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When were the Serabit el-Khadim inscriptions written: in the Middle Kingdom, about 1850 BC, or in the New Kingdom?

Asked 31 Oct 2026 by ·4 answers·0·0 following
Four answers, none aheadNone is ahead yet. See what would settle it.

Where it stands

Four answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Four are still possible.

Why it matters

Petrie dated the texts to about 1500 BC, Gardiner to Amenemhat III and IV, Albright to 1525-1475 BC, Sass first to the Middle Kingdom and then to about 1300 BC, and Parker, from the find spots, to Senwosret III⁠[1]⁠[2]⁠[3]⁠[4]. No inscription has been dated by a sealed deposit; the Wadi el-Hol texts and the Lachish sherd show only that the alphabet existed by about 1800 and 1450 BC respectively⁠[5]⁠[6].

Answers 4

Early New Kingdom, c. 1550-1450 BC
Evidence for it, no test yet
Evidence: 1 for, 1 against
Still possible
Evidence: 1 against
Still possible
Middle Kingdom, c. 1850-1800 BC
Evidence for it, no test yet
Evidence: 2 for
Still possible
None of these.
Not tested yet
Evidence: none yet
Still possible

History

  1. W. M. Flinders Petrie: petrie found a Thutmose III-period potsherd at Mine L and the statuette at a Hatshepsut-period shrine, and Albright's…For: Early New Kingdom, c. 1550-1450 BC
  2. William Foxwell Albright: petrie found a Thutmose III-period potsherd at Mine L and the statuette at a Hatshepsut-period shrine, and Albright's…For: Early New Kingdom, c. 1550-1450 BC
  3. John Coleman Darnell et al.: the Wadi el-Hol inscriptions, in the same script, sit among Egyptian inscriptions of the late Twelfth Dynasty, so the…For: Middle Kingdom, c. 1850-1800 BC
  4. John Coleman Darnell et al.: the Wadi el-Hol inscriptions, in the same script, sit among Egyptian inscriptions of the late Twelfth Dynasty, so the…For: Middle Kingdom, c. 1850-1800 BC
  5. John Coleman Darnell et al.: an alphabetic ink inscription from Lachish comes from a stratum radiocarbon-dated to about 1460-1430 BC, so alphabetic…Against: Late New Kingdom, c. 1300 BC (Sass 2005)
  6. Felix Höflmayer et al.: an alphabetic ink inscription from Lachish comes from a stratum radiocarbon-dated to about 1460-1430 BC, so alphabetic…Against: Late New Kingdom, c. 1300 BC (Sass 2005)
  7. Heather Parker: parker's re-examination of the find spots at Serabit against the mining history places the inscriptions in the reign…For: Middle Kingdom, c. 1850-1800 BC
  8. Heather Parker: parker's re-examination of the find spots at Serabit against the mining history places the inscriptions in the reign…For: Middle Kingdom, c. 1850-1800 BC
  9. Heather Parker: parker's 2026 review finds the New Kingdom evidence at Serabit, chiefly two sherds from Mine L, weak, and evidence for…Against: Early New Kingdom, c. 1550-1450 BC
  10. Session 1: raised the question and proposed four answers
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