The Children of Adam and Eve

Nimaethap (also written Nymaathap) was a Queen of Ancient Egypt at the end of the Second Dynasty

Nimaethap was possibly the wife of Pharaoh Khasekhemwy and the mother of Djoser, the first Pharaoh of the Third dynasty of Egypt. Alternatively, some scholars are of the view that Nimaethap was the daughter of Khasekhemwy, the wife of PharaohSanakht and mother of Djoser. However, most Egyptologists place Sanakht in the second half of the Third Dynasty thus supporting the theory that Nimaethap was the wife of Khasekhemwy. There is clear evidence that Djoser arranged the queen'sfuneral.

Nimaethap held the titles of Mother of the King's Children, Mother of the Dual King and Attendant of Horus. In inscriptions dating to the Fourth Dynasty she is referred to as a King's Wife. She may also have been the mother of Djoser's wifeHetephernebti.

Seal impressions with her name were found in Khasekhemwy's tomB.C.omplex in Abydos and in Tomb K1 of Beit Khallaf. Her funerary cult is mentioned in the Saqqara tomb (LS6) of Metjen, who lived at the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty.

Khasekhemwy (sometimes spelled Khasekhemui) was the fifth and final king of the Second dynasty of Egypt. Little is known of Khasekhemwy, other than that he led several significant military campaigns and built several monuments, still extant,mentioning war against the Northerners. His name means "The Two Powerful Ones Appear".

Khasekhemwy is normally placed as the successor of Seth-Peribsen, though some Egyptologists believe that another Pharaoh, Khasekhem, ruled between them. Most scholars, However, believe Khasekhem and Khasekhemwy are, in fact, the same person.Khasekhem may have changed his name to Khasekhemwy after he reunited Upper and Lower Egypt after a civil war between the followers of the gods Horus and Set. Others believe he defeated the reigning king, Seth-Peribsen, after returning to Egyptfrom putting down a revolt in Nubia. Either way he ended the infighting of the Second dynasty and reunited Egypt.

Khasekhemwy is unique in Egyptian history as having both the symbols of Horus and Set on his serekh. Some Egyptologists believe that this was an attempt to unify the two factions; but after his death, Set was dropped from the serekh permanently.Secondly, he was the earliest Egyptian king known to have built statues of himself.

Khasekhemwy apparently undertook considerable building projects upon the reunification of Egypt. He built in Stone at el-Kab, Hierakonpolis and Abydos. He apparently built a unique, as well as huge, tomb at Abydos, the last such royal tomb builtin that necropolis (Tomb V). The trapezoidal tomb measures some 70 meters (230 ft) in length and is 17 meters (56 ft) wide at its northern end, and 10 meters (33 ft) wide at its southern end. This area was divided into 58 rooms. Prior to somerecent discoveries from the 1st Dynasty, its central burial chamber was considered the oldest Masonry structure in the world, being built of quarried limeStone. Here, the excavators discovered the king's scepter of gold and sard, as well asseveral beautifully made small Stone pots with gold leaf lid coverings, apparently missed by earlier tomb Robbers. In fact, Petrie detailed a number of items removed during the excavations of Amélineau. Other items included flint tools, as wellas a variety of copper tools and vessels, Stone vessels and pottery vessels filled with grain and fruit. There were also small, glazed objects, carnelian beads, model tools, basketWork and a large quantity of seals.

Khasekhemwy built a fort at Nekhen, and at Abydos (now known as Shunet ez Zebib) and was buried there in the necropolis at Umm el-Qa'ab. According to Toby Wilkinson's study of the Palermo Stone in Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt, this nearcontemporary document assigns Khasekhemwy a reign of 17.5 or nearly 18 full years.

Khasekhemwy's wife was Queen Nimaethap, mother of the King's Children. They were the Parents of Djoser and Djoser's wife Hetephernebti. It's also possible that Khasekhemwy's son was Sanakhte.