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 […]
Historical proof of the Jewish presence in ancient Egypt is sparse, yet there are two sources that reveal the interaction of these two cultures – the Exodus story of the Jewish Bible and the stela (pillar with inscription) of Pharaoh Merneptah of 1207 B.C.E. The Jewish Bible, or Torah, describes the enslavement of the Israelites […]
Among Biblical scholars and archaeologists it is almost axiomatic that the Israelites entered Canaan about 1230–1220 B.C. In terms of archaeological periods, this would be towards the end of the Late Bronze Age, for which the Generally Accepted Date (GAD) is 1550–1200 B.C. Yet there are enormous problems with this dating. In recent decades an […]
Winter of 1976–1977. I was in Luxor, in Upper Egypt, site of the ancient city of Thebes. As a member of the University of Chicago’s Epigraphic Survey, I was there studying the magnificent reliefs and recording the hieroglyphic inscriptions that almost cover the site. In my spare time, I would work collecting whatever data I […]
In a brilliant piece of detective work entitled “3,200-Year-Old Picture of Israelites Found in Egypt,” BAR 16-05, Frank J. Yurco analyzes the reliefs on a wall of the Cour de la Cachette in the Karnak temple in Upper Egypt. But he points to the wrong picture as that of Israelites. This has disastrous results for […]
Deir el-Balah and the cosmopolitan culture of the Late Bronze Age After the Six-Day War in 1967, the Old City of Jerusalem became accessible to Israelis for the first time in nearly 20 years. For many who, like me, had grown up in Jerusalem during the British Mandate, when one could travel freely between the […]
Egyptian Finds Uncovered in Jaffa In a Jaffa public garden—not far from a favorite vantage spot for tourists gazing at Tel Aviv’s coastal skyline—archaeologists have discovered traces of the city that stood here from the 15th to the 13th century B.C., when Egypt held sway over Canaan. “By the style of the bricks and thickness […]