I added an Afterword to my collection of articles about earth measures, summarizing relations between various ancient units of measurement and the size of the earth, with some additional comments about my view that the itrw is 15,000 cubits compared to the orthodox view that the itrw is 20,000 cubits.
[home.hiwaay.net]
The itrw of 20,000 cubits is based on the length of 106 itrw, along the main channel of the Nile, from Elephantine to the sea. The inscriptions also divide this length into 20 itrw for Lower Egypt, from Pi-hapy to the sea, and 86 itrw for Upper Egypt from Elephantine to Pi-hapy. Calculating the itrw as 20,000 cubits along the river puts Pi-hapy closer to Memphis than Heliopolis. Although several ancient inscriptions associate Pi-hapy with Heliopolis, and although the divergence of the single stream of upper Egypt into the multiple streams of lower Egypt occurs in the immediate vicinity of Heliopolis, multiple proposals placing Pi-hapy well south of Heliopolis have been made and accepted since the discovery of the inscriptions dividing upper and lower Egypt at Pi-hapy.
This is a discussion of about 15 pages about the location of Pi-hapy in volume 2 of Gardiner’s hand written Onomastica:
[archive.org]
Stecchini pointed out in his essays that were written in the 50s and 60s, published online after his death, and also pointed out by Stecchini in Secrets of the Great Pyramid (1971), that the length of 15,000 cubits for the itrw is exactly right for a straight line north south measure from Elephantine to the northern limit of Egypt, with the division of 20 itrw and 86 itrw for lower and upper Egypt being right at the latitude of Heliopolis and the divergence of the single stream of upper Egypt.
Stecchini’s theory is not included in any of the orthodox discussions of the length of the itrw or the location of Pi-hapy, but I wonder if it explains the orthodox insistence on 20,000 cubits for the itrw, measured along the river, with Pi-hapy being closer to Memphis than Heliopolis, as opposed to the idea that the length of the itrw is not just an approximate and insignificant measure, but rather an exact standard based on the size of the earth.
Gardiner calls the itrw a ‘river measure’. This tends to support the idea that it is a measure along the river, and this has also gained orthodox acceptance. Gardiner gives the hieroglyphic expression of the itrw from the boundary stelae at Akhentaten, although it is acknowledged that the Akhentaten itrw as a linear measure would be more like 5,000 cubits per itrw based on the distances between the stelae. I think the boundary stelae itrw are preferred because they contain three rippled water signs, tending to support the ‘river measure’ theory, although I think the boundary stelae may be giving an area measure, rather than a linear measure.
Here is the Akhentaten hieroglyph:
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Here are the hieroglyphs giving 106 itrw for the length of Egypt:
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Here are hieroglyphs from the Book of Hours giving lengths for the first second and third hours:
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The reed was assigned a phonetic value of ‘a’ by Budge and others of his time, while Gardiner and subsequent philologists assigned a phonetic value of ‘i’. Budge also assigned a phonetic value of u for the quail chick or the coil, while Gardiner gives w. This is why the atru, of Budge is transliterated as itrw by Gardiner.
The semicircle has a phonetic value of ‘t’. In Budge’s Hieroglyphic dictionary he lists the determinative value of the semicircle as unclassified. The only consonant in the Egyptian word for land or earth is t, and the only consonant in the Egyptian word for bread is also t. Gardiner lists the semicircle as a determinative for bread, or conversely, not for earth. However, there are several signs for land or earth that include the semicircle, and none for bread. Some of these are shown in my afterword. Here are a couple of examples of hieroglyphs that suggest the semicircle as a determinative for earth:
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Kmt - The Black Land - the first sign has a phonetic value of km and means black. The semicircle is t and means land. The crossroads is a determinative for a place name of a town or region or in this case, the country of Egypt.
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Tenen - An early Egyptian creator god known for rising the first mound of earth above the waters. The semicircle is t and the rippled water signs are n. Tenen is identified phonetically and pictorially by his name.
The mouth has a phonetic value of ‘r’ and is a determinative for ‘mouth’. However the mouth is also the sign for the unit of volume of 1/9600 of one cubic cubit and it is also the numerator of Egyptian fractions, both of which are units of measurement.
