Our history is no more
than a series of incredible events.
Every one of us can influence its course.
(dramatic music)
The most infinitesimal of our decisions
can influence the future of humanity.
To know the past is to foresee the future.
2018, Silicon Valley, California.
In the third basement of this private museum,
the powerful deep learning algorithms
of billionaire Adrian Bren
are about to achieve their objective,
the decryption of the Egyptian hieroglyphics.
At the beginning of the 19th century,
while the Egyptian campaign is turning into a fiasco,
the French scientists overlook the Rosetta Stone.
During the two centuries that follow,
Egypt's antique monuments are at the mercy of looters
and private collections are enriched
at the detriment of national museums.
Today, having paid the highest price
on the black market for the precious stone,
the billionaire was about to make history.
But none of that ever happened.
In 1799, a small grain of providential sand
will allow us to pierce the secret of the hieroglyphics.
July 21st, 1798, Battle of the Pyramids.
General Bonaparte just conquered Egypt.
July 15th, 1799, Lieutenant Bouchard
accidentally discovers an impressive Egyptian stone.
September 14, 1822, Jean-Francois Champollion
manages to unlock the mystery of hieroglyphics.
These three inexplicably linked events
are key moments in the decoding of hieroglyphics,
opening the path to Egyptology.
December 23rd, 1790, Figeac, France.
Jean-Francois Champollion is born
in a troubled political context.
The previous year in Paris,
armed revolutionists stormed the Bastille.
Following that, France enters a period of revolution.
The European monarchs unite in an effort
to squash the dangerous ideas of liberty and equality.
The Young Republic is fighting on all fronts
in the context of total chaos.
Time passes, and while little Champollion
is learning to read at a very young age,
governments fall one after the other.
The revolutionary terror hovers over the countryside,
and the guillotine prunes the political landscape.
England, leader of successive,
anti-revolutionary coalitions, is the national enemy.
But it is protected by the channel.
The island is beyond the reach of the revolutionary armies,
so they find a different path.
An invasion of Egypt could compromise the route to India
and threaten British trade interests.
At this time, Egypt was part of the Ottoman Empire,
but the Sublime Porte, riddled with corruption,
could only exercise theoretical control.
The real power was in the hands of the Mamluks.
Crossing the Mediterranean controlled
by the Royal Navy is a complicated endeavor.
To lead this dangerous mission,
they chose an officer who has quickly risen
through the ranks, General Bonaparte.
Young, dynamic, and aggressive,
Bonaparte is convinced by the ideas of the revolution
and completely dedicated to his country.
In record time, and completely in secret,
Bonaparte manages to assemble an army of 40,000 soldiers.
And that's not all.
Passionate about math and a personal member
of the Institute of Sciences,
he asks the eminent mathematician, Gaspard Monge,
to organize a commission of scientists and artists
to accompany him to Egypt.
(people murmuring)
Beyond the military considerations,
this would be a scientific and cultural expedition.
In total, no less than 167 savants join
the adventure without knowing how long
it would take or exactly where they would go.
May 19th, 1798, mathematicians, chemists,
surveyors, doctors, architects,
painters and botanists set out
side-by-side with the revolutionary troops
for the land of the pharaohs.
Welcome to the memory of humanity.
Every historical event, regardless of how small,
is recorded and connected.
You only need to change one to upset all the others.
Here, we are able to control time,
analyze and compare billions of events,
in order to rewrite history in infinite ways.
Let's go back to the dawn of the 19th century.
No one, not even in Egypt, is able to decipher
the innumerable texts carved in the tombs of the pharaohs,
or on obelisks that guard the entrance to the temples.
Egyptian know almost nothing about
their extensive ancient heritage.
Egyptian civilization, from the height of its millennia
of existence, has almost disappeared from memory.
From Easter Island to the Central American empires,
to the Celts, there are significant parts of history
that remain mysterious, even today.
Others have disappeared forever,
and their very existence has been forgotten.
This makes one pause for thought.
So matter how strong and enduring a society might be,
a shift in the walls of fate can
still make it disappear forever.
On the scale of humankind,
civilizations are fragile and awfully ephemeral.
None of them are safe from oblivion.
(people yelling)
November, 1798.
Jean-Francois Champollion enters school.
This strong-willed, young student
prefers Latin and Greek lessons
and turns his back on math classes.
This is just one of the first steps in the long love affair
between Champollion and ancient languages.
A few months earlier, hundreds of nautical miles from there,
General Bonaparte managed to evade the English lookouts
and seized the city of Alexandria.
July 21st, on the Banks of the River Nile,
he defeated the Mamluk tribes of Murad Bey.
During an epic battle not far
from the Great Pyramids of Giza,
the French soldiers opened the road to Cairo
by firing their pistols. (soldiers yelling)
Within a few months, General Bonaparte conquers Egypt.
(dramatic orchestral music)
From then on, the scientific commission
explores every inch of the country.
The Egyptian Institute, newly created in Cairo,
methodically inventories everything found
with in the country and lays the first stones of Egyptology.
(canons firing) (people yelling)
But the pressure from the British fleet
is growing stronger and stronger.
On August 1st, the Admiral Nelson's squadron
destroyed the French fleet in the harbor of Aboukir,
destroying all hopes of returning to France.
Bonaparte is at an impasse.
He is forced to remain in Egypt.
Consequently, he commands his men
to restore coastal fortifications
in places like the city El Rachid,
renamed Rosette in French.
July 15th, 1799.
While working, Lieutenant Bouchard's men
dislodge a heavy, black stone.
The stone, which was intended as building material,
immediately intrigues the lieutenant.
Polytechnician and reader of Ancient Greek,
the officer immediately understands
the importance of the discovery.
Under a layer of dust,
he identifies some Greek inscriptions.
But the stone has two others,
carved using different systems of writing.
The lieutenant alerts his superiors.
Quickly sent to Cairo, the stone,
from then on called the Rosetta Stone,
is the object of everyone's attention.
In addition to Greek,
the two other writing systems are identified.
The stone contains Demotic and hieroglyphic symbols.
What is even more important,
the Greek text, quickly deciphered,
indicates that the three texts
are in fact the translations of the same decree
that came to unlock the secret
of the pharaoh's sacred writings.
To facilitate its study, they decided to make
a copy of the texts in case the stone
falls into the hands of the English.
We have arrived at the point of divergence.
A point of divergence is a key moment,
a crossroads in our history where our world
can swing from one side to the other.
The Rosetta Stone is a stone fragment
engraved with a decree promulgated
by Pharaoh Ptolemy V in 196 BC.
The same text was transcribed three times,
in hieroglyphics at the top,
in Demotic in the center, and in Greek at the bottom.
In theory, understanding the content
of one text allows one to decipher
the content of the two others.
The stone was discovered by an educated officer
who could actually read Greek.
This unique occasion fell into the hands
of one of the rare people who was capable
of understanding its importance.
As Louis Pasteur once said,
chance only favors the prepared minds.
Someone without in-depth knowledge of the ancient languages
would probably have used that block of stone
as backfill without anyone ever knowing it existed.
Without the discovery of the Rosetta Stone,
it is possible that Egyptology
would have never become so popular.
Today, Egyptian history would probably
still be largely ignored or neglected.
Falling victim to looting by treasure hunters,
the Egyptian heritage would be scattered
amongst private collections all around the globe.
March, 1801.
Champollion, 10 years old, joins his brother in Grenoble.
He begins studying Ancient Greek and Latin,
as well as Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, and Chaldean,
then moves on to Persian and Coptic.
Archeology is his passion.
In 1804, he studies at the Imperial High School.
Since the republic has become an empire,
France has a new leader, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
Five years earlier,
evading the maritime patrols of the Royal Navy,
the General of the Republic fled from Egypt.
November 10th, 1799, he positions himself
at the head of the country through
an audacious military coup.
Thanks to savvy messaging, his scientific triumphs
overshadow the failure of his military campaign in Egypt.
But the repatriation of the Scientific Commission,
loaded down by its numerous documents,
notes, sketches, and Egyptian artifacts,
is not achieved without a compromise.
