The Experience of Ancient Egypt (Experience of Archaeology) [Hardcover]

Following an introduction that looks at the character of Egyptian archaeology and the nature of archaeological evidence, the book is split into two sections. The first looks at the evidence for different aspects of the Egyptian past, and the second looks at how archaeological interpretation evolved in Egypt. At 182 pages this is quite a short book for the scope of the two parts.

Part I (pages 3-47) is divided into five chapters: The Historical Outline of Ancient Egypt, Funerary Beliefs and Customs, The Religion of the living, Everyday Life and Literary Sources. In each chapter David looks at, the types of data available from which interpretations are ultimately derived, some of the key investigators who have worked at some of the sites from the earliest times to the present day, and then goes on to look at the most important studies that have been produced on the topics concerned. As well as providing a good non-nonsense summary of each topic, these chapters give a very good idea of how the current state of knowledge came into being. David doesn't avoid problems in the quality of the data, but highlights them clearly. A downside is that but none of the statements she makes about each of her divisions are backed by references/citations so, whilst one trusts David implicitly, it is impossible to read more details about remarks of interest by looking up the source.

Part II, the largest of the two sections (pages 51-177), is divided into Classical and Medieval Interest in Egypt, The Renaissance Period, The Decipherment of Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Recording the Monuments, Excavating the Sites, The Contribution of Biomedical Studies. The chapters concentrate on looking at the history of exploration and investigation in Egypt, focusing on the key contributors to knowledge in the form of publications and shared scholarship. It provides a comprehensive and fascinating insight into the sheer number of visits and expeditions into Egypt that provided the backbone of Egyptological studies ever since, including records of sites that have since been damaged or lost. I found it quite staggering to see how many of the early projects carried out following the decipherment of hieroglyphs were in the form of epigraphic surveys, an obsession with texts rather than with the archaeology of everyday life. She also explains how so many artefacts found their way to Europe. Her synthesis of this vast subject is remarkably good, packing in a remarkable amount of information.

The book ends with a conclusion, a suggested reading list and an index.

The conclusion highlights some of the most recent excavations, mentions the importance of doing more work on settlement sites and sites in the Delta and the deserts, points to ongoing requirements for conservation projects, introduces underwater archaeology and emphasizes the need to synthesize the works at major sites like the Valley of the Kings.

The reading list is a bit of an oddity. It is in alphabetical order by author but, as the book does not reference its text back to a formal bibliography, it doesn't relate specifically to any parts of the text. It might have been more helpful to list it under headings indicating which chapters of the book the recommended books refer to. All the recommended reading is books rather than papers in journals, but many are now out of print.

Overall, the organization of the book in two parts, first the state of present knowledge and second the route by which Egyptology developed, seemed to be the wrong way round when I started the book. Having finished the book still seems to be the wrong way round as Part I is the present state of knowledge achieved partly as a result of the work completed in Part II. For that matter, the separation of the book into two parts seems a little peculiar. Part I is a useful roundup of the current state of information in Egyptology but it feels as though if it was expanded and supported by detailed references, it would make a good book in its own right. Part II, an excellent insight into the earliest exploration of Egypt, doesn't seem to gel particularly well with Part I and would equally make a good standalone work.

It's a minor point but I would have found the book to be of much greater value if David had followed the past through to the present. I would have been interested to read David's views on the state of Egyptian archaeology and Egyptology today, and to have learned how she believes the present state of affairs has been influenced by the evolution of Egyptian research in the past. This is essentially an account of the history of Egyptology and David does not touch in any detail on the frequent absence of discussion in Egypt of theoretical issues that are so prominent in western archaeology, the challenges of developing an integrated approach to the understanding of the archaeology of Egypt, or the new directions adopted by the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

I enjoyed the book very much, and it built extensively on my existing knowledge, but I thought that it would have been better if each of the two parts had been expanded into two fully referenced books. Others might well disagree.

The book is clearly written, well expressed and is illustrated throughout will black and white photos and reproductions of paintings, drawings and maps.