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If you've ever seen the television documentary, you will know how thrilled I was, recently, to find this book upon which it was based.

Romer takes the archaeological work that has been done on the village called (in more recent times) Deir el Medina, and traces several hundred years of its history. It was located up in a dry valley just over a ridge from the Valley of the Kings (the "Place of Truth") in ancient Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile from Thebes, and was a village unlike any other in the world. There were no natural sources of food or even water nearby, so all its provisions were supplied either by the office of the royal Vizier or the Priests of Amun at the temples across the river in Thebes. This was because the sole purpose for its existence was to house the families who excavated, carved, and painted the tombs and grave goods of the ancient Pharaohs.

The village is one of the most well-documented settlements in ancient history, for its scribes kept careful and meticulous records of progress on tomb construction, the use and replacement of tools, who worked in which gangs (excavating, drafting, or painting), which provisions were delivered when, and even who was accusing whom of what when there were disputes. Many of these records were found in offices right in the village, as well as sealed caches in the homes of later generations that moved down to the west bank of the Nile.

Therefore Romer can take us through many generations of several families, showing how they lived their daily lives, developed their skills, and passed on the creative torch to their sons. He correlates the history of the village with historical events at Thebes, demonstrating how the abandonment of this capital city by the Pharaohs (even though the city itself remained inhabited) affected provisions, government, and even policing of the area. We follow the main genealogical lines through prosperous times, through a long-standing feud between two families, strikes and periods of uncertain provisioning, a spell of starvation, lawlessness and tomb-robbing, and finally into a last period of creativity before the village was abandoned after several hundred years of habitation.

We read the writings of the family of scribes, learning that Kenhirkhopeshef (who kept lists of dream interpretations and health spells as well as legal records) had a distinctive handwriting style, while a later scribe, Djutmose, was given considerable authority in the government of Thebes, and was constantly feeling under the weather.

We also become familiar with draftsmen and painters of exquisite skill, whose characteristic styles can be discerned in specific tombs over the centuries.

Those who have seen the television series will remember John Romer standing in front of tomb paintings, tracing the lines and colours with gentle fingers, waxing almost poetic as he spoke of the style and beauty of the work. Or walking up the main street of the village, describing the evening feasts of the villagers as though they were merely distant cousins, who had lived a full, vital, and happy life only the day before yesterday. He spoke every name as though referring to a loved one, and his language was almost lyrical.

Reading this book, which came before and inspired the TV series, we discover where this poetic lyricism came from. Even dry words on paper spring to life, and we can almost hear Romer's soft voice, fondly describing the generations of villagers, bringing to life each person's individual character, skills, and aspirations. We learn to love the villagers and their history almost as much as he does. And when the site is finally left empty, its last inhabitants carting their worldly possessions on mules down to the new settlement on the west bank, we are the last to leave, casting sad, reluctant glances over our shoulders as we climb the pass and at last lose sight of the place.

Fortunately, thanks to the archaeological work of a few scholars in the late 19th and 20th centuries -- and thanks most of all to Romer's loving exposition in the 1980s -- we are allowed to return again, and three hundred years of villagers are resurrected before our eyes, living and loving, and creating their sacred masterpieces in the Valley of the Kings.

This is a fascinating description of what is known from the archaeological evidence about the lives of the tombmakers of the Valley of the Kings in the period 1320-1054 BC. (It is not about the lives of the pharaohs.)

I have both a paperback and a hardcover edition of this book. The text and typesetting of most of the pages are identical, including the page numbering and the line breaks, even the Index. The matching pages of the paperback have the appearance of slightly reduced photo images of the hardcover pages. Both have a listing of "Colour Plates" on pages vii-viii. The paperback, however, doesn't have color plates; it has very disappointing monochrome copies of the color plates, printed on the same coarse paper as the text. I bought the hardcover edition in order to get the color plates and I recommend that you do, too. (I would return the paperback except that I bought it used for just over $2.)

My hardcover edition (published in 1984 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, ISBN 0-03-000733-X) is entitled "Ancient Lives: Daily Life in Egypt of the Pharaohs." My paperback (published in 2003 by Phoenix Press, ISBN 1 84212 044 1) has the more accurate title "Ancient Lives: The Story of the Pharaohs' Tombmakers." The copyright page of my hardcover edition says "Originally published in Great Britain under the title 'Ancient Lives: The Story of the Pharaohs' Tombmakers'" and notes that it is the First American Edition, Printed in Great Britain.

This book looks at the lives of workers of Ancient Egypt through their own words and artifacts. This is a book I couldn't put down and have re-read twice.

This book was given to me as a present while I was living in Cairo. It inspired me to take a trip down to Luxor, hire a bicycle, and find the City of the Tombmakers. It is easy and enjoyable to read, with excellent photographs, maps and illustrations. It was a good guide to the trip as well as being fascinating as an insight to the ancient lives.

Superb