Ancient Egypt was not a literate society – few ordinary people could read or write. However, spells and rituals were central to the religion and were dutifully recorded on secretively produced papyrus by scribes, and on tombs, monuments and coffins by craftsmen in the mysterious script called hieroglyphics.

It wasn’t until the early 19th century that Egyptology existed in a meaningful sense when a French academic started to really get to grips with the sense and significance behind the intricate system of writing that the Ancient Egyptians had developed.