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Pyramids
The Old Kingdom pharaohs believed that death was the beginning of eternal life. That they would rise from their tombs to skimmer in the deep blue night as an unsetting star. Or that they would sail endlessly across the watery heavens in the shining boat of the sun god, Re.To help them on their way they built pyramids: huge ramps or stairways charged with the most powerful magic, leading directly to the sky. These massive monuments came to symbolise the might of a powerful nation ruled by a semi-divine god-king.
The first pyramid, the Step Pyramid built for king Djoser, appeared early in Egyptian history. But it didd not spring out of a technological void. To understand the skills and beliefs of the earliest pyramid builders we must look backwards, to the period before Egypt was a united land. In this book the pyramids are set into their historical, even pre-historical, context. By tracing the pyramid building society back to its roots, we see not only how and why the Egyptians were able to build their pyramids, but how the pyramids helped to build Egypt herself.
The first pyramid, the Step Pyramid built for king Djoser, appeared early in Egyptian history. But it didd not spring out of a technological void. To understand the skills and beliefs of the earliest pyramid builders we must look backwards, to the period before Egypt was a united land. In this book the pyramids are set into their historical, even pre-historical, context. By tracing the pyramid building society back to its roots, we see not only how and why the Egyptians were able to build their pyramids, but how the pyramids helped to build Egypt herself.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
9 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Joyce A. Tyldesley
34 books167 followersJoyce Tyldesley is a British archaeologist and Egyptologist, academic, writer and broadcaster.
Tyldesley was born in Bolton, Lancashire and attended Bolton School. In 1981, she earned a first-class honours degree in archaeology from Liverpool University, and a doctorate in Prehistoric Archaeology from Oxford in 1986. She is a Teaching Fellow at Manchester University where she is tutor and course organiser of the three-year distance learning (internet based) Certificate in Egyptology programme run from the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology.
She is an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Archaeology, Classics, and Egyptology at Liverpool University, an ex-trustee of the Egypt Exploration Society, Chairperson of Bolton Archaeology and Egyptology Society, and a trustee of Chowbent Chapel.
In 2004 she established, with Steven Snape of Rutherford Press Limited, a publishing firm dedicated to publishing serious but accessible books on ancient Egypt while raising money for Egyptology field work. Donations from RPL have been made to Manchester Museum and the Egypt Exploration Society: currently all profits are donated to the ongoing fieldwork at Zawiyet umm el-Rakham.
She is married with two children to Egyptologist Steven Snape and lives in Lancashire.
Tyldesley was born in Bolton, Lancashire and attended Bolton School. In 1981, she earned a first-class honours degree in archaeology from Liverpool University, and a doctorate in Prehistoric Archaeology from Oxford in 1986. She is a Teaching Fellow at Manchester University where she is tutor and course organiser of the three-year distance learning (internet based) Certificate in Egyptology programme run from the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology.
She is an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Archaeology, Classics, and Egyptology at Liverpool University, an ex-trustee of the Egypt Exploration Society, Chairperson of Bolton Archaeology and Egyptology Society, and a trustee of Chowbent Chapel.
In 2004 she established, with Steven Snape of Rutherford Press Limited, a publishing firm dedicated to publishing serious but accessible books on ancient Egypt while raising money for Egyptology field work. Donations from RPL have been made to Manchester Museum and the Egypt Exploration Society: currently all profits are donated to the ongoing fieldwork at Zawiyet umm el-Rakham.
She is married with two children to Egyptologist Steven Snape and lives in Lancashire.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 29, 2014
Despite the superlative subtitle, Joyce Tyldesley's Pyramids: The Real Story Behind Egypt's Most Ancient Monuments is a frank and authoritative tome on the most iconic image of Ancient Egypt throughout the centuries – the pyramids.
As usual with Tyldesley's books, her writing is both accessible and authoritative. I have no trouble recommending any of Tyldesley's books to readers new to Egyptology. Not only are her information good and her arguments sound, but her writing style is clear and the content well-explained.
Tyldesley claims to have attempted write about the pyramids and how they spawned from culture of the Egyptian Old Kingdom, rather than the question of 'how were they built'. I'm not quite sure she's entirely successful here – but only because there is limited information available. Certainly, this book is a good example of an "all-rounder" – we have information on the kings these tombs were built for and their rule, the workmen that built the pyramids, why they were built and, very briefly, how. Tyldesley also goes beyond the notion of pyramids as kingly tombs and spends a chapter tracing the motive of the pyramid in non-royal tombs. Scattered throughout the text as well are insights to how these monuments and their builders have been viewed throughout history.
If you are looking for a book on how they were built or the crazy conspiracies behind these structures, you best look elsewhere. Tyldesley does give a couple of recommendations for the first, but stubbornly ignores the latter, unless to quickly debunk a particular theory.
I found the first section – on predynastic times, providing the context for the emergence for the pyramid – a bit of a hard slog. Perhaps it's because I'm already fairly familiar with that time or because that time period is not particularly interesting with the evidence incredibly fragmentary and bewildering. This is the reason why the rating is four stars, not five. However, once I hit the chapters on Djoser, Sneferu and Khufu, I was able to enjoy the book a hell of a lot more.
All up, it's another typical Tyldesley read – reliable, easy to digest and authoritative – on a subject that's fascinating. With so much obfuscating information and theories on the pyramids of Egypt, it is always nice to have a book about them by an author like Tyldesley.
As usual with Tyldesley's books, her writing is both accessible and authoritative. I have no trouble recommending any of Tyldesley's books to readers new to Egyptology. Not only are her information good and her arguments sound, but her writing style is clear and the content well-explained.
Tyldesley claims to have attempted write about the pyramids and how they spawned from culture of the Egyptian Old Kingdom, rather than the question of 'how were they built'. I'm not quite sure she's entirely successful here – but only because there is limited information available. Certainly, this book is a good example of an "all-rounder" – we have information on the kings these tombs were built for and their rule, the workmen that built the pyramids, why they were built and, very briefly, how. Tyldesley also goes beyond the notion of pyramids as kingly tombs and spends a chapter tracing the motive of the pyramid in non-royal tombs. Scattered throughout the text as well are insights to how these monuments and their builders have been viewed throughout history.
If you are looking for a book on how they were built or the crazy conspiracies behind these structures, you best look elsewhere. Tyldesley does give a couple of recommendations for the first, but stubbornly ignores the latter, unless to quickly debunk a particular theory.
I found the first section – on predynastic times, providing the context for the emergence for the pyramid – a bit of a hard slog. Perhaps it's because I'm already fairly familiar with that time or because that time period is not particularly interesting with the evidence incredibly fragmentary and bewildering. This is the reason why the rating is four stars, not five. However, once I hit the chapters on Djoser, Sneferu and Khufu, I was able to enjoy the book a hell of a lot more.
All up, it's another typical Tyldesley read – reliable, easy to digest and authoritative – on a subject that's fascinating. With so much obfuscating information and theories on the pyramids of Egypt, it is always nice to have a book about them by an author like Tyldesley.
December 10, 2023
If you read only one book about the pyramids, this should be it. An accessible book written by a leading academic in the field, which spares the reader from the engineering details, dwells on the archaeology of the sites, and disperses with the ever-popular, perennial conspiracy theories. It starts from the first sedentary populations and the Naqada period and ends with the afterlife of pyramids after the collapse of the regime that conceived them.
The latter part of the book is rather hurriedly written. After a great overview of the Giza pyramids, what follows takes the form of a narrated catalogue listing who built what and where, without overarching threads or main points. A true shame and a missed opportunity to summarise instead of listing, but I would not dream of awarding anything less than five stars to this rewarding work. Now, on to her Penguin Stories book on Egyptian myths before I press on with Akhenaten.
The latter part of the book is rather hurriedly written. After a great overview of the Giza pyramids, what follows takes the form of a narrated catalogue listing who built what and where, without overarching threads or main points. A true shame and a missed opportunity to summarise instead of listing, but I would not dream of awarding anything less than five stars to this rewarding work. Now, on to her Penguin Stories book on Egyptian myths before I press on with Akhenaten.
Read
July 29, 2023I read the recently published e-book edition. Does not seem to have been updated since original publication. While the pyramids have not changed much in the mean time, an epilogue noting relevant new research would have been nice.
On the plus side it is well written. Construction methods are barely discussed, the lay-out of the pyramids is described and gets about equal attention with the social and theological context of the pyramids.
On the plus side it is well written. Construction methods are barely discussed, the lay-out of the pyramids is described and gets about equal attention with the social and theological context of the pyramids.
December 16, 2025
With her dry approach, Tyldesley manages to suck all interest out of the pyramids. Deadly prose style.
April 12, 2015
A whole new window opened before my eyes after reading this book; I discovered much more about ancient Egyptian culture and history and learned much about the pyramids that they built. An excellent read, bordering very closely on an incredibly long archaeological journal entry; which was not necessarily a bad thing. The text, though using academic language cannot hide the dreamy feel and wonder of the author (again, not a bad thing), adding to the enjoyability of the read and preventing it to become boring.
The text itself explores tombs as they evolve into pyramids and then follows the kings who built the pyramids chronologically, not forgetting the pyramids which were not built by/for kings. There are at places analysis of the hieroglyphs and paintings found on the sites, but not always, sometimes they are just mentioned to have existed, and then passed by.
There is a whole part of the book dedicated to the meaning of these pyramids but this part mainly focuses on the earlier pyramids and the symbolic meanings and the reasons for some of the later pyramids are overlooked.
Overall a great read and definitely recommended for Egyptology and pyramid/tomb enthusiasts!
The text itself explores tombs as they evolve into pyramids and then follows the kings who built the pyramids chronologically, not forgetting the pyramids which were not built by/for kings. There are at places analysis of the hieroglyphs and paintings found on the sites, but not always, sometimes they are just mentioned to have existed, and then passed by.
There is a whole part of the book dedicated to the meaning of these pyramids but this part mainly focuses on the earlier pyramids and the symbolic meanings and the reasons for some of the later pyramids are overlooked.
Overall a great read and definitely recommended for Egyptology and pyramid/tomb enthusiasts!
April 7, 2013
Eu recomendo e muito esse livro. Eu era um dos que aceitava (não acreditava, mas não descartava) a teoria dos alienígenas terem construído/ensinado os egípcios a construir as pirâmides. Aqueles que acreditam nisso deveriam ler esse livro. Assim como a ciência não ter explicação para tais eventos não é desculpa para o uso do deus das lacunas, a não-existência de explicações satisfatórias sobre a construção das pirâmides não é desculpa pra inventar teorias absurdas sobre elas.
July 26, 2011
Nothing really new and mainly boring.
February 7, 2014
Very enjoyable and informative read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews