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The Mountains of Pharaoh
Not since GODS, GRAVES AND SCHOLARS has a book been published which so vividly captures the excitement and drama of archaeology. Here is the history of the exploration of the great pyramids--those enormous stone monuments which served as the tombstones and burial crypts of the Egyptian Kings--edifices so immense that the Arabs called them "Mountains of Pharaoh."
- GenresHistory
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1492
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About the author
Leonard Cottrell
180 books24 followersLeonard Eric Cottrell was a prolific and popular British author and journalist. Many of his books were popularizations of the archaeology of ancient Egypt.
Leonard Cottrell was born in 1913 in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, to William and Beatrice Cottrell (née Tootell). His father inspired his interest in history from a very young age. At King Edward's Grammar School, Birmingham, Leonard was notably only interested in English and history, in which he read widely.
In the 1930s, Cottrell toured the English countryside on his motorcycle, visiting prehistoric stone circles, burial mounds of the Bronze Age, medieval and Renaissance monuments. On those journeys, he was often accompanied by Doris Swain, whom he later married. After gaining experience writing articles on historical subjects for motoring magazines, he wrote his first documentary for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1937.
Cottrell was rejected by the RAF during World War II for medical reasons, but he joined the BBC in 1942 and was stationed in the Mediterranean with the RAF in 1944, as a war correspondent. His wartime experiences formed the basis of his book All Men are Neighbours (1947). He worked at the BBC until 1960, when he resigned and moved to a house overlooking the estuary of the River Kent in Westmoreland, Cumbria, where he stayed for the rest of his life, writing.
Among other achievements, Cottrell was the editor of the Concise Encyclopaedia of Archaeology (1965).
He was married and divorced twice, first to Doris Swain (divorced 1962) and Diana Bonakis (married 1965; divorced 1968). He had no children by either marriage.
Leonard Cottrell died on 6 October 1974.
Leonard Cottrell was born in 1913 in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, to William and Beatrice Cottrell (née Tootell). His father inspired his interest in history from a very young age. At King Edward's Grammar School, Birmingham, Leonard was notably only interested in English and history, in which he read widely.
In the 1930s, Cottrell toured the English countryside on his motorcycle, visiting prehistoric stone circles, burial mounds of the Bronze Age, medieval and Renaissance monuments. On those journeys, he was often accompanied by Doris Swain, whom he later married. After gaining experience writing articles on historical subjects for motoring magazines, he wrote his first documentary for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1937.
Cottrell was rejected by the RAF during World War II for medical reasons, but he joined the BBC in 1942 and was stationed in the Mediterranean with the RAF in 1944, as a war correspondent. His wartime experiences formed the basis of his book All Men are Neighbours (1947). He worked at the BBC until 1960, when he resigned and moved to a house overlooking the estuary of the River Kent in Westmoreland, Cumbria, where he stayed for the rest of his life, writing.
Among other achievements, Cottrell was the editor of the Concise Encyclopaedia of Archaeology (1965).
He was married and divorced twice, first to Doris Swain (divorced 1962) and Diana Bonakis (married 1965; divorced 1968). He had no children by either marriage.
Leonard Cottrell died on 6 October 1974.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 14, 2019
Quite an enjoyable read from a gifted popularizer of ancient history. In this work, in contrast to his The Lost Pharaohs, Cottrell doesn't take the ancient monuments as his primary focus, but rather examines the attempts of those who came after the pyramid builders to figure out exactly what they were.
Starting with the ancient Saites in the seventh century B.C., who at least were familiar with the hieroglyphic inscriptions the monuments contained, proceeding through Herodotus who visited Giza, and then through Arab writers after their conquest of Egypt, he spends the majority of his time on the explorations and excavations of Europeans from Bellonius in 1553 and Sandys in 1610 through to the Napoleonic era, which included the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the eventual description of the hieroglyphics. Belzoni, Vyse (who used dynamite to try to find the interior funeral chambers!), Flinders-Petrie and Brunton have their work examined in quite interesting detail.
