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Ancient Egypt Magazine --
Volume Seven Issue Three -- December 2006 / January 2007
Book Reviews
Mountains of the Pharaohs:
The Untold Story of the Pyramid Builders
by Zahi Hawass

Dr Zahi Hawass, now
Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, spent many years as
the antiquities’ Director at Giza. It was during his time there that the
Workmen’s Village and their tombs were discovered, adding another, more human
facet to the story of the pyramids at Giza.
This book looks at
the great pyramid-building age, beginning with the reigns of Sneferu and his
pyramids at Meidum and Dahshur and ending with the three pyramids built at Giza.
This is a
fascinating and very readable little book covering the reigns of the pyramid
builders of the Fourth Dynasty and explaining how much of the knowledge we have
about them comes from excavations and the evidence from the tombs of nobles and
workers at Giza.
The engineering
skills of the ancient builders is remarkable, and is covered well in the
chapters on each pyramid, but one of the strengths of this book is the human
aspect, the account of the lives of the pharaohs and their court and also of
their workmen who sweated and toiled to build their great monuments.
The book does have
a few colour illustrations, although it is a shame that the publishers did not
include some maps, plans and diagrams of the pyramids, which would have been
useful for those absolutely new to the subject.
Published by
Doubleday, 2006.
ISBN 0 385 50305 9.
Hardback, price $24.95.
click on image to purchase
from amazon.co.uk
The British Museum:
Masterpieces of Ancient Egypt
by Nigel Strudwick

Once upon a time, the British Museum
used to publish a full guide to its Egyptian collection. Before illustrations
were possible, this was a comprehensive list and description of all the objects
on the galleries.
The British Museum’s Egyptian
collection is huge, so it is impossible to produce an illustrated guide to all
the objects. In the last few decades, publications have focussed on histories of
Egypt, illustrated with objects from the collection, or a series of smaller
publications focussing on one aspect of the collection: mummies, or sculpture
for example.
This new, fully-illustrated
publication is most welcome and features over two hundred objects from the
collection.
The title Masterpieces may be
misleading, for this may imply great works of art, and there are indeed a large
number of objects which fall into this category in this book; however, the
selection of objects covers the wide range of the collection from ancient Egypt
and Sudan, from colossal statues to fragmentary papyri of great archaeological
importance.
Following a brief introduction to
ancient Egypt and the history of the Museum collection, the bulk of the book is
devoted to the “masterpieces”.
Listed in chronological order from
the Predynastic period in Egypt right up to the early Christian era, each object
has a double-page spread.
A full description and history of the
object fills one page, with a full-colour photograph of the object on the other.
The format will be familiar to readers as it is used for major exhibition
catalogues and works well. The descriptions are excellent and include
information on where the object was found, how and when it was acquired by the
museum, its dimensions and the materials used.
You will find information on the
objects in this book that you will simply not find elsewhere, not even in the
museum, where the museum labels, good as they are, have, of necessity, to be
brief.
I am sure many AE readers will be
more than familiar with the Egyptian galleries in the British Museum and this
superb book will make any future visits even more rewarding.
For readers who have not visited the
museum, or who perhaps cannot, then this book will be the next best thing and
clearly demonstrates the importance and range of the objects in the Egyptian
collection.
This book is an absolute “must have”
and will prove to be an invaluable reference for anyone interested in ancient
Egypt.
click on image to purchase
from amazon.co.uk
Published by the British Museum
Press, 2006.
ISBN 0 7141 1972 5. Hardback, price
£20.
Chronicle of the Pharaohs
by Peter Clayton

