Egyptology, like all the sciences, is constantly evolving as new discoveries are made and old theories are disproved. But it is also influenced by the prevailing mood and fashions of the time, and by the motives of those making the discoveries. Several of the articles in this issue illustrate this point. The theory proposed by Charles Piazzi Smyth, as outlined in John Taylor’s article, that all the dimensions of Khufu’s Great Pyramid were multiples of a ‘pyramid inch’ were accepted by many at the time. Smyth, despite his sound scientific training as an astronomer, also believed that the inch ..read more

Ramesses the Great enjoyed a very long life and achieved the immortality so coveted by all Egyptians – the cartouche of his name can still be seen on monuments throughout the country. His success as pharaoh, at least in part, can be attributed to the care with which his father Sety I prepared him for the role, as Peter Brand explains. Ironically, the most famous pharaoh of all, Tutankhamun, owes his immortality to the chance preservation of his small tomb. Had the tomb not been discovered, the boy king would have been largely forgotten. His successors erased his name from the records, and eve ..read more

Geoffrey Lenox-Smith has been ‘out and about’ in Giza, and it is clear from his report that the Grand Egyptian Museum will be spectacular when it is fully open. Already there are colossal statues and obelisks gathered from various locations and displayed in a way that makes them easy to study, although the current restriction on photography will disappoint many professional Egyptologists and passionate amateurs if it becomes permanent. If mobile phones are allowed, with the problems caused by their automatic flash and people insisting on taking ‘selfies’, surely the use of cameras (perhaps re ..read more

Egyptology can be full of surprises, as the articles in this issue illustrate. Although most of our readers will be aware that the famous Cleopatra was the seventh Egyptian queen with that name, it will come as news to some. Over the next few issues, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones will tell us about them all, starting with Cleopatra I, ‘the Syrian’. Excavation of archaeological sites in Egypt continues to unearth unexpected new treasures. In the past, most of the Egyptian and foreign missions have concentrated on sites in Middle and Upper Egypt, where the dry conditions have led to the better preserva ..read more

Economic records indicate that the priesthood was a major institution in ancient Egypt. The Abusir Papyri reveal that long after the death of the Fifth Dynasty ruler Neferirkara (c.2475-2455 BC), there were between 250 and 300 individuals associated with his funerary cult at his temple at Abusir. The Great Harris Papyrus informs us that, at Karnak during the New Kingdom more than 80,000 people (not all of whom were priests) either worked at the temple, or were associated with the landholdings and temple workshops – all dedicated to the purpose of maintaining the domain of Amun. A facsimile p ..read more

As Hilary Wilson explains in her article ‘A Wish List for Eternity’ in this issue, the ancient Egyptians had an extraordinary respect for the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the walls of their tombs, believing that speaking the names of the foods listed would magically cause them to be made available to the tomb-owner in the afterlife. Similarly, they believed that speaking the name of the deceased would ensure that he or she would have life after death. Because of this, pharaohs inscribed their names at every opportunity on their monuments and statues, often on those made by their predecessors ..read more

Peter J Brand begins a new series focusing on the Ramesside Period by exploring the divinity of the early Ramesside kings. The ‘Ramesses Ra of Rulers’ colossus at Luxor Temple. Image: Robert B Partridge Divine kingship was as old as Egyptian civilisation itself, when the Predynastic kings of Hierakonpolis (Nekhen) ruled as avatars on earth of the falcon god Horus. Pharaoh was entitled the ‘Good God, the Son of Ra’. Egypt’s gods and goddesses were his fathers and mothers. In life he was the incarnation of Horus; in death, his identity fused with Osiris, Lord of the Underworld. But there wer ..read more

The exhibition Golden Mummies of Egypt opens in February at Manchester Museum for its only European showing after an international tour that has included venues in the USA and China. Curator Campbell Price discusses the artefacts on display and their significance to the Greek and Roman Egyptians and to modern visitors. The gilded cartonnage outer decoration of the mummified body of a woman. From Hawara, c.AD 100. Mummies, gold, and an obsessive belief in the afterlife – these concepts are all central to our image of ancient Egypt. But how important were they to the Egyptians, and how long d ..read more

As with any discipline that has its roots centuries ago, Egyptology has its myths: theories that fitted the facts as they were known at that time, but which have since become untenable in the light of new discoveries. Since the original ideas have been immortalised in textbooks, they become accepted and unchallenged. In the last issue, for example, Bob Brier presented convincing proof that Tutankhamun was a warrior pharaoh rather than a sickly child, and in this issue Taneash Sidpura presents the results of his PhD research into ‘golden flies’, particularly those found in the grave good ..read more

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