Detail of a wall relief depicting Osiris and Isis in the Temple of Seti I in Abydos, the cult center of Osiris, lord of the dead. The necropolis is a place of pilgrimage and burial and at least ten temples were originally constructed there. Among those ten temples, three remain that are of special note. These...
The head of the Sphinx of Giza is encased in scaffolding and works are under way excavating the body. Early 20th-century excavation at the Giza Necropolis. An earlier Sphinx excavation was marked by the Dream Stele (around 1401 BC) of Thutmose IV, at lower center. The granite altar (bottom) between the Sphinx’s paws dates from...
Relief depicts metalworkers employed in the manufacture of jewelry, smelting gold by blowing into a furnace. Detail of a wall carving in the Mastaba of Mereruka. The ancient Egyptians did engage in gold manufacturing during the Old Kingdom. Gold was highly valued and sought after in ancient Egypt, and it was used for various purposes,...
Bas-relief depicts sculptors working on statues, detail of a wall carving from the joint Mastaba of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum, royal servants. They shared the title of Overseer of the Manicurists in the Palace of King Nyuserre Ini. In the Old Kingdom of Egypt, sculpting statues held great importance for several reasons. Firstly, statues were created to...
Bas relief depicts the royal cartouche of Senusret I (Kheperkare, The Ka of Re is created). The cartouche is nothing more than the elongated shape of the circular sign “shen”, which was most probably the symbol of the solar disk. It was exclusively used for the name of the king, protecting him and functioning almost...
Illustration of the interior of a royal tomb of a king of Ancient Egypt. This depiction is partially based on the tomb of Thutmose IV, the 8th king of the 18th Dynasty. Thutmose IV ruled from 1401 BC to 1391 BC. The tomb has many rooms and side room, with the tomb at lower right. An...
Painting of the goddess Isis offers the ankh, the symbol of life, to Nefertari. A detailed view of Pillar II in Chamber K (the burial chamber). The tomb of Nefertari is located in the Valley of the Queens, near the ancient city of Thebes. It is one of the best preserved and most ornate of...
The tomb Meresankh III was discovered by archaeologist George Reisner on April 23, 1927, with subsequent excavations undertaken by his team on behalf of Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Queen Meresankh III was the daughter of Hetepheres II and prince Kawab and a granddaughter of king Khufu. She was the wife...
Detail of a wall relief depicts Osiris, Lord of the underworld, god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation. Osiris was the god of afterlife, the underworld and the dead, green-skinned with a king’s beard, wearing the atef crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and holding a symbolic crook...
Mural scene from a funeral procession of Ramose, detail of a wall painting from the Tomb Chapel of Ramose (TT55). Ramose was Vizier under both Amenhotep III and Akhenaten. Ramose (Egyptian: rꜥ-ms(. w)) was an ancient Egyptian name, meaning “Re is born”. Variants of the name include Ramesses (Ramessu) and Paramessu; these various spellings could...
