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Egyptian Places

Egypt is a land full of marvels of construction, and there are many places that played a significant role in its history and development. From capital cities such as Memphis and Thebes, to temple complexes like Karnak, Luxor and Abu Simbel, and of course to the mighty pyramids and sphinx. All are explored here.

Detail of the Berlin bust of Nefertiti; and the latest 3D sculpture of the queen based on the mummy of the Younger Lady; design by Anand Balaji
11 February, 2018 - 23:00 anand balaji

Bust of Contention: Nefertiti’s sculpture raises issues of Race and Color—Part II

The recent attempt at reconstructing the face of the iconic beauty, Nefertiti, by basing her looks on the mummy of the Younger Lady found in KV35 has caused an enormous uproar among Egyptophiles all...
Limestone trial piece showing the head of Nefertiti; and detail of the mummy of the Younger Lady; design by Anand Balaji (Photo credit: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin and G. Elliot Smith); Deriv.
11 February, 2018 - 14:02 anand balaji

Bust of Contention: Controversy erupts as the Younger Lady is dubbed Nefertiti—Part I

Few ancient Egyptian royals are capable of garnering as much attention, generating frenzy, and stoking controversy globally as the legendary beauty Queen Nefertiti can. Despite having been a powerful...
Detail from one of the three surviving planks of Queen Tiye's wooden shrine from KV55; made of wood, gesso and gold leaf. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
7 February, 2018 - 15:24 anand balaji

The Golden Shrine of Queen Tiye: Reburial of a Rebel Ruler and His Mother - Part II

When he came to the throne, Pharaoh Tutankhamun set about transporting the royal remains of his immediate ancestors from Amarna to Thebes. The inhabitants of the Sun City had also begun to slowly...
Scene from the decorated upper portion of the East wall in KV62 shows the mummified Tutankhamun lying supine within a tall, garland-bedecked shrine; design by Anand Balaji (Photo credit: Meretseger Books); Deriv.
6 February, 2018 - 18:53 anand balaji

Nefertiti and a Rush of Scans: Will the Beautiful One Arise in the King’s Valley? — Part II

After nearly a year of silence, the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings is once again back in focus thanks to the Ministry of Antiquities granting permission to a team of Italian experts...
A relief originally from the tomb of Userhat (TT47) at Thebes depicts Queen Tiye. Brussels Royal Museum.
5 February, 2018 - 15:23 anand balaji

The Golden Shrine of Queen Tiye: When and How Did It Reach the Theban Necropolis? -Part I

Among the hundreds of ancient rock-cut royal sepulchers that have been discovered in Egypt one in particular, KV55, stands out for its infinite intrigue. At some point in time, this Eighteenth...
Detail from a replica of the small golden shrine found in KV62 that shows Ankhesenamun and Tutankhamun; design by Anand Balaji
29 January, 2018 - 22:59 anand balaji

Inching Closer to Ankhesenamun: Is the Last Sun Queen Set to be Found? — Part II

The probable marriage of Ankhesenamun, the widow of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, to the aged vizier Aye before she vanished from the records paved the way for the old family retainer to ascend the throne of...
Detail of goddess Mut with likeness of Ankhesenamun; design by Anand Balaji
29 January, 2018 - 14:01 anand balaji

Inching Closer to Ankhesenamun: Unraveling the Radiant Child of Amarna—Part I

Ever since the discovery of KV62, the treasure-filled sepulcher of Tutankhamun, in 1922 – and even before that in 1907 when the mysterious Tomb 55 came to light – Amarna royals have always managed to...
Decorated Hellenistic pot lid found at the site.
11 January, 2018 - 22:46 Theodoros Karasavvas

False Door Tombstone and Array of Artifacts Unearthed in the City of Alexandria

A team of Egyptian archaeologists has recently uncovered the remains of many Greco-Roman tombs, including a "distinguished" tombstone, in the eastern cemetery of the ancient city of Alexandria. New...
Ancient Egyptian relief. Design by Anand Balaji. (Image credit: Julian Tuffs);Deriv.
29 December, 2017 - 22:04 anand balaji

Amarna Era Chronological Conundrum: Accession of Neferneferuaten and Tutankhamun’s Death–Part II

With only an Amarna wine jar label from Regnal Year 17 – purported to be the last dated inscription from his reign – that makes no mention of Akhenaten by name, and the generous 59 years’ rule...
Ancient Egyptian relief. Design by Anand Balaji.
27 December, 2017 - 15:22 anand balaji

Amarna Era Chronological Conundrum: Dating Akhenaten’s Death and the Length of Horemheb’s Reign–Part I

When the Nineteenth Dynasty Pharaoh Menmaatre Seti I drew up the famed King List at his mortuary temple in the holy city of Abydos, he was confident that he had struck the final nail in the coffin of...
Ancient Egyptian painted relief showing foot and toes. Design by Anand Balaji.
4 December, 2017 - 15:21 anand balaji

Game of Toes in Amarna: Missing Body Parts and Funerary Practices of King and Commoner

