Category: Reading Hieroglyphs

Let’s read some Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to look at a really cool vase 𓏠𓈖𓇋𓏋 that is on display at the Brooklyn Museum! The museum has named this piece “Inscribed Funerary Vessel Painted to Imitate Stone” and I just love that because it is such a great description of the piece! 

I believe that the rock 𓇋𓈖𓂋𓈙 that this vase 𓏠𓈖𓇋𓏋 is supposed to be imitating breccia, which is a sedimentary rock 𓇋𓈖𓂋𓈙 commonly found in Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 and was primarily used for pottery and stoneware during the early dynastic period and Old Kingdom! 

We know that this piece is a funerary vase because of the inscription 𓏟𓏛𓏥 that is on it! Starting an inscription 𓏟𓏛𓏥 with “Revered before *name of god*” is a very common way to begin funerary inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥! 

Let’s take a closer look: 

𓄪𓐍𓇌 – Revered 

𓐍𓂋 – Before

𓁹𓊩𓀭 – Osiris

𓃂𓈖 – Wab Priest (can also be written as 𓃂𓈗 or 𓃂) 

𓇋𓏠𓈖 – Amun

All together, the inscription 𓏟𓏛𓏥 reads “Revered Before Osiris, the Wab Priest of Amun…” – then I can’t see the rest of it! 

In ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖, the Wab Priest 𓃂𓈖 was the most common type of priest and they performed the tasks of maintaining the temples 𓉟𓏏𓉐𓏪 and could be placed in charge of funerals. This was considered to be the lowest class of priests. The Middle Egyptian word, “God’s Servant 𓊹𓍛” usually referred to the High Priests. 

This piece is dated to the late 18th – early 19th dynasties! 

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

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Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to look at one of the ways to write “tomb 𓇋𓇩𓊃𓉐𓏺” in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

Let’s break down each of the symbols: 

The “reed 𓇋” is a uniliteral phonogram for “ı͗ (y),” however it can also function as an ideogram for the word “reed 𓇋𓏺.”

The “bundle of reeds 𓇩” is a biliteral phonogram that represents the sound “jz.”

The “doorbolt 𓊃” symbol is a uniliteral phonogram which represents the sound “z” or “s.” It’s also the ideogram for the word “doorbolt.” 

The “schematic house plan 𓉐“ symbol is a biliteral phonogram for the sound “pr,” but it can also function as an ideogram for the word “house 𓉐𓏺.” This symbol is commonly used as a determinative for words that have to do with buildings (like our word of the day – tomb 𓇋𓇩𓊃𓉐) or places (Duat 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐). 

The “stroke 𓏺” has many different uses but here it is used for aesthetic purposes! The “stroke 𓏺” is used to fill up that extra space after the “𓉐” symbol and can almost be thought of as punctuation! 

So how would “𓇋𓇩𓊃𓉐𓏺” be pronounced? 𓇋𓇩𓊃𓉐𓏺 would actually be said like “is.” In Middle Egyptian, a bunch of the written words repeat sounds, but the repeated sounds aren’t pronounced at all. It’s like how “𓄤” and “𓄤𓆑𓂋” are both still pronounced “nfr” even though the sounds repeat in the word. 

Here are some other variants/ways to write “tomb” in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪: 

𓇋𓇩𓊃𓉐 – (without the stroke)

𓉐𓆖 – Mastaba (House of Eternity)

𓂝𓂝𓉴 – Tomb/Mastaba

𓄿𓂝𓂝𓉴 – Tomb/Mastaba

𓄿𓎛𓌸 – Tomb Shaft

𓅜𓏏𓈌𓉐 – Tomb of a King, Horizon

𓀻𓋴𓉐 – Tomb Chapel

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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