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align="center" class="gallery">Hieroglyphic writing</td> </tr> </table>  Ancient Egyptian was first adopted more than 5,000 years ago making it one of the earliest recorded written languages. <br> <br> Its secrets were lost to the modern world until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone - a stone carved in three languages: Egyptian, Demotic and Ancient Greek. The hieroglyphs were translated by comparing them to the Ancient Greek text and the mysteries of Egypt were finally revealed. <br><br> Hieroglyphic writing was in use from about 3200 BC until the late 4th century AD and changed very little during this period and is very well preserved. <br><br> Find out more about Ancient Egyptian including... <UL> <li><a href="alphabet.html">The Alphabet</a> - the Ancient Egyptian A-Z</li> <li><a href="name_spell.html">Write Your Name</a> - Create your name using hieroglyphs</li> <li><a href="kamose.html">The Kamose Stela</a> - See a real Egyptian text that dates back more than 3,500 years</li> <li><a href="egyptian_words.html">Useful Words</a> - Discover 20 commonly used Egyptian words</li> <li><a href="quiz.html">Read Egyptian Quiz</a> - work out the meaning of Ancient Egyptian phrases</li> </UL> <br> <strong>Next:</strong> <a href="alphabet.html">Alphabet</a><br> <br> <br> <br> </td>  <td width="40"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="10" background="../../_graphics/generic/rh_marg_bckgnd.jpg" valign="top"><img src="../../_graphics/generic/rh_marg_glyphs.jpg"></td> <td width="155" background="../../_graphics/generic/rh_bckgnd.jpg" class="side" valign="top"><table width="155" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td height="65" colspan="3" background="../../_graphics/generic/rh_glyphs.jpg"> <form method="get" action="../../search_result.html"> <input name="q" type="text" value="Search" size="14" maxlength="256"> <input type="image" src="../../_graphics/generic/go.gif"> </form> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" class="promo">Related Links:<br><br></td> </tr>  <tr>  <td width="50" height="50" class="sidepix"><a href="../virtual_egypt/index.html"><img src="../../_graphics/thumbs/virt_egypt.jpg" alt="Virtual Egypt" width="50" height="50" border="0"></a></td> <td width="5"> </td> <td width="100" class="promo"><a href="../virtual_egypt/index.html" class="promolink">Virtual Egypt</a></td>  </tr>  <tr> <td colspan="3" height="10"><img src="../../_graphics/generic/spacer.gif" width="10" height="10"></td> </tr>  <tr>  <td height="50" class="sidepix"><a href="../lifeas/index.html"><img src="../../_graphics/thumbs/dayinlife.jpg" alt="A Day in the Life" width="50" height="50" border="0"></a></td> <td> </td> <td class="promo"><a href="../lifeas/index.html" class="promolink">A Day in the Life</a></td>  </tr>  <tr> <td colspan="3" height="10"><img src="../../_graphics/generic/spacer.gif" width="10" height="10"></td> </tr> <tr>  <td colspan="3" valign="top"><a href="../index.html" class="sidelink">Special Features</a><br> <br>  - <a href="introduction.html" class="sidelink">Hieroglyphs</a><br> - <a href="../timeline/prenewkingdom.html" class="sidelink">Timeline</a><br> - <a href="../virtual_egypt/index.html" class="sidelink">Virtual Egypt</a><br> - <a href="../lifeas/index.html" class="sidelink">A Day in the Life</a><br> - <a href="../virtual_library.html" class="sidelink">Virtual Library</a><br> <br> </td>  </tr> </table></td> </tr>  <tr>  <td width="700" height="80" bgcolor="#37180F" colspan="3" valign="top"><table width="700" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="700" height="1" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"><img src="../../_graphics/generic/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" class="footer"><br><strong> <a href="../../index.html" class="footlink">Home</a> | <a href="../../newkingdom/index.html" class="footlink">New Kingdom</a> | <a href="../index.html" class="footlink">Special Features</a> | <a href="../../series/index.html" class="footlink">The Series</a> | <a href="../../resources/index.html" class="footlink">Resources</a> | <a href="../../educators/index.html" class="footlink">For Educators</a></strong> <br> <br> <a href="http://www.shoppbs.org/searchHandler/index.jsp?searchId=5543432501&keywords=egypt%27s+golden+empire&y=10&x=48" class="footlink">Purchase</a> | <A HREF="/empires/egypt/pledge.html" class="footlink">Pledge Now</A> | <a href="../../feedback.html" class="footlink">Feedback</a> | <a href="../../sitemap.html" class="footlink">Site Map</a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.pbs.org/aboutsite/aboutsite_privacy.html" class="footlink">Privacy Policy</a> | © 2006 Devillier Donegan Enterprises. 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