An Account of Some Recent Discoveries in Hieroglyphical Literature and Egyptian Antiquities
Including the Author's Original Alphabet, as Extended by Mr. Champollion, with a Translation of Five Unpublished Greek and Egyptian Manuscripts

A summary of Thomas Young's pioneering achievements in deciphering hieroglyphs, originally published in 1823.

Thomas Young (Author)

9781108017169, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 August 2010

180 pages, 3 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 1.1 cm, 0.24 kg

Thomas Young (1773–1829) was an English physician who was one of the first modern scholars to attempt to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, and made significant contributions to a variety of other academic disciplines. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1794 and in 1803 published an article establishing the wave theory of light. Young became interested in hieroglyphs in 1814, when he was sent a fragment of papyrus from Egypt. After acquiring a copy of the Rosetta Stone inscriptions Young made rapid progress, publishing his results in 1816 and 1819. When Champollion published his groundbreaking work on hieroglyphs in 1822 Young believed that Champollion had based that work on his earlier translations without acknowledgement, which Champollion denied. This book was published in 1823 in an attempt by Young to lay 'public claim to whatever credit be my due', and provides a summary of his hieroglyphic research.

Preface
1. Introductory sketch of the prevalent opinions respecting hieroglyphics
2. Investigations founded on the Pillar of Rosetta
3. Additional inferences, deduced from the Egyptian manuscripts, and from other monuments
4. Collections of the French
5. Illustrations of the manuscripts brought from Egypt by Mr. Grey
6. Extracts from Diodorus and Herodotus
relating to mummies
7. Extracts from Strabo
Alphabet of Champollion
Hieroglyphical and Enchorial names
8. Chronological history of the Ptolemies, extracted from various authors
Appendix 1. Greek text of the manuscripts and registries
Appendix 2. Specimens of hieroglyphics.

Subject Areas: Archaeological theory [HDA]