So like Khaemweset, fourth child of Ramesses II (~1281~1225 BCE (side-note, I just noticed that dude had a long life)), noted as "the first Egyptologist" for preserving and restoring already-ancient monuments and temples and also record who built them and for what purpose.
Or maybe Pharaoh Thutmose IV about two centuries prior (~14th century BCE) who had Great Sphinx of Giza uncovered (it had been buried up to the neck by then) after having a dream under its nose and placed a carved tablet (now known as the Dream Stele) recounting the event between the Sphinx's paws.
Sorry this hits on one of my autistic fixations so I had to infodump that this actually happened in history, multiple times. Wikipedia says there were Ptolemaic-era restorations going on under both the Ptolemies and Romans (~3rd century CE) but without a citation and it's difficult to properly search for this topic online.
I had heard this was a thing (which inspired this prompt) but I couldn't find anything on it after a cursory search. Thanks for the links! It's cool reading about this stuff.
2 Comments
Unique_Emerald_Sol_I@literature.cafe · 3 pts · 4d
So like Khaemweset, fourth child of Ramesses II (~1281~1225 BCE (side-note, I just noticed that dude had a long life)), noted as "the first Egyptologist" for preserving and restoring already-ancient monuments and temples and also record who built them and for what purpose.
Or maybe Pharaoh Thutmose IV about two centuries prior (~14th century BCE) who had Great Sphinx of Giza uncovered (it had been buried up to the neck by then) after having a dream under its nose and placed a carved tablet (now known as the Dream Stele) recounting the event between the Sphinx's paws.
Sorry this hits on one of my autistic fixations so I had to infodump that this actually happened in history, multiple times. Wikipedia says there were Ptolemaic-era restorations going on under both the Ptolemies and Romans (~3rd century CE) but without a citation and it's difficult to properly search for this topic online.
ComicalMayhem@literature.cafe · 1 pts · 23h
I had heard this was a thing (which inspired this prompt) but I couldn't find anything on it after a cursory search. Thanks for the links! It's cool reading about this stuff.