ZÄS 2021; 148(1): 1–11

Ibrahim Abd El-Sattar

Remarks on the Orthography of Word rmT in the

Old Kingdom
https://doi.org/10.1515/zaes-2021-0105
1 Early Reference of rmT
Summary: This paper investigates the orthographies of
the word rmT in the Old Kingdom and the factors impact- The earliest occurrence of the word rmT in ancient Egyp-
ing them. It is based on a survey of texts that include this tian documents dates to the Second Dynasty1. It was
word. It aims to identify features of spelling originality written in cursive hieroglyph/hieratic with the
and means of dissemination of orthographical forms. mono-consonants (r) , (T) without the consonant
The study also urged with its pronunciation, its plurality (m) followed by the determinative .
and singularity, the nature and significance of its deter-
minatives. Finally, the study concluded that there is an
obvious orthography-system of this word which could be
geographically, and chronology traced.
2 O
 rthographical Forms of rmT in
Keywords: determinatives ‒ Old Kingdom ‒ orthography ‒
the Old Kingdom
rmT ‒ pyramid texts
2.1 The Pyramid Texts (Table 1):

The word rmT is attested in texts belonging to all phases The Pyramid Texts combines the mono-consonants ,
of Egyptian language. Its precise meaning and semantics , and , but sometimes excludes the sign . In these
are still debatable; and thus, a definitive conclusion in a texts, the word rmT usually has the determinative or
short study is not feasible. However, the evolution of its the marks of plural and . It should be noted that the
orthography and the conspicuous relationship between its complete alphabetical spelling of rmT is common
meaning/s and the determinatives it has taken, should not in the Pyramid Texts of Unis, except for one example
be discarded. Accordingly, this paper aims to explore the wherein it is written without the mono-consonant .
orthographical evolution of the word rmT in Old Kingdom Also, alphabetical writing is used predominately in the
texts, whether it is singular, plural, or has the two forms. Pyramid Texts of King Teti, but it is sometimes written
This paper also explains the nature of its different determi- with three dots , which are occasionally substituted
natives and considers the factors that influence its orthog- by three strokes as a determinative. In the Unis, Teti,
raphies. An important point that should be taken into con- and Pepi I orthographical forms, the determinative ,
sideration here is that Old Kingdom examples of the word which refers to both male and female, are totally absent.
rmT come from the Pyramid Texts, the elites’ texts, and its On the other hand, the defective orthographic form fol-
contemporary royal documents. They provide two entirely lowed by the three dots or the three slanted strokes
different contexts and multiple orthographies. Therefore, is dominant in the Pyramid Texts corpus of Pepi I.
this paper shall deal with the royal and non-royal docu- In the Pyramid Texts of Merenre, its orthography wit-
ments separately to give an exhaustive overview. nessed changes that continued into those of his succes-
sors. For instance, the two iconic signs appeared for
the first time as a determinative of rmT. Furthermore, the
determinative occurred extensively in the versions
of Merenre, Pepy II, Aba and Neit, preceded by the group
of mono-consonants 2 or 3. Obviously, the full

1 Lacau & Lauer 1959‒65, 48, Abb. 72, Taf. 287; Kahl 2003, 268.
2 Jéquier 1936, pl. ix, line. 719+23; Jéquier 1933, pl. xxviii, line. 729;
Allen, V, 2013, PT. 570 (1450c), PT. 665A (1905a).
Ibrahim Abd El-Sattar: Fayoum University, 3 Pyr. 1905a, 1941b; Jéquier 1933, pl. xxiv, line 647; xxviii, line. 729;
email: [email protected] xxxi, line. 811; Jéquier 1935, pl.xiii, line. 678.
2 Ibrahim Abd El-Sattar, Remarks on the Orthography of Word rmT in the Old Kingdom

Table (1).

PT Pyr W T P M N

246 256d – – missing

273 400a – –

302 459a – missing –

302 462a missing missing –

302 463d – missing –

305 474b – missing –

344 559c – – missing

361 604f – – –

374 659c–d – – –

412 728b–c – missing –

438 809b – – –

467 890a–b – – missing

478 976c – –

506 1101a – –

510 1147c – – –

511 1160a – –

520 1223b – – –

565 1423b – –

569 1438c – –

570 1450c – –

573 1484a – –

665A 1905 a – missing –

666 1941b – – –

alphabetic form of rmT is continued into the Pyramid Texts 2.2 The royal Texts (Table 2):
of Pepi I, Merenre, Pepi II and Neit, but it is also followed
by the determinatives or . Although the latter Apart from the Pyramid Texts as a religious source, the
determinative is prevalent in examples from the pyramid other royal texts obviously display a different orthographi-
of Merenre onwards, there is only one evidence of using cal evolution of the word rmt/rmT.w which could be chron-
it as a logogram in all the Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts ologically traced. As mentioned above, the defective and
corpora (Aba)4. The Use of the determinative above common orthographical form occurred as early
three strokes first appeared in the Pyramid Texts of as the Second Dynasty. As attested in a textual document
king Aba5. It is preceded by the two mon-consonants belongs to the Fourth Dynasty, it seems that the same
and . In an interesting example, in the Pyramid Texts of orthography was still utilized7. The royal textual resources
Neit6, the word rmT is determined by three female figures of both the Fifth (?) and the Sixth Dynasties exclude all
preceded by the two mon-consonants and . the consonants of the word, which is simply written with

4 PT. 374. Jéquier 1935, pl. xi, line. 531. 7 Urk I, 156, 3. The original version of this document, published by
5 PT. 246. Jéquier 1935, pl. viii, line. 312. Daressy, keeps only the consonant (r), while its reconstruction was
6 PT. 666. Jéquier 1933, pl. xxix, line. 762. speculated by Sethe.
 Ibrahim Abd El-Sattar, Remarks on the Orthography of Word rmT in the Old Kingdom 3

Table (2)

Word Orthography Document Date Reference

Stone fragment II Lacau & Lauer 1959–65, 48, Abb. 72, Taf.287; Kahl 2003, 268.

%o-Mrr-Nb.ty IV Urk I. 156, 3. See. Daressy 1913, 111, 113.

(c)%#H.w-Ro V Urk I, 246, 2.

Mry-n-Ro VI Reisner 1931, pl. A3, Urk I, 275, 2.

Mry-n-Ro VI Dareesy 1913, 111; Goedicke 1976, fig. 5.

Nfr-K#-Ro VI Weill 1912, pl. I, Urk I, 283, 2; Goedicke 1976, fig. 8.

(c)%#H.w-Ro V El Awady 2009, 218.

Mry-Ro-Pjpj VI Borchardt 1905, 5, 8, 11; Weill 1912, pl. III1; 3; Urk I, 210, 5; 211, 9; 212, 10; 213, 1,
4, 6; Goedicke 1976, fig. 5.
Mry-n-Ra VI Reisner 1931, pl. A3; Urk I, 275, 4.
Nfr-K#-Ro VI Reisner 1931, pl. A3; Urk I, 278, 4–5; Goedicke 1976, fig. 12.
W#D-K#-Ro VIII Weill 1912, pl. IV1; Urk I, 304, 16; 305, 8; Hayes 1946, 6, 20; Goedicke 1976, fig. 28.
aa; Leprohon 2013, 47.

Nfr-K#.w-Or VIII Urk I, 300, 5; Hayes 1946, pl.5; Goedicke 1976, fig. 21.

Nfr-K#.w-Or VIII Urk I, 301, 6; Goedicke 1967, fig. 20.

W#D-K#-Ro VIII Weill 1912, pl. IV; Urk I, 306, 3; Goedicke 1976, fig. 28.

Nfr-jr-K#-Ro V Boston Mus MFA No. C 385. Weill 1912, 68; Goedicke, 1976, fig. 2; Leprohon 1985, 3,
2, 52 (03. 1896).
Mn-K#.w-Or. V Petrie 1903, pl. XVIII; Urk I, 170, 13; 171, 3; 7; 12; 172, 1; 6.
Mry-Ro-Pjpj VI Weill 1912, 40, fig. 6; Urk I, 214, 12.

the logogram . In the Fifth Dynasty, an orthography traced. The early example of this word from a non-royal
change appeared, using the triplication of sitting males context comes from the autobiography of MTn, which
to make up a plural logogram pronounced as dates to the early beginning of the Fourth Dynasty. This
rmT.w. This novel orthographic form has also continued example excludes the consonants of the word and is
through the royal documents of the Sixth Dynasty. In written only with the logogram . This orthographic
addition, it has been simultaneously used with both the form is prevalent throughout the Fourth, the Fifth and
determinatives and , the singular logograms pro- the Sixth Dynasties in the cemeteries of the capital i. e.,
nounced also as rmT. In the Eighth Dynasty, besides the Giza and Saqqara. Outside of Giza and Saqqara, there is
orthographic form , the plurality of the logogram an uncertain example of this form in the tomb of c#b-n⸗j
rmT appeared in two forms. The first form shows in Qubbet el-Hawa.
three-strokes two, above one as a mark of the plural, It is, however, used sometimes side by side with the
while the second is made up of the mono-consonants , defective orthographical form in the same text
supplemented with the determinative either above source8. It continued to appear during the Old Kingdom
three vertical strokes or preceding the three-stroke alongside with other orthographical forms. It spread, as
arrangement . The last two orthographical forms did opposed to the form , not only in Giza and Saqqara,
not occur in the royal sources of the Sixth Dynasty, but but also in Abydos, Meir, Deshasheh, Deir el-Gabrawi,
the former appeared, as mentioned above, in the Pyramid Kaser-es- Sayad and Qubbet el-Hawa. The orthography
Texts of Aba. of rmT with the determinative above the three ver-
tical strokes as a mark of the plural preceded by the
group of mono-consonants , first appeared in the
2.3 The Non-Royal Texts (Table 3): Sixth Dynasty tomb of Idw (Mns#) and tomb 104 in Kaser
es-Sayed. Among all the examined rmT forms, there are no
The orthographic evolution of the word rmt/rmT.w in non-
royal texts could be chronologically and geographically
8 See. Urk I, 50; 2‒3.
4 Ibrahim Abd El-Sattar, Remarks on the Orthography of Word rmT in the Old Kingdom

Table (3)

Word Orthography Location Date Reference

Saqqara. III -IV

e b
LD II, 6, 7a; Schäfer 1903, Berlin Muse. No.1105. C.
Saqqara V Van de Walle 1978, 30; Mariette 1889, 318 (D 52); 342 (D 60); Urk I, 10, 6; 36, 10;
46, 13; 49, 8; 50, 3, 16; 57, 15, 16; 193, 4; Goedicke 1970, pl. VIII; Mohr 1943,
34–35; Schäfer 1903, Berlin Muse. No. 1131; James 1974, 15, pl. XX (40).
Giza V Junker 1953, 125; 1955; 215, fig. 83; Hassan 1944, 241, fig. 101a.
Saqqara VI Hassan & Iskander 1975a, fig. 18; 1975c, fig. 33; Goedicke 1970, pls. IX, XIb;
El-Khouli & Kanawati 1988, pl. 6; Urk I, 35, 13; 201, 5, 7; 202, 3; Capart 1907, pls.
XIX, LXXVII; Kanawati 1997, pl. 35; 2001b, pl. 53.
Giza VI Urk I, 217, 8, 10, 11; Junker 1947, 119, fig. 56; 1953, 266–67, fig. 108; Abubaker
1953, 73, fig. 47; Fischer 1977, 50, fig. 52.
Qubbet el-Hawa VIe Edel 2008b, 817, pl. 10.

Abusir V Bárta 2001, 160, fig. 4.12, 13.

Edfou V -VI
e b
Edel 1954, 13.

Giza IV Urk I, 12, 1; 12, 7; 12, 10; 12, 12–13; 13, 6; 13, 11; 14, 2; Borchardt 1937, 113,
(CG. 1432).
Giza V Urk I, 12, 1, 7, 10, 12, 13; 13, 6, 11; 14, 2; 233, 7, 13, 15, 18; Goedicke, 1970,
pls. V–VI; Hassan 1932, 15, 35; 1960, 88, fig. 38; Grdseloff 1943, fig. 3, 4; Junker
1953, 214; Kanawati 2001, pl. 32.
Saqqara V Mariette 1889, 204–5 (D 12); 417 (D 28); 342 (D 60); Urk I, 40, 4; 49, 4; 50, 2,
8, 14; 75, 13, 15, 16; Hassan & Iskander, 1975b, 99; 1975c, fig. 33; Mohr 1943,
34–35.
Deshasheh V Petrie, 1897, pl.7; Urk. I, 70, 2, 4, 15; Kanawati 1993, 32, pl. 39.
Deir el-Gabrawi V–VI Ahmed, 2020, 24, figs. 1–2.
Giza VI Simpson 1976, 20, pl. XVII, fig. 33; Der Manuelian 1994, 61, 63, fig. 4.7; Urk I,
217, 6; Badway 1978, fig. 22.
Saqqara VI Hassan & Iskander 1975a, fig. 4; 1975c, fig. 33; Wilson, 1954, 256–258, fig. 1;
El-Khouli & Kanawati 1988, pl.6; Myśliwiec 1999, 27; 2004, 77, 4; 81, 5; Urk. I,
88, 6; 198, 18; Kanawati 1999, 22, pl. 52; 2009 pls. 49, 51; 2010, pl. 64a; Edel
1979, 107, fig. 1; Capart 1907, pl. XI, XXII; Urk I, 198, 5; 203, 3; Badway 1978, 14,
fig. 22; Hassan & Iskander 1975b, 7, fig. 4; James 1953, pls. V–VI; Firth & Gunn
1926, 211; Goyon, 1959, pl. III; Berlev 1982, cl. 60 (Dyn. VII–VIII).
Deshasheh VI Urk I, 89, 10, Petrie 1897, pl. 25; Kanawati 1993, pl. 55.
Meir VI Kamal 1915, 212–13; Blackman 1924, pls. IV, IVA; Urk I, 222, 5, 13; 223, 17;
Kanawati 2012, pl. 76(a-b).
Abydos VI Urk I, 150, 9; 263, 8, 9; Frankfort 1929, pl. XX3.
Kaser-es- Sayad VI Montet 1936, 112, 129; Säve-Söderbergh 1994, pl. 6a, pls. 44, 46, 47.
Edfou Ve-VIb Edel 1954, 13.
Qubbet el-Hawa VI Urk I, 129, 10; 130, 7, 11; Edel 2008a, 627, pl. 8.

