Egyptology attempts to find its origins and its earliest arche-
ological discoveries on ancient maps. However, it is a misun-
derstanding of the nature of ancient maps to believe that they
could represent a source for a history of discovery. They depict
the country as it was known and perceived by Greek and Ro-
man people, not the ancient sites discovered or identified by
travelers and scholars. However, ancient maps of Egypt are not
without use for Egyptology as they depict a summary of every-
thing that was known and considered to be important about
Ancient Egypt. Through the study of myths about the Egyp-
tian origin of mapmaking, consideration of the sources at the
disposal of mapmakers, and tracing the evolution of maps of
Egypt from the 15th to the 18th century, what people thought
of Ancient Egypt can be revealed