This book was first
published in 1994, before AE was first published, and, as such,
has not received a review in the magazine.
It is a publication
that may well be familiar to AE readers, for it has been in print
since then. It is, as it says on the cover, a “reign-by-reign record of the
rulers and dynasties of ancient Egypt”.
There is a wealth
of information in this book which is well written, accurate and profusely
illustrated throughout. For each Pharaoh, the royal names are included (over one
hundred and seventy are listed), a note about their burial places and a brief
biography/account of their reigns and exploits.
My own copy is well
thumbed and I tend to use it as the first port of call if I need some
information on a particular ruler or dynasty. It is also a book I have always
recommended to anyone new to the subject who may be confused at the sheer number
of works on Egypt, and is uncertain which one(s) to buy.
This revised
edition, now available in paperback for the first time, will hopefully mean that
this book, a popular history, but also a good work of reference, will be
available to even more readers.
click on image to purchase
from amazon.co.uk
Published by Thames and Hudson, 2006.
ISBN 0 500 28628 0. Papercover, price
£14.95.
Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt
by Joyce Tyldesley

Following the same format as the
Chronicle of the Pharaohs mentioned above, this new publication looks at the
lives and times of the Queens of Egypt and female members of the royal family.
The author, well-known for her
previous books on women in Egypt and biographies of Egyptian Queens, begins this
book with a look at the role of women, that of the royal consort, and that of
female Pharaoh.
There then follows a
Dynasty-by-Dynasty look at the lives of the Queens. Many of the names here will
be familiar – Hatshepsut, Tiye, Nefertiti and Nefertari, for example – but it is
good to find a book where the lives and roles of other important Queens, from
both earlier and later periods, are mentioned.
It is clear that, far from just being
a Queen consort, and the mother of the Pharaoh’s children, the Queen exercised
real power and influence. The role of supportive wife and mother was important,
but in times of crisis a Queen could, and did, marshal troops and rule on behalf
of an infant son.
On several occasions, Queens even
took on the ultimate role, that of Pharaoh.
This book, too, has a wealth of
information and is superbly illustrated; it is also both a popular history and
will be a work of reference.
Both “Chronicle” books are really
recommended as a good and sound introduction to ancient Egypt.
Published by Thames and H udson,
2006.
ISBN 0 500 05145 3. Hardback, price
£19.95.
click on image to purcha se
from amazon.co.uk
Egyptian Mummies:
Radiological Atlas of the Collection in the National Museum of Antiquities at
Leiden
By Maarten J. Raven and Wybren K. Taconis

In the last decade or so, many
museums around the world have been using the latest technologies to investigate
Egyptian mummies.
The Egyptian collection in the
National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden (founded in 1818) is impressive and
well known, although research on the large mummy collection began relatively
late. In the 1960s the human mummies were X-rayed and in the 1970s some were
scanned.
In 1997, a new project was started,
to scan all of the museum’s mummies (the earliest of which might date from the
Twentieth Dynasty, with most dating from the Third Intermediate Period to the
Roman Period). The results are published in this impressive volume of 333 pages.
Chapters look at the history of the
collection and the fascinating story of how the mummies were acquired by the
museum, many at the beginning of the nineteenth century. A chapter looks at
mummification methods and the history of research on mummies, ranging from the
early “unrollings” as public spectacles, to the use of more scientific and
nondestructive methods. The various merits and uses of the latest scientific
techniques available are described.
The bulk of the book looks in some
detail at the specific finds following the examination of the Leiden mummies,
with a full catalogue of all the human mummies (twenty-seven in total) and body
parts, as well as animal mummies.
The examination reveals gender, the
age at death, physical evidence of diseases or just “wear and tear”, dentition,
the state of the wrappings and any objects within them.
Many of the finds confirm those made
by investigations in other collections of mummies, such as the poor state of the
teeth of the ancient Egyptians, caused by wear and dental abscesses, and
degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis. Evidence of fractures to bones can
also be seen.
The catalogue describes each mummy in
detail and records the mummy’s history, the identification (where this is known
– usually determined by names and titles recorded on associated coffins found
with the mummies), the mummification methods used and any artefacts found within
the wrappings.
Over seventy animal mummies were also
examined. Again the information obtained confirms that obtained from other
studies: many animals, cats in particular, did not survive to an old age and
were probably bred specifically for use as offerings.
The ancient embalmers were clearly
not above misleading their customers, for in many cases the embalming is poor,
if indeed there is actually an animal body present! Some “mummies” were revealed
to be nothing more than wrapped bundles of linen, or, at best, contained just
the odd bone or feather.
With many illustrations of scans of
the mummies, the book is, of necessity, full of anatomical references and terms
e.g.
“Axial CT-slices in cranial to cadual
direction”, and perhaps an enlarged glossary with more anatomical terms would be
useful to the complete layman. Having said this, it is not difficult to work out
what parts of the body are being illustrated or described, and after a short
time, many of these seemingly confusing terms will begin to make sense! This
book is well written and illustrated and there is a wealth of information here
for anyone who wants to make a serious study of the scientific examination of
mummies, but it will also be of interest to a wider readership with perhaps a
more general interest in the subject.
Mummies always have been, and I
suspect always will be, of great interest to anyone visiting the museums that
house them. Surprisingly few mummies have survived from ancient Egypt and they
are, therefore, a rare and important resource.
Studies such as those described here
are important and can tell us so much about the ancient Egyptians.
Published by Brepols, 2005.
ISBN 2 503 51701 3. Hardback, price
55 Euros.
click on image to purchase
from amazon.co.uk
Magic in Ancient Egypt
By Geraldine Pinch

This is a revised and updated version
of a title first published in 1994. Dr Pinch looks at the connections between
myth and magic, and the deities, such as Isis and Bes, who had special magical
importance.
Chapters include “Medicine and Magic”
and “Magic and the Dead” and the author shows how elements of ancient Egyptian
magic still survive today.
Published by the British Museum
Press, 2006.
ISBN 978 0 7141 1936 6 Paperback,
price £12.99.
http://www.britishmuseum.co.uk/Product.aspx?ID=1161
An Ancient Egyptian Herbal
By Lise Manniche

This is a revised and updated version
of a title first published in 1989, drawing on the latest research on the
subject. The author discusses the Egyptian’s uses of herbs and flowers for both
decorative and practical purposes, and the importance of plants for funerary and
festive occasions.
Chapters include “The Egyptian
Garden”, “Bouquets, Garlands and Collars”, the uses of flowers in the home and
kitchen, and for cosmetics and perfume.
The Herbal lists and describes
the plants available to the ancient Egyptians.
Both books are well illustrated and
written, with a wealth of good information and excellent glossaries and
bibliographies.
Published by the British Museum
Press, 2006.
ISBN 978 0 7141 1974 8. Paperback,
price £9.99.
click on image to purchase
from amazon.co.uk
Tutankhamun’s
Tomb:
The Thrill of Discovery
Photographs by Harry Burton, Text by Susan J. Allen.

The discovery of
Tutankhamun’s tomb is perhaps one of the best known archaeological stories in
the world.
Clearing the tomb
took ten years and each step of the process was painstakingly recorded and
photographed. Over one thousand four hundred black-and-white images were taken
by British photographer Harry Burton, who worked for the Metropolitan Museum of
Art in New York. His photographs recorded all the objects as they were first
found and in the various stages of their removal from the tomb.
His images are well
known and are still reproduced today.
His two identical
sets of glass plate negatives are held in the Metropolitan Museum in New York
and in the Griffith Institute in Oxford.
The images selected
for this book are used to tell the (by now familiar) story of the discovery of
the tomb and its contents, although it is always a delight to see Burton’s
brilliant and clear photographs.
Burton worked under
difficult conditions and he produced some technically brilliant photographs,
using reflected sunlight and just two electric lights installed in the tomb. It
is a shame perhaps, that some space in this book was not devoted to some of the
more technical aspects of his work, and how he actually achieved his results.
This is information which would be if interest – even, for example, what sort of
camera did he use? The foreword of this book does mention “gelatin sliver
prints” but I am now curious to know what that actually means and the techniques
used.
What is perhaps
disappointing is the publishers’ decision to use an off white/yellow paper for
this book, which gives all the images a dull slightly sepia hue – whereas in
Carter’s original publications (and in most of the other books that use Burton’s
images) the photographs are printed on white paper, which makes them far
brighter and more crisp.
Archaeology is a
destructive process and I for one never tire of seeing Burton’s images of the
small chambers of Tutankhamun’s tomb, packed with objects. The objects can, of
course still be seen today and attract thousands of visitors a day to the
Egyptian in Museum in Cairo (or on special touring exhibitions abroad), but they
only tell half the story.
Thanks to the
skills of Harry Burton, we have images, which never cease to amaze, of the
jumbled contents of the many boxes, of the gold mask as first revealed and –
ones I always find fascinating – of the many gilded figures of the king and the
gods, all carefully wrapped in fine linen.
Burton captured a
series of unique moments in time, with images that can still impress today, and
which undoubtedly will continue to do so for many more generations.
Published by the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, New York 2006.
http://www.metmuseum.org/
ISBN 1 58839 189 2. Hardback, price
$24.95.
Death and Salvation in Ancient Egypt
by Jan Assmann

