Benjamin Banneker: Astronomy, Ancient Egypt, and the Boundary Stones of Washington, D.C.

Three of the four Presidents in Mount Rushmore (1927) the Black Hills were surveyors; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln were all surveyors.

Benjamin Banneker was a free African American scientist, surveyor, almanac author and farmer who lived during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He is best known for being part of the survey team that helped design the layout of Washington, D.C. in 1791. 

May 21, 2021 I had an opportunity to visit the former homestead of Benjamin Banneker near Ellicott City, Maryland. Although his original cabin is no longer standing, the site contains a reconstructed version along with museums and memorials that provide insight into this pioneering African American scientist and surveyor. Banneker compiled groundbreaking astronomical data and pioneered sustainable farming techniques ahead of his time. On his tobacco farm near Baltimore, Mary-Land (the root of Maryland as the land of Mary), he practiced innovative techniques like terracing, permaculture and polyculture, presaging modern sustainable agriculture. Banneker shared his expertise by publishing farmer's almanacs blending agriculture, astronomy and weather data to help farmers prosper. His scientific knowledge connected to ancient Egyptian and Kemetic traditions, passed down from his grandfather, who legend says, was an African prince who brought seeds woven into his hair through the passage to America. As a free Black man, Banneker embodied knowledge synthesis, fusing African, native and Western epistemologies. His farm neighbored the Patapsco Valley homeland of the Piscataway people, who welcomed early English settlers to Maryland. Banneker represents the rich but overlooked legacy of indigenous, African and colonial knowledge exchange that shaped America.

 1977 Memorial Obelisk dedicated to Benjamin Banneker at Mt Gilboa African Methodist Episcopal Church. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2312 Westchester Avenue, Oella, Maryland, Catonsville MD 21228. Benjamin Banneker's original 100-acre landholding was located in what is now Oella, Maryland. Obelisks could be incorporated into triangulation networks, a technique used by surveyors to determine precise positions of geographic points. By measuring angles between obelisks and other landmarks, surveyors could create accurate maps and charts. Obelisks were often used by ancient civilizations as sundials or shadow clocks. Their tall, slender shape casts a distinct shadow that moves throughout the day, allowing for the measurement of time and the tracking of the Sun's movement across the sky. Astronomers in ancient Egypt and other cultures used obelisks to observe celestial events and mark the passage of time. Some obelisks were constructed with specific celestial alignments in mind. The oldest surviving obelisk in the world is the "Obelisk of Senusret I," also known as the "Senusret I Obelisk." of the 12th Dynasty, around 1950 BCE. Originally erected at the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak in modern-day Luxor, Egypt.

One thing that fascinated me was learning more about Banneker’s relationship with his surveying partner Andrew Ellicott. Most records describe Banneker as his assistant, which isn’t uncommon among inventors who were black or female to have their titles or contribution roles diminished or excluded altogether in records or descriptions. Not only did Banneker and Ellicott share the same library, the two worked closely in the 1790s to map out the boundaries of Washington, D.C. through their joint expertise in astronomy and mathematics.

However, it seems their bond was more than just a working friendship. As I explored the site, I discovered that Banneker had bequeathed his 100-acre property to Ellicott through a deed that gave Ellicott lifetime rights to the property. This arrangement is most commonly seen in real estate wills among married couples sharing ownership through “Rights of Survivorship”.

The personal nature of this gift from Banneker to his surveying partner provides strong evidence of a deep bond and trust between the two men. Banneker was essentially granting the Ellicott family the right to inherit his most valuable asset - his homestead farm.

This context helps underscore just how close Banneker and Ellicott must have been, both professionally and personally. Their relationship went far beyond just coworkers to what was likely a genuine friendship and mutual admiration. Banneker entrusted his legacy and land to Ellicott in a way that demonstrates remarkable respect.
 

To me, this suggests a deep, almost familial bond between the two men, who relied on each other’s knowledge and teamwork to carry out their historic survey of the capital. The gift of Banneker’s beloved homestead shows the level of trust and affection between them.

What is lesser known is Banneker's extensive knowledge of ancient Egyptian and Kushite astronomy, mathematics and culture, which informed his work on the boundary stones demarcating the federal district.

