New hieroglyphs deciphered by Jean-François CHAMPOLLION.

Jean-François CHAMPOLLION (1790.1832)

Autograph letter signed to Knight William Gell, in Rome.

Five pages in-4° illustrated with around thirty hieroglyphic inscriptions.

Autograph address and postal marks. Unpublished letter.

Grenoble, January 4, 1826.

 

“…I so rarely have the opportunity to speak hieroglyphics with someone who listens to me with interest…”

Extraordinary and long letter from the father of Egyptology – previously unpublished – to the archaeologist William Gell, enthusiastically deciphering all the hieroglyphic inscriptions entrusted to his analysis.

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Life, health, strength for my (beloved) friend Gell, loved by the gods

My dear & obliging friend, I have a thousand thanks to give you for the good things that you continue to send me ; so do not be surprised if I find your letters too rare and too short and especially if I rail against your bad head which makes you forget them for two whole months on your desk: in the name of Osiris, and of Amon-Ra s you have to, have a little more memory and I will be sure to have a lot more pleasure : Forgive me for this little grain of selfishness, because it is you who give birth to it by filling me with hieroglyphic riches.

The small inscription from the room of Osiris in Philea (1) means I believe this is the Goddess Isis with her deceased brother Senoufra, Lord of the region of Sanemt (2) if the words [Hieroglyphs] are correct; which I doubt a little, having never encountered a similar region name in the numerous texts that I have been able to consult. I also don't know what to do with the group [H] after [H] ( his brother ). Perhaps there is an omission and it was to express that the goddess Isis was standing at the feet of her brother Osiris-Senoufra. The cartouche [H] is only a variant of [H] (3) Senoufra ; the homophone [H] for [H] .

The inscription of Ibsamboul (4) truly charmed me; I would like to know on which part of the monument it is located: it would be valuable if this was the date of the dedication of the entire monument; here is what I can draw from it despite a few series of undecided characters: The year XXXV, of the month of Tâbi on the 13th under the presidency (I correct [H]) of the Aroeris, powerful friend of Ammon of the lord of the Panegyries as his father the God Phtha ……, of the preserver of the country (I read [H]) …… of the lord above and below , of the child of the gods …… of the great possessor of the years the Guardian King of earthly world (sun guardian of truth approved by the sun) son of the sun manifested in (the rest is missing).

It is therefore very desirable to have the continuation of this inscription which can be of great importance for history ; and it would be good to encourage Mr Wilkinson to obtain a complete copy: I also ask you to recommend to him, if there is still time or if he is able, to have a wet paper . an enormous hieroglyphic inscription engraved on a massif between two pillars of the great temple of Ibsamboul (5) . From what I have been told, it must be an infinitely curious text: it would also be important to copy the cartouches from the small rooms of the same temple. Also recommend that he copy the obelisk of Begyg near the medinet-el-fayoum (6) as well as those of the ruins of San (Tanis). The founding King of the temple of Bet-el-Wayléh (7) whom I already know under the name of Bet-Wally , is indeed [H] (8)  The Sun guardian of Truth, the son of the Sun, beloved of Ammon Ramses ie Ramses II ^, the 4th ^predecessor of Ramses-the-Great-Sesostris.

The king named in Semné [H] (9) Sun lord of the region of Lal (or force), is the last king of the 17th ^legitimate dynasty whose proper name that I found in the hieratic papyri is [ H] (10)  ( [H] ) the Amosis of the Greeks, the one who chased away the shepherds, the father of Aménowtep leader of the 18th ^century .

The other Kings named in the same inscription (which I would be very keen to know if you have it in full) are 1º [H] (11) Tuthmosis II ^e great-grandson of Amosis 2º the other that you m 'indicate only by the incomplete title block [H] must be either its predecessor or its successor. Moreover, the temple of Semné is one of the oldest temples of Egypt and Nubia: it is dedicated to the God Nile and to King Osortasen [H] (12) from the 17th century ^, Bisayeul [sic] of King Amosis the father of the entire 18th ^dynasty .

The legend of the daughter of the royal king's main wife [H] (13) copied at Sebouâ (14) is completely unknown to me, I presume that it is inaccurate: it is probably the name of Berenice -Evergete I ^era : but I would not dare to assure you, I am confused by the two Bs [H] (BB) and by the final [H] as well as by the indecisive characters [H] in the middle of this name.

The cartridges of the Adytum of Dakké (15) those of the King whose-Ammon-tasted-the-life approved by the Sun Arkemen (or Argemen) still alive loved by Isis, have been my despair for 4 years. I do not know to whom to report them except to a king of Ethiopia named Ergamenes by Diodorus of Sicily: but was this Ergamenes (16) Nubia ? This is what should be decided. [H] is a shortened synonym of [H] approved for the sun , very common on beetles. You would give me the greatest pleasure by communicating to me everything you have about the great Ptolemaic inscription of the year XXIV in Philea.

I believe that the sign [H] abbreviation of the group [H] or (gap) expresses Nubia , the country above the cataracts; I only find the title [H] which is (worshiped) in Nubia , given only to the gods of the temples of that country. It is a completely local title like those of [H] which is in Manlak in Philea, [H] which is in Sné , in Esné [H] which is in Pselk in Dakké (the ancient Pselcis). &CC.

The inscription of the temple of Aesculapius in Philea would interest me very much if you had it in its entirety: what you are kind enough to communicate to me contains only the titles of the King, without the name of the god who must be [ H] Imouthoh son of Phtah , as I see from a portion of this same inscription engraved in Mr. Salt's book.

I could not be more certain of the royal name of the pharaoh Amasis or Amosis of the XXVIth ^Saite dynasty : his proper name is written [H] or abbreviated [H] and it is composed of [H] or [H] Amosis , Amasis (the child of the moon [H] ) and of the title [H] the son of Neith, protective goddess of Sais and the Saite . The figurative sign [H] responds in the texts to the phonetic group [H] the Coptic [H] the Moon . As for the group [H] it is rendered phonetically in the texts by [H] or [H] NT the Coptic [H] or [H] which means Shuttle , an instrument of weaving invented by the Egyptian neck brace as well as by the Greek. I have a million proofs that [H] is one of the symbolic names of Neith .

I will receive with as much eagerness as gratitude whatever you wish to communicate to me and I will seize, as I must, every opportunity to honor you as well as Mr Wilkinson. I look forward to your hieroglyphico-demotic inscription.

It is infinitely probable that at the end of next May or during April I will spend a few days in Rome where it would be very pleasant for me to find you: I would then compensate myself for the circumstances which during my first stay in this old Babylon deprived me of the pleasure of seeing you as often as I wanted. Tell me if I can hope to find you established there. In the meantime, please still write to me but in Turin at Mr Costa Secretary of State for Internal Affairs rue Barre de Fer nº 7 . Your letters will reach me immediately wherever I am. It is only since yesterday that [I] received from Paris the one to which I responded immediately.

Held in Dauphiné by family matters, I try to put to good use what I brought back from Italy. I mainly deal with celestial geography , that is to say the relative position of the 2 or 300 regions of the sky over which the various Egyptian gods preside. I have already obtained some general results of fairly great mythological interest. I can tell you now that the Abode : [H] about which you questioned me in your first letter, is the principal habitation of the Sun or the god Phrè , in the eastern part of the sky [H] : there is also a [ H] in the western part of the sky [H] and this is where the two schacal-headed gods [H] in the East and [H] Anubis in the West . I think that these are the two points in the sky where the solstices : because this division of the sky into regions is just as astronomical as it is religious.

I hasten to finish all this long chatter for fear of tiring you out a little too much: but I so rarely have occasion to speak hieroglyphics with someone who will listen to me with interest , that it is not surprising that I abuses it a little when she shows up.

Forgive me therefore and have me in everything and everywhere. I would be very happy to be remembered in memory of MM. Dodwel (17) and Nibby (18) . Be convinced of the sincerity of the feelings of esteem and friendship devoted to you by [H] (19) , your very devoted JF Champollion the young .  

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“I have the case!” »

On September 14, 1822, Champollion, drunk with enthusiasm, announced to his brother Jacques-Joseph that he had succeeded, after fifteen years of research, in deciphering the hieroglyphic system. His certainty is unshakeable and leads him to immediately present to the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, on September 27, the founding text of his discovery: Letter to Mr. Dacier relating to the alphabet of phonetic hieroglyphs used by the Egyptians to inscribe on their monuments the titles, names and nicknames of Greek and Roman sovereigns .

Champollion no longer has any doubts: nevertheless his discoveries require to be put to the test. For this purpose, he went to the Turin museum in 1824 which had just acquired the collection of Egyptian antiquities from the French consul Bernardino Drovetti. During this first stay in Italy, after spending several months in Turin, Champollion decided to continue his journey and go to Rome.

