of what they could
now see was a cartouche with her fingers. She looked up at Ben.
A cartouche is
an oblong shape containing some hieroglyphic symbols. Both ends of the cartouche
are always rounded, and if a straight line runs along the bottom edge, then the
characters within the oblong typically represent the name of a royal figure.
The term cartouche comes from the
French word for cartridge, as French soldiers in Egypt during Napoleonic times
noted their likeness to their ammunition casing.
This cartouche
was definitely for someone important.
“Ben?” Gail
asked.
Ben was
rummaging in his backpack and brought out a well-thumbed textbook.
“Hieroglyphs,
my favourite,” he smiled. Running his finger along the symbols, he read out
loud. “The four symbols at the top are Ra , e , t and n. The god Aten.
The symbol at the bottom of the cartouche, of a woman, means a queen.”
“Ben,” she
started. “Is that Nefertiti?”
He looked
between the cartouche and his textbook. “What looks like a church steeple is
actually the heart with a windpipe attached. One on its own, nfr , means beautiful. He skimmed through
the pages quickly.
“I was never
good at this,” he complained, rubbing his forehead.
“You’re doing
brilliantly,” Gail encouraged him. “Better than I could!”
He smiled and pointed to the next three hearts
and windpipes.
“These three
together, are nfrw , similar to the
first, but meaning beauty. Ah, OK!” He pointed to a page in his book. “Beautiful
is the beauty of Aten. It’s like a part of the name, but not the name, if you
see, like saying long live the queen.”
Gail was
disappointed. “So, it’s not the beautiful
one has come ? It’s not Nefertiti?”
“Be patient! OK,
the next bit is another heart and windpipe followed by neb , the basket. This is nfr-t ,
a beautiful woman, or simply a beauty. The last bit, I have no idea. Wait, let
me try something.”
She looked at the cartouche and the
surrounding symbols. “Beautiful is the beauty of Aten, A beauty something something . It’s pretty close! What do you think, Ben?”
Ben was
flicking through the pages of his textbook and jotting down some notes,
muttering to himself in Arabic. Finally, he showed them to Gail.
“OK, I did it
backwards. You want this last bit to be has come. The verb to come is tall reed
with two legs that you see here in the cartouche, but followed by two man legs
walking. It is pronounced ii . The two
vertical bars in the cartouche are a short form of two walking legs. The
problem is the symbols are in the wrong order. They should be, reed, then
walking legs, then the last one, which you can see here next to the sitting
queen, which is pestle, from mortar and pestle for mixing herbs,” he made a
mixing motion with his hands. “The pestle makes a soft t sound, and it makes the feminine of the past of the verb come .”
Gail read
through the scribbled notes then took his pen. She jotted down the phonemes one
by one: Nfr-t , a beauty, ii-t , has come.
“ Nfr-t-ii-t ,” she whispered in wonder.
“Finally,” Ben
said with a grin. “Now you pronounce it like a true Egyptian!”
They both sat
back on the sand, looking at their find with a mixture of disbelief and
excitement.
And Gail
thought to herself: a beauty has come .
Chapter 9
George edged the rental car down
the track and cursed the sand as he looked enviously at the 4x4s parked a
hundred yards ahead of where he was going to have to stop. Getting out, he donned an old fashioned
explorer’s hat that had been thrust upon him by an eager salesman in Luxor. He
checked his backpack for his camera and took a swig from a plastic bottle of
water before setting off.
As he rounded
the bend in the road ahead, he was surprised to see the number of cars lined up
at the foot of the small cliff. On top
of the white 4x4s he had seen a few days earlier at the archaeological dig
there were three luxury off-roaders, more used to
now see was a cartouche with her fingers. She looked up at Ben.
A cartouche is
an oblong shape containing some hieroglyphic symbols. Both ends of the cartouche
are always rounded, and if a straight line runs along the bottom edge, then the
characters within the oblong typically represent the name of a royal figure.
The term cartouche comes from the
French word for cartridge, as French soldiers in Egypt during Napoleonic times
noted their likeness to their ammunition casing.
This cartouche
was definitely for someone important.
“Ben?” Gail
asked.
Ben was
rummaging in his backpack and brought out a well-thumbed textbook.
“Hieroglyphs,
my favourite,” he smiled. Running his finger along the symbols, he read out
loud. “The four symbols at the top are Ra , e , t and n. The god Aten.
The symbol at the bottom of the cartouche, of a woman, means a queen.”
“Ben,” she
started. “Is that Nefertiti?”
He looked
between the cartouche and his textbook. “What looks like a church steeple is
actually the heart with a windpipe attached. One on its own, nfr , means beautiful. He skimmed through
the pages quickly.
“I was never
good at this,” he complained, rubbing his forehead.
“You’re doing
brilliantly,” Gail encouraged him. “Better than I could!”
He smiled and pointed to the next three hearts
and windpipes.
“These three
together, are nfrw , similar to the
first, but meaning beauty. Ah, OK!” He pointed to a page in his book. “Beautiful
is the beauty of Aten. It’s like a part of the name, but not the name, if you
see, like saying long live the queen.”
Gail was
disappointed. “So, it’s not the beautiful
one has come ? It’s not Nefertiti?”
“Be patient! OK,
the next bit is another heart and windpipe followed by neb , the basket. This is nfr-t ,
a beautiful woman, or simply a beauty. The last bit, I have no idea. Wait, let
me try something.”
She looked at the cartouche and the
surrounding symbols. “Beautiful is the beauty of Aten, A beauty something something . It’s pretty close! What do you think, Ben?”
Ben was
flicking through the pages of his textbook and jotting down some notes,
muttering to himself in Arabic. Finally, he showed them to Gail.
“OK, I did it
backwards. You want this last bit to be has come. The verb to come is tall reed
with two legs that you see here in the cartouche, but followed by two man legs
walking. It is pronounced ii . The two
vertical bars in the cartouche are a short form of two walking legs. The
problem is the symbols are in the wrong order. They should be, reed, then
walking legs, then the last one, which you can see here next to the sitting
queen, which is pestle, from mortar and pestle for mixing herbs,” he made a
mixing motion with his hands. “The pestle makes a soft t sound, and it makes the feminine of the past of the verb come .”
Gail read
through the scribbled notes then took his pen. She jotted down the phonemes one
by one: Nfr-t , a beauty, ii-t , has come.
“ Nfr-t-ii-t ,” she whispered in wonder.
“Finally,” Ben
said with a grin. “Now you pronounce it like a true Egyptian!”
They both sat
back on the sand, looking at their find with a mixture of disbelief and
excitement.
And Gail
thought to herself: a beauty has come .
Chapter 9
George edged the rental car down
the track and cursed the sand as he looked enviously at the 4x4s parked a
hundred yards ahead of where he was going to have to stop. Getting out, he donned an old fashioned
explorer’s hat that had been thrust upon him by an eager salesman in Luxor. He
checked his backpack for his camera and took a swig from a plastic bottle of
water before setting off.
As he rounded
the bend in the road ahead, he was surprised to see the number of cars lined up
at the foot of the small cliff. On top
of the white 4x4s he had seen a few days earlier at the archaeological dig
there were three luxury off-roaders, more used to
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