 

In ancient Egypt, the goddess Seshat was the deity associated with wisdom, knowledge, writing and measurement. She was often depicted with a seven-pointed crown and a palm stem, which were tools used in surveying and measurements. Seshat was revered as the goddess who established the boundaries of temples, cities and land divisions. The surveyors trade originated with her, according to ancient scholars, and the scrolls on papyrus, she was “Mistress of the House of Books” in which the technology of surveying was taught.

She presided over a ceremony known as 'the stretching of the cord' which established the foundations and boundaries for new temples and cities. This ritual was conducted by pharaohs to consecrate the land. When surveyor Andrew Ellicott and scientist Benjamin Banneker began demarcating the boundaries of Washington D.C. in 1791, they were symbolically enacting a similar consecration of the capital's borders. Through their meticulous work establishing and laying the boundary stones, they metaphorically 'stretched the cord' to define the parameters of the nation's new seat of power, much like Seshat defined sacred spaces in ancient times. 

Seshat’s title of Mistress of the House of Books was one of many, another title was Divine Record Keeper and Lady of Builders. The early surveyors of Virginia had a Hall of Records placed at Mt Rushmore with the three surveying Presidents who practiced this ancient knowledge. What the Indians call the wamakaognaka e'cantge is where the continental egregor sits, and it's the heart of America, Canada, and Mexico. The Indians knew this peak of multiple spikes as Kagha Paga, "Evil Spirit Hill." Nearby within the Black Hills, all of which was regarded by the Indians as a sacred temple with multiple features, was Washu Niya, "The Breathing Place" (sometimes called Wind Cave) which comprised a portal from inside the Earth; through this aperture arose First Man from the underworld, the place of origin for the sacred White Buffalo. He Sápa or Pahá Sápa or O'onakezin (Wakan Tanka, great Spirit, cave of origin from underworld where Mt Rushmore Hall of records sits) poem states, “He is a mountain as he is a horn that comes from a shift in the river, throat to mouth”.

The District of Columbia is said to be the district of those busy doing the work of the goddess. They use the term Columbia. I found it interesting that the town that was Benjamin Banneker's property has an “Old Columbia” Pike. This street name existed before the 1791 naming of the District of Columbia, when the town was Ellicott Mills.

Banneker was well-versed in such lore and incorporated esoteric concepts from African antiquity into his work on the boundary stones, he was a known master in this area during his time. The three boundary markers he helped install that aligned with star constellations were Boundary Stone East (No. 3), Boundary Stone South (No. 7) and Boundary Stone West (No. 9).

Boundary Stone East was placed near what is now the Capitol Reflecting Pool. It aligned with the constellation Cancer and represented the ideals of domesticity, fertility, motherhood and the home.

Boundary Stone South was erected at Jones Point near Alexandria, Virginia and aligned with the star Sirius. In ancient Egypt, Sirius was associated with the goddess Isis and signified wisdom, magic and the flooding of the Nile.

Finally, Boundary Stone West was placed west of Georgetown and aligned to the constellation Aquarius. This constellation symbolized knowledge, intellect and humanitarian pursuits in ancient astronomy.

Through his study of Kushite and Kemetic knowledge, Banneker was able to incorporate esoteric wisdom into the physical demarcation of the nation's capital. His work highlights the influence of African astronomy, culture and spirituality in the design of Washington, D.C. Particularly the 7,000 plus year old science of astronomy incorporated into building on earth from knowledge that was attributed to Seshat of Africa.

Benjamin Banneker made legendary contributions as an astronomer, mathematician, surveyor and visionary scholar during the late 1800s. His work helping survey the boundaries of Washington, D.C. should be viewed not as that of a mere assistant, but as a master class scientist and intellectual making groundbreaking strides.

Banneker was a pioneering scholar who drew on expertise in subjects like astronomy, agriculture and engineering that connected back to ancient African innovation and wisdom. He collaborated with other experts like Andrew Ellicott as an equal, lending his vast knowledge to projects like the D.C. boundary survey.

It is more accurate to view Banneker not as someone's assistant, but as a self-made master scholar whose insights and capabilities matched or exceeded the accomplished men he worked alongside. He synthesized complex bodies of knowledge and applied them through his inventions, writings and scientific advancements. It is up to us to rewrite history without the bias of racism.

