Ancient Egypt Letters 153
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.
Multi-period
Ancient Nubian art: a history
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…
Made In Ancient Egypt
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…
Ancient dental practice
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…
Ancient Egypt news in brief
• 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. •…
CA at Paestum
CA at Paestum The 27th annual Mediterranean Exchange for Archaeological Tourism met at Paestum, Italy, at the end of October and start of November to celebrate archaeological and cultural heritage. Together with archaeologists, heritage managers, and tourism professionals, CA visited…
Current Archaeology Live! 2026
In partnership with: Current Archaeology Live! 2026 is coming up quickly, and tickets are selling fast. The conference, held in partnership with University College London’s Institute of Archaeology, will be on Saturday 28 February, at the UCL Institute of Education,…
Museum news
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
CA 432 Letters – February
Saving literary homes and cooling towers Chris Catling’s piece about threats to literary homes (CA 431) is nothing new to those of us in Derby. In 1906, we lost the birthplace of Joseph Wright ARA (1734-1797) – replaced by a…
Current Archaeology 431
• Earliest evidence of human fire-making found in Suffolk
• Exploring the geology of Hadrian’s Wall
• Rediscovering West London’s lost landscapes at Sipson Farm
• Lord of the Isles: uncovering Finlaggan’s elite archaeology
• Hadrian’s Wall and its trees: from Sycamore Gap to the Vindolanda tablets
UK news in brief
Funding for Devon Roman villa The SHARE project (Saving Halberton’s Ancient Roman Environment), which is being led by archaeologists from the University of Exeter in partnership with Devon County Council, Tiverton Archaeology Group, and the Sampford Peverell Society, has been…
CWA 135 crossword, and answers to crossword #134
Across 7 Name given to human fossils discovered in Indonesia in the late 19th century (4,3)8 Culture of coastal communities in Peru from c.900-100 BC (7)10 Semi-precious stone used since the Neolithic (4)11 Chalcolithic to Roman site east of Ankara…
Ritual Landscape: rock art and archaeology in the Mongolian Altai
REVIEW BY GEORGE NASH The Altai region of western Mongolia has long been considered marginal in broader Eurasian archaeological narratives. In this book, William Fitzhugh and Richard Kortum build a compelling case for the region’s centrality in the evolution of…
Urban jungles
A little urbanism can be a dangerous thing. Sometimes all it takes is a patch. In the modern world, for all its cities, there are still many places where one does not need to travel far to meet landscapes of villages, fields, and farm animals.
In Brief
MHM’s round-up of the latest military history releases.
Excavating the hidden history of the Houses of Parliament
Archaeological investigations in and around the Houses of Parliament have uncovered remains spanning the last 6,000 years, highlighting the site’s importance not just in modern history, but during the medieval period and stretching as far back as the Mesolithic. The…
Science Notes: Determining the development of dog diversity
The extraordinary diversity of modern dog types is often attributed to Victorian breeding practices, which led to a major increase in the number of dog breeds. A recent study looking into canine skull forms, however, has found that there was…
Current Archaeology Live! 2026
In partnership with: Current Archaeology Live! 2026 will be here before we know it, and tickets are selling fast. The conference, again held in partnership with University College London’s Institute of Archaeology, will be on 28 February (Saturday) and will…
Landscape and Society in Dumnonia
REVIEW BY JACQUELINE A NOWAKOWSKI Diligent reporting of a dispersed hoard of more than 50 Roman coins by metal-detectorists to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) in 2009 led to a major landscape study of an unexplored area of Devon. Landscape…
Current World Archaeology 134
• Building Petra: ordinary lives and extraordinary architecture
• Mycenaean Pylos: from princes to a palace in Greece
• The changing faces of Easter Island: shape-shifting figurines
• Small rings, great power: assessing the Vimose mail coat
• Corinth’s greatest treasure
• Special report: an ancient solar observatory at Chankillo in Peru
Rediscovering west London’s lost landscapes: Six millennia of change and continuity at Sipson Farm
Today, Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport – but the underlying and surrounding river terraces have long been a rich hunting ground for archaeologists, concealing a palimpsest of buried landscapes. Since the late 1960s, they have seen dozens of excavations ahead of quarrying and development. Robert Cowie reports on one such project.
