Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt

name first caught my eye, I christened the site Djedefre´s water-mountain. 28
There are hieroglyphic texts carved on the east face of the DWM that report that the pharaoh Khufu (fourth dynasty and
builder of the Great Pyramid at Giza) ordered two “overseers of recruits” called Iymeri and Bebi to take an expedition of
about 400 men (two regiments) into this “desert region” to collect a substance named “mefat,” which, according to
Egyptologists, was probably a mineral powder used for making red paint. The expedition took place in “the year of the
thirteenth count of cattle,” which Egyptologists reckon to be the twenty-sixth year of reign of Khufu. The inscription
reads:
the year after the 13th occasion of the census of all large and small cattle of the North and the South of the Horus
Medjedu (Khufu) given life eternally, the overseers of the recruits of the escort, Imeri and Bebi, they came with two
regiments of recruits under their command, to make “Mefat” from the pigments of the desert district.
A strange word that is found in the inscriptions and previously not known to Egyptologists is Mefat (MefAt). But
the term fat or at was known and generally taken to mean “powder” or “dust,” which led many experts to propose that
mefat was probably red ocher (ferric oxide), which is used to make red paint. Because the pyramids of Giza and the
sphinx are believed to have been originally painted red (partly at least), the suggestion that this expedition was for this
purpose is a viable one, although far from being proved. Lending support to this connection with Giza is also several
“seals” and “leather bags” dated to the fourth dynasty found at Giza; the “seals” mention expeditions of four hundred men
sent to the desert to collect red ocher, and some of this substance was found in the leather bags. But the precise meaning
of Mefat is still debated among experts, and Carlo Bergmann, the discoverer of the DWM, has proposed that it may not
be “inorganic” but perhaps some organic substance. Here are Bergmann’s views on Mefat:
According to Kuhlmann, the translator of the fourth-dynasty inscriptions at DWM (Kuhlmann, K., “the Oasis bypath
or the issue of desert trade in pharaonic times,” in Tides of the desert, 2002), the Old Kingdom expeditions of
Khufu and Djedefre had come to the site (and to Biar Jaqub) in order to produce powder (mefat) from SS’pigments
(?) taken from the “desert district.” The term SS’ has not been substantiated in hieroglyphic writing. Despite of
scrupulous search for ancient pigment-quarrying activities, which (in a landscape where ancient relics have prevailed
undisturbed over long periods of time) would remain conspicuous up to date, not the slightest indication of such
works was found. Is, therefore, Kuhlmann’s interpretation of SS’ meaning “pigment” inconsistent with the findings
of our investigation? Or was SS’ collected merely from the ground, thence leaving no traces of its removal?
Furthermore, is SS’ really an unorganic pigment or is it of organic origin? A trial-trench at DWM has brought to
light three hearths, seal impressions, potsherds of cups, bowls, and storage jars characteristic of the early Old
Kingdom as well as shale-tempered pottery of the Sheikh Muftah group. In one of the hearths numerous parts of
locusts and even complete specimens, which had been roasted on the spot, were found. Most probably insects like
these, the former having been radiocarbon dated to about 2600 BC, were part of the daily diet of, at one time, some
four hundred followers of Khufu. For such purpose great amounts of locusts must have been collected in the
vicinity of DWM. Do their remains attest for sufficient vegetation in Biar Jaqub; “green land,” by which the insects
once were attracted? If Biar Jaqub has to be envisaged as a florishing oasis during Old Kingdom times, the
probabilty of SS’ being a much-esteemed organic substance should be estimated high. An investigation of the hill in
½ kilo-metre distance to the stonecircle settlement revealed no traces of ancient mining operations. If, in one way or
the other, SS’ was obtained from here (as a pigment incorporated in the sandstone or in layers of variegated shales
fused into the rock), would it then not have made sense for the ancients to errect their settlement at the foot of the
prominent landmark? During all of the winter such considerations occupied my mind. Later, back in Germany (in
early summer of 2005), Friedrich Berger and Giancarlo Negro called my attention to a press release, which reported
the discovery of fourth dynasty seals and leather bags containing ferric oxide. According to inscriptions on pieces of
pottery belonging to the find, the expedition, which consisted of more than four hundred men, had been sent to the
“desert district” in search of red paint to decorate the pyramids. The discovery was made by Egyptian archaeologists
in the region of the Giza pyramids. 29