EXTRA MEMOIR OF

I\.
THE EGYPT EXPLORATION FUND.
TWO HIEROGLYPHIC PAPYRI
FROM TANIS.
I.-THE SIGN PAPYRUS (A SYLLACAnv), nY F. LL. G1111>F1T11.
II.-'l'lfE GEOGRAPHICAL PAPYRUS (AN ALllANAOK), Df w. M. F. P ETRIB.
\\'ITU R E ~ l A R K S BY PROFESSOR HElNRICll BRUGSCU.
FACSIMILES AND INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
PUBLfSlfED BY ORDER OF 'l'UE OOJWlTTEE.
LONDON :
'l'ltUUNER. & CO., 57 & 59, LUDGA'l' HILL, E.C.
11!811.
CONTENTS.
J. 'f1rn Swx PAPYIWS (1:v F. Lr . G1t1FP1Tn) .
' l' llANSCHl l'l'JOX 01" PJ .. \TES l-21 7
II. '1'11 t: G1:oc: 1:Al' JJJCA1. PAPY1ws (nr W'. l\I. F. Pt:rnn:) 21
I. THE SIGN PAPYRUS.
BY F. Lr.. GRIFFITH. I
Turs papyrus is the first native list of hiero-
glyphics t hat has cvme down to us from
ancient times. It is at once highly interest-
ing and very disappointing. It is of the
highest interest as being the only document
bearing upon the system by which the Egyp-
tians arranged and taught their huge syllabary.
It is disappointing, because we find so little
system in it. \Ve should have expected a more
logical arrangement of the signs, and more
method in naming them ; more indication of
a fixed orde1 in the alphabetical signs, if not
some correspondence with the order of that
alphabet which the Phoenicians seem to have
borrowed from the Egyptians. From the con-
siderable care with which the list bas been
prepared, and from its extent, we must suppose
that if any rigid method was customary it
would havo been adopted here ; and we are
driven to conclude that the Egyptians possessed
no such system.
Apart from its value in the history of
the papyrus forms a kind of dictionary
which will givo the philologist valuable hints
for determining the meaning of many doubtful
words.
'l'he collection from which it was selected for
publication by llfr. Poole-who first detected
1
'fhis memoir wns \vritLcn, nud the pbtcs dl'::iwu, in
Nov. 1885. I mado somo ndditions in ISSG. when my
much-regretted fricud, Mr. If. 'l'. rcau ihl'ough t ho
proofs.
the parallel lists of hieroglyphics and hieratic
on its dark pages-is a very considerable one.
Some account of the discovery and condition of
these papy1i, the first obtained in t he Delta,
may be interesting.
In the spring of 1884, after the swvey of
the temple area at San bad been completed,
Mr. Petrie twned his attention to the remains
of the town encircling it. It struck him that
those houses which had been burnt would yield
the most profitable results. In case of fire, the
owner would snatch up his valuables, leaving
the mass of the household property to the flames.
The house falling in would cover them with
rubbish, from which the unfortunate man would
not care to disinter his bwnt and broken jars,
tools, and papyri. 'l'he reddened earth and
bricks betrny the site to the modcru explorer,
and a few days' work in the friable and easily-
searched rubbish yields him all that the fire
has spared. Putting this theory int.o practice,
Mr. Petric obtained a large collection of pottery
and other antiquities, together with a number
of papyri. In some cases tho documents stowed
a.way in a corner of the house had boon damage<l
beyond rccovc1y. Lying in a. basket on the
mud-floor tho damp had reached them, and
wit h the weight of rubbish on the top, had
reduced them to a mass scar cely distiugnishable
from the clay beneath; and although the writing
was still partly legible, it was found impossible
to remove even fragments of any value. Others,
although not actually bul'llt, had been bakc<l
ll
THE SIGN PAPYRUS.
violently by the beat of the conflngration, and
lying amongst less compact rubbish, had better
resisted the destructive damp of the marshes.
A number of these were recovered and brought
t-0 England. They are of a yellowish-brown
colour, soft, and with a tendency .to turn to
dust on being hnnclled. Large fl akes, however,
can be separated from some of them, so as to
leave t he written surfaces successively vi sible,
but the flakes cannot be preserved. Copies
must therefore be made of these by an Egyptolo-
gist standing by as they are gradually taken to
pieces. Amongst them arc several mi nutely
written demotic documents, with the reel and
black ink well preserved.
The most satisfactory class in the collection
are those that have been carbonized. Some of
these, too, have become a homogeneous mass tbnt
cannot be induced to flake. Of others little
remains but white ash. A few, though fl aking
easily, are of too thin a substance to be pre-
served, while a large number, probably, as Mr.
Petrie suggests, through the use of a vegetable
ink, have lost the writing wholly, or it is too
faded to be reacl. This, however, may be due
to the practice of erasing a text when no longer
required, to give place to a new one. Notwith-
standing all this, Mr.Hunt, of t he MSS. Depart
ment of the British Museum, to whom the task
of mounting the papyri wns intrnstcd (and to
whom grnat prn.ise is due for the care :md dis-
crimiuation with which he has executed it,
under l\fr. Petrie's directions), has filled sixty
frames, of an avernge surface of two square feet,
with frngments of 156 papyri. Some of these
:we mere scraps, nnd will probably afford no
information, but many are of rcnl value, not
only giving a connected sense, but containing
matter of high interest, as the two specimens
copied by l\fr. Petrie and myself will show.
The papyrus fragments have been mounted
in frames formed by two sheets of glass, held
apart by a thin piece of cardboard round the
edges to allow for wrinkles in the papyri; both
sides of which can thus be seen. The fragments
arc kept in place under the glass with shell-lac.
The task of mounting the papyri wns a simple,
although a delicate one. The rolls had been
crushed flat, and so consisted of a series of flakes,
each the same breadth as the cmshed roll. The
flnkcs were removed with a paper-knife from
each gi dc of the roll alternately, the 01der thus
obtninccl being fairly correct. In some cases it
was found more convenient to divide t he roll in
the middle, and, beginning from the centre, to
take flakes alternately from each half.
Some of the papyri were found to have been
rolled tightly round a piece of reed, others
were without this central support. Some still
showed the thread with which they had been
tictl. The papyrus described in this report
seems to have been wrapped round with a piece
torn from another document, while the geogra-
phical papyrt)S ha.cl a religious text on a separate
sheot rolled up with it.
Mr. Petrie found some papyri associated
with glazed pottery figures of the style of the
thirtieth dynasty. But most of those that
have been mounted are of Roman <late. In
these the writing is in linear hieroglyphic, a
sma JI and neat hieratic, demotic of several
styles-from large and coarse to fi ne and very
minute,-and Greek. The Greek papyri give
the nnmes of several emperors, the name of a
private person, Hadrian, being perhaps the
latest indication of date in the collection.
The best preserved papyri are stiff, with a
shiny surface, as if blackleaded ; the ink is
black, or yellowish where it was originnlly red.
Tbey have been thoroughly charred ; most in
fact have had the largest. part burnt away.
All, except two, a.re from the house of
Bakakhuiu, whose numerous rolls contained
religious as well as legal texts. Some were,
perhaps, connected wit.h the plans of a new
or restored temple. The geographical and other
lists in the papyrus, which Mr. Petrie has
copied (No. 103), with t he scraps of a similar
TUE SIGN PAPYRUS.
one (Nos. 130 and 131), where the. entries of
nomes, fc::ists, marshlands, &c., are corrected
by notes in minute hieratic a.t the foot,
1
and
especially the columns of hieroglyphics in
papyrus 118, in which the gods grant divine
gifts to a king or emperor, whose cartouche is
unfortuna.tely l e ~ blank, seem as if they were
sketches and notes to be expanded on some
temple-wall at Tanis.
evident t hat this last was the outside fold of the
roll, and that the Egyptian owner had turned
in the end of t he papyrus, probably owing to its
