Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs
Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs
Introduce your KS2 students to ancient Egyptian writing in an inspiring location.
We use five of our ancient Egyptian papyri to learn about the ancient Egyptian religion,
languages and use the Hieroglyph alphabet to decipher words and names.
Duration: 2 hours
Age range Y3-Y6
Cost: Free
Max group size: 32
About the workshop
The workshop aims to introduce aspects of the ancient Egyptian languages, religion and writing to
students. The structure allows them to use their skills to decipher and pronounce words with some
English examples to put the newfound knowledge into context.
After a short guided tour we look at five
ancient Egyptian papyri; one Book of the
Dead written in Hieroglyphs, one Book of
Breathing written in Hieratic and three
property contracts written in Demotic.
Students look at the writing and discuss
visual similarities and differences. This is
followed by a discussion of the Rosetta
Stone and the different languages in the
papyri. We discuss the ‘weighing of the
heart’ ceremony and the vignettes in the Book of the Dead and about how papyrus is made. The
remainder of the workshop involves learning about the Hieroglyph alphabet and deciphering words and
names.
We conclude with an activity where the students can practise writing their own name in Hieroglyphs
first on paper, then on an authentic piece of papyrus to take home or back to school.
Further Information
The workshop is accessible for students at all levels but you may want to consider providing extra support with
writing for children who have special educational needs.
We would encourage teachers and accompanying adults to participate in the writing activities and to decipher
words and names along with the students.
To look at photos of the five ancient Egyptian papyri we will be using, please visit our website using the following
link: http://enriqueta.man.ac.uk/luna/servlet/view/group/2239
Education and Learning, The John Rylands Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3EH
Tel: +44(0)161 306 6558 Email: [email protected] Blog: jrleducation.wordpress.com