Hieroglyphs are writing systems that use iconic symbols to communicate messages. Multiple ancient cultures used hieroglyphs, but the most famous variety are Egyptian hieroglyphs. There have been numerous encounters with hieroglyphs throughout Lost. Damon Lindelof indicated in Access: Granted that th…
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Register Sign In Advertisement Advertisement Lostpedia 7,456pages Explore Main Page Discuss All Pages Community Interactive Maps Recent Blog Posts Characters Main Characters Supporting Characters Flashback Characters Flash-forward Characters Flash-sideways Characters Survivors The Others Episodes Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Features Mysterious Happenings Cultural References Literary Techniques Recurring Themes Timeline Transcripts Community Help Policies Staff Projects Ideas Job List Contents 1 Occurrences 1.1 Countdown timer 1.2 Rachel Blake 1.3 Ben's secret door 1.4 Frozen wheel chamber 1.5 Ajira Airways 1.6 The Temple wall 1.7 Daniel's map 1.8 Statue of Taweret 1.9 Paul's necklace 1.10 Cerberus chamber 1.11 DHARMA Classroom 1.12 The Tunnels 1.13 Jacob's tapestry 1.14 Inside The Temple 1.15 Inside The Lighthouse 2 Translations 2.1 Series of hieroglyphs 2.2 Individual hieroglyphs 3 Non-canon appearances 4 Trivia 5 Unanswered questions 6 See also 7 External links in: Featured Articles, Symbols, Unsolved English Deutsch Español Français Italiano Polski Português Русский 中文 Hieroglyphs View source History Talk (98) Close up view of the Timer hieroglyphs, as seen by Desmond. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1") Hieroglyphs are writing systems that use iconic symbols to communicate messages. Multiple ancient cultures used hieroglyphs, but the most famous variety are Egyptian hieroglyphs. There have been numerous encounters with hieroglyphs throughout Lost. Damon Lindelof indicated in Access: Granted that the symbols are used because "there are many interpretations of hieroglyphics [sic], that's what we were going for." Some of the hieroglyphs, like those on the countdown timer in the Swan station, were created by the DHARMA Initiative. (Access: Granted#Hieroglyphics) Others, like those on The Temple, appear to be much older. Each hieroglyph is given an alphanumeric code so it can be written using the letters and numbers of western society. Each code is referred to as the symbol's Gardiner Code. For example, the first symbol in the countdown timer, folded cloth, has the code "S29". Contents 1 Occurrences 1.1 Countdown timer 1.2 Rachel Blake 1.3 Ben's secret door 1.4 Frozen wheel chamber 1.5 Ajira Airways 1.6 The Temple wall 1.7 Daniel's map 1.8 Statue of Taweret 1.9 Paul's necklace 1.10 Cerberus chamber 1.11 DHARMA Classroom 1.12 The Tunnels 1.13 Jacob's tapestry 1.14 Inside The Temple 1.15 Inside The Lighthouse 2 Translations 2.1 Series of hieroglyphs 2.2 Individual hieroglyphs 3 Non-canon appearances 4 Trivia 5 Unanswered questions 6 See also 7 External links 1/15Honest Game Trailers | Bayonetta 3Read MoreVideo Player is loading.Play VideoUnmuteDuration -:-/Current Time 0:00Advanced SettingsLoaded: 0%0:00 Remaining Time --:- FullscreenPlayUp NextThis is a modal window.The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported.Beginning of dialog window. 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The same hieroglyph sequence can be found on the Ajira Airways boarding pass, and in Rachel Blake's blog. Damon Lindelof stated that the Dharma Initiative included the hieroglyphs as an homage to the historical occupants of the island. (Access:_Granted#Hieroglyphics) These hieroglyphs, known as "folded cloth", "curl", "fire drill", "vulture" and "stick", correspond to symbols S29, Z7, U29, G1, Z6 from Gardiner's Sign List. Raymond O. Faulkner's A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, translates a virtually identical sequence (below), substituting only U29 for U28, as "die". Hidden hieroglyphs during the failure sequence 2 <hiero>S29-Z7-U28-G1-Z6</hiero> At Comic Con 2006, producer Damon Lindelof translated the countdown timer sequence to mean "underworld", which is now considered the official translation, though Carlton Cuse noted that they are "subject to interpretation". (Official 'Lost' Podcast/July 31, 2006) Various hieroglyphs on the Countdown timer, as shown in the three images to the right, were shown only during the failure sequence. The following hieroglyphs can be seen: <hiero>Aa1</hiero> <hiero>A2</hiero> <hiero>O1</hiero> <hiero>T30</hiero> Hidden hieroglyphs during the failure sequence 3 Rachel Blake From Rachel Blake's Blog. (TLE) Main article: Rachel Blake In The Lost Experience, the same hieroglyphs as shown on the countdown timer were found in one of Rachel Blake's blogs. In her blog she corroborates that the definition is "die". (Rachel Blake Iceland 02) Rachel also muses about whether or not the symbols are connected to the Valenzetti Equation. During Rachel's secretly videotaped interview with Armand Zander, Armand mentions that the Valenzetti Equation includes symbols that "looked like... egyptian hieroglyphics. There are 5, maybe six of them in there, and, it's a vulture, a staff...". (Rachel Blake Iceland 01) Rachel Blake wondered, in her blog, if the hieroglyphs should be examined one by one, instead of trying to read them together. She also wondered if they could mean something else if they were rearranged. (Official 'Lost' Podcast/July 31, 2006) Ben's secret door Main article: Ben's secret door Ben's secret door. A secret door in Ben's house in the Barracks was marked with hieroglyphs. In the Season 4 DVD extra "Mysterious Egyptian Influences"[2], it is conjectured that the hieroglyphs translate as "grief". Image from Season 4 DVD. The first line corresponds to the symbols A26 S29 M17 and N35 (Man With Out-stretched Arm, Folded Cloth, Blooming Reed, Water). The second line corresponds to symbols A24 W24 and Aa27 (Man With Weapon, Pot, Unknown). Unlike most other hieroglyphs on the island, these appear to read right to left. <hiero>N35:M17*S29-A26</hiero> N35:M17*S29-A26 translates as "summon". <hiero>Aa27-W24:D36</hiero> Aa27-W24:D36 (Unknown, Pot, Arm) translates as "protection", and determinately symbol A24 (Man With Weapon) may function, in this case, the same way as symbol D36 (Arm). Roughly translated, then, they appear to read "to summon protection...". [3] Unlike the image from the Season 4 DVD extra, the actual door appears to have the aforementioned hieroglyphs plus V18 (amulet), which translates as "protection", reinforcing the interpretation of the second line. Frozen wheel chamber Main article: Frozen wheel Hieroglyphs near the frozen wheel. The frozen wheel used to move the Island is within a rock chamber with a rock column in the middle that is inscribed with hieroglyphs. Some of these hieroglyphs are very similar to the hieroglyphs on The Temple. Just below the lamp, can be seen a set of hieroglyphs that correspond directly with one set on The Temple: <hiero>N35:T34*G17-M17-O5:D54</hiero> Another view of the column. These translate as "travel". Near the bottom of the column is another set of hieroglyphs that is not entirely visible from any one angle, but a composite of images shows that it is <hiero>O4-G1-G43-Y1:Z2</hiero> This series can also be found on The Temple, and translates as "time" or "vicinity". There are other hieroglyphs on the column, however, it is not clear what they represent. Producer Damon Lindelof, in a podcast, said that the hieroglyphs on the column indicated "resurrection". (Official 'Lost' Podcast/February 5, 2009) Ajira Airways Main article: Ajira Airways Ajira Airways Boarding Pass. <hiero>S29-Z7-U29-G1-Z6</hiero> The boarding pass featured on ajirairways.com [4] has hieroglyphs in semi-transparency in the corners and along the top and bottom of the sample pass. Visible are the same five hieroglyphs from the countdown timer: S29, Z7, U29, G1, and Z6, which producer Damon Lindelof translated to mean "underworld". The Temple wall Main article: The Temple The Temple wall's hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs can be seen on the temple wall where Jin finds Montand's rotting arm. ("This Place Is Death") Specifically, the hieroglyphs surround the declivity in the wall. Two of the sets of hieroglyphs on the Temple The Temple wall's hieroglyphs' codes. wall can also be seen on the column of the frozen wheel chamber. Since Damon Lindelof indicated in the February 5, 2009 podcast that the hieroglyphs in the frozen wheel chamber mean "resurrection", we can assume that at least part of the message on the Temple wall means the same thing. Hieroglyphs on the Temple wall: <hiero>P6-D36-G43-N5</hiero> <hiero>D21:V31-N5</hiero> <hiero>O4-G1-G43-Y1:Z2</hiero> <hiero>N35:T34*G17-M17</hiero> <hiero>D2:D21</hiero> <hiero>V13:O34</hiero> Daniel's map Main article: Daniel's map Daniel Faraday's map to the Tempest. While searching the filing cabinets in Ben's office at the Hydra, Caesar found a photocopied page from Daniel's journal, along with Daniel's map to the Tempest. ("The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham") However, unlike the first time it was shown, ("The Other Woman") hieroglyphs had been added in the bottom left corner. Two different sets were visible. <hiero>Aa1:D46-P1</hiero> The first, Aa1:D46-P1 (placenta?:hand-boat on water), means "Northward travel" or "travel downstream". <hiero>D21:V31-N5</hiero> The second, D21:V31-N5 (mouth:basket-sun), is most likely "Time of kings/ancients", and was also seen on the Temple. Statue of Taweret Main article: Statue of Taweret Giant statue holding ankhs. In an unknown ancient time period, Sawyer, Jin, Juliet, and Miles saw a statue of Taweret, the precursor to the four-toed statue that had been seen before, but only from quite a distance. (LaFleur-Enhanced transcript) The Statue was also shown in 1867. ("The Incident, Part 1") ("Ab Aeterno") Taweret was holding an ankh, which represents eternal life, in each hand. ("LaFleur") Egyptian Gods are often depicted as carrying the ankh by its loop, or holding one in each hand, crossing their chest. [5] The Gods were often depicted conferring that life to mummies, thereby giving the deceased eternal life.[6] A Native American symbol with the same meaning can be seen on the artwork for the the Geronimo Jackson single Dharma Lady. Paul's ankh necklace, held by Horace. Paul's necklace Paul, a member of the DHARMA Initiative who died in the episode LaFleur, wore a necklace with an ankh hieroglyph pendant. The ankh was often carried as an amulet by ancient Egyptians. In modern times, the ankh has been used as a symbol since the 1960s, often in association with cultural movements. [7] Paul's wife, Amy, took his ankh from him after his death. She is seen breathing into the pendant which is considered to be an offering of "The Breath of Life". The breath you will need in the afterlife. Later, Amy's subsequent husband, Horace, found the memento among Amy's things and became upset. ("LaFleur") This symbol, which means “life”, was often used to show Pharoahs as having been conferred with life after death. As such, the symbol is often associated with immortality. [8] Cerberus chamber The mural from the Cerberus chamber [1] For an "in-progress" transcription of the hieroglyphs seen in the Cerberus chamber, see The Temple hieroglyphs. Within the declivity in the Temple wall, underground, Ben found a chamber with many hieroglyphs and other symbols of Egyptian religion (including an engraving of the Monster facing the Ancient Egyptian god Anubis). The majority of these hieroglyphs were written in a cursive form, and so deviate from their formal counterparts to varying degrees. Cursive hieroglyphs were most often used from religious writings in Ancient Egypt. ("Dead Is Dead") DHARMA Classroom A lesson on Ancient Egypt and hieroglyphs was taught in the DHARMA classroom. ("Some Like It Hoth") Below is a summary of the contents of the blackboard, which includes both hieroglyphs and descriptions of the Egyptian language. The first line of hieroglyphs is a phrase that means "Egyptian (language)". The second line translates as "Writing of the words of God". The third line means "Egypt". Egyptian Old Egyptian Egyptian language <hiero>D21:Z1-N35-I6-G17-X1:O49</hiero> 2600BC to 2000BC Tripling ideograms, phonograms, and determinatives ? "Writing of the words of God" Middle Egyptian Phonetics <hiero>Y4-N35-R8-S43-Z3</hiero> 2000BC to 1300 BC classic stage of language Meaning conveyed ? form ??? Archaic Egyptian before 2600BC Late Egyptian ? <hiero>N16:N16</hiero> 1300BC to 700 BC From synthetic to ? language ? Hieroglyphs on a pillar in The Tunnels. The Tunnels Within The Tunnels, a series of underground tunnels controlled by The Others, there are numerous pillars identical to those found in the Cerberus chamber. The sequences of hieroglyphs on those pillars are identical, and so can be found on the page where the hierglyphs are currently being transcribed: The Temple hieroglyphs Jacob's tapestry 2 views of Jacob's tapestry that show some of the hieroglyphs. Along with Greek writing, numerous hieroglyphs can be seen on Jacob's tapestry. ("The Incident, Part 1") For example, near the right tip of the wings extending from the Eye of Horus can be seen the sequence D36-V30:Z2 (see below), which would translate as "appoint lords" or "lords give/grant". [9] [10] <hiero>D36:V30:Z2</hiero> The three Egyptian seasons appear to be written near the bottom of the tapestry (series shown below). The center and right hieroglyphs mean "winter" [11] and "summer" [12] respectively. The left hieroglyphs are likely a variant of the third egyptian season "inundation", which is usually written M8:Aa1*X1, but is here written Aa1-M8:X1. [13] <hiero>Aa1-M8:X1</hiero> <hiero>O1:D21-X1:N5</hiero> <hiero>N37-N35:N35:N35-N5</hiero> Inundation