The Eastern Desert of Upper Egypt: Routes and Inscriptions

Author(s): Lanny Bell, Janet H. Johnson, Donald Whitcomb

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 43, No. 1 (Jan., 1984), pp. 27-46
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
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THE EASTERN DESERT OF UPPER EGYPT: ROUTES AND INSCRIPTIONS*

LANNY BELL, JANET H. JOHNSON, and DONALD WHITCOMB, University of

Chicago

CIVILIZATION in the Nile Valley has naturally been studied in terms of the
monuments of the valley and the tombs on its immediate periphery. But much as most
of Egypt's inhabitants may have avoided the adjoining deserts and concentrated on the
fertile valley, there was of course some interaction with the desert in all periods. The
Egyptians exploited the products of the desert regions (mining for precious metals,
quarrying for stone, etc.) and traveled through the desert in the course of long-
distance, international trade. While on such journeys, the Egyptians would have come
in contact with some of the relatively small number of nomads who inhabited the
deserts. The Eastern Desert has been investigated primarily in terms of the quantities
of inscriptions from all periods known from the Wadi Hammamat and in connection
with the relatively heavy Roman exploitation of the area, evidenced by both road
facilities and quarries, including the extensive establishments at Mons Claudianus and
Mons Porphyrites.' However, vast portions of this desert have not been adequately
investigated archaeologically, and recent research, developed in conjunction with the

* In addition to the abbreviations listed in Wolf-

gang Helck and Eberhard Otto, eds., Lexikon der
Agyptologie (Wiesbaden, 1972), the following abbre-
viations are used in this article:
Abousir: Paule Posener-Krieger, Les archives du
temple funeraire de Niferirkare-Kaka', BdE 65
(Cairo, 1976).
Couyat-Montet: J. Couyat and P. Montet, Les
inscriptions hieroglyphiques et hikratiques au
OudtdiHammaimait,MIFAO 34 (Cairo, 1912-13)
Edel, Felsengriiber: Elmar Edel, Die Felsengrdiber
der Qubbet el Hawa bei Assuan, Abt. II, Bd. I
(Wiesbaden, 1967-70)
Goyon, Inscriptions: Georges Goyon, Nouvelles in-
scriptions rupestres du Wadi Hammamat (Paris,
1957)
[Lanny Bell is Assistant Professor of Egyptology
and Director of the Epigraphic Survey; Janet H.
Johnson is Professor of Egyptology and Director of
the Oriental Institute; and Donald Whitcomb is
Research Associate in the Oriental Institute and the
Center for Middle Eastern Studies.]
[JNES 43, no. 1 (1984)]
? 1984 by The University of Chicago.
All rights reserved.
0022-2968 / 84/4301-0003$01.00.
27
Quseir 1978: Donald S. Whitcomb and Janet H.
Johnson, Quseir al-Qadim 1978: Preliminary
Report (Cairo, 1979)
Quseir 1980: Donald S. Whitcomb and Janet H.
Johnson, Quseir al-Qadim 1980: Preliminary
Report, American Research Center in Egypt
Reports, vol. 7 (Malibu, California, 1982)
Weigall, Report: Arthur E. P. Weigall, A Report on
the Antiquities of Lower Nubia (Oxford, 1907)
Zaba, Rock Inscriptions: Zbyn6k Z~ba, The Rock
Inscriptions of Lower Nubia, Czechoslovak Insti-
tute of Egyptology Publications, vol. I (Prague,
1974).
1 The hieroglyphic inscriptions in the Wadi Ham-
mamat are included in PM, vol. 7, pp. 328-37 (to
which one must add Goyon, Inscriptions); the de-
motic graffiti there are published by Heinz-Josef
Thissen, "Demotische Graffiti des Paneions im Wadi
Hammamat," Enchoria 9 (1979): 63-92; the Greek
and Latin ones by A. Bernand, De Koptos ai Kosseir
(Leiden, 1972). For a discussion of the Roman use
of the Eastern Desert, see G. W. Murray, "The
Roman Roads and Stations in the Eastern Desert of
Egypt," JEA 11 (1925): 138-50; David Meredith,
"The Roman Remains in the Eastern Desert of
Egypt," JEA 38 (1952): 94-111; 39 (1953): 95-106;
Theodor Kraus and Josef R6der, "Mons Claudi-
anus," MDAIK 18 (1962): 80-120; and Theodor
Kraus, Josef R6der, and Wolfgang Mtiller-Weiner,
"Mons Claudianus-Mons Porphyrites,"MDAIK 22
(1967): 108-205.
28 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

