Arranged by region, the book takes the reader along the ancient settlements that were established on the banks of the River Nile. Through beautiful photographs and expert captions, the reader gains an understanding of how ancient Egypt developed its trade links and became such a powerful force across North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.

The history, art and culture of ancient Egypt spanned thousands of years. Grand structures, including pyramids, temples and colossal statues, have endured for thousands of years more, allowing people today to witness the achievements of this great ancient civilization. Some of the artifacts, temples and ruins detailed in this book will be easily recognizable – the Great Sphinx of Giza, the gold funerary mask of King Tutankhamen and the walls covered by complex and colourful symbols and images known as hieroglyphs. Many more visual examples dating from the Old Kingdom (2686–2181 BCE) to the end of the Greco-Roman Period (332 BCE–395 CE) may be less familiar, but will delight readers nonetheless.

From the Neolithic cave paintings in Wadi Sura – created long before it was a desert when the region was savannah grassland – to the Valley of the Kings to the rock-cut temples at Abu Simbel, and from the vast temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor to the funerary mask of Tutankhamun and, of course, to the pyramids and the Sphinx, Ancient Egypt is a hugely colourful guide to the surviving wonders of Egyptian antiquity. Today the exceptional beauty and scale of the antiquities is legendary, drawing millions of visitors to Egypt’s monuments each year.

Arranged by region, the book takes the reader along the ancient settlements that were established on the banks of the River Nile. Through beautiful photographs and expert captions, the reader gains an understanding of how ancient Egypt developed its trade links and became such a powerful and wealthy force across North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean. Alongside the world-famous places, there are also fascinating, lesser-known entries, such as the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the bent pyramid at Dahshur and the Statue of Khaefre.

Featuring monuments and obelisks, hieroglyphics and jewelry, funerary masks, tombs and mausoleums, mummies of cats and statues of falcon-headed gods, Ancient Egypt includes 160 outstanding photographs and captions.