Breve reseña sobre las etiquetas de aceite nḥḥ en la Dinastía XVIII

Abstract

Labels for jars and amphorae were made with black ink. These labels had the purpose of designating their contents as well offering further information about their origin, kind, and quality. Based on the preserved examples, scholars can observe that they followed stereotyped formulae, obeying particular norms or rules, and functioning as it happens today with labels and tags for our products. The fundamental aim for the use of these labels was to describe – in a short phrase or a single defining word – all the relevant and necessary information about products. Many of the preserved labels mention the nḥḥ-oil, a term used in ancient Egypt that has been translated by most of scholars as ‘olive oil’. In this paper we will provide a brief discussion about labels and stamps mentioning these commodities, and will explore the context and importance of the nḥḥ-oil or ‘olive oil’, especially through some examples of these nhh labels during the Eighteenth Dynasty.