- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
- China economy hopes boost global equities
- Ubisoft shares sink after 'Assassin's Creed' delay
- German economy to shrink again in 2024: think tanks
British Museum hails Rosetta Stone's role in cracking hieroglyphs
The Rosetta Stone stars in a new exhibition opening Thursday at the British Museum marking one of the most significant dates in Egyptology -- 200 years after a French scholar finally cracked its code and deciphered hieroglyphs.
The exhibition comes with the British Museum under pressure from some Egyptologists to hand the Rosetta Stone back to Cairo at a time when UK institutions are beginning to return to other countries artefacts looted during the colonial era.
Once seen as magical symbols unrelated to spoken language, Egyptian hieroglyphs were swathed in mystery for centuries until philologist Jean-Francois Champollion cracked their meaning in 1822.
French troops had discovered the stone in the walls of an Egyptian fort in 1799 and gave it to British forces as part of a surrender agreement. The British Museum has displayed it since 1802.
The basalt slab dating from 196 BC was so crucial because it has inscriptions of identical meaning in three languages: hieroglyphs, an ancient Egyptian vernacular script called Demotic and Ancient Greek, which provided the translation key.
"We decided because the Rosetta Stone was such an important key to that decipherment that we will do this properly: with an exhibition that also features our star objects," said Ilona Regulski, curator of Egyptian written culture at the museum.
"It's a wonderful moment to celebrate."
Yet the anniversary exhibition is controversial to some.
Egyptian archaeologist and former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass recently released a petition for the return of the stone and other foreign-held treasures he considers "stolen".
The British Museum told AFP that Egypt has never made a formal request for the Rosetta Stone's return.
- 'Muddied legacy' -
Regulski added that it was a "universal object" and "it doesn't really matter where it is, as long as it's available to people".
Activists from a group called Culture Unstained protested in the museum on Tuesday calling for Cairo to release political prisoners including British activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, and criticising sponsorship by BP oil giant.
The exhibition, "Hieroglyphs: unlocking ancient Egypt" tracks hieroglyphs' fall into obscurity after Egyptians switched to other forms of script.
It explores the rich discoveries about life in ancient Egypt that came from unlocking the symbols.
"For the first time in 3,000 years, Ancient Egyptians spoke directly to us," the museum's director Hartwig Fischer said.
The exhibition does acknowledge attempts by non-Europeans to grasp the symbols but focuses on the race between Western scholars to crack the code.
"Our travellers... went to Egypt and were amazed by all these intriguing picture-like signs on the temple walls," said Regulski.
This led to their "interpretation as magical signs, as secret knowledge, the idea that if you would be able to decipher hieroglyphs, you will understand the meaning of everything."
Champollion was the first to fully grasp the logic of hieroglyphs, outdoing an English rival, Thomas Young, who was in correspondence with him.
The exhibition suggests the French scholar has a "muddied legacy", however, and "often relied on the work of others", including Young.
It also depicts the more bizarre side of Egyptology including special events where enthusiasts unwrapped a mummified body and took lengths of bandages home as souvenirs.
Y.Ibrahim--CPN