A Hieratic Brit-Bowl from Tell el-Ḥesi

Stefan Jakob  Wimmer; Nathaniel Greene; Scott Doyle; Jeffrey A.  Blakely

doi:10.1080/03344355.2026.2709470

A Hieratic Brit-Bowl from Tell el-Ḥesi

Stefan Jakob Wimmer
, Nathaniel Greene^* (Corresponding Author)
, Scott Doyle
, Jeffrey A. Blakely

^*Corresponding author for this work

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This article presents the first publication of a new Hieratic inscription found at Tell el-Ḥesi. Despite the fact that the sherd has been known since its discovery in the 1970s, it was not until recently that the inscription that appears upon it was recognized. The inscription is of the brit-bowl variety and likely indicates a commodity type (perhaps barley) and amount along with a regnal year for Ramesses II. We first present the archaeological context, then detail the various imaging processes that were undertaken to identify positively the presence of the ink inscription, and finally offer a reading, translation, and interpretation of the epigraph.

Original language	English
Journal	Tel Aviv
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/03344355.2026.2709470
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 23 Jul 2026

Bibliographical note

We thank John Spencer for his earlier work collecting the Ḥesi data, his suggestion to use the DStretch algorithm, and his encouragement in our endeavours, as well as his editorial comments on an earlier version of this article. We are grateful to Alegre Savariego and Debi Ben-Ami for their assistance in examining this and other materials at the IAA. We are also grateful to Jeremy M. Hutton and Jesse R. Pruett for their assistance in the initial imaging of the inscribed sherd. Finally we thank the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful observations and comments.

Open Access via the Taylor and Francis agreement

Keywords

Egyptian
Hieratic
Tell el-Hesi
Ramesses II
Late Bronze Age
brit-bowl
Reflectance Transformation Imaging
RTI
DStretch
ImageJ
Multispectral Imaging
Multispectral Scanning

Access to Document

10.1080/03344355.2026.2709470

Embargoed Document

Wimmer_etal_TAJ_A_Hieratic_Brit-Bowl_AAM
Accepted author manuscript, 3.7 MB
Licence: CC BY
Embargo ends: 01/11/2026 00:00 GMT

Cite this

@article{4dcd3e67737340eaac7657c915f4e007,

title = "A Hieratic Brit-Bowl from Tell el-Ḥesi",

abstract = "This article presents the first publication of a new Hieratic inscription found at Tell el-Ḥesi. Despite the fact that the sherd has been known since its discovery in the 1970s, it was not until recently that the inscription that appears upon it was recognized. The inscription is of the brit-bowl variety and likely indicates a commodity type (perhaps barley) and amount along with a regnal year for Ramesses II. We first present the archaeological context, then detail the various imaging processes that were undertaken to identify positively the presence of the ink inscription, and finally offer a reading, translation, and interpretation of the epigraph.",

keywords = "Egyptian, Hieratic, Tell el-Hesi, Ramesses II, Late Bronze Age, brit-bowl, Reflectance Transformation Imaging, RTI, DStretch, ImageJ, Multispectral Imaging, Multispectral Scanning",

author = "Wimmer, \{Stefan Jakob\} and Nathaniel Greene and Scott Doyle and Blakely, \{Jeffrey A.\}",

note = "We thank John Spencer for his earlier work collecting the {\d H}esi data, his suggestion to use the DStretch algorithm, and his encouragement in our endeavours, as well as his editorial comments on an earlier version of this article. We are grateful to Alegre Savariego and Debi Ben-Ami for their assistance in examining this and other materials at the IAA. We are also grateful to Jeremy M. Hutton and Jesse R. Pruett for their assistance in the initial imaging of the inscribed sherd. Finally we thank the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful observations and comments. Open Access via the Taylor and Francis agreement",

year = "2026",

month = jul,

day = "23",

doi = "10.1080/03344355.2026.2709470",

language = "English",

journal = "Tel Aviv",

issn = "2040-4786",

publisher = "Taylor \& Francis",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - A Hieratic Brit-Bowl from Tell el-Ḥesi

AU - Wimmer, Stefan Jakob

AU - Greene, Nathaniel

AU - Doyle, Scott

AU - Blakely, Jeffrey A.

N1 - We thank John Spencer for his earlier work collecting the Ḥesi data, his suggestion to use the DStretch algorithm, and his encouragement in our endeavours, as well as his editorial comments on an earlier version of this article. We are grateful to Alegre Savariego and Debi Ben-Ami for their assistance in examining this and other materials at the IAA. We are also grateful to Jeremy M. Hutton and Jesse R. Pruett for their assistance in the initial imaging of the inscribed sherd. Finally we thank the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful observations and comments. Open Access via the Taylor and Francis agreement

PY - 2026/7/23

Y1 - 2026/7/23

N2 - This article presents the first publication of a new Hieratic inscription found at Tell el-Ḥesi. Despite the fact that the sherd has been known since its discovery in the 1970s, it was not until recently that the inscription that appears upon it was recognized. The inscription is of the brit-bowl variety and likely indicates a commodity type (perhaps barley) and amount along with a regnal year for Ramesses II. We first present the archaeological context, then detail the various imaging processes that were undertaken to identify positively the presence of the ink inscription, and finally offer a reading, translation, and interpretation of the epigraph.

AB - This article presents the first publication of a new Hieratic inscription found at Tell el-Ḥesi. Despite the fact that the sherd has been known since its discovery in the 1970s, it was not until recently that the inscription that appears upon it was recognized. The inscription is of the brit-bowl variety and likely indicates a commodity type (perhaps barley) and amount along with a regnal year for Ramesses II. We first present the archaeological context, then detail the various imaging processes that were undertaken to identify positively the presence of the ink inscription, and finally offer a reading, translation, and interpretation of the epigraph.

KW - Egyptian

KW - Hieratic

KW - Tell el-Hesi

KW - Ramesses II

KW - Late Bronze Age

KW - brit-bowl

KW - Reflectance Transformation Imaging

KW - RTI

KW - DStretch

KW - ImageJ

KW - Multispectral Imaging

KW - Multispectral Scanning

U2 - 10.1080/03344355.2026.2709470

DO - 10.1080/03344355.2026.2709470

M3 - Article

SN - 2040-4786

JO - Tel Aviv

JF - Tel Aviv

ER -

A Hieratic Brit-Bowl from Tell el-Ḥesi

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Embargoed Document

Fingerprint

Cite this