ART GALLERY / Translated from french / Illustration of the topic of travel on a royal document dated the Horus-Aha the Fighter. It is, in the contemporary royal lists we received, the second king of the first Egyptian dynasty, or Hor-Aha (3200 BC)! The name of the sovereign is in a "Serekh" (a stylized palace facade) to the left of the first register. Right this is essentially the same register summary representation of a sanctuary surrounded by a wall, with two flags in his front, and a small wooden chapel roof rounded, in fact, represent a Sanctuary canonical Lower Egypt, called "pernou”. At the center of the space defined by the enclosure is a standard intersecting with two arrows, which is an evocation of the goddess Neith of Sais. This whole record is probably referring to a royal visit in the city of Sais in the north-west of the Delta - the boat shown above the shrine which probably function in this context to mean the displacement of King waterway. In the second register a character is seen carrying a basket, probably a priest with a sacrifice - with a hieroglyphic legend says "the fourth time!” . Then appears a bull and a rounded roof chapel similar to the first, surmounted by an ibis. According to some parallels, it is probably the chapel Djebaout of Buto, still north-west of Delta, and this, according to Richard H. Wilkinson, director of the "University of Arizona Egyptian Expedition”. The third register, finally, takes the theme of travel, presenting alternately vessels and symbolic representations of crenellated cities. The fourth and last record gives information about the product that was labeled, probably oil. Despite the difficulty sometimes encountered in interpreting such a document, the message here seems clear: the Royal event that gives name to the year is a visit to the north-west of Delta, with sanctuaries country's major. The religious background of the visit is clear and it seems, according to legend, that this shift is regular since it has obviously taken place three times since the beginning of the reign!
It is indeed surprising that allusions to royal visits reflected annalistic the first documents that have reached us! Remember that the time in question is the first appearance of the hieroglyphs. Hence the rare and unusual presentation of the document in question, far from the usual clichés of representation that we can decipher hieroglyphic through Champollion. These movements had royal place every two years. It is therefore a fundamental institution, the royal visit is both an opportunity for the pharaoh to receive the homage of the local elite and raise taxes in the provinces, it is likely that the king's arrival and his entourage in a province, at regular intervals, has also been put on a violent, given the number of boats following that of the Pharaoh! All objects on the boat during these expeditions, had a utilitarian role and were carefully labeled and accompanied a container or a safe that they are attached by a cord through a hole allowing it to pass a bond. The inscriptions engraved or painted (on the labels of wood and ivory) contained therein have been designed to identify the product enclosed by the container owner, and sometimes the institution issuing the product. The use of these labels seems to be limited only to the first dynasty! But most important is that these labels are over 5000 years, also give a date, referring to one or several important events that have involved the action of the monarchy this year!
I conclude by returning to Caesar that which is Caesar's, since I'm explaining this label Pierre Tallet, professor of history and a doctorate in Egyptology, through its participation in the editing of history, representation and dissemination of Egyptian royal entries.