Join Gary Kent as he follows archaeologists and linguists as they decode this strange inscription and reveal the secrets of ancient Egypt.
The Nile flows 6,700 kilometres from its source in Equatorial Africa to the Mediterranean Sea, covering one tenth of the earth’s circumference, and passing through nine countries. Its length is almost twice that of Australia’s Murray/Darling River System and 400km longer than America’s Mississippi River.
Today, as for thousands of years, the central fact of life for the Egyptian people is this river, the Nile. The ancient Greek historian, Herodotus, rightly said that ‘Egypt is the gift of the Nile.’ Without the Nile, there would be no Egypt as we know it! You see, the land of Egypt is 96% desert. Less than 4% of its total land area is productive. All the rest is dry, barren desert.
From the air it can be clearly seen that the only productive land in all of Egypt is found along the banks of the Nile River. Egypt has no forests. Rain is almost unknown. Egypt is a very dry place, and its only reliable source of water is the Nile. Egypt is about one-seventh the size of Australia and has a population of over 100 million. 97% of them live on less than 4% of the land which means along the banks of the Nile. Effectively, Egypt is no wider than the Nile valley. Beyond the Valley, there is nothing but sand. And so, for thousands of years, the whole economy of Egypt was dependent upon this great river.
To the ancient Egyptians, this river was the source of life, and civilisation began along its banks. Great religions were born here - even the Bible story. Its first writer, Moses, was plucked from the waters of the Nile as an infant and reared by an Egyptian princess. This mighty river enters southern Egypt and flows past the magnificent monuments of Abu Simbel, the majestic temples of Luxor, the fabled Valley of the Kings with its 64 royal tombs, and the enormous pyramids of Giza.
Finally, it makes a wide sweep past the little town of Rosetta, also known as Rashid, and ends its journey at the Mediterranean Sea.
Now, it was here at Rosetta, near the mouth of the Nile that an amazing discovery was made - one of archaeology’s greatest finds of all time. Here’s how it happened. Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt in 1798. Accompanying his army was a team of 175 French scientists and artists. They were to map the land and study the mysterious monuments of Egypt. Strange hieroglyphic picture-writing on the temple walls and monuments looked down on Napoleon’s men.
This fascinating picture-writing can be seen today etched everywhere on the huge columns and blocks of stone. Yet, not a person in Egypt, or in all the world for that matter, could read these strange inscriptions.
In fact, for 15 centuries the knowledge of this writing was lost to civilisation. Men had gazed fascinated upon Egyptian hieroglyphs without understanding their meaning. The ancient Egyptians were a mystery because no one could read their hieroglyphic writing. But in 1799 one of Napoleon’s officers, Captain Pierre Bouchard, was supervising the restoration of Fort Rosetta on the banks of the Nile Delta. As he was digging a trench, he came upon an unusual stone- just over a metre high, three-quarters of a metre wide, and weighing 762kgs - with inscriptions engraved on it.
Together we’ll listen to civilisations long dead speak with thunder tones to our generation! And there may even be a message from the past, for you and me.
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