Latest news with #Egyptologists
Egypt Independent
2 days ago
- Science
- Egypt Independent
Scientists unveil secrets of Egypt's most complex mummy
For decades, Egyptologists have been left baffled by the secrets of an ancient mummy known due to its intricate wrappings, unique mummification techniques, and rare inscriptions – until now. With state-of-the-art technology, scientists have revealed the mummy's secrets 'without having to unwrap it.' According to a report in The Sun newspaper on Sunday, the mummy is over 2,300 years old and was discovered by Egyptologist Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings, the same area where Tutankhamun's tomb was later found. Advances in X-ray and CT scanning technology made it possible to study it in-depth without damaging it, a significant step toward a greater understanding of the ancient mummy's secrets. The latest findings have revealed that the mummy belongs to an adult male, approximately 1.68 meters tall, who lived during the Ptolemaic period, which extended from 305-30 BC. X-rays also revealed inscriptions bearing the name of the buried person, but researchers have been unable to confirm whether the name was 'Bashiri' or 'Nino,' leaving some aspects of the story still mysterious. According to the American Museum of Natural History, the mummy's facial wrappings feature unique engravings resembling the base of a pyramid, 'a rare feature not seen on any other mummies.' The outer covering bears multiple decorations distributed across 'records,' including a depiction of the mummy lying on a bed surrounded by the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, as well as the Four Sons of Horus. The section surrounding the feet is decorated with the symbol of Anubis, the god of mummification in ancient Egyptian mythology.
New York Times
5 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Was This Artifact From King Tut's Tomb? It's for Sale Anyway.
After discovering King Tutankhamen's tomb, the British archaeologist Howard Carter spent years cataloging the thousands of priceless artifacts inside, including life-size statues of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, glittering thrones, and the boy king's funeral mask. He also pilfered some for himself. Now, one object that Egyptologists have for decades said that Carter likely stole is to be auctioned — despite some experts saying the sale should not occur. On Sunday, Apollo Art Auctions, a small auction house in London, is to sell the so-called Guennol Grasshopper. The intricately carved ivory and wood container is in the shape of the noisy insect, with wings that swing outward to reveal a hole to store perfume. The grasshopper, which the auction house says in promotional material is 'from the age of Tutankhamen,' has an estimated price of up to 500,000 pounds, or about $675,000. The auction listing says the item previously traded hands for $1.2 million. Apollo Art Auctions said in an emailed statement that there was 'no documented evidence' that the vessel came from the pharoah's tomb. 'The item does not appear on any official excavation inventories,' the statement said. Still, for some Egyptologists there is little doubt about its origins. Christian Loeben, of the Museum August Kestner in Hanover, Germany, who has written about Carter's career, said in an interview that he was 'quite convinced' that the grasshopper could only have come from the tomb. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Scottish Sun
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
First look inside incredible immersive Egyptian experience coming to Glasgow
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A TRULY epic event celebrating Egypt has landed in Glasgow. Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition, a spectacular hi-tech experience, is opening tomorrow following a sell-out 14-week run in London. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 It's a truly immersive show 4 The experience opens tomorrow And we got a sneak peek inside the incredible show ahead of opening. The exhibition invites visitors to step back in time and embark on an exhilarating journey through ancient Egypt, discovering the myths and mysteries surrounding Pharaoh Tutankhamun. But unlike your usual museum experience, this puts you right at the heart of the action with mind-bending virtual reality and incredible artefacts. The exhibition starts with a fun photo op before taking you round a walkway with giant screens telling your the history of Egypt and the boy king. Along the way there are jaw-dropping graphics before visitors are taken into a room with incredible artefacts from the great discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. Some are replicas, showing the detail and a opulence of the treasures the ruler was buried with. Meanwhile, the real artefacts give a fascinating insight into burials thousands of years ago. There's a section dedicated to Howard Carter, the archaeologist who made the life-changing discovery. And then you're into the virtual reality section, Created in collaboration with Egyptologists and historians, the exhibition features one of Europe's most expansive immersive video mapping rooms. You are taken through Tutankhamun's story in stunning, immersive detail. Revealing the Hidden Secrets of Egyptian Pyramid Construction (1) The moment of the discovery of the tomb is described in a recorded interview of Howard Carter, the famous British archaeologist, adding an extraordinary layer of authenticity to the experience. Next up, visitors get to try a 360-degree seated virtual reality experience, journeying into the mystical Egyptian afterlife. This really is astonishing, you really feel like you are floating through unknown realms. And finally, you get to walk through a digital metaverse, exploring Howard Carter's basecamp and reliving the monumental moment of the 1922 discovery in its full glory. I've tried experiences like this before, but this one blows them all out of the water. The virtual reality sections are mind-blowing but even the simpler artefact parts are just as amazing to see. The show is on at the SEC from tomorrow until October 26 before going on a wider European tour. 4 The tomb is recreated
Daily Mail
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Joe Rogan claims ancient Egyptians fled to the moon and the whole timeline of humanity is WRONG
Joe Rogan attempted to rewrite the beginnings of human civilization, adding that ancient Egyptian researchers are trying to hide 30,000 years of history. On the July 15 episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the 57-year-old claimed that Egyptologists were 'gate-keeping' information related to ancient cultures that may predate the Egyptians by thousands of years. The podcast host also made the case that there's now evidence to prove Egypt was just another part of a much older society on Earth that may have created modern technology far different than we use today. 'We're told it's 2500 BC for the Great Pyramid, but boy, there's a lot of people that don't agree with that, including geologists,' Rogan said. Rogan cited that today's scientists have all but confirmed that a mysterious civilization built ancient structures like Göbekli Tepe in Turkey up to 12,000 years ago, knowledge that would radically rewrite the story of humanity. However, Rogan accused many scientists and historians of dismissing these discoveries, claiming that they've profited from keeping the Egyptians as the first great civilization. 'Everybody wants to be right and they all have this date that they've been talking about and writing books about and giving lectures about. They never want to revise that,' Rogan claimed during the July 15 podcast. 'They never want to have an open mind and say perhaps there is evidence, of course, that there was a sophisticated civilization there [in] 2500 BC but maybe they were a part of a very old civilization,' he continued. While slamming ancient Egyptian researchers for the alleged suppression, Rogan again took aim at Dr Zahi Hawass, a renowned archaeologist and Egypt's former Minister of Antiquities. Rogan accused Hawass, who he's called the worst guest in his show's history, of being 'totally ignorant' about the ancient Egyptian concept of 'Zep Tepi,' or the 'First Time.' It refers to the idea of the mythical golden age at the beginning of Egyptian history when the gods ruled directly on Earth. Hawass dismissed this concept as nonsense or mythology. Rogan also slammed Hawass and other Egyptologists for dismissing the so-called king's lists, which allegedly chronicle the history of Egyptian rulers for 30,000 years. 'Egyptologists that are conventional thinkers, they they think that it's mythology. They think that's myth. But, you know, you get to about 2500 BC, that's all real. Well, how the f*** do you know, right? They don't. You don't,' Rogan declared. Rogan then began to reveal what the Egyptology community allegedly doesn't want people to consider. This included the theory that the Great Pyramid couldn't possibly be only a few thousand years old, due to all the erosion in the stones. Geologist Robert Schoch, who Rogan referenced, has stated that rainfall data and water erosion patterns in ancient Egypt suggest heavy rainfall last occurred in the Nile Valley around 9,000 years ago. That would mean the Great Pyramid was more than 4,000 years older than what's commonly accepted today. Rogan then delved into the mystery surrounding the site of Göbekli Tepe, which is believed to be an ancient ceremonial or religious site constructed by hunter-gatherers. This archaeological site with massive T-shaped limestone pillars in Upper Mesopotamia is believed to have been inhabited from around 9500 BC to at least 8000 BCE, during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Era. That's over 5,000 years before the Egyptian pyramids were built and roughly 6,000 years before Stonehenge. 'If there was an advanced civilization 11,800 years ago that was able to create Göbekli Tepe, which we know now to be true, what else have we not found?' Rogan asked his guest, fellow podcast host Danny Jones. 'Was it a breakaway civilization? Did they escape the Earth and go to the moon? Like they're trying to do now,' Jones added. Rogan followed up on Jones' assumption, suggesting that these lost human civilizations, including the Egyptians, may have taken a very different path in terms of technical innovation. Rogan theorized that instead of moving on to create the internal combustion engine, microchips, and plastics, these ancient societies evolved to construct advanced technology using entirely different engineering principles. 'I think the path that they took involved immense stone structures, cosmology. They probably didn't have internal combustion engines. They probably had a completely different kind of technology that we wouldn't even think of,' Rogan explained. To Rogan's point, Göbekli Tepe is not the only mysterious structure that could soon rewrite everything modern society knows about the ancient world. A sunken 'pyramid' near Taiwan has been sitting just 82 feet below sea level near the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. Called the Yonaguni monument, it has stumped and astonished researchers, mainly due to its sharp-angled steps that stand roughly 90 feet tall and appear to be made entirely of stone, leading many to believe it was man-made over 10,000 years ago. Meanwhile, another ancient structure in Indonesia could predate Göbekli Tepe and the Yonaguni monument by a staggering amount of time. Gunung Padang, first re-discovered by Dutch explorers in 1890, is said to be the world's oldest pyramid. Studies have shown that the 98-foot-deep 'megalith' submerged within a hill of lava rock dates back more than 16,000 years.
Al-Ahram Weekly
06-07-2025
- Science
- Al-Ahram Weekly
The legacy of Tutankhamun — III - Heritage - Al-Ahram Weekly
In the third in his special series of articles exploring the enduring legacy of Tutankhamun, Zahi Hawass searches for the boy king's relatives among mummies thought to belong to the royal family In recent decades, the field of Egyptology has undergone a quiet revolution fuelled by cutting-edge technology. A major turning point came with the donation to Egypt of a state-of-the-art CT scanner by the National Geographic Society and Siemens AG, along with financial support from the Discovery Channel to build genetic testing facilities. These contributions led to the establishment of two advanced laboratories in Egypt, one in the basement of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo's Tahrir Square and the other at the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University. For the first time, Egyptologists could conduct sophisticated, non-invasive scientific examinations on ancient remains without needing to send them abroad. In 2005, this technology was put to historic use when the mummy of Tutankhamun became the first to be examined using a CT scanner. What began as an effort to understand the young king's health and cause of death soon evolved into a broader investigation combining CT imaging with DNA analysis to identify his family members among a group of royal mummies from the late 18th Dynasty. This fusion of modern science and ancient history has opened a new chapter in our understanding of Egypt's most enigmatic Pharaohs. Many questions surround the family of Tutankhamun. His parentage has always been unknown, and the archaeological record leaves uncertain other familial relationship between individuals who are presumably closely related to him. However, a number of mummies, some securely identified and others not, hold the potential for more or less definitive answers. A combination of Egyptological investigation and forensic science has shed light on the identities of previously nameless royal remains and drawn unexpected connections among the historical players of the Amarna Period and its aftermath. Several candidates have been proposed for Tutankhamun's father. Additions that Tutankhamun made to the temples of Amenhotep III at Luxor and Soleb saw Tutankhamun identified as 'king's son of his body, whom he loves, Tutankhamun.' Suggestions of Smenkhkare as Tutankhamun's father have been based on the identification of the KV55 tomb mummy as belonging to that king. There are likewise many candidates put forward as Tutankhamun's mother. Tiye, Great Royal Wife of Amenhotep III, was the first to be proposed. The mummy known as the Elder Lady found in KV35 (KV35EL) has long been suspected of belonging to her, although this remained to be proven. A lock of hair found in Tutankhamun's tomb and labelled as Tiye's was matched to the hair of KV35EL. This would seem to indicate some kind of close kinship, but not necessarily that she was Tutankhamun's mother. Tiya, a secondary but prominent wife of Akhenaten, has also been suggested, her subsequent disappearance from the historical record being explained as the result of her death during his birth. Nefertiti has also been proposed as his mother, as have Mitannian princesses, perhaps Tadukhipa, who was the wife of both Amenhotep III and Akhenaten. Other candidates have included the daughters of both kings: Akhenaten's older daughters Meritaten and Meketaten have been suggested, as has the youngest daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye, Baketaten. Sitamun, another of Akhenaten's sisters, is yet one more candidate, with Amenhotep III hypothesised as the father. THE EGYPTIAN MUMMY PROJECT Two mummified foetuses (Carter 317A and 317B) were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. Believed to be the stillborn daughters of Tutankhamun and his wife Ankhesenamun, they were hoped to be viable sources of DNA that would permit the identification of the mummies of the queen and her mother, Nefertiti. Three other mummies were known to belong to Tutankhamun's family even before testing began: Yuya, Thuya and Amenhotep III. The study included other remains suspected of being members, such as those from the tomb KV55. The identity of the KV55 mummy has been one of Egyptology's most enduring enigmas. A recent study of the coffin found in the tomb suggests that it belonged to Akhenaten, whose name was found on it. Thus, it would seem that the burial of Akhenaten, including at least some of its artefacts, was brought from Amarna to Thebes, possibly by Tutankhamun. The skeletal state of the KV55 mummy posed a considerable challenge for analysis. Nonetheless, research had previously concluded that Tutankhamun and the KV55 skeleton shared the same blood type; this, with the inscription of Akhenaten's name on the coffin, prompted a number of scholars to identify the KV55 body as that of Akhenaten. But the age of the skeleton presented a problem for this identification: although one study had put the age at 25, most previous forensic studies had concluded that the skeleton was that of a male who died at the age of 25 or 26, plus or minus several years. In 2000, an examination by archaeologist Joyse Filer of the bones prompted her to put the age at death as the early 20s. Historical evidence indicates that Akhenaten must have been well over 30 when he died. This led many Egyptologists to identify the KV55 body as that of Smenkhkare instead, an enigmatic and ephemeral monarch, possibly Tutankhamun's older brother, who may have shared the throne with Akhenaten for a couple of years before succeeding him. None of these investigations were able to conclusively identify the KV55 skeleton. The KV35EL and KV35YL mummies were included in the project. KV35EL had been tentatively identified as Queen Tiye, and we included this mummy, and KV35YL, in our study in the hopes of confirming their identities. The style of their mummification and lack of bandages and coffins seemed to indicate that they ought to be associated with one another. We also added the two unidentified female mummies found in KV21, KV21A and KV21B. The Egyptian Mummy Project has provided answers to many questions that have been the subject of debate within the Egyptological community, including the identities of Tutankhamun's parents and of the Elder Lady and Younger Lady in the tomb KV35, as will be explained below. This success was achieved by installing the two DNA laboratories, one in the basement of the Egyptian Museum and the other at the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University. Each lab was staffed by its own scholars and technicians; the two teams had no contact with each other. There was also close cooperation between the Egyptian teams and two German scholars. The resulting CT images were studied separately by Ashraf Selim and Sahar Saleem, both professors of radiology at Cairo University, and by Paul Gostner, head of radiology at the Bolzano General Hospital in Italy. Great care had to be taken to isolate the DNA of each mummy under examination in order to minimise the risk of contamination by current team members, past researchers who had handled the remains, and even the ancient embalmers. To achieve this, in each case biopsy needles drew several samples from the interior of the bone, away from the potentially contaminated surface of the mummy, in the hopes that at least one would prove viable. Samples thus extracted required purification in order to isolate the genetic material from embalming materials and other contaminates. Yehia Gad, Somia Ismail, and German experts Garsten Pusch and Albert Zink undertook this process. The means by which this was achieved was particular to each sample, but in all cases any single misstep could imperil the DNA. Successful isolation would result in clear liquid, but the first attempts with Tutankhamun's genetic material produced a solution that remained clouded by some unknown contaminant from the mummification process. This concerned us because Tutankhamun was the lynchpin of the study. Two months of additional work resolved the issue, delivering DNA ready for the next steps in the process: amplification and sequencing. RESULTS With the isolation and amplification of the ancient DNA achieved, comparing the Y chromosomes, the chromosome passed from father to son of the male mummies (Tutankhamun, Amenhotep III, KV55), was a straightforward process. The results demonstrated that these three were indeed related, but to pinpoint the relationship among them it was necessary to profile (or 'fingerprint') the DNA of each, an additional process that involves close examination of the approximately one per cent of DNA that differs among individuals. Such analysis focuses on the base pairs (made of adenine, cytosine, guanine, or thymine) that hold together the two halves of the DNA double helix. In certain areas of the DNA, the pattern of repetition of these base pairs sufficiently varies from individual to individual. For example, the forensic investigation of trace DNA left behind at a crime scene can identify one particular person. Comparisons of the DNA of different individuals can reveal the 'blood relationship,' if any, between them, as is routinely done for paternity testing. Our analysis of the ancient DNA indicated a probability in excess of 99.99 per cent that Amenhotep III was the father