---
license: other
license_name: glyphdataset-non-commercial
pretty_name: HieroglyphBench
task_categories:
  - image-to-text
tags:
  - ocr
  - hieroglyphs
  - egyptology
  - gardiner
size_categories:
  - n<1K
configs:
  - config_name: default
    data_files:
      - split: test
        path: test/*
---

# HieroglyphBench

An OCR benchmark for ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs: 30 photographed columns of
hieroglyphs from the Pyramid of Unas (11-26 signs each), each paired with an
expert transcription of the signs as [Gardiner sign-list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardiner%27s_sign_list)
codes. The task is to read the signs in the image, in order.

Writeup and leaderboard: https://boggs.tech/posts/reading-hieroglyphs-with-vlms/

Code and evaluation harness: https://github.com/JakeBoggs/HieroglyphBench

## Examples

<table>
<tr><td align="center"><b>Photo</b></td><td><b>Ground-truth signs</b></td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://huggingface.co/datasets/jakeboggs/HieroglyphBench/resolve/main/test/unas-p20-c3-2.png" height="210"></td>
<td valign="middle"><img src="https://huggingface.co/datasets/jakeboggs/HieroglyphBench/resolve/main/assets/unas-p20-c3-2_signs.png" width="340"><br><sub><code>D21 G17 O4 D21 G43 N5 Q3 N35 G17 M17 D4 E23</code></sub></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://huggingface.co/datasets/jakeboggs/HieroglyphBench/resolve/main/test/unas-p7-c12-2.png" height="210"></td>
<td valign="middle"><img src="https://huggingface.co/datasets/jakeboggs/HieroglyphBench/resolve/main/assets/unas-p7-c12-2_signs.png" width="340"><br><sub><code>D46 V4 N14 S29 N35 V13 G43 G17 D21 N35 V31 G43 Q3 N35</code></sub></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://huggingface.co/datasets/jakeboggs/HieroglyphBench/resolve/main/test/unas-p22-c8-1.png" height="210"></td>
<td valign="middle"><img src="https://huggingface.co/datasets/jakeboggs/HieroglyphBench/resolve/main/assets/unas-p22-c8-1_signs.png" width="430"><br><sub><code>G17 E34 N35 M17 S29 M18 M17 G17 E34 N35 M17 S29 M18 M17 G17 V31 E34 N35 M17 S29</code></sub></td>
</tr>
</table>

## Columns

- `image` - the cropped photograph of the inscription column
- `id` - item id (`unas-p{plate}-c{col}-{chunk}`)
- `plate` - source plate and column
- `num_signs` - number of ground-truth signs
- `gardiner` - ordered list of Gardiner codes (the ground truth)
- `gardiner_str` - the same codes, space-joined
- `unicode` - the signs rendered as Unicode hieroglyphs (U+13000 block)

## Source and license

Photographs and per-sign annotations come from Morris Franken's
[GlyphDataset](https://github.com/morrisfranken/glyphreader), derived from
Alexandre Piankoff's *The Pyramid of Unas* (1955) plates. Non-commercial use;
keep the Franken / Piankoff attribution.