He also identified the meaning of many hieroglyphs, including phonetic glyphs in a cartouche containing the name of an Egyptian king of foreign origin, Ptolemy V. He was convinced, however, that phonetic hieroglyphs were used only in writing non-Egyptian words. In the early 1820s Champollion compared Ptolemy's cartouche with others and realised the hieroglyphic script was a mixture of phonetic and ideographic elements.
Champollion deciphered the meaning of many hieroglyphs, including those with phonetic symbols within a cartouche bearing the name of an Egyptian king of foreign origin, Ptolemy V. He believed these phonetic glyphs were only used to write non-Egyptian words. In the early 1820s, Champollion compared Ptolemy's cartouche to others and discovered that hieroglyphs were a combination of phonetic and ideographic elements.