Gotta go back a few years to find out what happened...on July 19th, in the year 1799.....
Napoleon of France was out to conquer the world during this period, and had established a military campaign to conquer the region known as Egypt. After all, his predecessor, Alexander the Great had done so and had created quite an antiquity with his establishing of the city of Alexandria.
Here on July 19th 1799, a French soldier named Pierre Bouchard, discovers a black, basalt (volcanic rock) stone that is approximately 4 feet long and 2 and 1/2 feet in width. It was kind of an odd-shaped stone, and Bouchard came across this finding while stationed at a fort near the town of Rosetta, which was approximately 35 miles north of the great cultural city of Alexandria Egypt.
Ok, this is where it really begins to unfold! On this basalt stone was the fragments of 3 different inscriptions: 1) Greek 2) Egyptian demotic (no...not "demonic"), and 3) Egyptian HIEROGLYPHICS!! Demotic in case anyone is interested is the "common, everyday language of a particular region etc.
Anyway, the Greek inscriptions declared these writings on the stone were done in the 2nd century B.C. by Egyptian priests who wanted to honor their Pharaoh, Ptolemy V of Egypt.
Also in the Greek portion of this fragment on the Rosetta Stone as we have come to know, contained a key ingredient that literally became a historical breakthrough. It read in the Greek that "ALL 3 INSCRIPTIONS ON THIS STONE CARRY THE SAME MEANING".
So, what was the big deal about?....because up to that point the Egyptian hieroglyphics language had not been able to be "cracked"....no one had been able to understand and translate it into modern day language. This written language had been "extinct" for quite some time, and some say the last time it was in use was...2000 years before this discovery.
As a result...people got excited about this "Rosetta Stone"! You see, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France was a huge supporter of education and the preservation of art and culture throughout the world. In fact, Bonaparte had assigned a group of cultural scholars to accompany this military campaign to Egypt with the following orders" "To seize any and all cultural artifacts...for France!"
The French soldier who discovered the basalt stone, Pierre Bouchard, was quite aware of this order given by Napoleon, quickly reported his find. In 1801, the British were able to defeat the French army of Napoleon and took possession of the...Rosetta Stone.
Cultural and ancient language scholars "jumped all over" this discovery, and an Englishman named Thomas Young began making progress in the "cracking" of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Yet, it was the French Egyptologist named Jean-Francis Champollion (is that a cool name or what!), who lived from 1790-1832, who ultimately broke through and was able to decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphic writings.
Champollion was self-taught in the arts of ancient languages, and actually used the Greek writings on the Rosetta Stone as a guide to his breakthrough. The real key to the hieroglyphics seemed to be its "word pictures" represent objects, sounds, and even groups of sound. With the breakthrough of understanding hieroglyphics, Egypt and her rich ancient culture became a "whole new world" of discovery for understanding a valuable part of human history.
Since 1802, the now famous Rosetta Stone has been kept in the British Museum in London. The only exception to it staying there was in WWl, when it was moved underground for protection.
In 1822, new hieroglyphic inscriptions were found at Abu Simbel, a temple on the Nile River in Egypt. Due to the breakthrough from the language studies of the Rosetta Stone, Champollion was able to translate the inscriptions at Abu Simbel....its writings were about some guy that had built the temple in Egypt....he was called "Ramses".....
As the Greek mythological phrase that has been quoted through the centuries says: "Leave no stone unturned...", seems to be quite applicable to this great discovery on July 19th, 1799.
Napoleon of France was out to conquer the world during this period, and had established a military campaign to conquer the region known as Egypt. After all, his predecessor, Alexander the Great had done so and had created quite an antiquity with his establishing of the city of Alexandria.Here on July 19th 1799, a French soldier named Pierre Bouchard, discovers a black, basalt (volcanic rock) stone that is approximately 4 feet long and 2 and 1/2 feet in width. It was kind of an odd-shaped stone, and Bouchard came across this finding while stationed at a fort near the town of Rosetta, which was approximately 35 miles north of the great cultural city of Alexandria Egypt.
Ok, this is where it really begins to unfold! On this basalt stone was the fragments of 3 different inscriptions: 1) Greek 2) Egyptian demotic (no...not "demonic"), and 3) Egyptian HIEROGLYPHICS!! Demotic in case anyone is interested is the "common, everyday language of a particular region etc.
Anyway, the Greek inscriptions declared these writings on the stone were done in the 2nd century B.C. by Egyptian priests who wanted to honor their Pharaoh, Ptolemy V of Egypt.
Also in the Greek portion of this fragment on the Rosetta Stone as we have come to know, contained a key ingredient that literally became a historical breakthrough. It read in the Greek that "ALL 3 INSCRIPTIONS ON THIS STONE CARRY THE SAME MEANING".
So, what was the big deal about?....because up to that point the Egyptian hieroglyphics language had not been able to be "cracked"....no one had been able to understand and translate it into modern day language. This written language had been "extinct" for quite some time, and some say the last time it was in use was...2000 years before this discovery.As a result...people got excited about this "Rosetta Stone"! You see, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France was a huge supporter of education and the preservation of art and culture throughout the world. In fact, Bonaparte had assigned a group of cultural scholars to accompany this military campaign to Egypt with the following orders" "To seize any and all cultural artifacts...for France!"
The French soldier who discovered the basalt stone, Pierre Bouchard, was quite aware of this order given by Napoleon, quickly reported his find. In 1801, the British were able to defeat the French army of Napoleon and took possession of the...Rosetta Stone.
Cultural and ancient language scholars "jumped all over" this discovery, and an Englishman named Thomas Young began making progress in the "cracking" of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Yet, it was the French Egyptologist named Jean-Francis Champollion (is that a cool name or what!), who lived from 1790-1832, who ultimately broke through and was able to decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphic writings.
Champollion was self-taught in the arts of ancient languages, and actually used the Greek writings on the Rosetta Stone as a guide to his breakthrough. The real key to the hieroglyphics seemed to be its "word pictures" represent objects, sounds, and even groups of sound. With the breakthrough of understanding hieroglyphics, Egypt and her rich ancient culture became a "whole new world" of discovery for understanding a valuable part of human history.
Since 1802, the now famous Rosetta Stone has been kept in the British Museum in London. The only exception to it staying there was in WWl, when it was moved underground for protection.
In 1822, new hieroglyphic inscriptions were found at Abu Simbel, a temple on the Nile River in Egypt. Due to the breakthrough from the language studies of the Rosetta Stone, Champollion was able to translate the inscriptions at Abu Simbel....its writings were about some guy that had built the temple in Egypt....he was called "Ramses".....
As the Greek mythological phrase that has been quoted through the centuries says: "Leave no stone unturned...", seems to be quite applicable to this great discovery on July 19th, 1799.
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