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Reading Hieroglyphs

Book of the Dead

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช from the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ!

Book of the Dead
Book of the Dead on display at the British Museum!

There is so much going on in this little image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ from the British Museum!

Book of the Dead
The hieroglyphs for “Hail Osiris ๐“‰”๐“‡‹๐“‡‹๐“€๐“น๐“Šจ๐“Šน” are highlighted in this image

The first line has the inscription โ€œ๐“‰”๐“‡‹๐“‡‹๐“€๐“น๐“Šจ๐“Šน,โ€ which would be translated as โ€œHail ๐“‰”๐“‡‹๐“‡‹๐“€ Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“Šน.โ€

I love the word โ€œ๐“‰”๐“‡‹๐“‡‹๐“€,โ€ because it has so many different meanings depending on the context! Phonetically, it would most likely be pronounced as โ€œhey ๐“‰”๐“‡‹๐“‡‹๐“€โ€ which is one of the ways it can be translated! โ€œ๐“‰”๐“‡‹๐“‡‹๐“€โ€ can mean hey/hi/hello in some contexts, it can also mean โ€œhailโ€ like translated above, but itโ€™s also sometimes translated as โ€œcheer, rejoice, shout, or oh!.โ€ If there is a different determinative after the first two symbols โ€œ๐“‰”๐“‡‹๐“‡‹,โ€ it will also change the meaning! 

Iโ€™ve mentioned this before but I love the โ€œcaptionsโ€ that the ancient Egyptians would put next to gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน and goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ in the art so you know which deity you are looking at! In the bottom image you can see Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช and Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡ who are three prominent funerary deities with the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ of the deceased. 

Book of the Dead
The hieroglyphs for important deities are highlighted in this image.

Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡ and Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡ are also in the top image on the barge with the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ of the deceased. Much like how they would appear on coffins, Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡ is always at the feet of the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ while Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡ is at the head of the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ. 

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Hatshepsut’s Ovoid Stone

This piece is known as an โ€œOvoid Stoneโ€ or a โ€œHammering Stoneโ€ and was probably used as a type of tool during building construction.

Ovoid Stone
A closeup image of the Ovoid Stone and the hieroglyphs on it!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! I divided the inscription into two parts, and then translated each of the individual words so you can get a sense of the sentence structure used in the Middle/New Egyptian language!! Hereโ€™s the first row:

๐“Šน๐“๐“„ค(๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“)๐“น๐“ˆ–๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“ ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“›๐“†‘๐“Šƒ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ

๐“Šน๐“๐“„ค – Great Goddess

๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ – Maatkare

๐“น๐“ˆ– – to make/to do/born of

๐“Šƒ – she

๐“…“ – for

๐“ ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“›- monument

๐“†‘ – father 

๐“Šƒ – her 

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ – Amun-Re

โ€œThe Great Goddess, Maatkare, she made the monument for her father, Amun-Reโ€ฆโ€ 

And hereโ€™s the second row: 

๐“๐“†‘๐“ธ๐“ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ธ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‚ฆ๐“›๐“‚ฆ๐“…ฑ๐“‰๐“น๐“Šƒ๐“‹น๐“˜

๐“๐“†‘ – in front of/at (a preposition)

๐“ธ๐“ฑ๐“ˆ™ – Stretching of the Cord

๐“ท๐“ธ – over

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– – Amun 

๐“‚ฆ๐“›๐“‚ฆ๐“…ฑ๐“‰ – Holiest of Holies

๐“น๐“Šƒ๐“‹น๐“˜ – May She Live / That They Live

โ€œโ€ฆat the stretching of the cord over the Holiest of Holies Amun, May She Live!โ€

The โ€œStretching of the Cordโ€ was part of the foundation ritual that occurred when a building was constructed in ancient Egypt. โ€œHoliest of Holiesโ€ is the name for Hatshepsutโ€™s temple at Deir el-Bahri. 

Ovoid Stone
A larger view of the display that contains the Ovoid Stone

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

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Reading Hieroglyphs

The King’s List and Hatshepsut

King's List
Me with the King’s List at the British Museum.

Here I am with the Kingโ€™s List in the British Museum! In the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, Iโ€™m pointing to where Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– should be because she was one of the pharaohs left off the list – she was left off because she was considered to be a non-legitimate pharaoh. 

King's List
Me with the King’s List at the British Museum.

The point of the King Lists was not to preserve history for future generations, rather the main objective was to glorify the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, and as we know, pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ were considered gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน on Earth. These lists allowed Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  and Rameses II ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ to assert their legitimacy amongst the old pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. 

King's List
A closeup of the cartouches on the King’s List

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! We are going to look at the Throne Name cartouches of the 18th Dynasty pharaohs to show where Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ name is missing! We will start reading from the right since the hieroglyphs point in that direction! 

๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ – Thutmosis I โ€œGreat is the manifestation of the soul of Raโ€ 

๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– – Thutmosis II โ€œGreat is the manifestation of Raโ€ 

 ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ – Tutmosis III โ€œLasting is the Manifestation of Raโ€ 

๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– – Amenhotep II โ€œGreat is the manifestation of Raโ€

๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ – Thutmosis IV โ€œLasting are the Manifestations of Raโ€

๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  – Amenhotep III โ€œPossessor of the Truth of Raโ€

As you can see, the cartouches jump right from Thutmosis II ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– to Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ and totally skip Hatshepsut ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“! 

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

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Reading Hieroglyphs Ushabti Friends

Ushabtis and Hieroglyphs

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, we are going to combine two of my favorite things: ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ and hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Ushabtis and Hieroglyphs
This display combines two of my favorite things: Ushabtis and Hieroglyphs! This ushabti belonged to a woman named Isis and is on display at the MET.

This ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is made out of limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ and was made for a woman named Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“ who was ironically a singer for the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ ! 

This ushabti ๐“™๐“๐“‚๐“Šค was made during the 18th Dynasty reign of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. The 18th Dynasty is almost the โ€œgolden ageโ€ of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ because they undergo much development during this time period. Itโ€™s very easy to date this ushabti because the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ was only worshipped during his reign! Also, the ushabtiโ€™s ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ hands are crossed in a mummiform way and holding tools – another 18th Dynasty clue! 

Hereโ€™s the full inscription on the ushabti: ๐“‡“๐“‚๐“๐“ˆ–๐“…ฎ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“๐“™๐“๐“‚๐“Šค

Letโ€™s break down the inscription by each individual word:

๐“‡“๐“‚๐“ – Singer 

๐“ˆ– – of

๐“…ฎ – (indicates past tense)

๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ – Aten 

๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“ – Isis

๐“™๐“๐“‚๐“Šค – True of Voice/justified

While limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ is not the most common material for ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ to be made out of, itโ€™s not unheard of to have ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ like this during the 18th Dynasty period.

It always fascinates me that even though Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– completely changed the whole ancient Egyptian religion during his reign, certain aspects of the original religion, such as ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, remained. 

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

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Reading Hieroglyphs

The Tomb Chapel of Raemkai

The images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฅ in this post are from the West Wall of the Tomb Chapel ๐“€ป๐“‹ด๐“‰ of Raemkai. The West ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ is significant in ancient Egypt because the West ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ is the realm of the dead. In a typical tomb chapel ๐“€ป๐“‹ด๐“‰ built during the Old Kingdom, the West Wall would have a False Door and then scenes that would be typical of offering rituals.ย ย 

In the ancient Egyptian religion/culture, it was thought that the carvings on the walls of tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช could come to life. If people were depicted providing food ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ to the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, then it was thought that the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ would have enough sustenance for the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰! 

Tomb Chapel of Raemkai
Tomb Chapel of Raemkai -this first image shows a butchering scene

This first image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is a closeup of the wall to the right of the False Door, which shows a butchering ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ด scene. Meat ๐“†‘๐“„น was one of the most important offerings ๐“‚ ๐“ that could be given to the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ which is why this type of scene would be included in a tomb chapel ๐“€ป๐“‹ด๐“‰.ย 

While you can probably tell that the people in this image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ are butchering ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“Œช cattle ๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ, in case you did not know, the ancient Egyptians put it in the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

In the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, you can see the word โ€œ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ดโ€ which means โ€œto slaughterโ€ or โ€œto butcher.โ€ This word can also be written as โ€œ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“Œชโ€ which is the same word but with the determinative at the end! I prefer it when the words have determinatives because it makes everything easier to read! 

If you look closely, the ๐“‹ด symbol is actually carved backwards which confused me at first because if you read the word the opposite way, it becomes โ€œ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“โ€ which translates as โ€œto know/to learnโ€ which does not make sense in the context of the scene! 

