The scientific study of the history and culture of Ancient Egypt, beginning with the very first signs of the Ancient Egyptian civilisation from around 3000 BC, and ending with the close of the last Egyptian temple between 535 and 537 AD. The most important tool for this study is the knowledge of one or more of the Egyptian languages and writing systems.
A person versed in Egyptology, an Egyptologist, can participate in or even head archaeological digs in Egypt, but unless he also had some training as an archaeologist, he will normally not be the person doing the actual digging. An archaeologist may be specialised in Egyptian archaeology, but he can apply his skills in many other countries and for many other cultures as well.
The scientific studie of Ancient Egypt, also known as Egyptology, started when Frenchman Jean-Franзois Champollion succeeded in decyphering the hieroglyphic signs and provided an Ancient Egyptian grammar.