"... The 19th century marked the real beginning of modern archaeology. Even so, those in the vanguard were more often romantic adventurers or heedless plunderers than trained scientists. Properly interpreting an unfolding series of discoveries has taken decades of exhausting, meticulous digging and sifting through the humble remains of houses, drains, and garbage pits ... Silent artifacts and ruined buildings can tell us an amazing amount. Fortified city gates and walls unearthed in the Holy Land enrich our knowledge of the days of King Solomon. Far up the Nile in the Sudan, clusters of pyramids and baffling stone structures hint at the grandeur of the mysteries of the Kingdom of Kush ... In its special, large format, enhanced by more than 250 color photographs and 17 specially commissioned paintings, 'Splendors of the Past' brings to life the fascinating world of our ancestors"--Front flap of cover.
