The Rosetta Stone by John Ray
A pharaoh's forgotten decree, recorded in 3 scripts, hieroglyphs, demotic and ancient Greek, was rescued from rubble by Napoleon's expedition to Egypt, captured by the British army and deposited in the British Museum. It provoked an exciting race between Thomas Young (British) and Champollion (French, who won) to unlock the door to the language of ancient Egypt and its 3000 years of history. In a brilliant retelling of its story, John Ray offers a wonderful overview of the fascinating world of Egyptology and some provocative thoughts on the problems posed by archaeological 'loot'.
..successfully captures the West's fascination with Egypt. Always the master of his subject, he entertains rather than lectures, is sparing with minutiae but still finds space for telling detail. -- Anthony Sattin * Sunday Times *
John Ray is Sir Herbert Thompson Professor of Egyptology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Selwyn College. He has previously held posts in the British Museum and at the University of Birmingham, and has been a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Yale and Chicago. He is the author of Reflections of Osiris (Profile 2001) which David Starkey called 'a triumph' and Tom Holland 'the best introduction to ancient Egypt I've read' (Daily Telegraph).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781861973344 |
| ISBN 10 | 1861973349 |
| Title | The Rosetta Stone |
| Author | John Ray |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Profile Books Ltd |
| Year published | 2007-02-08 |
| Number of pages | 208 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |