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Jean-François Champollion. Jean-François Champollion (23 December 1790 – 4 March 1832) was a French scholar, philologist and orientalist, decipherer of the Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Jean-François Champollion

Biography[edit] Champollion was the last of seven children (two of whom died before he was born). He was raised in humble circumstances; because his parents could not afford to send him to school, he was taught to read by his brother Jacques. Jacques, although studious and largely self-educated, did not have Jean-François' genius for language; however, he was talented at earning a living, and supported Jean-François for most of his life.[1] Champollion married Rose Blanc (1794–1871) in 1818.

Egyptian hieroglyphics[edit] In 1822, Champollion finally published the first correct translation of the hieroglyphs and the key to the Egyptian grammatical system. Franco-Tuscan Expedition[edit] On 21 July 1828, with four members, they boarded the ship Eglé at Toulon and set sail for Egypt. Certain portions of Champollion's works were edited by Jacques. Ancient Egypt Web Site. Theodore M. Davis. Theodore M.

Theodore M. Davis

Davis (1837 – February 23, 1915) was an American lawyer and is best known for his excavations in Egypt's Valley of the Kings between 1902 and 1914.[1] Biography[edit] Theodore Montgomery Davis was born in Springfield, New York in 1838. After a career in the law and business, he moved to Newport, Rhode Island in 1882 where he built a mansion known as "The Reefs" (later "The Bells") on Ocean Avenue, on property which is now Brenton Point State Park.[2] Although married, Davis had a live-in mistress, Emma Andrews, from 1887 until his death. Excavations[edit] Starting in 1902 Davis acted as private sponsor for the Antiquities Service.

The excavations carried out under Davis's sponsorship are among the most important ever undertaken in the valley: in the course of 12 years about 30 tombs were discovered and/or cleared in his name,[11] the best known among them are KV46 (tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu), KV55 (the Amarna cache), KV57 (tomb of Horemheb) and KV54 (Tutankhamun embalming cache). Giovanni Battista Belzoni. Giovanni Battista Belzoni (Italian pronunciation: [dʒoˈvanni batˈtista belˈtsoːni]; 5 November 1778 – 3 December 1823), sometimes known as The Great Belzoni, was a prolific Italian explorer and pioneer archaeologist of Egyptian antiquities.

Giovanni Battista Belzoni

Early life[edit] Belzoni was born in Padua. His father was a barber who sired fourteen children. His family was from Rome and when Belzoni was 16 he went to work there, claiming that he "studied hydraulics. " He intended taking monastic vows, but in 1798 the occupation of the city by French troops drove him from Rome and changed his proposed career.