Crossroads Roundup: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt, Medieval Jousting Tournaments, and Magical Trolls

Our favorite stories on art, archaeology, folklore, and more from this past week.

Welcome to the Crossroads Roundup! This is our weekly roundup of news related to history, art, archaeology, and anything else that our readers might enjoy. While many of our essays are free, the Crossroads Roundup is for paid subscribers only. If you haven’t already, you can sign up below to gain access to the full archive, the Patron Podcast, and the Crossroads Roundup:

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© Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Archaeologists have discovered a 4,300-year-old Egyptian tomb. But what makes it really special are the paintings that adorn its walls.

The tomb was found in the necropolis at Dahshur, about twenty miles south of Cairo. According to inscriptions found on the walls of the tomb, it belonged to quite the power couple: a royal official named Seneb-Neb-Af, and his wife Idet, who was a priestess of the sky goddess Hathor.

The burial shafts of the tomb are next to be excavated; as of now, it’s unknown if the researchers will find the mummies of Seneb-Neb-Af and Idet, as grave robbing has plagued Egyptian tombs since… well, ancient Egypt. But what makes this find especially important are the paintings found on the walls of the tomb.