Winter Summer Inside The Temple Hieroglyphs can be seen above The Temple pool. Most of the hieroglyphs in The Temple are not yet translated, but above the pool can be seen a series of hieroglyphs that are a conjunction of words (in a sense). The series, seen below, likely translates as "The Primaeval Waters of Nun" (or nwu pt nu ntr). [14] Nun, as a deity, represents the water from which all creation formed. <hiero>W24*W24*W24:N1-N35:N35:N35-A40</hiero> Inside The Lighthouse The upper wall of the lantern room in the lighthouse contains several hieroglyphs that can also be found in The Temple. ("Lighthouse") The sequence is: <hiero>M17-A26-Aa1:G31-N8-D2*D1:X1-O6-X1:O1-D36:N37-G17-Z7:Z2-P10-F35-N35:N1</hiero> The Lighthouse hieroglyphs. Translations Translating hieroglyphs is difficult and inaccurate. First, hieroglyphs may be written left-to-right or right-to-left, although key symbols, such as humans and animals, were supposed to be drawn to face towards the beginning of the sentence. It can also be challenging to identify where one word stops and another begins. Correctly identifying each symbol can be a challenge, as some hieroglyphs are drawn less clearly than others, and some hieroglyphs look very similar. In religious writings, cursive forms of hieroglyphs, which can vary from their originals significantly, were also used. To further complicate translation, each symbol can mean something on its own (ideogram), represent a sound (phonetic), or give you a clue about the word written before it (determinative). For example, S29 (folded cloth) represents the idea of 'health' (ideogram). However, S29 also represents the sound 's' (phonetic). Since most of the words written in hieroglyphs are missing many or all of their vowels, it can be hard to know what a word spelled phonetically means. It would be like trying to figure out what the word "crs" means if our writing didn't include vowels. It could mean "Cures", "Curse", or "Cares", for example. In hieroglyphic writing, then, a symbol will be placed at the end of a phonetically spelled word in order to give the reader a clue as to which possible meaning is intended (determinative). For example, if you wrote the word "crs" and put a heart at the end, you might assume the word meant "cares", whereas if a symbol of evil (like the hieroglyph Z6-Enemy) was placed at the end of the word "crs", you might assume the intended word was "curse". Series of hieroglyphs The following table summarizes the sets of hieroglyphs seen so far, relevant information associated with them, and citable translations. Hieroglyphs Gardiner Code Transliterated Meanings Seen * links to uncropped image Aa1:D46-P1 xdi "Travel north" or "travel downstream" or "flow (of water)" or "North" [15] Daniel's map *, Mysterious Egyptian Influences, Season 4 DVD * N35:T34*G17-M17-O5:D54 nmi "Travel" or "traverse" [16] Frozen wheel chamber *, The Temple *, Mysterious Egyptian Influences, Season 4 DVD * V13:O34-U40a Ts "Reprehensible/Reproachable" [17] or "Rise up!" [18] The Temple *, Mysterious Egyptian Influences, Season 4 DVD * D2:D21-X1:N31 Hrt "The way to sky/heaven" [19] The Temple *, Mysterious Egyptian Influences, Season 4 DVD * D2:D21 Hry "Master" [20] The Temple * O4-G1-G43-Y1:Z2 hAw "Surroundings" or "time" or "lifetime" [21] Frozen wheel chamber *, The Temple *, Mysterious Egyptian Influences, Season 4 DVD * M8-G1-S29-D54 SAs "Travel" [22] Mysterious Egyptian Influences, Season 4 DVD * P6-D36-G43-N5 aHaw "Lifetime" or "period" or "space of time" [23] The Temple * D21:V31-N5 rk "Time (of kings/of ancients)" [24] The Temple *, Daniel's map * S29-Z7-U29-G1-Z6 swDA "Underworld" [25] or "die" [26] The Swan *, Rachel Blake's Blog *, Ajira Airways Boarding Pass * A26-S29-M17-N35 nis (read backwards) "Summon" [27] or "Invoke" [28] Ben's secret door * A24-W24-Aa27 nD (read backwards) "Protection" [29] Ben's secret door * R8-O29v aA nTr "Great God" Frozen Wheel Chamber * V13?Z4b?:O34? Ts? "Reprehensible/Reproachable"? Frozen Wheel Chamber * O5:M17?D55? nmi? "Travel"? "Traverse"? Frozen Wheel Chamber * Z1a?N105?Aa12?:Z6 ? "1 Enemy"? Frozen Wheel Chamber * D21:Z1 N35 I6-G17-X1:O49 r n kmt "Language of Egypt" [30] DHARMA classroom * Y4-N35-R8-S43-Z3 ssch n nTr md Writing of the words of God[31] DHARMA classroom * N16:N16 tAwy/tAwj "the Two Lands, Egypt" or "both Lands" [32] DHARMA classroom * Individual hieroglyphs The following table summarizes the phonetics and meanings associated with the hieroglyphs seen so far, as well as some related hieroglyphs. Note t… truncated (13,230 more characters in archive)