi, Hetepsekhemoui, Hotepsekhemoui, Hetepsechemwi, Hetepsechemoui
Tomb of Horus Hotepsekhemwi
The subterranean structure believed to be the oldest 2nd Dynasty royal tomb at Saqqara is located at what is now called the Unas cemetery. Part of its galleries are even located underneath the Unas Pyramid and it is surprising that 5th Dynasty tomb-builders did not accidentally stumble upon it.
Rough map of the substructure of Horus Hotepsekhemwi’s tomb at Saqqara.
Source: Stadelmann, Oberbauten der Königsgräber der 2. Dynastie in Sakkara, BdE 97/2 p. 297.
Source: Stadelmann, Oberbauten der Königsgräber der 2. Dynastie in Sakkara, BdE 97/2 p. 297.
either the tomb was built for and used by Hotepsekhemwi and Nebre left his seal impressions when he buried his predecessor, and brought the required funerary offerings
or it was intended for Hotepsekhemwi but it was usurped by Nebre.The latter of these two possibilities appears to be the least likely, so it is in general agreed that this tomb belonged to Hotepsekhemwi.
With its north-south axis spanning a length of approximately 120 metres and its width of about 50 metres, it is also unlikely that the tomb was created for a non-royal person: the largest non-royal tombs of the Early Dynastic Period or the Old Kingdom are considerably smaller. And contrary to the Archaic Tombs in Saqqara-North, no private names appear to have been found in this tomb.
The entrance to the tomb is located in the north, a feature that would be common to the royal tombs of the Old Kingdom. From the entrance, a long 4 metre high passage, constructed in an open trench covered with immense blocks of stone, descends deeper into the Saqqara rock.
A couple of metres into this passage, a doorway opens upon a corridor to the west. A bit further down, a second doorway gives access to a corridor to the east. On each side of both corridors are 7 long and narrow rooms that are interpreted as magazines.
Just before the central corridor ceases to descend, a large portcullis slab, made of granite, was intended to block the further passage. After that, the corridor continues horizontally and was blocked by three more portcullises. More magazines open onto the east and the west of this corridor. After about 35 metres, the ceiling of the corridor is lowered to some 2 metres and the corridor becomes subterranean.
To the east and west of the central corridor, a maze of magazines continues to unfold, until finally, at about 110 metres from the entrance, the burial chamber was found ... empty.
Entrance to the tomb of Hotepsekhemwi at Saqqara
If this tomb ever had a superstructure, nothing remains of it. But it is very likely that the superstructure was removed for the construction of the pyramid and mortuary tomb of Unas, some 500 years later, if they even survived that long.
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