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We've
compiled a concise but handy reference
of the major discoveries of Ancient
Egypt, including the years of discovery,
the Egyptologist or person who
discovered it, and the area of the
excavation or discovery.
In the
beginning: 1799-1850
Napoleon's military expedition had only
been in Egypt a month when the British
secured a naval victory at Abuqir Bay,
completely cutting off the French army.
Napoleon's team of scholars, scientists
and artists made the best of a bad
situation by exploring, measuring and
documenting everything they saw. As they
progressed, one discovery after another
followed in an overwhelming succession
of monuments and statues. For three
years, the team continued, until the
final surrender of the French in 1801
when the scholars (or savants as they
are also known) could finally return
home. In 1828, "Description de L'Egypt"
was finally published, a monumental
publication of dedicated effort that
would spark the birth of Egyptology.
If you
use the hyperlinks in the list below,
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|
YEAR |
MAJOR FINDS |
EXCAVATION AND DISCOVERY |
AREA |
|
July 1799 |
The Rosetta
Stone. Provided the key to
the translation of Ancient
Egyptian hieroglyphs. |
Napoleon's
Egyptian Expedition, during
coastal defence works
carried out under Lieutenant
Pierre Bouchard. |
North of
el-Rashid (Rosetta) on the
site of an old fortress
known to the French as "Fort
Julien". |
|
1813-1817 |
The temple of
Abu Simbel. |
Johann Ludwig
Burckhardt, a Swiss scholar
fluent in Arabic. He
persuaded Henry Salt to have
the temple dug from the sand
by Belzoni. |
Abu Simbel in
Nubia. |
|
1816-1818 |
Durham
Servant Girl, Clearance of
Abu Simbel, Amarna Art, the
Late Ramessid Letters,
Sekhmet and her many
statues. Entrance and burial
chamber of the Pyramid of
Khafre, Giza. |
Giovanni
Battista Belzoni, a
hydraulic engineer and
circus "strong man", in
conjuction with Henry Salt,
British Consul general in
Cairo. |
Thebes and
the Valley of the Kings,
tombs KV16, KV17, KV19, WV23
and others, the Pyramid of
Khafre at Giza, Abu Simbel
dug from the sand. |
|
1820 |
Colossus of
Ramesses II (11m/36 ft
high). |
Giovanni
Battista Caviglia, a Genoese
sea captain employed by
Henry Salt. |
Ruins of
Memphis, the Temple of Ptah. |
|
1820's |
Papyrus
treasures including the
Turin Royal Canon (king
list), the Judicial Papyrus,
plan of the tomb of Ramesses
IV, map of the goldmines. |
Bernardino
Drovetti, the French Consul
General. Drovetti and Salt
had "divided" the country
between them for more
efficient exploitation. |
Deir
el-Medina, Thebes. |
|
1824 |
Intact tomb
and funerary equipment of
General Djehuty, who served
until Tuthmosis III. |
Bernardino
Drovetti, the French Consul
General. Unfortunately the
contents of the tomb were
dispersed without record. |
Saqqara. The
exact location is unknown
because no records were made
at the time of excavation. |
|
1827 |
Tomb of
Nubkheperre Intef, the first
intact burial of an Egyptian
King. |
Egyptian
locals. They opened the tomb
and helped themselves to
various treasures, which
later found their way into
the British Museum via Henry
Salt. |
Dra Abu
el-Naga, Thebes. |
Enter
the first "Egyptologists" 1850-1881
By the
middle of the 19th century, the
country's monuments were effectively
"under siege" with much that had
survived for thousands of years
literally lost overnight, and mostly for
personal gain. In 1850, the Frenchman
Auguste Mariette formed the Service for
the Conservation of Antiquities,
systematically clearing, detailing and
recording each discovery. The result was
the amazing collections of antiquities
which formed the Egyptian Museum in
Cairo, and the beginnings of a regulated
discipline.
|
YEAR |
MAJOR FINDS |
EXCAVATION AND DISCOVERY |
AREA |
|
1851 |
The Serapeum.
Burial place of the sacred
Apis Bulls, the "Seated
Scribe" statue from the 5th
Dynasty. |
François
Auguste Mariette and his
team. Napoleon's team had
earlier searched in vain for
the Serapeum. |
Saqqara.
Mariette finally enter the
sacred catacombs almost a
year after his inspired
search began. |
|
1855 |
The Harris
Papyri, the greatest
collection ever discovered. |
Anthony
Charles Harris, a British
commissariat in Alexander
was offered the papyri,
discovered by Egyptian
locals. |
Thebes, from
an unidentified tomb near
Medinat Habu. |
|
1860 |
The statue of
Khafre (Chephren) builder of
the second pyramid at Giza. |
François
Auguste Mariette was
exploring beneath the paving
of Khafre's valley temple
when he discovered a pit
containing several statues
of the 4th Dynasty ruler. |
Giza, the
Valley temple of the Pyramid
of Khafre. |
|
c.1862 |
The Edwin
Smith Papyri: Rhind
mathematical papyrus,
Mathematical leather roll,
Ebers medical papyrus and
the Edwin Smith surgical
papyrus. |
The American
Edwin Smith came to Luxor in
1858 and set up as a money
lender and dealer. He
"acquired" four of the most
important scientific texts
ever found. |
Thebes. An
18th Dynasty tomb plundered
by locals. |
|
c.1865 |
The Palermo
Stone, fragmentary chronicle
of the Egyptian state
calendar, with Nile flood
levels and the name of the
king in whose reign they
occurred. |
The stone is
in fragments, the main piece
in Sicily, some in Cairo,
and another in London. The
main piece was discovered in
Sicily, to which it may have
travelled as ballast. |
The piece in
London was acquired at the
time of Flinders Petrie's
excavations at Memphis. |
|
1871 |
The Meidum
Sculptures. Remarkable pair
of lifelike painted
limestone sculptures of
Prince Rahotep and Princess
Nofret from the 4th Dynasty. |
Discovered by
Mariette's assistant Albert
Daninos in the mastaba of
Rahotep and Nofret. |
Meidum. |
|
1881 |
The Pyramid
Texts. The world's oldest
religious literature. |
Heinrich and
Émile Brugsch. Inscribed on
the walls of the Pyramid of
Pepi I of the 6th Dynasty. |
Pyramid of
Pepi I at Saqqara. |
Expansion and controlled excavation:
1881-1914
Auguste Mariette was succeeded by Gaston
Maspero in 1881. Under his directorship,
the archaeological exploration of the
Nile Valley was set on an international
footing. This was the era of tourists
and grandees, and saw the emergence of
scholars such as Flinders Petrie, Lord
Carnarvon and Howard Carter.
|
YEAR |
MAJOR FINDS |
EXCAVATION AND DISCOVERY |
AREA |
|
1881 |
The Royal
Cache of Mummies. Amazing
collection in excess of 50
mummies of kings, queens,
lesser royals and courtiers,
including such greats as
Ramesses II and his father
Seti I. |
Local Abd
el-Rassul family discovered
and plundered the cache,
selling objects, including a
mummy on the black market.
Émile Brugsch was
investigating the source of
these objects. |
Deir
el-Bahri, Thebes. |
|
1887 |
The Amarna
Letters. A cache of
cuneiform tablets of
correspondence between the
pharaohs Amenhotep III and
Akhenaten and their Near
Eastern neighbours. |
A local woman
digging ancient mudbrick for
use as a fertiliser
(sebakh). Their importance
was not immediately
recognised until Wallis
Budge from the British
Museum purchased a number of
them. |
Tell
el-Amarna in Middle Egypt,
the site of Akhenaten's city
of Akhetaten. |
|
1888 |
The Faiyum
Portraits. Lifelike
portraits once bandaged over
the face of Roman period
mummies. |
Earlier finds
had been available in
tempura, however Flinders
Petrie discovered a batch of
over 60 beautifully drawn
Roman period mummy
paintings. |
Faiyum site,
near Hawara, approx. 60kms
south-west of Cairo. |
|
1891-1892 |
Paintings
from the Palace at
el-Amarna. An amazing
collection of Amarna Art. |
Flinders
Petrie was the first to
excavate the site at
el-Amarna, assisted by a
young Howard Carter. |
Tell
el-Amarna in Middle Egypt. |
|
1896 |
The Israel
Stelae. The only reference
to the tribe of Israel in
any Egyptian text: "Israel
is laid waste! Her seed
exists no more!" |
Uncovered by
Flinders Petrie in the
mortuary temple of
Merenptah, carved on the
reverse of a stelae
originally prepared for
Amenhotep III. |
Thebes. |
|
1897-1899 |
Hierakonpolis, "city of the
falcon god". A collection of
statues, some in gold,
Narmer Palette, dating from
the Early Dynastic Period. |
James Quibell
and Frederick Green. The
most significant find was
the Narmer Palette which
showed the king wearing the
red and white crowns. |
Kom el-Ahmar,
(Hierakonpolis). |
|
1898-1899 |
Tomb of
Tuthmosis III, tomb of
Amenhotep II, and a second
cache of royal mummies. |
Victor Loret,
director general of the
Egyptian Antiquities
Service, excavating in the
Valley of the Kings. |
Valley of the
Kings, Thebes. Tombs KV34,
KV35, KV36, and others. |
|
YEAR |
MAJOR
FINDS |
EXCAVATION
AND DISCOVERY |
AREA |
|
1896-1906 |
The
Oxyrhynchus Papyri, a
collection of Classical
works, including early
Christian texts. |
Bernard
Grenfell and Arthur Hunt.
The papyri were discovered
inside a mummified
crocodile. |
El-Bahnasa
(Oxyrhynchus). |
|
1903 |
The Karnak
Cachette, the largest ever
find of statues, dating from
Early Dynastic to the
Greco-Roman period. |
Georges
Legrain, working under the
supervision of Gaston
Maspero. Finds included the
famous statue Tutankhamun as
the god Khonsu. |
Karnak
Temple, Thebes (Luxor). |
|
1904 |
The tomb of
Nefetari, principal wife of
Ramesses II. |
Ernesto
Schiaparelli, director of
the Museo Torino. The tomb
is famous for the sheer
brilliance of its
decoration. |
Valley of the
Queens, Thebes. Tomb QV66. |
|
1908-1910 |
The statues
of Menkaure, builder of the
third pyramid of Giza. |
George
Reisner, the "American
Petrie" |
Menkaure's
pyramid and valley temples,
Giza. |
|
1912 |
The workshop
of the royal sculptor
Thutmose. The famous
unfinished bust of
Nefertiti, seated statue of
Amenhotep son of Hapu. |
Ludwig
Borchardt and his team of
German archaeologists,
excavating at el-Amarna
after Flinders Petrie. |
Tell
el-Amarna (Akhetaten),
Middle Egypt. |
|
1914 |
Hidden
treasure of Sithathoriunet.
A spectacular hoard of
Middle Kingdom jewellery and
cosmetic containers. |
Flinders
Petrie excavating the Middle
Kingdom subsidiary tombs of
the Pyramid of Sesostris. |
Pyramid
necropolis of El-Lisht.
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