Cartouche of Seti I

Here’s another piece from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology! This is a really simple piece but I really like it! It probably caught my eye because it has the cartouche of Seti I 𓇳𓁦𓏠 on it, and Seti I 𓇳𓁦𓏠 was one of my Nonno’s favorite pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦! The afternoon that Nonno and I spent exploring the Petrie Museum was one of the best days of my life!

This piece is a fragment from a larger statue 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾. On the top part of the piece you can even see the bottom part of a broad collar 𓅱𓋴𓐍𓎺𓋝. It is made of black 𓆎𓅓 basalt, which is an igneous rock 𓇋𓈖𓂋𓈙. Basalt forms when lava solidifies on the Earth’s surface or under the ocean. The entire ocean floor is made of basalt which means that it is is the most abundant rock 𓇋𓈖𓂋𓈙 on Earth (and Mars too)!

The hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 on this piece are very simple and easy to read!

𓇓𓏏 King of Upper…

𓋔𓏏…and Lower Egypt

(𓇳𓁦𓏠) – Maatmenra (Seti I – Maatmenra was his throne name)

Usually the title of “King of Upper and Lower Egypt” is written as “𓆥” so it is interesting to see it written as “𓇓𓏏𓋔𓏏.” In the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 for this piece, the crown of Lower Egypt 𓋔 was used instead of the bee 𓆤.

King of Upper and Lower Egypt 𓆥 can literally be translated to “He of the Sedge and the Bee,” which is the title that usually preceded the prenomen, which was also known as the throne name or the royal name. The sedge 𓇓 was the symbol for Upper Egypt while the bee 𓆤 was the symbol of Lower Egypt. This title was symbolic that the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 was ruling over a united Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖. The first pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 to have this title was the Pharaoh Den 𓂧𓈖 during the First Dynasty!