An introduction to the 4000-year history of ancient Egypt from predynastic times to the end of the Ptolemaic period (30BC). The work contains a new introduction since its first publication as The Egyptian Kingdoms in 1975. The opening chapter gives a summary of the history of ancient Egypt. Two chapters follow on the rediscovery of this almost forgotten civilization by the scholars among Napoleon's invasion forces, by later travellers and explorers and by the professional scholars and archaeologists of today. Later chapters examine the civilization of ancient Egypt in greater detail and explain such topics as how the pyramids were built and how a corpse was mummified. Four visual stories portray the evolution of the pyramid, Akhenaten's royal city of Tell el-Amarna, the form and function of a temple and the story of Howard Carter's discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.