John Shae Perring (1813–1869) was a British engineer, anthropologist and

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...

, most notable for his work excavating and documenting Egyptian

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrila ...

s. In 1837 Perring and British archaeologist Richard William Howard Vyse began excavating at

Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah'' arz, الجيزة ' ) is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 9. ...

; they were later joined by

Giovanni Battista Caviglia Giovanni Battista Caviglia (1770 in Genoa – September 7, 1845, in Paris) was an Italian explorer, navigator and Egyptologist. He was one of the pioneers of Egyptian archeology of his time. He was influential in the excavation of the Sphin ...

. They used gunpowder to force their way into several monuments and then to reach hidden chambers within them, such as the burial chamber of the pyramid of Menkaure, documenting them as they went. When Caviglia left the team to work independently, Perring became Vyse's assistant and when Vyse himself left for England in 1837 Perring continued the excavation with Vyse's financial support. As part of his work Perring created several maps, plans and cross-sections of the pyramids at Abu Roasch, Gizeh,

Abusir Abusir ( ar, ابو صير ; Egyptian ''pr wsjr'' cop, ⲃⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲓ ' "the House or Temple of Osiris"; grc, Βούσιρις) is the name given to an Egyptian archaeological locality – specifically, an extensive necropolis of ...

Saqqara Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphi ...

and

Dahshur DahshurAlso transliterated ''Dahshour'' (in English often called ''Dashur'' ar, دهشور ' , ''Dahchur'') is a royal necropolis located in the desert on the west bank of the Nile approximately south of Cairo. It is known chiefly for several ...

. He was the first to explore the interior of the Pyramid of Userkaf at Saqqara in 1839, through a robber's tunnel first discovered in 1831. Perring thought the pyramid belonged to Djedkare. The pyramid was first correctly identified by Egyptologist Cecil Firth in 1928 (though Firth died in 1931 and excavations there only recommenced in 1948, under

Jean-Philippe Lauer Jean-Philippe Lauer (7 May 1902 – 15 May 2001), was a French architect and Egyptologist. He was considered to be the foremost expert on pyramid construction techniques and methods. Biography Arrival in Egypt He was born in the 8th arrondi ...

). Perring opened the northern entrance into the Bent Pyramid and added some graffiti inside the nearby

Red Pyramid The Red Pyramid, also called the North Pyramid, is the largest of the pyramids located at the Dahshur necropolis in Cairo, Egypt. Named for the rusty reddish hue of its red limestone stones, it is also the third largest Egyptian pyramid, after ...

, which can still be viewed today. Perring's work resulted in his three-volume "The Pyramids of Gizeh", published in 1839 to 1842. Vyse also published Perring's sketches in the third volume of his own three-part wor
"Appendix to Operations carried on at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837"

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perring, John Shae 1813 births 1869 deaths British engineers British archaeologists English Egyptologists British anthropologists