Museum Marks Rosetta Stone's Role in Understanding Hieroglyphs

2022-10-13

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  • The Rosetta Stone is the star of a new show opening Thursday at the British Museum in London.
  • 2
  • The exhibition opening marks the 200th year since the mystery around the ancient carvings on the stone was solved.
  • 3
  • The British Museum is under increasing pressure to give the stone back to Egypt.
  • 4
  • Thousands of archeologists and supporters there again demanded its return just last week.
  • 5
  • French troops found the stone in the walls of an Egyptian fort in 1799, near Rosetta, a town about 55 kilometers from Alexandria.
  • 6
  • They gave it to British forces as part of a surrender agreement.
  • 7
  • The British Museum has held it since 1802.
  • 8
  • The stone dates back about 2,400 years.
  • 9
  • It contains the same writing in three languages: hieroglyphs, an ancient Egyptian language called Demotic and ancient Greek.
  • 10
  • When it was discovered, nobody knew how to read hieroglyphs.
  • 11
  • Thomas Young of Britain and then Jean-Francois Champollion of France decoded their meaning in 1822.
  • 12
  • They found that the writing came from clergy to mark the reign of the Egyptian king Ptolemy V.
  • 13
  • More importantly, the writing on the stone was an important clue that helped experts learned to read Egyptian hieroglyphs, a writing system that used pictures and symbols.
  • 14
  • "We decided because the Rosetta Stone was such an important key to that decipherment that we will do this properly: with an exhibition that also features our star objects," said Ilona Regulski, head of Egyptian written culture at the museum.
  • 15
  • "It's a wonderful moment to celebrate," she added.
  • 16
  • Yet the exhibition is under dispute.
  • 17
  • Egyptian archaeologist and former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass recently called for the return of the stone and other foreign-held treasures he called "stolen."
  • 18
  • The British Museum told AFP that Egypt has never made an official request for the Rosetta Stone's return.
  • 19
  • Regulski called the stone a "universal object" and said "it doesn't really matter where it is, as long as it's available to people."
  • 20
  • The exhibition Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt will run through February 19 of next year.
  • 21
  • It explores how hieroglyphs disappeared after Egyptians developed other forms of writing.
  • 22
  • Museum director Hartwig Fischer said, "For the first time in 3,000 years Ancient Egyptians spoke directly to us."
  • 23
  • I'm Caty Weaver.
  • 1
  • The Rosetta Stone is the star of a new show opening Thursday at the British Museum in London. The exhibition opening marks the 200th year since the mystery around the ancient carvings on the stone was solved.
  • 2
  • The British Museum is under increasing pressure to give the stone back to Egypt. Thousands of archeologists and supporters there again demanded its return just last week.
  • 3
  • French troops found the stone in the walls of an Egyptian fort in 1799, near Rosetta, a town about 55 kilometers from Alexandria. They gave it to British forces as part of a surrender agreement. The British Museum has held it since 1802.
  • 4
  • The stone dates back about 2,400 years. It contains the same writing in three languages: hieroglyphs, an ancient Egyptian language called Demotic and ancient Greek.
  • 5
  • When it was discovered, nobody knew how to read hieroglyphs.
  • 6
  • Thomas Young of Britain and then Jean-Francois Champollion of France decoded their meaning in 1822. They found that the writing came from clergy to mark the reign of the Egyptian king Ptolemy V.
  • 7
  • More importantly, the writing on the stone was an important clue that helped experts learned to read Egyptian hieroglyphs, a writing system that used pictures and symbols.
  • 8
  • "We decided because the Rosetta Stone was such an important key to that decipherment that we will do this properly: with an exhibition that also features our star objects," said Ilona Regulski, head of Egyptian written culture at the museum. "It's a wonderful moment to celebrate," she added.
  • 9
  • Yet the exhibition is under dispute.
  • 10
  • Egyptian archaeologist and former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass recently called for the return of the stone and other foreign-held treasures he called "stolen."
  • 11
  • The British Museum told AFP that Egypt has never made an official request for the Rosetta Stone's return. Regulski called the stone a "universal object" and said "it doesn't really matter where it is, as long as it's available to people."
  • 12
  • The exhibition Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt will run through February 19 of next year. It explores how hieroglyphs disappeared after Egyptians developed other forms of writing.
  • 13
  • Museum director Hartwig Fischer said, "For the first time in 3,000 years Ancient Egyptians spoke directly to us."
  • 14
  • I'm Caty Weaver.
  • 15
  • Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on reporting from Agence France-Presse and British Museum.
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  • ____________________________________________________________________
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  • Words in This Story
  • 18
  • decode - v. to understand the true or hidden meaning
  • 19
  • reign - n. the period of time during which a king, queen, etc... is the ruler
  • 20
  • decipherment - n. act of finding hidden or true meaning
  • 21
  • properly - adv. in a way that is acceptable