Sobekemsaf I

Sobekemsaf I (or more properly Sekhemre Shedtawy Sobekemsaf) was an Egyptian king of the Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt who reigned during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was ruled by multiple kings (he was once thought to belong to the late Thirteenth Dynasty). His throne name, Sekhemre Shedtawy, means "Powerful is Re; Rescuer of the Two Lands." [Peter Clayton, Chronicle of the Pharaohs, Thames and Hudson Ltd, paperback 2006. p.94] It is now believed by Egyptologists that Sobekemsaf I was the father of both Intef VI and Intef VII based on an inscription carved on a door jamb discovered from the ruins of a 17th dynasty temple at Gebel Antef in the early 1990's which was built under Nebkheperre Intef VII. The door jamb mentions a king Sobekem [saf] as the father of Nebkheperre Intef/Antef VII--("Antef begotten of Sobekem...") [mentioned by Kim Ryholt: "The Political Situation in Egypt 266-270 394 File 17/4.6 & p.270]

The Robbery of Sobekemsaf's Tomb

The Abbott and Leopold-Amherst Papyrus, which is dated to Year 16 of Ramesses IX, states that this king's royal pyramid tomb was violated and destroyed by tomb robbers. The confessions and tomb robbery trials of the men responsible for the looting of Sekhemre Shedtawy Sobekemsaf's tomb are detailed in the latter papyrus which is dated to Year 16, III Peret day 22 of Ramesses IX. This document relates that a certain Amenpnufer, son of Anhernakhte, a stonemason from the Temple of Amun Re "fell into the habit of robbing the tombs [of noblemen in West Thebes] in company with the stonemason Hapiwer" and mentions that they robbed Sobekemsaf's tomb along with six other accomplices in Year 13 of Ramesses IX. [Leonard Cottrell, The Lost Pharaohs, Pan Books, 8th printing:1977, p.135] Amenpnufer confesses that they

In his trial, Amenpnufer testifies that he and his companions dug a tunnel into the king's pyramid with their copper tools:

Amenphufer states that the treasures taken from the two royal mummies amounted to "160 deben of gold" or 32 lbs (14.5 kg). [Peter Clayton, Chronicle of the Pharaohs, Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1994, p.171] The document ends with the conviction of the thieves--with a probable death sentence--and notes that a copy of the official trial transcripts was dispatched to Ramesses IX in Lower Egypt. Amenpnufer himself would have been sentenced to death by impalement, a punishment which "was reserved for [only] the most heinous crimes" in Ancient Egypt. [Anton Gill, Ancient Egyptians: The Kingdom of the Pharaohs brought to Life," Harper Collins Entertainment, 2003. p.176-77]

References

Literature

*Kim Ryholt: The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c.1800-1550 B.C, Museum Tuscalanum Press. ISBN 87-7289-421-0, 393 File 17/2
*Leonard Cottrell, The Lost Pharaohs, Pan Books London and Sydney, 8th printing:1977