In the 19th century, archaeologists such as Mariette, Maspero, and Petrie became the pioneers who entered the ancient Egyptian pyramids and tombs not to plunder their treasures, but to unveil the mysteries concealed by the millennia-old pharaonic culture.
Apart from the visits of a few daring and uncommon travelers, up until the 19th century, the culture of Pharaonic Egypt remained distant to Europeans, merely a faint echo barely present in the Bible.
Strangely enough, it was the French Revolution that ultimately propagated the pharaonic fervor across Europe. Having risen as the favored military figure of the Republic, Napoleon organized and executed the conquest of Egypt with the aim of disrupting the lucrative trade that Great Britain maintained with the Indian subcontinent.
In addition to his soldiers, he was accompanied by a large and diverse group of scholars (engineers, linguists, draftsmen, zoologists, botanists…) who subjected the country and its ancient ruins to in-depth scrutiny.
Following the failed conquest, a magnificent book was published upon their return to France, brimming with data and illustrations: “Description de l’Égypte” (Description of Egypt, 1809-1829), which played a pivotal role in nurturing the passion for all things Egyptian across the continent.
This is a book whose pages specialists continue to consult today, even as many of the monuments described within have already vanished.
Antique Trade
After the withdrawal of the French armies, the presence of European powers in the land of the Nile became more consistent, bringing with it the influx of antiquities onto the continent. Egyptian artifacts were in vogue, and the deciphering of the ancient inscriptions of the pharaohs became a matter of national prestige.
Several distinguished scholars played their part in this process, but it was the Frenchman Jean François Champollion who ultimately succeeded in presenting grammatical rules that enabled the translation of hieroglyphics.
From that point onward, the acquisition of pharaonic objects – just as mummy powder was losing its status as a universal remedy – turned into a trend, sparking a trade in antiquities that persists to this day. Although it now operates on a larger scale, it has been significantly curtailed and prosecuted by the authorities.
In the early 19th century, removing antiquities from Egypt was not considered a crime, and those who discovered intriguing pieces during excavations were allowed to retain them.
The legal basis for this practice was the “firman,” a kind of “decree” through which the sultan granted permission for excavation and retention of findings.
Naturally, the diplomatic representatives of the two primary European powers in Egypt, namely France and England, encountered no difficulties in obtaining such permissions. This was how the consuls of these two countries, Bernardino Drovetti and Henry Salt, respectively, assembled artifacts that would form the foundation of collections in esteemed European museums like the Louvre, the British Museum, and the Egyptian museums of Turin and Prussia.
The Era of Looting Begins
Egyptology was taking its initial steps as a historical science, and many collectors were affluent individuals who sought to possess authentic Egyptian artifacts to astonish their guests.
In the invitations to the most fashionable parties, the unwrapping of a mummy was featured as the main event of the evening! However, those were the norms of the time, and even the primary advocate of this emerging field, Champollion, who journeyed to Egypt to copy and translate as many texts as possible, capitalized on the opportunity to bring back a considerable number of pieces.
A similar situation unfolded among the explorers, who were distinctly adventurous and, during the same years, embarked on quests to uncover the vast riches of the pharaonic civilization. Among them, the most notable figure was undoubtedly Giovanni Battista Belzoni, who arrived in Egypt in 1815. Employed by Salt, he explored, but also plundered, numerous tombs and monuments.
One of his most renowned achievements was the transportation of a colossal statue of Ramses II from the Ramesseum to England, where it now stands on display at the British Museum.
The Prussian Expedition
Nonetheless, these practices started to evolve in the mid-19th century. Instead, a genuine historical inquiry was undertaken by the hands of some exceptional archaeologists who, while exploring Egypt’s past, prioritized its preservation. One of these figures was the Prussian Karl Richard Lepsius (1810-1884).
Having received training as a classical historian, he journeyed to Paris to study at the Collège de France’s Egyptian archaeology chair, established shortly before Champollion’s passing.
Subsequently, he focused his efforts on scrutinizing the grammar compiled by Champollion. Although he disagreed with certain conclusions on specific points, he simultaneously became the first to acknowledge and validate the French scholar’s work.
A few years later, in 1842, acting upon the endorsement of esteemed scientists Alexander von Humboldt and Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, King Frederick William IV of Prussia entrusted Lepsius with organizing an expedition to Egypt.
The primary objectives of this undertaking were twofold. On one hand, it involved copying as many inscriptions as feasible to enhance understanding of the history of the ancient rulers of the Nile. On the other hand, Lepsius was tasked with uncovering and amassing numerous artistically significant objects to curate a collection befitting the Prussian kingdom.
True to his word, Lepsius promptly acted on this mandate. In that very same year, he arrived in Egypt and initiated an expedition along the Nile Valley that would extend for nearly four years.
He conducted his work with the Prussian precision that Europe was only beginning to recognize. The engineers and surveyors accompanying him (following a Napoleonic model) produced extraordinarily precise plans that detailed all the terrain’s features, which often revealed, sometimes through minor archaeological excavations, buried ancient remnants.
For perspective, within the expanse of the Memphite necropolis (comprising the cemeteries of Giza, Abusir, and Saqqara), Lepsius managed to identify over 60 pyramids and uncover more than 130 tombs of ancient Egyptian nobility.
In harmony with the ethos of his era, Lepsius inscribed hieroglyphics on the entrance lintel of the Great Pyramid to commemorate his sovereign’s birthday.
Investigators and Adventurers
Lepsius continued his Nile journey, visiting and meticulously documenting crucial sites in Middle Egypt, ultimately reaching as far south as Khartoum in Nubia.
Upon his return to the north, he extensively studied the remains of Thebes, including the grand temples of Karnak and Luxor, along with the western bank of the river, where the tombs of kings and nobles are situated. Shortly thereafter, he returned to Prussia, and it was already the year 1846.
The culmination of his exhaustive research and compilation efforts resulted in a monumental twelve-volume work. The texts, complemented by 900 illustrations, remain a significant reference for contemporary Egyptologists. To the extent that, when attempts have been made to locate graves initially opened by Lepsius but subsequently buried by desert sands, such endeavors have encountered relatively few difficulties.
In 1850, a few years after Lepsius departed Egypt, François Auguste Ferdinand Mariette (1821-1881), a French Egyptologist employed by the Louvre Museum, arrived in the land of the Nile. His original mission to acquire Coptic manuscripts for the institution could not be fulfilled, leading him to redirect the funds towards excavations in Saqqara. Here, he made a remarkable discovery—the Serapeum, the burial site of the Apis oxen.
This marked the inception of a brilliant career in the realm of Egyptology. Mariette’s profound interest in all things pharaonic played a pivotal role in initiating the end of systematic plundering in Egypt. In 1858, he successfully persuaded Khedive Ismail Pasha to establish an organization dedicated to preserving the nation’s historical treasures.
Stop the Looting
As a result, the Egyptian Antiquities Service came into existence. Mariette, its inaugural director, carried out commendable work against the theft of antiquities in his role.
His efforts to combat cultural looting were continued by his reluctant successor, the Frenchman Gaston Maspero (1846-1916), who assumed the position at the Egyptian Antiquities Service. Thanks to his dedication, the contents of the Deir el-Bahari cache, including a dozen mummies of pharaohs, were successfully recovered.
The perception of Egypt as a vast expanse of antiquities accessible to whoever could seize them began to shift, largely due to a scholar who can be considered the progenitor of modern archaeology: the British figure William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853-1942). With a background in the science and technique of surveying, Petrie played a pivotal role in reshaping this narrative.
The Birth of Modern Egyptology
Petrie, England’s inaugural Professor of Egyptology, epitomized the typical Victorian character. A stickler for precision (likely stemming from his surveyor training), he directed his focus toward meticulously documenting his excavations. He meticulously filled in cards for every tomb, describing each object, and constructed the first chronological sequence for Egypt by analyzing ceramic containers.
Petrie conducted excavations spanning a wide range of remains in Egypt, from temples to pyramids, traversing urban areas. Notably, he also made the groundbreaking discovery of the existence of pharaonic prehistory.
Source: Jose Miguel Parra, National Geographic
