Confessions of an Egyptology Adventurer

By Tim Voigt

Egypt is a fascinating land in Africa.  It is dedicated its own science of Egyptology.  Here in this book, we will review essays and adventures in this science by your author.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tim Voigt
• Release date: Nov 18, 2024
• ISBN: 9798230795551

Book preview

To anyone fascinated with the land of Egypt.

Epigraph page:

"In ancient times, Man was largely just surviving barbarian tribes struggling to survive amidst wild animals, raw Nature, and himself.  About 3000 BC there would appear in river valleys all across the world collections of societies that would attain to some semblance of civilization.  Here they would develop culture, arts, agriculture, astrology, monarchies, and settled communities.  Here Man would try to rise up from caveman ways into something more complex, cultured, and learned.  Such dramas would appear in river valleys like the Nile, Mesopotamia, Indus River, and China.  One such early attempt at civilization was called Ancient Egypt.  Its civilization would last for over 3000 years and represent one of Man's first and best attempts at a civilization of some kind.' -talk on science

'Egypt is a land of mystery, where you can smell history.' -talk on science 

Preface:  The Land of Ancient Egypt

In the northeast corner of the continent of Africa is a land called Egypt.  It is a dusty, sandy desert with the Nile River coursing through it.  It would have coasts on the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea.  Here would emerge civilization that would manifest as ages like Ancient Egypt, Roman Egypt, Arab Egypt, and Modern Egypt.  Today it is an epic land, an Arab state, and a major power in the world.

About 3100 BC, primitive peoples living as wanderers in the desert of the Sahara in Africa would settle down on the banks of the Nile River.  Here they would found communities, choose kings, and work to create one of the world’s first civilizations.  It would flourish for thousands of years and then fall to the Roman Empire.

This land later to be called Ancient Egypt would set up a civilization where its king would become the center of government, religion, authority, power, and adoration for the people.  The king later dubbed pharaoh was seen as a god, pope, king, and general all in one personality.  He would wear giant crowns, have scepters in the crook and flail, and be as a kind of god to the people.  His power was absolute, his eminence supreme, and his place was above society.  The people would take to constructing grand tombs for him when he died.  In all, the pharaoh was the center of the civilization of Ancient Egypt.

Ancient Egypt would have a turbulent past.  It would go through ages called kingdoms dubbed the Old, the Middle, and the New.  It would go through eras of civil war and anarchy called the intermediate periods.  It would be conquered on many occasions and see many people act as pharaoh of this land.  In all, it is a civilization where it survived by its wits and miracles for thousands of years.

In Egypt, powerful 'beings' would be invented and instituted as 'religion' called the gods.  An elaborate mythology would be invented on them where they would rule the universe, govern the world, and intervene in the dramas of Man.  The gods would be called by names like Amun, Horus, Osiris, Ptah, and many others.  The gods would select a man, also like them and institute him as 'king' of Egypt (called the pharaoh).  His duty and commission is to rule the land, to maintain the order (called Ma'at), and to lord over the people.  All kinds of cult, ceremony, and temple would be created to worship and honor the gods.  Ancient Egypt would become a kingdom where the gods seem like everything, the only thing, a manifestation of God himself on Earth.

The ancient Egyptians would construct many grand monuments to their pharaohs.  All along the Nile River to this day, there are ruins that are leftovers from the time of the pharaohs.  Some of the grandest monuments known to history are built here.  Today the world knows the wonders of the Great Pyramid, Great Sphinx, Abu Simbel, and many other monuments.  The legacy and heritage of this ancient kingdom still lives with the modern world and is considered a priceless heritage of Man.

Ancient Egypt would endure for thousands of years and for this it is one of history’s most successful civilizations.  It would in time be invaded by Romans who would make a province of Rome out of it.  The Romans would for a time let the pharaohs rule their native land of Egypt as long as they remained loyal vassals to Rome.  In time, the Romans grew weary of ancient Egyptian ways and abolished the monarchy and the ancient Egyptian religion.  Cleopatra VII would reign as the last pharaoh of Egypt until her famous suicide by poisonous snake.

The land of Egypt would go through many ages after the fall of ancient Egypt.  It would pass through eras ruled by Alexander the Great’s generals, Roman governors, Persian kings, Arab conquerors, Moslem kings, Napoleon, and native born Arab Egyptian rulers like Sadat and Mubarak.

