View source for John Romer (Egyptologist)

{{BLP sources|date=April 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2012}}
'''John Lewis Romer''' (born 30 September 1941, in [[Surrey]], England) is a British [[Egyptology|Egyptologist]], historian and archaeologist. He has created and appeared in many TV archaeology series, including ''Romer's Egypt'', ''Ancient Lives'', ''Testament'', ''The Seven Wonders of the World'', ''Byzantium: The Lost Empire'' and ''Great Excavations: The Story of Archaeology''.
==Biography==
Romer was educated at [[Ottershaw School]], a state [[boarding school]] near [[Woking, Surrey]], and the [[Royal College of Art]] in London, coming to archaeology through his [[Epigraphy|epigraphic]] studies of painting and drawing. He went on to work as an artist in [[Persepolis]] and [[Cairo]], drawing and studying ancient inscriptions.
Romer began his archaeological work in 1966, when he participated in the [[University of Chicago]]'s Epigraphic Survey at the temples and tombs of the ancient Egyptian site of [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] (modern-day [[Luxor]]). From 1977 to 1979 he originated and organised a major expedition to the [[Valley of the Kings]] which carried out the first excavation there since the discovery of [[Tutankhamen's tomb]] in 1922. In 1979 he headed the [[Brooklyn Museum]]'s expedition to excavate the tomb of [[Ramesses XI]].
In 1979 Romer and his wife (Elizabeth Romer, also an archaeologist and designer) founded The Theban Foundation, in [[Berkeley, California]], a body dedicated to the conservation and documentation of the Royal Tombs of Thebes. One result of this was the creation of the [[Theban Mapping Project]].
Romer's books (some co-written with his wife) include ''Valley of the Kings'', ''Ancient Lives'', ''Testament'' and ''The Seven Wonders of the World'', many of which were televised. His most recent works, ''A History of Ancient Egypt: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid'', and ''A History of Ancient Egypt Volume 2: From the Great Pyramid to the Fall of the Middle Kingdom'' were published in 2012 and 2017.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/01/before-the-bling-of-tutankhamun/| title = Before the bling {{!}} The Spectator}} </ref>
Romer lives in [[Tuscany]], Italy.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/ancient/were-getting-ancient-egypt-all-wrong-and-its-because-of-european-nationalism/| title = Much of what we know of Ancient Egypt is distorted by 19th century racism {{!}} All About History| date = 11 March 2017}}</ref>
==Works==
===Books===
*Romer, John (1977), ''Damage in the Royal Tombs in the Valley of the Kings'' (unpublished)
*Romer, John (1981), ''Valley of the Kings''; New York, NY: [[Henry Holt and Company]] 1981; {{ISBN|0-8050-0993-0}}.
*Romer, John (1984), ''Ancient Lives: Daily Life in Egypt of the Pharaohs'' (Reprinted, 1990, as ''Ancient Lives, The Story of the Pharaoh's Tombmakers''); London: [[Weidenfeld & Nicolson|Phoenix Press]], {{ISBN|1-84212-044-1}}.
*Romer, John (1988), ''Testament: the Bible and History''; London: [[Michael O'Mara Books]]; {{ISBN|1-85479-005-6}} New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1989; {{ISBN|0-8050-0939-6}} (Based on the [[Channel Four]] television series ''Testament'').
*Romer, John (1993), ''The Rape of Tutankhamun''; London: [[Michael O'Mara Books]], 1993; {{ISBN|1-85479-169-9}}.
*Romer, John (1993), ''Romer’s Egypt''; London: [[Michael O'Mara Books]], 1993; {{ISBN|0-7181-2136-8}}.
*Romer, John and Elizabeth Romer (2000), ''Great Excavations: John Romer’s History of Archaeology''; London: [[Cassell (publisher)|Cassell]]; {{ISBN|0-304-35563-1}}.
*Romer, John (2007), ''The Great Pyramid: Ancient Egypt Revisited''
*Romer, John (2012). ''A History of Ancient Egypt Volume 1: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid''. Allen Lane. {{ISBN|978-1-84614-377-9}}
*Romer, John (2017). ''A History of Ancient Egypt Volume 2: From the Great Pyramid to the Fall of the Middle Kingdom''. St. Martin's Press. {{ISBN|978-1-25003-013-9}}
*Romer, John (2023). ''A History of Ancient Egypt Volume 3: From the Shepherd Kings to the End of the Theban Monarchy''. Penguin. {{ISBN|978-0-24145-499-2}}
===Documentary films===
*''Romer's Egypt'' (1982), BBC TV; 3 episodes; 120 minutes
*''Ancient Lives'' (1984), Central Television (ITV); 4 episodes; 205 minutes.
*''Testament'' (1988), Antelope/[[Channel Four]]; 7 episodes; 363 minutes
*''The Rape of Tutankhamun'' (1993); Channel 4/PBS/Voyager Films; 1 episode; 65 minutes
*''The Seven Wonders of the World'' (1994); ABTV/Discovery Channel; 4 episodes; 202 minutes.
*''Byzantium: The Lost Empire'' (1997); ABTV/Ibis Films/The Learning Channel; 4 episodes; 209 minutes.
*''Great Excavations: John Romer's History of Archaeology'' (also released as ''Lost Worlds: The Story of Archaeology'') (2000); ABTV/Channel Four/Southern Star; 6 episodes; 300 minutes.
==See also==
* [[KV17]]
* [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]]
* [[Michael Wood (historian)|Michael Wood]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140209225535/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7171/romer.html John Romer: resource page, publications, etc]
*{{IMDb name|1325988}}
*[http://www.osobs.com/ Ottershaw School Old Boys' Society]
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:British archaeologists]]
[[Category:English Egyptologists]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Art]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:English male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:People from Ottershaw]]