What image do you conjure up when thinking of ancient Egypt? King Tutankhamun's Deathmask, a mummy or just the pyramids at Giza? I bet somewhere mixed among those images is probably that of a Pharoah astride his noble chariot riding into battle. But how did the chariot come to be a pivotal piece of ancient… Continue reading The Chariot in Ancient Egpyt- a military innovation
In wondering what topic to cover in this week’s blog I decided to have a random flick through a trusty book on Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddess. I have had this book for years and used it a lot when I was studying but this time, I decided to just have a random flick through… Continue reading Ruty – Protectors of the Horizons
What animal do you often associate with ancient Egypt? Cats, Crocodiles or even Cobras? I bet that it isn’t dogs. But the ancient Egyptians were also dog lovers. As it was recently International Dog day it seemed like it was time I covered our four legged friends. One of the words used for dog in… Continue reading Dogs in Ancient Egypt
Figure 1: A block of Lapis Lazuli named "The Owl" because of its distinctive shape from Afghanistan. (1 kg) https://www.gia.edu/lapis-lazuli-history-lore This week’s blog topic is Lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone that the ancient Egyptians prized and used in various ways, including jewellery, bowls, and funerary provisions. It really is a brilliant looking gemstone so I… Continue reading Lapis Lazuli – prized gemstone and hair of the Gods
This week’s topic is a little bit of a random one but is something you will have seen throughout Egyptian collections in museums, architecture and myths. The lotus. Types of Lotus The lotus isn’t the botanical term for this plant but the one used by Egyptologists to refer to the water lily or seshen in… Continue reading The Lotus in Ancient Egypt
This week, I will look at the life of the Pharaoh Horemheb last ruler of the 18th Dynasty. The inspiration for this weeks topic actually came from my last blog on the goddess Nut. As I used an image of Nut from his tomb in the Valley of the King – I had forgotten how… Continue reading Horemheb
Figure 1: Pectoral of the Sky Goddess Nut, with her name circled. From the Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62), Valley of the Kings, West Thebes. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 61944https://old.egypt-museum.com/post/638403734538518528/pectoral-of-sky-goddess-nut This week I decided to explore an ancient Egyptian goddess who played a pivotal role in Egyptian mythology and the cosmos at large. This goddess… Continue reading Nut – Mistress of the Heavens
With Valentine’s day recently been and gone love is still on the mind and with that I thought, I would explore the world of romance in ancient Egypt through the art they produced to reflect romance. Orientalist thoughts have led us to believe one of two views about the world of romance in ancient Egypt.… Continue reading Romance in Ancient Egypt
This week I am exploring the ‘Two Ladies’ Nekhbet and Wadjet. Now you may be wondering who these two ladies are, take a guess for me. Are they a pair of famous Queens, heroines from myth or something completely different all together? I will clarify, the Two Ladies are goddesses for ancient Egypt. They are… Continue reading The Two Ladies – Nekhbet and Wadjet
This week I am exploring the relationship between ancient Egyptians and the hippopotamus, a creature that sadly no longer calls the Nile home disappearing in antiquity around ca.1550-107 BCE. The ancient Egyptians had a wary relationship to hippopotami and that is reflected in the stark distinction they made between the males and females. Ancient Egyptians… Continue reading Hippopotami in Ancient Egypt
The Curious Egyptologist 