Nathaniel Davison ( 1736 – 23 February 1809) was an English diplomat, known for his writings on Egyptian archaeology. He discovered a space in the

Great Pyramid The Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, ...

, now known as "Davison's Chamber", or "first relieving chamber".

Life

He was the fourth son of George Davison of Little Mill,

Longhoughton, Northumberland Longhoughton is a small rural village in Northumberland, England. It lies near the coast, about northeast of Alnwick, in the similarly named parish of Longhoughton. The village lies under the spectacular whinstone outcrop, Ratcheugh Crag, nea ...

; his sister Jane was mother of

John Yelloly John Yelloly (30 April 1774 – 31 January 1842) was an English physician. Life Yelloly was born at Alnwick, Northumberland, and was the youngest and sole survivor of seven children. His father died when his youngest child was an infant, and Ye ...

the physician. He was British consul at

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, where he had consular privileges from September 1769, and then from 1778 in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, leaving in 1783. He had been hoping for Naples, asking Thomas Percy for the influence of the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke ...

in support. He received a government pension in 1786. Davison rented a house in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

, where his son Nicholas Francis was born, from the merchant Daniel Twining, father of Thomas Twining. He died in

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

on 23 February 1809, aged 72 or 73, and was buried at Longhoughton.

Sir Henry Taylor Sir Henry Taylor (18 October 1800 – 27 March 1886) was an English dramatist and poet, Colonial Office official, and man of letters. Early life Henry Taylor was born on 18 October 1800 in Bishop Middleham. He was the third son of George T ...

, brought up in County Durham where his father was a friend of Davison, recollected that he wore a pigtail (

queue __NOTOC__ Queue () may refer to: * Queue area, or queue, a line or area where people wait for goods or services Arts, entertainment, and media *''ACM Queue'', a computer magazine * The Queue (Sorokin novel), ''The Queue'' (Sorokin novel), a 198 ...

), one of the last men of his generation to do so. He sold the home farm Little Mill to Lord Grey.

Travel writings

In 1763 Davison travelled to Egypt with

Wortley Montagu Edward Wortley Montagu (15 May 1713 – 29 April 1776) was an English author and traveller. He was the son of the diplomat and member of parliament Edward Wortley Montagu and the writer and traveller Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, whose talent and e ...

, whom he knew through the London bookseller Thomas Becket. Acting as Montagu's secretary, he documented their journeys for the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. Montagu and Davison set off from

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

in April 1763, for Alexandria. Montague spent time in

Rosetta Rosetta or Rashid (; ar, رشيد ' ; french: Rosette ; cop, ϯⲣⲁϣⲓⲧ ''ti-Rashit'', Ancient Greek: Βολβιτίνη ''Bolbitinē'') is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Ro ...

in the spring of 1764. Davison himself spent 18 months at Alexandria, and then the same length of time at

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, and visited the pyramids. It was in 1765 that, in the Great Pyramid, Davison followed up an echo he heard in the Grand Gallery. Through a passage deep with bat dung, he found, after a crawl of 24 feet, a space above the King's Chamber. He later conjectured about the architectural role of the chamber he discovered, in a letter to Joseph White of 1779, coming to conclusions comparable with those later published by

Richard William Howard Vyse Major General Richard William Howard Howard Vyse (25 July 1784 – 8 June 1853) was a British soldier and Egyptologist. He was also Member of Parliament (MP) for Beverley (from 1807 to 1812) and Honiton (from 1812 to 1818). Family life Richard W ...

. An engraving after a drawing by Davison of the interior of the Great Pyramid appeared in volume 2 (1807) ''Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt'' by

Charles-Nicolas-Sigisbert Sonnini de Manoncourt Charles-Nicolas-Sigisbert Sonnini de Manoncourt (1 February 1751 – 9 May 1812) was a French naturalist. Career Between 1799 and 1808, Sonnini de Manoncourt wrote 127 volumes of the ''Histoire naturelle''. Noteworthy among these, especiall ...

. It was published via the intervention of

Louis Joseph d'Albert d'Ailly Louis Joseph d'Albert d'Ailly (1741–1792), seventh Duke of Chaulnes and son of Michel Ferdinand d'Albert d'Ailly, was a chemist and French aristocrat. Biography At the death of his father in 1769, Louis Joseph inherited the title of Duke of Pi ...

, the Duc de Chaulnes; but Davison claimed the Duc had come by this and other drawings of his by underhand means. Extracts from Davison's journals were published in 1817 by

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

, in his collection ''Memoirs Relating to European and Asiatic Turkey''. They included descriptions of the chamber, and the vertical shaft in the Great Pyramid; and

catacomb Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

s in Alexandria.

Family

Davison married Margaret Thornton on 9 July 1787, in London. Their son Nicholas Francis became a physician. Their third daughter Margaret married Edward John Howman in 1822. The fourth daughter, Eleanor, married Adam Atkinson of Lorbottle. Davison also helped to bring up his nephew John Yelloly, after his father died.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Nathaniel 1730s births 1809 deaths 18th-century archaeologists English travel writers British diplomats Great Pyramid of Giza