Author: ancientegyptblog7

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British Museum Trip

In July 2015, I was so lucky to go on a vacation to London with my whole family, including Nonno and Nonna!ย This trip was so special because it included an afternoon at the British Museum!

British Museum
Nonno and I in front of the British Museum
British Museum
Nonno and I with the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ of Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ

When our plane landed in London July 5th, we checked into the hotel and then rushed over to the British Museum because I literally couldnโ€™t wait any longer to go. I had been waiting my whole life to go to the British Museum with my Nonno. It makes me both sad and happy to look back on these pictures because while Iโ€™m so incredibly grateful we all got to do this together, Iโ€™m so sad that itโ€™ll never happen again.ย 

British Museum
My sister ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“ and I with the Rosetta Stone
British Museum
Nonno and I with Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“

The first book my Nonno ever gave me on Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– was Carol Andrewsโ€™ book on the British Museum. It was incredible to see these artifacts that I had been reading about for years in person. I cannot believe that this was eight years ago already. I wish I could go back in time and re-live this day because even though we were all exhausted, it was an incredible day.ย 

British Museum
Nonno and I with more stelae ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ๐“ช
British Museum
Me with the Kingโ€™s List!

These are my personal photographs and original text. DO NOT repost.ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Ptolemaic Statue of Anubis

This wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ at the Brooklyn Museum is similar to the one I posted from the MET yesterday ๐“‹ด๐“†‘๐“‡ณ! I love seeing โ€œsisterโ€ pieces across museums!ย 

Ptolemaic Statue of Anubis
Ptolemaic Statue of Anubis at the Brooklyn Museum

This piece is dated to the Late Period or Ptolemaic Period (c. 664-30 B.C.E.), which is when wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in this style became extremely popular! This piece was likely found at Saqqara, which in ancient Egyptian times was called Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–. 

I also love this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ because it is very similar to Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ determinative hieroglyph ๐“ƒฃ (which is my favorite hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช symbol) and itโ€™s almost identical to the โ€˜recumbent jackal ๐“ƒขโ€ sign! The recumbent position is representative of him guarding the necropolis ๐“‹ด๐“ˆ–๐“Šผ from high above on a hill ๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“„ฟ๐“ŠŽ or mountain ๐“ˆ‹๐“…ณ- as was his role as the god ๐“Šน of cemeteries and mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž.

Ptolemaic Statue of Anubis
Ptolemaic Statue of Anubis at the Brooklyn Museum

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, despite being associated with death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, was a very positive figure in Egyptian religion. In Egyptian mythology, he played the vital role in the mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž of the god ๐“Šน Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ and weighed the heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ against Maatโ€™s ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ feather ๐“†„๐“บ in the Weighing of the Heart! In modern pop culture, Anubis is usually the โ€œvillainโ€ when in reality he was a highly regarded and peaceful god ๐“Šน! 

Basically, I love anything to do with Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ! Seeing a well preserved statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of him, or hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช symbols of his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ makes me really happy ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ and excited. Itโ€™s like seeing an old friend ๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“€€๐“! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Wooden Statue of Anubis

This wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is one of my favorites because the piece is in such good condition! The black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ is still clearly visible and the wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ is so well preserved. Wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ is an organic material, and even in the dry heat of the desert ๐“…Ÿ๐“‚‹๐“๐“ˆŠ it can still break down over thousands ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ of years! My Nonno always pointed out every wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ piece in a museum and told us how significant it was that the wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ was preserved.

Wooden Statue of Anubis
Wooden Statue of Anubis at the MET

This particular Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ piece is dated to the Ramesside Period, which was during the 19th-20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom. This style of statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ depicting Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ actually became very popular during the Ptolemaic Period, and there is a piece similar to this in the Brooklyn Museum too! 

This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ shows Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in his jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ form. The recumbent position is representative of him guarding the necropolis ๐“‹ด๐“ˆ–๐“Šผ from high above on a hill ๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“„ฟ๐“ŠŽ or mountain ๐“ˆ‹๐“…ณ- as was his role as the god ๐“Šน of cemeteries and mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž. One of his titles which is โ€œLord of the Sacred Land ๐“ŽŸ๐“‚ฆ๐“ˆŠ,โ€ exemplifies and highlights this role. The โ€œsacred landโ€ mentioned in this title is another way to say โ€œnecropolis ๐“‹ด๐“ˆ–๐“Šผ!โ€ 

Wooden Statue of Anubis
Wooden Statue of Anubis at the MET

Another one of Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ titles is โ€œupon his hill/mountain ๐“ถ๐“บ๐“ˆ‹๐“†‘โ€ and this hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช phrase usually follows his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in dedication texts! Again, this is representative of Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ role as protector ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ of the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ; he was always standing watch from above! 

An inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– would look like this: โ€œ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ๐“ถ๐“บ๐“ˆ‹๐“†‘๐“ŽŸ๐“‚ฆ๐“ˆŠโ€ which translates to โ€œAnubis, Upon His Hill, Lord of the Sacred Land.โ€ 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Reading Hieroglyphs

To Be and To Exist

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at the Middle Egyptian word for “To Be” and “To Exist.” This simple yet important phrase appears a lot in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ!

