14 July 24

The Rosetta Stone was discovered in Egypt on 15 July 1799, a momentous event in languages and linguistics! My tie is covered with Egyptian hieroglyphs from this inscription-bearing rock originating around 196 BCE. The Rosetta inscriptions record a long Ptolemaic decree in three written languages. 

The correlation of the texts allowed linguists in modern times to decode many ancient Egyptian texts. The top and middle texts are in Ancient Egyptian using hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts respectively, while the bottom is in Ancient Greek.

The rock was eventually used as building material in the construction of Fort Julien near the town of Rashid (Rosetta) in the Nile Delta. It was discovered there in July 1799 by French officer Pierre-François Bouchard during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt. When the British defeated the French they took the stone to London under the Capitulation of Alexandria in 1801. It has been on public display at the British Museum almost continuously since 1802 and is the most visited object there. 

Maybe I will get to see it in person sometime.