The Restoration Stela of Tutankhamun
The stela is an historical record and royal decree that outlines all the damage that was done in the reign prior to Tutankhamun and outlines the actions that the new boy king will undertake to restore the gods to their traditional position. It was originally located in Karnak and now stands in the Cairo Museum. It was inscribed during the reign of Tutankhamun and while completed upon his command, due the boy’s young age and perhaps his relative ignorance of the traditional gods, it is assumed that significant assistance would have been rendered by his aides: Ay, Horemheb and Maya. In fact, there is evidence in the tomb of Maya, Treasurer of Tutankhamun, that he played a role: “I made splendid the temples fashioning the images of the gods for whom I was responsible”, and, “The King’s mouthpiece in order to furnish the temples and to fashion the cult images of the gods.” So while the restoration stela attributes the work to Tutankhamun, evidence in the tomb of Maya indicates he certainly had some assistance. The intended audience is most certainly the gods and the cults as well as the people of Egypt. This decree is meant for posterity, as it was Tutankhamun who sought justice for the gods and restored them to their traditional position.
The stela reveals much about the religious situation at the time of Tutankhamun’s succession. All was about to change: “Now when his majesty appeared as king”, suggesting that the damage was done prior to his succession thus under the reign of Akhenaten. Certainly this reflects the fact that Akhenaten’s religion was one of the worship of a sole solar deity. He conducted attacks against the key gods and removed mention of the existence of “gods” in many texts and inscriptions. Thus this line of the text on the stela, suggests that change has come to Egypt, and all that was before will cease.
This section of the stela clearly outlines the destruction wrought upon the temples, the sanctuaries and the shrines of the traditional gods and goddesses:
“The temples of the gods and goddesses from Elephantine [down] to the marshes of the Delta [had been neglected and] gone to pieces. Their shrines had become desolate, had become mounds overgrown with [weeds]. Their sanctuaries were as if they had never been. Their halls were a footpath.”
The damage was so great that the land was ‘topsy turvey’ suggesting chaos and as a result of this chaos, “the gods turned their backs upon this land.” A certain consequence if Maat was not upheld and chaos had visited Egypt.
After the extensive list of kingly titles, Tutankhamun clearly outlines that “he has expelled deceit throughout the Two Lands, and justice was set up [so that] it might make lying to be an abomination of the land…’ Akhenaten’s reign is therefore declared an “abomination” as it was a reign of lies and Tutankhamun would seek “justice” on behalf of the gods. The text also mentions, “The good ruler, performing benefactions for his father (Amon) and all the gods…” Thus Tutankhamun’s actions to restore the status of all the traditional gods makes him a good ruler – chaos is averted and Maat restores peace. While this commentary appears often on royal stela, in this particular case, the loaded meaning is clear: the Amarna period was over. (Pritchard, 1969, p250)
The text makes reference to the palace of Aa-kheper-ka-re – the palace built by Thutmosis I in Memphis. Tutankhamun says, “Now when his majesty was in his palace which is in the house of Aa-kheper-ka-re…then his majesty was conducting the affairs of this land…” Here he clearly indicates that he has moved out of Amarna and into the palace at Memphis, the main royal residence during the New Kingdom. A clear separation of his reign from that of his father’s at Akhetaten. So a religions and political change has occurred, as the boy king now resides in Memphis to govern the land.
The next definitive action statement is: “So his majesty deliberated plans with his heart, searching for any beneficial deed, seeking out acts of service for his father Amon…” Archaeological evidence for these claims exist at Karnak, including the restoration of Pylon VI where the figure of Amun was restored along with Thutmosis. At Luxor, the Colonnade of Amenhotep III and the reliefs of the Opet Festival were restored. These show Amun journeying from Karnak to Luxor. Tutankhamun also added to Karnak with the building of the avenue of sphinxes that linked pylon X to the Temple of Mut. The stela reads: “ Then his majesty made monuments for the gods [fashioning] their cult-statures of genuine fine gold… building their sanctuaries anew and monuments for the ages of eternity…” Tutankhamun replaced the mud brinks of Amenhotep IIIs pylon X with stone – certainly a material to withstand the ages. Thus, a substantial building program has been developed to restore and build monuments and temples to the gods, a program that had been ignored under Akhenaten.
The final section of stela reveals that the gods were not only pleased with the work but rejoiced and exulted: “The hearts of the gods and goddesses who are in this land are in joy; the possessors of the shrines are rejoicing…”. A clear improvement from the earlier comments of “ Their hearts were hurt in their bodies”.
Thus the stela is a key text in allowing us to understand the process of restoration under the reign of Tutankhamun. It is clear that the Amarna period is a time of abomination and that the gods and goddesses had been neglected to the point that Egypt was in chaos. Once Tutankhamun became pharaoh, all this would cease and the return to tradition would begin with rightful acknowledgment of the gods, restoration of images, new monuments and statues.
The stela also reveals that after the death of Tutankhamun, Horemheb changed the text to take credit for the restoration work. There is evidence that he removed Tutankhamun’s name from the cartouches and had it replaced with his own. In addition, the original images of Tutankhamun’s wife, Ankhesenamun were removed by Horemheb. Perhaps further evidence of Horemheb’s role in the restoration process while he was Tutankhamun’s heir and deputy.
