Gods, Graves, and Scholars

I first read this book when I was ten years old--a Christmas present for an ambitious, if not precocious, boy who was deeply influenced by it. I'm very glad that it's still available. Ceram (a pseudonym) intentionally selected those aspects of the history of archaeology that lent themselves to dramatic narrative, focusing on the Mediterranean classical world (Greece and Rome), Egypt, Mesopotamia, and central America. This is a book about the people who made the discoveries as much as about the sites and artifacts. This book is not an arsenal of ammunition against the historicity of the Bible. Sure enough, at a few points Ceram mentions some skeptical opinions, but only marginally, and far removed from the point of the book. When I was ten years old, it was already obvious to me where Ceram was expressing his personal views and where he was reporting facts. The point of the book is to induce interest in the subject matter of archaeology, not to promote a specific philosophy. It would take someone with a monomanic anti-religious bent to present the book in such a light. A good companion for this book is Bible As History, which is another classic involving archaeology, addressing some of the biblical questions directly. At this point in time, Ceram's book has gives us three layers of history. We get to see the ancient world, as discovered by the archaeologists; we experience vicariously the excitement and drama of the time of the archaeologists, who opened up the ancient world to us, and we also catch a glimpse of the world of more than half a century ago , when Ceram wrote the book, when archaeology was not yet stifled by political squabbles. Ceram continued his work along the same line with Narrow pass, black mountain: The discovery of the Hittite Empire, which I also highly recommend.

Note: I made some Mormon readers angry over my reviews of books written by Mormons out to prove the Book of Mormon, and those people have been slamming my reviews. They don't want you to read anything that might call into question their biblical literalism. Other fundamentalists probably won't like this book either. Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks. Ceram's writing is brilliant and filled with fascinating details. Of Noah's Ark and the flood described in the Bible, Ceram writes: "Naturally, this actual flood, which gave rise to the Deluge as myth, did not destroy the whole human race with the exception of Ut-napishtim--Noah and family. It must have been an unusually severe example of the characteristic locale inundations that periodically drown the Euphrates Tigris delta region" (p. 354). Of the future, Ceram said, "There is every reason to believe that archaeology will eventually solve many more problems that up to now have proved insoluable" (p. 413). Also, check out the following fascinating books on archaeology: "The Mound Builders: The Archaeology of a Myth," by Robert Silverberg, and "Lost Tribes and Sunken Continents: Myth and Method in the Study of the American Indians," by Robert Wauchope. Click on the following links, the scroll down to read my reviews. MOUND BUILDERS OF ANCIENT AMERICA: The Archaeology of a Myth Lost tribes and sunken continents: Myth and method in the study of American Indians Your comments--positive or negative--are appreciated. Thanks.

This book was first published in 1949 and then enlarged in 1967. Altogether it has been translated into 26 languages and read by many millions of people. It is easy to see why. This book traces the origins of Archaeology and those who were involved in the great discoveries. Commencing with the great statues of Pompeii, Troy, Mycenae and Crete, we then move on to the Pyramids - with sections about all those who became involved from Napoleon to Carter. Next we find the great Towers of Assyria, Babylon and Sumeria before concluding with the great Temples of the Aztecs, Mayas and Toltecs. This is a fascinating book which is able to give the layman an expert's insight into the greatest archaeological finds of history. NM

Gods, Graves and Scholars didn't begin as a pleasure read, as it was required reading for an undergraduate archaeology class. The 482 pages seemed daunting, even for a small paperback. But, beginning with page three and continuing through to the end, I found this book a real page-turner. Ceram successfully and craftfully takes the reader through archaeology's history, captivates the reader with personal anecdotes, and is unpretentious with language and content. Place it on your reading list or in your home library if you haven't already--this is a keeper.

I first stumbled across this book in my parents' bookcase in the '50s. Now I'm in MY 50s and I still remember the thrill I felt reading about Schliemann's discovery of Troy, the translation of the Rosetta Stone... This book presents fascinating information in an interesting, but never sensationalized, way that grabbed this pre-teen and hasn't let go yet. I reread it every few years and always find new goodies. And because of it, a trip to Troy has been on my dream list for the past 35 years. Someday I will see what I've been reading about so avidly all these years... Homer came alive for me in high school because of what I had learned from Ceram.I strongly recommend this book to anyone with any interest at all in the ancient world - you'll be hooked, even as I was!