The Secret of the Royal Mounds: Henry Layard and the First Cities of Assyria

by Cynthia Jameson

Relates the career of the archaeologist who uncovered the ruins of the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh and who is credited with making archaeology a science. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0698307100
• ISBN13: 9780698307100
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: Coward McCann
• Length: 62 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Age Range: 11 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 6 to 8

Customer Reviews

Interesting Book that is Incorrectly Titled and Includes Misleading Cover Flaps

_The Secret of the Royal Mounds_ it a biography of Layard, a man credited with inventing Assyriology. This book promotes itself as having some sort of big secret or mystery, something that will be uncovered or discovered in the book. It also builds up the "spy angle" on the cover flap, the fact that Layard worked as a spy in order to finance his stay in Iraq. In reality, there is no great big mystery to solve or secret that is uncovered. Instead, you'll read about the life of Layard, with all the boring parts edited out, and a focus on his time spent in Iraq looking for the lost city of Nineveh. I love history and therefore I really did enjoy the book. It is written with upper grade school and junior high kids in mind and I think they might find it a good supplement to their study of ancient civilizations--especially since it is a thousand times more exciting than a text book. Layard does indeed work as a spy, but you don't get to find out anything about his "spying." You're just told that he is a spy and that he isn't well paid. The fact that he is hired to "spy" does not really play into the story at all, so if you are looking for an exciting spy story, this book's jacket will mislead you. You do get to hear about the amazing things that Layard discovered, on the detail level that the audience it was written for would expect. The same goes for his struggles and the obstacles put in his way. You may also be amazed at how primitive archaeology was less than a hundred years ago. I had no idea we knew so little that recently about discovering and preserving the past. I also enjoyed reading that most "learned experts" of the day did not believe there ever was an Assyria or Nineveh. (How many things have been dismissed as legend, especially from the Bible, only to be discovered as true. The Assyrians here are one; Hittites are another.) Layard persevered despite the doubt, and despite many set-backs, and despite some people purposefully attempting to sabotage him. What else is there left for the "everything important is already known and discovered crowd" to miss, and for some believing and hopeful and determined person to discover?