Accompanied by 75 magnificent colour photographs & over a hundred monochrome illustrations, this definitive text gives meaning & context to the most astonishing archaeological find of all time.

    2600-2400 b.c.) were vast astronomically sophisticated temples, rather than the pharaonic tombs depicted by conventional Egyptology. In March 1993, a tiny remote-controlled robot created by Rudolf Gantenbrink, a German robotics engineer, traveled up airshafts within the Great Pyramid of Giza and relayed to scientists video pictures of a hitherto unknown sealed door within the pyramid. Bauval, a British engineer and writer who has been investigating the pyramids for more than ten years, and Gilbert, a British publishing consultant, use Gantenbrink's tantalizing discovery as a launching pad for an extended analysis of the purpose of the mysterious airshafts, which lead from the Great Pyramid's chambers to its exterior, and of the placement of other Fourth Dynasty pyramids. They were sited, the authors argue, to coincide with the key stars of Orion, a constellation that had religious significance for the Egyptians. Bauval and Gilbert claim that the shafts were pointed directly at important stars in Orion--that is, at those stars as they were placed in ancient times. Using astronomical data about stellar movement, they argue that the Orion stars coincide exactly with the pyramids' positions in approximately 10,400 b.c.--a period the Egyptians called the First Time, when they believed the god Osiris ruled the Earth. The authors also speculate that the mysterious space within the Great Pyramid discovered by Gantenbrink contains the mythical Benben stone, which the Egyptians linked to the creation of the world. The book's contentions are sometimes far-fetched and certainly unlikely to put scholarly controversy about the pyramids to rest. Still, this is an enjoyably radical rethinking of the mystery of the pyramids, with some ingenious arguments made in lucid style.A revolutionary book that explains the most enigmatic and fascinating wonder of the ancient world: the Pyramids of Egypt. "[An] absorbing and fascinating work of archaeological detection...clearly and rivetingly told...the book is highly and compulsively readable."--London Sunday Times. 16-page black-and-white inserts.

    Told in Cleopatra's own voice, this is a mesmerizing tale of ambition, passion, and betrayal, which begins when the twenty-year-old queen seeks out the most powerful man in the world, Julius Caesar, and does not end until, having survived the assassination of Caesar and the defeat of the second man she loves, Marc Antony, she plots her own death rather than be paraded in triumph through the streets of Rome. Most of all, in its richness and authenticity, it is an irresistible story that reveals why Margaret George's work has been widely acclaimed as "the best kind of historical novel, one the reader can't wait to get lost in."

    Now, in Egyptian Mythology, Geraldine Pinch offers a comprehensive introduction thatuntangles the mystery of Egyptian Myth.Spanning Ancient Egyptian culture--from 3200 BC to AD 400--Pinch opens a door to this hidden world and casts light on its often misunderstood belief system. She discusses the nature of myths and the history of Egypt, from the predynastic to the postpharaonic period. She explains how Egyptian culturedeveloped around the flooding of the Nile, or the inundation, a phenomenon on which the whole welfare of the country depended, and how aspects of the inundation were personified as deities. She explains that the usually cloudless skies made for a preoccupation with the stars and planets. Indeed, much early Egyptian mythology may have developed to explain the movement of these celestial bodies. She provides a timeline covering the seven stages in the mythical history of Egypt and outlining the major events of each stage, such as the reign of the sun God. A substantial A to Z section coversthe principal themes and concepts of Egyptian mythology as well as the most important deities, demons, and other characters. For anyone who wants to know about Anubis, the terrifying canine god who presided over the mummification of bodies and guarded burials, or Hathor, the golden goddess whohelped women to give birth and the dead to be reborn, or an explanation of the nun, the primeval ocean from which all life came, Egyptian Mythology is the place to look.

    This book traces their development from earliest times through their period of glory and ultimate decline to their rediscovery and study in modern times. All of Egypt's surviving temples--from the gargantuan temple of Amun at Karnak to minuscule shrines such as the oasis Oracle of Siwa, where Alexander went to hear himself proclaimed god--are discussed and illustrated with factfiles, photographs, plans, and specially commissioned perspective views. * "Houses of Eternity" considers the historical origin and development of Egyptian temples, describing their role in ancient Egyptian society, their later Christian and Muslim use, and their modern rediscovery. * "Buildings Fit for Gods" looks at how the temples were built, decorated, expanded--and sometimes destroyed. * "Worlds Within Worlds" examines each part of the sacred structures in detail--from the massive pylon towers, colossal statues, and obelisks that fronted many temples to the darkened sanctuaries and mysterious crypts of their inner depths. * "Between Heaven and Earth" discusses the temple's relationship to the pantheon of Egypt's gods, along with the roles and rituals of pharaohs and priests, and the sacred rites and festivals enacted there. * "Temples of Gods and Kings" is the most extensive catalogue of Egyptian temples yet published in one volume and serves as a guide to the ancient sites. The book's format follows the highly successful, visual style of the other volumes in Thames Hudson's best-selling "Complete" series, creating both an authoritative reference book and an entertaining guide for everyone fascinated by the eternal mysteries of ancient Egypt.

