Month: November 2022

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Offering Table Dedicated to the God Seth

This piece is a large offering table 𓂝𓃀𓅡𓄿𓋃 that was dedicated to the god 𓊹 Seth 𓊃𓏏𓄡𓁣 by the 19th Dynasty pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Seti I 𓇳𓁦𓏠.

There is a lot going on with this piece! On the reliefs, Seti I 𓇳𓁦𓏠 can be seen worshipping thegod Seth 𓊃𓏏𓄡𓁣, whose likeness has been erased. During the Ramesside time period, many pharaohs had “Seth” as part of their name 𓂋𓈖 because Seth’s 𓊃𓏏𓄡𓁣 status was elevated at the time due to him being both a powerful aggressor and being associated with foreign lands. Once Seth 𓊃𓏏𓄡𓁣 fell out of favor, his name 𓂋𓈖/images 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 were no longer used. Seth’s image is even removed, except for when he is mentioned in Seti I’s 𓇳𓁦𓏠 name 𓂋𓈖! The image of the goddess 𓊹𓏏Nephthys 𓎟𓏏𓉗𓏏𓉐𓁐 has not been erased, because even though she is the consort of Seth 𓊃𓏏𓄡𓁣, she was considered a favorable figure in Egyptian mythology.

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! 

In the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 above, we see Seti I’s Horus Name: 𓅃𓃒𓂡𓅓𓈍𓋆𓋴𓋹𓈖𓐍𓈙𓈙 “The Strong bull who appeared in Thebes and sustains the Two Lands.” 

In the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 above, we see Seti I 𓇳𓁦𓏠 making an offering 𓊵𓏏𓊪𓏏𓏔𓏦 to the goddess 𓊹𓏏Nephthys 𓎟𓏏𓉗𓏏𓉐𓁐 (her name 𓂋𓈖 is written above her), who is the consort of Seth 𓊃𓏏𓄡𓁣. We can also see Seti I’s 𓇳𓁦𓏠 titles and cartouches: 

𓆥 – King of Upper and Lower Egypt 

𓎟𓇿𓇿 – Lord of the Two Lands

(𓇳𓁦𓏠) – Menmaatra (throne name)

(𓊪𓏏𓎛𓁣𓇌𓌸𓈖) – Seti, Beloved of Ptah (birth name)

𓏙 – Given

𓆖 – Eternity

In the next picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 (above) we see the cartouches again, and Seti worshipping Seth. The hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 translate to:

𓏙 – Given

𓋹 – Life

𓆑 – His

𓊽 – Stability

𓌀 – Strength

So all together, the inscription reads: “𓏙𓋹𓆑𓊽𓌀 Given Life, His Stability and Strength.”

The last picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 (above) is another variant of the Horus name! 

I always find pieces such as these so fascinating, because upon first look, it looks like just a large slab of rock 𓇋𓈖𓂋𓈙. But in reality, there is so much to analyze and unpack when it comes to the images 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 and the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪, and how they relate to the time period, and even the time periods that came long after this piece was made. While it was made during the 19th Dynasty (reign of Seti I 𓊪𓏏𓎛𓁣𓇌𓌸𓈖), it was definitely altered afterwards.

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Relief of Seti I and Hathor

This is such a beautiful 𓄤 relief and it is actually from the tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐 of Seti I 𓇳𓁦𓏠! The tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐 of Seti I 𓇳𓁦𓏠 is the largest in the Valley of the Kings and it is also my Nonno’s favorite of all the tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏪! This relief is now located at the Louvre in France.

The relief shows Seti I 𓇳𓁦𓏠 and the goddess 𓊹𓏏 Hathor 𓉡. Hathor 𓉡 was known as the Lady of the West 𓎟𓏏𓋀𓏏𓏏𓈊 (the underworld 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐). The West 𓋀𓏏𓏏𓈊 and the Underworld 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐 were equated by the ancient Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 because the sun 𓇳𓏺 set in the west 𓋀𓏏𓏏𓈊! This is why all of the Egyptian tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏪 are located on the western 𓋀𓏏𓏏𓈊 side of the Nile!

Here, Hathor 𓉡 is seen welcoming Seti I 𓇳𓁦𓏠 into her domain, while offering him a menat necklace 𓏠𓈖𓇋𓏏𓋧, which was a symbol of protection 𓅓𓂝𓎡𓀜. They are even holding hands 𓂧𓏏𓏺!

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

𓉡 – Hathor
𓁶𓁷𓏏𓏏𓊖𓋆 – Chief one of Thebes
𓎟𓇿𓇿 – Lord of the Two Lands
(𓇳𓁦𓏠) – Menmaatra (throne name – “Eternal is the Truth of Ra”)
𓎟𓈍𓏥 – Lord of Appearances
(𓊪𓏏𓎛𓁵𓇌𓈘𓈖) – Seti, Beloved of Ptah (birth name – this is an uncommon variant that uses the Osiris 𓁵 symbol instead of the Seth 𓁣 symbol)
𓏙𓋹𓇳𓏇𓏺𓆖 – Given Eternal Life, Like Ra

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Lid of an Ointment Jar with a Cartouche

This is the lid of an ointment 𓌸𓎛𓏏𓎯𓃋 jar that has some beautiful 𓄤 hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 inscribed on it! One thing that is so interesting about Old and Middle Kingdom cartouches is that sometimes the titles and epithets associated with the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 are also enclosed in the cartouche, not just the name 𓂋𓈖 itself! 

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! We are going to start reading from the right, because the directional symbols are pointing to the right!

Here is the full inscription: 𓋹𓊹𓄤𓄊𓋴𓂋𓏏𓊃𓈖𓊪𓏏𓎛𓁱𓇔 𓊅𓆑𓌸𓇌

Now let’s break it down! 

𓋹 – May He Live/Life

𓊹𓄤 – The Perfect God

𓄊𓋴𓂋𓏏𓊃𓈖 – Senwosret 

𓊪𓏏𓎛𓁱 – Ptah

𓇔 – South

𓊅 – Wall

𓆑 – His 

𓌸𓇌 – Beloved

So the full inscription reads: “May He Live, the Perfect God, Senwosret, Beloved of Ptah, South of His Wall.” The last part, “South of His Wall,” refers to Memphis 𓏠𓈖𓄤𓆑𓂋𓉴𓊖, which was the main cult center where Ptah 𓊪𓏏𓎛𓁱 was worshipped 𓇼𓄿𓀢. 

It is actually quite hard to have an exact date for this piece because Senwosret 𓄊𓋴𓂋𓏏𓊃𓈖, the birth name of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, was used a bunch of times! There’s Senwosret I, II, and III who all use this birth name on their monuments! Unless the throne name is also present, we don’t know which Senwosret 𓄊𓋴𓂋𓏏𓊃𓈖 this is! Since the piece just has the name 𓂋𓈖 Senwosret 𓄊𓋴𓂋𓏏𓊃𓈖 on it, we know the jar lid is from the 12th Dynasty, but it could have been made between the dates of 1961–1840 B.C.E. 

The symbol underneath the cartouche is the Hieratic symbol for the number 20!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Book of the Dead Translation

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳, we are going to look at some writing in the Book of the Dead (known to the Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 as the Book of Coming Forth By Day). This Book of the Dead belonged to a man named Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪, who was a priest 𓊹𓍛 of Horus 𓅃𓀭. He lived during the early Ptolemaic Period (between 332-200 B.C.E.). This Book of the Dead is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

This inscription is about the god 𓊹/𓀭 Osiris 𓁹𓊨𓀭! Let’s just jump right into it – some of these words are vocabulary we have gone over previously (or variants of the words), so see if you can recognize the words or phrases before reading the translation!

Since the symbols point to the right, we are going to start reading from the top of the right column! Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 are always read from top to bottom no matter what!

𓆓𓌃𓇋𓁹𓊨𓀭𓏃𓈖𓏏𓏏𓋀𓏏𓏏𓈊
“Words Spoken By 𓆓𓌃𓇋 Osiris 𓁹𓊨𓀭, Foremost of 𓏃𓈖𓏏𓏏 the West 𓋀𓏏𓏏𓈊…”

𓃹𓈖𓄤𓀭𓐙𓊤𓎟𓋂𓃀𓈋𓊖
“It is 𓃹𓈖 the perfect god 𓄤𓀭, true of voice 𓐙𓊤, Lord 𓎟 of Abydos 𓋂𓃀𓈋𓊖…”

𓎟𓎛𓇳𓎛𓋾𓈎𓏏𓆓𓏏𓈖𓇓𓏏𓈖𓀭
“Lord 𓎟 of Eternity 𓎛𓇳𓎛, Ruler 𓋾𓈎𓏏 of His Own 𓆓𓏏𓈖, King 𓇓𓏏𓈖𓀭.”

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Canopic Jar Lid Found in Senemut’s Tomb

This very simple and unassuming lid of a canopic jar was found in the tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐 of Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼 (can also be written without a determinative 𓌢𓈖𓅐). Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼 rose to become the most important official 𓋴𓂋𓀀 during Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 reign and held over 80 𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆 different titles.

Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼 was referred to as a “High Steward 𓄂𓂝𓀀 (literally translated as “arm is in front”), which meant he was much more than just an official 𓋴𓂋𓀀 in Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 government. In a lot of inscriptions, Senemut is sometimes simply referred to as an overseer 𓄓𓉐𓏤, since that seems to summarize his various roles. As the Chief Royal Architect, Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼 supervised all of Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 building projects, including at least one of her massive obelisks 𓉶𓉶𓉶.

Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼 was also the tutor for Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 daughter Neferure 𓇳𓄤𓄤𓄤, which is how he is depicted in statuary 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 a lot of the time. Some other common titles include Steward of Amun, Chief Steward of the King, Overseer of the Treasury, Granary, Fields, Cattle of Amun, a Controller of Works, and so many more! I guess Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼 was a workaholic!

Back to the canopic jar lid – it is actually debated l if this lid represents Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼 or not! Based on other statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 of Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼, I personally think that the canopic jar lid is in Senemut’s 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼 likeness, however, that is just my inference/personal opinion. The lid is dated to the joint reign of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 and Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 (c. 1479–1458 B.C.E.), however, based on what I have read the actual date this piece was made seems to be debated, even though it was found in Senemut’s 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼 tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐.

Categories
Blog

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today in the USA is the Thanksgiving Holiday, which is a day where we gather with our families to express our gratefulness for all that we have. As I’m sure it comes as no surprise to anyone who follows this account, I am incredibly thankful for my Nonno.

I’m thankful for everything that he taught me and for how he made learning so fun.  I’m thankful that he loved books and showed me the power of books and the knowledge they contain. I’m thankful for all of the knowledge and encouragement he gave me, because without him, I would not be able to read hieroglyphs.

I’m thankful for all of his hard work and the sacrifices he made in order to make sure my family is able to live a good life. Everything good we have is because of him.

I’m thankful that he showed me the power of hard work and I’m thankful he always encouraged me to work hard and to do my best. I wouldn’t be where I am today (a successful teacher, a self-taught (or Nonno-taught) Egyptologist) without him.

I’m thankful for the day we spent together in Pompeii (pictured above) because it was the best day of my life. It was my dream to go to Pompeii with my Nonno and I am so happy we were able to go. I’m thankful for every museum trip, every Disney vacation, and for the days we all just simply hung out together.

I also want to say thank you to the rest of my family – my mom, dad, sister and brother who all support me with this account. My dad drives us to museums and carries my bags, my mom is the director/video recorder/photographer, my sister is also a photographer and my brother gives me lots of support!

Also, a big THANK YOU to everyone on here who has followed along! I appreciate every single one of you!

𓏙𓋹𓆖𓎛𓇳𓎛

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Recumbent Jackal on Shrine Hieroglyph

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳, we are going to look at my favorite hieroglyphic symbol: Anubis 𓃣! So out of all 700+ symbols, this symbol of Anubis on a shrine 𓃣 has always been (and will always be) my absolute favorite!

There are three 𓏼 variants of this symbols: 𓃢, 𓃣, and 𓃤. The variants just mean that all three symbols could be used in the same way to represent the same thing!

The official name of this symbol given by Egyptologists is “recumbent jackal on shrine 𓃣” and it is used as both an ideogram and a determinative. 𓃣 is the determinative in the word “Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣” and also an ideogram for “Anubis 𓃣.”

When 𓃣 functions as an ideogram, the “𓃣” would be pronounced the same as “𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣.” The proper way to say Anubis in Middle Egyptian is “jnpw” (pronounced like “Inpu”).
𓇋 – j (i)
𓈖 – n
𓊪 – p
𓅱 – w (u)
𓃣 – Determinative – not pronounced!

The name 𓂋𓈖 “Anubis” is actually the Greek version of his name, not the Middle Egyptian name 𓂋𓈖, so that is why the hieroglyphs don’t match up with how we are so used to saying Anubis/Inpu’s name 𓂋𓈖!

Since this is my absolute favorite symbol, when I was a kid, I was so mad that I could not use this symbol as part of my name 𓂋𓈖 (my name written out is 𓈖𓇋𓎡𓍯𓃭𓀭).

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Ointment Jars from Deir el-Bahri

These ointment jars were found amongst many other artifacts in the foundation deposits of Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 at Deir el-Bahri 𓂦𓂋𓂦𓏥𓉐. While foundation deposits can be traced all the way back to the 3rd Dynasty, putting ointment jars in them date back to the 12th Dynasty. There are fourteen foundation deposits associated with Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐!

These ointment jars that were found are made of travertine and many have hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 with Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 names 𓂋𓈖𓏦 on them! Many of the jars found at Deir el-Bahri 𓂦𓂋𓂦𓏥𓉐 contain oil stains, which means that they were probably used primarily to hold oil that was used in ceremonies at the temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐. You can also see a blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸𓏥 faience 𓋣𓈖𓏏𓏸𓏼, which were very common to find in foundation deposits too!

I love seeing the artifacts from the foundation deposits because they give a glimpse into cool things such as temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 construction and religious worship! The artifacts found in foundation deposits also contain the cartouches of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 under whom the temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 was constructed under!

One of the ointment jars has some simple text on it! Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

𓊹𓏏𓄤 – The Perfect Goddess
𓇳𓁦𓂓 – Maatkare
𓋹𓍘 – May She Live!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Hatshepsut as Female King

I seem to always talk about the white limestone 𓇋𓈖𓈙𓌉 statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 because it’s my favorite, but I never seem to discuss the red granite 𓅓𓌳𓏏𓎶 statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 or “Hatshepsut as Female King.” This statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 is my second 𓏌𓏻 favorite!

The most striking aspect of this statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 is that Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 face, which displays feminine features, remained pretty much intact! Many of Hatshepsut’s 𓇳𓁦𓂓 statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 have the faces destroyed, possibly in an attempt to destroy her image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 so she would be forgotten from history. Many blame Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 for this, but actually any motivation behind this deliberate destruction of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is unknown and mostly speculation.

It’s very difficult to read the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 on this statue, but you can make out that Hatshepsut 𓇳𓁦𓂓 is using the female version of titles, and referring to herself as a woman!

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!
𓄤𓊹𓏏 – Perfect Goddess
𓇳𓁦𓂓 – Maatkare

Something interesting about this statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 (that cannot be seen in my pictures) is that Taweret 𓏏𓄿𓅩𓂋𓏏𓆗, the goddess 𓊹𓏏 that protects 𓅓𓂝𓎡𓀜 women 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐𓏪 in childbirth (and women/children in general), is actually carved into the back of the statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾! This is the only deity 𓊹 that is overtly carved into Hatshepsut’s 𓇳𓁦𓂓 statuary so this allows Egyptologists to infer that the statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 was probably meant to belong in the Hathor 𓉡 shrine 𓐍𓊃𓅓𓂜𓉐 at Deir el-Bahri 𓂦𓂋𓂦𓏥𓉐, and was probably used in cult worship 𓇼𓄿𓀢. It’s interesting that a goddess 𓊹𓏏 specifically aimed towards women 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐𓏪 was chosen to be carved!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Hatshepsut at the MET!

Happy 600 𓏲𓏲𓏲𓏲𓏲𓏲 posts to @ancientegyptblog 𓃣 (on Instagram at least)!!

I am so thankful for everyone who reads my posts and follows this account. Thank you 𓋴𓏏𓍯𓄿𓀢 for helping me to keep my Nonno’s name 𓂋𓈖 and image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 alive! That is my main reason for starting this account/website, and I just want to share everything he taught me with the world.

Today I 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 wanted to post something special, so here I am with the two 𓏻 best preserved statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 we have of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 as pharaoh 𓉐𓉻! These are also my two 𓏻 favorite statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 from Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖! I always seem to celebrate this milestones with my favorite pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, because these statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 mean the absolute world to me!

While they look different and are made of different materials, these statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 are similar to each other in the way that Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is portrayed in female dress, but also with the nemes 𓈖𓅓𓋴 head cloth to show that she is in fact the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻! The hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 on the inscriptions on both statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 use the female versions of words when referencing her. For example, “Lady 𓎟𓏏” is used instead of “Lord 𓎟.”

Both of these statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 were found during excavations at Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri 𓂦𓂋𓂦𓏥𓉐. This gallery at the MET, which houses these striking statues, has always been my favorite room in any museum. I’m so thankful my Nonno taught me about Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 and for all of the memories we have in this gallery looking at her statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 together 𓈖𓊗. Seeing these statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 as a child 𓐍𓇌𓀔 helped to ignite my love for studying Egyptian history.

As a kid 𓐍𓇌𓀔, seeing a woman portrayed so beautifully 𓄤 and so strong was incredibly inspiring. Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 has been my idol and inspiration since I was a small child 𓐍𓇌𓀔, and my Nonno even said to me “Why be the queen when you can be the king,” and that is something I try to live by!