The discovery of ancient Egypt and the development of Egyptology are momentous events in intellectual and cultural history. The history of Egyptology is the story of the people, famous and obscure, who constructed the picture of ancient Egypt that we have today, recovered the Egyptian past while inventing it anew, and made a lost civilization comprehensible to generations of enchanted readers and viewers thousands of years later. This, the second of a three-volume survey of the history of Egyptology, explores the years 1881-1914, a period marked by the institutionalization of Egyptology amid an ever increasing pace of discovery and the opening of vast new vistas into the Egyptian past. Wonderful Things affirms that the history of ancient Egypt has proved continually fascinating, but it also demonstrates that the history of Egyptology is no less so. Only by understanding how Egyptology has developed can we truly understand ancient Egypt.

Over the past several years, a number of Levantine archaeologists working on the Iron Age (ca. 1200 - 586 BCE) have begun to employ high precision radiocarbon dating to solve a wide range of chronological, historical and social issues. The incorporation of high precision radiocarbon dating methods and statistical modelling into the archaeological 'tool box' of the 'Biblical archaeologist' is revolutionizing the field. In fact, Biblical archaeology is leading the field of world archaeology in how archaeologists must deal with history, historical texts, and material culture. A great deal of debate has been generated by this new research direction in southern Levantine (Israel, Jordan, Palestinian territories, southern Lebanon & Syria, the Sinai) archaeology.

This book is an impressive collection of some of the earliest literature still extant from the great Ancient Egyptian civilization. Much of the material contained in this work -- poems, narratives, songs and prayers -- was translated here and made accessible to lovers of antiquity for the first time. Covering a range of topics including schools, religion and love, the collected works here provide the reader with a deeper understanding of ancient life along the Nile.

When Western explorers first encountered dolmens in the Levant, they thought they had discovered the origins of a megalithic phenomenon that spread as far as the Atlantic coast. Although European dolmens are now considered an unrelated tradition, many researchers continue to approach dolmens in the Levant as part of a trans-regional phenomenon that spanned the Taurus mountains to the Arabian peninsula. By tightly defining the term 'dolmen' itself, this book brings these mysterious monuments into sharper focus. Drawing on historical, archaeological and geological sources, it is shown that dolmens in the Levant mostly concentrate in the eastern escarpment of the Jordan Rift Valley, and in the Galilean hills. They cluster near proto-urban settlements of the Early Bronze I period (3700-3000 BCE) in particular geological zones suitable for the extraction of megalithic slabs. Rather than approaching dolmens as a regional phenomenon, this book considers dolmens as part of a local burial tradition whose tomb forms varied depending on geological constraints. Dolmens in the Levant is essential for anyone interested in the rise of civilisations in the ancient Middle East, and particularly those who have wondered at the origins of these enigmatic burial monuments that dominate the landscape.

The working and intellectual biography of the great archaeologist Flinders Petrie, who was one of the founding fathers of Egyptology, will inevitably be of interest to all those involved with ancient Egypt. Here we have accounts of the research, the observations and the writing of some of the most important work conducted in Egyptology.

This edited collection considers representations of ancient Egypt in the literature of the nineteenth-century. It addresses themes such as reanimated mummies, ancient Egyptian mythology and contemporary consumer culture across literary modes ranging from burlesque satire to historical novels, stage performances to Gothic fiction and popular culture to the highbrow. The book illuminates unknown sources of historical significance - including the first illustration of an ambulatory mummy - revising current understandings of the works of canonical writers and grounding its analysis firmly in a contemporary context. The contributors demonstrate the extensive range of cultural interest in ancient Egypt that flourished during Victoria's reign. At the same time, they use ancient Egypt to interrogate 'selfhood' and 'otherness', notions of race, imperialism, religion, gender and sexuality. -- .

The allure of Egypt is not exclusive to the modern world. Egypt also held a fascination and attraction for people of the past. In this book, academics from a wide range of disciplines assess the significance of Egypt within the settings of its past. The chronological span is from later prehistory, through to the earliest literate eras of interaction with Mesopotamia and the Levant, the Aegean, Greece and Rome. Ancient Perspectives on Egypt includes both archaeological and documented evidence, which ranges from the earliest writing attested in Egypt and Mesopotamia in the late fourth millennium BC, to graffiti from Abydos that demonstrate pilgrimages from all over the Mediterranean world, to the views of Roman poets on the nature of Egypt. This book presents, for the first time in a single volume, a multi-faceted but coherent collection of images of Egypt from, and of, the past.

