Mysterious Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone replica is now being exhibited at the National Cryptologic Museum, right next to the National Security Agency (Ft. Meade, MD). Dr. Freeman has spoken at a number of events at NSA -- some sponsored by the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation -- about the Rosetta Stone and its impact on Cryptology

Anyone interested in archaeology,
Egyptology, cryptology, publishing,
IT security, geology, science, writing,
mathematics, translation work and/or
languages understands the
significance of this famous artifact.

The “Rosetta Stone," as it is known, has become a metaphor...
                                                                                               ...a metaphor for anything that is important to the process of decryption or the unraveling of a complex problem -- cracking a code of some sort. Perhaps even a universal metaphor for hope, creativity and perseverance for many who are trying to learn a new language, attempting to solve a relational puzzle, or seeking to decipher the cryptic issues of these tough economic times. Or, let's look at it from another perspective -- What if we have been able to "crack the code" to the development of what some might call the Rosetta Stone of replicas?

ATTENTION: C-SUITE decision-makers in major companies.
I am ready to email you a rather unique proposal for corporate sponsorship -- "The Mysterious Rosetta Stone" educational traveling exhibit for 7 years throughout America (6,000 sq.ft., 3 venues per year). Over $5M worth of branding and marketing at a fraction of the cost. Giant marketing footprint. We'll connect your company's brand to the rich history and drama surrounding the iconic Rosetta Stone. 

The Rosetta Stone is much more than a roughly gouged, nicked rock that appears like it was shoved down the side of a mountain -- it is the key to an ancient civilization and a modern symbol of human discovery, conquest, and scholarship.

Even if you are quite knowledgeable about the Rosetta Stone, perhaps you will learn some new things by the time you have finished reading this page. Plus, you just might know of someone who may want to own a stunning, museum-quality replica (45" tall x 30" wide x 11" thick, 95 lbs, 1:1) of the Rosetta Stone. You'll see the comparison between the real thing and the replica below, along with six distinctive & distinguishing features of this project. Review the eight innovations of the Rosetta Stone below, including a planned 3-D holographic image. You'll be pleasantly surprised. But first, let's take a step back in time...

The Rosetta Stone was/is an irregularly shaped slab of granodiorite rock weighing about 1,700 pounds. The face has 14 lines of hieroglyphs (It is estimated that there were 29 lines prior to breakage), 32 lines of cursive Demotic, and, at the bottom, 54 lines of ancient Greek (language introduced after the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great). All proclaim the same message (feel free to read it later).

Historian, Richard Moore states, "The French attempt to exert influence over Egypt was due to economics, a political need to weaken Britain and the personal needs of General Napoleon Bonaparte, who saw the shadow of unemployment - and a loss of influence - looming as his armies in Italy were nearing the end of their successful struggles against Austria. Having seen the benefits of Britain's profitable colonies, France's Directory listened to Bonaparte's idea to invade Egypt, expel the ruling Marmalukes and establish a modern style of government friendly toward French ways."

The Napoleonic Egyptian Campaign started in 1798. In 1799, as French soldiers were preparing to build the foundation for Fort Julian (later known as Fort Rashid) on the West Bank of the Nile, the soldiers found the Rosetta Stone (see photo above). That village, called Rashid, was translated as “Rosetta;” hence the name.

The Greek text was quickly translated and the last line of the Greek text impacted everyone who read it:  "This decree shall be inscribed on a stela of hard stone in sacred (hieroglyph) and native (demotic script) and Greek characters...." This meant that a parallel version of the same text was presented in all three inscriptions! The Stone was deemed to be priceless! Everyone quickly recognized that the Rosetta Stone could very well unlock the secrets to ancient Egypt.

The ability to read hieroglyphs had been lost for almost two centuries, but now they had hope of understanding this ancient language.

The stone, a fragment of an ancient slab proclaiming the “Memphis Decree” in 196 BC, praised the Egyptian king Ptolemy V on the first anniversary of his coronation. (At the time, Ptolemy was no more than 13 or 14 years of age.) Even though the British defeated the French, a battle of intrigue followed.

In September 1801 English Colonel Turner, who had fought and won at Aboukir Bay and Alexandria, went to visit General Menou to take the stone back to Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Capitulation. Turner cited the 16th article of the treaty, and Menou handed it over grudgingly. The French had the foresight to make several copies of the inscriptions, which served them well after the British acquired the stone.

Both the French and the British knew they had something valuable on their hands, but it would take years to crack the code inscribed on the Rosetta Stone. Only then would its true worth be revealed.

Scholar, Margie Parent writes, "...in the spasmodic voyage from Egypt to England, many of the Egyptian antiquities were damaged. Because of the importance of the Rosetta Stone, however Colonel Turner personally accompanied this precious cargo on its journey aboard a frigate. The Rosetta stone left Egypt from Alexandria and sailed into the English Channel in February 1802. At Deptford the stone was placed in a small boat and taken through customs. It was [initially] lodged at the quarters of the Society of Antiquaries so experts could examine it...."

The Rosetta Stone, on display in the British Museum, has text inscribed on it that permanently tells a story. On the left side, the painted text reads: "Captured in Egypt by the British Army in 1801." On right side it reads: "Presented by King George III."

The hieroglyphic images were studied by many (Johan David Akerblad, Silvestre de Sacy, Rev. Stephen Weston, Dr. Thomas Young, et al), but the Rosetta Stone was ultimately deciphered in 1822 (approximately 23 years later) by Jean-Francois Champollion (see image), the brilliant French academic who specialized in ancient languages of the Middle East.

Champollion compared the three texts, all stating the same Decree. Since these three inscriptions were all used at the time, the Decree had to be “published” in all of them.

Champollion could read both Greek and Coptic. He was able to figure out what the seven demotic signs in Coptic were. By looking at how these signs were used in Coptic he was able to work out what they stood for. Then he began tracing these demotic signs back to hieroglyphic signs. By working out what some hieroglyphs stood for, he could make educated guesses about what the other hieroglyphs stood for.

Given such a rich history, it's makes even more sense when we see contemporary "non-weird" examples of the "Rosetta Stone metaphor" being utilized in genomics, science, language learning, translation work, math, cryptology, space exploration and IT security. For instance, the RSA Conference has used the "Rosetta Stone: Security Decoded" as their 2010 conference theme in Europe, Japan and the USA. The RSA Conference is the largest forum in the world for cryptographers to gather and share the latest knowledge and advancements in the area of internet security. There's no doubt that IT professionals have a special connection with the Rosetta Stone as they attempt to stay ahead of the global security threats perpetrated by hackers.

Here's another quick example: In 2004 the European Space Agency (ESA) stated, "Just as the Rosetta Stone provided the key to an ancient civilization, so ESA's Rosetta spacecraft will unlock the mysteries of the oldest building blocks of our Solar System – the comets. As the worthy successor of Champollion and Young, Rosetta will allow scientists to look back 4600 million years to an epoch when no planets existed and only a vast swarm of asteroids and comets surrounded the Sun." Somehow, its connection to space exploration makes sense, doesn't it?

The personal & collective impact of the Rosetta Stone is at once timeless & universal.
What is your connection to the significance of this intriguing stone?

Bottom Line: The overwhelming importance of the translation of the Rosetta Stone is that it made it possible to read hundreds of hieroglyph inscriptions on tombs, obelisks and other ancient objects. Let's take an "easy-to-understand" look at the meaning of the text found on the Rosetta Stone (below).

Rosetta Stone Replica Speaks
Celebrity Impersonator ROCK STAR...A.K.A. "The Rosetta Clone" (:90)

OVERVIEW: The text on the Rosetta Stone gives us a glimpse into Egyptian life -- ripped out of the headlines -- recounting the many decrees of Ptolemy V upon the anniversary of his reign (196 BC). During the previous year, Ptolemy had succeeded in subduing a rebellion by a certain temple and priesthood who had refused to pay tithes and taxes to the Pharaoh. They occupied a fort-like temple on the banks of the Nile. Rather than attacking the temple with his army, Ptolemy diverted the Nile River around the Temple by damming, digging trenches and canals around it, depriving them of food and water.

A few months later, the rebel priesthood surrendered. Ptolemy decreed a general amnesty for the rebels (except for the leaders). He allowed many of the priests to retain their homes and wealth, decreed a national celebration of the jubilee of his reign and gave the people a tax break (for real!). Ptolemy also declared himself a deity to be worshipped in all temples of Egypt, with a facsimile of himself in stone to be the object of veneration with the burning of incense and prayer 3 times per day.

His final decree was that the entire record of this adventure be inscribed in stone in the  Egyptian and Greek languages of the kingdom and that the decree should be placed prominently in all temples in Egypt and other important places and towns. Hence the Rosetta Stone.

The story behind the Rosetta Stone was intriguing all by itself, but the cracking of the code of the hieroglyphs was enormously important for understanding the history and culture of ancient Egypt, thus revealing details of a civilization going back close to 4,000 years BC

The Rosetta Stone is a stone with writing on it in two languages (Egyptian and Greek), using three scripts (hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek). Three scripts were being used in Egypt at the time.

Let's fast forward to the 20th Century. As you probably know, the genuine Rosetta Stone is housed at the British Museum in London. In the 1970’s, the British Museum made a mold of the full face of the authentic Rosetta Stone, and cast a small number of first-generation reproductions.

And now, the 21st Century. The Freeman Institute obtained one of these facsimiles (see image above, to the left) from a gentleman who was informed by the British Museum that only 12-15 first-generation replicas had ever been made, and that he had acquired the last one. (It had been stored in the basement of the British Museum and the museum cleaned it before selling it to him.)

It is a first-generation, full-size, life-size facsimile (in black resin) with the characters in white (carnauba wax and chalk compound), made from a direct mold of the original Rosetta Stone face. The size of the casting is approximately 40 inches in height, 30 inches in width, and the resin is molded so that it has two-inch sides.

A representative of the British Museum Company (in charge of sales & marketing for the British Museum) emailed the  following: “Unfortunately we do not have any records of how many Rosetta Stone casts were produced. However, (we) estimate that it would have been two or three a year (in the 1970s) at the very most.”

Based upon the emailed correspondence and other anecdotal evidence, it is safe to say there are relatively few full-size, first-generation facsimiles of the face of the Rosetta Stone (manufactured in the 1970s) that exist in the entire world.

T H E    R O S E T T A    S T O N E    o f R E P L I C A S

We have "cracked the code" to the development of a full-size, 3-D replica
which bears a remarkable resemblance to that of the original Rosetta Stone.

Which one is the real Rosetta Stone and which one is the replica?

"I wholeheartedly endorse Dr. Freeman's replica as the only one (full size, 3D) I've ever seen available in the world, and with the research he has performed, has the best provenance possible. It should be in every university with an Egyptology Department, let alone in Egypt."

-- Jonathan Downs, author of "Discovery at Rosetta"

A MEMORABLE CONVERSATION PIECE

A museum will want to own and exhibit the replica, with an exhibit of Jean Champollion
and the global impact that emerged from cracking of the linguistic code of hieroglyphics.

A corporation will want to own and exhibit the full-size
3-D replica in the "public-area" foyer of the entryway.

A company that has a presence at their industry trade shows will want to own and exhibit a
replica as a "show-stopper" -- attracting many inquisitive attendees to their booth.

The Egyptology Department of a university may want to get a grant to
own & exhibit the full-size replica as a "hands-on" educational piece.

The ultimate "Legacy" or "Life-Time Achievement" Award presentation piece
for one-of-a-kind individuals -- recognizing (with a Bronze Rosetta) those
who have displayed world class accomplishments throughout their lives.

Fine restaurants. Colleges. Publishers. Law firms. Language translation companies.
Organizations specializing in cryptology. Large city libraries. Bio-research companies.

The "suspended-in-air" holographic image of the Rosetta Stone. An educational jaw-dropper.

A unique gift for someone who has everything.

So many ideas...

ACQUIRING    A    MUSEUM - QUALITY    REPLICA

The arduous process of developing these replicas has been time-consuming and expensive -- taking well over five years. Under the umbrella of The Freeman Institute® Foundation, Joel Freeman (Rosetta Classic, LLC) has developed a life-size, 3-D mold of the Rosetta Stone (45" tall x 30" x 11" thick).

The face of the mold, which is the most important part of the Stone, has been lasered from the face of the 1st generation cast mentioned above (see photos below). The sides and rear of the Rosetta Stone replica have been painstakingly rendered artistically from photos of the various views of the Rosetta Stone taken by Dr. Freeman on his many visits to the British Museum over the decades.

The Rosetta Stone was cleaned in 2004 by the British Museum. Along with many other interesting aspects, the cleaning of the Rosetta Stone basically revealed that it was made of granodiorite, not basalt. We are confident that the cleaning process did not alter the original integrity of the face of the Rosetta Stone. If that is the case, the cleaning of the Rosetta Stone did not alter the structure, the precise placement or design of the lettering, or its external shape/form. It is those elements upon which we focus.

The museum-quality facsimiles we are designing will be about as close as anyone can get to owning or exhibiting the real thing. We are also constructing a cylinder base (30" tall x 28" across), similar to the one pictured to the left, except for the square platform at the bottom of the base.

Why are we doing all this? Watching reruns of the "Jay Walking" segments with Jay Leno on evening TV reveals how little knowledge people possess about modern or ancient history. It's as sad and as frightening as it is humorous.

Our desire is to educate people -- young and old alike -- about the significance of the Rosetta Stone, understanding its role in cracking the code to Hieroglyphics -- which helped to spawn the intriguing fields of Archaeology and Egyptology -- a cryptologist's dream.

People viewing the Rosetta Stone replica exhibitions will want to learn more. Our main passion is to develop an excitement in the hearts of people to want to travel to view the real artifact/artefact (Rosetta Stone), which is exhibited in London at the British Museum.

The reconstruction part of making the life-size mold is a painstaking process and we will take our time to make sure that the face of the replica is designed as close to perfection as is possible. We have already developed a 3-D digital image of the Rosetta Stone through Direct Dimensions (see image to right). From this image we are creating the aluminum mold. The mold will then be used to fabricate the full-size, 3-D replicas. See how it all works below:

LASER SCANNING (Non-Contact)

Laser Scanning is the process of shining a structured laser line over the surface of an object in order to collect 3-dimensional data. The surface data is captured by a camera sensor mounted in the laser scanner which records accurate dense 3D points in space. Laser Scanners are non-contact devices used to gather 3D digital data from a variety of objects. A beam of light passes over the object while a camera mounted inside the scanner records the position of the laser. This 3D data is then transferred to the computer and the image is "drawn" in 3D on the screen. The Xystum XSM (pictured to the right) automatic 3-axis machine with a laser scanning probe option is what was used on the Rosetta Stone Replica project. Accuracy: 0.0005" -- Below are images of the Rosetta Stone replica being scanned. One of the leading companies in this technology in the world has completed this project...Direct Dimensions (see more photos below).

Digital Modeling is the process of creating a computer model of an object that exactly replicates the form of the object. Laser scanners are used to capture the 3D data of the object, and then this data is transferred to the computer where it is aligned and edited and finalized as a complete 3D model. Here's how it works:

W E   A R E   G R A T E F U L   T O   A L L   W H O   H E L P E D  W I T H   T H I S   P R O J E C T

3-D digital model by Direct Dimensions (Michael Raphael, Peter Kennedy & Jeff Mechlinski).   
Stereo Lithography Technology by 3D Systems (Chris Lewis).
Fabrication of all final molds & hand-crafted replicas by-- Mannetron (Tom Kipp).
Sculpting the Rosetta Stone look and feel on sides and rear by -- Charlie Wakefield
Developing digital face for "Baby Rosetta" model by -- Enterprise (Dan Bondhus) & Curt Fluent
Specific type of granodiorite identified by Dr. James Harrell, Prof. Emeritus of Geology, U. of Toledo
Development of BlogRosettaStone.com by Denice Rhodes, President of DTVoutreach
Metal artisan, Ray Santa...owner and CEO of ChesapeakeIronWorks
Dave Saraiva (thanks for the link) at AncientStandard
Eugene DeMuro (President) and team for etching the face of the Classic, Jr. model at Mech-Tronics.
Hear script/read text provided by David Asheim (President) and team at Guide By Cell
Call 415-294-3619 (then dial 1#, then 2#, and then 3# to hear more). Text "Rosetta Tour" to 56512 for text tour.

I M P O R T A N T  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The main purpose of Dr. Joel Freeman, The Freeman Institute Foundation and Rosetta Classic, LLC embarking upon this project is to educate and inspire the masses (especially young people) about the impact the Rosetta Stone has had upon our understanding of Egypt (located in Africa) and the rest of the world.

How many have never even heard of the Rosetta Stone -- let alone being aware of the historical and archaeological significance of this artifact? It's actually funny...some people in on-the-street-interviews believe that Rosetta Stone is a woman. On the other hand, some may have heard the term, "Rosetta Stone," but have never made the connection between the name/words/concept/brand and the genuine Rosetta Stone.

One of the objectives for the 3-D replicas and 3-D holographic project is to provide a new and different way to reach/teach young people. Educators understand that the engagement of any extra sense (visual, auditory, tactile,  olfactory, etc.) increases the immediate understanding and retention of a topic. We are hoping that these models will be viewed (and touched) by millions around the world -- making it a memorable experience for each person.

As visitors to Rosetta Stone replica exhibits become more aware of the Rosetta stone, they just might go home and read about it on the Internet. We also want to create a desire within everyone who actually sees a replica and learns more about it, to travel to London to experience the genuine Rosetta Stone -- currently exhibited at the British Museum.

WHAT  ARE  THE  DISTINCTIVE  FEATURES  OF  THIS  REPLICA  PROJECT?

i. We believe that we are the first and only entity in the world to offer commercially-available, full-size, 3-D replicas of the original Rosetta Stone to potential purchasers for whatever private or public interests they may have. In other words, a potential customer is not required to represent a bona fide museum or educational institution to obtain one of our innovative Rosetta Stone replicas. Our full-size, 3-D replicas are available for purchase by anyone in the general public. This is one of the most compelling aspects of this project, which matches our desire to provide a hands-on experience with a replica of one of the important archaeological artifacts ever discovered...for millions of people.

ii. We provide a special discount for museums, educational institutions and any other bona fide non-profit organization that desires to use the replica for educational/exhibition purposes (31% off introductory price for Classic Rosetta model). Tell us about your organization (include your website) when you ask for more information.

iii. We are developing various models to match large or small budgets -- unique innovations that exhibit well in either large or small spaces -- for domestic or more expansive exhibition purposes.

iv. Once you have selected the model you want to purchase, we can generally ship a replica within 4-6 weeks to any customer, anywhere in the world -- a rather quick turn-around for something of such unusually fine quality...hand-crafted especially for you. These are not "off the shelf" replicas made on some assembly line in China. All replicas are made in the USA.

v. We provide excellent, world-class customer service before, during and after your delivery. We will respond ASAP to any of your questions via email or phone (410-991-9718). Upon request, customer references are available.

vi. Here's one of the most exciting features: Our Classic Rosetta models mimic the appearance of the genuine Rosetta Stone (after the original Rosetta Stone was cleaned in 2004). The rose-colored vein of granodiorite that came to light after the 2004 cleaning of the original Rosetta Stone is set in the upper left hand corner of our natural colored, 3-D replicas. This is an extremely difficult aspect of the original Rosetta Stone to duplicate when fabricating a three dimensional piece of art, utilizing rotational casting technology. It is our objective to offer nothing but excellence on every level. You'll see...