From Nile #25, May 2020

The Amarna head-cone discovery.

What ARE those head-cones we see perched on top of elaborate wigs in banquet scenes from Egyptian tomb chapels? Some think they are made of perfumed wax or fat, designed to slowly melt and infuse the wig with aromatic wonders. Others believe that the cones are more symbolic of the guests being purified and smelling fabulous.
The discovery at Amarna of the first physical cones may help solve the puzzle.

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From Nile #23, January 2020

How did Egypt’s fabulously-decorated tombs look when they were brand new? Floyd Chapman recreates another tomb scene in full colour to help us appreciate the ancient artistry and understand the symbols and hieroglyphs. This time it’s from the Theban Tomb of Khaemhat (TT 57).

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From Nile #23, January 2020

After a successful effort by ARCE’s Conservation Field School, the 19th Dynasty Tomb of Raya (TT 159) is now open for visitors.

Inside the tomb’s decorated chapel are some intriguing decorations, including an odd-looking cat, a very successful fisherman, and some text that may have been written on the very day of Raya's funeral, some 3,200 years ago.

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From Nile #22, November 2019

For more than 3,000 years, a series of kingdoms flourished along the Nile Valley.

But it wasn’t Egypt.

This is Kush (known today as Nubia), and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston showcased its incredible collection of ancient Kushite artefacts.

Why has it taken so long for Nubia to tell its own story?

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From Nile #22, November 2019

Dr. Mark Lehner knows the Great Sphinx of Giza better than anybody. For over five years he mapped it. By hand. Now that historic archive of maps, photos and notes is online, and free for you to study in phenomenal detail.

Incredibly, the work also answered some of the Sphinx’s biggest secrets.

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From Nile #21, September 2019

Between Egypt’s Middle and New Kingdoms, and in the absence of a powerful unifying pharaoh, Egypt was ruled by various dynasties in different parts of the country. One of these were the Hyksos, who held power from the Nile Delta.

In this third chapter of a five-part series on royal residences in the eastern Nile Delta, Nicky Nielsen explores the history and development of the city of Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos dynasty. We also look at the history and self-identity of the Hyksos themselves, as well as some of their amazing artwork.

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From Nile #20, June 2019

King Seti I and his son Ramesses II wasted no time in revitalising Egypt’s traditions in the aftermath of the tumultuous Amarna period - particularly at Abydos, the mythical birthplace of Osiris.

The recent discovery of a temple palace belonging to Ramesses II adds more to the story of Osiris’ comeback. Plus, there are tantalising hints of even more to be unearthed from beneath the Abydene sands.

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From Nile #19, April 2019

Meet the remarkable women whose destiny saw them become the queens of Egypt. Some of them stepped beyond the ancient world’s traditional roles, with their diplomacy, leadership or sense of duty, helping shape Egypt’s history.

Here we look at the recent Washington exhibition that featured some of the most important and celebrated women in Egyptian history—from the founding queen of the New Kingdom, Ahmose-Nefertari, revered for hundreds of years after her death, through to Cleopatra VII, Egypt’s last queen and pharaoh.

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From Nile #19, April 2019

The Tomb of Karakhamun (TT 223) at South Asasif in Luxor is the earliest known Kushite tomb at Thebes, built during the reign of Shabaqo, the brother of the dynasty’s founder, King Piye.

And it’s enormous.

Despite have been used as a stable and suffering a massive roof collapse, much of the tomb’s reliefs are in remarkably good condition, as you can see in the wonderful detail in Karakhamun’s hunting dog, shown here.

The South Asasif Conservation Project has been working on Karakhamun’s tomb since 2006. In this article, you see some of the beautiful reliefs that have been uncovered, and the reconstruction work that will hopefully lead to the tomb being opened to the public.

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From Nile #18, February 2019

“No other temple in Egypt produces so unexpectedly grand an effect as the great rock temple of Ramses II... By itself it would repay the trouble of the ascent from Philae, both by the dignity of its sculptures and by the gorgeously coloured representations in the interior.” —Baedeker’s Egypt: Handbook for Travellers (1898).

Over 120 years later, Abu Simbel is just as captivating.

Nigel Fletcher-Jones takes us on a tour of the Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel.

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From Nile #18, February 2019

Crisscrossed by caravan routes, Kharga Oasis has been a hub for trade and agriculture for an incredible length of time: from as early as 6,000 B.C. through to A.D. 500. Heading west, and connecting the oases of Kharga and Dakhla is the desert route called the Darb Ain Amur.

Compared to sites along the Nile Valley, the Darb Ain Amur was something of a black hole— largely unexplored until Salima Ikram founded the North Kharga Oasis Darb Ain Amur Survey, to study everything from impressive Roman forts to fragile prehistoric petroglyphs.

The survey has also discovered ancient graffiti preserving the name of King Aa (“Great One”), who may turn out to be a previously unknown ruler.

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From Nile #17, December 2018

Does your head hurt when you see Nefertiti's name expressed like this: Ankhkheperure-mery-Neferkheperure/ -mery-Waenre Neferneferuaten?

Yep - most of us did a really long blink after reading that.

It can be really confusing--especially when Nefertiti keeps using various parts of her husband’s names as parts of hers.

To help make sense of it all, we've produced a handy chart that tracks the name changes (along with their hieroglyphic cartouches) as the Egyptian throne bounced from pharaoh to pharaoh during the latter part of the 18th-Dynasty.

It's part of a fascinating article by Traugott Huber on the possible location of Nefertiti's tomb (and mummy).

Click on the chart to download the hi-res PDF version, and then print it out to have near you next time you (gulp) tackle that next book or article about the crazy Amarna Period.

(File size is 600KB)

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From Nile #17, December 2018

Who was Benu? We look at this ancient bird of resurrection through the hieroglyphic texts of the ancient Egyptians. And did Benu inspire the story of the legendary phoenix?

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From Nile #16, October 2018

The Egyptians took a lot of care in reproducing in tombs and temples the birds that abounded in the Nile’s waterways. The detail is often of such high quality that modern ornithologist are able to easily tell which bird is being depicted.

These birds could not only represent various deities, but also different aspects of a person’s soul—and these were crucial for a deceased Egyptian’s chances of a successful afterlife.

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From Nile #16, October 2018

Was tomb robbery the lawless abhorrence we have always believed, or were there more sanctioned, but veiled, practices at work? In a special ARCE (American Research Center in Egypt) Update, we look at Kara Cooney’s study into “legal” coffin reuse. (Spoiler alert: there’s a lot of it!).

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From Nile #15, August 2018

King Seti I has been bizarrely associated with pseudo-archaeology and mysticism for several centuries. This article follows the meandering roads of masonic rituals, alien conspiracies and downright fakery which have dogged the memory of one of Egypt’s greatest rulers.

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From Nile #15, August 2018

Gold. For the Egyptians, it was proof that eternity was real. Gold was the imperishable flesh of the gods, and gold was the king’s eternal likeness—his mummy mask—reaffirming his divinity in the afterlife. This article highlights some of the remarkable golden treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and destined for the new Grand Egyptian Museum near Giza.

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From Nile #14, June 2018

The head of a mummy dubbed the “Younger Lady” was recently scanned and modelled. It’s a remarkable portrait, but is it Nefertiti? We talk to some of Egyptology’s foremost experts and look at the cases for and against the connection.

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From Nile #14, June 2018

Niay was a “Scribe of the Table”, which means that he may have been responsible for the account-keeping of royal produce that went to the offering tables in one or more of Luxor’s temples. Given his privileged position, Niay was granted permission to build a small, but fabulously decorated tomb (TT 286) on the west bank at Thebes. After some 3,000 years, however, the tomb was in a bad way—and getting worse. That until ARCE (American Research Center in Egypt) chose Niay’s tomb to receive the attention of one of their Conservation Field Schools.

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From Nile #13, April 2018

For 70 years, the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) has been supporting and conducting excavation and conservation projects throughout Egypt. Their Field Schools program, whereby Egyptian inspectors are taught conservation techniques, salvage archaeology and site management, has been active at Khonsu and Mut Temples at Karnak—and have made some fascinating discoveries.

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From Nile #12, February 2018

Snakes weren’t always the bad guys. In ancient Egypt, they were often revered. So what happened? Haythem Bastaway looks into why the snake’s reputation took a nosedive.

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From Nile #11, December 2017

What is it about pyramids? Here we present highlights from the “Fascinating Pyramids” exhibition at The Liechtenstein National Museum, which featured world-class artefacts from museums across Europe, and rarely-seen pieces from the Liechtenstein Princely Collections. Each object has a connection to Egypt’s pyramids and the powerful solar worship that inspired them.

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From Nile #10, October 2017

How did such an awkward and unattractive bird with unappealing eating habits become the titular goddess of Upper Egypt? Lesley Jackson explores the vulture’s transformation into an elegant and powerful symbol of motherhood, protection and rebirth.

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From Nile #9, August 2017

The statue of Psamtek I emerging from the mud of ancient Heliopolis made headlines in 2017.
Dr. Dietrich Raue takes us through the amazing discoveries the Egyptian-German team working there have made recently.

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From Nile #8, June 2017

Art and archaeology: the two worlds of Oriental Institute artist, Susan Osgood. Her seasons spent in Egypt as an epigraphic artist documenting ancient reliefs have become the inspiration for Susan's own work.

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From Nile #7, April 2017

The oldest skyscraper in New York. Paris and London had their obelisks, and America was now determined to have its own. Another extract from Bob Brier’s new book, “Cleopatra’s Needles”.

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