Cover Story
King Scorpion’s Macehead: Ritual and power at the dawn of Egyptian kingship Philippe Rosset explores the iconography of this ceremonial weapon, which marks a transitional moment in Egyptian kingship. Features
Senusret III: Warrior and innovator Wolfram Grajetzki continues his series with one of the most important and best known kings of the Twelfth Dynasty. 
The Rovigo Egyptian collection Simone Petacchi describes an important Egyptian collection in Rovigo, Italy, that is not on public display. 
The Obelisk and Tomb of Antinous Barbara Gai explores the history of this important monument and the clues that might lead to the location of Antinous’ tomb. 
The dragon roars: Wales and Egyptology Alan B Lloyd acknowledges the huge contribution to Egyptology made by people born in Wales. 
Hesyre the dentist Roger Forshaw records the life and career of a court official and scribe who was the world’s first recorded dentist. 
Hilary Wilson on…The next best thing Hilary Wilson explores the preservation of Egypt’s cultural heritage through replicas – the next best thing to visiting the monuments themselves. News
Concerns for Mount Sinai The Egyptian government’s ‘Great Transfiguration Project’ for the UNESCO World Heritage site of Mount Sinai – the location of the 6th century Monastery of St Catherine – has caused international… 
Rare Egyptian hat A rare felt hat from the Roman Period has gone on display for the first time at Bolton Museum, in the north-west of Britain, following conservation work. Dating to c.AD… 
New Canopus Decree stela A new and complete version of the Ptolemaic Canopus Decree has been found by an Egyptian team working at Tell Far’oun (Tell Nabasha) in Egypt’s Sharqia Governorate. Unlike other surviving… 
Purifying the Great Pyramid A new air-purification system has been installed inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu to stabilise humidity levels within the monument and prevent the erosion of the inner walls. The improved… 
Rare Ptolemaic coin Another recent find connected to Berenice II has been announced by the Israel Antiquities Authority. A rare gold coin depicting the Ptolemaic queen without her consort (and a cornucopia on… 
Sunken treasures The Egyptian Department of Underwater Antiquities has recovered three heavy ancient artefacts from the seabed off the coast at Abu Qir Bay in Alexandria. One of them is a large… 
Copper-smelting workshop An Egyptian team excavating the Wadi el-Nasab site in south Sinai has discovered a copper-smelting and -casting workshop with administrative buildings at what was one of the most important ancient… Views
Win a copy of Brief Histories: Ancient Egypt by Campbell Price, published by Seven Dials Competitions Where is this? If you know, email the Editor peter@ancientegyptmagazine.com before 31 December with your answer, giving your full name, address, and a contact phone number. One lucky reader will… 
Meir Travel Karl Harris continues his ‘Travels in an Antique Land’, discovering the ‘Art of Cusae’ in Middle Kingdom tombs at Meir – accompanied by a local snake charmer. 
Ancient Egypt October listings What's on DISCOVERING ANCIENT EGYPT After five years as a travelling exhibition, visiting Japan, South Korea, and Australia, the RMO’s exhibition returns to the Netherlands. It explores the life, religion, and culture… 
Votive cat plaques Objects Campbell Price selects a collection of votive plaques depicting cats from Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai. 
Statues of Akhenaten at Karnak The Picture Desk In 1925, two colossal statues of Akhenaten were discovered in an unpromising area outside the eastern enclosure wall of Karnak Temple. Since then, many more have been found. Reviews
Meir Karl Harris continues his ‘Travels in an Antique Land’, discovering the ‘Art of Cusae’ in Middle Kingdom tombs at Meir – accompanied by a local snake charmer. Ancient Egypt October listings DISCOVERING ANCIENT EGYPT After five years as a travelling exhibition, visiting Japan, South Korea, and Australia, the RMO’s exhibition returns to the Netherlands. It explores the life, religion, and culture… 
The Egyptian Book of the Dead REVIEW BY ANDREW FULTON This volume is part of a series of books of ancient texts that Amber Books are publishing in hardback using traditional Chinese bookbinding methods that were… 
Contemporary Art and the Display of Ancient Egypt REVIEW BY HILARY FORREST This thoroughly researched book contains a wealth of material, and covers the frequently discussed question of how Egyptological displays should be planned and designed, both culturally… 
The Amarna Letters: The Syro-Levantine Correspondence REVIEW BY MICHAEL TUNNICLIFFE This important work claims to be the first authoritative edition to combine both transliteration and translation of the Amarna Letters since their publication by Norwegian linguist… 
Getting a Job in Old Kingdom Egypt: Rites of Passage to Promotion REVIEW BY ROGER FORSHAW Michelle Middleman’s new book presents a well-structured and perceptive exploration of how individuals attained administrative positions during Egypt’s early dynastic era. Focusing primarily on tomb biographies… 
Brief Histories: Ancient Egypt – Everything you wanted to know but forgot to ask REVIEW BY HILARY WILSON Any author might be daunted by the ambitious subtitle of the ‘Brief Histories’ format, but Campbell Price has risen to the challenge. In little more than… 
From the editor
In some ways the Scorpion Macehead that was found at Hierakonpolis, in the same location as the more famous Narmer Palette, is just as important in informing us about the earliest history of the ancient Egyptian civilisation. King Scorpion (so-called because of the scorpion hieroglyph that labels him on the macehead) is shown in the act either of digging an irrigation ditch, or of breaking the wall of a canal and allowing the stored water to flood a field. As Philippe Rosset tells us in his article, the symbolism of this act is difficult to underestimate. It shows that the structure of the state with the pharaoh at its head was firmly established, and that state control of the system of irrigation which made agriculture flourish in a desert environment had been formalised. The diorama featured on the cover of this issue brings vividly to life the scene depicted on the macehead.
In AE 150, there were several articles that illustrated lesser known but important aspects of Egyptology, and AE 151 continues that theme. Simone Petacchi visits a museum near Venice that contains unique artefacts that are never seen by the general public; Karl Harris takes a trip to tombs in Meir where cobras guard the path; an obelisk dedicated to Hadrian’s lover Antinous rather than a pharaoh is described by Barbara Gai; and former dental surgeon Roger Forshaw describes the unique wooden panels that depict the world’s first known dentist Hesyre. Senusret III, on the other hand, is one of the most significant kings of the Twelfth Dynasty, and was still seen as an inspiration nearly 2,000 years later.
Why should it be that a disproportionate number of prominent Egyptologists have deep connections with Wales? Alan Lloyd lists some of them and investigates the reasons for their interest in the subject. Finally, the general public’s fascination with the ancient civilisation has inspired the creation of many replicas of its monuments, some much less faithful to the original than others, as Hilary Wilson recounts.
J Peter Phillips, Editor
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