An oval ring enclosing a royal name

Rosetta Stone Quiz: Three Scripts That Unlocked Hieroglyphs

This rosetta stone quiz studies a broken slab covered in three kinds of writing. Play 10 interactive questions on its discovery by French soldiers in 1799, a decree of Ptolemy V from 196 BC, hieroglyphic, Demotic and Ancient Greek texts, Thomas Young's early work, Jean-François Champollion's breakthrough in 1822 and its home in the British Museum.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Found
When was the Rosetta Stone found?
Who
Who found it?
Where
Where was it found?
Scripts
Which three scripts appear on the stone?
Decree
Whose decree does the stone record?
Greek
Why was the Greek section so important?
Champ
Who announced the decipherment of hieroglyphs in 1822?
Young
Which British scholar made early progress?
Museum
Where is the Rosetta Stone displayed?
Cart
What is a cartouche?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: When was the Rosetta Stone found?
Answer: 1799
During Napoleon's campaign.
Q2: Who found it?
Answer: French soldiers
Rebuilding a fort.
Q3: Where was it found?
Answer: Near Rosetta in the Nile Delta
The town is called Rashid.
Q4: Which three scripts appear on the stone?
Answer: Hieroglyphic, Demotic and Ancient Greek
One decree, three ways.
Q5: Whose decree does the stone record?
Answer: Ptolemy V
From 196 BC.
Q6: Why was the Greek section so important?
Answer: Scholars could read it
It gave the meaning.
Q7: Who announced the decipherment of hieroglyphs in 1822?
Answer: Jean-François Champollion
A French scholar.
Q8: Which British scholar made early progress?
Answer: Thomas Young
He studied the cartouches.
Q9: Where is the Rosetta Stone displayed?
Answer: The British Museum
In London since 1802.
Q10: What is a cartouche?
Answer: An oval ring enclosing a royal name
Key to decoding names.

Three Scripts, One Decree

In 1799, French soldiers rebuilding a fort near Rosetta, or Rashid, in the Nile Delta found a broken slab of stone. It records a decree of Ptolemy V from 196 BC, written three times: in hieroglyphic, in Demotic, an everyday Egyptian script, and in Ancient Greek.

Because scholars could read Greek, the stone offered a key to the Egyptian scripts. Thomas Young made early progress, studying cartouches, the ovals around royal names. In 1822 Jean-François Champollion announced that he had deciphered hieroglyphs, showing they combined sounds and ideas.

After the British defeated French forces in Egypt, the stone was taken to London, and it has been displayed in the British Museum since 1802. It remains one of the museum's most visited objects.

What This Quiz Teaches

History fans will enjoy these questions.

When it was found
What it says
Which scripts it has
Who decoded it
Where it is now

Did You Know?

The stone is made of granodiorite.
Parts of the stone are missing.
Rosetta now means a key to understanding.
Egypt has asked for its return.
Visitors crowd around it daily.