The English fleet offers its safe return
in exchange for all of the scientific works.
A terrible sacrifice. (people yelling)
After tough negotiations, the French are allowed
to keep their precious research,
but the British draw the line
at the most attractive archeological finds,
especially the Rosetta Stone.
This is an immeasurable loss.
But inside the bags of the French scholars,
the copies of the stone have been happily preserved,
alongside Denon's fabulous drawings
and other meticulous descriptions of Egypt.
From 1802 to 1826, these precious items
are patiently reassembled in a monumental work,
The Description of Egypt.
The Rosetta Stone immediately attracts
the attention of the scientific community,
especially that of the Englishman, Thomas Young.
The scientist immediately gets to work.
His goal, make the stone speak
and unlock the secrets of the hieroglyphics.
In 1808, one of the copies of the stone
falls into the hands of the 17-year-old Champollion.
In 1814, he writes to the Royal Society
asking for a better transcription.
Thomas Young, then secretary
of the prestigious organization,
discovers that he has a competitor in France.
The response from Young to Champollion is clear.
The French transcriptions have the same quality
as the English ones, so there's no need to send anything.
Soon, Champollion hears about Young's research.
He has a rival in London.
One writing can be hiding another.
When the Rosetta Stone was discovered,
the comprehension of Egyptian hieroglyphics
had been lost since the end of the Roman Empire,
even though it had previously been
used for over three millennia.
Reserved for scribes, a small, efficient cast,
the secrets of hieroglyphic writing
was only known to a handful of people.
In 391, the Roman emperor, Theodosius I,
condemned the sacred science to oblivion
when he ordered the closing of the pagan temples.
Hieroglyphic writing, designed to be carved,
is mainly figurative, easily recognizable
by its symbols representing objects.
Over time, it has simplified, tending towards abstraction.
It becomes progressively linear,
then cursive so it can be inscribed
more quickly on parchment or papyrus.
The writing becomes even more simplified with Demotic,
which is a popular writing used in daily life,
a far cry from its hieroglyphic ancestry.
Finally, Coptic appears,
which is based on the Greek alphabet,
and still used today as a liturgical language.
In Champollion's time,
the Egyptians use another language, Arabic.
For researchers, deciphering hieroglyphics
means traveling through time across
various linguistic layers, a true archeological feat.
Knowing the intermediary languages
becomes a huge advantage.
Young makes the first notable advances.
He suggests that Demotic is not simply alphabetic,
but a mixture between hieroglyphics and an alphabet.
Thanks to the discoveries of other researchers,
he also knows that the cartouche
with multiple hieroglyphics actual contain
the names of the pharaohs.
His mathematical method pushes him
to dismiss the signs he deems unnecessary.
Young seems to be a step ahead.
(men yelling) (guns firing)
June 18th, 1815, Battle of Waterloo.
Napoleon's army, after fighting alone
against all of Europe, is vanquished
by a coalition led by England.
(dramatic orchestral music)
Napoleon advocates a few days later.
Champollion, a supporter of the emperor,
is placed under surveillance.
In March, 1816, he is forced to leave the city
and has to stop his research for one year.
Young continues the race all alone.
The Englishman publishes an article
in the Encyclopedia Britannica.
It claims to have discovered
the principles of hieroglyphic writing,
but in reality, he can successfully identify
the name of Pharaoh Ptolemy thanks to cross checks,
but he is still unable to read the hieroglyphics.
He has not found the deciphering key.
Champollion is going to go much further.
The Frenchman is persuaded that within the same phrase,
a sign can be used as a symbol to designate a word
or phonetically to designate a sound.
According to him, hieroglyphics are a mixture
of ideograms and phonograms.
Added to the block containing the names of known pharaohs,
this major discovery will help
him isolate 12 phonetic signs.
It is the beginning.
On the morning of September 14th, 1822,
he receives a reproduction of a cartouche
from one of the temples of Abu Simbel.
He begins studying it immediately.
Thanks to his previous work, he already knows
the two last signs, a double S.
