The Mystery of the Hieroglyphs by Carol Donoughue

The Mystery of the Hieroglyphs by Carol Donoughue

For more than 15 centuries, no one could read the strange-looking Egyptian hieroglyphs. And then in 1799 a French soldier in Napoleon's army in Egypt stumbled across the Rosetta Stone, an ancient inscription recorded in Greek, hieroglyphs, and demotic script. Many of the brightest scholars of the time--Egyptologists, historians, and linguists--as well as detectives, professional code breakers, and plain amateurs, all set out to decipher the forgotten words. Carol Donoughue tells us the fascinating story of the hieroglyphs and the race to decipher them, explaining how this curious writing system began with simple drawings of everyday objects. She compares the hieroglyphic system to modern alphabets in an entertaining narrative complemented with numerous photographs and drawings, maps, historical timelines stretching from ancient Egypt to Napoleon, a glossary, and numerous sidebars. The book culminates in an edge-of-your-seat description of how the brilliant French archaeologist Champollion finally succeeded in deciphering the hieroglyphs. A final section displays an alphabet of "hieroglyphs" and offers some fun activities for children based on hieroglyphic writing.

Carol Donoughue works at the Institute of Education in London. A teacher and school supervisor for many years, she has had a lifelong interest in the history and culture of ancient Egypt.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780195218503
ISBN 10	0195218507
Title	The Mystery of the Hieroglyphs
Author	Carol Donoughue
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	OUP India
Year published	2002-02-14
Number of pages	48
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.