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A first way into Egyptian signs
Start with a name and the purpose of an inscription before attempting to read it.
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Find the person behind the marks
Paser’s little water cup records his name and titles alongside an offering formula. Paser was a vizier, a senior official who helped a pharaoh govern Egypt. The inscription gives a small vessel a personal connection. On Tchenena’s funerary papyrus, writing served the deceased person’s hoped-for journey beyond life.
Notice the arrangement
Follow the rows or columns with your eyes. Look at how much space the writer gives the signs and how they relate to the object’s shape. These are things you can observe even while the language remains unfamiliar.
Let a translation do its proper work
Hieroglyphic writing combines signs for sounds with signs that convey or clarify meaning. A recognisable bird or human figure therefore does not, by itself, give you a reliable translation. Use the label’s explanation when one is provided, and keep your observations separate from guesses about meaning.
Remember the breakthrough
Jean-François Champollion, the French scholar who deciphered hieroglyphs in 1822, helped make names and texts accessible again. Reading the words opened another way to learn about the people whose images and possessions you see here.