Decoding Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs

The history of ancient Egypt has intrigued the world for centuries. Their monumental structures, captivating art, and rich religion are studied through their architecture, writing and reliefs. The documentation and study of ancient reliefs and writing is known as epigraphy.

Scholars from many different places, cultures, and time periods have recorded and studied ancient Egyptian inscriptions, from the Greco-Roman scholars of the Classical period, to the Arab scholars of the Medieval era and the European scholars of the 19th century and beyond. 

In particular, the mysterious hieroglyphs puzzled scholars for centuries.

Egyptians were just as involved in the study of ancient inscriptions. For example, the 9th century Egyptian scholar Ayub Ibn Maslama is believed to have had a great knowledge of ancient Egyptian scripts and may have translated a number of texts from pyramids and other monuments.

The German scholar Karl Richard Lepsius led one of the most extensive expeditions into Egypt in the early 19th century. The three-year expedition yielded one of the most comprehensive epigraphic works, revered as one of the richest and most accurate corpora to be produced even to this day.

Early methods of recording inscriptions involved varying techniques, such as tracing, sketching, and making a collection of squeezes, which are made by pressing damp filter paper onto the inscription surface. The use of photography in epigraphy was not introduced until the 1890’s with the introduction of the Chicago House Method.

In the 1890’s James Henry Breasted developed a method of recording (the Chicago House Method) that involved using large-format photography. These photographs were produced in combination with line drawings and corrections were made to the photographs themselves onsite. This pioneering method ensured that all relevant details were captured as accurately as possible.

Epigraphy has evolved greatly over the many years it has been practiced. From tracing inscriptions on tomb walls using paper and pencil, to tracing digital images using a graphic tablet and computer program, Egyptologists seek to use the most effective tools and techniques to get the job done. Visit digitalEPIGRAPHY to see more.

With the use of a technology called photogrammetry entire wall scenes can be captured and recorded as one image, and there are even computer programs that can help translate hieroglyphs into English. Click here to explore one such program being developed by Google.