General

• 'Carpentry in ancient Egypt', Archaeological Diggings, 2003, vol. 10, no. 3, Jun.-Jul., pp. 38-41.
  The ancient Egyptians were remarkably skilful in making tables, chairs and boxes with joints that are still being used today. Carpentry in ancient Egypt was all the more remarkable because of the scarcity of timber. Apart from a few acacia trees, tamarisk and willow, Egypt had virtually none of its own trees that could be used for woodwork. Most of the wood had to be imported from Lebanon. [Abstract from article]
• Pain, Stephanie 2000, 'Something blue', New Scientist, vol. 165, no. 2222, 22 Jan., pp. 44-5.
  The knowledge of how to create the vivid blue pigments used by Egyptian painters had disappeared in Europe by the 9th century, although both the Greeks and Romans knew how to create it, and it wasn't until a pot of blue paint was unearthed at Pompeii in 1814 that modern chemists started to piece together how the Egyptians produced this brilliant colour. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Robins, Richard; Munn, Kevin 1999, 'Ancient wildlife on show', Wildlife Australia, vol. 36, no. 1, Aut., pp. 29-31.
  In the museum exhibition Life and Death Under the Pharaohs, the artifacts include a wide variety of animals, and the article discusses the place animals played in ancient Egyptian society. Includes photographs. [Abstract from Austguide]

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Antiquities

• Agnew, Neville; Maekawa, Shin 1999, 'Preserving Nefertari's legacy', Scientific American, vol. 281, no. 4, Oct., pp. 52-7.
  Nefertari was the favourite wife of Pharaoh Ramses II. The paintings in her tomb are unique in their vivid colour, detail and richness, but the tomb was closed in the 1930s because of their deterioration. The paintings have now been conserved in a process that employed a range of experts and took eight years to complete. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Hawass, Zahi 2003, 'Egypt's forgotten treasures', National Geographic Magazine, vol. 203, no. 1, Jan., pp. 74-87.
  To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Egyptian Museum, a special exhibition containing artifacts from the vast storerooms of the museum of treasures from Ancient Egypt that have never before been seen in public was organised. The article looks at some of these long-hidden artifacts. [Abstract from Austguide]
• 'Karnak's wonder of the world', Archaeological Diggings, 2002, vol. 9, no. 2, Apr.-May, pp. 23-6.
  The Temple of Karnak, justifiably regarded as one of the wonders of the world, is named after a nearby village just north of Luxor. The temple has been called 'Egypt's history in stone' because for 1000 years, every pharaoh added chapels and pylons, statues and reliefs, gateways and courtyards in his own honour and to the glory of Amun. [Abstract from article]
• 'The message of Medinet Habu', Archaeological Diggings, 2003, vol. 10, no. 1, Feb.-Mar., pp. 23-6.
  One of the best preserved temples in Egypt is that of Rameses III on the West Bank at Luxor, and it is one of the most controversial. Surrounded by huge mud-brick walls eight metres high, it contains remains of one of the few surviving royal palaces that belonged to the Pharaohs. It is a spectacular temple covering 141m x 50m. [Abstract from article]
• Pain, Stephanie 2001, 'The case of the four-armed corpse', New Scientist, vol. 171, no. 2306, 1 Sep., pp. 48-9.
  The Riqqeh pectoral is a masterpiece of Egyptian jewellery. Made to accompany its owner to the afterlife, its design included figures to protect the owner from tomb raiders. This article describes the circumstances of its discovery in 1904, which indicate that ancient tomb raiders had tried, unsuccessfully, to steal this precious piece of jewellery. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Young, Penny 2002, 'Rock art in Egypt', History Today, vol. 52, no. 9, Sep., p. 5.
  Scores of pictures carved on rock faces in the eastern Egyptian desert 6000 years ago are throwing new light on the prehistoric origins of the civilisation of the Pharaohs. [Abstract from Austguide]

