The temple of Qasr el-Sagha
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith visits an isolated temple in the desert north of the Fayum.
AE150
New Graeco-Roman tombs in Aswan
A joint Egyptian–Italian archaeological mission (University of Milan) has discovered more rock-cut Graeco-Roman tombs in the necropolis surrounding the Aga Khan Mausoleum on Aswan’s West Bank (for previous finds, see AE 144). The most impressive tomb to be found so…
Tell Nabasha
The remains of large multistorey tower houses have been discovered at the ancient Delta city of Imet (modern-day Tell Nabasha) in the eastern Delta by an Egyptian–British team from the Universities of Sadat City (Cairo) and Manchester. Such buildings, which…
More news from Aswan
Three rock-cut tombs from the Old Kingdom, reused during the Middle Kingdom, have been found by the Egyptian team working at the Qubbet el Hawa necropolis opposite Aswan. Two of the tombs have similar features and contained wooden coffins with…
Luxor discoveries
A massive mud-brick enclosure wall has been found near Karnak by an Egyptian team working at Nagaa Abu Asba. Blocks from the wall bear stamps with the name of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty king Menkheperra Necho I (c.672-664 BC). The team…
Karnak developments
A residential settlement dating to the Middle Kingdom has been uncovered at Karnak by an Egyptian–French mission. The ‘city’ is in the south-east corner of the complex, dated to the reign of Nectanebo I (c.380- 362 BC), within its outer…
Restoration work
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has completed the conservation of a Roman Period tomb at Athribis (Naga‘a el-Sheikh Hamad, west of Sohag). The brightly painted tomb, consisting of a square antechamber leading to a triangular burial chamber, belonged to…
Coptic building in Asyut
A mud-brick building dating to the 6th to 7th centuries AD has been found by an Egyptian mission at Minqab in Asyut. The two-storey building, which was clad in white mortar, contained a number of Coptic-era murals. One of these…
Gene sequencing
A 4,500-year-old Egyptian skeleton from a rock-cut tomb in Nuwayrat, near Beni Hasan, has provided the first biological evidence for links between ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in the early Old Kingdom. The man’s unusual burial – in a sealed pottery…
Hatshepsut’s statues
A new study by Jun Yi Wong of the University of Toronto suggests that damage to Hatshepsut’s statues may not have been an act of animosity by Thutmose III. The examination of previously unpublished documents shows that many of the…
Alignment and ritual
French researchers using AI to analyse more than 500 intact early graves at the cemetery of Adaïma (8km south of Esna) have revealed an evolution in funerary practices that helped to shape early Egyptian statehood. The earliest First Dynasty burials…
Ancient Egypt news in brief
• UNESCO has removed the Abu Mena archaeological site in Alexandria – an ancient location for Christian pilgrimage – from the World Heritage in Danger List following work to reinforce key structures and the installation of a groundwater management system.…
Hierakonpolis
Julian Maxwell Heath describes the excavation history of the Predynastic ‘City of the Falcon God’ and some of the important discoveries made there.
The Nile Mosaic at Palestrina
Robert R Frost explores Graeco-Roman Egypt through the scenes in a stunning Nilotic mosaic.
Senusret II
Continuing his series focusing on the kings of the Twelfth Dynasty, Wolfram Grajetzki explores the reign and innovations of Khakheperra Senusret II.
Current Research in Egyptology 2023: Proceedings of the Twenty-Third Annual Symposium, University of Basel, 10-14 September 2023
REVIEW BY ROGER FORSHAW The 23rd Current Research in Egyptology (CRE) conference was held at the University of Basel in 2023. Bringing together an engaged community of mainly early career researchers, the conference offered a diverse programme from which 22…
The Decline and Fall of the Ptolemies: Ptolemaic Egypt 146-30 BC
REVIEW BY SARAH GRIFFITHS In the third and final instalment of his Ptolemaic series, Grainger presents what he describes as a ‘deeply unpleasant and murderous succession of barely competent kings and queens’, following the dynasty’s decline into ‘confusion and chaos’,…
Win a copy of Amelia B Edwards: The ‘Queen of Egyptology’ by Carl Graves, published by the Egypt Exploration Society
Where is this? If you know, email the Editor peter@ancientegyptmagazine.com before 30 October with your answer, giving your full name, address, and a contact phone number. One lucky reader will have their name selected at random from all the correct…
Amelia B Edwards: The ‘Queen of Egyptology’
REVIEW BY HILARY FORREST Most Egyptology enthusiasts will be familiar with the name of Amelia B Edwards. This new biography sets out to reveal aspects of her life that have, although sometimes hinted at, hitherto been kept private. As the…
Hilary Wilson on… Hands
Hilary Wilson describes the way ancient Egyptian artists and craftsmen depicted the human form (especially the hands) in wall paintings and sculpture.
Ancient Egypt August listings
THE MYSTERY OF CLEOPATRA The legend of Cleopatra and her depictions in art over the centuries is explored through archaeological finds, paintings, sculptures, and works of contemporary art. Highlights include the peacock headpiece worn by Sarah Bernhard in Sardou’s play…
The discovery of Tomb TT8
The wonderful tomb goods of Kha and Merit at Deir el-Medina.
Sphinx of Hatshepsut (Cairo)
Campbell Price selects one of a pair of sphinxes from the first ‘avenue of sphinxes’, at Deir el-Bahri.
Ancient Egypt Letters 150
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.
Aquila Dodgson 1829-1919: Collector and polymath
Continuing our occasional series focusing on people who have made a significant contribution to Egyptology, but are often forgotten, Hilary Forrest discusses the life of Aquila Dodgson.
Tattooing in the ancient nile valley
In the second of her articles describing the practice of tattooing in ancient Egypt and Nubia, Renée Friedman looks at the surviving evidence from the New Kingdom onwards.
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: From ancient trash to historical treasure
What can the famous papyrus corpus tell us about the ordinary people of late-ancient Egypt? Richard J Britton investigates.