A Thousand Miles Up the Nile

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A chance visit to Egypt in 1873 by Amelia Edwards changed the future of British Egyptology forever. Her travelogue, A Thousand Miles up the Nile, would inspire generations to take up her cause to support and promote Egyptian cultural heritage. A creaking sakkieh is at work yonder, turned by a couple of red cows with mild Hathor-like faces. The old man who drives them sits in the middle cog of the wheel, and slowly goes around as if he was being roasted." armé d'un dard avec lequel il transperce les ennemis d'Osiris, est appelé Horus le Justicier." — Dict. Arch. P. P IERRET, article

The Egyptologist and novelist Elizabeth Peters ( Barbara Mertz) named her character Amelia Peabody after Amelia Edwards. [32] Moon, Brenda E. (2006). More usefully employed: Amelia B. Edwards, writer, traveller and campaigner for ancient Egypt. London: Egypt Exploration Society. Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article " Edwards, Amelia Ann Blandford". Edwards further maintained important, close friendships with painter Marianne North (1830–1890), her travelling companion Lucy Renshaw (1833–1919) and her closest confidante during her later years, Kate Bradbury (later Griffith), who also became executrix of Edwards' will.means of a lever spooned out for the thumb to rest in, just like the lid of a German beer-mug of the present day.

No royal tomb has been found absolutely intact in the valley of Bab-el-Molûk. Even that of Seti the First had been secretly entered ages before ever Belzoni discovered it. He found in it statues of wood and porcelain, and the mummy of a bull; but nothing of value save the sarcophagus, which was empty. There can be no doubt that the priesthood were largely implicated in these contemporary sacrileges. Of thirty-nine persons accused EES intern Elizabeth Owen writes about the Saqqara Sacred Animal Necropolis object card digitisation project. Our full-colour magazine, published in spring and autumn, reporting on current excavations, surveys and research in Egypt and Sudan, showcasing the work of the EES as well as of other researchers and field directors.

To celebrate the 2022 reprint of A Thousand Miles up the Nile by Amelia Edwards, a temporary display has been curated at the EES London Office exploring the life of Amelia Edwards and her journey into Egyptology.

Explore the royal regalia of the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt and maybe spot some on your next museum visit! Being on vacation gives one the time to read a book that has been on my shelves for some time, but had never seemed to have the time to finish. This is the most important of my books, and the one by which I most hope to be remembered – if I may hope to be remembered at all! One commenter called the book "slow". What, exactly, would you expect? It's a travel journal, after all: no plot, character development, conflict, climax, final reveal, et cetera. Edwards wrote a successful, self-illustrated description of her Nile voyage entitled A Thousand Miles up the Nile (1877). [19] [20] Her travels in Egypt made her aware of increasing threats to ancient monuments from tourism and modern development. She set out to hinder these through public awareness and scientific endeavour, becoming an advocate for research and preservation of them. In 1882, she co-founded the Egypt Exploration Fund with Reginald Stuart Poole, Curator of the Department of Coins and Medals at the British Museum. Edwards became joint Honorary Secretary of the Fund until her death. [ citation needed] Great Temple at Abu Simbel (from A Thousand Miles up the Nile)

With the aims of advancing the Fund's work, Edwards largely abandoned her other literary work to concentrate solely on Egyptology. In this field she contributed to the ninth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, to the American supplement of that work, and to the Standard Dictionary. As part of her efforts Edwards embarked on an ambitious lecture tour of the United States in the period 1889–1890. The content of these lectures was later published under the title Pharaohs, Fellahs, and Explorer (1891). Born on 7 June 1831 in Islington, London, [4] to an Irish mother and a father who had been a British Army officer before becoming a banker, Edwards was educated at home by her mother and showed early promise as a writer. She published her first poem at the age of seven and her first story at the age of twelve. Thereafter came a variety of poetry, stories and articles in several periodicals, including Chambers's Journal, Household Words and All the Year Round. She also wrote for the Saturday Review and the Morning Post. [5] [6] Now every Egyptian tomb of importance has its outer chamber or votive oratory, the walls of which are covered with paintings descriptive, in some instances, of the occupations of Christiansen, Rupert (24 February 2012). "Aida, Royal Albert Hall, review". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 28 January 2014. It was a real thrill for me to read this book. It's a must-read if you have any interest in Egyptian history. If you don't, this isn't the book for you. If you have a passing interest, this is a good book to skim, and maybe skip over the parts where the author gets pretty detailed.

EES Volunteer Hazel Gray provides an insight into the fascinating early Egyptological publications recently donated to the EES Library. point and thence riding northwards along the bank, with the Nile on the one hand, and the corn-lands on the other. In the course of such rides, one discovers the almost incredible fertility of the Thebaid. Every inch of arable ground is turned to account. All that grows, grows lustily. The barley ripples in one uninterrupted sweep from Medinet Habu to a point half-way between the Ramesseum and Gournah. Next come plantations of tobacco, cotton, hemp, linseed, maize and lentils, so closely set, so rich in promise, that the country looks as if it were laid out in allotment grounds for miles together. Where the rice crop has been gathered, clusters of temporary huts have sprung up in the clearings; for the fellahîn come out from their crowded villages in "the sweet o' the year," and live in the midst of the crops which now they guard, and which presently they will reap. The walls of these summer huts are mere wattled fences of Indian corn straw, with bundles of the same laid lightly across the top by way of roofing. This pastoral world is everywhere up and doing. Here are men plying the shâdûf by the river's brink; women spinning in the sun; children playing; dogs barking; larks soaring and singing overhead. Against the foot of the cliffs yonder, where the vegetation ends and the tombs begin, there flows a calm river edged with palms. A few months ago, we should have been deceived by that fairy water. We know now that it is the mirage. On her death, Edwards stipulated that her library of over 3000 books, her private collection, engravings and sketchesalong with 5,000 pounds go to support the Edwards Chair of Egyptology at the University Collage of London and made clear that the one appointed to the prestigious position would be William Matthew Flinders Petrie (Adams 2010:38).journey. He is welcomed by the Gods, ushered into the presence of Osiris, and received into the Abode of the Blest. 29 Bringing together archives at the EES as well as original artwork by Amelia kept at the Griffith Institute and Somerville College, both University of Oxford, and the Peggy Joy Egyptology Library, this is the first colour version of A Thousand Miles Up the Nile ever produced. After more than 140 years, readers are now able to truly experience Amelia’s famous journey. A new introduction by Dr Carl Graves (EES) and Dr Anna Garnett (UCL) provides context and commentary on Amelia’s original narrative and her legacy for Egyptology today – the essential companion to the book. A chance visit to Egypt in 1873 by Amelia Edwards changed the future of British Egyptology forever. Her travelogue, A Thousand Miles Up the Nile , would inspire generations after her to take up her message to support and promote Egyptian cultural heritage. While the way we do this has changed a lot since Amelia’s time, that message remains strong and continues to inspire us, the Egypt Exploration Society, to continue her mission.