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The Kings of the 4th Dynasty according to the following documents: The Emerging Revised 4th Dynasty - Part I
The Emerging Revised 4th Dynasty - Part II
The Emerging Revised 4th Dynasty - Part III
Manetho

 Soris.................29yrs /Snefru/Snoferu
Sufis/Suphis I.....63
Sufis II ..............66
Menkheres.........63
Rhatoises...........25
Bikheris.............22
Seberkheres.........7
Thamfthis.............9

Sneferu see 13)

Monuments

Shaaru
Khufu (CheopsAccording to Samuel Manning, `The Land of the Pharaohs', p. 53. ) 1&2)
Khafra / Chephren9)
Menkaura ... (Mycerinus?)3)
Radedf

Shepseskaf (tradit. son of Menkaure)
Aimhetep Traditional image of Menkhaure / Mycerinus

Sakkarah and Abydos King Lists

 Khufu
Khafra
Menkaura
Radedf/Radjedef/or Djedefre 4)

Shepseskaf

Traditional image of Khafra

Courville's Identification of Names in Sothis List

Osirophis.........25 yrs
Sesonchosis.....49
Amenemes.......29
Amasis...............2
Akesephthres...13
Anchoreus.........9
Arimyses...........4

Princes and Queens

1. The name of the mother of Khufu was Queen Hetep-heres.
2. A Meresankh is supposed to be linked to this dynasty.

A short list of 4th Dynasty officials

1. Chanceler Hemiunu
2. Khufu's cousin Hemon, the master builder and creator of the Great Pyramid at Giza, whose seated statue is kept in the Hildesheim Museum, Germany, and can be seen in P.Clayton, Chronicle of the Pharaohs', p. 47.
3. Chamberlain Kaiemnefret [KMT, Summer 1996, Vol. 7.]
4. Katep, royal libationer, and his wife Hetepheres. [E.A.W. Budge, By Nile & Tigris', E.P.Dutton, NY, 1920, p. 338; also shows their statue.]
 According to Dr. Hawass, Khufu, Khafra and Menkaure represented the support system which made the construction of the pyramids possible. His information is that 11 cows and 33 goats were slaughtered daily to feed the workers. At CIAS we provide information that Khufu was the king who enslaved the Israelites making him the same person as Amenemes I of the 12th Dynasty. For a side view, carved and painted lintel image of Amenemhet/Amenemes I see Peter Clayton, Chronicles of the Pharaohs, p. 185.
4th Dynasty time line as set up by Dr. D. Courville, `The Exodus Problem', Vol. I, p. 193.
By this chronology, the total period of Dynasty IV was encompassed by the sole reigns of Khufu and Khafra, and the total reign of Menkaure; the remaining kings had reigns that fell entirely within the reign of Menkaure. The total for the dynastic period was thus 135 years (not to scale), excluding Soris (Shaaru) who may have been a progenitor of the dynasty but who belongs to the era of the decadent phase of Dynasty III. Examination of the chart reveals, that even this drastic reduction in the period of the dynasty does not provide a satisfactory solution to the problems that rise from the inscriptions of Ra-skhem-kha and the Westcar Papyrus. If it is allowed that Userkaf had grown to any degree of maturity prior to the death of Khufu, in order to meet the specification that he had delivered to the king certain documents, he would have been about 85 yrs old at the end of the reign of Menkaure, even by the abbreviated chronology. Since Userkaf reigned 28 yrs in Dynasty V (Manetho), his age would have been about 113 yrs at death. If his triplet usurper brothers ruled in sequence after him, the solution becomes more and more improbable. Yet the inscription of Ra-skhem-kha prevents any total disregard of the anomaly. 		4th Dynasty time line
A Proposed Solution to the enigma: There is no single inscription extant to provide a complete solution to this enigma or to prove the correctness of the solution to be proposed. There are, however, a series of evidences to our disposal that, when interpreted in line with the afore stated premises, lead us to a consistent and relatively complete solution to the chronological problems under consideration. Evidence will be presented supporting the following solution: (1) The usurpation of D. IV by Userkaf did not occur at the end of the 63-yr reign of Menkaure, but rather in his 30th year at the accession of Rhatoises.
(2) Evidence will be presented to indicate that this Rhatoises was none other then Userkaf the usurper. (3) At the time of the usurpation, Userkaf was not king of an established dynasty, but was only a citizen of the Memphis area. (4) With the usurpation, Userkaf permitted Menkaure to continue to rule as a figurehead throughout the subsequent years of reign attributed to him by Manetho, thus Menkaure continued to maintain some degree of rule for nearly a decade beyond the death of Userkaf. (5) Userkaf ruled at Memphis over the territory of D. IV for 2 yrs only, during which time he set up an independent dynasty (V) at Elephantine, where he ruled for the last 26 yrs of his 28 yr reign. (6) The reigns of the usurper triplets were not in succession; rather, they all began their reigns approximately the same time, each ruling over a different territory. Sahura (2nd of the triplets) assumed control at Memphis when Userkaf moved to Elephantine; Nephercheres (Kakaa) usurped the power of D. II at about this same time. (7) Sahura ruled at Memphis for 13 or 14 yrs. (8) Bikheris of Manetho in D. IV is then the same person as Sahura. (9) When Sahura moved to Elephantine, his position was taken over by Shepseskaf, who is the same person as Manetho's Seberkheres and who represented an ephemeral restitution of the line of Menkaure. (10) Manetho is giving the total periods of control in both dynasties, while the Sothis author has divided the periods of rule between the two dynasties on the afore-mentioned premise that he does not credit the same period of rule to more than a single king. The evidences supporting the critical assumptions of the proposed solution will now be presented. The bases for other assumptions follow rather automatically from these.
In his book, the evidences are covered in the next pages not here presented. [See D. Courville, `The Exodus Problem and Its Ramification', Vol. I and II, Challenge Books, Loma Linda, California]
01) For the appearance of an original cartouche of Khufu on a `magical knife' handle see KMT, Vol. 13, Spring 2002, p. 40. The rock-tomb of the daughter of Khufu is located at Qau in Upper Egypt; Ancient Egypt, Mar 1928, p. 30.
For a rare color image of a seated figure of Cheops carved in ivory and of Ankhhaf, his supposed son, see Leonard Cottrell, `The Horizon Book of Lost Worlds', N.Y., 1967, p. 51. The small carving may have originated in later times.
02) "At Giza, virtually all that remains of the `funerary' temple of Khufu is the floor which is made of basalt." [J. Hoffmeier, `The Use of Basalt in Floors of the Old Kingdom Pyramid Temples' in Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt (JARCE), Vol. XXX, 1993, p. 117-123]
