Voices of Ancient Egypt
Welcome to Voices of Ancient Egypt — the podcast for people who don’t just want to learn about ancient Egypt, but want to understand it at a deeper, more meaningful level.
Your podcast host, Melinda Nelson-Hurst, Ph.D., is an Egyptologist with years of experience teaching at the university level, working in Egypt, and training students around the world to read real ancient Egyptian texts. She’s spent decades studying this civilization in a traditional academic setting so you don’t have to — and so you can access knowledge that’s usually locked behind academic walls.
With a blend of solo deep-dives and conversations with experts and everyday Egyptophiles, this podcast brings ancient Egyptian history, beliefs, and language to life — and shows you how learning hieroglyphs is possible, no matter your age, background, or schedule.
Whether you want to read hieroglyphs in museums, on social media, or on your next trip to Egypt, you’ll find the tools, stories, and encouragement to make it real.
Let’s hear the voices of the ancient world — together.
Voices of Ancient Egypt
004: How Marianna Learned More in 20 Minutes Than in 8-Hour Cram Sessions
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In this episode, Melinda sits down with student Marianna Sanborn to pull back the curtain on what it really takes to transition from struggling student to confident translator. Despite having an MA in Egyptology, Marianna found traditional academic methods left her "shell-shocked" and unable to actually read the texts she loved.
Join us as Marianna shares the specific strategies, mindset shifts, and "grace" she used to stop memorizing and start understanding—proving that you don’t need a Ph.D. or eight hours a day to finally hear the voices of the ancient world.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
• The "Anti-Academic" Advantage: Discover why Marianna learned more in 20 minutes of focused study than she did during eight-hour cram sessions in a Master's program.
• From "Just the Alphabet" to Full Phrases: Hear the "wow moment" when Marianna returned to a museum "false door" and realized she could finally identify the people, the offerings, and the story behind the stone.
• The Power of Reverse Engineering: Learn the exact method Marianna uses to deconstruct answer keys to build her confidence and "diagram" ancient sentences like a pro.
• Overcoming "Post-Traumatic Hieroglyph Syndrome": How to ditch the stress of grades and embrace a "spiral" learning style that allows your brain to process complex grammar in the background while you rest.
• Navigating Life’s "Monkey Wrenches": Marianna opens up about maintaining her studies through a serious medical diagnosis and how "giving yourself grace" is a vital part of the linguistic journey.
• Creating an Egyptian "Immersion" at Home: How to use everything from butcher paper on sliding glass doors to 3x5 cards to keep the language familiar and fresh every day.
• The Ultimate "Why": Why learning the language is the only way to truly bridge the gap between us and the ancient Egyptians, their gods, and their daily lives.
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Download my free guide, Half-Hour Hieroglyphs to get started with hieroglyphs now.
Learning hieroglyphs is a challenge if you don’t have a tried and true system to follow. This free guide will teach you how hieroglyphs work and how to use them to write names the way the ancient Egyptians did.
Grab the free guide at https://voicesofancientegypt.com/guide
My 6-month, next-level hieroglyph reading program, Master Scribes, is currently closed, but will be open again before you know it.
In this program you'll go from reading the basics to reading next-level texts, like literature, letters, and the Book of the Dead, with confidence.
Space is very limited due to the high level support from me (Melinda).
Join the waitlist at www.masterscribes.com