Author Description

The only surviving of the seven ancient wonders of the world, the Pyramids and Sphinx are the most familiar of all archaeological sites. Despite their popularity, there are no books that focus on the Giza plateau and its monuments and how they evolved. This comprehensive book incorporates all of the latest information on the excavations and interpretations of the Sphinx and the Pyramid and puts them in geological, historical and social context. The monuments are fully described along with detailed discussions of how they were contracted and why. Some of the lesser well-known, but equally interesting, monuments and private tombs at the site are also illustrated, many for the first time in an archaeological guide. Chapters include: The Giza Plateau, Early Travelers, The Archaeology of Giza, The Great Pyramid, The Khufu Boat, The Second Pyramid and the Sphinx, Mastaba Field (East and West) and The Isis temple. This lavishly illustrated and well-documented book with be an invaluable resource to anyone traveling to or interested in Egypt. Peter Lacovara received his Ph.D. in Egyptian Archaeology from the University of Chicago and is currently Curator of Ancient Art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Before that he was Assistant Curator in the Department of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian and Near Eastern Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He has participated in many excavations n Egypt, including several seasons at Giza, as well as at Abydos, Hierakonpolis, the Valley of the Kings, Deir el-Ballas and Gebel Silsileh.