Significance
The importance of the South Saqqara Stone stems from its inscription: a list of a number of pharaohs, along with details of annual or biannual cattle counts which confirm details in other sources (such as the Turin King List), and allow archaeologists to estimate the length of their reigns. Michel Baud and Vassil Dobrev estimate at least 12 years of reign for Teti, 2-4 years for Userkare, 49-50 years for Pepi I and, at least, 11-13 years for Merenre based on an estimate on the size of the preserved year the size of each year blocks and the location of certain cattle counts (such as the Year of the 18th and 25th counts for Pepi I and his Year after the 23rd count, or the Year of and the Year after the 2nd count for Merenre) within this document.
The Stone is considered one of the earliest historical documents in existence, as it is not merely a list of dynastic ancestors for the ruling pharaoh, but includes the names of all preceding pharaohs known to the artefact's creators, including such known usurpers as Userkare.
Read more about this topic: South Saqqara Stone
Famous quotes containing the word significance:
“Of what significance the light of day, if it is not the reflection of an inward dawn?—to what purpose is the veil of night withdrawn, if the morning reveals nothing to the soul? It is merely garish and glaring.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Politics is not an end, but a means. It is not a product, but a process. It is the art of government. Like other values it has its counterfeits. So much emphasis has been placed upon the false that the significance of the true has been obscured and politics has come to convey the meaning of crafty and cunning selfishness, instead of candid and sincere service.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)
“The hysterical find too much significance in things. The depressed find too little.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)