being torn, and to prevent damage to the
writing a.t the edge. 'fwo small fragments
placed by the side of this page must have
belonged to an outside wrapping, for which a
piece of papyrus torn from some religious work
in hieratic was made to do duty. The beginning
of the roll can be recognized in the three frag.
The Sign Papyrus w a . . ~ found in the house of meuts which, when placed together, appear
Bakakhuiu. It fills two large frames, and forms doubly forked below. 'fhis indicates another
one of the most complete documents in the col- turning in of the edge. We may therefore
lection. The crushed roll has been burnt at the consider that we have the commencement of
lower end, the fire spreading up one side, so that the roll, since part of the external wrapping
while the top is nearly complete, the twenty- !)VOil is preserved.
five pairs of fragments taper to a point at the 'fhe writing is in many parts easily legible,
bottom throughout. The papyrus was divided especially when light is thrown at right angles
into thirty-three pages, which are not numbered, upon the Bakes. Horizontal and vcrt.ical lines
but the order of which can be found from a are, however, difficult to distinguish from the
comparison of the arrangement of the fragments lines of the papyrus, and the play of light on
as mounted with the order to be obtained from the shiny and irregular surface adds to the
their form and contents. Only one fragment difficulty. Six narrow strips at the end,
still remains without a likely place. making together about five inches, are blank,
As arranged in the fra.mes, t he pairs of frag and the last two pages ha.vc lost much of the
mcnts are in most cases kept together, but the writing, probably on account of the tightness
order of the successive pairs is often the reverse or the roll round the st.ick in that part, causing
of the correct one, and at the beginning of the the Bakes to adhere together. There is no
papyrus, t hrough no fault of the motmter, t here writing on the back. The pages follow each
is considera.ble confusion. A. succession may - other from right to left; the papyrus was rolled
be noticed from the largo flakes two inches from left to right. The thirt.y-thrco pnges nre
across, which come from the outsido of the roll, divided into columns, the first of which cont.'lins
where the fire burnt t hem unequally, to the a. row of hieroglyphic signs, enclosed by vertical
narrow but little damaged strips from the lines. 'l'o the left of them aro hieratic tran-
ccntre. There is an abrupt change of form in scriptions of the same signs. The remainder
the middle of the fourth page of the final of tho page contains corresponding groups in
arrangement, the pairs on tho tight being re- hieratic. The width of each page is two inches,
versed copies of those ou the left of that point, that of tho hieroglyphic column alone half an
while the first piece to t he left is the most inch. The total length of t he pnpyrus as it
fragmcnt::i ry of ::ill, through crushing. I t is
' Unfortunately, only the lower edges of thcl-0 ppyri arc
prCSC'rved, showing port ions of nomeat:uul:ards, :iud tho
rue corrections.
2 1 hn\'o lo thank Mr. Pctrio for holping nic over the
Jinicultics of li,.;hting, as also for much assistance in pre
paring tho work for puUlic:ition. I n the copy I have
marked the burnt edges wi th n fringe, u l hc>o nrc of great
imporl:wcc in J cl cnniuing tho posi1ion of fni,'lncutt.
THE SIGN PAPYRUS.
existed when rolled up for the Inst time was
t herefore nearly six feet.
The number of signs contained in a page
seems to have varied. The largest number of
which traces are now left in a page is fourteen.
From the sncccssion in some of the early pages
it seems probable that this was abont the
original average. The thirty-three pages may
then ha>e contained 462 signs, not a large
number in comparison with n complete list of
hieroglyphic Rigns. It will be seen thnt many
classes of signs are represented, including a
large proportion of the most usual signs that
occur in hieratic. Yet no birds, figures of
gods, or numerals, occur in the rcmaining-
fragment-s.
As to t he order of the signs, t he first page
is beaded by the bee, a royal emblem. Then
follo"s a male chiltl. Figures of men, denoting
digni ties, are followed by other male human
figures extending into page 2. I t is possible
that the first sign of page 1 is to be considerecl
as the em! of a list of divine or royal figures
which occupied a page torn off in ancieut
times. The unplaced fragment (A. 13) cannot
be assigned to this position.
The list was probably preceded by a title,
since there is no endorsement to the papyrus,
and its loss is to be regretted. I t was to
prevent further damage to the written portion
that the end was turned in, and an extra sheet
wrnpped round outside.
On page 3 we sec figures of women, and
Reatecl figures, "-hich are continued to the
middle of page 4, where the mummy appears
in the hieratic. Page 5 brings us to reptiles
and animals, pages G and 7 deal with alphabetic
signs. .At the end of page 7 the series of parts
of the human body begin. This is carefully
arranged from the head, with eyes, cars, beard,
&c., the neck, breast, ancl back (p. 8), hair and
arms (p. !l), fingers, heart, &c. to legs (p. 10).
On page 11 we see spnbols for fl esh and bone,
C'gg, &c. On page l ~ , legs, horns, and heads of
animals, heads of birds, head of reptile. On
page 13, bird's wing, crocodile's tooth(?),
followed by t he crescent of the moon, figures of
sky, stars, and disks, which arc continued on
page 14. The setting sun leads to the ear th .
n,nd its symbols. From this point regular
classification ceases. 'l'he remainder of page
14 is devoted to some round and oval objects.
Vases appear on the next page, as also on
pages 16, 20, 22, and 23; plants on 16, 27,
and 31, and so forth. In most cases the signs
arc connected with those that precede and
fol low in some way by form, and often fall into
groups, but there is no principle observed
throughout. I have noticed no instance in
. which the hieratic form can be supposed to
hn,vc influenced t he arrangement, nor does
phonetic vn,luc have any share in it, either with
regard to similarity cf sound or number of
syllables. I am inclined to think that the
alphabetic signs are separated, not so much for
phonetic reasons, as for the different part they
played from the rest of the signs of the hiero-
glyphic system. The order of the Egyptian
alphabet, as given in the pnpyrus, has been no
st.andnrd for the arrangement of the remainder
of the signs.
The hieroglyphics in the papyrus are some-
times very delicately drawn. 'fhe reptile's
head (p. 12) in the original is a good instance
of Egyptian skill, but the scribe bas made a
slip in the figure of the priest, where the
water pours over bis back instead of his
bands.
.As to the hieratic signs, they are carefully
written in a peculiar, rather small band. In
the second column the scribe has written the
hieratic equivalent of the bie1oglyphic sign
alone. In a few cases, however, be has substi-
tuted the group in which it usually appears.
At page 26. 8. the simple sign is evidently
omitted by error.
The object of the first two columns is clear
enough. .A. parallel list of hieroglyphic and
THE SIGN PAPYRUS.
hieratic signs would be as useful to a student
of Egyptian writing then as now.
Tl}e object of. the third column is fairly clear
after a little study. The hieratic notes con-
tained in it consist sometimes simply of the
completed group of the corresponding sign with
its phonetic complement or determinative, as,
for instance, 20. 4. i = i I ; 14. 2. iQi =

Jl ;
sometimes of the phonetic transcription, with
the sign as a determinative, e.g. 16. 1. C"-::J =
o C"-::J If two values are indicated, they are
separated by a point on the Jovel of the bottom
of the characters, as for instance 13. 9, where
n '" =
0
o h
0 = - I ffi @ I . r, agam, a p rase of
several gl'Oups may occur, as 13. 11 = ,.:_
Ji ; 8. 1. m:: = r m:: ; 8. 2.
-<21:r = "'2>- n n --D {\. .

