The Rosetta Stone: A cornerstone of ancient Egypt history, uncovering the voices of a long-silent past and bridging millennia to illuminate the greatness of Egyptian civilization
Fortunately, the Egyptian civilization has discovered the Rosetta Stone in 1799. It is a stone that contains the keys to the ancient Egyptian language, without which the Egyptian civilization would remain obscure and unknown as we could not read the ancient Egyptian writings on their monuments.
The Rosetta Stone.
what is the rosetta stone? Decoding Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is a granodiorite monument with a declaration issued in Memphis City, Egypt, in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V, appearing in three texts:
- The upper text is the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
- The middle text is the Demotic text.
- The lower part is the ancient Greek.
As it was discovered that the three writings present essentially the same text in all three writings “with some minor differences between them,” and the stone is the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Understanding the Rosetta Stone.
where was the rosetta stone found?
The Rosetta Stone was discovered in the Nile Delta of Egypt, near a town called Rosetta, now Rashid, in Beheira Governorate. located north of Cairo City and about 65 kilometers northeast of Alexandria City. The discovery happened in a Fort called Julien during construction work.
Discovery Site of the Rosetta Stone
The exterior look of The Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is made of an irregular granodiorite stone 113 cm high, 75 cm wide, and 27.5 cm thick; the stone is inscribed in three ancient languages, hieroglyphs, Demotic or Coptic, and Greek, during the reign of Ptolemy V.Parts of the stone from top and bottom have been lost. The largest part of the hieroglyphic script and a small part of the Greek text has been lost.
Who made the rosetta stone?
The Rosetta Stone was made by a group of priests in Egypt to honor King Ptolemy V in 196 BC during the Hellenistic period after the conquests of Alexander the Great, which saw Greek culture spread into Egypt.
What was written in The Rosetta Stone?
The Rosetta Stone includes a letter of thanks and gratitude addressed to King Ptolemy V to confirm the royal cult of Ptolemy V, set up religious ceremonies, and strengthen his control over Egypt. The Stone was written by a council of priests of Memphis city to thank the King for exempting the temples from paying some fees, stopping endowments for the temples, and exempting the priests from some obligations.
The priests wanted to record this gratitude to the Ptolemaic king in the official script, which is the hieroglyphic script, and the prevailing daily life script in this period, which is the Demotic script, and then in the Greek script, which is the script in which the Ptolemaic language is written which was the language of the Ptolemaic Kingdom occupying Egypt at that time. The text consists of 14 lines in hieroglyphs, 32 lines in Demotic, and 54 lines in Greek.
The Rosetta Stone.
The surprising and eminent discovery of the Rosetta Stone!
The story of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone dates back to when the French expedition came to Egypt in 1798 AD, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, and continued to advance through the city of Rosetta. It was discovered in the castle of Julien in the city of Rosetta.
This castle was being prepared by the invading French forces led by General “Mino” to use it in their wars against the British. The supervisor of the preparations for the castle was an engineering officer named “Pierre François Bouchard” who found the basalt stone in 1799 AD.
After the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, this discovery was announced in the newspaper that the campaign issued to its fighters.
It was called the Rosetta Stone because it was discovered in the city of Rosetta, located at the mouth of the branch of the Nile River in the Mediterranean Sea.
Deciphering the Rosetta Stone
Many scholars contributed to deciphering the Rosetta Stone, and although this achievement is attributed to one person, Champollion, scholars before him contributed, and the final translation was achieved.
The first of them was the Swedish diplomatic scientist “Akerblad,” who succeeded in reading the names of some notable people written in the Demotic script, followed by the British naturalist Thomas Young, who reached some conclusions, including that hieroglyphs and demotic are closely related to each other. The names of kings in hieroglyphs are written within a rectangular frame with the corners wrapped, or what is called a “cartouche.”
What distinguished Champollion from those who preceded him in this matter was his knowledge of the Coptic language, a mixture of the ancient Egyptian and Greek languages. Through this knowledge, he was able to link the languages together.
Through further comparative studies, Champollion could identify the phonetic value of many signs. In 1822, Champollion announced to the world that he had been able to decipher the symbols of the ancient Egyptian language, and that the structure of the word in the Egyptian language is not based on an alphabet only but rather on signs giving the value to one letter or more, the use of allocations at the end of the vocabulary is emphasized to determine the meaning of the word.
Thus, Champollion laid the first building blocks in the edifice of the ancient Egyptian language. After him came hundreds of researchers who contributed to completing the construction of this lofty edifice. With knowledge of the ancient Egyptian language, the mystery of the Egyptian civilization began to be cleared, and Egyptology began to make its way strongly among other sciences.
Deciphering the Rosetta Stone.
Why is the rosetta stone important?
Decipherment of Hieroglyphs: the inscription on the stone was used as a guide to translate the Egyptian hieroglyphs, which helped the scientists to study ancient Egypt
Deep Historical view: thanks to the writings on the stone, we got great information about the religious and political life in Egypt under the rule of King Ptolemy V.
Cultural Symbolism: The rosetta stone symbolizes the idea that we can understand ancient cultures through their written records, representing a key to lost knowledge and encouraging us to pursue historical understanding.
What was the final destiny of The Rosetta Stone?
The French took possession of the stone after they discovered it. Since the British forces defeated the French in Egypt in 1801, the original stone became in the possession of the British after the surrender of the French campaign. The stone was transported to London and has been on public display in the British Museum almost continuously since 1802. It is one of the most visited antiques in the British Museum.
As we conclude our journey through the remarkable story of the Rosetta Stone, we are reminded of its enduring legacy. This ancient artifact continues to captivate scholars and enthusiasts alike, serving as a testament to the power of decipherment in unraveling the secrets of our past. As we marvel at its significance, let us continue to explore and celebrate the wonders of ancient civilizations, enriching our understanding of human history and culture.
The Rosetta Stone at the British Museum.
