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The large-scale scientific investigation of Egyptian antiquities by Western scholars began as an unintended consequence of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt during which, in 1799, the Rosetta Stone was discovered. The military expedition was accompanied by French scholars, whose reports prompted a wave of enthusiasm that swept across Europe and North America resulting in the Egyptian Revival style in art and architecture. Increasing numbers of tourists visited Egypt, eager to see the marvels being revealed by archaeological excavation. Writers and booksellers responded to this growing interest with publications ranging from technical site reports to tourist guidebooks and from children's histories to theories identifying the pyramids as repositories of esoteric knowledge. This series reissues a wide selection of such books. They reveal the gradual change from the 'tomb-robbing' approach of early excavators to the highly organised and systematic approach of Flinders Petrie, the 'father of Egyptology', and include early accounts of the decipherment of the hieroglyphic script.

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79 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Egyptology

Page 2 of 4

Operations Carried On at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837
  • With an Account of a Voyage into Upper Egypt, and an Appendix
  • Volume 1
  • Howard Vyse
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    11 December 2014
    First published in:
    1840
  • An army officer and politician, Richard William Howard Vyse (1784–53) also made his mark as an Egyptologist. This three-volume work, published in 1840–2, has remained an instructive resource in Egyptology up to the present day. Adopting the style of a journal, with illustrations and diagrams throughout, it narrates in detail his excavations at Giza, surveying and measuring the pyramids. Following Vyse's return to England, the work was continued by the engineer and surveyor John Shae Perring (1813–69). Vyse gives observations of his travels, and of the landscape, people and architecture he encountered, as well as details of the important work he carried out. Most notable was his discovery, using gunpowder, of four new chambers in the Great Pyramid containing 'quarry marks' - graffiti by the pyramid builders. Volume 1 (1840) covers the start of his travels in Egypt and the early excavations on the Great Pyramid.

Operations Carried On at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837
  • With an Account of a Voyage into Upper Egypt, and an Appendix
  • Volume 3, Appendix
  • Howard Vyse
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    11 December 2014
    First published in:
    1842
  • An army officer and politician, Richard William Howard Vyse (1784–53) also made his mark as an Egyptologist. This three-volume work, published in 1840–2, has remained an instructive resource in Egyptology up to the present day. Adopting the style of a journal, with illustrations and diagrams throughout, it narrates in detail his excavations at Giza, surveying and measuring the pyramids. Following Vyse's return to England, the work was continued by the engineer and surveyor John Shae Perring (1813–69). Vyse gives observations of his travels, and of the landscape, people and architecture he encountered, as well as details of the important work he carried out. Most notable was his discovery, using gunpowder, of four new chambers in the Great Pyramid containing 'quarry marks' - graffiti by the pyramid builders. Volume 3 (1842) describes the work continued by Perring on various pyramids, and on the mummy pits at Saqqara.

Essay on Dr Young's and M. Champollion's Phonetic System of Hieroglyphics
  • With Some Additional Discoveries, by Which It May Be Applied to Decipher the Names of the Ancient Kings of Egypt and Ethiopia
  • Henry Salt
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    04 December 2014
    First published in:
    1825
  • Appointed Britain's consul-general in Egypt in 1815, Henry Salt (1780–1827) involved himself deeply in the excavation of several historic sites and the collection of numerous antiquities. The most notable of these, found at Thebes, was the colossal bust of Rameses II which was acquired by the British Museum and is believed to have inspired Shelley's 'Ozymandias'. This 1825 publication, featuring Salt's careful reproductions and explanations of various inscriptions, made a valuable contribution to the understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Following the innovative work on the Rosetta Stone carried out by Thomas Young, and the celebrated decipherment presented in 1822 by Jean-François Champollion, Salt helped to further elucidate the hieroglyphic alphabet, although later research has disproved some of his conclusions. A postscript notes how Champollion's 1824 Précis du système hiéroglyphique des anciens Égyptiens (also reissued in this series) confirms several names of Egyptian gods and pharaohs which Salt had independently deciphered.

Travels in Egypt and Nubia, Syria, and Asia Minor, during the Years 1817 and 1818
  • Charles Leonard Irby, James Mangles
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    11 December 2014
    First published in:
    1823
  • The preface to this work describes how its authors, Charles Irby (1789–1845) and James Mangles (1786–1867), both officers in the Royal Navy, left England in 1816 for a tour of the continent. 'Curiosity at first, and an increasing admiration of antiquities as they advanced, carried them at length through several parts of the Levant.' On their return to England, interest in Egypt being at its height, they were persuaded to compile this book from their letters to friends and family at home, and had it privately printed in 1823. Their account begins in Cairo, whence they made a journey down the Nile, meeting with Giovanni Belzoni at Abu Simbel. They then travelled from Cairo across the desert and along the coast of the Holy Land, reaching Aleppo and exploring Syria. This detailed account of their two-year travels provides much information of continuing interest to archaeologists and historians.

The Alabaster Sarcophagus of Oimenepthah I., King of Egypt
  • Now in Sir John Soane's Museum, Lincoln's Inn Fields
  • Samuel Sharpe
  • Illustrated by Joseph Bonomi
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    11 December 2014
    First published in:
    1864
  • Oimenepthah I, better known to us as Seti I, was regarded as a great pharaoh by his contemporaries, although his son Ramesses II would claim greater renown. Seti's tomb was discovered by Belzoni in 1817 and was the first to be found to have extensive decorations throughout. The huge alabaster coffin found in the tomb was sold to Sir John Soane, who held a three-day party upon its arrival at his London house, where it can still be seen. Written by the noted Egyptologist Samuel Sharpe (1799–1881), this illustrated description of the intricately decorated sarcophagus was published in 1864. By the time of his death, Sharpe was regarded in Britain as one of the most important figures in helping to popularise all things Egyptian. With the artist and sculptor Joseph Bonomi (1796–1878), who provided the drawings here, he collaborated in organising the Egyptian court at the Crystal Palace in 1854.

The Temple of Mut in Asher
  • An Account of the Excavation of the Temple and of the Religious Representations and Objects Found Therein, as Illustrating the History of Egypt and the Main Religious Ideas of the Egyptians
  • Margaret Benson, Janet Gourlay
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    21 August 2014
    First published in:
    1899
  • Margaret Benson (1865–1916), the fourth of six children of the archbishop of Canterbury E. W. Benson, was a brilliant scholar at Oxford who found an escape from the conventional life of housekeeping for her father when she travelled to Egypt for her health in 1895. She obtained permission to excavate a site, of which she candidly admits that the authorities had no expectations (or they would not have entrusted it to such inexperienced amateurs). She and her close friend Janet Gourlay (1863–1912), who had briefly studied archaeology under Flinders Petrie, published this account of their discoveries at the temple of Mut at Karnak in 1899. It contains an overview of the site and its context in Egyptian history, with an account of the three seasons of excavation and a section on Egyptian religion. The highly illustrated book concludes with translations of the many inscriptions found in the temple remains.

Narrative of the Operations and Recent Discoveries within the Pyramids, Temples, Tombs, and Excavations, in Egypt and Nubia
  • And of a Journey to the Coast of the Red Sea, in Search of the Ancient Berenice, and of Another to the Oasis of Jupiter Ammon
  • Giovanni Battista Belzoni
  • Published online:
    05 March 2015
    Print publication:
    22 July 2010
    First published in:
    1821
  • The Italian adventurer Giovanni Belzoni (1778–1823) is one of the most colourful and notorious figures in Egyptology. After the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt, European interest in the country, and especially in its antiquities, led to a demand for artifacts, the larger the better. Belzoni happened to be pursuing his two careers, as circus strong-man and hydraulic engineer, in Egypt in 1815, when he was asked to organise the transport of a 7-ton statue of Ramesses II from Thebes to the British Museum. After the success of this enterprise, he turned his attention to the discovery of other antiquities, though using destructive techniques which were deplored by serious contemporary scholars. His narrative of his adventures was enormously popular at the time, and remains readable and entertaining today. This reissue omits the plates from the original edition, which are too large to be reproduced satisfactorily in this format.

A Brief Account of the Researches and Discoveries in Upper Egypt, Made under the Direction of Henry Salt, Esq.
  • To Which is Added a Detailed Catalogue of Mr Salt's Collection of Egyptian Antiquities
  • Giovanni D'Athanasi
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    17 April 2014
    First published in:
    1836
  • Originally named Demetrio Papandriopulo and of Greek parentage, Giovanni D'Athanasi (1798–1854) became in 1815 the servant of Henry Salt (1780–1827), the traveller and antiquary who became British Consul in Egypt and a pioneer Egyptologist. (An account by J. J. Halls of Salt's life and career is also reissued in this series.) Between 1817 and 1827, D'Athanasi excavated on Salt's behalf at Thebes. Published in 1836, this book was intended to accompany the sale of the collection of antiquities amassed by Salt, in which D'Athanasi had a financial interest, but various delays meant that it came out after the main sale had taken place. As well as an often diverting account (in which many axes are ground) of Salt's activities at Giza, Thebes, Memphis and Abu Simbel, the book contains a complete catalogue of the collection, indicating which items were later acquired by the British Museum.

Ehnasya, The Labyrinth, Gerzeh and Mazghuneh
  • William Matthew Flinders Petrie
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    19 September 2013
  • A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. This reissue brings together two of the well-illustrated excavation reports that he prepared with collaborators. The first, originally published in 1905, documents his work at Ehnasya (or Herakleopolis Magna), ranging in its coverage from the twelfth-dynasty temple to the houses of the Roman period. The text includes material by C. T. Currelly (1876–1957) on the various cemeteries. The second report, from 1912, records the findings from a number of sites. Petrie discusses the labyrinth located in the Faiyum; Gerald Wainwright (1879–1964) notes the discovery at Gerzeh of early examples of iron and ceramic artefacts; and the cemeteries and pyramids of Mazghuna are examined by Ernest Mackay (1880–1943). Petrie wrote prolifically throughout his long career, and a great many of his other publications are also reissued in this series.

A History of Egyptian Mummies
  • And an Account of the Worship and Embalming of the Sacred Animals by the Egyptians
  • Thomas Joseph Pettigrew
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    19 September 2013
  • First published in 1834, this work was an important early contribution to the emerging field of Egyptology in Britain. It united the twin passions of its author, the noted surgeon and antiquarian Thomas Joseph Pettigrew (1791–1865), who made a name for himself by unrolling and autopsying mummies: his London home was the scene of well-attended parties during which he would impress his guests with such displays. In the present work, Pettigrew delves into the history, technique and ritual of mummification in a depth that had never been attempted before, notably extending the coverage beyond ancient Egypt to other societies and eras. Describing the beliefs that informed these practices, the work also addresses the Egyptians' worship and embalming of animals such as bulls, dogs and hawks. Based on numerous examinations and years of study, this work stood as a landmark in the scientific and historical understanding of these funerary rites.

Ten Years' Digging in Egypt
  • 1881–1891
  • William Matthew Flinders Petrie
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    05 September 2013
  • Among the leading Egyptologists of his day, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. Pioneering in his rigorous recording of evidence, Petrie wrote prolifically throughout his long career and is credited with bringing his subject to a wider audience. A great many of his other publications are also reissued in this series. First published in 1892 and intended for non-specialists, this highly readable book summarises Petrie's recent work in Egypt, including his surveying of the pyramids of Giza and his discovery of the city of Naukratis in the Nile Delta. Illustrated throughout with detailed line drawings, this work sheds much light on Petrie's influential approach as well as the technological and artistic achievements of ancient Egyptian civilisation. It will appeal to those who wish to learn about the birth of modern Egyptology and the methods of its founding father.

Roman Portraits and Memphis IV, Tarkhan I and Memphis V, Tarkhan II
  • William Matthew Flinders Petrie
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    31 October 2013
  • A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. The diversity of his work is revealed in these three excavation reports, reissued here together but originally published separately in 1911, 1913 and 1914. The first, an important resource on mummy portraits, records significant discoveries made during renewed work on the Roman necropolis at Hawara. Continued excavations at Memphis are also described. Petrie's work at Tarkhan, where he excavated numerous tombs, is written up in the second and third reports. Each report features a valuable section of illustrations, including photographs and drawings of the various sites and finds, most notably the lifelike mummy portraits. Petrie wrote prolifically throughout his long career, and a great many of his other publications - including earlier reports from both Hawara and Memphis - are also reissued in this series.

Deshasheh, Diospolis Parva, Athribis
  • William Matthew Flinders Petrie, F. Ll. Griffith, Arthur Cruttenden Mace
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    19 September 2013
  • A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. These three illustrated excavation reports, now reissued together, were originally published in 1898, 1901 and 1908 in collaboration with other experts. They focus on the cemeteries at Deshasheh, Abadiyeh and Hu (the latter known also as Diospolis Parva), and Athribis. Light is shed on the major discoveries, such as large quantities of beautifully preserved Neolithic linen, the 'pan graves' of semi-nomadic settlers, and a tomb featuring an early relief of Egyptians besieging a fortified Near Eastern town. Most significantly, these reports reflect Petrie's development of sequence dating, which influenced the use of seriation as a relative dating method in archaeology. Petrie wrote prolifically throughout his long career. Many of his other publications - for both Egyptologists and non-specialists - are also reissued in this series.

The Flinders Petrie Papyri
  • With Transcriptions, Commentaries and Index
  • Volume 3
  • John Pentland Mahaffy, J. G. Smyly
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    19 September 2013
  • A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. A great many of his publications have been reissued in this series. In the 1890s, the Irish scholar Sir John Pentland Mahaffy (1839–1919) took the lead on the considerable task of cataloguing, transcribing and commenting on the Greek papyri found by Petrie in mummy cartonnage on recent digs in Egypt. This three-volume collection is the result of his labours. The texts, comprising private correspondence, legal records, petitions and many other types of document, reveal a great deal about life in Egypt in the third century BCE. First published in 1905 with significant input from Mahaffy's colleague J. G. Smyly, Volume 3 contains seven autotype reproductions of key examples, as well as a review by Mahaffy of the entire project and its scholarly reception.

Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians
  • Including their Private Life, Government, Laws, Art, Manufactures, Religion, and Early History
  • Volume 1
  • John Gardner Wilkinson
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    19 September 2013
  • A pioneer of British Egyptology, Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (1797–1875) first travelled to Egypt in 1821, the year before Champollion published his breakthrough work on the Rosetta Stone. As public interest in Egypt grew, Wilkinson studied and sketched the country's major archaeological sites, most notably the tombs of Thebes. His Topography of Thebes and General View of Egypt (1835) and Modern Egypt and Thebes (1843) are also reissued in this series. This well-illustrated three-volume work, first published in 1837, remained for over a century a key text on the lives of ancient Egyptians. Writing in a popular genre that was normally focused on contemporary societies, Wilkinson covers areas ranging from daily life to funerary beliefs. His imaginative approach underpinned the book's considerable success. Volume 1 addresses the physical and human geography of ancient Egypt, with a historical narrative up to the point of its conquest by Alexander the Great.

Modern Egypt and Thebes
  • Being a Description of Egypt, Including the Information Required for Travellers in that Country
  • Volume 2
  • John Gardner Wilkinson
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    03 October 2013
  • A pioneer of British Egyptology, Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (1797–1875) first travelled to Egypt in 1821, the year before Champollion published his breakthrough work on the Rosetta Stone. As public interest in Egypt grew, Wilkinson studied and sketched the country's major archaeological sites, most notably the tombs of Thebes. His celebrated Topography of Thebes and General View of Egypt (1835) and Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians (1837) are also reissued in this series. A remodelled and enlarged version of the former work, this two-volume guide of 1843 not only gives practical advice for the contemporary traveller, but also provides modern readers with a vivid snapshot of Egypt in the middle of the nineteenth century. Volume 2 includes further information and guidance about places to visit, including Mount Sinai, along with a section on the history of Egypt that focuses on the Islamic period but also incorporates chronological tables of rulers from the pharaohs onward.

Memphis I, The Palace of Apries (Memphis II), Meydum and Memphis III
  • William Matthew Flinders Petrie
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    19 September 2013
  • A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. This single-volume reissue brings together three well-illustrated reports of his excavations over three seasons at Memphis and Meidum on the west bank of the Nile, first published in 1909–10. Work at Memphis in 1908 and 1909 notably focused on the west hall of the temple of Ptah and the royal palace of Apries. Chapters on the inscriptions are provided by James Herbert Walker (d.1914). The excavations at Meidum continued those begun in 1891 and recorded in the 1892 report that is also reissued in this series. Petrie was assisted by Ernest Mackay (1880–1943) and Gerald Averay Wainwright (1879–1964) in working on the pyramid, built for the fourth-dynasty pharaoh Sneferu, and the mastaba of Nefermaat, one of the largest private tombs of the Old Kingdom.

Methods and Aims in Archaeology
  • William Matthew Flinders Petrie
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    05 September 2013
  • A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. In this short but classic work of 1904, he explains his vision for the young science of archaeology. Petrie outlines his processes and goals for an excavation, offering advice on how to manage workers drawn from the local population as well as guidance on creating a thorough record of a dig, the importance of which had not been fully appreciated by many contemporary archaeologists. His methods were highly influential in their more systematic and scientific approach to archaeology at a time when many of its practitioners were more focused on acquiring attractive artefacts than advancing knowledge. The text is accompanied by 66 illustrations. Petrie wrote prolifically throughout his long career, and a great many of his other publications - for both specialists and non-specialists - are also reissued in this series.

Topography of Thebes, and General View of Egypt
  • Being a Short Account of the Principal Objects Worthy of Notice in the Valley of the Nile
  • John Gardner Wilkinson
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    05 September 2013
  • A pioneer of British Egyptology, Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (1797–1875) first travelled to Egypt in 1821, the year before Champollion published his breakthrough work on the Rosetta Stone. As public interest in Egypt grew, Wilkinson studied and sketched the country's major archaeological sites, most notably the tombs of Thebes. When published in 1835, the present work was the first major book in English on the subject and the most substantial since the French Description de l'Égypte. The text and plates present a detailed picture of contemporary Egypt in relation to its ancient heritage. Wilkinson remodelled and expanded the work as Modern Egypt and Thebes (1843), and his chapter here on daily life in the days of the pharaohs formed the basis of his celebrated Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians (1837). Both titles are also reissued in this series.

Tell el-Amarna
  • William Matthew Flinders Petrie
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    31 October 2013
  • A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. He also played a notable part in the preservation of a number of cuneiform tablets that became known collectively as the Tell el-Amarna letters. Petrie's Syria and Egypt (1898), containing summaries, is also reissued in this series, along with many of his other publications. The present work, first published in 1894 and richly illustrated, gives an account of the work that Petrie carried out in 1891–2. It contains detailed information about both the technical aspects of the dig and the array of artefacts found, including the tablet fragments of diplomatic correspondence from the fourteenth century BCE. The chapter on the tablets is provided by Archibald Sayce, Francis Llewellyn Griffth discusses ceramic inscriptions, and the flint tools are examined by F. C. J. Spurrell.

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