The Carian inscriptions from Abu Simbel are graffiti carved on the colossal seated statues of Ramses II. All of them are on the legs of two of the colossi situated to the left of the temple entrance. The statues are covered with ancient Greek and Phoenician graffiti, as well as modern ones mostly from the 19th century.
E.AS 1
The shallow and barely visible graffiti is on the outer (south) side of the right leg of the first statue (leftmost), about 80 cm below the hand resting on the knee and 5.40 m above the plinth.
(←)
1 parśolou
2 […]oe
E.AS 2
The inscription is 51 cm in length and located on the right side of the front of the right leg of the first statue, at a height of 5.25 m.
(←)
1 šabd?aikal
E.AS 3
The inscription is 1.43 m in length and 4.70 m above the base. Written sinistroverse, it starts on the front and continues to the outer side of the right leg of the first statue.
(←)
1 pismašk šarnwś ýnsmsos
E.AS 4
The inscription is located on the front of the left leg of the first statue. The bottom of the inscription is 4 m above the plinth and the length of the visible section is 95 cm.
(→)
1 ak̑akowr emsγlpn b[…] pisma[ś/šk …?]
E.AS 5
The 1.70 m-long inscription is just below the knee cap of the left leg of the first statue. Sinistroverse graffiti extends from the outer side of the leg to the front. It is positioned between several Greek lines and overwritten with some modern graffiti. The bottom of the inscription is situated 4.20 m above the base.
(←)
1 pnyriśru iýkrś ša[..]iśb?wn
E.AS 6
Two-line inscription is written with large (9 cm-tall) letters on outer (south) side of the right leg of the second statue (the broken one to the left of the entrance). The top of the inscription is located 1.60 m below the top of the knee, and the bottom 4.20 m above the base. The lengths of the two lines are 39 cm and 48 cm.
(←)
1 pλatτ
2 slaýś k̑i
E.AS 7
The 65-cm long inscription is finely engraved with small, barely 1 cm tall, letters on the left shin of the second statue. The dextroverse inscription starts on the inner side of the leg and curves toward the front. It is 3.75 meters above the ground.
(←)
1 naz k̑ik̑ býš esaγ?δowš mýqudem pismaśk bebint mo ne psýś ai[.]iqom
E.AS 8
The lightly-carved inscription, consisting of a long line and a faint line below, is located on the outer (north) side of the left leg of the second statue. Length of the line is approximately 1.50 m and letters have an average height of 4 cm. It is uncertain whether the second line is the continuation of the first or a separate inscription.
(←)
1 nidśkusas meýqak snś śtś śuniś kšmmsm[…]
2 […]rśwk[.]š[…]
E.AS 9
The three character inscription is located among the Greek graffiti, on the left shin of the second statue, about 3.75 m above the ground.
(→)
1 ýsm […?]
References:
Adiego, I.- J. 2007. The Carian Language, Leiden/Boston. (E.AS 1–E.AS 9)
Lepsius, C. R. 1844. Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien, v.12. (Blatt 98-99)
Masson, O. 1979. “Remarques sur les graffites cariens d’Abou Simbel,” Hommages à la mémoire de S. Sauneron II, Le Caire, 35–49 and plts IV–VI. (Nos. 1–8 = E.AS 1–8)
Images:
C. R. Lepsius, 1844
O. Masson, 1979
T. Bilgin, 2026 (photo D. Delso, 2022 CC BY-SA 4.0)