Archeologists in Egypt are imploring government leaders to formally demand that Britain return the Rosetta Stone, an artifact central to ancient Egyptian heritage, and 16 other antiquities to their country of origin. The Repatriate Rashid petition now has around 2,500 signatures and counting, according to CBS News. The Egyptian government has never before submitted a formal repatriation request.

The Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799, one year after Napoleon invaded Egypt. A French soldier found the artifact in the Nile River delta city of Rosetta, known today as Rashid. The stone drew immediate attention on account of its trilingual inscriptions in Greek, Demotic, and Hieroglyphs. When the French were defeated three years later, they surrendered the Rosetta Stone to British forces, who brought it back to England where it has remained ever since.

“The confiscation of the Rosetta stone, among other artifacts, is an act of encroachment on Egyptian cultural property and identity, and is a direct result of cultural colonial violence against Egyptian cultural heritage,” the petition reads. “The presence of these artifacts in the British Museum to this day supports past colonial endeavors of cultural violence. History cannot be changed, but it can be corrected, and although the political, military, and governmental rule of the British Empire withdrew from Egypt years ago, cultural colonization is not yet over.”

At the time of its discovery, the Rosetta Stone’s significance lay not so much in the substance of the message on its surface, but rather in the fact that the inscription appeared in three different languages. The stone itself became a key to decipher previously inscrutable records and carvings, thus revealing countless insights about ancient Egypt.

Monica Hanna, an archaeologist and campaign co-founder explained that the Repatriate Rashid petition is spurred by “the people demanding their own culture back.” She is convinced the Rosetta Stone and other artifacts will make it back Egypt – “it is just a matter of when.”

Other countries have also ramped up recent efforts to reclaim objects stolen from them under British colonial rule. However, the UK government has historically shown little interest in returning such items, and the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss appears to be no exception. She announced this week that she does not believe the British Museum should restore the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.