Egyptology

King Tut’s Burial Mask Has Been “Irreversibly Damaged”

The most famous archaeological relic in the world has been damaged during a botched cleaning attempt. After being knocked off, the blue and gold braided beard on King Tut’s burial mask was “hastily” glued back on with an inappropriate adhesive, damaging the item even further. Above: King Tut’s burial mask before the incident. (Egyptian Museum…

Archaeologists Have Uncovered The Tomb Of An Unknown Egyptian Queen 

Czech archaeologists working in Egypt have discovered the tomb of a previously unknown queen. Named Khentakawess III, she is thought to have been the wife of Pharaoh Neferefre who reigned 4,500 years ago. The discovery was made by Miroslav Barta and his team from the Czech Institute of Egyptology, reports Agence France-Presse. The tomb is…

Archaeologists Have Dig Licenses Revoked After “Million Mummies” Claim

A team of archaeologists from Brigham Young University in Utah have had their excavation license revoked by the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry after claiming to have discovered “one million mummies.” Top image: A “mummified” 18-month girl with bracelets on both arms (Credit: BYU Excavations) Last week, BYU team leader Kerry Muhlestein announced the discovery of a…

This Is The Actual Seal That Secured King Tutankhamun’s Tomb

Imagine being an archaeologist exploring ancient shrines in Egypt and stumbling upon this 3,245-year-old unbroken seal. Such was the sight that greeted Howard Carter in 1923 as he prepared to enter King Tut’s astounding shrine for the first time. This incredible photograph was taken by Harry Burton in 1923. It shows a still-intact seal made…

Illegal Dig Of 3,400 Year-Old Temple Lands Seven People In Jail

An Egyptian family recently found the remains of a 3,400 year-old temple underneath their home. So they did what any would-be archaeologists would do: They started digging. They’ve now been arrested by the police for illegal excavation. As Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram reports, the find was made two weeks ago. But instead of reporting it…

Skull Of 3,300 Year-Old Egyptian Woman Found With Hair Extensions

Archaeologists working at the Amarna site in Egypt recently analyzed a selection of 100 skulls dug out from a cemetery. Many of the remains exhibited elaborate hairstyles, including one with more than 70 hair extensions and another with red henna hair dye. As reported in Live Science, the remains were found near Amarna — a…

Ancient Egyptian Art Contains The Records of Past Extinctions

Six thousand years ago, the Egyptian wilderness was a very different place. Lions ruled, zebras gathered in large herds, giraffes foraged from tall trees. We know that, in part, thanks to drawings on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs. Can ancient art help us better understand modern Egyptian wildlife? Fossilized remains of plants and animals…

This is the oldest known depiction of circumcision being performed. It’s a colorful restoration of a bas-relief found in an Egyptian tomb built for Ankhmabor in Sakkara, Egypt and dating back to around 2400 B.C.E.

Ancient Mummified Fetus Found in Tiny Egyptian Sarcophagus

A suspected fake mummy currently on display in Wales is in fact the real deal — and it contains a fetus 12 to 16 weeks into development. The remarkable finding indicates that the deaths of young children as well as miscarriages were not treated casually. Known as W1013, the 20-inch artifact is a case made…

Egyptian Rim? Foxjust ordered 13 episodes of Hieroglyph, an adventure show set in ancient Egypt featuring “magic, gods and goddesses,” from Pacific Rim writer Travis Beacham. Hieroglyph follows “a notorious thief who is plucked from prison to serve the Pharoah,” encountering a world of concubines, conspirators and sorcerers.

That mummy found in a German attic contains human bones

Early last month, a ten-year-old German boy found a mummy in his grandmother’s attic. Many considered it a hoax. But a radiological analysis shows that the mummy contains actual human bones, though probably not from an ancient Egyptian. The find could open a criminal case. https://gizmodo.com/german-boys-finds-a-mummy-in-his-grandmothers-attic-1027233905 According to the German newspaper Kreiszeitung, CT scans and…

This Ancient Egyptian Jewelry Came from Space

Archaeologists working at the UCL Petrie Museum have shown that ancient Egyptians made jewelry from chunks of meteorite. Even more remarkable is the realization that they made these items over 5,000 years ago — nearly two millennia before the emergence of iron smelting. Top image: The meteoric iron beads, which are now heavily corroded, are…

German boy finds a mummy in his grandmother’s attic

Last week, 10-year-old Alex Kettler stumbled upon three mysterious cases in a corner of his grandmother’s attic. Neither his grandmother nor his father knew what was inside — so they pried them open to take a look. You can imagine their surprise at discovering a large sarcophagus holding a true-to-life mummy. https://gizmodo.com/the-science-of-mummies-993265763 When they opened…

Why is this ancient Egyptian statue slowly turning by itself!?

Talk about spooky: There’s a statuette in a Manchester Museum display case that’s slowly rotating — completely on its own — over the course of the day until it’s facing the opposite direction. It might be the curse of Neb-Sanu — or perhaps something much simpler. The 10-inch tall statuette of Neb-Sanu, which has been…

New DNA analysis suggests Nefertiti was King Tut’s mom

A genetic investigation by French archaeologist Marc Gabolde is threatening to rewrite the history books on two of ancient Egypt’s most iconic figures. For years, antiquities experts have assumed that Akhenaten and his unnamed sister were the parents of the world’s most famous pharaoh, Tutankhamun. And in fact, recent DNA analyses suggested as much. But…

Egyptian princess’s tomb dating from 2,500 BC found near Cairo

Czech archaeologists have discovered a 4,500-year-old tomb of a Pharaonic princess named Shert Nebti just south of Cairo. The ancient burial site, which is located at the Abu Sir complex near the famed step pyramid of Saqqara, is surrounded by the tombs of four high officials from the Fifth Dynasty dating to around 2,500 BC.…

An archaeological first: sixteen severed hands found buried in ancient Egyptian city

It’s a grisly find, but an unprecedented one, as well. Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed 16 severed hands, buried in four pits throughout the ancient city of Avaris. Interestingly, if you’re looking for left hands, you’re out of luck; every one of the newly discovered meathooks is a righty. Two of the pits are situated…

The weird, sad story of Egyptian animal mummies

Pharaohs were far from the only ancient Egyptians to be mummified. An entire ancient industry grew up around supplying people with mummified pets to accompany them into the afterlife. Business was even big enough to drive entire species extinct. According to Egyptologists, bringing a pet with you to the afterlife conferred all sorts of benefits.…

Help decode ancient Egyptian texts by playing a puzzle game

Want to help transcribe ancient Greek texts from the comfort of your couch? Have no understanding of the Greek language? That’s ok! With Egypt Exploration Society and Oxford University’s Ancient Lives project, you can contribute to the work of researchers who are digitizing — and eventually decoding — the vast holdings of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri,…

5000-year-old carving depicts Egypt’s earliest known pharaoh

The pharaohs ruled Egypt for over three thousand years, and the story of the very last pharaoh – you might know her as Cleopatra – is famous to this day. But what about the very first pharaohs? It’s hard to comprehend just how long-lived the Egyptian state really was. It will be another thousand years…