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Egypt calls for the return of Rosetta Stone

STORY: Egyptian archeologists call for the return of the Rosetta Stone

from the British Museum to Egypt

The Rosetta Stone dates back to 196 BC

and was unearthed by Napoleon's army in northern Egypt in 1799

It bears inscriptions that were used to decipher Hieroglyphs

opening up understanding of ancient Egyptian language and culture

The stone has been housed at the British Museum since 1802

Egyptian archeologists have called for its return before

They hope the increasing moves by Western museums to return artefacts

that were removed from countries under colonial rule will help their cause

[Monica Hanna, The College of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage]

"This is the first time there's actually a public involvement in pushing the state to act on behalf of the people, that it’s not just a request from the government, it’s a request from the people. So I think these combined will... I am sure all these objects eventually are going to be restituted because the ethical code of museums is changing. It’s just a matter of when, in one year, in two years, in three years, in five years? And who will have the courage to take such decision? Who will be able to correct the mistakes of history and who will choose to stay on the colonialist imperialist side? I think it’s a telling situation.”

A British Museum spokesperson says there has been no formal request

from the Egyptian government for the return of the Rosetta Stone