# The two Wadi el-Hol inscriptions

> Two short alphabetic texts, one horizontal and one vertical, cut into a limestone rock face among Egyptian inscriptions of the Middle Kingdom on the…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/artifacts/ART0DEDT6X8ASZB/the-two-wadi-el-hol-inscriptions  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

---

[Mysteries](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries)[Proto-Sinaitic and Wadi el-Hol: the first alphabet](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic)[Artifacts](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic#artifacts)The two Wadi el-Hol inscriptions

**ART** 0DEDT6X8ASZB·Artifact · rock inscriptions

# The two Wadi el-Hol inscriptions

Rock inscriptionsCC BY-NC-ND 4.0C. 1850-1800 BC, from the surrounding Egyptian inscriptions

[Cite]

**Coming soon.** We're fetching our own copy of this file; it shows here once it's kept. [See it where it's published](https://isac.uchicago.edu/publications/theban-desert-road-survey-egyptian-western-desert-volume-1).

Two short alphabetic texts, one horizontal and one vertical, cut into a limestone rock face among Egyptian inscriptions of the Middle Kingdom on the Farshut road; together about 28 signs. Their signs match or resemble the Serabit letters; the words 'l "god" and rb "chief" have been proposed, but no reading of either text is agreed.

Darnell, J. C. and others, 1850. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

## Copies 1

**The egyptian rock inscriptions in context (oip 119, free pdf)** Darnell, J. C. and others · isac.uchicago.edu · 2002 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0Primary source: [Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert, Volume 1: Gebel Tjauti Rock Inscriptions 1-45 and Wadi el-Hol Rock Inscriptions 1-45](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHWDTTKK8/theban-desert-road-survey-in-the-egyptian-western-desert)1 step from the original

[Where it's published](https://isac.uchicago.edu/publications/theban-desert-road-survey-egyptian-western-desert-volume-1)

## Where it was made

[Wadi el-Hol, Qena bend](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/places/PLC0DEDPX96CH7T/wadi-el-hol-qena-bend) · Desert road and rock-inscription site

## Sources 4

- [Inscriptions alphabétiques du Ouâdî el-Ḥôl](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDKFVYSQQ0/inscriptions-alphabetiques-du-ouadi-el-hol)_SRC_
- [Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert, Volume 1: Gebel Tjauti Rock Inscriptions 1-45 and Wadi el-Hol Rock Inscriptions 1-45](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHWDTTKK8/theban-desert-road-survey-in-the-egyptian-western-desert)_SRC_
- [Two Early Alphabetic Inscriptions from the Wadi el-Hol: New Evidence for the Origin of the Alphabet from the Western Desert of Egypt](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHW700H66/two-early-alphabetic-inscriptions-from-the-wadi-el-hol-new)_SRC_
- [Wadi el-Hol Inscription 2 and the Early Semitic Alphabetic Graph *ǵ, *ǵull-, "yoke"](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDKG38SA0K/wadi-el-hol-inscription-2-and-the-early-semitic-alphabetic)_SRC_

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). The two Wadi el-Hol inscriptions [Artifact ART0DEDT6X8ASZB]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ART0DEDT6X8ASZB
```

Key

**ART** 0DEDT6X8ASZB

Kind

Rock inscriptions

Held by

In situ

Dated

c. 1850-1800 BC, from the surrounding Egyptian inscriptions

Licence

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Place

[Wadi el-Hol, Qena bend](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/places/PLC0DEDPX96CH7T/wadi-el-hol-qena-bend)

Part of

[Proto-Sinaitic and Wadi el-Hol: the first alphabet](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic)

The record

Every record is open data. Take this one as JSON, with its links and its history.

[JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/api/v1/records/ART0DEDT6X8ASZB)