Tag: amenemhat ii

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Ancient Plagiarism – aka Usurping

This statue is very interesting because it was originally made for the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Amenemhat II π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“…“π“„‚π“ during the 12th π“Ž†π“» Dynasty. However if you look at the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ, the cartouches of Rameses II can be read! The pharaohs 𓉐𓉻π“₯ used to recycle statues all the time – this is a process known as usurping (taking one pharaoh’s monuments, erasing their name, and putting yours!). It’s kind of like ancient plagiarism!!

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

π“†₯(π“‡³π“„Šπ“§π“‡³π“‰π“ˆ–) King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Usermaatre
𓅭𓇳(π“©π“›π“ˆ˜π“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“) Son of Ra, Rameses

This statue is made of granodiorite, a type of volcanic (igneous) rock. It was quarried at Aswan and then transported up the Nile to Memphis, where it was sculpted.