Editing Rosetta Stone (section)

==Requests for repatriation to Egypt==
Calls for the Rosetta Stone to be returned to Egypt were made in July 2003 by [[Zahi Hawass]], then Secretary-General of Egypt's [[Supreme Council of Antiquities]]. These calls, expressed in the Egyptian and international media, asked that the stele be [[art repatriation|repatriated]] to Egypt, commenting that it was the "icon of our Egyptian identity".<ref name="Edwardes">[[#Edwardes03|Edwardes and Milner (2003)]]</ref> He repeated the proposal two years later in Paris, listing the stone as one of several key items belonging to Egypt's cultural heritage, a list which also included: the iconic [[Nefertiti Bust|bust of Nefertiti]] in the [[Egyptian Museum of Berlin]]; a statue of the [[Great Pyramid of Giza|Great Pyramid]] architect [[Hemiunu]] in the [[Roemer-und-Pelizaeus-Museum]] in [[Hildesheim]], Germany; the [[Dendera zodiac|Dendera Temple Zodiac]] in the [[Louvre]] in Paris; and the [[Ankhhaf (sculpture)|bust of Ankhhaf]] in the [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|Museum of Fine Arts]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Sarah El Shaarawi |title=Egypt's Own: Repatriation of Antiquities Proves to be a Mammoth Task | date=5 October 2016| url=http://newsweekme.com/egypts-repatriation-antiquities-proves-mammoth-task/|publisher=Newsweek – Middle East}}</ref> In August 2022, Zahi Hawass reiterated his previous demands.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/08/22/return-rosetta-stone-to-egypt-demands-countrys-leading-archaeologist-zahi-hawass|title='Return Rosetta Stone to Egypt' demands country's leading archaeologist Zahi Hawass|date=22 August 2022|website=The Art Newspaper – International art news and events}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/2022/08/19/new-push-to-bring-rosetta-stone-back-to-egypt-amid-awakening-on-colonial-loot/|title=New push to bring Rosetta Stone back to Egypt amid 'awakening' on colonial loot|first=Tim|last=Stickings|date=19 August 2022|website=The National}}</ref>

In 2005, the British Museum presented Egypt with a full-sized fibreglass colour-matched replica of the stele. This was initially displayed in the renovated [[Rashid National Museum]], an Ottoman house in the town of [[Rosetta|Rashid]] (Rosetta), the closest city to the site where the stone was found.<ref>[[#Rose05|"Rose of the Nile" (2005)]]</ref> In November 2005, Hawass suggested a three-month loan of the Rosetta Stone, while reiterating the eventual goal of a permanent return.<ref>[[#Huttinger05|Huttinger (2005)]]</ref> In December 2009, he proposed to drop his claim for the permanent return of the Rosetta Stone if the British Museum lent the stone to Egypt for three months for the opening of the [[Grand Egyptian Museum]] at [[Giza]] in 2013.<ref>[[#Antiquities05|"Antiquities wish list" (2005)]]</ref>

{{stack|[[File:Historical cannons in Rosetta.JPG|thumb|alt="Photo of a public square in Rashid (Rosetta) in Egypt featuring a replica of the Rosetta Stone"|A replica of the Rosetta Stone in Rashid ([[Rosetta]]), Egypt]]}}

As [[John D. Ray|John Ray]] has observed: "The day may come when the stone has spent longer in the British Museum than it ever did in Rosetta."<ref name="Ray4">[[#Ray69|Ray (2007)]] p.&nbsp;4</ref>

National museums typically express strong opposition to the repatriation of objects of international cultural significance such as the Rosetta Stone. In response to repeated Greek requests for return of the [[Elgin Marbles]] from the [[Parthenon]] and similar requests to other museums around the world, in 2002, over 30 of the world's leading museums—including the British Museum, the Louvre, the [[Pergamon Museum]] in Berlin, and the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art|Metropolitan Museum]] in New York City—issued a joint statement:

{{Blockquote|Objects acquired in earlier times must be viewed in the light of different sensitivities and values reflective of that earlier era...museums serve not just the citizens of one nation but the people of every nation.<ref>[[#Bailey03|Bailey (2003)]]</ref>}}