Quseir al-Qadim project, has produceda wide range of new information,some of

whichis reportedin this article.
Quseiral-Qadimhas been the focus for a programof archaeologicalexcavationsby
the OrientalInstitutefrom 1978to 1982.2This port was occupiedin the Romanperiod
(first and second centuriesof the modernera) and again in the Ayyubidand Mamluk
periods(thirteenthand fourteenthcenturies),duringwhichperiodsthe townsof Coptos
and Qus, respectively,werethe urbanterminiof caravanroutesleadingfromthe port.
The usual route in both periodswas that throughthe Wadi Hammamat,now a paved
road, markedby numerousconcentrationsof inscriptionsand a seriesof wakelaator
stations. The stations appearto date from Roman times, though used in subsequent
periods, and are associatedwith inter-visiblewatchtowers.3The Romanroad marked
by such facilitiesis comparableto the Via Nova and sites along the limespalestinae.4
The new data presentedherehave novel implicationsfor the utilizationof the Eastern
Desert in ancientas well as laterperiods.

I. THE GRAFFITI IN THE WADI CISA

While several groups of Old Kingdom graffiti have been recorded in the Eastern
Desert, particularly in the Wadi Hammamat,5 a previously unrecorded group was
found in the winter of 1982-83 in the course of explorations of the routes connecting
Quseir al-Qadim with the Nile Valley.6 These graffiti are located in the Wadi 'Isa, a
north-southwadi betweenthe Wadi Hammamatand the Wadi Qash (to the south of
the Wadi Hammamat)(see figs. I and 2 below). The Wadi 'Isa is reachedby exiting
south out of the Wadi Hammamatat 87.5 km west of Quseir(3.5 km east of Bir
Fawakhir).The graffitiare approximately12 km south of the Wadi Hammamatroad,
carvedon both sides of the Wadi'Isa whereit is sharplynarrowedby graniteoutcrops.
This setting is quite reminiscentof the location of the numerousgraffitiin the Wadi
Hammamat, although the Wadi 'Isa is smaller and has many fewer inscriptions.
Interspersedwith a number of graffiti of animals such as gazelles, ostriches, and
bovines(see fig. 3) are one distinctivelyPharaonicHorus falcon and ten hieroglyphic
inscriptions.One of the ten hieroglyphicinscriptionsis a cartoucheof Kheperkara
SesostrisI; the other nine are privateinscriptionsdatingfrom the late Old Kingdom.

2 The 1978 and 1980 seasons are

published in
Quseir 1978 and Quseir 1980; see also Donald S.
Whitcomb and Janet H. Johnson, "Egypt and the
Spice Trade," Archaeology 34 (November 1981):
16-23.
3 R. S. Bagnall, "Upper and Lower Guard Posts,"
CdE 57 (1982): 125-28.
4 These remains have been studied by S. Thomas
Parker, "Archaeological Survey of the Limes Ara-
bicus: A Preliminary Report," Annals of the Depart-
ment of Archaeology of Jordan 21 (1976): 19-31,
and "Towards a History of the Limes Arabicus," in
W. S. Houson and L. J. F. Keppie, eds., Roman
Frontier Studies XII (1979) (Oxford, 1980), pp. 865-
78. The use of the watchtowers has been studied by
Mordechai Gichon, "Towers on the Limes Palesti-
nae," in D. M. Pippidi, ed., Congrbs international
d' tudes sur lesfrontikres romaines (Bucharest, 1974),
pp. 513-44. The route along the Wadi Araba as an
alternate to the Via Nova perhaps parallelsthe utiliza-
tion of the Wadi Qash.
5 The published hieroglyphic and hieratic graffiti
in the Eastern Desert are noted in PM, vol. 7,
pp. 318-39, supplemented by Goyon, Inscriptions,
and 2•ba, Rock Inscriptions.
6 We would like to express our appreciation to
the Egyptian Antiquities Organization for its sup-
port and encouragement of this project and espe-
cially note the assistance of Rabia Hamdan, Ahmad
Gaber, Salaah Sultan, and Mohammad Hagras, all
from the Qena inspectorate, who participated in the
field surveys.
 to SAFAGA
330 - - -0- 33030' 3

aQENA
ot
o
0
\FAWAKHIR

- U 0

LAQEITA oQASH
- .
)' QASH
.... --=-BIR

0 LUXOR

o = TOWN
- 25030,
= RUINS
? =
o WELL
+ = FETEKTI INSCRIPTIONS

O 5 10 50km

FIG. I.-The Eastern Desert between Luxor and Quseir on the Red Sea (map by W. Raymond Johnson
30 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

