A Mystery from the MummyPits, Frank L. Holt
A Mystery from the MummyPits, Frank L. Holt
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A Mystery from the Mummy-Pits
The Amazing Journey of Ankh-Hap

Author: Frank L. Holt

Narrator: Nigel Patterson

Unabridged: 4 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/19/2024


Synopsis

As the world recently commemorated the hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, our fascination with the pharaoh begs for a balanced view. Most recovered mummies have not escaped the modern trafficking in ancient bodies and body parts. The story of Ankh-Hap, a Ptolemaic-era mummy seized in the nineteenth century from the infamous mummy-pits of Egypt, provides a salutary example of what most mummies have endured.

Frank Holt makes use of a robust combination of scientific tools and archival research to tell the story of Ankh-Hap's life, death, and his mummified remains, which ended up in the back of an American college classroom. A Mystery from the Mummy-Pits takes the listener into a forgotten world of mummy trafficking by an American entrepreneur named Henry Augustus Ward. His company's shelves were stocked with mummies, coffins, and even ancient body parts. Customers could piece together their own "Frankenmummy" with authentic wrappings and amulets.

A Mystery from the Mummy-Pits contextualizes this information by surveying the history of similar mummies from antiquity to the twentieth century, moving from ancient tomb robbers and medieval apothecaries to modern dime museums, traveling shows, pulp fiction, films, and pop culture. The book offers listeners a glimpse inside a dark chapter of mummy history.

About Frank L. Holt

Frank L. Holt is professor of history at the University of Houston. His books include When Money Talks: A History of Coins and Numismatics, The Treasures of Alexander the Great: How One Man's Wealth Shaped the World, Lost World of the Golden King: In Search of Ancient Afghanistan, and Into the Land of Bones: Alexander the Great in Afghanistan. Holt is also a prolific writer for the public, with essays appearing in Newsweek, American Scientist, Archaeology, History Today, Archaeology Odyssey, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Saudi Aramco World, and other widely read publications.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Krystal on March 18, 2024

Narrated by Nigel Patterson A fascinating look into the mummy trade, and the life of one before and after death. I really enjoyed the way this was laid out. There's a lot of info, but the way it's organised makes it easy to digest. This book discusses firstly the practice of mummification and its hows......more

Goodreads review by The Bibliophile Doctor on May 02, 2024

I have been always fascinated with Mummy and Egyptology and as soon as I saw the title I was up for it. This is well researched book and the audiobook was good and yet I couldn't engage myself. Some parts were interesting but some were just too boring to hold my attention. This doesn't happen often t......more

Goodreads review by Yamini on March 13, 2024

It is hard to ignore a book about Mummy when I have been a fan of anything Egyptology (books, movies, articles, documentaries). So I decided to read this one that talks about the other side of such explorations including trafficking, the black market, human pranks and even fake products. My favourite......more