The Representation of the Hedgehog Goddess Abaset

at Bahariya Oasis
Hend Sherbiny and Hussein Bassir

Abstract
The representation of the hedgehog goddess Abaset in ancient Egyptian iconography is
unique. The goddess appears twice on the decorated walls of the tomb of the wealthy Saite
merchant, Bannentiu, at Qarat Qasr Salim, Bahariya Oasis. Reading and analysis of
the two scenes of this goddess are presented.
Introduction
Bahariya Oasis1 flourished during the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty or Saite period (664525 BC), especially in the reign of Ahmose II best known as Amasis (570526 BC).2 Many magnificent Saite monuments have been found at Bahariya,3 though Bahariya was also important throughout prehistoric and
1
We dedicate this study to the late Egyptologist and pioneering discoverer of Egyptian Oases, especially Bahariya Oasis,
Ahmed Fakhry (19051973), in the sxt jArw among the souls of the jmAxw Egyptians.
2
For more on Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, see A. Spalinger, Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, in D. Redford, ed., The Oxford Encyclopedia of
Ancient Egypt, II (Oxford-New York, 2001), 26871; idem, The Concept of the Monarchy during the Saite Epoch. An Essay of
Synthesis, Orientalia 7 (1978), 21; A. Lloyd, The Late Period. 664332 BC, in I. Shaw, ed., The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt
(Oxford, 2000), 36983; M. Van De Mieroop, A History of Ancient Egypt (Chichester-Malden, 2011), 300304; D. Agut-Labordre,
The Emergence of a Mediterranean Power. The Saite Period, in J. Moreno Garca, ed., Ancient Egyptian Administration (LeidenBoston, 2013), 9651027; O. Perdu, Saites and Persians (664332), in A. Lloyd, ed., A Companion to Ancient Egypt, I (ChichesterMalden, 2010), 14049; A. Hussein, Self-Presentation of the Late Saite Non-Royal Elite. The Texts and Monuments of Neshor Named
Psamtikmenkhib and Payeftjauemawyneith (PhD dissertation, Johns Hopkins University, 2009), 2438; A. Gardiner, The Dakhleh
Stela, JEA 19 (1933), 1930, pls. 57.
3
For more on Bahariya Oasis (and other oases), see A. Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I (Cairo, 1942); idem, Bahria Oasis, II (Cairo,
1950); idem, The Oases of Egypt, II. Bahryah and Farafra Oases (Cairo, 2003 [1974]), 21; idem, Bahrija, Oase, Ld I, 6014; F. Colin, Qasr Allam. A Twenty-Sixth Dynasty Settlement, EA 24 (2004), 3033; G. Casteland P. Tallet, Les inscriptions dEl-Harra,
oasis de Bahareya, BIFAO 101 (2001), 99136; F. Bliss, Oasenleben. Die gyptischen Oasen Bahariya und Farafra in Vergangenheit
und Gegenwart (Bonn, 2006), 3334; J. Willeitner, Die agyptischen Oasen. Stadte, Tempel und Graber in der Libyschen Wuste (Mainz,
2003), 8991; F. Bliss, Die Oasen Bahriya und Farafra (Bonn, 1983), 4144; F. Colin, D. Laisney, and S. Marchand, Qaret el-Toub.
Un fort romain et une ncropole pharaonique. Prospection archologique dans loasis de Bahariya 1999, BIFAO 100 (2000),
14592; J. Baines and J. Mlek, Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt (New York, 2000), 187; C.Vivian, The Western Desert of Egypt. An
Explorers Handbook (Cairo, 2000), 174212; M. Barta, Bahariya Oasis, in R. Bagnall et al., eds., The Encyclopedia of Ancient History
(Blackwell, 2103), 102022; L. Giddy, Egyptian Oases. Bahariya, Dakhla, Farafra and Kharga during Pharaonic Times (Warminster,
1987), 1516; J. Ball and H. Beadnell, Baharia Oasis. Its Topography and Geology (Cairo, 1903), 49; R. Said, The Geology of Egypt
(New York, 1962), 8081; O. Catuneanu, M. Khalifa, and H. Wanas, Sequence Stratigraphy of the Lower Cenomanian Bahariya
Formation, Bahariya Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt, Sedimentary Geology 190 (2006), 12137; I. Guermeur, Les cultes dAmon hors
de Thbes. Recherches de gographie religieuse (Turnhout, 2005), 428; Gardiner, AEO II, 235; A. Mills, Western Desert, in Redford,
al-Bahryah, in S. Timm, ed., Das christlich-koptische gypten in arabischer
Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, III, 497501; Al-Wah
Zeit. VI. TZ (Wiesbaden, 1992), 292643.

Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 50, pp. 17189
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5913/jarce.50.2014.a023
171

