Egyptian Hieroglyphs for Complete Beginners

by Manley, Bill

• ISBN13: 9780500290286
• ISBN10: 0500290288
• Edition: 00
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-01
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Summary

This is the first guide to reading hieroglyphs that begins with Egyptian monuments themselves. Assuming no knowledge on the part of the reader, it shows how to interpret the information on the inscriptions in a step-by-step journey through the script and language of ancient Egypt. We enter the world of the ancient Egyptians and explore their views on life and death, Egypt and the outside world, humanity and the divine. The book draws on texts found on some thirty artifacts ranging from coffins to stelae to obelisks found in museums in Egypt, America, and Europe, and selected across two thousand years. The texts are then explained clearly, and are supported by full translations, photographs, and line drawings.

Author Biography

Bill Manley is a curator and lecturer, and has taught Egyptology and hieroglyphs for more than twenty years at the universities of Glasgow, Liverpool and Madrid. He is the coauthor of the complementary best-selling volume How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. 7
Inscriptions
Stela of Mereri (c. 2200 BC)	p. 10
Sound Signs	p. 10
Direction of Writing	p. 14
Vowels and Pronunciation	p. 16
Determinatives	p. 18
How Do We Know How to Read Hieroglyphs?	p. 20
Signs Writing 2 or 3 Sounds	p. 21
Sound Complements	p. 23
Unexpected Writings	p. 28
What is Transliteration?	p. 32
Another Stela of Mereri (c. 2200 BC)	p. 34
The Offering Formula	p. 36
'a' and' the'	p. 39
Even More Unexpected Writings	p. 39
Ideograms?	p. 41
What is Middle Egyptian?	p. 42
Stela of Minuser(c. 2200 BC)	p. 44
Word Order	p. 47
Funerary Stamp of Mermose (c. 1350 BC)	p. 49
Inner Coffin of Khnumhotep, son of Nebtu (c. 1800 BC)	p. 52
More About the Offering Formula	p. 53
k3 and Identity	p. 55
Stela of Dedu and Satsobk (c. 1900 BC)	p. 58
Feminine Words	p. 61
Why Food Offerings?	p. 62
Stela of Ty(c. 2200 BC)	p. 64
Stela of Intef and Nesumontju (c. 1700 BC?)	p. 66
Titles of Osiris	p. 67
Stela of Shenwy and Hedjret (c. 1900 BC)	p. 68
The Dedication Formula	p. 72
The Family	p. 73
Coffin of Khnumhotep, Son of Henib (c. 1850 BC)	p. 78
Kings'Names
Kings' Titularies	p. 82
Stela of Djet, from his Tomb at Abydos (c. 2950 BC)	p. 84
Stela of Raneb (c. 2750 BC)	p. 85
Inscription of Khakaura Senusret III (c. 1836-1818 BC)	p. 86
Writing Plurals	p. 88
Another Inscription of Khakaura Senusret III	p. 89
Three Inscriptions of Ramesses II (c. 1279-1213 BC)	p. 92
Three Stelae of Thutmose IV (c. 1400-1390 BC) from the Great Sphinx	p. 97
Epithets	p. 98
The King and the Gods	p. 104
Inscriptions from a Golden Shrine of Tutankhamun (c. 1332-1322 BC)	p. 107
The Oldest Texts and Earliest Hieroglyphs
How Did Writing Begin in Egypt?	p. 112
Slate Palette of King Narmer from the Temple of Horus(c.2950 BC)	p. 114
Ivory Comb of King Djet from his Tomb (c. 2950 BC)	p. 118
Ivory Label of King Den from his Tomb (c. 2900 BC)	p. 119
Putting It All Together: Two Inscriptions
Marriage Inscription of Amenhotep III (c. 1390 BC)	p. 122
'pw'he is' or 'she is'	p. 127
Offering-Chapel of Sarenput II at Aswan (c. 1850 Bc)	p. 130
Epilogue	p. 135
List of Kings' Names	p. 136
List of Gods	p. 141
List of Hieroglyphic Signs	p. 144
List of Words in Hieroglyphs	p. 154
Sources of Illustrations	p. 159
Index	p. 159
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