There are many examples of hieroglyphics which can be found on the remaining Egyptian city walls and on the relics which have been found there.
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ALPHABET
When the ancient city of Egypt was first discovered, travellers were dazzled by the beautiful, colourful symbols, but no one could understand what the Egyptian symbols meant.
In 1799, a large stone tablet was discovered by the French in a harbour on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt.
This stone tablet was called the Rosetta stone (named after the town where it was discovered).
The stone tablet translated the Egyptian hieroglyphs into the classical Greek alphabet (which Historians understood) , allowing historians, for the first time, to be able to understand the Egyptian writing.
THE ROSETTA STONE
With an understanding the Hieroglyphics, we have a great insight into the Egyptian way of life and their beliefs.
Even after finding the Rosetta stone, the Hieroglyphics are still difficult to read and interpret correctly because of the following facts:
The Rosetta stone, when it was found, was not fully intact - there were large chunks of the stone missing - therefore not all of the Egyptian symbols can be accurately translated.
The Egyptians did not use punctuation marks - no commas or full stops.
There are over 700 Egyptian symbols.
The Egyptians wrote both across - from right to left and from left to right.
The Egyptians wrote in vertical lines from top to bottom or from bottom to top.
Using hieroglyphics was a complicated process and the majority of normal Egyptians could neither read or write.
Boys of around 6 or 7 years old were chosen from wealthy families to be specifically trained to be scribes.
It took many years for them to be able to master the art.
Hieroglyphics can be found on stone, jewellery, ceramic pots and papyrus - which is a type of thick paper which was made from the papyrus plant which grew on the edge of the Nile river.
PAPYRUS PLANT
Many of the statues, temples and tombs were marked with oval name plaques, known as cartouches.
The Cartouche contained hieroglyphics which spelled out the name of the Pharaoh or God to which the building or item was made in honour of.
By reading Cartouches, historians can discover the names of the important figures in the Egyptian culture.