In early colonial America Benjamin Banneker was not the sole luminary among Black surveyors. Also during the 1700s there was Pioneer George, of African descent, who showcased remarkable skills in surveying in Virginia and Kentucky. While records may be limited, George's contributions in western Virginia and Kentucky reflect the pivotal role of Black surveyors during this period of American history. Plus others were out there too - Benedict Brown navigated boundaries in Kentucky, Thomas Fuller steered survey methods in Canada, particularly Ontario, Prince Perkins traversed large Kentucky tracts. Don't forget Plato Durham, a surveyor of Kentucky and Indiana, Jefferson Lewis and more black men who determined the lay of the land in Kentucky and beyond. There were several black-white surveying teams including Black Bob, John Donelson and James Robertson (Virginia surveyors) who founded Tennessee/Tanehesy, they first named District of Mero (1788) (originally surveyed to the shape of an obelisk), similar in name to the obelisk bearing land Meroe/Meru/Mr/Moors/Merukh/Ta-merau in along the Nile. Coincidentally, the state flag for the District of Mero and the District of Columbia both bore 3 stars. They had heard from the Natives about the “bend in the river” and went in search of it to stop at Fort Nashville. There was also James Dedhamd, Robert Roberts, Paul Cuffe, James Wormley, Lewis Temple, John Brown, Samuel Coleman, Samuel M Johnson, Henry Boyd, and Richard Robert Wright Sr, to name a few early American black surveyors..

While history books may overlook these mystical pioneer surveyors and their cosmic contributions, we know their resilience and innovations shaped the geography of America’s expansion. In a era of turmoil, these wayfinder brothers were manifesting order from chaos through knowledge of earth and sky. By honoring their questing spirits and cunning minds, we lift the veil on untold stories of brilliance. More to come on this topic in future post, there is so much to say here.

Africa & America Goddess Meteorology & The Holly Tree

 

I visited New Orleans for the first time about a decade ago. It was a time during which I was not a drinker of alcohol. Never drank and stayed away from it. My step-father was an alcoholic. So, I decided at an early age it wasn't something I wanted to include in my future. There was a man in New Orleans who pulled me aside while I was walking to make sure that I knew about the “Hurricane”drink and not just the drink but its historical importance to New Orleans. I pretty much was tuned out and don't remember much of what he said, but I listened to be nice. It did make an impression upon me as on my subsequent visits to New Orleans I always wondered what it taste like and what was so special about it.

Today, while developing the wet-nurse character for my version of the Medea play, I started reading about Santo Domingo and Columbus who encountered a hurricane. The Taino  attributed it to the goddess “Hurican”. This goddess was a goddess of storms; water, winds, and  lightening. Her legend is where we get the current name hurricane from. So, I wanted to learn more about what the ancients said about this goddess. I conceptualize their legends as a story to describe what their scientists knew about weather patterns, but in laymen’s colorful storytelling terms. It was intriguing that they used this spiral symbol that looks like a hurricane from a satellite image. But how did they perceive this extra terrestrial view of this "goddess" or divine power? This is described by Africans in the West and in the East. The similarities of the science of Seshat are found in West Africa, in the Goddess they term Mami Wata, her importance to the Atlantic slave trade and the people of the Caribbean is well documented. I thought about the stories they carried with them from West Africa to the Caribbean.

Connecting America to West African storms by science, art and oral tradition:

This video explains how most hurricanes that impact the United States come from the exact same spot in the world, Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa via the Ethiopian highlands. It is a place where hot dry and cold moist air mix. The dry Sahara Desert clashes with the cooler wetter region of the south at this point. There is a "river" in the Atlantic Ocean, called the tradewinds that creates a direct pathway connecting the two continents. This edge is where it begins, from one coast to the next. Hurricanes that hit America actually come from the Sahara Desert, beginning as far east as the Ethiopian Highlands and the Red Sea rift zone, where Africa is splitting apart very slowly. A ripple is developed here and in low pressure areas waves are created that develop spin, African Easterly Waves. Hurricanes don't come off the Indian or Arctic and rarely the Pacific. They come from the Nile Valley region of the Highlands of Ethiopia and follow the same trail as the slave trade. 

South America: Hurican, dance, columbus maya, aztec, 

Turtle Mother and biogenic magnetite

What did our ancestors know about turtles and thier ability to navigate the Atlantic Ocean's tradewinds from Africa to the Americas? They are a part of important Central America myths. Magic rock normally facing sea, it would turn around, the turtles appear. the turtle mother would turn back and direct the turtles to go to different parts of the world. It turns out that turtles have biogenic magnetite in their noses and follow the earths magnetic field. The rock could symbolize a compass. They knew to carve the nose with the magnetic field. When I was a child a popular cartoon was Ninja Turtles.

