Ancient Egypt

Top The newly discovered Ptolemaic tomb at Akhmim discovered by trainee excavators. middle One of the rooms inside the rock cut Ptolemaic tomb with traces of the original decoration on the ceiling. bottom Detail of one of the remaining painted scenes inside the Ptolemaic tomb.

Ptolemaic tomb discovered at Akhmim

The rock-cut tomb consists of the remains of a mud brick courtyard, with a descending staircase leading to two rooms.

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…

Above The north wall of KV62 showing Ay performing the ‘opening of the mouth’ ritual on the mummy of Tutankhamun. Nicholas Reeves claims there are traces of Tutankhamun’s cartouches beneath those of Ay, suggesting the original scene was overpainted.

Does a hidden door in Tutankhamun’s tomb lead to Nefertiti?

Nicholas Reeves claims the north wall of KV62 originally depicted Tutankhamun burying Nefertiti and was later overpainted to show Ay burying Tutankhamun.

Left A stela found at the Graeco Roman port of Berenike with an unusual inscription warning against boiling heads in the shrine area.

Shrine containing headless falcons found at Berenike

The discovery dates to the Late Roman Period when the city was occupied by a nomadic people known as the Blemmyes,

Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World

by Bob Brier.Oxford University Press, 2022ISBN 978-0-1976-3505-6Hardback, £21.99. The present volume is a reminder of how writing (rather than just the theories) about Tutankhamun has in some ways changed quite markedly over time – and in some ways stayed the…

Medicine and healing practices in ancient Egypt

Rosalie David and Roger Forshaw present a new perspective on healthcare in ancient Egypt.

Tutankhamun’s canopic coffin

A detailed look at one of four coffinettes which held the king's mummified organs.

Above A Middle Kingdom canopic jar from the Manchester Museum. Scientists have succeeded in extracting human DNA from the contents of canopic jars for the first time.

First ever ancient DNA extracted from canopic jars

The team analysed the contents of 90 jars from eight European museums

A Late Period cartonnage from Lahun

In each issue of Ancient Egypt magazine, Dr Campbell Price describes a key artefact from Egyptology collections around the world. His choice for AE 134 is from the internationally important collection at the Manchester Museum.

Top left Conservators at work on ceiling scenes in Esna Temple. top Detail of a newly restored scene at the Temple of Esna. above Another detail of a newly restored scene at the Temple of Esna. left Gold coins from the cache of Islamic coins discovered behind Esna Temple. below Silver coins from the cache of Islamic coins discovered behind Esna Temple.

New discoveries at Roman Period Temple of Esna

An Egyptian team has discovered a cache containing a number of coins from different historical eras

Opposite page Tutankhamun charges into battle in his chariot in a scene from a chest discovered in his tomb.

Warrior Tutankhamun: fragile pharaoh no more

In this special anniversary issue celebrating a hundred years since the discovery of KV62, we begin with new evidence that Bob Brier believes will change how we view Egypt’s most famous pharaoh.

The Past

Tutankhamun Quiz

In which year is Tutankhamun thought to have been born?

Opposite page A hoopoe bird in an acacia tree, as depicted in the tomb of Khnumhotep II, painted by Howard Carter. LEFT A map of Middle Egypt showing the area to be covered by the EEF Archaeological Survey of Egypt between el Minya in the north and Mallawi in the south.

In Carter’s footsteps: a legacy in epigraphy

Tutankhamun and Howard Carter: two men whose lives are separated by more than three thousand years, but now and forever intertwined in the annals of history. The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in November 1922 would seal the fate of both men and have long-lasting implications for the study and popularity of ancient Egypt. But Carter’s contribution to Egyptology goes much further than his leading role in the world’s most famous archaeological discovery, as Carl Graves reports.

Above The area of the tomb of Tutankhamun during the early part of the excavation of the tomb.

The First Resurrection of Tutankhamun

Continuing our 100th anniversary celebration of the finding of the tomb of Tutankhamun, Aidan Dodson looks at the ‘prehistory’ of the king, and how early scholars pieced together the evidence for this obscure king prior to the discovery of his tomb in 1922.

The Complete Tutankhamun: 100 Years of Discovery

by Nicholas Reeves.Thames & Hudson, 2022ISBN 978-0-5000-5216-7Hardback, £40. Who does not have a copy of the 1990 The Complete Tutankhamun on their bookshelves? This new, expanded, centenary edition follows the same format, but is updated to incorporate the “extraordinary advances”…

Milestones in Egyptology: the discovery and clearance of KV62, the tomb of Tutankhamun

Howard Carter’s long search in the Valley of the Kings is rewarded.

World news in brief: Ancient octopus lures and Egyptian cheese

A round up of some of the latest archaeological news across the globe, including the discovery of 2,600-year-old remains of cheese at Saqqara, the oldest known octopus lures in the world, and the launch of Montenegro's first maritime archaeology research unit.

RIGHT The rishi (meaning ‘feathered’) coffin of the ‘Qurna Queen’. It forms part of a burial group that dates back to c.1600 BC and was discovered intact in 1908. Recent analyses of the objects are shedding new light on Egypt’s relationship with Nubia.

African Queen: an intact royal burial from Egypt reveals new insights into cultural connections

The identity of the ancient Egyptian ‘Qurna Queen’ remains a mystery over 100 years after the excavation of her intact burial. However, new research on her burial assemblage is revealing historic biases in interpretation and shedding light on Egypt’s place within African culture, as Margaret Maitland explains.

