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Originally published: London: The British Museum Press, 2013.
In Reading Ancient Egyptian Poetry, Richard Parkinson explores how ancient Egyptian poems have been read and perceived across the ages. Presents an innovative and theoretically-informed account of how the most famous ancient Egyptian poems have been read over 4,000 years From a leading expert in the interpretation of ancient Egyptian literature Explores the original experience of ordinary Egyptians enjoying the poems as well as their interpretation during the Middle Kingdom and up to modern times Draws on recent discoveries in the British Museum archives to reconstruct the contexts of the poems
[Poetry and Culture in Middle Kingdom Egypt] certainly represents a landmark. It is the first monograph devoted to an integral study and interpretation of the entire corpus of literature preserved from the Egyptian Middle Kingdom.'Joachim Quack, Professor of Egyptology, University of Heidelberg.
Deciphering the Rosetta Stone -- Reading a text: the Egyptian scripts of the Rosetta Stone -- Towards reading a cultural code: the uses of writing in ancient Egypt -- The future: futher codes to crack.
"This anthology contains all the substantial surviving works from the golden age of Ancient Egyptian fictional literature (c.1940-1640 B.C.). Composed by an anonymous author in the form of a funerary autobiography, the Tale tells how the courtier Sinuhe flees Egypt at the death of his king. His adventures bring wealth and happiness, but his failure to find meaningful life abroad is only redeemed by the new king's sympathy, and he finally returns to the security of his homeland. Other works from the Middle Kingdom include a poetic dialogue between a man and his soul on the problem of suffering and death, a teaching about the nature of wisdom which is bitterly spoken by the ghost of the assassinated King Amenemhat I, and a series of light-hearted tales of wonder from the court of the builder of the Great Pyramid."--Jacket.
Voices from Ancient Egypt is an anthology presenting translations of sixty documents from a golden age of ancient Egyptian culture (c. 2081 - 1600 BC). The documents illustrate all aspects of life and the place of literacy in an early civilisation. The 'voices' range from the high formal literature of religious rituals and royal monuments to the hurried requests of the bureaucrats and the jokes of harrassed workmen. They tell a tale not only of the intellectual beliefs of the elite, but of family feuds, love and murder, as well as the pastoral dreams of a society trying to attain its vision of absolute order in a chaotic universe. This volume is a reissue of the valuable introduction to ancient Egyptian literature, first published in 1991.
Examine the methods of making and conserving papyrus, the various scripts written on it, the writing practices of the scribes, and the different uses of papyrus under the Pharaohs and their successors, the Ptolelmies and the Roman Emperors.
"The eleven sections of wall-painting from Nebamun's lost tomb-chapel from c. 1350 B.C. are among the greatest and most famous of the British Museum's treasures." "The paintings decorated the walls of an Egyptian official's tomb-chapel, displaying his status and activities in this life and the next. The accountant Nebamun, eternally youthful and vigorous, is shown hunting in the marshes and overseeing his servants and animals on the estates he managed. The paintings offer us fascinating glimpses of the world of ancient Egypt as the governing class wished it to be seen. Ancient visitors would bring offerings and prayers to Nebamun in this colourful chapel, and the paintings were intended to b...
In 1922, as Egypt became an independent nation, the tomb of the young king Tutankhamun was discovered at Luxor, the first known intact royal burial from ancient Egypt. The excavation of the small but crowded tomb by Howard Carter and his team generated enormous media interest and was famously photographed by Harry Burton. These photographs, along with letters, plans, drawings and diaries, are part of an archive created by the excavators and presented to the Griffith Institute, University of Oxford after Carter's death. These historic images and records present a vivid and first-hand account of the discovery, of the spectacular variety of the king's burial goods and of the remarkable work tha...
The Papyrus of Hunefer is one of the most beautiful and famous items in the British Museums Egyptian collections, illustrated with detailed coloured paintings of the highest quality. Hunefer (his name means Mr Happy Day) was an official of high rank. The papyrus was buried with him and contains his personal selection of spells from what we now call the Book of the Dead. He expected the papyrus to help him to reach a happy eternal life, in which he could continue to enjoy the many pleasures of the living world without any of its sorrows or troubles. Hunefers papyrus includes lovely, detailed images of various important stages or rites on the way, including the opening of the mouth ceremony outside the tomb, in which priests carry out rites to give the mummy back its human senses, and the weighing of the heart in which the gods put Hunefers heart is on the scales with the feather of truth to show if he had been a good person in life. This book follows Hunefer on his magical journey and, in a very simple, accessible and visual way, demonstrates Ancient Egyptian beliefs about religion, life and death.