Who Owns the Rosetta Stone? Louisa Adams: Economics, Discovery and Daily Life
Skill: Middle School Time Required: Three to four class periods.
Louisa Adams was, by the standards of the 19th century, a very well educated woman, interested in a great many things that most women avoided as belonging to the world of men. As the wife of a diplomat, she was also knowledgeable about military matters, and always interested in the affairs of France, where she spent a great deal of time prior to her marriage to John Quincy Adams. It is therefore likely that when French soldiers engaged in Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt found the Rosetta Stone, she would have known about it. The discovery of the Rosetta stone fostered new interest in the western world in the ancient cultures of Egypt. The hieroglyphics were deciphered in 1822 and unlocked the meaning of many pieces of ancient writing.
Books: Downs, Johnathan. Discovery at Rosetta: The Stone that Unlocked the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt. 2008. Parkinson, Richard. The Rosetta Stone. 2005. Websites: Background: The Rosetta Stone on Wikipedia The Rosetta Stone The Discovery of the Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone at the British Museum How the Rosetta Stone "Works" Debate on Who Should “Own” the Rosetta Stone About the Rosetta Stone Video on the debate between the Egyptians and the British
Hieroglyphics and the Rosetta Stone
Egyptian Argument
English Argument
French Argument
Task Sheets for Egyptian, British, and French Teams
Credits:
This lesson was developed by Bette Brooks, Kent State University.
