The ancient Egyptian civilization was one of the oldest civilizations that we know of on Earth. While there is much we know about them, knowledge of their system of writing, known as hieroglyphics had become lost by the middle ages. Where there were different theories as to what the writing meant, no one was really sure how to read hieroglyphics. All of this changed in 1799 when French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte discovered a stone that unlocked the secrets of the language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices