"The British Museum possesses one of the world's foremost collections of Egyptian antiquities. Temples and Tombs provides readers with an invaluable opportunity to view renowned masterpieces and little-known treasures from the museum's collection. The eighty-five objects featured within these pages span a full range of pharaonic history - from shortly before the Third Dynasty, about 2686 B. C. , to the Roman occupation of the fourth century A. D. - and cover each of the four periods into which ancient Egyptian history is divided: Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, and the Late Period. " "Presented here are a wide variety of objects - sculpture, relief, papyri, ostraca, jewelry, cosmetic objects, and funerary items - in a variety of media, including stone, wood, terra, cotta, gold, glass, and papyrus, each categorized according to its use in ancient culture. From objects made for temples of the gods and funerary monuments, to the objects used daily by artists and nobles and ritual objects concerning death and the afterlife, the treasures collected here are a testament to the rich, vibrant, and captivating culture of the ancient Egyptians. "--Jacket.