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])

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

Ship's Mast on label of Pharaoh Den, 1st Dynasty.

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..."

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  From right, hieroglyphs: sedge of the South, Papyrus clump with leaves of North-Nile Delta, wife-hieroglyph, the tree-hieroglyph, and the Ship's Mast hieroglyph

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  Cartouche amulet, with variant form of mast hieroglyph

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  Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt: Palermo stone fragment

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  Nectanebo II obelisk, stating the he 'erected' the obelisk, (using the Mast-hieroglyph)

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

• Gardiner's Sign List#P. Ships and Parts of Ships
• Gardiner's Sign List#U. Agriculture, Crafts, and Professions
• Sun rising-Coronation (hieroglyph)
• List of Egyptian hieroglyphs by common name: M-Z

References

• Budge. An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, E.A.Wallace Budge, (Dover Publications), c 1978, (c 1920), Dover edition, 1978. (In two volumes) (softcover, ISBN 0-486-23615-3)
• Budge. The Rosetta Stone, E.A.Wallace Budge, (Dover Publications), c 1929, Dover edition(unabridged), 1989. (softcover, ISBN 0-486-26163-8)