Rosetta Stone

:Rosetta Stone can also refer to Rosetta Stone, a language learning software produced by Fairfield Language Technologies

History of the stone

French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard (1772-1832) discovered the stone in the Egyptian port city of Rosetta (present-day Rashid) on July 15, 1799.

Related Topics:
French - Captain Pierre-François Bouchard - 1772 - 1832 - Egyptian - Rosetta - Rashid - July 15 - 1799

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Some scientists http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/description.htm accompanied Napoleon's French campaign in Egypt (1798-1801). After Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Institut de l'Égypte in Cairo in 1798 some 50 became members of it. Bouchard found a black stone when guiding construction works in the Fort Julien near the city of Rosetta. He immediately understood the importance of the stone and showed it to General Abdallah Jacques de Menou who decided that it should be brought to the institute, where it arrived in August, 1799.

Related Topics:
Napoleon - French - Egypt - 1798 - 1801 - Cairo - 1799

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In 1801 the French had to surrender. A dispute arose about the results of the scientists—the French wishing to keep them, while the British considered them forfeit, in the name of King George III.

Related Topics:
1801 - King George III

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The French scientist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, writing to the English diplomat William Richard Hamilton threatened to burn all their discoveries, ominously referring to the burned Library of Alexandria. The British capitulated, and they insisted only on the delivery of the monuments. The French tried to hide the Rosetta Stone in a boat despite the clauses of the capitulation, but failed. The French were allowed to take the imprints they had made previously, when embarking in Alexandria.

Related Topics:
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire - William Richard Hamilton - Library of Alexandria

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When it was brought back to Britain, it was presented to the British Museum, where it has been kept since 1802.

Related Topics:
British Museum - 1802

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White painted inscriptions, contemporary with its acquisition, record on the left side 'Captured in Egypt by the British Army in 1801' and on the right 'Presented by King George III'. The stone was cleaned by the British Museum in 1998, and this evidence of its history was not removed. A small area of the surface at the bottom left hand corner was also left uncleaned for comparative purposes.

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In July 2003, the Egyptians demanded the return of the Rosetta Stone. Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo told the press: "If the British want to be remembered, if they want to restore their reputation, they should volunteer to return the stone because it is the icon of our Egyptian identity."

Related Topics:
2003 - Zahi Hawass

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