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REVIEW BY SARAH GRIFFITHS
This new publication developed from the first Egypt Exploration Society online course, taught in 2020, and includes contributions from 26 international experts. The book presents a curated journey through 50 key discoveries made by the EES, each providing a window on to an important aspect of ancient Egyptian history. It features objects from collections in museums across the world.
Following an introduction to the work of the EES (and the vital contribution of the Egyptian ‘Qufti’ workforce), the 50 discoveries are grouped into six chapters according to the age of the finds (rather than as a chronological list of excavations). From the Predynastic Period through to the Graeco-Roman Period, these discoveries shed light on the emergence of the ancient Egyptian state, daily life, religious beliefs, interactions with other cultures, and the monumental achievements of the pharaohs. The chapters are interspersed with short commentaries on relevant topics such as festivals, family and marriage, and the Kushite Dynasty, which are printed on light yellow pages to distinguish them from the main narrative.
The list begins with a rhomboid cosmetic palette (from Kyoto University Museum), excavated at el-Mahasna in 1909, which reveals that the earliest burials highlight the care given to the dead in the placement of their bodies and grave goods. The third discovery is one of Manchester Museum’s most popular objects: a C-ware ‘hippo bowl’, decorated with four miniature hippos placed around the rim; this object may have been intended to give magical powers of control over Egypt’s most dangerous animal.
From the late Old Kingdom, one of the discoveries is a large beer jar found by Flinders Petrie and his wife Hilda, who is pictured with a hitched-up skirt, descending into the tomb shaft on a rope ladder. The beautiful Middle Kingdom relief of Mentuhotep II from the Metropolitan Museum of Art is also featured, as well as a fragmentary statue of Senenmut, found in 1906 during the excavations of Mentuhotep’s temple at Deir el-Bahri. Other highlights include a beautiful faience senet game (New Kingdom); the unfinished head of Nefertiti (now in Cairo); the Temple of Sety I and Osireion at Abydos; the painted coffin set of Nesmutaatneru (Twenty-fifth Dynasty); and a stunning panel painting of a woman from the Roman Period.
Illustrated with archive and colour photographs and maps, Ancient Egypt in 50 Discoveries is a beautifully presented book, which is full of the latest scholarship and should find its place on everyone’s wish list!
Ancient Egypt in 50 Discoveries: Highlights from the first century of the Egypt Exploration Society
edited by Stephanie L Boonstra and Campbell Price
Egypt Exploration Society, 2025
ISBN978-0-85698-258-3
Paperback, £25
You can win a copy of this book in our photo competition here.
