“Domain of the Horus King Scorpio”: Experts have identified a rock inscription near Aswan as the territorial claim of a ruler of the predynastic period of Egypt. As they explain, the circle hieroglyph of the four characters stands for a place name. With an age of around 5000 years it is the oldest known place name sign in the world, say the Egyptologists. The discovery thus also sheds light on the early development phase of the pharaonic empire.
Gigantic monumental buildings, fascinating art and highly developed social structures – in addition to its many cultural achievements, Ancient Egypt was also groundbreaking in another aspect: the vast empire on the banks of the Nile is considered the first territorial state in history. Because already at the end of the 4th millennium before Christ a unified state emerged from which the Pharaonic Empire later developed. The north-south expansion of Egypt was already around 800 kilometers. “There were systems of rule elsewhere before, but they were much smaller,” explains Ludwig Morenz from the University of Bonn. “In fact, several rival centers in the new central state went up,” explains the Egyptologist.
The mysterious predynastics at a glance
The first written evidence of the culture on the Nile also comes from this so-called predynastic phase. They show how an increasingly central administrative structure that was linked to taxes and duties emerged. The traces testify to socio-economic dependencies and the monopoly of violence of a ruler who was assigned divine characteristics. It is also already known that at that time new royal estates were founded on the outskirts of the ruled area in order to consolidate and expand it. Finds of labels, cylinder seals and inscriptions on vessels are evidence of these so-called domains.
The inscription that Morenz and his colleagues are now reporting on is now, for the first time, a written testimony to such a royal domain, representing a kind of place-name sign. The four hieroglyphs carved in stone were discovered in the Wadi el Malik east of Aswan and dated to an age of around 5000 years. As the scientists report, the four signs mean: “Domain of the Horus king Scorpio”. The circle hieroglyph indicates that it is a place name, explain the Egyptologists. “This is the oldest known place name sign in the world,” Morenz interprets. Finding such an old written testimony in what was then a rather remote location was a surprise, the researchers emphasize.
Testimony of the mysterious Scorpio King
“This ruler by the name of ‘Scorpio’ was a prominent figure in the phase of the creation of the world’s first territorial state,” says Morenz. Although its existence has also been proven by other finds, the Scorpion King remains mysterious: He lived around 3070 BC. – but further details and the length of his reign are unclear. Despite the brief reference, the inscription now opens another window into the world of the emergence of the Egyptian state and the culture associated with it, say the scientists. “The process of inland colonization in the Nile Valley is tangible here in concrete terms,” said Morenz.
He and his colleagues are now hoping for more finds in the region that will provide insights into developments in the predynastic period. This includes expanding and securing the area of dominion on the edges of the Nile Valley and consolidating the then still young kingship. “This area is still at the beginning of the archaeological development,” says Morenz in conclusion.
Source: University of Bonn