Lots of activity this week, folks! First of, we are moving website: Typepad's inability to provide a funcitoning RSS that can link with iTunes has led me to opt into LibSyn, and that is where (after this month of Typepad service expires) all content will be hosted. Secondly, enjoy the... Continue reading

I hope you are all enjoying the new podcast episode. For those who are interested, I am also hosting a six-part lecture series on Egyptian mindsets and mentalities, over at reddit.com/r/historyofideas. Episode 1 - Audio. Download 1. Old Kingdom - Pyramids and Priests - Pdf. This episode, we discuss the... Continue reading

Welcome back, everyone! Life has finally afforded a moment to record Episode V, and here it is. A tale of the Fourth Dynasty ruler Sneferu and his troubles with monument building. The attempt to construct the world's first "true" pyramid would see numerous false starts and catastrophes before the king's... Continue reading

Hello listeners! As you know the Podcast was on hiatus while I undertook my first archaeological mission in Egypt. I have now returned from this trip, and have begun full planning for the year ahead. At the same time I am juggling my Masters Degree, part-time work and the re-organisation... Continue reading

The Egyptian History Podcast is now on Twitter! While we try to sort out the problem with getting iTunes to accept RSS feeds from typepad, this will serve as another tool for the site to let you know what's up. Sometimes we'll post a nice quote from an ancient text,... Continue reading

The Egyptian History Podcast's trip to Egypt continues; we are now 18 days into our trip, with about 18 more to go. It has been an exciting, distracting and all-round fascinating trip so far. The monuments of Egypt remain as they are (with some degradation) but it is the people... Continue reading

Hello everyone The Egyptian History podcast, as you may know, is in Egypt for an archaeological dig. Since I have a few days kicking around in Cairo before I meet the rest of the team, I thought I'd share a few of the photos I've taken. Today's images are from... Continue reading

A couple listeners have asked me about the music I use in my podcast. The answer is that I use the work of Keith Zizza made for the computer game Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile. This is a fantastic game that tried really hard to simulate life on the... Continue reading

4. The Two Lands Are My Palace A short episode this week, thanks to the onrushing holiday period and the author's imminent journey to Egypt (exciting!). We complete our discussion of Djoser's Step Pyramid, and see the first manifestations of the "everything bigger than everything else" attitude exhibited by the... Continue reading

Episode III. With Apologies To Led Zeppelin The Third Dynasty opens with a king named Netjerykhet Djoser, whose architectural achievements gave birth to pyramid building. Egypt's government reveals its developing hierarchy, and the expansion into the eastern deserts brings gods like Hathor to the fore. Hathor's bloodlust, described in the... Continue reading

To my listeners There will be a short delay on Episode III - hopefully no more than 48hours; I have been getting vaccinations for my upcoming trip to Egypt and have a head-cold while my body adjusts. The Episode is written and ready, but getting a quality recording out is... Continue reading

2. Horus Takes Flight Brief: Following the Unification, Egypt's first two royal dynasties expand their power, both on the domestic stage and in the world outside their borders. Internal conflicts rear their head, perhaps giving birth to later myths of conflict between gods. The bureaucracy continues to grow, and the... Continue reading

National Geographic recently published the (re)-discovery of Egypt's earliest (so far) examples of an Upper Egyptian king, from the time near-to or before the Unification. The site, in southern Egypt. The king (in the top boat) is difficult to see, but he's there. four other boats attend him and, on... Continue reading

For those unfamiliar with this object discussed in Episode I (and again in Episode II), here it is in line-drawing and photograph. Note: the two serpentine necks of the animals on the right enclose a shallow depression, used to hold paint. To the left, Narmer wears the White Crown of... Continue reading

1. Infinite Waters Our story begins in the infinite mystery of the first Creation. Primeval gods meet and the first cultures of Egypt emerge from deep Africa. Expanding, developing and fighting, the struggles of early Egyptians climax in the Unification, and the emergence of the first king. Egyptian Words of... Continue reading