This book spans across many millennia of time in the deep history of Egypt. From the earliest period of mastaba and pyramid builders, the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, through Greek, Roman, Muslim and colonial occupations, up to the present day. And the one consistent factor throughout it all is the local propensity for tomb raiding.
There has always been tomb raiding in some form, And those committing the crime have tended to be either the already rich, but corrupt, officials on the one hand, and the poor and desperate peasant robber on the other. The central concept throughout Egyptian history is that dig under any stretch of sand and you're bound to hit some form of ancient building or significant artifact.
The essential strangeness is why bury yourself in a tomb and stuff it full of valuable treasures to take with you to the afterlife? This left poor Egyptians an open entrance to a great temptation. Its like putting up a sign saying - Dig Here To Make An Easy Fortune! There are ancient documented cases of tomb robbers being brought to book and executed even in the time of the pyramids. The tomb robbers then were the poor labourers who actually built the tomb, or the priests of Amun who knew exactly its whereabouts. This makes you wonder just how much of Egyptian mythology concerning the after life was actually fully believed. Was the fact it was so straightforward to do, just too strong a motivation to resist when you yourself are terminally poor with no prospects?
Nonetheless the game of attempting to build tombs to out fox the tomb robbers went on and on for millennia. And judging by how few tombs actually survived intact, this perpetually ever more complex and inventive endeavour was entirely futile. As Egypt was invaded and occupied by other rising Empires, the market motivating the pursuit of treasure changed. When it was just within Egypt it was largely to gain access to gold and semi precious stones, whose resale value within Egypt was lucrative. But once occupied by foreign empires ,the tomb raiders turned to stealing to order. As their new masters wanted to form Egyptian collections, to enhance there homes and public perceptions. Egypt became the foundational civilisation from which they all saw themselves emerging out of.
And so it went on. The Muslim Arab Empires portrayed Egypt as this wondrous place full of hidden treasures. And their stories, such as in The Thousand & One Nights, repeatedly tell of discovering buried magical cultural artifacts or lost powerful alchemical spells. And from this urban mythology of Egypt being the place to find buried treasure and a sense of adventure, began to infect Western Civilisation. Soon to be displaying in their squares ancient obelisks imported from Egypt. Artefacts bought and brought back to enhance the grounds of stately homes and national museum collections, to demonstrate a cultured and cultivated sensibility. The poor families of the Egyptian Gunawari village began to be known as the first port of call for their skills in tomb robbing to fulfill colonial requests.
This trade became so pernicious, that even though the authorities wanted to clamp down on tomb robbing, they were simultaneously being corrupted by the Western market demand. Even Howard Carter, though he made strenuous attempts to put a stop to it, was not immune to selling smaller artefacts for personal favours. But gradually as the 20th century progressed the Egyptian Antiquaries Authority did successfully limit the legitimate export of ancient items out of the country. The illicit trade, however, continued on much as before. If anything as the legal routes were more tightly closed off, activity through illegal routes intensified.
Increasing reports of deaths beneath houses in poor districts of Cairo, after tunnels burrowed underneath them by their owners collapsed in upon them, reached epidemic proportions in the 21st century. And whilst you might think there surely wasn't much treasure left to be discovered, then Sarah Parcak's space satellite scans of Egypt have located thousands and thousands of previously unknown and concealed sites beneath the ground. These scans have, in themselves, further fed the frenzy for further speculative tomb raiding. Ancient Egypt is a culture that appears to just keep on giving.
A Short History of Tomb Raiding, is a brilliant read, well paced, and propelled by a sense for the excitement of the archaeological adventure to reach discoveries before the robber does. A long running battle for Egypt to retain hold of its own cultural history, and not have it sold abroad to the highest bidder.
CARROT REVIEW - 6/8
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