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Book Review: Gifts of the Nile – Ancient Egyptian Faience (Florence Dunn Friedman)

Faience was celebrated in the exhibition “Gifts of the Nile, ” which was organized by The Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design in Cleveland (U.S.), where it opened in 1998 before it then travelled to the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth in Texas (U.S.). Published to accompany the exhibition, the book Gifts of the Nile brings together academic insights, an exhibition catalogue, and colour plates.  [more…]

Notes on the Goddess Pakhet

Notes on the Goddess Pakhet

In her article on Hatshepsut in the December 2011 edition of the Magazine, Barbara O’Neill mentions the deity Pakhet. The following introduces what little is known about this elusive deity. Pakhet was represented in the form of a woman with a lion’s head (figure 1- click to see the bigger image). She looks very like leonine representations of Sekhmet and Bastet and was often associated with them.  [more…]

Edition - November, 2011

Edition 3 - Coming next week

Edition 3 – Coming next week

This is a quick update to let you know that the new edition of Egyptological will be out on December 7th, with new articles in both the Journal and Magazine sections, together with our latest Photo Album, with topics ranging from the Early Dynastic to the Coptic periods, taking in the Eighteenth Dynasty along the […] [more…]

Wanted – Pictures of Dyntasty 0 Scorpion Items

We have a forthcoming article on the Scorpion King and it is proving hard to find pictures of some items without copyright restrictions.  If anybody has any suitable photographs we could use, could you please contact me in the next few days.   Thanks Kate [more…]

Edition - October, 2011

Small Update and Dates for Next Editions

We made some small changes to the site a few days ago, tweaking the Home menu to highlight editions, renaming “Leader Articles” as “Latest Articles” and clarifying what is shown there – the articles from the latest edition. We will continue to evolve the layout of the site in response to readers’ feedback and as […] [more…]

AWT Conference 2011 Review: House and Home at el-Amarna by Kate Spence

Review by Andrea Byrnes.  Published on Egyptological, Magazine Reviews, 29th September 2011. AWT Conference 2011.  House and Home at el-Amarna: some thoughts on domestic architecture by Dr Kate Spence   Introduction Dr Kate Spence of the University of Cambridge introduced the audience to an area of the city of Amarna which formed an equivalent of […] [more…]

AWT Conference 2011 Review: Christianity on the Edge by Gillian Pyke

Review by Andrea Byrnes and Kate Phizackerley.  Published on Egyptological, Magazine Reviews, 29th September 2011.   AWT Conference 2011 – Christianity on the Edge:  The North Tombs Settlement at Amarna. By Gillian Pyke.   Introduction Gillian Pyke was the only speaker at the 2011AWT Conference to discuss aspects of Amarna which date to outside the […] [more…]

Figure 1. Fig. 1. Vertical cross section of the Great Pyramid of Giza showing the main passages and chambers. The rectangle insert shows the region of Fig. 2. The red arrow points to the granite plugs at the bottom of the Ascending Passage. (modified from Piazzi Smyth, Life and Work at the Great Pyramid, Vol.1, Plate 3, 1866).

The Granite Plugs of the Great Pyramid

The Great Pyramid on the Giza plateau at the apex of the Nile delta is one of the oldest and largest and yet perhaps the most enigmatic manmade structure in recorded history. Egyptologists have determined that it was commissioned by the pharaoh Khufu in the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom to be his royal tomb. Figure 1 shows a vertical cross section indicating the main passages and chambers. However, within these passages and chambers are many elements of construction that are difficult to explain within the context of a royal tomb. This article focuses on one such enigma: the set of three massive granite blocks that plug the lower end of the Ascending Passage. [more…]

Some of the Conference Audience Relaxing

AWT Conference 2011 (Amarna) – Overview

The 2011 Ancient World Tours Conference was held at UCL, London over the weekend of 3rd and 4th September and focused on Amarna. The authors attended and offer this overview of the conference. Over the next ten days or so, we shall also be publishing detailed reviews of about half of the sessions in the Magazine section of Egyptological (and will formally become part of the next edition).  [more…]

Figure 14. bHn dog beneath chair. Tomb of Nebamun. Photgraph by P. Gorgori

Eternal Companions – The Creatures Who Could Speak to God

Animals were a ritually charged symbol of life, lavishly represented in Egypt’s literature, arts, and crafts. They were believed to be creatures of the gods with the ability to communicate directly with a range of deities. Indeed, animal vocalisation was perceived as a secret language understood by the gods. The prominence of animals within Egyptian elite culture however, did not result in the animal loving traditions which exist today. Animal necropolises throughout Egypt bear witness to the fact that many creatures, including those we now value as domestic pets, were routinely strangled mummified and presented as votive offerings to gods with which the animals were associated. [more…]