Kaser-es-Sayed VI Montet 1936, 129; Säve-Söderbergh 1994, pls. 44, 46, 47, Slab 104 A.

Deir el-Gabrawi VI Davies 1902a, pl. 23; Urk I, 142, 15; Kanawati 2007, pl. 54.

Tehna V Fraser 1902, 127; Maspero 1902, 132; Urk I, 27,4; Grdseloff 1943, 62; Goedicke
1970, pl. XIV; Fischer, 1977, 51, fig. 51.
Saqqara VI Goyon 1959, pl. 1.

Hatnub VI Anthes 1928, Gr. 4, Taf. 10.

Giza V Urk I, 46, 13; 60, 6; 61, 7; 63, 5; Brovarski 2001, figs. 31–33.
Saqqara VI Jéquier 1929, fig. 116.
Meir VI Urk I, 223, 14; Kanawati, 2012, pl. 76a.
Deir el-Gebrawi VI Kanawati 2005, pls. 56, 66.
– VI Gauthier 1916, 126; Urk I, 251, 2.
Qubbet el-Hawa VI Urk. I, 123, 1; 132, 17; Edel 2008b, 683, pl. 1, 699.

Giza Ve Hassan 1944, 241, fig. 101b, Urk. I, 46, 13; 47, 5.
 Ibrahim Abd El-Sattar, Remarks on the Orthography of Word rmT in the Old Kingdom 5

Table (3) (continued)

Word Orthography Location Date Reference

Kaser-es-Sayed VIb Montet 1936, 112; Säve-Söderbergh 1994, pl. 6a.

Kaser-es-Sayed VI Montet 1936, 121; Goedicke 1970, pl. XVIII; Säve-Söderbergh 1994, pl. 9.

Kaser-es-Sayed VI Montet 1936, 121; Goedicke 1970, pl. XVIII; Säve-Söderbergh 1994, pl. 9.

Qubbet el-Hawa VI Edel 2008b, 817, pl. 10.

Saqqara VI Urk I, 260, 12.

Saqqara. VI Kanawati 1996, pl. 55; 1997, pl. 69; James 1953, pl. XXXIX.

Saqarra VI Firth & Gunn 1926a, 211 (21); Urk I, 198, 5.

Deshasheh* VI Urk I, 90, 2. Petrie 1898, pl.25; Kanawati 1993, pl. 55.

Saqqara V Mariette 1889, 185 (D 6); Urk I, 35, 1; 49, 2; 174, 1; Steindorff, 1913, pl. 8; Épron
(et al) 1939, pl. XI.
Giza V Hassan, 1932; fig. 182, 109; 1960, 14, fig. 3; Urk I, 234, 14.
Deshasheh V Petrie 1897, pl. 7; Urk I, 70, 12; 71, 3; Kanawati 1993, pl. 39.
Saqqara VI Hassan & Iskander, (1975a), fig. 18; 1975c, fig. 33; Goedicke 1970, pl. X; Wilson
1954, 256–258, fig. 1; Kanawati 1999, 38, pl. 59a; Goyon 1959, pls. I, III.
Giza VI Capart 1907, pl. 19; Urk I, 202, 10; Badway 1978, 14, fig. 23; Kanawati 1997, 28,
pl. 35; Junker 1947, 134, fig. 62; Hölzl 1999, 18, 110–113.
Akhmim VI Vandier 1936, 35; Urk I, 264, 10.
Kaser-es-Sayed VI Montet 1936, 121; Goedicke 1970, pl. XVIII; Säve-Söderbergh 1994, pl. 9.
Edfu VI Daressy 1917, 36, 136; Urk. I, 254, 17; El-Khadragy, 2002, 207, fig. 3.
Qubbet el-Hawa VIe Edel 2008b, 816, pl. 10; Urk I. 122, 14; Edel 2008a, 622.

* It was reconstructed by Sethe, but it was completely missed in the publication of Petrie.

