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Ancient Egyptian men undergoing circumcision.
19 July, 2018 - 18:52 Caleb Strom

The Cutting Truth about Circumcision: It Was All About Rites and Religion

When was circumcision first practiced? How did it evolve? Why was it practiced? The earliest literary evidence of the practice of circumcision goes back to ancient Egypt. There are many hypotheses...
False Doors: The Gateways to the Egyptian Underworld
16 July, 2018 - 11:14 Bryan Hill

False Doors: The Gateways to the Egyptian Underworld

As the name would suggest, a false door is an imitation door usually found in mortuary temples and tombs across ancient Egypt. Facing west, these doors served as an imaginary passage between the...
Tariq ibn Ziyad, Berber Muslim and Umayyad general who led the conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711. Painting by Theodor Hosemann.
16 July, 2018 - 11:03 Bryan Hill

The Rich Mythology and Megalithic Culture of the Ancient Berbers, Lords of the Desert

The Barbary Coast of North Africa was named after the Berbers, the nomadic people who inhabited the region west of the Nile Valley in north Africa. Called the Amazigh or Imazighen in antiquity (...
The silver facemask gilded with gold found on the face of the mummy.
15 July, 2018 - 13:02 ashley cowie

2,000-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy Workshop and Goldmine of Treasures Unearthed in Saqqara

A team of Egyptian-German Archeologists announced to the world’s media yesterday that their recent dig in Saqqara, Egypt, led to the unearthing of “a rare mummification workshop containing mummies...
The Tomb of Amenhotep for the guardian to deity Amun has been discovered in Luxor.
12 June, 2018 - 23:08 lizleafloor

Elaborately Painted Tomb for Nobleman and Amun Temple Guardian Uncovered in Luxor

A colorfully painted tomb dating to Egypt’s New Kingdom of the 18th Dynasty has been discovered in Luxor. Called the ‘Tomb of Amenhotep’, experts say it belonged to a nobleman and temple guardian for...
The 2,200-year-old coin will go on display at the Cairns Museum later this year.
4 June, 2018 - 18:53 ashley cowie

WW1 Souvenir? Or Proof Ancient Egyptians Sailed to Australia?

While the legacy of an ancient Egyptian coin discovered in a rainforest in far north Queensland, Australia baffles experts, it equally excites a growing faction of people who believe that ancient...
The newly-discovered underground causeway leading to the Great Pyramid of Giza.
1 June, 2018 - 02:39 aprilholloway

How the Causeway for the Great Pyramid of Egypt Was Found After Decades of Searching

Dozens of foreign missions carried out over three decades using the latest high-tech instruments failed to find the causeway of the Great Pyramid of Giza. But in 2015, unexpectedly, the passage was...
A stele from Heliopolis shows Akhenaten worshipping the Aten; design by Anand Balaji
12 May, 2018 - 01:59 anand balaji

Horemheb the Usurper: Monumental Oversight in a Project of Utter Destruction —Part II

(Read Part 1) By all counts, Horemheb was not only forced to remain subservient until the death of his immediate predecessor, Pharaoh Aye – a vizier-turned-ruler – but had faced a challenger in...
A limestone sculpture from the Temple of Amun in Thebes depicts Horemheb standing beside the state god; design by Anand Balaji
11 May, 2018 - 13:59 anand balaji

Horemheb the Usurper: Magical Potency and the Rough Road to the Throne—Part I

Usurpation of monuments and funerary goods occurred over much of ancient Egyptian history. Quite a few Pharaohs and nobles indulged in this practice—and far from our modern notion of greedy monarchs...
Relief of a funeral procession from the tomb of Merymery in Saqqara; design by Anand Balaji
6 May, 2018 - 22:51 anand balaji

Sem Priests of Ancient Egypt: In the Service of King and Country—Part II

An appointee of the Pharaoh himself, the role of the sem priest carried immense political and religious weightage. In many ways, this class of priest served as the bridge between the ruler and the...
Scene on the north wall in KV62 shows King Aye as sem priest, performing the “Opening of the Mouth” ritual on the mummy of Tutankhamun; design by Anand Balaji
6 May, 2018 - 13:56 anand balaji

Sem Priests of Ancient Egypt: Their Role and Impact in Funerary Contexts—Part I

The office of sem or setem priest of Ptah, the patron god of the craftsmen in Memphis, Lower Egypt, was a prestigious one. Considered a sacred feline with a connection to the Heliopolitan cult via...
The magnificent Boat of Khufu, Solar Boat Museum, Giza
3 May, 2018 - 19:01 Istvan Soros

The Great Boat of Khufu: The ‘Black Box’ to the Construction of the Pyramids

Perhaps this is not the first time that the reader will have heard of how in 1954 the Great Boat of Khufu was discovered, practically intact, at the southern face of the Kheops Pyramid, and how it is...
Detail from the side of a seat of a group sculpture shows a baboon holding a cosmetic pot or kohl eyeliner; design by Anand Balaji
2 May, 2018 - 01:59 anand balaji

Primates of Ancient Egypt: The Bizarre and Satirical Monkeys of Amarna—Part II

Baboons and monkeys were an inalienable part of the religious and artistic landscape in ancient Egypt. A wealth of depictions of these animals exists in varied media spanning all dynasties. But it is...
Detail from one of the canopic jars of Padiouf, a priest of Amun, shows the face of the god Hapy; design by Anand Balaj
1 May, 2018 - 18:53 anand balaji

Primates of Ancient Egypt: The Deification and Importance of Baboons and Monkeys—Part I

The ancient Egyptians populated their vast pantheon of gods and goddesses with an incredible menagerie of animals and birds. These deities served as protectors, law-givers, healers, patrons of the...
Gilded leopard head found in the Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62); design by Anand Balaji
29 April, 2018 - 22:52 anand balaji

The Felines of Tutankhamun: Leopards, a Symbol of Royalty and Divinity—Part II

Beginning with one of the earliest feline deities, Mafdet, the ancient Egyptian pantheon grew steadily as the years passed to include a wide range of creatures, both big and small – furry and...
Resin-stained wooden leopard found in the tomb of King Amenhotep II (KV35); design by Anand Balaji
29 April, 2018 - 13:58 anand balaji

The Felines of Tutankhamun: Leopard Changes its Spots to turn Black Panther?—Part I

The modest sepulcher of Pharaoh Tutankhamun was crammed to the brim with all manner of treasures produced in different shapes, sizes and materials. These objects can be clearly divided into two...

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