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…
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…
Wolfram Grajetzki explores rare painted scenes from an Old Kingdom mastaba at Dahshur.
Our series highlighting often overlooked Egyptologists continues with the legacy of a founder of the discipline, reassessed by Amandine Marshall.
Hilary Wilson explores the importance of the date palm in ancient Egyptian daily life.
The Predynastic tomb found in 1988 sheds light on the development of the earliest Egyptian state.
REVIEW BY SARAH GRIFFITHS This new publication developed from the first Egypt Exploration Society online course, taught in 2020, and includes contributions from 26 international experts. The book presents a curated journey through 50 key discoveries made by the EES,…
A new and complete version of the Ptolemaic Canopus Decree has been found by an Egyptian team working at Tell Far’oun (Tell Nabasha) in Egypt’s Sharqia Governorate. Unlike other surviving versions of this decree, which are trilingual (written in hieroglyphic,…
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…
Simone Petacchi explores the life and work of a unique French Egyptologist.
Hilary looks at the symbolism attached to one of the major food sources for ancient Egyptians.
A new Fifth Dynasty tomb has been discovered at Saqqara by an Egyptian mission led by the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Zahi Hawass Foundation for Antiquities and Heritage. The 4,400-year-old tomb belongs to Userafra, a previously unknown son…
The only reference to Israel ever found in Egypt, inscribed on a stela discovered in 1896 by Flinders Petrie.
The Hellenistic site of Kom el-Nugus (Plinthine), 27km from Alexandria, was first discovered in 2013. Now a team from Université de Lyon has uncovered a settlement dating to the New Kingdom, as well as traces of settlement from the Late…
Excavations in Egypt have identified the long-lost tomb of King Thutmose II, the fourth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty. Thutmose II is believed to have ruled for just a few years around 1493-1479 BC, and is perhaps best known as…
The discovery of a new Egyptian royal tomb in Western Valley C (adjacent to the Valley of the Kings) has been confirmed.
Aidan Dodson retraces the very first discoveries and excavations that restored these two New Kingdom pharaohs to their place in ancient Egyptian history.
The original colours of scenes inside the Temple of Edfu are now visible following cleaning and restoration work by a team from the University of Würzburg and the Supreme Council of Antiquities. The team removed the surface dirt, bird debris,…
Sean Rigby explores textual evidence to identify ancient Egypt’s enigmatic neighbour.
A fragment of inscribed granite found at Abydos in 2009 belonged to the sarcophagus of Ramesses II, according to new research published in Revue d’Égyptologie. The piece was found beneath the floor of a Coptic monastery and identified (Damrani and…
An ornately decorated mastaba has been discovered in the cemetery at Dahshur, the southernmost of the necropolises associated with Memphis, an ancient Egyptian capital. The tomb was discovered during recent excavations by the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), Cairo, which has…
REVIEW BY HILARY FORREST This is a most unusual book – bound in an antique Chinese fashion originating from the Ming period, with pages tied together between boards with string. The content, however, relates not to China, but to mainstream…
An Old Kingdom mastaba tomb with painted decorations has been discovered by a team from the German Archaeological Institute working at Dahshur. Inscriptions name the deceased as Senebnebef, a palace official, and his wife Idut, a priestess of Hathor. The…
Aidan Dodson explores how the history of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty has been pieced together over the past two centuries, emerging only recently from the racist views of early Egyptology scholars.
The intricate symbols that adorn Egyptian monuments and papyri stood mute for millennia, their secrets locked away in a forgotten language. Hieroglyphs, with their captivating blend of pictorial and phonetic elements, had tantalised explorers and scholars for centuries, their enigmatic…
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…
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…
The rivalry between Young and Champollion in the race to translate Egyptian hieroglyphs is legendary. But what motivated these two scholars, and what qualities did they bring to the endeavour? Andrew Robinson goes in search of the personalities behind an extraordinary intellectual achievement.
What was the origin of the ankh hieroglyph and what did it mean to the ancient Egyptians?
If you are looking for new ways to get stuck into history and heritage over the coming months, there are plenty of opportunities. From conferences and lectures to exhibitions and activities, there’s something for everyone. Or, if you would prefer to get involved from the comfort of your own home, there are lots of resources on offer, from online museums and virtual heritage site tours to digital databases and new documentaries. Amy Brunskill has put together a selection of some of the options available.
For this issue, Dr Campbell Price chooses a beautifully painted object from the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Your thoughts on issues raised by the magazine.
Text by Andrew Robinson
Painting the zodiac Colourful ceiling paintings including the signs of the zodiac have been revealed at the temple of Esna in Egypt. Executed in relief, the images also depict planets and other constellations, snakes, crocodiles, and hybrid creatures such as…
Dr Campbell Price examines a tiny artefact in the British Museum
that names one of Egypt’s earliest pharaohs.
The ancient Maya ballgame, known as pelota or sometimes pok-ta-pok, played an important ritual and symbolic role in the Mesoamerican culture.