---
title: Rosetta Stone
author: Trustees of the British Museum
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/2198/rosetta-stone/
format: machine-readable-alternate
updated: 2026-04-22
---

# Rosetta Stone

_Authored by Trustees of the British Museum_

## Image File

[![Rosetta Stone](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/2198.jpg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/2198.jpg)

## Image Caption

The [Rosetta Stone](https://www.worldhistory.org/Rosetta_Stone/) is an incomplete grey and pink granodiorite stela dating from 196 BCE which presents a priestly decree concerning King [Ptolemy](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Ptolemy/) V of [Egypt](https://www.worldhistory.org/egypt/). The text is in three different versions: Hieroglyphic, Demotic and [Greek](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/greek/). The stone was discovered at Port Saint Julien, el-Rashid (Rosetta) on the [Nile](https://www.worldhistory.org/nile/) Delta in Egypt in 1799 CE by Pierre Francois Xavier Bouchard. Thomas Young first identified some of the hieroglyphs related to Ptolemy V but the full text was deciphered by Jean-François Champollion in the early 1820s CE and so the meaning of [Egyptian hieroglyphs](https://www.worldhistory.org/Egyptian_Hieroglyphs/), lost for 1600 years, was finally re-discovered. (British Museum, London)

## Bibliography

- [Rosetta Stone Translation](http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/r/the_rosetta_stone_translation.aspx "Rosetta Stone Translation"), accessed 1 Dec 2016.
- [Rosetta Stone at the British Museum](http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aes/t/the_rosetta_stone.aspx "Rosetta Stone at the British Museum"), accessed 1 Dec 2016.

## Cite This Work

### APA
Museum, T. o. t. B. (2014, January 02). Rosetta Stone. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/2198/rosetta-stone/>
### Chicago
Museum, Trustees of the British. "Rosetta Stone." *World History Encyclopedia*, January 02, 2014. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/2198/rosetta-stone/>.
### MLA
Museum, Trustees of the British. "Rosetta Stone." *World History Encyclopedia*, 02 Jan 2014, <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/2198/rosetta-stone/>.

## License & Copyright

© Trustees of the [British Museum](http://www.britishmuseum.org/). Republished under the British Museum [Standard Terms of Use](http://www.britishmuseum.org/about_this_site/terms_of_use.aspx) for non-profit educational purposes. [Original image](http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=16456&objectId=117631&partId=1) by [**Trustees of the British Museum**](http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=16456&objectId=117631&partId=1). Submitted by [Mark Cartwright](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/markzcartwright/ "User Page: Mark Cartwright"), published on 02 January 2014. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Copyright](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright). You cannot use, copy, distribute, or modify this item without explicit permission from the author. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.