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The [[Rosetta Stone]], discovered in 1799 by members of [[Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt]], bore a [[parallel text]] in hieroglyphic, demotic and [[Ancient Greek|Greek]]. It was hoped that the Egyptian text could be deciphered through its Greek translation, especially in combination with the evidence from the [[Coptic language]], the last stage of the [[Egyptian language]]. Doing so proved difficult, despite halting progress made by [[Antoine-Isaac Silvestre de Sacy]] and [[Johan David Åkerblad]]. Young, building on their work, observed that demotic characters were derived from hieroglyphs and identified several of the phonetic signs in demotic. He also identified the meaning of many hieroglyphs, including phonetic [[glyphs]] in a [[cartouche]] containing the name of an Egyptian king of foreign origin, [[Ptolemy V]]. He was convinced, however, that phonetic hieroglyphs were used only in writing non-Egyptian words. In the early 1820s Champollion compared Ptolemy's cartouche with others and realised the hieroglyphic script was a mixture of phonetic and ideographic elements. His claims were initially met with scepticism and with accusations that he had taken ideas from Young without giving credit, but they gradually gained acceptance. Champollion went on to roughly identify the meanings of most phonetic hieroglyphs and establish much of the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Egyptian. Young, meanwhile, largely deciphered demotic using the Rosetta Stone in combination with other Greek and demotic parallel texts.
Decipherment efforts languished after Young's death in 1829 and Champollion's in 1832, but in 1837 [[Karl Richard Lepsius]] pointed out that many hieroglyphs represented combinations of two or three sounds rather than one, thus correcting one of the most fundamental faults in Champollion's work. Other scholars, such as [[Emmanuel de Rougé]], refined the understanding of Egyptian enough that by the 1850s it was possible to fully translate ancient Egyptian texts. Combined with the [[decipherment of
The decipherment provided access to a wealth of historical and cultural knowledge from ancient Egypt. It contributed to [[comparative linguistics]], helping trace linguistic roots and relationships while the global fascination with Egypt influenced various aspects of art and culture. This breakthrough also enhanced archaeological interpretations and led to the development of [[Egyptology]] as a distinct discipline.
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