Egypt
Finally, this morning we got to watch the first episode of the BBC series Egypt, which we DVD'd last Sunday. This series will be focusing on various aspects of the discovery Ancient Egypt. Champollion (Rosetta stone) and Belzoni (hieroglyphics) will be covered, but first up was Howard Carter and Tutankhamun.The most recent of the three, Carter had a struggle to undertake the work he wanted to do. That certainly struck a nerve with me. Along with funding problems, he also had work taken away from him on the whim of said funder - unfortunately, I've also experienced that as well. But the episode also commmunicated the single-mindedness, the passion, the expertise, and the sheer curiosity true archaeologists have. So bravo!
However, the dp pointed out that egyptology of the early 20th century is not really like the archaeology we know today. There was scant regard for stratigraphy, which gives the context of the material. It's more like a treasure hunt. But Carter, for his time was very good, and recorded meticulously (i.e. slowly, which put his employers to the test somewhat, but is standard archaeological method) The focus is very much on the artefacts, and that's also what I am mainly interested in. So I enjoyed this first episode immensely.
Archival information about Howard Carter and the excavations can be found here.
posted by Alex Bordessa @ Saturday, November 05, 2005
2 Comments:
I was sort of expecting to have read your views on the BBC's ROME by now. I noticed a distinct lack of trousers, but given Mark Anthony's tendency to shag anything that moved, I suspect that they would have cramped his style a little.
That sounds like great series, Alex! And I definitely imagine how you can relate to characters!
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