

Podcast Title: Stuff For Kids
Episode Title: The Rosetta Stone
Teaching Resources & Lesson Plans (Coming Soon)
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[Opening Music]
Host (Sam):
Hey, hey, explorers! Welcome back to Stuff For Kids, the show where we dive into the most amazing stories from history, science, and all over the world. Today, we’re going on an adventure that’s full of mystery, excitement, and discovery. We’re heading to ancient Egypt, the land of pyramids, pharaohs, and something very special—the Rosetta Stone. This stone is famous for helping us unlock the secrets of ancient Egyptian writing, which nobody could read for over a thousand years!
Now before we dive in, I just wanted to quickly say that I am new at this whole podcast thing, and while I’m having lots of fun researching and sharing all this fun information, I would also love to hear any feedback you have! If you’d like to make any comments or suggestions, or if you have a topic you would like to hear about, please send me an email at stuffforkidspodcast@gmail.com. I’d love to hear your suggestions and ideas!
But how was it found? What does it say? And why does it matter so much? Stick around, because we’re about to crack the code on one of history’s greatest puzzles! Ready? Let’s jump in.
### [Part 1: The Magic of Ancient Egypt]
Sam:
Before we talk about the Rosetta Stone, let’s take a minute to imagine what ancient Egypt was like. Picture this: huge, golden pyramids shining in the desert sun, great stone temples with towering statues of pharaohs, and long, slow boats sailing down the Nile River. Ancient Egypt was one of the most powerful civilizations on Earth for over 3,000 years. That’s even longer than the time between today and when the pyramids were built!
The ancient Egyptians built some of the most famous structures in the world, like the pyramid of Giza and the Sphinx. They believed in all kinds of gods and goddesses, who they thought controlled everything, from the floods of the Nile River to the rising of the sun. But they also wrote down their history, their stories, and their knowledge in a special writing system called hieroglyphs.
Hieroglyphs are made up of little pictures and symbols. They might look like drawings of animals or objects, but each one stands for something. Some hieroglyphs represent sounds, others represent whole words, and some represent ideas. Pretty cool, right? But there’s a twist—when the ancient Egyptian civilization faded away, the knowledge of how to read hieroglyphs was lost. No one could figure out what they said anymore… until the Rosetta Stone was discovered!
### [Part 2: The Journey to Egypt]
Sam:
Now, fast forward to the late 1700s. A famous man named Napoleon Bonaparte, who was the leader of France, set his eyes on Egypt. But why would someone like Napoleon care about Egypt? Well, Napoleon was really smart, and he knew that Egypt was a land filled with ancient treasures. He wanted to explore it and maybe even make some important discoveries.
So, in 1798, Napoleon launched an expedition to Egypt—not just with soldiers, but with a group of 167 scientists, artists, and engineers. They were called savants, which is a fancy word for super-smart people who study lots of different things. Some of them were experts in plants and animals, others studied history or buildings. Napoleon didn’t just want to conquer Egypt; he wanted to learn all about it.
Can you imagine being one of those scientists, sailing on a ship toward the land of pyramids? What mysteries would you uncover? They didn’t know it yet, but one of the biggest discoveries of all time was just around the corner!
### [Part 3: A Surprise in Rosetta]
Sam:
Napoleon’s army arrived in Egypt, and while the soldiers were busy with battles, the scientists got to work exploring. One of them was a French officer named Pierre-François Bouchard. He wasn’t a famous scholar, but he had a great eye for finding things. In July 1799, while Bouchard and his team were repairing an old fort near the town of Rosetta (which is now called Rashid), something amazing happened.
As they dug through the ruins, Bouchard’s shovel hit something hard. It wasn’t just any rock—it was a large, smooth stone with strange writing carved into it. This stone had three different types of writing on it, and that made Bouchard think it was important. He was right!
The stone was about the size of a large suitcase, over a meter tall, and weighed around 760 kilograms! That’s heavier than a grand piano! But the most exciting part wasn’t the size—it was the writing. There were three sections of text on the stone, each written in a different script: ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs at the top, something called Demotic in the middle, and Ancient Greek at the bottom. This was no ordinary stone—it was a puzzle waiting to be solved.
### [Part 4: What Did the Writing Say?]
Sam:
You’re probably wondering, “What did the Rosetta Stone actually say?” Well, when scholars finally translated it, they found out that the text wasn’t some thrilling adventure story or a spell from an Egyptian magician. It was actually a decree—a royal message praising the pharaoh Ptolemy V. The decree talked about how great the pharaoh was and how he deserved to be honored. Not exactly the most exciting message, but it was enough to crack the code of hieroglyphs!
The Rosetta Stone was written in three different scripts because it was meant to be read by different groups of people. The Ancient Greek at the bottom was for the rulers and the educated people who spoke Greek. The Demotic script in the middle was a simpler form of Egyptian writing, used by the common people. And the hieroglyphs at the top were the fancy writing, reserved for religious texts and the gods.
But the exciting part was that the same message was written in all three scripts. Scholars already knew how to read Greek, so they used that as a key to unlock the meanings of the other two scripts, especially the mysterious hieroglyphs.
### [Part 5: The Mystery of Hieroglyphs]
Sam:
Let’s talk about hieroglyphs for a second. These aren’t just ordinary letters like we use in English. Each hieroglyph is like a tiny picture. Some hieroglyphs look like birds, others like eyes, and some even look like people! But what do they mean? That’s what scholars had been trying to figure out for hundreds of years.
Imagine trying to read a secret code with symbols and pictures, but no one knows how to decipher them. That was the big problem with hieroglyphs. For centuries, scholars looked at the hieroglyphs on Egyptian temples and tombs, but they couldn’t understand what they were saying. Some people thought the pictures were just decorative. Others thought they were magical symbols. But no one could read them—until the Rosetta Stone gave them the key.
And here’s a fun fact: some of the hieroglyphs are phonetic, meaning they stand for sounds, just like our letters! For example, an owl symbol might represent the sound “M,” like the beginning of the word “moon.” But there were also symbols that stood for whole words, like a drawing of the sun that meant “day.” The Rosetta Stone helped scholars figure out which hieroglyphs represented sounds, words, and ideas.
### [Part 6: The Race to Decipher the Stone]
Sam:
Now that the Rosetta Stone had been found, the race was on to decipher it. Scholars from all over Europe were eager to be the first to crack the code. One of the first people to make progress was an Englishman named Thomas Young. He was a scientist who studied everything from light to languages, and he made some important discoveries about the stone. Young figured out that some of the hieroglyphs were phonetic, which was a big step forward.
But the real breakthrough came from a French scholar named Jean-François Champollion. Champollion was obsessed with ancient Egypt. Even as a child, he loved learning about Egyptian history, and he spent years studying languages. By the time the Rosetta Stone was found, Champollion had already learned several ancient languages, including Coptic, a language descended from ancient Egyptian.
Champollion worked day and night, comparing the Greek and Egyptian texts on the Rosetta Stone. After years of hard work, in 1822, Champollion made a huge discovery—he figured out how to read hieroglyphs! He realized that hieroglyphs weren’t just pictures; they were a mix of phonetic symbols and ideograms (symbols that represent ideas). It was a massive breakthrough that unlocked the door to understanding ancient Egyptian history.
### [Part 7: The Impact of the Rosetta Stone]
Sam:
So why does the Rosetta Stone matter so much? Well, thanks to Champollion’s discovery, scholars could finally read all the other hieroglyphs found in Egypt. It was like discovering a whole new library of knowledge! Suddenly, we could read the inscriptions on temple walls, tombs, and monuments. We learned about the lives of pharaohs, the gods they worshipped, and the amazing stories they left behind.
Without the Rosetta Stone, we might still be in the dark about so much of ancient Egypt’s history. The stone helped us understand how the Egyptians built the pyramids, what their religious beliefs were, and even how they thought about life and death. It gave us a window into a civilization that had been lost for thousands of years.
### [Part 8: Fun Facts About the Rosetta Stone]
Sam:
Now that we know all about the Rosetta Stone’s story, how about some fun facts?
1. It’s missing a piece: The Rosetta Stone we see today is actually broken! The top part of the stone, which probably had more hieroglyphs, is missing. Historians think it might have been lost when the stone was moved around over the years.
2. It’s been through a lot: After the French found the Rosetta Stone, it was taken by the British in 1801 when they defeated Napoleon in Egypt. It was then brought to England and put on display in the British Museum, where it still sits today. Talk about a long journey!
3. It was a royal message: The text on the Rosetta Stone wasn’t written for anything fancy—it was actually a decree from 196 BC. It’s kind of like an ancient advertisement for the pharaoh, saying how awesome he was!
4. It’s really, really heavy: As I mentioned earlier, the Rosetta Stone weighs about 760 kilograms! That’s heavier than a grand piano or a baby elephant! It’s made from a type of rock called granodiorite, which is super tough.
5. Champollion’s first word: After Champollion finally cracked the hieroglyphs, he was so overwhelmed that he reportedly shouted, “Je tiens l’affaire!” which means “I’ve got it!” and then he fainted from the excitement. That’s how intense his work was!
6. The stone isn’t unique: While the Rosetta Stone is the most famous artifact of its kind, there are actually other similar stones from ancient Egypt. These were also written in multiple scripts, but the Rosetta Stone is special because it was the first to be found.
### [Part 9: Unlocking the Secrets of Egypt]
Sam:
Now, thanks to the Rosetta Stone, we’ve unlocked thousands of years of history. We’ve learned about the great pharaohs like Ramses II and Cleopatra. We’ve read the spells written inside tombs to help guide the souls of the dead to the afterlife. We’ve discovered how ancient Egyptians viewed the world and how they communicated with their gods.
Imagine what it must have been like for those first scholars, finally being able to understand the writings on the walls of ancient temples! It was like opening a treasure chest filled with secrets.
### [Part 10: Conclusion – What Will You Discover?]
Sam:
The Rosetta Stone isn’t just an old rock. It’s a symbol of discovery, of solving puzzles, and of learning about the past. It reminds us that there are still so many mysteries out there waiting to be uncovered. Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll be the one to find something amazing that changes the way we see history!
Thank you for joining me on this incredible adventure. I hope you had fun learning about the Rosetta Stone and how it helped us unlock the secrets of ancient Egypt. Don’t forget to tune in next time for more exciting stories on Stuff For Kids. Until then, keep asking questions, keep exploring, and keep being awesome!
Don’t forget - you can send me your thoughts as ideas at stuffforkidspodcast@gmail.com.
[Closing Music]
Sam:
See you next time, explorers! And remember, history is full of mysteries—go out and discover them!