Besides being among the most marvelous architectural achievements of ancient history, the pyramids are the most visible aspect of the unique religious and metaphysical beliefs of ancient Egypt. As the point of contact between earth and heaven, the human and the divine, the pyramids were the means by which the soul of the pharaoh ascended to heaven to join his celestial father, Ra.
The pyramids are still shrouded in mystery—despite all the research and studies carried out, for example, we still do not know for certain how they were built—but recent excavations and research have thrown new light on these monuments, on the lives of the workers who built them, and on the court dignitaries who were granted the privilege of a burial place near that of their king. Although the pyramids at Giza are the best known, there are others that are more ancient and less grandiose, and here for the first time, all the most important Old Kingdom pyramids and the great necropolises of Memphis are brought together, examined, and reinterpreted in light of the most recent discoveries. Their descriptions are accompanied by maps, plans, and reconstructions that take the reader on a journey of discovery into the exalted world and unique civilization that developed on the banks of the Nile during the fourth and third millennia BC.
Edited by Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and the excavator of many recent discoveries, and with texts written by some of the world’s leading Egyptologists, Treasures of the Pyramids reveals the secrets of the pyramids, describes the vicissitudes of the most famous dynasties, and illustrates—with specially commissioned photographs—the most famous tombs in the world and the treasures they contained.
The Treasures of the Pyramids
Edited by
Zahi Hawass
Introduced byH.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak
15 September 2003
400 pp.
Over 600 color illus.
25.5X35.5cm
ISBN 9788854003972
For sale only in the Middle East
Also available by this author
Old Kingdom Pottery from Giza
Zahi HawassAshraf Senussi
This publication discusses the pottery that was discovered by Zahi Hawass’s excavations at Giza, including the Cemetery of the Pyramid Builders, the Western Cemetery, and the settlement beneath the modern suburb of Nazlet el-Samman.
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160 pp.21X29.5cm
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The Secrets of the Sphinx
Restoration Past and Present
Zahi HawassForeword byH.E. Farouk Hosni
Introduction byGaballa Ali Gaballa
This lavishly illustrated, bilingual English and Arabic volume tells the story of the Sphinx from ancient times to the present, focusing particularly on the task—first addressed in the second millenium BC—of preserving it. Published to mark the completion of a major modern restoration project, the book is an invaluable and fascinating document, a testimony not only to the skills of the people who built the Sphinx, but to those who have maintained and renewed it down the ages.
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64 pp.47 color photographs
15.5X23cm
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