Egypt

The sphinx has a "slight smile," according to archaeologist Mamdouh Al-Damati.

Cool Finds

Smiling Sphinx Statue Unearthed in Egypt

Researchers suspect the Roman-era limestone figure may depict the emperor Claudius

Tourists visiting the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt, earlier this week

Cool Finds

Hidden Chamber Revealed Inside Great Pyramid of Giza

Researchers used cosmic-ray imaging to uncover the 30-foot-long corridor

An artistic illustration of Egyptian embalmers in the underground embalming workshop at Saqqara

The Surprising Substances Ancient Egyptians Used to Mummify the Dead

An analysis of 2,500-year-old embalming ingredients suggests some of them came from far-off places

One of the recently discovered tombs at the Saqqara archaeological site

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Oldest Known Gold-Covered Mummy in Egypt

The year-long excavation has also revealed statues, tools, pottery and dozens of other artifacts

The animals were preserved in a different manner than most mummified crocodiles.

Archaeologists in Egypt Unearth 2,500-Year-Old Mummified Crocodiles

The remains include five reptile heads and five nearly intact specimens

The stunning Sydney Modern Project is the modern leg of the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Australia.

The Most Anticipated Museum Openings of 2023

Scheduled to launch this year are new institutions dedicated to punk rock, Amelia Earhart and robots

Egyptian officials with the ancient sarcophagus on January 2, 2023

U.S. Returns Looted Sarcophagus to Egypt

The "Green Coffin" had been at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences since 2013

Egyptologist Zahi Hawass is leading a push to repatriate the Rosetta Stone, the Dendera Zodiac and the bust of Nefertiti to Egypt.

History of Now

Who Gets to Tell the Story of Ancient Egypt?

On the eve of the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, some of the country's artifacts, from the Rosetta Stone to the bust of Nefertiti, remain overseas

Flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains and exacerbated by human-caused climate change has killed nearly 1,700 people in Pakistan this year. Countries at COP27 agreed that major emitters of greenhouse gases should create a fund to deal with similar crises.

Five Major Storylines From the COP27 Climate Summit

Delegates agree to a loss and damage fund, but some experts worry the conference didn’t go far enough to address climate change

President Biden speaks at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on November 11. 

New Rules Could Slash 36 Million Tons of Methane by 2030

Biden announced plans for tackling the powerful greenhouse gas, which could go into effect by the end of next year

The Taposiris Magna Temple west of the ancient city of Alexandria

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover 4,300-Foot-Long Tunnel Under Ancient Egyptian Temple

Researchers have been digging near the Taposiris Magna Temple in hopes of finding Cleopatra’s long-lost tomb

Ugandan youth climate activist Leah Namugerwa speaks during the Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit of the UNFCCC. 

What You Need to Know About the COP27 Climate Summit

World leaders are gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to discuss climate action

The burial chamber of King Tut's tomb

How Howard Carter Discovered King Tut's Golden Tomb

A hundred years after the legendary find, archival records tell the definitive story of the dig that changed the world

Put together, recent research on Tutankhamun—from new interpretations of X-rays and CT scans to studies of his footwear and mortuary temple—presents quite a different portrait from what is frequently seen in popular media.

Reimagining Tutankhamun as a Warrior

Recent research contradicts the image of the Egyptian boy-king as a frail, sickly pharaoh

The pink granite sarcophagus of Ptah-M-Wia, an important official during the reign of Ramses II

Cool Finds

Sarcophagus of Ramses II's Chief Treasurer Discovered at Saqqara

Egyptian archaeologists unearthed the empty, 3,200-year-old coffin of Ptah-M-Wia, a high-ranking New Kingdom official

“The first people to look at the Rosetta Stone thought it would take two weeks to decipher,” says Edward Dolnick, author of The Writing of the Gods: The Race to Decode the Rosetta Stone. “It ended up taking 20 years.”

Trending Today

Two Hundred Years Ago, the Rosetta Stone Unlocked the Secrets of Ancient Egypt

French scholar Jean-François Champollion announced his decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs on September 27, 1822

The Alfred Merlin, France’s new high-tech underwater archaeological exploration ship

Archaeologists From Eight Countries Team Up to Explore the Skerki Banks

Coordinated by Unesco, the project will examine the underwater site between Sicily and Tunisia

The 3,000-year-old Imsety sculpture is a lid to a canopic jar, which held organs during mummification.

Customs Officials Seize a 3,000-Year-Old Egyptian Artifact in Tennessee

The stone sculpture depicts the Egyptical funeral deity Imsety

The coin depicts Luna, the goddess of the moon, and the zodiac sign for Cancer.

Cool Finds

Roman Coin Depicting Zodiac Symbol Discovered off Israel’s Coast

The rare bronze coin was minted during the reign of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius

Discovered beneath the Baths of Caracalla, the two-story home dates to between 134 and 138 C.E.

Cool Finds

An Ancient Home Found Beneath the Baths of Caracalla Is Now on Display

The second-century structure has frescoed ceilings and depictions of both Roman and Egyptian deities

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