Tuesday, 16th October 2007
The Rosetta Stone
What does one do when you’ve finished studying for the year? How do you rest those tired brain cells? Go for energetic bike rides? Travel around the country? No, Heidi and I decided to relax by doing an easy puzzle together. That way we could enjoy each others company and chat away about life.
The Rosetta Stone is an Ancient Egyptian artifact which was instrumental in advancing modern understanding of hieroglyphic writing. The stone is a Ptolemaic era stele with carved text. The text is made up of 3 translations of a single passage, written in two Egyptian language scripts (hieroglyphic and demotic), and in classical Greek. It was created in 196 BC, discovered by the French in 1799 at Rosetta, a harbor on the Mediterranean coast in Egypt, and contributed greatly to the decipherment of the principles of hieroglyphic writing in 1822 by Frenchman and French scholar Jean-François Champollion. Comparative translation of the stone assisted in understanding many previously undecipherable examples of hieroglyphic writing. The text of the Rosetta Stone is a decree from Ptolemy V, describing the repealing of various taxes and instructions to erect statues in temples.
… and you thought I was just a pretty face. OK, so I might have had a little help from Wikipedia.
We managed to finish the puzzle in less than a week but unfortunately Heidi and I forgot to talk to each other whilst we were doing it. We were too busy getting in each others way. Never mind.
Posted by Daddy @ 8:52 PM
One Comment to: The Rosetta Stone
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I reckon there is only 3 peices to that puzzle