This third column seems to contain names
by which the signs were ordiuarily known,
or might be recognized. It oYidently was
not intended as a syllabary of phonetic
values, for in so many cases the sign is
not transcribed, while in others the note is
expanded into a phrase ; nor a glossary of
ideographic meanings, for the alphabetic signs
which are included haYe no such meaning;
nor again of explanations of the form, that
is, very condensed descriptions of the sign,
for iu the group ), 10. 2
LJ > has no known concrete meaning.
We might, however, possibly translate 'the
finger pointing.' This would be a now shade
of meaning for the root LJ nod is uunecos-
sary. Again in 0 = n
0
. m@
0
, m=0
<=> I @ I
cannot in any way be a description of the sign
0, and wo arc prevented from translating 't.ho
disk of day,' or 'in the day-time' (itself an
awkward expression), by the point dividing the
words.
Nor, again, are these groups a series of notes
illustrating the use of the sign in practice.
For the particular sign does not always appear
in them ; as, for instance, p. 1. 4, /j = f'Jr@ Jl .
On tbo other hand, a need must have been
felt in Egypt of some means of distinguishing
hieroglyphic signs viva vocc, both in the schools
and in ordinary life. Names must therefore
have been attached to the immense hieroglyphic
syllabary, and taught with care, from the earliest
times. If we consider the third column as
devoted to tho names of the signs, wo shall
find a fair explanation.
The following are somo of the commoner
forms of the names; many can be interpreted
in several ways :-
I . If contained in one group, they arc either
(1) the simple names of objects rcprcsontecl by
the signs as pictures; as pagol4. 3, =
' earth;'12. l, the mirror
is apparently called ""'-:);I? 'see face,' p. 27. 6.
Tho scribe has not :J.lways taken tho trouble to
repeat the sign in such cases as = 'ah,'
p. 29. 5; ='set,' p. 25. 2.
(If tho object occurs in pairs, tho name of the
sign is in tho dual, as @ = = j
- = ::=:::::: ' the eye-brows,' ....-... = :::: ' the
lips,' p. 11. 6, p. 8. 3 and 5. )
(2) Or the group may be derived from the
ideographic or symbolic meaning of the sign,
or that indicated by tho action in the case
of human beings; 'sit,'
p. 3. 12; )1 'adoration,' iii=
iii Jl ! 'gods.'
Two groups may form one word i = @
p.24.3.
'fhcso names aro derived from tho ideographic
meaning of t he signs.
THE SIGN PAPYRUS.
II. If the name is contained in two or more
groups, it may be ( 1) a compound name of tho
object formed by a noun and participle:-
= ...,,... fl e "- = = . wood-cut,'
o I --1J ""
p. 17. 1.
El:= - -"2> n n = e m= . weeping-eye,'
/I I - 0 I
P 8. 1.
<07 = -"2>- r :::. {\. ' inverted-eye,' p. 8. 2.
In this class of name t.be second member
distinguishes two of a class by detail of the
form.
Or it may be (2) formed by a noun followccl
by another in the genitive, as-

' the disk of the sun,'
p. J:3. ll.
) = ) , Jl ' the lip or crescent
moon,' p. 13. 4, opposed to
'the lips.'
of the

Here the second group marks distinction by
the derivation of the sign.
Or it may (3) consist of two groups separated
by a point--
0 = n . m = ' the disk, hrn.,' where
e I
the latter group distinguishes this from
othC'r 'disks by its phonetic value ; thus
hieratic ) = 1 q
'the finger, qcmc11n,' opposed to hieratic
1, the fi nger simply Jl --11 l 1 q
'l.'hc n:ime-fonns seem to have no reference
to the classes of signs alphabetic, ideographic,
cleterminati,e, &c.
"\ s to t he date of tl1e papyrus, t here is no
doubt of its having been written in tho Romau
period. It is not a direct copy of an earlier list,
although it may be an adaptation and selection
from a list of Ramcssidc times.
The spelling of the words agrees with the
Roman date attributed to the pt1.pyrus ; and as
to the grammar, although the article does not
occur, except perhaps in p. 30. 7. the par-
ticipial forms used in the compound names are
not found, I believe, in inscriptions or papyri
earlier than the eighteenth dynasty. These
names, however, may belong to a popular
dialect in which such forms can have existed
at a much earlier period, and it must be
remembered that thC'y were probnbly never
written clown except for occasional teach-
ing in schools. There is no careful principle
in t heir construction. Probnbly no complete
list was ever drawn up, and perhaps it wns
not until the cl cclino of the ancient leaming
in Roman times that such written lists were
made at all. The names prob:i.bly embody
ancient and original ideas about the form, mean-
ing, ancl sound of tho signs, as for instance
I = e r 15; but in course of time,
being transmitted principnlly by word of mouth,
they became much modified in form.
'l'hc Transcription will bo seen to be in-
complete, but I have thought it right to add
it, partly because the work will fall into the
hands of some who arc not acquainted with
hieratic, but who will be interested to know
something of the contents of the third column
iu order to draw their own conclusions about the
p:i.pyrus; partly also to justify my rending of
the original to those who arc familiar with the
script. It also affords :i convenient means of
adding such notes as seem required. M. N:wille
wns able to spare several valuable hours during
his short stay in England in 188(; for the tedious
task of eompnring the first pages of my copy
with tbo original. The corrections and sug-
gestions which he made arc noted in the
course of the Transcription.
TRANSCRIPTION OF PAGES I TO XXI.
I .
I .


Bee. (Sign or royl ty in Lower Egypt.)
2.
i11
r I

0--
<=>
"'
1<:=1
jii
Human being :\.S cbild.
3.

@ Jl
Chier.
..

/'Ji @ Jl
Elder .
5.
Ii 1 Ji
Prince.
G.

i Jl
Ruler.
7.
/'Ji
OIJ ;;c.
s.
!

llii; la.
0.
l

10.
1
Spc:1k.
I I.
l
@
l
A Jore.
\\
12.
J(
__a
0
J{o
Tuni back.
@
13.


Build.
II.
I.
9 T
2.,

lost
3.
rt
..
111
5.
)]
G. -bi .
7.
' 1'ho printed hicroglyphica t.lo nut. nlwnys represent. cxnctly the form in tho original. The most i111porL'l11L iustaocl's
::iro markcJ with on n.stcrisk c ). The rc:hliuo or tho first. W:ut ausgCil Ctl by M. Naville.
III.
I.
gr
2.

3.
j
4.
1
5.
Jl
(?)
G.

7.
2
8.
k
0.
jt' (female)
10.

11.
@
13.
@P-
cremate)
14.

I V.
I.

2.
\11
3.
4.



