TRANSACTIONS. 



The hieroglyfhic Tablet of Pompemm grammaiicaUy 

 translated and commented on 



By Prof. Gust. Seyffarth, Phil. & Th. D. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The eruption of Vesuvius by which Pompeii and Herculaneum 

 were destroyed, it is known, happened in the year 79 a.c, Aug. 

 24, two months only after Vespasian's death. Since that time 

 the localities of both cities remained unknown, but in 171 1 Pom- 

 peii and in 1738 Herculaneum came again to light, respectively 

 1632 and 1669 years after their interment. The Tablet under 

 consideration was dug out in 1748 in the so-called temple of Isis, 

 and was soon after transferred to the Museo Borbonico, where I 

 found it in 1826 reposing and unapproachable during a period 

 of 78 years. Nobody being permitted to copy this interesting 

 relic of Pompeian antiquity, I was under necessity to make an 

 especial application to the Neapolitan government itself, in con- 

 sequence of which the old interdict was recalled. My exact 

 copy will be found in my Bibliotheca yEgyptiaca MS. vol. iii. 

 No. 2995. 



The first publication of the text appeared in Brugsch's Egyp- 

 tian Geography, Leipzic, 1S57, Pt. Iviii., which is, however, im- 

 perfect and very erroneous. For the author omitted to represent 

 the first pictorial line, without which it is impossible to vinder- 

 stand the contents, and, besides, he altered the genuine text in 

 the following 33 instances, either by omitting or changing hiero- 

 glyphic figures. See the appended Plates Nos. 10, 16, 20, 24, 

 25' 33: 35' 37' 4^, 4I' 62, 66, 80, 82, 92, 105, 114, 120, 128, 155, 

 17S' ^93' 19S' 205, 261, 281, 283, 291, 315, 335, 369, 372, 351. 



