View source for Amarna

{{Short description|Akhenaten's capital of Egypt, 1346–1332 BC}}
{{Infobox ancient site
|name           = Amarna
|native_name    = {{native name|ar|العمارنة|italics=off|paren=omit}}
|alternate_name = El-Amarna, Tell el-Amarna
|image          = Small aten temple.jpg
|alt            =
|caption        = The [[Small Aten Temple]] at Akhetaten
|map_type       = Egypt
|map_alt        =
|map_size       =
|relief         =
|coordinates    = {{coord|27|38|43|N|30|53|47|E|display=inline,title}}
|location       = [[Minya Governorate]], [[Egypt]]
|region         = [[Upper Egypt]]
|type           = Settlement
|part_of        =
|length         =
|width          =
|area           =
|height         =
|builder        = [[Akhenaten]]
|material       =
|built          = Approximately 1346 BC
|abandoned      =
|epochs         = [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt]], [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]]
|cultures       =
|dependency_of  =
|occupants      =
|excavations    = 1891-1892, 1907-1914, 1923-1925, 1930-1932, 1977-1982, 1996-present
|archaeologists = Flinders Petrie, Alessandro Barsanti, Ludwig Borchardt, T.E. Peet, Leonard Woolley, Henri Frankfort, John Pendlebury, Barry J. Kemp
|condition      =
|ownership      =
|management     =
|public_access  =
|website        = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
|notes          =
}}
{{distinguish|Tell Amarna in Syria|Amarma}}
'''Amarna''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|m|ɑːr|n|ə}}; {{langx|ar|العمارنة|al-ʿAmārna}}) is an extensive ancient [[Egypt]]ian [[archaeological site]] containing the ruins of '''Akhetaten''', the [[capital city]] during the late [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]]. The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the [[Pharaoh]] [[Akhenaten]], and abandoned shortly after [[Akhenaten#Death and burial|his death]] in 1332 BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amarnaproject.com/ |title=The Official Website of the Amarna Project |access-date=2008-10-01 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008002752/http://www.amarnaproject.com/ |archive-date=8 October 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The site is on the east bank of the [[Nile River]], in what today is the Egyptian province of [[Minya Governorate|Minya]]. It is about {{convert|58|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of the city of [[Minya, Egypt|al-Minya]], {{convert|312|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of the Egyptian capital, [[Cairo]], and {{convert|402|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of [[Luxor]] (site of the previous capital, [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&ie=UTF8&ll=27.649016,30.908833&spn=0.056566,0.077248&z=14 |access-date=2008-10-01 |df=dmy-all |publisher=Google Maps |title=Google Maps Satellite image}}</ref> The city of [[Deir Mawas]] 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]] until the later [[Egypt (Roman province)|Roman era]].<ref name="roman">{{cite web |url=http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/recent_projects/survey/middle_egypt/2006.shtml |title=Middle Egypt Survey Project 2006 |publisher=Amarna Project |year=2006 |access-date=2007-06-06 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070622062044/http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/recent_projects/survey/middle_egypt/2006.shtml |archive-date=22 June 2007 |url-status= live}}</ref>

==Name==
The name ''Amarna'' comes from the Beni Amran tribe that lived in the region{{when|date=March 2024}} and founded a few settlements. The ancient Egyptian name means "[[Akhet (hieroglyph)|the horizon]] of the [[Aten]]".<ref name="davidp125">David (1998), p. 125</ref>

English Egyptologist Sir [[John Gardner Wilkinson]] visited Amarna twice in the 1820s and identified it as '''Alabastron''',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/amarna/index.html |publisher=University College London |title=Digital Egypt for Universities: Amarna |access-date=26 July 2016}}</ref> following the sometimes contradictory descriptions of Roman-era authors [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] (''On Stones'') and [[Ptolemy]] (''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]''),<ref name="MatHyer">{{cite book |title=Materia hieroglyphica |author=Sir John Gardner Wilkinson |year=1828 |location=Malta |publisher=privately printed |page=22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWgGAAAAQAAJ&q=Amarna+%22alabastron%22&pg=RA1-PA22 |access-date=26 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="MatInd">{{cite book |title=Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries |author1=Alfred Lucas |author-link=Alfred Lucas (chemist) |author2=John Richard Harris |year=2011 |edition=reprint of 4th edition (1962), revised from first (1926) |location=Mineola, NY |publisher=Dover Publications |page=60 |isbn=978-0-486-40446-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dIoAwAAQBAJ&q=Amarna+%22alabastron%22&pg=PA60 |access-date=26 July 2016 }}</ref> although he was not sure about the identification and suggested [[Nekhen|Kom el-Ahmar]] as an alternative location.<ref name="ModEg">{{cite book |title=Modern Egypt and Thebes: being a description of Egypt; including the information required for travellers in that country |volume=II |year=1843 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |pages=43–44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fLsMAAAAIAAJ&q=Amarna+%22alabastron%22&pg=PA44 |access-date=26 July 2016}}</ref>

