Ancient sites carry thousands of years of inheritance, renovation, and cultural reuse. Names of kings from later dynasties appear on structures far older than their reigns. The statues at Luxor...colossal, thousand-ton forms with the Nemes crown and sacred regalia...may not have shaped Egypt’s identity; Egypt may have shaped itself to match them. A tribal culture emerging after catastrophe would adopt the symbols it found. Over generations, kings portrayed themselves as divine because they were