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UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology

Title
Wadi el-Hol

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Journal
UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 1(1)

Author
Darnell, John C

Publication Date
2013-05-26

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 WADI EL-HOL
‫ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﺤﻮﻝ‬
John Coleman Darnell

EDITORS

WILLEKE WENDRICH
Editor-in-Chief
Area Editor Geography
University of California, Los Angeles

JACCO DIELEMAN
Editor
University of California, Los Angeles

ELIZABETH FROOD
Editor
University of Oxford

JOHN BAINES
Senior Editorial Consultant
University of Oxford

Short Citation:
Darnell, 2013, Wadi el-Hol. UEE.

Full Citation:
Darnell, John Coleman, 2013, Wadi el-Hol. In Willeke Wendrich (ed.), UCLA Encyclopedia of
Egyptology, Los Angeles. http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz002dx2tj

8547 Version 1, May 2013

http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz002dx2tj
 WADI EL-HOL
‫ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﺤﻮﻝ‬
John Coleman Darnell

Wadi el-Hôl
Ouadi el-Hôl

The Wadi el-Hol is an ensemble of rock inscription sites and caravansary deposits near the mid-
point of the Farshut Road, roughly equidistant between ancient Thebes and Hiw. The rock
inscriptions range in date between the Predynastic and Coptic Periods, with the majority belonging
to the Middle Kingdom. Most inscriptions record names and titles, but others are longer and of
more unusual content, including literary texts and references to religious celebrations in the deep
desert. Archaeological remains include Predynastic burials of the Tasian culture and debris
mounds that represent the detritus of caravans and travelers along the Farshut Road. The largest
deposit includes a continuous stratigraphic record of ceramic and organic material from the late
Middle Kingdom through the Persian Period.

‫ﺇﻥ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﺤﻮﻝ ﻳﺤﺘﻮﻱ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺠﻤﻮﻋﺔ ﻣ�ﻦ ﻣﻮﺍﻗ�ﻊ ﺍﻟﻨﻘ�ﻮﺵ ﺍﻟﺼ�ﺨﺮﻳﺔ ﻭﺑﻘﺎﻳ�ﺎ ﺧﺎﻧ�ﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻘﻮﺍﻓ�ﻞ‬
‫ ﻭﺗﻘﺮﻳﺒ�ﺎ ً ﻋﻠ�ﻰ ﻧﻔ�ﺲ ﺍﻟﻤﺴ�ﺎﻓﺔ ﻣ�ﺎ ﺑ�ﻴﻦ‬،‫)ﺍﻟﻜﺮﻓﺎﻧﺴﺮﺍﻳﺎﺕ( ﺑﺎﻟﻘﺮﺏ ﻣﻦ ﻣﻨﺘﺼﻒ ﻁﺮﻳ�ﻖ ﻓﺮﺷ�ﻮﻁ‬
‫ ﺇﻥ ﺗﺄﺭﻳﺦ ﻫﺬﻩ ﺍﻟﻨﻘﻮﺵ ﺍﻟﺼﺨﺮﻳﺔ ﻳﺘﺮﺍﻭﺡ ﻣﺎ ﺑﻴﻦ ﻣﺎ ﻗﺒﻞ ﺍﻷﺳ�ﺮﺍﺕ ﻭﺣﺘ�ﻰ‬.‫ﻁﺒﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻘﺪﻳﻤﺔ ﻭﻫﻴﻮ‬
‫ ﺗﺴ�ﺠﻞ ﺃﻏﻠ�ﺐ ﺍﻟﻨﻘ�ﻮﺵ ﺃﺳ�ﻤﺎء‬.‫ ﻭﺃﻛﺜﺮﻫ�ﺎ ﺗﺮﺟ�ﻊ ﺇﻟ�ﻰ ﻋﺼ�ﺮ ﺍﻟﺪﻭﻟ�ﺔ ﺍﻟﻮﺳ�ﻄﻰ‬،‫ﺍﻟﻌﺼﺮ ﺍﻟﻘﺒﻄ�ﻲ‬
‫ ﻣﺜ��ﻞ ﺑﻌ��ﺾ ﺍﻟﻨﺼ��ﻮﺹ ﺍﻷﺩﺑﻴ��ﺔ‬،‫ ﻭﻟﻜ��ﻦ ﺍﻟ��ﺒﻌﺾ ﻣﻨﻬ��ﺎ ﺃﻁ��ﻮﻝ ﻭﻣﺤﺘ��ﻮﺍﻩ ﻏﻴ��ﺮ ﺗﻘﻠﻴ��ﺪﻱ‬،‫ﻭﺃﻟﻘ��ﺎﺏ‬
‫ ﻓﺘﺸ�ﻤﻞ‬،‫ ﺃﻣ�ﺎ ﺑﺎﻟﻨﺴ�ﺒﺔ ﺇﻟ�ﻰ ﺍﻟﺒﻘﺎﻳ�ﺎ ﺍﻷﺛﺎﺭﻳ�ﺔ‬.‫ﻭﺇﺷﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺇﺣﺘﻔﺎﻻﺕ ﺩﻳﻨﻴ�ﺔ ﻓ�ﻲ ﻗﻠ�ﺐ ﺍﻟﺼ�ﺤﺮﺍء‬
‫ﺩﻓﻨﺎﺕ ﻣﻦ ﻋﺼﺮ ﻣﺎ ﻗﺒﻞ ﺍﻻﺳﺮﺍﺕ ﺗﻌﻮﺩ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺣﻀﺎﺭﺓ ﺩﻳﺮ ﺗﺎﺳﺎ ﻭﺃﻛﻮﺍﻡ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﺤﻄﺎﻡ ﺍﻟﺬﻱ ﻳﻤﺜ�ﻞ‬
‫ ﺍﻥ ﺃﻛﺒ��ﺮ ﻣﺠﻤﻮﻋ��ﺔ ﻣ��ﻦ ﺍﻟﻤﺨﻠﻔ��ﺎﺕ‬.‫ﻧﻔﺎﻳ��ﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻘﻮﺍﻓ��ﻞ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﺴ��ﺎﻓﺮﻳﻦ ﻋﻠ��ﻰ ﻁ��ﻮﻝ ﻁﺮﻳ��ﻖ ﻓﺮﺷ��ﻮﻁ‬
‫ﺗﺸﻤﻞ ﺍﺳﺘﻤﺮﺍﺭﻳﺔ ﺍﻟﺘﺘﺎﺑﻊ ﺍﻟﻄﺒﻘﻲ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﻔﺨﺎﺭ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﻮﺍﺩ ﺍﻟﻌﻀﻮﻳﺔ ﺑﺪءﺍً ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﺪﻭﻟﺔ ﺍﻟﻮﺳﻄﻰ ﻭﺣﺘﻰ‬
.‫ﺍﻟﻌﺼﺮ ﺍﻟﻔﺎﺭﺳﻲ‬
he southern branch of the main and ascending at Gebel Tjauti—joins the
T desert road crossing the Qena
Bend between western Thebes
Farshut Road (fig. 1). From Qarn el-Gir,
branches lead toward Hiw, Abydos, and the
and the area of Hiw is the Farshut Road, oases of the Western Desert. The site may
ascending the high plateau along the northern also be accessed from the southern Theban
ridge of the Valley of the Kings. Near the Darb Baiyrat (Winkler 1938: 8). Although
middle of the Qena Bend, the route descends archaeological material is plentiful at many
into the Wadi el-Hol, continuing toward the points along the Farshut Road, notably at
northwest until it reaches the caravansary Gebel Antef atop the Theban ascent (Darnell
remains at the base of Gebel Qarn el-Gir, 2002a: 132; Eder 2002: 143; Polz 2007: 34 -
where the Wadi Alamat Road—leading 37, 86 - 87, and 305 - 306) and at the Qarn el-
northwest from the northern fringe of Thebes Gir outpost, the greatest concentration of

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 1

Figure 1. Map of sites and roads of the Theban Western Desert.

ancient material on the Farshut Road—and Thutmose III, is possible (see Darnell 2002b:
one of the most extensive Pharaonic sites in 90). The modern name, when written, is
the Western Desert—is the Wadi el-Hol site, generally Wadi el-Hôl, the “narrow wadi,”
where the road ascends and descends the high although the most common pronunciation,
plateau near the middle of the Qena Bend of and that adopted by the author, is Wadi el-
the Nile. The Wadi el-Hol site comprises two Ḥôl, the “wadi of terror.”
extensive caravansary deposits and four major
concentrations of rock inscriptions, with Location and Layout of the Site
several subsidiary sites in the vicinity, such as
The rock inscription concentrations (Sections
Winkler’s site 31 (Winkler 1938: 9, pls. 30 -
A, B, C, and D) are at the base of the aqaba
31), a Predynastic rock art site to the north of
(ascent/descent of the road; figs. 2 and 3).
the Wadi el-Hol sites proper.
Section A is opposite the aqaba, B and C are
the two sides of the prong of gebel on which
Etymology
the aqaba is located, section D is somewhat
No ancient name survives at the site, although more distant to the southwest, though in sight
an identification with 7mbw or aA-bAw, two of the road. The Gebel Roma caravansary is
Medjay outposts known from the reign of atop the plateau where the aqaba reaches the

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 2

Figure 2. A view from the aqaba of the Farshut Road, with rock inscription Section C in the middle right
and Section A visible across the wadi.

Figure 3. View of the aqaba of the Farshut Road at the Wadi el-Hol site, on the prong of gebel in the center
of the photograph are rock inscription Section B (to the left) and Section C (to the right); the ascent to
Gebel Roma is in the upper right.

high plateau; the Wadi el-Hol caravansary is at 2008, amongst others]). The majority of the
the base of the Section A concentration of inscriptions are hieratic and lapidary hieratic
inscriptions. Another caravansary is located at texts, most dating to the Middle Kingdom.
the end of a long prong of the gebel by which Later inscriptions are rare, with but one
the northwest portion of the Farshut Road Demotic inscription (Darnell 2002b: 151
passes, roughly halfway between the Wadi el- [WHRI 36]). A few Coptic inscriptions
Hol and the edge of cultivation. appear, including one mentioning the rarely
attested ’απαιτητής official of a monastery (fig.
Historical Context/Significance 4; Darnell 2002b: 153 - 154 [WHRI 38]).
The numerous rock inscriptions at the Wadi Archaeological material similarly spans the
el-Hol range in date from the early fifth millennium BCE through the Coptic
Predynastic through the Ptolemaic and Period, with some ceramic material continuing
Roman Periods (see Darnell 2002b [and note into the Islamic Era. The large caravan
the reviews of Franke 2006, and Grajetzki deposits at Gebel Roma, the Wadi el-Hol, and

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 3

Gebel Qarn el-Gir provide a nearly Friedman et al. 1999: 20 - 23 and 27 - 29).
continuous ceramic sequence from the late Several Middle Kingdom visitors to the Wadi
Middle Kingdom through the late New el-Hol vividly describe their visit as “spending
Kingdom, in one portion of the Gebel Roma the day beneath this mountain on holiday”
(wrS Xr Dw pn Hr hrw nfr; figs. 8 and 9;
Darnell 2002b: 129 - 138 [WHRI 17 - 20]). In
combination with other inscriptions depicting
singers and the goddess in her bovine form
(Darnell 2002b: 93 - 94 [WHRI 3], 126 - 127
[WHRI 15], and note also 120 [WHRI 10], a
priest of Hathor), the “spending the day”
inscriptions provide some of the only
Figure 4. WHRI 38 (no scale available), a Coptic evidence of Hathoric worship in the remote
text with name, title, and date. desert (for Hathoric hrw nfr, see Darnell
2002b: 130 - 132; Depauw and Smith 2004: 81
caravansary extending through the Persian - 82, 86 - 89; Husson 1977: 222, n. 14; Kessler
Period. Several kilometers northwest of the 1988: 171 - 196; von Lieven 2003; Manniche
Wadi el-Hol, overlooking the Farshut Road, is 2003: 44; see also Darnell 2010: 99 - 101 et
a three-chambered cave, preserving evidence passim, and Schneider 2007), perhaps an early
of use for several millennia. Four intact manifestation of the Ptolemaic desert
burials and the associated leather and ceramic procession in honor of the goddess described
objects provide an important assemblage for in a Ptolemaic stela from Hiw (Collombert
the Tasian culture—known from the Nile 1995: 63 - 70). A group depicting an Egyptian
Valley, the Eastern Desert (Friedman 2002), in festal garb, a feather-wearing foreigner
and other Western Desert sites. (Libyan?), and Hathoric cow (fig. 10; Darnell
The Wadi el-Hol inscriptions provide titles 2002b: 126 - 127 [WHRI 15]) may serve as a
and personal names (cf. figs. 5 and 6, fig. 7, visual annotation to physical evidence at
Mentuhotep III as a prince; see Darnell Hierakonpolis for the interaction of Egyptians
2002b: 128 - 129 [WHRI 16]), transmit names and denizens of the Western Desert in the
of institutions and individuals of Middle worship of the wandering goddess of the solar
Kingdom Hiw (cf. Darnell 2002b: 107 - 119 eye (for site Hk64, see Friedman 1999;
[WHRI 8], 136 - 137 [WHRI 19]; Darnell et Friedman et al. 1999). The Wadi el-Hol site
al. 2005: 106), and indicate the presence of a would also have been a stopping point for
number of military men at the site—and those traveling between Thebes and the
perhaps the presence of a garrison at this sacred sites of Hiw and Abydos; a priest of
“back door” to Thebes (cf. Darnell 2002b: Sobek named Dedusobek—a contemporary
141 and 143; Darnell et al. 2005: 87 - 90, 102 - of Amenemhat III—left a record of his visit
103). The Middle Kingdom rock inscriptions to the Wadi el-Hol “at the time of his coming
in the Wadi el-Hol also provide unique from the Abydene nome in order to perform
information on religious and literary activities rituals for Mentuhotep,” probably in the
in the Western Desert, as well as evidence for temple of Mentuhotep II at Deir el-Bahri (fig.
the origin of the alphabet. 11; Baines 2007: 25 n. 14; Darnell 2002b: 97 -
98 [WHRI 5 left vertical lines]).
Epigraphic Evidence for Religious Activity A depiction of a portable royal statue has an
Some rock inscriptions attest to the accompanying hieratic annotation promising a
functioning of rituals infrequently and safe return to the “one who will read these
incompletely verified elsewhere (Darnell writings/images” (Sd.tj.fj nn <nj> sXAw; fig.
2002b: 66 - 67, 126 - 127, and 129 - 138; 11). The statue may represent an apotropaic
Darnell 2002c: 112 - 114; Friedman 1999; royal image (cf. Drioton 1939; Goyon 1971) at
least temporarily present in the Wadi el-Hol.

