Which ancient stone slab discovered in 1799 bore the same administrative decree inscribed in three distinct scripts (Hieroglyphic, Demotic, and Ancient Greek), enabling Jean-Francois Champollion to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1822?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. The Rosetta Stone
- Step 1: The Rosetta Stone, found at Rashid (Rosetta) in 1799 by French soldiers, contains a bilingual decree issued at Memphis in 196 BCE by Ptolemy V.
- Step 2: Because Ancient Greek was understood, French scholar Jean-François Champollion used the royal cartouches of Ptolemy and Cleopatra to unravel the phonetic and ideographic principles of hieroglyphic writing in 1822.
Answer
The Rosetta Stone.
Why not the others: 'The Palermo Stone' is an Old Kingdom royal annals inscription; 'The Narmer Palette' depicts the unification of Egypt; 'The Merneptah Stele' records victories in Canaan and Libya.
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