O 5km

N BIR
FAWAKHIR

BIR
HAMMAMAT

Drawings) (Drawings

Drawings
and
(1,2,3,4,5,
7) 6
8/
IDrawings

9,10,11

SBIR
QASH
c~
-road "
.ran "
and Sherds
"•Drawings
A•DI QASH

FIG.2.-Between the Wadi Hammamat and Wadi Qash with a detail of the Wadi cIsa (map by W. Raymond
Johnson, Jr., and Donald S. Whitcomb)
 THE EASTERN DESERT OF UPPER EGYPT: ROUTES AND INSCRIPTIONS 31

It is not certain that all of these graffiti were left by a single expedition; in fact, this
seems unlikely because at least one individual seems to have left his name on two
separate occasions (Neferu, see inscriptions 5 and 7 in figs. 10 and 11 below). The
groups of animal graffiti were recorded in photograph but not numbered. We assigned
numbers to the ten hieroglyphic inscriptions and the Horus falcon; these numbers were
assigned from north to south, first along the east side of the wadi, then along the west
side. (See figs. 2 and 5, which includes inscriptions 2-6. The individual graffiti will be
discussed here in that order; transcriptions are given in fig. 16.)

Inscription 1 (fig. 4)
sd'wty7 ntr The expedition leader7
Iri Iri.
Iri is a fairly common name, or nickname, in the Old Kingdom; see Ranke, PN, vol. 1,
41/ 1; vol. 2, 343 (39.24 and 41.1); PM, vol. 3, indexes to private names; Abousir,
vol. 2, p. 649 (index). On the basis of titles only one of the individuals named Iri
known from the Memphite area would appear to be identifiable with the expedition
leader Iri.8 However, there are records left by men named Iri both in Nubia and in the
Eastern Desert. At Tomas in Lower Nubia Weigall found two graffiti of the spsi nswt
imy-r cw (king's gentleman, overseer of mercenaries)' 'Iri; an identical graffito was
found in the region of the Wadi el-Arab.10 It has been suggested that this man might
be identical with the father of Harkhuf attested in Urk. I, 124/10," or, as Klaus Baer
has suggested, with the spsi nswt (king's gentleman) mentioned by Sabni in his
Dlri
biographical inscription (Urk. I, 137/8, 16; 138/10). In addition, a rh nswt imy-r
qd(w) (king's acquaintance, overseer of builders) DIri left a graffito in the Wadi
Hammamat.12 Whether either of these Iri's should be identified with the man who left
his name in the Wadi cIsa cannot be proven.

Inscription 2 (fig. 6)
hry-tp nswt imy-r sf(w) cprw The chamberlain and overseer of the
scribes of the crew
Idi Idi.

7 Read htmw ntr by Fischer, Coptite Nome Dynas-
ties, App. B, for the Old Kingdom and First Inter-
mediate Period. This title, which literally means
'sealbearer of the god', was used to indicate a 'repre-
sentative of the king' (so Faulkner, CD, p. 258).
Fischer saw this official as a man who replenished
the royal treasury through expeditions to get wealth
from foreign regions (Henry George Fischer, Den-
dera in the Third Millennium B.C. [Locust Valley,
New York, 1968], p. 116) and described the holder
of the title as an 'expedition leader' (ibid., p. 13).
8 The sdw
wty ntr Ir[i] who appears as an offering
bearer in a scene from the south wall of the sanc-
tuary of the mortuary temple of Pepi 11 at Saqqara
(Jequier, Pepi II, vol. 2, pl. 75), whose existence was
called to our attention by Klaus Baer. Note also
that the owner of a Giza tomb (Hassan, Giza, vol. 6,
pt. 3, pp. 9-17) named Irenakhti, called Iri, bears
several titles borne by other people who left graffiti
in the Wadi clsa; thus, he is an imy-r wpwt (as is
Neferu in inscription 7), a hr'i-tp nswt (as is Idi in
inscription 2), and a s3b imy-r ss(w) (as is Fetekti in
inscription 11).
9 For a discussion of the meaning of this word,
both as it applies to Egyptians and as it applies to
foreigners, see a forthcoming book by Lanny Bell.
10 See Weigall, Report, pl. 58, nos. 7, 12;
Zaiba,
Rock Inscriptions, no. 100.
II See Sive-S6derbergh, Agypten und Nubien,
pp. 13, n. 7, and 27, n. 5.
12Goyon, Inscriptions, no. 24.
32 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

