Paideia conducted an interview with philosopher and master sculptor Francisco Sánchez on the subject of the Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta Stone was discovered in Egypt in 1799 by Napoleon Bonaparte’s soldiers during his campaign against Britain in that country between 1798 and 1801. The famous slab remained silent until 1822, when the French scholar Jean François Champollion managed to decipher it.

Champollion had achieved nothing less than the key to reading the ancient Egyptian script. The Rosetta Stone contains a tribute to the good governance of the Pharaoh Ptolemy V the Illustrious engraved in three types of script; Greek, hieroglyphic and demotic.

When France lost the war, it was forced to hand over this jewel of incalculable archaeological value to Britain, which now displays it in the British Museum, where it is one of its most visited pieces.

Thanks to this discovery, a great step was taken towards bringing Egyptian civilisation closer to us. However, there is still an aura of mystery surrounding Ancient Egypt, and the Rosetta Stone in particular possesses a mysterious magnetism.