S01E05 Egyptomania

Why are we so obsessed with Ancient Egypt? All children study it, museum galleries displaying Egyptian objects are always full, documentaries always do really well, and we’ve had a couple of waves of Egyptomania – in the 1800s and following the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. We talked a lot in this episode about the historical background to the development of Egyptology, in particular colonialism and the rivalry between Britain and France. Also about how the aesthetic of Egyptian art and architecture is very distinctive and striking and so many other aspects of Egyptian culture are so intriguing including: mummies and mummification, animal-headed gods, the lure of the desert, and the idea that treasure is buried and awaiting discovery - ‘revealing’ things that are ‘hidden’… Links: Extra content: https://www.patreon.com/talklikeanegyptian Thompson, Wonderful Things: A History of Egyptology (three vols.) And for a more concise, illustrated account we couldn’t not mention – sorry! – Chris’ book, Egyptologists’ Notebooks. On ‘Egyptomania’, see Brier, Egyptomania: Our Three Thousand Year Obsession with the Land of the Pharaohs Chris’s book for kids that gets mentioned this episode King Tutankhamun Tells All! https://chrisnaunton.com/king-tutankhamun-tells-all/ Iszi’s book for kids which didn’t get mentioned this episode The Cursed Tomb: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/cursed-tomb-9781801996020/