Mysterious Rosetta Stone

Stone from Rosetta

admin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:36:31 +0000

In August 1799 in the small town of Rashid (Rosetta) in the Nile delta, Egypt, French soldier working for repair of the fort St. Julien dug flat, basalt stone, measuring approximately 40 to 120 centimeters. Its smooth surface was covered with strange characters in some unknown language or languages that the finder could not read.

When scientists saw the stone, they noticed that the inscription on the stone clearly divided into three nearly equal parts. The upper part was written with the same illegible stamps, hieroglyphics, or pictographic writing, which was seen in the hundreds of thousands of tombs and temples in Egypt. The second part was written in Egyptian demotic language, “language of the people”, used in Egypt during the period from 600 BC to 400 AD. The third part was written in Greek and was easy to read.

The Greek version revealed that the contents of the text is a report of the achievements and adventures of a teenage pharaoh Ptolemy V (Epiphanes) from the year 196 BC. Researchers have correctly suggested that the three inscriptions contain the same content, but we need two outstanding scientists from two different countries to decipher the mysterious, forgotten letter.

Thomas Young, English physician, discovered that the royal names written in Egyptian hieroglyphics, were surrounded by ovals (cartouches). Thanks to this observation has identified the top six of the thirteen characters appearing in the names of kings, but it was a young Frenchman found further guidance, which allowed a full reading of the language of ancient Egypt.

Hieroglyphics fashion in eighteenth-century Europe.

admin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:14:17 +0000

After the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in June 1799 in the Nile Delta more work on
decoding hieroglyphic scripture began. Some of it was done it in 1802 by the English pastor Stephen Weston. After that, everyone wanted to translate hieroglyphics in Europe. After that appeared much of publications but sometimes their meaning was very far from scientific. French scholar Sylvestre de Sacy (1758-1832) concentrated mainly on demotic part of the text and he managed to extract the names of pharaohs, Ptolemy and Alexander but he failed to solve the problem of phonetics. Basis on the research of de Sacy – Akerblad identified all the names including Arsinoe, Bereniki and Aelosa. Unfortunately due to incorrect assumptions there were errors in further part of his achievements. In 1814, Thomas Young (1773-1829), English physicist and scientist, took up solving the mystery of the Rosetta Stone. As a result of his research he came to conclusions which were used by young Frenchman, Jean Francois Champollion (1790-1832). He proved that the Egyptian hieroglyphic writing was based on the spoken word. The result of years of research on hieroglyphic system was establishment that the principle of phonetic hieroglyphic writing was used not only for the names of rulers, but for the whole system of signs. In 1824, French scientist has published all of his achievements.

Why the Rosetta Stone is so important?

admin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:13:06 +0000

Rosetta Stone was discovered in June 1799, near the town in the Nile Delta known in antiquity as Rosetta, and nowadays as al Rashid. Discoveries made by French sappers from Napoleon’s army who were preparing the foundations for the construction of the fort. Rosetta Stone is a black basalt plate 45 in high at its highest point, 28.5 in wide, and 11 in thick. It weighs approximately 1,700 lbs. On its surface there is the text in three languages: in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, in the Egyptian demotic script, and in Ancient Greek. The stone is only part of a larger plate therefore none of the three texts is absolutely complete. Plate probably came from one of the Egyptian temple. The inscription on the plate was engraved in 196 BC in occasion the first anniversary of coronation of the Egyptian king, Ptolemy V Epiphanes. Stone has great value because, thanks to the text on it in three languages, it has become a key for J.F. Champollion to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics. The result of years of hieroglyphic system research was the establishment that the principle of phonetic hieroglyphic writing was used not only for the names of rulers, but for the whole system of signs.

Story of the Rosetta Stone

admin — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:19:57 +0000

Rosetta Stone was made in 196 BC. It has decree written on it. The decree was establish by the Egyptian priests of Memphis to commemorate the first anniversary of the coronation of the Pharaoh Ptolemy V. Pharaoh after his accession to the throne, proclaimed an amnesty, cut taxes and raised the incomes of priests. The priests in his honor issued a decree which has been engraved on the basalt slab in three languages.
The stone was discovered by the French during the fortification works of the medieval fortress during Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt. The stone was transported by boat from the Nile delta up to Cairo. When the true value of the discovery was discovered many copies of the texts were made and sent to Paris. In 1801 the stone was taken over by the British like other artifacts collected at the time by French archaeologists in Egypt. Stone went to the library of the Association of antique dealers in London, then in 1802 was officially presented to the British Museum as a gift from King George III. In 1822, Jean-François Champollion and Thomas Young in 1823, using texts carved on stone, decoded hieroglyphic scripture. Egyptian authorities believe that the stone was taken illegally during the colonial era and they are trying to recover it from the British hands.