The Rosetta Stone

Elisha David Grade 6 Mr.T English/Humanities 2013

This is a picture of the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum

The Rosetta Stone is a very unique artifact. Once the Rosetta Stone was discovered, lots of people wanted to find out what the three languages on it were and what the translations meant. It was the key to unlocking Hieroglyphics in Ancient Egypt.

The Rosetta Stone was discovered in mid July 1799. It was discovered by the French while Napoleon's expedition to Egypt was happening. It had three languages written on it (Gartland). Actually in the town Rosetta, soldiers destroyed ancient buildings when they came across the Rosetta stone (Paff). According to Alchin, The Rosetta stone was found in the Nile Delta. Now, the Rosetta Stone is in the British Museum. Hieroglyphics were a huge part of Ancient Egypt. According to Adams, Hieroglyphics were used for more than 3,000 years. This was a main form of writing. It was a complicated picture language that were on tombs, religious documents, and temples (70-78). Hieroglyphics were generally used for writing about history or religious beliefs (David 31). Hieroglyphics were known as the dead language until the Rosetta Stone was discovered (Alchin). In Ancient Egypt, lots of people wanted to figure out Hieroglyphics. In Egyptology, Hart and Mantell states that people tried to find out what the pictures on Hieroglyphics were. It was not until a soldier of Napoleon's army discovered a stone in Rosetta. Then the code was broken (62). Jean Champollion (a french scholar), studied the stones text. He was able to learn what each word meant (Hamilton 6). The Egyptian text could not been read on the Rosetta Stone until 1822 (Nicholson and Watts 30). The Rosetta stone had exactly three languages on it. The three languages were Greek, Demotic, and Hieratic. According to David, Hieratic and Demotic were both used for business and social(?) matters because they were generally easier to write (31). The stone weighed almost three quarters of a ton (Adams 70-78). Hamilton says that the stone was about 45 inches by 28 inches (6). The Rosetta was known for its great use of different languages. History was created after the stone was discovered. Even though the Rosetta Stone was discovered a long time ago, The Rosetta stone still is an important artifact which lays in the British Museum.

Works Cited
Adams, Simon. Archaeology Detectives. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print. Alchin, Linda. "King Tut." King Tut. N.p., 2012. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. <http://www.king-tut.org.uk/index.htm>.

David, A. Rosalie, and Angus McBride. Growing up in Ancient Egypt. [Mahwah, N.J.]: Troll Associates, 1994. Print. Gartland, Joan. "The Rosetta Stone." British Museum. N.p., 2007. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. <http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aes/t/the_ros etta_stone.aspx>. Grant, Neil. The Egyptians. New York: Oxford UP, 1996. Print. Hamilton, Robyn. "Ancient Egypt Activity Book: Arts, Crafts, Cooking and Historical Aids." Ancient Egypt Activity Book: Arts, Crafts, Cooking and Historical Aids. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. <http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-EgyptActivity-Book-Historical/dp/156472025X>. Hart, Avery, and Paul Mantell. Pyramids!: 50 Hands-on Activities to Experience Ancient Egypt. Charlotte, VT: Williamson Pub., 1997. Print. Nicholson, Robert, and Claire Watts. Ancient Egypt. New York: Chelsea Juniors, 1994. Print. Paff, Troy. "When and Where Was the Rosetta Stone Discovered? - Curiosity." Curiosity. N.p., 2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. <http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/where-was-rosetta-stone-discovered>. Sewell, Max. "The Discovery of the Rosetta Stone." The Discovery of the Rosetta Stone. N.p., 1995-2012. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. <http://www.napoleonseries.org/research/miscellaneous/c_rosetta.html>. "England Trip, July, 2008." England Trip, July, 2008. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. <http://www.groutfamilyhistory.com/england.html>.

Elisha Many thanks for your hard work on this paper. I hope you found the Rosetta Stone to be a fascinating topic. The paper is very clearly written and the facts and ideas are all spot on (as far as I can tell). Your exceptional efforts to use in-text citations are very appreciated. Congratulations! Mr. Eichert

FINAL SCORES Knowledge & Understanding: 7 Investigating: 8 Communication: 7