How did the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics affect us?
By an accident of history, in 1799 a large fragment of a stone document from the time of Cleopatra was found in the Nile Delta and somehow made its way into the hands of a scholar, Champollion, instead of being used to build an outhouse. It is inscribed with two languages and three forms of writing: Egyptian in Hieroglyphics and a simplified hieratic script – and Greek. Using his knowledge of Greek, Champollion was able to begin deciphering the Egyptian writing.
