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Ten Discoveries That Rewrote History
The world’s greatest archaeological finds and what they tell us about lost civilizations
Renowned archaeologist Patrick Hunt brings his top ten list of ancient archaeological discoveries to life in this concise and captivating book. The Rosetta Stone, Troy, Nineveh's Assyrian Library, King Tut’s Tomb, Machu Picchu, Pompeii, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Thera, Olduvai Gorge, and the Tomb of 10,000 Warriors—Hunt reveals the fascinating stories of these amazing discoveries and explains the ways in which they added to our knowledge of human history and permanently altered our worldview. Part travel guide to the wonders of the world and part primer on ancient world history, Ten Discoveries That Rewrote History captures the awe and excitement of finding a lost window into ancient civilization.
Renowned archaeologist Patrick Hunt brings his top ten list of ancient archaeological discoveries to life in this concise and captivating book. The Rosetta Stone, Troy, Nineveh's Assyrian Library, King Tut’s Tomb, Machu Picchu, Pompeii, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Thera, Olduvai Gorge, and the Tomb of 10,000 Warriors—Hunt reveals the fascinating stories of these amazing discoveries and explains the ways in which they added to our knowledge of human history and permanently altered our worldview. Part travel guide to the wonders of the world and part primer on ancient world history, Ten Discoveries That Rewrote History captures the awe and excitement of finding a lost window into ancient civilization.
226 pages, Paperback
First published September 25, 2007
128 people are currently reading
662 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Hunt
45 books14 followersAlso publishes under the pen name - Patrick N. Hunt.
If you were looking for Patrick Hunt as a young boy, you would have often found him high up in a favorite tree with a book. He discovered Bach as a young teenager and taught himself to play Bach’s TWO-PART INVENTIONS on a rickety piano because his family could not afford music lessons. Now his love of teaching and creative ventures form a strong signature for his life.
Patrick is indebted and grateful to hundreds of students young and old over the years in many places who have taught him just as much as he has taught them. He realizes how
very lucky he is to be doing what he loves and knows many people have helped him along the way.
Patrick has followed several of his life-long dreams – archaeologist, writer, composer, poet, art historian – while teaching the last fifteen or so years at Stanford University.
Some of the courses he has taught at Stanford accommodate his breadth of interests in the Humanities, the Arts, Ancient History and Ancient Technology as well as Archaeological Science. He has lived in London, Athens and Jerusalem as well as annual time spent in Switzerland, France, Italy every year since 1994, among many other countries, and has also conducted archaeological research in Peru on Inca sites and on Olmec, Maya and Aztec cultures in Central America.
As a musician and composer, among classical music works, he has written piano, choral and chamber music and is a Full Writer member of ASCAP since 1980 when some of his choral songs were published along with a movie score he composed. In 1999, a Duke University musical group performed his SONGS OF EXILE: By the Rivers of Babylon in Washington, DC, Raleigh and at Duke. Three arias from his opera in progress, BYRON IN GREECE, were recently performed in London in March, 2005 and William Blake poems set to choral music were performed at Stanford in February, 2005.
Patrick illustrated Richard Martin’s MYTHS OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS (New American Library-Penguin, 2003) and has illustrated his newest book of poems, HOUSE OF THE MUSE: Poems from the British Museum, newly published in the summer of 2005. His poetry publications include poems in YOUNG AMERICAN POETS (1978), POET LORE (1978) and CLASSICAL OUTLOOK (1991). He is also translating Greek poets like Sappho and encyclopedists like Theophrastus.
Patrick has directed Stanford’s Alpine Archaeology Project since 1994, conducting high altitude research in the Great St. Bernard pass between Switzerland and Italy. In 1996 he found the 9000 ft. high quarry for the Temple of Jupiter in the Fenetre de Ferret pass adjacent to the Great St. Bernard Pass and has directed a team that found a Roman silver coin hoard in the Swiss Alps in 2003. Another of his research interests has been to track Hannibal who crossed the Alps in 218 BCE with an army accompanied by elephants. He has led annual teams across at least ten Alpine passes in search of topographic clues matching the texts of Polybius and Livy who wrote about Hannibal nearly two millennia ago, including multiple Stanford teams between 1996 and 2008.
