Thousands of Egyptians have signed an online petition that called for the return of the Rosetta stone and other ancient Egyptian artifacts housed by the British Museum in London.
The petition, written by a group of Egyptian archaeologists, asked for the return of the ancient stone, which helped scientists decode Egyptian hieroglyphs 200 years ago. The archaeologists requested that Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly “work hard through all the diplomatic and legal means” to retrieve the stone, along with 16 other artifacts obtained by England in the Treaty of Alexandria in 1801.
KING TUT’S BURIAL CHAMBER COULD CONTAIN DOOR TO NEFERTITI’S TOMB
“The Rosetta stone was undeniably a spoil of war and an act of plunder that was outlawed in the 17th and 19th centuries,” the petition said. “The presence of these [artifacts] in the British Museum to this day supports past colonial endeavors of cultural violence and deprives Egypt as the country of origin of not only the physical return of these objects, but also of their important role as Egyptian cultural heritage that spans a millennia of rich history.”
The Rosetta stone dates to 196 B.C. and was discovered by Napoleon’s army in northern Egypt in 1799. It was passed to England in the treaty in 1801, where it has been housed since. The fact that the stone relayed the same message in three languages — ancient Greek, Demotic (an ancient Egyptian script), and hieroglyphs — made it possible to decode Egyptian hieroglyphics and gave additional insight into ancient Egyptian culture.
The organizers of the petition believe that because artifacts such as the Rosetta stone have not been returned, “decolonisation is far from being over.”
“This is a powerful opportunity for Britain to demonstrate moral leadership, and to choose to follow moral principle over profit and support the healing of the wounds inflicted by colonial powers,” the petition read.
The latest petition to reclaim the antiquities has garnered more than 2,500 signatures online.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Egyptian scholars have attempted to reclaim the stone in the past. Most recently, Egyptian antiquities expert Zahi Hawass said he was fighting to have the Rosetta stone returned to Egypt in 2010, according to NPR. His attempt to get the stone came after 19 small objects from King Tut’s tomb were returned to Egypt from the New York Metropolitan Museum.
No formal request on the return of the Rosetta stone has been made by the Egyptian government, a British museum spokesperson told Al Jazeera.
