There are several images of the Msktt solar rook from the New Kingdom era. The bow of such a boat is equipped with a net, at the bottom of which is an image of a frog. Until now, Egyptologists have not been able to agree on the semantics of amphibians in this context. In this article, the author, studying temple and tomb images and texts, as well as a number of vignettes from the Book of the Dead, attempts to interpret the semantics of the frog image, focusing on the meaning of certain elements of the scenes that researchers previously did not pay due attention to, in particular, the purpose of the network itself, located on the nose of the Msktt boat.

Keywords: Ancient Egypt, New Kingdom, frog, Msktt boat, solar barge, net, whm ' nh "repetition of life", rebirth, red and turquoise beads woven into the net.

The problem of the semantics of the image of a frog under the Msktt boat (a barge on which the sun moves away in the evening, floats at night and reappears in the early morning) has been controversial among Egyptologists for many years. There are two points of view expressed in the literature on this issue. Some scientists (for example, German Egyptologist Hermann Grapov) believed that the frog in such scenes does not carry a sacred load and is a designation of its habitat. G. Grapov noted that on the barge from the tomb of Ramesses VI, the frog and the"plant" 1 were used only to show that the bottom of the boat was shown, and the plant seemed to hang down from its bow. In his opinion, the frog in this case has no sacred significance [Grapow, 1956, p. 27]. Elizabeth Thomas, in turn, believed that the frog moved to the otherworldly Nile. Accordingly, the latter acquires some components of the terrestrial Nile and ordinary terrestrial marshes, again without any sacred component (Thomas, 1959, p. 45).

According to another point of view, the image of a frog on the prow of a divine barge is a symbol of whm 'nh, i.e. "repetition of life". This was the opinion of A. Piankov, although he did not substantiate his assumption [Piankoff, 1957, p.433].

In this article, based on the analysis of fragments of images from temples and tombs of the New Kingdom, an attempt is made to interpret the image of a frog located at the bottom of the net that covers the bow of the Msktt boat, based on individual elements of scenes that researchers previously did not pay due attention to. For this purpose, fragments of the following images and accompanying texts were studied:

1 Quotation marks are copyright. Later in the article, it will be indicated why I consider the version that there is a reed or grass mat on the bow of the boat to be incorrect and why I insist that the nose of the solar barge is covered with a net with colored beads woven into it.

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* Image of two portable solar barques on the western section of the north wall of the Ra-Horahti Chapel, located in the sepulchral church of Seti I in Abydos (Calverley and Gardiner, 1935, pl. 15);

* Image of two portable solar barques on the eastern section of the south wall of the Ra-Horahti Chapel located in the sepulchral temple of Seti I in Abydos (Calverley and Gardiner, 1935, p. 18);

* Fragment of the image of a frog under a sun boat from the funeral temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahri above the passage to the altar hall (Karkowski, 2003, p. 150);

* Image of the Msktt rook on the eastern wall of the altar hall in the Deir el-Bahri temple above the passage and niche (Karkowski, 2003, pl. 81a);

* Image of the msktt rook on the western wall of the altar hall of the funeral temple of Hatshepsut (Karkowski, 2003, pl. 81b);

* Frontal image of a vertical solar boat on the ceiling of corridor F in the tomb of Ramesses VI (KV 9) (Grapow, 1956, pp. 24-28).

The listed fragments can be divided into two groups, taking the location of the frog as a criterion. The first group will include those images where the amphibian is located at the bottom of the net that covers the nose of the Msktt solar boat. The second group includes only one image - the solar boat from the tomb of Ramesses VI, since this is a unique case when the image of the net is a profile one, and therefore only its side edge with nodules or oval beads and loops formed during weaving are visible.2
When analyzing the above-mentioned fragments, due to their insufficient preservation, it is advisable to abandon the chronological order and take as an archetype the image of a portable solar boat from the sepulchral temple of Seti I in Abydos (the western part of the northern wall of the Ra-Horakhti chapel), since it is there that the image of an amphibian is best preserved. On this basis, it will be possible to reconstruct other, including earlier, fragments of images of the solar boat (for example, from the funeral temple of Hatshepsut).