This book explores
the images of death and death rituals in ancient Egypt, based, not on
archaeology or on mummies, but on the written word.
As the author
points out, “human beings are the animals that have to live with the knowledge
of their death, and culture is the world they create so they can live with that
knowledge”.
This is a scholarly
work looking at the unfamiliar genre of the death liturgy and is, therefore,
probably not a book for the beginner.
But anyone
interested in funerary texts and spells and Egyptian literature will find that
the liturgy can reveal much about the ancient Egyptian’s attitude to death and
their sometimes complex beliefs.
Published by The
Cornell University Press, 2005.
ISBN 8014 4241 9.
Price £31.50.
The Treasures of Tutankhamun
by Jaromir Malek

With a major
exhibition coming to the UK next year, featuring some of the treasures of
Tutankhamun, it is not surprising that a number of new books on the subject are
likely to be published. This large format book comes encased in a box and tells
the, albeit well known, story of the discovery of the tomb.
Beginning with a
section on the “Land and People” and others covering religion and art, the scene
is set for the Amarna Period, which is described, as is the reign of Tutankhamun
and, of course, the discovery and clearance of his tomb.
This is, however,
much more than the familiar story, but an unusual publication. The first
impression of the pages, printed on thin card, is that they resemble a
children’s pop-up book (without the pop-ups), but then it is clear that on
almost every page there is a pocket or envelope that contains other things.
An “activity” sort
of book then, perhaps? Well, the book is clearly not aimed at young children and
these pockets and envelopes contain over thirty excellent facsimile copies of
important and rare documents relating to Egyptology, and in particular to the
discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb.
These are superbly
produced and include a copy of Champollion’s famous letter when he cracked the
code of the h i e rogl y p h s, early plans and diagrams of Egyptian temples, a
letter from Howard Carter to Lord Carnarvon, and copies of pages from Howard
Carter’s daily diary.
From the period of
the excavation of the tomb are copies of Carter’s reference cards, drawings and
plans, of photographs taken at the time and much more.
These records,
rarely seen in publications, show how meticulous and detailed Carter was in his
work. His drawings are of the highest quality and are still an important and
much-used resource today.
These facsimiles,
many from the archives maintained at the Griffith Institute in Oxford (which
holds the Tutankhamun Archive) are really fascinating. The reproduction is
amazingly good, down to the marks and stains on the paper, old sellotape marks
and the general discolouration caused by the passing of time.
The inclusion of
all this archive material does make for a fascinating read. However, I have to
say that getting the pieces out of the pockets can be a bit of a fiddle, and the
maps and plans have to be re-folded and re-inserted into the pockets again,
which is even more of a fiddle. I cannot but worry that over time, some of the
pieces will become more worn and creased than the wear and creases printed on
them, and also that some may become lost completely. Great as it is to see and
handle the facsimiles, I might have preferred to see them printed on the pages
of a more conventional book.
That said, there is
a lot of information here, especially on the facsimile items and there is the
potential for a pleasant and rewarding hour or two to be spent reading and
examining these items in detail, and carefully putting them back where they came
from. Perhaps an “activity book” for adults isn’t such a bad idea after all! As
for the main pages of the book … these are a delight, too. The author is the
Keeper of the Archive at the Griffith Institute and, as such, is perhaps more
familiar than most with the Tutankhamun archive and all the superb photos taken
at the time by Harry Burton, and it is nice to see a number of photos which will
be new to many readers. All too often publishers use the same images again and
again. The strength of the archive is such that it also includes material from
before 1922, which is used to illustrate the earlier sections of the book.
I suspect that of
all the Tutankhamun-related material we may see in the next year, this will rank
amongst the best – it is certainly different. For teachers, and lecturers, the
facsimile documents will be a useful and unusual resource.
Published by Andre
Deutsch, 2006.
ISBN 0 233 00197 2.
Boxed hardback, price £30.
click on image to purchase
from amazon.co.uk
RP
Rescuing the Past:
The Cultural Heritage Crusade
by Jonathan Tokeley

