Ancient History/Egypt/Egyptology
< Ancient History | Egypt
Egypt was a popular tourist destination from the 1st century AD onward. The mysterious monuments, long considered the oldest in the world, were considered romantic and stunning by writers as various as the 2nd century AD novelist Apuleius and the English 17th century AD poet John Keats. Napoleon toured the ruins in 1802 AD and used the vista of the pyramids to inspire his troops. In 1821, Jean-Louis Champollion cracked the hieroglyphic code using the Rosetta Stone, a black basalt monument with texts in hieroglyphic and hieratic Egyptian, and Greek. In 1922, Howard Carter discovered and recorded the contents of the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The study of ancient Egypt remains popular among amateurs and professionals today.