A History of Ancient Egypt: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid

John Romer begins ancient Egypt before the pharaohs, with the communities whose settlements, technologies and beliefs gradually gave rise to one of the ancient world’s most durable states. From those early foundations he follows the emergence of kingship, institutions and monumental building through to the age of the great pyramids.

Archaeology is central to the story, allowing Romer to look beyond the familiar sequence of rulers and monuments and ask how Egyptian society itself took shape. The book is particularly strong on development over time: how communities became organised, how authority was established and how the material world of early Egypt changed alongside its political and religious institutions.