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In a part of Egypt so parched that decades might pass between rainstorms, amid a sea of sand, is a green island--Dakhleh, the "everlasting oasis"--that may contain the whole of human history. In this extraordinary book, an acclaimed science writer and journalist follows an international team of archaeologists as they unlock the secrets of nearly half a million years. Using high-tech methods, these scientists have made stunning finds, including indications that Dakhleh may have been the cradle of the Nile civilization that gave rise to the pharaohs and the pyramids. They have unearthed a perfect Old Kingdom town, with palaces and temples from the Golden Age, huge caches of mummies and papyri, and the world's two oldest books, and have located an entire Roman city--a Pompeii in the middle of the desert. Blending elements of adventure narrative, travelogue, and scientific mystery, Secrets of the Sands also traces on a grand historical scale the story of how humans have interacted with the changing environment, laying bare a parable with relevance to us all about the fragile balance between humankind and our world.… (more)
User reviews
The author, Harry Thurston, is not an archeologist but, according to the jacket blurb, “a poet and an award-winning journalist and author on science and environmental issues.” This put my back up right away, and I thought my fears were confirmed when, in the very first chapter, Mr. Thurston suggested that fires set by Homo erectus contributed to the formation of the Sahara desert. “Oh wow,” I mumbled to myself, “now the environmentalists are even picking on other species.” However, the rest of the book (except for the obligatory final chapter) was pleasantly restrained. Mr. Thurston really is a good writer, and the book switches back and forth between the prehistory and history of the oasis and the efforts of the archeological team attempting to uncover it with descriptions that are technically correct, explanatory, and vividly descriptive. One thing I especially liked was the emphasis on the day-to-day drudgery of field archeology; picking up a potsherd, carefully inking in “186723", then picking up potsherd 186724 and doing the same, all in 115 heat. It’s a rule of thumb for archeology that every day spent in the field requires three days cataloging, and Egyptology has an especially poor record at this.
This is not to say that there weren’t some spectacular finds at Dakleh; among other things, the world’s oldest book (meaning a collection of bound leaves rather than a scroll) and the oldest Christian Church in Egypt. However, Thurston makes it clear that the bulk of the story of Dakleh comes from meticulous examination of lots of broken pots and decayed mud-brick.
There are a couple of flaws. Except for tiny black-and-white halftones heading each chapter, and one (well done, but only one) map, the book is completely devoid of illustration. This is serious - even a talented writer like Mr. Thurston can’t make 1000 words do the work of a picture. It makes it very difficult to get a feel for the layout of ancient cities and the character of artifacts. I wonder if there was some sort of problem with the Supreme Council of Antiquities or the Dakleh Oasis Project backers? Archeological teams can often be very secretive about publishing stuff before it’s “ready”, and the SCA has hammered some Egyptologists for releasing information before the SCA could get a press release together.
Lastly, as mentioned above, Mr. Thurston cannot resist comparing the “island” Dakleh Oasis with the “island Earth”. He waits till his last chapter, but then we get the entire litany: we’re running out of water, we’re running out of land, there’s too many people, we’re destroying our environment, the Earth will warm up 9 in the next 30 years (!), the United States is already subject to devastating rainfall, etc., etc., etc. We Have To Do Something, People! Wake Up! (As long as “doing something” is confined to ever more urgent hand-wringing and doesn’t inconvenience anybody on the planet that might be “disadvantaged”).
All things considered, though, not a bad book. I wouldn’t use it as an academic reference for the Dakleh Oasis, but it’s a good story. Three and a half stars, I think.