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Private Notes
In this episode we discover that Giovanni Belzoni travelled to London from his native Italy in search of adventure. He met his wife, Sarah and together they fulfilled his ambition to travel to Egypt to aid the Egyptian farmers with ideas for improved irrigation. Belzoni’s engineering ideas were seen as a threat but their fortunes turned when they happened upon the Swiss Egyptologist, Mr Burckhardt.
This programme follows the journeys of Belzoni as he goes in search of further treasures. His route takes him south to Abu Simbel where he makes the astonishing discovery of a temple. From here he travels north to the Pyramids, this time with Sarah. Together they find the hidden entrance to the second Pyramid, only to find the tomb void of its treasures. Disappointed, Belzoni writes his name on the tomb walls.
Back in London, it’s the year 1862. Sarah takes Antonia to the British Museum to see some of the riches that Giovanni had transported back. She draws Antonia’s attention to the significance of another artefact, the Rosetta Stone, inscribed with hieroglyphs, demotic script and Greek. It wasn’t until 1822 that a Frenchman, Jean François Champollion, translated the Rosetta Stone and led the way to decipher hieroglyphic writing. But this was after the work of the Belzonis who could only guess at what the strange symbols meant.
After the hope and excitement of Belzoni’s original discoveries, this programme takes on a more sombre note, reflecting on the deteriorating health of Burckhardt. We see Sarah nursing Burckhardt whilst Belzoni explores the Valley of the Kings and discovers the beautifully illustrated tomb of Pharaoh Seti I.
After his latest discovery and following Burckhart’s death, Giovanni returns to London with his wife, determined to make a living by recreating the tomb of Seti I for discerning members of Victorian society. However, curiosity about the exhibit is short-lived, leaving the Belzonis with no work and little money. Giovanni leaves in search of treasures in other parts of Africa, and Sarah never sees him again, for he contracts dysentary and dies. Her wish in life has always been to keep the memory of her husband’s work alive. This she does through Antonia and her little shabti figure.
