Historical publicationV84
Vyse II · p. 84
Description, removal and report concerning the ship
Checked passage: Empty interior, material description and ornament
It was entirely empty, and composed of basalt, which bore a fine polish of a shaded brown colour, but was blue where it had been chipped off, or broken. […] It was finely carved in compartments, and the ornaments upon it resembled in some degree the architectural decorations in the tomb of Numbers, and those carved upon two blocks of stone now exhibited in the British Museum, and which formerly belonged to the collection of the late Mr. Salt.
Vyse's published description. 'Basalt' is his material name, not a modern petrographic identification; the comparison of decoration is also his comparison. The two segments are separated by an explicit editorial omission.
Checking notes and source context ↗Checked passage: Extraction equipment and timber casing
One of the ramps in the inclined passage was to be removed in order to get it into the large apartment, where it was placed upon trucks, and the blocks in the anteroom having been got rid of, it arrived at the bottom of the entrance passage. By means of a number of men, and of a crab at the mouth of the pyramid, it had been conveyed half way up, when, owing to the roughness of the bottom, the trucks on one side gave way. As they could not be repaired for want of space, the sarcophagus was slowly lifted by levers, and got out by degrees; which, considering that its weight was nearly three tons, was an arduous undertaking. It was, however, at last safely hauled out, and placed on a proper carriage, in which, with the assistance of planks, it was drawn over the rocks and sands to the tents, and afterwards cased with strong timbers, to be sent to the British Museum.
Continuous excerpt across a printed page break. 'Crab', 'trucks', 'half way' and 'nearly three tons' preserve the wording; the excerpt does not establish modern equipment specifications or a measured mass.
Checking notes and source context ↗Checked passage: Shipment and the reported loss
It was embarked at Alexandria in the autumn of 1838, on board a merchant-ship, which was supposed to have been lost off Carthagena, as she never was heard of after her departure from Leghorn on the 12th of October in that year, and as some parts of the wreck were picked up near the former port.
The sentence does not name Beatrice. Preserve 'supposed', Carthagena and Leghorn in the quotation; Cartagena and Livorno may be given separately as modern place names. The footnote supplies no named informant, wreckage identifier, eyewitness account, coordinates or observed sinking date.
Checking notes and source context ↗Checked passage: A piece sent to the British Museum
A piece of it has been sent to the British Museum.
Footnote 4, attached to the material and broken-surface description. The published note gives no current museum inventory number. The connection to EA6646 remains the museum catalogue attribution.
Checking notes and source context ↗Automatically extracted transcription
Uncorrected text. Use the original scan to check quotations and footnotes.
84 OPERATIONS CARRIED ON AT GIZEH .
in the position represented . ( See Plate III . , Figs . 2 and
5. ) It was entirely empty , and composed of basalt ,
which bore a fine polish of a shaded brown colour ,
but was blue where it had been chipped off, or broken . *
Some sharp substance , such as emery powder , had been
used in its construction , and it appeared to have been
sawn , which is remarkable , as the art of sawing marble
was not known at Rome till a late period . It was
finely carved in compartments , and the ornaments upon it
resembled in some degree the architectural decorations in
the tomb of Numbers , and those carved upon two blocks
of stone now exhibited in the British Museum , and which
formerly belonged to the collection of the late Mr. Salt .
gave way . As they could not be repaired for want of space , the sarco-
phagus was slowly lifted by levers , and got out by degrees ; which , con-
sidering that its weight was nearly three tons , was an arduous undertak-
ing. It was , however , at last safely hauled out , and placed on a proper
carriage , in which , with the assistance of planks , it was drawn over the
rocks and sands to the tents , and afterwards cased with strong timbers , to
be sent to the British Museum . It was embarked at Alexandria in the
autumn of 1838 , on board a merchant - ship , which was supposed to have
been lost off Carthagena , as she never was heard of after her departure
from Leghorn on the 12th of October in that year , and as some parts of
the wreck were picked up near the former port .
A piece of it has been sent to the British Museum .
5 Mr. Perring has since discovered , in two tombs to the south of the
Seventh , Eighth , and Ninth Pyramids , a complete representation of
the end of this sarcophagus , with the
lid upon it . The hieroglyphics in
these grottoes are greatly defaced ,
but they contain this cartouche ,
which is also given by Signor Rosellini ( Tom . I. , tav . ii . , 32 ) , by Mr.
Burton in his " Excerpta , " and has been since discovered in the pyra-
mids at Abouseir .