It is a black basalt slab that provided the key to understanding hieroglyphics. The rosetta stone was discovered in 1799 by one of napoleon s soldiers. Ancient egyptian hieroglyphics the rosetta stone.
The rosetta stone a symbol for different things to different people is a dark colored granodiorite stela inscribed with the same text in three scripts demotic hieroglyphic and greek. It is estimated to weigh over 750 kilograms 1 600 pounds and is thought to have been quarried by its egyptian makers from somewhere in the aswan region in. The rosetta stone is an enormous 114 x 72 x 28 centimeters 44 x 28 x 11 inches and broken hunk of dark granodiorite not as once believed basalt that nearly single handedly opened up ancient egyptian culture to the modern world.
French army engineers who were part of napoleon bonaparte. In the 19th century the rosetta stone helped scholars at long last crack the code of hieroglyphics the ancient egyptian writing system. These greek rulers could neither speak the language of the people nor read hieroglyphs and this fueled resentment amongst the population.
Beginning with the conquest of alexander the great in 332 bc greek was the language of the governing elite in egypt. Without the rosetta stone we would know nothing of the ancient egyptians. Dated to the 2nd century bc the stone contained the same inscription in three different languages including ancient greek which allowed historians to translate egyptian hieroglyphics.
In 1799 one of napoleon s soldiers found a peculiar stone near the egyptian port city of rosetta. The stone was discovered at port saint julien el rashid rosetta on the nile. Hieroglyphic demotic and greek a fact which immeasurably helped to finally decipher egyptian hieroglyphics.
The rosetta stone is an incomplete grey and pink granodiorite stela dating from 196 bce which presents a priestly decree concerning king ptolemy v of egypt the text is in three different versions. It lists all of the things that the pharaoh has done that are good for the priests and the people of egypt. The rosetta stone is a text written by a group of priests in egypt to honour the egyptian pharaoh.
An irregularly shaped stone of black granite 3 feet 9 inches 114 cm long and 2 feet 4 5 inches 72 cm wide and broken in antiquity it was found near the town of rosetta rashīd.
Rosetta stone ancient egypt. The rosetta stone is a granodiorite stele inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in memphis egypt in 196 bc during the ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of king ptolemy v epiphanes the top and middle texts are in ancient egyptian using hieroglyphic and demotic scripts respectively while the bottom is in ancient greek the decree has only minor differences between the three versions. Rosetta stone ancient egyptian stone bearing inscriptions in several languages and scripts. Their decipherment led to the understanding of hieroglyphic writing.
Their decipherment led to the understanding of hieroglyphic writing. Rosetta stone ancient egyptian stone bearing inscriptions in several languages and scripts. The rosetta stone is a granodiorite stele inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in memphis egypt in 196 bc during the ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of king ptolemy v epiphanes the top and middle texts are in ancient egyptian using hieroglyphic and demotic scripts respectively while the bottom is in ancient greek the decree has only minor differences between the three versions.
