Round 12: Tossup 2

Note to moderator: Read answerline carefully. Note to Players: Description Required. A work detailing Horapollo’s 5th century attempt to perform this task was rediscovered by Cristoforo Buondelmonti in 1419. Athanasius Kircher’s (“KEER-kurs”) largely guess-based attempts at this task were expanded upon by physicist Thomas Young’s study of a cartouche (“kar-TOOSH”). A group of “Savants” (15[1])attempted to perform this task utilizing (*) Pierre-Francois Bouchard’s discovery at Philae during the Napoleonic Expedition. Jean-Francois Champollion (“shawm-poll-YAWN”) is largely credited with accomplishing this task after the discovery of an object (10[1])that contained inscriptions in Ancient Greek (10[1])and Demotic. (-5[1])For 10 points, what task was achieved after the Rosetta Stone was decoded? ■END■ (0[1])

ANSWER: deciphering hieroglyphics [accept descriptions of decrypting or translating hieroglyphics; accept the Egyptian writing system or Egyptian hieratic or Egyptian demotic before mention or in place of “Hieroglyphics”; prompt on descriptions of generally deciphering or decrypting or translating with “What was deciphered?”; prompt on descriptions of deciphering the Rosetta Stone with “what broader system was decoded?”]
<History - Other, Charan Shreekumar> | VAULT II Packet 13 (Finals 1)
= Average correct buzzpoint

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