Queen Meresankh III was the daughter of
Hetepheres II
Hetepheres II was a Queen of Ancient Egypt during the 4th Dynasty.
Biography
Birth and family
Queen Hetepheres II may have been one of the longest-lived members of the royal family of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, which lasted from ca. 2723 ...
and Prince
Kawab
Kawab is the name of an ancient Egyptian prince of the 4th Dynasty. He was the eldest son of King Khufu and Queen Meritites I. Kawab served as vizier and was buried in the double mastaba G 7110–7120 in the east field which is part of the Giz ...
and a granddaughter of the Egyptian pharaoh
Khufu
Khufu or Cheops was an ancient Egyptian monarch who was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty, in the first half of the Old Kingdom period ( 26th century BC). Khufu succeeded his father Sneferu as king. He is generally accepted as having c ...
. She was the wife of King
Khafre.
Hetepheres also provided her daughter with a black granite sarcophagus decorated with palace facades for Meresankh's burial.
Her tomb was discovered by archeologist
George Reisner
George Andrew Reisner Jr. (November 5, 1867 – June 6, 1942) was an American archaeologist of Ancient Egypt, Nubia and Palestine.
Biography
Reisner was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His parents were George Andrew Reisner I and Mary Elizabeth ...
on April 23, 1927, with subsequent excavations undertaken by his team on behalf of
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
and the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Her sarcophagus and skeleton are today located in the Cairo Museum; the latter reveals that she was 1.54 metres (5'1") tall and between 50–55 years at her death. An anthropological study suggested, that she might have suffered from bilateral
silent sinus syndrome.
The tomb also contained a set of the earliest known
canopic jar
Canopus (, ; grc-gre, Κάνωπος, ), also known as Canobus ( grc-gre, Κάνωβος, ), was an ancient Egyptian coastal town, located in the Nile Delta. Its site is in the eastern outskirts of modern-day Alexandria, around from the cent ...
s. A limestone statue depicting Queen Hetepheres embracing her late daughter Meresankh was found in her tomb and is today located in the
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
[Dodson & Hilton, p.57]
Meresankh III's children
The children of Meresankh and Khafre include:
* Prince
Nebemakhet Buried in Mastaba 8172. His titles include scribe of the (divine) book, elder of the snwt-house of his father, chief justice and vizier, hereditary prince, king's son of his body, chief lector-priest, khet-priest of the Great One, khet-priest of (?) Temp. Khephren to Menkaure or a little later. In the mastaba Duaenre, and Niuserre are mentioned. As well as a brother named Ankhemre. Nebemakhet's wife was named Nubhotep,
Prophetess of Hathor Priestess of Hathor or Prophetess of Hathor was the title of the Priestess of the goddess Hathor in the Temple of Dendera in Ancient Egypt.
Title
The title is known to be given during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, and was at that point very powerful ...
Mistress-of-the-Sycamore in all her places, etc.
* Prince
Duaenre Mastaba G5110 Vizier of Menkaure. Possibly the father of vizier
Babaef.
* Prince
Kenterka. Mentioned in Meresankh's tomb. Khenterka is assumed by some to be a son of Meresankh III.
* Prince
Niuserre (A) (Ny-user-Re-ankh (?) is mentioned in Meresankh's tomb) King's son of his body, Chief lector-priest of his father, Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt, etc. Middle to end of Dyn. IV. (Unfinished Rock cut tomb in central field)
* Prince
Ankhemre King's son of his body. Mentioned in the inner chapel of his brother Nebemakhet.
* Princess
Shepsetkau (mentioned in Nebemakhet's Mastaba).
References
External links
Virtual exploration of the mastaba of Meresankh III
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meresankh 03
Queens consort of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt
26th-century BC women
25th-century BC women
Khafre