Richard William Howard Vyse

Sir Richard William Howard Vyse, KCMG ( born Richard William Vyse, born July 25, 1784 in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, England; † June 8, 1853 ) was a British military officer, politician, anthropologist and Egyptologist.

Vyse is best known for his joint research with John Shae Perring at the Pyramids of Giza in 1837 in which he did not shrink ( " gunpowder archeology" ) before the use of explosives to open locked chambers.

Private life

Richard William Vyse in 1784, the son of General and politician Richard Vyse ( 1746-1825 ) and his wife Ann Howard, daughter of Field Marshal George Howard ( 1718-1796 ), born in Stoke Poges. On November 13, 1810, he married his wife Frances. 1812 Vyse took his mother 's surname Howard as an additional name with royal approval, when he came into their lands. With his wife Frances he had eight sons and two daughters. At a later stage in his life he was Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. Vyse died in his birthplace of Stoke Poges on June 8, 1853.

Military career

Vyse began his military career as a cornet in the 1st Dragoons Regiment. A year later he became a lieutenant of the 15th Light Dragoons. In 1801 he was promoted to the rank of captain. In 1809 he served as aide- de -camp to his father on the staff of the Yorkshire district. The University of Oxford awarded him in 1810 the honorary degree of DCL 1813 was promoted to Major. It was in 1815 transferred to the 87th Foot Regiment, 1816 to the 2nd Life Guards, and finally 1819 1st West India Regiment. In 1825 he was promoted to Lieutenant - Colonel. His further ascent led on his promotion to Colonel in 1837 finally to the rank of Major-General in 1846.

Political career

Vyse was a member of the House of Commons for the electoral districts Beverley (1807-1812) and Honiton ( 1812-1818 ). In 1824 and 1830 he served in the Office of the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire.

Egyptology

Vyse came in 1835 for the first time to Egypt and began in 1836 with Giovanni Battista Caviglia with excavations at Giza. After he had separated from Caviglia, he worked with his new assistant John Shae Perring in exploring the pyramids of Giza.

Vyse could do with the violent method of blowing up inside the Great Pyramid of Cheops a significant discovery. Having already Caviglia had tried in vain, from the first, in 1765, discovered by Nathaniel Davidson pressure relief chamber, freizusprengen his way to the southern " air shaft " began Vyse of this chamber from blasting make up. He suspected there other chambers, as he could push a thin branch through a wall gap. Over a period of three and a half months Vyse succeeded as the discovery of four more relieving chambers. It was particularly noteworthy that in these chambers workers graffiti were obtained, which thus enabled the unambiguous assignment of structure to Cheops. Furthermore, he tried to blow up a connection in the lower half of the south side of the pyramid. The still visible today nine meter deep breach 18 to 31 stone layer is known as the " Vyse 's Hole ".

In the Pyramid of Mycerinus blew Vyse free a vertical shaft of the applied in 1196 Breach of Othman to the pyramid base, but to discover without the pyramid body chambers. In the substructure of the Pyramid of Mycerinus Vyse found a magnificent sarcophagus, which he could be removed from the pyramid and shipped to England. However, the ship sank together with the sarcophagus during the crossing of the Mediterranean.

Furthermore, led Vyse holes in the queens pyramids G- Ib and the Great Sphinx. In the latter bore the bit stayed in the Sphinx stuck and could not be forced open, whereupon Vyse left him there in order not to damage the monument by further blasting also.

After Vyse's return to the United Kingdom Perring took over the continuation of the research.

Vyse published his findings in 1840 in the two -volume work, Operations Carried on at the Pyramids of Giza in 1837, which two years later published along with John S. Perring Supplement Appendix to Operations Carried on at the Pyramids of Giza followed in 1837.

The discovered by Vyse basalt sarcophagus of Menkaure (after Perring )

Writings

• Richard William Howard Vyse: Operations Carried on at the Pyramids of Giza in 1837 (2 volumes), London 1840..