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REVIEW BY HILARY FORREST
This is a most unusual book – bound in an antique Chinese fashion originating from the Ming period, with pages tied together between boards with string. The content, however, relates not to China, but to mainstream Egyptology, and is full of interesting material.
As one might expect, the volume begins with a survey of early efforts to decipher hieroglyphs (Kircher via Champollion, Wallis Budge, and Gardiner) and brief mentions of notable artefacts such as the Narmer Palette and the Rosetta Stone. The main focus, though, is on individual hieroglyphs and their interpretation. As this topic is huge, the author takes a selective and organised approach. Sections include ‘Life and Land’, ‘Religion and Ritual’, and ‘Pharaohs, Gods and the Afterlife’, finishing with a small selection of notable discoveries.
The first section, ‘Life and Land’, contains simple reproductions of hieroglyphs representing, for example, features of the environment, such as the horizon and the sky. Others represent everyday items, such as an egg, a pot, and a game of senet. For each symbol, there is a description followed by an explanation, which sometimes includes general information setting the item in its historical context. Symbols representing important concepts of Egyptian belief – some well-known and other less familiar – are included, with discussion of their significance. The djed pillar, for example, is given two interpretations: a pole decorated with vegetation; or a human backbone. An explanation is given of its religious significance in the rituals for the transfer of earthly to godly power for the pharaoh when the pillar is raised from a prone position to upright. Other symbols commonly associated with protection include the menat necklace linked to fertility, rebirth, and the afterlife.
Another important section of the book concerns the symbolism related to royal power. The uraeus, the crook and flail, different types of crown, and even obelisks are discussed, before a section on royal cartouches and a selection of well-known pharaohs. Given the huge span of time this book covers, it would be impossible to include more than a selection of noteworthy pharaohs, so this section jumps from the reign of Ramesses II up to Alexander the Great. The final two sections deal with gods and the afterlife.
This is an unusual presentation of a familiar subject and, although it can only cover a part of the huge topic, it does provide a deeper understanding of the Egyptian language. As the author states, ‘Hieroglyphs can take us to the immortal worlds that obsessed those of 5,000 years ago. The afterlife was where all Egyptians wanted to be because it would be perfect’.
Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs Illustrated
by Trevor Naylor
AMBER BOOKS LTD, 2023
ISBN 978-1-83886-323-4
HARDBACK, £29.99
