Secrets of the Sands
The Revelations of Egypt
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
In a part of Egypt so parched that decades might pass between rainstorms, amid a sea of sand, is a green island—Dakhleh, the “everlasting oasis”—that may contain the whole of human history. In this extraordinary book, an acclaimed science writer and journalist follows an international team of archaeologists as they unlock the secrets of nearly half a million years. Using high-tech methods, these scientists have made stunning finds, including indications that Dakhleh may have been the cradle of the Nile civilization that gave rise to the pharaohs and the pyramids.
They have unearthed a perfect Old Kingdom town, with palaces and temples from the Golden Age, huge caches of mummies and papyri, and the world's two oldest books, and have located an entire Roman city—a Pompeii in the middle of the desert. Blending elements of adventure narrative, travelogue, and scientific mystery, Secrets of the Sands also traces on a grand historical scale the story of how humans have interacted with the changing environment, laying bare a parable with relevance to us all about the fragile balance between humankind and our world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
About 400 miles south of Cairo and 170 miles west of the Nile valley, the Dakhleh Oasis rises like a mirage out of the sands of the great Sahara desert. In this fascinating study which is equal parts travelogue, archeological treatise, detective story, environmental white paper and historiography journalist Thurston reveals the long history of this phenomenal oasis, which has supported life for over 400,000 years. Drawing on 30 years of archeological findings, Thurston reconstructs the various cultures that have passed through the oasis since prehistoric times. The earliest inhabitants, based on ax-tool remains, were likely Homo erectus. In the Middle Stone Age, Homo sapiens began to take over, disrupting the Dakhleh's flourishing floral and faunal life. According to archeologist C.S. Churcher, the oasis had provided refuge for African fauna for tens of thousands of years, but cattle-breeding humans gradually moving into the area destroyed them. Some archeologists believe nomadic people brought the designs for the pyramids and the Sphinx from this area when they were driven out by drought. The Roman occupation further disrupted the Edenic oasis as aqueducts were built to divert water to crops and settlements in the nearby desert. Thurston takes this gradual destruction of the Dakhleh Oasis as a case study for what its future holds if the people now living there do not start to practice good water conservation techniques. Thurston's tale would have been even more valuable if he had spent less time on environmental lessons and focused more on the human history of this incredible area that is just being uncovered.
