Offering Table of Amenemhat I

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This monumental altar was unearthed at the western terminus of a corridor situated just beyond the northern perimeter wall of King Amenemhat I's pyramid temple in Lisht North. It is probable that quarrymen, who most likely operated during Ramesside times, placed it there when they dismantled the temple. Initially, the altar stood in the open courtyard of the temple, its lower part, roughly shaped and now absent, was embedded in the ground. A rectangular libation basin is carved into the top of the altar, as well as flat-relief representations of an offering mat with two libation vases and three loaves of bread. The central vase bears the king's throne name and Horus name, accompanied by the wish: "May he live forever!" On the front side of the altar, the incised birth name of the king (Amenemhat) serves as a focal point for rows of approaching fertility figures (fat men and women carrying offerings), who are designated by inscriptions as personifications of nomes (regional governorates) in northern Egypt (on the left) and southern Egypt (on the right).