The Future of Egyptology?

Integrating Modern Methods and Interdisciplinary Research or Political Bias?

The Trends

Egyptology has evolved from a discipline focused on uncovering spectacular monuments and treasures in the past few decades to a more nuanced and interdisciplinary pursuit. Today's Egyptologists aim to harness cutting-edge technology, bioarchaeological methods, and collaborative research approaches. Here's a closer look at some of the most exciting new trends shaping the future of Egyptology in the UK, Europe, and the USA.

1. 3D Reconstructions and Digital Archaeology

Recent excavations increasingly rely on digital archaeology to bring ancient Egyptian cities and monuments back to life. One of the leading examples is the ongoing work in Amarna, Akhenaten's short-lived capital. Teams from the UK and the USA have been using 3D modelling technology to digitally reconstruct the city's temples, homes, and streets. This technology allows researchers to explore questions about the daily lives of the city's residents in new ways, enabling scholars to "walk" through these virtual reconstructions and hypothesise how social, political, and religious activities might have unfolded within these spaces. For example, digital modelling has been crucial in studying the layout of Akhenaten's temples, which were designed to worship the sun god Aten and broke away from traditional Egyptian religious practices. These tools enhance archaeological fieldwork and help communicate findings to a broader audience, making ancient Egypt more accessible and understandable.

2. Intercultural Exchange

While Ancient Egypt is often viewed as a unique and isolated civilisation, new research emphasises its intercultural connections with neighbouring regions like Mesopotamia. A prime focus of this investigation is examining cylinder seals and imported artefacts found in Egyptian burial contexts. The research has shown long-standing trade and cultural exchanges between the two civilisations. Researchers in Europe and the USA are now re-examining these ancient connections, focusing on how Egyptian traders and diplomats interacted with their Mesopotamian counterparts. This work provides valuable insights into how Egypt managed its external relations and adopted foreign ideas into its own culture, a perspective that broadens our understanding of Egypt's place in the ancient world.

3. Bioarchaeology

Among the most fascinating developments in recent Egyptology is the study of tattooed mummies from Deir el-Medina, an ancient village home to workers who built the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Anne Austin's research explores the significance of tattoos in ancient Egyptian society. These mummies, some with intricate tattoos, are thought to have been marked for religious or social reasons. Tattoo analysis has revealed that motifs, such as lotus flowers and cows associated with the goddess Hathor, were commonly used and may have been linked to fertility rituals or personal devotion. This work combines anthropology with archaeology to explore the physical remains and the cultural practices that informed ancient Egyptian identity. Scholars aim to uncover new layers of understanding about Egyptian society by examining how and why some individuals were tattooed, moving beyond the study of elites to include ordinary people and their personal beliefs.

4. Textual Studies and Digitisation of Hieroglyphics

While much of Egyptology traditionally focused on monumental texts—like temple inscriptions—scholars are now paying closer attention to everyday documents and using modern tools to make these texts more accessible. In the UK, researchers are leading projects to digitise and catalogue extensive collections of hieroglyphic texts, including the monumental work of Ahmed Pasha Kamal's hieroglyphic dictionary. These efforts involve the creation of searchable online databases that allow scholars and students worldwide to access these ancient texts. Beyond simply preserving the past, this work makes it easier to analyse changes in language over time, offering insights into how the Egyptians used writing in religious and mundane contexts. Projects like these are making Ancient Egyptian language studies more interactive and user-friendly, potentially leading to discoveries about how hieroglyphs were used in everyday life.

The use of new technology in Egyptology is revolutionising the field, providing exciting opportunities and raising critical challenges.

Technologies like 3D scanning, photogrammetry, and LiDAR allow archaeologists to map ancient sites and tombs without disturbing them. This is especially important for fragile locations, such as the tomb of Tutankhamun, where CT scanning has revealed intricate details of the mummy and burial objects without causing damage. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) make ancient Egyptian sites more accessible to scholars and the public. For instance, VR allows users to explore reconstructions of historical sites as they existed thousands of years ago, enhancing education and research. And technologies like computational modelling and corpus linguistics are improving the analysis of hieroglyphs and the digital reconstruction of destroyed or eroded artefacts. Digitisation efforts, such as large-scale databases of artefacts, make it easier for researchers worldwide to access data. This global collaboration fosters a more inclusive and multidisciplinary approach to studying Egyptology.​These tools are helping Egyptologists to better understand the language, culture, and art of ancient Egypt.

But it all comes at a high cost. Advanced technologies like 3D modelling and VR setups require significant financial investment, which can be a barrier for many research institutions, especially in regions with limited funding. Smaller local institutions in Egypt often cannot access these technologies, and so there is an increasing digital divide in the study of Egyptology.​

While data-driven technologies improve precision, critics argue that an overreliance on digital tools leads to a loss of the human interpretive aspect, which is essential for understanding the broader cultural and historical context of findings. The balance between technology and traditional methods remains a subject of debate​. It’s a debate where the traditionalists are on the back foot.

There are also ethical concerns. The digitisation and commercialisation of Egypt’s heritage through VR and AR platforms also raise questions about who controls and benefits from Egypt’s ancient history. There is concern that these technologies prioritise Western institutions and perspectives, sidelining local Egyptian institutions and narratives.

Overall, integrating new technologies in Egyptology offers vast potential but must be implemented cautiously to ensure that it enhances rather than replaces traditional methods and that local voices remain central to the conversation.

What's behind this new approach?

The philosophical and political motivations behind the recent trends are deeply rooted in contemporary academic movements and historical approaches to knowledge. One of the most significant shifts is the application of postcolonial theory to Egyptology. Traditionally, Egyptology has been shaped by Western perspectives, often centred on the legacy of European colonialism. The call for decolonisation in the field seeks to reframe Egyptian history through local and indigenous perspectives, challenging long-standing biases. This includes more critical engagement with how ancient Egyptian artefacts and histories have been interpreted and presented by Western scholars. Egyptologists now focus on acknowledging and integrating local Egyptian perspectives and collaborating more closely with Egyptian scholars and institutions.

The latest trends in decolonising Egyptology reflect a growing movement to critically examine the discipline's imperial roots and engage with local Egyptian perspectives. Scholars increasingly focus on reinterpreting ancient Egypt's history by emphasising narratives that move beyond Western-centric frameworks. A key goal is to decentralise the influence of colonial powers in how Egypt's past is studied, questioning narratives that have traditionally privileged the perspectives of European archaeologists.

One crucial aspect of this effort is the reevaluation of ancient Nubia, particularly about Egypt's historical colonisation of the region. Researchers now seek to present Nubia's experience as subjugation and a dynamic site of cultural resistance and adaptation. This shift is part of a broader effort to foreground local agency and the interactions between colonised populations and colonisers, especially during periods like the New Kingdom when Egypt expanded its control over Nubia. By doing so, modern scholars reframe these past colonial relationships in terms that highlight two-way exchanges rather than unidirectional dominance.

In addition, there is an increasing focus on the role of modern Egypt in shaping how its archaeological heritage is managed and interpreted. Egyptian scholars call for more authority over research, artefact access, and museum exhibitions, arguing for a more equitable collaboration between global institutions and Egypt's academic community. This decolonisation trend is also rooted in broader postcolonial and decolonial theories, which emphasise the need to dismantle entrenched power dynamics that still exist within Egyptology as a field. For instance, the challenge is to critique colonialism historically and address ongoing "coloniality"—the continued dominance of Western epistemologies and the marginalisation of local voices in contemporary scholarship.

The growing interdisciplinary nature of Egyptology is also politically motivated by a push to break down barriers between academic fields. Philosophers of science argue that traditional disciplinary boundaries limit our understanding of complex societies like Ancient Egypt. The combination of bioarchaeology, digital humanities, and intercultural studies is designed to offer a fuller picture of Egypt's interconnectedness with the rest of the ancient world. This also reflects a democratisation of knowledge, as digital tools and databases make Egyptology more accessible to scholars and the public.

At a philosophical level, Egyptologists are increasingly interested in the moral philosophy of Ancient Egypt, particularly the concept of Ma'at—the ancient Egyptian principle of cosmic order and justice. This idea resonates with modern governance and social ethics debates, making Egyptology relevant to contemporary political thought. Scholars argue that the ancient Egyptian understanding of balance, justice, and authority offers a non-Western framework for thinking about power and society, contrasting with modern Eurocentric political theories.

Critics and Critiques

Egyptology also has a growing philosophical critique of tradition versus modernity. As scholars seek to understand how modern historical narratives have shaped Egyptology, they question how much ancient Egyptian culture has been misrepresented or simplified. This philosophical reflection is heavily influenced by Michel Foucault's critique of power and tradition, emphasising the need to rethink how ancient knowledge is preserved and conveyed in light of modern political and social structures.

These developments in Egyptology are thus not just academic but also deeply intertwined with broader political and philosophical concerns, from decolonising knowledge to rethinking tradition in an increasingly globalised academic landscape. Criticisms of decolonising Egyptology primarily stem from concerns about its potential to oversimplify complex historical narratives or impose modern political ideologies on ancient contexts. Some scholars argue that this approach risks emphasising identity politics over rigorous analysis and may unintentionally reinforce divisions by over-focusing on colonial legacies. Others worry that decolonisation efforts might marginalise scientific objectivity in favour of subjective, local interpretations. Additionally, critics claim that decolonisation aims to empower local voices, but it can sometimes perpetuate Western guilt rather than foster genuine cross-cultural dialogue.

For example, Uroš Matić argues that some decolonising initiatives risk oversimplifying Egyptology by overly focusing on the modern colonial past, thereby missing the complexities of ancient Egypt's imperialism over Nubia. He suggests that prioritising modern political agendas could distort how the ancient past is understood and represented. The challenge is to balance the critical reevaluation of Egypt's history without reducing it to modern power dynamics alone. Scholars like Matić believe that the drive to "decolonise" can unintentionally polarise scholarship and reimpose different forms of exclusion, especially when non-Western perspectives are assumed to be inherently more valid or authentic simply due to their locality, without sufficient analytical rigour (Matić, 2020).(1)

Another criticism revolves around the fear of politicisation. Some scholars argue that decolonisation projects are becoming too politically motivated, potentially overshadowing the objective scientific study of Egypt's history. For example, critics from within Egyptology warn against inserting contemporary political ideologies into the interpretation of ancient evidence, which can obscure historical realities that don't align with modern narratives. This critique is rooted in a concern that the academic discipline should prioritise impartial inquiry over activist-driven narratives.

Finally, others express concerns about the "decolonisation fatigue", suggesting that the constant focus on decolonisation, while crucial, sometimes becomes more performative than substantive, especially in Western academic institutions. Scholars have noted that there is often a lack of real structural change accompanying these discourses, with some accusing Western academia of using "decolonisation" as a rhetorical tool to ease postcolonial guilt without effectively addressing more profound inequalities within the field (Di-Capua, 2018).(2)

1. Matic, U. Ethnic Identities in the Land of the Pharaohs: Past and Present Approaches in Egyptology (Elements in Ancient Egypt in Context), Cambridge University Press; New edition, 2020.

2. Di-Capua. Y. No Exit, Arab Existentialism, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Decolonization, Chicago University Press, 2018.