129: Amarna, the Hard-Knock Life

The History of Egypt Podcast

Dominic Perry

History, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2020

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Child labour, plague, and dark deeds at Amarna. By regnal year 14 (c.1349 BCE) Akhenaten's capital city had grown to almost thirty thousand people. This massive growth carried a price, one that archaeologists are finding in the city's vast cemeteries... Date c.1349 BCE. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com Music by Ancient Lyric www.bettinajoydeguzman.com Select Bibliography: Dabbs, Gretchen R. ‘Bioarchaeology of the Non-Elite North Tombs Cemetery at Amarna: A Preliminary Assessment of the Non-Elite Individuals of the North Tombs Cemetery at Tell El-Amarna, Egypt’. Bioarchaeology International 3, no. 3 (2019): 174–86. https://doi.org/10.5744/bi.2019.1012. Dabbs, Gretchen R. ‘Human Bones from the South Tombs Cemetery: The 2013 Study Season’, 2013. https://www.amarnaproject.com/documents/pdf/STC-2013-bioarchaeology.pdf. Dodson, Aidan. Amarna Sunrise: Egypt From Golden Age to Age of Heresy. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2014. Egypt Exploration Society Website. ‘The Northern Cemeteries of Amarna’, 2018. https://www.ees.ac.uk/the-northern-cemeteries-of-amarna. Kemp, Barry J. Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization. 3rd Revised Edition. London: Routledge, 2018. Kemp, Barry J. ‘Tell El-Amarna, 2016’. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 102 (2016): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.2307/26379068. Kemp, Barry J. The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People. First paperback edition. London: Thames & Hudson, 2014. Kemp, Barry, Anna Stevens, Gretchen R. Dabbs, Melissa Zabecki, and Jerome C. Rose. ‘Life, Death and Beyond in Akhenaten’s Egypt: Excavating the South Tombs Cemetery at Amarna’. Antiquity 87, no. 335 (2013): 64–78. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00048626. Kuckens, Kathleen. ‘The Children of Amarna: Disease and Famine in the Time of Akhenaten’. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 2013. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/888. Panagiotakopulu, Eva. ‘Pharaonic Egypt and the Origins of Plague’. Journal of Biogeography 31, no. 2 (2004): 269–75. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0305-0270.2003.01009.x. Shidner, Ashley. ‘Growing Up in Tell El-Amarna: An Examination of Growth and Non-Specific Stress Indicators in New Kingdom Children’. University of Arkansas, 2018. Stevens, Anna. ‘Death and the City: The Cemeteries of Amarna in Their Urban Context’ 28, no. 1 (2018): 103–26. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959774317000592. Amarna Project website, ‘The South Tombs Cemetery’, 2013. https://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/recent_projects/excavation/south_tombs_cemetery/2013.shtml. Zakrzewski, Sonia R. ‘Variation in Ancient Egyptian Stature and Body Proportions’. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 121, no. 3 (1 July 2003): 219–29. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.10223. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome back to the History of Egypt podcast. Episode 129, Hard Knock Life.
0:24.1	Today, we take a look behind the curtain in the time of Akanatin.
0:28.4	The king's propaganda paints a rosy image of beauty and majesty, but excavations at his
0:34.9	city, Arquette Aten, paint a far different picture.
0:39.5	In this episode, we dig into the realities of life at Pharaoh's capital.
0:45.0	This episode was supported by Bill, Terry and Richard, who became patrons of the podcast
0:50.2	at the overseer and higher levels.
0:52.9	Folks, you are too kind.
0:54.7	Thank you for your support.
0:56.3	I hope the R10 will shine upon you and your households
0:59.7	and keep you safe from all harm.
1:02.9	To everyone listening, thank you for joining me.
1:05.7	On with the show. The year was 1349 B.C.E. approximately.
1:23.4	Ragnall year 14 under the majesty of Nefer Keparura, Waanra, the son of Ra, Akanaten.
1:31.6	It was nine years since the pharaoh, beloved of Aten, had abandoned the traditional royal cities and moved to a new capital.
1:40.3	For nearly a decade Ackanaten had focused his time, energy, and efforts on building and expanding
1:46.8	the city of Aket Aten.
1:49.7	The horizon of Aten was a new home for the sun god and the ruler of Egypt.
1:56.3	In the years since he moved here, Akanaten's city had grown rapidly.
2:03.2	When the king relocated, many others followed him. High officials, influential courtiers, bodyguards and servants, all came as part of
2:10.8	the royal household. In turn, every powerful family brought their own people to Aket Aten. The wealthy elites had their own networks of underlings and dependents.
2:22.3	They brought servants, artisans and labourers as part of their extended households.
	...

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