What does the relief in the tomb of Ankhmahor at Saqqara show? disputed

Positions

1. Ritual circumcision

   Most accounts read the scene as circumcision of youths, for ritual or religious reasons, and call it the oldest picture of the operation. BAUS describes it as probably ritual and among the oldest recorded operations; a study from the University of Granada treats it in terms of ritual purity for ka-servants; popular accounts present it as the oldest depiction of circumcision.

   Sources

   1. BAUS Virtual Museum: Ancient Egypt Museum or society
   2. Universidad de Granada record: the Ankhmahor scene and ritual purity Secondary
   3. JTA Jewniverse 2016: The oldest circumcision in the world Secondary

2. An emergency operation

   Kanawati published a paper asking whether the scene is the first record of emergency surgery rather than a ritual. The title poses the question; the paper's argument is not summarised here because it was not read.

   Sources

   1. Kanawati, The circumcision scene in the tomb of Ankhmahor: the first record of emergency surgery?, Bulletin of the Australian Centre for Egyptology (title only read) Secondary

Evidence

The tomb is that of Ankhmahor, a vizier of Teti, in the Teti pyramid cemetery at Saqqara; it is a private tomb, not a temple. The captions are dialogue between the figures. A popular rendering has the assistant told to hold the patient fast so that he does not faint, but no scholarly translation of the captions was checked for the film, and versions differ. Until a checked translation is used, the captions cannot settle the reading.

Current standing

Circumcision is the usual reading; the emergency question remains in the literature. The film keeps both and ends: 'The stone does not say.'

All sources