The Rosetta Stone

The Stone is a fragment of a stela inscribed in 196 BC with a priestly decree in hieroglyphic, Demotic and Ancient Greek. French soldiers found it on 15 July 1799 while digging foundations for an addition to a fort near Rashid (Rosetta), during the French campaign in Egypt. After the French defeat it became British property under the 1801 treaty, reached Portsmouth in February 1802 and was presented to the British Museum by George III in July 1802. Its parallel texts were central to Jean-François Champollion's decipherment of hieroglyphs, which he announced in Paris on 27 September 1822.

1. 196 BC

   CreatedD

2. 15 July 1799

   Found by French soldiers near Rashid (Rosetta)C

   Discovered by accident while digging foundations for an addition to a fort, during the French campaign in Egypt.

3. 1801

   Became British property under the Treaty of AlexandriaC

   Ceded with other antiquities the French had collected after their defeat in Egypt.

4. February 1802

   Arrived at PortsmouthC

5. July 1802

   Presented to the British Museum by George IIIC

6. 27 September 1822

   Champollion announced the decipherment of hieroglyphsB

   Presented in a paper to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in Paris, based on the Stone and other texts.

Associated with · 1802

George IIIC

Associated with · 1822

Jean-François ChampollionB

Associated with · 196 BC

Ptolemy V EpiphanesA

Associated with · 1799

French invasion of Egypt and SyriaC

Associated with · 1801

Capitulation of AlexandriaC

Discovered at · 15 July 1799

RosettaC

Culture of origin

Ancient EgyptB

Culture of origin

Ptolemaic KingdomB

Exhibited at · 1802–present

British MuseumC

1. A

   Wikipedia, 'Rosetta Stone'

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2. B

   British Museum, hieroglyph decipherment timeline

   Catalogue record

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3. C

   British Museum, 'Everything you ever wanted to know about the Rosetta Stone'

   Catalogue record

   ↗ View original record
4. D

   britishmuseum.org

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5. E

   British Museum

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