In the last edition of the Western Cemeteries we visited the field itself with George Reisner and the Hearst Expedition. We will be visiting Reisner quite a bit, later in this series, but this time we are going to look in particular at the Italian Turin Mission, led by Ernesto Schiaparelli. Schiaparelli is perhaps more associated with his discovery of the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens, but he did receive the concession to explore the Western Cemetery for Italy, and he did do some work there. Let’s take a look.
Just a couple of notes beforehand. First, this edition is dedicated to my friend and G.P., Dr. Akshaya Patel, who had blessed me with good health, counsel, and conversation. I am a man of my word - Dr. Patel, this is for you. Second, as I am bringing the site back into current service, I am slowly approving and responding to literally hundreds of pending posts. Please be patient!
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Tags: Bertha Porter, Digital Giza, Ernesto Schiaparelli, Francesco Ballerini, Great Pyramid, Hearst Expedition, Khufu, Rosalind Moss, Sieglin Expedition, Turin Museum, Western Cemetery
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We have been introduced to the Western Cemetery of Khufu, and how it began as nucleus cemeteries that expanded as additional mastabas and burials were added, creating the not-always-so-neat mosaic of a history in stone of the Fourth Dynasty, beginning with the reign of Pharaoh Khufu. Now the Egyptian authorities were going to allow three international missions to begin excavation in the Western Cemetery. But how would the concessions be divided? How was the decision made, as regards who digs where? In Part 3, we begin to demystify at least how this process began. As we go, we will see that concessions get passed on, swapped, and at least temporarily, set aside. The concessions at Giza today may look somewhat differently, but at least in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, this is how it started.
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Tags: Ernesto Schiaparelli, Georg Steindorff, George Reisner, Giza, Hearst Expedition, Hemiunu, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu, Ludwig Borchardt, Sieglin Expedition, Turin Expedition, Western Cemetery
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