Facts about Hieroglyphs |
Facts about Hieroglyphs | Subject | Information and Interesting Facts about Hieroglyphs |
Hieroglyphs Fact 1: | History |
The Hieroglyph system of writing was developed over 3000 years ago. The earliest known examples of writing in Egypt have been dated to 3,400 BC
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 2: | History - the Romans | The Hieroglyph system of writing fell into decline when the Romans conquered Egypt.
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 3: | History - the lost writing system | The Romans conquered Egypt in 30 BC Egypt when the country became a province of the Roman Empire (30BC - 641 AD). Within one hundred years the Egyptians were writing in Latin, hieroglyphics were forgotten and became a 'thing of the past'
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 4: | History - The Rosetta Stone | No one could decipher the meanings of Egyptian hieroglyphics were a total mystery for 1500 years until the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799 at Rosetta (Rashid) in the Nile Delta.
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 5: | History - The Rosetta Stone | The Rosetta Stone contains a royal decree of a Pharaoh which had the same message written in bands of three different languages: Ancient Greek, hieroglyphics, and demotic (the language of the ancient Egyptians).
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 6: | History - The Rosetta Stone | The Ancient Greek language was known by linguists and the text inscriptions on the stone gave the first clues to deciphering and translating ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 7: | History
Rosetta Stone & Champollion
| Jean-Francois Champollion, a French historian and linguist, became known as the translator of the Rosetta Stone in 1822. The work of deciphering the hieroglyphs continued after the death of Champollion and still continues today.
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 8: | Hieroglyphics | The ancient Egyptians called Hieroglyphics "the language of the gods" and they were used mainly by the priests, royalty and civil officials.
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 9: | Glyphs | The hieroglyphic system of writing used in ancient Egypt had between 700 and 800 basic symbols, called glyphs. The arrangement of glyphs was based partly on artistic considerations
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 10: | Translation | Hieroglyphics are written in horizontal rows or vertical columns and can be read from left to right or from right to left.
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 11: | Translation | The direction in which the text is to be read is indicated as the human (or animal) figures always face towards the beginning of the line
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 12: | Translation | The upper symbols are read before the lower symbols
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 13: | Translation | The Egyptians did not write all the vowels (e,i,o,u) in Hieroglyphics
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 14: | Translation | Hieroglyphics were written using only consonants
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 15: | Translation | There are not hieroglyphics for all of the letters used in our alphabet such as such as 'e' or 'v'
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 16: | Writing Numbers | The numbers or numerals used in the Hieroglyphs used pictures or symbols that could be combined to denote any number - see below.
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 17: | Pictograms | Some of the Symbols and Signs used in the Hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt were similar to simple pictograms conveying stories and meanings through pictures of symbols and signs that signify and resemble the shapes of physical objects or people.
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 18: | Hieroglyphics | Hieroglyphics are characters in any system of writing in which symbols represent objects (such as animals or boats) and ideas (such as happiness, motion and time).
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 19: | Types of Hieroglyphics | There are two basic types of hieroglyphs called ideograms and phonograms. The same image could be used as both an ideogram and a phonogram. |
| Hieroglyphs Fact 20: | Ideagrams | An Ideagram, or logogram, is a form of Hieroglyphic which conveys complex ideas, feelings and emotions. An ideagram (or logogram) represents an entire word.
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| Hieroglyphs Fact 21: | Phonograms | A phonogram is an image that can represent a spoken sound. |
| Hieroglyphs Fact 22: | Determinative | The Egyptians usually constructed their hieroglyphs by putting phonograms at the beginning of a word. Some phonograms were followed by an type of ideogram called a determinative. The determinative is a glyph that carries no phonetic value but is added at the end of a word to clarify the meaning.
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Facts about Hieroglyphs |