Patrick has been published on diverse topics such as monuments like the Pantheon, ancient notables such as Gyges and Herodotus, linguistics, biblical studies, the origin of Byzantine Silk, studies in Hebrew poetry and literary wordplay, Roman monuments in operas, calendrical megaliths, Olmec and Maya sculpture, iconography on Greek vases and myth palindromes, nautical exploration, art history, Egyptian stone working and Phoenician lore and geoarchaeology among other topics. His academic publications include journal and encyclopedia entries in peer-reviewed articles such as WORLD ARCHAEOLOGY (1989), BULLETIN OF THE INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL STUDIES (1988), PAPERS OF THE INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY, LONDON (1990), STUDIA PHOENICIA (1991), BEITRAGE FUR ERFORSCHUNG DES ALTE
If you were looking for Patrick Hunt as a young boy, you would have often found him high up in a favorite tree with a book. He discovered Bach as a young teenager and taught himself to play Bach’s TWO-PART INVENTIONS on a rickety piano because his family could not afford music lessons. Now his love of teaching and creative ventures form a strong signature for his life.
Patrick is indebted and grateful to hundreds of students young and old over the years in many places who have taught him just as much as he has taught them. He realizes how
very lucky he is to be doing what he loves and knows many people have helped him along the way.
Patrick has followed several of his life-long dreams – archaeologist, writer, composer, poet, art historian – while teaching the last fifteen or so years at Stanford University.
Some of the courses he has taught at Stanford accommodate his breadth of interests in the Humanities, the Arts, Ancient History and Ancient Technology as well as Archaeological Science. He has lived in London, Athens and Jerusalem as well as annual time spent in Switzerland, France, Italy every year since 1994, among many other countries, and has also conducted archaeological research in Peru on Inca sites and on Olmec, Maya and Aztec cultures in Central America.
As a musician and composer, among classical music works, he has written piano, choral and chamber music and is a Full Writer member of ASCAP since 1980 when some of his choral songs were published along with a movie score he composed. In 1999, a Duke University musical group performed his SONGS OF EXILE: By the Rivers of Babylon in Washington, DC, Raleigh and at Duke. Three arias from his opera in progress, BYRON IN GREECE, were recently performed in London in March, 2005 and William Blake poems set to choral music were performed at Stanford in February, 2005.
Patrick illustrated Richard Martin’s MYTHS OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS (New American Library-Penguin, 2003) and has illustrated his newest book of poems, HOUSE OF THE MUSE: Poems from the British Museum, newly published in the summer of 2005. His poetry publications include poems in YOUNG AMERICAN POETS (1978), POET LORE (1978) and CLASSICAL OUTLOOK (1991). He is also translating Greek poets like Sappho and encyclopedists like Theophrastus.
Patrick has directed Stanford’s Alpine Archaeology Project since 1994, conducting high altitude research in the Great St. Bernard pass between Switzerland and Italy. In 1996 he found the 9000 ft. high quarry for the Temple of Jupiter in the Fenetre de Ferret pass adjacent to the Great St. Bernard Pass and has directed a team that found a Roman silver coin hoard in the Swiss Alps in 2003. Another of his research interests has been to track Hannibal who crossed the Alps in 218 BCE with an army accompanied by elephants. He has led annual teams across at least ten Alpine passes in search of topographic clues matching the texts of Polybius and Livy who wrote about Hannibal nearly two millennia ago, including multiple Stanford teams between 1996 and 2008.
