Napoleon’s Soldiers in 1799 Found a Wall Slab in Egypt and Decoded Lost Hieroglyphs

The key was a Greek version hiding in plain sight

In 1799, French soldiers repairing a fort wall in Egypt uncovered the Rosetta Stone by chance. The slab carried the same royal decree written in three scripts: hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Greek. Because Greek was already understood, scholars could match meanings and finally crack how ancient Egyptian writing worked, reshaping history and archaeology.