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Amenhotep III

Akhenaten plaster bust on the left and Smenkhkare plaster bust on the right of the funerary mask of Tutankhamun. Berlin’s Neues Museum. Behind is the sunrise near Amarna, Egypt. (Image: Courtesy Jonathon Perrin)

The Tut Is Not My Son!

It could be quite the talk show: Who is King Tut’s real father? The host would be handed an envelope with the paternity test results. The audience hushes, clutching their seats, biting their nails...
Defensive Fortresses Along The Way Of Horus In Ancient Egypt

Defensive Fortress Zarw, Along The Way Of Horus In Ancient Egypt

The rich fertile lands of Egypt’s Nile Delta must have been looked on with avaricious eyes from their next-door neighbors to the east. All that lush greenery lay in stark contrast to the deserts of...
Fragments of a colossal pair of limestone statues depicting Pharaoh Amenhotep III as a sphinx have been found at an ancient Egyptian temple in Luxor. Source: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Two Huge Sphinx Statues of Amenhotep III Found in Luxor

A fantastic discovery of two unique limestone statues in Luxor has been added to the recent flurry of archaeological findings in Egypt spearheaded by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. In a...
‘Mind-blowing’ Find in Egypt! Lost Golden City Discovered in Luxor

‘Mind-blowing’ Find in Egypt! Lost Golden City Discovered in Luxor

Thousands of years ago a fabulous settlement was buried under the sands. Now, an Egyptian mission led by Zahi Hawass has discovered the ruins of the so-called “Lost Golden City” that has been linked...
The Horus statue. Credit: Ministry of Antiquities

Huge Statue of God Horus Found in Egyptian Temple

An international team of archaeologists has found a massive statue of the god Horus , according to the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities. It was discovered during restoration work on a major temple...
One of the iconic Colossi of Memnon statues.

The Colossi of Memnon: Why Did the Giant Statue Sing at Dawn?

The Colossi of Memnon are a pair of giant statues made of stone that are located in the Theban Necropolis in Luxor, Upper Egypt. The statues were made during the 14th century BC, during the period in...
Tjuyu was discovered in 1905 with blond hair.

Were These Ancient Egyptian Mummies Chemical Or Natural Blondes?

Egyptian noblewoman Tjuyu and her husband Yuya were important figures in Amenhotep III’s court and she is believed to have died in 1375 BC. Most widely known as being the great-grandmother of...
The richly decorated wooden chair or ‘throne’ of Princess Sitamun that was found in KV46; design by Anand Balaji

Bedazzling Treasures of Yuya and Tjuyu: Stunning Burial on a Par with Royalty – Part II

With their daughter, Tiye, married into the powerful ruling family of Egypt, Yuya and Tjuyu led a charmed life. With strong ties to their hometown Akhmin, Yuya seems to have participated actively in...
Dancing Bes figures on the left outer arm of the Sitamun's chair; and detail of the face mask of one of the coffins of Yuya; design by Anand Balaji

Bedazzling Treasures of Yuya and Tjuyu: K46 and the Golden Road to Nobility – Part I

Queen Tiye stands head and shoulders above all the Great Royal Wives of ancient Egypt. Though it is said that her background was that of a commoner, she rose to prominence mainly due to her...
Head from a red granite statue of Amenhotep III wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt found at Karnak; side panel of one of the Colossi of Memnon shows a relief of Hapy, the Nile god, and a sculpture of Queen Tiye; design by Anand Balaji

Amenhotep III, The Man and his Monuments: Age of Empire and Architecture –Part II

With the empire witnessing an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity, Amenhotep III embarked on a grand building project that spanned the length and breadth of Egypt. The monuments he commissioned...
The Great Sun Court of Amenhotep III at Luxor Temple; and detail of a calcite statue shows Amenhotep III with a solar form of the crocodile god Sobek, likely Sobek-Horus; design by Anand Balaji

Amenhotep III, the Man and his Monuments: Sparkling Glories of the Magnificent One – Part I

Few pharaohs in ancient Egyptian history could hold a candle to the stupendous achievements of Amenhotep III in various spheres. Everything that this daring king touched turned to gold. Be it...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji (Photo credits: Heidi Kontkanen, Oliviero Piccinali, and Julian Tuffs); Deriv.

Akhenaten: Imperishable Art of an Iconoclast: Age of Extravagance in Amarna—Part II

The monuments Akhenaten constructed were no less impressive than those of his father, Amenhotep III. But all his buildings were dismantled and destroyed during the Amarna backlash—including the city...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji (Photo credits: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden/CC BY-SA 4.0, Leiden; Dr Chris Naunton, Heidi Kontkanen and A. K. Moyls); Deriv.

The Many Mysteries of Maya: Faith, Labor and Love for the Motherland–Part II

The sudden and unfortunate death of Tutankhamun created an unprecedented power vacuum that had to be filled swiftly, if order was to be maintained in the Egyptian state. It is probable that a tussle...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji

The Many Mysteries of Maya: On the Trail of Tutankhamun’s Valued Courtier–Part I

The Amarna Period brought to fore many interesting personages, especially from the ruling disposition. While éminence grise Aye and the generalissimo Horemheb became pharaohs after the death of...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji

Unraveling Tutankhamun’s Final Secret: Enigmatic Sarcophagus the Key to Proof of a Double Burial? – Part II

The sarcophagus in which Tutankhamun was interred upon his untimely demise in the confines of his tomb has for long puzzled Egyptologists. The existence of anomalies on its surface is perplexing...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji

Unraveling Tutankhamun’s Final Secret: Cloak of Mysteries Reside in a Sepulchral Masterpiece–Part I

Are we poised to discover an Amarna royal in a hitherto unimagined location that will rewrite history — or will this be the final nail in the coffin for the ‘double burial’ theory? It is quite...
The statue of King Amenhotep III in the ruins of his temple in Luxor

Archaeologists find Magnificent Statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and His Protector, the Lioness Goddess of War

Archaeologists working in Luxor have unearthed a magnificent statue of King Amenhotep III of ancient Egypt and several statues and statue parts of the cat goddess Sekhmet meant to protect him. The...
Two of the statues of the goddess Sekhmet.

Eight More Statues of the Ancient Egyptian Goddess Sekhmet Found in Luxor

Eight statues of the goddess Sekhmet have been discovered in the temple of Amenhotep III at Kôm El-Hettan on the west bank of the Nile. The black granite statues were found during excavations which...
Tiye, the Great Royal Wife of Amenhotep III and mother of Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun

Tiye: One of the Most Influential Women of Ancient Egypt

Tiye was the Great Royal Wife of the ancient Egyptian equivalent to Louis XIV – Amenhotep III. Her son Akhenaten, was one of the biggest causes of scandal during the pharaohs’ time in Egypt. She was...
A general overview of the temple. Credit: The Gebel Silsila Survey Project 2015.

Ancient temple dating back 3,500 years found near Aswan in Egypt

Archaeologists have made a remarkable discovery at Gebel el Silsila, a historic quarry site near Aswan on the River Nile, - a sacred temple used for four epochs of ancient Egyptian history spanning...
Amenhotep III and Royal Priest Limestone Heads Discovered in Ruins in Egypt

Amenhotep III and Royal Priest Limestone Heads Discovered in Ruins in Egypt

Giant limestone heads have been unearthed in Egypt, including those of royal priests and 18th dynasty king Amenhotep III. The discovery of the stone head depicting Amenhotep III was a surprise find...
Queen Ankhesenamun

The tragedy of Queen Ankhesenamun, sister and wife of Tutankhamun

Everyone has heard of the famous boy king, Tutankhamun , but the name of his beloved sister and wife Ankhesenamun is rarely uttered. The tragic life of Ankhesenamun was well documented in the ancient...
Amenhotep Statue in Luxor

Two colossal statues of Amenhotep III unveiled in Luxor

Archaeologists have just unveiled two colossal statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III in Egypt’s famous temple city of Luxor. The statues had lain in pieces for centuries, with more and more pieces getting...
Rare Egyptian princess statue found guarding a Luxor temple

Rare Egyptian princess statue found guarding a Luxor temple

Archaeologists have uncovered a mysterious giant statue of an Egyptian princess guarding a temple outside the southern city of Luxor in Egypt. The 6.5 feet tall statue, which dates back more than 2,...

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