Solving the Riddle of the Rosetta Stone

During the Ptolemic dynasty, Egyptian and Greek languages were used simultaneously. During the Roman Governorship, only Latin was used and occasionally Greek. Within a hundred years the Egyptian hieroglyphics were no longer used or understood by anyone. Even the Roman authors of the time suggested that hieroglyphics was not even a language. In the truest sense this is now a dead language.

Because of contact between Europe and Egypt during the Middle Ages, hieroglyphs continued to be available to the European elite. Medical practices of the Middle Ages prescribed bitumen, ground up mummies, as a cure for various diseases. Thus, there was a trade in whole mummies which resulted in examples of hieroglyphs coming into Europe throughout the Dark Ages.

Also, in later years, the European nobility normally had some Egyptian relics in their possession to display their status and entertain at parties. These would include an art object on a table or if one were quite rich, an obelisk in the front yard of their mansion. So material containing hieroglyphs continued to enter Europe.

The French

In August of 1798, French ships landed on Egypt and troops marched inland to fight the British near Cairo with the intent of controlling the rich food supply along the Nile. Napoleon believed his armies would only be there a few days, but ended up entrenched for several years.

Napoleon had brought with him nearly 1,000 civilians, including 167 scientists, technicians, mathematicians, and artists who studied the art, architecture, and culture of Egypt. They published a 19-volume work called Description of Egypt. Their observations, drawings, and illustrations were circulated throughout Europe and created a tremendous interest in antiquities of Egypt.

During their siege, the soldiers reconstructed forts as soldiers had done during previous centuries by using building stones previously used by earlier peoples. In 1799, while extending a fortress near Rosetta, a small city near Alexandria, a young French officer named Pierre-Francois Bouchard found a block of black basalt stone. It contained the three distinct bands of writing.

The stone was taken to England, where it is still preserved in the British Museum. Scholars recognized some of the inscriptions on the stone tablet, but not all of them. Eventually they came to the stunning realization that the stone contained the same passage written three times in three different languages. This helped greatly in deciphering the stone's translation.

Deciphering

Work began on deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphs carved on the Rosetta Stone.

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