The gradual shift from adventurer-in-pursuit-of-treasure to scholar-in-quest-of-knowledge is well documented, and may have resulted from the simple fact that the riches which were buried along with the dead Pharaohs had largely all been robbed well before the time their burial chambers were discovered deep within the pyramids. The devious techniques used in the construction of their interiors were made so elaborate in order to foil the efforts of the thieves, but were almost uniformly of no avail.
One of the most entertaining chapters was one which Cottrell explains he was of two minds on whether or not to include at all: that on the pyramid theorists. Chief among these was Piazzi-Smyth, who published works in the 1860s proving that the pyramids represented some strange revelation of Christian belief (this in tombs built close to three thousand years before Christ!), all based on strange mathematical calculations, including the unique 'pyramid inch' which he deduced was used by their designers. Strange stuff!
The fervency of the Egyptian desire for an afterlife led to the construction of these massive tombs, over sixty of which are to be found throughout Egypt, and into which they placed not only the mummified remains of the Pharaoh, but their internal organs, household furniture, jewellry, clothes and other household items, often fashioned of gold and precious jewels. Very early on, in the time of the first and second dynasties, their slaves were murdered and placed in their tombs in order to serve them in the afterlife. However, this barbaric practice had been abandoned by the time of the construction of the three major pyramids at Giza during the fourth dynasty.
Good stuff, delightfully diverting and evocative of an entirely different culture and people, as well as of the change that has overcome humanity's efforts to understand its own past.
Starting with the ancient Saites in the seventh century B.C., who at least were familiar with the hieroglyphic inscriptions the monuments contained, proceeding through Herodotus who visited Giza, and then through Arab writers after their conquest of Egypt, he spends the majority of his time on the explorations and excavations of Europeans from Bellonius in 1553 and Sandys in 1610 through to the Napoleonic era, which included the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the eventual description of the hieroglyphics. Belzoni, Vyse (who used dynamite to try to find the interior funeral chambers!), Flinders-Petrie and Brunton have their work examined in quite interesting detail.
The gradual shift from adventurer-in-pursuit-of-treasure to scholar-in-quest-of-knowledge is well documented, and may have resulted from the simple fact that the riches which were buried along with the dead Pharaohs had largely all been robbed well before the time their burial chambers were discovered deep within the pyramids. The devious techniques used in the construction of their interiors were made so elaborate in order to foil the efforts of the thieves, but were almost uniformly of no avail.
One of the most entertaining chapters was one which Cottrell explains he was of two minds on whether or not to include at all: that on the pyramid theorists. Chief among these was Piazzi-Smyth, who published works in the 1860s proving that the pyramids represented some strange revelation of Christian belief (this in tombs built close to three thousand years before Christ!), all based on strange mathematical calculations, including the unique 'pyramid inch' which he deduced was used by their designers. Strange stuff!
The fervency of the Egyptian desire for an afterlife led to the construction of these massive tombs, over sixty of which are to be found throughout Egypt, and into which they placed not only the mummified remains of the Pharaoh, but their internal organs, household furniture, jewellry, clothes and other household items, often fashioned of gold and precious jewels. Very early on, in the time of the first and second dynasties, their slaves were murdered and placed in their tombs in order to serve them in the afterlife. However, this barbaric practice had been abandoned by the time of the construction of the three major pyramids at Giza during the fourth dynasty.
Good stuff, delightfully diverting and evocative of an entirely different culture and people, as well as of the change that has overcome humanity's efforts to understand its own past.
November 17, 2024
This is a fascinating account not of the pyramidal monuments found across Egypt but of those that studied them over the past few centuries, including how their interpretations changed as research tools and techniques improved. Cottrell provides replicas of some of the original sketches made of the internal layouts and covers some of the more detailed aspects of pyramid evolution and construction which did get complicated at times. He also acknowledges that some of the earlier techniques were less than ideal by subsequent standards (to say the least). Certainly an interesting read but it does get technical in places so be ready to stare at some of the plans intently for several minutes.
March 5, 2022
Cottrell books are perfectly pitched to the interested layman. He has a real love of adventure and the adventurous spirits of the early archaeologists. Great introduction to Egyptology.
February 20, 2024
was pretty good. It was a slow start, but towards the later half it was very interesting. I enjoyed the detours into pyramid building, the ancient Egyptian religion, and the archaeologist against tomb robbers.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews