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The Lost Pharaohs
A brilliant introduction to Egyptology, this book describes the mysterious story of the lost pharaohs. Lowered into a crevice thirty feet deep by the Priests of the Necropolis, the mummies of the lost pharaohs were undisturbed for three thousand years. Their discovery and its incredible impact on the field of Egyptology form just one episode of this fascinating book, which also covers the construction of the pyramids, the City of the Dead, and many other topics. Leonard Cottrell, author of numerous BBC radio documentaries on ancient Egypt, offers the general reader a story that is both entertaining and factual, ably conveying the romance and mystery which draw so many to the study of ancient Egypt.
220 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2012
47 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Leonard Cottrell
181 books23 followersLeonard Eric Cottrell was a prolific and popular British author and journalist. Many of his books were popularizations of the archaeology of ancient Egypt.
Leonard Cottrell was born in 1913 in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, to William and Beatrice Cottrell (née Tootell). His father inspired his interest in history from a very young age. At King Edward's Grammar School, Birmingham, Leonard was notably only interested in English and history, in which he read widely.
In the 1930s, Cottrell toured the English countryside on his motorcycle, visiting prehistoric stone circles, burial mounds of the Bronze Age, medieval and Renaissance monuments. On those journeys, he was often accompanied by Doris Swain, whom he later married. After gaining experience writing articles on historical subjects for motoring magazines, he wrote his first documentary for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1937.
Cottrell was rejected by the RAF during World War II for medical reasons, but he joined the BBC in 1942 and was stationed in the Mediterranean with the RAF in 1944, as a war correspondent. His wartime experiences formed the basis of his book All Men are Neighbours (1947). He worked at the BBC until 1960, when he resigned and moved to a house overlooking the estuary of the River Kent in Westmoreland, Cumbria, where he stayed for the rest of his life, writing.
Among other achievements, Cottrell was the editor of the Concise Encyclopaedia of Archaeology (1965).
He was married and divorced twice, first to Doris Swain (divorced 1962) and Diana Bonakis (married 1965; divorced 1968). He had no children by either marriage.
Leonard Cottrell died on 6 October 1974.
Leonard Cottrell was born in 1913 in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, to William and Beatrice Cottrell (née Tootell). His father inspired his interest in history from a very young age. At King Edward's Grammar School, Birmingham, Leonard was notably only interested in English and history, in which he read widely.
In the 1930s, Cottrell toured the English countryside on his motorcycle, visiting prehistoric stone circles, burial mounds of the Bronze Age, medieval and Renaissance monuments. On those journeys, he was often accompanied by Doris Swain, whom he later married. After gaining experience writing articles on historical subjects for motoring magazines, he wrote his first documentary for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1937.
Cottrell was rejected by the RAF during World War II for medical reasons, but he joined the BBC in 1942 and was stationed in the Mediterranean with the RAF in 1944, as a war correspondent. His wartime experiences formed the basis of his book All Men are Neighbours (1947). He worked at the BBC until 1960, when he resigned and moved to a house overlooking the estuary of the River Kent in Westmoreland, Cumbria, where he stayed for the rest of his life, writing.
Among other achievements, Cottrell was the editor of the Concise Encyclopaedia of Archaeology (1965).
He was married and divorced twice, first to Doris Swain (divorced 1962) and Diana Bonakis (married 1965; divorced 1968). He had no children by either marriage.
Leonard Cottrell died on 6 October 1974.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 8, 2019
A truly remarkable and extremely engaging survey of the highlights of Egyptology. Normally, I have some difficulties with the lack of specificity in the work of popularizers such as Cottrell, but this work more than vanquished such niceties of perception in its breathtaking glimpses of a truly remarkable history of a truly remarkable discipline.
The Egyptian dynasties lasted for virtually three thousand years - that is, about fifty percent longer than our current Judeo Christian civilization has maintained itself. It created such magnificent monuments thousands of years ago, developed a vibrant form of art and government and created such wealth that despite the robberies and destruction of thousands of years, the amount of valuable artifacts is truly astounding.
That anything has been left at all is surprising, and a true testament to the overwhelming level of wealth of this culture. Or at least, of its upper classes. Virtually every tomb of a dead pharaoh that has been discovered has been robbed. This practise continues down to this day, and existed while the pyramids themselves themselves were being built. Hence, the elaborate devices and designs with which the original architects tried, almost always unsuccessfully, to prevent the actions of thieves.
