Giovanni Belzoni

INTRODUCTION

For a while now, I've wanted to write a post about Giovanni Belzoni. However, I can never make a conclusion about him with certainty. So, I felt that the most logical thing to do is put across the good stuff first, and then explain why I have a bit of doubt about Belzoni.

DOCUMENTARY

What follows is my summary of a documentary called Seekers of the Lost Treasure, or The Great Belzoni as termed by the Youtuber who uploaded it, with some of the blanks filled in from general info:

Narrated by the distinctive voice of Jeremy Irons, the documentary tells of an Italian man who, following the years of Napoleon's warmongering in Egypt, designs and presents an irrigation system to its viceroy. While initially impressed with it, the viceroy leaves Belzoni with little time for necessary improvements, and doesn't even pay him. Belzoni, worried about him and his wife starving, turns to amateur archaeology. Belzoni's love of Egypt and its history combine with his love of engineering and discovery after British Consul Henry Salt employs him to unearth and collect artefacts for the British Museum. ("It belongs in a museum." See my memory-lane post titled Indiana Jones for brief further info.) The majority of Belzoni's finds are reserved for the British Museum, while only purchased or given to individuals on the rare occasion.

Belzoni saves a dynamite-damaged, elements-affected bust of Rameses II from the Ramesseum in Thebes, becoming sun blind for a few days. Literally unearths the Great Temple of Abu Simbel and its giant statues, then documents and draws things within it, after initially running out of food. Collects important historical papyri from Elephantine Island. Deduces where to find the chamber of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings. Mathematically and methodically calculates the location of the secret entrance to the Pyramid of Khafre.

All the while he endures his discoveries getting smashed or stolen by French engineers and thieves, false reports of his death, dangers lurking in the shadows, and his boss Henry Salt, who turns out to be pompous and deceitful.

The documentary credits Belzoni's invaluable Egyptian friends and employees, and the two English navy officers James Mangles and Charles Irby, who turned from protectors on the Nile to fellow documenters inside the Temple of Abu Simbel.

CONTEXT

Napoleon and his sidekicks killed thousands of Egyptians over a four year period; for centuries, Egyptian thieves robbed tombs, and melted down gold objects; for decades, Europeans drank the ashes of mummies, in the belief they'd get superpowers; and the post-Napoleonic period heralded plunderers like Emile d'Avennes, who dismantled and went off with the entire remains of the Hall of the Ancestors, which was part of the Festival Hall of Karnak. Not to mention the constant civil unrest caused by different reasons and nationalities.

In contrast, the documentary Quest for Ancient Egypt points out that during that difficult political period in Egypt's history, Belzoni was well-liked by both Egyptians and foreigners. Howard Carter credited Belzoni as being inspirational and pioneering. And, right now in Egypt, Egyptologists, both Egyptian and international teams, do pretty much what Belzoni did back in his day, albeit using different methods – uncover and excavate findings, clean artefacts to be sent to museums, detail what they come across. And when they studied to become Egyptologists, they studied the life, findings, drawings, and recordings of Belzoni. Some people grow up wanting to get into that field because of Belzoni.

Around three hundred thousand tourists visit Egypt every year just to see Abu Simbel, bringing in billions, alone, for the Egyptian economy. This thanks to a once aspiring monk who had to escape his monastery and persevere through life after Napoleon's armies invaded Italy.

PUBLICATION

In 1820 Belzoni published his account of his travels in Egypt, a book with a long title, in part called Within the Pyramids, Temples, Tombs, and Excavations. These key words should immediately put across the effort that he and his Egyptian teams had to put into their, as he says, operations.

What was clear to me in listening to this book as well as the many hours I've spent watching YouTube videos about Belzoni is that Egypt, at the time, was wrecked. Some poor Egyptians were living in ancient structures just to have a roof over their heads. Belzoni's own Egyptian home was dilapidated. Around the 18:40 mark (Greatest Audiobooks) Belzoni describes how villagers along the Nile tried to stay upbeat even though they were still being oppressed by the Turks. He continues to give examples of the unrest and hardships of Egypt throughout the book.

The point is that Egypt was no place for recovered artefacts. It was wrecked and ever unstable. Further, if you excavated or unearthed something and left it there, someone, local or foreigner, was going to take it.

COMMENTS

I find that internet and YouTube comments generally favour Belzoni. People from around the world generally have good things to say about him.

I remember a really nice comment made by an Egyptian man who enjoyed reading books about Belzoni. He praised him and the challenges he got through in Egypt, under difficult circumstances.

OPINION

When I wrote the post about William Hunt (The Lost City), it wasn't difficult to conclude from the information at hand that he was despicable. If you pat a black woman on the head like she's a dog, and put a deformed orphan on display to increase your bank balance, I think it's safe to say you're despicable.

In the posts that followed, I always gave my honest opinions and conclusions, whether a simple trip down memory lane through Indiana Jones movies, or how highly I thought of the original Star Trek series, through analysis.

However, with Belzoni, I don't feel entirely convinced of the information at hand.

For instance, I am of the understanding that there was at least one museum in Cairo at the time. Would those, all things considered, have been invaded or neglected, or come to ruin? Was there enough reason for Belzoni to avoid taking that chance, even with a single relic?

Also, I'd need some other aspects cleared up first too.

For instance, Belzoni liked to write or imprint his name on walls.

There are three differing views to this matter: he did it out of vanity; he did it in the hope an ongoing excavation wasn't claimed by others; he did it out of happiness and pride so that future generations would remember his achievements.

Which view is correct? Or, depending on where Belzoni was at a given time, are they all correct in context?

If you asked me to hazard a guess about Belzoni now, my response would be: if at least ninety percent of what I watched and listened to is correct, I give him a thumbs-up.

However, with reason, it will never become a double thumbs-up unless I can read, at the least, portions of non-fiction books about him.

Further, while his life and times are interesting, it is Belzoni's book itself that sets my mind on a single thumbs-up. Now and then, he says or does something that can be construed as questionable, some of these aspects and contexts only those non-fiction books might resolve or clarify.

LIGHTER SIDE

To end on a light note, have you ever noticed that you nor anyone else can impersonate the voice of Jeremy Irons? In the first couple of years of high school, a buddy and I tried hard to, only to always have a good laugh at each other. Just try and impersonate the voiceover from the beginning of the movie The Man in the Iron Mask. Very unique voice. Unmistakeable.