For centuries, the meaning of Egypt’s hieroglyphs was a mystery.

Temples, tombs, and monuments were covered in carvings that no one could read.

The civilization that had recorded its history in stone seemed silent.

That silence lasted for more than a thousand years, until a discovery in the Nile Delta offered the key to unlocking their words once again.

In July 1799, during Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt, French soldiers fortifying a wall near the town of Rosetta (modern Rashid) uncovered a broken black stone.

Carved into its surface was a decree issued in 196 BC during the reign of Pharaoh Ptolemy V.

What made it extraordinary was that the same text appeared three times: in Egyptian hieroglyphs, in Demotic (the script of daily life), and in Ancient Greek.

The Greek could be read, offering scholars their first real foothold in deciphering the mysterious hieroglyphs.

For years, scholars wrestled with the inscriptions.

British polymath Thomas Young realized that some hieroglyphs represented sounds, not just symbols, especially when enclosing royal names in cartouches.

This was a crucial breakthrough.

But it was the French linguist Jean-François Champollion who completed the decipherment in 1822.

Drawing on his knowledge of Coptic, the descendant of ancient Egyptian, he demonstrated that hieroglyphs were a complex system of both phonetic signs and symbols.

His announcement is considered the moment Egypt’s lost language was restored.

The Rosetta Stone transformed Egyptology from speculation into science.

With its key, scholars could suddenly read temple inscriptions, funerary texts, hymns, and administrative records, opening a direct channel to one of the world’s oldest civilizations.

After Napoleon’s defeat, the stone was seized by the British and brought to London, where it has been displayed in the British Museum since 1802.

Though just one of many such decrees carved in stone, it remains the most famous archaeological artifact in the world.

The Rosetta Stone was more than an object of conquest or curiosity.

It gave back a language, allowing modern readers to hear the voices of priests, pharaohs, and scribes across thousands of years.

Through its inscriptions, Ancient Egypt speaks again.

Until next time,

Emails From Afar Team

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