Tempest Stele

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The Tempest Stele, also called the Storm Stele, was made by Pharaoh Ahmose I in ancient Egypt, around 1550 BCE. It tells how a huge storm struck the land, damaging tombs, temples, and pyramids around Thebes, and how the king ordered repairs.

Fragments of the stele were found at Karnak Temple between 1947 and 1951. It was restored and published in the late 1960s. The storm part of the text is the most damaged, but the rest is better preserved. The stele describes the storm as a sign of the gods’ anger, the sky bringing rain and darkness, floods, and people suffering. It also describes Ahmose I going to Thebes, gathering his people, and then starting a large restoration effort across the country. The king rebuilt shrines, re-erected statues, repaired tombs and altars, and renewed offerings and temple revenues to restore Egypt.

Scholars disagree about why the stele was made. Some think it was royal propaganda to hide or justify problems during a time when Hyksos rulers were a threat. Others believe the text may reflect a real, extraordinary weather event and link it to a volcanic eruption on the island of Thera (modern Santorini).

Dating the Thera eruption is also debated. Traditional dating places it around 1500 BCE, but radiocarbon years have suggested an earlier date, around 1627–1600 BCE, creating a mismatch with archaeological dates. In 2014, researchers Nadine Moeller and Robert Ritner offered a new translation of the Tempest Stele and argued that the weather described could be connected to a Thera eruption, with Ahmose I ruling closer to that event than some earlier timelines suggest. Different sources give various possible reign dates for Ahmose I, and recent work continues to explore these questions. A mummy study indicates he died in his mid-30s, which supports a reign that began when he was young. New scientific findings published in 2018 also suggest a link between the stele and Thera’s eruption.