Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
I am an archaeologist, specialising in ancient Egypt, with research interests that include urbanism, lived religion and cultural interaction in the ancient world. I am particularly interested in how material culture and urban space can shed light on the lives of the non-elite in ancient Egypt.
I have worked as an archaeologist in Egypt, Sudan, the UK and Australia, but my primary fieldwork project is at Akhetaten (modern Amarna), the late Bronze Age city built by the 'monotheistic' pharaoh Akhenaten, who promoted the sun god Aten as a sole creator. I direct the fieldwork program at Amarna on behalf of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge (Amarna Project), working with the permission and assistance of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. I also serve as editor, alongside Dr Gianluca Miniaci (University of Pisa) and Dr Juan Carlos Moreno Garcìa (CNRS), for the book series Ancient Egypt in Context (Cambridge University Press), which seeks to connect Egyptology to the broader social sciences.
My current projects include:
- Amarna Cemetery Project (2010 –): A multidisciplinary investigation of the non-elite cemeteries of Amarna, co-directed with Dr Gretchen Dabbs (Southern Illinois University) and funded by sources that have included the National Endowment for the Humanities, British Academy and the Egypt Exploration Society. The project integrates archaeology and bioarchaeology to shed new light onto health in ancient urban centres, non-elite funerary practice in ancient Egypt and life under Akhenaten. See also:
And our web reports on the South Tombs Cemetery and Northern Cemeteries, and publications page.
- Akhenaten's City: Protecting Amarna's Urban Heritage (2023–26): A pilot project to record and safeguard Amarna's ancient housing areas through the creation of a large-scale photogrammetric model, archaeological study of houses excavated in the early 1900s, conservation, community outreach and the construction of protective boundary walls. The project is supported by a three-year grant from the American Research Center in Egypt’s Antiquities Endowment Fund. For more, see:
Education/Academic qualification
Egyptian archaeology, PhD, MONASH UNIVERSITY
External positions
Director, Amarna Project, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research
2025 → …
Assistant Director, Amarna Project, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research
2010 → 2024
Research area keywords
- Egyptology
- Archaeology
- Settlement archaeology
- Archaeology of religion
- Archaeology of death and burial
- Ancient Egypt
- Egypt
- Amarna Period
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Active
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Akhenaten’s city: Protecting Amarna’s urban heritage
Stevens, A. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
American Research Centre in Egypt
1/10/23 → 1/10/26
Project: Research
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Tell el-Amarna, Autumn 2023 to Summer 2024
Stevens, A., Balestra, F., Driaux, D., Dabbs, G. R., Docherty, P., Boonstra, S. L., Tully, G., Bos, J. E. M. F., Lakin, T., Gasperini, V., Rose, P. & Bertram, M., Jun 2024, In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 110, 1-2, p. 13-45 33 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
The terracottas
Stevens, A., 2024, The Excavations at Ismant al-Kharab: Volume II - The Christian Monuments of Kellis: The Churches and Cemeteries. Bowen, G. E. (ed.). 1st ed. Oxford UK: Oxbow Books, p. 153-155 3 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (Book) › Other › peer-review
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A mature ovarian teratoma from New Kingdom Amarna, Egypt
Dabbs, G. R., Stevens, A. & Wetzel, M. K., Dec 2023, In: International Journal of Paleopathology. 43, p. 99-105 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
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Tell el-Amarna, 2022
Stevens, A., Dabbs, G. R., Balestra, F., Tully, G., Schiødt, S., Rose, P., Clapham, A. J., Docherty, P., Garnett, A. & Bertram, M., 1 Jun 2023, In: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 109, 1-2, p. 89-116 28 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus) -
Tombs and a teratoma at the North Desert Cemetery
Stevens, A., Dabbs, G., King Wetzel, M., Schiødt, S., Deblauwe, A. & Salvador, A., 2023, Horizon: The Amarna Project and Amarna Trust Newsletter.Research output: Other contribution › Other
Open AccessFile
Activities
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Egypt Exploration Society Online Seminar Series
Stevens, A. (Speaker)
8 Jul 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to workshop, seminar, course
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Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (Journal)
Stevens, A. (Editorial board member)
Mar 2023 → Mar 2026Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial responsibility
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Amarna's North Desert Cemetery: The 2022 excavations
Stevens, A. (Contributor)
23 Aug 2023Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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6th Australasian Egyptology Conference
Stevens, A. (Speaker)
11 Jun 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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Rundle Foundation for Egyptology Study Day
Stevens, A. (Contributor)
12 Jun 2022Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public outreach