The British Seize the Rosetta Stone

In 1798, Napoleon conquered Egypt, claiming it for France and bringing in teams of archaeologists and historians to the region.  They uncovered manuscripts, statues, monuments and other treasures but were unable to read the Hieroglyphic script of the ancient Egyptians.  Later that year, a French Army engineer discovered a stone with apparently the same text copied in three scripts: Hieratic (an ancestor of Coptic), Greek, and Egyptian hieroglyphic. This was the Rosetta Stone, so named after the place where it was found.  The French sent it to the Institut de l’Égypte, an institution established by Napoleon, where it arrived in August 1799. After Napoleon returned to France in 1799, 167 scholars (savants) remained behind with his troops who temporarily held off British and Ottoman attacks. These scholars recognized the importance of the stone, even if they had not yet cracked the code.

The French situation in Egypt proved untenable.  On March 1801, the British landed near Cairo and laid siege to the city.  Savants carried the Stone from Cairo to Alexandria, where it joined other pieces the French had stowed away.  The British general who had Cairo surrounded, John Hely-Hutchinson, 2nd Earl of Donoughmore, refused to relieve that city until the French agreed to hand over the artifacts of Egyptian heritage, foremost among them the Stone, among other demands.  The French initially balked, claiming that they belonged to the Institut.  However, they were forced to agree as Cairo fell on the 27th of June and Alexandria capitulated on August 30.

Hutchinson immediately dispatched a team of English scholars to monitor the French compliance with their promise and to ascertain what pieces of history the British would claim.  The head of this expedition was Edward Daniel Clarke, who searched the collections in Alexandria and found many artifacts that the French had not revealed.  Hutchinson claimed all materials as property of the British Crown under Article XVI of the treaty of capitulation.

Clarke was a civilian, a noted traveler and scientist, who chronicled his adventures around the world in his book Travels in Various Countries, which includes a detailed account of his work in Alexandria.  Per Hutchinson’s orders, he arrived there on September 9, 1801, at which point he began to investigate the archives.  On the 11th, as he writes in his book, he met with French general DeMenou, who, while agreeing to readily hand over many antiquities, stopped short of offering the Stone.  “The valuable tablet, he maintained, was ‘his private property’ and therefore as exempt from requisition as ‘the linen of his wardrobe or his embroidered saddles.’”  Thus did he attempt to maintain French control of the Stone. Clarke made clear that he was “about to return to Lord Hutchinson and wished to obey the orders he had received for copying the inscription [on the Stone].”  It remained at that point “carefully concealed” by the French. DeMenou put his comments to Clarke in a short note to Hutchinson, “to which his Lordship disdained making any reply, transmitting only a verbal message, cautioning him to… obey the conditions proposed for the surrender of Alexandria.”

Colonel Tomkyns Hilgrove Turner had fought at the seige of Cairo and was Clarke’s military equivalent in Alexandria.  Hutchinson sent Turner to enforce the terms of the surrender and aid Clarke in obtaining the Stone.  On September 12, “the Rosetta Tablet was taken from a warehouse… and surrendered to us [Turner and Clarke] by a French officer… in the streets of Alexandria.” (Turner claimed he personally seized it from DeMenou.)  This same officer warned Turner and Clarke that the French savants and soldiers could sabotage the British plans by destroying the Stone if it remained exposed for too long.

That day, Clarke relayed his concerns over the safety of the Stone to Hutchinson, who responded with this very letter, ordering that not only the Stone but all objects be taken to a safe location, securing them for the British.  He also requested what would have been the first transcription of the Stone while in British hands.

Autograph Letter Signed, Headquarters, September 13, 1801, to Clarke.  “I shall be very much obliged to you to copy the inscription from the Stone.  I send you the former copy which you say is inaccurate.  Tell Colonel Turner that not only the Stone but every thing which we get from the French should be deposited in some place of security. I do not regard much the threats of the French savants.  It is better however not to trust them.  Have you heard of any more Coptic or Arabic manuscripts?”

Though the British would claim 15 antiques in all, the gem was the Rosetta Stone.  In February 1802, Turner personally escorted it to Portsmouth, England aboard the captured French frigate L’Egyptienne. On March 11, it was presented to the Society of Antiquaries of London. Later it was taken to the British Museum, where it remains today. White painted inscriptions on the artifact state “Captured in Egypt by the British Army in 1801” on the left side and “Presented by King George III” on the right.  This letter was likely the first acknowledgement of that capture and constitutes the order to secure the Stone in British possession.

The Egyptian Hieroglyphic on the Rosetta Stone would not be fully translated until 1824, when Jean-François Champollion, using his knowledge of Greek and Coptic, cracked the code and opened up a world of Egyptian history, allowing for the translation and understanding of the texts on ancient monuments and tombs. It is the most important ancient artifact ever found.

In July 2003, Egypt demanded the return of the Rosetta Stone. Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo, told the press: “If the British want to…restore their reputation, they should volunteer to return the Rosetta Stone because it is the icon of our Egyptian identity.” In 2005, Hawass was negotiating for a three-month loan, with the eventual goal of a permanent return. Instead, in November 2005, the British Museum sent him a replica of the Stone.