FRESH LIGHTS ON SUCHUS,
LORD OF SMEN
BY Hassan S. K. Bakey, Kairo
In early 1966 a new canal was dug, passing through the little town of
Al-Mahamid Kibly (i. e. South), south of Hermonthis (modern Armant).
The canal is named "the Canal of Sawahel Armant", i. e. "the Canal of the
Armant Banks". In the course of the digging of the canal the ruins of a
temple of Suchus were uncovered, and numerous architectural elements from
the New Kingdom were found at the bottom of the canal and elsewhere.
So sondages were made there, opposite thc 'Ezbet ('Estate') of Awläd (i. e.
'Sons of) Mekky Dahmash.
Among the objects found, there was a grey granite headless statue of a
personage named Maya. This is represented kneeling, holding a naos in front
of him, with the crocodile of Suchus recumbent on its top, both figure and
naos standing on a base. Maya wears a long, richly pleated kilt and a pair
of sandals. Total height: 48 cm, length of crocodile: 51.5 cm. Date: Dyn. XIX.
It is quite likely that our Maya is the same person who lived under Tut'
ankhamfm and Haremhab. The inscriptions of this monument describe
Suchus as "Sebk-Re', the lord of Smen, the great god who is in the midst
of I-m-iotru" (base, upper line) and "lord of Im.t- tree . . ., whose two feathers are sublime" (naos).
The tw.<-tree and the two tall feathers of Suchus are represented on a
large fragment of a sandstone stela. As the top of the stela (from right to left)
the crocodile-god, Suchus "the lord of Smen", the cow-goddess, Hathör
and the ape-deity Thoth. The crocodile-god is recumbent on his shrine,
shaded by his sacred tree ; he wears two tall feathers flanking the sun-disc
and resting on a crown carrying two horns. The cow-goddess carries a
solar-disc crown between two horns . . . The crown of Thoth is the moon
with crescent. The Im.t-tree, judging by depictions and inscriptions, appears
to be the sacred symbol of all three divinities portrayed here.
When sondages were resumed at Al-Mahamid on April .3, 1967 a part of
the temple of Suchus with its paved floor was discovered. It extended east¬
wards underneath the houses of 'Ezbet Awläd Mekky Dahmash. Among the
objects found near the east bank of the canal is a limestone round-topped
stela. In the upper register one sees the goddess, most likely Hathör, Suchus, the deceased Pia and his son ii-hb-n.f . . . Suchus is shown with a crocodile's
Fresh Lights on Suchus, Lord of Smen 71
head surmounted by horns and a sun-disc flanked by two high feathers. He
sits with Hathör under the im.i-tree. According to the text of the stela,
Suchus is again "Sebk-Re', the lord of Smen", "who is in the im.t- tree"
(upper register), "the great god, the lord of the sky", thus playing a cosmic röle, "who is in the midst of I (-m)-iotru" (lower register), "who creates all
that exists. King of the gods, lord of lords, ... a god who is eldest of the
gods, ... lord of eternity and ruler of everlasting", being in this manner a primordial deity (lowermost inscription).
It is most significant that the deceased H-hb-n.f entreats Suchus: "Mayest
thou give to me the favour in this temple every day!" Thus the existence
of a temple of Suchus, already discovered there, is confirmed both by textual
and architectmal evidence. This temple goes back at least to the time of
Tuthmösis I (1528-1510 B.C.), as is testifed by a fragment of a small round-
topped stela showing Amen-Re', King Tuthmösis I and his cartouche
('i-hpr-kiR').
On the geographical situation of Smen egyptologists appear to have been
divided before our present archaeological discoveries. These have persuaded
us to reconsider it. The stelae dedicated to Suchus "the lord of Smen", and of "the Imit-tree" , uncovered on the temple ground and thereabout
were placed there by great personages, the followers of Suchus, almost the
same way as the followers of Osiris did at Abydos. Smen was in all likelihood
a large town with its cult-centre at 'Ezbet Awläd Mekky Dahmash, south of
Armant and north of Gebelen. Near Gebelen lay "the Island-in-the-River",
I-m-iotru, where Suchus was also worshipped. It was his sacred island.
On June 2, 1967 further sondages were made. A sandstone basin 130 cm
long, 125 cm wide, was found, it contained a black granite group-statue,
54 cm in height, representing two crocodiles lying side by side in sculptme and
Hathör's sistrum in 6as-relief, with the signs below thc goddess's head,
flanked by two feathers. Neb-nüfer, the owner of the statue who was a
we' eö-priest and superintendent of the Treasury of Amün, is kneeling in
an attitude of adoration to both the names of king Amenöphis III and that
of "Suchus, the lord of Smen" facing him. His mother and wife are re¬
presented together playing the sistrum. It is noteworthy that this monument
of Neb-nüfer was found standing on a rectangular sandstone slab a little
below the top of the basin, with a pair of wheels on each side of its lower
surface. This slab was placed above another sandstone slab with two grooves
on its upper smface, coated with lead and bronze. By means of wheels runn¬
ing in the grooves, the upper slab could be moved forward in order to partly
open the basin and put offerings for Suchus therein. To prevent the upper
slab from moving, when the basin had to be shut, its metal catch in the
middle of its front edge was dropped into a cavity at the rear edge of the
lower slab.
72 Hassan S. K. Bakby
A brick archway 4.10 in long, 1.10 m wide connected the Nebnüfer basin
with a chamber closed on the top by means of three large sandstone blocks,
fitted side by side and measuring 375x210 cm. The blocks served as its
ceiling. The chamber which was then found full of water, housed a very fine
alabaster group-statue of Suchus and a Pharaoh. The seated crocodile-
headed god wears a solar disc flanked by two tall feathers on a pair of horns
and a Mraews-serpent, and also a wig hanging over the shoulders. Suchus
holds the sign of life to the nose of the standing Pharaoh (represented on a
much smaller scale) as if he were saying to him: "Live!" With his left
arm he embraces the Eang whose name was erased to be replaced by that
of Ramesses II.
The muzzle of the crocodile head of Suchus had been mended anciently,
and the old muzzle was found. It appears that the crocodile-head had to
wear a divine beard of alabaster. So the muzzle and the beard were cut and
fixed into the head and neck of the god by means of two bronze wedges.
It is likely that the adjusted pieces were too heavy and so fell off. The idea
of a divine beard was afterwards dropped altogether, and the broken muzzle
was replaced by a slightly smaller one, thus uncovering the holes made for
the two wedges. The broken pieces were left beside the deity to be undisturb¬
ed, probably out of respect for him, and to explain the sad story of his
fallen beard.
In the text of Ramesses II on the dorsal pillar figures the name of Suchus
who is described as "the lord of Smen". Suchus addresses the king thus:
"I am thy august father, who have created thy goodness." He has given
him „millions of feasts like (Ta-Tjenen)", "eternity as king of the Two Lands", and "victory over every foreign land".
We tend to believe that the whole edifice: the archway, the stone basin,
and chamber, was attached to the temple and consecrated to the breeding
of the sacred crocodile, as was the custom at other great temples where their
animal god was kept and bred.
BERICHT ÜBER DEN AUFBAU EINES ÄGYPTOLOGISCHEN
SACHKATALOGES IN LOSEBLATT-FORM
Von E. Hornung, Basel
Wer heute Ägyptologie studiert, sieht sich auch in diesem als ,, klein"
geltenden Fach bereits einer Materialfülle gegenüber, die er ohne Dokumen¬
tations-Hilfen nicht allein bewältigen kann. Jährlich erscheinen 600-800
ägyptologische Veröffentlichungen, die ein einzelner nicht alle dmcharbeiten
kann, zu schweigen von der Aufgabe, auch die ältere, schon vorhandene
Literatur aufzuarbeiten. Dokumentations-Hilfen aber fehlen in unserem
Fach fast völlig: es gibt keine umfassende analytische Bibliographie, es
gibt keine Seminar-Zettelkästen oder Sachkataloge, die bestehenden Wör¬
terbücher und Zeichen listen reichen nicht aus, ein Reallexikon des Faches
ist bisher nur für das Teilgebiet der Religion - mit dem verdienstvollen
Werk von Bonnet - verwirklicht worden, meine eigene ,, Einführung in die
Ägyptologie" kann nur die allergröbste Orientierung geben und ist für De¬
tailfragen keine Hilfe.
Wer ernsthafte Forschungsabsichten hat, ist daher gezwungen, selber
umfassend zu sammeln und dabei ab ovo anzufangen, wie vor ihm bereits
Generationen von Forschern und Lehrern unseres Faches. Das ist zwar ein
heilsames und nützliches, aber nicht gerade rationelles Verfahren. Es ent¬
stehen auf diese AVeise in jahrzehntelanger Arbeit ungeheure private Samm¬
lungen, die ebenso privat, wie sie entstanden sind, auch wieder untergehen.
Demgegenüber ist es denkbar, eine solche private Sammlung - oder am
besten gleich mehrere - zur Grundlage eines Seminar-Sachkataloges zu
machen, der dann mit relativ geringem Zeitaufwand .systematisch ergänzt
und ausgebaut werden kann. Bei allem Wachstum ist unser Fach ja gerade
noch so weit überschaubar, daß ein solches Unternehmen mit einem trag¬
baren, den Verhältnissen unseres Faches angemessenen Aufwand durch¬
geführt werden kann. Der Gedanke daran scheint ,,in der Luft" zu liegen,
mehrere Kollegen haben ihn, in den verschiedensten Ausprägungen, in
letzter Zeit gehabt, und es war ein glücklicher Zufall, der uns Mitte 1967 zu
gemeinsamem Handeln zusammenführte. Mehr brauche ich über Vergangen¬
heit und Vorgeschichte hier nicht zu sagen, sondern wende mich gleich der
Gegenwart zu, und Gegenwart ist vor allem die Frage : Wie sollte ein solcher
Seminar-Sachkatalog aussehen, und wie kann er am rationellsten, d. h. mit
dem geringsten und doch wirkungsvollsten Aufwand verwirklicht werden?
