Jean-Francois Champollion

196 B.C., 1822 A.D.

Sometimes progress happens when we rediscover something that has been lost. In 1799, a French engineer from Napoleon's invading army found a large slab of rock covered with indecipherable writing near the Egyptian city of Rosetta. They named the stone, logically enough, the Rosetta Stone. The artifact dated from 196 B.C. and had the same text written in three languages: classical Greek, demotic Egyptian script, and hieroglyphics. In 1822, a Frenchman named Jean-Francois Champollion was able to translate the hieroglyphics using the other two languages. This discovery provided the key to understanding Ancient Egyptian language, culture, and life.