SINAITIC INSCRIPTIONS — I. s. nos. 349 and 357 in the design by W. F. Albright.
SINAITIC INSCRIPTIONS — SYNCRETISM
north-western. On this path, a decisive step in decipherment was taken in 1915 by A. Gardiner, who identified the frequently recurring expression as an invocation to Ba‘alat, the Semitic name of the goddess Hathor. Further studies were carried out (K. Sethe, R. Butin, H. Grimme) and further progress was made (A. E. Cowley, M. Sprengling) subsequently, until in 1948 W. F. Albright published extensive translation essays.
As for the date of the S. I., it is placed by some (Gardiner, Butin) around 1880 B.C., by others (Flinders Petrie, Albright) around 1500 B.C. The authors of the S. I. were probably Semitic prisoners or slaves working in the mines.