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Amarna (; ar, العمارنة, al-ʿamārnah) is an extensive
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian
archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
containing the remains of what was the
capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...
of the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the
Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...
, and abandoned shortly after his
death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
in 1332 BC. The name that the ancient Egyptians used for the city is transliterated in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
as Akhetaten or Akhetaton, meaning " the horizon of the
Aten Aten also Aton, Atonu, or Itn ( egy, jtn, ''reconstructed'' ) was the focus of Atenism, the religious system established in ancient Egypt by the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. The Aten was the disc of the sun and originally an aspect of ...
".David (1998), p. 125 The site is on the east bank of the
Nile River The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...
, in what today is the Egyptian province of Minya. It is about south of the city of al-Minya, south of the Egyptian capital,
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, and north of
Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...
(site of the previous capital, Thebes). The city of
Deir Mawas Deir Mawas or Deir Muas () is a city in Egypt. It is located in the Minya Governorate, on the west bank of the Nile. History The name of the city likely comes from a now vanished Coptic monastery of Archangel Michael. On 18 March 1919, the pe ...
lies directly to its west. On the east side of Amarna there are several modern villages, the chief of which are l-Till in the north and el-Hagg Qandil in the south. Activity in the region flourished from the
Amarna Period The Amarna Period was an era of History of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian history during the later half of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty when the royal residence of the pharaoh and his queen was shifted to Akhetaten ('Horizon of the ...
until the later
Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
.


Name

The name ''Amarna'' comes from the Beni Amran tribe that lived in the region and founded a few settlements. The ancient Egyptian name was Akhetaten. (This site should be distinguished from
Tell Amarna in Syria Tell Amarna is an archaeological site in northern Syria, on the west bank of the Euphrates. Archaeological research The site was investigated as part of the archaeological salvage excavations conducted due to the building of the Tishrin Dam on t ...
, a
Halaf period The Halaf culture is a prehistoric period which lasted between about 6100 BC and 5100 BC. The period is a continuous development out of the earlier Pottery Neolithic and is located primarily in the fertile valley of the Khabur River (Nahr al-K ...
archaeological tell.) English Egyptologist Sir
John Gardner Wilkinson Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (5 October 1797 – 29 October 1875) was an English traveller, writer and pioneer Egyptologist of the 19th century. He is often referred to as "the Father of British Egyptology". Childhood and education Wilkinson ...
visited Amarna twice in the 1820s and identified it as Alabastron, following the sometimes contradictory descriptions of Roman-era authors
Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
(''On Stones'') and
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
(''
Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
''), although he was not sure about the identification and suggested Kom el-Ahmar as an alternative location.


City of Akhetaten

The area of the city was effectively a virgin site, and it was this city that Akhetaten described as the Aten's "seat of the First Occasion, which he had made for himself that he might rest in it". It may be that the Royal Wadi's resemblance to the
hieroglyph A hieroglyph ( Greek for "sacred carvings") was a character of the ancient Egyptian writing system. Logographic scripts that are pictographic in form in a way reminiscent of ancient Egyptian are also sometimes called "hieroglyphs". In Neoplatoni ...
for ''horizon'' showed that this was the place to found the city. The city was built as the new capital of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, dedicated to his new religion of worship to the
Aten Aten also Aton, Atonu, or Itn ( egy, jtn, ''reconstructed'' ) was the focus of Atenism, the religious system established in ancient Egypt by the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. The Aten was the disc of the sun and originally an aspect of ...
. Construction started in or around Year 5 of his reign (1346 BC) and was probably completed by Year 9 (1341 BC), although it became the capital city two years earlier. To speed up construction of the city most of the buildings were constructed out of
mudbrick A mudbrick or mud-brick is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE, though since 4000 BCE, bricks have also bee ...
, and white washed. The most important buildings were faced with local stone. It is the only ancient Egyptian city which preserves great details of its internal plan, in large part because the city was abandoned after the death of Akhenaten, when Akhenaten's son, King
Tutankhamun Tutankhamun (, egy, twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ...
, decided to leave the city and return to his birthplace in Thebes (modern
Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...
). The city seems to have remained active for a decade or so after his death, and a shrine to
Horemheb Horemheb, also spelled Horemhab or Haremhab ( egy, ḥr-m-ḥb, meaning "Horus is in Jubilation") was the last pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of Egypt (1550–1295 BC). He ruled for at least 14 years between 131 ...
indicates that it was at least partially occupied at the beginning of his reign, if only as a source for building material elsewhere. Once it was abandoned, it remained uninhabited until Roman settlement began along the edge of the Nile. However, due to the unique circumstances of its creation and abandonment, it is questionable how representative of ancient Egyptian cities it actually is. Amarna was hastily constructed and covered an area of approximately of territory on the east bank of the Nile River; on the west bank, land was set aside to provide crops for the city's population. The entire city was encircled with a total of 14 boundary
stela A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
e detailing Akhenaten's conditions for the establishment of this new capital city of Egypt. The earliest dated stele from Akhenaten's new city is known to be ''Boundary stele K'' which is dated to Year 5, IV Peret (or month 8), day 13 of Akhenaten's reign.Aldred (1988), p. 47 (Most of the original 14 boundary stelae have been badly eroded.) It preserves an account of Akhenaten's foundation of this city. The document records the pharaoh's wish to have several temples of the Aten to be erected here, for several royal tombs to be created in the eastern hills of Amarna for himself, his chief wife
Nefertiti Neferneferuaten Nefertiti () ( – c. 1330 BC) was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a radical change in national religious policy, in whic ...
, and his eldest daughter
Meritaten Meritaten, also spelled Merytaten, Meritaton or Meryetaten ( egy, mrii.t-itn) (14th century BC), was an ancient Egyptian royal woman of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Her name means "She who is beloved of Aten"; Aten being the sun-deity whom h ...
as well as his explicit command that when he was dead, he would be brought back to Amarna for burial. Boundary stela K introduces a description of the events that were being celebrated at Amarna: This text then goes on to state that Akhenaten made a great
oblation Oblation, meaning "the act of offering; an instance of offering" and by extension "the thing offered" (Late Latin ''oblatio'', from ''offerre'', ''oblatum'', to offer), is a term used, particularly in ecclesiastical use, for a solemn offering, s ...
to the god Aten "and this is the theme
f the occasion F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...
which is illustrated in the
lunettes A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...
of the stelae where he stands with his queen and eldest daughter before an altar heaped with offerings under the Aten, while it shines upon him rejuvenating his body with its rays."


Site and plan

Located on the east bank of the Nile, the ruins of the city are laid out roughly north to south along a "Royal Road", now referred to as "Sikhet es-Sultan".Waterson (1999), p. 81Grundon (2007), p. 92 The Royal residences are generally to the north, in what is known as the North City, with a central administration and religious area and the south of the city is made up of residential suburbs.


North City

If one approached the city of Amarna from the north by river the first buildings past the northern boundary stele would be the
North Riverside Palace The North Riverside Palace was a royal residence in the former Egyptian city of Amarna. This palace should not be confused with the North Palace, which was the residence of first Queen Kiya and later Meritaten. The Palace The North Riverside pal ...
. This building ran all the way up to the waterfront and was likely the main residence of the Royal Family.Kemp, Barry, The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and its People, Thames and Hudson, 2012, pp. 151–153 Located within the North City area is the
Northern Palace Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...
, the main residence of the Royal Family. Between this and the central city, the Northern Suburb was initially a prosperous area with large houses, but the house size decreased and became poorer the further from the road they were.


Central City

Most of the important ceremonial and administrative buildings were located in the central city. Here the
Great Temple of the Aten The Great Temple of the Aten (or the ''pr-Jtn'', House of the Aten)Barbara Watterson, Amarna: Ancient Egypt’s Age of Revolution (Charleston, SC: Tempus Publishing, 1999), 69-72. was a temple located in the city of el- Amarna (ancient Akhetaten), ...
and the
Small Aten Temple Small may refer to: Science and technology * SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language * Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back * ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication * <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text ...
were used for religious functions and between these the Great Royal Palace and Royal Residence were the ceremonial residence of the King and Royal Family, and were linked by a bridge or ramp. Located behind the Royal Residence was the
Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh The building known as the Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh (also known as the Records Office) is located in the 'Central City' area of the ancient Egyptian city of Akhetaten, known as Amarna in modern times. The city was the short-lived capit ...
, where the
Amarna Letters The Amarna letters (; sometimes referred to as the Amarna correspondence or Amarna tablets, and cited with the abbreviation EA, for "El Amarna") are an archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between t ...
were found. This area was probably the first area to be completed, and had at least two phases of construction.


Southern suburbs

To the south of the city was the area now referred to as the ''Southern Suburbs''. It contained the estates of many of the city's powerful nobles, including
Nakhtpaaten Nakhtpaaten (“Strong is the Aten”) or Nakht was an ancient Egyptian vizier during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten of the 18th Dynasty. Biography Nakhtpaaten seems to have succeeded the Vizier Ramose in office. Ramose was the vizier in Thebe ...
(Chief Minister), Ranefer,
Panehesy Panehesy (also transcribed as PinhasyAldred, Cyril, Akhenaten: King of Egypt ,Thames and Hudson, 1991 (paperback), , pg 16,18,24,66,131,222 or PanehsyKemp, Barry, The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and its People, Thames and Hudson, 2012 ...
(High Priest of the Aten), and Ramose (Master of Horses). This area also held the studio of the sculptor
Thutmose Thutmose (also rendered Thutmoses, Thutmosis, Tuthmose, Tutmosis, Thothmes, Tuthmosis, Thutmes, Djhutmose, Djehutymes, etc.) is an Anglicization of the Ancient Egyptian personal name ''dhwty-ms'', usually translated as "Born of the god Thoth". Th ...
, where the famous bust of Nefertiti was found in 1912. Further to the south of the city was
Kom el-Nana Kom el-Nana is an archaeological site near the ancient Egyptian city of Akhet-Aten. It lies south of the city and east of the modern village of el-Hagg Quandil. For a long time its ruins were thought to be those of a Roman military camp, but betw ...
, an enclosure, usually referred to as a ''sun-shade'', and was probably built as a sun-temple., and then the
Maru-Aten Maru-Aten, short for Pa-maru-en-pa-aten (The Viewing-Palace-of-the-Aten), is a palace or sun-temple located 3 km to the south of the central city area of the city of Akhetaten (today's el Amarna). It is thought to have been originally constru ...
, which was a palace or sun-temple originally thought to have been constructed for
Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...
's queen
Kiya Kiya was one of the wives of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Little is known about her, and her actions and roles are poorly documented in the historical record, in contrast to those of Akhenaten's ‘Great royal wife’, Nefertiti. Her unusual n ...
, but on her death her name and images were altered to those of
Meritaten Meritaten, also spelled Merytaten, Meritaton or Meryetaten ( egy, mrii.t-itn) (14th century BC), was an ancient Egyptian royal woman of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Her name means "She who is beloved of Aten"; Aten being the sun-deity whom h ...
, his daughter.


City outskirts

:''See also
Workmen's Village, Amarna The Workmen's Village, located in the desert east of the ancient city of Akhetaten (modern Amarna), was built during the reign of the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. It housed the workers who constructed and decorated the tombs of the ci ...
'' Surrounding the city and marking its extent, the Boundary Stelae (each a rectangle of carved rock on the cliffs on both sides of the Nile) describing the founding of the city are a primary source of information about it. Away from the city Akhenaten's Royal necropolis was started in a narrow valley to the east of the city, hidden in the cliffs. Only one tomb was completed, and was used by an unnamed Royal Wife, and Akhenaten's tomb was hastily used to hold him and likely
Meketaten Meketaten ("Behold the Aten" or "Protected by Aten") was the second daughter of six born to the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. She likely lived between Year 4 and Year 14 of Akhenaten's reign. Although little is know ...
, his second daughter. In the cliffs to the north and south of the Royal Wadi, the nobles of the city constructed their
Tombs A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...
.


Life in ancient Amarna/Akhetaten

Much of what is known about Amarna's founding is due to the preservation of a series of official boundary stelae (13 are known) ringing the perimeter of the city. These are cut into the cliffs on both sides of the Nile (10 on the east, 3 on the west) and record the events of Akhetaten (Amarna) from founding to just before its fall. To make the move from Thebes to Amarna, Akhenaten needed the support of the military. Ay, one of Akhenaten's principal advisors, exercised great influence in this area because his father
Yuya Yuya (sometimes Iouiya, or Yuaa, also known as Yaa, Ya, Yiya, Yayi, Yu, Yuyu, Yaya, Yiay, Yia, and Yuy) was a powerful ancient Egyptian courtier during the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (circa 1390 BC). He was married to Thuya, an Egyptian nobl ...
had been an important military leader. Additionally, everyone in the military had grown up together, they had been a part of the richest and most successful period in Egypt's history under Akhenaten's father, so loyalty among the ranks was strong and unwavering. Perhaps most importantly, "it was a military whose massed ranks the king took every opportunity to celebrate in temple reliefs, first at Thebes and later at Amarna."


