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Some terms from the book...
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A Brief, Random Glossary for THE EGYPTOLOGIST
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Atum: In Egyptian religion, the creator-god
who created the next generation of gods by masturbating onto fertile
soil.
Atum-hadu: “Atum-Is-Aroused”, the king of Egypt who named
himself for the moment immediately prior to the creation of the
universe (see Atum).
Howard Carter and the Earl of Carnarvon: Partners (technical
and financial) who in November of 1922 discovered the nearly
undisturbed, intact tomb of King Tutankhamun (“The Living Image of
Amun”). It was one of the most extraordinary finds in the history
of Egyptology.
Antiquities Service: The bureaucracy of the Egyptian
government responsible for the issuing of permits to archaeologists,
and the distribution of their discoveries. In 1922, the Service was
under the direction of a Frenchman, Pierre Lacau.
Hieroglyphic, Hieratic, and Demotic: Three written versions
of the same spoken language, Egyptian.
The XIIIth Dynasty: More or less the final dynasty of Egypt’s
“Middle Kingdom,” ending about 1650 B.C., when the kingship
collapsed into internal and external strife, a time known as the “Second
Intermediate Period.”
Admonitions: A common form of Egyptian literature, in which a
king gives advice in morals and leadership to his successor. In the
case of Atum-hadu, the Admonitions comprised eighty possibly rhyming
quatrains though, as no one knows for certain how to pronounce
Egyptian, the rhymes may be illusory.
AIF: The Australian Imperial Force, the main body of
Australia’s military force in World War I.
Deir el Bahari: An area west of the Nile approximately 500
miles to the south of Cairo. The temple to Queen Hat-shep-sut is the
centerpiece
Gallipoli/The Bosporus: A military action of the First World
War, 1915-16, in which the Australians and New Zealanders (ANZACs)
suffered terrible losses in a misguided effort to invade Turkey.
The Tomb Paradox: The dilemma faced by Egyptian kings facing
death and wishing to secure their immortality. Immortality required
that the king build a significant and well-stocked tomb, which
attracted tomb robbers, who could disturb the physical remains of
the late king, thus preventing his achieving immortality.
Alternately, a secret tomb might mean that the living would not
continue to perform the rituals commemorating the late king, also
preventing his achieving immortality.
Emma Pip: British slang for a military policeman.
Canopic Jars: A set of four clay pots, included in the tomb’s
furnishings, which contained the buried person’s organs.
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