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pharaonic times, with prehistoric settlements4; and sites of the Old Kingdom5; the First Intermediate
period6; the Middle Kingdom7; the Second Intermediate period8; the Eighteenth Dynasty9; Nineteenth
Dynasty10 which produced the famous tomb of the ruler of Bahariya, Amenhotep Huy11; the Late period; and the Graeco-Roman period12 (figs. 12).
The Saite Monuments at Bahariya
The Saite monuments at Bahariya Oasis13 are the four shrines of Ain Al-Muftella,14 the Qasr Allam
(tombs of Badiastarte,15 Thati,16 Tanefertbastet,17 Badiisis, Naas,
settlement, the tombs of Qarat al-Sub
18
and Djedkhonsuiuefankh), and the tombs of Qarat Qasr Salim (tombs of Djedamuniuefankh19 and
Bannentiu20).
F. Hassan, Baharia Oasis, in K. Bard, ed., Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt (London-New York, 1999), 164;
idem, Archaeological Explorations at Baharia Oasis and the West Delta, Egypt, Current Anthropology 20.4 (1979), 806; M. Barta
et al., Report on the survey and Trial Excavations of the Czech Institute of Egyptology, Carried in the Area of El-Hayez, Baharia
Oasis (2ND season, 6.3.31.3.2004), Prehled vyzkumu 45 (2004), 2328; J. Svoboda, Prehistory of the Southern Bahariya Oasis
Western Desert, Egypt. An Outline, Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia 4 (28) (2006), 1830.
5
Giddy, Egyptian Oases, 52; S. Gosline, Baharia Oasis Expedition Season Report for 1988, I, Survey of Qarat Hilwah (Texas, 1990),
67.
6
Wb. I, 349; Giddy, Egyptian Oases, 53; S. Marchand, La cramique de la fin de lAncien Empire/ Premire Priode Interm and L. Sukov, eds., Bahariya Oasis. Recent
diaire: Tombe 10 de la ncropole de Qaret el-Toub (oasis de Bahariya), in M. Dospel
Research into the Past of an Egyptian Oasis (Prague, 2013), 22741.
7
Gardiner, AEO II, 74; Giddy, Egyptian Oases, 5355; A. Fakhry, Wdi el-Natrn, ASAE 40 (1940), 81547; Castel and Tallet
Les inscriptions dEl-Harra, oasis de Bahareya, 99136; A. Fakhry, The Search of Texts in the Western Desert, in Textes et
langages, 20722.
8
M. Bunson, Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt (New York, 2002), 14; Gosline, Baharia Oasis Expedition 1988, 13; Z. Hawass, Valley
of the Golden Mummies (Cairo, 2000), 63.
9
F. Colin, Le Domaine dAmon Bahariya de la XVIIIe la XXVIe dynastie. lapport des des fouilles de Qasr Allam,
in D. Devauchelle, ed., La XXVIe dynastie continuits et ruptures (Paris, 2011), 4749; Hawass, Valley of the Golden Mummies, 1023;

Gosline, Baharia Oasis Expedition 1988, 1516; N. Davies, Puyemer; idem, Rekh-mi-Re.
10
Wb. V, 618; Gardiner, AEO II, 235; Gosline, Baharia Oasis Expedition 1988, 16; Hawass, Valley of the Golden Mummies, 103.
11
C. Van Siclen III, Wall Scenes from the Tomb of Amenhotep (Huy) Governor of Bahria Oasis (San Antonio, 1981), 19.
12
S. Aufrre, J. Golvin, and J.-C. Goyon, Lgypt restitue Sites et Temples des deserts de la naissance de la civilization pharaonique
lpoque grco-romaine (Paris, 1994), 12542; F. Charlier et al., Bahariya, I. Le fort romain de Qaret el-Toub, I (Cairo, 2012); Colin,
Laisney, and Marchand Qaret el-Toub, 4592.
13
For the Saite cemetery at Bahariya Oasis, see PM VII, 299308.
14
Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 152; idem, The Oases of Egypt, II, 64; G. Steindorff, Durch die Libysche Wste zur Amonsoase (Leipzig,
1904), 135, fig. 101; F. Labrique, Le catalogue divin de Ayn al-Mouftella. Jeux de miroir autour de celui qui est dans ce temple,
BIFAO 104 (2004), 336; D. Arnold, Temples of the Last Pharaohs (New York-Oxford, 1999), 88. On temple symbolism and Late
period temples in ancient Egypt, see J. Baines, Temple Symbolism, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 15
(1976), 1011; idem, Temples as Symbols, Guarantors, and Participants in Egyptian Civilization, in S. Quirke, ed., The Temple in
Ancient Egypt (London, 1997), 216; C. Zivie-Coche, Late Period Temples,UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 1 (1). nelc_uee_7919.
Retrieved from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/30k472wh, 1.
15
Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 99; W. El-Sadeek, Twenty-Sixth Dynasty Necropolis at Gizeh (Vienna, 1984), 173; K. Jansen-Winkeln,
Inschriften der Sptzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II (Wiesbaden, 2014), 112526 (679).
16
Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 123; PM VII, 3034; El-Sadeek, Twenty-Sixth Dynasty Necropolis at Gizeh, 174; Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Sptzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II, 112630 (680).
17
Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 148; PM VII, 304; El-Sadeek, Twenty-Sixth Dynasty Necropolis at Gizeh, 190.
18
Z. Hawass, Hier ruhte der Statthalter des Pharaos, National Geographic (Deutschland) 2001 (September), 91101; idem,
More Secrets Uncovered in the Valley of the Golden Mummies, Horus. The Inflight Magazine of Egyptair 19 (1) (2001), 1421; F.
Colin and F. Labrique, Semenekh oudjat Bahariya, in F. Labrique, ed., Religions mditerranennes et orientales de lAntiquit.
Actes du colloque des 2324 avril 1999, Institut des sciences et techniques de lAntiquit (UMR 6048), Universit de Franche-Comt, Besanon (Cairo, 2002), 4578.
19
Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 4963; PM VII, 305; Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Sptzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II, 111317
(677).
20
Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 6593. We follow Fakhrys common anglicized writing of this individuals name (underlying form
4

SHERBINY AND BASSIR 173

Fig. 1. Map of Egypt showing the location of Bahariya Oasis (after Bliss, Oasenleben, fig. 2)

