

01 Tomb Raiders, Codebreakers, and the Discovery of Antiquity (Rosetta Stone, Cuneiform, Linear B)
13 snips Sep 24, 2016
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Rosetta Stone Soldier Discovery
- The Rosetta Stone was discovered by a common soldier during Napoleon's Egyptian campaign.
- Its unique trilingual inscriptions enabled scholars to finally decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Champollion’s Coptic Key
- Champollion succeeded by learning Coptic, a direct descendant of ancient Egyptian.
- This gave him the key to fully decipher hieroglyphics and unlock Egyptian texts.
Grotefend's Cuneiform Bet
- Georg Grotefend cracked the first step in reading cuneiform after a bet at a bar.
- He identified king names in inscriptions by comparing with known Persian history.