Jana Mynářová

Discovery, Research, and Excavation of the Amarna Tablets—The Formative Stage

The earliest modern history of the collection of the Amarna tablets is closely related to private excavations carried on at the site by the antiquities dealer Farag Ismain of Giza. The British Museum in London was to be the first official institution to host a rather extensive collection of the Amarna tablets. In this particular case it is linked to the activities of E.A. Wallis Budge who, as an Assistant Keeper of the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities, was able to obtain a first set of the Amarna tablets already during his second mission to Egypt and Mesopotamia. The very first mention of the Amarna tablets in Museum documents dates to the early weeks and months of 1888. It was also in early months of 1888 that the largest set of Amarna tablets, today part of the collection of the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin, started to take shape. Keywords: Amarna tablets; British museum; E.A. Wallis Budge; Egypt; Farag Ismain; London; private excavations; Vorderasiatisches Museum

Phoenician and Aramaic Inscriptions from Abusir

The presence of foreign elements within the site of Abusir is uniquely documented by inscriptions written in Aramaic and Phoenician, as well as in the Carian language. Several such inscriptions have already been discovered during excavations of the German Oriental Society between 1902 and 1908 and led by Ludwig Borchardt. Two further Aramaic inscriptions, these in the form of ostraca written in ink, were uncovered by Borchardts mission in the mortuary temple of King Sahure. The content of both inscriptions is identical, despite the fact that the second inscription is only partially preserved. At present, three Phoenician and two further Aramaic inscriptions originating from the site of Abusir are known to the authors. Keywords:Abusir; Aramaic Inscriptions; Phoenician inscription; Carian language