Lost Pharaohs (Kegan Paul Library of Ancient Egypt) Review

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(More customer reviews)Once I opened this book I couldn't put it down. Leonard Cottrell writes in an engaging way, explaining how successive generations of Egyptologists developed the understanding of the ancient Egyptians, and their pyramids, palaces and temples. He often writes in the first person, so it sounds like an congenial uncle recounting stories of the halcyon days of archeology. The politics of the ancient Egyptian court, and the skullduggery of the ancient tomb robbers really come to life through Mr Cottrell's writing.
By Mr Cottrell's own admission this is not an academic textbook so don't expect lists of dates and names, chronological charts of important events and suchlike. Also this is not a book about the pyramids so there is no detailed technical explanation of how they were constructed. Mr Cottrell focuses more on the culture of the times, and the motivations of the pharaohs and their courtiers.
Some of the events I had read about before, like the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, but Mr Cottrell unfolds the story like a detective novel that really keeps you on the edge of your seat. Other things I had not read about before, like the relationship between Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, and the strange course of events that eventually resulted in the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. The lively description of the five thousand year battle between state officials and tomb robbers is particularly entertaining although the theft of a priceless tomb mural hours before Mr Cottrell's arrival felt rather gratuitous and grated with me.
One thing that came across clearly was the vast length of time that the pharaohs ruled over Egypt, which is difficult to comprehend at first. For example when Herodotus wrote about the Pyramid of Cheops around 450 BC it was already 2000 years old, so it was similar to us writing about the Roman invasion of Britain.
As you might expect in such a personal account, there are a few editorial comments, particularly about the poor state of funding for future digs, and the challenges of international politics. But these don't detract from the whole and actually serve as their own historical record of the 1960s when Mr Cottrell wrote the book.
There are only a few photos, but those that there are have been carefully selected to illustrate a particular point and do their job pretty well.
Overall I would strongly recommend this short book to anyone who seeks an diverting introduction to Egyptology and Egyptologists.


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