Religious life

While the reforms of Akhenaten are generally believed to have been oriented towards a sort of
monotheism Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford ...
, or perhaps more accurately,
monolatrism Monolatry ( grc, μόνος, monos, single, and grc, λατρεία, latreia, worship, label=none) is the belief in the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship of only one deity. The term ''monolatry'' was perhaps first used by J ...
, archaeological evidence shows other deities were also revered, even at the centre of the Aten cult – if not officially, then at least by the people who lived and worked there.
... at Akhetaten itself, recent excavation by
Kemp Kemp may refer to: Places * Kemp, Illinois * Kemp, Ohio * Kemp, Oklahoma * Kemp, Texas * Kemp Land and Kemp Coast, Antarctica * Kemp Town, a 19th-century estate in East Sussex, England * Kemps Corner, place in India People * Kemp (surname) * Ke ...
(2008: 41–46) has shown the presence of objects that depict gods, goddesses and symbols that belong to the traditional field of personal belief. So many examples of
Bes BES or Bes may refer to: * Bes, Egyptian deity * Bes (coin), Roman coin denomination * Bes (Marvel Comics), fictional character loosely based on the Egyptian deity Abbreviations * Bachelor of Environmental Studies, a degree * Banco Espírito ...
, the grotesque dwarf figure who warded off evil spirits, have been found, as well as of the goddess-monster,
Taweret In Ancient Egyptian religion, Taweret (also spelled Taurt, Tuat, Tuart, Ta-weret, Tawaret, Twert and Taueret, and in Greek, Θουέρις – Thouéris, Thoeris, Taouris and Toeris) is the protective ancient Egyptian goddess of childbirth and f ...
, part crocodile, part hippopotamus, who was associated with childbirth. Also in the royal workmen's village at Akhetaten, stelae dedicated to
Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
and
Shed A shed is typically a simple, single-story roofed structure that is used for hobbies, or as a workshop in a back garden or on an allotment. Sheds vary considerably in their size and complexity of construction, from simple open-sided ones de ...
have been discovered (Watterson 1984: 158 & 208).


Amarna art-style

The Amarna art-style broke with long-established Egyptian conventions. Unlike the strict idealistic
formalism Formalism may refer to: * Form (disambiguation) * Formal (disambiguation) * Legal formalism, legal positivist view that the substantive justice of a law is a question for the legislature rather than the judiciary * Formalism (linguistics) * Scient ...
of previous
Egyptian art Ancient Egyptian art refers to art produced in ancient Egypt between the 6th millennium BC and the 4th century AD, spanning from Prehistoric Egypt until the Christianization of Roman Egypt. It includes paintings, sculpture ...
, it depicted its subjects more realistically. These included informal scenes, such as intimate portrayals of affection within the royal family or playing with their children, and no longer portrayed women as lighter coloured than men. The art also had a realism that sometimes borders on caricature. While the worship of
Aten Aten also Aton, Atonu, or Itn ( egy, jtn, ''reconstructed'' ) was the focus of Atenism, the religious system established in ancient Egypt by the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. The Aten was the disc of the sun and originally an aspect of ...
was later referred to as the
Amarna heresy Atenism, the Aten religion, the Amarna religion, or the "Amarna heresy" was a religion and the religious changes associated with the ancient Egyptian Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. The religion centered on the cult of the god Aten, depi ...
and suppressed, this art had a more lasting legacy.


Rediscovery and excavation


18th and 19th century excavations

The first western mention of the city was made in 1714 by
Claude Sicard Father Claude Sicard (1677–1726) was a French Jesuit priest, and an early modern visitor to Egypt, between 1708 and 1712. Sicard was a scholar and at the age of 22 was a professor in the seminary at Lyon.Thompson, Jason. (2015). ''Wonderful Th ...
, a French
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
who was travelling through the Nile Valley, and described the boundary stela from Amarna. As with much of Egypt, it was visited by
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's ''corps de savants'' in 1798–1799, who prepared the first detailed map of Amarna, which was subsequently published in ''
Description de l'Égypte The ''Description de l'Égypte'' ( en, Description of Egypt) was a series of publications, appearing first in 1809 and continuing until the final volume appeared in 1829, which aimed to comprehensively catalog all known aspects of ancient and m ...
'' between 1821 and 1830. After this European exploration continued in 1824 when Sir
John Gardiner Wilkinson Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (5 October 1797 – 29 October 1875) was an English traveller, writer and pioneer Egyptologist of the 19th century. He is often referred to as "the Father of British Egyptology". Childhood and education Wilkinson ...
explored and mapped the city remains. The copyist Robert Hay and his surveyor G. Laver visited the locality and uncovered several of the Southern Tombs from sand drifts, recording the reliefs in 1833. The copies made by Hay and Laver languish largely unpublished in the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, where an ongoing project to identify their locations is underway. The
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n expedition led by
Richard Lepsius Karl Richard Lepsius ( la, Carolus Richardius Lepsius) (23 December 181010 July 1884) was a pioneering Prussian Egyptologist, linguist and modern archaeologist. He is widely known for his magnum opus ''Denkmäler aus Ägypten und Äthiopien'' ...
visited the site in 1843 and 1845, and recorded the visible monuments and topography of Amarna in two separate visits over a total of twelve days, using drawings and paper squeezes. The results were ultimately published in ''Denkmäler aus Ägypten und Äthiopien'' between 1849 and 1913, including an improved map of the city. Despite being somewhat limited in accuracy, the engraved ''Denkmäler'' plates formed the basis for scholastic knowledge and interpretation of many of the scenes and inscriptions in the private tombs and some of the Boundary Stelae for the rest of the century. The records made by these early explorers teams are of immense importance since many of these remains were later destroyed or otherwise lost.


The Amarna letters

In 1887, a local woman digging for ''
sebakh Sebakh ( ar, سباخ, sabākh, less commonly transliterated as ''sebbakh'') is an Arabic word that translates to "fertilizer". In English, the term is primarily used to describe decomposed mudbricks from archaeological sites, which is an organic ...
'' uncovered a cache of over 300 cuneiform tablets (now commonly known as the
Amarna Letters The Amarna letters (; sometimes referred to as the Amarna correspondence or Amarna tablets, and cited with the abbreviation EA, for "El Amarna") are an archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between t ...
). These tablets recorded select
diplomatic Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents: especially, historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, p ...
correspondence of the Pharaoh and were predominantly written in
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...
, the ''
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
'' commonly used during the
Late Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
of the
Ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
for such communication. This discovery led to the recognition of the importance of the site, and led to a further increase in exploration.Grundon (2007), pp. 90–91


Excavation of the king's tomb

Between 1891 and 1892
Alessandro Barsanti Alessandro Barsanti (1858–1917) was an Italian architect and Egyptologist who worked for the Egyptian Antiquities Service. He excavated throughout Egypt (most notably he 'discovered' the tomb of Akhenaten in 1891–1892). He was also in ...
discovered and cleared the king's tomb (although it was probably known to the local population from about 1880). Around the same time Sir
Flinders Petrie Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Flinders Petrie, was a British Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. He held the first chair of Egypt ...
worked for one season at Amarna, working independently of the
Egypt Exploration Fund The Egypt Exploration Society (EES) is a British non-profit organization. The society was founded in 1882 by Amelia Edwards and Reginald Stuart Poole in order to examine and excavate in the areas of Egypt and Sudan. The intent was to study and an ...
. He excavated primarily in the Central City, investigating the
Great Temple of the Aten The Great Temple of the Aten (or the ''pr-Jtn'', House of the Aten)Barbara Watterson, Amarna: Ancient Egypt’s Age of Revolution (Charleston, SC: Tempus Publishing, 1999), 69-72. was a temple located in the city of el- Amarna (ancient Akhetaten), ...
, the Great Official Palace, the King's House, the
Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh The building known as the Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh (also known as the Records Office) is located in the 'Central City' area of the ancient Egyptian city of Akhetaten, known as Amarna in modern times. The city was the short-lived capit ...
, and several private houses. Although frequently amounting to little more than a
sondage A sondage is an archaeological process to clarify stratigraphic sequences during preliminary investigations of the terrain prior to an archaeological dig In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological ...
, Petrie's excavations revealed additional
cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...
tablets, the remains of several glass factories, and a great quantity of discarded
faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ad ...
, glass, and ceramic in sifting the palace rubbish heaps (including Mycenaean sherds). By publishing his results and reconstructions rapidly, Petrie was able to stimulate further interest in the site's potential.


20th century excavations

The copyist and artist Norman de Garis Davies published drawn and photographic descriptions of private tombs and boundary stelae from Amarna from 1903 to 1908. These books were republished by the EES in 2006. In the early years of the 20th century (1907 to 1914) the
Deutsche Orientgesellschaft The Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft (, ''German Oriental Society''), abbreviated DOG, is a German voluntary association based in Berlin dedicated to the study of the Near East. The DOG was officially founded in January 1898 to foster public interes ...
expedition, led by
Ludwig Borchardt Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and co ...
, excavated extensively throughout the North and South suburbs of the city. The famous bust of
Nefertiti Neferneferuaten Nefertiti () ( – c. 1330 BC) was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a radical change in national religious policy, in whic ...
, now in Berlin's
Ägyptisches Museum The Egyptian Museum of Berlin (german: Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung) is home to one of the world's most important collections of ancient Egyptian artefacts, including the iconic Nefertiti Bust. Since 1855, the collection is a part of t ...
, was discovered amongst other sculptural artefacts in the workshop of the sculptor
Thutmose Thutmose (also rendered Thutmoses, Thutmosis, Tuthmose, Tutmosis, Thothmes, Tuthmosis, Thutmes, Djhutmose, Djehutymes, etc.) is an Anglicization of the Ancient Egyptian personal name ''dhwty-ms'', usually translated as "Born of the god Thoth". Th ...
. The outbreak of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in August 1914 terminated the German excavations. From 1921 to 1936 an Egypt Exploration Society expedition returned to excavation at Amarna under the direction of T.E. Peet, Sir 
Leonard Woolley Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (17 April 1880 – 20 February 1960) was a British archaeologist best known for his Excavation (archaeology), excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia. He is recognized as one of the first "modern" archaeologists who excavat ...
,
Henri Frankfort Henri "Hans" Frankfort (24 February 1897 – 16 July 1954) was a Dutch Egyptologist, archaeologist and orientalist. Early life and education Born in Amsterdam, into a "liberal Jewish" family, Frankfort studied history at the University of Amster ...
,
Stephen Glanville Stephen Ranulph Kingdon Glanville, (26 April 1900 – 26 April 1956) was an English historian and egyptologist. He was Edwards Professor of Egyptology at University College London from 1935 to 1946. He was then Sir Herbert Thompson Professor o ...
, and
John Pendlebury John Devitt Stringfellow Pendlebury (12 October 1904 – 22 May 1941) was a British archaeologist who worked for British intelligence during World War II. He was captured and Summary execution, summarily executed by German troops during the ...
.
Mary Chubb Mary Chubb (22 March 1903 – 22 January 2003) was a British writer and archaeologist. She has been described as "the first professional excavation administrator". She was the daughter of John Burland Chubb (1861–1955), A.R.I.B.A., and a des ...
served as the digs administrator. The renewed investigations were focused on religious and royal structures. During the 1960s the Egyptian Antiquities Organization (now the
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian
Supreme Council of Antiquities The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) was a department of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture from 1994 to 2011. It was the government body responsible for the conservation, protection and regulation of all antiquities and archaeological excavatio ...
) undertook a number of excavations at Amarna.


21st century excavations

Exploration of the city continues to the present, currently under the direction of Barry Kemp (Emeritus Professor in Egyptology,
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, England) (until 2006, under the auspices of the
Egypt Exploration Society The Egypt Exploration Society (EES) is a British non-profit organization. The society was founded in 1882 by Amelia Edwards and Reginald Stuart Poole in order to examine and excavate in the areas of Egypt and Sudan. The intent was to study and ana ...
and now with the ). In 1980 a separate expedition led by Geoffrey Martin described and copied the reliefs from the Royal Tomb, later publishing its findings together with objects thought to have come from the tomb. This work was published in 2 volumes by the EES. From 2005 to 2013, the Amarna Project excavated at a
cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
of private individuals, close to the southern tombs of the Nobles.


In media


Fictional

''The Painted Queen'' written by the famous Elizabeth Peters a.k.a
Barbara Mertz Barbara Louise Mertz (September 29, 1927 – August 8, 2013) was an American author who wrote under her own name as well as under the pseudonyms Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels. In 1952, she received a PhD in Egyptology from the Univers ...
is the most recent installment to the
Amelia Peabody Amelia Peabody Emerson is the protagonist of the Amelia Peabody series, a series of historical mystery novels written by author Elizabeth Peters (a pseudonym of Egyptologist Barbara Mertz, 1927–2013). Peabody is married to Egyptologist Radcliff ...
novels after the author's passing in 2013. Elizabeth Peters was a school trained archaeologist, but was persuaded by her male colleagues that a woman was not to be an archaeologist, so "she created characters based on those misogynistic Egyptologists..." as stated by
Sarah Parcak Sarah Helen Parcak is an American archaeologist and Egyptologist, who has used satellite imagery to identify potential archaeological sites in Egypt, Rome and elsewhere in the former Roman Empire. She is a professor of Anthropology and director o ...
, a female archaeologist that specializes in remote sensing. The adventure stars a female archaeologist Amelia Peabody and the mystery of the missing Bust of Nefertiti. The Painted Queen takes place in the 1912, several years after the actual excavations at Amarna, when excavations in Egypt are solely European, local hires, or looters. Like all good mystery novels, there is humor, twists, and turns, and a predictable ending of a solved case. ''Nefertiti'' by
Michelle Moran Michelle Moran (born August 11, 1980) is an American novelist known for her historical fiction writing. Biography Michelle Moran was born in California's San Fernando Valley, August 11, 1980. She took an interest in writing from an early age, pu ...
is a historical fiction work that guides the reader from the perspective of Queen Nefertiti and her younger sister Mutnodjmet. The story follows the timeline from her time in Thebes to Amarna and after Akhenaten's death.
Nefertiti Neferneferuaten Nefertiti () ( – c. 1330 BC) was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a radical change in national religious policy, in whic ...
was the Chief wife in Akhenaten's court or haram. Though she is well known by name, as many historical female role models, her story is often overlooked for masculine rulers. Michelle Moran webs her story of the queen and her sister with political secrets, loss of innocence, and female strength in a patriarchal society.


Non-fictional

''The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and its People'' By Barry Kemp, discusses everything from the conception of Amarna to the abandonment of the city. Within the book there are images that display art, architecture, and the city as it was (reconstructed) and now. There is also a short chapter written by Kemp in the book ''Cities That Shaped the Ancient World''.


Magazines

In the past years ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'' and archaeological articles have published articles on Amarna,
Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...
,
Tutankhamun Tutankhamun (, egy, twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ...
, or
Nefertiti Neferneferuaten Nefertiti () ( – c. 1330 BC) was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a radical change in national religious policy, in whic ...
. Most of the article can be found in both the paperback or on the National Geographic website (currently the most recent article was published January 2021).


Opera

'' Akhnaten'', act II, scene 3 ("The City") describes the mandate from
Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...
to build Akhetaten. In the English lines, it is consistently referred to as the "City of the Horizon".


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * 2 vols. * * *


Further reading

* Freed, Rita A., Yvonne J. Markowitz, and Sue H. D'Auria, eds. 1999. Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamun. London: Thames and Hudson. * Giles, Frederick John. 2001. ''The Amarna Age: Egypt''. Warminster, Wiltshire, England: Aris & Phillips. * Kemp, Barry J. 2006. ''Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization''. 2d ed. London: Routledge. * Kemp, Barry J. 2012. ''The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People''. London: Thames and Hudson. * Murnane, William J. 1995. ''Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt''. Atlanta: Scholars. * Mynářová, Jana. 2007. ''Language of Amarna – Language of Diplomacy: Perspectives On the Amarna Letters''. Prague: Czech Institute of Egyptology; Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague. * Watterson, Barbara. 1999. ''Amarna: Ancient Egypt's Age of Revolution''. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus.


External links

* * – Shows just a few, but stunning, examples of the art of the
Amarna period The Amarna Period was an era of History of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian history during the later half of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty when the royal residence of the pharaoh and his queen was shifted to Akhetaten ('Horizon of the ...
. * * – 3D visualisation of the city developed by Paul Docherty. {{Authority control 14th-century BC establishments in Egypt 14th-century BC disestablishments Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC Populated places disestablished in the 2nd millennium BC 1714 archaeological discoveries Cities in ancient Egypt Former populated places in Egypt Planned capitals Populated places in Minya Governorate Akhenaten Tells (archaeology) Former capitals of Egypt