Obelisk of Seven Hungers

From gronkfinder
Revision as of 23:27, 4 February 2024 by Gronk (talk | contribs)

The Obelisk of Seven Hungers is a tall sandstone obelisk bearing an inscription thousands of years old. Located on a small island in the Aur River near Saqqara, the obelisk dates back to Khapesh's First Intermediate Period, a time when a magical sandstorm known as the Scouring descended upon the desert kingdom.

Old Khapeshan hieroglyphs cover the obelisk. They tell of seven years of great hunger, when the surrounding lands suffered from the worst of the Scouring, a period of suffering and famine. Presented as a message to an ancient king, whose name was later etched away, the inscription describes how the river stopped flooding and all crops failed. Further, its author recounts messages given from the priests of local temples to this king, warning that he must purify himself, give great offerings to the gods, and restore their temples lest they allow the Scouring to continue.

In the inscription, priests and temples of the gods Sokar and Qadesh are mentioned, but so too is another deity by the name Anuket. Only one other text has ever been found mentioning this deity who has seemingly passed out of history, a clay tablet in a tomb in the Bakhu Mountains. No evidence of a supposed local temple near the obelisk has ever been located.