A portable barge from the chapel of Ra-Khorahti is mounted on two horizontal poles passing under the bottom (Figs. 1a and 1b). The surface part of the stern is curved and decorated with a wide collar. The shafts-rowlocks of the steering oars, as well as the handles of the oars themselves, are shaped like a falcon's head. On the steering oars is a Choir in a double crown. In the center of the boat there is a naos covered with a linen cloth 3. On the bow there is a Horus-baby sitting on a wicker cloth hanging from the bow of the barge along the stem, next to him is the god Shu, holding feathers in raised hands on which, in turn, there is a hieroglyph with a solar disk at the top. The outer edge of the canvas ends at the bottom with a frog figure.

An almost identical image of a portable solar barge is also found on the east side of the south wall of the Ra-Horakhti Chapel (Figures 2a and 2b) (Calverley and Gardiner, 1935, pl. 15). Reconstruction of the lost fragment is possible when considering the above image taken as an archetype (Fig. 2c).

Earlier fragments of reliefs from the funeral temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahri have come down to us in the worst condition, but also contain images of a frog.

2 According to the author, in this case we are talking about the whole network, and not about a single thread (or even a branch of algae or a single reed stalk), as some researchers claim (Abitz, 1989, p. 147; Grapow, 1956, p.24-28). This conclusion can be made based on the fact that next to the image under consideration there is another one where the barge is traditionally depicted on the side, and the network is completely depicted on it (see Figure 6). Similar loops from the sides of the net are clearly visible, for example, in the vignette to Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead of the Scribe Ani Papyrus (see Figure 7a).

3 Its image has been preserved in fragments.

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1a. Image of a portable solar barge located on the western section of the northern wall of the Ra-Khorahti Chapel in the Seti I Memorial Church (Calverley and Gardiner, 1935, pl. 15).

Figure 1b. The bow of a portable solar barge depicted on the western section of the north wall of the Ra-Horahti Chapel, in the sepulchral temple of Seti I.

under the Msktt rook. One of these images of the Msktt rook is located on the western wall of the altar hall, located on the third level (Figures 3a and 3b). Almost in the center of the rook is a damaged image of Hatshepsut. In front of it, according to the assumption of Y. Karkovsky, who reconstructed this fragment, was depicted Amon, and behind it-the goddess Maat. Behind Hatshepsut's back is another image-according to the reconstructed inscription by Y. Karkovsky, this is the goddess Nephthys. On the bow of the boat is a partially preserved image of a sitting Choir-baby. The bow of the boat is covered with a net with clearly visible oval beads and flanked on the right by a thread with loops (or the same beads), at the end of which a partially preserved figure of a frog is depicted (the fragment is completely reconstructed by the author - Fig. 3c). Under the bottom of the boat, in some places partially preserved undulating vertical lines indicate water. Above the rook is a winged disk.

The following image of the msktt rook is located on the east wall of the altar hall above the passage and niche. In the center of the boat are three very poorly preserved figures - one female and two male. On both sides of the figures, as well as between them, fragments of text have been preserved, but they are so scattered that it is impossible to determine who was originally depicted in the barge. Near the aft part of the barge, an image of a deity symbolizing the night is partially preserved, and near the bow - the deity of the day. In this case, the net and the frog were much worse preserved than in the previous fragment. Thus, we have only a reconstruction of the main part of the wicker cloth with a frog at the bottom, made by Karkovsky (Figures 4a and 4b).

Most likely, this composition is also present in the fragmentary preserved image in the solar boat located on the upper part of the southern wall.

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2a. Image of a portable solar barge on the eastern section of the south wall of the Ra-Khorahti Chapel located in the sepulchral church of Seti I (Calverley and Gardiner, 1935, pl. 18)

Fig. 2b. Partially preserved bow of a portable solar barge on the eastern section of the southern wall of the Ra-Khorahti Chapel, located in the sepulchral church of Seti I

Fig. 2c. Bow of the portable solar barge of the eastern section of the southern wall of the Ra-Horahi Chapel, located in the sepulchral church of Seti I. Reconstruction of the author 4.

4 The author is grateful to O. Grishukina for her help in reconstructing the partially lost images.

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3a. Image of the Msktt rook on the western wall of the altar hall of the funeral temple of Hatshepsut (Karkowski, 2003, pl. 81b).

3b. Fragment of the partially preserved bow of the Msktt boat on the western wall of the altar hall of the funeral temple of Hatshepsut.

3c. Fragment of the bow of the Msktt boat on the western wall of the altar hall of the funeral temple of Hatshepsut. Reconstruction of the author.

the altar hall, with Hatshepsut and Amon in it (Figures 5a and 5b). All the significant images on the relief: Hatshepsut, the gods supporting her, fragments of text, cartouches, the sun baby sitting on the bow of the barge, are cut off. The same fate befell the lower corner of the web, where a frog was usually depicted. However, we have at least two reasons to assume that an amphibian was present in the composition under consideration. First, at the very bottom of the canvas, under the lacuna, there is a small fragment that resembles the paw of a sitting frog. Secondly, judging by similar images on the western and eastern walls of the hall of offerings, as well as by the rooks from the funeral temple of Seti I, taken as an archetype, the probability that an amphibian image was previously located under the bow of the barge at the end of the canvas is quite high (Fig. 5c).

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Figure 4a. Image of the Msktt rook on the east wall of the altar hall above the aisle and niche. Reconstruction of J. Karkowski [Karkowski, 2003, pl. 81a].

Figure 4b. Fragment of the Msktt rook on the east wall of the altar hall above the passage and niche. Reconstruction of Y. Karkovsky.

According to Y. Karkovsky, on the north wall of the altar hall (above the doorway) there is also a fourth image of a barge. Unfortunately, it does not provide an image of this rook. Therefore, the only thing that the author has is a description of the fourth barge, made by Karkovsky himself: "The preserved fragment shows part of a certain wicker cloth that covers the nose of the Msktt rook. The basket is decorated with a vertically hanging ribbon with beads, which ends with a small image of a frog" [Karkowski, 2003, p. 150]. Thus, the frog sitting at the bottom is present on all the sun barges depicted in the altar hall.

Now consider the image assigned to the second group. On the ceiling of the fourth corridor (or corridor F) of the tomb of Ramesses VI, along with spells from the Book of Day and the Book of Night, there are unique images of the msktt rook. The first of them is the view of the barge from above, the bow part of which is combined with its "side" image (the latter clearly indicates that the boat is moving towards the birthplace of the sun - to the east (Abitz, 1989, p. 146)). The nose of the "profile" rook is covered with a net. Next to the right is another barge, or rather - only its bow part, covered with a net. At the bottom of the net, the side part of which (as already indicated at the beginning of the article) we see in this case, is a sitting frog.

Now let's move on to the image of the net on the bow of the Msktt rook. Many researchers believe that this item is a wicker mat. Thus, M. Reisner, describing fragments of the model of the divine barge, noted that in its bow there is a place for the lookout-helmsman or pilot, which is represented as a platform covered with a mat [Reisner, 1913, pl. 82-83; 91-92]. This point of view was supported by W. Budge. He pointed out that the wicker cloth on the small platform at the bow of the boat, where the pilot should be, was a bed of grass and reeds. He believed that " ... the helmsmen of a boat sailing on the Nile should constantly check the depth with a pole. When he takes this pole out of the water, the latter flows down just on the place where it stands, and makes it wet and slippery; so that the helmsman's feet do not slip on wet wood, a bed of reeds or several layers of grass is placed on top"

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Figure 5a. Image of the Msktt rook on the upper part of the south wall of the altar hall [Naville, pl. CXV].

