This ancient artifact is undoubtedly one of the most famous in the world and draws in millions of visitors annually, but how was it discovered in the first place, and why is it so important? How Was the Rosetta Stone Discovered? The iconic stone has stood in the British Museum for over two centuries, since 1802, with the exception of being hidden underground for two years to prevent damage during World War I. The Rosetta Stone was first displayed in a temple close to the town of Sais, Egypt, before it was moved to Rosetta where it would be discovered by the French thousands of years after it was first engraved. The text outlines all the accomplishments that the young Pharaoh had achieved in the name of the Egyptian Empire since he had taken the throne and the duties the Priests planned to undertake in their gratitude. The three different scripts inscribed on the stone are hieroglyphics, which was the language of Priests, demotic, which was the standard everyday script, and Greek, which was used by the administration. The scripts have since been interpreted as three different translations of a royal decree issued in 196 BC, affirming the royal cult of a then 13-year-old Ptolemy V. While the back of the stone is a rough surface much like any other stone, the front of the stone is smooth and covered in an ancient Egyptian text that is written in three different scripts. It was once part of a larger slab that would have stood about 6.5 feet high. The Rosetta Stone is essentially a broken off a slab of black rock composed of a type of stone called granodiorite. (Last Updated On: April 4, 2019) What Is the Rosetta Stone?
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