Tezcatlipoca, Codex Rios

One day the god instructed a black wind god to go to the sun and fetch some music. The wind god needed help for such a dangerous mission and so he enrolled Tezcatlipoca’s assistants - a turtle, mermaid and a whale - these he put together to make a bridge so that he might cross the ocean. The sun saw the wind god arriving and warned his entourage of musicians not to answer any demands the wind might make, otherwise, they would be sent back to earth with the wind. However, the wind god started singing in such an irresistible manner that one of the musicians felt compelled to answer and so he was punished by the sun and made to return to earth, bringing with him the gift of music. The god’s love of music was also displayed during the ceremony in Tóxcatl where the Tezcatlipoca impersonator broke a flute every step of the pyramid he climbed on his way to being sacrificed.

West Africa & Egypt: Goddesses of Storms

In the Yoruba tradition they have a goddess called Oya (Oyá or Oiá; Yansá or Yansã; and Iansá or Iansã) meaning she tore, sister/wife/feminine counter to Shango. She is an orisha of winds, lightning, and violent storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, thunder, intuition, clairvoyance, death and rebirth. The Haitian god Maman Brigitte who is syncretised with the Catholic Saint Brigit is similar. An Orisha (òrìṣà orichá or orixá) are spirits sent by higher divinities for the guidance of all creation on how to live and be successful on earth. In Candomblé, Oya is known as Oiá, lyá Mésàn, or most commonly, Iansã, from the Yoruba Yánsán. Iansã, as in Yoruba religion, commands winds, storms, and lightning. She is the queen of the river Niger, and the mother of nine. Iansã is syncretized with Saint Barbara. In the Candomblé nação (association) of Angola Congo, Iansã is associated with the colour red. Her number is 9.
North America: Gorgets, Symbols, Rituals, Black Drink, Fabernacci, Diamond Eyes 
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After researching the “goddess” Hunraken/Juracán /Huracon (U Kʼux Kaj, the "Heart of Sky" furacan, furican, haurachan, herycano, hurachano, hurricano) where we get the term Hurricane I find it interesting that this symbol is found in Nashville and other “tornado alley” regions of America. The shell “Nashville Gorgets” were found in abundance in Bordeaux mounds from the Mississippian time period. 200BCE-500CE They used conch or lightening whelk to make the charms.
The Africans who met Columbus in the America’s shared knowledge of this storm goddess. They wrote about encountering these storms on their boats and the tradewind routes in the Atlantic Ocean. The vortical nature of hurricanes was well established hundreds of years prior to the arrival of European settlers. The spiral rain bands known to us from satellite pictures were not discovered until meteorological radar was developed during recent times.
The Fibonacci shape is shared by things as diverse as our Milky Way, hurricanes, a seashell, water going down a drain and the path of a falcon on the hunt.
#conch #seshat #mamiwata #huracon #hurricane #huracan #goddess #nashville #nashvillegorget #Fibonacci #tradewinds #aztec #mayan #taino #America #yinyang

The pyramid cultures of America used the conch shell to create gorgets with symbols on them that were astronomical and similar to what we see when we look at hurricanes from satellite. 

Hollywood:

Magic Wands were made from Holly wood. #hollywood #etymology

Term coined by Freemason Hobart Johnstone Whitley. 1886 #HJWhitley
Besides his land developments, he was also the President of the National Loan & Trust Company, Guthrie, Oklahoma, Vice President of Home Savings Bank, President of First National Bank of Van Nuys, State Bank of Owensmouth and Bank of Lankershim; General Manager of the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company, principal in the Bank of Hollywood, The Whitley Land Company and owner of the H.J. Whitley Company jewelry store. He was New Jersey born. In his new land in CA he could evade New Jersey’s Thomas Edison's Motion Picture Patents Company laws and film under His company Nestor as he pleased. His home was the first film studio in the world. He was Governor and surveyor of Oklahoma, a the trade of Seshat’s legacy. 

Holly is the whitest of all woods, and has been used in making piano keys. It was considered sacred by the druids, and played a part in the magic of the Greeks and Romans. It was especially suitable for divination. In early Europe, holly and other thorny plants were believed to repel all evil spirits. (Gale, p. 2.) The same apotropaic properties were noted by Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE). It is an evergreen .

Holly Conch Shell Native coffee/cacao drink
"Black drink" was prepared in conch shell cups. A prominent ingredient is the roasted leaves and stems of Ilex vomitoria (commonly known as yaupon holly).
Three main species of marine shells have been identified as being used as cups for the black drink, lightning whelk, emperor helmet, and the horse conch. The most common was the lightning whelk, which has a left-handed or sinistral spiral.
In the archaeological record columnella pendants are usually found in conjunction with bi-lobed arrows, stone maces, earspools, and necklace beads (all of which are motifs identified with the falcon dancer/warrior/chunkey player mythological figure)
Pottery samples recovered from sites in modern Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico have tested positive for the ratio of methylxanthines associated with those produced by Ilex vomitoria. The same study also identified methylxanthines ratios associated with Theobroma cacao. Neither plants are native to the areas from which the pottery samples were recovered, which suggests trading between areas where those plants are native. The chemical analysis also suggests a possible increase in drinks prepared from cacao after the year 1200, and a decrease in the use of drinks prepared from Ilex vomitoria.
Freshwater shells from Texas and Arkansas have been recovered from Pueblo Bonito, which have been used as possible evidence for the trade of Ilex vomitoria from the east. There are also some stands of Ilex vomitoria in Mesoamerica, so the exact origins of the Ilex vomitoria used to prepare the drinks is currently unknown
#turtle motifs were also found at spiro mound. Turtles could tell the magnetic frequency of the earth.
This behavior sounds so African to me. This is how the Ethiopians drink coffee. The drum and rattle. 

I dont understand how people think these cultures are not related.
In 1696, Jonathan Dickinson witnessed the use of a beverage brewed from the Yaupon Holly among the Ais of Florida. Dickinson later learned that the Spanish called the plant casseena. The Ais parched the leaves in a pot, and then boiled them. The resulting liquid was then transferred to a large bowl using a gourd that had a long neck with a small hole at the top, and a 2-inch-wide (51 mm) hole in the side. On the occasion Dickinson witnessed, he estimated that there were nearly three gallons of the beverage in the bowl. After the liquid had cooled, the chief was presented with a conch-shell of the beverage. The chief threw part of it on the ground as a blessing and drank the rest, a libation in Africa. The chief's associates were then served in turn. Lower status men, women, and children were not allowed to touch or taste the beverage. The chief and his associates sat drinking this brew, smoking and talking for most of the day. In the evening, the bowl that had held the beverage was covered with a skin to make a drum. The Ais, accompanied by the drum and some rattles, sang and danced until the middle of the night.
#conch #hurricane #seshat #holly #christmas #spiral

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Seshat, Ancient Astronomers, Closing Thoughts
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My Journey to Recognizing the 1800s Adze Used to Assault a Tennessee Black Man Having its Origin in Africa

Years ago I stumbled upon a historical figure called Robert Renfro, also called Black Bob. I was intrigued by him as he was considered a hero in his day by Nashvillians and became the first emanepated black and first black business owner in Tennessee. Actually, he helped found Tennessee. Many Africanims emerged from his story as I read into his life. Kemetic Africanisms. He was on the boat that founded Fort Nashboro with masonic surveyors from Virginia. Initially this was call the district of Meroe, and later became the state of Tennessee. This term was famiar to me from my African studies of Nubia and Kemet and the Moors. Black Bob was a friend of Andrew Jackson, a freemason. When I went to Andrew Jackson's home, which is a museum now, I saw a book from his lodge, the first lodge in Tennessee, it was the first book and listed the names of the first head people of the lodge. Those names were the same names that I read on Black Bobs emancipation papers signed 5 years after Tennessee became a state. He did not fit the mold of the story of who black people were in America during the 17-1800s. "Bob" has a dual meaning in freemasonry. Part of it comes from the plum bob surveying tool. Which is an interest to me and my studies of Seshat. Which is also see with her holding it in the Temple of Edfu. 

One of the things about Black Bob that I found interesting was his lawsuit won at the hands of his friend and former attorney, now judge, Andrew Jackson. It was a lawsuit against a schoolmaster, Anderson Lavender, who assaulted Black Bob for talking proper  on April 25, 1800. The Grand Jury of Davidson County indicted him on this charge. Andrew Jackson, Archibald Roane (future Governor) and David Campbell were the judges when the suit was before the Superior Court, all freemasons in Nashville. 

