Mast (hieroglyph)

Ship's Mast
in hieroglyphs
Mast
hieroglyph #2
in hieroglyphs

The ancient Egyptian ship's mast hieroglyph is one of the oldest language hieroglyphs from Ancient Egypt. It is used on a famous label of Pharaoh Den of the First dynasty, but forms part of the location hieroglyph: Emblem of the East.

Nectanebo II's obelisk uses the ship's mast hieroglyph when describing the construction of his obelisk; in a S-emphatic word construct he adds a vertical S, the folded cloth, Gardiner no. S29, , at the beginning of the word "to erect". (see here, high res: [1], low res: [2])

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Language usage of ship's mast

The hieroglyphic language equivalent of the mast is 'kh'-('ḥ'), and means "to stand erect", or "to stand vertical"; its use is extensive throughout the language history, and hieroglyphic tomb reliefs and story-telling of Ancient Egypt. It is possibly a forerunner hieroglyph to khā-(now spelled: kh3), the sun rising upon the horizon.

Rosetta Stone usage

In the 198 BC Rosetta Stone, the ship's mast hieroglyph has the unique usage in the final line of the Ptolemy V decree: the mast is used twice-(adjective, verb):

engrave the decree..: "...upon a vertical-(mast) stone stele"..in the 3-language scripts, .."Shall be made to stand it in the sanctuaries in temples all..."
Preceded by

shield-with-arm -- 'ḥa
mast -- 'h'
'ḥ'		 Succeeded by

brazier-(hieroglyph)
'(kh)
'ḥ
Succeeded by
,
brazier -- lizard
'(kh) -- '(sh)
'ḥ -- 'š

See also

References