Product Description

Here, for everyone intrigued by the ancient land of the pyramids, is a comprehensive record of civilization along the Nile and an in-depth account of Egyptian archaeology from its beginnings. With the decipherment of hieroglyphics in the early nineteenth century, many of the secrets of the pharaohs and their culture were revealed for the first time to the modern world. Adventurers and fortune hunters as well as scholars flocked to Egypt, thus initiating the plunder of priceless relics that had lain virtually untouched for thousands of years. The destruction of much that would have yielded valuable clues about ancient Egypt alerted concerned individuals, and gradually the new field of Egyptology was born. Christine Hobson takes the reader on a tour of the pharaohs' world, surveying the work of the pioneer archaeologists, from Flinders Petrie at Amarna and Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings to Geoffrey Martin at Saqqara, where his remarkable new excavations have revealed the tomb of Tutankhamun's treasurer, Maya. Specially designed features give at-a-glance information on every aspect of the Egyptian achievement, from temples, tombs, and pyramids to mummies and hieroglyphs. In addition, the author examines the mysteries of Egyptian religion, explains clearly and entertainingly the complexities of Egyptian kingship, and brings to life the daily routine of the common worker. The main part of this invaluable book is backed up by a gazetteer of sites to visit, as well as a king-list and a comparative chronology of ancient civilizations. A work of reference and a sourcebook of ideas and information, this is above all a book to enjoy for its highly readable text and marvelous illustrations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #660727 in Books
• Published on: 1990-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
A book that can be read from start to finish just for the pleasure of it and then kept on the shelf as an excellent reference work. -- Charleston Evening Post

Beautifully illustrated...approaches the world of the pharaohs through the archaeological discoveries that slowly revealed this civilization. -- Science News

Customer Reviews

Thanks Ms. Hobson
I always believed ancient Egyptian culture is the zenith point of the human kind on its age, their culture was far beyond complex than we believed, and gave birth to greek culture and roman empire's culture and nourished comtemporary cultures.

This book is an essential for an ancient egypt culture beginner and more, even it's an intermediate book for egypt it's very good on making you grasp egyptian heritage chronologically, informative and clear, easy reading. Very good covering of ancient egyptian culture.

I definetely recommend this book if you are a starter. It has plenty of pictures, diagrams which are adequate and correctly chosen for understanding egypt. It even has a hieroglyph reading section. But this book is scholarly minded and organized carefully. Not for magic or egyptian extraterrestrial mambo-jambo seekers nor serious researchers of egypian cryptology and mystery. Oh! Should I say thank you Ms. Hobson.

Completely covers all aspects of Ancient Egyptian culture
Christine Hobson's book is very good. I used it as a textbook for class, but found that the subjects in the book read more like a novel. There is humor, and concentrations on art, daily life, writings, individual archaeologists, etc. It is very interesting, and covers so many subjects!