Early visitors to the Egyptian pyramids faced real dangers. Gabrielle Bremon noted water-filled hollows in 1643, Antoine Morison squeezed through sand-choked passages in 1698, and Jeeano in 1657 documented armed bandits on horseback waiting to rob exiting visitors. Even Edward Lane in 1825 still needed armed guards. These accounts show just how risky pyramid exploration was for centuries. 🏛️
Banditry and hazards faced by early pyramid explorers in Egypt
Key facts
- Gabrielle Bremon in 1643 described water-filled hollows and shifting sands near the pyramids
- Pietro della Valle in 1615 was the earliest recorded visitor to the Red Pyramid at Dahshur
- Locals intentionally filled pyramid passages with sand, either to extort payment for clearing or to occupy visitors so bandits could ambush them
- Antoine Morison in 1698 described squeezing through sand-filled passages in the Great Pyramid
- Jeeano in 1657 documented six armed Arabs on horseback waiting to rob visitors as they exited a pyramid
- Janisaries (Ottoman armed fixers) were almost essential for protection but were prone to mischief
- Karsten Niebuhr brought an astrolabe to Giza in 1761 to survey the Great Pyramid
- Edward Lane visited Giza in 1825 and still required armed guards due to bandit threat
Sources
DELLA VALLE, PIETROiranicaonline.org
He stayed at Istanbul from August 1614 to September 1615, then went by sea to Alexandria before traveling overland to Cairo, Mount Sinai, and Gaza ...
Pietro Della Valle's Travel to Istanbul (1614–1615)researchgate.net
Pietro Della Valle's Travel to Istanbul (1614–1615) Remapping Travel Narratives, pilgrimage of curiosity reveals the identity and the milieu of ...
Pietro Della Valleen.wikipedia.org
On 25 September 1615, he went to Alexandria. Because he was a nobleman of distinction, he travelled with a suite of nine persons, and with every advantage ...
The Strange Travels Of Pietro Della Valleqcurtius.com
His ship left Venice in June of 1614 and sailed for Constantinople. His first order of business after reaching the Ottoman capital was to ...
Pietro della Valle - Jim O'Donnellaroundtheworldineightyyears.com
After touring the holy sites, della Valle moved on to Damascus and Aleppo where he was meant to embark on a ship to Istanbul and then on to Venice and home.
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