Amazon.co.uk Review
The grisly but imperious mummified head of Ramesses the Great stares from the page, communicating with another time. Science is telling us more and more about ancient Egyptians and also about our own bodies (particularly our diseases) by comparison. Studying ancient remains "is a two-way conversation". With its gold cover,
Conversations with Mummies looks like a present and its glossy style shouts popular appeal. Written by a non-specialist, Rick Archibald, with Rosalie David, Keeper of Egyptology at the Manchester Museum, this approachable book takes as its underlying theme the story of the work of the Manchester Mummy Project, a "world leader" in the medical analysis of mummies. In addition, it introduces the history of Egyptology and provides background information on ancient Egypt. Descriptions of mummy autopsies and a modern mummification reconstruction grab the imagination, as do several daily life stories of individual Egyptians gleaned from their mummies. Particularly attractive and absorbing, this book can also be thought provoking. When discussing the contrast between how the ancient Egyptians saw themselves and the evident modern view of a disease-ridden population rife with "chronic pain", it is particularly intriguing. Rosalie David feels an almost personal relationship with the mummies she studies and the book emphasises how mummies are now valued as records of individual lives. As Archibald writes, "Egyptian paleopathology, mummy science, is about life: life in ancient times and life today". --
Karen Tiley
Review
The ancient Egyptians believed that it was possible to live beyond death. However, in order that the spirit might achieve eternal life, the body had to be preserved. For centuries their undertakers experimented with different methods of warding off decomposition until the classical method of mummification - evisceration followed by desiccation and bandaging - was developed. Tens of thousands of Egyptians were mummified before the advent of Christianity brought about a change in burial customs. As a result, the museums of the world today hold a remarkable collection of ancient Egyptian bone, tissue, skin, teeth and hair. The general public has always been fascinated by the body hidden beneath the bandages. Mummy unrappings, or unrollings, were a popular public entertainment from the 17th century onwards, and the mummy was awarded an important role in the development of horror fiction. The information which could be extracted from the destruction of the mummy was, however, severely limited: Egyptologists were constrained by the technology available to them and professional interest in mummies waned. The 20th century, with its advances in medical techniques, saw a change in approach. With the development of X-ray analysis, CAT-scanners, electron microscpoes and sophisticated endoscopes it became possible to conduct non-destructive examinations on mummies while occassional autopsies could yield evidence of infections and infestations invisible to the naked eye. The examination of a mummified body could now provide information which would both expand our understanding of the past and help in the fight against water-borne parasites. This beautifully illustrated book - perhaps beautiful is not quite the word to use when looking at images of the long dead - provides a valuable introduction to the history of mummy studies aimed at the non-specialist reader and focusing on the work of the Manchester Mummy Project headed by Dr Rosalie David. It includes a discussion on mummification techniques, including images of the recent American experiment to mummify an anonymous 76-year-old heart attack victim. Review by JOYCE TYLDESLEY (Kirkus UK)
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