"I've got the case! Eureka!"
The son of a bookseller with revolutionary tendencies, Champollion showed signs of precociousness very early on. From a very young age, the future master of Egyptology had a passion for letters and writing, but also for history. He learned to read alone at the age of 5, and left for Grenoble at the age of 11 to study Hebrew, Latin and Greek. That's it! He quickly became a little genius of ancient languages. Later, at 17, he studied Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian at the École des Langues Orientales de Paris. It was during this period that he first looked at the inscription on the Rosetta Stone. He studied Demotic Egyptian, a simplification of hieratic, itself a simplification of hieroglyphs. Champollion tries to pierce the mystery of hieroglyphs, "a mixture of figurative, symbolic and phonetic signs" as he describes it himself. The Rosetta Stone is a piece of stele that reveals the inscription of the same text in two languages, ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek, and in three distinct scripts: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptian demotic and Greek alphabet. Champollion understands that hieroglyphs are not only ideograms, but also phonetic signs. On September 14, 1822, after a hard work of at least 10 years, suddenly, it is the evidence: "I hold the business! Eureka!" exclaimed Jean-François Champollion. Thanks to him, the civilization of Ancient Egypt is illuminated, in all its grandeur, its flamboyance. The fame of this historian of genius becomes worldwide, and his name is then synonymous with the discovery after a hard work, tenacity, passion. From that day on, Egyptology was born, and still today it is emulated in the four corners of the globe, in a passionate and dazzling way.
Indeed, the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone radiates throughout the world, not only for the open door it represents on a civilization that is about to deliver its secrets, but also for the effervescence it generates towards science and the exciting phenomenon of discovery.
The Rosetta Stone
What does this famous Rosetta stone reveal? What is it, finally? This 760 kg stele fragment was found in 1799 in a catalog of artifacts from the city of Rosetta, which gave it its name, by an expedition of Napoleon Bonaparte to Egypt. But the French left it to the British in 1801 who began the work of deciphering it. To do this, white chalk is rubbed on the stone to make the text more readable. Then it is coated with a layer of carnauba wax: this is what gives it its black color. The stone was only cleaned of this wax in 1999: the true color of the stone finally reappeared, in its shades of gray and pink veining. It is now certain that the material is neither basalt nor granite, although it is close to the latter, but granodiorite, a typical magmatic rock from a quarry located on the banks of the Nile. The text engraved in this rock, which missing fragments of the stele make incomplete, is a decree dated 196 BC of the pharaoh Ptolemy V, who was poisoned by his courtiers. A translation into Greek could be made as early as 1803 thanks to the work of the British Thomas Young on the demotic, but the hieroglyphs remained a mystery. It is thus 20 years later that the veil is raised, thanks to Champollion. From there to believe that the hieroglyphs became as clear as water of rock and can be read fluently, it is not really exact... But the hardest part is done, and allows a major advance in the field. Since then, the Rosetta Stone has been the object of many tensions, especially during the Napoleonic wars, between France and England, which takes a share of the cake: Thomas Young has actively participated in its deciphering, and without him, no Champollion the Egyptologist. Egypt, as for it, claims its return on its native land since 2003. Today, the original Rosetta Stone can be admired at the British Museum in London. But Figeac is not to be outdone, since the city benefits from a spectacular reproduction made of black granite from Zimbabwe by Joseph Kosuth, exposed on the Place des Écritures, address of the Champollion Museum, which attracts many tourists every year.
2022: the bicentenary of the deciphering of the hieroglyphs
In 2022, for the bicentenary of this historic moment, numerous events are being organized in Europe as well as in Egypt: exhibitions, conferences and symposiums are taking place at the British Museum, of course, as well as at the Louvre-Lens Museum, the National Library of France, in Marseille, Lyon, Grenoble, Turin, Alexandria, Cairo... Figeac, the Musée des Écritures du Monde, and all its partners are also celebrating this major discovery. Hélène Lacipière, vice-president of Grand Figeac and municipal councillor in charge of culture and heritage, explains: "Given the importance of this decipherment in the advancement of science and Champollion's fame, it is proposed to celebrate this anniversary in an original way. In order to distinguish itself from other celebration projects, it is proposed that a partnership and territorial program of actions be carried out under the theme of Research, Discovery and Development, combining culture, tourism, economy and education with the figure of Champollion as a backdrop. It is therefore a question of a program dedicated not only to Champollion and Egypt, but also to all that he represents: the desire to understand the world and the sciences, history and heritage in all their significance, and historical progress as a springboard for innovation and development of a society. During the year 2022, and particularly in September, all the cultural actors of the city, the Museum of World Writings, the heritage department, the cinema, the media library, the tourist office, and local associations, will gather to pay tribute to this great man and his work by organizing the operation "Eureka! Champollion Figeac 2022". Exhibitions, meetings, theatrical visits, escape games, tours, concerts, cinema, shows, conferences, contemporary art: the program is rich and varied, aimed at scientists as well as tourists and families, all over the Grand Figeac territory.
Travel in time and space
In the heart of Figeac, when one arrives at the Champollion square, the vision of the museum of the same name is impressive: its facade is double and perfectly expresses the purpose of the permanent collection that is housed there. The first stone facade, renovated in the style of the medieval period of its construction, tells of the past, the testimony, the History, while the second, made of glass and copper worked like lace with signs of writing from all over the world, invites to travel, to discover, and to modernity. The spotlights that illuminate the building at nightfall give a play of light and shadow that unites them with great poetry. When the Champollion Museum was created in 1986, it was dedicated to the famous Egyptologist, to pay homage to him, and to share the discoveries on the Ancient Egyptian civilization that his work allowed. But in 2007, the museum expanded and took advantage of the opportunity to broaden the spectrum of the theme: around the deciphering of hieroglyphs, it is the entire history of the Scriptures that it allows to explore. From now on, the Champollion Museum will take us on a journey through time through writing, in a chronological way, but also through the world, through the many civilizations that have made the history of humanity. Although the first graphic elements discovered date back 50,000 years, the oldest writing itself is about 5,300 years old, discovered on proto-Indian seals, and has not yet been deciphered. Unfortunately, Champollion is no longer here to deal with it! From clay tablets to digital tablets, the visitor is invited to question the place of writing in a society, its impact and its future. What we can deduce is that it will keep a central place, but in what form? Will we return to a kind of hieroglyphs through emojis or will the writing of tomorrow be computer code? The last room, the video lounge, invites reflection, but also reverie with a breathtaking view of the city.
Temporary exhibitions also take place in the annex of the Champollion Museum, always related to writing, from classical French poetry to calligraphic arts. They are sometimes integrated into a national event, as the museum is constantly connected with the cultural life and themes of the whole of France, and the world. Although the subjects are specialized, the youngest are always invited to discover and participate in the events, at the level of a child who brings a new and refreshing look. The Champollion Museum has not finished dazzling us with the richness of what makes humans an animal like no other: their ability to transmit through writing.