Tutankhamun’s Trumpet: the story of ancient Egypt in 100 objects

The title of this book is perhaps rather misleading. Although a hundred objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun (among which are counted two scenes from the walls of its burial chamber) are indeed listed, mentioned, and illustrated, they are arguably…

Exhibitions, events, and heritage from home across the UK

There are great opportunities to get involved in heritage, history, and archaeology over the coming months, ranging from new exhibitions to exciting conferences, lectures, and more. Or, if you prefer to get your cultural or historical fix from home, there are plenty of ways to do so, including virtual museums, radio and social media offerings, documentaries, and games. Amy Brunskill has put together a selection of some of the options available.

Exhibitions from around the world in 2022 and 2023

The dates listed below may have changed since we went to print. Check the websites of the museums for the most up-to-date information and bookings.

Opposite Detail of the Book of the Dead of Queen Nedjmet. Papyrus, 21st Dynasty, 1070 BC. Size: 34 x 416cm overall right The Rosetta Stone, from Rasid. Granodiorite, Ptolemaic period, 196 BC. Size: 112.3 x 75.7 x 28.4cm

Hieroglyphs: the key to ancient Egypt

As the British Museum marks the 200th anniversary of the decoding of the Rosetta Stone in a new exhibition, Lindsay Fulcher talks to its curator, Ilona Regulski, about the two men who worked to decipher its text, what it revealed, and the powerful role of the scribes who created these petrified books.

Left A famous face: Tutankhamun’s gold mask. From The Story of Tutankhamun.

A century of Tutankhamun

What Carter and his Egyptian team found at the bottom of the stairs and along a short corridor stunned the world, of course – especially those countries barely beginning to recover from the dreadful losses of the First World War.

Museum news: the latest on UK exhibitions and acquisitions

A round-up of some of the latest news from museums in the UK, including new findings from the NMS' Egyptian collections, the opening of the new Brontë at Elizabeth Gaskell's house, and

Exhibitions, events, and heritage from home across the UK

As autumn approaches, there are many fantastic opportunities to get involved in history, heritage, and archaeology around the UK, including new exhibitions, events, and conferences. There are also still plenty of online resources available if you’re looking for ways to get your heritage fix at home, ranging from new virtual museums to podcasts, TV shows, and more. Amy Brunskill has put together a selection of some of the options available.

Tutankhamun before Tutankhamun

Barbara Gai recounts the discovery of the Embalming Cache KV54 and its astonishing contents.

The Past

Ancient Egypt Quiz

Which city was the capital of Ancient Egypt during the Old Kingdom?

The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium

Review by Diana Bentley. Few episodes in antiquity are more gripping than the epic struggle for political supremacy and survival between Octavian, heir of Julius Caesar; his rival, politician and general Mark Antony; and Cleopatra, ruler of Egypt. In his…

The Past

The tomb of Maiherpri

Dylan Bickerstaffe investigates the discovery and documentation of Tomb KV36 and assesses what we now know about “The Lion of the Battlefield”.

Above Two Roman carved stone heads, including this portrait of a woman, have gone on display at the Discover Bucks Museum.

Museum news: Roman sculptures on display in Buckinghamshire, and hieroglyphs exhibition announced at the British Museum

The latest on exhibitions, acquisitions, and key decisions.

The Temple of Khnum

Conservators working in the Temple of Khnum in Esna, Upper Egypt, have uncovered new details of the building’s colourful ceiling frescoes. Construction on the temple began in the Ptolemaic period and continued into the Roman period, with decoration completed during…

Left One of the most moving pieces in the exhibition is a set of photographs showing a young Egyptian boy wearing a large necklace found in the tomb. The photos were supposedly intended simply to show the ‘method of suspension’, but the boy’s expression reflects the weight of the history on his shoulders a reminder of the significance of Tutankhamun’s legacy in a newly independent Egypt.

Tutankhamun: excavating the archive

A century after Tutankhamun’s tomb first captured the world’s attention, a new exhibition at the Bodleian Library offers fresh insights into the famous discovery through archival material. Amy Brunskill visited to find out more.

The Red Sea Scrolls: How Ancient Papyri Reveal the Secrets of the Pyramids

Review by Miroslav Bárta. The Old Kingdom papyri count among the rarest of finds. For several decades, the Abusir papyri archives from the pyramid complexes of the Fifth Dynasty kings Neferirkare and Nyuserre and queen-mother Khentkaus were among the earliest…

The Red Sea Scrolls: How Ancient Papyri Reveal the Secrets of the Pyramids

Review by Aidan Dodson. In 2013, a remarkable discovery was made at the site of Wadi el-Jarf on the Egyptian Red Sea coast. It comprised a group of papyri, which not only proved to be the oldest inscribed examples of…

At Home in Roman Egypt: a social archaeology

Review by Barbara E Borg ‘The real essence of an age is better revealed among trivial and commonplace things than among prominent monuments and great leaders.’ The opening sentence of this book captures succinctly its underlying principles. Following two chapters…

The Past

Highlights of the Manchester Museum: a stela of the Overseer of Works, Mery-Ra

For this issue, Campbell Price choses a small stela in Manchester’s collection that commemorates the official responsible for the creation of a famous statue.