Qarat Qasr Salim21

Qarat Qasr Salim is a small tell at the eastern edge of the capital city of Bahariya, Al-Bawiti on the
road to Ain Al-Hubaga.22 On the top of this tell are two of the famous Saite tombs of the oasis: the tomb
of Djedamuniuefankh and the tomb of his son Bannentiu.23
The Tomb of Bannentiu (figs. 34)24
This grander tomb belongs to Bannentiu who was buried in this tomb with all the hallmarks of
magnificent elite burials.25 He was a wealthy man who inherited his wealth from his prominent father,
Djedamuniuefankh. The tomb is located around 15 meters to the west of the famous tomb of his father.
bA-n-ntjw?), although it is not the correct rendering of his name; see our discussion below. For more on the monuments of Baha and Farafra Oases, 78153.
riya Oasis, see Fakhry, The Oases of Egypt, II. Bahryah
21
Willeitner, Die agyptischen Oasen, 9394.
22
Vivian, The Western Desert of Egypt, 192.
23
Vivian, The Western Desert of Egypt, 193; A. Fakhry, Recent Explorations in the Oases of the Western Desert (Cairo, 1942), 4041;
and Farafra Oases, 140 (1).
Fakhry, The Oases of Egypt, II. Bahryah
24
PM VII, 3057; Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 6593, pls. 2034; Colin and Labrique, Semenekh oudjat Bahariya, 4750;
Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Sptzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II, 111824 (678).
25
The Saite tombs at Asasif, at West Thebes, have the same architectural elements, see D. Eigner, Die monumentalen Grab-

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JARCE 50 (2014)

Fig. 2. A satellite image showing the topographical features and geographical localities of Bahariya Oasis (after Charlier,
Bahariya, I, Le fort romain de Qaret el-Toub, I).

On the Name of Bannentiu. It is remarkable to find the name of this individual written several differentways in his tomb. Fakhry pointed out that the rendering of the name of this tomb owner, Ba-n-nentiu
meaning the soul of those who have not, was not common, and was not the best reading of the name.
The name of this individual was written in several different ways in his tomb,26 and all begin with the
bA sign. Fakhry proposed that the name can be pronounced Ba-n-ati, meaning the ram of need, he
also stated that it could be read Benaty,27 Benati, Beniuti, or Beniwty,28 which he considered
more plausible than Bannentiu which some scholars regard as impossible; however, the latter is
the most common in Egyptological literature after Fakhry. Fakhry published the name in his reports as
Ba-n-nentin and Ba-n-nentiou,29 but leaving it as it is, however, pointed out that none of the other
readings is conclusive and another reading would be more suitable. Fakhry thinks that the name is

bauten der Sptzeit in der thebanischen Nekropole, 2 vols. (Vienna, 1984); M. Bietak and E. Reiser-Haslauer, Das Grab des Ankh-Hor.
Obersthofmeister der Gottesgemahlin Nitokris I. Mit einem Beitrag von E. Graefe und Relief-und Fundzeichnungen von H. Satzinger,
2 vols. (Vienna, 19781982).
26
See Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65 (1), 90.
27
See Colin and Labrique, Semenekh oudjat Bahariya, 4647; DN 141.
28

Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65 (1); idem, The Oases of Egypt, II. Bahryah
and Farafra Oases, 140 (1).
29
Fakhry, Recent Explorations in the Oases of the Western Desert, pls. 15a and 15b.

Fig. 3. The tomb of Bannentiu (photograph by the authors).

Fig. 4. The panel of the tomb of Bannentiu showing its plan and main architectural features (photograph by the authors).

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not Egyptian, and probably of Libyan origin.30 The several different ways of writing the name of Bannentiu are as follows:31

Fakhry32 read bA-n-iwtj. However, Ranke has bn-iwt.t(?)-inHr.t,33 bn-iwti(?)-DHwtj,34 and kA-niwtj.35 De Meulenaere36 read bA-n-jwtj and Von Droste zu Hlshoff37 has bA-n-jwtj. Malinine has
BA-At-jt=f38 and Graefe has Bn-Atj-jt.39 Osing40 read Bn41/BAn-jwtj or Bn/BAn-jAd(t) and Bn/BAn-Atj
and Jansen-Winkeln42 has Bn-jwtj or Bn-n-Atj. Leitz and Budde read BA-n-ntyw.43 The name of this
individual should read BAn-At44-(jt=f) or Bn45-Atj(-jt) Benatj(it) (=Bannentiu) meaning It is not that
he who does not have (a/his father).46 This could be confirmed by the relationship between Bannentiu
and his prominent father, Djedamuniuefankh.
No superstructure (fig. 5) has been found. The depth of the shaft leading to the substructure is about
6 meters deep. At the end of it there are two entrances: the first opens south and leads to an incomplete
burial chamber with undecorated walls; the second entrance in the northern side leads to the original
burial chamber. The substructure is composed of a central hall and three side rooms. Only one of these
rooms is painted, and this is the original room which faced the entrance (figs. 68).47
The central hall has four square pillars covered with a thin layer of white plaster48 but only one of its
sides was painted with religious scenes that are very well preserved. The walls of this hall were cut with
and Farafra Oases, 140 (1).
Fakhry, The Oases of Egypt, II. Bahryah
Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65, 90.
32
Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65; De Meulenaere, Notes donomastique tardive (deuxime srie), RdE 12 (1960), 72.
33
Ranke, PN I, 96 (18).
34
Ranke, PN I, 96 (19). De Meulenaere, Notes donomastique tardive (deuxime srie), 72, read them as bn-iwtj and tA(n.t-)
DHwtj. For the latter example, see Ranke, PN I, 363 (14). Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65 (1), pointed out that the two examples of
Ranke, PN I, 96 (1819), are not translated by Ranke and both end with a deity (Thoth and Osiris or Atum?).
35
Ranke, PN II, 321 (19); De Meulenaere, Notes donomastique tardive (deuxime srie), 72.
36
De Meulenaere, Notes donomastique tardive (deuxime srie,), 72.
37
V. Von Droste zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im alten gypten (Hildesheim, 1980), 93.
38
M. Malinine, Une vente desclave lpoque de Psammtique Ier. (papyrus du Vatican 10574, en hiratique anormal),
RdE 5 (1946), 12122, 128 (9).
39
E. Graefe, Untersuchungen zur Verwaltung und Geschichte der Institution der Gottesgemahlin des Amun vom Beginn des Neuen
Reiches bis zur Sptzeit, I (Wiesbaden, 1981), 6061.
40
J. Osing, Zur Lesung der neugyptisch-demotischen Negation bn, Enchoria 10 (1980), 101-2. The examples of this tomb
that Osing used were read Bn-jwty and Bn-Atj.
41
For the bA sign as the sound and letter b, see W. Albright, The Vocalization of the Egyptian Syllabic Orthography (New Haven,
1934), 39; H. Fairman, Notes on the Alphabetic Signs Employed in the Hieroglyphic Inscriptions of the Temple of Edfu, ASAE
43 (1943), 222; idem, An Introduction to the Study of Ptolemaic Signs and their Values, BIFAO 43 (1945), 69; N. de G. Davis,
The Temple of Hibis in el Khargeh Oasis. III. The Decoration. Ed. by L. Bull and L. F. Hall (New York, 1953), pl. 9, 10; Osing, Zur
Lesung der neugyptisch-demotischen Negation bn, 99 (44), 102 (64).
42
Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Sptzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II, 1118 (678).
43
Leitz, LGG II, 89, probably following Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 65 (1).
44
For the negative relative adjective Atj/jAdt/At/jwtj/jtj/jwtw, Coptic at, and Demotic At, see M. Hamza, La lecture de ladjectif
relatif ngativ et sa syntaxe compare avec celle de ladjectiv relative (Cairo, 1929), 10; Crum, CD, 18; W. Westendorf, Kopt. HWb, 13;
Erichsen, Glossar, 13 (25); Wb. I, 35 (17); PM II2, 157; Gardiner, EG, 152-53 ( 202203); Malinine, Une vente desclave, 128 (9).
45
Bn or bAn here is a negation of bw, see Osing, Zur Lesung der neugyptisch-demotischen Negation bn, 1023.
46
Malinine, Une vente desclave, 128 (9); Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar, 15253 ( 202203); Osing, Zur Lesung der neugyptisch-demotischen Negation bn, 1023; Erichsen, Glossar, 13 (25); Wb. I, 35 (17); Hamza, La lecture de ladjectif relatif ngativ,
10.
47
Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 66; H. El-Sherbiny, The Tombs and the Chapels of Baharia Oasis in the Late Period (in Arabic) (MA
Thesis, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt, 2012), 1213.
48
A. Fakhry, Bahria and Farafra Oases. Second Preliminary Report on the New Discoveries, ASAE 39 (1939), 62829.
30
31

