Good Morning Mr Perry,
I just wished to write to say I listen to your podcast and thoroughly enjoy it. I unfortunately found my passion for the ancient world late so do not work in the field of it for my day job (not yet anyway) but very much love to learn and study it. I am relatively new to detailed study of Ancient Egypt (mostly read about Rome and Greece) but am reading a lot on the subject. I have a extensive library of books and my Egypt section is expanding but I wanted your advice on a certain area. I have looked through your bibliography but could not see a specific book for the Forst Intermediate Period, can you recommend the best book for this subject?
I am a little behind as started late so only on episode 23 but really enjoying it, keep up the good work!
Also from your bio I see you have taken up boxing, as a ex boxer myself I can say it is the best sport in the world so hope you enjoy it!
Many Thanks,
R.Cuthbertson
As you go through the history of Egypt will you be talking about the scientific finds they made such as discovering the earth was round or any of their other discoveries.
Thx
Love the podcast
Bruce B.
Hey Dominic! Fantastic series. I’m so grateful this exists as I’ve always been infatuated with ancient Egyptian history. So in driving into it finally detail by detail and found that your explanations are phenomenal.
Quick question right off the bat, and I’m sure I’ll have a million more, ha! If I was paying attention correctly, first dynasty leaders like Den and his mother etc seemed to have been buried in tombs in Abydos, which it seems you can visit today. When they found these tombs (in the early 1900s, I believe) did they find actual remains of Den? Or were they buried differently at this time so that there is no possibility of finding anything from their actual remains? If that’s the case, how did they confirm it’s their tomb? I like the histories of how these places were discovered. Incredible! Thanks in advance for your knowledge on this matter.
Miguel T.
July 9, 2017,
Mr. Perry, You have new website location but no RSS. I love your blog, one of the best. Keep up the good work.
Wishing you and your family well. Love and will miss the podcast, but family comes first.
andrew watson
July 10, 2017,
Hi Dominic
The revamped web page looks good, but is much more difficult to navigate
When I get down to Episode 0, , then use the back arrow, It takes me straight back to the top page ( currently Episode 78)
( OK, if you know the name of the episode you are looking for, then you can use the SEARCH box)
Also, these episodes seem to have disappeared
1B Green of Grey
2-A._Between_Myth_and_History
2-B._Horus_and_the_Fortress
But as usual, your podcasts are excellent
Keep up the good work
Kindest Regards
andrew
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the feedback! The website is an ongoing project, so I will take your notes into consideration for my next update.
The episodes you list have been removed from the feed, as part of a remaster of the early episodes. They will be replaced in due time.
Best regards,
Dominic
Hi Dominic,
I’m so glad I found your podcast, I was very interested in ancient Egypt when i was a wee young lass. Now many years later working in a totally different field you’ve rekindled my love for Egypt and history in general, so thank you. I was wondering if you ever plan on releasing the podcast on google play for us android users.
Also, since you seem to have an interest in games (since you’v been using the children of the Nile soundtrack), I’d recommend you check out Pharaoh, the soundtrack is lovely and you might appreciate it too.
Keep up the great work!
Best regards,
Laura
Hi Laura,
Thanks for getting in touch! I am trying to resolve the Google Play issue, but unfortunately the service is unavailable to podcasts operating out of NZ. I am working on a solution.
Re: Pharaoh – I have a long love of that game; I still play it sometimes!
Dominic
Listener
September 20, 2023,
I have a question. Did you put so many advertisements into the podcast or was that spotify? Im a premium member.
DominicPerry
September 22, 2023,
Hi there, I’m not sure how Spotify treats podcast advertising. On average, there should be one pre-roll, one post-roll, and one mid-roll ads (sometimes more if the episode is 50 minutes or longer).
Victor
February 18, 2018,
Hey just wondering why spotify episodes are so far behind?
Victor
February 18, 2018,
Also, searching egypt or even your full podcast name brings up no results on spotify but your link brings me to the podcast there where i can follow. If it wasn’t for thw history of greece shoutout i would have thought spotify was devoid on podcast surrounding egypt. Should let them know.
Hi Victor,
Spotify episodes are behind due to my hosting arrangement with Acast. I am planning for Spotify accessibility but must resolve those issues first. Like the Google Play issue, it is harder than it sounds!
Michael O'Callaghan
March 11, 2018,
Hello Dominic,
I recently started listening to your podcast and can now not live without it.
Absolutely immense work.
Have you ever covered the History of Egyptology? It would be great to hear about any Egyptian/Greek/Arab History sources prior to the explosion of interest from the 18th Century onwards.
Michael
Hi Michael,
Thanks for listening! Short answer is no I have not covered that (yet). I have some episodes (notably 84b) that explore *events* in Egyptology. But I will save my discussion of Egyptology as a science, and the classical/medieval writers for the “Epilogue” of the show 🙂
Dominic
Max
May 22, 2018,
What books or textbooks do you recommend for gaining information about the New Kingdom, or the Eighteenth Dynasty?
Thank you!!
18th Dynasty… the starting point for a narrative history is the relevant chapters of The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. From there, you can use the bibliography to find many academic references. To date no one has attempted to bring all the reigns into a single monograph, so much of the information is in edited volumes and journal articles. That being said, some good books include:
– Eric Cline and David O’Connor (editors) “Amunhotep III: Perspectives on his Reign,” which covers the “high” point of the 18th Dynasty.
– The conference proceedings of “Creativity and Innovation in the Reign of Hatshepsut” does the same for the Female Pharaoh (and you can find it for free at https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/saoc69.pdf )
– William Moran “The Amarna Letters” is essential for understanding diplomacy.
– Anthony Spalinger “War in Ancient Egypt” is thorough, but academic.
For biographies / overviews, I recommend:
– Kara Cooney “The Woman Who Would be King” explores the life of Hatshepsut.
– Richard Gabriel “Thutmose III: A Military Biography” explores Thutmose III, the warrior king.
– Aidan Dodson’s pair of books: “Amarna Sunrise” and “Amarna Sunset” will give you a detailed but accessible overview of the Amarna period.
– William Murnane “Texts From the Amarna Period in Ancient Egypt” is a thorough introduction to the texts coming from Akhenaten’s time.
– Barry Kemp “City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People” will be the go-to reference for Amarna archaeology for years to come.
– Marianne Eaton-Krauss “The Unknown Tutankhamun” is the best overview by the leading scholar of Tutankhamun as a historical figure.
– Nicholas Reeves “The Complete Valley of the Kings” is what the title says – a very thorough overview.
– Richard Wilkinson “The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt” will introduce you to all the major temple complexes, and their features.
– William Murnane “The Road to Kadesh” covers political and military records from the second half of Dynasty 18 through to the reign of Sety I (Dynasty 19)
Josh
March 2, 2019,
Hi Mate,
Congratulations on an amazing podcast, I’m only up to ep 15 but already my mind has been blown away as to how much we actually know even if there is many gaps! Just want to know if you have ever done any guided tours at all? Just think it would be awesome to get a decent group of interested listeners together guided by yourself so we can get the proper historical experience of the awesome place! If not who would you recommend to go with when travelling to Egypt? Cheers Josh
Hi Josh, Thanks for listening!
Yes, I ran the first History of Egypt Tour in January 2019. I would like to do another in January 2020.
Hope this helps
Dominic
Josh
March 5, 2019,
Thanks for the reply mate, yes definitely interested any chance you could email the details at all?
Cheers mate appreciate it.
Josh
Hi Dan, thanks for the comment. As with most podcast ads, they are automated by the server host (I do not control the volume). Please let me know which ones you are having issues with so I can either update the episode .mp3 or contact my host to have it corrected.
Regards,
Dominic
Kathryn Roberts
April 19, 2019,
Really enjoyed your interview with Dr. Joyce Tyldesley. She had some great insights on ancient art and Queen Tiye. Any chance of more interviews in the future?
Hi Kathryn, thanks for listening! Yes, there is a “part 2” for this interview coming soon (April 24; earlier for Patreon subscribers). There is also an interview with Dr. Campbell Price (episode 101) which was lots of fun. I have others in the pipeline, so there will be more going forward 🙂
Philip (Skip) Howard
April 30, 2019,
The History of Egypt Tour in January 2019 was really great. I really enjoyed it. So good, I’m waiting to see the 2020 schedule. I have Jan 2020 penciled in for a return trip with The History of Egypt team.
Dear Dominic,
Permit me to thank you again #1 for researching, writing and broadcasting a magnificent program! Every episode, interview et al, well done! …and #2 for including the sound of a shimmering systrum in the podcast on music🙏 http://box5707.temp.domains/~egyptif2//////2018/08/16/mini-episodes-music-in-ancient-egypt/
May you & your family be blessed with vibrant good health, may you be blessed to continue your work for as long as your heart desires and…
May Hathor, Mistress of Music,
Lady of the Systrum
bring melody, harmony,
peace & love
into your life and
sing your praises!
sššt sššt sššt sššt
Thanks Tahya, I’m glad you are enjoying the show 🙂
Tyler Clark
June 10, 2019,
First off Dominic, I Love this podcast! I’ve loved Ancient Egypt since I was in Middle School, but have just now started to really dive into it. I was wondering if you could recommend some historically accurate movies on the subject? I would love to see it in action so to speak. Thank you for all that you’re doing here!
Hi Tyler, thanks for listening! I’m afraid there are no historically accurate movies about ancient Egypt; the subject is too broad and too susceptible to either “Biblical” renditions, or to adventure films with little relevance to history. That being said, some enjoyable examples are “The Egyptian” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxWNqovDePQ), based on the novel of the same name which was itself based on the ancient Tale of Sinuhe; and “Faraon (Pharaoh),” a Polish film based on the life of Ramesses III mixed with characters of the Third Intermediate Period. These films come closer than most to attempting an accurate depiction of the time.
Hope this helps!
Tom
August 13, 2019,
I just started listening. I found this on the Podcasts app on my Iphone. I’m on the road a lot and this is now my go to station! You can tell from how you talk that this is a topic you are interested in and care about and you do a great job explaining the History of Egypt. I felt compelled to say Thanks and can’t wait to listen to the rest! Take care!
Steijn Snelders
October 29, 2019,
Hey Dominic,
While listening to the podcast, I noticed some of your obeservations relating to average life expectancies in Ancient Egypt; e.g. that the attestation of the life span of some pharaoh is not credible as it would far exceed the average life expectancy of 40 yrs that has been ascribed to the period.
However, as I understand it historical average life expectancies are usually not corrected for infant mortality and child mortality, and these rates usually wheigh in very high on the resulting figure. After correcting for these factors, the demographics of historical periods may approach to those of our own, at least from a day to day perspective.
For example, infant and child mortality rates may have been very high in Rome at 39 AD, resulting in a low average life expectancy, but it would perhaps not have been much more unusual than today to find a guy there like Seneca the Elder who reached the age of 92.
What is your take on this, and could you point out the figures that you refer to, or perhaps some further info on demographics in Ancient Egypt?
Kind regards,
Steijn Snelders
Hi Stephen,
At present I accept the logic of approx 40-50 years. The studies I have read make allowance for mortality rates and are based on studies of adult skeletal remains.
That being said, I intend to revisit this topic in detail in future episodes. As we move into historical periods with stronger archaeological evidence, I can start to examine life expectancies within different contexts and what we can know, on the surviving remains.
Dominic
Nicolas Depardieu
January 15, 2020,
Love your podcast, super interesting, very well written and narrated. A Big thanks.
Hi! I recently discovered your amazing podcast and i’ve been binging a lot. Its incredible how much work you put into this. It seems very professional and the companion website is just awesome. I thank you very much for your time and passion!
Grretings from germany
Lyz Ostler
March 1, 2020,
I recently started listening to your show and am on Episode 35. I cannot express show much I love it. During the first few episodes, I was paying close attention to your music and kept saying to myself, that sounds just like the music from my game “Children of The Nile”. What a coincidence that you used that music. I have the game and play it frequently. I would suggest it to all your fans as it really does bring all that you are teaching to life. And honestly, who doesn’t want to be a Pharaoh? Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I can’t wait to hear more,
Hi Lyz, thanks for listening to the show! I’m glad you’re enjoying it 🙂 and yes, the music is Keith Zizza’s soundtrack to COTN which he was gracious enough to permit me using 🙂
Henry
March 28, 2020,
Hi Dominic, I found your podcasts recently and am listening to one/day and really enjoying them. My mum got to love Egypt through going to the British Museum as a teenager and I got to love it through working there for 6 months. My particular interest is gardens and, having just listened to the Hatshepsut set of podcasts, I would like to ask you a question. Thinking about Senenmut’s interest in astronomy (and presumably geometry) could it be that he had a significant role in the layout of Deir el-Bahari (as well as in the management of the project)? I imagine the task requiring a technical ability that one would be unlikely to find in a queen (though it is of course possible).
Best wishes, Henry
Hi Henry, thanks for listening! That’s definitely possible, but we have no information that can shed light on it either way, unfortunately.
Matias
March 29, 2020,
Hi Dominic! My name is Matias, I’m from Montevideo, Uruguay. I want to thank you and congratulate you for making and sharing such a great podcast. It’s really well done, I love the narrative and the content, great work!. I am very fond of ancient Egypt, my father was an egyptologist (amateur) and I grew up listening to his lectures and all sorts of Egypt related content. When I was 15 I enjoyed learning hieroglyphs from Gardiner’s Egyptian Grammar! He even made a plaster model of Luxor temple that is currently on exhibition in a museum here. We went to Egypt when I was a kid and that was an experience I’ll never forget, and I want to do again with my kids someday.
Sadly I lost my father many years ago, and for some reason I also stopped following Egyptian topics.
Some time ago I found your podcast through the “History of the World Podcast”, and it felt like opening a door to that time, and a renewed connection with my father. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that. I am sharing this with my kid now, as a way to get to know his grandpa, and he’s fascinated about it! And this is very updated content with all recent discoveries!
So thank you again for creating this podcast, I am deeply touched.
With love,
Matias
Hi, Dominic!
From one academic to another, a point of pedantry, because that’s what we do as a profession. Right? 😆
In your “mini” episode on Menkaure (2023/12/27), you say that Vyse used “dynamite.” You must mean some other explosive, like black powder. Vyse died in 1853, but dynamite wasn’t patented till 1867. That means it was available for Schliemann to do his damage at Troy with it. Perhaps the two stories of archaeological demolition have become conflated.
Keep up the great podcasting work!
Michael Lane
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
DominicPerry
December 31, 2023,
Hi Michael, thanks for your comment. This is purely a semantic oversight on my part. While Vyse mentions explosives (I.e. gunpowder) I simply used the term “dynamite” without thinking about the technical difference. I will add a disclaimer to the episode and correct it in future.
Gary
April 14, 2020,
Hi Dominic – I’ve been an archaeology nerd/aficionado for as long as I can remember. I’ve just discovered your podcast and am ploughing through the episodes at a rapid rate! Thank you – you are a legend! I am not sure whether you have covered this in later episodes – I have started teaching myself the basics using online resources – I am interested in attaining a (reasonable) level of proficiency reading and comprehending Middle/New kingdom hieroglyphics and hieratic. Do you have any recommendations/suggestions/advice on where to start or how to go about this?
Warm Regards. Gary
Hi Gary, thank you very much for listening! If you want to start learning hieroglyphics I recommend beginning with Collier and Manley’s book How to Read Egyptian Hierogylphs
That will be a good starting point, if you are learning on your own
Karin Hage
August 2, 2020,
I am such a fan. I was always interested in Egyptian History and I had no idea this expertise was available as a podcast. Having access to this level of knowledge is exciting. My biggest wish is to travel to Egypt with Dominic and a group of like minded people once we have a vaccine for COVID 19. Greetings from Brisbane, Australia. Karin
Daniel Lechtchinski
December 25, 2020,
Hello, I have a question regarding Dendera, I understand it might not be your area of expertise and you might not know the answer, In which case could you tell me of a way I could find an expert on Dendera, since I emailed the author and she hadn’t replied.
On page 225 of the book: “The Theology of Hathor of Dendera: Aural and Visual Scribal Techniques in the Per-wer Sanctuary” by Dr. Barabara Richter she writes “From the Third Intermediate Period onward, Dendera became known as the ‘Southern Heliopolis’ “.
Does that mean that by the TIP the hieroglyphs O28-M26 or a similar variation that were applied to Thebes were also applied to Dendera?
DominicPerry
January 2, 2021,
Hi Daniel, thanks for your question. Unfortunately, as I have not reached the TIP yet, I do not have the research material available to answer this (specific) question. Certainly one of Dendera’s ancient names (Iunet) is a “feminine” equivalent to that of Heliopolis (Iunu). So, there would be some hieroglyphic equivalence. However, it is also worth noting that other cult centres like Gebel Barkal enjoyed the epithet of “Southern Heliopolis” at different periods. In that sense, the overall significance is unclear (to me, at the moment).
Best regards,
Dominic
Daniel Lechtchinski
February 18, 2021,
Hello again, I received an answer, and in case you’re interested as well I was advised to contact Sylvie Cauville and to summerize, her reply was no, this epithet did not apply to Dendera.
Regards,
Daniel
Hans Martin Asheim
January 30, 2021,
Hi. New listener, enjoying the show very much. One question, have you ever read Pyramids, by Terry Pratchett?
