Cecil Mallaby Firth (5 July 1878 – 1931) was a British

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 ...

. Firth was baptised at Ashburton in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

on 14 August 1878, the son of Henry Mallaby Firth, gent., and Frances (Fanny) Caunter. He became a lawyer, and after briefly working in Cyprus left to join the Service des Antiquités in Egypt, an organisation run by French scholars to prevent the illicit trade in Egyptian artifacts. Firth worked on the first archaeological survey of

Nubia Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...

of 1907 to 1911. In 1912 he set up the Aswan Museum. He became the inspector of antiquities at Saqqara and began to explore the complex of

Djoser Djoser (also read as Djeser and Zoser) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom, and was the founder of that epoch. He is also known by his Hellenized names Tosorthros (from Manetho) and Sesorthos (from Euse ...

Step Pyramid A step pyramid or stepped pyramid is an architectural structure that uses flat platforms, or steps, receding from the ground up, to achieve a completed shape similar to a geometric pyramid. Step pyramids – typically large and made of several la ...

Saqqara Saqqara ( : saqqāra ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for ...

where, in 1924, he discovered the

serdab A serdab (), which became a loanword in Arabic for 'cellar', is an ancient Egyptian tomb structure that served as a chamber for the ka statue of a deceased individual. Used during the Old Kingdom, the serdab was a sealed chamber with a small sli ...

of the

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

, which is now in the

Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...

in Cairo. Firth then worked in collaboration with

James E. Quibell James Edward Quibell (11 November 1867 – 5 June 1935) was a British Egyptology, Egyptologist. Life Quibell was born in Newport, Shropshire. He married the Scottish artist and archaeologist Annie Abernethie Pirie Quibell, Annie Abernethie Pirie ...

and subsequently with Jean-Philippe Lauer on his arrival on the site in 1926. In 1928 and 1929, Firth began the opening of the funerary complex of

Userkaf Userkaf (known in Ancient Greek as , ; died 2491 BC) was a pharaoh, king of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Fifth Dynasty. He reigned for around seven years in the early 25th century BC, during the Old Kingdom of Egy ...

, the first king of the 5th dynasty, and that of a small pyramid located just at the south, allotted to his queen. In early 1930 he worked on the

Headless Pyramid The Headless Pyramid, otherwise identified as Lepsius XXIX or Steinpyramide XXIX, is the remain of a Egyptian pyramid, pyramid complex built in Saqqara. The identity of the pyramid owner is unclear, though it is suspected to belong to either pha ...

, believing it to be a pyramid of a king of the First Intermediate Period. It is now understood that the pyramid belongs to

Menkauhor Kaiu Menkauhor Kaiu (also known as Ikauhor and in Ancient Greek, Greek as Mencherês, Μεγχερῆς; died 2414 BC) was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, king of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom period. He was the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynas ...

of the Fifth Dynasty. Firth's wife was Winifred (Freda) Nest Firth (née Hansard, 1871–1937), a painter and copyist.

Death

In 1931 Firth worked on clearance of the archaic tombs of Saqqara but contracted pneumonia whilst on leave in England, resulting in his untimely death.

Selected publications

* * * *with

Battiscombe Gunn Battiscombe George "Jack" Gunn (30 June 1883 – 27 February 1950) was an English Egyptologist and philologist. He published his first translation from Egyptian in 1906. He translated inscriptions for many important excavations and sites, inc ...

References

1878 births 1931 deaths British archaeologists British Egyptologists British expatriates in Egypt People from Ashburton, Devon {{UK-archaeologist-stub