Читать книгу A History of Ancient Egypt - Marc Van De Mieroop - Страница 54

Among the grave goods in tomb U‐j at Abydos were a number of inscribed objects. Some 160 square bone and ivory labels, which were originally tied to bales of cloth or other goods, contained incised signs, while about 125 jars had one or two signs painted on them. Often there are multiple examples of the same inscription. The total number of distinct signs is only some 50, most of them found on more than one object. Those on the labels include numerals and word signs, but almost never on the same object. The jars contain word signs only. The numerals include single digits and a sign for 100. All other signs are pictorial and they mostly depict birds. The excavator of the tombs believes that some signs render entire words, and others the sound of parts of words, as was the case in later Egyptian script, but the evidence is inconclusive. Most of the signs on labels and jars probably indicate the provenance of the products, the name of a region or an estate, while others may render the names of kings and gods. Any actual reading is tentative, however. Yet, the material shows that people at the places of origin and destination of the products all understood the same system.