Tag: british museum

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Egyptian Artifacts

Head of Amenhotep III

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to speak some more about the very interesting the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“‹พ๐“‹† who ruled ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ during the 18th Dynasty!

Amenhotep III
Head of pharaoh Amenhotep III at the British Museum

Fun fact: more statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช exist of Amenhotep III ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“‹พ๐“‹† than of any other pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป (sorry Rameses II ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“) – over 250 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† have been currently identified. He was a prolific builder, undertaking many building projects at once and the largest statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช of himself stand over 60 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† feet tall – these are now known as the Colossi of Memnon. His reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ is considered to be peak prosperity – economically and artistically for Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–.ย 

Yesterday ๐“‹ด๐“†‘๐“‡ณ, I spoke how the Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช were made of black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ granodiorite ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“๐“ŠŒ to represent rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ. However, all statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช of Amenhotep III ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“‹พ๐“‹† himself were made of either red granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถ (like the one in this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“), or quartzite to represent his close connections to the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ god ๐“Šน Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“›, since these stones ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช๐“ช are much lighter in color. 

Amenhotep III ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“‹พ๐“‹† wanted to be associated with Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› and his other manifestations. He was often referred to as โ€œheir of Raโ€ or โ€œRaโ€™s chosen oneโ€ and even the โ€œEye of Raโ€ just like Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ herself – I guess the usual โ€œSon of Ra ๐“…ญ๐“‡ณโ€ wasnโ€™t enough for Amenhotep III ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“‹พ๐“‹†! Again, Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– was probably heavily influenced by his fatherโ€™s obsession with solar ๐“‡ณ deities  ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน which paved the way for Atenism. 

This particular statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ shows Amenhotep III ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“‹พ๐“‹† in a very youthful appearance. He is wearing both the white crown ๐“„ค๐“‹‘ of Upper Egypt ๐“‡“ and the red crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹” of Lower Egypt ๐“†ค with the characteristic Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— on the front of the crowns. This piece was found in the Temple of Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“ at Karnak. 

๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ ๐Ÿ“ธ by Nonno! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Amenhotep III and Sekhmet

I have spoken a lot about Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“, because she is my Nonnoโ€™s favorite goddess ๐“Šน๐“/religious figure in the Egyptian pantheon! Today we are going to look more into the Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช that can be found in museums all around the world ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ! These particular Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช I am with are at the British Museum, but there are a lot at The MET, Louvre, and Vatican Museums too!ย 

Amenhotep III and Sekhmet
Me with statues of Sekhmet, which were commissioned during the reign of pharaoh Amenhotep III at the British Museum.

During his reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“, the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“‹พ๐“‹† had over 730 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช of Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ made! That is almost two statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช for every ๐“ŽŸ day ๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“บ๐“‡ณ of the year! Most of the Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช you see that look like the ones in my picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ above are from this time period!

So why Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“? This is where stuff gets really interesting – Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ was often referred to as the โ€œEye of Ra,โ€ because she was created from the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ god ๐“Šน Raโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› eye ๐“น๐“๐“ค when he looked upon the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ. The obsession with solar deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน didnโ€™t just happen when Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– came to the throne – Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– was most likely influenced by his father ๐“‡‹๐“๐“€€, Amenhotep III ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“‹พ๐“‹†! The worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข of the god ๐“Šน Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› (and gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน like Sobek-Ra) hit its peak during the reign of Amenhotep III ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“‹พ๐“‹†. 

All of the statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช of Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ are made of black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ granodiorite ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“๐“ŠŒ, which is not just a coincidence! In ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, the color black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ was associated with rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ. These statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช were most likely connected to the jubilees ๐“Ž›๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“Žฑ๐“‡ณ๐“ช (The Heb Sed festival), and contain various epithets on them, such as: 

“The son of Ra Amenhotep, ruler of Thebes beloved of Sekhmet, the great, mistress of the sky, for eternity.”

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Egyptian Artifacts

Roman Sarcophagus

Even though Rome was the dominant power in the Mediterranean at the time, Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡ was determined to keep Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– independent of Rome.  However, with the defeat of Mac Antony by Augustus ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“€€ in battle, and the death of Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡ (the last Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, died by suicide c. 31 B.C.E.), Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– was conquered by the Romans. This made Augustus ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“€€ the first Roman Emperor. 

Traditionally, the Romans burned their dead and put their ashes in urns. However, in Roman Egypt, traditional Egyptian funerary practices persisted but adopted some Roman style! Nonno always pointed out the Roman influenced sarcophagi ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ๐“ช in museums because he thought it was so interesting that an image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ was on the coffin, instead of the traditional Egyptian “mask.” The painting of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ still functioned like a traditional Egyptian mask, however it was just more โ€œRomanโ€ in style.ย 

The mask could either serve as protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, or take the place of the body if the head was destroyed or lost. In the Egyptian religion, the body of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ needed to stay intact in order for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ to be transported to the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰/Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š–. This was the purpose of mummification – to preserve the body so both the Ka ๐“‚“ (soul) and the Ba ๐“…ก๐“บ(life force) would be able to recognize the body!

I think this sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ (from the second century AD) in particular is very interesting because it demonstrates a marriage of the two ๐“ป cultures.ย  The Roman influence is clearly seen, with the painted portrait of the deceased (and his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, Artemidorus below the portrait).ย 

However, the Egyptian gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน are present in gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ on the body of the sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ. Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ, Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ , and Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ are depicted. Iconic Egyptian imagery ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ such as the winged sun disk is located above the feet, while a traditional broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ is in gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ around the neck of the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ. 

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Hieroglyphs from the Abydos King List!

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

These beautiful ๐“„ค hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are from the Abydos King List at the British Museum. There are two ๐“ป surviving King Lists from temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ช at Abydos, the cult center of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. One temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ is from Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ , and the other from his son ๐“…ญ Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Šƒ, who were both pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ during the 19th Dynasty. Seti Iโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  list is still in the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Abydos, while Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Šƒ was excavated and brought to the British Museum.ย 

While the two ๐“ป lists were very similar, Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Šƒ had more rows to accommodate the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ so it appears to be shorter. There are three ๐“ผ rows of cartouches on the remaining limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ relief – the upper two ๐“ป rows contain the cartouches of earlier pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ, while the bottom row shows Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Šƒ throne name and birth name alternating – this is the part we will be reading today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! We are going to start from the right!

๐“…“๐“‚ž๐“‚ž – By Permission Of

๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ – Son of Ra

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Šƒ – Rameses II, Beloved of Amun (birth name)

๐“…“๐“‚ž๐“‚ž – By Permission Of

๐“†ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt

๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– Rameses II (โ€œUsermaatreโ€ throne name)

๐“…“๐“‚ž๐“‚ž – By Permission Of

๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ – Son of Ra

๐“ฉ๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ – Rameses II (birth name variant)

โ€œBy Permission Of ๐“…“๐“‚ž๐“‚žโ€ is meant to signify that Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– commissioned the creation of this King List! Itโ€™s also cool how different variants of the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– were used throughout the relief!

The point of the King Lists was not to preserve history for future generations, rather the main objective was to glorify the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, and as we know, pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ were considered gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน on Earth. These lists allowed Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  and Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Šƒ to assert their legitimacy amongst the old pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Boat of Mutemwia

This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is dedicated to Mutemwia ๐“๐“…๐“…“๐“Šž who was a minor wife ๐“‚‘๐“๐“ of Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ and mother ๐“…๐“๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž .ย 

This statue was originally meant to show Mutemwia ๐“๐“…๐“…“๐“Šž on a sacred boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž(her body has been broken off). The boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž has the goddess Hathor ๐“‰ก on the front. The sides of the boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž are inscribed with the name and titles of Mutemwia ๐“๐“…๐“…“๐“Šž along with a carving of the Wedjat ๐“‚€. Cartouches showing the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ of Mutemwia ๐“๐“…๐“…“๐“Šž and Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  are also inscribed on the boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž. 

