by 
The Curious Bag
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According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the original Rosetta Stone is "an ancient Egyptian stone bearing inscriptions in several languages and scripts...found in the town of Rosetta (Rashid), about 35 miles northeast of Alexandria."
History
The Rosetta Stone was found by a French Army officer while his soldiers were extending a line of fortifications near Rosetta in Egypt in 1799. The stone came under British control in 1801 when the French in Egypt surrendered to British forces. The stone is now in the British Museum in London.
Languages
Inscriptions on the stone are written in two languages--Egyptian and Greek--and three writing systems-- hieroglyphics, demotic script and the Greek alphabet.
Deciphering
A number of French and British linguists began work on translation of the inscriptions soon after the stone was discovered, most importantly Jean-Francois Champollion, who was able to decipher the hieroglyphics.
Significance
The Rosetta Stone provided the key to the successful translation of Egyptian hieroglyphics, enabling scholars to translate numerous other inscriptions that were previously untranslatable.
Common Use of Term
According to Webster's Dictionary, the phrase "Rosetta Stone" now means, in addition to the original historic stone, "one that gives a clue to understanding."
Source:
Encylcopedia Britannica: Rosetta Stone
The British Museuma: Rosetta Stone
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