This is a short, illustrated introduction to the ever-fascinating topic of Egyptian mummies, by an international expert. It is a readable, short, but authoritative overview of Egyptian mummification. It deals with perennially popular topic. It is illustrated throughout in colour. The author, a world expert on Egyptian mummification, addresses the most frequently asked questions about Egyptian mummies: how and why they were made, the religious beliefs which underpinned mummification, the preservation of animals, and how the mummies have been treated from ancient times until the present day. He provides an up to date summary of the ancient evidence, and also considers modern attitudes to Egyptian mummies, emphasising their role as a major source of knowledge and understanding about past societies. The text and illustrations draw heavily on the rich collection of mummies and funerary objects in the British Museum, and the findings of a wide range of recent scientific investigations of this collection. The book will therefore reflect the important advances which have been made in the understanding of Egyptian mummies over the last few years. The Author John H. Taylor is a curator of Egyptian antiquities in the British Museum.

The Cairo Genizah is considered one of the world's greatest Hebrew manuscript treasures. Yet the story of how over a quarter of a million fragments hidden in Egypt were discovered and distributed around the world, before becoming collectively known as "The Cairo Genizah," is far more convoluted and compelling than previously told. The full story involves an international cast of scholars, librarians, archaeologists, excavators, collectors, dealers and agents, operating from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century, and all acting with varying motivations and intentions in a race for the spoils. Basing her research on a wealth of archival materials, Jefferson reconstructs how these protagonists used their various networks to create key alliances, or to blaze lone trails, each one on a quest to recover ancient manuscripts. Following in their footsteps, she takes the reader on a journey down into ancient caves and tombs, under medieval rubbish mounds, into hidden attic rooms, vaults, basements and wells, along labyrinthine souks, and behind the doors of private clubs and cloistered colleges. Along the way, the reader will also learn about the importance of establishing manuscript provenance and authenticity, and the impact to our understanding of the past when either factor is in doubt.

Discover all the foul facts about the Awful Egyptians with history's most horrible headlines. All the Awful Egyptians' most horrible facts ready for readers to uncover, including: why the Egyptian people worshipped a dung beetle which pharaoh married her grandfather and what the 'Shepherd of the Royal Backside' had to do! * fully illustrated throughout and packed with horrible stories - with all the horribly hilarious bits included * with a fresh take on the classic Horrible Histories style, perfect for fans old and new * the perfect series for anyone looking for a fun and informative read * Horrible Histories has been entertaining children and families for generations with books, TV, stage show, magazines, games and 2019's brilliantly funny Horrible Histories: the Movie - Rotten Romans. Get your history right here and collect the whole horrible lot. Read all about it!

This title presents a civilization that never ceases to amaze scholars, enthusiasts and the general public by providing us with exceptional treasures. The magnificent monuments built in ancient Egypt are world famous, just as the general public knows the names of the most famous pharaohs in the long history of Egyptian civilization. Publications, documentaries, magazines and films continue to dwell on the theme of ancient Egypt, a sign of continuing interest in the story of this great culture. But it was only in 1822, when the ingenious intuition of the French scholar Jean-Francois Champollion paved the way for the first decipherment of hieroglyphs, that the thousands of inscriptions on the ancient Egyptian monuments, steles, statues and tombs could once again bear witness to the life, beliefs and political and economic events of this ancient population that had lived along the banks of the Nile and had created the most long-lived civilization in the history of humanity. Since the late 19th century there has been an uninterrupted series of archaeological discoveries that have greatly increased our knowledge of the history and customs of this great civilization. There is no doubt that the most famous and sensational event in this regard was the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun, which Howard Carter found almost intact in 1922. This exceptional discovery triggered a new wave of enthusiasm about Egypt that spread in Europe and United States. Many 20th-century and contemporary artists were inspired and continue to be inspired by the iconographic motifs of Egyptian art. Archaeological research is still underway and, thanks to state-of-the-art techniques and technology, Egyptologists can clarify new aspects of the history of this great civilization.

