BOOKS
G. Elliot Smith.
The Royal Mummies. Catalogue general des antiquites egyptiennes du Musee du Caire. [ENG. text.]
London, Gerald Duckworth , 2000.
€ 12.00
Softcover, 118pp. and CIII plates in b/w., 21.5x30cm., in very good condition. ISBN: 9780715629598.
This classic work, first published in 1912, examines the royal mummies of ancient Egypt. It describes how many royal burials originally interred in the Valley of the Kings and elsewhere were later concealed in guarded caches, and it presents the results of early scientific study and cataloguing of those royal remains. The reissue includes illustrations and plates and places the original cataloguing work in its archaeological and historical context. / The book is a reprint (facsimile) edition of Grafton Elliot Smiths Catalogue of royal mummies, originally published 1912 as part of the Catalogue general des antiquites egyptiennes du Musee du Caire (nos. 61051-61100). The volume documents the discovery and cataloguing of royal and elite mummies found in Deir el-Bahri, the Valley of the Kings and several caches. It provides descriptive entries for individual mummies, notes on provenance and condition, and a substantial set of plates and photographs (illustrations). The 2000 Duckworth edition republishes that material, adds a modern foreword and presents the text for a contemporary readership. / Grafton Elliot Smith (commonly cited as G. Elliot Smith) (15 August 1871 - 1 January 1937) was an Australian born anatomist, anthropologist and Egyptology writer who worked in Britain. He trained in medicine and anatomy, held academic chairs (Manchester then University College London), and was one of the early researchers to apply radiological and anatomical techniques to the study of Egyptian mummies. Smith published widely on human anatomy, the brain and on Egyptian remains, and he produced the original catalogue of royal mummies (first published 1912). He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and received several honours during his career.