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 4

During Winkler’s visit to the site, he compositions. In the reign of Amenemhat III,
photographed the now-missing base of a a priest Dedusobek carved an inscription in
stone Osiride statue, evidence for the former epistolary style addressed to the author of a
presence of at least one monumental statue in nearby rock inscription (fig. 11; Darnell
the Wadi el-Hol. 2002b: 99 - 101 [WHRI 5 right vertical lines]).
The lapidary letter opens with an address to
Lapidary Literature several deities, closely parallel to the list in
Alongside texts of religious import, the Wadi Sinuhe’s letter to Senusret I.
el-Hol rock inscriptions also include literary

Figure 7. WHRI 16, text containing the name and

title of Mentuhotep III as a prince.

Figure 5. WHRI 25, a late Middle Kingdom

inscription with names and filiation.

Figure 8. WHRI 18, spending-the-day text with a

depiction of a cow.

Figure 6. WHRI 42, labeled depiction of a man Figure 9. WHRI 19, spending-the-day text with
Hepi from the early Middle Kingdom. depiction of a striding man bearing offerings.

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 5

The Wadi el-Hol inscription presents Middle
Kingdom antecedents for several readings in
the Ashmoleon Ostracon version of the story
(unlikely coincidental, pace Parkinson 2009:
125, n. 27). Literary texts at the site suggest its
use as “an enforced social space for
entertainment” (Parkinson 2009: 125 - 126;
note also Darnell 2002b: 93 - 94 [WHRI 3], a
singing man playing an asymmetrical lyre) and
reveal the mental literary associations of travel
and the desert for an educated Middle
Kingdom traveler (see also Parkinson 2002:
73).

Figure 11. WHRI 4 - 6, from right to left, an

offering formula for the priest Kheperka, the letter
by Dedusobek, and depiction of a striding statue
of a king with texts.

The longest hieratic inscription at the Wadi

el-Hol site is a five line literary text (fig. 12;
Darnell 1997, 2002b: 107 - 119 [WHRI 8]),
carved below Dedusobek’s inscriptions.
Patterned after the opening to Sinuhe’s
encomium on Senusret I—possibly the record
of an improvised song of loyalist praise
uttered at the desert site (Parkinson 2002:
61)—the text describes “a man in the City
(Thebes),” relates how “foreigners fall to his
pronouncements,” and concludes by
describing the ruler’s bravery and intelligence.
In a description of the “good shepherd” motif
common to loyalist texts, the inscription states
that “he goes to sleep hungry, and at dawn he
sees the sky like a flame—his joy is the
successful completion of the watch.”
Paleography and content suggest that this is a
literary paean to a Theban ruler of the Second
Intermediate Period.

Early Alphabetic Inscriptions

Also present in the Wadi el-Hol are two short
Early Alphabetic inscriptions (figs. 13 and 14;
Darnell 2003; Darnell et al. 2005; Hamilton
2006: 324 - 330 [disregard his recopying of the
inscriptions from photographs, which
introduces inaccuracies]; Tropper 2003: 173 -
175; speculative translation attempts in
Wimmer and Wimmer-Dweikat 2001; and
Figure 10. WHRI 15, depiction of a singing man,
Libyan, and cow. Altschuler 2002; popular accounts in Man

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 6

Figure 12. WHRI 8, a literary text from the terminal Middle Kingdom/Second Intermediate Period.

