On December 23, 1810, Carl Peter Lepsius and Friedericke Glaser announced the birth of their son Karl Richard Lepsius. He was born in Namburg-am-Sale, Germany. He attended the University of Leipzig, the University of Gottingen and the University of Berlin, where he studied archaeology, Greek, and Sanskrit. He received his Ph.D. in 1833. He then pursued his studies of Egyptology in Paris. While he attended school in Paris, he traveled to Italy, Holland, and England with the purpose of visiting Egyptian collections. He also pursued studies that proved essential to his career. They were lithography and engraving.
Lepsius led an expedition to Egypt and Nubia in 1842. This expedition was sponsored by Fredrick William the Fourth, who was the King of Prussia. The main goal of this expedition was to get a clear study of the monuments in the Nile River Valley and recording them with precision. The expedition collected around 15,000 artifacts that were to be displayed in Berlin. He also made maps and copied the inscriptions that appeared in various tombs and temples. Almost every tomb that is known to exist in the Valley of the Kings was investigated and certain inscriptions were copied. While investigating the tomb of Set I, they decided to use the astronomical ceilings to draw star charts which later proved to be accurate.
In 1846, Lepsius was married. He was later appointed to the Egyptian Museum located in Berlin, Germany. He wad Keeper of the Egyptian Collection until 1855. The outcome of the expedition that Lepsius lead in 1842 was published into twelve enormous volumes.
Lepsius traveled back to Egypt in 1866. It is during this expedition that Lepsius found the Table of Canopus. This led to the translations of Egyptian hieroglyphics and served as a double check on the translation of the Rosetta Stone. After this expedition, Lepsius was made Keeper of the Royal Library located in Berlin. Lepsius died on July 10, 1884.
“Karl Richard Lepsius.” Encarta Encyclopedia, Former Link, Http://encarta.msn.com/index/conciseindex/58/058C0000.htm (October 2006) September 24, 2001 Added, http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/search.aspx?q=Karl+Richard+Lepsius&Submit2=Go (October 2006)
“Karl Richard Lepsius.” Personal Profile, Former Link, Http://www.kv5.com/html/lepsius.html (October 2006) September 4, 2001
Written by: Jileen Kubat, 2001.
Edited by: David Gardner 2007