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Egyptian Artifacts

The Board Game “Senet”

If an object has Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ name π“‚‹π“ˆ– on it, I am going to get excited about it – no matter what the artifact is!

This piece is a type of ancient Egyptian board game called Senet π“Šƒπ“ˆ–π“π“ ! Senet π“Šƒπ“ˆ–π“π“  is the world’s oldest board game – there’s evidence of its existence all the way back to the First Dynasty (though this particular board is dated c. 1390-1353 B.C.E.). 

During the New Kingdom, the game represented the journey of the Ka π“‚“ (soul) to the afterlife/Duat 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐. The word β€œSenet” π“Šƒπ“ˆ–π“π“  actually means passage or gateway (though there are other ways to write these words as well)! If you look really closely, you can see details of the β€œAnkh π“‹Ή,” which is the symbol that means β€œLife” along with the β€œDjed Pillar π“Š½β€ which means β€œStability” painted on the side of the game! On both the left and right sides, you can also see the word π“‹΄π“ˆ–π“ƒ€ which means β€œHealth!” Such lovely messages on the side of a board game!

Senet π“Šƒπ“ˆ–π“π“  is still a game that can be played today, though some of the rules are debatable! I find it so interesting that board games have been around for so long in history! Some things an about humanity have not changed!Β 

The version of Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ name π“‚‹π“ˆ– that appears on the side of the Senet π“Šƒπ“ˆ–π“π“  board is her throne name, which is the name she took when she became pharaoh 𓉐𓉻! Her throne name is β€œMaatkare 𓇳𓁦𓂓” which translates to β€œTruth is the Soul of Re.”