This thesis addresses the question of the transmission of knowledge in Egypt through the dynastic to the Islamic period. It begins by describing the problem of how knowledge is conceptualized and structured within academic discourse, creating false dichotomies that have shaped a narrative of total loss and destruction. Transmission and continuity are instead proposed to take place within a dynamic model of transformation, and the study of a traditional locus of knowledge within the dynastic period, the House of Life, is juxtaposed with the long-term biography of the Egyptian tomb. The House of Life is recognized as a problematic entity, particular issues being the nature of the 'knowledge' it maintained, and how much of the textual knowledge was eventually expendable. The investigation of biographies of the tomb leads to the study of the transmission of knowledge through practice, which can be traced through to the present day.