Fig. 5. The shaft leading to the burial chamber of the tomb of Bannentiu (photograph by the authors).

Fig. 6. The entrance to the burial chamber of the tomb of Bannentiu (photograph by the authors).

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JARCE 50 (2014)

Fig. 7. The entrance to the central hall (photograph by the authors).

great care. The tomb paintings depict elaborate scenes from the Book of the Dead including the solar
boat traveling to the Netherworld.49 The style is charming and its colors are vivid. The tomb was robbed
and reused in the Roman period and looted again in modern times. When Ahmed Fakhry opened it on
April 22, 1938, however, all the walls and painted scenes were intact (figs. 910).

49
For the Book of the Dead, see G. Lapp. The Papyrus of Nu (BM EA 10477) (London, 1997); R. Faulkner, The Egyptian Book
of the Dead (San Francisco, 1994); T. Allen, BD; E. Hornung, Das Totenbuch der gypter (Zrich-Munich, 1979). For the Book of
the Dead in the Saite period, see T. Wilfong, A Saite Book of the Dead Fragment in Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, In R. Ast,
H. Cuvigny, T. Hickey, and J. Lougovaya, eds., Papyrological Texts in Honor of Roger S. Bagnall (Durham, 2013), 32530; M. Mosher
Jr., Theban and Memphite Book of the Dead Traditions in the Late Period, JARCE 29 (1992), 14372; K. Griffin, The Book of
the Dead from the Western Wall of the Second Pillared Hall in the Tomb of Karakhamun (TT 223), in E. Pischikova, J. Budka,
and K. Griffin, eds., Thebes in the First Millennium BC (Newcastle, 2014), 25168; M. Molinero Polo, The Broad Hall of the Two
Maats. Spell BD 125 in Karakhamuns Main Burial Chamber, in Pischikova, Budka, and Griffin, Thebes in the First Millennium
BC, 26993.

Fig. 8. One of the Roman burials cut into the tomb of Bannentiu (photograph by the authors).

Fig. 9. A religious scene in the tomb of Bannentiu (photograph by the authors).

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JARCE 50 (2014)

Fig. 10. Plan and section of the tomb of Bannentiu

(after Fakhry, Baharia Oasis, I, fig. 25).

On the Name of Abaset. The hedgehog50 goddess Abaset was depicted at Bahariya Oasis in two scenes
in the central hall of the tomb of Bannentiu. The name of the goddess Abaset is rare. Fakhry51 read it
as Abas and published only one version of it:
. Von Droste zu Hlshoff52 reads abast, while
53
Vernus read abas.t. Leitz and Budde read abast and did not offer any translation, only .?..., though
they presented two ways of writing the name of the goddess as they appear in her two inscriptions after Fakhrys publication: the first as that of Fakhry with the letter t and the egg sign, and the second
without the letter t and the egg sign.54 However, the first is probably the correct way to write this
name, the second being presumably incomplete, since the inscription does not continue:
.55 No
interpretation of the goddesss name has not been yet presented. Her name is presumably composed

50
For more on hedgehogs in ancient Egypt and especially in this tomb, see S. Lippert, Stachelschwein, Igel und Schmetterlingspuppe, in C. Zivie-Coche and I. Guermeur, eds., Parcourir lternit: Hommages Jean Yoyotte II (Paris, 2012), 77799.
51
Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 78.
52
Von Droste zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im alten gypten, 93.
53
P. Vernus, Hrisson, in P. Vernus and J. Yoyotte, Bestiaire des Pharaons (Paris, 2005), 146.
54
Leitz, LGG II, 89; Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 7879, fig. 35, pl. 29 B, and 83, fig. 41.
55
See figs. 1217 here and Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 7879, fig. 35, pl. 29 B, and 83, fig. 41.

SHERBINY AND BASSIR 181

of two elements: ab and Ast. ab is a verb meaning to praise or to boast56 and Ast Isis,57 the famous
goddess Isis. Therefore the name of Abaset is Egyptian, ab-Ast, may mean Praising Isis or Boasting
Isis and was perhaps a regional image of Isis at Bahariya Oasis since she is attested only at the oasis
and not yet in the Nile valley.
These scenes of the goddess are the only appearance of this goddess on Egyptian monuments until
this moment. We present here a description of her representation in this tomb and a commentary on
this deity from both a religious and an artistic point of view.
The Representation of the Goddess Abaset
The two scenes representing the goddess Abaset are well executed. The first scene is placed on the
western wall of the central hall of the tomb, while the other is on the outer side of one of its four pillars
(fig. 11).
The First Scene58
The scene depicts two figures of the tomb owner, Bannentiu, in two gestures: one kneeling and the
other standing with his arms raised, adoring two deities in front of him, Rehorakhty and Abaset (fig.
12). The kneeling figure of the tomb owner is executed as a sketch in paint and above him is a drawing
of an unfinished offering table loaded with round loaves in two rows, with two geese and two incense
burners above. In both representations Bannentiu is depicted wearing a long garment and a short wig
and raising his arms glorifying the deities. Rehorakhty wears a short garment above the knees, and the
nemes headdress with a uraeus and a sun disk on his head. He holds the wAs-scepter in his right hand
and the anx-sign in the left.
A text in front of the god reads as follows:
Dd mdw jn Ra-@r-Axty nb-(r)-Drw (pt) tp(y)59 anxw
Words spoken by Rehorakhty, Lord (to) the Limits (of heaven),60 and Foremost of the Living.

Behind Rehorakhty is the goddess Abaset with her remarkable hedgehog61 headdress62 in blue.63
Abaset wears a long tight dress painted in red64 and raises her right hand toward Rehorakhty in the

56
Wb. I, 177 (1622); R. Hannig, Groes Handwrterbuch gyptisch-Deutsch (2800950 V. Chr.). Die Sprache der Pharaonen (Mainz,
2006), 135; Faulkner, CDME, 41; P. Wilson, A Ptolemaic Lexikon. A Lexicographical Study of the Texts in the Temple of Edfu (Leuven,
1997), 271; L. Lesko and B. Lesko, A Dictionary of Late Egyptian, 2nd ed., I (Providence, 2002), 64.
57
Leitz, LGG I, 61; C. Zivie, Le temple de Deir Chelouit I (Cairo, 1982) 7 (5).
58
Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 7879, fig. 35, pl. 29 B; PM VII, 305 [23]; Vandier, Iousaas et (Hathor)-Nebet-Hetepet, RdE 16
(1964), 109, pl. 8; Von Droste zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im alten gypten, 9394; Lippert, Stachelschwein, Igel und Schmetterlingspuppe, 78990, pls. 2223; El-Sherbiny, The Tombs and the Chapels of Baharia Oasis in the Late Period, 12021.
59
tpy is facing right.
60
Leitz, LGG III, 4.
61
Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Sptzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II, 1120 (678); Vernus, Hrisson, 146.
62
K. Goebs, Crowns, in Redford, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt I, 323.
63
The blue color was called xsbd in ancient Egyptian, see S. Quirke, Colour Vocabularies in Ancient Egyptian, in W. Davies,
ed., Colour and Painting in Ancient Egypt (London, 2001), 188. It was also very important pigment in ancient Egyptian iconography, see J. Taylor, Patterns of Colouring on Ancient Egyptian Coffins from the New Kingdom to the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. An
Overview, in Davies, Colour and Paintings in Ancient Egypt, 167.
64
For the symbolism of the red color, dSr, see G. Pinch, Red Things: The Symbolism of Colour in Magic, in Davies, Colour
and Paintings in Ancient Egypt, 184; see also B. Leach and R. Parkinson, Creating Borders: New Insights into Making the Papyrus
of Ani, BMSAES 15 (2010), 3562, http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/online_journals/bmsaes/issue_15/leach_parkinson.aspx.

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Fig. 11. The central hall of the tomb of

Bannentiu where the goddess Abaset is
depicted in an red dress on the side of
the nearest pillar at the left of the photograph (photograph by the authors).

gesture of protection while her left hand is beside her body. There is a text in three vertical lines above
her which reads as follows:
Dd mdw jn ab-Ast nTrt aA(t) nb(t) pt65 Hnw(t) nTr(t)
Words spoken by Abaset, Great Goddess, Mistress of Heaven, the Mistress, and the Goddess.66

