Nefertiti, her image forever frozen in the now famous limestone bust, has been hailed as one of the most beautiful and fascinating women of all time.

At a young age Nefertiti married Akhenaten, the enigmatic ruler of the most powerful kingdom of the Bronze Age world. By the age of thirty, Nefertiti had given birth to six daughters and achieved a position of enormous influence as mother-goddess and the living symbol of fertility within the perfect family. Together, she and the king presided over the magnificent Egyptian court of Amarna, acknowledged to be the centre of the civilized world. Then suddenly she disappeared from the official records of the times. Her death and the whereabouts of her body remain a mystery.

In this fascinating tale of detection Joyce Tyldesley draws on evidence from archaeological remains, historical documents and art of the period, to explore beyond the myths and offer illuminating insights into the life and times of the much-loved sun queen and the dazzling court of Akhenaten at Amarna.

Excavations in the town of Elephantine between 1972 and 1991 uncovered more than 1600 clay seals, cylinder seals and various other sealing materials, forming one of the largest and most important seal assemblages from an urban Early Dynastic and early Old Kingdom site. At the heart of this substantial study is a catalogue of types, inscriptions and names, supported by an analysis of royal administration on the island of Elephantine, its social organisation and its professions. German text, English summary.

This detailed examination of the architecture of the tombs of Egyptian officials during the 18th Dynasty is based on a catalogue of Theban tombs. Making geographical and chronological comparisons, Wasmuth discusses evidence for architectural innovations, particularly in the extremely elaborate layout of chambers and passages. The study is illustrated throughout with tomb plans while the catalogue includes details of inscriptions and epithets as well as descriptions of the tomb design. German text.

Aimed primarily at Egyptologists and archaeologists, this book covers all aspects of craftwork in ancient Egypt, from the construction of the pyramids and the carving of statues to techniques of mummification, boat-building, jewelery making, ancient brewing, carpentry, hairstyling, tailoring and basket weaving. Drawing on archaeological, experimental, ethnographic and laboratory work, it is the first book since the 1920s to describe current research into the actual basics of life in Pharaonic Egypt. The twenty-five chapters, by well-regarded scholars, present up-to-date and accessible information on a wide array of techniques.

In der AEgyptologie werden oekonomische Fragen stiefmutterlich behandelt. Diese Studie beschreibt die OEkonomie der ersten Halfte des 2. Jahrtausends und die Umwelt, in die diese OEkonomie eingebettet ist, als Mosaik. Die Metapher 'Mosaik' verwendet Mosaiksteine, welche Teile eines Bildes darstellen koennen. Einzelne Mosaiksteine sind offen fur eine Integration in andere moegliche Bilder. Wo immer moeglich beruhen Mosaiksteine auf Daten aus der betrachteten Periode, andere Mosaiksteine tragen als Modelle zum Mosaik bei. Verschiedene Mosaiksteine bestehen aus Schatzungen z.B. zu Produktion und Konsum. Das Mosaik soll ermoeglichen, das AEgypten der betrachteten Periode als lebende Gesellschaft darzustellen. Es ist kaum uberraschend, dass verschiedene Facetten des Bildes hypothetischen Charakter haben und das Mosaik zu einem betrachtlichen Teil unvollstandig ist. Das Feld, fehlende oder auch konkurrierende Mosaiksteine in weiteren Studien zu entwickeln, ist weit offen. Heqanachts Papyri bilden die Basis fur den Versuch, einen konkreten Haushalt im Bild der wirtschaftlichen Struktur des Landes darzustellen, als fragmentarische Emergenz einer Momentaufnahme, einer Mikrogeschichte.

This book provides an overview of the sites of Mycenaean pottery finds in Egypt and Nubia. Data from thirty-six sites in Egypt and twelve sites in Nubia are presented. The context of the vessels and sherds dates from the reign of Akhenaten (18th Dynasty) to that of Ramesses VI (20th Dynasty). The imported vessels were found in the capital cities as well as in fortresses, other cities and tombs. Stirrup jars and flasks came to light frequently. Copies of Mycenaean stirrup jars made from clay, faience and stone were also found. The oldest sherd of an imitation vessel was found in Amarna; hence, the Mycenaean vessel shape (stirrup jar prevailing) was copied outside of Mycenaean Greece in the 18th Dynasty and filled with local liquids-possibly oil-and traded with Egypt. Egyptians not only imported vessels from the Levant but also produced imitation vessels themselves. Apparently, these vessels circulated only within Egypt. Chemical analyses of sherds from different sites reveal that the vessels found in 18th Dynasty contexts were made on the Mycenaean mainland. During the Ramesside period (19th-20th Dynasty) trading contacts with Mycenaean Greece shifted to Cyprus, where high quality Mycenaean pottery was produced.

