One of the most interesting and valuable relics in Sir John Soane's
Museum, is the Belzoni Sarcophagus. It was discovered by Belzoni, the
famous French traveler, in 1816, in a tomb in the valley of Beban el
Malouk, near Gournon. He found it in the centre of a sepulchral chamber
of extraordinary magnificence, and records the event with characteristic
enthusiasm: "I may call this a fortunate day, one of the best, perhaps,
of my life. I do not mean to say that fortune has made me rich, for I do
not consider all rich men fortunate; but she has given me that
satisfaction, that extreme pleasure which wealth cannot purchase--the
pleasure of discovering what has long been sought in vain." It is
constructed of one single piece of alabaster, so translucent that a lamp
placed within it shines through, although it is more than two inches in
thickness. It is nine feet four inches in length, three feet eight
inches in width, and two feet eight inches in depth, and is covered with
hieroglyphics outside and inside, which have not yet been satisfactorily
interpreted, though they are supposed by some to refer to Osirei, the
father of Rameses the Great. It was transported from Egypt to England at
great expense, and offered to the Trustees of the British Museum for
£2,000, which being refused, Sir John Soane immediately purchased it and
exhibited it free, with just pride, to crowds of admiring visitors. When
Belzoni discovered this remarkable relic of Egyptian royalty, the lid
had been thrown off and broken into pieces, and its contents rifled; the
sarcophagus itself is in perfect preservation.