Several basalt steles in royal Egyptian style, dating from the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 12th century BCE, were found in secondary use in Canaanite temples of the 11th century BCE. Two steles from the reign of Pharaoh Seti I include his names and titles. The “Large Stele,” the most impressive […]
1990-1999 Excavations in Hazor by Amnon Ben-Tor yielded a bronze statue of a Canaanite ruler. Although the invaders of Hazor tried to utterly destroy the city, a wealth of figurines endured the attack. Some sacred statues, like the seated male figure (above), were intentionally buried in the city’s last hours to protect them from desecration […]
By Percy Bysshe Shelly I MET a Traveler from an antique land, Who said, “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desart. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read, Which […]
Ramesses II (ruled c.1279-1213 BC) was the third ruler of the 19th Dynasty, the son of the successful Seti I (himself the son of Ramesses I). His mummy, preserved in a mausoleum at Cairo, is that of a very old man with a long narrow face, prominent nose, and massive jaw.
During the New Kingdom, a standing army was in existence and the military prowress of princes was emphasized; here, princes Khaemwaset C and Amenhirwenemef (later Amenhirkopshef) A fight in their chariots behind their father Ramesses II; temple of Beit el-Wali (plaster cast in the British Museum). Dodson, Aidan and Dyan Hilton. The Complete Royal Families […]
Store City of Ramesses II “…and there are neither men to make bricks nor straw.” – Papyrus Anastasi IV
Rites before the tomb From Thebes, Egypt The centrepiece of the upper scene is the mummy of Hunefer, shown supported by the god Anubis (or a priest wearing a jackal mask). Hunefer’s wife and daughter mourn, and three priests perform rituals. The two priests with white sashes are carrying out the Opening of the Mouth […]
Yapahu was ruler of the city of Gazru-(modern Gezer) and the author of five of the Amarna Letters. One of his letters, EA 299, “A plea for help,” is a request for help from attaks by a people called the ‘Apiru or Habiru. This was the name given by various Sumerian, Egyptian, Akkadian, Hittite, Mitanni, […]
Akhenaten, Nefertiti and two daughters offering to the Aten from El-Amarna The sun disc, the Aten, was the only deity at the center of the new religion of King Akhenaten. The simplicity of its form caused some difficulties for the artists whose task was to create the new religion’s images but they solved the problem […]
Nubians bringing tribute, and banquet scenes with female musicians and a servant girl, in the tomb of vizier Rekhmire at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna (the west bank at Thebes). Malek, Jaromir, Egypt; 4000 years of Art. London- Phaidon Press, 2003.