Everyone who is interested in the history and culture of Ancient Egypt will constantly encounter hieroglyphs - countless numbers of them, whether at the ancient temples and tombs along the Nile, in museum collections, or in the many illustrated books devoted to the pharaohs and their world. Now the general public can go equipped with a practical, easy-to-follow, hands-on field guide to hieroglyphs, enabling them to decipher for themselves some of the many inscriptions they will come across while pursuing their interest in Egyptian civilization. The Hieroglyph Detective is a complete how-to manual in three parts. Part One provides essential background information, especially grammar, about the 'words of the gods'. Part Two decodes for the reader selected inscriptions from famous sacred sites or museum objects - an easy-to-follow translation process that offers the ultimate lesson in hieroglyphic amateur detective work. Part Three is a thematically organised recognition guide and explanatory glossary for many commonly encountered signs. All three parts are interspersed with fascinating features on the life, art and culture of ancient Egypt. Full of easy-to-understand explanations that will help readers to develop a basic grounding in Egyptology, The Hieroglyph Detective reveals a new dimension of the land of the pharaohs.