Urbain Bouriant (11 April 1849 – 19 June 1903) was a French

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

, who discovered the

Gospel of Peter The Gospel of Peter (), or the Gospel according to Peter, is an ancient text concerning Jesus Christ (title), Christ, only partially known today. Originally written in Koine Greek, it is a non-canonical gospel and was rejected as apocryphal by the ...

in a tomb at Akhmim. He is best known from his translation of

Al-Maqrizi Al-Maqrīzī (, full name Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-'Abbās Aḥmad ibn 'Alī ibn 'Abd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad al-Maqrīzī, ; 1364–1442) was a medieval Egyptian historian and biographer during the Mamluk era, known for his interest in the Fat ...

, published as ''Description topographique et historique de l'Egypte'' (Paris 1895-1900). He was the collaborator of

Gaston Maspero Sir Gaston Camille Charles Maspero (23 June 1846 – 30 June 1916) was a French Egyptologist and director general of excavations and antiquities for the Egyptian government. Widely regarded as the foremost Egyptologist of his generation, he be ...

in 1880, when Maspero founded the French archaeological mission to Cairo, precursor of the

Institut français d'archéologie orientale An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes c ...

(IFAO). From 1883 to December 1886, he was a curator at the museum of

Bulaq Boulaq ( from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile. History The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land available on its eastern si ...

, then director of IFAO until 1898. In the season of 1883-84, Bouriant discovered the copy of the

Great Hymn to the Aten The Great Hymn to the Aten is the longest of a number of hymn-poems written to the sun-disk deity Aten. Composed in the middle of the 14th century BC, it is varyingly attributed to the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Akhenaten or his courtiers, dependin ...

, in the tomb of Ay at

Amarna Amarna (; ) is an extensive ancient Egyptian archaeological site containing the ruins of Akhetaten, the capital city during the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, and a ...

.Bouriant, ''Fouilles à Tell-el-Amarna. Les Papyrus d'Akhmin,'' Leroux, 1889.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouriant, Urbain French Egyptologists 1849 births 1903 deaths Members of the Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale