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Over 5000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians wrote
things down using a picture writing called hieroglyphics. The people who
did the actual writing were called scribes.
The scribes had a problem.
The ancient Egyptians wrote everything down, absolutely everything!
Although hieroglyphics were very pretty, it took time to write in
pictures. Scribes needed a faster way to write things down. They created
a new form of writing called Demonic script. The new scribes did not
study the old language of hieroglyphics. They could write much more
rapidly with some of the new scripts they created.
Hundreds of years later, archaeologists discovered
beautiful hieroglyphic writing on the walls of ancient Egyptian pyramids and tombs.
The archaeologists had a problem. They knew hieroglyphics had meanings.
Although lots of archaeologists could read Demonic script, there was no one left in the world who
remembered what the ancient hieroglyphics meant. No one could read the hieroglyphic
messages. It was most frustrating!
It was not until quite recently, a mere 200 years
ago, that a stone was found in Egypt. This stone had the same short
story written on it in Greek, in Demonic, and in hieroglyphics.
Scientists could read Greek. Scientists could read Demonic. And now,
scientists could begin to read hieroglyphics. They named this stone the
Rosetta Stone.
Today, the Rosetta Stone is on display for everyone to see.
Currently, it makes its home in the famous British Museum in London.
Hieroglyphics
(interactive)
Story
and Game Print
your name Write
your name in hieroglyphics
Hieroglyphic
Converter
Egyptian
Doodles (video, NG)
Suduko
game (Egyptian figures)
The
Writing is on the Wall
Making
Sense
Hieroglyphics
say What? (pbs)
Hieroglyphics
& More (freeuk)
Send a Buried
Message (game, museum of science)
Lots
of Hieroglyphics (kidzone)
The
Rosetta Stone (Woodlands Jr-Kent)
The
Rosetta Stone (Cleveland Art Museum)
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