Illustrative model — an approximation, not a scan of the original object.
c. 2112 – 2056 BCE
Stela of Tjetji
Eleventh Dynasty, reigns of Intef II and Intef III.
- Material
- Limestone
- Findspot
- Dra Abu el-Naga, Thebes
- Discovery
- Details of its acquisition are not yet recorded in KEMET.
- Held by
- The British Museum, London
- Inventory number
- EA 614
A rectangular stela with a long text in which Tjetji, the treasurer, recounts his career serving two Theban kings; he is shown with members of his household.
The text states that Intef II’s realm ran from Elephantine to Thinis and records the succession of Intef III, which is why historians rely on it to order the kings of this dynasty.
Tjetji’s stela describes the limits of Theban power under Intef II: Elephantine in the south to Thinis in the north.
- The British Museum, London “Stela of Tjetji, EA 614”
- Miriam Lichtheim (1973) “Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms” University of California Press, Berkeley
The quality of its carving and language shows that Thebes had accomplished workshops and literate elites before reunification.
Scholarly note: A stylistic judgement shared by many scholars.
- The British Museum, London “Stela of Tjetji, EA 614”
- Ian Shaw (ed.) (2000) “The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt” Oxford University Press