2012 American Publishers (PROSE) Awards winner for Best Archaeology & Anthropology Book For most of the modern world, ancient Nubia seems an unknown and enigmatic land. Only a handful of archaeologists have studied its history or unearthed the Nubian cities, temples, and cemeteries that once dotted the landscape of southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Nubia’s remote setting in the midst of an inhospitable desert, with access by river blocked by impassable rapids, has lent it not only an air of mystery, but also isolated it from exploration. Over the past century, particularly during this last generation, scholars have begun to focus more attention on the fascinating cultures of ancient Nubia, ironically prompted by the construction of large dams that have flooded vast tracts of the ancient land. This book attempts to document some of what has recently been discovered about ancient Nubia, with its remarkable history, architecture, and culture, and thereby to give us a picture of this rich, but unfamiliar, African legacy.

From the earliest clay figures and ivory combs of Predynastic times, through the masterful statuary of the Old Kingdom and the exquisite tomb paintings of the New Kingdom, to the astonishingly modern painted portraits of the Greco-Roman era, the artistic achievements of Egypt span over four thousand years. In this unique new visual reference work, the finest examples of Egyptian art from museum collections around the world are illustrated to advantage in more than 360 beautiful full-color photographs. Not only a feast for the eyes, this book is informative too, with introductions to each historical period, graphic summaries of Egyptian history and great archaeological discoveries, and a chronology and glossary. This celebration and pageant of ancient Egyptian creative expression deserves a place on the shelves of Egyptologists and art lovers alike.