#OnThisDay July 15th, 1799 - A remarkable discovery of a single slab of stone changed our understanding of human history!
It was the finding of the 'Rosetta Stone' by Napoleon's army while trying to build a fort!
Join me on a history tour to visit this crazy story! 🧵
It was the finding of the 'Rosetta Stone' by Napoleon's army while trying to build a fort!
Join me on a history tour to visit this crazy story! 🧵
The story starts all the way around 3000 BC when the ancient Pharaonic Egyptian civilization started. We know the Pyramids & the Sphinx but another major relic from then are the Hieroglyphics - an advanced pictorial script that the Egyptians used in their wall inscriptions!
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It was the main script for communication for those in the Nile Delta for more than 2000 years & it was mainly pictorial mixed with grammar and syllables.
But by 300 BC Egypt was under Greek rule, hieroglyphics was being slowly forgotten for the new Greek & Latin scripts 3/n
But by 300 BC Egypt was under Greek rule, hieroglyphics was being slowly forgotten for the new Greek & Latin scripts 3/n
The Greeks left, the Romans came.
The Romans left, the Ottomans came.
Cultures changed, languages changed. In a few centuries, hieroglyphics was forgotten fully & a thriving world for 3000 years stayed hidden forever.
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The Romans left, the Ottomans came.
Cultures changed, languages changed. In a few centuries, hieroglyphics was forgotten fully & a thriving world for 3000 years stayed hidden forever.
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A new science called 'Egyptology' emerged - people who were interested in rediscovering the ancient past & the mystical symbols in the Hieroglyphics script
For more than 1000 years, people took guesses but no one cracked the Egypt puzzle. What were these crazy symbols? 5/n
For more than 1000 years, people took guesses but no one cracked the Egypt puzzle. What were these crazy symbols? 5/n
Move to 1799. Napoleon, the French conqueror, was now ruling Egypt. He was trying to build a fort in the seaside city of Rosetta & his soldiers went about collecting stones. Thats when a soldier Pierre Bouchard found an interesting slab of stone with several inscriptions on it!
Thankfully, realizing it could be important, he took it to General Menou. It was a slab that had 3 parts. Hieroglyphics at the top, a second script in the middle & Greek in the bottom!
Menou had that moment of wonder - could it be it? It was quickly passed to Egyptologists! 7/n
Menou had that moment of wonder - could it be it? It was quickly passed to Egyptologists! 7/n
It was a euphoric moment! It quickly became clear that it was a Royal decree stating the same message in 3 scripts! You could use the Greek to back translate Hieroglyphics!
Egyptologists all across Europe sprang up in action! Suddenly everyone wanted a piece of this key! 8/n
Egyptologists all across Europe sprang up in action! Suddenly everyone wanted a piece of this key! 8/n
A 5000 year puzzle was just being unlocked! But a new visitor was just on the horizon.
By 1800, the British landed in Egypt & started a war with the French! Napoleon's army held them off for 18 months but finally surrendered to the British! 9/n
By 1800, the British landed in Egypt & started a war with the French! Napoleon's army held them off for 18 months but finally surrendered to the British! 9/n
As the British took Rosetta, they demanded the stone. Menou claimed French ownership as finders & threatened to destroy it rather than giving it to the British!
The greatest irony of Britain & France claiming a piece of history much older than both the countries played out! 🤷♂️
The greatest irony of Britain & France claiming a piece of history much older than both the countries played out! 🤷♂️
Eventually the British prevailed & it was shipped off to London to be displayed in the British Museum where it stands till date from 1802! In fact it is the most visited artefact in the museum & the most selling postcard/souvenir.
Over the last 200 years, Egyptologists poured worldwide using the Rosetta key to decipher everything about Ancient Egypt - its kings, people, culture, gods etc etc.
Something so trivial as a slab of igneous rock has helped humanity unlock 3000 years worth of civilization
Something so trivial as a slab of igneous rock has helped humanity unlock 3000 years worth of civilization
Egypt continues to lay claim for it's treasure. But UK has refused to repatriate any of the artefacts that it took from all over the world
UK Egyptologist John Ray even said 'The day may come when the stone has spent longer in the British Museum than it ever did in Rosetta'
UK Egyptologist John Ray even said 'The day may come when the stone has spent longer in the British Museum than it ever did in Rosetta'
Rosetta Stone was such a key discovery that it has become a common English phrase today for discovery of any big clue that aids in a research.
There has been no single discovery that has helped so much in pursuit of advancing a science!
There has been no single discovery that has helped so much in pursuit of advancing a science!
Along with Egypt was 2 other old civilizations.
Mesopotomia which had it's cuneiform tablets. This was also deciphered similarly when the multi lingual Behistun inscription was found in modern day Iran!
That is a separate story on it's own! 15/n
Mesopotomia which had it's cuneiform tablets. This was also deciphered similarly when the multi lingual Behistun inscription was found in modern day Iran!
That is a separate story on it's own! 15/n
The last remaining puzzle is the Indus Valley Civilization! It's script still remains undeciphered!
When will the Rosetta stone moment come for IVC? A key between the script & Sanskrit? One can only dream that it will happen in our lifetime & we will know the wonders from there!
When will the Rosetta stone moment come for IVC? A key between the script & Sanskrit? One can only dream that it will happen in our lifetime & we will know the wonders from there!
My own twitter page's display picture is the Rosetta Stone! 😃
I chose it as i hope i can understand history better and share it with all of you just the way the stone helped do it!
Pls RT the thread and follow for more if you liked this tour! 😅
I chose it as i hope i can understand history better and share it with all of you just the way the stone helped do it!
Pls RT the thread and follow for more if you liked this tour! 😅
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