The Unnoticed Iconography of the Sea Peoples’ Tribe Weshesh
Safronov Alexander V.
The article deals with the identification of the Sea Peoples in horned helmets on the reliefs depictions of the naval battle at Medinet Habu. In the author’s opinion, these warriors are the Weshesh. The other tribes of the Sea Peoples mentioned in the inscription of the eighth year of Ramses III wear the plumed headgear that is depicted on the reliefs in Medinet Habu. It seems that the second Sea Peoples’ group that participated in the naval battle were the Shekelesh. They are mentioned under the wrong name of the Sherden in close connection with the Weshesh and the sea in pHarris I. In the Medinet Habu’ reliefs, these Sea Peoples are connected with the image of a double-bird galley which has a good parallel in the Urnfield culture. The author believes that the Sea Peoples such as the Weshesh and the Shekelesh could originate from Western Mediterranean regions where the Urnfield culture and the onomastics connected with the Egyptian names of some Sea Peoples are attested.
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