The story of the thirty-eight sarcophagi that had to be moved into a special, deep crypt, and of their discovery by a local guard (i.e., thief), his slaughter of a donkey and pitching it down the shaft to prevent discovery, his syphoning off of the riches contained therein and his eventual falling out with his colleagues that eventually led to their secret being revealed is truly amazing. When Cottrell would visit a site accompanied by some local official, the hordes of dragomen who would accost them to act as guides or to sell newly discovered 'riches' were indications of the lucrative trade in antiquities which is always in the minds of local interests (i.e. robbers).
The story of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen by Carnavon and Carter is told in enthralling detail: the hordes of newspapermen, of local and foreign notables who wished to visit the site, the exigencies of trying to keep order and system to the examination of what the tombs actually contained made one feel for the pressured scholar (Carter) and one has to truly admire his steadfast respect for accurate documentation of the items he's discovered. The one file card quoted that he prepared for a 2.2cm engraved stick is a testament to his thoroughness, as is the fact that he spent ten years preparing notes on his discoveries, which had by the late 1960s, not even been published, given their overwhelming volume. Eventually, his falling our with Carnarvon and then later with the Egyptian government cast a pall over the magnificence of his discovery, but was of one accord with the idea that all efforts of Egyptologists are fraught with, if not misguided intentions, then inevitably foreshortened results.
The story of the early excavators at Abydos who looted everything of value - that is, of stuff they thought they could sell, and then who smashed other items in order to make sure their own items had even higher value, and of the patient work of Petrie which followed on their desecration but still managed to achieve significant increases in knowledge is typical of the haphazard and destructive manner of a lot of archeological work in Egypt.
The story of Akhaten and his brief reform of Egyptian religion and art, as well as his construction of an entirely new capital, is quite a compelling one. The troublesome relation he had with his wife Nefretiti makes one want to investigate further this figure from so many thousands of years ago. His entire new capital city was destroyed by his successors! The story of the discovery that there was indeed the Amarna period (or 'heresy' period of his rule) based on small tablets discovered by a woman digging for fertilizer and who transported these tablets in a bag, grinding some into dust, before their value was finally discerned is typical of the hit-and-miss, unintentionally (and, unfortunately, often intentionally) wasteful efforts to discover more about this most interesting people and their civilization.
I've said 'this story' now several times. I could say such again many more times, but I believe that above is enough to indicate what I find so valuable in this book - it truly whets one appetite to investigate further.
Very, very well done.
The Egyptian dynasties lasted for virtually three thousand years - that is, about fifty percent longer than our current Judeo Christian civilization has maintained itself. It created such magnificent monuments thousands of years ago, developed a vibrant form of art and government and created such wealth that despite the robberies and destruction of thousands of years, the amount of valuable artifacts is truly astounding.
That anything has been left at all is surprising, and a true testament to the overwhelming level of wealth of this culture. Or at least, of its upper classes. Virtually every tomb of a dead pharaoh that has been discovered has been robbed. This practise continues down to this day, and existed while the pyramids themselves themselves were being built. Hence, the elaborate devices and designs with which the original architects tried, almost always unsuccessfully, to prevent the actions of thieves.
The story of the thirty-eight sarcophagi that had to be moved into a special, deep crypt, and of their discovery by a local guard (i.e., thief), his slaughter of a donkey and pitching it down the shaft to prevent discovery, his syphoning off of the riches contained therein and his eventual falling out with his colleagues that eventually led to their secret being revealed is truly amazing. When Cottrell would visit a site accompanied by some local official, the hordes of dragomen who would accost them to act as guides or to sell newly discovered 'riches' were indications of the lucrative trade in antiquities which is always in the minds of local interests (i.e. robbers).
The story of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen by Carnavon and Carter is told in enthralling detail: the hordes of newspapermen, of local and foreign notables who wished to visit the site, the exigencies of trying to keep order and system to the examination of what the tombs actually contained made one feel for the pressured scholar (Carter) and one has to truly admire his steadfast respect for accurate documentation of the items he's discovered. The one file card quoted that he prepared for a 2.2cm engraved stick is a testament to his thoroughness, as is the fact that he spent ten years preparing notes on his discoveries, which had by the late 1960s, not even been published, given their overwhelming volume. Eventually, his falling our with Carnarvon and then later with the Egyptian government cast a pall over the magnificence of his discovery, but was of one accord with the idea that all efforts of Egyptologists are fraught with, if not misguided intentions, then inevitably foreshortened results.
