Middle Kingdom Tomb Architecture at Lisht Egyptian Expedition Dieter Arnold

This volume documents twenty-two private tombs of the Egyptian Twelfth Dynasty that were excavated by the Metropolitan Museum Egyptian Expedition from 1906 to 1934 and 1986 to 1989. Focusing on the study and reconstruction of the architecture of the tombs, the book also includes remains of wall decoration and inscriptions. It is revealed that some of the Lisht tombs are similar to traditional Old Kingdom mastaba, whereas a new group of freestanding chapels also emerged, a type that was derived from contemporary deity temples and foreshadows the temple-tombs of later periods in Egyptian history.

Dieter Arnold is Curator, Department of Egyptian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.