In ancient Egypt, writing hieroglyphs was a highly specialized skill, and only a small portion of the population could master it. The fact that there were more than 1,000 characters to memorize probably had something to do with it, but the various surfaces on which hieroglyphs were written could not have made memorization any easier. The ancient Egyptians used papyrus, wood, metal, and pottery shards as writing surfaces, depending on the case. But the most monumental and religiously important documents were carved in stone, giving words a kind of eternal life. This is of particular concern in the case of tomb walls and sarcophagi.
Although there may be little need to write hieroglyphs today, the technology for doing so has not been lost. in The new video above is from the Victoria and Albert MuseumSculptor and stone carver Miriam Johnson demonstrates how to carve the name of King Khufu, who built (and was actually buried within) the Great Pyramid, into stone.
The first step is to write the name on a piece of carbon paper surrounded by a cartouche. Of course, this isn’t the brush and ink that the ancient Egyptians would have used, but Johnson sticks to old-fashioned methods for the rest of the project. Transfer the image and use only a mallet and chisel to carve hieroglyphs into the stone not once, but twice.
Johnson was the first to use a technique called sunken relief, in which statues are carved from the surface of stone. The second time, King Khufu’s name is rendered in relief. This requires cutting out everything but the statue, creating the effect of hieroglyphics rising from the stone. In the former, “you can see more shadows.” With the latter, “there’s more opportunity to add more texture to the characters.” In its finished state, Johnson’s sculpture would look right at home in a museum exhibit about ancient Egypt, at least to an untrained eye. Even if tools manufactured in the 21st century yield subtle differences from the real thing, aging these stones for a thousand or two years should make them even more convincing.
Related content:
How to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs: explained by a British Museum curator
An animated introduction to the Rosetta Stone and how it unlocked an understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphics
How ancient Egyptian sounds and how we know it
A 3,200-year-old Egyptian tablet records people’s excuses for missing work: “I was bitten by a scorpion,” “I was brewing beer,” etc.
You’ll soon be able to send text messages using 2,000 ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs
Watch masterpieces emerge from solid blocks of stone
Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages and cultures. he is the author of the newsletter books about cities books as well Home page (I won’t summarize Korea) and korean newtro. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter. @Colinbemust.
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
