Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs Illustrated: A Formal Writing System Used in Ancient Egypt

The Ancient Egyptians used a hieroglyphic writing system that still resonates today for its graphic representation of things, people, pharaohs and concepts.

These hieroglyphics were discovered by adventurers and archaeologists in temples, tombs and on papyrus documents, telling of the everyday life, religion and history of this 5,000-year-old civilisation.
Some of the symbols were simple but represented something with a wider significance, such as the eye of Horus; other logograms might represent an animal, such as a snake, elephant or lion; while others, such as the Ba symbol of a bird with a human head, represented the human soul with the ability to travel to the afterlife using wings.

In Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs Illustrated, explore the logograms for popular concepts such as ‘sun’, ‘house’ and ‘mountain’, as well as more complex ideas such as Ajet, or ‘sun rising over mountains’; marvel at Tutankhamun’s full name as marked on his tomb, which is portrayed using a reed, a wave of water, a falcon, an ankh symbol, and a series of staffs; learn about the two outstretched arms of the Ka symbol, which represents the mortal life and soul of a person; and wonder at the Ouroboros, a symbol that shows a snake-like animal that swallows its own tail, representing eternal struggle.

Each of more than 150 entries includes a description of the written form and an explanation of its meaning.

Presented in a high-quality Chinese-bound format with accompanying illustrations, Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs Illustrated provides a compact, easy-to-understand introduction to the writing system of Ancient Egypt.

About the Author:

Trevor Naylor is a writer living in Yorkshire. Almost 40 years of visiting and living in Egypt have inspired several travel and history books about this fascinating civilisation. Most recently, these have included Egypt – A Visual Explorer Guide, Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics Illustrated and The Riddle of the Sphinx – Quiz Like and Egyptian. His latest book, Egyptian Gods and Myths Illustrated, will be published by Amber Books in September 2025.