Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt

Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt | Chris Naunton

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An interesting checklist of the major Egyptian tombs which are known to exist but have yet to be located from Imhotep a royal minister of the old kingdom through to the famous last Ptolemaic ruler Cleopatra. If you are interested in archaeology, Egyptology or simply lost treasure this is a worthwhile read.

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shanaqui

Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt | Chris Naunton

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This isn't all based on solid, fully published archaeology and science, but Naunton is clear about when that's the case. Despite the rather optimistic cover copy, Naunton's position is a bit more ambivalent. Will we find previously undiscovered tombs? Almost certainly. Will they be stuffed with gold, or contain the bodies of Imhotep or Cleopatra? Naunton is less optimistic about that.

TimSpalding I took papyrology in graduate school at Michigan, which has the largest collection in the western hemisphere. It was wonderful to think what more could come out of the sands. Unfortunately, as I learned, almost all papyrus has been destroyed by the water and water-table rise occasioned by the Aswan Dam. What remains is at remote, largely monastic locations. Crushing to learn. 5y

shanaqui @TimSpalding That sounds like an amazing course -- I'd love to do that myself! I hadn't thought about the implications of the rise in water table for papyrus, but of course it'll be the same for textiles as well -- Egypt being one of the few places where ancient textiles have been preserved, of course. That's rather gutting. 😣 5y

TimSpalding @shanaqui It was fun, but papyrology was also my introduction to how much better I'd have to get in Greek! Knowing a language for translation is one thing; being able to make educated guesses about what a text said where there are now holes is way, way past that! 5y

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shanaqui

Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt | Chris Naunton

I was a little worried this could be all sensationalised, but Thames & Hudson are reputable publishers, and the first two chapters consider the evidence of the tombs and findings carefully.

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