“For example, she said Egyptian mummified persons were excavated and brought back to Britain, for racist pseudoscientific research.”
As opposed to the utterly respectful local descendants of those times, who, if they got there first, unwrapped the mummies, took any precious metals for resale (often melting it down first), and discarded the rest on the ground - playthings for dogs and children. Oh, or used as fertilizer, of course.
Traveller’s journals of the Nineteenth century seem to all have at least one account of the traveller’s horror of unearthed, looted and broken mummies left scattered on the ground.
As for European and Local looters, in Pharonic times up to 2011, can I recommend “A Short History of Tomb-Raiding” by Maria Golia?
So, perhaps “We should do better” today, but don’t pretend back in the “Golden Age” of Egyptology that the locals in Egypt were not as bad as the Europeans in their disrespect.
“For example, she said Egyptian mummified persons were excavated and brought back to Britain, for racist pseudoscientific research.”
As opposed to the utterly respectful local descendants of those times, who, if they got there first, unwrapped the mummies, took any precious metals for resale (often melting it down first), and discarded the rest on the ground - playthings for dogs and children. Oh, or used as fertilizer, of course.
Traveller’s journals of the Nineteenth century seem to all have at least one account of the traveller’s horror of unearthed, looted and broken mummies left scattered on the ground.
As for European and Local looters, in Pharonic times up to 2011, can I recommend “A Short History of Tomb-Raiding” by Maria Golia?
So, perhaps “We should do better” today, but don’t pretend back in the “Golden Age” of Egyptology that the locals in Egypt were not as bad as the Europeans in their disrespect.