Dig Up a Good Book: Archaeological Fiction
We can't all be Indiana Jones but you can explore ancient runes and solve mysteries by jumping into a book. Check out one of these great adventures today.
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
On the death of her father, 32-year old Victorian heiress Amelia Peabody travels Egypt to indulge her interest in Egyptology. She travels with Evelyn Barton-Forbes and her trusty parasol which comes in handy on more than one occasion. In Cairo the pair meet archaeologists Radcliffe and Walter Emerson and sparks fly between Radcliffe and Amelia. The groups meet again at Emerson's excavation where Amelia saves Radcliffe's life and takes charge of his precious archaeological site. The four then band together to discover why the locals will no longer report to work and to try to find a missing mummy who walks the night. An historical mystery with amusing repartee between a strong-willed Amelia and an equally pigheaded Radcliffe in an exotic setting and time.
Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie
When Amy Leatheran travels to an ancient site in the Iraqi desert to nurse the wife of a celebrated archaeologist, events prove stranger than she has ever imagined. Her patient’s bizarre visions and nervous terror seem unfounded, but as the oppressive tension in the air thickens, events come to a terrible climax – in murder. With one spot of blood as his only clue, Hercule Poirot must embark on a journey across the desert to unravel a mystery which taxes even his remarkable powers.
The Myster of the Venus Island Fetish by Tim Flannery
It's 1932, and the Great Venus Island Fetish, a ceremonial mask surrounded by thirty-two human skulls, now resides in a museum in Sydney, Australia. But young anthropologist Archie Meek, recently returned from an extended field trip to Venus Island, has noticed something amiss: a strange discoloration on some of the skulls. Has someone tampered with the fetish? Is there a link between it and the mysterious disappearance of Cecil Polkinghorne, curator of archaeology? And how did Eric Sopwith, retired mollusks expert, die in the museum's storeroom?
The Dig by John Preston
In the long, hot summer of 1939, Britain is preparing for war, but on a riverside farm in Suffolk there is excitement of another kind. Mrs. Pretty, the widowed owner of the farm, has had her hunch confirmed that the mounds on her land hold buried treasure. As the dig proceeds, it becomes clear that this is no ordinary find.
Sandstorm by James Rollins
An inexplicable explosion rocks the antiquities collection of a London museum, setting off alarms in clandestine organizations around the world. The search for answers leads Lady Kara Kensington; her friend Safia al-Maaz, the gallery's brilliant and beautiful curator; and their guide, the international adventurer Omaha Dunn, into a world they never dreamed existed: a lost city buried beneath the Arabian desert.
Valhalla by Robert Mrazek
Along the Greenland ice cap, an expedition team makes an astounding discovery. Buried five hundred feet below the ice cap is the wreckage of an ancient ship'and nine perfectly preserved Vikings. Rune markings indicate it went missing in 1016 BC. Energized by the find, retired Air Force general Steven Macaulay assembles the foremost scholars of Norse archaeology, including Harvard academic and master decoder Lexy Vaughan. But the mission is violently sabotaged'because this discovery holds the key to a mystery that will change the human race. To put together the pieces of the puzzle, Macaulay and Lexy plunge headlong into a web of chaos and betrayal'all the while hunted by a covert primeval society that will stop at nothing to protect their secrets.
The Visitors by Sally Beauman
In 1922, when Lucy is sent to Egypt to recuperate from typhoid, she meets Frances, the daughter of an American archaeologist. The friendship draws the impressionable young girl into the thrilling world of Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter, who are searching for the tomb of boy pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. As events unfold, Lucy will discover the lengths some people will go to fulfill their deepest desires-- and the lies that become the foundation of their lives.
The Babylon Rite by Tom Knox
When the world's foremost Templar historian commits suicide, leaving behind a clue about a secret hidden object in the famous chapel of Rosslyn, anthropologist Jess Silverton researches an ancient civilization linked to the foundations of Judaism and Buddhism and a plot involving a rare and dangerous Amazon flower.
Artifact by Gigi Pandian
When historian Jaya Jones receives a mysterious package containing a jewel-encrusted artifact, she discovers the secrets of a lost Indian treasure may be hidden in a Scottish legend. But she’s not the only one on the trail. From San Francisco to the Highlands of Scotland, Jaya must evade a shadowy stalker as she follows hints from the hastily scrawled note to a remote archaeological dig. Helping her decipher the cryptic clues are her magician best friend, a devastatingly handsome art historian with something to hide, and a charming archaeologist running for his life. When a member of the dig's crew is murdered, Jaya must figure out which of the scholars vying for her affections might be the love of her life—and which one is a killer.
The Alexander Cipher by Will Adams
Egyptologist Daniel Knox's lifelong fascination with Alexander the Great and his tomb, a fabled wonder of the ancient world, could be the death of him. After construction workers excavating in Alexandria expose a catacomb dating back to ancient times, Knox eagerly sneaks in to scout the cavernous and dusty site. Among the relics he finds clues that may solve one of the world's greatest mysteries: the last resting place of Alexander the Great.
Finding Camlann by Sean Pidgeon
Archaeologist Donald Gladstone is sure that there never was a "real" King Arthur?that is, until a surprising find at Stonehenge seems to offer hard evidence of Arthur's existence. Teaming up with Julia Llewellyn, a gifted linguist working at the Oxford English Dictionary, Donald sets off on a literary and mythological quest that will change both of their lives.
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