The Mummy: A Handbook of Egyptian Funerary Archaelogy

by E.A. Wallis Budge

This fascinating, erudite, generously illustrated study offers comprehensive and meticulously detailed coverage of mummification processes, burial practices and goods, ritual texts, gods, graves, coffins, the Book of the Dead, and much more.

Genres: History, Egypt, Nonfiction, Egyptology, Archaeology, Egyptian Literature, Death

576 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1893

About the author

Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge was an English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist who worked for the British Museum and published numerous works on the ancient Near East.

Reviews

[Josh LaFollette]

I'll be upfront: I did not finish this book. Perhaps this was a valuable work of scholarship when it was first written, but any modern reader who wants an informative or engrossing book on mummies should look elsewhere. While my edition lists 1989 as the only publication date, this book actually dates back to the 19th century. I'm sure many of the claims made in this book still hold up, but others have not aged so well. For instance, Budge's insistence that Egyptian civilization could not have originated in Africa is not only false, it reeks of the white supremacy that was common among Egyptologists of the day.

Aside from racism and inaccuracy, Budge's work is further hampered by his insufferably dull writing style. You'd think a man who could read hieroglyphics would have some appreciation for language, but apparently not. I'm not in the habit of abandoning books so casually, but it was easy once I accepted that this archaic scholarship might actually leave me less informed about Ancient Egypt than I was before. From what I gather, Budge was a widely respected intellectual in his day and an inspiration to generations of writers and academics. However, this book has become a historical artifact in its own right, serving as little more than a testament to the shortcomings of 19th century Egyptology.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished reading this somewhat old-fashioned book today; but although it was written in 1894 (assuming it is the same book as The Mummy: A Handbook of Egyptian Funerary Archaeology), it must be observed that when one is talking of Ancient Egypt, not a whole lot changes from year to year. I very much enjoyed reading this very thorough book.

The author (1857 - 1934) was an Egyptologist of note, and entered the British Museum in 1883 in the recently renamed Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities. Initially appointed to the Assyrian section, he soon transferred to the Egyptian section, and remained there until 1924. His book covers just about anything one could wish to know about Ancient Egypt, from the time frame of 4400 BCE to about AD 200; when you are talking about some 4600 years of history, it is patently obvious that funeral customs would change according to the ups and downs of fortunes, dynasties, fads, and other factors. Our author gives us a list of Egyptian Dynasties and their dates, with remarks on the king and other information within each dynasty (King Tutankhamun, who is one of the only Egyptian pharaohs that most Americans can name, is only named as Tut-ãnch-Åmen, a minor ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty, circa 1400 BCE). The Rosetta Stone is explained in detail (with quotations of remarks by researchers in French, German, and other languages, without translations). The methods of mummification and the Book of the Dead are covered, as are mastabas (burial buildings used from about 4400 BCE to about 1550 BCE, or from the First through the Seventeenth Dynasties) and pyramids (from about 2700 BCE, during the Third Dynasty, peaking with the Giza complex (about 2500 BCE through 2500 BCE), and ending about the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty (660 BCE)).

There is much more material in this book; alas, the plates are all black-and-white, which is probably unavoidable in a book that is essentially a reprint of an old book. But I found this book to be fascinating, and a welcome addition to my bookshelf.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Requires a bit of translation to understand, in more then just one way. Due to when it was written, it uses the Greek forms for spelling most names (i.e., Amenophis vs Amenhotep). He also includes full passages in French, German, Hebrew... I was only able to parse some of those sections, since I'm not well versed in those languages. There wasn't much I didn't know already, but I found how he traces the history of Egypt through the recorded exploits of the pharaohs interesting.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite Anne Rice book. I've read it a number of times when I want to "check out" with a sure thing.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

An education work on the funeral practice of the ancient Egyptians. It serves as a study on religious mummification outlining the steps and procedures.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps a little outdated, but a good read.

[Monique Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. Death was only the beginning

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent reference book.