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Archaeology

• Alexander, Doug 2000, 'Remains of the day', Geographical Magazine, vol. 72, no. 11, Nov., pp. 74-6.
  Underwater archaeological work associated with the Egyptian city of Alexandria began in 1911 with the discovery of massive submerged structures. Modern techniques, beginning in 1992 as discussed here, have added immeasurably to our knowledge of the archaeology of the city. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Hawass, Zahi 2001, 'Egypts hidden tombs revealed', National Geographic Magazine, vol. 200, no. 3, Sep., pp. 32-41.
  A team of archaeologists led by Zahi Hawass, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, has located the tombs of Zed-Khons-uef-ankh, and his family, the governor of the rich and important region of the Bahariya Oasis, in western Egypt, during the 26th dynasty, between 664-525 B.C.
• Pain, Stephanie 2001, 'Vanishing acts: sunken cities of the Nile', New Scientist, vol. 172, no. 2313, 20 Oct., pp. 42-5.
  Around the time of the birth of Christ, two Egyptian cities on the Mediterranean coast, Herakleion and Canopus, disappeared rapidly into the sea. The remains of both have been discovered and studied, but there is no way at present of deciding if they disappeared as the result of earthquakes or from subsistence associated with a Nile flood. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Vizard, Frank 1999, 'In search of Cleopatra's palace', Popular Science, vol. 254, no. 5, May, pp. 78-81.
  Underwater exploration of the waters of the bay off the Egyptian city of Alexandria have found some of the statues and other remains of what is believed to be the royal palace of Cleopatra. The article describes the discovery and discusses the state-of-the-art technology that the team of archaeologists used. Includes, photographs and map. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Vizard, Frank 2000, 'Egypt's lost cities', Popular Science, vol. 257, no. 3, Sep., pp. 82-3.
  The remains of three ancient Egyptian cities - Herakleion, Canopus and Menouthis - described by ancient writers such as Herodotus, have been found six kilometres off the Egyptian coast near Alexandria in ten metres of water. Scientists will study the sites, with most of the artifacts in situ. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Weeks, Kent 1998, 'Valley of the Kings', National Geographic Magazine, vol. 194, no. 3, Sep., pp. 2-33.
  The Valley of the Kings was the burial site for the pharoahs of the New Kingdom, who ruled Egypt between 1539 and 1078 B.C. Without doubt it is the richest archaelogical site on Earth and here the author, with the aid of illustrations and photographs, describes the tombs of the Valley, how they were constructed and their symbolic importance. Includes photographs, diagrams, maps. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Zivie, Alain 2003, 'Mystery of the sun god's servant', National Geographic Magazine, vol. 204, no. 5, Nov., pp. 52-9.
  A description of an unearthed Egyptian tomb dating from the rein of Pharaoh Akhenaten which was prepared for one of the Pharaoh's treasurers and his wife. [Abstract from Austguide]

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Cleopatra

• Walker, Susan 2001, 'Cleopatra: from history to myth', History Today, vol. 51, no. 4, Apr., pp. 6-7.
  Cleopatra, 'the most illustrious and wise of women', an unexpected endorsement from John, Bishop of Nikiu in Upper Egypt in the 7th century AD. In similar vein, the Arab historian Al-Masudi, writing three centuries later, describes Cleopatra as 'the last of the wise ones of Greece.' How have we come to see Cleopatra as the embodiment of unfettered passion and intrigue, even in death clasping the asp in ardent embrace? [Abstract from Austguide]

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Mummies

• Glausiusz, Josie 2002, 'The chemistry of mummies, recipe for the dead', Discover, vol. 23, no. 3, Mar., pp. 20-1.
  A British organic chemist has been subjecting minute samples of mummy wrappings to spectrographic analysis and discovered that Egyptian embalmers used a witches' brew of fats, resins, perfumes and waxes, calibrated to provide the best defence against decay. The article describes the way in which these materials were used. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Harvey, Fiona 2002, 'Tomb raiders', New Scientist, vol. 173, no. 2333, 9 Mar, p. 20.
  The use of CT scanners, which make 1500 2-dimensional cross-sections that are then converted into 3-dimensional models via a computer program, could revolutionise Egyptology and the study of mummies. The article describes how this imaging technology can be used to study mummies. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Kluger, Jeffrey; Dorfman, Andrea 2003, 'Nefertiti found?', Time Australia, no. 23, 16 Jun, pp. 62-4.
  A team of Egyptologists believe that a mummy, first discovered in a side chamber of a royal tomb over 100 years ago, might be the battered remains of Queen Nefertiti. The article looks at the evidence, much of which is circumstantial, that archaeologists have pieced together in formulating this theory. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Webster, Donovan 1999, 'Valley of the mummies', National Geographic Magazine, vol. 196, no. 4, Oct., pp. 76-87.
  In 1996 at an isolated oasis named Bahariya, about 300 kilometres southwest of Cairo, an ancient graveyard containing numerous mummies was discovered. The site appears to have been in use for 600 years, from about 330 B.C. until the 4th century A.D., and artifacts show the influence of both Greek and Roman art on Egyptian mummification and burial customs. Includes photographs and map. [Abstract from Austguide]

