Book excerpt: This volume documents twenty-six monumental tombs of the ancient Egyptian Twelfth Dynasty that were excavated by the Metropolitan Museum Egyptian Expedition from 1906 to 1934 and 1984 to 1991. Focusing on the study and reconstruction of the architecture of the tombs, the book also publishes remains of reliefs and inscriptions that decorated the walls. The author demonstrates the astonishing variety of Middle Kingdom funeral architecture. Whereas some of the Lisht structures relate closely to Old Kingdom mastabas, there is also a new group of freestanding chapels that are derived from contemporary deity temples and foreshadow the temple-tombs of later periods in Egyptian history. Also included is an appendix by James P. Allen on the biographical inscription in one of the tombs