This was in part because no-one had succeeded in translating the ancient Egyptian languages. People in Europe already knew of Egypt, but they did not know much about it.
Archaeologists came along to study the country’s architecture, in particular the mysterious pyramids. Naturalists and biologists were asked to learn about Egyptian flora and fauna, whilst surveyors were expected to take lots of topographical readings (noting down features and characteristics of a particular area) in order to draw up accurate maps of the regions Bonaparte and his men visited.