Patrick has been published on diverse topics such as monuments like the Pantheon, ancient notables such as Gyges and Herodotus, linguistics, biblical studies, the origin of Byzantine Silk, studies in Hebrew poetry and literary wordplay, Roman monuments in operas, calendrical megaliths, Olmec and Maya sculpture, iconography on Greek vases and myth palindromes, nautical exploration, art history, Egyptian stone working and Phoenician lore and geoarchaeology among other topics. His academic publications include journal and encyclopedia entries in peer-reviewed articles such as WORLD ARCHAEOLOGY (1989), BULLETIN OF THE INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL STUDIES (1988), PAPERS OF THE INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY, LONDON (1990), STUDIA PHOENICIA (1991), BEITRAGE FUR ERFORSCHUNG DES ALTE
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
December 11, 2019
A short, easy-to-read introduction to ten discoveries that have transformed our idea of history, from the discovery of Troy to the Tomb of 10,000 Warriors. It is pleasant and informative, although not particularly memorable. The chapter on Machu Picchu is an exception, however: it is vivid, personal and contains a memorable anecdote.
June 1, 2012
Let's clarify the title a little bit first. I had thought that it was going to be about discoveries that changed the time they were discovered in. Moveable type, for example. Instead, it's about archaeological discoveries that altered contemporary perceptions of previous eras. It's a fine difference, enough that I wouldn't even call the title as is misleading, but I think it does help to know what you're getting into.
For what it is, I think the examples were mostly well chosen. We start with the Rosetta Stone, whose impact is unquestioned and would probably be on any list like this. There's some opinion in the list, of course, but I couldn't really argue with any of the selections. They're arranged in chronological age of the discovery, each section is very brief, but tries to explain the backdrop for the discovery and the impact it had. Overall, it's quite interesting.
I do feel like I have to note that the author really skims over, and is sometimes dismissive of, the very serious issues of art repatriation and artifact smuggling. He seems more concerned that collectors can't authenticate their stolen artifacts than the fact that they're being stolen in the first place, or that museums are often knowingly filled with stolen artifacts. But since this is really a work of pop history, and short, I'm trying not to judge too harshly on opinions that may be quite different if he had space to expand them.
For what it is, I think the examples were mostly well chosen. We start with the Rosetta Stone, whose impact is unquestioned and would probably be on any list like this. There's some opinion in the list, of course, but I couldn't really argue with any of the selections. They're arranged in chronological age of the discovery, each section is very brief, but tries to explain the backdrop for the discovery and the impact it had. Overall, it's quite interesting.
I do feel like I have to note that the author really skims over, and is sometimes dismissive of, the very serious issues of art repatriation and artifact smuggling. He seems more concerned that collectors can't authenticate their stolen artifacts than the fact that they're being stolen in the first place, or that museums are often knowingly filled with stolen artifacts. But since this is really a work of pop history, and short, I'm trying not to judge too harshly on opinions that may be quite different if he had space to expand them.
July 6, 2015
Years ago, so many that it might take an archeological expedition to recover the relevant documents, I was actively taking a slew of ancient history courses (I loved learning about the Romans), mostly under the wonderful Kelly Tipps, so I am familiar with almost all of the stories presented here, although Hunt manages to include much material that I happily enjoyed. It also never hurts to get a refresher course every once in a while. And all of these great finds were groundbreaking and influential milestones. Of course, they are but the tip of the pyramid of such discoveries, each new find constantly deepening and refurbishing our understanding of the past. That being said, Hunt is not a particularly good writer, and could have benefited greatly from some editing from an English colleague or two. The organization sadly lends itself to repetition, as if each chapter was one of those History Channel episodes that repeat major portions after each commercial break.
December 8, 2017
These discoveries are all in the field of Archeology and the author shows how they have changed that field. As well as how they have made changes to the world in general.
While some might quibble with the order or the importance of the discoveries it is a very good list, It ranges from the Rosetta Stone to a possible foundation for the myth of Atlantis and the high vastness of Machu Picchu.
The format is fairly straightforward, he goes over the discovery, then on the implications of it at that time and then he discusses how it is still relevant to the modern day. It is a captivating read and one that helps share the joy of discovering new things. Well maybe not new, but things that haven't been seen by others in hundreds if not thousands of years.
Take a path down the unknown and learn the joy of wonder again.
While some might quibble with the order or the importance of the discoveries it is a very good list, It ranges from the Rosetta Stone to a possible foundation for the myth of Atlantis and the high vastness of Machu Picchu.
The format is fairly straightforward, he goes over the discovery, then on the implications of it at that time and then he discusses how it is still relevant to the modern day. It is a captivating read and one that helps share the joy of discovering new things. Well maybe not new, but things that haven't been seen by others in hundreds if not thousands of years.
Take a path down the unknown and learn the joy of wonder again.
January 20, 2020
Archeologist Patrick Hunt walks us through ten archeological discoveries that redefined how we view human history. For each, Hunt succinctly explains the circumstances of its discovery, the process to study or decode it, and how it changed our view of the past. Prior to the 19th century, much of our understanding of history came from surviving written texts. When archeology emerged as a major field of study, we began to recognize how much we can learn from what lies beneath the ground.
July 6, 2012
A short read but certainly worth it. Hunt gives you a great introduction to the discovery of Troy, Pompeii, The Tomb of 10,000 Warriors, Thera (possibly Atlantis) and the Rosetta Stone. Again, he rarely goes into much depth and it is very anecdotal, but I found the stories to be fascinating.
Hunt starts with the discovery process and ends with the implications--which really, unless you plan on pursuing the field--is all you need. For example, first you learn how the French unearthed the Rosetta Stone, then the race to translate it by Thomas Young and Jean-François Champollion, and finally exactly how critical it has become in deciphering Egyptian Culture.
Rather than trust the Wikipedia pages or a travel guide, pick up this book and keep it with you. It is the hub for a great many spokes of world history and archeology.
Hunt starts with the discovery process and ends with the implications--which really, unless you plan on pursuing the field--is all you need. For example, first you learn how the French unearthed the Rosetta Stone, then the race to translate it by Thomas Young and Jean-François Champollion, and finally exactly how critical it has become in deciphering Egyptian Culture.
Rather than trust the Wikipedia pages or a travel guide, pick up this book and keep it with you. It is the hub for a great many spokes of world history and archeology.
February 17, 2012
I was wandering the stacks in my local library, looking for something different from my usual reading material, when I came across this slim little volume. Hmmm, I thought, looks kinda interesting. And so I took it home.
I was pretty familiar with most of the discoveries, like King Tut's tomb and the Rosetta stone. Others, like Ninevah's Assyrian Library, I had never heard of. I'm familiar with The Epic of Gilgamesh and Hammurabi's Code, but never realized the source of their discovery.
One thing that struck me was how often the priceless treasures Hunt described are located not in their home countries, but in places like the British Museum. When he talks about the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, he makes sure to tell you it may not have air conditioning or air circulation when you visit. He says that Tut's treasures are amazing, but that the museum has them "poorly lit and crammed into cases" and "if the materials...were displayed according to the less-crowded standards of European or American museums, they would full nearly an entire museum of a large city." I got the distinct impression that Hunt thinks these treasures would be better off in such an American or European museum. Considering how much work people like Dr. Zahi Hawass have put into controlling their countries' artifacts, and thus, their cultural heritage, this is insulting, to say the least.
Hunt's privilege shows in other ways, too. For example, at the end of the chapter on the Olduvai Gorge, he quips that:
"...Lucy, who, if she was anything like one of her possible descendants millions of years later, would not be so glib about revealing her age or date of birth."
Was that really necessary? Ugh.
On an unrelated note, I wondered who the audience for this book would be. The chapters are short, and broken down into descriptive subheadings, and end with tidy "conclusion" sections. Hunt writes in a way that feels like you are following along an adventure, seeing what it may be like to find a major discovery. The chapters are more an introduction to their subjects, than comprehensive coverage. They may pique the interest of a reader and lead them to seek more information elsewhere. These features make it seem like high school students would be drawn to the book. However, some of the vocabulary is quite advanced. I'm not saying that students couldn't get a lot from this book, but they may need some encouragement, and a handy dictionary (ha! but seriously, m-w.com works great). Of course, the more we read and are exposed to new words, the easier they are to understand.
