Oxford Handbooks Online
The Archaeology of Amarna Oxford Handbooks Online The Archaeology of Amarna Anna Stevens Subject: Archaeology, Archaeology of Africa, Egyptian Archaeology, Settlement and Urban Archaeology Online Publication Date: Mar DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935413.013.31 2015 Abstract and Keywords This essay assesses the body of archaeological research connected to the New Kingdom settlement site of Amarna (ancient Akhetaten), the short-lived capital of Egypt founded by king Akhenaten around 1347 BC as the cult centre for the solar god the Aten. Amarna, by far the largest exposure of pharaonic settlement to survive from Egypt, is unsurpassed as a case site for the study of ancient Egyptian urbanism and daily life. This essay provides an overview of the ancient city, evaluates past and ongoing excavations at the site, and summarizes the archaeological discourse on the city as a physical, functioning and experienced space. Keywords: settlement archaeology, Amarna, Akhetaten, Egypt, New Kingdom, Akhenaten, urbanism, daily life Introduction Amarna (or Tell el-Amarna) is an archaeological site situated about halfway between Cairo and Luxor. It is known primarily as the location of the ancient city of Akhetaten, which served briefly as the capital of Egypt in the late Eighteenth Dynasty, from around 1347–1332 BC. Amarna is the most accessible settlement to survive from pharaonic Egypt and a fundamental case site for studies of urbanism, domestic architecture, and everyday life. It is also of great historical significance. Its founder, king Akhenaten, is often labeled the world’s first “monotheist,” having promoted a single solar god, the Aten, above the traditional gods of creation and kingship, and sometimes to their exclusion.
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