03) For the famous greywacke triad relief showing the image of Pharaoh Menkaure and two goddesses see KMT, Vol. 10. Winter 1999-2000, p. 18f and Menkaure and a queen, p. 27; One striking feature about this king's image or that of who was used as his model, is the almost European facial appearance with perhaps a little Asian blood (the eyes are not deeply set) which seems to be more prominent than a Semitic origin. "Menkaure's sarcophagus was made of basalt." [J. Hoffmeier, `The Use of Basalt in Floors of the Old Kingdom Pyramid Temples' in Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt (JARCE), Vol. XXX, 1993, p. 118]
04) For an image of king Djedefre see KMT, Vol. 10. Winter 1999-2000, p. 26; For a B&W image of the mottled red and black granite statue of Setka, son of Djedefre, seated in the pose of a scribe see Bryan Fagan, Egypt of the Pharaohs', p. 51.
05) For an image of a 4th Dynasty limestone slab stela of Meretites II (Giza Tomb G 4140), reign of Khufu (conventionally dated 2551-2528) see KMT, Vol. 14, Winter 2003-04, p. 27.
06) Some time ago an inscription dated to the time of pharaoh Khufu was found in the western Egyptian desert. It reads : "the year after the 13th occasion of the census of all large and small cattle of Northland and the South", (of) the Horus Medjedu, given life eternally, the inspector(s) of the recruits of the escort, Imeri (and) Bebi, they came with two phyles of recruits under their command, ... ."
07) For the well preserved, seated, inscribed statue of the female person named `Min-nefret' see W.V. Davies, `Reading the Past', p. 16.
08) In May 1954, Kamal Ali Malaakh, the former director of the Pyramids archaeological zone, discovered two rectangular ditches in the rocks south of the Cheops Pyramid, each 40 meters in length, embracing the solar boats.
Commemorating the 50th anniversary of their discovery, the Supreme Council for Antiquities(SCA) is to hold a series of lectures to highlight the historic and archaeological significance of the boats and their religious implications in the ancient Egyptian doctrine.
The solar boats, said Dr Zahi Hawas, Secretary General of the SCA, were buried in ditches and covered with 41 blocks of limestone, each block weighs an average of 18 tones. The blocks were inscribed in hieroglyphics denoting that king Gedf Ra who ruled for seven years after the death of his father Cheops, carried out the burial rituals.
A thick layer of gypsum covered the blocks and filled the holes between the blocks. In January 1955, the last stone block was removed, exposing the content of the ditches. Parts of a boat made of cedar wood brought from Lebanon were neatly arranged in 13 layers, forming a total of 1224 pieces that make up 651 parts of the boat. Remains of ropes made of alpha plant were found in addition to parts of mats. Dr. Hawas explained that the tip of each wooden piece bore hieroglyphic symbols that turned out to be guiding signs for reassembling the boats.
The ancient Egyptians believed in life after death, that is why the boats, thought to be their means for the eternal journey, were preserved in a disjointed way. The ancient Egyptians realized that if the boats were stored fully-built they would be damaged over time.
09) For a B&W side view image of Khafra/Chephren see L. Cottrell, The Horizon Book of Lost Worlds', p. 57.
10) The royal ship of Khufu was 141 feet (43 meter) long and made of cedar wood. After the death of Khufu it was dismantled into 650 parts comprising 1224 pieces and restored in 1982 after many years of work by Hag Ahmed Youssef Moustafa.
11) It is a curious fact that for all the grandeur surrounding Khufu there exists only one small statue of the king himself which is inscribed with his name. This statue was found by Sir Flinders Petrie in the old temple of Osiris at Abydos in 1903. In the Cairo Museum researchers found another 10 inch high, uninscribed hard stone statuette with striking features resembling those of Petrie's find [KMT, Summer 1999, p. 29.; This source also shows the extremely high-relief colossal sculpture of Sneferu.]. However, if we grant the possibility that `Khufu' was best known as a 12th dynasty pharaoh, then he is known quite well.
12) A number of the sons of Sneferu, Rahotep, Ranefer, Nefermaat, Netjeraperef, Iynefer and Kanefer, were buried with their wives in large tombs at Meidum. This was the first necropolis founded by the king, whose pyramid at the site was abandoned in favor of two successive monuments at Dashur. During Sneferu's reign 40 ship loads of cedar were brought to Egypt. Cedar logs were used in the upper chamber of the Bent Pyramid at Dashur. [MacD in AJBA, p. 76; A. Fakhry, `The Bent P. at Dashur', 1954.]
13) To see a limestone scene inlaid with colored paste, from the mastaba of Nefermaat at Meidum considered to be of the time of Sneferu, see KMT, Vol. 10, Winter 1999, p. 25. Kamena tomb finds Shown are also two carnelian, turquoise & laspis lazuli inlaid silver bracelets found in the Giza tomb of Queen Hetepheres.
14) The cartouches of Menkaure and Shepseskaf occur on an inscribed stone ornament of some type citing the biography of the high official Ptahshepses. [S. Quirke, Who were the Pharaohs, 1990, p. 26.
15) A 3-dimensional view of the shafts leading down to the `Osiris Tomb' located along the causeway to the Pyramid of Khafre can be seen in Angela Schuster, `Tales from the Crypt in Archaeology, Sep/Oct 2000, p. 30-33.
16) Photos of 6th dynasty mastabas: a) of the princely house of Mereruka (Meri) and his wife Har-watet-khet, b) the artfully made mastaba of Kagemmi and c) of the princess Idut stated to occupy the mastaba of a 5th dynasty owner - can be seen in Alberto Carlo Carpiceci's, `Art and History of Egypt', Florence, Italy, 1997, p. 78-83.
06) J.E. Quibel, `El Kab', London, 1898. Intro. El Kab's greatest monument is the 40 foot thick and in some places still 20 feet high town wall. It encloses a great square, 580 yards in the side. Finds: 13 `stairway tombs', 37 mastabas, 33 quite empty (except a few pot sherds) smaller graves were examined. Artifacts: diorite bowls with name of Sneferu or (other tombs may be of) the period immediately following. Ch. 1, The Earliest Tombs: Found many small graves (6x2 feet), enclosure walls at right angels to the great wall of the town, and cut through the other graves. Most important mastaba is that of `Kamena'. Found under the drift sand closer to the north wall of El Kab. Was built of bricks and with recessed, plastered, white painted panels.
07) Two 4th Dynasty limestone reliefs can be seen in Nora E. Scott, Two Reliefs of the Early Old Kingdom in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Mar 1961, p.194-197.

Mastabas of El Kab

`Graves with little dateable material except for a few contained majur/earthenware and one diorite bowl bearing the name of Sneferu.' "Of the smaller graves which yielded any evidence, there were about 53; but many more, which, from their position, orientation, and size, could be assigned to the early period, were quite empty, or contained only a few potsherds."

"5. The most important mastaba was that of Kamena (Pt. XXIII). It is one of a group which we found under the great mound of drifted sand on the north side of the wall.... In the E. wall itself are two niches; in and near them were found many small pieces of worked limestone, some inscribed. They are copied in Pt. XVIII, 49-53 and 55. The face in 49 retained a touch of green paint on the cheek, an important piece of evidence for dating of the Naqada tombs, the occupants of which also used this method of adorning themselves. ... The chambers inside the mastaba, left blank in the plan, were found filled with brick earth; this was cleared out, but nothing save a scrap of 4th dynasty pottery was found. ... The chamber was to the south, closed by a rough hewn slab of sandstone 3 inches thick. ... the chamber was full of ... clay. ... Near the entrance were 6 vases, of a shape and fabric indistinguishable from a late Neolithic form common at Naqada, and opposite the middle of the body was a group of important objects. These were: a model granary in rough red pottery, each little store house having an opening above, closed by a stopper; another similar granary in fragments, 3 vertical alabaster jars, and alabaster circular table, and the group of bowls and model tools in Pt. III. ..." [J.E.Quibell, `El Kab', London, 1897, p. 3; BA, Vol. 49, Mar 1986, p. 24.; See also L.Limme, S. Hendrix and D. Huyge, `El Kab: Excavations in the OK Rock Necropolis' in Egyptian Archaeology, No. 11, 1997, p. 3-6. The article shows a fine color image of the rocky mount of El Kab from the south-west, a tomb wall painting of Sawika seated in front of a table of offerings, tomb BE7 of the priest of Hathor, Irtenach, a copper ewer and its basin, fine calcite, diorite and porphyry stone vessels and a view of some offering stands and jars in the local mudbrick mastaba.]

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