Chris Nauton’s book Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt is a fascinating look at archaeology told in a way that even those of us who know little about the subject matter can understand. The author tells us about the tombs which haven’t yet been discovered in Egypt, why they are important, why they may not yet have been found and where they might be. Along the way he looks at how well known tombs have already been found and identified, and what that might tell us about the ones which are still missing.
Two major tombs which we might have expected to have been discovered by now are those of Cleopatra and Alexander the Great. The author gives us the various theories about where they might be sited and then gives his own opinion. To do this he reveals what ancient writers said about the burials but also Egyptian practices such as reusing tombs, excising names from monuments and moving bodies for safety.
The author is an Egyptologist so this book is well researched and written and is not a populist book about “hidden secrets” and conspiracy theories. He’s also not imagining that the missing tombs are full of treasure. The ongoing search for these tombs is, for him, about what they can tell us about the history of Egypt and its people. There are lots of images to illuminate what the author is explaining.
I enjoyed this book a lot because of its revelation of how archaeologists work and how they worked in the past. It was also a useful companion piece to The World Beneath the Sands (see my review here) which is about the history of archaeology in Egypt.
Anne Is Reading 