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Island of the Blessed: The Secrets of Egypt’s Everlasting Oasis

by Harry Thurston

Author, scientist, and environmental journalist Harry Thurston’s latest book combines the most winning elements of the travelogue and archeological mystery while working in a timely environmental warning. Island of the Blessed tracks the unfolding archeology and history of the Dakhleh Oasis in Egypt’s Western Desert. Ignored until recently by mainstream Egyptology, Dakhleh provides an extraordinarily complete view of human activity in one place over millennia. It may even be the cradle of the Nile civilization.

Preserved in the arid climate are Stone Age camps, early farming villages, Pharaonic temples, a Roman city, and Muslim towns. Woven through the history of the oasis are stories of the scientists who have dedicated decades to uncovering the lives and deaths of Dakhleh’s people. Most of these stories are sketchy, but a few make for fascinating reading, such as the story of Eldon Miltos, who was forced to set up his own DNA lab because there was no commercial one available.

The story of the excavation of Dakhleh is a rare example of multidisciplinary co-operation in the competitive world of scientific research. Thurston weaves these various scientific fields into a coherent narrative without alienating the lay reader. Archeological complexities are also clearly explained, drawing the reader into the important discoveries about how the ancient inhabitants lived and died.

Thurston also describes the history of Dakhleh as “an environmental parable for our times.” Sixteen hundred years ago on the site, the Roman city of Kellis was abandoned to the desert after Roman technology degraded the environment and depleted the water supply. Similar problems face us today on a global scale, a point brought home here with all the force of history and the sound reasoning of a first-rate scientist.

 

Reviewer: John Wilson

Publisher: Doubleday Canada

DETAILS

Price: $37.95

Page Count: 388 pp

Format: Cloth

ISBN: 0-385-25969-7

Issue Date: 2003-3

Categories: History