Where are the tombs of Alexander the Great or Cleopatra? Both rulers were buried in Egypt, but their tombs have never been found despite years of intensive research and excavation. Yet we have tantalizing clues. Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt describes the quest for these and other great 'missing' tombs - those we know existed, but which have not yet been identified. It also discusses key moments of discovery that have yielded astonishing finds and created the archetypal image of the archaeologist poised at the threshold of a tomb left untouched for millennia. In this gripping account, Chris Naunton explains the mysteries of the missing tombs and presents all the evidence, skilfully unravelling the tangled threads surrounding the burials of the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten and his son Tutankhamun, and the burial place of Imhotep, architect of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, among others. Could other such tombs lie undiscovered in the Valley of the Kings? In fact, the Valley almost certainly does guard hidden treasures. Amazing finds of unsuspected tombs continue to occur there and elsewhere in Egypt, making headlines worldwide - all are covered in this book. As well as immersing the reader, step by step, in the action of the search and the thrill of discovery, the book also explores the reasons why tombs remain such a central part of both the popular perception of Egyptology and the continuing allure of ancient Egypt.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, growing numbers of tourists and scholars from Europe and America, fascinated by new discoveries, visited the Near East and Egypt - attracted by the riches and mysteries of the Land of the Bible. Almost all such visitors, no matter how esoteric or academic their pursuits, had to deal with the local authorities and the native workforce for their archaeological excavations. The vast majority of these visitors had to rely on interpreters, dragomans, translators and local guides. This study, based on published and unpublished travel memoirs, guidebooks, personal papers and archaeological reports of the British and American archaeologists, deals with the socio-political status and multi-faceted role of interpreters at the time. Those bi- or multi-lingual individuals frequently took on (or were forced to take on) much more than just interpreting. They often played the role of go-betweens, servants, bodyguards, pimps, diplomats, spies, messengers, managers and overseers, and had to mediate, scheme and often improvise, whether in an official or unofficial capacity. For the most part denied due credit and recognition, these interpreters are finally here given a new voice. An engrossing story emerges of how through their many and varied actions and roles, they had a crucial part to play in the introduction to Britain and America of these mysterious past cultures and civilizations.

Egyptian Deportations of the Late Bronze Age explores the political economy of deportations in New Kingdom Egypt (ca. 1550-1070 BCE) from an interdisciplinary angle. The analysis of ancient Egyptian primary source material and the international correspondence of the time draws a comprehensive picture of the complex and far-reaching policies. The dataset reveals their geographic scope, economic and demographic impact in Egypt and abroad as well as their interconnection with territorial expansion, international relations, and labour management. The supply chain, profiting institutions and individuals in Egypt as the well as the labour tasks, origins and the composition of the deportees are discussed in detail. A comparative analytical framework integrates the Egyptian policies with a review of deportation discourses as well as historical premodern and modern cases and enables a global and diachronic understanding of the topic. The study is thus the first systematic investigation of deportations in ancient Egyptian history and offers new insights into Egyptian governance that revise previous assessments of the role of forced migration und unfree labour in ancient Egyptian society and their long-term effects.

This is the only substantial and up-to-date reference work on the Ptolemaic army. Employing Greek and Egyptian papyri and inscriptions, and building on approaches developed in state-formation theory, it offers a coherent account of how the changing structures of the army in Egypt after Alexander's conquest led to the development of an ethnically more integrated society. A new tripartite division of Ptolemaic history challenges the idea of gradual decline, and emphasizes the reshaping of military structures that took place between c.220 and c.160 BC in response to changes in the nature of warfare, mobilization and demobilization, and financial constraints. An investigation of the socio-economic role played by soldiers permits a reassessment of the cleruchic system and shows how soldiers' associations generated interethnic group solidarity. By integrating Egyptian evidence, Christelle Fischer-Bovet also demonstrates that the connection between the army and local temples offered new ways for Greeks and Egyptians to interact.

In ancient Egypt, one of the primary roles of the king was to maintain order and destroy chaos. Since the beginning of Egyptian history, images of foreigners were used as symbols of chaos and thus shown as captives being bound and trampled under the king's feet. The early 18th dynasty (1550-1372 BCE) was the height of international trade, diplomacy and Egyptian imperial expansion. During this time new images of foreigners bearing tribute became popular in the tombs of the necropolis at Thebes, the burial place of the Egyptian elite. This volume analyses the new presentation of foreigners in these tombs. Far from being chaotic, they are shown in an orderly fashion, carrying tribute that underscores the wealth and prestige of the tomb owner. This orderliness reflects the ability of the Egyptian state to impose order on foreign lands, but also crucially symbolises the tomb owner's ability to overcome the chaos of death and achieve a successful afterlife. Illustrated with colour plates and black-and-white images, this new volume is an important and original study of the significance of these images for the tomb owner and the functioning of the funerary cult.

The race of the Ancient Egyptians has long been a subject of controversy and debate. Ancient Egyptians have constantly been shown to be everything but black African, even though Egypt is in Africa and black people originate from Africa. Some have dared to challenge this Eurocentric view of a non-black Egypt and put black people at the centre. But now Segun Magbagbeola aims to leave no stone unturned and prove once and for all that Black Africans founded and drove one of the greatest civilisations in Earth's history. This groundbreaking work explains some of the mysteries of Ancient Egypt, such as the secrets of the pyramids, their connection to the stars and their descendants over the world. It includes genetic research and a magnitude of sources especially Nuwaupu, a culture based on Egyptology and factual confirmation, practiced by black Africans worldwide. Now is the time for us to dispel all uncertainties and claim our rightful throne as Black Egyptians.

