The Rosetta Stone was found in July 1799, in the city of Rosetta (modern el Rashid). It was the key to deciphering the ancient Egyptian language in 1822. The stone was part of a larger stela written in 3 scripts, hieroglyphics, demotic and Ancient Greek.

It was taken by the French and then seized by the British in 1801 after the French army was defeated in Egypt and housed at the British Museum. Zahi Hawass have called many times for it's return as it was illegally taken outside of the country during colonial times and for its symbolic value to Egypt, Egyptians, and Egyptologists!

Today, the Rosetta Stone, which measures about 44 inches tall and 30 inches wide, is housed in the British Museum in London, where it’s been since 1802, except for a temporary re-location for safekeeping during World War I to an off-site, underground spot. There have been repeated calls for it to be repatriated to Egypt.

We demand the return of the Rosetta Stone to its homeland!