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You are here: Home / History / Who found the Rosetta Stone near Alexandria, Egypt in 1799?

Who found the Rosetta Stone near Alexandria, Egypt in 1799?

February 9, 2020 by Karen Hill

A group of French engineers from Napoleon’s army found the Rosetta Stone near Alexandria, Egypt.

In 1799, they were getting ready to demolish an ancient wall outside Rosetta, a city near Alexandria, Egypt.

They stumbled upon a carved stone which, because it had the same message in three ancient languages, ended up becoming the key to translating Egyptian hieroglyphics.

It just goes to show that it’s not always the archaeologists and explorers who make the most significant finds—in fact, it’s often just some nobody who happens to be in the right place at the right time.

For example, the discoverer of the Dead Sea Scrolls was a simple herdsman looking for a lost goat.

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Filed Under: History

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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