The Rosetta Stone is our key to understanding the meaning of

hieroglyphs.The Rosetta Stone was a black basalt slab with the same piece of writing carved in three different languages:

Hieroglyphics (top), Demotic (middle) and Greek (bottom).

Scholars were able to make sense of the hieroglyphic version by comparing it with the Greek which they already

understoodThe Rosetta Stone was discovered in

1799, during the French Revolutionary Wars, by one of Napoleon's officers

near the town of Rosetta (now called Rashid) . In 1801, it was captured by the British and, since 1802, has been

on show in the British Museum.

•In 1822, a French Egyptologist called Jean

Francois Champlain (1790-1832) was the first person to translate all the hieroglyphs on the stone. He discovered that it was a piece of writing in praise of the good works of the pharaoh Ptolemy V

and that it was carved in 196 BC.

•Thanks to his work, we now have a knowledge of the language of the Ancient

Egyptians and an appreciation of this great civilisation through the

many hieroglyphic writings that have survived.

Pectoral decorations are large ornamental necklaces which are

worn over the chest. These necklaces often supported a

large piece of jewellery like the one in the drawing above. This image is copied from a pectoral jewel discovered in the tomb of

Tutankhamun. Its design is based on the hieroglyphs from

his cartouche.

A cartouche is an oval form which frames the hieroglyphs that make up the name of a God

or Royal person.

It represents a looped rope which has the magical

power to protect the name that is written inside it.

Cartouches were first used about 2500 BC. They were originally circular in shape, but gradually changed to an

oval form with flat sides. This shape allowed a better

arrangement of the hieroglyphs inside it.

On becoming king, the Pharaoh would adopt a royal

name. This was called the 'prenomen'. It was often displayed along with the 'nomen' (the Pharaoah's

birth name) in the form of a double cartouche

Our example of the cartouche above is based on

Tutankhamen's 'no men'. The three hieroglyphs at the top

make up the name 'AMUN' and are placed in the most important position. The bird with two bread loaves reads 'TUT' and to its left

is the symbol 'ANKH' which represents life. On the bottom

row the crook which means 'ruler' is accompanied by two signs representing the city of

Thebes.Tutankhamen ( c. 1352 - 1325

BC ) became Pharaoh about the age of 9 and ruled until his death at 18. Little is known about him and he does not seem to have

any major achievements.

However, he is one of the most famous pharaohs due to the discovery of his incredible

tomb. It was found in 1922, in the Valley of the Kings at

Luxury, by the British archaeologist, Howard Carter

and his patron, Lord Car Narvon. In 1923, a few months after entering the tomb, Lord Car Narvon died. At the same

time there was a power failure in Cairo and his dog in England also died. As a result, this gave

rise to the myth of Tutankhamen's curse.

Tutankhamen's tomb was the most complete burial chamber ever found. While many other tombs had been plundered by thieves, Tutankhamen's was virtually untouched and filled

with priceless treasures.