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.
