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The first full account of the English acquisition of the Rosetta Stone in 1801
“A real-life story of intrigue, sacrifice and distrust in a country at war—the first complete account of the stone itself.”—Ancient Egypt
In 1798, young French general Napoleon Bonaparte entered Egypt with a veteran army and a specialist group of savants—scientists, engineers, and artists—his aim being not just conquest, but the rediscovery of the lost Nile kingdom. A year later, in the ruins of an old fort in the small port of Rosetta, the savants made a startling discovery: a large, flat stone, inscribed in Greek, demotic Egyptian, and ancient hieroglyphics. This was the Rosetta Stone, key to the two-thousand-year mystery of hieroglyphs, and to Egypt itself. Two years later, French forces retreated before the English and Ottoman armies, but would not give up the stone. Caught between the opposing generals at the siege of Alexandria, British special agents went in to find the Rosetta Stone, rescue the French savants, and secure a fragile peace treaty.
Discovery at Rosetta uses French, Egyptian, and English eyewitness accounts to tell the complete story of the discovery, decipherment, and capture of the Rosetta Stone, investigating the rivalries and politics of the time, and the fate of the stone today.
“A real-life story of intrigue, sacrifice and distrust in a country at war—the first complete account of the stone itself.”—Ancient Egypt
“A cracking good read.”—Professor Richard Holmes
“A skillfully written, entertaining, and factual account of the stone’s origins.” —Professor Zahi Hawass
“Downs tells an engrossing story full of larger-than-life and sometimes simply wacky characters.”—Publishers Weekly
“Colorful”—Kirkus Reviews
“This latest recounting of the 1799 discovery of the Rosetta Stone—the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics—focuses less on the decoding itself and more on the French invasion of Egypt that led to the discovery and the military and cultural battle with Britain that followed. British military historian Downs tells an engrossing story full of larger-than-life and sometimes simply wacky characters, led to Egypt by Napoleon. Among them were dozens of scholars, artists and scientists who produced an explosion of knowledge on both ancient Egyptian and later Islamic culture. The invasion itself ended in disaster when Admiral Nelson's armada destroyed the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile. Napoleon returned to France; his army, left to wither from heat, disease and deprivation, surrendered to Britain in 1801. Much of the book concerns clumsy French efforts to avoid turning over their artifacts, including the Rosetta stone, to the victors. Downs takes an original tack to this well-known story with a straightforward, dramatic account of the 1,500-pound stone from its discovery until its arrival at the British Museum, where it rests today. ”—Publishers Weekly