The representation of Abaset, Rehorakhty, and Bannentiu is divided by the wAs-scepter into two
equal sections: the right and the left, so it is executed in a much harmonized balance (figs. 1314).
The Second Scene67
The second scene (fig. 15) depicts the god Bare (the Soul of Re)68 standing on the southern west pillar
while the goddess Abaset stands behind him.69 The scene is topped by a winged sun disk surrounded
by two uraei.70 Bare is represented with a human body and a rams head with a sun disk between two
horns, referring to his relationship with the sun god Re. Bare wears a short garment and holds the anxsign in his right hand and the wAs-scepter in his left hand. Abaset wears an elegant tight red dress, her
left arm alongside her body with her hand raised slightly, and her right hand raised toward Bare in a
The letter p is written after the letter t.
Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 7879, fig. 35, pl. 29 B, reads Hmt. J. Vandier, Iousaas et (Hathor)-Nebet-Hetepet, 109, translated as
Paroles dites par Abset, la grande desse, la matresse du ciel, la souveraine des dieux. According to Von Droste zu Hlshoff,
Der Igel im alten gypten, 93, n. 3, Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 78, and Vandier assumed to read Hnwt nTrt and translate mistress of
Gods. Although mistress of Gods in Egyptian should be Hnwt nTrw, not Hnwt nTrt. However, Von Droste zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im
alten gypten, 93, translates die groe Gttin, Herrin des Himmels und gttliche Frau. Vernus, Hrisson, 146, reads grande
desse, dame des dieux.
67
Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, 83, fig. 41; PM VII, 307 [IIa]; Vandier, Iousaas et (Hathor)-Nebet-Hetepet, 109, pl. 8; Von Droste
zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im alten gypten, 9394; Lippert, Stachelschwein, Igel und Schmetterlingspuppe, 78990, pls. 2223; ElSherbiny, The Tombs and the Chapels of Baharia Oasis in the Late Period, 2045.
68
This deity is probably BA-Ra who is attested since the New Kingdom, see Leitz, LGG II, 68889 (9). It is mentioned in the
Book of the Dead, Chapter 17, see Urk. V, 15 (5).
69
Vernus, Hrisson, 146, considers him the ram of Mendes. Colin and Labrique, Semenekh oudjat Bahariya, 46,
thought that he is Banebdjed.
70
This form of the winged sun disk often appears as decorative element in temples and confirms the nature of the deity as a
celestial god. This decorative element probably first appeared on the ivory comb of Djet from the First Dynasty. On a block from
the mortuary temple of Sahure is a scene of the winged sun disk above the kings name and titles. Then the winged sun disk
becomes a symbol of protection. Moreover, Gardiner mentions that the sun disk represents the king as the sun god, see I. Shaw,
and P. Nicholson, British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt (Cairo, 1995), 134, 305; Gardiner, EG, 564.
65
66

SHERBINY AND BASSIR 183

Fig. 12. The first scene (after Fakhry,
Bahria Oasis, I, fig. 35).

gesture of protection. On her head is a long wig with a vulture headdress atop of it with a hedgehog71 in
blue while an upright uraeus decorates her forehead (figs. 1617).
The text above and behind the goddess in two vertical lines reads as follows:
Dd mdw jn ab-Ast @rw Jnpw jr Hr=k hrw nb r(?) rmT Ast jr[w]t=sn [Hr] pr @rw wnm(=k?) ... t
Hsj=s []72
Words spoken by Abaset Horus and Anubis, pay attention every day to (?) the tears of Isis,73
their eyes are [upon] the House of Horus so that you (?) may eat bread (?) and praise her (?)
[].

The text above and in front of Bare reads as follows:

Dd mdw jn BA-(Ra) nb pt74 dj[=f] anx n=k p(A) mAat dwA sA=k nxn bA sDr=s Htp dwAt n psS nn
Words spoken by Ba(re), Lord of Heaven, may [he] give life to you that of justice praise
your son so that the soul be reborn75 and may it sleep pleased (and occupy ?) the Netherworld
(?). for dividing these (?).

Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Sptzeit. Teil IV. Die 26. Dynastie, II, 1122 (678); Vernus, Hrisson, 146.
Hsj=s may refer to the meaning of Abaset and associate her with Isis, see above.
73
A. Leahy, personal communication, July 18, 2014, points out that the tears of Isis may suggest an association of Isis and
Abaset.
74
The letter p is written after the letter t.
75
Hannig, Groes Handwrterbuch gyptisch-Deutsch (2800950 V. Chr.), 427; Wb. II, 311 (15), 313 (4).
71

72

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JARCE 50 (2014)

Fig. 13. The first scene shows Bannentiu

worshipping Rehorakhty and Abaset (photograph by the authors).

Reading and Analysis

The goddess Abaset is represented with the hedgehog on her head.76 Why did this goddess take the
hedgehog77 as her symbol? The hedgehog was probably called Hntj78 and HntA79 in ancient Egyptian. The
hedgehog is called Paraechinus aethiopicus.80 Two species of hedgehog live in Egypt today. The long . Strandberg, The Gazelle in Ancient Egyptian Art. Image and Meaning (Uppsala, 2009), 20.
For a general introduction on the animal world in ancient Egypt, see J. Boessneck, Die Tierwelt des alten gypten. Untersucht
anhand kulturgeschichtlicher und zoologischer Quellen (Munich, 1988); P. Houlihan, The Animal World of the Pharaohs (Cairo, 1995);
P. Vernus and J. Yoyotte, Bestiaire des Pharaons (Paris, 2005).
78
Wb. III, 121 (15).
79
Wb. III, 122 (7); Von Droste zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im alten gypten, 1316; idem, Igel, Ld III, 124; Vernus, Hrisson, 146.
80
See D. Osborn, The Mammals of Ancient Egypt. The Natural History of Egypt IV (Warminster, 1998), 1920. For the detailed
discussion of which species the ancient Egyptian hedgehog belongs to (I mean either Paraechinus deserti, Paraechinus dorsalis or
Paraechinus aethiopicus); R. Hoath, A Field Guide to the Mammals of Egypt (Cairo, 2003), 2529; Von Droste zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im
alten gypten, 711, 1721; idem, Igel, Ld III, 124; Vernus, Hrisson, 145.
76

77

SHERBINY AND BASSIR 185

Fig. 14. A detail of the first scene (after Fakhry, Bahria Oasis, I, pl. 29 B).

eared desert hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus)81 lives in the north of the country. The desert hedgehog
(Paraechinus deserti) is bigger than the Lower Egyptian one and has long ears, long limbs, a short tail,
and spikes.82
There is a scene showing a hedgehog in a defensive situation with spikes on his back against a panther trying to eat it in the Old Kingdom tomb of Pehenuka from Saqqara.83 The hedgehog has been
associated with protection because when this animal feels danger it covers itself with a ball of spikes and
has the ability to face all bites especially of snakes. Hedgehogs hide beneath earth when food is scarce
and appear when there is plenty of food. All these factors refer to the hedgehogs ability for rebirth after
death. There is a scene from the Old Kingdom tomb of Nyankhnesut (object number 1965.28.M, now
at the Dallas Museum of Art) that shows eight men bringing offerings to the tomb owner.84 They are carrying ducks, geese, bread, and flowers for the deceased. The third man from the left is carrying a caged
hedgehog to symbolize the rebirth of Nyankhnesut. The Eighteenth Dynasty Ebers Medical Papyrus85
refers to a prescription for curing baldness by using ground spikes of hedgehog and mixing them with

Vernus, Hrisson, 145.

J. Kingdon, The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (London, 1970), 14142.
83
Y. Harpur, Decoration in Egyptian Tombs of the Old Kingdom. Studies in Orientation and Scene Content (London; New York,
1987), 530 [fig. 188]; Von Droste zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im alten gypten, 62 (no. 8, fig. 9); PM III, 149 (6).
84
S. Kotz, Dallas Museum of Art. A Guide to the Collection (Dallas, 1997), 130.
85
For more on this very important medical papyrus and medicine in ancient Egypt, see T. Bardines, Les papyrus mdicaux
de lEgypte pharaonique (Paris, 1995); P. Ghalioungui, The Ebers Papyrus. A New English Translation, Commentaries and Glossaries
(Cairo, 1987); H. Joachim, Papyros Ebers. Das lteste Buch ber Heilkunde. Aus dem gyptischen zum erstenmal vollstndig bersetzt (Berlin, 1890); B. Ebbell, The Papyrus Ebers. The Greatest Egyptian Medical Document (Kopenhagen, 1937); W. Westendorf, Handbuch der
altgyptischen Medizin, III (Leiden-Boston-Cologne, 1999); W. Wreszinski, Der Papyrus Ebers. Umschrift, bersetzung und Kommentar. I. Teil. Umschrift (Leipzig, 1913); J. Nunn, Ancient Egyptian Medicine, London, 1996; S. Fukagawa, Investigation into Dynamics of
Ancient Egyptian Pharmacology. A Statistical Analysis of Papyrus Ebers and Cross-Cultural Medical Thinking (Oxford, 2011).
81

82

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JARCE 50 (2014)

Fig. 15. The second scene (after Fakhry, Bahria

Oasis, I, fig. 41).

oil. It is suggested86 that the hedgehog aryballoi87 of the Late period (mainly Saite from Naukratis) may
have contained extracts of hedgehog spines and other body parts, which were used as a remedy against
hair loss. Moreover, the ancient Egyptians respected the hedgehog so much because it kept their environment green by eating grasshoppers. The hedgehog often appears in desert environments and is well
known for fighting with snakes which are common in desert oases. Although the hedgehog was not part
of the ancient Egyptian diet,88 it was included in the offering rows carried in baskets in tomb reliefs of
the Old Kingdom (for instance, the tombs of Pehenuka,89 Mereruka,90 and Nyankhnesut91).
Archaeologists have discovered amulets,92 often of faience, in the form of hedgehogs.93 For example,
from the Middle Kingdom the hedgehog features on amulets and later on aryballoi throughout the
86
S. Aufrre and M. Erroux-Morfin, Au sujet du hrisson. Aryballes et preparations magiques base dextraits tires de cet
animal, in S. Aufrre, ed., Encyclopdie religieuse de lUnivers vgtal Croyances phytoreligieuses de lgypte ancienne, II (Montpellier,
2001), 52133.
87
Von Droste zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im alten gypten, 3336.
88
S. Ikram, Choice Cuts. Meat Production in Ancient Egypt (Leuven, 1995), 22; Von Droste zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im alten gypten,
2223; Idem, Igel, Ld III, 124.
89
Harpur, Decoration in Egyptian Tombs of the Old Kingdom. Studies in Orientation and Scene Content, 530 (fig. 188); Von Droste
zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im alten gypten, 62 (no. 8, fig. 9); PM III, 149 (6).
90
P. Duell, The Mastaba of Mereruka, I (Chicago, 1938), pls. 2425; PM III, 140 (1213); J. Lauer, Saqqara. The Royal Cemetery
of Memphis (London, 1976), 59, pl. 33; Von Droste zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im alten gypten, 65 (no. 11, fig. 13); W. Smith, A History of
Egyptian Sculpture and Painting in the Old Kingdom (Boston, 1949), 239 (fig. 92a).
91
Kotz, Dallas Museum of Art, 130.
92
For more on amulets, C. Andrews, Amulets of Ancient Egypt (London, 1994).
93
E. Hornung and E. Staehelin, Skaraben und andere Siegelamulette aus Basler Sammlungen (Mainz, [1976]), 117; Colin and
Labrique, Semenekh oudjat Bahariya, 46.

Fig. 16. The second scene shows Bare and Abaset (photograph by the authors).

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JARCE 50 (2014)

Fig. 17. A detail of the second scene (photograph by the authors).

ancient Mediterranean world.94 Hedgehogs may have been used as offerings in the season of peret as a
symbol of resurrection, or as a means of protecting the sun god. In Old and Middle Kingdoms tomb
scenes, the hedgehog was usually represented at the front of the Nile vessels with its face looking backwards, like a hedgehog in the act of rolling itself up face-first; this probably refers to the similar shape of
the hull of ship. In this sense the hedgehog played an important role as a forecaster of moving winds.95
For example, the prows of numerous faience models of boats, excavated on Elephantine Island, were
decorated with a representation of the head of a hedgehog. Archaeologists also excavated a room located under the foundations of the Middle Kingdom temple in Tell Ibrahim Awad.96 One of the items
found was a small model of a hedgehog-ship made of pottery. This figure-head is looking toward the
back of the ship. This unique positioning is believed to confirm the defensive nature of the hedgehog.