Darnell et al. 2005; Sass 2004 - 2005 [albeit

with incorrect dating of the inscriptions]).
Employing signs derived from lapidary
hieratic Egyptian shapes, and assigning to this
limited number of signs acrophonic values
based on the Semitic-language names of the
objects depicted, the melting pot of Egyptian
expeditionary forces gave rise to the alphabet
Figure 13. Wadi el-Hol Early Alphabetic Text No. during the Middle Kingdom.
1.
A hieratic inscription in the Wadi el-Hol,
2001: 69 - 90; and Sacks 2003: 34 - 40), which assignable to the reign of Amenemhat III on
are paleographically more archaic than the basis of prosopographic and genealogical
previously discovered “Proto-Sinaitic” evidence, names one Bebi, jmj-rA mSa n aAmw
inscriptions (Hamilton 2006; Sass 1988, 2005). Bbj, “General of the (Semitic language
Unlike the roughly drawn and speaking) Asiatics” (fig. 15; Darnell et al.
hieroglyphicizing signs of the Sinai 2005: 85 - 90 and 102 - 106). Although the
inscriptions, the Wadi el-Hol texts reveal a Wadi el-Hol texts were probably written by
derivation from lapidary hieratic (Darnell Bebi’s Asiatic charges, the paleographic
2003; Darnell et al. 2005), a hybrid hieratic features of the signs indicate that the shapes
and hieroglyphic script attested already during of the Wadi el-Hol Early Alphabetic signs left
the Old Kingdom (Vandekerckhove and the living tradition of Egyptian hieratic during
Müller-Wollermann 2001: 347 - 349). Ideally the early Middle Kingdom. Rather than being
suited to carving rock inscriptions, the the random creation of unlettered
lapidary cursive enjoyed a floruit in Middle “barbarians” confronted with hieroglyphic
Kingdom rock inscriptions (Ali 2002: 12 - 22) inscriptions they could not comprehend (so
and freestanding monuments (cf. Reisner Goldwasser 2006), the alphabet originated in
1932: 161, fig. 59) in both Egypt and Nubia. an interaction of Egyptians and foreigners at
Non-Egyptians occasionally accompanied sites like the Wadi el-Hol, a border area of
Middle Kingdom Egyptian missions, and potential friction, constant interaction,
Western Asiatics appear as armed auxiliaries improvisation, and innovation.
with Egyptian mining expeditions in Sinai
(Gardiner et al. 1952, 1955: 19 and 206; Courier Route
Valbelle and Bonnet 1996: 34 - 35 and 147). Middle Kingdom (late 12th Dynasty) hieratic
Interaction of such Semitic-speaking groups inscriptions in the Wadi el-Hol indicate the
with Egyptian military/expedition scribes led presence of men bearing the titles “royal
to the invention of an alphabetic script found messenger” (wpwtj-nswt) and “express
in two inscriptions from the Wadi el-Hol and courier” (swnw, see Posener 1987: 41 - 42) in
the proto-Sinaitic inscriptions (Darnell 2003; the area (Darnell et al. 2005: 87 - 90, 102 -

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 7

105). Archaeological and epigraphic evidence Gebel Antef, on the plateau behind Gebel
indicates that the Farshut Road was a postal Roma, and in the vicinity of the Wadi el-
“pony express” route during the New Hol—preserve fragmentary but parallel texts
Kingdom and suggests that the Wadi el-Hol that refer to the Farshut Road (figs. 18 and 19;
was the site of a mounted relay post (Darnell Darnell 2002a: 132 - 135). Belonging to the
2002a: 135 - 138, 143 - 144, 2002b: 139), at pontificate of Menkheperra—whose interest
least some of whose riders may have been in the desert is apparent from his forts at the
mounted Medjay (Darnell 2002a: 143 - 144, Nile Valley termini of routes through the

Figure 14. Wadi el-Hol Early Alphabetic Text No.

2. Figure 15. Inscription of Bebi and associates from
the Wadi el-Hol.
152 n. 8; Zivie 1985). In Section C of the
Wadi el-Hol, near a Pharaonic depiction of a Western and Eastern Deserts (cf. Kitchen
horse and rider (fig. 16; Darnell 2002a: 137; 1986: 249 and 269 - 270)—the Farshut Road
compare the groom Hekanakht [mnjw ssmt stelae, on a route accessing the Girga Road to
1qA-nxt] from the Marsa Alam to Edfu road Kharga oasis, may relate to the return of exiles
in Ûaba 1974: 230 - 231 and fig. 394), is the from the oases as related on Menkheperra’s
hieratic title of a stable master and the name Stela of the Exiles (von Beckerath 1968). The
of his stable, probably at or near the Gebel stelae refer to the track as the “Road of
Roma or Wadi el-Hol caravansary (fig. 17; Horses” (wAt ssmwt)—a name similar to “the
Darnell 2002b: 139 [WHRI 22]; compare the way of cattle” (tA mjt n jHw) in three
name of the “census house” in Ûaba 1974: inscriptions of Taharqo’s year 19 from Bab
151): “Chief of the Stable ‘Its-Fetchings-Are- Kalabsha (Hintze 1959 - 1960)—suggesting
Frequent,’ Paseany” (Hrj jH 6Ay.f-jnt-aSA PA-sA- mounted activity (for similarly formed road
Any). names, see Fischer 1991).

Three 21st Dynasty stelae erected along the Horsemen on the Farshut Road were more
Farshut Road—at the Theban terminus atop likely engaged in communication and

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 8

patrolling than trade (compare Dixon and along the Farshut Road (Caminos 1963: 32
Southern 1992: 234 - 238; Alexander’s cavalry and 36).
covered approximately 22.5 miles per day on
The presence of debris mounds (Gebel
the route to Siwa oasis, see Engels 1978: 153).
Antef, Gebel Roma, Wadi el-Hol, and Gebel
According to Diodorus Siculus (Bk. I, ch.
Qarn el-Gir) and evidence for the activities of
45.7), one hundred horse relay stations were
couriers along the route distinguish the main
once positioned between Memphis and the
Farshut Road from the other Pharaonic roads
“Libyan mountains” of Western Thebes. The
of the Theban Western Desert. Only the
letter Berlin 10463, written by Sennefer,
Farshut Road has epigraphic evidence for the
mayor of Thebes under Amenhotep II, to the
presence of horses, and only the Farshut Road
preserves enormous organic debris mounds

Figure 18. The remains of a 21st Dynasty stela

from the Farshut Road.

Figure 16. New Kingdom depiction of horse and

rider from the Wadi el-Hol.

Figure 17. WHRI 22, Ramesside text of the stable

master Paseany.

farmer Baki of Hiw, may be physical evidence Figure 19. Text from a 21st Dynasty stela from the
for a courier route across the Farshut Road. Farshut Road.
In the letter, Sennefer warns the farmer of a
royal visit to Hiw by river within three days with a significant dung component; those
and instructs Baki to perform several tasks debris mounds begin to grow dramatically
before the king arrives. In order to allow Baki during the late 17th and early 18th Dynasties,
sufficient time to fulfill the directives, the time of the introduction of horsemanship
Sennefer’s letter probably traveled by land into Egypt. The earliest of the debris mounds,

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 9

Gebel Roma, began to accumulate at the time The stratified remains in the caravanserais of
of the presence of the late Middle Kingdom the Wadi el-Hol, Gebel Roma, and Gebel
couriers and expanded when mounted Qarn el-Gir preserve evidence of the
couriers began to travel the road (much of the economic crisis that accompanied the fall of
dung no doubt belonged to donkeys, the the Ramesside state (Darnell 2007: 43 - 45).
primary beasts of burden, cf. Förster 2007). Earlier layers at the site reveal relatively
The increased amounts of animal droppings constant traffic—somewhat disrupted during
led to sanitation measures, and during the the late 18th Dynasty—with a variety of
early 18th Dynasty a series of gypsum floors ceramic fabrics and forms, barley and emmer
sealed off the debris. Beginning with the early dominating the considerable botanical
Ramesside Period, many layers reveal remains (figs. 21 and 22). During the late
purposefully pulverized sherds, apparently Ramesside Period, the caravanserais reveal
employed as animal bedding. periods of intermittent use, sand lenses
accumulating between thin sherd and organic
Economic Hub layers, the remains of what appear to be less
The presence in the Wadi el-Hol of the name frequent visits by large caravans, equipped
with a more limited corpus of ceramic shapes
of an 18th Dynasty grain accounting scribe
and fabrics than that present in earlier strata
May (fig. 20; Darnell 2002b: 92 [WHRI 1])
of the deposits. The late Ramesside levels of
and the depiction and title of an unnamed
the caravansaries attest to the occasional
chief of the scales of Amun (Darnell 2002b:
passage of more than usually massive
155 [WHRI 40]) nearby—along with the
shipments of grain, the limited and consistent
botanical evidence for grain shipments along
ceramic corpus implying the “government
the Farshut Road—are consistent with the
shipment of grain from fields of Amun in the issue” of official sponsorship.
region of Hiw (Caminos 1958: 126 - 127 and The shipments in evidence in the late
132 - 133; Helck 1960: 32; Sauneron 1974: 29 Ramesside levels were predominately grains,
- 31; Vleeming 1991: 8, 21, 37; compare probably traveling from the fields of Amun in
priestly duties at Thebes and Hiw in Haikal the region of Hiw, filling the treasuries of the
1970: 1 and 13 - 16) for the Htp-nTr of Amun domain of Amun during a time of famine and
at Karnak (Darnell 2002b: 154 [WHRI 39]—a impending civil war (Jansen-Winkeln 1992,
mention of the Htp-nTr nj Jmn). Epigraphic 1995). Whereas barley is more prevalent than
evidence also suggests that some weighing of wheat in the earlier caravanserai levels, an
grain may have occurred along the road. The abrupt inversion of the relative ratios of wheat
inscription of the second prophet of Amun of and barley occurs in late Ramesside levels in
Karnak, Roma-Roy, future high priest of the Farshut Road deposits, corresponding to a
Amun of Karnak under Ramesses II, at the period of sharp increases in grain prices
Gebel Roma deposit (Darnell 2002b: 159 - (Janssen 1975: 551 - 552 et passim).
160 [WHRI 44]) supports the idea of official
Theban oversight of the demesnes of Features
Amun—and the products thereof—in the 1. Rock art/inscription sites. The four
area of the Wadi el-Hol. Additionally, a grain
concentrations of rock inscriptions at the
accounting ostracon from Gebel Roma
Wadi el-Hol contain several hundred
supports the image of accountants tracking
inscriptions. As Winkler (1938: 8) noted,
grain shipments in the vicinity of the Wadi el-
“rarely has such a mass of hieroglyphic (sic)
Hol. Some form of customs center may have inscriptions been found at one site.”
existed at Qarn el-Gir (the junction of the
Theban route and the oasis roads) and at 2. Burial and storage caves. Overlooking the
Gebel Roma/the Wadi el-Hol. Farshut Road near the mouth of the Wadi el-
Hol is a shallow, three-pronged cave (fig. 23).
Initially a burial site for the Tasian culture, the