The story of the early excavators at Abydos who looted everything of value - that is, of stuff they thought they could sell, and then who smashed other items in order to make sure their own items had even higher value, and of the patient work of Petrie which followed on their desecration but still managed to achieve significant increases in knowledge is typical of the haphazard and destructive manner of a lot of archeological work in Egypt.
The story of Akhaten and his brief reform of Egyptian religion and art, as well as his construction of an entirely new capital, is quite a compelling one. The troublesome relation he had with his wife Nefretiti makes one want to investigate further this figure from so many thousands of years ago. His entire new capital city was destroyed by his successors! The story of the discovery that there was indeed the Amarna period (or 'heresy' period of his rule) based on small tablets discovered by a woman digging for fertilizer and who transported these tablets in a bag, grinding some into dust, before their value was finally discerned is typical of the hit-and-miss, unintentionally (and, unfortunately, often intentionally) wasteful efforts to discover more about this most interesting people and their civilization.
I've said 'this story' now several times. I could say such again many more times, but I believe that above is enough to indicate what I find so valuable in this book - it truly whets one appetite to investigate further.
Very, very well done.
January 1, 2018
This book began my life long love of Egyptology
October 20, 2016
This is an excellent introduction to Egyptology, even if it is a little outdated in places. It brings to life both Ancient times and the discoveries made by the pioneering Archaologists and Egyptologists along the way, showing the passion and joy that drove them and the devastation that struck at the losses and robberies uncovered. Given the subject, which is ever complex and interwoven, Cottrell manages to unravel it enough to let those unfamiliar with the country, its history and its discovery get to grips with the basics without losing any of its depth or sense of wonder and awe that the era provokes in those already hooked. My only complaint is that I wanted more, more of the discoveries and the stories, the little tidbits of information gleened from talking to those who were there and let their imaginations run wild. For me that is something lacking from more modern works, they can be too cold and clinical, they don't embody the mystery and they don't grab you and take you back to those key moments just before that last bit of sand/mud/stone is removed when hearts are pounding and the possibilities are endless.
June 1, 2017
This book is dated, it was published in 1950, but the passion of the author for his subject comes though. The writing style is easy to read and I liked the way the writer organized his information. The data is presented in a systematic and logical way and it is easy for beginners to the subject such as myself to understand. He presents the timeline of the major Egyptian periods and rulers in a easy to understand manner and what is very interesting is that because some of the major discoveries happened within his lifetime he was able to give a (at the time) current perspective of what happened. He obviously loved his subject and some of the best parts of the book are descriptions of his visits to some of the sites and tombs which he is writing about. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommended it for someone who wants to get a quick idea of the main Egyptian periods and monuments.
August 13, 2019
I expect that some readers will find it a bit dry. I found it informative and if not entertaining, then at least engaging. The author did a good job of balancing fact and story. For readers that want a high-level understanding of Egyptian history and a more in-depth understanding the significant archeological finds that illuminated that history, this is your book.
July 14, 2019
After reading this book, I was ready to book a flight to Egypt and go take a look at these mighty antiquities.
February 7, 2022
Lost Pharaohs is a valuable contrubution to the field of history!
lifes-too-short
July 2, 2009Just not the angle on history I'm looking for; I'm trying to find out about ancient Egyptian culture in their day-to-day life, rather than the political and military history, or the history of why the pyramids were built. I want to know how they were built, what the people building them did every day, how the people lived, worshiped, ran a household.
September 22, 2010
Illustrated Leonard Cottrell's famous book describes:How the secret resting place of the Lost Pharaohs was discovered. How and why the Pyramids were built.The incredible Tutankhamun discoveries.The finding of the Rosetta Stone, which made possible the decipherment of the hieroglyphs and thus revealed the history of ancient Egypt. Fascinating read.
June 22, 2013
Pioneering archaeologists dig through fifty centuries of Egyptian history.
Working from a list of books I read years ago.
Working from a list of books I read years ago.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews