The discipline of Egyptology has been criticised for being too insular,with little awareness of the development of archaeologies elsewhere. It has remained theoretically underdeveloped. For example the role of Ancient Egypt within Africa has rarely been considered jointly by Egyptologists and Africanists. Egypt's own view of itself has been neglected; views of it in the ancient past, in more recent times and today have remained underexposed. Encounters with Ancient Egypt is a series of eight books which addresses these issues. The books interrelate, inform and illuminate one another and will appeal to a wide market including academics, students and the general public interested in Archaeology, Egyptology, Anthropology, Architecture, Design and History. Consuming Ancient Egypt examines the influence of Ancient Egypt on the everyday lives of people, of all ages, throughout the world. It looks at the Egypt which the tourist sees, Egypt in film and Egypt as the inspiration for opera. It asks why so many books are published each year on Egyptological subjects at all levels, from the austerely academic to the riotous celebrations of Egypt as a land of mystery, enchantment and fantasy. It then considers the ways in which Ancient Egypt interacts with the living world, in architecture, museum-going, the acquisition of souvenirs and reproductions, design, and the perpetual appeal of the mummy. The significance of Egypt as an adjunct to (and frequently the subject of) marketing in the consumer society is examined. It reveals much about Egypt's immemorial appeal and the psychology of those who succumb to its magic.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Tea with a Mummy: the consumer's view of Egypt's immemorial appeal; Mummymania for the Masses: is Egyptology cursed by the mummy's curse?; How to Stage Aida?; Vicent Lle's Operetta,La Cort de Faran; Egypt in Hollywood: pharaohs of the fifties; Lost in Time and Space: Ancient Egypt in museums; Acquisitions at the British Museum; Selling Egypt: encounters at Khan el-Khalili; Egypt's Past Regenerated by its Own People; What do Tourists Learn of Egypt?; 'Wonderful Things': publishing Egypt in word and image; Hijacked Images: Ancient Egypt in French commercial advertising; Ancient Egypt on the Small Screen: from fact to faction in the UK; Alternative Egypts.

Author Biography

Sally MacDonald is Manager of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology, UCL and a Lecturer on its Museum Studies course. Michael Rice has worked extensively in the Middle East, particularly in the Arabian peninsular states, to several of which he has acted as an Adviser. He has been responsible for the creation, design and installation of museums in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.