Hieroglyphic Labels of Tomb U-j at Abydos — Possible Birth of Egyptian Writing

❧ Description

✦ English

Discovered in 1988 by Günter Dreyer in tomb U-j at Abydos — attributed to a predynastic king possibly named Scorpion I — about 200 inscribed bone, ivory and wood labels (each ~2 cm), datable c. 3320 BCE, may represent the earliest known Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. They accompanied imported jars and indicate origin, quality, ownership. They rival the proto-cuneiform tablets of Uruk IV for the title of the world's earliest writing system.