See The Elements for a better understanding of the full plotline of the Elements; these pages are purely an explanation of the Kryptonian writings on, around, and pertaining to the Elements.

The first Element, the Fire Element, was hidden within an Egyptian statue.  Below are shots of the front and back of the statue.

The translation of the writing on the back of the statue is somewhat straightforward.  Starting at the top of the left column and working downwards, it reads THISISTHEFIRST, or "This is the first..."  In the next problem, things get messy as the screenshots (which were the best I could get off the DVDs, actually) make it difficult to see exactly what the letters are.  The letters the right column appear to be YSTALOFKNOW... And the rest are too hard to see because of the lighting in the third picture.  However, from what we know of the Elements' purpose, we can deduce the full inscription: This is the first Crystal of knowledge.

Here's a shot of the Fire Element, exposed when its containing statue was broken:

It is my theory that no human could touch the Elements without Clark being warned with that sonic shrieky noise happening.  The above picture would seem to disprove this theory, but the woman was Lex's doctor-- and though it's hard to tell in a single still frame, she was wearing latex gloves.  The shrieking noise started when the doctor handed the Element to a bare-handed Lex.  More on this theory with the other Elements.