The Diary of Merer (also known as Papyrus Jarf) is the name for papyruslogbooks written over 4,500 years ago by Merer, a middle ranking official with the title inspector (sHD). They are the oldest known papyri with text, dating to the 27th year of the reign of pharaoh Khufu during the 4th dynasty.[1] The text, written with (hieratic) hieroglyphs, mostly consists of lists of the daily activities of Merer and his crew. The most well preserved sections (Papyrus Jarf A and B) document the transportation of white limestone blocks from the Tura quarries to Giza by boat.
Buried in front of man-made-caves that served to store the boats at Wadi al-Jarf on the Red Sea coast, the papyri were found and excavated in 2013 by a French mission under the direction of archaeologists Pierre Tallet of Paris-Sorbonne University and Gregory Marouard.[2][3][4][5]
The Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass describes the Diary of Merer as "the greatest discovery in Egypt in the 21st century."[1] Parts of the papyri are exhibited at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.[6]
The most intact papyri describe several months of work with the transportation of limestone from quarries Tura North and Tura South to Giza in the 27th year of the reign of pharaoh Khufu.[7][8] Though the diary does not specify where the stones were to be used or for what purpose, given the diary may date to what is widely considered the very end of Khufu's reign, Tallet believes they were most likely for cladding the outside of the Great Pyramid. About every ten days, two or three round trips were done, shipping perhaps 30 blocks of 2–3 tonnes each, amounting to 200 blocks per month.[9][10] About forty boatmen worked under him. The period covered in the papyri extends from July to November.[7]
The entries in the logbooks are all arranged along the same line. At the top there is a heading naming the month and the season. Under that there is a horizontal line listing the days of the months. Under the entries for the days, there are always two vertical columns describing what happened on these days (Section B II): [Day 1] The director of 6 Idjeru casts for Heliopolis in a transport boat to bring us food from Heliopolis while the elite is in Tura, Day 2 Inspector Merer spends the day with his troop hauling stones in Tura North; spending the night at Tura North.[11]
The diary also mentions the original name of the Great Pyramid: Akhet-Khufu, meaning "Horizon of Khufu".[12]
In addition to Merer, a few other people are mentioned in the fragments. The most important is Ankhhaf (half-brother of Pharaoh Khufu), known from other sources, who is believed to have been a prince and vizier under Khufu and/or Khafre.[13] In the papyri he is called a nobleman (Iry-pat) and overseer of Ra-shi-Khufu. The latter place was the harbour at Giza where Tallet believes the casing stones were transported.[14]
Papyrus Jarf C
Building a "double djadja" in the central Delta[15]
Papyrus Jarf D
Work for the Residence and the Valley Temple (?) of Khufu[15]
Other papyri
Other logbooks (E and F) and associated accounts (G to L and other fragments) are much more fragmentary and their contents have yet to be deciphered and/or published.
References
^ ab"The World's Oldest Papyrus and What It Can Tell Us About the Great Pyramids". Smithsonian.com. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
^"4,500-year-old harbor structures and papyrus texts unearthed in Egypt". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
^"Story of the Pyramid builders revealed in 4500-yr-old papyri". CatchNews.com. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
^"A 4,500 Year Old Papyrus Holds the Answer to How the Great Pyramid Was Built". interestingengineering.com. 2017-09-25. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
^"Revealed: 4,500-year-old Papyrus that details the construction of the Great Pyramid – Mysterious Earth". Retrieved 2019-07-30.
^Stille, Alexander (2015). "The Power and the Glory". Smithsonian. 46 (6): 6.
^ abProf. Pierre Tallet Keynote lecture: The papyrus of the pyramids’ builders
Bibliography
Tallet, Pierre (2017). Les Papyrus De La Mer Rouge: Le Journal De Merer (Papyrus Jarf A et B) [The Red Sea Papyri: The Diary of Merer] (PDF) (in French, English, and Arabic). Vol. 1. Translated by Clement, Colin; Lotfallah, Soheir. ISBN9782724707069.
Tallet, Pierre (2021). Les Papyrus De La Mer Rouge: Le Journal De Dedi Et Autres Fragments De Journaux De Bord (Papyrus Jarf C, D, E, F, Aa) [The Red Sea Papyri: The Diary of Dedi and other log fragments] (in French, English, and Arabic). Vol. 2. Translated by Clement, Colin; Lotfallah, Soheir. ISBN2724707060.