So here are some new vocabulary words for you:ย 

๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ด to slaughter/to butcher

๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“ to know/to learn

Tomb Chapel of Raemkai
Tomb Chapel of Raemkai -this image shows a butchering scene

This second image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is also a closeup of the wall to the right of the False Door, which also shows a butchering ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ด scene. Meat ๐“†‘๐“„น was one of the most important offerings ๐“‚ ๐“ that could be given to the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ!ย 

While you can probably tell that the people in this image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ are butchering ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“Œช cattle ๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ, in case you did not know, the ancient Egyptians put it in the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! I love these ancient Egyptian โ€œcaptionsโ€ because there arenโ€™t a lot of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช so itโ€™s not too overwhelming to translate if youโ€™re just starting out! 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Here is a breakdown of the inscription ๐“Šฎ๐“‡‹๐“†‘๐“๐“†‘๐“„น: 

๐“Šฎ – to cook/to bake

๐“‡‹๐“†‘๐“ – bone marrow

๐“†‘๐“„น – meat

This tomb chapel ๐“€ป๐“‹ด๐“‰ is on display at the MET and is absolutely beautiful to go in and explore! Hereโ€™s a tip for your next visit: it is kind of hidden and located directly across from the Blue Faience Tiles from Saqqara and itโ€™s not very crowded so you can really enjoy it! 

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

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Uncommon Variant of Anubis

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, at an uncommon variant of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“‹”๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ! As you may know, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is my favorite word to spot (no matter the variant) in inscriptions!

This particular โ€˜spellingโ€™ of Anubisโ€™ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– is a not-as- common variant of the common way to write his name which is โ€œ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ.โ€ However, even though some of the symbols are different, his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– would still be pronounced the same! The proper way to say Anubis in Middle/New/Late Egyptian is โ€œฤฑอ—npwโ€ (pronounced like โ€œInpuโ€ or โ€œAnpuโ€).

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“‹”๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ is my favorite Egyptian god ๐“Šน, so I love spotting the different variants of his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! His name turns up a lot because Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“‹”๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ is one of the main funerary gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, and a large part of Egyptian artifacts that are in museums happen to be funerary objects ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‹ด๐“๐“๐“Šญ! 

Uncommon Variant of Anubis
Can you spot the uncommon variant of Anubis “๐“‡‹๐“‹”๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ” in the inscription above?

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

The โ€œreed ๐“‡‹โ€ is a uniliteral phonogram for โ€œฤฑอ—,โ€ however it can also function as an ideogram for the word โ€œreed ๐“‡‹๐“บ.โ€ 

The โ€œred crown ๐“‹”โ€ is also a uniliteral phonogram. The โ€œ๐“‹”โ€ is associated with the sound of โ€œn,โ€ just like the โ€œripple of water ๐“ˆ–.โ€ This symbol can also act as a determinative for โ€œred crown.โ€ 

The โ€œstool ๐“Šชโ€ symbol is a uniliteral phonogram for the sound โ€œp.โ€ 

The โ€œQuail Chick ๐“…ฑโ€ is one of the hieroglyphs that appears the most in inscriptions! 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€

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 name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– โ€œAnubisโ€ is actually the Greek version of his name, not the Middle Egyptian name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, so that is why the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช donโ€™t match up with how we are so used to saying Anubis/Inpu/Anpuโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! 

Here are some common variants of Anubisโ€™ name: 

๐“‡‹๐“‹”๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ (the one pictured)

๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“ƒฃ

๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ 

๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ข 

๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช

๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ

Which variant do you prefer? My favorite is ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ! 

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

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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“…“! The owl hieroglyph is very unique because it is viewed head-on instead of in a profile view!ย 

Owl Hieroglyph
The Owl Hieroglyph from a Middle Kingdom coffin at the MET

I personally love the โ€œowl ๐“…“โ€ hieroglyph because it reminds me of Hedwig from Harry Potter! Iโ€™ve been a huge Harry Potter fan since 2001 and whenever I see an owl it reminds me of my favorite books – especially when the hieroglyph is painted to look like a snowy owl! In ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, owls were seen as protective/guardian figures, which is exactly what Hedwig was to Harry! I love it when ancient Egyptian mythological themes persist through time! 

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“‚‹ โ€“ Overseer

๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– โ€“ Kemet (Egypt)

๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› โ€“ Papyrus Roll

๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช – Imhotep 

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! I guess you can say 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! 

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

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Cleopatra’s Needle (Part 2)

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! This is my second post on Cleopatraโ€™s Needle and here is a link to the first!

This obelisk ๐“‰ถ was commissioned to be built by Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ during his 18th Dynasty reign to highlight his military victories. On the obelisk ๐“‰ถ, not only can you see Thutmosis IIIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ throne name cartouche, but you can also see both the throne name and birth name of the 19th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Rameses II! Rameses II usurped this monument, as he did with the monuments of many past pharaohs! He not only put his cartouches, but at the top of the obelisk ๐“‰ถ his Horus Name also appears in the serekh! 

Cleopatra's Needle
A closeup image of the hieroglyphs on Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park!

The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Menkhepperra ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ is Thutmosis IIIโ€™s throne name and it appears multiple times on the obelisk. The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– translates to โ€œLasting is the Manifestation of Ra.โ€

๐“‡ณ – Ra

๐“  – Lasting

๐“†ฃ – Manifestation

The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– โ€œRamessu Mery Amun ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“โ€ is Rameses IIโ€™s birth name. The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– translates to โ€œRa has fashioned him, beloved of Amun,โ€ but could also be translated as โ€œRa Bore Him, Beloved of Amun.โ€

๐“ฉ – Amun

๐“› – Ra

๐“ˆ˜ – Beloved

๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ – Bore Him/Fashioned Him/Born Of

The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– โ€œUsermaatre setep en Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–โ€ is Rameses IIโ€™s throne name and translates to โ€œThe Justice of Ra is powerful, Chosen of Ra.โ€

๐“‡ณ – Ra

๐“„Š – Powerful

๐“ง – Justice (Maat)

๐“‡ณ – Ra

๐“‰๐“ˆ– – Chosen

Can you spot the three different cartouches in my picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“? I will probably be doing another post on the inscriptions and their meaning so look out for that post too!

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

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Mummy of Ukhotep

This is the coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ and mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ of a man named Ukhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช. Ukhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช lived during the 12th dynasty (Middle Kingdom) and he was the chief treasurer ๐“‹จ๐“…ฑ, which is why he probably received such gorgeous ๐“„ค funerary equipment ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‹ด๐“๐“๐“Šญ.ย 

Mummy of Ukhotep
The Mummy of Ukhotep on display at the MET

Ukhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช had a wooden coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ inscribed with parts of the Coffin Texts, which were spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ that the deceased needed in order to gain magical powers in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. This coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ and mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ is very typical of the Middle Kingdom burials (not just because of the styles/materials used for both the coffin and mask) but because the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ was placed on his side inside of the wooden coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ, which allowed him to see out of the coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ through the eyes on the side!ย My Nonno always told me about this fact when I was little, and I was always fascinated by this funerary practice!

Mummy of Ukhotep
The Mummy of Ukhotep with hieroglyphs on his coffin! Learn how to read the hieroglyphs below!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Here is the inscription: ๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™๐“น๐“Šจ๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ–๐“…˜๐“Ž›๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ ๐“…๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“ˆ‹๐“Š–๐“‰ป๐“ŽŸ๐“†„๐“

Here is a breakdown of the inscription: 

๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™ – An Offering the King Gives

๐“น๐“Šจ – Osiris (his name is missing the determinative this time – usually itโ€™s written as ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ)

๐“ŽŸ – Lord 

๐“ˆ–๐“…˜๐“Ž›๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ – Eternity 

๐“… – Foremost 

๐“ˆ–๐“ – of

๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“ˆ‹๐“Š– – Abydos

๐“Šน๐“€ญ – God

๐“‰ป – Great

๐“ŽŸ -Lord 

๐“†„๐“ – Maat

Fun Fact: โ€œ๐“ˆ–๐“โ€ is also another way to spell the name of the goddess Neith but it can also mean โ€œofโ€ and a bunch of other filler-type words!

The variant of โ€œeternity ๐“ˆ–๐“…˜๐“Ž›๐“Ž›๐“‡ณโ€ used in this inscription is very Middle Kingdom too – I rarely see this one used ever!! Usually the typical โ€œ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›โ€ is used!ย 

Mummy of Ukhotep
The Mummy of Ukhotep with some of his other funerary equipment including his canopic jar case (near the head of the mummy)

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

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Wide Heart

๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ – โ€œBe Happy, โ€œHappiness,โ€ โ€œJoy,โ€ – or more accurately translated from Middle Egyptian, โ€œWide Heart.โ€ย 

Wide Heart

I LOVE how the direct Middle Egyptian translation of the word is โ€œWide Heart ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃโ€ – I think it carries so much meaning in such a little phrase. โ€œAncient Egypt makes my heart wideโ€ sounds cooler than โ€œAncient Egypt brings me joy/happinessโ€ – in my opinion at least!

I always love seeing Happiness/Joy ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ written on objects because that is exactly how I felt when I was in a museum and looking at Egyptian artifacts with my Nonno. The only emotion I could feel at the time was joy ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ and I was so lucky. I would do anything to go to a museum with my Nonno and experience those emotions again. 

While I still feel joy ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ in museums now, thereโ€™s always a sadness and a feeling that something is missing because I truly miss my Nonno more than anything. 

Iโ€™m kind of in a transition period of my life at the moment (hence the non-consistent posting) and I am hopefully on my way to doing something that will make me happy ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ! 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Here are some common variants for the word that will pop up in inscriptions:

๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ

๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ๐“

๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ๐“บ

๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ๐“บ

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

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