Tag: the met

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Reading Hieroglyphs Video

Video – Hieroglyphs on Sarcophagus

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

This very simple limestone π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“Œ‰ sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ from the Middle Kingdom (Dynasty 11, c. 2051–2030 B.C.E.) is one of my absolute favorite pieces! This sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ belonged to a priestess π“ŠΉπ“› of Hathor 𓉑 named Henhenet π“‰”π“ˆ–π“‰”π“ˆ–π“. The hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ on this sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ are incredibly well preserved!

Here is the full inscription π“Ž˜π“…±π“Ž–: 

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“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“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€

Here is the inscription π“Ž˜π“…±π“Ž– broken down by word/phrase:

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

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

π“ˆŽπ“‚‹π“Œ π“‹΄π“€π“‰¬ – Burial

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)

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

β€œAn Offering the King Gives Anubis, Upon his Hill, He Who is in the Mummy Wrappings, Lord of the Sacred Land, A Good Burial In Her Tomb of the Necropolis, A Voice Offering Before Anubis In Front At the God’s Booth, For the Venerated Sole Ornament of the King, High Priestess of Hathor, Henhenet, True of Voice.”

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Egyptian Artifacts

Corn Mummies in Ancient Egypt

Corn Mummies are an interesting part of Egyptian religious practices. While millions of animal mummies 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾π“ͺ have been found at sites all over Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, mummies 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾π“ͺ made of grains π“ˆŽπ“„Ώπ“…±π“Έπ“¦ like wheat and barley have also been found – these have been nicknamed β€œcorn mummies” by Egyptologists.Β 

Corn Mummies
A corn mummy with an outer “sarcophagus” made of wood with the head of a falcon. This is dated to the Late Period-Ptolemaic Period.

Corn mummies are found in cemeteries that are usually dated from the Third Intermediate Period through Roman times though they first 𓏃 appeared during the Middle Kingdom. This particular corn mummy is (in the first picture) from the Late Period – Ptolemaic Period (400 – 200 B.C.E.). 

Corn Mummies are meant to be a representation of the god π“ŠΉ Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­ and Egyptologists came to this conclusion because the β€œcoffins” that contain the corn mummies 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾π“ͺ almost always contain Osiris’ π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­ name and his titles/epithets in hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ, but also a β€œmummy” stuffed with grain that has a head of Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­. 

Another reason Egyptologists made the connection to Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­ was the cyclic nature of growing grains π“ˆŽπ“„Ώπ“…±π“Έπ“¦- in Egyptian religion, anything that was cyclical was related to the birth π“„Ÿ, death 𓅓𓏏𓏱, and then rebirth π“„Ÿπ“Ώπ“…± cycle of the human experience/Egyptian religion.

Corn Mummies
Three corn mummies on display at the MET. This picture shows the variation in the designs of the “sarcophagus,” however, they all have the head of a falcon.

Even though the corn mummies are dedicated to Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­, they are almost always found in cases with a falcon head. The falcon π“ƒ€π“‡‹π“Ž‘π“…„ head is representative of the god π“ŠΉ Sokar π“Šƒπ“Ž‘π“‚‹π“…‹, who is often connected to Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­. Their connection goes all the way back to the Old Kingdom, and The Pyramid Texts are the one of the first instances in which they are shown to have a connection. This particular corn mummy contains hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ that mention the combination god π“ŠΉ Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, who was popularly worshipped 𓇼𓄿𓀒 as a funerary god π“ŠΉ during this time period.

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Beautiful, Good, and Perfect in Hieroglyphs

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

Beautiful, Good, and Perfect in Hieroglyphs

Today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‡³ we are going to look at a very popular word that appears a lot in ancient Egyptian writing π“Ÿπ“›π“₯! The word β€œπ“„€π“†‘π“‚‹/𓄀𓆑𓂋𓏏” translates to β€œbeautiful,” β€œperfect,” or β€œgood” and can be used not only in titles such as β€œπ“ŠΉπ“„€ Perfect God” or names π“‚‹π“ˆ–π“¦ such as β€œNefertiti π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“„€π“‡π“˜π“»π“—,” but also in various words or phrases too! 

