Egyptologists have deciphered an inscription that mentions an ancient city created in honor of the legendary Scorpion king.
Credit: Ludwig Morenz
Scientists from the University of Bonn (Germany), together with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, have deciphered the oldest place name in the world. An inscription carved into the rock that dates back to the times when the Egyptian state began to form, at the end of the fourth millennium BC.
Researchers were conducting excavations in Wadi el Malik, east of Aswan, when they found the inscription that, according to the codes of the time, was delineated in a circular way because it is a state. The four hieroglyphs that compose it are interpreted as “Domain of the Scorpion King Horus.”
“For the first time, the internal colonization process in the Nile Valley has become more visible,” explains Egyptologist Ludwig Morenz, who led the research.
Detail of the inscription
This supports the theory that it was in Egypt, and not Sumer, that writing originated. As can be deduced from various findings, The scorpion king He was the one who unified Egypt and created the first writing system known as a tax collection and administration tool. Evidence of this are several stone tokens of more than 5,000 years old with hieroglyphics that mention, as well as the recent inscription, names of cities and socioeconomic dependencies.
“The area where the rock is, where cave art and ceramics have also been found, is still at the beginning of archaeological development,” says Morenz, who also adds that it is a unique opportunity “to take a closer look at the momentous process of formation. of the first state of the world ».
Place of discovery
“The Scorpion king, imbued with the title of the god Horus, managed to expand and secure dominion on the edges of the Nile valley, consolidating what was then a new type of royalty: a state, and the oldest on record”.
Source: Bonn University