'Beautifully written, sumptuously illustrated, constantly fascinating' The Times On 26 November 1922 Howard Carter first peered into the newly opened tomb of an ancient Egyptian boy-king. When asked if he could see anything, he replied: 'Yes, yes, wonderful things.' In Tutankhamun's Trumpet, acclaimed Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson takes a unique approach to that tomb and its contents. Instead of concentrating on the oft-told story of the discovery, or speculating on the brief life and politically fractious reign of the boy king, Wilkinson takes the objects buried with him as the source material for a wide-ranging, detailed portrait of ancient Egypt - its geography, history, culture and legacy. One hundred artefacts from the tomb, arranged in ten thematic groups, are allowed to speak again - not only for themselves, but as witnesses of the civilization that created them. Never before have the treasures of Tutankhamun been analysed and presented for what they can tell us about ancient Egyptian culture, its development, its remarkable flourishing, and its lasting impact. Filled with surprising insights, unusual details, vivid descriptions and, above all, remarkable objects, Tutankhamun's Trumpet will appeal to all lovers of history, archaeology, art and culture, as well as all those fascinated by the Egypt of the pharaohs. 'I've read many books on ancient Egypt, but I've never felt closer to its people' The Sunday Times

A monumental synthesis of a half century of research, this book investigates three communities from the ancient Nubian civilization of the Nile River Valley. Excavations in this region first inspired the "biocultural approach" to human biology now used by anthropologists worldwide, and Life and Death on the Nile exemplifies the very best of this perspective. It is the life's work of two highly accomplished anthropologists. George Armelagos and Dennis Van Gerven present studies of cranial morphology and evolution in Nubian populations. They look at patterns of physiological stress and disease, as well as growth and development, in infants and children. They study bone fractures and age-related bone loss in adults, and they discuss case studies of diseases such as cancers and congenital defects. Focusing on the link between human biology and the cultural and natural environment, they provide a holistic view of the lives of ancient Nubian peoples.

First published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Golden Mummies of Egypt presents new insights and a rich perspective on beliefs about the afterlife during an era when Egypt was part of the Greek and Roman worlds (c. 300 BCE-200 CE). This beautifully illustrated book, featuring photography by Julia Thorne, accompanies Manchester Museum's first-ever international touring exhibition. Golden Mummies of Egypt is a visually spectacular exhibition that offers visitors unparalleled access to the museum's outstanding collection of Egyptian and Sudanese objects - one of the largest in the UK. -- .

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The mummy of Takabuti is one of the best known antiquities in the Ulster Museum, Belfast. Takabuti was a young woman who lived in Egypt during a tumultuous period, c. 600 BC. Her mummy was unwrapped and investigated in Belfast in 1835. While the focus of the book is on Takabuti, it shows how the combination of archaeological, historical and inscriptional evidence with multidisciplinary scientific techniques can enable researchers to gain a wealth of information about ancient Egypt. This not only relates to the individual historical context, ancestry and life events associated with Takabuti, but also to wider issues of health and disease patterns, lifestyle, diet, and religious and funerary customs in ancient Egypt. This multi-authored book demonstrates how researchers act as 'forensic detectives' piecing together a picture of the life and times of Takabuti. Questions addressed include - Who was Takabuti? When did she live? Where did she come from and where did she reside? What did she eat, and did she suffer from any diseases? Did she suffer a violent death, and how was she mummified and prepared for burial?

In this volume, Denys A. Stocks examines the archaeological and pictorial evidence for masonry in ancient Egypt. Through a series of experiments in which he reconstructs and tests over 200 replica tools, he brings alive the methods and practices of ancient Egyptian craftworking, highlighting the innovations and advances made by this remarkable civilization. This practical approach to understanding the fundamentals of ancient Egyptian stoneworking allows the reader to explore more than just the processes of the craft. We are shown the evolution of tools and techniques, and how these come together to produce the wonders of Egyptian art and architecture that we can still see today, including the most famous monuments of all. Comprehensively illustrated with over two hundred photographs and drawings, "Experiments in Egyptian Archaeology" should bring a fresh perspective to the puzzles of Egyptian craft and technology. By combining the knowledge of a modern engineer with the approach of an archaeologist and historian, Denys Stocks has created a work that should capture the imagination of Egyptology scholars and enthusiasts.

Many modern cats are descendants of the cats of ancient Egypt. These beautiful creatures thus represent a living link between the modern world and the ancient Egyptian civilization. Cats in Egypt were probably domesticated by around 4,000 BC, from wild ancestors. Over the following centuries, they became popular household pets; they are regularly shown in tomb paintings of family life. They were also seen as manifestations of the goddess Bastet, and Dr Malek draws on a vast range of artistic and written sources to show how they became one of the most widely-esteemed and revered animals in Egypt. In the Late Period, enormous numbers of mummified cats were buried with honours, and bronze statuettes of cats were dedicated to temples during religious festivals. Dr Malek ends by describing how cats fared in Egypt in the post-pharaonic period. Cats remain popular in Egypt today; the contract between cats and humans, entered into in Egyptian villages thousands of years ago, is still very much in action.

