Coffin
Reading into the faces of the bird figures, one recognizes that the text at the top is read right to left and on the sides each group of hieroglyphs is read from right to left, starting at the top.
Which way are hieroglyphs read?
In documents on papyrus, which are usually written in a cursive script, the scribe wrote from right to left. Hieroglyphs, however, can be written from right to left or from left to right, and often appear written in both directions on carvings and wall paintings. To know which way to start, note the way the animal and human figures are facing and read from that direction into their fac
es. For example, if an animal faces right, start reading from the right. Lines of
hieroglyphs in both directions can be arranged horizontally or vertically. All these
variations enabled artists to combine inscriptions and figures in a great number of ways.
Coffin
Reading into the faces of the bird figures, one recognizes that the text at the top is
read right to left and on the sides each group of hieroglyphs is read from right to left,
starting at the top.
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