Second side.—Right hand.
“Horus, powerful bull, son of Kheper, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, golden hawk, abounding in years, greatly powerful, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen; the eyes of created beings witness what he has done, nothing has been said against the lord of the two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun. Rameses-meri-Amen, the lustre of the son, like the sun.”
The kheper, or sacred beetle, was sacred to both Ptah and to Tum, and it ought to be observed that Rameses claims each of these gods as his father.
The hawk was an emblem of a solar deity, and it was described as golden, in reference to the golden rays of the sun.
The bird at the bottom of this lateral column of hieroglyphs rendered the lustre, is the bennu, or sacred bird of Heliopolis, regarded as an incarnation of a solar deity, and therefore the symbol for lustre or splendour. It is often depicted with two long feathers, or one feather, on the back of its head.
Second side.—Left hand.
“Horus, powerful bull, beloved of truth, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, born of the gods, holding the country as son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, making his frontiers at the place he wishes—at peace by means of his power, lord of the two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, with splendour like Ra.”
In the above frontier is represented by a cross, to indicate where one country passes into another. The flat land of Egypt is represented by a straight line (ta), probably designed to be a layer of earth, while a chip of rock stands for any rocky country, such as Nubia, or for a rocky locality, as Syene, on the frontiers of Nubia, the region of the great granite quarries. In the column it will be noticed that Rameses vauntingly asserts that his conquests were co-extensive with his desires.
Third side.—Right hand.
“Horus, powerful bull, beloved by Ra, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, lord of festivals, like his father Ptah, son of the sun. Rameses-meri-Amen, son of Tum, out of his loins, loved of him. Hathor, the guide of the two countries, has given birth to him, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, giver of life, like the sun.”