This work evokes the fascination and wonder of the most ancient period of Egypt's history, from c 5000 to 2000 BC. It draws on Jungian theory to explore the psychological forces that contributed to the nation's special character, and which also account for Egypt's continuing allure up to the 21st century. The author covers a huge range of topics, including formative influences in the political and social organisation and art of Egypt, the origins of kingship, the age of pyramids, the nature of Egypt's contact with the lands around the Arabian Gulf, and the earliest identifiable developments of the historic Egyptian personality. Wholly revised and updated in the light of the many discoveries made since its first publication, "Egypt's Making" is a scholarly yet readable approach to this compelling ancient civilization.

This book presents a new analysis of the organization, structure and changes of the pharaonic state through three millennia of its history. Moreno Garcia sheds new light on this topic by bringing to bear recent developments in state theory and archaeology, especially comparative study of the structure of ancient states and empires. The role played by pharaonic Egypt in new studies often reiterates old views about the stability, conservatism and 'exceptionalism' of Egyptian kingship, which supposedly remained the same across the Bronze and Iron Ages. Ancient Egypt shared many parallels with other Bronze and Iron Age societies as can be shown by an analysis of the structure of the state, of the limits of royal power, of the authority of local but neglected micro-powers (such as provincial potentates and wealthy non-elite), and of the circulation and control of wealth. Furthermore, Egypt experienced deep changes in its social, economic, political and territorial organization during its history, thus making the land of the pharaohs an ideal arena in which to test applications of models of governments and to define the dynamics that rule societies on the longue duree. When seen through these new perspectives, the pharaonic monarchies appear less exceptional than previously thought, and more dependent on the balance of power, on their capacity to control the kingdom's resources and on the changing geopolitical conditions of their time.

It is widely believed that the practice of ancient Egyptian religion ceased with the end of pharaonic culture and the rise of Christianity. However, an organised reconstruction and revival of the authentic practice of Egyptian, or Kemetic religion has been growing, almost undocumented, for nearly three decades. Profane Egyptologists is the first in-depth study of the now-global phenomenon of Kemeticism. Presenting key players in their own words, the book utilises extensive interviews to reveal a continuum of beliefs and practices spanning eight years of community growth. The existence of competing visions of Egypt, which employ ancient material and academic resources, questions the position of Egyptology as a gatekeeper of Egypt's past. Exploring these boundaries, the book highlights the politised and economic factors driving the discipline's self-conception. Could an historically self-imposed insular nature have harmed Egyptology as a field, and how could inclusive discussion help guard against further isolationism? Profane Egyptologists is both an Egyptological study of Kemeticism, and a critical study of the discipline of Egyptology itself. It will be of value to scholars and students of archaeology and Egyptology, cultural heritage, religion online, phenomenology, epistemology, pagan studies and ethnography, as well as Kemetics and devotees of Egyptian culture.

This original study examines the claims for sensational intrigues in the 6th century Egyptian palace, culminating in the possible assassination of King Teti by his own bodyguards.
New evidence from the author's recent excavations is set against the written claims of the ancient historian Manetho. This offers the reader a unique opportunity to compare archaeological and historical evidence, and sheds new light on the political conspiracies and quarrels of the age.
With over 80 illustrations, and clear presentation of the dynastic tomb excavations, the book also gives a rare and accessible insight into Old Kingdom society and administration under the kings Unis, Teti and Pepy I. It will be valuable to all students of Egyptian history.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203166736

World Prehistory: The Basics tells the compelling story of human prehistory, from our African origins to the spectacular pre-industrial civilizations and cities of the more recent past.

Written in a non-technical style by two archaeologists and experienced writers about the past, the story begins with human origins in Africa some 6 million years ago and the spread of our remote ancestors across the Old World. Then we return to Africa and describe the emergence of Homo sapiens (modern humans) over 300,000 years ago, then, much later, their permanent settlement of Europe, Eurasia, Asia, and the Americas. From hunters and foragers, we turn to the origins of farming and animal domestication in different parts of the world after about 11,000 years ago and show how these new economies changed human existence dramatically. Five chapters tell the stories of the great pre-industrial civilizations that emerged after 5000 years before present in the Old World and the Americas, their strengths, volatility, and weaknesses. These chapters describe powerful rulers and their ideologies, also the lives of non-elites. The narratives chronicle the rise and fall of civilizations, and the devastating effects of long droughts on many of them. The closing chapter poses a question: Why is world prehistory important in the modern world? What does it tell us about ourselves?

Providing a simple, but entertaining and stimulating, account of the prehistoric past from human origins to today from a global perspective, World Prehistory: The Basics is the ideal guide to the story of our early human past and its relevance to the modern world.

Table of Contents

1. Beginnings (c. 6 to 2 Ma); 2. Out of Africa (c. 2 Ma and later); 3. Enter Homo sapiens (c. 300,000 years ago and later); 4. Modern humans in the north (c. 50,000 to 12,000 years ago); 5. After the ice (c. 15,000 years ago and later); 6. Farmers and herders (c. 10,000 BCE and later); 7. Villages, towns, and chiefs (after about 8,000 BCE); 8. Sumerians and Assyrians (c. 3100 to 612 BCE); 9. By Nile and Indus (c. 3100 to 30 BCE); 10. China and Southeast Asia (after 5250 BCE to 1532 CE); 11. Mesoamerica (c. 1500 BCE to 1532 CE); 12. Andean civilizations (3000 BCE to 1532 CE); 13. Epilogue

In 1759 the botanist and scientist Vitaliano Donati led an expedition to Egypt under the patronage of King Carlo Emanuele III of Sardinia, to acquire Egyptian antiquities for the Museum in Turin. Charting his tumultuous expedition, this book reveals how, in spite of his untimely death in 1762, Donati managed to send enough items back to Turin to lay the foundations for one of the earliest and largest systematic collections of Egyptology in Europe, and help to bring the world of ancient Egypt into the consciousness of Enlightenment scholarship. Whilst the importance of this collection has long been recognised, its exact contents have been remained largely unknown. War, the Napoleonic occupation of Italy and the amalgamation and reorganisation of museum collections resulted in a dispersal of objects and loss of provenance. As a result it had been supposed that the actual contents of Donati's collection could not be known. However, the discovery by Angela Morecroft in 2004 of Donati's packing list reveals the exact quantity and type of objects that he acquired, offering the possibility to cross-reference his descriptions with unidentified artifacts at the Museum. By examining Donati's expedition to Egypt, and seeking to identify the objects he sent back to Turin, this book provides a fascinating insight into early collecting practice and the lasting historical impact of these items. As such it will prove a valuable resource for all those with an interest in the history of museums and collecting, as well as enlightenment travels to Egypt.

Guibert of Nogent has provided us with much of what we know about life in Europe in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. His autobiography, his crusade chronicle, and his critique of relics create a rich and textured portrait of this vibrant and violent social landscape. His observations range widely from the philosophical to the extremely personal with topics including his mother, sexuality, cleanliness, and life in a Benedictine monastery. Yet, in spite of is importance to our understanding of his era, Guibert himself has not been the subject of an historical biography for nearly a century. Guibert of Nogent: Portrait of a Medieval Mind remedies this and in doing so, challenges many of the long held assumptions about this enigmatic man. Instead of being a neurotic, as earlier historians have described him, Guibert is revealed as one of Europe's most sophisticated early psychological thinkers who led the way in transforming hagiography, biography, historiography and theology.

In Ramesses II, Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh Peter J. Brand paints with authoritative knowledge and colourful details a compelling portrait of this legendary Pharaoh who ruled over Imperial Egypt during its Golden Age. Warrior, mighty builder and statesman, over the course of his 67-year-long reign (1279-1212 BCE), Ramesses II achieved more than any other pharaoh in the three millennia of ancient Egyptian civilization. Drawing on the latest research, Peter Brand reveals Ramesses the Great as a gifted politician, canny elder statesman, and tenacious warrior. With restless energy, he fully restored the office of Pharaoh to unquestioned levels of prestige and authority, thereby bringing stability to Egypt. He ended almost seven decades of warfare between Egypt and the Hittite Empire by signing the earliest international peace treaty in recorded history. In his later years, even as he outlived many of his own children and grandchildren, Ramesses II became a living god and finally, an immortal legend. Forty years after the publication of Kenneth Kitchen's Pharaoh Triumphant, here at last is a fresh, engaging look at Ramesses II, Egypt's ultimate Pharaoh

For those wishing to study the Roman city in Egypt, the archaeological record is poorer than that of many other provinces. Yet the large number of surviving texts allows us to reconstruct the social lives of Egyptians to an extent undreamt of elsewhere. We are not, therefore, limited to a history of the public faces of cities, their inscriptions, and the writings of their elites, but can begin to understand what the transformations of the city meant for ordinary people, and to uncover the forces that shaped the everyday lives of city dwellers.
After Egypt became part of the Roman Empire in 30 BC, Classical and then Christian influences both made their mark on the urban environment. This book examines the impact of these new cultures at every level of Egyptian society.
The result is a new and fascinating insight into the creation of a specific urban society in the Roman Empire, as well as a case study for the model of urban development in antiquity.


eBook available with sample pages: 0203469267

This book covers the prehistory of the Nile Valley from Nubia to the Mediterranean, during the period from the earliest hominid settlement, around 700,000 BC, to the beginnings of dynastic Egypt at the end of the fourth millennium BC. The author explores the prehistoric foundations pf many of the cultural traditions of Pharaonic Egypt.

