Copying hieroglyphic inscriptions. Where possible a wet or a dry squeeze should be taken of any inscription. When hand copying is necessary, the main matter is to get the cartouches of king's names accurately, and the date at the beginning, examining specially whether single strokes, I I I I, have been connected above, ∩∩, forming the ten sign. The main difficulty for any one not knowing the 800 signs is to distinguish between those that are alike, especially when damaged. For this purpose the commonest signs that may be confused are here placed together, so that the essential points of difference may be noticed. A small cross is placed here by small points of distinction which might escape notice.
Illustration I: Some Hierogliphic Signs Liable to be Confused with Each Other
Illustration I: Some Hieroglyphic Signs Liable To Be Confused With Each Other
6. Photography.
The camera and material have been described under outfit.
Lighting and preparation of objects is a main element of success. When first looking over any ruins, make a list of every view wanted, with the time of day when the sun will be right for it. Then follow the time–table, and so get the best lighting all in one day.
For movable stones or figures place them in half–shade, as a doorway, and then tilt every way until the best lighting is found, fix them in that position, and then set up the camera square with them.
The camera should usually be fixed to look downward vertically, and then variation up to 40 degrees can be got by the legs. Hold the camera in the right position, keeping the legs off the ground, and then drop the legs to find their own place; thus very skew positions can be fixed quickly.
Small objects are best laid on black velvet, and taken vertically. Scraps of charcoal are useful to prop them in exact positions. A sheet of white paper stuck on a leg of the stand may be useful to prevent shadows being too heavy. Where outline, and not flat detail, is wanted, then a light ground is best; the most perfect is a sheet of ground glass with white paper a foot or two below it. If the ground glass cannot be had, a good substitute–also useful for a camera glass–is plain glass with a sheet of tissue paper (or the packing paper of films) stuck on with paraffin wax.