Den seal impressions

the reconstructed text of the seal

In 1985, the German Archaeological Institute discovered seal impressions of a cylinder seal in the tomb of First Dynasty king Den. They were published by Günter Dreyer the following year. The impressions are the earliest confirmed king list for ancient Egypt.^[1]

The names are listed in following order:

• Narmer
• Hor-Aha
• Djer
• Djet
• Den
• Merneith (Den's mother and regent)

The list bolsters the argument that Narmer was the founder of the First Dynasty as opposed to being the last of the pre-unification kings of Thinis. Also of importance is the absence of Menes as scholarly consensus believe Menes was a later variation of Narmer's name.^[2]

References

1. Günter Dreyer: Ein Siegel der frühzeitlichen Königsnekropole von Abydos, in: MDAIK 43 (1986). 33-43
2. Hawass, Zahi et al. (2003). Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press.