Egypt today is a modern Arab nation lying in northeast Africa.  It has over 90 million people and is a major power in the Arab world bloc of nations.  Presented here is a book on this fascinating land, its culture, its monuments, pyramidology, and mummification.

A science would arise to study Ancient Egypt and this is known as Egyptology.  Currently it is seen as a branch of history and archaeology.  It is a science that blends history, linguistics, archaeology, and a whole of sciences into its domain.  It is a science that attempts to analyze the bare remnants of Ancient Egypt and then interpret them as to what the real history and culture of ancient Egypt was. 

'Egypt is a land unlike any other in history.  Here fantasy and imagination blend with reality, confusing, blurring, inspiring, and making the thinker he was in a land of dreams instead of a land of reality.'              -talk on history

Introduction:  The Science of Egyptology

Egypt is a fascinating land.  It is incredibly ancient with one of the longest continuous civilization heritages in the world.  Its known history goes back to the incredible date of 3100 BC when most societies in the world had yet to arise.  It developed a fascinating culture of god-kings that lasted for nearly three thousand years, a feat of civilization endurance rivaled only by China, India, and Mesopotamia.  In time, thinkers would come and found a science dedicated to the study of this unique land and it would be called Egyptology.

In the 19th century, the emperor Napoleon of France would set out to conquer the land of Egypt.  A scientific mission would go along with him and attempt to understand the amazing ruins and culture of this land.  It is from this expedition that a fad for all things Ancient Egypt would sweep the academic world of Europe of this time.  It is here that the formal science of Egyptology would be founded.

French soldiers would discover a curious rock with three ancient scripts on it called the Rosetta Stone.  It would be taken back to France and fascinate a man called Champollion.  He would spend his life analyzing the rock and successfully decode the scripts and learn about heiroglyphics.  He would do a revolutionary act where people could now read ancient Egyptian writing.  This would define Egyptology immensely as now scholars can now learn about Egypt from inscriptions.

Eversince the time of Napoleon, the study of Egypt particularly the culture of ancient Egypt would become a major issue in science.  Relics of this land would be placed in many museums and the world would take a fancy to Egyptian architecture and artistic motifs.  In time, ancient Egypt would leave a cultural impact on the world felt throughout the world.

Egyptology today is primarily a quest to understand the culture of ancient Egypt.  It is overall engaged in activities like searching for ancient tombs, deciphering hieroglyphics, restoring ancient sites, gathering relics, building museums to ancient Egypt, and trying to understand the enigmas of this land.  It is primarily studied in Egypt itself and in colleges around the world.  It is a science that blends history, anthropology, linguistics, and a whole host of subjects under the title of Egyptology.

In the 1920s, British archaeologist Howard Carter would be working in the Valley of the Kings.  He would discover the famed tomb of King Tut.  It would inspire a fad that would energize popularity for ancient Egypt.  It would see the epic discovery of gold coffins, chariots, ancient food, and statuary that would make it Egyptology's most incredible discovery and event.  It would be analyzed in many books and its fad is worldwide.

It would be studied in its native land of Egypt and also in institutes around the world.  Egyptology is taught as a branch of archaeology in many nations around the world.  Topics of its study include:

-the gods -mummification -pharaohs -temples -ceremonies -heiroglyphics -pottery -tombs -funerary ceremonies -papyrus scrolls -relics -ushebti jars, etc.

Egyptology is a fascinating science in that it is taught in books, TV shows, film, and wherever.  Its literature is enormous and its topics are fascinating.  It would inspire fads felt in fantasy, science fiction, UFOs, video games, and wherever.  In this book we will review this science more closely.

———-Introductory comments:

Hello.

My name is Tim Voigt, your author.

My background is essentially this.  I would be from Neenah, Wisconsin.  I would be educated in the local school and then go to college in the University of Wisconsin.  I would take a college degree in physics and mathematics, but I would also get involved with history and archaeology as well.

I would get involved with history and archaeology, especially of a country named Egypt.  I would have a life long fascination with this nation lasting well over 35 years.  I would be lead on an adventure of learning its culture, history, the story of ancient Egypt, and much more.  My collective experience with this nation, Egyptology, and related issues is just this:

-I would work with Egyptian people in my occupations as a co-worker, friend, and cohort.

-I would collect Egyptian memorabilia, study heiroglyphics, and educate myself in Egyptology over 35 years.

-In college I would study history and get involved with its sub-science of Egyptology.

-At times I would write to leading Egyptologists like the world famous, Zahi Hawass, a leading academic in Egyptology and leader in the Supreme Council of Antiquities, an overseeing body of Egyptian archaeological sites.

-I would read widely, watch videos, and familiarize myself with topics of Egypt like:

-pharaohs -King Tut's tomb -Egyptian mythology -the Great Pyramid of Giza -the Great Sphinx -archaeological sites -the politics of modern Egypt

-ancient astronauts -Egyptomania -science fiction and fantasy with Egypt -Egyptian antiquities -Egyptian history -Egyptian mysteries

-I would visit museums on Ancient Egypt, visit the world famous casino, Luxor based on Ancient Egypt, and much more.

In all I would gain over 35 years of experience of studying Ancient Egypt, getting to know Egypt, associating with its people, collecting it, and learning this land and its science, Egyptology.  In this book, I want to share with you my experiences and adventures in Egyptology.  In my writing, I will educate you on Egyptology and I will also discuss my many adventures in this science.  In all I want to convey to you the magic, mystery, excitement, and adventure of Egypt, its land, its people, and its amazing history.  I hope you enjoy my discussions and adventures.  I hope you will seek out your own adventures in Egypt, it is an amazing land and something to learn about in one's journey through life.  Enjoy the following discussions.

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In the following discussions, lectures and explanations on Egyptology will be denoted by '———————-' while my personal adventures and and narratives will be denoted by '============'.

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'Egypt for the most part is a dead waste of a desert, it has no business spawning anything called a civilization.  The river Nile would change all that.  It would bring water to the land allowing life to arise, and in time allowing Man to craft a civilization as well.'  -talk on history

——-The Science of Egyptology

Egypt is an ancient land where over 5000 years of history have happened here.  However a science dedicated to studying it has only existed for about 200 years.  In that time, it has had only a few thinkers who defined it and it is continually changing.  Over the ages, scribes of Ancient Egypt, writers, sculptors, and many thinkers would make records, make artifacts, and engage in activities that would make for the study material on Egypt.  This material would be collected to form the basis of research on Egypt and thus would shape Egyptology.  Egyptology is largely a science that is a branch of archaeology and history.  Its purpose is to study artifacts, inscriptions, relics, and other reminders of the age of ancient Egypt.  It is the task of the science to try to ascertain what ancient Egypt's history, culture, achievement, political events, religious beliefs, and other things were.  It has a whole legion of scientists from around the world investigating it and its minutiae.  Today whole institutes are dedicated to its science and it is a major branch of science today.  Presented here is a discussion on Egyptology.

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=====Egyptology, Branch of History and Archaeology

Egyptology is today a branch of history and archaeology.  Ancient Egypt fell over 2000 years ago.  Since that time its world would vanish, its order would fall, and its monuments and temples would fall to rule.  In the time of Napoleon, what was left of ancient Egypt was a dusty ruin fascinating travelers and natives (however illiterate) passing through the land.  Napoleon would invade Egypt, conquer it, annex it to France, and send a scientific expedition to it collecting and surveying.  They would discover a rock that would be later be called the Rosetta Stone.  It would have three scripts on it commemorating a marriage of a pharaoh of ancient times.  A French thinker named Champollion would decipher and decipher the heiroglyphics, the script of Ancient Egypt lost for ages as well.  Scholars after him would use his work to begin the modern science of Egyptology.  Since then two centuries of scholars would study the ruins of ancient Egypt and create a vision of what it was like, its leaders, and history.  Today it is taught as a branch of history and archaeology, generally a curiosity in colleges but also having whole institutes and museums dedicated to it.

I would gain introduction to Egyptology in youth and study it through the years in books, videos, trips, and much more.  It would grow up on me and I would live many adventures in its subject since then.  In this book, I relate to you an account of this science as well as my personal adventures in this very adventurous science.

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———The World of Egyptology, The Science of Egypt

Egypt is an ancient and mystical land.  It has one of the oldest civilizations, heritages, and cultures in the world.  It is a desert land located in the northeast of Africa flanked by the Mediterranean and Red Sea.  Through it flows the great river, the Nile.  It is here on its banks that ancient peoples would settle and found one of the great civilizations of history and the world.  Its earliest civilization called Ancient Egypt would arise about 3100 BC in a