Tell el Amarna

The ancient site of Tell el-Amarna stretches across several square kilometers of desert on the edge of the Nile, and consists of monumental buildings, waterfront structures, industrial zones, residential suburbs, and necropolises on the outskirts of the city, representing a complete ancient city history from the New Kingdom (c. 1550-1069 BC) preserved. Under a thin cover of desert sand, 379 clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform script were unearthed here in the so-called "Records' Office" during the 1880s, the most spectacular finding being the famous bust of Nefertiti in the last season of German excavations (1907-14).