Splendors of Ancient Egypt
From the Egyptian Museum Cairo written and compiled by Dr. Robert S. Bianchi
Presented by
Florida International Museum St. Petersbur
CONTENTS
Introduction
Time Line
Chronology
The Predynastic Period
The Old Kingdom
The Middle Kingdom
The New Kingdom: Dynasty 18
The Discovery of the Luxor Cachette
The New Kingdom: Dynasties 19-20
Ancient Egyptian Painting
The Third Intermediate Period
The Funerary Arts of Ancient Egypt
Treasures from Tanis
The Late Period
The Ptolemaic Period
The Roman Imperial Period
Christianity and Islam
Index
Previous page
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A view of the Giza Plateau
Whenever one thinks about ancient Egypt, the Great Pyramids and Sphinx on the Giza Plateau immediately spring to mind. Throughout the ages these massive structures have fascinated, mystified, and enchanted all those who have stood in awe before them. Indeed, the Great Pyramids are the only example of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to have survived intact to this day. It is no wonder, then, that an ancient proverb proclaims, “Mankind fears Time, but Time fears the Pyramids!” Built not by slaves, but by free members of Egyptian society, as revealed by recent reinvestigations of the village in which those laborers lived when they toiled away on these massive construction projects, the pyramids are the final resting places -massive sepulchers - of some of the mightiest rulers ever to have lived on earth. Within the relieving compartments of the Grand Gallery of the Pyramid of Kufu are the remains of inscriptions, termed quarry marks, painted in black ink by the overseers responsible for obtaining the stone. These inscriptions record that the Great Pyramid was intended for Kufu, whose name they contain. The ancient Egyptians also named each pyramid, and called this one “The Horizon of Kufu.”
The Great Sphinx crouches as an eternal sentinel, symbolically poised to ward off any evil approaching these mighty tombs. Recent popular attempts in television programs and the print media to redate the Sphinx to an earlier period and to attribute it to a culture even earlier than Egypt are based on a symbolist interpretation of ancient Egyptian culture, whose proponents cling to their theories with a quasi-religious zeal. The Great Sphinx was erected by command of Kliaefre, for whom die second pyramid on the plateau served as a sepulcher. They named his pyramid, “Great is Kliaefre.”
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Author: Dr. Robert S. Bianchi
Art Director: David Hillman Design: Anna-Lisa Schonecker, Pentagram Design
Editor: Mark Sutcliffe
Photographer: Phil Sayer
Copyright ©
The Egyptian Museum, Cairo Copyright ©
Broughton International Inc.
Text copyright ©
Dr. Robert S. Bianchi
Photography copyright © Phil Sayer
First published in 1996 by Booth-Clibborn Editions 12 Percy Street, London W1P9FB
Cover illustration: View of the
Giza Plateau
ISBN: 1873968 914
All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher
Printed by Mondadori, Italy