Motel of the Mysteries

A future archeologist finds the remnants of a mysterious ancient people#8212; us #8212;in a wry satire that is "a marvel of imagination and . . . wonderfully illustrated" ( The New York Times ). It is the year 4022, and the entire ancient country of Usa has been buried under many feet of detritus from a catastrophe that occurred back in 1985. Howard Carson, an amateur archeologist, is crossing the perimeter of an abandoned excavation site when he feels the ground give way beneath him. Suddenly, he finds himself at the bottom of a shaft, which, judging from the DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging from an archaic doorknob, is clearly the entrance to a still-sealed burial chamber. Carson's incredible discoveries, including the remains of two bodies, one laid to rest on a ceremonial bed facing an altar that appeared to be a means of communicating with the Gods and the other lying in a porcelain sarcophagus in the Inner Chamber. These dramatic discoveries give Carson all the clues he needs to piece together the entire civilization#8212;which he gets utterly wrong. The acclaimed author and illustrator of Castle and Pyramid , David Macaulay presents a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek satire of both historical presumption and American self-importance It is the year 4022, and the entire ancient country of Usa has been buried under many feet of detritus from a catastrophe that occurred back in 1985. Howard Carson, an amateur archeologist, is crossing the perimeter of an abandoned excavation site when he feels the ground give way beneath him. Suddenly, he finds himself at the bottom of a shaft, which, judging from the DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging from an archaic doorknob, is clearly the entrance to a still-sealed burial chamber. Carson's incredible discoveries, including the remains of two bodies, one laid to rest on a ceremonial bed facing an altar that appeared to be a means of communicating with the gods and the other lying in a porcelain sarcophagus in the Inner Chamber. These dramatic discoveries give Carson all the clues he needs to piece together the entire civilization, which he gets utterly wrong. The acclaimed author and illustrator of Castle and Pyramid , David Macaulay presents a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek satire of both historical presumption and American self-importance

It is the year 4022; all of the ancient country of Usa has been buried under many feet of detritus from a catastrophe that occurred back in 1985. Imagine, then, the excitement that Howard Carson, an amateur archeologist at best, experienced when in crossing the perimeter of an abandoned excavation site he felt the ground give way beneath him and found himself at the bottom of a shaft, which, judging from the DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging from an archaic doorknob, was clearly the entrance to a still-sealed burial chamber. Carson's incredible discoveries, including the remains of two bodies, one of then on a ceremonial bed facing an altar that appeared to be a means of communicating with the Gods and the other lying in a porcelain sarcophagus in the Inner Chamber, permitted him to piece together the whole fabric of that extraordinary civilization.

An arch and witty tale purporting to be the dissertation of some future archeologists' discovery and exploration of the "Toot and C'mon Motel" (any resemblance to a Holiday Inn and the Egyptian pharaoh is entirely intentional.) In the process, they get just about every detail wrong, surmising it to be a necropolis - does the "Plant That Would Not Die" symbolize eternal life or... wait a minute, isn't that just the ubiquitous plastic philodendron in every room? - and along the way cast doubt on what we really think we "know" about ancient Egypt. It's all enhanced by Macaulay's detailed and meticulous pen-and-ink sketches. Hilarious and memorable. In the year 4022, an amateur archeologist makes an important discovery in the long buried country of Usa that has many humorous parallels to Howard Carter's excavation of Tutankhamen's tomb. In the year 4022, an amateur archaeologist makes an important discovery in the long buried country of Usa that has many humorous parallels to Howard Carter's excavation of Tutankhamen's tomb