Several French figures loom large in the history of Egyptology and its subsequent development into a sophisticated scientific discipline, among them Jacques de Morgan (1857-1924), who was Director of the Egyptian Antiquities Service from 1892 to 1897. His appointment to this prestigious post, which was traditionally held by Frenchmen, obviously did not please Flinders Petrie, who wrote: ‘Really he was the son of Jack Morgan, a Welsh mining engineer and a brother of a Parisian dealer in antiquities. He knew nothing whatever about Egypt but, as a capable businessman, made the most reputable head the French could find.’ This was, however, unfair. De Morgan had previously directed the excavation of more than 1,000 Iron Age graves at necropolises in the Caucasus (also producing an archaeological map of the region). During his five years in Egypt, he directed many excavations and made several significant discoveries: for example, the early First Dynasty ‘Royal Tomb’ at Naqada, and the Sixth Dynasty mastabas of Mereruka and Kagemni at Saqqara. De Morgan founded the Museum of Alexandria, too, and oversaw important restoration work at Kom Ombo Temple. (It is worth noting that his older brother Henri also excavated in Egypt, most notably at Hierakonpolis, Ma’mariya, and Adaima.) However, Jacques de Morgan is best known for the remarkable discoveries he made during his excavations at Dahshur between 1894 and 1895.
A sepia photograph of a young Jacques de Morgan – mining engineer and Egyptologist. Image: Gallica Digital Library, via Wikicommons
The jewellery of Sithathoryunet and Mereret
During his first excavation season at Dahshur (1894-1895), de Morgan investigated the enclosure surrounding the Pyramid of Senusret III, fifth king of the Twelfth Dynasty (c.1874-1855 BC), and in its north-west corner discovered a subterranean burial complex. In its lower gallery (galerie des princesses), he found eight burial chambers in which royal women of the Middle Kingdom had been interred. Unfortunately, tomb robbers had entered the gallery long before de Morgan and plundered the chambers, removing the mummies and, no doubt, many fine artefacts from the women’s coffins. However, the thieves had missed two boxes.
De Morgan discovered the jewellery box of Princess Sithathoryunet in a pit dug in the gallery floor, next to her wooden canopic chest enclosing four alabaster jars containing her viscera. Included among the various pieces of jewellery in the box were: two decorated gold armlets with fasteners in the shape of djed pillars; six small gold lions, perhaps from two anklets (or, alternatively, from a necklace); six large gold cowrie shells, probably from a girdle; and two gold cylinders with loops at the top for suspension, presumably used as pendants. The most spectacular artefact, however, was a pectoral made of gold, carnelian, lapis lazuli, and turquoise. This featured the cartouche of Senusret II, the father of Senusret III, flanked by two hawks wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, and two cobras with sun-discs and ankh symbols.
