Economic strife, migrating peoples, and potential climate issues led to the decline of the Egyptian Empire. The Valley of the Kings was abandoned, and the mummies of kings from the 17th to 20th dynasties were reburied in a secret cache to protect them from tomb robbers.

This cache, discovered in the 19th century, contained the mummies of numerous kings, including those from the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties.

The discovery of the royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1881 revealed a complex story of mummy reburial and robbery. The mummies, stripped of their finery, were rewrapped and placed in new coffins, with the process spanning decades and involving multiple locations. The dockets found on the mummies provide valuable information about their identities and the reburial process.

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Ramesses II is not known as 'the great' for no reason: his life and reign were exceptionally long, he had an enormous number of wives and children, he built on a grand scale up and down the country and beyond his borders. And he was renowned as a great warrior - all great pharaohs were, to some extent, but at Qadesh we are led to believe that Ramesses was personally responsible for quite some heroics against his enemy, the Hittites. The Egyptians' battle against them at Qadesh is one of the best attested in ancient history and is depicted in the great detail on the walls of several of Ramesses' great temples. The peace treaty that eventually ended hostilities is documented in both Egyptian and Hittite sources. This is the story of one of the great battles, between two of the great powers of the ancient world.

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Hatshepsut features in The Cursed Tomb, Iszi's historical fiction novel for 9+ https://amzn.eu/d/1g3QNOX

In the 1820s scholars began to notice something strange in the inscriptions of the great temple of Deir el-Bahri - some of the royal names and titles appeared to be grammatically feminine. Eventually, it became clear that there had been a pharaoh, previously unknown, who was female. Her name was Hatshepsut. She was the mother-in-law of Thutmose III who came to the throne as a very young boy, and was later renowned as one of the great warriors of the 18th Dynasty. Hatshepsut had initially ruled the country on her son-in-law's behalf as a regent but then she took the throne herself. For a long time this was seen as a dastardly power grab, but we now think Hatshepsut may have had no choice but to step up and become pharaoh as the country needed someone to play that role and she was best placed. In any case, not only has she become an icon of early female power, her reign was undoubtedly one of great achievements, in building, in particular her mortuary temple which is one of the greatest achievements of ancient Egyptian architecture, and in creating the myth of the divine birth of the pharaoh, which would endure for centuries.

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In this episode of Talk Like an Egyptian, Iszi Lawrence and Egyptologist Dr Chris Naunton explore the life and legacy of Nefertiti, one of the most recognisable yet enigmatic figures of ancient Egypt. Beginning with her first appearances alongside Akhenaten, they examine why Nefertiti is shown so prominently in temple reliefs and ritual scenes, sometimes undertaking roles normally reserved for the pharaoh himself. The discussion considers what this exceptional visibility might indicate about her political and religious status, as well as the enduring mysteries surrounding her family background and origins.

The episode also investigates the discovery of the famous painted bust of Nefertiti in 1912 and the controversy over how it came to be displayed in Berlin. Chris outlines the archaeological context of the find, the highly questionable circumstances of its removal from Egypt, and the ongoing debate over its rightful home. The conversation concludes by addressing the possibility that Nefertiti ruled as pharaoh in her own right after Akhenaten's death, under the name Neferneferuaten, a theory that, while contested, would place her among the most powerful rulers of ancient Egypt.

If there's on period of Egyptian history that Egyptophiles want to hear about it's the short period (less than 20 years) of pharaoh Akhenaten's reign. Very early on the king who had been crowned as Amenhotep ('the god Amun is satisfied') IV set about changing things. The worship of the traditional gods bar was forbidden leaving just one – a manifestation of the sun-god called the Aten. He built new temples dedicated to the Aten according to an entirely new design and decorated in a new style. He changed the way that the human form was depicted in art, and he himself took on an exaggerated, almost grotesque appearance prompting scholars to speculate that he may have suffered from a terrible illness (we don't think that anymore). After a few years he announced that he would be changing his name from Amenhotep to Akhenaten meaning 'effective for the Aten' an entirely new capital city in the middle of nowhere. It would be called Akhetaten – the 'horizon of the Aten' – and archaeology has revealed that he really did build an entire city in the desert in a matter of a few years and that it was occupied by perhaps as many as 50,000 people.

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WARNING: we do talk about creation myths and mention onanism. It isn't explicit, but then again, it isn't an episode for children or suitable for the classroom.

This episode explores ancient Egyptian religion, focussing on the creation myth, the significance of the Nile River, and the influence of gods and goddesses. We highlight the fluidity of Egyptian religion, with regional variations and the merging of gods, and the importance of animals in religious and cultural practises.

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It occurs to us that in order to prep for some of the deep-dives we have coming up, a quick run down of the major aspect of Egyptology might be helpful. And in act Chris has found it quite the challenge to think about what Egyptology is. And here is his attempt to explain what he does… Where was Egypt (silly questions perhaps) but were its boundaries exactly where they are today (nope)? When was it? When did Egypt of the pharaohs begin and end? What language did the Egyptians speak and what scripts (plural) did they use to write things down?

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You can watch this episode on youtube here: https://youtu.be/CPNTRQSvjlI

Links to The Cursed Tomb by Iszi Lawrence: https://amzn.eu/d/6goeSPz

Links to Chris's books: https://chrisnaunton.com/writing/

This is a mildly edited recording of the livestream we broadcast on youtube on 11.11.25. Thank you for all those who made it. You can watch the broadcast from our patreon page where you can also download loads of extra content.

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If you are looking for iszi's books find them here (or on your favourite shop) https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/author/iszi-lawrence/

Find Chris's books here: https://chrisnaunton.com/writing/

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