A vivid and superbly written account of the unravelling of one of the great intellectual puzzles, set against the backdop of Europe in the Napoleonic era. When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, his troops were astonished to discover ancient temples, tombs and statues, all covered with hieroglyphs -- the last remnants of an unreadable script and a language lost in time. On their return Egyptomania spread rapidly and the quest to decipher hieroglyphs began in earnest. Jean-Francois Champollion was obsessed with ancient languages from a very young age, and once he heard of the unreadable ancient Egyptian text he had found the challenge to which he would dedicate his life: the decipherment of hieroglyphs. Despite poverty he made gradual progress, although he had to fight against jealous enemies, both professional and political, every step of the way -- a dangerous task when in post-Revolutionary France a slip of the tongue could mean ruin, exile or even death. Failure threatened, as he was only one of many attempting to read the hieroglyphs, and his main rival, the English Thomas Young, claimed that decipherment was imminent, but Champollion refused to be distracted and finally, in 1822, he made the decisive breakthrough: he was the first person able to read the ancient Egyptian language in well over a thousand years.

The Keys of Egypt: The Race to Read the Hieroglyphs

Biographies & Memoirs

Lesley Adkins

Leaders & Notable People

Harper Collins Pb

Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England: How our ancestors lived two centuries ago

Eavesdropping on Jane Austens England

History

Roy A. Adkins

Europe

ABACUS +

From the Celtic god Abandinus to the pagan historian Zosimus, this dictionary contains more than 1,400 entries. Among the myriad topics covered are: deities &amp; spirits; festivals; sacrifices; temples, altars, cult objects; burial rites; writers on religion; &amp; historical religious events. Different religions within the Roman world, such as Mithraism, Druidism, Judaism &amp; Christianity, are also discussed. Entries range from brief definitions to concise essays reflecting particularly important aspects of religious practice, &amp; most include suggestions for further reading. Complete bibliography &amp; glossary. Over 120 photos &amp; line drawings. Extensive cross-references.

Dictionary of Roman Religion

Ancient Civilizations

FACTS ON FILE+

Identifies key gods, godesses, demigods, heroes, heroines, and events in the beliefs of ancient Rome

A guide to modern archaeology, explaining techniques used by archaeologists.

An Introduction to Archeaology

Shooting Star Press, Inc.

The Romans :

Apple Press

Egyptens nycklar

Wahlstrom Widstrand

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Books by Lesley Adkins