I have a question. What did they do back then if they made a typo ? Did they execute the chiseler ? Is that where the term chiseler came from ? Is this Stele an example of one that had a mistake (based on it’s condition) ?
There were no typos, because there were no typewriters.
A typographical error is when you hit the wrong key, usually the one beside the key you intended to hit.
People often wrongly use the word "typo" when they mean "mistake." It sounds more trivial and innocent -- Oops, I made a typo! -- than admitting that one does not know grammar or how to spell.
“What did they do back then if they made a typo ? Did they execute the chiseler ? Is that where the term chiseler came from ?”
Typically, they would write out the message with chalk or some such; it would be proofed, and then carved. So mistakes were rare. Yes, they would lightly carve out mistakes, then write over the marked out area. It was subtle. Frequently in Egypt one pharaoh would carve over the name of some other ruler who was disfavored and put his name in place. They can now figure out the original name by impressions in the rock; I think using x-rays.
Without looking it up “chiseler” comes from the practice of shaving a bit from the outside diameter of coins back when they were made of silver or gold. This is why USA coins historically made of precious meal (quarters, dimes, etc) have the serrated edge — so you could see if they have been shaved.
Y’know how some people do crossword puzzles in pencil so they can change a guess, while others have the hubris to use pens? Cuneiform was designed for clay tablets, and the soft clay could be easily ‘erased’ to enter corrections or entirely new texts.
Pencil users.
Carving in stone was accomplished using a water-soluble ink or paint, proofed, corrected where needed, then the characters were chiseled out, like painting by numbers but with metal tools.
Egyptian wall texts were roughed out using an ocher-based ink (if memory serves), then the master scribe checked the text, made corrections, and the permanent version was painted on, covering the light ochre version, errors, corrections, and all.
There are also ancient errors detected in carved inscriptions, those were pen users I’d guess. :^)