Towards the end of the 20th Dynasty, around 1155 B.C., one of Ancient Egypt’s most powerful rulers, Ramesses III, became the victim of an extraordinary palace conspiracy. The plot, now known as the Harem Conspiracy, was intended not merely to assassinate the king, but to alter the royal succession. At its centre stood Tiye, one...
Did an Egyptian prince conspire to murder his own father? And could a mysterious mummy, its mouth stretched wide in an eternal, silent scream, be all that remains of him? Perhaps the most unsettling figure in the assassination plot of Ramesses III known as the “Harem Conspiracy” is the young man commonly called the Screaming...
There are some faces from Ancient Egypt that seem determined not to be forgotten. Among them is that of a young man who died more than 3,000 years ago, his head thrown back, his mouth gaping open, and his features contorted into an expression that has disturbed and fascinated generations of observers. Known to Egyptologists...
The story of the Ramesside family is one of remarkable social ascent, a lineage that began with distinguished military service and culminated in some of the most celebrated reigns in Ancient Egyptian history. Unlike many royal houses before them, the Ramessides did not inherit the throne through divine birthright or ancient bloodlines. Instead, they rose...
In a remarkable discovery that bridges the ancient lands of the Nile and the Levant, archaeologists in southern Jordan have uncovered a hieroglyphic inscription bearing the royal cartouche of Pharaoh Ramesses III, who reigned from 1186-1155 B.C. This is the first known instance of Ramesses III’s cartouche being found within the borders of modern Jordan,...
Originally described as a ‘linen belt’ but since at least 1913 it has been called the ‘Ramesses Girdle’. Paintings of Ramesses III show him wearing similar long lengths of cloth wrapped several times around the chest in a herringbone fashion, like a girdle, before being fastened around the waist. Cartouches of Ramesses III were inscribed...
This glazed tile of a Nubian is from the remnants of a palace built by Ramesses III in Tell el-Yahudiyeh. This tile is only surviving in shards and has lost most of its former colour and gloss. Tell el Yahudiyeh is a city in Egypt’s Eastern Delta. The site has remnants dating from the Second...
Glazed faïence inlays from palace of Ramesses III, depicting subdued enemies of Egypt; Sub Saharan African and Assyrian men kneel. The decorative inlays are considered of significant historical and ethnographical interest, given the representation of neighbouring populations. Tiles with coloured inlaid glazed faience were very popular for decorating the walls of palaces. In the palace...
One of the most typical royal scenes is reproduced on this illustrated ostracon, king Ramesses III in the act of crushing the defeated enemy. The scene was widely used on pylons and external walls of temples. On this piece the king is shown upright, his head adorned with red crown topped by the two feathers...
In the center of the lid of this sarcophagus, King Ramesses III is depicted as the god Osiris in mummy form. On his head he wears the Atef crown composed of ostrich feathers, a sun disk and a pair of ram’s horns. Emerging from his forehead is a uraeus, the royal symbol of protection. The king...
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