Illustrative model — an approximation, not a scan of the original object.
196 BCE
The Rosetta Stone
Date of the decree, in the reign of Ptolemy V.
- Material
- Granodiorite
- Dimensions
- Max. length 112.3 cm, width 75.7 cm, thickness 28.4 cm
- Findspot
- Near Rosetta (Rashid) in the western Delta, reused in the building of a fort
- Discovery
- Found by soldiers of the French expedition in 1799; it passed to Britain under the Capitulation of Alexandria in 1801 and has been in the British Museum since 1802.
- Held by
- The British Museum, London
- Inventory number
- EA 24
A broken part of a larger stone slab, carrying one decree written three times: in hieroglyphs, in Demotic (the everyday Egyptian script), and in Greek (the language of government).
Because the Greek text could be read, the stone became a key to deciphering hieroglyphs, which Champollion announced in 1822.
The stone carries a decree issued by priests at Memphis in 196 BCE, written in hieroglyphic, Demotic and Greek.
- The British Museum, London “The Rosetta Stone, EA 24” britishmuseum.org
- Richard Parkinson (1999) “Cracking Codes: The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment” British Museum Press
The same decree was carved on other slabs set up in different temples; the Rosetta Stone is just one of them.
- Richard Parkinson (1999) “Cracking Codes: The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment” British Museum Press
Egyptian archaeologists and officials have called for the stone’s return to Egypt; the British Museum holds that it was legally transferred under the 1801 treaty.
Scholarly note: Both positions are presented as their holders state them, without taking a side.
- Wikipedia “Rosetta Stone — Wikipedia” en.wikipedia.org
- The British Museum, London “The Rosetta Stone, EA 24” britishmuseum.org