Reading the Past
A bird is not always just a bird: looking beyond the pictures in hieroglyphs
Recognising a picture is only a beginning. Egyptian writing used signs for sounds and meaning in ways that a simple picture code cannot explain.
Ancient objects, open questions
Notes from the collection
Objects & Beliefs
Small figures, a larger belief: asking better questions about shabtis
A funerary figure becomes easier to understand when its purpose, inscription and surviving condition are considered together.
Materials & Making
That brilliant blue is more than a colour: meeting Egyptian faience
A bright surface can hide an unexpected material. Learn what Egyptian faience is, then use a simple looking exercise to notice more.