Description

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A hundred years ago, a team of archaeologists in the Valley of the Kings made a remarkable discovery: a near-complete royal burial, an ancient mummy, and golden riches beyond imagination. The lost tomb of Tutankhamun ignited a media frenzy, propelled into overdrive by rumours of a deadly ancient curse. But amid the hysteria, many stories - including that of Tutankhamun himself - were distorted or forgotten.

Tutankhamun: Pharaoh, Icon, Enigma takes a familiar tale and turns on its head. Leading Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley has gathered ten unique perspectives together for the first time: that of the teenage pharaoh and his family, ancient embalmers and tomb robbers, famous Western explorers and forgotten Egyptian archaeologists. It's a journey that spans from ancient Thebes in 1336 BCE - when a young king on a mission to restore his land met an unexpected and violent end - to modern Luxor in 1922 CE - as the tomb's discovery led to a fight over ownership that continues to this day.

Above all, this is the story of Tutankhamun, as he would have wanted to be remembered. Piecing together three thousand years of evidence and unpicking the misunderstandings that surround Egypt's most famous king, this book offers a vital reappraisal on his life, death and enduring legacy.

About the Author

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Joyce Tyldesley was born in Bolton, Lancashire. She studied archaeology at Liverpool and Oxford Universities, before writing a series of academic yet accessible books on ancient Egypt, including several books for children. Her 2008 book Cleopatra: Egypt's Last Queen was a Radio 4 "Book of the Week". Her 2012 book Tutankhamen's Curse (published as Tutankhamen in the USA), won the Felicia A. Holton Book Award of the Archaeological Institute of America. Joyce currently holds a chair in Egyptology at the University of Manchester.