University of Advancing Technology (UAT) instructor and senior web developer Joe McCormack has completed work on a web-based application that translates English words into cuneiform script from the Assyrian, Babylonian, Sumerian and the hieroglyphic script of Egyptian. The tool may be seen at his website, virtualsecrets.com.

The translator works by converting cuneiform and hieroglyphs, both used in the earliest forms of writing, into English words. For example, typing "I am a father" into the Ancient Egyptian translator yields hieroglyphs that roughly translate to "I am" and "father." The translator has been featured on several museum websites around the world and websites specializing in resources for the ancient world.

McCormack, a UAT web developer by trade, worked more than 1,000 hours on researching the cuneiform and hieroglyphic and building the tool and its accompanying website. Inspiration for the project stemmed from his fascination with the science fiction television series "Stargate SG-1," which featured ancient Egyptian mythology and symbols as plot points. These caught McCormack's eye and lead to his research...

I note that you don't get any transliteration in either , , , or Manuel de Codage (MdC) form. Nor do you get the Gardiner codes for each hieroglyph returned. I've always been a fan of Chris Busch's Hieropreter for Hieroglyphic translation.

And whilst we're at it Serge Rosmorduc has released a new version of JSesh a free Hieroglyphic Editor.

UAT Instructor Creates Cuneiform and Hieroglyphic Translator, UAT via MarketWire, USA, August 23, 2007.

Lanny Bell, an archaeologist from Brown University, will examine Egyptian beliefs in a free lecture titled “Mummies, Magic and Medicine: An Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Funerary Beliefs and Practices” at 7 p.m., Sept. 18 [2007], in Life Sciences Centre room A-191 on ASU’s Tempe campus.

“An examination of the way the ancient Egyptians faced the all-too-familiar problem of death reveals that rather than being obsessed with death, they were obsessed with life,” Bell says. “They enjoyed their earthly existence and at the same time looked forward to an eternal existence based on the idea that death was the portal to rebirth into a new kind of life.”

Bell’s lecture will range from the Old Kingdom (2675-2175 BCE) through the New Kingdom (1570-1070 BCE)...

Lecture looks at Egyptian views on death, Judith Smith, Arizona State University, Arizona, USA, August 29, 2007.

Tickets to one of the most anticipated exhibitions of the year, "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," are available for public purchase on Wednesday, 12 September. More than 180,000 tickets already have been reserved for the exhibition, which will be on display at London's newest state-of-the-art venue, The O2, 15 November to 30 August 2008.

Organised by National Geographic, Arts and Exhibitions International and AEG Exhibitions, with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, and sponsored by Credit Suisse, "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" will be the first exhibition to take place in The O2's 6500m squared exhibition centre, The O2 Bubble...

The exhibition includes more than 130 treasures, all of which are 3,000 to 3,500 years old. These include artefacts found in the tomb of the celebrated pharaoh as well as several of his relatives and 18th Dynasty (1555 B.C. to 1305 B.C.) contemporaries. Major objects on display from Tutankhamun's tomb will include his royal diadem - the gold crown discovered encircling the head of his mummified body that he likely wore as king - and one of the gold and precious stone inlaid canopic coffinettes that contained his mummified internal organs.

Beginning next week, eager visitors who are O2 phone customers will have the chance to purchase exhibition tickets in advance...

Tickets for 'Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs' on Sale 12 September, PRNewswire via EARTHtimes.org, August 27, 2007.