author
Gustave Jéquier
1868–1946
A pioneering Swiss Egyptologist, he helped uncover major sites in Egypt and Persia and took part in the expedition that brought the Code of Hammurabi to light. His work on pyramids and ancient funerary texts made him an important early interpreter of the ancient Near East.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in 1868, Gustave Jéquier studied Egyptology in Berlin and Paris before beginning fieldwork in Egypt in the 1890s. He worked with the Institut français d’archéologie orientale and later joined Jacques de Morgan’s archaeological missions, building a career that moved between careful excavation, scholarly publication, and museum work.
Jéquier is especially remembered for his excavations in Egypt, including long campaigns at Saqqara and major work on the pyramid complex of Pepi II. He also took part in the Susa expedition in Persia and was among the archaeologists connected with the discovery of the Code of Hammurabi, now famous worldwide. His research on pyramids, tombs, and funerary texts helped deepen modern understanding of ancient Egyptian religion and royal burial practices.
Alongside his fieldwork, he published extensively and taught Egyptology, sharing the results of excavations with a wider scholarly audience. He died in Neuchâtel in 1946, leaving behind a body of work that still matters to historians of Egyptology and Near Eastern archaeology.