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The ancient Egyptian tomb evolved rapidly over a period of about 2,500 years, from a simple backfilled pit to an enormous stone pyramid with complex security arrangements. Much of this development was arguably driven by the ever-present threat of tomb robbery, which compelled tomb builders to introduce special architectural measures to prevent it. However, until now most scholarly Egyptological discussions of tomb security have tended to be brief and usually included only as part of a larger work, the topic instead being the subject of lurid speculation and fantasy in novels, the popular press, and cinema.
In Securing Eternity, Reg Clark traces in detail the development of the Egyptian royal and private tombs from the Predynastic Period to the early Fourth Dynasty. In doing so, he demonstrates that many of the familiar architectural elements of the Egyptian tomb that we take for granted today in fact originated from security features to protect the tomb, rather than from monumental or religious considerations. Richly illustrated with more than 150 photographs and tomb plans, this unique study will be of interest to students, specialists, and general readers alike.
“A new, exhaustive study on the fascinating historical development of techniques aimed at tomb security, both on a royal as well as on a private level…written for the ‘Egyptophile student’ and the ‘general reader’…detailed analysis and an in-depth account on the evolution of tomb architecture from the Predynastic period to the reign of Sneferu in the Fourth Dynasty makes this book a welcome contribution within the scholarly community as well.”—Rita Lucarelli, University of California at Berkeley, JARCE
"[This] volume will fascinate anyone interested in the thought processes of both those responsible for constructing early tombs and those whose preoccupation was how to circumvent the precautions installed in them."—Hilary Forrest, Ancient Egypt Magazine
"Clark has written a thorough guide to Egyptian burial security methods from more modest Predynastic Period (about 5000 BCE) reinforcements to sumptuous, carefully crafted Fourth Dynasty (about 2500 BCE) chambers. Clark traces an evolution that saw everything from architectural tricks to curses deployed to protect the tombs—and almost never paying off."—AramcoWorld
List of Illustrations
Preface
Introduction
Abbreviations and Conventions
Maps
1. The Purpose and Context of the Egyptian Tomb and the Need for It to Be Secure
2. Securing the Early Tomb: Prehistory to the End of the Predynastic Period
3. Defending the Pit Tomb: From Egyptís Unification to the Mid First Dynasty
4. Portals, Passages, and Portcullises: The Second Half of the First Dynasty
5. Subterranean Sepulchers: New Security Developments in the Second Dynasty
6. A Parting of the Ways: Step Pyramids and Mastabas in the Third Dynasty
7. Pyramids and Plug-Stones: Security Innovations in the Early Fourth Dynasty
8. Conclusion
Chronology
Notes
Bibliography
Index