Archaeology and Ancient Egypt

This new compact flexibound edition of a favorite book deals with Egypt from prehistoric times through the Greco-Roman era, and casts a revealing and refreshing light on ancient Egyptian history. The search for ancient wisdom, mystical experiences, and hidden treasure has led many who feel the fascination of Egypt to turn repeatedly to the same subjects—the Sphinx and the Pyramid of Khufu, the mummies, the ‘curse of the pharaohs,’ and powerfully ‘efficacious’ symbols and rites. This book goes beyond all this to examine the truly remarkable aspects of ancient Egypt: its astonishing technical and administrative achievements, its script and literature, its architecture and pictorial art, and a concept of the world as a whole based on exact observation of nature, in which science and religion were an indissoluble unity. This extraordinary legacy is detailed here by a team of thirty-four international scholars and given visual immediacy by more than 800 photographs, maps, and diagrams.

The ancient Egyptians were firmly convinced of the importance of magic, which was both a source of supernatural wisdom and a means of affecting one’s own fate. The gods themselves used it for creating the world, granting mankind magical powers as an aid to the struggle for existence. Magic formed a link between human beings, gods, and the dead. Magicians were the indispensable guardians of the god-given cosmic order, learned scholars who were always searching for the Magic Book of Thoth, which could explain the wonders of nature. Egyptian Magic, illustrated with wonderful and mysterious objects from European museum collections, describes how Egyptian sorcerers used their craft to protect the weakest members of society, to support the gods in their fight against evil, and to imbue the dead with immortality, and explores the arcane systems and traditions of the occult that governed this well-organized universe of ancient Egypt.

This new and meticulous reference work includes an alphabetized list of all the known pharaohs up to the end of the Twentieth Dynasty. Each entry includes Entries include a brief biography of the reign, the tomb location and number (if known), the location of known mummies, the chief consorts (if known), the hieroglyphs and transliterations of each form of the pharaoh’s name, and pertinent bibliographical references. In addition, the encyclopedia contains a glossary of commonly-used terms, an index of Greek forms of names and variant spellings, a list of apocryphal kings of the Fourteenth Dynasty, the royal titulary, and a chronological king list by dynasty.

The shift from polytheism to monotheism changed the world radically. Akhenaten and Moses—a figure of history and a figure of tradition—symbolize this shift in its incipient, revolutionary stages and represent two civilizations that were brought into the closest connection as early as the Book of Exodus, where Egypt stands for the old world to be rejected and abandoned in order to enter the new one. The seven chapters of this seminal study shed light on the great transformation from different angles. Between Egypt in the first chapter and monotheism in the last, five chapters deal in various ways with the transition from one to the other, analyzing the Exodus myth, understanding the shift in terms of evolution and revolution, confronting Akhenaten and Moses in a new way, discussing Karl Jaspers’ theory of the Axial Age, and dealing with the eighteenth-century view of the Egyptian mysteries as a cultural model.

The shift from polytheism to monotheism changed the world radically. Akhenaten and Moses—a figure of history and a figure of tradition—symbolize this shift in its incipient, revolutionary stages and represent two civilizations that were brought into the closest connection as early as the Book of Exodus, where Egypt stands for the old world to be rejected and abandoned in order to enter the new one. The seven chapters of this seminal study shed light on the great transformation from different angles. Between Egypt in the first chapter and monotheism in the last, five chapters deal in various ways with the transition from one to the other, analyzing the Exodus myth, understanding the shift in terms of evolution and revolution, confronting Akhenaten and Moses in a new way, discussing Karl Jaspers’ theory of the Axial Age, and dealing with the eighteenth-century view of the Egyptian mysteries as a cultural model.

Robert Armour’s classic text, long cherished by a generation of readers, is now complemented with more than 50 new photographs and line drawings that show the gods and goddesses in their characteristic forms. Armour maintains a strong narrative thread with illuminating commentary in his lively, vigorous retelling of stories from Egyptian mythology, including those of the sun god Ra, the tragic death and rebirth of Osiris with the help of Isis, the near-burlesque of Horus’ battle with the evil Seth, and the ‘’gods of the intellect’’ Thoth and Maat. Now with an updated bibliography and glossary as well as new charts showing the gods at a glance and ancient Egyptian chronology in brief, this book is sure to inform and enchant a new generation of readers.

If you thought making an ancient Egyptian mummy was just a matter of wrapping a body in bandages, think again! It was a long, complicated, and sometimes gruesome process. What happened to the intestines, lungs, and other soft inside bits? How did they get the brain out of the skull? What did they use to dry the body out, and how long did that take? These questions and many more are answered here by Mr. Mummific, a king of Egypt who went through it all himself, and ended up a mummy with attitude. A little confused when he first died (but relieved that he no longer had toothache), he needed his own guide to explain things, so it’s lucky that his dead but cheeky son was there to lead him by the hand. Together, they let us in on all the grisly secrets of the embalmers’ tent. Illustrated with eighty colorful scenes from the life, death, and afterlife of the funniest mummy you’ll ever meet, How I Became a Mummy is an icky treat for children and Egyptologists of all ages.

The discovery in 1995 that a long-ignored doorway in the Valley of the Kings was actually the entrance to the largest tomb ever found in Egypt made headlines around the world. Called KV5, it contains over 150 corridors and chambers, and was used as a family mausoleum for several sons of the New Kingdom pharaoh, Ramesses II. The first edition of this preliminary report was the first comprehensive, technical publication on the work of the Theban Mapping Project in the tomb; it has now been revised and expanded to take account of the latest discoveries and analyses. It includes detailed archaeological and architectural studies, epigraphic surveys, object and pottery descriptions, discussions of conservation work, and extensive reports on the site’s geology, hydrology, mineralogy, and geotechnical engineering. Copiously illustrated with photographs and line drawings, KV5 is the essential source for the study of this fascinating and important tomb.

Not far from the Valley of the Kings lie hundreds of unique and wonderfully decorated tombs from the New Kingdom belonging to courtiers and high officials, along with the artisans who worked on the royal tombs. Life in Paradise, illustrated with spectacular new photographs, gives the reader unprecedented and privileged access to a selection of these extraordinary monuments. The beautiful scenes and texts that adorn their walls include some of the most exquisite examples of Egyptian art to be found anywhere in the land of the Nile, reflecting the aristocratic status of the tomb owners. The glorious paintings and elegant reliefs depict in fascinating detail life both on earth and in paradise for the ancient Egyptians, providing a window into their daily existence and religious beliefs. Combining scholarship with superb photography, including numerous foldouts, this magnificent volume illuminates the mysterious world of ancient Thebes and the nobles who lived and died there in Egypt’s Golden Age.

The great pyramids of Giza have intrigued humanity for thousands of years. Questions about the construction and purpose of these majestic monuments have existed since the middle period of ancient Egyptian civilization. Recent cutting-edge research, unimaginable to previous generations, has uncovered information about how and why they were built. In Mountains of the Pharaohs, Zahi Hawass tells for the fist time the complete story of the pyramids, weaving the latest archaeological data and an enthralling family history into spellbinding narrative. Nearly five thousand years ago, the fourth dynasty of Egypt’s Old Kingdom reigned over a highly advanced civilization. Believed to be gods, the royal family lived amid colossal palaces and temples built to honor them and their deified ancestors. Hawass brings these extraordinary historical figures to life, telling a saga that includes the triumphant ascension to the throne of one of only four queens to ever rule Egypt. The magnificent pyramids attest to not only the dynasty’s supreme power but also the engineering expertise and architectural sophistication that flourished under their rule. Hawass argues that the pyramids were built not by slaves, as is commonly believed, but by skilled craftsmen who took great pride in their work. Mountains of the Pharaohs is an unprecedented account of one of civilization’s greatest achievements. “This narrative history of the ancient Egyptian 4th Dynasty, written by one of the top scholars in the field, builds an engaging and accessible picture of the kings who built the greatest pyramids. All of the most recent discoveries at Giza, many made by the author himself over the past two decades, are included here. The book balances hard fact with clearly labeled theory, and will give the reader a unique view of the current state of knowledge about this fascinating period of time.”—Mark Lehner

The so-called Will of Naunakhte (1154 BCE) has become rightly famous in Egyptology. So where did she come from and what really happened to her eight surviving children, four of whom were daughters? By carefully studying the documents mentioning members of the family and including all the material mentioning the women of the New Kingdom village of Deir al-Medina and other sources, the author once again puts to the forefront the remarkable role played by ordinary women in ancient Egypt.

Another hilarious adventure for children with Mr. Mummific, the mummy with attitude. Having described his death and long mummification process in his last book, How I Became a Mummy, he now tells the story of his mishaps, misunderstandings, and misadventures as he leaves his tomb through the False Door to embark on the complicated and hazardous journey to the Afterlife aboard the magnificent Ship of Millions. The dangers he faces along the way (and desperately hopes to avoid) include being left hanging upside-down from the cavern ceiling, being swallowed (and vomited out again) by a giant serpent, or becoming a tasty morsel for the hideous Eater of the Dead. Once again, the pompous and frequently perplexed former pharaoh is our entertaining guide to some of the traditions and beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. Illustrated with eighty colorful scenes from the deathly existence of the funniest mummy you’ll ever meet, Mummies, Monsters, and the Ship of Millions is a further ghastly treat for children and Egyptologists of all ages.