Mysterious Lands
Encounters with Ancient Egypt Series

Mysterious Lands covers two kinds of encounters. First, encounters which actually occurred between Egypt and specific foreign lands, and second, those the Egyptians created by inventing imaginary lands. Some of the actual foreign lands are mysterious, in that we know of them only through Egyptian sources, both written and pictorial, and the actual locations of such lands remain unknown. These encounters led to reciprocal influences of varying intensity. The Egyptians also created imaginary lands (pseudo-geographic entities with distinctive inhabitants and cultures) in order to meet religious, intellectual and emotional needs. Scholars disagree, sometimes vehemently, about the locations and cultures of some important but geographically disputed actual lands. As for imaginary lands, they continually need to be re-explored as our understanding of Egyptian religion and literature deepens. Mysterious Lands provides a clear account of this subject and will be a stimulating read for scholars, students or the interested public.

Chapter 1 Introduction: Mapping the Unknown in Ancient Egypt, David O'Connor, Stephen Quirke; Chapter 2 The Egyptian Concept of the World, James P. Allen; Chapter 3 Travel and Fiction in Egyptian Literature, Antonio Loprieno; Chapter 4 Locating Punt, Dimitri Meeks; Chapter 5 Interpreting Punt: Geographic, Cultural and Artistic Landscapes, Stephen P. Harvey; Chapter 6 The Emergence of Libya on the Horizon of Egypt, Steven Snape; Chapter 7 The Mystery of the 'Sea Peoples', Eric H. Cline, David O'Connor; Chapter 8 'œAs for Them Who Know Them, They Shall Find Their Paths': Speculations on Ritual Landscapes in the 'Book of the Two Ways', Peter Robinson; Chapter 9 Measuring the Underworld, Stephen Quirke; Chapter 10 The 'Book of the Fayum': Mystery in a Known Landscape, John Tait; Chapter 11 Mysterious Lands - The Wider Context, Robert Layton;

Edited by O'Connor, David; Quirke, Stephen