Figure 5b. Partially preserved bow of the Msktt rook on the upper part of the south wall of the altar hall.

Figure 5c. Image of the Msktt rook on the upper part of the south wall of the altar hall. Reconstruction of the author.

[Budge, 2000, p. 152]. In other words, the mat on the prow of the Msktt rook is prototyped as a plain wicker deck. E. Thomas shared a similar point of view5.

5 Thomas believed that the mat was woven from a plant called the highest reed, or, as it is also called, the reed of Isis (Phragmitcs altissimus and Phragmitcs isiaca, respectively) [Thomas, 1959, p. 46-47]. It grew abundantly in Egypt, both along the banks of water bodies and at considerable depths, and sometimes had a reddish hue, which was reflected in some images, for example in the tomb of Puimr [Davics, 1922, p. 36, 48-53, pl. 9.4, 11.1], and, in addition, its knee-shaped stems from the researchers ' point of view, these are the most round and oblong "beads" that are visible in all images of the mat hanging from the nose.

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6. Image of a Night solar boat (kflmb Msktt. A.V.) located on the ceiling of corridor F of the tomb of Ramesses VI (Piankoff, 1951, I, p. 18-19; Piankoff, 1951, II., pl. 73).

She points out that the mat is a kind of projection into the otherworld of everyday Egyptian realities [Thomas, 1959, p.45].

A different opinion about the mat on the bow of the boat is shared by D. Jones. Among other versions put forward by him, he suggested that these are protective suspension wings, which could be either "working" or purely decorative [Jones, 1995, p. 16]. Summing up the data, it should be emphasized that when the details differ, everyone tends to believe that reed mats were used in everyday life to ensure the safety of both the ship itself and the pilot on its bow.

However, in my opinion, the above assumptions are mostly wrong. To begin with, when checking the available data, it was not possible to find any "everyday" images of a boat or, for example, a funeral barge, the nose of which would be covered with a net. From this we can conclude that this attribute is only inherent in solar rooks, most often in the Msktt 6. Further, in my opinion, the canvas covering the bow of the solar rook does not even visually resemble a product made of reeds - neither by the method of dressing the canvas itself, nor by how soft and even airy it falls from the bow of the rook (this effect could not be achieved, no matter how soft the plant was). It is also not entirely clear what color-white, red and turquoise fragments are woven into this "mat"7. But more importantly, I have not been able to find any evidence that the woven reed mat has any sacred meaning, which would justify its presence on the prow of the Msktt boat. If we assume that on the bow of the rook there is not a mat, but a net, the image of which is quite often present on the bow of solar barques (Fig. 7a, 7b) and in which beads of different shapes 8 are interwoven, then all the above "buts" immediately become quite understandable.

In contrast to the assumptions about the reed mat, images of the net on the prow of a solar barge in ancient Egypt have been known since the Early Kingdom era from the image-

6 These hieroglyphs served as an ideogram for Msktt. In one of the texts located on the southern wall of the altar hall of the funeral temple of Hatshipsut [Navillc, 1908, pl. CX 18, 24]. It can be seen that the net on the bow was considered an integral attribute of the Msktt rook. However, hieroglyphs that indicate "domestic" boats are not equipped with this attribute.

7 Even if the reddish hue can be explained by the characteristics of the reed type, as Thomas did, then, for example, bright turquoise small ovals do not fit into such a "canvas".

8 The idea that on the bow of the boat there are separate "ribbons with beads, which ends with a small image of a frog", was expressed by J. Karkowski. However, he also believed that they only decorate the main wicker cloth covering the bow of the Msktt barge (Karkowski, 2003, p. 150).

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Figure 7a. Fragment of the vignette to Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead from papyrus Ani 9 - a kneeling deceased worships Khepri, sitting in a boat, the bow of which is covered with a network of turquoise, red and white beads (Faulkner, 2006, p. 50).

