A classic study of daily life in ancient Egypt, Everyday Life in Egypt in the Days of Ramesses the Great is the masterwork of the dean of modern Egyptologists, Pierre Montet. Renowned for its accuracy and scope, this book conveys the richness and complexity of ancient Egyptian life. The book focuses on the era of the great builders at Karnak and Luxor, the Ramesside kings (ca. 1314-1090 B.C.) and surveys both upper and lower Egypt to give a comprehensive picture of pharaonic society. Montet combines studies of monuments and tombs with data from pictorial and literary sources, including papyrus documents, to depict the experiences of royalty, priests, urban artisans and professionals, peasants and slaves. Here, too, are colorful descriptions of dwelling places, seasonal activities, holiday observances, family life, travel, justice, warfare, and the rites of burial-all enhanced by Montet's appreciation for the ancient Egyptian way of life.

Flinders Petrie began his long association with ancient Egypt and the Near East when he went to Giza to survey the pyramids in 1880. He continued to dig almost until his death in Jerusalem in 1942. During his long career he revolutionized Egyptian archaeology and indeed can be said to have founded modern scientific archaeology. But this book is not concerned with his scientific work, except tangentially, as Petrie had an admirable practice of publishing his excavations soon after they were completed. These letters and journals have been selected for their vivid account of living in Egypt and Palestine over sixty years. Even more they describe Petrie's austere approach to a dig where the archaeology was everything and creature comforts near nonexistent. Many anecdotes survive of life on one of Petrie's digs and the reality as revealed in these accounts is just as eccentric.