Category:  Monuments, Temples & Tombs

Reviewed by Francesca: The history of each existing obelisk is explained informatively and in vivid detail by the author. Well written, although out-dated a little, it is a must read for all obelisks buff.

From the publisher's website: Based on the author's work in Egypt in the 1880s, this unusual volume addresses one of history's greatest puzzles - how were the pyramids of Gizeh built? Before Petrie undertook this study, the Great Pyramid was a byword for paradox - something that was generally familiar, yet not accurately known. No measurements or detailed examination had been performed. Petrie set out to apply mathematical methods to the study of the pyramids and surrounding temples, with the objective of understanding the methods and abilities of the ancient workers. The result, presented in this volume, is a complete set of measurements of the pyramids, both inside and outside. These provide the foundation for the rest of the books, which deals with the architectual ideas of the pyramid builders, the mechanical methods they used, and a comparison of previous theories with the facts that Petrie had newly established.

From the book cover: The author takes a reasoned and well researched approach to the enigma of the pyramids. The reader will follow the evolution of building techniques beginning with small mastaba tombs, to the magnificence of the Great Pyramid. The purpose of the pyramids was, according to the author, a method of organizing the people and establishing a common goal. He claims that the resultant civilization that evolved around the pyramids was due to the organizational and logistical skills of the ruling class.

From the publisher\'s website:The first volume includes the description of the archaeological situation and finds from the main burial chamber and the place of funerary cult in front of the eastern enclosure wall of the tomb (L. Bareš), including the subsidiary burial chambers (K. Smoláriková). Separate chapters deal, among others, with the pottery (K. Smoláriková), amulets (V. Gae Callender), analysis of anthropological finds (E. Strouhal), architectural reconstruction and restoration works (M. Balík, M. Dvořák) and the Book of the Dead from the subsidiary burial chamber of Neferibreseneb Nekau (J. Janák a R. Landgráfová). The second volume is currently in preparation and will be dedicated to the texts and decoration on the walls of the burial chamber and sarcophagi of Iufaa.

From the publisher's website: This volume publishes papers on the Egyptian temple given at a 1994 colloquium of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum. The topics covered range across space and time, from Rainer Stadelman's new interpretation of the pyramid complex in the Old Kingdom, to Betsy Bryan's reassessment of the statuary from the temple for the cult of Amenhotep III on the West Bank at Thebes, and the late Jan Quaegebeur and Claude Traunecker's report on their work recording the forgotten Graeco-Roman temples of Shenhur and el-Qala.