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.

The 6th Dynasty clerk’s tomb was found near the dry moat of the Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, shown here. Source: JUAN CARLOS MUNOZ / Adobe Stock

6 May, 2022 - 22:46 ashley cowie

3,500-Year-Old Keeper Of ‘Royal Secrets’ Tomb Discovered In Egypt

A magnificent tomb has been discovered in Egypt belonging to a ‘keeper of royal secrets.’ This highly-trusted man served two ancient pharaohs of the 6th Dynasty, and successfully navigated the...

The lost city of Amarna found in the 19th century was built by the almost alien-like heretic pharaoh Akhenaten, who introduced the smaller, more efficient talatat blocks for building construction and changed Egyptian religion for a while. Source: Brown University

14 April, 2022 - 23:01 Khadija Tauseef

Talatat Blocks and Akhenaten’s Failed Architectural Revolution

Egypt has a rich history of architectural monuments that dot its landscape. Each monument is a testament to the pharaoh who created it. These buildings have forever cemented the names of the pharaohs...

The upper third of the original Karnak obelisk, one of several obelisks dedicated to Queen Hatshepsut of 14th-century BC Egypt, which was recently re-erected in Luxor near the Karnak Temple where it was toppled by an ancient earthquake or intentionally destroyed. Source: The National News

12 April, 2022 - 22:42 Nathan Falde

Karnak Obelisk Built for Legendary Queen Hatshepsut Re-erected in Egypt

Next to a sacred lake near the Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt, archaeologists and engineers have re-erected a fully restored Karnak obelisk that was originally constructed and raised in 1457 BC, in...

21 March, 2022 - 22:22 Jonathon Perrin

From King Tut To The Jewish Tallit

There is perhaps no greater symbol of Judaism than the white prayer shawl, the tallit . Likewise, there is probably no greater symbol of ancient Egypt’s majesty than the golden funerary mask of the...

Ancient columns at the Temple of Horus at Edfu, Egypt. Source: EwaStudio / Adobe Stock

28 February, 2022 - 14:00 Phoenix Vald

5 Unique Facts Straight Out of Ancient Egypt

A lot of things viewed as unusual by the people from the present day used to take place in ancient Egypt. While some of these aspects are fascinating, others can be simply regarded as odd. Going...

Canopic jars recently found at the Abusir site. Source: Egyptian Antiquities Authority

12 February, 2022 - 14:00 Gary Manners

Stack of Mummification Materials Found In Abusir Tomb

A large cache of materials and artifacts connected with the embalming and mummification process used in ancient Egypt has been uncovered in a group of extraordinarily large burial wells at Abusir...

Curse of the Buried Pearl: Tomb Curses, Spirits and the Hunt for Ancient Treasures – Part I

23 January, 2022 - 18:10 Chris Morgan

Curse of the Buried Pearl: The Hunt for Ancient Treasures – Part I

In economics one hears talk of “the curse of oil” – and one might say wherever there is buried treasure there will be a curse, hyper-real or real. The most famous of all curses is of course that...

In a new breakthrough, scientists have digitally scanned the sarcophagus of pharaoh Amenhotep I to reveal a stunning image of his actual head and body. Source: S. Saleem and Z. Hawass / Frontiers in Medicine

28 December, 2021 - 17:59 Nathan Falde

Digital Scan of Ancient Egyptian Mummy Amenhotep I Shows His True Face

The 3,500-year-old mummy of Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep I had remained virtually unexamined since its discovery at Luxor, Egypt in 1881. As one of the few royal mummies from ancient Egypt yet to be...

17 December, 2021 - 23:21 Chris Morgan

Primaeval Temples Of Egypt: Hidden Gods In The Sand

Temples have always fascinated people. Although their structure, design and meaning, are sometimes taken for granted, they seem to be magical religion made manifest. It seems to be one of mankind’s...

Left, Hala Sultan Tekke, Larnca, Cyprus. Right; Assorted artifacts found at the Hala Sultan Tekke site. Source: Left; Dickelbers, CC BY-SA 3.0. Right; Peter Fischer, Teresa Bürge / University of Gothenburg

3 December, 2021 - 00:57 ashley cowie

Multicultural Ancient Treasure Hoard Discovered In Cyprus Tombs

Archaeologists in Cyprus have excavated two Bronze Age Tombs at one of the most important holy sites in the Islamic world. The treasures they discovered reveal the presence of a far-reaching trade...

Small female figurines left as votive offerings to the goddess Hathor. Source: M. Jawornicki / PAP

26 November, 2021 - 13:57 ashley cowie

Trash Pile At Temple of Hatshepsut Yields A Heap Of Hathor Artifacts

Polish archaeologists in Egypt were supporting a tomb ceiling when they realized that beneath their feet lay an unknown treasure trove. They had inadvertently discovered an ancient temple dump and...

Deriv; Sculpture depicting the King Tutankhamun as a child, gold plate with Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun.

25 November, 2021 - 01:00 anand balaji

The Twin Tragedy of Tutankhamun: Death of a Dynasty

Tossed away callously in a dark corner of the lavish Treasury in the subterranean tomb of Tutankhamun was possibly the most poignant remnant of the boy king’s short life. Positioned next to the...

Anastasiia Stupko-Lubczynska documenting reliefs in the Chapel of Hatshepsut. Source: Agnieszka Makowska / Antiquity Publications Ltd

16 November, 2021 - 23:03 Sahir

Chapel of Hatshepsut Reliefs Uncover Master-Apprentice Relationship

Scientists have published fascinating new research into the reliefs found within the Chapel of Hatshepsut, an ode to the 5th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty who ruled between 1479 and 1458. Each of these...

Pharaoh Akhenaten in the center and his family worshiping Aten personified as the rays of a solar disk; later such imagery was prohibited. Source: Egyptian Museum / Public domain

13 November, 2021 - 17:57 Aleksa Vučković

Explaining the Weirdly Alien Looking Statues of Pharaoh Akhenaten

In the history of Ancient Egypt, Akhenaten occupies a very special place. Of all the pharaohs over the many centuries, he was by far the most controversial one. His radical policies, major religious...

Composite image of Osiris and his protective sisters Isis and Nephthys, overlain by Akhenaten’s face, all overlying the Ark and the winged cherubim, from Moses and Joshua Bowing before the Ark, gouache on board, by James Tissot, 1896-1902. Now in the Jewish Museum, New York. Author created.

8 November, 2021 - 20:39 Jonathon Perrin

Was the Ark Of The Covenant A Coffin – Secret Link To Osiris God Of The Dead

Why does the Bible refer to the Ark of the Covenant as a coffin ? Was someone buried in it? Was it a symbolic coffin, or even God’s coffin? The Bible describes the Ark as a sacred chest of wood and...

The three reconstructed mummy faces taken from 3 ancient Egyptian mummies. Source: Parabon NanoLabs

4 October, 2021 - 14:41 Sahir

Three 2000-year-old Egyptian Mummy Faces Reconstructed!

You can now see what three Egyptian men living more than 2000 years ago in the ancient Egyptian city of Abusir el-Meleq really looked like thanks to forensic DNA phenotyping and other advance...

17 September, 2021 - 01:54 Jonathon Perrin

Do Akhenaten’s Links with Yom Kippur Traditions Shed New Light on Moses?

The holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, means “Day of Atonement”. Marked by confession, repentance, and forgiveness, it takes place ten days after the Jewish New Year. Its origins remain to...

15 September, 2021 - 20:56 Dr Edward Bruce...

The Genesis Of Modern Religions In Ancient Egypt

It is an irony of history that the three great religions of Europe and the Middle East, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, did not originate there but rather had their genesis, like the human species...

The Sun rising over the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem’s golden Dome of the Rock. Source: Px Fuel / CC0

9 September, 2021 - 18:39 Jonathon Perrin

Secret Connections Between Yom Kippur and Pharaoh Akhenaten

As Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar approaches, this article delves into the religious traditions that are followed by millions at this time of year. But it goes further, noticing...

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo's famous painting of The Banquet of Cleopatra (painted 1743–44) shows Cleopatra's pearl above the tall glass of vinegar as Mark Antony looks on. Source: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo / Public domain

1 September, 2021 - 22:48 dhwty

Roman Historian’s Cleopatra’s Pearl Story: Is It Fact or Fiction?

“Cleopatra’s Pearl” is a story told by the Roman author Pliny the Elder in his famous long-read book Natural History . According to this tale, the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt, Cleopatra VII, drank...

Limestone relief of Crown Prince Thutmose in the role of high priest. Saqqara. Neues Museum, Berlin. Design by Anand N. Balaji (Merja Attia); Deriv.

25 August, 2021 - 20:50 anand balaji

On The Trail Of The Mysterious Crown Prince Thutmose: Clues To A Sudden, Violent Death? – Part II

In addition to making Crown Prince Thutmose High Priest of Ptah, Amenhotep III prepared his intended successor in the ways of Aten worship too. This was a thread later picked up by Akhenaten , who as...

A small schist statuette shows Prince Thutmose as a miller grinding grain. Louvre Museum, Paris. Design by Anand N. Balaji (Public Domain); Deriv.

23 August, 2021 - 17:44 anand balaji

On The Trail Of The Mysterious Crown Prince Thutmose: The King Who Was Not To Be – Part I

Amenhotep IV, the youngest-known son of Pharaoh Nebmaatre Amenhotep III-heqa-Waset, ascended the throne at the height of Egypt’s golden age. The seeds for that efflorescent era of the Eighteenth...

King Sahure. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art / Public Domain.

19 August, 2021 - 19:06 dhwty

King Sahure and His Beautiful Pyramid: A Rare Peaceful Pharaoh?

Sahure was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who lived during the Old Kingdom period. He was a ruler of the 5th Dynasty, and his reign was marked by peace and prosperity. Amongst other things, Sahure...

Akhenaten pic compliments of Jo from her trip. Osiris is a bronze/gold statue of the god, Louvre (Rama / CC BY-SA 3.0) (author created).

19 July, 2021 - 16:13 Jonathon Perrin

Akhenaten Heretic Pharaoh: The New Osiris

Did Egypt’s Heretic Pharaoh outlaw the God of the Dead, or become him? Akhenaten has been called ancient Egypt’s ‘Heretic Pharaoh’. From 1354-1337 BC Akhenaten so drastically altered his country’s...