Uncovering the Ancient World: Exploring the Golden Age of Egyptology

Xavier R.: If you want to learn more about actual Egyptian history, this is not for you. But it is a fascinating account of the story of Egyptology itself, from warring European powers, all the way down to lone adventurers, living in abandoned tombs and digging through sand for lost treasures.

Each short chapter, focusing on a different character or group-of, feels like an entire journey that you are part of, leaving you amazed and inspired when it ends. Then you move onto the next and it repeats.

United Kingdom on Oct 12, 2023

Robert Davis Jr.: Sold work on the first Egyptologists

United States on May 29, 2023

coldworker: enjoyed the low price on the disc, a steal at the time. has since gone up so a digital file (audible) would suffice as CD players are ancient relics at this point = ) plan to grab a hard copy as well. Enjoy.

United States on Dec 27, 2022

Alex C. Michalos: Bios of original Egyptologist makes engaging reading.

Canada on Aug 13, 2022

markr: Over a period of around 130 years, from the invasion of Egypt by Napoleon in 1798 to the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen by Howard Carter in 1922 ancient Egypt drew Europeans, and later Americans, in search of knowledge, treasure, or fame (not necessarily in that order) , to the hunt for antiquities.

in this book Toby Wilkinson has made what could have been a dusty, dry subject into something fascinating to read. From the French invasion, planned in line with best Republican principles of scientific enquiry and reason, which included a team of scientists with the army, to the privately financed search for the tomb of Tutankhamen by the English Lord Carnarvon, Europeans were central to the exploration of the sands. Some were scientists, some adventurers. Some were ethical, some not so much.

Napoleon’s team found the Rosetta Stone, the key to the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphics. It was seized by the English during the French army retreat, and then cracked by a Frenchman, Champollion. The museums, and Antiquities Service, were set up and run by Europeans, and the looting of treasures and their transport to Europe was carried on unabashed by their...

United Kingdom on May 09, 2021

w: wow, what a tale of woe, the legitimized trade of valuable commodities by conquering imperialists, the condoning of illegal trade of same. there's a whole chapter on the Rosetta Stone, something that I've read whole books on, yet I read it eagerly. I've read books on brested, belzoni, the rape of the nile, any good exhibition catalogue and such, so I am familiar with the shenanigans but it's a great book and a quick and interesting read.

um, given my age and income, it is unlikely that I'll ever make it to egypt despite my life-long interest. so despite the history of the stuff I've seen in boston, Brooklynn, Chicago, New York, I'm so grateful that it's there allowing me to be awed by the people who created it - their unmatched and complete artistic abilities - look ma, no electricity! Egypt: the pyramids, rock cut tombs and temples, phillae, kom ombo, Karnak, Abydos, the VoK, storage magazines stuffed to bursting with relics, added to every single day from the constant contemporary exhumation of people from their claim to etenity - no no they can't take that away...

United States on Jan 24, 2021

exurbanite: An excellent historical review of the unearthing of ancient Egyptian treasures by 19th and 20th century Western explorers, adventurers, and archeologists. Personal and national political rivalries played an intense part. Included was the famous struggle between two brilliant scholars, the Englishman Thomas Young, and the Frenchman Jean-François Champollion, to decipher hieroglyphics after the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. Champollion won the race and most of the credit, but only by relying on essential prior work done by Young.
Wilkinson concentrates on the political and technical aspects of the explorations and the personality of the explorers. Lacking, in my view, is a fuller and more appreciative discussion of the extraordinary aesthetic merit of the findings, the bulk of which are now on display in Western museums. The latter would have rounded out what is otherwise a fascinating account of the dazzling and singular objects dug out from under centuries of accumulated sand.

United States on Jan 17, 2021

Greg: GREAT BOOK

Canada on Jan 03, 2021

Paul F. Ross: Review of Wilkinson’s "A world beneath the sands" by Paul F. Ross

With his book’s title being "The world beneath the sands" linked to Egyptology, Wilkinson’s book could be about the history of Egypt revealed by the explorations of kings’ graves in Egypt, about the graves’ contents and their dispersal, about the history of the grave explorations themselves, about … well, about any of a wide range of topics. The topics could begin in 4000 BCE and extend to 2020 CE, the date of publication of Wilkinson’s book. When I saw a review of the book, my longstanding interest in knowledge revealed by Egypt’s role in the lands of the eastern Mediterranean was piqued and I bought the book. As I learned, Wilkinson describes the international politics guiding Egyptian grave robbing and the dispersal of the artifacts found there from the discovery of the Rosetta stone in 1799 to the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. That is a 123-year time slice from a 6000-year story. The story as published ends a century before the date of the book’s publication.

Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt with his French army and a group of French scholars in 1798. Later that year,...

United States on Nov 12, 2020

AF Perry: A fascinating romp through the history of Egyptology with particular emphasis on its formative years from the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt in 1798 to the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. This is a wonderful overview of the subject that I hope will inspire some to enquire further into this intriguing area of history. I very much enjoyed Toby Wilkinson's earlier book "The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt" and this new book is also written in an engaging style that will appeal to the lay reader.

United Kingdom on Oct 24, 2020