Hieroglyphics Gallery

Papyrus of Ani (Book of the Dead) - The Judgement

(Above) -Twelve Gods seated in Order, as judges before a table of offerings. (Below) - The Psychostasia of Weighing of the Conscience of Ani. The Jackal-headed Anubis trying (in the balance) the heart of the deceased against the feather (symbolising the law). On the left, Ani and his wife cn be seen in a pose of devotion; on the right an Ibis-headed Thoth, the Scribe of the Gods, notes down the resultsof this trial, whilst behind, the monster Amemit, the Devourer, looms menacingly. On the left of the balance, Shai (Destiny) with two Goddesses Renenit and Meschenit behind, all under the soul of Ani (symbolisedby a human-headed hawk and the symbol of a cradle). Date: around 1550 BCE

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

Carved stone pillar of Mayan Calendar, Quirigua, Guatemala

Carved stone pillar or stela (known as Stela E) that recorded the Mayan Calendar, Quirigua, Izabal, Guatemala (Mesoamerica). They were erected to mark the passing of a katun (roughly 20 years). The hieroglyphics have enabled archaeologists to establish the main dates of Mayan history. Date: circa early 1930s

© Mary Evans Picture Library

Neo-Hittite hieroglyphic Inscription from Carchemish, Syria

Hieroglyphic inscription, Neo-Hittite, c9th century BC. A large relief carving on a basalt slab found near Aleppo, Syria - the Carchemish (Karkemish) site. An important ancient capital (at times independent but also having been part) of the Mitanni, Hittite and Neo Assyrian Empires, now on the frontier between Turkey and Syria. The site was excavated from 1912 to 1914 by C. L. Woolley and T. E. Lawrence Date: 9th century BC

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection