Process Paper
I chose my topic because I have been to Egypt and seen the amazing architecture and heard stories of their culture. I have always been interested in the Rosetta Stone because people have been able to translate many tombs and stories of the culture in Ancient Egypt. I have seen some of the effects this had on the community there and wanted to learn more. I realized that this was the right time to look into it. This is why I chose the Egyptian Rosetta Stone.
It was hard researching by computer because the language learning program (Rosetta Stone) also came up with a search for Egyptian Rosetta Stone. An advanced search helped. Primary sources were difficult because the Rosetta Stone was made so long ago that there are few books on it. I did not find any French documents about the discovery or translation, and if there are any, they are in French. It was easier to use books to find facts. I went through them and pulled out usable information. I marked useful pages because most books contained information that I didn't need. This helped me focus my research.
A model would make a cool exhibit, but I decided to do a website. Looking into it, I realized the Rosetta Stone was very similar to a website. It helped people understand the hieroglyphs and culture of Ancient Egypt, and websites help people understand things they are interested in. The Rosetta Stone is very original, and people would not normally do a website for this topic, which makes this more original. The Rosetta Stone has more behind it than it looks, just like a website has different pages containing different pieces of information. This is why I think the Rosetta Stone relates to my website.
The Rosetta Stone was a turning point in history because it brought cultures together and unlocked Ancient Egypt. I struggled to find exactly what component of the Rosetta Stone was most important, but I realized that it wasn't a piece, it was the Rosetta Stone as a whole. Ptolemy wanted everyone to know what he had done, and so it was written in the three languages. The discovery of this started new thoughts about the history. Before the translation, the British did not share copies, because they wanted to have power over Egypt. Later, they realized the true history of Egypt should be known by everyone, and invited others to unravel it too. When it was translated, everyone knew the history and they were all able to recreate many small details that were important to the culture. This brought people together, and they are still awed by the history of Egypt. I believe that this is why the Egyptian Rosetta Stone as a whole is a turning point in history all over the world, because it brought cultures together.