It is believed that expeditions were conducted during her reign to the turquoise mines in Sinai and in Palestine and statues have been found of her at Heliopolis and Thebes. Her name is also found at Abydos, Hermopolis, Memphis, and in Nubia. Inscriptions with Twosret's name appear in several locations: The Bilgai Stela belonged to Twosret. It records the erection of a monument in the area of Sebennytos.[11] A pair statue of Tawosret and Siptah is now in the Munich Glyptotek (no 122). Siptah is shown seated on Twosret's lap.[11] In the temple at Amada, Twosret is depicted as a Great Royal Wife and God's Wife.[11] A statue from Heliopolis depicts Twosret and her names are inscribed with a mixture of male and female epithets. Twosret herself is depicted as a woman.[11] A cartouche of hers believed to come from Qantir in the Delta has been found Twosret and Siptah's names has been found associated with the turquoise mines at Serabit el Khadim and Timna (in the Sinai).[12] A faience vase bearing a cartouche of Twosret was found at Tell Deir Alla in Jordan.[12] Twosret constructed a Mortuary temple next to the Ramesseum, but it was never finished and was only partially excavated (by Flinders Petrie in 1897), although recent re-excavation by Richard H. Wilkinson shows it is more complex than first thought. The temple is being excavated by the Tausert Temple Project (2004 to present).
Merneith (Meritnit, Meryet-Nit or Meryt-Neith) was a consort and a regent of Ancient Egypt during the first dynasty. She may have been a ruler of Egypt in her own right. The possibility is based on several official records. Her rule occurred thethirtieth century B.C., for an undetermined period. Merneith’s name means Beloved by Neith and her stela contains symbols of that deity. She was Djet's senior royal wife and the mother of Den.[1] Merneith is linked in a variety of seal impressions and inscribed bowls with Djer, Djet and Den. Merneith may have been the daughter of King Djer, but there is no conclusive evidence. As the mother of Den, it is likely that Merneith was the wife of King Djet. No information about the identity of her mother has been found.[2][3] A clay seal found in the tomb of her son, Den, was engraved with "King's Mother Merneith".[1] It also is known that Den’s father was Djet, making it likely, therefore, that Merneith was Djet’s royal wife. Merneith is believed to have become ruler upon the death of her husband, Djet. The title she held, however, is debated. It is possible that her son Den was too young to rule when Djet died, so she may have ruled as regent until Den was old enough to be the king in his own right. The strongest evidence that Merneith was a ruler of Egypt is her tomb. This tomb in Abydos (Tomb Y) is unique among the otherwise exclusively male tombs. Merneith was buried close to Djet and Den. Her tomb is of the same scale as the tombs of the kings of that period. Two grave stela were discovered near her tomb. The stela show the name of the Merneith. However, her name is not surrounded by a serekh which was the prerogative of a king. Merneith's name is not included in the King Lists from the New Kingdom. A seal containing a list of pharaohs of the first dynasty was found in the tomb of Qa'a, the third known pharaoh after Den. However, this list does not mention the reign of Merneith.[3] A few other pieces of evidence exist elsewhere about Merneith: Merneith’s name appears on a seal found in the tomb of her son, Den. The seal includes Merneith on a list of the first dynasty kings. Merneith's name was the only name of a woman included on the list. All of the names on the list are the Horus names of the kings. However, Merneith's name is accompanied by the title "King's Mother". Merneith’s name may have been included on the Palermo Stone.[3] Items from the great mastaba (Nr 3503, 16 x 42 m) in Saqqara where her name has been found in inscriptions on stone vessels, jars, as well as the seal impressions. In particular, there is one seal from Saqqara which shows Merneith's name in a serekh.[3] Merneith Enclosure. This is a group of tombs from the cemetery at Shunet el-Zebib. These tombs are dated to the time of Merneith.[4] Merneith's name was found on objects in king Djer's tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab