A History of Ancient Egypt, Volume 1: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid

A History of Ancient Egypt #1

by John Romer

The ancient world comes to life in the first volume in a two book series on the history of Egypt, spanning the first farmers to the construction of the pyramids. Famed archaeologist John Romer draws on a lifetime of research to tell one history's greatest stories; how, over more than a thousand years, a society of farmers created a rich, vivid world where one of the most astounding of all human-made landmarks, the Great Pyramid, was built. Immersing the reader in the Egypt of the past, Romer examines and challenges the long-held theories about what archaeological finds mean and what stories they tell about how the Egyptians lived. More than just an account of one of the most fascinating periods of history, this engrossing book asks readers to take a step back and question what they've learned about Egypt in the past. Fans of Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra and history buffs will be captivated by this re-telling of Egyptian history, written by one of the top Egyptologists in the world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Egypt, Ancient History, Archaeology, Egyptology, Africa

512 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2012

About the author

John Louis Romer attended Ottershaw School, the Wimbledon School of Art (1958-1963), and the Royal College of Art (A.R.C.A., 1966) in London. Following this, he traveled and studied in the Near East and married his wife Yvonne Elizabeth de Coetlogan Aylwin (Beth), an artist and writer. After a brief stint teaching the history of art and architecture at art colleges in England and Wales (1968-1972), he worked as an epigraphic artist with the British Institute in Iran at Persepolis and Pasargadae in 1972. He worked as an artist in epigraphic studies — with the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, 1972-1973, and with the Oriental Institute Epigraphic Survey, 1973-1977 — in the temples and tombs of Thebes. In 1977-1979, he became the Field Director of The Brooklyn Museum’s Theban Expedition, originating and organizing an excavation of the tomb of Ramesses XI in the Valley of the Kings. In 1992, at the request of the Egyptian Organization of Antiquities, he convened a multinational committee to advise and recommend projects and procedures for the conservation of the Valley of the Kings. He is a member of the International Association of Egyptologists and the Egypt Exploration Society. He has been the President of the Theban Foundation since 1979. He has written several acclaimed books and produced some excellent documentaries. His primary interests are in the preservation of antiquities, and in making the past meaningful to present-day people. When he is not busy writing books, making documentaries, or pushing for conservation in the Valley of the Kings, he and his wife live in Aiola, Tuscany, Italy.

Reviews

[Sense of History]

It is striking how fast the ancient Egyptian civilization developed: regular agriculture did not appear in the Nile valley until around 5,000 bce (so quite late for the Middle East), a good thousand years later the Naqada culture arose with the first tombs, art and artefacts that resembled later Egyptian ones, and already less than 1500 years later, the three giant pyramids were built in Giza, monuments that still appeal to the imagination. That unparalleled fast growth is the subject of this first volume of John Romer's History of Ancient Egypt. Romer builds up his story rather chronologically, and presents the current state of affairs in archeology in particular. It is striking how often he has to admit that essential material is missing to explain developments. But that doesn't stop him from presenting his own theory.

In classical historical overviews, the surplus generated by irrigated agriculture along the Nile is always used to explain the spectacular growth of Egyptian civilization. With John Romer this only comes into the picture indirectly. “All that economic historians can offer by way of explanation of these things are vague speculations upon primitivism, art and aesthetic urges. And that, essentially, is why most modern visions of ancient Egypt are still filled with 'ancient mysteries' and why its gorgeous tombs and temples and all those lively objects in museum cases still lie in an intellectual never-never-land.”

Romer's common thread is simply state formation, and in particular the formation of a state around the one figure of the pharaoh. Because, according to him, that is the original contribution of the Nile Valley to the human civilization world: “The real fascination of this most ancient Egypt, then, its real history, is in tracing the slow development of all that, of the invention of pharaoh's court and the idea of a state. And this, as recent evidence shows, was a process completely different from anything which traditional historians had previously described.” Romer sketches how the cult around that one figure came about, starting from the Naqada civilization in Upper Egypt, ca 4,000 bce. He contends there was a source of (symbolic) energy at work that he believes can be nothing other than the centralizing power of leading men, long before there were formally any pharaohs. Kingship in this form, legitimized through tradition and divine right, was an Egyptian invention: “Certainly, the role of pharaoh has clear elements in common with the many later kings who ruled by tradition and divine right; this is why, at first glance, a commonly used term like ‘kingdom’ appears to be appropriate. Yet the pharaonic state stands at the beginning of all that. It was created from the ground up, without the benefit of an exemplar and, indeed, without the aid of writing or the presence of a national faith. Thus, it was made in an entirely different environment from those of subsequent states. Only centuries later, when the pharaonic state was well developed and cultural continuity established, did this unique creation find literary voice and only then did the scribes examine and define their silent and already ancient kingdom and reflect its order in a mirror image, in elaborate descriptions of a literary cosmos.”

So, in the eyes of Romer it was not some kind of economic process but human imagination, that developed the ideology of pharaonic power, an essential factor that gradually assembled more and more resources and instruments of power to the pharaoh's court. Romer emphasizes this over and over again, at every stage of the building of the pharaonic state. He also underlines how this was a continuous, cumulative process: the great pyramids, for example, were simply the continuation of previous traditions, albeit on a larger scale: “As with everything in this perfect pyramid, the difference is one of scale and of the perfection of its workmanship: the culture of most ancient Egypt taken to another level.”

I must say that I can more or less follow his reasoning, although I also have to say that huge gaps remain in our knowledge of the pre-pharaonic era. I still find it very risky to raise theories with such certainty on such a limited basis. The period 3300-2700 bce in particular remains obscure, and that makes me feel somewhat uneasy; Romer is too dependent on speculation here to explain the transition to a state organization that could realize such large structures as the pyramids. Not a hair on my head thinks about appealing to the flourishing esoteric explanations (the intervention of aliens for example), but – in my humble opinion - for a valid, really well-founded theory there is currently still insufficient information. At the same time, this is encouraging: there is still work to be done!

Addendum: after having read Understanding Early Civilizations: A Comparative Study there are some nuances to be made on Romer's stress on the uniqueness of the Egyptian pharaonic state. There's no doubt it was unique in its concrete form and expression, but from Trigger's very thorough comparative study we can clearly see that a lot of other cultures developed early states around strong leaders (of course, this is more or less an open door). The pharaonic one perhaps is one with the most far-reaching control of the one leader at the top, sublimated by divine status. Although, also here a caveat: this perception of extreme control could be a mirage, the result of the selectivity of sources that have come to us. History, it's a never ending titanic work.

[Marc Lamot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.5 stars. This is a solid and comprehensive introduction to the earliest history of Ancient Egypt. John Romer (° 1941) is one of Britain's best-known Egyptologists and has earned his spurs in popularizing scientific information. From this book he clearly appears to be someone who adheres fairly strictly to what the archaeological finds say, and also makes an effort to imagine what a particular find says about the real life of the ancient Egyptians. So this book is absolutely creditable for its systematic exploration of how the civilization of ancient Egypt developed in a relatively short period of time.
But perhaps Romer's approach is a bit too in-depth for the average reader. For example, he dwells for quite some time on the development of pottery in the prehistoric period. He remains very vague about the connections with the Mesopotamian civilization: according to him there has certainly been influence, for example from the Uruk culture, but then rather indirectly. Anyway, Romer does not have much good to say about the earliest archaeologists, in the 19th and even the 20th century; they acted so boldly that they destroyed an awful lot of material; only the British primeval Egyptologist Petrie still finds favor in his eyes. In short, this is a very interesting, solid but sometimes a bit too extensive work, which also makes it very clear how much we still don't know about Ancient Egypt. More on that in my History account on Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[Michael O'Brien · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think that a more accurate description of this book is that it is more a narrative of the archaeology of Ancient Egypt from prehistory to the Great Pyramid. If you read this hoping for a history for this time period, one is going to be disappointed since it's really more a discussion of its archaeology, research, and analysis of artifacts from this time period. Romer resists any effort to construct a history of this time period --- which may be more strict to his standards --- but, similar to the habits of practitioners of Biblical higher criticism, he's far too dismissive of other scholars efforts to construct histories of this time period simply because they did so during the 19th Century --- a period he seems to feel was excessively contaminated with imperialism and Victorian notions --- or because they based their theories from the writings of ancient Egyptians themselves. This may be somewhat understandable, but Romer never ventures alternative hypoetheses of how events during this time period may have transpired. The result is a very dry discussion of past archaeological digs --- something that completely misses what must have been a civilization of tremendous innovation, energy, and creativity and makes it about as desiccated as a mummy. For example, traditional history of ancient Egypt has the first pharaoh, Narmer, unifying Upper and Lower Egypt by battle and by conquest. Romer dismisses this out of hand, pointing out that no archaeological evidence of military conquest from that time has been found. However, this probably holds true for many accounts of ancient battles and campaigns --- since the ancient battlefields rarely remain undisturbed for millennia at a time. If Egypt was not unified by conquest under the thrall of pharaonic rule, then what other explanation does Romer have? None. Given that parallel civilizational developments in other peer civilizations --- like in China or in the Americas, for example --- unification into great states did occur by coercion, force, and conquest, it seems curious that Romer does not seem to take that into account in this book. In summary, this book is probably of interest to those with a deep interest in archaeology, but probably not to most other readers.

[Selkis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book back in 2018, but somehow I always knew that I would reread it one day.

John Romer tells the amazing story of how the first hunter-gatherers and farmers in Egypt slowly developed into a society that possessed the skill, resources and infrastructure to build monuments like the pyramids.

It is well-researched and offers a detailed insight into predynastic and early dynastic life.
To be honest, it can be a bit dry, especially if you're not extremely interested in pottery - but very often, it's all that's left from the earliest settlements, and Romer still manages to weave archaeological evidence into an intriguing story.

Overall, it's a very readable book - if you're interested in this time period! I'm pretty sure I'll reread it once more in a couple of years. With my massive TBR, that's the highest praise I can possibly give!

[Gerry Leb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give this book two stars, despite its good points, because it is a very good example of very bad revisionist historical thinking. Romer asserts that "there is no archaeological evidence" of war in ancient Egypt. He does so to revise the view of previous scholars who imposed anachronistic views on the source material, which consists of a tiny amount of textual material, and an enormous amount of archaeological evidence.

It is true we need to break away from 19th and 20th century thinking that tended to impose nation states and unification warfare on the emergence of the Pharaonic "system" in Egypt around 3000BCE. But we cannot ignore the plain meaning of the symbols of such emergence.

Romer's interpretation of the Narmer Palette is a case in point. This item is justly famous because it contains imagery of a Pharoah in his role as ruler. It contains "text" that identifies the Pharoah as ruler. It is a seminal source for the history of the period. Romer contends it does not depict war. This is absurd. Nar-mer is shown with mace in hand, grabbing a captive by the hair, and preparing to smite him.

If that's not a depiction of warfare I don't know what qualifies. Even if its is merely iconographic, as Romer asserts, it must be considered as evidence of significant warfare in the period, or else why would the Egyptians have conceived of their ruler as engaged in the activity in the first place? Or, to put it more succinctly, "where do captives come from?"

A brief second point along these lines. Egypt's agricultural production in the period is characterized by Romer as being "phenomenal." Can anyone in their right mind believe that nobody was trying to take such land away from its occupants in an era where international trade was going on (e.g. the Uruk seal cylinders)? I think not.

The book is well written. It is an excellent summary of the evidence and also a good story about previous archaeologists. But don't take any of Mr. Romer's historical conclusions seriously.

[Jason Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thrilling book, authoritative, insightful and rewarding. Romer eschews not only the sensationalist speculations of those Egypt books found on the UFO shelves, but also the fill-in-the-blanks narratives of mainstream historians in earlier decades. By refusing to paint beyond the evidence, he keeps the enigma of that strange long-past society at the forefront of the reader's mind, so that while every page unearths more of that world, the full picture remains always tantalisingly out of reach.

Romer begins with the farmers of the Faiyum oasis, the first known settled people in Ancient Egypt. Discussing significant excavations and discoveries with measured care, he proceeds through the Naqadan culture, known largely through fine pottery, and into the uncertain transition to the first king, Narmer, and the dynasties that followed. (Whether terms like 'king' and 'dynasty' are appropriate is one of Romer's many cautious explorations.)

Romer gives full attention to all significant relics, be they modest or splendid, from an undecorated basalt Badarian vase, through a decayed grave mural of boats, a ceremonial mace, or elegant reliefs from a mastaba, to the Great Pyramid itself. (This book ends there, with a second volume projected.) Opening the book with the discovery of a discarded sickle in a 7,000-year-old grain pit, and closing with an archaeologist peering through a hole at "a chamber, a sarcophagus, and a glimmer of gold", Romer delicately teases out what each discovery tells us of its time, arguing against easy identifications with modern concepts like a centralised state. Throughout, he insists not that these objects ILLUSTRATE the history, but that they are the ONLY history we have. Egypt has left us largely what it chose to leave.

An example of Romer's thoughtful prose and restrained inference:

As for the subjects of the early kings, their tools and their utensils, their burials and their boats, their drawings and their architectures all hold their own intelligence, their own integrity, the imperatives that were the very order of their world. So if a modern definition of religion, or indeed of art, is that it gives meanings to objects beyond the utilitarian, then it is better to leave King Narmer's Palette and the relics of the oval court and the pyramids and temples of old Egypt outside such discussions. For if such things were made in the conscious service of the sacred, as far as the pharoah's kingdom was concerned it was a necessary sacredness.

After 400 fascinating pages, we have been all around the edges of the Ancient Egyptians, yet still see them only, as did that archaeologist, dimly, peering through a hole in time:

...though we possess her very intestines, we know nothing of the woman or the queen at all.

The book has two sets of colour plates and plentiful line-drawn illustrations. There's a chronology, with methodology, a 40-page discursive bibliography, more detail about the illustrations and an extensive index.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the biggest faults of his history is something that a reader can learn from, and that is the fault of chronological snobbery. Over and over again in this book, the author first will comment in a negative fashion on the supposedly pseudoscientific writing of some previous historian of Egypt and use the world biblical as if it was a bad thing, and then turn around make the same sort of speculations and ad hoc rationalizations that those ancient historians did, just with different bogus and pseudoscientific worldviews in mind. This book would be a lot shorter without its frequent criticisms of other writers, and would be a lot better if the author had some self-awareness to figure out that the desire to create narrative, the same desire that led to the creation of this book, is a general human tendency, and the less than praiseworthy aspects that exercise the author so much are present in a less well-recognized form in the author's own narrative, a narrative that is no less speculative because the author simply has different grounds for speculating and different views of what constitutes sufficient authority than was the case before. The author would do well to recognize that it is wise to show a gracious attitude towards the follies and foibles of others in the knowledge that others may be thus encouraged to be gracious towards one's own.

This book is about 400 pages long and it is divided into five parts, covering a span of history of about 2500 years or so of ancient Egyptian history. The book begins with a preface, and then the first part of the book discusses how it is that Egyptian culture developed in the predynastic period (I), with chapters that discuss life in the Faiyum from 5000-4000BC (1), ancient Egypt in the Neolothic age (2), changes in lower Egypt in the late 5th millennium (3), the culture of the Badarians (4), life in Upper Egypt from 4000-3500 BC (5), death in Upper Egypt in the predynastic period (6), copper, trade, and cultural influence in the late predynastic lower Nile valley (7), and the political changes of the late predynastic period (8). This is followed by several chapters that look at how Pharaoh was made between 3200 and 3000 BC (II), including a look at the scorpion and hawk (9), the coming of hieroglyphs (10), Narmer's palette (11), Naqadan resettlement and migration (12, 13), accounting (14), and rite and sacrifice in the early Egyptian state (15). After this there is a look at the making of the Old Kingdom (III) over the first 350 years of its existence, with chapters on the Serekh tomb (16), the first dynasty royal tombs (17), the lost second dynasty (18), trade in Egypt over the first three dynasties (19), the political history of the 1st and 3rd dynasties (20), and court life (21). The fourth part of the book looks at the Step Pyramid (IV), with chapters on Djoser's kingdom (22), visions of the pyramid (23), views of the hidden god (24), and the supposed effects of the pyramid (25). The fifth and final part of the book then looks at how the main age pyramids were built (V), with chapters on the provinces (26), court and country (27), high society (28), a passion for building for Sneferu (29), the origins of Egyptian religion (30), and the perfect pyramid of Khufu (31), after which there is a chronology, bibliography, list of maps and figures and plates, and index.

When one takes out the unpleasant and combative tone of this work, there remains a great deal of information that is genuinely of interest. The author, despite his flaws, has managed to create a work that gives a lot of detail, insofar as the surviving remnants of material culture allows us to have detail, about very obscure aspects of ancient Egypt. If the narrative here is not entirely based on the court life of Egypt's rulers, and if it is somewhat repeated because the author goes over different narrative threads consecutively rather than simultaneously, and if the author makes some speculative interpretations of material remains in light of his own worldview and perspective (like everyone else does), this book does offer genuine enjoyment. It is only a shame that this book would have offered a great deal more enjoyment had the author shown a bit more humility and a bit more graciousness. It is striking that in a work of such historical ambition that the most tricky aspect of the verse is its tone, and the author's hubris as someone who thinks he has mastered the past better than past generations only to prove himself to be just the same sort of historian as they were.

[Monty Milne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is superb, because it is not only a clear and full account of Egypt from its earliest beginnings to the end of the third Dynasty, but it also written so beautifully that it is a pleasurable literary experience. Romer’s style is not dumbed down, but neither is it condescending, and there are memorable lines on every page. To take just one example – Naqada gives its name to the Predynastic culture between 4000 and 3000 BC, but as to the eponymous town, I had no real image in my mind until I read Romer’s description:

“A lively country town, with its clusters of minarets and church spires and a reputation for silk weaving and a lively distillate of dates.”

Here, in just a few words, he creates an arresting image which gives a new and memorable hook on which to hang his analysis of the ancient culture. He does this kind of thing all the time.

The first dynasty had no pyramids, but royal burials accompanied by mass murder. The second dynasty is a “dark tunnel” lasting 150 years. Then we emerge into the third dynasty where we find the first pyramids, the courtly arts which are so instantly recognisable – and would persist for so many centuries – and no more human sacrifices. Every aspect of this strange world is fascinating. The description of Queen Hetep-heres and her (empty) tomb is a narrative masterpiece: I felt I was there. Romer is surely the greatest Egyptologist since Flinders Petrie, because he knows there are limits to what he can illuminate, and it is the depth of shadow which remains which is part of the fascination. And he also knows why we are so fascinated by the subject – here he is on hieroglyphics:

“When they are cast into translation, all ancient words are as quicksilver on the shards of an ancient mirror in which we must inevitably glimpse phantoms of ourselves.”

[Iset · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this was the book I’d been hoping for in my previous read, Egypt’s Making by Michael Rice. A detailed look at pre-dynastic and early dynastic Egypt, but this time John Romer takes an objective view that sat a lot better with me. Romer’s professionalism, both in the text and as an Egyptologist, gave me confidence in the information he was providing, and it’ll be Romer’s text that I return to for future reference. Admittedly it gets a little dry at times, and the language isn’t as florid as Rice’s book, but Romer doesn’t let the text get too bogged down in technical details or references – it’s more than readable.

7 out of 10

[Loring Wirbel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's been a need for a well-written history of the Egyptian dynasties told from an archaeologist's point of view, and John Romer's A History of Ancient Egypt largely fits that bill. This is the first of a two-volume series, with the second part due in 2017, and it's obviously a labor of love of many decades' planning. That said, one should not expect a slightly more scientific rehash of the ancient Greek story-telling work, Aigyptiaka, which listed Egyptian kings and pharaohs and made up stories about them all. Romer describes the decades of digs along the Nile, and the struggle to come up with a reasonable narrative of the people of Egypt. In so doing, he gives us a bird's eye overview of the flow of different cultures on the Nile, as told through pyramids and burial chambers.

By taking the story back as far as 5000 BCE, Romer tells us how the Badarians and Naqadans formed the partially-settled agrarian cultures that gave rise to a productive pharaoh culture over 3000 years. He tells the reader what is known about the rise of ship-building and trade along the Nile, and shows the first early interactions between Egyptian and Levant peoples, without trying to pretend that the Egyptians were international traders before the first pyramids arose.

In showing how and where the first hieroglyphics arose, and how the apparent first king ruling circa 3000 BCE, Narmer, was named and described, Romer underscores an important point in studying the ancients: Until writing in some survivable form begins within a culture, the concepts of how societies are arranged and who rules those societies is nothing more than an informed guess. In some instances, we may be able to make good guesses because of a rich oral tradition of storytelling that is handed down, but as Romer points out, little is known about any oral tradition in the Naqadan culture of Egypt. All we know is that the people of the Nile may have had a patriarchal or matriarchal tradition of central organizing that predated hieroglyphics by centuries, but we don't know anything about pharaohs until the time of Narmer.

The book covers the First through Fourth dynasties of Egypt, though Romer emphasizes that next to nothing is known about the Second, from 2825 to 2675 BCE. Because there is no intention of providing historical stories of the pharaohs and their acts (because these are not known), the narrative drags in places where the author describes the unearthing of various sites. But the end result still is intriguing.

Volume 2, due in 2017, will cover the challenging period of the invasion of the Philistines/Sea Peoples, the occupation of Egypt by the Hyksos people, and Egypt's encounter with the Roman empire. This should be interesting.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know much about modern Egyptology; it’s been a long time since I read exhaustively about the subject, and the books I referred to then were either for children or very out of date, albeit fascinating in their own way. (Christine Desroches-Noblecourt’s description of the treasures and items found in King Tutakhamen’s tomb held me spellbound for days at a time, and I frequently returned to it, fascinated by what we could glean of the boy king, and of Ankhasamen, his sister-bride.) This book kept some of the fascination of those books for me, though it deals with early Egypt, the very first pharaohs. That does mean it covers up to the construction of Khufu’s Great Pyramid, so it does include some of the very classic Egyptian things people think of, though not the gold-encrusted tombs of later pharaohs.

Because I don’t know much about modern archaeology in Egypt, I can’t really speak to the accuracy of Romer’s interpretations. There is an extensive bibliography, of course, and he steers away from some of the romanticised, imperialist assumptions of earlier theories. Still, at times I had no idea how solid a base his theories stood on: he seemed to spend a lot of time telling the reader what can’t be gleaned from the remains, and then building up some kind of story — a court organised around early pharaohs, controlling the flow of goods along the Nile — anyway.

On a purely stylistic level, it has some of the grandeur and wonder of the books I used to read, and finds wonder in the simplest carvings and burials as well as the feats of engineering, but the sentence structure… needs work. I don’t usually nitpick grammar, but there were far too many long sentences where the subject wasn’t clear, or which lost focus halfway through, or were fragments. Quite offputting.

I’m definitely interested in reading the follow-up volume, once it’s out!

Originally posted here.

[maité]

in solidarity with the St. Martin's Press boycott, I will be withholding my review and rating of this book.

[Jon Frum · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book three stars with a qualification. As another reviewer pointed out, while telling the story of Egypt's early history, Romer also sets out to do battle with a previous understanding of the subject. While history is constantly in need of review and revision, Romer's version seems to be more motivated by ideology than by any particular understanding of the facts on the ground. When you see complaints about capitalism and imperialism in a book based on ancient history, you know that your guide is more interested in today than in the past. So while the book is full of interesting nuggets about Egypt's pre-history and early history, and does provide, in places, a valuable corrective voice to the 'standard' understanding of Egyptian history, it also falls victim to revisionism based on a 19th century prejudice of its own, that of the European left. Just as Margaret Mead's claims of non-violence in Samoa were shown to be bone-headedly wrong, I suspect that Romer's same effort to turn the early Egyptians into peaceful savages will end up in the dust-bin of history.

[Максим Гах · Rating 5 out of 5]

Важко собі уявити кращу книжку про додинастичний період та Стародавнє царство! Зважаючи на майже повну відсутність текстових джерел із власне того часу, автор справедливо зосереджує увагу на археологічних даних, не вдаючись у зайві домисли та фантазії.
Більше того. Навіть до деяких начебто загальноприйнятих уявлень він ставиться зі скепсисом, наводячи цілком резонні аргументи не на їх користь. Чи є палета Нармера доказом об'єднання Єгипту шляхом військового протистояння? Чи існував насправді такий ритуал як хеб-сед? Чи був Імхотеп архітектором ступінчастої піраміди? Не менш цікавими є його зауваження щодо умовності імен фараонів та загалом будь-яких давньоєгипетських слів у їх сучасному прочитанні.
Окремо треба виділити стиль книжки. В ньому чудово, в суто британській манері поєднується поетичність описів єгипетського ландшафту з чіткістю логічних висновків та певною іронією щодо єгиптології 19-20 століть.
Єдиним мінусом для мене була майже повна відсутність інтересу автора до технічної сторони будівництва пірамід. Але, здається, це загалом типово для більшості єгиптологів, які більше тяжіють до вивчення культурної та соціологічної сторони питання.

[Jonny Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as I expected this book to delve into egyptology and the mythology of ancient egypt's religion, which it didn't really, I was pleasantly surprised with how interesting the history was presented.

Although slightly tedious learning about the prehistoric farmer's progression of pottery making etc, it was very important how this knowledge was then used in the later years for the preparation and building of the pyramids.

This was a very good and in depth chronological summation of the archaeological history of ancient egypt. Starting from the original lone farmers, working up into how a culture was formed that transitioned into the ancient egypt that we know of.

[Bertie Brady · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history of Ancient Egypt traces the early beginnings of the remarkable civilisation that developed along the Nile from the Faiyum farmers to the Egyptian builders of Khufu's great Pyramid.

