TITLE:
The Inventory Stele: More Fact than Fiction
AUTHORS:
Manu Seyfzadeh, Robert M. Schoch
KEYWORDS:
Inventory Stele, Sphinx, Khufu, Giza, Isis, Henutsen, Osiris, Satet, Hieroglyphic, Heka
JOURNAL NAME:
Archaeological Discovery,
Vol.6 No.2,
April
19,
2018
ABSTRACT: The Inventory Stele tells a story about Khufu and the Great Sphinx which contradicts the current mainstream narrative of when the Sphinx was carved. The story’s historical relevance has long been challenged based on its mention of names and certain details which are believed to be anachronistic to the time of Khufu. Here, we address the elements commonly cited by the critics one by one and find that they are largely based on misconceptions in part due to errors and oversights contained in the two commonly referenced translations and based on a missing context which relates to the economics and symbolism of supplying provisions to the royal house. We reconstruct a more plausible scenario of why and when the text may have been originally composed and who its target audience was. From our analysis we conclude that while we cannot rule out a couple of minor modifications of names from the original written version we date to the 5th Dynasty, there is no plausible reason to dismiss the entire account recorded in this Late Period version on those grounds alone and that the events it describes appear more factual than fictitious.