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Myra Wysinger
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Stela Fragment
From Naga, Lion Temple, inner room; found in 1996
Meroitic, beginning of the christian era

Professor Winters: This fragmented stela shows Meroitic inscriptions, could you translate please? Thank you

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Supercar
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Myra, do you have an idea as to how old this fragment is estimated to be?

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Truth - a liar penetrating device!

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Clyde Winters
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Hi Myra

I will attempt to read the broken tablet. First of all it is hard to make out some of the signs on this piece, especially parts of line three(3) and five (5), but I will attempt to read the piece.

Reading the piece from right to left we have the following:

Transliteration

1. m...e-ne...ap....

2. [s]....mlo..nea...š.....

3. m...p....b...ye..... s

4. e.....q....b....p...nea....

5. [o]...lo... ň-ne...ml....ne...s...mš....

Translation


"...(1)The great Commander and ancestor....(2)[prop up] the inner heart at this time (of) the King....(3) m entreat the Ba to travel (and) prop up...(4)Register the wish (of) the Ba to solicit at this time....(5)[Begin] to dispatch Goodness and the good spirit (of) the son of Mash.....

Vocabulary

ap, ancestor, father

m , great

e-ne, commander

e, register; vouchsafe; grant a boon

b, Ba

ml, spirit

mlo, innerheart, soul

s, son; to protect; to prop up

ye, to make; travel, voyage

nea, at this time;

ne, good

ň-ne, Goodness

mš, Mash

lo, dispatch

o, begin


The so called word divider sign : equals -ne. The : is used to change verbs into nouns, or means good.

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Myra Wysinger
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The book which I got this picture from dates it from Meroitic, beginning of the christian era.

Thank you Dr. Winters.

Reference:

Sudan: Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile, Dietrich Wildung, (1997)

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Clyde Winters
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You are welcome.

--------------------
C. A. Winters

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Myra Wysinger
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quote:
Originally posted by Clyde Winters:
King Tañyidamani, and the Meroitic lion-god Apedemek (110 BC-90 BC)

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The most interesting Meroitic text concerning Apedemak is found on the votive tablet of Tañyidamani which is now found in the Paris Museum. On this votive tablet Tañyidamani is depicted on the obverse side , and the god Apedemak on the reverse side.

On the reverse side of the Tañyidamani votive tablet the god Apedemak is depicted wearing a short apron and hemhem crown. On this votive tablet Apedemak also wears armlets, bracelets, a collar and pectoral. Inside a panel in front of Apedemak we find a cursive Meroitic inscription.

The inscriptions in the panel on the reverse side of the votive tablet of King Tañyidamani make it clear that the king acknowledged the important role the god Apedemak played in his life. These inscriptions can be read either from right to left or top to bottom. Reading from right to left we read:

TRANSLITERATION OF REVERSE SIDE OF VOTIVE TABLET OF KING TAÑYIDAMANI

1. w e to

2. q tel

3. w to si

4.tone m-k

5. d.[l]..r-i

6.te i


TRANSLATION

1. You (it is Apedemak who) gives guidance.

2. Revitalize support (for me King Tañyidamani).

3. You guide (me) to satisfaction.

4. (And ) much reverence (for your patron).

5. Give (it) amicably (to me).

6. May (it go forth).

Reading this same inscription top to bottom we find the following:

TRANSLITERATION OF THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE VOTIVE TABLET OF KING TAÑYIDAMANI

1. w q b-to d-te.

2. e te to m ne l.

3. toe i skr-i.

TRANSLATION

1. (Oh Apedemak) Guide and Make Honor (for your patron).

2. Give here your (full) measure of Good indeed.

3. (It is) thou (Apedemak who) give(s) leave to eminence (for your patron).

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Myra Wysinger
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Head of a BA Statue with Sun Disk
From Aniba, Lower Nubia
Meroitic, second to third century A.D.

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The Meroitic Nubians produced these characteristic Ba statues showing the deceased in human form sometimes with a sundisk on their head.

Image from Sudan: Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile, Dietrich Wildung, (1997)

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Myra Wysinger
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Shrine Stands of King Natakamini and Kandake Amanitore
Sandstone; H. 116, W. 84 cm, Th. 84 cm
From Wad Ban Naga
Preuliische Agypten-Expedition, 1844
Meroitic, A.D. 0-20
Berlin, Agyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung

Bilingual Text

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The Kushite rulers King Natakamani and Kandake Amanitore constructed important temples throughout the kingdom. They erected one such building, similar in ground plan and size to the Amun Temple at Naga, in one of the largest city centers of the "island" of Meroe, in the vicinity of the present-day Wad Ban Naga. In 1844, the Prussian expedition discovered three stands for divine barks or shrines there, of which the largest was brought through the authority of Muhammad Ali to Berlin.

The two others disappeared long ago. On the two larger stands, the decoration and inscriptions in Egyptian, used one last time after a long interval, bear close similarity to pieces from contemporary Egypt (that is, the early Roman Period), particularly at Philae.

The Egyptian temple is a model of the universe whose heavenly region is inhabited by the god. The divine image rests in a naos or divine bark on a stand which thus takes the form of a temple. Beneath a torus molding and cavetto cornice, adorned on one side with a winged sun-disk delineating a gateway, the star-filled heavens are shown on all four sides being "supported" by four individuals. Two opposite sides show two of the deities of the four cardinal points, holding up the heavens according to mythic imagery; they are Tawyt ("Bearer") for the north and Ahayt ("Midday") for the south. The horizontal captions describe the scene: "The heavens are lifted up by me for the mistress of the earth. Through me her place is established in greater (heavenly) distance than that of the one who bore her; may she shine in it in her bark like the moon who travels in his bark." "The heavens are lifted up by me for Isis, who grants life. Through me her place is established in greater (heavenly) distance than that of the one who raised her; may she shine in her chapel like the sun in his night-bark." In place of the other two cardinal point deities are King Natakamani and Kandake Amanitore. Among the well-established duties of the king was the maintenance of the temple as insurance of cosmic order. This is signified by the "lifting" of the heavens, as is the hope that the deity might inhabit its cult image in the temple. Thus the inscriptions accompanying Natakamani and Amanitore read: "Stay, stay on the great throne, Isis, mistress of the Underworld, like the living sun-disk in the horizon, in that you let your son Natakamani remain on his throne." "Stay, stay on the great throne, Isis, mistress of the Underworld, as does the moon that grows like an egg in traversing heaven. May it give life to your daughter, Amanitore." The bark stand is also of importance for the decipherment of the Meroitic script. Beside the heads of the two rulers, their throne names are written according to Egyptian custom, while their birth names appear in Meroitic hieroglyphs. The latter also appear, this time in Egyptian hieroglyphs, in the caption texts; the object is thus truly bilingual.

Photo and text from the book Sudan: Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile, Dietrich Wildung, 1997, p. 256

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Clyde Winters
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The Meroitic mortuary offerings reflect many objects the Meroite would use in the afterworld. They inscribed or painted ba statues, stela and offering tables with cursive Meroitic . The utilitarian items of every-day use by the Meroites were placed in the tomb., while the ba statuettes and stela were often placed outside the tombs.

The offering tables were used to make libations in behalf of the deceased after his interment. They were made of sandstone and shaped either rectangular or square. The tables measured anywhere between ten and fourteen inches in length, with a recessed center surrounded by a raised border.

The offering tablets and funerary stela often include carved designs and inscriptions. The inscriptions were in Meroitic. The most popular designs on the tables include loaves of bread, and the mortuary gods Anubis and Nephthys.

The artifacts found near the tombs of rich Meroites include ba statuettes. The ba statuettes often made in the shape of humans with folded wings, were usually placed in front of the tomb . It was made in this way to represent the free and mobile nature of Ba, which was suppose to sore into the sky. The Ba was recognized as a soul, which possessed mobility.

The term Ba represented the ability of the deceased person's spirit to move from the grave and implore the gods for passage and protection of the Kha to the underworld.


In the funerary inscriptions we also find much mention of the Ba or Be . I have interpreted the term Ø ba #, as "soul'. The ba, united the conception of the Kha, and the Khe / Kho . The best place to find this term in the Meroitic funerary literature include the Tañyidamani , Armina West and Karanog steleas.


The spirit body of the King was to sustain Good at the burial site. For example the Ba of Tañyidamani was to remain at Jebel Barkal (Tañyidamani stela, lines 33-34) for a period of time continuing to serve Aman, while it represented a talisman of blessing for the pilgrims that visited his tomb.

According to the Tañyidamani stela ,line 139, the Ba was a gift to Aman . This may explain the placement of the Meroitic carved items such as the ba statues and funerary tablets outside the Meroite tombs. Placement outside the tomb probably tolerated the ba's effortless access to flight.

In the late Meroitic text. The Ba , was no longer forced to stay at the tomb. In these inscriptions it is made clear that the Ba, retired in B(a)ne.



http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bay/7051/lit8.gif

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Below we will first give the transliteration of the Karanog stelae and then a translation of Meroitic into English. At the end of the translation we will provide a vocabulary of the text.

Line 1. Woshi ...ne... Shore... yi-ne... t-po... m-i... d.

Line 2. Tqowine... s... li-ne ...t ...si... d... e-ne.. te... o... d... he.

Line 3. Lo..wi-ne...sl...h...m-ne...s-ne..qo...Qo ...li-ne

Line 4. Terike...lo... wi-ne...i... l...pe...rine ...si...b... lo.

Line 5. Tel-o... wi-ne... pq... r... ne... ye mtetl[...]...e... ne... ye.

Line 6. Lq-ne...lo...win-ne ...yet...sn...net...e... i... ol... ye...e-ne.

Line 7. M...ne...lo...wi-ne[...]... ot... p ..kr-ne ...yet... ne-ne ... e-o... wi-ne.

Line 8. Pe... sto... lt-ne... yet... m...n...e...e-o... wi-ne... qo ... re.

Line 9. St... s... t ... lete-ne ...s-ne ...tq ...lo ...wi-ne ...hle ...mr.

Line 10. S-ne ...q ...lo-t ...to ...lo ...wi-ne ...mte ...h ...ne ...s-n ...pe.

Line 11. Sto ...li ...h ...wi-ne ...t ...e ...lo ...lo-a ...en-ne ...ye.

Line 12. Tb ...h ...re ...lo ...wi-ne ...ato ...mh ...enep ...si ...se-a.

Line 13. Te-ne ...ato ...mh ...enep ...wi ...h ...r ...ke ...te-ne ...h ...ml-o ...l-ne.

Line 14. P-Sin ...ote ...m-i ...ke ...te-ne ...Wosi ...ne.

...Shore ...o-i ...ine.

TRANSLATION
"l. Isis the Good, and Osiris the Eternal (are) commanding the
measure (of) the bequeathal. (2) Tqowine, the patron to transmit
her satisfying bequeathal. She commands the beginning of the
bequeathal of the He. (3) The solitary honorable patron (is) to
behold the He-ne's (the abstract personality of man)...to prop up
the renewal. Act to (make) the conveyance. (4) (Its) the Fashion
to dispatch Awe...[h]i to remain to reproduce within satisfaction
from a distance. (5) The solitary object of respect to make
indeed a good voyage to Mtetl...[here] to be give(n) a good
existence.(6) She is to witness solitary reverence capable of
cleverly bowing in reverence (to the gods)--give leave to the /a
grand journey (Oh) Commander. (7) Measure the good (of the )
lonely object of Honor [lying in the grave]...esteem and dignity.
Adorn (her with) goodness, give opening to honor.(8) Your
nonexistent patron goes to measure goodness. Give (its) beginning
Now! The Object of Respect (Tqowine, to be) renewed indeed. (9)
Endorse the embarkation of the (good) Supporter. Set in Motion
the dispatch of this object of respect (Tqowine) to reverberate
luck. (10) The patron, she is present (in) the grave. Send the
Object of Respect to unlock H-ne [the place where the H, is kept]
--the Patron begs you. (11) Protect her conveyance of the H. This
honorable woman give (her) isolated departure. The Teacher (to
take) a journey. (12) Announce in a lofty voice indeed, the
dispatch of this Object of Respect (on the) path (of) the grand
bestowal (of) atonement (and ) favor. (13) Rebirth is the path to
grand bestowal of honor to the H , indeed give permission for the
rebirth of the H, and the soul to exit. (14) Much satisfaction
(and) wonder (to come) measure it. The permission (for its
bestowal ) is arranged by Isis,( and) Osiris (is) the Opener of
the Way."

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Myra Wysinger
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From Musawwarat es-Sufra, Lion Temple
Meroitic, 200 B.C.
Berlin Museum

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Three animal heads are shown side by side, accompanied below by their front paws. The ram's head in the center combines horns winding around the ears with an additional, horizontally turned pair of horns; both breeds of ram are symbolic form of Amun. The crown consists of two uraei, each wearing a sun-disk and cow's horns, then a large sun-disk with a band of uraei and two falcon plumes, which are flanked in turn by two more uraei. Between the front paws is a papyrus umbel. The lion heads wear the hem-hem crown above their horizontal ram's horns, consisting of stylized bundles of reeds and a sun-disk, flanked on each side by a single ostrich feather and uraeus. The lion on the right also wears a crescent moon. The two deities Shu and Tefnut, closely associated with Amun's residence of Gebel Barkal, are probably represented by the two lions.

Meroitic Bowl
Post-Meroitic, fourth to fifth century A.D.

