In 1798, young French general Napoleon Bonaparte entered Egypt with a veteran army and a specialist group of savants-scientists, engineers, and artists-his aim being not just conquest, but the rediscovery of the lost Nile kingdom. A year later, in the ruins of an old fort in the small port of Rosetta, the savants made a startling discovery: a large, flat stone, inscribed in Greek, demotic Egyptian, and ancient hieroglyphics. This was the Rosetta Stone, key to the two-thousand-year mystery of hieroglyphs, and to Egypt itself. Two years later, French forces retreated before the English and Ottoman armies, but would not give up the stone. Caught between the opposing generals at the siege of Alexandria, British special agents went in to find the Rosetta Stone, rescue the French savants, and secure a fragile peace treaty. Discovery at Rosetta uses French, Egyptian, and English eyewitness accounts to tell the complete story of the discovery, decipherment, and capture of the Rosetta Stone, investigating the rivalries and politics of the time, and the fate of the stone today.

The first full account of the English acquisition of the Rosetta Stone in 1801.

About the Author
Jonathan Downs is an editor, lecturer, and journalist. He is the author of The Industrial Revolution, Britain 1770-1810 (2010), co-author of Sea-Soldier (2000), and has written for the printed press and periodicals such as History Today.

Reviews
Downs tells an engrossing story full of larger-than-life and sometimes simply wacky characters. * Publishers Weekly *
A real-life story of intrigue, sacrifice and distrust in a country at war-the first complete account of the stone itself. * Ancient Egypt *
A cracking good read. * Professor Richard Holmes *
A skillfully written, entertaining, and factual account of the stone's origins. * Professor Zahi Hawass *



Book Information
ISBN 9789774169267
Author Jonathan Downs
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint The American University in Cairo Press
Publisher The American University in Cairo Press