BCH Lesson 1 Ancient Egyptian Writing Rosetta Stone Langley Academy Year 7 __________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 1: The Rosetta Stone

Learning Outcome Understand the importance of writing as a source of evidence in studying the past. (Written records) Note: The Oxford English Dictionary defines history as a written narrative constituting a continuous methodical record, in order of time, of important or public events, esp. those connected with a particular country, people, individual, etc. From the definition of the word alone, then, it can be seen that if there is no record, there is no history, as history is a record. However modern Historians now also consider other sources to be valid sources of History for example oral sources. This is important as it means that people with no written records also have a History. For example for a long time most of Africa (Sub-Saharan Africa South of Egypt) was considered as having no History as they had no written records of their own having never developed writing. Literacy Objectives Hieroglyphics - A writing system using picture symbols. Also known as pictography. The noun hieroglyph means sacred carving. Text - The original words of something written or printed. Script - A style of writing. Decipher - Convert a text written in code, or a coded signal into normal language. Understanding, interpreting, or identifying (something). Papyrus - Ancient Egyptian paper made from reeds. The Egyptians were the first civilisation to develop paper. The Stone has the same message written three times in different scripts. At the top is ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic script, used by kings and priests. The middle writing is called ancient Egyptian demotic script, and it was used for everyday writing. The bottom writing is an ancient Greek script which was used in Egypt for official information.

BCH Lesson 1 Ancient Egyptian Writing Rosetta Stone Langley Academy Year 7 __________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Since people knew and could understand and read the Greek text it thus made deciphering the demotic and especially the hieroglyphs easier. Without the Rosetta Stone understanding all those hieroglyphics we see on Ancient Egyptian buildings and papyrus would be impossible. The writing on the Stone is an official message, called a decree, about King Ptolemy the fifth (Ptolemy V). The decree was copied on to stones put in every temple in Egypt. It says that the priests of a temple in Memphis (in Egypt) supported the king. The Rosetta Stone is one of these copies. Found: Near the village of Rosetta, Egypt. Date: Dates back to about 196 BC. Made of: Granite (a dark grey/black stone). When was the Rosetta Stone found? The Rosetta Stone was found in 1799 by French soldiers of Napoleon Bonaparte. Who found the Rosetta Stone? The Rosetta Stone was found by French soldiers who were rebuilding a fort at Rosetta, a harbour on the Mediterranean coast in Egypt, during the Napoleonic Wars. After the British defeated the French, it was handed to the British Army who sent the Stone to the British Museum, where it's been since 1802 (apart from a few trips and two years stored underground during the First World War). How long did it take to decode the Rosetta Stone? For twenty years scholars tried to decode the slab. Note: The Ancient Egyptians actually developed their writing system over 5000 years ago around 3400 BCE. Remember: Traditionally in the West we divide the past into two series of dates: BC (Before Christ), and AD (Anno Domini, Latin for Year of our Lord), referring to the birth of Jesus, a divine figure in Christianity. However, we nowadays know that there is no way that Jesus could have been born in the year 0, as he was supposedly born in the reign of King Herod, who died in 4BC. Furthermore, as not everyone in our society is Christian, many prefer to use the terms BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era) to denote the same time periods as BC and AD respectively.

BCH Lesson 1 Ancient Egyptian Writing Rosetta Stone Langley Academy Year 7 __________________________________________________________________________________

Egyptian Writing Class Activity

Most Ancient Egyptian writing that has survived is religious in prayers and messages to the gods. There are a few texts, however, which give us a glimpse into the Ancient Egyptian mind. This is a translation of a Middle Kingdom text from about 2020 BC. It contains advice from a father to his son but was probably a practice text given to trainee scribes. Scribes were important people in Ancient Egypt as they were the only people who knew how to read and write. Scribes came from wealthy families and took years of training to learn the complex Egyptian hieroglyphics.
I have seen the beatings! Set your heart to writing. See how people are seized for labour. I cannot see another trade like it. I shall make you love writing more than your mother. I shall present its beauties to you. Now, it is greater than any trade There is not its like in the land. The scribe will be consulted, will be sent to do missions. I cannot see a sculptor on a mission, nor a goldsmith being sent. I have seen the metal-worker at his labour at the mouth of his furnace his fingers like the scales of a crocodile: he stinks more than fish-roe!

Questions 1. Define the word scribe. 2. When you first read this it seems a genuine appeal from a father to a son. Why might some people think it is a practice text for scribes? 3. How do other trades compare to being a scribe? 4. Can you think of any reasons why being a scribe would not be such an attractive job? 5. EXT: What does this written source teach us about life in Ancient Egypt. Hint: What insights/interpretations can you make from this text.

BCH Lesson 1 Ancient Egyptian Writing Rosetta Stone Langley Academy Year 7 __________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 1: Egyptian Writing Homework

1. In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu. While the cartouche is usually vertical with a horizontal line, it is sometimes horizontal if it makes the name fit better. Find a way to write your own name in Egyptian hieroglyphics. 2. This lesson started with a picture of Tutankhamen, find out why Tutankhamen is one of the most well-known and popular pharaohs (rulers of Ancient Egypt). 3. Horrors from the past, find out about the curse of Tutankhamen. 4. Why and or how did the French under Napoleon Bonaparte lose the Rosetta Stone to the British?

5. EXT: Why do many in Egypt today want the Rosetta Stone returned to Egypt? Hint: Try to find news articles to help you with this question. 6. EXT: Do you think important Historical artefacts like the Rosetta Stone should be returned to the countries they originally come from? 7. EXT: In question 1 above you wrote your name as a cartouche, do you think the way your name is written is a realistic decoding and deciphering of your name into Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.