Hieroglyphs were far more than a language. They were an omnipresent and all-powerful force in communicating the messages of ancient Egyptian culture for over three thousand years; used as monumental art, as a means of identifying Egyptianness, and for rarefied communication with the gods. In this exciting new study, Penelope Wilson explores the cultural significance of the script with an emphasis on previously neglected areas such as cryptography, the continuing decipherment into modern times, and examines the powerful fascination hieroglyphs still hold for us today. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Sais II: The Prehistoric Period publishes the EES/Durham/SCA excavations carried out in 2007 in the 'Great Pit' at Sa el-Hagar, ancient Sais. It contains a full discussion of the layers dating to the Neolithic and Buto-Maadi Periods, with specialist reports on the chipped and ground stone tools, small finds, pottery, animal bones and flora. As the only Neolithic site so far excavated on the Nile floodplain in Egypt, the site has important implications for understanding the Neolithisation of the Delta and the development of Predynastic settlements in the north of Egypt.

The Delta Survey Workshop comprises the proceedings of two conferences organised by the Delta Survey Project and held in Alexandria in 2017 and Mansoura in 2019. The 23 papers contain the results of the latest fieldwork in the Nile Delta and Sinai, from survey work that records and documents unknown and new sites such as Kom Dabaa and Mutubis or sites in Kafr Dawar and Wadi Tumilat, to excavation reports from established projects at major sites such as Qantir, Bubastis, Tell Heboua, Tell el-Maskhuta, Akademia, Taposiris Magna and Tell Fara'in (Buto). New work is also reported from Tell Tebilla, urban funerary sites in Alexandria, and Arab el Hisn (Heliopolis). There are also thematically focussed papers covering ovens recorded in archaeological and ethnological fieldwork, tower houses, amphorae and pottery and human remains. In addition, there are mapping and remote sensing reports from Mariut and the Buto area, rock inscriptions in Sinai and a catalogue project of material in the St Mark antiquities collection in Alexandria.