The continuation of the timeline for the decipherment of cuneiform, building directly on Rawlinson's work with the Behistun Inscription, focuses on the application of the Old Persian key to the more complex Elamite and Babylonian (Akkadian) versions, followed by verification and broader breakthroughs.

1847: Rawlinson completes and sends a full, accurate copy (including squeezes/paper casts) of the Babylonian section of the Behistun Inscription to Europe. This builds on his earlier Old Persian work and enables collaborative progress on the other scripts.Late 1840s–1851: Edward Hincks (an Irish philologist working independently) makes major advances in deciphering Babylonian/Akkadian cuneiform. He identifies that the script is logo-syllabic (signs can represent syllables, words, or ideas), recognizes polyphony (one sign having multiple readings/sounds), and establishes grammatical patterns like genitive endings. Hincks deciphers around 200 signs by 1851 and translates parts of inscriptions, including from Nineveh excavations.1851: Rawlinson publishes his translation and analysis of the Babylonian column of Behistun, contributing to Akkadian understanding (though his work was less groundbreaking than Hincks' in some respects).1853–1855: Rawlinson publishes a Babylonian translation of Behistun (independent of others). Edwin Norris, using Rawlinson's materials, publishes the Elamite portion in 1855, building on earlier work by scholars like Niels Ludwig Westergaard.1849–1850s: Excavations at Nineveh (by Austen Henry Layard and others) uncover Ashurbanipal's library—tens of thousands of clay tablets. This provides vast material to test and refine readings, accelerating progress.1857: A decisive public verification occurs. The Royal Asiatic Society in London organizes a test: four scholars (Rawlinson, Hincks, Julius Oppert, and William Henry Fox Talbot) independently translate a previously unseen inscription (the annals of Tiglath-Pileser I). Their translations align closely in essentials, confirming the reliability of the decipherment and silencing skeptics.By the end of the 1850s, Mesopotamian cuneiform (Akkadian/Babylonian and Assyrian) was effectively deciphered, opening access to ancient Mesopotamian history, literature (e.g., early translations of texts like the Epic of Gilgamesh precursors), and biblical corroborations. This laid the foundation for Assyriology as a field.Later milestones include Julius Oppert's refinements in the 1860s (e.g., nomenclature and grammar) and the eventual recognition of Sumerian as a distinct earlier language (non-Semitic substrate) in the following decades. Rawlinson's Behistun achievement remained the pivotal "Rosetta Stone" equivalent for cuneiform overall.