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The continuity of the Meroitic kingdom in the fourth and fifth century the most important site is el-Hobagi, situated not far from Wad Ban Naga on the left (west) bank of the Nile. Instead of the pyramid form, the traditional tumulus reappears, now surrounded by a large temenos wall. Although these are usually seen as typically post-Meroitic complexes, the burial equipment found in the el-Hobagi tombs indicates just the opposite. Their inventory is strictly Meroitic; hence the fall of the city of Meroe and its royal cemetery is not delineated by sharp, historical break. The continuity of Meroitic culture extends into fourth and fifth centuries A.D.

An inscription in Meroitic hieroglyphs mentioning the words "king" and "god" appears on this bronze bowl. This is the latest known Meroitic text discovered so far. -- Dietrich Wildung (1997)

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Clyde Winters
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Naqa Temple

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At the lion temple of Naqa, we find Natakamani on the left façade and Amanitore on the right. Under the feet of the ruling pair we find friezes of their defeated enemies.

There are a number of Meroitic hieroglyphics on the front of the Naqa Lion Temple. There are three columns of hieroglyphic inscriptions on under the falcon of King Natakamani. Reading from left to right we see the following


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Transliteration

1. ter tel i ne

2. …ni-ne b-q r

3. ikh iy kh te b d r te

Translation

"1….the erection (of this structure) elevates (our) tradition [of building].2…brilliance (is) also desired indeed.3…this spot bring Great light (and) also leave a legacy (of) unity."

We can interpret the inscriptions and engraving from this part of the temple as follows:

"King Natakamani smites the enemies of Meroe. The royalty "...[has made] the erection (of this structure) to elevate (as is our) tradition.2…Brilliance (is) also indeed desired.3…This spot to bring Great light (to many and) also leave (to the Meroites) a legacy (of) unity."


..

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Myra Wysinger
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quote:
Originally posted by Clyde Winters:
The Meroitic mortuary offerings reflect many objects the Meroite would use in the afterworld. The offering tables were used to make libations in behalf of the deceased after his interment. They were made of sandstone and shaped either rectangular or square. The tables measured anywhere between ten and fourteen inches in length, with a recessed center surrounded by a raised border.

The offering tablets and funerary stela often include carved designs and inscriptions. The inscriptions were in Meroitic. The most popular designs on the tables include loaves of bread, and the mortuary gods Anubis and Nephthys.

Offering Table
Sandstone
From Meroe, northern cemetery, Pyramid B N 30
Meroitic, A.D. 140-155
Berlin Museum

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The goddess Nephthys and the god Anubis pour water or milk over an offering altar. Anubis looks after the deceased, and Nephthys assists her sister, Isis, in mourning and protecting the deceased Osiris. The scene thus associates the deceased with Osiris. The text is written in Meroitic hieroglyphic, instead of the usual cursive Meroitic script. Some of the inscription may be deciphered, thanks to the strict conventionality of offering table formulae: "O Isis, O Osiris, Takideamani, born of Napatadakheto, and created by Adeqetali, . . . may . . .a good Nile may . . . become . . . may . . ." -- Karl-Heinz Priese

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Myra Wysinger
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Sheath for a Staff
From Gebel Barkal, Temple B 500, north gate in B 502
Harvard University—MFA Boston Expedition, April 1919
Meroitic, 110-90 B.C.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts

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This bronze fitting was found in the vicinity of the northern side entrance leading into the hypostyle hall of the great Amun Temple at Gebel Barkal. It was set onto a staff-like object and fastened with a split pin. The decoration reproduces the motif of "unification of the Two Lands"—two Nile gods bind the emblematic plants of Upper and Lower Egypt together. On the opposite side are the royal epithets "King of Upper and Lower Egypt" and "Son of Ra," each above a cartouche.

Despite the different spellings, the name is probably the same in both cartouches: Try-kmn. The right cartouche uses a striding lion sign for the second half of the name. A column of cursive Meroitic text occurs on each side, and four more columns surround the two Nile gods. Among the words present is the name of Amun. The beginning of the inscription contains the name of King Taneyidamani, who erected an inscribed, four-lined stela in front of the first pylon of the Amun temple. Taneyidamani is most likely the name inside the cartouches; the sign used, however, were apparently not incorporated into final, standardized alphabet of Meroitic writing. -- Karl-Heinz Priese

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Supercar
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quote:
Originally posted by Myra Wysinger:
Stela Fragment
From Naga, Lion Temple, inner room; found in 1996
Meroitic, beginning of the christian era

What reference number is given to this item, by the German Museum, if indeed, this is where the item is located? In any case, I'm interested in the reference number, for further research purposes. Thanks in advance.
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Myra Wysinger
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quote:
Originally posted by Supercar:
Stela Fragment
From Naga, Lion Temple, inner room; found in 1996
Meroitic, beginning of the christian era.

What reference number is given to this item, by the German Museum, if indeed, this is where the item is located? In any case, I'm interested in the reference number, for further research purposes. Thanks in advance.

Hi Supercar:

This is the full description:

Sandstone; H. 11.2 cm, W. 10.4 cm, Th. 1.6 cm
From Naga, Lion Temple, inner room
Berlin Naga-Project 1996, field no. Naga 301-4
Meroitic, beginning of the Christian era
Khartoum, Museum 27449

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Myra Wysinger
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Sebiumeker

Meroitic deity Sebiumeker was an anthropomorphic god of procreation. His main center of worship is in the temple complex at Musawwarat el-Sufra in the desert east of the sixth cataract of the Nile.

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Gold, fused glass ring of Queen Amanishakheto, Meroitic, 35 BC-20 BC.; (right) Meroitic deity Sebiumeker

Queen Amanishaketo and her Treasures
From Wad Ban Naqa

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Broad collar; shell, stone, carnelian, faience, glass

Signet Rings

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(left) Gold ring; The concluding scene of a sacred marriage is represented here, the crown prince between the king and queen, (right) Gold ring; An enthroned ruler holds a staff in each hand.

Amanishaketo was the daughter of a queen and the wife of a brother whom she survived. Her successor was her daughter, Amanitore, who is mentioned in the Bible (Acts 8:27).

This remarkable woman must have possessed vast wealth and power, considering the pyramid where she lay buried and the treasures that surrounded her in her death. In 1832 her pyramid at Wad Ban Naqa was leveled to the ground by the explorer Giuseppe Ferlini, then working in Meroe as a treasure hunter. Here was found her residence and several temples. Her mud brick palace is one of the largest identified to date. It measures some 61 meters in length and covers an area of some 3,700 squares meters. The ground floor contained over 60 rooms for various purposes. This palace originally had a second story as the remains of columns found on the ground floor indicate, and this may have contained an atrium, a design feature paralleled elsewhere.

Pyramid N6 of Queen Amanishaketo, before it was destroyed.

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The treasure itself is remarkable for the variety of types and materials used. It contained ten bracelets, nine so-called shield rings, sixty-seven signet rings, two armbands, and an extraordinary number of loose amulets and elements belonging to necklaces and other articles. Most of the articles were created especially for Queen Amanishakheto, although a few were heirlooms, and almost all of the jewelry appears to have been created by Nubian artists in the Kingdom of Meroe.

References: Daily Life of the Nubians, Robert Steven Bianchi, Oct. 2004 and; Sudan: Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile, Dietrich Wildung, (1997)

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Clyde Winters
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Funerary Stela of Meteye


This Stela dates back to the 2nd to 3rd Centuries. It is has a reddish-white undercoat. It comes from Grave 275, Karanog. The stela is located in Cairo, Egyptian Museum JE40229.

The couple Meteye and Abakharta stand under the inner wings of the sun disk. Meteye wares her hair with a topknot and cornrows. This man may be either Meteye’s husband or father. (I am uncertain because the words ab-a can be interpreted as ‘[her] father’. If this is the correct reading aba Kharta would mean ‘her father Kharta’.)

The grave was excavated by Woolley-Randall-MacIver at Karanog. The skeleton in the grave was of a woman. The pointed breast on the figure indicate that she was a young women. Standing side by side suggest that this man was her husband. Since the grave contained only one skeleton we can imagine that Abakharta was depicted on this stela to show his devotion to his wife.

There are three sets of inscription on this stela. There are inscriptions in front of Meteye and Abakharta, and an inscription between the legs of Abakharta.

Reading from right to left beginning with the inscription between the legs of Abakharta, then the inscription before Abakharta and finally the one in front of Meteye we have the following:

Inscription between Abakharta’s legs.

P .. š ….o ….

“Pray for the patron to commence……”

Inscription in front of the man:

Wosi .. ne. Sore… yi-ne. Abkharta… ke ….lo …..wi-ne... a…kh…m…še..

“ Isis the Good. Osiris the eternal. Abakharta gives permission (for) the offering of this Object of Respect (Meteye) to acquire greatness (and) protection.”

Inscription in front of the woman:

Woš..i-ne…šore.. yi-ne..Meteye…qo …wi…ato ….mh…ene… š.. o-a….tene


“Isis the good. Osiris the eternal. Meteye , renew (her) honor down the path (to) abundant alms giving. The patron [Meteye] has commenced the Rebirth”.


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Clyde Winters
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Tedeqen Funerary Tablet

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Inscription under the gods:

[………] lo…. wi-ne ….šo ….tk ….te

Translation:

“Dispatch (this) Object of Respect [Tedeqen] to live and to reflect (on good)—may (it go forth).”

Inscription on the funerary tablet reading from left to right and around the tablet :


Wosi …i-ne …a…. šore ….. yi-ne ….tedeqen ….qo-ne …ah ..d …s-ne-l …. d …h … lo-ne… me …ň …tone …e ….ri-ne …..ke …. li-ne …..e … ri …ke …lo… ne … atom … lo ..ne ….el … h …..tene ….al …ml …ol

Translation

“Isis the Good, Osiris the eternal. Tedeqen to live good (and) to acquire a lasting legacy (of Good). The patron’s legacy (is for) the Kha’s transmigration , measure the Good Rebirth (now). Give withdrawal (to the Kha) for revitalization (and) exaltation. Register the sendoff (of the Kha) to invigorate the good offering (of Tedeqen). He is to be (re)born to transmit Good (as his) gift (to mankind). The Kha’s noble (re)birth (of a) grand soul.”

....

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Myra Wysinger
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Another Tedeqen Artifact:

Funerary stelae of Prince Tedeqen, circa 100-200 B.C.

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Clyde could you translate the bottom of this stelae: Thanks

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Offering Stela of Tedeqeň

Translation by Clyde Winters:


Woš-i-ne …Tdeqeň …ne …ĥ …ml …. ol … ħo ….lk …tene ..at …mlo …ne… p … rem … eš …. d …. o … tl … wi-ne … el …ĥ …tene ….ete …. eš …. d…. ot …. el … ĥ … tene …ĥe …. ra …. Ke-ne-l ….l …d …tene.

Translation

[Oh] Good Isis (give) Tedeqeň kha, grand inner heart (and) soul to behold the path of rebirth. The good inner heart prays to witness (its) manifestation. (This) bequeathal to open (and) elevate the Object of Respect (i.e., Tedeqeň) gift (of the) Kha’s rebirth (Oh Isis). You give the manifestation of the bequeathal prestige. The gift (of) the Kha’s (and the) external body’s rebirth . Indeed [Tedeqeň] revitalization (will) be the rebirth of the bequeathal (of the Kha).

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Myra Wysinger
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Head From a Royal Statute
Sandstone
From Gebel Barkal, Temple B 500, room B 514
Harvard University-MFA Boston Expedition, 1916, field no. 16-4-286
Meroitic, beginning of the Christian era
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts 24.1797

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This head was excavated in 1916, but only rediscovered in a storage magazine in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1989. Of exemplary artistic quality, it makes a welcome addition to the corpus of Meroitic art. Traces of Egyptian blue are still preserved on the once inlaid eyes; the face appears to have been gilded. Above the brow a depression meant to take a uraeus is visible. The distinctive cheekbones and full lips give the face its "African" appearance. The findspot, directly in front of the sanctuaries of Great Amun Temple at Gebel Barka, support then statue's original locate" innermost temple area. This portion of the temple was restored by Natakamani and Amanitore beginning of the Christian era, and stylistic criteria point to a date in this period for the head. It is likely, then, that either King Natakame or Amanitore, great builders in several cities in the kingdom of Meroe, is represented in this extraordinary portrait. -- T. Kendall


From Meroe, town; Building KC 104
Excavations of the University of Calgary and the
University of Khartoum (P. Shinnie) 1976, field no. 6682
Meroitic
Khartoum, National Museum 24556

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The hairstyle identifies this head as a female who, to judge from the over-life-size format, may have belonged to the royal family. The beard support at the chin is not unexpected, since Meroitic queens often wore the ceremonial beard as an emblem of their royal status. With its bulging eyes and full lips, the head belongs stylistically in the first to second century A.D. Additional clues may be expected from the forthcoming excavation report. -- T. Kendall

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Clyde Winters
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Hi Myra below is the decipherment of the Stela. I don’t know how to publish your picture of the artifact with the decipherment. Why don’t you copy the text below and place it below the artifact you published.

Offering Stela of Tedeqeň

Transliteration


Woš-i-ne …Tdeqeň …ne …ĥ …ml …. ol … ħo ….lk …tene ..at …mlo …ne… p … rem … eš …. d …. o … tl … wi-ne … el …ĥ …tene ….ete …. eš …. d…. ot …. el … ĥ … tene …ĥe …. ra …. Ke-ne-l ….l …d …tene.

Translation

[Oh] Good Isis (give) Tedeqeň kha, grand inner heart (and) soul to behold the path of rebirth. The good inner heart prays to witness (its) manifestation. (This) bequeathal to open (and) elevate the Object of Respect (i.e., Tedeqeň) gift (of the) Kha’s rebirth (Oh Isis). You give the manifestation of the bequeathal prestige. The gift (of) the Kha’s (and the) external body’s rebirth . Indeed [Tedeqeň] revitalization (will) be the rebirth of the bequeathal (of the Kha).



You can learn more about the Meroitic religion from my article on Meroitic religion published at Arkamani see :

http://www.arkamani.org/arkamani-library/meroitic/meroitic-religion.htm


......

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Myra Wysinger
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Thanks Clyde. I'm most curious. How long did it take to translate that last one?
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Clyde Winters
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Hi Myra

It didn't take that long to decipher the stela because most of the funerary inscriptions are formulaic in that they have a specific pattern in which they are written.

The Offering Tablets have the following pattern:

1. Invocation to the Gods

2. Name of deceased

3. Sometimes, the name of relative making the offering of the deceased person

4. The wish statement of the deceased requesting his/her passage to rebirth.

Often Anubis & Nephtys are depicted on the stela or tablet pouring libations.

I would estimate that it took me around 30-60 minutes to read the text. First I have to transliterate the text. This takes the most time because I am usually reading the text from photographs in books since I don't have access to the original text.

--------------------
C. A. Winters

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Myra Wysinger
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quote:
Originally posted by Clyde Winters:
Hi Myra

It didn't take that long to decipher the stela because most of the funerary inscriptions are formulaic in that they have a specific pattern in which they are written.

The Offering Tablets have the following pattern:

1. Invocation to the Gods

2. Name of deceased

3. Sometimes, the name of relative making the offering of the deceased person

4. The wish statement of the deceased requesting his/her passage to rebirth.

Often Anubis & Nephtys are depicted on the stela or tablet pouring libations.

I would estimate that it took me around 30-60 minutes to read the text. First I have to transliterate the text. This takes the most time because I am usually reading the text from photographs in books since I don't have access to the original text.

Greetings:

That is VERY informative. Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions Dr. Winters.

Due to your translations, [past and present], I've been able to spot names of the Meroitic royal family to further my research. [Wink]

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Clyde Winters
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myra
quote:
Greetings:

That is VERY informative. Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions Dr. Winters.

Due to your translations, [past and present], I've been able to spot names of the Meroitic royal family to further my research.

I am glad I could help. Over the years I have deciphered many Meroitic inscriptions in the search for Meroitic "historical documents". Some years ago I heard of the Qasr Ibrim 1420 stela, which someone said mentioned Akinidad. This is a very important stela because it provided information on the death of Akinidad and noted that the city was once ruled by this prince.

I do not have permission to publish the stela. But parts of it I hope to publish in an article on Akinidad which will be published one day in Nubica et Ethiopia. Given the fact that this city was controlled both by the Romans and Meroites I am sure that there are other important documents at Qasr Ibrim on the Meroitic-Roman conflict. As a result I can't wait until more Meroitic documents are published from this site so I can see what other goodies are found among these Meroitic records.

......

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alTakruri
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Great contributions here well worth bumping up.

--------------------
Intellectual property of YYT al~Takruri © 2004 - 2017. All rights reserved.

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Israel
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Wow. Dr. Winters, forgive me for asking a stupid question. The fact was that I thought I knew a little something about Ancient Egypt, Nubia, etc., till I came to this site: MAN, I am learning alot! This is my question: I thought that the ancient language of Meroe, Ancient Nubia, etc., wasn't decipherable. Now that I know that it is translatable, can you explain the details for me? Is it only the language from Ancient Meroe that is translatable, or can we read Nubian documents from before 1,000 B.C.E.? Thanks.
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kenndo
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quote:
Originally posted by Israel:
Wow. Dr. Winters, forgive me for asking a stupid question. The fact was that I thought I knew a little something about Ancient Egypt, Nubia, etc., till I came to this site: MAN, I am learning alot! This is my question: I thought that the ancient language of Meroe, Ancient Nubia, etc., wasn't decipherable. Now that I know that it is translatable, can you explain the details for me? Is it only the language from Ancient Meroe that is translatable, or can we read Nubian documents from before 1,000 B.C.E.? Thanks.

yes scholars could.kush used egyptian writing for thier documents in the egyptian new kindgom,later kerma before egypt conqured them and they used it after they free themselves from egypt after the new kingdom,but egyptian writing was use more so starting in the 8th century b.c.

THE first meriotic script used egyptian script for thier own language around 275b.c. but it was different,because it became a fully developed alphabet and it became more advanced once they created thier own cursive script around 180 b.c. and it advanced further later.
egyptian writing was used once again for a short time along with this script in the early first century a.d.

meriotic not used after 440 a.d. anymore,and greek was used along with egytian coptic.

Early medieval nubia had thier own script again called old nubian,but most of the letters were in greek but there was three meriotic letters used in this script too.later arabic was used along with nubian,greek and coptic,so alot of scripts were used during the medieval period.In early modern times after 1504,arabic script was only used,but now in recent history the nubian script is back.
So all of the writing after 440 a.d. could be fully understood and writing could understood before meriotic.
SOME of THE meriotic writing could be understood,but most of it still can't be undestood,but slow progess is happening,but all of it could be read however,but for the time being most can't be understood yet.SCHOLARS are using computers and other ways to make the script fully understood today and hopefully there would be a full understanding of it.

edited

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Clyde Winters
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Israel
quote:


Wow. Dr. Winters, forgive me for asking a stupid question. The fact was that I thought I knew a little something about Ancient Egypt, Nubia, etc., till I came to this site: MAN, I am learning alot! This is my question: I thought that the ancient language of Meroe, Ancient Nubia, etc., wasn't decipherable. Now that I know that it is translatable, can you explain the details for me? Is it only the language from Ancient Meroe that is translatable, or can we read Nubian documents from before 1,000 B.C.E.? Thanks.

Kenndo has already discussed the Nubian writing.

I have written a detailed grammar of Meroitic but it is being considered for publication so I can not give you a copy of this text.

You can find out more about my decipherment at the following sites:

http://geocities.com/olmec982000/meroitic.pdf

Below is a paper that explains my decipherment.

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bay/7051/kush1.htm

http://geocities.com/olmec982000/meroitic.pdf

Below is a paper that discuss the origin of writing in Africa.

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bay/7051/anwrite.htm


.

--------------------
C. A. Winters

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Israel
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Thanks Dr. Winters.....I hope that these discoveries will help to unveil the truth of our historical past. Salaam
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Clyde Winters
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^Thanks for the support

--------------------
C. A. Winters

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Myra Wysinger
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Anklet, Meroitic period, 100–250 BC
Meroitic; from Faras, Lower Nubia, cemetery 1, grave 186
Bronze
Gift of Oxford University Expedition to Nubia, 1926

Kushite artists of the Meroitic period were noted for their fine metalworking skills. The Museum owns none of the exquisite inlaid cloisonné and gold jewelry produced during this period, but this heavy bronze anklet with its finely incised decoration gives some idea of their talent for working bronze, a much harder metal than gold. - Metropolitan Museum of Art.


