Valley of the Golden Mummies

During the summer of 1999, one of the more spectacular discoveries in recent archeological history was announced in Egypt. At the Bahariya Oasis, 230 miles southwest of Cairo, a large group of intact ancient Egyptian tombs were unearthed that contained more than 60 mummies in excellent condition. This was truly a stunning find and made headlines the world over. In this elegant and marvelous book, the flamboyant and well-regarded Egyptian archaeologist Hawass, who was in charge of the excavations, describes this unusual discovery. Hawass explains that these mummies, probably remains of people of a merchant class, date from the second and third century C.E. The text is geared to the general reader and Hawass is a great storyteller with a knack for providing the spicy detail (sometimes his persona intrudes a bit too muchDa small criticism). Fabulous color photographs of the remote and serene excavation site and detailed pictures of the various finds grace Hawass's informative text. The author estimates that it the Bahariya site may, once fully excavated, yield over 10,000 mummies. This book, therefore, will probably not be the last we hear from Bahariya, but it is a great start and easily whets the appetite for more. For anyone even remotely interested in ancient Egypt or archeology, this title is worth its weight in golden mummies. (Oct.)