Giovanni Battista Belzoni | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Giovanni Battista Belzoni[1] | |
| Born | (1778-11-05)5 November 1778 |
| Died | 3 December 1823(1823-12-03) (aged 45) |
| Known for | Egyptian antiquities |
| Spouse | Sarah Banne |
Giovanni Battista Belzoni (Italian pronunciation:[dʒoˈvannibatˈtistabelˈtsoːni]; 5 November 1778 – 3 December 1823), sometimes known asThe Great Belzoni, was a prolific Italianexplorer and pioneerarchaeologist ofEgyptian antiquities. He is known for his removal to England of theseven-tonne bust ofRamesses II, the clearing of sand from the entrance of the great temple atAbu Simbel, the discovery and documentation of thetomb of Seti I (still sometimes known as "Belzoni's Tomb"), including thesarcophagus of Seti I, and the first to penetrate into thePyramid of Khafre, the second pyramid of theGiza complex.
Belzoni was born inPadua. His father was a barber who sired fourteen children. His family was fromRome and when Belzoni was 16 he went to work there, saying that he studied hydraulics. He intended on taking monastic vows, but in 1798the occupation of the city by French troops drove him from Rome and changed his proposed career. In 1800 he moved to theBatavian Republic (nowNetherlands) where he earned a living as a barber.
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In 1803 he fled to England to avoid being sent to jail.[2] There he married an Englishwoman,Sarah Banne. Belzoni was a tall man at 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) tall (one source says that his wife was of equally generous build, but all other accounts of her describe her as being of normal build) and they both joined a travelling circus.[3] They were for some time compelled to subsist by performing exhibitions of feats of strength and agility as astrongman at fairs and on the streets of London. In 1804 he appears engaged at the circus atAstley's Amphitheatre andSadler's Wells in a variety of performances.[4] Belzoni had an interest inphantasmagoria and experimented with the use ofmagic lanterns in his shows.[5]
In 1812 he left England and after a tour of performances in Spain, Portugal andSicily, he went toMalta in 1815 where he metIsmael Gibraltar, an emissary ofMuhammad Ali, the Pasha of Egypt, who at the time was undertaking a programme of agrarian land reclamation and important irrigation works.[6] Belzoni wanted to show Muhammad Ali a hydraulic machine of his own invention for raising the waters of theNile. Though the experiment with this engine was successful, the project was not approved by the pasha. Belzoni, now without a job, was resolved to continue his travels.
On the recommendation of the orientalistJ. L. Burckhardt he was sent byHenry Salt, the British consul to Egypt, to theRamesseum atThebes, from where he removed with great skill the colossal bust ofRamesses II, commonly called the "Younger Memnon". Shipped by Belzoni to England, this piece is still on prominent display at theBritish Museum in London. This weighed over 7 tons. It took him 17 days and 130 men to tow it to the river. He used levers to lift it onto rollers. Then he had his men distributed equally with four ropes drag it on the rollers. On the first day (27 July) he covered only a few yards, but on the second he covered 50 yards, deliberately breaking the bases of two columns to clear the way for his burden. After 150 yards, it sank into the sand, and a detour of 300 yards on firmer ground was necessary. From there, it got a little easier, and, on 12 August he finally reached the river, where he was able to load it onto a boat for shipment to England.[7] His excavation and removal of the Younger Memnon and other stones during this expedition was explicitly authorized by afirman from Muhammad Ali himself.
He also expanded his investigations to the great temple ofEdfu, visitedElephantine island andPhilae, cleared the entrance of the great temple atAbu Simbel of sand (1817), made excavations atKarnak, and opened up thetomb of Seti I (still sometimes known as "Belzoni's Tomb") in theValley of the Kings. He was the first to penetrate into thePyramid of Khafre, the second pyramid of theGiza complex, and the first European in modern times to visit theBahariya Oasis. He also identified the ruins ofBerenice on theRed Sea.[8]
In 1819 he returned to England and published an account of his travels and discoveries entitledNarrative of the Operations and Recent Discoveries within the Pyramids, Temples, Tombs and Excavations in Egypt and Nubia, &c[9] the following year. During 1820 and 1821 he also exhibited facsimiles of the tomb of Seti I. The exhibition was held at theEgyptian Hall,Piccadilly, London.[10] In 1822 Belzoni showed his model inParis.[8]
In 1823 he set out for West Africa, intending to travel toTimbuktu. Having been refused permission to pass through Morocco, he chose theGulf of Guinea coastal route. He reached theKingdom of Benin, but was seized withdysentery at a village called Gwato (nowUghoton), and died there. According to the celebrated travellerRichard Francis Burton he was murdered and robbed.[citation needed] In 1829 his widow published his drawings of theroyal tombs at Thebes.[8]
A medal depicting a profile of Belzoni created byWilliam Brockedon was cast in 1821 by SirEdward Thomason. Belzoni’s friend SirFrancis Ronalds had introduced the artist and subject. Years later, in 1859 in Padua, Ronalds advised sculptorRinaldo Rinaldi on the large medallion he was creating to commemorate Belzoni in his hometown.[11]
Belzoni was portrayed byMatthew Kelly in the 2005BBC docudramaEgypt.
Alberto Siliotti completed a unique scholarly edition of his travel writing, and it was the subject of theHorus expedition in 1988.
Belzoni was the subject of a satirical publication entitled "Belzoni Notes: The Official Organ of the Belzoni Society" published by the Anthropology department of University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Horace Smith, a poet in the circle ofPercy Bysshe Shelley, wrote " Address to the Mummy in Belzoni's Exhibition."
Belzoni_Engravings.jpg)
Belzoni_Engravings.jpg)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Belzoni, Giovanni Battista".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 713.
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