Surveying Sennen
A recent field-walking and metal-detecting event in coastal Cornwall has added new details to our knowledge of the area, from prehistory to the present day. Laura Miucci reports.
Treasures of the Pharaohs in Rome
Lucy Gordan describes a temporary exhibition Treasures of the Pharaohs, which displays priceless artefacts from ancient Egypt in Rome for the first time.
Hilary Wilson on… A taste of sweetness
Hilary Wilson explores the importance of the date palm in ancient Egyptian daily life.
Delta Reports 1: Research in the cultural history of the Ancient Egyptian Nile Delta
REVIEW BY SARAH GRIFFITHS ‘Without the Nile Delta, ancient Egyptian culture could not have emerged’. This bold statement begins the first of a new series of volumes that aims to publish more rapidly the fieldwork reports from sites across north…
Current Archaeology Live! 2026
In partnership with: Our upcoming conference, Current Archaeology Live! 2026, will be held on Saturday 28 February. We are delighted to be returning once more to University College London’s Institute of Education near Russell Square for the event, and to…
Current Archaeology 429
• Examining the Norton Disney dodecahedron: a mysterious artefact from the Roman world
• 100 years of Woodhenge: from discovery to new dating evidence
• A store of secrets: excavating military kit and personal possessions at Caerleon
• Stories from the soil: exploring treasure finds in north-west England and Wales
• Making accommodations: how 19th-century housing helped women’s independence
Ancient Egypt Magazine 151
• King Scorpion: ritual and power at the dawn of Egyptian kingship
• The obelisk of Antinous: clues that might lead to the location of Antinous’ tomb
• Hesyre the Dentist: the life and career of a court official, scribe, and world’s first dentist
• Senusret III: warrior and innovator, one of the best known kings of the Twelfth Dynasty
• The dragon roars: exploring the long and brilliant legacy of the Welsh Egyptologists
• Egypt in Rovigo: Egyptian treasures of the Accademia dei Concordi in Rovigo, Italy
• Out and about: the ‘Art of Cusae’ in Middle Kingdom tombs at Meir
• The next best thing: the preservation of Egypt’s cultural heritage through 3-D replicas
History in the shallows: Exploring intertidal and inland sites
Underwater archaeology is not all deep-sea diving. Artefacts and historic remains are periodically exposed on the shoreline before vanishing as the tide rises again, and can be found further inland in lakes and other bodies of water. Karen Moule describes the experience – and importance – of documenting these finds, and highlights three initiatives that you can join.
Museum news
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
Floreat Salopia: a celebration of Shropshire’s history and archaeology
REVIEW BY BRANDON BRAUN The Latin motto for Shropshire – Floreat Salopia, ‘may Shropshire flourish’ – has been used since at least the 17th century, so it is a fitting title for the 100th volume of the Transactions of the…
Cat Tales: A History
REVIEW BY CH Dogs may be ‘man’s best friend’, but cats also share a long relationship with humans – a tale (tail?) that archaeologist Jerry Moore recounts in this absorbing overview, covering two million years of history and an equally…
Current Archaeological Research in the Midlands and Abroad Conference
This two-day conference will spotlight the dynamic intersection of archaeological research conducted by Mercian Archaeological Services and Nottingham Trent University, covering investigations across the UK, Midlands, and Egypt. There will also be numerous other industry experts showcasing their work through…
A life less wealthy: The ordinary lives of Nabataean Petra
Petra is renowned for its extraordinary tomb architecture, but little is known about the builders of these mausolea. George H Nash, Genevieve von Petzinger, Lina Alrabab’h, and James Nash examine this funerary landscape and the traces of those who made it possible.
Corinth’s greatest treasure
In the first of a two-part piece, Richard Hodges visits Corinth for a conversation with its legendary excavator Charles K Williams.
In the Seine
An exhibition in Paris explores the history of the city through the objects recovered from the river at its heart.