Palermo Stone

The Palermo Stone is a large fragment of a stele known as the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. It contains records of the kings of Egypt from the first dynasty through the fifth dynasty.

The fragment is in the Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum in Palermo, Sicily, from which it derives its name. The term "Palermo Stone" is sometimes applied incorrectly to the entire Royal Annals, which also includes other fragments located in museums in Cairo and London that have never been in Palermo.

The stele, made of black basalt, was engraved toward the end of the fifth dynasty, during the 25th century BC. It lists the kings of ancient Egypt after the unification of Lower Egypt (the region of the Nile River Delta in the north of Egypt) and Upper Egypt (extending from the middle of modern Egypt to the southern border with Nubia).

The text begins by listing several thousands of years of rulers — presumed by many to be mythical — predating the mastery of the god Horus, who, according to the text, conferred the kingship on Menes, the first human ruler listed. The text credits Menes with the unification of Egypt. (Another name for Menes is thought to be Narmer, but this could also be the name of the next ruler.)

The text goes on to list the names of the kings who ruled Egypt up to King Neferirkare Kakai, a ruler of the early fifth dynasty, although the original stela may have recorded events after his reign on portions that have since been lost. Importance is given on the stone to the kings' mothers, like Betrest and Meresankh I.