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Pharaohs

• Gore, Rick 1991, 'Ramses the Great', National Geographic Magazine, vol. 179, no. 4, Apr., pp. 2-31.
  Ramses was born in the eastern Nile Delta about 1303 B.C., during Egypt's golden age, known as the New Kingdom. Larger than life as a pharaoh, builder, and sire, Ramses II spread his likeness across Egypt during his epic reign. [Abstract from author]
• Gore, Rick 2001, 'Pharaohs of the sun', National Geographic Magazine, vol. 199, no. 4, Apr., pp. 34-57.
  Akhenaten, who became Pharaoh in 1353 B.C, elevated Aten, above all other gods. In doing so he plunged Egypt into a religious revolution that shattered centuries of tradition. After his death, the re-established orthodoxy tried to expunge he and his wife, Nefertiti, from the historical record. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Kluger, Jeffrey; Dorfman, Andrea 2002, 'Who killed King Tut?', Time Australia, no. 26, 16 Sep., pp. 54-6.
  New forensic evidence gathered by an FBI profiler and a detective from Utah has provided evidence that King Tutankhamen may have been murdered. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Lemonick, Michael J 1995, 'Secrets of the lost tomb', Time Australia, no. 21, 29 May, pp. 56-62.
  Archaeologists excavating a site in Egypt's Valley of the Kings announced the discovery of a major complex of tombs that could conceivably be the resting place of up to fifty sons of Ramses II. The discovery promised to tell historians a great deal about life during his reign from 1279 to 1212 BC. Includes photographs, diagrams and map. [Abstract from Austguide]
• 'The life story of Tutankhamen', Archaeological Diggings, 2002, vol. 9, no. 1, Feb.-Mar., pp. 23-6.
  Tutankhamen was born during one of the most dramatic periods of Egyptian history. It is not clear who was his mother. It could not have been Nefertiti who is never depicted with a male child. [Abstract from article]
• Reibstein, Larry; Miller, Susan 1995, 'The tomb of brothers', Bulletin, vol. 116, no. 5972, 30 May, pp. 68-70.
  Archaeologists have discovered what appears to be the largest and most complex tomb ever found in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. The 3200 year-old tomb is a vast, elaborately designed mausoleum of at least sixty-two rooms. Archaeologists believe the mausoleum is a family crypt laid out by Ramses II, who apparently fathered more than one hundred children. Incudes photographs, diagram and maps. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Toufexis, Anastasia 1995, 'Riddle of the lost tomb', Time Australia, no. 49, p.46.
  The 3200 year-old mausoleum discovered in Egypt , believed to be the burial site of up to fifty of the sons of Rameses II, proved to be much larger than first thought and also posed many puzzling questions for archaeologists - who had not yet actually discovered any rooms where bodies were interred. Includes photograph, diagram. [Abstract from Austguide]
• 'The woman who would be king', Geographical Magazine, 1998, vol. 70, no. 11 Nov., pp. 88-9.
  This article introduces the story of Hatshepsut, an Egyptian princess who left her mark on the ancient country. Not only did she complete an impressive array of monuments, but she also managed to hold the office of Pharaoh despite being a woman - even if she did have to appear male by wearing a false beard and ceremonial kilt. Includes photographs. [Abstract from Austguide]

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Pyramids

• Guntrip, Bob 2001, 'Dead Pharaohs' society', Newton, no. 8, Nov.-Dec., pp. 68-81.
  A discussion of why, where and how the pyramids of Egypt were built and looks at the mystery and myths that have revolved around them almost since the first one was built. [Abstract from Austguide]
• McClintock, Jack 2001, 'Lost city', Discover, vol. 22, no. 10, Oct., pp. 40-7.
  For more than thirty years, archaeologist Mark Lehner has been studying the Sphinx and the pyramids in Egypt. He has been excavating the Giza plateau near the pyramids in the hope of finding the city which housed the pyramid builders, finding bakeries and real streets, but no houses. He has found a large building that may be a royal palace. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Morell, Virginia 2001, 'The pyramid builders', National Geographic Magazine, vol. 200, no. 5, Nov., pp. 78-97.
  Excavations of a large site situated near the three great pyramids at Giza are revealing new aspects about the lives of the labourers who toiled to build these monumental edifices. [Abstract from Austguide]
• 'The pyramid at Lahun', Archaeological Diggings, 2002, vol. 9, no. 3, Jun.-Jul., pp. 3-5.
  Sesostris II, the fourth king of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt chose to build his pyramid on a lonely rocky outcrop at the south-east corner of the Faiyum Oasis. It was not lonely for long because not far to the east a new city was established to accommodate the workmen and officers who were employed in building the pyramid. [Abstract from article]

