The Rosetta Stone

Introduction

In the current world, where there is a need for a proper understanding of ancient concepts, evaluating these artifacts, and getting a better understanding of their biographies in detail, each object carries a massive wealth of information. For this particular essay, I chose to dig deeper into the British Museum based in London to get more details about my chosen object of choice: the Rosetta Stone (Regulski et al., 2020). In the British Museum in London, the object of interest takes visitors on an exclusive journey of exploring ancient times based on the specific object’s role during those old days. More details will be discussed below as we continue analyzing this phenomenon. The British Museum itself is a place where history is preserved. The museum was founded in 1753, and ever since then, it has held a massive collection of human history. It keeps the old objects and promotes keeping the stories alive (Classen, 2020). Different items in the British Museum tell a different story of our precious history. The Rosetta Stone, not just a stone being our chosen object for this essay, holds a special place in history, and hence, with the ability of modern-day technological advances, historical awareness and study of ancient objects are vital to understanding our present-day responsibilities. All that will be attained through the main focus of the essay, which is understanding the biography of the iconic object, analyzing its material and tracing back on the journey of how it ended up in the British Museum, properly exploring the multifaceted functions of the object and lastly uncovering the individuals and civilization connection in regards to its creation.

Analysis of Material and Form

This part of the essay answers the question of what the object is. The nature of the object and its material and what it tells us. Using a general description, the Rosetta Stone can be defined as a slab of black basalt that measures approximately 114cm in height and has a width of 72 cm (Regulski et al., 2020). This particular stone is unique and not just like any other for its role in the ancient days and its ideal characteristics of having three carved writings on it in different ways, the languages being Greek, Demotic, and hieroglyphics. According to various scholars, the Rosetta Stone is a secret code that played and still is pivotal in making people understand the old Egyptian writings (Milton, 2020). Additionally, based on the material it is made of, it is a vital source of information communicating how the Egyptian people lived in those old days of the Ptolemais.

Further, based on its appearance th, the Rosetta Stone possesses three different writings: ancient Greek, which was the language of the government; the Hieroglyphics, also known to be the language that the priests used; and the Demotic language, which was the everyday people’s language; all this leads to the Rosetta Stone being viewed as a giant puzzle pieces. The stone can be termed a big puzzle piece because of its role as the key to understanding or unlocking the meaning of ancient texts (Milton, 2020). Additionally, from the physical aspects of the Rosetta Stone, we learn about the tools that ancient people used for communication. We also learn how the ancient people viewed various things, such as using a stone to pass information to their intended audience. Additionally, studying the Rosetta Stone concerning time is a unique piece of history that acts like a time machine, for it effortlessly takes us back in time when different cultures existed in Egypt based on the ability to have the three other languages (Milton, 2020). The carvings on the stone further paint a vivid picture of how people in Egypt lived during the time of King Ptolemy V. In summary, by profoundly exploring the Rosetta Stone, the message is based on the material and its physical form; it is not just a study of an ordinary stone. Still, it is an opportunity to explore the incredible world of ancient Egypt.

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Current Location and how it got there

Before diving deeper into the current location of the Rosetta Stone, it is essential to understand its origin. Initially, the stone was curved around 196 BCE (Regulski et al., 2020). The curving was in three different languages whose purpose was particular as per the guidance of the ruler of the time. From when it was curved up to when it was lost, according to scholars such as Blakeley, it is believed to have served its initial purpose (Gagnon, 2021). Approximately two hundred years later, the stone was rediscovered by Napoleon Bonaparte’s army in Egypt. The army in the military then excavated it near the town of Rashid, also referred to as Rosetta.