WONDERFUL THINGS 2: A History of Egyptology

Volume two covers The Golden Age 1881-1914 in Thompson's bestselling monumental history, now in paperback. The discovery of Ancient Egypt and the development of Egyptology are momentous events in intellectual and cultural history. This is the story of the people, famous and obscure, who constructed the picture of Ancient Egypt that we have today and made a lost civilisation comprehensible to generations of enchanted readers and viewers thousands of years later. The date of 1881 marks the death of Mariette, the discovery of the Pyramid Texts and of the cache of royal mummies at Deir el-Bahri, a watershed in world history. British interest became prominent with the founding of the Egypt Exploration Fund in 1882, initially with biblical interest in Delta excavations and in Amarna. In 13 chapters Thompson succinctly describes personal stories such as Howard Carter's stand off with authority fuelled by the French, his resignation, how the foundations of Egyptology studies of today were laid, and the major discoveries made, some more by chance than controlled excavations. 388 large pages, maps. Volume one available code 95145.