The Rosetta Stone

A companion guide to the Rosetta Stone - one of the British Museum's most famous objects. <br> <br> The Rosetta Stone contains a decree written three times in Greek, Demotic and hieroglyphic that provided the key to the mysterious hieroglyphic script of Ancient Egypt, and opened up 3,000 years of that country's history and culture. <br> <br> This book tells the fascinating story of one of archaeology's icons, from its creation in the 2nd century BC, to its discovery in 1799 during Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, to the subsequent race to decipher its hieroglyphic text. <br> <br> Undertaken by two brilliant scholars - the Frenchman Jean-Francois Champollion, and the English physicist Thomas Young - it was the former who eventually succeeded in making the crucial breakthrough. <br> <br> Today the Rosetta Stone stands in the Museum as an enduring symbol of human understanding and communication through the ages.

Exclusive to the British Museum, and part of the Objects in Focus range of books, a guide to the Rosetta Stone.

This book tells the fascinating story of one of archaeology's star treasures, from its creation in the 2^nd century BC, to its discovery in 1799 during Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, to the subsequent race to decipher its hieroglyphic text. Undertaken by two brilliant scholars - the Frenchman Jean-François Champollion, and the English physicist Thomas Young - it was the former who eventually succeeded in making the crucial breakthrough.

Soldiers in Napoleon’s army discovered the Rosetta Stone in 1799 while digging the foundations of an addition to a fort near the town of el-Rashid (Rosetta). Exhibited in the British Museum since 1802, the Rosetta Stone was the key to unlocking the ability to read and translate ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. The Stone contains the same decree in three different scripts, and scholars were able to use the Greek and Egyptian Demotic sections to decipher the ancient hieroglyphs. The text contains a decree passed by priests in 196 BC to honour King Ptolemy V for his services to Egypt.

This informative book is perfect for anyone hoping to learn more about the history of language and ancient Egypt.