Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic story on a historic discovery
Review: I became interested in this book after reading a favorable review in the NY Times book review, and being new to Egyptology, I was pleased to find that Weeks did a remarkable job of providing plenty of background information on the Valley of the Kings, history of some of the Pharoes of Egypt, various explorers who have visited the area (and KV5) in the past, the people who have joined his crew on the exploration of KV5 and the effects of modern life on the condition of the tombs.He does an excellent job of holding the narrative together, and I eagerly awaited each new page to see what (if anything), Weeks and his team would discover next. He made no attempt to hide his excitement with each new discovery (and disappointment into running into dead ends and other obstacles), and does a competent job in placing the reader alongside him in the tomb. This is my first book on Egyptology, and both the seasoned Egyptologist and general reader will find this to be a fascinating tale of archaeology in action.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic story on a historic discovery
Review: I became interested in this book after reading a favorable review in the NY Times book review, and being new to Egyptology, I was pleased to find that Weeks did a remarkable job of providing plenty of background information on the Valley of the Kings, history of some of the Pharoes of Egypt, various explorers who have visited the area (and KV5) in the past, the people who have joined his crew on the exploration of KV5 and the effects of modern life on the condition of the tombs. He does an excellent job of holding the narrative together, and I eagerly awaited each new page to see what (if anything), Weeks and his team would discover next. He made no attempt to hide his excitement with each new discovery (and disappointment into running into dead ends and other obstacles), and does a competent job in placing the reader alongside him in the tomb. This is my first book on Egyptology, and both the seasoned Egyptologist and general reader will find this to be a fascinating tale of archaeology in action.
Rating: 
Summary: The Lost Tomb
Review: I enjoyed the book but felt it was more of a personal diary than a truely descriptive work, and was therefore somewhat lacking in continuity and organization. It tends to bounce from biographical information on the author to accounts of workers and their lives to actual discussions of the excavation of KV5, sometimes within the same chapter. Some of the descriptions of the excavation were painfully detailed--to the centimeter of debris removed--and might not necessarily be of interest to the average nonprofessional for whom the book is probably intended. The final chapters were mostly a compendium of data and professional opinions (with heavy emphasis on the latter) regarding late 18th and early 19th dynasty kings and queens and what they might share in common. Most interesting to me was the information regarding some of Ramesses' sons, though very little is known of most of them.
Rating: 
Summary: The Lost Tomb
Review: I have been interested in Egyptology for quite a while and like most people have dreamed of going on a dig to discover a lost tomb. For me this has come true with Kent Weeks graphic representation of what he finds while unearthing the Sons of Ramesis tomb. The way he has written this book makes me feel like I am with him in the tomb. Every discovery he makes I can feel his excitement. In part this book is about the Theban Mapping Project and the problems he faces with the government and also about the lives of the workers who help him unearth this tomb. I have been to Egypt and have seen the Valley of the Kings. To me this book has brought back great memories of my trip there. THIS IS A VERY ENJOYABLE READ FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN EGYPTOLOGY.
Rating: 
Summary: Weeks' excavation did more damage than good
Review: It is amazing reading these reviews and realizing that people actually enjoyed this man's book. This was a botched excavation from the start. There was no real great discoveries in KV5, just more of the same stuff that we find in the Valley of the Kings (KV5 was discovered long before in the 18th century to boot). It is wise to remember this when Weeks' excavation damaged the tomb itself. He had his work-crews removed wet flood debris (dirt) from the tomb and then only put rocks at the doorway to allow "air to dry up the inside" for an entire season! However, if you are familiar with John Romer's studies on the Valley of the Kings' geology, you would know that the limestone walls would have expanded with moisture and contracted when dried. Weeks' ignorance of this simple fact (he did know of Romer's report but called his study 'unmodern') allowed the tomb roof and walls to contract at an uncontrolled speed. The result was the walls cracked, lost paint and ultiamately the roof fell in an area. The damage Weeks' excavation did was totally atrocious and it even continues to this day. Support conservation in the Valley of the Kings instead of destructive excavation and ecourage excavations in the Delta (where Egyptologies knowledge is lacking). In conclusion, don't buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: A little muddled and superficial
Review: Kent Weeks and his wife come across as enthusiastic, dedicated and eager to introduce the general public to the pleasures of Egyptology in this account of the first few years of his investigations at KV5. As can be seen from the biographical information he provides in this work he has devoted most of his life to investigating the Valley of the Kings. That is why it is a pity that this work comes across as jumbled and a little superficial. Accounts of the dig are interspersed so frequently with accounts of the lives of various pharaohs, of the problems the Weeks face from lackadaisical Egyptian officials, the eccentricity of the local laborers, and so on, that it is very difficult to keep track of what the team is finding in KV5 and its historical significance. (I would guess that this format was forced on Professor Weeks by a commercially minded publisher, presumably in the belief that the average layman reader is not willing to plod through several hundred pages of architectural accounts.) Another problem with this work: although the discovery of KV5 is the most important discovery in the Valley of the Kings since the discovery of King Tut's tomb, the actual material found in the tomb is probably not particularly exciting for readers who are not dedicated Egyptologists. Most of the discoveries consist of minute brick and porcelain fragments which poor Mrs. Weeks is charged with cataloguing. For the layman Egyptologist I would recommend instead the classic by Howard Carter, The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen, also available from Amazon.com This is a truly exciting account of the discovery of Tut's tomb which was packed with fantastic treasures.<BR
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating History
Review: Kent Weeks did not actually "discover" KV5. That was done by James Burton in the early part of the 19th century. Weeks more or less stumbled upon the entrance to the tomb while working on his Theban Mapping Project. However accidental, you have to give Dr. Weeks his due. The re-discovery of KV5 is perhaps one of the greatest events in Egyptology ever, definitely since the days of Howard Carter. This book is a gripping, detail-filled account of Weeks' excavation of some of the first chambers of the tomb. Yes, there is a lot of detail here about pottery fragments among the debris but Weeks makes it very clear that the debris in the tomb is just as important to learning about the ancient Egyptians as the tomb paintings. Maybe the discovery of KV5 was not flashy enough for some - no rooms filled with gold and riches. Dr. Weeks deserves a lot of credit for his dedicated , painstaking work on KV5 and in the Valley of the Kings in general. This book is perfect for all amateur Egyptologists or anyone interested in ancient history.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating History
Review: Kent Weeks did not actually "discover" KV5. That was done by James Burton in the early part of the 19th century. Weeks more or less stumbled upon the entrance to the tomb while working on his Theban Mapping Project. However accidental, you have to give Dr. Weeks his due. The re-discovery of KV5 is perhaps one of the greatest events in Egyptology ever, definitely since the days of Howard Carter. This book is a gripping, detail-filled account of Weeks' excavation of some of the first chambers of the tomb. Yes, there is a lot of detail here about pottery fragments among the debris but Weeks makes it very clear that the debris in the tomb is just as important to learning about the ancient Egyptians as the tomb paintings. Maybe the discovery of KV5 was not flashy enough for some - no rooms filled with gold and riches. Dr. Weeks deserves a lot of credit for his dedicated , painstaking work on KV5 and in the Valley of the Kings in general. This book is perfect for all amateur Egyptologists or anyone interested in ancient history.
Rating:
Summary: The Lost Tomb
Review: There are certain topics which seem to have a nearly universal appeal. One is dinosaurs. Another is space. Still another is Egyptology. I don't know what it is, but people have a fascination with studies of ancient civilizations and studies of the ancient Egyptian civilization may be the most fascinating. The Lost Tomb is an informal book on Egyptology. One need not know much about the topic as the author doesn't assume any background on the reader's part. In addition, the book is not comprehensive in discussing the whole of Egyptian culture or even an entire period or pharoah's reign. It is instead a personal account of (primarily) one man's career in archaeology and his exploration of one tomb in particular. Dr. Kent Weeks is an Egyptologist with the American University in Cairo. Weeks begins his story with his childhood and rapidly proceeds down the path that led him to where he is today. Much of what we know of the Egyptian civilization originates with their burial rites and tombs. It was Weeks' interest in locating the various tombs in the Valley of Kings in Thebes that was his first step down the path. He was frustrated with the fact that, even for those tombs that have been uncovered in historic times, no map existed which accurately portrayed their locations. This led him to the first stage of what became known as the Theban Mapping Project, or TMP. The goal of the TMP was to precisely ascertain the locations of the tombs (and other monuments) as a prelude to conservation of them. The next step was a logical one to take. In addition to knowing where the tombs were located was a desire to know what the tombs looked like. Thus began a phase whereby the surface survey (mapping the locations of known tomb entraces) moved underground to map their interiors. Years of exploring various tombs and mapping their interiors led inexorably to the most recent phase of Weeks' career: the uncovering and exploration of a once-discoverd, but subsequently lost, tomb. Weeks knew of the existence of the tomb denoted as KV 5. Designated by an early Egyptologist and subsequently entered into by another some decades later, the location of KV 5 was only vaguely known in this century. In fact, only the one archaeologist was known to have entered it, and that 175 years ago. Weeks and his team set out to rediscover this "lost tomb" in 1989. Their subsequent rediscovery and painstaking exploration of this unique structure is the focus of most of the book. By the way, if this tale sounds familiar (as it did to me), you may have seen the BBC documentary which was about this work. (It aired on ABC in the United States.) The Lost Tomb is a wonderful account of one man's work in a field he clearly loves. To that end it conveys his feelings marvelously. To be certain, the book lacks the rigor one might expect of a more technically oriented study and clearly does not give equal voice to competing theories. As it is, the necessary history is sometimes daunting to grasp for the novice, so a more rigorous text would have probably been as arid as the Valley of Kings itself. It is my feeling that Weeks struck the right possible level to engender interest in his work without unduely oversimplifying it, a difficult task for any scientist.
Rating:
Summary: One of the worst popular-science books I've ever read
Review: This book easily qualifies as one of the worst popular-science books I've ever read. It is like "Indiana Jones" minus the Nazis and all the other fun stuff. The thing is that of course I didn't expect to get an action-packed book about mummies and hidden treasures. What I expected to get was a nice description of that "lost" tomb they found plus background information. And the book simply doesn't give enough of that. The "lost" tomb which supposedly was discovered by Mr Weeks had actually been discovered before already. So the book starts with some wrong information on the cover. And it doesn't really get any better than that. There are pages and pages of completely useless information but no explanation of the background. In particular, if you want to learn about Egypt's past you're more than well-advised to look elsewhere. Instead, here you'll find a dozen pages about how Mr Weeks had to deal with the press and similar stuff which is just not interesting at all. The few pages about Egypt's past are filled with narration-like stuff. I know it might be difficult to say a lot about ancient Egypt but if the level of a popular-science book is about that of a mediocre Hollywood movie something is wrong. I know reviews which don't give books four or five stars are pretty unpopular on Amazon but I give this book one star anyway. I'd give it zero if I could.
| 