Pharaoh Akhenaten was the subject of great controversy when he lived; and this did not cease after he died. If anything, his memory has both troubled and impressed people down to this day. Be it his...
Ancient Egyptian relief. Design by Anand Balaji.
24 November, 2017 - 15:30 anand balaji

Understanding the Monotheism of Akhenaten: Solar Disc Thrust into Eternal Darkness–Part II

At first glance it appears as though Pharaoh Akhenaten is someone whom one would describe as a textbook monotheist, but are we missing the plot? Apart from Amun (and later, Osiris) the king doesn’t...
Sunken ships, statues and treasure have been found under water at in bay near Alexandria.
22 November, 2017 - 22:49 Theodoros Karasavvas

Three Roman Shipwrecks with Hoard of Treasures Discovered in Alexandria

A team of archaeologists in Egypt has recently announced the discovery of three underwater shipwrecks full of treasure and other valuable objects that date back to the Roman Era in Abu Qir Bay,...
A bust of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Design by Anand Balaji.
22 November, 2017 - 15:35 anand balaji

Understanding the Monotheism of Akhenaten: Decay of a Dream and the Final Curtain Call–Part I

Pharaoh Akhenaten has been revered and reviled in equal measure for unleashing his religious policy of one god, the Aten sun disc. But, was the king a monotheist in letter and spirit – one who...
Collage of Egyptian art, design by Anand Balaji.
11 October, 2017 - 15:22 anand balaji

Amarna in 3 Acts: Defining Vignettes from an Incomparable Era

Three important aspects, in many ways, defined and shaped the Akhetaten years and the post-Amarna period. His detractors in the new disposition erased Pharaoh Akhenaten’s memory in great haste—an...
The Giza Pyramids - CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, and Egyptian god Thoth – CC0)
2 October, 2017 - 18:55 Armando Mei

Who Really Built the Pyramids of Giza? Thoth’s Enigmatic Emerald Tablets May Provide the Answer

The Emerald Tablets are one of the greatest enigmas of archaeology. They can be considered an obscure side of Egyptian mythology, characterized by events where myth seems to meet history. Scholars...
Mummies of a woman and two children found in burial chamber at Draa Abul Naga, Luxor
10 September, 2017 - 23:04 Gary Manners

Rich Pickings in Luxor As Two Family Tombs are Found Including that of a Royal Goldsmith

In ongoing explorations of a necropolis at Luxor, archaeologists have opened a new tomb and the findings have been rich. Amongst the 3,500-year-old treasures are jewels, sarcophagi, pottery and four...
The five Roman tombs found at the Beir Al-Shaghala site in the Dakhla Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert.
24 August, 2017 - 23:01 Alicia McDermott

Roman Era Tombs Discovered in Egypt Reveal Diverse Trends in Burial Architecture and Grave Goods

Not all Egyptian tombs are alike. Apart from the impact of social status, there is also a difference in architectural styles and burial preferences over the long history of their existence. This can...
The Sphinx and Great Pyramids of Egypt. (BigStockPhoto)
21 August, 2017 - 23:03 Armando Mei

The Hidden Message in Khafre’s Pyramid: What Were the Builders Trying to Tell Us?

In Egypt, in the middle of 2013, I was on a very important job: the Giza Pyramids investigation through mathematical proportional applications. I focused all my attention on the three mysterious and...
his head of indurated limestone is a fragment from a group statue that represented Amun seated on a throne, and Tutankhamun standing or kneeling in front of him. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
27 July, 2017 - 01:50 anand balaji

The Hunt for Ankhesenamun: A Murderess, Vixen or Helpless Child in this Ancient Egyptian Soap Opera? Part II

Ankhesenamun, wife of the boy-king Tutankhamun , is portrayed in many ways; as a terrified and hapless youngster; a power-hungry murderess; or a loathsome vixen who will stop at nothing to achieve...
The six pyramids at Giza, with Menkaure’s the first of the big three.
25 July, 2017 - 01:50 aprilholloway

Plagued by Floods Yet the Giza Pyramid Builders Refused to be Relocated

The building of the pyramids at Giza was a huge project and it is not surprising to learn that a substantial administrative and accommodation center grew up close to the construction area. This town...
Ankhesenamun Hands Tutankhamun an Arrow.
18 July, 2017 - 21:42 Alicia McDermott

Tomb Could Be That of Tutankhamun’s Wife and Egyptian Leading Lady Ankhesenamun

Egyptologists believe they may be on the verge of a major discovery related to a leading lady of ancient Egypt. A new tomb found in the Valley of the Kings may have been created as the final resting...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji (Photo credits: Heidi Kontkanen, Oliviero Piccinali, and Julian Tuffs); Deriv.
7 July, 2017 - 22:30 anand balaji

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
5 July, 2017 - 15:34 anand balaji

Akhenaten: Imperishable Art of an Iconoclast: Creativity Blossoms in the Desert—Part I

Never before had a pharaoh ushered daring, almost bizarre and inconceivable transformations in religion and statecraft as Akhenaten did. Not only did he oust the pantheon of traditional gods and...

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