The History of Egypt Podcast

News from the Field (2025) Part 2. The past excavation season has been extraordinarily productive. Beyond the new royal tomb of Thutmose II we also have a SECOND royal tomb, at Aby…

The new royal tomb, and how two 18th Dynasty rulers defined the "New Kingdom" as we know it. Prof. Aidan Dodson is a dedicated and prolific scholar, whose research covers many face…

News from the Field 2025, Part 1. In February 2025, the breaking news was the discovery of a royal tomb. An archaeological mission working in Luxor are confident they have located…

Recorded May 2024. A name more famous than its owners. The Cleopatras of Egypt (all seven of them) were remarkably influential women and rulers. Frequently taking up power and resp…

In 1881, a remarkable discovery took place in Luxor, Egypt. In the hills of Deir el-Bahari, a secret tomb held the reburied mummies of Egypt’s famous pharaohs. Figures like Sety I,…

The coffin of Sety I (now in the NMEC) was probably reworked from an earlier piece, during the reburials in DB320 (the royal cache). But how can we tell? Dr. Peter Lacovara explain…

Elizabeth Frood is Associate Professor of Egyptology and Director of the Griffith Institute at the University of Oxford, UK. In a lively discussion, Dr. Frood shares her insights i…

Sety’s royal burial. Valley of the Kings tomb 17 (KV17) came to light in October 1817. Discovered by a team of Egyptian workers, employed by Giovanni Belzoni, the tomb is the most…

After a reign of approximately eleven years, the Horus Men-Ma’at-Ra (Sety I) passed to the west. He died in reasonably good health, and studies of his mummy reveal a tall, physical…

Paser, servant of Sety I and Ramesses II (c.1300--1270 BCE). In the later years of his reign, King Sety promoted one of his servants to the highest political/government office. Pas…

The Place of Beauties (Ta-Set-Neferu). In the reigns of Ramesses I and Sety I (c.1304—1292 BCE), the Valley of the Queens finally earned its moniker. Having been a burial ground fo…

Understanding the deities requires us to move beyond inherited preconceptions and prejudices. Fortunately, there are many gods worthy of the effort. From the deified Sphinx Horemak…

The Book of the Sky Cow. In the waning years of the 18th Dynasty (the reign of Tut’ankhamun) royal artisans began decorating tombs and funerary equipment with a new text. Sometimes…

Hathor's temple at Dendera is one of the best in Egypt. Constructed in the late 1st Millennium BCE (but with roots stretching back to the Old Kingdom), Hathor’s house preserves ama…

Livestream recording. The tombs of Deir el-Medina are some of the most vibrant and beautiful in Waset (Thebes). How did they build them, which artists decorated them, and how did f…

Sety’s final campaign. In winter of year 8 (approx. December 1296 BCE), the King of Egypt Sety I received news: rebellion in the south. In a land called Irem, now in modern Sudan,…

Around 1300 BCE, Deir el-Medina expanded significantly. As a result, our evidence for daily life, families, households, and business begins to proliferate. Historians can identify…

Sety I in the Valley of the Kings (Part 1). Archaeological remains and ancient texts reveal a great deal about tomb-building in the 19th and 20th Dynasties (c.1303—1070 BCE). Recor…

The plan of an honest ruler. Around 1300 BCE, as today, gold was big business. King Sety I personally led an expedition into the eastern desert, to establish a new mining operation…

Sety in the Desert. Around 1300 BCE, King Sety led an expedition into the Red Sea hills. His purpose? Gold. The King brought soldiers and charioteers out to mine precious metals fo…