The riveting story of a true-life female Indiana Jones: an archaeologist who survived the Nazis and then saved Egypt's ancient temples. In the 1960s, the world's attention was focused on a nail-biting race against time: fifty countries had contributed nearly a billion dollars to save a dozen ancient Egyptian temples from drowning in the floodwaters of the gigantic new Aswan High Dam. It was a project of unimaginable size and complexity that required the fragile sandstone temples to be dismantled, stone by stone, and rebuilt on higher ground. But the massive press coverage of this unprecedented rescue effort completely overlooked the gutsy French archaeologist who made it all happen. Without the intervention of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, the temples would now be at the bottom of a gigantic reservoir. Desroches-Noblecourt refused to be cowed by anyone or anything. As a brave member of the French Resistance in World War II, she had survived imprisonment by the Nazis. Now, in her fight to save the temples, she had to face down two of the most daunting leaders of the postwar world: Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and French president Charles de Gaulle. After a century and a half of Western plunder of Egypt's ancient monuments, Desroches-Noblecourt helped preserve a crucial part of its cultural heritage, and, just as importantly, made sure it remained in its homeland.

The recital of The Book of Opening the Mouth and the Liturgy of Funerary Offerings were in use among the Predynastic Egyptians of the later part of the Neolithic Period, before the art of writing had evolved, and continued to exercise a considerable influence on Egyptian religious literature until the time of Roman Empire. The ceremonies were believed to enable the spiritual elements of the deceased to continue their existence. The object of the formulae was the reconstitution of the body and the restoration to it of the heart-soul ('Ba'). This is the first volume of The Book of Opening the Mouth, first published in 1909, which is edited from three copies written in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-sixth Dynasties respectively. It is believed they describe faithfully the forms of the rites which originated among the indigenous inhabitants of the Nile Valley.

This, the first volume of Sir E. A. Wallis Budge's The History of Ethiopia: Abyssinia and Nubia, first published in 1928, presents an account of Ethiopian history from the earliest legendary and mythic records up until the death of King Lebna Dengel in 1540. Using a vast range of sources - Greek and Roman reports, Biblical passages, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Ethiopian chronicles - an enthralling narrative history is presented with clarity. This reissue will be of particular interest to students of Ancient Egyptian culture, religion and history.

The rich history of Egypt has provided famous examples of board games played in antiquity. Each of these games provides evidence of contact between Egypt and its neighbours. From pre-dynastic rule to Arab and Ottoman invasions, Egypt's past is visible on game boards. This volume starts by introducing the reader to board games as well as instruments of chance and goes on to trace the history and distribution of ancient Egyptian games, looking particularly at how they show contact with other cultures and civilizations. Game practices, which were also part of Egyptian rituals and divination, travelled throughout the eastern Mediterranean. This book explores the role of Egypt in accepting and disseminating games during its long history. Over the last few years, the extent and the modes of contact have become better understood through museum and archival research projects as well as surveys of archaeological sites in Egypt and its surrounding regions. The results allow new insight into ancient Egypt's international relations and the role of board games research in understanding its extent. Written by three authors known internationally for their expertise on this topic, this will be the first volume on Ancient Egyptian games of its kind and a much-needed contribution to the field of both Egyptology and board games studies.

This is the first of three volumes exploring some of the most remarkable insights into Ancient Egypt to have come to light in modern times. The first two volumes deal with the Rosetta Stone, an outstanding archaeological discovery that has supplied the basis for Egyptian decipherment; the final volume explores the "Stele of Canopus", discovered in 1866. The significance of the Rosetta Stone lies in the three different languages that are inscribed onto it: Koine Greek, Demotic Egyptian, and, crucially, Hieroglyphic. This has facilitated a vast increase in our understanding of the sacred language of Ancient Egypt, as well as enhancing our understanding of the nature of kingship at a time of immense cultural transformation. First published in 1904, this reissue provides an accessible general introduction to this fascinating subject, useful for the amateur enthusiast as well as undergraduate students.

Containing a comprehensive dictionary of hieroglyphs to all the texts of the Theban Recension of the Book of the Dead, and also to most of the supplementary Chapters of the Saite and Graeco-Roman period that are usually appended to it, this volume will prove to be a staple part of a rounded appreciation of Ancient Egyptian literature. First published in 1911, the index includes all English equivalents to the Egyptian words. Phonetic values for each symbol are provided, the arrangement of the words and their various forms is arranged alphabetically throughout, and each hieroglyph is printed clearly: a user-friendly and concise tool for all enthusiasts, students and researchers.