Palermo Stone - Significance

Significance

The stela is a hieroglyphic list—- formatted as a table, or outline, of the kings of ancient Egypt before and after Menes, with regnal years and notations of events until the time it was created, likely sometime during the fifth dynasty since that is when its chronology ends. It also tabulates such information as the height of the Nile flood, the Inundation for some pharaohs (see Nilometer), and information on the festivals (such as Sed festivals), taxation, sculpture, buildings, and warfare for some.

Later lists, namely the Turin Canon (13th century BC) and the Karnak king list, identify Menes (c. 3100 or 3000) as the first king of the first dynasty and credit him with unifying Egypt. However, the Palermo stone, which is substantially older, lists rulers who predate Menes. This may indicate that the unification of Egypt occurred earlier than Menes's reign and that he simply reunited the nation after a period of fragmentation. However, scholars are divided on the implications of the stela. Some believe the earlier pharaohs existed historically, while others believe that their inclusion in the list has only ideological value (i.e., there must have been disorder before order).