Book Description

An authoritative, superbly illustrated account of everything you ever wanted to know about Egypt's pyramids is now updated in a magnifient new edition From the ancient culture that created the pyramids to the excavation sites that have been discovered to date, Verner, a preeminent Egyptologist, recounts the history of ancient Egypt and describes the religious and political beliefs that gave rise to its great monuments, with illustrations throughout. A pyramid, as the posthumous residence of a king and the place of his eternal cult, was just a single, if dominant, part of a larger complex of structures with specific religious, economic, and administrative functions. The first royal pyramid in Egypt was built at the beginning of the Third Dynasty (ca. 2592-2544 BC) by Horus Netjerykhet, later called Djoser, while the last pyramid was the work of Ahmose I, the first king of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ca. 1539-1292 BC). Distinguished Egyptologist Miroslav Verner draws from the research of the earliest Egyptologists as well as the startling discoveries arising from the technological advances. His Pyramids offers a clear, authoritative guide to the ancient culture that created the pyramids five thousand years ago without iron or bronze, and with only the most elementary systems of calculation. As he explains the magnitude of this accomplishment, he also traces the stories and ideas of the intrepid scientists who have uncovered them. Nearly two decades have passed since Miroslav Verner's seminal The Pyramids was published. In that time, fresh explorations and new sophisticated technologies have contributed to ever more detailed and compelling discussions around Egypt's enigmatic and most celebrated of ancient monuments. In this newly revised and updated edition of The Pyramids, Verner's rich erudition and long years of site experience comes to bear on all the latest discoveries and archaeological and historical aspects of over 70 of Egypt's pyramids in the broader context of their more than one-thousand-year-long development. Lucidly written, with 300 illustrations, and filled with gripping insights, this comprehensive study illuminates an era that is both millennia away and vividly immediate. The most up-to-date, comprehensive, and essential record of Egypt's ancient monuments is now updated for a new generation.