• Purple fever: was this just a Middle Kingdom fad?
• Terenouthis: a Roman town in Egypt
• Dows Dunham and the tomb of Queen Hetepheres
• Cancer in ancient Egypt
• The development of the postal system in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
• The last of the Twelfth Dynasty kings
• Out and about: visiting the archaeological museum in Alexandria
A narrow wadi in Algeria contains a remarkable concentration of rock art. Christoph Baumer reveals how these images offer a glimpse of a changing world, as a land of lakes and grasslands transformed into the Sahara Desert.
Archaeological investigations by an international team of researchers have unearthed the earliest evidence for intentional human cremation in Africa. Around 9,500 years ago, a community of hunter-gatherers gathered more than 30kg of wood and grass to build a large funeral…
Analysis of quartz arrowheads from South Africa reveals that they may represent the earliest use of poison arrows in hunting. Researchers from Sweden and South Africa carried out gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of ten microliths discovered in the Umhlatuzana…
It is something of a cliché in the history of the Second World War to claim that Stalingrad, the graveyard of Germany’s Sixth Army in Russia, was the decisive turning point of the conflict: the moment when Hitler’s hopes of…
James A Harrell investigates the peculiar popularity of purple during the Middle Kingdom.
Dr Joseph L Thimes traces the development of the postal system in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith visits the archaeological museum in Alexandria, now reopened after a long period of renovation.
In the last of his series of articles on the Twelfth Dynasty, Wolfram Grajetzki investigates the reigns of Amenemhat IV, and Sobeknefru, Egypt’s first female king.
CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE IN ANCIENT EGYPT The exhibition traces the daily lives of young ancient Egyptians, with a display of more than 190 pieces from national and international collections in the Vimcorsa Room, accompanied by an immersive audiovisual experience in…
Gerrit zur Hausen explains the difficulties of studying cancer in ancient populations, and how such research may help in our fight against the disease today.
Peter Lacovara celebrates the achievements of one of the most important, yet under-appreciated, figures in Egyptian archaeology: Dows Dunham.
Djoser (c.2667-2648 BC), the second ruler of the Third Dynasty, was the pharaoh whose chief minister Imhotep is credited with the idea of creating the first pyramid by layering a series of steps on top of an original mastaba. He…
Maiken Mosleth King explores life in Terenouthis, an important mining and trade centre that rose to prominence in the Graeco-Roman era.
Hilary Wilson looks at the development of axes, from Palaeolithic flint to ceremonial gold in the Eighteenth Dynasty.
Your opportunity to comment on articles in the magazine or on any Egyptological subject that interests you. Email the Editor peter@ancientegyptmagazine.com with your thoughts.
Where is this? If you know, email the Editor peter@ancientegyptmagazine.com before 30 April with your answer, giving your full name, address, and a contact phone number. One lucky reader’s name will be selected at random from all the correct answers…
Aidan Dodson’s The Libyan Pharaohs of Egypt is a detailed reappraisal of one of the most complex periods of ancient Egyptian history. Drawing on his long-standing expertise in Egyptian royal history, Dodson presents a richly illustrated, clear and balanced synthesis…
This new publication brings a welcome focus to the creative individuals behind the artistic achievements of the New Kingdom. Building on a 2022 conference in Madrid, the collection’s 12 papers examine a broad range of interconnected themes: the role and…
The Nubian empire at its height was one of the largest in the ancient world – a land rich in gold and other resources, with thriving trade. Highly skilled artisans created distinctive and finely crafted jewellery, ceramics, and architecture. And…
Thomas Sandwith was a British diplomat who served as consul in the Levant from 1855 to 1891. This is the second volume in a biography written by historian and former senior British civil servant Stephen Boys Smith, which covers Sandwith’s…
This is the companion to an exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, which includes objects gathered from many international collections, curated by Helen Strudwick. But it is more than a catalogue of the artefacts in the exhibition. Although not…
Campbell Price describes some beautifully preserved ancient Egyptian footwear.
New research published in the British Dental Journal (240, January 2026: 45-50) reveals that, although limited, ancient Egyptian and Graeco-Roman dentistry was surprisingly inventive. Prescriptions recorded in the medical papyri provide a fascinating glimpse into how dental care was approached…
Workshops from the Late Period and early Ptolemaic era have been discovered by an Egyptian-Italian (University of Padua) team working at the interconnected Kom al-Ahmar and Kom Wasit sites in the Western Delta (Beheira Governorate). The workshops consist of at…
Dr Hourig Sourouzian, Director of the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project in Luxor, was recently honoured by Sherif Fathy, the Minister of Tourism, for her outstanding contributions to the restoration of the mortuary temple. The ceremony…
The remains of a complete Byzantine monastic residential complex have been discovered by an Egyptian mission working at the al-Qarya archaeological site, in the Tima district of Sohag. The team found the remains of rectangular mud-brick structures with dimensions ranging…
An ancient Egyptian pleasure barge (thalamagos in Greek) has been discovered by Franck Goddio and his team from the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM). The 35m-long boat was found submerged off the coast of Alexandria in the Eastern Harbour,…
The Twenty-second Dynasty Libyan king Sheshonq III (c.825-773 BC) may have been buried in the tomb of a predecessor, Osorkon II, according to a new discovery at San al-Hagar (Tanis). The Tomb of Osorkon II was discovered in 1939, but…
The remains of the Valley Temple from the Sun Temple complex of the Fifth Dynasty king Nyuserra (c.2445-2421 BC) have been uncovered at Abu Ghurab, in the Abusir necropolis. The location of the temple – one of only two or…
• A 3,000-year-old gold mining operation, including mining tools and residential areas, has been discovered in Egypt’s Sukari Mountains; the entire camp has been moved nearly two miles away to separate it from the modern mine at the site. •…
• Amenemhat III: last of the great Middle Kingdom pharaohs
• In the shadow of Hathor: exploring the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri
• Harry Burton: sculpting the ancient history of Egypt with light
• Medicine in ancient Egypt…and Wales
• Exploring the treasures of the Pharaohs in Rome
• Dates: the taste of sweetness in ancient Egypt
• Out and about: taking a steep walk up to the Temple of Horus at Thoth Hill
The ewer is the largest surviving bronze vessel made in medieval England. What is it? This medieval vessel, known as the Asante Ewer, is a large bronze jug with a pear-shaped body, long neck, and triangular spout; it has a…
The world’s most comprehensive collection devoted to ancient Egyptian civilisation has opened its doors in full. Tony Field reflects on his visit to the new museum in Giza.
REVIEW BY ANDREW SELKIRK The Roman province of Africa was famed as being the ‘breadbasket’ of the ancient city, for Africa produced the huge quantities of grain needed to feed the plebs of Rome. But why was this region so…
The art and artefacts of ancient Egypt are still familiar around the world, but how much do we know about the people who created these objects? Matthew Symonds spoke to Helen Strudwick about the makers of ancient Egypt.