The Famine Stela
32 columns on a seven-year famine.
Holger Uwe Schmitt — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Morburre — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Holger Uwe Schmitt — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Warren LeMay from Cullowhee, NC, United States — CC0 · Sherief H. Hassan — CC BY-SA 4.0
Sehel Island is a large island in the Nile south of Aswan, between the city and the old Aswan Dam. Its Nubian village, home to about 4,180 people, draws visitors keen to learn about local culture. Its archaeological fame rests on the hundreds of inscriptions on its granite boulders, above all the Famine Stela. The ancient Egyptians knew it as Setet, and it was sacred to Anuket, goddess of the cataracts. Granite was quarried here in several periods, and travellers carved records of the start or end of their journeys to Nubia. The Famine Stela is a Ptolemaic inscription, tentatively dated to the reign of Ptolemy V, that tells of a seven-year famine in the time of King Djoser of the Third Dynasty. The stela is cut into the smoothed face of a natural granite block, with 32 columns of hieroglyphs. At the top, Djoser brings offerings to Khnum, Satis and Anuket, and an ancient crack runs across the middle. Other inscriptions are scattered over the rocky hill above the river, which gives views over the Nile and its islands. The village has painted houses, craft stalls and guesthouses. The island lies 4 km south-west of central Aswan in a straight line, and you reach it by motorboat or felucca from the city. The village of Gharb Soheil is 1.7 km south-west on the west bank, so the two pair easily.
32 columns on a seven-year famine.
Hundreds of texts on granite boulders.
Painted houses and craft stalls.
River Nile south of Aswan, near the First Cataract
No one knows. The stela was carved more than 2,000 years after Djoser, and many scholars think it was written to back the claims of Khnum's priests in the area.
By motorboat or felucca from Aswan, at a fare agreed with the boatman. The ride is pleasantest in the morning breeze or before sunset.