7b. A fragment of the vignette to Chapter 136 of the Book of the Dead from the Nakhta papyrus 10 with the image of two solar barques. The bow of each boat is covered with a gently flowing net with red, turquoise and white beads woven into it (Faulkner, 2006, p. 126).

the tomb of Pharaoh I of the Khora-Ah dynasty (Petrie, 1900, pl. 2, 17, 26; Jones, 1995, p. 16, pl. 4). As for the sources of the New Kingdom era, the network as a magical tool that can be used to neutralize the serpent of Apop at sunrise is also indicated by a spell from the Tenth Hour of the Book of Gates, which accompanies the image of deities holding boomerangs with nets over their heads (Figure 9).
At the same time, E. Hornung points out that the deities had to protect the sun in the phase of its transition from one world to another, not only with spells, but also with the help of magic nets and boomerangs containing magical energy [Hornung, 1979-1980, p.234].

The above spell looks like this (Hieroglyphics by: [Hornung, 1979-1980, S. 344-346]) 11:

[ ... ] their spell against him is Apop, (when) they return to the Gate of the horizon.

[ ... ] their incantations (are): "O rebellious serpent! Apoplexy is bound, and his evil deeds are bound. Your face is destroyed,

Apop [ ... ] is in you, and we adjure you with what is in our hand [...]."

Next, in Fig. 7a and 7b show that red and turquoise beads are woven into the net. This combination is deeply symbolic. According to G. Kees, red denotes-

9 Hieroglyphic papyrus of Ani, royal scribe, granary master, scribe and accountant of divine offerings, preserved in the British Museum, dating from the 19th dynasty (BC 10470) (hereinafter referred to as the Ani papyrus).

10 Hieroglyphic papyrus of Naht, the royal scribe, preserved in the British Museum, dating from the XVIII Dynasty (BC 10471) (hereinafter referred to as the Naht papyrus).

11 Translation and transliteration of the author.

12 E. Hornung points out that the word wj (transliteration of E. Hornung) is not used as a verb in dictionaries known to him, but, in his opinion, in this case it would be appropriate to use the following meanings: w - "cord", "rope", and wt - "cord" [WB, I, S. 244; Hornung, 1979-1980, S. 236].

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Figure 8. A fragment of the vignette to the Hymn of the sun appearing on the horizon of Ra from the Book of the Dead by Papyrus Ani (Faulkner, 2006, p. 27).

these are the "critical" transitional phases of the sun - this is the shade that the sun gets at dawn at its " birth "and at sunset during its"dying". Thus, the red color on the web is an illustration of a constantly repeating cycle of rebirth and renewal, where birth leads to death, and death leads to constant rebirth (Kees, 1943, pp. 413-479). As for turquoise beads, according to some researchers, this color of the sky at sunset and sunrise should be considered as a direct symbol of transformation and reincarnation, in particular rebirth, of the sun [Kees, 1943, S. 260-262, 431; Hornung, 1963, S. 187; Assmann, 1969, S. 125, 127 Sethe, 1924, S. 10; Kees, 1977, S. 84]. Moreover, the vignette to the Hymn to Ra from the Book of the Dead from the papyrus of Ani shows that a network of red and turquoise beads is wrapped around Osiris, an indirect evidence that this attribute contributes to rebirth (Figure 8).
To summarize, the net with turquoise and red beads woven into it is an ancient symbol of rebirth, directly connected with the daily rebirth of the sun, fully supporting the symbolic function of the Msktt rook. If the above assumption is correct, then the image of the frog in this case is a pictorial symbol of the concept of" repetition of life", whm nh, as it was believed by A. Piankoff (1957, p. 433). The sacralization of the afterlife allowed for the introduction of elements of everyday Egyptian realities. The Egyptians envisioned an afterlife populated by habitual creatures and plants that had a supernatural (magical) function in the other world, which is, in fact, a macrocosmic interpretation of their "everyday" meaning. In images that reflect real-world events, the image of a frog is most often assigned one of the dominant roles that determine the overall meaning of compositions (for example, an amphibian could represent the life-giving waters of the Nile or symbolize the origin of life on a pristine hill) [Volovich, 2012]. The image of a frog in the afterlife is often characterized by secondary functions (Volovich, 2011). That is why its presence in this case can be interpreted as an auxiliary," service " participation in the daily revival of the luminary.

