Ancient Egypt: A beginner's guide
Writing and language
Websites
Hieroglyphs
www.channel4.com/science/microsites/S/
secrecy/page2a.html
Concise rundown on the language of the ancient Egyptians, how it was
finally deciphered and how hieroglyphs actually work. Part of the Channel
4 Science of Secrecy website.
The Rosetta Stone
http://pw1.netcom.com/~qkstart/rosetta.html
The complete text of what appears on the tablet, the discovery of
which led to the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphs.
The Pronunciation of Ancient Egyptian
www.friesian.com/egypt.htm
Interesting article on this fascinating subject – plus the story of
why the word 'adobe' actually comes from ancient Egyptian!
Books
Reading Egyptian Art: A hieroglyphic guide to ancient Egyptian painting
and sculpture by Richard H Wilkinson (Thames & Hudson, 1994) £9.95
The basis of this introduction to the symbolic language of hieroglyphs
is a directory of the 100 signs employed most often in Egyptian painting
and sculpture – from 'seated man' and 'lion' to 'vulture' and 'ankh'.
It offers a comprehensive explanation of these symbols, their origins,
identification and uses.
The Little Book of Egyptian Hieroglyphs by Lesley and Roy Adkins
(Hodder Mobius, 2002) £5.99
This book gives the Egyptian alphabet and shows how simple it is to spell
your own name using hieroglyphs. It also includes an introduction to the
pharaohs, the gods, the Nile and the Egyptian calendar, the scribes, and
the common texts in tombs, on statues and in papyri, helping you to recognise
the most common hieroglyphic words and phrases.
The Keys of Egypt: The race to read the hieroglyphs by Lesley
and Roy Adkins (HarperCollins, 2001) £7.99
The biography of Jean-François Champollion, who discovered the
key to deciphering hieroglyphs, is interwoven with Napoleonic history
in a ripping yarn of obsession and rivalry.
