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Egyptian Artifacts

Thutmosis III – The Greatest Pharaoh?

I have a very complex relationship with Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ (this is probably the first time youโ€™ve read that sentence)! Many people will probably not agree with me on this (thatโ€™s okay), but I think that Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ was Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– greatest pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป! He ruled ๐“‹พ Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– for 54 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“ฝ years, and was a very accomplished general ๐“€Ž๐“ฆ, having led troops into battle himself. Thutmosis III ๐“…๐“„ ๐“‹ด has been rumored to have never lost a battle!ย 

Thutmosis III - The Greatest Pharaoh?
Me with a limestone statue of Thutmosis III – was he the greatest pharaoh?

So why my complex feelings about Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ? It all has to do with Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช! Thutmosis III ๐“…๐“„ ๐“‹ด was only three ๐“ผ years old when his father Thutmosis II ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– passed away, and was a co-regent with Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช before she completely took over the throne. During her rule ๐“‹พ, Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ was a member of the military and gained valuable experience that allowed him to be such a successful pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. I believe that Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช successful rule set Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ up for his extremely successful reign. 

About 25 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“พ years after Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ death, Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ went on a campaign to have her statuary destroyed and her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– taken off of monuments ๐“ ๐“. No one knows why this occurred or the events that lead up to Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ doing this! This is where my complex feelings come in because Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is my absolute favorite pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป and I believe that she is also one of the greatest rulers that Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– ever had! 

I find this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ to be so beautiful ๐“„ค because the white ๐“Œ‰๐“†“๐“‡ณ limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ (it honestly looks like marble to me – but marble is metamorphosed limestone) contrasts so well with the black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ on the nemes ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด head cloth and the eyes ๐“น๐“ฆ. Some red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ can even still be seen on the Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— that is on Thutmosis IIIโ€™s ๐“…๐“„ ๐“‹ด forehead!

Thutmosis III - The Greatest Pharaoh?
White Limestone statue of the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Thutmosis III

The face of this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is not the original, it is a cast; the original face is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo! The MET then made a cast of the torso of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, and that is now at the Egyptian Museum as well! So each museum has a real part of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, and a cast of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ! The face and torso of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ were not found at the same time, hence why they ended up in different places! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Horus Name of Rameses II

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to be looking at the Horus Name for the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Rameses II! The Throne Name (๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–) and the Birth Name (๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“) usually appear more in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ so letโ€™s take a closer look at the Horus Name! 

The Horus Name is the oldest way that a pharaohโ€™s ๐“‰๐“‰ป name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– was written/identified and is one of five ๐“พ ways to write the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. 

The Horus Name consists of three elements: the palace facade ๐“Š, Horus the Falcon ๐“…ƒ standing on top of the palace ๐“Š, and the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป within the palace ๐“Š. The palace ๐“Š hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ is pronounced like โ€œserekhโ€ and some Egyptologists are now referring to the Horus Name as the Serekh Name. This was basically the early version of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท! 

Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ had a lot of different variations of his Horus Name, so letโ€™s take a look at the two ๐“ป that are pictured!ย 

Horus Name of Rameses II
Two variants of the Horus Name of Rameses II

๐“‚ก๐“ƒ’๐“›๐“Œบ – โ€œStrong Bull, Beloved of Raโ€

๐“‚ก๐“ƒ’๐“ง๐“Œบ – โ€œStrong Bull, Beloved of Maatโ€

โ€œStrong Bull ๐“‚ก๐“ƒ’โ€œ was a very popular way to start off the Horus Name for male pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ because bulls ๐“ƒ’๐“ƒ’๐“ƒ’ were a symbol of strength ๐“Œ€ and fertility, both of which are qualities that pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ wanted to have!

Letโ€™s break down the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– even further: 

๐“‚ก – Strong

๐“ƒ’ – Bull

๐“ง/๐“› – Maat/Ra

๐“Œบ – Beloved

Both variants of Rameses IIโ€™s Horus Name contain the shortened variants of certain words! 

๐“ง – Maat (๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง)

๐“› – Ra (๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“›)

๐“Œบ – Beloved (๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“‡Œ)

Variants can be tricky for those starting to learn hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, but with practice they become much easier – especially the shortened version of the words!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblog

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Hieroglyphs, Cursive Hieroglyphs and Hieratic

Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, Cursive Hieroglyphs and Hieratic?! There are so many ways to write the Egyptian Language! 

Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, the script everyone is most familiar with, was the first ๐“ƒ script used by the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช to write their language! There are well over 700 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ unique hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช and over 800 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ symbols if you count the variants! Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช were mainly used on temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ฅ, stelae ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ๐“ช, tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฅ, obelisks ๐“‰ถ๐“‰ถ๐“‰ถ, other funerary equipment  ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‹ด๐“๐“๐“Šญ such as sarcophagi ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ๐“ช and other objects of all kinds! 

Then there are Cursive Hieroglyphs which is also known as Hieroglyphic Book Hand! This was usually used on handwritten papyri ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“›๐“ฆ and was a less detailed version of the traditional hieroglyphic symbols. Cursive Hieroglyphs are easy to read because these symbols match their traditional hieroglyphic counterparts! 

Hieratic is a script that was used on papyri ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“›๐“ฆ and the symbols do not match their hieroglyphic counterparts! I cannot read Hieratic and I have found it quite difficult to learn! Plus the Hieratic symbols have evolved over time so they have changed a lot which only makes it more difficult!ย 

Hieroglyphs Cursive Hieroglyphs and Hieratic

This picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is from the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ of Imhotep at the MET and it shows Cursive Hieroglyphs (left) and Hieratic (right). I love how both scripts are used because you can really see the difference between the two! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

The Cartouches of Augustus

This picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is a look at one of the sunken reliefs on the Temple of Dendur at the MET! This relief shows Emperor Augustus wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“‹‘ standing before Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ.ย 

The Cartouches of Augustus
The Cartouches of Augustus – can you spot all three?

To me, what is most interesting though are the cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ of Augustus! Unlike the Greek rulers of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– that spelled out their names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ using phonogram symbols, Augustus went a different route when having his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– represented in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช. In this image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ you can see all three ๐“ผ of his cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ: 

๐“ˆŽ๐“‡Œ๐“Šƒ๐“‚‹๐“Šƒ๐“‹น๐“†– – (Kaisaros)

๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚‹ – (Autokrator)

๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“€€ – (Pharaoh (pr-ห3))

โ€œAutokratorโ€ is the Greek word for โ€œEmperor,โ€ โ€œKaisarosโ€ is the Greek word for โ€œCaesar,โ€ and โ€œpr-ห3โ€ is the Middle Egyptian word for โ€œpharaoh.โ€

In Middle Egyptian the word for pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป literally translates to โ€œGreat House.โ€œ This is a direct reference to the palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ where the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป resided during his/her rule. 

๐“‰ – House (pr)

๐“‰ป – Great (ห3)

The third cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท is the one I have always found so fascinating because it is literally the word for pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป in Middle Egyptian plus the male determinative sign ๐“€€. Most names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ (even when spelled out with phonograms) are followed by a determinative for a male ๐“€€ person or female ๐“ person. By choosing to have his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– depicted in this way, Augustus was literally calling himself the Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! 

Augustus chose to have various words for โ€œrulerโ€ as his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช. Again, this was probably a way to assert his power as the first Emperor of the Roman Empire. He didnโ€™t want anyone to question his right to rule! 

Can you spot three of Augustusโ€™ cartouches in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“? 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Ushabti of Amenhotep III

Yesterday ๐“‹ด๐“†‘๐“‡ณ we looked at a ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that belonged to Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–, and today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to examine a ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that belonged to his ๐“†‘ father ๐“‡‹๐“๐“€€, the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž !

Ushabti of Amenhotep III
An ebony wood Ushabti of Amenhotep III on display at the MET

This ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is made of ebony wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ and has glass ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ inlaid eyes ๐“น๐“๐“ฆ. The inlaid eyes ๐“น๐“๐“ฆ are a striking blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ and white which make this piece really stand out not only amongst other artifacts, but amongst other ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures too! 

This ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is a typical mummiform piece – the ushabti has its arms crossed over its chest, and at some point was probably holding a holding the crook ๐“‹พ and flail ๐“Œ… which have been lost in antiquity. The crown on its head has also been lost, which is a shame. I wonder what the crown would have been made of? 

The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are wonderfully preserved. The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are carved into the wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ, and then weโ€™re filled with paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ! I love how much the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช stand out against the ebony wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ – I think itโ€™s beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹! 

Can you spot Amenhotep IIIโ€™s birth name (๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“‹พ๐“‹†) and throne name (๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž ) on the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ? Let me know!!! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Ushabti Figure of Akhenaten

There are over 200 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures that belonged to Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– and some of them are on display at the MET! This particular Ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ Figure of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– though broken in half, has a wonderfully preserved face and partial inscription!

Ushabti Figure of Akhenaten
Ushabti Figure of Akhenaten on display at the MET

It seems strange that Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– would be buried with ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช because he completely changed the Egyptian religion from the traditional polytheistic worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข to the monotheistic worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ. This shows that while he did completely change Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– religion, some aspects of the old religion, such as belief in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰, did remain and persist throughout his rule ๐“‹พ.ย 

Most of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช are in various states of disarray. While most ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช contain standard inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ known as the โ€œshabti spellโ€ or โ€œshabti text,โ€ Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช only contain inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ of his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– and titles. Letโ€™s take a look at the partial inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ! 

You can see the inscription of โ€œ๐“†ฅ,โ€ which as we have learned previously can translate to โ€œHe of the Sedge and the Beeโ€ or โ€œKing of Upper and Lower Egypt.โ€ As we know, this is a very popular title to be seen before a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท! 

The โ€œ๐“‡ณโ€ in the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท is part of one of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– throne names, which would most likely be โ€œ๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“†ฃ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“Œก๐“ˆ–,โ€ since that is the only one of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– throne name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– variants that begins with a โ€œ๐“‡ณ.โ€

Even though โ€œ๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“†ฃ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“Œก๐“ˆ–โ€ translates to โ€œThe Beautiful One of the Manifestations of Ra, the Unique one of Ra,โ€ this variant was only seen after the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– change from Amenhotep IV ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“Œ€ to Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

King Sahure Accompanied by a Divine Figure

This beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ gneiss statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is called โ€œKing Sahure Accompanied by a Divine Figureโ€ and is on display at the MET!ย 

King Sahure Accompanied by a Divine Figure
King Sahure Accompanied by a Divine Figure

This is the only statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of the 5th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Sahure ๐“‡ณ๐“ƒƒ๐“…ฑ that exists – all other representations are on reliefs. We know that this is ๐“‡ณ๐“ƒƒ๐“…ฑ because his cartouches appear on the right side of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ! Sahure ๐“‡ณ๐“ƒƒ๐“…ฑ is wearing the nemes ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด headcloth and the false beard ๐“๐“ƒ€๐“Šƒ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ธ which is the usual fashion worn by the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป! 

The โ€œdivine figureโ€ that is standing next to Sahure ๐“‡ณ๐“ƒƒ๐“…ฑ on the left is a personification of the 5th Nome of Upper Egypt ๐“‡“ (later called the Coptite Nome). During the Old Kingdom, the nomes (or provinces) of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– were usually drawn as people! The โ€œdivine figureโ€ is offering the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Sahure ๐“‡ณ๐“ƒƒ๐“…ฑ an Ankh ๐“‹น. The โ€œdivine figureโ€ also has the โ€œdouble falcon emblem ๐“ˆบโ€ carved on his head, which was the nome standard! 

Something I love about this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is that it is made out of gneiss, which is one of my favorite rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ! Hereโ€™s a little geology lesson: Gneiss is a foliated metamorphic rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ which means that it was subjected to such extreme heat and pressure during its formation (probably due to mountain ๐“ˆ‹๐“…ณ building or plate tectonics), that the minerals ๐“‡‹๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ have separated into bands of light (felsic) and dark (mafic) colored minerals ๐“‡‹๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ! This gives gneiss a natural zebra-like appearance – can you spot the banding on the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ? 

Gebel el-Asr is the only quarry ๐“Ž›๐“๐“๐“‰ in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– where gneiss can be found, and gneiss was prized from the Predynastic to Middle Kingdoms for statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ making!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Video

Wooden Models of Meketre – Video

This video shows the Wooden Models of Meketre!

These wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ models were found in the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of the Royal Chief Steward Meketre who lived during the reign ๐“‹พ of Montuhotep II ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช and possibly Amenemhat I ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“„‚๐“ which was during the Middle Kingdom. Meketreโ€™s high status as an official ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“€€ is why he was able to afford so many wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ models and such an elaborate burial.ย 

The first wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ model is of a โ€œPorch and Garden ๐“Ž›๐“Šƒ๐“Šช๐“ˆˆโ€ that has a pool ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ‡ in the center that could have been potentially filled with water ๐“ˆ—!ย 

Wooden Models of Meketre
Porch and Garden Model from the tomb of Meketre

The second wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ model is of a bakeryย  ๐“‚๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ and brewery ๐“‚๐“๐“‰๐“Ž›๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“Š๐“ช.ย 

Wooden Models of Meketre
Model of a bakery and brewery from the tomb of Meketre

The third wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ model is of a granary ๐“Šš๐“๐“‰.

Wooden Models of Meketre
Model of a granary from the tomb of Meketre

The fourth wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ model is of a slaughterhouse. Cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ and geese ๐“Šƒ๐“‚‹๐“…ฌ๐“ฆ are being slaughtered by butchers, and dried out meat ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“†‘๐“„น can be seen hanging above them.ย 

Wooden Models of Meketre
Model of a slaughterhouse from the tomb of Meketre

The fifth wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ model is of a โ€œModel Cattle Stableโ€ in which workers are feeding cattle ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ in order to fatten them for slaughter.

Wooden Models of Meketre
Model of a cattle stable from the tomb of Meketre

There were 24 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“ฝ almost perfectly preserved models found in the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of Meketre. Half of the models are at the MET, while the other half are at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo!

This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

“The Opener of the Ways”

Whenever people see an Egyptian artifact that looks like a jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ, they think itโ€™s Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, however, there are other canine deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน in the Egyptian pantheon! This small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ depicts the god ๐“Šน Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง who was known as “The Opener of the Ways!”ย 

The Opener of the Ways
Small statue of the god Wepwawet at the MET

Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง is associated with Abydos ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“ˆ‹๐“Š– and is likely the oldest god ๐“Šน associated with the jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ! Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง has been depicted on objects that even pre-date the Narmer ๐“†ข๐“‹ Palette ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“†ฑ! Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง is associated with war and conquest, and leading ritual processions. 

Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง was depicted as either a jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ or a wolf ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“‡‹๐“ฒ๐“„› and one of the best ways to distinguish between Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง and Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is by looking for their names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช since they are artistically very similar looking! 

Another way to tell Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง and Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ apart is by how the jackal is standing: Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is usually shown in the recumbent position (๐“ƒข, ๐“ƒฃ, ๐“ƒค) while Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง is usually shown standing up (๐“ƒง, ๐“ƒจ).

Wepwawetโ€™s ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– translates to โ€œOpener of the Ways,โ€ which has many meanings. He was associated with clearing the path for the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ to rise in the sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ, clearing the way for the armies in battle, and clearing the path for the deceased to enter the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. Statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช of Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง were also carried in front of a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป during processions for this reason! 

Other variants of Wepwawetโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– include:

๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง

๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ข

๐“„‹๐“ˆ

๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ

๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ๐“€ญ

๐“ƒง

This piece is dated to the Late Periodโ€“Ptolemaic Period (c. 664โ€“30 B.C.E.). 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Steatite Wedjat Amulets

In relation to my post about the wedjat ๐“‚€ or the “Eye of Horus” from yesterday ๐“‹ด๐“†‘๐“‡ณ, I wanted to talk about these really small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ but cool steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ wedjat ๐“‚€ amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช! I love how detailed the wedjat ๐“‚€ is!ย It always amazes me how ancient Egyptian craftsman were able to make such small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ objects so detailed and beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹! It’s even more incredible that they have lasted in such great condition for thousands of years!

These steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ wedjat ๐“‚€ amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช are very similar to the steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช from the Hatshepsut ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“/Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ era of the 18th Dynasty! They are in the same display case as the steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช at the Metropolitan Museum of Art! Most would miss the fact that these amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช are not scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช!ย 

Steatite Wedjat Amulets
Steatite Wedjat Amulets with Hatshepsut’s throne name Maatkare inscribed on the back

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! This is a simple but great inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– to read! On the back of this amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†, Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช throne name, Maatkare ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ is written! 

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– – Amun

๐“Œป – Beloved

๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ – Maatkare (Truth ๐“ฆ is the Soul ๐“‚“ of Re ๐“‡ณ)

The full inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– reads โ€œBeloved of Amun, Maatkare.โ€ 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย