  We believe that Djet (also called Wadjit, or Uadji) succeeded Djer
and we traditionally place his as the third king of
Egypt's 1st
Dynasty. Djet would have probably been the son of Djer,
though we seem to have no real direct evidence of this
relationship. However, there might have been a queen
that ruled between Djer and Djet. Her large tomb at Abydos
(Petrie's Tomb
Y) was thought at one time to belong to a king.
More likely Merneith (Meryetneith) was a daughter of Djer and
a consort of Djet. A fairly recent find of a clay seal at
Abydos that bears her name appears to indicate that she was
probably the mother of Den,
Djet's successor. She may also have acted as her young son's
regent upon the death of Djet. On this seal, her title was
clearly given as "King's Mother".
If Djet is identical with Uenephes from Manetho's list, he
is noted for a reign of 23 years. However, Egyptologists do
not seem to place much reliance on Manetho's list, though
there is  little if anything to suggest any other length for
his reign. In general, Egyptologists for the most part
avoid dating this murky period of Egypt's early dynasties.
Right: Abydos Tomb Layout
Djet's tomb at Abydos in an area known as Umm el-Ga'ab is Petrie's
Tomb
Z, located just west of Djer's tomb. Emile
Amelineau and Flinders Petrie were the first to explore this
tomb around the turn of the century. It was re-excavated by
Werner Kaiser and Gunther Dreyer in 1988. For
many years, he was thought to have had a tomb at Saqqara,
but later investigation ascribed that structure to a nobleman
named Sekhem-kha who probably served under Djet, even though
the nobleman's tomb is larger then that of the king.. It is
noteworthy that there were some 174 subsidiary burials around
his tomb at Abydos. Most, if not all of these were not family
members as found around the tombs of latter kings, but rather
retainers who had probably been put to death upon the death of
Djet, in order to serve him in the afterlife. These 
sacrificial burials were unique to this time period in Egypt.
Later kings would take ushabtis, symbolic workers, to their
graves.
During antiquity, there is evidence that Djet's tomb, along
with other early tombs at Abydos, has been intentionally
burned. Later these tombs were rebuilt and associated with the
cult of Osiris.
Also found at his tomb was a stele, well known today,
containing the early hieroglyphs of his name. This was a snake
surmounted by a falcon (Horus)
with a symbolic palace facade below the snake. Originally,
there would have been a pair of these stele at the tomb
entrance. We could interpret Djet's very simple name to mean,
"Horus Serpent" or "Horus the Snake" from
this stele and other inscriptions. The limestone stele may be found
today in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Djet is further attested
to by a seal impression from mastaba V in Giza.
Little else is know about this king. He probably ruled
during a fairly prosperous period, if the reign of Djer is any
indication, and we also believe he may have sent an expedition
to the Red Sea,
presumably with the aim of exploiting mines in the Easter
Desert.
The Symbolic Palace Facade, Front and Top
Views
References:
| Title |
Author |
Date |
Publisher |
Reference
Number |
| Chronicle of the Pharaohs
(The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties
of Ancient Egypt) |
Clayton, Peter A. |
1994 |
Thames and Hudson Ltd |
ISBN 0-500-05074-0 |
| Complete Valley of the
Kings, The (Tombs and Treasures of Egypt's Greatest
Pharaohs) |
Reeves, Nicholas; Wilkinson,
Richard H. |
1966 |
Thames and Hudson Ltd |
IBSN 0-500-05080-5 |
| History of Ancient Egypt, A |
Grimal, Nicolas |
1988 |
Blackwell |
None Stated |
| Monarchs of the Nile |
Dodson, Aidan |
1995 |
Rubicon Press |
ISBN 0-948695-20-x |
| Oxford History of Ancient
Egypt, The |
Shaw, Ian |
2000 |
Oxford University Press |
ISBN 0-19-815034-2 |
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