Many people consider the Rosetta Stone the most important stele of all time. The Rosetta Stone took its name because it was discovered in 1799 by some of Napoleon’s soldiers who were building a fort in the Egyptian village of el-Rashid, which translates as Rosetta. Dating from about 196 B.C.E., this 45” × 30” granite slab bears a decree about royal cult worship of Ptolemy V. The decree is written in three forms: hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek.