For centuries, the silent stone walls of Egyptian temples held a code that no living soul could read. The "Decoding the Secrets of Egyptian Hieroglyphs" feature explores the intellectual breakthrough that reopened the doors to the ancient world. The Silent Language

: An English polymath who first realized that some symbols represented sounds rather than just concepts. He identified the name "Ptolemy" within royal cartouches (oval frames).

The breakthrough came in 1799 when French soldiers in Napoleon’s army discovered a granite slab in the town of Rashid (Rosetta). This stone featured the same royal decree written in three different scripts: : Used for sacred, formal documents. Demotic : The native daily script of Egypt. Ancient Greek : The language of the ruling administration.

: Silent symbols placed at the end of words to clarify their meaning (a pair of walking legs indicates a verb of motion). Legacy of the Decipherment