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Often the name and titles of deceased were written on tombstones/stelae. The tomb itself was often not accessible, but people could visit a stela and bring cult offerings.
The stela in Iziko’s collection is made in a silhouette style and figures are cut in sunk-relief without inner details. This style was very popular in the Middle Kingdom, especially in the 13th Dynasty. The find spot is not known, though Abydos does seem likely.
The stela shows in the upper register three lines of hieroglyphs, giving the usual offering formula, and in the lower register the owner of the stela, Senusret who is sitting with a woman in front of an offering table. The inscriptions and scenes are rather crudely cut, so that there are problems in reading the whole inscription:
A boon which the king gives to Osiris, lord of Busiris, the great god, lord of Abydos; may he give an voice offering, comprising athousand of all good and pure things for the honoured Senusret, bomof Henyt(?) and begotten of…Neit(?).
For more informaion read the document: A Stela of the Early Middle Kingdom in the South African Museum, by A. Boshoff & W. Grajetski.
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 Middle Kingdom stela possibly from the 13th Dynasty. |