More on the blog: Wandering in the Stacks.
I was pretty familiar with most of the discoveries, like King Tut's tomb and the Rosetta stone. Others, like Ninevah's Assyrian Library, I had never heard of. I'm familiar with The Epic of Gilgamesh and Hammurabi's Code, but never realized the source of their discovery.
One thing that struck me was how often the priceless treasures Hunt described are located not in their home countries, but in places like the British Museum. When he talks about the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, he makes sure to tell you it may not have air conditioning or air circulation when you visit. He says that Tut's treasures are amazing, but that the museum has them "poorly lit and crammed into cases" and "if the materials...were displayed according to the less-crowded standards of European or American museums, they would full nearly an entire museum of a large city." I got the distinct impression that Hunt thinks these treasures would be better off in such an American or European museum. Considering how much work people like Dr. Zahi Hawass have put into controlling their countries' artifacts, and thus, their cultural heritage, this is insulting, to say the least.
Hunt's privilege shows in other ways, too. For example, at the end of the chapter on the Olduvai Gorge, he quips that:
"...Lucy, who, if she was anything like one of her possible descendants millions of years later, would not be so glib about revealing her age or date of birth."
Was that really necessary? Ugh.
On an unrelated note, I wondered who the audience for this book would be. The chapters are short, and broken down into descriptive subheadings, and end with tidy "conclusion" sections. Hunt writes in a way that feels like you are following along an adventure, seeing what it may be like to find a major discovery. The chapters are more an introduction to their subjects, than comprehensive coverage. They may pique the interest of a reader and lead them to seek more information elsewhere. These features make it seem like high school students would be drawn to the book. However, some of the vocabulary is quite advanced. I'm not saying that students couldn't get a lot from this book, but they may need some encouragement, and a handy dictionary (ha! but seriously, m-w.com works great). Of course, the more we read and are exposed to new words, the easier they are to understand.
More on the blog: Wandering in the Stacks.
April 21, 2008
A quick interesting read, somewhat like sitting down to a History Channel run-through of the top ten archaeological discoveries of the 19th-20th centuries.
September 12, 2017
Very good introduction to these ten sites (listed in a previous post), though the Tomb of 10,000 Warriors was, at the time of writing, incompletely excavated. That doesn't diminish its importance, just the inclusiveness of the write-up. Perhaps Dr Hunt will write an updated edition when that excavation merits it.
January 11, 2021
Overall, it felt like a book version of what I'd imagine "Intro to Archeology 101" to be like. Not bad, it's just not what I normally like reading about history. I'd been working on this one on and off for over a year now and am glad to have finished it.
August 16, 2017
Important review of ten discoveries. The author, a well known archaeologist, covers each with an explanation of their importance and how they were made. They will be familiar to most students of history, but they provide an excellent refresher.
December 31, 2013
There are already more than a dozen good reviews on Goodreads that cover the book's strong and weak points (nothing stood out as way off the mark), so I don't feel I really have to sell or defend this one - just check them out for yourself. I came across this roaming the stacks at the library and it was a welcome find.
Patrick Hunt takes ten archaeological discoveries you've heard of, but probably only knew about in outline. For each discovery he gives a little Indiana Jones-style introduction story, a little background to separate the fact from legend (or what is certainly known, from what is speculated, from what might never be proved or disproved), some relatively obscure facts the casual reader will probably find interesting, an explanation for why this discovery remains important today, and finally a summary section (with the occasional anecdote for good measure).
I liked it for being a quick, fun, and easy read. If you're curious about any of these discoveries or about archaeology in general, it's a good place to start.
Patrick Hunt takes ten archaeological discoveries you've heard of, but probably only knew about in outline. For each discovery he gives a little Indiana Jones-style introduction story, a little background to separate the fact from legend (or what is certainly known, from what is speculated, from what might never be proved or disproved), some relatively obscure facts the casual reader will probably find interesting, an explanation for why this discovery remains important today, and finally a summary section (with the occasional anecdote for good measure).
I liked it for being a quick, fun, and easy read. If you're curious about any of these discoveries or about archaeology in general, it's a good place to start.
