Fort Julien Fort Julien ( or , in some sources , Fort Jullien ) was a fort in Egypt , originally built by the Ottoman Empire and occupied by the French during Napoleon Bonaparte ' s campaign in Egypt and Syria between 1798 - 1801 . It stood on the left bank of the Nile a couple of miles north - east of Rashid ( Rosetta ) on the north coast of Egypt . In mid - July 1799 French troops under Lieutenant Pierre - François Bouchard uncovered the famous Rosetta Stone at the fort while repairing its defences . Two years later , the fort was captured by a combined British and Turkish force after a short siege and bombardment . The fort was a low , squat fortification with a central blockhouse that overlooked the final few miles of the Nile before it joins the Mediterranean Sea . It had been built in the 15th century by the Mamluk Sultan Qait Bey , who also built the eponymous Citadel of Qaitbay in Alexandria . The French took possession of it on 19 July 1798 , only a few days before the Battle of Abukir , and embarked on a hasty rebuilding of the dilapidated fort . It was subsequently reconstructed in a more thoroughgoing fashion and was renamed Fort Julien after Thomas Prosper Jullien , one of Napoleon ' s aides - de - camp . It was during this reconstruction that the Rosetta Stone was found . Qait Bey ' s engineers had apparently brought it to the site from elsewhere , possibly a temple at nearby Sais , to use as fill . Fort Julien was an important link in the French defensive line on the route to Cairo and barred access from the sea to the lower reaches of the river . French gunboats operated along the river nearby , blocking access to the mouth of the Nile . When the British landed at Abukir Bay on 1 March 1801 , the fort was garrisoned by a total of around 300 men , comprising a unit of veterans or " invalides " supported by artillery and infantry from the 61st demi - brigade . The British marched on Rosetta on 8 April , accompanied by a sizeable Ottoman force , and pushed on to besiege the fort with the 2nd ( The Queen ' s Royal ) Regiment of Foot under Lord Dalhousie and a force of 1 , 000 Turks . The siege was complicated by the difficulties of bringing artillery to bear on the fort , a task which took eight days . Seven gunboats had to be dragged for across sand and mud before they could be relaunched on the Nile , while 24 - pound naval carronade s were landed on the sea shore and dragged overland to reach their firing positions . General Robert Lawson of the Royal Artillery took the decision to use naval carronades rather than heavier standard 24 - pounders in the assumption – which proved correct – that the cement used by the French in their hasty improvement work would not yet have hardened . The French gunboats were driven back by their British opponents , enabling other British and Turkish gunboats to enter the river . On 16 April the artillery preparations were completed and the bombardment commenced , focusing on the south - west angle of the fort . A section of the wall collapsed on 18 April , exposing the French defenders to Turkish sharpshooters . At 11 : 00 on 19 April , the 264 surviving members of the French garrison surrendered , opening the Nile to the British and Turkish fleet . The French suffered 41 casualties , killed and wounded , while the British side suffered the loss of one lieutenant and two privates .