FIG. 3-Animals and Hieroglyphic Graffiti in the Wadi cIsa

FIG. 4-Inscription I
THE EASTERN DESERT OF UPPER EGYPT: ROUTES AND INSCRIPTIONS 33

FIG. 5-East side of the Wadi 'Isa

34 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

Individuals named Idi (to be kept distinct from ones named Idw) occurred in the Old
Kingdom both in the Memphite area and in Middle and Upper Egypt; see Ranke, PN,
vol. 1, 53/25 (and cf. vol. 1, 54/3); PM, vol. 3, indexes of private names. But none of
the Idi's known from mortuary monuments had the same titles as the man who visited
the Wadi cIsa. A scribe Idy left graffito no. 39 recorded by Couyat-Montet in the
Wadi Hammamat. The Wadi Hammamat also contains graffiti of an imy-r nww
(overseer of hunters) 'Idil3 while a shd pr-~c imy-r Cw (supervisor of the great house
and overseer of mercenaries) DIdy left graffito no. 28 at Tomas.14 The Wadi cIsa
graffito could be the work of one of these men at a different stage in his career. The
sequence of titles which Idi bears in the Wadi cIsa graffito is found attached to a
Nww(?)-_Iwnt in the Wadi Hammamat, an DIn-(i)t=f in the Wadi Beiza (off the Edfu-
Mersa Alam road), and to both a Hw.n-Hnmw and his son Mtnw at Qubbet el-Hawa
and Sehel.15

Inscription 3 (fig. 7)
imy irty cpr h c16 The captain of the ship's crew'6
In-k(D)=J Inkaf.
The name Inkaf is also fairly well attested in the Memphite area in the Old Kingdom;
see Ranke, PN, vol. 1, 36/1; vol. 2, 342 (36.1); PM, vol. 3, index of private names;
Abousir, vol. 2, p. 648 (index). But the most likely identification of this Inkaf is with
the Inkaf whose stele was found at Zawayda (on the west bank of the Nile opposite
Coptos). That Inkaf's titles include sd~wty ntr m hcw.wy c(.wy) dd nrw Hr m h.swt
inn hkr nswt m hiswt rsy(wt), 'the expedition leader in the two great boats, the one
who puts the dread of Horus in the foreign lands, and the one who brings treasure/
adornment for the king from the southern foreign lands'. Fischer suggested that either
this Inkaf or the like-named, but slightly later, man whose titles also included 'the one
who puts the dread of Horus in the foreign lands' may have been identical with the
smr hry s tD imy-r mAc smD(ty) Mnw hm-ntr Mnw (companion, overseer of secrets,
general, stolist of Min and prophet of Min) 'In-k3=f who left his graffito at Abu
Simbel.'7 The Inkaf of Wadi cIsa inscription 3 might also be identical with the Inkaf
mentioned in a graffito at Bir Menih south of the Wadi Hammamat as the son of one
man named Fetekti and father of another.'8 The name Inkaf is also found in two Wadi
Hammamat graffiti.19

13 Couyat-Montet, no. 126; 16See the comment

Goyon, Inscriptions, by Fischer, Coptite Nome
no. 29. Dynasties, p. 33, to stele Karlsruhe H. 411. Edel,
14Weigall, Report, pl. 58, no. 28. MDAIK 37 (1981): 126, reads cpr wi in this title.
15See Goyon, Inscriptions, no. 31 (for the forma- 17Fischer, Coptite Nome Dynasties, p. 12.
tion of this name, see Ranke, PN, vol. 1, 23/23; cf. 18This graffito was published by F. W. Green,
206/8 and n. 1; vol. 2, 371 [206.8]); Jaroslav Cerny, "Notes on Some Inscriptions in the Etbai District,"
"Graffiti at the Widi JEA 33 (1947): 56 PSBA 31 (1909): 251 and pl. 33 (no. 11), but the
(no. 42); Edel, Felsengriiber, pt. 1, pls. 132, 135,
el-'All.ki," corrected reading and transcription are those of one
pp. 175-77; Elmar Edel, "Felsinschriften aus dem of the authors (Bell). We hope to be able to collate
Alten Reich auf der Insel Sehal," MDAIK 37 (1981): all the graffiti at Bir Menih during the coming year.
125-34. 19Couyat-Montet, no. 211; Goyon, Inscriptions,
no. 2.
THE EASTERNDESERTOFUPPEREGYPT:ROUTESAND INSCRIPTIONS 35

FIG.6-Inscription 2

FIG.7-Inscription 3
36 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

Inscription 4 (fig. 8)
irti' cpr h w The captain of the ship's crew
mry
Ntr-htp(w) Netjerhetepu.
This name is not previously attested earlier than the Middle Kingdom (see Ranke,
PN, vol. 1, 214/20), but the title which this individual bears clearly indicates a late Old
Kingdom date.20

Inscription 5 (fig. 10)

imy-r msc The general and

hnw nswt Nfr(w) oarsman of the king Neferu.
See the discussion with the fuller listing of this man's titles in inscription 7, below. The
form of the kneeling ms'-figure (Gardiner, Sign-List A12), with its long, dangling legs,
is noteworthy.

Inscription 6 (fig. 12)

Horus falcon, probably of late Old Kingdom date.

Inscription 7 (fig. 11)

[imyn-r] wpwt [The overseer] of (com)missions,

imi -r mric general,
hnw nswt Nfr(w) and oarsman of the king Neferu.
The name is a fairly common one in the Old Kingdom; see Ranke, PN, vol. 1, 194/1;
vol. 2, 368 (194.1); PM, vol. 3, index of private names; Abousir, vol. 2, p. 652 (index).
Although none of the individuals elsewhere attested from the Old Kingdom with the
name Neferu has the same titles as the Neferu who visited the Wadi AIsa, there were
individuals named Neferu buried at Giza who bore the titles imy-r ss(w) cprw hrp cpr
nfrw, 'overseer of the scribes of the crew, director of the crew of recruits'.21 One of
these may, perhaps, have been identical with the shd nfrw (supervisor of recruits)
Nfr(w) who left a graffito in the Wadi Hammamat.22 A ship's captain and sculptor
Mrv with the 'good name' Neferu also left a graffito in the Wadi Hammamat.23The
titles of these individuals indicate connections with expeditions such as the one made
by Neferu to the Wadi cIsa.

Inscription 8 (fig. 13)

nswt hityt Hpr-kB-rc cnh mi RC The king of Upper and Lower Egypt
Kheperkara (Sesostris I), may (he) live
like Ra (forever)!
There are two wavy lines cutting across the cartouche which distort the shape of the
signs. The kg-sign is quite elongated.
20 See hiba, Rock Inscriptions, 21 See Smith, Sculpture, p. 163, n. 1, for distin-
p. 237, discussion
of inscription A26. guishing several different men named Neferu.
22 Couyat-Montet, no. 208.
23 Goyon, Inscriptions, no. 29.
THE EASTERN DESERT OF UPPER EGYPT: ROUTES AND INSCRIPTIONS 37

FIG. 8-Inscription 4

FIG. 9-Inscription 11
FIG. 10-Inscription 5 FIG. II
THE EASTERN DESERT OF UPPER EGYPT: ROUTES AND INSCRIPTIONS 39

00

0O
Ct)

cn

6
rI,

\o

?q
Ic
40 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

Inscription 9 (fig. 14)

s3b ss Mnw-h-i'St<=f> The senior scribe Minhaisht<ef>.
The scribe ran out of room at the bottom of the graffito and repeated the entire
inscription just slightly to the south; see inscription 10.

Inscription 10 (fig. 15)

sD
s3b The senior scribe
Mnw-hD-it= f Minhaishtef.
This name is previously unattested. For the formation of the name, see Ranke, PN,
vol. 2, 57 E 1, with n. 5.24 The form of the hb-plant (Gardiner, Sign-List M16) is
noteworthy.25

Inscription 11 (fig. 9)
imy irty Cpr h 'w The captain of the ship's crew and
s~b imy-r sA(w) senior overseer of scribes
Ftk-ti26 Fetekti
For this rather unusual name, see Ranke, PN, vol. 1, 142/26; vol. 2, 359 (142.26); PM,
vol. 3, index of private names; Abousir, vol. 2, p. 650 (index). It is the nickname of a
man named Kakherptah whose tomb was cleared by Junker at Giza.27 Among this
man's titles is s b imy-r ss(w). It is very likely that the author of Wadi cIsa inscription
11 is the same Fetekti who left his name and titles in the Wadi Atalla,28 where he is
called sd~wty ntr, 'expedition leader', and in the Wadi Hammamat29 and who is
mentioned at Bir Menih. In the latter place, as noted in the discussion of Inkaf in
inscription 3 (and see n. 18 above), a Fetekti without titles is given as the son of a man
named Inkaf and the grandson of another Fetekti. Since this name is somewhat rare, it
is possible that the elder of these two Fetektis is identical with one of the Memphite
men of the same name. In the Wadi Hammamat, Fetekti originally claimed the titles
sd~wty ntr imy-r msc imy-r nww, 'expedition leader, general, and overseer of hunters';
he later returned and added an upper line with the titles hry-tp nswt imy-r sg(w) cprw,
'chamberlain and overseer of the scribes of the crew'. The exact same pair of titles as
that claimed by Fetekti in the Wadi cIsa is also found in the graffito of Ihy in the
Eastern Desert in the Wadi Barramiya between Edfu and Mersa Alam.30
It is quite noticeable that five of the seven individuals mentioned in the Wadi CIsa
graffiti bear titles with a naval association. The range of titles found is standard for
expeditions into the Eastern Desert (e.g., the Wadi Hammamat, along the Mersa

