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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute must for every Egyptian bookshelf, 28 Sep 2000
The Royal Mummies must be able to claim some sort of world record for being the most frequently referenced yet impossibly obtainable book ever.Nearly every book you pick up on Egypt will mention The Royal Mummies, and some will often reproduce the odd photograph - but the book has been impossible to get hold of virtually since it was first printed (if it was generally available in the first place). Essentially, The Royal Mummies is part of the vast Catalogue of exhibits at the Cairo Museum - but the astounding subject matter makes this one of the most amazing books you'll ever see. Although the story of how the mummies came to be discovered is sadly missing (Nicholas Reeves could surely have written a brief resume in his introduction?), the book is a fascinating account of the unwrapping and examination of Egypt's most famous pharaohs and their families. Half the book is taken up with minutely-detailed body-by-body descriptions that include lengthy German and French quotations, while the other half is taken up with stunning photographs of the mummies themselves. The book is badly out of date in parts (an unwrapped mummy of a prince has since been discovered (by X-Rays) to actually be a baboon; the mummy of Tuthmosis I may not be his (it may even be that of a woman); an unidentified woman has since been proven to be a relation of Tutankhamen; Akhenaten is written as Khentounoumai or something), and there's no mention of Amenhotep II (who was still in his tomb at the time the book was written), but there is information and pictures here that you simply can't find anywhere else. A wonderful book about two discoveries that surely equal (if not surpass) the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb. Absolutely indispensible. Prepare to be amazed. Now all we need is for someone to translate Maspero's book on the mummies' discoveries. Attention publishers!
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