Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt

by Chris Naunton

Tombs, mummies, and funerary items make up a significant portion of the archeological remains that survive ancient Egypt and have come to define the popular perception of Egyptology. Despite the many sensational discoveries in the last century, such as the tomb of Tutankhamun, the tombs of some of the most famous individuals in the ancient world—Imhotep, Nefertiti, Alexander the Great, and Cleopatra—have not yet been found.


Archeologist Chris Naunton examines the famous pharaohs, their achievements, the bling they might have been buried with, the circumstances in which they were buried, and why those circumstances may have prevented archeologists from finding these tombs.


In Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt, Naunton sheds light on the lives of these ancient Egyptians and makes an exciting case for the potential discovery of these lost tombs. 

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

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 11, 2018

Reviews

[Susan Paxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr Chris Naunton is probably familiar to many as one of the talking heads on documentaries about ancient Egypt. This, which I believe is his first book, is a great and at the same time educational read.

Naunton's subject is the search for several of the major "missing tombs" from ancient Egypt. Some will be fairly well known - Imhotep, Cleopatra - others are more obscure, including that of the "semi-pharaoh" Herihor, which Howard Carter was in search of for a time. One might expect a tight focus, but Naunton has selected, wisely, to surround each account with enough information for any reader to thoroughly understand the time, the personalities, and the searches. This is a good thing, because what most people think they know about ancient Eqypt is pretty much limited to Khufu, Tutankhamun, and Ramesses the Great - in other words the Fourth Dynasty and the New Kingdom. That's just a sliver of a vast space of geography and time. So Naunton covers completely the latest scholarship regarding the Amarna dynasty and their lost tombs - where did Nefertiti end up, and was she pharaoh for a time? - the peregrination of Alexander the Great's corpse, and, best of all, he covers thoroughly the discoveries of Pierre Montet at Tanis, which are ridiculously poorly known because they happened just before and during World War II, but resulted in the discovery of intact royal tombs.

I had a great time reading this, and I suspect anyone else interested in the period will enjoy it thoroughly. The book is well illustrated with maps, greyscale images in the body of the text, and a section of color plates, and the up to date king list at the back (a moving target as scholarship advances) is very handy. (Two years later, I went back to re-read the chapter on Amenhotep I and found myself rereading the book in its entirety. Readable and interesting.)

(Update February 2025 - the tomb of Thutmose II, one of those discussed by Dr Naunton, has been found! One down, more to go)

[Peter Pereira · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book in that it focuses on the tombs of major Ancient Egyptian figures yet to be identified. While at first consideration this book might seem like it could make for an enjoyable read to anyone interested in Ancient Egypt, the truth is slightly more complicated than that. The depth in the material, including the usage of the actual Egyptian prenomen names of the subjects in question (Djeserkare = Amenhotep I) is great for people like me, but will quickly turn into a very complicated mess for someone who's extent of Ancient Egyptian history is 'king Tut'.

This is in no way a criticism of the author, or the overall quality of the book, but in many ways this issue could have been resolved with greater usage of illustrations, maps (can't tell you how many place names are included here with no reference to their current location) and photographs. Being a photographer myself, I often wonder why authors of this type of material don't take more advantage of a visual language which needs no translation (I know that it's a cost issue...). Take Adian Dodson's books for instance (also about Ancient Egypt). Dodson packs his books with photos, illustrations, and maps making a sometimes exceedingly difficult storyline to follow, much easier to digest.

Once again I want to be clear. If you like Ancient Egypt and have a decent grasp on naming conventions, places, and timelines of various dynasties, you are going to enjoy this book very much. You are also going to learn many things which have been forgotten to time. It's interesting to think that while thousands of years is an acceptable timeframe for history to be buried, turns out that all it takes is decades.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

What it says on the cover.

Interesting look at various excavations in Egypt.

A must read for anyone interested in either archaeology or Egyptology.

[John Cochrane · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. The book itself has some interesting aspects, but for a casual enthusiast of Egyptian history it is at times a tough read. The descriptions of locations and tombs would have been served well by diagrams and maps (although to be fair there were some). Trying to follow some of the author descriptions was difficult at best.

Unlike the cover it is not “As exciting as a novel”, but has interesting components.

This being said if you are an Egyptologist, I am sure this will generate discussion and debate over the various theories discussed.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: http://nickyvandebeek.com/2020/02/sea...

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Egyptology is always fascinating and Naunton’s exploration of tombs that are unlikely to be found is an interesting one.

[Pumpkin+Bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that I would love to see a large-format, sumptuously illustrated and thoroughly annotated edition of. To be fair, there ARE some illustrations and some annotations, some maps and some diagrams, but in order to fully appreciate the information and process it I would have needed a lot, lot, LOT more. And maybe I’m just a dummy and this book is meant for experts who already know where the Valley of the King is compared to where the Theban necropolis is and where the Great Pyramids are in relation to all that, but I don’t think it is. The cover is too cute to be solely for experts!

Even having to look a lot of stuff up and just wonder about other stuff when I was too lazy to look it up, though, I did get a lot from the book. I thought it was interesting that all the regular folks who buried their loved ones in shallow graves at the edge of the desert were the ones who got it right, because the temperature and the lack of humidity naturally mummify corpses buried in that manner. It’s only because the royalty wanted to put themselves somewhere special that they had to go through all that work to do manually what the elements would have otherwise done for them perfectly well. Like, even in the ancient times people were showing off their wealth by making other people work harder!

At first, I also wanted to feel sorry for the long-ago deceased royalty. Having all that stuff/symbolic stuff around their corpses was super important to them, right, because then that’s the nice stuff they’d have around them in their afterlife? So imagine that you’ve done your nice burial and you have all your nice, sumptuous things around you and you’re having an absolutely awesome afterlife, but then all of a sudden your shit just starts disappearing, because back on earthside some grave robbers have discovered your tomb!

Tutankhamun, who in this book is hilariously described as the Benjamin Harrison of pharaohs, probably thought he had it MADE in the afterlife. For thousands of years the bigger, better pharaohs were just walking around naked, all their nice stuff having been stolen or excavated already, while he had ALL his nice stuff. Every single piece! I bet all the other pharaohs laughed their asses off when one day his chariot just disappeared--poof!--out from under him, followed by all his servants, and his cool clothes, and everything else that made the afterlife worth living.

And then he never got any of it back, because his stuff is in a museum and he’s back on display in his tomb!

Honestly, it all made me kind of wonder if the entire concept of archaeology, excavating these people’s tombs that they deliberately had hidden on purpose, then removing all their nice stuff and displaying it in museums all over the place when their religious practice was to keep it all with their bodies, is actually unethical. I mean, wouldn’t respect for the religious beliefs of these fellow humans require that you NOT unearth and fish out and display all their stuff? How far back in time do you have to go before it’s definitely okay to put a full-on person’s corpse in a museum?

It reminds me of one of my other favorite excavations, Spiro Mounds, and how one of my pet peeves is that we can’t get a good exhibit going of most of the properly acquired stuff (we can still see the looted stuff, of course--there’s Spiro Mounds goods in the British Museum!) because they’re Native American grave goods and so need permission from the people who make up their descendents, but we don’t know who the descendents of the Spiro Mounds people are so there’s nobody to give permission so we can’t display it. What’s the ethical difference between people whose goods we’re not allowed to display and people whose goods we are? Coolness factor? The fact that one indigenous group was a genocided minority, maybe, and therefore we should be a lot more careful with them now since we were so careless with them previously?

Ethical or not, I’m super fascinated by the stories of tombs of Egyptian royalty that we know should be around somewhere, but that still have not been found. And Naunton keeps ending chapters by talking about how such and such a place and such and such another place were thought to be likely spots for excavation, but then the archaeologist died or lost their funding or spent the rest of their career working on something else and those spots never did get excavated. Dude, just buy me a plane ticket and book me a guide who speaks the language and *I’LL* go excavating for these lost tombs!

My favorite extracurricular deep dive comes from Naunton’s chapter on “The Missing Amarna Royals.” In it, Naunton tells the story of the excavation of KV 55, including this VERY “intriguing note:”

“The coffin found in KV 55 was lined with several sheets of gold foil, which had become detached from the badly decayed wooden case, and were subsequently kept in storage separately in Cairo’s Egyptian Museum. These subsequently disappeared, but resurfaced on the art market in the 1980s, and were then purchased by two German museums. Those sheets that were part of the original coffin base--by now perished--were restored to a plexiglass substitute, which was repatriated to Egypt in 2001, along with the fragments that had once been attached to the lid.”

First of all: what the HELL, Germany?!? I thought we’d all agreed that you needed to be on your best behavior until the end of time! How does your museums purchasing stolen antiquities accomplish that?

Anyway, I thought that was such a weird thing to have happened, and such a weirdly neutral way to have put it--like, what are you saying by *not* saying it, Naunton?--that obviously I had to dive deeper. And the deeper you dive, the more interesting and weirder KV 55 gets! As in, there were a LOT of shenanigans involving its excavation. A LOT of shenanigans, and a lot of those shenanigans were perpetrated by the archaeologist in charge, who should have known better. So I guess much of the mystery surrounding who KV 55 could be, because we still don’t know, is because the archaeologists did such a piss-poor job excavating that they lost and destroyed a lot of important evidence. And then someone(s) on the team stole a bunch of stuff and sold it and that ended up in all kinds of places, and then even stuff in the museum got stolen and sold and ended up in all kinds of places? If you’re looking for your next obsession, there are a LOT of KV 55 conspiracy theories to invest yourself in.

So that’s going to be my next conspiracy theory obsession, I guess. And when I get bored with that, I heard that King Tut might have had a death cult!

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

--- "the decision was taken to abandon entirely the idea of burying the king in a monument that was at once grand enough to make a statement about his power, while also remaining secure enough to protect his body, in favour of the hidden tombs of the Valley of the Kings. Might Amenhotep I have been the one to take this decision?" (Naunton: 66)
--- "modern-day plunderers know that they would be able to make a little money from the sale of faience shabtis on the antiquities market; it is therefore surprising that none has come to light." (Naunton: 163)
--- "tombs have played an enormous part in helping us to understand what Egypt was like in ancient times, through the intricately detailed scenes of humans engaged in all manner of day-to-day activities." (Naunton: 18)

This book describes some tombs from ancient Egypt that are still missing. It shows how important tombs are for our understanding of ancient Egypt and it also shows how archaelogists work to spot an ancient Egyptian tomb. The book gives a lot of information on the history of ancient Egyptian burial archaelogy, which was for me the best part of the book.

Women archaelogists are mentioned in the book and this is good. Out of all the tombs the book discusses as being missing, I think only those in chapters 2, 4 and 5 are really relevant to be found for what their discovery will mean for the history of Art.

What I did not like is the emphasis the book places on royal and elite tombs, leaving aside the tombs of ordinary people. These latter tombs are to a certain extent also lost tombs because nobody tends to discuss them. Recent investigations have proved that ordinary people did also possess shabtis inside their tombs and this is an information that needs to be known, as it helps break down some stereotypes.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the history of the search for some of the ‘lost’ tombs of famous personalities from ancient Egypt including those of Imhotep, the Amarna Royals, Alexander the Great and Cleopatra VII. Dr Naunton has done a great job in summarizing not only the search for the tombs and the likely candidates, but also the lives and stories of the individuals involved.

I was particularly interested in the chapter on the Amarna Royals and the story of how at least some of these men and women were buried and then reburied before being re-buried yet again. Additionally, the now accepted theory that at least some of Tutankhamun’s burial equipment and tomb were in fact created for someone else (perhaps Nefertiti).

Essentially, ‘The Search for Lost Tombs’ captures the excitement of populist Egyptology that surrounds finding treasures and the bodies of ancient celebrities, but more importantly, the book serves as a reminder that these people are and were more than treasures to be found and are of critical importance in writing new chapters (and re-writing old ones) of ancient Egypt.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very readable book with a number of B&W illustrations (including maps, plans etc.) and two color sections. It covers from the OK down to the burial of Cleopatra. I wish though that the plans and maps had been bigger so one could read their legends; otherwise you need a magnifying glass. CN gives very understandable descriptions of tombs that have been found, at least to me (I taught a course in Ancient Egyptian history). Prospective readers should be aware that the tombs are those of pharaohs (male and female) with a few mentions of others of the royal family. The tomb of Ramses' sons is not discussed, which disappointed me because I really wished to learn the latest findings about that tomb, which has sort of disappeared from the news. How different tombs were discovered and what caused archaeologists to leave off searching or further excavating them is often not covered in standard history books on Ancient Egypt; this book tells of their frustrations and the impinging of world events that direct sometimes the course of archaeology in this always fascinating land.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting and enjoyable read, even though I am someone with little to no knowledge of Ancient Egypt I found this book very accessible. It did give me lots to search and read up on especially visually to see the locations and tombs, along with the various treasures found within.

This book focuses on the Tombs that have yet to be found such as Antony and Cleopatra, Alexander The Great to name two. Showing attempts and giving conjecture as well as the authors conclusions regarding whether we may see a breakthrough in the future.

It whetted my appetite to delve into the ancient Egypt books that I own and I’m looking forward to expanding my knowledge and enjoyment of this new to me history. It goes a lot deeper than Tutankhamun and Antony and Cleopatra.

A book I would highly recommend but keep your phone handy to google the many references for photographs to picture what is being described and I feel prior knowledge would enrich the experience of this book, certainly is one I will be returning to someday.

[Brian Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

For many people, Dr Chris Naunton is the man who represents current knowledge on all things concerning ancient Egyptian culture. His TV presentations are clear and precise, and provide important and relevant insight into discoveries, both past and present.
With this book, he continues with his carefully considered overview of the discoveries of ancient tombs, those we know, and those which remain illusive, those which are still under dispute and those, if found, would fill in important gaps in the list of pharaoh`s as understood.
As might be expected, Chris Naunton`s book is both erudite and approachable, my only slight regret was that occasionally, when deep in a growing list of unfamiliar names, the use of a simple ' time bar ' or similar would have been a help to the reader, in keeping track of times and dates.
Brilliant and educational, a must read for any enthusiastic Egyptologist - recommended !!

[Natalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Мне не очень понятно, на какую целевую аудиторию рассчитана эта книга. Для человека, который совершенно не знаком с историей Египта, в ней слишком много деталей, сложных для восприятия. Для серьезно интересующихся темой - да, наверное, но для них обзор может показаться поверхностным. Я себя не причисляю ни к первой, ни ко второй группе. Тема Древнего Египта мне всегда была очень интересна, я не пугаюсь, когда слышу сложные египетские имена, знаю, что Верхний Египет находится "ниже" того, который принято называть Нижним, но и мне воспринимать книгу Нонтона было непросто.
Из безусловных достоинств книги можно назвать то, что Нонтон дает обзор современных тенденций египтологии, например, рассматривает теорию Николаса Ривса о местонахождении мумии Нефертити.
В целом, книга познавательная, но надо приготовиться к тому, что она написана сухо, без исторических баек и легенд.

[Audrey Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Naunton presents a fascinating account of the mysteries held in the burial grounds of important figures in ancient Egyptian history. Dr. Naunton uses his extensive knowledge and gift of storytelling to take readers on a captivating journey through Egyptology.

I am not a professional in this area in any way whatsoever, but I am someone who is fascinated by ancient Egyptian history, culture, and mythology. This book presents information in a way that is understandable and captivating to even a casual reader with interest in the subject.

I've heard that Dr. Naunton will be coming out with another book on Egyptology, and I will definitely be reading it. I highly reccomend this book to anyone with interest in Egyptology.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Очень интересная книга. Я не настоящий египтолог, и даже не диванный, только в детстве увлекалась египетской мифологией, но в те времена были доступны только энциклопедии в городской библиотеке с весьма скудными описаниями, а съездить посмотреть на пирамиды было несбыточной мечтой (сейчас от этого меня удерживает только лень).
А здесь простым языком рассказывается история и верования (и трансофрмация верований) за многие столетия существования Египта — через призму археологических изысканий. Очень круто. Причём, рассматриваются не только достоверные факты, но и предположения разной степени научности (с объяснением что, где и отчего, и почему именно настолько).
С картинками!

[David Waldron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a scholarly work by an established Egyptologist on some of the most sensational mysteries in ancient Egyptian history. The selected mysteries span the full sweep of ancient Egyptian history from the beginning of the pyramid age to the last of the Ptolomies (and the last independent ruler of ancient Egypt). The author's prose is clear and concise, and he provides an overview of the selected mysteries that is both authoritative and accessible. This book is a good read for those with even a passing interest in ancient Egyptian history.

[Laurel Reinoehl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5. Would have gone for 4 starts if it had featured a few more charts/maps. Most maps that were present were either too small in scope or in size (hard to read). a few family table sketches would have helped as well. Too many individuals discussed had the same or very similar names. Since pharaohs also multiple names made following who was actually being discussed a bit difficult at times. I did greatly appreciate the author's commitment to examining all options and not stating that something is definitive when it isn't.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many people, I have been riveted by Egypt since childhood and love both fiction and nonfiction books with archeologists and Egyptology. This book includes some intriguing tales about the search for the unfound tombs of several famous figures and some fascinating information about Egyptian history based on new scholarship and DNA results! Unfortunately, there are also some times in the book that the reader gets lost in quite a few impenetrable and repetitive names of unfamiliar pharaohs and many dynasties.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough account of the past and ongoing search for lost tombs in Egypt

It is astonishing to me that at the dawn of the 20th century, it seemed all the royal tombs of ancient Egypt had been looted in antiquity, and that none would ever be found intact - that was changed by the discovery of "King Tut's" tomb, and more since, and the possibility remains of other "lost tombs" of royalty or other high-ranking ancient Egyptians. This book chronicles some of the history and challenges going forward in the search for Egypt's lost tombs . . .

[Degenerate Chemist · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this book was not what I was expected and I skimmed most of it.

It is what it says on the can, speculation on where the tombs of famous Ancient Egyptians may be located. It covers a range of figures from Imhotep to Cleopatra. It offers some factual information but is mostly about the direction of current research and speculation on where these people may be buried. It has a ton of maps, diagrams, and pictures of grave goods to ease reading.

This is a worthwhile book for the right audience. I am not the right audience.

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't quite what I expected but I enjoyed it all the same.
I would have liked there to be more about the tombs but instead the structure seemed all over the place and some of the time I wasn't even sure of the point the author was making.
I was tempted to put it down until I got to Chapter three on the Armana period which discussed tombs already found and the figures within this action-packed era which I found fascinating. This chapter kept me going.
The illustrations also really helped the read, there were so many and were very interesting.

[Otherwyrld · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting and entertaining read while being very informative at the same time. The author takes us on a search for the lost tombs of famous ancient Egyptians from Imhotep to Cleopatra, taking in the Armana era and Alexander the Great along the way. There may not be any exciting discoveries along the way, but we are "searching" rather than "finding", and it is clear from this book that are still probably amazing things to find in Egypt.

[M A Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not worth 30 dollars. Overall a decent read for those who are really passionate about ancient Egypt (and being passionate about Egypt is the only way you can read this book). I was honestly only intrigued by a few of the lost tombs mentioned and overall had to force myself to read this book. The author could have used half the words he used to describe things and I still would have gotten the point but I still learned a lot and that’s always a good thing.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I love to study and see what's going on in the world of Ancient Egypt I was eager to read the latest book out, so I was excited to Searching for the Lost Tombs and it started off really well. The book for me hooked and it was interesting, it was very well researched but my only issue was that it was too detailed and it got to three quarters of the way through and stopped reading it. It would take me to have a holiday and the need to read a new book for me to finally finish it.

[GBL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Naunton, Egyptologist, turns his attention to the tombs that lie undiscovered in Egypt and considers what might be learned from these potential discoveries.

From the Old Kingdom through to Cleopatra, Naunton discusses the tombs that have not yet been discovered or identified by archaeologists. Naunton uses his knowledge and research to write a fascinating story about what is yet to be discovered in Egypt.

[Hanna (lapetiteboleyn) · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating read. Covers the enormous span of Egyptian history through short chapters examining the missing (or unidentified) tombs of the rulers and the theories and work that has gone into their rediscovery.

[Anders van Winkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book for those interested in ancient Egyptian archaeology. The author focuses on a handful of famous figures whose tombs are still not found (hence the title). I found it an engaging and fun read.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Current update on archaeological digs in Egypt

[Madeleine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5!

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic and very readable, while being detailed and academic. I excellent. Review to come.