The Red Land: The Illustrated Archaeology of Egypt's Eastern Desert

by Steven E. Sidebotham, Martin Hense, Hendrikje M. Nouwens

For thousands of years Egypt has crowded the Nile Valley and Delta. The Eastern Desert, however, has also played a crucial—though until now little understood—role in Egyptian history. Ancient inhabitants of the Nile Valley feared the desert, which they referred to as the Red Land, and were reluctant to venture there, yet they exploited the extensive mineral wealth of this region. They also profited from the valuable wares conveyed across the desert between the Nile and the Red Sea ports, which originated from Arabia, Africa, India, and elsewhere in the east.

Based on twenty years of archaeological fieldwork conducted in the Eastern Desert, The Red Land reveals the cultural and historical richness of this little known and seldom visited area of Egypt. A range of important archaeological sites dating from Prehistoric to Byzantine times is explored here in text and illustrations. Among these ancient treasures are petroglyphs, cemeteries, fortified wells, gold and emerald mines, hard stone quarries, roads, forts, ports, and temples. With 250 photographs and fascinating artistic reconstructions based on the evidence on the ground, along with the latest research and accounts from ancient sources and modern travelers, the authors lead the reader into the remotest corners of the hauntingly beautiful Eastern Desert to discover the full story of the area's human history.

448 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 2008

Reviews

[Iset · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has to be the most comprehensive book about archaeology in Egypt’s Eastern Desert that I’ve ever read, and yet, at the conclusion of many of the chapters, Sidebotham et al. note that they have barely scratched the surface of the topic and much more work needs to be done in this region. This is an academic text, in my opinion, despite a couple of chapters having a travelogue feel – the authors’ accounts of the difficulties of their survey work, an overview of the life of the current desert nomads – for the most part it is an in-depth examination of the archaeological remains to be found in the Eastern Desert, their specifications, the techniques used to find, excavate, and preserve them. Additional bonus boxes highlight the careers of notable archaeologists who have worked in the region in the past, and the book is absolutely chock full of diagrams and photographs, allowing the reader to get a really good grasp on site layouts and how the remains look today. I think a reader’s enjoyment of this book depends on their individual interests. I personally felt more engaged reading about temples, warfare, and trade, and found the book to be dry on chapters such as field surveying, quarries and mines, and logistics such as roads and water – but that’s probably because my interest as a historian is weighted in favour of the thoughts, beliefs, and cultural elements of past peoples, and less so on methodology, ancient logistics, and technical detail. If you don’t have at least some existing interest in the book’s subject, you may find it a bit of a chore, but otherwise, I would recommend it; it’s well-written and very well-researched.

8 out of 10