In this book, Romer does not tell a conventional history with dates of key events, rulers, and standard information you would find in a general historical overview of various periods. To some, this may be off-putting, but I rather enjoyed this different approach to exploring the history of Egypt, which, while including the necessary dates and reigns to help you understand the various points in time being discussed, focuses on the architectural developments and the development of the state and more theoretically of the idea of Pharaoh and kingship.

Romer sets an ambitious objective to explore the history of ancient Egypt of a little-recorded period of two thousand five hundred years from 5000BC to 2500BC. Even in later stages of his history, such as the building of the Great Pyramid and the Step Pyramid of Djoser, we know almost nothing concrete about the Pharaohs who built them and the exact innovations which were invented to construct them. This, as Romer so eloquently explains-, leads to so called 'Da Vince' personalities being inserted into history, such as with Imhotep, to personalise complex and gradual developments in architectural design. Due to the scarcity of concrete sources for this period, Romer relies on physical remains and early hieroglyphs to fill the gaps in our knowledge.

Early in the book, Romer analyses the transition of the early people of Egypt to domestic farming and a more settled existence. What is most striking is how fast these developments occurred, with pre-dynastic farming evolving into a sophisticated and efficient system within a relatively short period of time.

With regards to the Naqadan civilisation, the changes in pottery are particularly useful to understand the developments in Naqadan culture, which are common features in ancient burial and storage sites. Romer even goes as far as to suggest that potters in early Naqadan civilisation were some of the most important members of society due to a thriving export industry and the growing surplus in farming. Romer also adeptly explains the expansion of Naqadan settlements up towards Northern Egypt, although he seems reluctant to suggest the possibility of this expansion being driven by warfare, despite hieroglyphs found depicting Naqadan pharaohs smiting captives, seeming to suggest a warlike culture.

One area in which Romer seems to struggle to create a cohesive narrative is with Dynasty Two, on which he relies quite a great deal on speculation due to the lack of evidence from the period, likely the result of internal instability and warfare.

After this period, however, physical evidence is much more abundant. Or at least as abundant as you can expect for a period over four thousand years ago, and a clearer picture is seen in the developments of Egyptian architectural abilities and tastes. In particular, Hesi-re's reliefs show the growing creativity of Egyptian craftsmanship and a growing trend towards what Romer describes as 'high formalism' and 'direct realism'.

The latter stages of the book are primarily concerned with the grand pyramid building projects of the third and fourth dynasties. Carefully tracing the improvements in pyramid design and logistical abilities, which allowed these hallmarks of Egyptian civilisation to be constructed. In particular interest to me was the exactitude in the Great Pyramids’ dimensions, with the baseline measurements having a maximum error of just seven inches. A remarkable feat even in the modern day, but even more so given the lack of access to sophisticated measuring tools and the difficulty in measurement in the soaring heat of Egypt, where metal measurement tools would often expand due to the heat.

Overall, this book offers some interesting insights into the archaeological developments in early Egyptian civilisation. However, Romer does sometimes rely on quite speculative theories and perhaps spends a bit too much time addressing the 19th- and 20th-century rediscovery of the various tombs and burial sites of Ancient Egypt.

[Michael Fassbender · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an eye-opener, and I have read a fair amount about ancient Egypt over the years.

Much like the Egyptians themselves, the popular study of Egypt has clung to a great many traditions, some of which turn out to be mythical. We grew up with stories about how Egypt was unified when the king of the south conquered the north and founded a unitary state, for example. This volume, in particular, redresses those myths. For the benefit of the popular reader, Romer has synthesized the best impressions of professional Egyptologists in the 2010s about how the Egyptian civilization was created, from the earliest sedentary populations of the Predynastic era, through the Early Dynastic and into the foundations of the Old Kingdom.

As such, it works for newcomers to the subject as well as for old hands. New students of Egypt can build up their understanding with the best information that is available; those of us who have been reading about Egypt for years will still likely find many new points of interest, and to some degree, our view of the past will be turned upside down.

Here, we will learn how an early trade in cylindrical seals created both the structure of Egyptian writing and the aesthetic of Egyptian art; how the majestic image of Pharaoh smiting his enemies was born out of a more brutal reality in the growing chiefdoms of the Nile Valley; and how the fine craftsmanship of stone bowls in the late Predynastic was transformed into the titanic construction of the pyramids.

Simultaneously erudite and readable, this book is a fine choice for anyone interested in learning about ancient Egypt, and indispensable for those with a strong interest in the subject.

[Awallens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good, but very very long. I appreciate the fact that the author used archaeological evidence almost exclusively, but it was a long read nevertheless. I will read the second book, but not for a while. I need something light.

[Aarti Bhagat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great knowledge about the lifestyle of Egyptians and how the region was developed

[Jefferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Evidence-Driven, Fascinating, and Witty History of Egypt

"And so the shattered relics of old Egypt become shards of the mirror in which we glimpse phantoms of ourselves playing stories from our childhoods."

In A History of Ancient Egypt: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid (2012) John Romer explains the development in Egypt of agriculture, tools, pottery, burial, sacrifice, "Egyptianness," stone work, graphic images, boats, kings, hieroglyphs, gods, ceremonies, tombs, communities, pyramids, and the "state machine." Throughout he also tells the history of Egyptology, focusing on giants of the field like Petrie and Mariette as well as engaging with recent contemporary developments and finds, repeatedly trying to train us to rely on evidence rather than subjective interpretations while reminding us that it is difficult (if not impossible) to understand what people who lived millennia in the past really thought and felt and why they did what they did without imposing our own worldviews and biases on them. Even our understanding of early hieroglyphs is limited by our understanding of later ones. The following passage is typical of his approach:

"So Narmer and his successors are enlisted as archaic representatives of the European narrative of history in which nations rise and fall and everything is explained by drum-and-trumpet Darwinism. Pharaonic Egypt, however, was not just another version of those later histories, and had an entirely different tenor."

You must be patient if you are eager for pyramids, because Romer does not reach them until part four of his five-part book. But so engaging is his enthusiasm and so bracing his objectivity and so interesting his information and so vivid and clear his writing that he makes his first 100 pages on Egypt from 5000 to 3000 BC (about the making of neolithic culture there and the finding, classifying, and interpreting of its remains) a fascinating read, as in this following passage about ancient knives:

"… these elegantly curved broad-bladed knives, with sections as precise and slim as aerofoils, were painstakingly produced by rubbing raw flint with abrasive dust down to the form required. . . . As sharp as cut-throat razors, the fragile blades of these fine knives are best suited to tasks requiring a deal of skill and care. . . like flaying, slitting and disarticulation."

And things really pick up speed and interest from Part Two: Making Pharoah, which lasts only 70 pages and from 3000 to 3200 BC, until Romer ends his book with the climax of the stunning scale and perfection of the Great Pyramid in Part Five: Building Ancient Egypt (2650-2550 BC).

If I have a criticism about this book, it is that Romer uses sketches for artifacts and sites, and though they are accurate, they don't quite communicate the beauty and fascination of the original works as well as photographs would. Also, maps are rare in Romer's history, and in the Kindle version it's not so easy to go back to them to check again where we are at each given point.

But I learned so much from the book and enjoyed it so much that the lack of fancy photographs does not detract much from it. I was mightily impressed by things like the demerits of adopting an agricultural way of life (perhaps "humankind's First Big Mistake"), the way the "Egyptians" from the start imbued their functional pots, knives, arrowheads, etc. with grace and beauty, the introduction into Egyptian culture of cylindrical seals and hybrid human animal figures from Uruk, the development of hieroglyphs from a set of common recurring images, the evolving nature of sacrifice and offering, Romer's analysis of Narmer's palette, the development of pyramids from mastaba tombs and the concomitant development of the organized big nation state and change of craftsmen from individualized stone-vase making to identical stone-block cutting, the competition among 19th-century archeologists for big finds (leading them to do things like purposely smash artifacts they couldn't cart away so that their rivals wouldn't benefit from them!), and so on.

Here are some samples of Romer's witty, at times caustic writing:

-"The notion, then, that hieroglyphs were created to record human thoughts or speech is absurd."
-"No tombs, no history."
-"How, then, to proceed, when the very language that we use to describe Metjen's world--words like 'king,' 'courtier', 'Egypt', 'estate' and all the rest--threatens to turn that lost society into a little England?"
-"Though we possess her very intestines, we know nothing of the woman or the queen at all."

I read this first volume of Romer's history as preparation for my first tour of Egypt and found both book and tour fascinating and enriching. I'm eager now to read the second volume in his history, which is subtitled From the Great Pyramid to the Fall of the Middle Kingdom, and to return to Egypt. I recommend Romer's work to anyone interested in Egypt or well-written history.

[John Cairns · Rating 4 out of 5]

The historian of ancient Egypt detects a communal spirit in the setting out of Merimda houses in rows like streets about 4,800 BC, reminding me of the Pumpherston rows c AD 1940 where the community mined shale rather than farmed. Larger than the Merimdan houses were the Naqadan around 3,600 BC where a single doorway gave access to a rectangular room twelve foot long and ten across. Mine in 2020 is three feet longer. I do have a separate kitchen, my walls and roof aren’t made of mud plastered onto mats and wattle, nor is the latter held up by a row of posts five foot high. There was a lean-to for animals. My equivalent is a shed, for wine. Food surpluses enabled some to work at specialised tasks other than subsistence farming, making everyday goods for settlements growing in size, prosperity and social complexity in which not all members interacted, giving rise to stress expressed in public yards for slaughtering by mace. Pot decorations are reworkings of stock elements and their forms less varied, an outcome of mass production. There’s evidence of trade between Lower Egypt and the Levant though the historian is careful not to go farther than the archaeological evidence might indicate. Buto’s potters made Levantine ware on a spinning stand, itself of Levantine design. Copper tools allowed for precision, a preoccupation of Nilotic craftsmen. Three ingots of Sinai copper each weighing thirty ounces could be the earliest example of a standard unit for commercial trading. Around 3,500 BC copper chisels and saws coincided with well-made mortise and tenon joints in furniture made from standardised planks. Mesopotamian stone engravings let Naqadan craftsmen make images that would define the office of pharaoh and lead to the invention of a system that recorded the sound of words. They also took up Uruk seal cutting. Their human figures took on volume and various poses but in raised relief.
The historian spells ‘victuals’ as it’s pronounced. He criticises the conceit of consciousness in its assumption that thought in words necessarily precedes all actions. That the idea hieroglyphs were created to record thought is absurd he substantiates by pointing out it took half a millennium after the first king’s name was inscribed before a phrase was composed. Hieroglyphs were for book-keeping and accounts.

The very word ‘king’ gives false voice to these people of the past who were inventing kingship in the person of Narmer about 3,000 BC. Given the span of the lower Nile it’s unlikely its inhabitants had a common language though Naqadan settlements spread into Nubia and the delta where skeletons show the farmers worked hard and died in their thirties. For an efficient system of supply the culture standardised and took up accounting systems from Uruk Levantine settlements. The gesture of Narmer on his palette is one of formal execution, not warfare. The early kings took over Naqadan rites linking life with death that reinforced the identity of the court as it had earlier communities at funerals. Memories of first dynasty royal funerals became fundamental part of the state’s identity and made Abydos Egypt’s greatest shrine and place of pilgrimage. The belief that the dead had continuing existence was very old.

Djoser’s pyramid showed his subjects the power of the transport and supply systems, the essence of the state. Building with mud bricks was abandoned for stone which alone could stand high and be set in crisp straight enduring lines.

I’ve gone along with Romer’s thesis about not interpolating modern thinking but draw the line at his saying the entitling of Imhotep as chancellor is about as informative as calling someone Lord Privy Seal. There’s simply too much inscribed and it’s too specific for him not to be credited as first after the king, administrator of the palace, hereditary lord, greatest of seers, the builder, the sculptor, the maker of stone vases, and what else would he be building if not the pyramid? Lines of signs are now holding grammar in them.

Stone was shaped with mallets and chisels. Chapels were part of a dialogue between the living and the dead that maintained their joint community and an afterlife. The system of supply sustained the households of courtiers in life and death. The pyramids weren’t written about, being taken for granted as the daily process of the state. Building only stopped on a pyramid when a pharaoh died and a new one was begun. The ramps were of stone lubricated with mud. Substantial accuracies occurred when the builders could not control by a finger’s touch along a row, by comparing a line with a line of water or with plummet and cord. The invented gods were personifications of the king who built the houses for them to live in. King and court controlled all aspects of the state that catered for the living and the dead.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4+ out of 5 stars

An exhaustive survey of the archeological evidence of early ancient Egypt, with emphasis on the limits of this evidence and the dangers of building elaborate histories from it.

Romer’s A History of Ancient Egypt manages a difficult task: critiquing contemporary histories without becoming polemic or revisionism. By focusing on the uncovered archeological evidence - the only irrefutable record that has survived of the first centuries of civilization along the Nile - Romer shows the assumptions and cultural biases present in popular narratives of very early ancient Egypt, and generally avoids substituting his own narrative in their place.

The book’s 20-page preface outlines Romer’s primary argument: that the two groups of Europeans who excavated Egypt’s tombs and ruins built stories about what they found, and that these stories were heavily influenced by the prevailing political theories of their time (like social Darwinism). An archeologist and Egyptologist, Romer believes that the correct response to these unsubstantiated stories is returning to the physical evidence itself. And in the following 400 pages, he does just that, documenting pottery shards, burial sites, carved palettes, and other remnants of ancient Egyptian societies with a thoroughness and exactitude appropriate for a court examination. In detailing these finds and summarizing the “standard” histories about them, Romer discusses what knowledge can be actually gleaned of these long-lost peoples, and more importantly, what cannot. He rarely claims that a narrative is wrong, or that story X could not have happened, instead showing that X did not necessarily happen and that the evidence alone does not point to X. And it’s through this conservative approach that Romer avoids many pitfalls of revisionist books, because he doesn’t claim that the evidence points to story Y instead. The lesson of many chapters is simply “we don’t know very much about how this society really operated, and we shouldn’t pretend to.”

What’s impressive is that a history - albeit a modest, incomplete one - does still emerge from the bits of evidence that have been recovered. Romer does an excellent job of bringing scenes to life, describing how a farming community may have appeared or a pattern of trade developed while maintaining his caveats about guesswork and overextrapolation. In many cases, even small remnants like broken mosaics or specific types of fiber in a woven basket inform our view of a society. And because of the book’s focus on archaeology, its journey through ancient Egypt is also the stories of the many experts who have painstakingly uncovered, preserved, and organized those remnants.

Romer’s greatest strength - his extreme level of detail - is also a weakness at times, as far as readability is concerned. While the attention he gives to descriptions of broken pots or roughly dug graves helps him speak with authority about the limits of what those artifacts reveal, it also makes the book dry and occasionally tedious. And in his zeal to avoid building histories out of assumptions, Romer at times leans too far in the other direction and refuses to connect dots that do seem clear from the evidence. As one memorable example, Romer is adamant that the neter hieroglyph found on ancient temples and king’s tombs need not have translated to “god” in the First Dynasty, as it did in later dynasties.

A History of Ancient Egypt is not so much a history book as a grand archeological survey report. Anyone expecting a comprehensive narrative about early Egypt and the first three dynasties may be disappointed. But that’s part of the book’s point: a historian who claims to know precisely how people more than five millennia ago lived, died, and thought is making heavy assumptions, and those assumptions deserve careful scrutiny and a healthy skepticism.

[Sinbad The · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up to 5

Romer sets out, from the beginning, to give the earliest of Ancient Egyptian societies the space and attention they usually do not receive. Starting at the very beginning of the archeological record, he works meticulously through the earliest groups of farmers settling in different parts of Egypt, making some interesting comments about the change in mindset of the hunter gatherer to the farmer, and how their ornaments reflect this. Though his archeologically centered approach does mean that one gets, at some times, a slightly fragmented account. This follows from the fact that the archeological record is not as wide or complete in all places, and from his approach, that is maybe closer to the narrative of the archeological evidence, than to a real history.

He does, however, defend this approach. He thoroughly critiques many other and past histories of ancient Egypt, and how some of the 'liberties' they take in writing their story over and above the strict evidence of the archeological evidence, leads to texts infected with the biases and beliefs of the times. This was one of my favorite aspects of the book, the way he compared what are reasonable conclusions to draw from a set of evidence, and what happens when one draws bigger, and unwarranted conclusions.

Another aspect that plays a prominent role is his careful approach to language. To words like 'Egypt', about which he notes there was never an accepted hieroglyphic to denote it, and thus corresponding problems of talking about it as if it were some defined border of state, about which the people living in it would have definitely been unaware.

These are just two examples of how his particular method of doing history had intrigued me, and I think it can definitely intrigue others. If one is purely looking for a history of the ancient Egypt, and is willing to read through the three volumes, I would still recommend it. He provides a very up-to-date interpretation of the data we have, if one is looking for more of a historical narrative this book would still provide a good baseline to judge others by, as it will almost certainly be more modest in its claims.

The reason it is not five stars is mostly that there can be fairly longwinded discussions of single tombs or other artifacts that harm the 'flow' of the narrative. As such, I would not recommend the book for someone who wants a gripping and brief encounter with ancient Egypt, or who hates dislikes discussions of archeological findings.

[Chronics · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I started this book I had been expecting a chronological order of events of ancient Egypt, jumping from dynasty to dynasty and unveiling the exploits of the various pharaohs, a bit like you might expect if reading about the early Roman emperors. as it turned out to be much more technical, a study of archeological finds, their significance and what they revealed of the lives and times of the prehistoric kings and people.

Quite early in the book, it becomes clear that the author views traditional histories of Egypt with scepticism, he decides to take a fresh view of Egypt, not one tinted by victorian era european glasses, an apt example is how he dismisses the idea that the first unified state was brought about by invasion or conquest,the commonly held view being military strength is what brought about the submission of the people lower and upper Egypt. Another example is when referring to the invention of hieroglyphic writing "nor is there the slightest evidence that pharaonic imagery was created to symbolize abstract thoughts or even oral traditions", again this differs from the traditional views of pharaonic imagery.

The history starts around 5000 BC with the Faiyum farmers, then proceeds all the way through to 2500 BC, investigating, explaining and linking archeological finds from Nubia to Nile delta. It should be kept in mind this is the neolithic period, during which Egyptian inscriptions are the first known records of specific events in passing time, therefore to an extent what we know has to be extrapolated from the archaeological finds and is naturally quite sparse. This leads to the technical aspect and explains why so much of the detail is in items like the pottery or the cemeteries and the valuable information that was gleaned from them. If you are trying to find out about the lives of the individual kings themselves then this is a limited read, after completing this however I'm not sure that that level of detail is even known, as in some cases the entire evidence of a particular pharaoh or even dynasty amounts to a few images and inscriptions.

Overall it is an enjoyable read but requires a genuine interest in either archaeology or ancient Egypt otherwise it is simply too technical to read casually.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a little dry to start, but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. I was inspired to pick it up from the library by our trip the British Museum this summer. While the collection of Egyptian artifacts at the British Museum is incredible, they do not do a great job of displaying them in a context that is easy to understand for an uninformed viewer. Or maybe it was just so crowded at the museum the context was unaccessible. Either way, I was left wanting to know more about ancient Egypt.

