Surveyor's Stake from a Foundation Deposit for Hatshepsut's Temple
Unknown Artist
ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
L. 41.3 cm (16 1/4 in.); Diam. 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.)
Classification
Stake, surveyor, Hatshepsut
Period
New Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund and Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1922
Accession Number
22.3.246
Art Historical Context
Step into the world of ancient Egypt with this unassuming yet profound wooden surveyor's stake, hailing from a foundation deposit at Hatshepsut's grand temple at Deir elahri. Dating to around 1479–1458 B.C. during Dynasty 18 of the New, this 41.3 cm long artifact was one of many ritual objects buried to consecrate the site's groundbreaking. Hatshepsut, one of Egypt's most powerful female pharaohs, commissioned this mortuary temple as a testament to her divine rule and architectural ambition, blending it harmoniously into the cliffs overlooking the Nile. In ancient Egyptian tradition, foundati...