Following his theory, the first sign,
very widespread and representative of the sun,
could be read as the symbol of the God of the Sun,
or by his phonetic equivalent in Coptic, Ra.
The sign in the middle is also decipherable
thanks to his precious knowledge of Coptic,
an advantage that Young lacked.
It reads bring to the world,
which is pronounced mice or meese.
Combined, this reveals Ra-Mes-S,
or phonetically speaking, Ramses,
which signified Ra is the one who bore him.
For the first time in 1,400 years,
on that day in 1822, someone is able
to read the name of the powerful pharaoh
using hieroglyphic symbols.
The legend says that Champollion arrived
at his brother's house and screamed, "I've got it,"
and then passed out from exhaustion.
A few days later, he details his discovery
in a letter to the (speaking in foreign language).
(Young yells)
Thomas Young is offended that he is only mentioned twice
in the publication by Champollion,
a young, pretentious Frenchman
who is 17 years younger than him.
In an anonymous letter, he describes Champollion work
as an extension of his own.
Making history.
Thomas Young, after putting both his reputation
and a great deal of energy into the fight,
is finally bested by a young, French scholar.
Vexed, Young redoubles his efforts to make his work known,
arguing that Champollion's discovery is largely based on it.
One fact is obvious.
All of scientific research is based
on the sum of knowledge accumulated by others.
In 1809, after the long process
of classifying all the vertebrate species,
the French naturalist Lamarck proposed
a theory around the evolution of species.
It is based in part on principles
already developed by Aristotle.
50 years later, Charles Darwin completes this theory
by adding the notion of natural selection.
In 1859, he publishes On the Origin of Species,
a major scientific work, and a foundation text
explaining the principles of evolution.
Today, everybody knows the name Darwin.
But how much of his fame is owed to Lamarck?
(soft, dramatic music)
1826.
Champollion is named curator in charge
of the Egyptian collections at the Louvre Museum.
It is a huge honor.
Enriching the collections becomes Champollion's priority.
In 1828, Champollion finally realizes his dream.
He takes his first steps
on Egyptian sands for a scientific mission.
He goes up the Nile until the Second Cataract,
personally verifying the validity of his work.
After being satisfied for years
with copies and reproductions,
he finally has multiple examples
of hieroglyphics engraved or painted
on temples, statues, sarcophagi, papyrus.
When he returns in 1830, he is elected
to the (speaking in foreign language)
that obtains the first chair
of Egyptian archeology in the world,
created specially for him at the College de France.
He gives his inaugural lecture in 1831,
but sickness takes him from the world on March 4th, 1832.
He was only 41 years old.
He never saw the Rosetta Stone in person,
but he accomplished his goals.
Entered in the history of humankind
as the decipherer of hieroglyphics,
this young scholar who was passionate
about the Orient opened up the path to Egyptology.
It's thanks to him that today we know
so much about the 3,500 years of Ancient Egyptian history.
And yet, there are still so many mysteries to be discovered.
But that is another story.
Who is legitimate?
In 2004, the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo
sent a request to the British Museum.
Found on Egyptian soil and illegally transported to England,
the Rosetta Stone should be returned.
For the London Museum, which had protected it
for over two centuries, the stone has become
an integral part of the British heritage.
The question of restitution for numerous objects,
sometimes aligned with colonial domination
or military operations can be complex.
Before any other consideration,
these vestiges of the past should be protected
against time, the elements,
and above all else, from humans.
The sacking of churches and castles
during the French Revolution,
or the destruction of the temples of Palmyra by ISIS
in 2015 remind us that the heritage of humanity is fragile.
Added to this is the less visible
but equally destructive black market for antiquities.
All countries are victims and actors in this.
The Rosetta Stone has taught us
that each ruin can hide an immeasurable secret.
Champollion worked for years
on the flawed reproduction of this stone.
The original was inaccessible because it was
situated in a country in conflict with his own.
Today, a simple research online allows us
to see high definition photos of it.
The British Museum in London, where it resides,
offers free access to the public, for everyone.
It is now available without restrictions.
(dramatic orchestral music)