In a letter dated May 3, 1825, he informed his older brother of his meetings: “ MM. the Dukes of Blacas and Montmorency put me in touch with everything that is distinguished here in erudition. I received a very special welcome from Monsignor Maï, Professor Nibbi, Monsignor Testa and the excellent Mr. Cancellieri. I saw Mr. Dodwell, the famous traveler in Greece, and Knight Gell, an amateur hieroglyphist, as amiable as he was learned. »

It was therefore in Rome, through the Duke of Blacas d'Aulps, his protector, that Champollion met the British archaeologist William Gell (1777.1836). The latter, friend of the English Egyptologist Thomas Young, Walter Scott and Lord Byron, was passionate about Egyptian hieroglyphs. Having sympathized with Champollion, Gell communicated to him valuable inscriptions recorded and copied at Karnak by his compatriots Wilkinson and Cooper who had traveled through Egypt from 1821, as Champollion explained to his brother in a letter dated May 22, 1825: “ Knight Gell communicated to me large hieroglyphic inscriptions copied at Karnak by an Englishman called Wilkinson. They relate to offerings made to the gods and dated from various years of Kings Sesonchis and Takellothis of the 22nd dynasty. I made copies of them despite the cripples with which they abound. »

During this first stay in Italy, Champollion went to Livorno, in July 1825, to appraise the Salt collection, put on sale by the Santoni bankers, a collection which would later be acquired by France and exhibited at the Louvre museum. (To supervise the sending of the said Salt collection, Champollion traveled to Italy a second time in 1826.)

On January 4, 1826, from Grenoble, returning from his first Italian stay, Champollion wrote this long and enthusiastic letter to Gell in response to the one the latter had sent to him. In this missive, which remains unknown to this day, Gell had sent statements and copies of Egyptian inscriptions. The hieroglyphic texts analyzed here by Champollion, thanks to the assistance of Gell, come mainly from southern Egypt and northern Sudan and contain royal formulas and cartridges of kings of foreign origin.

Champollion also testifies to his wish to have access to the text of the decree of Ptah presented in the great temple of Abu Simbel: “ It is therefore very desirable to have the rest of this inscription which can be of great importance for the story ; and it would be good to encourage Mr Wilkinson to obtain a complete copy: I also ask you to recommend to him, if there is still time or if he is able, to have a wet paper . an enormous hieroglyphic inscription engraved on a massif between two pillars of the great temple of Ibsamboul. » He studied it with his own eyes during his only trip to Egypt in 1828 and 1829.

Finally, aware of the celestial links of Egyptian inscriptions, Champollion asked Gell for records of the ceilings and walls of temples and tombs containing representations of the sky, the decans, and the signs of the zodiac. (" I am mainly concerned with celestial geography , that is to say the relative position of the 2 or 300 regions of the sky over which the various Egyptian gods preside." )

 

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Bibliography:

. Champollion, a life of lights , Jean Lacouture, Grasset, 1988

. The Harvest of the Gods , Jean-Jacques Fiechter, Julliard, 1994

. Ancient Egypt at the Louvre , Andreux, Rutschowscaya, Ziegler, Hachette, 1997

. Descriptive notice of the Egyptian Monuments of the Charles X Museum , Champollion.

. Champollion, the scholar deciphered, Alain Faure, Fayard, 2020.

. The Salt collection arrives in Paris. Marie Grillot.

. François Artaud and the Champollion brothers , Karine Madrigal.

 

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(1) Following Bonaparte's scholars, Champollion called a small chapel dedicated to the god Osiris located on the roof of the temple of Philae "Osiris' room".

(2) Probably Snem, the island of Biggeh, located next to that of Philae. Osirian legend says that Osiris' leg was buried on the island of Biggeh.

(3) “Ounnefer” cartridge. One of the names of the god Osiris which means “to be perfect”. Reigning name of the god on earth (Osiris is considered one of the first Egyptian kings).

(4) Abu Simbel.

(5) This is probably the stele bearing the decree of Ptah.

(6) Champollion knows this obelisk in particular thanks to the plates of the Description of Egypt. Drawings of this obelisk in the papers of Nestor L'Hôte, one of the "argonauts" of Champollion's expedition to Egypt. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b525045086/f687.image

(7) Temple of Beit el Ouali dedicated to Amon. Nubian temple, south of the Aswan Dam, erected at the start of the reign of Ramesses II.

(8) Cartouches of Ramesses II.

(9) Coronation name of King Ahmose, first king of the 18th ^dynasty .

(10) Cartouche birth name of King Ahmose.

(11) Cartouche name of coronation of Tuthmosis II.

(12) Left cartridge: coronation name of King Sesostris III of the 12th ^dynasty . Cartouche on the right: name of son of Re of Sesostris III

(13) Cartouche of Princess Bentanat, daughter of Ramses II.

(14) The temple of Ouadi es-Seboua was built between the year 35 and the year 50 of the reign of Ramses II. Next to the representations of the king is the great royal wife Bentanat (Ramses having married his own daughter). Champollion is right about the copy of the cartridge which is inaccurate.

(15) Dakka Temple in Sudan.

(16) Ergamene of Diodorus of Sicily is the Nubian king Arkamani or Arkamaniqo, contemporary of Ptolemy II.

(17) Edward Dodwell (1767-1832): archaeologist, traveler, designer, painter.

(18) Antonio Nibby (1792-1839): historian, professor of archeology at the University of Rome.

(19) Djet = eternally