In Middle Egyptian there are a couple of ways to write β€œbeautiful,” β€œperfect,” or β€œgood:” 

π“„€ – the hieroglyphic symbol β€œnfr” (nefer) can be used on its own to represent the word. 

𓄀𓆑𓂋 – this would also be pronounced as β€œnfr” (nefer) as the sounds by the uniliteral phonograms would not be repeated. 

𓄀𓆑𓂋𓏏 – this would be pronounced as β€œnfrt,” (neferet) as this is the female form of the word! This is the one that is in my picture! 

When determinatives are used, the meaning of this word can change so be careful! β€œπ“„€π“†‘π“‚‹π“π“β€ with the woman determinative means β€œbeautiful woman” while β€œπ“„€π“†‘π“‚‹π“π“ƒ’β€ with the cow determinative means cow! Determinatives can totally change the meaning of the word! 

Let’s break down the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! Since the horned viper 𓆑 is pointing to the right, we will start reading from the right! 

The β€œheart and windpipe 𓄀” symbol is a triliteral phonogram that represents the sound β€œnfr” which in modern times we pronounce like β€œnefer.”

The β€œhorned viper 𓆑” functions as a uniliteral phonogram and represents the sound β€œf.” In other words, it can function as a determinative. As a stand-alone symbol, it can also mean he/his. 

The β€œ mouth – 𓂋” is a uniliteral phonogram for the sound β€œr” and can be an ideogram for the word β€œmouth 𓂋𓏺.” 

The β€œflat loaf of bread 𓏏” is a uniliteral phonogram used to represent the sound β€œt.” It also functions as the ideogram for the word β€œbread 𓏏𓏺” and can be used to make words feminine!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Fragment of a Statue of Pharaoh Khafre

This is a fragment of a statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 that once depicted the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Khafre π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘. Khafre π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘ ruled during the 4th Dynasty and was the son π“…­ of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Khufu 𓐍𓅱𓆑𓅱. Most people think that Khafre π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘ directly succeeded Khufu 𓐍𓅱𓆑𓅱, but actually Khafre’s π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘ brother, Rajedef π“‡³π“Š½π“†‘ ruled π“‹Ύπ“ˆŽπ“ for about eight years in between the two.Β 

Khafre

Khafre π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘ is most famous for building one of the pyramids 𓍋𓅓𓂋𓉴𓏦 at Giza, and he built it just south 𓇔𓅱𓏏 of his father’s 𓇋𓏏𓀀 Great Pyramid 𓍋𓅓𓂋𓉴. Khafre π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘ also commissioned the construction of the Great Sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­π“€ and a large temple π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰ complex.Β Khafre’s π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘ pyramid 𓍋𓅓𓂋𓉴 is the second largest, his father 𓇋𓏏𓀀 Khufu’s 𓐍𓅱𓆑𓅱 being the larger pyramid 𓍋𓅓𓂋𓉴.

This statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 fragment was found at Giza near Khafre’s π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘ temple π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰ complex. Egyptologists have identified this fragment as belonging to Khafre π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘ not just due to the location in which it was found, but also it’s similarities to other statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻.Β Other statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ of Khafre π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘ contain his name π“‚‹π“ˆ– in a cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“·, so it is pretty easy to know that those statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ depict him!

Khafre’s π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘ name π“‚‹π“ˆ– translates to β€œHe appears as Re.” However, sometimes in the Old Kingdom, β€œRe 𓇳” was both pronounced and written first 𓏃, so his name π“‚‹π“ˆ– might have been β€œRakhaf” which translates to β€œRa is his Appearance,” which also makes sense!Β I guess we will never know which way was correct!

Let’s break down the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!

𓇳 – Re 

π“ˆ – Appears

𓆑 – He/His

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Base of a Hatshepsut Statue

If an object has Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ name π“‚‹π“ˆ– or face on it, I am going to get excited about it – no matter what the artifact is! I was so excited to see this statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 base on my most recent trip to the MET because it has not been on display for a while!

