Semerkhet was the sixth pharaoh of the first Dynasty. He was the son of pharaoh Adjib and Queen Betrest, and for obscure reasons, only ruled for eight years. Egyptologists discovered very little, save for a black stela with Semerkhet's name carved on it. King Semerkhet was the fifth regent in the first dynasty, and he had he shortest time on the throne - eight and a half years. We know this for a fact because his full reign is documented on the Cairo Stone in the the Egyptian Museum. Regrettably the submissions from each year are only about ceremonies of different kinds and do not record any historical events.
Theories about his authenticity to kingship suggesting that he was
an usurper has been put modern by scholars because he had the habit of
recycling his predecessor's goods. At the graveyard at Abydos objects from
Anedjib's time (and tomb?) was base in Semerkhet's where he had erased the
original name and replaced it with his own. In a seal from his successor his
name is wrote in the line with the other kings, telling that he was established
as a king at least by his follower, who was his son (according to Manetho). A
year label from Semerkhet reign was found in his follower's tomb at the
re-excavation in the mid 1990s made by the German Institute of Archaeology in
Cairo (DAIK). His tomb in Abydos
points a new feature: retainers' tombs attached directly to the thick walls of
his own, and a door entry rather then a staircase leading to the grave chamber.
This means that the whole construction was covered by the same superstructure,
indicating that the retainers were buried at the same time, and thus probably
sacrificed to the honor of their master.
King Semerkhet's Burial place:
Pharaoh Semerkhet's tomb in abydos.
It was almost 29 x 31 meters, brick-lined burial chamber. Its Walls 1.5-1.8 m
thick. Single chambered tomb, with 68 alternative burials.