ForewordThe Discovery of Tutankhamun's TombTutankhamun & His WorldColor PlatesCatalogueBibliography

    Egypt is stunningly beautiful with a pleasant climate year-round, and if that alone isn't a big enough draw for the time-traveler, the fruits of Egyptian civilization are plentiful and worthy of contemplation. Pyramids and temples to the gods abound, and colossal statues of Egypt's divine rulers are seemingly everywhere. The Egyptians, however, are not particularly fond of foreigners, and just getting to Egypt can be arduous. Here is the inside scoop on how to enter and travel through Egypt, conform to its customs and expectations, and appreciate its often mysterious culture. You'll travel the Nile from north to south, stopping at such intriguing places as Memphis, Akhetaten, Abydos, and Thebes, where Egypt's grand past and present unfold before you. Egypt has long been a subject of broad popular interest, and this book provides an enjoyable glimpse of the ancient empire and its industrious people. Advice for the traveler in ancient Egypt: Foreigners might be bewildered by animal-headed deities and what appear to be numerous contradictions in Egyptian theology. Not to worry: there's a system behind it. Don't bring up the topic of the renegade pharaoh, Akhenaten, among new acquaintances. Many wish he hadn't existed. Should you need to visit an Egyptian physician, there's agood chance he'll prescribe a purge of one sort or another, accompanied by a magic spell.

    Of the ancient art that has survived from the non-Classical world, that of Egypt makes a unique appeal.In this authoritative and splendidly illustrated guide Cyril Aldred surveys nearly 3000 years of Egyptian art and architecture, concentrating on the fine arts of painting and sculpture.

    Spanning three thousand years, this beautifully illustrated history offers a thorough and delightfully readable introduction to the artwork even as it provides insight into questions that have long engaged experts and amateurs alike. In its scope, its detail, and its eloquent reproduction of over 250 objects, Gay Robins's classic book is without parallel as a guide to the art of ancient Egypt. And her eagerly awaited new edition includes many new color photographs and a fully revised and updated bibliography.

    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.

     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.

    He constructs the story like a detective novel, putting pieces of clues together to form the whole puzzle and he makes an incredibly exciting job of it. He writes for the lay reader but he is far from condescening. His language is a joy to read. I agree with BlairBurton that the book is wildly entertaining but I resented his reference to the author as 'the premier theorist of crackpot science.' Velikovsy's 'crackpot' theories are yet to be disproved and his predictions have the uncanny habit of being proved right so that the world of the scientific community is as shaky as the description of the earth in "Worlds In Collision!" Readers will find great rewards in reading all of his works and judging for themselves. While "Oedipus and Akhnaton" is the least 'scientific' of his works it is no less fascinating and eminently readable.

    The devastating struggle to the death between the Carthaginians and the Romans was one of the defining dramas of the ancient world. In an epic series of land and sea battles, both sides came close to victory before the Carthaginians finally succumbed and their capital city, history, and culture were almost utterly erased. Drawing on a wealth of new archaeological research, Richard Miles brings to life this lost empire-from its origins among the Phoenician settlements of Lebanon to its apotheosis as the greatest seapower in the Mediterranean. And at the heart of the history of Carthage lies the extraordinary figure of Hannibal-the scourge of Rome and one of the greatest military leaders, but a man who also unwittingly led his people to catastrophe.

    Ceram visualized archeology as a wonderful combination of high adventure, romance, history and scholarship, and this book, a chronicle of man's search for his past, reads like a dramatic narrative. We travel with Heinrich Schliemann as, defying the ridicule of the learned world, he actually unearths the remains of the ancient city of Troy. We share the excitement of Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter as they first glimpse the riches of Tutankhamen's tomb, of George Smith when he found the ancient clay tablets that contained the records of the Biblical Flood. We rediscover the ruined splendors of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the wonders of the ancient wold; of Chichen Itza, the abandoned pyramids of the Maya: and the legendary Labyrinth of tile Minotaur in Crete. Here is much of the history of civilization and the stories of the men who rediscovered it.From the Paperback edition.

    Yet it is also one of the most puzzling, with an intriguing and sometimes violent history, from the sixth century BCE to the present day. Destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 CE, the ruins of Pompeii offer the best evidence we have of life in the Roman Empire. But the eruptions are only part of the story. In The Fires of Vesuvius, acclaimed historian Mary Beard makes sense of the remains. She explores what kind of town it was--more like Calcutta or the Costa del Sol?--and what it can tell us about ordinary life there. From sex to politics, food to religion, slavery to literacy, Beard offers us the big picture even as she takes us close enough to the past to smell the bad breath and see the intestinal tapeworms of the inhabitants of the lost city. She resurrects the Temple of Isis as a testament to ancient multiculturalism. At the Suburban Baths we go from communal bathing to hygiene to erotica. Recently, Pompeii has been a focus of pleasure and loss: from Pink Floyd's memorable rock concert to Primo Levi's elegy on the victims. But Pompeii still does not give up its secrets quite as easily as it may seem. This book shows us how much more and less there is to Pompeii than a city frozen in time as it went about its business on 24 August 79.

    This text consists of an illustrated guide to all the major sites in twelve main areas in central Rome, and four in Greater Rome, including the Capitoline Hill, Roman Forum, Colosseum, Mausoleums of Augustus and Hadrian, the Circus Maximus, Catacombs, Ostia, and Tivoli.

    Embodying a ritual to be performed for the dead, with detailed instructions for the behavior of the disembodied spirit in the Land of the Gods, it served as the most important repository of religious authority for some three thousand years. Chapters were carved on the pyramids of the ancient 5th Dynasty, texts were written in papyrus, and selections were painted on mummy cases well into the Christian Era. In a certain sense it stood behind all Egyptian civilization.In the year 1888 Dr. E. Wallis Budge, then purchasing agent for the British Museum, followed rumors he heard of a spectacular archaeological find in Upper Egypt, and found in an 18th Dynasty tomb near Luxor "the largest roll of papyrus I had ever seen, tied with a thick band of papyrus, and in a perfect state of preservation." It was a copy of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, written around 1500 B.C. for Ani, Royal Scribe of Thebes, Overseer of the Granaries of the Lords of Abydos, and Scribe of the Offerings of the Lords of Thebes.The Papyrus of Ani, a full version of the Theban recension, is presented here by Dr. Budge, who later became perhaps the world's most renowned Egyptologist. Reproduced in full are a clear copy of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, and interlinear transliteration of their sounds (as reconstructed), a word-for-word translation, and separately a complete smooth translation. All this is preceded by an introduction of more than 150 pages. As a result of this multiple apparatus the reader has a unique opportunity to savor all aspects of the Book of the Dead, or as it is otherwise known, the Book of the Great Awakening.

    Provides an unprecedented introduction to the archaeology of ancient Egypt and its culture, monuments, and civilizationBeautifully illustrated with over 120 color and black and white illustrations, including artifacts, maps, and site and building plansIncludes special sections on such topics of perennial interest as building the pyramids at Giza, mummification, and deciphering hieroglyphsOrganized into 11 chapters, covering: the history of Egyptology and Egyptian archaeology; prehistoric and pharaonic chronology and the ancient Egyptian language; geography, resources, and environment; and seven chapters organized chronologically and devoted to specific archaeological sites and evidenceIncludes discussion of new excavations in Egypt, connecting recent work with the results of projects spanning the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries

    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."

    This comprehensive survey of Egyptian society and history transforms our understanding of this remarkable civilisation.