Another highlight of the British Museum is the extensive Egyptian collection. Besides many sarcophagi and statues, including an enormous one of Pharaoh Ramesses II, the collection is home to the famous Rosetta stone, used by Jean-François Champollion to decipher the hieroglyphic writing.
The text on the stone,
![](http://ok-t.ru/studopediasu/baza3/848400466471.files/image030.jpg)
Rosetta Stone
created in 196 BC after the end of the Egyptian dynasties, is written in three different writings: Greek, hieroglyphic and demotic (a symplified form of hieroglyphic).
The British Museum is also known for its very large and popular collection of Egyptian mummies and coffins. You can even find animal mummies here.