==City of Akhetaten==
{{Amarna Image Map|width=425|float=right}}

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 and tombs|Royal Wadi]]'s resemblance to the [[egyptian hieroglyph|hieroglyph]] 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 [[Atenism|new religion]] of worship to the [[Aten]]. 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]], and white washed. The most important buildings were faced with local stone.<ref>Grundon (2007), p. 89</ref>

It is the only ancient Egyptian city which preserves great details of its internal plan in large part because it was abandoned almost completely shortly after the royal government of [[Tutankhamun]] quit the city in favor of Thebes (modern [[Luxor]]). The city seems to have remained active for a decade or so after his death, and a shrine to [[Horemheb]] indicates that it was at least partially occupied at the beginning of his reign,<ref name="kemp">{{cite web |url=http://www.archaeology.org/online/interviews/kemp.html |title=Excavating Amarna |publisher=Archaeology.org |date=2006-09-27 |access-date=2007-06-06 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711043111/http://www.archaeology.org/online/interviews/kemp.html |archive-date=11 July 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>  if only as a source for building material elsewhere. Once it was abandoned, it remained uninhabited until Roman settlement<ref name="roman" /> 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 {{convert|8|mi|km}} 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.<ref name="davidp125"/> The entire city is encircled with a total of 14&nbsp;boundary [[stela]]e (labeled A thru V with discontinuities left for those thought to be missing, Stele B was defaced by locals in 1885) detailing Akhenaten's conditions for the establishment of this new capital city of Egypt.<ref name="davidp125"/>

The earliest dated stele from Akhenaten's new city is known to be ''Boundary stele&nbsp;K'' which is dated to Year&nbsp;5, IV&nbsp;Peret (or month&nbsp;8), day&nbsp;13 of Akhenaten's reign.<ref name="aldredp47">Aldred (1988), p. 47</ref> (Most of the original 14&nbsp;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]], and his eldest daughter [[Meritaten]] as well as his explicit command that when he was dead, he would be brought back to Amarna for burial.<ref>Aldred (1988), pp. 47–50</ref> Boundary stela K introduces a description of the events that were being celebrated at Amarna:

{{blockquote|His Majesty mounted a great chariot of [[electrum]], like the [[Aten]] when He rises on the horizon and fills the land with His love, and took a goodly road to Akhetaten, the place of origin, which [the Aten] had created for Himself that he might be happy therein. It was His son Wa'enrē [i.e. Akhenaten] who founded it for Him as His monument when His Father commanded him to make it. Heaven was joyful, the earth was glad every heart was filled with delight when they beheld him.<ref name="aldredp48">Aldred (1988), p. 48</ref>}}

[[File:Amarna boundary stela U 02.JPG|thumb|Statues to the left of Boundary stela U in el-Amarna]]
This text then goes on to state that Akhenaten made a great [[oblation]] to the god Aten "and this is the theme [of the occasion] which is illustrated in the [[lunette (stele)|lunettes]] 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."<ref name="aldredp48"/>

===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".<ref name="waterson81">Waterson (1999), p. 81</ref><ref name="grundon92">Grundon (2007), p. 92</ref> The Royal residences are generally to the north, in what is known as the [[North City, Amarna|North City]], with a central administration and religious area and the south of the city is made up of residential suburbs.

====North City====
[[File:Egyptian - Seal Ring with the Name of Akhenaten - Walters 42201 - Top.jpg|thumb|upright=0.55|Akhenaten seal ring in [[Egyptian faience|blue faience]]. [[Walters Art Museum]]]]
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]]. This building ran all the way up to the waterfront and was likely the main residence of the royal family.<ref name=":0">Kemp, Barry, The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and its People, Thames and Hudson, 2012, pp. 151–153</ref> Located within the North City area is the [[Northern Palace (Amarna)|Northern Palace]], the main residence of the royal family.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Müller |first=Miriam |date=2013 |title=Akhenaten's Workers: The Amarna Stone Village Survey, 2005–2009 (Book Review) |url=https://www.academia.edu/2058416 |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |volume=117 |issue=4 |doi=10.3764/ajaonline1174.Muller |issn=1939-828X|doi-access=free }}</ref> 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.<ref name="grundon92"/>

The '''North City''' was an administrative area. It contains the ruins of royal palaces, especially the [[Northern Palace (Amarna)|Northern Palace]] and other administrative buildings and occupies an area between the [[Nile|river]] and the cliffs that terminate the plains to the north of the city itself.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/north_city/index.shtml|title=North City, Amarna The Place|work=The Amarna Project|accessdate=2009-03-13}}</ref>

====Central City====
Most of the important ceremonial and administrative buildings were located in the central city. Here the [[Great Temple of the Aten]] and the [[Small Aten Temple]] 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.<ref>Waterson (1999), p. 82</ref> Located behind the Royal Residence was the [[Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh]], where the [[Amarna Letters]] were found.<ref>Moran (1992), p. xiv</ref>

This area was probably the first area to be completed, and had at least two phases of construction.<ref name="waterson81"/>

====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]] (Chief Minister), Ranefer, [[Panehesy]] (High Priest of the Aten), and Ramose (Master of Horses). This area also held the studio of the sculptor [[Thutmose (sculptor)|Thutmose]], where the famous bust of Nefertiti was found in 1912.<ref>Waterson (1999), p. 138</ref>

Further to the south of the city was [[Kom el-Nana]], an enclosure, usually referred to as a ''sun-shade'', and was probably built as a sun-temple.,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/komelnana/index.shtml|title=Kom El-Nana |access-date=2008-10-04 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008020948/http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/komelnana/index.shtml |archive-date=8 October 2008 |url-status= live}}</ref> and then the [[Maru-Aten]], which was a palace or sun-temple originally thought to have been constructed for [[Akhenaten]]'s queen [[Kiya]], but on her death her name and images were altered to those of [[Meritaten]], his daughter.<ref>Eyma (2003), p. 53</ref>

====City outskirts====
{{See also|Workmen's Village, Amarna}}
Surrounding the city and marking its extent, the [[Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/boundary_stelae/index.shtml |title=Boundary Stelae |access-date=2007-06-09 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070529001036/http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/boundary_stelae/index.shtml |archive-date=29 May 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:TutankhamunBerlin.jpg|thumb|Tutankamun Amarna portrait. [[Altes Museum]], [[Berlin]]]]
Away from the city Akhenaten's [[Royal Wadi and Tombs|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]], his second daughter.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/royal_tombs/index.shtml|title=Royal Tomb|access-date=2008-10-04 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080927231423/http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/royal_tombs/index.shtml |archive-date=27 September 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the cliffs to the north and south of the Royal Wadi, the nobles of the city constructed their [[Tombs of the Nobles (Amarna)|Tombs]].

==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.<ref>{{cite book |title=Akhenaten and Tutankhamun, Revolution and Restoration |author1-link=David P. Silverman |author1=Silverman, David P |author2-link=Josef W. Wegner |author2=Wegner, Josef W |author3=Jennifer Houser |year=2006 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |department=Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology}}</ref>

To make the move from Thebes to Amarna, Akhenaten needed the support of the military. [[Ay (pharaoh)|Ay]], one of Akhenaten's principal advisors, exercised great influence in this area because his father [[Yuya]] 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 [[Amenhotep III|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."<ref>{{cite book |title=Akhenaten, Egypt's False Prophet |author=Reeves, Nicholas |publisher=Thames & Hudson Ltd. |place=London, UK |year=2001}}</ref>

===Religious life===
While the reforms of Akhenaten are generally believed to have been oriented towards a sort of [[monotheism]], or perhaps more accurately, [[monolatrism]], 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.