One of the most important phrases you will learn in any language is the verb โ€œto be.โ€ I remember when I first started learning Italian as a small kid, โ€œessereโ€ was one of the first verbs we learned!

To Be and To Exist
To Be and To Exist written in raised relief on the wall of a chapel from the 19th Dynasty currently on display at the MET.

The word โ€œTo Be,โ€ and โ€œTo Existโ€ is written in Middle Egyptian as โ€œ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–,โ€  which is what is shown in the relief pictured. The word can also be commonly written as just โ€œ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–โ€  or โ€œ๐“ƒนโ€ if spacing becomes an issue! The word would be transliterated as โ€œwnn ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–โ€ or โ€œwn ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–/๐“ƒน.โ€ It was most likely pronounced the same no matter how many โ€œ๐“ˆ–โ€ appeared or didnโ€™t appear at the end of the word (remember, pronunciation is just inferred). 

Letโ€™s break down each of the symbols individually!

The โ€œhare ๐“ƒนโ€ is normally used as a biliteral phonogram. The  ๐“ƒน represents the sounds โ€œwn.โ€

The โ€œripple of water ๐“ˆ–โ€ is a uniliteral phonogram. The โ€œ๐“ˆ–โ€ is associated with the sound of โ€œn!โ€ In this case, the ๐“ˆ– is acting as the phonetic complement, meaning that the sounds are written twice but pronounced once! This is a very common occurrence in Middle Egyptian and is something that you need to just practice and get used to when youโ€™re learning! ย 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Horus as a Falcon

The god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ was one of the most important gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน in the Egyptian pantheon. One of Horusโ€™ ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ many roles was as a mythological representation of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป/heir to the throne of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. In this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ is depicted as a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ wearing the combined crown ๐“‹– which represents both the White Crown ๐“„ค๐“‹‘ of Upper Egypt ๐“‡“ and the Red Crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹” of Lower Egypt ๐“†ค!ย Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ as a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ was one of the most common ways he is represented in Egyptian art.

Horus as a Falcon
Horus as a Falcon on display at the MET

The Uraeus on the front ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— of the crown is in amazing condition! A Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— is usually depicted as an upright snake ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†™ and is a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, and divine authority in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– – all characteristics usually associated with the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, and also the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ! 

Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ was also a sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ god ๐“Šน. Horusโ€™ ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– means โ€œThe Distant One,โ€ due to him residing in the sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ! 

Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ was the son ๐“…ญ of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡ and Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ and will often be introduced in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ as such! For example, you could see โ€œ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ๐“…ญ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“…ญ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญโ€ on objects such as sarcophagi ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ๐“ฆ! 

Here are some variants of Horusโ€™ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–:

๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ (the most common way to write his name)

๐“…ƒ

๐“„‘๐“‚‹๐“…†

๐“…ƒ๐“…†

๐“ˆ๐“…ƒ

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Soul of Pe

This bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ kneeling statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ deity ๐“Šน is referred to as the โ€œSoul of Peโ€ and it is actually another way to depict the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. Also known as โ€œHorus of Pe,โ€ these bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช became popular during the Late Period, after 600 B.C.E.ย 

Soul of Pe
Bronze Soul of Pe statue on display at the Brooklyn Museum

The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– were first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts and are referred to as the ancestors of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ. The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– symbolized the predynastic rulers of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– were thought of as very powerful deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน that not only aided the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ, but also the current living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. 

Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– and Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– were both cities in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– and were around as early as the predynastic period.  Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– was originally the cult center for the god ๐“Šน Horus in Upper Egypt ๐“‡“, however, Pe a town in Lower Egypt ๐“†ค, was awarded to Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ by Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› after his eye was injured during his battle with Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ for the throne of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. 

In this particular statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ/Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– is shown in a characteristic kneeling position with one arm raised, with the other resting on his chest. This is known as a โ€œjubilation position,โ€ which is meant to show the Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– celebrating the rising of the sun ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“‡ถ. The Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– is usually represented as Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ the Falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„, while the Soul of Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– is usually represented as a jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ. 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Reading Hieroglyphs Video

Doorjamb of Rameses II – Video

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

This large piece is referred to as a โ€œDoorjamb from a Temple of Rameses II.โ€ Basically, that means these blocks came from a gateway at a temple that was built in honor of one of Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– royal jubilees. 

๐“†ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt

๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– – Usermaatre setep en Ra (Throne Name of Rameses II which translates to โ€œThe Justice of Ra is powerful, Chosen of Ra.โ€)

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ – Amun-Ra

๐“ŽŸ๐“Žผ๐“Žผ๐“Žผ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Thrones

๐“Œบ – Beloved

๐“™๐“‹น- Given Life

So all together the inscription reads โ€œKing of Upper and Lower Egypt, Usermaatre, Beloved of Amun-Ra, Lord of the Thrones, Given Life.โ€ 

Also Rameses IIIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“ˆ˜๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– cartouches appear on this too on the bottom of the doorjamb – he clearly usurped this piece for his own use and didnโ€™t change all of the cartouches!

This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost.ย 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Steatite Scarabs of Hatshepsut (Part II)

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at two ๐“ป more steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช from the Hatshepsut ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“/Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ era of the 18th Dynasty! Just like the scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช we looked at yesterday ๐“‹ด๐“†‘๐“‡ณ, these are also on display at the MET! 

Steatite Scarabs of Hatshepsut
Steatite Scarabs of Hatshepsut on display at the MET

Alright so letโ€™s get to the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!!!

These two ๐“ป steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช are interesting because while at first glance the inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ look similar (and they are) they are also quite different! On them Hatshepsut ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ is referred to as both โ€œLord of the Two Landsโ€ and โ€œLady of the Two Lands.โ€ Her throne name โ€œMaatkare ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“โ€ appears on both scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช. 

Letโ€™s look at the scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ on the left! 

๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ – Maatkare (Truth ๐“ฆ is the Soul ๐“‚“ of Re ๐“‡ณ)

๐“ŽŸ – Lord 

๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Two Lands

Letโ€™s look at the scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ on the right! 

๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ – Maatkare (Truth ๐“ฆ is the Soul ๐“‚“ of Re ๐“‡ณ)

๐“ŽŸ๐“ – Lady

๐“‡พ๐“‡พ – Two Lands

In order to make nouns feminine in Middle Egyptian, a โ€œ๐“โ€ is added to the end of the word so โ€œLord ๐“ŽŸโ€ becomes โ€œLady ๐“ŽŸ๐“.โ€ This is significant in this case because on these scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช, thereโ€™s a mix of both when it comes to Hatshepsut ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“! From the early to mid part of her  reign, Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ statuary contained inscriptions more commonly with the feminine form of the words. Towards the end of her reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ she started using the masculine form of words.  

You can also see the two ๐“ป different variants used for โ€œtwo landsโ€ (๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟย  vs. ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ )on the scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช! These two ๐“ป variants were pretty much used interchangeably so not much to analyze in this case!ย 

Read Part I Here!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Steatite Scarabs of Hatshepsut (Part I)

Here is another example of steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช from the Hatshepsut ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“/Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ era of the 18th Dynasty! These scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช are on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art! 

Steatite Scarabs of Hatshepsut
Steatite Scarabs of Hatshepsut

Before we read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, letโ€™s โ€œreadโ€ the geology! I always tell my students that rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ are the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช of the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ, and rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ are the language of our planet! 

Most scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช from this time period are made of a metamorphic rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ called steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ which is also commonly known as soapstone. Simply put, steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ is made when the mineral ๐“‡‹๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™ talc is exposed to tremendous amounts of heat and pressure at subduction zones (areas where oceanic crust sinks beneath continental crust). Steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ has been used by ancient civilizations all over the world for carving because it is both durable and easy to work with! 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

These scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช contain the shorter variant of Hatshepsutโ€™s birth name cartouche. Hatshepsutโ€™s full name is โ€œ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช United with Amun, Foremost of the Noble Women,โ€ but thatโ€™s not what appears on the scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช because itโ€™s too long! Letโ€™s take a look:

๐“„‚๐“ – Foremost (Hat)

๐“€ผ๐“๐“ช – Noble Women (Shepsut)

So Hatshepsutโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– variant on the scarab translates to โ€œForemost of the Noble Women.โ€ 

The Egyptians were very clever with spacing too – if you look at the scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ at the bottom of the picture, the โ€œ๐“โ€ is shared between the ๐“„‚ and ๐“€ผ glyphs!ย I will forever be impressed by. the ingenuity of the Egyptian artists!

Read Part II Here!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Steatite Scarab Ring

This mounted steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ ring ๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹ช inscribed with the throne name cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ is a stunning example of the scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช that were made during this time period. Some Egyptologists state that the scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช made during the Hatshepsut ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“/Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ era were some of the finest ever made, and I happen to agree!ย 

Steatite Scarab Ring
Steatite Scarab Ring inscribed with the throne name of pharaoh Thutmosis III

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Menkhepperra ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ translates to โ€œLasting is the Manifestation of Ra.โ€ This cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท appears twice on the scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ! 

๐“‡ณ – Ra

๐“  – Lasting

๐“†ฃ – Manifestation

The word โ€œEternity ๐“†–โ€ also appears on the Scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ. 

In the middle of the scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ there is also the โ€œGold Falcon/Gold Horus ๐“…‰โ€ symbol which shows a falcon ๐“…ƒ standing on the hieroglyphic symbol for โ€œgold ๐“‹ž.โ€ Usually the Gold Falcon ๐“…‰ is one of the five names of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป and is the third part of the royal titularly. Thutmosis IIIโ€™s Gold Falcon name is โ€œ๐“…‰๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹๐“›๐“ˆ๐“…ฑ๐“›๐“ฆ Djoser Khauโ€ which translates to โ€œSacred of Appearances.โ€ Obviously this full name does not appear on the Scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ, but the Gold Falcon ๐“…‰ symbolizes kingship ๐“‡“๐“‡Œ. 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.ย