Essay On The Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone was found in a small delta village called Rashid which is known to Europeans as Rosetta. The stone is a black slab that is now called granodiorite. The stone is over a meter high, 28cm thick and weighs over three-quarters of a ton. On the face of the stone there are three scripts engraved onto it: Greek, demotic and hieroglyphs. Interestingly enough, upon translation the three scripts are found to say the same thing but with slight variations. Napoleon’s army originally found the stone but surrendered it to the British once being defeated at the Battle of the Nile by Admiral Nelson in 1801. The stone being taken during war does not give the British the right to keep it. The stone should be returned to Egypt due to simple ethical reasoning. If Britain were to hand the stone over to Egypt, this would not be the first time war spoils have been returned to their rightful owner. Agreements have been made …show more content…

Once the British and Ottoman allied troops defeated the French on Egyptian soil, terms of surrender were written for France by Britain. “The Articles of Capitulation of Alexandria, signed in 1801 was the result: Article 16 stipulated that all treasures recovered by the French in their three-year stay were to be handed over to the British (“Returning the Rosetta..” Downs).” This is how the Rosetta Stone found its way into Britain where it has been held on display since 1802.
The Ottomans also had some foul play in the final verdict of where the artifact would rest. They came to help the British in 1801 while also having ulterior motives of putting to rest the out of control Egyptian Mameluke governors. Weeks after the French surrendered, Kapudan Pasha put into action a plan coined “murder of the Beys.” He invited many important Mameluke leaders of Cairo to join him in Alexandria. They were to celebrate Ottoman goodwill. Downs tells the story of Ottoman