As the title says, this book is very thorough examination of Egyptian history from the first farmers to the building of the Great Pyramid. Like all my favorite history books, the author explains how historians come to know these things through examination of the existing archeological evidence. As a scientist, an explanation of the evidence is something I really appreciate, though it can be a little dry at times. The other thing I really appreciated about this book is how the author challenges traditional interpretations of ancient Egypt. Many of the findings discussed in this book were made in the 1800s or early 1900s, and as such were interpreted through the lens of the European culture at that time. The author of this book encourages to the reader to let go of modern expectations and try to see the ancient Egyptians as they saw themselves and their activities. It's an interesting exercise that I enjoyed very much enjoyed by the end of the book. I took a star off though because the at the beginning the author starts off pretty clearly with an agenda, and I found that off-putting and confusing since I did not understand what all the fuss was about being an uninformed reader.

I also wish there were better pictures. I mean if you're going to go on about what a great artistic achievement a particular statue is, why not include a picture of it? Some quick Googling solved my problems, but still. Anyway, I enjoyed this book and I'm probably gonna read the second half next. Hooray for learning!

[Dana Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely one where a revisit is necessary. My retention of this was lower than usual, but I don't think that's a demerit, this is just a challenging book.

Some of the high points of this book:
- The main selling point here is that it's a chronological history from roughly 5000bce to 2500bce where the story is told almost entirely based on hard evidence from what has been found in the ground. Romer occasionally presents various trending interpretations or extrapolations, but is always careful to accompany with disclaimers "this is not supported by direct evidence yet"
- The structure is wonderful. Eras are presented in order, and within each, Romer reveals what we know or don't know about society, agriculture, government, etc.
- Romer loves the subject (as he should as an archaeologist), and his excitement about findings at dig sites is palpable and engaging.
- Mixed into the narrative often is stories of how tombs, settlements and artifacts were discovered by archaeologists in the 19th and 20th centuries. This is a layer that is fascinating, partly due to the stories being placed in sequence with Egyptian chronology rather than discovery chronology, i.e. researchers discovering revealing pieces of early history after discovering later history. Also importantly, though not directly admonishing, he clearly states the harm done by the destruction of sites and dissemination of artifacts to foreign countries by those dig teams.

My criticism here is the density of the thing. It could be my level of retention, but it feels like a ton is packed in here and I am not able to come away with the whole picture. On a revisit, I might be able to do better and change the score from 4 to 5. On the whole though, this is a wonderful book.

[Rusty del Norte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Often when discussing the history of Egypt, many people skip straight to the 3rd/4th dynasties with the beginning of the pyramid building and elegant tombs. Often, the history of what transpired before that is often forgotten. But in this book it is covered in a good amount of detail.

The author admits, with much of the prehistory of the early farmers and early urbanized societies based in Naqada (with influences from Ur), we have to interpret things through archaeological evidence. The first 'rulers' are shadowy figures - "King Scorpion" & "King Hawk" may have been representations of society and not actual rulers. Or they could have been in some-largely forgotten way. We just do not know and the author does not either.

When the book gets into early writing & building construction, much is based, again, on archaeology. Drawings of designs of rooms & tombs found are given & those who found them. Actual pictures of said artifacts are not found in this volume. Nor are topographical maps that show the landscape. The reader is left to fend for themselves and that can put off a lot of people interested in the subject.

Overall, I found the book enjoyable. It can be tedious and the lack of actual photographs make the reader imagine what is being talked about. Some readers will resort to Google, Youtube, or maybe even National Geographic. As actual images of the artifacts and burial chambers makes this ancient society come much more alive. (For example, actual images of the Bent Pyramid are better than drawings of it). Recommended with a caution: please used reference materials when getting stuck or needing more information than the author provides).

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a very nice book about the history of Egypt! I found his writing style very engaging and fun to read through, and, despite what others are saying about the lack of pictures, I thought the amount of pictures Romer included were quite satisfactory; there were enough pictures for me to visualise what he was talking about but not enough for me to feel as though I was looking through a picture book. I quite liked his approach of analysing things through the lense of archaeological evidence instead of through just what texts written from and about that time say.

However, that is where we run into a problem. I understand that this is probably jumping the gun a little bit by saying this, but his comment about there not being any warfare in ancient Egypt just seems a little ludicrous. For example, later in Egyptian history when the Hyksos ruled over Egypt for a brief period of about 100-120 years, the Egyptians were only able to gain back control of Egypt through rebellion. However, I do completely understand that the images of kings smiting bound captives are likely metaphorical and demonstrating the power the king had over his subjects (what he is likely talking about when he says that there was no archaeological evidence for warfare).

To tie a nice little ribbon on this, it was very satisfying to talk about the prehistoric peoples of the Nile Valley because that is a subject which is not typically a topic of discussion. It was very interesting to learn about where aspects of Egyptian civilization came from, such as the architecture, the writing, the culture, etc.

[Adrian Durlester · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I admire the author's intent to not make the grand sweeping intepretations of previous generations on the basis of a Western worldview, the attempt to do so in non-academic prose comes up a little short, leaving the reader with insufficient admiration for the achievements of ancient Egyptian civilization. It's not dryly academic, it's just dry. The oddity of it all is that I am one who disdains eisegesis, and appreciate the author's committment to not falling into the interpretive traps which have hampered the field for generations. I am one prone to a critique of archaeology which finds the attempt to extrapolate, from a mere fraction of the detritus of an ancient civilization, an entire understand of their social order and way of life (Macaulay's "Motel of the Mysteries" might best sum up my thoughts on that) so I am sympathetic to the author's position. Yet the almost complete lack of speculation seems to be the opposite extreme. Somewhere there is a middle ground. I will move on to the second volume and see if Romer has learned anything in the few years since he wrote this volume - we do seem to have more and stronger archaeological evidence for the period of the 6th dynasty and upwards through time than we do for the arcadian progenitors of the first five dynasties.

[Arthur Lake · Rating 4 out of 5]

You've got to give Romer credit for devoting an entire volume of his three-part history of Ancient Egypt to the (mostly) pre-literate era! What a surprise for those accustomed to historians who slide through this period in a couple of chapters so they can move on to juicy Amarna stuff and other "greatest hits".

Romer's extrapolations from archaeological evidence rather than texts, which are almost wholly lacking, is revelatory, as is his refusal to see the achievements of early Egypt as primitive and inferior to those that follow. In later volumes his hostility to text-based history and to mainstream Egyptologists in general (by volume two he is calling them "Nazis") becomes a liability, but here he does excellent work—and he is the best prose stylist in the field in generations.

However, given his status as a brilliant Egyptological outlier, this is not the first, or even the second history of Egypt a neophyte should read. Best to start with Toby Wilkinson's shorter, more orthodox book, which is almost as up to date. But the more experienced reader will have a good time with Romer and his trashing of standard assumptions about Egyptian history, which usually has at least some justification, even if he goes too far in his iconoclasm.