ANCR-601 Lessons

This afternoon, in addition to Professor Wessex, the Room of Runes is staffed by two young-looking adults. They appear to have just graduated, though they don’t look like they attended Hogwarts. The Slytherin professor issues orders from her chair in a clipped, no-nonsense tone as the pair of them skitters about, carefully unloading a few more artefacts for display in the classroom. When all is satisfactorily laid out, she dismisses the pair with a wave of her hand, which they seem accustomed to. One of them gives a tired look to the other and shakes his head, but says nothing. You get the distinct feeling you now know why Professor Wessex has such a hard time keeping interns and assistants.

Completely unaware -- or perhaps uncaring -- of any curious looks, Professor Wessex finally rises from her chair and goes to stand among the newly added artefacts before beginning class.

Introduction
Today we will look at a smattering of some of the magical artefacts from Proto-Canaanite and Proto-Sinaitic sites. There is quite a vast array of different forms and functions, and magical museums are filled with them. The variety -- in both form and purpose  of artefacts -- is quite astonishing, owing partly to the fact that they were well-preserved in the dry, arid deserts, and partly because of the wide variety of cultures the script came into contact with. There are examples of the script in nearly every single major ancient city in the erstwhile region of Canaan and the surrounding areas. This provides magiarchaeologists and magilinguists with a rich corpus from which to work and aids their discovery and understanding of the functions of the script. In this portion of the lesson, we will look at just a handful of the sites and artefacts that have been uncovered over the century and a half of study.

Spellbound Sites, Ancient Artefacts
The more astute of you may be wondering why the wizarding world has such a dearth of magical artefacts bearing Proto-Canaanite enchantments, whereas with many other scripts (such as Rongorongo) we are relegated to stealing magical artefacts or confunding Muggles in order to get our hands on magical pieces. The explanation to this half-formed question lies in the fact that magiarchaeologists, researchers, and the like got there roughy fifty years before any Muggles became curious about any sites with Proto-Canaanite inscriptions. They were still too busy researching and cataloging Egyptian hieroglyphics. Additionally, if the Muggles noticed any of these inscriptions, most believed them simply to be an offshoot of the aforementioned Egyptian hieroglyphics. Therefore, they wanted to finish their study of the main body of glyphs to establish basic understanding before examining these various offshoots.

By the time Muggles did notice, the sites were all thoroughly picked over and bespelled against prying eyes. Even at the sites that were uncovered last, we had over half a century to work before Muggles showed up and, in many cases, magiarchaeologists had an entire century to study their finds before Gringotts and the Ministries of the area saw fit to clear the areas for Muggle discovery. Because of this, there was no rush to uncover the artefacts. Therefore, none were damaged, and all of them remain in magical hands. In the next section of class, we will look at three different sites that feature magical Proto-Canaanite artefacts that are unique in some way.

The Tell at Göbekli Tepe
This “tell,” or an ancient city on a raised bed of rock, in the southeast of Turkey, is home to a formerly booming archaeological site called Göbekli Tepe, or “Potbelly Hill” in the area’s native Turkish. In its heyday -- between 1863 and 1887 -- no fewer than two hundred magical artefacts were uncovered from the site, not to mention scores of non-magical artefacts. While there has been no more development in the area since it was deemed “cleared for Muggle discovery,” there is no doubt that the archaeological finds here were crucial in forming our understanding of the magic of the Proto-Canaanite script and its evolution.

In archaeological terms, a tell is similar to a mastaba. It is a man-made mound, or a sort of plateau-like hill which is formed by repeated building, destruction, and re-building in the same place. Because of the historical nature of this feature, tells are common sites for archaeological digs and usually have artefacts and remains from more than one period of time, which can be most illuminating both for historians and magiarchaeologists alike.

One of the numerous types of magical artefacts that were uncovered in this ancient city are large stone pillars that supported inner ritual sites. Rather difficult to remove, these proved to be rather tricky for magiarchaeologists to excavate (and remove from Muggle eyes in the future) without damaging the magical enchantments on the pillars. It took many years and a large team of skilled witches and wizards to be able to extract and move the enormously heavy ritual sites while keeping them fully intact. This was crucial, as even the most cursory inspections revealed that the pillars were originally meant to amplify the meanings and power of the inscriptions on the other nearby structures. One such example is the “Hall of the Law,” which is generally agreed to have served as a site of judgement and trials, owing to the magical inscriptions for justice, honor, and clear thinking, as well as records of various ancient proclamations and laws. Unfortunately, the purposes of all these sites were not as easy to decode. There are a few -- currently housed in underground chambers of the Turkish Ministry of Magic -- which are still being studied.

