Incised for Eternity: The graffiti on the Second Stela of Kamose revisited

Abstract

The temple of Karnak was the recipient of a vast amount of figural and textual graffiti mainly dated from the New Kingdom onwards. Here I shall revisit those made on the Second Stela of Kamose, a portable royal monument ordered by the king to be set up in the temple in a nowadays unknown location, with the aim of recording his victories over the Hyksos and celebrate the glory of the main god of the temple, Amun. The two figural graffiti incised on its surfaces are proof of how people perceived, experienced and interacted with the monument through time.