Ancient/Classical History/reading of atshapsut cartouche

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Expert: - 1/12/2010


Question

Ħatshapsut obelis
this suposed to be the cartouche of Ħatshapsut, it is on her obelisk in No-Amon (karnak).
I tried to read it. I must say i have no knowledge in hieroglyphs. The first (upper) three characters are IMN (amon). After that i could idenify ĦAT HAT (W9 X1 F4 X1), a symbol of king,  and symbol of plural (three lins).
What is realy written here and what is its meaning?


Answer
Hi Eitan,

you are certainly on the right track. The cartouche reads: Hatshepsut  Who Loved Amon.

The name Amon you already correctly identified as the first three characters. The name Hatshepsut is written with the character of the lion (F4), the character of the king (A51), the character of bread (X1) and the three lines (Z2). If we transcribe this it reads: Hat sps wt

The name 'Who Loved Amon' is written with the character of the jug (W9) and the character X1. Transcribed this reads: hnmt

The name Hatshepsut means "Foremost of noble ladies"

The entire cartouche reads thus: Henemet Amon Hatshepsut (Foremost of noble ladies  Who Loved Amon)


I hope this answers your question.  
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentThank you very much for your precise, detailed, clear and complete, and also prompt answer. I find it enlightening. best regards, eitan


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