ROSETTA, a city of Egypt, situated on the w. bank of the old Bolbitic branch of the Nile, about 4 in. above the mouth, in 31° 25 n lat. and 30° 28' e. long. The name is supposed to be an old Egyptian one, and to have been derived from resat, or the month of the plains. Here was discovered the so-called Rosetta stone, or trilingual inscription in the hieroglyphic, demotic or enchorial, and Greek MITI:age, which was the key to the interpretation of the hieroglyphs. It is of black basalt, about 3 ft. 7 in. in length, and 2 ft. 0 in. in width, containing about one-third of the hieroglyphic, and nearly all the Greek and Roman portions, the upper part and portion of the side having been broken away. The contents of the inscription are a decree in honor of Ptolemy, Epiphanies by the priests of Egypt assembled in a synod at Memphis, on account of has remission of arrears of taxes and dues owed by the sacerdotal body. It was set up 195 B.C., and is the only one of the numerous examples ordered to be placed which has been brought to light. This monument was discovered in 1799 by M. Boussard, a
-French officer of engineers, during the French occupation of Egypt, in an excavation made at fort St. Julien, near Rosetta. More recent excavations have shown that it was found on the site of a temple dedicated by the Neeho II. of the 26th dynasty to the solar god Atum, or Turn. By the Arabs, Rosetta is called Rashid, lt•tirst rose into impor tance when the accumulation of mud had silted up the Damietta branch, and destroyed the importance of that city. It has been much praised for its verdure and charming gardens, which present an agreeable contrast to the barren wastes by which it is sur rounded. contains a mixed population, supposed to be about 16,000 in number. The streets are narrow, running n. and south. The river has a sandbar at the mouth, pre venting the entrance of large ships of war. It was unsuccessfully attacked by the British in 1807.