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The Diary of Merer also known as Papyrus Jarf is the name for papyrus logbooks written over 4 500 years ago by Merer a middle ranking official with the title inspector sHD They are the oldest known papyri with text dating to the 27th year of the reign of pharaoh Khufu during the 4th dynasty 1 The text written with hieratic hieroglyphs mostly consists of lists of the daily activities of Merer and his crew The most well preserved sections Papyrus Jarf A and B document the transportation of white limestone blocks from the Tura quarries to Giza by boat Buried in front of man made caves that served to store the boats at Wadi al Jarf on the Red Sea coast the papyri were found and excavated in 2013 by a French mission under the direction of archaeologists Pierre Tallet of Paris Sorbonne University and Gregory Marouard 2 3 4 5 The Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass describes the Diary of Merer as the greatest discovery in Egypt in the 21st century 1 Parts of the papyri are exhibited at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo 6 Contents 1 Contents 1 1 Papyrus Jarf A and B 1 2 Papyrus Jarf C 1 3 Papyrus Jarf D 1 4 Other papyri 2 References 3 BibliographyContents EditPapyrus Jarf A and B Edit The most intact papyri describe several months of work with the transportation of limestone from quarries Tura North and Tura South to Giza in the 27th year of the reign of pharaoh Khufu 7 8 Though the diary does not specify where the stones were to be used or for what purpose given the diary may date to what is widely considered the very end of Khufu s reign Tallet believes they were most likely for cladding the outside of the Great Pyramid About every ten days two or three round trips were done shipping perhaps 30 blocks of 2 3 tonnes each amounting to 200 blocks per month 9 10 About forty boatmen worked under him The period covered in the papyri extends from July to November 7 The entries in the logbooks are all arranged along the same line At the top there is a heading naming the month and the season Under that there is a horizontal line listing the days of the months Under the entries for the days there are always two vertical columns describing what happened on these days Section B II Day 1 The director of 6 Idjeru casts for Heliopolis in a transport boat to bring us food from Heliopolis while the elite is in Tura Day 2 Inspector Merer spends the day with his troop hauling stones in Tura North spending the night at Tura North 11 The diary also mentions the original name of the Great Pyramid Akhet Khufu meaning Horizon of Khufu 12 In addition to Merer a few other people are mentioned in the fragments The most important is Ankhhaf half brother of Pharaoh Khufu known from other sources who is believed to have been a prince and vizier under Khufu and or Khafre 13 In the papyri he is called a nobleman Iry pat and overseer of Ra shi Khufu The latter place was the harbour at Giza where Tallet believes the casing stones were transported 14 Papyrus Jarf C Edit Building a double djadja in the central Delta 15 Papyrus Jarf D Edit Work for the Residence and the Valley Temple of Khufu 15 Other papyri Edit Other logbooks E and F and associated accounts G to L and other fragments are much more fragmentary and their contents have yet to be deciphered and or published References Edit a b The World s Oldest Papyrus and What It Can Tell Us About the Great Pyramids Smithsonian com Retrieved 11 September 2017 4 500 year old harbor structures and papyrus texts unearthed in Egypt NBC News Retrieved 2019 07 30 Story of the Pyramid builders revealed in 4500 yr old papyri CatchNews com Retrieved 2019 07 30 A 4 500 Year Old Papyrus Holds the Answer to How the Great Pyramid Was Built interestingengineering com 2017 09 25 Retrieved 2019 07 30 Revealed 4 500 year old Papyrus that details the construction of the Great Pyramid Mysterious Earth Retrieved 2019 07 30 Stille Alexander 2015 The Power and the Glory Smithsonian 46 6 6 a b Tallet 2017 p 160 World s Oldest Harbor Discovered in Egypt LiveScience 16 April 2013 Retrieved 11 September 2017 Lost Secrets of the Pyramid TV documentary 2018 The Nature Of Things Lost Secrets Of The Pyramid Tallet 2017 p 150 How the Pyramids Were and Were Not Built Part 2 Skeptoid Retrieved 2021 05 13 Revealed 4 500 year old Papyrus that details the construction of the Great Pyramid Ancient Code 2016 08 05 Retrieved 2019 07 30 Tallet 2017 p 42 52 55 63 66 a b Prof Pierre Tallet Keynote lecture The papyrus of the pyramids buildersBibliography EditTallet Pierre 2017 Les Papyrus De La Mer Rouge Le Journal De Merer Papyrus Jarf A et B The Red Sea Papyri The Diary of Merer PDF in French English and Arabic Vol 1 Translated by Clement Colin Lotfallah Soheir ISBN 9782724707069 Tallet Pierre 2021 Les Papyrus De La Mer Rouge Le Journal De Dedi Et Autres Fragments De Journaux De Bord Papyrus Jarf C D E F Aa The Red Sea Papyri The Diary of Dedi and other log fragments in French English and Arabic Vol 2 Translated by Clement Colin Lotfallah Soheir ISBN 2724707060 This article about a papyrus or papyrology is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Diary of Merer amp oldid 1131370807, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
