From the Neolithic cave paintings in Wadi Sura - created long before it was a desert when the region was savannah grassland - to the Valley of the Kings to the rock-cut temples at Abu Simbel, and from the vast temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor to the funerary mask of Tutankhamun and, of course, to the pyramids and the Sphinx, Ancient Egypt is a hugely colourful guide to the surviving wonders of Egyptian antiquity. Today the exceptional beauty and scale of the antiquities is legendary, drawing millions of visitors to Egypt's monuments each year.
Arranged by region, the book takes the reader along the ancient settlements that were established on the banks of the River Nile. Through beautiful photographs and expert captions, the reader gains an understanding of how ancient Egypt developed its trade links and became such a powerful and wealthy force across North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean. Alongside the world-famous places, there are also fascinating, lesser-known entries, such as the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the bent pyramid at Dahshur and the Statue of Khaefre.
Featuring monuments and obelisks, hieroglyphics and jewelry, funerary masks, tombs and mausoleums, mummies of cats and statues of falcon-headed gods, Ancient Egypt includes 160 outstanding photographs and captions.
Ancient Egypt: The Cradle of Civilization is an interactive and well illustrated guide to Egypt during the Old Kingdom (ca. 2700-2100 BCE) through the Greco-Roman period (332BCE-395CE). Due out 14th Sept 2021 from Amber Books, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
I found the photographs fascinating and well curated. Many of them are of "lesser known" antiquities and historical persons from a wide historical period. I have long been interested in Egyptology but there were quite a number with which I was previously unfamiliar.
The commentary text by author Peter Mavrikis is engaging and accessible and provides a loose timeline history to tie the beautiful photographs together into a cohesive whole. This would make a good choice for library, classroom library, homeschool, and similar uses. It's also a lovely book of photography in its own right and would be a nice gift for a student of ancient history.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