94
V. Webb, Archaic Greek Faience. Miniature Scent Bottles and Related Objects from East Greece, 650500 B.C. (Warminster, 1978);
Von Droste zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im alten gypten, 2844; idem, Igel, Ld III, 124; H. Altenmller, Bes, Ld I, 72024.
95
H. Altenmller, Die Nachtfahrt des Grabherrn im Alten Reich. Zur Frage der Schiffe mit Igelkopfbug, SAK 28 (2000),
126; idem, Funerary Boats and Boat Pits of the Old Kingdom, ArOr 70 (3) (2002), 275 (nn. 3233); W. Van Haarlem, A
Remarkable Hedgehog-Ship from Tell Ibrahim Awad, JEA 82 (1996), 19798; S. Ivanov, The Aegis in Ancient Egyptian Art.
Aspects on Interpretation, in Z. Hawass and L. Brock, eds., Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century. Proceedings of the
Eighth International Congress of Egyptologists, Cairo, 2000, II (Cairo, 2003), 333, 338 [n. 2, n. 3]; Von Droste zu Hlshoff, Der Igel im
alten gypten, 2427; idem, Igel, Ld III, 124.
96
See Van Haarlem, A Remarkable Hedgehog-Ship from Tell Ibrahim Awad, 19798.

SHERBINY AND BASSIR 189

The role that Abaset played in ancient Egyptian religion, however, is not clear. All the above-mentioned associations of Abaset with the hedgehog may have elevated Abasets importance as the local
goddess, at least in oases where the hedgehog was a very common local desert animal.97 The unique
representations of Abaset in the tomb of Bannentiu raise many questions. Why did the tomb owner
choose this goddess to be displayed on the walls of his tomb? Why is this goddess depicted behind two
solar deities? What is the relationship of Abaset with Bare and with Rehorakhty? Why was she depicted
in this location and what was her relationship to the tomb owner? Why is she depicted as a woman with
the hedgehog on her head?
The goddess Abaset is here depicted for the first time. The gesture she makes confirms her protective nature over important deities. She was probably the partner of the major solar deity Rehorakhty.
The presence of the hedgehog goddess behind the sun god may refer to the fact that hedgehogs, as the
enemies of snakes, might have represented a major threat to the serpent Apophis.98 Furthermore, the
solar god Bare as a manifestation of the sun god was depicted with the goddess Abaset presumably as
her partner, as well to confirm her association with the sun god and his many manifestations. The goddess Abaset is here depicted, with the sun god and one of his several forms and aspects, like the major
goddesses Nut (with her husband Geb), Isis (with her husband Osiris), and Tefnut (with her husband
Shu) with their spouses on the pillars of the central hall, which represent the four corners of the universe. The artistic representation of Abaset shows a regional artistic style full of local features and attributes such as the hedgehog headdress; however, the two scenes are well executed. The depiction of the
goddess in the tomb and its location within the tomb confirm her important role in its scenic repertoire.
Conclusion
The representation of the hedgehog goddess Abaset in two scenes within the tomb of Bannentiu at
Bahariya Oasis is very remarkable and unique, yet it is comparable to the artistic traditions in the tombs
of the Nile valley at Thebes. The colors, mainly red and blue, in which the scenes were executed are full
of symbolism. The association of Abaset with the solar deity Bare, the manifestation of the sun god,
may imply that she was his partner at Bahariya Oasis, paralleling depictions of other divine couples on
the other pillars: Geb and Nut, Osiris and Isis, and Shu and Tefnut. Abaset also might have played the
same role with the other solar deity Rehorakhty. Since the hedgehog was associated with the sun god as
a solar animal, it had many characteristics related to rebirth and resurrection. Moreover, through her
textual association with Isis by the implications of the name and epithets,99 Abaset may have shared connections with Osiris as well. Therefore, through her relationships with Re and Osiris, Abaset may have
represented the cycle of life and death100 at Bahariya Oasis. However, we still wait for other monuments
that may present this very interesting hedgehog goddess in different representations.101
University of Arizona
P. Houlihan, Hedgehogs, in Redford, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt II (Oxford-New York, 2001), 8788; R.
Fazzini, J. Romano and M. Cody, Art for Eternity. Master Works from Ancient Egypt (New York, 1999), 70; Houlihan, The Animal
World of the Pharaohs, 44, 66, 6870; Vernus, Hrisson, 14546.
98
K. Jansen-Winkeln, personal communication, July 17, 2014.
99
See n. 73 and our commentary on the name of Abaset above.
100
For more, see J. Roberson, The Awakening of Osiris and the Transit of the Solar Barques. Royal Apotheosis in a Most Concise
Book of the Underworld and Sky (Fribourg-Gttingen, 2013); K. Wei, Der Kreislauf der Ewigkeit. Re und Osiris, in S. Heimann,
ed., gyptens Schtze entdecken. Meisterwerke aus dem gyptischen Museum Turin (Munich-London-New York, 2012), 23435; A.
Von Lieven, Nun sprach aber Osiris zu Re: (Gtter)Dialoge in den groen Corpora der gyptischen Funerrliteratur, in
A. El Hawary, ed., Wenn Gtter und Propheten reden. Erzhlen fr die Ewigkeit (Berlin, 2012), 83104; J. Jrgensen, Myth and
Cosmography. On the Union of Re and Osiris in Two Types of Religious Discourse, in M. Horn, et al., eds., Current Research in
Egyptology 2010. Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Symposium, Leiden University 2010 (Oxford, 2011), 7180.
101
We would like to thank N. Doyle, F. Haikal, K. Jansen-Winkeln, P. Kuniholm, A. Leahy, and I. Romano for comments on
earlier drafts of this article. Any remaining mistakes are solely our own.
97