<P> The stone , carved in black granodiorite during the Hellenistic period , is believed to have originally been displayed within a temple , possibly at nearby Sais . It was probably moved during the early Christian or medieval period , and was eventually used as building material in the construction of Fort Julien near the town of Rashid ( Rosetta ) in the Nile Delta . It was rediscovered there in July 1799 by a French soldier named Pierre - François Bouchard during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt . It was the first Ancient Egyptian bilingual text recovered in modern times , and it aroused widespread public interest with its potential to decipher this previously untranslated hieroglyphic language . Lithographic copies and plaster casts began circulating among European museums and scholars . Meanwhile , British troops defeated the French in Egypt in 1801 , and the original stone came into British possession under the Capitulation of Alexandria and was transported to London . It has been on public display at the British Museum almost continuously since 1802 , and is the most - visited object there . </P>
<P> The stone , carved in black granodiorite during the Hellenistic period , is believed to have originally been displayed within a temple , possibly at nearby Sais . It was probably moved during the early Christian or medieval period , and was eventually used as building material in the construction of Fort Julien near the town of Rashid ( Rosetta ) in the Nile Delta . It was rediscovered there in July 1799 by a French soldier named Pierre - François Bouchard during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt . It was the first Ancient Egyptian bilingual text recovered in modern times , and it aroused widespread public interest with its potential to decipher this previously untranslated hieroglyphic language . Lithographic copies and plaster casts began circulating among European museums and scholars . Meanwhile , British troops defeated the French in Egypt in 1801 , and the original stone came into British possession under the Capitulation of Alexandria and was transported to London . It has been on public display at the British Museum almost continuously since 1802 , and is the most - visited object there . </P>
the rosetta stone was discovered by a french soldier in
the rosetta stone was discovered by a french soldier in
Pierre - François Bouchard
Pierre - François Bouchard