H has 12 glyph lines on each side, and the text follows Fischer's rule, i.e. side b has its first glyph line upside down. It is beginning with glyphs which are parallel with those we are studying in Q:
Reading glyph line Hb1 is similar to reading glyph line Qb3. Both are upside down and both indicate how darkness is growing. Counting days in H implies dividing the number of glyphs counted from Ha1-4 by 3 and then adding 64:
There are 648 glyphs (216 days) on each side of the tablet. The creator of the H text presumably has played a 'joke' here. Vai in *Qb3-38 is connected with number 261 (because 522 / 2 = 261), while vai in Hb1-1 is connected with day 216 - in both cases before adding 64. 261 = 9 * 29 indicates complete darkness and 216 is what results from a simple reversal of the two last digits in 261. 216 = 8 * 27, where 27 = 3 * 3 * 3 is not much better, it too is a very odd number. However, 216 is also equal to 6 * 36. And considering that 3 glyphs are needed for each day in H, we can maybe continue and divide the days by 3, in which case 216 = 3 * 72. Or why not divide the number of glyphs by 6: 648 / 6 = 108 = 9 * 12 Maybe day 280 is not the significant number. Maybe 6 * 108 is what should be read. The possibilities are many. But the numbers are necessary for understanding, and we will therefore involve one more chain of arguments. Leaving numbers aside it is though clear that water (vai) will quench fire. |
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