Based on an ancient artifact housed at the British Museum, London. 203 B.C.

When the last temple was closed in the 6th century A.D., the skill
of reading hieroglyphs was lost until the discovery of this slab of
basalt stone found at Rosetta in the western delta in 1779. On the
stone are three scripts. The bottom section is in Greek, the center
in demotic (popular script originated in the XXVI dynasty, 700-600
B.C. and widely used for the next thousand years.), and the top in
hieroglyphs. The stone was first set up in a temple. It was an
elaborate “thank you” to the Greek ruler of Egypt, Ptolemy V, who
reigned in the 2nd century B.C., for favors that he had given to the
priests. The three scripts contained the same text, allowing the
hieroglyphs to be translated. French archaeologist, Jean-Francois
Champollion spent many years deciphering the symbols of the Rosetta
stone. Champollions work in the Rosetta stone was an important
breakthrough in the translation of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Product SKU: E-029K