Niklas Gaede
June 7, 2021,
Dear Dominic,
I do not exaggerate when I say this podcast has fulfilled my every dream. It’s just so pleasant in every way and has provided me with great support since I started studying Egyptology. Hope you can continue doing this for a long time.
Thanks for the quick response to my E-mail as well.
With kind regards and greetings from Berlin,
Niklas
Brian Eckhart
August 5, 2021,
Hi Dominic
I discovered your podcast a couple of months ago and am thoroughly enjoying it for the most part. I find certain eps more interesting than other, but generally utterly fascinating and your narrating style is super engaging, making it easy to listen. That you have a kiwi accent also keeps it interesting – I’ve always loved how you say ‘woman’ vs ‘women’ :).
I have a couple of queries:
I am up to Ep 74 which, from my recollection, is the first time you are referring to any of the kings (in this case Thut3) as pharaoh. I remember an early ep where you mentioned they were kings and not pharaohs up to a certain point. Do you have a specific episode in which you discuss this; how and why it changed?
Why is Punt pronounced ‘Punt’ and not ‘Punt’, if you see what I mean? You have been pronouncing it “poont”. On the same lines, Thutmose seems to vary between short and long ‘u’. Is there a logic in the hieroglyphs that determines this? Probably applies to Hatshetsup too, right?
Also, without me internet searching: Is there any reference to the Egyptians being aware of Jesus Christ and vice versa?
Thanks in advance of your reply, and in anticipation of continued entertainment and education as I continue to listen.
Cheers from over the ditch
Brian
DominicPerry
August 19, 2021,
Hi Brian,
I’ve corrected my “Kiwi-ism” re: woman / women, and now I make sure to enunciate the difference clearly.
There is a mini episode regarding the term pharaoh, that should turn up around the time of Thutmose III. It will be under the “Mini Episodes” category.
Pronunciations are (broadly) arbitrary. Names like Thutmose are “Greek-isms” of Egyptian words (Djehuty-mes) and terms like Punt are variable (it could be Punt, Poont, Pwenet, or something else). So, take all pronunciations as “conventions” rather than strictly accurate.
Re: Jesus Christ. I am not aware of any historical references to Jesus prior to the mid-1st Century BCE (time of Claudius or Nero, if I recall correctly). While Egypt was one of the first countries to “Christianize,” in the form we now know as the Coptic Church, this was tied up with trends and processes in Roman society of the time. There are no (surviving) references to Jesus from his actual lifetime, as far as I am aware.
Regarding Jesus’ awareness of Egypt… As a resident of the Roman province of Judaea, he would probably have known about neighboring regionslike Egypt and Syria. Furthermore, Jesus and his family may have lived for a time in Egypt itself, following his birth (according to some accounts e.g. the gospel of Matthew). I am not a Biblical Scholar by any means, but I will tackle those questions at the appropriate point in the narrative.
Best regards,
Dominic Perry
Katharine Spence
January 24, 2022,
Hi, I tried to send this on the contact form but it didn’t work.
I know this is a really long shot…but I started listening to your podcast when I started my MA in Egyptology in October… I’m now writing an short essay on women and beer brewing in Ancient Egypt, and I could swear that in one of the first episodes you said something like ‘brewing beer was one of the only jobs women had’. I’ve tried listening again and can’t pinpoint it, so maybe I’ve totally imagined it. Does is ring any bells to you? I’ve seen in other comments that you do not provide transcripts. But this was in fact what sparked my interest in this topic and the reason I chose to write the essay about this.
Thanks in advance for any help. Katharine
Kate
September 30, 2022,
Dear Katherine,
what a coincidence. I am listening to episode 6 and women brewing beer as part of the support industry for pyramid workers is mentioned though not elaborated upon. Hope this helps 🙃
Bettina
January 25, 2022,
Hi Dominic,
just want to let you know that the comment function does not work, for some time now. There is an error message when you hit the submit button.
I had written quite a long text about how much I enjoy your podcast 😉 Is the podcast email adress still valid?
Best wishes from Germany,
Bettina
Thanks for bringing more attention to this neglected part of Egyptian history!
I was wondering if you are interested in reading and perhaps discussing for a podcast a novel I have written… I think it would be right up your alley.
It’s about the situation in Canaan during the difficult transition of rule between Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten). It covers the Lab’ayu afair, the kingship of Milkilu of Gezer, and other contemporary conflicts.
It goes by the title “Seven Times and Seven Times I Bow: A Tale of Rebellion, Lust, Betrayal, and War in Ancient Canaan”
I relied a lot on your podcast to understand the culture of Egypt more, since my expertise is on Ancient Canaan. I hope you can give it a try.
As far as I know, it’s the only work of Historical fiction that uses the Amarna Letters as a Primary source.
Juha Iivarinen
June 23, 2022,
Hi Dominic,
Thank you about your great podcast! I have started listening to it quite recently but catching up fast. It is really exciting.
I am very glad that you mentioned Mika Waltari’s novel Sinuhe (or the Egyptian, in English translation) in connection of the Tale of Sinuhe.
Yes, the novel is great! Considered as one of the greatest Finnish novels, and an international bestseller when published. Totally worth reading, as it describes the Egyptian life quite closely.
But it differs from the original quite markedly. It’s set in the new kingdom during the reigns of Akhenaten and Tutankhamun, and Sinuhe is a physician of the royal family. The theme of the book is the rise of monotheism, death of old gods and implies to the biblical story of Moses.
Then there is the Hollywood film based on the novel, which is not worth watching. It’s a Hollywood spectacle at it’s worst. But this is, of course, only my opinion…
Best Regards
Juha
Christy Zhu
July 21, 2022,
Hi Dominic,
I was recently interested about Egypt history and found this podcast, what a hidden treasure I discovered. I thoroughly enjoyed your first two episodes and now it becomes a routine I can’t wait everyday while I am taking a walk after dinner while listening to an episode of the stories happening 3000 years back.
Just so you know your Patreon page is not working.. you probably know that already. Thank you so much for putting this together.
Cheers,
Christy
Yehia Abdelkader
July 30, 2022,
Hi Dominic,
I would like to share first of all how you revived my love for ancient Egyptian history through your podcast. What a beautiful gift you have. I wanted to reach out and see when would your next trip to Egypt would be. If you don’t have one planned soon, would you have any contacts that you trust that I can book with. I am Egyptian living in Canada, I am not worried about getting around, I just would like a guide that knows the history.
A shot in the dark but I had to ask.
Have a wonderful day
Yehia
DominicPerry
September 16, 2022,
Hi Yehia, thanks for your question. I am currently considering a tour in January 2024. I will make an announcement when/if dates and itinerary are confirmed 🙂
Odile
August 3, 2022,
Hello Dominic,
I’d like to thank you for your wonderful podcast. I’m really impressed by how you achieve to go into such a level of detail whilst keeping your audience focused . Suffice to say that I can’t stop listening. Your elocution is beautiful and as I study English I’m really curious about your accent. I asked two of my English teachers from England of they couldn’t tell me where your accent comes from. They spotted some NZ intonation as well ‘Etonian’, ‘highly educated’, Egyptian and Asian. Could you tell me where you come from?
Odile
August 3, 2022,
Hello Dominic,
I’d like to thank you for your wonderful podcast. I’m really impressed by how you achieve to go into such a level of detail whilst keeping your audience focused . Suffice to say that I can’t stop listening. Your elocution is beautiful and as I study English I’m really curious about your accent. I asked two of my English teachers from England and they couldn’t tell me where your accent comes from. They spotted some NZ intonation as well ‘Etonian’, Egyptian and Asian. Could you tell me where you are from?
DominicPerry
September 16, 2022,
Hi Odile, thanks for your question 🙂 I am from New Zealand, but my mother was from the UK. I have also grown up in a relatively cosmopolitan city. So, my accent is slightly off-kilter for NZ.
David George
August 4, 2022,
Hi Dominic, I started this study this year and find it really well done. I have enjoyed watching grow and change the program over the years. I am curious, are you still working on pod cast or is it finished now. I notice the last comment was August of last year.
Lily B
August 10, 2022,
Hi!
My name is Lily. I am a 20 year old student at the university of Oklahoma. I’m majoring in public relations with a minor in marketing. The reason I mention is because I am totally foreign to ancient Egypt. I knew the basic facts, but have been listening fascinated for the last two years. You have led me to take classes at college regarding such, read more than enough books, dive into theories and facts, like I never have before. I wanted to say- you have inspired me like no other into a world I had no idea I would be so fascinated by. All of this to say, because of you, I will be going to Egypt on a study group next year!! I would’ve never discovered this about myself if it weren’t for this show. Thank you!!!
DominicPerry
September 16, 2022,
Thank you for listening! I’m glad it has been helpful 🙂
Absolutely wonderful program I can’t get enough
Question about photos you mention are the ones related to older episodes removed?
I can’t seem to find any?
DominicPerry
September 16, 2022,
Some photos disappeared when I migrated to a new hosting service. Alas, I have not had the opportunity to fix this 🙁
I love the podcast, and I was intrigued when you described the tour of Egypt a while back. Are you considering organizing another tour package?
Thanks, Sean
DominicPerry
September 16, 2022,
Hi Sean, thanks for your comment. I am considering a tour in January 2024. If that goes ahead, I will make an announcement on the show 🙂
Tony Curran
December 5, 2022,
Hi Dominic,
Your podcast has fast become my number 1 listen. I really like your approach….great research and presentation style. And while being such an educational podcast…your sense of humour comes through.
If I haven’t passed to the West by 2024. I’d love to join your tour….if you organise one. One of my daughters is an archaeologist and would join me.
Thanks again.
Take care.
Tony Curran.
Brian fox
September 6, 2022,
Love your podcast but please stop being sugar coating history and acting as if ancient peoples were liberals…
DominicPerry
September 16, 2022,
Thanks Brian. I’m not aware of any episode where I suggest that. If you can point me to the specific discussion or episode where I suggest that, I would be happy to check it and see if I can clarify my wording in any way.
Loving the podcast so far. Just listened to the end of Pepy’s marathon rule, and you make a big point that he outlived his children, which meant that there weren’t any competent rulers to come after him. Why didn’t the grandchildren get inducted into being royal administrators in the same way as children did?
Cheers,
James
Fanya
October 9, 2022,
Hello Mr. Dominic Perry, myself – Fanya Elyashkevich and my husband Alex – are very lucky to find your podcast just by chance – it is very interesting and a pleasure to listen to. We also watched the set of Lectures by Bob Brier and another set of lectures – by Melinda Hartwig – and still your podcast is very interesting to us ! I just want to thank you for your outstanding work and wish you a lot of success and fulfillment in your attempt to bring the history of civilization to all the people who are interested but lack systematic knowledge… We plan to visit Egypt this Fall and I hope that the podcast and all your information help us to better understand the history of Egypt. Thanks a lot!
Fanya
DionDurrant
October 12, 2022,
Hi Dominic,
Great fan of your podcast, loving it hugely. Just wondering though how I can get to see the related images that you often mention, have been looking on your website and cant find any? Not sure it this is just my wrong doing or if I’m in the wrong location?
Keep up the great work mate.
Oh, BTW, I too am a kiwi from Auckland.
Jacob
December 15, 2022,
I also cannot find any images/pictures and have looked pretty thoroughly. There is text on episode pages that reads “Click arrow to see more pictures”, but the play arrow doesn’t reveal anything and I cannot find any other arrows. If you have uncovered any information about this please share, thanks.
DominicPerry
December 19, 2022,
Unfortunately some of the images were lost in a website update, and I have been unable to replace them. My apologies for any inconvenience.
Dear, Mr. Perry. My name is Fatin. I wanted to know is there any written script of your podcast. I can’t understand when hearing the podcast, i beg your apologize. I want to read. I’ve just started listening on Episode 1: The Two Lands. I hope i can get the written script so i can read them. Thank you in advance. I like reading the history. 🙏🏻😊🥲 please do me a favour.
Rawan Alhosani
November 27, 2022,
Hello Dominic,
I wanted to share my gratitude for the podcast. It has become for me a daily ritual, and its absolutely the highlight of my day. The episodes you have created have saved me last night, I have anxiety and depression, and listening to your podcast as Ive done for a long time now, gave me so much peace of mind Ive been missing. So thank you! I dont know how to thank you and show my gratitude. If you ever need art for the podcast, I will do it for free as a token of gratitude.
Thank you,
Rawan Alhosani
Rachel Swiston
December 2, 2022,
Hi, Dominic,
I’ve been listening to the marathon 6 hour Tut anniversary compilation edition. About halfway through at approx. 3:32 it starts over with the introduction and Godzilla joke. I think it interrupts your discussion of the golden mask.
Thanks! A longtime fan, Rachel
Thank you for your work!
I was pleased to watch your episode on the Buried Pyramid of Sekhemkhet and since I am doing a video as well explaining it I was wondering where did you find the ramp of the pyramid?
Since I don’t hold a copy of Zakaria Goneim’s book I was wondering if you could help me understand the evidence of that ramp, can’t see it anywhere, and google earth is a bit difficult also to spot.
I hope you can help me! 😉
All the best,
Leonardo Marchesi
@theegyptianfeeling (YouTube Channel)
Greetings. I enjoy your podcast very much. I so appreciate your attention to research, as with each presentation you provide a hint of all of the background evidence for each portion of each episode. I am a practicing architect by profession in the US, but amateur archaeologist my entire life starting with my first visit to Pompeii at age 6 and fostered by living, at various times, in Italy for a total of 3 years. I have been to Egypt and visited nearly all of the archeological sites. Your professionalism and storytelling skills are truly inspiring. I want to thank you. All the best and I wish you many many more years!
Shariq yusuf
December 7, 2022,
Thoroughly loving your podcasts! Would love more on amarna letters and amunhotep iii in particular and his borders.
Military campaigns and scaled Armours.
Also i have alot of my researchs i would like
To contribute and take from you in 2 people talks
Rachel Swiston
December 18, 2022,
Hi, Dominic, I listened to the interview with Dr. Bob Brier. I am a fan of his and have done some of his hieroglyph classes. But when he said that he did not ask the provenance of the Graham-Carter letter that his friend owns, it seemed odd to me. Isn’t that important? Why base an entire book on a letter that you don’t know the origin too? Also, he did a mummification once and “learned everything there is to know,” but ancient Egyptians did this for thousands of years. I don’t think he could have figured it all out in one session. I’m no scholar, but these issues seem very unscholarly to me and I’ve been stewing on them.
Thanks for listening! AND thank you for your wonderful podcast. I love learning about ancient Egypt. Rachel
DominicPerry
December 19, 2022,
Hi Rachel, these are fair questions. Bare in mind an interview tends to skim over many details to focus on the big picture. Interviews also don’t cover “off-the-record” aspects that the interviewee may be unable or uncomfortable discussing publicly. In short, I can’t speak for Dr. Brier or his methods; but please note this interview only covered the basics. There will be more information in his book.
On the issue of Gardiner’s letters to Carter, I *can* note that this communication is actually previously known. It was first discussed in T.G.H. James’ 1992 book “Howard Carter: The Path to Tutankhamun.” More recently, Prof. Christina Riggs touched on it in her 2021 book “Treasured,” about the tomb of Tutankhamun; and in So, the letter is not really new (the media has simply hyped it as such).
Re: mummification. As I understood Dr. Brier’s words, doing mummification once was enough *for him*. Rather than repeat the study himself, he would prefer others to do their own experiments and see what *they* can add. That way, scholarship can advance in varied avenues (and avoid blindspots of one scholar doing everything). I don’t think he meant doing the experiment once uncovered “everything there is to know” in the general sense. Again, I can’t speak for him; but that is how I understood his views.
I hope this helps!
Dominic
Kristan Anderson Norvig
January 14, 2023,
Hi Dominic,
After a 3rd trip to Egypt this past December, I just found your podcast. WOW. Love everything about it. I wish I’d known about this earlier; started a new list of things I’ve missed or must-sees that I didn’t know about. I love your voice; it’s very easy to listen to, & you explain things clearly. You are also an excellent story-teller. I also love all the music & sound effects you use, well done on all of those. I see the photos attached to some of the podcasts, but in Episode 05 you mention that you can see pics of Hetepheres’ curtain box “on the website”. I’ve looked over the website and can’t find the photo(s) that might be there. Can you please send a link for where the photos are? Thank you again for your excellent work; so very enjoyable! Best, Kris
DominicPerry
January 19, 2023,
Hi Kristan, thanks for your kind words! Unfortunately many images were lost due to a website upgrade. Fortunately, you can find information about Hetepheres’ furniture at the Boston MFA https://collections.mfa.org/objects/147125, and information about the curtain box specifically on Digital Giza http://giza.fas.harvard.edu/objects/54990/full/ Hope this helps!
Timo
January 27, 2023,
Hello there,
I just started listening to the podcast and listened the first 3 episodes. I’m working on a board game with the theme of egyptians and especially pharaohs and their tombs. Your podcast provides great information on everything really and is a great inspiration (for the game). The podcast is detailed enough to give an image of how civilization was at that time. I’m really enjoying it.
Can’t wait for all that’s to come in further episodes!
Thanks for making this, its great
Becky
March 28, 2023,
Hi Timo,
The game sounds great. Do you know how to play Senet? It is such a great ancient Egyptian game!
