Egypt demands return of Rosetta Stone!

The Sunday Telegraph - UK ^ | July 20, 2003 | Charlotte Edwardes and Catherine Milner

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

That he was a reprobate, a lout, and an amoral ass, who cared about little other than himself. He was the perfect example of the second generation of Romantic poets (the closest the Brits have had to a '60's Generation), and he work is generally considered far inferior to the first generation poets (Wordsworth, Blake, Coleridge, etc.), as it was both less inventive and less structured. You would have a hard time finding a professor of English Literature who would name him as the most important figure in English literature, and he probably wouldn't even be the first or second name mentioned for the Romantics.

He is, however, loved by the left (and the liberal college professors now infesting modern English departments) for his hedonism, rejection of authority, irresponsibility, and general avocation of narcissism. Heck, with his hand in the drowning of Shelley, you might consider him the Ted Kennedy of the Romantic period.

I suppose you'll quote Oscar Wilde on marriage and child-rearing next, right?

Of course, I tend to think that English poetry when down hill when it went from alliterating to rhyming, but that is an admittedly extreme opinion.

[ml/nj]

the Rosetta Stone is obviously an archaeological treasure of Egypts cultural past. IMHO, it should be returned to them

Twaddle!

Isn't it interesting that we are so often told how the Muslims were the ones who preserved Greek culture for us. But when they had the Rosetta Stone sitting under the Islamic watch for over a thousand years they hadn't a clue.

This is reminiscent, to me, of Gamla. It was a place described by Josephus, but no one knew whether it really existed until after the '67 war when Israel captured the Golan Heights. And soon thereafter, archeologists discovered the place. (See 4th and 5th photos indexed at this link.) The Muslims care nothing for any history that isn't theirs.

The idea of returning the Rosetta Stone to Islamic Swine is absurd. Were it done, I have little doubt that within 20 years someone would recommend smashing it because it was a dangerous alien influence.

ML/NJ

[mathurine]

These Mohammedan countries need stuff from 2000 or 3000 years ago to exhibit for tourists, because they haven't one darned thing to show since then.

[John Locke]

There's no English on the Rosetta stone.

I'll trade you one hint for another. There are far more English people who can read what's on the Stone than there are Egyptians. And I bet a lot of Freepers can read the Greek text.

[Doc On The Bay]

Well, they took such great care of it & other antiquities in the past (MOST of Egypt's "Ancient History" has been preserved by other Nations for the past few centuries), the stone should be returned to them in the condition it would be in had the Egyptians Themselves uncovered it--say, dropped on the Nile Delta from 40,000ft!

Doc

[pyx]

I am certain the Rosetta Stone would be ground to dust within minutes of arrival in Egypt if such a decision were made.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

There are far more English people who can read what's on the Stone than there are Egyptians.

I sincerely doubt it.

How can you possibly justify the theft of a article as "cultutal hertitage" when the culture that stole it didn't even exist at the time when the artifact was created? Don't given me any bull about the British are just "caring" for the object, blah, blah, blah and because of this, they have a right to their loot?

The British has no more right to the Rosetta stone than the Egyptians or Greeks have to the Mary Rose.

[R. Scott]

The Muslim burning of the library in 642 was the third destruction. The second was in 391 by Christians. The first burning was in 47 BC when it was partially burned down during the Alexandrine War in 47 BC (collateral damage) by the Romans.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I guess it's safe to send the Rosetta Stone back. The Egyptians will give it the same care and accessability as the British.

[R. Scott]

… England's only claim to ownership is through thievery…

The French stole it from the Egyptians fair and square. The English stole it from the French fair and square.
The precedence for the acquisition of antiquities has been set, the Egyptians know how it has to be done if they want it back.

[Cronos]

Actually there is a law suit against the crown to return the Kohinoor diamond which was "gifted" to Queen Victoria by the Ruler of Punjab. Of course the fact that he was a child at the time and had been kidnapped and kept in England had nothing to do with it, of course....

[Cronos]

I think we're getting into senseless arguments.

let's lay out the facts:

At the time when the brits found the egyptian treasures and the Elgin marbles they were not appreciated or cared for in their native countries and most likely would have been lost



The british deserve credit for their discoveries and maintaining these treasures for the world. No one denies this, not the Egyptians, not the Greeks.

Since the home countries are now able to look after their treasures they should get the stuff returned to them as soon as possible with due thanks to the British. Or they can have some sort of arrangement wherein the artifacts are displayed for some time in either place.

[Teacher317]

IIRC, Clinton backed the Grecian effort to have the Elgin Marbles returned to Athens.

[Teacher317]

As with the Elgin Marbles, the wannabe hosting governments "promise" to build state-of-the-art museums for preservation... this while the statues that never left the Parthenon continue to rot. Obviously, once they have the treasures back, they will extort money from those silly Westerners who value the items.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

The british deserve credit for their discoveries and maintaining these treasures for the world.

Ha! Do you know how those precious marbles got to England in thge first place? They were hacked up to fit inside the crates... Then 23 crates sunk to the bottom of the sea where they remained for 2 years, while for 16 years the entire lot of them were sitting on the grounds in a damp north english climate while Lord Elgin is trying to haggle a price. Then after they were "sold" (note committee of 1816 recognized that they were stolen property), they had to be subjected to an acid bath... etc etc ...

If the Brits just left the marbles alone they would have been in a far better shape today.

So your argument is thievery justifies anything - even the myth of "protection".

[MrsEmmaPeel]

this while the statues that never left the Parthenon continue to rot.

They're doing a darn site better than the ones that were hacked up to make the journey to England. (See previous post.)

[MrsEmmaPeel]

IIRC, Clinton backed the Grecian effort to have the Elgin Marbles returned to Athens.

So did members of Wiston Churchill's government and Tony Blair. What's your point? The 1816 report acknowledged that the marbles were acquired through theft.

[RightWhale]

If the Brits just left the marbles alone they would have been in a far better shape today.

They would be etched smooth by now.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

They would be etched smooth by now.

Dream on. They would still be in one piece, (they wouldn't have been hacked up), they wouldn't have had 2 years under water - or a further 16 years in the damp, or subjected to an acid wash ... Such is the "care" they received ...

[Cronos]

So your argument is thievery justifies anything - even the myth of "protection".

Nope, my argument is that if the Brits can be placated, they might be in a better mood to return the 'ahem' stolen property to their reightful owners. However, the problem with that is that the brits would have a heck of a lot to return to the countries they stole stuff from: Egypt, Greece, the Middle East, India, S. Africa etc. etc. etc.