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Reading Hieroglyphs

Translation of the Sarcophagus of Henhenet

This very simple limestone π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“Œ‰ sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ from the reign of Montuhotep II π“ π“ˆ–π“Ώπ“…±π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ (Dynasty 11, c. 2051–2030 B.C.E.) and belonged to a priestess π“ŠΉπ“› of Hathor 𓉑 named Henhenet π“‰”π“ˆ–π“‰”π“ˆ–π“. This is one of my favorite pieces to see at the MET specifically because of the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ that the sarcophagus has inscribed on it! 

This sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ shows the standard offering formula, the name π“‚‹π“ˆ–of the deity π“ŠΉ, and the titles associated with that deity π“ŠΉ. This standard way of writing the offering formula is extremely common, and if you know it, you will be able to recognize it anywhere!

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ:

π“‡“π“π“Š΅π“™π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺπ“ƒ£π“Άπ“Ίπ“ˆ‹π“†‘π“‡‹π“Άπ“…±π“π“Žπ“ŽŸπ“‡Ύπ“‚¦

π“‡“π“π“Š΅π“™ An Offering the King Gives 

π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓃣 – Anubis

π“Άπ“Ίπ“ˆ‹π“†‘ – Upon his Hill/Mountain

π“‡‹π“Άπ“…±π“π“Ž- He Who is in the Mummy Wrappings (can also be written as π“‡‹π“Άπ“…±π“π“Žπ“Š–)

π“ŽŸπ“‡Ύπ“‚¦ – Lord of the Sacred Land

Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 held many important titles, all of which signify how important he was to not only embalming, but to all aspects of a person’s death 𓅓𓏏𓏱. The title β€œUpon His Hill/Mountain π“Άπ“Ίπ“ˆ‹π“†‘β€ references the cliff that usually surrounded necropolises, which Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 would preside over. The title β€œHe who is in the mummy wrappings π“‡‹π“Άπ“…±π“π“Žπ“Š–β€œ signifies Anubis’ π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 role in the mummification process, which is what he is most known for. β€œLord of the Sacred Land π“ŽŸπ“‡Ύπ“‚¦β€ refers to the necropolis or cemeteries that Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 would guard. 

While this sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ contains a lot of Anubis’ π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓃣 titles, one that does not appear on this sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ is β€œLord of the Necropolis π“ŽŸπ“‡Ύπ“‚¦π“ˆŠ.”

Also, Anubis’ name π“‚‹π“ˆ– is shortened here and is missing a symbol: it is written as π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓃣 instead of π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣! I see this a lot with Anubis’ π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 name π“‚‹π“ˆ–, and it is done to save space! 

Here is the second π“Œπ“» part of the inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯!

π“ˆŽπ“‚‹π“Œ π“‹΄π“€π“‰¬π“„€π“„€π“†‘π“‚‹π“π“…“π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰π“‹΄π“ˆ–π“ŠΌπ“‰“π“π“‚‹π“ƒ£π“…π“ŠΉπ“‰±

π“ˆŽπ“‚‹π“Œ π“‹΄π“€π“‰¬ – Burial (I don’t have the composite hieroglyph on the sarcophagus so I used the two symbols here)

𓄀𓆑𓂋𓏏- Good 

π“…“ – In Her

π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰ – Tomb 

π“‹΄π“ˆ–π“ŠΌ – Necropolis

𓉓 – A Voice Offering 

𓐍𓂋 – Before

𓃣 – Anubis 

𓏅 – In Front At 

π“ŠΉπ“‰± – God’s Booth (Shrine for Anubis)

So all π“ŽŸ together π“ˆ–π“Š—, the second π“Œπ“» part of the inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ reads: β€œA good burial in her tomb of the necropolis with a voice offering before Anubis, in front at the god’s booth…”

The first 𓏅 part of the inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ (from yesterday’s post) contains a lot about Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣, and this second part of the inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ continues with that theme! Here we can see Anubis’ 𓃣 title β€œIn Front at the God’s Booth π“…π“ŠΉπ“‰±β€ in which β€œGod’s Booth π“ŠΉπ“‰±β€ refers to a shrine specifically dedicated to Anubis 𓃣 himself! This second π“Œπ“» part of the inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ also only uses the determinative symbol of β€œπ“ƒ£β€ to spell out Anubis’ π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 name π“‚‹π“ˆ–! 

Here is the third part of the inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯:

π“ŠΉπ“‰±π“ˆ–π“‡‹π“Œ³π“„ͺπ“π“‡Œπ“π“‡“π“π“†­π“Œ‘π“π“π“‰‘π“ŠΉπ“›π“‰”π“ˆ–π“‰”π“ˆ–π“π“™π“…±π“π“Š€

π“ŠΉπ“‰± – God’s Booth (Shrine for Anubis)

π“ˆ–π“‡‹- For The/By The

π“Œ³π“„ͺπ“π“‡Œπ“ – Venerated/Revered

𓇓 – King 

π“π“†­π“Œ‘π“π“ – Sole Ornament 

𓉑 – Hathor

π“ŠΉπ“› – High Priestess

π“‰”π“ˆ–π“‰”π“ˆ–π“ – Henhenet

π“™π“…±π“π“Š€ – True of Voice

The title β€œSole Ornament of the King π“‡“π“π“†­π“Œ‘π“π“β€ carried a lot of prestige, but no real responsibility or authority! The word β€œsole” in this case does not mean β€œunique” as we would define it in English, but rather signified a high social rank. Henhenet’s π“‰”π“ˆ–π“‰”π“ˆ–π“ true role was as a High Priestess π“ŠΉπ“› of Hathor 𓉑, which is why she was able to be buried in a sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­! 

I also love how Henhenet’s π“‰”π“ˆ–π“‰”π“ˆ–π“ name π“‚‹π“ˆ– is spelled because it is very phonetic – 𓉔 = h, π“ˆ– = n, and 𓏏 = t so when we add in the β€œsoft e” to make it pronounceable to us modern people, we get Henhenet π“‰”π“ˆ–π“‰”π“ˆ–π“! There’s also no determinative here, and her name could have also possibly been written as π“‰”π“ˆ–π“‰”π“ˆ–π“π“!Β