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The Westcar Papyrus (inventory-designation: ''P. Berlin 3033'') is an ancient Egyptian text containing five stories about miracles performed by priests and magicians. In the text, each of these tales are told at the royal court of Pharaoh Cheops (4th dynasty) by his sons. The story in the papyrus is usually rendered in English as "King Cheops and the Magicians"〔Simpson, William Kelly. (1972). ''The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, and Poetry''. Edited by William Kelly Simpson. Translations by R.O. Faulkner, Edward F. Wente, Jr., and William Kelly Simpson. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-01482-1. Page 15.〕 and "The Tale of King Cheops' Court".〔Parkinson, R.B. (2002). ''Poetry and Culture in Middle Kingdom Egypt: A Dark Side to Perfection''. London: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-5637-5. p. 295–96.〕 In German, in which the text of the Westcar Papyrus was first translated, it is rendered as ''Die Märchen des Papyrus Westcar'' ("the fairy tales of Papyrus Westcar").〔〔 The surviving material of the Westcar Papyrus consists of twelve columns written in hieratic script. Miriam Lichtheim dates the document to the Hyksos period (18th to 16th century BC) and states that "The works are written in classical Middle Egyptian; the papyrus dates from the Hyksos period."(ca. 20th century BC).〔M. Lichtheim, ''Ancient Egyptian Literature'', vol.1, University of California Press 1973, p.215〕 Linguist and Egyptologist Verena Lepper thinks it may be possible that the Westcar Papyrus had already been written during the 13th dynasty. The papyrus has been used by historians as a literary resource for reconstituting the history of the 4th dynasty. The papyrus is now on display under low-light conditions in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin.〔 == Discovery story == In 1823 or 1824, a British adventurer, Henry Westcar, apparently discovered the papyrus during travels in Egypt. For unknown reasons he didn't note the exact circumstances under which he obtained the artifact. In 1838 or 1839, German Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius claimed to have received the papyrus from Westcar's niece. As Lepsius was able to read some signs of Hieratic, he recognized some of the royal cartouche names of the kings and dated the text to the old kingdom. There are inconsistencies about the true nature of the acquisition and the subsequent whereabouts of the Westcar Papyrus. Lepsius writes that the document was on display in the Oxford Bodleian Library, but public exhibitions have been documented there since the early 1860s and Lepsius' name does not appear in any lists or documents. Furthermore, Lepsius never made the text of the Westcar Papyrus public; he stored the papyrus at home in the attic, where it was found later after his death. These inconsistencies led to wide speculation; Many British historians speculate that Lepsius may have stolen the papyrus.〔Verena M. Lepper: ''Untersuchungen zu pWestcar. Eine philologische und literaturwissenschaftliche (Neu-)Analyse''. ''Ägyptologische Abhandlungen'', Band 70. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2008, ISBN 3-447-05651-7, p. 15–17.〕 In 1886, German Egyptologist Adolf Erman purchased the papyrus from Lepsius' son and left it to the Museum of Berlin. As the hieratic signs were still insufficiently investigated and translated, the Westcar Papyrus was displayed as some kind of curiosity. Since Erman's first attempt at a complete translation in 1890, the Westcar Papyrus has been translated numerous times, resulting in different outcomes. The dating of the text also varies.〔Verena M. Lepper: ''Untersuchungen zu pWestcar. Eine philologische und literaturwissenschaftliche (Neu-)Analyse''. ''Ägyptologische Abhandlungen'', Band 70. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2008, ISBN 3-447-05651-7, p. 317–320..〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Westcar Papyrus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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