What message did the inscription on the Rosetta stone contain?

The Rosetta Stone is a rock stele, found in 1799, inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion is Demotic script, and the lowest is Ancient Greek. Because it presents essentially the same text in all three scripts (with some minor differences among them), the stone provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

However, although this key was obviously very useful to modern-day Egyptologists, it was not the message of the inscription. The complete text, in English, is about 1600–1700 words in length. The text on the Rosetta Stone is a tax relief given to the temple priests. It gives them back the tax privileges they had earlier.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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62 Comments

Gery Tillmanns

I believe this is an incorrect answer. The text in the first paragraph says "the stone provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs.". How can this be wrong?

William Laughlin

Gery Tillmanns, The stone is not intended as a language lesson. The message is about tax status. Because the message is written in 3 ways, it has BECOME a tool in helping to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics. The question specifically asks about the message.

stormejohn

I've seen it, couldn't read any of it, I guess you could sat that it was all Greek to me.

fdeisner

Choosing the answer of "The code to translate Egyptian hieroglyphs" and getting marked as a wrong answer I researched it and found this out. According to the Britishmuseum.org What is the Rosetta Stone? The Rosetta Stone is one of the most famous objects in the British Museum. But what is it? The Stone is a broken part of a bigger stone slab. It has a message carved into it, written in three types of writing. It was an important clue that helped experts learn to read Egyptian hieroglyphs (Opens in new window) (a writing system that used pictures as signs). Unfortunately I find Wikipedia is not always accurate and there are much better places to get information depending on the question or needed information. How did this past review?

elizawheeler

I believe the answer is incorrect.

Chris Brown

Not quite. I think it is something about the priests supporting the Pharaoh. Here is what I found: The message, inscribed on the Rosetta Stone in 196 BC, is a decree (an official message) about Pharaoh Ptolemy V. It says that the priests at the temple in Memphis, Egypt, supported the Pharaoh. It translates as a bit of a list of all of the good things Pharaoh Ptolemy V did for the priests and the people of Egypt Image result for What message did the inscription on the Rosetta stone contain? What does the inscription actually say? The inscription on the Rosetta Stone is a decree passed by a council of priests. It is one of a series that affirm the royal cult of the 13-year-old Ptolemy V (Opens in a new window) on the first anniversary of his coronation (in 196 BC).

Richard D. Boyle

The key word being “message.”

Lynda Walsh Vanderkooi

This is wrong I agree with you Grey!

starrkool

Wow! That answer was helpful...NOT! I wanted to know the actual words that was written on the bloody stone. Does anyone have the English translation of the actual words on the Rosetta tone?

Andrew Allan

It was the decree establishing the religious cult of the new morcah not a tax reform

Sean Philips

The question doesn’t ask what is it USED for - it asks what the MESSAGE said. Ffs read the question - the answer is correct.

Josephine Scoggins Brown

I believe the answer I gave to be right. Many others think likewise.

Angela Wales Kirgo

Well, the Memphis Decree on the stone was about much more than tax exempt status for the temple priests. A bit of a trick question, really.

Gary Brown

I concur with Gery...https://quizzclub.com/trivia/what-television-show-is-considered-the-unofficial-pilot-for-rod-serling-s-original-twilight-zone-series/