The Royal Tombs of Ancient Egypt

by Aidan Dodson

The royal tombs of ancient Egypt include some of the most stupendous monuments of all time, containing some of the greatest treasures to survive from the ancient world. This book is a history of the burial places of the rulers of Egypt from the very dawn of history down to the country's absorption into the Roman Empire, three millennia later. During this time, the tombs ranged from mudbrick-lined pits in the desert, through pyramid-topped labyrinths to superbly-decorated galleries penetrating deep into the rock of the Valley of the Kings. The first book to embrace in detail the entire range of royal tombs, the present volume covers the full extent of royal funerary monuments, which comprised not only the actual burial place, but also the place where the worlds of the living and the dead came together in the temples built to provide for the dead pharaoh's soul.

Genres: History, Egypt, Archaeology, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

Published September 7, 2016

About the author

Aidan Dodson is Honorary Professor of Egyptology in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Bristol, UK, was Simpson Professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo in 2013, and Chair of the Egypt Exploration Society during 2011–16. Awarded his PhD by the University of Cambridge in 1995, he was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 2003. He is the author of some twenty-five books, including Sethy I, King of Egypt: His Life and Afterlife (AUC Press, 2019), Rameses III, King of Egypt: His Life and Afterlife (AUC Press, 2019), Amarna Sunrise: Egypt from Golden Age to Age of Heresy (AUC Press, paperback edition, 2016), Afterglow of Empire: Egypt from the Fall of the New Kingdom to the Saite Renaissance (AUC Press, paperback edition, 2020), Poisoned Legacy: The Fall of the 19th Egyptian Dynasty (AUC Press, paperback edition, 2016), Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (AUC Press, paperback edition, 2018), and Monarchs of the Nile (AUC Press, paperback edition, 2015). Professor Dodson has also written on naval history from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present day.

Reviews

[Iset · Rating 4 out of 5]

A straightforward book that simply details the tombs of Egypt’s royalty. Information is arranged chronologically, and the book even includes some of the Roman emperors (stretching the definition of royal tombs of Egypt). The book is much shorter than it looks, with notes and references taking up just under half of the text, so all in all a quick read.

7 out of 10

[G. Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting, if very academic look at the tombs of ancient Egyptian royalty. I admit to skipping some if the tomb measurements and other such details, but overall a fascinating study.

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calling all history lovers! When it comes to finding and dissecting information on The Royal Tombs of Ancient Egypt, there have been so many different theories thrown around. There are some huge names in the field of Egyptology, and although they may not always agree on everything, their information helps those who are interested in the history, especially ancient history, can give a lot of insight and steps into learning.

When I started reading The Royal Tombs of Ancient Egpyt, I was completely hooked! I have been a fan of Egyptian history since I was a young child, and this book was an Egyptian history lovers dream! The tombs, especially those of the ancient pharaohs, have a lot of draws. The most famous, of course, is that of Tutankhamen, as it was the most intact tomb that was ever discovered. But there is more to a tomb than just the treasure. The art, the craftsmanship, and the overall majestic nature of the tombs are works of art in themselves. The hieroglyphs included in the tombs, as well as some of the pieces that were found inside, have given us so much information and glimpses into the lives of those who lived thousands of years ago.

Publication Date:

Available Now

Publisher:

Pen and Sword Books

Star Rating:

5/5 stars

My review of The Royal Tombs of Ancient Egypt

Overall, this book was amazing. I felt as though I was walking through the tombs myself. Having some prior knowledge of the history and lives the ancients went a long way into making this book more understandable. In order to really enjoy this book, you have to have a working knowledge of Egyptian history. This is not for those who are just diving into the work. However, whatever level of history you are at, this book was amazing.

There are more to the tombs than just the enclosures. There are temples, monuments, and so much more! The Royal Tombs of Ancient Egypt brings this long romanticized world into a more historical focus, giving a lot of insights into the burial practices, the hopes for the afterlife, and even the details that went into the work on the tomb. Grab your virtual archaeological tools, and dig into this amazing book!

[DAJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chronological description of royal tombs in ancient Egypt sounds a lot like The Tomb in Ancient Egypt, an excellent book that Dodson coauthored. The difference, of course, is that this book is able to concentrate on royal tombs exclusively and thus has greater detail on them, but the difference isn't enormous. In The Tomb in Ancient Egypt, the focus is on trends within a dynasty rather than on individual tombs, but while this book does focus on individual tombs, even the most elaborate funerary complexes, such as the Step Pyramid or the tomb and mortuary temples of Seti I, receive only about two pages of description. Anyone looking for in-depth descriptions of the tombs of the Old or New Kingdoms is thus better off looking at one of the several books dedicated to the pyramids or the Valley of the Kings. This book is probably the best choice only if you're looking for details on kings' tombs in the Early Dynastic Period, the intermediate periods, or from the Late Period to Roman times. An unusual advantage—though it's probably not what most prospective buyers are looking for—is that the book mentions the burial places of foreign rulers of Egypt, such as Persian kings and Roman emperors, who were not buried in Egypt or employing Egyptian funerary tradition.

Flipping between the text and the diagrams and photos at the end of the book is awkward, and there are an unusual number of typographical errors. Evidently the copyediting at Pen & Sword is not up to the standards of the usual publishers of Egyptological books. The typos don't interfere with reading comprehension in any places that I've noticed, but they are rather distracting.

[N S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extraordinarily well researched and authoritative description of the royal tombs of ancient Egypt. Informative and quite interesting- though perhaps written for the fellow Egyptologist rather than the casual fan of ancient Egypt. One thing totally new to me was how many pyramids there are beyond those at Giza, and the famous older bent, and step pyramids.

Personally, I think this book could have really benefited from a brief description of the state of Egyptian society at the time, to put the tombs into context. For instance, Ramesses III was the last truly great ruler of the New Kingdom, after which it was all decline and fall.

It would have been good if distinctions between subsidiary and Queen’s pyramid had been made.

I gained a new respect for the Middle Kingdom, when tomb security measures like false walls and floors hiding the true burial were made; and sand hydraulics was used to lower stone blocks into place to plug a corridor and seal off a burial chamber.

[Rob Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book fascinating, but if you are not a lover of all things Ancient Egypt, you will not. Dodson surveys royal tombs from the beginning through the Romans. There is a lot published about the pyramids and about the Valley of the Kings, but the others, there is little outside of academic publications. This book fills that gap.

[robert e. rayunas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing

Human beings are full of history. For 5000 years the author provides who was king, and what they were buried in
This amazing job for future scholars to read and see that human experience liked to be buried well!