For over a hundred years, the story of Ancient Egypt has been told using a well-established timeline, built from king lists, ancient inscriptions, and layers of archaeology. One of the most crucial chapters in this story is the dawn of the New Kingdom, a golden era that followed a fractured period and produced legendary pharaohs. Now, groundbreaking scientific research is challenging this long-held chronology, suggesting this powerful chapter began significantly later than historians have believed.
Rethinking a Golden Age: The Traditional Timeline vs. New Science
According to standard history books, the New Kingdom flourished from roughly 1550 to 1070 BCE. It emerged from the Second Intermediate Period, a time of division marked by the rule of the foreign Hyksos in the north and native Theban kings in the south. The man credited with reuniting Egypt and founding the New Kingdom's 18th Dynasty is King Ahmose I (Nebpehtire Ahmose), also known as Ahmose the Great.
This era, spanning the 18th, 19th, and 20th Dynasties, is considered Egypt's imperial peak, home to iconic rulers like Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, and Ramesses II. For decades, a key puzzle within this framework has been the date of the colossal Thera (Santorini) volcanic eruption. Some scholars linked it to Ahmose I's reign, while others argued it happened earlier.
Direct Dating: Egyptian Artefacts Meet a Volcanic Benchmark
A team of researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the University of Groningen tackled this puzzle head-on. They focused on the poorly dated transition from the Second Intermediate Period to the New Kingdom. Instead of relying only on texts, they performed radiocarbon analysis on museum artefacts with secure historical links, including:
- A mudbrick from the Ahmose Temple at Abydos.
- A linen burial cloth of a noblewoman named Satdjehuty from the early 18th Dynasty.
- Wooden stick shabtis from Thebes.
The team then directly compared these dates with the well-established radiocarbon signature of the Thera eruption. The results were clear: the two datasets did not overlap. The volcanic event consistently dated earlier than the reign of Ahmose I. This finding rules out the possibility that Thera's eruption coincided with the start of the New Kingdom.
Implications: A Longer Fracture and a Later Rebirth
The study's conclusions are profound. The data supports a "low chronology" for Ahmose I, meaning his rule began later than traditional estimates. Simultaneously, it reinforces a "high chronology" for the earlier Middle Kingdom pharaoh Senusret III. The combined effect is that the Second Intermediate Period—the era of fragmentation—lasted much longer.
As lead author Hendrik J. Bruins stated, the findings indicate "the Second Intermediate Period lasted considerably longer than traditional assessments, and the New Kingdom started later." This reshapes our understanding of how long Egypt remained divided, the duration of Hyksos rule, and the pace at which the New Kingdom rebuilt its empire.
Furthermore, this revised dating solves a major headache in Mediterranean archaeology. By firmly placing the Thera eruption before Ahmose's reign, it helps synchronise Egyptian history with the timelines of its Minoan, Levantine, and Aegean neighbours, offering a clearer picture of the ancient interconnected world.
