This article is from Ancient Egypt issue 152
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A new study published in the American Journal of Archaeology casts doubt on the theory that Akhenaten’s city Akhetaten (Amarna) was abandoned due to plague. The researchers drew on textual, archaeological, and bioarchaeological data from Amarna, and compared this to previous studies of cities and cemeteries with historically recorded epidemic diseases. While the ancient Egyptian skeletal remains showed various stress markers, there were few signs of epidemic disease, and the total number of burials fell within what could be expected from Amarna’s population size. In addition, rather than sudden abandonment, the evidence suggests that the city was abandoned in a systematic fashion over a period of time.
Text: Sarah Griffiths / Image: Robert B Partridge