If the semicircle in itrw denotes earth, and the mouth denotes measure, then itrw says earth measure.
[home.hiwaay.net]
The itrw of 20,000 cubits is based on the length of 106 itrw, along the main channel of the Nile, from Elephantine to the sea. The inscriptions also divide this length into 20 itrw for Lower Egypt, from Pi-hapy to the sea, and 86 itrw for Upper Egypt from Elephantine to Pi-hapy. Calculating the itrw as 20,000 cubits along the river puts Pi-hapy closer to Memphis than Heliopolis. Although several ancient inscriptions associate Pi-hapy with Heliopolis, and although the divergence of the single stream of upper Egypt into the multiple streams of lower Egypt occurs in the immediate vicinity of Heliopolis, multiple proposals placing Pi-hapy well south of Heliopolis have been made and accepted since the discovery of the inscriptions dividing upper and lower Egypt at Pi-hapy.
This is a discussion of about 15 pages about the location of Pi-hapy in volume 2 of Gardiner’s hand written Onomastica:
[archive.org]
Stecchini pointed out in his essays that were written in the 50s and 60s, published online after his death, and also pointed out by Stecchini in Secrets of the Great Pyramid (1971), that the length of 15,000 cubits for the itrw is exactly right for a straight line north south measure from Elephantine to the northern limit of Egypt, with the division of 20 itrw and 86 itrw for lower and upper Egypt being right at the latitude of Heliopolis and the divergence of the single stream of upper Egypt.
Stecchini’s theory is not included in any of the orthodox discussions of the length of the itrw or the location of Pi-hapy, but I wonder if it explains the orthodox insistence on 20,000 cubits for the itrw, measured along the river, with Pi-hapy being closer to Memphis than Heliopolis, as opposed to the idea that the length of the itrw is not just an approximate and insignificant measure, but rather an exact standard based on the size of the earth.
Gardiner calls the itrw a ‘river measure’. This tends to support the idea that it is a measure along the river, and this has also gained orthodox acceptance. Gardiner gives the hieroglyphic expression of the itrw from the boundary stelae at Akhentaten, although it is acknowledged that the Akhentaten itrw as a linear measure would be more like 5,000 cubits per itrw based on the distances between the stelae. I think the boundary stelae itrw are preferred because they contain three rippled water signs, tending to support the ‘river measure’ theory, although I think the boundary stelae may be giving an area measure, rather than a linear measure.
Here is the Akhentaten hieroglyph:
Here are the hieroglyphs giving 106 itrw for the length of Egypt:
Here are hieroglyphs from the Book of Hours giving lengths for the first second and third hours:
The reed was assigned a phonetic value of ‘a’ by Budge and others of his time, while Gardiner and subsequent philologists assigned a phonetic value of ‘i’. Budge also assigned a phonetic value of u for the quail chick or the coil, while Gardiner gives w. This is why the atru, of Budge is transliterated as itrw by Gardiner.
The semicircle has a phonetic value of ‘t’. In Budge’s Hieroglyphic dictionary he lists the determinative value of the semicircle as unclassified. The only consonant in the Egyptian word for land or earth is t, and the only consonant in the Egyptian word for bread is also t. Gardiner lists the semicircle as a determinative for bread, or conversely, not for earth. However, there are several signs for land or earth that include the semicircle, and none for bread. Some of these are shown in my afterword. Here are a couple of examples of hieroglyphs that suggest the semicircle as a determinative for earth:
Kmt - The Black Land - the first sign has a phonetic value of km and means black. The semicircle is t and means land. The crossroads is a determinative for a place name of a town or region or in this case, the country of Egypt.
Tenen - An early Egyptian creator god known for rising the first mound of earth above the waters. The semicircle is t and the rippled water signs are n. Tenen is identified phonetically and pictorially by his name.
The mouth has a phonetic value of ‘r’ and is a determinative for ‘mouth’. However the mouth is also the sign for the unit of volume of 1/9600 of one cubic cubit and it is also the numerator of Egyptian fractions, both of which are units of measurement.
If the semicircle in itrw denotes earth, and the mouth denotes measure, then itrw says earth measure.