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Afterlives of discovery: tomb robberies, treasure and untangling Tutankhamun

Review products

Aidan Dodson. 2023. Tutankhamun, King of Egypt: his life and afterlife. Cairo & New York: American University in Cairo Press; 978-1-64903-161-7 hardback £29.95.

Maria Golia. 2022. A short history of tomb-raiding: the epic hunt for Egypt's treasures. Chicago (IL): University of Chicago Press; 978-1-78914-629-5 paperback $27.50.

Frank L. Holt. 2024. A mystery from the mummy-pits: the amazing journey of Ankh-Hap. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 978-0-19-769404-6 hardback £16.99.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2024

Campbell Price*
Affiliation:
Manchester Museum, University of Manchester, UK

Extract

Egyptology has been changing. At least in the way its practitioners present their findings to a broad public audience. A selection of recent publications for general-interest readership represents something of a reorientation of perspectives on the (Western-led) archaeological ‘discovery’ of Pharaonic Egyptian remains, and the opening up of a subtle counter-narrative, which is something of an anti-archaeology. Rather than attempting to reconstruct what might positively be said of ancient events, their causes and motivations, Egyptologists are increasingly owning up to what is not known or what happened in the aftermath of the ‘main event’ that conditions the nature of the evidence we have at our disposal.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd

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References

Wolfe, S.J. & Singerman, R.. 2009. Mummies in nineteenth century America: ancient Egyptians as artifacts. Jefferson (NC): McFarland.Google Scholar