Egyptian numbers

Hieroglyphic Numbers

The Egyptians had a decimal system using seven different symbols.

• 1 is shown by a single stroke.
• 10 is shown by a drawing of a hobble for cattle.
• 100 is represented by a coil of rope.
• 1,000 a drawing of a lotus plant.
• 10,000 is represented by a finger.
• 100,000  a tadpole or frog
• 1,000,000 figure of a god with arms raised above his head.

  

  Hieroglyphic Numbers

3,244 and 21,237

Writing numbers is quite simple; the higher number is always written in front of the lower number and where there is more than one row of numbers the reader should start at the top.