AE 144 - Sep / Oct 2024

Wild cats were domesticated in ancient Egypt from the earliest times, as Meilin Lyu tells us in her article in this issue. Although a few were lucky enough to be treated as domestic pets by elite members of society, most cats would have earned their keep as hunters of vermin or wildfowl, and their fierce nature led to their becoming associated with vengeful divinities such as Bastet. 

An essential requirement when touring Egypt in the years before the First Word War was a healthy bank balance. Although the advent of railways and Thomas Cook’s package holidays had made such visits no longer the prerogative of young aristocrats on year long Grand Tours, the cost put them beyond the reach of all but the relatively wealthy. In her article, Hilary Wilson gives us a detailed itinerary for a trip in 1912.

Luckily, visits to Egypt are now much more affordable. Even though readers may have been able to make several trips, there is always more to see, even in familiar places. In his ‘Out and about’ article, Karl Harris guides us around some newly opened tombs on the West Bank at Luxor, and for the more adventurous Aidan Dodson tells us about an important pyramid site that is rarely visited – Abu Rowash.

Much of the beautiful work of ancient Egyptian artists, such as the scenes on the walls of the tombs described by Karl, can still be seen in situ. But some masterpieces could not be saved, and would have been lost forever had they not been copied. One such is the huge mural from the ‘Green Room’ of the Northern Palace at Amarna, a facsimile of which (by Nina and Norman de Garis Davies) is now on view in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The convoluted tale of how it came to be there is recounted by Bob Brier. But the ancient Egyptians themselves were not averse to making replicas: they often painted wooden models of vessels to imitate stone ones, as James Harrell tells us.

Julian Heath’s choice for a ‘Milestone in Egyptology’ is the discovery of early Egypt by Flinders Petrie; and Campbell Price chooses to highlight the outstanding relief of Mentuhotep II as his ‘Object’. Two more articles by presenters at the forthcoming Current Research in Egyptology 2024 conference, and reports of ‘News’ and forthcoming events complete this issue.