Ancient Egyptians used pictographs in their hieroglyphics, and they also included phonograms—pictures representing sounds—in their writing. This dual approach made their language difficult to understand until 1799 when French captain Pierre-François-Xavier Bouchard discovered the Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta Stone had the same text carved in hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Greek alphabets. This allowed scholars familiar with the Greek alphabet to decipher Egypt’s past.

Ancient Egyptians used pictographs in their hieroglyphics, and they also included phonograms—pictures representing sounds—in their writing. This dual approach made their language difficult to understand until 1799 when French captain Pierre-François-Xavier Bouchard discovered the Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta Stone had the same text carved in hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Greek alphabets. This allowed scholars familiar with the Greek alphabet to decipher Egypt’s past.