Cover Story
Amenemhat II: Golden are the souls of Ra Wolfram Grajetzki continues his series on the Twelfth Dynasty pharaohs with one of the lesser-known kings of the Middle Kingdom: Nubkaura Amenemhat II. Features
Tattooing in the ancient Nile Valley In the first of two articles describing the practice of tattooing in ancient Egypt and Nubia, Renée Friedman looks at the surviving evidence from the Predynastic Period to the Middle… 
Egypt in Constantinople Aidan Dodson looks at material in Istanbul linking ancient Egypt with the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. 
Cleopatra’s children: The last of the Ptolemies Diana Bentley traces the fates of the four children of Cleopatra VII following the Roman invasion of Egypt in 30 BC. 
Christiane Desroches Noblecourt: A legendary life Simone Petacchi explores the life and work of a unique French Egyptologist. 
Ani’s life after death – 5: Hathor and Opet Andrew Fulton ends his series exploring this famous Book of the Dead with a final scene featuring Hathor and Tawaret. 
Hilary Wilson on… The King of Fish Hilary looks at the symbolism attached to one of the major food sources for ancient Egyptians. News
Tomb of a prince A new Fifth Dynasty tomb has been discovered at Saqqara by an Egyptian mission led by the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Zahi Hawass Foundation for Antiquities and Heritage.… 
Tomb of a tax collector The owner of a tomb discovered in the 1970s in el-Assasif has finally been identified by a joint Egyptian-Canadian (University of Ontario) mission. Following the first archaeological work since the… 
Fortress of the East Recent excavations at Tell Abu Saifi in the Qantara region (Ismailia) have revealed new military architecture at the site of two fortresses dating back to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.… 
Multiple finds at the Ramesseum A number of well-preserved Third Intermediate Period tombs have been uncovered at the Ramesseum by a French-Egyptian mission (the Supreme Council of Archaeology and the French National Research Centre and… 
Ramesses III in Jordan The cartouches of an Egyptian king, discovered on a rock face in Jordan a decade ago, have now been documented, and confirmed as an inscription of Ramesses III (c.1184-1153 BC).… 
Breaking news As we were going to press, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of three new tombs in Dra‘ Abu el-Naga on the West Bank of Luxor. Dating… Views
Ancient Egypt Letters 149 Letters Your opportunity to comment on articles in the magazine or on any Egyptological subject that interests you. 
Hidden treasures Travel Karl Harris continues his ‘Travels in an Antique Land’ with visits to the First Intermediate Period Tomb of Ankhtify at Mo‘alla, and a multi-era temple complex dedicated to the god… 
Win a copy of Ancient Egypt: a photographic history by Nigel Fletcher-Jones, published by Amber Books Competitions Where is this? If you know, email the Editor peter@ancientegyptmagazine.com before 31 August with your answer, giving your full name, address, and a contact phone number. One lucky reader will… 
Bust of Ankhhaf Objects An unusually lifelike piece of sculpture, supposedly depicting an important Old Kingdom official, is analysed by Campbell Price. 
Another Nefertiti The Picture Desk Two decades after the discovery of the famous Berlin bust, a chance discovery was made in 1933 of a sculptors’ workshop at Amarna containing another unfinished head of Akhenaten’s queen. 
Ancient Egypt June listings What's on TOMB OF THE PHARAOHS This new 3D, immersive, and interactive experience of ancient Egypt recreates scenes of royal tombs including those of Ramesses IV, Sety I, Tutankhamun, and Nefertari, featuring… Reviews
Hidden treasures Karl Harris continues his ‘Travels in an Antique Land’ with visits to the First Intermediate Period Tomb of Ankhtify at Mo‘alla, and a multi-era temple complex dedicated to the god… 
Disability in Ancient Egypt and Egyptology: All Our Yesterdays REVIEW BY ANNA GARNETT This important new collection of essays explores what disability meant to the people living in the Nile Valley thousands of years ago, and the lived experience… 
A Categorisation of Ancient Egyptian Watercraft, from Predynastic Petroglyphs to the Khufu Boats REVIEW BY J PETER PHILLIPS This extremely detailed and complex work is exactly what it says on the cover, and supplements the author’s previous books, published by BAR in 2012… 
Chicago on the Nile: A Century of Work by the Epigraphic Survey of the University of Chicago REVIEW BY ALAN L JEFFREYS Emily Teeter’s book, which accompanies a recent exhibition at the ISAC Museum (see ‘Exhibitions’ in AE 145), relates the story of the University of Chicago’s… 
Yearning For Immortality: The European Invention of the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife REVIEW BY CAMPBELL PRICE The goal of the afterlife – towards which so many wealthy ancient Egyptians apparently strove, and in the attainment of which so many objects and monuments… 
From Objects to Histories: Studies in Honour of John H Taylor REVIEW BY ROGER FORSHAW This monumental Festschrift, four years in preparation, celebrates John H Taylor’s distinguished career at the British Museum, both as a curator and a scholar. Aptly… 
New Perspectives on Ancient Nubia REVIEW BY ANNA GARNETT The histories, cultures, and archaeologies of ancient Nubia remain a source of much scholarly debate, and centring our research on the people of the ancient Nile… Ancient Egypt June listings TOMB OF THE PHARAOHS This new 3D, immersive, and interactive experience of ancient Egypt recreates scenes of royal tombs including those of Ramesses IV, Sety I, Tutankhamun, and Nefertari, featuring… 
From the editor
Often the process of recreating ancient Egyptian history can resemble the intricate plot of a detective novel. Many apparently minor discoveries, when pieced together, can form a coherent whole, although sometimes key pieces are missing. Such was the case with the reign of the Middle Kingdom pharaoh Amenemhat II. None of his temples have survived, and his ruined pyramid has not been fully excavated. The only major item bearing his name is the sphinx pictured on the cover of this issue. As Wolfram Grajetzki tells us, very little was known about his reign until parts of his annals, covering two years of his reign, were discovered and eventually deciphered. The largest fragment of the annals, written in a kind of hieroglyphic shorthand, was found on the underside of the base of a statue of Ramesses II carved from a reused block of granite.
But some evidence of Egypt’s past can be hidden in plain view. The mummy of Gebelein Man, popularly known as ‘Ginger’, has been on display in the British Museum for over a hundred years. It was only by chance that a hand-held infrared light was directed at Ginger’s arm and a tattoo suddenly became visible. A whole new branch of Egyptological investigation was opened, looking for, and finding, tattoos on many other mummies in museum collections. Renée Friedman brings us some of the latest findings in this brand-new field of study.
Other articles in this issue cover some other lesser known areas of Egyptological study: the fate of the children of Cleopatra VII, recounted by Diana Bentley; the Egyptian monuments seen by Aidan Dodson in Constantinople; and the archaeological sites of Mo‘alla and Tod that see very few tourists other than more adventurous independent visitors like Karl Harris.
Hilary Wilson has told us before about the importance of fish in the diet of the ancient population and, in this issue, she concentrates on one particular inhabitant of the Nile – the Nile perch, the ‘King of Fish’.
Andrew Fulton concludes his series studying Ani’s Book of the Dead; Campbell Price studies an unusual bust in Boston Museum of Fine Arts; and Stephanie Boonstra chooses the discovery in 1933 by Ruth Waddington of a(nother) bust of Nefertiti as her ‘Milestone in Egyptology’ – once more an example of a chance discovery that changed our knowledge of the ancient civilisation.
J Peter Phillips, Editor
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