The Past Macabre

Three discoveries, one shifting landscape: a mysterious buried structure beneath the ancient city of Buto, the newly identified tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II near the Valley of the Kings, and the remains of a massive Coptic monastery at Al-Qalaye. We dig into what the finds reveal about Egypt’s long arc—from dynastic power to Christian communities—and how modern tools are changing what archaeologists can see.

Links

The Archaeology Show

Mysterious Structure Found Buried Beneath an Ancient Egyptian City

The last missing tomb from this wealthy Egyptian dynasty has been found

Archaeologists Discovered the Remains of One of the Largest Christian Monasteries Ever

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In 1976 near the ruins of the ancient capital Yin, archaeologists rediscovered the tomb of Fu Hao and it transformed our understanding of the Shang Dynasty. Most royal tombs were ravaged by looters, but the final resting place of Fu Hao remained perfectly preserved. Now we know in addition to her duties as queen, she was also a military general, priestess, and she managed lands of her own.

For Women's History Month, learn about the life of this legendary figure through the contents of her tomb. From bronze Yue axes symbolizing her military authority to the world’s oldest jade archery ring to trade goods from far off lands, learn about some of the artifacts that helped us rediscover a warrior queen from the first dynasty of Ancient China.

Offline Sources Cited:

Chinese Academy of History. 2025. Rituals of the Xia and Shang Dynasties (c. 2070–1046 BCE). In: A Concise History of Chinese Civilization. Springer, Singapore..

Kwok, Kian-Chow. 1984. The Tomb of Fu Hao. Thesis, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Science (Ed.). 2003. Zhongguo kaoguxue, xiashangjuan [Chinese archaeology, Xia and Shang dynasties]. China Social Sciences Press.

Schwartz, Adam C. 2019. The Oracle Bone Inscriptions from Huayuanzhuang East: Translated with an Introduction and Commentary. De Gruyter.

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Video | China's Forgotten Warrior Queen - Fu Hao by Xiran Jay Zhao

Video | Historical vs modern archery by Blumineck

Video | Onsite-Anyang Yinxu Museum by PaTh

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In celebration of Women's History Month, this episode is about four lesser-known goddesses of the ancient Egyptian afterlife whose primary roles were to protect, nourish, and occasionally punish those within the city of the dead. While famous deities often dominate pop culture, these four goddesses offer a unique window into how the Egyptians viewed the natural world and the social roles of mortal women.

Discover the stories and archaeological footprints of Imentet who was the personification of the West; Khefethernebes and Meretseger who were both from the Theban Necropolis; and Hapetnebes from the Abydan Necropolis.

From the royal tombs to the graffiti of tomb builders, this episode traces how the divine feminine provided a sense of security for both the physical body and the soul on its journey through the Duat.

Offline Sources Cited:

El Menyawy, Habiba. 2021. The Goddess Xft-Hr Nb.s. Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality 0(0):1–33.

Iwaszczuk, Jadwiga. 2017. Sacred Landscape of Thebes during the Reign of Hatshepsut. Royal Construction Projects. Topography of the West Bank, Vol. 1. Institut des Cultures Méditerranéennes et Orientales de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences (IKŚiO PAN), Warsaw.

Jacquet-Gordon, Helen K. 1967. The Illusory Year 36 of Osorkon I. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 53:63–68.

Nagy, Z. 2017. A Study of Scribal Practice in the Late Ramesside Letters: Characteristics of Scribal Mechanisms Deployed in Hieratic to Determine Negative Aorists, 'Not yet' Forms, Second Tenses, Terminatives and Stative Formations PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.

Rummel, Ute, et al. 2020. Landscape, Tombs, and Sanctuaries: In Ritual Landscape and Performance, edited by Christina Geisen, 13:pp. 89–120. Proceedings of the International Conference on Ritual Landscape and Performance, Yale University, September 23-24, 2016 No. Yale Egyptology.

Töpfer, Susanne, Paolo Del Vesco, and Federico Poole (editors). 2022. Deir El-Medina through the Kaleidoscope: Proceedings of the International Workshop, Turin 8th-10th October 2018. Formazione e Ricerca No. Franco Cosimo Panini Editore, Modena.

Zago, Silvia. 2022. The Otherworld (with)in This World: Imhet as a (Super)Natural Conduit between Dimensions in Egyptian Sources. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 81(2):283–304.

Transcripts

For transcripts of this episode head over to: https://archpodnet.com/tpm/33

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In this episode, step inside Deir el-Medina, the remarkably well-preserved village of the artisans who built the royal tombs of ancient Egypt. Known in antiquity as Pa Demi or “the village”, this desert settlement near Thebes (modern Luxor) was home to the skilled workers of the Set Maat, the “Place of Truth,” where pharaohs like Tutankhamun, Ramesses II, Nefertari, and Hatshepsut were laid to rest.

Through tomb art, legal documents, and everyday texts, Deir el-Medina offers one of the most intimate portraits of non-elite life in ancient Egypt.

Explore the lives of three individuals whose stories survive in astonishing detail. Meet Ramose, the wealthiest man in the village, whose decorated tombs and appeals to fertility goddesses reveal private hopes for an heir. Follow his adopted successor, Qenherkhepeshef, a prolific scribe whose tomb preserved the famous “Book of Dreams,” a guide to omens written in red and black ink. Finally, Naunakhte, whose surviving will shows that women in the New Kingdom owned property and controlled how it was inherited.

Offline Sources Cited:

Blerk, Nicolaas J. 2021. The Contribution of Papyrus Ashmolean Museum 1945.97 (“Naunakht’s Will & Related Documents”) to Our Understanding of The Ancient Egyptian Testamentary Disposition and Succession Law. Fundamina 2021:101–142.

Cerny, Jaroslav. 1945. The Will of Naunakhte and the Related Documents. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 31:29–53.

Davies, Benedict. 1999. Who’s Who at Deir El-Medina: A Prosopographic Study of The Royal Workman’s Community. Egyptologische Uitgaven No. 13. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden.

Dorn, Andreas. 2022. Tagging in the Valley of the Kings around 1200–1150 BC. Social practices and personal habits. TAG: Name Writing in Public Space. A Reader of the 2017 Conference about Tagging at Freie Universität Berlin, Edited by E. Birzin, J. Abarca and M. Hübner, Berlin 2022, 96–103.

Links

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Website | The Will of Naunakhte at the Ashmolean Museum

Website | The Book of Dreams at the British Museum

Website | More Info About the latest Deir el-Medina Excavations led by IFAO

Website | Dig Diaries from the 2026 Workers Cemetery Excavations led by the Museo Egizio

Transcripts

For transcripts of this episode head over to: https://archpodnet.com/tpm/32

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In the first part of this two-episode series on the tombs of the tomb builders, host Stephanie Rice journeys beyond the iconic monuments of the Giza Plateau to explore the long-overlooked settlement of the pyramid workers.
Often overshadowed by the Great Pyramids themselves, the massive wall known as Heit el-Ghurab, aka the “Wall of the Crow”, once concealed the remains of a thriving community. Ongoing excavations have revealed barracks, bakeries, administrative buildings, and, most importantly, carefully constructed cemeteries that challenge long-standing myths about enslaved labor or alien technologies.
This episode examines the archaeological evidence for a socially stratified yet respected workforce: laborers buried in modest but well-built tombs, artisans interred higher on the hillside, and even small mastabas and pyramids constructed for workers. Through burial architecture, grave goods, and settlement remains, we uncover a story not of disposable bodies, but of skilled Egyptians who brought their regional traditions with them in life and in death.
Offline Sources Cited:
David, A. Rosalie (editor). 1996. The Pyramid Builders of Ancient Egypt: A Modern Investigation of Pharaoh’s Workforce. Routledge, London New York.
Forshaw, Roger. Trauma Care, Surgery and Remedies in Ancient Egypt: A Reassessment.
Lehner, Mark. 2015. Labor and the Pyramids: The Heit El-Ghurab “Workers Town” at Giza. In , pp. 397–522.
Lehner, Mark. 2023. Combinatorial Evolution and Heterogeneous Cohabitation at the Giant Pyramids. Journal of Urban Archaeology 8:21–46.
Steinkeller, Piotr, and Michael Hudson. 2015. Labor in the Ancient World: A Colloquium Held at Hirschbach (Saxony), April 2005. International Scholars Conference on Ancient Near Eastern Economies No. volume 5. ISLET, Dresden.
Transcripts
For transcripts of this episode head over to: https://archpodnet.com/tpm/31
Links
The Past Macabre Research Notes on Substack
See photos related to episode topics on Instagram
Loving the macabre lore? Treat your host to a coffee!
Website | The Giza Plateau Mapping Project
Website | Information about the worker's cemetery at Heit al-Ghurab from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
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