of the man interred in KV55. The probability that the man interred in KV55 was the father of Tutankhamun was equally great. However, while DNA testing could prove that the KV55 mummy was a son of Amenhotep III, it could not provide a specific historical identification. After Tutankhamun, perhaps the most important mummy in the study was the skeleton from KV55. If our radiological examination authenticated the majority of studies that pinned this individual's death as happening in his 20s, it would preclude these remains from being those of Akhenaten. Such a finding would support, though not prove, the usual hypothesis that this was the body of Smenkhkare. However, in fact analysis of the CT scan indicated that the individual from KV55 might have been as old as 40 at the time of his death. This certainly allows for the possibility that the skeleton is that of Akhenaten, who reigned for 17 years. Feeling that this identification is indeed most likely, we labelled the body in this way at the Egyptian Museum. However, we must also admit that so little is known about Smenkhkare that the possibility that the body is his cannot be entirely ruled out. The two anonymous mummies from KV35 provided candidates for female relatives of Tutankhamun, particularly as the lock of hair found in Tutankhamun's tomb seemed to link him in some intimate way to KV35EL. Fortunately, the mummies of Tiye's parents, Yuya and Thuya, had been found in situ in their tomb (KV46) and thus were known with certainty. Indeed, the genetic analysis confirmed KV35EL as their daughter. Furthermore, and as anticipated, the KV55 mummy genetically matched as the offspring of KV35EL. Perhaps the most curious results of the genetic fingerprinting came from KV35YL. She proved to be not only a daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye but also the mother of Tutankhamun. Thus, it seems probable that Akhenaten married one of his own full sisters. No evidence indicates that either Nefertiti or Tiya was Akhenaten's sister, which rules out the identification of either of these royal wives as Tutankhamun's mother. Besides Sitamun and Baketaten, mentioned previously, other daughters of Amenhotep III and Tiye include Iset, Hennuttaneb, and Nebetiah. The tomb of Kheruef shows Amenhotep with eight unnamed daughters, some of whom may be identical to those just named. Which of these women gave birth to the future boy king will most likely never be determined. Nonetheless, the effects of this full-sibling parentage clearly had an impact on the royal offspring, as the examination of Tutankhamun himself amply demonstrated. These results of the Egyptian Mummy Project were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association after undergoing its rigorous peer-review process. Besides shedding light on the particulars of the royal family of the late 18th Dynasty, our study demonstrates that the techniques of genetic analysis and radiological study hold great promise for resolving other mysteries presented by the historical record and providing new and unexpected insights into pharaonic Egypt. FOETUSES FROM KV62 In the so-called treasury of Tutankhamun's tomb, the discoverer of the tomb, Howard Carter, found a box, designated No 317, in which two miniature anthropoid coffins had been placed. Each of these tiny coffins contained a mummified foetus, 317a and 317b, which Carter removed in 1925. The latter was in a particularly good condition. Douglas Derry, the anthropologist who first studied the human remains from the tomb, described 317a and 317b as female and five months and seven months of age, respectively. Mummy 317b underwent an examination conducted by R. G. Harrison in 1978. He estimated its age to be as young as 35 weeks of gestation or as late as full term and identified congenital abnormalities of the shoulder (Sprengle's deformity) and spine (spinal dysraphism and scoliosis). A more recent study of the other mummy, 317a, undertaken by Catherine Hellier and Robert Connolly in 1978, concluded that it had achieved a gestation of 30 weeks. The Egyptian Mummy Project performed CT scans of both foetuses at the Faculty of Medicine because they were too fragile to transport to the Egyptian Museum. Confirmation of Derry's conclusion that 317a was female proved to be impossible because the remains had deteriorated to so great an extent, but analysis of the scan was able to determine that this foetus had died at 24.6 weeks gestational age. No skeletal deformities were detected. The scans revealed material of both high and low CT densities within the skull, probably the remains of brain tissue and possibly embalming material. The body cavity likewise showed evidence of embalming in the form of structures that appeared to be visceral packs. Once again, however, the poor condition of the mummy prevented the discovery of more definitive evidence of artificial mummification, such as embalming slits. The cause of death could not be determined. The results from 317b were considerably better, to the extent that it was possible to create two-and three-dimensional digital images of the body. This was definitively identifiable as female. The age of 36.78 weeks (nine months) of gestation at death was determined in part by examination (by CT scan) of the extent of mineralisation of the teeth and the presence of multiple ossification centres of the cartilage, confirming the conclusion by Harrison in 1986, which had been revised down to 30 weeks of gestation by Hellier and Connolly in 2008. It seems very likely that 317b had been artificially mummified; an incision, 18 mm long, was found on the left groin. The CT scans permitted a reinterpretation of anomalies associated with Sprengel's deformity detected by previous X-rays. The raised left scapula, long left clavicle, and open veritable laminae were shown to have been the result of trauma delivered postmortem. A DNA study to compare 317b with mummy KV21A was undertaken but not fully accomplished. Preliminary results suggest a primary relationship between these two mummies, suggesting that the unidentified KV21A could in fact be Ankhesenamun. Unfortunately, the study remains incomplete due to the 25 January Revolution in 2011. We hope to continue our research in the future. MARFAN SYNDROME The art of the Amarna Period portrayed Akhenaten with long limbs, a narrow face, an elongated head, and androgynous features. These first three of these have led to the suggestion that the family of Akhenaten, including Tutankhamun, had Marfan Syndrome. Marfan Syndrome is the result of any of a large number of mutations to a specific gene (FBNI, on chromosome 15) responsible for the production of fibrillin, a component of the body's connective tissue. The effects of Marfan Syndrome are a weakening of this tissue, which supports, strengthens, and gives elasticity to joints and organs. Marfan Syndrome can adversely affect the cardiovascular and skeletal systems, as well as the eyes, skin, and lungs. Visible physical traits related to it include tall stature and lean build with disproportionately long limbs and digits. As most cases of Marfan Syndrome are inherited, CT scans of not only the KV55 mummy but also those of other family members were examined for these traits. Included in the examination were the following mummies: Tutankhamun, 317a, 317b, Amenhotep II, KV35EL, and KV35YL, as well as the purported mummies of Thutmose I and Thutmose II. Clinical diagnosis of the Syndrome requires the examination of soft tissues (eg, the aorta and the lens of the eye) unavailable in mummies, which instead must be examined for skeletal abnormalities. The state of preservation of some of the remains, notably the mummy from KV55 and that of Amenhotep III, posed difficulties for obtaining the required metrics. Nonetheless, possible measurements of the shape of the skull were obtained and analysed digitally to determine the skull index (ie, the ration of breadth and length), with skulls being classified as mesocephalic (normal) or dolichocephalic (elongated). Examination of the CT scans did reveal some traits that could be considered associated with Marfan Syndrome, but these are not in and of themselves diagnostic of the condition, which must be proven by genetic evaluation. Mild doliocephaly was present (Tutankhamun, Yuya, Thutmose II, and Thutmose I) but only to a degree that seems to be a family trait rather that congenital abnormality. There was kyphosocoliosis (abnormal curvature of the spine) displayed by Tutankhamun, the KV55 mummy, Yuya, Thutmose II, and Thutmose I. The KV55 mummy presented a cranio-facial measurement indicating a slightly elongated-to-normal skull and a narrow face. There were no traces of Marfan Syndrome in Amenhotep III, Tiye, or KV35YL. (The condition of the two foetuses from Tutankhamun's tomb precluded proper examination for the condition.) In sum, the CT examinations detected none of the diagnostic criteria for Marfan Syndrome among the mummies of the 18th-Dynasty royal family. Furthermore, the examinations led us to the conclusion that the unusual aspects of Akhenaten's androgynous appearance were entirely an artistic convention, driven by the king's self-identification with the solar disk that, as the universal creator and source of all life, necessarily embodied both male and female principles. * A version of this article appears in print in the 3 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
