Carter’s linen tunic
Rachel Cotton investigates an extremely rare item: a linen ‘bag-tunic’ discovered by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon in 1909.
AE140
Win a copy of Medicine and Healing Practices in Ancient Egypt by Rosalie David and Roger Forshaw
Do you recognise this place?
The Cleopatras – Part 3: Cleopatra III, the female king
Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones continues his series on the later Ptolemaic queens
with the ambitious Cleopatra III and her murderous family rivalries.
Ancient Egyptian Surgery
Rosalie David and Roger Forshaw consider the contribution made by ancient Egyptians to the development of surgery, and the extent to which their knowledge was transmitted to later civilisations.
Breaking Ma’at: Akhenaten and the battle for Egyptian tradition and identity
Jason S Whitmarsh explores the revolutionary impact of Egypt’s so called ‘heretic king’.
Ancient Egypt Letters 140
Your thoughts on issues raised by the magazine.
The Royal Road to Meroë
Karl Harris continues his journey through Sudan, retracing one of the overland routes taken by the Meroitic rulers of Kush.
Ancient Egypt December listings
HORIZON OF KHUFU: JOURNEY TO ANCIENT EGYPT An immersive expedition to explore the Great Pyramid of Giza, including spaces previously closed to the public, followed by a trip 4,500 years back in time to attend the funeral of King Khufu.…
Pyramid man: Charles Piazzi Smyth
Dr John Taylor describes Smyth’s scientific achievements and his less successful inroads into the world of Egyptology.
Hilary Wilson on… The sidelock of youth
When was this curious hairstyle used and what was its significance?
The rescue of Abu Simbel: A history of restoration, exploration, and resurrection
Abu Simbel actually presents us with several milestones. Probably completed by Year 24 in the reign of Ramesses II, the rock-cut temples left an awe-inspiring statement of power and permanence 140km south of Elephantine in the peripheral territory of Wawat…
Hypocephalus
What was the purpose of this small disc of cartonnage, now in the British Museum? Dr Campbell Price explains.
Ancient Egypt news in brief
A round-up of some of the latest news from the world of ancient Egypt.…
New research labs
A new multidisciplinary research facility has been created at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat to provide specialist micro-analysis of archaeological finds. The first of its kind in the Middle East, the new centre houses state-of-the-art technology to…
Origin of ancient Egypt’s baboons
An interdisciplinary project involving biologists, Egyptologists, and anthropologists has discovered evidence that may pinpoint the actual location of the trading region of Punt, based on the genetic analysis of an ancient mummified baboon discovered in the ‘Valley of the Monkeys’…
Two sunken temples
The remains of temples to Amun and the Greek goddess Aphrodite have been discovered at Thonis Heracleion, the sunken city in Abu Qir Bay, near Alexandria. The team, from the Supreme Council of Archaeology and the European Institute for Underwater…
New tomb at Abusir
A Czech mission working at Abusir has discovered the richly decorated tomb of a royal scribe called Djehutyemhat, who lived during Persian rule over Egypt. The superstructure of the tomb has not survived, but the team found a 14-metre shaft…
Meretneith’s wine
New evidence found at Umm el Qa‘ab (‘Mother of Pots’) in Abydos has shed light on the importance of the First Dynasty queen Meretneith (or Merneith), and casts doubt on the theory of ritual human sacrifice as part of royal…
New Kingdom burials at Tuna el-Gebel
An Egyptian mission working at Tuna el-Gebel, the ancient site of Hermopolis Magna, has discovered an elite New Kingdom cemetery containing intact burials of senior officials and priests. The team uncovered rock-cut tombs containing painted wooden coffins, mummies, and a…
Sahura’s storerooms
A series of undocumented storerooms has been discovered inside the pyramid of the Fifth Dynasty king Sahura at Abusir by a joint Egyptian-German mission. While carrying out restoration work on the pyramid, the team, led by the University of Würzburg,…
Is the answer blowing in the wind?
The lion-shaped Great Sphinx at Giza may have been shaped by wind erosion, according to new research from New York University. Laboratory experiments suggest that sphinx-like shapes can form naturally when clay is subjected to a fast-flowing stream of water,…
Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean World: From Constantinople to Baghdad, 500-1000 CE
REVIEW BY MICHAEL TUNNICLIFFE This series of 15 essays covers the final years of Byzantine control of Egypt, and the first 300 years of Muslim rule: first that of the Umayyads based in Damascus, and then the Abbasids in Baghdad.…
Ancient Egyptian Society: Challenging Assumptions, Exploring Approaches
REVIEW BY CAMPBELL PRICE One of the major issues in Egyptology is how prone we are to repeat assertions that were made – often provisionally – more than a century ago. Thus the lazy explanation of ancient Egyptian society as…
Cartouches: Field Guide and Identification Key
REVIEW BY SG Being able to identify the kings by name can unlock the mysteries of monumental inscriptions and scenes. Thus a handy reference to help the beginner identify kings by their cartouches would be really useful. There are such…
Ramesses The Great: Egypt’s Kings of Kings
REVIEW BY CATHIE BRYAN Ramesses II is notorious for his self-promotion and propaganda, rather than being famous for his many achievements and cultural advances. To adjust the balance, Wilkinson addresses what Ramesses, the only king of Egypt known as ‘the…
The oldest book in the world: Philosophy in the age of the pyramids
REVIEW BY SG In the 1800s, a papyrus scroll was discovered in Luxor. The text, a complete version of The Teaching of Ptahhatp, was copied out in the late Middle Kingdom, but originates from the Fifth Dynasty reign of king…
Medicine and healing practices in Ancient Egypt
REVIEW BY J PETER PHILLIPS In contrast with previous works on this subject, which have focused exclusively on the remedies available to ancient Egyptian medical practitioners, this work also considers the subject from the viewpoint of the patient – a…