ROSETTA STONE. A bilingual stela of basalt inscribed in Egyp. (hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts, see [http://biblegateway/wiki/Egypt, Land of EGYPT]) and Gr., with a decree promulgated by the Egyp. priesthoods in honor of Ptolemy V Epiphanes in his 9th year, 196 b.c. The monument was unearthed in 1799 by a Lieutenant Bouchard of Napoleon’s army, when consolidating a fort near Rosetta (hence the name); after the British defeat of Napoleon’s forces, the Stone reached the British Museum in 1802. Along with an obelisk and its plinth from Philae (inscribed in Egyp. and Gr. respectively), the Stone’s bilingual text played a vital role in the initial decipherment of the ancient Egyp. writing systems attempted by Thomas Young (Britain) and Jean François Champollion (France) and achieved by Champollion. The latter’s brilliant success was confirmed by the Ger. Lepsius, and the way was opened into the entire written patrimony of ancient Egypt, covering 3000 years of history and civilization of the utmost value for the humanities in general, and Biblical background in particular.