Richard William Howard Vyse (1784-1853)
The son of a British General and a wealthy heiress, Richard William Howard Vyse lived the life of true Victorian gentleman-adventurer. Buying a commission in the army, he served in the cavalry for most of his adult life, eventually attaining the rank of Major-General. He also spent a brief period serving as a member of parliament.
The Explorations of the Pyramids at Giza
Today, Vyse is best remembered for his work as an Egyptologist. In 1837 he led a British exploration of the Pyramids of Giza. It was here that he made his greatest discoveries and made his name infamous among later archaeologists.Hypothesizing that there were as yet undiscovered chambers within the Great Pyramid, Vyse used gunpowder to blast through the centuries old rock. Although he was proved correct and four additional chambers were discovered, he also badly damaged one of the world's great treasures. Vyse recorded his story and discoveries in his book, Operations Carried on at the Pyramids of Gizeh.
The Discovery of the Sarcophagus of Menkaura
One of the other pyramids which Vyse explored was that of the Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Menkaura. Again using gunpowder, he forced his way inside and found the pharaoh’s sarcophagus. Although empty, the marble sarcophagus was an important find, and a valuable treasure. Although technically all of Vyse’s finds belong to the Egyptian Pasha, it is not clear if Vyse ever informed the Pasha of the sarcophagus. Instead, he made plans to send it to the BritishMuseum.
The loss of the Beatrice and the Sarcophagus of Menkaura
In 1938, Vyse left his subordinates with the back-breaking task of removing the sarcophagus from the pyramid and transferring it to a ship. Eventually, it was loaded onto a small cargo ship named the Beatrice. In the autumn of 1938, the Beatrice left Alexandria. From there, the ship’s journey is a matter of debate. Some say she stopped in Italy, others Cyprus. All that can be said for sure is that she never reached England. The ship was lost, and with it, a priceless Egyptian artefact.
The search for the Beatrice
Although several teams are currently looking for the Beatrice and a few have claimed to have found her, there has been no sign of the lost sarcophagus. Although he is perhaps guilty of several archaeological crimes, Vyse did at least leave a detailed sketch of the sarcophagus. Hopefully, it will someday be found, but until then, the sketch is all we have.
Primary Information for this article comes from “The Lost Sarcophagus” by Paul Boughton in Ancient Egypt Magazine, Vol 9 No 3.