Dominic, I love the program as well. I found it after a fabulous trip to Egypt and am determined to listen to all 170 plus episodes (I am at 40 now). I too, hope that someday we will be able to see the additional material you refer to in the podcast.
It is wonderful! I have passed the podcast on to the (few) people I know who would be interested 😎
Becky
M Moran
February 16, 2023,
Any way to get written transcripts of the episodes? I am hard of hearing and some of them are hard for me to understand. Thank you for your time and creativity! I truly love this journey I am on!
DominicPerry
February 16, 2023,
Hello! I’m afraid I don’t release the transcripts, as they are often rough/unsuitable for public distribution. I am considering making my notes available on episodes, in future, on Patreon. But for now, the audio version is the only one available. My apologies.
Dominic
Jacob Justus
February 24, 2023,
Hey Dominic,
I have a theory regarding the amarna succession that I was hoping you would give ur opinion on:
The Anubis statue found in Tut’s tomb was wrapped with a shawl marked year 7 of Akhenaten seems a calculated decision by the ancients and the solution Im stuck on is that it’s clothing from the moment of Tut’s birth. Given the theological context of Anubis who will guide tut to his birth in the next life, it seems reasonable to garb him in the Blankets that covered him at birth into this life. Kind of a good luck charm for another successful passage into the next world? I’m reading a study by a Dr. Allen I found online regarding the amarna succession and he suggests that the period elapsed between the death of Akhenaten and the coronation of Tut is 3 or 4 years at most but potentially under a year. If the shawl is from his birth date it would make tut age 9 or 10 when Akhenaten dies, another year for neferu and smenkhare, and he becomes pharaoh with a reign of 9ish years and his age at death matches that chronology…. What do you think? I’m incredibly fascinated by the mystery of the late Amarna succession and interested in ur opinion. Thanks bro
DominicPerry
March 15, 2023,
Hi Jacob,
That is certainly possible 🙂 The chronology here is uncertain enough to allow some wiggle-room of 1-2 years. Given Tut was *approximately* 19 years old (but potentially as high as 21-22), such dates are feasible.
Dominic
Piotr
March 14, 2023,
Hello, love the podcast. Amazing work, hope you’ll never stop producing the episodes and when narrative history will run out you’ll go back and resivit some aspects that got less attention on the first run. Only one gripe that somewhat lessens otherwise great experience is the access to the photos discussed during episodes. I listen mostly on my phone and mobile version od the side does not display photos for every episode for some reason. I’t would be really great to have better working gallery with photos categorised by episodes. Cheers!
Reagan
March 30, 2023,
Hi Perry!
You’re podcast is amazing and i listen to it between my classes at university. I’m not completely caught up on the podcasts but I was wondering if you have ever heard of the video game, Assassins Creed:Origins and your opinion on it and if it seems to be pretty accurate or not. Let me know! Thanks!
Pete Siegel
April 20, 2023,
Greetings. I tried diligently to do the survey of April 2023 but it didn’t allow one to skip odd or invasive questions. Some, like those about employment, were rather bizarre (and useless)— have they never heard of academia, blue collar work, self-employment, or …? Others were way too invasive. The invasive questions are common in the US, but I’ve never been required to answer them (except by the government). I was prevented from continuing with the useful bits by the survey itself— I’d recommend never answering some of their questions unless they’re giving you a loan or job.
PS. I’ve listened to your podcasts, many of them multiple times. They are excellent!
DominicPerry
April 21, 2023,
Thanks Peter, I will pass your concerns to the survey writers 🙂
Dominic
Matthew
May 21, 2023,
I recently found your podcast on Egyptian history. You got me intrigued on the Mitanni gold statue fiasco. The episode that mentioned it says there will be a future episode that deals with more of this. I’ve looked around and can’t find anything on other episodes. Is there another episode about this in detail?
Mireia Coll
May 1, 2023,
Hi from Barcelona. I´ve recently discovered your podcast and I am loving it.. I finished my Postgrad in Ancient Egypt and listening to your episodes while commuting to work really makes my journey a pleasure. Big congratulations!
tanya
May 5, 2023,
hi !
we prepared for our trip to egypt listening to your podcast .
the vividness of your descriptions made me feel like i was looking at things i had seen before .
i even had my 6 year old listen to many episodes and your narration kept him interested and excited .
so thank you so much for making egyptian history come alive for us .
Michael
May 14, 2023,
Hi Dominic – just wondering if your planned 2 week visit to Egypt early in 2024 is still going ahead. If so, I am interested to know more details, including availability. I recall there was a UK company helping with logistics, but unsure now where to find them. Thanks for your help.
Your podcast is a constant companion! Best wishes.
Jack Schulte
June 5, 2023,
Hi, my name is Jack and I am 7 and a half years old. I am obsessed with ancient Egypt and I love your podcast. The gods, pharaohs, and the temples are gorgeous. Did you now that Ramses II ruled for more than 66 years? I am a fan of your podcast.
DominicPerry
June 13, 2023,
Hi Jack, thanks for listening! That’s amazing to hear, I wonder how Ramesses lived so long? 🙂
Matti Pihlaja
June 12, 2023,
Hello, Dominic!
First of all, I just love your work on this podcast. There is much I have learned from You!
A very small detail as listener from Finland pops up. I love the way You from time to time refer to Mika Waltari and his work, but I do have to correct You on this author’s gender. Mika was man. Totally understandable confusion, since Mika is usually in Anglo-Saxon languages female, but in finnish Mika is male name.
I’m now listening to episode 135, and like I said, loving your work!
DominicPerry
June 25, 2023,
Thank you! I’ll correct that in future 🙂
Juan
June 23, 2023,
Hi Dominic! I was wondering if there was any updates on the tour to Egypt in 2024? I went onto the Ancient World Tours website but they no longer had the itinerary listed or reservation option available so I just wanted to check with you if the tour was still going forward or if it’s postponed until further notice.
The link I found is below for your reference https://www.ancient.co.uk/holiday/history-of-egypt-2/
DominicPerry
June 25, 2023,
Hello Juan, the tours have sold out 🙂 There will be another in 2025
DominicPerry
July 5, 2023,
Hi Juan, I’m afraid the 2024 tours are now sold out! I will be running another in 2025, and will announce that when the dates/details are ready.
Thanks for your interest!
Dominic
Marni
July 3, 2023,
Hi, I really enjoy your podcast but I noticed that the ads are much louder than the level of the podcast. Is there a way you can have them make it the same volume.
Thanks!
DominicPerry
July 5, 2023,
Thanks Marni, that’s a known issue. The ads are generated automatically (by Megaphone podcast hosting) and I’m unable to change them. Whenever possible, I am trying to make the podcast the same volume; but it’s not possible to get them 100% matched, unfortunately.
Dominic
Roben Marlow
July 4, 2023,
Hi Dominic
I haven’t contacted you before but I’m one of your many, many silent followers, and in retirement, who have stayed with you since your first podcast many years ago !!
A lengthy but necessary narrative. I hope you can help.
I have followed all your series sequentially since the very first one (yes, sad isn’t it) and likewise added two later contemporary podcasts shadowing the same period. Not only these but many history books on the 18th Dynasty in particular over 40 years, together with the many TV academic stories between rivalling Academic professors over the past 5 years and also research published on media.
All touch on, but somehow stop short and seem to side-step what is to me – an armchair historian – the most obvious yet confusing period in history 1200 – 1600 BC and which iOS the subject for your PhD I understand sports I hope you wont pinch my following synopsis !! What really happened – I mean it seriously – free of the accepted timelines – to cause all the chaos around the Med in a relatively short window yet with such devastation and upheavals – An absence of a clear overriding explanation because of timelines forced on us – that today continues to screw up what is the most logical understanding of major events. Instead all Med. history academics judge events against a chronological timeline originally forced on us I understand by the Victorians who were so keen to prove the Bible. Nobody is questioning the obvious – what if the Egyptian-centric timeline is incorrect ?.
My question: Are academics being too blinded on what seems clear to a non academic but well read ?
Confused Dominic ?
Its about standing back, looking pragmatically at the upheavals and vacuums through this 3-400 year period and to concentrate on the one obvious factor that would make all the consequential events (currently seen in isolation) seem logical, explainable and connected.
Some context:
I fell in love with ancient history in 1974 when at a UK ‘Poly’ (‘New’ working class Uni in the UK) studying Engineering (Yes it sends you crazy). I was addicted by a paperback ‘The Bull on Minos’ by Leonard Cotterell, which put the massive eruption of Thera and its subsequent tsunamis that wreaked havoc to civilisations around the coastlines of the Mediterranean in proper context. An event which I understand with the prevailing wind dumped much of the ash cloud over a footprint including the top part of the Nile. (A factor perhaps in turning the Nile Red with its ash ?).
The eruption was huge (5 times that of Krakatoa). That would have been highly visible to ALL around the Med basin, yet over the next 46 years to date I have followed and been patient and bit my lip at what are almost singular event focused academic explanations to new archaeological discoveries and conclusions against established chronological timelines – that we are all forced to accept on such fundamental factors :
o The Ten plagues of Egypt and the exodus
o The massive economic collapse of the Bronze Age (and all the disruption and breakdown/loss of established industry supply chains)
o The sudden appearance of sea peoples (unknown origins) and the rise of the Pheonicians
o The appearance of King Solomon on a timeline close to that of Ramases II (the great) and alleged destroyer of Jerusalem
o The consequent rise or gap fill and cancelling of nations around the med. post collapse
They are all ‘sold’ to us unknowingly as separate events, in their own timelines and disconnected, and with many gaps left on root causes. It raises fundamental and obvious questions to me then back in 1974 as it does today:
1. Why have we not discovered an abundance of records around the Med basin recording the Thera eruption and its consequences if civilisation continued to trade the next day as if business as normal ?. So central is this as a barometer to benchmark chronology it should have been far more prevalent in our psyche today – but it isn’t. Why was nothing written down around the Med basin by ANY nation which like Pliny (with Vesuvius) leaves us a consistent record on Stelia or parchment of that highly visible and traumatic year of Thera collapsing and the massive displacement that followed. Do we assume as ‘dipsticks’ that because nothing is recorded, it couldn’t have been that big an issue ? Bunkum. References in the Post- Babylonian edited Bible to ‘Pillar of fire and Cloud’ (over the sea) around the time of ‘exodus’ makes it quite clear but we are surely blind.
2. Why his there a near obsession to accepting that Ramases II was the destroyer of Judah and its capital Jerusalem. We have him born in 1303bc and died in 1213bc. on the ‘Victorian’ created chronological timeline. Yet if so – why do academics still push the same old common assumption that Ramases II was a the Pharaoh referred to as ’Shishak’ who plundered Jerusalem and the same Pharaoh that triggered the Exodus ? Crazy – He couldn’t have done both. The pre-modern jewish migrants wouldn’t have had time to settle and make such advances in building settlements to build such a City to be a Threat to Rameses in his same lifetime. Bunkum. The ‘exodus’ must have happened way, way, back in history if we are to believe Ramases birth time and possibly by several hundred years – yes, close to other seismic events. Still little is said on it.
3. There was an academic some 15 years ago who challenged the norm and seems to have been ridiculed by the traditionalists. Put down by his academic peers so pinned to the established view of the world. But he wrote three books – ‘A test of Time’ – by David Rohl. He now no longer figures on the academic high ground. Too hot to handle amongst peers it seems. But regardless of the politics – he did raise serious unanswered questions that academics haven’t answered today. Fundamental questions aimed at proving the Victorians ‘forced’ a timeline on us which in doing so, closed an unexplained gap in pharaonic succession of some 200+ years and if put aside – makes clear sense of these siesmic events and the displacement of peoples.
If you put that into the timeline, then the Exodus, the Plagues, the Bronze age economic collapse, the anarchy fro the rise of new nations and sea peoples, the plunder of Jerusalem (same timeline), all makes perfect logical sense as they all occur possibly around 1600’s Bc or earlier.
‘Ockhams razor’ – The simplest explanation must be the correct one. All to me seem clearly linked. The frustration iOS no academic has even bothered to spend time promoting why this was not the sase to us educated bit non historians. Major cataclysmic events of economic collapse, loss of knowledge and metalworking and associated industries, population display events, plagues and famines and the fall and rise of warring nations all can be seen to follow from one ‘big bang’. Yet still this obvious explanation is not challenged or explained !!? Instead we publish and trundle on with researching sequential singular events which on their own create limited ripples across the Med. Thera answers a root cause and perhaps explains why no-one was left around to record it after post chaos.
The Bible I believe was written in this context and loss of knowledge. Has the obvious also been filtered out through their period of Babylonian exile and re-birth ?
Why do we continue to ignore the most obvious factor and put faith that our chronology left to us by the victorians is correct ? What if we later find they were wrong and missed out a dozen pharaohs unknown to us today ?
Dominic I have whined too much.
I would welcome a brief reply if you have time to read this – or even a narrative on your episodes that will help to put me out of my misery and make an old man happy before he meets his maker !!!
Food for thought Dominic
Kind regards
A UK listener
DominicPerry
July 4, 2023,
Dear Roben, thank you for your questions. The questions you raise touch on several historical issues, including: the “Exodus” as a verifiable event; Biblical synchronisms/divergences with archaeology and historical records; the Bible as a historical source vs record of oral traditions and storytelling; chronological synchronisms between the Late Bronze Age kingdoms of the Near East; Egyptian history and its depiction in the Hebrew Bible. You will appreciate that this debate is far too large for me to adequately summarise/explain in a comment (scholars have written many, many books about each of these areas).
However, I can (briefly) point out the following issues:
1. The physical impact of the Thera eruption is surprisingly unclear. Destruction on certain islands (e.g. Akrotiri) is clear, but the ash layers on Crete are remarkably thin (usually less than 1cm) and Minoan building activity continued well after the Thera eruption. In fact, the Minoan “Keftiu” are active traders throughout the mid-18th Dynasty (c.1500 – 1350 BCE). Thereafter, the Mycenaean culture begins to assert itself. Similarly, the “Tempest Stela” of Ahmose I may very well record the spectacle of Thera’s eruption and/or fallout (though again, debated). In short, the eruption itself may have been spectacular (and persisted in cultural memories); but the physical devastation is not quite a “case closed.”
2. Most Egyptologists identify the “Shishak” who attacked Jerusalem as Shoshenq/Shishaq I, not Ramesses II. Even if we dispute that, however, the city of Jerusalem itself did not start with the Hebrews. The city appears in the Amarna Letters, c.1360 BCE, with a local ruler who is a vassal/servant of the pharaoh (Amunhotep III or Akhenaten). So, there is no reason to assume that the destruction of Jerusalem as described in the Bible is happening under the same pharaoh of the (hypothetical) Exodus. On this topic, I highly recommend the work of Donald Redford, especially the books Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times or The Wars in Syria and Palestine of Thutmose III. A book by E.F. Morris, Architecture of Imperialism, also touches on Egyptian and Canaanite archaeology in the 16th – 12th Centuries BCE. The point here is that Egyptologists generally identify “Shishak” as Shoshenq I, rather than Ramesses II; and even if that identification is wrong, Jerusalem itself is a very old city (pre-dating known evidence for the Hebrews as a distinct cultural group).
3. Rohl’s arguments are worthy of consideration in many points, and he is to be commended for challenging the status quo. Regrettably, his chronology “condenses” events too heavily, to make them suit his hypothesis. For example, there are clear and definitive synchronisms between Egypt, Canaan, Mitanni, and Kassite Babylonia (especially in the Amarna Letters where certain kings correspond directly with one another). Condensing the Egyptian timeline demands condensing the entire timeline, which is simply counter to the archaeological and textual evidence that these people have left (and which has been recorded across hundreds of sites, over hundreds of years of ancient history, with many layers of material evidence to document them). To put it bluntly (though with no intended disrespect), Rohl’s chronology is too willing to discard known synchronisms and/or evidence in order to justify his revisions.
4. Implicit in your queries/arguments is the underlying assumption that the Exodus (as described in the Hebrew Bible) is (a) a single, datable event, or (b) happened exactly the way they described it. Egyptologists (with a few exceptions) do not take either of these assumptions as “established” or “definitive.” Likewise, popular perceptions of the Exodus as happening under Ramesses II are not shared by the academic community; many pharaohs have been proposed as the “Pharaoh of Exodus” (including Middle Kingdom rulers, Akhenaten, and Merneptah). More importantly, the archaeological evidence itself doesn’t indicate a major population migration out of Egypt during the New Kingdom period (c.1500 – 1100 BCE). One plausible candidate is the expulsion of the Hyksos, c.1550 BCE (under Ahmose I, author of the “Tempest Stela” above). That event, at the very least, saw a campaign/movement of troops (and families?) across Sinai into southern Canaan. Personally, that seems like the most viable candidate if one is looking for a ‘historical’ Exodus. But again, the debate is simply too large to summarise here.
Again, these are massive historical questions that scholars have spent decades debating/puzzling/arguing/examining. I can only touch on the bare essentials in this context. Scholars like Rohl are to be commended for their bold arguments, which can (and have) encourage fresh reviews and assessments. Nevertheless, modern archaeology and history is constantly refining our chronologies and points of reference; and things are constantly changing in small ways. The work of academics investigating this material is far more nuanced (and chaotic) than it may appear to the public, who only get the “tip of the iceberg,” so to speak. In short: the solutions are not “obvious” or “simple” as they may appear to the outsider.
Best regards,
Dominic
Note: Again, this is a brief summary of some points only. A proper discussion would require far more space/time than available here.
Brendan
July 13, 2023,
Hi Dominic, my name is Brendan – I’m an Australian intensive care doctor and long time amateur lover of Egyptian history. Having something to listen to that takes me away from my day to day work and to a completely different world has been invaluable, especially during the pandemic and long lockdowns! I’m especially excited when I find something so good to listen to and have a lot of already published content to catch up on – I’m still not there yet!
I once heard a street performer in Circular Quay say that if he performed his stunts in a pub you’d say it was worth shouting him a beer, and that his audience should tip him at least that much. I think your podcasts are worth more than a few beers, so please find my donation in your account later today. And if you find yourself in Melbourne let me know and I’ll shout you a beer in person!
Thanks again and keep up the wonderful work, your podcasts are terrific. Cheers, Brendan
Cara
July 24, 2023,
I’m going to Egypt in November. I’m a cancer survivor- in 2017 I had a 6% chance of living 2 more years. I’m still on the right side of the dirt and I’d like to leave a devotional offering for my continued health. Whom should I make this offering and where? Also, I’ll bring bring other offering from cancer patients.
If you could let me know.
Schulzcaral at Gmail dot com
DominicPerry
July 25, 2023,
Hello Cara, thank you for your enquiry. The deity you want is Sakhmet, who is responsible for illnesses and protection from them. You can find beautiful statues of her in Cairo Museum or the Temple of Mut at Karnak, in Luxor. In tales, Sakhmet is particularly fond of beer
Evan Reinhart
August 15, 2023,
Hi Dominic,
I’m so glad you do this show! It’s truly vast and quality content. I’m an Egyptology BA from Liverpool Uni, now doing an MA in Maritime Arch at Haifa Uni in Israel. Besides a thank you for all you do, I wanted to ask if you had any shows addressing the dichotomy of power/ authority between regional/nomarchal leaders versus the central/Pharaonic power base. I’m endeavoring to write a seminar paper on this subject through the lens of how the inundation must vary from region to region, beyond the scope of the Pharaohs’s capital city’s ability to immediately respond to each area as needed. So I imagine that nomarchs had a high degree of autonomy in how their irrigation response to Nile flooding. Does that make sense?
All the best,
Good luck on the PhD,
Evan
DominicPerry
August 16, 2023,
Hi Evan, thanks for your comment. That’s a big question that I haven’t covered in a specific episode. But if you’d like to email me, we could discuss it in greater detail? Thanks for listening 😊
ellen Chamberlin
August 22, 2023,
Hi there. Thank you. I sent you a message and hope you get it. It is about an old kingdom Goddess Wadjet. Please don’t stop the podcast. There is so much to learn (hear). I have no degrees or anything like that, just a love of history, and Egyptian history is my greatest love. I really appreciate the depth of you knowledge and can hear the passion in your voice.
e
Bill Thoet
September 1, 2023,
I just finished the episode on the ascension of Ay. I found a couple of things curious. 1) no mention of the painting of Ay in Tutankhamen’s tomb. It had to be painted within 2-3 months of Tutankhamen’s death due to the length of the mummification process. In the painting, Ay is dressed as a priest but the text above him already references him as a king with the typical son of Ra and nswt bity nomenclature and his throne name and personal name. His personal name inside the cartouche references god father of the king. 2) you indicate that it was Ankh sen Amen’s choice to pick the successor, but would think the successor would assert themselves and marry the queen for legitimacy. 3) would there be enough time for the queen to write a letter, the Hittite king to receive the letter, send an investigator, have them come back and send his son all between the death and burial of Tutankhamen?
Just a thank you for the podcast. My son introduced me to it a couple of years ago and I have binge-listened my way through (forgoing all of my other regular podcasts) and have almost caught up (just beginning Seti’s kingship). Keep up the great work.
Brendan Mitchell
September 8, 2023,
Hi Dominic,
Firstly, than you so much for your podcast. I stumbled on it late last year and am just up to Horemheb and have listened to the talks you put up while you were working through some family matters (I hoep they resolved themselves ok).
Wondering if you were aware of the Ramses & The GOld of the PHaraohs” exibition taking place in Sydney at the Australian Museum and were going to be coming across the ditch to attend? https://australian.museum/exhibition/ramses/
Stay well.
Brendan.
Derek Rodgers
September 20, 2023,
I’ve been in love with your podcast for several years now, but I was genuinely distressed by the way in which you advertised the “House of Life Hotel” in ep. 186 (“Sety in Abydos”). Until that point, there had always been an obvious and clean delineation between the narrative and adverts. Just going on record as an enormous fan to say: I don’t like this advert format. Surreptitiously weaving an advert into the narrative is uncomfortable and off-putting 😞.
– Derek, Vancouver, Canada
DominicPerry
September 20, 2023,
Thanks Derek. That wasn’t actually an advert, more like a “parody of an advert.” I just saw an opportunity for a funny misdirect and went with it. My apologies if it came across as a genuine commercial!
Torben Johansen
September 25, 2023,
Hello Dominic Perry, thanks for your superb sharing of Ancient Egypt knowledge and insight. I join and share the big joy of your multiple number of silent followers, and I am really enjoying your excellent work, shared in a very undestandable manner – thanks.
I have a particular question, referring to #65: Hatshepsut of Millions of Years, starting around 8 minutes in the podcast, where you tell about the stelae Senenmut raised in Sinai. There you inform of the mentioning/carving in of Neferure and not Hatshepsut on the stelae. Can you possible share some links or alike for further deep diving, as I would very much like to study some more of this very interesting topic, thanks on beforehand 🙂
Matt Hewitt
October 1, 2023,
Hi Dominic, I’ve just been doing an archive binge and about to finish the Tut-ankh-amen interviews. In an Egyptian tomb what is a ‘door’ and what is a ‘seal’? For the former are we talking solid stone, wood, bricks etc. and for the latter is it just paint, wax etc?
I would also like to give respect to the workers involved, you and interviewees have called them professionals but haven’t mentioned what made them professional. What skills had they honed?
Pete Siegel
November 5, 2023,
Interesting exhibit at the Getty and recent talks on the Book of the Dead (today) and the connection to the living.
I love your podcast— have heard almost all of them, enjoying every one!
Roland Weber
November 13, 2023,
Hi, I wanted to listen to older episodes but my podcatcher only shows me the 25 latest ones. Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks and best wishes from Austria
DominicPerry
November 15, 2023,
Hi Roland, thanks for alerting me. That shouldn’t be happening: I recommend contacting the Support services for the app/podcatcher to resolve the issue
Deb
December 14, 2023,
Hi Dominic:
Just listened to the Hetep-heres episode, which was great, as usual.
Love the Mothra reference! (there’s a fun singalong video on youtube of the Mothra song lol.)
Just noting about the bracelet design that in general, moths come out at night, and butterflies by day. Not a real rule, but generally. So unless Egyptians could be depicting the moon and moths there, seems most likely to be butterflies and the sun?
Great podcast!
DominicPerry
December 14, 2023,
Fascinating! Thank you for sharing 😃
Vince
December 27, 2023,
Been listening since October, just finishing 18th dynast now. I’ve really enjoyed the podcast an look forward to getting caught up.
Vince in Seattle
DominicPerry
December 28, 2023,
Thanks for listening! 😊
Michael Lane
January 4, 2024,
Hi, Dominic! Great podcast! I recommend it to my ARCH 100 students.
A point of pedantry from one academic to another—cuz that’s what we’re paid for, right? In your recent “Mini” episode on Menkaure (2023/12/27), you say Vyse used “dynamite.” You must mean black powder or something similar. Dynamite was patented in 1867, but Vyse died in 1853. Dynamite was around in time for Schliemann to use it at Troy. Perhaps the two tales have been conflated.
Keep up the great work!
Michael Lane
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
DominicPerry
January 4, 2024,
Hi Michael, thanks for your comment. This is purely a semantic oversight on my part. While Vyse mentions explosives (i.e. gunpowder) I simply used the term dynamite without thinking about the technical difference. I will add a disclaimer to the episode and correct it in future.
John Way
January 18, 2024,
You are not alone in that- in his book ‘A World Beneath the Sands’ Dr Toby Wilkinson refers to “Vyse dynamiting”!
DominicPerry
January 24, 2024,
It must be a common point-of-confusion!
Stephanie M.
January 7, 2024,
Hi Dominic!
Thank you for all the hard work you put into the podcast. I listened religiously while I was deployed, as it was the only form of media I had (besides some games on my laptop), and it brought together a lot of the missing pieces I’ve had in understanding the intermediate periods and the transitions. I appreciate how much time you spend on the Old kingdom and Middle kingdom and what a bada** Ahhotep I was (she is by far one of my favorite Egyptian ladies). After making it back safely (from a seriously not safe place not too far from what might have been Punt) I was able to get a look at your website and saw that you had a tour back in 2017/2018. Did that go well? What are the chances you would have one of those again? I have been a fan of Ancient Egypt since I was very little, like 9 or 10, when I read my first book on hieroglyphics and the Book of the Dead. It would be a dream to see all the locations you mentioned in the advert on your blog. If you are I would very much be interested in signing up.
Respectfully,
Stephanie
DominicPerry
January 24, 2024,
Hi Stephanie, thank you for listening to the podcast! I do indeed run tours semi-annually now; another tour is being planned for early 2025, and I will make the announcement on the podcast feed/website once that is finalized.
Best regards,
Dominic
John Way
January 10, 2024,
Hi Dominic. Greetings from far away Glendene (I can see your house from here…. etc). I started listening to the podcast in early 2023 and have binged up to Amunhotep III so far. I love your work. I was originally trained as an archaeologist and as a wargamer always been interested in ancient military history. I had never been interested in ancient Egypt until I got hooked on your podcast, so now I have a nice New Kingdom army!
So I have two questions:
In your descriptions of armies, you frequently refer to forces being composed of chariots, infantry and archers. Military archers on foot are generally included in the superset infantry, with all other men who habitually fight on foot. Is there an Egyptian linguistic distinction? I know some sources refer to “close fighters ” to distinguish them from the archers who predominated in Egyptian forces from pre dynastic times
DominicPerry
January 24, 2024,
Hi John, there is something of a distinction between different infantry types. I cover these in episodes 184 and 184b 🙂
Dominic
Tim
January 25, 2024,
Hey Dominic,
Just wanted to say how much i’ve loved and valued your podcast over the last few weeks.
Things have been… extremely difficult – medical stuff (both acute and decades old), family issues, financial landmines, you name it.
For whatever reason, (I think my rather severe ADD might have something to do with it) having a podcast (and i’m a mega history nerd, they seem to be the most effective for this) having a podcast like yours that I can put on whenever things get overwhelming is incredibly therapeutic. I often get very overwhelmed by crowds, loud noises, and other over-stimulating things, and having my headphones on with your relaxing voice telling me about Ancient Egypt (a subject I’ve loved since I was tiny thanks to my hippy-slash-nerd of a mom)
Just wanted to say “thanks” and you’re welcome to send me an email in the future – if it’s about biology i’m probably reading peer-reviewed scientific journals about it for fun (yes, i’m just THAT cool), maybe you’ve got some facet of biology you’re curious about? (Here’s a freebie – Box Jellyfish, which are almost 100% water and lack even the most basic of developed nervous system have 24 eyes, of 4 different categories, and we aren’t talkin just “light VS dark sensitive patches of skin” here!
Google that but beware they look alien as heck!
All the best, may you and yours be forever happy, healthy, and free!
DominicPerry
January 25, 2024,
Dear Tim, thank you for your comment. I am glad the podcast is providing some entertainment and comfort. My best wishes for your health and wellbeing!
Dominic Perry
Jeffrey Urbik
February 11, 2024,
what episode covers Pharaoh Unas’s Cannibal Texts?
DominicPerry
February 11, 2024,
Episode 16
Student of Sutekh
February 17, 2024,
Please please pleaaaaase do more Set/Seth content! Side note it is pronounced “Set” not “Seth”.
Could you do some focus on his cult centers and how they worshipped him and such?
Love the show!
DominicPerry
February 17, 2024,
As noted in episode 192b, I’ll be discussing cult centres in the next episode
Niclas Westlake
March 30, 2024,
Hey there!
Just wanted to leave a comment, for what it’s worth. The podcast is great. Just wanted to say a big thanks for the top notch quality of this podcast. I’m still early on into the podcast (Episode 70) but I’m sure it will only get better.
Ps: Thanks to you I’ve taken up Hieroglyphs study in my spare time. My path is surely long and rough ahead.
DominicPerry
March 30, 2024,
Hi Niclas, thank you for listening 😊
Rajeev Patel
March 31, 2024,
Excellent podcast. I love listening to your voice narrate the history of ancient Egypt and make it so very interesting.
I visited Egypt back in November, 2018 and, looking back, I wish I had gone there after listening to your podcast.
Thank you!
Rajeev
Peter Vermeulen
April 1, 2024,
Dear Sir
Is it just me or a general problem, but I am not able to see the pictures in – Episode 84b: Into the Tomb
I used google Chrome and Safari, and both are not showing the pictures. Further more: I looooove your podcast. Thank you so much
Hi Dominic. When I go to patreon.com it does not recognize that I am a scribe level member. Everything is locked, even episodes I previously downloaded to my phone for ease of listening.
I didn’t have this problem before. I pay automatically monthly through paypal. Most recent payment was today, April 1, so I’m up to date.
Who can help me?
Thx, Love the podcast.
DominicPerry
April 2, 2024,
Hi Gerry, please email me with the address you use for Patreon membership. I’ll see what I can find out (email referenced above)
Hoping we can find a way to join you on the 2025 tour. I’ve set up RSS to watch for an announcement. Joining you in Egypt is a buck list item for me.
Kathy Kruk
May 6, 2024,
A belated response to your request for feedback on the mini episode Houdini Beneath the Pyramids. It was very entertaining and enjoyable, and I would be most interested in further adaptations of horror / invented tales set in Egypt.
Many thanks for providing such an excellent podcast series.
Richard
May 7, 2024,
Can you point me to the specific “execration text” apparently authored by an Egyptian solder stationed at a fort in Lower Nubia, which you quote in Episode 46 (Crushing Our Enemies), around 21:30 into the podcast?
DominicPerry
May 7, 2024,
Hi Richard, unfortunately my original notes for the MK period were all lost in a harddrive failure. I’m working to rebuild my repository. In the meantime, you can find more information about Execration Texts (including ones referencing Nubia) in the British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt (page 94, with further references). Also a 2015 PhD thesis on “The Process of Cursing in Ancient Egypt” (page 77 onwards), and a 2001 PhD thesis on “Aspects of the Interaction between the Living and the Dead” (page 127 onwards).
Links to the relevant publications included. Hope this helps!
Ian
May 9, 2024,
Hello Dominic, I am only at episode 57 but it is gradually becoming clear that you have great admiration for several of the women featured in the previous 56 episodes. In the unlikely event of your having spare time, have you thought of writing a book dedicated to them: Kentikaus (2), Neferu-Ptah, Neferu-Sobek, Aahotep and Ahmose-Nefertari plus others such as Hatshepsut that I haven’t reached yet?
DominicPerry
May 13, 2024,
Hi Ian, thanks for your message. I haven’t got any plans for a book yet. But that is certainly an excellent topic – many of those figures are overshadowed by Hatshepsut an company. Thank you for the suggestion 😊
Cecil
May 16, 2024,
Hi, Dominick. In this week’s episode of “Tasting History with Max Miller,” Max makes “Ancient Egyptian Spiral Bread of the Pharaoh.”
Thought you might be interested. https://youtu.be/jLw7lnX868Q
DominicPerry
May 16, 2024,
Great! Thanks for sharing 😊
Kaician
May 18, 2024,
Hi!
Love the work you’ve been doing. I’m currently making a TTRPG set in the late bronze age and in a culture heavily influenced by ancient Egypt. I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of any episodes that focus on the daily lives of the common folk and any details on the economy. And/or if you could point me in the direction of any other resources you think might be helpful. Thanks again for the podcast, it’s been incredibly enlightening.
DominicPerry
May 21, 2024,
Hi Kaician, I don’t have a specific episode about ordinary folks, yet. It’s more scattered through the various episodes. If you drop me an email (address above) I can provide some articles and books in pdf 🙂
Michi
June 21, 2024,
Hi, are you aware that the episodes 49-52 don’t play when accessed via the website? Could be more in either direction since I only checked those three. The podcasts works on Spotify, so I still can listen to it, but I prefer the one stop solution on the website with the maps and pictures to go with each episode.
DominicPerry
June 22, 2024,
Hi Michi, thanks for messaging. We are aware of the problem and doing our best to fix each episode, individually, as quickly as possible 🙂
T
July 1, 2024,
Hello,
I love the podcast. My mom introduced my to ancient Egyptian stuff when I was a tiny kid – among other history and science stuff we shared – and though now she’s well into dementia (though otherwise happy!) it makes me really happy to get back into this stuff, and I mention it to her when ill see her.
I was wondering – did any rulers consider something (and I don’t know the geography well) where instead of these obvious massive above ground tombs/pyramids, they used some of that labor (presumably a tiny fraction of it) to tunnel deep into a mountain, rock formation, bedrock, etc, and then collapse or otherwise block/hide/trap the entrance?
In theory, tomb robbers would have to basically re-tunnel the entire way into the tomb to get at it, something which is far slower and harder to do, therefore more likely for them to get noticed (or simply to lack the resources to perform the robbery).
Is it something about needing to access the tomb’s area to perform the mortuary offerings? Is there some religious aspect where the ruler would not want to be completely sealed off from the outside world?
I mean, if I was them and just wanted my mummified body to be safe for eternity, i’d have my people tunnel into the biggest mountain or rock formation available, build all the things I need deep inside, collapse the tunnel behind them as they leave, and perform the mortuary functions nearby or something.
Just a thought I had, considering how it seems remarkable that they expected to remain unmolested when in the most obvious monuments imaginable, and in structures where they had spent almost all the labor and resources piling up stone yet almost none of it going towards making it impossible for robbers to gain access to the inside?
Thanks, and please keep up the good work!
DominicPerry
July 1, 2024,
Hello T, thank you for your message. Yes, starting in the Middle Kingdom (around 1800 BC), Egyptian kings slowly start abandoning pyramids as a burial monument. At places like Abydos and Luxor (in the Valley of the Kings) they commission underground tombs, which are then covered over by rubble and hidden. Offerings are made in temples far away from the tomb itself to maintain the soul. Alas, most of the tombs were still robbed. But they did try that 🙂
Charlotte
July 4, 2024,
Hi Dominic
Just wanted to say a big thank you for your lovely podcast. Found it by accident about a year ago. I’m only on episode 65 (like to start things from the beginning!) and it’s so interesting. I have no background in Egyptology so every episode is a learning one for me, but my reason for enjoying it so much is a strange one. I suffer from depressive episodes and getting overwhelmed mentally. When I listen to your calm, soothing voice, with its nice New Zealand accent, I find it so relaxing. It really has a kind of meditative quality for me, so thank you for that 🙂
Appreciate your focus is history but I also like to hear about the myths and other cultural beliefs at various points in ancient Egyptian history. And I’m always interested in the life of women in historical periods. Are there any books you’d recommend from a female/gender/feminist perspective?
– Charlotte (UK)
DominicPerry
August 6, 2024,
Hi Charlotte,
Thank you for the kind words, and for listening to the podcast! I’m glad my work could help in some small way. My very best wishes for your ongoing health and happiness!
Good Morning Mr Perry,
I just wished to write to say I listen to your podcast and thoroughly enjoy it. I unfortunately found my passion for the ancient world late so do not work in the field of it for my day job (not yet anyway) but very much love to learn and study it. I am relatively new to detailed study of Ancient Egypt (mostly read about Rome and Greece) but am reading a lot on the subject. I have a extensive library of books and my Egypt section is expanding but I wanted your advice on a certain area. I have looked through your bibliography but could not see a specific book for the Forst Intermediate Period, can you recommend the best book for this subject?
I am a little behind as started late so only on episode 23 but really enjoying it, keep up the good work!
Also from your bio I see you have taken up boxing, as a ex boxer myself I can say it is the best sport in the world so hope you enjoy it!
Many Thanks,
R.Cuthbertson
Pingback: Episode 74: Look Upon My Works, And Despair! Curse of the Pharaohs – Just A Story
As you go through the history of Egypt will you be talking about the scientific finds they made such as discovering the earth was round or any of their other discoveries.
Thx
Love the podcast
Bruce B.
Yes 🙂
Hey Dominic! Fantastic series. I’m so grateful this exists as I’ve always been infatuated with ancient Egyptian history. So in driving into it finally detail by detail and found that your explanations are phenomenal.
Quick question right off the bat, and I’m sure I’ll have a million more, ha! If I was paying attention correctly, first dynasty leaders like Den and his mother etc seemed to have been buried in tombs in Abydos, which it seems you can visit today. When they found these tombs (in the early 1900s, I believe) did they find actual remains of Den? Or were they buried differently at this time so that there is no possibility of finding anything from their actual remains? If that’s the case, how did they confirm it’s their tomb? I like the histories of how these places were discovered. Incredible! Thanks in advance for your knowledge on this matter.
Mr. Perry, You have new website location but no RSS. I love your blog, one of the best. Keep up the good work.
https://rss.acast.com/egyptianhistorypodcast
Wishing you and your family well. Love and will miss the podcast, but family comes first.
Hi Dominic
The revamped web page looks good, but is much more difficult to navigate
When I get down to Episode 0, , then use the back arrow, It takes me straight back to the top page ( currently Episode 78)
( OK, if you know the name of the episode you are looking for, then you can use the SEARCH box)
Also, these episodes seem to have disappeared
1B Green of Grey
2-A._Between_Myth_and_History
2-B._Horus_and_the_Fortress
But as usual, your podcasts are excellent
Keep up the good work
Kindest Regards
andrew
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the feedback! The website is an ongoing project, so I will take your notes into consideration for my next update.
The episodes you list have been removed from the feed, as part of a remaster of the early episodes. They will be replaced in due time.
Best regards,
Dominic
Hi Dominic,
I’m so glad I found your podcast, I was very interested in ancient Egypt when i was a wee young lass. Now many years later working in a totally different field you’ve rekindled my love for Egypt and history in general, so thank you. I was wondering if you ever plan on releasing the podcast on google play for us android users.
Also, since you seem to have an interest in games (since you’v been using the children of the Nile soundtrack), I’d recommend you check out Pharaoh, the soundtrack is lovely and you might appreciate it too.
Keep up the great work!
Best regards,
Laura
Hi Laura,
Thanks for getting in touch! I am trying to resolve the Google Play issue, but unfortunately the service is unavailable to podcasts operating out of NZ. I am working on a solution.
Re: Pharaoh – I have a long love of that game; I still play it sometimes!
Dominic
I have a question. Did you put so many advertisements into the podcast or was that spotify? Im a premium member.
Hi there, I’m not sure how Spotify treats podcast advertising. On average, there should be one pre-roll, one post-roll, and one mid-roll ads (sometimes more if the episode is 50 minutes or longer).
Hey just wondering why spotify episodes are so far behind?
Also, searching egypt or even your full podcast name brings up no results on spotify but your link brings me to the podcast there where i can follow. If it wasn’t for thw history of greece shoutout i would have thought spotify was devoid on podcast surrounding egypt. Should let them know.
Hi Victor,
Spotify episodes are behind due to my hosting arrangement with Acast. I am planning for Spotify accessibility but must resolve those issues first. Like the Google Play issue, it is harder than it sounds!
Hello Dominic,
I recently started listening to your podcast and can now not live without it.
Absolutely immense work.
Have you ever covered the History of Egyptology? It would be great to hear about any Egyptian/Greek/Arab History sources prior to the explosion of interest from the 18th Century onwards.
Michael
Hi Michael,
Thanks for listening! Short answer is no I have not covered that (yet). I have some episodes (notably 84b) that explore *events* in Egyptology. But I will save my discussion of Egyptology as a science, and the classical/medieval writers for the “Epilogue” of the show 🙂
Dominic
What books or textbooks do you recommend for gaining information about the New Kingdom, or the Eighteenth Dynasty?
Thank you!!
18th Dynasty… the starting point for a narrative history is the relevant chapters of The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. From there, you can use the bibliography to find many academic references. To date no one has attempted to bring all the reigns into a single monograph, so much of the information is in edited volumes and journal articles. That being said, some good books include:
– Eric Cline and David O’Connor (editors) “Amunhotep III: Perspectives on his Reign,” which covers the “high” point of the 18th Dynasty.
– The conference proceedings of “Creativity and Innovation in the Reign of Hatshepsut” does the same for the Female Pharaoh (and you can find it for free at https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/saoc69.pdf )
– William Moran “The Amarna Letters” is essential for understanding diplomacy.
– Anthony Spalinger “War in Ancient Egypt” is thorough, but academic.
For biographies / overviews, I recommend:
– Kara Cooney “The Woman Who Would be King” explores the life of Hatshepsut.
– Richard Gabriel “Thutmose III: A Military Biography” explores Thutmose III, the warrior king.
– Aidan Dodson’s pair of books: “Amarna Sunrise” and “Amarna Sunset” will give you a detailed but accessible overview of the Amarna period.
– William Murnane “Texts From the Amarna Period in Ancient Egypt” is a thorough introduction to the texts coming from Akhenaten’s time.
– Barry Kemp “City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People” will be the go-to reference for Amarna archaeology for years to come.
– Marianne Eaton-Krauss “The Unknown Tutankhamun” is the best overview by the leading scholar of Tutankhamun as a historical figure.
– Nicholas Reeves “The Complete Valley of the Kings” is what the title says – a very thorough overview.
– Richard Wilkinson “The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt” will introduce you to all the major temple complexes, and their features.
– William Murnane “The Road to Kadesh” covers political and military records from the second half of Dynasty 18 through to the reign of Sety I (Dynasty 19)
Hi Mate,
Congratulations on an amazing podcast, I’m only up to ep 15 but already my mind has been blown away as to how much we actually know even if there is many gaps! Just want to know if you have ever done any guided tours at all? Just think it would be awesome to get a decent group of interested listeners together guided by yourself so we can get the proper historical experience of the awesome place! If not who would you recommend to go with when travelling to Egypt? Cheers Josh
Hi Josh, Thanks for listening!
Yes, I ran the first History of Egypt Tour in January 2019. I would like to do another in January 2020.
Hope this helps
Dominic
Thanks for the reply mate, yes definitely interested any chance you could email the details at all?
Cheers mate appreciate it.
Josh
I will release an episode with details when I am read to announce it 🙂
Perfect 👌 love your work 👍 Cheers
is good podcast but the adverts are easily twice the volume of the show. real scummy practice that ruins the listening experience.
Hi Dan, thanks for the comment. As with most podcast ads, they are automated by the server host (I do not control the volume). Please let me know which ones you are having issues with so I can either update the episode .mp3 or contact my host to have it corrected.
Regards,
Dominic
Really enjoyed your interview with Dr. Joyce Tyldesley. She had some great insights on ancient art and Queen Tiye. Any chance of more interviews in the future?
Hi Kathryn, thanks for listening! Yes, there is a “part 2” for this interview coming soon (April 24; earlier for Patreon subscribers). There is also an interview with Dr. Campbell Price (episode 101) which was lots of fun. I have others in the pipeline, so there will be more going forward 🙂
The History of Egypt Tour in January 2019 was really great. I really enjoyed it. So good, I’m waiting to see the 2020 schedule. I have Jan 2020 penciled in for a return trip with The History of Egypt team.
Dear Dominic,
Permit me to thank you again #1 for researching, writing and broadcasting a magnificent program! Every episode, interview et al, well done! …and #2 for including the sound of a shimmering systrum in the podcast on music🙏
http://box5707.temp.domains/~egyptif2//////2018/08/16/mini-episodes-music-in-ancient-egypt/
May you & your family be blessed with vibrant good health, may you be blessed to continue your work for as long as your heart desires and…
May Hathor, Mistress of Music,
Lady of the Systrum
bring melody, harmony,
peace & love
into your life and
sing your praises!
sššt sššt sššt sššt
Thanks Tahya, I’m glad you are enjoying the show 🙂
First off Dominic, I Love this podcast! I’ve loved Ancient Egypt since I was in Middle School, but have just now started to really dive into it. I was wondering if you could recommend some historically accurate movies on the subject? I would love to see it in action so to speak. Thank you for all that you’re doing here!
Hi Tyler, thanks for listening! I’m afraid there are no historically accurate movies about ancient Egypt; the subject is too broad and too susceptible to either “Biblical” renditions, or to adventure films with little relevance to history. That being said, some enjoyable examples are “The Egyptian” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxWNqovDePQ), based on the novel of the same name which was itself based on the ancient Tale of Sinuhe; and “Faraon (Pharaoh),” a Polish film based on the life of Ramesses III mixed with characters of the Third Intermediate Period. These films come closer than most to attempting an accurate depiction of the time.
Hope this helps!
I just started listening. I found this on the Podcasts app on my Iphone. I’m on the road a lot and this is now my go to station! You can tell from how you talk that this is a topic you are interested in and care about and you do a great job explaining the History of Egypt. I felt compelled to say Thanks and can’t wait to listen to the rest! Take care!
Hey Dominic,
While listening to the podcast, I noticed some of your obeservations relating to average life expectancies in Ancient Egypt; e.g. that the attestation of the life span of some pharaoh is not credible as it would far exceed the average life expectancy of 40 yrs that has been ascribed to the period.
However, as I understand it historical average life expectancies are usually not corrected for infant mortality and child mortality, and these rates usually wheigh in very high on the resulting figure. After correcting for these factors, the demographics of historical periods may approach to those of our own, at least from a day to day perspective.
For example, infant and child mortality rates may have been very high in Rome at 39 AD, resulting in a low average life expectancy, but it would perhaps not have been much more unusual than today to find a guy there like Seneca the Elder who reached the age of 92.
What is your take on this, and could you point out the figures that you refer to, or perhaps some further info on demographics in Ancient Egypt?
Kind regards,
Steijn Snelders
Hi Stephen,
At present I accept the logic of approx 40-50 years. The studies I have read make allowance for mortality rates and are based on studies of adult skeletal remains.
That being said, I intend to revisit this topic in detail in future episodes. As we move into historical periods with stronger archaeological evidence, I can start to examine life expectancies within different contexts and what we can know, on the surviving remains.
Dominic
Love your podcast, super interesting, very well written and narrated. A Big thanks.
Thanks for listening! 🙂
Hi! I recently discovered your amazing podcast and i’ve been binging a lot. Its incredible how much work you put into this. It seems very professional and the companion website is just awesome. I thank you very much for your time and passion!
Grretings from germany
I recently started listening to your show and am on Episode 35. I cannot express show much I love it. During the first few episodes, I was paying close attention to your music and kept saying to myself, that sounds just like the music from my game “Children of The Nile”. What a coincidence that you used that music. I have the game and play it frequently. I would suggest it to all your fans as it really does bring all that you are teaching to life. And honestly, who doesn’t want to be a Pharaoh? Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I can’t wait to hear more,
Hi Lyz, thanks for listening to the show! I’m glad you’re enjoying it 🙂 and yes, the music is Keith Zizza’s soundtrack to COTN which he was gracious enough to permit me using 🙂
Hi Dominic, I found your podcasts recently and am listening to one/day and really enjoying them. My mum got to love Egypt through going to the British Museum as a teenager and I got to love it through working there for 6 months. My particular interest is gardens and, having just listened to the Hatshepsut set of podcasts, I would like to ask you a question. Thinking about Senenmut’s interest in astronomy (and presumably geometry) could it be that he had a significant role in the layout of Deir el-Bahari (as well as in the management of the project)? I imagine the task requiring a technical ability that one would be unlikely to find in a queen (though it is of course possible).
Best wishes, Henry
Hi Henry, thanks for listening! That’s definitely possible, but we have no information that can shed light on it either way, unfortunately.
Hi Dominic! My name is Matias, I’m from Montevideo, Uruguay. I want to thank you and congratulate you for making and sharing such a great podcast. It’s really well done, I love the narrative and the content, great work!. I am very fond of ancient Egypt, my father was an egyptologist (amateur) and I grew up listening to his lectures and all sorts of Egypt related content. When I was 15 I enjoyed learning hieroglyphs from Gardiner’s Egyptian Grammar! He even made a plaster model of Luxor temple that is currently on exhibition in a museum here. We went to Egypt when I was a kid and that was an experience I’ll never forget, and I want to do again with my kids someday.
Sadly I lost my father many years ago, and for some reason I also stopped following Egyptian topics.
Some time ago I found your podcast through the “History of the World Podcast”, and it felt like opening a door to that time, and a renewed connection with my father. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that. I am sharing this with my kid now, as a way to get to know his grandpa, and he’s fascinated about it! And this is very updated content with all recent discoveries!
So thank you again for creating this podcast, I am deeply touched.
With love,
Matias
Hi Matias, thanks for listening! I’m glad you’re enjoying the show and that it is connecting with your family 🙂 Best wishes, Dominic
Hi, Dominic!
From one academic to another, a point of pedantry, because that’s what we do as a profession. Right? 😆
In your “mini” episode on Menkaure (2023/12/27), you say that Vyse used “dynamite.” You must mean some other explosive, like black powder. Vyse died in 1853, but dynamite wasn’t patented till 1867. That means it was available for Schliemann to do his damage at Troy with it. Perhaps the two stories of archaeological demolition have become conflated.
Keep up the great podcasting work!
Michael Lane
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Hi Michael, thanks for your comment. This is purely a semantic oversight on my part. While Vyse mentions explosives (I.e. gunpowder) I simply used the term “dynamite” without thinking about the technical difference. I will add a disclaimer to the episode and correct it in future.
Hi Dominic – I’ve been an archaeology nerd/aficionado for as long as I can remember. I’ve just discovered your podcast and am ploughing through the episodes at a rapid rate! Thank you – you are a legend! I am not sure whether you have covered this in later episodes – I have started teaching myself the basics using online resources – I am interested in attaining a (reasonable) level of proficiency reading and comprehending Middle/New kingdom hieroglyphics and hieratic. Do you have any recommendations/suggestions/advice on where to start or how to go about this?
Warm Regards. Gary
Hi Gary, thank you very much for listening! If you want to start learning hieroglyphics I recommend beginning with Collier and Manley’s book How to Read Egyptian Hierogylphs
That will be a good starting point, if you are learning on your own
I am such a fan. I was always interested in Egyptian History and I had no idea this expertise was available as a podcast. Having access to this level of knowledge is exciting. My biggest wish is to travel to Egypt with Dominic and a group of like minded people once we have a vaccine for COVID 19. Greetings from Brisbane, Australia. Karin
Hello, I have a question regarding Dendera, I understand it might not be your area of expertise and you might not know the answer, In which case could you tell me of a way I could find an expert on Dendera, since I emailed the author and she hadn’t replied.
On page 225 of the book: “The Theology of Hathor of Dendera: Aural and Visual Scribal Techniques in the Per-wer Sanctuary” by Dr. Barabara Richter she writes “From the Third Intermediate Period onward, Dendera became known as the ‘Southern Heliopolis’ “.
Does that mean that by the TIP the hieroglyphs O28-M26 or a similar variation that were applied to Thebes were also applied to Dendera?
Hi Daniel, thanks for your question. Unfortunately, as I have not reached the TIP yet, I do not have the research material available to answer this (specific) question. Certainly one of Dendera’s ancient names (Iunet) is a “feminine” equivalent to that of Heliopolis (Iunu). So, there would be some hieroglyphic equivalence. However, it is also worth noting that other cult centres like Gebel Barkal enjoyed the epithet of “Southern Heliopolis” at different periods. In that sense, the overall significance is unclear (to me, at the moment).
Best regards,
Dominic
Hello again, I received an answer, and in case you’re interested as well I was advised to contact Sylvie Cauville and to summerize, her reply was no, this epithet did not apply to Dendera.
Regards,
Daniel
Hi. New listener, enjoying the show very much. One question, have you ever read Pyramids, by Terry Pratchett?
Dear Dominic,
I do not exaggerate when I say this podcast has fulfilled my every dream. It’s just so pleasant in every way and has provided me with great support since I started studying Egyptology. Hope you can continue doing this for a long time.
Thanks for the quick response to my E-mail as well.
With kind regards and greetings from Berlin,
Niklas
Hi Dominic
I discovered your podcast a couple of months ago and am thoroughly enjoying it for the most part. I find certain eps more interesting than other, but generally utterly fascinating and your narrating style is super engaging, making it easy to listen. That you have a kiwi accent also keeps it interesting – I’ve always loved how you say ‘woman’ vs ‘women’ :).
I have a couple of queries:
I am up to Ep 74 which, from my recollection, is the first time you are referring to any of the kings (in this case Thut3) as pharaoh. I remember an early ep where you mentioned they were kings and not pharaohs up to a certain point. Do you have a specific episode in which you discuss this; how and why it changed?
Why is Punt pronounced ‘Punt’ and not ‘Punt’, if you see what I mean? You have been pronouncing it “poont”. On the same lines, Thutmose seems to vary between short and long ‘u’. Is there a logic in the hieroglyphs that determines this? Probably applies to Hatshetsup too, right?
Also, without me internet searching: Is there any reference to the Egyptians being aware of Jesus Christ and vice versa?
Thanks in advance of your reply, and in anticipation of continued entertainment and education as I continue to listen.
Cheers from over the ditch
Brian
Hi Brian,
I’ve corrected my “Kiwi-ism” re: woman / women, and now I make sure to enunciate the difference clearly.
There is a mini episode regarding the term pharaoh, that should turn up around the time of Thutmose III. It will be under the “Mini Episodes” category.
Pronunciations are (broadly) arbitrary. Names like Thutmose are “Greek-isms” of Egyptian words (Djehuty-mes) and terms like Punt are variable (it could be Punt, Poont, Pwenet, or something else). So, take all pronunciations as “conventions” rather than strictly accurate.
Re: Jesus Christ. I am not aware of any historical references to Jesus prior to the mid-1st Century BCE (time of Claudius or Nero, if I recall correctly). While Egypt was one of the first countries to “Christianize,” in the form we now know as the Coptic Church, this was tied up with trends and processes in Roman society of the time. There are no (surviving) references to Jesus from his actual lifetime, as far as I am aware.
Regarding Jesus’ awareness of Egypt… As a resident of the Roman province of Judaea, he would probably have known about neighboring regionslike Egypt and Syria. Furthermore, Jesus and his family may have lived for a time in Egypt itself, following his birth (according to some accounts e.g. the gospel of Matthew). I am not a Biblical Scholar by any means, but I will tackle those questions at the appropriate point in the narrative.
Best regards,
Dominic Perry
Hi, I tried to send this on the contact form but it didn’t work.
I know this is a really long shot…but I started listening to your podcast when I started my MA in Egyptology in October… I’m now writing an short essay on women and beer brewing in Ancient Egypt, and I could swear that in one of the first episodes you said something like ‘brewing beer was one of the only jobs women had’. I’ve tried listening again and can’t pinpoint it, so maybe I’ve totally imagined it. Does is ring any bells to you? I’ve seen in other comments that you do not provide transcripts. But this was in fact what sparked my interest in this topic and the reason I chose to write the essay about this.
Thanks in advance for any help. Katharine
Dear Katherine,
what a coincidence. I am listening to episode 6 and women brewing beer as part of the support industry for pyramid workers is mentioned though not elaborated upon. Hope this helps 🙃
Hi Dominic,
just want to let you know that the comment function does not work, for some time now. There is an error message when you hit the submit button.
I had written quite a long text about how much I enjoy your podcast 😉 Is the podcast email adress still valid?
Best wishes from Germany,
Bettina
Thanks for bringing more attention to this neglected part of Egyptian history!
I was wondering if you are interested in reading and perhaps discussing for a podcast a novel I have written… I think it would be right up your alley.
It’s about the situation in Canaan during the difficult transition of rule between Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten). It covers the Lab’ayu afair, the kingship of Milkilu of Gezer, and other contemporary conflicts.
It goes by the title “Seven Times and Seven Times I Bow: A Tale of Rebellion, Lust, Betrayal, and War in Ancient Canaan”
I relied a lot on your podcast to understand the culture of Egypt more, since my expertise is on Ancient Canaan. I hope you can give it a try.
As far as I know, it’s the only work of Historical fiction that uses the Amarna Letters as a Primary source.
Hi Dominic,
Thank you about your great podcast! I have started listening to it quite recently but catching up fast. It is really exciting.
I am very glad that you mentioned Mika Waltari’s novel Sinuhe (or the Egyptian, in English translation) in connection of the Tale of Sinuhe.
Yes, the novel is great! Considered as one of the greatest Finnish novels, and an international bestseller when published. Totally worth reading, as it describes the Egyptian life quite closely.
But it differs from the original quite markedly. It’s set in the new kingdom during the reigns of Akhenaten and Tutankhamun, and Sinuhe is a physician of the royal family. The theme of the book is the rise of monotheism, death of old gods and implies to the biblical story of Moses.
Then there is the Hollywood film based on the novel, which is not worth watching. It’s a Hollywood spectacle at it’s worst. But this is, of course, only my opinion…
Best Regards
Juha
Hi Dominic,
I was recently interested about Egypt history and found this podcast, what a hidden treasure I discovered. I thoroughly enjoyed your first two episodes and now it becomes a routine I can’t wait everyday while I am taking a walk after dinner while listening to an episode of the stories happening 3000 years back.
Just so you know your Patreon page is not working.. you probably know that already. Thank you so much for putting this together.
Cheers,
Christy
Hi Dominic,
I would like to share first of all how you revived my love for ancient Egyptian history through your podcast. What a beautiful gift you have. I wanted to reach out and see when would your next trip to Egypt would be. If you don’t have one planned soon, would you have any contacts that you trust that I can book with. I am Egyptian living in Canada, I am not worried about getting around, I just would like a guide that knows the history.
A shot in the dark but I had to ask.
Have a wonderful day
Yehia
Hi Yehia, thanks for your question. I am currently considering a tour in January 2024. I will make an announcement when/if dates and itinerary are confirmed 🙂
Hello Dominic,
I’d like to thank you for your wonderful podcast. I’m really impressed by how you achieve to go into such a level of detail whilst keeping your audience focused . Suffice to say that I can’t stop listening. Your elocution is beautiful and as I study English I’m really curious about your accent. I asked two of my English teachers from England of they couldn’t tell me where your accent comes from. They spotted some NZ intonation as well ‘Etonian’, ‘highly educated’, Egyptian and Asian. Could you tell me where you come from?
Hello Dominic,
I’d like to thank you for your wonderful podcast. I’m really impressed by how you achieve to go into such a level of detail whilst keeping your audience focused . Suffice to say that I can’t stop listening. Your elocution is beautiful and as I study English I’m really curious about your accent. I asked two of my English teachers from England and they couldn’t tell me where your accent comes from. They spotted some NZ intonation as well ‘Etonian’, Egyptian and Asian. Could you tell me where you are from?
Hi Odile, thanks for your question 🙂 I am from New Zealand, but my mother was from the UK. I have also grown up in a relatively cosmopolitan city. So, my accent is slightly off-kilter for NZ.
Hi Dominic, I started this study this year and find it really well done. I have enjoyed watching grow and change the program over the years. I am curious, are you still working on pod cast or is it finished now. I notice the last comment was August of last year.
Hi!
My name is Lily. I am a 20 year old student at the university of Oklahoma. I’m majoring in public relations with a minor in marketing. The reason I mention is because I am totally foreign to ancient Egypt. I knew the basic facts, but have been listening fascinated for the last two years. You have led me to take classes at college regarding such, read more than enough books, dive into theories and facts, like I never have before. I wanted to say- you have inspired me like no other into a world I had no idea I would be so fascinated by. All of this to say, because of you, I will be going to Egypt on a study group next year!! I would’ve never discovered this about myself if it weren’t for this show. Thank you!!!
Thank you for listening! I’m glad it has been helpful 🙂
Absolutely wonderful program I can’t get enough
Question about photos you mention are the ones related to older episodes removed?
I can’t seem to find any?
Some photos disappeared when I migrated to a new hosting service. Alas, I have not had the opportunity to fix this 🙁
Hello Dominic,
I love the podcast, and I was intrigued when you described the tour of Egypt a while back. Are you considering organizing another tour package?
Thanks, Sean
Hi Sean, thanks for your comment. I am considering a tour in January 2024. If that goes ahead, I will make an announcement on the show 🙂
Hi Dominic,
Your podcast has fast become my number 1 listen. I really like your approach….great research and presentation style. And while being such an educational podcast…your sense of humour comes through.
If I haven’t passed to the West by 2024. I’d love to join your tour….if you organise one. One of my daughters is an archaeologist and would join me.
Thanks again.
Take care.
Tony Curran.
Love your podcast but please stop being sugar coating history and acting as if ancient peoples were liberals…
Thanks Brian. I’m not aware of any episode where I suggest that. If you can point me to the specific discussion or episode where I suggest that, I would be happy to check it and see if I can clarify my wording in any way.
Hi Dominic,
Loving the podcast so far. Just listened to the end of Pepy’s marathon rule, and you make a big point that he outlived his children, which meant that there weren’t any competent rulers to come after him. Why didn’t the grandchildren get inducted into being royal administrators in the same way as children did?
Cheers,
James
Hello Mr. Dominic Perry, myself – Fanya Elyashkevich and my husband Alex – are very lucky to find your podcast just by chance – it is very interesting and a pleasure to listen to. We also watched the set of Lectures by Bob Brier and another set of lectures – by Melinda Hartwig – and still your podcast is very interesting to us ! I just want to thank you for your outstanding work and wish you a lot of success and fulfillment in your attempt to bring the history of civilization to all the people who are interested but lack systematic knowledge… We plan to visit Egypt this Fall and I hope that the podcast and all your information help us to better understand the history of Egypt. Thanks a lot!
Fanya
Hi Dominic,
Great fan of your podcast, loving it hugely. Just wondering though how I can get to see the related images that you often mention, have been looking on your website and cant find any? Not sure it this is just my wrong doing or if I’m in the wrong location?
Keep up the great work mate.
Oh, BTW, I too am a kiwi from Auckland.
I also cannot find any images/pictures and have looked pretty thoroughly. There is text on episode pages that reads “Click arrow to see more pictures”, but the play arrow doesn’t reveal anything and I cannot find any other arrows. If you have uncovered any information about this please share, thanks.
Unfortunately some of the images were lost in a website update, and I have been unable to replace them. My apologies for any inconvenience.
Dear, Mr. Perry. My name is Fatin. I wanted to know is there any written script of your podcast. I can’t understand when hearing the podcast, i beg your apologize. I want to read. I’ve just started listening on Episode 1: The Two Lands. I hope i can get the written script so i can read them. Thank you in advance. I like reading the history. 🙏🏻😊🥲 please do me a favour.
Hello Dominic,
I wanted to share my gratitude for the podcast. It has become for me a daily ritual, and its absolutely the highlight of my day. The episodes you have created have saved me last night, I have anxiety and depression, and listening to your podcast as Ive done for a long time now, gave me so much peace of mind Ive been missing. So thank you! I dont know how to thank you and show my gratitude. If you ever need art for the podcast, I will do it for free as a token of gratitude.
Thank you,
Rawan Alhosani
Hi, Dominic,
I’ve been listening to the marathon 6 hour Tut anniversary compilation edition. About halfway through at approx. 3:32 it starts over with the introduction and Godzilla joke. I think it interrupts your discussion of the golden mask.
Thanks! A longtime fan, Rachel
Dear Dominic,
Thank you for your work!
I was pleased to watch your episode on the Buried Pyramid of Sekhemkhet and since I am doing a video as well explaining it I was wondering where did you find the ramp of the pyramid?
Since I don’t hold a copy of Zakaria Goneim’s book I was wondering if you could help me understand the evidence of that ramp, can’t see it anywhere, and google earth is a bit difficult also to spot.
I hope you can help me! 😉
All the best,
Leonardo Marchesi
@theegyptianfeeling (YouTube Channel)
Dominic
Greetings. I enjoy your podcast very much. I so appreciate your attention to research, as with each presentation you provide a hint of all of the background evidence for each portion of each episode. I am a practicing architect by profession in the US, but amateur archaeologist my entire life starting with my first visit to Pompeii at age 6 and fostered by living, at various times, in Italy for a total of 3 years. I have been to Egypt and visited nearly all of the archeological sites. Your professionalism and storytelling skills are truly inspiring. I want to thank you. All the best and I wish you many many more years!
Thoroughly loving your podcasts! Would love more on amarna letters and amunhotep iii in particular and his borders.
Military campaigns and scaled Armours.
Also i have alot of my researchs i would like
To contribute and take from you in 2 people talks
Hi, Dominic, I listened to the interview with Dr. Bob Brier. I am a fan of his and have done some of his hieroglyph classes. But when he said that he did not ask the provenance of the Graham-Carter letter that his friend owns, it seemed odd to me. Isn’t that important? Why base an entire book on a letter that you don’t know the origin too? Also, he did a mummification once and “learned everything there is to know,” but ancient Egyptians did this for thousands of years. I don’t think he could have figured it all out in one session. I’m no scholar, but these issues seem very unscholarly to me and I’ve been stewing on them.
Thanks for listening! AND thank you for your wonderful podcast. I love learning about ancient Egypt. Rachel
Hi Rachel, these are fair questions. Bare in mind an interview tends to skim over many details to focus on the big picture. Interviews also don’t cover “off-the-record” aspects that the interviewee may be unable or uncomfortable discussing publicly. In short, I can’t speak for Dr. Brier or his methods; but please note this interview only covered the basics. There will be more information in his book.
On the issue of Gardiner’s letters to Carter, I *can* note that this communication is actually previously known. It was first discussed in T.G.H. James’ 1992 book “Howard Carter: The Path to Tutankhamun.” More recently, Prof. Christina Riggs touched on it in her 2021 book “Treasured,” about the tomb of Tutankhamun; and in So, the letter is not really new (the media has simply hyped it as such).
Re: mummification. As I understood Dr. Brier’s words, doing mummification once was enough *for him*. Rather than repeat the study himself, he would prefer others to do their own experiments and see what *they* can add. That way, scholarship can advance in varied avenues (and avoid blindspots of one scholar doing everything). I don’t think he meant doing the experiment once uncovered “everything there is to know” in the general sense. Again, I can’t speak for him; but that is how I understood his views.
I hope this helps!
Dominic
Hi Dominic,
After a 3rd trip to Egypt this past December, I just found your podcast. WOW. Love everything about it. I wish I’d known about this earlier; started a new list of things I’ve missed or must-sees that I didn’t know about. I love your voice; it’s very easy to listen to, & you explain things clearly. You are also an excellent story-teller. I also love all the music & sound effects you use, well done on all of those. I see the photos attached to some of the podcasts, but in Episode 05 you mention that you can see pics of Hetepheres’ curtain box “on the website”. I’ve looked over the website and can’t find the photo(s) that might be there. Can you please send a link for where the photos are? Thank you again for your excellent work; so very enjoyable! Best, Kris
Hi Kristan, thanks for your kind words! Unfortunately many images were lost due to a website upgrade. Fortunately, you can find information about Hetepheres’ furniture at the Boston MFA https://collections.mfa.org/objects/147125, and information about the curtain box specifically on Digital Giza http://giza.fas.harvard.edu/objects/54990/full/ Hope this helps!
Hello there,
I just started listening to the podcast and listened the first 3 episodes. I’m working on a board game with the theme of egyptians and especially pharaohs and their tombs. Your podcast provides great information on everything really and is a great inspiration (for the game). The podcast is detailed enough to give an image of how civilization was at that time. I’m really enjoying it.
Can’t wait for all that’s to come in further episodes!
Thanks for making this, its great
Hi Timo,
The game sounds great. Do you know how to play Senet? It is such a great ancient Egyptian game!
Dominic, I love the program as well. I found it after a fabulous trip to Egypt and am determined to listen to all 170 plus episodes (I am at 40 now). I too, hope that someday we will be able to see the additional material you refer to in the podcast.
It is wonderful! I have passed the podcast on to the (few) people I know who would be interested 😎
Becky
Any way to get written transcripts of the episodes? I am hard of hearing and some of them are hard for me to understand. Thank you for your time and creativity! I truly love this journey I am on!
Hello! I’m afraid I don’t release the transcripts, as they are often rough/unsuitable for public distribution. I am considering making my notes available on episodes, in future, on Patreon. But for now, the audio version is the only one available. My apologies.
Dominic
Hey Dominic,
I have a theory regarding the amarna succession that I was hoping you would give ur opinion on:
The Anubis statue found in Tut’s tomb was wrapped with a shawl marked year 7 of Akhenaten seems a calculated decision by the ancients and the solution Im stuck on is that it’s clothing from the moment of Tut’s birth. Given the theological context of Anubis who will guide tut to his birth in the next life, it seems reasonable to garb him in the Blankets that covered him at birth into this life. Kind of a good luck charm for another successful passage into the next world? I’m reading a study by a Dr. Allen I found online regarding the amarna succession and he suggests that the period elapsed between the death of Akhenaten and the coronation of Tut is 3 or 4 years at most but potentially under a year. If the shawl is from his birth date it would make tut age 9 or 10 when Akhenaten dies, another year for neferu and smenkhare, and he becomes pharaoh with a reign of 9ish years and his age at death matches that chronology…. What do you think? I’m incredibly fascinated by the mystery of the late Amarna succession and interested in ur opinion. Thanks bro
Hi Jacob,
That is certainly possible 🙂 The chronology here is uncertain enough to allow some wiggle-room of 1-2 years. Given Tut was *approximately* 19 years old (but potentially as high as 21-22), such dates are feasible.
Dominic
Hello, love the podcast. Amazing work, hope you’ll never stop producing the episodes and when narrative history will run out you’ll go back and resivit some aspects that got less attention on the first run. Only one gripe that somewhat lessens otherwise great experience is the access to the photos discussed during episodes. I listen mostly on my phone and mobile version od the side does not display photos for every episode for some reason. I’t would be really great to have better working gallery with photos categorised by episodes. Cheers!
Hi Perry!
You’re podcast is amazing and i listen to it between my classes at university. I’m not completely caught up on the podcasts but I was wondering if you have ever heard of the video game, Assassins Creed:Origins and your opinion on it and if it seems to be pretty accurate or not. Let me know! Thanks!
Greetings. I tried diligently to do the survey of April 2023 but it didn’t allow one to skip odd or invasive questions. Some, like those about employment, were rather bizarre (and useless)— have they never heard of academia, blue collar work, self-employment, or …? Others were way too invasive. The invasive questions are common in the US, but I’ve never been required to answer them (except by the government). I was prevented from continuing with the useful bits by the survey itself— I’d recommend never answering some of their questions unless they’re giving you a loan or job.
PS. I’ve listened to your podcasts, many of them multiple times. They are excellent!
Thanks Peter, I will pass your concerns to the survey writers 🙂
Dominic
I recently found your podcast on Egyptian history. You got me intrigued on the Mitanni gold statue fiasco. The episode that mentioned it says there will be a future episode that deals with more of this. I’ve looked around and can’t find anything on other episodes. Is there another episode about this in detail?
Hi from Barcelona. I´ve recently discovered your podcast and I am loving it.. I finished my Postgrad in Ancient Egypt and listening to your episodes while commuting to work really makes my journey a pleasure. Big congratulations!
hi !
we prepared for our trip to egypt listening to your podcast .
the vividness of your descriptions made me feel like i was looking at things i had seen before .
i even had my 6 year old listen to many episodes and your narration kept him interested and excited .
so thank you so much for making egyptian history come alive for us .
Hi Dominic – just wondering if your planned 2 week visit to Egypt early in 2024 is still going ahead. If so, I am interested to know more details, including availability. I recall there was a UK company helping with logistics, but unsure now where to find them. Thanks for your help.
Your podcast is a constant companion! Best wishes.
Hi, my name is Jack and I am 7 and a half years old. I am obsessed with ancient Egypt and I love your podcast. The gods, pharaohs, and the temples are gorgeous. Did you now that Ramses II ruled for more than 66 years? I am a fan of your podcast.
Hi Jack, thanks for listening! That’s amazing to hear, I wonder how Ramesses lived so long? 🙂
Hello, Dominic!
First of all, I just love your work on this podcast. There is much I have learned from You!
A very small detail as listener from Finland pops up. I love the way You from time to time refer to Mika Waltari and his work, but I do have to correct You on this author’s gender. Mika was man. Totally understandable confusion, since Mika is usually in Anglo-Saxon languages female, but in finnish Mika is male name.
I’m now listening to episode 135, and like I said, loving your work!
Thank you! I’ll correct that in future 🙂
Hi Dominic! I was wondering if there was any updates on the tour to Egypt in 2024? I went onto the Ancient World Tours website but they no longer had the itinerary listed or reservation option available so I just wanted to check with you if the tour was still going forward or if it’s postponed until further notice.
The link I found is below for your reference
https://www.ancient.co.uk/holiday/history-of-egypt-2/
Hello Juan, the tours have sold out 🙂 There will be another in 2025
Hi Juan, I’m afraid the 2024 tours are now sold out! I will be running another in 2025, and will announce that when the dates/details are ready.
Thanks for your interest!
Dominic
Hi, I really enjoy your podcast but I noticed that the ads are much louder than the level of the podcast. Is there a way you can have them make it the same volume.
Thanks!
Thanks Marni, that’s a known issue. The ads are generated automatically (by Megaphone podcast hosting) and I’m unable to change them. Whenever possible, I am trying to make the podcast the same volume; but it’s not possible to get them 100% matched, unfortunately.
Dominic
Hi Dominic
I haven’t contacted you before but I’m one of your many, many silent followers, and in retirement, who have stayed with you since your first podcast many years ago !!
A lengthy but necessary narrative. I hope you can help.
I have followed all your series sequentially since the very first one (yes, sad isn’t it) and likewise added two later contemporary podcasts shadowing the same period. Not only these but many history books on the 18th Dynasty in particular over 40 years, together with the many TV academic stories between rivalling Academic professors over the past 5 years and also research published on media.
All touch on, but somehow stop short and seem to side-step what is to me – an armchair historian – the most obvious yet confusing period in history 1200 – 1600 BC and which iOS the subject for your PhD I understand sports I hope you wont pinch my following synopsis !! What really happened – I mean it seriously – free of the accepted timelines – to cause all the chaos around the Med in a relatively short window yet with such devastation and upheavals – An absence of a clear overriding explanation because of timelines forced on us – that today continues to screw up what is the most logical understanding of major events. Instead all Med. history academics judge events against a chronological timeline originally forced on us I understand by the Victorians who were so keen to prove the Bible. Nobody is questioning the obvious – what if the Egyptian-centric timeline is incorrect ?.
My question: Are academics being too blinded on what seems clear to a non academic but well read ?
Confused Dominic ?
Its about standing back, looking pragmatically at the upheavals and vacuums through this 3-400 year period and to concentrate on the one obvious factor that would make all the consequential events (currently seen in isolation) seem logical, explainable and connected.
Some context:
I fell in love with ancient history in 1974 when at a UK ‘Poly’ (‘New’ working class Uni in the UK) studying Engineering (Yes it sends you crazy). I was addicted by a paperback ‘The Bull on Minos’ by Leonard Cotterell, which put the massive eruption of Thera and its subsequent tsunamis that wreaked havoc to civilisations around the coastlines of the Mediterranean in proper context. An event which I understand with the prevailing wind dumped much of the ash cloud over a footprint including the top part of the Nile. (A factor perhaps in turning the Nile Red with its ash ?).
The eruption was huge (5 times that of Krakatoa). That would have been highly visible to ALL around the Med basin, yet over the next 46 years to date I have followed and been patient and bit my lip at what are almost singular event focused academic explanations to new archaeological discoveries and conclusions against established chronological timelines – that we are all forced to accept on such fundamental factors :
o The Ten plagues of Egypt and the exodus
o The massive economic collapse of the Bronze Age (and all the disruption and breakdown/loss of established industry supply chains)
o The sudden appearance of sea peoples (unknown origins) and the rise of the Pheonicians
o The appearance of King Solomon on a timeline close to that of Ramases II (the great) and alleged destroyer of Jerusalem
o The consequent rise or gap fill and cancelling of nations around the med. post collapse
They are all ‘sold’ to us unknowingly as separate events, in their own timelines and disconnected, and with many gaps left on root causes. It raises fundamental and obvious questions to me then back in 1974 as it does today:
1. Why have we not discovered an abundance of records around the Med basin recording the Thera eruption and its consequences if civilisation continued to trade the next day as if business as normal ?. So central is this as a barometer to benchmark chronology it should have been far more prevalent in our psyche today – but it isn’t. Why was nothing written down around the Med basin by ANY nation which like Pliny (with Vesuvius) leaves us a consistent record on Stelia or parchment of that highly visible and traumatic year of Thera collapsing and the massive displacement that followed. Do we assume as ‘dipsticks’ that because nothing is recorded, it couldn’t have been that big an issue ? Bunkum. References in the Post- Babylonian edited Bible to ‘Pillar of fire and Cloud’ (over the sea) around the time of ‘exodus’ makes it quite clear but we are surely blind.
2. Why his there a near obsession to accepting that Ramases II was the destroyer of Judah and its capital Jerusalem. We have him born in 1303bc and died in 1213bc. on the ‘Victorian’ created chronological timeline. Yet if so – why do academics still push the same old common assumption that Ramases II was a the Pharaoh referred to as ’Shishak’ who plundered Jerusalem and the same Pharaoh that triggered the Exodus ? Crazy – He couldn’t have done both. The pre-modern jewish migrants wouldn’t have had time to settle and make such advances in building settlements to build such a City to be a Threat to Rameses in his same lifetime. Bunkum. The ‘exodus’ must have happened way, way, back in history if we are to believe Ramases birth time and possibly by several hundred years – yes, close to other seismic events. Still little is said on it.
3. There was an academic some 15 years ago who challenged the norm and seems to have been ridiculed by the traditionalists. Put down by his academic peers so pinned to the established view of the world. But he wrote three books – ‘A test of Time’ – by David Rohl. He now no longer figures on the academic high ground. Too hot to handle amongst peers it seems. But regardless of the politics – he did raise serious unanswered questions that academics haven’t answered today. Fundamental questions aimed at proving the Victorians ‘forced’ a timeline on us which in doing so, closed an unexplained gap in pharaonic succession of some 200+ years and if put aside – makes clear sense of these siesmic events and the displacement of peoples.
If you put that into the timeline, then the Exodus, the Plagues, the Bronze age economic collapse, the anarchy fro the rise of new nations and sea peoples, the plunder of Jerusalem (same timeline), all makes perfect logical sense as they all occur possibly around 1600’s Bc or earlier.
‘Ockhams razor’ – The simplest explanation must be the correct one. All to me seem clearly linked. The frustration iOS no academic has even bothered to spend time promoting why this was not the sase to us educated bit non historians. Major cataclysmic events of economic collapse, loss of knowledge and metalworking and associated industries, population display events, plagues and famines and the fall and rise of warring nations all can be seen to follow from one ‘big bang’. Yet still this obvious explanation is not challenged or explained !!? Instead we publish and trundle on with researching sequential singular events which on their own create limited ripples across the Med. Thera answers a root cause and perhaps explains why no-one was left around to record it after post chaos.
The Bible I believe was written in this context and loss of knowledge. Has the obvious also been filtered out through their period of Babylonian exile and re-birth ?
Why do we continue to ignore the most obvious factor and put faith that our chronology left to us by the victorians is correct ? What if we later find they were wrong and missed out a dozen pharaohs unknown to us today ?
Dominic I have whined too much.
I would welcome a brief reply if you have time to read this – or even a narrative on your episodes that will help to put me out of my misery and make an old man happy before he meets his maker !!!
Food for thought Dominic
Kind regards
A UK listener
Dear Roben, thank you for your questions. The questions you raise touch on several historical issues, including: the “Exodus” as a verifiable event; Biblical synchronisms/divergences with archaeology and historical records; the Bible as a historical source vs record of oral traditions and storytelling; chronological synchronisms between the Late Bronze Age kingdoms of the Near East; Egyptian history and its depiction in the Hebrew Bible. You will appreciate that this debate is far too large for me to adequately summarise/explain in a comment (scholars have written many, many books about each of these areas).
However, I can (briefly) point out the following issues:
1. The physical impact of the Thera eruption is surprisingly unclear. Destruction on certain islands (e.g. Akrotiri) is clear, but the ash layers on Crete are remarkably thin (usually less than 1cm) and Minoan building activity continued well after the Thera eruption. In fact, the Minoan “Keftiu” are active traders throughout the mid-18th Dynasty (c.1500 – 1350 BCE). Thereafter, the Mycenaean culture begins to assert itself. Similarly, the “Tempest Stela” of Ahmose I may very well record the spectacle of Thera’s eruption and/or fallout (though again, debated). In short, the eruption itself may have been spectacular (and persisted in cultural memories); but the physical devastation is not quite a “case closed.”
2. Most Egyptologists identify the “Shishak” who attacked Jerusalem as Shoshenq/Shishaq I, not Ramesses II. Even if we dispute that, however, the city of Jerusalem itself did not start with the Hebrews. The city appears in the Amarna Letters, c.1360 BCE, with a local ruler who is a vassal/servant of the pharaoh (Amunhotep III or Akhenaten). So, there is no reason to assume that the destruction of Jerusalem as described in the Bible is happening under the same pharaoh of the (hypothetical) Exodus. On this topic, I highly recommend the work of Donald Redford, especially the books Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times or The Wars in Syria and Palestine of Thutmose III. A book by E.F. Morris, Architecture of Imperialism, also touches on Egyptian and Canaanite archaeology in the 16th – 12th Centuries BCE. The point here is that Egyptologists generally identify “Shishak” as Shoshenq I, rather than Ramesses II; and even if that identification is wrong, Jerusalem itself is a very old city (pre-dating known evidence for the Hebrews as a distinct cultural group).
3. Rohl’s arguments are worthy of consideration in many points, and he is to be commended for challenging the status quo. Regrettably, his chronology “condenses” events too heavily, to make them suit his hypothesis. For example, there are clear and definitive synchronisms between Egypt, Canaan, Mitanni, and Kassite Babylonia (especially in the Amarna Letters where certain kings correspond directly with one another). Condensing the Egyptian timeline demands condensing the entire timeline, which is simply counter to the archaeological and textual evidence that these people have left (and which has been recorded across hundreds of sites, over hundreds of years of ancient history, with many layers of material evidence to document them). To put it bluntly (though with no intended disrespect), Rohl’s chronology is too willing to discard known synchronisms and/or evidence in order to justify his revisions.
4. Implicit in your queries/arguments is the underlying assumption that the Exodus (as described in the Hebrew Bible) is (a) a single, datable event, or (b) happened exactly the way they described it. Egyptologists (with a few exceptions) do not take either of these assumptions as “established” or “definitive.” Likewise, popular perceptions of the Exodus as happening under Ramesses II are not shared by the academic community; many pharaohs have been proposed as the “Pharaoh of Exodus” (including Middle Kingdom rulers, Akhenaten, and Merneptah). More importantly, the archaeological evidence itself doesn’t indicate a major population migration out of Egypt during the New Kingdom period (c.1500 – 1100 BCE). One plausible candidate is the expulsion of the Hyksos, c.1550 BCE (under Ahmose I, author of the “Tempest Stela” above). That event, at the very least, saw a campaign/movement of troops (and families?) across Sinai into southern Canaan. Personally, that seems like the most viable candidate if one is looking for a ‘historical’ Exodus. But again, the debate is simply too large to summarise here.
Again, these are massive historical questions that scholars have spent decades debating/puzzling/arguing/examining. I can only touch on the bare essentials in this context. Scholars like Rohl are to be commended for their bold arguments, which can (and have) encourage fresh reviews and assessments. Nevertheless, modern archaeology and history is constantly refining our chronologies and points of reference; and things are constantly changing in small ways. The work of academics investigating this material is far more nuanced (and chaotic) than it may appear to the public, who only get the “tip of the iceberg,” so to speak. In short: the solutions are not “obvious” or “simple” as they may appear to the outsider.
Best regards,
Dominic
Note: Again, this is a brief summary of some points only. A proper discussion would require far more space/time than available here.
Hi Dominic, my name is Brendan – I’m an Australian intensive care doctor and long time amateur lover of Egyptian history. Having something to listen to that takes me away from my day to day work and to a completely different world has been invaluable, especially during the pandemic and long lockdowns! I’m especially excited when I find something so good to listen to and have a lot of already published content to catch up on – I’m still not there yet!
I once heard a street performer in Circular Quay say that if he performed his stunts in a pub you’d say it was worth shouting him a beer, and that his audience should tip him at least that much. I think your podcasts are worth more than a few beers, so please find my donation in your account later today. And if you find yourself in Melbourne let me know and I’ll shout you a beer in person!
Thanks again and keep up the wonderful work, your podcasts are terrific. Cheers, Brendan
I’m going to Egypt in November. I’m a cancer survivor- in 2017 I had a 6% chance of living 2 more years. I’m still on the right side of the dirt and I’d like to leave a devotional offering for my continued health. Whom should I make this offering and where? Also, I’ll bring bring other offering from cancer patients.
If you could let me know.
Schulzcaral at Gmail dot com
Hello Cara, thank you for your enquiry. The deity you want is Sakhmet, who is responsible for illnesses and protection from them. You can find beautiful statues of her in Cairo Museum or the Temple of Mut at Karnak, in Luxor. In tales, Sakhmet is particularly fond of beer
Hi Dominic,
I’m so glad you do this show! It’s truly vast and quality content. I’m an Egyptology BA from Liverpool Uni, now doing an MA in Maritime Arch at Haifa Uni in Israel. Besides a thank you for all you do, I wanted to ask if you had any shows addressing the dichotomy of power/ authority between regional/nomarchal leaders versus the central/Pharaonic power base. I’m endeavoring to write a seminar paper on this subject through the lens of how the inundation must vary from region to region, beyond the scope of the Pharaohs’s capital city’s ability to immediately respond to each area as needed. So I imagine that nomarchs had a high degree of autonomy in how their irrigation response to Nile flooding. Does that make sense?
All the best,
Good luck on the PhD,
Evan
Hi Evan, thanks for your comment. That’s a big question that I haven’t covered in a specific episode. But if you’d like to email me, we could discuss it in greater detail? Thanks for listening 😊
Hi there. Thank you. I sent you a message and hope you get it. It is about an old kingdom Goddess Wadjet. Please don’t stop the podcast. There is so much to learn (hear). I have no degrees or anything like that, just a love of history, and Egyptian history is my greatest love. I really appreciate the depth of you knowledge and can hear the passion in your voice.
e
I just finished the episode on the ascension of Ay. I found a couple of things curious. 1) no mention of the painting of Ay in Tutankhamen’s tomb. It had to be painted within 2-3 months of Tutankhamen’s death due to the length of the mummification process. In the painting, Ay is dressed as a priest but the text above him already references him as a king with the typical son of Ra and nswt bity nomenclature and his throne name and personal name. His personal name inside the cartouche references god father of the king. 2) you indicate that it was Ankh sen Amen’s choice to pick the successor, but would think the successor would assert themselves and marry the queen for legitimacy. 3) would there be enough time for the queen to write a letter, the Hittite king to receive the letter, send an investigator, have them come back and send his son all between the death and burial of Tutankhamen?
Just a thank you for the podcast. My son introduced me to it a couple of years ago and I have binge-listened my way through (forgoing all of my other regular podcasts) and have almost caught up (just beginning Seti’s kingship). Keep up the great work.
Hi Dominic,
Firstly, than you so much for your podcast. I stumbled on it late last year and am just up to Horemheb and have listened to the talks you put up while you were working through some family matters (I hoep they resolved themselves ok).
Wondering if you were aware of the Ramses & The GOld of the PHaraohs” exibition taking place in Sydney at the Australian Museum and were going to be coming across the ditch to attend? https://australian.museum/exhibition/ramses/
Stay well.
Brendan.
I’ve been in love with your podcast for several years now, but I was genuinely distressed by the way in which you advertised the “House of Life Hotel” in ep. 186 (“Sety in Abydos”). Until that point, there had always been an obvious and clean delineation between the narrative and adverts. Just going on record as an enormous fan to say: I don’t like this advert format. Surreptitiously weaving an advert into the narrative is uncomfortable and off-putting 😞.
– Derek, Vancouver, Canada
Thanks Derek. That wasn’t actually an advert, more like a “parody of an advert.” I just saw an opportunity for a funny misdirect and went with it. My apologies if it came across as a genuine commercial!
Hello Dominic Perry, thanks for your superb sharing of Ancient Egypt knowledge and insight. I join and share the big joy of your multiple number of silent followers, and I am really enjoying your excellent work, shared in a very undestandable manner – thanks.
I have a particular question, referring to #65: Hatshepsut of Millions of Years, starting around 8 minutes in the podcast, where you tell about the stelae Senenmut raised in Sinai. There you inform of the mentioning/carving in of Neferure and not Hatshepsut on the stelae. Can you possible share some links or alike for further deep diving, as I would very much like to study some more of this very interesting topic, thanks on beforehand 🙂
Hi Dominic, I’ve just been doing an archive binge and about to finish the Tut-ankh-amen interviews. In an Egyptian tomb what is a ‘door’ and what is a ‘seal’? For the former are we talking solid stone, wood, bricks etc. and for the latter is it just paint, wax etc?
I would also like to give respect to the workers involved, you and interviewees have called them professionals but haven’t mentioned what made them professional. What skills had they honed?
Interesting exhibit at the Getty and recent talks on the Book of the Dead (today) and the connection to the living.
https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/book_of_dead/
I love your podcast— have heard almost all of them, enjoying every one!
Hi, I wanted to listen to older episodes but my podcatcher only shows me the 25 latest ones. Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks and best wishes from Austria
Hi Roland, thanks for alerting me. That shouldn’t be happening: I recommend contacting the Support services for the app/podcatcher to resolve the issue
Hi Dominic:
Just listened to the Hetep-heres episode, which was great, as usual.
Love the Mothra reference! (there’s a fun singalong video on youtube of the Mothra song lol.)
Just noting about the bracelet design that in general, moths come out at night, and butterflies by day. Not a real rule, but generally. So unless Egyptians could be depicting the moon and moths there, seems most likely to be butterflies and the sun?
Great podcast!
Fascinating! Thank you for sharing 😃
Been listening since October, just finishing 18th dynast now. I’ve really enjoyed the podcast an look forward to getting caught up.
Vince in Seattle
Thanks for listening! 😊
Hi, Dominic! Great podcast! I recommend it to my ARCH 100 students.
A point of pedantry from one academic to another—cuz that’s what we’re paid for, right? In your recent “Mini” episode on Menkaure (2023/12/27), you say Vyse used “dynamite.” You must mean black powder or something similar. Dynamite was patented in 1867, but Vyse died in 1853. Dynamite was around in time for Schliemann to use it at Troy. Perhaps the two tales have been conflated.
Keep up the great work!
Michael Lane
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Hi Michael, thanks for your comment. This is purely a semantic oversight on my part. While Vyse mentions explosives (i.e. gunpowder) I simply used the term dynamite without thinking about the technical difference. I will add a disclaimer to the episode and correct it in future.
You are not alone in that- in his book ‘A World Beneath the Sands’ Dr Toby Wilkinson refers to “Vyse dynamiting”!
It must be a common point-of-confusion!
Hi Dominic!
Thank you for all the hard work you put into the podcast. I listened religiously while I was deployed, as it was the only form of media I had (besides some games on my laptop), and it brought together a lot of the missing pieces I’ve had in understanding the intermediate periods and the transitions. I appreciate how much time you spend on the Old kingdom and Middle kingdom and what a bada** Ahhotep I was (she is by far one of my favorite Egyptian ladies). After making it back safely (from a seriously not safe place not too far from what might have been Punt) I was able to get a look at your website and saw that you had a tour back in 2017/2018. Did that go well? What are the chances you would have one of those again? I have been a fan of Ancient Egypt since I was very little, like 9 or 10, when I read my first book on hieroglyphics and the Book of the Dead. It would be a dream to see all the locations you mentioned in the advert on your blog. If you are I would very much be interested in signing up.
Respectfully,
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie, thank you for listening to the podcast! I do indeed run tours semi-annually now; another tour is being planned for early 2025, and I will make the announcement on the podcast feed/website once that is finalized.
Best regards,
Dominic
Hi Dominic. Greetings from far away Glendene (I can see your house from here…. etc). I started listening to the podcast in early 2023 and have binged up to Amunhotep III so far. I love your work. I was originally trained as an archaeologist and as a wargamer always been interested in ancient military history. I had never been interested in ancient Egypt until I got hooked on your podcast, so now I have a nice New Kingdom army!
So I have two questions:
In your descriptions of armies, you frequently refer to forces being composed of chariots, infantry and archers. Military archers on foot are generally included in the superset infantry, with all other men who habitually fight on foot. Is there an Egyptian linguistic distinction? I know some sources refer to “close fighters ” to distinguish them from the archers who predominated in Egyptian forces from pre dynastic times
Hi John, there is something of a distinction between different infantry types. I cover these in episodes 184 and 184b 🙂
Dominic
Hey Dominic,
Just wanted to say how much i’ve loved and valued your podcast over the last few weeks.
Things have been… extremely difficult – medical stuff (both acute and decades old), family issues, financial landmines, you name it.
For whatever reason, (I think my rather severe ADD might have something to do with it) having a podcast (and i’m a mega history nerd, they seem to be the most effective for this) having a podcast like yours that I can put on whenever things get overwhelming is incredibly therapeutic. I often get very overwhelmed by crowds, loud noises, and other over-stimulating things, and having my headphones on with your relaxing voice telling me about Ancient Egypt (a subject I’ve loved since I was tiny thanks to my hippy-slash-nerd of a mom)
Just wanted to say “thanks” and you’re welcome to send me an email in the future – if it’s about biology i’m probably reading peer-reviewed scientific journals about it for fun (yes, i’m just THAT cool), maybe you’ve got some facet of biology you’re curious about? (Here’s a freebie – Box Jellyfish, which are almost 100% water and lack even the most basic of developed nervous system have 24 eyes, of 4 different categories, and we aren’t talkin just “light VS dark sensitive patches of skin” here!
Google that but beware they look alien as heck!
All the best, may you and yours be forever happy, healthy, and free!
Dear Tim, thank you for your comment. I am glad the podcast is providing some entertainment and comfort. My best wishes for your health and wellbeing!
Dominic Perry
what episode covers Pharaoh Unas’s Cannibal Texts?
Episode 16
Please please pleaaaaase do more Set/Seth content! Side note it is pronounced “Set” not “Seth”.
Could you do some focus on his cult centers and how they worshipped him and such?
Love the show!
As noted in episode 192b, I’ll be discussing cult centres in the next episode
Hey there!
Just wanted to leave a comment, for what it’s worth. The podcast is great. Just wanted to say a big thanks for the top notch quality of this podcast. I’m still early on into the podcast (Episode 70) but I’m sure it will only get better.
Ps: Thanks to you I’ve taken up Hieroglyphs study in my spare time. My path is surely long and rough ahead.
Hi Niclas, thank you for listening 😊
Excellent podcast. I love listening to your voice narrate the history of ancient Egypt and make it so very interesting.
I visited Egypt back in November, 2018 and, looking back, I wish I had gone there after listening to your podcast.
Thank you!
Rajeev
Dear Sir
Is it just me or a general problem, but I am not able to see the pictures in – Episode 84b: Into the Tomb
I used google Chrome and Safari, and both are not showing the pictures. Further more: I looooove your podcast. Thank you so much
Kind regards
Hi Dominic. When I go to patreon.com it does not recognize that I am a scribe level member. Everything is locked, even episodes I previously downloaded to my phone for ease of listening.
I didn’t have this problem before. I pay automatically monthly through paypal. Most recent payment was today, April 1, so I’m up to date.
Who can help me?
Thx, Love the podcast.
Hi Gerry, please email me with the address you use for Patreon membership. I’ll see what I can find out (email referenced above)
Victory! My husband found the email link for patreon support: https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
The folks there were were very helpful.
Hoping we can find a way to join you on the 2025 tour. I’ve set up RSS to watch for an announcement. Joining you in Egypt is a buck list item for me.
A belated response to your request for feedback on the mini episode Houdini Beneath the Pyramids. It was very entertaining and enjoyable, and I would be most interested in further adaptations of horror / invented tales set in Egypt.
Many thanks for providing such an excellent podcast series.
Can you point me to the specific “execration text” apparently authored by an Egyptian solder stationed at a fort in Lower Nubia, which you quote in Episode 46 (Crushing Our Enemies), around 21:30 into the podcast?
Hi Richard, unfortunately my original notes for the MK period were all lost in a harddrive failure. I’m working to rebuild my repository. In the meantime, you can find more information about Execration Texts (including ones referencing Nubia) in the British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt (page 94, with further references). Also a 2015 PhD thesis on “The Process of Cursing in Ancient Egypt” (page 77 onwards), and a 2001 PhD thesis on “Aspects of the Interaction between the Living and the Dead” (page 127 onwards).
Links to the relevant publications included. Hope this helps!
Hello Dominic, I am only at episode 57 but it is gradually becoming clear that you have great admiration for several of the women featured in the previous 56 episodes. In the unlikely event of your having spare time, have you thought of writing a book dedicated to them: Kentikaus (2), Neferu-Ptah, Neferu-Sobek, Aahotep and Ahmose-Nefertari plus others such as Hatshepsut that I haven’t reached yet?
Hi Ian, thanks for your message. I haven’t got any plans for a book yet. But that is certainly an excellent topic – many of those figures are overshadowed by Hatshepsut an company. Thank you for the suggestion 😊
Hi, Dominick. In this week’s episode of “Tasting History with Max Miller,” Max makes “Ancient Egyptian Spiral Bread of the Pharaoh.”
Thought you might be interested.
https://youtu.be/jLw7lnX868Q
Great! Thanks for sharing 😊
Hi!
Love the work you’ve been doing. I’m currently making a TTRPG set in the late bronze age and in a culture heavily influenced by ancient Egypt. I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of any episodes that focus on the daily lives of the common folk and any details on the economy. And/or if you could point me in the direction of any other resources you think might be helpful. Thanks again for the podcast, it’s been incredibly enlightening.
Hi Kaician, I don’t have a specific episode about ordinary folks, yet. It’s more scattered through the various episodes. If you drop me an email (address above) I can provide some articles and books in pdf 🙂
Hi, are you aware that the episodes 49-52 don’t play when accessed via the website? Could be more in either direction since I only checked those three. The podcasts works on Spotify, so I still can listen to it, but I prefer the one stop solution on the website with the maps and pictures to go with each episode.
Hi Michi, thanks for messaging. We are aware of the problem and doing our best to fix each episode, individually, as quickly as possible 🙂
Hello,
I love the podcast. My mom introduced my to ancient Egyptian stuff when I was a tiny kid – among other history and science stuff we shared – and though now she’s well into dementia (though otherwise happy!) it makes me really happy to get back into this stuff, and I mention it to her when ill see her.
I was wondering – did any rulers consider something (and I don’t know the geography well) where instead of these obvious massive above ground tombs/pyramids, they used some of that labor (presumably a tiny fraction of it) to tunnel deep into a mountain, rock formation, bedrock, etc, and then collapse or otherwise block/hide/trap the entrance?
In theory, tomb robbers would have to basically re-tunnel the entire way into the tomb to get at it, something which is far slower and harder to do, therefore more likely for them to get noticed (or simply to lack the resources to perform the robbery).
Is it something about needing to access the tomb’s area to perform the mortuary offerings? Is there some religious aspect where the ruler would not want to be completely sealed off from the outside world?
I mean, if I was them and just wanted my mummified body to be safe for eternity, i’d have my people tunnel into the biggest mountain or rock formation available, build all the things I need deep inside, collapse the tunnel behind them as they leave, and perform the mortuary functions nearby or something.
Just a thought I had, considering how it seems remarkable that they expected to remain unmolested when in the most obvious monuments imaginable, and in structures where they had spent almost all the labor and resources piling up stone yet almost none of it going towards making it impossible for robbers to gain access to the inside?
Thanks, and please keep up the good work!
Hello T, thank you for your message. Yes, starting in the Middle Kingdom (around 1800 BC), Egyptian kings slowly start abandoning pyramids as a burial monument. At places like Abydos and Luxor (in the Valley of the Kings) they commission underground tombs, which are then covered over by rubble and hidden. Offerings are made in temples far away from the tomb itself to maintain the soul. Alas, most of the tombs were still robbed. But they did try that 🙂
Hi Dominic
Just wanted to say a big thank you for your lovely podcast. Found it by accident about a year ago. I’m only on episode 65 (like to start things from the beginning!) and it’s so interesting. I have no background in Egyptology so every episode is a learning one for me, but my reason for enjoying it so much is a strange one. I suffer from depressive episodes and getting overwhelmed mentally. When I listen to your calm, soothing voice, with its nice New Zealand accent, I find it so relaxing. It really has a kind of meditative quality for me, so thank you for that 🙂
Appreciate your focus is history but I also like to hear about the myths and other cultural beliefs at various points in ancient Egyptian history. And I’m always interested in the life of women in historical periods. Are there any books you’d recommend from a female/gender/feminist perspective?
– Charlotte (UK)
Hi Charlotte,
Thank you for the kind words, and for listening to the podcast! I’m glad my work could help in some small way. My very best wishes for your ongoing health and happiness!
Dominic