The Seven Wonders of the ancient world symbolize all that was magnificent and mysterious in the pre-Christian West. Using the words of ancient writers and modern archaeological techniques, John and Elizabeth Romer recreated the images of these lost monuments.

This remarkable book tells the story of the "archaeology of wonder": stories of the travellers and scholars who came in contact with these seven ancient monuments, the stories of the wonders themselves, and the histories of their making and breaking. It traces the archaeological hunt to find the Seven Wonders, from the earliest digs to the latest discoveries of current excavations. It also includes fresh translations of the accounts of those who sailed the seas and rivers of the ancient world to walk among the seven fabled monuments and wonder at them.

John Romer is a graduate of the Royal College of Art. He began work in archaeology on the University of Chicago's epigraphic survey at Thebes in Upper Egypt. For the last twenty-five years he has alternated professional archaeology and interests in conservation with an international career of writing books and television series which he also presents to critical acclaim. His books include Valley of the Kings, Ancient Lives, Testament and, most recently, Great Excavations. John Romer lives and works around the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Elizabeth Romer has worked with John on most of his books. She too graduated from the RCA and worked as an archaeologist. She was the subject of a 70-minute documentary on expedition work in the Valley of the Kings, Thebes, Egypt for BBC2, and she co-wrote "The Rape of Tutankhamen" (1993) and "Byzantium, the Lost Empire" (1997), both for Channel 4. She has also written a number of cookbooks, including The Tuscan Year.