SEVENTY GRT MYSTERIES ANC EGY CL

by MANLEY,BILL

• ISBN13: 9780500051238
• ISBN10: 0500051232
• Edition: 00
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-11-17
• Publisher: THAMES&HUD

Summary

Ancient Egyptso familiar and yet so distant. In this new compendium in the popular Seventy series, an international team of Egyptologists and archaeologists probes the most compelling mysteries in the light of recent research and discoveries. First, there are the puzzles that set the ancient Egyptians apart from other cultures. Where did these people come from originally, and why did they believe their king was a god? Why did they mummify their loved ones in deathand then write letters to them? Some mysteries revolve around Egypt's relations with other peoples such as the lost African kingdoms of Yam and Punt, the Israelites and their exodus to the Promised Land, or the Sea People warriors of the ancient Mediterranean. Even today, Egyptologists continue to unearth new mysteries: evidence that Tutankhamun was murdered, unexplained shafts inside the Great Pyramid that seem to align with the stars, and a massive mausoleum built for the sons of Rameses II. All the famous people and places of ancient Egypt are discussedRameses the Great, Cleopatra, Akhenaten, the Great Pyramid, the Valley of the Kingsas well as fascinating but shadowy figures such as Senenmut, Smendes, and Khababash. Hundreds of evocative photographs and specially commissioned diagrams, maps, plans, and reconstructions complement the intriguing texts. 420 illustrations, 354 in color.

Author Biography

Bill Manley is Tutor in Archaeology at the University of Glasgow, Research Associate of the National Museums of Scotland and an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Liverpool.

Table of Contents

List of contributors	8	(2)
King-list and chronology	10	(2)
Ancient mysteries	12	(5)
Map	17	(1)
The Earliest Egyptians
Introduction	18	(3)
1 Where did the Egyptians come from?	21	(3)
2 Did the Egyptians invent writing?	24	(4)
3 Who were the first kings of Egypt?	28	(5)
4 King Menes: myth or reality?	33	(2)
5 Human sacrifice in the royal tombs	35	(3)
6 The royal boat burials at Abydos	38	(4)
Pyramids & Tombs
Introduction	42	(3)
7 Origins of the pyramids	45	(5)
8 What is a pyramid for?	50	(4)
9 Were the pyramids built by slaves?	54	(3)
10 The multiple pyramids of Snofru	57	(4)
11 The Great Pyramid	61	(6)
12 Riddles of the Great Sphinx	67	(4)
13 Are the pyramids aligned with the stars?	71	(3)
14 The anonymous Qurneh burial	74	(3)
15 Abydos: the last royal pyramid?	77	(3)
16 The lost tomb of Amenhotep I	80	(4)
17 Where is the body of Akhenaten?	84	(4)
18 The mausoleum of the sons of Ramesses II	88	(4)
19 Who robbed the Valley of the Kings?	92	(3)
20 The missing tombs of Tanis	95	(3)
21 Are there more royal tombs in Egypt?	98	(4)
Pharaohs & Queens
Introduction	102	(3)
22 Did the pharaohs marry their sisters?	105	(3)
23 The assassination of kings	108	(3)
24 The first woman to rule Egypt	111	(3)
25 Senenmut: a partner for Hatshepsut?	114	(4)
26 Whet became of Hatshepsut?	118	(4)
27 The enigma of Akhenaten	122	(5)
28 Why did Nefertiti disappear?	127	(5)
29 The Tutankhamun conspiracy	132	(5)
30 The 'Elder Lady'	137	(3)
31 Surendes: the alternative king?	140	(2)
32 The Nubian 'Dark Age'	142	(4)
33 Khababash, the guerrilla king	146	(2)
34 The fatal attraction of Cleopatra	148	(4)
People & Places
Introduction	152	(3)
35 Where was the kingdom of Yam?	155	(3)
36 Sinuhe: literary hero or real-life deserter?	158	(4)
37 Who were the Hyksos?	162	(4)
38 The Minoan paintings of Avaris	166	(4)
39 Was Alashiya Cyprus?	170	(3)
40 Punt and God's Land	173	(3)
41 The 'Sea Peoples': raiders or refugees?	176	(5)
42 The Report of Wenamun: fact or fable?	181	(3)
Ancient Wisdom & Belief
Introduction	184	(3)
43 The mysterious gods of Egypt	187	(5)
44 Was the king really a god?	192	(4)
45 Mummification and the passion of Osiris	196	(5)
46 Why write letters to the dead?	201	(3)
47 The power of magic	204	(4)
48 Why use hieroglyphic writing?	208	(3)
49 The origins of Egyptian literature	211	(3)
50 Hidden symbols of sex in Egyptian art	214	(4)
Historical Mysteries
Introduction	218	(3)
51 What did the Egyptians know of their history?	221	(3)
52 The end of the great pyramid age	224	(4)
53 The First Intermediate Period - a dark age?	228	(4)
54 The end of the second pyramid age	232	(4)
55 Did the Egyptians go to sea?	236	(3)
56 Did Egypt rule Palestine?	239	(4)
57 Who won the Battle of Qadesh?	243	(4)
58 What became of Egypt's Golden Empire?	247	(4)
59 The missing Apis bull burials	251	(3)
60 Did Necho send a fleet around Africa?	254	(2)
61 How did the Egyptians work granite?	256	(3)
62 Did the Egyptians invent glass?	259	(3)
63 Why was there no Egyptian Iron Age?	262	(2)
64 What did Herodotus see in Egypt?	264	(4)
Egypt & the Bible
Introduction	268	(3)
65 Joseph: an Egyptian vizier?	271	(3)
66 Was Moses at the court of Akhenaten?	274	(3)
67 The Israelite Exodus: myth or reality?	277	(5)
68 Was Labayu King Saul?	282	(4)
69 Who was Solomon's father-in-law?	286	(3)
70 Who was 'King Shishak of Egypt'?	289	(4)
Further reading	293	(5)
Sources of illustrations	298	(1)
Index	299