The numbering system for the Early Egyptian inscriptions, which was originally introduced by J. Kahl (1994) and which was expanded by I. Regulski in her Database of Early Dynastic inscriptions, is mapped on the numbering system defined by J. Kahl, N. Kloth and U. Zimmermann (1995) for the 3rd Dynasty inscription and on this of P. Kaplony (IAEF, IAEFS, KBIAEF). The numbering system has been expended to provide a unique identifier for each inscription that can be used as a reference in databases and printed publications. (German introduction.)

Egyptomania,"" the West's obsession with the strange and magnificent world of Ancient Egypt, has for centuries been reflected in architecture, literature and the performing arts. But the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922, by a sensation-hungry world newly united by mass media, created a wave of fascination unlike anything before. They called it ""Tutmania"" and its influence was felt everywhere from fashion to home decor to popular music - and notably in the new medium of film. This study traces the origins of 20th century cinema's obsession with Ancient Egypt through previous eras and relates its recurring themes and ideas to the historical reality of the land of the Pharaohs.

In ancient Egypt, one of the primary roles of the king was to maintain order and destroy chaos. Since the beginning of Egyptian history, images of foreigners were used as symbols of chaos and thus shown as captives being bound and trampled under the king's feet. The early 18th dynasty (1550-1372 BCE) was the height of international trade, diplomacy and Egyptian imperial expansion. During this time new images of foreigners bearing tribute became popular in the tombs of the necropolis at Thebes, the burial place of the Egyptian elite. This volume analyses the new presentation of foreigners in these tombs. Far from being chaotic, they are shown in an orderly fashion, carrying tribute that underscores the wealth and prestige of the tomb owner. This orderliness reflects the ability of the Egyptian state to impose order on foreign lands, but also crucially symbolises the tomb owner's ability to overcome the chaos of death and achieve a successful afterlife. Illustrated with colour plates and black-and-white images, this new volume is an important and original study of the significance of these images for the tomb owner and the functioning of the funerary cult.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, growing numbers of tourists and scholars from Europe and America, fascinated by new discoveries, visited the Near East and Egypt - attracted by the riches and mysteries of the Land of the Bible. Almost all such visitors, no matter how esoteric or academic their pursuits, had to deal with the local authorities and the native workforce for their archaeological excavations. The vast majority of these visitors had to rely on interpreters, dragomans, translators and local guides. This study, based on published and unpublished travel memoirs, guidebooks, personal papers and archaeological reports of the British and American archaeologists, deals with the socio-political status and multi-faceted role of interpreters at the time. Those bi- or multi-lingual individuals frequently took on (or were forced to take on) much more than just interpreting. They often played the role of go-betweens, servants, bodyguards, pimps, diplomats, spies, messengers, managers and overseers, and had to mediate, scheme and often improvise, whether in an official or unofficial capacity. For the most part denied due credit and recognition, these interpreters are finally here given a new voice. An engrossing story emerges of how through their many and varied actions and roles, they had a crucial part to play in the introduction to Britain and America of these mysterious past cultures and civilizations.

The book is an edition of an ancient Egyptian cosmology for which there is no known parallel. The cosmology was written in the demotic script and preserved in a manuscript dating to the 2nd century AD. Although once of considerable extent, this manuscript now survives only in fragments. These are scattered among three collections. The Egyptian text gives an account of how the cosmos first came into being, explains how it developed, and describes the agencies through which it is maintained and continues to function up until the present day. It lays particular stress upon the role played by the watery mass called the Noun, or Primaeval Ocean, in each of these processes. The Ocean is the source from which the first life emerged, and all subsequent existence is played out on it and in interaction with it. In this edition, each of the constituent fragments of the manuscript is transliterated, translated, and commented upon in detail. An introduction describes the process by which these fragments were identified, joined together where possible, and arranged in their present order. A chapter of summary gives an overview of the cosmological doctrines set forth in the manuscript and compares these with similar ideas preserved in earlier and contemporary sources, both Egyptian and Greek. There is also a full bibliography, a glossary, and photographic plates depicting the individual fragments of the text.

This volume extends Breasted's remarkable documentary history through the reign of King Tutankhamun. By providing the first definitive transcription and the first English version of hundreds of historical records inscribed on papyrus or leather or carved in stone, Breasted gave unprecedented access to details of royal succession, military conquest, religious upheaval, administrative complexity, and other aspects of ancient Egyptian civilization. Originally published in the first decade of the twentieth century, his monumental work appears here in paperback for the first time. The Eighteenth Dynasty saw the consolidation of the cult of Amun and the expansion of the temple of Amun-Re at Karnak, as well as a religious revolution under King Akhenaten that involved abandoning Thebes as a religious capital and royal residence and founding a new city devoted to the service of the new solar god, Aten. Breasted presents records of the biography and coronation of Queen Hatshepsut, including reliefs that depict the queen's expedition to the land of Punt. Also in this volume are the annals of Thutmose III, providing the most complete account of the military achievements of any Egyptian king; scenes representing the supernatural birth and coronation by the gods of his son, Amenhotep II; and inscriptions from the tomb of Rekhmire, prime minister or vizier under Thutmose III, that include a listing of taxes paid to the temple and foreign tribute proceeding from the king's two decades of military activity in Asia. A herculean assemblage of primary documents, many of which have deteriorated to illegibility since its original publication, Ancient Records of Egypt illuminates both the incredible complexity of Egyptian society and the almost insuperable difficulties of reconstructing a lost civilization.

This work addresses the question of the Egyptian Hegemony during the 13th century BCE: its nature and its cultural processes, and the analysis of the Egyptian-style pottery in three Canaanite City-States is used to provide the proofs of the Egyptian presence there. The author has chosen the archaeological sites of Hazor, Megiddo and Lachish for a case study. Situated in three different regions of Southern Canaan, these three cities are known to be powerful and rich during the 13th century BCE. The Egyptian pottery of these sites has been identified and classified in a typology with numerous parallels to the Egyptian contemporaneous sites. A fabric analysis has been made from description of a fresh break section taken from each sample studied and, in a few cases completed by a petrographic analysis. All the data are gathered in an electronic database and can be consulted for further studies about this corpus. From the interpretation of the corpus, the author presents a spatial analysis of the Egyptian-Style pottery for each identified building in each site in order to shed light on an Egyptian presence at these cities and to qualify this presence.

An assemblage of stone vessels and stone statues belongs to the extensive archaeological material brought to light during the excavations conducted by the Czech Institute of Egyptology in the mortuary complex of king Neferre (5th Dynasty) at Abusir. Neferres' assemblage represents a unique archaeological complex where the artefacts are complemented with their recorded archaeological context (structure, site, etc). The monograph includes not only the analysis of the stone vessels assemblage by its material characteristics, but also a separate chapter on certain aspects of the stone statues found in Neferre's mortuary complex.

Sinds meer dan een eeuw zijn Belgische archeologische missies aan het werk in Egypte. Veel van de door hen geleverde inspanningen en behaalde resultaten ontgaan het grote publiek. Dit boek probeert daaraan tegemoet te komen en biedt de lezer een overzicht van alle wetenschappelijke activiteiten die de voorbije eeuw door Belgische archeologische missies in Egypte werden verricht.

The small town of Pathyris, modern Gebelein, is located south of Thebes. After a huge revolt suppressed in 186 B.C., a Ptolemaic military camp was built in this town, where local people could serve as soldiers-serving-for-pay. The Government took several initiatives to Hellenize the town, resulting in a bilingual society. The town produced hundreds of papyri and ostraka, discovered during legal excavations and illegal diggings at the end of the 19th century and in the 20th century. Katelijn Vandorpe and Sofie Waebens describe the history of the town and reconstruct the bilingual archives by using, among other things, prosopographical data and the method of museum archaeology.