The River Nile separates at its delta into two branches. The eastern stream enters the Mediterranean at Damietta. The western stream enters the great sea at Rosetta. It was near this latter town that an officer in Napoleon's army discovered, in August, 1799, the key to Egyptian hieroglyphics. It is called the Rosetta Stone, and it is now in the British Museum.
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For years the hieroglyphic was an unknown language, and the history of Egypt, except such as is contained in the Bible, was a blind book. The Rosetta Stone was found to contain an inscription in three different languages—the Hieroglyphic, the Demotic, which was the common language of the Egyptians, and the Greek. When these inscriptions were examined, it was discovered that they were each a translation of the other. There, then, was the clue which opened up the whole field of Egyptian history.
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Dr. Young, in 1814, began the work of deciphering hieroglyphics by this clue. He worked on various inscriptions, especially the pictorial writings on the walls of Karnak. The value of this discovery may be appreciated when we consider that its discovery has enabled scholars to translate hieroglyphics almost as easily as they would any of the classic writings. The actual inscription on the Rosetta Stone is not so important in itself. It is a decree issued in honor of Ptolemy Epiphanes by the priests of Egypt assembled in a synod of Memphis on account of the remission of arrears on taxes and dues. It was put up in 195 B. C. Since the discovery of the Rosetta Stone other tablets containing more important inscriptions have been found, but the unique value of the Rosetta Stone lies in the fact that it contains a corresponding Greek inscription, thereby affording a clue to the meaning of the hieroglyphics.
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The stone is black basalt, three feet seven inches in length, two feet six inches in width, and ten inches thick. After it was found by the French it was transferred to the British, and in 1802, it was brought to England, where it was mounted and placed in the British Museum.
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The Rosetta Stone is a corner stone of Egyptology. And the revelations of early Egyptian history and life, brought to light by means of it, have cleared some of the mystery of Egypt and have made known much of its history.