24 For names
utilizing this element, see also
P. Munro, "Der Unas-Friedhof Nord-West: 4. Vor-
bericht tiber die Arbeiten der Gruppe Berlin/ Han-
nover in Saqqara," GM 59 (1982): 78-79, 94-95.
25 Some hieratic parallels are to be found in
pHier.
BM (Posener-Kridger-Cenival) Pal. pl. 6.
26 For the reading of this name (which occurs in
the Pyramid Texts as a Servant of Ra [Wb. I, 581/8])
and a discussion of names with this ending, see Edel,
Felsengriber, pt. 2, pp. 56-58, 62-63 (no. 15).
27Junker, Giza, vol. 8, pp. 108-22.
28 Green, PSBA 31 (1909): pl. 54 (no. 40), follow-
ing p. 322, with the readings improved and the per-
sonal name identified by one of the authors (Bell).
See also n. 18, above.
29 Couyat-Montet, no. 69, pl. 17.
30Z.aba, Rock Inscriptions, A2, pp. 225-26.
THE EASTERN DESERT OF UPPER EGYPT: ROUTES AND INSCRIPTIONS 41

FIG. 14-Inscription 9

FIG. 15-Inscription 10
42 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

1 2 3

4 5
~oj. 9
8
7

10 11

FIG. 16-Inscriptions 1-5, 7-11

Alam road, the Wadi Atalla, Bir Menih, etc.; see fig. 1). Helck identified the top ranks
of such expeditions as consisting of a sdc~wtyntr, who also sometimes bore the title
'general', and, under him, the imy irty cpr 'w, who were the leaders of the individual
.h 'captain', was included when an expedi-
units. Helck suggested" that the title imy irty,
tion involved some travel by ship. Under these individuals would be a sib imy-r s'(w),
which Helck suggested might be identical with the imy-r ss(w) cprw.32Were these
naval men sent into the Eastern Desert, or were their titles merely borrowed from the
navy, reflecting, presumably, an organization of expeditions to the Eastern Desert
similar to the organization on board ships?33
What were the people who left their names in the Wadi cIsa doing in this part of the
Eastern Desert? Had they been sent on quarrying expeditions for granite, precious
minerals, or the like? Or were they on their way to the Red Sea coast as part of a
trading expedition to Punt, or elsewhere? It may be suggested that many or most of
these individuals were based at Coptos: the name Minhaishtef, compounded with the

31 Beamtentitel, p. 101. 33 See also the short discussions by Zaba, Rock

32 Ibid., n. 74. Inscriptions, p. 238, inscription A27; and Rolf Gund-
lach, "Expeditionswesen," LA, vol. 2, col. 65.
 THE EASTERN DESERT OF UPPER EGYPT: ROUTES AND INSCRIPTIONS 43

name of the god Min of Coptos, and the suggested identification of Inkaf with the
like-named man whose stele was found at Zawayda, opposite Coptos, both indicate a
relationship to that city, which assumed a role of increasing significance in Upper
Egypt during the late Old Kingdom.34This city served not only as a base from which
quarrying and trading expeditions to and through the Eastern Desert could set out but
also as a type of frontier base for resisting the increasing pressure from the "Asiatic"
nomads evidenced by, among other things, the murder of the 'ship's captain and
overseer of mercenaries' Anankhti by bedouin in the "desert land of the Asiatics" as he
prepared for a trip to Punt." Since the Wadi Hammamat and Wadi Qash were
alternative routes through the Eastern Desert to the coast of the Red Sea, the graffiti
in the Wadi 'Isa might also have been left by people going from one route to the
other, perhaps to avoid trouble along one of the roads. The preponderance of naval
titles makes it quite possible that this route may have served as the, or at least a, route
through the Eastern Desert for expeditions participating in the Red Sea trade.
However, the known Old Kingdom graffiti are scattered throughout the Red Sea
hills both north and south of the Wadi Hammamat; see PM, vol. 7, map 4. They are
not located near, or on the way to, any known Old Kingdom quarries. Perhaps the
location of such graffiti is fortuitous: it is possible that Egyptians roamed throughout
the Eastern Desert but left their names (or their names have survived) only in the
relatively small number of areas where the rock was appropriate for such lasting
graffiti. It seems likely that graffiti were carved during time spent in temporary camps
and the close association of hieroglyphic graffiti with animal carvings suggests that the
Egyptians may have camped where bedouin were in the habit of camping. It seems
clear that the Egyptians had regular patrols in at least some parts of the Eastern
Desert, attempting to gain information about nomad movements and, if possible, to
control them.36Some of the inscriptions left by men bearing the title imy-r 'w, 'overseer
of mercenaries', may reflect the movements of such Egyptian patrols; the locations of
the graffiti including this title and the fact that many of the men who bore this title
were buried at Qubbet el-Hawa indicate that many such patrols may have been based
in Aswan.37Similarly, the graffiti left by men such as Fetekti line up near the center of
the Eastern Desert in an approximate north-south line parallel to the coastal moun-
tains. There are no reported hieroglyphic or hieratic graffiti east of this suggested line.
Thus, this pattern of graffiti might indicate a patrol route for patrols based in Coptos,
indicating thereby the limits of control of the Coptite nome and the effective eastern
frontier of Southern Upper Egypt during the late Old Kingdom.

II. THE WADI QASH

The discovery of the Wadi 'Isa inscriptions and drawings was a result of an investiga-
tion into the routes connecting the port of Quseir al-Qadim with the Nile Valley. The
expedition to Quseir al-Qadim also investigated the site of Bir Kareim, south of

34 Fischer, Coptite Nome Dynasties, pp. 1-2;
LA',
vol. 3, cols. 737-38.
35 As told by Pepinakht, Urk. 1, 134/13-17.
36 As reflected for Middle Kingdom Nubia in the
Semnah dispatches; see Paul Smither, "The Semnah
Despatches," JEA 31 (1945): 3-10.
37 See Lanny Bell (book, forthcoming).
44 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

modern Quseir, in 1978 and 1980. This was a small Roman settlement around the
wells providing water for the ancient port.38Bir Kareim was also a stage on the route
connecting Quseir to the Nile Valley through the Wadi Qash via the station at Laqeita.
The route through the Wadi Qash appears on maps of the Eastern Desert as a "camel
track" and, until the paving of the modern Wadi Hammamat road, was a much-
frequented alternate route. The western portion of this route, near Laqeita, was investi-
gated by Winckler, who found a serekh of Narmer among drawings and inscriptions of
all periods.39
We have now begun a thorough investigation of the length of the Wadi Qash,
looking for graffiti and any other evidence of human presence in the wadi. That the
Wadi Qash has been intensively used was evident from the multitude of parallel camel
tracks still visible near Bir Qash, located midway between Laqeita and the Red Sea
coast. The wells here showed evidence of a campground but no structures were present.
A collection of pottery from around the well (fig. 17, a-h) shows some affinities with
ceramics of the fourteenth century occupation at Quseir al-Qadim.40 These comparisons
probably represent a continuation of poorly known traditions of late medieval pottery
from Upper Egypt. More distinctive, however, are the parallels with ceramics from the
Hadhramaut in southern Arabia. This material is datable to the seventeenth-nineteenth
centuries (and perhaps slightly earlier) and is found on numerous Hadhrami sites.41
About 12 km west of Bir Qash along the camel tracks is a rock outcrop with some
tribal signs and rudimentary animal drawings (see fig. 2). Around the rock was a
scatter of potsherds which included fragments of pipe bowls (fig. 17, j-k) and a large
pot, decorated with incised decoration and appliqu6 dabs of clay (fig. 17, i). Similar
jars have been recovered from a shipwreck near Jeddah and an almost complete
example was found at Miletus, in Turkey (dated by Sarre to the fifteenth century).42
These few sherds also indicate a date in the Ottoman period, within the last 300 years,
and thus relatively recent use of this road.
The occurrence of pottery with a rather broad geographical range has interesting
implications for this route. The pottery connections with the Hadhramaut may be
partially explained by the report that Hadhrami fishermen lived on the Egyptian coast
until relatively recently.43 The excavations at Quseir al-Qadim also exhibit a wide
range of contacts-from the Mediterranean to India-in both medieval and Roman
contexts. Several of the artifact comparisons involve vessels not intended as containers,

38These remains are described by Martha Prickett
in "Quseir Regional Survey," chap. 12 of Quseir
1978, pp. 300-4, and by Donald Whitcomb in "Bir
Kareim," chap. 20 of Quseir 1980.
39 Hans A. Winckler, Rock Drawings of Southern
Upper Egypt, vol. 1, ASE, vol. 26 (London, 1938),
reports a great variety of inscriptions and drawings
from site 18, ranging from predynastic(for the serekh
see pl. 11:1) through the Roman and Islamic periods.
His sites 18, 19, 20, and 21 are located west of Bir
Qash and within the Wadi Qash. See also James
Burton's journals (unpubl., BM, vol. 1, p. 126) for
other routes.
40 Cf. Quseir 1980,
pl. 34c (glazed red ware) with
fig. 17e; pl. 39 (incised cream wares) with 17f;
pl. 43h-i (rope marked ware) with 17g.
41 Cf. fig. 17c with figure 14k in Whitcomb,
"Islamic Archaeology in Aden and the Hadhramaut,"
in the Festschrift for Beatrice DeCardi, E. C. L.
During-Caspers, ed. (forthcoming); fig. 17d with
figure 7a; fig. 17f with figures 10gg and 15j; fig. 17g
with figure 4v; and fig. 17h with figures 13e, 16f,
and 17i. This painted ware is especially distinctive.
42 Friedrich Sarre, "Die Keramik der islamischen
Zeit von Milet," in K. Wulzinger and F. Sarre, eds.,
Das islanlmiche Milet (Berlin and Leipzig, 1935),
vol. 3, no. 4, p. 75, fig. 8.
43 Personal communication from Haini el-Zeiny
(January 1978).
 THE EASTERN DESERT OF UPPER EGYPT: ROUTES AND INSCRIPTIONS 45

4--
-- g
-

_ I
O 5cm

/OITT: (

FIG. 17.--Pottery from Bir Qash:

a red-orange ware, cream slip on interior and exterior, common chaff

b red-orange ware, common coarse sherd temper
c brown ware, burnished on interior, dark brown paint on rim, common coarse sand and chaff
d red-brown ware, common chaff and moderate medium sand
e red ware, traces of green glaze, moderate medium sand
f cream ware, incised, common chaff and moderate medium sand
g red-brown ware, rope marked, abundant coarse sand and chaff
h red-orange ware, cream slip on exterior, brown paint, common medium sand

Pottery from Wadi Qash 12 km west of Bir Qash:

i cream ware, incised and barbotine, brownish discolorations, moderate medium sand
j tan ware, red slip on exterior, fine
k tan ware, red slip on exterior, fine
I red ware, cream surfaces, common medium sand and chaff
46 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

also suggesting the possibility that foreign populations were living on the Egyptian
coast. Patterns of movement between the coast and the Nile Valley, as indicated by the
above ceramic evidence, would seem to imitate earlier medieval and Roman patterns.
The question remains whether this pattern may shed some light on the use of the
Eastern Desert in earlier, Pharaonic, times.
Although the Old Kingdom graffiti in the Eastern Desert are located along or west
of an imaginary line through the center of the Eastern Desert (as discussed in section I
above), there are later graffiti in the eastern sections of the Eastern Desert.44Likewise
the spread of ceramic finds must be more extensive than indicated here (such humble
finds have often been ignored or considered undatable in the past). Most of the finds
which have been made so far concentrate around the known wells, as might be
expected, and along known caravan routes such as the Wadi Hammamat or Wadi
Qash, although the posited existence of a north-south defensive perimeter in the Old
Kingdom suggests a different form of occupation in the desert. The contrasting patterns
outlined in this article, that of the caravan routes into the quarry regions and to the
coast and that of a supervised frontier of Egypt in the middle of the desert, are based
on very little evidence, though that evidence gives strong indications of the wealth of
unrecorded documentation remaining to be discovered. This research will add to the
understanding of Egyptian interaction with the surrounding environment and contacts
beyond the valley which helped to shape this civilization in ancient and medieval
times.

44 See Prickett in Quseir 1978; A. E. P. Weigall,

Travels in the Upper Egyptian Deserts (Edinburgh
and London, 1909), pl. 10:19.