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Inventory number

Cat.2082/174, Cat.1899, Cat.1969, Cat.2083/182, Cat.1879

  • Document
  • Writing Recto
  • Writing Verso

General description

The Turin Mine Map

Cat.1879+1969+1899+2083/174+2083/182, also known as the Turin mine map, is one of the earliest known geographical maps. The papyrus was acquired by Bernardino Drovetti in Egypt, somewhere between 1814-1821, and sold to King Charles Felix ruler of Sardinia and Piedmont as part of a large collection of objects in 1824. The papyrus originates from the ancient Egyptian village of Deir el-Medina, its owner was probably the village scribe Amunnakth son of Ipuy as most of the texts are in his handwriting.

On the recto of the map the mountainous region of the Wadi Hammamat (an ancient dried up riverbed that was connected to the Red Sea) is shown. The mountains on the left side have a pink colour which indicated the presence of granite and gold deposits, whereas the dark brown mountains on the right side contained sedimentary rock. The mountains are accessible by the several wadi’s that run through the valley, which are represented as roads on the papyrus. The large white structure on the top left of the map is a chapel of the god Amun, while the smaller white shape highlights the spot where the Stela of King Seti I was located; just above it, four small village houses have been drawn. The spotted white and brown track running through the middle of the papyrus represents alluvial deposits. The drawings on the map are surrounded by 28 captions written in hieratic. Most of the texts state the names of roads or buildings, while the texts around the mountains indicate where the gold deposits were. The larger captions describe workers quarrying “bekhen”-stone, which was the ancient Egyptian name for a green-greyish stone.

The verso of the papyrus contains well over a dozen texts and several drawings. The texts on the right and left side are administrative, most of them accounts. The large text on the right side stands out as it is a letter written to king Ramesses IV. It asks him to assign an army official to perform the cult rituals for a statue made of wood, adorned with faience, jasper and gold. The texts immediately to the left of the letter describes the high priest of Amun-Ra coming to the village of Deir el-Medina and asking the workmen to collect the copper tools from the village. The texts in the middle are mostly literary texts containing among others a list of gods and the days on which their festivals were celebrated.

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

---

Provenance

Thebes/Deir el-Medina (?)

Acquisition: Drovetti, Bernardino

Acquisition Date: 1824

Image(s)

Image

  • Text 1

Translation

Cat. 1879+ Cat. 1899+ Cat. 1969, Text Recto 1
(rt1, l.1) The road which leads to the sea
(rt2, l.1) Another road which leads to the sea
(rt3, l.1) The road of ti-nt-pA-mr
(rt4, l.1) Mountain of gold
(rt5, l.1) Mountain of gold
(rt6, l.1) The houses of the goldworkers settlement
(rt7, l.1) The cistern (?)
(rt8, l.1) Stela of king Seti I l.p.h.
(rt9, l.1) The route of tA-mn.ty
(rt10,  l.1) The chapel of Amun of the Pure Mountain
(rt11, l.1) The mountains in which gold is worked
(rt11, l.2) they (the mountains) are coloured red
(rt12, l.1) The mountain of [...] and gold
(rt13, l.1) The mountaintop [...]
(rt14, l.1) The mountaintop on which Amun rests
(rt15, l.1) [...]
(rt16 (a)) (line is extremely damaged)
(rt16 (b)) The mountains of gold
(rt17, l.1) [...] beginning from the goldworkers settlement, ending at the mountain of bekhen-stone, Khet [...]
(rt17, l.2) Which begins from the goldworkers settlement, ending at the mountain of bekhen-stone, Khet [...]
(rt17, l.3) [...] beginning from the goldworkers settlement, ending at the mountain of bekhen-stone, [Khet ...]
(rt18, l.1) [...] bekhen-stone that is found in the mountain of Bekheny
(rt18l.2) [...] l.p.h. the great magistrates to bring the freshly transported statue of bekhen-stone

(rt18, l.3) [to] ⌜Egypt⌝. They placed it in the Place of Truth beside the temple of Ramesses II, the [great god].
(rt18, l.4) [...] left at the xtm of the necropolis. It was resting, while it laid on its side.
(rt18l.5) Work in year 6
(rt19)  (traces in red ink)
(rt20, l.1) The ⌜mine⌝  which they worked
(rt10, l.2) ⌜in⌝ [on] the great work of bekhen
(rt10, l.3) [-stone which] ⌜was established⌝ as a quarry
(rt21, l.1) ⌜the⌝  measuring of [...]
(rt22, l.1) [...] to do it/him
(rt23, l.1) [... stone] which was extracted/dragged/cut out of the [...]
(rt23, l.2)  Breadth: 3 cubits, depth: [...]
(rt24, l.1) [...] ⌜bekheny⌝
(rt25, l.1) Breadth: 2 cubits and 2 palms, thickness: 2 cubits, 3 palms and [...] fingers
(rt26, l.1) Breadth: 2 cubits, thickness: 2 cubits
(rt27, l.1) [...] 3 palms, 2 fingers
(rt28, l.1) [Breadth:] ⌜2⌝ (?) [cubits], 3 palms, thickness: 2 cubits, [...] palms [...]
(JJAR)

Editor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Map, Topographical text, Various

Keywords

cubit, electrum, gold, bekhen-stone, mountain, measuring, road, sea, stela, working

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

Ramesses IV (Heqamaatre Setepenamun)

Drawing

Yes

Drawing description

On the recto of the map the mountainous region of the Wadi Hammamat (an ancient dried up riverbed that was connected to the Red Sea) is shown. The mountains on the left side have a pink colour which indicated the presence of granite and gold deposits, whereas the dark brown mountains on the right side contained sedimentary rock. The mountains are accessible by the several wadi’s that run through the valley, which are represented as roads on the papyrus. The large white structure on the top left of the map is a chapel of the god Amun, while the smaller white shape highlights the spot where the Stela of King Seti I was located; just above it, four small village houses have been drawn. The spotted white and brown track running through the middle of the papyrus represents alluvial deposits.

Bibliographical reference

Goyon, in ASAE 49 (1949), pp. 337-392 (OEB 1983)
Harrell-Brown, in JARCE XXIX (1992), pp. 81-105 (OEB 35592)

Image

  • Text 1
  • Text 2
  • Text 3
  • Text 4
  • Text 5
  • Text 6
  • Text 7
  • Text 8
  • Text 9
  • Text 10
  • Text 11
  • Text 12
  • Text 13
  • Text 14
  • Text 15
  • Text 16
  • Text 17
  • Text 18

Hieroglyphs

  • Hieroglyphs
    • Hieroglyphs
    • Hieroglyphs

Translation

English translation in preparation
for the French translation log in or see Ramses Online (ID 878)


Editor

Anne-Claude Honnay (ACH, Ramses Online)

Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Event, Letter

Keywords

copper, deben, numbers, payment, spike, tools

Place name

Thebes (niw.t), Great Hall (wsx.t-aA.t), Royal necropolis/tomb (pA-xr)

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

Ramesses IV (Usermaatre Setepenamun)

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Bibliographical reference

Janssen, in JARCE XXXI (1994), pp. 91-97 (OEB 38252)



Editor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Administrative text, Account

Keywords

amount, numbers

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Bibliographical reference

This text has not been noticed by the literature

Hieroglyphs

  • Hieroglyphs
    • Hieroglyphs
    • Hieroglyphs

Translation

English translation in preparation
for the French translation log in or see Ramses Online (ID 3841)


Editor

Anne-Claude Honnay (ACH, Ramses Online)

Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Oath

Keywords

hut

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Bibliographical reference

Deir el-Medina database
Helck, Materialien, II, p. 198
 (OEB 262317) 
Hovestreydt, in LingAeg 5 (1997), p. 114, note 19 (OEB 41113)

Kitchen, Ramesside inscriptions VI, p. 377. (OEB 13544)



Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Letter, Administrative text

Keywords

tomb (royal), tools, work

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Bibliographical reference

Deir el-Medina database

Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Religious text, List

Keywords

gods

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Administrative text, Account

Keywords

copper, deben, amount, measuring, numbers

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Bibliographical reference

Deir el-Medina database Leiden

Hieroglyphs

  • Hieroglyphs
    • Hieroglyphs
    • Hieroglyphs

Translation

English translation in preparation
for the French translation log in or see Ramses Online (ID 3798)


Editor

Anne-Claude Honnay (ACH, Ramses Online)

Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Communication, Letter

Keywords

faience, gold, insence, jasper, lapis lazuli, libation, offering, statue, Pharaoh, white crown, wood

Place name

Great and sacred place (s.t-aA.t-dSr.t)

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

Ramesses VI (Nebmaatre-Meriamun)

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Bibliographical reference

Helck, Die datierten und datierbaren Ostraka, p. 449 (OEB 49907)
Hovestreydt, in LingAeg 5 (1997), pp. 107-121 (OEB 41113)

Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Religious text, Hymn

Place name

Thebes (wAs.t)

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Bibliographical reference

Dorn-Polis, in BIFAO 116 (2016), pp. 57-96 (OEB 249521

Editor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

none (drawing)

Text type

Drawing

Epoch

---

Dynasty

---

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

Yes

Drawing description

Drawings of a beard(?) and the wing of a bird/god(?) Description of the beard: Thick black outlines with thinner lines to indicate inner detail. several lines are drawn at an angle to simulate the beard being braided. There are some smudges in red ink just underneath the drawing of the beard. Description of the wing: Thick and blobby lines at the bottom, becoming increasingly thinner towards the top of the drawing.

Bibliographical reference

Harrell-Brown, in JARCE XXIX (1992), p. 90 (OEB 35592)

Editor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

none (drawing)

Text type

Drawing

Epoch

---

Dynasty

---

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

Yes

Drawing description

A side-view drawing of a crocodile with its back turned and head slightly tilted to the left. The artist has made a thick contour line around the body of the crocodile, inner detail has been added with a thinner line. Its snout, scales, double-crested tail, and individual toes on its feet have been indicated.

Bibliographical reference

Harrell-Brown, in JARCE XXIX (1992), p. 90 (OEB 35592)

Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Letter, Administrative text

Keywords

work

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

---

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Bibliographical reference

Deir el-Medina database

Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Administrative text

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Bibliographical reference

Deir el-Medina database

Editor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

none (drawing)

Text type

Drawing

Epoch

---

Dynasty

---

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

Yes

Drawing description

five geometrical shapes (squares/circles). Four of which are on Harrell-Brown fragment L and one on fragment M. Underneath the five shapes, a humanoid(?) figure is in an adoring stance with its hands slightly raised. The figure is standing on top of two horizontal lines which resemble the roads on the recto of the mine map.

Bibliographical reference

Harrell-Brown, in JARCE XXIX (1992), pp. 89-90 (OEB 35592)


Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Administrative text

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Religious text, Hymn

Keywords

door

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

none (drawing)

Text type

Drawing

Epoch

---

Dynasty

---

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

Yes

Drawing description

Drawing of Geb(?) and Nut in black outlines. A grid of red ink is visible around the two figures. The grid that was used to draw Nut has larger blocks of approximately X x X mm, while the blocks used in the drawing of Geb are X x X mm. Description of Nut: the outlines and lines indicating inner detail have the same thickness, except the pubic region which has been drawn as a black-filled triangular shape. The individual toes, a bracelet around each ankle and round shapes on the belly have been added as detail. Additionally, a humanoid figure is resting on her back along with several short vertical lines running along the rest of her back. Description Geb: drawn at an angle underneath Nut. The outer lines of the bracelet on his arm have been indicated. His hair is black and is surrounded by several other black-filled squares of unknown meaning. Alternatively the figure of Geb might not belong to the drawing of Nut all together. Arguments for this are that the figure is drawn at a great distance away from Nut, and on a noticebly smaler scale. Perhaps the figure should be interpreted as being a drawing on its own, possibly of a female dancer with hairstrands being depicted at both sides of her face.

Bibliographical reference

Harrell-Brown, in JARCE XXIX (1992), p. 90 (OEB 35592)

Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

Administrative text

Keywords

pyramidion, stone

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Contributor

Juan José Archidona Ramírez (JJAR)

Script

hieratic

Text type

List, Administrative text

Keywords

amount, khar (measurement), grain, numbers, vessel

Epoch

New Kingdom (1539-1077 BC)

Dynasty

Dynasty 20 (1190-1077 BC)

Pharaoh

---

Drawing

No

Drawing description

---

Bibliographical reference

Deir el-Medina database

Museo Egizio