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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Limestone Reliefs of Thutmosis III

Here is a very nice raised relief in limestone π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“Œ‰ which depicts pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Thutmosis III 𓅝𓄠𓋴 wearing the blue crown π“†£π“‚‹π“ˆ™π“‹™ (left). He can be identified based off of the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ of his name π“‚‹π“ˆ– that appear to his right.

Limestone relief of Thutmosis III in the Brooklyn Museum

Here are the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ broken down:

𓇳𓏠𓆣 – Menkheperra (Thutmosis III’s throne name)
π“ŠΉπ“„€ – The Great God
π“ŽŸπ“‡Ώπ“‡Ώ – Lord of the Two Lands

Also on the right is the remnant of another person – most likely the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ (a portion of a shoulder and a crown are seen, so the presence of the crown allows us to infer that it is in fact another royal figure).

What is super interesting about this piece is that the images 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 of the pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 that are carved are not the actual pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 themselves, but statues π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ of them! This relief is depicting a religious precession that took place at Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri 𓂦𓂋𓂦π“₯𓉐. This piece was excavated from the temple and is dated to c. 1478-1458 B.C.E.

Here is another example of a limestone π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“Œ‰ relief of Thutmosis III 𓅝𓄠𓋴 wearing the blue crown π“†£π“‚‹π“ˆ™π“‹™. Menkheperra 𓇳𓏠𓆣 (Thutmosis III’s throne name) is above his head 𓁢𓏺 on the relief so we know that it is him! This one is in the Vatican Museum!

Limestone relief of Thutmosis III in the Vatican Museum

While many know that the Ankh π“‹Ή is the symbol that corresponds with the word β€œLife,” the Ankh π“‹Ή had other symbolic meanings as well – one of which is shown on this relief fragment!

The Ankh π“‹Ή can also symbolize the purifying π“‹΄π“ƒ‚π“ˆ— power of water π“ˆ—. In many temples π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰π“¦ in Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 (like Thutmosis III 𓅝𓄠𓋴 here) is flanked by two 𓏻 gods π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ. One of the gods π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ who did was was usually Thoth 𓅝𓏏𓏭𓀭, but it is impossible to tell which god π“ŠΉ is performing the action in this relief. The gods π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ would pour a stream of Ankhs π“‹Ήπ“‹Ήπ“‹Ή over his head 𓁢𓏺 to cleanse π“‹΄π“ƒ‚π“ˆ— and purify π“‹΄π“ƒ‚π“ˆ— him (Fun Fact: cleanse and purify can be the same word in hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ but there are other variations of each word too).

Totally unrelated thought but I have always loved the word for water (π“ˆ—) because it is the β€œn” symbol! Since my name π“‚‹π“ˆ– is Nicole and my name would start with π“ˆ– in hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ, as a kid π“π“‡Œπ“€• I would refer to π“ˆ– and π“ˆ— as β€œmy symbol” πŸ˜‚.