How to Read

Egyptian HieroglyphsA STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO TEACH YOURSELF

Mark Collier and Bill Manley

New illustrations by Richard Parkinson

University of California Press

Berkeley Los Angeles London

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Contents

Introduction vii

Chapter I Hieroglyphs

§ 1 lt ltr '1d uCli<tn 1

§2 Reading h ie roglyp h s 2

§ 3 Tra llsl itl'r ati oll 2

§4 1-cons on ant signs 2

§5 Arra n geme nt of signs .J

§6 Dete rm in atives: mean ing-signs

§7 Dire ct iOIl of writin g 6

§S qi a nd 1- II' an d plurals 8

§9 " " Uns

§ 10 Adje ctive s 10

fxacises 10

Chapter 2 More u ses of hieroglyphs

§ ll 2-con son ant signs 15

§ 12 , -col15on ant signs J7

§ 13 Ideogram s: s' lu lld- m e.1ning ; iglls 17

t:i 14 Varia n t w ritings 18

§ I 5 Wri t ing th e pl ur a l J<)

§16 =" lib, 'a il, cver v. .my' and

=" 11/', 'lo rd, master' J<}

§ I; RUy.1l na mes a:..I tu les 20

!j III Roval epithers 21

§19 Da tiug 21

Churt {If r,'y ,11 J.VJt.1' tIL~S 2':

E'(crclSrS 2 3

Ch a p t e r 3 Special wr it ings

§2 0 Ahl rrcvi a : ion s 32

§2 ! Ch a nge of ord er: spacillg 32

§22 Change of ord er : prest ige 33

§23 Defect ive o r stra nge writings 34

§ 24 Titles 34

§25 Epithets 35

§26 Th e .:fferin g form ula 35

§27 The genitive 39

t :q,l'priall fwu rary deities 40

Exercise, .J3

Chapter 4 Scenes and capt ions

§28 C1pti,) m : the m lin irivc 49

§2 9 Aduration 50

§ , 0 Verb classes an d th e tutm irivc 50

§" The [,1f1) lS o f th e inf in itive 5.2

Till' cult ofCh iris at Abydo: 5.J

Ch a p ter 5 Descript ion

§ >2 tn rroduruou: descripti'1n 65

§B Th e pas t: slim,,, r=j ) 65

~ ,4 Aux ilin ric~ 66

§ 35 Oru isviot: o f th e first perso n s lIffix

pro uuuu 07'

~ 'b Suffix PT d IWl111 <; 67

~, 7 'The lM')l rcl .u ivc [o rm : .'; J 111 t . J1 (~J) 68

About the Iront cover 126

Egyptian-English vocabulary 151

The aim of th is book is 10 enable you to read and e njo y the h ieroglyph sa nd the langu age of ancient Egypt. It is ch iefly aimed at th ose who ha vehad no previous experience of reading h ieroglyphs, bu t shou ld also ben­efit others who w ould like to im prove their knowled ge in line w ith con­temporary research . Above all, this is a practical guide: from the ver ybeginning yo u will be in tro duced 10 genuine hieroglyphic text s. with fullsu ppo rting exp lan at ions and study aid s. In or de r to do this, we have con ­centrated on monuments in the British Museum, in particular the ste lae(or funera ry im criptions) of Egypt ian officials, as well as coffin s, rombscenes, and the famou s Abydos King -list of Ram esses II. Each ch apterintroduces you to a new feature of the hie rogl yphic script o r the la nguage,and ends with copies of inscriptions on which you can pr actise your skills .

We believe thi s approach ha s a number o l advantages.Firs t. by reading gen uine anci en t inscri ptio ns from the first lesson ,

you can build up your familiarity with the tricks of the trade: everyth in ghere (fro m individ ual signs to whole inscriptions) is typi cal of the kind ofmonuments displayed , no t just in the Bri tish Museum, bu t in m use um sthroughout the world. Secondly, by reading th ese monuments, we hopeyou will feel a real sense of achievement at each sta ge of the book.Th irdly, con centrating on a coher e nt group of monuments W1]] allow u sto raise so m e im po rt ant topics - suc h as the ro le of Osiris, god of the dead,and the Mysteries cele brated at hi s cult ce ntre. Abyd os - which will helpyo u to u nde rsta nd th e cu ltural backgro u nd of these monumel1ls.

Rather tha n cra m m ing in unnecessary derail . w e will give youplem v of pr acti ce in reading hieroglyphs, and introduce yo u to the mostcommon fea tures o r th e ancient Egypt ian langu age as it appea rs on thesemonuments. Th is will give you a firm basis on which 10 buil d, if yO ll latermove on to stud y other genr es of the we alth of te xts whi ch surv ives from

an cient Egypt -literature, religiou s wisdom. royal de cree s, or whateve r.Th is book has developed a lit of a course wh ich we have been teach ­

ing sinc e 1992. It wa s clear to US back the n tha t the exis ting introductionsto ancient Egyptian were either 100 bri ef or 100 det ailed , and th at there

Introduction

1_ ,,~

I7~

"

Bibliog raphy a nd furt her reading

Key to the exercises 16::

Index

Refer ence tables

Verb forms 144

Pronouns, nouns and adjectives 148

HIerog lyp hic sign-lists for t he exercises

I I- consonant signs 127

II Somc common 2-consonant signs ;21

111 SOniC common 3-collsonall! signs ill

IV Som e conunon ideograms 128

V Full sign list 129

§54 The' appeal W llte living t i :

§5) Wishes. expect.'tions and reqnesis:

the tuiurc s4m( ~fJ 1;·1

§56 The Abydos formnla 114

§57 Pur pose and cau sar iou ! 15

§5S :'-:egaiioll 115

§59 for ms of th e srlmly-!" an d the futur e

s!f.m (~.') n Ǥ60 Adjectives in -y 117

Exercises J J9

Chapter 8 Th e future

§53 The s4mty.fy rOflll II I

Cha pter 7 Char acterisation

§44 Adjectives 93

§45 Adjectives used as nouns 94

§40 Participles 94

§47 Participles and epithets 95

§48 Participles as nouns 96

§49 CharaClerisalion with ~ ink 96

§50 Passive pan iciples 98

§5 1 ill + n oun + participle :nO§52 Relative Iorms again lOu

Midd!" Kinyd,'m titles luI

Exercises 104

Names and ki nship terms 69

Chap ter 6 Further aspec ts of descr ip tion

§ 38 CantinUJI:Oll SO

§ 39 Negalion 81

§40 Making someone do

",met hing 82

§41 Depcndent pronou ns 82

§42 The present tense 83

§43 Other things going on 84

Exercises 85

vii i How 10 read E.qypli an iIie,,',qlyphs

studying at home. We have taught the course in vanou s guises for seve r­al gro ups and insti tu tio ns: the Unive rsity of London Cen tre for Ext ra­Mural $1udtes. the Egypt Exploration Societ y. the Universit y of Glasgow.th e Workers Edu cational Associa tion. the Sussex Egyptol ogy Societ y andthe Tha mes Valley Egyptological Society at the University of Rea ding . Atthe Bloomsbu ry Summer School in part icu lar. we have had the chance 10

introduce people to hiero glyphs in the ho t-house of a single. conce ntrar­ed wee k of study. This book OWl' S a great deal 10 the constr uctive feedbackof the studen ts at all these ven ues . wh o have helped us (som eti mes forcedus' ) to re fine and clari fy the text. and as a resul t it is muc h cleare r andmore accessible . Although it woul d be impossible 10 ac knowledge somany by name . we are immensely gra teful 10 each and eve ryone of themfor the ir en th usiasm and feedback. and for encouraging US in our beliefth at th is hook - and the approach it embodies - is a worthwhile project.

In developing th is projec t into book form. we h ave ha d the good for ­tune to be able 10 draw on the kn owled ge a nd sup por t of many peop le.At the British Museum, Vivian Davi es. Keeper of Egyptian Antiqui ties .first brou ght th e project to th e a ttention of British Museum Pre ss. andencour aged us 10 ma ke use of Richar d Parkinson 's expert ise in copyi nghier oglyph ic mo nume nts: Stephen Quir ke freely shared his conside rableknowledge of Middle Kingdom officialdom. as well as encouragement andthe first round of drinks: as noted. I'll' are especially grateful to Rich ardParkin son lo r hi s outs tanding line dra wi ngs. At Bloom sbu ry Su mme rSch ool. we would like to thank th e Director. Christopher Coleman. whoallowed LIS carte blanc he 10 develop lan guage course s. and a lso hisadmirab le staff for diligen tly keeping us all (tu tor s and stu de n ts) alive.Seve ra l colleagu es have helped us to teac h hieroglyph s at the School:Ludwig Mo renz. Toby Wilkinson. and especially Jose-Ramon Perez­Accino , who is now a regu lar partner in o ur teaching. At the Univ e rsityof Lon don Cent re for Extra -Mural Stu dies. our grateful thank s are due to

Tony Legge and Lesley Han nigan. who allowed us th e freedom 10 dev el ­op the cou rse as I'll' Si\W fit. and also to Louise Lam be. Ma rk drafted hiscontrib u tions to the boo k wh ile a resident Fellow at All Souls College .Oxford. and completed th em afte r h is appo intment to the Schoo l ofArchaeology. Classics and Oriental Stu dies. Unive rsity of Liverp ool; hewould like to ackn owledge the sup port o f both these institution s. Hiswork on th e language sections of the hook has deve loped in tandem withhis comprehensive undergradua te grammar course. tntrodu ction to Middl e

f.:qyptiml . whic h will be published sepa rately.We arc gra tefu l to the stal! of the British Mu seum Press. not least for

agreeing to take on such a complex book ; above all our editor. CarolynJones . for he r de dicati on and good h umour in dealing with su ch a

Int rodu ai on

demanding project . We would specially like to thank Nigel Strudwick forundert ak ing th e Eng lish and Eg~'Ptia n type settin g. and Helen Stru dwic kfor correcting proofs in Nigel's abse nce . Finally our than ks are due to

Mark Mechan . wh o prepared the map of Abydo s on page 55.It is customary to ad d a fina l word about part ners. nut in th e present

case our love and gen uine heartfelt th anks a rt' due 10 our wive s. Joan neTimpson an d Kathy McFall . who have put LIp with us, and th is pro ject. fora long time . In part icular. Joa n ne. as well as toping with the a rrival ofOliver and a preoccupi ed husba nd. still fou nd t ime to com men t on the

fina l dra ft.

Ma rk CollierBill Manley

ix

The pu rpose of this book is 10 show you jus: h ow this is done ,

t.h apter J

wat e r-pot

' f h ave been roast tug since th ebeginning of rime - I have neve r

see n ihe like of this goo se'(Meir Ill, pI. 23)

<:::;-::> mou th:it scale d mart

§ 1 IntroductionHieroglyphs a n ' pictures used as signs in writ in g. Man y depict living crea ­iures o r objec ts (o r the ir pan s):

7 r mou th

And . as yo u might expect , some signs rep rese nt the object th ey dep ict . So.for exa mple, the mouth -sign -=--> is used 10 write the word for mouth , usu­ally in combination wli h a stroke -sign (see § 13 belo w for ihi s sign ):

Hieroglyphs

However, ver y few wo rds a re act ual ly wrinen in ihis way . Inste ad. hiero ­glyphic pio ur e -sigu s a re used to convey the sound (and meaning) of th ean cient Egyptian lan guage, just as th e letters of our own alphabet con ve yihe sou nds o f Eng lish . So. for exa mple. ihe hie roglyph s abov e ibe figureroastin g the goo se do not read ' reed. ch ick. ma ti, face ' eic.. which ma kes nosense; rat h er, ihey co nvey ihe sounds of var iou s words in Egyptian whichtoge ther have the following mea ning:

The lin e drawings of ih e stelae re- produced in th is book were drawn byRicha rd Par kinson, Department of Egyptian Ant iquities , British Mu se um .The sce nes from ihe Middle Kingdo m iombs .n Me ir ar e from A.M.Blackm an, The Rock Tom bs of Mm . vols I and 11. Egypt Expl or ati on Societ y.Londo n 19 14 an d 1915; we ar e graieful to ih e Society [or permission 10

reprodu ce rhem . The ph oiographs on pages 31. 44 . 63. 64. 108 a nd 125a re suppli ed court esy o f th e Tru stees of the British Museum . C Briti shMuseum Photograp hic Service. Ma rk Meeh an prepa red th e map of Abyd oson page 55.

Illustrations

Auth ors' note: Due 10 refurbish ment wo rk a1 the British Museum during199 7 -8. it has not alwa ys bee n possible for the auth ors 10 collate theirown copies again st ihe orig ina l monument s.

§4 t-consonant signsIt is now tim e to get yo u started readin g hicr oglvnhs for vourself. The m ost

§2 Reading hieroglyphsHow then ca n hi erog lyp hs be read to show us something of the sou nd of ananci ent Egyptian word ? The easiest way to sec thi s is throu gh look in g at areal e xample . Th e sign n depicts a schematic house (in plan) a nd is used to

w rite th e word fo r 'ho use ' as fo llows ( I is th e strok e -sign al ready noted

above):

§3 TransliterationIn th e last section we rendered L( in to our writing system as proIt is thenormal pr actice am ong Egyp tologists to transliterate the sounds of a h iero­glyp hic w ord in thi s wa y. It is a very good discipline to get used to thi s rightfrom th e beginning and we en courage you alw ays to transliterat e whenreading . The on ly rea l oddity abou t thi s is th at hieroglyphs ar e not us ed to

wri te vowels (a, e. i . 0 , u ), on ly conso na nt s; a ltho ugh thi s wi ll seem a bit

strange at first. yo u sho u ld soo n get used to it.

3

d

sh

tj

g

k

k

d

k

k

9

Hieroglyphs

Li

==

=

SIGN TRAN'S- SAYLIT.

kh

kh

n

h

m

hh

h

n

m

TRAN S - SAYur.

~ o r _

SIGN

w / u

it a

y

b

p

b

p

f

y

IV

TRANS- SAYirr.

o

~

444or \\

} orl:'

J

--' like trying to say 'ah ' while -= b like German 'ig !'swallowing. Made byclenching the throat muscles:to imitate, say 'eto ' wi th = t as in '.illip'finger on throat

~glottal stop, like Cockney

~back k. made furthe r back

'bo'::le' for 'bottle' LJ in the mouth

j ~temphatic h. made in the llke qunc'th roat

0 like Scot tish 'loW' '( Iilike French 'dieu or

€> English 'lok~

SIGN

Each l -consonant sign repre sents a disnnci sou nd in th e ancien t Egyp tian

cont ribu tes a single sound towards the reading of a word, rather like th e let ­

ter s of o ur own alp hab et:

We shall co nce nt ra te here on the reading of these signs . If you wish to iden ­tify the objec ts the signs depic t. consu lt the fu ll sign-list begin n ing on p. 129 .

The proper valu e of ea ch sign is the transllteranon value given in thesecond co lumn; th e th ird column simply give s a w ay in which we, as Englishspea kers, can voc a lise these signs fo r our own co nve n ience .

Most of these sounds resemble their En glish cou nt erparts and ca n betransliterated dir ectly int o familiar letters from our ow n alphabet. Howe ver,som e l-cons onant sign s ar e used to represent so u nds not pre sent in spo ke nor written English , and th ese require specially a dap ted transl iterat ion sym ­

bols of th eir own:

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

In thi s word , n is no longer bein g used to depict a hou se, but rather to

'pictu re : the sou nd combinati on pr (this is discussed in Cha pter 2) . Put moreformally, n is being used as a sound-sign or phonogram. This is termed th erebus principle; it is as if we were to write th e Eng lish word belief wi tlt a pic­ture of a bee and a leaf as ..~ . On thi s basis hieroglyphs can be used lO

in dica te sounds rather than things and can thus be used in words quite unre­lated in meaning to th e objects they depict.

Th e word n Jj pr, 'go out', also displays an other tWOsign s w ho se use

will be explainedmore fully lat er. The mouth-sign <r> reads r as it did in~r 'mou th ' , althoug h it has not hing to do with 'mou th ' here, be ing usedinst ead to complement or clarif y the reading of n pr (this is discussed inChapter 2 ). The walking legs Jj are used as a determinative, a sign sometimesplaced at th e end of a word to give a genera l idea of iTS meaning, here of

moti on (see §6 below ).

C( pr house

As it happens, thi s word is ba sed on th e tw o consonants p and r combinedto give proWe shall discuss the way the a ncient Egyptian word is put in to ourown wr iting system - how it is transliterated - in §§3 and 4 below . Now, th e reis another word which make s use of th e same sound combination p and r.the word for 'go out' , ' leave". In hier oglyphs thi s is written as:

~ Jj pr go out, leave

2

Purely for our own con venience we cou ld pronounce th is 'apedu'.

§5 Arrangement of signsIt may alre ad y have str uck you, from looking at the exa mples discu ssed sofar, that hieroglyph s ar e not arrang ed one afte r the oth er as in our ownalpha betic system, but in balanced groups or 'blocks' arra nged to fill theava ilable space. In part icular, some signs are placed ov er othe rs in ord er to

fill the spa ce in a mo re plea sing manner. As an exam ple , here is th e name ofthe official Senbi (Sl/bi) fru rn Exercise 1.8 on p. 13:

'- ~11-<-, J

The nam e is writt en from left to righ t, sta rting with the s (I) . But notice ih arthe signs making up the na me are group ed together, so that the 11 (2), as along thin sign, is placed ab ove both th e tall thin signs fm b (3) and I (4).form ing a hlock. The rule for such arra ngements is quite simple: wh en you

inclu de all th e va rious dot s and da she s wh en trauslitcraung - th ey ar e notoptional. In translile rat ion you shou ld use ih c proper symbo l given in th esecond column of ihe table on p. 3. This is tr ue eve n if we find it difficult to

tell the diffe rence between tw o sounds . For exampl e. k and k are quite dif­Icrcru sounds in Egypt ian, even though disting uishing between th em israther difficult for us as English speake rs.

The re is no need to tr y an d pron ounce ancie ru Egyptian words exactl y(in any case this is imp ossible, since tile vowels are no t written ant for us ).However, it is useful 10 be able to read out yo ur translite ra tions and vocalisewh ole words, rather than spelling iheru out sign by sign. So, a purel y con­verniona l pronuncia tion, ent irely for our convenience, is usua lly ado pted .These are th e renderings given in the third column in the table on p. 3.Man y signs have value s simila r to lette rs of our own alp hab et an d presentno problem, whe reas the more un usual one s arc usua llv given a convenientEnglish approxima tion. We also need to add vowels. The convention nor­mall y ad opt ed is to insert an ' e' between ea ch con sonant , except in the casesof J and -, where 'a' is u sed, and '.1', w here 'u is some times used beca use the yare easier to pro no unce . Once aga in, th ese pronu nciations are pur ely a prac­tical con venience an d are not intended to bear any relat ion to spoke nEgypt ian . For example, the follow ing is tile word for 'birds' , ipd w (a wri tingdiscussed in §8) , given with its transliteration and its English meaning:

~~~ ~ .~ ipdw birds

5Hieroglyphs

:it man and his occupations ~ ma nkJ. I

t51 god, king -~'C'> • skr (ihe god) Saker-cz»

0 sun, light. lime ~}0 !lrw day

.f'. motion ru~j.J) h sb send

s, small bird used for bad,JQ~ bill bad. evil

weak or lillie things

@ iown. village LlQr@ kls Qis (place-name)

At th is point, yvil may wish tc attemp t Exercises 1.1 and 1.2 <'1l PI', to -I I.

Q f ~ n is call our. summon

I)eterminatives do not con tribute to the sounds of th e word and so are nottransliterated . From our point of view, th ey simply help US to get some gen­era l idea of the me aning of a word. A large n um ber of signs can be used asdere rnunati ves. but for two reason s thi s Iact sho uld not get in yo ur wa y.First . as already m ent ioned, we do not tr an sliter ate detcrrninattvc s. so theydo not need 10 be at the centre of your att ention. especially early on in yourstud ies. Seco nd ly, in th e inscription s yo u will be reading in thi s book det er­minaiivcs are quite frequ ently omitted . Howe ver, if yo u a re bothe red by aparticular deter minative, consu lt the fnll sign -list beginning on p. 129 .

Two oth er common deterrninati ves req uire a little more de scription .~ (not 10 be confused with :it 'ma n' ) is the mean ing -sign used with w ord sfor what can be taken in or expelled through th e mo uth, either literally (ea t­ing, speaking) or metaphoricall y (em ot ions, attitude s. thinking) as well asthe rele vant activities conne cted with th ese, for exam ple:

§6 Determinatives: meaning-signsSo far we have stu d ied words writteu ou t with sou nd-signs alone. Howe ver,in hieroglyph ic wr iting words a re so me times written wit h mea nin g-signs, ordetemlinan'ves, placed at th e end of the word afte r th e sound-signs . The fol­lowin g are examples of some com mo n deterrnina tives an d words written

with them:

and then carry on as nonna!. You will see a number of exam ples of group ingthroughout the rest of this chapter. Yon may wis h io read this paragraphagain whe n readin g §7 on th e dire ction of wr iting.

H,'\\' ((1 read Fgypti,m hieroalyphs4

AI this point. you may wish 10attempt Exercise ].3on p. 11.

7Hieroglyphs

Offe ring scene from thetomb of Senbi at Me ir

(read from right to left )(Me ir I. pI. 9)

c:::J 80/ J \

3 I

In thi s case, the inscription is fitted in to th e space surro unding the figure.The overa ll direction of writing is indicated bes t by the foot -sign (10): to readinto the from of this sign we need to read from right to left, the direction wewould also need to look in to th e face of th e accompa nying figure. Vertically,we a lways read from top to bottom (see §5 ab ove), so th e text begin s at thetop right. The first three signs read horizontally above th e top of the forelegof beef ca rried by the figure . Th e rem aining signs th en read down the col­umn, but still from righ t to left within each block, as indicat ed by nos 4 · 13.You may well recognise the na me of Senbi discu ssed in §5 above . Compa reth e right · to- le ft wri ting of this na me (nos 8- 11) w ith the left- to-right order­ing given in §5 (taken from another inscripti on in Senbi's to mb) . To in crea seyo ur co n fide nce in thi s skill, a full vocabu lary for thi s inscription is provid edat th e end of this chapte r. so tha t yo u ca n pra ctise reading it for yourself.

As an example read ing from left to righ t. we can lo ok on ce more at theinscript ion we use d to introduce this book , show n on p. 8 wit h the orde r of

ticul ar , th ey often Iorm ed a fundamental pa rt of the ae sth et ic scheme of amonument . Alth ough we sha ll con tin ue to p resent the hie roglyp hs in left­to- righ t o rde r wi thin the text of this book, when yo u stu dy real ex am ples ofinsc riptio ns , these may well be organised from right to left (th is is in fac t th emore usu al directio n ) and poss ibly in colum n s. Fort unately, th er e is a verysim ple trick to reading hieroglyp hs in the right o rder:

Read into thefroIII orfaces of the various signs, and from above 10 below.

Put another wa y, signs normally loo k tow ard s th e beginning of th e te xt .So, if we look at the following scene. the hieroglyphs a re to be read in

the order numbered. Notice that th e orientation of a figure helps, part icu­larl y when the re are not many signs with a clear 'front' :

4),}1 i llv adoration, praise

How 10 read Egyplian hieroglyphs

~),}~ fi ll' old, the old

6

- n .,t,. individual, ordinary man, person"l l'jf..l!f nds (from root meaning 'little, small'}

~,~ IJI thingts)

The word fJ l is often written w ith the plura l strokes I I I (see §8 below) ,although it is not itself a plura l word . Noti ce th at , for reasons of spacing, thepapyrus roll can be positioned ei ther hori zontally or ve rt ically - yo u will findth at a numb er of long thi n signs can be arranged like th is.

Som et imes a word ca n have m ore than one de termi nat ive :

Having a det erm in at lve thus gives us a second w ay of getting at a word_ a general clue as to its m eaning . Th is has the advantage th at we can distin ­guish between two word s written with the same sou nd-s igns :

On e important word often written with the papyrus roll determinative is:

The mos t common determinati ve. however, is ~, th e papyrus ro ll, u sed forabstract words or concepts. Alth ough su ch words could Dot easily be re pre ­se nt ed by a picture. the y could be written down, for e xa mple on papyrus,thus acquiring a tangi ble ph ysical fonn . This writt en form cou ld then bedepicted in the shape of the rolled -up pa pyrus sheet:

r1 ~ S1!b health. healthy

n~~ siJ r counsel, plan, conduct. manner

k il' or k il' \l. roast

§7 Direction of writing50 far. we hav e ordered the h ieroglyphs following our ow n syste m of w rit­ing, i.e . wr itin g th em in lin es fro m le ft to right. However. hieroglyphs were

As we sh all see in Ch apt er 2, th ere are othe r fea tures of the h ieroglyphicscrip t whi ch tend to ensure that differ ent words are w ritt en differ entl y ev enwhen th ey share the sam e sound s.

In practice, however. as on the monumental in scription s we shall bestudy ing in thi s book, de terrninat ives ar e oft en omitted . Fo r e xample, inExercise 1.2 yo u are aske d to tr anslit era te the followi ng words (fro m th ero asting scene in § I) without dererminauves. They a re sho w n her e along ­side ex am ples with a determinati ve :

~~?~ Jpd bird, fowl

9Hieroglyphs

2 st woman'it I ) man

~ m in. with , from, as Q~ in hy

11 toj war ds) tpeople). for J ~ loll' with,,~

<a> to twards) rplacc t. a r

indicate the plural. th e -wending is often simply left out of the writing (a ndtransliterated in brackets), leaving a m ore com pa ct grou p of h ieroglyphs:

§9 N o unsLea rn ing to read h ie roglyp hs is, however. on ly o n e pa rt of readin g a h iero­glyphic in scription, esp eciall y if yo u aspire to making rea l progre ss with yo urs tudies. Since h ie roglyphs were used by th e a n cient Egyp tians to write downthei r own language, it is n eces sary to build up a familiarity wi th h ow wordsar e pu t toge th er in Egyp tian . Through out th is bo ok, we will in tro du ce youstep by ste p to th e most common features of ancie n t Egyptian w hich you a relikel y to mee t in th e sort of inscrip tio ns stud ied he re , Some of the waysEgyp tian works ar c rathe r like Eng lish, and so will see m qu ite n ormal to

you, but som e of its fea tures ar e n ot as we would expect fro m En glish , andwill need a little more discu ssion and thought.

As a sta rt ing point, it is u sefu l to k now so me thin g a bout nouns inEgyptian (nouns are the words typically used to refer to pe ople, objects,living th in gs an d th e like). In Egyptian , all nouns are t rea ted as being eith ermasculine or feminin e, even if th ere is n o obviou s rea son (to us ) wh y thissh ould be the case; you may be fa milia r with a sim ila r convention in French.Fortunately, this d istin ction is ve ry ea sy to Spo t in ancient Egyp tian, sin cefeminine nouns alm ost alw ays end in <:> - L, whereas m asculine nouns ra relydo . For example :

Also th ere are no special words for ' th e ' or 'a ' in classical Egyptian and so'l! I S 'man ' ca n mean eith er ' a man ' o r ' th e m an ' (although one or the o th eroften suggests itself in transla tion into Engl ish ).

On e feature of Egyp tian which is rather like En glish is the usc of pr ep­ositions iwo rds which are 'p re-posed ', or put before, o th ers) to in dica teloca tions (in ' ). directions ('towards ' ), tim es ('d ur ing' ), accomp animent(' With ') and how things are done ('b y' ). As in Engli sh , th e sim plestpreposi tions tend to be very short words and are wri tt en wi th I- co nsona ntsigns :

~' .

Me} (

flow IL' read Egyptian hieroglyphs8

In this example, there a re two ro ws ot inscript ion s. an upper on ewhich is read fir st and a lowe r one, read se cond . Notice , once again , tha t thehieroglyphs have been fined aro u nd the figure. So, Line I reads from left to

righ t horizonta lly (rea ding into th e fac e of the chi ck, the sea ted man, th e ow lan d the bird in flight) an d the n at th e end turns the corn er, as it w ere, dr op­ping down to fini sh in a co lumn with nos 13- 15. As with our w riting sys tem ,we the n ret u rn to th e sta n of th e ne xt line and read a lo ng once more (in tothe face of signs suc h as the seat ed man and the chick).

As these examples also indi cate, hieroglyphic signs were placed in acontinuous seq ue n ce wi th out an y pu nc tuation marks or word spacings. Nodou bt thi s will see m quite intimidating at first, but we hope to sho w you byexam ple th at. as you bec om e familiar with the script an d gain a gr asp ofu sef ul words. thi s is nothing like as bad as it might see m . Exercise 1.8 (seepp, 13- 14 ) will give you fun her practice in thi s skill.

§8 1/a n d } wan d pluralsHieroglyphic writ in g is quite econ omical. Along with vow els, the conso­nant s ~ i and } ware often om itted in w riting, except a t th e beginning ofword s. This is parti cularly tru e for grammatical ending s. For example, theplur al is in dicated by a -w cnding (just as it is typ ically in dica ted in En glishby adding '-s', as in 'bird ', 'birds') ; th is is som etimes fully written out, bu tmore often the -IV is omitted. The word for 'bird ' (singu lar ) is:

For o u r convenienc e thi s w ord can be sou nde d 'aped ' .Th is is made plural by a dd ing on a -w, A plural determinative of th ree

str ok es I , i is a lso usuallv added. Since the de termi native I I , su ffices to

Exercises

II

goose

Hekel

Sebek or Sobek

Hieroglyphs

bad, evil

name

roast

Ptah

Anubis

individual. ordinaryman, person

festival

Aten

~8 Ra or Re ~ Seker or Soker

'Sobek' and 'Saker' are usually rendered with an 'a' because of the Greekforms of these names. There is nothing of importance in this traditionalpractice.

Many readers of this book will be familiar with the famous pharaohAkhenaten. his wife Nefertiti. and Akhenaten's innovative religious pro­gramme centred on the solar disc, the Aten. In hieroglyphs, the Aten iswritten as follows. Once again, try to transliterate:

1.3 Gods' namesThe names of certain gods are typically written with I-consonant signs.Transliterate the following. Once again, the traditional English renderingwill help to guide you in most cases (although 'Anubis' is derived from aGreek version of the god's name - 'Inpu' or 'Anpu' might be a more conven­tional rendering into English). Remember to use the proper transliterationsymbols from the second column in the table in §4. Any unfamilar sign(such as the seated dog) is a determinative and so not to be transliterated:

1.2 Words from the roasting sceneIn the roasting scene used in our introduction, some words are written outwith I-consonant signs. Transliterate the following and see if you can isolatethe words in the original scene in § I:

'Aten. like 'Anubis', shows the alternative conventional use of 'a' for initialI (Tten: would be the other way of pronouncing this word in English).

1.4 Transliterating wordsTransliterate the following words written with I-consonant signs and deter­minatives (any sign which is not a I-consonant sign is a determinative andneed not be transliterated);

to the houser pr

in snbi by Senbi

Khufu

LJ=1

:].J~~ 51 bini the/an evil woman

in the house

How to read Egyptian hieroqlyphs

1!t IJ~3i-. s bin the/an evil man

n snbi for Senbi

10

For example:

~C( m pr

Like adjectives, pn and tn follow their noun and agree with,it.iAn exampleclthis occurs in the inscription used at the beginning of this book, where thetext ends with the phrase 'this goose':

§lO AdjectivesAn adjective is a word used to describe a noun, to give it a particular prop­erty or quality (e.g. 'a stupid man', 'a clever woman'). The distinctivefeature about adjectives in Egyptian is that they follow their nouns and alsothey agree with the noun - if the noun is feminine and ends in -L, then sodoes the adjective:

-=- 3;>~ srw pn this goose

iJ pn ihls (masc.) In this (fern.)

The word for 'this' behaves in a similar manner:

1,1 Kings' namesYou are now in a position to read the names of several Old Kingdom kings.First here is the name of the famous builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza,who'is usually known by a Greek adaptation of his name as 'Cheeps'. Inhieroglyphs his name is written as follows (we have given you a conven­tional rendering in English afterwards to guide you in your transliteration;for the use of the name-ring or cartouche see p. 20):

!~}-~~Here are two further names of Old Kingdom kings. The first is one of

two names of a 5th dynasty king, Djedkare Isesi. Which is given here? Thesecond is a name shared by two kings of the 6th dynasty;

(11-= y', f~O ~'j.~=cJ) , IA

13

for the ka ofI

b. . I

Sen I (na me) ;

Hieroqlyphs

n ki n

snbi

VOCABULAR Y

rhe j ust ified k!J

foreleg (o f ox USl'O nin o fferin g! l'1'j

The sce ne on p, 12 was u sed to illu stra te th e use o f h ierog lyphs w ritt en in

right -t o -le ft order in §7 a bo ve . Ha ve a go at tr ansla ting the cap tio n w ith t hehel p o f ihc vo cabu lary pr o vided a nd the o rde ri ng o f the signs given in §7.(Th e co n te xt of the scene is that th e figu re is offering the for eleg of a sla ugh ­

tered bu ll 10 th e to m b owner Senbi: ih e inscri pnon relates h is spcerh .} This

ex e rcise is useful in illu strating a co u ple of ot her points as well. Fir st , th ese

a re d ra w ings o f re a l hie ro glyphs found on the wall of the to m b of Sen b i a n d

nOI the viandard hi croglvphs of a font such a s tha t used in thi s book (rec a ll

ho w Eng lish wnuen le t te rs di ffer a little from sta nda rd lype Iom s) . This is

rea lly just a m atter of ge tt ing u sed to v ari ab ility. particula rly in th e infill of

sig ns - use the vo ca bu lary p rovide d to see the standa rd hi e ro glyp hs . Sec­

on dly, the inscrip tion contains w ords wr itten in other ways than with 1­cons o n ant signs which yo u will n ot be ab le to read thro ugh at presen t.

In stead . use a 'cut -and -pa ste ' approach. re lyin g o n us to iso late th e co rrectgrou ps of hieroglyphs in th e voca bulary and to give their co rr ect reading and

m eani ng. Yo u sho uld JUSt ' cu t -a nd -paste ' the rel evant groups in to yo ur

translations. By the end o f i he ne xt cha p te r. even these w ord s should beclear to you.

tmr -hrw is use d like our own R.LP as a phrase re ferri ng to t he blessed dead:

offerin gs a re made to the ka- spiri t o f the dec eased.)

Not e the int eraction o f an a n d text in th is example. where rhe foreleg

is an int egral pa rt o f the sce n e, but als o serves as the determinati ve of the

w ord IIp.( (it can be ' rea d ' a t the co rrect poi nt o f th e in script ion at the e nd of

the word fo r fo re leg \.

Th is inscri p t ion co m es from the Mi d dle Kin gdo m to m bs at Mc ir, the

ce m ete ry site for Qis. the principal to w n o f the 14t h Upper Egyptia n nome

(p ro vin ce ). We sha ll m ake us e o f ihese to m bs. part icularly th at of rhe gov­

er n o r Scnbi, for sce nes to su pplem e nt your study of th e M idd le Kin gdo m

s te lae in the British :\l u seu m .

1.8 Study exercise: A [ish inq and fo wling sceneTra nslite ra te an d translate the label s above the scen e on p. 14 using the

vocabula ry a nd n otes be low the picture .

I '-~--" '-~l-" -- !J-' n.-v--- - · _..__._._. .----- - -_._- -

Io~= bps: c::::J

fish

go north.go do wn strcarn

alabaste r

Poker (place-name.see p. 55 )

shoou ng. spe aring

d

h

c::=J 80

g (v.) sea l. dose: (n .) a/ th e seal

krst C burial

!J em

~r~lftt~J

~=rJ~

staff

for eleg (join! o f mealused in offering s)

sky

garment

thro wing (the throwsuck in fowling scenes )

How I<' read Egyptiall hieroqlyphs

sr 13} offid al

ar Y'" fall

\ ~119J,-<,_" I

12

1.7 Translati ng tile offe ring scene

1.6 Trans lationTransliteratr an d translate th e foll owing phrases:

1.5 Writin g out words in hieroglyphsWrite o u t the following words in h ie ro glyp hs usin g the determinative su p­

plied . Re member to a rr a ng e th e h ie ro glyphs iruo groups as noted in § 5 above:

SIGN EX... MPI.E SIGN EXAMPLE

- = r

=~\~' I

great, )r. bt )r. t bsk servantlarge

3&, 3&, grea t.:;;: ~

love,wr wr im portan t "'Z. mr mr want=

nb ~~7 it nblord ,

pr ;:: .f.l go out= master n r r

2 hs U:M hspraise, ill " !J' thousandfavour A !.

The aim of this chapter is to introduceyou ro the 2·con,;onan ran d s-consonant siq ns,

which provide much ofthe sub tlety and flexibility of rlre hierogly phicscript. Ir will a lso

supply yo u with the informa tion needed to read the names ofmriou,;famous kings of

ancien t Egypt. including the names on the Abydos kina -list ill the British Museum .

Chapter 2

§11 2-conso nant sign sThe second major gro up of signs are th e 2-consona nt signs, which contrib­uie tw o consonants 10 the read ing of a wor d. We have already seen anexample in th e use of the 2-consonant sign n p r in th e wor d n.IJ pr 'go(out)' . The 2-consonant signs are rather com mon - over cighty~e used inthis book - and becom ing famili a r with the m repre sents the major hurd le to

be overcome in reading hieroglyph s. The sign -list on p. 128 gives a table ofthe most comm on 2·con sonant signs used in the inscri ptions studied . andwe shall a lso in trod uce several at a time in the vocabularies to the va riousexercises to allow yo u to become familia r wi th them in convenient num­ber s. The following are som e com mo n examples of 2-con sonant signs to getyou started, a long with some com mon wor ds in wh ich the y occur (in cludi ngpr again so th at you can see how the table works):

More uses of hieroglyphs

Conside r the word bsk 'se rvant' , ln its most basic form, the word is huil t upthrough using th e 2'COJlSonant sign 5r- hi followed hy the t -rnn sonan t sign'=' k , w hich togethe r give the read ing of th e word as bsk (it may also be fin -

:r ''"' I

I

'?~ g l

fbF' 1i~' LI~-/

I ~

I

14 How to read Egypriall hieroqlyphs

16

th e word refers to ~ per so n ). No lic, ' ho w th is ~ i \'es a mort' visua lly di stinctive

writ ing for the word th a n if it were simply w ritten out wi th I- conson antsigns . Alt h ou gh w e mi gh t view th e numbe r of 2-Cc1ll 50Jlam ,i gns as rath er

forbidd ing, it i s no thing compared to the cnu rruous number of w ords whichany language coniaius. By having a mixed syste m in w hich th ey ca n he w rit­

te n w ith differing com bm anons of h ie ro glyphs, w ord s ta ke on more

di stin ct ive and memorab le w rit ings than if they were sim ply written o ut inan .Ilphabl"l-li ke system (think of the dilli cultivv of En glish spcIling ").

The secon d no ticeable poin t in the w ritin g of so me of th ese words is

that I -co ns on ant signs often occ u r as sound comp lem ents flesh in g out th erea din g of a 2- co nsonaJ1l sign , he lp in g to jog the m em ory, as it were, about

its read in g. Th er e is a sim ple rule about thi s: if a I-con sonant sign sha res thesa me value as a n acc om panying 2 -co n so nan t sign . then thi s I -co nsonant

sign is not read a s ~ se pa rate so u nd. So , if w e look at~ .J', aga in , we read prand not prr even though it is w ritten wi th [J pr + <z> r. beca us e co= r jogs

our m e m ory abou t the r of proIf . however. the j- con so naiu sign ha s a different valu e [rom th e

sou n ds of an accompan ying 2 -co nson an t sign , then it sh ou ld be read as a

sepa rat e so un d . So , if we look at the w ord 5r i bsk, then the I -consonantsign,=, k must be n -ad separately. sinc e the sign 5r only reads /)1 on its

own . So read btk ,From our point of vie w, th is m ight seem an u n necessa rily complex

w ay to go abou t w riting words, b ut th e re a re a n umber of ad vant age s. Fo rex ample, such a system provides the flexibility 1O be able 1O write words inblocks as noted in §5 . More impo rta n tly, it allows a go od deal of flcxibili tv

in th e act ual choice of signs u sed; th is was particularl y useful in view of thefact th at m ost h ie ro glyphic in scr iptions w ere written on fixed an d infl exible

surfaces such as sto ne.Suppose th at we hav e two insrriptious. each with a dHferent -sized

sp ace left at the end of a line, and we wis h to write the word luk: ' sen' an l' in

eac h of th ese spaces. The h icr oglvph ic svstcrn all ows liS a convenie nt andelegant way out of o ur problem . In the srualk-r spa ce we can write hs): as it

is writt en in the tab le a bo ve : ~ ':;z; . III the larger space , we could include a.. .Jr hsou n d-co mplem ent JB, fleshing out th e J of th e hi-s ign an d thus fill the

sligh tly larger spa ce : 5r .~ 'it' . , . .Th e two w ords readjust the same, th ey arc JUSt 'spclt out slightlv di l-

Iercn tlv. Words in hiewglyplIic writing, th erefore. do not have one sing le

co rr ect spelli ng but arc rat he r ' clast ic' and can he cont racted or ex pandedthrou gh . for exam ple, the inclusion or omissio n of so u nd -complements .Fortunately, we ca n lea ve it 10 thr ancient Egyptians to do all the spe lling [or

us - the im po rta nt point [or us is just to be aware of the Hcx ibilitv of the

17

§ 12 3- consonanl si gns

TI1<' fin al maj or group of sound- signs a rc the 3-co n sollant sign s, w hich co n ­tribute th ree conson ant s to th e reading of a word . 3·con son ant sign s a re alsooften a ccompanied bv one or two 1-o1l1sonant signs as so un d complcmcms

helping to flesh ow the reading o f thr sign . Then- ar e far fi-wvr of these signs

and a lso man y o f th em are eruhlemarir - tlI ,' \' arc used o n lv ill certa in wordsand an' oft en ronne r u -ri to. or com e to DC' el;1hlc-ms for, tll'e words in w hichthey a rc used . Per ha ps the m ost fa mous ex ample o f th ese signs is 1- ' 11[1,

'an kh', used in th e word for 'life ':

SIG~ EXAM PLE SIG I' r:XANIPLE

1- ' Ilil ,, - ('n[I life 1 1~=strung,

To It ) r w5r powerful

t nf r 1"- nfr good I 11fT I I ntr god'" ~~->

"""= !lIp ="= htprest,

til I;rr g I;pr become0 0 satisfy

mr: =:~ n Bf'true, right.

im \' !} ~ hrw voiceproper

Th e two words 1111' and [trw ha ve already been m et in th e phrase mr- h rw' tr ue of voice ' or 'j ustified' . Th is, as already noted , is a co m mo n e pithetbestowed on the blessed dead (w h ose con du ct has been judged before t he

gods to be true ) an d is u sed a fte r t he names of the decea sed in a sim ila rmanner to o ur R.I.P. I > is a z -consonant sign readi ng 1111) :

2'~~ !~ mr -hrw tru e of voice, ju stified

You ha ve encou nt e red this in m o re co n dense d writing s. (Se c furthe r § 14 onp. 18 bel ow. )

§ 13 Ideograms: so u n d- me a ni ng signsThe final signs to he looked at in th is chapter are the so un d -m ean ing sig ns

(idcogr.nus} w hic h combine so u nd and meaning and which come rlo sest to

our ow n preco n cep tions of ho w a pict u re- script sh ou ld w o rk:

\7 ib hca n mouth

---! arm ? r: the sunI

. - pr hou vr <;> !tr fan 'i

As tht' examples ind icate, these sign s are oftell fo llowed bv i w hich hel ps to1 ~ : _ .I. I:" L• • • 1. " :~L " • _ _ •._ .. __ ~ . •.•• " , 11 ~" .. . , . : _ .. ~ l~ _ . " • • 1• . ,., • • ,', . I,_, ~ _. ' " , __ ~ r

mean t; it also serv es as a space hile r to gin' a convenient gro u ping of the

signs. A fuller list of ideoj<rams is give n on Pl' · 128 -129 .So und -II1eaning signs ca n be acco m pa nied by so und co m plemeI1ls o r

der c rminat ivcs:

§ 14 Variant writingsHieroglyphs a re w ritten in gr oups, accommodatin g ae slhetic considerationsand th e limi ts of ph ysical space by lIsing d iffer ing com binations of sign s. Fo r

th ese rea son s, words can be writt en in a number of dif ferent ways. Forexample, we have a lrea dy encou ntere d the ph rase Ime-Lznv 'tru e of voice' or

'justified' in a number of different w rit in gs:

19Mort' uses ojhieroqlyphs

=- I1b all, every, any

~~~ ill nbt every thing

§1 6 C/ nb ' a ll, every, any' and =- nb 'lord, master'Th ere arc two import a nt words which can be wri tten alike. Th e firs t i s thw ord for 'all' , 'ever y ' or 'any ': e

IJrl> T or ~J r~ Jll>swor !l b;'( w} d Olhes

Another way of wri ting the plura l is for a sign to be repe ate d three tim es:

~ t stw) lands

Th is method is rarer in practice, al though it is fav oured for certa in w or dssuch a s II(W ) ' la nds '. "

Egyptian also sho ws a restricted use of a d ua l en ding: msc. ~ S\ -wv andfern . c.\\ -t y (in d ica tiug tw o of som ething ). but t his is common on ly' w ithrhi ngs w h ich tend to co me in pa irs:

I"'.'!?' ' uy arms ~ tmy the two lands (Egypt: Delta and Valley)

tlwy is wri tt en by re peating tw o sign s, like the second plural m ethod notedabove.

