Narrative of the Operations and Recent Discoveries within the Pyramids, Temples, Tombs, and Excavations, in Egypt and Nubia: And

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Narrative of the Operations and Recent Discoveries within the Pyramids, Temples, Tombs, and Excavations, in Egypt and Nubia: And
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Giovanni Battista Belzoni
SeriesCambridge Library Collection - Egyptology
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:564
Dimensions(mm): Height 244,Width 170
Category/GenreEgyptian archaeology and Egyptology
ISBN/Barcode 9781108016759
ClassificationsDewey:932
Audience
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Illustrations 2 Plates, black and white; 1 Maps

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 22 July 2010
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

The Italian adventurer Giovanni Belzoni (1778-1823) is one of the most colourful and notorious figures in Egyptology. After the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt, European interest in the country, and especially in its antiquities, led to a demand for artifacts, the larger the better. Belzoni happened to be pursuing his two careers, as circus strong-man and hydraulic engineer, in Egypt in 1815, when he was asked to organise the transport of a 7-ton statue of Ramesses II from Thebes to the British Museum. After the success of this enterprise, he turned his attention to the discovery of other antiquities, though using destructive techniques which were deplored by serious contemporary scholars. His narrative of his adventures was enormously popular at the time, and remains readable and entertaining today. This reissue omits the plates from the original edition, which are too large to be reproduced satisfactorily in this format.