Seneb Kay

Woseribre Senebkay (alternatively Seneb Kay) was an ancient Egyptian king during the Second Intermediate Period. He is thought to have reigned somewhere between 1650 and 1600 BCE. The discovery of his tomb in January 2014 supports the existence of an independent Abydos Dynasty, contemporary with the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynasties during the Second Intermediate Period.

Reign We know nothing about his reign except that he may have had a short reign at Abydos during a period of turmoil following the late 13th Dynasty.

He was violently killed at the age of 35/40, his skeleton showing clear signs of battle. Yet, he was interred in his tomb made from reused/usurped material from the nearby cemetery.

Burial Tomb At Abydos South, the Tomb of Senebkay (CS9) was discovered in 2014 by Josef W. Wegner of the University of Pennsylvania and a team of Egyptian archaeologists.

The four-chamber tomb has a decorated limestone burial chamber. Most blocks of the chamber were reused from older structures, such as the stela of Idudju-iker. On the east, short wall there is a painted depiction of the two Wadjet-eyes. Left and right are standing the goddess Neith and Nut. Over the scene is depicted a winged sun disc. On the North wall is depicted a standing goddess; her name is destroyed. There are short text lines mentioning the deities Duamutef and Qebehsenuf. In the center of the wall appears the cartouche with the king's name Senebkay. The South wall is much destroyed. There are visible the remains of two female deities. Texts mention the deities Amset and Hapi. The texts record the pharaoh's titulary and call him the "king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Woseribre, the son of Re, Senebkay".

Death The skeleton of Senebkay shows he was around tall and that he died at the age of 35 to 40 from multiple wounds, most likely sustained in battle.

The head of the king was once decorated with a mummy mask.

Attestation His primary attestation is his tomb (CS9) at Abydos. His tomb was made by reusing material from the nearby cemetery.

A further possible object with his name is a magical wand bearing the name Sebkay. The wand was found at Abydos but could refer to one or possibly two kings of the earlier 13th Dynasty. The existence of the so-called Abydos Dynasty was first proposed by Detlef Franke and later further developed by Kim Ryholt in 1997.

Theories His nomen Senebkay may render as Seneb + Kay, which could be a filiation for Seneb, son of Kay. The name Kay also appear for the early 13th Dynasty ruler Sedjefakare Kay Amenemhat VII.