• This Moment in Science History for 07-19-2024

  • Jul 19 2024
  • Length: 2 mins
  • Podcast

This Moment in Science History for 07-19-2024 By cover art

This Moment in Science History for 07-19-2024

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  • Summary

  • On July 19, 1799, during Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign, French soldiers discovered the Rosetta Stone, a stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty. The stone's significance lies in the fact that the decree was inscribed in three different scripts: Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic script, and Ancient Greek.

    The top and middle texts were in Ancient Egyptian using hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts, respectively, while the bottom was in Ancient Greek. The Greek passage announced that it was inscribed with the same text as the Egyptian scripts, making the stone key to deciphering the enigmatic Egyptian hieroglyphs, which had been indecipherable to scholars.

    After the British defeated the French in 1801, they took possession of the Rosetta Stone and transported it to London. The artifact has been on public display at the British Museum since 1802, except for a brief period during World War I.

    The breakthrough in decipherment came in 1822 when French scholar Jean-François Champollion, who studied copies of the inscriptions, realized that hieroglyphs recorded the sound of the Egyptian language. This discovery led to the translation of hieroglyphs and a deeper understanding of ancient Egyptian literature and civilization.

    The Rosetta Stone measures about 44 inches tall, 30 inches wide, and 11 inches thick, and is believed to weigh around 1,680 pounds. It is named after the town it was discovered in, Rosetta (modern-day Rashid), located in the Nile Delta.

    This incredible discovery on July 19, 1799, unlocked the secrets of a lost language and provided a gateway into the fascinating world of ancient Egypt. It remains one of the most famous artifacts in archaeology and continues to captivate the minds of people around the world.
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