Before the 1800’s, attempts at trying to uncover the secrets held by the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics found on walls inside numerous tombs were useless. The pictures were falsely believed to be symbolic, representing some sort of object or idea. Something soon changed all of this misconception. 1799 was the year of a great breakthrough in Egyptology. French troops, under Napoleon’s command, were destroying a wall when they found a black, basalt stone. The stone was inscribed with three different forms of writing: Egyptian hieroglyphics, a shorthand form of hieroglyphs, and Greek written in 196 BC. The Rosetta Stone then became instrumental in decrypting the long forgotten Egyptian writing system.

The stone was first discovered near Rosetta, Egypt, by one of Napoleon's soldiers, named variously as Bouchard, during his expedition

2. Ogg, Oscar. The 26 Letters. New York: Thomas C. Crowell Company, 1962.

5. Giblin, James Cross. The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone - Key to Ancient Egypt. New York: Harper & Row Publishers,1990.

Some topics in this essay:
Jean-Francois Champollion, Rosetta Stone, Stone Little, Tuthmosis Using, Egyptology French, David Akerblad, Museum London, Egyptian Dictionary, Egypt August, Encyclopedia Britannica, rosetta stone, ancient egyptian, proper names, coptic language, egyptian writing, egyptian writing system, writing system, egyptian language, names hieroglyphics, british museum, ancient egyptian language, 26 letters,