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Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts Translated into English for the First Time in a Book

August 25, 2016
Part of a panel from a version of the Book of the Dead. Photo: Dalya Alberge

Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs have been published in modern English for the first time in a book by a Cambridge academic who translated ancient texts found on papyri and rock faces. The book was published on Wednesday by Penguin Classics, which described it as a “groundbreaking publication.” “These writings have never before been published together in an accessible collection,” The Guardian quoted the publishing house as saying. Speaking to The Guardian, Toby Wilkinson, the academic behind the book, said he started working on ancient Egyptian texts because “there was a missing dimension in how ancient Egypt was viewed.” Because hieroglyphs depend on pictures and symbols, and very few experts and specialists have been able to read it, the writing tradition that lasted almost 3500 has remained inaccessible and largely overlooked. “What will surprise people are the insights behind the well-known facade of ancient Egypt, behind the image that everyone has of the pharaohs, Tutankhamun’s mask and the pyramids,” Wilkinson told the Guardian, adding that the ancient writings have been treated for long as “a mere decoration” or “artifacts” rather than texts. The task was challenging for the author, who pointed out that the…


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