Susan Redford

This facsimile edition of a much acclaimed volume brings back into print a major study of the evidence for the domesticated plants and animals exploited by the ancient Egyptians. The rise of agriculture must be amongst the most important steps that humans have taken on their long road to the present day and marked the beginning of sedentary life from the Neolithic onwards and the development of civilization. Of the earliest civilizations, Ancient Egypt remains a particularly useful field of study: the physical remains are preserved by the dry desert environment and the Egyptians have left us with an abundance of written and pictorial records which go back over 5000 years. Grasses, legumes, vegetables, fruits, domestic animals and pets are all considered in this comprehensive study. It is profusely illustrated from Egyptian wall paintings and reliefs, which provide us with a vivid record of the Egyptian’s use of plants and animals in their daily lives. Thirty years after its original publication, this groundbreaking volume remains an invaluable sourcebook for archaeologists in all fields and to anyone interested in zoology, botany and early agriculture.

Theban Tomb 188 is the sole archaeological site in the ancient Theban necropolis securely dated to the reign of the “heretic pharaoh” Akhenaten (1353–1336 BCE). The result of several years of clearance and recording by Dr. Susan Redford, director of the Akhenaten Temple Project’s Theban Tomb Survey, this richly illustrated book provides a detailed description of the remaining wall scenes and texts of this historically important ancient monument. In the fourteenth century BCE, Pharaoh Akhenaten attempted to institute a radical religious reform and moved his capital city to Amarna. This book publishes important evidence related to the Amarna Period in ancient Egypt, specifically the plans, reliefs, and inscriptions of Theban Tomb 188, belonging to Parennefer, the tutor and butler of the king. Dr. Redford’s detailed archaeological study traces the rapid evolution of ideology, iconography, and iconoclasm, as revealed in Parennefer’s tomb. The decoration kept pace with the momentous changes in the king’s thinking, so that, when dovetailed with the pictorial evidence from the excavations of the great Gem-pa-aten temple at Karnak, it becomes possible to chronicle these rapid changes. This definitive study of the Tomb of Parennefer will appeal to archaeologists, Egyptologists, historians of religion, and art historians working on the ancient Near East.

The second volume of Excavations at Mendes furthers the publication of our archaeological work at the site of Tel er-Rub’a, ancient Mendes, in the east central Delta. Mendes is proving to be one of the most exciting sites in the Nile Delta. Occupied from prehistoric times until the Roman Period, Mendes reveals the nature of a typical Late Egyptian city, its distribution of economy, and demography. The discoveries reported on in this volume were wholly unexpected, and bear meaning fully on Ancient Egyptian history: these include the prosperity and size of the original Old Kingdom city, the major contributions of Ramesses II and Amasis to the monumental nature of the city, and the role of the city in the period c. 600–100 B. C. as an entrepot for Mediterranean trade.

For more than three thousand years, the mysterious events surrounding the death of Ramesses III have puzzled historians and students of ancient Egypt. Now, archaeologist Susan Redford investigates the circumstances of the ancient pharaoh's death and discovers among the women of his harem the threads of a murder conspiracy. From new translations of ancient papyri and careful readings of temple carvings, Redford identifies the suspects in the assassination—wives, concubines, and attendants. She evaluates the evidence against them and outlines a possible murder plot that turns upon a shocking revelation about the pharaoh's immediate family. On the basis of new discoveries relating to the identity of Ramesses III's queens and their sons, she uncovers a primary motive for regicide and presents persuasive evidence of a palace revolt. Divisions between clans and rival lineages, she argues, gave rise to a plot to murder the king. Richly illustrated with thirty photos and diagrams, Redford's groundbreaking investigation of the plot to murder "the last of the great pharaohs" offers an extraordinary vision of the ancient Egyptian world.

Whilst relaxing in one of his harem rooms in Thebes, Ramesses III was murdered. The conspiracy surrounding his assassination, and the trial and conviction of those said to be involved are recorded in court transcripts and legal records. Redford explores these heavily biased sources with new translations of many ancient papyri, and presents a new interpretation of the murder plot and the contested succession among Ramesses II's sons.