Although some of Egypt's most important archaeological finds were made in the late nineteenth century, at a time when historical fiction was popular, the literature of Egypt had reached very few English readers. Aiming to bring ancient Egypt to life in the public imagination, eminent archaeologist W. M. Flinders Petrie (1853 1942) published in 1895 this two-volume collection of original stories, accompanied by illustrations and helpful contextualising comments. The four tales of Volume 2 are set in the period from the reign of Thutmose III during the eighteenth dynasty to the time of Setna, a...

A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853 1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. In 1880 he began the first ever systematic survey of the Giza Plateau, with perhaps his most important work being on the Great Pyramid. Theories abounded as to how the Great Pyramid had been constructed, yet few were based on close examination of the structure itself. Petrie's findings, still used as a reference today, enabled him to disprove prominent theories, such as the belief of Charles Piazzi Smyth that the Great Pyramid was a product of...

Although some of Egypt's most important archaeological finds were made in the late nineteenth century, at a time when historical fiction was popular, the literature of Egypt had reached very few English readers. Aiming to bring ancient Egypt to life in the public imagination, eminent archaeologist W. M. Flinders Petrie (1853 1942) published in 1895 this two-volume collection of original stories, accompanied by illustrations and helpful contextualising comments. The six stories of Volume 1 include elements of both fantasy and historical fact, spanning the period from the court of Khufu during...

Among the leading Egyptologists of his day, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853-1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. He is credited with bringing his subject to a much wider audience, and his talent for exposition is reflected in this accessible autobiography, first published in 1931 and illustrated throughout. It describes life on digs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, providing rich insights into developing archaeological methods. Petrie's most important discoveries are recounted, including his unearthing of the Merneptah...

A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853 1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. This reissue brings together two of his well-illustrated excavation reports. The first, originally published in 1891, covers his 1890 dig in Palestine at Tell el-Hesi. Although he identified it incorrectly as the biblical city of Lachish, his work here was significant in Near Eastern archaeology for the stratigraphic method of excavation and use of pottery to establish chronology. The second report, from 1906, records the work carried out at a...

A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853 1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. This single-volume reissue brings together two of his well-illustrated excavation reports. The first, originally published in 1897, describes work on six of the temples at Thebes, including the discovery of the famous Merneptah Stele, which contains the first non-biblical reference to Israel. A chapter on this inscription and others found in the temples is provided by the German scholar Wilhelm Spiegelberg (1870 1930). The second report, first...

A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853 1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. Ernest A. Gardner (1862 1939) was to become a leading classical archaeologist, but his first major project was carrying on the work of Petrie at Naukratis, the ancient Greek colony in the Nile Delta that Petrie had discovered in 1884. Reissued here together are Petrie's initial excavation report of 1886 and Gardner's 1888 continuation, each with many illustrations and material contributed by specialists on certain topics. Notably, the finds of...

A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853 1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. His meticulous recording of artefacts and his sequence dating of pottery types found in Egypt and Palestine made Near Eastern archaeology a more rigorous and scientific discipline. This fully illustrated report of 1900 on the royal tombs at Abydos, capital of Upper Egypt, covers the first dynasty (c.3100 c.2900 BCE). Although Petrie acknowledges that it is only a preliminary report of ongoing work, he gives detailed descriptions of six tombs and the...

Among the leading Egyptologists of his day, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853 1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. This single-volume reissue brings together two of his well-illustrated excavation reports. The first, originally published in 1896, covers the work undertaken in 1893 4 at Koptos (modern-day Qift), a key settlement in Upper Egypt on the Nile's east bank. This includes a chapter on classical inscriptions by David George Hogarth (1862 1927). The second report, first published in 1909, discusses recent archaeological work around Qurna...

A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853 1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. This single-volume reissue brings together three well-illustrated reports of his excavations over three seasons at Memphis and Meidum on the west bank of the Nile, first published in 1909 10. Work at Memphis in 1908 and 1909 notably focused on the west hall of the temple of Ptah and the royal palace of Apries. Chapters on the inscriptions are provided by James Herbert Walker (d.1914). The excavations at Meidum continued those begun in 1891 and...