Classical Studies : Egypt :
a guide to library resources

STARTING POINTS

If you need to define your topic and/or get some background reading, try consulting an atlas, dictionary or encyclopedia such as the following:

Penguin historical atlas of ancient Egypt (1996) [print]

Oxford encyclopedia of ancient Egypt (3 volumes, 2001) [print]
[A comprehensive reference source on most aspects of ancient Egyptian civilisation]

Historical dictionary of ancient Egypt (1999) [print]
[Provides information on significant persons, places & events. Includes a chronology, a dynastic list & an extensive bibliography]

Who's who in ancient Egypt (1999) [print]
[Approximately 1000 biographies in A-Z format]

Other starting points for ancient Egyptian topics can be found through the following catalogue searches:

Egyptian civilisation
Egyptian religion
Egyptian language

FINDING BOOKS

Books on Ancient Egyptian topics can be found by searching the library catalogue. The following are terms which can be browsed using the Subject Heading option

Architecture, Egyptian

Egypt Antiquities

Egypt Civilization To 332 B.C.

Egypt Description and travel

Egypt History

Egypt Kings and rulers

Egypt Religion

Egypt Social life and customs To 332 B.C.

Egyptian language

Egyptian language Writing, Hieroglyphic

Egyptian literature

Excavations (Archaeology) Egypt

Funeral rites and ceremonies Egypt

Gods, Egyptian

Goddesses, Egyptian

History of Medicine, Ancient

Or construct your own keyword searches. Here are some examples: :

egypt? and temples

egypt? and (temples or tombs)
egypt? and ("funeral rites" or burial)

Click here if you need help with constructing searches using techniques such as truncation and Boolean operators

FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES USING DATABASES & BIBLIOGRAPHIES

The following sources are primarily for locating journal articles on a topic, but many of them also include references to books as well.

The following databases are recommended for most topics:

Academic OneFile (Thomson Gale) & Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) are general-purpose databases which have some coverage of Egyptology

JSTOR & Periodicals Index Online have full-text access to a range of 19th & 20th century scholarly journals

Other useful databases are listed in the Databases for Classics guide

Also of interest is the web-based Recommended reading on the Ancient Near East which is a guide to introductory readings on the peoples and cultures of the ancient Near East including Egypt & Nubia

Researchers should note the following scholarly bibliographies for Ancient Egyptian Studies:

L'Annee philologique [print] is the premier index for Classics - if it's unfamiliar, read this description before attempting to use it. Its coverage of Egypt is mostly for the Greco-Roman period.

Gnomon Online [web access] - provides a selection of new publications (books & journal articles).drawn from the GNOMON Bibliographische Datenbank. A useful thesaurus term for Egypt is Ägypten, Zeit der Pharaonen]

Annual Egyptological Bibliography [web access] is published by the International Association of Egyptologists in cooperation with the Netherlands Institute for the Near East. Coverage begins with 1992. Preceded by the Bibliographie Altagypten 1822-1946 [print] which covers the period 1822-1946. Bibliography between 1947 & 1991 as reported in the Annual Egyptological Bibliography is not held by this library

Bibliography of the Amarna Period (1991) [print] - covers books & journal articles dealing with the reigns of Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, Tutankhamun, and Ay (c. 1350-1321)

Bibliography on temples of the ancient Near East & Mediterranean world (1991) [print] - a bibliography of works on the layout, design & physical accoutrements of the temples of Israel, Egypt, Mesopotamia & the Greco-Roman world.

Literature of Egypt and the Soudan from the earliest times to the year 1885 inclusive 1868-88 [print] - a bibliography of books, journal articles etc.

PRIMARY SOURCES

The following provides translations of primary sources

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook [web access] - a collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts, maps, pictures, art objects. It includes a section on Egypt

Other primary sources can be found through this library catalogue search

WEB RESOURCES

Some starting points for exploring resources on the Web

ABZU
[Guide to resources for the study of the ancient Near East which are available on the Internet]

APIS: Advanced papyrological information system
[APIS links together in a single environment various sources of information about texts written on papyrus and the society that produced them]

Australian Centre for Egyptology
[The Australian Centre for Egyptology is concerned with archaeological field-work undertaken by Australian scholars in Egypt. It also promotes research in Egyptology in Australia and Egypt, and publishes reports of excavations and studies]

Centre for Computer-aided Egyptological Research (CCER)
[This centre specialises in matters related to the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Egyptology]

Death in ancient Egypt
[Provides links to web sites illustrating various aspects of the burial practices and beliefs about the dead and the afterlife in ancient Egypt]

Digital Egypt for Universities
[Resource for the study and teaching of ancient Egyptian history]

Egypt Antiquities Information
[The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism provides a collection of resources on such topics as Archaeological Sites, Religion & Culture]

Egyptology Resources
[World Wide Web resource for Egyptological information]

Exploring Ancient World Cultures : Egypt
[Compiled by Bill Hemminger, this is one of a series of studies pertaining to Ancient World Cultures]

House of Ptolemy
[A resource guide, intended as a study aid and to provide bibliographical material for students of Greco-Roman Egypt]

International Association of Egyptologists Home Page

Papyrology homepage
[Links to papyrological resources on the Web]

WWW Virtual Library : Ancient Egypt
[Part of the WWW virtual library guides. Useful starting point for exploring resources on the Web]

This page is maintained by Jennifer Osborn
Last update: 13 June 2007