I often receive questions concerning my sources. Here's my response:

The Akhet-Aten Home Page, partly due to its history, was never intended to be a source for scholastic research. It is intended as an introduction to the period, some information to pique people's interest and then a set of resources to lead them on to find out more. That's why I have included the vast link list, discussion group, glossary / index and other research resources such as my For Students and For Teachers pages, and the books listed below. If you have a question about a specific reference on my site, I will gladly tell you what else I know about that particular topic, and give you references to my sources. You can also visit my FAQ for those that get most frequently asked. If you don't find your answer there, perhaps the Discussion Group is a good place to look.

Some Amarna-Related Booklists:

• Mine - scroll down!
• The Akhet-Aten Bookshop
• The Amarna Royalty Booklist
• Excavation Reports
• Huge Bibliography
• Recommended Books from A Slice of Time
• Check also our Online Articles and Essays Links
• For the newest stuff, visit the New and Cool page

Books and references I have used in research for this site (partial list):

Rita E. Freed, Yvonne J. Markowitz and Sue H. D'Auria, editors, Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamen, Boston: Museum of Fine Arts in association with Bulfinch Press / Little, Brown and Company, 1999 -- What a treasure! Whether you've seen the exhibition or not, this is more than just a detailed catalogue of all the over 250 exhibition pieces. It is a full-colour, well-written wealth of Amarna information, including a wide variety of essays by all the most well-known Amarna scholars (Johnson, Redford, Lacovara, Mallinson, Reeves, Foster, Freed, Markowitz, Manuelian, Silverman, Kendall, D'Auria, Murnane), a glossary, list of excavations, miscellaneous reference information (such as cartouches of the royalty) and extensive bibliography (the bibliography alone is worth the purchase of this book). In the end, the over 400 colour plates (of sumptuous quality) probably show every amarna piece I've ever heard of, and then some.

Sir W. M. Flinders Petrie, Tell el Amarna, Wiltshire, England: Aris & Phillips Ltd, 1894 -- This original excavation report is fascinating to read, with some lovely painted pavement drawings in colour, as well as pages upon pages of wine-jar sealings and such. A piece of excavation history.

Richard Fazzini, Images for Eternity: Egyptian Art from Berkeley and Brooklyn, New York: The Brooklyn Museum, 1975 -- Very interesting selection of pieces, including a few nice pieces from the Amarna period, including a lovely blue monkey.

Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford: Blackwell, 1988 -- This was my very first introduction to the period (a single chapter). In retrospect, I can see that much of the 'facts' are theories, and he presents a very specific picture of the period, when most of what he says is in fact under heavy debate (the Amarna Discussion Group has taught me this best). However, it reads well, includes a lot about the archaeological site itself (including a map I have online) and I will always favour the translation of the Great Hymn to Aten that he chose.

Dorothea Arnold, The Royal Women of Amarna, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996 -- This is an exhibition book for a exhibition I will always regret missing. It is beautifully illustrated and very well-written and up-to-date with useful things like a Who's-who of Amarna women and a section about Thutmose's workshop at Amarna. It's an all-time favourite for me, as I love to browse the scrumptious plates.

Joyce Tyldesley, Nefertiti: Egypt's Sun Queen, New York: Viking, 1998 -- This is a wonderful read, with lots of fascinating details that Tyldesly takes the time to include. Well-references so you can look up anything you're interested in for further information. Very good for anyone just generally interested in Amarna, and not just Nefertiti.

William J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, Atlanta, Georgia: Scholars Press, 1995 -- Wonderful for browsing if you have the time, Murnane has included all the historically relevant texts found dealing with Amarna and Akhenaten from Amenhotep III's time to the aftermath, including tomb inscriptions from the Amarna rock tombs, stelae, scarabs, wine-sealings... a fascinating look at the primary sources for scholar's speculation.

Irmgard Woldering, The Art of Egypt: The Time of the Pharaohs, New York: Greystone Press, 1963 --Not spectacularly well-written, but has some nice plates.

Ray Winfield Smith, Emory Kristof, "Computer Helps Scholars Re-Create an Egyptian Temple", National Geographic, November 1970, Vol. 138, No. 5 -- Dated by its reference to "a computer [that] was available in Cairo," it is nevertheless interesting. It discusses the reconstruction of Akhenaten's temples at Karnak from dismantled blocks found in other later constructions and scattered around Egypt. For more information about Talatat, Redford's book should be read (below).

Donald B. Redford, Akhenaten: The Heretic King, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987 -- Constroversial (as are most books re-telling the history of Amarna), it is interesting for its concentration on the early part of Akhenaten's reign while still at Karnak.

Seton Lloyd, The Art of the Ancient Near East, New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1963 -- This is a well-written, if badly referenced (and somewhat out-of-date), account of ancient art history in the Near East, with much more information in one section about Amarna art than most books on the Amarna period include in total.

Christine Hobson, The World of the Pharaohs, New York: Thames and Hudson, 1987 -- Includes an interesting blurb about Petrie, and nice illustrations. Good over-all as a browsing book or as an introduction to Ancient Egypt.

Kent R. Weeks, "Valley of the Kings," National Geographic, September 1998, Vol. 194, No. 3 -- As always, National Geographic has done a great job. The pictures are fantastic, the article interesting.

---?---, "Tutankhamun's Golden Trove," National Geographic, October 1963, Vol. 124, No 4 -- Great pictures, especially the bust of Tutankhamun rising from the tomb and the little duck on the last page.

Ian Shaw and Paul Nicholson, The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, London: British Museum Press, 1995 -- This is a good companion for looking up the this-and-that and which-god-is-that-again? It's beautifully illustrated and good for browsing, and though, as a dictionary, it doesn't have all that much about Amarna and Akhenaten, what it has is compact and useful.

Helen Gardner, Art through the Ages, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1936 -- Old but good, with a fascinating discussion of Amarna art in relation to other periods. Well-written and enjoyable. It has been re-issued many times, but I don't know how the newer versions compare.

Carol Belanger Grafton, Egyptian Designs, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1993 -- Good for clip-art creation and general decoration. Tells you which gods are which.

Lawrence M. Berman, Bernadette Letellier, Pharaohs: Treasures of Egyptian Art from the Louvre, Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996 -- It has very nice prints from an enjoyable exhibition I was lucky enough to attend. Includes the pretty little Nefertiti-Akhenaten statuette where they hold hands and the famous yellow stone sculpture of Akhenaten.

Robert Hari, New Kingdom Amarna Period: The Great Hymn to Aten (Iconography of Religion), Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1985 -- A catalogue of interesting black-&-white pictures, including floor-plans of Amarna architecture, photographs of the Amarna tomb walls, and talatat. 43 b&w plates, 28 pages of text.