Meroitic royalty
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Statue of Queen Shanakdakhete (170-150 BCE) ruling queen of Kush, and a male member of her family giving her royal power.

Her name is carved in a ruined temple where the earliest inscriptions in Meroitic hieroglyphic writing are found. Her pyramid at Meroe is one of the largest ever built for a Kushite ruler. It has a unique chapel with two rooms and two pylons. The chapel is among the most elaborately carved of any known. The scenes in the chapel show military campaigns to the south and the capture of numerous cattle and prisoners.


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Red sandstone relief from the pyramid chapel of Queen Shanakdakhete

From Meroe, Nubia
Meroitic Period

First female ruler of the Meroitic Period

The royal cemetery at Meroe has given the name 'Meroitic' to the later stages of rule by the Kushite kings. The Meroitic script has been deciphered, but the language is still not fully understood. This wall comes from one of the small steep-sided pyramids with chapels in which the rulers were buried. It was probably that of Queen Shanakdakhete, the first female ruler. She appears here enthroned with a prince, and protected by a winged Isis. In front of her are rows of offering bearers and also scenes of rituals including the judgement of the queen before Osiris.

The term 'Kush' or 'Kushite' refers to Nubian ruling powers. Nubian royalty were buried at el-Kurru, Nuri, Gebel Barkal, and Meroe. - The British Museum


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Sandstone
Meroitic
Museum purchase: 1922.145

Prince Arikankharer Slaying His Enemies, 25-41 AD

Contemporary with early imperial Rome, the Meroitic civilization flourished along the fertile banks of the Nile River in the land of Kush in what is now the Sudan. This African dynasty traded not only with Egypt to the north but also with Greece, Rome, and peoples of the Near East. Consequently, official Meroitic art reflects the absorption of external influences adapted to serve local rulers.

Arikankharer belonged to the black royal house of Kush, whose capital was at Meroe. Although the crown prince died before he could come to power, this superbly carved, raised relief shows him as a vigorous, victorious conqueror. Behind him floats a female Winged Victory, brushing away flies, while between his legs a vicious dog mutilates a fallen enemy. The prince's father is King Natakamani. Distinctly Meroitic in style and detail are the compact proportions, round head, curly hair, oversized eyes, flabby neck, and broad shoulders of the prince as well as the portrayal of fear in the faces of the vanquished. The body is shown with the imperial stride, and with the "slaying the ememy" pose which were found at other Meroitic archological sites. - Worcester Art Museum, Maine

King Natakamani

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Hikuptah
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Mr Winters i am a linguist as well and i cant help but to see the similarities with the Siniatic script as well as the Ethiopic/Sabean with the Meroitic i was wondering since u have more experience with merotic than i do but there characters seem similar. In all of those Tablets is see the Hebrew Shin which is a W as well as the S and the N in Ethiopic i remember we were talking about the Meroitic and u mention that it was similar to the Dravidian Languages.

Mr. Winters one more thing i heard that Latin Greek German & English come from sanskrit is this true.

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Hikuptah Al-Masri

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Clyde Winters
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Hikuptah
quote:

Mr Winters i am a linguist as well and i cant help but to see the similarities with the Siniatic script as well as the Ethiopic/Sabean with the Meroitic i was wondering since u have more experience with merotic than i do but there characters seem similar. In all of those Tablets is see the Hebrew Shin which is a W as well as the S and the N in Ethiopic i remember we were talking about the Meroitic and u mention that it was similar to the Dravidian Languages.

Mr. Winters one more thing i heard that Latin Greek German & English come from sanskrit is this true.


First of all Latin , Greek and German did not come from Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a lingua franca, It was used in Northern India to provide a means of communication between the diverse people who lived in the region.

The Sanskrit -Indo-European language connection comes from the fact that when Sanskrit was invented there were Greek speakers already present in India. This is proven by Panini, author of one of the earliest Sanskrit grammar mention of these people. As a result, the relationship between Sanskrit and Greek is probably the result of Greeks and Indians living in a former state of bilingualism resulting from Alexander the Great's conquest of South Asia.

You are right about the similarities between Siniatic script, Ethiopic and the other writing systems.
 -

In the graphic above you can clearly see how all of the signs in this illustration from throughout Africa and Asia are related.

 -
In many cases, these signs have the same sound. The oldest examples of these signs come from the Sahara .

The authors of these writing systems the Dravidians, Elamites, Sumerians , Egyptians, Manding, Xia spoke similar and related languages.
I call these people Proto-Saharans. Below is an article that discusses the Proto-Saharans

Fertile African Crescent

Proto-Saharans

In addition, the Proto-Saharans shared a common religion.

Proto-Saharan Religion

This results from the fact that the history of African writing is much more complicated than the traditional view that writing began in Africa with Egyptian hieroglyphics.

I provide a detailed discussion of this tradition of African literacy at the following website:
Middle African Writing System

Read this paper and then maybe we can discuss this matter further.

.

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Djehuti
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^So in other words-- Sanskrit, Ethiopic, and Manding are all related both in script and in actual linguistics.

Whatever you say, Clyde. [Wink] LOL [Big Grin]

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Hikuptah
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Mr.Winters so how did this writing system reach Ethiopia and are the ethiopians really ancient Saharans.

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Hikuptah Al-Masri

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Djehuti
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No, because according to Winters the ancient Saharans were Mande peoples who spread their languages as far east as India. All of this is rubbish. I don't think there is any evidence of the ancient Saharans migrating into Ethiopia, let alone Mande speakers of West Africa! And non have anything to do with Dravidian or even Indo-European Sanskrita of India!
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Hikuptah
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So Djehuti no ancient Saharan ever migrated into Modern Day Ethiopia but they have migrated to Sudan i disagree with that.

So the ancient people of the Sahara were are they know and are they older than modern peoples of Sudan.

--------------------
Hikuptah Al-Masri

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Clyde Winters
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Hikuptah
quote:

Mr.Winters so how did this writing system reach Ethiopia and are the ethiopians really ancient Saharans.


I believe that the Ethiopians were ancient Saharans. The Ethiopians probably learned this writing in the Sahara and used it to write their own language.

The original writing system of the Saharans was a syllabary. The Ethiopians modified the syllabary into a semi-syllabary/"alphabetic" script to write numerous Semitic languages: Themudic, Sabaean, Ge'ez .

I prefer to call the Semitic speakers of Africa, Punites since many of them live in the area the Egyptians called Punt.

The people of Punt lived in an area stretching from the Eastern desert of Egypt, eastward to the Red Sea, and Central Africa. These people spoke Puntite/Semitic languages. This group of Africoids lived in the Eastern Desert and the Red Sea Hills. Whereas most Africans are clean shaven the Puntites preferred to wear beards. The boats of these Easterners are found engraved at prehistoric sites in Mesopotamia. In the Egyptian records the standard
of the Easterners was the Set animal.

