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Product Description
Review
"'[Ray] successfully captures the West's fascination with Egypt. Always the master of his subject, he entertains rather than lectures.' Sunday Times 'Highly readable...Professor Ray takes us on an ancient journey from this sunset of the ancient Egyptian world.' BBC History Magazine 'With personal anecdotes and a pithy way with historical narrative...[Ray] entirely succeeds in claiming the Rosetta Stone as a wonder of the world.' Herald"
Book Description
The Rosetta Stone has been in the British Museum for 200 years and is the single most visited object in the entire collection. A pharaoh's forgotten decree, recorded in 3 scripts, the stone is the key to the lost hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt, a mystery which had intrigued men of science since the end of the Roman empire.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Fascinating,
By J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Rosetta Stone and the Rebirth of Ancient Egypt (Wonders of the World) (Hardcover)
I knew little about the Rosetta Stone other than what I had learned in school many years ago. Every schoolchild learns that the Rosetta Stone, found in 1799 along the Nile delta, had the same text in three different languages -- Egyptian hieroglyphics, Egyptian demotic (the language of the people), and Greek -- that allowed scholars to, for the first time, decipher Egyptian hierglyphics, thus making it possible to read all the already-found (and subsequently-found) hieroglyphic texts that up to that time had simply not been decipherable. This made possible, really, the study of ancient Egypt as never before, and indeed the whole field of Egyptology. John Ray, professor of Egyptology at Cambridge, writes a fascinating history of the Stone, its discovery, early attempts at deciphering it, the partial success of Thomas Young and the final decipherment by Jean-Francois Champollion. He also gives a history of Greek occupation of Egypt leading up to the creation of the Rosetta Stone in 196 BC early in the reign of Ptolemy V. And he addresses the question of who really owns these treasures of antiquity such as the Stone, the Elgin Marbles and so on. He also gives his own translation of the actual Rosetta Stone text.
Part of what makes this book so compulsively readable is Ray's dry sense of humor. He sneaks in wry comments in the most unexpected places and I found myself chuckling frequently. The book, intended for the general reader, is never guilty of talking down and for that one can be thankful. Recommended. Scott Morrison
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Helpful Book,
By
This review is from: The Rosetta Stone: and the Rebirth of Ancient Egypt (Wonders of the World) (Paperback)
I used this book to write an essay about the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and how it changed our understanding of Egypt and I found it extremely useful.
It was both informative and easy to read, without being patronising. The author's style of writing was easy to follow and understand and it was packed with lots of useful information. I highly recommend this book to anyone from those with an interest in Ancient Egypt to those at undergraduate university level.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.9 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews) 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Fascinating,
By J Scott Morrison - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Rosetta Stone and the Rebirth of Ancient Egypt (Wonders of the World) (Hardcover)
I knew little about the Rosetta Stone other than what I had learned in school many years ago. Every schoolchild learns that the Rosetta Stone, found in 1799 along the Nile delta, had the same text in three different languages -- Egyptian hieroglyphics, Egyptian demotic (the language of the people), and Greek -- that allowed scholars to, for the first time, decipher Egyptian hierglyphics, thus making it possible to read all the already-found (and subsequently-found) hieroglyphic texts that up to that time had simply not been decipherable. This made possible, really, the study of ancient Egypt as never before, and indeed the whole field of Egyptology. John Ray, professor of Egyptology at Cambridge, writes a fascinating history of the Stone, its discovery, early attempts at deciphering it, the partial success of Thomas Young and the final decipherment by Jean-Francois Champollion. He also gives a history of Greek occupation of Egypt leading up to the creation of the Rosetta Stone in 196 BC early in the reign of Ptolemy V. And he addresses the question of who really owns these treasures of antiquity such as the Stone, the Elgin Marbles and so on. He also gives his own translation of the actual Rosetta Stone text.
Part of what makes this book so compulsively readable is Ray's dry sense of humor. He sneaks in wry comments in the most unexpected places and I found myself chuckling frequently. The book, intended for the general reader, is never guilty of talking down and for that one can be thankful. Recommended. Scott Morrison 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Lay-level History,
By J. Sajdak - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Rosetta Stone and the Rebirth of Ancient Egypt (Wonders of the World) (Hardcover)
Engaging story of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, the battles for possession, the efforts to decode it, and the rebirth of Egyptian history that followed. It's a story full of interesting characters and plot twists. As a linguist, I might have enjoyed more detail on the actual decoding, but it was a delightful read.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Key To Understanding A Lost Culture,
By Chuck Brooks "President, FutureWare SCG" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Rosetta Stone and the Rebirth of Ancient Egypt (Wonders of the World) (Hardcover)
The story of the Rosetta Stone's role in recovering the splendor of Pharaonic Egypt in its own words is generally well known, at least in outline. This delightful book by an eminent expert in the field provides a very readable wealth of context and detail, from the Stone's original purpose and creation, to its current repository at the British Museum. The accidental discovery of the stone by Napoleon's troops is highlighted by the struggle for the Stone's possession. The decipherment story is very much like a mystery novel, with large egos and intense competition among the international contenders. The author makes clear that Champollion certainly was the clear winner. The challenge has aspects that reach into the nature of human intelligence and communication, and while others may provide pieces and hints without complete explanations, the `aha' moment of insight is singularly personal. This is something the author has direct knowledge of in his solution of the unreadable Carian script that also had a home in Egypt. Although a small book, the nine chapters are complemented by the Stone's text, along with an extensive reading list for those wanting more specific details over a wide range of topics and references.
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