The 'Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten' that oversees his city, ancient Amarna: What is the meaning of Pharaoh's Texts and What kind of message did he left for the 'Cult of Aten'?

 

The Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten are a group of royal monuments in Upper Egypt. They are carved into the cliffs surrounding the area of Akhetaten, or the Horizon of Aten, which demarcates the limits of the site. The Pharaoh Akhenaten commissioned the construction of Akhetaten in year five of his reign during the New Kingdom. It served as a sacred space for the god Aten in an uninhabited location roughly halfway between Memphis and Thebes at today's Tell El-Amarna. The boundary stelae include the foundation decree of Akhetaten along with later additions to the text, which delineate the boundaries and describe the purpose of the site and its founding by the Pharaoh. Total of sixteen stelae have been discovered around the area. According to Barry Kemp, the Pharaoh Akhenaten did not “conceive of Akhetaten as a city, but as a tract of sacred land”.

Purpose of the Stelae

Sixteen boundary stelae have so far been discovered at Tell El-Amarna. The boundary stelae of Akhenaten were carved in locations around the city of Akhetaten that was built by the pharaoh Akhenaten to his god Aten. Their purpose is to demarcate the boundaries of the holy site of Aten, but also to inform people about the intentions of the pharaoh and the nature of the site as a holy place for Aten. The boundary stelae are a major source of information about the religious reforms of Akhenaten, as they include the full titulary of the god Aten and other clues about the cult practiced in Akhetaten. The stelae are royal monuments commissioned by the pharaoh and thus contain an inherent bias that favors the king's undertakings and condemns those who opposed his reforms. They are nonetheless important historical artefacts and are very useful to historians.

Reconstruction of the original appearance of Boundary Stela N, AMARNA PROJECT

Earlier Proclamation

Stelae K, M, and X on the east side of the Nile contain what Davies termed the Earlier Proclamation. All three stelae contain both vertical and horizontal lines of text. Stela K is the best preserved and was made to replace Stela M which was damaged early on, thus necessitating a replacement. Both Stela K and Stela M are located in the southern side of the site and the text in their horizontal lines reads from left to right, away from the center of the site. Stela X is located in the northern side of the site and it is a mirror image of stelae K and M in that its horizontal lines read from right to left, also away from the center. The inscription on the stelae K, M, and X is dated to the fifth regnal year of Akhenaten in day 13 of the season of Peret. They include the full title of the god Aten, as well as titles of the king Akhenaten and the king's wife Nefertiti. The stelae also describe the founding of the site by the pharaoh, reasons for choosing it, the proposed layout of the site, instructions regarding the burials of the royal family and certain notables, and instructions for the maintenance of the cult of Aten. The Earlier Proclamation also includes a promise from Akhenaten to build various temples and other structures to the god Aten in the location. The latter part of the text is fragmentary and has inspired a variety of interpretations.

Later Proclamation

What Davies termed the Later Proclamation was carved on stelae J, N, P, Q, R, S, U, and V on the eastern side of the Nile, and on stelae A, B, and F on the western side. The inscription of the Later Proclamation is dated to year six of Akhenaten's reign in the day 13 of the season of Peret, which corresponds with the one year anniversary of the Earlier Proclamation, and includes a “renewal of the oath” that appeared in the Earlier Proclamation regarding the location and permanence of the site. with some modifications to include more land, especially a swath of agricultural land in the cultivation on the western side of the river. Titulary of the god Aten is also given, along with a repetition of much of the Earlier Proclamation. The Later Proclamation includes a description of events that took place after the inscription of the Earlier Proclamation, such as a journey of the pharaoh to the southeastern crag of the site. The Later Proclamation also mentions six principal boundary stelae that delimit the site.

Map of Boundary Stelae, AMARNA PROJECT

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