[4] With the pontificate of Herihor falling later than that of Piankh, who is attested in year 7 of the Renaissance,[5] the date in the heading of Wenamun should rather refer to the direct (or indirect) successor of Ramesses XI.

Following Jansen-Winkeln, Arno Egberts (1991) therefore argues that the story is set in the fifth regnal year of Smendes I, the Delta-based founder of the Twenty-first Dynasty.

After visiting Smendes (Nesbanebded in Egyptian) at Tanis, Wenamun stopped at the port of Dor ruled by the Tjeker prince Beder, where he was robbed.

When he finally gained an audience with Zakar-Baal, the local king, the latter refused to give the requested goods for free, as had been the traditional custom, instead demanding payment.

[6] After a wait of almost a year at Byblos, Wenamun attempted to leave for Egypt, only to be blown off course to Alashiya (Cyprus), where he was almost killed by an angry mob before placing himself under the protection of the local queen, whom he called Hatbi.

As Sass (2002) summarized the situation, "In recent years most Egyptologists have come to regard Wenamun as a work of fiction, composed after the events it relates, its value as a historical source rather limited (see also end of Section 4).

On the other hand students of the Ancient Near East and of Egypto-Levantine connections, thirsting as they are after every scrap of written information, often still treat Wenamun practically as a primary historical source of the late 20th dynasty."

In general, the literary character of the text is summed up by Egberts (2001:495) as being apparent from the sophisticated plot, the rhetoric and irony of the dialogues, the imagery, and the underlying reflection on political, theological, and cultural issues.

[7] Finally, at the end of the text, in a slightly larger hand, the syllable (copy) is written, showing that it is not the original, which of course limits the value of paleography as a means to date the content of the story.

From the fact that many of the main protagonists are not properly introduced, it seems clear that the "report" became "literature" at a time when most of the names and situations were still recognizable for an educated audience.

The Story of Wenamun was discovered together with another historical fiction, the so-called Tale of Woe (Papyrus Pushkin 127), which takes the form of an imaginary letter as a vehicle to convey a narrative.

[9] Alessandra Nibbi wrote a great number of articles in which she tried to show that many modern interpretations of geographical references in Ancient Egyptian texts are incorrect.