known by his name, and in it the sarcophagus of the builder, King Khafra (Chephren), containining bones which Belzoni believed to be those of the founder, but which proved to be those of an ox. Among other feats of discovery Belzoni crossed the eastern desert from near Esné to the shore of the Red Sea, and identified the ruins of Berenicé, and, on the west, visited Lake Mœris and reached the Lesser Oasis, which he erroneously took to be that of Ammon.
On his return to Europe in 1819 he revisited his native city, and the Paduans struck a gold medal in commemoration of his discoveries. The medal is to be seen at the British Museum, and has for the device two statues of Sekhet, with the inscriptions: 'Ob donum patria grata mdcccxix.' (in reference to a gift of statues which Belzoni had made to his native city), and 'IO BAPT BELZONI Patavino qui Cephrenis pyramidem Apidisq. Theb. sepulcrum primus aperuit et urbem Berenicis, Nubiæ et Libyæ mon. impavide detexit.' Upon his arrival in England he constructed a facsimile model of two chambers of the tomb of Seti from drawings and wax impressions which he had taken on the spot and exhibited it with success at the Egyptian Hall. The shilling guide books of 1820 and 1821, sold to visitors to this show, are preserved in the British Museum. In 1820 Mr. Murray published the 'Narrative of the Operations and Recent Discoveries within the Pyramids, Temples, Tombs, and Excavations in Egypt and Nubia,' with an atlas of 44 plates. The narrative is written in a simple and broken but very effective stvle, and, as the first contribution to English research in Egypt, was received with wide interest. Three editions were published before 1822, and the work was reprinted in Brussels in 1835. Belzoni also prepared a set of coloured drawings of the paintings on the wall of Seti's tomb which he presented to the Duke of Sussex, and this curious work is preserved in the British Museum. In 1822 the model of Seti's tomb was exhibited at Paris, where, however, it attracted little attention; and the discoverer, thirsting for fresh fields, set out in the autumn of 1823 on a voyage of exploration to Timbuktu, in the hope of tracing the source of the Niger, which he suspected would be found united with that of the Nile. The patriarchal firm of Briggs of Alexandria assisted him with funds for this purpose, and, after a vain attempt to obtain permission from the Emperor of Morocco to pass through his dominions, Belzoni determined to begin his journey from Cape Coast, and at once entered into negotiations with the King of Benin to gain leave to traverse his kingdom as far as Hausa on the road to Timbuktu. Everything was satisfactorily arranged, and Belzoni, in native dress, attended by a guide armed with the king's cane and authority, was on his way, when he was attacked by dysentery, and died on 3 Dec. 1823, at Gato in Benin, where a simple inscription marks his grave beneath a spreading tree.
Belzoni was no scholar, but as a discoverer he stands in the first rank. His important excavations in Egypt paved the way for the later explorations of Bonomi, Wilkinson, Lepsius, and Mariette. Personally he was brave, ardent in the cause of discovery, ingenious and full of resource, and very persevering in working out any scheme he had entered upon. His character was gentle, as a giant's usually is; he was trustworthy and honourable, but unduly suspicious of others. The jealousy he displayed towards his benefactor, Mr. Salt, was not creditable to the man; but it is allowed that Belzoni was eccentric. and his apparent ingratitude was not typical of his character in general. When his origin and first steps in life are considered, it must be allowed that he is one of the most striking and interesting figures in the history of eastern travel.
[Belzoni's Preface to the Narrative of Operations; Hall's Life of Henry Salt, i. 490, ii. 1-64, 295 ff.; Annual Register, lxvi. 202-3; Penny Cyclopædia; Nouvelle Biographie Générale.]
BEN, BANE, BENE, BENNET, or BIORT, JAMES (d. 1332), bishop of St. Andrews, was trained from his youth for the church. As archdeacon of St. Andrews he was sent to France in 1325, along with three other dignitaries, to renew an offensive and defensive alliance with that country. In the original document his name occurs as Bene; he is subsequently mentioned as Sir James Bane; by Fordun he is called Jacobus Benedicti; while the name on his tombstone was Jacobus dominus de Biurt. On 19 June 1328 he was elected by the canons to the bishopric of St. Andrews, in succession to Bishop Lamberton, the other name proposed being that of Sir Alexander Kinninmouth, archdeacon of Lothian. The bishops of St. Andrews were accustomed to officiate at the coronation of the Scottish kings, but Bishop Ben was the first to perform the ceremony of anointing them by special authority of the pope. This he did in the case of David II and his queen Johanna at Scone in 1331. In Lyon's 'History of St. Andrews' (i. 12) there is a copy of a mandate