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 10

cave became a storage area during the Middle The dominant botanical remains in all three
Kingdom (Darnell 2002: 162 - 165). The four deposits (Cappers et al. 2007; Sikking and
surviving burials in the Wadi el-Hol cave Cappers 2002) are hulled 6-row barley
support other evidence that the Tasians were (Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare) and emmer wheat
a cultural group that participated in desert (Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccon), with modest
trade and adopted traits of the groups at the amounts of hard wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp.
termini of desert roads; recent identification durum) present at the Gebel Roma and Qarn
of a unified Tasian culture of the Rayayna el-Gir caravansaries. Pulses are rare, and
Desert and Kurkur oasis—linked by the Darb earth-almonds are present, as are seeds of
Gallaba and Darb Bitan—further support melons, watermelon, and cucumber; garlic
such a theory (Darnell fc.). occurs at Gebel Roma and in the Wadi el-Hol
deposit. Sycamore figs, dates, and sugar dates
(Balanites aegyptiaca) appear in some quantities,
while pomegranates and grapes are rare; spices
are notably coriander and black cumin. Wild
plants also occur, including acacia and weeds,
including Lupinus digitatus in the Gebel Roma
deposit, the latter probably representing
lupins that took root in fallow fields and were
ultimately harvested with grain.
Most of the grain shows no sign of digestion
by animals and was probably intended for
human consumption. The presence of
considerable numbers of rachis nodes
indicates that much of the grain shipped along
Figure 20. WHRI 1, inscription of the grain- the Farshut Road and through the Wadi el-
accounting scribe of Amun, May. Hol had undergone an initial threshing, but
not the final separation of the grains. The
3. Gebel Roma, Wadi el-Hol, and Gebel Temple of Karnak possessed fields at Hiw
Qarn el-Gir caravansary deposits. Stratified (see above), and the route may have witnessed
accumulations of ancient remains, primarily the transportation of considerable grain
ceramic and botanical material bound together shipments for the divine offerings of Amun.
with a considerable amount of animal dung, The grains and rachis nodes present at the
occur at Gebel Roma on the high plateau site, along with fragments of coarse cloth in
overlooking the Wadi el-Hol, near the main the deposits, suggest some transshipment of
rock inscription sites of the Wadi el-Hol, and the grain, and the presence of a chief of the
at the base of Gebel Qarn el-Gir to the scales and a grain accounting scribe are
northwest (fig. 24; Darnell 2002a: 138 - 139, consistent with the checking of deliveries in
2002b: 91). Occurring only on the Farshut the Wadi el-Hol and at Gebel Roma.
Road in the network of Theban Western
Desert routes, these debris mounds—the Excavation/Research History
refuse of caravans traveling the Farshut
Road—began to accumulate during the In the 1930s Terence Gray and Hans Winkler
Middle Kingdom, expanded dramatically discovered rock art and inscriptions at the
during the late 17th and early 18th Dynasties, site, which Winkler designated by the name of
and continued in use through the end of the the nearby Wadi el-Hol. Only two
Ramesside Period (figs. 25 and 26). Only the photographs of inscriptions at the site
Gebel Roma deposit, the largest of the appeared in Winkler (1938: 8, pls. 9 [fig. 2]
mounds, reveals any considerable post- and 10 [fig. 1]—Winkler’s site 30); Macadam
Ramesside activity.

