As I wrote, there is no reason to doubt the translation of the passage in question, and the editions of the Greek I have looked at do not indicate that there are major problems with the Greek text that could lead to differing translations of the same passage. That said, I think there are good reasons to doubt the existence of an Egyptian inscription of the form reported by Herodotus, although I don’t doubt that there could have been inscription on the exterior of the pyramid. My skepticism comes from the fact that in all of my reading of AE materials I have never come across an inscription of this sort, indicating “how much was spent on radishes and onions and garlic for the workmen,” or the equivalent. Such an inscription strikes me as entirely out of character for AE. The closest thing I can think I can think of are the temple inscriptions that indicate things such as “it’s doorway is electrum,” etc. but I don’t think the amount spent for the slaves is likely to get a mention in a royal text intended to glorify the king. I am one of those who thinks Herodotus should generally be given the benefit of the doubt, but the alleged content of this inscription makes my extremely dubious.

Lee