Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt
Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 11:31 am
A new book by Chris Naunton published October 2018 by Thames & Hudson
About £15 hardback. Not yet available as ebook.
I bought this with some misgivings as I've never found his documentaries on Egypt impressive. I was pleasantly surprised and he's obviously more of a dedicated and knowledgeable egyptologist than you'd surmise from his dumbed down TV work. The book is also interesting in tackling Egyptian pharaonic history from a new angle.....rather than the repetitive chronological discourse on dynasties one normally encounters.
Apart from the initial chapter on the search for the tomb of Imhotep, it's all about royal tombs - Amenhotep I, the Amarna royals, Herihor, the kings of the Third Intermediate Period, Alexander the Great and, finally, Cleopatra VII.The detail is extensive, avoiding sensationalism and very current.
It cleared up something which has puzzled me for a while. There is work going on on the cliffs above and to the south of Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el bahari. You can see the shute for removing debris from what must be a precarious site. Apparently it's the Polish- Egyptian mission led by prof. Andrzej Niwinski searching, since 1999, for the tomb of Amenhotep I ....arguably the first pharaoh to abandon the previous burial strategy in favour of a hidden tomb. Of course any such tomb must have been plundered - as we have Amenhotep's mummy - but Niwinski has an idea that it might contain the reburial of Herihor.
The illustrations in the book are rather poor quality....presumably a cost saving exercise...which is a pity as the book is otherwise excellent and thoroughly readable.
About £15 hardback. Not yet available as ebook.
I bought this with some misgivings as I've never found his documentaries on Egypt impressive. I was pleasantly surprised and he's obviously more of a dedicated and knowledgeable egyptologist than you'd surmise from his dumbed down TV work. The book is also interesting in tackling Egyptian pharaonic history from a new angle.....rather than the repetitive chronological discourse on dynasties one normally encounters.
Apart from the initial chapter on the search for the tomb of Imhotep, it's all about royal tombs - Amenhotep I, the Amarna royals, Herihor, the kings of the Third Intermediate Period, Alexander the Great and, finally, Cleopatra VII.The detail is extensive, avoiding sensationalism and very current.
It cleared up something which has puzzled me for a while. There is work going on on the cliffs above and to the south of Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el bahari. You can see the shute for removing debris from what must be a precarious site. Apparently it's the Polish- Egyptian mission led by prof. Andrzej Niwinski searching, since 1999, for the tomb of Amenhotep I ....arguably the first pharaoh to abandon the previous burial strategy in favour of a hidden tomb. Of course any such tomb must have been plundered - as we have Amenhotep's mummy - but Niwinski has an idea that it might contain the reburial of Herihor.
The illustrations in the book are rather poor quality....presumably a cost saving exercise...which is a pity as the book is otherwise excellent and thoroughly readable.
