A New Sothis Rise on a Small Cylindrical Jar from the Old Kingdom (Collection of Prof. Peter A. Kaplony)

The ointment jar from the collection of late Professor Peter A. Kaplony can be stylistically dated to the Old Kingdom, most likely to the 5 th or early 6 th Dynasty. The inscription mentions the rise of Sothis on the IV. Akhet, day 1. Since the Egyptian civil calendar shifted towards reality one day in four years, the connection of a civil calendar date with the heliacal rising of Sothis is vitally important for the reconstruction of chronology. An assumed point of observation in Memphis dates this rise of Sirius to a time window 2419 to 2411 BC, depending on the arcus visionis.