The Rosetta Stone has considerably contributed to deciphering the mysteries of ancient Egyptian civilization. It was discovered in 1799 by French soldier Pierre-François Bouchard in the Egyptian city of Rosetta. A 196 BCE proclamation of King Ptolemy V is written in Greek, hieroglyphic, and demotic scripts. The Rosetta Stone was significant because it unlocked the meaning of hieroglyphics that had lain dormant for decades. Two outstanding academics, Thomas Young and Jean-François Champollion, made the breakthrough in reading the hieroglyphs.
The English scientist and physician Thomas Young significantly contributed to optics, acoustics, and color theory. In 1814, he began his work on interpreting the inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone as depicted in the documentary, ‘Mystery of The Rosetta Stone: Documentary on Ancient Egypt and the Rosetta Stone.’ During this process, he found that part of the hieroglyphs were phonetic hints, which he later termed “alphabetical hieroglyphs.” Jean-Francois Champollion, a prominent figure in French history and philology, was deeply interested in ancient Egypt. Since his older brother was a history professor, he often relied on him for assistance with his schoolwork. After developing an interest in hieroglyphs, Champollion resolved to find out what they represented. After extensive research, he decided that more than two hundred hieroglyphs were carved into the Rosetta Stone. In 1822, Champollion made his discovery when deciphering the cartouche to learn that the pharaoh’s name was Ptolemy. By connecting the hieroglyphs and the Greek language, he solved the entire inscription on the Rosetta Stone. The work done by Champollion to decipher the hieroglyphs was a significant step forward in our knowledge of Ancient Egyptian culture.
The inability to comprehend the phonetic values of the hieroglyphs was a significant hindrance to progress in hieroglyphic decipherment. Additionally, the writing may shift from left to right or right to left, making it difficult to grasp what is being stated. Despite the difficulties, Young and Champollion persisted in transcribing the hieroglyphs. Champollion had the key to translating the hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone into Greek when he figured out how to interpret the cartouche. This discovery revealed numerous new details about Ancient Egyptian civilization.
Deciphering the message was a challenging endeavor that took the concerted efforts of many trained experts spread out over an extended period. Interpreting the hieroglyphs required several significant contributions, including those made by Thomas Young and Jean-Francois Champollion and the Rosetta Stone. These accomplishments cleared the way for the study of ancient Egyptian society. Since then, their legacy has served as a wellspring of motivation for scholars and researchers worldwide.
Work Cited
Rich, Jonathan, and Alexander Emmert. Mystery of The Rosetta Stone: Documentary on Ancient Egypt and the Rosetta Stone (Full Documentary). Video, 2005, Web.