This fragment of a wall or possibly a block from a larger structure, is adorned with painted names of Amenhotep III. The hieroglyphic inscriptions are contained within cartouches – oval rings which surround the pharaoh's name – signaling royal significance. The use of cartouches was a formal declaration of the pharaoh's divine and earthly authority.
On this artifact, the cartouches and their accompanying figures are well-preserved, providing vivid imagery that stands out against the limestone. The hieroglyphs are painted in bold colors: blue, red, yellow, and green, which are typical of Egyptian polychromy. The colors would have been derived from minerals and earths, like lapis lazuli for blue and ochre for yellow, that have managed to retain their vibrancy over millennia.
The imagery includes the ankh, a symbol of life; the scarab, representing the sun and rebirth; and the falcon, symbolizing the god Horus. The presence of these symbols alongside Amenhotep III's name indicates a divinely sanctioned rulership, as the pharaoh was often equated with the god Horus in life and Osiris in death. The owl represents the letter 'm', and the zigzag line represents water or 'n', both common elements in the phonetic spelling of royal names and titles.
Also featured are depictions of deities and protective symbols, indicating the religious significance of the inscriptions. The iconography would have served not only a decorative purpose but also a protective one, safeguarding the structure and its occupants through the power of the inscribed words and figures.