§ 15 Writing the plural (see also Refe ren ce ta ble on p. 149)Th e m os t corruuon wa y o f w riting the plural has already been discu ssed in§8 above. It IS tvpica llv w ritten with plura l stro kes ( . a t d• , . . ' . ' .' "1 I ma y or ma y not~ lJ ow a -w sound -SIgn (m the latte r case, a IV is added to the tran sliter ationIII bra ckets fo r con ven ien ce ):

=. I1b 'a ll every ' b h her Ii ..' ' any , e a ves ra t er like an adjective (sec § I 0 ): it followsthe n ou n It goes WIth and, like an adje ctive , agree s wi th i t:

=- also occu rs in another comrnnn word , th e word I1b meanine ' lo rd''maste r' hi I . . e- o r, w I C I, m liS most abbrevi at ed form . is written sim p ly:

"-.'7 Il l> lord . master

Fortunately , when I1b m eans ' lord ' or 'm aste r' i t comes fir st in expres sion s:

<z:»rJ~ lib Ib.fw lo rd of Abydos

(Sec Exercise 2.2 fo r tbd w .Ab vdos")

• •So the rule .is quite simp le: wh en I1b comes second in its phrase (a rid

agrees with the first noun ) the n it is the word nb " II ev e ' r whcn i. . u , ry, any ; w en It

rr)l nf'~ nr' l In 11 .... nhr::J ~ f' . 11 j~ th,... word 11h ' l ou t m a xte-r '

",,- \\" 1> pu re, pnc stc c.. rnpt yea r

r ~ =;

Ir

¢1~ sdm hea r ; 11 land:IT

How tc read Fgyptian Ili erL'-iJ1yplls

As already no ted , we ca n safely leave it to the ancient Egypt ia ns to sh ow ushow it sho uld be done. We ne ed only be aware th at va ria nt spelling is a per­

fectly normal fea tu re of hieroglyphic writing.However. it is wort h no ting tha t 'spe llin g' is const rained by co nvention

and tr ad ition within fairly str ict limi ts. So , even though m l ' -tlnV is writt ennut in a n umber of d iffe rent ways, the re are usu ally distiucuve and recog­

nisable ele ment s to the phrase (in thi s case == and! ). Furthermore, bytradition , nil ' is n ever found written nut wi th 1-con son ant signs as* ~~,---" n il' (* is the sy mbol for 'n ot found' ); rath er th e ra nge o f 's pe ll­

ing ' of ms: co ncerns wh ether = 1111' w a s writt en al on g wit h> ml as aso und cOlllp k m en t (often co mbined into .jp ). and pe rhaps a lso with ot he rso und com plem enls in diffe rin g combin atillns, to sui t aest heti c and phy sical

cllns ide ra tillns.

This u sag e of signs illust ra tes an import ant po int for using this book .Although you may be able to ' spe ll out ' a couple of th e w ords given in thi s

section , most of them w ill n ot be immedia tely read able (you sh ould, how ­eve r, ra pid ly grow u sed to reading Q as \V'b. tor exa mple ). The refore ween courage yo u to focus on words as a w h ole, rather th an tr ying to puzz leth ro ugh th e use of every single sign from first princip les, We will do th ework for you by supplying yo u with words in the format used in th e tableabove: hieroglyphic writin g followed by transliteration and translation. Ifyo u concen tra te on whol e words as opposed to single s ign s, you sh o u ld fin d

th a t you m ake faster pro gres s in read ing .

18

~ Sf- ffi ~ hr rnh-ms»: the Horus Ankhme sut

21

It of

lord of I lIt-' ) \, \, 0 lands

~ f,r u nder

Mort' USt'Sof hieroqlyphs

JIb tnvy

{o rnpt-sp regnoI yea r

11 ltm person

mi r' like Re

'1* ntr nlt the perko god

~~.r:: R. i.j dt r nhh end urin gly and repeat edlyJ;.;;. ~ A (for ever and eternity)

On the written or der of the phrase till r: 'like Re' . vou may wish to lookahead to §22 in the ne xt chapter. .

A co uple o f other tit les o[ th e kinu u vpica llv arcompanving th 'a rc : ' . ' . f- < pracnnrncn )

hm is used to refer ind irectly to the king .Egyptian n u m beri ng is de cimal, brok en up in to te ns and un its. Th e

ten s ~ re reckoned by repetition of the sign n (so nnn = 30 ) a nd the units byrepetltt ~)u of I (so 1111= 4 ). Consi der the following exam ple (here vear 28 ofking Nin iaatrc Amcncmhct Ill ) which show s how the fornl~ la is puttoget her and how the num bering syste m works:

§ 18 Royal epithetsThe kings name and tit les a re usually as sociated wi th a number of epi the ts.Among the most common arc epithets co nnected with life:

1-~ 'n !! <ir Jiving cnduringlv ~t di ' n tr given Jife

often extended :

§19 D atingD~tes we~e recorded in ancient Egvpt accord in g to the reg n al year o f thercrgrn n g king an d no t by some abso lu te dating system like Rei AD . Th e dat in gformula ha s a fixed and regular for m based arou nd the following word s,along with the names, titles and ep ithets of the kin g and th e nu m b f vof his reign: e r 0 year s

Til t' date in the lunette of HAl EA 82 7:

l oU;' e n I t~:0;C:~1.'2";::->t <z> ~ __ ., . . ·,_~~ ,.G~)T~(

B,\ l FA ~27 : rnpt-sp 28 tr r hm 11nsw -btty (m -mr t-r: <n h dlReg_nal year 2~ und er.lh e person of the ki~g of Upper and Lower

Egypt "mwatrt' In-'ll g cnd uringlv

ia n the tit le and epithets of the king, see the previous paragraphs. On t he

~~nouche na me of th e ki ng himsel f. St 'l' Exercise 2 .7 o n pp, 26-2 7. The 1/ o [" . . \ ' .' . . \ ,

th e king ur Upper and Low er EgyptKheperkare

How TO read EHyptl<m hieroglyphs

The nomen, or secon d canollche -name. is th e kiug's own bin h na m e a ndmigh t be co mmo n to other members of the dynasty . It is al so the n ame byw hi ch scholars n ow ada ys refer to the kings : ln-ncc we have Semvosret I,

1I, and III in th e 12th dy nasty. Th e n u m bers a re a m odern convention anddo n ot occur in t lte ancient na m es. Th e n om en is typically introdu ced bythe ~ 51 r: ti tle 'so u of Rc ' - i.e . th e king as th e he ir ol th e su n- god Re on

earth . The nomen of Senwosret I is:

(Se e Exercise 2.7 o n pp. 26-27 [or th e rea din gs of the cartouche na mes

themselves, and the or deri n g of the signs.)

The ot h e r tWO com m on n ames are wri tt en in cart ouches (name- ring s). Th epraenomen. or first canou che- name (a na me as signed on th e kings acces­sion ), follows the r.~ nsw -bity ti tle 'king of the d uali ties' , 'd ua l king' - i.e .the k ing as ruler of the duali tie s which composed the Egyptian world : Upperand Lower Egypt ; de sert and cu ltiva tio n; th e h uman a nd th e d ivine . It hasbe en tra ditiona l to focus on th e d ivision of Egypt into the Nile Valley and th eDelt a a nd to translat e this title as ' king of Upper a nd Lowe r Egypt' . Th e

praenomen of Senwosret [ is:

§ 17 Ro yal names and titlesOne o f the prin cipal gnab of this chapter is to eq uip vuu to read the namesof the ki ngs o! Egypt. lu rhe next lew pa ragraph s. we will dea l wi th some ofth e backgro und ab out ru yalnames. focusing on the titles. ep ithels and th eda ting for mula. In the Exe rcises to this chapter. we sh all set you loo se on the

names u] the kings themselves .The king in ancient Egypt had an elabora te mu lary ma de up of his

n am es. titles an d epithe ts . Prom the Old Kingdom o nwa rds . each king ha dfive n am es. of which three a re panicu larly com mon on mo nu ment s (theo the r two _ the ' tWO ladi es' and the 'golden Horus' na mes - are used less

often ). The three common names arc the Horus name and the names co n­

tai ned in carlouches - the praenorn en and the n omen.The Horus name designates the king as the god Horus. th e so n a nd suc ­

cessor of Osiris (for w hom. see pp. 40 -42 ). The name is int ro duced by the

fa lcon ~ hr. As an exam ple th e Horus na me of senwosrei [ is:

20

.b ut r nr V wr 'Z mr nb U k,

--or 1 ' r > m' nor ;=~ br (,.,j ,f ll/

' "WI r-; ffi ms ~ S' ~ Jd

b. J·cv!lStmanr s(qns

The fo llo w ing J -collso na m signs we re imroduo 'd ill the main text above.\Vrite out a nd lea rn the se stgns a nd the lollowtng comm on words rhev occurin, lI sin~ th e o ppo rru n u v 10 follo w th e use (If so u n d -co rup le rne n rs and

determinillives.

2.1 SignsThe followin g are a Ii!<lt uf signs III llc used in the Exe rcisr-s. Thev arc wort h

m em orisin g iwrni ng them ou t is a good \'\-' J~' of fa mil ia ristug Yl;ursclf w ul t

th cm i .

Exercises

t1. 1 ·l.'om O/ la Il15(qllS

Some IIf 11Il.'S C s i~n orcur i ll th e wor d cxr- rciws lrelo w: o thers wi ll l« - of lisewhe n ~ t l1 dy ing kings' names in Excn'is es 2.7 an d 2.8:

1- "nlj f ";; "11; life "' wsr ' r= u'.\" r [nrwerf u !I l ......

*n'[r 4::: nfr ~(]Ild

C

l II (r "'i II ,r godII

~ htp00

hip re st sati sfy $ !!p r it brr becom e

A fun he r uv- Iul j -consoua ru sign is: ~ an n!

c. /tA'ograllls

SI G~ FXA.'-1PlE

~, ASS, vase w ith wa ter flowi ng . com bined wit h le~ .'.'- ~, ...J.:J !.J.=

pure

( 9, fla t allu viall and with ~ ri1 ins of sand :0: : i· land

4--" F42, ruad bo rde re d by sh rubv """ Wit road, wa v0

To aid yo u in fu rther st udy, th ese sig ns have In-en quon-d with th eir

class itira rion (compose d or a leite r a nd a numbe r} as In und in the !<Iigll -li,)1

on pp. 119 -14 3.Note: __ .. o ften oc cu rs withou t the gra ins of sand as ...-.,. (C l Or a lou c .

2.2 Wordsa. Co py Ollt a nd rrau slit cr ..He t he Ioll owiug words ( you ma y wi sh 10 refer (( I

the list o f sign s above o r the sigu -rabl es at the en d o f th e book ):

12th Dynas ty (c.1937- 1759 RC) ~Sehetepibrc A menemher (II I

Kheperk ar< Senwosre( II )~ubbun: Anll." l\~mhel ililKhakh~perre S~nwo<;.rel l i ll

Khakaure Se nw os rt"1 11U,Nimaau c A n~nt" n1h':lllln

Maakhcru re An k'o crn he t (IV )Sobekkure Ndro~oht.-k

18th Dynast y (c,1539-1295 BONebp<h l ~ re Ahr nuse

Djeserkare Amenhotep r l)Aakhcpc rkare Thur mose (0A akhcpcrenre ~ rnu(mo~ t l l )

~knkhepcrn.· Thuunnse urnMaatkure Hat sh c:p~ul -kh~onl~lamun

Aakh cperure Amenhocop (In f~cnkhepc rure Thutmos~ I) V',Nebm aarre ,\ m.:nholep l III)

Nef<r1Jlep<rure ·" ·aen", Akhcna tcn IAnkhkh epcrur e SnJenkhk,m:S t"bkhqx·ru n.>Tntankhar uun­

hckaiunushemaKhepcrkheperure jmeqcr-AyJ)jese n.:: h<= perur(- se l~penrc

11Of('nlhe b--me0 amu n

19th Dyna say Ic . 129~11 86 BC) IMcupehtyre Rame sse (I)

Menmaatrc Sety (11Usermaarrc -se'e pcr't"

RJm.:..~.m~ry arr, un (II)

.Ifd lJl c ,m l~i<l t l'

Pe rllxi~·I1 i1 st ie--< ::' I -2.~

Old Ki l1~dom

Uyn.1:<.ti, 'S ) 4",

l..<l \e Pt'riodD,,",,:,>t ie-;2t>-30

.",n-h..UI: I'l' l ltoJ

D:-'n~"'I ~-, 1-:

AD

Be

50 0 BC

1 00 0

25 00 BC

NutI' : all dates a n ' apprllx imate; you will fin d slightly di ffe re n t sche m e s used

in d iffe re n t books.

Exc urs us : ch a rt o f ro ya l dy nastie sK itt~s ul f~yp t prin f hl ti lt' h rvav iutt I-v Akxtllltl,,-' r ih e Gr,,-',ll()32 li t.:) J r.l'

(lr~J t ti S l'd lrv c" chnla rs i t ~1U thirt y dynasties, further arranged intrt ruajttr pert­

(lct.., kn own J:-. Kin gdums (tturrn all v when un lv u n e ktng at ,1 tim e ntk-d

Egypt) and IntcrmeJiaw Per iods rwhr -n the kin gsh ip was Oft C II d tvtd ed).This lnmk pri nci pally (U l1ll'r nS rmu n un e ntv from rh e Firs! jun-rrue-diate­Pe-riod aud Mitltllc Kingd un t ((.2 150 iK - t·. 16 -t 1 H,,-: I. h111 tlu- kin gs 1i~I,,-,d

be low an' tlhcll')st..' tl ti ll pp. 26· 31.

22

25More uses of hieroglyphs

Written with E60-seat above A36-eye for reasonswhich are still obscure . tsir is a recent ly suggestedreadi ng (rath er tha n older wsirv

Written with D2 5 and F9 or FlO-breadde term inauves and plu ral strokes. In offeringformulae it is often abbreviated to G.

It seems that "'- is an obscuredeterminati ve here'father however, the com mon phrase i~'h i s fathe r' is '

probab ly influent ial too (cl. §§33, 36).

bread

I I

it

ISI r Osiris

,; ,

0 =G i l

. '- -

b. eGc::-" t~ ~":::""~ 0 ~ c-c? ( j =

As so often, the same phrase ca n be writt e n ill a more con densed ma n ner(a lth o ug h it is read in the same way ), for example:

8M EA 557:

8M EA 586,Line I :

(You may wi sh to co nsult §§ 9 an d 10 on nouns a n d adjectives in Egyptian . )

2.5 Words

So me very co m mon w ord s a re written with othe rwi se uncommon sign s andw ith som e idiosyncracies of thei r own . Co py Oll! th e foll ow ing and rea d theacco m pa n ying not es:

2.6 DatingThe fo llowin g a re exam ples of da tes from British Museum ste lae . It is per­hap s better to do this ex ercise afte r th e study exercis es on pp . 26 -30 , whenyou will be able to read the kings' names m ore ea sily.

The lunette of tile round- lopped stela ofScnwosretsenbu (EM EA 55 7) begins:

In the first lin e of EM EA 586 the king 's cartouche is su rmounted by the sky hiero ­glyph, wh ich is not read:

=d.

Khnu m

Djedu (Busiris)

ka (the spiritof sustenance)

open, separate

love, wi sh .wan t desire

w epwawet

y or uson

cOlllpan ion

road , way

Abydos

Am li n

How 10 read ( qyplic111 hieroglyphs

f !,J?\:;"

rni

2.3 Variant writingsIn § 14 in the text, yo u w er e int ro du ced to th e notion o f va ria n t wri tin gs.w hich allow a word to be str e tched or compr essed to tit space. The exampleu sed wa s th e phra sc mv-hrw 'jus t ified' Of ' tru e of vo ice' , used as arrepithetof th c blessed de ad . The variants given in previous ex am ples are repea tedher e . Work throu gh th e wri t ings, iden tifyin g the var iou s signs , and satisfy­ing yoursclf tha t despite th e dil fcrcnces. they all y ield th e same tran s­

literation: mr-hrw.

2.4 EXl,ressionsTranslite rate and tr anslate the follo wing phrases (bo th of which are

co m mon e lem ents of the offering formula which yo u will study in mor t'

The names of these gods can be wri tten wi th or with o ut th e de termina tive

for gods: m(A3 ).

Try and translitera te the na me of the god Wepwawet (you may need to

co nsu lt § 15 aga in) :

c. Som e more names of go ds:

(Notice that in the w ord for 'road ', 'way', 1:;;'" can be u sed as a determinative

wi th the word ' spe lt o ut ', o r as a n ideogra m a s in Exer cise 2.1.;b. Two im porta nt to wn-sit es which oc cur in common epi the ts o f the go d

Osiri s a re :

Sin ce both of th ese common w ords re ly on a sing le 2·c onson ant sign , it is

not at a ll unusua l to fin d th em w ritt en at th e ir b riefe st w ith jus t th e 2· con -

so nant sign .

24

27

'i r= ---''j\ .... _ ' u J~" u~j

mv -hrw-r rMaakh erure

sbk -k s-r tSobekkare

Mort'Wt-S of hieroqlyphs

- --A"'0 <3> 1!t ''-=_. IV

iJpr-b -r'Kheperka re

sht p -ib-r:Seh etepibre

SIGNS

s-n -wsrt

s-n-u.:sn

h'-opr-r'Khakhcperre

nb w- k sw-rrNub kaure

n- msrt-rrNimaatre

L,("- kn,v-r ("Kha kaure

Am enern het (IV) imn -m-hu

Amenern he t (III) imn -m -hn

Senw osre t (II)

Scnwosret (III)

. . . . . . . . . . . .Ncfruso bek nfrw-sbk

List of first-carrouche names lin ju mbled orde r):

'C' Ibib n= am lllllamt?n ~--'

heart y- lnt tl (th e god ) Amun

i~~ ws rtwosret emthe po we rful on e ~ IN

in

~ ml'maa

>:: ~maar

--JJ truem ir t (the goddess)

Maat (tru th)

11ell or 111 nllb01 1""1 Ilbw gold

U~ I1fn"nefru J) hetlha tbea uty a

!111 (forej front

<3> 0'kha kheperappearrance) ~ upr bein g/ form

~} orw kheru s(e)

voice man

~ or =- sbksebek /sobek

~.,.bsehetep

(the god) Sobek 0 0ship make sdlisiled

L__U_kl

ka kauthe ka -spirit

UU b wU the ka-spiri ts

---~_. ---_... _ - _ . -- - - -_ .

s eh etepibre shtp -lb-r ' ~.;b;1 :4CS-- :.351Amenemhet (I) imn -m-hu '_ _GlJ-=-, ~~_£;U

(~i!l:JJ :1l: _ i

Sen wos ret 11 ) s-n-wsrt,_ __ .__J

r 0--i.iu i ( . c:::i~J;'A O"lpnrn 1h et 1rJ\ imn- m- hit

',F"l_ U j :L...,.", . , ..:>J

How [(1 read Egypri,:n hieroglyphs

BM EA 567 ,lines 1-2:

2,7 Study exercise: Middle Kingdom kings of the 12th dynastyIt is now time for you to read th ro ugh the cartouche names of various kin gsof Egypt. The kings we hav e selected com e from the some of the most cele­brated dyna sties of ancient Egypt: the 12th dynasty in the Middle Kingdom,and the l Sth. 19th an d 20th dynasties in the New Kingdom . You can eith erpiece their names together fro m the sign resources provided below or youcan go furt her and refe r back to Chapters I and 2 (as well as making use ofthe sign- tables at the end of the book ) to improve your familiarit y with the

signs.The two most common nam es of th e king - the prae nomen an d no men

- are wri tten in ca n o uches and are thus easy to spot . However. th e way thatth e names themselves are written is actu ally surprisingly complex, playingwith the va rious resources of the script for aesthetic an d spacing reasons.The one Iactor we have not covered so far (because it finds a more appropri ­ate place in Chapter 3) is that elements drawing on divine names are writtenfirst. regar dless of the order in which they are read , For example, the sun ­disc rr (the name of the sun god) regularly app ear s first in the praenomenbut is read last (as the transliteratio n values and Anglicisation of the namesbelow show), For the purposes of this exercise, we would ask you to followthe reading orde r we give below, but yo u may wish to look forward to §22

in Cha pter 3 for an account of this peculiarit y,rill in the first cart ou che names from the list below into the prsper

place in the following table (the first one is don e for you), Notice , on ceagain, tha t the clement r ' is written before the oth er elements of the name(sim ilarly with wsrt in s-n-wsrr). although it is not rcad first:

BM EA 567 begins with a date; the writing of nsw-biry is to fir the rounded shape:

26

29.\1ore usesof hieroalyphs

.-- (0 - -e;-''i',...p 6...;-.,)

VOCAIlClA RY

,\ lenpchtyreRarncssc (I )

Memnaa rreSety-rnc rvenpia h (I)

Userm a.n rc -setepenreRarncssc -mcrvaru un III )

Userrnaa t rc -m ervarnu nRa messc -h c kaiuuu (111 1

.-- --- -_ ..

j; II;ak h tijahspirit - I'b moon -god

~ ' Il'IIlt'i unu

Q~ or ~amuniamen-

Hcliop olis lmn (the god)Amun

~..e. 1mdUn

0 A ren (solar disc) ~ o r ...-= r aagrea t

Sf- '11[1 al1khlife /livi ng w' wa

~- the (sole) one

r W JS{warelThebe s (place-name) 4 tvsr weser/user

powerfu l

p/11Ipeh tv

ptah

'D for CiCl C\ phry

strength ptl: (the godlw " Pta h

111emin ~

maatmr tMaa t (t ru th )

= ml1men

r::: or ~Q ~ or 'C..m t' '!)'

es tabhsh ed tn ry beloved

ffir »I Smosehear, form n

ell

of

<z:> nhneb neferlord @ nt r

pe rfect

o or ~ r :re/ra hal(the god) Re J,. hJl

<:> front. ti m

'Ji7 bb heb hor

festival b hr uhc god)Horus

r hksheka helep! h(l/epruler ....E::: o r ~ hip

W J satisfied

~ tJr'rkhep er

~.I iklieperu

bl'illg/form bprl\' bdllgs/[orms

\') h nmtkhcnmet tW loined (with)

nr ___ 5 \1', SU, H

~(W) him

':~-rTl r~;

Cf~~J~'\:". ;r;[0<J±':'!J.I , ~1

(~-ffiir)'-- -_ . ---

If EStJ;-I\1..~'~ .~_Q_(;.J _1jj

~- - --il

~~~~tj

']'-=;-; 1[:':~ffir ~.. _ _.A

<nc ':;::?r :'...~ _~. _ ._ . L~I

(~2.-~- -ia ~;

'j .8 __Jt',,-)

12J'¥'()-?51:'-,1.,.,...:..2".1 v~.J

; 0 " ,'.~. tI! l

.•~~ffi~~~

/-0 -~::':::;

,~J3'_.d

':~lLij

(G-c:JJ~)

NebmaatreAmen hlllcp hckawa sc t I III)

:-lclerkhepnlre-waetlreAkhena ten

Nebkhepentr eTlIlJllkhame n-hekai unu shema

Djcs erkh cperu rc -S<' tcpl'IIrcllorem heh -lllervJtnull

Dje serkareAm eu h oicp (I)

Aakh eperkareTh ur rn osc (Ii

AakheperenrcThut mose (II )

MaalkareHalshepsu t-khen meWInUll

MenkheJlerrerhuunose (JII )

Aakheperm eAmenhoi ep hckaiun n (II)

Menk heperurc'rh mrno-e llV)

NebpehtyreAh mo sc

How to read E:Jyp lian hicroqlvp h»

rL1 or reiZ' r : (the ~()( I ) Rc IOrRJI

2,8 Study exercise: New Kingdom killgsTransli te rate both the cartouch e names [o r eac h ol t he f" lI",ving Ne w Kin g­dom kings, usin g th e <lids pro vided , A wmplica ting Iactor is tha t. during th eNew Kingdom, it is not a t all uncommon to find epi thets inclnded withinro ya l ca rto uc hes. So me 01the na mes below con tain suc h epi th et s (for exa m ­p le that of the ruling q ueen Hatsh ep sn t. which regu larly incl udes the ep ithetljnml-im ll - 'jo ined with (t he go d) Am un') . If th e ep ithet contains the name

of a god , this divi ne ele m ent may be written at the fro nt of the cartouc he .eve n if it is no t read first. Foll ow th e lead given in the Augliciscd versio ns of

the names below :

Ma ny of th ese elements h ave proper meanin g as WI ird s (In their own, whichw e ind icat e he re . However, th e re is no n eed to Iry a nd rran sla re the n am es.

All the first ca[louche nam es « lIuain the [ollowing d emcllt :

28

= ;r."~ S'v. !)'O

g ~~ --

- --- --- - - ~ - - - _ .

sipsetep

c-« chos en

1- smrshemaso Ulhern

"~.rut

rwr image

V dsrdjesersacred/ holy

as a gift of (lite rally, in th e giving 0[ 1

for ih e kingW nllSW

~~ m dd

--- _. --Sery

\M~ sty Sety, l.e . ma n of(t he god ) Se lh

~ }PSWfshepsutd iSlinguish ed wo m en

klka

U the ka -spirh

The king-list sh ows some int er esting gaps between the Middl e and NewKing do m (be tween the fou rth and fifth cartouche s of the second surv ivingregister) and wi thin th e 18th dyn asty. Use the roya l names listed in ihc pre ­

viou s Exercises and the chart of ro yal dynast ies 0 11 p . 22 to ident ify th e

Th e word nsw is wr itt en using ':f which is also a variant for - comm on inthe New Kingdom (compa re the mor e usual spe llin g of nsw in §2 3).

[An offering wh ich the kin g gives bef ore Ptah -Sokar-Osi ris .. , a thousand

bread and beer. e tc. I to kin g X as a gift 01Rame sses II:

2.9 Study exercise: 8M EA 117 (tire Abydos kin g-list of Ramesses II)Th e 'kin g-list' o f Ramesse s 1\ show n on p . 31 originall y came from his templeat Abydos . Mod elled on a sim ilar list in his father Seti I's m ortuary templen earby, the list forms part of an elabo ra te offering fonnula (!ltp -dl -nsw ; seeCha pte r 3) for the cult of previous kings. Originally, there were 78 car­touch es in th e upper registers (th e 76 found in th e Seti I list plu s th e tw ocarl ou che n am es of Ramesses II ). Th is number probab ly reflects cult ic tr ad i­

tion, the space available on the wa ll, a nd po ssibly th e 76 forms of the sun ­god enumerated in the religi ou s text kn own as the Litany of Re. The kingsare identified by pra en omen beneath which are deterrrunatives of seatedkin gs alternately wearing th e white (I and red ?:j cro w ns . Th e names ofRa rnesses II (a lte rn at in g bet ween n omen and praenomen) ar c repeated inthe bottom reg ister and show a range of var iant writings for the nomen .Reconstructing the top lin e from th e Set i I king -list, the overall forma t is as

follows:

VOCABULAR Y ( CO:-lTlNUFD I

30 How to read (qyprian hiao.'1lyphs

."",- "'It Thut--'f - u. WIY (th e god ) ruoin

l _._ _ ·_ - ...• - .- - .- - ---.- - - .- .-----. - - . - - - - ". - .•~.-"'-.- -.--._.-._-..-.- ._ -

Chapter J

Special writings

I n J/Iii d JJpl cJ It' .:' introdu ce )'t) U JLJ a 11Imlba ,~f spetlttl wriunas: ubbrN i.lJIJJJs,

,jli1n&/t'.~ in ,h( order ..l( i ;g ll S ,11Id dr!fecliw wrn in.ols. Sin ce dil 4 J/u Sf a rt' ruthe r Iw n­

mon: patt i..-ularlv in " ' It rendtTing Ilf titles and f!pll !ltl.{ . cl J.:.n'Hvlt'd.qt' elf them isessential [or successful monument rradinq in IJ ml1st!um . Yt1U art' also imrodl1Crd Itl

the offering [ormula, probably the must [t,mmon form of ltit'rt1g1yphit-inscription 1(>

he[ound ,1" [nnvrary inannments surviving[rom lweii'm E.&/,vPt. This chapla should(tho Sin'r as a con venient f i!at ll ce resource to which you ClUJ return when SlUdyin.o1

varitJlISm .m uments later ..", in th« book .

§20 Abbrev ia t ionsAbbreviated wrirtngs a re co m mon ill the writing of titlt"s and epu hcrs:

} III1 hry -hbt In10r pr ies,

huy-s (litera lly, 'forem o st o f posit ion ' ) is written with the ideogra m -1) hn(fro n t part o f lion ) over~ '(aml); bry -lIbl (litera lly, 'the carrier o f the bookof rn ual') is writ ten wi th a bbreviated writi ngs of bo th lJr)' a nd hb: (wi thou tso u nd co mple me llls o r determinatives) . There is also gra ph ic transpositio n,wit" t he tw o tall signs place d either side of i& brlY) (sec §21 below} . Clear lysuc h ,v ritin gs can ne r be read s i~ 1I by sigll with an y eas e. Even a fter mo rt"than a ce n tu ry a nd a half o f stu dy, the exact readi ng of som e words rema insromeruiou s among Egypt nlogists ~ He nce \ VC st ro ngly recommend rhat youfollow o ur gen e ra l advice o f co ncent rat ing on whole wo rds rather tha'rt gC I ­

nng bogged dow n iII i lrc stu dy of individua l sign s,As we have already see II, abbreviated writ in gs of ihe ep ithet usu allv

bestowed on th e blessed dea d a rt' CtJlllnJUJI:

~ ml~'lJrw wriucu in lul l as: ~~!~~ rru c of voire. just ific:d

§21 Ch ange of o rde r: sp aci n gThe se cond feature is the switch ing of the order o f st~ns It l enable Ihl' 1IItofit in to the av ailable space in a mo re sa t isfad o ry man ner ot.' f11lt 'cI m Ore for­

ma lly .'1raph ic frarfSpt1S;fiNI) :

~C;} illSll'a d tl f ~ '}'@ Jdw Djcdu

Specia t w r ;,;n:/J } 3

Grap hic t ran spositi on als o Ot'CU~ i /l vr-rucal ( OhIllIlIS:

dd~'v' Djr-d u. illslt'ad tl t

Sometim e.. graphtcrransposttton is .J regular fea tu re of rtn- wruing of a w o rd :

:rr:.~1:\ mn See. hh lk at

This ie,rt" ~lIlarly wrin cn with the dcn-rm inat lvr ~~ plJ n:d unde-rJIlt"2- Cllll ­

cona nt sign ~- ml.

§22 Change of ord er : p restigeFor reasons o f prest ige, names for gods and kin~ s and relat ed words some ­tim es precede clos ely co nnected words, althou gh the y are acr ua llv readafterwar ds (th is is termed more forma lly honorijit transposiiionv. Ho~ori fi crra usp ostt ion is part icul arl y com mon in epithet s a rnt uth- s:

+1: rb nsH'ktng's ad visor;

11 k m-nt rserva ur of th e-

royal tm im atc god. priest

Q~::::: ;l G m ry.'lm ll beloved or Am uu 82 ntt r " Iik(' Rr

(Norice ihat abb reviated wr iting s a re: also comrn on .]

You hav e a lready euo um tc red this pheno men on in t he writing of rova lnam es ill Exerci ses 2.7 a nd 2.8 . A rather d ram at ic illustratio n of th is poin; isthe fo llo wing writing of the nom en o f Raru esses II I Rdnrrsst' ~merva nl ll ll

'Rarn esses beloved of Ar nun ' }: . '

Here th e two divi ne d em en ts tRa o f the nam e Rarnesses an d Ann m of th eepith et 'beloved nf A rnun) have been w ritt en as seated gods and p lace d arth e to p of th e cartouche fat ing each other, creating a ve-rtical div ision . Thelow Oat sign of mrty ) ('b cloved') bas been placed in 'he mi ddl e of ' be ear ­tou ch e, crea t ing a hor izoural d ivis ion . The: vert ica l div ision i~ mirror ed ill th ehotto rn half o f the cart on ch e (giv illg the m S -H t.-'o r ' messe pa n of Raru ess cs )where rhe rhrec-prongcd »u -s ign sta nds in the centr...b etween IWU tall thinsigns (th e sw and th e ~i ) hot lr of w hich bend flwa y at th e Hlp from Ih e tT ntra lms ~si~ lI .

~ m -r rr stewa rd

35Special wr itings

possessor of vc ne rationr reve rence

venerable one. revered one,1/1"hy or ill1!(zw h onourable one

nb l/1l1lj

It is not at all u ncom mon for titles 10 be written w ith ou t dererrninar ives.

l?el(qious titles

!j=~ u"-bpr ies: ditl'raily,

~ ;i};1I1- p riest d uera llv,

pure OIll" j 1"1 1' servant of the god)

9 <=" r~ )]J1I\,' ma ste r of secrets bd brr' le ctor prt esi

«z> C>~ SSll hb:

~ '!\ ~ y~ ~~ in,,!;y !;r tsir the revered one before Osirls

§25 Ep it hetsEgyptian text s abound with epi thets of gods, kings a nd officials. Here a re acouple o f rela ted epithe ts pa rt icu la rly common on stela e :

§26 The offe r ing for m u laFormulae comprise rela tively fixed com bina tions of word s and so can beread with out a det ailed u nd e rstand ing of th eir int ernal grammar. The m ostcommon exa m ple, the offering form ula. is a ubiqui tous feat u re o f th e hier­oglyphic m onuments found in m useums throughout th e w or ld. By workingthro ugh , a nd becoming fam iliar wi th, the elements o f the formula discussedbelow, you will gain access to a vast nu mber of hi eroglyph ic in script ion s.

The offering formula merges two rela ted functio ns: official and pe r­sonal. In officia l terms, th e status o f th e decea sed as on e of th e ble sse d de adwas linked 10 th e successfu l pe rformance of o fficial funct ions in roy al serviceand eth ical be h aviour in life . Thi s success was inst ru m en tal in q ualifying thedecea sed for access 10 th e means o f com memo ratio n in ter ms of memorialinscriptions a nd fun er ar y monu ment s, One purpose of the offering fo rm ulawas to allow the decca sed to pa rtake of the offering s presented to the dei tiesin th e ma jor cu lt te mples in the nam e o f th e king , pa rticu larly o n festivaloccasio ns . Thi s reversion of offeri ngs display s the importance of official life,

and othe r va ria n ts based on the fu ller wr itin gs suc h as: ~~~ ' re ve rence','veneration' .

These epi thets ar e p rim arily applied 10 the ble ssed dead. Afte r a life ofofficial du ty and ethica l be hav iou r, the blessed dead were re vered by theliving (w ho perpetuate thei r mem ory on ea rth, par ticularl y th rough offer­ings) and ho noured before the gods (with whom they exis t beyond death astran sfigured spi rits) . The lauer is o ften ex pressed in the followin g way :

overseer olIIl·r 111.1' ihe army

overseer 01the.~ 'j;-Ji~1 L:' m-r 'tlIt",t y cha mbergl lVern or,

mayor

stew ard. overseerm-r pr 01 ihc evta rc

...:.:=:::- .:..t r (lI1}1 penpk '; l) p. !lir. )!:: / beerb . • ~ n ~

,." slm y )z dc-sen t': nsw king~

How 101 read Egyplim l hieroglyphs

a. Conventional ti tles of stat us and aut horityThe two most common convent iona l tit les a re :

~!l0 htmty bitv seal·bearer of the king ~ 1-;;' 1 smr ",'t(y) sale companion

(The reading of !Jtl1l1y-bfty is unsu re : othe r possibili ties a re lumw-buy ands(/lwry.bity; for bity 'k ing ', see p . 102.) These two titl es often occur togethe r.

b. Titles of officeTitles of office can be divided int o secu la r and religiou s t itle s:

Secular titles

m -r probably mean s lite rally ' the one in w ho m is th e word ' (i.e . the one whohas th e authority to issue orders). On th e basis of a graph ic pun a rou nd r(whic h mean s bo th 'mo u th ' and 'wo rd'), it is occasionally w ritt en with '\

B44 ton gue (the ton gue being 'the one in th e month ' ):

A number of tit les arc com posed wit h th e clement Jl;. m -r (fully tnty -r i

'overseer':

§24 Tit les . .Office- holding playe d a cen tral ro le in th e ..lite cult ur e of a n cient Egypt.locating the indivi du al wi tIlin societ y, most notabl y i,n relation to th e king(see also PI' . 10 1· 104 ). Title s come in tw o forms: of ficial or adn ulllstra llvetitles and conve ntional titl es connected wi th sta tus and author ity. Abb rev i­

a ted writin gs arc co m mo n to both .

34

§23 Defect ive or st range w ritings . 'A Ie w com mon word s are w rit te n wit h ou t th e Inll se t 0 1 sound -SIgn s, prob-

ably for rca sons of grouping: "511 ' ' king' is written in an unusua l manner :

Tile offerillg formula from 8M EA 558 :

The m ost com m o n form of the offering formula is co m posed o f three parts,

which can be divided accordin g 10 the ch aracteristi c Egypt ian expression

fo un d in each :

An offering which th e king gives (to) Osiris, lord of Djcd u. grea t god, lordof Abydos . so that he ma y give a volcc offer ing tin) bread, beer, ox. fowl.alabaster. linen , everyth ing good aud pur e on which a god lives for the kaof the revered one Key

l~ from t :: nsw kin g

"'~~.:::. from ~ htp offni llgc . cCJ:C)

/;;, fro ut /}, di give

[- :1 from ~ .J) prt a going forth

lrom i}~ hrw voice

0 Iroru r. <:r> bread0 : I !

1-\ from ! ~ ti hnkt beer

Specia l writinqs

lli prt -ljrw a voice offering

a. The offerillg to the god (s)

The co nven t ion al grouping o f this ex pression uses the foll o w ing elements:

1 C A lup -di -nsw an ollc ring which th e kmg ~ IWS1'db~

(Fo r the writing of the verb 'giv e'. see Exe rcise 3 .5 .)

The expression h tp -di -nsw is ofte n u sed to refe r gene rally to th e offer­

ing fo rmula and its associated offer ing rile s (a n d might less lit erall y heiranslat ed a s ' the o ffe ring rite') . The actu al rende ring o f thi s stereo typ ica l

phrase is notoriously obscure an d st ill exe rcises the minds of scho la rs. What ­ever its o riginal form. it is clear th at by the Middle Kingdom the p hrase had

co me to be tr eat ed as a fix ed , compou nd exp ressio n . Here we ha ve ad op te d

a stan da rd rendering wh ich we encou rage yo u to follo w, rat h er than tryingto work o ut its me an ing from the individual signs .

The name. title and epi thets of the god(s)

The name of the god t hen follows . Th e god m o st co m m o n ly na med in theoffer ing for m ula (as in th e exam ple above) is Osiris and we shall co ncen tra teon him in thi s chap ter. For the o the r co m m o n divi ne rec ip ien t of th e offerin gform ul a, Anubi s, see BM EA 178 3 in Ch apt er 5. an d for an exam ple with a

n u mber o f god s, see BM EA 584 in Chap ter 8. Th e standard name s and tit leso f Osiris are int ro d uced sepa ra te ly in the notes o n funer ar y de ities al the e ndof thi s ch ap te r.

b. TI,e offerings are passed 011 to the deceased

The voice offering

This sen ion of the o fferi ng fo rm u la ce nt res aroun d ih e follo wing expr ession :

Th e sta nda rd w ril in g o f prt -ljrw con ta ins th e following clements:

II kt tI Iml!lly! ky

h tp-dt-nsw ssir n b ,Jdw tW ' I lib lbdl\'

ljl nbtt} IIfr (r) w rbtt ) 'tliJi ntr 1m

dl~fl'rr · ljrw r hnk: kllpd 55mnlt t

<l, t ~~.& hi p-dt-nsw a ll offering wh ich ih « king gives

b. o!t: r rr·!;rw a voice of fcrtng

c. U 11 ta 11 for the ka of

H,1\~ ' 10 read Ejypriml hieroalvphs

r <::> A ,1 A:l>- nc::O> "'I~ cl'J rdIl'~~/Al1J= lJ @ IJ' '=' @

<-D cp n G,,-_ 005'"8 u

!.<::>&dlJ~~

ulq ~=-~ ~

36

We sh a ll lake you th ro ug h each of th ese pa rt s in tu r n. assembling her e themateria l yo u nee d 10 be ab le to read the sta nda rd Os iris o ffer ing formula. Ityou return 10 th is sec tion when read ing stelae such as BM FA 58 7 o n p. 46a : rh e en d of thi s ch apter, y(lU sho ul d find a ll the he lp you need . As yOIl

study th e va rio us slel ae in th is boo k. yo u wi ll no dou bt gai n m o re a nd more. rr ._. : __ , ~ 1 .., •• 1 ..,

particula rly in term s of Th e pe rson of ihc k iug . in th e rc la uonship between

the livin g and Ihe de ad .The se co n d, perso nal . Iuuct ion relates more to the pr ivate [amily -ba sed

a spects of the funerarv cul t of the deceased. TIl<' priv ate o ffe rin gs to ihe deadco u ld be either phys ical (t he o ffe ring of food. drink a nd goods) o r verba l(th ro ug h the uuerance o f the offeri ng formula ): furt h er m or e. these o ffer,

ings could be pe rpelUated in pic to rial a nd ve rbal form (th ro ugh an a ndw riting). In Ih i, way. the offe rings m ade a l rh c bur ia l co u ld be pe rpetuatedby fami ly members (pan icu la rly th e son and he ir), o r by peo ple visitin g the

to m b or pa ssing by the stela .First o f a ll. h ere is a n exam ple o f the o ffer ing fo rmula , w hic h yo u m ay

wi sh 10 refer ba ck 10 as yo u read o ve r the di scussion be low :

iprt-hr w is her e written w ith bread and bee r signs but sim ply read pr t-hrw:

Tireinventory<!fofferings:Th e offeri ngs a re u sually enu me ra te d via a standa rd list of item s, usu all yw ritten w ith ab brevia ted writing s (given h ere alongside fulle r writ ings) :

m1 82 ~HBM EA 6 14, pr t-hrw 1;1 1 h nkt 1]1 ks lpd !J. Is mnhtColumn I : A voice offering (of) a thousand bread and beer, a thousand ox and

fowl. a thousand alabaster and linen

39Special writings

~~ t lnl [I (Wj the revered oneU I n kI n for rhc ka of

"'Z. c " " m rh t oil. u nguent 1''''='' sn tr ince nse<=> j. IT: ~~~

<:,&.. or G-~~ CL) hlp or hII'I o £kr ings ~ </f(lwj prov ision snO :,,:1...-. [ ,

m r-h rw the j usnfi ed

c. The recipient of the offeringTh e decease d re cipient of the offering is in trodu ced by one o r both of th e fol ­lowin g p h rases :

You have al rea dy stu died th is ex pression in Exe rcise 2.4. It is ofte n qual ifiedby the following fixed ex p ression:

~ld Oll/ h(li IIfr( rj w/b it) evervth ing good an d purl'

fJ ~~ 'n tlt ntr 1m on which a god lives

Since thi s is a fixed expression, yo u shou ld read and translate it as a wholefor now, w ithout worryi ng about its int e rna l gramma r (which will beexpl ained in Chapter 7 ).

The inventory is wrapped 111':

A, well as listing a stan da rd set of offe rings, the offering formula also usuallyincludes a more ge ne ric and all-embracin g phrase :

Othe r offerings sometimes occ u r (pa rt icu lorlv in lat er 12th - and 13th ­dyn asty ste lae) and ar c usu ally more fullv w ritt en ou t:

In th e l l th dy nasty an d in to the early 12 th dynasty (afte r which it dies o u t),we u su all y find imih tw} on its own . Th e co mbined u sage n kl n tmiljtw)begins in the early 12th dyna sty and rea ches its peak in the mi d -12t hdyn asty. Th e us e of 11 k1 n o n its own is rare in the ea rly 12th dy nasty, butbe com es the most com m on for m Irom th c lat er 12t h dy na sty onw ar ds.

Once yo u have reached this po in t. then yo u w ill fin d the name o f th edeceased , usually wit h a title, a nd en ding with the com m o n epith et:

§27 The gen itiveTh e genitive 'o f' (as in ' th e k ing of Egyp t ') occu rs in two forms:

a. Direct gen itiveThe tw o no u ns are pu t toget her with o ut a ny linking word. Th is co ns t ru ctionis on ly common bet ween clos ely connected words or in fixed expressions:

linen

bee r

fowl

'a thousand

How to read I:'gyptiall hieroqlyplts

oor G~ bread 0 or 12.6 hn kt

b or 14, ";Bl kl ox 11 or ~~~ tpd

6 or c= r,b r< alabast er 11 or ~~ll mnh;

Often th e offerings a re nu m ber ed wi th l lB ' t hou san d' or I~of /i n '.

The voiceoffering from the stela of Tjeti:

m= prt-hrw a voice offering

Th e second part of th e offeri ng formula eit her starts o ff w ith prt-hrw im me ­d iately o r marks th e pa ssing over of th e offerings from th e god by the use 01:

~ ill d l=f p rt-hrw so thai he m ay give a voice offering

di=fis aga in a form of the ve rb rdi '10 give ' (see Exercise 3.5 ). Once again, atthi s stage w e advise yo u to follow our sugges ted transla tion (see Cha pte r 8

fo r an explanation) .prt -hrw a lone is typical o f 11th -dynasty ste lae. di=f prt -hrw is more

typ ica l fro m th e m id - 12th dynasty o nw ards (pr t-h rw alone bei ng rare bythen ). Durin g the ea rly part o f the 12 th dyn ast y a mixture of both usages is

fo u nd.

38

The term prt -hrw is regu larl y writ te n with th e bread and be er signs . evenwhen th e voice offe ring itself is int end ed w ithout any referen ce 10 the br eadan d be er. Th ey arc depicted w hether br ead and beer ar e mentionedsepa ra te ly in the suosequem invcnto rv of offerings or not lin w hich case theyOla v ha ve been thought of as be ing in cluded within th e w ritin g of pn-hrwi .

, Bv th e Middle Ki ngdo m prt -hrw had become a fixed ex pression u sedas a cover te rm for th e offerings themselves (and migh t he loo sely tra nslatedas ' the ritualllfferings') . As a fixe d expressio n , prt -h rw ca n even be w rittenw ith a determi native for th e w hole ph rase, such as = ' loaf for offe ring ' :

Excursus: Egyptian funerary deities

4 1

late 12thfi~}@ dynasty

onward

Alternative writingfrom the late 12thdynasty

Special writings

"='1J~ nb sbdw lord of Abydos

Written with E60-seat above A36-e,"" for reasonswhich are still obscure. .

great god

/S I r Osiris

nb ddw lord of Djedu (w ri tten with graphic transposition, see §21)

ntr " J

Osiris written withou t determinative(written with determ inan ve in theI Ith dynasty)

Il th ­ft~} mid-12th

dynasty

The writing of Osiris' nam e (and the num ber and nat ure of h is epi thets)alte red at differen t per iods of Egyp tian h isto ry. as follows:

These three togethe r represent the classic Mid dle Kingdom combination ofepithets , part icula rly com mon in th e early 12th dynasty.

Th e wri ting of Dj edu itself cha nges over time (as we ll as sometim es dis­playin g graphic transposition) :

~w.) 1v-.- §l hnty-tmmw Khent yimcntuIm l f ~f'J

pure as to the exact reading - ill thi s boo k we adopt the more recentsugges tion 10 read ssir ra ther than wsir, not least since th is bri ngs o ut the par­a llel w ith the wriring of the name of Isis (for wh ich sec p. 4 2 ):

As a 'great god' in tr ' I), th e cu ll of Osiris was cele bra ted a t man y sh rines, themost importa nt of wh ich are reflected in his titles 'l ord of Djedu' and ' lordof Abydo s', the writing s of which yo u studied in Exe rcise 2,2 . In EM EA 587(see Exercise 3.8 below ) they are writt en as follows:

The pre-emine nce of Osiris is re flected in his other name, Khen tyim entu([mty -imnrw ), 'the one who is foremost of the wes terne rs' (i.e. th e deadgathered in the realm of the setting sun) ; the name evokes his subjects (thedea d spir its) arrayed befor e his throne :

As will beco me clea r from a nu mber of th e stelae which you will st udy inth is book, th e na me Khc nt ylmcruu is often in cluded in the offeri ng form ulaamon gst th e epithet s of Osiris (agai n typical of th e ea rly 12th dyn asty ).

In mytho logy, Osiris had been a living kin g at the beginning of hi story,bu t wa s murdered and dismem bered by hi s am bit ious brother. Se th. Osiris 'remains we re ma gically restor ed by Isis (1st) - his sister - wh o was then ab leto conceive his ch ild, Hor us; Horus grew up 10 defeat Set h an d in herit hisfather's thron e in legit imat e fash ion . Osiris is represent ed as a deceased king,

nt

FEMIN INE

PLUR.'..l

nu 'o

.\ l ASCULL'1E

ti t

FEJ\UNl NE

3r='" = -!r..~"'-- y ----".DC'

b,k=[ ml' tI st· /b=[His true servant of his affect ion

St:'i GlJ LAR

n

H oJW to read Egyp tian hieroq ly phs

MASCVI.INE

BM EA 162,Central column:

ove rseer or yU nb lord of Abvd os

~n m-r pr the estate =, @ 'bJ'" (Cpithet of Osiris)

m-r oversee r 0 1 lj'~':"}ti t lord of Dj edu

.h~~~n •Lrnwty the chamber =',, @ ddw (epithet of Osiris)

The stela ofAmeny iden tifies his subordina te, Sahatho r, with the epithet:

b, Indirect gellitiveTh e two n ouns are lin ked by form s of th e 'genitival adjective' n . Thisbehaves like an adje ctive and agr ees wi th the precedin g noun, taking the fol­

low ing forms:

U I n k: It for the ka of

_ 'of' is writte n in exa ctly the same way as the preposition - It 'to ', ' for'.However, in translating into English , one or othe r of these usu ally suggestsitself (d . 'for the ka of' ). Also the re is a tende ncy for n to be used for all num­be rs a nd genders, as in bmt=fll st-Ib=f' his wife of his affection ' in Exer cise 4.6.

An example occur s in blk=f m « n st-tb«] above . Another example occ ur s in

th e ph rase:

It also occu rs in cen ain compound expressions. such as thos e compounded

with tb 'heart ' :

,1 co \l H-Ib affe ction. intimacy (literally. situauo n of the heart )JJn l .

st-lb occur s in a rather common epithe t:

OsirisOsiris (l sfr ) was a cen tr al figure in the fune rary cu lts of the an cient Egyp­tian s. As noted in Cha p ter 2, h is name is writt en in an idiosyn cratic mannerand canno t eas ily be broken down sign by sign . In deed there is still som e dis-

40

4 3

wc ncnnefc r

Ameny (nam e)

Special writinqs

EXAMPLE

hit or h w

;:;"1 lu t from

~ ~ lmnt th e west

lie=; s: place, position

'i : mi: army, expedition

o

Jc=; sf place, po sitton

Khen tvi rncnt u

~ or~ Ill' 1,

grea t

SIGN

E7 feather on standar d

1 E60 sea t

~ A24 soldier with bo w and qu tvcr

..J:; B49 forepart of lion

~ wr

sb or mr

Ex ercises

3,1 Siqn s and wontsa. 2-( /,.1 11S0nalll and 3-(ollsl.-' llant s(qllS

As yo u w ill see be low, the nam e o f the god Khe nt yirnent u di sp lays th e TIl'­

bird (B5 long-legged bu zzard ), a sign which re ads TW or Tvw (in thi s book we

sha ll go fur the sim ple r rea di ng Tw) , bu t looks simila r to ;he r-bi rd (B3 Egy p­tian vu ltur e ). The rw -bird has a mo re ro u nded head , but oft en th e tw o birdsare ve ry sim ila r in writin g (somet imes we add a tick to the rw-bird to distin­

gu ish it). Fortu n ately th e rw-bird h as a very restricted usage :

No tice tha t t he sign 1has ap peared in two d iffer ent w o rd s w hich should n o tbe confu sed:

3.2 WordsTransli terate the fo llo wi ng words (one uses a sign introduced in an earlier

ch ap te r):

3.3 Gods' namesYou have already been introd uced to tWOforms of Osiri s: Khcn tvi men tu andWencn n cfe r. Th ese are wr itten as follows . Transli te ra te : .lord o] rile 'a cted lan dli t /l dsr

~ lir Horus

v~?-<;... WP -WIIII wepwaw etc lll "-r"

D -}~ tnpw Au uh is &d ip(y j dw=! upo n his mountainl 0 c u .

l"..._.~

+}S im (y )-\l'1the one IIh /l dsr lord of the sacred landin the " 7 ~

WepwalVetwepwawct sha res a major ep it he t wi th An ubis :

AnubisThe name and standard epithe ts of An u bis:

The passion of Osiris is also reflected in th e n ame wenen nelc r twn u -njr i.w hi ch me ans ' th e one who contin ue s to be perfect ' an d hints a t h is myst e­

riou s pOSTmortem potencv :

Wepwawet 1I11d AnubisFu nerary ste lae fro m Abyd os an d el sewhere of ten in voke We pw awet and

An u bis a longsi de Os iris . Rep res ented as a dog o r ja cka l. we pwawer (wp­

wnw) was an ancient go d o f Abyd os a nd an ac tive particip ant in the cult o[Osir is: th e annual passion -pla y at Ab ydos began w ith the procession of Wep ­wawcr '10 protect h is fa th e r' , Osiri s . More generally, Wep wawet wa s

associa ted with ce meteries and fun eral s, as re flected in h is tit le 'lord of th e

sacred land ' inb ts fisr). where 'sacre d land ' mean s the ce m etery. Even thename We pwawet (litera lly, ' th e one who opens t he w ays' , see p. 96) re call s

th e un trodden pa ths ov e r th e de sert along which he guided th e sou ls o f th e

newly de ceased to th e kingdom of Osir is,The other m ajo r fune rar y deity was An u bis, whose iconograp hy is

clo se to th a t o f Wep wawet; he a lso ap pears in ca n ine form a nd bears the tit le

'l ord of the sacred land ': hi s o the r tit les are m ore obsc ure . ' k ve rtheless, thefu nerar y gods have d ist in ct roles, apparent in the myth ology of the fune ral :Anubis em balmed th e bod y of the decease d and co nd uc te d th e buria l cere ­

monies: w cpwawei led the deceased from this world to the nex t; an d Osiris,ki ng of th e dea d , represented arrival and re juvenat ion in the n ex t life ,

mu m m iform but wit h royal rega lia, and a green or bla ck com plexion all ud ­

in g to th e fert ility of the Nile floodplai n ,

42

4 5Specia)wr itings

=! he. his11"..--",,- .pron ourn

0 in bcto r«.in lroru of

kbw Qebu (name )

m. ,.- ms: wr gene ra l-in ­chid

Meir L pl. 9

VOCAIJULARY

ir-n horn of

Tr.mslucra tr and tra ns la te . using the tem plat e prov ide d in the tex t (§2 6

above i . and stu dy the indi vidu al w riting s o f th e va rious com po ne nt parts ofthe formula. Yo u sho uld also ma ke use of the vocabu lary int roduced in t heo the r e xe rcises ab o ve .

NOles:

ir-n me ans 'w hom such-a nd-suc h a per son m ade ' hu t thi s is not a satis­factory idiom in English .

ii lIl - r IIlSr IVr m ea ns liter ally 'great ov erseer of th e army' .iii In lin e I, the damaged h ier oglyphs ar e pan of the standard epi th ets of

Osiris: hn ty -lmtttw (w ith an extr a rw-hird) . nt r r J. nb sbdw (see p . 41 ).

3,7 Offering table scene

In scenes, the offer ings a re often sh ow n pla ced o n a table before the~ .......".. , c ,. .4 T r .' ,H: l ; ,p 'r- ~ h· ::1 " .4 Tr :lnd ;l l f'> r h t» hi .. rnoh/nh " hf, lnvJ t h e- ,.,Hprin o

J L J}~L _ _ .

~ok

....ompanionove rseer ofthe cham be r

i rii) 'make', 'do'. 'art ' - written with the 2,con5onan t sign =- /r

m il 'see'. ' look at ' - written with z», determinative placedm il under .:v mi . Some forms of this verb arc written with only

one~ I - ~~ - transliterated m t

'give', 'place' - --..; A4 1 arm giving loaf. or IJ:, E61 conical loaf.rd! without r as "--" or fA, transliterated dl. From the hieratic.

also written with arm as~ rdi cn ---n di

'bring', written with a combination of 0 DB pot and A5 7 ./)I I/(i ) walking legs, often with sound complerueu t L,« 1/

How to read I:~qypri<lll hieroglyphs

1

The offerin g formula is usually w ritt en in a tele gram-li ke style wi th ver yab brevia ted writings and certain prep ositions om itted. The tOPportion of thestela of Arn en y re M FA 1( 2 ). however, ra th er u nusua lly pro vide s us with amo re fully wriu cn OU t ver sio n of ce rtain sec tions of the offering for m ula.

8M EA 162

(carved limesto n e: w. 7 5clll)

3.6 Tile offt'ring formula from 8M EA 162

3.5 Common verbsSom e co m mon verbs are w r iuen with ot herwise uncommon sign s and will:some idiosync racies o f their ow n. It will be useful for you to be familiar wi ththe se when rea din g Chapter 4 (wh ere th e pr esence of (i) in brackets will also

be e xp lained):

44

3.4 TitlesIn th e te xt, th e following two rules we re in trod uced . Her e rhe y are wr itte nin a sligh tly differe nt Wd Y. Tra nslite rate th em , us ing th e sign -tables abov e:

3,8 Study exercise: BM EA 587

47

lmn-m -h tt Arnen ernhet_... ~._ .. _ _ . . I

Speci aI wri tings

VOCABl: LARY

(Sec p. 102 fo r som e remarks on th e titl e m -t ' bl/wty . )

tra nslat e th e h ieroglyphs wri tten within th e registers (an d not those accom­pa nyi ng th e vases a t th e top left. w ritt en w itho ut regis ters ). You shoul dcon sult the sect ion s on the offe rin g formul a in the te xt (§2 6 ) whe re n eces ­sa ry. Yo u ma y a lso find it usefu l to read th rough th e no tes on Osiris givenon pp . 40-42 .

No tice that th e in scrip tion h as bee n ca ref ully laid out: th e htp-di-nsw for­m ula tak es up th e first line; th e prt-ljrw formula th e second line and theep ithets , name an d title s of th e stela owner the third line.

3.9 Study exercise: BM EA 585E M EA 585, sh ow n on the nex t pa ge, has another sta ndard offering for­m ula , this tim e w ritten from right to left.

a. TranslationTransliterate a nd translat e, usin g th e not es an d vocab ula ry be low.

Notice how the n ames of Sarenenutet and his mot her Bam eket a rewritten to fit the space ava ilable . Th e scenes and figures arc in ra ised reliefa n d th e inscriptions in sunk relie f. The clement -m kt in the mo the r's nameis w ritte n in the sce n e a rea and in ra ised re lief.

: ~. .c:> 0 m -r overseer of~~X7ln rhn wtty) the chamber

l_ . ' ..... __,, . _., .__ .

b. Epigraphy

Compare th is stela wi th BM EA 58 7:i Iden tify the differen ces in the shape an d arr a nge m en t of pa rticula r

hie roglyphs (yo u may also wish to con sider the figures a nd th e offe ring

tab les).ii Ide nt ify th e differ en ces in the phrase ology of t he o fferin g formu la.

VOCABULARY._ _ ______._ _ _ .___ v_. ,---------- ._.:Bl l\~ , ~ .~ bi-mkt Barnekc t .ill. 1115-11 born of

hsbcount er of

111 n ttw gods C', @@ the double."",., n l tnwtv

granaries

~I='=dd offering-

~=}~51-

Sarcne nu tet&...-.D c.... )11' htp -ntr giver rnnwu

- ._- _.... __. _ . ._....,thou sands

_", Ho _ , .. _ _ i't~ '1 [1l( IV)~~l'I.

dbh t-htp rhe required offerings

VOCABULARY

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

i~ h ity-: governo r, mayor

EM EA 587(ca rved and painted limestone; II . 56cm)

It is now time fo r yo u to stu dy your first stela - EM EA 587, th e fune rary~"n "m,.n t of thp overcr-r r of Ih p r ham br-r Amencmher. Tran sli te ra te and

Th e laden offe ring table consrituring th e 'fu n e rary meal' for th e de ceased is

referred to as :

table scene from the tom b of Scnbi (consult the sectio n on the offe ring fo r­

m ula if n ecessary ).

4 6

8 M EA 585(carv ed limestone; H. 52cm)

Chapter .:J

Scenes and captions

Tile first part of th is hook was dedicated p rim arily 10 building up your knowiedqe of

the hieroglyphic siqns needed to equip you for the twin goa ls of reading the nant es of

the king s and the ofJering formula. In this pa rt of the hook we will move on to broaden

your kno wledge of the ancient Egyptian language an d how it works, equipping you

10 read a wider ranq eofMiddle Kingdom stelae ill the British Mu seum and elsewhere,

and also supp ly ing you wit h a finn foundat ion for m oving on 10 study the wealth of

surviving ancient Eqyptian writings.

§28 Captions: the infinit iveverbs typically label action s or events suc h as 'do' , or 'kick', though someverbs label states o r condition s such as ' rem ain' , A major topi c to be dealtwith in reading hieroglyph s is how to get the righ t trans lation of verbsaccording to whether they refer to actions in the past. present or future .Over the n ext few chapte rs we will equip you to bring this degree of accu ­racy to your tran slations.

A good place to start is with scenes and capti ons . Scenes are oftenaccompanied by captions whi ch very conven ient ly label the action :

n~KJ spt sm lt Bind ing a skiff (Meir 1[, pl. 4 )

(In captions , words a rc often writt en wit hout det cr minauvcs. since' theirnace itself oicrurcs the mc aninc. \

For the vocabulary, see the ne xt section and the excu rsus on titles, p . 10 3.

The vertical columns of stela BM EA 580 com prise a hymn to Osiris which begins:

51Scenes and captions

VERB CLASS EXAMPLE AND DESCR IPTION

STRONG VERBS e.g. .11 .1\ slim to hear stem does not usuallyshow any alteration

DOr; BLl NG VERBS e.g. zl~}' mu ( 0 see stem ends in a doubleconsonant

WEAK VERBS e.g. ~ mr ti) to love stem ends with a 'weak'consona nt. usually -I

EXTRA WI;AK VERBS e .g. rd(l) to give chiefly verbs with two or!L....Jj three weak consonants

Notes

i With weak verbs, the final -I is usuall y omitted in writing and thereforein tran sliterati on. For pra ctical re asons, however, we will transliterateth e extra weak verb ' to give' as rdl or dt .

ii Extra weak verb s behave like ordinary weak verbs, but som etim esshow add itional features.

tr an slat e 'kissing' in the example above as opposed to 'kissed ' or ' will kiss '? ).tWO points sh ould be borne in m ind :

i w hat help do es the writing of the ver b give us? (the q uest io n of form )

ii how doe s the verb fit in the context of the inscri pt ion? (the ques tio n o f[unctions

As you will see, since hierogl yphs on ly wr ite consonants and not vow­els, th e hieroglyphic writ ing alon e will not always dir ect us 10 the exactform. However, once we take int o account how the verb seems to be beingused in th e inscrip tio n, th en we ca n usually get good se nse ou t of it. The first'100 1 of the trade' that we need to int roduce you to is th e top ic of verbclasses, All the ve rbs in ancient Egyptian can be gathered int o a smallnumber of groups, which , when considere d as a w hole (or paradigm ), u su­ally allow us to see ea ch form som ew hat m ore clearly. The following are thestandard verb classes with a con venient exa mple for each class:

The stem of a stro ng verb is not usuall y th at helpfu l since it rarely sho ws an ydifferences. As yo u will see below, the infinitive of strong verb s gives us littl ewr itten due . Doubling verbs have a root which ends with the same conso ­na nt re peated twi ce. In wr itin g, so me forms of these verbs sho w onlv one o fthese consonan ts (e .g. mJ) and in oth er forms show two (e.g. mJJ) and thi scan hel p in dist inguishing certai n forms. Weak and extra weak verbs, whoseroot s e nd in a 'wea k con sonant ' (-lor - IV) , are the mo st interes ting becausethey sh ow a wider ra nge of variation in different verb-forms, whi ch can bemo st usefu l in spott ing a partic ular form (we shall see that weak verb in fin ­itivr-c ;Hf' rar hr- r m o rr.. f'r1 l\V tn ~nOI t h a n crrrrnc verh in fin ir ivr-c i

£~ -il ~ n n ---:-~v '~ n.=. ~ I ~ ,6_ ;;;)m

dii uw II isir sn lJ n Wp- WlWI

Givin g praise to Osiris, kissing the ground to wepwawet

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

BM EA 58 0,Lines 1-2:

§29 AdorationThe owner of a ste la often expressed a wish to part icipate in certain impor­tant festivals beyond death, particularly the Osiris Mysteries (for whi ch seepp. 54-56). He either wished to participate in them directly - through seeing(mlJ :J':}'}'), ad oring (dwt *'1 ),kissing the groun d (sn u &6 :-1)' orgiving pr aise td tt [JW ~q }. '1 ) to the god - or thro ugh having offerings

made to h im at such times. For example:

BM EA 567 : sn 11 n ljllIy -lmnt w m prt 'II ... In m- r 5n'(w) imn-m -hstKissing the ground 10 Khentyimentu in the great procession ... by

the overseer of the provisioning areas Arnen emhet

§30 Verb classes and the infinitiveSo how do es this all work ? The first and m ost basic point is that when

50

In English the -ing form of the verb tran slates rat her well here,whereas using th e simple English past 'bou nd a skiff' seem s a little inc om­plete and unsati sfact or y, Exactly th e sa me is true in Egyptian. In su chcaptions, Egypti an uses a pa rt icu lar form of the verb whi ch, as yo u will seein the next chapt er, differs markedly from th e form for expressing the past.In Egyptian the equivalent of the -in9 form in thi s usage is termed the infin­

itive (see §31 below for its forms),Before we progress furthe r, the re is on e general com ment we would

like to make. The terms for the va rio us Egyptian verb -forms a re now rathertraditional; they are not always ver y clear in th eir meaning, nor do theyalways agree with the use of the sam e term in describing the grammar ofEng lish . So the te rm 'in fin itive ' a nd its meaning is not really im po rta nt - itwill. however, serv e as a conveni ent label by wh ich we can readily refer to

the verb-form.When the actor is m entione d in an Egyp tian ca ptio n , this is usually

introduced b y ~ - In ' by' :

Before the figur e ofthe owner is a lengthy adoration caption, the bare bones ofwhich

are:

Here a re so me examples 10 illu strat e th is:

53

d o ing or to doinfinit ive translation scheme

( ~ ni l co il of rope is a co mmo n dcre n uinauve for ropes, co rd s a nd ac uo uspe rformed wi th the rn .)

r~r::J spt smh Bindi ng a sk iff

Just like English d ict io na rie s. dictiona ries and word -Iisrs of ancien t Egyp tian

ju st give you a sta n da rd cita tio n fOIDl (th e root), he re sp(i) 'b ind (tog ether)' ,

a nd do no t tell w h ether you n eed 'b ind ing ', 'bou nd' or wha tever in yo u r

ac tua l tr anslati on . All the ci ta tion fo rm tell s us is th at spti) is a w eak ve r b .

But if we look at the actu al example w e find the foll owing form. sho wi n g anexira - I :

'I~ SPI binding

and al so , of course, it is being used in a cap tion . Toge the r th is in for mation

all ows u s to de cide th a t spt is an example of the Egyptian infin itive and ca nbe translated w ell into Eng lis h as 'bmd-In g.

We advise yo u at this stage to follow our exam ple he re in adhering to

a sm a ll number o f sugge sted translation schemes for th e various form s we wi ll

int ro duce yo u to, sin ce this will help yo u to get go od sens e o ut of the h ier ­

og lyphic in scri p tio ns yon will read in thi s book. At fir s!' it is be uc r 10 ref ra in

from tr yin g to be m arc imaginative or 10 'guesumate th e mean ing. So our

first t ran sla tion sch em e is for th e infi n itive (simp ly su b stitute th e necessaryverb for 'do):

In the exa mple s in thi s ch ap te r 'd oin g' will be the right ch o ice, hu t o n othe r

occas ions ' to do ' will fit better. If th e ra nge of m ea n in g seems a bi t lo o se,

com pa re the English 'To s tud y hi eroglyphs is int eresting ' wit h 'St u dyin g

hieroglyphs is int eresting ' w h ere the English ' to do ' and 'd oin g' fonns h ave

a sim ila r usage .

l ~ FJ ~ Il"l\'E

giVing/p lacingrdit or dt: (r op rlorial in bo ih

writings . See p. 44)

SlR O:>;C VERll SdJ~ sdm hea ring

~ no change

DOtJBLlNG VERBS~1,~ m il seeing

- doubling

W EAK VERBS2~ ntrJ loving

- end in-I r -,

EXTRA W EAK VERBS

- end in -I

} f<11I' h ' read ( qYPlial/ hieroqlyphs

~h~~'I~STRON( , VI'RBS M c i r I. pI. 2 : 'Ill" r ipdtw)

Throwing al the bird s

~l,~Q f\~}l\~DOUll U!'(G \ 'ERBS Melr I. pI. 9 : 1Ill! I WlW

Seei ng the ( aIlk

The m ost n o ticeable feat ure of th e table is that the form of the infi n itive of

weak ve rbs e n ds in a -I. Co ns id e r aga in th e sce ne an d ca ption w ith which

we in trodu ced th is ch ap te r (repea ted o n p . 53 ).If yo u look a t the vocabula ry a l the end o f the book. r Oil will find th e

fnIl IlW;ll l1 worn l i~trd:

~B=,M~EXTRA Wh\K VERBS BM Ell 58 0 , I : dlt liw 11 lSlr

Giving praise to Osiris

~u r~\In <--""W~AK VERBS l\k ir II . 1'1. 4 : spt smh

Binding a skiff

52

§31 The forms of the infinitiveSO It' I 'S uun 10 th e in finit ive and see how all th is w orks o u t. Th e inf initi ve

in Egyp tian ha s th e fo llowin g form :

One uu po rta nt poilu 10 nol l.' about weak ve rbs is thzu th e - I and - IV

w ith which their ro o t or d ict iona ry forms end do 110t usuall y appear inwriung a ud so nee d n OT be rran-lu crat ed . However. so rhar yo u can see read ­

ily whethe r a verb is a weak ve rb or n o t. the · i or -IV of w eak verbs wi ll be

ad ded in bracke ts (a s in the tab le ab ove I in th e vocabu lari es in thi s book .

55Scenes and captions

Here we shall concentra te on the route of the festival. In Exercise 6. 5,yo u will stud y one o f t he princ ipal surv iving ancien t sou rces for th e festivalpr ocess ion itself. The exact location and scope of th e various Egyptian placenam es use d a re still a rnauer for debat e . How ever , th e rua p below gives aplausible version .

T~e .-::arting po int o f the festiva l procession wa s th e Osiris Temple( lQ0 1~1~1Ib~ ),housing th e statue of th e god . As you will see for your­self in Exercise 6.5, th ere were actually two outward pro cessions - the, ' f W 'n -P---"-procession 0 ep waw et ( <"">/l V ........ "'"" ) and th en the 'great procession'f Osi n ~ '" c, IIi 'Y'o sins ( 7:.fl r> ) . Stelae were concentrated near th e west ern en tra nce to

t h~emple , in a n a rea of h igh ground known as the 'te rrace o f th e great god '( ~,i)-I!). so t ha t th e decease d co uld look up on th e em erg ence an dre turn of the gods (h ence the ref erences to 'kissing th e gro und' and 'givingpraise' as the images o f th~ gods pass by - the cu lt images of the gods ar eoften re ferred to as thei r ~e~ nfrw ' splendou r' ). The pr ocession cros sed theterrace be fore desce~din g into a wadi (the sacred land, ;:::;~) . The godth en pro ceeded out mt o the dese:r on the God 's boat-j ou rney (Ii 0 'JD )

to Poker ( ~@ ) where the divine mysteries and rites were pe~med .Abydos had a lon g hi story as one of the most sacred sites in th e coun try sinceI t " "'I(. 1 t' I l T"nl <'" pLn~ ("" h th ".- th~ p~,..l iA "-J L·inooe H lp ",.o h llrl t .rt P " thp 11 th

stt rm(w) ill snbl mr-hrwSpearing fish by Sen bi. rh c justified

' m'l r lpd(w) I" snbi mr-hrwThrowing at the birds by Senbi. the justified

How to read ( qyprian hierog lyphs

Meir J. pl. 2:

Meir I. pl. 2:

Ex cursus: The cult of Osiris at Abydos

The hea rt o f the cult o f Osiris at Abydos wa s the a nn ual fest ival at which hiscu lt -sta t ue was bro ught. in a rit ua l boat carri ed aloft bv pri ests , in pro cessionfrom his tem ple to his supposed to rnh at Um m el-Oarab (' mothe r o f pot s ' ).The festival pr oces sion had two fundamental compo nents - a public sectionduring w hich t he div ine image passed through the cemetery ab u tt ing thetempl e 's we stern side , and a pri vate sectio n ou t in the desert where thesecre t rit es conce rn ing th e m ysteries a nd passion of Osiris were performe d.Dur ing the Middle Kingdom at Abydos , m embers of the elite dedica tedstela e, or erected o ffering chapels as ce no tap hs, hopin g to en sure th eir con­tin ued pa rt icipa tion in th e fest ival afte r th ei r ow n death. The cem etery a tAby dos was the refore a veritabl e city of the dead with a wealth o f rnon u ­rne n ts. and, as you will see , Abydcne stelae form an imp ortant body of theMidd le Kingdom monuments studied ill th is book.

st(i ) ' spear' is a weak ve rb , hen ce the in finit ive str 'spearing' . rmrs, however,is a st ro ng verb an d does not provide a part icul arly helpful w riting. Yet thecontext of th e caption and the parallel w ith the other cap tion showing ussu'spearing' ur ge us to con side r th e infi ni tive an d the tra nslation 'th rowin g' .Notice also ho w usin g th e sugges ted translat ion schem e helps US to drawtogethe r a decent Eng lish translation of th e whole: 't hro wing at th e birds hySenbi the ju st ified ' , w hereas reasonable altern a tives such as 'throws at thebirds' do not: ' thro ws at the birds by Senbi the ju stified ' is not particu la rly

goo d Eng lish.

b. Scene of Throwing the throw- stick at the birds:

54

Now, of co ur se, infi nitives of strong and doubling verbs do n ot offer usm uch help ill their writing. But the con te xt a nd so met im es ot her parallelexa m ples can help out. As an ex ample, we can cons ide r again th e fish ingand fowli ng sce ne fro m th e tomb o f Senbi w hich you stu died in edi ted fo rmin Chapter 1 and w hich yo u can stu dy in its o riginal. complete form as Exe r­

cise 4.6 , The two edited labels we re :

a. Scene "f spear ing fish :

57

long-hornedbull

bull

n9m''i ~}lJi:iI or iii

4~

separate, open

lassoo

VOC ABULA RY (N ORMALt SED WR m NG S )

4.4 TranslationTranslitera te and translate th e following sections (rom the 101' o f 8M EA

10 1, the stela of Ncbipuscnwosrer, da ting from th e reign of Am cnernhet III( sh ow n o n the ne x t page - igno re the sect io ns in g rey ). You ma y wish torea d th e no tes on th e cult of Osi ris at Abydos on pp , 54- 56 for usef u l back­ground information .

Th e following not es will hel p you in translati n g th e cent ra l sectio n:Notes

The eye emblem in the cen tre can be read as a verb ' 10 see' . It is though t 10

Meir I. pI. 11

Mei r II, pl. 4

The bu ll is al so lab elled sep arately be tween the tw o figures at th e top.

See/res and captions

r---- - """- --- - --I V wp(l )l OX~ roI~ spit1_._ .. _. .

repeat

kiss

wife

r. sn j w itm~

~ m(t<-j/ *dws

EXAM PLE

UlIJ or CIJ hb festival

~ ~1 or 1 h(w) praise. adora tion

hm

111

o

SIGN

A2 0 man witho utstret ched arm s

F6 basin combin edwith canopy

How 10 read Egypl ia ll hieroglyphs

' -~ sister ~ ~.; e-. "

*1 adore. praise ;0;~ brothe r Jl\~

4.3 Translation

Both of these dctcrminativcs a re used widely. for various festivals and forwords to do w ith pra ise and supplica tion . Note. however. that when u sed onthei r own. the y a re abbreviated writings of the two speci fic words give n .

VOCAB ULARY

4.2 WordsTra nsliterat e the foll owing words:

b. Determinatives:

Exercises

4.1 Signsa. Soun d Sig /IS:

56

Dynasty. th e tomb of the Isrd vnas tv king Dje r wa s believed 10 be that of

Osiri s hi msel f.

~ J) pre procession ::LJ rw d terr ace

n ~ pre 'JCthe great 1[;]

h wt - temple= JI procession nt r

C> c

LJ i?~pre the procession

0l~ (I dsrsacred

! ~JlV6/ 1 W p -WJWl of wepwawet land

O Li @ l':::r Poker 1 !~~ <ill ntrgod's boat - i

=journey

L~_ ___ _ .._. _ ._ ·_ - - _._- - _ .. _ _ ..__ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ .. -1

59

born of

Se net

ir-n

SIll

b,\ nfrw splend our, wonder

h is wo ndc rtu l procession

Scenes and captions

his wond e rful festival>

th e gr eat procession

VOCA BUlA RY

I'r:=fnfrt

prt ru

hb (Wj=f nf rw

land , }:round/l

int] In tc f

sn

13M EA 58 1

(ca rve d lim estone; w. 36c ll1)

:;: ~~-r~~lJO -~

<::>JJo

d~~ m fJ see , look al

4.5 TranslatianTran slit erate and tra nsla te the following se ct io ns o n the next pa ge fro m BM

EA 58 1, one of the th re e stelae of the ov erseer of the chambe r Int ef so n ofSenet in th e British Mu seum , These ste la e are extremely elab orat e in their

wording, so we 'Nil! only cons ider two sections . Ign o re the parts in grey,

How to read ;':"ypticlH h iercaly phs

VO CA BULA RY

---- ~-----_. _---- - _ . ----- ----- ----_. .

[C o prt procession ~;iR;ptr viewing ih e

=./l nf rw splendour

"'"- ~f his ~ 'II in , during

"c" ""r= nb t'=i) - Neb ip u -

*nfr

pcrteci.

l l ~ 1 '~ pw-s n ws rt se nwos ret wond erful

1~1 nfrwperfection , bcau iv. Q) I I /:IMw) festivalswo nd er. splendou r

*1 dWI adore, praise ~r;041r enduringly and"iIiI repeate dly

- - 0_ ' ~

Grammar

BM EA 101

(ca rved an d pa in ted lim estone; w. 66cl11)

ii See §§ 17- 18 on th e ki n gs name and epithets (th e epithets a re divided

in to two columns m irro ring th e geue ral divisio n into a sect ion o n Osirison the left and o ne on w epwawct on the right), mry is used in lh e epi­th et 'b elo ved of the god X ' . Th e name of the god (and h is titl es) a rc

w ritten first fo r rea so ns o f p restige (as noted in §2 2 ab ove ).

The dec....a scd king Sen wosr et III forms th e ce n tra l focu s of th e scene , As

recorded in ' the middle sect io n of th e stel a , Nebipusen wosret had th is st ela

sen t to Aby dos in th e care of th e eld er lecto r-priest Ib i w ho had co m e, as pa rtof the priesthood o f the temple of Ab ydos, to th e reside n ce o f th e th en reign­

in g k ing Am enemhet II I.

58

61Scenes and captions

IJ and" arc similarsound; and can occurin varian t writings

The first sign has twoKh~lqytmenlU variants. with three or

') four pots (E38. E39)[ltt'y ­im ntw

m -r overseer of'Unw ty the chamber

How 10 read Egy ptian hieroglyphs

4.6 Study exercise: Fishing and fowling scene from rite tomb ofSenbi at MeirYou are now in a position 10 translit er at e and translat e the o rigina l versionof the fish ing and fowling scene from the to mb of Senbi shown o n page 6 1.

60

writinqsThe extrac ts fro m BM EA 581 show two variant wr itings wort h noting:

VOCABULARY, - - -- - ------- ---- - - - - - --- - -- - - ---- - - -- -i ~ ' d( ) f I bl d '=' nb. lord (masc.) 1

:~I I Ip W ow . If S C/ , 0 n bt lady (Iern.) :

~i \l Ib hea rt at, towards

QIII., tmil] reverence <0< rmtw) fisbII'

~~ ~ Inl1l;y the revered .J') hsty- : gover norN

~ c.

t~lm rut western d hmt wife --

0

....'u

4- In hy '" [Ir before::?:

1:f1 Osir is ~(jU[rtmty- seal-bearer of -

IS/T blty the king

-n~--D~! <mrs th row 0 smyt desert~

=f his r~ ;.sm r - sole

"'- ,vl(Y) compa nion

:>::!or =:1 11JJ r-bnv ju stified rJ ~ snbl Senbi

I' ove rsee r of affection.i

.tr l~m -r

~\l st-ibI hm- ntr priests intimac yI

~= rmrs Meres ~['v st(i) spear

.._.._- " --- ---'. ---- _.---_._- _._- '- ... .- -- ---- - -- - - - - -- - - -Notes ,-;J ~oo

i Fishing scene: ancient corre cti on at en d of line . read: -50 ~ ,

ii Fowling scene : end o f first lin e , read ~(jU . Above wife. read _ n 'o f'

above J

w><:: NS E

The easternsideThe eas tern side of the co ffin is sho wn on the next page. Tran slite rate an dtra nslate with the help of th e vocabulary and notes below :

63

OTIlE R DEITIES

~~} SW Sh u

~J gb Geb

0 - tjn t Tefn et...... 0

00 nwt Nu t="

Kh entyi rn entu ._____ _____ --.J

Nakhtankh

tlllr(y)·im nlll·

Scenes and captions

BM EA 35285 (eastern side )(painted w ood; L. 2 12ml)

.------- ...- --.- ----- -1i ~-?- -;; nbr--nb

. :1~,---------------

THE EOUR SO"'S OF HORUS

~~ r~ imst ! Irnsett

* 0 dwi -mwte ] Du arnute f'--'''--..

L~~q hpy Hapy

l2 ~ g,,- kbh -snwr] Oebeh scnuef(:;, "

NotesImlb(y) tlr displays ha plography (i.e., wh ere the last sign in one wordand th e first in th e next a re the sam e and the sign is wr itten onl y on ce) .

ii mr -hrw is (a) w ritten occasionally with the papyrus-roll and (b) om it­ted in th e north ernmost column .

iii the g b-goos e (B8 ) is diffe rent from th e sr-duck (B7).

VOCABCLARY

The western sideThe principal inscript ion on the western side of the coffin is an offering for­mula to Anubis. Wh ereas th e Osiris offering form ula con cerns the offeringsto susta in the ka of the deceased, the Anubis offeri ng form ula concerns theburial itse lf.

Translite rate and translate with the help of the following notes:

How to read c~qyptian hieroglyphs

The body was laid on its left side, facing towards the east. in o rde r to be ableto look out th roug h th e eyes on th e eastern side towards th e newly rejuvc­nated sun a t sunri se. Hence th e in scri ptions run from th e head at th enorth ern e nd towards th e feet a t the southern end. This represents th e typ­ical arrangement of a Middle King dom rectangular coffin. On th e easternside (the s ide with th e eyes looking out towards the sunri se ). th e maininscr iption is an offering form ula to Osiris. On th e w estern side is an offeringformul a to Anubis. At th e corne rs, the inscr iptions invoke th e four sons ofHorn s. protective deities for th e body of th e deceased (with th e classicMidd le Kingdom a rrangeme nt of Irnseti and Duam u tef on th e east side an dHapy and Qebehsen uef on th e wes t). The cent ral colu mns in vok e deitiesclosely linked to Osiris: Shu and Geb on the east side and th eir fem ale con ­

sort s Tefnet and Nut on th e west.

62

4.7 S tu dy exercise: The coffi n of Nakh tankh (B M EA 35 28 5)Although in th is book we concentrate on stelae in the British Mu seu m, th emat erial th at you <I re working through also puts you in a position to studyinscr iptions on othe r kin ds of mu seu m objects, part icularly where th eyincl ude the offering form ula. In th is exercise you will study the inscripti on son the outside of a Middle Kingdom coffin (BM EA 35285, the coffin of

Nak htank h) .We sh a ll concent rate on the two exte rior sides of the coffin. om itting

the inscripti ons on th e h ead an d foot ends. The inscrip tions are align ed on

th e co ffin as follows:

BM EA 35285 (weste rn side)

iw krs.n»! ittw)I buried the old

BM EA 562,Lin e 10:

Chapter 5

Description

In the next two chapters. we will introduceyou to the past tense, concentratinq oninscriptions in which the deceasedreflects back upon, and describes, hisofficial life. Wewill also introduceyou to the ancient Egyptian pronouns.

The offici£l l lntef son of Senet proclaims his ethical behaviour:

§32 Introduction: descriptionIn a typi cal type of funerary inscription - w hich we can term self-presentation- the owner presents him self (rarely, herself) accord ing to the ethi cal valu esof Middle Kingdom elite society and in te rms of su ccess an d achievement .part icularly in roya l service. In orde r 10 describe th e activitieswhich the offidalpa rticipa te d in , th e tasks he accomplish ed, and his ethicalbeha viour, the pasttense is genera lly use d.

This constructio n comprises th e past form of th e verb (.;;, ~ = krs + _ .n;

d . English 'bury ' + ' -ed' - see § 33 below) followed by th e subject ('1' ) andother e lements; the sen tence begins wi th an aux ilia ry ~} iw which is no ttranslated in to English (see §34 below ).

§33 The past: sgm.n(=f)The past form is term ed the .tJ1\,::: sdm.nt-f) (pronounced 'sedjcmenef)'he hea rd' , using the verb sdm '10 hear' in the 'he ' form ('he heard ' ) as thestan da rd example. In th is form, an affix _ .n <ed'. is added 10 the verb­stem (wri tten after the det erminative). As a stan dard convention, in tran s­literat ion th e .n is usu ally separa ted from the stem of the verb by a dot - thisjust makes it easier 10 spot. The form s of th e s4m.n(=j) for the verb classes(§30 above) a rc;

bu rial

~ ::: nfr

.Ll n a krst= I'i:==l

the one before the divine booth

VOCABULARY

tomb

e 9 IT tm t)' sh -n i rmlJlli

~._-_...._ - ---

! ~l;; IS

1 bcemet ery,

L__. :-:r_n~~oP_ol_is .

NotesThe standard organization of th e Anubis offering formula is: htp -dl -nswfollowed by An ubis wi th his epi the ts and th en krst nfrt withou t beingin troduced by dt»]. You may wish 10 introduce your tr anslation of krst

nfrt with a dash o r colon after th e htp-di-nsw section.ii Rea d ts=f nfr n I1rt-ntr wi th th e indirect genitive (see §27 above) . ls»]

means 'his tom b'; for =f see §33.iii An ubis is invoked with hi s standard epi thets (see p. 4 2 ) an d a further

epithe t:

64 How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

67

IW d,.nl=I) [ww <m> m/;nI(=t) dsl=i)I fe rried th e boatles s in my o wn fer ry

:1 ""5 ·" , ~ ;_.D ....e.l Jr ,'/;;:: 1 ~, fin~"'j .:r_ I , ~ ~>JK A _ ... X __ A....ID\ i 1 2;.

i ll' rdt.n t-cl] { tl hk r hbs w tl h iv1gav e bread In Ihe h ung rvand clothes IO th e na ked

BM EA 178 3,Li nes 4- 0:

BM FA 17 83.Line 4 :

IJr..' EA 56 2.l.i ne 10 :

Note:Iwll' ' the boat lcss: is writt en with a do ubling 01 the 2-consonan t sign

~B32 .

ii Repeated consonan ts are sometimes omitted : he re only one m is wri t­ten in In mhntiv i) ' in my ferry ' .

iii lis is u sed for th e empha tic reflexive ' (m y/h im )sd f' or 'ow n' .

lll hu remakltr extols h is proper conduct as a responsible official:

An other of Inh uretnakht 's stated eth ical acts:

§35 Omission o f the firs t person suffix pronounThe first pe rson suffix p ronoun (' I-m e- m y') is sometimes om itte d in w riting,particu larly in te xt s where a figure of th e person is present (e.g. s tela e a ndtomb in scri ptions) or st ro ngly implied (e.g. w he re th e te xt is all abou t th at

per son ):

(Th ere is no wor d for 'an d ' in Egvptian ; for vocabulary. see Exer cise 5.4 .)There is no simple English equivalent for Iw and so it is left unt rans­

lated. Ir invokes a sen se of in volvem ent in the assessment or prese n ta tion ofwhat is sa id / w riu e n. In self-presen ta tio n inscription s, Iw f dm.n(=fJ give s asen se of looking back over one 's life. In ot her contex ts th e perf ect (' someo n ehas done som eth ing' ) a lso su its, particu larly in recorded speech .

§36 Su ffix pronounsAltho ug h, as we sh all see , ihere are different set s of pro no uns in Egyp tia nwith different usages, the y do no t correspond to the difference between '1­me-my' or ' h e -himhis' in Eng lish . The Egyptian pronouns translate bywhatever ha ppens to be th e most ap propriate En glish form o f pronoun . The

suffix pronoun s arc used:a. As the subiectsof verbs 1'1', 'he ')

The official Inte] son of Senet proclaims h is ethical behaviou r:

he gave

he loved

he hea rd

:;4m. n(=.fj

mr.Il=!

(rJdf.ll=fr opt iona l

l1H .n=Ino dt)t:htillg

sdm.l!=f

q }4~Kit~I t<' ipn hk : 1w ,(w )(= !)The ruler ins pe cted my ca u le

SUFFIX P RON OUN S sl!m . tl l,~j)

it =1 L' l\~ sdm.n=/ t hea rd

He)[l "'=-- =! L'~=sdm.n«] he heard

DOU HU N<..; VERR S

EXTRA W 1:AK V[RBS

WfAK VFR BS

STRO J\G VERBS

How 10 read Fgyptian hier oqlyphs

BM EA 167.Line 10 :

Th e suffix pronoun s (see th e refe rence tables on p. 148 for a full list ) au achto th e ve rb; th is is indicat ed in tr anslit er ati on by the symbo l '= ' . On ce againthi s ha s th e practical valu e of making the su ffix prono un s easy to spo t intransliteration: slim .Il=I is much easier to read isdm ' h ea r' + .n ' -d ' + =f 'he' )

th an sdmni.With an o rdin ary noun subje ct (e .g.trhe man heard ' ), th e noun follows

the ver b, bu t docs n ot fix on to it (h en ce there is no '=' in tr an sli ter ation ):

Hekaib record>all inspection o] his property by the ru ler:

§34 Aux iliarie sTh e slim.nl=/) is usuall y preceded by a n a nxilia ry such as ~} iw. In stelainscrip tio ns iii' s!im .Il(=f) often trans lat es w ell as a sim ple past ('someone did

som erhing) :

(For the om ission of = 1 in IWI(w)= 1 'm y cau le ' . see § 35 below; see p . 7 3 for

vo cab nla ry.)

When th ere is a pr onoun su bje ct (e .g. 'I hear d' , 'he heard ' ). th e suffix pro­

nouns a re used (see §3 6 below); the pronouns for 'I' and ' he ' a re give n her e

(compare with the exa mp le above ):

6 6

The self-p resentation of lnhuretnakht ends:

69Description

frt.n=/ what he did

-=-"-- Ir.n=f he did

lrt.n -n=f sl=f smswef mry=fdblWhat his eldest and beloved son Debi made for him

PAST TE:"SE

PAST RELATIVE FOR~t

8M EA 178 3:

In Egyptian , th e desc ribed eve nt ' I asse mbled 100 bull s' is expressed by usingthe scjm.n(=j) form ir.n t-ei) . However, th e cha rac terised eve nt 'w ha t I didmyself' is expressed by usin g anot her verb-form - the past relative form:lrt.n te i ) . In rhis usage , the re is no separa te word for 'w ha t' or 'which' , rat he rthe verb, form shows a -t ill its wr iting , so irt .nt c i} in itself means 'w ha t I d id'without needing ex tra words. Notic e that missing ou t a word suc h as 'wh at'in translation leave s the sent ence with poor sense: 'I assembled a hund redbulls th rough I did m yself' . You will often find this to be the case: th e relativeforms (and the ir cou sins , the part icip les introd uced in Chapter 7 ) scream ou tfor th e inclusion of an English w ord such as 'w ha t' or 'w hich ' in translation.The same stela pro vides another simila r example:

Between th efigures of lnhuretnakht and Hui. tit" following dedication label about thestela appears:

Notes-n=/ precedes sl=fsmswe] mrye] in word o rder.

ii In si»]smsll'=f mry=f bo th SI1lSW and mry share the followi ng =f and th eph rase means literally 'his son, his elde st. his beloved' .

In this book we shall focus on the relative fonn onl y when it shows the ext ra-I. In thi s wa y we can isolate the following convenient tran slation schem esfor the pa st sdm. I1(=j) form an d th e past rela tive fonn sgm /,I1(=f) discussed inthis cha pt er:

Excursus: Names and kinship termsNames and family re lat ionshi ps play an importa n t role on Iune rarv stela e.We presen t here a number of the names to be found on the monumentsstudied in this book, and the kinship terms used , for you to refer to . As thesection on names indi cates, many Egyptian names (like our own ) have amea ning. Nevertheless. in tra nsla ting Egyptian monuments, it is better to

stick to the name itself. rather than trying to translate the name into English.

NamesNantes referrtnq to personal conditionIn a society wit h high in fant mortality, it is not surp rising that many names

n'" =-;;:' : ~ ~ ~ """~Jt_H I .JiI\':,_ ; I

iw Ir.n(=I) klw /00 In In .n(= ij 4.«=1)I assembled 100 bulls throu gh what I did myself

How to read Eqyptian hieroglyph s

BM EAI62 ,Line 5:

BM EA 1783.Line 5:

~~./l}~~~i:'_~JJ~4d.I(I<J=fn=!lw In hip 111 wrw It IbilwMay 'Welcome in peace' be said for Will by the great of Abydos

(For the meaning of cjd.l(w)=f , see p. 115.)For the full list of su ffix pronouns, see Referen ce table, p. 148.

c. As the object after a preposition t'me', 'him ')

From the Abydosformula on 8M EA 162:

N<Jt"s~ is the n umbe r 100.

ii m here has the mea ning ' th rough ' or 'by the means of' .

~ , §l~ , _. t s,~~~* jj .ii.. r:'I..MI ~ "'---(i.1l' ..sd 108 M EA 101 : d wi tsir m (Ib(W)=! nfrw 41 r nhh

Adoring Osiris in his wonderful festivals endur ingly and repeatedly

b. As the possessor of a noun tmy, 'his' )

The top pan of BM EA 101 beh ind the iiqure of Nebipu senwosret (see p. 58):

§37 The past relative form: stjmt.n (=f)The following paragraph discusses a more advanced poin t wh ich som e ofyou may wish to work th ro ugh at this stage in order to gain th e maximumu ndersta ndi ng of the inscripti ons read as study exerci ses to th is chapter,Others ma y con sider these points a little abs trus e at this stage and ma yprefer to return to th is paragraph later on .

As well as being described (som eone did some thin g' ). events can alsobe characterised (trea ted as a 'thing w hich someone did ' : 'w ha t/wh ich some ­one did ') . Egyptian has a special wa y of characterising an eve nt - by usingth e relative forms - whi ch is qui te different from English and is often seen asone of the more difficult aspe cts of ancient Egyptian . However, the use ofthe relative form s is ext re mely com mon and will crop up in a n umber ofexamples, and so we will attempt to ope n up this area of Egyptian for youby the use of our no tion of a transla tion schem e. The difference bet weende scription and characterisation can be see n in the following example:

68

_ _ J ••• ,. _ : . _ . . • n._ ~ _ ....1• . A : .~ .... • \. . .....

7 1Description

born ofnts-nborn oftr-n

Sl=! mry=/ ,mnyHis son, his beloved. A meny

Sl=! mrv-fpih -htpHis son, his beloved, Ptahho tep

.:'\ 0 ~ or c. II father ~3 ntH" mother~ "-- ""- u

fiJq~~ hi husband ~~ hmt wife

g~ sn broth er 1-~ snt sister.j 0 L ...J

~:&' ss so n ~~ Sit da ugh ter

U 0 ft~ sbt family, househ old= . .

BM EA 584:

BM EA 57 1:

Fami ly me mbers a re oft en referred to as be ing 'be loved' .

various re la t ives an d dependants on the mo n ument of th e deceased , these100 e njoyed th e benefits of being com me mora ted by figur e and bv name.Access to su ch mouu rnents as fu nera ry stelae was rathe r limit ed. mos tly to

th ose holding som e for m of elite position . The crucial rela tionship wa s thatbetween the fa th er an d the eldest son: in socia l te rms, thi s wa s the rou te ofinheri tance. p ro viding family cont inu ity; in cu lt term s, th e eldest son w as th ech ief cele bra nt fo r his fat her (as Horus was for Osiri s).Priru'i pa l kinship term s:

Label before one ofthe sons of Khuenbik offering fowl:

Som et imes, th o ugh , we find a m ore abbreviated w rit ing.

Label before thefirst sons ill the third row ofBM EA 571:

(In id ioma tic Eng lish we m ight p refer ' h is beloved so n '. )

The pa rentage of th e own er is us ually in trod uced by one of the tw o

following ph rases:

literally, i r -n m eans 'wh om X made ' and inS- II means ' wh om X bore '.Usually tr-n is u sed of both th e fat he r and mo the r, wh c rcas ms-n is used ofthe mot he r alo ne . when the person thi s ph rase is a pp lied to is fem in in e,hor h. il< nsu.rl . show a '" · 1 rhefo re _ Il l.

pth -htp Ptah is content

1,,1;"-II!1I Iuh ur et it. stfUngInh uretnakht (BM EA 1783)

Ptahh otep (BM EA 584)

rn Scubi (Meir tomb - snb i h eah hychapel B. I'll . I )

-OQ Nakhti (OM EA I·B ) nb" strong. vigo rous'>.-'-- 0

,,€I ,} Khu IBM f A 571) tIll' protected

H £lIV to read J-:'gyprian hieroqlvphs

c ~ .4"c:..\ cO

~::}~ Sarenenu tet (BM EA 585) ss-rnn wtt son of Rencnutct

=..~ Sat sobek (BM EA 586) su -sbk daughter of Sobek

1r~ Senwosre t (BM EA 571) s-n -wsrtman of thepowerful one

] .cIntel I",! 11th dynasty nomen(EM EA 581)

