Gebel Tingar This is a site on the west bank of the
Nile near modern ASWAN, serving as a quartzite quarry
during the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.). AMEN-
HOTEP II(r. 1427–1401 B.C.E.) left a monument, a chapel,
on the site.
genitals The male reproductive organs received special
attention from the Egyptian embalmers in some eras.
During the Nineteenth (1307–1196 B.C.E.) and Twentieth
(1196–1070 B.C.E.) Dynasties, the genitals of the mummi-
fied rulers were often surgically removed. They were then
embalmed and placed in separate wooden receptacles
fashioned in the image of the god OSIRIS. Obviously this
was done to commemorate the loss of Osiris’s genitals
when he was slain by the god SET. RAMESSES III (r.
1193–1163 B.C.E.) was definitely embalmed in this fash-
ion. The Ramessids were from AVARIS, an area dedicated
to the god Set, as the names of some of the rulers indi-
cate, and it may have been in tribute to Set that the geni-
tals were embalmed separately.
geography See EGYPT.
Gerze This is a site in the FAIYUMregion, called the
Lower Valley. A large necropolis was discovered at Gerze,
dating to predynastic periods (before 3,000 B.C.E.). A dis-
tinct predynastic period, the Gerzean Period (also called
Naqada II), stems from this region. The graves in this
necropolis were oval in shape, normally fashioned out of
brick or wood.
Gerzean Period (Naqada II) See EGYPT.
Ghurob See KOM MEDINET GHUROB.
Ghurob Shrine Papyrus A document containing
details of a special shrine erected by TUTHMOSIS III(r.
1479–1425 B.C.E.) of the Eighteenth Dynasty, the shrine
was a casket made of gilded wood. The papyrus com-
memorating the event, in a single roll, is now in London.
Gilukipa(fl. 14th century B.C.E.) Royal woman of the
Eighteenth Dynasty
She was the daughter of King Shuttarna or Shutama of
the MITANNIS, who arrived in THEBESas part of an alliance
between her father and AMENHOTEP III (r. 1391–1353
B.C.E.). When she entered Thebes in a wedding proces-
sion, Gilukipa had 317 serving women in her retinue. She
entered Amenhotep III’s HAREMand resided at MALKATA,
on the western shore ofThebes. SCARABSwere produced
and distributed throughout Egypt by the royal court to
commemorate her arrival on the Nile in Amenhotep III’s
10th regnal year.
See also TADHUKIPA.
“Ginger” Amummified Egyptian now on display in
the Egyptian Antiquities Department of the British
Museum in London and dating to c. 3300 B.C.E. or earlier,
the mummified remains were named “Ginger” because of
the reddish brown color of his hair. “Ginger” was not
embalmed but mummified by the hot sands of his origi-
nal grave on the edge of the desert. His fingernails and
toenails are perfectly preserved. He was buried lying on
his left side, face down, with his hands positioned under
his head. His remains were covered with sand and then
with rocks.Girdle of Isis An Egyptian AMULET, called the thet
and shaped in the form of an ankh,with drooping lateral
arms, the Girdle of Isis was usually fashioned out of
jasper, carnelian, or some other red material. The
amulet was believed to confer strength upon the living
and the dead. When used in funerary ceremonies, the
Girdle of Isis was made of gold and was dipped in a
bowl of flowers and water and then placed on the
corpse.Giza This is a plateau southwest of modern Cairo that
served as a necropolis for the royal families of the Fourth
Dynasty (2575–2465 B.C.E.). The Great PYRAMID, erected
in the reign of KHUFU(Cheops; 2551–2528 B.C.E.), is the
largest of the plateau monuments and the only surviving
Wonder of the Ancient World. There are other funerary
monuments or relics that predate the Fourth Dynasty at
Giza, and later pharaohs erected or converted existing
ones. A MASTABAat Giza dates to the reign of DJET(c.
2850 B.C.E.) in the First Dynasty, surrounded by the
graves of more than 50 servants, which denotes that the
individual buried in the mastaba (as yet unidentified) was
a person of considerable rank. Jar sealings inscribed with
the name of NINETJER(r. c. 2670 B.C.E.), a ruler of the
Second Dynasty, were found in an areasouth of the main
necropolis.
The Great Pyramid, called “the Horizon of Khufu,”
originally stood 480 feet high on a 755-foot base. The
pyramid was built using 3.2 million blocks of lime-
stone, each weighing 2.5 tons. The pyramid was covered
in Tureh limestone and capped with a gold pyramid-
ion. Inside the structure, the King’s Chamber was
designed to ease pressure from the slanted design. A
Grand Gallery extends through the edifice, and there is a
Queen’s Chamber and an Ascending Gallery. A descend-
ing corridor leads to a bedrock burial chamber, which
appears to have been abandoned early in the cons-
truction. An enclosure wall was also provided for the
pyramid, and a mortuary temple was erected on the east-
ern side of the pyramid. This temple is a rectang-
ular building with a basalt pavement and an interior
courtyard. A causeway originally 2,630 feet long
extended from this temple, but it is now buried under theGiza 145