{"id":1433,"date":"2020-03-01T14:12:59","date_gmt":"2020-03-01T14:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/curiosi\/?p=1433"},"modified":"2020-04-06T12:52:43","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T11:52:43","slug":"egypt-in-reading-britain-in-egypt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/curiosi\/egypt-in-reading-britain-in-egypt\/","title":{"rendered":"EGYPT IN READING: Britain in Egypt"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the summer of 1882, reports began to circulate in British newspapers of “The Egyptian Crisis”. A nationalist movement led by Colonel Ahmed ‘Urabi was fighting increasing European financial and political incursion into Egypt. Alexandria, a key port-city on Egyptian coast, was the focus of British forces’ initial bombardment. The result, by the end of 1882, was Britain’s occupation of Egypt.<\/p>\n

After that, British officials worked in Egyptian government departments. British investors and engineers continued colonial infrastructure projects that changed Egypt’s landscape.\u00a0 Anglo-Egyptian military campaigns brought Sudan, Egypt’s southern neighbour, into British colonial administration by the century’s end. But British involvement in Egypt did not only take political and military form. It involved culture too \u2013 particularly Egypt’s ancient monuments and artefacts.<\/p>\n

From the 1880s, increasing numbers of British tourists and British archaeological teams went to Egypt during its ‘winter season’ (November to March), joining a growing British residential community.<\/p>\n

By rail and river, often courtesy of Thomas Cook & Son, British tourists, including George William Palmer of Huntley & Palmers Biscuit company in Reading, flocked to see Egypt’s archaeological sites.\u00a0 They were conducted around the sites by Egyptian dragomen like Elias Talhamy, and they carried guidebooks that charted ongoing excavations and discoveries.\u00a0 A few of them, including Henrietta Lawes of Caversham, were also there as students or volunteers on excavations.<\/p>\n

British archaeologists were given permits to excavate by the European-controlled Egyptian government. The archaeologists employed Egyptian workers to do back-breaking labour unearthing ancient cities and temples, houses, graves and artefacts.<\/p>\n

John Garstang was one of these archaeologists.<\/p>\n

On display<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Books on the Egyptian & Sudan campaigns written for children in Britain: G. A. Henty, Chapter of Adventures: or, Through the Bombardment of Alexandria <\/em>(1891) and Dash for Khartoum<\/em> (1892), Robert Hind, Ned West: A Hero of the Soudan War <\/em><\/strong>[on loan from the Children’s Collection, University of Reading Special Collections].<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    On loan from University of Reading, Children’s Collection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n