    When standing before an ancient tablet in a museum or visiting an Egyptian monument, we marvel at this unique writing and puzzle over its meaning. Now, with the help of Egyptologists Mark Collier and Bill Manley, museum-goers, tourists, and armchair travelers alike can gain a basic knowledge of the language and culture of ancient Egypt. Collier and Manley's novel approach is informed by years of experience teaching Egyptian hieroglyphs to non-specialists. Using attractive drawings of actual inscriptions displayed in the British Museum, they concentrate on the kind of hieroglyphs readers might encounter in other collections, especially funerary writings and tomb scenes. Each chapter introduces a new aspect of hieroglyphic script or Middle Egyptian grammar and encourages acquisition of reading skills with practical exercises. The texts offer insights into the daily experiences of their ancient authors and touch on topics ranging from pharaonic administration to family life to the Egyptian way of death. With this book as a guide, one can enjoy a whole new experience in understanding Egyptian art and artifacts around the world.

    These innovatively designed, affordably priced, compact paperbacks bring ideas to life and amplify our understanding of civilization in a new way.

    This fascinating, erudite, generously illustrated study offers comprehensive and meticulously detailed coverage of mummification processes, burial practices and goods, ritual texts, gods, graves, coffins, the Book of the Dead, and much more.

    Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.The past truly comes alive as you take a series of imaginative leaps into the world of history's anonymous citizens, people such as a Greek soldier marching into battle in the front row of a phalanx; an Egyptian woman putting on makeup before attending an evening party with her husband; a Greek citizen relaxing at a drinking party with the likes of Socrates; a Roman slave captured in war and sent to work in the mines; and a Celtic monk scurrying away with the Book of Kells during a Viking invasion.Put yourself in the sandals of ordinary people and discover what it was like to be among history's 99%. What did these everyday people do for a living? What was their home like? What did they eat? What did they wear? What did they do to relax? What were their beliefs about marriage? Religion? The afterlife?This extraordinary journey takes you across space and time in an effort to be another person - someone with whom you might not think you have anything at all in common - and come away with an incredible sense of interconnectedness. You'll see the range of possibilities of what it means to be human, making this a journey very much worth taking.

     He explains why Egypt was able to develop so rapidly and form such a sophisticated socio-political system. As a pioneer Egyptologist, Breasted draws upon a wide variety of sources to create this history of Ancient Egypt, from archaeology to ancient historians and translated hieroglyphics. Through the course of the book he uncovers early Egyptian religious beliefs, the development of the pyramids, the different dynasties that ruled, as well as many other fascinating subjects. A History of Egypt from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest is the authoritative history of Egypt and is essential reading for anyone interesting in learning more about this famous civilization. “Those who wish to obtain a general view of the history of Egypt, from the beginnings to the Persian invasion, written by a scholar steeped in knowledge of the texts, may turn to Professor Breasted’s History of Egypt, the fullest as well as most vivid and interesting that has ever been written.” The English Historical Review “The foremost communicator of Egyptology to general audiences.” History Today James Henry Breasted was an American archaeologist, Egyptologist and historian. A History of Egypt from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest was his first book, published in 1905. That year he was also promoted to become a professor in Egyptology and Oriental History. In 1919 he founded the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. He died in 1935.

    On a stiflingly hot day in August 30 b.c., the thirty-nine-year-old queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, took her own life rather than be paraded in chains through Rome by her conqueror, Octavian--the future first emperor, Augustus. A few days earlier, her lover of eleven years, Mark Antony, had himself committed suicide and died in her arms. Oceans of mythology have grown up around them, all of which Diana Preston explores in her stirring history of the lives and times of a couple whose names--more than two millennia later--still invoke passion, curiosity, and intrigue.Preston views the drama and romance of Cleopatra and Antony's personal lives as an integral part of the great military, political, and ideological struggle that culminated in the full-fledged rise of the Roman Empire, joined east and west. Perhaps not until Joanna in fourteenth-century Naples or Elizabeth I of England would another woman show such political shrewdness and staying power as did Cleopatra during her years atop the throne of Egypt. Her lengthy affair with Julius Caesar linked the might of Egypt with that of Rome; in the aftermath of the civil war that erupted following Caesar's murder, her alliance with Antony, and his subsequent split with Octavian, set the stage for the end of the Republic.With the keen eye for detail, abundant insight, and storytelling skill that have won awards for her previous books, Diana Preston sheds new light on a vitally important period in Western history. Indeed, had Cleopatra and Antony managed to win the battle of Actium, the centuries that followed, which included the life of Jesus himself, could well have played out differently.

    In this fully work on the major pyramids of Ancient Egypt, the author surveys the history, building and use of the pyramids. He examines both the practicalities and logostics of their construction and their conceptual aspects - their cosmology and iconography and their intriguing texts.

    ForewordThe Discovery of Tutankhamun's TombTutankhamun & His WorldColor PlatesCatalogueBibliography

    Find out all about the 38-minute war and the time when Niagara Falls stopped falling. Learn which U.S. president was shot—and died not from the bullet wound, but from his doctors’ bungled efforts to save him. Forgotten, weird, and bizarre facts; unusual firsts and lasts, and a few unpalatable truths assure this illustrated collection will tickle the fancy of readers young and old.

    The lyrical storytelling of award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli dramatizes the timeless tales of ancient Egypt in the year when Angelina Jolie will make Cleopatra a multimedia star. And just like the popular National Geographic Treasury of Greek Mythology, the stories in this book will be beautifully illustrated to bring ancient characters vividly to life. The stories are embellished with sidebars that provide historical, cultural, and geographic context and a mapping feature that adds to the fun and fascination. Resource notes and ample back matter direct readers to discover more about ancient Egypt. With its attractive design and beautiful narrative, this accessible treasury stands out from all other mythology titles in the marketplace.