additional examples that combined the determinative was used as a determinative, preceded by the mono-con-
and the three-strokes. However, these two determinatives sonants and and followed by the three-stroke form
appear together in other words9. . It also stands alone followed by three vertical strokes:
In the tomb of Jbj at Deir el-Gabrawi, from the Sixth one above two, or two above one10. As mentioned pre-
Dynasty, the complete consonantal alphabetic writing viously, this orthographic form became common in the
form, supplemented with the iconic signs of a sitting man royal scripts of the Eighth Dynasty. Keeping the tradi-
and woman , is attested. Jbjʼs example is tion of using the sitting male sign without its counter-
strange and unique, because in it the ideogram precedes part of the sitting female sign , scribes wrote the word
that of . rmT.w with the logogram above three vertical strokes
During the Fifth and the Sixth Dynasties, the signs as a morpheme of plural (w). A strange and unique
are occasionally used as logogram, pronounced orthographic form, which is found in the tomb of Nnkj
rmT.w. They also appear as determinative after the group (Jnn-Pjpj) in Saqqara from the reign of the King Pepi II,
of mono-consonants . The spread of these two novel- employs the mono-consonants and supplemented
ties was not restricted to the cemetery of the capital. The with two determinatives; the first is the sign of the upper
form is found in Giza, Saqqara, Meir, Deir el-Ga- part of an old man holding a stick and the second is the
brawi and Qubbet el-Hawa, whereas the form is three vertical strokes
attested in Tehna, Hatnub and Saqqara. It is restricted to During the Sixth Dynasty, there have been two addi-
the elites’ scripts. tional changes in the orthography of the word. In one
Outside the capital cemetery, in both Kaser-es-Sayed orthography that is attested in three examples from
and Qubbet el-Hawa, some innovative and substantial Saqqara, the word is written only with the mono-conso-
changes were made; the singular sign has been treated nants and without a determinative. Whereas the
as a phonetic sign or a logogram pronounced rmT. Also, it second one, from Saqqara and Deshasheh (?), added the

9 Roccati 1968, Pl. IVa, 16. 10 Cf. Petrie 1900, pl. XV; Goedicke 1994, 73, fig. 1.
6 Ibrahim Abd El-Sattar, Remarks on the Orthography of Word rmT in the Old Kingdom

iconic sign as determinative after the mono-consonants in the Old Kingdom were given the same determinative,
and . In rare examples, the mono-consonants such as: po.t 19, rXy.t 20, nD.t 21and mr.t
and switched positions11. Finally, the sign standing 22. It is worth noting that rmT is the only word
alone as a logogram pronounced as a singular form rmT among them whose phonetics are written with alone,
was common in the Fifth and the Sixth Dynasties. It first without any phonograms. Accordingly, this pictogram
appeared in the Fifth Dynasty capital cemetery at Giza and has a phonetic value rmT as a logogram and a pictorial
Saqqara, and then was disseminated into the provincial value as a determinative. In these two cases, it keeps its
cemeteries of Deshasheh, Akhmim, Edfu, Kaser-es-Sayed full iconic value23. According to Goldwasser24, the determi-
and Qubbet el-Hawa. native after the group of mono-consonants
is a pictorial tautology or synonym (repeater).
Furthermore, this pictogram was also used as a deter-

3 T
 he Pronunciation of rmT and its minative for some words that tacitly includes the male
and the female humans collectively. These words are
Determinatives: ms.w 25, Hm.w-k# 26, Xnty.w-S 27,
sn.w28, s#.w-nswt 29, onX.w 30 and xrd.w
The word rmT has a consonantal root r-m-T; although, it 31 etc. Therefore, the determinative of the
was always written with the consonants r and T without word rmT apparently denotes both male and female and
the mono-consonant m. The disappearance of the vowel- it is not a mark of plural, although this word is sometimes
tier makes the reader have to decide how to pronounce used as an anticipated subject followed by its reflexive
this root. According to its Coptic phonetics12, the word suffix pronoun third person plural (sn)32. Additionally, it
was probably pronounced rwmT or rm. Essentially, the is sometimes accompanied by plural adjectives33, by the
phonetic spelling of rmT with the morpheme of plural is genitival adjective for plural (nj.w)34, or by a stative with
a subject of debate. Faulkner asserted that the singular the morpheme of plural35. The suffix pronoun third person
noun rmT, man, is very rare in the Old Kingdom13. He relied does indicate gender and number, so it could be suggested
on some examples, which used this word accompanied by that the determinative seems to be used to express a
plural adjectives, such as , , mixed-gender plural i. e., the group of males and females
and , which obviously use rmT as a mascu- together – not a one-gender plural. This argument is sup-
line plural rmT.w14. Gardiner, looking at examples from the ported by the use of the determinative for the singular
Middle Kingdom, pointed out that the plural form of rmT form of the word rmT. For the meaning ‘person, anyone’,
translated as (man) is written or 15. Obvi- in general, the determinative is also used to express
ously, Edel distinguished between rmT (Mensch- Mann) as one gender, male or female. As a result, this iconic deter-
a masculine singular and rmT(.w) (Menschen) as a mascu- minative is grammatically used in the two forms: singular
line plural.16 Much later, Quirke pointed out that the term and plural. This indicates that it is not a mark of plurality
rmT, which refers to the meaning of people, is the semantic
plural of the singular (zj)17, which has no grammatical
plural. In his interesting paper about defective words in 19 Blackman 1915, pl. vii; Urk I, 168, 13; 169, 1.
20 Urk I, 168, 14; 169, 2.
the Pyramid Texts, Kahl was more cautious18. He put the
21 Urk I, 169, 1.
plural morpheme (w) between two brackets, even though 22 Urk I, 171, 7; 172, 1; 264, 3; 275, 5. Davies 1902a, pl. vii; Blackman
some of these examples are not followed by or, as 1924, xi; Junker 1953, 214.
marks of plurality. 23 Goldwasser 1995, 51.
In fact, the word rmT signifies a human aspect, which 24 Goldwasser 2002, 15.
is evinced by its iconic determinative . It should be 25 Urk I, 36, 5–6, 11; 233, 7; Mariette 1889, 318.
26 Urk I, 36, 12; 36, 15; 162, 17; Mariette 1889, 318; Brovarski 2001,
noted that numerous words that have a human aspect
fig. 18.
27 Urk I, 211, 6.
11 Urk I, 205, 11; Junker 1955, 42 (94). 28 Urk I, 47, 3; 222, 7. Hassan 1944, 241; Borchardt 1964, 106 (CG 1642).
12 Wb II, 421. 29 Urk I, 15.
13 Faulkner 1929, 37. 30 Davies 1902b, pl. XIII; Castel 2001, 100, fig. 100.
14 Faulkner 1929, 37. 31 Urk I, 150, 9.
15 Gardiner 1947, 98*; See. Davies 1920, pl. IX. 32 Urk I, 217, 6; 233, 7; 263, 9.
16 Edel 1955, 24 (53); 33 (71‒72), 33 (74). 33 See. Urk I, 129, 10; 130, 7, 11; 304, 16; 130.
17 Qurike 1991, p. 145; Doxey 1998, p. 191. 34 Junker, 1953, 214.
18 Kahl 1992, p. 112. 35 Urk I, 50, 3.
 Ibrahim Abd El-Sattar, Remarks on the Orthography of Word rmT in the Old Kingdom 7

