Carlitos Lunghi Site

                               The keys to understanding the hieroglyphic script were the Philae
                               obelisk of Kingston Lacy of  6,7 meters and 6 tons of Red granite
                               as well as the Rosetta Stone. It  was  discovered  in  the island of
                               Philae by an English nobleman, William John Bankes in 1815.
                               He, then, took it to his own estate in Kingston  Lacy,  Wimborne
                               Minster, Dorset in 1821. The lower part of  a  sister  obelisk was
                               also found and taken to Bankes estate afterward. It was rerrected
                               in 1839 with its base.
                               When the obelisk was discovered in Philae, its base was inscribed
                               with the names of PTOLEMY VII  and his  sister CLEOPATRA
                               in Greek.
                               The obelisk itself was decorated with names of kings and gods.
                               It is generally assumed that the  Rosetta  Stone alone was the key
                               to the decipherment of heiroglyphs  but  the  Philae  Obelisk  also
                               played   a  role. The  Rosetta  Stone  bears  many  inscription  of
                               PTOLEMY in hieroglyphics, demotic  script  and  Greek.   From
                               these inscription, it  was  possible  for  the   French  Egyptologist
                               Jean-Francois Champollion  to  identify  the hieroglyphic form of
                               the  name,  PTOLEMY.  By  using  the  same  method,  Bankes
                               pointed  out   the  hieroglyphic form of the name, CLEOPATRA,
                               which was unknown before.

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