Rosetta Stone (1799)

The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799 by French soldiers in Egypt, is one of archaeology's most significant finds. This granodiorite slab, inscribed with a 196 BC decree in three scripts (Greek, Demotic, and Hieroglyphic), provided the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Jean-François Champollion's 1822 breakthrough translation unlocked millennia of Egyptian history. Originally displayed in a temple, then reused as building material, the 1,680-pound stone has been housed in the British Museum since 1802, where it remains the most visited artifact, revolutionizing our understanding of ancient civilizations.