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Sep 3 2013

How the Rosetta Stone Works

37 min 1 movie discussed
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Sometimes providence smiles on historians. Thus is the case with the Rosetta stone, an ancient Egyptian tablet that served as the key for unlocking hieroglyphics, lost to time for a millennia. Learn about the international intrigue, rivalry to translate it and the luck that led to the founding of Egyptology.

AI Summary

Josh and Chuck dive into the fascinating story of the Rosetta Stone, the ancient Egyptian tablet that unlocked the secrets of hieroglyphics after being lost for over a thousand years. They explore how Napoleon's stranded French army accidentally discovered this crucial artifact, leading to a heated scholarly race between French and British linguists to crack the code of ancient Egyptian writing. The episode covers everything from Egyptian writing systems and the stone's role as a boring government decree to the birth of Egyptology and ongoing debates about where ancient artifacts truly belong.


Movies Discussed

Firefly
Firefly
2002
★ 8.3
"You Can't Take the Sky from Me from one of my favorite shows, Firefly — Josh mentions receiving a graphic print with a quote from the TV show Firefly as part of listener mail." — Josh

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