Scholars and Adventurers in Egypt From Antiquity to the 20th Century

Since ancient times, many artists, scholars, adventurers and archaeologists have traveled to this fascinating country. By bringing back in their luggage objects, images, texts, they contributed to the rediscovery of ancient Egypt. Among these enthusiasts, let us quote in particular Jean-François Champollion who managed in 1822 to decipher the hieroglyphs, Mariette who became in 1858 the director of the Egyptian Antiquities, then the first curator of the museum of Cairo in 1901, the painter David Roberts, famous for his watercolors of landscapes of the middle of the XIXth century, Howard Carter who discovered the tomb of Toutankhamon in 1922 or Jean-Yves Empereur and his recent underwater excavations of the harbor of Alexandria (years 1990). From chapter to chapter, we progress in the book from north to south, from the Delta to Nubia, following the course of the Nile. Passing through Cairo, Karnak, the Valley of the Kings or Abu Simbel, the author takes us in the wake of these men and women who explored, drew, photographed Egypt and its riches.

255 pages.