The word “hieroglyphs” means “sacred carvings.” Actually, it is not an accurate name for the ancient writing of the Egyptians. It came about because when the early Greeks first saw these writings, they believed they were made by priests for sacred purposes.

But Egyptian hieroglyphics is really one of the oldest known systems of writing. Some of the inscriptions go back to before 3000 B.C., and hieroglyphics continued to be the written language of Egypt for more than 3000 years.