This is a curious
book, arguable certainly in parts, but definitely intriguing. The author,
“contentiously convicted of ‘smuggling’ Egyptian antiquities” (publisher’s
jacket blurb), is apparently poacher turned gamekeeper. There is no doubt that
he is one of the foremost restorers of antiquities of his generation, and
therein lies the rub. The “contentious” case referred to concerned the head of
an Egyptian queen, allegedly stolen from Egypt. The author maintains that it was
not stolen and, indeed, is an outright fake that he had recognised as such, had
worked on restoring, but had not been asked about its origin when questions
began to be asked. He suggests (p. 223) that it was made by “The Berlin Master”
(for him, see Minerva July/August 2005, pp. 20-21, and J-J.
Fiechter, Faux
et faussaires en art égyptien, Brussels, 2005).
The account of “The
Curious Case of Nefertari’s Head” forms the first part of “Part I: The
Argument”; this is followed by “Part II: The Support”, and “Part III: The Proof
”; the three parts comprise twenty-two chapters, all based on and interwoven in
their content with the book’s subtitle, “The Cultural Heritage Crusade”. A great
deal of philosophic discussion pervades each of the chapters (we are told that
the author read philosophy at Cambridge), and the text is enlivened by large
extracts from the author’s Journal relating to his Egyptian experiences; each
chapter then has a Summary at the end.
The essential
question that the book asks is the perennial one: “Who owns the world’s
archaeological treasures?” In one form or another it emerges with monotonous
regularity. Here at least Tokeley, writing with a very personal passion, puts
the case as he sees it based on his Egyptian experiences, essentially
challenging the view that Egypt’s treasures are safe in the hands of Egyptian
officials. Not so he says, citing many instances that, were they not apparently
so tragic, would be ludicrous.
The compliance that
he “documents”, usually via quotations from his Journal, is unbelievable, even
if only half true, and certainly would not be acceptable, being “hearsay”, in an
English court of law. The stories/accounts in this book are eye-openers in the
fullest sense, but how much truth there is, many might well contest. But,
caveat emptor: The Rosetta Stone was not “confiscated by Nelson’s squadron
from Napoleon’s expedition” (p. 67); Nelson’s battle of the Nile was on 1 August
1798, the Rosetta Stone was found in 1799, and came to Britain under article 16
of the Treaty of Alexandria, 2 September 1801; coins, for them to be regarded as
Treasure, have to be over three hundred years old, not “from three realms” (p.
95); and, the Giza Sphinx (pp. 168, 278) is male, not female (which Greek
sphinxes are); and so on, in many places in the book. An in-house editor with a
better idea of the wider field would have been useful.
The author states
“This is a single-minded book”, and it certainly is, yet it deserves to be read
by anyone involved with antiquities: curator, dealer, collector, and not simply
those who are Egyptian antiquities orientated. It has much to say that many will
agree with, and others will react strongly to but, in the outcome, whatever side
you take, it is certainly a thought-provoking and riveting read.
Published by
Imprint Academic, Exeter, 2006.
ISBN 1 84540 019 4.
Hardback, price £25.
Click here to read sample pages from this book
click on image to purchase
from amazon.co.uk
Peter A. Clayton
Peter is the author
of a number of books on ancient Egypt (one of which is mentioned in the reviews)
and Consulting Editor of Minerva magazine.
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