Contributions > By author > Lesur Joséphine

Recent excavations of the M Cemetery on the Abu Rawash plateau (Dynasty 1) and the Wadi el-Jarf site (Dynasty 4) on the Red Sea have led to the discoveries of dozens of bovines horns. Besides the exceptional presence of these artefacts that are rarely preserved, the great interest of these discoveries lies in the location of the findings and in the traces observed on them. Indeed, at the M Cemetery, the horns were found in side chambers surroundings the burial chamber but also in association with the funerary boat found in 2012. At Wadi el-Jarf, the horns are coming from the galleries complex that has been used to store dismantled boats, few kilometers away from the harbor built during the 4th Dynasty. Moreover, most of the horns present traces of use, modification, and seldom inscriptions. By the detailed analysis of these remains and the comparison with iconographic and textual data, we will try to understand their use and especially their possible association with boats and maritime activities during the Early Dynastic.