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Ancient Egypt

The Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza (Egypt). Ca. 1845. Lithography by David Roberts.

New Research

A Simple Trick May Have Helped the Egyptians Build the Pyramids

No ancient aliens needed: A little bit of water reduces friction when dragging a sled over sand

Tourists Outside King Tut's Tomb

Cool Finds

Egypt Building a Fake Version of King Tut’s Tomb for Tourists

The original tomb is being damaged by constant visitors, so authorities are building another

Edward Burne-Jones, The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon, painted probably using Mummy Brown.

Cool Finds

Ground Up Mummies Were Once an Ingredient in Paint

In 1964, the manufacturer who made Mummy Brown reportedly ran out of mummies to grind up

Cool Finds

This Mummy Had an Angel Tattooed on Her Leg

A 1,300 year old Egyptian mummy was found to have the tattoo of an angel on her inner thigh

Cool Finds

No One Knows Why Ancient Egyptians Built This 4,600-Year-Old Pyramid

The new pyramid joins the list of other mysterious step pyramids built before the Great Pyramid at Giza

Cool Finds

Archaeologists in Egypt Just Unearthed a Previously Unknown Pharaoh’s Tomb

Ancient Egypt’s King Senebkay just arose after a 3,650 year slumber

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Egyptians Mummified The Beef Ribs And Sliced Goat Meat They Sent on With Their Rulers to the Afterlife

They basted the meat in fat and resin in order to preserve it forever.

New Theory: King Tut Died in a Chariot Crash

A new examination of Tut’s remains reveals that he was killed in a horrific chariot accident

Legos Helped Restore a 3,000-Year-Old Sarcophagus

Lego platforms propped the sarcophagus in place from the inside, allowing the researchers to work on the ancient materials without fear of collapse

The Great Pyramid: Built for the Pharaoh Khufu in about 2570 B.C., sole survivor of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, and arguably the most mysterious structure on the planet

Inside the Great Pyramid

No structure in the world is more mysterious than the Great Pyramid. But who first broke into its well-guarded interior? When? And what did they find?

After being abrupty sacked in an overhaul of the country's cabinet, Zahi Hawass has been reinstated, but only temporarily.

The Fall of Zahi Hawass

Removed as minister of antiquities, the high profile archaeologist no longer holds the keys to 5,000 years of Egyptian history

The Egyptian queen, shown here in a 19th-century engraving, sneaked back from exile and surprised Julius Caesar.

Rehabilitating Cleopatra

Egypt’s ruler was more than the sum of the seductions that loom so large in history—and in Hollywood

Carved in place from limestone, the Sphinx is among the world's largest statues.

Uncovering Secrets of the Sphinx

After decades of research, American archaeologist Mark Lehner has some answers about the mysteries of the Egyptian colossus

Egyptian archaeologists work at an ancient burial ground in Saqqara, dating back to 2,700 B.C., where a 4,300-year-old pyramid has been discovered at the Saqqara necropolis. It was first built for Queen Sesheshet, the mother of King Teti who founded the 6th Dynasty of Egypt's Old Kingdom.

The Tomb of Queen Sesheshet

A recently discovered pyramid and tomb in Egypt may shed light on a dark episode in a pharaonic tradition of court intrigue

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Symbolically Speaking

A Q&A with hieroglyphs expert Janice Kamrin

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Digging up Egypt’s Treasures

The ten most significant discoveries in the past 20 years

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Understanding the Lasting Allure of the Rosetta Stone

An Egyptologist explains the importance of the artifact

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Unearthing Egypt’s Greatest Temple

Discovering the grandeur of the monument built 3,400 years ago

How exactly was the Great Pyramid built? Inside-out, thinks architect Jean-Pierre Houdin.

Monumental Shift

Tackling an ages-old puzzle, a French architect offers a new theory on how the Egyptians built the Great Pyramid at Giza

Researchers collect core samples in 2001. During drilling operations, several anchors placed by divers secured the boat to the sea floor.

Underwater World

New evidence reveals a city beneath ancient Alexandria

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