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Penebui
Penebui depicted on a year tablet with blood streaming from her head
Queen consort of Egypt
Tenure	c. 3000 BC
Died	c. 3000 BC

Penebui in hieroglyphs
Pe-nebui (personal name) P.nb.wj Seat of the Two Lords
Weret-hetes (royal title) Wr.t hts Great of Hetes-Scepters

Penebui (died c. 3000 BC) was an early Egyptian queen and most possibly the wife of king Djer during the 1st Dynasty. Her name was found engraved on several ivory tags.

Identity

There are at least three ivory tags showing queen Penebui. Two were found in the necropolis of king Djer at Abydos, one (pretty damaged) at Saqqara in an anonymous tomb. The tags, called year tablets, show depictions of several ceremonies, such as a human sacrifice and the presentation of several cultic objects. The center of the engraving shows two figures of deceased queens. They are shown in shape of busts with female heads and hairstyles, resting on palatial decorated pedestals. There are fountains of blood coming out of their foreheads, symbolising the death of the women. In earlier times these blood fountains were falsely interpreted as flower ornaments or snake diadems. Both ladies names are introduced by a rare hieroglyph similar to the later sign for "excrement", the signs on the labels simply mean "to die" or "death". The former, first depicted lady can be identified as queen Penebui, this name means "seat of the two lords". Her name is also guided by the title Weret-hetes, meaning "great one of the Hetes sceptre", identifying her as a royal spouse. The other lady on the tags must have also been a queen, but of lower rank. Her title was Ma'a-heru, meaning "she who sees Horus". Unfortunately, her name is very difficult to read, it might be written with three fish symbols.

Penebui's death seems to be recorded on the famous Palermo stone in the 4th year event window of king Djer. Wolfgang Helck suspects that queen Penebui died violently due decapitation, since the sign of a deceased royal lady in the year window is guided by the hieroglyph of a decapitated lapwing.

References

1. ^ Wolfgang Helck: Untersuchungen zur Thinitenzeit (= Ägyptologische Abhandlungen. Bd. 45). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987, ISBN 3-447-02677-4, p. 119 & 154.
2. Wolfram Grajetzki: Ancient Egyptian Queens A Hieroglyphic Dictionary. Golden House Publications, London 2005, ISBN 9780954721893, p. 65.

v t e First Dynasty of Ancient Egypt
Pharaohs	Menes/Narmer Hor-Aha Djer Djet Den Anedjib Semerkhet Qa'a
Regents	Neithhotep Merneith
Queen consorts	Benerib Herneith Penebui Nakhtneith Khenthap Semat Serethor Seshemetka Betrest
Officials	Amka Hemaka Sabef Meriiti
Other people	Ahaneith
Artefacts and monuments	Narmer macehead Narmer palette Den seal impressions Abydos boats MacGregor plaque Mastabas S3503 and S3504
Capital	Thinis

• 31st-century BC women
• Queens consort of the First Dynasty of Egypt
• Djer