The poster for the latest season of the hit show ‘Lost’ looks simple enough – silhouetted cast with the words ‘Final Season’ below, but looking closer, there are hieroglyphic symbols within the words. I have to put the word’s ‘spoiler alert’ here – just so no one complains…

Dr. James Allen, Wilbour Professor of Egyptology and Chair of Egyptology and Ancient Western Asian Studies at Brown University, has analysed the symbols and said: “The hieroglyphs spell out two Egyptian words, meaning ‘Who is the guide?’ or ‘Who is the leader?” and pouring over our books, we came up with a similar translation – but bow to Dr. Allen’s superior knowledge!

If you see any other uses of hieroglyphs, or any other ancient language, used in popular culture – let us know.