Textiles have long remained in the shadow of more conspicuous archaeological finds such as monumental sculpture, decorated coffins, and jewellery. Yet these often-overlooked artefacts offer vital insights into technology, economics, religion, dress, and daily life. Weaving for Eternity is therefore…
Where is this? If you know, email the Editor peter@ancientegyptmagazine.com before 31 October 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…
UNFOLDING HISTORY. WRITING IN ANCIENT EGYPT An exhibition exploring the origins of writing, featuring papyri from Elephantine that had been stored in the Brooklyn Museum since 1916 and have never before been put on public display. These texts are accompanied…
Reviewing the best military history exhibitions, with Peter Popham.
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
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,…
As the oldest antiquarian organisation in Scotland, the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland has been deeply involved in documenting the nation’s past for almost 250 years. Deborah Roe is our guide to this rich history, and to ambitious plans for the Society’s future.
The Imperial War Museum (IWM) has acquired the complete Second World War archive of Britain’s most famous wartime entertainer, Dame Vera Lynn. She was nicknamed ‘The Forces’ Sweetheart’ after winning a 1940 newspaper poll for British servicemen’s favourite musical performer,…
Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle redeveloped Redevelopment of Edinburgh Castle’s Crown Room is under way. The project, which began in January, will see elements of the Victorian design, including oak panelling, restored and new enhanced displays for the Honours of…
A BESTIARY OF ANCIENT NUBIA A Bestiary of Ancient Nubia reveals the animal world of ancient Nubia from the A-Group culture to the medieval period, including lions, crocodiles, birds, cattle, and insects depicted in statues, paintings, and other artefacts. INSTITUTE…
In the last issue, AE 153, Peter Lacovara celebrated the meticulous work of Dows Dunham in excavating the Fourth Dynasty (c.2613-2494 BC) Tomb of Queen Hetepheres I at Giza. In this issue, marking the 100th anniversary of the tomb’s discovery, Geoffrey Killen explains how William Arnold Stewart reconstructed the furniture found in the tomb.
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.
In 1920, a collection of antiquities and antiques was thrown away, and most of its contents remain lost more than a century later. Martin A Timoney describes recent efforts to piece together clues to their whereabouts and appeals for more information.
CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE IN ANCIENT EGYPT The exhibition traces the daily lives of young ancient Egyptians, with a display of more than 190 pieces from national and international collections in the Vimcorsa Room, accompanied by an immersive audiovisual experience in…
• A 3,000-year-old gold mining operation, including mining tools and residential areas, has been discovered in Egypt’s Sukari Mountains; the entire camp has been moved nearly two miles away to separate it from the modern mine at the site. •…
Aarhus offers a fascinating example of how university museums can reflect research agendas, as Vinnie Nørskov and Rubina Raja explain.
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,…
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
REVIEW BY KK The title of this book explains it all. Reading it is like stepping into a dimly lit, 19th-century hall of curiosities, with various unusual artefacts covering every available surface. By giving a tour through this bizarre exhibition,…
Simone Petacchi explores the life and work of a unique French Egyptologist.
REVIEW BY ROGER FORSHAW This monumental Festschrift, four years in preparation, celebrates John H Taylor’s distinguished career at the British Museum, both as a curator and a scholar. Aptly titled, the volume captures John’s remarkable dual expertise: his keen…
In ‘Science Notes’, we often talk about how new technologies are revolutionising our approach to archaeology. And while this is most certainly still the case, the reliability of previous methods can sometimes be taken for granted. This month we are…
Rachel Cotton investigates why some early Egyptologists collected skulls, and shows how the analysis of one particular skull can reveal much about the deceased person’s life.
When you imagine the specimen stores of natural history collections, you might picture rows of jars containing mysterious samples suspended in an even more mysterious liquids. We might assume that these fluids are far less mysterious to those who work…
Almost every TV costume drama begins with the sound of horses’ hooves and the rumble of carriage wheels as members of the cast arrive at some stately home or other, ready for the story to unfold. And no royal or…
The invention in 1900 by Eastman Kodak of the Brownie camera, selling for the equivalent in today’s money of £28, brought the watercolour age to an end. This too had begun, in the mid-18th century, with technical innovations, such as…
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
Where in Egypt is this? If you know, email the Editor: peter@ancientegyptmagazine.com before 30 April 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…
UNRAVELLING THE MYSTERIES OF ANCIENT EGYPT FROM BROOKLYN MUSEUM A selection of 150 masterpieces from the Brooklyn Museum’s ancient Egyptian collection, including sculpture, coffins, jewellery, pottery, papyri, and human and cat mummies. MORI ARTS CENTRE GALLERY, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,…
• Twelve 5-metre-high subterranean cisterns, part of an extensive Ptolemaic water supply system, have been excavated at Darazya (ancient Derhis). • TT39, the Tomb of Puyemra (Second Priest of Amun in the reign of Thutmose III), has been reopened to…
Dr Campbell Price describes an item of clothing that belonged to a New Kingdom pharaoh.
Recent research has shed invaluable light on the use of adhesives on ancient metalwork, and how these substances can be identified and analysed in curated artefacts. Carly Hilts spoke to Tabea Koch, Sophia Adams, and Rebecca Stacey to learn more.
New research from the University of Liverpool (Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, October 2024) has given insights into how ancient Egyptian mirrors were manufactured. Metallurgical analysis on 19 Egyptian mirrors from UK museum collections shows three main types of alloy…
In 1809, a young Royal Navy midshipman, Charles Hare, made a daring escape from a Napoleonic prison – with a French uniform as his disguise and a dog in tow. Now, two centuries later, Hare’s uniform, along with a fascinating…
Simone Petacchi visits the galleries of the Museum of Mediterranean Archaeology (MAM), which houses the second largest collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts in France.