~~~-i'Amcn ernhe t im n-m- hst 12th dyuasiy nomen(BM EA 587)

cz.>r-c:> Ncbipusenwosret IIb(= lj-pw,slIwr rl Sen wos re t is my lordc~ ~ (0 ,\ \ EA 101)

Kinship termsSte lae emphasise family re lationsh ips by naming members of the de cea sed 'sfamily and hou sehold (often including servan ts and de pen dants) . The livingmembers a re usually show n prese n ting offeri ngs to th e o ffering -tab le, th us

A th ird ty pe involves a piou s stateme nt in response to the ch ild 's birth :

Loyalist namesNam es which associate the ind ividua l with th e king:

The birth names of the kin gs them selves accord wit h the standard namingcon ven tions. Hen ce Am cn ernhet mea ns 'Arnun is in fro nt'. i.e . Amun isguidin g the ch ild's fort u nes (compa re wi th Scnw osret above ).

A secon d type invok es a dose - often fam ilial - relations hi p w ith a god:

Na mes referring to deitiesOne tvpe associa tes the ind ivid ual dir ect ly with a deity :

J7L1 Isis (BM EA 143) sst

70

73Descript ion

BM EA 562 , Line 10:

BM EA 178 3. Lin e 4:

BM EA 178 3. Lines 4 -5:

BM EA 586 , Line 2:

b. The official In tejson of Sen et proclaim s h is ethical behaviour:

e. Ity notes h is success an d achievement:

c. ln huretnakht exto ls his proper conduct as a responsible official:

VOCABULARY-,.." ..._ - -_._ - -_.__.•-- _.,..._--- ---

! Q }'~ li (w) the old ~ Iw/(I<') cattle.~

" ; iI .... Iww the boatless Q~ Ip inspect

"'-'I

I j~. wbm repeat g prt procession0

I~mJ-:;, IIIUnt ferry t:: IlSW king

i r~~Q~ !IIY the naked ' Ll lit hkr the hungry{=o-

I e [lr before .~J:u:> !:rs bury=0-

r~-' di(1j ferry ~1ft lis=! myself. my own, ----------- - ~-- _.__.. ._ - - --_.-'

For e. keep to a literal rendering of the Egyptian.

d . A nother of Inhuretnakht's stated eth ical acts (m added for clarity) :

5.4 Study exercise: BM EA 1783In this exercise. you can make a start on studying a more com plex stela inthe British Museum: BM EA 1783, the stela of th e governor Inhure tnakhtand his wife Hui fro m Nag' ed- Deir. The stela is shown on p. 74.a. Tran slite rate an d transl at e the offerin g formula at th e top of the stela(Lines I- 2 ending wit h th e word ad ju st before the end of Line 2), using thenotes given.b. Tran sliterate an d tran sla te the section sta rting at the beginning of Line 4(we sha ll return to the section from th e end of Line 2 to the en d of Line 3 inChapter 7).

The ceme tery of Nag' ed -Deir, opposite modem Girga , wa s th e ceme ­tery for Thinis (::: Q@tnts, th e capital of th e 8th Upper Egyptian no me(which also includes Abydos): ln -hrt (lnh uret or On uris) was its principa lde ity. Nag' ed-Dcir was an im portan t cemetery cen tre from Prcdyna stic, 1n H·"c f n 'h I'> 1 1 fh ,~ "n ::H" f\ t ~ n rt .h ,. c f ::)r, .-, f , h ,.. ~ Al ..l (np V; n T1~Arn ~. u , h ;: rh

wrong

friend

amethyst

proceed,go. set out

I liblJb, Ill'

1 nm

md hw mst-n imny m srt-hrwMedhu born of Arneny. the justified

How to read Egyptian hierogly phs

8M EA 162

~ :-~ favour, praise ~1r

1~ boat -journe y 3ti./.l

11, ruler 2~

- 0./.l formal~3tQ~iAo' , , journe y

i l,-' ferry

Berlin 1204, Line 18:

(The verb i r(l) ' to do ' is used with a wide range of idiomatic meanings: here

Exercises

Th e nam e an d filiatio n of the wife ofA m eny 0 11 BM EA 162 (see Exercise 8 .5):

72

5. I Sig"s

Prop erly speakin g ir-n an d ms-n a re probab ly ma sculine relative form s - see§52 below. However, in this book we will stick to the distin ctive translitera­tion using '-' : i r -n and ms-n .

5.3 Tran sla tionTrans literate and translate the followin g sentences . Some we re used in thetext above and so give you th e cha nce to w ork th rough these examples th o r­ou ghly. You may wish to consult §35 on th e omi ssion of th e pronoun =i .a. Ikhernofret relates h is role ill the Mysteries of Osiris:

5,2 WordsTranslite ra te the following wo rds wri tt en wi th these signs :

1111/11 is the wo rd used for th e form al an d festal jou rne ys of the god and thekin g. It is a collect ive term and not a plural (and hence does not req uire ( w )

in tran slitera tion despite th e pre sence of plu ral strokes).

The form of the kin sh ip expression s are alike , although som e writ ings..... ... h~h : ~ .. ....._ ...: ...... .. .. f ..... 1 ~, ......... ,........~ '"".

75

priestess01 Hathor

the boat less

mother

Inhure m akht

ferry

the naked

praise

siblings,brothers Iand sisters

ferry

Descr iptio n

Iww

mltn t

in- hrt ­nh t

mwt

hsfl)

hm tti- n trh w t-h r

snwsnu' (

IN I)

~~

~li7! ~

J~~~c;

lamily,household

gracious.gentle

lather

100 bulls

love

lord 01the sky

the hu ngrv

clothes

Im (J)

sb:

mr(i)

If

nb pt

Uh f mw W' II sole lady inwanmg

BM f A 178 3 dates fro m the First In ter m ediate Pe riod and is a classicexam ple of the regional Nag' ed-Deir style of t ha t per iod, bot h in term s of itsa rtw ork and the con ventional phraseology of the ins cript ion , which is ori­enta ted a rou nd the family and eth ical be ha vio ur.Notes

i = is a dete rm inative of prt-h rw. See §26, p. 38

ii See Cha pter 3 for the variou s tit les of In huretriak ht and the u se ofimshw ' th e revered one ' . Be careful with the title at the sta rt of line 2_

iii Se lf-presenta t ion inscr ipt ions a re usua lly cast as a speech, and are int ro ­du ced by rid 'who say s' or rid=f'he says' ,

iv See §35 for the omission of th e first per son pro noun ,v (/5(= 1) is used as t he em phatic reflexive (a s in '1 sha ll do th at myse lf' or

'm y O\VI1 hou se ' ),vi Before mhn t th e preposi tion m ' in ' has bee n omitted ,vii lrtt) ' do, ma ke' is used he re in the sense of 'acq u ire' or poss ibly 'ra ise' .

VO CABULARY

Tire Familyc. Translite rate and translate th e labels around the ot her family m e mbers,Hui ha s the foll owing titles:

lu-~,1fr-. I - " ' - - ­

I Q>I~

i iJ~}Y hbsw

I L;;'~ !Z~r. ~='I b(w)I. 'J=-l ; ~ 100

EM EA 1783

77Description

BM EA 57 1 (lOP)

(ca rved lim estone; w. s tcrm

Saamun(name)

Sa ha rho rma rne)

festival

the god 's boat ­journey 10 Poker

the Thoth -fcstival

the half-monthlyfestival. i.e. full moon

SI=f mrv=1 his belovedson

oil. ungue nt

ss-imn

ds: ntrr pkr

dhwl1

co o .ff'll~ ~ nnuy Ncnwv

mrht

j~~ sntr incense

:-;.\ ,\\ I S

beer

water

'=J ~ dbi Debi

-----.--- ----- _._- - -overseer

I1/W

the Wag-festival

the moruhlvfestiva l

hmt -tm t t»] his beloved wil l'

ibd

m-t pr

How 10 read J::qyp tiil n hi eroglyp hs

The procession of Osiris 10 Poker :

76

" , - s;=f smsw=! his beloved~IA~44"- mry»] eldest son

Festivals

The genera l word for a Iesu val is hb: 1JCD or CD hb

The readin g of th e h alf -mon th festival is still un clear. An old suggestion torea d smdt has problems. Mor e recently. th e suggestion has been mad e th atth e readin g shou ld be based arou nd the nu m be r fifteen . as mddint.

The presence 01 the festi va ls on suc h ste lae rc fh-crs th e desire 01 th e

Th e second offering form ula co nt a ins a differe nt set of offerings :

A number of particular or periodic festiva ls arc oft en m entioned on ste lae .Th e loll owi ng is a lisI 0 1 the ones which a ppea r on BM EA 57 1, arrang ed in

the typica l o rder in which th ey occur :

5.5 Study exercise: 8M EA 571 (t op)The top secti on of th e stela of Khu and h er IWO hus bands. sh ow n on p. 77.

a. Trans late the offering formulae above the two scenes .

VO CA BULARY

i ni' ~ h w! Ra iL ... .. _

I, rh nslV kings advisor. :2' ';;rynb=f beloved of his lord

l_~~_~W. --'::'~: II~~ ._ .._!!__»: ~o{;I~i~~~~~ J

79

. -- .. --' - - ih rt -pr domestic

sftw butch er

[ msw att endant

;==0c-,

[ ' .1

washerman

BM EA 57! (bo tt om )(ca rved limestone; w. S lcm)

OCClj PATJONS

Description

cm ering -rnard(literally. 'the en tvrer)

cup-be arer [Ie rn.)

rh ty

1*: IC>

i ~

\======='~=======.====

his belovedfriend

overseer of thestorehouse

bIlIllS=!mry(=JJ

VOCABULA RY

accompanymg the overseer o f th e sto reho use

Emsaf(name)

cup-bearer,but ler

m -sr«]

wbi

accompa nving lite son

i'iAMI:S Ai'iD TITLES-_..._-_ .- . . ._- . ._ .-._ -

~ ~q~ Amen)' =}~ sn -mll(U-' Satrnen tju;::; '.Jj

k>~;} (l W Tjau ~ 11sst-wsrtt) Sat w osret

n=~...z Am en ern hvi JQ hi Bet1_

~} bw Khu ~~si-hwthr Sahathor

--.;;

"ddc Dedct ~ Hctcp

L...,.;,,; 0 0

~r~ s-n· wsrt SCIlw o srCl ~ ;~ h m-ntr p ril'st

Samenkhet Scherepib (name,~= e sI-mnbl ro:b'(j sh tp -ib more fully

~__=-. ~~ame )__ .. _~ . Seh~lep ibre ) .... _ J(Nam es endin g w ith m-sI=f usually start with a god 's n ame, as in hr-m-ssv]

Horernsaf. )

5.6 Study exercis e: BM EA 571 (bo t tom)Th e bottom sect io n o f ste la BM EA 57 1. show n on the following page, showsfurth er family mem bers and mem bers of th e household an d estate staff.a. Transliterate a nd tr anslate th e in scri pti ons. You may wish to make use o f

the Exc ursus on na m es and kin sh ip ,b. Here are th e nam es and titles in th e sce ne . SOllie of th e names ar e not

trans litera ted. Transln era tc them yo urself:

fest ival da ys: on ce th e god h ad sati sfi ed h ims elf with th em , the)' were passedon to th e blessed dead . Sec the concl usio n of th e festival list on BM EA 162

in Exe rcise 8.S for a fu rther illust ration of th is poi nt .

Offering bearersb. Trans lite rate and tr an slat e the inscrip tions accumpanyi ng the offerin g hear­ers in th e two scenes . Th e inscrip tions accompan ying th e two m ajor uffe rin gbea re rs in the top scen e tit th e hieroglyphs aro und the figu res . This ca n lea dto unus ual arrangem ents. Th ey ar e given below in a co nvent iona l o rde r:

78

Chapter 6

lnhuretnakht is extolling his proper conduct as a responsible official:

~~1) c g ...t,. ~ l=-1''l~= ..!!f t:1 1

n lr(=I) twi t r rm tI did not do wrong against people (or: I did no wrong ...)

. \.i3. 0 "' - 0--A- ~fle ,,~}_

n nI l=! mtty srw pnI have never seen the like of this goose

q} J1r: ~~~ .:. rl~~~1ft~J!~~'i!IW whm.n(=I) hst hr nsw

s,j Ib(= i ) r liw(~I) bprw r-Ill/ = II repealed favour before the king

and advanced my h eart further than myforefathe rs who existed before me

8M EA 586,Line 2:

BM EA 562, Line I I:

Me ir In , 1'1. 23 :

J gave bread to the hu ngryand clothes to the naked

Irynotes his success and achievement:

Further aspects of description 8 I

5 (.:&-} rdl.n(=I) 'I gave ' is sha red: "] gav e bread to the hu ngry a nd (I gave)clot hes to the naked ' .

Following on immediately from his statement of positive ethical virtues (see above),Intef adds:

Notes1ft .n(=I) ' I ..-(e )d' is sha red; ' I repeated fav our ... and ( f ) ad vancet d )m y hea rt ' .

ii r 'to, in relation to ' sometimes has th e se nse of 'mo re than '.iii hprw 'w ho existed' is a particip le (see Chapte r 7 ).

§39 NegationThe negat ive of th e past ('I did no t do tha t') is made up of th e negati ve wor d-'- n followed by sgm(=f) (it is not. as we might expect, fonned by ns<!m.n(=f)!):

This neg ation also occu rred in the openi ng scene to this book (no tice thesligh tly stro nger tr anslat ion with 'n ever') :

Above the man roastinq a goose:

Sometimes the n egation is w ritten (rathe r confusi ngly!) with _ .

IW k rs.n>! Il(W)hbs.n>i htv

J buried the 01:1and J clothed the naked

BM EA 562,Lines 10- I I :

The official InterSOl1 of Senet proclaims his ethical behaviour in general terms:

llM EA 1783,

Her e the second past tense Iorm lJr::: .:&- hbs.n=I '1 clothed ' carrie s on th edesc rip tio n of In tel's ethical behaviour, rathe r than starting a new point.Notice how thi s gives a sense of shape and connection to episodes ; fo r a clea rexample of the use of a uxiliaries and s<!m.n(=j)s [0 give shape [0 descripti on ,

see Exercise 6. 5 below.Somet imes elements are shared, ju st as in the English tran slation :

Further aspects of description

§ 38 ContinuationDescriptio ns are often presented as a series of connec ted ep isodes. In pastdescription s, as we saw in Chapter 5, th e first ep isode is in troduced by a na uxiliary such as Iw, then de scrib ed by a verb in the pa st tense made up ofthe sgm.n(=f) form , A past de scription is con tin ue d on simpl y by carrying onwi th the sgm.n(=j) without an y further introductory au xiliary. In translatingsuch a series, it is useful to trans late the following sgm.n(=j)s wi th 'an d .. .'(the re is no sepa rate wo rd for 'and' in Egyptian ). or to usc com mas or semi­

colons , de pending on Engl ish style:

In this chapter, we \ViII lookat how complex descriptions are presented, in particularcontinuing to the next point and noting other things goingon at that time,

Now is a good time for you to starr using the Egyptian-English vocabulary(starting on p. /5/) , when reading the examples in the text.

Tile official Semti refers to his early fa vour at court:

83

hr irt the ) is doing

SPECl Fl( PRl Sc :"T

- hr slim

Further aspects,'fdescription

Q';;, ~ I; .J) , ~T ' ~:..: t <E,~ ~ i e.1r' .._ t.lJ. .c. ' H ,0 ," I M 'JI

til' )m,. n (~I) - SlI ' r s{w)I={ " bI nf n '" sLrml,·'bI followed h im to all his places oft he hearts dd .ghl(i.c. wherever t h ~ king wanted 10 go)

iw Ji. n -wl hm;f r rdwyrf m n!Jm{=I)His person [i.e. the king) placed me at his feet ill my youth

ir,,! he does

c.r s r RA I, PR1:SENT

.<elm; f

11 M EA 6 14 ,Line [ 3:

RM EA 574,Lines 2-3:

Tietii records that, after In teft ! died . he served the new kin.~ In te] JlJ:

If you look care fu lly at thi s exam ple, the n -wi is a depen dent pronoun andthe refore sh ould be the object o f th e verb (someon e must ha ve placed me )and so the sen te nce must mean tha t the kin g placed me at hi s feel. des piteth e orde r o f the words. This sent e nce can no t mean : ' I p laced the king a t hisfeet in m y you th' (for T to be t he subject. thi s w ould req u ire the suffix pro ­no un =1) a nd in a ny case such a sen te nce sca rce ly ma kes m uch sense ,

§42 The presen t t ense

The m onu ment s discussed in th is book do no t include man y inscrip tio ns castin the pre sent te nse, Howe ver, for you r informat ion , and to allow us to cove rone inscript ion we would o the rw ise have show n you h ut n ot equip ped youto read, we will briefly note the pre sent ten se form s,

Middle Kingdom Egyptian distinguishes, ju st as English doc s, be tweena qcncral present (usua lly ex pressing habi t - She goes to visit her friend everyweek' - or th ings which ju st gene rally ar c - 'two an d two make four ') andtl specific or on,qoinH present (She is leaving right now' ), In Midd le Egil lTia nthese have the follow ing [orrn (using sdm to label th e fonn and the weakver b i r ii) to exemplify it):

Notice that th e su ffix pronouns serve as subjects o f the ver b (sec §§ 33 an d36 ) and depen dent pronouns as objects of th e verb ,

The depe ude rn pronouns displa y all im po rtan t fea ture o f wor d o rder­

ing: th e dependent pronouns att ach to a nd directly follow the ve rb and soprecede a ny nouns:

In the specific presen t. the verb ap pea rs after h r in the infinitive form discussedin Chapter 4, For a full list of forms. see the Refer en ce tables on p, ]4 5,

Roth t,'n '<" ha ve " fOlldn,." fo r Ih,' a\lxili a rv ,]~ Iw introd" n 'o in 5,4

~ Jf or } -wi or -wti) helil +} or + ~ -su:

you ~,=~ ()r o} - (W or -ru: sheI i. P\\ or r -siv)

::::::: lfi' }l~= 1i7io :5£~Bc rlln 1204 , dl .n»! w.!,; f r-/JllH' wr tli lies 21-22: 1had him proceed inside the great hark

(literally, 'I caused that he proceed imide the great bark' )

The major usage of the dependent pronouns ar e as the obje cts of verbs (typ-• II _1_ _ ,, _~ __~ _ " .... .-L; ..... , ~ t, ,, \ o,h i r h t h ". "",.,.h ::d ~ .t i (>l1 i c :ln n h p r1\ -

It may help 10 think of this as 'placing someo ne in the position to do some­t hing' o r 'giving someone the o ppo rtun ity to do somet hing': hen ce th eexa m ple would mea n: ' I put him (in the position ) to proce ed inside th e grea tba rk' or 'I facilitated his proceeding into the great bark ' , The precise me anmgcan range from nuances of com pulsion ('make someo ne do someth ing' ) topermission ('allow /let someone to do something') and guidance (' ha ve

someone do some t hing) .

§41 Dependent pronounsThe second set of pro no uns a re the depend ent pronouns (st"e Reference tab le,

p , 149 ):

Nega tions with -'- do not go wi th au xiliaries and so the, patte rn can ei the rhe use d to sta rt up or to carry on a series of connected episodes WIthout a ny

obvious written mark,

§40 Making someone do somet hing (fo r use with Exe rcise 6,5) ,

Ca usa tion , the notio n o f 'ma king som eo ne do something ', is expressed III

the following way in Egyp tian : the verb rdl ' give, p lace ' is used wit h thesen se o f 'causing' a nd is follow ed by anot h er verb , rdl ap pears in wha teverform is su itab le (in ih e exam ple be low it appea rs in th e pas t ten se ,qj m ,n(=fJ

form) whilst the othe r ver b appear s in a fixed form (as it happens, th e ot,he rverb appears in th e future sdm(=fJ , for which see Chap ter 8; however, this IS

not importan t at thi s point):

After the festivities are ova , Ikhernofret has the image of the god placed back in thebark (see Exercise 6.5 for the general context of this example):

The official Key r"'t~s his ethical virtues:

;;::; } ri-~£lM EA 55S, lin e 5: n dH's{~ ,), n h ry-ip»]

I did not den ou nce it mall to his superior

lkhernojret relates h is activities during the performance of the Mysteries of Osiris:

Notes-=- l ri i) literally, ' to do /make", here with the se nse of leading or

condu ct in g.

85

lik e, as

night of vigil

drive away, repel

follow

r hs]

~ sms

Further aspects ofdescription

El drml

nli~

i

Q} ~O- J.~11J)Ur, ~ .-l~ ~~

-A.. r~~R =~11J) : 1LJJ ll1r-,l~1fr i

El since ~~

t'-' prot ect . save +Ijjg~

the like, r*P9peer, equal

ri~ sail ~ r J1

6.1 Siqns

2-consonant and 3·cons onanr signs:

Notice tha t the re is no Egyp tia n word for 'wh en ', 'w h ile' , 'as' in th ese usages,although th e appropriate English word ma y be needed in transla tion . lnEnglish , the noti on of 'go ing on at the same tim e ' is exp ressed by con nectingwords such as 'as', ' w h ilsi '. 'w hen '. In Egypt ian it is th e ver b itself whichexpresses thi s by app ea ring in a present ten se form (pr esent or goin g on a tthat time ). Indeed, yo u may have noticed that whereas in English con n ec­tions are sh own by words suc h as 'an d ' and 'as ', in Egyptian the sam emeaning is achieved by st ringing together different ten ses suc h as sdm .fI(=})and sdm(=f) and Jelling th e ve rbs do th e work.

Exercise s

BMEAI67 LLines 4 -5:

6.2 Words

Transliterate th e following words written wi th th ese signs :

6.3 Translation

Transliterate and tr an slate th e following (see §35 on om ission of =f '1' ).

The first one repeats ex am ples from the chapter ab ove and is writtenhere without any breaks (as in the ori gin al inscription ):

a. The official ln tef 5011of Senet proclaims his ethical behaviou r in qen eral terms:

b. Hekaib asserts h is ethical behaviour:

Th is First Intermediat e Peri od stela sh ow s a number of idio syn cracies in the~npl1 in o- <;;llrh :l ~ rh~ fnrm o f d l (!o..-.-il in<;;1p ;u i or ~ n\ ;1nrl t h p fOi Tno f lh ,.", dp f p r -

n ",, -=- -..llLJ ~~ i>.~J1 T O'~ 11'_~"'3' V D IIIJ?lr' 1. ,,-- =- I "--

Iw Ir n=1 prt .. p -W/W I "'til=! r IlIi I/=!I conducted rhe procession of Wepwawctw h en he set ou t to protect his (ath er

How to read Eqyptian h ieroq lyphs

Berlin 1204 ,Line 17:

Egyptian, like many languages, concentrat es on the faet that th e subject isco nt in u ing to roast despite the long tim e he ha s been doing it: 'I am stil lroast ing and have been since the beginn ing of tim e' .

b. hr sdmAn 'ex a m ple of th is cons truct ion occ u rre d ill the firs t inscription shown to

you in th is book:

Above rile man roasting a goose:

~}iftr~"t~ OPl,{, ~,Meir III. pI. 23 : IW=l hr mrk er pst

I have been roasting since the beginning of time

G }cn~rjHITgBM EA 587 : lw w rb hs m t hnk t sn tr mrht

The rh ousandts j of bread: beer, incense and oil are pure

§43 Other things going o n (advanced notes for use with Exercise 6.5 )However, there is one use of the present tense which will be usefu l when yo ustu dy Exercise 6.5 . In past de scrip tion , as we have seen, the past events are

described by u sing th e pa st ten se sgm .n (=f) form. By stringin.g Joge th er apresent sgm (=f) form or hr sdm form after a pa st sgm.n (=f), Egyptian expresses

th e noti on of som eth in g else going on at th e same time as that event expressedby th e sdm .n(=f) for m (something else curren t o r present at th a t time ):

usage as their English equiva lents (for exam ple, in Egyp tian, as in English ,verbs of sta te and cond itio n prefer ih e ge ne ra l present 10 th e specific presenteven when refe rring 10 rhings go ing on now: ' I know the answer now' , nOI

'I am kn owing the answer now' ):

a, sr;jm (=f)

To tile left of lhe main offering form ula inscription on BM EA 587:

84

87

ad vance .promote

confidence

complainabo ut . accuse ipUI (SOlllCOn C) ~

a t caseskbh

sr[t

.'\l

Lm-il>

Further aspects ofdescription

VOC,\IJ ULARY (CO"1TI "1CE D)

.-- - - -

~ !rrv -rp superior. chief

=1 sr H' goo~e

r~ -:::- sLIIllaugrn eru ,pr omote

~~ i lplan '. posuion.stat u,

6.5 Study exercise: The Osiris Mysteries at AbydosThe celeb ra tion of th e Mysteries o f Osiri s at Abydo s wa s clearly one of thema jor festiv als of ,\<Iiddle Kingdom Egypt. Th e festiv al centred arou nd th eburial and rejuvenation of Osiris, wit h its pro mise of burial a nd rej uv en ationfor th e blessed dead . Indeed, as discussed in Chapter 4. a n um ber o f th e eliteerected ste lae or ce notap hs in the a rea bordering the ro ute to ensure theiretern al pa rt icipatio n in the rite s.

The fes tival itself see ms to ha ve com prised five parts:Th e first pro cession Jed by w epwawet and culminating in com batagai nst the en emies of Osiris. Thi s see ms to have been a cele bra tion ofkin gship with the repelling o f th e forces of chaos and disord er (po ssiblyre flecting the threat of disorde r at the death of th e old king Osiri s - seep. 4 1 for the my thologica l account) .

2 Th e grea t pr ocession of Osiri s h imself. Th is seems to have been the startof th e b ur ial pr ocession of Osiris as th e dead king, when he waseq uipped and prep ar ed for burial. Osiris he re appeared in h is form ofKhcntvirnenru 'the one who is foremost of the westerners a nd wastaken ou t from th e temple th rough th e su rro unding ceme tery site .

3 Th e god's boa t -jo urney to Poker. Th e god was conveyed in th e grea thark out in to the des ert to his su pposed to mb at Poker (pro bably thetomb of King Dje r of the First Dyn asty at Um m cl-Oa rab).

4 A nigh t of vigil in w hich the god was rej uve na ted as Wenenncfer (seep . 42). including th e Hak er -fesu vities and a slaughter of the en emies ofOsiris at Ned yet (the mythological place of his death ). Unf ortunately,th is remains th e most secretive and elus ive part o f the mysteries.though later accounts menti on th at Osir is was crowne d with th e cro wn

o f ju st ificat ion ( ~.~JJ<!Th IIW-J;rw) a nd transfigured o r ens piri tcd

( r~:. Sl I; ) .

5 The re tu rn jou rney to Abydos among genera l rejoici ng and th e re -ent ryof the god int o his temple.

The ste la of th e Treas urer lkherno fret, now in Berli n , is one of th e prin-

How 10read ( qy pli<1l1 hieroglyphs

VOCABUl.AR Y

-- .. ... ._ - _. --- - - - -- --I:b, }~~ iwit wrong ~~ii ' I(W) the great

a--' rb palace ! } ",,,r ~ H! privacyLJ

o };J:. f;;i pf/the beginning 0 pit thisof li me

~Ltmr k roast ~r}t..1ft ! ndstw)

ordinary folk.the lowly

,:' il~ ....1..... 1 l-" . J . ~ ...... 1~1

NotesI -w is writte n for -wi.

i i Rea d di.n»] ·w (i j in clause 3.iii Also read cI::=! n wr w.

Notesi On su ffix pro nou ns, see §33 and §36.

i i On the fir + infinitive te nse, see §42.iii On nega tion , see §39.

E,\-' EA 6 14.Lines -\· 5:

6.4 Translat ionIt has been a lon g tim e com ing, but you are now in a position to read foryourse lf the speech of the ma n roasting the goose. w hi ch we used to beginth is book. This is show n agai n belo w.

The final exam ple is sligh tly mo re comple x and is written in the righ t- to- Icft

order of the or igin al:

c. Tjetji describes his advancement by king Int41I:

86

Further aspects ,>f description 89

VO CABULA RY

(for ot h er words, see Egyp tian -English Voca bu la ry, beg in n in g on p . 15 1)-- --"". _ ._ - --- --. "

CO>1/ father S palace .

~~' it u-rnpk-

if:'J 'J.:'figh t. f=¢ "" ( l\')1 ways. roadsIigh'ing 0 11/

~ ~ rfiIt.'l1 n · Wt'nenllefer

~ '£itthe :c:rt'JI

ntr I name of Osiris} U'fIbar k

JiLl) wdsproceed. go, 0 pJ tha i

iJ, set out "=-

o Ll@ pkr Poker )J~ mr~l rttOnlb, oftell

= cenota ph

J\ 11111 11 journey =~J)1 ni mtxeshmet-

i I I I barkI

;1111 or ! ntr god - r o ndy t Ncdyet

I=0 q@

t na pro tect.hrw daysave o

<;> hr (Up)OH, at @o~ bNl\') enemies"=- "

r1lI\ l/tllt (which is) at the4- lIS! drive awa y,

,~o Ioretro n t of rep el

)i7j 0 !JIlW inside un~ ' iii',., sbitw) rebels.or en emies

r!, 'j=' slJ r fell, overturn r ~ -...}. si:d(1) sail, ' rave!

~ or ~J\ '1m, follow e-.} IT 1511 ' (sand rbank- I

1~~dpt-

the god's boat ifsr separa te,ntr :"J clear

. _ ~._ ._ -_._._ ..._-----_.__... ___" __ ·_ .• 0 " _ _ _ _ ____, ..._------ --_.,,_.- --EXTRA VOCABUl.ARY

:- .. c;o_ ..... - .-..... . - .- - ...- - - - -.. -..... - - - --- .- - . - - - -It::~=>~ hi kr the Haker-fesn vities r%n s,Jn night of vigil

L _ __ . . __ . _ _ _ • ._ .__ s: __. __ .. ~b. Lo ok at the epi sodes in this sect io n from the ste la o f Ikhc rno fre t andexa m in e h ow iw and the past tense sam.Il(=)) form are u sed to give shape 10

the pa ssage. As a guide, not e tha t in m ost ins ta nc es , the a uxiliary nv is fol­

lowed no t by o ne hut by two or three past -te nse ve rb s; o nly in th e se nten ce

be ginn.ing Iw qsr.n=1 i.s ill' followed by a sing le ve rb. How docs yo ur gra m -

n ® 'j='~@C> l:YiI, r' -lil1'<.;;::> b ~, : , ...e~ £:1

~Jir ,] -..o1k 1~"~~

Notesr lid p repos it io n + infin it ive, trans lat e ' to pra ted ' . On th e w ri tin g offt,' la the r', see Exercise 2 .5: rea d he re it=f ' his fathe r' . J

ii You ma y find §43 help fu l in tra ns lating wd/=! and [ms» ],iii You m ay find §27 on the direct and Indirect genit ive he lpfu l.iv dsr as an adject ive means 'sacred ' (in u dsr 'sacred la nd ' ) an d as a ve rb

mea ns ' to clear (so me th ing) ou t'; in th is text the ve rb is de libera te ly

chosen 10 m ark th e tra nsition of th e fest iva l from the public view to th ehi dde n mysteri es 10 take plac e at the tom b. an d th is happen s o n ce th e

p rocession has passed th ro ugh ts dsr.v Sec §40 on di.n>! 101l0wn J by a ve rb to e xpress ca usa tion .

vi hrw pf' tha t day', transla te ' (01 ' ) that day .. .'vii Th e bark 01 Osiris is called the Neshrn e t-bark (ll.(mt) or e lse is sim ply

re fer red to as the great bark (wrl): both a re femin ine words and a rc re l­ere d to by the fem in ine pronoun =5 ' it' in 111 .11=5 'it bro ugh t ' (fo r It/ ( I )

The stela is unjortunately silent 0 /1 the most mysterious features of the festivities suchas the niqht of "1~lil and the Haker-festivities (compare with BM EA 567 in StudyExercise 8.3). Therefollows a description of the rejoicinq along the route back, endingwith tile boat arriving <11 Abydos. then:

There follows a brief description of the manner in which lkhern ofret equipped thebark and put the proper regalia all the god, then :

a. Trans literate and trans late the fo llow ing sections fro m the ste la of

Ikh cr nofrc i:

88 How to read Egyptiall hieroqlyphs

Scnwos re t III to rc pa ir the im age of th e god a nd to perform the necessa ryrima I ac ts. He subscqu eu rly erected a stela in which he re co u nt s how heorgan ised the fest ival (an acco un t which draws on p rev io us ve rsio ns givenby ea rlier genera tio ns of o fficial s se nt by th e Midd le King do m kings 10

Aby dn s ).

6.6 srud)' exercise: 8M lOA 586

II. The ste la on p. 90 is by no me ans an easy te xt, bu t with the help of thefollow ing note s, have a go at translite rating and tran slating the top sectionof thi s stela or lis e the key on p. 170 to work th rough it.So tes

On dating and th e titles of th e king, sec §§ 17-I ~ _ Th e kings ca rtou cheis surmounted by th e skv hieroglvph . which is not read .

ii wirm !tSI ' (0 repea t favour' with wh m in th e sdm .n(=.n form . 0 11 theom ission of = i T , see §35 .

iii S( I ' to advance ' (on e's position, here 'heart ' ) lite rally, 'to make great' .The full form would ha ve bee n s(J.n=i, see §3 8 on coordinat ion andsharing. r has th e sense here of 'more than '.

iv hprw 'who existed ' is a pa rticiple (see Cha pte r 7 for discu ssion ).v The section beginn ing iw ts.n is ano ther example of coordination, he re

dealing with the king's gift of a grea t seal ([Hm ( J) and a staff (JTy r) to Ity,

fs(i ) lit. ' to tie on ', is used fo r th e seal which the kin g tied aro und ltv'sne ck, but thi s precise meanin g does n ot rea lly go w ith th e decoratedstaff which Ity was also given , so translate 'assign (to )' .

vi mi ,(PS- II SW nb 'just like any digni tary of the kin g' (which you migh twish to put in brackets) goes with the first gift (the sea l), and contrastswith th e special gift of th e sta ff (with which IIY is depi cted in the low erscene) . ,(PS' /ISW is a conventi ona l design ation.

vii sw rbt is a participle with femin ine agreement with sry t ' sta ff', tra nslate' (w hich was) decora ted ' . See Chap ter 7.

viii it-ntr 'god's fathe r' . In th e Middle Kingd om, th is seems to have bee n atitle besto wing high rank an d favour on an official, typically for pe r­form ing special commissions for th e kin g to do with th e cult o f th egods , and also legitimating h im for th is task. Perhap s here th e title isdirectly connec ted to th e episode of th e king 's assign ment of the grea tsea l an d a sta ff to lt y.

ix Th e text en ds abruptly with the nam es of lty and Iur i. The wife 's nam eis sepa ra ted off by a vertica l bar.

90 How to read ( qyp ri,m hiercqlvp hs

BM EA 586

(carv ed and painted lime ston e; II . 63.5cm )

Further aspect,' ofdescription

VOCABULARY

1-_." -._ H ," --- -_.._------- .. _- - -- -

~" .. ~~ y irvt staff ~ } -== ~ iwrl luri (name)

'(; lb heart " c 1ft 11(U' j(Iorc - )

I ~ .~ . fa th e rs

t qQ lt-ntr god's father Qm lIy ltv (name)a or ,"'-

1~ H.'~111l re peat ) cn.H \ ' king"F_

e, r-hn before "- . Mill' eh o nv

91

IU " I n l =l 1"1 '"It

I co nd uct ed the grea t pw cession

S:C. _\1Sc. no specia l end ing 1~ /lf rrJ -c-...:>

s«. f"EM . '" -t t~ n trtiii ""

PL ,\15C. } - w o r o b:::(}l nfrtw)

PL rL\1. '" - I p~ n fr ;n

Berlin 120 ,1.Line I H:

Characterisation

(Th e plural can be wri tte n w ith o r w ith out the plural strokes ' I: m oreover,the ~W o f the ma sculine plural agree ment is ofte n omitted in writing, le aving

no ending at all - thi s is in dicated by the symbol " in th e ta ble abovc. )Com pa re th e following exam ples show ing feminine sin gula r agree­

ment and masculine plur a l agr eem ent :

lk hcrnofret relates his role ill the Mysleries ofOsiris:

§44 AdjectivesYou ha ve alr ead y been introduced 10 adjective s in § IO, In Egypti an , thesefollow and agree wit h the noun th ey de scribe. If th e noun is fem inin e andends in - L, th e adje ctive will also end in -t . To wrap up this to pic properly, the

full list o f endings ar e:

This clutpter concentrates on the elaborate epithets which abound on stelae. purticu­larly epithe ts characterising the uwner as having lived an ethical life Col' havingperfumr~d well in roya l service. This w ill also allow us ru introdu ce you to an othe r

extremely commo n F.gypriatz verb-fo rm - th e participle. T,' sta rt wi th, howe ver. we

need to rerU TII to adjectives.

The lop pari <l/ fliH EA !OI has Nebipuscnwcsrct ad,' rin,qthegods. Behind the !i!/ure

L'! Nebipuscnwosrct:

favou r

come int obeing, cxrsi

before

ad vance

·-- - - 1

Intel i

!i' 1II elcctrum

{ p H IS v.' dignitary ofthe king

su -sbk Satsobck II

J!

Amc nern hct 1..::.. 111I=f

Sa twos re t

VOCA BULARY: :-iA .\\ES

VOc. \B UrAHY !(()!':Tl :-il.'[[))

im n-m -h it

sl1-wsrr

rslf) tie. kno t

j Q~~~

1r~~

0"\<6: hmr~f his beloved..-. "=-- mrr=f wife

{ 2~ hsmtt amethyst

:,,?$ U } llpr-k.l - r r Kh cpcrka rctSeu wosrei l j

Q~Q {11 m sealQ

rrJ sw' b decorate

The jamilyb. Tran sliterat e and transla te the labe ls above the sons an d daughters of lt y.

You will be ask ed to s tudy the insc rip tio n fro m the bou om sce ne a t the endo f Cha p ter 7.

9 5

rd l (one)(w ith r) who gave

Cha racterisatioll

,' AST OR COM PLETE

(one )who gives

(one),o~ sdm

(one)who hear s who heard

(o ne):d?~ rtU

(one)who sees who saw

(one) ;;1D mr(one)

who loves who lovedmrr

dd(no r )

PRESF,'H O R ' XCO MPIETI,

oouuuxc

WEAK '-~~-:><..~

EXTRA '-"WEAK &-fl

~TRO~(j

BM EJ\ 162, blbI mr II st-ibv]Cent ral colum n: lrr hsst»] r: nb

llis true servant of his aflection,who does what he Iavours every day

(ilSst=f 'what he favo ur s' is a present re lative for m , see §52 below)

In the first pa rt o f thi s exam ple both>:: 11/1' ' tr ue' and ~.~ /I st-lb e ]

'of h is affect ion' h elp to characte rise }r.,~ bik"Cf'h is servant ' . Sim ilar ly in

th e second half of t he example, -=- irr is th e present partici ple ('w ho does ' )

ami is also used 10 elabor a te the ~ha ra cter of ~:C=-' brk= f 'his serva nt',

(Part iciples als o som etimes have a - I\' end ing .)

§47 Participles and epithetsSince a particip le behaves a lot lik e a n adjective , it is often used to qu alify ano un , For example, pa rtici ple s are commonly used in t he epi thets ch ara c­

te ris ing a n official :

The stela ofAll/my iden tifies his subordinate, Saha thor. with the ep ithet:

Basically, any verb other th an a strong ve rb h a s a doubl ed con sonant in thepresen t pa rticiple bu t not in the pas t participle , In the ca se of strong verbs,h owever, it is n ot possible to tell the two apart on the basis of their formsalo n e , As yo u w ill see in the examples below, there is no need in Egyptia nfor a separa te w ord meaning 'who' (or 'w hich' or 'w h at' ) since this is anintegral pa rt of the m eaning of the Egypt ian participle verb-form,

There are two grnups of parti cipl es: th e present participle ha s the me an in g'lone) who does sume th in g': th e pas t particip le has th e mea ning ' (one ) whodid sOlllcthing ' , Th e form s of the part iciples in different verb class es are as

follow s:

nfr good, perfect

bin had

dWI 'sir m Irh (w)4nfrw <11r nhhAdoring Osiris in his wonderful festivals endu ringly and repeatedly

*~nfr t

good (n . ) from r-'what is good ' <t>

J\~ bill/ evil (n. ) from J~~'wh a r is bad'

H<1\VW read t ::JYPlian hieroqlyphs

BM EA 558,Line 4:

Key proclaims his OU 71 ethical behaviour :

~::)!~In k rid nfr tI was nne who said what Is good

Notesi Fo r tnk . see §49 belo w,ii dd is a particip le m ean ing 'on e wh o said ' , see §§48 and 49 ,

The official l lllef son of Senet, proclaims his eth ical behaviou r ill qcncra l terms:

BM EA 562,Lines 10- 11: lw krs.ne t istw) hbu l=1 1uy

I huried the old and I cloth ed the naked

94

§45 Ad ject iv es used as n o unsAdjective s are typically use d to de scrib e o ther w ord s, but th ey can be usedo n thei r ow n to mea n 'a person /p eople with that particula r qualit y' , forexample, in English ' I am an Egyp ti a n ' , means 'I am an Egyptian person'(n 01 a sold ie r, or a donkey, or anything cls e l): compa re also English expres ­sions suc h as th e 'the rich ' an d 'the poor', In Egyp tian th is is ra ther com mon :

However , in Egypt ian , the adjective ca n be singular with the mea ning 'a richon el(som e)on e rich ', wherea s Engli sh prefers to add a ra the r general w ordsu ch as ' som eon e' (so hsy pro bably mean s m ore accu rat e ly 'someone naked '

or ' the na ked one') .If the ide a is indefini te , ab stra ct or general: 'anyth ing good ' o r 'what is

good ', th e fem inine form of th e adje ct ive is used :

The meaning of the feminine form of th e adje ctive as 'w hat is goo d ' is similar

to th e meaning o f th e rela tive fo rm mentio ned in §37 ,

§46 ParticiplesThe participles arc spec ial form s of the ve rb which have many of the quali-

Before the figu rr of Mrdehu . the wife ofAmeny:

9 7Ow racterisation

Independen t pron oun. written with theD 33 pa l. read here as in ,Ink 1

Ink nlis IkrIjd III r=!

1 was all astute individual ,who spok e with his (own ) mouth

o - 0 \!\.. n LJ=' 'I(~, .!!f ~ -ec>

Ink I1lis Ik r1was an 'astu te individual

o ':1 t~~~_- ti 0.

in): !!dnin1 was one who sa id what is good

BM EA 558 .Line 4:

BM EA 167 1.Line I :

BM EA 167 1,Line I :

The owner is referred 10 th e secon d time in the third pe rson: ""-- »[. movingfrom th e specific in dividual 10 a ge neralized socia l characte risa t ion by char­acterisin g the first person T (specific ind ividual ) in genera lized th ird personterm s ('one who spoke wi th his own mouth') .

In th is example. the ad jective (~~ ikr 'a stu te' ) and th e pa rt iciple (~lid 'who spoke ' ) both qua lify ~~~ it nds. Often, however, ink is followedby a participle us ed on its own, to create a sta tem ent w hich m eans ' I w as

so meone who did ' (when u sing the past participle ):

The self-presentation of Hekaib continues:

in k is th e T -fonn (firs t pe rson ) o f a third a nd last type of pronoun, ca lled th eindependen t pronoun because it can come at the beginning of a statement:

Notice th at in this example ther e is no w ord for 'was' in this construction(the sta tem ent could al so be translated in the present tense, i.e. ' I a m anastu te individ ual' . but he re the past tense seem s appropriate to the id ea ofan offid allookin g back over a life pres ented a s now ended ).

It is no t unusual to find th e use of qu alifying express ion s such as

par ticipl es:

The officia! Key makes a common statemen t about appropriate behaviour:

The self-presentation sectionof the stria of Hekaib beqins in the following way :

person with certa in qualitie s or a ttributes: in ef fect . it an swers the qu estion'what w as 1 lik e? ' . 'w h o was I? ', focusing on et hical behaviour and success

and achlevernent :

n a \!\.. : ~ 't> = \!\..~ "",-.!!f ,= _ 7P.!!f

It(\\')=1 llPrw r-!W=Imy (fore -itathers wh o existed before me

How to read Egyptian hieroglyp hs

B;\1 EA 586,Line 2:

96

§48 Participles as nounsAga in, like adjectives, pa rt icip les ca n be u sed on thei r own to mean 'a pe rsonw ho does som ethi ng ' or more su ccinc t ly 'on e who does som eth ing'. Forexample, BM EA 6 14 (the stela ofTjetji ) introduces Tjetji himse lf with a lon glist o f his rules an d ep ithets, inclu ding:

do~~g -:;-0 iIl,"\ EA 16 2, "-."-'- a ,, <.-=Lef t column: !mll=Imrc=! lrrt !m t=fr' nb

His wife, beloved of him, w ho does what he favou rs every day

fn this exam ple, ~ irrt ('w ho doe s' ) agrees with ~ hm t 'wife '; for ~ mrt'be lo ved ', see §50. below.

Alternativel y, a part iciple may show a n extra } -w w ith masculine

plura ls:

lty asserts that he advanced himselfmo re than:

Just like an adjective, a pa rt icipl e must agree wi th the noun it de scribesand so wi ll en d wi th a - t if the no u n is feminine :

:!~~~r~+}nbBM EA 6 14, rh hr t-lb nb= fLine I : s-m; -sw r nmtt»] nb

one who knows the desire of his lord,one who follows him at all hts journ eys

(For vocabulary, see p. 106 .)

In thi s example, !: rb a nd ~ r~ sms a re participle s used on thei r own tomean ' (a person ) who kn ows' and ' (a person ) who follow s' ,

In cidenta lly, the pa rt iciple is th e form u sed in the name of Wepw awet,' the one who opens the ways' (compare th is with his role in th e Osi ris My s­teries studied in Exercise 6 .5):

V~I~ "'p-WIWI Wepwawe [

(Part iciples used on the ir ow n sometimes trans late w ell as an English agen ­rive noun ending in < er' . here ' the o pen er of the ways' .)

§49 Characterisa ti on w ith 0 In k="

99Ch araaer isati cn

tt n lfl i fu-n;t t i r J= n (l l ich \ V,' rn ioh: urr- fr-r ' h is beloved son'. )

~~ ~~ ~~BM EA 57 1: SI~! ",ry~! lmny

His ,Oil, his beloved. Amenv

Fina lly, you have alrea dy en count ered the past passive usage on anumber of occasions itt vari ou s labels of filiation . A part icularly good exam­ple occ urs on BM EA 584, to be studied in Chapter 8:

Label before the fi rst SOliS in the third row of BM EA 5 71:

Often, though , we find a m ore abb reviat ed w riting:

~~q 4"'::' Arn .~i]~ ::: } ~~}~q..>(,~t}1.itBM EA 178 3, ink mry n ir=! hsy n mwtc] mrrw snwe] snwtx] im(l) n IM=!Lines 2-3 : I was one beloved of his father, praised of his mothe r, beloved of

his siblings, and one graci ous of .to his household

As an a lternat ive, nrrrw might be trans lated as a ma sculine relativ e form ­see §52 below - and th e tra nslati on reshaped : 'on e whom his sib lin gs loveand one gra cious to h is hou sehold ' .

Inhuretnakht 's fu ll declaration of his status within his fam ily (this com pletes Stu dy

Exercise 5.4) :

Lube! before one of the SOil S of Khue nbik offeri llg f owl:

~'6..~ ~~~~t~BM EA 584 : sl=lmry=! pllt-!l1P

His son, his beloved . Ptahhoi ep

Ink mry nh=!!.tsy=!m !Jrt-hr", nt r: -n b

I was one beloved of his lordand favoured of him (or, 'his favoured one",

ill the course of every day

In expr essions of familial affection , ~~ m r(i) som eti mes occurs in thepreseItt Jinc om plete pa rticiple form ~ :::~ mrrw. The reason for this is stillmueh discussed and may have to do with the presence of th e lollowingplural genitive expression . However, a m uch easier way to understand thisin th e next ex amp le is to note that th at the pre vio us gen erat ion (the owner'smo th er an d fath er) take th e past passive parti ciple, whereas his siblings (i.e.the present gen erat ion fro m h is point of view ) take the present passive

participle :

Ink m ry nb=!1 was one beloved of his lord

BM EA 1783 ,Li nes 2 · ~:

BM FA 614 ,Line ~ :

98

A ma de-up example ro illu strate the point in the text:

The two const ructions differ clea rly in form and also in meaning, ju st as thei rEnglish tra nslat ions do .

~ ~ ':1 ii6~il<" dd. n »i nfrtI said what is good

This characterisation cons truc tio n tells us about what he was like. It dot'snot mean '1 sa id wha t is good' - thi s would be a des crip tion , usin g th e pas ttense srjm. n(=fJ for m. an d would tell us ab ou t what he did, rat her than wh a the was like :

ln hu retna kh t declares h is status within his fami ly:

§50 Passive participlesParticiple s can either be active ('one who loved' ) or passive ('one w ho was(bej loved). Unfortunately, th e passive participles do not usua lly have a dis ­tinctive writin g in Egypti an. However. the most commo n examp les in ourinsc riptions concern th e ver bs ~~ m r i i} ' love' an d r~ hst i) 'favour 'which, as we ak ve rbs, in the past passive pa rticip le do sometimes show a dis­tinctive qy-y ending in th e past passive part iciple. Since this is a rathercommo n usage , we w ill discuss th e point in some detail :

Tjetji declares his status in relation to the kmg:

c~ · ~ f,c:/I>:: ''I~ "=-

tnk mry n i r=f1was one beloved of his Iarher

In su ch a usage , th e passive part iciple is often followed by the geni tive I'of' ,either the indirect genitive (as in the last examp le) or the direct genit ive:

The stela oi Tjetji COli rill lies:

The passive partic ip le ma y even be followed by a suffix pronoun :

PAST O R CO M PLETE

101

official

II .}S individual

sr

servant

til -nb t IIf ,.l!) wrbtt) ' 11/]1 'IIr imevcrvrhing good and pure on which a god lives

Churactcrisation

13M fA >58.Line 2:

Tire c'fferil1g formula in 8M EA 558:

Exc ursus: Midd le Kingdom tit lesIn Chap te r 3, va riou s titles were introduced to provide you with a resourcefor you r reading. In these notes, the titles a re ga the red together acco rding to

th eir funct ion , to provide anoth er convenient refere nce resource (the listincl udes som e tit les from oth er stelae in the British M use um ).

Mascul ine relative forms do not show suc h a "" - L a nd thus ar e har der to

spot. Fortunately th ey are also fair ly uncom m on a nd need not concern us inth is book. As noted in Ch apter 5, p. 71, th e filia tion expressions for ma les I r­

n and ms-n may well be ex amples of m asculin e re lat ive fo rm s.

The stela ofAmen).' iden tifies his subordinate, Sahathor, with the epithet:

Also , j ust like adjectives, the relative for ms sho w thi s helpful e xtr a c-" -t

when used on their ow n with th e meaning 'what someone docs/did ' :

t... =">= fC'''=.. .fr>. ~ 0-;;- 0 I.1r l\=- ---J __~ <:::::>J.. A~ ~'

BM EA 162 . b.<k=f nil' n st-lb»]Central column: i r r !,ssr=f r : nb

His tru e servant of Ius affection,who does w hat he fav ou rs every day

General termsGener ic term s for o ffice holdin g and sta tus amongst th e e lite include th efollowi ng:

~ ~c>l or l 7 11/ office

5r-1;The term ~ ~<:> 'f In is the genera l te rm for a regula r office or function.Such an office bro ught sta tus, posi tion and power, and al so wealth throug hits a ttached esta te (7 prj . The term 5r- it blk 'se rva nt ' wa s o ften used asa m ea ns of stressing the de pendent relationship of one per son on anotherand could he used of people who oth erwise h ad high status. i::) f1;.,.~ /lds' individ ua l' was often used , particu la rly in the First Inte rmediat e Period. forsom eone of h igh sta tus w ho did no t ho ld an officia l position .

~ n ,"am!=! what he hearsdJ 'b...

~~~\.c, 111111=/ what he sees

~~"=- nrrrr=f what he loves

~ ddt»] what he gives--.f;Y"",,---co

STRO~t~ £~ ,~:' sdml.l/=f what hr heard

DOt.:BLI:-IG ""~ "" 1I11 1.II ~f what he saw~ ;;:::

WEA K ~~:: 111 rt ,11=/ what he loved

f XTRA W b\K <= - rdl t.n e] what he gaveot.-':<:> "--

How to read Egyprian hieroqlyphs100

WEAK

;\.: rQ~ "i0 ~rM ::; U~ I '-__~ U~ IC\ ~ 1 "

BM EA 584: In sJ=f s' nft rne f m-r ikdw n-pth-kswIt is his son who made his name live (on),

the overseer of builders Nipta hkau

STR O~ (-;

PRESE:-IT O R I~ COMPLETE

I)OCBLING

§51 ill + noun + participleThe participles ar e also used in a construct ion introduced bv ~- /11: in +noun + pa rticiple 'it is so-and -so who did ' , Like its Eng lish equiva lent. thi sconst ru ction high ligh ts the per so n w ho performs an actio n. It occ urs qu itecomm on ly in a dedication for m ula which ide ntifies th e donor o f a ste la :

EXTRA wrAK

§52 Re lative forms againIn §37 abov e we introduced yo u to the past relat ive form . The rela tive formis in fact simila r in usage to th e pa rticip le. First o f all, her e is a tab le of th eform s o f the re la tive for ms in the pre sent and the past. As wi th the previoussecti on on the relative for m §3 7, we shall exhib it the form wi th a -L

(although, as you will see, this is actually rhe -r of femi n ine agreem en t):

Tire label above Niptahkau on the stela dedicated ro h is[ather Khu cnbik (Sfe Chapter

8, 1'1'. 122·3):

(Com pa re with the forms of the participles in §46 above.)In pa rt icu la r. like particip les, relative forms displa y certain adjectival

qualiti es . Thu s they agree with the no n n they accompa ny. for exa mpletak ing a ·1 when going w ith feminine wo rds. A goo d exa mple occurs in th eoffe- rin c for m ula:

Administra tive ti tles a re com po u nded with the word~ bity for 'king' .trrntty-blty is prefixed only to h igh -level titles. As well as sign ifying h ighrank, th e rule indi cated tha t th e holder was a u thorised 10 use the royal seal.

10 3

reporter, heraldwh nu w)

counter of the double granartes

m -r Jl::d1l' overseer of budde rs

/II-r pr overseer elf the CS!a IC (steward]

hsb slI l<'r)'

dd itlp(w)-Illr 11 ntrw otlering -gtver 10 the gods

governor,mayor of a town

O laraeterisatfoll

/11/)' ''

K~~ ~ m -r mir wr genera l-in- ch icl

1- @ 'n l; II flWI soldier of th e rown regirnem

"._~ wrb Il"b-priesl 10 or l~ it 1I1r god 's-lather1],=

9C (1111 n tr hm'p riesl 9 (1In k: ka-priestII

~F-~~r~~ hryssuKee per- iili:J Vry 11 M lector priestof-secrets

Stew ardsltip and production

Military

Altho ugh w e hav e div ided secu lar and relig ious titles for con ven ience h ere,ill pr actice th ese were intertw ined in eli te Middle Kingdom society, wherethe sa me per son co uld hold both sec u lar a nd reli gio us title s at once. BM EA58 5, wh ere Sa ren en utet has th e following titl es, provides a n example of th is:

Religious tit lesTitles associa ted with priestly fu nct ions. In the Middle Kingdom, there werefew fu ll-tim e priests, b ut elite men regu larly serv ed in th e tem ples:

Reg ional authorityTitles as socia te d wi th th e go ve rnm en t o f region al districts:

Tit les of w omenIn gen er al w omen w ere not included in th e formalisati on of elit e societyth ro ugh office holdin g, w hich te nd ed to be a male prese rve (yo u maya lready have not ed th ai most women dep icte d on rhe stela e in th is book arcusu ally referred to by their fam ily relationship w ith th e mal e owner) . How­eve r. som e wome n ar e show n bea ring a certa in range o f tille s wh ich usuallyaccord with the sta tu s of their menfolk . Of part icu lar note for the stelae

overseer ofthe charnb rr

sole companion

chamberlain(the one in fronl)

J m yalrruun are.rJ nsw king's adviser

"'; ~o rrt- ri ' '')f];~~ r[J l lwty

OQ..... -:'" snit IVftyI' l n I

rWI1~ imy -hnt

tl: or 1

keeper of ih eroyal diadem

follower ofthe palace

trea su re r (ove rseerof what is sealed)

seal-bearer, assistant110 the treasurer )

smswpr rt

m- rhtm:

ht m whry J

How to read Egyptian h ieroqlvphs

~@ I;IIIIIY bity kings seal-hearer

ttlt -& fry nfr-hu

102

Titles proclaim inq attendance at callrt

Titles proclaiminq rank and authority deleqated fr ont the k ing

Titles associated wi th th e ritu al ap pearan ces of the king ar e us uall y com­pounded wit h th e word t ':: /lS W for 'king' .

Titles proclaiming attendance ,m the k ing

TIle treasu ryFor th e m onuments stu died in th is book , th e officials att ach ed to th e treas­ury ha ve pa rticu lar importan ce:

Procurem ent , storaqe , dispensing and utilisation

The palace and til e kingThe 'pa lace ' was an itinerant com m un ity gathered rou nd th e king , w ho, aswell as residin g a t a cen tra l res identia l and admin istra tive complex, alsomoved abo ut the cou nt ry in orde r to cele bra te the festival s of Egypt's man ygod s. Officia ls would n-gularl v visn th e palace in or der 10 renew th ei ratt endance on the king, before returning 10 th e var ious re gions to exerci seth eir dele gat ed a utho rity.

Th e ti tle (~~ m- r rh nw t» was or igina lly mo re general . In orig in it prob­abl y re ferred 10 the 'ove rseer of th e chambe r of the resid enc e/ pa lace'.However, by th e Middle Kingdo m th e titl e had become split between anu mber of dilterenr bran ches of th e ad ministration . A part icul ar ly com monm- r rh n wty 'overseer of the cha mbe r ' was th e '-Ili~~-'-I~ m -r ' [r nw ty

II m -r h tnu 'overseer o f the cham ber for rhe treasu rer', w ho seems to havebeen responsible for the procurem en t of raw mater ials (for exa mple th roughmini run and for monumental buildinc work .

105

l rr

Characterisation

irr , morerarely tr

mt, f ~ ~"""]_'I¥m l :s~~

~rJlt}f~~

ir

~c;r3;..]j} ~~ ~1~7~ -=-~~

~Ar~r a a~rW/1~~ q @

~}r-f\l,~gaq qi3 ~. ~A rr ::;;

BM FA 167 1.Lines 1-2 :

BM EA 6 14,Line 1

7.4 Tra nslation

Transliiera te and tr an slat e ih c follo wing.

a . Th e self- presentation section of the stela of Il eka ib beqin s in the following way ,

stressinq the topic ofself -reliance (y oll may consider adding '01171' in yo ur tran sla tion

10 he lp brinq this 011/) , compare with §49 above

Notes

The hierogl yphs a re o rga n ised a s they are on th e o riginal. e xcept tha t

Ihe el erneru s o f ihe pa ssa ge a rc sepa ra ted o u t for yo u r conve nience .You ma y find th ai yo u need to inser t 'a nd ' occas io na lly in yo u rtra ns lation .

ii Th e pronoun =f is used 10 refer back 10 ih e owner of th e siela as n oted

in §49 (as in: 'I w as a n officia l w e ll re spected in his d ist rict ' or th e like) .

Th e sw itch to the third person is norm al in such constructions .

iii shs] ... r ' to keep (something) .11 a di stan ce fro m ', idiom of impartial uv,

iv 1\1' 11 ' I ' grea t pillar' is used m e tap ho rica lly (cf. o u r own exp ress ion fo r

so meone being 'a to wer of strength ' o r a 'pilla r of th e commun ity ')

v On ihe o m issio n of th e su ffix pronou n = / T in w ritin g in i he ihird sen­tence . see §35 a bo ve . Rea d mity lib m II W I IIl .

7.3 A 1I0 t e 0 11 the writinq (Jf lrt i) 'to do '

A ma jor excep tio n 10 th e rule on so u n d co m plements give n in Cha p te r 2 is

p ro vid ed by th e ve rb .e-- ir tl } ' to do, make ' (I hi s ve rb a lso has man y idio ­

malic nIea n ings ). W he n read ir. it is ge ne ra lly w rit ten -c>- alo ne (a n

excep tio n occu rs o n 8M fA 558 in St ud y Exe rcise 7.7 where , fo r space rea ­

so ns . =- see ms 10 be w rit te n fo r lrri . w h ile .:: is us ually to betransliterat ed irr (a th ird fo rm . ~,should always be tra n slit er a ted irr):

b. The stela of Tj et]i begins with the kinq's name and then Tjetji is in troduced witha list <Jfepi thets:

br ea th

town

dignified.aug ust. rich ,

office,function

official

EX~\APrE

y} /m '

~r~ ~ps

r=t1t sr

v/

br

7 wi

> In! r:t

D18 - village withcrossroads

AIOiAl 1 - man of rankon cha ir wi th rwithou t Ilail

E58 - sail

A7 - man holding stickand kerch ief

EI 0 - emblem e re ctedou tside rill' temple 01 Min

Hewto read Egyplian hieroglyp hs

:)~ 5WC l't ;>~\ il crea te

1}~comma n d

<it unde r, carrying (see also §2 1i<=>

Exercises

b. Id eogr ams an d deterrninarives

I y. ,~ , hkrt IlSw ""II sole lady in wailing<f :l DoC)

l i~ ImIOJ-lI l r (III' I-/l r r rk ,le» of Haihor

104

Hi:}h status

7.2 WordsTranslit erat e th e following w ords w riu e n with these signs:

(hkn -nslV means literally ' th e kings ornam cm")

An other co m mon title of elite women as soria re« ihcm w ith th e ru n­

n in g of i hc esta te . II a ppe ar s on ste lae fro m th e la ic 12 th dynast y onw ard s:

Estate and household

'= nbt pr lad y ol ih c house, mistress ol ihc estat ec LJ I

7,1 Signsa, 2 -consonanl and 3-consonant sign s

106 How [(I read EgyptiJII hitr~'g1..vrhJ

"'N t'Si .- is an early Io rtu of t l tc papy rus roll ~, AIIOIher variant Io nt t is .-.,. ,

ii 0 11 rhc depend ent pron ou n -sw, see §4 1.

7.5 St ela of It )' (8. \1 EA 586)Trartv lttcrate a n d translate rln - fol lo wing. which is th e lov...-r sec tio n o f th e

ste la give n as Exerci se 6.6:

BM lOA 586 (lower secnom

Notesi No t ice th e wri tin g of rlie tit le it-rut 'god' s fa th er: (cf. Exercise 6.6),

i i Read nay nb~f"lJ" 'onf: truly belo ved of h is lord '. where mI)' is a parti ci­ple (see §50 above} , flb=f! s placed first through p restige (see §22 ),

VOCABU LAR Y

._- - ~~ . _-- -- ,""._- --- ,· __ _ _ _ .0'_ ,-- -_ ._-_.-

I WIf pillar Q= f IiJ tmn-r -rthc god}Amun -Ra

I~ u-ntrgofs tn bcr

4t~Q lIy Ity mat ttc]tprtcsrly titl e i

~ ~~ Wist Thebes {pl ace ] C""J pr house, estateI

20 ;14 muy peer. equal - 0 .1\ nm tt jou mc vsi~~

mouth - hry-sinmaster of

~~~ ...-> secrets ll i l k J

r J bpi stro ttg arrn ~-;::~Q~ b"ty lKhe ntvt

= 6 (place-n am e!

ffm!.tm !(y ) (one) foremost ~ 0 [tn -ib desire>1 of position "1-f'" 1

,III daught er ~": < ">"1 Sll - \.l.1T I

sa twos ret

~ . ;' Co ~ [nam e ).. ...._-_._..._. _ . _ _____ _ _ ~~~_ •• _ _ •• _ _ _ • _ _ • • • _ _ _ _ H__ • •

Characterisation 107

\'OCABt.:lARY (CONTIx VFD)

'''-'.-. ~:.1 su-sbl:Sa tsobe k

!f\ ~ 'ito pass by.

HVIi rname ! SU rp.1SS

~ l '- 'O,r 10 keep at a. rJ(~J ,t pl.JCefq

distance

J!J ~ Jp, dtgru tarv (literally,1pr~ ,?pH

dign tty.'august nn e') wealth

i ..__. . __._ .._.~ .. _ .. . ....- ~- " ._ ---"

7_6 Relat ive fo rm s

The relat ive forms a re used in a con trnou late Middle Kingdom add ition to

rhe offer ing Io rm nla. w hich occurs »n RM FA 1,13, the stela ot Nakh ti to bestudied ill Exe rcise 7.8 :

TIlt" voice-offering can be extended after 't w rything go~'d and pure on which il g~'J

/ivC')" as[ollo ws:

BM EA 143,Lin t' 2:

NOlesRem em be r that since th ese are relative fo rms, they will req uire t ra ns ­lar ing he re wi th 'whi ch' . Also cons ult ih e table in § 52 for the wri tings.

it See ste la RM EA 14 3. Exercise 7_8. for vocabulary .

7.7 Stud}' exercise: BM EA 558The stela of Key on page 108 corues acr oss as some thing of a co rupe ndi lint

of sta ndard e xp re ssions, ra ther than J sm oo th- ru nn ing composi tion . So rneof th e sections of th is inscrtption han: already been used as ex amp le s ill ihem ain text. Translitcrnte and translate th e stel a wit h tlte h elp of th e:notes .

Notesi For the epit het s. sec §§47 and 50 ab o ve.

ii For Ii m . read lI(.n=i) m. parall el 10 hJ.n= i m_Translate m as 'front'.iii For the om ission of the suffix pron oun ; 1, set.' §3 5 above.iv for ink + pa rt icip le, see §49 above .v mrrt is pr oba bly a pre sent re lative fo rm . see §52 abo ve.

vi For th e "v-n rmg of th e n egauve -"- n as _ , see §3 8 above (in boih n

<lws(=/) an d n w<l(= '» ).

vii The express ion n w<l(= 1) hwt In ;~ I is nOI witho ut its difficu lt ies. In En g­lish idio m. yo u m ay wi sh 10 tran slate m as 'fo r/ to '.

viii The re is some do ubt as to wheth er whm sh ould be read as a tit le o r aspart of a name whm-ky.

Th is mscripu on also in troduces th e imp ortant ve rb ' to conte:

'ren te' - written i n two fo rms:~Q ./). .Jj } iyfi J/ i", fi ) a. w~l h monogram orGl and ./).walking leg:..

. b. with wal king legs ideog ram

Notes

Translate 111 near th e end of line 3 as 'as' (a n elaboration into th reepans: offering , bre a th and in cense).

i i In the writ ing of Ab ydos and Djedu the town det erminative @ has been

ex pa nded as th o ugh it were the word ~, nwt 't ow n ' . However , it is still

simply the deter mi native for Abydos and Djedu. n ot a separat e word.

7.8 Study exercise: 8 M EA 143Translitera te and translate the ste la of Nakhti (BM EA 143) on p. 110. Youmay wish to make use o f your work for Exercise 7 .6 .

VOCAB ULARYr--''''''''-- •....._--_ ._--

~~~ ls i[set, [sis

1 in (i) bring(name)

D C> pi sky, heavens ~"- mWI=! his mother<==>

i =.......n Inure wei -nurse ffi ~- ms-n ba m ofI-co

I = LJ I nbl pr lad y of-@~ nht t Nakh ti (nam e, both

I c> the hou se '-'- c> male and female )

I -r=\ nt-Netn ebu ~~ IIdmnbw sweeto 0 00

I 10"0 h' pythe inu ndation 0'Y IIm/=! his wife(as the god Hapy) "-

I1~ ~g sntr incen se ~~1 ~ killl crea te

cs st smell, scent y} l ilt' brea th.._--- - --

109

J~ wh m repeat

~G~ m rti Merti(name)

0 I r : nb every dav=.

IlJ~ .I.\ hu t}descend.go down

~ hry-tp chief,superior

~8 h rt-h rw course ofthe day

EEl SPIl dis trictc>1

M}r [ws den ounce___ _ ___u " '' _ _ ---1

reporter, herald (title:aile who repea ls)

king

comma nd

king' s adviser(litle )

beating

man

Key (name)

director of king'sadvise rs

wllm(w)

nsw

hWI

VOCABUL \ RY

Characterisation

J~

o}

+..':.+:[ or i

l}~

H! it

=' ~ ~ kyL'::: . _

How 10 read Egyptian hieroglyphs'. -";:-. ,'

BM EA 558

IDS

t}, ° n­&J.1Y1, \\ i I I I

sdmty.sn

PLURAl. ( BOTH GiND ERS)FEM ININE

.£7k~ r\\slimIY·s)'

f ' /l[z w 11'11' II sws ttyr .sn hr 1> pno the living upon the eart h w ho m ay p ass by th is tomb

sdm ty.fy

,\IASCUU~ E

Fitz.E9.1921,Line I:

In this final chapter, II 'e will introduce you 10 th e 'appeal 10 the livinq ' formula in

which th e'deceased calls upo n [uture gmerm iollS til main min his [unerary cult. We

will also look at the futu re tense used particular ly to express w ishes and expectations.

Cltaptcr S

The future

§53 The sg m ty.fy formIn ex press ing the future , the place o f the p art iciple is ta ken by the sdmty.fyform: ' (so m eon e) who w ill/may do so m e th ing '. Th is for m has the sam e u sesas the particip les, bu t h as its o w n particu lar endings. In its fullest writingsth e sdmty fy for m disp lays the fo llowing for m s:

Often, however, the \\ .y of th e endings is omitt ed :

Th e stela ('f Mentjuhotep ill the Fitzwilliam Mu seum, Cam bridge. has an appeal to

the living wh ich begins:

(See § 54 be low for th e form of the appea l 10 the liv ing and its vo cabulary.)As with participle s, the sdmty .fy form ca n be u sed w ith a noun (in thi s

example, swuty t.sn ' w ho ma y pa ss' goes with ' the living' ) or on irs o wn

('sorncon c who w ill do so m e th ing ' ).

The appe.r! I" the livinq <'[Ihe'chnm berlnin Mi nnc'fa (l ear 29 of A menemhet II) :

§54 The a p p ea l to the livingThe appeal 10 the livinq formula is found on many ste lae . A sim ple ex ample is:

BM EA 14 3

iv Thi s stela shows a number of features wh ich place its date rather la le in

the seq u en ce of ste lae studied in th is bo o k. The wo rd tor Djed u is writ ­

ten wit h two dd-signs, su ggest ing a date o f at least the la te 12thd yn asty. This is con firmed by the use of n k! II w ith out im .'[I(w) (sec§2 6 ) and by the u se of th e dd11', ·fo nn u la . It is thought that the 'b rea th ­of -lilc ' formula o n ly cam e into use in the 13th dvnast v: if S(l , thi s would

su ggest a date in the earl y 13th dynasty for thi s stel a .

110 How 10 read L'gvl'lial/ hicroalvphs

11 3

...... :::.:;' f Ob -:~-o> =q, .<o>rr,~..I , i '''' 0-:i' ".1WI 7i71 t" - 1 i'i

lid=tl1II! t hnkt ks tpd 11 Im.IO lw) m -r 'bnll'ty mn w-nf r mr -h rwMay you say, 'A thou sand bread, beer, ox and fowl lor ih e revered

one. the overseer "f the chamber Minne ler, ihe Justified'

Q ~t}~,@} i:- rgr9~~~~}t--;ffi~}~J

~ P,~~1~ r?W ~~}~~i rn tn v tpw fI SUNl)'.sn hr I!; pn

mnw ' 11 1] msddw tlPIlid=111 SII] tslr hn ty-i mnt w m ntw-htpo living ones upon the earth who may pass by ihi s tomb

and w ho love life and w ho hate death,may you say, 'May Osiris Khcn tytrnem u transfigure Mentjuhotep'

EM FA 829,Line 5:

b. Tile offerinq reques t

Tile o wner requ ests that offerin!(s or pra yers be made or sa id lor him :

The future

Fitz.E9. 192 2,Line 1:

From BAI FA 829 :

EM EA 584 , :1 --1g- ~' n - oilLines3 -5: ~ hT}Jil' f\~~I'~~o"~~-,,;io\ l%+~iP.I

I},. b... = = :;n kf,....... = '- - "-. = 0~\·~;-;-I '1 · A ; y. .J}lil~ ,~::J ;71 6

I rnhw sWIl{y j.SI1 I" m rh rt III In Od In i lsf lm mrr =rn f ms U''P *Wl lVl r lWU f = ! nblid=tl/ t hnkt ..

The request lor sa ying the off ering formu la u ses th e future sJm{~J) form dis­cussed below in §55 ,

c. The appeal to goodwill or pietyThe appeal to th e living is oft en augmented by a th ird e lem en t - an in vo ca­tion of the goodwill or pie ty o f th e visito rs, or a de cla ra tio n o f th e ben efit svisitors wi ll gain if they ma ke th e offering. Sometimes this is included inhailing the visitor s in the form 01participles:

The appeal 10 the living of the priest Mentu ltotep:

( ~} mrrwand ffi~} msddw a rc both participle s: see §46 ab ove .)Often , however, th e appeal to the goo dw ill or piety 01 th e visitor takes

the form of a sepa ra te clause (he re beg in n ing A \-=~ m + m rr=lII)leading on to th e request to say the offering: = I,

The appeal to the living of the oversea oj builders Khu enbik:

SWI pass (by)

u the ea rth

Ip W (who are) upon

TI l

AHBRH'l ArF.n WRITI NGS

n.A Q", ~ I f.i)'" l~ n '-J n-n ~ 1."~ l!iI T .1f .ff:0 .1f ' TI I '~ I ' 9 ~ U[

I ' 1I0W IpW u s lVlt (v) ,sn hr IS pno rhe living upon the earth w ho ma y p a ss hv ih is tomb

i rnijw tpw u ..o ihe living upon the ear th .

"-.=~ Q~ &;~=~C?-,~ t =,..~..J r I i! d l1 . ~ 11 1)0. _ I ~

I "l1bw tp H' '-' ~1tn (1Vj ·17 {r fl m (w)t-n tr w '"bw nW r-pr pnJd=!11 tll 1 hnkt kl Ipd n tm itjt w) m- r 'bll " 'ly m nw-nfr 1n·" -tIT \\'

() living ones up on ih e ea rt h. the (" II-priesls and IIm-prks lesses,and i he w'b-priesls <)1 this u-mp le.

may you say, ' A ih ou sand (of) bread, beer, ox and Iowl lor ih erevered on e . ih e overseer of the chamber Minnefer, ih c justified'

FULLER w Rln " GS

How to read ( qyptlan hieroqlyphs

~ ~ or Q1 0

Sf- } ~; ' II Ow the living

FiIz.E9.1922,Line I:

Fitz .E9 .1922,Line I :

11 2

a. Hailing tile visitorTh e owner 01 th e memorial addresses the passer s-by; th e visito rs archailed , typ ically in the Iorrn :

As we saw above, the stela of Mentjuhotep begins with an appeal to thclivinq:

(Sec th e Referen ce table on p. 148 lor th e suffi x pron oun =!11 'vo u")

The appea l to the livin g is com posed of tw o basic e lements p lus a Iur­

ther. optio nal e leme nt:

Thi s is composed 01 the following words:

As in thi s exam ple, in hailing the visitor , the verb swi ' to pass ' U" 'by') is typ ­ically used in th e sJmty.fy form: Sl l' lty.S1l ' (they ) wh o sha ll pas s' . SWI can bewri tten in the follo wing wa ys:

(On the lonn 01 tpw ' upon', see §6 0 below.)There may follow an enumeration o f the people like ly to pass by - such

as temple sta ff and scribes - who are ofte n hai led in pas sing the mon ument:

The stela ofMent juhotep continues:

A brief version of the A bydos formula OCC/.1rS on 8M EA 162:

115The future

~m~ Ahtp-dl -nsw ssir nb ddw II/r ' I lib Ib,Jwd/=f prt-hrw t hnkt la JpJ ts mn h: ...An offering which the king gives 10 Osiris lord of Djedu , great god,

lord of Abydos.so that he might give an invocat ion offering of bread, bee r, ox

and fowl. alabaster and linen ...

BM EA 558,Lines 1-2 :

Berlin 1204,Lines 18 -1 9: iw ir.n>! prt ' JI sms=1nt r r nmtt- ] .11.n=1sk d dpt-ntr

I cond ucted the great procession, following the god a t his travels.and I made the god's boat sail

§57 Purpose and causation

a. Purposeiresult clausesThe fu ture sdm(=f) is al so used to ex press pu rp ose or resu lt (' so that ', ' inorde r tha t') , Th is is the fo rm used in the offering formula :

The offering form ula fr om BM EA 558:

May hand s/help be given 10 him in the Nesh rnet -ba rk on the waysof the we st:

May he receive offerings on the great altar On the festivals of thene cropolis;

May 'Welcome i ll peace' be said for him bv the grea t of Abydos: onthe Wag-festival and on the Thmh-fcsrival ... la list of fest ivalsfollo ws)

(.t(w) is the affi x o f the pa ssive w ith in used for 'by ' I'may so m et h in g bedo ne by so meo n e ') .

You wi ll be studyin g th is formu la in th e Exercises to thi s ch apter.

Ikhemofrets description of the qreat procession of Osiris:

b. CausationWe have al read y not ed the use of the ve rb rdl to express ca usation w hen fol­low ed by anot her ve rb with the se ns e o f ' to ca use/h ave/ le t/ a llow some one

to do somet hing' (see §4 0 ). Thi s o ther verb goes in the future sdm(=f) Iorm:

§58 NegationTh e future sdm(=f) in its ma in usage is negat ed by ~ nn +[uture sl}m(=f) :'yo u will /m ay nor do tha t' : -

~ i -t }-:itm}--;1~il~~ i r1 } !?~.:."-. =\'Ob -: ~= ---" 0 - t == l;-;"",,,e'4 ..~ 1i7l~1\) I

1' n [lw tpw ts hm iwi -ntr hm(w )/ -nrr wbw nw r-pr -pnI!d=!n lJl t hnkt ks spd n ImJ[t(w) m -r rhnwty m nw-nf r mr -hrwo living ones upon the earth, the !tm-priests and !tm-priestesses,

and the w'b-prieSlS of this templ e.may you say, 'A thou sand (0 0 bread, beer, ox and fowl for the

reve red one, the oversee r of the chamber Minnefe r, ihe jus tified'

How to read EHyprian hieroglyphs

BM EA 829,Lines 4-5:

di .t tw) n=f 'v.y m nlm t hr WI (w)1 imnttf ..._ ( !.r,., f 11.". l1r,., r , 1"'" Hf, {1J: 1 1'1 " r l . Hlt'"

Th e future stim(=fJ is a form distinct from th e present sdm(=f) n ot ed in §42above (alt ho ugh the two ca n be di fficult to disting u ish by the w ritingsalone ). Th e future sdm(=f), for ex am ple , is not used with auxiliaries such as

fw. Its fu ll forms ar e given in §59 below (you may wish to compare th e writ ­

ing s of the two forms in th e refe rence ta bl es on pp . 14 5 an d 14 6 ).

BM EA 162,Line s 4-6:

§56 The Abydos formulaTh e Abydos form ula is a fairly standa rdised set of afterl ife wi shes. The

ma ture version bel o ngs to the first ha lf of the 12th dyna sty wi th earlier (lessstandardi sed ) ve rsions occu rring in th e 11 th dynasty. Th e fu ll formula has

tw en ty e lemen ts (as in BM EA 567), but many te xts co nt ain a se lection :

The appeal to the liviru; of the chamberlain Minnefer once more:

114

§55 Wishes, expectations and requests: the future sgm(=f)Th e fo rm used to exp re ss wis he s, re qu est s, ex pectatio ns and the like is th e

future stim(=f) . In the appeal to th e living, you have alrea dy, in fact , en co un­

tered th e future stim(=fJ for m o f :':1 dd rsay) :

o living ones wh o may pass by ihis cenotaph in going north or ingoing so uth,

as you wish 10 follow wepwawet at his journ eys,mav you say, 'Bread and beer ...'

Grammatically, th e first cla use is so metimes in troduced by ~ m 'a s' a nd the

re q uest clause som e tim es by 2 ~ ml ('j ust as .. .. so yo u sho u ld say .. .' )

117

may he bring

may he come

The future

;u'r={(With exi ra -r )

1>1I=f(with ext ra -1)

I rnhw tpw 11 ".

o the Jiving (w ho are ) upon the earth ...

~G . PI.. SG . PI..

\\ } \+~\ H~}MSC. e.g. wsc..y -w Imy 1mB.'

H1\ not1\FE.\!. r EM. 'i I

· 1 -L tm t lmf

SPe CIA L CASES

Fitz. E9 . t 922 ,Line I :

PR EPOSlT10~ ADJ ECTIVE t~ -y

~ III in q +~\ Imy (which/who is) in

at. towards r: iry (which/who is) at, towards, relating toin relation to

<;:- hr upon Q " IllY (w hich /w ho is) uponI = =

/5)1 rp upon ~ or /5) tp» (wh ich /w ho is ) upon0\\

ADJECffi'ES IN .y

Notes

The ve rb mu ' to see ' also displa ys a form~h'::= mm«],i i The weak verb form with 44 -.I' is m ost common in the first person.

iii The furms from (he verb s 'come: and 'bring ' show an extra 1.

§60 Adject ives in -y

Wh en used with nouns , a special adjective form of the pre posi tion is used:

The stela ofMentjuhotep:

Here ~} tpw is an adj ective derived fro m th e preposit ion /5)1 tp ('upon') .As an adjective !f} tpw agrees with th e n oun Sf- } ~~ 'n l/w (both sho wthe plur al -w). This form is termed th e adjective ill -.I' (the -.I' o nly oc curs inthe ma sculin e singu la r form ). Som e preposition s displa y a d istin ctive wr itingin the adje ctive in '.1':

Adjectives in -.I' agree with their nouns in number and gender :

may he hear

may he st"e

may he give

may he love

sam=!

mr-fc: mry=!

fm=f

.il=!(no rl

n iTlJR E saml=fJ

Hewto read l:~qypria ll hieroglyphs

STRO~G

EXTRA WEAK

DOUBLlt'G

- no doubling

\ ...·fA )\

5\\ 4 =1" lJ(W)T=1'l " iJrd (w )=1'l . " "" hkr=m "" Ib i=I" .Yon will hand over your offices to your children ... VO\l ,,,, II not he

hungrv, you will n ot be th irsty

EM EA lUI.Lines 2 ·4 :

J J6

The bOIl,JIII section of 8M FA IVI is based on the goodwil l and wish elements of theappeal to the Jiling (i.e. that goad thinq« will happen tc passers-by when they say theoffering [cr m ula for the deceased):

§59 Fo rm s of the sgmty.fy and the future sgm (=!)The sJmtyf y and the fut ure s(jm(=!) have th e followi ng forms :

a. sdmty.fy

Sl~Gl!LAR PLURAl

MASCUUN E FEMIl'l SE

~C>___

~ "'0 ~"'n-.tJ \\ \\ J} \\ i\\ .:tJ \, !: I I5TRO~G

sdm ty .snsqmry f y sdm ty.sy

DOUB LING ~1,~\~-:- ~:£'\~~r\\ :J::£'\:£'\~ r:-;-,- doubling m my.[y mutv. sy muty .sn

91fJJ .:> "-- 4"=.l 1fJJ C> [I 9 1fJJ"'r-~ \\ \\ <!':?;::J \\ \\ ~..., \\ I I'WEA K

SdlY.[Y Id lY·sy sd ty.sn

<=>0 ""- <:>°r <:> O~-EXTRA WEAK ~\\ \\ ~\\ \\ ~ \\ I

. rdi shows r rdt ty .iy rdlty.sy rditysn

o, ~~_~ or J) } ~r~,ly( l)lt wOi J)Jr\\ \\ fJ J> \\ '"

- shows nv lwry Iy Iwry"ly iu.'ty .sn

b. The fu ture s(jm(:!) :

1 19

rran sfigu re

entourage

akh -sp irit

(who is ) in .See §60 above

(who is) up on.See §60 above

e XAMP LE

Im -Il l r necropolis,cem crerv

rpy

fmy

[n

tpIs

E17 - dagger, Used in theadje ctive in .y tpy

SIG~

The fu ture

E30lE31 - combi nation o f IE29 and If'/; D32 (and L e l l- sandy h ill -slope)

E33 - Iwo plan ks crossed a ndjoined. Used in th e ad ject ivein .y Imy.

b. Th ree othe r signs w hic h arc usefu l at th is po in t:

+

l or1

.!f}~ receive, lake ~ 3J..~

lk,aA' tomb, cenota ph lJ~·:o JJ i

~fl~ tu rn b ~

Ex e rci se s

8. 1 SigllSa. 2 -consona m and 3-cLlnso nall1 signs:

8.2 WordsTransl iterate the follow ing w ords:

(The bless ed dead become Ilj -sp irits in the a fter life by bei ng transfigu re d(Sib ) a fter death . )

8.3 8M EA 567

BM EA 567 (sho w n on p. 120 ) hegins wit h a date, a n offe ring form ula, andthen moves on to a full set of the twen ty elements of the Abydos for mula, ofwhich a select ion a re given her e, incl uding som e m entioning th e Abydosmyste ries. Ignore th e sections in grey,

, -

lerior pri est (Ilterally,the one carrying I h elector book )

j n bry­.~.J hor

ma ster o f secrets(literally, rh e oneupon sec re ts)

I CO> .<p- =-'IH~d~A'i'tr. ~1),. l1~ "J C-"j't d" It, !Jt~= l.lJz' ~ dmrr ~ t'I= 1 @

(Itp -d/-IISW istr nb lidw !Jnty-tmlllw (n/r) ' 1 lib tbliwAn offe ring which ih e king gives 10 Osiris lord of Djedu.

Khent y lmentu, great (god), lor d of Abydos

h rv­ssn

VOCABULARY

'--'-'-' ... _ -.---" - ".'_._ - ----

u;.; /5 tom b T6 IHf1W-1l!r Minnd er

=}~= mn tw-htp Mer rtj uhot ep ffi ~l msdti) ha te;;;; c [

r-pr tem ple j ~ ! hmtwi -nir hm-p riests

In hm iwn-ntrhm - €I'" bpI de ath

. j', p riestesses O .!J

1 3J..~ -'Ii} t ran sfig u re

BJ\1 f A 584 ,Line I :

Adjectives in -y ar e com mo n in titles. for exa mp le:

The stela of Khuenbik begins wi th an offering formula invoking Osiris:

t 'L it,~~:+} C)t)H,\ \ EA 178 3, hip -di -ns w inp w tp(y) o"=/ lm (y) wr rib 11 dsrl.ine I : An o fferi ng wh ich th e king gives (10) Anu his who is up on his

muu n tain, t he o ne in rhe wI-fet ish, lord o r rhe sacred lan d

118

(bry is derive d fro m th e prepo sition iJr 'u nd er ', whi ch is also us ed w ith the

se nse of 'ca rrying'. )like o the r adjectives, the adjectives in -y can be used on their own

('t he one w ho .:', ' th e th ing which ,, : ). A pa rticular exa mple is the n ame ofKh entvimentu 'the fore mo st of th e westerner s' :

i ntr ha s bee n omitt ed in the phrase ru r 'I ' great god')onty is an adject ive in -y meaning ' (t he one ) at th e front ' . imntw is also

a n adjective in -y, de rived fro m th e noun 1/111/1 ' Ihe west ' an d ml'ans l' th eones of the west' ,' westerners' . So hnty- tmntw means ' the one at the front o fthe weste rners' (t he 'western e rs' are the dead , the people in th e realm o f

sunset) .

The stela of Inh u retnakh t begins with an offa ing formula invoking Anubis:

NotesSee n otes to Exercise 7.8 for th e writin g of the det erminat ive of ddw

a n d /bdw.ii w epwawct has the epith et billy tbd w ' t he on e at th e fro nt/h ea d of

Abyd os' (see §60 a bove fo r tlll ly ) .

iii The names of He ke t and Khnu m are writt en wit h th ei r frog an d ram

dcrerrninauvcs resp ecti vely.iv bf -n bt ri[rtt} prtr )! m -bth II!r - .1 ' eve ryth ing go od w hic h go es befo re th e

grea t go d' . pr (r) 1 is a pa rticiple.v In Lin e 5 th e Abydos fo rm ula begins with ms.l(w) -11 =/ 'Ivy br ... 'May

a rm s be presented to h im ca rry ing ..: Th e two gro ups of th e venerateddead noted arc SillSII' nssir ' the followers uf Osiris' an d Ip J lj prw br-Im' t he ancesto rs who exi sted before ' .

vi In Lin e 5 -rw is the dependent pr on oun 'yo u ' (the ow ner Amenernhctis sometim es referred to as ' h e' som cu rues as 'vo u ' ). Sec §41.

vii On snyt imiy t} Jbdw, see §60.viii In Line R d in dd is flatt e r than th e normal form. Noti ce th at it does not

121Thefu tu re

VOCABULARY--- - _.- ..._ - - - - -

~~} iiw welcome ."..-'1 'wy arms~ \\

~~! w r(w) th e great 1»,7 m-bih before

1»,7J ms present. o ffer =0 = t-pkrRo-Poker

I Llv- (Poker)

ru~~~- hsk r Haker-rites rgl hnw jubila tion

J- hn: ="= offeri ngs,, .-.J)

toge the r wi tha C

IIII' peace

mil ~ tlll lY(the on e) a t

hrcarrying,

the front <Th unde r

r:; sdmhear (th e (I has

< slim changed into d r n ~, .J) S(l l travelov er ti m e) 10 \

--- ~ s./ rt vigil ~G ~ follow ers8 C> F9 smsw

n ~~ m f ny l en to urage ~rr grl1 nigh t'I. C I~ ,

~ fJ· w rTawer 6---1 tptwj -: ancestors... mome) I

. . - ... _... - .. .

i n D ~ H ~ 9,. 7.......sdryl n t ~1r-Sl1 the vigil of Horus-.<III <= 'j~o k:'_CD

ix Trans la te nsnn u-rr I IIm l1= s as 'w hen th e grea t IIsm l -b ar k is at it s jo ur ­neys'.

x In Line 10 I I -WI . th e 1I0me com ainm g Abydos. he re ref ers 10 the in hab ­itant of the nome, henc e it call have a 'mo u th' .

xi In se n 'a t' in your translat ion befure Iuk r ill Line 10 .x ii The vigil uf Horus-J» or Horus the figh ter remains one of the m ost

el usive aspects of the Osi ris m yster ies, a lthough it p robab ly refe rs to

pan uf th e rites con cerned w ith the rea n ima tio n of th e dead Osiris.

W hen yo u have finis hed bot h Exe rcises 8 .3 an d 8 .5, yo u m ay wish to corn ­

pare the Abydus fo rm ul ae on th e two ste lae .

8.4 St udy exercise: BM EA 584Transliter ate a nd translat e the ste la o f Khucn bik (B M EA 58 4 sh u wn unp. 122 ) with its appe al tu th e livin g.Note

In Lines 4-5 til mrre tn sms "'P-W/w l r nmtt »] lib 'in th at yu u w ish tu follo wWep wawet at a ll hi s journeys' ; [ms is in th e in fini tive for m and supp lies the

B:lil EA 567(ca rved lim estone; w. 63 .5cm)

How 10 read 1~~Yl' li,1I1 h icroqlvphs120

Trn .ES AN D OCC UPA TIO NS

, - ---- - ----- -

1 ~~hm -n tr priestess of j},,@ m -r overseer ofit....t -h r Harbor -c-i - C> Ltl11l1 the trea su ry

<p h nt -ki ka -pn csr ~=Ih 3;.,m-r

general -in -chief '1 :0:::-"';::" 1115""wr

- . ---- - . .----- -- ---,- _._- - --- .. - .. - .- - . - -1

--: or }\z ( \.~Y JnTIS

U'r (w j th e grea t Will hbtw] festiva ls I

hlp peace, 2h., c:. I htp: offeringssan sfaction o O c:n:::)i Ihlp ' I grea t alta r d!11 .ssp rece ive

0

FESTI VA I.S

The tutu re 123

VOC Allli LARY (CONTIN UED )

- - - --- -- - - - - - -

m n a m e CO} . rrw tRcru t

-ez> mame)

> Ll ~ hk r( I he god dess) ="= iJlp offe ring sj.d Hckct 00

~ ~l~bbw·n - K huenbik

~~ ['j lj nmw (th e godlbl ]: (na me) Khnurn

jl q. sfnbmak e live.

~~~sm yt the wester n

p erpe tua te lmn tt desert

~r sms to follow '::l dfp w) pr ovisions

8.5 Study exercise: 8M EA 162

The fin al ste la for you ro study is 13M EA 162, the stela of the genera l-in ­chief Ame ny. The stela is shown on!' . 125 . As usu al, transliterat e and trans­late with the hel p of the acco mpany ing vocabula ry.NOles

See Exercise 3.3 for vocab ulary for th e offerin g form ula section.ii Read di.tiw) at the beginning of Line 4 wit h ---'l for ......,-; .

iii See Chapter 7 for the stru cture of th e va rious ep ith ets.

VO CABU LAR Y

./)}. o r ~~} 1(1111' welcom e

13&.111 or ~~:cob.",0

r - " , -----~--_ . .

I f \wQ;J wigWa g~ [ 'J .... prt mnw

pro cessio n offestival <~ .f)1 Min

~rn JllwlITI>O lh - Si! ./)6° pr ocession offestiva l p rt spdt

Sothis

i U[J;;o~ hb sk r Soker-!V iW begin n ing of

I => Iestiva l tp -rnp tth e luna r year

Blv1 EA 584

(ca rved lime sto ne; II . 53cm)

VOC ABU L \ RY

,---. .-- - - ' . . ._- ._.. _. - . _. . - . ._- _.

~{:~m in going

~c":':~ nt hdin goin g

£Isf l south n on h

~'> ~1~~~1ft 111 -' ov erseer of~if E\ lIl>in

ceno ta ph .

or 1%.~ !Ii iIkJ", b uilde rs rorub

57nu. ;;- nui -n- ,\1aicn hor O ? de"plh - Pia liho tcp

:rf- 'j .h ~1r (n am e ) o~",Q hlp (n am e;

rr u n -p tlt - :'lip la hka u .c. n nttt jou rn eysL. J\

12 2 How fa read F:!lypli'l/1 hieroqlvph»

J2 5The Iuture

13M EA J62

hairdresserns:

Kh nvet

Ameny

Satsobe k

Kheneikhetvhetep ;I

Saha tho r

Medhu

Sakhene rkh e ty

Saut yr

- - - - --------_ .- -- - - - -

TITLES AND OCC UPATION S (coxnxuru]

:-lAMI: S

cup- bea rer

~~~ Q fmny

C3 "4 0 b\<ytIo--J'~ I .

rrM- -=eb hnt-hty-ht p0 ,, 1100

~~ ss-hwt-h r

~~J~ sst-sb k

~~~a, mdh w

~tW~-::,= ~ ~ ss-h n t-h ty

~}"' \~ O snvtyt

I ~rWl -~ft sit-h nt -ljt!n'" C> ~

How iii read Egyptiall hieroglyphs

~ n h ry-p r dorn csuc serva n t=

124

Satkhenetkh ery

. ~l"= L~ rJft -It' p(\,j Dj efahapy :L ..... . . . • .J

Onc e you ha ve read th is stela. il will no dou bt strike you ihat rhe

ow n er himself is ac tually mi ssing from ihe figur es shown. Thi s is because.like a number of stelae from Abyd os. BM f A 162 be longs to a gro up dedi­ca red in a n offering-chapel at th e site. Un fortuna tely, Abydos was clea red ofmany of us Mid dle Kingdo m mo n ume nts by collecto rs a nd earl y archaeo lo­gists in i hc n inctccruh ceru ury with out a prope r record bein g made of th efind-sues . II is only through th e work of scho lars scouring th e museum col­lccuons of rhe wo rld and sih ing th rou gh ihe spa rse arc haeo logica l recordthai ori ginal gro ups of ste lae are graduall y being reassembl ed .

Fortu na re ly. EM EA 162 has be en allocated 10 a group now knownconven tionall y as Abydos NOrIh Offerin g Chapel (ANOC) 2. II has a com ­panion . now in the Egyp tian Mu seum. Cairo (CCG 20546 ). which shows th esame SI}' 1e and phraseology: ihc IW O wer e clea rly mad e in ih c same wor k­shop as a pair. JI 10 0 lack s a figure o f Amen}' himse lf: instead il depio sfurth er relatives and dependa nts looking fro m lef t to righ t (w hereas in EMEA 162 Ihe y look from right 10 left ). Th is pair o f stelae no doubt framed acentra l su la depi cting Arncn v himself: one pie ce which has been propos edis in ihc Mnsee du Louvre , Paris (C35).

About the Front Cover

The cover sh ows a derail of an inscrib ed ritual 1001 used in the ri leof 'ope nin g the mouth ' - an obscure cer emony designed to brea th elife in to an embalmed corpse , a statue or a n inscribed image. Thetext records a dedication from Senwosret [ to his celebrated prede­cessor (here termed It "(fo rc jfather) . Mcn tjuhotep ll o f t h e l l rhDvn ast y, w ho is h er e identified by hi s pra enornen Nebheperre .

Like t in tune

Hieroglyphic sign-lists for the exercises

List I: l-consonant signs

Called aleph. Originally a throat y trill, it later became a stop . as incockne y pronunciation of bottle as bo'l, and a hal as a 'a'

Called yodh . Originally a sto p, it tended 10 sou nd more likey. Aweak sound, often nor wriuen

Like y in yes

Called ayin. A th roaty gurgle, like saying a whilst swallowing

Called waw. Like w in weI. A weak sou nd, often not writt en

Like b in bel

Like p in pel

Like fi n jit

Like m in met

Like n in net

Like r in rain , bu t distinctly rri llcd as in Scots pronun rta tlon

Like h in home

Emphatic h pronounced in ih e throat

Like Scots ch in loch

Sllghtly softer than iJ, like Gennan ch in ich

Like s in soap

Like sh in ship

k pronou nced a t back 01 m ou th , like Arabicq in Qun in (Koran)

Like k in kit

Like gin gfl

Like I in tub

Like d in did

Like j in joke, or French di in dieu

The following lists are intended to help you to identity particular hiero­glyph s qu ickly an d easily. and then work out how they have been us ed to

w rite words. You ca n also, if you wis h, treat ih ern as a co nv enien t resourcefor memori sin g so m e of the most co m m on ly u sed hieroglyphs.

·-----....--·- ·- ·---1~~[1 nb -hp t-r r Ncbhepctrc I

rur nfr lib lmy s-n-wsrtir.n=f m mnw»] II It=fnb -hpt -rr mr- hrw

The perfect god, the lord of th e twin lands, Sen wos rc i:he has made a dedi cati on for his Iarhcr,Nebh ep etre, the justified.

dedicatio nmrnv

MMA 24 .21:

-_._-_ .._---1=cool_._.. .... .

mnw 'dedication ' refers here to the opening o f the mouth implementitse lf and th e rit es associa te d w ith it. mllw is o ften translated as 'm on u ­ment ' in di ctionaries, but actua lly refers mor e ge n era lly to ro yaldedications, he re for a celebrat ed ro yal predecessor.

The ap pea rance of an ex tra m before th e obje ct mn w is a sta n da rd parto f th is ded icat ion form ula , a lt h o ug h the re ason for it is st ill d isp ut ed byschola rs (as indeed ar e the intricacies of th e gra m ma r of th e fo rmula ) r

so yo u ce rta in ly sh o u ld n ot worry too m uch a bou t it. According to o nesu gge stio n, iI indicates th ai it is t he dedi cation of t he objec t itself w h ichis seen a s th e focal -point o f th e fo rm u la, fo cu sin g on Senwosrct 's per­fonnance of th e commemorat iv e funct ions of kingshi p th ro ughsupplying th e ope n ing of the m outh implement for th e animation o f st at ­ues of his cel ebrat ed predeces sor.

VOCA BULA RY

129

A l l

( I ) clear(2) sacred

upon

land

bread

ox, bu ll

dsr

ks

tp

1\10 All

et

,Jl vr officiali~ .

:IT I

0=G" I

.fJ~ sdm hear

~r spsy dtgnified

illill ; siJt co unr rvside

(I ) face12 ) on

elder,eldest

offering

seat, place

district

Hieroglyphic sign -lists for the exercises

lilt front

rnpt year

hr

rdwy legs

rd(l) give

'i'I

smsw

~I Spit

f7

~ htp00

11

mouth

n ot (§ 39)

town

sun

house,estat e

expedition

rr

n

!tW(

pr

ntr god

oI

ecd

nI

a nmu step..1\0 journey

~~ ndm sweet

List V: Full Sign ListWhat follows is a com plete list of signs appearing in this book , with an expla­nation of th e different wa ys in w h ich each one has be en u sed to wri te words.Sinc e thi s is a pra ctical list designed to help yo u find an unfamiliar signqu ickly, m or e re cogn isable sign s ha ve been gro uped int o three broad ca te­gories (h u mans, animal s, nature ), whilst others have been gro uped by sha pe(small. ta ll. broad) . The signs ar e given her e in a stand ardised font . but itshould be remembered that th ere will be some variation in their forms asthey ap pear on monuments; in particular. the det ails of a sign will beaffected by whether it is pain ted (as 0 11 a coffin ) or in scribed (as on a ste la) .

Read er s who cont inue th eir study of an cient Egyptian will eve nt uallyneed to become familiar with th e systematic sign-list of Gardiner 's EgyptianGrammar (sec p. 176) . Sin ce Gardiner used many mo re categories th an wehave, th ere is no correspo ndence between his list and ours in the wa y a par­ticular sign is classifi ed . Here. we have used the following abbreviations: I c..one -conso na n t sign ; 2e.. two-con sonant sign ; 3e.. three -consonant sign;ideo .. ideogram; com .. sign combined with othe r elements.

Index

§A, Signs depicting people or parts of the human body

AI 1\2 A3 A4 A5 A6 1\7 A8 A9

kd

II

tp

tm

II

dw

dr

dWI

*pa lace

u

sw

br

wit road, way

Sl

s t

SII

Sl

skor WI/.!

SS

~ spd

'Ill fight

11} hnm

~ I

htp

[Ipr

IIh

lin

n.~

lib

11m

bl

lid

11IV or b/.!

iJi

nbw

m l'

IIf r

n tr

c

A

tt

? Ib hear!

f~ tm nt wes t

ml

ml

bl

pi

bh or IIlV

pr

mw

pb

mr

mr

mr or sb

ms

mb

m t

m twjt

whm

wsr

WI/.! or sk

n

=

>g

'\

ffi

=

rr1j

1

I. my (§36)

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

IW

IW

sb or mr

Ir

In or nw

W'

wd

Wp

Wn

11moriml

Iwn

Jl IIw praise

128

List II : Some common 2-consonant signs

List III: Some common 3-consonant signs

o

List IV: Some common ideograms

f\ WI

i is

<-=> or ~ ' 1

E35

~~

E23

02 4

£47

F3 6

F24

FI2

EIO El l

0 23

E22

E46

E34

FI I

F35

~

F23

E9

D22

E2l

E45

E33

FlO

Fn

F34

9

E8

~

E32

o 0 00 ~

0 2l

£20

E44

F9

F33

F2l

=

e

E7

EI9

~

LJ

0 20

E3 I9L.n

E43

F8

F20

F32

=

x

E6

E30

"I~

EI8

E42

0 19

F7

Fl 9

F31

=

E5

r

DI8

E l7

£29

E4 I

F6

FI 8

F30

=

n

o

CJ

1E4

D t7

£:40

EI6

£28

r

F5

FI7

F29

=

1

t

DI6

E27

1U

E39

EI5

o

I . I

EI4

E26[

'"

0 15

E38

E62 E63 [64 £65 E66 E67 E68 E69 E70 E71

g ~ ~ 1 J g ~ ~ m

\\

fE25

E37

El3

0 14

E48 E49 E50 E5I £: 52 E53 E54 E55 E56 £57 E58 [ 59

E24

EI2

~

Dl3

025 D26 0 27 02B D29 03 0 0 31 032 D33 D34 D35 036

Hieroglyphicsiqn-lists for the exercises 131

E36

037 845

E60 E61

F25 F26 F17 F28

FI3 FJ4 FI5 FI 6

ill ~

§D. Other small signs

DI D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 DB D9 0 10 0 11 O!2

§E. Other tall signs

EI E2 1:3 B54

§F. Other broad signs

FI F2 F3 F4

u

CIl

M

C2 4

t

Ll

enq

1.

( I ICIO

cn

C9

0 1

j

BI9 B20 B2l B22 B23 B24

~ ~ ~ ~ J0. ""5rB3I B32 83 3 B34 B35 B36

*' *'CI9 00

MI!l I)

J

j

BI6 BI 7 Bl8

Il28 B29 B30

\) ~ b

T .=.. *CI6 CI7 CI8

BI4 BI5

B26 B27'\-... Ij~ f'

A6I A62

B25

B l3

A37 A38 A 39 A40 A4I A42 A43 A44 A45 A46 A47 A48

AI3 AI4 A J5 AI6 AI7 AI 8 AI9 A20 A21 A22 A23 A24

A49 A50 A5I A52 A53 A54 A55 A56 A57 A58 A59 A60

A25 A26 A27 A28 A29 A30 A3 I A32 A33 A34 A35 A36

B37 B38 B39 B40 B4I B42 B43 B44 845 B46 B47 B48

B49 B50 B5! B52 B53 B54 B55 B56 8 57 B58 B59 B60

! 30 How to read Egypria n hieroqlyphs

o e =

B6I B62 B63 864 B65 B66 B67

C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C3l C32 C33

c n CI4 CI5

IY'-"l ~

§B. Signs depicting creatures or parts of their bodiesBI B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 BI O BI I BI2

§G. Signs involving sky. earth. water, or plantsCI C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8

13 3

dc t. give birt h

( I) del. chi ld ; (2) hence abb. brd 'ch ild ' ;(3 ) 2e . /11I (o r ,m i)

id eo , or del. mi' 'expedition , army'

ideo . dsr 'sacred' and rela ted wo rds

ide o . ' Ill ' fight' a nd relat ed w or d s

ideo. ptr 'observe, view '

( I) id eo . r 'm ou t h' : (2) h en ce l c. r

del. face, nose, c.g.sn 'kis s

( 1) 2e. Ir; (2 ) del. mil 'se e'

ideo. or de t. f ry ' keep er '

(I) varia nt o f A27; 12) del. lmiy-imruw (ana me of th e god Osiris I

( I ) a bb. ns\\' ' king' ; (2 1de l. nam es o f th egod Osiris

ide o . lm/1 '(the god ) Am un

( I ) alt ernat ive for A 55; (2) hen ce ideo,web 'priest

del. lying dO W11, death

( 1) id eo , !,Ir ' face' , 'on'; (2) h ence 2e. !,Ir

( 1) ideo . tp ' head', ' upo n '; ( 2) h ence2e. tp

de l. h air

l c, :J

(l) ideo . r 'a n n' ; (2) h en ce l c. <: (3)often a lte rna tive for A4 1-44

( II ideo, di or rdl 'givc ', alternati ve for£61 ; (2 ) read m or mi in the na mes bs­mk t a n d dw,.mwt=f by confusion withanot h e r sign iL..Z

del. acti o n. viole n ce, effort , a lterna tiv efor A I 2

2e. [III'

de l. a ctio ns or co nditions of the eye

2e.an

ideo . the negat ive words /I (§39) an d nn(§5S)

( I) ide o . ks 'ka' : (2) h ence 2e. ks

Hieroqly phic siqn -tists for the exercises

infant

woman giving birth

so ld ie r

man seated w ith dag ger

fig ure of Am un

priest com. wa terpou ring from ju g

mumm y o n bier

face

ann offerin g loaf (E6 I )

ro ya l figur e w ith Oail

head in profil e

ha ir

arm s rowing

h an d

front of face

roy al figure

arm hold ing st ick

ann

a nn ho lding flail

a n n holding wand orle ttuce

arms h oldi ng shield andaxe

a rms ge sturing den ial

U arms raised

JE>. eye wi th cosm etic

mouth

::<f1ie eyes com. falconmarkin gs

A4 0

A29

A44

A2 3

A24

A32

A28

A26

A 4 1

A36

A37

A3 8

A39

A2 2

A 3 5

A 2 5

A27

A43

A3 3

A34

A30

A3 1

A45

A48

A42

A47

A 46

1'56 1'57

[j0 f""'1

1'55

=

de l. hnw 'j ubilation '

(I) ideo . sr 'o fficia l' : (2) hence del.offic ial

ideo . smsw 'e lder, e ldes t:

( 1) de l. man , occu pa tion s o f m en; (2 )

ideo . o r del. 'I. me , my' (§36, §4 1. §49 )

del. w?m an, ooupations of women

de l. god, n ames/ti tle s o f gods

ideo , or de l. 1111'1 'harm ony' . espe cia lly ifperson ified as a go ddess (compa re withB27 )

del. ea t, speak , em ot ion (§6)

( I ) det. bu ild; (2) abb. ikd 'builder '

del. or abb. IIII' 'old'

( I ) ideo . spsy 'dign ified' an d relatedwords; (2 / del. de ceas ed offic ia l

ahcrn auv e form of AID

ideo. or de l. lad 'st rike '

del. e ffort , act ion . vio le nce

det. fall, fell , overth row

del. en emy

del. srl: ' ta lk about . accu se '

de l. I th e in te rjection 'O!'

del. tired, weak

(1) abb , :JWI 'adore' ; (2) hence del. ado re

del. rejoice

1'541'531'521'5 1

goddess with fea th er onh ead

m an sea led with ha n d 10

mouthm an kneelin g in

ad orat ionofficia l w ith staff and

leat he r gripman lea nin g on forked

Slick

old ma n lea n ing on Slick

god sea ted

m an bu ildin g w all

woman scared

oflicial hold ing fla il

m an fallin g

m.1I1 fallin g w ith bloodstr eam in g

man gesturing

m an sta n din g with ha ndto mouth

ma n wi th arms raised injoy

man wit h a n ns inadoration

m an slu mped

man sealed

o flicia l seared

ma n striking IWO ~

han ded wit h sla ff

m an str ik ing

1'50

How 10 read Egyp tian hien1glyp hs

1'4 9

AS

A6

A4

A 7

A 8

A9

AI D

A2

A l l

A 3

A l

A I2

AI 3

AI 4

A I5

1'37 1'38 FW 1'40 1'41 1'42 F43 1'44 1'45 F46 F47 1'48

A1 6

AI 8

A I 7

A20

A t9

A21

13 2

Full list

§A. Signs dep icting people or parts of tile Ill/ma ll body

134 1I0w to read Egyptian hieroqlyp hs Hieroglyphic siqn -listsfor the exercises 13 5

A5 0 ~boa t's m ast (E56 ) co rn.

3e 'h e, altern ative for E56 B I 4 ~ cormora nt 2e r}:A40

A 5! y breast dc t. brea st. suckle B I 5 Sf. jabiru 2e bs

B 16 &, hu ma n- headed birdideo . bt ' sou l' (New Kingd om )A5 2 =" pen is ( I ) de t. m ale; (2) ze.mt com. howl

A 53 peni s wi th issue of flu iddel. or abb . bth in m-bth ' in i he

B I7 ~ falcon (1) det. fa lcon ; (2) hence ideo. h r ' (theF -w presence of : god ) Harti s'

A5 4 J low er leg l c. b B I 8 ~ B I 7 com . E52 ideo . hwt -h r ' (the go dde ss) Hath or

A 55 eX A5 4 com. wa te r pou ri ngideo . or det. web ' pure' an d re lated words B I 9 ~ falcon pe rched det. gods

from jug

A 56 j leg ( I ) ideo. or d et , rd ' leg'; (2) det. tread B20 ~ falcon -headed god ide o. r: ' (the god) Re '

( I ) d et. m otion ; (2 ) id eo. Iw(I) 'co me' : B2 1 3;>.. sparro w d et. small. w ea k. pa th eticA57 J) legs wa lki ng ( 3) ide o . nmtt ' (fo rm al ) jou rn ey'

com bined sound -sign and de t. for 1(1)B22 3;?, swa llow 2c. w r

A58 ~ C20 com. A5 7 'com e' B23 ~ vulture ( I ) ideo. mwt 'moth e r' ; (2) hen ce 2e mt

A5 9 1 D33 com . A5 7com bined sound-sign and det. for In !I)

B24 ~ black ibis ( 1) ide o. 9m ' fin d' ; ( 2) h en ce 2c. 3m' bring'

com bin ed sou nd-sign and de l. for w ord s B2 5 '3r. cres ted ibis 2c. Ib in I IJ 'aklt-spirit ' and related wordsA60 ~ FI 5 com. A5 7 su ggestin g m otion which inclu de the

B2 6 4'- sacre d ibis ideo. [h wty ' (the god ) Thoth 'sou nd s, e.g. sbti) 'go' , ms 'bri n g'

com bin ed sound -sign and del. for ssm B27 p feather ( I) 2e. sw; (2) abb , mrt 'h ar mon y'A6 1 )r F29 com. A57 'con duct' an d related wo rd s.

alternative for F29 B28 \) egg ideo . or d et. lSI ' (th e goddess) Isis'

A 6 2 7f' F33 com . A 57co m bined sou nd -sign a nd de t. for 11(1) B29 lJril ox id eo . or det . ox, bull, catt le

'seize'B3 0 ~ head of ox abb. kl ' o x '

§B. Siqns depicting creatures or parts of their bodies.B 3 1 );:jj ca lf det. cattl e

8 1 1> qu ail ch ick I e. w8 32 b new -born calf 2e lw

B2 ~ owl l c. mB33 fril kid zc, ib

133 1h Egyp tian vul ture I e. IB 34 "'B det. ram , sheepram

B4 ~ pair of vultu res vari a nt of B3 wh en writ ing IIB3 5 ~ B34 com . bowl abb. b, ' ram '

B 5 ~ bu zzard2e. IW, especially at the en d of words,

oft en con fused wit h B3 B3 6 n7l hide of goat zc. bn

B6 ~ gui n ea -fow l 2e nh B3 7 y hide pierced hy arrow de t. p ierce

B7 ~ pin tail d uck ( I) 2e Sl; (2) det. bird , al ternat ive fo r B8B 38 piece of flesh

( I ) det, flesh; (2) ideo. 1St ' (the goddes s)

'" Isis'B8 ~ whi te -fronted goo se ( I ) 2c. 9b; (2t det. bird

ideo. or det , bps ' forel eg' (of animal ).B 39 fC' forel eg of oxB9 ~ duck tn flight 2e. pl ' strong arm ' (of ma n )

~8 40 j leg of ox 3e. w!lm

B I O trussed goose or du ck det. gooseB4 1 a nim al belly wi th ta il l e ll

B I I -:r head of d uck abb, spd 'bird'

fi> B42 V ox h orn s 2e WI'B I2 duck ling 2e. I '

B4 3 .tJ ox ear ideo. or del. sam ' hear 'B l3 "'(L~ nair of nlo vr-rc id e-o or Ii.... f r n fv 'w :t<: h f"r m .::l n '

§c. Siqn s depicting sky, earth, water or plants

137

2e. SI

( I) de l. plant ; (2 ) 2e. hn

( I ) 2e. iJ'; (2) abb, iJJ ' th ousand', or uni tsper th ou san d in co un ting

2e. ill

Ie. .v

( I) de l. moo n, even t base d on lun a rmo nt h; /2) ide o. I 'll 'moon'

( I) in dWI 'ado re' ; (2 ) del. sta r; (3) del."'m vl ' priesthood'

ideo .l bd 'mont h ' and rela ted words

ideo . ha lf-mo nt h fest iva l, readingunce rtain (see p. 76)

(I) 2e. rr : (2 ) del. in ar 'e ternit y'

alternat ive Con n 01 C9

Ie. ~

2e. dw

( I ) del. desert: (2) id eo. lp sr ' foreign land'

del. terrace

I e. I

Ie. n

ideo . o r del. stl l ' count ry side'

( I ) del. wa ter, cleanse; (2 ) 2c. mw

Ie. S

( I ) 2e. sw; (2) abb. IISW ' king'

abb. rh-n sw 'kin gs adviser'

ideo . or del. sm: 'Upper Egypt '

2e. 1111

( I) del. tree; (2) 3e. 11m, i nu

(l ) de l. iJt ' wood ' and rela ted wor ds; (2)hen ce 2e. iJr ; (3) de l. pkr 'Po ker', andhskr 'Haker-rires'

( I) ideo . or del. fl am 'sweet ' ; (2) hence3e. ndm

ideo . o r del. bn r 'sweet'

( I) ide o . or del. spd 'sha rp, kee n '; (2)hence 3c. spd

Hieroglyphic sign-listsfo r the exercises

th orn

* sta r

~ cresc ent moon

str ip of land corn . D4

strip o f land

L slo pe o f hill

c:.J te rraced slope

ripp le o f wa te r

grou p of ripples

garden pool

M valley be tween h ills

~ de se rt h ills

*' C5 corn . C6

* half moon corn. C6

C7

C5

C6

C8

Cl 3

C9

C IO

C I I

C I2

C I4

C I5

C I6

CI7

C 18 ~ po ol with flow ers

C I9 !lili1 reeds

C20 Q reed

C2l Qq pair o f reeds

C22 '\. he rba

cn lotus

C24 f clump of pap yru s

C25 t sedge plant

C26 t C2 5 com. DI6

C27 + flowering sed ge

C28 ff pair o f ru shes

C29 0 tree

C30 tree b ranch

C33

C3 1 ~ scent ed po d

C32 ~ scen ted rh yso me

( I) ideo . m- r 'oversee r' (§24b l; (2 ) 2c. ll s

ideo , o r de l. ib 'hea rt

de l. or abb , Inll b ' vene ra tio n' and rela tedw ords

3e. wsr

ideo. or del. plity 's tren gth '

( I ) ideo . hst ' front' ; (2) he nce 3c. IlJe

2e. pI}

del. dog, incl uding the god w epwawet

ideo . or de l. wp-w.wr ' (the god )Wepw aw et '

ideo . or del. lnpw ' (the god ) An ub is'

ide o. sty ' rth e god) Set h '

ideo. ity 'sove reign '

2e. Wll

2c. JW

ideo . sbk ' (the god) Sobek '

ideo . sbk ' ( the god) Sobek ', a lternat ive forB58

Ie. a( I) Ie. [: (2) det .P ) tt ' father'

3e. hs], a lterna tive for E 16

de l. fro g, including th e goddess Hek et

de l. or abb. fish

( I) del. sun, day, time ; (2) ideo . rr 'sun',' (the god ) Re'

2e. b'( I) del. sky; (2) del. hry 'wh ich IS upo n'

(§60)

del. n igh t. dar kness

2e. 111

3e. hpr

ab b. buy ' king'

ox tongue

pai r of cro cod iles

mu mmified crocodile

horned viper

E I6 corn . B6 1

h eart

spine wi th issue ofmarrow

spin e wi th issue ofma rro w at end s

he ad of leopard

fo repart of lion

h ind pan of lion

de sert dog

d og corn . sh rine

head of dog

god with head ofm ythical animal

h ar e

dog corn . standard

frog

fish

cobra

crocodile on shr ine

oxyr hync h us fish

d un g beetl e

bee

o sun-disc

e sun rise above hill s

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

==" ca nopy of the sky

T C3 cum . E3

C I

C2

C4

C3

B45

B55

B46

B53

B54

B47

B52

B44

B59

B48

B49

B50

B5 1

B58

B56

8 57

B67

B60

B6 1

B62

B63

B64

B65

B66

136

'1138 How to read Egyprillll hieroglyphs Hieroglyphicsign-lists[or the exercises 1 39

§D, Other sma ll siqns D27 0 beer jug del. or abb, !l nk l 'bee r'

(I ) ind icates word grou p or ideogramD28 V basin (7) det , sn'w 'm agazi ne'

DI single st roke (§ 13); (2) abb. w' 'one ' , or unit s of onein coun tin g (§ I9) D29 0 well full of water 2e. hm

D2 \\ pair of stro kes Ie. y. especia lly as the du al en ding (S I5)D30 bundle of tlax 2e. dr~

( I ) de l. plura ls (§ 8 ,; (2) del. singu la rD3 th ree str okes nou ns w hich represent colle ctions of D3 1 ill jar-stand ( 1) l c, g; (2 ) ideo . nSI ' th rone'

individuals, e.g. ih!m )'(r 'expedition'D32 o1t butc he r's block 2e. br

04 0 0 0 gra ins o f sand del. mi ne ral(I ) 2e. I/W; (2) 2c. /n (§49);

D5 canle hobb leabb. mdw ' ten ', or un its 01te ll in D33 0 pot (3) often as a graphic compleme nt for

(\ coum ing (§I 9) nd (E 15) an d ~d (E24) .

D6 :II irrigation canals del. irrigated land (1) 2c. nw, altern ati ve for D33 at th e en d

D7 crossed sticks de l. sepa ra te , cross. pass byD34 0 00 th ree pot s of a word; (2 ) 3e. Iln w (7) in the name

x n n"y

08 LJburn ing cha rcoa l wi th ( 1) ideo . km 'black'; (2) hence 2c. km D35 'B sto ne jug 3e. lJnm

tlam es

D9 I,] reed she lte r Ie. h D36 A pa rt of stee rin g-gea r of (1) ide o. hpt 'stee ring oa r'; (2) h ence 2e. hpboa t (7)

DIO <i!BI as abbreviated for Ic. w, alte rna tive for B I g sea l o n necklace ideo . or del. IJCm 'seal' and relat ed wo rds

hiera tic D37

DII coil of rope(1 ) del. rope; (2) abb. fl n)1 ' hundred' , or \J heart see B4 5

unit s per h und red in counting

Dll ~ twisted cord ( I ) 2e. ss; (2) hence abb. 5S 'alabaster' §E. Other tall siqns

DD ~ twisted cord 2C 51l E I i wood en staff del. sryt 'sta ff'

DI4 9 twisted cord 17) del. hbsw ' clothing' 1 th row -stick( I) del. th row; (2) del. fore igne r, enemy;

E2 (3) de l. kmi 'cr ea te 'DI 5 ] reed rna t or s10 0 1 Ie. p y

placent a (?),E3 fuller 's cluh 2e. h m

D I6 €I ball of string (7) l e. O 1 head of dog see B5,1

DI 7 0 th reshing-floo r 2e. spE4 1 3e. WISsceptre

DI8 @ road s w ithin enclosure(I ) ideo. nwl 'tow ri ' : (2) hence de l. to wn, yestate E5 sceptre with feath er ideo . W'SI 'Thebes'

DI9 G rou nd loafdel. pt t ' begin ning of time ', from a wo rd E6 1 scept re w ith spi ral sha ft 3e. d'tl!

pt t ' loaf' (similar writ in g)

( I) 3e. psd; (2) by confusion , alte rnative E7 ~ standar d with feat her ide o . lm n t 'th e w est ' and related w ordsD20 e moon part ly obscured for DI9 "'".

E8 1 totem ideo . or del. mnw ' (the god ) Min'

(1) del. we in imy-wt, title of An ubis; (2)E9 ! totem ideo . /l -wr ' t he nom e of Taw er'

D21 ~ pustu le del. scent, odou r, disease; (3) abb. hsb'cou nt' an d relat ed words E IO 'f totem ideo . or del. III 'o ffice '

D22 '\Jpu stule wit h issue o f de l. scent , odour, d isease , alterna tive for E l l r crook ( I ) ideo. Ilkl ' ru le r'; (2 ) hence 3c. IZ!;I

flu id D2 1

D23 log stri pped of bark del. scent . scen ted wood E ll ~ crook wi t h pa cka ge ideo .5ms 'follow ' an d re lated wo rds

024 bUll (1) l c. I; (2) abh. it in lt- n tr 'god's fathe r' T(1) ideo .l;rp 'cont ro l' and related words;

'" E D sceptre (2) ideo. shm 'cont rol' and related

D25 G small loaf de l. or abb. Z 'bread ' wor ds

,,~ ~ " \.-.1" ') " toEI4 f sto ne mace 2e. IzIf

~ ~.

Hi~r('glypl:ic sian-lists fi.'1 th e exercises 14 1

1'4 5~'"

ti re- d rill 2c. 41

1'4 6~

drill cutt in g bea d )c. \vb .~ , w ith a sim p le r va ria n t

1'4 7 ~ pala ce facad e ideo . '1/ ' pala ce '

1'48 ~ reed co lu m n 2c. ,jd

1'49 woo.len column 2 c. "E50 p illa r I I) id eo . 111"1 'pilla r ': 12\ hence 3e lwn ;

r·"l"13) abb. iI "nw ' Ihe o ry of Hcli opo lis'

1'5 1 JJJl s l trl ll l' ideo , or d el. sh 'sh rin e '

1:52 Q p lan of estat e ide o. 1)wt 'en closu re . fo undatio n '

E53 ¥ 1'52 com . D24 a n d 1'5 id eo . nbt-hwt ' (th e go dd e ss) Ncphrh ys'

E54 J11 gra in h eap ideo. o r del. Jnwr 'gra lla ry'

E5 5 II fri n ge d clot h d ct . or ab b. mllLl1 'linen'

1'56 ij bo at's In aSI 1c. r~ l r

1'57 ! oar 3<. hrw

1'58 Y sh ip 's sa il ideo. {I IV 'b rea th

E5 9 0 he art a nd windpipe 3(". nI t

~( I I ideo , SI 'pl ace, sca t '; ( 2) h ence 2<. st :

[(;0 sce t (3 ) he nce (I I 2e. IS( /) inls /t '( the god ;Osi ri s' and sst ' ( th e god dess) Isis'

Eo l Ii, o ffe r in g loaf id eo , dt o r rd! 'give', a ltc rn a rive for A4 1

1'6 2r

mi lk-j u g within n et 2c.6 111 1

1'6 3r,

lasso1f ". 2c , H '1

1'64 Q.. b ra zie r w ith fla me de l. li cat . coo k

E65 t bu n dle o f reed s 2<. Is

E06)0 p ie ces o f wood lash ed

2c rstogeth er,

E0 7 J.J s tylise d ba la nc e a lt e rna uv e for E66

1'68 Q wall orn a m e nt ideo. or del. I;kn 'di ad em . ornam en t '

1'69 f~ w ri ting eq uipme n t ide» . sl; 'scr ibe 'e I

royal cro w n1'70 y t c. 11 ( fro m th e 13 1h d yn as ty onwar d s)

E71 I'll Iairnrc necklace de t . e i ibt ' fa lll ily, househo ld' ,"'t~ a lterna tive lor 1'8

2c. 1Ii..i. nsu al lv JCCl) lII p .lI l icd hy D"

illlP:/ 'which is upon ' (S60)

2c. nut

2r. .\11

atu-ruauve fnr Elf:

ideo . h rt-ntr 'ce mete ry ', al tern a tive for 1'30

( I ) 2c ms; 121a sim ila r sign ' lI.bl ' Ia n ii lv,househo ld ' is probab ly a writing of 1'71

in imy 'w h ich is in ' (§6 0 )

2c. fi

t 1) 2e. sk: (2 ) 3(. 14.' 1(1

a lt crua tiv c Ior E22

( I ) id eo . or de l. kd 'bu ild' and relatedword s; (2) hence 2<. ktl, usu al lyaccompa med hy D33

3<. rnp

l e 5

I I) ideo . li l t 'god '; (2 ) hence 3c , n tr illSIl!' ' ince nse:

ideo. hrt-utr 'cemctcry'

abb . rupt 'y ea r '

2c wd

i c. h

klpll

2c hs

alt c rn a tiv r for E , S

id eo . or oct. khltw "liba tion w a ter ' andre lat ed w or d s

a Ite m " Ii \ e for 1'40

de t . Dr JUh. rnrht 'o in tu u-n t '

.iltcrua tiv« for FA2

( 1, 1c. I! '; (2i 2c. mr

lI!1 Kl lO W IJ

but cher 's kn ife

spindl e

lnuclu-rs knife

cord wo u n d on stick

crossed p lan ks

twi st ed w ick

iu ort.ir f10J I (?)

cord wo u nd On stick

n otch ed palm

p estle

fold ed clo t h

[ 25 com . D2-1

pen na n t

1.'29 rom . Cl I and D3 2

wat er put

rack of ..varer pots

sanda I st ra p

1'29 COl [(. D32

wa ter po t in stan d

rack of wa te r pot s

wate r pot with issu e: o fcon ten ts

ointment jar

oin tmen t jar

"I

'"I

1ffi

+

1'1 5

1'17

1'1 6

FI 8

1'19

1'20

1'22

1'24

Ell ~ large l pierced hv a rro ws d ct . .\Hi; or n(i) 'spear'

1'25

[ 2 6

En

( 2 1)

1'27

1'28

1'30

0 1

1'32

FB

E34

[37

E41

1'3 5

1'38

E39

1'42

1'40

1'4 3

1'44

l .JcO H<'lI' to re.u! E~JYl'ti"l1 li ieroqtvphs

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs 143

2e. mh

2e. .fa

2e. we

Ie.

