𓏺 𓎆 𓍢 𓆼
Egyptian numerals
A summing system in base 10, with no zero.
StructureAdditive — signs are summed; there are no columns, so nothing can be empty
Base10
ZeroNone — the system never needs one
RegionEgypt and Nubia
Datesc. 3200 BCE — as old as the writing itself
Unicodewithin U+13000–U+1342F
Status historic
Curatorial note
A separate sign for each power of ten — stroke, heel bone, coil of rope, lotus, finger, tadpole, and a kneeling figure for a million — repeated as many times as needed and summed. Purely additive, so 999 takes twenty-seven signs. These numerals appear on the earliest labels from Abydos, which is to say that Egypt was counting in writing before it was recording sentences.
Specimen
The digits, at size 56 𓏺 𓎆 𓍢 𓆼
40 𓏺 𓎆 𓍢 𓆼
26 𓏺 𓎆 𓍢 𓆼
17 𓏺 𓎆 𓍢 𓆼