Base of Hatshepsut Statue
Me with the base of a Hatshepsut statue at the MET

This limestone π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“Œ‰ statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 base shows Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ throne name cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“· on the left, and an image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 of her as a sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­π“€ on the right. It may be difficult to see in the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏, but some of the paint 𓇨𓂋𓅱𓏭𓏸𓏦 has been retained on the limestone π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“Œ‰.Β 

Base of Hatshepsut Statue
A closeup of the base of the Hatshepsut statue.

The statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 that stood on top of this base is most likely long gone. Most of Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ from her temple at Deir el-Bahri 𓂦𓂋𓂦π“₯𓉐 were found in pieces, as they were intentionally destroyed after her death 𓅓𓏏𓏱. 

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

Base of Hatshepsut Statue
Hatshepsut’s throne name cartouche, Maatkare on the statue base

This piece contains Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ throne name or prenomen, which is the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– she took when she became the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻! Let’s take a closer look at this beautiful 𓄀𓆑𓂋 name π“‚‹π“ˆ–! 

𓇳𓁦𓂓 – Maatkare 

Let’s break down each of the symbols! 

𓇳 – Re

𓁦 – Truth (Maat)

π“‚“ – Soul (Ka)

So all π“ŽŸ together π“ˆ–π“Š—, her name π“‚‹π“ˆ– translates to β€œTruth is the Soul of Re.”

Base of Hatshepsut Statue
Hatshepsut represented as a sphinx on the statue base
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Reading Hieroglyphs

“Great God Ptah”

Lets’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! 

Today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‡³ we are going to be looking at an inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ that is part of the West Wall of the Tomb Chapel of Kaemsenu. This inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ is a little bit tricky to read at first because one of the symbols is actually upside down!! Not going to lie, at quick glance I thought this inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ said β€œHigh Priest π“ŠΉπ“›!” 

Great God Ptah
“Great God Ptah” in hieroglyphs! Since the “cloth on a pole π“ŠΉ” symbol is pointing to the left, that’s the direction we start reading from!

So let’s take a look at what it actually says: 

π“ŠΉπ“‰Ό – Great God

π“Šͺπ“π“Ž› – Ptah

All π“ŽŸ together π“ˆ–π“Š—, the inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ reads “Great God Ptah.”

Let’s take a closer look at each of the symbols: 

The β€œcloth on a pole π“ŠΉβ€œ hieroglyph is an ideogram for the word god. π“ŠΉ is also a triliteral phonogram, and represents the letters β€œntr” which may have been pronounced like β€œneter.” π“ŠΉ Is also a determinative for β€œgod.” So the β€œcloth on a pole π“ŠΉβ€œ symbol can function as all three types of hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ. If you see this symbol, you are most likely looking at a word that has to do with the gods π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ!

The β€œwooden column 𓉼” hieroglyph is a biliteral phonogram which represents the sound β€œΛ3.” This symbol does have a variant, 𓉻, which means the same, it’s just oriented at a different angle! But I’ve never seen it upside down before! 

The β€œstool π“Šͺ” is a uniliteral phonogram for the sound β€œp.” 

The β€œflat loaf of bread 𓏏” is a uniliteral phonogram used to represent the sound β€œt.” It also functions as the ideogram for the word β€œbread 𓏏𓏺” and can be used to make words feminine! 

The β€œwick π“Ž›β€ is a uniliteral phonogram for the sound β€œh.”

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Egyptian Artifacts

Sarcophagus of Harkhebit

This is the sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ of a man π“Šƒπ“€€π“€ named π“‚‹π“ˆ– Harkhebit who lived during Dynasty 26 (c. 595-526 B.C.E.).

Sarcophagus of Harkhebit
The Sarcophagus of Harkhebit

Harkhebit was the β€œRoyal Seal Bearer, Sole Companion, Chief Priest of the Shrines of Upper and Lower Egypt, and Overseer of the Cabinet.” The sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ was found in his tomb π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰, which was a shaft tomb near Djoser’s 𓂦 pyramid 𓍋𓅓𓂋𓉴 complex at Saqqara (ancient Memphis π“ π“ˆ–π“„€π“†‘π“‚‹π“‰΄π“Š–). 

This sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ is striking not just from an artistic point of view, but its massive size is also breathtaking! Other large and plump sarcophagi π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­π“¦ have been found in the Memphis π“ π“ˆ–π“„€π“†‘π“‚‹π“‰΄π“Š– area that are similar in style to this one! 

Sarcophagus of Harkhebit
Me taking a selfie with Anubis and other deities!
Sarcophagus of Harkhebit
A close-up of the sunken relief of the goddess Isis

Let’s take a closer look! The sunken relief hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ on the sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ are inscriptions π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ from The Book of the Dead 𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓏲𓇳𓏺𓍼𓏺. Many different deities π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ such as Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣, Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯, Nephthys 𓉠𓏏𓆇, and the Four Sons of Horus (Duamutef 𓇼𓅐𓏏𓆑, Imseti π“‡‹π“…“π“Šƒπ“Ώ, Hapi π“Ž›π“‘π“Šͺπ“‡Œ and Qebehsenuef π“π“Œ’π“Œ’π“Œ’π“†‘) all appear. 

Here is a picture of Anubis’ π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 name π“‚‹π“ˆ– as it appears on the sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­! This is one of the variants of Anubis’ π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓃣 name π“‚‹π“ˆ–, as it is missing the “π“…±” hieroglyph π“ŠΉπ“Œƒ!

Anubis' name in hieroglyphs on the Sarcophagus of Harkhebit
Anubis’ name in hieroglyphs

This sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ is considered to be mummiform, meaning it looks like a mummy 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾! The β€œmummy” is wearing a wig 𓄿𓂋𓏏𓁸 and a false beard π“π“ƒ€π“Šƒπ“…±π“π“Έ. I also love the large broad collar π“…±π“‹΄π“π“ŽΊπ“‹ that is on the sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­! If you look closely, you can see two 𓏻 falcons π“ƒ€π“‡‹π“Ž‘π“…„π“ͺ on either end of it! Between the wig 𓄿𓂋𓏏𓁸, false beard π“π“ƒ€π“Šƒπ“…±π“π“Έ, and broad collar π“…±π“‹΄π“π“ŽΊπ“‹, Harkhebit is dressed for the best in the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐! 

Sarcophagus of Harkhebit
A closeup image of the face of the sarcophagus showing details such as the broad collar, wig, and false beard.

The Sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ of Harkhebit is definitely one of the better examples of Late Period ancient Egyptian stonework!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Cartouches of Akhenaten

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

Today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‡³ we are going to be looking at a fragment of a relief that has some gorgeous π“„€ hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ on it – the cartouches π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“·π“¦ of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ–!! This fragment is from present day Amarna, which during Akhenaten’s π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– rule was known as Akhetaten π“ˆŒπ“π“‰π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“Š–. Akhetaten π“ˆŒπ“π“‰π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“Š– translates to β€œHorizon of the Aten,” and Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– named it the capital of Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– during year five 𓏾 of his reign.Β 

Cartouches of Akhenaten
The Cartouches of Akhenaten on a fragment of a relief from the city of Akhetaten (The MET)

This relief is probably from after year five 𓏾 of his reign, just based off of the throne name variant that is used in the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! 

Let’s start from the top row of hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! We will start reading from the right since that is where the snake points to! This is a very popular phrase that you may recognize: 𓆖𓏙𓋹. This translates to β€œGiven 𓏙 Eternal 𓆖 Life π“‹Ή.” 

Under that, we are also going to start reading from the right since that is where the directional symbols point to! 

π“†₯ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt

π“‹Ή – Life

𓐝 – On

𓁧 – Maat (Truth)

π“ŽŸπ“‡Ώπ“‡Ώ – Lord of the Two Lands

π“‡³π“„€π“†£π“‡³π“¦π“Œ‘π“ˆ–- Neferkheperura-waenre which means “Beautiful are the Forms/Manifestations of Re, the Unique one of Re” (Akhenaten’s throne name)

On to the next set of hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! 

𓅭𓇳 – Son of Ra

π“‹Ή – Life

𓐝 – On

𓁧 – Maat (Truth)

π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– – Akhenaten (the β€œbirth name” variant, since Akhenaten’s actual birth name was Amenhotep (IV))

π“ŽŸπ“ˆπ“₯ – Lord of Appearances 

What always gets me is Akhenaten’s throne name of π“‡³π“„€π“†£π“‡³π“¦π“Œ‘π“ˆ–- Neferkheperura-waenre. This particular spelling of the throne name is only seen after he changed his given name from Amenhotep IV π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Š΅π“ŠΉπ“‹Ύπ“Œ€ to Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…žπ“π“ˆ–. The original spelling, before the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– change was β€œπ“œπ“„€π“†£π“¦π“‡³π“Œ‘π“ˆ–.” The name π“‚‹π“ˆ– is still pronounced the same and has the same meaning, but the falcon glyph π“œ was changed to just the sun disc 𓇳 (both pronounced Re/Ra).  Also, all of Akhenaten’s other names (Horus name, etc) underwent a change, to remove the other deities π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ, but this one didn’t. 

I wonder why Akhenaten didn’t change the throne name (π“‡³π“„€π“†£π“‡³π“¦π“Œ‘π“ˆ–) to represent the Aten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³, just like how all of his other names π“‚‹π“ˆ–π“¦ were changed. He also kept the title β€œSon of Ra 𓅭𓇳,” instead of changing it to an Aten-based title. There are probably some mysteries that we will never fully comprehend about this time period! 

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Book Recommendations Video

Video – “Hatshepsut” Book Review

It’s time for another book 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 review!

This book 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 on Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ is one of my absolute favorites that I have in my collection! My Nonno brought it for me in 2006 when we went to the β€œHatshepsut From Queen to Pharaoh” exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art! The book not only details the exhibition, but gives a lot of information about Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ! 

The MET has a beautiful π“„€ collection of artifacts from Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ reign, and this book does an incredible job of highlighting these important objects. 

While the book is out of print, you can get it used online or you can get it as a PDF from the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Publications website! The MET has a great program that provides free PDFs for their out of print books! I have gotten amazing books through their program – you should check it out!

I hope you enjoy and love this book as much as I do!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Ancient Egyptian Beads

I love ancient Egyptian jewelry 𓂝𓏏𓍒 – especially the beads 𓋴𓅓𓂧𓏏𓏯𓏸𓏦! One of the reasons I love it so much are the bright and beautiful 𓄀𓆑𓂋 colors! It always amazes me how these beautiful 𓄀𓆑𓂋 colors are probably just as bright today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‡³ as they were thousands 𓆼𓆼𓆼 of years ago!Β 

Ancient Egyptian Beads
An ancient Egyptian necklace that is displayed how it was found – just the beads, no string! These beads are dated to the reign of Amenhotep III (18th Dynasty) and are at the MET.

Fun fact: most of the necklaces π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“…±π“‹π“¦ that are displayed in museums have been re-strung because over time, the fine threading used to actually string the beads 𓋴𓅓𓂧𓏏𓏯𓏸𓏦 together decomposes or disintegrates, and just leaves the beads 𓋴𓅓𓂧𓏏𓏯𓏸𓏦 behind until they are found by archaeologists! 

These beads 𓋴𓅓𓂧𓏏𓏯𓏸𓏦 have not been restrung into a necklace π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“…±π“‹, instead they are displayed as they were found. I honestly don’t know which way I like better; the reconstructed necklaces π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“…±π“‹π“¦ that are restrung, or the necklaces π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“…±π“‹π“¦ displayed such as these! 

These beads 𓋴𓅓𓂧𓏏𓏯𓏸𓏦 were found at Amenhotep III’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Š΅π“‹Ύπ“‹† palace at Malqata and are dated to his reign π“‹Ύπ“ˆŽπ“.  The House of Rejoicing (the name of his palace) and the surrounding villages at Malqata were preserved really well, and it is considered to be one of the most best town sites preserved in Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–. 

Lets’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! See if you can spot this on the tiles/inlays on the top of the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏! 

π“‡³π“§π“Ž  – Nebmaatra (throne name for Amenhotep III)

𓅭𓇳 – Son of Ra

Do you like ancient Egyptian jewelry 𓂝𓏏𓍒? Let me know your favorite type!!Β