Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom Ancient Egypt

Royal Annals of 

the Old Kingdom Ancient Egypt

The Palermo Stone a mysterious and most important relic and a source of endless inspiration about the otherworldly existence of Ancient Egypt during the First Five Dynasties circa 2900–2306 BC has been preserved since 1877 It is one of the six remaining fragments of a single inscribed stone tablet Many difficulties have been encountered in solving all the mysteries of this strange otherworldly stone tablet The divine royal hieroglyphics on this stone remain an unsolved mystery History and the wider universe The Palermo Stone is one of the seven remaining fragments of the stone tablet known as the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt

Palermo Stone. Royal Annals of Egypt (Old Kingdom) 

Museo archeologico regionale Antonino Salinas

Among these kings were kings who were believed to be non-human but rather gods and demigods These inscriptions tell the stories of 120 kings who ruled before the ancient Egyptians established their civilization The records of important events for each year are thought to have been made during the Fifth Dynasty The Palermo Stone is housed in the Antonio Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum in Palermo Italy from which it takes its name The Palermo Stone and other parts of the Royal Annals preserve the oldest surviving historical text from ancient Egypt and are an important source for the history of Egypt during the ancient kingdom

The Palermo Stone begins with a list of the last years of an unnamed First Dynasty king generally assumed to be Narmer or Hor-aha The second and subsequent registers consist of the chronicles of the pharaohs from the First to Fourth Dynasty, listing the major events of each year of the king's reign in chronological order The second register on the Palermo Stone begins with a list of the last years of an unnamed First Dynasty king generally assumed to be Narmer or Hor-aha the second pharaoh of the First Dynasty of Egypt c. 3050 BC or his successor Jer the third pharaoh of the First Dynasty of Egypt The remainder of this inscription continues with dynastic records from the Fourth Dynasty kings

The granite bas relief depicts Huni, 

the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of Egypt.

The remainder of the second register on the ancient Palermo Stone contains the first nine annual lists of the pharaoh's successors generally assumed to be Neferigare Gagai of the Fifth Dynasty. Huni is further mentioned on the reverse side of the Palermo Stone Huni's identification is somewhat difficult. But Huni is attested in the Prisse Papyrus by order of Khagemni which may date back to the 13th Dynasty This papyrus provides important information about the succession of Huni in the list of kings of Saqqara and the list of cardinals of Turin which dates back to the 19th Dynasty. The list of kings of Abydos mysteriously omits the name of Huni and gives the names of Neferkara Pharaoh Shekha and Pharaoh Neheb which Egyptologists have suggested is one reason for the omission of Neferkara since Huni's name had been passed down through the generations

The stone lists the kings of Egypt from the First Dynasty, 3150–2890 BC to the beginning of the Fifth Dynasty 2498–2345 BC and links them with other ancient texts of the time of the gods who lived on earth with the Kings of Turin and the Kings of Sumer The Annals a valuable document from the ancient Egyptian Empire are made of black basalt an irregular shield-shaped stone 43.5 cm high 25 cm wide and 6.5 cm thick The horizontal bands on the front of the Palermo Stone consist of six hieroglyphics running from right to left representing the pre-dynastic kings of Lower Egypt as shown by their red crowns The back of the Palermo Stone records the events of the reigns of the pharaohs down to Neferir Gakai the third ruler of the Fifth Dynasty