Reading Hieroglyphs from the Stela of Hatshepsut

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!!!

Today I’m going to focus on one of my favorite pieces – the Stela of Pharaoh Hatshepsut! I’m sure it comes as no surprise to many of you that this is one of my favorites! I have been obsessed with Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 since I was a kid, and getting to see this stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 up close was a dream come true.

You can see two cartouches – Hatshepsut’s throne name Maatkare (𓇳𓁦𓂓) and Thutmosis III’s throne name Menkhepra (𓇳𓏠𓆣). In between the two cartouches is the phrase “𓏙𓋹𓇳𓏺𓏇” which translates to “Given life like Ra.”

“𓏙𓋹𓇳𓏺𓏇” can also be written as “𓏙𓋹𓇳𓏇” (the 𓏺 hieroglyph is missing). So why did the artist carve the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 this way? It’s for the aesthetics – to make the symbols line up properly and take up the right amount of space!

What’s also cool is “𓏙𓋹𓇳𓏺𓏇” can be used before either of the cartouches! Usually this phrase is put before a pharaoh’s 𓉐𓉻 name 𓂋𓈖 but since these symbols are non-directional they can be used either right to left or left to right. What a way to maximize space on the stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸!

Fun fact: You can tell which direction to read the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 on any piece based on the direction a bird is pointing! Since this bird (𓅭) is pointing to the left, the symbols would be read from left to right.