the writing tools used varied according to the material which was written on. the two cursive scripts were written with reed pens and carbon inks onto papyrus. if the material was cloth, then the writing was done by a brush. many examples survive. the hieroglyphs were inscribed (carved) into stone (hammer &amp; chisel) or painted onto stone surfaces. many survive, some with the original colours intact. the key event in the decipherment of hieroglyphic writing was the discovery of the rosetta stone. this is a granite slab with the same message written in hieroglyphic, demotic and in greek. ancient greek is well understood, and made possible the interpretation of the other two scripts.