Liturgy of Khonsu-maa-kheru

These two especially notable papyri bearing religious texts were enclosed with the mummy of Khonsu-maa-kheru. They are typical of the burial goods of their period, yet differ from other known writings of this kind due to the unusual composition of their content. This hymn to the sun-god consisting of five proverbs, which Khonsu-maa-kheru chose for himself as a liturgical text, was seldom used in this form. It most famously appears in the Greenfield Papyrus, preserved in the British Museum, which belonged to Nestanebisheru, who held the highest priestly offices of her time. As it is extremely rare for such a text to be passed down by way of, on the one hand, a member of the social elite and, on the other, a simple cleric, it is conjectured that Khonsu-maa-kheru’s status as a priest gave him access to the archive of the Temple of Amun, and thus to this important text.