and is not a semantic plural of the word (zj) as Quirke group of women, as attested in the Pyramid Texts of Neit.
suggested. In this case, the word refers to a group of females.
Using the word rmT with its determinative as a The singular form of rmT is not found in the Pyramid
singular masculine probably explains why the iconic sign Texts, because the word always signifies the meaning of
has been also used as its singular form, referring to the (people), versus nTr.w (gods)46. The scribes of the Pyramid
male or female person as well as the meaning of a (man). Texts considered the word rmT as a plural; having replaced
There are more orthographic forms of rmT with a deter- the iconic determinative with the three strokes or
minative of three sitting men or a sitting man accompa- three dots as a plural morpheme. They did not combine
nied by three strokes36. They similarly indicate the two both the iconic determinative and the three strokes
human elements i. e. male and female genders. Obvi- or dots together in the same word. Apparently, the exam-
ously, this is substantiated by many similar words such ples which combined both the determinative and the
as ms.w , 37, onX.w 38, three strokes together in the word rmT come from the elites’
xrd.w 39, Xnty.w-S 40, m-X. texts of the Sixth Dynasty and later; certainly from Kasr-es-
ty.w 41, sn.w 42, Hm.w-k# 43 or Sayed. The Pyramid Texts of Aba combined only between
44. Interestingly, the word xrd.w.t is followed by the three strokes and the sign as determinatives of rmT.
the iconic determinative above a scene of boys and The singular of word rmT was written in several
girls45. This proves, without a doubt, that this iconic deter- orthographical forms , , and . The first one
minative signifies both genders. However, it is also used to appears twice, while the second appears several times47.
refer to the masculine plural; this is evident in some words The third one is read by most Egyptologists as (zj), which
that distinguished between the two genders. For instance, is translated as a (man), but it is certainly read as (rmT)48
the Old Kingdom scribe was very accurate in differentiat- for two reasons. The first is that it is mentioned in a paral-
ing between writing the determinative of the word sn.w lel context in which rmT is stated.49 The second is proved
(brothers) and that of sn.w.t by writing (zj) with the mono-consonant above the pic-
(sisters). This also clarifies why the writing forms , togram 50.
, , , rmT.w sometimes signify The question is whether the writing forms or
the meaning of (men), as well as its meaning as (people). can be the singular form of or not? Surely, the
Now, it could explain why the scribe sometimes used the writing forms or are occasionally used in doc-
sign of a sitting woman together with the two signs of uments as a singular word, which is translated as male or
sitting men as a logogram and determinative instead of female (person, human being) and it should not be trans-
the predominant sign of the three sitting men . Most lated as a (man) at all. The two writing forms and
likely, this is not a scribal mistake, but it expresses what is also signify the same meanings, but it also signifies the
in his mind about the nature of this determinative and the meaning of a (man). Undoubtedly, both the writing forms
meaning of the word rmT. Moreover, there is an evidence and are the singular form of , ,
for the use of the word rmT determined by as a , , rmT.w, which is translated as (persons,
human beings, people, or men). The question that arises
here is why the writing forms and was used in its
36 This determinative continued to be used during the First Interme-
singular form in the sense of “man” despite the presence
diate Period in the word , indicating the two elements (male and
female). Fischer 1964, 123, fig. 19
of the word zj. It seems that when the scribe introduced the
37 Urk I, 27, 6; 162, 7; Firth & Gunn 1926, 155; Junker 1940, fig. 9; plural writing forms , , , and
Abubaker 1953, fig. 29; Blackman, 1953, pl. xxix; James 1961, pl. XVII, in the sense of “men”, he wanted to make its single deriva-
no. 682; Munro 1993, pl. 31. tion from the same writing form.
38 Urk I, 75, 8; Mariette 1889, 417; Borchardt 1964, 162 (CG 1732).
39 Kanawati 1998, pl. 58.
40 Urk I, 210, 17; 211, 4.
41 Urk I, 46, 10.
42 Firth & Gunn 1926, 155; Blackman 1953a, pl. xxix; Macfarlane
2003, pl. 50. 46 Pyr 256d, 400a, 459a, 462 a-b, 559c, 1101a, 1147b, 1160a, 1423b,
43 Petrie 1897, pl. xvi; Firth & Gunn 1926, 155; Borchardt 1937, 94, (CG 1466d, 1554b.
1418); Blackman 1953a, pl. xxix; Badawy 1978, fig. 47‒48; Kanawati 47 Urk I, 150, 9.
1993, pl. 52, 53; Kanawati 1997, pl. 49. 48 Cf. Junker 1947, 134.
44 Dunham & Simpson 1974, fig. 3b; Kanawati 1997, pl. 51; Kanawati 49 Cf. Urk I, 150, 9; 218, 12.
2003, pl. 67; 2008, pl. 64, 70; 2010, pl. 97, 103, 109. 50 Cf. Petrie 1897, pl. vii; Urk. I, 261, 17; Kanawati 1993, 32, pl. 39;
45 James 1961, pl. xxv, 3, no. 994. Säve-Söderbergh 1994, pls. 9.
8 Ibrahim Abd El-Sattar, Remarks on the Orthography of Word rmT in the Old Kingdom

4 Conclusion form was used by the capital’s scribes and was con-
fined to the tombs of the cemeteries of Giza and Saqqara,
The word rmT in the Old Kingdom is poly-orthographic; and by the end of the Sixth Dynasty in Qubbet el-Hawa.
its orthography is flexible and dynamic. Its spelling forms Whereas the orthographical form , which was very
employ phonograms and determinatives with varying common in the capital cemetery, was transmitted to the
arrangements. It also uses a single logogram, full phonetic provincial cemeteries in the Sixth Dynasty.
consonants, and defective phonetic consonants. It should be noted that the most common orthogra-
In the Pyramid Texts, every corpus has a dominat- phies of the word rmT were first taught in the capital’s
ing orthographic form, but it follows, in one example or schools before it was transmitted to the other provincial
more, the orthography in the earlier pyramid (Table 1). cemeteries, probably by some scribes who were taught and
The orthographic form of the word rmT was transmitted trained for some time in the capital. They probably com-
from one pyramid to another. In the versions of both Unis bined what they were taught in the capital school and their
and Teti, there was a predilection for alphabetic spelling provincial schools. This confirms what was suggested by
and elimination of determinatives. Also, the elimination of Brunner and Quack about the mnemonic principle of
the determinatives was prevailing in the version of Pepi I, Egyptian orthography54 and customary spelling55 in which
while the preference for alphabetic spelling continued in the shape-orthography was taught and memorized. This
the version of Merenre accompanied with a determinative clarifies why a conflation of multiple orthographical forms
. From the version of Merenre onwards the defective of the word rmT were simultaneously used in the same
writing form supplemented with a determinative text. Therefore, many examples used both the traditional
was dominant. or original orthographies and innovative ones. The crite-
Apart from the Pyramid Texts, two factors impacted ria of the original orthography are based on the first and
the scribe’s decision when he chose certain orthographi- continuous appearance of the word, while those of the sec-
cal form over the other. However, there are cases when a ondary one relies on its late and uncommon appearance.
scribe uses a conflation of rmT orthographies in the same
text without any obvious reason51. It also seems that space Writing form Original Secondary
availability played a minor role in orthographic decisions. Giza and Saqqara Qubbet el-Hawa
For instance, there is not a single example where the
Giza and Saqqara Provincial cemeteries
scribe had to use the logogram because of the space
constraints52. It is written at the beginning, the middle, or Kaser es-Sayed –
the end of the sentence. Giza and Saqqara Provincial cemeteries
The posited idea here is that the orthographic con- , , Kaser es-Sayed –
ventions of the word rmT rely on two factors. The first
Qubbet el-Hawa –
factor is the intended meaning. For instance, a scribe
would use the writing form or to refer to a Tehna Hatnub and Saqqara
male or female person or people in general. Thus, scribes Giza and Saqqara Provincial cemeteries
did not find any fault with using the two orthographical
Deir el-Gabrawi –
forms in the same source text to denote singular male and
female and plural as well. In other words, a scribe often Saqqara –

