Mummy Books: Ancient Egypt: The Great Discoveries

Ancient Egypt: The Great Discoveries

by Nicholas Reeves

A year-by-year chronicle of the important archaeological finds in Egypt, beginning in the year 1799 with the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and ending in the year 2000 with a brief epilogue, the book traces the work of major "antique" expeditions and archaeological digs.

Mummy masters will be interested in the book for at least two reasons. First, the book provides a clear chronology of the major mummy discoveries, from the royal cache at Deir el-Bahri in 1881 to the Valley of the Golden Mummies in 1999. Second, the book provides the historical context for these discoveries and a fair amount of background information, given the broad view of the book. Most of the discoveries are presented in two- or four-page spreads and contain good solid summaries. These should motivate students to do further in-depth research. This could be used as a reference book in a fifth or sixth grade classroom, even though the text is more encyclopedia-like (that is, serviceable, but dry).

Although the book contains 597 illustrations (about half in color; most are photos), the emphasis really isn't on the photos. Since the book has more of an encyclopedia feel, the photos help the reader visualize the details of the text. But the book's design makes the text look a little choppy and hard to follow in spots. And do not purchase this book if you are looking only for photos of mummies. You won't find many (and none are particularly unusual), though the information provided makes up for this fault. Students are better off looking at Tyldesley's Mummy or Ikram and Dodson's The Mummy in Ancient Egypt for excellent photographs.

Table of Contents

1798-1850

1799 The Rosetta Stone
1816-1818 The Great Belzoni
1820 The Colossus of Ramesses II
1822-1825 The Tombs of the TwoMentuhoteps
1824 General Djehuty
1827 The First Intact Burial of an Egyptian King
1834 The Gold of Meroe

1850-1881

1851 The Burial Place of the Apis Bulls
1855 The Harris Papyri
1859 The Coffin and Jewels of Ahhotep
1860 Finding the Tomb of Hesyre
1881 The Pyramid Texts

1881-1914

1881 Royal Mummies: The Deir el-Bahri Cache
1883 Naukratis
1886 The Tomb of Sennudjem
1887 The Amarna Letters
1888 The Fayum Portraits
1891 Mummies of the Priests of Amun
1891-92 Paintings from Akhenaten's Palace
1894-95 De Morgan at Dahshur
1895 The Tuna el-Gebel Find
1895 Predynastic Graves at Naqada
1897-99 Hierakonpolis
1898-99 Loret in the Valley of the Kings
1896-1906 Oxyrhynchus Papyri
1899 Tombs of Egypt's Earliest Kings at Abydos
1902-14 Theodore Davis in the Valley of the Kings
1903 The Karnak Cachette
1904 Nefertari and her Tomb
1906 The Tomb of Kha
1906 Tell Basta
1909-10 Statues of Menkaure
1912 The Workshop of Sculptor Thutmose
1914 The Hidden Treasure of Sithathoriunet

1914-1945

1915 The Tomb of Djehutynakht
1915 The Jewels of Tell el-Muqdam
1916-20 Nubian Tombs of the 25th Dynasty
1916 The Treasure of Three Egyptian Princesses
1920 The Burials of Ashayet and "Little Mayet"
1920 The Heqanakht Papers
1920 The Models of Meketre
1920 Unwrapping the Mummy of Wah
1922 The Tomb of Tutankhamun
1923 The Slain Soldiers
1925 The Mystery Tomb of Hetepheres
1925 The Karnak Colossi
1928 The Library of Kenherkhepshef
1929 The Tomb of Queen Meryetamun
1931-34 The Tombs of the X-Group
1935-39 Emery at Saqqara
1936 The Tomb of Senenmut's Parents
1936 The Tod Ttreasure
1939-46 Royal Tombs at Tanis
1939 Amarna Reliefs

After 1945

1947 The Tell el-Maskhuta Treasure
1952 The Lost Pyramid of Sekhemkhet
1954 Khufu's Boats
1964-71 The Sacred Animal Necropolis
1965 The Akhenaten Temple Project
1974 Secrets of Raneferef
1975 New Kingdom Tobs at Saqqara
1987 A Tomb for the Sons of Ramesses II
1987-97 Akhenaten's Prime Minister, Aperel
1987 Minoan Frescoes in Egypt
1989 The Luxor Statue Cache
1990 The Tombs of the Pyramid Builders at Giza
1994 Egyptology Underwater
1999 Valley of the Golden Mummies
2000 Epilogue