Egyptian archaeologists call for British Museum to return Rosetta stone
Egyptian archaeologists have launched campaigns to reclaim the Rosetta stone from the British Museum 200 years after it was deciphered.
A group of Egyptian archaeologists launched in mid-September a public campaign to reclaim the Rosetta stone from the British Museum, which it acquired under the Treaty of Alexandria in 1801. The campaign coincides with the 200th anniversary of the deciphering of the Rosetta stone, which opened the door to the emergence of Egyptology.
The Rosetta stone is a black granite stele (slab) dating back to 196 B.C., bearing a text written in hieroglyphic, demotic and ancient Greek. It was discovered in 1799 during the French campaign against Egypt.
