Valley of the Kings

Valley of the Kings: The tombs and the funerary temples of Thebes West is published by the Italian publishing house White Star Books, which specialises in picture books in large format.

It is illustrated by numerous pictures, drawings and maps. All illustrations are in colour - except a few old pictures, which are in black-and-white. Most pictures are taken by the Italian photographer Araldo de Luca, who has worked with White Star for many years.

One drawing is made by the French scholar Emile Prisse d’Avennes (p. 44). For more information about this man and his work see: Atlas of Egyptian Art.

Some drawings are made by the Italian scholar Ippolito Rosellini (pp. 26-27, 42-43). For more information about this man and his work see: The Monuments of Egypt and Nubia.

The quality of the illustrations is high. The details are sharp and the colours bright. Several pictures are taken from the air. You can not do this yourself, unless you can afford to rent a helicopter or a hot air balloon. Many pictures are taken inside the ancient tombs. You cannot do this yourself, because ordinary visitors are not allowed to use a camera inside the ancient tombs. The pictures published in this book are the result of a special permit issued by the Egyptian authorities.

The book is edited by Kent R. Weeks, who is Professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo and the author of several books, including The Treasures of Luxor and the Valley of the Kings (2005).

The text is written by the editor and seven other scholars. Biographical information about all contributors appears on page 9 (and on the dust jacket). Here are the names in alphabetical order:

*** Hartwig Altenmuller

*** Peter Brand
*** Betsy M. Bryan

*** Edwin C. Brock
*** Erik Hornung

*** T.G.H. James
*** Christian Leblanc

The main text is divided into four parts. Here is a summary:

Part one “Introduction” contains a preface and two chapters – “Thebes: A Model for every City” and “The Exploration of Thebes”

Part two “The Temples of Millions of Years” contains an introduction plus five chapters about five funerary temples on the west bank

Part three “The Valley of the Kings” contains an introduction, a chapter about funerary literature in the tombs, plus fourteen chapters about fourteen royal tombs

Part four “The Valley of the Queens” is divided into two sections: the first section covers one tomb (the tomb of Queen Nefertari), while the second section covers two tombs (the tombs of the sons of Rameses III)

The book concludes with an index and photographic credits. There is no bibliography.

I like this book, but I have to mention a few minor flaws:

(1) On page 37 Weeks says:

 

“In 390, Constantine moved two obelisks from Thebes to Alexandria, then to the Circus Maximus in Rome and Istanbul.”

This passage is unfortunate: two obelisks were moved from Thebes, but Constantine I did not do anything in 390, because he died in 337. Here is what happened:

Obelisk # 1 was moved to Alexandria by Constantine I ca. 330 and moved to Rome by Constantius in 357. It was raised on the spina of the Circus Maximus. In 1588 it was re-erected next to St. John Lateran, where it still stands today.

Obelisk # 2 was moved to Alexandria by Constantine II ca. 350 and moved to Constantinople (today Istanbul) by Theodosius I in 390. It was raised on the spina of the hippodrome, where it still stands today.

(2) On page 37 Weeks mentions the Jesuit priest Claude Sicard “who came [to Egypt] in 1726.” A caption on page 36 refers to “Claude Sicard’s map of Egypt drawn in 1717.”

How could Sicard draw a map of Egypt in 1717, if he did not come to Egypt until 1726? Here are the facts: Sicard, who was born in 1677, came to Egypt in 1707 or 1708 and stayed there for the rest of his life. He drew the map in 1717 and died in Cairo in 1726. In other words: the caption is correct; the text is wrong.

(3) On page 119 Weeks explains how the walls of the tombs were decorated: the workers

 

“drew in red ink outlines of the figures and hieroglyphs to be carved there. Senior artists and scribes used black ink to adjust the proportions of figures or correct spelling errors.”

But the caption on page 118 says:

 

“Black lines are the artist’s original outlines, red lines are corrections, made to enhance the proportions of the figure.”

These two passages contradict each other. In this case the caption is false, while the text is correct.

(4) On page 120 there are two unfortunate misprints about KV5: Weeks says the area of the tomb is “over 1800 m_.” He wants to say m² (square meters). He also says the volume of the tomb is “about 6,000 m_.” Here he wants to say m³ (cubic meters).

(5) On page 297 (about the tomb of Nefertari) Christian Leblanc says:

 

“The tomb is once again accessible to tourists, but only in limited numbers.”

This statement is no longer true. The tomb was re-opened to the public - in limited numbers - in 1995, but it was closed again in 2005. It seems the editor (or the publisher) forgot to update the text from 2001, when the book was reprinted in 2011.

These flaws are unfortunate, but they are minor and they are the exception.

Valley of the Kings is an excellent book, written by experts, who know their topic very well. If you are interested in the history of ancient Egypt, this volume is highly recommended.

PS. Right now this hardcover book with fabulous illustrations is available from Amazon UK for less than ten British pounds. It is a bargain!

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Kent R. Weeks (editor) and Araldo de Luca (photographs),

Valley of the Kings:

The tombs and the funerary temples of Thebes West,

White Star Books, hardcover, 2001, reprinted 2011, 326 pages

 

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