Question 1

True or false: The Rosetta Stone contains the same text written in three different scripts: hieroglyphic, demotic, and ancient Greek.

Accepted Answer

True. It's a decree from 196 BC, inscribed in hieroglyphs (sacred), demotic (everyday Egyptian), and Greek (administrative).

Question 2

True or false: The Rosetta Stone was the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs because scholars already knew ancient Greek.

Accepted Answer

True. By comparing the known Greek text with the unknown hieroglyphs and demotic, scholars like Champollion cracked the code.

Question 3

True or false: After its discovery, the Rosetta Stone was displayed in Cairo before being moved to London.

Accepted Answer

False. It was shipped directly to England in 1802 and never displayed in Cairo. It went straight to the British Museum.

Question 4

True or false: The British Museum bought the Rosetta Stone from the French for a large sum of money in 1802.

Accepted Answer

False. The British seized it as a spoil of war under the Treaty of Alexandria in 1801; it was never purchased.

Question 5

True or false: The Rosetta Stone was discovered by a French soldier named Pierre-François Bouchard.

Accepted Answer

True. Bouchard, a lieutenant in Napoleon's army, found the stone in July 1799 while repairing a fort near the town of Rashid (Rosetta).

Question 6

True or false: The Rosetta Stone was carved from a rare type of volcanic rock found only in Egypt.

Accepted Answer

False. It's made of granodiorite, a common igneous rock, not volcanic. It was likely quarried in Aswan, southern Egypt.

Question 7

True or false: The Rosetta Stone's inscription is a tax exemption decree for Egyptian priests.

Accepted Answer

True. The decree granted tax exemptions and honors to priests for their support of Pharaoh Ptolemy V, a somewhat mundane political document.

Question 8

True or false: The Rosetta Stone was originally part of a much larger stele that was deliberately broken.

Accepted Answer

False. It's unknown if the stone was deliberately broken; it was likely reused as building material. The missing top and bottom are unaccounted for.

The Discovery of the Rosetta Stone Trivia Questions