EGYPTIAN
Tiye which, according to research published nearly two decades ago, stood in the southeast corner of the burial chamber. Perhaps these and a few other errors can be corrected in a future edition. MARIANNE EATON-KRAUSS Bill Manley, Egyptian Hieroglyphs for Complete Beginners. Thames & Hudson, 2012. (ISBN 978 0 500 05172 6). Price: £12.95. There are numerous books on the market with which you can supposedly ‘Teach Yourself to Read Hieroglyphs’, which range from Mark Collier and Bill Manley’s excellent How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: A Step-by-Step Guide to Teach Yourself, first published in 1998 and now in its second (revised) edition, which is widely used in beginner and undergraduate classes around the world, to the more esoteric Teach Yourself Hieroglyphics (Teach Yourself Books, 2003), which synthesises both Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphic writing systems, and is not to be found in most university libraries. Bill Manley’s new book aims to allow readers to decipher basic monumental inscriptions, working from real examples throughout. This use of real inscriptions shapes the course of the book, which does not follow the traditional patterns of a grammar (reference or pedagogical), but rather teaches the reader just enough to be able to read each inscription in turn. The book is divided into five sections. The first, and longest, at just over half the length of the volume, is a series of stelae and coffin inscriptions, used to introduce the basic concepts of formulaic texts such as names, titles and the Offering Formula. Part two focuses on King’s Names, and also introduces the relationship between the king and the gods of Egypt. The third part traces the earliest examples of writing and the history of hieroglyphic development, and the last part takes readers through the ‘Marriage Inscription’ of Amenhotep III, pulling together the various aspects of grammar covered. Throughout the book readers are provided with blank spaces to practise what has been covered although there is little guidance as to how they should be used and it might have been better to provide specific exercises. ‘Did you know?’ boxes serve to highlight or amplify the points being made in an interesting
ARCHAEOLOGY
and informative way. These insert boxes often provide useful context and depth to the book,which otherwise has a somewhat narrow focus. The final section comprises some indices, including a useful list of gods’ names and their associated epithets, a kinglist, a sign-list covering the signs learned in the book (note, this is not a full sign-list), and a brief dictionary, again covering words encountered elsewhere in the book. There are elements of this approach which many readers will find heartening – the immediate engagement with real texts and the clear explanations of otherwise confusing subjects such as honorific transposition: Manley draws a well-chosen parallel with the writing ‘£10’ being read as ‘ten pounds’, not ‘pounds ten’. Since other beginner’s guides do tend to pre-suppose a level of facility with grammatical terminology and with languagelearning, this simplified approach, which prioritises text-reading over pure grammar learning, is refreshing. There are occasions when this teaching method can be frustrating, however; for example, at the first opportunity to practise transliteration of words written with only one-consonant hieroglyphs, the reader is told to ignore determinatives, as they have not yet been covered. Since the very next page introduces determinatives and explains their function very concisely, it is not clear why this exercise is not delayed for a page or two, allowing readers the opportunity really to engage with the material. Similarly, for a book aimed at a total beginner, there are occasions when words presented in hieroglyphs are transliterated and translated, and others when they are just translated, which can be confusing. If this book were to be used by a student as a springboard to further study, the lack of traditional technical terminology might also prove to be an obstacle, but this is a minor concern, as the clear language used makes the guide extremely accessible. There is a good mixture of texts presented as images of the original inscription, allowing readers the opportunity to grapple with the pitfalls of reading ‘real texts’, and texts rendered as epigraphic copies or in standard hieroglyphic fonts, which are of course much easier to read. Given the price, it is unsurprising that there are no colour images, but it is still a shame. In comparison to Manley’s other ‘beginner’s
guide’, written in collaboration with Mark Collier, this book provides less in the way of grammatical grounding, not even touching on verbal forms or constructions, but it does allow an immediacy of understanding which many will appreciate. While How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs can be found in an undergraduate’s reading list, Egyptian Hieroglyphs for Complete Beginners is more likely to be found in the backpack of an avid traveller to Egypt or museum visitor. JOANNA KYFFIN Chris Elliott, Egypt in England. English Heritage, 2012 (ISBN 978 184802 088 7). Price £25. The focus of this many-sided book is straightforward: upon ‘surviving architecture and interiors’ in England ‘inspired by Ancient Egypt’ (p.5). ‘Architecture’ here comprises buildings of all kinds, and also funerary monuments. ‘Interiors’ need not accompany exteriors: for example, the ‘Egyptian Hall’ at Stowe House near Buckingham (now largely given over to Stowe School), which has no other Egyptianising feature - none that survives, at any rate. Rather different are the two ancient obelisks, Cleopatra’s Needle and the Kingston Lacy obelisk. The former in particular raises questions about its present architectural setting and about abandoned proposals for its location in London and the reactions aroused by all of these. On the whole, however, the book does not cover issues concerning the presentation of actual antiquities. What counts as being ‘inspired’ by ancient Egypt is a question that does arise (e.g. p.31). Buildings can vary in how authentically Egyptian they look, and in whether they employ merely decorative details, or attempt an overall Egyptian design. If a rule of thumb is required, then presumably it should be simply that the Egyptian-ness must be evident. John Outram’s designs for the Temple of Storms pumping station (Isle of Dogs) and for the private residence Sphinx Hill (Oxfordshire) are not in the slightest concerned to look like ancient structures, but they do shout Egypt. Conversely, it is possible to walk by Britannia House (or ‘Hend House’) at the top end of London’s Shaftesbury Avenue without noticing its numerous Egyptian features, as the general appearance is not unlike that of other buildings of the 1920s. One purpose of the book is to serve as a
Stephen Quirke Going out in Daylight – prt m hrw: the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead - translation, sources, meanings First fully illustrated translation with Egyptian transliteration, aiming to present with their individual histories all the compositions on prt m hrw “Book of the Dead” papyri from the New Kingdom to Ptolemaic Period. The volume gives at least one version of every written composition, together with one or more images for the essential pictorial component of all writings for which illustrations are known. Writings at the margins or outside the prt m hrw corpus, including all ascribed “Book of the Dead” numbers in Egyptological publications, are included in the final section. The translations are supported by a thematic and historical introduction and closing glossary. A4, 641 pages, paperback; ISBN 9781906137311. Golden House Publications
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£70 - $140