May 6, 2008
Much thinner than you would expect for a whirlwind tour of archaeology from the Rosetta Stone to the present, this book by an archaeologist from Stanford University whips through the discovery of Troy, the library at Ninevah, King Tut's tomb, Macchu Picchu, Pompeii, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Akrotiri on the island of Thera (a Bronze Age site that may have been the origin of the stories of Atlantis), Olduvai, and the 10,000 ceramic warriors (which are actually less than 10,000, but apparently that sounds better) at Xian in China. The writing is occasionally awkward, but also occasionally wonderfully poetic. Because each chapter is so short, they can be puzzling unless you already know something about the subject (or, in my case, find yourself vaguely remembering something about the subject). It's bound to make your next weekend watching the Discovery Channel make more sense!
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August 3, 2011Most of these 10 discoveries are now basics in any high school social studies or college world history course - most of us understand the importance of the Rosetta Stone, Tut's Tomb and Macchu Picchu.
Conceptually, the layout is quite good, although the chronology of the chapters is a bit mysterious. I found myself bored by some sections which are well-known. Some of the less-well-known discoveries, however, I found myself wanting to have more information. Also a bit disconcerting to me was the fact that the author, Patrick Hunt, Ph.D., seems to have worked at each and every archaeological site about which he writes leading me to question his objectivity in choosing his top 10.
Conceptually, the layout is quite good, although the chronology of the chapters is a bit mysterious. I found myself bored by some sections which are well-known. Some of the less-well-known discoveries, however, I found myself wanting to have more information. Also a bit disconcerting to me was the fact that the author, Patrick Hunt, Ph.D., seems to have worked at each and every archaeological site about which he writes leading me to question his objectivity in choosing his top 10.
May 6, 2010
This book is awesome! Informative and entertaining at the same time. Through this book, I got a glimpse of ancient civilization and made me want to travel and see the discoveries first hand. Each chapter starts with a vivid description of the fascinating discoveries and the excavations of the landmarks making the discoveries come to life. Then the author explains the historical, political and cultural implications of each discovery and how they added to our knowledge of human history.
Recommended to all those who find archaeology interesting for reasons other than Indiana Jones.
Recommended to all those who find archaeology interesting for reasons other than Indiana Jones.
October 5, 2008
Interesting. Brief enough to hold my attention but informative enough to actually be worth the time. If you have only heard about these discoveries its a good book to read. I found that in reading about a few of them I learned new information about discoveries that were familiar to me, discredited some things I thought I had known, and was introduced to some I had never known about. Its always fun to learn about new things - give it a try.
February 17, 2012
Patrick Hunt's Ten Discoveries that Rewrote History was entertaining and informative. While many of the discoveries I had learned about in history classes, not many had been in depth. Hunt painted a picture of not only what each site would look like if visited, but also explained in layman's terms why each discovery was so important in our quest to find the truth about the world's ancient cultures and beginnings.
May 8, 2017
This is a wonderful little read, by an American archaeologist. He reviews 10 discoveries, setting each in its time, describes the discovery, what was found and why it is important. These include the Rosetta Stone, Troy, The librarty at Nineveh, Tut's tomb, Machu Picchu, Pompeii, the Dead Sea scrolls, Thera, Olduvai gorge and the Terra cotta warriors. The style is breezy and so you nibble your way to knowledge with a smile.
January 10, 2012
What a fun read! I love history, especially the more climactic discoveries we've made of our distant past. Hunt present 10 discoveries, such as the Rosetta Stone and Machu Pichu, and gives illustrative accounts of their discovery, their significance, and their place in history.
Highly recommended, especially to history buffs.
Highly recommended, especially to history buffs.
July 11, 2014
Interesting subject matter but not well written. Kind of simplistic and at times written in an almost tritely style. His choices of discoveries is right on and some of the details were new to me, but there was something about the presentation that was off. It was almost like it was aimed for 12 year olds.
December 3, 2014
Professor Hunt is a professor of archeology and one of the world's experts on Hannibal's war on Rome.