It also appears that Puntite speakers lived in the Proto-Sahara in modern Libya. As early as 2500 B.C. , Puntite people migrated into North Africa. Josephus maintained in Antiquities, that the people of Punt founded Libya. The Bible says:
"...[T]he Libyans that handle the shield" (Jeremiah 46:9).
"Persia, Ethiopia and Libya with them; all of them with
shield and helmet" (Ezekiel 38:5).

This passage from the Bible, makes it clear that many people of Persia and modern Ethiopia originally had lived in Libya. This supports the Bible's listing of the Libyans , Persians and Ethiopians as analogous ethnic groups.

The Puntites are mentioned in Egyptian or Kemetic literature as invading this area around 2400 B.C., according to the text of Herkhut,found at Aswan, written during the VIth Dynasty of Egypt.

The Egyptian traditions tell us that there was a struggle between Set and Horus which took place in Nubia. This story indicates that in ancient times Semitic-speaking people formerly lived in Nubia; this explains the Egyptian identification of Punt or Pwene as "the land of
the gods" (Ullendorf 1973).

This view is supported by the archaeological evidence that support a close relationship between the Puntites/ Ethiopians and Nubians. For example, according to Fattovich, the pottery from Tihama Cultural Complex and other Ethiopian sites shows similarities to the Kerma and C-Group pottery. Given this connection between Ethiopian civilizations and civilizations in Nubia, make it clear that the Ethiopians would have been familiar with the ancient writing system used in this area discussed above.

--------------------
C. A. Winters

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The earliest suggested dates for the Bronze Age cultures of S.W Arabia
go back exactly to the mid-2nd milennium dates where we find the
Tihama coastal culture established, probably as a colonization from
the African shores, where a pastoral group probably related to the
Pan-Grave people (Miluhhans?) was extending their control over
the Gash culture and towards the Atbara to Meroe. (This is the
same date given by the ancients for the settlement of the Blemmyan
"Indians" in the Nile Valley). The pillbox or cheesecake burial monuments which we know from Oman and from OK Lower Nubia both starting from the late 3d milennium BC can be traced across
Dhofar, the Gara mts, to Hadramaut, Qataban, Ausan, Aden, and the Wadi Jawf to Najran and Main areas, the Asir & the Tihama.




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Yom
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quote:
Originally posted by Hikuptah:
So Djehuti no ancient Saharan ever migrated into Modern Day Ethiopia but they have migrated to Sudan i disagree with that.

So the ancient people of the Sahara were are they know and are they older than modern peoples of Sudan.

I'm sure there were some migrations, but they were relatively limited. Migration tended to go in the other direction in the Holocene (spread of E3b), and Saharan influences are limited to some pottery influences on the Tihama cultural complex and Gash group (as Winters said above). There were no major migrations during this period, however.

As to writing, Mr. Winters is mistaken. I'm not aware of any ancient syllabic Saharan writing system. The Ethiopian writing system ultimately comes from the Egyptian hieroglyphs through the Proto-Sinaitic script. This further developed into what is called the Epigraphic South Arabian script (but the first examples of this script are found in Ethiopia and Eritrea, not Yemen), and then into Ge'ez, which became an "Abugida" (a semi-syllabic script where each consonant can be given an inherent vowel) in the 4th century, like the Indian Brahmic scripts (which may have been an inspiration).

Proto-Sinaitic probably would have spread to Ethiopia/Eritrea and Yemen (the Tihama) along the coastal area during the 2nd millenium BC (after the 1st intermediate period when Proto-Sinaitic might have formed) due to trade with Punt.

One scholar's view (same ANE list):

quote:
Moreover the question of the spread of the language is probably quite different than
the spread of the alphabet. The new dating for the latter (the end of the 2nd mil, or
even if it's the very early lst mil) strongly suggests it travelled via the sea trade through
Adulis and the coastal Tihama culture to Subr near Aden and on to Hadramaut .
The highlands simply were not involved in much interregional trade at that time,
and the oases cities and the camel trade were only just picking up momentum.
Whereas the coastal areas had been in touch with Punt and Dhofar and possibly
Oman (therefore indirectly with Eg & Msp) for milennia. (Infra)

Read p. 93-95 in Edens, C. & Wilkinson, T.J. (1998). “Southwest Arabia during
the Holocene,” in J. of World Prehistory. 12, section called Epigraphic Chronology,
in which they sum up the archaeologists' raising of the dates for the appearance
of writing in the highlands. At Ad-Durayb 30 km W of Marib de Maigret finds 3
inscribed sherds in startum B (dated 1050-830 BC) and they call this 12th-9th c.
At Hajar ar -Rayhani, the largest town in Wadi Jubah, Glanzman finds 4 inscribed
sherds from the 2nd Occup Phase, which consists of ashy layers without
architecture and is dated by RC to the early lst milennium or slightly earlier.,
which is called 11th-8th c BC. The conclusion, Edens and Wilkinson, op cit
p 95: "The stratigraphic context of these inscribed sherds establish that a
writing system appeared in S. Arabia perhap as early as the 12-11th c BC,
seemingly well before the first identified monumental inscriptions (perhaps
early the 8th c BC). This conclusion requires that the South Arabian writing
system was borrowed from northern antecedents as early as the Late Bronze Age."

But this would mean a gap of 3-400 years! If instead we chose the lower dates,
writing could have come as late as the 9th c. and inscriptions started as early as
the 8th.. doesn't that make a lot more sense? Imagine us having an alphabet in
the Renaissance and never cutting an inscription till today! A stray merchant from a
literate culture can leave behind a sherd or an insignia without that meaning that
the local culture has become literate. Although apparently some have put a
13th c date on the time of divergence of the ESA alphabet from its northern
ancestors based on factors of consonant coalescence in the N. not shared in
by ESA, I'm not clear why this means this system would have had to have REACHED
S. Arabia that soon, for it could have spent quite a while in the Hejaz, in Punt,
or in some intermediate home before pushing on to colonize the inland oases of Saba.
(What ever happened to Minaean Dedan? as an earlier more northerly stage of
this culture?)

This is the real beauty of Punt having leapfrogged from Somaliland,
past the Yemen to land in the Suakin to Adulis area. Why would
W.Semitic languages (or alphabets!) coming from the north skip this
area, go straight to the Yemen, then come back here as colonizers??
What is the evidence for such an improbability , more than the old
fixation that the Queen of Saba or Sabaean merchants introduced Semitic
languages (and "civilization") to Ethiopia..

