Archaeology, features and articles | Educational Science

Aug 26, 2022

Tens of Cat Mummies and 100 Cat Statues Found Near Ancient Egyptian Pyramid

Ancient Egyptians seem to have been cat people, or at least cat mummy people. Researchers have dug up several mummified cats alongside about 100 wooden cat statues in a tomb complex near a pyramid built for the pharaoh Userkaf, who reigned from 2291 B.C. to 2289 B.C., the Egyptian Ministry...

Aug 26, 2022

Photos: Ancient Egyptian Tomb with Pyramid Discovered

Tomb with Pyramid (Image credit: Photo courtesy Kevin Cahail)Dating back around 3,300 years this tomb was discovered recently at an ancient cemetery at Abydos in Egypt. At left the rectangular entrance shaft with massive walls served as a base for a small pyramid that was an estimated 23 feet (7...

Aug 26, 2022

Photos: Ancient Egyptian Tax Receipt & Other Texts

Several ancient and medieval texts at McGill University Library and Archives, in Montreal, Canada, are in the process of being deciphered and published by Brice Jones, a PhD student at Concordia University. Until now the texts had not been studied and few knew of their existence. One of the most...

Aug 26, 2022

Photos: The Amazing Mummies of Peru and Egypt

Mummies across time (Image credit: C. Chesek/Copyright AMNH)Archaeologists used to unwrap Egyptian mummies with much fanfare in front of crowds, a stunt that destroyed cultural history and disrespected the deceased individual. Now, researchers can use computed tomography (CT) scans to noninvasively learn about mummies without literally unwrapping them. Here is...

Sep 14, 2022

Vanished arm of Nile helped ancient Egyptians transport pyramid materials

When the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids of Giza around 4,500 years ago, the Nile River had an arm — one that has long since vanished — with high water levels that helped laborers ship materials to their construction site, a new study finds. The discovery builds on previous archaeological...

Sep 21, 2022

3,300-year-old pink granite sarcophagus of Egyptian 'pyramid keeper' found at Saqqara

Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed the 3,300-year-old stone sarcophagus of an official whose mummified body was stolen by grave robbers long ago. The coffin, carved from pink granite, was crafted for an official named Ptah-im-wea, who, according to the hieroglyphs inscribed on it, lived during the time of Ramesses II...

Sep 22, 2022

What is the ancient Egyptian 'mummy's curse'?

Within months of the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, the man who financed its excavation — George Herbert, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon in England — became ill and dropped dead. It didn't take long for people to question whether a mummy's curse had doomed the earl. Pharaoh's...

Oct 4, 2022

Who was the ancient Egyptian god of death?

The ancient Egyptians are known for many things, such as mummification, the great pyramid, a sophisticated writing system and a belief in the afterlife. Considering that death and devotion to many deities was featured so prominently in this culture, who was the ancient Egyptian god of death? While Osiris is...

Oct 5, 2022

Was ancient Egypt a desert?

Thanks to modern images of Egypt's iconic pyramids towering over a vast sandscape, many people assume this area is, and always has been, a desert. But considering that climates and landscapes can change over time and that humans have been known to alter natural environments, was ancient Egypt a desert?...

Oct 5, 2022

Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx: Facts about the ancient Egyptian monuments

Constructed in the 26th and 25th centuries B.C. (roughly 2600 B.C.–2400 B.C.), the Egyptian pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, built in that order, are a testament to ancient planning and engineering. The precise years that they were built is somewhat unclear, as those dates depend on when exactly the...

Oct 6, 2022

How old is ancient Egypt?

To many, Egypt's history seems to stretch back into time immemorial. But how old exactly is ancient Egypt? It depends how you define ancient Egypt, said Aidan Dodson, an Egyptology professor at the University of Bristol in the U.K. If you take it as meaning the civilization that incorporated pharaonic...

Oct 20, 2022

Falcon shrine with cryptic message unearthed in Egypt baffles archaeologists

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a 1,700-year-old falcon shrine, complete with the remains of 15 headless falcons on a pedestal, as well as a stone monument depicting two unknown gods. The shrine and monument — which were found in Berenike, an ancient Egyptian port on the Red Sea — were...

Oct 24, 2022

King Tut's 'dagger from outer space' may have been a gift from abroad

A gold-hilted dagger found in the tomb of King Tut surprised archaeologists when they discovered that it was made of a material forged in outer space. Now, two new studies are painting conflicting pictures of the origins of the mysterious weapon, which may have been wielded by arguably the most...

Oct 24, 2022

King Tut's Sisters Took the Throne Before He Did, Controversial Claim Says

Archaeologists have known that a mystery female pharaoh ruled ancient Egypt before the renowned King Tutankhamun ascended the throne. Though they knew the royal name of this female king — Neferneferuaten Ankhkheperure — her true identity has remained elusive; however, Tut's famed tomb was originally meant for her. Now, a...

Oct 24, 2022

In Photos: The Life and Death of King Tut

Mummy case (Image credit: Horemweb | Wikimedia.)Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh who lived between roughly 1343 B.C. and 1323 B.C. Often called the boy-king, he ascended the throne at around the age of 10. Today he's most famous for his tomb, which was discovered largely intact in the Valley of...