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

dei. clothing

alternative form of F34

2e. ss

det. (Ni) 'ferry'

ideo. or det. Wlt 'road'

(1) 2e. mr, but read m in mhrt 'cenotaph';(2) del. water

ideo. or det. spst 'district'

dct. mljnt 'ferry-boat'

det. boat, sail (downstream)

det. sail (upstream)

2e. ss

2e. eil

(1) ideo. rs(i) 'tie' and related words; (2)hence 2e. Is

(1) 2e. ,qs; (2) sound complement for tmorm

der. papyrus boat

later alternative for F39

det. nimt 'the Neshmet-boar of Osiris'

(I) 2e. bh; (2) 2e. hw

alternative form of F50

det. festivals for the god Soker

2e. tm

2e. mn

ideo. btmly 'seal-bearer', alternative forD38

(1) ideo, nbw 'gold'; (2) hence det.precious metal

water-skin

harpoon

whip

tethering rope

weaver's comb (?)

fringed c101h com. E28

netting needle

ferry boat

boat with sail furled

boat under sail

processional boat ofOsiris

processional boat ofOsiris

boat of Sokar

sledge

elephant tusk

gaming board

seal with necklace

gold collar

="1'"

I

=

F32

F31

F30

F33

F34

F35

F36

F43 canal

F37 gird Ie knot

F39 6 vertebrae (7)

F40 a vertebrae (0)

r41 <ffII> cattle hobble

F42 i';;"r road bordered by shrubs

F45 ~ papyrns boat

F46 ~ papyrus (7) boat

F44 lHlH irrigation canals

F38 pair of ribs (0)

F47

F48

r50

F49

F51

F52

F53

F55

F54

F57

F56

alternative torm of E49

Ic. s

3e. ssp

3c. ms:

3c. m«

det. open

det. krs 'bury', perhaps as alternative forFI8

det. coffin, burial

ideo. ssir '(the god) Osiris' (see p. 41)

det. dbht-htp 'ritual offerings'

(I) det. festival; (2) abb. hb 'festival'

lc.k

ideo. htp 'offer' and related words

(1) ideo.pr 'house, estate'; (2) hence 2e.pro (3) det. building, location

abb. prt-hrw 'voice offering'

2e. nb

alternative form for F1

alterna tive fonn of F9

alternative for F6

(I) det. sbw 'the town of Elephantine';(2) hence det. sbt 'family, household'(similar writing)

det, bread, offerings

det. write, abstractions (§6)

earlier fonn of Fl

(1) 3c. sn«: (2) 2e. hb

2e. mr

2e. nil

3e. stp

ideo. or det. sttwor strw 'buicher:

3e. S.flll

basket

papyrus roll

papyrus roll

papyrus roll

basket with handle

stylised bowl

loaf (for offering)

loaf (for offering)

loaf on mat

wooden column

plan of house

F12 com. D25, D27 andE57

laden offering table

door bolt

alabaster basin

lid or door

fence

coffin

F22 com. F24

stone block (0)

hoe

carrying chair

statue plinth

sickle

plough

adze on block

FI

F2

F3

F5

F4

F7 'lP

F8 =

FlO

Fil ~

FI7

F9

F20

F6 m basin com. canopy

Fl8

F21

F19

FI2 n

Fl3ff!JFI4 •

F15

Fl6

F28 ~ knife or saw

F22

F23

F24

F25

F26

F29 "c" knife-sharpener

F27

142

§F. Other broad signs

Reference tabk s 14')

is listening

is looking

i\ loving-

is ~I vi ng

f J7~ hr sdm

? d::1.~ tw mn

y~~ lJrm n

?~ tu rdi v

, dm.n(- f>

~TROI\'C

.c~=sJm_ 1l-~ f he heard

nocuu vc

~~= nJl.n=/ he' \ <I\-\'- no dc ublrng

wr AK ;:;:~:: mr.n=I he loved

exTR A WEAK t=--:"1- (r)di n4he gave

L...) ..... (r opti on al)

STRO NG J7.1% 'b.. s4Jn~f he hears

DOUAU KG:.J:~1, ,- m1lo-cf he sees

- doubling

W~AK ~~,,- mr;:;f he loves

EXTR A Wl::AKd!of he give s

"- Inor)

sPf~ ( I FK PRFSPlT

h r sdm

W!:.AK

GF:r.,;F RAL PRESENTsJm(~J)

1 ) ()l ;JlU~( ;

Main t ense s appearing in this book

Tile past tense (§§J J an d 38)

The infinitive of st ro ng verbs sho ws no specific writing . whereas weak verb sshow a fina l -t.

Th e present tense: ge"er~JI present s fjm (::;f) and specific presen trr sd m(§§42-4J)

The sp ecific present is man e lip of ~I hr followed by (he infimrive.

STR ()~ ( ,

dJ~ srJmheari ng,

- 110 ch ange 10 hea r

DOUBU~G

~~Ji., mJlSt"CID t: ,

- doubling (0 se e

WE AK

~~ Innloving.

- end in 'l mlove

[ XTRA WF .-\K~ or ~

rdl l id i l ~i v i ng.

- end ill · 1 I r optional! (0 give

Sl'RO~G VERns c.g. f..1i, sdrn hear stem docs not usuallyshow any alteration

[JOt;BU1\(, VERB S ~~~ mn secstem en ds in a double

e .g. consonant

WE AK vr sns ~ m r (l) lo ve stern ends whh a 'w eak 'c.g. consonant. usuall y ·j

EXTRA W EA K VERB S rd( j) givechie flv verbs wit h two or

c.g .'-"' three ~vea k consonan ts

Reference tabl es

I~H~JTlVE

Verb IormsThe fOt115 of th is boo k is on read ing ac tua l rnu nu men ts. rather (han Stru g ­

gling through a nWTas50 of grammar. :\t"vcn helt:s:s. a size-ab le area of Egypti angrammar has also been co vered . Th e reference ia bles provide d he re CO VCT

the gra mma r as. prese nted in th is book and are for quu-k refer ence a ndcornpa nso n.

Verb classes (§JO)Middle Egypt ian ver b-forms show differences in th eir writing accord ing to

th e type of the verb. The fo llow ing arc the (our basic ve rb classes:

Notes ,i \Vith wea k ver bs. the final -J is u sua lly omitted in writ ing a nd th er efore

in tra nvlite rat ion. thou gh for practica l reasons we norma lly rranslucrarc'give' as rdf.

i i Ext ra weak verbs behave like ord ina ry' weak ver bs. but sometim es:sh ow addit ional features.

Tile infi n itive (§ J l )

The future tense (wishes, requests, expectations} : the fut ure sgm(=f) (§§55-57,

§59)

Negation (§§ 39 and 58)Th e th ree prindpaltenses above are nega ted as follows :

:-l EGATlOl<S

NotesTh e verb I1IU 'to see ' also d isp lays a Iorm ~~= msnr].

ii The weak verb form wi th QQ .y is m ost com m on in the first person .iii Not ice th a t the forms fro m the ve rb s 'to come ' an d ' to bring: sh ow an

extra r tn the future sgm(=j) form .

147Reference rabies

PAST OR COMPLETEPRESENT OR INCOMPLETE

II sltm=!

STRO'o;G VERRS -"-.a.'P:,"- II sdm»] he did not hear

DOUB LING VEKBS-'-~1,"-- II m!=! he did nOI see. no dou bling

\V EAK VERBS .-.\..-~ ~-- II mr=! he did not love

EXTRA WEAK "ERBS <z> 11 rdl=! he did nOIgive-"- <-J ""- (with r)

So, the present a nd past tense neg at ive s are be tte r th ought o f as constr uc­tions in their ow n right wi th th eir own grammar, rather th an j ust as sdm (=f)a nd sdm .II(=j) w ith -'- 11 st uck in fro nt o f them ,

Sp ecialised forms: the participles, relative forms and sg m tY,fY

The participles (§§46-5 I)

STRONG d7 .'P:, sdm(one)

d1~ sgm (one )who hears who heard

DOUBLING ~~~ m il(one)

~~ Ill'(one)

who sees who saw

W EA K ~~ mrr (one)~~ mr (one)

who loves who loved

EXTRA '--" dd (one) rdl (one )WEAK L....1: (no r) who gives LJ (w ith r) who gave

Part iciples a lso som et imes show a} -wend ing.

The relative forms (§§37 and 52 )

PRESE:-.-r ORIl'COMPLRTE PASTORCOMPUTE

STRONG fi ~":' ,gllll=! what he .t71\": s<!ntl,n=! what hehea rs heard

I)OUB lI~G ~~~..:. mill=!wha t he

~~..:. m tt.n »] what hesees saw

WEAK ss-. mrn =!what he

'Z~- mrt.n»] what he"i: loves Z:? ~ loved

EXTRA '-" ddl=!whal he => - rdil.n=! wha t he

WEAK '-""'-- gives L-"J gaveCo Co "'-

Compare with th e correspondin g fonns of th e participles,

How 10 read Egyptian hieroglyphs

-'- d7~= n ,(im.n=!he does not hear,

PRf:SE:>'TTENSE he cannot hear

PASTTENSE -'- .t1~ ........ n sgm=! he did not hear

::: fl~- nil Sglll=!mav he not hea r,

FUTURE TENSE he ~IJ nOI hea r

Fl'TURE s(im(=.f)

STROl<C .t7~"- sdrn--f may he hear

DOl;B UNG~},~ rlll=! may he see

. no doubling

WEAK ~~"- or~QQ~~ mr=! ormry=! may he love

~ d/=! may he -giveEXTRA WEAK"'- (no r)

sPECIALCASES fj k"'- (WI=! may he come(with eX ira .1)

~~Int=! may he brin g(with extra ·1)

146

The future is nega ted by adding th e negat ion 1111 10 th e fu tu re sgm (=f)Iorm. How ever, th e present and past tens e ne gat ives display a most unu su alapparent rev e rsa l - known as GU1m 's ru le - wh er e n Igm, n(=f) negates th epr esent sg m (=f) , not the past sqm ./I(=j), a nd n sgm (=f) negates the pastsgm,n(=f) , not th e sdm (=j), In fact. the sdm (=j) in thi s co ns truct ion shows a

specia l fo rm :

Th e sd mty .jy f or m (§§53-54, §59)

149Reference tables

We ~ lfg, , IInn

you rpl) -~ or 0 min or0 1 , I 0 I I nlln

they - l- or nt51Jc::. If I r C . j I I

SG. MSC. no special ..nding ~ )fr 511 brothe r

SG. FEM . 0 -I ~-~ Stll sister> 0

PL. MSC. } -w ~c} l1t Sl1 11/ brothers

PL. FEM . :r -wr 1 ~r.$ Sll w t sisters....::to : ~

Dependent p ron ouns (§4 I )

} :it or 1> · w l or · w(i) we ·rr

you = 1> or o} -(tv or - ( \.1' you (pl. ) ~= or .52.. -tnI I I , , I or -tn

you rfern .) = ,.:;or C>.

- {11 or -tn

he rit i } or +I? ".Hi! thcv r- or ::::: -snI I I I i

'helit r" or r -sy or -sty) it. they ~o ·51

-st is used for ind efini te 'it' and ge nerally as th e de pend..nt pronou n for m for' they/them'.Uses:

a. Obje ct of the verb (except the in fin itive , whi ch usually takes a su ffixpronoun object).

b. After ini tia l part icles and the nega tion 1111.

Independent pronouns (§49)

~ or ~ ~:it ink

you 0 ntk="

you (Iem .j - or 1It( or n il0~

he/it 0 lit!---sh../tt - nor - ntsa 0

Uses: As the su bject of cha racterisations .

N ouns (§§8, 9, 15)

Nouns have a number (singular or plural ) and a gen der (mas culine or fern .inine) : the -w of th e plur al is often omitted in writing :

The du al en ding rnsr . ow )' and fem. -ty is common only with things wh ichcome in pa irs:

How 10 read Egyptian hieroglyphs

s,Jmly.j1'

STRO!':G Vl'R BS~O___

silmty.fy (one) who may/will hearJJ \\ \\

DOUBUNG VERBS ~~~~"':- mmy.fy lone) who may/will see

WEAK VERBS :Jlfg~~ SdlY.fy (one) who may/will read

EXTRA W EAK VERBS <=> 0"'- rdfly.fy (one) who may/wilt give'----fj \\ \\

148

The re lat ive form s here display th e ·1 of femi nine adjectival agreement. Theycan also occu r in certain usages wi th out the· ( (i.e , with masculi ne adjecti va lagree me n t). tho ugh they still carry the same meanin g of 'wh ich someonedoe s/did ' . See §52 .

Pronouns, nouns and ad ject ives

Suffix pronouns (§§33, 35, 36)

:it or ~ =f we =n" ,

you '= = k you (pl.) or ~ <lrt o t r tnI I I I I I

you (Iem.) or 0 = 1or =1

helil "'- =! they n- or - =snI I I I I I

sh e/ it ~ or_ =5

Uses:a. as the subject after a suffix-co njuga tion verb-form. such as sgm.n(=fJb. as the object after a p reposition .e. afte r aux iliarie s.d. as the posse sso r or genitive of nouns.

The suffix pronoun s tran slate as th e ap propriat .. English pro noun , so :it orQ= / tran slates as 'I' or ' me' or 'my' depen ding on English usage (and so onfor the othe r pro no u ns) . The use of T , 'you ' etc. in the tab les above an dbelow is m erely to point ou t th e pe rson or thing the pro noun refers to.

Egyptian-English vocabulary

Her e. as in ot her Egyptian dictionaries. words a re liste d alphabetically intransliteration following the orde r set OUI in List 1 (the only exception beingthat the feminine ending -t is ignored, e.g. 5 'man ' and st 'woman' are listedtogether). In other words. th e part icu lar hieroglyphs used to write a worddo not determine where it is listed. So to find a word. yo u need to kn ow itsreading in transliteration : if necessary, con sult th e variou s sign- lists . Forexample, imagin e you come across the wo rd ...lciFt but do not recogni seits constituent signs. There a re two stages in tra~king down its mea ning: ( I)

If you turn to List V beginning on p. 129, you wiu find 4- (862) ha s thereading Us/. whilst~ (F49 ) is not a so und- sign but a determinative for 'sailupstream'; so the reading of the whole word is fJ sf. (2 ) Returning to thisvocabulary, you will find in th e section headed !J that there ar e two wordsrea d hs]': 'repel ' and 'travel upstream ' (see p . 158 ). Of course, the determi ­native indi cat es that the second of these is the co rrect meaning, although,more often than not . the context in which t he word OCCllIS will also helpyo u decide whi ch of the tw o is correct . Although the hieroglyphi c writingsgiven in this list are representat ive of what yo u ma y find . it is not possibleto list all of th e wa ys in w hich a word could be w rit te n (see § 14 agai n, if youar c not yet sure about th is). The followin g ab breviations have been usedhere : (a .) adjecti ve: (n .) no u n; (v.) strong verb; (w .v.) weak verb; (I.) femi­nine; (p l.) plura l.

150 How to read t~i/yptian hieroglyph s

Adjectives (§§1O, 44-45)Adjectives follow the noun they describe and agree with it in number andgender:

SG. MSC. no special endin g

SG. FEM . e> -t

PL MSC. } -w

PL. FEM. e> -r

The plural ca n also be written with the plural strokes, and the -w is oftenomitted in writing,

Adjectives can be used on their own as a noun, e.g.:

~~ nfrt the good (n .) from t::: nf r good (adj .)

The genitive (§27)Direct genitive : common only between closely conn ected words or in fixed

expressions.

Indirect gen itive: the two nouns ar e linked by forms of the 'genitival adjec­tive ' n:

SINGULAR PLURAl.

MASCUlJ:-iE 11 o or_ nw or n

FEMI:-ilNE nt n te>

Adjectives ill -y (§60)

SG. M SC. \\ -y H~\ imy who/which is in

SG. FEM. e. -L H~ imt who/which is in

PL MSC. 1> -w Hl%} imw wh o/which are in

PL. FEM. e. -t H~ imt wh o/which ar e in

~J

~} IW (a .) long; joyful

QJ=~ tbt In .) family, househ oldI O J t t

*~ sbd (n .j month: monthl y

fes tival

~J~ Ihaw Abydo s (place na me)

~~~~ ipd (n. ) bird

~~~ ~T sryt m .) staff

~ II] W i beco me an akh-spirit ; be

useful

~. m .. akh-snirit

1J~ lSI (the godd ess) Isis (see p. 70)

1~ tsir (the god) Osiri s; possibly

read wsir

llt =1I. me. lily (suffix pron ou n . p.

148)

4A I O! (In terject ion} 1§54a)

f ~ tu (n .) o ffice. function

Q~ jJ II (w ) (n .) prais e. ado ra tio n

li~}~ I IW (a .) old ; (n .) old age

[iu 1\ Iv(fj ( w. v . ) come

~Il]> iiw welcome

see also Iw(l)

r~ "It (n.) moon

~} Iw see §34

./l} Iw(l) rw.v.) come

J}} Iw welcome

see also iytt )

~]>.....x Iw(l) (w.v.) be boatless

~ Iww (n.) bootless person

~f\~lj;:jj IWl (n.) ox

,'lHl iWi(W) (n.) cattle

b,]>~~ iwtt (n.) wrongdoing

gl Iwn (n.) pillar.

gg Iwnw Heliopolis (place-name)

~]>=~ iwrt luri (name)

? Ib (n.) heart: see also hrt-Ib, st-ib

~ J~=~ Ib(l) (w.v.) be thirsty

U~_~1ft Ib thirstyperson

~~ Ip (v.) count, inspect

~ >0~ im) (a.) channing, gracious

(the writing indicates the readinghas become Inn or 1m)

~ -fiIll\ Imil; (n.) reverence

~ iIll\ ~~ or i11i!\]> or ~ imihy

or imshw (n.) revered one.

~+~\ or + Imy (a.) who/which is

in (§60)

+]>C) imy-wt 'the one who is

in the wr , i.e. Anubis (title)

iYN1~ Imy-itnt chamberlain

(title)

~~ Imn (the god) Amun

r= "".,.2j Imn-m-Itil~_~C~ I

,(']1 in n-rst-n because

WI see imv

153

wrt (n.) the great bark

wr(w) (n.) the great (in~.\\l[=1:'1,society)

~~

Eqyptian-Enqlish vocabulary

}- or]>1ft -WI I. me (dependent

pronoun. p. J49)

d=1ft wrb (n.) pure one, i.e.

w'-b-priest

?J,-" or C wbs (rr.) cup-bearer+ +

t- wbst (Iem.) cup-bearer

~ wp(l) (w.v.) open, separate

V~I;\:;l. WP-Wiwt (the god)

Wepwawet

~= wn (v.) open

~~f;) wnwl (n.) priesthood

~ wnn IV.) be, exist:

n-wn-ms: truly, truthfully.

£.~tJ wnn-nfr (the god)

Wenennefer, i.e. Osiris

~ wr (a.) great. important

J b

j~ whm (v.) repeat; reporter, herald

(title)

-4r <rr> wsr (a.) powerful

1n~ w5rt Wosret (name),

literally 'powerful one' and maybe used as a designa tion forfemale deities

w' (a.) one, alone

~~ w rr w (11.) privacy

11= web (a.) pure

~ or ~I bi In.1 ba-spirit

}? WO! (v.) order; (n.) order

}-~./l Wili (v.) set OUl, proceed

~~'"----!J~~

of

----!J~--J:~j 'm'i(v.)(hrow(a

throw-slick)

-t--;; 'nl; (v.) live; (n.) life

-t~ 'nl; ill living for all time

-t]>1ft: r nhw rn.j the living

-t csI~~ <nht ntr 1m on which

a god lives I§26)

Ii,t di 'Ill:! given life

---- r (n.) arm; note ~\\ "try arms;

see also hrv-: sl", Ip-'

-~~~ 'i (a.) great

:::::~it, 'i(W) (n.) the great

(in society)

]> w

~Ijj or ~\.jj I[{I) (w.v.) seize (the

Ian er wriring indicates ihe readinghas become II)

Q"'::"T... rnh-n-nwt (n.) local soldier

~~ 'h rn.) palace

(':j \.jj 'hi (v.) fight; (n.) fighting

~-:;;" 'he (v.) stand

OO~ rhnwty variant form of 'onwty

~~n 'onwlY (n.) chamber; m-r

rhnwt» overseer of the chamberuitle;

~ 'kyt (n.) entering maid

r~ or '1 C Wist Thebes (place-name)

f\~ Wi!! (n.) the Wag-festival

f l \'-, '" or ~ W!I In.) road, wav\~t'? Q I

~= ~ r!i tmn-r: (the god)AmUII-Re

l1y Ity Iname)

Ity (n.) sovereign

'="r )4_ 4\ imny Ameny (name

t~ imnt (n.) west

r~ imnty (a.) western; for

lmntw people of the west. see hnt

~~:~ imsti uhe god) Irnseri. one of

the sons of Horus.

~_ In by 1§28); 'it is' (§5f)

1 In(l) (w.v.) bring

11 0 mw (n.) produce, giftslJl I I

1~ 9;:;;;- in-hrt-nht-= ~Q

Inhuretnakht (name)

~ 7]>~ Inpw (the god) Anubis

~ ink I (independent pronoun, §49)

1...::. Intflntef (name)

-<00- Ir(I) IW.v.) do, make; plus many

idomatic meanings

:: ir-n made by, i.e. born of

~ -=: Iry (a.) relating to (§60)

~ -=:\1) try (n.) keeper

~ -=:~~",£l try-nfr-hst (title)

keeper of the kings diadem

H;:; Is (11.1 iornb

~!;, Ikr (a.) excellent, effective,

astute

Y1=}1ft Ikdw (n.) builders; see kd

~~1ft or": 11 (n.) father

~~1ft! It(w) rri.) forefathers

I'" It-11fT god's father (title)

~.:. (') Itn (n.) sun-disc; Ithe god)

How 10 read Egyptian hieroglyphs152

o p

155Egyptia n-English vocabu lary

~ nbt (n .) lady

~c;= nbt pr (n .) lady of the

house, mistress of the estate , i.e .woman of high status

=c~~=- IIbl=!J·pw·..if II' a _sn wsrt Nebipusen us ret (na me)

~g~ or 'i' n bt-hwt (th egoddess) Nephthys

A II bw (n .) gold

~, y , n-p th -ktw Nipt ah kau (name)

.:::: nf see pf

~ ::: nfr (a .) perfect , good , wonderful.

bea utif ul

~~~ nf rw (n .) pe rfection,

sp len dour

~I or ! ~:i nm tt (n.) step, formaljourney

++ nn see pn

nil without: fut ure negation (§58)

0 0 0'~Q nn wy Nenwy ma rne )

~U o or 101 nhh (n. ) (fo r)eterni ty

-;:-, nh n t (n .) yout h

~,; I1J nill (a . ) strong. vigo rou s

=~~ nht! Nak ht i (name)

0;,1- @ I1b t-'llb Nakhtankh(name )

t':' IlSw ( n . ) ling (§23)

±~ nsw -blty king of the

dua lities, king of Upper and LowerEgypt (royal t itle )

~\i.I. nft (n .) hai rdresser

=l%~ nfm t (n .) Neshme t·ba rk,

the processional boat of Osiris

";;"'1;.~~ n,9l\<' (n.) long · horned

/1

n of (§27 ); :- i1.) Ill; 0 (p l.) II W

nega tive n (§ 39 1

= n we, us , our (suffix pronou n ,

p . 148). ·n we , us (dependentpronoun, p. 149 )

n to , for ; for negative II (§ 39) ; for

n -ru- n see f"J ; for n-wn-ml r set" um

~;;I or 11 mnht (n .) line n

~} mnrw (the god) Montju

e ~ d.oo mntw -htp'S= .lt 0 .

Mentjuhotep (name)

~ m r t l) (w .v.) want, love

~1~: or ff m rh t ( 11.) oiL unguent

\ = r mrs Me res (name)

~~~ mrti Merti (name)

~1P1:---\ mh nt (n.) ferry

l\1r IIt S (v . ) bring, present

l\~ m ·s/=fEm saf (name)

ffir4} msii) (w. v. ) give binh

ffi - ms-n born of

ffi } ' i msw (n .) offsp ring

ffir"l msdt t] (w .v.) ha te

Lh '-ll.'.iJf f't , mt' (n.) exped ition , arm y

~ ""-'"1} mdhw Med hu (nam e)

~ nwt (the goddess) :-<ut

2, n WI (n .) town, d ty; see also nlr

=' nb aiL eve ry (§ 16 )

, , ,

-'- J 0 n 51' never

n~ nls (v .) call out, sum mon

o nw see n

1\ min

~= m -bih in the presence ~f

~~ or~ m·m among

~ or \ m -r (n.) overseer; for

specific titles, e.g. m-r pr, see thesecond elem ent

~},.},. mil (v . ) see, look at

~~u. §;. msi-n-hr Maienhor (name)

-:Jp--;:{' mst (v. ) present, gui de

• .~~ •......J: or = IIW (v.) be true, righ t,'7 ='= .....JJ

pro per; (a.) true; for n·wn ·ml 'see\Vn

~ ! m r -hrw (a.) true of voice ,

justified ; (v.) be justified

~c.~ or ~ m t rt (n . ) what isproper. i.e. truth, harm on y: (the

goddess) Maa t. often writ ten ~

~ ~ mi as. like

¥c>Q~A o r ~~ miry (n . )

eq ual. peer

~~c=; Il1'h'l (n .) cenotaph, to mb

~ ---'0 mr]: (v .) roa st~ L ~

'- f

""'- =f he. him , his (suf fix p rono un ,

p . 148 )

_ mw (n. ) wa ter

~;1 mwt (n .) mo ther

=~ mnrt (n . ) wet-nurse

~ mn w dedicat ion , monn ment (see

p. 126 )

1 mn", (the god) Min

(Iem.) rf,

(fern .) tn ,

How 10 read Egyptian hie roglyphs

p] that ; ,.:.

(pl .) n]........I'll thi s; .:.o

154

~ pr (n .) sk y

o~.9, I' ll (n.) ant iquit y, beginning

o f time

o} pw it is, this is

~. 'ft Ink (n .) servan t (see p. !OI)

Jh.. bin (a. : bad

~ c §'j or ~ btty (n .) kin g

t;;;;: bnr (a .) pleasant

J ~" bt Bet (na m e)

~~~,~ ,(ft br-mkt Ba rneket(name)

++ (p l .) li n .

7 p r (II . ) estate

5::n prJ I (n . } palace

';;\ m-r pr overseer of an es tate,

stewa rdsee also nbt -pr, r-pr

~.1'1 prti) (w.v.) go OUI

~~ prt (n.) procession

ill prt-htw (n .) voice -ollering

~\ or ~'D ph ty (a.) strength

~~ pkr Poker (place- na me); see

a lso r-pk r

~1 pi!' (th e god ) Plah

o ! d= prJl. h,p Pla hh ot epc olaO/n ame)

~10'>- or ;Jf~ prr (v.) obse rve,

~:tl hr -lnt hdl)[ e

f~;lQ -T III.v la.) nak~tf

CM4T:;;' (n l nakedpt'r Sl,U)

-"~~ /;rty· .. ( n . ) gm't"fn \)r, ma yor

~~: !I'PY(n .) :\ile inu nd al illn toften

pnsonified as th e god Hapy)

b hWI (n .) en cll)sur e, fnu nda tion

1~ /:zwr- mr (n.) tem ple

~ hwt~hr uh ,>godd ess l Ha.h or

156 H ,1'o1! III read Fyy ptiun hieroqlyphs

-;:;:;d 1l1-lIb ,\-' Neru ebu m ame t

Ll' nt r m } }:nd

i !I@~ n rrwl;wtW J(lWII­

lo:ol1s

I ! n rr nj"r the pt'rfl'n ~Oti r ruva l

titJ~ ) 1§17i

;: ~ 4@ n dvt Nedyet tplace -nam e j

t~ ml (V,) p rotect

1~ nJm (a.} sweet

'I f);.. nils (a .) sma ll

9!3t-.:rlt nJs ru .) per son .

indi vid ua l

'lr,3t-.1ft: n. s(wl (n. j th e

lowl y

= r

r inwards. a t: mo re than rp, 8 1); in

or de r to (p . 841; for wor d sco mpo und ed w ith r S(~ under thesecond elemen t, e .g, r-hst, etc

r (n.) ruu u t h

i-pr {n.) temple complex

~},~ r-pkr Ro · Pok t' r .p tacc­fi ..1ITot' I; see Jbu ph

c:.::: 0 nr ~r t" In. t day ; \1111; uhe god I

Ra or Ri.'

.::=;-:.~~ or I~ I m (w) In . ) fish

:: I~ rm/ (II .) pt'oplt'

:::~ rn In.I na llle

17 rHpI (n. ) yea r

13 rnpHp Ill.) regna l yea l

til iet ,p-mpl (n .) festival tlf

the begin n ing of the lU lhU yea r

::: }a rnvl Re fll t IJla me)

e ~ r[z ( V. I kn ow. Iea ru

~ or ct <; )1) r[' · m w kin{s

ad viser. kmgs co nfidant Uilll' )

r~ty tn .t wash cr man

~..cl rJor rwd (n . t tcr racc

~'~ ur 1'" rdO) (w.v.) give . pu t: caus e

1§40j

~J j rdwy m.] legs. feet

fU h

rc~.J) h l(l ) (w. v.t descend

rnj;"J.Il iub (v.) send

rJ~~'(V hskr (11.) Hake r- ritcs tat

Abydos}

rJ Q~c it hi In . } h usb an d

'J;7 ....- hbny in . ) ebonv

rg I hnw (n.) j ubilati on

~~}8 hrw (n . ] day, dayiirue

~0 I)rr -hrHi dail y (o UISe

h

J)! !lit [ n.) front

-:: .:> -i".; r-hn befo re

l~ 'i h W ( I J 1\ \ '. \ '. 1 beat

J~'~ ha'l i ll . ) bearing

1 ~~ ~IH' I Hui m amc)

tJet or CD ~/I tn . t festiva l

IJp= has 'V. I clot he

lJr~ T hbsw rn. j clothin g

f'~ IIp' (n . j oar

Iz.;\qQ IIpy (l ilt"' gud) Hapv, i.e one I)f

th e SOll S (Jf Horus

(. hm [n.] pe rson 1§lg )

I~ ~nI·ntr 10 . ) ~m~prkst

!~~ lnm-rur If .) ~m·p ri~stess

\f bm-k/ tn . j ka ·p ries t

~t5 hm i In .) wi fe

C::;' I",' toget her wit h

L;oor '3 ~nkl (n .) beer (§11)

~ IIr (th e god ) Horus; as k i ugs name

1§17j

~ hr (n.) tecc

? hr on . at: be ca u se II f; usu allv

wri tten ? be fore suffixe s; as

verba l al :Jiia ry (§42)

<::Q-:;:...~ hry la ) who/w hich is

upo n 1§60 ,

~ =-: hry -pr In. l dOnlestic

servant

~ Irrt·pr I k m .) domt"~tic:

serva lll

~~~~ o r <~=<~~h ry -s.~u In .; m asl n o f SC'Cfe ts

l hry -'p (n .) ch ief, supe no r

~0 r see nh h

j1"; ~ h.t(i ) iW.v. ) pr aise

ly --::~ !lSt In . ) fa vour

~ hsb (n .) co unter

12C;:; ~ h )ll111 (n. t arnerhvst

l;:;,~ hkr rthe goddess } Hck c t

I~ hk r ~V . ) rule

r.::~ IJkl l,n .) ruler

J<"~"">~ /:zkrlv .) hunger

I<~1ft (n.! hungry pe rso n

~~ hip (Y.) content , sa tisfy, res t, beco nten t: (n . j pe ace, vatisfacu u n:m . j offering; In .) d lJ':lI ; He tepmame )

I~. tnp -ntr (n .) divi ne

offe rtu gs

~ aD flirt o fft'rings.:.:.C.:>I • I

~~_ £ hlP Ji nsw (11.) an offe ring

which the kin g give s (§26 )

e b

~I~ !II (n .) th ing. things

11 til (n.) th ousand

J.!.(} hw Kh u (Hamel

'.!I !l ~ ;O I lj\\.-y, Khuyt mame i

2:J~ !,w .n·bik Kh uc n b ik

marne)

~~ [,pI In.1 death

..!! &rr IV.I b cc()n1~; (n. 1 ftlfm . king

~.~~ bp~<: In.) for..-!C'g, Siroll g drm

~~ bfry tn , ) ~ncmy

.!Jl\~~ [m m (v .) gladd ( n

-=:' lrlft t1l1m)' VI-I fri(r hl

r!fl~~ om in fft)I]t

,rm~ !Jm}" (a .) w ho/ w hich is

in fnmt for em ost 1§60)

r~f~~:~ 9nry -imJu"vKhe ntyime nlU , 1.e, ' foremost ofthe w estt' flI er s' Ina me o f Osiri s;

r~1£ lmry sh- ntr ' the o ne in

front a t the Kod\ boot h ' (e pith e to f Anu bis}

rm~ sec tmy-hn t

rTM~q~~ f:znt.'.il Khcntyt j pla ce-

name)

ffit.l~ Q ',,:::C bnl -!Jnl .'o'-fllr

Kbcnctk bvn tvhct cp (name)

€I !.Jr before. in Irom »I

~F I)r lv.) (all

~L{~Y ij rr.tb (II. ) wi sh .

preference: sec SI

~ }~ tJrvv tn .t vo ice; for mv-hrw se e

mv

brp Iv. ) con trol: director Wile }

4- bs! (v .) repel . war d o ff

4-~ bsf(w) tw. v.j travel upstream.

travel SOUth: see also lJdft)

:~ b lm (n .) sea l

(jU::r. OInI\\' ary - ~ sea l-beare r,

assi stan t (tit le)

~@ Otmty-bi1.r seal -bea rer of

th e kin g "il k )

h guc. m ·r !Jlml Irea SUTer

llillt" :,

c~.~ bd{(; ( \\1_\'.' trawl IlI)Tlh ,

trilvel dowll'jlre.llll ; 'jl'e al so lH[{Wj

""'R1!'~ lmw (I l.) iCllerior; Ih e inte rio r,

i.e _Ih t" palac t"

<=- 1i7fg r '!Jnw in sIde

Q}~ a/ 1m ( \'.) .io i ll; l a.) Unil l"d wi l h

1m)

\} ]. -;Jf b nm ... Ithe god ) Kh n u m

br under. ca rr yin g

r:'R\ \\ brv (.1.) who / wh ic h is

u~er (§60)

brv-: m.t de put j; asststa m:

hrv-h bt (n.) tcctor.pncst

EE brv-t» cha m be rla in n h le )

~ hrr rn . t sha re, dutv

X0 0 hn-hrw m .) dail y co urse

~~~ o r l brl -n(r (n., ccmc tcrv

g~ b,d (n. ) child

t "f hkrt -nsw lad v-tn -wai tmg 1.lil ld

r or - s

~ or -- =). she . h er (suffix pr onoun,

" . 148 )

~ s m. j man

. ~- ~ st t n .t w o ma n

ro -SI she . h er. it. th ey (dep en de n t

pronou n. p. 149)

Jje; )"1 (n .) place. posit ion. sta tus

.08 n-tb (n .) af fect ion. in timacv

g~ st-r (n.) ability

~:~ ~o7 SI- b rt -l h ln, )

con fide llce

~.,. ~ m· r J! ovns('er (lft h t'

s i ore htl ll~t: (ti lle )

Q ~~~ see smy l (§23)

~ :ill' .l.J tn . ) Svll

~~ S J! (n .) da ugh lt"r

~=~ sH mn Saam //Il Ina,ne )

~ '1 ~ HI-\t'srr $alwo-s rel

(namel

~~: s,-mnot Samen k ht"1(name )

~~~ SII-mnrw Sa lmo n lJu(n am e)

~=}~ SJ-ff1nw rr

$a re llen u lt"1 (llame)

~ I~ st -hw t -hr Sa harho rIII Jme)

~ q.{r: ::~:> 4~ 51-tu ll -b l \'

Sakhen tkh ety uram e )

~r7M -'::-~' ~ su-bnJ-bl(Sa tkhen tkhcu (ua rru-)

~'>- 3§: H I -) (rl.. Sa tsnbck marne!

~}"'." !4 ~ c-. .nwrj-r Saut yt rname l

f~ s,b IV.) tr,Hl'jf ,JTII1 into an ak h ­

spnt r. transfigure

j,.\ .))' sh e, her, i r rdependent

pro nou n. p. 149 )

r~~. S' J ( v.) promot e. ad vance

rt0 S't1tr (v.; pe rpe tua te (n a me )

} ~ o r t ~ -sw he . h im (de pe ndrru

p ronoun, p . 1·19 )

rtl,~X o r ~ ,wI [v.] pass by,surpass

r(J sw' b (v.) decorat e

f} \:i9 sw .j IV.) bequeath

lJ ~]~ or ' ICS'-'" , bt IV.) rebel ;sbt (n .) rebel

~j~: sbk (th e ~",h Sobek

:'10 f ro 1Il.i nll)nlelll . d t,t' t!; for fJ sp St'l'

'I ; for ff1r' -Sp st"C" rnpl

~, Sf" In . ) di~lri ("1.

H ~ ip t t) ("' .\'.) bin d (l ligelher)

)'P(t ( v . ) las-soo

A6 sp,i l nile goddt"ss ) SOlh is

~. ~ i .flU' ors1'"' (rl . ) bll icher

nQ~ _<In I 1\\'. \'.) rep on ; In. , r"["HI

~ slII."t l1l.j dt"sC"n Isn' §2 3)

r ~i sm r in _) l-OUrlit" r, fI,ya l

C1 lm pan ion

f: r-;:~/mr .....-<1 (.'0'1 (n , ) sok

n m Jpa n ltlD

i \ j" ll; l! L j pap vru s skiff

:~"} ;~ $mSW 1'a . ) cldcrvldcvt

PI- ur I~~ e rut h ev. the-m. iherr

(suffl x pronoun. p. I ..:i Sj;-on rbev. the-m tdepe-nden tpn I110\ 1II , p . 1·19)

~ it sri (n .) brother

~ ::-~ .Sllt I t ~ . ) 'lhl t"r

;:.<'..l\~;'~, .m w ,mt'l in .,<; i hli n~~ , bro thers and sh ins

+6 sn IV, ) kiss

""n~=S-/I -W.trl Sl"n WOSTe l (na m e j

rn snb (n .) health: (.Ll healthy

rJi snbv Semb i marne)

~ l ::: snf r (V. ) improve

:-- .011 Se- nct (n ame)

~1*~ sntr III . ) in cen se

r<-~ tj} sr (n .) official

:: }~ srw m.j go ose

r~j} srb (V .) complam abou t. accuse

11 S!I in !Jnry JJ:l·n[r. 'iee ulld er bn f

:1;t J/u].' tv. ) sa l i<;fy ; set" .l i'l" ~ I1P

1-:;00::' .'/:! Jr -ib Se hcl t"pib (Ila mt"j

r~ lliill.~ sIp m .) cou lllr ysilk

f ~1.....-J J.[J m (v. ) co ltlTnl

rt{ft{(: ' JO'U(v. ) promol e, dugmen!

r~~ sllr iv .) leiL ov(' n u rn

r!':>i sljr (11. ) o mduG . p lall

~ f "-- S[15[ (V. ) (Kt"ejla l a ) di <;l ,lIlCC

f~ ift sb (11.) >in ibe; l)(h~ibl y I v be

re Jd )1

~""~~~I J.~m (n.) pr o cedJl rt",

con d uct

~J gb (the god) Geb

~A gm(l) (w.v.) find

~IT grh (n.) night

0=ill , i or (l z m.) bread

:IT I ts (n.) land=tIlvy (n.) the two lands, i.e.

Upper and Lower Egypt

! [j·wr the nome of Thinis (place­

name)

161

~ j': dbht-htp (n.) required

offerings

~~ dpt (n.) boat

Egyptian-English vocabulary

'" - dr-ntt because

Reading uncertain

"i1 lis self; used in conjunction with

suffix pronoun, ris=i 'myself', etc

V risr (v.) separate, clear; (a.) sacred

~I~ ts dsr the sacred land

(place-name)

::.J rid (v.) say, speak

~ '";;} or ~[~~ ddw Djedu (place-

name)

~ lit (n.) (for) all time, enduringly;

see also under 'nlr

~~ lilt (n.) wrongdoing

~~~ iii(I) (w.v.) cross, ferry

i~~ lilt (n.) boat-journey

T dw (n.) mountain; for tpy liw=fsee

tpy

~~r dws (v.) denounce

l~R ri'm (n.) electrum

"'-,= or....... lif(lw) (n.) provisions-..J; ! I "_J

'::J~=L~ liji-h'py Djefahapy(name)

1r~ lif;wty (the god) Thoth

~:::rn dhwtt (n.) the festival

of Thoth

e lir since

1-;:g: J-m (n.) half-month festival,

perhaps read mddint or smdt (see

=

<tn, -tn you, your (pl.) (see <tn,

-tn,

tn see pn

I I I

a - tfnt (the goddess) Tefenet"-- a

""'" d

ep tp (n.) head

B>"!" tp-r (n.) ancestor

(for hry-tp see hry ; for hry-tp seehrv; for tp-rnpt see rnpt)

8Z, or ti tpy (a.) who/which is upon,

chief (§60)

If~ tpy liw=f'the one who is

upon his mountain' (title ofAnubis)

tfsee pf

= =t you, your (I.) (suffix pronoun,

p.148)

y} tlW (n.) breath, wind

f;)~~ tlwTjau (name)

I~ <tn you, your (pl.) (suffixpronoun, p. 148);-tn you (pl.) (dependent pronoun,p.149)

=} -{W you (dependent pronoun,

p.149)

=1" ts(i) (w.v.) tie, knot. assign

'-~:IT tsw (n.) sandbank_XI

Ii, or L..£ d(l) (w.v.) give; see rdtt)

~o ddt Dedet (name)

*1 dWI (v.) adore

"'0 *0*..r.;, "-- or L..£ "--

dws-mwtc] (the god) Duarnutef.one of the sons of Horus

J[f ssp (v, i receive

LJ 1<

L4r@ kis Qis (Cusae) (place-name)

L}J~ '\ kbw Kebu (name)

m~1"-- kbh·snw=f (the god)

Oebchsenuf, i.e. one of the suns otHorus

p .1.i~ or P'i kms (v.) create

~rr=::=l krs (v.) bury

~r~ krst burial

~~!h1 kd (v.) build; see also Ikdw

=t you, your (I.) (see =1)

ill g

= =k you, your (suffix pronoun,

p.148)

Y ks (n.) ka-spirlt

J~);:jj or It ks (n.) ox, bull

=44 ky Key (name)

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs160

= s

n=~ xI'o[)~, i' SSII fa.) secret; see also

hry-stu

nLJ JV] sJ;bh (v.) relax. calm down

n·...ak skdti) (w.v.) travel, sail

~~ skr (the god) Saker

~ st (n.) scent; originally sty

ra if st(i} (w.v.) shoot, spear

r~.£'--... stp (v.) choose; (a.) chosen

r!.1../l slil (v.) travel, depart

.o~ slim (v.) hear, listen; the

alternative r".::;; indicates that

the reading had become sdm

r*f=l sdrt (n.) vigil

r} Iw (v.) be free from (m)

c---=>r} Iw (the god) Shu

Ar~ Ipsy (a.) dignified. wealthy

Art:: sps-nsw (n.) dignitaryof the king

Ap~ spsw: (n.) dignity

Arr~, spss (n.) wealth,dignity

1- smc (n.) Upper Egypt

~n./l sms (v.) follow

~} [msw (n.) follower,

attendant

~r);i smsw (n.) following

In (divine epithet) in Hor-Jn. a

name of Horus

l...44a l'i lfr, Inyt (n.) entourage

,fl1l~ snwt (n.] granary

~n or :: '0" snow (n.) magazine,

provisioning area

everythin ggood and pure

IJ' lib ,ntr t wcbt

(Sen wosret 1Il1(Am enernhet Ill )(Amenem het IV)(Nefru sobck )

AhrnoscAmenhorep IThnmtose IThut mose IIHatsh epsutThut mose IIIAmc nh ore p IIThutrnose IVAmcnhotcp IIIAkh en aten

Regnal year 14 under th e person of th e king ofUpper and Low er Egypt

Khepcrkare, living en duringly.

{J'-bw-r 'n-mrr-r ­

mr-hrw- r»sbk -k i-rr

y or U kl

~~ mr

V wpOx

~="' ~ @ ddw

'0~rf1 bnmw V~I~ Wp - W IW :

r h-msimn -hsp

dhw ty-m sdhvav .msfJltv!pswt bn mt-Imn-ihwty-mstmn -ht p hla -iwnwdhwty -mstmn -htp hks- wtstih -n -trn

(Am c n ernh ct I)(Senwosrct I)IA m enem het II)(Seu wosrer II)

b . rnpt-sp 14 iJr IJm Il nsw-bity

shtp-tb -rr

tJpr-kJ-r 'nbw-krw-r"

(l' -ap r-r '

Key to the exercises 163

n b-phty- t "gsr-k , · r', ,-tJp r-k r-r',, -apr -n·r'm vt-ki-r­mn -hpr-r »r t-h prw- rsmn -hprw-r:

nb-rnrt -r r

c. m pt -sp 1J iJr hm II nsw -bity Regnal year 13 under th e person of the king 01Upper and Lower Egypt

nbw-ktw -r» d i rn lJ al r nbb Nubkaure. give n lire end uring ly a ndrepeat edly.

Ch a p t e r 2

2.2 Words:

~1ftor ~ .<I

f\~~ wu

pj j sm r

n~ 'bif\V~ @

~~ 'mil

2.4 Expressions:

a. I! ntr "t great god

2.6 Da tinq :

rrun -sp 25 IJr IJm (II) nt r nfr lib tlwl' Regnal yea r 25 under th e per son 01the perfectgod. th e lord of th e tw o lands

n·ml'l -r' d! ' Ill; mt r- Jt Nimaat rc, given life like Re en dur ingly.

2.7 Study exercise: Middle Kingdom kings of the 121/, dyn asty :The order of ihe first cart ouche na mes should be as follows:

2.8 Stud y exercise: New Kingdom pharaohs:The New Kingdo m pharaohs listed are :

the/a n excellent planto Poker

=~____ .1t srw

b. .'Ittr tk rd. r pk r

1.2 Words f rom the roastinq scene:

Abo ve sce ne (ll ~ right' n/' l r IpJ(W) in snbi nw- hrwThrow ing a l th e brrds by Senb i. Ihl' j usufied.

1.4 Translitera ting words:

'lr~1ft IIlis rn

urn hb 1n- bill~.!J~ ~

~~~ spd ~~~ tkr

-JJ~-JJ~I rnrr, ~@ ph

1\~~ ~T ''Y' ~~ (Id

Co p' <::>~~ rmt= =J

LJp'T hbs =r <3 Isqr.l

@C ra IJpJ r~ sn=

A Iorcle g for th e ka 01Scnbi. the jus tified.

[JIm ;;~g

kr st ~p8

th e/a n ast ut e in divid ualwith Scnbi

Ch a p ter I

1.1 Kings' names:

~~~11 owfw Khufu

'1- 1" tsst lse sr:~.i./

(~~'! ppl Pepi'-.. ..._';

1.3 Gods' names:

~ -;-~ ib Inpw 1 ~~ hk r

~1 pth U=- sbk:

<::> rs sk r-JJ 0 ="<rr>

sr r:1

IIJS Il:rc. ~l1V snbi

1.5 w rit ing 0 '" words in hieroglyphs:

Key to the exercises

Above scene on lett:'Il t rm(w) In snbi m r-hrwSpeari ng th e fish bv Se~hL the ju st ified.

1.6 Transla tion :

1.7 Translating the offe ring scen e:

1.8 Study exercise: A fishing and fo wling scene:

16 5

See ing ih e splendour o f the perf ect godKhak aure. the ju sufied.

beloved o f w epw awcr. lord o r the sacred landbe loved o f Osiri s-w en enne te r, lord of Abyd os.

An offe ring wh ich th e kin ]; give sIn Osiris, lord of Djedu. grea t god . lo rd o f Abydci s.

so th .lt he may give a vc..tic:e o ffe ring o fbre ad and bee r. o x an d fo wl. ala baste r a nd lrneu.and every th in g on whi ch a god lives

for th e ka o f the rev e red one ,the offer in g-giver 10 {he gods.th e co u uu -r of the do ub le gran a ries an d stew ard

Sa ren c ruuet. th e jusu ficd .born of Bamekci .

4.3 Trans lat ion:

th e ter race of rh e grea t god .th e tem ple of Osrris-Khern vtm eru u .Pokersacred land

Ado ring Wep w awe t du ring hi s wottdc rfu l p -ocesstonfo r ever and eve r.

Ado rin g Osi ri s during his wonderfu l fl'stival !if(lr eve r and ever.

Kb sing Ih e ~rou l1 d 10 Khemyim em uand seein~ the sp lendo ur o f Wepwawet

ily th e \lvcrw er (If the cha m he r Im e L

ht p-dt- nswssir li b [ dw Ilfr rl nb ,baH

dl=[ prt -hr w: h nl::t ~.J lpd ;5 mntll

tJt nbt ··ntJr ntr tntn kl II fmt by

dd f:rtp(w)vnrr n n trwhsb-I1IIVTY m vr pr

.H-nJII Wrr mv-hrw

m s-n iu- m k t

C_ Ji snr ~~ h m t Me lr H, pi. 4 : sr f:r ns swt o .......J Lassoo rn g t h c long-horn ed bull

*1 dwt ~1 ~l snMel r I . pi. I I : wpt kf (W;

~ it '" j ~~ w~l1nSepara ting t he bu lls

rwd n ntr ~f

hwt -ntr 111 sstr J]nty -rnm twpkrIf dsr

ptr njrw n lr nf r

b ~-km'· r ~ mv· tJrw

ml)' " 'P'W 1wt n b th ! srmry ssir wn n -n]r nb sbdw

sn {l n l! n ty· lm1ltwml! "rnYw p-w n....It

In m ' l ~ljn w:ry inrf

p ,-f-b rw n Im~b ( tv}

Chap ter 4

4.2 Words:

Key to the exercises

4.4 Tran slat ing the capt ions 0 11 8M EA WI :Cent re:

La bels 10 th e m ol' of Abydo s on p. 55:

3.9 Study exercise: 8M EA 585

Righ t:

dlV! '.vp-wm..'t m prt=! ntrtrfl r nh h

LefJ:

dws sslr m bMwl =[ nf rwrfl r nhh

4.5 Trall.slating tile captions on 8M EA 581Top :

HOl lO n! :

wnn -nf r

Hn retttlte'hRame vsev I

Se i i IRa rnesses ItRa rnc~~e~ III

c\ I( o f fc rmg v...·hicll I he kin~ gin."\hi Osir is. lo rd of Djed u. grt."3t .~od . lord of Abydos.

d voicl' (lfk ri ll~ o fhread an o ht."e r. ox and fowl. aidbasin an d lin en.an d C\ 'c~'l h ;n F: goo d an d pu re

0 11 wlt ic.:h a gocJ live sfor the ka o f the rev ered olle.

, he ovrr Set'r of li te cham ber Am cn em he!. the jll s1ified .

An o ff~ r i l1 g w h ich th e king gives/p lacesbe for e Osins-Khem yim eutu .

(great god. lord) of Abydos.wrbl in all h is good and purr: places .

so that he nra y give a voice olle ringin bread and in beerin ox and fow l and ev ervth tng good

fo r ihe ka of ih e re ver ed o ne before ihe great god.ih e ge ucr al -tn- ch iet Arnen y,

born of Kcbu . th e justified .

The requi red offe rings:thctusau ds Hfox an d fowl and every th in g guod an d pu re

for th e ka lIf the revered one,the gove rnor SC'l1bL th e Jus tified.

h r-m-hb mry -l mllr~· mS-J H'

.n } mr v-n -pshr r.mssw nsrv- tmn

, · · mj' -J/:t") h k H W IIW

3.3 Gods ' "ames:

m'T "bn wty rV...d!- smr-wctyI C) \\

3M IVr

=

r./sr·!Jprw-."-" str -n-remn -rhry-r :mn -mr t- r r

IVST- m j " ! - , " :i1" -1I-"

wsr-m r t-rs n.ry-imn

J64 How to read l::qYPlian hieroqlyph s

htp -d t-nsw

tJr ISIr !Jmy· /m n l w

[nt r ', nbltbrfwm , (w)l "f " I>, nfrt

dl=[ prt -hrwm [ m frnkl

m k, IJ'd m ~I "b (l) nirt1/ kJ 11 irnslt w br 'If f 'I

m ·T ml ' wr lmnytr -n ~bw I1w -bnv

Chapter 3

3.2 Words:

3.4 Titles

2.9 St udy exercise: 8M EA 117Tilt' Inis s/DRph araoh s a re all t he pharauhs of th e I vth -t z th dyn asue s incl u sive , and wi th inth e 18th d yn asty. Ha tshe psu t. Akh en aten an d Tu ran khamun (as w ell as the ot h e r Ama rnap harao h s, Ay an d th e sha d uwv figu re of Nt?fnlJderudlt'n/Sm etlkhka reL

htp -di-nswlsir nb Jdw n[r ' I llh lbdw

prt·!If1.VI h"kl ki wd {, mll~ 1

!)I " bl ,,[rlt ) """blt lrn !;t "Ir 1m

11 k f n Itmb f wj

m -r rbn w ( f}'/ tmn -m -hurn1r.!JI!'v

3 .6 The offering form ula from 8M EA 162:

3.7 Offen'ng table scene:

dbht-htp~.,(w) ks ,p,i ~I 11 1>1 ntrt W"I>I

11 kJ r Imf~.V

huv-: snbr 1n/ ( · tlTJA,

3.8 Study exercise: 8M EA 587

Western side - horizontal in scription :

Vert ical in scriptions from north to south:

Vertical inscription s from north to south :

167Key to the exercises

I conducted the great procession .I buried the old.I gave br ead to th e h un gry and clothes to the naked .I fe rried the bootless in my o wn ferry .I repe ated favour befor e the king.

I gave br ead to the hungryand clot hes to th e naked .

I ferried th e boa tless in m y own ferry.I acquired 100 bull s th rough what I did m yse lf.

An offeri ng which the kin g grvesto Osiris, lord of Diedu . Khe n tyi rnen tu.

His be loved wife, the sol e lady-in- wai nnga nd pr iestess of Hat hor,

th e revered one Hui.His be loved so n Nen wy .

An offe ring wh ich th e ki ng givesto Anubis, the o ne on his mounta in ,

the one in th e wr. lord of the sacr ed lan d:a voice o ffe rin g for the governor,

seal-bearer of th e kin g. sole companion.an d lector-priest,and revered one befo re th e grea t god and lord o f the sky.

lnh uretnakht.

iw i r.n»! prt ('It

Iw krs.n»! I,(w )Iw rdl. n(~I) I n hkr hbsw n b'yIw iI ,.n (= I) Iww m mlJnt(~ I) ds(~ I)

Iw whm. Il (~I) h51 br nswe.

a.b.c.d .

Chapter 5

5.2 Words:

2 :-~ h51 ~~r trnms

~ a rill } A./J wrilIb...m,

fi hki 2~ hsmn

- " ./J n/tl lt ~}~~ twi tl~" , I

r~<Y NJ)

tup-dt- nswssir nb ddw hntv.Im ruw

5.3 Trans/a/ion:

5.4 Study exercise: BM EA 1783lines 1-2 :

htp-dt-nswinpw tp(y)-Jw~f

1;,,(y ),w I nb udsrprth rw n h1CV.r

btm,.\··b/ ,y smr-w'I (Y)hry-hb timthw ljr ntr (', nb pt

In- hrt-nbt

lines 4 -5:

iw rdt.ntwi] I n b~r

hbsw n hry

Iw ril . n (~ i) Iww < m> mbnl(~ I) tfs(~I)

Iw ir.n(~ I) kl( wi J00 m irt.ni--i} ds(=l j

in.n n ~f H=f smsw»] mry» ] dbi What his beloved eldest snn Debi made for h im .

The famil y:

1}m t=f mrt==J bkr t·ns w-\{"'uitm (I )·ntr bM-br

Im'b' bWIH~f mry»] ntll<Y

The ded icat ion :

5.5 Study exercise: BM EA 5 71 (lOP)

First o fferi ng for m ula :

Spearing fishby the revered one before Osiris, lord of the

western desert .the governor and overseer of the p ries ts

Sen bi. the jus tified .

The re ve red one before HapI', Nakhtankh, the justified.The revered o ne before Tefnut. Nakhtankh, th e jus tified .The rev ered one befor e Nut. Nakhtankh, th e j usn fied .The rever ed one before Qebe hsenuel. Nak hta n lth, th e

just ified .

An offering which the kin g givesto Anu bis, the one bef ore the divine booth,

the on e on his mountai n, th e on e in the wr,lord of the sacred land:

a good bu ria l in h is wonde rful to mb o f th e necr opoli s:the rever ed o ne befo re the great god ,

Nakhtankh, the justified.

The re ver ed on e before IJ11setL Nakhtankh,The rever ed one before Shu , Nakh tank h. the ju sti fied.The rever ed one be fore Geb . Nak htankh, th e justified.The rever ed one befor e Dua mut e l. Nak htank h, the

justified .

Thr owing at birdsby th e gove rnor, sea l-bea rer of the kin g,

a nd sole co m panion Senb i. th e justifie d.

An offering wh ich the kin g givesto Osiris , lord of Djedu. Khentyimentu .

grea t goo, lord of Aby dos,so that he ma y give everything good and pure:

a th ou sand of bread and be er,ox and fowl. ala baster and linen ,

on w hich a god lives ,for th e ka of the rever ed o ne .

Nak htank h, the justified . '

His wife of his affect ionMeres, possessor of reveren ce.

hmt~f n Sl- Ib ~f

mrs nbt Im' iJ

SIt rm(w)In Im'by fJr tstr nb smy t tmnn

hu y-: m-r hm -ntrsnb i m r- hrw

rmt'f r Ipd(wj

tn hlly-' lItmty-bl lysmr vty snbl mr-hrw

h tp-di- nswtsi r nb ririw lIn ry-Imntw

ntr 'I nb IMwdi»] lIt nb(t) nfrt "",br

iJl m t hnk;kl Ipd 5S mnll t

rnb l n tr 1mn kI n Im'iJ(y)

ntrl- f'nu mr-h rw

Im'lIM IJr trnstt nllt -'n iJIm'IJ(Y) IJr 5W not -'n y mr-hrwIm,o(y) IJr fi b not- 'no mr- hrwIm'!J(Y) IJr dwi-mwt»] nIJI-' n!t

mr -hrw

ntp-dt-nswInp(w) bnly sh-ntr

tp(y)-ilw=f tmtyr-wtnb lI-dsr

krst nfr t m Is~f nfr n brl-n/ rIml!!Y lJr ru r ( I

nlll-rn!J mr-hrw

Im'bM br bpy not -'nb m r- h rwIm'b M !Jr tjm nb t-'nb mv -hrwIm'lr(y) IJ r nwl n!JI-'nIJ mv -hrwIm'!t (y) !Jr kbh -snw» ] n!tr-'n IJ

ml('-!Jrw

166 How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

4.6 Study exercise: Fishing and fowling scene from the tomb of Senbi at MeirLeft-hand scene:

Righ t-hand scen e :

Above Senbi 's wife :

4.7 Study exercise: The coffin of Nakhtankh (BM EA 35285)Eastern side - ho rizontal inscript ion :

5_6 S tudy Exercise : BM EA 571 (/lOtlOm)

Translit eration and Translation :"_Famil y:

You may have noticed th at the use or "his' renders th e precise recon struction of gene alogiesrat her prob lematic. Here the ma le figu res a re given in rela tion to eithe r Sahathor o r Saamun(th e prin cipal male figu res in the offering scenes abo ve) . whereas th e pairing of ma le andfemal e figure s seem s to relat e the fema les 10 th eir accompan ying male figu re father thandirectly to either Sahathor or Saamnn .b. Household and esta te:

hi m kJ Jpd ~s mn ht a thou sand of ox and fowl. alabaster and linen ,1)1 nb [ t} nfr(l) w bl t) and everythm g good and pure

rnbr ntr (J irn on whic h th e great god !ivesn Im lb (w ) rh-nsw m ry nb»] for th e revered one, king-s adviso r be loved of his lord,

m -r p r SJ-~Wl- (I r ml' ·brw th e steward Sah atho r, the just ified.bml~f mrt»] trw (a nd) his beloved wile Kh u.

(the form ula is finished off by the inscriptions above th e figures of Saha thor and Khu)

Offerin g-bea rers:

169Key to the exercises

bu ried th e old .I clothed the naked,and J did no wrong again st people.

gave bread to the hungryand clothes to th e naked ;

I did not complain abou t the great .and I put the lowl y at [th e ir] ease .

He advance d m e,he promoted m y position ,and placed me in his confidence

in h is pn vaie palace (pala ce of privacy) .

conducted th e procession of Wepwawet.when he set ou t to p ro tect his father;

I drov e away the rebels at the Ncshmer -bark:and I felled th e enemies of Osiris.cond uct ed the grea t pr ocession .

followi ng th e god at his travels:an d I mad e th e god 's boa t sail.

cleared th e ways of the godto his tomb at th e forefront of Poker.

protected Wen enneferon that day 01th e great fight;

I felled all his enemi eson the bank of Ncdvet

and I had him proceed inside the grea t bark .

(and ) It brought Osiris Khentyimen tulord of Abvd os to his palace,

an d I followed the cod to hi, house.

J have bee n roasting since th e beginning of time ·J have never see n the like of thi s goose.

tw tr.n» t prt WP - WIWI

wrJl~f r n<! II~f

bsfn~1 sb l(w ) hr nlmtshr.nv-i bfllw) ssir

iw ir.11=1 prt ' I I

{ ms=:. i n t r r nmtt»]

d t.n »i sk d dp t -r ur

i n .n =s ssir tJnly· ,m nlk'

nb IMw n -h~.f

(m< J-f =:.( n tr r r;r=:.{

Iw ,Jsr.n =1 WI(W)I ntrr m'h 'l~f hnu ph

Iw nd .n»! wnn-nfrhrw r! n ' hI ' I

sbr_ n ~1 ofl(w)=f nbhr (H I! n ndyt

dtn»! WJ to=f r anw wrr

b . Iw dl. ,,(~ I) I n hkr

trbs(w ) n hsyn sro (=I) ' I(W)

s*bh . n(~I) n N w )

a. Iw kr s.n«! lJ(W)

hbsn »l trl)'n Ir(~I) IWI/ r rmr

c. tw s's.n- f w(l )sOnt . n~f sl (~ I)

JI_n~f w (l) m st orHb~f

"m 'It=:.! n w -w

iw=:. i hr m ' k: rjr pn

11 nU=:.J m ity o-w pn

Chapter 6

6_2 Words:

1'} (i r 2Q mt

i~ n,J +~ M

~~ mll y~*f=1

san

rr~ skd ~r ~ tms

6.3 Tran slation:

6.4 Tran slat ion :

6.5 Study exe rcise: The Osi ris Mysteries at Abydos:a, Transliteration an d Tran slation

The cup-bearer Hetep .The en tering-mai d Dedet.The washennan Sahathor.

wbu hrp' k(yj ' ddlrhtv st-hwt -hr

His beloved son, the steward Samenk he t. the justified.The over seer of the storeho use Intel.The \..up-bearer EmsaL

The cup-bearer Sehetepib.His belov ed friend In tel .

His beloved son Ameny,His belo ved wife Satwosret.

His be loved son the priest Sen wosret .Hi5 beloved wife Satmentju.

His belove d son the stew ard Amenemhet.His m oth er Bet.

The attendant Tjau.The dom estic Khu .The butcher Sahathor.

How to read Egyptian h ieroglyp hs

wbs shtp-ibonms =! mry~f tn t]

SI~f mry»] imnyhmt»] mrt- f sn-wsrtt}

5J=4 mry=! hm.ntr s- n- wsrt

!,ml=! mrt~f SfI-mnrWSJ=f mry»] m· , pr imn -rn-hst

mWI =! bl

f msw (1W

hrt -pr b wsftw st-h wt-hr

168

51=1 m ry=f m -r p' ss-rnn ht m v-b rw

m- r Sl trufwbs m- sl~f

Secon d offering fonnu la:

htp-dt -nsw An offering which the king givessstr nb tm nt nfrt to Osiris. lord of the beautif ul west.

n rr ' I nb IM w great god, lord of Abydos.dkf mw 1;m~( SN tT mrht so that he may give wate r and beer, incense and un guent

bl nb(l) nfr( l) wb(l) and everything good and pu re' nb' nt' tm on which a god lives

m Jod m ?-nl at the month-festival. at the hall-m onth festivalwl9 f!trwn the Wag-festival an d the Tho th-festivaldn ntr r pk r and the (festival of) the god's boat -journ ey to Poker

n imJ!J(w) m-r p r ss-tmn mv-hrw for the revered one, the steward Saamun, th e ju stified,hmt»] mrt»] bw (and) his beloved wife Khu.

(once again the fonn u la is finished off by the inscript ion s above the figure s of Saam un and Khu )

Offering-bearer s:

17 1Key 10 the exercises

An offering whi ch th e kin g give s10 Osiris. lo rd of Djedu, great god. lord of Abvdos.

sa thai he may give a voice offerin g ofbrea d and bee r, LlX and fowl. alaba ster and linen .an d eve ryth ing good an d pure on which a god lives

Iu r the ka of th e revered one Key,a tru e ki ngs adviser beloved o f himwh o doe s w ha t the king favo urs

dur ing the cou rse of every day.I hav e come from my town;

I have desce nded from my district .I wa s o ne who said wh at is good .

a nd what th e direct or of king 's ad visers loves.I d id no t de nounce a man to his superio r;

I did not command a beati ng for a man of m ine .The reve red on e before the gre at god

the reporter Key. born of Mell i. th e jus tified.

An offe ring whi ch th e king gives10 Osiri s. lo rd of Djedu. grea t god. lord of Abydos .

so tha t he may give a voice o ffering ofbread and beer. o x and fowl, alabaster and linen.an d everything good and pur e on wh ich a god live s,

whic h the sky gives, w hic h the la nd crea tes,and wh ich the in nundatio n brings

as an offeri ng w hich th e king give s.the sweet breath of life. and t he scen t of pureince nse

fu r the ka of the govern or Nakh t i, th e justified.born of Nakhr i, the ju stified .

His wife, the mi stress of the hous e Netnehu, th e [ustified.His mot hcr, Ihe m islre ss o f Ihe house Nakh tt. Ihe justified.Th e Wet · nurse Isel.

wh ich the sky gives. wh ich ihe land creates,an d whi ch the i nun danon brings.

ddt pt krmt "11111/ h' pl.v)

htp-dt-nswvstr lib qdwnt r ' I lib vbdw

dl=[ prt -hrwr hll~r k, Ipd fs mn tnb t nbt nfrt w br r ntH ntr fm

ddt pt ~mH 11

111111 ~ 'plY)

m htp-dt .nswII W n rn~ nJm st snt r wr/1

n kI tI hlty J nht t mr -h rwms-n nh t! mvt -hrw

7.6 Relative fo rms:

7_7 Study exercise: 8M EA H 8

tnp-d t.nswisir nb [ dw n{r q nb vbaw

dl=f prt -h rwI hnkt kJ spd Is mnh:~I nb tt) nfr lt) .,..'bll) -lIbl II l r tm

II kl II Iml~ lw) kyrh-nsw mF mry»]Irlr) bsls)r IISW

m bn -hrw tit rr nb111.11=1) m 11 1<11= 1)

h'.III=I) m splll=1jtnk: Jd IIfTl

mr rt lJrp rh-nswII qws l=I) S II hry-tp»]

II wq(=tj hwr m s=1fm lb (w) lJr nt r r l

whm ky ms-n m rti m v-hrw

7.8 Study exercise: 8M EA 143

Below (fro m righ t to left ):

hm :=f n bt-pr 1I1' lIb lV m rt-h rwmwtx] nbt -pr nbt t mvt-h rwm wt 1St

Cha pter 8

8.2 Words:

1t'---" ;sp r~~ SIb

l\~~ m' h'l lJ~"'m : f llyl

~~ ;::; Is '3,: II;

His tru C' servant of his affCt.1ion.one fo rC' most o f positi on in the hou se of h is I()rd :

an ofhciJI grca l of his hc:art.one who knows Ihe tlt'Sift' of h is lord,onc who follow s hi m al all h is journ eys.

I was an ,lSUllt' individualwh o spo ke wi th his (o wn ) mouth.w ho acted with his (own) stro ng arm ,and who kepi h is i ow n at a distance from h im self.

I was a dign itarv in Thebes,and a grea t pillar in Kh enryt,

I surpassed allY pee r o f minein thi s I OWTI in all ki nds of dign iryrw can h .

Yt.·~1T 14 under the person of th t ki ng of Upprr and Low erEgypt Kheperk a re living forever.

The rever ed one . th e bod 's falher ltv says:I rep eated favou r before th e king

and a dvanced my he art more than III)' Iorc.arherswh o ex isted befo re me .

His pe rson assigned 10 fi t' a great sealIII pure a rne rh vst.

JU S! like an y dignit ar y of th e kin g.and III )' -aa ft in ebony decorat ed in clect ru m.

The rever ed one. the god 's father tty.His beloved wtfe lu ri .

Thl' ft'v("f('d O ll t" I h e-god '" falhC'r, v nl' lru ly bd tlYcd of hhlo' d,

I!lt' rnasler of .St'crels of Amlln -Ra in J /I V place (,) f his,

His son truc f.His SOli Amc ue mhet .lIis dau gh te r Satsobe k.His daug hter Sat wosrct ,

How CO read Eqvp tian hieroqlyphs

blb f ml ' II SI-Ib=f&1I1( V) 51 m pr IIb=f

sr q n tb=lr&&r1-lb IIb=fImj JW r m utJ=f nb /I )

tt . I I ! } nds ikrJ d m r=ft r rn ~pf=f

shs] nwt»! r=ffn k .{ps m w iiI

twn r l m 01HYI.w sWI.n(=i) mfr.V(= fj nb

m m oW m m ~PS5 n b

tm 'tUWj It ·tlf f m ry n h ~:f mV

t .

SJ=f III/fsf=f tmn- m-h n5'1=f SlI-sbkSIC=! sTl- w SrJ

170

r npt -sp 14 [r r am n ,Isw ·buy~pr- kl- r' -1111 Jr

Iml g ( w ) i t -sur It...... JJ-::ltw w hm .n(::;;-i) li st Or nsw

sr; fb(o::::. ij r f1(w)l = ij

Orn'! r.h u» tIw /511 -11= 1 hrn=f 1Irm "

m hsmn wrbmi tps-mw nb

fryl::::t m hbny J w rb J m Jr m

tm l [l (W) it -n tr ityhmr =f mrt»] twr t

b. Thl fam ily:

6.6 St udy exercise: 8M EA 586<1. Te.\ 1

Chapter 7

7.4 Translation:

7.5 Stela of Ity (8 M EA 586 ):

7.2 Words:

How to read Eqyptian hieroalyphs

Fam ily, co lleague s an d sta ff in cen rral scene:

1

17 3

the overseer of bui lde rs Khue nbik . the justified.ho m of xer ur.

An offeri ng which th e ki ng gives/placesbe fore Osiris-Khe ntyimentu,

(grea t god . lord] I1fAbvdosin all h is good a nd pur e places.

50 th at he may give a voice ol feri ngin brea d an d in beerin ox an d fow l an d in everyt h in g goo d

for the ka of th e reve red o ne befor e th e gr eat god .the ge neral-in -ch ief Ameny,

born of Kebu . the ju stified .May hel p be give n 10 him in the Neshmet -bark

on the wa ys of th e We st.May he rece ive offeri ngs (from) upon the grea t alt a r

d u ring th e festivals 01 th e necropolis.Ma y 'Welcome in peace' be said to him

by the grea t ones of Abydosat th e wag-Icsu val , at th e Thoth -Ie stival.a: th e Soker-fesrival. at the pro cession of Min ,at th e proce ssion of Sot his. at the begini ng of th e

lunar yea r.and at JII the great festi va ls which are performed

for Osi rts- Kh en ryimentu. the great god,for the ka of the general- in-ch ief Ameny

Key to the exercises

His will' Hath or. born of Ma iuenhor.His da ught er Ren a , the ju stified.It is h is so n w ho h as ma de h is name hve IOn }

the ove rsee r of bu ilders Niprah kai.,His beloved so n Pta hhorep .

His beloved wifewho doe s what he favou rs eve ry dayth e pn l'stt'sS of H<Itho r M~dhu ,

bo m of Amcny. the justifie d .The Clip -bea rer Salkhene lkhe lY.His tru e servant of h is affection,

who does wh at h e favours every da ythe treasure r Saha tho r.pos sesw r of rev erence , the.- justfted .

His be luv ed brothe r Khenc'khet yhe tepborn of Satso bek_the ju stified .

Sakhen e tkhetl'·Th e ka -pIil'St Djdahal'Y.the hairdres ser Kh uye t.The do me stic Ame ny.

itml=! m rt=!I rrt I}SSI=! r r nb

Itm (l) -nl ' hwr -h ' mdh wmst -n Im ny mJr' · y n-t'

Wbil SlI-bm·b 'yblk=! ml' n st- Ib=!

I " J; ssl~f r r nb

m· r l] unt $,·h wl-J; rn b fmrb mJr· tzrw

,"=! m ' rY)=! !;1lI·bry -h tpIr-n SJl-sbk mJr·b rw

"- lm l-IIIYhm -kJ <f!I -h ' p!}')

nSI bwytJ;r(v) .p r Imny

Lower scene:

m hbtw} lib ' I trrwn isir hnty-tmntw nt r q

n kI n m-r mJr w r Imn y

~ml~f hwt -hr ms-n mti-n -htSl/=! " W(I) m" (I)-brwIII SI=! S'lll1 rn =!

mr tkdw n-nth -kstw,51=! m ry=! pIli -hIp

m .r tkdw hw-n-blk; m r- h rwms-n " w t

Th e fami ly:

8.5 Study exercise: BM EA 162

htp-di-n sw!.I r tslr tmtv-l mntw

[ nt r ' I nb] IMwm sfw) l=! nbt nf rt w rbt

dl={ prt-hrwm r m hnkr

111 kl ,pd m /11 nb(t) nfrtn kJ n jm J~t w l] r l1(r r,

m -r ml r wr Imny

tr -n J;bw ml r-brw

dl .l(w) n =! "wy m 1l5mrhr 1"1(1")1 Im nt

Ssp=! ht pl it' h tp ' Im hb (w ) II b rt '"lr

rid.l(w) n =! lt v m ~rp

111 w r (w ) Jl IbdwIn \V J; m dhwum hb-skr m prt- mnwm p r t spdt m i p-m p t

o the Ihing wh u may pass by thi s tom bin goin~ non h or in going sout h.

in that you wish to follow Wcpwa w('1. at aUhis journeys.may you say: 'Bread and beer. 1000_ox and fowL 1000.

alabaster and line n . 1000, offeri ngs andpro\1sions. 1000.as everyth ing gOtx! and pure on which a god lives

for the ka uf the revered one before aUthe gods of Allydosand before the killg.

An o ffering which the king Rivesto Osiris . lor d of Djedu. Kh ent yimentu

grea l (god I, lord o f Abydos,Wepwawe t, lord of th e sacr ed land,Khnllm and Heke tand aUthe god, ollhe west ern desen .

so that th ey may give a vo ice offering ofbread an d bet:"r, ox and fow l, alabasler and linen .offerings an d prov ision s

fo r th e ka of Ihc revered oneth e overseer of builde rs Khu nen bik, w ho says :

Regna l yea r 13 u nde-r ihe person ofthe kin g of Upper and Low er Egypt Nubkaure .

given life end u ringly and repea tedly.An offering whi ch the king gives

to Osiris. lord of Djt-du . Khernvi me ntu. lurd of Abydosand wepwaw ei. the one a t the forefront o f Abvdos.He kel an d Kh numami all the god s of Abvdos

S0 (ha l they m ay give a voice offering ofbr ead and beer, ox and fow l. alabaste r and linen,and everyt h ing good which goes before the great god.

May ha nds be pr esented to him carrying offerin gsdu ring the fes tiva ls of the ne cropolis

alo ng wi th the followers of Osiris.the ance sto rs wh o existed befo re.

May the gre at on es of Djeduand the entour age ill Abyd os enspirit you.

May ' w elcome in peace ' be said to h imby the grea t ones o f Aby dos .

May he tr avel wit h the great godduring the god 's jo u rn ey to Ro-Poke r.

w hen th e grea t Neshmet-bark is at its jou rn eysdu ri ng the-festivals of the necropolis.

May he hea r ju bila tion in the m outh of Tawer(at) the Haker-rhes of the night o f vigilduring the vigil of Horus-s».

172

rnpt-sp J3 br hm nnsw -bn:v nbw- k iw-r-:

d/ ' n!1 dl r n~h

htp-di -nswsstr nb ridw bm:,..imnrw nb ibdw

" 11-14! I W I !Jnt.v 'bau!~k ( hnr !Jnmw»rrw nb ,bf..fw

dl =slI pn -J;n-,;

I ~nkl ta (pd 5S mnht

~ I nbt n!'(I) pr(' )1 m-lnh 11(' ' I

ms.ttw] n=! r it OY br /:z Ipm hb(w ) rev.' brl- nt r

fm r Ims tw) n Is tr

Ip(Wj-' bp,w b, -ImSIl l jw WT(W) 1/W ddw

InYI tmt Ibdw

sdmx] h nw m r n :1-""h skr g,h II sdrtm sdryt nt hr-l n

m /11 nb(l) n/ rt k<bt •n!1IIll' 1mn kI n Jml!Jy br nt r (w) nb(w} ,bd w

!Jr nsk'

8 .3 BM EA 567:

i rn trw n v1t(y) .sn br m rJ:z r( tn

m bd m II'! Im mrr=rn {,m W p o W 1A1l r nmu=! Il b

lid=ln I hn kt !;I kJ Ipd !;1Is mll!; t!;1 h tp d! (lw) it'

dd.uw ) Il=! IIw m !t'PIn wrw nw Ibdw

slil=! itll' Ill' ' I

m ~iJf- n r r r r-pkrnl mt wrr r nm tt»sm itb(w) IlWhr t. mr

8.4 Study exercise: BM EA 584

lup-dt-nsw

tstr nb ddw hnry-tmrnw<nlr> rJ n b Ibdw

ap-Mwt nb fJ asrIInm w hit' itkl"trw nbw smyt Il11 m l

dl=sn prt-!;rwI hllkt ki Ipd 5S mll!; 1

itll'dR IlY)II kl n /m !/t (w)

m -' I~dw b w-n-bl k lid

Bibliography and further reading

The follo wing bib liograp hy is hig hly se lect ive and aimed at works which w illsupplem ent thi s book and aid you in further reading an d stu dy. We hav etried to concentrate on books which a re still in print and ava ilable throughmaj or sto ckists. Howeve r, so me wo rks of pa rtic ula r re levan ce fo r the to picscovered in th is book will probably only be fou nd in specialist lib raries an dthe se a re p refixed with *.

H ieroglyphsOn hieroglyphs, two books in particu la r can be recomm en ded to comple ­ment the early part of this b ook :

W.V. Davies, Egyp tian Hieroglyphs, Reading the Past series, Bri tishMu seum Press, London 1987.

J . Malek, ABC of Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Ashmole an Museum, Oxfor d199 4.

K ings' namesA full er list of the cartouches of th e kings of Egypt can be found in :

S.J . Quirke, Who were the Pharaohs? A History of their Names with a List of

their Cartouches, Brit ish Museum Press. Londo n 19 90.

Stelae1£ yo u are interested in ext end ing your reading of ste lae an d coff ns, thenexamplesfor stu dy are o n disp lay in m os t ma jor muse ums . In the UK, thefollowing muse ums have part icul arly su itable collec tions (th e list is notexh au stive and a n umbe r of ot her m u seums and private collections alsohave Middle Kingdom stelae and coffins on disp lay ]:

Southern England: Bri tish Museum , Lon do n; Ashmolean Museum,Oxfo rd; Fitzw illiam Mu seum , Ca mbridge.

Non hern England: Merseyside Cou nt y Museum, Liverpool; TheManch ester Muse um ; The Ori ental Mu seum , Durham .

Scotland: Royal Mus eu m of Sco tland, Edin bu rgh: Kelvingro ve Art Gal­lery an d Mu se um , Glasgow.

However. if you ha ve access to a good specialist library (su ch as the library ofth e Egyp t Explora tion Society, open to members of the society) then th e Iol­lowinv tw o work, roruain a number of lnreresrin o 'kin" for vrudv-

f!

Bibliography and fu rther reading 175

Th e most convenient collection of Aby dos ste lae re main s:* W.K. Simpso n, The Terrace of the Great God at Abydos: The Offering Chap­

els of Dynasties 12 and 13., Publications of th e Pennsylva nia-YaleExpe dition to Egy pt No . 5. Peabody Mu seum of Na tural Histo ryand The University Mus eum of th e University of Pennsylvania.

New Have n and Philadelphia 1974 .(Th is book contains ph oto graphs of a n um ber of Abydcne M iddle King domstelae from m u seum collections around the world, including some of th estelae stu died here. rea ssembled by Sim pso n into the ori gina l gro up s of

m onu m ent s fo u nd at Abydo s.)

Th e foll owing titl e contain s a n u mber o f stelae from Nag r ed-Deir of a sim ilar

kin d to BM EA 1783 (p . 74 ):* D. Dunham , Naga-ed-Di r stelae ofthe First In term edita te Period, Museu m

of Fine Art s, Boston 19 37 .

CoffinsA convenient introduction to coffin s and their d evelopm ent is:

J.H. Taylor, b~'1YP tian Coffins, Shire Publications, Aylesbu ry 1989.

A more detail ed discussion of Middle Kingdom coffin s can be found in:* H.O. Wille ms. Chests of Life: A Study of the Typology and Conceptual

Development of Middle Kingdom Standard Class Coffins, Orien taliste.

Leu ve n 1988.

Religion: Osiris and the afterlifeA co nvenient rece nt account is provided in:

S.J . Quirke, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Briti sh Museum Pre ss, London

19 92 (especia lly Chapte rs 2 an d 5) .

TitlesThere is n o readil y available gen eral work on title s to aid you in yo ur read­ing . Howeve r, a conv en ient listing of tit les by functi on can be found in :

* S.J . Qu irke, 'The regula r titles of th e late Middle Kingdom', Revue

d 'f.'gyptologie 37 (1 986). pp . 107 -30.

Oth erwise. the ma jo r listing of Middle Kin gdom titles w ith hie roglyp hs,

tra nslite ra tio n and transla tion is:* W.A. Ward, Index of EHyptiall Administrative and Religiolls Titles of the

Middle Kingdom, with a Glossary of Words and Phrases Used. Am e ri­

can Unive rsity in Beiru t Press , Beiru t 1982.

TranslationsThe most con veni ent set of t ra ns la tio ns for M idd le Kin gdom stelae (which

176 How tv read Egyptian hieroqlyphs

• M . Lich theim. Ancient l-.gypti<l11 A utobioqra phies ch iefly "f the Middle

Kingd om : A St udy and an A ntholoqy. Orbis Bibli cus et Orientalis 84 .

Uriive rsita tsverlag. Frcib u rg and Vandenhoeck & Ruprech t. Go t­

tin gen 19 88 .Some stelae a re als o includ ed in Lichthcim's earli er and more rea dily a vail­

able book:M . Lichtheim, Ancient Eqyptia n Literature , 1: The Old an d Middle Kingdoms ,

Un ive rsity of Ca liforn ia Press . Berkele y and Los Angeles 19 73 ,

A m or e recent a nt hology of transl ations fro m a variety of Middle Kingdom

tex ts . in clu ding stelae , is:R.B. Parkinson, Voices from Ancient Egyp t. A n Amhology ofMi ddle Kingdom

Writings, British Museum Pres s, london 199 1.

Dictionaries and sign-listsTh e m ost convenie nt dicti o na ry in Eng lish remains:

R.O . Faulkner , A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian , Grif fith In sti tute,

Oxford 1962 .A m or e compreh ensive sign-list with a n ext ensi ve disc uss io n of th e use of

sign s is inclu ded at t he end of :A.H. Ga rdi ne r, Egyp tian Grammar, Being an Introductio n to the Study of

Hieroglyphs. 3rd ed iti on, Griffit h Institute, Oxfo rd 19 57 .

Bot h of these works are still in print and readily avai la ble .

GrammarGa rdiner's Egyptian Gra mm ar also remains th e mos t cumpre hens ive treat ­ment of ancient Egyptian in English, although a num ber of the sections onthe verb (occupying th e second half of th e book) are now rather da ted .

O ur book is n ot intended as a gr am mar book, bu t ly in g be hind thepr esentat ion of the la ng uage is th e pa rt icu lar 'v e rbalist' ap proach developedby Mark Collie r in a number of specia llst papers. A simila r 'verbal ist'

approach is conveniently presented in :A. Lopr ieno. Ancient Eg.vptian: A Linquistic lntroduction, Cam bridge

Uni ve rsity Press, Cam bridge 199 5,Thi s book also pr ovides a co nc ise accou nt of the historical develop m e nt of

ancient Egyptian language and scripts .

The a uthors of thi s book ca n be cont acted via Sch oo l for Scri bes, PO Box

25020, Glasgow GI 5YD. Un ited Kingdom ,

Index

abbreviations, see wordsAbydos 4 1. 54-6, 58 , 73 ,87-9, 12 1,

124; Abydos form ula 114-1 5: seealso Osiris

adjectives 10, 93 -4. 1 17 - 18, 150; asnouns 94. 150 ; genit ival adjective40

agreement 10, 19. 7 I. 93 -4. 9 6,100- 101. II L 116, 1 17, 148, 150

Anubis 42, 63-4appeal to the living I I 1-14auxiliaries 66--7. 80 -8 1. 82.83-4

captions 4 9-50causation 82 . 11 5cha racterisation 6 &-9, 96 - 8carto uches 20 . 26 , 28coffins 62-4compound expressions 40continua tion 80-8 1. 82co-ordination, without linking words

6 7. /l0-8!. 84-5

dat ing 21dati ng criteria 38, 39 .41. 10 7. 110.

114defective writing s. see wordsdescnprion 65 , 68, 80dete rm ina tives (meaning-signs) 5-6.

13direct ion of wri ting. see wordsDjed u 4 1duals. dual endi ngs 19 , 149dynasties (of kings) 22

epi thets . see titleseth ical beha viour 35. 65, 75

family, see kinshipfeminine . see nou ns. gender; seealso

agreementfestivals 50 , 76--8 , 12 3; seealso Osirisfilial ion, see kinshipFirst Intermediate Period 22funerary beliefs 35, 50, 76-8, 87 ,

114-15funerar y cu lt see offeringsfuture. see tenses

genitive (possessor) 39--40, 9&- 9. 150;seealso adjectives

graphic tran sposition. see word order

tinker-rues 87 - 9honorific tr ansposition . see word

orderHorus: name of king 20 ; son of Osiris

4 1- 2 , 71 ,1 2 1; four sons of 62 - 3

ideograms (sound-meaning signs)17- 18

infinitive 4 9-50, 52-4. 144- 5Inhuret 70 , 73Isis 4 1-2

Khcutyirncn tu . fee Osiris

178 Index

kinship (family. filiation) 69 . 70-72.75 . 99

masc u line , sa no un s, gen de rme ani ng-s igns, see de rermma uvesMeir 13Middle Kin gdom 22

Nag' ed- Den 7 3-5na me s: o f kings 20-2 1,26, 28,70; of

officia ls 69- 70; see also Osirisne ga tio n 8 1-2 , 115-1 6, 146-7, 149Neshmet-bark (of Osiris) 88New Kingdom 22nomen 20, 26 . 28nouns 9, 149; gen der (mascu line,

femin in e ) 9, 149; seealso adjec­tives, as noun s

numbers 20 . 21

object. see pronounso fferings 35 , 35-9 ,70-7 1, 76-7;

o ffering formula 35-9Old Kingdom 22Osiri s 40-42. 54-6; festivals a t

Abyd os (Osiris Mysteries) 50,54- 6,87-9, 12 1; tomb of 55-6. 87 ;as Khen tyimeruu 41. 87 , 118; aswenennefer 42 , 87 ; seealso Horu s

palace 102participles 94-5, 147 ; passive 98- 9.

past 95, 147; p resent 95. 147 : asnouns 96 , I J I; sgmtyf y as fu tu reequivale nt II I

passive 11 5, see also pa rticiplespast , see tensespe rfect, see tensesplural ending 8-9; plural strok es 6. 8,

72 ; writ ing the plural 8- 9, 19, 93 ,111 ,11 6, 1l7, 14 8, 14 9, 150

Poker 55. 87possesso r, seegeni tive, pronounspracno mcn 20. 26 . 28prep osi tions 9-10, 117presen t. see tenses

priests 10 3. 104pro nou ns 66: dependent 82-3, 14 9;

independent 97, 149; suffix 66, 67-8.8 3, 98-9, 148. 149; a> su bjects 66,67, 1\3, 148, 149; as object s 68 .83.148, 149; as gen iuve 68 . 98 -9, 148

pronunciat ion 3, 4, IIpurpose 115

regnal yea rs, see da tingrela tive forms 68-9,72. 100-101.

147- 8; past 68-9, 100 , 107 , 147;p rese nt 100, 147

'sacred land ' 55self-prese ntation 65 , 67. 75Seth 30, 41so und-sig ns 1- 2; l -consonaru signs

3-4; z-consonam signs 15- 16; 3­con son ant signs 17; sound-com ple ­ments 16, 17, 18; sound-mean in gsign s, see ideograms

sound com pleme nts, see sou nd -signsso und- mean ing signs . see sou nd-s ignsst range writ ings, seewordssubject 66 ; seealso pronou ns

tenses 145-7; fu tu re 49 , 82 , II L 114,146; past 49,65-6,97-8, 145; per­fen 67 ; present 49, 83 - 5; present,gen eral 83- 5, 14 5; present , speci fic8 3-4, 14 5; seealso pa rt iciples; rela ­tive form s

titles and epithe ts 33,95-6, 118;fun er ary 35, 39; of king s 20-21.28 , 34, 102; o f officials 34-5, 9 L10 1- 3; of Osiris 24, 37 . 40-42; ofwom en 103-4

transla tion and translatio n schemes49- 50, 50-5 1. 53-4, 67 ,67-8,68-9. 80-8 1. 82 , 85 . 97 , 148

translite ra tion 2, 3-4, 19. 5 1-2,72,105, 144

tran sposition . see wo rd o rde rtreasur y 102-3

ve rbs 4 9; classes 50-52. 144 ; doubli ng

,.

51; extra we ak 51-2; root 5 L 52,53 ; stem 51. 65; strong 51; weak51- 2

voice-o ffering 37-9, 107vo wels. abse nce of 2

weak con sonant s, omission of 8-9,51-2,9 3,117,127,144,147,149.

150weak ve rbs. see ve rbsWen ennefe r, see Osir isWepwaw el 42 .5 5, 87 , 96 , 120word s; abb revia tions 32 , 44- 5; defec-

tive/strange writings 25 , 34 , 44 ;di rection of writ ing 7-8; flexibilityin spelling 16 , 18,26,28,34,60

wo rd order 10, 66 , 8 3, 150; gra phictran spositio n 32- 3; hon or ific trans­pos ition 33-4

Index 179

Index of ill ustrations(mon u m ents fro m the BritishMuse um coll ection)

EM EA to I (Nebipusenwosret) 58BM EA 117 (king-li st o f Rarnesse s II)

3 1BM EA 14 3 (Nakh ti) 110BM EA 162 (Amen v ) 44, 12 5BM EA 558 (Key ) 108BM EA 567 (Amcnemhet) 26 , 120EM EA 57 1 (KIm) 77 , 79BM EA 58 1 (In te l) 59BM EA 58 4 (Khu en bik) 122BM EA 585 [Sa rcnen u tet) 48BM EA 586 (lt y ) 2 5, 90 , 106BM EA 587 (Ame n ernh e t) 46BM EA 178 3 (lnhuremakht) 74BM EA 35285 (cof fin o f Nak hta nkh)

63,64