Public and funerary inscriptions in ancient Egypt were usually written in hieroglyphs, a system of writing with each picture or symbol representing a distinct syllable or group of sounds and syllables. Ti-Ameny-Net’s coffin features a section of hieroglyphs translated as:
Words spoken by Imsety: Hail Osiris, Ti-Ameny-Net,
true of voice, possessor of blessedness in the presence
of the great god, Lord of Heaven, the Chief of the gods.
May he give every sort of offering, every sort of provision,
wine, milk, everything which is good and pure,
everything which is pleasing. –Translation by David Howell, 1999
The first hieroglyph of Ti-Ameny-Net’s name is a bird with an open beak, which stands for the sound “pa.” The linear symbols which follow include a human arm holding a cone of incense, “Ti”; the hieroglyphic name of the god Amun; the figure of a man eating; and a circular symbol that resembles a city plan for the sign “Newit,” or town.
Up next: Funerary Iconography