New Exhibit at The University of Chicago's Oriental Institute Museum

Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East 1919-20 is an exhibit that outlines James Henry Breasted, famed Egyptologist who traveled into Egypt and Mesopotamia in search of artifacts to purchase to bring back to the Oriental Institute. Breasted was funded by John D. Rockefeller Jr. who was fond of the books published by the archaeologist a few years prior.

The artifacts brought back from the journey are clearly marked throughout the exhibition, one of those being a 35 foot long "Book of the Dead" that was one of the most interesting and self gratifying finds for Breasted.

Breasted is quoted saying:

I could hardly believe my eyes, for I saw something which I have never seen before in all of my years in Egypt. A beautiful roll of Papyrus, as fresh and uninjured as if it had been a roll of wallpaper.

Interesting Fact About James Henry Breasted

Breasted coined the term Fertile Crescent to describe the archaeologically important area from Palestine to southern Iraq.


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