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A French soldier discovered the Rosetta Stone embedded in a fort wall near the E
Featured Event 1799 Event

July 19

Rosetta Stone Found: Key to Deciphering Hieroglyphs

A French soldier discovered the Rosetta Stone embedded in a fort wall near the Egyptian town of Rashid, unlocking the key to deciphering hieroglyphics after centuries of failed attempts. The stone's trilingual inscription in Greek, Demotic, and hieroglyphic scripts gave scholars the parallel text they needed. Jean-Francois Champollion's eventual decipherment in 1822 opened the entire civilization of ancient Egypt to modern understanding.

July 19, 1799

227 years ago

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