Egyptian Figures

The Figures of Egypt take many forms – from living beings to legendary gods, and even hybrids of the two – pharaohs were treated as gods too. And as much history was written in stone, we have many records of who ruled, who was worshipped, and even who made the beer! Some of the famous figures still exist today, in the form of mummified remains. Here you can explore them all.

Cleopatra by John William Waterhouse. Source: Public domain

29 December, 2022 - 00:55 Cecilia Bogaard

There Was More Than One Cleopatra in Ancient Egypt

Very few people have failed to hear of Cleopatra, one of the most well known women in history. Remembered as a seductive temptress, not only the lover of Julius Caesar but also the wife of Mark...

Avian artwork reproduced in facsimile painting from the Green Room found at Amarna’s North Palace. Source: Public domain

14 December, 2022 - 23:59 ashley cowie

Exquisite Avian Artwork Created Sensory Relaxation Chamber for Egyptian Queen

Back in the 1920s, archaeologists working at Amarna’s North Palace in Egypt uncovered a “masterpiece of ancient Egyptian art.” This was the palace of Meritaten, the daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten and...

Depiction of parchment of Akhenaten and Nefertiti and their children with Aten shining on them as found on the Stela of Akhenaten and his family, Egyptian Museum, Cairo (ppicasso / Adobe Stock)

14 December, 2022 - 22:34 John and Collee...

Akhenaten And Nefertiti: Egypt’s Golden Couple

The drivers arrange the chariots of the royal entourage—two to one side, two to the other side, of the royal chariot, which is distinguished by the great ostrich plumes of its span of stallions...

A golden mummy from Manchester Museum. Source: Allan Gluck / CC BY-SA 4.0

24 November, 2022 - 13:58 ashley cowie

Mummification Had Nothing to Do With Preservation, Claims Exhibit

For over a century archaeologists and teachers have taught students that ancient Egyptians mummified corpses to “preserve” their bodies. Now, a disruptive new museum exhibit in the UK is set to...

Tattoo on the left femur of a mummified Egyptian woman buried at Deir el-Medina. Source: Anne Austin/University of Missouri-St. Louis

9 November, 2022 - 21:58 Sahir

Not A Tramp Stamp: Thigh and Hip Tattoos Found on Female Egyptian Mummies

Ancient burial sites in Egypt have yielded tattooed mummies, that are predominantly female rather than male. Over time, various debates have arisen about who these mummies were, in terms of their...

The underground tunnel found beneath Taposiris Magna. Credit: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

5 November, 2022 - 17:56 Joanna Gillan

Underground Tunnel Found Beneath Egyptian Temple May Lead to Cleopatra

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities have announced the incredible discovery of a rock-cut tunnel deep below ground in the area of the Taposiris Magna Temple, west of Alexandria in Egypt...

Tutankhamun’s golden death mask as discovered in King Tut’s tomb. Source: Tarekheikal / CC BY-SA 4.0

4 November, 2022 - 13:54 Lex Leigh

King Tut’s Centenary! 6 Fascinating Facts About Tutankhamun’s Tomb

100 years ago today (November 4th) British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered King Tutankhamun’s legendary tomb. This famous discovery was essential in the field of archaeology, as it became...

Left: The corridor leading to the Antechamber of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Right: The moment Tutankhamun’s shrine was opened revealing his sarcophagus. (Public Domain).

1 November, 2022 - 13:48 Joanna Gillan

28 ORIGINAL Photos from the Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb

November 4, 2022, marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings, a watershed moment for the world of archaeology. The spectacular nature of...

Elaborate Box with Cartouche of Amenhotep III found in Tutankhamun’s tomb. (Dmitry Denisenkov / Flickr)

30 October, 2022 - 13:54 Joanna Gillan

25 Unbelievable Treasures from the Tomb of Tutankhamun You May Not Have Seen

Thanks to Howard Carter’s discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, there is no Pharaoh more well-known and well-loved than King Tut, the boy king , who died in 1323 BC at the age of 20. November...

The golden sarcophagus of Tutankhamun (David Biagi / Adobe Stock)

10 October, 2022 - 18:46 Joanna Gillan

20 Awesome Sarcophagi of the Ancient World

A s arcophagus is a receptacle, usually made of stone, that is made to hold a coffin or corpse. Unlike coffins, which are buried, sarcophagi are usually displayed above the ground and for this reason...

A mummified falcon found in Egypt (rob Koopman / CC by SA 2.0)

8 October, 2022 - 19:00 Nathan Falde

Headless Mummified Falcons Found in Egyptian Temple Suggests Ancient Ritual

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient Egyptian temple with 15 mummified falcons, many of them headless and buried around a pedestal. The discovery suggests a previously unknown ritual performed...

The golden mask of King Tut. Source: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra / CC BY 2.0

7 October, 2022 - 01:48 Cecilia Bogaard

King Tutankhamun’s Parents Were Brother and Sister

What does Tutankhamun have in common with Cleopatra, Charles II of Spain, or even Queen Victoria? Besides being royalty in their distinct corners of the world, all of them were a product of...