The book focuses primarily on the fifteen millennia from 18,000 to 3,000 BC, when different cultures can be identified and the earliest forms of agriculture traced with some detail. Textile and ceramic production began at the end of the seventh millennium and were deployed with great skill and considerable sophistication by the beginning of the Predynastic Period at around 4,500 BC. By the Early Dynastic Period much that is considered characteristic of Ancient Egypt, such as cosmology and burial rites, was already established tradition.

This account of prehistoric Egypt will be welcomed as an outstanding narrative, combining both scholarship and accessibility.

Discovering Qatar evolved from a series of features on the archaeology, natural history and traditional life of Qatar that Frances Gillespie began publishing in a national newspaper in the late 1990s. There was little available on these subjects for the general reader, and many people, especially those involved in education, asked for them to be compiled into a book. The author had no idea at that time what the demand would be, and hoped that, perhaps, a few hundred copies might find a market. Two reprints and 12,000 copies later, the time has come for a thoroughly updated edition of the book, with new and improved illustrations, and including the latest information on such fascinating topics as the whale sharks which congregate in large numbers in an off-shore oil field, the presence of which had not been noted by scientists when Discovering Qatar was first published in 2006. Research into Qatar's past by teams of archaeologists has made huge progress in the last decade, culminating in the old pearling and trading settlement of Zubara being inscribed as a Word Heritage Site in 2013. During the 30 years Frances Gillespie lived in Qatar, the country made a gigantic leap forward in development, with a modern capital to rival any in the region. As a freelance journalist and writer she has the freedom to concentrate on subjects that interest her. Discovering Qatar reflects this, and the author and publisher hope that readers will share her enthusiasm and enjoy learning more about the 'real' Qatar - the Qatar that was there all the time.

The pharaoh Akhenaten, who ruled Egypt in the mid-fourteenth century BCE, has been the subject of more speculation than any other character in Egyptian history. This provocative new biography examines both the real Akhenaten and the myths that have been created around him. It scrutinises the history of the pharaoh and his reign, which has been continually written in Eurocentric terms inapplicable to ancient Egypt, and the archaeology of Akhenaten's capital city, Amarna. It goes on to explore the pharaoh's extraordinary cultural afterlife, and the way he has been invoked to validate everything from psychoanalysis to racial equality to Fascism.

This book is a new study of the ancient Egyptian poem known in English as The Man Who Was Tired of Life or The Dialogue of a Man and His Ba (or Soul). The composition is universally regarded as one of the masterpieces of ancient Egyptian literature. It is also one of the most difficult and continually debated, as well as being the subject of more than one hundred books and articles. The present study offers new readings and translations, along with an analysis of the text's grammar and versification, and a complete philological apparatus.

The haunting funerary paintings on wood coffins found in Roman Egypt still represent some of the most vivid images that come to us from the ancient world. These paintings were first discovered by Flinders Petrie, father of modern archaeology, in his excavations in the Egyptian Fayum during the 1880s and have rested at University College London for over 100 years. Now, the Petrie Museum is bringing this corpus of paintings to the public in a stunning catalog. Living Images is a beautiful and authoritative presentation of the restored collection that will be an essential reference for scholars and a fascinating read for general audiences. Central to the volume is a complete catalog of the mummy portraits uncovered by Petrie, including full color illustrations and descriptions of technical and stylistic features and iconographic characteristics. To add to the value of the volume, articles describe the process of finding the mummies, explain the place of funerary assemblages in the history of Egyptian burial customs, offer an introduction to Egyptian portrait painting, and explain the conservation issues presented by the coffins. Petrie's own reflections on his finds are also included. The volume is dedicated to the memory of Egyptologist Barbara Adams and co-sponsored by the Petrie Museum.

Originally published in 1923, this book provides an exploration of Egyptian art. Drawing on environmental factors of the Egyptian region, architecture, history and Egyptian society, Capart also provides an insight into the psyche of the Egyptian artist.

The contributors in this book use the most recent research in key areas - the early settlements of Israel, early Israelite religion, Qumran, Jerusalem, early Christian churches - to show that ancient writings and modern archaeology can illuminate each other, but only when used with professional care. The essays represent a new generation of archaeologists and historians, with new social, political and religious concerns who draw a fresh and vital picture of the emergence of ancient Israel.

A clear understanding of the relationship between archaeology and literary material is crucial for scholars who wish to reconstruct the history of emerging Israel. The papers assembled in this work use recent research in key areas - the early settlements of Israel, early Israelite religion, Qumran, Jerusalem, early Christian churches - to show that ancient writings and modern archeaology can illuminate each other, but only when used with professsional care. The essays represent a generation of archaeologists and historians, with social, political and religious concerns who draw a useful picture of the emergence of ancient Israel.