Hieroglyphs
7 Humanities
Learning Goal
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Understand the writing system
in Ancient Egypt and how it
was lost and later
rediscovered.
Success Criteria
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When there is a ‘pen’ icon on
the slide, this indicates that
you need to write what is on
the slide in your notebook.
Watch the video and respond
to questions about the Rosetta
Stone.
Success Criteria
When there is a ‘pen’ icon on
the slide, this indicates that you
need to write what is on the
slide in your notebook.
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History
People started writing around 3000BCE.
The first people to write: Sumerians
(Mesopotamia) then the Egyptians.
Hieroglyphs were written on statues, tombs and
temples.
Hieroglyphs means ‘sacred writing’.
The First Alphabet
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Some symbols were drawings e.g. bird.
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Some symbols were shapes e.g. semicircle.
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Symbols for constanants and syllables were
added.
There were also symbols for actions e.g. legs
shown twice meant movement.
The alphabet
was made up
of more than
700 symbols!
Egyptian Scripts
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Hieroglyphs (complex, decorative,
only for religious or formal use).
Hieratic (less decorative and
complex).
Demotic (simplest form of writing,
like handwriting).
Blooket
Brain Break
This papyrus sheet shows an Egyptian high priest
presenting an offering to Osiris, the god of the
afterlife. It contains both the hieroglyphic script
(circled) and the simpler hieratic script (left and
centre).
Reading Hieroglyphs
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3000BCE – laid out in columns
and read from top to bottom.
2000BCE – laid out in rows
like our writing, could be read
left to right (like us) or right
to left.
The name of a pharaoh was
always in a cartouche – bullet
shaped oval.
The Rosetta Stone
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In 1799CE, a French soldier
discovered a large stone
with carved writing near the
town of Rosetta in the Nile
Delta.
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It wasn’t translated for 20
years.
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Ancient Greek was used to
translate the hieroglyphs.
Learning Goal
Understand the writing system
in Ancient Egypt and how it
was lost and later
rediscovered.
What did the
Rosetta Stone say?
● Download the worksheet from DayMap
● Answer the questions
Answers
1. How long ago was the Rosetta stone carved?
2000 years ago
2. How many languages were on the Rosetta Stone? List
them.
3: Hieroglyphs, Demotic, Greek
3. Who used the hieroglyphic script in Egyptian society?
Scribes and priests
4. How was the ability to read hieroglyphs lost?
Romans became Christian and got rid of all the pagan
temples
Answers
1. Where was the Rosetta Stone discovered?
A town in Rashid, Egypt called Rosetta
2. Who was the stone carved for and when?
Success Criteria
Watch the video and
respond to questions
about the Rosetta Stone.
Ptolemy V in 196BCE
3. Who was the first Ptolemaic king and when did he become king?
Ptolemy Soter I in 305BCE
4. What was the purpose of the Rosetta Stone and what did it
contain?
Political propaganda to commemorate the anniversary of Ptolemy V’s
reign. The king’s accomplishments, gifts to the temples, lowering
taxes, ending a rebellion. Reminding people of his grandeur and
importance