# Funerary cone

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Several cones, [New Kingdom](/source/New_Kingdom_of_Egypt)

Three funerary cones still embedded in the wall where they were inserted. [Tomb of Iti and Neferu](/source/Tomb_of_Iti_and_Neferu), between 2118 and 1980 [BC](/source/Ante_Christum_Natum) ([First Intermediate Period of Egypt](/source/First_Intermediate_Period_of_Egypt)), [Gebelein](/source/Gebelein). [Schiaparelli](/source/Ernesto_Schiaparelli) excavations, 1911.

**Funerary cones** were small [cones](/source/Cone) made from [clay](/source/Clay) that were used in [ancient Egypt](/source/Ancient_Egypt), almost exclusively in the [Theban Necropolis](/source/Theban_Necropolis).[1] The items were placed over the entrance of the [chapel of a tomb](/source/Ancient_Egyptian_funerary_practices#Tombs). Early examples have been found from the [Eleventh Dynasty](/source/Eleventh_dynasty_of_Egypt). However, they are generally undecorated. During the [New Kingdom](/source/New_Kingdom_of_Egypt), the cones were smaller in size and inscribed in [hieroglyphs](/source/Egyptian_hieroglyphs) with the title and name of the tomb owner, often with a short prayer.[2] The exact purpose of the cones is unknown, but hypotheses exist that they variously served as passports, architectural features, and symbolic offerings, among others.[3][4]

Fragments of seventeen [terracotta](/source/Terracotta) cones were found at the 2nd millennium BC site of [al-Moghraqa](/source/Al-Moghraqa) in the [Gaza Strip](/source/Gaza_Strip). The cones have no parallels in the Levant, and the archaeologists investigating al-Moghraqa suggested that the cones could have been a local adaptation of Theban funerary customs.[5]

Funerary cones were first organized into a corpus by [Davies](/source/N._de_Garis_Davies) and Macadam (1957).[6] This catalog was later supplemented by Vivo and Costa (1997).[7] In the 21st century, Dibley and Lipkin (2009) and Zenihiro (2009) have compiled more complete publications, with [Theis](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christoffer_Theis&action=edit&redlink=1) (2017) contributing additional cones from books, articles, auction and exhibition catalogues for consideration.[8]

## See also

- [Chamber tomb](/source/Chamber_tomb)

- [Clay nail](/source/Clay_nail)–(Mesopotamia)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Zenihiro, Kento. ["Geographical distribution"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173341/http://www.funerarycones.com/Geographical_distribution/Geographical_distribution.html). *The World of Funerary Cones*. Archived from [the original](http://www.funerarycones.com/Geographical_distribution/Geographical_distribution.html) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Grajetzki W](/source/Wolfram_Grajetzki), [Quirke S](/source/Stephen_Quirke), et al. ["Funerary cones"](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt//thebes/tombs/conesinfo.html). *Digital Egypt for Universities*. [University College London](/source/University_College_London). Retrieved 27 September 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Funerary Cones of the 18th Dynasty (from Thebes)"](http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/thebes/tombs/cones.html). Retrieved 2008-04-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["The World of Funerary Cones - Functions"](https://sites.google.com/view/funerarycones/functions). *sites.google.com*. Retrieved 2019-02-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Steel, Louise](/source/Louise_Steel_(archaeologist)); Manley, Bill; Clarke, Joanne; [Sadeq, Moain](/source/Moain_Sadeq) (2004). "Egyptian 'Funerary Cones' from El-Moghraqa, Gaza". *The Antiquaries Journal*. **84**: 323, 329–330. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S0003581500045856](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0003581500045856).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Davies, N. de G. and M.F.L. Macadam (1957), A corpus of inscribed Egyptian funerary cones. Griffith Institute, Oxford.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Vivó, Jaume. ["Funerary Cones Unattested in the Corpus of Davies and Macadam (Annex 1)"](https://www.academia.edu/25841852).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Theis, Christoffer (2017). ["Funerary Cones from various Auctions and Collections"](https://www.academia.edu/31615555). *PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology*. **14**: 1–25.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Funerary cones](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Funerary_cones).

- [The World of Funerary Cones](https://sites.google.com/view/funerarycones/home)

## Further reading

- Zenihiro, Kento (2009). *The Complete Funerary Cones*. Self-published. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-4-89630-246-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-4-89630-246-2).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Funerary cone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funerary_cone) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funerary_cone?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.