In 1798, the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte took his armies to Egypt. They marveled at the pyramids and temples, and wondered about the lines of little people, birds, eyes, and fans carved all over them. Was it writing? What did it say? It was like a secret code whose key had long been lost. Until some soldiers demolishing a wall made a remarkable discovery.
The Find
The hot sun beat down on the backs of the French soldiers as they moved stones from an old fortress wall near Rosetta, Egypt. The wall had been built from rock and broken bits of older buildings. As they worked, one officer noticed a big chunk of black granite with a smooth front. It was covered in tiny
