Kenherkhepeshef

(fl. 1270–1200 BC)

   Chief scribeof the Deir el-Medina community from the middle of the reign of Ramesses II until Sety II. Son of Panakht and Sentnefer. He appears to have been adopted by the scribe Ramose and succeeded him in his office. He is known as a collector of historical and religious manuscripts, including an account of the Battle of Kadesh written in his own hand and a dream book giving interpretations of dreams. His interest in previous rulers is attested by a brief king list, also in his own hand. His tombhas not been discovered, and he appears to have died childless. He was survived upon his death by his widow, Naunakhte, who must have been several decades younger than him as she remarried the workman Khaemnun and had eight children. She survived until the reign of Ramesses V when her will was written. She apparently inherited the papers of her first husband, which were passed on to her sons by the second marriage. They added to the archive, notably with the literary text The Contendings of Horus and Seth. The archive was uncovered in the 1920s and is preserved in several museums.

   See also Hesunebef; Kha; Paneb; Ramose; Sennedjem.

Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier