Tomb K64 in the Valley of the Kings – The Story as it Broke
This brief article was written on 15th January when the discovery of Tomb KV64 in the Valley of the Kings was formally announced. Please refer to the Addendum of 18th January for the latest news, which also corrects some of the orginal report. The tomb was announced in Luxor by Mansour Boraik in Luxor and [more…]
Edition - December, 2011
AWT Conference 2011 Review: Glass Faience and Pottery Making at Amarna (Paul Nicholson)
O45.1: An Ancient Industrial Estate Review by Kate Phizackerley. Published on Egyptological, Magazine Reviews, Edition 3, 7th December 2011 Introduction As described in the overview of the 2011 AWT Conference which I co-authored with Andrea Byrnes (see bottom of this review), Dr Paul Nicholson spoke about his excavation of the Amarna site designated O45.1, which [more…]
AWT Conference 2011 Review: Curse of the Pharaoh’s DNA (Jo Marchant)
Review by Kate Phizackerley. Published on Egyptological, Magazine Reviews, 7th December 2011 (Edition 3). Introduction Many people were looking forward to hearing Jo Marchant speak about the DNA tests undertaken by Drs Zink, Pusch et al, and she didn’t disappoint. She was an outstanding speaker. She opened her talk by describing DNA itself, a [more…]
Bust of Ptolemy I – British Museum
In addition to the usual variety of our photo albums, occasionally I like to add a small album of photos of a single item which can be used as a rescource for those writing about the topic. We know first hand how hard it can be to source images. So the images in this album [more…]
Edition - September, 2011
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…]
By Andrea Byrnes and Kate Phizackerley
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…]
By Andrea Byrnes and Kate Phizackerley
AWT Conference 2011 – Excavating in the Valley of the Kings (Stephen Cross)
As described in the overview of the 2011 AWT Conference co-authored with Andrea Byrnes, the closing keynote lecture was delivered by Stephen Cross. His lecture created a buzz in the room and that has continued since Andrea Byrnes and I first posted about it on our respective blogs. In this account of his lecture, I shall present the theory as described by Cross: this is intended as reportage not as as detailed critique, although obviously a certain level of commentary is included. [more…]
Egyptological Magazine – Edition 2
Welcome to the Second Edition of the Egyptological Magazine
In the Magazine we are pleased to see the return of two authors from the first edition. Brian Alm is continuing his popular series on the religion of the ancient Egyptians while Barbara O’Neill returns with another lavishly illustrated article. The image alongside, from the tomb of Nebamun is just one of the images in her article on the depiction of animal companions in tombs. We are delighted to welcome two new authors. Philip A. Femano has written a must-read article questioning the purpose of the blocking stones in the Ascending Passage of the Great Pyramid. Gary Beuk presents a biography of one of the best known early Egyptologists, and certainly the most colourful, Gionanni Battista Belzoni. Andrea Byrnes has added an article on the little known subject of Libyan Desert glass, a real treat for any Tutankhamun fans who have not heard of this unusual material found amongst his jewelery. We hope you will show your appreciation for all of our writers by leaving comments on their pieces. Our plan is for the Magazine to feature reviews as well as articles and you will find three of those as well, written by us. We attended the AWT conference last weekend and offer an overview and the first of our detailed reviews of invidual lectures. More will follow over the next few weeks. [more…]
By Andrea Byrnes and Kate Phizackerley
Green Stilstone Head of Late Dynastic King
This is a short album comprising three photographs (© Kate Phizackerley) of a single item on display in the British Museum London. Rather than show multiple objects I have shown a front view, a left side profile and a front right quarter view to give a much better impression of the head. The British Musuem [more…]
Book Review: The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon by William Cross (The Carnarvon Years)
This is a review of the first half of William Cross’s book which deals with the first half of Almina’s life and her marriage to the Fifth Earl Carnarvon, George Herbert. The book continues on to document the second half of her life which is in many ways more interesting, but of little interest [more…]
Edition - June, 2011
Bloggers, Antiquities and Egypt’s Revolution
In the last week of March 2011 an UNESCO team visited Egypt to meet with the new Minister of Culture and try to understand the state of the country’s antiquities following widespread reports of vandalism, theft and looting. Egypt has seven World Heritage Sites: six cultural heritage sites and the fossilized mangroves of the Faiyum’s Whale Valley. [more…]
By Andrea Byrnes and Kate Phizackerley
Gantenbrink’s Door – Part I: the Orginal Discovery
Although we now know that there is chamber at the end of the shafts in the Queen’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid, I still remember first hearing in the late 1990s that something had been found. The whole affair was shrouded in secrecy, back in the days when Dr. Hawass was the Director in charge of the Giza Plateau rather than Minister of State, the position he holds today. [more…]
Book Review: Royal Women of Amarna
Although the Royal Women of Amarna is usually credited to Dorothea Arnold, it was in fact written by a panel of authors who each contributed a section: James P Allen’s contribution is a very short chapter on Atenism, The Religion of Amarna L Green wrote a somewhat longer Who’s Who? of the Amarna period Dorothy [more…]
The Complete Valley of the Kings
The Complete Valley of the Kings – by Nicholas Reeves and Richard H Wilkinson. There is a small stack of books sat beneath my work table. The paperback edition of the Complete Valley of the Kings by Nicholas Reeves and Richard H Wilkinson has a deserved place in that privileged stack. It’s a very nice book, first published in hardback in 1996. The paperback didn’t appear until 2008. More recent books would have all photos in colour. [more…]
Sphinx Photos by Kate Phizackerley
These are some photographs of the Sphinx at Giza taken on a visit in 2003. [more…]
Egyptian Musuem Exterior by Kate Phizackerley
A couple of quick shots of the exterior of the Egyptian Musuem in Tahrir Square, Cairo. [more…]