The Rosetta Stone

When the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799, the carved characters that covered its surface were quickly copied. The printer's ink was applied to the stone, and white paper was laid over it. When the paper was removed, it revealed an exact copy of the text - but in reverse. Since then, many copies of "facsimiles" have been made using a variety of materials. Inevitably, the stone's surface accumulated many layers of material left over from these activities, despite attempts to remove any residue. Once on display, the grease from the many thousands of human hands eager to touch the stone added to the problem. The opportunity to investigate and clean the Rosetta Stone arose when this famous object was made the centerpiece of the Cracking the Codes exhibition at The British Museum in 1999. When work commenced, removing all but the original, ancient material, the stone was black with white lettering. As treatment progressed, the different substances uncovered were analyzed. Grease from human handling, a coating of carnauba wax from the early 1800s, and printer's ink from 1799 were cleaned away using cotton wool swabs and liniment of soap, white spirit, acetone, and purified water. Finally, the white paint in the text, applied in 1981 and left in place as a protective coating until now, was removed with cotton swabs and purified water. A small square in the bottom left corner of the face of the Stone was left untouched to show the darkened wax and the white infill.