ILLUSTRATIONS Alexandre Jubran
Writing hieroglyphs was an art form. Meet some of them
In classical Egypt (between 2575 BC and 1630 BC) there were about 700 different hieroglyphs used for communication. It was a complex language: each of them could be understood as an image, a sound and a symbol. Generally, they appeared on public monuments and temple walls (indicating who was in a tomb, for example), also fulfilling a decorative function. In everyday life, the Egyptians used simpler types of writing, such as hieratic.
1) sound «A»
Symbol An Egyptian vulture, linked to cemeteries and battlefields
2) sound “I”
Symbol A reed, a plant used to make arrows and implements used in writing
3) Sound «AND»
Symbol An arm, an image that referred to power in Egyptian culture
4) Sound «P»
Symbol The square indicates a place to sit, like a throne. It is associated with nobility
5) Sound “U”
Symbol Baby quail. Indicated plural and also chronological time
6) Sound “RR”
Symbol It looks like a spiral, but it’s a house. One of many hieroglyphs that sound like “RR”
7) Sound “N”
Symbol It represents ripples in water and is linked to the concept of transcendence.
8) Sound “Q”
Symbol A hill, used in words such as «high», «peak», «elevation» or «exalted»
9) Sound “G”
Symbol A pitcher of wine, a drink much appreciated by the Egyptians
10) Sound “F”
Symbol A horned viper, common in the desert. Often used with verbs
11) Sound “DJ”
Symbol A snake, an animal that provoked fear in the local population, but was respected
12) Sound “D”
Symbol It represents a human hand and was used to mean action or activity.
13) Sound “T”
Symbol It represents one of the most common foods at the time: a baked bun
14) Sound “SH”
Symbol That’s a pool. In a basically desert country, it was an undeniable sign of wealth.
15) Sound «B»
Symbol This leg was one of the 63 symbols that represented the human body.
16) Sound “M”
Symbol Faceless owl, a common letter in the “alphabet” of hieroglyphs
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SOURCES Books History: The Definitive Visual Guideseveral authors,How It Works: Book of Incredible Historyseveral authors,The Great Wonders of the World, by Russell Ash and Richard Bonson; and websitesPBS New,Smithsonian Magazine,BBC History,iO9,LiveScience,discovery,NBC News,National Geographic,Harvard Gazette,archeology.org,Derby Telegraph,brooklyn museum,British,Huffington Post,The Telegraph,ScienceDaily,Archeology MagazineIt isHistory Channel