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Social life and customs

• Bruhn, Ralph 2003, 'Workers of the dead: Shabtis from the Louvre Museum, part 1', Archaeological Diggings, vol. 10, no. 3, Jun.-Jul., pp. 23-7.
  The shabti was a small statue placed in the tomb with the corpse. A magical spell ensured that the figure would come to life and substitute for the deceased when called upon to work in the afterlife by Osiris, god of the underworld. [Abstract from author]
• Bruhn, Ralph 2003, 'Workers of the dead: Shabatis from the Louvre Museum, part 2', Archaelogical Diggings, vol. 10, no. 4, Aug.-Sep., pp. 42-6.
  A quick glance at Shabti figures might give the impression that they are all the same. However, a closer inspection highlights a broad range of design differences and production methods. It is in these differences, such as the tools they hold, the clothing they wear, and the activities they perform that provide information about the farming methods, period dress, social status and wealth of the ancient Egyptians. [Abstract from author]
• Williams, A.R 2002, 'Death on the Nile', National Geographic Magazine, vol. 202, no. 4, Oct., pp. 2-25.
  For nearly 3000 years rich and powerful ancient Egyptians were buried in the Saqqara necropolis, near the city of Memphis. Excavations at Saqqara have revealed much about the lives of ancient Egypt's wealthy and influential. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Zivie, Alain 2002, 'A pharoah's peace maker', National Geographic Magazine, vol. 202, no. 4, Oct., pp. 26-31.
  The tomb of a trusted envoy of Ramses the Great, unearthed in the Saqqara necropolis, has revealed further aspects of the complex funeral rituals and rites afforded wealthy and powerful ancient Egyptians. [Abstract from Austguide]

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Study and teaching

• Hoh, Erling 2001, 'Egyptian tomes', Geographical Magazine, vol. 37, no. 4, Apr., pp. 40-5.
  In summer 2001, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a spectacular piece of hi-tech architecture billed as the revival of the ancient Library of Alexandria, was opened. The article looks briefly at the history of the ancient library and at the development and design of the new. [Abstract from Austguide]
• Hollingworth, Jacqualine 2000, 'The history of medicine. Part 1: Egyptian medicine', Agora, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 22-7.
  The Egyptians were renowned for their great knowledge of the human body. The oldest known physician was Imhotep who lived around 2725 BC. By 1000 BC Egyptian pre-eminence in medicine was internationally recognised. The Great Library at Alexandria was built to collect all the knowledge in the world, and it stocked all the known works by famous doctors and physicians. author [Abstract from author]
• Schlegel, Nola 2001, 'Ancient Egypt: a Year 7 project', Agora, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 11-23.
  People who study history use evidence in much the same way as detectives do to solve a crime. They need to look for evidence that will help them understand what happened. There are six topics in this investigation of Ancient Egypt - 1. Beliefs and customs; 2. Clothing and food; 3. Housing; 4. Work; 5. Leisure, entertainment and schooling; 6. Our debt to Ancient Egypt. [Abstract from author]
• Tyson, Nell Frances 2001, 'Ancient Egypt and CSF II', Agora, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 37-43.
  This unit on Ancient Egypt will assist students to reach some of the outcomes of Level 5 History, CSFII. It is based on the needs of students in the Middle Years of Schooling and aims to require students to learn using a range of intelligences. It particularly aims to encourage students to use a range of sources when researching and it focuses on a strengthening a range of skills including the use of information technology. [Abstract from author]
• Volk, Robin 2000, 'A study of an ancient civilisation: Egypt. Grade Six Social Studies unit', Agora, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 17-20.
  Egypt is located in the north east part of Africa. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the north of it and the Red Sea lies to the east. In ancient times, Egypt was a long and narrow country, and the Egyptians travelled up and down the length of the country using the Nile River as a 'highway'. [Abstract from author]

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