Student Article

For centuries, no one could read ancient Egyptian writing, but the discovery of the Rosetta Stone finally unlocked the mystery.

The lost language of hieroglyphs

Ancient Egyptians wrote in hieroglyphs, a script made of symbols and pictures. After the fall of their civilization, the skill of reading these symbols was lost. Scholars were baffled by the mysterious writings — until the Rosetta Stone was discovered by Napoleon’s soldiers in 1799.

One stone, three languages

The stone featured the same text written in three languages: Greek, Demotic, and hieroglyphic. Since scholars could read Greek, they used it to figure out what the hieroglyphs meant. The first breakthrough came from Thomas Young, an English scientist. He matched the Greek name “Ptolemy” with the same symbols in the hieroglyphic section, proving that some hieroglyphs represented sounds.

Champollion cracks the code

French scholar Jean-François Champollion took this further. In 1822, he identified the name Cleopatra in a newly found inscription. He realized that hieroglyphs were a mix of phonetic signs (representing sounds) and symbolic signs (representing ideas). This allowed him to translate more texts, finally unlocking the meaning of hieroglyphs.

Opening the door to ancient Egypt

This breakthrough opened the door to understanding ancient Egyptian history, culture, and beliefs, revealing the secrets of tombs, temples, and treasures.

© Andrew Robinson / Our Media