The Red Land
In 2008 verscheen
bij The American University in Cairo Press het boek ‘The Red land,
the Illustrated Archaeology of Egypt’s Eastern Desert, geschreven
door Steven E. Sidebotham, Hendrikje M. Nouwens en met illustraties
van Martin Hense. ISBN: 978-977-416-094-3.
Korte inhoud:
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 over 280 photographs and fascinating
artistic reconstructions based on the evidence on the ground, along
with the latest research and accounts from ancient sources and modern
travellers, the authors lead the reader into the remotes corner of the
hauntingly beautiful Eastern Desert to discover the full story of the
area’s human history.