Royal Tombs, Amarna, and Egyptology in 2020.
My guest today is Professor Aidan Dodson. To those interested in ancient Egypt, Prof. Dodson needs no introduction. He is the Honorary Professor of Egyptology at the University of Bristol, and has worked in the field for over thirty years. Prof. Dodson has published dozens of books and articles on a wide variety of topics, and his an acknowledged expert in many historical topics.
In this interview, Prof. Dodson and I discuss several aspects of Egyptian history. We begin with royal tombs, then move to the history and scientific study of the Amarna Period (including the 2010 DNA study). Finally, we conclude with a discussion of Prof. Dodson’s time in Egyptology and his perspectives on the field, in 2020.
A full bibliography of Prof. Dodson’s books and articles would fill many blog posts. But for those who want to learn more, there are many excellent works to read. Prof. Dodson’s book The Royal Tombs of Ancient Egypt is available now from Pen & Sword Publishing.* Additionally, you can find a list of some published monographs here.
*Disclaimer: This interview was arranged by Pen & Sword Publishing, who provided me with a free e-book of The Royal Tombs of Ancient Egypt. I am not receiving any commissions or affiliate fees for sales of Prof. Dodson’s work. My thanks to Emily of Pen & Sword for organising the conversation, and many thanks to Prof. Dodson for joining me (late in the evening) to discuss these topics.
It doesn’t play for me.
Hi Daniel, have checked and updated the link. Should work now
It works, thank you!
Most grateful to Professor Dodson for the interview, and I especially enjoyed the DNA discussion. One remote possibility on the generations-of-first-cousin marriages that, though there is no way to know at this [extremely] late date, might be identical twins in the lineage. I mention this only because, as the child of an identical twin, I seriously startled my mother when I informed her that 23 and Me had assigned me a half-brother. He is, of course, the son of her twin sister, but genetically, half-sibling is how the percentage of shared DNA works out.
That is fascinating! More food for thought!
Thanks for the enjoyable interview. I’m a relative newcomer to show but really liking it so far. I’m also a fan of Amarna Sunrise and Sunset, and Prof Dodson in general with whom I share the unusual distinction that two periods of history I study in detail (as an amateur) are Egypt and WW1. If you ever do another interview with Prof Dodson there are couple of Qs you might pose:
1 – Is there any prospect of a future updated combined book that might be called something like “Amarna Sunrise to Sunset” that tells the full story without the summary repetition that you get from having two books. I often go back to them for reference and it is sometimes difficult to remember which bit of info is in each especially around the DNA for which the implications span both volumes.
2 – It would be nice to have a bit more from him on the possibility that Tutankhamun’s parents were Smenkhkare and Meritaten. He always acknowledges that this is possible but doesn’t provide any detailed objective analysis to explore the pros and cons of the theory. Traugott-Huber gives a lot of detail on the subject in his book but treats the theory as a foregone conclusion. A detailed balanced consideration from Prof. Dodson with ref to T-H’s work would be welcome.
3 – A bit more discussion on whether Neferneferuaten ruled alone or in co-regency with Tutankhaten which also has implications for re: his potential parents. For me the jury is still very much out. Prof Dodson favours the former but not many others seem to agree. I can see arguments both ways. One key difficulty is the seeming lack of direct association between N and T. It seems to me that more could be learned from examining the evolving status of Ankhnespaaten as she is associated with both and could prove a useful link point. I guess you might cover this in future episode as while you have covered N as co-regent you don’t yet seem to have got round to post-Akhenaten.
Hi Dan, thanks for your questions. Any future interview with Prof. Dodson will be on the Ramessid and later eras, so I recommend contacting him directly (via Academia.edu or a university email). For the Neferneferuaten co-regency, Dodson discusses this in his new book “Nefertiti, Queen and Pharaoh of Egypt” (2020). Hope this helps
Thanks Dominic, yes i may well contact him through academia. edu. I’ll let you know if I get any answers. I did think he might have some more detail in the new Nefertiti book. I’m hoping i might get it for Xmas so will prob try to have a read of that first before asking. Will look forward to a future Ramesside interview. Thanks again
Any time 👍