Amarna (Part 2)
Continuing his ‘Travels in an Antique Land’, Karl Harris presents the second part of his visitor’s guide to Amarna.
amarna period
Statues of Akhenaten at Karnak
In 1925, two colossal statues of Akhenaten were discovered in an unpromising area outside the eastern enclosure wall of Karnak Temple. Since then, many more have been found.
Another Nefertiti
Two decades after the discovery of the famous Berlin bust, a chance discovery was made in 1933 of a sculptors’ workshop at Amarna containing another unfinished head of Akhenaten’s queen.
The tale of an Amarna fresco
Bob Brier gives a fascinating account of the ultimately unsuccessful attempts to save a fresco found at Akhenaten’s city of Amarna.
Personal Religion in Domestic Contexts during the New Kingdom: The Impact of the Amarna Period
REVIEW BY ANNA GARNETT The site of Tell el-Amarna presents a unique opportunity to understand aspects of the daily lives of ancient Egyptian people more than 3,000 years ago. The high level of preservation of the ancient city and its…
Broken links and smashed glass
Far into the Middle Ages, glass-workers produced beads using techniques eerily similar to those employed 2,000 years earlier in Amarna.
Egypt’s golden couple: a family affair
John Coleman and Colleen Darnell present new interpretations of the imagery from the fascinating reign of Akhenaten and Nefertiti.
Egypt’s Golden Couple: when Akhenaten and Nefertiti were Gods on Earth
Review by Sarah Griffiths This new exploration of Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s unique vision for Egypt and their rise to divine status is presented in an unusual format, with each chapter headed by a short dramatic reconstruction. Such vignettes are perhaps…
Golden jewellery found in burial in Amarna
The Egyptian-British archaeological mission working in the Northern Cemetery (Tombs of the Nobles) at Amarna has uncovered a burial containing fine pieces of gold jewellery. The grave contained the remains of a young woman wrapped in textiles, who was buried…
Tutankhamun – Pharaoh, Icon, Enigma: Lost for Three Thousand Years, Misunderstood for a Century
by Prof. Joyce Tyldesley.Headline, 2022ISBN 978-1-472-28984-1Hardback, £22. Do we need another book on Tutankhamun? The author herself has already published two Tutankhamun-focused works – the 2012 Tutankhamen’s Curse (reviewed in AE 71) in particular already covers much of the same…
Tutankhamun, King of Egypt: His Life and Afterlife
by Aidan Dodson.AUC, 2022ISBN 978-1-6490-3161-7Hardback, £29.95. Aidan Dodson continues his pharaonic series with a volume on Tutankhamun “offered unapologetically” as an addition to the numerous books released or reprinted in time for the centenary. The book follows the format of…
The Story of Tutankhamun: An Intimate Life of the Boy Who Became King
by Garry J. Shaw.Yale University Press, 2022ISBN 978-0-300-26743-3Hardback, £16.99. So much has been written about Tutankhamun and his tomb since its discovery that it is an achievement for any writer to find an original angle to illuminate their narrative. Garry…
CWA Letters – Janurary 2022
Your views and observations...
This week: Nefertiti
With her high cheekbones and long neck, she has been described as the 'world's first supermodel'. When her portrait bust went on display in 1923, she was hailed as an icon of timeless femininity. Since then, Nefertiti has been admired by everyone from Hitler to Beyoncé, and has provided inspiration to artists and writers around the world. Beyond all the adulation, however, what do we really know about this mysterious woman whose face has become so ubiquitous?
Nefertiti: recreating an icon
The painted limestone bust of the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, recovered from the royal city of Amarna, is familiar across the world. This bust has inspired many copies – some very accurate, some far less so – so that many of us first ‘meet’ Nefertiti via one of these replicas. Recently, in an effort to understand the processes behind the creation of the original Nefertiti, Joyce Tyldesley commissioned her own replica.