Cracking the Code

In our history lessons this half term, we have been learning all about life in Ancient Egypt.  

Today, we looked at Ancient Egyptian writing.  We learnt that the Ancient Egyptians used different symbols to represent words and letters of the alphabet, and these were called hieroglyphs.

We learnt that, for many centuries, the meaning of hieroglyphic writing was a mystery, as there was nobody still alive who could understand the symbols.  However, in 1799, an incredible stone artefact was uncovered in the Nile Delta, which helped archaeologists to translate the ancient writing.  It was called the Rosetta Stone.

This afternoon, the children had a go at using their own mini Rosetta Stone to translate some hieroglyphic messages into English.  Then, they wrote and decorated their own names in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

If you'd like to have a go at cracking the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic code, here's a copy of our 'Rosetta Stone' and the secret messages that the children had to translate!  Perhaps you could have a go at writing your own name too - it's trickier than it looks!