The energy devoted by the ancient Egyptians to their tombs is legendary. The pyramids of Gizeh and the tomb of Tutankhamun are just two very spectacular examples, but no previous book has sought to use the tens of thousands of tombs excavated in Egypt, dating from 5000 BC to AD 200, across all classes of society, to build up a broad picture of burial as practised across the millennia. In this fascinating treatment, Wolfram Grajetzki sets out to remove some widespread misconceptions. Many imagine that few tombs survived undisturbed into modern times, but this is simply not true. In addition to the richest finds, there are numerous other tombs, devoid of gold and precious objects, which are key sources for reconstructing burial customs and Eygptian culture as a whole. This book sets the record straight, presenting evidence from each of the periods covered of poorer and average graves alongside the more famous wealthy tombs. The book is accessibly written, complete with over 150 illustrations, many specially prepared by the author.

Wolfram Grajetzki is a researcher at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London, working on the project 'Digital Egypt for Universities'. He is the author of Two Treasurers of the Middle Kingdom (British Archaeological Report S1007) Oxford 2001.