Here he discusses ten 'finds' by archeologists that changed the way we view our history.
Only on one of the ten did I feel unengaged.
If you like history and archeology, this is a must read.
Here he discusses ten 'finds' by archeologists that changed the way we view our history.
Only on one of the ten did I feel unengaged.
If you like history and archeology, this is a must read.
June 28, 2017
Nothing remarkable, and anyone with even a passing familiarity with ancient history will find much of this familiar. But as a one-stop primer on ancient discoveries, it's solid & informative work. I also appreciate its showcasing of locations that don't get as much press as they should, such as Nineveh & Thera.
May 24, 2008
The Rosetta Stone, Troy, Nineveh's Assyrian Library, King Tut's Tomb, Machu Pichu, Pompeii, Dead Sea Scrolls, Thera, Olduvai Gorge, Tomb of 10,000 Warriors.
10 competent essays on 10 important discoveries.
10 competent essays on 10 important discoveries.
August 10, 2009
This is a really concise description of ten pivotal archaeological discoveries. The book is a quick and interesting read, and it is written in such a way as to be engaging for those of us who are not archaeologists.
May 10, 2014
20 pages on each of 10 amazing archeological discoveries can do a lot to help become aware of the past. The author does a good job of presenting the occasion of the discover and the context and a few concluding remarks about each history changing discovery.
December 18, 2008
An interesting book. Gives the story behind some of the greatest archeological discoveries ever and explains why they are so important.
September 14, 2020
Good overview.
March 4, 2020
A remarkably well written book on some of the most interesting archaeological discoveries
July 24, 2019
The author, who is an eminent American archaeologist, has provided a very useful summary of ten discoveries that give us a much better understanding of human history across the world. The following are the discoveries he explains in this book, along with the details about who discovered them and why they are so important – Rosetta Stone (the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs and unlocking the history of the ancient world texts), Troy (proved that Troy was not just a myth based on Homer, but a historical site where real people lived and fought), Nineveh and the Royal Assyrian Library (unearthed a whole lost library of cuneiform texts, including ones not only from ancient Assyria but also from far older Sumer, Akkad, Babylon and other great civilizations), King Tut’s Tomb (the first time in millennia a pharaoh’s tomb had actually been found intact, and whose treasure gave the world a unique opportunity to actually account for staggering Egyptian royal wealth), Machu Picchu (made it possible for the world to finally see an undisturbed Inca royal city mysteriously abandoned on a mountaintop), Pompeii (the single most important Roman site in the world, preserved by volcanic ash), Dead Sea Scrolls (these hidden desert texts revolutionized our perceptions of early Jewish and Christian religion, and their finding has pushed back our knowledge of biblical manuscripts by a thousand years), Akrotiri on Thera (similar to Pompeii, ash from the volcanic eruption in 1620 BC preserved a whole Aegean city that might have been the source of the Atlantis myths), Olduvai Gorge (the dramatic unearthing of most ancient human bones and tools, at least a million years old, in East Africa are considered by many as conclusive proof to Darwinian evolution theory), Tomb of 10,000 Warriors (this staggering tomb from around 220-210 BC, spreading over hundreds of acres, is of the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang, who is perhaps the most important influencer of Chinese culture in many ways). I really liked this book a lot, particularly as somebody with a deep interest in history.
May 9, 2020
I came across this book by luck and really enjoyed reading about a handful of historical discoveries I previously had not studied. The author, Patrick Hunt, does an excellent job of not only framing the archaeological find through the lens of how the discovery was made but also by explaining the development through the broader lens of its historical significance. For example, how finding the Rosetta Stone provided the breakthrough for understanding the Egyptian civilization. The discoveries I found the most interesting included the Rosetta Stone, Troy, King Tut’s Tomb, Machu Picchu, Pompeii, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Olduvai Gorge. In each case, the discovery increased our understanding of the period and re-wrote our perspective on the historical event. This book is a good short read for anyone who wants to read up on the most important discoveries of the past few hundred years.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews