Yes. If you have ever watched the Discovery Channel, the Science Channel, TLC or the Travel Channel, if you've ever read "National Geographic" or studied ancient history at all, you have seen something about the ancient Egyptians, their culture and art, and their stunning pyramid construction. But have you ever wondered how it is that we know so much about this thriving culture of so many millennia ago? It is in large part due to the Rosetta stone that we know so much about ancient Egypt.
-
The Rosetta stone is a large stone tablet found in Egypt that is covered with three languages: classical Greek, and both hieroglyphic and demotic ancient Egyptian. The exact same piece of text is written in each language.
The Rosetta stone was discovered in Egypt in 1799 by the army of Napoleon, who was campaigning there at the time. After the French surrendered to the British in Cairo in 1801, the stone eventually made its way to the British Museum, where it remains.
The Rosetta stone dates to 196 B.C., and measures 45 inches high, 28 inches wide, and 11 inches thick. It has the same text repeated in classical Greek and demotic and hieroglyphic ancient Egyptian.
The Rosetta stone was translated by British scientist Thomas Young and French scholar Jean-Francois Champollion.
The Rosetta stone is so important because it allowed for successive generations to understand ancient Egyptian text. As the scholars already understood classical Greek, they were able to compare it with the Egyptian scripts and decipher the ancient hieroglyphics, opening up the world of Egyptian history.