G.
(g)
THE SIGN PArrm;s.
a-QQ 1r
Fcm:ilc figurt'.


=
Lower Egypt..
<::>
@
or

Suckle.
Q l QQ 1
Priestrs.s.
1 ') @t?) Person, people cate<I ( 111
r }t
Person c:.ting, 8JlC:lking.
o I

'Voman C:\ rryin;;.
lost .
ro

Call.
lost.
@
Sit (?)

(=@)
=
Sit.
lost.
Q
Comp:'l.nion.

Gunrli:rn.

Pure.
Q

0
=

Falling.
o e

0
--'o
G real .st:,tuc . '

Mummy.
----------------
l I 1' \'' " tl1(' \lctn mi11:i.ti o11 or tlic two cl1:traclcrs t 11 X:nillc.
Thr rca liu,:: of tl1i s w:is l1y )I. :\a rill e.
'J'ltc l1irrot!lypl.ic bi;..,1 in tl1c origi nal is incorrect.
4
M. N:\\'ill c'.s 1?ctcrminatio11.
IV.
7.
I
8.
v.
I.
2.
3.
4.
!J.
u.
7.
s.
o.
JO.
II,
12.
13.
14.
G
VI.
I.
2.
<::::>
0
TRANSCRIPTION OF PAGES I TO XXI.

@
l (??)or ...... A



::: ( W.) (?} or ":: (-:-- WA) (1)
l ( "--- \\ w.) (1)
losL
<::::> I <::::> )!} ( 1)
::=> Il l
Tadpolo (?).
Body.
Urreus.
Suakc.
Worm.
Mouth of human bciug.
St ri ne twi sted, tied.
I or tlio fragments or tlii s p:tgc, I A 2. was O\'idcntly on tho outo;iJc (1 r the roll, while tl1c piece IA 3 to the cntl vf
t l10 papyrufj was turned in. Tli i::t i 11 therefore tho most. likely pl :ico for :a. ; moreover there i.s 110 tli stioct
1
couucctio11 Lctwccn tl10 IA I n.nJ 2. IA 3 anJ 4 arc prolmLly portiou.s of the out\.l r wrnpping.
' ' ' N.13. Alpliabctic sig ns.
3
M. Na,illc'ft suggestion, wli ich it1 ccr t:dnly correct.
' M. N:\\'illc rca<ls this I think however tlmt the calf is correct.
Tlio continuity of pa,:.;et1 5 anti G it1 not.. certain. '!'his list. of nlplmltcti..: four (?) <::::>t U, __n, an
1
I
.-.....ci. (7) llant have Leen placcJ iu tl.o 11cxt scrie.:1 of 1:1rt..s of tlic l111111:rn Lo1ly. On the otl1cr l1nml, two :..lrh:i.bctic:il

10
THE SrGX PAPYRUS.
VI.
3.
u
0
0

LJ I Jl
The :\rms " k:t. "
(@.)
@

... . .. . measuring line.
4.
@

:,_
(f1 )
f1
=
Measuring line.
@.
r..
(r)
r


(-)
Ll

i.
=
0 I
Bolt.
R. lost
fl . @

am1 >\-,arc inclu1lc1l in the :u1imnl series prccct.ling. The scril.ie SC('mg to l1:L\'C aimctl :lt m:lking each list ns
lie came to it com11lctc at the expense or the other$. In tl1c alph:tbctic li st no striugcnt ortlcr, phonetic or
iis o!Jscrved, nor doc11 the nrLitr:t ry onlcr l1cro :hloptc1l infl uence in any way the nrr:rngcrncnt or the other signs.
On p:lgc 7 fourteen rcm:tin. If we take this as the origi nn. I numLcr on page G, :mtl as.c; umc that the
alphalJctie liis.t at the top of p:t;;c G, we oht:lin fourteen on G, r1111l ten on p:igc 7 = 24 alpl1al.ctic signs.
There :\re certain remaining in t he l1iero.glyphic :\llI li r.st l1icrat ic column. Tliesc in the usu:tl
pl1<mctic or1lcr a re as follows : 0) __n ; g , <=:::i-; l. 0, I, .,._..., ; '1, V, liJ,; A Of tlie remaining twenty-six
that arc usu:l.lly co11si1lcrc(l :l1p11:l.bctic, miglil lm.vc stootl iu the list., n:l. mcly, QQ, \, @, f\; j ,
>--; =; - V, ro, e (?); - , n, = , hl!I; =-:
0
t =, =, -..,,
two reptiles n111I li:we :ippcarcl on tltc precc1li11;; page : tlie IJir1ls :rnJ fi,c in numlJcr,
m:ty pcr11aps Le relcgatcJ. to the Lottom of pages 4 an1l !j: l is cqui\'a]cnt to
Oil the Jngt page : fhc Ot ltc r.i, @. fl -- :rnJ 0 Of 0 111:1J he f C' p l :lCC1) :\8 in t l1C transcription.
Thirteen signs rcmain, n:tmC'ly, QQ , j , f'D, ,.,.,.,..,...., v, c:::E:l , hl!I, a1ul Q or a .
Of tl1csc tl1c fir:-; t may well l1:wc liccn 0111ittc1I, the thirJ seems lo occur on page 17, the sixtl1 may not h:wc been
co11si1lercc.l :l lpl1aUctic. The l:uit a i:s c1ouhtfu1 anti unlikely in tli i:J The total wonll tlms be twcl\'C certain
+ fi ,c prohahlc + nine= twenty-six, or two more than the estimate. These two 111ay li:t\'C fo11111J a. place :\t the hottom
or p:tg\'s a nd G, making fift een signs to !l p:i.;.::c.
\\.ith tho fr:l ;.:mcnts of page R is incl u1lcil one. l A 13", with remains of fhc l1 icratie gronps.
l1rokcn from tl1c rigl1 t lia111I fragment of : l. pair. The may pcrh:1ps Le lra11scril,l'il rull ow:> :-
I.
(JI(?)) j I j '\) (? ?) Lcg(1)
I t is evidently
n.
2.
11

0 l
\Vootlcn inl'itrnment usetl in winnowing(?)
( =(?) )
= - ,,.
0 1 -,,.,..
Lake, water.
4.
( Ii!!t(?) )

=
\\
Lotus ...
5.



Tli i<l is r:ul1C' r !\ f l)1t r de hut tl1L' fra;;mr ut is a. pnz7.1c. It. cer tainly 1lol" ... not to page S; hut being
11101111t cll witl1 it . i r lie pl:u.c1l nc:n i t, nor c:rn any pbcc he ro11n1l fur it witl1 t.h<' other Also a p:1;;c
111ar the woul 1l be more prvUahl y ll:un:1gc1I and lost tl1an those insi lc-, :ual t'1i,,. p;Ht of tlic was near
OF PAGES l to XXI. 11
VII.
I.
1
1 1 <;;b Water pl>nl.
2.
.,..._
:-: Stouaaclo.
3.
1
lost.
4.

5. --1J
G.
'[J
7.
0
8.
a
or
9.

10.
1
11.
@
12.

