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El-Amarna
the site of the capital city Akhetaten founded by Akhenaten in
Middle Egypt in his year 5 (1348 BC). Akhenaten claimed to have
chosen a virgin site to become the new capital, away from the religious
intolerance of Thebes and where he was free to pursue the worship
of Aten. The site consists of the remains of royal palaces, villas,
temples, private dwellings, and a workmen’s village, and the boundaries
were marked by a series of stelae. The sculptor Thutmose’s
workshop yielded the famous bust of Nefertiti, now in the Berlin
Egyptian Museum. Tombs for officials were cut in the nearby cliffs,
and a royal tomb was built for the king. The scenes on the walls are
not fully preserved, but one depicts the death of the Princess Meketaten,
although the circumstances of her passing are unclear.
The city was abandoned by Tutankhamun and used as building
material by later rulers, notably Ramesses II. The site was first excavated
by Flinders Petrie in 1891–1892 and then a German expedition
in 1907 and 1911–1914. The tombs were copied by an expedition
of the Egypt Exploration Fund in 1901–1907. In 1921–1936,
further excavations were carried out by the British organization, renamed
the Egypt Exploration Society, and work was resumed under
its auspices in 1977.
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