What were ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs?

What do hieroglyphs tell us?

A photo of hieroglyphics in the tomb of Ramesses IV. — Image caption,
An example of hieroglyphs from the tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses IV.

The Ancient Egyptians invented one of the earliest known writing systems used from around 3000BC.

The Ancient Egyptians believed that this language had been invented by the gods.

Hieroglyphs (pictures and symbols used by Ancient Egyptians for writing) tell us a lot about Ancient Egyptian life.

They show us important events and stories about Pharaohs, what people did in their daily life and how they worshipped gods and goddesses.

Important words

Important words on Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Keyword	Definition
Demotic	Everyday Ancient Egyptian language.
Phonetic	A sound that makes up part of a word. The sound 'th' makes in a word like 'thing' is part of its phonetics.
Rosetta Stone	A carved stone from found near Rosetta in 1799. Its text is written in 3 languages: Greek, hieroglyphs and demotic.
Sacred	Something that is very special and important, often connected to religion or worship.
Scribe	A person who wrote hieroglyphs or documents.
Translate	To change writing from one language into another.
Undeciphered	Not yet understood or translated into a known language.

Who used hieroglyphs?

A photo of two scribes from a relief From Mastaba Of Akhethotep At Saqqara — Image caption,
Scribes seen in artwork on the wall of the tomb of Akhethetep, an official.

In Ancient Egypt, the people who wrote hieroglyphs were called scribes (a person who wrote hieroglyphs or documents).

A scribe had to go to a special school because writing in hieroglyphs was very complicated.

They were highly respected as they kept records and not many people in Ancient Egypt could read hieroglyphs.

Hieroglyphs included around 700 different signs of objects and animals.

How were they written?

A photo of a writing board by an apprentice scribe from 2030BC. — Image caption,
A writing board from 2030BC, used by an apprentice scribe for practicing hieroglyphs.

Hieroglyphs inspired the first alphabets, including the Latin alphabet which we use today.

Some signs were pictorial or symbolic and stood for whole words.

Some signs were phonetic, which means they stood for sounds. Writing phonetic hieroglyphs next to each other can sound out a word when put together, just like how we put letters together to make words.

Hieroglyphs could be written vertically, horizontally, left to right, or right to left!

The phonetic hieroglyph alphabet is the closest version to our modern English alphabet.

It is not exactly the same because the ancient Egyptians did not have symbols for vowels (‘a’, ‘e’, ‘i’, ‘o’ or ‘u’), but there are some symbols that make sounds that are close.

What was the Rosetta Stone?

A photo of the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum — Image caption,
The Rosetta Stone in the British Museum, its discovery in 1799 was key in being able to read hieroglyphs.

The Rosetta Stone is a carved stone discovered in 1799.

Until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, much of the Ancient Egyptian language was a mystery.

The stone contained the same text written in three different languages;

hieroglyphs
demotic (the everyday Egyptian language)
Ancient Greek

The discovery of the Rosetta Stone was the key to unlocking the hieroglyphic code.

Since the Ancient Greek language was understood, the hieroglyphs could be translated (to change writing from one language into another). In fact, the word 'hieroglyph' comes from ancient Greek, meaning 'sacred carving'.

Without the discovery of this stone, the language could still have been a mystery today!

What can hieroglyphs tell us about ancient Egypt?

The Ancient Egyptians wrote the names of their gods and royal people in an oval shape called a cartouche. The oval shape represents a rope with special powers to ward off evil spirits and keep the name inside it safe.

Hieroglyphics are found on seals, plaques, tombs, pottery and walls on ancient Egyptian remains which tell us about beliefs, gods, clothing, everyday life and culture.

A photo of the tomb of Ramesses V and Ramesses VI. — Image caption,
The tomb of Ramesses V (1149–1145BC) and Ramesses VI (1156-1149 BC) which shows the story of their reign and Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses.

The Ancient Egyptians also used papyrus and writing boards which recorded laws, taxation and government business.

These written records of Ancient Egypt give us information about the beginning of history.

This is in contrast to societies that had no written record, such as the people who built Stonehenge between 3000-2000 BC, the exact same time as Ancient Egypt.

Slideshow: Examples of hieroglyphs

Click through the slideshow to see some examples of hieroglyphs on Ancient Egyptian artefacts.

Skip image gallery

Image source, The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York
Image caption,
Stone carving of Gatekeeper Maati, ca. 2051–2030BC
In this image, an official of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II, called Maati, sits in front of an offering table. It looks like a carving related to a funeral because the table is a stand with tall leaves. Food offerings float above the table and below it is a bowl for Maati to wash himself. The hieroglyphs on the right are traditional passages carved to remember the dead.
Image source, The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York
Image caption,
Hands offering Aten writing tablets, ca. 1352–1336BC
This piece was found in the Sanctuary of the Great Aten Temple. It is made of eight fragments. One of these pieces in now in the British Museum. Aten's name is written inside the two oval shapes that you can see on the front.
Image source, The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York
Image caption,
Book of the Dead for the Singer of Amun, Nany, ca. 1050BC
This is from a piece part of a papyrus (ancient Egyptian paper) that was over 17 feet long. It shows a singer named Nany on her journey into the afterlife. The hieroglyphs are phrases from the 'Book of the Dead'. Nany is at the final stage in her journey into the afterlife. She is at the Hall of Judgement, standing in front of Osiris, the God of the Underworld.
Image source, The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York
Image caption,
Stone carving of Userhat,1327–1295BC
This stone shows a priest called Userhat. He talks about all of his good qualities and his trust in a god called Amun. Userhat is shown kneeling down with his wife, who is called Nefertari.
Image source, The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York
Image caption,
Stone carving of the Overseer of the Fortress Intef, ca. 2000–1988BC
On the top line of this stone is the name of King Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II. The stone belongs to a man named Intef. The hieroglyphs say that Intef was the king's servant and in charge of a fortress.

Think like a historian

A thought bubble saying 'Thinking points'.

Have a look at the thinking points below and think about your answer to the questions. You could even write it down on a piece of paper or discuss it with somebody else if you want to.