Scene of hunters, bird catchers, and fishermen

Khety, the first recorded royal treasurer (“overseer of what is sealed”) of Mentuhotep II (ca. 2051–2000 B.C.), built his tomb high up in the cliffs at Deir el-Bahri, near the mortuary complex of his monarch. The relief fragments here derive from the tomb’s entrance passage, which was lined with decorated limestone blocks.

The fragments in this group depict hunters or soldiers armed with bows and throw-sticks. The head of a large dog is also preserved. The men wear feathers in their finely curled wigs; this was a common adornment for hunters, whether Egyptian, Nubian, or Libyan.

Below the hunters, a multitude of water fowl have been trapped in a clapnet that was set up beside a pool or waterway. It is remarkable how much detail the artists included in their depiction of the pole to which one end of the net is tied. There would have been men at the left drawing the net shut, but their figures have not been preserved.

The fragments to the right come from a representation of fishermen engaged in trapping fish in a large net.

See also 26.3.354h, i1, j, bb, and oo.