Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How did the Rosetta Stone help scholars understand ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Ptolemaic dynasty
Head of a queen, marble sculpture possibly made in Egypt, Ptolemaic period (305–30 bce); in the Brooklyn Museum, New York. 14 × 12 × 11.5 cm.
The Rosetta Stone served as a vital key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics because it contained the same decree inscribed in three different scripts: hieroglyphics, demotic script, and the Greek alphabet.1
By comparing the Greek text with the Egyptian versions, scholars were able to unlock the meaning of the symbols. Key contributions included:12
- Thomas Young: He identified cartouches as royal names, specifically that of Ptolemy V Epiphanes, and determined that the direction in which animal and bird characters faced indicated how the text should be read.1
- Jean-François Champollion: Building on this work, he established a comprehensive list of signs and their Greek equivalents. He was the first to recognize that the system was a complex mix of alphabetic, syllabic, and determinative signs.12
Ultimately, these efforts proved that the hieroglyphic text was a translation from the Greek, providing the essential foundation for translating all future Egyptian texts.1