Egyptology Today

An essential companion to Egyptology examining all aspects of ancient Egypt.

Richard H. Wilkinson (Edited by)

9780521863643, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 December 2007

298 pages
26 x 18.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.884 kg

'Richard Wilkinson has pulled together an excellent introduction to the variety of approaches that are currently in use for understanding the world of ancient Egypt. While the public may generally equate Egyptology with archaeology (and more specifically with the discovery of 'exciting' finds), and while in the past an uncritical approach was privileged in Egyptology, the subject today takes advantage of the wide range of evidence that has survived.' Journal of the American Oriental Society

Egyptology Today examines how modern scholars examine all aspects of ancient Egypt, one of the greatest of all ancient civilizations. In essays by a team of archaeologists, curators, scholars, and conservators who are actively involved in research or applied aspects of Egyptology, this book looks at the techniques and methods that are used to increase our understanding of a distant culture that was as old to the Greeks and Romans as these cultures are to us. Topics range from how tombs and other monuments are discovered, excavated, recorded and preserved, to the study of Egyptian history, art, artifacts, and texts. Each chapter shows how modern Egyptology approaches, learns about, and strives to preserve the ancient remains of one of the most fascinating cultures in human history.

Introduction: the past in the present: Egyptology today Richard H. Wilkinson
Part I. Methods: Paths to the Past: 1. Archaeology and Egyptology Kent Weeks
2. History and Egyptology Donald Redford
3. Medical science and Egyptology A. Rosalie David
Part II. Monuments: Structures for this Life and the Next: 4. Site survey in Egyptology Sarah Parcak
5. Epigraphy and recording Peter Dorman
6. Monument and site conservation Michael Jones
Part III. Art and Artifacts: Objects as Subject: 7. Art of ancient Egypt Rita Freed
8. Ancient Egypt in museums today Arielle Kozloff
9. Artifact conservation and Egyptology Susanne Gansicke
Part IV. Texts: The Words of Gods and Men: 10. The Egyptian language James P. Allen
11. Ancient Egyptian literature John L. Foster and Ann L. Foster
12. Egyptian religious texts Ronald Leprohon
Afterword: the past in the future: tomorrow's Egyptology Richard H. Wilkinson.

Subject Areas: Egyptian archaeology / Egyptology [HDDG], Theory of architecture [AMA]