Mutemwia ๐“๐“…๐“…“๐“Šž held many titles such as the โ€œGreat Kingโ€™s Wife His Beloved ๐“‡“๐“๐“๐“ˆž๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“๐“ˆ˜๐“†‘,โ€ โ€œLady of the Two Lands ๐“Ž›๐“Œ๐“๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ,โ€ โ€œGodโ€™s Mother ๐“Šน๐“…,โ€ and โ€œKingโ€™s Mother ๐“‡“๐“….โ€ The latter two titles mean the same thing – since the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป (Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž ) was a god ๐“Šน on Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ. 

Something interesting though that these titles listed above were only used after the death of Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ. It seems that Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  elevated his motherโ€™s ๐“…๐“๐“ status when he became the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. In the Luxor Temple, Mutemwia ๐“๐“…๐“…“๐“Šž is depicted in the reliefs of the divine birth of Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  – and these reliefs are almost an exact copy of the ones from the divine birth of Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช at Deir el-Bahri ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹๐“‚ฆ๐“ฅ๐“‰. 

The boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž is made of the rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ granodiorite, which is an igneous (volcanic) rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ that is kind of the mix of both granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ and diorite. Granodiorite is an intrusive rock, meaning it formed underground, which also makes it a very strong and durable piece of material! 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Large Scarab at the British Museum

This is definitely the largest scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ that I have ever seen!ย  I was shocked when I saw just how big it was in the British Museum! I have honestly never seen anything like it in any of the other museums I have visited!

This scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ represented Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€ญ. Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€ญ the god ๐“Šน that was associated with the โ€œrising of the sun ๐“…ƒ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญโ€ (these hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช translate to โ€œsun at dawnโ€) and thus he is associated with life ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“ and rebirth. Scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช were extremely popular as amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช, and were considered to have the strongest ๐“„‡๐“๐“‚๐“ญ protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ powers. 

The โ€œscarab beetle ๐“†ฃโ€ hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ symbol is a determinative, ideogram and phonogram symbol! It is associated with the sound แธซpr (like โ€œKheperโ€) is also used to write the words “evolve,โ€ โ€œmanifestation,โ€ and “become.”

From a geologic perspective, this scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ is made of the rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ diorite.  Diorite is an intrusive igneous rock (meaning it forms underground from the solidification of magma). Diorite is an extremely durable rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ (one of the strongest found on Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ), and is comparable to granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ in terms of strength and method of formation.  

However, diorite usually doesn’t contain a lot quartz ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“ˆ™, a very strong ๐“„‡๐“๐“‚๐“ญ mineral which is abundant in granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ, hence the difference between the two ๐“ป rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ. One of the reasons why this scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ is so well preserved, is probably due to the strength of the diorite!  Diorite, like granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ, was usually mined by the Egyptians in Aswan ๐“‹ด๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“ฒ๐“Œ•๐“Š–

As you all know, ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– is one of my biggest passions, however I actually have degrees in Earth and Environmental science! I love combining my passions for Egyptian history and geology together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—! 

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Blog Egyptian Artifacts

“Wonderful Things”

โ€œWonderful Things.โ€ย 

That quote is from Howard Carter when he first peered into the tombย ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ย of Tutankhamunย ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“. Honestly, every time I walk through a museum all I can think is โ€œWonderful Thingsโ€ – I feel like that sums up my feelings pretty well!ย 

While I have posted this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ before, it is one of my absolute favorites and one of the many wonderful things that I have seen! This is my Nonno and I with Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ at the British Museum! I am posting this again because today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ is the 100 ๐“ฒ year anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰! 

As a child (and even now) I love the story about howย Tutankhamunโ€™sย ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ย tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ย was discovered! The funerary mask, Anubisย ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃย shrine, cartouche box, and so many of the other artifacts in the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ completely fascinated me and definitely played a part in me becoming so interested in ancient Egyptย ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–ย as a child. I have my Nonno to thank for telling me about Tutankhamunย ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ย and for encouraging my love and fascination with Egyptian history!ย 

In this particular statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ is wearing the nemes head cloth ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด, false beard, and broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹. These are all very common things for pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ to wear to represent themselves as pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, which Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ felt he needed to do in order to legitimize his rule ๐“‹พ. The bottom part of the statue is ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ decorated with lotus flowers ๐“†ธ๐“ช and papyrus reeds ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Rosetta Stone Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to the deciphering of Egyptian Hieroglyphsย ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Seeing the Rosetta Stone in person was a dream come true for me!ย 

Jean-Franรงois Champollion was just a teenager in September 1822 when he discovered how to read hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช based off of the Rosetta Stone! The Rosetta Stone is actually a decree issued by priests ๐“Šน๐“›๐“ช in 196 B.C.E. that affirmed the cult of Ptolemy V ๐“Šช๐“๐“ฏ๐“ƒญ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“‹ด. Identical decrees were supposed to be placed in every temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–!

During the Christian period in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, the use of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช began to wane and finally disappeared at the beginning of the 4th Century. The Rosetta Stone contains three ๐“ผ languages ๐“‚‹๐“ฆ: Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, Greek and Demotic. Since Greek was a known language ๐“‚‹๐“บ, scholars began to try to use the Greek section of the Rosetta Stone to translate the portion in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช. 

Thomas Young was the first person to show that the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in the cartouche (๐“Šช๐“๐“ฏ๐“ƒญ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“‹ด) actually spelled out โ€œPtolemy,โ€ however, Champollion gets the credit for deciphering hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช because he showed that the phonetic symbols were also used for Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ and not just foreign names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ. With his extensive knowledge of Coptic, Champollion was able to begin reading the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช fully! 

I am thankful for the early works of scholars like Champollion because I would not be reading hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช without it! 

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Mislabeled Canopic Jars

These canopic jars are very famous pieces from the British Museum! Any time you read a book on mummification or Egyptian funerary practices, these canopic jars will make an appearance! The first book on Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– my Nonno ever gave me was Carol Andrewsโ€™ book on the mummies at the British Museum, and of course these canopic jars were in the book! It was so exciting to see them in person! However, these are โ€œdummyโ€ canopic jars; they arenโ€™t even totally hollow inside so they definitely werenโ€™t used during the mummification process. 

But thatโ€™s not what is the most interesting here; whatโ€™s most interesting is in the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Each canopic jar has a lid that represents one of the Four Sons of Horus. Each one has the task of protecting a specific organย ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„นย of the deceased!ย 

From the left: 

-Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘๐“€ญ (falcon head) held the intestines ๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฎ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ผ

-Imseti ๐“‡‹๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“ฟ๐“€ญ (human head) held the liver ๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„น๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ธ

-Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ๐“€ญ (baboon head) held the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ

-Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘๐“€ญ (jackal head) held the stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป

Now, if you take a closer look at the inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the jars – Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘๐“€ญ is labeled with Duamutefโ€™s ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘๐“€ญ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– and vice versa! 

Iโ€™m not sure if it is an ancient mistake or a mistake by the museum! Iโ€™m always so amused when I come across stuff like this!

The inscription above the names is a common one that we have gone over before:

๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ– – Words Spoken By

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“Šน – Osiris (the symbol for โ€œgod ๐“Šนโ€ is used as the determinative here instead of the usual โ€œ๐“€ญโ€ – I love seeing variation)!!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Thutmosis I

Thutmosis I ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ (or ๐“…๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด) was the third ๐“ผ pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of the 18th Dynasty. His name ๐“…๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด means โ€œBorn of Thoth.โ€ Thutmosis I ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ was responsible for many successful military campaigns and building projects, including additions to the Temple of Amun at Karnak. Though, in my opinion, Thutmosis Iโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ most notable achievement is being Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช father ๐“‡‹๐“๐“€€!

This statue is in the British Museum! I dream of going back to the British Museum one day – I was lucky enough to be able to go there twice on my trip to London, and even luckier that I got to explore the museum with my Nonno๐Ÿ’œ.