In the case of Ancient Egyptian archaeology, the Rosetta Stone has been one of those rare finds indeed. The stone itself is a large stele (slab or block) of black basalt (a hard, black volcanic igneous rock most commonly found in the Earth’s crust formed from molten, volcanic activity) measuring 3 feet 9 inches by 2 feet 4 inches wide by 11 inches thick (or 118 x 77cm) or 3 feet 9 inches in length and 2 feet 4.5 inches in width (or 114 x 72 x 28cm) as some sources have provided. Other sources claim that the stele was formed of granite.The Rosetta Stone’s remains were found to be inscribed in three parts and in three ancient scripts:
Hieroglyphs (hieroglyphic), Egyptian Demotic (a cursive form of Ancient Egyptian writing also called Hieratic), and Ancient Greek. The stone had been carved and inscribed by Egyptian priests (and possibly priestesses), in 196 BCE, with a decree praising the great and spiritual works of Egyptian Pharaoh (King) Ptolemy V during his reign from 203 to 181 BCE.
It is claimed that the stone was discovered or unearthed by one of Napoleon Bonaparte’s military officers of the Engineering Corps, in July of 1799, during an invasion of Egypt by the French. As the story goes, the stone was partially buried in the mud during the excavation of a fort in the nearby village of Rashid (Rosetta)—near the city of Alexandria in Lower Egypt. The previously demolished fort, assumed to have been caused by Napoleon’s invasion, was to be rebuilt due to the discovery of the stone. From there, the stone was named after the village of Rosetta. Then the Rosetta Stone was later seized by the British, among other antiquities collected by the French, and was presented by King George III (1738-1820) to the British Museum in 1802. This stone became the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics and a foundation for the study of modern Egyptology.
The significance of the Rosetta Stone is based on the Egyptian hieroglyphics being accompanied with the Greek inscriptions which could be more readily translated and understood. A third inscription on the stone was written in the Demotic or Egyptian cursive script developed much later in Egyptian history—this script was used almost exclusively by Sem Priests (or sem), Male Servants of God (or hem netjer), Female Servants of God (hemet netjer) High Priests (hem netjer tepey), Lector Priests (kheri heb), Wa’eb Priest (or wa’eb), and Scribes (or sesh) for secular writings and documents.
Since the inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone were difficult to translate, distinguished French linguist, Egyptologist, and professor Dr. Jean-Francois Champollion (living in France) decided to undertake the translation along with the distinguished British physicist and linguist Dr. Thomas Young (living in Britain) in 1814. Dr. Champollion's knowledge of the Greek and Coptic (the “final” evolution of the Egyptian language) was a major key in deciphering the Rosetta Stone. The Coptic language is a more recent evolvement of the much older Demotic script; back and forth comparisons and analyses were made between the two languages to assist in the translation of the Demotic portion of the stone. Again, other scholars and researchers claim that this project began in 1822.
Furthermore and according to some scholars and researchers:
The credit as to who first discovered and unlocked the method(s) of deciphering and reading the symbolic as well as spoken meaning of hieroglyphs is claimed for both Young and Champollion. A heated controversy over has been waged for many years regarding this matter. It has also been stated that some view that Young and Champollion secretly and simultaneously, and independently of one another solved the many secrets of the Rosetta Stone.
Many scholars of Ancient Egyptian history, archaeology, and Egyptology have attempted to translate the inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone and used the Greek language inscriptions as a guide to the stone’s decipherment since Young and Champollion or vice versa. However, there is no mention of the research produced and contributed later by the distinguished Senegalese Physicist, Egyptologist, Anthropologist, Sociologist, Historian, and Professor Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop (1923-1986).
Another truth and treatise for another time. To this day, the Rosetta Stone resides in the British Museum.
~ Dr. K.A. Sahure, Msc.D, D.D.
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