Amarna | archaeological site, ancient civilization

 archaeological site, ancient civilization

The site of Amarna is located east of the Nile River half-way between Memphis and Thebes in Lower Egypt. This site includes the remains of Akhetaten, the Egyptian capital during the reign of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, husband of Nefertiti, during the late 18th dynasty (ca 1353 BCE). Outside the main city are sprawling suburbs. The city was built after Akhenaten (also known as Amenhotep IV) changed the state religion from the worship of a pantheon of traditional Egyptian gods to the worship of one entity, the Aten. In the final eleven years of Akhenaten’s reign, the city of Amarna was occupied. Amarna, unlike the crowded, poorly arranged city plans, from Memphis shows us what Egyptians thought a planned city should look like. The city was divided into north and south sections, connected by the “Royal Road”. The palace occupied the central zone and was laid out on grids of streets in an orthogonal plan. Non-elite housing occupied the north edges of the city, while tombs were located further to the north and south. In the central areas of Akhetaten, there were many private free-standing houses for wealthier individuals, as well as specialized buildings for storing, records, military, gardens etc. The palace complex contains rooms for administrative and residential activities and a system of courts and gardens. The palace appears to have been built quickly to allow the royal family to take up residence. Other elements of the city highlight the differences between Akhenaten and his predecessors. The great temple to Aten in Amarna, for example, demonstrates differences between the old religion and new. This temple has an expansive plan and is largely open to the sky, whereas previous temples reflected the idea that sanctuaries were closed, private spaces. Also striking is the distinctive art style associated with the buildings at Amarna. In the most prominent reliefs found, the royal family is portrayed in intimate settings: some, for example, show the king and queen holding their daughters in their laps. The style is very different from the idealized portraiture seen before. The figures are shown much more realistically, and even the Pharaoh is represented with an idiosyncratic physiology. Archeologists discovered many tombs of nobles, kings, queens and commoners. The writings on the tomb walls, especially in the tomb of Akhenaten, depict the activities of the royal family engaged in everyday tasks. At the boundaries of Amarna, archeologists discovered fourteen tablets commonly referred to as “boundary stelae”. These stelae show accounts of the king’s dedication of the site to Aten.

Sources:
1. Wikipedia- Amarna
2. touregypt.net/featurestories/amarna.htm
3. Gates, Charles. Ancient Cities. Taylor & Francis, 2003.
4. David, Rosalie. Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt. Penguin, 2002.
5. Cantor, Norman. Antiquity. HarperCollins, 2003.