13. ..c:2>-
14. .@...
t.ho out-sitlo of the 1'011 (c/. &ttpro.). A right lmml fragment. would hero contain the uamo column. On tho whole, it.
seems probablo Ll1at. tho fr:1 g111 c11t ii. the last rcmaiu<lcr of a. lost. pair to ho int1o rtcll between .:, .5 or !1- Ci. If wo look
upon tho fn\gmcnb on tho loft. of 11agc 4 (i.e., starting from 1 A 2) tt.S consccuti,o, :rnt.I take tlic known measurement
of two inches to a. page, wo lint.I t hat. between tho first nutl sccothl pair.lj thrcc-<1u:irtcrs of au inch laa.s been Uumt. away j
botwccu tho next two, a. quarter of nu inch ; bctw.ccn tho next, onc..cighth or thereabout.a; while t.110 next 1xiira pmctically
juin. If, liowo,cr, we allo\V that. :1 pair lm.s been losl between tlao Ci rst. nnJ scconJ, t.ho proportion in tho gnps will ba
more nearly cri uali scd, say Q, a, A, 0. At 1ca.st. thi:J proves thoro i::s a of a 1xiir between
pages S aml G. Al.:to, if we attempt to pince it near the Legiuuing: of the papyrus, it. must Oo nl ph:1betic:1l, for there i!5
no i11J ic:1lio11 or any olloer catogory inlo wlo iclo it D\igloL fall in any or lloo early pages. Ami if il i l phnhotical, it
umst. prccctlo p.1go G, for at p:igc 7 another acriC3 Ll'gius. But sup1K>sins; tl1nt it precedes JXlSO G, anJ therefore
corrcspor.J partly lo fnogoncni. t A 3 oml I A G, il forms 11rL of !loo fil'8l of two losl J<1ge of four teen signs c.ich al
least, of wliicli the right l1aml ouc containcJ :ilphnbctic signs which wcro coutinucJ iuto pogo 7. TLcro woulJ inJcetl
be room enough for all tho LirJ:t aoJ. ::iuimals Lclooging to tlio alphabetic t1cctiou, and wuclt 1uorc Le.s ide.:i. Ahogotlacr
the s mall fmgmcnt is n. puzzle.
Al J'1go i, No. 11, lloo m:rica or p>rt.s or the hu111au ooJy hegiWI.

Vlll.
I.
2.
3.

G.
!I ,
10.
II.
12.
13.
14.
IX.
I.
2.
3.
..
5.
G.
7.
-

(Q)

THE SIGN PAPYRUS.


m (?)

j l e (1)
......
...... .... ..
...... j I .... ..


lost .
..................
lost.
Eye weeping.
Eyo inertc.1.
The eyebrow.
The rors.
The lirs.
The tongue.
Tooth, the teeth (?)
{?)
(?)
(?)
Bc>rJ.
Thro.t.
Lock or h"ir.
Hoir (?)
IX.
8.
9.
I I.
12. -A- (?)
13.
x.
I.

2.

3.

4.
Q
5. c:::, ..
6. 0
7.
''
8.
'S
9. F=jj)
10.
15>
11.
'O
12.
l
13.
1-
14.
./\
TRANSCRIPTION 0}' PAGES I TO XXI.
lost.
]\ _n
I
Finger.
q
q

Finger 7m<1n .. (d<lc I' G, col. I , li11e
_n 0
,-.
Thumb (?), claw.
- e o q

e .._
l Q
Arms S:r.'LSJ)ing, cmhracing.
of?

LI q Chest (1). shoulJcr (?), net:k
0
q
llc.1rt.
01


Heart ( 1) .
_n1S.
_n
Flesh (1).

:m Urinare.
"[J
=
e
15>
Testicles.
'O
0 '?
Vulva.
e5 l 0
- '?
Leg.
e5
0 . : .
Leg .. .
q
lost.
1
This looks liko :> falso coneorJ ; but probbly i to be read O =
of? 0
ll;!;JWllS!J, unlcs. iJ.,fl;pl ;, " "
inJcpcnJcot ph..,..c.
II
XI.
I.

!i.
Ii.
!I .
Ill.
XII.
I.
:i.
I.
: ..

! I ,
10.
15 (?)
v
(?)
TnE SIGX l'Al' \'ll US.
1515 (?)
r @
oj @@



... r ...

o=
D t"C:J
lost.
l This luoks as if 1iu 111igli t he :i rt>ot-wortl = liitlc or tail.
Flesh.
Bone.
Foi.
Egg.
Soles or reci (sanJ>ls).
Do;:.
Pig (?) <log ( ?)
Eye or Horn (liowk).
lfauncl1, forckg (?), shonltlr r (1).
Leg, Htnt.
llalll'r.
M. N:\\'illc me t11 c comu.ction of thc.!SC which lixcs the po$ition of the small fragmrnt.
'fRANSCUIPTION PAGE:; I TO XXI.
l ."i
XII.
II.
lost. lost.
1''
l]'fa
13. <-'iD
XIII.
f
I.
f
Ycor.
2.
5:V

e E:?
\ \ling.
3.
"'

=
. "'
=
CrocoJilc's tootlo (?)
4. })
,..-...
}) I Jl
0
Lip (crcsccut) of t l1c 111''""
ii.
F=I
F=I
Jj
Sky.
G.

0
F=I
J1 <ic) r (<ic) :it r (?)
Sky risini; (1).
7.
l1if F=I
Jl 1=1iir
8.
7""
F=I
Jl
* 'Jl
Sky onI t:or.
9.
0

0
0 J1
= 0
. ro
e
Di k/m1.
10.

,..
Raolioncy.
11. IO

Di.k or Ilic Sllll .
12. 0
}) I Jl
Muon.
13. ()(1))
}) Jl ) ...
Moon (crcccnt ).

:():
I.

0
0
JH
e
v
=1

a
p
2.
cQi cQi
;; Jl
l li>rizuu.
3.
:riirl 7d't
. 4.
(. )
LI
=
I
Ill
I I
=
0 \\ I
1
Tl1is worJ I owe to M. Na>illc, wloo coll:atcJ t loo COJ'Y tu tl1c c11J of l'a;;c 11.
XIV.
: .. (n ?)
Ii.
s.
!I. (@)
Ill.
(e ?)
11.
XV.
I.

XVI.
I.
2.
4.
TllE SIGN PAPYRUS.
.a
e
,..JJ
,,
__o

O I

o l

l
(?)
=
D 11 1
lost.
0
(o) e (?)
lost.
...... = kJi (?)
('!)
@ ..___ r 0
111 JI
losl.
. . . . . . . . . '<tr
nnn . !
i
LonJ il(b.
FounJation.
Sep (o kind of c.\kc).
Cycle.
Conopy.
Embal1 nc1\,l

House.
FiclJs, or ficl<I.
Loof of brood.
'fie of linen.
1
i. e., tluly l111 ric1l t11 crcforc cleUied, being :lssimilatcl to O:siri.s. This notion is common in the religious tcxb.
The na me vf the hatchet neter mean:; gotl, hut tlii s wonl wa.;;; no tl ouLt rc1p1irctl for another sign 121 \Vl1y tho abovr
1xprcssio11 was cl10.scn for t l1 c name of tl1e ltn.tcltct si,;n i:-1 nut easy to untll'rstan41, since t iu. hatchet srrms t o h:wc no
101mcction with hurial ; prolmUly t l1e notion of ' li at clict ' wa/'i lost in th:1t of 'go1l,' :mcl pcrha.ps in common p:1 rlanco a.
lcccasctl pcnmn wag s1mkcn of :-is tl1(' gotl, or nctcr, so :-in1l so, where in inscription::; we fiml H1ern. Granting: this, Uw
i-ommonci;t applic:'l t ion of tl1e wunl mtt1 :i n:-imc fo r the sign I; but I know of nothing l o suppor t tl1c. view tl1:tt
""''J" w:'ls .oe11cr.1lly applic1.l t o 1lccc:-isc1l pcl":mns. l For t he cx:1ct 111cani11:; 11 f n.eter, sec Mr. Hcnoufs HibLcrt Lectures, l Si fl. )
:! :\11 import:1nt transcript il>n, whid1 however scarc<.>ly sctllcs tlil' as lo tl1c reading of the ::.;ign.
XVI.
5.
G.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
xvn.
I.
2.
3.
4.
5.
G.
s.
9.
JO.
JI.
12.
TRANSCRIPTION OF PAGES I TO XXJ.
Ii
(= )







lost.
lost.
=


(1)
--D
I
8 @ ,.__JJ (?)
o l o
1 J. .. or the Jctcrmiuathc, cf. Q fr 'papyrus.'
Hi<lc . . .
V:i.:;c.
LiLatiou
Bunch of hcrLs.
Bunch of fl owers, reeJ s (?)
lla, papyrus.
Thicket of papyrus, or <id/rn-planl.
Thicket of >"<pbnt.
Woo,I, cut.
SeeJ (?) of acacia(?).
SeeJ of date.
Arms cibauli.
}\ght.
Place.
Milk jug.
Suujug:ite.
Arm presenting.
xct ma.sculioc liko Coptic
D
JS THE SIGN PAPYRUS.
XVIII.
I. Hill country.
2.
1 1:
U"'t (Thobeo).
3.
1
1 r
. .. 11serti, DACAI' \'Ulf>C:J
4.
"'=.. ""=- e
Hoe (?); the name 1/U'<t tt wnut.l refer to
<:::> o I
tlic fastening together of the wo04.l.
5.
=
l"'
e5 lost.
XlX.
__..JJ

=
'<- '1r
l .
>-+--<
!
.. ..
e
2.


L) . Complete.
=
3.
L:=:J
L:=:J
Block.
4.
mi

Net, sna.rc.
5.


c.
Ji.ierntic Jl ......
Porter s knot.
7.
l
r c+
t?) )
R.
f (
Utensils, a,l, OJ' writing

'
=,
Knife (al/).
l (}.


Knife.
II.
I'-.
,..__ o e ( 'i.-11 (?>)
A<lze.
12.
...
'I'
rJ
F.'lllt.
13.
f
f ... Wesi..
].),
t
lost.
' For rcmainJcr, sec plate.
xx.
l.
:!.
3.
4.
r,,
G.
7,
s.
0.
10.
11.
12.
13.
XXI.
I.
2.
3.
4:
f,,
(j,
(- )
=

-
+-.-
(?)
OF PAGES 1 TO xxr.
l fl -D y
r , r ,,. . (?)
m r
i I


...... ...... \,\,

V \\
0 I'!'


+-.-
0 I
<"""-
.. .. ... JJJ

= o I
0
'Ji
l !l
C/. l I'!' f sccrtre.
Sceptre a11u.
Vessels (1) to Le Cull.
Vessels (1), (!cl) to Le s11ueezeJ out, empty.
Flower , . ...., (?).

Arrcw.
Sl1enu or l..-/1enu.
Se111 (herb).
13:..ket or mewl worker ( 1)
J:1vcliu.
. I' rom this point many of t he groups are di!Iicul t, and there would be little gninecl by further
t ranscription. l will only add the name of the sledge used in conveying stone from the deep-
cut quarries ;p:n = = "jackal," xxix, l . The phonet ic equivalent of this sign is bu.
II. THE GEOGRAPHICAL PAPYRUS.
IlY w. M. F. PETRIE.
B.
(Papc1 1>rr..c11tcd to t!te Committee, July 28, 1885.)
On my return from Egypt this summer, Mr.
Poole showed me some of the papyri which
I bad brought last year from San, and which,
despite their completely charred state, had been
satisfactorily unrolled by Mr. Hunt, of the
MSS. Department. .Among these were two
which Mr. Poole saw to be of particular inteiest.
One was a hieroglyphic-hieratic sign-book, of
which some three hundred hieroglyphic signs,
with their transcriptions and pronunciations
written in hieratic, still remain. .As Mr. Griffith
is now engaged on this, I will leave this on one
side. The other papyrus contained parts of a
calendar of feasts, and two ment ions of the
name of Khufu. I at once said that it ought to
be published, so that students could work on it
without the vast risk of its travelling. .As no
other copyist was available for such an illegible
manuscript, the whole of it being burnt entirely
black, I set aside other matters, and have pro-
duced a copy of all the fragments, ready for
the lithographer. It is hoped that proofs may
shortly be in the hands of students ; but mt;nn-
while 1 may give a fe1v notes on tho points
I have observed, tho copying, however, having
taken so much time that I cannot attempt to
w.ork on the reading.
The original papylus was about twenty-five
feet long, and probably about six inches high ;
i"t was rolled up as usual, and both ends and
one side of the roll were burnt to white ash,
leaving the other side carbonized ; hence we
only have about ! to f of the whole length, in
a series of separate strips, 8 to 22 inches wide,
and each a.bout four inches long, in place of the
whole height of the roll. From these I gather
that the papyrus was a sort of religious Gazetteer
and Calendar, divided into thirteen parts.
Part 1. .A list of great festivals, &c., beginning
with t he new year.
Part 2 . .A list of the nome capitals in succes-
sive columns, naming the sacred bark, sacred
tree, cemetery, feast-day, forbidden objects,
agathoclaimon, Janel, and l a k ~ of each city.
The town-names are altogether burnt a.way.
The first four remaining arc not identical with
any of the Edfu list, though t hey should, by
their position, be Tentyra; Diospolis parva,
Abydos, and Panopolis; but the rest are tho
same as at Edfu (excepting some curious varia-
t ions}, and we still have here Hermopolis,
Hibiu, Cynopolis, . . . .Memphis, Letopolis,
Apis, ... Busiris, Athribis, Cynopolis, and
Sebeunytus. Towards the end, however, it
appears as if two nomes had been omitted, as
there is not space for all the number . The last
column gives t ho title of each of tho lines,
"name of tree," "name of cemetery," &c.
Part 3. Lists comprising t.he sac1ed animals,
and apparently arranged accordiu,g to them.
We see the piebnlJ bull, Hapi, the black bull,
Ka-ur, t he white bull, Bc-kltat; tho ram,
monk<>y, panther, pig, jackal, and tho birds
GEOGilAT'Jll CAJ,
follow. Lakes, cemeteries, antl sacred trees arc
also given in connection with some town-
nnmes; for instance, the tree Asht is given to
Pi- Ilast, rectifying an erroneous sign at Edfu.
Part. 1. Apparently mcnlions various priests
rmd godtlcsses.
Part 5. Simihr to Part 2, giving trees, ceme-
t eries, feasts, forbidden t hings, agathocfaimons,
bnds, and lakes, of more than fifty places, of
which eighteen arc prcscned ; the place-names
are all burnt away, and none of the entries have
I been able to identify with those in the list of
nomcs. This may be a list of towns in some
district or nome. It also ended with a column
naming each class.
Part G. A list of sacred fi sh, &c., and deities
to which they belong, arranged according to
localities.
Part 7. A list of feast clays, of deities, and of
processions of sacred barks ; over a hundred
entries origin:illy.
Part 8. Another list of fifty or sixty feast
clays, not of dC' it.ics.
Part !J. List of about thirty gods, with various
entries to each, arranged alternately cast and
west.
Part 10. A long address in horizontal
columns, naming Khufu.
Part 11. A long address in vertical columns,
naming Khufu.
Part 12. A diagram of six hours (?), with

