Egyptian hieroglyphs (/'ha??r??gl?f, -ro?

-/[2][3]) were the formal writing syste

m used in Ancient Egypt. It combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elemen
ts, with a total of some 1,000 distinct characters.[4][5] Cursive hieroglyphs we
re used for religious literature on papyrus and wood. The later hieratic and dem
otic Egyptian scripts are derived from hieroglyphic writing; Meroitic was a late
derivation from Demotic.
Use of hieroglyphic writing arises from proto-literate symbol systems in the Ear
ly Bronze Age, around the 32nd century BC (Naqada III),[1] with the first deciph
erable sentence written in the Egyptian language dating to the Second Dynasty (2
8th century BC). Egyptian hieroglyphs developed into a mature writing system use
d for monumental inscription in the classical language of the Middle Kingdom per
iod; during this period, the system made use of about 900 distinct signs. The wr
iting system continued to be used throughout the Late Period, as well as the Per
sian and Ptolemaic periods. Late survivals of hieroglyphic use are found well in
to the Roman period, extending into the 4th century AD.
With the closing of pagan temples in the 5th century, knowledge of hieroglyphic
writing was lost, and the script remained undeciphered throughout the medieval a
nd early modern period. The decipherment of hieroglyphs would only be solved in
the 1820s by Jean-Franois Champollion, with the help of the Rosetta Stone.