Years before he gained fame and fortune as an Egyptologist, Belzoni was known throughout Europe as a circus strongman. The centerpiece of his performance was an act called the Human Pyramid, during which Belzoni would stride around stage with as many as 12 people clinging to his burly frame. This 1817 engraving by the British illustrator George Cruikshank offers a whimsical look at the “Patagonian Sampson” in action.