Here what Edens and Wilkinson, op cit. have to say about the
implications of these geo-chronological paradigmatic shifts.
After examining the new higher chronology pushing back the origins
of writing in Saba to the end of the LBA , they go on to draw the important
conclusion: significant contact with the Levant at this early date would not have
been by camel caravan but by sea, via the land of Punt. Here's an exerpt from
their section on the Tihama in the Iron Age:

p 105 "Its variety of exotic goods, including a relative abundance of
metalwork, distinguishes the Subr-Sihi complex [the Eastern
end of Zarins' & Kitchen's "Afro-Tihama culture"] from the situation
elsewhere in SW Arabia during the late 2nd milennium and, presumably,
reflects active seaborne connections with neighboring regions. The
implication of maritime traffic connecting SW Arabia with the African coast
at this time suggests involvement of communities of the Tihama with Punt,
well known from the Egyptian records. Although the distinctive Subr-Sihi pottery
appears as far away as the Hadramawt (Zarins & Zahrani, 1985, p 95-6)
early maritime trade would have left largely untouched highland and desert fringe
communities, helping to account for the air of greater prosperity in the large
coastal communities early in the Iron Age."

In case you think these civilizing influences imparted from the Eg-Punt trade
(writing, monumental architecture, and even the introduction of Semitic --
if Proto-Semitic wasn't already in the area since the Ubaid!! )simply by-passed
the Ethiopian plateau, they have already made it clear that this area was an
integral part of this interregional communication : After examining its connections
to C Group, Pan Grave, etc. African ceramics: "The Subr-Sihi group may also be
related to pre- Axumite materials in Ethiopia, where burnished wares with incised
geometric motifs and several vessel forms bear comparison with materials from the
lower levels at Matara and from the Ona culture in Hamasen (refs)." (p 105).

So the odds are that the alphabet and W. Semitic language reached coastal
Eritrea before it reached Yemen, certainly before it reached Highland Yemen.
What northerners needed from S. Arabia was really only the frankincense of
Dhofar. Gold, ivory, timber, all the rest of it, were much nearer and more easily
available on the African side of the sea. So the archaeology of the Yemen
highlands, as well as the oasis states which rose to prominence in the lst milennium,
indicates that these inland areas had very little contact with the outer world at all before
the early first milennium, by comparison with the age-old cosmopolitan commerce of
the coastal areas, which were the terminus of the sea routes from Dhofar. (or
the Hadramaut as the terminus of a land route?)

There are other good discussions in this article about why the camel caravans
were only just beginning at this time, and that evidence of camel bones don't
become significant till the mid lst milennium, paralleled by the evidence of
S Arabian script, cuboid incense burners, etc. in the S Levant, also not till
the mid 1st. Thus you can't have it both ways. If you want "civilizing" Sabaeans
in Ethiopia transmitting such things as writing, monumental architecture, etc.
you've got to keep it in the mid lst milennium. If you want to push the Sabaean
"civilization" backward to the end of the 2nd milennium (by processes which even
Kitchen admits are highly hypothetical) then you have to admit the "civilizing"
influences arriving by sea, via the Ethiopian coast. So the question of who is the
donor and who the recipient of these common cultural traits is still up in the air,
especially as D'MT sites dated by their epigraphy will slide back along with their
cohorts in Yemen. The real problem, again, is that the key node in the network,
the Eritrean coast, the harbors of Punt, Adulis, Gabaza, Sabea, etc. have not
been excavated or are covered by modern cities.

Source

Note that despite what is said above, the Highlands were part of the Tihama cultural complex (above he says that parts of them, like Ona and Hamasien may have been, but it seems that actually most of the Tigray plateau was involved).

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Clyde Winters
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Yom
quote:


As to writing, Mr. Winters is mistaken. I'm not aware of any ancient syllabic Saharan writing system. The Ethiopian writing system ultimately comes from the Egyptian hieroglyphs through the Proto-Sinaitic script. This further developed into what is called the Epigraphic South Arabian script (but the first examples of this script are found in Ethiopia and Eritrea, not Yemen), and then into Ge'ez, which became an "Abugida" (a semi-syllabic script where each consonant can be given an inherent vowel) in the 4th century, like the Indian Brahmic scripts (which may have been an inspiration).



 -
Ancient Saharan Writing


Qued Mertoutek

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Yom
quote:


As to writing, Mr. Winters is mistaken. I'm not aware of any ancient syllabic Saharan writing system. The Ethiopian writing system ultimately comes from the Egyptian hieroglyphs through the Proto-Sinaitic script. This further developed into what is called the Epigraphic South Arabian script (but the first examples of this script are found in Ethiopia and Eritrea, not Yemen), and then into Ge'ez, which became an "Abugida" (a semi-syllabic script where each consonant can be given an inherent vowel) in the 4th century, like the Indian Brahmic scripts (which may have been an inspiration).


Please provide examples of this alleged transition from Heiroglyphic writing to Sinaitic.

.

--------------------
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So Mr. Winters and Yom Is it safe to Say that People populated the Sahara before they Populated East AFrica Ethipia Eritrea Somalia Sudan. From the Sahara AFricans spread into West East South then spread into Arabia then Asia.

--------------------
Hikuptah Al-Masri

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No, it's the other way around. East Africa first, Sahara later.

I will respond to Mr. Winters later, when I have more time (could be in a week, though). Note that the transition from Heiroglphic to Proto-Sinaitic is pretty certain and widely accepted by the archaeological community due to the similarity of shapes. When I have more free time I'll provide some citations.

--------------------
"Oh the sons of Ethiopia; observe with care; the country called Ethiopia is, first, your mother; second, your throne; third, your wife; fourth, your child; fifth, your grave." - Ras Alula Aba Nega.

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Yom

quote:


No, it's the other way around. East Africa first, Sahara later.



What archaeological evidence do you possess to support this hypothesis?


.

--------------------
C. A. Winters

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quote:
Originally posted by Clyde Winters:
Yom

quote:


No, it's the other way around. East Africa first, Sahara later.



What archaeological evidence do you possess to support this hypothesis?


.

This is based on genetics, which has been thoroughly discussed at Egyptsearch in other threads.
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This genetic evidence relates to 25,000-60,000 ybp. How does this genetic evidence relate to the period between 3000-1200 BC, when the earliest urban cultures and civilizations appear in the Sahara and spread to Ethiopia?


.

--------------------
C. A. Winters

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quote:
Originally posted by Clyde Winters:
This genetic evidence relates to 25,000-60,000 ybp. How does this genetic evidence relate to the period between 3000-1200 BC, when the earliest urban cultures and civilizations appear in the Sahara and spread to Ethiopia?


.

No one's talking about cultures or civilization, here. I'm saying that people spread to the Sahara from East Africa mainly in the period 25,000-10,000 BP. Of course this also happened between 25kya and 60 kya when the area was [i]first[/b] populated, but that's not what I'm talking about.

What you are talking about is cultures and complexes, which is a completely different subject altogether (and I don't propose that these things were introduced from East Africa).

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So Cultures and Complexes started off in the Sahara first than moved to the rest of Africa but why didnt these africans who were in East Africa first create cultures and complexes why did they need to start once they got to the Sahara.

--------------------
Hikuptah Al-Masri

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