Hilary Wilson on… Bread, beer and economics – Part 1
Hilary Wilson explores the importance of grain for wages and taxes.
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Beyond Montet: New discoveries in the royal necropolis of Tanis
Following Aidan Dodson’s history of the Libyan pharaohs of Egypt in the last issue, Roger Forshaw explores the latest discoveries from the site of Tanis, their capital city.
The mineral wealth of pharaonic Egypt
Colin Reader shows how ancient Egypt’s geology led to wealth, power, and influence.
Amarna (Part 2)
Continuing his ‘Travels in an Antique Land’, Karl Harris presents the second part of his visitor’s guide to Amarna.
In search of the lost Kingdom of Yam
Following in the footsteps of Harkhuf, desert explorer Mahmoud Marai discovers – along with his colleague Mark Borda – an inscription at Gebel Uweinat that sheds light on the whereabouts of the fabled kingdom.
Pain relief in ancient Egypt – Part 1: plant-based remedies
In the first of two articles interrogating ancient medical papyri, Ira Rampil investigates the use of herbal remedies to help relieve pain.
Jacques de Morgan at Dahshur
Julian Heath recounts the remarkable discoveries made by a French mining engineer and archaeologist.
Gebel Barkal Burial place of the god Amun
Some 370km (230 miles) north of Khartoum lies a large, flat-topped rock (mesa) that was one of the most sacred places in Egypt and Nubia. The distinctive feature of this 100m-high (330ft) hill is a gigantic free-standing pinnacle (shown on…
Coffin reused for Ramesses II
Campbell Price describes the beautifully carved cedarwood coffin of a king.
Circular temple at Pelusium
The Egyptian mission excavating in North Sinai at Tell el-Farma – the site of the ancient border fortress of Pelusium – has uncovered a huge circular complex thought to be the remains of a temple to the local god Pelusius.…
Coptic monastery
The remains of a Coptic monastery have been discovered by an Egyptian mission at Wadi el-Natrun, in Beheira Governorate. The structure, which dates from the 4th to the 6th centuries AD, sheds light on the architectural planning of the first…
Coptic guesthouse
Further north from Wadi el-Natrun, another Egyptian team has found a Coptic guesthouse, dating to the 5th century AD, in the Qalaya area of Hosh Issa (also in Beheira). The building has 13 multi-functional rooms for individual and communal living,…
Gold tongues and Homer
A Spanish mission working at the ancient site of Oxyrhynchus (Bahnasa, in Minya) has found a Roman tomb containing wooden coffins and a number of mummies, three with gold tongues, and one with a tongue of copper. Some of the…
Ramesses re-erected
A colossal statue of Ramesses II has been restored and re-erected in its original position by the Egyptian-American team working at Ashmunein (Hermopolis), in Minya. The limestone statue measures approximately 6.7 metres in height, and weighs over 40 tons. It…
Ramesses III gate and Tiberius stela
A mission from the Egyptian-French Center for the Study of the Karnak Temples (CFEETK) has successfully completed the reconstruction of a Ramesses III gateway in the north-western sector of Karnak. The gate appears to have been built over an earlier…
Atbai Desert burial enclosures
An international team carrying out satellite remote sensing in the Eastern Sudan deserts has discovered hundreds of huge ancient mass graves in the Atbai Desert, part of the Sahara Desert which stretches between the Nile in Nubia and the Red…
Mummification compounds
Researchers from the University of Bristol have revealed the chemical constituents of embalming fluids by analysing the air surrounding mummies, rather than removing physical samples. The team captured the gases emitted by the embalming materials of 19 mummies, ranging in…
Urban villa and baths in Alexandria
An Egyptian team working in the northern area of Alexandria has uncovered the remains of a residential villa and circular public baths. The villa, dating to the Roman Period, had mosaic floors in a variety of styles, reflecting the diversity…
Ancient Egypt news in brief
• Egypt, rather than East Africa, may have been the region where the ancestors of modern apes and humans emerged according to researchers, following their discovery of fossil remains of an ape in the Qattara Depression dating back 18 million…
The Animals of Ancient Egypt: Then and Now
This small-format book is basically a guide is to the wild animals of ancient Egypt. The brief introduction to ancient Egypt’s geography and climate is beautifully written – very concise but almost poetic, a harbinger of what follows. The format…
Win a copy of The Animals of Ancient Egypt: Then and Now by Richard Hoath and Salima Ikram
Where is this? If you know, email the Editor peter@ancientegyptmagazine.com before 31 August with your answer, giving your full name, address, and a contact phone number. One lucky reader’s name will be selected at random from all the correct answers…
A View from the Herd: Cattle, Sheep, Goats, and Pigs in Pharaonic Egypt
Throughout Egyptian history, pastoralists have played a vital role in food production, and the importance of domesticated animals is reflected in their abundant depictions in texts, tomb reliefs, and 3D art. Richard Redding highlights how critical animal-rearing was to all…
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Egyptological Essays in Honor of Peter Lacovara
Festschriften are, by their very nature, both scholarly tribute and personal testament, and No Good Deed Goes Unpunished succeeds admirably on both counts. Produced in honour of Peter Lacovara, this substantial volume reflects not only the breadth of his academic…
Ancient Egypt in Video Games
The global video gaming industry – now more than 40 years old – generates more money than the music and cinema industries combined, and is extremely influential. But while there are many studies on ancient Egyptian influences in cultural media,…
Ancient Egypt: A Journey Down the Nile
Nigel Fletcher-Jones presents a richly illustrated and engaging survey of ancient Egypt’s enduring and much-examined cultural landscape. Written with an assured handling of the material, the book follows the geographical course of the Nile, using the river as a framework…
Ancient Egypt June listings
LIVES AND LITERACY IN ANCIENT EGYPT An exhibition of papyrus manuscripts from the collection of the John Rylands Library in Manchester (UK), and related artefacts including stelae and objects related to writing. The texts on display include letters, legal petitions,…