Lost and Now Found: Explorers, Diplomats and Artists in Egypt and the Near East
Robert W. Lebling
Neil Cooke and Vannessa Daubney, eds.
2017, Archaeopress Publishing LTD, 978-178491-627-5, £38 bp.
The title refers to a treasure trove of forgotten travelers’ tales recovered in recent years by the Association for the Study of Travel in Egypt and the Near East. This volume features 18 compelling stories discovered in neglected manuscripts and other documents after assiduous research. The tales help solve mysteries about Western contacts with the East in previous centuries, adding insights into the Near and Middle East that are often missing from conventional histories. One account tells about the discovery in 2013 of a forgotten 440-page diary from the Karl Lepsius expedition to Egypt in the 18th century—a document “hiding in plain sight” in an Australian museum. The diarist, a 19-year-old German artist, drew hieroglyphics, murals and monuments for lithographs during the three-year expedition. His recollections add new life to a fascinating archeological adventure.
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