<blockquote>
... at Akhetaten itself, recent excavation by [[Barry Kemp (Egyptologist)|Kemp]] (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]], the grotesque dwarf figure who warded off evil spirits, have been found, as well as of the goddess-monster, [[Taweret]], part crocodile, part hippopotamus, who was associated with childbirth. Also in the royal workmen's village at Akhetaten, stelae dedicated to [[Isis]] and [[Shed (deity)|Shed]] have been discovered (Watterson 1984: 158 & 208).<ref>{{cite thesis |first=Philip |last=Turner |url=https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/uk-ac-man-scw:180305 |title=Seth – a misrepresented god in the Ancient Egyptian pantheon? |type=PhD  |publisher=[[University of Manchester]] |place=Manchester, UK |year=2012}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==The Amarna letters==
[[File:Amarna Akkadian letter.png|thumb|upright=0.7|One of the [[Amarna letters]]]]
In 1887, a local woman digging for ''[[sebakh]]'' uncovered a cache of over 300 [[cuneiform|cuneiform tablets]] (now commonly known as the [[Amarna letters|Amarna Letters]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://members.tripod.com/~ib205/budge.html |title=Wallis Budge describes the discovery of the Amarna tablets |access-date=2008-10-01}}</ref> These tablets recorded select [[diplomacy|diplomatic]] correspondence of the Pharaoh and were predominantly written in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]], the ''[[lingua franca]]'' commonly used during the [[Late Bronze Age]] of the [[Ancient Near East]] for such communication. This discovery led to the recognition of the importance of the site, and led to a further increase in exploration.<ref name="grundon9091">Grundon (2007), pp. 90–91</ref>

==Amarna art-style==
{{Main|Amarna art}}
[[File:Alabaster sunken relief depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and daughter Meritaten. Early Aten cartouches on king's arm and chest. From Amarna, Egypt. 18th Dynasty. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|thumb|Alabaster sunken relief depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and daughter Meritaten. Early Aten cartouches on king's arm and chest. From Amarna, Egypt. 18th&nbsp;Dynasty. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London]]
[[File:Burial Chamber of Akhenaten at Amarna 2017.jpg|thumb|[[Akhenaten]]'s Royal tomb chamber in Amarna]]

The Amarna art-style broke with long-established Egyptian conventions. Unlike the strict idealistic [[Formalism (art)|formalism]] of previous [[Art of Ancient Egypt|Egyptian art]], 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]] was later referred to as the [[Amarna heresy]] and suppressed, this art had a more lasting legacy.

==Archaeology==
The first western mention of the city was made in 1714 by [[Claude Sicard]], a French [[Jesuit]] priest who was travelling through the Nile Valley who described the site and made a crude sketch
of [[Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten|Stela A]].<ref>Walle, B. van de., "La Découverte d'Amarna et d'Akhenaton", RdE 28, pp. 1-24, 1976</ref><ref>Hornung, Erik, "The Rediscovery of Akhenaten and His Place in Religion", Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, vol. 29, pp. 43–49, 1992</ref> As with much of Egypt, it was visited by [[Napoleon]]'s ''corps de savants'' in 1798–1799, who prepared the first detailed map of Amarna, which was subsequently published in ''[[Description de l'Égypte]]'' between 1821 and 1830.<ref name="amarnamapping">{{cite web |url=http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/recent_projects/survey/index.shtml |title=Mapping Amarna |access-date=2008-10-01 |df=dmy-all |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081008012317/http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/recent_projects/survey/index.shtml |archive-date=8 October 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

After this European exploration continued in 1824 when Sir [[John Gardiner Wilkinson]] explored and mapped the city remains.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/topographythebe02wilkgoog/mode/1up]Wilkinson, J. G., "Topography of Thebes, and General View of Egypt: Being a Short Account of the Principal Objects Worthy of Notice in the Valley of the Nile", London:Murray, 1835</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/modernegyptthebe02wilk/mode/1up]Gardner Wilkinson, John, "Modern Egypt and Thebes: Being a Description of Egypt", London, 1843</ref> The copyist [[Robert Hay (Egyptologist)|Robert Hay]] and his surveyor G.&nbsp;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]], where an ongoing project to identify their locations is underway.<ref>[https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/200302/the.lost.portfolios.of.robert.hay.htm The Lost Portfolios of Robert Hay - Saudi Aramco World - March/April 2003]</ref>

The [[Prussia]]n expedition led by [[Richard Lepsius]] 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 included an improved map of the city.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/denkmaler-aus-aegypten-und-aethiopien/denkmaeler-1/mode/1up]Lepsius, Richard, "Denkmäler aus aegypten und aethiopien", Band 1, Berlin: Nicolaische Buchhandlung, 1859</ref> 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.
{{clear left}}

