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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Amarna

Amarna was one of the most fascinating and enigmatic periods in ancient Egyptian history. Amarna (or Akhetaten) was a city founded by the pharaoh Akhenaten in the 14th century BC, and it served as the  capital of Egypt during his reign.

What makes Amarna such a unique period in Egyptian history is that Akhenaten introduced a radical new religious and artistic style that diverged from the traditional polytheistic beliefs and artistic conventions of ancient Egypt. Akhenaten and his queen, Nefertiti, worshipped the sun god Aten as the supreme deity, and this new religion was  depicted in art with a distinctive, elongated style that was quite different from the traditional Egyptian art.

Amarna was a city built entirely from scratch, and it was designed to reflect the new artistic and religious ideas of Akhenaten. The city featured grand temples, palaces, and homes, as well as  tombs for the royal family and their courtiers.

Despite its relatively short lifespan (Akhenaten ruled from 1353-1336 BC), Amarna continues to capture the imagination of scholars and the general public alike. The art, religion, and culture of this period provide a unique window into the mind of one of ancient Egypt's most intriguing rulers.

Join us as we explore the history, art, and culture of Amarna, and delve into the mystery and intrigue of this fascinating  period in ancient Egyptian history.

: The 14 columns of the The Colonnade of Amenhotep III - Luxor Temple and Statue of the Pharaoh

Dazzling Nebmaatre: Sunset in Waset—Part III

The efflorescent era of Amenhotep III ushered in a period of unsurpassed prosperity for Egypt. During this time, the country grew economically and militarily powerful. But the Sun was bound to set on...
More than Battles of Armageddon: The Forgotten Story of Megiddo, An Archaeological Paradise

More than Battles of Armageddon: The Forgotten Story of Megiddo, An Archaeological Paradise

The city of Megiddo is well-known from ancient texts, but it was overlooked for many years. Over the centuries, people had forgotten whether Megiddo was a real city, or just a legend from the past...
A Tough Commute: Long Hike to Work in the Valley of the Kings Caused Laborers to Suffer from Arthritis

A Tough Commute: Long Hike to Work in the Valley of the Kings Caused Laborers to Suffer from Arthritis

In the ancient world, work was so hard that bone pathologies show up in skeletal remains even to this day. In ancient Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, workers labored hard to build the mortuary temples...
A Dream Destination for Egyptologists: The Amazing Amarna Necropolis

A Dream Destination for Egyptologists: The Amazing Amarna Necropolis

Amarna is a dream destination for many Egyptologists. The temples, tombs, and houses left by the people who lived in the area thousands of years ago make up one of the most impressive discoveries in...
The Women Who Created a Legendary Pharaoh: The Hidden Advisers of Ramesses II

The Women Who Created a Legendary Pharaoh: The Hidden Advisers of Ramesses II

Ramesses II is considered one of the greatest pharaohs of Egypt. Regardless if this is an exaggerated statement or not, his reign had very distinct stages. With the disappearance of two of the most...
Plaster face of an older Amarna-era woman

The Unique Sculptures of Thutmose…and a Secret Love for One of His Muses?

When leaving his workshop in Amarna, the sculptor Thutmose may have wanted to forget something very painful. A story which may have been carved in his heart perhaps? He decided not to take some of...
A stone block shows Ay receiving the 'Gold of Honor' award in his Amarna tomb from Akhenaten.

The Sins and Glories of the Pharaoh Ay

Pharaoh Ay is known in popular books as the person who may have murdered Tutankhamun. Usually, he is described as a pharaoh-monster of the 18th dynasty. However, the real history is very different...
A relief of Kiya, remade from Amarna limestone.

Kiya - The Most Mysterious Woman of Amarna

The only thing we really know for certain about Kiya is her name, written in the forms kiya, kiw, kia, kaia, and that she was a wife of Akhenaten titled The Great Beloved Wife . Much information...
Front view of the mummy of the "Younger Lady".

French Egyptologist Asserts that the Younger Lady is Really the Mummy of Nefertiti

French Egyptologist Marc Gabolde, specialist in the Eighteenth Dynasty and the Amarna period, argues that the mummy known as the "Younger Lady" discovered almost a century ago, is actually the famous...
An undisturbed skeleton of a man in the extended, supine posture typical at the cemetery; and the burial of a man with a common pattern of disturbance in which the upper torso has been jumbled by robbers and the skull removed.

Builders under Pharaoh Akhenaten worked so hard they broke their backs

When ancient Eygptian pharaoh Akhenaten ordered the construction of the new city of Amarna dedicated to the sun god Aten, more than 20,000 people moved there to do the back-breaking work. The work...
The iconic bust of Nefertiti, discovered by Ludwig Borchardt, is part of the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin collection, currently on display in the Altes Museum.

The Elusive Tomb of Queen Nefertiti may lie behind the walls of Tutankhamun's Burial Chamber

An archaeologist studying electronic scans of the walls of the ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun's tomb thinks he has found a false wall that may lead to the tomb of Nefertiti, the famous successor...
Akhenaten depicted as a sphinx at Amarna, solar rays bathing him.

The Art of Amarna: Akhenaten and his life under the Sun

The Amarna period, roughly 1353-1336 BCE, introduced a new form of art that completely contradicted what was known and revered in the Egyptian culture. The pharaoh Amenhotep IV not only changed his...
Akhenaten and Nefertiti

Eden in Egypt – Part 2

( Read part 1 ) So if the Garden of Eden was located at Amarna, then what of Adam and Eve? The first thing to note is that Adam and Eve were the first man and first woman. But then so too were...
Eden

Eden in Egypt – Part 1

The location of the Garden of Eden and the whereabouts of the Tower of Babel have perplexed theologians and historians alike for hundreds if not thousands of years. And so sparse is the information...
Toe Rings, Ancient Egyptian Skeletons

Archaeologists Uncover First Ever Ancient Egyptian Skeletons Wearing Copper Toe Rings

Just south of the ancient city of Akhetaten in Egypt (now called Amarna), archaeologists have made a perplexing discovery – two Egyptian skeletons dating back 3,300 years, both of which were wearing...

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