Ranefer
Ranefer in hieroglyphs | ||||
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Ranefer (or Ranofer) was a prince of ancient Egypt during the 4th dynasty (Old Kingdom of Egypt).[1] His name means “Ra is beautiful”.
Ranefer ‒ who had a title “King’s Son”[2] ‒ was a son of Pharaoh Sneferu, who was the first ruler of the Fourth Dynasty.[3] Ranefer’s mother was Sneferu’s wife or concubine; her name is unknown. Ranefer’s elder brothers were Nefermaat I and Rahotep.[4][5] They all died before Sneferu and their younger half-brother Khufu became king after Sneferu.[6]
Ranefer worked as an overseer for his father[7] (title: “Overseer of Djed-Sneferu”) and was buried inside a mastaba tomb at Meidum.[8] In the tomb were found remains of viscera wrapped in linen.[9] Ranefer’s body is the best representation of what mummification techniques entailed during the Old Kingdom.[10] His body was facing east, was molded as well as painted. The mummy’s hair was painted black, the eyebrows and eyes were painted green[11] whilst the mouth was painted red. The genitals were also carefully molded, the brain remained in the skull and its innards were found in a canopic chest in the tomb.[12]
References
- ↑ Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt: A Genealogical Sourcebook of the Pharaohs, 2004, Thames & Hudson
- ↑ Bart, Anneke, Seneferu
- ↑ Hill, Jenny. "Children and grandchildren of Sneferu".
- ↑ The California Institute for Ancient Studies. "The Kings of the 4th Dynasty".
- ↑ Old Kingdom Monuments Organized by Ruler, Wikiversity
- ↑ Snofru, Ranefer's father
- ↑ Justine Victoria Way, From Privilege to Poverty: The Life-cycle of Pyramid Settlements During the Old Kingdom
- ↑ Marsh, Cynthia. "Egyptian Pharaoh Sneferu and His Overachieving Children".
- ↑ "Death and the afterlife in ancient Egypt". Preservation of the viscera.
- ↑ Ikram & Dodson 1998:110-111
- ↑ Petrie, William Matthew Flinders. "Medum".
- ↑ McArthur, Riana (31 August 2011). The Evolution of the Technique of Human Mummification (ca.5000 BCE – ca.395 CE). p. 17.