22 oktober 2026 | Deciphering Community Identities Through Paleographical Studies

Deciphering Community Identities Through Paleographical Studies: A Case Study On Serabit el-Khadim Inscriptions

A paleographical study examining changes in handwriting styles across time and space, as a means to explore ancient community identities. Our case study is Serabit el-Khadim, an ancient Egyptian site in southwest Sinai, notable for its large temple dedicated to the goddess Hathor. As the largest temple outside the Nile Valley, it served as a central hub for expeditions extracting copper and turquoise.

Approximately 500 inscriptions from the Middle and New Kingdoms (ca.1985–1773 BC) have been documented at the site. These inscriptions appear in five scripts: hieroglyphic, cursive hieroglyphic, hieratic, a hybrid script (between hieroglyphic and hieratic), and early alphabetic writing. Moreover, Serabit el-Khadim is the place of origin of alphabetic writing that likely played a crucial role in the development of ancient scripts and even modern ones. The site offers a unique opportunity to study the evolution of writing and its transformation through intercultural contact. It represents a key site for understanding the development of both ancient and modern scripts.

The talk proposes to investigate the writing practices and social contexts of the scribes, exploring the origins and identities of those who carved the inscriptions, and the nature of their literacy. By doing so, we aim to shed new light on how script functioned as a medium for expressing identity, mediating cultural encounters, and negotiating authority in this frontier zone between Egypt and the Levant.

This lecture invites participants on a journey through time to the Sinai Peninsula, a borderland rich in intercultural exchange, to discover how the development of script and the nuances of handwriting can reveal the hidden lives and identities of ancient scribes.