Ancient Egyptian scribes used a variety of tools to write hieroglyphs. 

Here are some of the main tools they used:

• Reeds: Scribes used a reed pen, also known as a calamus, for writing hieroglyphs. They would cut the tip of a reed at an angle to create a writing point. The reed pen would be dipped in ink and used to draw the hieroglyphic symbols.

• Ink: The ink used by ancient Egyptian scribes was made from natural materials. They mixed crushed minerals with water to create ink in different colors. The most common colors used were black and red. Black ink was made from carbon-based substances like soot or charcoal, while red ink was derived from red ochre or hematite.

• Papyrus: Papyrus was the main writing surface for ancient Egyptian scribes. It was made from the papyrus plant, which grew in the marshy areas along the Nile River. The stalks of the plant were cut into thin strips, which were then layered horizontally and vertically to form a sheet. The sheets were pressed and dried to create a smooth surface for writing hieroglyphs.

• Palette: Scribes used a palette, a flat board usually made of wood or stone, to hold and mix their ink. The palette had depressions or wells to hold different colors of ink. Scribes would dip their reed pens into the wells to load them with ink before writing.

• Ostraca: Scribes sometimes wrote on ostraca, which were pieces of broken pottery or stone. These materials provided an alternative surface for writing hieroglyphs when papyrus was not available. Ostraca were often used for drafts, practice, or informal writings.

• Brush: In addition to reed pens, scribes sometimes used brushes for larger hieroglyphs or for painting scenes. The brushes were made by tying together the bristles of animals like cows or camels to create a brush tip. They would dip the brush in ink or paint and use it to draw or color the hieroglyphs.

These were some of the main tools used by ancient Egyptian scribes to write hieroglyphs. The combination of reed pens, ink, papyrus, and other materials allowed them to record their rich history and communicate their thoughts and ideas through this fascinating system of writing.

• Reading hieroglyphs required a good understanding of the symbols and their meanings. Scribes and educated individuals were trained to decipher hieroglyphic texts.

• Hieroglyphic writing could be read in different ways, depending on the context. Some symbols represented the actual object they depicted, while others represented the sound of the word they symbolized. Scribes had to determine the intended meaning based on the context of the text.

• Hieroglyphs were often accompanied by other scripts, such as hieratic or demotic, which were simplified forms of writing used for everyday purposes. These scripts provided additional clues for understanding the hieroglyphic text.

• Reading hieroglyphs involved a combination of recognizing individual symbols, understanding their meanings, and interpreting their context within the sentence or passage.

• Skilled readers would follow the direction of the hieroglyphs (right to left or left to right) and use their knowledge of the language to decipher the message.

The Rosetta Stone is a special stone that helped us understand the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. It was discovered in Egypt in 1799 by a group of soldiers. The stone is like a big slab with writing on it, but it's not just any writing—it has the same message written in three different scripts: hieroglyphics, demotic (another ancient Egyptian script), and Greek.

The reason the Rosetta Stone is so important is that it provided a key to understanding the mysterious hieroglyphic writing. People had been trying to read hieroglyphics for a very long time, but nobody could understand them because the writing system was lost for centuries. However, with the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, scholars finally had a starting point.

The key to deciphering hieroglyphics came from a clever Frenchman named Jean-François Champollion. He noticed that some of the hieroglyphic symbols on the Rosetta Stone matched the Greek words. Since Greek was a language people already understood, Champollion used it as a guide to figure out the meanings of the hieroglyphs.

By comparing the Greek words on the Rosetta Stone to the hieroglyphic symbols, Champollion was able to match some of them and work out the sounds and meanings of the hieroglyphs. It was like solving a big puzzle! This breakthrough allowed researchers to start reading and understanding hieroglyphic texts from ancient Egypt.

Thanks to the Rosetta Stone, we can now learn about the history, stories, and beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. It's like a window into their fascinating world. Today, the original Rosetta Stone is kept in a museum in London, where people from all over the world can see this incredible artifact that helped unlock the secrets of hieroglyphic writing.

So, the Rosetta Stone was like a special key that helped us unlock the secrets of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, allowing us to learn about their civilization and understand their writings. It's an amazing piece of history that changed our understanding of ancient Egypt!