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Rosetta Stone
Object at British Museum, London · also called Rosetta Stone British Museum, Memphis decree, Decree of Memphis, EA 24
The Rosetta Stone carries the same decree in three scripts: hieroglyphs at the top, Demotic in the middle and Greek at the bottom. Its cartouches of Ptolemy V let scholars match Greek letters to Egyptian signs.
The decree was passed by priests at Memphis in 196 BC to honour the young Ptolemy V. Copies were to be set up in temples across Egypt in three scripts. Much of the hieroglyphic part is lost: only 14 lines survive, broken at the edges. The Demotic part has 32 lines and the Greek 54.
French soldiers found the stone in 1799 near Rashid, which Europeans called Rosetta. It passed to Britain in 1801 and has been in the British Museum since 1802. Thomas Young and Jean-François Champollion both studied its cartouches. Champollion announced his decipherment in 1822 and showed that hieroglyphs write sounds as well as ideas.
What to see and read
The cartouches of Ptolemy
Ovals in the hieroglyphic lines hold Ptolemy's name, some with 'living forever, beloved of Ptah'. Matching them to the Greek word Ptolemaios gave the first sound values.
The three scripts
Compare the picture signs at the top with the joined strokes of Demotic in the middle.
Names you can find here
Signs to look for
- Stool Q3p The stool (p) opens Ptolemy's name in every cartouche on the stone.
- Recumbent lion E23rw The lion writes the L of Ptolemaios, a sign Egyptians used for foreign names.
- Ankh S34ꜥnḫ The ankh (living) follows the name in the longer cartouches: 'living forever'.
- Hoe U7mr The hoe (mer, 'beloved') writes 'beloved of Ptah' in the longer cartouches.
- Cartouche V10 The cartouche ring marks the king's name, the clue Young and Champollion followed.
Reading the hieroglyphs here
- Zoom in on the top lines from the side of the crowd.
- Find the ovals first, in the broken hieroglyphic section.
Point your camera at a wall Hiero Lens boxes the signs and names them, on your phone; nothing is uploaded. On worn stone, trace a sign over the photo.
Questions
What does the Rosetta Stone say?
It praises Ptolemy V for his gifts to the temples. It then orders statues and festivals in his honour.
Why is the Rosetta Stone important for hieroglyphs?
It gave scholars a long hieroglyphic text with a known meaning. Champollion used it, with other inscriptions, to test his readings.
Is the Rosetta Stone the original in the British Museum?
Yes, the original is in Room 4. Casts are shown in other museums.
Where it is
Open in OpenStreetMap · Written from published sources and not yet checked on site by our team: displays and open tombs change.