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Limestone ostracon: E.GA.4695.1943

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Current Location: Gallery 19

Titles

Limestone ostracon

Entities

Categories

Description

Writing board, part missing. Ruled Egyptian text in Demotic script from the 'Tale of Pedubastet'. Both the Egyptian Demotic language and Greek co-existed during the Ptolemaic period but Greek was the official language of administration. Demotic is a cursive form of hieroglyphic script.
There are two holes across the left-hand edge, about 0.8 cm in diamter and 6 cm apart, of unknown purpose

Measurements and weight

Length: 16.3 cm
Thickness: 1.9 cm
Width: 11.8 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1943) by Gayer-Anderson, R. G. (Major)

Dating

Ptolemaic Period
Circa -0332 - Circa -0030

Materials used in production

Varnish
Limestone

Techniques used in production

Inscribed

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: 1. ] r xhr 2. ] n na iwnw [n] pA grH 3. hr]wt gm.f pA xpr 4. ] Sm iw xrw.f xy Dd in 5. ] in wn ntr nty qy [r] pA ra 6. ] ... nb Htp. in wn gl-Sr 7. ] it wsir nsw irt-[n]-Hr-r.w in 8. ] ir.k Htr wn wat mrt (?) 9. X ]r n iwnw na tA-Hwt
  • Location: Recto
  • Type: Inscription
  • Text: Dd xpr nty (?)
  • Location: Verso
  • Type: Inscription

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: E.GA.4695.1943
Primary reference Number: 59142
Oldadmincategory: SS

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Friday 18 July 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Antiquities

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Limestone ostracon" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/59142 Accessed: 2025-12-06 15:19:03

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/59142 |title=Limestone ostracon |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-06 15:19:03|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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