Author Description

During the years 1862 to 1865, German Egyptologist Johannes Dümichen was sent to Egypt by the Prussian king to study and transcribe ancient Egyptian records from monuments and temples, including inscriptions from the temples of Edfu and Dendera. His expedition resulted in a 2-volume work entitled Altaegyptische Tempelinschriften in den Jahren 1863-1865, which, translated means Ancient Egyptian Temple Inscriptions, 1863-1865. Volume 1 consists of the inscriptions from the temple at Edfu, where Dümichen lived alone for three months, copying ancient Ptolemaic hieroglyphics, texts, and illustrations. Conditions were difficult, but he managed to compile unprecedented copies of these ancient texts for preservation and study. While in Egypt, Dümichen sent correspondence to Heinrich Brugsch, who included it in the earliest issues of his Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Alterthumskunde (Journal for Egyptian Language and Ancient Studies). This book begins with English translations of the articles concerning Dümichen’s work, followed by the English translation of his complete first volume on the Edfu temple.