Ancient Egypt : the great discoveries : a year-by-year chronicle / Nicholas Reeves.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Reeves, Nicholas, 1956-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Archaeologists.

Egypt--Antiquities.

Egypt.

Antiquities.

Excavations (Archaeology)--Egypt.

Excavations (Archaeology).

Archaeologists--Egypt.

Physical Description:

255 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 29 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Thames & Hudson, 2000.

Summary:

Here is the story of Ancient Egypt as it was revealed to the world -- a magnificent succession of brilliant finds and dazzling treasures. Ancient Egypt: The Great Discoveries highlights everything important and fascinating in Egyptian archaeology from 1799 -- the year the Rosetta Stone was brought to light during Napoleon's Expedition -- to the present-day excavations of Zahi Hawass in the Valley of the Golden Mummies. Some finds are world famous: the Faiyum portraits, the tomb of Queen Nefertari, King Khufu's royal boats. And, of course, Tutankhamun himself. Others, less well known, will be a revelation -- the Ferlini Treasure with its superb gold, the jewels of Egyptian princesses unearthed at Dahshur, or the tomb of Kha, architect of Pharaoh.

It is a story still unfolding. Geoffrey Martin's excavations at Saqqara have yielded the long-lost tombs of Tutankhamun's general, Horemheb, and his treasurer, Maya; while Alain Zivie, digging nearby, has uncovered the burial of Aperel, Akhenaten's unknown vizier, and the tomb of Tutankhamun's wet-nurse. In the Valley of the Kings, the tomb of the sons of Ramesses II -- the largest ever found in Egypt -- grows day by day as its excavator clears more and more chambers. And the lost city of Alexandria and its Pharos lighthouse -- one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World -- can be seen again through the eyes of underwater archaeologists.

All these discoveries are brought to life in extracts from the notebooks, diaries and published accounts of the excavators themselves and their contemporaries, as well as by archival images and full-color photographs that capture the wonder and excitement of the finds as they were made. In uncovering the stories behind the events, Nicholas Reeves reveals surprising details and also provides insights into the personalities and politics of the times.

Panoramic in scope, Ancient Egypt: The Great Discoveries covers all periods of Egyptian history, from Predynastic to Roman, and all areas of the country, from the Delta to Nubia. It serves equally well as a gloriously illustrated history of discovery, a showcase for the greatest finds and a superb reference.

Contents:

I 1798-1850 The Birth of Interest 12

1799 The Rosetta Stone: Cracking the Hieroglyphic Code 14

1816-18 The Adventure Begins: The Great Belzoni 18

1820 Captain Caviglia and the Colossus of Ramesses II 26

1822-25 Passalacqua and the Tombs of Two Mentuhoteps 27

1824 The Tomb of an Egyptian Hero: General Djehuty 30

1827 The First Intact Burial of an Egyptian King: Nubkheperre Intef 32

1834 The Gold of Meroe: Ferlini's Treasure 35

II 1850-1881 The First Archaeologists 38

1851 The Burial Place of the Apis Bulls: Mariette and the Serapeum 40

1855 The Harris Papyri: The Greatest Collection Ever Found 45

1857 Prince Plonplon and the Burial of Kamose 47

1859 An Egyptian Queen: The Coffin and Jewels of Ahhotep 50

1860 Finding the Tomb of Hesyre, Chief Royal Scribe 55

1881 The Pyramid Texts: The World's Oldest Religious Literature 60

III 1881-1914 The Glory Years 62

1881 Royal Mummies: The Deir el-Bahri Cache 64

1883 Greeks in Egypt: Naukratis 67

1886 The Tomb of Sennudjem, Servant in the Place of Truth 69

1887 Pharaoh's Diplomatic Archive: The Amarna Letters 72

1888 Faces from the Past: The Faiyum Portraits 76

1891 Mummies of the Priests of Amun: Bab el-Gasus 81

1891-92 Paintings from Akhenaten's Palace at el-Amarna 83

1894-95 Jewels of Egyptian Princesses: De Morgan at Dahshur 88

1895 The Finest Faience: The Tuna el-Gebel Find 92

1895 Predynastic Graves at Naqada 94

1897-99 Hierakonpolis: City of the Falcon-God 97

1898-99 Loret in the Valley of the Kings 101

1896-1906 The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: In Search of the Classics 107

1899 Tombs of Egypt's Earliest Kings at Abydos 109

1902-14 Theodore Davis in the Valley of the Kings: 'A New Tomb Every Season' 113

1903 The Karnak Cachette: The Largest Find of Statues Ever Made 118

1904 In 'the Place of Beauties': Nefertari and her Tomb 121

1906 The Tomb of Kha, Architect of Pharaoh 126

1906 Two Treasures from Tell Basta 129

1908-10 Statues of Menkaure: Reisner at Giza 132

1912 Nefertiti, Icon of Ancient Egypt: The Workshop of the Sculptor Thutmose 134

1914 The Hidden Treasure of Sithathoriunet 138

IV 1914-1945 Pharaohs and Mortals 142

1915 The Tomb of Djehutynakht at Deir el-Bersha 144

1915 The Jewels of Tell el-Muqdam 146

1916-20 Nubian Tombs of the 25th Dynasty: Nuri and el-Kurru 147

1916 'The Treasure of Three Egyptian Princesses' 150

1920 The Burials of Ashayet and 'Little Mayet' 153

1920 Letters from a Hectoring Father: The Heqanakht Papers 154

1920 The Models of Meketre: Ancient Egypt in Miniature 156

1920 Unwrapping the Mummy of Wah 158

1922 The Tomb of Tutankhamun 160

1923 The Slain Soldiers of an Egyptian King 167

1925 The Mystery Tomb of Hetepheres 168

1925 An Amarna King and his Queen: The Karnak Colossi 172

1928 The Library of Kenherkhepshef, Scribe and Scholar 174

1929 The Tomb of Queen Meryetamun 176

1931-34 Emery at Ballana and Qustul: The Tombs of the X-Group 179

1935-39 Great Tombs of Early Egypt: Emery at Saqqara 182

1936 The Tomb of the Parents of Senenmut, Hatshepsut's Favourite 184

1936 The Tod Treasure: Tribute from East and West 186

1939-46 Royal Tombs at Tanis: Treasures of the Third Intermediate Period 189

1939 Amarna Reliefs from Hermopolis 194

V After 1945 Digging for Answers 196

1947 The Tell el-Maskhuta Treasure 198

1952 The Lost Pyramid of Sekhemkhet 200

1954 Khufu's Boats at the Great Pyramid 203

1964-71 The Sacred Animal Necropolis, Saqqara 206

1965 The Akhenaten Temple Project: Rebuilding by Computer 209

1974 The Unfinished Pyramid: Secrets of Raneferef 212

1975 New Kingdom Tombs at Saqqara 215

1987 A Tomb for the Sons of Ramesses II 220

1987-97 Akhenaten's Prime Minister, Aperel 222

1987 Avaris and the Aegean: Minoan Frescoes in Egypt 224

1989 The Luxor Statue Cache 226

1990 The Tombs of the Pyramid Builders at Giza 229

1994 Egyptology Underwater: Alexandria ad Aegyptum 232

1999 Valley of the Golden Mummies: The Necropolis in the Oasis 237.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 242-247).

ISBN:

0500051054

OCLC:

46462588