At Ancient Thebes

The great span of Egyptian history stimulates a Canadian archaeologist working in the Theban hills near the modern city of Luxor. Her original interest in archaeology had come from romantic notions of getting closer to the people of the past – of bridging time by treading the same ground, by touching the same stones as those people. In the Canadian Plains of her childhood a building was considered ancient if it had been built last century, and such antiquity was not usually considered at all desirable. Perhaps she herself was a reincarnation from the time of the Pharaohs. Perhaps she had once been a stately Queen. One who had died while in youthful beauty and had been buried in the Royal Tombs nearby. On a solitary walk towards the Valley of The Tombs of The Queens she does bridge time – and she gains insight.

Randall McMullan is a writer and educational adviser. He grew up in New Zealand, has lived in London most of his life and now lives in Auckland NZ.