The Temple of Umm Ubaydah Evidence
Persian Pekidas Helping to resolve the issue of the dating of Ramses III. and the 21st Dynasty - Showing that the 30th Dynasty is spurious and the same as the 20th Dynasty.
Siwa Oasis - 1890's

Many years ago Minutoli visited and described the temple of Umm-Ebeida in the Siwa Oasis [010] where he noticed two cartouches which he reproduced in his book of drawings. The significance of these cartouches is that they bring together a 21st Dynasty character with a supposed 30th Dynasty potentate. [020]
Ahmed Fakhri wrote that these cartouches belong to Nectanebo II. [030]
"The name of Nectanebo II was written on the facade but in the inner
chamber we find the name of the builder of the temple [Wennamon]
repeated several times."

In the 1990 edition we read:

"We are grateful for the sketches of Von Minutoli identifying the builder of this temple. On one of the blocks there are two cartouches, which despite certain inaccuracies in the hieroglyphics, are undoubtedly those of King Nectanebo II, the energetic ruler of the 30th Dynasty and one of the most active builders in the late period of Egyptian history. ..."
"According to the text on this wall, the builder of the temple seen kneeling in front of the shrine of the god Amenre was called "Wenamun"; his principal title was "The Great Chief of the Deserts". His father's name was Nakht-tit; he held the same title and must have preceded his son as the ruler of this oasis. His mother was called "Nefer-renpet". Wenamun wears an ostrich feather in his hair which shows that he was a descendant of a Libyan family, perhaps the same family which continued to rule the oasis for several centuries. The temple was built in the reign of Nectanebo II." [040]
 Image of Wennamon builder of the Umm Eibeda Temple
Image of Wenamon the builder of the Temple of `Umm Eibeda' before Amun seated in a shrine.
Even though we cannot discern it in this copy, he is described as wearing an ostrich feather in his hair. 		drawing
A part of a drawing by Minutoli of the `Temple of Eibeda (`Umm Ubaydah')' which does not anymore exist showing a very similar scene which used to be on another section of the temple walls.
A) shows Wenamon, B) his hieroglyphic name
Nekhthorheb's cartouches When the name Nectanebo II occurs we must understand that the hieroglyphic text referred to does not give a Greek name but presents the name of the individual chosen by modern historians to represent Nectanebo II which is `Nakhthoreb' also read as `Nekht-hor-heb' [050], who was an official under Darius II and whom we meet in the letters of the Persian satrap Arsames. We also recall that Wenamun or Wennamon is the same we know from the `Travels of Wennamon'. This story belongs to about 419 BC, the 5th year of Darius II, rather then in the 12th century.
Wenamon glyph group
Due to a grainy, tiny printed picture it is hard to be sure but the 5th hieroglyphic column seems to be the best choice to present the name for Wenamon.
Examining the original we can make out what appears to be the shape of a bird (?), the outstretched arm (guttural sign), and the wavy line pattern above the peg board (mn).
Wenamon 		Comparing the cartouche of the conventional 30th Dynasty `Nakhthoreb (Nectanebo II)' with the cartouche of Nectanebo II on the walls of the temple helps us realize that even though the hieroglyphic characters in the repeating row are not exactly the same, such variations in name representations can reportedly occur. The name is found again on a different part of the wall where it compares well with text book representations of his cartouche even though some characters are damaged. As the image shows the cartouches marked `a' and `b' correspond with each other, the right side as found at Ummubaydah and the left in modern texts on the 30th Dynasty.

We would like to repeat it again: The significance of the Umm Ubaydah reliefs is that they bring together a representative of the 30th (Nekht-hor-heb) with one of the 21st Dynasty (Wenamun/Wenamon). The fact that Nekht-hor-heb and Wenamun were contemporaries negates the possibility that Nekht-hor-heb could have been Nectanebo II. The chronological order of the representatives of the Persian satrap Arsames in Egypt went from Ahapi to Psamtek and Nekht-hor-heb, the latter of which was active in the last years of the 5th century until to the death of Arsames in about 407 BC. Nectanebo II did not reign until 355 BC for about 16 years.
It appears that later in the life of Wenamon, probably after his phase as a captain of a ship, he succeeded his father as the ruler of the oasis and became the builder of a temple there.
None of the chronologies of Kenneth Kitchens, David Rohl and Peter James and their proponents can provide such a multitude of synchronisms already pointed out in this paper. These relationships are just as strong or stronger in our opinion than the `Neser-amun' family tree and the Har-Psusennes/ Maatkheperre Sheshonk reference. The facts are Nekht-hor-heb was not king Nectanebo II, neither was Psamtek king Psammetichus.

Notes & References

[010] For the most recent images of Siwa and some of its remains, see Tony Judd, `Alexander at Siwa' in Ancient Egypt, Dec/Jan 2004/05, p. 30-37.
[020] H.C.Minutoli, `Reise zum Tempel des Jupiter Ammon in der Lybischen Wüste', Berlin, 1824.
[030] Ahmed Fakhri, `Siwa Oasis', p. 100; p.167-168 in 1990 edition. This 1990 edition altered the original text in some critical areas.
[040] Ibid., ed. 1990.
[050] A. Gardiner, `Egypt of the Pharaohs', p. 453 He reads Nekhtharehbe.
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