Gezer Necropolis
Hidden far away from prying, non-magical eyes, there is a still bountiful excavation site in Gezer, Israel. Though work to uncover artefacts began as early as the 1850’s -- at least in a rudimentary sense -- the site still provides excellent examples of Proto-Canaanite specimens to this day.

The main area of Gezer, now cleared for Muggle discovery, was picked over quite thoroughly after yielding absolutely exquisite examples of day-to-day Proto-Canaanite artefacts from the wealthy members of the city. Intact vases, pottery shards, and other goods have been uncovered there starting in 1851, proving the existence of no fewer than a dozen magical combinations of Proto-Canaanite glyphs. To give just a handful of examples, a king of Gezer -- Rehoboam -- was found with a number of magical grave goods, lending credence to the fact that he himself had magical ability. Among his many goods, there was an earthenware plate imbued with a script-based enchantment of plenty, a throwing dagger with an enchantment for accuracy, and a decorative ivory bull’s head with fertility spells.

In more recent times, an expedition led by Smithon Draks uncovered a series of underground tunnels many miles away from the main area of the fortified city, which served as a necropolis. These tombs are still being examined and have led to many more discoveries about the script and its descendants, including evidence to suggest that pottery or other earthenware objects are the best “conduits” for the magic of Proto-Canaanite, owing to the large prevalence of runic artefacts of this material, as well as the potency of the spells on these objects when compared to bronze or other substances.

One such example is this, a two handled jug placed beside a simple merchant’s remains. While you may find the design plain, its embellishment, though minimal, and the fact that it is intact serve to show that it is a piece of significant quality and was likely very expensive at the time. Upon turning the vessel over, you would find two symbols, Kaph and Zayin. These two runes work together to ensure that the jug would be unbreakable, therefore saving the owner money on replacements. Magianthropologists suspect that the jug was, in fact, enchanted and inscribed by someone other than the merchant himself, as there were no other signs of literacy in the burial area. More, this artefact points to a larger trend in pottery in this area during the Late Bronze Age, and has prompted the re-examining of some older, already discovered artefacts presumed to not bear any runic markings.  

Wadi el-Hol Inscriptions
Finally, we come to a magical Proto-Canaanite artefact that remains in the Muggle public view: the inscriptions that can be found along naturally occurring stone walls along an Egyptian road. The area, Wadi el-Hol, is known as the “Ravine of Terror” when translated to English, which seems quite dire, but it may give more context to know exactly what a “wadi” is.

A wadi is, essentially, a valley, or an area that has been carved out due to water or glaciers. However, in some cases, a wadi can actually be flooded with water (forming a river) during certain times of the year. This was likely the case of Wadi el-Hol. Its close proximity to the Nile quite possibly meant that during the rainy season, the route -- which was often used for trade and travel -- was prone to flash floods, making the area treacherous to travel.

Now, onto the inscription itself. It has been dated back to roughly 2000 B.C.E. which coincides with the earliest period of Proto-Canaanite use (or, in this case, it would be more accurate to say Proto-Sinaitic). It was first discovered by Axlam Sixir, a Somali magiarchaeologist in 1821, who was simply visiting relatives.

It was quickly reported to the Egyptian Ministry of Magic and necessary precautions were taken to keep the site away from the eyes of Muggles while inspections and excavations began. The inscription, in a mix of phonetic words and ideographs, says “Waters rise, but we toil to protect the city.” The inscription was rather ground-breaking at the time, as spells that were partially phonetic and partially ideographic were thought to be uniquely Egyptian or Germanic. However, this spell proved otherwise. Interestingly, this is not the only runic enchantment on the walls of this wadi, as many various spells of protection (some for travelers, some against floods, some against the heat of the sun) were carved into the stone at some point.

After investigation, it became clear that we could neither remove the inscription, nor hide the entire well-traveled roadway from Muggle view. Instead, the Ministry called upon one of that period’s most prominent charms specialists to obscure the magical inscription from Muggle’s eyes. Cleverly, rather than making it disappear altogether, they simply cast spells to alter the appearance and shape of the runes (and therefore the meaning, according to Muggles). They did such an excellent job that the Deep Object Charm still remains in place today -- though it is checked on once every seven years -- and Muggles have still not entirely deciphered its meaning.

Example Enchantment
All this talk of various magical artefacts and a few hazy pictures of magical inscriptions likely has you wondering what exactly a standard spell in Proto-Canaanite looks like. While a “standard” spell may be a bit difficult to narrow down -- owing to the vast cultural diffusion and outside influence on Canaanite society -- there are a few important notable traits we can examine.

First, the magical effects of Proto-Canaanite spells can be created by a mix of phonetic and ideographic symbols, similar to Germanic runes. In the case of some Germanic and many Proto-Canaanite spells, both types of symbols occupy the same “space.” That is, there are not multiple levels to a spell, such as the decorative face-value phonetic level and the secret handful of magically activated runes like with Egyptian hieroglyphics. Instead, with Proto-Canaanite, it appears that the entire inscription was involved in the magical process, though the phonetic meanings may have merely served as a means for the witch or wizard to focus their intent.

Additionally, there are some inscriptions that are solely ideographic, and some hypothesize that a completely phonetic spell could be possible as well. However, these would have been much more difficult to correctly activate, as they would simply have been mechanisms for focusing the intent of the spell.1 When inscriptions of this nature are unearthed, it is much more likely that the inscription merely records the words or chant used for a verbal spell. To further the hypothesis of the difficulty, no examples that meet this description have ever been unearthed, though there have been quite a few with only one ideographic symbol included.

Before we close the lesson for today, we will examine one enchantment, breaking it down into its composite parts. We will take one of the many various inscriptions at Serabit el-Khadim, Egypt as an example, a site we did not cover yet in class. While I will not go into detail as to the setup of the site nor the artefacts found there, it is important to note that this site is rich with carvings on the stone walls and stone pillars as well as other typical grave goods.

The inscription we are looking at today is known as “Inscription SK-4,” also known more colloquially as the “Cattle Spell.” It is important to note that historically there was mining excavation at this site in order to unearth the precious turquoise in the earth, which was dug up by magic alongside many beasts of burden. The inscription is commonly believed to be a spell of strength and protection on the stables there to house the working beasts used in the mining operations. On the board, you can see what the inscription looks like.

This is an example of a purely ideographic magical spell. If we break the spell up into individual runes, we can deduce its meaning fairly easily. First, we have Aleph, the ox. In this spell, it is generally held to represent the characteristics of strength and endurance, rather than the actual, logographic meaning of oxen. The following rune, Beth, indicates the concept of a building or some sort of shelter. In this case, it is used to direct the rest of the spell onto the indicated shelter. Next, we have the rune, Heth, before we get to Mem, with which it is paired in order to indicate sustenance and providing for the animals. Lastly, have Yodh. In this spell, it is believed to indicate an embrace, generally meaning comfort or care. When woven together, this enchantment would have been used to keep any beasts of burden housed at Serabit el-Khadim in top shape and well-cared for, so that they would not have to suffer setbacks from sickly cattle or have to continue to replenish their herds.

However, because of the goddess Hathor’s historical representation as a cow, there are those groups that interpret the first rune as a symbol invoking Hathor’s protection over these mining sites, though this does not preclude the possibility that the rest of the decipherment of the spell is correct, and still applies to the cattle housed there.

Closing
With that, we draw a close to our lesson, and indeed our foray into Proto-Canaanite. Should this be a topic of interest for you, there are opportunities in the extra credit assignments to do more research into these areas. If this is not enough for you, you may wish to consider going into this area of study and research after Hogwarts, as I can assure you it is both very rewarding and an area in which discoveries are still being made.

Footnotes

1. Sadly, the method of activation, though believed to be a spell, remains unknown. However, the academic community at large has been heartened by the successes with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, and hope the answer will eventually be found. There are certainly quite a few ongoing studies into the matter.

Original lesson written by Professor Venita Wessex
Image credits here, here, here, here, and  here