John Hamilton, the attorney for the State wrote in May of 1800 that Anderson Lavender, “Did make an assault and battery with an intent him the said Bob then and there feloneously, wilfully and of his malice aforethought to kill & murder, against the Statue in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of our State.” Tr, TdaCo-MDSC Law Min. Bk., 1788-1803, pp 316-317. From Legal Papers of Andrew Jackson pg 162. What does the foot-adze that Lavender carried in his right hand to kill Bobb look like?

This brings me back to Kemet and its tools. The iron for why people settled in Tennessee during the frontier days. Why they needed Africans in the first place to conquer this land. The knowledge. Metorietic iron on a wood handle was used in the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony. The irony (no pun intended), of Black Bob being assaulted with an adze, similar to the instrument used in rituals to Open the Mouth, or be seen. 

The adze is depicted in ancient Egyptian art from the Old Kingdom onward.[1] Originally the adze blades were made of stone, but already in the Predynastic Period copper adzes had all but replaced those made of flint.[2] While stone blades were fastened to the wooden handle by tying, metal blades had sockets into which the handle was fitted.

A depiction of an adze was also used as a hieroglyph, representing the consonants stp, "chosen", and used as: ...Pharaoh XX, chosen of God/Goddess YY...
The ahnetjer (Manuel de Codage transliteration: aH-nTr) depicted as an adze-like instrument,[3] was used in the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, intended to convey power over their senses to statues and mummies. It was apparently the foreleg of a freshly sacrificed bull or cow with which the mouth was touched

The Egyptian terms for the ceremony are wpt-r and wn-r, both translating literally to "opening of the mouth." The verb wpi denotes an opening that entails splitting, dividing or separating, and is used to describe the separation of two combatants, the dividing of time or even a determination of the truth. The verb wn emphasizes accessibility and exposure, used in contexts such as wn-hr, literally "open the face", but more correctly meaning "see" or "be seen".

1. Setep

Wood; New Kingdom
From the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut
Rogers Fund, 1925
The Metropolitan Museum of Art 25.3.40
2. Adze
Bronze, wood and leather; New Kingdom
From the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut
Gift of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 1896
The Metropolitan Museum of Art 96.4.7
3. Pesesh-kef knife
(replica)
"offering ritual in which two blades of meteoric iron, called the ntjrwy, are said to open the mouth. Faulkner translates this spell as "O Osiris the King, I split open your mouth for you gods iron of Upper Egypt, 1 ingot; gods iron of Lower Egypt, 1 ingot."
The ritual was thus be performed with various implements, most commonly a wood-carving adze, which were touched to the lips by the officiating priest. An adze was an arched metal blade fasted across the top of a wooden handle with leather thongs, used in woodworking. The ceremonial adze was made from the metal of heaven, bi3 n pt, meteoric iron. The adze mimicked carving and sculpture, logical if the Funerary ceremony evolved from the ritual performed on a statue.

Another implement often depicted in the ceremony was the psh-kef knife. The psh-kef knife is first attested in prehistoric tombs as early as the Naqada I period.
Psh-kf sets were limestone platters with recesses that usually hold the two ntjrwy blades, a blunt psh-kf knife, two tiny bottles and four tiny cups. The bottles and cups are half of light-color and half of black. The same set of implements is listed together in the inventories of temple equipment found at the mortuary temple of Neferirkare at Abusir.

The implements used in the Pyramid Text ritual continue to appear in private tombs of the Middle Kingdom, but a rather different version of the ritual also appears in the Coffin Texts. Now Ptah joins Horus to open the deceaseds mouth, then Ptah and Thoth transform the deceased into an akh, and Thoth replaces the heart in the body, so that the deceased remembers what has been forgotten and can eat bread as desired."

Give us this day our daily bread. After the opening of the mouth with the iron instrument from heaven we today call from a meteor because it is not found on earth, the deceased could eat bread. Then the mouth is opened with the ntjrwy tool, and the mummy is presented to the son "who loves him." More scenes depict the son coming to the House of Gold, opening the mouth with the mdjdft-tool, and touching the mummys mouth with the little finger again.

Carpenter's Adze from a Foundation Deposit for Hatshepsut's Templeca. 1479–1458 B.C.