The bottom register

We now move to the bottom of the stela, because here we find the human element: the donors and beneficiaries of the piece, in whose tomb the stela was probably erected. They are depicted at the bottom, because the human element is bound to the earth, whereas the great gods Osiris and Re-Horus belong to heaven, at the top of the stela.

We see three human figures, all represented as kneeling and with their hands raised in a pose of adoration. The hieroglyphs tell us again who they are, and the hieroglyphs are written in the same direction as the figures they belong to. Thus, we should start reading the text on the far left of the scene, which describes the first kneeling figure. It reads:

To the kaSpirit of the nobleman, the god’s father with pure handsA priest’s title, the sacrificer for the god Kamutef, overseer of the priests of all the gods, Third Prophet of Amun, Second Prophet of Amun, First ProphetHigh Priest of Amun, Roma, true of voice, in peace.

Roma was one of the most important officials from the reign of king Merenptah. He started his career in the temple of Karnak under King Ramesses II, until he succeeded his elder brother Bakenkhons as High Priest of Amun. He continued in this function into the reigns of Seti II and Amenmesse, after which he was buried in a monumental tomb in Thebes. There are four statues of Roma that survived from the temples at Karnak, one of which is in the British Museum (fig. 1) and three are in Cairo. Sometimes the texts give him the name Roy, which seems to have been an alternative name for him. In Egyptology, he is therefore often called Roma-Roy.

Let’s take a look at the other people depicted on this part of the stela.