Product Description

The classic historical account of one of the world's richest archaeological sites. For more than five hundred years, until about 1000 BC, the Valley of the Kings held a busy community of tomb workers, the limestone landscape was white with the debris of fresh excavation and all the known pharaohs of the Egyptian New Kingdom lay in their great stone sarcophagi. The Valley itself was then lost from the historical records for hundreds of years. Valley of the Kings, John Romer's first book originally published in 1981, tells two fascinating stories. The first is about the tombs of the ancient Egyptian kings, queens and nobles who were buried with pomp and extravagance between 1570 and 1085 BC. The second, equally compelling, is the story of the archaeologists and their hunt for the past.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2745801 in Books
• Published on: 1994-02
• Binding: Hardcover

From the Publisher
'Authoritative, informative & entertaining throughout' - TLS
This book tells two fascinating stories: one about the majestic tombs of the Egyptian kings, and another that follows the equally exciting intrigue, chauvinism and dedication of the European archaeologists who discovered them. As the Los Angeles Herald Examiner noted, it is ‘a book that is bound to become a classic of Egyptology. One of the best serious books on archaeology to appear in many years.’

About the Author
John Louis Romer was educated at Ottershaw School and the Royal College of Art, London. During the late 1960s he worked in the temples and tombs at Thebes in Egypt with the University of Chicago Epigraphic Survey. In 1977-9 he originated and organised a major expedition to the Valley of the Kings which carried out the first excavation there since the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb. He has appeared in a number of television series.

Customer Reviews

romer does it again ~ fantastic
i loved this book. the information in it is well researched + very well written ~ drawing the reader in. having read many, many books on the valley of the kings it was refreshing to read one that brought new information to the fore. romer, certainly understands that there are many books written on this subject + has gone out of his way to give a new slant to the subject. i applaud him.

i particularly like the plurality of the book : with the story of the valley itself as well as the chronicals of the people involved with the valley ~ be they archeologists or visitors.

romer is a great thought-provoking writer + deserves all the recognition + credit he gets.

he stimulates + challanges, but always from source documentation + fact ~ a true historian + a wonderful book.

thoroughly recommend this one.

Romer's Valley of the Kings
John Romer has an obvious passion and enthusiasm for his subject,he manages to relay this passion with the same energy he has displayed in his T.V. programs on the same subject.Easy to read but not condescending, he brings the valley alive, both accessable and detailed. A delight to all keen amateur Egyptologists, the book has none of the dryness of some of the tomes I have ploughed through on the subject.Very good chapters on Belzoni, and the embryonic days of Egyptology... What can I say? First rate 6 out of 5 !!!!