James Burton

1788-1862

            Born in London in 1788 to James and Elizabeth Haliburton (who changed the family name to Burton), James Burton was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he received his Bachelors Degree in 1810 and a Masters Degree in 1815. Between 1815 and 1822 Burton worked for the architect Sir John Soane and traveled in Italy, where he met Egyptologists Sir John Gardner Wilkinson, Edward William Lane, and Sir William Gell.

            In 1822 Burton traveled to Egypt to prospect for coal with the Geological Survey of Egypt. Having no training or interest in geology Burton turned his attention to the ancient monuments of Egypt. In 1825, he traveled south along the Nile River from Cairo to Abu Simbel. During his trip he spent several months in ancient Thebes. Here he studied the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses II, the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III, the Temple of Amenophis III and Temple of Amun-Ra. While excavating around the Granite Sanctuary, he found bronze hinges that are still on display in the British Museum. He also excavated at Kom Ombos, Aswan, Philae, Medina Habu, Karnak and in the Valley of the Kings. He carried out a number of excavations of tombs in the Valley of the Kings. He is believed to be first person to enter KV 5 in modern times. He completed the series of dykes, begun by Belzoni to divert flood water away from the entrance to KV17.

            Between 1825 and 1828, Burton published a volume of hieroglyphic inscriptions called the Excerpta Hieroglyphica. Very little is know about Burton's activities from 1825 and 1834, other then he lived in the Egyptian desert. During this time his father discontinued his allowance and his financial debts forced him to return to England in 1835. He returned to England with a menagerie of animals, including a giraffe, Egyptian servants and slaves, and his wife Andreana, a Greek slave girl he had purchased in Egypt and later married.

            Shortly after returning to England he was disowned by his family. To repay his debts, Burton decided to sell his collection of Egyptian antiquities and books in Arabic. The only item of his collection not to be sold, was a mummy, which is now in the Liverpool Museum.

            Burton never published any of his field work, but his 63 volumes of drawings, plans and notes that he made while in Egypt were given to the British Museum after his death. His drawings and plans of the ancient Egyptian monuments are valuable because they can be used to compare the condition of the archaeological sites in the early nineteenth century and today. James Burton died in Edinburgh in 1862.

References:

Burton, James. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/resources/glossary.html  

The Complete Valley of the Kings. Nicholas Reeves and Richard H. Wilkinson. Thames and Hudson, Ltd. London, 1996.

Valley of the Kings. John Romer. Henry Holt and Company. New York, 1981.

Written By: Nathan Bailey, 2002