TEMPLES, TOMBS AND HIEROGLYPHS

Dr. Mertz covers the usual archeological subjects -- Carbon 14 and astronomical dating, techniques of excavation and reconstruction and the work of the oremost pioneers. She sizes up the specifically Egyptian matters -- funerary practices, artistic canons, religious influences, language, writing and genealogical considerations. Having sifted through each category of data, she arrives at the point where established fact ends. She then speculates in the realm of uncertainty in order to give an intriguing, if at times a barely plausible, story of what might have happened to the kings and queens and commoners of the legendary Nile valley. Appended are a chronology, classified bibliography, glossary, and directory of Egyptian collections in museums.