This piece is known as an โOvoid Stoneโ or a โHammering Stoneโ and was probably used as a type of tool during building construction.
A closeup image of the Ovoid Stone and the hieroglyphs on it!
Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! 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!! Hereโs the first row:
โโฆat the stretching of the cord over the Holiest of Holies Amun, May She Live!โ
The โStretching of the Cordโ was part of the foundation ritual that occurred when a building was constructed in ancient Egypt. โHoliest of Holiesโ is the name for Hatshepsutโs temple at Deir el-Bahri.
A larger view of the display that contains the Ovoid Stone
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Here I am with the Kingโs List in the British Museum! In the picture ๐๐ ฑ๐, Iโm pointing to where Hatshepsutโs ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ name ๐๐ 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.
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 ๐น๐น๐น, and as we know, pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฅ were considered gods ๐น๐น๐น on Earth. These lists allowed Seti I ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ and Rameses II ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ด๐ to assert their legitimacy amongst the old pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฅ of Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐.
A closeup of the cartouches on the King’s List
Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! We are going to look at the Throne Name cartouches of the 18th Dynasty pharaohs to show where Hatshepsutโs ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ name is missing! We will start reading from the right since the hieroglyphs point in that direction!
๐ณ๐ป๐ฃ๐ – Thutmosis I โGreat is the manifestation of the soul of Raโ
๐ณ๐ป๐ฃ๐ – Thutmosis II โGreat is the manifestation of Raโ
๐ณ๐ ๐ฃ – Tutmosis III โLasting is the Manifestation of Raโ
๐ณ๐ป๐ฃ๐ – Amenhotep II โGreat is the manifestation of Raโ
๐ณ๐ ๐ฃ๐ผ – Thutmosis IV โLasting are the Manifestations of Raโ
๐ณ๐ง๐ – Amenhotep III โPossessor of the Truth of Raโ
As you can see, the cartouches jump right from Thutmosis II ๐ณ๐ป๐ฃ๐ to Thutmosis III ๐ณ๐ ๐ฃ and totally skip Hatshepsut ๐ณ๐ฆ๐!
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Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! Today ๐๐๐๐ณ, we are going to combine two of my favorite things: ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ and hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช!
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 ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ is made out of limestone ๐๐๐๐ and was made for a woman named Isis ๐จ๐๐๐ who was ironically a singer for the Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ !
This ushabti ๐๐๐๐ค was made during the 18th Dynasty reign of Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐. The 18th Dynasty is almost the โgolden ageโ of ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ because they undergo much development during this time period. Itโs very easy to date this ushabti because the Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ was only worshipped during his reign! Also, the ushabtiโs ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ hands are crossed in a mummiform way and holding tools – another 18th Dynasty clue!
Hereโs the full inscription on the ushabti: ๐๐๐๐๐ ฎ๐๐๐๐ณ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ค
Letโs break down the inscription by each individual word:
๐๐๐ – Singer
๐ – of
๐ ฎ – (indicates past tense)
๐๐๐๐ณ – Aten
๐จ๐๐๐ – Isis
๐๐๐๐ค – True of Voice/justified
While limestone ๐๐๐๐ is not the most common material for ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ to be made out of, itโs not unheard of to have ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ like this during the 18th Dynasty period.
It always fascinates me that even though Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ completely changed the whole ancient Egyptian religion during his reign, certain aspects of the original religion, such as ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ, remained.
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The images ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ฅ in this post are from the West Wall of the Tomb Chapel ๐ป๐ด๐ of Raemkai. The West ๐๐๐๐ is significant in ancient Egypt because the West ๐๐๐๐ is the realm of the dead. In a typical tomb chapel ๐ป๐ด๐ 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 ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ช could come to life. If people were depicted providing food ๐ฌ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ฅ to the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ, then it was thought that the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ would have enough sustenance for the afterlife ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐!
Tomb Chapel of Raemkai -this first image shows a butchering scene
This first image ๐๐ ฑ๐ is a closeup of the wall to the right of the False Door, which shows a butchering ๐๐๐ด scene. Meat ๐๐น was one of the most important offerings ๐ ๐ that could be given to the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ which is why this type of scene would be included in a tomb chapel ๐ป๐ด๐.ย
While you can probably tell that the people in this image ๐๐ ฑ๐ are butchering ๐๐๐ด๐ช cattle ๐๐ฆ, in case you did not know, the ancient Egyptians put it in the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช!
In the image ๐๐ ฑ๐, you can see the word โ๐๐๐ดโ which means โto slaughterโ or โto butcher.โ This word can also be written as โ๐๐๐ด๐ชโ 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 ๐ด symbol is actually carved backwards which confused me at first because if you read the word the opposite way, it becomes โ๐ด๐๐โ which translates as โto know/to learnโ which does not make sense in the context of the scene!
So here are some new vocabulary words for you:ย
๐๐๐ด to slaughter/to butcher
๐ด๐๐ to know/to learn
Tomb Chapel of Raemkai -this image shows a butchering scene
This second image ๐๐ ฑ๐ is also a closeup of the wall to the right of the False Door, which also shows a butchering ๐๐๐ด scene. Meat ๐๐น was one of the most important offerings ๐ ๐ that could be given to the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ!ย
While you can probably tell that the people in this image ๐๐ ฑ๐ are butchering ๐๐๐ด๐ช cattle ๐๐ฆ, in case you did not know, the ancient Egyptians put it in the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! I love these ancient Egyptian โcaptionsโ because there arenโt a lot of hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช so itโs not too overwhelming to translate if youโre just starting out!
Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! Here is a breakdown of the inscription ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐น:
๐ฎ – to cook/to bake
๐๐๐ – bone marrow
๐๐น – meat
This tomb chapel ๐ป๐ด๐ is on display at the MET and is absolutely beautiful to go in and explore! Hereโs a tip for your next visit: it is kind of hidden and located directly across from the Blue Faience Tiles from Saqqara and itโs not very crowded so you can really enjoy it!
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I love this display at the MET because not only do I love tiny things, but these small ๐๐๐ด๐ ฉ animal statues ๐๐ ฑ๐๐พ๐ช have a lot of significance!
Small Animal Statues on display at the MET! In the front is the jasper hippo, then the amethyst monkey holding its baby, and behind that is the three jerboas.
Letโs first talk about the red ๐ง๐๐๐ jasper hippo ๐๐๐ฏ! Instead of the usual standing position, this hippo ๐๐๐ฏ is laying down and might have been used as an amulet ๐๐ช๐ because there is actually a hole going through it! In Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐, hippos ๐๐๐ฏ๐ฆ were both feared and respected ๐๐๐ because they were one of the most dangerous animals in the Nile Valley ๐. However, hippos ๐๐๐ฏ๐ฆ were also thought to be powerful protectors ๐ ๐๐ก๐ against evil ๐๐๐๐๐ จ, which is what this amulet ๐๐ช๐ would have done for the wearer! This piece is dated to the New Kingdom.
The amethyst figure behind the hippo ๐๐๐ฏ is of a monkey ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ holding its baby! This piece is dated to the Middle Kingdom but it is very similar in style to some Old Kingdom pieces that are also at the MET! Monkeys ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ช are not native to Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐ and were actually pets for the very wealthy. This figure also has a loophole in it and would have been used as an amulet ๐๐ช๐ . Usually the image ๐๐ ฑ๐ of a mother and child is associated with fertility and rebirth.
The three little figures behind the amethyst monkey ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ are little desert rodents called โjerboa ๐๐ฟ๐ด๐. I thought they were mice ๐ช๐๐๐ at first and had to look up jerboa in both English and hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช – I love learning new things! The symbolic meaning of these Middle Kingdom statues ๐๐ ฑ๐๐พ๐ช are unknown, but they were buried with someone! The jerboa ๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ is a small desert rodent and these animals first show up as statues ๐๐ ฑ๐๐พ๐ช during this time period; none have been found dated to the Old Kingdom!
Small Animal Statues on display at the MET
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Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! Today ๐๐๐๐ณ, at an uncommon variant of Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ญ! As you may know, Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ is my favorite word to spot (no matter the variant) in inscriptions!
This particular โspellingโ of Anubisโ name ๐๐ is a not-as- common variant of the common way to write his name which is โ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ.โ However, even though some of the symbols are different, his name ๐๐ would still be pronounced the same! The proper way to say Anubis in Middle/New/Late Egyptian is โฤฑอnpwโ (pronounced like โInpuโ or โAnpuโ).
Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ญ is my favorite Egyptian god ๐น, so I love spotting the different variants of his name ๐๐! His name turns up a lot because Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ญ is one of the main funerary gods ๐น๐น๐น, and a large part of Egyptian artifacts that are in museums happen to be funerary objects ๐๐๐ด๐๐๐ญ!
Can you spot the uncommon variant of Anubis “๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ญ” in the inscription above?
Letโs take a closer look at the symbols!
The โreed ๐โ is a uniliteral phonogram for โฤฑอ,โ however it can also function as an ideogram for the word โreed ๐๐บ.โ
The โred crown ๐โ is also a uniliteral phonogram. The โ๐โ is associated with the sound of โn,โ just like the โripple of water ๐.โ This symbol can also act as a determinative for โred crown.โ
The โstool ๐ชโ symbol is a uniliteral phonogram for the sound โp.โ
The โQuail 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 โchick ๐ ฑ๐บ.โ
The โseated god ๐ญโ is a determinative symbol and isnโt pronounced! It acts as โpunctuationโ at the end of the name of a male god!
The name ๐๐ โAnubisโ is actually the Greek version of his name, not the Middle Egyptian name ๐๐, so that is why the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช donโt match up with how we are so used to saying Anubis/Inpu/Anpuโs name ๐๐!
Here are some common variants of Anubisโ name:
๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ญ (the one pictured)
๐๐๐ช๐ฃ
๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ
๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ข
๐๐๐ช
๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ
Which variant do you prefer? My favorite is ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ!
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