Hieroglyphs, the ingenious picture writing of the ancient Egyptians, are not only a beautiful and fascinating record of a bygone civilization, but also a treasury of puns, double meanings and aesthetic delight. Their pictorial character, often obscured today by concentration on literal sense, engaged the Egyptians as much as it dos a modern audience, and they offer not only direct accounts of life thousands of years ago but intriguing sidelights on Egyptian art, culture and belief. Internationally renowned Egyptologist Professor Zauzich presents a clear and well-illustrated introduction to hieroglyphs, for all enthusiasts and museum visitors. In easy stages he takes the reader step by step through the meanings of the signs and how they can be read. He then takes a dozen inscriptions on monuments, paintings and objects, and shows how to read each one - a feature found in no other guide. The author analyses the background to the signs, and the religion and world view which they embody.
Fantastic colour illustrations and detailed line drawings fully clarify this system of pictorial symbology; and detailed appendices give the names of major kings and gods, as well as a hieroglyphic sign list.