Figure 9. Fragment of the Book of Gates. The Tenth Hour [Hornung, 1979-1980, p. 234].

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ABBREVIATIONS

Wb - Worterbuch der agyptischen Sprache / Hrsg. von A. Erman, H. Grapow. Bd. I-V. V., 1955-1957.

KV - Valley of the Kings.

JEA - The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. L.

ZAS - Zeitschrift fur agyptische Sprache and Altertumskunde. Leipzig-Berlin.

NAWG - Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Gottingen, Phil.-hist, klasse. Gottingen.

MAS - Miinchner agyptologische Studien. Munchen-Berlin.

OBO - Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis. Freiburg (Schweiz)-Gottingen.

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Volovich A. Semantics of frog images on ancient Egyptian vessels of the New Kingdom era // Bulletin of the Russian State Pedagogical University. № 17, 2011.

Volovich A. Semantics of the frog image on some vessels of the New Kingdom era in Ancient Egypt. 2012. № 3.

Abitz Fr. Baugcshichtc und Dckorationdcs Grabcs Ramses' VI // OBO, 89, 1989.

Assmann J. Liturgischc Licdcr an den Sonncngott. Untcn.suchungcn zur altagyptischcn Hymnik, 1 // MAS, 19, 1969.

Calvcrlcy A.M., Gardiner A.H. The Temple of king Sethos I at Abydos. Vol. II. Chicago, 1935.

Davics N., Gardiner A. Ancient Egyptian Paintings. Vol. I. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1936.

Davics N. The Tomb of Puyemre at Thebes, I. NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1922.

Erman Ad., Grapow H. Worterbuch der aegyptischen Sprache. [=Wb]. Bd. I—VII. Berlin-Leipzig: Akadcmic-Vcrlag, 1927-1971.

Faulkner R. The Ancient Book of the Dead. University of Texas Press, 1990.

Grapow H. Zu dem Dcckcnbild im Grabc Ramses des Scchstcn mit den Aufribzicchnungcn der Sonncnchiffe // ZAS, 81, 1-2, 1956.

Hornung E. Das Buch von den Pforten des Jenscits. Teil 1: Text // AEgyptiaca Helvetica 7-8, 1979-1980.

Hornung E. Das Amduat. Die Schrift des verborgenen Raumes. Bd. II. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1963 (Agyptologishc Abhandlungcn, 7).

Jones D. Boats. L.: British Museum Press, 1995.

Karkowski J. Deir el-Bahari. VI. The Temple of Hatshepsut: The Solar Complex. ZAS PAN. EDITIONS NERITON. Varsovic, 2003.

Kccs H. Farbcnsymbolik in agyptischen rcligioscn Tcxtcn // NAWG, 11, 1943.

Kccs H. Der Gotterglaube im alten Agyplen. В., 1977.

Navillc Ed. The Temple of Deir el -Bahari. Pt IV. L., 1908.

Pctric F. The Royal Tombs of the First Dynasty. Pt 1. With Chapter by F. Griffith. L., 1900.

Piankoff A. The Tomb of Ramses VI. Vol. I. N.Y., 1957.

Rcisncr M. Models of Ships and Boats. Lc Cairc, 1913.

Scthc K. Die Spruchc fur das Kcnncn der Seclcn der hciligcn Ortc // ZAS, 59, 1924.

Smith A. History of Egyptian Sculpture and Painting in the Old Kingdom. Oxford, London, 1949.

Thomas El. Terrestrial marsh and solar mat // JEA, 45, 1959.

Wilkinson R.H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2003.

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