From the trinkets of the tomb to the mummy of the queen herself, the discovery of Cleopatra’s mausoleum could rewrite our understanding of the ancient world.
Howard Carter examining the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun.
IanDagnall Computing/Alamy
From the curse that the papers latched on to new research suggesting that Howard Carter stole objects from the tomb, Tutankhamun’s discovery continues to grab attention.
The discovery of his tomb full of magnificent and unique objects is more than a story of treasures. It’s also a story of class, privilege, colonialism, political freedom and national identity.
Promoting and practicing ethical research that includes the people who live in the area today is as important to the archaeological team as learning more about the lives of the ancient inhabitants.
Hausa is the most widely known Chadic language, spoken by some 80 million people or more. It’s harder to grasp the history of other, unwritten Chadic languages.
Irene Becker/Contributor/Getty Images
Both the art of BoJack Horseman and of ancient Egyptian artists places great emphasis on balance and proportion.
Some ancient theologians argued that the Israelites deserved a share of Egypt’s wealth after being enslaved for centuries.
Culture Club/Hulton Archive via Getty Images
We sometimes call Egypt the ‘civilisation without cities’. The Lost Golden City of Amenhotep III will bring new understanding of Ancient Egyptian urban life.
Though often seen as placid, turtles have been depicted as powerful, fighting animals since ancient times. One of the most famous battleships, the Korean Geobukseon, was called the ‘Turtle Ship’.
A depiction of a man milking a cow found on one of the walls of ancient burial tombs south of present-day Cairo dating from 2340 BC.
Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images
Natural landscape changes in the Nile Delta may have not only stimulated local take up of farming technologies, but might also have played a role in the emergence of the first “nation state”.
An Egyptian winged scarab amulet (circa 1070 –945 BC).
Believed to possess magical qualities, amulets were once widely used. They range from amber pendants worn during Denmark’s Mesolithic age to wind chimes found at Pompeii.
Intentionally mutilated head of Egyptian Pharaoh Hatshepsut.
Elizabeth Ellis
As US protesters deface monuments of once revered leaders, they are drawing from an ancient tradition used by both marginalized people and those in power.
Through archaeological studies of architecture, excavated trade goods, and ecofacts we can trace globalisation back thousands of years.
A scene from the Books of the Dead (based at the Egyptian Museum) shows the ibis-headed god Thoth recording the result of “the final judgement”.
Wasef et al./PLOS ONE
An estimated 1.75 million ibises were deposited at a single location in ancient Egypt. But the birds disappeared entirely from the region around 1850, and no one knows why.