archersangel | The Writing of the Gods by Edward Dolnick

the rest of the title is; The Race to Decode the Rosetta Stone

from amazon;

The Rosetta Stone is one of the most famous objects in the world, attracting millions of visitors to the British museum every year, and yet most people don’t really know what it is. Discovered in a pile of rubble in 1799, this slab of stone proved to be the key to unlocking a lost language that baffled scholars for centuries.

Carved in ancient Egypt, the Rosetta Stone carried the same message in different languages—in Greek using Greek letters, and in Egyptian using picture-writing called hieroglyphs. Until its discovery, no one in the world knew how to read the hieroglyphs that covered every temple and text and statue in Egypt.

Dominating the world for thirty centuries, ancient Egypt was the mightiest empire the world had ever known, yet everything about it—the pyramids, mummies, the Sphinx—was shrouded in mystery. Whoever was able to decipher the Rosetta Stone would solve that mystery and fling open a door that had been locked for two thousand years.

Two brilliant rivals set out to win that prize. One was English, the other French, at a time when England and France were enemies and the world’s two great superpowers.

this is the first book i read in 2025.
it was pretty interesting, going into how the rosetta stone was found, plus some history of ancient egypt that lead to it's creation.
it also goes a bit into written language in general & how hard it is to figure out if you have no frame of reference for it. are the signs/symbols words? sounds? letters? and is it read from left to right? right to left? top to bottom?
there are still some written languages no one knows how to read in this day & age. probably the most well known is Linear A. but there's also the written language of the Etruscans (a.k.a the nearby civilization that early ancient rome stole nearly every concept & idea from). as well as the written language of the Rapa Nui, the people of easter island.

my brother wondered who decided on the "correct" written words for things?
like; one man said this collection of lines means "rock". but another man said no; his collection of lines means "rock". then they started fighting, throwing rocks at each other, & killing each other. a third guy comes along & says this collection of lines means "rock" & everyone went along with it.