The Rosetta Stone, just like the Koh-i-Noor diamond we discussed a few episodes back, is a hot button repatriation issue.

What do you think: should the Rosetta Stone be returned to Egypt or kept at the British Museum? 🤔

Transcript

The Rosetta Stone is currently located at the British Museum. There is a huge problem with the fact that the have the Rosetta Stone. The Stone is significant because it helped us decipher Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.

So, what happened, though, is that in 1799, on one of Napoleon’s campaigns throughout Egypt, they stumbled upon this stele.

This was then packaged up, stolen from Egypt, and then taken to France. In 1802, it was then gifted to the British Museum.

Like with the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is being asked for by the people of India, the Rosetta Stone is being asked for by the Egyptian people. The British Museum, though, has stated and stands by their statement that the Egyptian government has never asked for the stele’s return.

The currently petition that’s circulating amongst archaeologists not only asks for the return of the Rosetta Stone, but also 16 other artifacts that were either illegally or unethically removed from Egypt.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here.