An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt

by Kathryn A. Bard

This student-friendly introduction to the archaeology of ancient Egypt guides readers from the Paleolithic to the Greco-Roman periods, and has now been updated to include recent discoveries and new illustrations.

• Superbly illustrated with photographs, maps, and site plans, with additional illustrations in this new edition
• Organized  into 11 chapters, the history of Egyptology and Egyptian archaeology; prehistoric and pharaonic chronology and the ancient Egyptian language; geography, resources, and environment; and seven chapters organized chronologically and devoted to specific archaeological sites and evidence
• Includes sections on salient topics such as the constructing the Great Pyramid at Giza and the process of mummification

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

480 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2007

Reviews

[Iset · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m rather aware that I had a different reaction to this book than several of the other extant reviews at time of writing. A lot of them note that, as a textbook, it is a rather dry and technical read; some might say challenging. My initial thoughts as I picked this up? ‘Gosh, this takes me right back to undergraduate first year, having all the basics explained in preparation for the real work ahead’. Yeah. It struck me as a ‘starter’ text. To be fair, back when I was a first year undergraduate, like some of these other reviewers, I didn’t read the whole thing either. I dipped in and out of it as needed for required reading for class prep and essay hints. Seeing as how this year I’m doing a reading challenge of all my Bronze Age books, I decided it was about time I owed this book a full, cover-to-cover read through.

So what I would say about the challenge (or not), of this book, is that it really depends on the audience. If you never studied history before, are a casual hobbyist, or similar, you might end up finding this book a bit of a chore – it is longer than the average 300 page paperback, and delves in to plenty of technical and scientific nitty gritty. If, however, like me, you’re past your university days in the same subject, then you might find yourself skimming past all the sections where the author explains to the reader the basics of archaeological methodology and how archaeologists know what they know. The ideal readership is definitely first-year undergraduates and those about to start such a degree. It lays out an essential overview of the history of ancient Egypt, as well as clearly describing the key methods of archaeological investigation.

The one big error I spotted was that the book claims that the 6th Dynasty ended with Queen Netiqret. This is actually a latter distortion and misunderstanding of a male king whose name was Netjerkare Siptah I – a case of the mists of time turning history into fairytale. This is slightly embarrassing for the book considering it was published in 2007 and this error had been known for some years at that point.

7 otu of 10

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really long and detailed. I used it for my class, but we didn't go into it as far as the book went.

[Linniegayl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this textbook on the archaeology of ancient Egypt to be very informative. It's also dense, and definitely not something one would describe as a "fun" or "easy" read. This is not for someone who wants a little light reading about the history or archaeology of Egypt. However, if you want a real reference book, this might be for you.

[Valdemar Gomes · Rating 5 out of 5]

É o que promete e até diria que é completo para o que indica só ser uma introdução. Faz sentido visto que também escreveu uma enciclopédia!

[Mark]

Well, I was intending to go "lighter" for my next Egypt book, but this wasn't it. Kathryn Bard's "Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt" was written to be a textbook, and it shows... it's comprehensive, well-written, accompanied by good diagrams and color plates, well-edited, up to date, and ... well, it reads like a textbook.



It definitely belongs on the shelves of those interested in Egyptology, if for no other reason than it provides a more "archaeological" approach than most Egyptological books do, placing the historical information and inscriptions firmly into context with the physical evidence.



There are extensive reading lists, chapter summaries, and even discussion questions, and it's a level, balanced approach. It's just not a page-turner. One for the reference shelves, but not "beach reading."

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

COLLEGE TEXTBOOKS COUNT AS READING RIGHT GUYS…….. RIGHT?

[Carrie-Anne Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for CLAR 242. This was certainly written to be a textbook.

[Martine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great source of useful information on ancient Egypt. Each chapter begins with a introduction of the historical environment before diving into the archeological record. These archeological inquiries go further than I would expect of an introduction, more than once detailing a temple or piramid down to the last centimeter it seems. For me as a historian, it was too much information, but for an archeologist of any measure it can be a very valuable source of information.

[Robin Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

This book is a must for anyone wanting to know about Egyptology. Very thorough will useful appendices for further study. Worth every cent I paid

[R. G. Nairam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read assigned chapters for a class on the Art & Archaeology of Egypt. No desire to read the rest. Sad thing is that I even like the subject and in general like nonfiction books. It's full of good information and dull, dull, dull.

[Kaila · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a straight up text book. As such, I did not read the whole thing.

My favorite part was the texture of the paper.

Seriously.

I'm such a book nerd.