richard-miles-archaeologist:Archaeology: A Secret History - BBC Four Episode 2 “The Search for Civil
richard-miles-archaeologist:Archaeology: A Secret History - BBC Four Episode 2 “The Search for Civilisation”In 1798 Napoleon marched into Egypt with his army. He also took with him academics, scientists, geographers and engineers. He was there to uncover a whole civilisation.A contemporary record of Napoleon’s expedition is kept at the Bibliotheque Nationale, in Paris. The Description de l’Égypte was a series of publications which offered a comprehensive scientific description of ancient and modern Egypt as well as its natural history. It is the collaborative work of about 160 civilian scholars, known popularly as the Savants, who accompanied Napoleon’s expedition, as well as about 2000 artists and technicians, including 400 engravers.They recorded virtually every aspect of Egyptian life; everything from religion to geography was precisely measured and recorded.Only a thousand copies of these expensive (23) volumes were created. The work had a huge influence on the nascent field of Egyptology.Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, France -- source link
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