Reference to Mutbenret as “sister of the Great Royal Wife” comes from an inscription in the tomb of Meryre II at Tell el-Amarna; Tomb 7 in the southern group of Amarna’s private tombs. Meryre II was a Royal Scribe and Overseer of the House of the Great Royal Wife, serving Queen Nefertiti during the reign of Akhenaten.
Nefertiti, one of the most known figures of the ancient world. Her face is instantly recognisable, from Cairo to Berlin, alas, behind that famous visage lies a figure shrouded in mystery. Beyond the sculpted grace of surviving artworks, we know remarkably little. Her origins remain uncertain, her early life lost to time. We do not...
For the Ancient Egyptians, cyclical time was sacred. The daily rise and fall of the sun, the monthly phases of the moon, the annual flood of the Nile; all were manifestations of divine order. Festivals weren’t simply commemorations, they were re-enactments and activations of the eternal cycles that bound gods and nature together. Even when...
In 1290 B.C., Ramesses I, former general turned Pharaoh, was laid to rest in the Valley of the Kings, wrapped in linen and legacy. But centuries later, tomb robbers stirred, priests panicked, and the royal mummy was whisked away into hiding. Fast-forward to the 19th century, and his remains were quietly sold to curious foreigners and ended up, quite astonishingly, in a dusty glass case in Niagara Falls, Canada, labelled merely as an “Egyptian nobleman.”
The Ancient Egyptian Harem: An Opium-Drenched Fantasy or Refined Commune of Courtly Women?
The Bentresh Stela (also called the Stela of Bakhtan) is one of the most intriguing narrative monuments from Ancient Egypt, blending elements of myth, political theology, and religious propaganda. Though it claims to describe events during the reign of Ramesses II (c. 1279–1213 B.C.), modern scholars agree that it was erected centuries later, during the...
The moon god of Ancient Egypt, radiant son of Amun and Mut, and the silent companion of night travellers. Khonsu’s name meant “the traveller,” for he wandered nightly across the sky, marking time and guiding the tides of life and magic.
Often shown as a young male with a side-lock of youth and a lunar disc atop his head, or sometimes even as a falcon-headed figure, Khonsu was not only a celestial being, but a healer, an exorcist, and a protector against evil spirits.
In temples like that of Karnak, he was worshipped with mystery and reverence, his moonlit presence thought to hold sway over sickness, dreams, and divine power. He was the protector, providing a sacred glow to the Egyptian night.
Ani was a high-ranking scribe and treasury official who lived in Thebes during the 19th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, likely under the reign of Seti I or Ramesses II (c. 1290–1250 B.C.). Though his titles vary, he is often called the “Scribe of the Divine Offerings,” indicating a prestigious role in the temple economy. He...
“the good and beautiful swallow who remains in eternity,” In the bright blue skies of Ancient Egypt, few creatures fluttered with more quiet mystique than the humble swallow. Known to the Egyptians as menet or occasionally wer, this elegant little bird, most likely the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), with its deeply forked tail and acrobatic...
Thutmose’s workshop was discovered in early December 1912 by a German archaeological expedition led by Ludwig Borchardt. The workshop was located in what is now known as Amarna, previously called Akhetaten, the then new capital established by Akhenaten. The workshop was identified as belonging to Thutmose due to an ivory horse blinker found in a...
In 332 B.C., the ever-ambitious Alexander the Great, fresh from his triumphs in the Levant, swept into Egypt like a storm with sunshine at its centre. Egypt, weary under Persian rule, did not resist him. Quite the opposite; he was welcomed as a liberator. To the Egyptians, Alexander was not merely a foreign conqueror, but...
This vividly painted fragment comes from a Book of the Dead scroll dating from 19th Dynasty. The scene depicts a male scribe, identified by his title “Scribe of the House of the King”, offering incense and homage to the enthroned god Osiris, who is flanked by Isis. Behind the scribe stands a female figure bearing...
Min of Koptos, one of the most ancient and enigmatic deities of the Ancient Egyptian pantheon, was revered as a god of fertility, virility, and the regenerative forces of nature. Min symbolised masculine creative power at its most primal and enduring. His cult flourished especially in Koptos and Akhmim, where he was venerated as the...
