The Flickr Medievalarabtravellers Image Generatr

Memphis, conglomerate stone

The Shabaka Stone records a myth in which the god Ptah created the world by reading aloud the names of gods, people, cities and temples. The text claims to be a copy of an ancient worm-eaten papyrus which the pharaoh ordered to be carved on stone to preserve it for eternity. Although it was nearly erased by later re-use, ultimately the pharaoh succeeded in his task, as we can enjoy the text today, 2732 years later.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Memphis, conglomerate stone

The Shabaka Stone records a myth in which the god Ptah created the world by reading aloud the names of gods, people, cities and temples. The text claims to be a copy of an ancient worm-eaten papyrus which the pharaoh ordered to be carved on stone to preserve it for eternity. Although it was nearly erased by later re-use, ultimately the pharaoh succeeded in his task, as we can enjoy the text today, 2732 years later.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Memphis, conglomerate stone

The Shabaka Stone records a myth in which the god Ptah created the world by reading aloud the names of gods, people, cities and temples. The text claims to be a copy of an ancient worm-eaten papyrus which the pharaoh ordered to be carved on stone to preserve it for eternity. Although it was nearly erased by later re-use, ultimately the pharaoh succeeded in his task, as we can enjoy the text today, 2732 years later.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Memphis, conglomerate stone

The Shabaka Stone records a myth in which the god Ptah created the world by reading aloud the names of gods, people, cities and temples. The text claims to be a copy of an ancient worm-eaten papyrus which the pharaoh ordered to be carved on stone to preserve it for eternity. Although it was nearly erased by later re-use, ultimately the pharaoh succeeded in his task, as we can enjoy the text today, 2732 years later.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Memphis, conglomerate stone

The Shabaka Stone records a myth in which the god Ptah created the world by reading aloud the names of gods, people, cities and temples. The text claims to be a copy of an ancient worm-eaten papyrus which the pharaoh ordered to be carved on stone to preserve it for eternity. Although it was nearly erased by later re-use, ultimately the pharaoh succeeded in his task, as we can enjoy the text today, 2732 years later.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Memphis, conglomerate stone

The Shabaka Stone records a myth in which the god Ptah created the world by reading aloud the names of gods, people, cities and temples. The text claims to be a copy of an ancient worm-eaten papyrus which the pharaoh ordered to be carved on stone to preserve it for eternity. Although it was nearly erased by later re-use, ultimately the pharaoh succeeded in his task, as we can enjoy the text today, 2732 years later.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Memphis, conglomerate stone

The Shabaka Stone records a myth in which the god Ptah created the world by reading aloud the names of gods, people, cities and temples. The text claims to be a copy of an ancient worm-eaten papyrus which the pharaoh ordered to be carved on stone to preserve it for eternity. Although it was nearly erased by later re-use, ultimately the pharaoh succeeded in his task, as we can enjoy the text today, 2732 years later.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Egypt, black steatite
664–525 BC, Egypt, glazed composition
747–30 BC, Egypt, bronze

The patron god of writing, thinking and learning was Thoth, the moon deity. His name means ‘the one of the ibis’ and he could be depicted as an ibis or a man with an ibis head, possibly because the curve of the beak resembles the crescent moon. Sometimes, he was also depicted as a baboon holding up the moon. The Greeks associated him with Hermes, and eventually with Hermes Trismegistus, the legendary inventor of writing.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Amulets (1550–747 BC)
Egypt, diorite or gneiss
Egypt, glazed composition

As family was so important for Egyptians, it was essential to protect one’s relatives from evil. Several gods and goddesses appeared on amulets to safeguard the family. Taweret, a hippopotamus with large breasts, was the goddess of childbirth. Bes, a bandy-legged dwarf with a lion’s mane and protruding tongue, protected mothers and children. Heket was a goddess of fertility, represented by a frog.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Abydos, paper

The Abydos King List was discovered and copied by William John Bankes in 1818, but he refused to share his notes with Champollion, deeming the latter a ‘dirty scoundrel’ for having failed to acknowledge his role in the earlier decipherment of ‘Cleopatra’. Champollion may have used other drawings such as this 1821–22 copy by John Gardner Wilkinson.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Egypt, human remains, organic

When the mummified remains of Baketenhor arrived in Newcastle in 1821, onlookers eagerly requested an unwrapping. Fortunately, they were denied, saving her beautiful cartonnage – a protective cover made from plastered layers of fibre, papyrus or linen, sometimes coated in resin. In 1823, Champollion identified the inscription as a prayer addressed to several deities for the soul of the deceased. A recent medical scan revealed she died between the ages of 25 and 35.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Deir el-Medina, limestone

Ostraca were cheap and easily available, so they were a good medium on which to practise. One side of this ostracon shows two different texts onto which a sketch was added later. The reverse records a list of the ‘personal marks’ of villagers, a kind of signature for people who could not write.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Doorjamb (1294–1279 BC)
Valley of the Kings, limestone

Watercolour (c1818)
Thebes, paper

From 1828 to 1829, Champollion and his friend Italian Egyptologist Ippolito Rosellini undertook a joint expedition to Egypt. They visited many monuments Champollion knew only from drawings and descriptions, such as the tomb of King Sety I. Its beautifully coloured reliefs had been painted in watercolour by artist Henry William Beechey. When the tomb was found in 1817, it was thought to belong to King Psamtek I, but Champollion correctly deciphered the name ‘Sety’. He also identified the goose as ‘son’ in the title ‘son of Ra’, as seen on this doorjamb from the tomb.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Egypt, limestone

The scribal profession involved more than just writing. Scribes preserved the memory of Egypt by copying, reinterpreting and reworking revered pieces of literature.
The Teaching of Khety was produced around 2000 BC but mostly preserved through later copies like these. The work is also known as Satire of the Trades because Khety mocks all other professions in favour of the scribal one in order to convince his son to become a scribe: ‘There’s nothing that surpasses writings!’
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Egypt, wood

Students practised writing on limestone flakes or pottery fragments called ostraca, as well as on wooden or stone tablets, and trial pieces. Training included basic spelling and grammar exercises and the copying of whole texts. These were either dictated or copied from examples. For easy reuse, tablets or writing boards were waxed and written upon with a stylus, or ink inscriptions were erased and overwritten.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Egypt, human remains, organic

When the mummified remains of Baketenhor arrived in Newcastle in 1821, onlookers eagerly requested an unwrapping. Fortunately, they were denied, saving her beautiful cartonnage – a protective cover made from plastered layers of fibre, papyrus or linen, sometimes coated in resin. In 1823, Champollion identified the inscription as a prayer addressed to several deities for the soul of the deceased. A recent medical scan revealed she died between the ages of 25 and 35.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Egypt, black steatite
664–525 BC, Egypt, glazed composition
747–30 BC, Egypt, bronze

The patron god of writing, thinking and learning was Thoth, the moon deity. His name means ‘the one of the ibis’ and he could be depicted as an ibis or a man with an ibis head, possibly because the curve of the beak resembles the crescent moon. Sometimes, he was also depicted as a baboon holding up the moon. The Greeks associated him with Hermes, and eventually with Hermes Trismegistus, the legendary inventor of writing.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Egypt, black steatite
664–525 BC, Egypt, glazed composition
747–30 BC, Egypt, bronze

The patron god of writing, thinking and learning was Thoth, the moon deity. His name means ‘the one of the ibis’ and he could be depicted as an ibis or a man with an ibis head, possibly because the curve of the beak resembles the crescent moon. Sometimes, he was also depicted as a baboon holding up the moon. The Greeks associated him with Hermes, and eventually with Hermes Trismegistus, the legendary inventor of writing.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

1390–1352 BC
limestone, Egypt

Some individuals were forgotten about or deliberately erased from memory. A disliked individual’s name or image might be violently obliterated or hacked out, as seen on this statue. In other cases, names were altered or erased because they were no longer needed, or because an object needed to be re-used.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]

Doorjamb (1294–1279 BC)
Valley of the Kings, limestone

Watercolour (c1818)
Thebes, paper

From 1828 to 1829, Champollion and his friend Italian Egyptologist Ippolito Rosellini undertook a joint expedition to Egypt. They visited many monuments Champollion knew only from drawings and descriptions, such as the tomb of King Sety I. Its beautifully coloured reliefs had been painted in watercolour by artist Henry William Beechey. When the tomb was found in 1817, it was thought to belong to King Psamtek I, but Champollion correctly deciphered the name ‘Sety’. He also identified the goose as ‘son’ in the title ‘son of Ra’, as seen on this doorjamb from the tomb.
[British Museum]

Taken in the Exhibition


Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt
(October 2022 - February 2023)

For centuries, life in ancient Egypt was a mystery.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition took visitors through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language. From romantic poetry and international treaties, to shopping lists and tax returns, the hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient handwriting in this exhibition revealed stories that are fantastically varied. As well as an unshakeable belief in the power of the pharaohs and the promise of the afterlife, ancient Egyptians enjoyed good food, writing letters and making jokes.
The show charted the race to decipherment, from initial efforts by medieval Arab travellers and Renaissance scholars to more focussed progress by French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) and England’s Thomas Young (1773–1829). The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, with its decree written in hieroglyphs, demotic and the known language of ancient Greek, provided the key to decoding the ancient signs. The results of the 1822 breakthrough proved staggering.
Using inscriptions on the very objects that Champollion and other scholars studied, this immersive exhibition helped visitors to unlock one of the world’s oldest civilisations.
[British Museum]