Will the Rosetta Stone ever return to the place of its discovery? In any case, this is what a team of Egyptian archaeologists is asking for. In a petition, they address their Prime Minister to invite him to request the repatriation of the famous stela, as reported the echoes.
Because if it was found in Egypt by a French engineer in 1799, it is still preserved today in London, in the British Museum.
“The confiscation of the Rosetta Stone, among other artifacts, is an act of usurpation of Egyptian identity and cultural property, and is a direct result of colonial cultural violence against Egyptian cultural heritage,” say the scientific authors, who they believe that the same The presence of the object in the British Museum constitutes support for the colonial period.
Found in Egypt, returned to the English in 1801
Discovered by Frenchman Pierre-François-Xavier Bouchard during repair work on a Turkish fortress in Egypt in 1799, the Rosetta Stone was a precious find from the start, encrypted with mysterious symbols.
But in 1801 the French army, opposed to the British in Egypt, capitulated. The winners demand that several ancient pieces be handed over to them, including the stone, which now sits in the halls of London’s famous museum.
We will have to wait until 1822 for the Rosetta stone to reveal all its secrets, thanks to the long research of Jean-François Champollion, who manages to decipher it. This discovery will pave the way for the decipherment of hieroglyphs, making the object the symbol of a great scientific breakthrough.
“Making the Egyptians aware of what was taken from them”
So far, the Egyptian archaeologists’ petition has collected 2,500 signatures. This request is framed in a more global context of progressive restitution of cultural property by Western museums.
“I am sure that these objects will eventually be returned because the ethical code of museums changes, it is only a matter of time,” archaeologist Monica Hanna told Reuters.
The petition made today by Egyptian scientists also aims to “sensitize Egyptians about what has been taken from them, as well as put pressure on Western museums to return this spoils of war”, specifies Monica Hanna, this time with echoes.
Source: BFM TV
