Description

A spinetingling exploration of a venture as ancient as the pyramids themselves

To secure a comfortable afterlife ancient Egyptians built fortresslike tombs and filled them with precious goods a practice that generated staggering quantities of artifacts over the course of many millenniaand also one that has drawn thieves and tombraiders to Egypt since antiquity Drawing on modern scholarship reportage and period sources this book tracks the history of treasureseekers in Egypt and the social contexts in which they operated revealing striking continuities throughout time Listeners will recognize the foibles of todays politicians and con artists the perils of materialism and the cycles of public compliance and dissent in the face of injustice In describing an ageold pursuit and its timeless motivations A Short History of TombRaiding shows how much we have in common with our Bronze Age ancestors