#history
The Rosetta Stone.
In 1799, a group of French soldiers engaged in rebuilding a military fort in the port city of el-Rashid (or Rosetta) in Egypt, accidentally uncovered what was to become one of the most famous artifacts in the world – the Rosetta Stone.
The ancient slab was carved in 196 BC, and bears a royal decree issued by priests on behalf of Ptolemy V, ruler of the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt.
The decree was copied on to large stone slabs called stelae, which were displayed in every temple in Egypt.
The inscription reads that the priests of a temple in Memphis, Egypt, supports the King.
But the stone’s message is not what makes it unique.
The decree on the Rosetta stone is inscribed in three scripts:
ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs,
Egyptian demotic script,
and ancient Greek.
Without the Rosetta Stone we would have known very little about the ancient Egyptians.
The precious artefact is presently on display at the British Museum in London.
– Joy Kallivayalil.