Part 13. A long statement dealing with
fabulous numbers, as hundreds of thousands,
and millions.
We may hope for some int.cresting results
when this shall have been studied in connection
with other calendars and geogr:iphical lists.
It is by the merest chance thnt this document
is not complete, as many other rolls were which
I discovered; and it shows us tbe great im-
portance of the closest attention to papyri,
even when found under most unfavourable
circumstances. '!' he demotic and hieratic pn-
pyri nwait cxnmination, and many of them are
perfect.
THE Geographical Papyrus has not been laid
aside during the three and a half years that have
elapsed since Mr. Petrie copied it. On the con-
trary, with his leave I have at various times spent
hours, and even days, in verifying the words that
occur in it, by means of the Geographical Dic-
tionary, the temple lists, the copy, and the
extremely obscure original. At length, in accord-
ance with the wish expressed in Mr. Petrie's report,
proofs were sent to Professor H. Brugsch, who
returned them covered with annotations, and
accompanied by the following letter :-
Monsieur,
Quoiquc jc n'aic CU quc quelqucs hcurcS U ma disposi-
tion pour examiner lcs fouillcs imprim6cs que vous avcz
cu la bontk de rccommandcr t. mes cxamens, jc peux
vous assurer de ma plu.s ha1tle aurprisc aprcs a\oir jct6
le premier coup cl'reil sur lcs tcxtes. Les travaux quc
j'ai fait.s pendant prcsquc 40 annl>cs pour rcconstruirc
lcs notions geograpbiqucs et calendriqucs des ancicns
Egypticns, ont cu leur precedent! Un Egypticn vivant
t. 1'6poquc Romaine, pcut-ctrc vcrs 1' 6poquc de la compo-
sition du tnblcau calcndriquo sculptc sur lcs muraillcs
du temple d'Esneb, se fut nmus6 a rcunir toutcs ccs
notions et sur le modole d' un tableau synoptiquc pour
facilitcr !cur connaissaucc il. scs lcctcurs. Mais qucl
dommagc quc le papyrus rcufcrmaut son travail a du
soufirir par lcs deplorablcs lacunes qu'i l offrc ! Hcu-
rcuscment ii en est rcste assez pour scrvi r i'L nous guider
sur lcs id6cs de l'ancicn compositcur et t!crivain des
divers t ableaux. D'apres mes observations, qui nc font
quc corroborcr vos proprcs vucs, la composition cmbrassc
lc:s sujets suivants quc j'ai traitcs dans mon Thesaurus
(lnscriplt. Astrou.) et dans le Dictionnnirc G6ograpbique,
sans nvoir pu presscutir que j'ui cu moo d6vaucier. En
voici le rosumu :
l" Ta6kau. L istc synoptiquc des 12 mois de l'annee
modernc des Egyplicns, avec lcs noms des letcs des
mois et avec les (noms des ?) hcurcs du j our en ordre
consooutif et distribuccs, par des motifs que j'ignore,
sur lcs J 2 mois en question.
2' Tablea11. Les noms des i2 heurcs de la nuit.
a
1
Tableau. Les :JO jours rlc la lune avcc Jes noms cor-
rcspoudants des diviuites lunnires de chnque j our.
4
1
Ta6lea1 .. Sujct astronomique en rapport avcc la lune
ou le solcil. Les cbiJJ'rcs ajoutes au mot pour la
mcsurc ~ g (schoiuos) indiquent , a cc qu'il parait,
des calculs astrouomiques.
5' Tableau. Tableaux des nomcs de la hautc et de la
liassc f:gypte, avcc lcs indications et d6signations des
al'bres sacres, des Scrapecs, des fcitcs, des cboses de-
fcuducs, des serpents Agalbod6mous, dcs tcrriloircs et
des terrains inoudos.
G
1
Tablea1<. Listcs et ooms des prctres et prctrcsscs des
sancluaites situcs dnns lcsdits uomes.
1
1
~ Tablca11. Liste de metnux (p. ex. r!!;: 6a-11i-pe, la
fer) et d'autrcs mineraux.- Noms des animaux divins
vcueres dnns un nombrc de vill es du pays (Apis de
Memphis, Mucvis d'Hcliopolis, Dnkhis d' Hcrmontbis,
le bouc de Mendes, etc.).
81 J.'ableart. Les fctes principalcs fetl'CS dnl!S le courant
de l'annco et rapportecs aux jours corrcspondant.s du
cn14!ndricr morlerne.
91., Tablca11. Listc de l'bi6ra1chie il. hi cour royale
d'aprcs lcs litres des dignitaircs, y compris lcs m6ticrs
uccup(:s ii la cour.
Lo tout sc tcrmine par un tcxtc cxplicatif avcc des
notions bistoriqucs qui m6ritcnt unc otudo part.iculierc
sur l'original.
A further contribution from the same hand
having been n1ost kindly promised, tho publication
was dehiyed for a time. l\foanwhilo tho original
wns rc-cxnmined, proving the con ectuess of severnl
TUE GEOGRAPHICAL PAPYRUS.
emenclations in the calendrical lists wbicb tbe
illustrious Egyptologist hacl suggested to me. Un-
happily a serious illness intervened, but on bis
recovery Professor Brugsch was good enongb to
sencl me the following valuable and interesting
observations.
Pins j'ai ctudio les tristes fragments du prec1eux
papyrus de Tanis, pins j'ni trouvo l'occ:ision tic me con-
vaincrc que 'valcur principale coosistc dans lcs notions
calendriqucs qu'il rcnfcrmc. II coufirmc cc que j'ai
prOtcn<lu <lcpuis do longucs annOcs <lnns mes recherches
calentl riqucs, en d'autrcs tcrmcs l'cxistcncc <le tlcu:<
annccs, <lu moins pour la <lcrniorc cpoquc <le l'histoirc
egypticnnc, <l ont l'unc n'cst pas different de J'annee
reti9ieusc, nppcl&c ol'dinaircmcnt sothiaquc, tantl is quc
l'autre, l'annce civile, est itl cntiqnc a ccllc qu'on a
l'habitudc de nommer l'alcxnndrinc. La prcmic1e
a la rentr6c de chnque periode sothiaquc
pal' la date du I' Thoth, eorrcspondant au
19
/,,, juillct
tlu ealendricr jnlien, Ja scconde par la meme date du
l" Thoth, mais ccttc fois corrcspontlant au '/
30
ao(1t
julicn, ii co n(-ccssaircmcnt le nombrc dc40 jours
qui cparc Jes dates identiqucs <!ans Jes <lcnx calcndricrs,
le rcligi cn:< et le civilc. Les prcuvcs cvidcntes nons
sont fonrnies por In trouvaille du papyrus de Tanis.
En ctndiant attcntivcmcnt la seric des fCtes, accom-
pognees de !curs dotes, sur Jes frogmcnts du Part 7
(planche IV.), on fora la curicusc observation quc Jes
ICtcs du mois, au commencement des douzc mois de
J'annec cgypticnoc, UC SC trpuvcnt pas a lcurs places
qu'clles occupcnt Jons Jes eolendriers antiques. C'est
ainsi que la fCte nommcc "fcte <l'Hathor,"
-nom sous lcqnel sc c.1r.he le nom grce Athyr pour le
3rme mois de P:mnec tgyptiennc,-rst notCc sous Ja
<lnte du ]er .Cl10ink, c'cst-illlirc an mois suivnnt cclui
d' Athyr. En proccclnnt on remarqucra cgall'mcnt que la
fCtc du mois de Choink, nommcc U9LJ 'CD Ki?1nk, se
trouve inscritc sous 1n d:ite du I" Tybi. Un troisieme
excmple, c'est le dcrnier conscrv6 sur Jes fragments du
popyrus, sc prcsentc au.Jessous de la date du mois
Mcchir; e'cst le groupc encore :>ssez reconnaissable
ll'l\ qui, a l'opoquc ptolcmalquc, por c:<cmple,(voir
=::.oT
moo " 'l' hcsaurus" ;, In page 4i2), sert " designer la rete
du mois de Ty bi, ma is nou p:>s cclle du Mcchir, qui porte
le nom de rok?1-11iir. Commc on le voit,
Jes fctcs des mois nc correspondent plus aux mois aux-
qucls cllcs appartienocnt, mais ellcs Jes avancent d'uo
mois entier.
Ce fail, tlont on ne pourra pas s'cn tloutcr, est corro-
bor6 par Jes fragments <lu Part 1 (a la planchc I .), qui
oot conserve Jes rcstcs de la notation des 12
mois de !'an sous la fo1mc connue a l'epoque greco-
rom:tinc (voir le " Thes:mrus,'' p. 472 sui v.). Mis en
rapport a\'CC lcs 12 hcurcs du jour, le premier mois
(Thotb) y portc le nom de o sccon<lc celui de
, Api (d'ou l'appclation <l o cc mois Pha-ophi), le
est indiquc par le groupc c'cst le mois de
<lecssc lhthor reprcscntec par le scribe du papyrus par
!'image d'uuc vachc couchC'C. Molhcurcuscmcnt les
noms des mois snivants ont disparu par suite de In
mutilation du papyrus, t. la seule exception
du dernier (Mcsol'i), qui est appclc tres-claircment :
"\{r <::::D '' mois <lu commcnccmrnt de l'an/' avec la
curieusc remnrquc qui l'uccompagnc: O "descend
=I
le solcil" 011 peut-Ctrc "le jour." Le scns de cette
lcgcnde est focilcment 1i comprcndrc; ii s'agit de la
dcsccntc du solcil vcrs l'hCmisphore infcricure dans la
sccondc moilio de !'an. En pnrlant de l:i Mcssc Venus
qui depl ore Adoni, l\facrobc (S:iturnoll. I., c. xxi.)
s'cxprime ainsi lti-dcssus: "quo<l Sol annuo gressu per
duodecim signorum ortlinem pcrgcns, partcm quoquc
he111i8pl1trrii i11/eriori& i119rerlitur, qoia <le duodccim Sig-
nis Zo<liaci sex supcriora, sex i11fcriora ccnsentur: et
cum est ;,. i'!feriorib111 et i<leo dies brcviorcs facit,
lngcre crcditur Dea, etc.
D'apre le calendrier alexondrin le mois l\fesori cm-
brassc Jes 30 jours :\ portir du 25 juillct jusqu'au 23
ao1it jnl., ou, Jes 5 j ours cpngomenes y compris, jus-
qu'au 28 aout. 'D'aprcs le c:ilcn<lricr d'Esnch, de l'cpoque
romaine, deux j ours avant le commencement du mois
Mcsori, OU le 29 Epiphi, In fcte nommec
"cclle de Sa i\lojcstc" (Messc) etait celelll'l!e co l'hon-
ncur du lever de la constellation d'Isis-Sothis, lequcl
ancicnncmcnt etait ccnscc ouvrir la nouvelle annee. Le
29 Epiphi en question rcpond au 23 jnillct jul., c'est-
a-dirc ii la date qne Jes Alcxandrins notairnt commc
jour du lever de l'cloile Sothis 1, lcnr 6poque. C'est
co nfi rme par !Cs tomoig-na:rcs de 'l'h"on et de Ptolcmee
(voir U119cr, Chronol. de Mancthon, pag. 51). On se
convainc done quc le mois de l\fosori portait de tout
droit le nom de \{r "mois de l'ouvertnrc, ou du
commencement de !'an." 11 le mois antique
de 'l'hotb et ii fut cause que, de ccttc toutes Jes
fctes de mois . d'un mois enticr Jes mois de
l'ancicn calendrier rcligicux. II en rcsulte ncccssaire-
mcnt que lcs dates du paryrus de Tanis sont indiquces
d'apres J'nnncc alcxnndrinc et quc le poryrus <loit avoir
ct6 compose a unc epoque OU le calcodricr alexaodrin
ctait d'usngc. .
.A.\'ant de termincr cctte petite rcmarquc au sujet des
not.1tiooscalcndriqucsquiscrcncontrcnt sur les fragments
dudit papyrus, jc voudrais encore fixer l'attcotion sur Jc
tcxte, mutile du rcstc commc tout cc qui prl'Cedc, qui
THE GEOGRAPIIICAL PAPYRUS.
Z5
est public su1 lcs dcrni&rcs planches de la publication.
Ce tcxtc dcbutc par unc formulc bicn connuc par d'antres
specimens d'un iigc de bcaucoup antcricur ii. la redaction
du papyrus. Le compositcur s'adrcssc ii. lous ccux qui
vivcnt et qui vivront sur la tc1rc, notammcnt aux classes
savantcs des prCLres, pour leur rccommandcr le souvenir
ctcrncl de son nom et de scs reuvres. Parmi lcs dcr-
ni cres, ace qu'il parait, la composit ion d11 papyrus en
question occupa le premier rang. Ayant visit.U un tom-
beau appurtenant I. un dignitaire de la cour et de
l'cpoque du roi Cho1ifo1'-Chl>ops, ii cut la chance d'y
dccouvri r des textee et des objcts sac1cs de la plus hautc
valeur. II cite, par excmple, uue co11dc3c de Thot qu'il
;wait trou\' cC sur le sol de la lombc. 13ref, ii nc tarda
pas a sauvcr ccs myslCrcs incounues au monJc vivant, en
drcssmtt en f'ormc de tableaux Jes mati!.rcs sacrccs de
l':rncicnnc sagcssc sur le papyrns. II !ermine son tra-
vail par !'expression de son dcsir qu' cn revanchc de ses
actions, son nom le su1vivc. llfalbeurcuscmcnt ii n'cn
est rcstc quc quclqucs signcs :I la fin du papyrns.
I Jrn.vc to-day r evised portions of the Inst two
plates. Mr. Pctrie' s division of the papyrus iuto
parts has been presen ccl, but I have ndclcd n
running number for the fragments.
F. L. G., 30th J<111., 1889.
ERRATUl\l.
Transcription VI. 2. Dot ouly (.) between (w i :111tl (i/Js.