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 11

Figure 21. Grain distribution at Gebel Roma, amounts of wheat and barley in one liter samples of the
central portion of the caravansary deposit.

Figure 22. Grain distribution at Gebel Qarn el-Gir, amounts of wheat and barley in one liter samples of the
caravansary deposit.

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 12

(1951)—based on a photograph and notes by
Newberry—published the most
“monumental” of the inscriptions in the Wadi
el-Hol, the stela of Sobekhotep III. Sometime
after Grey and Winkler examined the major
rock inscription concentrations at the site,
inhabitants of el-Halfaya Bahari became aware
of the ancient remains; vandalism has
occurred at the site over a considerable period
of time and continues, local legends of gold in
the mountains of the area (cf. Senn 1969)
contributing to the vandalism. In 1994 the
Theban Desert Road Survey began work at
the site, both recording the rock inscriptions
and rock art and identifying and clearing
several important deposits of ceramic and
organic material (much bibliography in
Darnell 2002b).

Figure 25. Section of the Gebel Roma caravansary

deposit.

Figure 23. View of the Farshut Road in the vicinity

of the Wadi el-Hol cave.

Figure 26. Section of the Gebel Roma caravansary

deposit, showing the density of ceramic remains in
a New Kingdom level (the levels in West Trench
extension do not correspond numerically to those
of the central deposit in Figure 21).

Availability of Data
The main publication of the Wadi el-Hol rock
Figure 24. View of the caravansary deposit at the
base of Gebel Qarn el-Gir. inscriptions (Darnell 2002b) is available here.
Additional material and announcements of
further publications will appear at the project
website.

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 13

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External Links
Yale Egyptological Institute in Egypt http://www.yale.edu/egyptology/ae.htm
Wadi el-Hol/Gebel Roma: http://www.yale.edu/egyptology/ae_wadi.htm.
Wadi el-Hol rock art publication: http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/oip/oip119.html

Image Credits
All of the photographs and illustrations are courtesy of the Theban Desert Road Survey of Yale University,
and John Coleman Darnell and Deborah Darnell.

Figure 1. Map of sites and roads of the Theban Western Desert.

Figure 2. A view from the aqaba of the Farshut Road, with rock inscription Section C in the middle right
and Section A visible across the wadi.

Figure 3. View of the aqaba of the Farshut Road at the Wadi el-Hol site, on the prong of gebel in the center
of the photograph are rock inscription Section B (to the left) and Section C (to the right); the
ascent to Gebel Roma is in the upper right.

Figure 4. WHRI 38 (no scale available), a Coptic text with name, title, and date.

Figure 5. WHRI 25, a late Middle Kingdom inscription with names and filiation.

Figure 6. WHRI 42, labeled depiction of a man Hepi from the early Middle Kingdom.

Figure 7. WHRI 16, text containing the name and title of Mentuhotep III as a prince.

Figure 8. WHRI 18, spending-the-day text with a depiction of a cow.

Figure 9. WHRI 19, spending-the-day text with depiction of a striding man bearing offerings.

Figure 10. WHRI 15, depiction of a singing man, Libyan, and cow.

Figure 11. WHRI 4 - 6, from right to left, an offering formula for the priest Kheperka, the letter by
Dedusobek, and depiction of a striding statue of a king with texts.

Figure 12. WHRI 8, a literary text from the terminal Middle Kingdom/Second Intermediate Period.

Figure 13. Wadi el-Hol Early Alphabetic Text No. 1.

Figure 14. Wadi el-Hol Early Alphabetic Text No. 2.

Figure 15. Inscription of Bebi and associates from the Wadi el-Hol.

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 18

Figure 16. New Kingdom depiction of horse and rider from the Wadi el-Hol.

Figure 17. WHRI 22, Ramesside text of the stable master Paseany.

Figure 18. The remains of a 21st Dynasty stela from the Farshut Road.

Figure 19. Text from a 21st Dynasty stela from the Farshut Road.

Figure 20. WHRI 1, inscription of the grain-accounting scribe of Amun, May.

Figure 21. Grain distribution at Gebel Roma, amounts of wheat and barley in one liter samples of the
central portion of the caravansary deposit.

Figure 22. Grain distribution at Gebel Qarn el-Gir, amounts of wheat and barley in one liter samples of the
caravansary deposit.

Figure 23. View of the Farshut Road in the vicinity of the Wadi el-Hol cave.

Figure 24. View of the caravansary deposit at the base of Gebel Qarn el-Gir.

Figure 25. Section of the Gebel Roma caravansary deposit.

Figure 26. Section of the Gebel Roma caravansary deposit, showing the density of ceramic remains in a
New Kingdom level (the levels in West Trench extension do not correspond numerically to
those of the central deposit in Figure 21).

Wadi el-Hol, Darnell, UEE 2013 19