Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient artifact discovered in August 1799 by French soldiers near Rosetta (modern-day Rashīd), Egypt. This irregularly shaped stone is made of black basalt and measures approximately 3 feet, 9 inches by 2 feet, 4 inches by 11 inches. It features a decree issued during the reign of Ptolemy Epiphanes, inscribed in three different scripts: Egyptian hieroglyphics, demotic script, and Greek. The presence of the same text in these three languages provided a crucial key for scholars to decipher ancient Egyptian writing, which had been largely forgotten since the decline of the ancient civilization. The stone's significance became evident when it was transferred to British possession, where researchers like Thomas Young and Jean-François Champollion made significant strides in understanding the hieroglyphs and demotic script by the 1820s. The Rosetta Stone remains a vital piece of history, representing a turning point in the study of ancient Egyptian culture and language. It is celebrated not only for its linguistic importance but also for its role in bridging cultural understanding across centuries.
Rosetta Stone
Related civilization: Ptolemaic Egypt.
Date: March 27, 196 b.c.e.
Locale: Nile River delta
Authorship: Egyptian priests
Rosetta Stone
The stela known as the Rosetta stone was found by French soldiers in August, 1799, near Rosetta (Rashīd), about thirty-five miles (fifty-six kilometers) northeast of Alexandria. It consists of an irregularly shaped stone of black basalt measuring approximately 3 feet, 9 inches (114 centimeters) by 2 feet, 4 inches (71 centimeters) by 11 inches (27 centimeters). Apparently broken in antiquity, it contains a commemorative inscription recording the beneficences of and honors due Ptolemy Epiphanes. Three versions of the same decree (most likely passed by assembled priests at Memphis), in hieroglyphic symbols, demotic script, and Greek uncials, are found on the stela. It was recognized that this stone might be the key to unlocking the secrets of ancient Egyptian, knowledge of which had been lost (with the exception of Coptic) since late antiquity. If the subject matter of all three texts were the same, the Greek could be used to decipher the other two. This was the case, and after the stela came into the possession of the British and was transported to England, scholars such as Thomas Young and Jean-François Champollion soon turned their full attention to this valuable document. By the 1820’s, substantial progress had been made on both scripts, forming the basis for much of modern knowledge of ancient Egyptian culture.
Bibliography
Andrews, C. The Rosetta Stone. London: British Museum, 1981.
Budge, E. A. The Rosetta Stone in the British Museum. London: Religious Tract Society, 1929.
Parkinson, R. B., Whitfield Diffie, M. Fischer, and R. S. Simpson. Cracking Codes: The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.
Sole, Robert, and Dominique Valbelle. The Rosetta Stone: The Story of the Decoding of Hieroglyphics. London: Profile, 2001.