used the same orthographical form both for singular and Saqqara –
plural without writing the plural morpheme, because
of his understanding of the meaning of the word in its Nevertheless, there are some clues that the orthographies
context (context-based meaning). The second factor is the of the word rmT differ geographically and chronologically
nature of the training and learning which was given to the during the Old Kingdom. In the Sixth Dynasty, some pro-
apprentice scribes53. Apparently, the abbreviated writing vincial schools possessed a local orthography-system,
which was not transmitted outside. For example, the
51 Cf. Petrie 1897, pl. 7; Urk I, 50, 2‒3; Montet 1936, 121; Goedicke combination between the iconic determinative and
1970, pl. XVIII; Säve-Söderbergh 1994, pls. 9, 44, 46, 47. the three strokes after the mono-consonants ,
52 Cf. Urk I, 12, 1, 7, 10, 11; Säve-Söderbergh 1994, pls. 6a, 44, 46, 47;
only appeared in Kaser es-Sayed tombs. It is not found in
Kanawati 2001a.
53 See the interesting discussion of Hussein on the influential fac-
tors which impact the orthography-system in ancient Egyptian texts. 54 Brunner 1957, 66–69; Hussein 2017, 309‒310, no. 60.
Hussein 2017, 309‒311. 55 Quack 1994, 51; Hussein 2017, 310, no. 61.
 Ibrahim Abd El-Sattar, Remarks on the Orthography of Word rmT in the Old Kingdom 9

the other provenance including the capital during the Old Caire Nos. 1295–1808, I, Text und Tafeln zu Nr. 1295‒1541,
Kingdom. However, it became the common orthographical Berlin.
‒ ‒ 1964, Denkmäler des Alten Reiches (Ausser den Statuen).
form of this word in both the hieratic56 and hieroglyphic
Catalogue Général des Antiquités Égyptiennes du Musée du
texts57 during the First Intermediate Period and the Middle
Caire Nos. 1295–1808, II, Text und Tafeln zu Nr. 1542‒1808, Le
Kingdom. Likewise, the three writing forms , Caire.
and only occurred in the tombs of Kaser es-Sayed but Brovarski, E., 2001, Giza Mastabas, 7, 2. The Senedjemib Complex,
they became common in texts of the First Intermediate Boston.
Period and Middle Kingdom58 with some changes. Also, Brunner, H., 1957, Altägyptische Erziehung, Wiesbaden.
Capart, J., 1907, Une rue de tombeaux a Saqqarah, vol. 2, Plates,
the writing form , which occurred in the royal script of
Bruxelles.
the King W#D-k#-Ro in the Eighth Dynasty, first appeared in Castel, G., (et al), 2001, Le mastaba de Khentika. Tombeau dʼun
the tomb of c#b-n⸗j in Qubbet el-Hawa. The orthographic gouverneur de lʼOasis à la fin de lʼAncien Empire. Balat V, FIFAO
form was initially found in Tehna in the Fifth 40/1‒2, Le Caire.
Dynasty before it was transmitted to Hatnub and Saqqara Daressy, M. G., 1913, “Fragments de décrets de lʼAncien Empire”,
ASAE 13, 109‒114.
in the Sixth Dynasty. Finally, only the orthographic forms
‒ ‒ 1917, “Inscriptions du mastaba de Pepi-nefer à Edfu”, ASAE 17,
and are once found in the hieratic texts of
130‒140.
this period (Dyn. 2 and 6); and thus, it is difficult to follow Davies, N.de. G., 1902a, The Rock Tomb of Deir- el Gabrâwi, I, ASE
the orthographic evolution of this word and if it is identi- 11, London.
cal with that of the hieroglyphic texts. ‒ ‒ 1902b, The Rock Tomb of Deir- el Gabrâwi, II, ASE 12, London.
‒ ‒ 1920, The Tomb of Antefoker, Vizier of Sesostris I, And of his
Wife Senet (No. 60), TTS 2, London.
Acknowledgement: I would like to thank Dr. Ramadan
Der Manuelian P., 1994, “The Giza Mastaba Niche and Full-Frontal
Hussein and Dr. Angela Murock Hussein for proofreading Figure of Redi-Nes in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston”, in:
this article, their comments and suggestions have made Silverman, D. P., (ed.), For His Ka. Essays Offered in Memory of
the article flow better, and my argument clear. Klaus Baer, SAOC 55, 55‒78.
Doxey, D. M., 1998, Egyptian Non-Royal Epithets in the Middle
Kingdom. A Social and Historical Analysis, PdÄ 12, Leiden.
Boston, Köln.
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