<P> The Rosetta Stone is listed as `` a stone of black granodiorite , bearing three inscriptions ... found at Rosetta '' in a contemporary catalogue of the artefacts discovered by the French expedition and surrendered to British troops in 1801 . At some period after its arrival in London , the inscriptions on the stone were coloured in white chalk to make them more legible , and the remaining surface was covered with a layer of carnauba wax designed to protect the Rosetta Stone from visitors ' fingers . This gave a dark colour to the stone that led to its mistaken identification as black basalt . These additions were removed when the stone was cleaned in 1999 , revealing the original dark grey tint of the rock , the sparkle of its crystalline structure , and a pink vein running across the top left corner . Comparisons with the Klemm collection of Egyptian rock samples showed a close resemblance to rock from a small granodiorite quarry at Gebel Tingar on the west bank of the Nile , west of Elephantine in the region of Aswan ; the pink vein is typical of granodiorite from this region . </P>
<P> The Rosetta Stone is listed as `` a stone of black granodiorite , bearing three inscriptions ... found at Rosetta '' in a contemporary catalogue of the artefacts discovered by the French expedition and surrendered to British troops in 1801 . At some period after its arrival in London , the inscriptions on the stone were coloured in white chalk to make them more legible , and the remaining surface was covered with a layer of carnauba wax designed to protect the Rosetta Stone from visitors ' fingers . This gave a dark colour to the stone that led to its mistaken identification as black basalt . These additions were removed when the stone was cleaned in 1999 , revealing the original dark grey tint of the rock , the sparkle of its crystalline structure , and a pink vein running across the top left corner . Comparisons with the Klemm collection of Egyptian rock samples showed a close resemblance to rock from a small granodiorite quarry at Gebel Tingar on the west bank of the Nile , west of Elephantine in the region of Aswan ; the pink vein is typical of granodiorite from this region . </P>
what is the message on the rosetta stone
what is the message on the rosetta stone
`` a stone of black granodiorite , bearing three inscriptions ... found at Rosetta ''
`` a stone of black granodiorite , bearing three inscriptions ... found at Rosetta ''