A stone relief fragment in the Brooklyn Museum that could only be of Nefertiti, and now DNA testing will tell us if Nefertiti's mummy has finally been found. Source: Brooklyn Museum / CC BY 2.5

26 September, 2022 - 23:00 Nathan Falde

Famed Egyptologist Proclaims Discovery of Queen Nefertiti’s Mummy

Has Queen Nefertiti’s mummy, one of ancient Egypt’s most celebrated New Kingdom rulers, finally been found? According to the world’s most famous Egyptologist, the answer to this question is “ yes ,”...

A pair of King Tut’s sandals. Source: © Merja Attia

26 August, 2022 - 01:31 Cecilia Bogaard

King Tut Stepped on his Enemies: Learning from Tutankhamun’s Sandals

While Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw has entered popular imagination for her stunning array of shoes and fashion savvy, few know that the young King Tut also enjoyed a vast collection footwear...

A mural from the tomb Inkherkhau (TT359) on the West Bank of Nile - Thebes, Luxor, depicting a funerary procession with ancient Egyptian priests performing libations, the first one wearing leopard skin. Source: Svetlaili /Adobe Stock

21 August, 2022 - 14:59 Robbie Mitchell

A Day in the Life of an Ancient Egyptian Priest

We can learn a lot about a civilization from its dominant religion. Ancient Egypt is a good example. The religion of ancient Egypt had a far-reaching effect on every aspect of daily life. If you want...

The names Howard Carter and King Tutankhamun are interlinked but now old historical letters have revealed that Carter was also an antiquities thief. Anubis, the jackal-headed deity who presided over the embalming process and accompanied dead kings in the afterworld, next to two busts of King Tutankhamun. Source: Jiri / Adobe Stock

15 August, 2022 - 18:57 ashley cowie

King Tut's Tomb Was “Raided” By Artifact Thief Howard Carter

New evidence suggests Howard Carter, the until now respected English archaeologist who excavated Tutankhamun’s (King Tut’s) tomb in Egypt in 1922, was a tomb-raiding “artifact thief.” On the 100th...

The Mummies of Qilakitsoq at the National Museum in Nuuk. Source: Kenny McFly / CC BY-SA 4.0

12 August, 2022 - 14:58 Joanna Gillan

Ten Incredible Mummy Discoveries That Shocked the World

Mummies of humans and other animals have been found on every continent, both as a result of natural preservation through unique climatic conditions, and as intentionally preserved corpses for...

Relief of Mentuhotep II and the Goddess Hathor, circa 2010-2000 BC Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art

1 August, 2022 - 22:57 Jake Leigh-Howarth

Mentuhotep II and the Emergence of the Middle Kingdom

The iconic ancient Egyptians are perhaps the best and grandest example of an ancient civilization that was both technologically advanced and spiritually rich. It was during the Archaic Period that...

Some information can be gathered about sex in ancient Egypt by viewing scenes from the mastaba tomb of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum at Saqqara in Egypt. Source: Sailingstone / Adobe Stock

22 July, 2022 - 18:52 Robbie Mitchell

Exploring Sex in Ancient Egypt

People often have the strange idea that people in the “olden days” were much more conservative when it came to sex than they are today. However, if modern history tells us anything it is that people...

Egyptian mummy head found in an attic in Ramsgate, England. Source: James Elliot / Paleoimaging

22 July, 2022 - 14:55 ashley cowie

Egyptian Mummy’s Head Discovered In English Attic Scanned

Archaeologists and hospital staff in England have been working together. They’ve CT scanned an ancient Egyptian mummy’s head that was discovered in an English attic. In the 1820s a 2,700-year-old...

Egyptian commander’s tomb, sarcophagus and grave goods uncovered at Abusir, Egypt. Source: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities

21 July, 2022 - 18:58 Nathan Falde

Excavation Unearths Unique Tomb of 6th Century BC Egyptian Commander

While performing excavations near the Giza Plateau , a team of Czech archaeologists from Charles University in Prague unearthed a tomb that belonged to a powerful Egyptian military commander who...

Tutankhamun’s condom. Source: Cairo Museum, Egypt

12 July, 2022 - 02:05 Joanna Gillan

Tutankhamun Used Condoms Made from Oil-Soaked Linen

When Tutankhamun’s tomb was first discovered in 1922, archaeologist Howard Carter was stunned by the astonishing array of grave goods – more than 5,000 artifacts were left for the boy king to use in...

Cleopatra. Source: Lumixera / Adobe Stock

15 May, 2022 - 22:58 Joanna Gillan

Not Just a Pretty Face: Cleopatra Was a Genius Who Spoke 9 Languages

Cleopatra VII (69 – 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt and its last active ruler. Most famous for her love affairs with Mark Antony and Julius Caesar, Roman propaganda was quick to...

Artist’s photograph of Isaiah, 2014, as part of the photography series ‘Preservation’. © Blake Little 2018. Photo prints can be purchased on the Blake Little website.

12 May, 2022 - 01:59 Joanna Gillan

Egyptian Pharoah Pepi II Coated His Slaves in Honey to Use as Fly Traps

Pepi II was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom who succeeded to the throne at the tender age of six. Perhaps it was this privileged upbringing which ultimately resulted in him being one of Egypt’...