While the term "Landscape archaeology” is a relatively recent term, archaeologists have been contextualizing monuments in landscapes, in practical terms as well as religious and symbolic, from the late 19th century onward. Egypt has more than its fair share of monumental architecture and Snape's work addresses the issue of sacred landscapes or monument-scapes in Egypt, focusing on the Ramesside period masterfully. He explores key sites that were the foundation for Egyptian ideas of kingship, creation and state religion: Abydos, Thebes and Heliopolis, as well as a host of others, including those in the Eastern and Western deserts. His work not only explores the position of the royal and elite monuments in the landscape, but also examines the words of the ancient Egyptians themselves that explained their locations and foundations. Extremely readable, filled with information, and some delightfully novel ideas, this book elucidates the raison d'être for the location and character of a host of ancient Egyptian monuments and engenders a desire to see them in situ to explore their positioning further.

Salima Ikram, Amelia Peabody Endowed Professor of Egyptology, American University in Cairo, Egypt

Rooted in an attempt to explore indigenous perspectives on both man-made and natural landscapes based on a range of source material from Pharaonic Egypt, this book brings the often-overlooked Ramesside Period (c. 1295-1070 BCE) into particular relief. Professor Snape demonstrates not only the connectedness of monuments, both with each other and within their landscape setting, but also between the people who created them. Crucially, the book also considers reciprocal relationships across time - a hallmark of Pharaonic high culture. This is an unrivalled synthesis of religious experience in Ramesside Egypt.

Campbell Price, Curator of Egypt and Sudan, Manchester Museum, University of Manchester, UK