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Reading Hieroglyphs

Geb in Hieroglyphs

Letโ€™s read some Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!ย Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to learn about the god ๐“Šน โ€œGeb ๐“…ฌ๐“ƒ€๐“€ญ!”

These hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช pictured below spell out the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the god ๐“Šน โ€œGeb ๐“…ฌ๐“ƒ€๐“€ญ.โ€ Geb ๐“…ฌ๐“ƒ€๐“€ญ is the god ๐“Šน of the Earthโ€™s ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ surface, which the ancient Egyptians called the Upper Earth. Anything that occurred on the Earthโ€™s surface was considered to be Gebโ€™s ๐“…ฌ๐“ƒ€๐“€ญ domain! For example, it is said that Gebโ€™s ๐“…ฌ๐“ƒ€๐“€ญ laughter is what caused earthquakes to happen! Geb ๐“…ฌ๐“ƒ€๐“€ญ was also responsible for allowing crops to grow!ย 

Geb in Hieroglyphs
The name of the god Geb in Hieroglyphs on a sarcophagus at the Brooklyn Museum

Here are the two most common ways to write Gebโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช: 

๐“…ฌ๐“ƒ€๐“€ญ

๐“…ฌ๐“ƒ€

Letโ€™s break down each of the symbols! 

The โ€œgoose ๐“…ฌโ€ is a biliteral phonogram that represents the sound โ€œgbโ€ which would have possibly been pronounced like โ€œGeb.โ€ It can also act as a determinative in certain cases.  

The โ€œfoot ๐“ƒ€โ€ symbol is a uniliteral phonogram that represents the sound โ€œb.โ€ Here, the โ€œfoot ๐“ƒ€โ€ symbol is acting as a phonetic complement, meaning itโ€™s emphasizing the โ€œbโ€ sound from the previous symbol, and was most likely not pronounced. 

The โ€œseated god ๐“€ญโ€ is a determinative symbol and isnโ€™t pronounced! It acts as โ€œpunctuationโ€ at the end of the name of a male god!

The hardest part about some of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช is distinguishing them from each other! The โ€œgoose ๐“…ฌโ€ and the very popular โ€œpintail duck ๐“…ญโ€ symbols are almost indistinguishable from each other! Not going to lie, sometimes I have difficulty telling the two symbols apart!ย ย 

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

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Shu in Hieroglyphs

Letโ€™s read some Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! These hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช pictured spell out the name of the god โ€œShu ๐“†„๐“…ฑ.โ€

Shu in Hieroglyphs

Shu ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ was the god ๐“Šน of the air and atmosphere. In the Egyptian creation myth, Shu ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ raised the atmosphere from the Earthโ€™s ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ surface, separating the two ๐“ป.ย 

Shu in Hieroglyphs
Shu raising up the sky/atmosphere depicted on a sarcophagus at the Brooklyn Museum. Can you spot Shu’s name in the image?

Shu ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ is usually depicted as a man standing or kneeling with both of his arms raised (like this hieroglyphic symbol – ๐“). His arms are in this position to show that he is holding up the air/atmosphere above the ground! Shu ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ was often worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข by sailors, who were looking for favorable winds ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฌ๐“ˆ–๐“…ฑ๐“Šก๐“ฆ!ย 

Shu in Hieroglyphs

Here are the two most common ways to write โ€œShuโ€ in hieroglyphs: 

๐“†„๐“…ฑ

๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ

Letโ€™s break down each of the symbols! 

The โ€œfeather ๐“†„โ€ is a biliteral symbol and is representative of the sound ลกw. โ€œ๐“†„โ€ can also function as an ideogram for โ€œfeather ๐“†„๐“บ,โ€ and as a determinative for โ€œMaat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„.โ€ So the โ€œfeather ๐“†„โ€ symbol has many different uses! 

The โ€œQuail Chick ๐“…ฑโ€ is a super popular symbol! It is a uniliteral phonogram that is representative of the sound w/u, and it is also an ideogram for the word โ€œchick ๐“…ฑ๐“บ.โ€ It mostly appears as a uniliteral phonogram and is one of the hieroglyphs that appears the most in inscription! 

The โ€œseated god ๐“€ญโ€ is a determinative symbol and isnโ€™t pronounced! It acts as โ€œpunctuationโ€ at the end of the name of a male god! 

Here are some other words that are similar to Shu ๐“†„๐“…ฑ – they are pronounced the same, but have different determinatives which changes the meaning of the word! What is so cool about these words is that they are related to the atmosphere/sky! 

๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“…จ – Empty

๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“‡ณ, ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“‡ถ – sun, sunlight

Iโ€™m fascinated by the fact that both โ€œempty ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“…จโ€ and โ€œShu ๐“†„๐“…ฑโ€ are pronounced the same because we canโ€™t see the atmosphere so what is above/all around us appears to be empty ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“…จ but itโ€™s not and the ancient Egyptians knew that!ย 

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

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

The Egyptian Star

Egyptian Star
The Egyptian Star hieroglyph might have been inspired by the starfish that live in the Red Sea

The five pointed Egyptian Star ๐“‡ผ is one of my absolute favorite hieroglyphic symbols! The star hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ symbol ๐“‡ผ was used very frequently in words as well and there are different variations of star symbols (๐“‡ป, ๐“‡ฝ). Youโ€™ll mostly see it in words like โ€œDuat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰.โ€ Sometimes โ€œDuatโ€ is represented with just the โ€œ๐“‡ฝโ€ symbol too!ย 

Egyptian Star
A painted and a carved hieroglyphic Egyptian star!

What I also love about the Star ๐“‡ผ is that not only does it function as a hieroglyph, but it is also used as artistic decoration.ย 

Egyptian Star
Egyptian Stars on the Middle Kingdom Canopic Jar Case of Ukhotep (MET)

The night sky/star design appears on the ceilings of tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช (Seti Iโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ– tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ comes to mind), temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ช (Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Deir el-Bahri ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹๐“‚ฆ๐“ฅ๐“‰) and even on funerary objects ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‹ด๐“๐“๐“Šญ like canopic jar cases and in the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ!ย 

Egyptian Star
Stars in the Book of the Dead of Sobekmose (Brooklyn Museum)

The five pointed star hieroglyph (๐“‡ผ), while used to represent stars ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“„ฟ๐“‡ผ๐“ฆ in the sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ, actually resembles the starfish ๐“‡ผ๐“ˆ™๐“‡ผ that inhabit the Red Sea! Egyptologists and archaeologists think that the star hieroglyph (๐“‡ผ) originally represented the starfish ๐“‡ผ๐“ˆ™๐“‡ผ but then evolved to represent stars ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“„ฟ๐“‡ผ๐“ฆ in the sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ as well.ย 

Egyptian Star
Stars in the Book of the Dead of Imhotep (MET)ย 

What I find fascinating is that the ancient Egyptian language (๐“‡ผ๐“ˆ™๐“‡ผ), English (starfish), and Italian (stella marina) all equate these beautiful ๐“„ค sea animals to the stars in the sky! The ancient Egyptians had a deep understanding of astronomy and the stars ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“„ฟ๐“‡ผ๐“ฆ and itโ€™s so cool that they saw starfish ๐“‡ผ๐“ˆ™๐“‡ผ in the Red Sea and thought that they looked like the bright objects in the sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ!ย 

Egyptian Star
A Starfish at EPCOT in Disney World – it definitely looks like a five pointed Egyptian Star!

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

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Upon His Hill

Letโ€™s read some Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, we are going to be looking at the significance of the epithet โ€œUpon His Hill/Mountain.โ€ 

An epithet is almost like a title, except it comes after a name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– instead of before it! The epithet โ€œโ€œUpon His Hillโ€ or โ€œUpon His Mountainโ€ will commonly follow the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the god ๐“Šน Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in inscriptions! This phrase 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 on tombs/cemeteries from above!ย 

Upon His Hill
The phrase “Upon His Hill” painted on a Middle Kingdom sarcophagus.

Here are some variants of the phrase: 

๐“ถ๐“ˆ‹๐“†‘๐“บ

๐“ถ๐“Šช๐“ˆ‹๐“†‘๐“บ

๐“ถ๐“Šช๐“ˆ‹๐“บ๐“†‘

Upon His Hill
Different variants of the phrase “Upon His Hill” in hieroglyphs. The painted phrase is from a Middle Kingdom sarcophagus, while the carved phrase is from an Old Kingdom False Door.

Letโ€™s break down the sentence! 

๐“ถ/๐“ถ๐“Šช – Upon โ€œtpโ€

๐“ˆ‹ – Hill โ€œแธwโ€

๐“†‘ – His โ€œfโ€

Letโ€™s take a closer look at each of the symbols! 

The โ€œhead ๐“ถโ€ symbol is a biliteral phonogram that represents the sound โ€œtp.โ€ It can also be used as an ideogram and determinative for the word โ€œhead.โ€ In this case it is a phonogram. 

The โ€œstool ๐“Šชโ€ symbol is a uniliteral phonogram for the sound โ€œp.โ€ In this phrase, it is acting as a phonetic complement, which means it is emphasizing the โ€œpโ€ sound in the โ€œ๐“ถ๐“Šชโ€ part of the phrase. 

The โ€œmountain ๐“ˆ‹โ€ symbol is a biliteral phonogram that represents the sound โ€œแธw.โ€ It also functions as an ideogram for the words โ€œmountainโ€ and โ€œhill.โ€ 

The โ€œhorned viper ๐“†‘โ€ functions as a uniliteral phonogram and represents the sound โ€œf.โ€ In this case, the singular symbol represents the word โ€œhis,โ€ which has a sound of just โ€œf.โ€ In Middle Egyptian, the pronoun comes after the word it is describing. 

The โ€œstroke ๐“บโ€ has many different uses but here it is used for aesthetic purposes! The โ€œstroke ๐“บโ€ is used to fill up that extra space as needed and can almost be thought of as punctuation! 

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

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Reading Hieroglyphs

West in Hieroglyphs

Letโ€™s read some Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, we are going to be looking at the significance of the โ€œwest ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ.โ€ย 

West
Different variants of “west” in hieroglyphs

The sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ rising in the east ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ and setting in the west ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ is a natural phenomenon that has occurred since the Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago. The illusion of the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ rising and setting is caused by the Earth rotating on its axis, and this motion causes us to have night ๐“Žผ๐“‚‹๐“Ž›๐“„› and day ๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“บ๐“‡ณ. 

The ancient Egyptians observed this phenomenon and not only developed the concept of the 24 hour day, but centered one of the biggest parts of their religion around it! Since the sun sets in the west ๐“Šฟ๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ, the west ๐“‹€๐“๐“ˆŠ was determined to be the land of the dead. Itโ€™s no coincidence that tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช are located on the western ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ banks of the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ! 

Here are some of the popular ways to write โ€œwestโ€ in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! These are only three of the popular variants, but there are many others! 

๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ 

๐“‹€๐“๐“ˆŠ

๐“Šฟ๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ

West
Different variants of “West” written in three different types of hieroglyphs – painted, carved, and cursive hieroglyphs.

Letโ€™s break down the symbols! 

The โ€œfeather on a standard ๐“‹€/๐“Šฟโ€ symbols are actually variants of each other and function the same way in inscriptions! This is an ideogram for the word โ€œwestโ€ and is associated with the sound โ€œjmnt.โ€ 

The โ€œflat loaf of bread ๐“โ€ is a uniliteral phonogram used to represent the sound โ€œt.โ€

The โ€œmountain range ๐“ˆŠโ€ symbol is both an ideogram and a determinative. It is associated with the sound โ€œแธซ3stโ€ and means โ€œdesert cliffsโ€ or โ€œforeign land.โ€

So whichever way you write โ€œwest ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ, ๐“‹€๐“๐“ˆŠ, ๐“Šฟ๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ,โ€ it would be pronounced as โ€œjmntโ€ and any extra โ€œ๐“โ€ symbols function as a phonetic complement! 

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

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Reading Hieroglyphs

The Sedge Hieroglyph

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, we are going to be looking at another popular hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ! This is the โ€œsedge ๐“‡“โ€ Hieroglyph, which has multiple uses and one you have definitely seen in inscriptions before!

Sedge Hieroglyph

The ๐“‡“ can function as a biliteral phonogram and represents the sound of โ€œsw.โ€ The sedge ๐“‡“ is also the symbol to represent Upper Egypt! 

The ๐“‡“ symbol can also function as an ideogram for both the words โ€œking (nswt)โ€ and โ€œsedge (swt).โ€ This is the most popular way that the symbol is used in Middle Egyptian! 

Letโ€™s take a look at some examples of how ๐“‡“ can be used in words!

๐“‡“ – King

๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ – King

๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆ–๐“€ฒ – King

๐“‡“๐“๐“‡Œ๐“›/๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“› – To Be King

๐“‡“๐“‡Œ – Kingship

๐“‡“๐“๐“๐“ˆž Kingโ€™s Wife 

๐“‡“๐“‚‹๐“๐“ – Kingโ€™s Acquaintance (literally โ€œKingโ€™s ๐“‡“ Knowledge ๐“‚‹๐“๐“(๐“œ)โ€)

๐“‡“๐“Šน๐“ช – King of the Gods (epithet of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–)

Now, letโ€™s take a look at some examples of how ๐“‡“ can be used in popular phrases:

๐“†ฅ – He of the Sedge and the Bee / King of Upper and Lower Egypt

๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™ – An Offering the King Gives (๐“‡“ – King, ๐“๐“Šต- Offering, ๐“™ – Gives)

As you can see, the sedge ๐“‡“ hieroglyph has many uses, and they mostly have to do with the word โ€œking!โ€ So if you see the ๐“‡“, in most cases youโ€™re going to be dealing with something to do with the king ๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆ–๐“€ฒ/pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป!ย 

I have provided different examples of what the โ€œsedge ๐“‡“โ€ symbol can look like in different forms of hieroglyphic writing! Across all different mediums, the โ€œsedge ๐“‡“โ€ hieroglyph definitely maintains its form which allows it to be a very easily recognized symbol!

Sedge Hieroglyph

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Video

Hieroglyphic Vocabulary โ€“ Weekย 8

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

Here is Week 8 ๐“ฟ๐“ป of my Hieroglyphic Word of the Day stories all compiled into a video! Learning any language – including hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช/Middle Egyptian doesnโ€™t have to be difficult! 

  1. May He/She Live ๐“‹น๐“˜
  2. Every day ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ŽŸ
  3. Like Ra ๐“‡๐“‡ณ๐“บ
  4. In, On, At, By, With, As ๐“…“
  5. To, Of, For, We/Us/Our, In, Because, Through ๐“ˆ–
  6. Treasury ๐“‰’, ๐“บ๐“‰๐“Œ‰๐“บ๐“‰
  7. Overseer ๐“…“๐“‚‹, ๐“„“๐“‰๐“ค
  8. Godโ€™s Booth ๐“Šน๐“‰ฑ

These are all words/phrases that you will come across in inscriptions! Next time youโ€™re at a museum, see if you can spot these ancient Egyptian words!ย 

You can also watch the video on TikTok!

@ancientegyptblog

Letโ€™s read some Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Here is Week 8 ๐“ฟ๐“ป of my Hieroglyphic Word of the Day stories all compiled into a video! Learning any language – including hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช/Middle Egyptian doesnโ€™t have to be difficult! 1. May He/She Live ๐“‹น๐“˜ 2. Every day ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ŽŸ 3. Like Ra ๐“‡๐“‡ณ๐“บ 4. In, On, At, By, With, As ๐“…“ 5. To, Of, For, We/Us/Our, In, Because, Through ๐“ˆ– 6. Treasury ๐“‰’, ๐“บ๐“‰๐“Œ‰๐“บ๐“‰ 7. Overseer ๐“…“๐“‚‹, ๐“„“๐“‰๐“ค 8. Godโ€™s Booth ๐“Šน๐“‰ฑ These are all words/phrases that you will come across in inscriptions! Next time youโ€™re at a museum, see if you can spot these ancient Egyptian words! Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! This is my personal photograph/video and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientEgypt #egyptology #ancientegyptblog #hieroglyphics #egitto #์ด์ง‘ํŠธ #egyptianhistory #anticoegitto #egyptologist #egyptianmythology #letsreadsomehieroglyphs #metropolitanmuseumofart #metmuseum #brooklynmuseum

โ™ฌ Boy With Luv – BTS

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Video

Ushabtis of Nauny – Video

Watch the video about the Ushabtis of Nauny !

Letโ€™s look at some ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures! Gallery 126 at the MET has lot of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ on display and I LOVE being in this room!ย These ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures and shabti boxes belong to a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ named Nauny, who lived during the 21st Dynasty reign of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Psusennes I ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“…ฎ๐“‡ผ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ–๐“Š–.ย 

The ushabti figures ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that Nauny was buried with are made of blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ and have featured and inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on them that are painted ๐“ž๐“œ with black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ.

Nauny was buried with a total of 393 ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures that were divided amongst seven ๐“€ shabti boxes. The shabti boxes are made of sycamore ๐“ˆ–๐“‰”๐“๐“†ญ wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ and painted ๐“ž๐“œ with stucco. As demonstrated in the video ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช are stored in an upright position in the box! 

Normally a person was buried with 365 ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures – one for each day of the year, however, there were also overseer ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ who would make sure the โ€œregular ushabtisโ€ (which are actually known as โ€œworker ushabtisโ€) weโ€™re doing their jobs!ย 

You can also watch the video on TikTok!

@ancientegyptblog

Letโ€™s look at some ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures! Gallery 126 at the MET has lot of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ on display and I LOVE being in this room! These ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures and shabti boxes belong to a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ named Nauny, who lived during the 21st Dynasty reign of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Psusennes I ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“…ฎ๐“‡ผ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ–๐“Š–. The ushabti figures ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that Nauny was buried with are made of blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ and have featured and inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on them that are painted ๐“ž๐“œ with black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ. Nauny was buried with a total of 393 ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures that were divided amongst seven ๐“€ shabti boxes. The shabti boxes are made of sycamore ๐“ˆ–๐“‰”๐“๐“†ญ wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ and painted ๐“ž๐“œ with stucco. As demonstrated in the video ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช are stored in an upright position in the box! Normally a person was buried with 365 ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures – one for each day of the year, however, there were also overseer ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ who would make sure the โ€œregular ushabtisโ€ (which are actually known as โ€œworker ushabtisโ€) weโ€™re doing their jobs! Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, Egyptian mythology, art, culture and more! This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. @ancientegyptblog #ancientEgypt #egyptology #ancientegyptblog #hieroglyphics #egitto #์ด์ง‘ํŠธ #egyptianhistory #anticoegitto #egyptologist #egyptianmythology #letsreadsomehieroglyphs #metropolitanmuseumofart #metmuseum #ushabti #shabti

โ™ฌ original sound – ancientegyptblog Nicole Lesar

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Categories
Blog

Ripple of Water

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

I decided to make another post about the โ€œRipple of Water ๐“ˆ–โ€ symbol since it has always been one of my favorites and my last post about it was over a year ago!ย 

The โ€œRipple of Water ๐“ˆ–โ€ is a uniliteral phonogram that has a sound like โ€œNโ€! This is the main usage of this symbol and it does not function like an ideogram or determinative which makes it super easy because you know you are looking at a phonogram symbol that is either part of a larger word or is just a word on its own!

The Ripple of Water
The Ripple of Water written three different ways.

In the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, I highlighted three ๐“ผ different types of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช – painted, carved, and then Cursive Hieroglyphs which is kind of like a short hand hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that is used on papyrus! The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that are most familiar to people are the ones that are either painted or carved! I love seeing the variations in the symbols across various ancient Egyptian art forms! 

While a simple symbol, the โ€œRipple of Water ๐“ˆ–โ€ has many uses in Middle Egyptian! On its own, ๐“ˆ– can mean: 

  • To
  • For
  • Of
  • Through
  • In
  • Because
  • Not/Cannot/No
  • Unless
  • They/We/Us/Our

Thatโ€™s a lot of words! When reading inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ, you can figure out the meaning based off of the context clues! The Ripple of Water ๐“ˆ–โ€ is so versatile it sometimes feels like the word/symbol means what you need it to mean to make the sentence flow! 

โ€œWe, us, and ourโ€ can also be written as: ๐“ˆ–๐“ฅ. โ€œTheyโ€ can be written as: ๐“ˆ–๐“ฎ or ๐“ˆ–๐“ญ. 

When the โ€œRipple of Water ๐“ˆ–โ€ is three stacked on top of each other โ€œ๐“ˆ—,โ€ itโ€™s actually a different symbol with a different meaning! The symbol is aptly named โ€œthree ripples of water ๐“ˆ—.โ€ It can function as a biliteral phonogram for the sound โ€œmw,โ€ and is both the ideogram and determinative for the word โ€œwater ๐“ˆ—.โ€

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

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Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

The Owl Hieroglyph

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at one of the most common and recognizable uniliteral phonogram hieroglyphic symbols: the owl ๐“…“!ย 

The Owl Hieroglyph
The Owl Hieroglyph

A uniliteral sign is a hieroglyphic symbol that corresponds to a single sound, just like a letter in the alphabet. The โ€œowl ๐“…“โ€ symbol represents the sound of โ€œmโ€ and it has many different uses!  

The โ€œowl ๐“…“โ€ symbol is one that appears in inscriptions all the time and is most commonly seen as part of other words! Some words that use the โ€œowl ๐“…“โ€ symbol are: 

๐“…“๐“‚‹ – Overseer

๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– – Kemet (Egypt)

๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› – Papyrus Roll

Of course these are not all the words that contain the โ€œowl ๐“…“โ€ symbol! 

But what happens if the โ€œowl ๐“…“โ€ symbol appears by itself in an inscription and isnโ€™t part of another word? The โ€œowl ๐“…“โ€ symbol has its own meaning when it appears alone! Itโ€™s one of those words in a sentence that can kind of โ€œmean what we need it toโ€ in English! I guess it functions as the all-around preposition! 

For example, the โ€œowl ๐“…“โ€ hieroglyph can mean: In, On, At, By, With, and As! This symbol has so many meanings/uses!ย 

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!