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On This Day: Rosetta Stone Found in Egypt
July 29, 2020 at 08:38 PM EDT
By WeatherBug Sr. Meteorologist, James West
On this day in 1799, a discover would open the world’s understanding ancient Egypt.
The Rosetta Stone, made of igneous granite-like rock, was discovered on July 15th, 1799, by the Napoleon’s French army in the town of Rashid (Rosetta). The fragmented slab, unearthed while digging the foundation for a fort addition, was saved, and sent off to Cairo to be examined by French scholars. In 1802, the British received the stone as part of France’s surrender of Egypt in Alexandria.
It is believed the Rosetta stone contains a fragment of an ancient Egyptian decree issued in the ancient Egypt city of Memphis in 196 BC.
Although the decree is unimportant historically, the Rosetta provided valuable insight about the languages used at the time. The decree’s identical text was provided in three different languages used at the time; hieroglyphs used by ancient priests, Demotics used by the Egyptian people and ancient Greek used by the government.
Hieroglyphs usage ended in the fourth century AD and the ability to read and translate the language was lost to time. The Rosetta Stone, with its identical text in widely studied ancient Greek, could be used to unlock the hieroglyphs used in ancient Egypt.
By the early 1820s, a French Scholar Jean-Francois Champollion, using knowledge of ancient Greek and Demotics languages and other ancient writings, was able to translate the hieroglyphs on the Rosetta. The Rosetta hieroglyph translation allowed scholars to read other hieroglyphic inscriptions, unlocking ancient text found across ancient Egypt.
The Rosetta stone is now on display in the British Museum in London, with a touchable replica available in a nearby exhibit.
Source: The British Museum
Image: The Rosetta Stone in the British Museum in London (Hans Hillewaert, Wikimedia Commons)
The Rosetta Stone, made of igneous granite-like rock, was discovered on July 15th, 1799, by the Napoleon’s French army in the town of Rashid (Rosetta). The fragmented slab, unearthed while digging the foundation for a fort addition, was saved, and sent off to Cairo to be examined by French scholars. In 1802, the British received the stone as part of France’s surrender of Egypt in Alexandria.
It is believed the Rosetta stone contains a fragment of an ancient Egyptian decree issued in the ancient Egypt city of Memphis in 196 BC.
Although the decree is unimportant historically, the Rosetta provided valuable insight about the languages used at the time. The decree’s identical text was provided in three different languages used at the time; hieroglyphs used by ancient priests, Demotics used by the Egyptian people and ancient Greek used by the government.
Hieroglyphs usage ended in the fourth century AD and the ability to read and translate the language was lost to time. The Rosetta Stone, with its identical text in widely studied ancient Greek, could be used to unlock the hieroglyphs used in ancient Egypt.
By the early 1820s, a French Scholar Jean-Francois Champollion, using knowledge of ancient Greek and Demotics languages and other ancient writings, was able to translate the hieroglyphs on the Rosetta. The Rosetta hieroglyph translation allowed scholars to read other hieroglyphic inscriptions, unlocking ancient text found across ancient Egypt.
The Rosetta stone is now on display in the British Museum in London, with a touchable replica available in a nearby exhibit.
Source: The British Museum
Image: The Rosetta Stone in the British Museum in London (Hans Hillewaert, Wikimedia Commons)