Background:

 

Wooden objects were scarcely found although it has been used since the pre-dynastic era. This was due to the scarcity of wood and because was a perishable material thus royal statues were rarely carved on wood. The ancient Egyptians used to cut the tree in half carving on the interior soft fibers and using a piece of cloth to avoid cracking the wood. The naming of the statue Sheikh El Balad came from one of the workers upon finding the statue in a pit and when asked he pointed out the resemblance between the statue and the mayor of Saqqara at that time.

 

The statue:

 

It was excavated by the workers of Marriette in 1860 found in a pit at Saqqara. It belongs to a lector priest from the 5th dynasty during the rule of Userkaf. It is an example of a typical Egyptian with the double chin and the round face and the bulging belly. It is made out of sycamore wood. It is made out of 4 blocks. The body is made out of one piece; the right arm is made out of another piece, while the left arm is made out of two pieces due to bending the arm at the elbow. The statue was glued together by tenons. His left are is holding a stick or staff which is a sign of nobility. It is a restored one. In the other hand he is holding a scepter but it is missing. The different colors of wood show the restoration in his facial features and legs. Although the statue is realistic it is represented with a touch of beauty. He is represented wearing a pleated kilt from a side with the knot or a dagger at his waste. He is represented with the left leg stepping forward which is a traditional position. He is represented with real short cut hair or may be a skull cap, full cheeks, round face. The eyes are inlaid with opaque quarts, rock crystal and nail or resin. The eyes are lined with cooper. He is represented having a slight smile. the preservation of the statue is due to the dry climate of the soil although it is made out of wood.  

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`�o�s the French expedition. Due to the classical Greek translation of the inscription on the slab they were able to decipher the inscriptions that were on the stone. The stone reached the British when they forced the French to leave Egypt and give all the antiquities to the British.

 

 

The stone:

 

It is a great slab made out of black basalt measures 114cm in height and 72cm in width and 2.8cm in thickness. It weighs about ¾ of a ton. Some parts of the stone are damaged; the left upper corner and the right upper edge and the lower right corner. It was believed that originally the slab had a round semi circle top crowned with the winged solar disk with two cobras each wearing a crown of Upper or Lower Egypt and each carrying the shen ring as a sign of eternity and the ceremonial fan below the winged solar disk. Probably there have been figures of the king with several deities making some offerings. This belief came from the existence of the Damanhour stela which contains the same Hieroglyphic inscriptions. The slab is divided into three registers:

<!--The first register is inscribed with the hieroglyphic letters only 14 lines remain undamaged thus a complete translation could not be managed

<!--The second register is inscribed with Demotic consisting of 32 lines 14 of which are damaged

<!--The third register is inscribed with the classical Greek language. It contains 54 lines the last 26 lines are not complete due to the damage.

 

Translation of the text:

 

Europeans are acquainted with the classical Greek language so they were able to translate the Greek part. In September 1822 Jean Francois Champilion managed to translate the other two texts by comparing them to the Greek text and to the Damanhour stela and to some inscription found on the walls of the temple of Isis at Philae. By comparing the letters that was in the cartouche with the Greek text and with the cartouche of Cleopatra on an obelisk Champilion was able to verify the letters and the name that was in the cartouche belonged to Ptolemy V.

 

The context of the stone:

 

It was a decree made by the priests of Re commemorating the first anniversary of the coronation of Ptolemy V and thanking him for reducing their taxes and for the offering he made for the gods and for his respect to the ancient Egyptian religion. Inscriptions at this time were made in several languages because the ruling house was Macedonian and Greek.