Replica of Rosetta Stone

22 October 2017

Within the framework of its development plan, the BA Antiquities Museum is glad to announce that it currently showcases an exact replica of the Rosetta Stone as part of its Ancient Egyptian Antiquities collection. The new display aims to highlight such a momentous antiquity; the Rosetta Stone is considered as one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in history and the key element in deciphering the ancient Egyptian language. A documentary on the stone’s discovery is also screened alongside the display. 

 The Rosetta Stone was discovered by Lieutenant Pierre-François Bouchard on 15 July 1799 while his soldiers were strengthening the defenses of and expanding Fort Julien near the Egyptian port city of Rosetta (modern-day Rashid) in the Nile Delta. The stone was then transported to Britain in 1801 within the framework of the “Treaty of El Arish”, and it was later gifted to the British Museum by King George III in 1802. The young Frenchman Jean-François Champollion successfully identified various symbols of the ancient Egyptian language on the stone and eventfully managed to decipher its secrets through comparing all three texts and names inscribed on the stone.