Between 1891 and 1892 [[Alessandro Barsanti]] and Urbain Bouriant partly cleared the robbed out king's tomb.<ref name="Martin1974">Martin, Geoffrey Thorndike, "The royal tomb at El-’Amarna: The rock tombs of El-‘Amarna, Part VII, Vol. I: The objects", Archaeological
Survey of Egypt, Memoir 35. London: Egypt Exploration Society, 1974</ref> In 1891 and 1892 Sir [[Flinders Petrie]] worked for one season at Amarna, working independently of the [[Egypt Exploration Fund]]. He excavated primarily in the Central City, investigating the [[Great Temple of the Aten]], the Great Official Palace, the King's House, the [[Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh]], and several private houses. Although frequently amounting to little more than a [[sondage]], Petrie's excavations revealed additional [[cuneiform]] tablets, the remains of several glass factories, and a great quantity of discarded [[faience]], glass, and ceramic in sifting the palace rubbish heaps (including Mycenaean sherds).<ref name="grundon9091"/> By publishing his results and reconstructions rapidly, Petrie was able to stimulate further interest in the site's potential.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/tellelamarna00petr]Petrie, W. M. Flinders, "Tell el Amarna", London, Methuen & co, 1894</ref>

===Modern excavations===
The copyist and artist [[N. de Garis Davies|Norman de&nbsp;Garis Davies]] published drawn and photographic descriptions of private tombs and boundary stelae from Amarna from 1903 to 1908.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/DaviesTheRockTombsOfElAmarnaPartI.Merira.1903/mode/1up]Davies, N. de G., "The Rock Tombs of El Amarna Part I. Smaller Tombs and Boundary Stelae", London, 1903</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/rocktombsofelama14davi/mode/1up]Davies, N. de G., "The Rock Tombs of El Amarna. Part II.-The Tombs of Panehesy and Meryra II.", London, 1905</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/cu31924020525360/mode/1up]Davies, N. de G., "The Rock Tombs of El Amarna: Part III: the Tombs of Huya and Ahmes", London, 1905</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/rocktombsofelama16davi/mode/1up]Davies, N. de G., "The Rock Tombs of El Amarna: Part IV: the Tombs of Penthu, Mahu, and Others", London, 1906</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/cu31924020525386/mode/1up]Davies, N. de G., "The rock tombs of El Amarna: part V: smaller tombs and boundary stelae", London, 1908</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/rocktombsofelama18davi/mode/1up]Davies, N. de G., "The rock tombs of El Amarna, Part VI, Tombs of Parennefer, Tutu and Ay", London, 1908</ref>

From 1907 until 1914 the [[Deutsche Orientgesellschaft]] expedition, led by [[Ludwig Borchardt]], worked extensively throughout the North and South suburbs of the city. The first several years were spent doing
survey work with excavation beginning in 1911.<ref>[https://scholar.archive.org/work/f5dnkczscrejxe6vl3iyyrnyvi/access/ia_file/crossref-pre-1923-scholarly-works/10.2307%252F3714741.zip/10.2307%252F3853624.pdf]Leonard Woolley, C., "Excavations at Tell el-amarna", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 8.1, pp. 48-82, 1922</ref><ref>[https://scholar.archive.org/work/3mhebhenxzhuhabrvlw4tvdg2a/access/ia_file/crossref-pre-1923-scholarly-works/10.2307%252F3714741.zip/10.2307%252F3853563.pdf]Eric Peet, T., "Excavations at Tell el-Amarna: A preliminary report", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 7.1, pp. 169-185, 1921</ref><ref>Timme, P., "Tell el-Amarna vor der deutschen Ausgrabung im Jahre 1911", Ausgrabungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft in Tell el-Amarna 2, Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs, 1917</ref> The famous bust of [[Nefertiti Bust|Nefertiti]], now in Berlin's [[Neues Museum|Ägyptisches Museum]], was discovered amongst other sculptural artefacts in the workshop of the sculptor [[Thutmose (sculptor)|Thutmose]]. The outbreak of the [[World War I|First World War]] in August 1914 terminated the German excavations.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/excavationsattel00borc/mode/1up]Borchardt, Ludwig, "Excavations at Tell El Amarna, Egypt, in 1913-1914", Washington, 1916</ref>

In two seasons between 1923 and 1925 an [[Egypt Exploration Society]] expedition returned to excavation at Amarna under the direction of [[T. Eric Peet|T.E.&nbsp;Peet]], Sir&nbsp;[[Leonard Woolley]], [[Henri Frankfort]], [[Stephen Glanville]], and [[John Pendlebury]]. [[Mary Chubb]] served as the digs administrator.<ref>Newton, F.G., "Excavations at El-’Amarnah, 1923–24",
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 10, pp. 289–298, 1924</ref><ref>Griffith, F.Ll., "Excavations at El-’Amarnah, 1923–24",
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 10, pp. 306–323, 1924</ref><ref>Whittemore, T., "The excavations at El-’Amarnah, season
1924–5", Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 12, pp. 3–12, 1926</ref><ref>Frankfort, H., "Preliminary Report on the Excavations at El-’Amarnah, 1928-9", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 15, no. 3/4, pp. 143–49, 1929</ref> The renewed investigations were focused on religious and royal structures. Their work resumed in
two seasons between 1930 and 1932.<ref>Pendlebury, John Devitt Stringfellow, "Preliminary Report of the Excavations at Tell El-'Amarnah, 1932–1933", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 19.1, pp. 113-118, 1933</ref><ref>Pendlebury, John DS, "Excavations at Tell El Amarna: Preliminary Report for the Season 1933–4", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 20.1, pp. 129-137, 1934</ref><ref>Pendlebury, John DS, "Preliminary report of the excavations at Tell el-‘Amarnah, 1934–1935", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 21.1, pp. 129-135, 1935</ref><ref>Pendlebury, John DS, "Summary report on the excavations at Tell el-‘Amarnah, 1935–1936", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 22.1, pp.  194-198, 1936</ref>

Excavation resumed in the 1977 under with the Amarna Survey directed by Barry J. Kemp with the [[University of Cambridge]] and Amarna Expedition under Salvatore Garfi  under the auspices of the [[Egypt Exploration Society]] and continued until 1982.<ref>Kemp, B. J., "Preliminary Report on the El-’Amarna Survey, 1977", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 64, 22–34, 1978</ref><ref>Kemp, Barry J., "Preliminary Report on the El-’Amarna Survey, 1978", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 65, pp. 5–12, 1979</ref><ref>Kemp, Barry J., "Preliminary Report on the El-’Amarna Expedition, 1979", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 66, pp. 5–16, 1980</ref><ref>Kemp, Barry J., "Preliminary Report on the El-’Amarna Expedition, 1980", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 67, pp. 5–20, 1981</ref><ref>Kemp, Barry J., "Preliminary Report on the El-’Amarna Expedition, 1981-2", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 69, pp. 5–24, 1983</ref> Work was curtailed at that point due to regional conditions but resumed in 1996 under the Amarna Project and still under the direction of Barry J. Kemp.<ref>Jeffreys, D. G., et al., "Fieldwork, 1996-7: Memphis, Saqqara, Tell El-Amarna, Mons Porphyrites, Qasr Ibrim", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 83, pp. 1–15, 1997</ref><ref>Wilson, Penelope, et al., "Fieldwork, 1997-8: Delta Survey, Memphis, Saqqara, Tell El-Amarna, Gebel Dokhan, Qasr Ibrim", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 84, pp. 1–22, 1998</ref><ref>Wilson, Penelope, et al., "Fieldwork, 1998-9: Sais, Memphis, Gebel El-Haridi, Tell El-Amarna, Tell El-Amarna Glass Project", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 85, pp. 1–20, 1999</ref> In the 2000 season work also included the nearby arcaheologicl
site of [[Kom el-Nana]] and the start of a GPS survey of the region around Amarna.<ref>Wilson, Penelope, et al., "Fieldwork, 1999-2000: Sais, Memphis, Tell El-Amarna, Tell El-Amarna Glass Project, Qasr Ibrim", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 86, pp. 1–21, 2000</ref><ref>Wilson, Penelope, et al., "Fieldwork, 2000-01: Sais, Tell Mutubis, Delta Survey, Memphis, Tell El-Amarna, Qasr Ibrim", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 87, pp. 1–22, 2001</ref><ref>Wilson, Penelope, et al., "Fieldwork, 2001-02: Sais, Delta Survey, Memphis, Tell El-Amarna", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 88, pp. 1–21, 2002</ref><ref>Wilson, Penelope, et al., "Fieldwork, 2002-03: Delta Survey, Memphis, Tell El-Amarna, Qasr Ibrim", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 89, pp. 1–25, 2003</ref> Much of the work during this period was at the house of the king's chief charioteer, Ranefer which had been partially excavated in 1921.<ref>Wilson, Penelope, et al., "Fieldwork, 2003-04: Sais, Memphis, Tell El-Amarna, Tell El-Amarna Glass Project, Qasr Ibrim", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 90, pp. 1–34, 2004</ref><ref>Wilson, Penelope, et al., "Fieldwork, 2004-05: Sais, Memphis, Saqqara Bronzes Project, Tell El-Amarna, Tell El-Amarna Glass Project, Qasr Ibrim", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 91, pp. 1–36, 2005</ref> A separate expedition led by [[Geoffrey Thorndike Martin|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.<ref name="Martin1974" /><ref>Martin, Geoffrey Thorndike, "The royal tomb at El-’Amarna: The rock tombs of El-‘Amarna, Part VII, Vol. II: The reliefs, inscriptions, and architecture (with plan and sections by Mark Lehner)", Archaeological Survey of Egypt, Memoir 39. London: Egypt Exploration Society, 1989</ref>

Excavation at Amarna, under Amarna Project, continues to the present.<ref>Kemp, Barry, "Tell El-Amarna, 2006-7", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 93, pp. 1–63, 2007</ref><ref>Kemp, Barry, "Tell El-Amarna, 2011–12", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 98, pp. 1–26, 2012</ref><ref>Kemp, Barry, "Tell El-Amarna, 2016", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 102, pp. 1–11, 2016</ref><ref>Stevens, Anna, et al., "Tell El-Amarna, Autumn 2018 to Autumn 2019", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 106, no. 1/2, pp. 3–15, 2020</ref> Work includes excavation at a [[Southern Tombs Cemetery|cemetery]], close to the southern tombs of the Nobles and at several other cemeteries of private individuals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7209472.stm |publisher=news.bbc.co.uk |title=Grim secrets of Pharaoh's city |access-date=2008-10-01 |author=John Hayes-Fisher |work=BBC Timewatch |date=2008-01-25}}</ref><ref>[https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/03075133231213886]Stevens, Anna, et al., "Tell el-Amarna, 2022",The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 109.1-2, pp. 89-116, 2023</ref>

== In media ==

=== Fictional ===
{{Essay-like|date=July 2022|section}}
''The Painted Queen''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Peters|first=Elizabeth|title=The Painted Queen|publisher=HarperLuxe|year=2017|isbn=978-0062201362}}</ref> written by the famous Elizabeth Peters a.k.a. [[Barbara Mertz]] is the most recent installment to the [[Amelia Peabody series|Amelia Peabody]] 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..."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Parcak|first=Sarah|title=Archaeology From Space: How The Future Shapes Our Past|publisher=Henry Holt|year=2019|pages=188}}</ref> as stated by [[Sarah Parcak]], 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]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Moran|first=Michelle|title=Nefertiti|publisher=Broadway Books|year=2009|isbn=978-0307718709}}</ref> is a historical fiction work that guides the reader from the perspective of Queen Nefertiti and her younger sister [[Mutnedjmet|Mutnodjmet]]. The story follows the timeline from her time in Thebes to Amarna and after Akhenaten's death. [[Nefertiti]] 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 (Egyptologist)|Barry Kemp]],<ref name=":0" /> discusses everything from the conception of Amarna to the abandonment of the city. Within the book are images that display art, architecture, and the city as it was (reconstructed) and now. It also has a short chapter written by Kemp in the book ''Cities That Shaped the Ancient World''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Norwich|first=John Julius|title=Cities That Shaped the Ancient World|publisher=Thames & Hudson|year=2014|isbn=978-0500252048|pages=88–93}}</ref>

=== Magazines ===

In the past years ''[[National Geographic]]'' and archaeological articles have published articles on Amarna, [[Akhenaten]], [[Tutankhamun]], or [[Nefertiti]]. Most of the article can be found in both the paperback or on the National Geographic website<ref>{{Cite web|title=Amarna - National Geographic Search|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/search|access-date=2021-12-02|website=National Geographic|language=en}}</ref> (currently the most recent article was published January 2021).

=== Opera ===

''[[Akhnaten (opera)|Akhnaten]]'', act II, scene 3 ("The City") by [[Philip Glass]] describes the mandate from [[Akhenaten]] to build Akhetaten. In the English lines, it is consistently referred to as the "City of the Horizon".

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Limestone fragment column showing reeds and an early Aten cartouche. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|Limestone fragment column showing reeds and an early Aten cartouche. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
File:Siliceous limestone fragment of a statue. There are late Aten cartouches on the draped right shoulder. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|Siliceous limestone fragment of a statue. There are late Aten cartouches on the draped right shoulder. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
File:Fragment of tomb relief depicting four scribes at work.jpg|Scribes with pens and papyrus scrolls. Relief from Amarna
File:Limestone trial piece of a private person. Head of a princess on the reverse. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL, London.jpg|Limestone trial piece of a private person. Head of a princess on the reverse. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL, London
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last=Aldred |first=Cyril |title=Akhenaten: King of Egypt |url=https://archive.org/details/00book1496783233 |url-access=registration |publisher=Thames and Hudson |location=London |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-500-05048-4 |oclc=17997212}}
* {{cite book |last=David |first=Rosalie |title=Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt |url=https://archive.org/details/handbooktolifein00aros |url-access=registration |publisher=Facts on File |year=1998|isbn=9780816033126 }}
* {{cite book |editor=Eyma, Aayko |year=2003 |title=A Delta-Man in Yebu |publisher=Universal-Publishers}}
* {{cite book |last=Grundon |first=Imogen |title=The Rash Adventurer, A Life of John Pendlebury |year=2007 |publisher=Libri |location=London}}
* {{cite thesis |author=Hess, Richard S. |year=1996 |title=Amarna Personal Names |place=Winona Lake, IN |publisher=American Schools of Oriental Research |id=DASOR, 9}}
* {{cite book |author=Kemp, Barry |year=2012 |title=The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Amarna and its People |publisher=Thames and Hudson |place=London, UK}}
* {{cite book |first=William L. |last=Moran |title=The Amarna Letters |location=Baltimore, MD |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1992 |isbn=0-8018-4251-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/amarnaletters0000unse}}
* {{cite book |last=Redford |first=Donald |title=Akhenaten: The Heretic King |publisher=Princeton, NJ |year=1984}}
* {{cite book |last=Waterson |first=Barbara |year=1999 |title=Amarna: Ancient Egypt's Age of Revolution}}

==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.

*EXCAVATION REPORTS
*Kemp, Barry, "Tell El-Amarna, 2007-8", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 94, pp. 1–67, 2008
*Kemp, Barry, "Tell El-Amarna, 2008-9", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 95, pp. 1–34, 2009
*Kemp, Barry, "Tell El-Amarna, 2010", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 96, pp. 1–29, 2010
*Kemp, Barry, "Tell El-Amarna, Spring 2011", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 97, pp. 1–9, 2011
*Kemp, Barry, "Tell El-Amarna, 2012–13", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 99, pp. 1–34, 2013
*Kemp, Barry, "Tell El-Amarna, 2014", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 100, pp. 1–33, 2014
*Kemp, Barry, "Tell El-Amarna, 2014–15", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 101, pp. 1–35, 2015
*Kemp, Barry, "Tell El-Amarna, Spring 2017", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 103, no. 2, pp. 137–52, 2017
*Stevens, Anna, et al., "Tell El-Amarna, Autumn 2017 and Spring 2018", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 104, no. 2, pp. 121–44, 2018
*Hodgkinson, Anna, "Preliminary Report on the Work Undertaken in the Main City South at Tell El-Amarna: 7 October – 2 November 2017", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 105, no. 1, pp. 3–15, 2019

== External links ==
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Amarna}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.amarnaproject.com/ |publisher=The University of Cambridge |title=Amarna Project}}
* {{cite web |url=http://katherinestange.com/egypt/gallery.htm |title=Amarna Art Gallery}} – Shows just a few, but stunning, examples of the art of the [[Amarna period]].
* {{cite web |url=http://www.mansooramarnacollection.com/ |title=M.A. Mansoor Amarna Collection}}


{{Sister bar|auto=y}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box |title=[[Capital of Egypt]] (Akhetaten) |before=[[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] |after=[[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] |years=c. 1353 BC – c. 1332 BC}}
{{s-end}}

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